Tali'Zorah Vas Nista
Chapter 1: Time Adrift
If only Shepard were there.
That was the one thought that plagued the young Quarian as she stared aimlessly into the void of space as her transport shuttled her towards her destination. He might have found a way to retake the Alarei, to find evidence that proved she was innocent. He might have been able to find out if her father was alive. If he was there they would have retaken the ship and found her father fighting off Geth on the bridge. Her father could have explained how all this was a misunderstanding and no one's fault. If he was there, she would never have had to leave everything and everyone that she had called family behind.
But Shepard wasn't there. He was dead, for nearly a year now and she was on her own. Maybe if she was more like him, ruthless and fearless she could have tried to take that ship. But she wasn't him. She wasn't a leader and she wasn't ruthless or fearless. She was weak and powerless, unable to defend herself as no captain was allowed to stand with her and no Quarian willing to risk their lives for her. With no proof to the contrary, her exile was cemented the moment she was charged.
Auntie Raan and Admiral Gerrel did what they could to help her, the former giving as many supplies and credits as she could carry, and the latter giving her the best shotgun and pistol the fleet had to offer. Admiral Gerrel had even arranged for this transport to take her wherever she needed to go. But where would that be?
Outside of the fleet the only other people she knew were those who were part of Shepard's crew. Liara she had lost touch with and had no way of contacting her. Ashley had gone back to the Alliance and could be station anywhere. Wrex had gone back to his homeworld and she wasn't sure Tuchanka was a good place for a Quarian. She considered contacting the Human Councilor Udina, maybe try to start a life on the Citadel, but thought better of it seeing as the man was a snake and would probably ignore her. That left one other option in Garrus, not merely because he was the only real choice left but also one of the few that she could contact directly. That bit of luck was due to a backdoor she had left in his omni-tool when she used to hack it to make it play Hanar pop music when he pissed her off. Now at the very least she could get a message to him and hope that he could help get her back on her feet.
He was surprised to hear from her and reluctant to have her meet him where he was, but after she explained fully her situation and all but begged him for help he relented and sent her a rendezvous to a Terminus System station. A station that now loomed in the distance.
"Approaching Omega now ma'am," her pilot announced. "Are you sure this is where your contact told you to meet him?"
"Yes," Tali said looking over her last message. "This is the place. He said he would meet me at the terminal when I arrived."
"Can you trust this guy ma'am?"
"We fought together during the Battle of the Citadel. He can be a bosh'tet sometimes but I trust him with my life…why?"
"It's just that…Omega is a shithole…a dangerous shithole…ma'am."
"I've had to walk through some dangerous places before. At the very least I know a friendly face is waiting at the end for me."
"Understood ma'am, just watch your back."
"Thank you…um…Reegar was it?"
"Yes ma'am."
Tali exited the transport and stared out at the red haze that greeted her, unsure why Garrus had decided to come here of all places. Reegar was correct that this place was a shithole and judging by the looks she was receiving from the Batarians and Vorcha passing by, it would be dangerous.
"Maybe Tuchanka wouldn't be so bad after all," Tali thought as she made her way towards an unknown future.
This is a story idea I had a long while back but never really got around to doing anything about it. A "what if" Tali was exiled before Shepard woke up. I'm going to try a different style from my usual stories and tell this in drabbles rather than larger chapters. Nista is Romani (gypsy) for nothing which I thought was fitting.