Mass Effect: Salvation War 1
Chapter 7- Waiting Game
[An hour after C-sec left, Bailey called back saying the council had already planned an audience with Shepard. Only it would be a public ceremony to recognize Shepard for defeating the reapers. Bailey gave him the date it would be held on as well. That evening the team, with Hackett had gathered back in Shepard's Apartment.]
-Liara: So how are we going to approach this?
-Ashley: By finding out who this son of a bitch is and taking him down.
-Garrus: It could be another clone of Shepard.
-Edi: The probability of Shepard having one clone was low. It is even more unlikely of there being another one. I recommend we have Liara discover the identity of who was involved before we make our move.
-James: And then when the Commander is healed we bring all hell down on them.
-Tali: We could get the rest of the spectres to help us out.
-Hackett: Before I came to the citadel I met Tejia Dasorne, an Asari Spectre on her way to Earth. She told me all the other Spectres who survived the war are off station helping entire planets rebuild.
-Garrus: And the council still hasn't said anything about the attack. What are they up to?
-Liara: The council won't get involved here. The message was directed at Shepard not them. Even if they were questioned, they would just say that "Shepard is a spectre and they trust in him to bring an end to this.
-Javik: So they'll do nothing. There's a surprise.
-Garrus: Not like if they did do anything, it would work. They've dug themselves into how many wholes now with their decisions and we had to lift them out of each one.
[Shepard thought of two things to say:
-PARAGON: Leave them out of it.
-renegade: We should make them look bad.]
-SHEPARD: This is our fight. The council would just try to hold us back. We've got Bailey and C-sec backing us. They'll keep us informed, along with Liara and her expertise. Until then we need to keep a low profile.
[For the next few days it was peaceful. No more attacks happened. Hackett had to return to Earth but he wished Shepard luck. Everyone else just did their own thing. All crew members of the Normandy were on high alert making sure no body else tried to steal the ship. Joker, Edi and Traynor were the most paranoid about it. Traynor even kept her new toothbrush on her person at all times. All of Shepard's friends would come by the apartment to see if Shepard and Tali needed anything. Tali wouldn't leave Shepard's side. One day he tripped a wire to a booby trap Garrus and Zaeed had set up during the party. He tried typing in the security code but had forgotten it. Tali rushed over and typed in 6492 just in time.]
-Tali: Garrus gave me the code too. Just incase.
-Shepard: I should probably get him and Zaeed to remove all that.
-Tali: Sounds like a good idea.
[It worked both ways though. Tali dropped a glass and it shattered. When she went to pick up a large piece, it cut her. Shepard checked on her as she was disinfecting it. She confirmed everything was ok, and when she was done tending to her wound she went back to the kitchen to clean up the mess, Only to find Shepard sweeping it up instead. One of the reasons she loved him was because of his indomitable spirit. Him not letting the pain keep him down made her feel like she was falling in love with him all over again. The day before Shepard's audience with the council, he had to return to the hospital to get his bandages and stitches removed. The doctor informed him he wouldn't need the crutches or brace anymore, however they would need to give him four shots before he left. Watching Shepard take the first three made Tali queasy, and when the doctor said the last shot would be in Shepard's backend, she nearly passed out. Luckily there was a chair behind her to catch her fall.]
-Tali: Have you thought about what you would tell the council tomorrow?
[She said as they got in bed.]
-Shepard: I'm going to try my best to stay calm. Cursing them out isn't going to do anything and Liara should have gathered information on whoever was behind the attack. We'll head to the Normandy first thing tomorrow.
[Still in some pain he grunted laying down.]
-Tali: I hate seeing you like this. I wish I could of gone with you, maybe you wouldn't be going through this if I was by your side that night.
-Shepard: You were there. I thought about you the whole time.
-Tali: Yeah but-
-Shepard: You've helped me through so much. I don't care about how much pain I'm in. It's nothing compared to how good I feel when I'm with you.
[He put his arms around her.]
-Shepard: I love you.
-Tali: I love you too.
[They fell asleep stuck together by Shepard's embrace, and when Tali woke up to see herself still in his arms, she gently scooted her body into his and stayed like that til they were both awake.]