Author's Note: Hey everyone! This is my fanfiction about the relationship between Shepard and Tali, spanning Mass Effect 2, 3, and beyond. I'll be taking some artistic license with the story of ME2 and ME3, specifically the ending of ME3. I couldn't stand the ending, so I had to make my own. Everything that happens after the games will be my own ideas. Hope you enjoy!
The SSV Normandy SR-1 came out of it's mass relay jump in the Amada system of the Omega Nebula, and began searching for any pockets of geth resistance. The Normandy's pilot, Lieutenant Jeff "Joker" Moreau, reported that the ship had exited the jump and the stealth systems were active. A month after the Battle of the Citadel, Commander John Shepard had been ordered by the Council to clean up any areas where remaining geth had been sighted. The Councilors wanted to convince the populace that the rogue Spectre Saren Arterius and his geth armies had been completely defeated. The Council made the obvious choice of sending the most advanced stealth ship in Citadel space to conduct the searches, in order to avoid any other ship being spotted.
A blip appeared on the ship's long-range scanners shortly after exiting FTL. The ensign operating the scanners reported an unidentified vessel, cruiser class.
"Doesn't match any known signatures", Joker noted.
The ensign announced the ship had moved to an intercept trajectory. Navigator Pressly was incredulous, no ship should be able to detect them. Joker initiated evasive maneuvers just as the unknown ship fired its massive particle beam. Though Joker tried his best to avoid the beam, it made contact with the bridge of the Normandy. Pressly was killed in the explosion, as was the ensign that initially alerted them. Joker struggled to maintain control of the rapidly deteriorating situation, but that proved increasingly difficult as the Normandy took successive hits.
Explosions rocked the ship as fire engulfed most of the lower levels. Commander Shepard was on the crew deck, readying the distress beacon for launch. He knew the situation was dire, the Normandy was in terrible shape and had no ability to fight back in the state she was in.
We're going to have to abandon ship, he thought.
He quickly gave the order for all crew members to go to their designated escape pods. Liara ran up to him, she had barely made it through the blasts that had killed numerous other crew members. He turned to her and ordered her to make sure everyone on this level made it into the pods.
"I'm going down to check engineering, and then I'll go to the bridge. I'll make sure everyone is off the Normandy before I leave", he said, the nerves he was feeling were absent from his voice.
He had a nagging feeling to make sure Tali got off the ship safely. It puzzled him why he wanted to make sure she specifically got off. Obviously he cared about her, as he did with everyone aboard the Normandy. But for some reason he had the urge to be sure she got away.
Liara yelled back, over the sound of fire and alarms, "Joker is refusing to abandon ship!"
Though he wasn't surprised, Shepard was frustrated that Joker didn't realize the situation was hopeless. Just then the Normandy took more hits from the unknown ship, and wasn't going to stay intact as long as he had previously hoped. He had to make a decision right then; make sure Tali got away safely, or save Joker. Shepard realized the ship wouldn't hold together long enough for him to do both. He pushed aside his irrational urge to make sure Tali got off the ship. As much as he cared about her, he knew Chief Engineer Adams was a capable crew leader.
Adams wouldn't risk anyone's life trying to save the ship, he thought, he would've obeyed the abandon ship order and made sure everyone in his section got off.
He pictured her in his mind, her bright, friendly eyes and warm smile visible through her visor. He snapped back to reality.
"I'll handle Joker, just make sure everyone on this level gets off", he ordered. Liara nodded and left.
Shepard made his way to the cockpit as quickly as he could, his progress impeded by fire, explosions, and large chunks of the ship's hull missing. He could hear Joker attempting to send a mayday call to any ship in range. Unfortunately, only a few high ranking officials knew of their mission, and even fewer knew their location. Shepard made it to the Combat Information Center, only to see a gaping hole in the hull. He activated the magnets in his boots, and stepped passed the containment field into the vacuum of space.
Thank God this combat armor is airtight, he thought as he slowly trudged passed the galaxy map.
Shepard noticed chunks of the Normandy floating in space, having been sheared off by the enemy ship's particle beam. The sight was hard to take in, seeing the ship he loved being torn apart, and he was helpless to stop it. The Commander had some great memories on the Normandy, and he didn't want to see her go out like this. His mind began to drift, reminiscing about old memories on the ship. Cracking jokes with Joker in the cockpit, his little secret rendezvous with Liara in his cabin before their mission on Ilos, his conversations with Tali near the drive core. Shepard's mind lingered specifically on his time spent with her. Their talks about quarian culture, the way he could tell she blushed when he teased her, and her eyes. Those inviting, comforting eyes. Shepard snapped back to reality again as he stepped through the other side of the containment field, finally reaching the cockpit.
Joker was still sitting at the helm, desperately trying everything he could think of to save the Normandy.
"Come on Joker, we have to get out of here!", Shepard yelled as he grabbed Joker's arm.
"No!", Joker yelled back, ripping his arm free from Shepard's grip, "I won't abandon the Normandy, I can still save her!"
Shepard pleaded with Joker, "The Normandy is lost, going down with the ship won't change that."
He prayed that Joker would see the futility of trying to save the ship at this point. Joker wasn't just his pilot, he was his friend, and he had already lost too many friends today. He wouldn't lose another.
Joker finally relented, "Yeah, okay. Help me up."
Shepard could tell this was a tremendously difficult decision for Joker. Abandoning the Normandy was difficult for him too, but there wasn't any other choice. He helped Joker up and placed him in the last remaining escape pod. Before Shepard could enter, the enemy ship's beam tore through to cockpit, cutting between him and the pod. He jumped back to avoid being incinerated, and seeing no other option, he hit the button to jettison Joker's pod. Joker yelled for Shepard to get in, but the blast doors closed and he was away.
A massive explosion tore through the cockpit, flinging Shepard forcefully back into a beam and out into space. His back screamed in pain, he could tell it was most likely broken. Shepard watched as what was left of the Normandy exploded around him, shrapnel puncturing the seals of his combat armor. Once the blast had passed, Shepard could hear the pressure being released from the holes in his armor. He thrashed around, trying desperately to cover the numerous holes. Before long, all the air had escaped, and Shepard started to suffocate. He gasped for air and found none, and slowly the scene around him faded to black. Shepard's body slowly began to fall into the nearest planet's atmosphere, along with the pieces of his beloved ship.
Author's Note: Some of the quarian cultural elements or Khelish phrases not present in Mass Effect canon were borrowed from Calinstel's "To Survive" series.