Conflictions

January 21st 2186 CE

Migrant Fleet - Kal Reegar's personal Quarters.

I received another message today regarding the fleets new movements, and I couldnt help but notice that we are inching ever so closer to the Veil. Maybe I'm looking too far into this, but it looks to me like we may be getting into another conflict with the Geth. Call me paranoid.

It's nearing that time where I start to feel crampt here with the fleet again. It always happens, my quarters (nothing more than a glorified storage closet) feels like its getting smaller, then I cant even venture out into the Commons without getting a migraine. I'm going to try and catch a shuttle to the Citadel as soon as there is an opening... but that can take months.

Karee' San came to talk to me again today. She was asking about Tali again. It always hurts when she asks about her, I don't show it, but I wish she would leave me alone about the matter. I've only spoken to her once sense her exile, and at that time she was still running about with Shepard on the Normandy. That crazy bastard... I love and hate him. You'll never here me say this out loud but I wish it were me she was running around with.

Tali and I grew up together, along with Karee. We would always get into trouble. We had a good thing going, not really intimate, but we had fun together. Then, I was sent away, drafted, whatever you want to call it, to the Heavy Fleet as a soldier. We still saw each other, but it was always strictly business.

Then it was the mission on Haestrom, I only knew I was escorting a research team, had no idea Tali was involved, but I cant say I wasn't overjoyed when I saw her boarding the same shuttle. We were only on Haestrom for a couple days, but those couple days really brought me back to the good days when we were kids. As usual I didn't show it, but I was happy to be with her again.

Then we got hit by the brunt of a Geth unit, before it was only isolated patrols, but this time it wiped out most of our team. Tali and I were separated, and I watched my squad members die. Of course, that was when Shepard showed up. He saved my life, and Tali's. The way he spoke, the way he fought, I had a tremendous amount of respect for him. Despite falling into a sickness from a suit rupture and tremendous pain from the battle, I was happy to see he got Tali out alive. Then he told me that Tali was leaving with him, and I was devastated, but as usual I didn't show it. I just told him to keep her safe.

Ever since then I've been stuck in a limbo of depression and anxiety. I guess that's why I'm writing this, let off some steam.

February 15th 2186 CE

Kal Reegar was easy to pick out in a crowd. His matte red suit was a sharp contrast to the masses of people in the Wards. That, of course, was how Tali could find him so easily. It was now two months after the Normandy had been confiscated by the Alliance and Shepard was in Alliance custody. Naturally, Tali was in a bad way. She was not able to see anyone she cared about, still being in exile, and Shepard was locked up. So she came to the Citadel, as Kal did, to get away from the rest of the Galaxy.

Tali had spent the last few days drifting in the back corner of bars alone, and watching the fish on the Silversun Strip. She was walking to Flux to get a drink when she saw Kal. He was sitting just inside an alley between two buildings in the shade, with his head buried in his palms. He looked bad, there were scratches all over his suit, and it was stained. Tali froze in the crowd when he saw him.

"Keelah..." Tali mumbled to herself as she began to run to the alley. Kal could hear the footsteps and looked up, realizing who it was he tried to stand at attention, but failed miserably. He stood up fast only to lose his ballance and fall forward into a garbage disposal unit, the backward again onto the floor. He put his hand on his knee and forced himself back up as Tali stopped in front of him.

"Ma'am." Kal spoke softly.

"Reegar... Are you okay?" Tali reached out and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Fine. I'm on uh... leave, what are you doing here?" Kal's voice was shaky, he sounded like he might pass out.

"It's a long story... why don't we find some place we can be alone? Are you staying anywhere?" Tali tried to sound happy to see him, but she was concerned, he's never looked like this before.

"No, I've been uh..." Kal trailed off and looked at the ground. Tali stood closer to him and lifted his helmet up so he could look at her.

"What happened?"

"Nothing Ma'am-"

"Don't give me that!" Tali stepped back and Kal just looked at the floor. They stood there in the dark for some time before a Salarian C-sec officer came by.

"Hey! That's a restricted area!"

"Where does it say that?" Tali said as she looked at him.

"It's common knowledge!"

"How can you expect it to be common knowledge if its not posted anywhere?"

"You goddamn suit-rats think you can go as you please because 'oooh my pilgrimage oooh' Well let me tell you something! You don't belong here! Nobody wants you here!" Tali and Kal just looked at him, and he walked away.

Kal made his hands into fists and turned around to face the wall. He set his head on the wall exhaled. Tali could tell he was holding something back.

"Come on... let's go find a place more private?" Tali spoke softly and put her hand on his shoulder again. Kal always loved when she did that. So, they walked in silence to a boarding house on the far side of Zakera Ward. It was a lousy place, and the rooms they rented out were nothing more than a bed and bathroom, but it would have to do. Tali put down the credits for one night.

Kal was in bad shape, he had to lean on Tali to make it to the room, and when they entered he simply collapsed on the small bed.

"Get some rest. We'll talk later." Tali said as she went into the bathroom and closed the door.

Tali looked at herself in the mirror, and thought about Reegar. What happened to him? She stood there for a while, just thinking to herself. After some time had passed, she left the bathroom to see Kal awake standing by the large window that took up the entirety of the back wall. She walked over and stood next to him.

"I wanted to apologize, Ma'am. What you saw is..." Kal spoke in his normal, calm tone.

"You didn't nothing wrong, Kal. Just tell me what happened." Tali said.

"Nothing. I came to the Citadel two days ago, just needed to get away for a little while."

"So you..."

"Drank myself halfway to death? Pretty much."

"I figured that was the case." Tali smiled under her helmet. They stood there looking down on the street below for a little while.

"I missed you." Tali said, finally. Kal looked at her.

"I missed you too." Tali hugged him, and he put his hand on her head as she buried it in his chest. To Reegar's dismay, Tali slipped away and sat on the bed. He sat beside her.

"So, what are you doing here then?" Kal said.

"Well, there's nowhere else for me to go, really."

"What do you mean?"

"The Normandy was grounded, and Shepard was taken into Alliance custody.

"What? Why?"

"I don't know, I guess they figured the SR2 was their property even though Cerberus built it. I haven't seen him in three months, the wont even let me talk to him."

"I'm sorry, that's rough."

"Yeah..." Tali looked down and rubbed her hands together, "I don't know if I'll see him again."

"Serious? Where will you go?"

"I don't know! I have nowhere to go!"

"Hey..." Reegar went to put his hand on her back. Tali fell into his lap and sat there. Reegar rubbed her shoulder as she wept. They were like that for a while.

"Why dont we just stay here? Together?" Kal said after many minutes had passed. Tali sat back up next to him and looked at him.

"What?"

"Let's just stay here, the two of us."

"I don't know..." Kal just looked at her, waiting for an answer. "I need to think about it."

"Fair enough. Be right back." Kal stood up and headed for the bathroom.

"Kal?" Tali turned around and said to him.

"Ma'am?"

"Thanks."

Kal nodded and went into the bathroom and sealed the door. He looked around then saw himself in the mirror. He understood why Tali was so worried about him. His suit was battered pretty good, he rememberd getting in a fight the night before with some Batarians, but he didnt remember what it was about. Kal always though that the other species of the Galaxy always over-glorified Quarians taking off there masks. Quarians go for weeks or even months at a time without taking them off. Kal hit the seal release on the side of his helmet and took of his mask. The pale purple of his skin was covered by a thick amount of facial hair, the mose that could grow inside of a suit. His black hair was greasy and stretched down to his shoulders. He let in one large breath, and put the mask back on and sealed it. He opened the bathroom door to find Tali standing there, doing that thing where she rubs her hands together.

"Ma'am?"

"I've made up my mind..."

"And?"

"I want-" Just then a loudspeaker went off near the door, the nasally voice of the Volus who worked at the front desk was talking into it.

"Uhhh, you have some urgent guests here, they want to see you immediatly." Reegar went to open the door just as Tali tried to reach out and stop him.

Just as Kal opened the door four armed Quarians rushed into the room, and cleared it systematically. "Clear!" One of the Quarians shouted. Just after, Admiral Koris entered the room and stood in front of Kal and Tali.

"Sir...?" Kal started to say.

"You two are both needed back at the fleet immediatly. Grab your things. We are leaving now."

"Sir, whats going on? What about her exile?"

"No time Reegar, we're about to go into the Veil."

"Whaat?" Tali said.

"We're retaking Rannoch." The admiral said, then left the room as the four other Quarians were behind him. Kal looked at Tali.

"So much for that idea." He said.

"Erm, yeah. We should get moving."

They followed the other Quarians out of the boarding house and saw that there were two shuttles waiting outside. One of the Quarians ran over to Tali;

"Admiral Xen is requesting you come aboard her ship, this way." He directed her to the second shuttle, and she followed. Reegar went to the first and found that the rest of his squad was waiting for him. Kal looked to the other shuttle and saw Tali looking back at him. He nodded to her and got in the shuttle.

As he sat down, he already felt the anger rush back into his head. He made a fist and slammed it against the bulkhead beside him.