"Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, you are hereby found guilty of treason against the quarian people and sentenced to exile".
The words echoed in Tali's ears as she tried to gather her thoughts. All the feelings she had tried to block away for the last couple of days finally caught up with her, and she felt beaten and exhausted. She had feared for this outcome ever since learning about the charges, but it was when she'd discovered the evidence of her father's treachery that she knew it would happen. Shepard had tried to defy the inevitable, as he had tried to shout the admiralty board down, but to no avail. The board, though shocked as they were, had stood their ground. So this is it, Tali thought, lowering her head, as the crowd started murmuring quietly among themselves. I take one more bullet for you, Father. I only hope it is not in vain.
Her thoughts were cut short as she noticed a blue glow from her right, growing in intensity. She took her gaze off the floor and turned to look. The light emanated from Shepard's fists, which were clenched on the table in front of them, shaking as his muscles tensed. Tali could only see his eyes through the visor, but the fire that filled them was enough to make her nervous. She had seen him angry before, especially on the original Normandy when the council had had them grounded, but this was something else. She held her breath, not knowing what he was about to do, and took a step back.
"You...bastards!" Shepard exploded, striking his fist down on the table, sending chips of plastic flying around the room as the table snapped in half by the biotic force of his blow. The silent murmuring that had filled the audience suddenly died, as people turned to look at this new show before them. If the admirals had been surprised when Shepard had yelled at them before, they were now dumbstruck. No one had ever done anything like this in a formal hearing before, and the fact that the person responsible was the renowned Commander Shepard didn't actually make them comfortable. Every one of them knew what Shepard was capable of, and that if he wanted, he could do a lot of harm before the guards could take him down.
Shepard took a step towards the admirals and pointed a finger at them, barely controlling his anger. "After everything she's done for you? You are just going to toss her out like a wet rag? I should just..."
He was interrupted by a hand touching his shoulder. Tali had stepped next to him, trying to keep him from doing something he would regret, if it didn't get him killed first. "Shepard, come on, let's just leave" she said, gently pulling the commander away from the admirals. The last thing she needed right now was a shootout at the hearing, though she wondered if it would really be that much worse than the current situation.
Shepard seemed to suddenly realize where he was and what he was doing, as if awakened by Tali's words. The biotic flames around his hands quickly faded and he seemed to calm down. "I, uh..." He started, ashamed by his loss of self-control and didn't dare to look at Tali nor the admirals, so he gazed across the audience, which was now completely silent. The admiralty board was uncertain as to how to deal with the situation, as it was still highly flammable and the wrong choice of words could set it ablaze again, so they stayed silent. Shepard turned to Tali, still not looking her in the eyes, and cleared his throat, rubbing his neck as he tried to figure out something to say. "I should probably go. I'll... meet you at the ship, alright?" He didn't wait for an answer as he turned to leave and started to make his way to the door. However, only after a few steps he stopped and turned around, once again pointing an accusing finger at the admirals, some fire returning to his eyes. "She just saved your asses. Again. Remember that."
With that he left. Tali thought about saying something, but figured it best to talk to him later in private. The doors closed, and the hall was once again silent. It took only a few seconds for the chatty quarian audience to start talking, excited about Shepard's performance, but Tali paid no attention to it. Although she was surrounded by people she had grown up with, her coworkers and friends, she suddenly felt lonely. The admiralty board remained silent, as they were still shocked by the way Shepard had spoken them down before the public, and they were busy thinking about ways to save even a bit of their reputation.
Shala'Raan, caring more about Tali than her position as an admiral, was the first to break the silence. She needed to get this over with as fast as possible so she could talk to Tali in private. She cleared her throat and turned to Tali. "Tali'Zorah, you have six hours to leave the Flotilla. Would you like to request any personal possessions from the Fleet?" Shala flinched as the words left her mouth, and once again she cursed the day she'd accepted her position as an admiral. Over the years she had needed to do things she regretted, but exiling someone who was like a daughter to her was something she would've given anything to avoid it.
Tali pondered this for a few seconds. Her first reaction was to decline and go after Shepard, but eventually she decided against it. There were a couple of items of value to her in her room which she wanted to pick up before leaving the Flotilla for the last time. She turned to Shala, ignoring the other admirals, and nodded. "Yes, actually there is. Can I retrieve them personally?"
Admiral Koris felt the need to restore the admiralty board's authority in the eyes of the quarian people, as Shepard had just made quite a dent in it, and believed it to be best done by exercising it. Tali'Zorah would not get any special treatment here today, however popular she might be among the people. "You can leave a list of items to one of the guards, we will see to it that everything is delivered to you before your departure" he stated in a cold tone, trying to show the audience that he was the one in charge.
Han'Gerrel couldn't believe what he heard. He still remembered Shepard's words as he had reminded the board about Tali'Zorah's importance to the fleet, and though she had been exiled, Gerrel would damn well make sure she got the respect she had earned so many times. He also remembered Rael'Zorah, and believed that by treating Tali well he would honour his fallen friend. "I think we can trust Tali enough to grant her passage to her own room, don't you think, admiral?" He turned to Tali, not giving Koris time to respond. "Go ahead Tali, just remember, you have six hours. Don't break that trust and force us to escort you out."
Koris didn't like his authority being undermined so brashly but he stayed silent for now. The admiralty board's reputation had been hit badly enough already, and the people didn't need to see the two of them arguing publicly. This will be discussed privately, he thought and gave a curt nod to Tali. When Tali noticed Koris wasn't going to oppose, she directed her thanks to Gerrel. "I won't. Thank you admiral."
Admiral Daro'Xen was growing tired of this hearing and didn't bother hiding her feelings as she spoke to Shala. "If the other admirals have nothing more to add, I'd suggest we call this hearing finished. I have urgent business to attend to and I would like to get to it as soon as possible". Shala disliked the ignorance in her voice but she too wanted the hearing to end, though from very different reasons than Daro'Xen. She turned to Tali and cursed under her breath. She'd never thought she would live to see the day when Tali'Zorah got exiled, but here she was, leading the whole trial. She wanted to talk to Tali, to say goodbyes and perhaps ask about what truly had transpired on the Alarei, but first she needed to fulfill her duties as an admiral, and give Tali some time of her own. "This hearing is concluded. Go in peace, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. Keelah Se'lai."
The crowd started to leave the hall as they believed the show to be over and were eager to go and tell everyone about what had happened. The admirals were also heading off, to discuss the events of the hearing and possible follow-up procedures. Soon the hall was empty save for one quarian, standing next to a pile of plastic to which Shepard had reduced the table a few minutes earlier. For the first time in years, Tali felt truly alone.