This is the story of Mass Effect from Tali's POV. This isn't a full retelling; only scenes with important and interesting interactions will be written, as this is a character-driven story.

Also, please keep in mind that my writing becomes progressively better as the story goes on. The first bunch of chapters isn't indicative of the quality of recent chapters.

Any reviews and follows/favorites are greatly appreciated.

Enjoy!

Tali'Zorah nar Rayya stood in a dark alleyway somewhere in the Wards of the Citadel. She knotted her fingers together in an uneasy anxiety; something was wrong, but she didn't know what, or why.

Her Pilgrimage had begun a few days ago. She had tracked a small geth patrol to an uncharted planet and managed to isolate a unit from the rest, disabling it and extracting its memory core. In its audio banks was a file of two individuals speaking to each other, something about a Eden Prime, a beacon, and... Reapers? She decided that it was nothing of value and flew to Illium. But, upon her arrival, she was promptly ambushed by assassins, who apparently worked for a turian named Saren. Whether by luck or the military training she had received, Tali managed to escape and stow away on a cargo ship bound for the Citadel.

She was eventually found by the crew, who turned her at C-Sec. They denied her pleas for protection, ignored the evidence she tried to present against Saren, and ultimately told her to leave the station. Upon leaving the C-Sec offices, she was assaulted yet again and wounded by a plutonium round. Managing to escape again, Tali chanced upon a medical clinic, where a kindly doctor treated her injury and advised her to contact the Shadow Broker for protection in exchange for the information. She set up a meeting with the mysterious individual in person, and here she was, standing where the deal was to take place.

The outside world was quite different from the Flotilla. Back home, people had always avoided her, but were never outwardly rude. Here, the all members of the esteemed Citadel species actively scorned her. They gave her a wide berth and spoke cruel words as she passed. Some went out of their way to spit on the ground as she walked by, threaten her if she brushed against them, or ambush her for unwittingly possessing valuable information. Here, quarians were hated as scum and thieves.

She had learned the hard way: out here, she was completely alone, even more so than on the Fleet. To them, she was just another filthy quarian thief. She desperately needed security, for someone to take her away from the people that mistrusted and hurt her. The Shadow Broker was her way out. She had contacted him and set up a personal meeting. Fist would take her data and give her protection in return. She didn't care about her Pilgrimage anymore. She just wanted to survive.

Tali took a deep breath and forced her hands apart.

A small group walked through a door on the end of the hallway and approached her. There were two salarians and a turian, who seemed to be the leader. The strange marks on the turian's face, along with the dim setting in the alleyway, created a dense, ominous atmosphere. Could this be them? Isn't Fist human…?

They halted just meters away and stared. She felt quite uncomfortable, but sized them up as well. The salarians were lightly armored, but well-armed. The turian was the largest potential threat; he could likely overpower her on his own.

"Did you bring it?" He walked closer to her in confident, predatory steps.

"Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?" Tali demanded. Something was wrong; the Shadow Broker was supposed to be here in person!

He roughly ran a clawed hand down the side of her hood and onto her shoulder. "They'll be here. Now, the data."

Tali slapped his hand away and took a step back. Her hand lingered on the edge of her shotgun. "No way. The deal's off."

The turian slowly drew his pistol and waved it menacingly in the air. Tali's body instinctively tensed. "I don't have time for this. Give me the data, or I'll put a bu-"

A blade sprouted from the turian's neck. His eyes went wide and he coughed up blood, blue droplets splattering over Tali's mask. She let out a cry as she fell to the floor in surprise. More blood gurgled from the turian's throat before he slumped over onto the ground, revealing a tall human in jet-black armor, an N7 logo emblazoned on his right pectoral. Only his eyes could be seen through his helmet. They were dark, with a glint that promised murder.

The salarians raised their pistols at the human, taking quick aim. Before they could fire, the sharp crack of a sniper rifle sounded and a salarian's head exploded into chunks of flesh and mists of green blood. The remaining salarian was charged by an enormous krogan in red armor and tossed like a ragdoll against the wall, taking a shotgun blast upon hitting the floor.

Tali just sat on the floor, stunned by the sudden turn of events. Were they enemies? Yet, they had just saved her from a group of assassins, and with brutal efficiency nonetheless. She looked at the human as he hastily cleaned his blade on the turian's corpse and sheathed it on his right calf. He was taller and slightly broader than most humans she had seen. He was also visibly well-muscled, even while armor. He crouched down to her and removed his helmet, brows furrowed in concern. His eyes were now a deep brown. Strange.

"Are you alright?"

He was shockingly handsome, for an alien. He had a head of messy black hair and strong jaw. His features exuded a careless but authoritative confidence, yet there was also a pleasant aura of calm about him. His voice was relaxed and warm. She couldn't help but feel safe in his presence.

"Miss…?"

Tali snapped out of her daydreaming, realizing that she was staring.

"Ah.. you... sorry. I'm fine, t-thank you.."

The human's face relaxed and he gave her a small smile. He stood and held out an open hand, which Tali accepted. Shaking her head to regain her composure, she spoke angrily.

"Fist set me up! I knew I couldn't trust him!"

"Fist won't be a problem anymore. We've dealt with him."

Tali whirled around in surprise. The flanged voice belonged to a turian in blue armor, who was collapsing a long sniper rifle onto his back. How could she have not noticed him? Was it because she was engrossed with this human before her?

Yes…

The human tapped her shoulder and she turned to face him. He pulled a piece of cloth from within his armor and handed it to her, an apologetic look on his face. "You have some…" He gestured helplessly at her helmet.

Tali stood dumbfounded for a few moments before gingerly accepting the rag and the wiping turian blood from her mask. She handed it back to him and looked down to her feet.

"Thank you."

She had never been shown any kindness from a non-quarian before, except for the nice doctor who tended to her leg wound. The gesture was compassionate and heartwarming. This human was so unlike everyone else she had met, her other rescuers included. The turian stood with his arms crossed, eying her appraisingly, while the krogan roughly looted the fresh corpses for credits. Tali looked back at the human and smiled shyly, though he couldn't see it. She would be safe with him.

"Um.. If you don't mind me asking, who are you?"

The human gave her a lopsided grin. "I'm Commander Shepard, Systems Alliance. This," he said, gesturing at the turian and krogan, "is Garrus Vakarian and Urdnot Wrex. A C-Sec officer and a mercenary, respectively. We're looking for data to prove that Spectre Saren Arterius has gone rogue."

Tali straightened up, trying to look as professional as possible, despite wanting to thank him for hours on end. "I'm Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. I have the data you're looking for, so I can repay you for saving my life."

The Commander gestured for the group to form up and addressed her. "C'mon. We'll take you to the human embassy. You'll be safe there."

Tali followed with a slight bounce to her step. She didn't know who these people really were, or their intentions, but she could trust Commander Shepard at least. He saved her and showed her kindness. Perhaps he could protect her as well. Tali grinned with excitement. Her Pilgrimage was just beginning.