Summary: Tali searches for closure after the loss of the Normandy...
Genre(s): Romance/Angst
Character(s): Tali'Zorah
Pairing(s): Tali x Shepard
Story Type: One-shot
Disclaimer: I do not own the Mass Effect series.
Update 5/14/11: Gave this story a serious makeover and major update, enjoy!
* Mass Effect 2 – The Ties That Bind *
"Brace for evasive maneuvers!" was the only warning that the engineering crew got before they were thrown to their knees by shockwaves that rocked the SSV Normandy. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya fell hard to the floor with the rest of the crew, just narrowly avoiding cracking her mask open on the floor.
"We're under attack!" engineer Adams yelled as he grabbed Tali's arm and heaved her to her feet. Tali quickly shook off the shock of the impact.
"We need to get to Shepard!" Tali said frantically. Chaos surrounded her as panels burst and electronics short-circuited and crew members ran in a blind panic towards the engine room corridors, heading for the lifeboats.
"No time," Adams replied shortly as he turned his attention to a nearby engine console, his fingers flying across the panel in a flurry. "Have to keep the engine from going critical." Adams reeled back as an electrical shock ran through the console and the holographic display died in a flash. He quickly rushed over to a still-functioning console just as a nearby bulkhead erupted into flames. "Get to a lifeboat, Tali-!" Adams shouted as he glanced over his shoulder, but, Tali was already running for the corridors.
"I have to find Shepard!"
Another shockwave rocked the ship as Tali stumbled out into the Mako hangar bay, which was already filled with flames and collapsed support beams. She immediately ran to the elevator, steadying herself against the wall as yet another shockwave rocked the ship. She pressed the elevator call button just as an engineer ran past her.
"Tali? You need to get to a lifeboat!" he said as he doubled back and ran up to her.
"I'll get to a lifeboat, but I need to find Shepard first," Tali said as she slammed her fist against the elevator call button.
"I won't leave you here to die!" the engineer replied firmly as he grabbed Tali by the arm and began dragging her across the hangar to a lifeboat. Almost immediately, the elevator shaft burst into flames and collapsed in on itself.
"No!" Tali cried in despair as she was forced into a lifeboat which immediately launched into space. Tali banged her fists against the lifeboat hatch over and over again. "Shepard..!" she cried as tears ran down her cheeks.
* Mass Effect 2 *
"Shepard!" Tali cried out as she bolted upright in her small cot; she could feel fresh tears on her cheeks. Tali was not on the lifeboat anymore, she was back in her bed aboard the Neema. She carefully swung her feet out of her bed in the small living space and onto the floor, hoping she had not awoken her friend again like all the other times.
"Another nightmare, Tali?" Asah asked as she sat up in her own bed, confirming Tali's fear. Tali slowly nodded. "It's the same nightmare every night, isn't it?" Asah stated more than asked as she stood from her bed. Asah was one of Tali's closest friends and they shared a room together aboard the Neema. Tali slowly nodded then stood and stretched her cramped limbs.
"I'll be down in engineering, Asah," she said simply as she exited through the cloth curtain that acted as a door to their room.
Tali passed through the door to engineering as the hydraulics in the door opened it for her automatically. The only other engineers around were the night crew as it was still quite early and her shift had not officially begun yet. Tali passed by the others and headed over to a more secluded engineering console where a sole female quarian was busy monitoring engine statistics.
The female quarian turned around as she sensed another's presence behind her. "Ah, greetings! You are here early, Tali," she greeted as she gave a polite wave. Tali nodded her head in her own gesture of greeting.
"You don't mind if I relieve you from your shift, do you, Safa?" Tali replied with a slight joking tone.
"Not at all, not at all," Safa replied as she smiled beneath her mask. Safa gathered up a data pad and extracted an optical storage disc from her omni-tool. Tali eyed the disk with undisguised interest.
"Anything to report for your shift?" Tali questioned as Safa handed the data pad to Tali with the disc set atop it.
"Nothing to report, though I did find a few things you should be interested in," she replied simply. Tali instantly knew what she was referring to and felt anticipation growing within her.
"I see. Keelah se'lai, Safa," Tali said simply as she hid her excitement and she raised her hand to see Safa off.
"Keelah se'lai," Safa replied in turn as she turned and left Tali to herself, who quickly assumed her fellow engineer's former post.
Recent ship modifications had obscured the view to that particular console, turning it into a very private place, kept neatly out of view of any other quarians. Tali tapped a few commands into her omni-tool and enabled a sub-routine inside the console. A hidden disc tray slid out from the side of the console and Tali placed the storage disc onto it, pushing the tray back in; dozens of images and text documents instantly popped up on the console's screen.
Most of the documents were extranet reports labeled: 'SSV Normandy ambushed by unknown enemy,' 'Commander Shepard Never Found,' and 'Search for Commander Shepard called off.'
Safa had been helping Tali gather reports, official or otherwise, on the Normandy; and more specifically, Shepard. Tali had hacked the console to give it extranet and optical disc functionality and only let Safa help her collect reports; if the captain found out that she was neglecting her duties he would not be very pleased. Tali rapidly cycled through the reports, finding the most recently saved report: 'Final Resting Place of SSV Normandy.'
Tali opened the document, memories of that fateful day flashing through her mind; she could feel her eyes beginning to tear up. 'Shepard...'
Tali read through the report, learning the location of the Normandy's crash site, Alchera, and resolved to go there as soon as possible.
* Mass Effect 2*
As soon as she could, Tali requested a scout ship and plotted a course for Alchera, the final resting place of the Normandy. Tali took a personal shuttle from the scout ship down to the surface of Alchera, landing in the midst of the Normandy ruins. As soon as the shuttle settled on the ground, the anxiety Tali had felt on the journey down reached a peak; she did not know what to expect when she exited the shuttle and she could feel a tight knot forming in her stomach and her heart pounded.
Tali stood up from the pilot's chair and headed over to the shuttle door and pressed the hatch button causing the door to slide open slowly with a hydraulic whir and grind. A blast of cold air and snow howled in, causing Tali to shiver even inside her climate controlled suit. She took her first step out of the shuttle, snow and ice crunching beneath her foot. It seemed almost surreal to her to be back there again, memories of the fire and destruction of that day flashed through her mind…
"...get to a lifeboat Tali!"…
The world began to spin and Tali steadied herself against the shuttle's hull, clutching at her helmet with one hand.
Once her vision steadied, Tali began her slow trek out into the ship's ruins, snow falling lightly all around her. The clearest landmark of destruction was the Mako, so Tali made her way there first, placing her hand against the frigid metal of the once mighty machine. She visually scanned the ruins from there and found what she had come for. She trekked across the snow and ice and over to an, amazingly, still intact portion of the Normandy's lower deck.
'My old quarters...' Tali thought as she brushed the exposed metal frame of the hull with her fingertips.
The quarters she had on the Normandy had been modest by Alliance standards, but, for a quarian, they had been very extravagant, and it had all been just to herself. Tali rummaged around in the decayed ruins of her former quarters and found what she was looking for inside a desk drawer. She pulled out an electronic picture frame, the image on it full of static and flickering wildly.
'I can't believe it still works,' Tali thought as she made a few tweaks and adjustments, causing the image to stabilize.
Inside the picture frame was herself and Shepard, side-by-side in the engine room. Shepard was smiling and holding up two fingers, a mock 'peace' sign, and Tali had mimicked the gesture with her own two fingers. She had asked engineer Adams to take the picture, so that she would always have something to remember her time on the Normandy by, and more importantly, to remember Shepard by.
"Shepard..." Tali said softly as she held the picture in her trembling hands, feeling tears running down her cheeks.
Tali stepped out of the wreckage of her former quarters and back into the frigid tundra of Alchera. She looked up to the stars, the aurora borealis bright and prominent in the sky.
"I won't give up on you Shepard...I can't," Tali said as she gazed off into the stars, filled with hope, knowing somewhere, somehow, Shepard was out there.
END
Author's Commentary: This is my first story, so I hope you all enjoyed it! All feedback is happily welcomed!