PROPHECY

CHAPTER ONE:

CATALOGUE

May 31, 2251

2342 hours.

Main Living Room, Shepard Residence, Savior's Canyon, Rannoch.

Terra-Rannoch War.

Mistress of the High Senate Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.

The sound of thunder woke Tali from her slumber. Her eyes shot open and she could only see the timber of her working table. She slowly rose her head up and looked around the room. It was fairly large; it had a single holographic terminal that served as a television that sat at the back of the wooden room.

A single, five by one and a half meter table sat in the middle, in which she now occupied. The room was illuminated by a single, flashing, yellow light. The design was intricate and when she asked Legion to investigate it, she found out it was called a 'chandlier.' Marcus must have added it in the design. A wooden cardboard with three draws and two glass door sat behind her, with numerous family photos stored in it, from her children's birth to the day they grew up.

The television sat ontop of another cardboard which held numerous movies, speakers and other electronically related tech. She never told anyone, but she had kept Chiktika hidden in there since the end of the war. Somewhere noone would know except her. If she ever needed Chiktika's assistance again, which was unlikely, she could find her.

An empty saucer sat to her left, originally housing her favourite dextro soup and a multitude of datapads sat before her. She had been reviewing the coalition's, and if the krogan join, soon to be the Dominion's, political policies and she was sure that the boredom had caused her to fall asleep. Your too old! You should be doing less work and more rest. It won't be long now, you old fool.

Tali sighed as she pushed the datapads away. She could hear the familiar whirring of Legion's machinery from behind her, obviously coming from the stairway due to the distant sound of the...sound.

"Ma'am," Legion pondered, "You appear to be fatigued."

Tali let out a confused hybrid of a groan and a chuckle, "Legion, how many times! It's just Tali! And yes, I'm pretty much exhausted."

Legion moved to sit down in the seat next to the quarian and once he had, he cocked his head.

"If you're that tired, you should get some rest," Legion informed her, taking the datapads, one by one, "I will finish the data correlation and present the results in the morning."

Tali's eyes widened as she studied her geth friend, "You don't have to do that! You get some rest. I would never get you to do a woman's work."

"The geth do not have a gender diffrentiation and do not require rest, only battery recharge," Legion retorted, "Now, get some sleep or I will be forced to force you into bed."

Tali laughed as she remembered the old days. She had just turned thirty when Legion started doing it. Whenever she refused to go to bed or not stop working, Legion would always pick her up and literally, carry her to the bedroom. They always used to play around, but when she reached forty, Legion stopped the playing, but kept carrying her to the bed.

It was all out of good conscience. Legion had kept doing that until she was seventy, when she was too old to be doing it. Not only did it cause mass pains in her back, but her body was too frail to be doing it anymore. She hardly even pick up her own shotgun now without dropping it out of the inability to handle such weight.

However, Legion's carrying had side effects. She never told him, but it always used to remind her of the days when she had Marcus. He always used to carry her to their cabin, but the one time that stuck out was just after they got married and when he had carried her to his cabin, still in her bonding suit and they had stayed their for a whole day. Ken and Gabby had never been happy about it, but she never regretted it. Secretly, when Legion had said goodnight to her, she would then silently cry herself to sleep. Of course now, now she had gotten over it and no longer cried herself to sleep.

However, a tear would always appear every now and then. But ever since discovering Mark in that horrible interrogation center, she started to question where her loyalties lay. Her people and the humans were holding her husband tied up in an interrogation room with programmed amnesia. She didn't know who she was more loyal to anymore; the dominion or Mark.

She had directly found Prometheus, the organization was meant to be the Dominion's sword and shield against the Covenant, or 'infidels' as they called them politically, were responsible for finding and torturing her husband and if that weren't enough, he was the reason the Dominion existed to begin with. Without him, they'd all be extinct by this point.

Marcus deserved at least the chance to die quickly. Instead, they were labotimizing him and slowly interrogating him. He was nothing but a lifeless husk, devoid of any kind of life or coherent memory.

"Tali? Tali? Tali!" Legion shouted.

Realizing she had drifted into distant thoughts, she snapped out of her musings and looked at Legion, sighing heavily, "Yes, yes. Bed it is. I'm getting there." Tali then slowly stood out of her chair and began walking towards the stairway leading up to the second storey of the house, where her bedroom was. The walk up the stairway was long, but when she reached the top she walked down the corridor ahead and pushed open the wooden door to her right at the end of the passage way.

The room was extravagant, as Marcus had sure when both of them designed the house. She still remembered the time they spent on Rannoch, just after having liberated it from the Reapers, both of them sitting next to the defeated reaper destroyer and both designing the plans for their house. It was finally a memory she could hold onto without crying; but instead smiling.

The left side of the room had two glass doors, both flanked by glass panels that allowed a clear view of the ocean nearby. The two doors opened out onto a balcony with two wooden chairs and a table where they could read at night or enjoy a breakfast, lunch or dinner outside. Back on the inside, a queen-sized bed lay in the center back of the room, two plush cushions and a thick blanket wrapped over it, sporting the colors and patterns of her clan, Clan Zorah.

A single drawer lay on Tali's side of the bed; the right, and ontop of it a lamp along with a KAZ hand cannon on the top, there for emergencies; being the widow of late Marcus Shepard, the mother of many dangerous engineers, techs and soldiers and the mistress of the high senate meant she was near the top of many assassin's hit lists. Of course there was a geth dropship that monitored the skies once every day and the geth prime, going by the name of Moses, would patrol her house at night, as Legion would always be deactivated at that time, but she couldn't always rely on them.

A single light illuminated the room and a wardrobe was located to the right of the room, housing numerous dresses and other clothes and attire. To the left of the bed was the entrance to their, her, private bathroom. It housed a shower, a bathtub and toilet, along with a sink for brushing her teeth. The decontamination unit was still linked to the bedroom's systems, but had long since been collecting dust ever since her immune system adapted to Rannoch's climate.

She slowly approached her wardrobe, ready for the memories to return. Littered around the room's walls was the numerous photos of herself with her husband, along with special pictures of herself with her children. She couldn't help but let tears fall down her cheeks at the sight of that. Marcus never even got to meet his children. In everyone of those photos, he was completely absent.

She stopped her approach to the wardrobe and approached her bedside table. She picked up the picture frame positioned on it and smiled at the memory. It was a picture of herself and Mark; Tali still in her white, bonding suit, mask off and hood down, smiling widely and warmly at the camera. Marcus had what was more akin to a grin, but it was there and it radiated the happiness of the moment. His arm was wrapped around Tali's waist as she stood to the right of the picture and Marcus to the left. He was in the black tuxedo that he absolutely despised wearing, but had worn it for Tali's sake.

It was taken on their union day, when they both got married on the Rayya. Shala had been there, along with the Normandy crew and many of her childhood friends. Alot of them were dead now; killed in the Reaper War or the current Terran-Rannochian War, or died of old age. As far as she knew, only Garrus, Liara and Wrex were the ones she knew were still alive and well. Wrex was basically a century from his deathbed while Liara still had eight centuries left. Garrus was closer to death than herself, so in the end, she would be the second to die out of all of them.

It wasn't how she planned to die either. When she planned to die of old age, she planned on doing it in bed, alongside her bondmate. That was now no longer possible. Keelah, her own husband's body was preserved well enough to be sixty years younger than her.

She laughed at the fond memories she had of the old gang as she set the picture frame back down and rebegan her approach towards the closet. Her small hands clenched around the closet handles and she pulled them open. At first, all that could be seen were clotheshangers holding the numerous dresses, shirts, skirts, miniskirts, bras and swimsuits of her youth, along with her current attire. There was also the N7 hoodie that Marcus once owned.

But then she split the clothes apart with her hands, revealing the back of the closet. Steadily, she pulled out not one, but five different suits that she had worn during her time trapped in them. She lay them on the floor and kneeled before them, smiling as she picked up the suit she had worn as a child. It was the exact same one she had worn during her pilgrimage right up until she joined the crew of the Neema and received her adult suit.

It was kept in prime condition mostly by Legion or Penya, as they insisted on housekeeping. Tali assured them she could look after herself, but even her self-confidence was dwindling. She then checked the second suit; her adult suit. Many had said it was the prettiest suit; Mark had once commented on it, and in his exact words it was 'multiplying your already astounding beauty tenfold.' It was different in many ways from her old suit.

It kept the purple colored veil she loved so much, as it had been given to her when she was born as a wrapping for her suit by Auntie Raan. The mask had a slightly darker tint, but allowed her eyes to glow even more, apparently, then it's predecessor. This one also had a golden colored neckbrace, which extended into semi-rings that protruded around her cleavage. The suit was more skintight than the last, which in essence had made her breasts look smaller than they actually were. She still laughed at that; Mark's surprise during their first time had made her smile.

The veil also a sort of 'skirt' like formation around her legs, held there by a utility belt with numerous pouches and pockets, along with a magnetic clamp for her weapons and pouches for thermal clips and grenades. She also took feminine pleasure in knowing that the suit made her butt show alot more. She chuckled lightly, so as to not alert Legion to the fact that she was indeed not sleeping, but indulging in her own nostalgia.

The third suit was her bonding suit, having been weaved by Shala and Meru themselves. Meru had helped Shala make the plans for it before she died, hoping it would be used when her daughter got married in the future. It was also designed as a care unit, to help with breast-feeding for the first month after giving birth to a child before she was put in a sterile bubble. The suit was the same as her last, except the cloth was pure white. It had originally been just purple, but Mark had insisted on it, saying he wanted at least somepart of the ceremony to be human. She admitted later that she liked it.

The fourth and fifth suits were ones she despised. They were the suits she had worn into combat during the reaper war. Her 'CQB suits', Marcus had joked, a homage to her love of shotguns and the suit design. The first had a sheet of flexible steel that served as the 'veil' and 'hood' replacement, which was colored purple on her request. The mask was slightly less dark to increase combat performance and had state of the art, built-in combat statistics and squad communicators, designed to link to other quarian visors.

The whole suit, except the veil, was a golden color and covered in armored plating, along with a better utility belt, more pockets and more pouches. The armor at her legs and waist was lighter, to allow her better speed and stamina. The armored suit was covered in scorch marks and bullet holes, along with numerous cracks on her mask where she had taken damage.

The fifth suit was the suit she had had built to replace her fourth when it went out of commission. She had used it during the early days of the Terran-Rannochian conflict when the Coalition declared war against the Covenant. She had personally lead entire battalions into battle in this suit and it had seen its final combat during the Battle of Jaxto. Legends had been made about her prowess on the battlefield about the suit and even rumors of her having fought the batarian emperor, Si Pel, in hand-to-hand combat and emerged victorious had spread around. She had denied them, knowing them to be true, well, half true, but not wanting to become more of a celebrity than she already was.

The suit, many humans had commented on, made her look like a 'duck.' Apparently it was somekind of earth animal, Mark had told her. Many quarians said it made her look like the 'guardian vanguard of the ancestor's fury,' while the batarians said it made her look like a idiotic bafoon. Either way, it had served her well.

The suit was exactly like the fourth, but with a completely purple exterior. The armoured plating had been doubled, turning it into heavy armor, and the armor doubled around her legs. The visor was covered in microarmor plating, which thickened the glass and effectively made it 'bulletproof.' Unfortunately, this made seeing through it impossible, so a 'Y' was cut through the visor, allowing two slits for her to see through. Overall, the suit was better than the last.

She had intended to pass it down to Penya or Ashley, depending on which one joined the military. However, neither of them did, or at least not Ash. Ashley had gotten a doctorate from the Unversity of Idenna and became a doctor working at a hospital on Virmire, in the capital of Williams. She smiled. When the colony had been formed on Virmire, they had troubles on what to name the capital. When it came to it, Tali had suggested the name, in honor of her friend who had died on that world. Ironic that her daughter, also christened in her friend's name, would choose to live and work there.

Penya had become a battlefield nurse, not an active soldier, marine, infiltrator or orbital trooper, just a nurse. The suit Tali had worn was meant for combat engineers and was built for frontline assaults, not medical aid where a wall of soldiers and heavy kinetic shielding would protect her. As Tali thought of her numerous children, she hadn't heard Legion standing in the doorway.

"You're reminiscing again, Mrs. Shepard."

Tali was startled as she looked up to see the geth standing in the doorway, hands behind his back. She smiled kindly as she began picking up the suits to put them away, but keeping the second suit out. She wanted to hang that up on her wall; a final lament to her past and to her future with Mark in the afterlife. It was the suit she had worn when Mark and herself had finally joined in physical matrimony. She intended for it to be her guardian into the afterlife.

Laying the suit next to her bed, she slipped under the covers and gently lay her head on the pillow. It was soft; a feeling she greatly enjoyed during her days as a old woman. It allowed her obsolete and old muscles to relax and sleep and for soft, kind memories to envelop memories. Sometimes however, they couldn't save her from the memories of her dead friends.

Legion approached her bedside and sat next to her, tucking her in. She groaned, but the geth silenced her with a finger. Then an itch built up in her throat and she sighed mentally. First a cough, then another, followed by a coughing fit. She had been having many of these and she didn't know why. Legion had said it was due to her old age, but she had dismissed it as simple miscalculation on his part.

"Are you okay, Tali? Would you like me to put this suit away?" Legion asked, motioning it's optics towards the suit.

Tali shook her head, "No Legion, I want it there," she then yawned, "Goodnight, Legion." Legion nodded, leaving the room and closing the door behind him, turning off the light as it went. Consumed by darkness, Tali fell asleep. It was a long and peaceful sleep. She had a dream about Mark, herself and their children on the beach. Mark and herself sat on the beach while their children played in the water.

It was a dream she wished could have been true.

{Loading...}

June 1, 2251

1743 hours.

Entering General Vicinity, Shepard Residence, Savior's Canyon, Rannoch.

Terra-Rannoch War.

Drill Instructor Reby'Reegar pav Rannoch, Reserve Cadet Thane'Shepard pav Rannoch.

"Come on Cadet, seeing your mother isn't exactly the worst thing I could ask you to do." Reby stated as she drove the skycar towards the Shepard residence. It was a fairly large house and she was aware that it had originally been intended for two spouses and alot of children. Sitting next to her in the skycar was one of those children, most of them having grown up and left.

Reby shared a glance at Thane. She knew she had feelings for him, but she never showed them due to her military training. As a marine, love wasn't particulary something that was allowed on the battlefield, let alone authorized. If she developed any attachment to Thane, they'd both be transferred. Reby was planning on retiring from the military anyway and Thane, as they were both best friends, would probably follow her.

She switched her sight back to the windscreen as they begun their descent towards the house when she saw Thane turn to face her.

"Yes, but I've got a military duty. I-" Thane tried to object.

"Your mother knows more about military protocol than you do. She served during this ancestors forsaken war too you know," Reby interrupted him, "Keelah, she was admiral of the seventeenth battle fleet, you know. Lead it into battle many times before retiring." Reby told him.

Thane rolled his eyes, "She was a military stategist, I know. But that's only because of dad. Without him, she'd still be getting squads killed, let alone a fleet." Thane pessimistically answered.

Reby didn't bother to refute that. Thane's response was blunt and curt, but it was true. Tali had once been a terrible commander and tactician, but when she met Marcus and got used to being admiral of the board during the reaper conflict, she had grasped leadership very quickly and even learned to embrace it. She was also famous for having lead her flagship, the Idenna, into a geth battlegroup during the Battle of Rannoch and managed to distract them long enough to allow the Rayya breathing room. She abandoned ship later on, but was rescued by the Normandy crew, where she was reunited with her husband.

It hadn't taken long for the skycar to touch down outside the house, parking just alongside Tali's skycar. Both of them opened the doors and stood out into the harsh sun of Tikkun, both of them turning to approach the house. A single geth prime stood guard outside the house, it's siege pulse and combat drone keeping guard; a formidable sight.

The only sound that could be heard apart from their quiet footsteps was the sound of the raluk birds cries in the sky as they glided past, the gentle Rannochian wind and the sound of the waves crashing on the beach only a kilometer away. It was quite peaceful in this area of Rannoch; with this residence being the only sign of civilization for miles. For a couple and their children to live in peace, it was the perfect spot.

They were halted by the prime platform as he ordered his combat drone to scan them. He introduced himself as Moses. When the drone had reported back the results, they had waited another minute before another geth, this being an ex-infiltrator model, came out to greet them. Legion, if she remembered correctly, was the current caretaker of the residence and was tasked with looking after Mistress Tali; a job it had catered to willingly.

"Mr and , welcome. Mistress Tali will join you in a moment." Legion greeted.

Before she could blush, Reby looked at Thane, who shared the same stare as she did, before turning back to Legion.

"We're not married." The two of them said at the same time.

Legion cocked it's head flaps, "So you are not engaged yet?"

"We're not together either." They said, once again, simultaneously.

"But you're body movements-" Legion attempted to press.

"Legion, don't try and be a love detector. You're horrible at it." Tali ordered and Legion immediately stopped, reentering the house. Shaking her head, Tali moved forward and hugged Thane, before turning to hug Reby as well, "I haven't seen you two in a while." Finishing her hug, she motioned them to move inside.

"We're off duty," Reby explained, "Thought we'd give you some company."

"Funnily enough, I've invited someone else as well," Tali declared, "I think you'll like him."

All of a sudden, an intimidating but croaky voice sounded from behind her, "You mean me?"

Tali's face lit up and she shot past them. Reby and Thane turned to see a large krogan embracing the old woman, both of them laughing.

"Wrex! You came!" Tali shouted as she let go.

"Of course," Wrex stated like it was obvious he'd come, "You maybe a little quarian, but your my little quarian sister." Both of them chuckled for a moment longer before Wrex noticed Thane, moving up to Tali's son and pulling him into a hug as well.

"Hi, Uncle Wrex." Thane acknowledged the krogan, ending the embrace.

"You been remembering what I taught you?" Wrex asked.

"Which one? The shotgun, the hand-to-hand, or how to throw a YMIR? Which I still can't do, by the way." Thane answered snarkily, a grin creasing his lips.

Wrex shook his head in amusement, "You've still got your father's smartass attitude." Then he turned towards Reby and grunted, "This your girlfriend? Or is it wife?"

Reby and Thane exasperated but this time, only Reby answered and in a irritated tone, "Do we really look like a couple to everyone? What makes people think we're together?" Despite the fact that I am actually interested.

"You're as bad at hiding it as Tali and Marcus were at hiding theirs," Wrex bluntly stated.

"We're not married and we're not in a relationship! We're just friends!" Reby insisted.

Wrex shared a glance with Tali, who shrugged her shoulders and the krogan rolled his eyes. Tali then motioned them inside and into the lounge room, before moving to make them some drinks. She had insisted on doing it, but Reby eventually convinced her to sit down while she got the drinks. When she returned, they sat down and chatted.

"So...how's the situation with Upper Coalition Space? Do we expect a dominion at some point?" Tali asked solemnly.

Wrex nodded gravely, "That's why I'm here; I'm acting as the representative for the krogan confederacy that will sign the Terran-Rannochian-Aralakh Treaty binds us. When it's done, it'll be the Galactic Dominion, with the krogan as official members. We'll get a spot on the Central Parliament and Tuchanka will be recognized as a fully militarized and dangerous superpower. It also means that the Covenant are our enemies now."

"The situation is sounding more and more desperate every day," Reby added, "This war has to end at some point. It's been going ever since 2204. It's like the perputual war."

Wrex nodded, "Which is why the confederacy is vouching to sanction an invasion force."

Tali spat out her tea, "They're finally doing it?"

Wrex shook his head, "Praetor isn't budging, but he will soon. The Covenant is slowly realizing that they can't keep playing it safe and it won't be long before the Praetor stops playing around and strikes first. It's them or us. Cold and ruthless, but it's the truth."

"The amount of deaths..." Tali murmured in horror.

"Would be acceptable," Wrex stated in his usual cold demeanour, "Either we finish this conflict once and for all or we continue on for another five decades. Think about what Marcus would want."

Tali shook her head, "He'd find a way to negoitate. He'd have ended this damn war forty years ago like it should have been."

Wrex huffed, "He didn't do much diplomacy during the reaper war, or the eden prime war."

"Because the reapers didn't care! They wanted us wiped out! Plain and simple!"

"Aha!" Wrex emphasized, punctuating this by pointing directly at her, "That's why we have to strike at Khar'Shan and end this! The Covenant don't care about peace talks! For all we know, they're consolidating their troops right now! That and they could be moving mass relays to interconnect with heavily populated systems. We strike them, or they strike us. Look at the fundamentals for yourself."

Tali did and she found herself, disturbingly, agreeing with the krogan. All out assault on the Covenant-held systems was the only way to secure victory and stop the covenant threat. It would also allow the the Dominion to liberate Thessia as well as well as secure a supply route with it's trapped colonies and the Sanctum-occupied worlds. It would end the stalemate that had been going on for decades.

"I cannot believe what this galaxy has come to," Tali finally stated, taking a final sip of her drink, "It's destroyed everything Mark worked for. If he were here, he'd have stopped this by now."

Wrex chuckled, "Always said he'd make a fantastic praetor."

Tali smiled at that. Mark had become a celebrity in many cultures. Battlemaster to the krogan. Vanguard to the quarians. Warrior to the turians. Goddess' sword to the asari. So many names...and he wanted none of it. All he wanted was...

Tali didn't dare think about that. Instead, she enveloped herself into speaking with her friends. She knew just what she wanted to request for the next interrogation. She didn't care what the spooks at Prometheus said, she was a Mistress of the High Senate and if she had to use her pull in the parliament to get what she wanted, then so be it.

He may have been a husk, but he was her husk.

{Loading...}

June 1,

2035 hours.

CLASSIFIED LOCATION

Terra-Rannoch War.

Special Tasks Group Operative Carter Dielheart, Commander Reia'Inas pav Earth.

"Having her interrogate the man was one thing," Carter complained, "Now she wants to relocate him? What does she think we run, a postal service? She can't just relocate subjects wherever she damn pleases," Carter then took a second to remember who he was talking to and exasperated, "You're not even listening are you?"

"Not at all," Reia responded, "I was busy ordering a squad of geth and quarian heavy troopers to secure the interrogation cell."

Carter stopped at that and turned to her. The quarian hadn't seen him stop when he did, so she herself stopped infront of him, her assault rifle displaced in her open arms. She turned to him, seeing his raised brow, "What?" she asked.

"You have an entire squad of heavy troopers; people trained to take down a platoon of yahg; moving to escort a mentally handicapped, half-dead, soldier?" Carter asked.

Reia sighed, "Handicapped or not, the man still packs muscle. Let's not forget that we don't know the extents of his memory loss. If he were to have a mental spasm at some point, he could remember enough to kill an entire platoon of ill-prepared soldiers. The squad I'm sending all have N7 training. They are my most elite operatives; perfect for an escort like this."

Carter shook his head and waved a dismissive hand as he pushed past the quarian commander, continuing towards the interrogation cell that 001 was held in. When he arrived, he could see that the soldiers had arrived already, ever present. They looked like scarred veterans; a dozen quarians and geth with battle scars and hardened looks, wearing heavy armor and heavier weapons.

"Be ready," Reia ordered her men as they all stood beside the doors. Carter rolled his eyes as he punched in the codes to the vault and waited a minute for all the firewalls to be disabled and the locks to disengage. They had built this vault to hold in yahg and the best hackers in the galaxy couldn't break through it; not even Tali'Shepard.

When the vault finally opened, Marcus Lee Shepard himself was in the center, blindfolded as per usual. Moving inside, Carter moved his wheelchair outside where it was taken over by Reia.

"We'll this from here, sweetie." Reia then gave him her biggest smug grin before motioning her troopers to follow her to the shuttle, smiling at Carter's annoyed expression as she went. She'd never tire of it. Carter just grunted and left, seeing if there was anything for lunch or if any reports needed to be finalized.

{Loading...}

June 2, 2251

1233 hours.

Main Living Room, Shepard Residence, Savior's Canyon, Rannoch.

Terra-Rannoch War.

Mistress of the High Senate Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch, Commander Reia'Inas pav Earth, Interrogation Subject 001, Confederate Overlord Urdnot Wrex.

Tali watched as the door opened to her living room and Moses stepped inside, followed by two geth N7 infiltrators and two quarian infiltrators; one male and one female. Their faces were clean of emotions as they took positions on either side of the table; the geth behind Tali and the quarians at the other end of the table. The rest of the squad had the house under lockdown; troops placed around it.

She watched with a glare as Reia'Inas approached, wheeling in her mentally blank husband. Tali looked at Reia as she entered a parade rest next to the wheelchair.

"You really think an old woman is going to be much of a threat to N7 soldiers, Reia? Give me a break." Tali snarled, coughing afterwards. Reia and Tali hadn't been on the best of terms. Reia's father had been a harsh critic of the Zorah clan for quite a while, and the Inas clan wasn't exactly popular with them either.

Reia smiled, "I'm less worried about you and more worried him. Handicapped he maybe, but I'm not taking any chances of you getting emotionally broken and trying to run off with him. He's Prometheus property."

Tali growled gutturally, "He's not property...he's my husband..."

"He's a husk of your dead husband," Reia corrected, "Now, don't you have an interrogation to continue?"

Tali glared at Reia before moving back in her seat and arching her back. After a pop, she dismissed Reia with a nod of her head; the quarian leaving the room as Tali turned back to Mark. He looked so peaceful. She hadn't seen peace like that since the interval between the collector battles and the reaper war. It was tranquility she missed.

With a sigh, she got out her datapad and got ready to take notes. She brought Marcus here for a reason. She wanted to be with him in what was supposed to be home.

"So, are you ready to begin again, 001?"

Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.

"That voice again. That...pretty voice. What's your name again?"

- Interrogation Subject 001.

"Like I said the first time we met; I'm Tali and I'm here to help you, 001."

- Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.

"I remember that name."

- Interrogation Subject 001.

"You would. I'm...someone you cared about very much. Now, are you ready to begin again?"

- Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.

"Yes."

- Interrogation Subject 001.

"Then let's jump a month after the Battle of the Citadel and the destruction of the Normandy. What happened next?"

- Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.

"I came back."

- Interrogation Subject 001.

"Well, maybe I can fill the gaps for you. This is what happened while you were gone..."

- Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.

For the people knew to this series, I recommend reading Enigma first before going into this. It will help you understand the story and plot a little bit more.