This chapter will be mostly about Tali and Shepard's life away from each other. Hopefully this will be the best chapter yet.
Chapter 4 : Away
Tali looked up and saw Shala and Zaal walking towards her. "Did you find him?" she asked in a desperate tone.
Shala finished walk towards her and knelt by her side "I'm sorry Tali we were to late. Cerberus took him."
Tali buried her head in her hands. "I should have never have left him, he saved my life and I repay him by leaving him there with Cerberus, those Cerberus bosh'tets.
"Tali you did all you could."
"No I didn't! I left him here to fight off Cerberus by himself! I should have... I should have..." She started sobbing into her hands.
"Tali, child there was nothing you could have done. He made his choice to stay behind, to protect you." She helped Tali to her feet and rested Tali's head on her shoulder. "Its okay, child. We will make Cerberus pay one day."
Zaal'Koris became tired of this waiting and blurted out "Were you more than friends with John?"
"How... How did you know?"
"Your actions, child." Shala replied
Lieutenant Assur'Varel walked up behind them and said "I know what it is like to lose someone close to you. I lost my Dashnor (lover) to a air virus. She had 2 suit penetrations and did not fix them in time."
Tali gasped "The blood on the wall! If Cerberus does not kill him, he will die of a open air virus!"
Assur put his hand on his visor 'Looks like that didn't work' he said to himself. "He is a tough kid he will pull through."
"Come on Tali lets get back to the Rayya."
"Ok." She said quietly
They went back to the shuttle and rode back to the Rayya telling some pilots to bring the Cerberus ship back, told scientists to go with them to check for any bugs.
"Tali!" her mother and father said greeting her with open arms. She ignored them and ran back to her family quarters.
"Whats got her suit in a wad?" Rael'Zorah asked.
"One of her best friends died in the transaction, John."
"She spent a lot of time with him." He said
"We learned they were more than friends on the ship."
"Find any evidence to what happened to the boy?"
"Cerberus took him away."
"Hmm not usually what Cerberus would do, they are human fanatics, probably to kill him to give a show to their leader."
"Probably, don't mention this to Tali."
"It must be very hard for her." Tali's mother spoke up for the first time
"Yes, it is."
John woke up beside 3 Cerberus soldiers inside a shuttle with someone over him, giving him Antibiotics and closing his suit holes. He looked around and sat up suddenly, he grabbed the man working over him's neck and put his voice transmitter up to his ear. "Get off me you bosh'tet." The soldiers turned and trained their guns on him.
"GIVE HIM THE SEDATIVE!" One shouted out he felt something being stuck in his side. He lied back down and his grip on the man's neck loosened and his arm fell to his side. His vision started to become blurry and start to darken out. He finally drifted off and the man continued his work on his suit.
He woke up on a gurney in the middle of a room. Tubes in his arms injecting things into his body he looked down at his hands and feet they were strapped to the gurney.
"LET ME GO YOU BOSHTETS!"
A man walked in "Alright listen here you Quarian." He put emphasis on the word Quarian. "If you do fight against us it will hurt more. If you don't it will probably hurt the same if you did fight against us."
"You bosh'tet!"
"I don't even know what that means, but we have noticed that you were a biotic. We are going to run some simple tests on you. If you end up lucky you will die faster than are last subject. I swear I can still hear his screams in this very room. You will be awake for all tests." He walked over towards John and unstrapped his bindings. "First we need to get some food in you before the tests. Don't try to run, the first step you make you will be mowed down."
He climbed off the gurney and moved towards the door. The man dragged him back and punched him in his helmet. "Did I tell you, you could get up and go to the door?" John remained silent "DID I?"
John started to laugh quietly "Here is something you would understand." He walked up and put his visor directly in front of his face. "Fuck you."
"Alright you want to play the hard way. GUARDS" Two guards rushed in he said to them. "Beat this suit rat." One jumped behind John and held him down as he other gave blows to his midsection. He dropped to the ground and felt the hard shoes of the guards hit him repeatedly.
"That is what happens when you misbehave." He said as he called the guards off. He dropped a tube of nutrient paste at his feet. John grabbed it and stood up and clipped it under his mask feeding the paste into his mouth.
The two guards slammed him back on the gurney and strapped him back up. They took the nutrient paste from under his mask. The man smiled "First test."
3 Weeks later
Tali was struggling to live her life without John her daily routine had been changed a lot. 1. Wake up 2. Talk to John 3. Go to class with John. 4. Talk to John 5. Go to sleep. She always kept the Shotgun John gave to her with her. When ever she looked at it, It reminded her of John, not only her has been effected by John's disappearance but many people on the Rayya have been effected and the Admirals have came together to discuss if they were going to do anything about it. They came to a conclusion not to risk the entire fleet over one Quarian. Today would be John's 16th birthday. 1 Week and it will be her birthday. Once she gets 16 she will start on her Pilgrimage. She has plans to search for John and also get good technology from Cerberus. She knew he was not dead he would not die that easily.
Today was John's birthday and he was strapped up to the same Gurney he was on when he arrived. 18 tests in 3 weeks! They did everything they could do to him, gave him red sand, tried to change his Amino Acids. Tried to bolster his immune system. These may seem like favors but they were done in sick ways. The same man who greeted him 3 weeks ago came in.
"Today we are going to give you L5x Biotic Implants if you are lucky your brain won't melt when you try to manipulate dark energy."
"Are you going to put me asleep for this?" He asked. Opening his skull to put implants into his brain! That would be so painful.
"Oh dear, No we need to break you." He walked out of the room and behind the glass. He signaled for the doctors to go in and start their operation. They took his visor and helmet off in complete disregard for his immune system. One reached for a scalpel on a tray behind his head he did a long cut down the top of his head. He felt the scalpel piercing his skin and cutting it open. He felt them pull the skin back, that was when he blacked out.
5 Hours Later
He woke up in a room he felt his 3 fingered hands go to the top of his head feeling the cold metal of the helmet. They had replaced his visor and helmet on his head. The man who greeted him was watching him through the glass.
"You see that big crate over there? Try to move it, Or you will be shot."
He closed his eyes and strained his brain and imagined him picking the box up with his third eye. He opened his eyes saw the crate moving upward. He imagined himself putting it down it went down. He looked down to his hands they glowed blue.
"Remarkable, all of are other test subjects had to try at least 10 times before they could move the box. Now pick up that mech over there and rip his arms off."
He closed his eyes and imagined himself picking the mech up and tearing it's arms off. He opened his eyes and saw the mech suspended in the air with his arms being ripped from their sockets.
"Amazing! This is an improvement in many studies. Now create a field of dark energy around you."
He closed his eyes strained his brain and opened his eyes. There was a blue glow all around him he was in some sort of blue bubble. He moved his hands down and the bubble dropped. He moved his hands up and the bubble rose.
"That is enough testing for now. You have made remarkable progress. You will be escorted back to his cell."
Two guards appeared and escorted him back to his cell. Their guns trained on him the whole way, they knew of his new biotic potential.
"Sir, come look at these graphs of his brain cell activity when and after manipulating dark energy."
He walked over to see the charts.
"Sir, we have compared the charts and his brain activity was that of an Asari Matriarch when manipulating the dark energy."
"Interesting, have you sent these charts to the Illusive Man?"
"They are on the way."
"I want 24/7 supervision on the Quarian he might attempt to escape with his new found biotics. Not that he would get far since we are in the middle of space. But you know Quarians they take a toaster and make it into a frigate." He ran a hand over his smooth bald head.
"Yes, sir. We also have concluded that if we keep him at this pace with surgery and biotic training his estimate years of age until he dies is around 20."
"Do you have any idea how old he is now?"
"No, but we have also concluded he must be somewhere in his teens."
"How is the mind control technology coming?"
"The estimated time it will be done is 4 days."
"Good, good, Once it is done implant it into him."
"Yes, sir we can arrange that."
"Let him get his rest and tomorrow we will continue with his biotic training."
"Yes,sir."
Two days later
John sent a Shockwave over to a target dummy ripping him apart, he stood there looking around the room at the tore and ripped dummies.
"Excellent you will be transported back to your cell."
The same two guards walked towards him, his idea sprung into action he bumped into both of them taking the combat knife around one's belt acting like he stumbled he stuffed the combat knife into his hidden boot sheathe.
"Watch it Quarian!" They both said and they took his arms and dragged him back to his cell and threw him in his cell. He reached down to his boot and took the knife out glancing over it.
A Stainless steel version of the Turian combat knife great from stabbing and slashing, he thought to himself that it will come in handy for what he was going to do, he shoved it back into his boot sheathe. He saw a Cerberus fighter plane in the cargo hold when they escorted him back and forth to the training room.
He smiled as he lied down on the gurney and closed his eyes for sleep.
Back on the Rayya...
'One more day until my pilgrimage' she thought to herself as she lie in her bed 'One more day until I find John' she said to herself. She was constantly getting taught about life outside the Flotilla. She was told what viruses and food she couldn't come in contact with or eat. She was also told that she was probably going to get sick on the first day outside of the Flotilla. She rested her head on her cot her arm rose and rubbed the spot on her left arm where they surgically gave her immunity boosters for the outside journey. She closed her eyes and drifted off.
She woke up in the morning and grabbed John's shotgun from beside her bed and moved out to meet the admirals. She reached the admirals.
"Here you go, Tali." Shala'Raan said giving her armor to put on her suit.
"There you go, Tali." Han'Gerrel said giving her a pistol to go beside her shotgun.
"Just in case." Zaal'Koris gave her medical supplies.
"Remember where you are from." Rael'Zorah said giving her a map. She hugged her father around the waist.
"Bring back something useful against the geth." Daro'Xen said giving her a new omnitool. Her old one was outdated.
"Keelah se'lai." they all said in unison.
"Thank you, admirals." She said as she bowed her head and moved to the docking tube where a transportation ship was to transport her out into the real world.
John woke up 'Today is it' he said to himself as he got up. He moved to where he was hidden from anyone looking in the glass window. He already eliminated the cameras in his cell. He moved up so he was right beside the door. He grabbed the knife from his Boot sheathe. 'This is it' he said to himself.
"Alright rise and shine." The man said from the intercom. He looked through the window and saw an empty room. 'WHAT'? He said to himself."WHERE THE FUCK DID THE QUARIAN GO? HE IS NOT IN HIS CELL"
"Impossible, sir the cell was locked."
"GO DOWN THERE AND CHECK ON HIM."
"Yes, sir!"
John smiled as he heard the voice of the one he hated scream at a soldier. He readied the knife in his hand. 'No turning back now' he said to himself. The door slid open and he lunged forth. He jumped on top of the soldier and brought the knife crashing down on his neck. Blood formed around his knife, he searched the guard for weapons 'NO GUNS!' he said to himself confused. The two guards beside the door looked down at him. He threw one with his biotics against the wall hearing the thud. He charged at the other and slit his throat. He was too slow to draw his weapon. He saw out of the corner of his eye the guard he threw was getting up. He ran at the guard stabbed him in his stomach ejecting a scream of pain from the guard. He grabbed at the guards belt and pulled the pistol out of his holster. He shot the guard in the head, the guard slumped to the ground. John put his foot on his chest and pulled out the knife. He stuck it in his sheathe on his boot. He moved forward towards main command to kill the man that made him go through all this. Two guards appeared with assault rifles on two doors at his side. They shot he formed a barrier of dark energy around him, it deflected the bullets off. He shot them both in the head and continued to move forward.
"GET ALPHA AND BRAVO TEAM ON THE CELL HOLD!" The bald man yelled watching the Quarian through hidden cameras.
"Sir, Alpha and Bravo team... they are dead, sir." His assistant said in a slightly higher pitched voice than usual.
"Shit!" he screamed out as all the lights turned out."Reroute power." He said.
"Sir, the quarian must have cut the wires!"
"Be quiet... listen." He said.
He heard two feet walking along the metal outside his office. Two yells from the guards that were outside his door. The door was blasted off it's hinges from a biotic shockwave. A Quarian appeared in the doorway blood covering it's visor and suit. A single shot rang out and he saw his assistant fall to the ground. The Quarian moved closer and closer to him. The Quarian slammed him down on his desk and straps from his gurney appeared and he tied the man down on it.
John smiled as he saw the man that ruined his life was incapable of moving.
"I'm... I'm sorry!" the man said
John smiled wider as he dropped the pistol from his hand and grabbed his knife from his boot.
"Have you ever wondered what it is like to be a Quarian. To have 3 fingers and 3 toes?"
"N-...No."
"Well I'm about to show you."
"N-..No.. please stop please!"
He moved forward and started his "surgery".