PROPHECY
CHAPTER THREE:
WELCOME HOME, PILGRIM
August 23, 2183 {Translated Khelish Time}
Thirteen Hours, Forty-Three Minutes.
Main Bridge, Zarasis-Class Light Cruiser QMFV Neema, Migrant Fleet, Zulu System.
Machinist Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay, Admiral Rael'Zorah vas Huzzi, Admiral Han'Gerrel vas Neema, Major Kal'Reegar vas Rayya, Mechanic Peta'Yala vas Neema.
Tali took a deep breath as the door to the Neema's bridge flew open. Stepping inside, the entire bridge crew of the ship erupted in cheers and shouts, the quarians welcoming back the pilgrim from her journey. Tali instantly noticed Han'Gerrel standing beside his command chair, his hands not in parade rest (surprisingly) and clapping. Han'Gerrel was a long time best friend of her father's, so he was one of many who welcomed her back the most.
She could then see Shala down below and to his right, also clapping. Upon seeing her niece, Shala rushed forward and embraced Tali, who returned the hug happily. Shala was like a mother to Tali and she had the overprotective urge to worry. When she had gone on pilgrimage, Shala had worried alot, but she tried alot to hide it.
When Shala let go and followed behind Tali, the quarian was able to see that even Veetor had come. Veetor was one of the 'psychological embalanced' people on the fleet. Like Kal, he had grown up on the Rayya and was a childhood friend of Tali's. He was always afraid of large crowds and was alittle bit 'loopy' in the mind, but he was okay. Seeing him here was a surprise; he must have been terrified. Even now she could see him melting into the background.
Tali also saw Kal standing in the left side of the crowd, the major standing in parade rest with his best friend and second-in-command, Madi'Soi vas Ceresa, a female quarian who just happened to be an EOD specialist. Kal's kind of woman. He gave her a quick nod as he went past; his version of saying 'it's good to have you back.'
And standing not too far away, and evidently the most excited about Tali's return, was her wannabe boyfriend. She sighed in exasperation as Peta desperately tried to make himself known to her and let her know he was there. Of all the things in the fleet, he was the least she was looking forward to coming back to.
It wasn't Peta's personality she hated; he was actually a nice guy. He was friendly (although alittle overzealously friend around her), resourceful and an adept mechanic. The Yala clan had always been known for their mechanical genius; just like the Zorah clan was known for their engineering marvels and ability to produce amazing machinists, such as herself. He had completed his pilgrimage merely a year ago and finished it in a week, having used his mechanic abilities to get a quick temp job.
His personality was fine; his infatuation with her wasn't. They had met when she was ten years old, at which he was already thirteen and just hit puberty. It had been some time after her mother's death and Rael had taken her to the Buku to talk with the ship's captain; who just happened to be Peta's mother. His father had been killed earlier when a feud on the ship had broken out between the Yala clan and the Nara clan.
But, she digressed. When they met, it appeared that Peta had an immediate obsession with her, which really creeped her out, especially since she was ten years old. She hadn't seen him again until he popped up on the Rayya over a year later. He made the excuse that his mother wanted to give him better schooling, but she knew he had managed to persuade her into letting him go to the Rayya just so he could be near her.
And that's when he pestered her to no end. When Tali was sixteen, he had asked her out to watch the stars on the observation deck. Being a teenager, she accepted. However, after he tried to remove her mask to kiss her, that had been the end of any successful attempts by him to get into a relationship with her. During class, he would catch glimpses of him checking out her body; mostly her breasts or buttocks. She simply ignored him.
When he finally left on his pilgrimage, he promised to bring 'something special back for her', to which she had basically told him to not bother. When he returned, he had given her an upgraded omni-tool, to which she reluctantly accepted. Afterwards however, she had seen its uses and it continued to serve her until Marcus had bought the crew new, spectre ones. However, she had kept Peta's omni-tool purely out of kindness.
And now, the man would stop at nothing until Tali was his wife and was sleeping in his bed. Unfortunately for him, he would be waiting all eternity, as Tali had already found true love in one man, and he was now gone. Once upon a time, she may have had feelings for Kal, but those either never developed or just never happened and were just used as an excuse to shake Peta off.
Ignoring Peta's attempts to garner her attention, she continued towards Han'Gerrel's command console. The cheering stopped when Han'Gerrel raised his hand. Shala joined the crowd as did the quarian marines previously escorting her. Tali could see Doroli in the crowd now and her heart stopped when she caught a glimpse of her father's red veil.
Stepping forward, Han'Gerrel came within a meter of Tali. This was it. This was Tali's big moment; when she would leave childhood and become a fully-fledged adult.
"Pilgrim," Gerrel started, "You have come aboard my ship for unknown reasons on a ship of extravagance and power not witnessed within the fleet's ranks. What is your intention here?"
It was the first question. Tali was nervous and was slightly shaking; not enough to attract the crowd's or Gerrel's attention however.
"Captain of the Neema, I have come far and wide," Tali answered, following tradition, "I have travelled among the stars and through shoals of dust to come here. As my journey came to an end, I realized, I must find a home to which I can join. I would find family in that home. I seek that home here on your ship, captain."
Gerrel huffed, "My ship? And what makes you think I want you on my ship? You may have come far and wide, but how do I know you will not be a burden upon my family? Upon my ship?"
Taking a deep breath, she answered calmly, "I bring gifts of good fortune. They come with my intention of joining your home, your family, your crew. And so, I can become mature."
"Present these gifts so I may gaze upon them and deem them worthy of my time," Gerrel demanded.
Tali nodded and kneeled on the ground; her left leg forward and right leg on the ground, behind her. She lowered her head in respect as she rifled her pockets, finally locating her first gift; the geth data. She then stood up and looked towards the crowd and held it up in both hands as was customary.
"Crew of the Neema, I bring forth my gift!" She then turned back towards Gerrel, "I give you information on our most wretched nemesis; the geth. I present to you fleet positions, current geth evolution strains, geth weaknesses and strengths and strategic data."
Everyone gasped in amazement as they began chatting amongst themselves. Shala widened her eyes in amazement and Kal told Madi about how he knew Tali would do good. When looking at Kal, the marine turned and gave her a thumbs up, which was his way of saying 'you did good.' Peta just didn't care; he was too busy gazing upon her. She rolled her eyes and turned back as Gerrel just looked blankly at the data.
Then she remembered something else, "And that's not all, captain," Tali stated, "I bring a second gift. One not equal in value, but still very significant."
Everyone gave a 'whoo' of curiosity and the room was silent as he repeated her kneeling action from before, holding the second OSD up.
"I present to you; data on alliance prototype stealth technology. On this disk is information containing classified alliance research that will allow for the creation of stealth drive technology, rendering us invisible to geth sensors."
This time, Gerrel wasn't happy, "We informed you that pilgrims are not to bring stolen items!"
Tali shook her head, "Not stolen, given. A friend of mine; a man named Engineer Adams, entrusted me with the data. Confirmation can be provided if nessacary, but this has not been stolen, I assure you."
Everyone, once again, gasped in amazement.
Kal's voice rose in the background, "Damn Tali, not only did you bring us data on the geth and stealth drive tech, you were also one of the Heroes of the Citadel that kicked Saren's ass and sent the geth running," Kal then raised his hand and raised his hand to his fellow marines.
"I declare Tali a honorary marine and not only that but I christen her," Kal paused for effect for pumping his fist in the air, "Tali, the geth slayer!"
The marines began cheering Tali's name and she blushed a deep red. She hadn't received such praise before and it wasn't long before the entire crowd began cheering, even Shala. When the crowd had quitened, Tali turned back to Gerrel.
"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya," Gerrel began, "You have brought gifts and a reputation that not only make you the most dangerous and acclaimed quarian in this room," There were a few chuckles in the room at that, "But they make you a member worth having. You have proven yourself to be a valuable asset to this crew and that you would not be a waste of resources."
"As we join together to rejoice in this momentous moment, I give Tali my own christening," With that, he put a hand on Tali's right shoulder and urged her down the steps until they were at the bottom. As he raised Tali's hand into the air, similiar to Kal's fist pump, he cheered.
"Tali'Zorah vas Neema!" The entire room erupted in cheers and Shala hugged Tali once again and to the quarian's surprise, her father approached her. Shala let go and walked off to let her have some time with her father.
The moment was awkward. They hadn't ever talked much and now that they were mask to mask, there wasn't anything to say. Nothing could be said to explain how frustrated she was with her dad at how he neglected her. Eventually, it was Rael who spoke first.
"Tali, I know words can't be issued to explain how much I've neglected you but..."
Tali just stood quiet, waiting for him to say the three words she so desperately wanted to hear.
"But I just want you to know that I'm so very proud of you right now," Rael continued, "The things you have brought forth, it makes me envyious of this vessel. You've chosen a fine ship and crew and a damn fine captain. I've known Han for a long time, he's an excellent captain. Listen to him and you'll do just fine Tali."
Tali sighed in frustration at his reluctance to just say that he loved her. How hard was it to tell your daughter this? However, the fact that he said he was proud of her was something of a surprise and a bittersweet event.
"Thanks dad..." Tali said, trying to keep the disappointment and sarcasm out of her voice. She succeeded mildly.
Rael laughed, "Come here, this asshole of a father has a hug for you."
With that, the two embraced. It was a rare occurence. To have her father hugging in such a fatherly manner was something that mostly never happened during her time on the fleet. When they let go, they both laughed. However, the embrace had reminded her of the fact that she had never informed Rael of her relationship with Marcus and it caused fresh tears to form. As they fell, she thanked the mask once again.
"Tali'Zorah," Gerrel said and Tali turned to talk to him. The crowd had since dispersed and Kal and Peta had stayed behind to speak with Tali. Rael nodded to his daughter, patted her shoulder and then hastily left.
"Yes, captain?" Tali asked.
"You should go to the ship's clean room," Gerrel stated, handing her the access codes, "Your new suit is awaiting you. I think your current one is a little to...childish, don't you think? I had my wife model it for you. She says it should bring the 'inner woman' out on you, whatever that means. But first, I think a couple of people would like to speak to you. I'll have you report to me tomorrow morning for your duties. For today, get some rest. You earned it."
"Thank you, captain." Saluting Gerrel, she then turned and headed towards Kal and Peta; Gerrel returning to the shuttle bay; he had a meeting to continue.
"Excellent job out there ma'am," Kal announced, holding out his hand to shake Tali's. Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, she ignored the hand and hugged Kal, who reciprocated it hesitantly. When they were done, Tali nodded.
"I think you showed them who was boss," Kal continued, "Just be careful, I might start taking commands from you soon, the rate you're going. Had you done any of those things as a marine, you'd have been shot up to captain immediately. You sure you'd rather not be a marine?"
Tali shook her head, "I've had my share of combat and to be honest, it wouldn't be the same without the team I served in. Besides, I think an engine room is just my kind of environment."
Kal raised a brow behind his mask, "Old team ma'am?"
Tali sighed, "You don't think I defeated Saren and the geth by myself did you? I served in a team and the bonds I made with them; inseperable."
"Who were they?" Peta eagerly asked.
"Well, there was Ashley, who I guess was the group's hardass soldier. She was a bit racist to start off with but we grew to be close friends. Unfortunately, she sacrificed herself on Virmire to make sure the bomb went off to destroy the geth base."
"She's a damn hero in my books, then," Kal declared.
"Then there was Kaidan," Tali continued, "Who was the group's sentinel. Him and his tech armor. You should have seen him; he was a blazing devil on the battlefield. He made killing geth troopers seem like a simple temp task. And there was Wrex, he was the team's krogan."
"A krogan?" Peta asked with surprise.
"Don't worry, he was still the brutally ruthless kind," Tali joked, "But he was the one who helped me build up my shotgun skills and made me tougher. So if I fight like a krogan, you know where I got it from. He was also a biotic and loved shotguns; so I guess he was great. He left after the battle of the citadel though. Had to unite the krogan clans."
"Oh, and there was Garrus, he was the team's turian. He was an excellent sniper and he was quite the joker. We both used to argue over which weapon was better; his sniper rifle or my shotgun."
"There was also Liara, who was our little asari researcher. She was kinda shy but she got used to combat real quickly. Packs a punch with her biotics too. We had to kill her mother though, because she was indoctrinated by Sovereign."
"Indoctrinated? Sovereign?" Kal and Peta seemed to ask in unison.
"Tell ya later," Tali stated, "And finally, there was the commander. Marcus Lee Shepard."
"The Hero of the Citadel," Kal continued, "Tough son of a bitch was the Liberator of Elysium, Butcher of Torfan and Survivor of Akuze before he saved the galaxy from those geth assholes. My respects to him. Heard he died a couple of days ago."
"I know, I was there," Tali said melancholicly, "But you said he was the survivor of Akuze? He never mentioned that. How did you know?"
Kal huffed, "Because I was there. Went there for my pilgrimage. Witnessed first hand what the thresher maws did to his squad. I was the one who gave him a ride out of there on my shuttle. Poor bastard was traumatized to shit. Looked like he had just seen Tasula herself."
Tali was fully aware just how dangerous thresher maws were. If you took a worm, enlarged it until it was the size of a a human football field, gave it teeth and pincers, natural armor and the ability to spit acid, then you had a thresher maw. They bred incredibly fast too; a single spore was all that was needed to make a single thresher; and those spores always came in hundreds. Tasula was also one of the quarian ancestors; however, she was mostly compared to being the ancestor you 'didn't stuff around with or you'd find yourself in hell.'
"So yeah, I'm not surprised he didn't mention Akuze," Kal finished, interrupting Tali's musings, "It was pretty damn ugly; seeing human limbs and blood flying all over the place is enough to make anyone sick to the stomach," Kal stopped for a second and looked at Peta then Tali before sighing, "Well, I hate to cut the celebration short but I've got to return to the Rayya. Got marines to train. I'll see you around, Tali."
Tali nodded but stopped Kal before he left, whispering into her secure comm link with him, "Please make sure you take Peta with you when you leave. I don't have time for his...obsessions."
Kal chuckled lightly as he answered, "Ha, don't blame you. If I were you I wouldn't have time for his bullshit either. I'll get rid of him for ya."
Tali nodded her gratitude as Kal put a firm grip on Peta's shoulder and steered him away. He objected, but Kal continued to shove him away anyway, the two of them disappearing behind one of the doors to the bridge, leading to the shuttle bay. Sighing, Tali left the room, heading for the Neema's clean room.
She had to ask for directions numerous times as it had been a while since her last visit to the Neema and she had gotten used to the layout of the Normandy. She was still testing out her new name in her mind. Tali'Zorah vas Neema. I like it. Has a nice ring to it. After weaving in and out of numerous populated areas, she finally located the ship's clean room.
After uploading the required code to gain access, she stepped into the room to find the suit set up on the 'mating' bed (It's called that because that's usually what clean rooms are used for). Tali was quick to approach it and pick it up. She was absolutely amazed by it. The veil was her favourite color as well, which was an added bonus. Without hesitation, she activated the clean room's decontamination unit and once it had finished, immediately began stripping off her suit.
A few minutes later, her old suit lay in a heap on the floor and she was stark naked. It wasn't a feeling she got to enjoy all the time; this was probably the second time it had happened; the first being after her birth. She felt sadness when she realized that she would have liked this moment to have been reserved to when she revealed herself to Marcus. She gave a sigh at the realization of how that was, now, never going to happen.
Picking up the new suit, she spent a while learning where all the new accessories went and how the new systems worked. When the suit was finally on and all the clasps and seals had been sealed, she looked in the room's mirror to see a much different Tali. Not only did she look like a more mature woman, but she looked...sexier.
She tossed the last thought away as she gathered her old suit and visor, deciding to keep them in memorial to her old self. Stepping outside, she began to head towards her predesignated quarters, which were also provided by Gerrel on the OSD. When she arrived, she found her bunk cramped inbetween two others. Placing her stuff under it, she hopped into it and closed her eyes, going to sleep.
She dreamt of her future on the fleet.
It wasn't a good dream.
{Loading...}
August 23, 2183
1313 hours.
Apartment 21, S Block, Hyperion Apartments, Shalta Wards, The Citadel.
Marksman Garrus Vakarian.
Garrus cursed to himself numerous times as he entered his apartment on the Citadel. A mere forty minutes ago he was striding into the Council chambers, with the intention of becoming a turian spectre and forming his own team to fight injustice and crime, but also stop the reapers, in honor of Shepard.
But all that came crashing down in an instant. Not only did the Council reject his request to become a spectre, but he was also given a warning by C-Sec that if he caused any trouble, he would be immediately arrested. With no spectre status and no team, he was left with nowhere to start. Sighing, he began to strip off his armor when a knock resounded on the door he just entered through.
Turning around, he looked at the door as if getting read for it's imminent attack. Eventually, after a second knock, he opened the door, the interface sliding open to reveal another turian standing behind it. He wore a shirt that had a single red line aligned vertically on the front with numerous yellow stripes; the rest of it was blue. His facepaint was also completely blue; the colony of Ygumbu.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Garrus asked curtly, his frustration from the last few minutes radiating in his voice.
"My name's Lantar Sidonis," The turian stated, wringing his hands while constantly looking behind him, "I need your help. You're Garrus Vakarian, one of the heroes of the citadel, right?"
Garrus nodded his head, albeit slowly, "Yes. What's the problem?"
"Well, I-"
"There he is!"
Sidonis' head snapped behind him in an instant and Garrus had to look around the turian to see who it was. A krogan, leading two vorcha, were at the bottom of the alleyway, wearing no armor but holding pistols at their side. Upon seeing Sidonis, the trio charged. Sidonis yelped and ran behind Garrus, but the marksman wasn't about to retreat.
From the way the krogan commanded the vorcha, he guessed they were affiliated with Blood Pack; one of the three major mercenary organizations. Blood Pack ranked lowest of the three when it came to well-trained troops, mechs and weapons, but they ranked highest in terms of sheer numerical superiority. Only two known species were allowed to join Blood Pack; krogan and vorcha.
Vorcha weren't a very popular; some could say that even quarians looked down on them. They were feral and not very intelligent creatures, mostly keeping to themselves or raiding worlds in the Terminus Systems, where their homeworld was located. They had no military or fleet to speak of, no government, no civilian populace, no economy, no nothing. They were essentially renegade idiots who had nothing to live for except be used as cannon fodder or to find something to kill.
Their eyes were something creepy though; they were naturally bloodshot, which meant they were always the same, blood red color. Their body was scaly and very reptillian, with a head much like an asari's if the tentacles stuck out in all directions and was scaly. The vorcha also had deadly canine teeth; razors that were a testament to the vorcha's carnivorous status quo; they literally ate the flesh of their enemies, dead or alive.
The krogan ordered the vorcha to attack and, the morons they were, they let out a war cry before charging forward, pistols raised. They fired, but their shots missed almost completely and Garrus countered their attacks in hand-to-hand fluidly. He had learned alot from Marcus, but the vorcha weren't bright enough for martial arts to begin with anyway. Grabbing the pistol out of the right hand of the left vorcha, he shot and killed it, before finishing off it's companion.
The krogan charged forward, but quickly met his hand to a steady burst of pistol fire to his head, killing him faster than he could regenerate. Dropping the pistol, he closed the door and turned to Sidonis, who cowered nearby.
Garrus shook his head as he reassured the turian, "It's okay Sidonis, I took care of them. But how the hell did you wind up on Blood Pack's priority list? You have to piss them off quite alot to get their full attention."
Sidonis was hesitant to answer, "I was on Omega when it happened. I can't remember exactly how it happened; I was drunk at the time, but I somehow got myself into the situation of owing this Blood Pack merc; I think his name was Troug. He was a krogan of course. I couldn't pay up, so I fled to the Citadel. I knew they'd come after me, so I came here for your help."
"You were on Omega?" Garrus asked. Everyone knew where and what Omega was. It was called the galaxy's 'crime capital' for a reason. And, ironically, it served as the defacto capital of the Terminus Systems, located in the Omega Nebula. It had once been one gigantic asteriod; 44.7 kilometers in diameter. However, when the asari discovered it, they had built one gigantic mining platform and following that, a city, ontop of it. However, a mercenary attack on the station thousands of years ago forced the Council to abandon it; round about the time when the Terminus systems broke off from Council space and formed their own region of space.
Omega was now nothing but a disgusting hellhole. The mining centers had long been put out of operation and last he heard, an asari by the name of Aria T'Loak served as the defacto ruler of it. She kept the mercenaries who used it as a headquarters in place and made sure nothing messed with her. Apart from that, Omega was lawless. A criminal's paradise. If you wanted the worst kinds of rapists, pedophiles, murderers, thieves, mercenaries and the lot? You came to Omega, because that's where they basically lived.
Omega had a population of seven point eight million. That was over seven million of the galaxy's scum and criminal masterminds.
"Yeah," Sidonis admitted, "My parents promised me a new future on Omega. That was before they told me they were mercenaries working for the Blue Suns."
Blue Suns. Another of the three major merc businesses. They rated top of the rank and file in terms of well-trained soldiers and had a budget to fit; they had alot of gunships. As it stood, the Blue Suns was the most wealthy and most influentical of the three organizations. They had an economical empire to match too. They only hired batarians, humans and turians. Three of the galaxy's deadliest military powers. How fitting. However, it was occassional that a quarian on pilgrimage looking for easy money would become a Blue Suns merc.
It was now that Garrus realized just how much he hated crime. He hated all the injustice and severity of it all. It's one of the reasons he wanted to follow in Shepard's footsteps; he wanted to be like him; an intelligent leader with the decision making skills to command a large squad into battle against a powerful foe. Instead, his spectre status was rejected and his attempts to build a team rendered moot.
Then he thought of the possibilities of forming his team on Omega. The one had most outstanding feature of this choice was plain and simple; Omega was lawless. The Citadel had a bunch of regulations that ruled out viglanteism, but on Omega that wasn't a problem. As long as you didn't make Aria's life a misery, you were free to do what you wanted. It was also the base of operations for the main mercenary companies; perfect.
When it came down to it, Omega was the best place to conduct his operations. He would be undetered, he wouldn't have to worry about security getting in the way and he could find the weapons he needed in the station's black market trade. Garrus smiled as he turned to look at Sidonis. And Sidonis could be my second-in-command. He's managed to severely piss off the Blood Pack, so I guess he's okay. Plus, he'll be safer if he stayed with me.
"Sidonis, how would you like to help me put a stop to crime on Omega?" Garrus asked.
Sidonis creased his brow at the turian viglante, "How would I help you with that?"
"Easy. You've messed with Blood Pack and lived," Garrus answered simply, "I want you as my second-in-command. We'll go to Omega and form a team. You can help me. We'll take the best of the best and form the best squad to take on the mercenaries of Omega. We'll put a stop to crime for good."
Sidonis seemed to consider this for a minute, "Well, I can't deny that it sounds tempting."
Another minute of silence passed before Sidonis spoke up again, "Okay, I'm in. So, we're heading to Omega, you said?"
Garrus nodded as he headed towards his bedroom to pack. Due to his new status as a hero, he had plenty of credits, which meant enough to purchase a ticket to Omega, "Yes, it's the best place to fight crime without being hindered by C-Sec regulations or the lot. It also means better access to weapons and deadly people willing to help us out. Trust me, as much as Omega has criminals, it'll have a decent amount of people looking for merc blood."
It didn't take long for the turian to pack. He only had some personal items and his reaper sniper rifle. He had heard on the extranet about rumors of numerous militaries taking a 'step forward' and switching from mass effect field powered weapons to one's utilizing the geth's thermal clip systems. Garrus saw the advantages and disadvantages of this, but he still kept his sniper. Besides, a professional gunsmith like himself could easily modify the weapon so it was compatible with thermal clips. Simple.
After checking that his apartment was secure and making sure Sidonis was well fed, the two turians set out for the spaceport.
A new life of viglanteism. He was looking forward to it. It was time to make a difference.
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August 24, 2183
1659 hours.
Main Laboratory, Level 13, Lazarus Station, Remus System.
Lazarus Science Chief Albert Wilson, The Illusive Man.
Wilson waited as the quantum entanglement communicator completed the visual upload. Quantum Entanglement communications were a complex thing; however, in layman's terms, it was a holopad that allowed the hologram of someone to be uploaded to another location, allowing for visual communications on a broader scale. Right now, he was setting up communications with the head of Cerberus himself; the Illusive Man.
Finally, the visual feed completed and the holographic figure of the Illusive Man stood before him. He was surprised to see TIM standing to begin with; he always usually sitting down sipping his whiskey or smoking his cigar. However, he still kept his lit cigar in his hand, so Wilson knew that not everything had changed.
"Wilson, I presume you have a status update," TIM assumed.
Wilson nodded while activating his omni-tool, "I've managed to contact Doctor Chakwas and Jeff Moreau and we're just waiting on their reply."
TIM nodded as he lit another cigar, "Excellent, but I've also begun construction of Project: Phoenix. When Shepard wakes up, he's going to need a ship and a crew. Give me a list of potential candidates."
Wilson rushed through his list of Lazarus units before finding what he needed, "Well, the list is as follows; Sarah Patel, Vadim Rolston, Jenny Goldstein, Thomas Hawthorne, Richard Hadley, Zach Matthews, Burt Cartwell, Bernard Patricks, Brynn Cole, Willow and Jon Pertwee. We also have two new recruits; Gabriella Daniels and Kenneth Donnelly. They recently signed on after hearing about Shepard's downplayed death. They're loyal supporters of his, sir."
TIM seemed to hesitate for a moment, "I want Patel, Rolston, Goldstein, Hawthorne, Hadley, Matthews, Cartwell, Patricks, Daniels and Donnelly assigned to the Phoenix. Also, if Moreau, Chakwas and Adams accept our offer, have them assigned to the Phoenix as well. Moreau has an excellent flight record and it will do us good if Shepard has familiar faces on his crew. Also, the ship will need an AI interface, so I can keep a watch on him and his crew."
Wilson visibly flinched at the mention of an AI, "You want to incorporate what into the Phoenix's design?"
"An AI," TIM repeated, "As bad as AI history is, this one will be under Cerberus control. I've already had personnel capture the one that went rogue on X57 and had a look at it. Apparently it had developed self-awareness, not common in VI's and they were intrigued. I've sent it over to you so it can be transformed into an AI. We'll call it the 'Enhanced Defense Intelligence,' or EDI for short. I'll send you the exact specs I want on it when you've received the VI."
Wilson nodded but wanted to ask one more thing before the Illusive Man cut the link, "Sir, just what are we going to call Shepard's ship? I mean, Phoenix is just a temp name, isn't it?"
TIM nodded, "Yes of course, it's a placeholder title and nothing else. The official name, should Shepard agree, will be something he'll be comfortable." TIM then smiled a big grin, taking another puff of his cigar.
"We're calling it the Normandy SR-2."
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August 24, 2183
1731 hours.
Urdnot Camp, Hagalok City Ruins, Que'k Wastelands, Tuchanka.
Chieftain Urdnot Wrex, Overlord Urdnot Wreav, Chieftain Gatatog Uvenk.
Wrex sighed loudly as Uvenk continued his rambling. The krogan was half his age and was a child compared to Wrex, but he knew that without Uvenk, he wouldn't be able to unite Clan Gatatog under his rule, so he let him live. Uvenk's father was Verx, the krogan battlemaster he had destroyed on Therum during the Eden Prime War. Of course, Uvenk was kept unaware of this. If he found out, war between Urdnot and Gatatog would break out. For all Uvenk knew, he thought it had been humans who killed his father.
Wrex shared a glance with his blood brother, Wreav, who gave him the same irritated glance that showed that the both of them were sick to death with Uvenk's ramblings. Clan Gatatog had made it clear that they demanded alot of things for this alliance to work, but just how much hadn't been certain until now. Uvenk's demands were just a nuisance now.
Wreav may have been Wrex's blood brother, but that didn't mean they liked each other. In fact, they hated each other. Wreav had never gotten over the fact that their father treated Wrex with more respect then he did Wreav. Wreav, unlike Wrex, wasn't a biotic, so it was unfit to become a battlemaster and forced to take the position as Chieftain's adjutant. However, when Wrex 'murdered' Jarrod and left Tuchanka, Wreav had immediately assumed control, becoming chieftain of Clan Urdnot.
That all changed years later when Wrex returned just over a month ago. Wrex had ordered Wreav to surrender his position, but he refused, deciding to follow tradition and fight over the throne. It had been obvious who had won. Wreav was dangerous with a shotgun, but Wrex had more experience and was a seasoned battlemaster. With Wrex in control, Wreav quickly found himself as an adjutant once more. And he hated every second of it.
However, it was a time like this where two foes had to share agreement. Both of them hated Uvenk, both of them wanted him to shut up and more importantly, just wanted this over with. The majority of Urdnot had been welcoming of Wrex's unification idea, but a small minority weren't, including Wreav. With majority consensus, Wrex assembled a meeting among the clans. Most accepted, some, specifically Clan Weyrloc, decided to remain in their own ways. So far, all have changed that motion except Weyrloc.
All the major clans, including Urdnot, Drau, Forsan, Ganar, Gatatog, Hailot, Jorgal, Jurdon, Jax, Khel, Nakmor, Quash, Raik, Ravanor and Thax had accepted the peace agreement, with only a few needing to refine a few things. All the clans had chosen the Urdnot Camp as their capital and now had ambassadors living there, along with a few clan shamans. Clan Ganar had problems initially, but quickly rectified them, which wasn't surprising, as Ganar's 12th Chieftain had been the founder of the Blood Pack.
When Uvenk was finally finished, Wrex sat up in his throne and nodded curtly, "Yes, yes, all these demands will be met. Now go squabble somewhere else where noone can hear you." Wrex dismissed.
Uvenk grunted with frustration as he left the throne room, storming down the ramp and back into the camp, pushing past the two guards stationed there. The Urdnot camp was anything but impressive. The throne he sat in was just cracked stone, with a large hole in the ceiling revealing the harsh sun of Aralakh itself. The place was a testament to the state the krogan were in; the whole place looked like it had been bombed five times over.
In fact, the camp was set up in what used to be a krogan traffic tunnel, where large amounts of civilian vehicles travelled through or, during the krogan civil wars, where a regiment of armoured vehicles or troops could advance through. Now it was nothing but emptiness, one half having been blocked off by collapsed rubble, where his throne now resided.
He sat on a elevated platform where a small ramp lay to his left. This lead down into a krogan atrium sort of place. Down to his left was a varren pit; where krogan would pit their varren pets against each other for credits. Ahead of this was a firing range, where the krogan armourer worked and tested new weapons on the local pyjak infestation.
To the right and above the shooting range was a large garage where they kept the transports; mostly being tomkahs. To the left of that was the 'research lab', where what could quite possibly be the only krogan scientist alive, Fortack, resided, still looking for that cure to the genophage. It was a goal that could never be achieved, not with the CDEM (Council Demilitarization Enforcement Mission) battlestations orbitting up above and watching their every move.
Before Wrex could move, one of the krogan comm techs ran up to him, shouting.
"Chieftain, you have a message coming in from a...Tali'Zorah?" The krogan reported, handing the chieftain a datapad before running off.
Wreav scoffed, "You deal with quarian filth? You really have grown soft Wrex."
Wrex just dismissed his brother with a wave of his hand, too busy reading the contents of the datapad. Wreav grunted before leaving, deciding that he would rather not waste his time on his brother. Wrex was glad he did; the overlord was starting to get on his nerves.
Which he regretted doing. Rediculing his brother would have been ten times better then reading what he just read. He collapsed in his chair from his standing pose, absolutely shocked by the news he was reading. His eyes were stuck on that one paragraph. ...there was nothing we could do. He went to save Joker and did so, but he was spaced in the process. Shepard's dead, Wrex. He's gone. We're the only ones who can stop the Reapers now. I hope you're okay and please, try not to get yourself killed old friend. Tali.
Wrex shook his head as he tossed the datapad away. He couldn't believe his battle brother was dead. It was unthinkable. He had always seemed so indomitable. Now he was dead and he had to mourn him. With a sigh, he got up and moved towards the garage. He would take a tomkah to the hollows and honor the death of his battle brother. It was all he could do.
"So, as you can guess, those were pretty depressing times."
- Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.
"Tell me more. I want to know what happened following the days Shepard died."
- Interrogation Subject 001.
"Um...you are Shepard, remember? First person perspective."
- Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.
- Oh, right. Sorry. Anyway, tell me what happened."
- Interrogation Subject 001.
"Well, the events following your death were pretty empty of any real stuff happening until probably November in the same year. It was the day the Omega wars began..."
- Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.
