A week later, Tali sent a message to Shepard's omnitool, requesting a vid-comm session. As soon as Shepard was done with her Council duties, which thankfully were not as aggravating as usual, she hurried home, changed into comfortable clothes, and sat down at her desk, pulling up the vid-comm screen and connecting to Rannoch. When Tali's face came into view, Shepard frowned. The quarian had obviously been crying, her eyes glowing far less brightly than usual.
"Tali, what's wrong?" Shepard didn't want to think about something going wrong with her friend's wedding, not when she was this close to happiness with Koris. She sat back cautiously in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. Tali wiped at her eyes with the back of one hand, and then shook her head.
"It's nothing important, Shepard, everything's fine."
"You don't seem fine, Tali. Now what is it?"
"It's nothing, really. If you're still worried when you get here for the wedding, we can talk about it then. Okay?" She wanted to keep pushing for a straight answer, but Shepard knew that Tali was (almost) as stubborn as she was. Especially since being elected to the Admiralty, the quarian had gotten much better at holding her ground in arguments. And as much as it concerned her to see the young Admiral's eyes so sad, Shepard wasn't going to get any more information out of her today. She sighed.
"If you say so. Now, what did you need me for?"
Tali perked up a bit, her shoulders straightening and a faint smile crossing her lips. "Well, since you didn't exactly get to help me with all of the wedding planning and what-not, I figured that you should at least get to be the first one to see the suit I'm going to wear." Her eyes brightened and Shepard let herself relax.
"Of course I'd love to see it, Tali. But I have a quick question - I've never been to or even heard about a quarian wedding. Is there something I need to read up on about customs or traditions, so I don't completely embarrass myself?" Tali smiled and shook her head as she leaned out of the view of the camera to grab something.
"No, you'll be just fine, Shepard. Our weddings are relatively close to yours, I believe, but the ceremony is shorter and the party is longer! There's much less of an emphasis on the wedding party with quarians"
"Good, because you're already making me wear heels, and I don't know that I could handle much more embarrassment than that. You do realize, Tali, that I don't ever wear heels? I've done it maybe twice in my entire life."
"Perhaps that will give you an extra excuse to sit out from the dancing, Shepard," Tali chuckled. There was a ruffling of paper, a delighted hum, and then she was back on the screen again, holding a carefully folded bunch of scarlet metallic plates. She gently unfolded it and held it up against her body, and Shepard couldn't contain her grin.
"Tali, that is the most beautiful enviro-suit I have ever seen. It's perfect."
"I thought so too," Tali chuckled, tracing a finger down one of the sleeves. The suit was a perfect N7 red, laced with delicate silver swirls of paint. A gathered bundle of silvery embroidered fabric indicated a hood, but when Tali turned the garment around Shepard realized that there was also a long, flowing cape of the same material.
"You're going to be beautiful, Tali. Zaal'Koris must be thrilled, huh?" At Shepard's remark, Tali looked away shyly, grinning like an idiot.
"He's very excited for this... for all of the things we have to look forward to," she sighed, looking over the suit once more before refolding it and putting it away. "I thought you would like the color, too."
Shepard nodded and smiled. "N7 red. Perfect. What made you pick this color?"
"Well, actually..." Tali hesitated, and her hands fidgeted nervously. "Shepard, you remember Kal'Reegar, right?" Shepard nodded, and Tali sucked in a breath before continuing. "We were... together, I guess, after I went back to the Fleet." A smirk flitted across Shepard's features. She had seen the signs even on Haestrom. The fact that they had acted on their feelings did not surprise anyone who knew the two of them one bit. Tali ignored Shepard's unspoken comment and continued. "Long story short, we fell in love fast. And we talked all the time about the 'what ifs' of a future without the reapers. But he... um, he died on Palaven. Auntie Raan was the one who told me. After all of that, after all we had survived together, he just died. And I wasn't even there to say goodbye... I felt so alone for a really long time." Shepard closed her eyes and shook her head, hating that she hadn't known about this before.
"Tali, I..." What could she say? Shepard remembered all too well how much she had despised the empty condolences that had flooded her inbox every day for months. But Tali would know that whatever she said was genuine. "I'm so sorry. I wish you had told me about this before, I would've been there for you. You know that."
Tali nodded, her eyes clouded with memories. "I know, Shepard. You've always been such a good friend to me - the closest thing I've ever had to a sister, really. But I wasn't ever ready to talk about it when I was back on board the Normandy. You already had so much on your plate, especially after Thessia. And I still couldn't quite believe that he was gone."
There was a long, silent pause. Shepard wanted to reach out and hug Tali, or to squeeze her hand. She wanted to say something eloquent, to give some wise piece of advice about losing someone you loved. God knew Shepard had been there so many times before, but she still couldn't find any words for her dear friend. As the silence persisted, Shepard's hands folded in front of her. Finally, she just looked back up at Tali and said, "I'm so sorry, Tali. No one should have to go through that." The quarian shrugged, her eyes still sad.
"I've come to accept what happened. But the first person I ever really talked to about it was Zaal'Koris, actually. It was about a year after the war, and the Admiralty Board had finally gotten more or less settled on Rannoch. Zaal'Koris had given me this long, really sincere apology for the way he behaved during the war, and then we got into telling stories over drinks. I ended up telling him about Reegar, and he just... sat there and listened." A single tear started to slowly trickle down Tali's cheek, and her voice was wavering. Still, she continued on, a bittersweet smile on her face. "By the time I'd finished I was sobbing like an idiot, and Koris just helped me out of the bar and took me back to his apartment. He tucked me into his bed, and then slept on the couch. When I woke up the next morning, he didn't ask me any questions about it or anything. He just made breakfast and then turned on Fleet and Flotilla, and laughed at it the whole way through while I sang along. And from that day on, we just kept getting closer. I can tell him anything, Shepard. And even though I still miss Kal'Reegar, I can't help but fall more in love with Koris every day. He's an incredible man."
Shepard's heart lifted, and she breathed out a sigh of relief. "That's great, Tali. You're so lucky to have found someone like him. I'm really, really happy for you guys." A little jealous, even, because I once had what you have now. And the only person who ever made me feel that kind of love is gone. Tali's eyes gleamed a little brighter.
"Anyways, the reason we chose that red was because... Well, actually, Koris suggested it. He wanted to honor Kal'Reegar's memory, to have him kind of watching over us I guess. Reegar's enviro-suit was that exact color - Koris even tracked down the manufacturer and made sure it was the same shade. When he asked me if I was okay with the color, I didn't even know what to say. He's really such a loving person. I just can't wait for the wedding, Shepard. And I can't wait for you to be here on Rannoch, to see everything we've done. Oh, and you can see the house! Oh Shepard, you'll love it!"
Shepard chuckled at the sudden enthusiasm. "It's going to be beautiful. I'm looking forward to seeing all the reconstruction." Her omnitool pinged abruptly, and Shepard hit a few buttons to pull up the message. She frowned. "I'm afraid I'll have to let you go for now, Tali. Admiral Hackett just requested a vidcomm, and you know how he can get."
"No problem Shepard, we'll talk later. Ping me when you can!" With a wave and a smile, Tali leaned forward and signed off the vidcomm. As soon as her face had disappeared, Hackett's popped up. He looked incredibly worried, his wrinkled face contorted into an unsettling scowl. He wouldn't meet her eyes.
"Councilor." Shepard waited for him to continue speaking, but he said nothing. She looked around nervously.
"Yes, Admiral? Is everything all right?"
Hackett ran a hand through his thinning gray hair and scratched his head. Her stomach began to tighten and twist, anxiety building with every moment of silence between them.
"Admiral Hackett, what's going on?"
After a long beat, he looked down at the ground. He opened his mouth to say something, but then shook his head. "You need to report to the Council Chambers, Shepard. Immediately."
"Admiral, I need you to tell me what's happening. Now."
"I can't do that, Shepard. Just get down here as quick as you can. There's a very delicate situation that requires your attention, specifically." With that, his side of the vidcomm went dark. Shepard sat back in her chair and tried to think of a situation that warranted that much concern from Hackett. There had been a couple of serious problems since her election to the council, but nothing that had rattled him so much as this. And why did he say that it required her attention specifically? Unless there was some sort of human terrorist activity. Shit, is Cerberus back somehow?
Before her thoughts could begin running absolutely rampant, Shepard turned her vidcomm terminal off and sighed, rubbing her temples. Emergency council meetings were never a good sign. Not once in all her years dealing with the council had she heard of a "good emergency meeting". Once she had changed back into her blue dress and white coat, she summoned her skycar and sped to the Council Chamber, the knot in her stomach growing tighter every second.
#
When she arrived at the Chamber, the other councilors all greeted her rather warily. Shepard took a deep breath and stood behind her podium, logging into the interface. While she waited for the agenda to load, she looked up at the others.
"What exactly is going on?" she asked. Councilor Tevos frowned for a moment, and then used her omnitool to send a message to Alaris, the asari receptionist. She didn't answer Shepard's question, nor did any of the other councilors. None of them spoke or moved, staring straight ahead at the doors as a group of well-dressed civilians entered. As they drew closer, Shepard realized that they were the communications team. She was thoroughly confused now. Why would they call an emergency meeting just to hear the reports from the communications teams? There had never been anything urgent recovered, and most of the messages and reports were deleted when it was determined that they had no relevance anymore. She recognized Oriana Lawson leading the group, her too-familiar face anxious. Oriana had finally begun to really look like Miranda's genetic twin - her lips were fuller now, and her hair had even taken on the same effortless wave. It was odd for Shepard, seeing Miranda's face in front of her but knowing that it was someone entirely different.
The comms team stopped a few yards away from the Council, and Oriana pulled out a datapad from the bag she carried over her shoulder. A few buttons were quickly pressed, and the scientist looked back up at the Council, waiting until she was asked to speak. Shepard looked down the line at Councilor Tevos, hoping the asari would quickly clear all this mess up. But it was Sparatus who spoke, his voice grim and his subharmonics humming with anxiety.
"Ms. Lawson, thank you for coming so quickly. I know it's not easy for you to leave your family at a moment's notice, but we appreciate it a great deal." The young woman nodded once in thanks, and Sparatus continued. "We haven't explained the situation to Councilor Shepard yet, Oriana. We thought that perhaps you would be able to do so better, being that you were the one who found the data."
Shepard looked at the turian sharply, her heart starting to pound. Oriana cleared her throat nervously and looked down at her datapad.
"Well, Councilor Shepard, we've been scanning all of the incoming messages for the past week or so, since the last relay opened. Most of them were the typical things you'd expect - old shipping manifests, flight records, emergency reports from the war, et cetera. However, about three days ago we began seeing a significant amount of messages coming in from a single source. After sorting out all of the messages that came from that source, I came to the realization that there were 2, 204 messages total." Oriana paused and peeked up at Shepard from under her long lashes, as though expecting her to react. Shepard just looked at the other councilors once more, still confused as hell, and then blinked at Oriana. The girl sighed faintly. "Starting a little less than a year and a half after the reapers were destroyed, there is one message for every single day. They are consistent, but there are no more messages from the source that are dated within the past week."
Shepard sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Ms. Lawson, I don't mean to be short with you, but get to the point please. I'd like to know exactly why I was called down here." Oriana's eyes widened a bit, but she quickly continued.
"Yes ma'am. Well, we weren't able to identify the source of the messages from the codes themselves. It wasn't anything we recognized - it looks to have been from a crude, scrapped-together device. Yesterday, we finally had sifted through to the first messages that were sent, and we discovered the source." There was a long pause as Oriana took a deep breath, avoiding Shepard's eyes. "Those messages came from... Well, they were sent by the crew of the Normandy."
Shepard was grateful for her podium in front of her - without it to support her, she would have simply collapsed to the ground right then. Every fiber of her being shook with surprise, and the hope that she had abandoned so long ago suddenly came rushing back. If the crew of the Normandy were sending messages every day since the war, that meant they had to be alive, right? And if any of them had survived, Garrus would surely be amongst them. He had to be. She tried to slow her breathing before replying to Oriana.
"Were you able to trace what planet these messages were sent from?"
Oriana shook her head, sadly. "No, ma'am. We couldn't even determine what system they were in. However, this morning one of my associates found something while scanning the mass relays. It was pretty significantly altered, but we think that we may have spotted the Normandy's signal travelling through several mass relays within the last few days."
Shepard's heart soared, and her knees began to shake. "Are you telling me that we've finally found the Normandy, Ms. Lawson?" Oriana shook her head slightly, her eyes still troubled.
"We're not positive, Councilor. There are many similarities to the signal, but there is a great possibility that it is just some another Alliance ship. I do not wish to give you false hope, but we knew you would want to be informed of these findings." Shepard nodded gratefully at the scientist.
"Thank you, Oriana. Thank you very much." The girl was visibly relieved, her shoulders relaxing as she released a long breath.
"You and your team may go, Ms. Lawson," said Councilor Tevos from her podium. As the doors closed behind the comms team, Sparatus sighed wearily. Shepard looked back and forth between the two of them, her heart lighter than it had been in years. There is still hope, she thought to herself. Hope that I had given up on for so long.
"We need to send a reconnaissance team out to wherever that signal was last spotted," Shepard said to the other council members. "I'm sure the Normandy won't be in great shape, and the crew will surely need supplies and food and definitely medical care. I can go ahead and start arranging for - "
Tevos interrupted her. "Shepard, wait a moment. We're not sending out any recon teams."
Shepard's blood ran cold, and she couldn't help but glare at the asari. "What do you mean, we're not sending anyone? The Normandy is travelling through the relays, probably with a wounded crew. We have to send someone out to find them." Tevos shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Shepard, but you heard Ms. Lawson. They aren't even sure that it is the Normandy's signal that they've been tracking. We cannot spend our resources to send an entire reconnaissance troop out to look for one ship."
It had been a very long time since Shepard was truly enraged, but she could feel anger starting to bubble up deep within her. "This is the Normandy we're talking about, Tevos. Not just some generic Alliance freighter. Certainly we could afford to send a team out there, it's not like they're doing much else right now." Tevos's eyes narrowed, but it was Councilor Cratazan who spoke then.
"Councilor Shepard, with all due respect we must consider the facts we've been given. No one is sure that this is in fact the Normandy, and the messages stopped being sent a week ago. For all we know, the last surviving crewmember may have finally perished. Although I have to admit, I'm impressed that they lived this long, wherever they ended up."
Shepard's hands balled up into fists, and she suddenly felt the urge to hit something. Hard. It took all her willpower to control the tone of her voice as she glared at the krogan. "No one is sure that it isn't the Normandy either, Cratazan, and if there's any sign that they might be alive we should be sending out an entire fucking army if that's what it takes to bring them home."
Ecron spoke next, his huge eyes blinking calmly. "Shepard, it is understandable that this news would upset you. We were all hoping that perhaps this would bring you some closure, but now I daresay we have only succeeded in making this harder for you. Everyone here is aware of how much the Normandy and its crew meant to you, and they are truly missed. However, it simply is not logical to allocate resources to a 'wild goose chase', as you humans would say. It is time to let go, Shepard."
Her rage hit its boiling point, and her willpower snapped. "You have no idea what they meant to me, Ecron! And how dare you tell me to let go. Telling me something like this is probably the worst thing you could have done, especially if you're going to sit here and give me some bullshit excuse about why we can't go get them. It's the Normandy, dammit! If there's even a remote chance that my crew is alive, then why can't we spend every available resource to find them? You want to give me closure? Send a reconnaissance team." As she paused to catch her breath, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder and looked up to see that Sparatus had moved beside her. She hadn't even realized that she had stepped out from behind her podium and gotten threateningly close to Ecron. Tevos was glowing ever-so-slightly blue, a faint warning to Shepard. Cratazan simply looked amused - he probably just wanted to watch whatever fight might be about to happen. Sparatus looked down at her and shook his head, his eyes sad.
"Shepard, you know they're right. I know how much this must hurt, believe me, but we have no idea where they are. It's been seven years. The chances that they are alive are so impossibly slim that we simply can't justify a galaxy-wide search for a ship so small as the Normandy. I'm sorry, I really am, but I have to agree with the others on this."
Tevos sighed exasperatedly. "Yes, yes, we're sorry. Listen, Shepard, I get that you're upset about this. But this is an issue that we will not be bringing up again, so I suggest that when you report back for tomorrow's meetings, you are at least pretending not to be angry with the rest of us."
Sparatus puffed up defensively, his mandibles flaring in anger. "Councilor Tevos, you simply cannot expect Shepard to just 'get over it' over the course of a night. We've just given her some rather terrible news, and I am honestly appalled that you would speak down to a fellow councilor like that. Shepard has every right to be upset, for as long as she needs to be. This opened wounds that have been closed for quite some time, and she will need time to recover. Perhaps we should postpone all council meetings for the next few days until - "
"Goddess help me, there is no way we can postpone even one day's worth of meetings, let alone multiple! If Shepard can't control her emotions, then perhaps she should take a short leave of absence and we can elect an interim human councilor while she is... 'recovering'."
"We will do no such thing!" The turian councilor was furious now, his hand still resting protectively on Shepard's shoulder. She felt tears stinging her eyes and looked down at her feet, forcing herself not to cry in front of the council. They already thought she was weak enough without waterworks. "Get a hold of yourself, Tevos," Sparatus growled. "Shepard is not at fault for her emotions, and it is completely understandable that she be upset. You will not bully her into submission over this, and so help me Spirits, I will make damn sure of that." Shepard looked up at the turian, grateful to have a kind of protector in this. He glared down at the asari, but then both of them were looking at the back of the room. Both Tevos and Sparatus were wide-eyed with shock for some reason, and Shepard glanced uneasily back and forth between the two of them. After a beat, Sparatus looked down at her, breathless, and nodded toward the doors to the Chamber. Shepard followed his gaze, and suddenly felt weightless. Three people had just entered the Chamber, the first in a wheelchair, and the second leaning heavily for support on the third. The two standing weren't as easily identifiable without armor to the other councilors, but Shepard had seen one of them, at least, without armor enough to recognize them immediately. But could this be real? Were they really standing there, in the middle of the Chamber? She picked up her skirt and carefully descended the stairs, slowly at first. As her heart rate picked up, so did her speed and suddenly she was practically sprinting down the stairs and towards the new arrivals. Before she could get too close, she stopped abruptly, still trying to decide whether or not this was some cruel joke.
It was odd, seeing Garrus without his blue visor. He took it off at night, of course, but seeing him in broad daylight with nothing glowing on his face was strange. But everything else was achingly familiar. She stepped slowly towards him, reaching out to touch his scarred cheek. She had forgotten the exact pattern of his scars, the feel of the ridges under her fingers. But now every line, every break and slash became familiar once more. As she ran her hand over his fringe, she recalled their first night together, and his fascination with the softness of her dark crimson hair. Finally, she carefully and precisely traced the royal blue patterns across his face. They were faded, sure, but even if they'd been gone completely she still would have known exactly where they'd been.
Her turian was alive and here. Right in front of her.
Every ounce of strength left her and she collapsed into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and finally letting go of all the tears and sobs and painful memories that she'd held back for years. The sound of his subharmonics was the most beautiful music she'd ever heard, exploding with relief and with joy and with love. When she caught her breath, she leaned back and looked at Garrus, relishing the sight of those blue eyes staring back down at her.
"You're here," she whispered breathlessly. "Oh my God, you're alive." His warm, three-fingered hand cupped her cheek, and before she could blink their foreheads were pressed together. She had never felt so at home as she did in this moment, with everything finally where it was supposed to be all along.
As she cherished the warmth of his forehead on hers, she breathed in the long-lost scent of his skin. The smells of gunmetal and polishing oil had haunted her sleep for almost a decade, but now it was all she could smell. Maybe the nightmares of that day would finally stop for good now. Maybe now, there would only be sweet dreams of the two of them, and every morning she was going to wake up to a blue-eyed turian, warm and strong and snuggled up against her. Shepard shook her head for a moment, and bit the inside of her cheek just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She tasted blood, winced a bit at the pain, and then smiled again.
No, this wasn't a dream - it was real. She was awake, and Garrus was alive, and it was real.
