It took the tech drones of both Raan and Tali, combined with their own fervent efforts, to keep the drive core of the rapidly deteriorating shuttle from outright exploding. The outdated device, which was not only markedly old but also had clearly not been properly maintained, was emanating increasingly intolerable amounts of heat into the engine room, and only the tech drones were able to move in close enough to cool it manually; meanwhile, the two quarians scrambled from one side of the tiny compartment to the other, using every trick and technique they'd learned from lifetimes in the Migrant Fleet as they tinkered with stubbornly unresponsive computers.
Tali found herself fighting against more than just the ship, but also against mounting fear – not of death, itself, but of dying before seeing him again – and creeping guilt. She was the one, after all, who had insisted on recklessly taking the decrepit craft to Earth, when they could just as easily have requested a more flightworthy vessel - but she hadn't wanted to wait, and now that impatience may have doomed her companions. The idea of her auntie Raan's death, as well as Koris's, being on her shoulders made her feel trapped, somehow, bottled up, like she was stuck in a cage with no way out.
Still, brooding on such things was not going to help the situation, and so she struggled to focus, blinking through the fatigue in her eyes, striving to find some of the inner strength which had got her past so many difficulties, from fighting Saren's geth, to discovering her father was dead, to saying goodbye to the man she loved.
Raan's voice, composed but laced with worry, piped up from somewhere over her shoulder. "We can't stay in here for much longer. Our environmental controls can only fight off so much heat."
"I know," Tali replied, yelling to be heard over the humming of the obliviously occupied tech drones, the frantic pulsing of the drive core, and the rattling of the walls all around them. She turned to Raan. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Auntie."
The older quarian continued working, fingers a blur as she manipulated the inner workings of a control panel, but her head snapped in Tali's direction. "Don't say such things, child," she said sternly. "I chose to come with you. It was my decision. I would do it a million times more if it meant a chance of seeing you happy again. And besides…" her tone softened. "You said it yourself. Don't count us out yet."
Tali, unable to find words, just nodded gratefully and returned to her efforts, more effectively now, her guilt subsiding, if only a little.
If, as the human saying went, three was a crowd and four was a party, then there was presently a party taking place on the bridge of the Kalros, although it was, by any standard, a terrible party. Jorgal Finn had joined the other krogan on the bridge and was trailing Wrex more closely than his own shadow, taking every opportunity to question and undermine his words. This was the standard modus operandi for the diplomat, who would look unremarkable if not for the plethora of scars that covered every inch of his exposed skin, a prolific amount even for his kind, and his black robe, similar to Urdnot Bont's except for its color, black with gold lacing instead of blue.
While Finn was accompanying the three Urdnot clanmembers to Earth on a cooperatively diplomatic capacity, on Tuchanka his role was much more antagonistic. Urdnot was the dominant clan, and both of the krogan's leaders – Wrex and Bakara - came from within its ranks, but in order to keep some of their rich history alive, the other clans had united under the banner of clan Jorgal, which boasted a pure and extensive lineage. Where Urdnot was progressive, pushing for the development of the krogan species, and embraced a contributing role on the galactic stage, Jorgal was the opposite, stubbornly conservative, deriding the idea of a peaceful krogan – after all, they reasoned, they had always been a warrior race, it was in their blood – and demanding retribution against the perpetrators of the genophage. That was the most contentious issue of all, and it was taking significant resources and stringent enforcement on the part of Urdnot to prevent another Krogan Rebellion.
Jorgal Finn, as the ordained representative of clan Jorgal, chosen for his illustrious battle history, had made it his duty in life to supplant Urdnot, or more specifically, Urdnot Wrex. The current krogan leader had the benefit of useful friends from all over the galaxy, including a close personal camaraderie with Primarch Victus of the turians and the trust of the human Alliance, and it was too risky for Jorgal to try and outright overthrow him; and so they made sure to keep their gaze constantly on him, probing for weakness, waiting for him to slip up and provide an opportunity for what they felt was a much-needed return to krogan roots.
Whether or not the validity of their platform, however, was furthered by Finn's constant nitpicking, was a matter of debate.
"This is not only absurd, it is demeaning," the traditionalist krogan, dubbed simply 'asshole' by Wrex, said, as the Kalros glided closer to the quarian shuttle. "You are the leader of the krogan. Your actions have consequences. We are a proud, hard people, and you are perpetuating the idea of us as simpering Samaritans – "
"Do you ever stop talking?" Wrex muttered, more to himself than to anyone else, but of course, everyone heard. Grunt, sitting now at the helm, snorted derisively. Finn's head whipped in his direction, eyes glowering, and the lower-ranking krogan wisely fell silent. He, like many members of clan Urdnot, shared in Wrex's disdain for Finn, but also recognized that he held a lot of sway, and that it was best not to push him too far.
Still glaring at Grunt, Finn said, "And I say again, the fact that you have taken this…pale imitation on to your vessel does not sit well with me, Wrex. It does not sit well with Jorgal. It is wrong."
Wrex continued gazing out the viewport, appearing completely disinterested in the conversation, which he knew frustrated the diplomat endlessly. True to this, Finn's teeth bared in a silent snarl throughout the leader's detached reply. "This pale imitation is responsible for more Reaper deaths than all of your clan's best warriors combined. Show a little respect." He finally turned his head so that one sharp eye looked into his adversary's. "Or do you pick and choose which warriors you respect?"
"No need to stick up for me, chief," Grunt growled, turning to regard Finn with a fierce grin. "We can settle this krogan-to-krogan."
"Mind your place, runt," Finn barked, and then suddenly found his world reduced briefly to spots and stars as a hand smacked the top of his head. Outraged, he whipped about to confront the aggressor, only to find that it was Urdnot Bont, who then trudged past him as he spoke. "Every day with this nonsense," the doctor griped irritably, stopping beside Wrex. "Like a bunch of children comparing the size of their quads."
"He started it," Wrex said innocently, eye twinkling with mirth, and vaguely indicated toward Finn, who shook his head in wordless frustration. The krogan leader raised his voice slightly as he continued. "If anyone here doesn't like the way I do things, they can either do something about it, or shut up and get out of the way."
Finn was not oblivious to the challenge, and for a long moment it seemed as if he might finally snap and engage Wrex in battle, but ultimately he turned and stomped off of the bridge, robe billowing grandly behind him, no doubt adding this most recent offense to a long list of grievances.
Trying to keep the smugness from his expression but failing spectacularly, Wrex watched over his shoulder plates as the door hissed shut. Bont noticed this and shook his head. "One day, you're going to anger him, and he won't just walk away."
"I'm counting on it," Wrex replied. "Would give me an excuse to get rid of him." He moved up and sat at a console next to Grunt's. "Now let's see if we can get our tickets raised on the comm."
"Don't get your hopes up," Grunt commented, swiping and pressing at his interface with effortless skill. Warlord Okeer, during the tank-bred krogan's creation, had implanted all the knowledge he needed to pilot the spacecraft of any species, and the war against the Reapers had offered ample opportunity to put that knowledge into practical application. "Comm systems are usually some of the first to go when a ship is falling apart. Especially if that ship happens to be a piece of maw dung."
Wrex chortled at his trusted subordinate's questionable wit and then flicked on the Kalros's transmitter, broadcasting to all frequencies, while Bont stared incredulously at them. "Damaged shuttle, this is Urdnot Wrex of the Kalros, offering assistance. I repeat, this is … "
Zaal'Koris realized, as he fumbled aimlessly with the wires and gears within the pilot console, that his technical skills had become very rusty. As an admiral of the Migrant Fleet, there had always been a subordinate to whom he would relegate such matters. It was impossible to entirely forget the skills that were essential to survival for a people that relied so heavily on spacecraft, but those basics that he could still recall were hardly useful in such an emergency situation.
As though sensing his doubts, the wires he was trying to join spat out hot sparks, and Koris instinctively dropped them, retracting his hands and checking his gloves for breaches. "Bloody thing," he mumbled, but not to be deterred, he picked the wires back up and stubbornly completed his attempt. He did not expect it to be of any help, but after their brief rebellion, it seemed necessary to remind them who was in control.
Koris awkwardly removed himself from the console casing and slumped back against the base of the pilot's chair, wishing forlornly that he could take off his visor and wipe the sweat from his brow. The voice that loudly and abruptly crackled from the pilot's computer speakers caught him by surprise, and he started, head jerking up to look at the haptic interface which was now restored - whether by his random repair efforts or sheer chance, he could not say.
" – the Kalros, offering assistance. I repeat, this is – " Static consumed any further words, only allowing that one fragmented phrase to repeat every few seconds.
"Tali!" Koris shouted excitedly, gripping the seat behind him and clambering to his feet. "Raan!"
Standing, he peeked out into the corridor, and did not see either quarian approaching. Recognizing that the endless rattling of the shuttle's walls and the wailing of the klaxons rendered it impossible for him to call to them, he moved to head to the engine room, but thought better of it, glancing down at the haptic interface. It could die again at any moment, and then they would be back where they started, so he sat down and turned on the comm. "Kalros, we read you. You say you can help us?"
After a tense silence the voice replied, periodically cut off by static interference. " – glad to hear – not space paste. We – by to take you – to our ship. Stand by for –airlock."
So someone had heard Raan's distress call, after all. Heartened, Koris propelled himself from the pilot's chair and ran, more energetically than he had in some time, down the corridor, to share the news.
The heat in the engine room was unbearable. Tali felt the perspiration cascading down her face, felt her body's resistance to fatigue collapsing, but stubbornly continued working. It was a long shot, but if she could apply some of the techniques she'd picked up while serving on the Normandy, if she could call on some of the information she'd gleaned from studying that ship's ingenious design, she might be able to buy them a couple of vital minutes. The necessity of this haphazard improvisation was made very evident by the recent shutdown of Raan's tech drone, which implied that Tali's would soon follow suit, and if that happened, there would be no cooling influence on the drive core.
Raan, who had spent the last few seconds wearily trying to coax another tech drone out of her overtaxed omni-tool, collapsed against the wall behind her, sliding down to a sitting position. Alarmed, their predicament forgotten, Tali went to her. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Too hot…tired," Raan murmured in a way that could only be described as delirious, her head lolling to one side.
"Auntie? Auntie Raan!" Tali rapped lightly at the side of the older woman's visor, feeling panic rising in her chest. The unbearable idea of Raan dying, and bearing the guilt of that death, returned unbidden to her mind, and she pushed it aside. "Stay with me!"
The ship went through a fierce convulsion, the walls rattling ever-louder, and bouts of high-pitched whining joined the hum of the drive core, already frantic and disjointed. Tali knew from the sounds that they didn't have much longer – even a few more minutes seemed an optimistic appraisal.
Koris burst into the room, and Tali turned her head to look at him. He gazed for a second at Raan, but did not ask what had happened, clearly understanding that their situation was even more urgent than before. "She got through," he yelled tersely. "Help's on the way."
"How long?" Tali shouted back.
"Their ship is right on top of us. Let's help Raan up – we need to get to the airlock."
Working together, the two quarian admirals draped their colleague's arms about their respective shoulders, and moved out of the engine room, with Tali's valiant little tech drone staying behind and working on the drive core, as it would until her omni-tool went out of range. The airlock was situated across from the entry ramp, and they stood there now, listening to the unsettling concert of sounds filling the air, the sounds of a ship dying a tumultuous death, waiting for salvation.
"Look," Grunt said, as he deftly maneuvered the Kalros into position alongside the besieged shuttle, nodding out the starboard viewport. "Alliance ship?"
Wrex turned and noted the object that the tank-bred krogan was referring to, a dark blue ship which, indeed, seemed to follow Alliance designs, and bore the insignia of that human organization. It was coming from the direction of Earth, moving toward them, presumably sent from the surface to perform a rescue operation.
"Looks like it," he said aloud, returning his attention to his console. "Little slow on the uptake, but I guess I can't blame 'em. Got their own problems to take care of."
Grunt released a vague sound of assent and made a few swipes on his haptic interface. "Moving our airlock parallel to theirs." A pause, a few more motions of his powerful fingers. "Extending clamp. Thirty seconds."
Wrex, who was watching him work, stood. "Let's hope they have thirty seconds," he mused, not sounding particularly concerned, and then turned to Bont, who was already booting up his omnitool in preparation for any wounds he might be able to treat. "Wanna help me welcome them aboard, doc?"
Bont glared at him. "As if I would be anywhere else," he snapped indignantly, and brushed past, off the bridge, heading for the nearby airlock. Wrex shook his head amusedly and noticed that Grunt was looking up at him.
"Get any idea what kind of alien we're picking up?" the younger krogan asked.
Wrex shook his head again. "Nah. Bad signal. Could have been anything short of an elcor, for all I could tell." He patted his subordinate's shoulder. "Guess I'm off to play host. Don't get into any trouble." Remembering something, he added, "And if that Alliance ship contacts us before I get back, be polite, Grunt."
A bored "Yeah, yeah" was his reply. Satisfied, Wrex moved off to follow Bont.
Tali and Koris felt the docking tube first, as a great shudder went through the already convulsing ship, and then they heard it, a deep, long mechanical sound that would have been foreboding in any other circumstance. Now, though, it was cause for celebration, and after slapping the airlock control, keying the door to open, Koris allowed himself an exhausted sigh.
"Are you okay?" Tali asked gently, feeling weak herself.
"These have been some of the longest minutes of my life," he replied, craning his head to look at her over the slumped Raan. "But we got through it. Due in no small part to your quick thinking, I imagine."
Tali shook her head as fiercely as she could, fatigued as she was. "I didn't work any miracles. All three of us got through this together."
Koris looked down to regard Raan. "Let's just hope our saviors have a med bay on their ship."
Tali looked at the older woman, her friend, her mentor, her auntie, and fervently hoped just that. Her heart was already sore, and she did not know if it could take another blow, especially one so devastating.
The next few moments went by in a heart-pounding blur. From down the corridor, a loud, violent sound emanated from the engine room, and hot air visibly vented out of it. Tali knew that her tech drone was gone, that there was nothing working to cool the drive core, and that they needed to get away from the ship, fast. The ship rocked as what sounded suspiciously like explosions followed the venting of hot air, but the ship clamped to theirs was apparently considerably larger, and the convulsions were not as bad as they could have been. Just as Tali was beginning to think that they wouldn't get off the shuttle, that they would die on it after all, and felt the hot air rushing past them even through her suit, the airlock snapped open, and the quarians wasted no time, half-jogging up the metal tube, toward the light of the other ship's open airlock.
Wrex heard the foreboding sounds from the other shuttle as what looked like three beings, obscured by smoke rushing up the docking clamp but clearly humanoid, drew close, and as soon as they were far enough, he turned and spoke into his suit's comm. "Get us out of here, Grunt!"
The tank-bred krogan, who had been watching the wary approach of the Alliance rescue ship, turned hurriedly to his controls. "Got it," he replied. "Are they on board?"
"Yeah," came the curt response.
Grunt nodded to himself and set to work, retracting the Kalros's docking tube and beginning to move the ship away, on a path towards Earth. Evidently alarmed by this, the Alliance vessel hailed them, and with an exasperated snarl, Grunt flicked on the ship's comm. "What?"
A reedy human voice cackled over the speaker. "You responded to the distress call?"
"What does it look like?" Grunt all but shouted, conveniently forgetting Wrex's order to be polite.
There was a silence. Then: "Understood. If the survivors have need of medical attention, you are cleared to land at these coordinates." Data scrolled on Grunt's interface, indicating which landing zone they could use, and then the transmission ended, and the Alliance ship turned about ponderously in space, heading back to Earth.
Confident that everything on his end was taken care of, Grunt stood and trudged off to help receive their alien visitors.
The quarians burst out of the docking tube onto the Kalros and stood, panting, as the airlock closed behind them. A subtle feeling of movement informed them that the ship was getting a safe distance away from the shuttle. Tali and Koris nodded wordlessly at each other, and gently lowered Raan to the impeccably clean floor.
Before they could so much as get their bearings, a massive hulking being brushed past them and crouched next to Raan, running an omni-tool over her prone form. Tali was very briefly afraid that they were in danger, but then realized that it was a krogan, dressed in blue robes and wearing a holographic interface across his snout, appearing to be in the process of running medical tests.
"Ah," Koris said lamely, reaching the same conclusion. "A doctor. Good." He did not voice what they were both thinking, that they could not quite believe what they were seeing: a krogan doctor, one of the rarer sights in the galaxy.
"Well, I'll be damned," a deep voice rumbled from behind them, and they both jumped. "Out of all the poor, helpless aliens I could've bravely saved today, it just happened to be one of my dearest friends."
A smile irresistibly split Tali's face in two as recognition hit her: she knew that voice, and a warm feeling of companionship swelled up in her, effectively pushing her tiredness to the back of her mind. She turned around. "Wrex!"
And there he was, his arms tossed out to either side in a display of welcome, fangs bared in a massive grin of his own, dark red armor gleaming in the clean lighting of the ship. They both moved in for a hug, which Tali quickly regretted, having forgotten, in her jubilation, that hugging a krogan was no small commitment; as his powerful arms wrapped around her back, she felt her already weak body might break. But it didn't matter, happy as she was to see him.
After a moment Wrex pushed her back to arm's length, and Tali, taking the opportunity to suck some air into her lungs, said, "I can't believe it's you. It's good to see you." Wryly, she added, "I guess I owe you one."
The krogan chuckled. "This one's on the house," he replied. "And anyway, you already owe me for all the other times I've pulled your ass out of the fire."
"Oh?" Tali retorted, crossing her arms. "I seem to remember a few situations where I shot some geth off your back in the old days."
"That you did," Wrex said, beaming, his grin, if possible, stretching even wider. It occurred to Tali that anyone unfamiliar with krogan would be terrified by the sight. "Guess I forgot. You're pretty handy with a shotgun." He jabbed a finger at her. "For a quarian."
"Thanks," Tali said dryly.
"Should've known I'd find you out here," Wrex told her, moving past her and extending a hand to Zaal'Koris, who, looking confused, took it, and was promptly enduring a handshake as tight as Tali's hug had been. "What with the news and all. Name's Wrex," he said as an afterthought, addressing the older quarian admiral, and releasing his hand.
"So I heard," Koris replied, nursing that very hand. "I'm Admiral Zaal'Koris. You two know each other, then?"
"You could say that," Wrex said, flashing another grin. "Tore up the galaxy together a few years ago. Killed our fair share of geth. Killed a Reaper. You know how the story goes."
"Ah, so you served with Commander Shepard as well," Koris said. "I thought I remembered reading something to that effect. That would make you the leader of the Krogan Union. What are you doing out here, saving unlucky quarians like ourselves?" He paused. "And you have my sincere thanks for that, by the way."
Wrex waved his hand. "Not a problem," he said. "Us krogan are nice guys. We just get a bad rap."
The krogan doctor, still hunched over Raan, laughed, a short, sarcastic bark. "Ha!" He straightened, getting to his feet, and stomped over to stand next to Wrex. "Only reason this oaf bothered saving you is because he wanted a ticket to Earth."
"Why you gotta come over here and ruin the mood, doc?" Wrex griped, grin still plastered on his face, and regarded the quarians, both of whom were looking from one krogan to the other in confusion. "He's right, though. Some idiot on Earth was giving us a hard time with landing clearance. Bont here saw your ship was in trouble, we realized we had a good excuse to get clearance, and here we are."
"A bad rap, huh, Wrex?" Tali echoed, voice dripping with irony.
The krogan chief shrugged in a what are you gonna do kind of way. "Didn't know it was you," he said, a twinkle in his eye. "Although, like I said, I should have suspected I'd find you here."
"Shepard," Tali said, stepping toward him, and Wrex nodded. "You came to see him?"
"'Course I did," he said, becoming more serious. "Dropped what I was doing and headed out right away. Figured he would have done the same for me." He indicated Bont, who was already stomping menacingly toward Tali, omni-tool activated. "Took a couple friends along with me. This is Urdnot Bont. He's our Medical Researcher. I know, you don't see many krogan doctors, but try not to have an aneurism or something."
"Go ahead," Bont snorted, now absentmindedly running his omni-tool up and down Tali, who stood awkwardly, wringing her hands. "I'll just fix it up."
Wrex roared with laughter, apparently very amused by the repartee. "He ain't lyin', either," he said. "Best doctor in the galaxy. Worked on Illium for a couple centuries. Wrote a lot of research papers, or whatever it is that doctors do." He turned his head toward a nearby door, the sign over which read Quarters. "Also brought along a diplomat. Jorgal Finn. I'm sure he'll be out here to talk your ear off soon enough." He turned back and grinned at Tali. "Don't feel like you have to listen to him. All he talks about is krogan 'tradition,' anyway. Kind of a buzz kill."
"Sounds like it," Tali said easily, relieved to see Bont moving off toward Koris, who seemed resigned to his fate and merely stood, letting his arms dangle, to let the krogan better examine him. Wrex laughed again.
"Smart girl," he said, and plodded up to her, rustling the top of her hooded head as he might ruffle a person's hair, a distinctly human habit. "I remember why I liked you now."
"So a doctor and a diplomat, huh?" Tali asked, looking around at their surroundings. "What did you bring them along for? And is this your ship? I didn't think you had a ship."
"Impressive, isn't she?" Wrex patted the nearby wall affectionately. "Not a krogan build, of course. Can't remember the last time I saw a krogan-made ship. This one's turian. Primarch Victus gave it to me during the war." Another grin. "Call her the Kalros. Shepard might've mentioned something about a thresher maw taking down a Reaper…"
Tali brightened at the memory, how Shepard had sat with her in the Normandy's lounge, their chairs drawn close together, idly running their fingers down one another's arms, and enthusiastically told her the story, eyes bright and expressive, so full of hope. "The mother of all thresher maws," she said quietly, echoing the phrase he'd shared with her.
"You got it," Wrex confirmed with a nod. "As for why I brought along the others, well – the doctor is self-explanatory. Figure he can help fix up that crazy son of a bitch you call a boyfriend. The diplomat, Finn – let's just say it wasn't my choice to bring him along." He scowled. "I hate politics."
"Aren't you forgetting someone?"
Wrex and Tali turned toward the source of the new voice, and saw Grunt, stomping purposely toward them, wearing a grin similar to Wrex's but markedly more youthful and exuberant, as was the pace of his stride. "Thought I smelled quarian," the tank-bred krogan said, opening his arms wide, and Tali braced herself for another hug, but was relieved to see them fall back to his sides almost immediately. "Been a long time, Tali."
"Forgot that you two knew each other," Wrex said, nodding to Grunt.
"Good to see you, Grunt," Tali said sincerely. "Lost track of you after the battle on Earth. Glad to see you're okay."
"Right back at you," Grunt replied, punching her shoulder in what was clearly a playful way but sending her back a couple of steps regardless. "Then again, after watching you fight on the Collector Base, I would've been surprised if a little maintenance problem took you out." He shrugged. "What were you doing flying that piece of scrap, anyway?"
Tali opened her mouth, ready to tell them about how it was the only ship she could have used fast enough, how she wasn't willing to wait for a safer ship because she was so desperate to get to Shepard, but chose instead to say, "Long story. Like Koris said…" she looked from one krogan to the other. "Thank you. Another minute and we would have been – "
"Poof!" Grunt exclaimed, putting his fingers close together and then drawing them apart, as though to indicate an explosion.
Tali smiled a little. "Yeah. Poof."
And then, suddenly, she remembered that not everyone was well enough to enjoy this reunion with friends, and she squeezed past the others, jogging up to Raan and dropping to her knees beside her. A shadow soon loomed over her, and Wrex's voice said, "Friend of yours?"
Tali nodded, placing a hand on Raan's wrist, feeling for her pulse, which to her relief was steady. "My auntie Raan," she explained quietly.
"Family?" Wrex asked, sounding surprised.
"Not exactly," Tali told him. "But she might as well be."
Wrex nodded in understanding. Urdnot Bont walked up, with Koris in tow, and joined Tali in kneeling next to the prone quarian. "She'll be fine," the krogan doctor said. "Nothing wrong with her. She's just exhausted. Dehydrated. I know how to fix that without risking infection, don't worry." He turned to Grunt. "Take her to the infirmary."
"Let me," Tali said before the tank-bred krogan could comply, and looked meaningfully at Bont. "I'll do it."
"As will I," Koris piped up, stepping forward.
Grunt looked bemused. "It would be easier for me to do it. I won't drop her or anything."
"It's not that," Tali assured him. "I just…"
"You don't have to explain," Wrex interrupted her, and Tali felt grateful that he was there, and knew her well enough to understand. "Bont, you wanna show 'em to the infirmary?"
Bont nodded, and once the quarians had managed to lift their weakened friend, he led them down the corridors of the Kalros.
Toral Noverius was gazing out the air control tower windows at his dark city, London at night, with so few lit windows and streets that it appeared only half alive, when his console beeped. He flicked the comm switch.
"London Metropolitan Docking Authority."
"Yes, this is Lieutenant Wellington," a familiar reedy voice replied, and Toral accurately attributed it to the Alliance official who had responded to his earlier emergency call, made after he picked up the quarian distress signal.
"Lieutenant!" Toral replied, straightening in his chair and unconsciously adjusting his headset, prepared for his moment to shine. While it was the crew on Wellington's ship that had gone up to save the quarians, it was he, Toral Noverius, who had made the call, efficiently and by the book. "Did you get those people out okay?"
Wellington sniffed. "A couple of krogan got there first," he replied, and Toral blinked in surprise. Krogan? Saving people? "Good thing, too. Shuttle blew up a few seconds after the quarians got on their ship. We'd have been too late." Data streamed on to Toral's console. "Be advised: we've given them clearance to land here." And then the call was cut off.
The turian stared for a long moment at that new data, trying to absorb what had just happened, and suddenly felt very foolish. The inhabitants of the Kalros, whom he had suspected of malicious intent, could not be so bad if they had gone out of their way to save a civilian shuttle.
Why did the turians dislike the krogan, again?
More importantly, why did he?
His headset slipped. This time, Toral did not adjust it, but tossed it on to the table in front of him. His conviction about the krogan had been wrong. Maybe it was time to question his conviction about using a human headset.
Toral Noverius stood, adjusted his suit, and strode off to have a talk with his boss.
Everything in the infirmary was a sterile white, from the beds to the walls to the various medical computers. Raan lay on one of those beds now, with Tali and Koris standing nearby, gazing wordlessly down at her. Bont had left not long before, informing them that they should simply let the woman rest, and that she was already in much better shape thanks to the less violent climate of the Kalros, which, combined with her suit's environmental controls, was helping her body cool down.
Even though Raan had assured her otherwise, Tali still knew that the entire predicament had been of her making. The fact remained that if she had been able to exercise a little patience, they could have traveled to Earth without any near-death experiences. The guilt this knowledge brought, along with her fatigue – which was hitting her now with merciless ferocity – left her feeling as though her legs might give way at any moment.
"You mustn't blame yourself, Tali," Koris's words, spoken softly, seemed monstrously loud in the silence. Tali, stunned once more by his unexpectedly accurate reading of her emotional state, looked at him, ready to voice hollow protests, to tell him that she was fine when she knew perfectly well that it wasn't true, but he simply let his hand fall on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "We knew what we were getting ourselves into. Despite a few…complications, we got out none the worse for the wear. Don't bide on this."
Tali looked back down at Raan and tried to believe him, but just as her auntie's similar assurances ultimately gave her little comfort, his words weren't much help. "Thanks," she said anyway.
The hand that had squeezed her shoulder now gave it a pat. "You should get some sleep before we land. Even a short nap would be good."
Before she could so much as consider this idea, Wrex's voice cackled over the ship's intercom system. "We're about to land in London. Nice view, if you wanna take a look."
A fire lit in Tali. London. They had reached Earth. Despite everything, they had finally arrived, and now she was close, so close, to him.
Sensing this new energy, and realizing that sleep was now the last thing on Tali's mind, Koris nodded at her. "After you," he said wearily, and followed her out of the infirmary.
They found their three krogan friends on the bridge, as well as a fourth they hadn't met, and Tali remembered Wrex's mention of Jorgal Finn, the diplomat. He was the first to acknowledge their arrival, spinning around as soon as he heard them, and moving to intercept them with the slow, calculating approach of a predator.
"I am Jorgal Finn," he declared. "Representative of clan Jorgal, voice of the true kroganwarrior." He let that phrase hang challengingly in the air, as though to see if anyone would take the bait.
"I am Admiral Zaal'Koris," Koris said, extending a hand. "As I have to your comrades, let me extend my thanks for – "
"Your gratitude is wasted on me, quarian," Finn interrupted him, pointedly ignoring the proffered hand. "I am proud to say that I argued against saving your shuttle."
Koris's hand fell and his voice adopted a wary tone. "Indeed?"
"Indeed," Finn affirmed, planting his hands on his hips. "In this galaxy, only the strong should survive. Charity cases have no place."
Tali cringed. Saying such things to Zaal'Koris was guaranteed to start a long debate. The quarian admiral never got a chance to form a rebuttal, however, as Wrex suddenly stomped up and headbutted Finn, leaving the diplomat snarling in surprise and clutching his head.
"I'll have you know that that quarian – " Wrex indicated Tali. " – was fighting against the Reapers while you were still sitting on Tuchanka squabbling over females. Disrespect her again, and we're going to have problems."
Finn glowered at his nemesis, but did not persist, instead opting for a harrumph and moving off to one of the computers lining the bridge. Wrex watched him for a moment longer, and then turned his attention to Tali and Koris, smiling and beckoning them to follow him.
"Turns out saving your sorry asses was an easy ticket in, after all," he said cheerfully, stopping in front of the fore viewport. "Got the best landing zone in the city. Shouldn't be a long trek to Shepard's hospital."
Tali gasped slightly as the Kalros hewed a path through the clouds of Earth's night sky and then emerged over London, the sight of which gave her both happiness and despair; the city was obviously much better off than it had been nearly a month prior, with signs of construction everywhere and electric lights in some abundance, indicative of life, but there were memories there, too, many memories, none of them pleasant, and they were all coming back to her in flashes - fighting through hordes of Reaper ground troops, hearing the screams of the falling and the fallen, the chilling horn of the Reaper destroyers as they decimated everything before them, and then the memory she dreaded most, the one where he faded further and further from sight
Build a home
until that red beam flashed and left her screaming, helplessly, inside –
"Tali?"
She blinked and looked around her. The ship was no longer moving, and a glance out the viewport confirmed that they had landed, were safely on the surface, and she understood that she had fallen into her memories so deeply that she'd lost track of reality.
Wrex was standing next to her, looking concerned, with Koris hovering worriedly over his shoulder. "You still with us?" The krogan asked.
Tali inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, willing the unpleasant thoughts away, and focused instead on the hope that was now warming her heart, making it beat a little faster in her chest, making her stomach feel light. He's close. "Yes," she answered firmly. "I'm fine. I was just thinking."
Wrex's eyes flitted in the direction of the dark city, and he nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Lots of memories. Lots to think about."
"It's looking a lot better," Tali said softly, also looking out the viewport.
"Of course it is," Wrex growled. "We're rebuilding. All of us are. A lot of people died, but the Reapers didn't break us." He slapped his fist into an open palm. "We came out of this stronger. The whole galaxy. You came out of this stronger, Tali. And Shepard is gonna come out of it stronger, too."
Tired and spent as she was, her tears of gratitude came all too easily. Tali nodded. "Thank you, Wrex," she said, and then joined him in walking down the Kalros's entry ramp, down onto the landing pad, where they boarded the land vehicle which was waiting to take them to their destination, while Koris stayed behind to keep an eye on Raan.
All Tali heard, throughout the trip, was her own heartbeat.
By the time they reached Nathan Levitt Medical Center, Tali's impatience had reached its zenith, her hands endlessly wringing, foot tapping against the floor of their vehicle, and she was glad that everyone else had been too busy taking in the sights of the repaired city to bother starting any conversations.
As soon as she was able, she flung her door open and lunged out on to the pitted and charred sidewalk. She was dimly aware of the unusually high concentration of Alliance soldiers standing all around them but thought little of it. The krogan clambered out after her, with Wrex wincing and stretching his arms, clearly unhappy with the tight quarters of the human-designed vehicle. "What's with all the soldiers?" He muttered quietly, eyes scanning the area.
"Here to protect Shepard, maybe?" Grunt offered.
"Protect him?" Wrex echoed skeptically. "He's a goddamn war hero. Anyways, everyone's too busy picking up the pieces of their own life to bother taking someone else's."
Grunt shrugged. "Just a theory. Now let's get moving before Tali – " He looked around quizzically. "Where is Tali, anyway?"
Wrex's sharp eyes picked up motion near the hospital entrance, up the steps from where they stood, and saw the door closing as though someone had just gone in. "Got tired of waiting for us," he chuckled. "Come on."
And indeed, when the rest of the group entered the hospital, they found Tali, but to Wrex and Grunt's great and simultaneous pleasure, they found much more than that – for standing in a cluster in the lobby, the young quarian girl in their midst, were many familiar faces - Garrus, Liara, Javik, Kaidan, Vega, Miranda, and Jacob Taylor.
Upon noticing the approaching krogan, Garrus looked up from his conversation with Tali and gave a wave. "Who the hell let you in here?" He called out good-naturedly.
"It's a sad day when reprobates like you are allowed to stroll into any old hospital they want," Wrex roared, and then he and the turian were heartily slapping their hands together in a strong handshake (eliciting a disapproving shake of Jorgal Finn's head), both of them laughing and grinning. "How the hell have you been, Vakarian?"
"Keeping busy," Garrus said, rolling his neck about, and Wrex noted that he was wearing a blue civilian uniform instead of his usual armor. "The Primarch has me going all over turian space, doing this and that to help with reconstruction." He paused. "Almost makes me wish I had more Reapers to kill."
Wrex chortled. "You and me both," he agreed. "Fighting for peace is fun and all, but winning is overrated. Too much paperwork."
"Smells like manliness and testosterone over here," Liara announced, wrinkling her nose in mock distaste, walking up to join in the reunion, with the others trailing behind, all engaged in their own conversations. She was dressed in a casual white dress, which, while unassuming, still did nothing to diminish her asari beauty, and only made the vibrant glow of her blue skin even more evident.
"Liara!" Wrex thundered, moving in for a hug as Grunt brushed past him to shake hands and chat with Jacob, while Bont, having spotted the prothean in the group, honed in on him, omni-tool activated. Liara reciprocated the hug, not giving so much as a wince at his mighty squeeze, and Tali, distractedly watching it all, wondered if the asari had used some minor biotics to shield herself. "What, are you guys having a party here or something? I didn't get an invitation."
Extracting herself from the embrace, Liara smiled up at her krogan friend. "We figured you'd show up anyway. Crashing the party is kind of your thing."
Wrex laughed with such gusto that the nurses stationed at the reception desk whipped their heads about in alarm. "Guess you've got me there," he conceded, and nodded at Kaidan, who was watching the exchange with amusement. "Been too long, Kaidan."
"You're right," the second human Specter agreed, and the two shook hands. "Heard you're still pissing off every krogan on Tuchanka."
"You heard right," Wrex told him, and glanced over his shoulder at Jorgal Finn, who was hovering imperiously nearby, apparently feeling that the niceties taking place were below him. "Even got my own nemesis." He turned back, grinning, to Kaidan. "Doesn't matter, though. The krogan are evolving, old friend. If the Reapers couldn't stop that, then a couple blowhards sure as hell won't."
Javik chose that moment to approach, and, looking perturbed, he addressed Wrex. "You are the leader of the krogan, yes?" When he was met with a nod, he pressed on. "Then tell your subject to stop running his tests on me. It is…vexing."
Bont, still stalking him, piped up from over the prothean's shoulder. "Might as well ask the sun to stop shining," he rumbled mildly.
Ignoring this conflict, Wrex said, "You're Javik, right? Watched you in action on Tuchanka, with Shepard. Hell of a fighter."
He was surprised as the prothean extended one of his hands, having learned, during his brief stint on the Normandy during the war, that the alien was not prone to such acts of kinship, thinking himself above everyone else. Shaking that surprise off, he accepted the handshake with a friendly nod, which, to his increasing disbelief, was also reflected. "I am honored to hear such praise from a warrior of your worth," Javik replied.
"Yeah," Wrex said lamely, unable to think of anything else, and Liara's subtle grin did not escape his notice, as well as the almost fond way she looked at Javik. "Good to see you."
Grunt strolled up to the small group, one arm slung around Jacob's shoulder, and Miranda trailing close behind. "One surprise after another," the tank-bred krogan commented to his superior, smiling around at everyone. "I expected we'd see all of you here eventually, but not all at once. And you even beat us to the punch."
"Grunt!" Garrus said, striding up to him and exchanging a firm handshake in the same vein as the one he had earlier shared with Wrex. "Thought I noticed you walking in, but it was hard to see anything past his fat ass." He gestured vaguely in Wrex's direction. Grunt guffawed.
"Watch it, Vakarian," Wrex warned dryly, eye twinkling. "Don't wanna piss off the grand leader of the Krogan Union. Gonna start another interstellar incident."
"I'm a little surprised," Jacob Taylor said, looking around at the group. "With the way the krogan are helping out here on Earth, I thought you guys would be the first to arrive."
Wrex shrugged. "I left plenty of people here to help rebuild, but we have our own planet to fix, too. All of us were on Tuchanka when we heard the news."
"That Shepard is alive," Liara said, stating what everyone already understood, a simple, happy smile lighting up her face. Wrex nodded.
"That isn't 'news' at all," Garrus said, crossing his arms, and glanced to his side as James Vega stepped up beside him. "I could've told you that weeks ago. Remember the last time he died?"
"Yeah, Garrus, the last time he died, he died," Vega retorted, cocking his brow.
"You get the idea," Garrus said, as several members of the group laughed quietly. "Shepard beat death once. He's next to invincible." He waved a hand dismissively. "Reapers? Bah. Child's play."
"He is remarkably resilient," Miranda commented. She looked better than any of them had seen since first making her acquaintance, with a healthy glow to her skin, her hair vibrant even in the dim lighting of the hospital lobby, and appearing markedly less stressful; there was a relaxedness to her posture, now, which she had once lacked, constantly pursued as she had been. "Somehow, when he was presumed dead, it just didn't feel right."
"Yeah," Kaidan said. "I had this feeling in my gut. 'Couldn't be,' I said. After all that fighting, to just die at the end? Didn't sound right."
"Speakin' of which," Wrex said, looking about at all the gathered friends. "What are we waiting for? Let's go pay that invincible bastard a visit."
And as one, they moved to head out, only to see that there was an obstacle, and Tali was already grappling with it.
While her old friends were all getting caught up, Tali had been in her own world, heart fluttering in her chest, stomach flipping and feeling unnaturally light, making her unsure if she was feeling hope or nausea or some unnerving combination of the two. After a moment of watching the reunion, she had moved off almost unconsciously, looking all around the lobby, trying to determine where he might be. Finally she had moved to the reception desk and asked where Commander Shepard was; the nurse had launched into a long explanation of the situation, but all the quarian woman heard was Room 34B, on the second floor, and she had drifted off again, heading toward the nearby stairs.
The two Alliance soldiers flanking those stairs did not seem of any consequence until she drew close and they responsively stepped together to block her path. Vaguely annoyed, Tali stepped first to one side and then to the other, wringing her hands. "Excuse me," she said distractedly, "just need to get to the second floor – excuse me – "
One of the soldiers shook his helmeted head. "Sorry, ma'am, you can't."
Tali stared for a long, uncomprehending moment at him, unable to believe her auditory emulators. Had she heard right? After so many sleepless nights, after nearly losing a very dear friend during the trip to Earth, this human was standing in her way? What gave him the right to stop her from going to the man she loved? "I don't think you understand," she said at last, tone hardening. "I'm here to visit Commander Shepard. I'm – I'm a friend of his."
"I understand, ma'am," the soldier said. "I still can't let you through. Orders," he added after a moment, as though to soften the blow.
"Orders?" Tali echoed incredulously, and suddenly all of her hope, all of her guilt, all of her frustration, all of her fatigue, all of her heartbreak, were flooding through her, breaking her fragile composure, making her voice quaver with emotion. "I don't give a damn about your orders, you – boshtet!" She moved forward, trying to grapple her way past the soldiers, both of whom remained unyielding, stubbornly barring her entry but doing no more than that. After a few more seconds of this irrational, futile effort, Tali stumbled back a couple paces and then fell to her knees, feeling tired, so very tired. "I need…to see him," she mumbled, a single tear falling down her cheek. "Please…let me through."
"What's going on?" Garrus's voice cut sharply through the air, and then he was gently grabbing under Tali's arms, lifting her to her feet; Liara took hold of her, gently hugging the exhausted quarian. Garrus turned his attention to the Alliance soldiers, immovable, looking for all the world like ageless sculptures guarding the stairwell. "Why are you blocking the stairs?"
"Orders," a soldier said, and this time, there was some empathy in his voice, but that did little to ease frustrations.
"We're Commander Shepard's close friends," Garrus explained, trying to keep his voice level, but the anger was seeping through nonetheless. "His crew. We fought with him through the war. We want to visit our friend. We're not here to hurt him."
"Understood," one of the soldiers said, and didn't move.
Wrex, whose patience was wearing thin, snapped, and he stomped forward, brushing past Garrus, to jam his face up against one of the soldiers' helmets. "You're not gonna stop us," he growled. "So just step aside."
There was a silence, as though the soldiers were weighing their options – after all, there was not just one krogan in this group – but then one said, apologetically, "Look, I'd love to let you through, but we have orders not to let anyone past until we're told – "
"To stand down," a familiar, gravelly voice finished the sentence, emanating from the dim stairwell behind the soldiers, and the group of friends turned their attention there. A figure was approaching, descending one step and then another, and then walking up behind those soldiers until the lighting of the lobby lit up his features. Liara gasped.
"Admiral Hackett!" she said.
The aging human nodded at her solemnly, and let his eyes roam over the assembled group, making them all feel as though he were reading their intentions, and for a moment he did nothing, just stood there, hands clasped behind his back, clad in his usual blue uniform and hat. Finally he turned his gaze to the Alliance guards. "Stand down."
The soldiers gladly obeyed, clearly not relishing the idea of fighting off a determined krogan, and stepped aside. Hackett took advantage of the opening and stepped forward, a rare smile tugging at his lips. "Wondered how long it would take for all of you to show up. I'm glad to say I underestimated you."
"It's good to see you, Admiral," Garrus said, the frustration gone from his voice, replaced by bafflement. "But why the guards?"
Hackett looked up thoughtfully at the turian for a moment and then regarded the group as a whole. "How did all of you hear about Shepard?"
The friends all exchanged bemused glances, and Liara finally said, "The newscasts. Three or four days ago."
Hackett nodded. "As I thought. You all heard the newscasts. All of Shepard's closest friends. But you aren't the only ones. A lot of people did." He looked meaningfully at each of them in turn. "You're just the first to arrive."
"Okay," Garrus said, crossing his arms. "So there's gonna be some visitors. I still don't get why you'd want to block them."
"I'm surprised at you, Garrus," Hackett said without a hint of malice in his voice, which remained grave. "Of course you know why we need to control access. Whether he wants it or not, Commander Shepard has a sort of celebrity status. There will be hundreds, if not thousands, of beings queuing up at this hospital soon to get a glimpse at him, or in a lot of cases, get an interview with him." He shook his head. "We tried to keep this quiet, at least until the Commander is in better shape, but it was impossible to appeal to the good nature of every witness who saw him before he got here. Of course a few blabbed to the media. We had to contain the situation."
" 'In better shape?'" Tali echoed weakly, nodding at Liara to indicate that she was able to stand, and then walking closer to the admiral. "So…he's alive. It's really true."
Hackett's eyes stared at her piercingly. Then: "Yes. He's alive."
Tali was unable to contain a short, relieved sob, and then she was being hugged by Garrus, and everyone seemed to be releasing a collective sigh of relief, with several pats on the back and handshakes being had. After letting this proceed for a time, Hackett raised a hand.
"He's alive," he repeated, "but I won't lie to you, he's in bad shape. The doctors say he was lying lord knows where for a couple of weeks, at least, before he was found. With the injuries he sustained, and the lack of food and water, it's only thanks to his cybernetic implants that he didn't die. If Cerberus ever did one good thing, it was giving him those implants.
"The doctors have been working on him non-stop for days. He'll live, as far as they can tell, but it's not gonna be an easy ride. He's been in some kind of delirious mental state ever since he got here. I was just up there to see him myself, and…" he trailed off, eyes darkening slightly. "It's not pretty."
Wrex looked from one side to the other, taking in the expressions of all his friends, and then looked at Hackett. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that doesn't matter, Admiral," he said, and the nods of all assembled supported him. "We need to see him."
"Please," Tali whispered. "Let me through."
It was her that Hackett stared at, face unreadable, as he seemed to weigh the logic of the situation, but finally he responded, not with words but with a simple, firm nod, and then he continued walking, further into the lobby, giving them privacy.
"Thank you, Admiral," Liara said quietly.
Anticipation on their faces, the krogan began stomping to the stairwell, but Garrus's arm thrust out in front of them. Wrex looked at his turian friend, baffled, but any complaints were silenced by the look on his face, and the subtle shake of his head. Garrus turned to Tali.
"Go on," he said gently. "We'll go up in a few minutes."
Understanding what he was doing, Wrex nodded, a smile on his face, and was joined in this by all of the others. Tali looked around at them, feeling choked up, and managed a nod that communicated her thanks better than any words ever could, and then she took her first step into the stairwell.
Tali felt strange.
As she ascended the stairs, trudging from one to the other, she could not assign a name to her emotions. She felt hopeful enough to toss her fatigue aside and dash up the stairs, but she felt dread enough that she wanted nothing more than to run back to the definite and the familiar; she felt relieved that she was finally going to see him, but she was horrified that she would find something unexpected, that he didn't love her anymore, or maybe that she didn't love him anymore, or maybe that he didn't even recognize her anymore –
Build a home
She was there again, in the shuttle bay of the Normandy, his hand slipping from the side of her mask, the gleaming beautiful eyes on his grimy and bloodied face fading ever more out of view until that red beam, that blasted red beam, made her scream, not with her mouth but more tormented still, inside, in her heart and soul –
Build a home
She was finished climbing the stairs and was now walking – or was she drifting, she couldn't feel her legs, couldn't feel anything, actually, beyond the blood pulsing through her veins, couldn't hear anything but the loud heartbeat in her ears, the short, anxious breaths softly coming from her mouth – down the stainless corridor, toward his room, and it was so dark, just like London had been weeks ago, but now there was light, in the hospital and in the city, and she was going to see him again – but what if he was dead after all? What if, after all of this, she got to him, and he had passed in his sleep, before she could see him, before she could talk to him, before she could know if there was still something there, if she still had a reason to live, not just live, going from day to day in some routine, but live, with love and happiness in her heart?
There it was.
Tali's breath caught in her throat as she drifted, and she must certainly be drifting because she certainly wasn't walking, not without legs, to the window that looked in towards him, in at him, and she had to blink several times to clear her vision, inexplicably blurring, to make out the shapes she was seeing.
Shepard
The tears began to flow then, as she saw him, lying in his hospital bed, blankets drawn up to his chest but leaving his arms exposed, leaving the wires and tubes injected all along his torso exposed, as she saw his chest rhythmically rising and falling, as she saw his face, scarred but clean, looking up to the ceiling, eyes closed in sleep, and then she clutched at her chest as though to fight the pain that suddenly wracked it as she realized his expression was one of agony, brow scrunched, lips working, teeth periodically gritting, and she knew that she, at least, still loved him, that for her, at least, nothing had changed.
Alive
Her hand was trembling uncontrollably as she opened the door and stepped in but she did not notice, did not notice that she was crying softly, was hardly even aware that her tears were still falling, and then she was standing beside his bed, close enough to touch him, and she reached out with her fingers, still shaking, and stroked his cheek, and she became aware of her tears, but did not fight them, because they were tears not of sadness, not of heartbreak, but of happiness.
Commander Shepard's world was hot, so hot, and he wished for death. Pain was all he knew now, because there was nothing to fight it, because he had forgotten that face, the face that had got him through it all, the face that made him fight, and with every passing moment he feared that he could feel even more of himself slipping away. He still saw the ghosts, interminably, every second of the day, but there were horrifying moments where he could not identify the ghosts, did not understand why he was seeing them or the significance of what they were saying.
I tried, Shepard
It is a good end to a life
Would have liked to have run tests on the seashells
Do the geth deserve to die
The voices became so loud that Shepard was only able to scream out, begging them to stop, begging for death to take him, because he could not even tell if his screams were real or just as ethereal as the figures that filled his delirium, and that was not living at all. Why had he fought in the first place? Why didn't he just die?
Silence.
The voices stopped.
Shepard smiled, disbelieving but thankful, so thankful, feeling some semblance of sanity return to him, clinging to this unexpected island of calm in the sea of chaos that was his world, and then he gasped, his breath shuddering as he inhaled, because he felt something, not something painful or unwelcome, like everything had been for the last eternity, but something that made him want to laugh and cry all at once.
Fingers, soft fingers, stroking his cheek.
Come back to me
Commander Shepard opened his eyes.
They stared at each other for a moment, for an hour, for a thousand years, saw nothing but each other.
"You came back to me," she whispered, voice weak but filled with something warm, not love but some unidentifiable thing that transcended it, an amalgamation of every kind of joy that ever was.
And though he said nothing, was too weak to say anything, was too weak to even smile, his eyes said everything that had to be said, and then his warm, strong, shaking hand reached up and grasped her small, cool shaking hand, and the shaking stopped.
Commander Shepard saw black, only black.
But this time, his mind knew only of her.