Chapter Four
S M Shepard
Its been nearly 2 days since they put the main Geth base down and Shepard getting the message about the slaves. On their way to Fero's they put down a rouge human run research base that is run by a group called Cerberus.
They have been on Fero's for a some time now and they have just put down the Thorian, and they have just learned everything that happened here from an Asari named Shiala.
"So the cipher you gave to Saren. You still have it in your head?" asked Shepard. Shiala nodded.
"Yes. If you wish to pursue him you will need to understand everything about the Protheans and the only way to do that is with the cipher," replied Shiala. Shepard nodded.
"Do it. Give me the cipher," requested Shepard.
"Shepard are you mad. You have no idea what will get placed in your head," said Garrus with concern in his voice.
"I know the risks but we all know this is our only hope of understanding some of what Saren has planned," replied Shepard. Garrus and Liara nodded and Shiala placed her hands on the sides of Shepard's head.
"Relax Commander and open yourself up to the universe... Embrace eternity," said Shiala in a reassuring tone of voice. Her eyes went pitch black and images flashed in front of Shepard's eyes, he saw the message from the beacon in a new light now. Shiala broke contact with him and Shepard stepped back a couple of paces and breathed hard for a few minutes.
"Shepard are you alright?" asked Liara.
"It feels like my mind has just exploded," replied Shepard.
"That will pass shortly Commander. When the cipher has settled you will begin to see things in a different light. This will help you in your mission," stated Shiala. Shepard nodded.
"Shepard what should we do about her?" asked Garrus. Shepard stood up and looked at her.
"What are your plans? Are you going back to Saren?" asked Shepard. Shiala shook her head.
"No with your permission I would like to stay here and help the humans here rebuild their lives here," replied Shiala. Shepard nodded.
"Okay but I will be keeping a close eye on you for a while to make sure you keep that you keep word," stated Shepard. Shiala nodded and they left the Thorian chamber and made their way back to the ship.
…...
Everyone has gathered in the comm room and Shepard has just finished telling the others what happened down there.
"You saw the Geth worshipping something?" asked Tali. Shepard nodded.
"Yeah we did. They were on their hands and knees bowing to some kind of glowing orb," replied Shepard.
"What about the cipher has that settled yet?" asked Kaidan. Shepard nodded.
"Yes it has. I've looked the images from the beacon over and parts of the message are missing. The message from the beacon on Eden Prime was incomplete," replied Shepard.
"So Saren might be looking for another working beacon that has the rest of the message," stated Ashley.
"Or he already has it and he just has to find a way to power it," replied Liara.
"Shepard the councils coming in. Should I patch them in?" asked Joker over the comm system. Shepard nodded and the others stood up and they left.
"Yeah go ahead Joker," replied Shepard.
…...
A few hours have passed since the council called Shepard and Tali is working at her station. Tali is checking the main systems over but she can't seem to focus. Her mind keeps getting pulled to the Geth data.
"It would make an excellent pilgrimage gift. It will help my people understand how the Geth have changed since our exile... so why can't I ask Shepard for it," said Tali inside her head. Ashley walked over to Tali.
"Hey Tali are you busy?" asked Ashley. Tali shook her head and she turned to her.
"Not really just doing some normal system checks. Do you need something Ashley," replied Tali. Ashley nodded.
"I'm worried about Shepard. Ever since he got that message a few days ago he's been acting strange. He spaces out every now and then and he makes mistakes when cleaning his weapons. He's loosing it Tali, we all see it and I know you do as well," stated Ashley. Tali sighed and nodded.
"He's... how can I explain this without breaking my promise to him," said Tali with conflict-ion in her voice.
"For the last 14 years Shepard has thought everyone he ever knew died in that hellish month. He's happy; he's sad and he's angry all at the same time," stated Tali.
"Why is he like that?" asked Ashley.
"You humans have a saying for this. Walk a mile in their shoes. So imagine that you lost everyone the way he did, then come to terms with the grief of loosing them all. Only to have a person you thought to be dead come back from the grave. If one person survived that blast then how many others could of survived," replied Tali. Ashley nodded.
"So why haven't we gone to the citadel for him to see if this person is a family member?" asked Ashley.
"In the message it says that the slaves are in bad shape and they can't have any visitors until they get better," replied Tali.
"How do you know all this?" asked Ashley.
"Shepard told me. He can talk to me about those things for some reason. Even he doesn't know why he can talk to me about this stuff," replied Tali. Ashley nodded and Tali sighed loudly.
"Tali is something wrong?" asked Ashley. Tali shook her head.
"Not really. You remember the Geth data that led us here. It would make a good pilgrimage gift for the fleet. I have tried asking Shepard for a copy but every time I try to ask him for it. I get a knot in my stomach I find it hard to breath... am I sick," replied Tali. Ashley shook her head.
"No your not sick your just confused. If you took the Geth data it would mean your pilgrimage would end and that would mean your pilgrimage would be over and you have to go back home wouldn't it," inquired Ashley. Tali nodded.
"Yeah it means I would have to leave... but I," replied Tali. Ashley smiled.
"But you don't want to go though do you. You like it here with all of us, don't you?" asked Ashley. Tali nodded.
"Of course I do but my people need the Geth data," replied Tali. Ashley nodded.
"I know so you have to ask yourself. What do you follow. Your head or your heart?" asked Ashley.
"Can't I do both," replied Tali. Ashley shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm just a solider Tali. I'm not as smart as you. So maybe you can figure out a way to do both," stated Ashley. Tali nodded and Ashley then walked off.
…...
A week later and they are back on the Citadel getting supplies before they go to Noveria. They have spent the lest week tracking Exogeni transports that had Thorian creepers on board and taking down a couple more Cerberus bases while they were at it. Shepard is back to his normal self much to everyone's relief.
At the moment Shepard is checking out the new gear in the Spectre requisitions. Shepard has just brought a upgrade for the sights of his assault rifle and a new prototype shotgun for Tali as a means of thanking her for keeping his head straight the last few days.
"Can you send all of this to my ship under my name," requested Shepard. The requisitions officer nodded and Shepard walked back into the main area and a reporter approached him.
"Commander Shepard. I'm Kilisa...," started the reporter. Shepard shook his head.
"Sorry can't talk now," replied Shepard. Tali saw him and she ran over to him and they walked into the elevator.
"Hey Tali. What have you been up to while we've been here?" asked Shepard.
"Tracking down the officer that sent you the message," replied Tali. Shepard looked at her.
"Did you find him?" asked Shepard. Tali nodded.
"Yes I have. He's been meaning to send you a message yesterday but it got sidelined. Apparently the freed slaves can start to have visitors now," replied Tali.
"Did he say where they are?" asked Shepard. Tali nodded.
"Their in the private rooms in the medical centre you took me to," replied Tali. Shepard nodded and the elevator stopped and they got out and they saw the others waiting for them by the stairs.
"Tali have you told him?" asked Kaidan. Tali nodded.
"Yeah I just have," replied Tali.
"Wait why are all of you here?" asked Shepard.
"Your not just our Commander, your our friend Shepard. You really think we're going to let you go there alone," replied Garrus. Wrex nodded.
"Here I go again agreeing with a Turian... he's right Shepard. Besides I'm the only one here that can stop you if you were to lose your shit in there," stated Wrex. Shepard nodded and he sighed.
"Alright fine... you lot can come in with me but if it is someone from my family I need to talk to them alone alright," replied Shepard. Everyone nodded and they walked up the stairs.
A short time later they were all standing in the medical centre and a doctor walked over to them.
"Commander Shepard how can I help you" inquired an Asari doctor.
"The Freed slaves from Mindoir are here in your care correct?" asked Shepard. The Asari doctor nodded.
"Have you got someone here with the name Shepard?" asked Shepard.
"Let me just check the files I won't be a minute," replied the Asari doctor. Shepard nodded and she walked off.
"Shepard try and relax it won't do you any good just working yourself up like this," stated Liara. Shepard nodded and the doctor returned to them.
"Commander we do have a young woman here by that name," stated the Asari doctor.
"What's the person's full name? I need to see if their really related to me?" asked Shepard.
"Her name is Samantha Marie Shepard," replied the Asari doctor. Shepard fell back into the seats behind him when he heard the name. Tali and the others shared a look.
"What injuries does she have?" asked Tali.
"She came in with a couple of broken fingers on her left hand and her left leg is broken and so is her right foot. She has some old burns on her body that look to be over 5 years old. She has a scar going through her right eye but she can still see through it. If you are going to ask about what happened to her do it gently. You ask her to soon about it and it will cause her to have a panic attack," replied the Asari doctor.
"Can you take us to her?" asked Garrus. The Asari doctor shook her head.
"I'm sorry but only family members can visit her at the moment. So only the Commander can see her," replied the Asari doctor. They all nodded and Shepard stood up.
"Can you take me to her?" asked Shepard. The Asari doctor nodded.
"You guys go back to the ship. I'll be back in a few hours," stated Shepard. Tali and the others nodded and Shepard followed the Asari doctor into the far room. As the others were leaving Tali stopped and turned back to watch Shepard walk into another section. Kaidan saw her watching Shepard.
"Tali come on. Shepard will be fine," said Kaidan in a reassuring tone of voice. Tali nodded and the two of them chased after the others.
A few minutes later Shepard and the Asari doctor are inside Sam's room. She has the curtains around her bed.
"Wait here while I check on her," stated the Asari doctor. Shepard nodded and she walked around to her other side of the curtains.
"Sam I have someone here that wants to talk to you," stated the Asari doctor.
"Who is it?" asked Sam.
"Commander Shepard," replied the Asari doctor. Shepard heard Sam sit up in her bed.
"Shepard... it can't be I'm the only one left," said Sam with disbelief in her voice. The Asari doctor signalled Shepard and he walked into view and the Asari doctor walked out of the room and closed the door. Shepard stood in front of her for a few minutes and neither one of them said anything. Shepard smiled warmly at her and both of them started to cry tears of joy.
"Been a long time Sammy," said Shepard while trying to dry his eyes.
"Kaito how can you be alive... I saw your body I saw you with a hole in your back. So how can you be here?" asked Sam. Shepard walked around the bed and sat down in the chair next to it.
"I wasn't dead when you found me just badly hurt. I was found my a female Quarian and she took me to safety and patched me up. Some time later she adopted me and I became her son and she became my mother," replied Shepard. Sam nodded and Shepard put his hands over hers.
"How did you survive the compound getting atomised? Me and dad went back and found no one and then he just punched his own ticket in front of me. Where were you?" asked Shepard.
"Me and mum had got up early to go and sell some of the food we had grown. We were on our way back when the attack started. Mum went to go and find a weapon she could use to get us back home but she never came back. So in the end I got tired of waiting so I quickly made my way to Mr Johnson's gun store and got a pistol. As I was running up the road home I saw you and dad shooting down the slavers fighter craft and some of the ground troops. I was only 30 minutes away when home got destroyed. I heard two lone gun shots. One must have been dad ending it and the second one was you getting shot," replied Sam. Shepard nodded.
"I see. Its been a long time since that day that I had forgotten that you two had left early," stated Shepard.
"Did they ever find mum?" asked Sam. Shepard nodded.
"Yes... we found her in the rubble of home. So she must of left you there and tried to get home to find us. She must of died has the house came down," replied Shepard. Sam started to cry silently.
"So... we're all alone now?" asked Sam. Shepard sat down next to her on the bed.
"No we're not alone. We have people that care about us. I have my friends and crew and in time they'll be your friends as well. You'll like them Sammy. All of them remind me of someone from the family and I'm sure you'll see that as well," replied Shepard. Sam wiped her eyes and she smiled.
"Okay... where are they anyway?" asked Sam.
"They have gone back to our ship. We're on a mission for the council. Once we're done with this part we'll come back here and you can meet them," replied Shepard.
"Why are you working for the council or the alliance for that matter?" asked Sam.
"How do you know I'm with the alliance?" asked Shepard.
"The rank Commander is a dead give away and so is the N7 marking on your armour. So why are you with them?" asked Sam.
"After what happened I decided I would join them so no one else had to see what we did. I only recently started working for the council. They made me a Spectre a few weeks ago when Eden Prime got attacked by Geth led by a former Spectre," replied Shepard. Sam smiled from his words and put her hands on his face.
"The whole family would be so proud of you," stated Sam.
"You really think so?" asked Shepard. Sam nodded.
"I know so. I'm your little sister and I'm proud of you," replied Sam. Shepard smiled from her words. A knock came from the door.
"Shepard it's me," stated Tali. Shepard looked at Sam and she nodded.
"Come on in Tali," replied Shepard. Tali walked inside and she saw tear marks on both of their faces and she walked over to them.
"Sammy this is Tali. She's one of the friends I told you about. Tali this is my baby sister Sam," stated Shepard.
"Don't call me a baby," replied Sam. Shepard started to laugh and Tali smiled from his reaction.
"Ever since we found out one of his family could still be alive Shepard has been worried sick," said Tali with amusement in her voice. Sam started to laugh, Shepard turned to Tali.
"Why did you tell her that?" asked Shepard.
"Payback for calling me princess earlier," replied Tali. Shepard sighed loudly.
"So why are you here anyway Tali. I thought you guys were going back to the ship?" asked Shepard.
"We did. As soon as we got back Joker told us we are ready to go so he tried to contact you but he couldn't. So I came back here to tell you," replied Tali. Shepard nodded.
"I see so... we're ready to leave already," inquired Shepard. Tali nodded.
"I know you wanted to spend more time with Sam but... the situation on Noveria has gotten worse," replied Tali. Shepard looked at her.
"How can it be worse then Saren having business there?" asked Shepard.
"Matriarch Benezia is there. Liara is starting to panic as well," replied Tali. Shepard nodded and he turned to Sam.
"I'm sorry Sammy but I have to go," stated Shepard. Sam nodded.
"I know and its okay I'm not going anywhere for a while," replied Sam. Shepard smiled and nodded.
"I'm going to let someone I know about you alright. He's my friend and my former captain. He can look after you while I'm away. His name is David Anderson he's at the human embassy. Once I contact him he'll come by to meet you alright," stated Shepard. Sam nodded and she looked at Tali.
"You remind me of the Quarian that killed the slavers before the patrol found us on the ship," stated Sam. Shepard and Tali shared looks.
"This Quarian did she have a rose on her suit?" asked Tali. Sam nodded.
"Yeah she did. Do you know her," replied Sam.
"She's the quarian I told you about. After the family compound got atomised dad shot himself and I got shot in the back. Rose found me and nursed me back to health. She then adopted me. Rose vanished 7 years ago on Elysium," stated Shepard.
"Shepard this is good news isn't it. Rose is alive and she saved Sam and the other slaves," inquired Tali.
"It is good news but why didn't she stay behind with them or contact me," replied Shepard.
"Why do you call my brother by his our name and not his first name?" asked Sam.
"Its not just me everyone he knows does it. I don't know why he doesn't like people calling him by his fist name," replied Tali.
"I'm standing right here ladies. I can put my fingers in my ears and make noises if you want to continue talking about me," stated Shepard. Sam and Tali started to laugh.
"Another time Kaito... you have work to do remember," replied Sam. Shepard looked at Tali.
"What work?" asked Shepard. Tali sighed and she saw a smirk on his face.
"You little bosh'tet. Get that smirk off your face we have work to do," replied Tali. Shepard started to laugh and so did Sam. Shepard stood up and he rubbed Sam on her head and he moved her long black silky hair around.
"See you in a couple of weeks. If you want yo talk to me ask Anderson to give you my contact line alright," stated Shepard. Sam nodded and he kissed her on the forehead and then he and Tali walked out of her room and as they did a nurse walked in and over to Sam.
"Sam. Its time for your physiotherapy, you need to get ready," stated the nurse. Sam nodded. The nurse saw Sam smiling as Shepard and Tali are leaving.
"Why are you smiling Sam?" asked the nurse.
"I just spoke to my brother for the first time in 14 years," replied Sam. The nurse smiled from her words.
"So does that make you motivated enough for your therapy?" asked the nurse. Sam nodded.
…...
Back in the main area Shepard has just opened up his Omni-tool to call Anderson.
"Something wrong Shepard?" asked Anderson.
"Sort of. The person I told out about a couple of days ago is my baby sister Sam. Can you look after her for me while we're away," requested Shepard.
"Of course. I'll treat her like my own family Shepard. I'll come by shortly to meet her," replied Anderson. Shepard thanked him and he ended the call. the Asari doctor walked over to them.
"If anything happens regarding my sister can you contact Captain David Anderson. He's at the human embassies. He's coming by soon to look after he while I'm away," stated Shepard.
"Of course Commander. Also due to your Spectre status your family members are granted the medical care we normally only give to the council members. Her recovery rate will be the same but she will be a lot more comfortable and she will be given her own apartment here on the citadel and the council will pay for everything and anything she needs. If you have time all you need to do is sign a couple of forms and we can get this sorted out for her by the end of the day," replied the Asari doctor. Shepard nodded. Shepard and Tali sat down on the chairs in the main area.
"So how does it feel to have your sister back?" asked Tali. Shepard smiled from her words.
"It feels amazing... I don't have the words to actually describe what I'm feeling right now. For once I'm at a loss for words," replied Shepard. Tali smiled from his words.
"Well I'll be. The great Commander Shepard is at a loss for words," said Tali with amusement in her voice. Shepard flicked her faceplate and this caused Tali to jump.
"Quite princess," replied Shepard. Tali giggled quietly and looked away from him.
Over the next 30 minutes Shepard signed a number of forms and he has been given a hard copy of Sam's medical file so he can see what has happened to her.
…...
A few days later and Tali has just knocked on Shepard's door.
"Come in," said Shepard from inside his room. Tali opened the door and she walked inside and she saw Shepard sitting on his sofa reading. Shepard looked up and he saw Tali there.
"Tali you know you don't have to knock to come in here. Is something wrong? You didn't have another fight with your father via messages again did you?" asked Shepard. Tali shook her head.
"No. I just thought it would be best to knock in case you were busy sorting things out for Sam," replied Tali. Shepard put the datapad down.
"No I'm free. So what's going on with you why are you here?" asked Shepard. Tali sat down near here him.
"Commander I need to talk to you about something," replied Tali. Shepard sat up and turned to her.
"Tali you only call me that when your nervous or scared. What's going on?" asked Shepard.
"Well... its about the Geth data we got from them a couple of weeks back," replied Tali. Shepard nodded.
"I knew she would come asking for a copy eventually but not this soon," said Shepard in his head.
"You want a copy to take back to the fleet?" asked Shepard. Tali nodded.
"Yes. With that information my people might be able to figure out how the Geth have changed over the last 200 years. I would asked you for a copy sooner but I've been confused," replied Tali.
"That's not like you. Were you confused because if you were to get this data you would have to return to your people because your pilgrimage would end when you found a worthy gift?" asked Shepard. Tali looked at the floor and nodded.
"I see. Well have you come to decision on what you want to do after you get the data?" Shepard. Tali shook her head.
"Not yet. I know my people need that information but I don't want to leave. I've made so many friends on the ship and your my best friend Shepard. I can't go back to my people knowing your out there blowing stuff up without me," replied Tali. Shepard smiled and he moved closer to her and Tali looked at him.
"I... don't want you to go either Tali for a great many reasons," said Shepard in a affectionate tone of voice. Tali smiled and she placed one of her hands on his.
"So how about this. Why don't the two of us try to think of a way that let's you do both. We can try to find a way to give them the information and have you stay here with me... I mean with us," stated Shepard. Tali noticed his slip up and she smiled from his words and she patted his hands.
"Alright Shepard. Let's see if we can work something out together," replied Tali. Shepard nodded.
"That's my little quarian princess for you always being positive," said Shepard with amusement in his voice. Tali hit his legs and she looked away from him.
"Bosh'tet," replied Tali.