Last Chance: Chapter 6
"Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy nar Rayya it is a honor to greet you clan-sister, Hero of the Battle of Rannoch" the President said excitedly "Keelah'Selai".
Although she was half expecting it, the site of another quarian's unmasked face was almost shocking. The President of the Federation, a plain middle-aged female quarian with a warm kind face, was dressed modestly in a elegant dark long tunic which snugly covered her slim body as well as a veil in the familiar swirls of the Zorah clan that used to decorate Tali's old suit.
"Keelah'Selai, Madame Pres.."
"Lia" the President insisted gently with a smile
"Lia, thank you, but it was Shepard..."
"I am well aware of the debt we owe the Commander but dont be so modest Tali, you were the senior officer in the team that landed on Rannoch which disabled the geth fighter servers, rescued Admiral Zaal'Koris and destroyed the Reaper Base, not to mention made peace with the geth..." she paused and smiled shyly "My apologizes for my enthusiasm you were the subject of my dissertation at the University of Rayya and I never imagined that one day I would meet you. You were something of an inspiration for me growing up, watching vids of your adventures"
"University of Rayya?" Tali asked weakly her head spinning
Lia smiled "Oh, of course, the Rayya was your birthship. No one lives on the actual Rayya now of course, but she has been preserved as a museum to the memory of the Migrant Fleet. I remember going there as a child and being amazed how many people could live for so long in such cramped conditions and yet still thrive. I even saw your cubical and crawled inside pretending to be you. "
The Migrant Fleet is gone, she thought with a sudden pang, while its is wonderful that my people have the homeworld I can never really go home again
"But Lia your shipname is 'vas Rayya'
Lia smiled "We no longer have ship names Tali" she said "since we do not live in ships. When our people returned to Rannoch they named their new settlements after their old ships. Our names follow the old ways. I was born in the city of Neema so I was Lia'Zorah nar Neema until I went on my Pilgrimage"
"You still have Pilgrimages?" Tali exclaimed with delight "so not everything has changed"
Lia laughed "Yes, with a people as ancient as ours, old habits die hard. The difference is that our youngsters now as a rule do not leave the homeworld but instead go to other communities on Rannoch volunteering for projects to help improve peoples lives, learning skills, gaining experience. When they find a community they wish to settle down in they then take its name. I loved our capital Rayya since I first arrived on my Pilgrimage so I decided to make my home there and so became Lia'Zorah vas Rayya nar Neema."
She paused for moment and asked cautiously "Tali, may I ask why you are wearing an envirosuit, is your immune system weak or is it a matter of personal choice?
"I have been told that my immune system has been restored" Tali replied "and I have been... out of my suit with no ill effects but.."
"You find the suit comforting?" Lia asked.
"I've always hated being confined to my suit but now I find the lack of... privacy... difficult... sometimes. Maybe I will get used to it in time when things are different... Have our people completely adapted to Rannoch then?
"Yes, within three generations there was no need for suits at all on Rannoch although there is still a ultra-conservative religious minority which still chooses to wear them but from what I hear" she smiled knowingly "thats far from the reason in your case"
Does she know about me and Shepard? she wondered
"But we still have trouble adapting when we travel to other worlds though so envirosuits are still useful. It took me years to completely adapt to Earth when i first came here as a newly elected Senator. Prehaps you would be interested in a career in politics yourself at some point. I can think of noone more qualified to represent the quarian people that the Hero of Battle of Rannoch" Lia smiled
When Tali didnt reply, Lia continued "Tali, I would love to spend all day chatting to you about the wonderful things our people have achieved since you won back the homeworld for us, you know how we quarians love to chat, but there are important matters to discuss. I believe you know that Matriarch Liara acted outside her authority bringing you and Commander Shepard back?"
"Yes" Tali said bitterly "Liara has a tendency to do whatever she pleases regardless of the consequences to other people"
"Ah yes I was forgetting you knew her" Lia said quietly "well, although I cannot condone her actions I cannot fault her reasoning "
"Legion" Tali said simply
"Yes exactly, Legion" Lia continue "As a quarian I believe you understand the significance of a single A.I composed of trillions of geth better than most.
Tali shivered in spite of herself "Almost unlimited intelligence and therefore virtually unstoppable" she said quietly.
"Yes" said Lia "Although of course the geth kept their word and have shown no sign of hostility in the last three centuries so there is hope in that at least. Liaria believes that what we are looking for is a single platform, perhaps some kind of ship hosting all geth. If so, it would be huge, miles across." she sighed "Liara has also been researching the Reapers since the end of the War specifically their origins and she believes that the Reapers passed through a similar stage in their evolution from individual AI's to sentient dreadnaughts. "
"She believes that Legion is a Reaper?" Tali said in horrified whisper
"On the cusp of becoming something like one perhaps we really don't know but its vital that we find out. I would ask you to consider this information secret for the time being."
"Yes of course"
"I believe you knew Legion?" Lia asked
"Yes, I was on several missions with him and got to know him quite well" Tali said "especially when we attacked the Reaper base on Rannoch"
"Good" said Lia "Very good, so there may be a chance that given the opportunity Legion will allow you to find him and make contact. I am formally reactivating your rank as Admiral of the Fleet forthwith with all rights and privileges pertaining. This is your mission Tali"
"What about Shepard?" asked Tali stunned.
"This is your mission" Lia repeated firmly "You are a Zorah and a quarian and an Admiral who served during the Battle of Rannoch. You are someone I know I can trust to do your duty and get the job done. I'm giving you both the Ilos and the Athena, Commander T'Soni's ship. Crew selection is at your discretion. Commander Shepard would obviously be a valuable asset as would Commander T'Soni herself. I want the search to begin immediately. Do, whatever it takes to find Legion Admiral Tali'Zorah.
"I wont let you down", Lia'Zorah" Tali said quietly
Lia smiled "I know you won't, Keelah'Selai"
...
Shepard looked up as the the door of their room opened and Tali walked in slowly, nervously wringing her fingers. He smiled affectionately, remembering the shy excitable teenager back on the old Normandy.
"How did it go Tali?" he said warmly
Tali sighed "Lia'Zorah... I mean the President has made me an Admiral again and given me command of the mission to find Legion"
Shepard's face fell but professional reflexes kicked in almost instantly and smiled "Hey, congratulations Tali, good call." he said
Keelah... it just isnt fair but I do need some time alone to think
"Shepard I have been given command of two ships the Ilos and your daughters ship the Athena. One of the ships will be my flagship so to speak and the other I want you to be in command of. Any suggestions?"
Which means we wont see much of each other but maybe thats for the best for now she thought
There was a long pause. Shepard sighed "Well Tali its your call but the Athena is a military vessal, albeit basically a heavily modified transport, so I would probably be a little more at home than a fancy yacht with no guns. You can trust me to watch your rear" he said with a smile.
Still cracking jokes to put me at ease even when he's sad, she thought, one of the things I so love about him Tali smiled "OK then, shes yours and i'm guessing you will want Salisa as well since she will be familiar with the systems"
"Makes sense. I'm three hundred years out of date after all. I probably wouldn't even be able work the coffee maker without her, assuming they even have coffee"
Tali laughed "Its the same for me Shepard and Im supposed to be the Tech expert on the team remember?. You only let me come aboard on the old Normandy in the first place to be your pet "geth expert".
"I remember" Shepard said fondly "that seems like a long time ago, hell it is a long time ago but really its just been a few years for us"
He moved towards her and put his arms around her. They stood quietly for a moment just embracing each other lost in happy memories.
Tali shook herself out of her reverie and pulled out of his embrace "OK Shepard so I'm going to take the Ilos with EDI as pilot as she knows the systems and.. well pretty much everything else. Since we have no idea were Legion is I thought we could start by flying to Palaven. It will take several weeks but it will give Legion a chance to contact us if he wants to and it will give me a chance too.. catch up with with my tech reading"
"Why Palaven ?" he asked
"Garrus" she said quietly "Liara told me he became Primark after he got back from that... that planet. He's buried in Cipritine and since it really doesn't matter where we go I thought...
"That's a great idea Tali, I should have suggested it myself" he said remembering his best friend.
"So if you go find Salisa and let her know and I'll do the same with EDI and we can all meet in the docking bay in a hour I want to leave immediately
"Sure Tali" he smiled "I'll go find her now" he stood to leave.
"Oh and thanks again Shepard" Tali said quietly, not looking at him
"Sure thing Admiral, the mission always comes first" he said going through the door.
Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter. All comments and reviews welcome