Journey to the Center of Humanity
Johnson continued to gaze unmerrily at the sky, his rifle holstered. He took a puff from his cigarette and then threw it on to the ground, using his left foot to crush the butt. He then looked back up at the sky.
He was bored, as in super bored. All he had to do was just stand here and guard the entrance to Bustan Hospital, the only friggin hospital within 60 kilometers that isn't blown to hell. Now they had wounded salarians, quarians, turians and many other xenos rushing into the numerous care facilities they had available.
He blinked as he saw a light in the sky, getting bigger and ever closer. As he narrowed his vision, he saw it was a shuttle, but not a modern shuttle, this one was ancient. He recognized the design, it was Krogan.
What the dev...His eyes opened wide as he saw that shuttle wasn't stopping. He dived out of the way and his feet were a hairslength away from the crashing shuttle, which slided along into a garden patch.
He quickly recovered and picked up his rifle, and began approaching the shuttle. He levelled the rifle at the door and yelled out, "Come out where I can see you, now! Hands in the air!" If the shuttle is owned by a krogan, I'd better start running. What am I thinking!? He began shaking as he continued towards the shuttle, driven by military instinct.
He could hear a the owner, definitely krogan by the sound of the voice, yelling curses in a unintellagble language. As he stopped, the door shot open as the krogan's voice became loud and very clear. "Damn Pyjaks who made this shuttle need to rethink the design. Bloody thing is...ah, a human." The giant krogan was a terrifyingly intimidating sight.
He had blood red eyes and armor to suit, his right fist firmly clenched over a Claymore shotgun. He gulped, that shotgun would rip him apart. The krogan wore a smile. He really should have ran.
"Who...Who...are you? What is you're business here?" Johnson asked. He closed his eyes, waiting the imminent sound of a shotgun going off. "Open you're eyes Shepard, you can change you're pants later." Johnson opened his eyes. Shepard has krogan friends? Damn.
"I'm sorry, my name isn't Shepard." Johnson replied, slowly letting his rifle point at the ground, but the butt still firmly placed in his shoulder. His avenger was a peashooter compared to that Claymore. The krogan chuckled, "Don't you think I know that? No, I was speaking in my native tongue. In Krogan, Shepard means Hero!" the krogan says loudly, chuckling as he goes. "Now, time to see Shepard."
The soldier shakingly raised his rifle as the krogan attempted to leave the shuttle, "Sorry mister...but I have orders too..." The krogan looked down at him, his smile still evident. "I am Urdnot Wrex, and you will not stop me from seeing my friend. Plus, you're stance proves you're about to move out of the way. I'd rather not walk in with you're guts all over my legs." The krogan named Wrex said.
Johnson did, surprisingly, move left. He followed his orders, but he wasn't dying just to protect Shepard from the paparazzi. He moved left even further, and the krogan just glanced at him as he marched inside, scaring numerous nurses and doctors, who took cover immediately.
...
"Tali'Shepard, thrusters reaching full capacity. Recommend abortion of further speed enhancement attempts" Legion said, trying to reason with the creator. It was in vain, when a quarian wanted to reach their lifemate, nothing would stop them, not even an army of geth, reapers, cerberus, mercs or krogan.
Tali was desperate, but she wasn't stupid. She wasn't going to get to John in a coffin, so she slowed the engine speed to military speed. She monitored the various panels, making sure she hadn't overworked anything. She sighed, and smiled. John was alive. He was actually alive, and soon, she could hold him again.
The thought of John in her arms was a thought that had driven Tali to the borders of insanity. Ever since departing Rannoch, she hadn't drank, slept, or eaten. Legion was pestering her to eat or at least take a 15 minute nap, but she wasn't budging.
She then realized how selfish she was being. She had completely forgotten to tell Veetor or Elan about her departure. She cursed at her selfishness, she had put her own need over the needs of Veetor and Elan. She considered turning the shuttle around, but her emotions had won over logic. She had to hold John again.
The next thing had been completely unexpected, and unwelcomed. They were being contacted by another quarian shuttle, which was close behind them and requesting docking permission. She opened a channel only to hear a familiar, "So, so you're going for Shepard too?" It was Lana's voice.
"Lana? But what about Kal? Haestrom?" Lana laughed at Tali's question, "I would never leave my lifemate behind, he was the one who suggested it anyway, plus we also have a unexpected visitor. Can we dock? This thing is falling apart anyway, it must be 50 years old. I knew we should never have recycled these old salarian shuttles."
"Docking granted, see you in a minute." Tali responded. Smiling, she moved to the hatch as she heard the shuttle clasp on. She was still curious as to how they knew she was onboard. As the door opened, Kal and Tia stepped in. So Tia tagged along as well.
Kal immediately stopped in the shuttle as he saw Legion. "But I thought you were..." He stopped as Lana gave out a gasp of surprise. He turned to her, shaking his head, amusingly. Turning back to Legion, and then Tali. He looked at her, waiting for her answer.
"It's a very long story, but Legion is helping rebuild the Geth. It'll take a long time, but they'll return." Tali said. Kal and Lana nodded and stepped inside the shuttle. Tia sat next to the door as it closed and they let the salarian shuttle drift free.
As Tali sat back down in the pilot's seat, she felt nauseous again. It quickly disappeared, but it was starting to worry her. Kal's voice broke her thoughts, "We've got plenty of time for long stories you know."
Tali sighed, turned around and smiled. At least I can put my mind off of John for a little while. Sitting down, Kal and Lana held each other close as Tia hovered up the back and Legion just stood there. Then Tali began to explain. "Well, it started back on the Normandy..."
...
"WHOA! SLOW THE FUCK DOWN!" the soldier shouted as a single large truck came halting at the gate. The doors opened, and a tall, black alliance marine accompanied by a tall black haired woman in a white uniform approached them. The soldier put his hand up for them to halt.
"Identification please. This is a military field hospital and I need you're ID's to let you. Better hope you're military, that little stunt will cost ya if you're not." the soldier stated. He had heard about the Krogan who had crashed the shuttle out back and how Johnson had cowered out. Don't blame him, don't want to be the one on the receiving end of that Krogan's shotgun.
A irritated voice came from the truck, "You're talking to two ex-Cerberus operatives, a mercenary and a master thief. Just drop your fucking weapons and let us in. Were here for Shepard." A man in a orange mercenary uniform jumped down and headed for them. The soldier saw a distortional behind him, but dismissed it.
The merc approached him, and his words sunk in quickly. All his men raised their weapons to bear, and so did he. "Cerberus? Mercs? Thieves? Great, now we've got not only you three, but a quarian lover to deal with..." That pissed Miranda right off.
She lunged forward, knocked the weapon out of his hand and help him by the collar. The speed of which she did this frightened the marines behind him, but they raised their weapons none the less. Jacob lit up with biotics and Zaeed levelled his rifle. Not long after, Kasumi materialized behind them, two SMG's pointed at two marines, taking them by surprise.
"What did you say about quarians?" the soldier didn't speak. He was too scared. But he managed to slip his pistol from its holster and aim it at her head. "Tell you're people to stand down and get the hell out of here before I..."
"Do what? Pull that trigger and I'll smear the walls with you assholes!" Miranda and the soldiers turned, followed by Jacob and Zaeed. Kasumi stayed focused on the soldiers. A truck stopped next to theirs, and none other than Jack and Samara came out, Jack glowing with blue energy. With a flick of her wrist, the pistol was wrenched from his hand and thrown away.
Jack and Samara stopped next to them. "Come to join the party huh?" Jacob remarked, smiling. Just like on the Normandy. Jack smiled, "Yeah, well who could resist the temptation of seeing Shepard all dirty and unable to shoot shit? It's something I've been itching to see. Has his quarian wife popped up yet? You know, Tali?" Jacob shook his head. Miranda laughed, "If she was here, these marines would either be dead, full of shotgun holes, lying unconscious or would have multiple injuries from trying to stop her. That woman is determined." It's something Miranda quite liked about her.
"That's true, at one point, I decided to play around with that airlock thing. I think I broke it, because the next thing I know, not only is she staring me down, I'm down on the ground with two holes in my toes, craddling Jesse and looking down the barrel of her Claymore as she says "Don't...touch...it...again...bosh'tet." She's a handful." Zaaed said aloud. Everyone looked at him amused.
"Serves you right." Miranda said, surpressing a laugh. The soldier shouted, "What? We've got two Cerberus operatives, a mercenary, a master thief, a crazy biotic, an Asari Justicar and now were expecting a crazy quarian? We've already had a krogan land a shuttle in our backdoor in his name, that was bad enough." Everyone shot the marine a stare, "A krogan? Looks like either Grunt and Wrex decided to join the party." Jack said.
"Marines, stand down. I'm giving them authorization." Everyone turned to see Ashley appear from inbetween the trucks. "Ash! Glad you could make it." Miranda said, loudly. Ashley smiled. Miranda looked back at the marine and gave him a "you lost" smile, before dropping him on his feet. "Open the gate!" he shouted as he gave Miranda a hateful look before straightening his uniform and picking up his pistol.
The gates opened, and Kasumi resaddled her SMG's. Everyone else put their weapons away, let biotics power down and walked inside as one. Once inside they heard the krogan nearby. To say he was unhappy would of completely understated what was happening before their very eyes.
The krogan was staring down a doctor so bad, they all swear they could smell a tinge of urine eminating from that exact spot. They all knew this krogan. "Wrex?" Miranda shouted as they approached. The krogan turned quickly and left the wimpering doctor, who, even though he had two marine bodyguards, had wet himself from a krogan staring him down.
"Well, its about time you guys arrived. These idiots were really starting to piss me off." Ash was next to step up, "What's going on?" Everyone asked the same thing.
"Their not letting anyone see him. They say he's not ready to see visitors. And then he insulted me! ME! URDNOT WREX! Biased little human wimps. No offense." Pretty much everyone except Samara had initially given Wrex a glare, but that cleared at his last words. "Whoa, looks like all amigos are here." They all turned to see James and Cortez walk in.
"James! Cortez! You got the message too?" Then another voice answered before James could speak, his mouth half open. "I did too, I came as fast as I could." Everyone was surprised when Javik walked in.
"The whole crew is here!" Jacob shouted, "Well, except Liara, Grunt, Garrus, Tali, Kal, Lana, Joker, Samantha, Kelly, EDI...Legion...Thane...Mordin..." Those last four names brought tears to everyone's eyes. "And Anderson." Ashley added. Silence popped over them all as a happy voice entered, "So, what did we miss?" They turned and saw Joker and Samantha enter. "I hope were not late" Samantha added.
"You guys too? Shit." Zaeed asked and grunted. The doctor from before raced over and started waving in the air to get their attention. "I've ex-Cerberus? Mercs? a krogan clan chief? the master thief herself? A...prothean, a pilot and a marine, a spectre, a crippled pilot, a tech specialist, a crazy biotic bitch, an asari justicar, and I'm also to expect a secretary primarch, the quarian lord of admirals, the ex-Shadow Broker, another krogan and 2 more quarians? That's...damn, I can't however let you in, any of you."
Wrex prepared to glare the doctor down when Joker spoke up. "When that 'quarian admiral' arrives, you won't be able to stop her. She is so love crazy that she'll destroy the whole planet just to get to him" the doctor looked at him as if he spoke blasphemy. "Shepard is a human." Joker nodded very slowly, as did everyone else.
"So?" Miranda asked. The doctor shot a look at her, "Sooooo how could a quarian love him and expect him to love her back? She's a guddamn quarian, it wouldn't work at all, plus their all scavengers and shit. He'd probably go for you though." That last bit was meant to be a compliment, but it had the opposite effect. Instead, Miranda grabbed him by the collar. "If you say those things about Tali again, you'll have us to deal with...and Shepard." Everyone nodded in agreement.
Miranda dropped him and then punched him in the jaw, causing him to fall. "That was for Tali." Miranda said. The doctor shot back up, craddling his jaw, running away like a little girl. She turned to the group, "So what now?" Ashley just shook her head, "Who's in command here then?" Miranda asked. It had during the days of the Collectors that she was XO, those days were long gone.
"Next in line would be Tali, but since she's not available, Garrus. Oh wait, he isn't either. I guess I'm in command then" Ashley stated. Wrex gave Ash a look, "Since when was Tali XO? I thought she was just Chief Engineer" he asked. "She still is, even Adams doesn't outrank her now, but she basically takes both positions now" Ashley replied.
At that moment, Ken, Gabby, Kelly and Adams appeared. The doctors behind them groaned. Ashley smiled, "Like a family reunion." Just waiting on the others.
...
"What's our ETA to Earth?" Liara asked. She had asked that quite too much and was getting ready to apologize for her impatience when the cool voice of the pilot responded, "7 minutes out, you can relax Miss T'Soni, we will get there in time." The pilot smiled, It was evident Liara had loved Shepard, but she seemed to have let it die down. Apparently some quarian refocused the man's attention.
She wasn't like most people these days. She loved all the different cultures of the galaxy, but none interested her more than the quarians. She was overjoyed when she heard the quarians regained Rannoch, but was saddened by the loss of the geth, that would've hit the quarians dead center.
Liara smiled. "Thank you Nisera, I appreciate you're patience with me. I'm just so happy he's alive." As would be a certain quarian friend I know. Liara reentered the main cabin and sat down, reviewing the data from Thessia. At least were making progress, the majority of the rubble is gone and we can leave it up to the politicians to rebuild the Republic. Once the rest of the rubble is gone, we can rebuild.
She closed the datapad, letting out a big sigh as she laid back, thinking of the future. Jossa growing up. Me and Garrus getting together. John and Tali build a house on Rannoch, living together, Tali and John having child... She knew this was just wishful thinking, Tali could never give John any children, cross species breeding was alien to any race that wasn't Asari. Only the asari could succesfully pull it off. Me and Garrus can do it, but poor Tali. I know how important it is for quarian couples to produce offspring.
Liara then felt her omnitool hum with activity. She pressed a button, opening it and smiled as Garrus' face popped up. "Did you get the message to?" was the first question she asked. She knew it was stupid to ask, if anyone were to be informed of Shepard's activities, Tali, Garrus and herself would be the first to know.
Garrus chuckled, "Of course. I'm on my way to Earth. You?" Liara nodded. Garrus looked at the ground, "I bet you've got a few things you've got to tell him." Liara nodded in agreement, smiling as she went. "Well for starters, if Tali doesn't get there first, I'm going to tell him to prepare for no happy reunion. He really upset Tali, she's going to be pretty angry and happy with him." Garrus chucked. "I bet."
"Ma'am, two minutes out. Alliance wants to know our business here" Nisera stated. Liara smiled and responded, "Thank you Nisera, well you heard her Garrus, gotta go" she said.
"I'm almost there too, I'm 8 minutes out. Liara, I just want you to know something." Liara lost her smile. This was it. She waited for his answer.
...
"So Legion, how far out are we from Earth?" Tali had asked that almost every 15 seconds, and if it hadn't been for Legion assuming the piloting position, she would of once again overstressed the thrusters.
"Tali'Shepard, we are 5 minutes out. Repeated asking of the question will not get us there any faster." Tali nodded, and Kal and Lana just laughed. Tia isolated herself in the corner. Tali was lying in a fetal position on the floor. She wasn't crying, no, she was a very happy lifemate. She just preferred sitting like that. For reasons she didn't understand herself.
"Don't worry Tali, he isn't going anywhere, you can stop worrying so much" Lana reassured her. Tali smiled behind her mask, even though Lana couldn't see it. Instead, she raised her head and nodded it eratically, announcing her understanding. Lana put a reassuring hand on Tali's right shoulder, trying to reassure her further.
The shuttle was filled with silence for a few seconds, before Legion's voice broke the silence. "Creators, we have an unidentified shuttle approaching." Tali frowned and exited her fetal position, heading towards the cockpit. "Hail them" Tali said as she went.
Legion's fingers danced onn the controls. "No..." the shuttle then shook violently. Tia was thrown from her seat, Lana lost her balance, falling into Kal's open arms as they both tumbled onto the ground. Tali tried to control her fall but was shocked when her visor came into contact with the hard floor.
All she heard was a crack and even more painful nauseous feeling in her stomach before the black void consumed her vision.
...
"Sir, we've got a shuttle approaching Earth. It's Quarian" the helmsman of the Blue Suns frigate, MSV Xytos stated. Captain Lee smiled. Finally, the fools have fallen right into our trap. Now to clasp it shut. "Communications, contact the shuttle, Tell them to disable the shuttle, but not to kill anyone." He watched as the shuttle departed the ship and approached the quarian shuttle.
He took a sip of his coffee as the shuttle continued to move in.
...
"Sir, shuttle in range. Weapons trained and ready" the pilot reported. The sergeant reported, he turned to his mercs. "Arm you're weapons" he turned back to the pilot, "remember, engines only. We'll board the shuttle, and take all the crew prisoner." Turning back to his mercs, he armed his own Mattock Heavy Rifle, loading a fresh thermal clip.
He smiled, as their shuttle approached the unsuspecting quarians, "fire." He said coldly. 2 shots emanated from their shuttle, striking the shuttle's engines. The quarian shuttle deflected the shots easily. Shields. "Damn it, Quarian Combat Shuttle. Fire again, take down the shields then kill those thrusters."
The pilot nodded, and the captured Trident fired off another 6 shots, finally downing the shields. With the shields gone, they fired the last two shots, destroying the shuttle's engines. The sergeant smiled, he patted the pilot's shoulder, "Nice work. Now bring us alongside that shuttle, prepare to board it." He moved to approach the door as his pilot shouted at him, in a concerned voice, "There's another shuttle approaching."
"Well take it out..." he barely got the words out as the pilot screamed over him "INCOMING...!" In space, all that could be seen was the explosion of the shuttle as it broke apart, debris flying in all directions. The unknown ally flew by, heading straight for the quarian shuttle.
...
"Sir, we just lost all telemetry from the shuttle, it's gone. Something destroyed it." The helmsman reported. Captain Lee rolled his eyes as he yelled at the helmsman, "Of course it's destroyed you moron! Now bring us about to port, heading 1-8-2, gunner, load the gatlings, bring them to bear on that shuttle. Destroy it, but DO NOT hit that disabled shuttle."
"Aye sir" he responded. The Captain shook his head as he took his cup of coffee and took another sip, "Whoever this guy is, I'm going to rip him a new A hole."
...
"She's knocked out cold, damn it! Her visor's cracked!" Kal said as he turned Tali over. 2 cracks covered her mask, and inside he could see the beauty locked inside. Respecting Tali's privacy, he let Lana tend to her.
The shots had long stopped and had been followed by a loud explosion, and finally nothing. Whatever what was attacking, had stopped or retreated. The explosion was unusual though. "Damn it, we need to do something, she can't stay like this. Wait, these shuttles come equipped with sterile medical bays don't they?" Lana asked Tia.
"Yes, we could move her in there, but you'll need two sets of hands to carry her. I'll help. Kal, you stay right there." Lana takes Tali's arms as Tia takes her legs and gently, they lead her onto a bed in the sterile room. Two seconds later, they came out, sealing the door behind them, the indicator glowing blue to indicate a sterile room.
"Now, our attackers." Kal began but was interrupted by Legion, "Creator Kal'Reegar, an unidentified shuttle is hailing us. They...destroyed our attackers." Lana and Kal exchanged glances, Tia just shrugged her shoulders. "Answer them. Let's see who saved our asses." Legion awknowledged him before opening the channel.
A turian's face appeared on screen, one Kal and Lana easily recognized, "Garrus! Nice of you to make it." Garrus chuckled, "Looks you picked a fight with some mercs, don't worry, luckily I'm here. Too bad Liara's already in atmosphere."
"We didn't. They attacked us out of the blue. Tali's here but..." Kal stopped. Garrus grew concerned, "What happened. Talk to me. Tell me she's okay, otherwise Shepard will have my head for not arriving sooner." Kal shook his head, "the first shot rocked the ship, everyone except Tali were lucky, she hit a wall with her visor, and was knocked out cold. Her visor's cracked but repairable, but she's in a sterile room."
"That is no longer an option, Creators. This shuttles engines are gone and a core system overload is imminent. We need to evacuate." Legion stated. Garrus gave them an even more serious look, "Yes, exactly, so...wait, WHAT!? That can't be...I must be dreaming." Kal laughed, "You ain't. It's Legion." Legion moved in front of the screen.
Garrus wasn't just shocked, he was sure he was insane. Yet, Legion was looking right at him. "But how?" Garrus asked. Legion replied bluntly, "Time is needed to discuss this. We do not have that time." Garrus shook out of his bemusement and looked at Legion, "Yes, of course, I'm coming about now. You'll have to get on quickly, I'm picking up the mothership."
Kal looked at him awkwardly, "Mothership?" He didn't like the sound of that. "It's a human term Shepard taught me. Let's just say the shuttle that attacked you is owned by a ship, and that ship is headed our way."
Kal nodded very quickly, and was not only concerned for Tali, who was basically a sister to him as they grew up together, but for Lana, his lifemate. He took her hands in his, "Lana, get onto the shuttle. I've got a little surprise waiting for those mercs." Lana looked concerned. She wasn't letting go. "I'll be fine, inszel, I need to know that you're safe. Get onboard, I'll be right behind you." Lana hesitated then nodded, tapped her visor on his, and then followed Tia to the sterile room.
The shuttle shook as the doors opened and Garrus walked in. "Where's Tali?" he immediately asked. Tia and Lana came back holding Tali, but within a single sweep, Garrus had Tali in his arms, carrying her into the shuttle. An act of affection among his people, but most likely different for Garrus. Tia and Lana followed him inside, Lana giving him a quick glance before hopping inside.
Turning to Legion he said clearly, "Let's leave these mercs a little trap of our own Legion..."
...
Captain Lee watched as the unidentified shuttle, now known to be turian in design, detached from the quarian shuttle, headed away, towards the planet. His ship could easily hit that shuttle, so he ordered the ship to pick up the disabled shuttle. Their secret rescuers must have abandoned them.
"Move and..." all of a sudden, a quarian voice popped up on loud speakers, "THE ANCESTORS LEFT YOU THIS TILGRAPS!" within those few seconds, the quarian shuttle exploded in a ray of blue light, debris shooting in all directions. It had been a diversion.
"HARD TO STARBOARD! PURSUE THAT SHUTTLE!" Lee shouted. If that shuttle escaped, Vido would commit tortures on him of unthinkable nature. "Aye, Aye sir. Hard to starboard" the helmsman reported. The ship rotated slowly and then began speeding towards the turian shuttle. "You won't escape that easy" Lee mumbled, "Acquire a firing solution, then unleash hell on that shuttle. Disable it. Everyone on that shuttle better be alive or Vido will have us all on pikes."
The gunner's hands moved across the console, pressing the respectable buttons. "Ready" he called. "Fire..." his voice was drowned out by the helmsman yelling, "WE NEED TO BREAK OFF! ALLIANCE FRIGATE!" Lee spat out his sip of his coffee as he looked at the turian shuttle. What was the turian shuttle's location, was now encompassed by a Alliance Frigate. The words "Turanga" implanted on it's starboard side.
He knew he was no match for that frigate and its captain. The turian shuttle had clearly landed on the frigate, as its hangar bay doors closed. He watched as the Mass Accelerator Main Gun began charging on the frigate. " HARD TO FUCKING PORT! GET US OUT OF HERE, FULL SPEE..." His orders came too late. The Xytos would and could not react in time. The ship sloppily moved to the port side, but by that time, the MAC had already fired, and had cut right through the ship's shields, and penetrated deep into the vessel.
The round ripped through the Xyto's bridge, and came out the other side, explosions piercing the ship's exterior and interior. Chunks of light armor plating either melted away or flew in all directions. The interior glowed with a furious red light.
The ship then gave a final death grown, and exploded from the inside, ripping the ship in half, piecies of debris intermixing with that of the Reaper, the Shield and Sword fleets that had fought to retake Earth. The Captain of the Turanga, Captain Andrew Incas, smiled. He keyed the intercom, "We have a medical situation in the hangar bay. Any medical teams with knowledge of quarian physiology, report to the hangar bay immediately."
...
The Shuttle slowly decended into the atmosphere, right towards Bunstan Hospital. Tali, Kal, Lana, Tia and Garrus sat on the seats of the shuttle as it decended. Legion stood in front of them. Tali had taken a total for 2 hours to recover, and she still had a nasal congestion, but that would hopefully die out soon. Tia had been offered a ride back to Rannoch, but she decided that she'd come this far and shouldn't head back now.
Tali almost jumped up as the pilot announced, "Prepare for landing, ETA 4 seconds, 3...2...1. Landing." Tali this time did jump up, and even when the shuttle shifted in its landing, she didn't fault in her balance. She approached the door and was there in a second. As soon as it opened, she rushed outside and headed towards the doors.
"Someone's in a rush" Garrus said with a chuckle. He could see Liara's shuttle parked nearby, the pilot he guessed, standing outside, waving at them as they passed. Tali was already inside when they finally reached the doors.
When the doors opened, Kal almost wanted to run back. The whole crew was there. Literally. Everyone. Wrex, Liara, Miranda, Jacob, Joker, Samantha, Grunt, Jack, Samara, Zaeed, Kasumi...everyone. All just to see Shepard. A truly loyal group of friends.
The talking was very loud but stopped as everyone just stared at them as if they were aliens, not making a sound. He didn't understand what the problem was until Kelly's voice answered his unspoken question.
"A GETH!? LEGION!?"
...
Liara waited for the commotion to die down, but as it clearly wasn't, she finally spoke up as loud as she could, "SILENCE!" Everyone shut up and looked at Liara as if she'd run into a church and interrupted a religious ceremony. "Okay, now Legion can answer you're question." Everyone looked at Legion expectingly. The only thing different about Legion was the new platform, it was the same with the N7 shoulder still attached, but the hole repaired and no longer visible.
Legion moved it's flaps before explaining. Everyone listened closely. When it finished, everyone gasped in awe. "I'm glad my baby saved a life as she lost hers" it had been Joker's voice that answered first. Everyone looked at Joker sympathetically before looking back at Ashley, who had Tali yelling at her. And she was one very angry quarian.
...
"THEY WHAT!?" Tali yelled so loud, that everyone looked from Joker to herself and Ash. Ash looked at the ground and then back at Tali's eyes, "Noone Tali. They were quite vague on why, but they said noone, not even you, can see him."
Tali was infuriated. She had come all this way, ignored Veetor and Elan's needs, almost overloaded their shuttle's thrusters, almost got killed by mercs, and finally, to top it all off, almost died of infection. She'd gone through all that just to be refused from seeing his face. To know that he is okay? Unacceptable.
"You tell those bosh'tets to let me through or I'll force my way through" Tali declared. Ashley always loved Tali's confidence and bravery, and this was no different. But she had to calm her down, "I'm sorry, but..."
"So the answer is no?" Tali asked more calmly. Finally, she's calming down. "Yes." What happened next took her off guard. Tali thrusted past her, even her attempts at stopping her were met with force. Tali shook her off and ran up the stairs. She could hear Garrus say as she ran up, "Uh-oh." Kal was laughing, "Never underestimate a lifemate with a need."
She began laughing as well, as did everyone. The marines uptop were so sure they could hold that quarian force of nature. I almost feel sorry for them. Glad I'm not them. They watched the marines moved to intercept, guns crossed in front of Tali.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but you're not..." Tali grabbed the gun and wrenched it from his hand throwing it down the stairway and executed a uppercut to his jaw. He staggered back into a wall. The other soldier grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms. But it would take more than that to stop her.
Next, Tali kicked the soldier's left knee, causing him to growl in pain. With his grip loosened, she broke free and executed a foot sweep, knocking the soldier over and then pinning his head to the ground with her boot. She said clearly, with as much venom as possible, the snarl in her voice evident. "I'm here to see my lifemate. You can try and stop me, but it'll be you're funeral. Plus, I have a shotgun." She could hear Garrus' laugh.
She growled and then released him, knocking him out with the butt of her unholstered pistol. She turned and walked down the corridor and found a door with explicit words saying 'Surgery Ward. VIP. Do not disturb.' Tali smiled, "Well in that case..." and she moved forward, pushing the door open.
...
Shepard chewed on the tasteless food. He looked at it with such a sheer disgust, that he couldn't take it anymore and just placed it on the desk to his left. He chewed and swallowed the disgusting concoction. He'd prefer the nutrient paste that Tali ate to the crap the hospital served.
He loved the thought of Tali, a matter of fact, he wished he had a picture of her sitting next to him, so he could gaze on her beautiful face. He sighed. She was all the way on Rannoch, helping with the reconstruction. He missed her so much, he just wanted to hear her voice, let it bathe him in the peace it always brought him, but he had even been deprived of that.
He thought he could hear laughter outside, but it must have been his imagination. He sighed and gazed at the ceiling, thinking of what he'd tell Tali when he met her again. Hey Tali it's me, John. You want to build that house. No damn it, I can't act as if nothing happened. But how would I break to her.
I feel so useless. I've never felt like this. Damn the effect women can have on men. He laughed. He missed the whole gang. Garrus' sarcasm, Liara's kind comments, Tali's comfort, Joker's...well, jokes, Wrex's jokes. He missed them all. And he was stuck in this stupid bed, unable to do anything.
He was about to take a another reluctant bite of that horrible substance when the sound of the door opening interrupted him. He watched as a gloved three fingered hand slid in and opened it further, very slowly. I wasn't aware of any quarian doctors.
The door finally stopped and a female quarian stepped in, her eyes looking straight into his. His heart stopped for a second, he knew her. Of course he did. Her beautifully slim feminine body stood in front of him, her small gloved hands hanging at her sides. The purple realk of a quarian engineer hung from her suit, the swirls of Clan Zorah used repeatedly across it. Her purple visor showed signs of being originally cracked, and her kind, gentle blue eyes gazed into his. Yes, of course he knew this quarian.
"Tali...It's you..." He got out. Tali nodded and slowly approached him. "John..." Shepard was so happy, that any previous feeling of sorrow he had was washed away. He wanted to reach out and wrab his arms around her, but he was so stiff, any movement brought intense pain.
Before he could react, Tali reached out and punched him in the chest. This not only knocked all the wind out of him, but a massive burning sensation swirled up in his chest. He growled in pain, "What was that for!?" He growled through clenched teeth. She moved back, bringing her hand to her side. She answered cooly, her speech indicator glowing with every word, "That was for scaring me. I thought I'd lost you."
John understood, and felt ashamed. He had must have really scared her. "Tali, I'm so sorry..." Before he could say anything, Tali reached up and he heard the unmistakable sounds of mask clasps releasing.
The next completely destroyed any safeguards he originally had. She placed on her mask on his desk and he got a split second glance of her beautiful facial features before she locked her lips around his, locking each other in a passionate kiss.
Breaking only for air, John smiled as he placed his left hand on her cheek, caressing it. She smiled back. "And that?" He asked. She giggled, reaching up her right hand to hold onto his hand, holding it to her cheek, encouraging him to keep caressing it.
"For coming back to me."
Inszel: Term of status or standing within a social circle. Literal translation: Most trusted confidant and partner. Used to describe the personal relationship of an individual. Implies a deep personal connection. Humans would say girlfriend or boyfriend but these only touch the surface of what it truly means.
Tilgrap: Large herbivore, native to Rannoch. Tilgrap, alpha female of the pack. Tilgra refers to the other members of the pack, both male and female. Moving in packs, the tilgrap uses snarling, huffing and shear mass to force the pack to move where she decided to lead them.
Realk: Cloth covering used by the quarians. It is used to describe not just the hood seen on most but any material adornment.
Bosh'tet: Thought by many non-quarians to be the quarian equivalent of "son of a bitch" or "bastard." Surprisingly, it is actually the name of a animal native to Rannoch, similiar to Earth rats. It is a rodent to lives my scavenging, but has a very low intelligence, is quite irritating and lazy. It eats the excrement of other animals, using what's let of it as a home and the undigested bits as sustenance. It will eat any dung, even its own. It will defend its dung pile at any cost, even its own kind, and has been known to fight to the death. Quarians used it as a curse word for people who are being stupid, unresponsive, irritating or fighting for a worthless cause or reason.
I really suck at making scenes like the one I attempted with Garrus and Liara. If you must know, it was meant to be Garrus admitting his love for her. I suck at making scenes like that, so I decided not too.
And finally John and Tali are reunited! Everyone is back together! Yes, including Grunt. I might have forgotten that little detail. So, all those bosh'tets out there who are loving this fanfic (no offense intended), don't forget to review, favourite and follow.
Oh, and a few more things. If you wish to follow me on Facebook, my name is:
Josiah Lee: . ?id=100001865083205&ref=ts&fref=ts
To follow me on YouTube, my channel is:
Omega4Productions: Time to get pumped, not just for Halo 4, but for my new machinima, Earth Schism. Based in the year 2042 in a world bathed in technological luxury, a virus based on a variant of cancer is destroying the world's population. Called together to stop it from spreading, Cerberus and the Ministry of Scientific Advances work towards a cure, but what is Cerberus hiding? Why have UFO sightings become more frequent? And what kind of cure is Cerberus REALLY making? Be prepared for rogue security forces, unbelievably powerful alien invaders, and to sum it up, a giant zombie apocalypse. Get ready, for the Earth Schism, for only Seal Team Delta stands a chance...
user/Omega4Productions?feature=CAQQwRs%3D
My email is SterileQuarian (I have two other backup emails if this one doesn't work).
My gamertag on Xbox Live is ArchReaperN7. I play Mass Effect 3 and Halo Reach quite often, so if you wish to play either, just send me a friend request or game invite, and we'll play. I also have all the Halos, all the mass effect games, Battlefield 3, Rainbow Six Vegas 2, Crysis 2, Kinect Adventures (which I never play because Kinect is a piece of shit).
For anything else, do message me through said email or comment in review section.
(WARNING EA FANS: THIS MIGHT OFFEND YOU, PROCEED AT OWN DISCRETION)
GOODDAY and I leave you with a mass effect quote...just a tiny little bit tampered with...
"Ah yes "EA", the company of money loving asswipes who like to rip off their customers with ridiculous amounts of pointless passes, annoying account requiring bullshit and have been ripping people off for ages allegedly waiting in Redwood City, California. Hah, we have dismissed this claim."
From the idiots who try to delude themselves into the fantasy that EA don't completely rip off what fans they have left and that ME2's Cerberus Network was a failure because of it (1200 MS just to ACCESS THE FUCKING DLC!?)
Bioware: How about we make competitive ME3 multiplayer...
EA: That requires passes...
Bioware: No, actually we were thinking...
EA: ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL...
And then they delivered ME3.
I'd go into a fit on how terrible they treated Tali (when I saw that stockphoto and the romance scene, oh boy, I was raging for a full night) but I won't waste you're time. Maybe next time. But there will BE NO REFERENCES to that piece of shit stockphoto that ruined my sense of love for Tali. I still do, and I will romance her continiously, but that photo makes me gag. I'm sorry, but its true.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this fanfic, and Chapter 7 will hopefully be out soon. :D
