-Renewed Fears-
-Three Weeks Ago
Planet 2181 Despoina, Unknown Location
The incessant splats of harsh raindrops against her visor only continued to make aiming more difficult for Tali as she fired off two rounds with her new Schmitar shotgun. She watched three Husks go down before she took cover. Bursts of mass-accelerator rounds from Marauders pelted into the crate she, Kaiden, Javik, and James took cover behind.
It had been like this for almost forty-five minutes now after Aedan disappeared beneath the waves of the ocean in the old Atlas-like diving mech he and Cortez fixed up. Since then, Cortez had also gotten their Kodiak shuttle back in flyable shape, but they were running dangerously low on thermal clips. The Reaper forces they encountered weren't letting up one bit. In fact, it only seemed as if they were growing stronger.
To think, we should have met with the Asari Councilor by now, Tali thought grimly. No one was exactly thrilled when Shepard ordered everyone back to the Normandy mere hours after reaching the Citadel three days ago, let alone the two other quick stops the ship made on it to follow up on leads. All because Admiral Hackett asked Aedan to look into something one of his research teams had been working on—finding a creature capable of killing a Reaper.
What was supposed to be a simple check-up on one Doctor Garret Bryson turned into a murder mystery quickly. Since then, the Normandy had been from one side of the galaxy to the other, evading Reaper forces, dealing with victims of mind-control, and even tracking down Bryson's daughter, Ann.
It all led them to this out-of-the-way planet in the Sigurd's Cradle, and now not only were they trapped, but Shepard was beneath the waves of the ocean, alone and protected only by an outdated Atlas.
Stupid, reckless, idiotic bosh'tet of a man! Tali cursed to herself as her shotgun blew the head clean off a Husk. Only Aedan Shepard would just blindly jump into an ocean.
The oncoming Reaper forces occupied her mind at least, but now that their numbers were dwindling for the moment, her thoughts immediately returned to her boyfriend.
She went to reload her Schmitar, but was stunned when she couldn't find any spare thermal clips on her suit.
"Kaiden, I'm out!" she yelled over the gunfire. Her pistol only had one thermal clip in it, but she didn't want to use it unless absolutely necessary.
"Sparks, here!" James replied, tossing her a spare Avenger assault rifle. "All we got right now. ¡Lo sieñto!"
It had been ages since she used an assault rifle, but it started coming back to her when she fired off a few rounds at a Cannibal. True, she wasn't on Shepard or Garrus' level, but she could still hold her own. She took out Saren on the Citadel with Aedan and Liara, after all.
"Keep up the pressure, people!" Kaiden commanded. "Don't give up! Shepard should be back any moment now!"
And if he isn't? Tali contemplated, but she didn't need to voice that particular thought. They all knew Aedan's last orders before he said his good-byes to them and walked off the edge of the wrecked frigate.
"If I don't make it back in one hour, I want you all to take off without me, pulse issue be damned. We're the best hope this galaxy has against the Reapers; one soldier, even me, isn't worth sacrificing that chance. If the worst should happen, Garrus will take command of the Normandy in my stead, with Kaiden as second-in-command."
If he'd been scared, his face didn't show it. But Tali knew him better than anyone else. His eyes were the key to his emotions, and they were alight with a fear that made her stomach drop. Despite that, he assured her he'd be fine.
He'd better be, she thought grimly as she fired again with her borrowed Avenger, joining her fire with the others. She cursed this stupid mission and the war for the thousandth time. I don't care what he says; I'm not leaving him behind! Not after he's just come back into my life again...
"Contact!" Kaiden bellowed over the gunfire. "Several Brutes coming in. Keep them back!"
To Tali's horror, she counted at least four gigantic Brutes heading toward their position.
"Aim for their heads!" Javik yelled. "Focus your firepower on one at a time and switch to armor-piercing rounds!"
The ones who could do so switched ammo types and joined the Prothean's Particle Rifle fire. One Brute let out a ear-piercing howl as it was gunned down while the others continued forward.
"Dammit, I'm out!" James yelled, throwing his customized Avenger down. "I don't want to do this, but we can't stay here any longer, guys. If they break through and ruin the Kodiak again, we're screwed!"
"No, we're not leaving the Commander!" Kaiden hollered back.
"I'm afraid Lieutenant Vega is right," Javik said while his Particle Rifle cooled down. "Our supplies are dwindling and their numbers are still great. The Commander knew the risks when he plunged into the depths of this planet. It's why he ordered us to retreat if he didn't return."
No! Tali thought, her mind racing in a panic as the Avenger in her hands violently shook. No, no, no, no, NO!
"I'm not leaving him!" she screamed. "He promised us he'd be back in an hour. He still has five minutes!"
"I'm with Sparks," James spoke up as he blew apart another couple of Cannibals with a fragmentation grenade. "Loco hasn't let us down yet. Let's give him a little more time!"
Javik started to argue when they all felt something rumbling beneath them, almost like an earthquake. Before anyone could comment, a gigantic Atlas mech shot out from beneath the waves and landed on the deck, grabbing the remaining two Brute's attention.
The hatch of the mech opened, revealing a bloodied, unconscious Aedan Shepard. Tali's joy turned quickly into dread as the harness automatically unlocked. Gravity took effect as Shepard's limp form tumbled to the rusted frigate deck. He started to rise with one hand, coughing out water. But he collapsed again, out cold this time.
Tali's dread grew even more when she saw the remaining two Brutes immediately head for Shepard.
"No!" she cried, firing the Avenger at them, but the rounds merely pelted off their armor. Helpless prey was far more enticing. The others tried to join in, but a wave of Husks forced their immediate attention to defending the perimeter.
Tali went to leap over the boxes, but was forcefully pulled back by Kaiden.
"No Tali, you'll be killed too!" he yelled as she thrashed in his tight grip. "Aedan would never forgive me if something happened to you."
"I don't care, he needs me!" she screamed. She watched in horror as one of the Brutes raised its sharpened claws.
"Aedan!"
Suddenly, it was as if time stopped. A few seconds passed, the Brute still holding its claw above Shepard. The other started for him, but let out a grunt of surprise when the other dropped its claw and started attacking its partner. The two Brutes fought violently against each other, the one that had almost killed Shepard pushing the other back away from his body.
"Tali, go get him! We'll cover you!" Kaiden yelled, letting go of Tali and unfolding his customized Viper sniper rifle.
Tali ran as fast as her legs could carry her, only stopping to avoid incoming Husks that were gunned down by Kaiden and the others. She leaped over a crate and finally reached him. He was out cold, blood dripping down both nostrils. Quickly, she hoisted one of his massive arms over her shoulders and dragged him along, pulling him toward the others with all her strength.
"Cortez, Shepard's back! What's happening?" she asked over her suit's built-in radio. She heard the familiar scream of the Alliance Kodiak fly overhead and saw it land close to where she was. Kaiden, James, and Javik gathered around it, picking off anything that got too close.
"We're good to go!" Cortez replied. "I don't know what the Commander did, but the pulse is offline!"
She pulled his limp form along all the way to the Kodiak, where Javik helped her hoist him into the craft and Kaiden and James provided cover fire. The two humans piled in as Cortez gunned the engines, closing the hatch and lifting off from the ground, heading for the atmosphere.
The other three members of the ground team were silent as Tali knelt by Aedan's side, her fingers rapidly going over readouts on her omni-tool.
"Ancestors, he's freezing," she said. "Come on Aedan, wake up! Say something, anything."
Almost on cue, he started coughing. She smiled beneath her mask as she helped him to a sitting position. When he opened his eyes and saw her, he grinned.
"You're a sight for sore eyes," he rasped, taking a few more breaths before he was helped to a seat by James.
"Are you all right?" Tali asked.
Aedan nodded. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Hell of a headache, though."
"Keelah, don't do that to me," she almost whispered. She would have said much, much more, but technically they were still on a mission.
"What happened down there?" Kaiden asked as the others closed in.
"We found it," Aedan started, still trying to normalize his breathing as he stood up, grabbing a pole above him for support. "It's real, and a lot more than we ever imagined."
"Was it worth almost dying for?" Cortez spoke up from the cockpit. Tali suppressed a shudder at the thought.
"I don't know, but we proved that it can't hide anymore...that it's a part of this war, just like us." He steadied himself again before moving toward the small viewscreen on the side.
"Cortez, patch me through to Ann Bryson," he ordered, fully back in "Commander" mode. "I have quite the story to tell her."
-Three Hours Later
Systems Alliance Frigate Normandy SR-2, Deck Elevator
Aedan finally released the yawn that had been threatening to escape his lips earlier as he waited patiently for the elevator to reach Engineering. After a harrowing escape from the Reaper in orbit (which he saw plummet to the ocean below, to the ground team's delight), a quick visit to Doctor Chakwas for a once-over (and a lecture on "reckless behavior"), and then a journey to the war room's QEC for a debriefing with Admiral Hackett, he was finally able to let himself calm down and reflect on all that happened in the past eight hours.
What occurred down in the bottom of Desponia's ocean was nothing short of amazing. Meeting with the Leviathans not only gave him more information about the history of the Reapers and where they came from, but now he had actually convinced the oldest beings in the galaxy to take more direct action. It wasn't much compared to getting the support of the krogan or the combined geth and quarian fleet, for example, but it was still another drop in their bucket of allies in the fight against the Reapers.
He was glad Ann was okay. Seeing the Leviathan take hold of her mind like that before they traveled to Desponia was hard to watch. She was overjoyed to hear that her father's research had paid off and that his sacrifice wasn't in vain. She also volunteered her expertise to build the Crucible, which Aedan gratefully accepted.
Garrus chewed him out a bit for not taking him along on the mission and for plummeting into the ocean with an antique mech, but Aedan argued that as his XO, Garrus needed to stay behind in case the worst happened. Now that he thought about it, Garrus seemed quite grumpy lately, ever since they started the search for the Leviathans. It puzzled him, but Aedan decided not to ask.
It's none of my business, Aedan mused. Besides, I got my own problems to deal with, including one upset quarian girlfriend.
After they got back to the Normandy, Tali accompanied him to the med bay but excused herself shortly afterward, mentioning engineering work that needed her attention. Kaiden visited him shortly after that. When Aedan asked why he looked so guilty, the Spectre explained what happened when Aedan resurfaced.
"There were two Brutes closing in on you and she wanted to get you out of there right away, he recounted. I held her back because I didn't want her to get hurt. Anyway, the whole thing really upset her; I'm surprised she didn't slap me or something afterward for holding her back. I'm sorry Shepard."
Aedan forgave him, of course. He was actually touched that he had wanted to keep Tali safe, especially for his sake, but he could also understand why she would be upset.
So now he was on his way down to talk with her for the first time in three hours, and he was nervous as all hell. He wasn't sure what he'd find, but he knew she'd be alone at this hour, especially since her shift was almost over. Kenneth and Gabby were in the mess hall, eating before they came to relive her, and Adams was on his rest cycle. Aedan thought about waiting until her shift ended, hoping that she'd come up to his (correction, their) cabin like she usually did now, but he couldn't wait that long. He needed to see her, if only to calm her down.
After what seemed like an eternity, the elevator doors slid open and he walked through the two doors that led to the drive core. His eyes found her instantly, hunched over at her usual work station. He watched in renewed awe as her three-fingered hands glided gracefully across the holographic interface in front of her.
"No, no that's not right," she muttered to herself. "The A6 power couplings should be wired to the cooling system, not hydraulics...need to speed up the cool-down time between FTL jumps..."
As silent as a ghost, he slid up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She tensed for a moment before he felt her relax into his arms.
"Hey..." he started before she slid out of his grip and turned around, eyes narrowed behind her visor. He gulped.
"Idiotic...senseless...bosh'tet!" she hissed, jabbing him in the chest. "I can't believe you just jumped in there without a second thought! What if your propulsion system had malfunctioned, hmm? Or your air tank was damaged? You don't know how old that Atlas was!"
"Tali..."
"—and on top of that, you scare me half to death by looking as if you got in a bar fight and falling to the floor like a limp pyjak! If that Brute hadn't turned on the other one, you would have...you would have—"
Stifling a exasperated groan, he did the only thing he could think of to stop her rambling. He once again brought her into a tight embrace. She started to struggle, but then he felt her succumb to his warmth.
"I'm sorry, love," he whispered. "Relax, I'm fine. And yeah it was pretty stupid, I admit, but I had no choice. If I hadn't talked with the Leviathans, we would have never gotten their support, let alone got the Kodiak off the ground."
She choked back a sob as he massaged her back. "I thought I'd lost you down there. Don't do that ever again, not even to forge an alliance with a damned Reaper-killer! You're worth more than that."
He sighed, his heart hurting in his chest. He hated making her cry like this.
"Tali, I won't dance around this. We're in the middle of a war; I have to take risks. It's what we did when we chased down Saren, and it's what we did when we went after the Collectors. You know how many people are depending on us. I'm a soldier, it's what I do."
"No you're not!" she almost yelled. "You're not just a soldier, Aedan. No matter what you might think, you're the only thing holding this galaxy together long enough to fight back against the Reapers. We can't lose you...I can't lose you. Don't ever forget how much you matter to us."
"I won't," he replied, pulling away from her, taking her hands in his, rubbing circles on her palms with his thumbs.
"Aedan, do you think you can you make me another promise?" Tali asked.
He looked up into her eyes, smiling. "Name it."
She bit her lip nervously before she worked up the courage to ask of him what might be an impossibility, in the end. "No matter what happens from here on out, promise me...promise me that you'll always come back to me alive. Please..."
In the back of his mind, he knew Tali wasn't being rational. There were so many unknowns to consider when it came to this war, but he tuned those thoughts out. Instead, he listened to his heart, and what it was telling him to say.
"Okay then," he started, touching his forehead to hers. "I promise, no matter what it takes, I'll always come back to you alive, Tali. For better or for worse, you're stuck with me," he said with that roguish grin she loved so much.
Her eyes lit up with a loving smile behind her visor as she hugged him tightly.
"Thank you," she mumbled into his shoulder. He smiled even wider, relishing the feeling of having her in his arms. He definitely made the right choice.
They stayed like that for awhile, listening to the calming sounds of the drive core. After some time, Aedan gently led her by the hand to the elevator, up to the cabin both of them called home, where he told her everything that had happened with the Leviathans.
I swear, this story's going to explode from all the fluff I've put in it so far! Hope I'm not rotting anyone's teeth out too much, haha.
Sorry for the long wait, guys. I got a minor case of writer's block, plus the past month has been a roller-coaster. I'm taking a fairly prestigious internship this summer, and I've had my hands full trying to work things out. Thank you for the great reviews I received last chapter, they kept me determined to get this next one out for you all! I know it's not quite as good as the last one, but I'll make up for it next time, because that one's going to be a real doozy, let me tell you.
Anyway, as you can tell, this is my take on the Leviathan DLC. I won't be covering the Omega DLC (might even pretend it doesn't happen) as it's not really important to the story I'm telling. Also, I'd like to ret-con a few things. First off, I made a few minor errors (such as James Vega's nationality) that I noticed after replaying ME3 again, so I went back and changed those. Also, I'm going to add another week to the timeline here starting from Chapter Two-onward to accommodate more time for the Leviathan DLC to happen. When I first started this, I didn't think to include Leviathan, so now that I have, I'd like to keep the time needed to journey between locations at least somewhat realistic to the universe. Other than that, that's about it and I don't think I'll have to do any more corrections. If I do, I'll let you all know.
Thanks again for the support, and please review so I know how I'm doing! Don't forget to fav/follow while you're at it, and check out my profile for status updates on the next chapter of this story and my other active ones!
Until next time,
-Sheik
P.S (5-13): My apologies for the double (or false, depending on how you look at it) update to those of you who have read this chapter already, but for some reason, this site had an issue two days ago where e-mails for author/story/review/forum alerts weren't sending. It's working again as of last night, and I was concerned that some of you who are following the story didn't know I posted a new chapter. So to rectify that, I took down and re-posted the chapter. Thanks for understanding, and I have started work on Chapter 9, so I'm hoping to release it soon. Stay tuned, and thanks for the support!
