Chapter 9: fly free
Tali woke from a peaceful sleep the white noise machine she got from Odysseus after the last mission was really helpful, just another thing she felt that she owed him about. She entered the galley to find Odysseus and Eris sitting eating and apparently arguing over something. Approaching she heard something odd out of context.
"And I'm telling you that without a way to forcefully control the system I can't get the system to respond at the rate needed to see results in less than a decade." Odysseus said soundly like this was an old argument.
"Yes but even if it is just the next generation they still would be very happy." Eris countered but both of them stopped talking when they saw Tali.
"What were you guys fighting over?" Tali asked not understanding what the fight could be over.
"Nothing important my brother is just unwilling to move his pet project forward until he gets a part fixed even if it would work as it is."
"What project?" Tali asked tilting her head she had seen the twins often working with what appeared to be environmental control programs.
"Nothing I want to talk about as it is still not ready for testing and until it has a working prototype I won't release any details to none family sorry but it is just something that could spark a large debate across the galaxy if it gets out before it is ready. I hope you understand, as soon as I have a working prototype I will tell you first." Odysseus said gesturing for her to sit next to him. She sat and nodded her understanding about keeping the project under wraps as some times half knowledge if far worse than no knowledge.
Tali turned to Odysseus who had finished eating and was now reading up on the planet they were launching their geth hunting mission today on. "So why are you not going to be on the ground today?" she asked the teams had been shuffled to put Garrus as team alpha leader with the newest recruit Liara who had been cleared and offered a spot on the team serving as beta's right flank.
"Because we are attacking the geth outposts today and I don't want a dropship catching us off guard so I will be providing air support as my ship and skills are the best suited to the task of anyone on the ground team." Tali nodded at Odysseus's words but still thought that she would feel better if he was on the ground with her, the thought surprised her as she had no idea where the idea came from.
Tali had found herself spending a large amount of time with the man as he way almost always in the engine bay if he had free time helping her and the rest of the team out, Odysseus also seemed to prefer taking lunch with garrus, herself and his sister instead of the rest of the crew. Both of the twins still talk with the rest of the crew and were friendly of duty but Tali and the rest of the crew noticed that the twins stayed near the dextros out of anyone in the crew.
Tali finished her meal and went into the engine bay to do some calming work before the launch. "Tali could you deliver this data pad to the captain please I need his approval for something?" Engineer Adams asked when she agreed she saw from her helmets sensors some of the bay crew were exchanging snickers she was confused about that but ignored it.
"Where would he be right now?" She asked as she knew he was off at this time but had never seen him around the ship at this time.
"In his cabin just knock and wait for the call to enter." Adams said. Tali nodded and head to the elevator nodding to Garrus as she went by he had been far happier after being called into the xo's office two days ago.
She reached the captain's qauters and buzzed and waited when the called came it sounded slightly breathless. Tali entered looking at her datapad and started talking.
"Captain Adams needs your approval on …" she stopped talking as she looked up and what she saw had her jaw falling open slack, Odysseus was hanging upside down by his ankles from a bar doing hanging sit ups. He was dressed in only the cuffs to hold him to the bar and a pair of tight work out shorts, even his mask was off revealing his catlike purple eyes.
"Tali what does Adams need approval on?" Odysseus asked snapping Tali out of her gawking of his olive skinned muscled form she was really glad for the mask stopping him from seeing her blush.
She explained what was needed as Odysseus flipped up and unhooked himself from the bar and dropped with the grace of a cat before turning to face her taking the pad and signing it and passed it back.
{There anything else lass?} He asked and without his mask changing his voice a bit she found his rumbling voice very soothing.
She wordlessly shook her head. He nodded and excused himself before gently ushering out saying that he needed to quickly clean up before he need to be on shift and gently closed the door behind him.
"Yeah he is nice to look at isn't he?" Tali jumped and squeaked at the sound of Joker's voice.
"W-What do you mean?" She asked trying not to sound like she had been drooling over him he may not look like a male of her race but they were close enough that he looked very tasty.
"Don't worry back in flight school if it wasn't for his eyes he would have been beating the girls off with a stick."
"But his eyes are so beautiful they are a lovely colour and shape." Tali said dreamily before blushing at Joker's shocked look.
"Really you think so, the twins love their eyes but hate how everyone is creeped out by them, maybe you should tell him that." Joker suggested leering in a suggestive voice making her blush and stammer as she fled.
When the mission time came she stood waiting for the order to board the shuttle, when it came she jumped in and quickly worked to bring up the Comm and scanners online. The mission started fine before they landed they twins did a quick run over the enemy camp and broke the defences of the outpost taking out the largest of the geth before Eris started to bring them down just outside the outpost while Odysseus continued to fire on the outpost to keep them from firing on the ground team.
When the team started to make headway taking out the geth Odysseus came over the Comm channel. "Warning in bound drop ship I suggest hurrying the clean up along while I keep the toaster busy."
Tali looked up in time to see him break off his run for one of the towers to stall the dropship. When Tali blasted the last geth on the ground the drop ship moved off. The next three outpost went much the same way over the next two days, at the last outpost they found a signal leading to a base for the geth in a fourth system.
When they were back aboard the team debriefed, Odysseus said that the last area would most likely be a base not out post so covering fire would be of no use once they were in side so the teams would be shuffled around to insure the lead team had the best chance of getting any data available. So it was decided that Odysseus along with Tali and Eris would make up team alpha while Garrus lead the force team made up of Ashely and Wrex, Kaidan and Liara would stay top side and watch for the dropship and use the heavy weapons they would be bringing if it showed up.
Everyone except Kaidan was fine with this and he said so. "Captain I kept quiet during the mission to grab the doctor but why am I still being benched over the quarian or turian or even the Krogan?" Kaidan demanded and as soon as the words were out of his mouth Tali saw he had made a very large mistake as both of the twins bodies became coils of tension as anyone who was paying the slightest attention would have notice that they were quickly becoming mad.
It seem everyone expect Kaidan noticed as he continued. "And for another thing you trust the alien members of or crew more than you alliance crew I mean you have one of them leading a team instead of Ashley of myself who are both trained soldiers."
That was apparently was the last straw as both of the twins stood slowly with the deliberate grace of a pair of angered large jungle cats Tali had read about and she felt a shiver of fear even though the rage was not directed at her, and by the body language of the rest of the ground team except Kaidan who still somehow seem to be unable to see the rage shared the view of not wanting that rage ever point at them.
"Kaidan listen and listen good you speciest sack of shit." Odysseus said in a voice so cold Tali thought it was nearly touching absolute zero and is was filled with a malice that finally seemed to clue Kaidan into the fact that he might have gone too far.
"Cap-" he started
"You will not speak until I give you permission to speak lieutenant!" Odysseus roared making them all jump in fright. "Now you want to know why I have you on reverse duty and putting my trust in my non-alliance crew members more than my alliance crew?"
"It is simple you royally fucked up in our first mission because of you stupid need to prove to yourself that you can be great and that action nearly got Williams killed if it had not been for her skill and the fact that both Eris and I had been there otherwise she would be dead because of your stupidity. You also become crippled by your biotics at random time now that is not your fault but I will not allow a piece of equipment in my roster that might fail at a critical time and get someone killed.
"Now as to why Ashley is not leading the team is a very simple reason and before you try and say that it is about her dislike of aliens it is because she does not have the experience of working on and leading a team with more than one species on it. and one last thing if you ever and I mean ever refer to you team mates like that again I will have you off this ship faster than you can blink.
each person here is more than their species and you will not use that tone or manner of speak when referring to anyone again am I clear?" Odysseus asked when Kaidan did not answer right away he roar loudly again. "I said do you understand me lieutenant?" Kaidan jumped and saluted and snapped out a yes sir.
After the team was dismissed Tali hung back and walked up behind Odysseus wrapping her arms around him feeling him tense before relaxing into her embrace.
{Thank you for defending us but I don't want you getting in trouble for us over that fool}Tali whispered into his back. He chuckled and she felt the deep rumble before her turn and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug that made heat pool in her gut. {Never worry lass I will always stick up for you along with my team. Kaidan cannot cause any trouble given that this mission is a council mission so don't worry my little lass. No how about we go see if I have any dextro chocolate left?} Tali perked up at that.
They walked out together not knowing that Joker had been listening and now felt that the dextros on board really should be getting together with his friends as he had never heard that kind of tone in either of the twins except when they were talking to the dextros so he started plotting on how to get it to happen even as he plotted the course for the geth base.
When they landed after dealing with the geth guarding the base by using bombing runs Odysseus stepped out of his fighter and took his flight helmet off and slipped the rest of his war mask on, it was times like this when they were landing so near the enemy he really wish for something like an archon visor. Mixed with a masked for combat.
They spread out into their teams Kaidan still sulking about how he was treated he had even apparently gone to Eris in attempts to complain about his treatment and Odysseus knew this by both being told by Eris and hearing her yell at him for not only barging in and wreck hours of delicate work but also going behind his commanders back. Odysseus had to run interference to prevent Garrus for killing him as the work Kaidan wrecked was ground laying work for his mother. They entered the base and started advancing through it.
The tech team went in with only Tali visible but guarded by a pair of drones as Eris and Odysseus were wearing their cloaks. The force team entered first to draw fire while the tech team focused on crowd control and data mining the base. As they cleared the base Odysseus found a large data cache of geth programming showing how they have changed over the years.
Odysseus was excited with this data Tali would have her pilgrimage gift and the data would give Odysseus more clues into how to make his suit program better now all he was missing was some way to control the nerve system. They exited the base in time to be attacked by the drop ship. With the heavy weapons in hand the crew made short work of the already damaged ship.
After the debrief Tali was called into the captain's cabin. She was nervous as she had no idea that Odysseus was planning to give her the data they found. "Tali I managed to get so geth programming data and thought you would want a copy of it. I am already sending a copy to the council and the alliance along with keep a copy for myself." Odysseus said holding out an osd chip to her.
Tali took it feeling the start of tears coming, she remembered that he promised any data he found but even with everything he had done she still was not really thinking that he would give it over without being asked for it.
"Thank you Shepard! I was going to ask but you just give it to me is there anything I can give you in exchange?" Tali asked not counting the plan of finding a mask set up for the twins.
"Yes there is if I find one last piece I need to my project and make a prototype would you be willing to help me test it out?"
"Sure but what would you need my help for?"
"I guess I can tell you along as you keep it quiet." Tali nodded "It is a enviro program for your people's suits that should help boost the immune system within a year or two to the point that you could live in your ships without your suits and be able to stand short amounts of time without your mask in order to eat off ship." Odysseus explained and Tali felt floored.
If his project worked he could possibly have just given the quarian their freedom back. Tali tackled Odysseus in her rush to hug him babbling that should would do everything she cold to help with the project when it was ready.
"Good, the only thing I am missing is a way to tab into the nerves of your people to help simulate the immune growth otherwise it would take decades to work and would have to start as a child in order to work." He explained after talking a bit more Tali head down to the engine bay with a skip in her step.
while Odysseus watched with a warm feeling and turned to the Comm telling joker to head to the citadel in order to have some r and r along with picking up supplies and the parts needed for the implant for Garrus's mother.
