The lights in the Captain's cabin were shuttered, the steady blink of Shepard's console the only true light - a tiny flash illuminating the writhing form in the blankets in intervals.

The beacon was impressing itself on the Commander, twisting in and out of his dreams, tying itself to the scenes of his life, his memories forfeit before the insistent voice, images and feelings of the Prothean's last message. The Cipher just made it comprehensible.

Corpses littered the area, beings twisted and tubed like the Husks, with sloped heads, four glowing blue eyes, now faded, and surrounded by a pool of too-dark blood. Shepard somehow knew it was full of expended nanites.

I am Vijori, the last Oracle -

the image shifted, and spun, screams of rage turning into batarian battle-whoops, as the scene folded into view, paused, and rewound. Elysium.

Petty Officer Alexander Shepard stood sharp behind his charge, Chief Diplomat Kenneth Zimbardo, who was doing his best to ooze charisma. The diplomats were on Elysium to renegotiate the terms in the Arcturus Accords, which set the agreed upon limits to dreadnoughts and naval size after the First Contact War. A council-appointed Asari, Turian and Salarian observer were present. Officially, Shepard was a diplomatic attaché, sent to organize and prepare the diplomat's information briefings as it pertained to military holdings and objectives in the talks. Unofficially, this was Shepard's first and last time in the field as an SAIS officer, sent to determine the attitudes and objectives of the other races beyond their polite veneers, and establish contacts within their respective governments. Major Daniels was supposed to be overseeing this operation, but he'd been pulled at the last minute. Something about a situation evolving on Akuze.

"As you can see, Elysium's strategic location and stringent defenses against raids from the Terminus make it a shining example of the lengths humanity is willing to go to protect itself and our alien partners." Zimbardo waxed eloquent, taking the observers around the capitol building, a shining edifice in the Greek style, made from the peculiarly blue marble-analogue found on Elysium. They stood on a balcony, looking out over the developing metropolis in the valley below, sipping a renowned vintage from one of Elysium's famed grottos - peculiar alpine formations which funneled sediment into otherwise closed caves.
"Humanity moved far from its sudden and violent emergence onto the galactic scene." The asari diplomat, all grace and blue curves, gave a nod to Zimbardo. Shepard frowned. The diplomat's subtle body language made it clear to their own attachés that she wasn't impressed. The unpleasant memory of his exit from Thessia flitted briefly through his mind. Alexander stepped forward to introduce himself to the asari attachés, when the vicious screech of klaxons began reverberating throughout the mountain corridor. The loudspeaker began sending a repeated message down the echoey marble hallways.
"We are under attack. Please congregate at your assigned bunker."
The asari diplomat shot a furious look at the ambassador, who opened his mouth to respond. Shepard, acting coolly, stepped forward, and said,
"I'm sorry your stay on Elysium has been ruined, Ma'am. Rendezvous with the others while the Alliance sorts this out. We'll be in contact." Before she could protest, he'd walked forward, grabbed her by the arm, and started ushering the startled diplomats down the hallway deeper into the mountain.

He'd gotten them halfway, when his radio buzzed.
"Shit! They've disabled the automated defenses. Calling all forces, prepare for - Shit!"

There was a shattering boom that shook the mountains, the force echoed and amplified by the valley walls. Shepard swore. That would have been the garrison at Gibraltar station. He turned as he heard the hiss-click of phaeston rifles unshipping. The turian diplomat's armed guards stood before him, some dozen turians, all in their blessedly functional ceremonial armor.
"The Elysium defense network says you're now the ranking member of the Alliance on the colony. We're at your command."

Shepard froze, his mind blank. The garrison had been wiped. It was just him, who wore the uniform as a front. Who's training had been on intel more than command. Who's battle-training to this point had mostly come from asari. His training kicked back in, the phrase that was pounded into the skulls of the men and women in the Systems Alliance Intelligence Services roaring through the sudden emptiness. Live. The. Lie.

He gave a full parade salute, drawing his saber and all. It was what his cover would do - to honor the choice of these Turians. They seemed to stand straighter from the gesture, and saluted back.
"How many turians still fit for service live on Elysium?" Shepard asked, words returning to him. One of the guard opened his omni-tool, and pulled up a page.
"140, sir." Shepard grimaced.
"Contact them, any way you can. The entire garrison was destroyed in that blast. We're going to need every man and woman we can get." He began walking toward the armory, and they fell in behind him. "Our first objective is to get comms back online - "

The beacon reasserted itself over Shepard's dreams, tearing screams and gore-soaked images of the Prothean extinction flashing through in rapid array - A great station, the lynchpin of the empire, white steel drenched in the too-dark blood and corpses. Forced conversion, the searing pain of angry nanites tunneling and converting cells through skin, the hopeless, crushing and living rage, a well of anger and loss deeper and wider than the rift at Klendagon.

I am Vijori, the last Oracle -

Shepard woke to Chakwas gently shaking him. He yelped and twisted, leg already lashing out, his fist glowing with biotic power. Chakwas snorted and stepped smartly backwards, dodging Shepard's sweep. He righted himself, reality slowly reasserting itself. He glanced up at the good doctor and apologized.
"Chakwas! I - Sorry." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Chakwas raised an eyebrow, her eyes sparkling with a little amusement even as her brow crinkled in worry.
"That's quite alright, Commander. No harm done anyhow. I've had to wake more than one twitchy soldier in my time." She opened her omni-tool, moving back to her businesslike manner. "What brought me here though, was the medical alert scans that went off while you were sleeping.
"You have medical scanning equipment in my quarters?" Chakwas nodded.
"It's standard issue in most turian vessels - to make enable quick response to medical emergencies their leaders may suffer. I must say I quite approve." She said, giving him a reproving look. "your brain activity was spiking nearly as high as it did right after your run in with the beacon, and your heart was beginning to palpitate. A symptom of a severe PTSD flashback." Her omni-tool glowed in the semi-darkness of his cabin as she scrutinized the commander closely. "Given your past, you have one of the most well-adjusted psychological profiles I've seen; no doubt thanks to your upbringing on Thessia. Is there something you're not sharing?" Shepard rubbed his eyes for a long second, working through mentally just how much Chakwas was allowed to know, how much she had access to. He looked back up at her, a grim smile touching his lips.
"I made it to Elysium." She frowned at him.
"You mentioned it helped when Dr. T'Soni to melded with you?" Shepard nodded warily. Chakwas opened her omni-tool and did some took some notes. There came a soft chime from the door, and Shepard glared at Chakwas for disturbing the asari in the middle of the night cycle. Chakwas motioned impatiently at him,
"We're 94 hours out from Noveria, Commander. You've got time and need to be well rested." He sighed and unlocked the door.

The asari scientist entered, looking hesitant. The doctor smiled broadly, making welcoming motions.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice Liara."
"It is no trouble, doctor." Liara said self-consciously. Chakwas put her hands on her hips, and a faint smile touched the asari's lips. "It is nothing, Karin." she corrected. Shepard noted the exchange, bemused. He'd been trained extensively in asari body language before he'd ever left Thessia, and Liara's open posture was unusual for a race so schooled in controlling their motions. It was a relaxation shown only with very close friends. Shepard was glad the shy scientist was at least getting along with the humans in her immediate proximity. She'd been withdrawn, pursuing their mission with single-minded intent, and displaying fantastic levels of biotic power during their missions and training exercises and a serious aptitude for sussing out patterns in Saren's financial data and movements. When Shepard had come out of his conference with Major Daniels, she'd quickly found the links - a human company named called Binary Helix, several conglomerations of biologic / pharmaceutical and a banking chain that Saren and Benezia, or both, had shares in under pseudonyms.
"Well?" Chakwas was staring at the pair of them, and Shepard felt an absurd urge to blush. He frowned slightly, and realized he didn't have his shirt on. He looked back up at Dr. Chakwas and held out a finger, quickly found a shirt, then had Liara sit next to him on the bed. He didn't want either of them falling badly and hitting the floor. He held out his hands, and Liara hesitantly put her own on top of his. The flash of shared information made them both stiffen. Shepard realized Liara had been sleeping worse than he had - the horrific images of the beacon tearing through her mind, looking for a place to rest. Because she hadn't Shepard's scars, nor time to cultivate her resilience, it was shredding her psyche. He gripped her hands tighter, reassuring.
"Embrace Eternity!"

Joinings were always easier on repetition. The words hadn't been said out loud, but the siari mantra helped Liara in the process, and thus they echoed through the link. Shepard felt the sensations of his immediate surroundings fade, as he was pulled into the link, feeling the emotions that roiled within the asari. Fear. Guilt. A horrible certainty, brought into crystal clarity by her analytical, rigorous approach to finding the truth. Self-doubt.
She would have to kill her mother. Because the alternative was far worse.

Shepard reached out through the link, sharing what comfort he could. The admiration the Normandy crew was steadily accruing for her. His own respect for her abilities and her determination. The information revealed to him the first time the peculiar side-effect of the Cipher - the slow-burning, intense flame that was her light.
"Liara Taeu-Soni*, you do not fight alone."
He felt the words reverberate in her mind, the clear bell of hope suddenly ringing in the turmoil. He felt the surge of her gratitude, and the quickly following curiosity, held at bay by another examination of the beacon's message. They puzzled at the gaps in the message, finding the cipher had left them with an instinctive understand of the title of this Vijori. The oracle was an Avatara, one chosen by the Prothean empire for their dedication to a particular trait, elevated to a quasi-mythic status. The Oracle was beyond even that, the head and wisdom of the Council Avatara - the Hearer and Knower, the End-of-Counsel and the First Prothean. Her message would be beyond important, the last desperate directives to the dissolving Prothean Empire. And it yet eluded them.

As their shared minds came to this conclusion, Shepard felt a renewed pulse of curiosity from Liara, aimed at his own past - the memories that he relived. His reaction was instinctual, throwing up mental defenses violently and quickly, and with a cry of surprise and pain, Liara severed the link. Shepard came to, feeling Liara's hands begin to slide out of his own as she fell backward. He grabbed her, holding her aloft as she struggled to maintain consciousness. Her eyes became a deep royal blue as the rush of blood began to half-drain, and Chakwas rushed forward to hold the Asari's head, giving Shepard an alarmed and accusatory look. Liara took a deep breath and came to. She sat up and put her head in her hands, taking calming breaths. When she finally lifted her head, she turned to Shepard, her cheeks flush with shame.
"Forgive me, Commander. I -" She took a breath. "I should not have let my curiosity get the better of me." Shepard gave her a hard look.
"You ought to have asked." He eventually said. His voice softened, "But I will never punish simple curiosity." Shepard turned to Chakwas.
"Thank you, Doctor. I have improved." Chakwas looked a bit put-out by her abrupt dismissal, but nodded and left.

Shepard turned back to Liara. "You had questions?" he asked gently. Liara nodded, still radiating embarrassment and shame.
"Hey, remember when I asked you which file you'd read on me?" she nodded.
"I have not found any additional files on Alliances databases." She turned her head in an expression Shepard couldn't quite catch, "But I did find a great deal of classified material on you I might not have otherwise." Shepard gave her a questioning look, intrigued.
"What did you find?"
"You are associated strongly with the Alliance's Intelligence services, though there is no direct link between you. You merely seem to... appear in situations described in the reports." Liara folded her hands on her lap. "It became easier to track your history after Elysium. They made it into quite the spectacle. Did you really lead troops into battle against batarian pirates with only a dress sword and pistol?" Shepard gave her a sidelong look.
"I had half my armor on too. They blew the armory before I could get everything together. A... friend loaned me his sidearm." Liara gave him an incredulous look.
"You are... remarkably strong willed. "I begin to understand why you were able to touch even the fragments of the message in the beacon and survive."
"You might also search the asari networks for me as well." Shepard gave her a lopsided grin. "I would consider it a favor, as I know only that they have a file on me, not what it contains."
Liara tilted her head lost in thought. "You've mentioned part of your upbringing on Thessia. How did you fit in? Did that influence your decision to join the Alliance military?" She got up and started pacing. "Shepard, you would be a fascinating subject for an in-depth study!" Her eyes were shining with that irrepressible curiosity. Shepard laughed.
"I think you'll have to fight Chakwas for the autopsy rights. She has some theories about the side-effect from the Cipher." Liara's eyes widened in horror.
"I did not mean to cause offense!" She stammered. "I only meant that your life would make for a groundbreaking anthropological study -" She put her head in her hands. "That is even worse isn't it? I am sorry. I was never very good at this. It is why I preferred to spend most of my time on remote digs."
"And in the medical lab?" Shepard asked, probing. Liara nodded, raising her head slightly from her hands. "Relax, Liara. It was a joke." He tilted his head slightly, thinking. "If it would help, I have some books on human psychology and body language I can forward to you. I can also share what insight I have from the asari perspective."
"I would be extremely grateful, Commander." Liara inclined her head respectfully, and Shepard briefly marveled that one of the scion's of Thessia's ancient houses was making such a gesture to him. He gestured at the desk chair, which Liara sat in, eagerly facing him.
"To begin with, most humans aren't schooled in controlling their body language as a part of basic education..."

At the beginning of first shift - the nominal morning onboard - Shepard walked out of his cabin and visited the medbay. Chakwas was standing over the scientists they'd managed to save from Cerberus, looking only a little fatigued from the interruption of her sleep. She looked grim as she pulled up the files and made notes.
"Whats the prognosis, Doctor?" She glanced at him, and read off of the chart,
"They've suffered what looks to be damage from multiple concussions, two have broken bones, and one has a nasty cut running across his abdomen." She sighed. "But that's not the worrying bit. The spores the Thorian release have a neuro-degenerative effect, complicated by the allergic reaction to the planets naturally violent pollen. Physically, they'll be right as rain in a couple of days. But I don't know if they'll ever be able to tell us what they did down there, let alone testify against Cerberus." Shepard scowled.
"It's never easy, is it?"
"There are no shortcuts." the med-bay door hissed as Garrus entered. "Commander, did you have a minute?" Shepard nodded, and half-bowed to the doctor, thanking her. She nodded graciously, turning back to her patients. Garrus and Shepard left the medbay, heading toward the bustling Mess. Shepard stopped by a console, and had Joker adjust their itinerary to stop at an Alliance medical station on the way. Shepard also sent a line to SAIS, letting them know about the potential human intelligence, as well as the odds of it being retrievable.

"What's on your mind, Garrus?"
"I was thinking about the other day." He began. Shepard rubbed the back of his neck, embarrased.
"Yeah, sorry for, ah, kicking your face." Garrus gave the turian equivalent of a grin, and gave a conciliatory gesture.
"It's been a long time since someone was able to put me on my ass. We'll have to spar sometime." Garrus sighed. "But I wanted to say that you were right. About all of it." He dipped his head. "I wasn't after justice. I let it warp into vengeance." He crossed his arms over his chest, an almost defensive posture. "You were right about the source of my desire vengeance too. I was angry he beat me, angry we got bogged down doing things by the book that we let him go. But there are no shortcuts."
Shepard got a faraway look. "When you work above the law, or on the dark side of it, remaining just is more important than being efficient. Or you become that which you were tasked to destroy. It is a fine line that most people don't realize we walk. And one I had to have pounded into me."
Garrus nodded. "Back groundside, when you were talking to that -" An almost imperceptible shudder ran through Garrus "the Thorian. How did you know the right thing was to refuse it?" He leaned forward, searching. "If what you've said about the Reapers is true, then we're going to need all the tech we can get." Shepard said nothing for a second, then sighed.
"I didn't know if it was the right thing. I still don't. That may hurt us in the long run." He rubbed his eyes. "But Cerberus had sent a liquidation team. That means one of two things - One, their work was discovered and they wanted to cover their tracks. Given that the distress call was given literally 2 hours before we landed, that's unlikely. They might also not have been satisfied with their trade." Shepard raised his hands. "I don't know if it was because I'd peripherally touched the mind of a thorian via the Cipher, but I also felt a... smugness coming from it. It was beat and bleeding and dripping, its thralls had been chewed through twice, and it was smug." Shepard threw up his hands, and gave a wan smile. "But you'll never know for sure, really. You stick to the path in front of you, and pretend you're damned certain for your men." Shepard shook his head. "As to your question, there are sacrifices and there are shortcuts. But in our realm, the long shadow of the law - "
"There are no real shortcuts." Garrus finished for him. Shepard nodded, and clapped him on the shoulder.
"You're a good man, Vakarian." Garrus' mandibles flicked in dry amusement.
"That's good, because I'm a terrible turian." Shepard laughed.
"I mean it," He said, his mind flicking back to the preparatory turian language training he'd received as a part of his assignment to the Normandy. "Qioud vaos isprit pirobus" [The spirit that guides you is pure]. Garrus looked surprised, then humbled. He finally said dryly,
"You got the tones all wrong, but I'll take it." Shepard rolled his eyes.
"Those are a little difficult without the right anatomy, you know."
"Excuses, excuses." Garrus drawled.

After their team had gone through more drills, Shepard had Wrex stay to talk with him, as he slowly put up his armor and stowed the weapons. He looked up at the silent krogan, wishing his brief SpecTRe training had covered more of krogan body language.
"What did you put onto the Cerberus shuttle?" Shepard finally asked.
"Tracker." The battlemaster rumbled. "Far as I can tell, it works by worming its way into the shield systems. Location data gets cycled into the actual output. Persists well after the physical device is removed. Undetectable until the signal pulse we designed for it has it send the info." He grunted. "Neat toy." Shepard nodded, thinking.
"Given that it uses the Broker's information network, will I have to purchase information on the shuttle's location?" Wrex gave him a long look, his red eyes seeming to give off a constant baleful glow.
"Wondered when we'd get to that." Wrex shrugged, "The Broker told me to consider this both a sale and purchase. You're giving him data, and using that data. No cost. He said to consider this the beginning of a 'mutually beneficial' relationship."
"You have direct contact with the Broker?" Shepard asked, incredulous. Wrex motioned to a small device plugged into the massive power outlet usually reserved for charging the generators in artillery.
"Close enough."
"Not worried I'm going to try to bug it?"
"You're honorable. And you know better." Shepard thought for a minute.
"So, in return for full access to all of the toys available to you, all information from them is sent to the Broker. I can collect the information or start an 'account'?" Wrex grunted affirmatively.
"If I want to buy more information off of the Broker network, I need to negotiate that separately? How am I going to do that?" Wrex gestured at the small black omni-box, which somehow managed to look menacing, even innocuously perched atop Wrex's locker. Shepard stared at it for a long moment, then turned to the hulking krogan.
"Why are you here, Wrex?" Wrex stared at him, calculating. Shepard continued. "We both know you've got the brains, the guts, and the strength to be leading half or more of Tuchanka. You care deeply about your people, the fact that they're slowly dying because of the genophage eats at you. You work for the Broker because he gives you a target and you shoot it. This is neither simple, nor entirely solvable by shooting Saren and Benezia. A simple merc would have left a long time ago. There's quite literally not enough money to pay for putting up with everything we've had to." Shepard crossed his arms and leaned back, staring Wrex down. "Drop the act."

The staredown lasted for a full minute before Wrex let out a low chuckle.
"You've one hell of a quad, Shepard." He snorted in amusement. "Nobody's been arrogant enough to talk to me like that since I was a splitplate. But I'll bite." He emphasized the human expression and smiled broadly, the long rows of his teeth layering menace atop the phrase. "I don't do causes. Let alone lost ones." He snorted in disgust. "My people have given up. They'd rather fight each other than save their own humps. They'd rather kill their own kin than change." He snarled, forcibly reminding Shepard of the previous talk they'd had on the subject. "What's left of Krogan honor is a twisted sham, used by the weak to prey on the weaker, in the name of thrice damned survival. My people are shells, Shepard. Trapped by our bodies, the one thing of value the galaxy sees in us. I'm not going to waste my energy because of some idealistic tripe from a human." Shepard bore the diatribe patiently.
"That's why you're not on Tuchanka. Why are you here, if not for the cause?" Wrex stared at Shepard for a second, before looking past him and giving a curt nod to someone beyond. Shepard turned, and saw Tali walking up from Engineering, a shotgun cradled in her hands. She approached somewhat hesitantly, unsure if she was interrupting.
"Call it faith." Wrex said, a tone Shepard couldn't quite decipher in his voice.

Shepard nodded, and excused himself, watching with a smile as Wrex went through some motions with Tali, showing her how to more effectively use the weapon.
"Faith." He said to himself as the elevator doors closed. He stared at the bland steel doors, contemplative.

90 minutes out from Noveria, Shepard began to change into his disguise for the event. At this point, it was simple, a trim black suit and a pair of fake glasses, and a bit of make-up to make him appear older. He had just put the suit on when there was a chime from his door. He opened his omni-tool and unlocked the door. Ashley entered, looking tired, her fatigues a little rumpled. She held a datapad in her hand, and looked up with some surprise.
"Looking sharp Commander." She grinned. "Those SpecTRe issue?"
Shepard chuckled. "I wish. They'd probably double as skirmish armor and a stealth net if they were." He put in a cuff link - a momento from his SAIS days. They did actually double as a recording device, but he didn't say anything about that. " No, I'm doing this the old fashioned way, with charm and looks."
Ashley tilted her head and gave him an appraising once over, before giving him an impish grin.
"Right. Where are you getting those?" Shepard clutched at his heart, a look of mock hurt on his face.
"You wound me!" He put in the other cuff link, giving the Chief a side-long grin. "Nah, Wrex volunteered his." She burst out laughing.
"What did you need Chief?" Ashley, still chuckling slightly, handed him the datapad.
"Finalize the transfer orders. The Alliance couldn't figure out how to label our little..."
"Conglomerate?" Shepard supplied. Ashley nodded.
"That works. Just need you to sign." Shepard nodded and waved his omni-tool, adding his authority to the datapad. She nodded her thanks, then added,
"Kidding aside, nice suit skipper."
"Thanks. They're much more comfortable than some of the dresses I've had to wear."
Ashley's eyes went wide, and her eyebrows shot upward. "Commander?" she asked, somewhat warily. He gave a pained sigh.
"One of the schools I went to on Thessia had uniforms." He grimaced. "And the matron refused to make concessions."
"There wouldn't happen to be holos of this, would there?" Ashley said, tapping her chin thoughtfully, the mischievous smile playing about her lips.
"You don't have enough blackmail on me Ash?" Shepard shook his head in mock reproof.
"No such thing, skipper." She said cheerfully.
"Ah, get out of here. I have to put my make up on." As Ashley gave him another look, he rolled his eyes. "That was a joke, Chief.
She gave him a lazy salute, grinning. "Not my business what you do in your spare time, Skipper."
"Yeah, yeah." He grumbled good-naturedly as she left.

When he had finished preparing himself, (finishing his disguise and concealing two knives and an extra omni-tool on his person) He called together his team, detailing their plan of action. He, Tali, and Kaidan would be going as guests to the party, ostensibly as representatives for Hahne-Kedar, one of the Alliance's major contractors. Officially, they were to seek out contacts and inquire about rates for a peak facility, for use in arms testing. Unofficially, they were going to pump the representatives for Binary Helix, the Sirta Foundation, and Elanus Risk Control for information on Benezia and Saren's investments, aims, and if possible, location. Other than that, they were to vet potential contacts in the corporate world, with an eye on pouring the foundation of an information network for Shepard. The marine contingent and the other members of the squad would wait at half-readiness for the call to deploy, as the Normandy stayed in stealth above Noveria. A Hahne-Kedar shuttle would pick up the ground team from outside Noveria's sensor range, and ferry them down. There were no questions, so Shepard dismissed them. Tali hung out after though, he arms crossed.
"Shepard." She said, sounding upset.
"What is it Tali?" He asked, curious. The quarian was usually happy to be a part of their missions.
"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with my part of this mission." She took a deep breath. "I'm here because I started this. Because Saren is a threat." She looked down. "But I kind of ended up being the representative of the quarians here too." Her voice hardened. "And you're asking me to confirm the bigotry against quarians by pretending to be exactly what everyone accuses us of being!" Shepard nodded.
"If you want off the mission, I can switch you out if you'd like." He said, then held up a hand "And I understand where you're coming from. But I chose you for two reasons. Firstly, " Shepard gave a wry smile. "I need someone who can actually understand the inevitable tech-talk that will happen. Kaidan is good, but he doesn't have the depth of knowledge that you do." He inclined his head to her. "Secondly, people's racism against quarians is a useful bit of ignorance. They will see only what they expect to see, and that is an asset you cannot ignore." Shepard shrugged. "The people I'll be interacting with will be on their guard, expecting corporate espionage or brown-nosing for favors. But you? You'll be free to move about the support staff, who will be far more likely to gossip about an asari matriarch or disavowed SpecTRe passing through to an impressionable quarian on her pilgrimmage than the representatives will." Shepard smiled. "Tell you what, next time we do this I'll let you write your own cover. Deal?" He stretched out his hand. Tali hesitated a second, then took it.
"I trust you Shepard. I'll do it. This time." Shepard inclined his head.
"Thank you Tali. And hey, you never know. It might even be fun." He gave her a small wink and turned to go.

"Commander, the Alliance shuttle Maverick is requesting permission to link."
"Let 'em board, Joker."
"Affirmative Commander." Shepard turned to Tali and gave an exaggerated sweeping bow.
"Your chariot awaits."

A/N - Sorry! . Some of these conversations needed to happen, and it ah, grew in the telling. Noveria is next, I swear. Along with some character development for poor, neglected Kaidan.

*As for Liara Taeu-Soni, that's a little linguistic addition I made. The apostrophe's in asari names literally do not signify anything in cannon, which annoyed me. In Fallow, the Taeu/T' prefix on Asari names is a relic of asari history - an honorific given after the Warring Cities period to those families who defended Evalin Keep during the Siege of Armali. The siege held the title of the bloodiest battle in asari history until the Rachni Wars. When the city was finally breached, the defenders were slaughtered to a woman. The title was given to both honor those the families lost, and to honor the decision of each family NOT to seek vengeance for the deaths.
It is often shortened to T' because the word contains a burr that is difficult for non-asari to pronounce correctly.