Enjoy!
Chapter 9: A Captain's Decision
After a short ride back to the Alarei and a quick walk to the plaza, Kal'Reegar, Tali, and Shepard were all standing in front of the Admiralty Board inside the Conclave. The Admirals were all positioned atop a platform in the middle of the Conclave; Admiral Raan was overseeing; Admiral Xen was on the right; Koris, in the middle; and Han'Gerrel on the left. The Conclave was still empty, no other Quarian non-militants were allowed, and even though Gerren, Ralin, and Quinn weren't considered 'non-militants,' they were waiting outside the Conclave near the airlock to exterior docking cradle 17 to see Tali out, no matter what the outcome was.
"So, Tali." Admiral Raan said in a soft spoken tone, "What happened on the Alarei? What happened to your father?"
Shepard leaned atop the platform in front of him and answered for her, "We cleared the Alarei of the majority of Geth forces, but they may require more to clear out the remainder of the Geth before they can repair themselves and build more."
"Agreed," Daro'Xen concurred with a wave of her hand, "We will begin sending strike teams immediately to root out the Geth and assist with aiding the survivors."
"We cannot thank you enough for saving the Alarei. The Migrant Fleet owes all three of you." Han'Gerrel said with a bow of his head.
Admiral Raan cleared her throat, "and Tali's father?" She said, aware that they had avoided that question.
Shepard threw a glance back at Tali, who responded with a sad sniffle, "We found him, he was mortally injured and died in my hands... he was killed by the Geth."
Raan gasped momentarily, "I am so sorry, child. At least you got to see your father one last time."
"Yes, thankfully." Tali glumly replied, she had wanted for her entire life for her father to tell her that he loved her, that he was proud of her. He had gotten the chance to do so, but that seemed insignificant compared to him dying recklessly.
The Conclave went dead silent, not even a rustle of leaves from the nearby foliage was heard, Kal'Reegar broke the silence, "So... about our deal, Admiral Gerrel and Admiral Xen?"
"The vote of judgment was two to one in Tali's favor. Feel free to return to the fleet whenever you wish, Tali." Raan said as she shot a glare at Koris, the only one who voted against Tali's innocence and the main instigator of the accusations. Koris didn't meet Tali's gaze and looked away from Tali's accusing eyes, deciding to remain silent.
"Yes, we agreed to Tali being exonerated, but I still believe someone is still at fault for this atrocity." Daro'Xen stated smugly as she crossed her arms across her chest, and gazed over at the Quarian she thought was responsible, "Kal'Reegar."
"What do you mean? What does he have to do with this? We agreed that..." Admiral Gerrel began, flabbergasted by Xen's accusation.
"I agreed to nothing, only that I would vote for Tali's innocence if they retook the Alarei." Daro shot back at Han, interrupting him mid-sentence. "He's a part of my crew and I can do with him as I wish." She turned back to Kal'Reegar, "You will not be welcome back to the Moreh for two months due to your apparent lack of competence, which, if you had any competence whatsoever, then you could have averted this whole accident. I suggest you find another Captain to take you for the time being until it is deemed that you can return." She then left the room with her head arrogantly held high. "I hope that this will serve as an adequate lesson..." Acting completely obstinate, determined to have her own way.
Kal'Reegar gritted his teeth, she was his Captain, the Admirals could not veto a Captain's decision-although that didn't mean that she wasn't a bitch for her decision. 'Sometimes, I wish I had joined the Neema, or even the Tonbay.' Unfortunately, his Pilgrimage had not turned out as well as Tali's or Gerren's, in fact he was probably lucky he got a position aboard the Moreh. He'd worked as a machinist for four years inside the Citadel working on old ships and fixing parts, then he was robbed and lost half of his accumulated wealth. After that, he was fired and used the remainder of his money to buy an old shuttle. Daro'Xen reluctantly accepted this gift with the promise that he'd serve as a marine for fifteen years. So far, he'd served about ten of those years. He had loyally served the Migrant Fleet Marines and now... he was being exiled for a duration of two months. 'The galaxy is a cruel place.'
"Kal'Reegar... Admiral Xen has rendered her judgement, you must abide by it."Raan said dismally, she believed that Admiral Xen was acting irrational, but there was nothing she could do to stop this abuse of power. "Tali, Shepard, we still have some more things to discuss. Kal'Reegar, you are excused."
With a nod of his head Kal turned and began to walk up the stairs. He stopped mid-way when he felt a hand gently grab hold on his shoulder, he looked over his shoulder to half-face the source of the hand, it was Shepard. "Kal'Reegar, meet me outside the plaza when we are done here, we have some things to (discuss)."
Kal'Reegar raised an eyebrow in a bemused expression towards him, "Of course, I'll be waiting near the exit.
"Good man." Shepard said as he patted him on the shoulder and returned to his original position facing Raan and the remainder of the Admiralty Board.
Kal'Reegar was puzzled as he waited by the door to the conclave wondering, 'What could Shepard possibly want with me?' He didn't really have any skills to offer nor any sort of specialization. He pondered this until the Conclave was finally over and Shepard once again was in front of him.
"Kal'Reegar, have you given any thought as to what you're going to do now?" Shepard inquired.
Kal shook his head, "Not much, sir. I suppose I'll join one of the outlying ships for the time-"
"Don't bother," Shepard said cordially with a smile, "Would you like to join the Normandy? We need some of the best leaders and soldiers, and I don't care what Daro'Xen thinks of you. You're a damn fine soldier and a damn fine leader."
"I wasn't expecting the honor of joining your crew. You don't need to do this just because you pity me." Kal'Reegar rubbed the back of his neck, doing two of the things he did best; brutal honesty and modesty. "What could I possibly offer you? I'm just a soldier. I just shoot stuff."
It was Shepard's turn to shake his head, "That isn't important. What is inportant is that you stood by us, Kal; against the Admiralty Board, on the Alarei, and you made sure on Haestrom that Tali and the data remained safe, no matter the cost. You've earned this."
Kal'Reegar went silent, his abilities generally went unnoticed. To get such recognition from such a person made him exorbitantly proud. "Thanks, Shepard. I accept your offer, assuming it still stands." Kal quickly added, his modesty still showing. Shepard nodded, the offer still stood.
"I'll see you on the Normandy." Shepard turned around and began walking towards Exterior Docking Cradle 17.
"Wait!" Kal'Reegar started to follow him and caught up until he was side by side with Shepard, "Could I bring some of my Squad with me?"
"I don't see why not." Shepard replied with a slight shrug, "We need all the help we can possibly get, just board the Normandy when you are finished here."
At that point Tali came up to Shepard and Reegar, "Kal, you're coming with us?" She said as she joined up in their stroll.
"Seems like it, ma'am. How else am I supposed to fulfill my oath to your father if I don't? I swore to protect you, and that is exactly what I'm going to do."
"Kal, what did I tell you about calling me, 'Ma'am'?" She said with an exasperated sigh, "It's Tali. The mission is over, I'm not your superior anymore."
"No, ma'a- Tali. I think it's just beginning." He abruptly stopped and waved good-bye at the two.
Shepard turned to the Quarian in his wake, "Let's head back to our ship, Miss vas Normandy..." With that, the two left for the Normandy.
Kal activated his Omni-tool and sent a short message to Gerren, requesting that he, along with everyone else, meet Kal'Reegar at the entrance to exterior docking cradle 17. He was feeling... Happy? He wasn't sure, what he was feeling was a mix; he finally had the chance to make a difference, and there was no way he was going to pass this up. 'Screw the Admiralty Board and screw Daro'Xen. When have they ever done anything for me?' In the direction that Shepard and Tali went, he took off as well.
Kal'Reegar approached the small cluster of three slowly, (Urla and Venn were not present) wondering how the Squad would take the news of his dismissal from the Moreh for two months. "Good to see y'all. Where is Venn and Urla?"
Gerren gave a modest shrug, "I told them to come as well, but they must be occupied with something."
"Kal, is something wrong?" Ralin said with concern, she seemed to have very good intuition for determining people's feelings. Very impressive, since she didn't have facial expressions to go by. "Did Tali get exiled?"
Kal'Reegar sighed tersely, "Tali didn't get exiled, but something is definitely wrong." Kal studied each of them carefully, "Admiral Xen has removed me from the Moreh for two months." Their reaction was immediate and a collective gasp arose.
"She... She can't do that!" Gerren blurted out.
"Unfortunately, she can. She is my Captain." Kal's voice surprised him, he was acting remarkably collected at this unexpected turn of events. "Shepard has requested that I join him on the Normandy, which I have accepted." He cleared his throat before announcing, "Now, I don't expect you to join me, or require it, but I wanted to ask if any of you would join me."
Ralin's hand bravely shot straight up immediately after his announcement, "I'm with ya, Sarge!" She declared confidently. Kal noticed that ever since she had found love with Gerren, she was becoming more and more reckless and seemingly more like herself as she grew comfortable with all of them; as opposed to the shy woman she had once been.
"You will do no such thing." A voice from behind Kal stated, he could hear the metallic footsteps from his approach. Kal half-faced the procurer of the voice. It was none other than Admiral Koris, his Admiral's Insignia gleaming on the front of his suit with his head held high, proud of his status in the fleet.
Under her visor Ralin paled beyond her usual white-gray complexion, "Captain." She said as she performed a formal Quarian salute. The right arm is held away from the body, parallel with the body with the hand facing upwards. The right hand is balled up in a fist. The left arm is across her chest and her hand is approximately where her heart would be located with the fingers and thumb spread apart from one another. The chest is projected upwards and forwards with the head slightly tilted forwards. It is the ultimate way of showing respect to another being for Quarians.
"At ease, Ralin'Shanar vas Qwib-Qwib." Koris said humbly, holding one his hands in a gesture for her to stop. Ralin eventually went back to her original resting position, and Koris directed his attention towards Kal. "Quarian biotics are too rare to go on a suic-Shepard's mission. I'm sure that you are aware of this from your time serving."
"I see your logic, Admiral. It does not offend me in the slightest." Kal acquiesced, Quarian biotics were rare, and the fleet could not afford for one of them to be Killed in Action. "But are you insinuating that Shepard's mission is impossible? We're talking about the man who found Ilos, that was considered impossible too."
Koris snorted and with his general pretentious manner, "This mission will require you to go past the Omega-4 Relay, something that has never been done before, I will not waste additional Quarian lives on something so, to astutely put it, suicidal."
Gerren answered the call to duty, despite Koris's warning of impending doom, "You saved me in the Perseus Veil, Kal. Time for me to return the favor." Believing that he owed Kal his life for rescuing him from the clutches of the Geth. Ralin looked torn between the duty to her Captain and the duty to her Saera to be as she vacilitated her gaze between Kal and Gerren.
"Gerren... You have someone else to worry about now," Kal'Reegar lightly chided with a hasty glance towards Ralin. She was looking pleadingly towards Gerren, not wishing for him to leave without her, where she couldn't protect him. Where he could easily end up dead. "Wouldn't be fair if I took you away from her." Afterwards, Kal faced Quinn who appeared to be tense and quietly contemplating his options. He didn't say anything, neither did Kal.
"I guess that this is goodbye then." Gerren muttered, nearly choking on his words. He did not sounding particularly good or wanting to say bye to Kal.
"Hey. We'll see each other again." Kal said, trying to remain optimistic while he placed a hand on Gerren's shoulder, even though he was feeling anything but optimistic. "I'll see you in two months. You're going to have to be the one to commit Daala to the Ancestors. Keelah se'lai."
"I really hope your right and I'll make that she is commited to the Ancestors. Keelah se'lai." Ralin and Gerren said the last part in unison. Kal'Reegar, letting the hand droop off of Gerren, and with a wave of his hand, turned towards the open airlock door, took one long look back, taking in the scene before him, and slowly made his way into the Normandy. 'If this really is a suicide mission, then this might be the last time I ever see the fleet again.' He thought dismally.
He sighed, 'Looks like I'll have to face the cold, hard unknown alone.' He was lost in thought and almost jumped when a voice unexpectantly inquired, "So, where to next, Kal?" Kal hastily checked behind him. Quinn'Zeeda has sneaked up on his and apparently had come to a decision on whether to join this little adventure or not.
"Quinn, you're coming with?" Kal, based on his previous knowledge of Quinn, thought that he would be the least likely to come with him.
"And pass up the opportunity to work on the most sophisticated ship in the whole galaxy? Not a chance!"
"Thanks... I'm glad that I won't have to... You know." Kal'Reegar was terrible at thank yous, more so than he liked to admit. He was a marine, he was used to helping people, and not use to people coming to his aid.
"Not a problem." Quinn said as the gray inner airlock door opened. Shepard was leaning on a console, facing the inner airlock door, he had been waiting for them, Tali was staring into space close to Shepard, and Miranda Lawson was conversing with EDI near the Galaxy Map.
He swiftly stood and greeted the two Quarian visitors. "Welcome aboard the Normandy, again. I see you brought Quinn with you." Shepard said with a smile towards the eccentric Quarian Engineer, who was happily bobbing his head up and down in a nod. "Make yourselves at home with some of the most experienced and best, soldiers, biotics, mercenaries, engineers, scientists, and assassins in the entire Galaxy."
"Before that though, we'll need to make this arrangement more permanent than the last one. "Talk to Miranda," Shepard gestured with his head towards the Human female whom they both remembered distinctly from Haestrom. "She will assign you to where you will be working." He leaned in close to Kal, "If she gives you any sort of trouble, don't hesitate to tell me." He whispered.
"Maybe," Kal'Reegar said as he turned towards Miranda, "You should update me on the current mission." Kal noticed Tali perked up, listening intently to what Shepard had to say. She had not been given a full briefing either, not with all the craziness that had recently occurred.
"We're going up against an alien race called the Collectors."
"Ah, yes. Tali mentioned them on Haestrom; from when you went to Freedom's Progress."
"We've learned more about them since then." He said with a wave of his hand, "The Collectors are reprogrammed Protheans, serving the Reapers. We're going to attack their base, beyond the Omega-4 Relay."
Kal gasped and his eyes turned wide, "The Omega-4 Relay? I heard it was impossible. No ship has ever returned." Acutely remembering Koris's pompous claims.
"Which is why," A knowing smile creeped up on Shepard's face. "We're going to be the first. We're collecting an IFF from a Derelict Reaper which should enable us to enter the Omega-4 Relay unhindered."
"Well, I hope it works." Someone tapped him on the right shoulder, he spun around towards where the source should have been, but nothing was there. With a confused expression on his face he felt someone tap on his other shoulder, again when he spun around, nothing was there. "Huh?" He inquired, puzzled at who, or what, could be doing this. He threw a glance back at Tali, who appeared to be just as confused.
Shepard suppressed a laugh with his hand, "Kasumi, stop toying with Kal!"
"Aww..." A human female, short in stature and sported a lithe body, materialized directly in front of Kal. She was cloaked in black and gray clothing which concealed most of her body with the exception of the bottom half of her face. She had a red stripe which ran down from the bottom of her lip to her chin. Kal stepped back in surprise from the figure, there had not even been a shimmer from her tactical cloak.
"That's some impressive gear you got there." Kal admitted once he had steadied himself and regained his composure.
"Thanks!" She said cheerfully, "Your equipment isn't too bad either!" As she gave him a once over of his enviro-suit, the ML-77 slung across his back, and the M-6 Carnifex strapped to his right hip.
At that point, Miranda approached the five of them, carrying a datalog, she did not look up from it, "Kal'Reegar, you'll be working with Jacob Taylor in the armory. Quinn, you'll be working with Tali'Zorah down in Engineering." After a curt nod from both of them, she glanced up, "Pleasure to work with you." Her face was blank, hell, he might as well be looking at a Quarian visor. No emotion was present on her face as she, once again, examined the datalog and departed.
"I guess I'll be taking inventory inside the Armory. See you later, Kasumi and -" He clutched his chest, bent over, and violently coughed. 'Crap.' He searched his mind for what could have caused hin to do that as he stared at the spittle on his visor, 'Allergic reaction from the suit puncture on Haestrom...' He felt his airway begin to constrict and nausea overtake his being. He began feeling woozy, and stepped precariously.
"Are you okay?" Shepard gripped on the arm, supporting Kal from falling over.
"Perfect. Just perfect. Looks like I'm sick from when I got shot on Haestrom." Kal groaned groggily, 'I guess it was to be expected that this would happen...'
"Tali, escort Reegar down to the Med-bay ASAP, you probably know the most about Quarian sickness."
Tali gave Shepard a curt nod, proceeded to grab hold of Reegar's hand, and hastily lead him to the elevator both agilely and gracefully. They stepped inside, "You know, Kal," Tali said as the doors closed and the elevator began to descend. "I might be in the same situation as you. My suit was punctured on the Alarei..."
"You should take a peek at that-Immediately." A sneeze briefly interrupted his advice. The doors lumbered open and Tali led him to the Medical wing.
The doors parted and a gray-haired doctor, slightly beyond her prime, who was seated at a desk, craned her neck towards the door, "Another sick Quarian, eh?" She said with a hint that she was slightly miffed. She stood up and got out of her chair and seemed to visibly lighten up, "No matter, I'm probably an expert by now. I patched Tali up so many times from all the fire she took back on the original Normandy." She chuckled softly with a grin from the memory.
Tali knew that the comment was not meant to be taken seriously, but she felt a pang of guilt when she was reminded of the previous Normandy. Guilt of her being the cause of Shepard's death. She knew this wasn't completely true, but even so, her mind would not let go of the nagging sensation at the back of her mind, that it was utterly her fault.
"I do not believe we've been fully introduced," She extended an arm out to the sick Quarian, "Dr. Chakwas, at your service."
"Squ- Kal'Reegar, 78th Migrant Fleet Marines." Remembering that during his brief dismissal, he would be stripped of any sort of military ranking until mitt could return to the Moreh. He grasped her hand, and gave it a short pump in a handshake.
"What appears to be the problem?"
"I'm having an allergic reaction to some bacteria I must've picked up back on Haestrom." He said while gingerly rubbing his shoulder, "Just give me some antibiotics and I'll be good to go."
"Oh no, I don't think so, Kal." Chakwas said, trying to conceal a smile, "I'm going to quarantine you here for a week and confine you strictly to the Medical wing."
"What? A week? It's just a-" Kal raised his voice, incredulous at the current situation
"Relax." Chakwas gave a half exasperated sigh, "You military types are so serious, like these Cerberus folks. Sometimes, I wish I was back, serving with the Alliance again." She said with a shake of her head.
"You served with the Alliance?" Kal asked as he blinked in surprise.
Dr. Chakwas began rifling through her office, looking for the correct antibiotic, "Yes, as I said previously, I was the Doctor on the original Normandy." Dr. Chakwas grabbed a small vial, and meticulously brought it over to Kal. "Now, take this." As she carefully measured out the antibiotic and handed it to Kal. He was more than glad to swallow the purplish liquid via his induction port. "Get some rest, I don't think either of you have had a wink of it since we left Haestrom."
Tali sat down on one of the medical cots and began working on her suit puncture, Kal laid down on one of the cots. It is recommended that for the first twelve hours after the onset of an allergic reaction, that the victim be within close proximity to medical personnel, in the case that their conditions worsen. Kal lazily stared up at the sterile, white walls of the Medical bay, which reminded him briefly of the Migrant Fleet. He closed his eyes, feeling more secure from the memory of home, 'Better not stare at it for too long, or else I'll go blind...' He chuckled as he reminisced in what he had said before he left the fleet to go to Haestrom. Where he had lost more than just a soldier. He had lost a friend, a squad mate, maybe something even more, if Kal'Reegar had taken the initiative to know her better; more so than just on a "friends" basis. 'Now, I'll never get the chance...' He shook away the dreary thought and succumbed to the beckoning call of sleep.
Just because Ralin and Gerren are breaking away from Kal'Reegar does not mean that they will be forgotten about and swept under a rug. I have several excerpts planned out just for them. :P