I don't own Mass Effect or the characters within it, I'm just borrowing them for a bit. I mean... not guilty, Your honor.

Interlude: Reassurance

Standing in front of his locker, Commander Shepard was furious as he arranged his gear inside it. With the Normandy's primary systems locked down and the whole team grounded, there was little he could do besides organize his equipment just in case he somehow found a way out of this mess.

What he had believed to be a fleet ready for assaulting Saren was instead going to wait for Saren and Sovereign to come attack them head on, giving Saren the initiative and letting him get the Conduit as well. Once Sovereign and the geth fleet came rolling up to the Citadel, they were all going to be screwed. And there was nothing he could do about it.

Shepard punched the locker in disgust when he thought about ambassador Udina and the smug expression he had on his face as he told Shepard 'it's just politics, Commander'. Damn straight it was just politics. Just like all the biggest mistakes in the history of humanity. But this... this was the biggest one yet. The entire galaxy was at stake, and the Council and Udina were patting each other on the back thinking they had it all figured out, that Saren's little "bluff" hadn't worked on them and that as soon as they repelled the attack on the Citadel, everything would be fine. All the evidence to the contrary, and still they refused to listen.

Unless he could find some way to get his team to Ilos, everyone would pay for the Council's mistakes...

–

Tali had been waiting for Shepard to return from the Council meeting. The ship was fairly empty now, most of the crew having headed ashore after being given the message. She stopped when she saw him standing in front of the locker. His face looked a mix of rage and hopelessness as he punched his locker with full strength. Afterwards he slowly turned around, slid down the wall and sat on the floor looking dejected. From what Joker had said, Ilos was a no-go, and Shepard's current expression wasn't making her hopeful that he was coming up with a solution.

She approached him slowly. When she stood in front of him, he looked up, but didn't say anything.

"So I take it the Council didn't agree with our view on the Reaper threat?"

"You could say that. They're going to sit tight and wait for Saren to get the Conduit before he attacks the Citadel, and then it'll all be over..."

"What about the Alliance? I'm sure Admiral Hackett would be more inclined to take your views seriously than the Council is. Your crew isn't under Council jurisdiction, after all."

"I have no doubt he would, but Udina and the Council have made sure that official channels are closed to us. Even if we get a message through to him, which could take a long time, they'd never get past all the red tape before it was too late. No, if we're going to get to Ilos, we'll have to figure something out ourselves."

"So, do you have a plan then?"

Shepard's expression turned more serious.

"No, I don't. That is, what I've managed to come up with... it might get us to Ilos. Well, it might get you and the rest of the crew to Ilos... but it wouldn't end very well for me. But so far it's the only thing I've been able to come up with."

Tali didn't like where this was going. It sounded like he was planning a suicide attack or something to free the Normandy. Even if that would work, the assault on Ilos would never succeed without him. There was no one else on the Normandy who had the skill and experience needed to lead a ground team through an assault against hordes of geth and krogan. No one on the ground team were leaders, they were soldiers or specialists.

"Whatever you're thinking, it is not going to happen. Without you on the Normandy, the attack on Ilos won't succeed."

"Well, I sure as hell aren't going to send anyone else to their deaths to get the Normandy released. Besides, it's only if nothing else works. Even a group without me heading to Ilos has a better chance of succeeding than all of us sitting here when the Reapers show up."

"I don't really think that is the case, Shepard. Who would lead us? Can you think of anyone who has the trust of the entire crew like you do? Who has the skills and the ability to command like you? You're selling yourself short, Shepard. It's a miracle we even got this far... a miracle you made possible. You've lead the most unlikely team of humans and aliens the galaxy has ever seen, and succeeded. That isn't something just anyone can do."

"Like I said, it's a worst case solution. It might be a slim chance, but it's better than no chance."

While Tali disagreed with him, she didn't see the point in arguing it further. She didn't think there would be even a slim chance that an assault without him could work.

"Don't worry, Tali. I'll think of something. We've come too far to just give up now."

His face had turned to its usual determined expression. The expression that revealed a will of steel, the unwavering spirit he displayed when faced with overwhelming odds, and also belied his incredibly gentle nature.

"When we do find out how to get out of here... I hope you will be there with me, Tali."

"There is nowhere else I would rather be, Shepard..."

She stretched her hand out to him, like he had done for her so many times before. He stretched and lightly took hold of it, but instead of standing up he kept holding it, looking at it as the memories of how they met came over him. The first time he held her hand he had been mesmerized by it. The three fingers spreading from a small palm, robust yet elegant, and soft despite the environmental suit covering it.

It was much like the rest of her. Underneath a suited and hard looking exterior, Tali was a gentle spirit combined with courage, determination and selflessness, and an elegance that she only showed him. She was very feminine, but most people never noticed due to the suit and her fascination with all things mechanical. Or maybe they simply didn't try looking. Shepard thought the lot of them completely blind.

He suddenly gave her hand a careful yank, throwing her off balance and making her fall on top of him.

"Shepard!"

Now sitting across his lap, she was still holding his hand. With his other arm draped around her, he hugged her tighter to himself and rested his head against hers. She could feel all her anxiety seeping away as he held her close, an indomitable force determined to shield her against all that would cause her harm. No one in the galaxy saw more danger than him... and yet there was nowhere safer than in his arms.

"Tali... I haven't given up yet, you know..."

"I know, Shepard."

"I don't mean about Ilos... I mean about us..."

Her heart sank a little as she remembered her Pilgrimage and the OSD he had given her.

"I have the most wonderful woman in the entire galaxy in my arms, the person I love more than anyone else... You don't really think I'll let go just like that, do you?"

"Shepard, it's not that easy..."

Despite her not agreeing with him, he simply smiled at her, his gentle eyes gazing into hers. It was that mischievous smile he'd get when he was plotting something.

"We'll just have to see about that, won't we?"

While she didn't think it would be possible, she felt much better after he said it. He had that effect on people. When Shepard was confident about something, no matter how desperate the situation seemed, it affected everyone around him. The dangerous seemed trivial, the hopeless merely an inconvenience, the impossible became possible. Even if it turned out he wouldn't succeed, it was comforting her now to see him be so sure he could.

His arm was gently stroking her back, and she was stroking his chest in return. She wanted to be closer to him, to feel his lips on hers again. Moments like these were few and far between when they were traveling in space, doing ground missions and with her needing time to recover from the ensuing infections. Now that they had a moment with the ship nearly empty, it was too good to pass up...

Still holding his hand, she reached for the visor lock, her eyes firmly locked with his.

"Just got a message to you from Captain Anderson, Commander"

And just like that, the mood was ruined. Staring angrily at the ceiling, Tali wanted to go up to the bridge and choke the life out of Joker for not waiting another minute or two before interrupting. Shepard too looked up towards the ceiling with an expression that made it very clear he was not amused by Joker's impeccable timing.

"Joker, are you spying on us or something?"

"No sir, I just got the message and knew you were on board, so I thought I'd pass it on"

His voice sounded mildly surprised at Shepard's insinuations, but she wasn't sure whether it was genuine or something he feigned. Either way, she hated him a little bit right now.

"What did he say?"

"He says to meet him at that bar in the wards, Flux. You know, the other one, the one you didn't shoot up and kill a bunch of people in. Yet."

Shepard sighed and rolled his eyes at Joker's attempt at humor, before looking back to Tali.

"Well, we'd better go see what he wants."

Oops, I guess we didn't get to Ilos this chapter after all. Shows how much I plan ahead. It's a bit short as well, but it's a short scene in game and I figured there's not much point in adding the conversation with Anderson at Flux since it wouldn't be much different from the game. Feel free to tell me if you disagree though.

Also, what are people's opinions on chapter lengths? Personally I don't want to make a story with 500 short chapters, but I'm also not very fond of huge chapters with walls of text (which I am guilty of myself, I know, but it's hard to avoid sometimes).

Last day of my vacation today, which means less time to write. Not that it made much of a difference in how much I wrote, just in how much besides writing (and work) I got done.