Hey all, I have a Linear Algebra midterm on Thursday, so I may need a few days for the next chapter, we'll see. Romance stuff this chapter, hopefully you don't hate it (I can already anticipate the virtual tomatoes). Give me your feedback and I'll see what you say. Next chapter you'll get a lot more Grunt, Legion, and some fun Zaeed stuff. Hope you enjoy that. Also, check my profile please, I have some exciting ideas for future stories I'd like to write and want your feedback. Additionally, I'll write an extra side chapter not relevant to the main plot (involving characters like Grunt or Samara) for every 10 follows/favorites the story gets. They'll be specially labeled. Let us be off!
SR2 Normandy - Tali
She had spent the last 40 hours at her workstation without sleep, without rest. She had only taken 5 minutes off total, just enough time to grab a tube of flavorless nutrient paste from her supply in the kitchen and slide it into the proper slot in her suit. Tali was exhausted and frustrated. The ship had only supposedly sustained only minor damage in their short battle with the collector vessel they'd encountered previously, EDI and Joker had independently described the damage done by the Collector's Thanix as 'Minor and superficial', but she didn't buy it.
The engines weren't reacting reacting like they should. She was only getting about 93% of the thrust she should have been getting in simulations, and after they'd dropped Shepard off on Tuchanka she'd had Joker take a couple trips around the system and she got the same result as the simulations. She scratched her helmet, there wasn't a software issue. The countless hours she'd spent flying through the code that controlled the ship's flight path and maneuvering had convinced her of that. Which meant there was a hardware or structural issue. Either problem would be troublesome for their mission.
If there was a hardware issue it could probably be fixed without too much trouble, she and Ken could do a spacewalk and fix it, but the ship would be less combat ready than normal. At least until the problem was fixed. That wasn't to mention the cost either. If there was a structural problem…it would be catastrophic. The Normandy would be forced to dry dock, the hull could be stripped off, the crew would have to disembark, and the cost would be extravagant. The bill could jet upwards of 10 million credits. She knew Shepard had a little money set aside, but there was no way he could pay for that bill on his own.
She wanted to start crawling around in the ducts around the drive core and inspect the main titanium beams of the ship's superstructure, but she was just too tired. She turned back from her console and stood up straight, yawning, she reached her arms above her head and stretched out. She needed a nap and some food, then she would start worming her way through the Normandy's various tunnels. She stepped away from her console, heading out of engineering she shouted back over her shoulder, "Daniels, you're in charge until I get back. I just need a nap."
All Tali heard in response was a sharp "Yes Ma'am!" She liked Ken and Gabby, they were dependable and kind. Not what she'd expected from Cerberus.
She stepped into the elevator to head up to the crew deck when her omni-tool pinged. Tali almost groaned out loud, please let it not be Daniels needing her help already. She needed to sleep! She slowly lifted her arm and looked at her omni-tool in confusion, it wasn't from Gabby. She'd gotten a message from Auntie Raan? They had just spoken the previous morning about how development of their new home was going, what had come up between now and then? She opened the message.
"What?!" Tali collapsed to the floor.
She was still sitting there when the elevator opened on the crew deck, and still there when it closed. She had no idea how long she sat in that spot, but eventually the door opened and Shepard stood there. He came in slowly, taking his time. He tensed up, as if in pain, when he lowered himself down next to her. Subconsciously, despite her shock, she made a mental note to ask about that. Unlike the last time he had come to comfort her, he didn't put care into making sure he didn't touch her suit, if anything he was leaning into her.
"EDI told me you were in hear, what's wrong Tali? Is there anything I can do to help?"
She started to cry. Shepard hadn't avoided her after their…encounter before the Omega 4 relay, but neither of them had spoken about it. It had hurt, but she assumed that they would discuss it later, and she knew he cared about her. That was why the message from the flotilla broke her heart. She leaned into him. When he put an arm around her she told him, "I got a message from the fleet, from Raan."
"And? What did it say?" He gently prodded, trying to get to the bottom of what was bothering her.
She still could barely believe it, even with the time she had been processing it, the whole thing felt like some kind of sick fairytale. "Raan…she told me I was selected to take my father's seat on the Admiralty Board." She paused, barely registering the look of shock on Shepard's face. "It's not because of what you did for us, at least not directly. Raan made sure I passed the nomination, knowing I would be picked by the Conclave. People loved my father, and I inherited all of his fans. And more I guess for the planet you convinced the council to give us."
She looked up expectantly waiting to hear from Shepard. He looked at the floor for a moment before realization dawned on his face, "If you accept this appointment you'll have to leave the Normandy?"
She nodded.
"Do you want to go?" She shook her head.
"You don't have to, you know that right? You'll always have a home here on the Normandy, with your friends."
"Just my friends?" She looked at him and saw the indecision on his face, she didn't want to force this now. "I have to go, Auntie told me about the political situation back with the flotilla. There's a tie right now with the Admirals. If the new Admiral doesn't support peace with the Geth, the fleet will go to war."
The indecision was gone now, his face was filled more with desperation than anything else, "Can't someone else take the spot?"
She shook her head, "The next major contender supports fighting the Geth, he has the support of Gerrel and Xen."
She watched as he turned away from her and swallowed, "Tali, I haven't been fair to you. Admittedly, I'm not sure what I want. For us I mean. But, I do know that I enjoy being around you and that I don't want you to go." He looked to the ground, "But you have to. For your people." He got up, waved open the elevator doors and stepped out.
Tears were streaming down her face. She just watched him go.
The Citadel - Councilor David Anderson
He had had enough. The last two days had been some of the worst he'd ever experienced. He was still running the Human embassy and putting up with all the crap he had before Galactic politics had blown up by the mainstream realization the Reapers existed and were coming. Shepard had shown up and stuck a fire under the Council's behind, something Anderson more than approved of. His ability to deal with the consequences of the sudden uptick in action however, was devastated when Sparatus was kidnapped as it was left to him alone to defend their military agenda before an Asari Councilor aggressively questioning every move and expenditure.
He had been thrilled when the Turians suggested that the Alliance work closely with their chain of command to prepare for the Repears. And he'd been right to be excited, the result was a shocking improvement in galactic military readiness over a matter of days, the Turians and humans were corroborating on Dreadnaught designs and would be churning them out as fast as they could build them. Combining that with the Carriers the Turians were building, and the galaxy was seeing its most rapid military expansion since the Hierarchy burst onto the scene during the Krogan rebellions. He was proud of getting the Turians to start building the Carriers, they had proved themselves effective against Reapers in the Battle of the Citadel nearly three years ago, which was on top of the surprise they'd given the Hierarchy during the First Contact War.
The Turians were the easy ones to convince really, the hard part was getting the politicians on Arcturus to buy that Humanity would be better off giving their secret warship plans to the most militaristic race in the galaxy. That was the part he had had enough of, the bureaucracy. And it didn't help that after he had done the work to prepare for this war, to unify the galaxy as much as he could on this damn station, that it all went to hell when Sparatus got nabbed.
So he was stuck trying to hold off Tevos from interfering with the military build up. His plans to get rid of the limits on Dreadnaught construction for minor races were dead until the Turians gave him someone new to work with.
He was about to get up and head to lunch at a nice little Asari cafe he had found around the corner when his terminal beeped. For a moment he was confused, not many people had his personal address. Then he realized it was from Shepard,
" Anderson, I have intelligence to believe that the Quarians are in a political struggle to determine whether to strike at the Geth. Can you verify this?"
He typed back, "Council hadn't known this. Last briefing I got was that they were setting up a planetary defense network. Possibly related? I will look into this and forward any intel I get to you. I will speak Valern." May as well ask the ultimate spymaster.
Shepard responded quickly, "How is the Krogan deal coming, this is pressing."
Anderson shook his head, he understood Shepard's impatience with the process, he really did. He himself really resented how slowly the Citadel moved on things and tried to hurry them up, but he still had limits to how quickly he could move. "No luck, deal won't happen until we find Sparatus or get a new Turian Councilor. Before you ask, no luck in locating him. The Turian Imperator is in the process of selecting a temporary sub now." He shut down his terminal and stepped out.
Crossing the hall he knocked on the door to Udina's office, he needed the slimy bastard's help. The door slid open for him, "Donnell, we're going to lunch. I'll buy, come on." He turned around without waiting for a response. The routine wasn't terribly unusual, and Udina never turned down the offer for a free meal. He stepped out of the embassy and turned right, it was just a short walk down the path along the Presidium's lake. He was still unhappy about the way the repairs to the Citadel had been done. They prioritized air car travel and made walking less convenient. It was a shame, the Citadel had so much beauty and the architects had chosen to hide it. Anderson was sure there was a good quote about that somewhere.
He ducked into the small café and ordered the Asari version of a cappuccino. He allowed himself few luxuries, coffee was one of them. Udina followed him in just moments behind and ordered a frappé, "I was in important negotiations with several independent colonies outside Alliance space, I hope this is important."
"Everything I do is important Udina, you should know that." Anderson loved teasing the bastard. He was a politician and an angsty one at that, "On a more serious not, I need a favor. Sparatus' disappearance has made getting our agenda through the Council near impossible, you're brilliant at this, you know that." Udina nodded as Anderson continued, "I need you to stay here in my place. I'm going to Palaven to deal with the Turian government directly." He nearly laughed when Udina spit out the sip he had been taking of his drink. This was why Anderson kept the man around.
"You can't be serious, that isn't how negotiations are done."
"They'll have to be for now. Without a Turian councilor I can't prepare for this war. If we don't prepare for the coming war we'll all die. Simple logic really."
"So let me get this straight, you're going to get on a ship with God knows who, fly to Palaven, and knock on the door of their Capital building asking to speak to the Primarch?"
Anderson smiled, "That's pretty much the plan yeah."
Udina just shook his head before walking out of the café "Thanks for the coffee and the temporary promotion boss. Take a lot of sunscreen to Palaven with you, the radiation really isn't good for your skin."
Anderson chuckled, Udina was a dick, but he would do a good job. It was almost time for him to start booking his travel plans, but first he had a meeting with Valern. He needed to get to the bottom of what happened to Sparatus and figure out what the hell the Quarians were doing.
