Back In Time

by The Stars At Night

Spoilers. Commander John Shepard took the risks; the Crucible was completed, and the Reapers destroyed. Yet when he woke up in the Normandy's Mess Hall, he realized that something wasn't right. They were going to Eden Prime. With Anderson. And Nihlus. He was thrown Back In Time. Now, once more, Shepard has to stop Saren, the Collecters, and the Reapers. He's the only one who can.

13. Chapter 13

Mass Effect

Back In Time

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Disclaimer; I don't own Mass Effect, or the characters. I am not getting paid for this...
Author's Note; I've been working on some OC's, as to keep you guys feeling like there's some element of surprise. I'll give you guys their names, but nothing more. ShockWave, Melanie, and Sky. Some will be introduced far earlier than others.
P.S. I really need to give a shout-out to Dracconnis, whom has given a review for many, if not all, updates. Thank you.
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Back In Time

Chapter Thirteen

"And then he said 'I'd rather not talk about it,'" Tali remarked. "And I said 'Well, why is that? I'd like to learn about the ship Qwib Qwib!'"

He started laughing as he hit the access panel for the door.

It slid open, allowing the pair into the next room.

"Decontamination in process."

The laughter died down as the Quarian fell silent.

When he gave her a glance, Shepard saw her hands wringing together, her eyes darting around as the lights swept over them.

"So, uh, John?"

The nervousness in her voice bothered him.

"Yes? Is something wrong? Can I fix it?"

Even though her eyes flicked to him, her mask stayed facing the floor.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Making me feel welcomed. Letting me on your ship. Saving me from Fist's thugs. For, uh, taking me out," she paused, her eyes widened, "to the Flux. Thank you."

Shepard couldn't stop the smile from crossing his face.

The door to the Normandy slid open, welcoming the two onto the Normandy.

Tali stepped inside, her eyes widening.

Her mask turned left, and then right, taking in each and every detail of the ship.

"She's beautiful," Tali stated.

"She's not the only beauti-"

"Commander Shepard! Where have you been?"

He mentally cringed.

Anderson strode up to them.

"Commander Shepard- first you let your crew here drunk, then you stay out when I ordered you back here and then- who is the Quarian?"

Tali's eyes fell.

"Sir, this is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. She has evidence against Saren."

The Captain raised an eyebrow. "Evidence against Saren?"

She nodded, looking up at him, her confidence strengthening. "Yes."

If it was possible, Anderson was radiating joy behind his stoic façade. "Please, tell us what you have found."

"When I was on my Pilgrimage, the right of passage to adulthood for my people, I saw Geth patrolling out beyond the Veil, which they never do, so I tracked a squad down, and took the memory core of one of the Geth."

"But," Anderson paused. "I thought the Geth fried their memory cores when they died. Some sort of defense mechanism…"

She nodded. "Yes. They do, yet if you're fast enough, you can salvage some of the core's contents. I accessed the audio logs and I found a recording."

"Please, Miss nar Rayya, come with me; I'd like for you to show me the log."

The Captain guided the Quarian away from Shepard, leaving the man standing alone in the doorway.

It was moments before the Commander sighed, and began to make his way towards the stairs.

He kept his eyes to the floor in an attempt to keep his attention away from the swaying Quarian ahead of him.

Hitting the panel by the door, the Commander stood, watching the wall to his left.

It wasn't as… interesting.

As soon as the door slid open, Shepard was flying down the stairs.

This wasn't his world. His dream.

He needed to leave- to-

"Kaidan! Hey, I was just, uh-"

"You owe me one. Or three," the biotic stated from the spot on the wall he leaned on. "No. Four. You owe me four."

"I know…"

"Anderson was all over me. As well as the others. I didn't think they had gotten that drunk."

"How bad is it?"

"I hope you don't mind sleeping on the floor."

"That bad."

"Don't worry, Staff Lieutenant Alenko has it covered."

"You need some rest. Maybe Chakwas will-"

Kaidan kicked off the wall, laughing. "No- I just need coffee."

"You need sleep."

"I'm getting coffee. Want some?"

"Yeah… Coffee does sound pretty good right now." He gave a nervous laugh as he followed Alenko to the Mess Hall. "Vakarian and Wrex? Where are they?"

"Both down the elevator. The Turian found our Mako, and I don't know- the Krogan just followed him, or something."

"Understandable."

At the counters, Kaidan laughed. "If they're destroying the place, yeah, it's understandable." He paused, a frown on his face. "That sounded wrong. So, uh, Commander-"

"John."

"Oh, right. Sorry. Pick your poison."