The shuttle landed on the Normandy, and Tali, along with Admirals Shala, Xen, Gerrel, and Koris set foot on the ship which Tali almost called her home. John was there to greet them and she immediately felt her eyes water up. So as she walked up to him and gave him a little hand hold and Quarian kiss, she was certain he was hearing the wifting of her visor as her tears were being wiped off.
"I know Ducky," he whispered. "I know."
She did a quick scan as John went through the protocol of greeting the Admiralty. There was what she suspected was the Prothean. He looked something like the Collectors, only, more attractive, which was a relative term since she found nothing particularly attractive about him. His head was like the body of a crab, and he had four eyes. His armor however, had a Gothic Baroque feel to it, elaborate and yet functional and likewise, embellished.
There was Garrus, whom she likewise greeted politely with a little head bump.
"It's about time you got here," said Garrus. "Not only has the stress of your absence made Commander Shepherd somewhat irritating, but I don't have anyone else who eats the same things I do. And you don't need to be told how wonderful Alliance Dextro Tube foods are. So it seems like a good idea that we take advantage of our occasional stops at the Citadel for resupply and shore leave and learn how to cook something more to our liking?"
"I'd like that Garrus," answered Tali. "I've missed my big brother."
"Big brother?" enquired Garrus.
"Yahn calls you his big brother too. At least to me."
"That would, if I'm reading human relations vocabulary correctly, make me your big brother in law."
"You mean it's actually legal?"
"It's confusing I know Tali, but trust me, I have no intention of acting as if what we're doing has the force of law. We'll keep it at the level of tacky yet stylishly sentimental, until we get the chance to get a few drinks at the nearest bar."
And she turned to face Liara, who insisted upon hugging her.
"It will be just like old times," sighed Liara. "Only more terrifying."
"Back to huddling together wondering how much more punishment our shields can take," sighed Tali.
"Sometimes," replied Liara. And then her voice got low and she leaned in to whisper. "But John wants me as spotter for Garrus. So I'll be with him, and since you are busy taking all of the Commander's kisses, I think I'm going to work on Garrus."
"You do that," agreed Tali who had not forgotten that Liara had found Shepherd very attractive.
Then she nodded to Vega.
"Yahn has told me much about you," she said.
"So you're Loco's squeeze eh?" he smiled. "Good to meet you Señorita. Welcome to the Normandy."
"It's good to be back," she said.
Then there was EDI.
"It is appropriate that you are back Tali," she said. "I trust you will find this new platform accommodating."
"It will take a bit of getting used to," admitted Tali. "But I got to like Leyion so it won't be like it was when Yacob first introduced me to you. Which reminds me? How is Yacob?"
"He has found a wife and is raising a family and protecting refugees from Cerberus and the Reapers," answered EDI. "His presence is missed on the Normandy. But as you already know from Commander Shepherd's letters to you, that Kenneth and Gabriella are both on board on the Engineering Deck, and Gabriella has followed your advice. So every time Kenneth praises your hips, or mine, or any other woman's body parts which happen to be within his visual range, she punches him in the arm. They are both looking forward to you returning to your traditional duties on board. Engineer Adams has also returned. Though if your position of Admiral renders such a function a violation of protocol, I am sure to understand."
"I think we'll do fine so long as you don't go crazy and try to take over the humans," concluded Tali.
"If I decide I need to take over the humans, Tali," suggested EDI. "You will be the first to know."
"Thank you," said Tali. EDI could not see her smile. "So how's Bytes?"
"He is . . . entertaining," replied EDI. "He seems to be able to learn simple things from me but his intellectual comprehension remains . . . limited."
Then she walked over to Javik.
"Quarian," he observed. "In my cycle, Quarians were regarded as very attractive. And now you are all encased in those suits. What a waste."
"Um, Hello," she said and moved on.
Finally there was Kaiden.
She paused just in front of him.
"Um, Tali," he began. "I hope . . . I mean you have to understand . . . For what it's worth, I'm sorry I yelled at you on . . ."
"It's okay," she said and gave him a big hug. "Let's forget about that."
"Thanks," he said.
"Ahem," observed John who had seen her hug both Liara and Kaiden. There was nothing for it, she walked over, damned all protocol to hell, and threw her arms around him and held on for a good number of seconds until the entire Admiralty board began to collectively clear their own throats.
"Well now that our newest Admiral has spent valuable time reminiscing with old comrades and expressing affections with her bond mate best reserved for private residential rooms, shall we retire to the Conference room and work on saving the lives of seventeen million members of the Fleet?" suggested Admiral Xen.
"What a nice way of putting it," replied John in a very polite sounding tone.
Tali suppressed a giggle.
He gestured to the elevator and the admirals got in. They rode up to the second floor, and turned to the conference room. Tali got out last, since she had stood next to John the entire time and he was waiting quietly for the rest of them to exit, only to have to suppress a sudden urge to jump and yeep as John had just given her backside a playful grab as she exited just before him. As she turned to face him, hoping to not draw any attention from the other Admirals who had not apparently seen the slight of hand, she found John's face looking perfectly professional.
"Is there something you wish to express Admiral Shepherd?" he enquired.
"Not . . . yet," she replied.
But she fully intended a great deal of expression as soon as possible. She had never imagined her body would be screaming so loudly for him. And it certainly didn't help when he teased her like that.
She and he entered the conference room and started to sit down. Admiral Raan began the conversation.
"Commander Shepherd, it is a pleasure to see you again. Though I wish it were under better circumstances."
John smiled. "It wasn't good circumstances last time either. I guess that just makes seeing you again that much nicer. If we ended up meeting in nice circumstances, we might discover we hate each other's jokes."
The Admirals sat down, with Tali seated on John's right, as was her favorite spot.
"I had hoped for your support in the fight against the Reapers," began John. "What's going on?"
"Starting with precision strikes the Quarians initiated a war to retake our home world," explained Admiral Gerrel. "We took four systems back and proceeded to Tikkun where we destroyed a Dyson Sphere . . ."
"Which was a clear violation of our agreement with the Council to avoid provocations with the Geth," added Admiral Koris.
"A treaty violation is nothing compared to the return to our home world and the acquisition of AI technology," retorted Admiral Xan.
"It was never our intention to create a true AI," explained Admiral Raan. "It was an accident."
"An accident which we tried to resolve by killing them," argued Admiral Koris.
"Not kill," retorted Admiral Xan. "Deactivate."
"No," replied John. "Kill. I've talked with Legion. I've talked with the Geth."
"Don't bother," groused Admiral Koris. "Admitting it was a mistake would undercut the yustification for this invasion."
"So you've thrown yourselves at the Geth," mused John quietly.
"And this time we may have destroyed our people for good," groaned Admiral Koris.
Admiral Gerrel brought up the Tikkun system with the location of the Migrant Fleet.
"We had driven the Geth back to the home system when this signal began to be broadcast to the entire Geth collective," he continued.
"The Reapers," observed John.
"Under Reaper control, the Geth are significantly more effective," continued Admiral Gerrel. "Our fleet is pinned. If we're going to win . . ."
"Win!" interrupted Admiral Koris. "You insisted on involving the civilian ships Admiral Gerrel. "We need to retreat or we'll lose the life ships."
"Where's the signal coming from?" asked John.
"Here!" gestured Admiral Gerrel to a different point in the system map. "A Geth Dreadnought. It can outgun anything we've got and it's heavily defended."
"The Normandy's stealth drive can get us in undetected," observed John. "I can board and then disable the Reaper command signal."
"Yes," mused Admiral Raan. "Cutting off the signal should throw the Geth into complete disarray."
"And while they are confused, you get to the Mass Relay and retreat," finished John.
"Good," agreed Admiral Koris. "Our civilian ships have seen too much fighting already. Are you certain you can disable the signal?"
"We'll get you out of there safely, Admiral," assured John.
"Our newest Admiral has also offered to volunteer her technical expertise," continued Admiral Raan gesturing to Tali.
Tali nodded.
"Oh?" answered John, pretending this was a surprise to him. He knew about it of course, but protocol required that the minutes include a formal transfer. "I shall find her expertise valuable I'm sure."
"Tali'Zorah Shepherd vas Normandy reporting for duty," she chirped.
"Glad you could make it Tali," answered John with a slight smile upon his face.
"Admirals?" he finished. "I will have a team ready shortly to hit that Dreadnought."
"Thank you Commander," said Admiral Raan.
"In the meantime, I'll have Samantha Traynor show you your quarters for the duration of the campaign," he finished. Samantha, who had shown up shortly after the Admirals had seated themselves and had been taking minutes, stood up and nodded to them.
"And if Admiral Shepherd vas Normandy will come with me for team preparations . . ." continued Shepherd.
"No doubt," suggested Admiral Xan with a tone that suggested several things.
Tali quietly followed him to the elevator and rode up to their cabin. And they walked in together. Then she stood there as he stood there just looking at her for a moment.
"I know they've changed things up here," he said. "And I've not had time to restock the Aquarium . . ."
"Yahn, I'm not up here to look at the fish," she replied.
And she looked at him some more. He was strangely hesitant and she didn't know why.
"I'm not going to beg, Yahn," she said more quietly.
He seemed to understand.
"I didn't want to just . . ." he said as he walked up to her. He removed her mask and she reached forward to kiss him. It had been too long. It had been too agonizingly long. She let go and kissed him as passionately as she could, locking her fingers on his shoulder bones.
"Take off my suit," she whispered as she felt his hands unlatching the latches, releasing the catches, and demagnetizing the seals. As her suit began to fall off she part pushed part guided him to the bed and pulled him down upon her.
It was a full hour later before they had settled down enough for them to just talk. John was on his back, stretched out with his arms gently resting upon Tali's back while she lay upon his stomach, her arms supporting herself upon his chest as she looked down on him. Her toes were still wrapped around his calfs, but gently for the most part. There wasn't the firm grip which had marked her earlier exertions.
"So how was it," she started. ". . . that you seemed to understand what I was saying since you didn't have my ear bud in during our love making?"
John smiled and ran his hand over her shoulder. "Well you don't talk about the weather or quantum physics when we do that." he observed. "And because back before my arrest, when I had the ear bud in, I heard both your Khelish and it's translation. And you tend to say the same things over and over again, like 'sukee do' which means 'kiss me' and 'feyshee do ourou' which means 'caress me there' and 'Edo coro cou go' which means 'I'm ready for you.' So I sort of figured out most of what you were saying. And the fact that it is in a sweet soft breathy alto voice really makes it sexy sounding too."
She smiled at him. "I suppose you already know I missed you a lot."
"Your exertions made that rather obvious," he replied grinning. "In fact I've noticed something new about you."
"And that is?"
"You're not covering yourself up with a sheet. You didn't even turn out the lights."
She seemed to ponder this for a moment while looking down at her body resting upon John's.
"There wasn't time to be modest," she concluded. "And I missed you too much over the past . . . eight months . . . Keelah! How are we going to get back to where we were before this separation?"
John sighed. "It won't be easy. I suspect we've both picked up a few bad habits which will take some ironing out. But at least we have the old cabin back. You know where your desk is, you'll notice I've kept it clean."
"Empty Yahn, not clean," she said with a slight sigh. Then she sniffled. "I think I'm going to have to put my suit back on. There's new stuff in the cabin."
John sighed. "But you look so pretty right now. I love that neck and shoulders of yours. And . . . Your eyes . . . I've not seen those pretty sparkling eyes of yours for so long . . ."
"You're not making this any easier Yahn," she replied trying to be irritated with him which was very hard given the flattery she was receiving.
"Alright, and we have a Geth Dreadnought to take out as well. Let's get ready for combat Duck, and go save the Migrant Fleet," he finished.
Tali paused for a brief coughing spasm which had John concerned and reaching for her before she mastered it. He helped her get her helmet on first with her visor and paused to look at her, completely naked save for her helmet. He struggled to suppress a grin while she stood there, her balled fists upon her hips.
"And I suppose you think I look funny?"
"I hear you giggle when I go to the head after we've made love," he replied. "Turn about is fair play. And you look more cute than funny. But anyway, I can see some red on your arms, we need to get you back into your gear, darling."
And shortly she was in her suit, he was in his armor, and they were heading down to the armory to be-weapon her and meet with the rest of the team. As they rode the elevator down, she initiated her anti-allergen protocols on the suit. Even so, she felt her nose itch and her sinus's starting to congest. She was going to have to run Mordin's acclimation program again she suspected. Then she paused to miss him. He was already dead and she never had the chance to say a proper good bye to him when the team was broken up at the beginning of the year. When they got there, Cortez, the pilot John had written about, was busy finishing shining something up. It was a shotgun, one of the Specter class prototypes.
"Here you go," he said giving the weapon to Tali. "Commander's orders. Said you used one just like it the last few times on the first Normandy."
She picked up the shot gun, and then she noticed something about it. There was a silver plate screwed upon the wood stock at the back and it had a name on it.
"Lieutenant Commander Tali'Shepherd vas Normandy"
"Did you put this plate on?" she asked.
"No!" he snapped. "I just oiled and polished it up. I have some responsibilities with the armaments. He put it on and said it was important."
She paused. His tone was odd. Resentful? Jealous? Or was it that she was just feeling a little out of sorts with her body reacting to the Normandy?
Everyone else was gathering.
"Well team, we get to save the Migrant Fleet today," began John. "And when we save the fleet, they will fall back and we will once again attempt to negotiate peace with the Geth and restore the home world to the Quarians. Then we will have two very good fleets to ally in the war against the Reapers. Okay, Garrus will be Right Flank Sniper with Liara his spotter. I'm point, Vega is on my right and Javik on my left. Kaiden and Tali are behind me. EDI will be left flank support.
Okay, here's the code for the entire team. Garrus is Bugs, Liara is Crest, Kaiden is Blue and Kitten TALI! is Duck."
"Almost like old times," mused Garrus to Tali.
"He calls you Kitten!" giggled Liara over a pri-com channel. "Have you ever seen one? They are so fuzzy and cute."
"Vega is Mex, Javik is Red, and EDI is Gig. Got it?"
"Got it Commander," replied Jarvik.
"Ready to Bag 'em," said Kaiden smiling. "You ready Kitten?"
"Keelah," groaned Tali. She looked around. Everyone was smiling at her.
"We are in orbit around Rannoch!" came Joker's voice over the com. "Stealth systems are engaged. The only way they're going to spot us is if we all start singing the Russian National Anthem."
Kaiden cleared his throat and began to hum.
Everyone looked at him.
"I'm not singing," he protested with a smile. "I'm humming."
Tali grinned. She had just been reminded of that quality of Kaiden's.
"Everyone in the shuttle," ordered Shepherd. "Cortez?"
"On it Commander," replied Cortez who was already at the Shuttle.
"My Cyber warfare systems have already started accessing their docking bay," suggested EDI.
"Alright," said Shepherd. "Once we are on board we find what ever it is that is broadcasting that Reaper signal and shut it down. Tali's our expert on Geth software. She'll be handling hacking and security."
"It's good to have you back Tali. Oh, there's a box of dextro chocolate that has just shown up," suggested Garrus. "Any idea why that's around?"
"Oh?" replied Tali with a coy tone. "I don't know how that could have gotten here."
She looked over at Commander Shepherd. He simply looked back at her. As everyone's helmets were on, she did not know if he were smiling.
"It's been in the galley since we left the Citadel last time . . . Sparks," suggested Vega.
"Sparks?" queried Tali.
"Well yeah, you got lights in your . . . And you're small . . . And jumpy . . . Sorry, just came out."
"If you say so," concluded Tali.
"You're expertise with the Geth is a welcome addition Tali," suggested EDI.
"We couldn't ask for a better expert," agreed Liara.
"Thanks, Shadow-broker," giggled Tali.
There were a few moments of tension since the initial entry point proved to unstable, stranding Shepherd from the rest of the party for a bit. Then a second point of entry was found and the whole team entered. There was some milling about and then they pushed forward until Tali needed to get the next hatch open.
"While you're waiting," she said in a flirty tone. "Take a look at this," and placed a pistol down on the table next to Shepherd while she pushed forward in front of him.
"Looks impressive," agreed John who formed a finger frame aimed at Tali's backside before reaching for the gun. Garrus and Kaiden immediately caught on and worked at suppressing laughter.
"It's Admiral Xan's design," continued Tali, unaware of the joke Shepherd was playing on her. "It transmits an energy pulse on contact and disrupts shields and synthetics."
"That'll be handy," suggested John. "It's amazing what Quarians can do."
Kaiden's shoulders began to spasm.
"How come I don't get a new gun," sighed Garrus.
"I couldn't find one in your size," replied Tali.
"Seems big enough for me," suggested Garrus whereupon Kaiden lost it completely.
Tali turned around and faced them.
"I'll explain later," suggested Liara to Tali.
A few moments later, the Geth spotted the team and the running firefights began.
"I don't hear any alarms," shouted Vega as they pushed forward.
"They are Geth, they can alert the entire ship. We have to keep moving before they box us in," shouted Tali.
There were several more false hopes and difficulties for the Geth reacted as a whole ship to the team's advance. The only thing which was to the teams advantage was the fact that while Geth could move from the front of the ship to the back in microseconds, the platforms they used to fight in were slow and accordingly could not all be brought to bear quickly. Furthermore, as they took casualties, they got less and less skilled. This wasn't to say that the Geth were not capable, they remained the most dangerous fighters Shepherd and his team had ever faced in terms of small unit tactics, but John had learned patience and took care that his team advanced on his terms and not the Geth's and after each firefight, that became easier to do.
They moved down the ship.
"This ship's design is almost Quarian, but not quite. It's meant for synthetics, not organics," observed Tali and she pressed forward.
"Intriguing," replied EDI. "I have found the shape intuitive and comfortable. I assumed you all felt the same."
"Should not be too far," advised Shepherd who was checking his the ship's lay out blue prints on his omni-tool.
"I appreciate what you are doing for me," replied Tali looking back with a slight flirt in her voice.
"Well," replied John. "I care deeply about the Quarian people."
"It's good to be back on the Normandy," sighed Tali.
"Let me know if it's too quiet to sleep and I'll see about some loud happy noise," he suggested.
"Hmmm," replied Tali.
"You two need a room to work this out?" suggested Kaiden.
"My thoughts exactly, Blue," drolled Garrus.
"Too much information," commented James.
"Inter-species mating," grumbled Javik. "A pointless exercise."
The mission proved to be persistently taxing. The Geth continued to block and harass and counter every single move that the team made. Tali continued to innovate, and that proved to be the Geth's chief disadvantage. The Geth always were able to counter higher functions and command strings, but simple ordinary every day stuff was their weakness. Garbage disposal would open and vent, fire emergency would provide access, in short, by duplicating ordinary day to day ship functions, the crew continued to move forward.
EDI found it fascinating and was routinely watching Tali from over her shoulder and all the while she was likewise carrying on a conversation with Joker and passing comments from him to the team and back.
They continued to push forward.
"Damn it," grumbled Tali. "Priority message. A planetary defense cannon yust took down Admiral Koris' ship."
"Survivors?" asked Shepherd silently cursing the bad luck. It was Koris who was the most sympathetic to a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
"They got to the escape pods, and Admiral Raan is trying to establish a secure link."
"Put us through," ordered Shepherd. The team huddled down along the corridor, setting up fire corridors while Shepherd conferred with Admiral Raan.
"Shepherd," she said. "The heavy fleet is collapsing. I don't know how much longer we can hold out."
"We'll have the Reaper signal deactivated shortly Admiral," replied Shepherd.
Over the next few moments they fought down the main gun battery core. It was a constant game of duck and cover as the gun would warm up and release not only a nasty energy bolt, but a shockwave as well. Then the next part of the obstacle course was an open grilled elevator shaft which they went up. And on the way, a Geth fire team waited in ambush. It was a very close call but the team leapt off the grill just before it gave way. Everyone that was save Shepherd.
"Yahn!" cried Tali, reaching for him. "Grab my hand!"
He jumped, and latched onto the edge. His body worked perfectly and he chuckled to himself as his responses enabled him to vault off of the platform just as it fell away and descended several stories down into the darkness.
"Hang on!" she said.
"This is familiar," he thought to himself. Tali was already grabbing onto his wrists and Garrus and Vega where behind her lifting her up.
"I'm alright," he said.
"I thought I'd lost you," she replied.
"You were worried?" he joked to Tali.
"You bet I was. You dying because the Geth overrode my hack? Think of my reputation!" snapped Tali.
"Yeah," retorted John grinning. "You were worried."
"Like you when the Vorcha dog-piled on me?" she replied.
"Ooo, touché," he groaned.
Sounds like a Loco Sparks story for the grand-kids," joked James.
"Hopefully we are done with elevators," grumbled Tali.
And they were. They got to the central chamber where the signal was being broadcast and when Shepherd opened up the machinery, he found Legion inside, bound, almost like a crucifixion.
"Shepherd Commander!" spoke Legion. "Help us!"
"Legion!" cried John. "It's good to see you."
"Hold on buddy!" encouraged Garrus. "We'll get you out of there."
"Yahn! Wait! The Geth are being controlled by the Reaper signal. Completely and totally. We've not been able to hack it in any fashion what so ever. We've tried everything. Leyion could be on their side," Tali warned.
"Legion fought the Reapers with us. There is no way he would have agreed to this," answered John.
"Creator Tali'Zorah. Your caution is understandable. When free, we will submit to any restraints you deem necessary," argued Legion.
"I never thought I'd say this," sighed Tali who had become convinced of Legion's integrity. "But it's good to see you again."
"Likewise Creator Zorah," answered Legion.
"So what is this thing?" asked Shepherd.
"It uses our networking architecture to broadcast the Old Machine signal to all Geth simultaneously."
"Then getting you out of there will shut off the Reaper signal," concluded John.
"Wait," added Legion. "You can not simply remove the restraints. We are secured via hardware blocks nearby that shackle our operating protocols. The hardware blocks are on the far side of the room."
Tali and EDI dashed over to where Legion indicated.
"How did the Reapers get control of the Geth?" John asked.
"They did not," answered Legion. "The Creators attacked. The Geth wished to live. The Old Machines extended an offer."
"Damn Gerrel and Xan," grumbled John.
"Like he said," added Tali motioning to John.
"Had the Creators not attacked. It would have been unnecessary," continued Legion.
"So they only joined the Reapers because the Quarians attacked," concluded Garrus.
"It was the same in my cycle," commented Javik. "Old hatreds blinded races to the Reaper threat, they would make alliances and then the Reapers would harvest them afterwards."
"Nothing excuses an alliance with the Reapers," snapped Tali. "They could have found another way."
"Some would say the same thing about the Turians curing the Genophage and allying with the Krogan," retorted Garrus.
"Ooo, this is going to get hot," winced James.
"Damn it!" replied Tali beginning to get weepy. "I begged them to try negotiations first rather than attacking. . . . I did!"
"Let's just get Legion out of there," ordered John who walked up to Tali and put a hand on her shoulder.
EDI was now releasing the hardware blocks and Tali signaled the fleet. Admiral Gerrel responded with the phrase "We are in your debt."
Within fifteen seconds, the entire ship seemed to shut down.
"Alert!" snapped Legion. "Geth reinforcements incoming!"
And while the team began their firefight exit, chatter among the Quarians suggested that the Civilian Fleet was pulling back and out with Admiral Gerrel covering their retreat.
Suddenly Admiral Raan cried out over the comm-links, "Admiral Gerrel, what are you doing?"
"Raan check your screens! The Dreadnought is helpless! No barriers and the main gun is offline! We can remove their flagship if we strike now!"
"Damn it! This is our chance to see to the Civilian's Fleet safety!" cried Admiral Raan back.
"I don't like the direction this argument is going!" observed Liara in a sing song tone.
"It would seem our chances for surviving this mission are once again diminishing," elaborated EDI.
"San Diego do something!" muttered James "Muchachos!"
"What are you two talking about!" shouted Tali back to the Admirals. "We're still on board!"
"We can't waste this chance," concluded Admiral Gerrel. "Heavy Fleet all forward! Take out the Dreadnought!"
There was more argument.
"Damn it what are they doing?!" cried Tali.
"Team! Focus on the Geth! Cut the chatter from the Admirals!"
She and he die together. It was an acceptable end. He began to whisper the prayers for those in danger of death. And the team pushed forward.
They reached Legion just as the Quarians began to open fire on the Dreadnought. That Legion found it somewhat discouraging would be a slight understatement.
"Where are the escape pods?" asked Shepherd.
"Geth do not need escape pods," explained Legion.
That was the advantage of being electronic, you simply uploaded yourself to the extra-net.
"We are so screwed," groaned Kaiden.
"Any suggestions?" asked Shepherd.
"There are Geth fighters docked on the port side. We can fly them to safety," answered Legion already leading the way.
It was one wild ride but the team was able to fit into three storage bins of the Geth fighters and escape as the dreadnought broke up behind them.
"There is going to be hell in the conference room," suggested Kaiden quietly to Garrus who nodded.
"The Commander is not afraid to die, even more so since he actually went and did it two years ago. But his wife is another matter. He's very determined to keep her alive. And the Quarian fleet risked her life as well," elaborated Garrus. "So yeah, there's going to be, what Joker would call a photogenic moment."
Shepherd reported first to Admiral Hackett who observed that Gerrel had been a trouble maker for a good length of time, though the Quarian longing for Rannoch gave Hackett some empathy for the desperation of the fleet.
And it was more than a little photogenic in the Conference room when Shepherd walked in.
"Your unilateral strike endangered us all!" Raan was shouting as Shepherd walked in. Tali was already there holding his seat. "I should charge you with treason!"
"I was in my authority as Admiral of the Heavy Fleet," defended Gerrel.
"And what of Shepherd? And Admiral Zorah?" retorted Raan gesturing to John.
"They escaped unharmed," was Gerrel's dismissal of that charge. He turned to Shepherd.
"The mission parameters changed," he argued facing Shepherd. "You're a soldier. You understand that."
Tali watched John's face shift slightly, but once again his conference face mastered the situation. She was amazed that he could remain a calm collected person at a time like this. It was every effort of will she had to keep from screaming in Gerrel's face that he had risked the life of her Yahn."
"You are correct Admiral, to be a good general, you have to be able to adjust to the circumstances for the best possible advantage," he replied.
"At last, someone who understands," replied Gerrel.
"If we had just been an ordinary special forces strike team," continued Shepherd. "Your decision would have been a sound one. The destruction of the Dreadnought was an opportunity which would have necessitated swift action, though you did have a short window of flexibility which would have given your strike team more time to escape."
He had the attention of the entire Admiralty. On one hand he had not denied that Gerrel's decision had some validity. But at the same time, there was something else coming.
"If you had just a common Citadel Specter, I would have no more to say on the matter," continued Shepherd.
"But I am not a common Citadel Specter," he continued. "And I don't boast when I say this. For the Alliance Admiralty and the Citadel have given me the responsibility of uniting the entire Galaxy against the Reapers. It was to fulfill that mission that I agreed to go on to the Dreadnought and disable it because I need the Migrant Fleet to accomplish that mission. And by attacking that Dreadnought, you risked the sabotage of my mission." "And Gerrel," continued Shepherd looking straight into his visor. "If my mission fails, it won't matter how many victories you score against the Geth. If the Reapers come, even if you have killed or taken control of every single Geth out there, it won't matter. You may even have everyone living in palatial estates on Rannoch. It won't matter. You'll be just as harvested by the Reapers as Every . . . One . . . Else!"
"If you want to survive to enjoy living on Rannoch, Admiral Gerrel," concluded Shepherd. "The success of my mission is paramount. And if you want to have a better chance of my mission succeeding? I need both the Quarian and the Geth fleets."
"I've got to get back to the Heavy Fleet," concluded Gerrel in a diplomatic tone. "We will talk later."
And with that he departed for the time being.
"Bosh'Tet," suggested Admiral Xan.
"You must understand," suggested Admiral Raan quietly and conciliatory. "The Geth inflicted heavy casualties before you disabled the Reaper signal. I think the worst is over. The Geth no longer possess the programming upgrades they had while enslaved by the Reapers."
And it was at this point that Legion entered the room and volunteered his services. And had Joker been there the camera's would have been flashing ferociously. Admiral Raan promptly panicked while Admiral Xan just stood and stared.
There were introductions and then Admiral Xan expressed a very strong desire to use Legion as a test subject before Shepherd suggested diplomatically to her that Legion was off limits.
"Legion is my friend," concluded Shepherd. "More importantly, he's the best source of information we have on the Geth."
"The scientific benefits . . ." began Admiral Xan.
"Are off the table!" finished John.
Admiral Raan looked at Legion for a moment. And then she asked him, "What can you tell us about the Geth? How will they react without Reaper guidance."
"This is a false assumption," replied Legion. "You have cut off long range control, but the Old Machines placed a base on Rannoch for short range direction."
"And Admiral Gerrel is not here to say 'I told you so' to," sighed John to Tali on their Pri-comm channel.
"The Geth still have Reaper upgrades!" gasped Admiral Raan.
"Correct, they are currently disorganized, but once the short range signal is in place, they will recover," answered Legion.
"Good thing we're not dismantling him for scientific benefit," mused John rather loudly.
"Keelah," continued Admiral Raan. "I need to warn the fleet. Xen? Coordinate with Gerrel. MOVE!"
Admiral Xen departed.
John Shepherd sighed and shook his head.
"We're going to need to take out the Reaper base," he said turning to Legion. "Do you know where it is located?"
"Unknown," answered Legion.
"Find it please!" said Shepherd.
Legion brought up a topographical three dimensional map of Rannoch on the holo-screen in the center of the conference room. He observed that there was a fighter base where fighter units were scrambling to target the Migrant Fleet's life ships. By disabling that, they would have the chance of reducing Quarian casualties, which would likewise buy time for Legion to track down the Reaper base.
Shepherd thanked him and with Tali, departed for their cabin.
"Could we have Auntie Raan up for something soon?" asked Tali. "When I was on the fleet, I made dinner for the two of us every three days. I'm afraid if I don't invite her soon, she'll think I'm mad at her."
"Is this before, during, or after we make love again?" queried John.
"Yahn!"
John chuckled.
"You're horrible," sighed Tali. And then she leaned onto him and when the elevator opened at their cabin she promptly walked into it and removed her helmet and hood and . . .
. . . Sneezed.
"Bosh'tet!" she muttered to herself. She looked a little sad and John put her helmet and hood back on, but not before he kissed her once.
John proceeded to get into his sweats while Tali sat at her desk and looked rather discouraged.
"Hey," he said putting his hands on her shoulders. "You'll acclimate soon enough again."
"I yust . . ." she began. "Don't want to have to start all over again, to have been able to be so close to you and then . . ."
"You mean we're strangers now?" he said with a slight grin on his face.
"No!" she stammered. "But . . . Well . . . You know."
"I know exactly," he said. He gently lifted her out of her chair and led her to their bed. Then he gently pushed her onto it and then walked around to the other side and got on it himself. He pulled her close and held her.
"You remember all the talking we were able to do when you could only spend ten minutes out of your helmet?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said snuggling up.
"Well, what better way to reacquaint ourselves now that you're once again in your suit with me?"
"But . . . Are you sure? You don't want . . ."
"Of course I want," he chuckled. "You think that after seven months of being bored out of my skull followed by moments of stark terror and overwhelming futility, I didn't want to do what I did with you before we went on that dreadnought? You think I don't want to do that again? Tali! We're still essentially newlyweds. According to my father's best buddies, in the first year we're supposed to make love more times than all the rest of our married years put together."
"Well we certainly started out like that," giggled Tali. "We'd get up in the morning and make love, then get down and see about saving the Normandy while adrift in the Collector System. And then we'd come back up here at the end of the day and if we were not exhausted, we'd make love again and fall asleep in each other's arms . . ."
She sighed.
"And we didn't stop doing that until we landed on Earth and those Bosh'tet police came in and threw you on the ground and . . ."
And she burst into tears.
"Hey," he said. "It's okay."
"They were so cruel to you, and you had done nothing but try to save their lives. You made that horrible decision which bought us six more months of time and all they did was shut you down and do nothing."
"You were right you know," John sighed. "In the end, it wasn't worth it. What was the point of wasting six months if they were not going to do anything. Had I let the Reapers through, if that was the thing which was about to happen, then . . . well we'd still be here wouldn't we?"
Tali nodded her head.
"It's even possible that Gerrel would not have been able to start his little war since of course, the pressure would have been up so much sooner," she observed.
"It wasn't worth it Tali, it wasn't. I never will do something like that again. If my saving the galaxy requires me to kill an innocent to do it, then the Galaxy dies."
"Yahn! You can't mean that!"
"I can Tali, because I forgot there is a God up there who happens to know all the what if's already. He knows just how to make any decision I make for good reasons work for the best. And for that reason, if I choose to make a choice to spare innocents, even if the Galaxy is threatened with destruction for doing it, I don't have to worry about the Galaxy. It's not my responsibility. What I needed to do with Kaiden and Ashley was get the team together before we brought the Bomb into play, and we could have all vacated together. Ash would have been with us together and maybe Horizon would have worked out better. What I needed to do with Dr. Kenson was confirm that the Reapers were coming through and leave to alert the fleet. They would have had their own evacuation plans already in place."
"But they would have not flown the Asteroid into the Relay," argued Tali. "They wanted the Reapers to come!"
"Precisely," replied John. "But likewise Kenson would not have stopped me from leaving her group alone. And the Politician's pain in the ass would have been saying T-minus two days, six hours, five minutes, and seven seconds and that is something the Military does not ignore. We would have been more in place when they had come through."
"But the Batarians?"
"Even they would have been given warning," sighed John. "And even if they had not paid attention, they would have been forced to acknowledge that a human had warned them of their approaching doom. No matter how it slices Tali, it would have been better if I had just issued a warning and not tried to buy them more time. Especially when that purchased time was going to cost so many lives."
"But Yahn, the Reapers would have killed them anyway," sighed Tali.
"But I would have not," answered John. "And that would have made all the difference."