4/29/2210
Shepard's mind wandered as he gazed into the fish tank that lined one wall of the dimly lit cabin. He knew that he should be doing something other then just stewing in the gloom of his cabin, but he had found it hard to focus on the matter at hand; not when he felt that he should be at his lifemate's side (who was currently dozing quietly besides him) until she fully recovered.
It didn't help that Liara had yet to produce any results regarding the tracker Tali had placed on the Cerberus assassin, which had forced Shepard to endure a extended period of inactivity. He hated just sitting her and waiting while Cerberus did who knows what. He was wasting time, he had to do something soon or he would lose his mind.
But thats not really why you are uneasy, is it? He asked himself bitterly. You know full well that Tali is fine and doesn't need you worrying over her every minute of the day. Nor is it the lack of action, since you have had to wait around for longer during missions of the past, and this is no where near as bad as when a minutes wait meant hundreds more died at the reaper's hands. No, its your daughter's safety that is really bothering you.
Liara's advice during their last conversation a week ago had troubled him greatly, still finding it difficult to accept what she had told him. In his heart he knew she was right, that he needed to just trust his daughter, trust that she could handle herself. Yet whether due to his normal concern and protectiveness for all his loved ones, or fatherly instinct, he found no matter how hard he tried to convince himself he simply could not accept letting it go.
"Hey, whats the matter?" The comforting voice of Tali asked from somewhere behind him. He felt the soft touch of a slim hand gently grasp his forearm, her touch reassuring.
Shepard turned to regard his lifemate, and he immediately felt his concern melt away in favor of a smile. Seeing her face cast in the blue light from the fish tank and silver eyes staring back at him through the darkened room. "You should be trying to sleep, you need rest until you recover fully." he replied softly, brushing aside a few loose strands of hair that had fallen over her face.
"I think I have gotten enough sleep over the past few days to last me a lifetime" she laughed softly. "But you didn't answer my question. What's bothering you?"
"What makes you say something is?" he answered, trying to sound as convincing as possible.
"Because I know you, and I know that look. Please John, you can tell me."
"I'm just worried about Ria... I guess I am not sure I should have let her get involved in this, put herself in danger."
"I know how you're feeling, I'm worried about her safety and terrified of what might happen to her." Tali reassured him, with a small comforting smile before continuing. "But I also know that our daughter can handle herself, perhaps even better then another young quarian on her pilgrimage so many years ago. And if I recall, a certain dashing commander let her go with him, despite the danger and her inexperience."
"I know its just... I want her to be safe. If she was hurt because I let her get herself into danger I don't know what I would do. I almost lost you last mission and I can't bare the thought of either of you getting-"
"Shh" Tali said, placing a finger over his mouth quieting him. "You remember when Ria and her friends ran off without permission to go see the spot where you killed that reaper back on Rannoch? I believe she said that she wanted to see the memorial where Legion gave his life and maybe find a piece of the reaper that was never recovered, but I think that she simply enjoyed the idea of going on a little adventure."
"Yes, along with how worried and angry I was with her afterwords." he replied, finding the corners of his mouth twisting into a small smile at Tali's mention of one of the more memorable moments of their daughter's childhood.
"Then you also remember how she snuck out three nights later to go climb down the cliffs leading to the beach near our home, even after scolding her for her recklessness and explaining the danger of going off without supervision. I think that was just to spite your orders more then anything."
"Yes, Ria has always been a stubborn one. I still don't see what that has to do with-"
"Or before that, when ten years ago she, Tarran, Laura, and Mordin snuck away from that reunion party to explore the citadel on their own, and ended up somehow getting into the consort's chambers." Tali added, cutting him off once more.
"I still don't see how that matters."
"Then let me explain, you big bosh'tet." Tali said in a fond tone, with only just a hint of actual exasperation in her voice. "It matters because those examples show that its simply in Ria's nature to get into herself into trouble like that. You could stop her no more stop her then I could stop you from rushing to help people who are in danger with no regard for your own safety."
Tali grabbed hold of his shoulders and turned him to face her, their eyes meeting before she continued. "You may not like the idea of our daughter being in danger, neither do I. But Ria has always taken risks, and just like you, she would leap into harms way in an instant if it meant helping others. So please, trust her to have the freedom to do what she thinks is right, just as myself and all your friends have had to do for you over the years."
Shepard was silent for several moments, before at last he leaned forward to plant a kiss on the quarian's forehead. "I don't know where I would be without you to help me see reason when I'm being too stupid or foolish on my own."
"Don't feel bad John, it just takes awhile for things to penetrate your thick skull." Tali grinned jokingly "Honestly, I wonder sometimes what protects you more, your helmet or your abnormally hard head-"
"Shepard, we have an incoming transmission from the council. Apparently it's urgent." Joker announced over the Normandy's intercom, interrupting whatever his quarian lifemate had been going to say.
Shepard and Tali traded glances. Before he could begin to speak, Tali nudged him with her elbow, conveying for him to go.
Nodding, he turned his attention away from her and directed his voice towards the ship's pilot. "Put it through to the ship's QEC." the spectre answered, standing up and heading for the cabin's door.
"Okay, just give me a minute to prepare myself to cut communications at a moments notice, then I will be ready to go." Joker replied, the smirking grin he was undoubtedly now sporting completely evident in his voice.
"Jeff, you are aware that I can cut the ship's communications if Shepard grows weary of conversing with the council." EDI commented, speaking up over the comms as well.
"Come on EDI, don't take this away from me. You know how much I enjoy helping Shepard piss off politicians." Joker retorted.
Bemused, Shepard grinned as he punched the button for the elevator to descend to the deck bellow him.
. . . . .
Shepard entered the ship's comms room a few minutes later, making his way over to the QEC at the far end of the room. He had to wait a few seconds before the projector across from him flared to lif and the holographic images of the human, asari, and turian councilor began to materialized before him. He was unsurprised that only three of councilors were present, since as a result of a shear number of races that now had representatives in the New Council it was rare for all to ever be in the same place at once.
"Councilors" Shepard said in greeting with a small incline of his head.
"Spectre Shepard." the asari councilor greeted in kind. "Two matters of importance have recently come to our attention that we need to discuss, so allow us to skip the pleasantries and get down to business."
"Understood. " the spectre nodded. "What's the emergency?"
"Two hours ago, a long range scanner at the edge Maroon Sea cluster picked up a signal of an unidentified vessel shortly before going offline. Normally, this matter would be of little importance if not for that it was heading towards the sector containing a derelict reaper you discovered five years ago. If our suspicions are correct, then someone has discovered its location and may be trying to gain control of it for their own ends."
For several stunned moments, Shepard said nothing, staring at the council dumbfoundedly with his mouth agape "You didn't have it destroyed?! What. The. Hell. Where. You. Thinking!? Are you completely out of your mind!?" he growled angrily.
"Spectre, it is not your place to pass judgment on our actions." the turian councilor retorted defensively, a hint of anger entering the alien's voice.
"As you are well aware, the "dead" Reaper found at the edge of the Maroon Sea star cluster presented an unique opportunity for study not found in any other Reaper corpse we have come across. While completely "brain dead", for lack of a better term, it still had power and many of its systems were stll functional. Every other Reaper was completely inactive." The asari councilor interjected.
A chill ran up his spine as the councilor's words brought forth unbidden memories of his first foray into that very reaper, and of the horrors he had encountered within it. Squeezing his eyes shut, Shepard forced the memories aside before speaking, the anger in his voice replaced by a cold dread. "How could you even think of sending researchers into...that thing? Are there people in their right now?"
"As a result of budget constraints and the secrecy of this matter, research has yet to begin on the Reaper corpse." the human councilor answered, speaking up for the first time. "We also ensured that the entire area was watched, so that no ship could enter within an hour's travel of the site without us knowing immediately, which fortunately proved successful in this case."
Shepard said nothing, simply nodding his head in understanding of councilor's words.
Seeing that no response was forthcoming, the asari councilor continued on from her earlier line of discussion. "We are unsure how anyone discovered its location, its very existence was only known to the members of the council, yourself and a handful of other. For this reason we need you to go there and investigate who or what has discovered it."
"So, I am supposed to clean up your mess. We wouldn't be in this mess if you had just destroyed the damn thing!" Shepard replied with a growl.
"What we did or not do is irrelevant in this matter. You have your assignment Spectre. Whether you you are up to it or not is your own choice."
Shepard clenched his teeth in frustration, fighting to keep his anger in check. In truth, there was something that bothered him far more then councilor's decision to not destroy the derelict reaper. What concerned him more was that he honestly wasn't sure that we was up to the task or not. Having to return to that... that place again frightened frightened the spectre. Frightened him far more then he was willing to admit even to himself.
No, he would not let that stop him. He had faced worse before, and he could do it again. With this thought in mind, the spectre shoved aside his fear and spoke with what confidence he could muster. "I am."
"I am glad to hear it spectre." the asari replied with a nod."Now, on to our second matter we must attend to at this meeting; which is regretfully something that concerns you in a personal sense."
Shepard felt his heart skip a beat at those words, fear gripping him as he began to suspect the identity of the matter.
As he watched on the turian councilor stepped forward, moving into the forefront of the three as he moved to speak; his is voice taking on a cold, businesslike tone. "It has come to our attention that Invisible SR3, one of the five most advanced ships the council possesses, has been taken without our consent. What is most troubling, is that our sources indicate that the group those responsible for the theft of top-secret military hardware include your own daughter. Not to mention that these sources also indicate that Spectre Vakarian, Spectre Alenko, and yourself were all aware of this occurrence. and failed to report it to us, nor take any action that would lead to their surrender of stolen Council property. Now I would like to know what your explanation for this outrageous-"
"Spectre Shepard" the asari councilor said, cutting the turian. "What Councilor Destcus means to say is that we would like it if you were to be so kind to shed some light on the situation."
Shepard's fingers clenched involuntary as the councilors spoke, his mouth twisting into a grimace as he considered his options. He could of course say nothing; refuse to tell the Council anything regarding his daughter's activities. But that could very well anger the council even more, which would likely just make things worse for Ria. But he couldn't tell them everything, not without the risk that what he told them would give the council what they needed to find out Ria's current location and activities. Stalling won't help any, so my only choice is to find out what they are planning to do about Ria, Shepard thought to himself.
"I have nothing to say other then that I believed at the time, and still believe, that allowing my daughter and those with her to pursue Cerberus on their own was the best course of action." Shepard replied coldly, matching the councilor's tone. "Now, could we just skip to the point: unless you would rather waste all our time by scolding me first?I know ho much the council loves to act superior to everyone, but right now I'm not in the mood to indulge you."
The asari councilor eyes widened with surprise, caught off-guard by the forcefulness of the spectre's reply. Her mouth opened if to speak, but appeared to be incapable of forming words.
"Its very simple, Spectre." The Turian councilor spat, recovering from his own surprise far quicker then his asari compatriot. "In addition to the theft of Council property, your daughter and her friends have engaged in vigilantism within council space. Impersonation of council officials, and inference with matters of galactic security; all of which are capital offenses. However, in light of your, Spectre Vakarian's, and Spectre Alenko's past service we are willing to drop all charges, provided you ensure that they surrender the Invisible to us and cease all involvement with the hunt for remaining Cerberus agents."
"Indeed" the human councilor said in agreement with the turian. "If you do not keep your daughter and her friends from interfering further, the council will be forced to take action against them on our own, and we can assure you that in this case we will not be as lenient."
Shepard stood silent for several moments, unsure of what he should do. In truth, part of him yearned to do exactly what the councilor's ordered, for doing so he could ensure that his daughter would be safe. Ria would no longer be in harms way, no longer having to face the risks inherent of of the mission she currently faced. Maybe the councilor's were right, maybe he should have never let her get involved...
But... but in his heart he knew that he did need her help, that the galaxy needed both of them if they were to have any chance of stopping Cerberus. As much as he wanted her safety, no matter how hard it would be for him, he knew that he had to trust his daughter. With that final thought, the spectre made up his mind.
"No." Shepard answered, his voice deathly calm as he gave his answer.
Once again the councilors were left dumbstruck by the spectre's answer, evidently having not considered the possibility that he would refuse their offer. "What!?" the turian councilor said at last, speaking in a low hiss.
"I said no." Shepard repeated, this time his declaration coming out as more of a growl
"Spectre Shepard, unless you comply with our orders then the consequences for your daughter will be-" the asari councilor started to say, only for Shepard to cut her off.
"No, for once you are going to listen to me. Since this whole thing started you haven't taken the Cerberus threat seriously. Oh sure, you did assign two spectres to deal with it, only one of whom was on active service at the time. Hell, you didn't even bother sending one of your own ships, instead to borrowed one from the alliance."
The human councilor interjected at this point, anger evident in the man's voice. "Are you insinuating that we-"
Shepard slammed a fist into the edge of console in front of him with such force that if left a small dent in the metal, cutting the man off. "I am not about to risk the safety of the galaxy by refusing help when the council is content to send a single team. I sure as hell don't like it, but i need their help, which means I'm sure as hell not going to stop them."
The expressions of of the three councilor's present twisted into looks of such complete anger and outrage, Shepard half expected steam to start rising from their faces. "Spectre Shepard, if that is your... choice regarding this matter..." The asari replied in a forced calm, failing to completely hide her anger, "...then it looks like we have no choice but to send a team to apprehend your daughter and-"
"You are not going to lay a finger on my daughter or any of her friends." Shepard stated, in a voice so utterly calm and confident that the councilors acted like they had been struck; falling utterly still and quite in the wake of his declaration.
The human councilor recovered first out of the three. "Do tell, why is that?" the man said through clenched teeth.
"Because if you do anything to her, if you take any action against her, if you so much as touch her; I will come after you. Personally." Shepard replied quietly, never once raising his voice.
You really think you can win a fight against us on your own?" the turian councilor scoffed.
"Probably not, but that hasn't stopped me before. So I warn you again, lay one finger on her and I will drop everything, and turn my full attention to you. Do you really want to take that chance, councilor?" Shepard replied in the same utterly calm tone as before.
"Your bluffing" the turian growled menacingly.
"Try me" Shepard replied, before turning his back and walking away from the holographic projections of the three stunned politicians.
"Shepa-" one of the councilors began to say before the communication was cut.
"Communication cut Shepard" Joker said over the ship's intercoms. "... and um, wow...that was totally not scary as all hell."
"I'm not in the mood right now, Joker." The first human spectre replied bluntly. "Just set a course to the coordinates the council transmitted."
"Uhh, okay then. ETA about three and a half hours." the pilot replied before closing the comm channel.
Shepard instantly regretted snapping at the helmsmen, but between the heated disagreement with the councilors and the prospect of having to return to that...that place; he felt it difficult to keep his already raging emotions in check. Leaning against a nearby bulkhead wearily, Shepard collected himself for a moment before heading off to prepare his gear for the coming mission.
. . . . .
"Joker, whats our ETA?"
"We will be at the coordinates the council sent us in about in five minutes." Joker replied over the comms, which echoed through the empty cargo-bay.
"Good, make sure to not bring us in too close. I am going to take the shuttle the rest of the way."
"Roger that."
Giving the equipment strewn about the weapon's bench once last check to ensure they were all in working order, the spectre secured them in place. Slipping his helmet over his head with a faint click as it sealed airtight, he made his way over to one of the two Kodiak shuttles docked within the chamber.
As he began to open the shuttle doors, a voice called out to him "Where the hell do you think you're going!"
Leaving the shuttle's doors half open, he turned around to see Garrus, Kaidan, and James, hurrying towards him. All three of the them were wearing armor and were carrying weapons. "Looks like you are getting a but forgetful, Shepard. You forgot to tell any of us about this mission." Garrus continued as he and the two alliance soldiers came to a stop. "One would think you were planning to go off on your own."
"Thats because I am going on my own." Shepard replied bluntly, turning his back to the trio. With a shove he pushed the shuttle's doors open fully.
The three exchanged worried looks, unsure of how to produced. Surprisingly, it was James who replied first. "You've done a lot of crazy things Loco, but this is stupid, even for you."
"Ya, maybe we would be fine with sitting this one out if it were something simple like taking down a merc group." Garrus agreed. "I don't see why you feel the need to go by yourself."
Shepard said nothing, keeping his back turned to the turian as he tossed the first bag of equipment inside the now open shuttle.
"It has something to do with that mission you were sent on five year ago, wasn't it." Garrus said bluntly. It wasn't a question.
Shepard froze, a pained look flashed over his face. Everything was utterly silent as Shepard found himself unable to speak, feeling as though his tongue had been turned to lead. With an effort, he forced his mouth to form words, speaking in a low, hollow tone. "I don't want to talk about it Garrus."
"I'm right aren't I? You had to go inside of that thing, didn't you? Just like you are going to have to do now."
Shepard's grip tightened involuntarily on the bag he held as he squeezed his eyes shut and willed his friend to stop asking questions. "Drop it, Garrus."
"What happened to you there? What was so bad that you won't even talk about it?" Garrus asked, ignoring the warning he had given the turian.
"I said drop it." Shepard repeated a bit more forcefully then before.
"I heard what you said, Shepard. Doesn't mean I had to listen." Garrus growled as anger began to creep into the turian's voice. "Especially when whatever bothering you is clouding your judgment."
"My judgment is fine."
"Yes, because going inside a damned reaper without backup is completely rational," the turian retorted with dry sarcasm hanging in tone.
Shepard turned away from the turian, refusing to meet his friend's concerned gaze. "I told you, this isn't up for debate."
"Shepard, Garrus is right." Kaidan interjected in a concerned tone. "You can't just expect us to let you go off on your own."
Shepard said nothing, ignoring the Alliance soldier's words as he tossed the last bag of equipment into the shuttle.
"Shepard, come on. Don't do something your going to regret." Garrus said as he reached out and put a hand on the spectre's shoulder, his tone growing more concerned.
"Your not going Garrus. That's final." Shepard stated bluntly, shrugging off the the turian's grip
"You can't ordering me to do anything. We are both spectres Shepard; you don't out rank me, remember." Garrus replied angrily, his voice now raising to a shout. "Besides, I've always followed your lead because I trust you, not because I have to. But I won't follow orders when doing so means letting you go get yourself killed."
"I'm not ordering you to do anything, I'm simply not letting you." he replied, turning to regard the turian for a moment before stepping inside the shuttle. "Sorry Garrus, but this is something I have to deal with on my own." he added with a sad smile before slamming the shuttle's doors shut with a loud clang.
Everything fell silent for several moments before Garrus's voice rose once more, the turians shouting managing to carry into the shuttle. "Fine, go then! You've already made up your mind and nothing I say or do will stop you! I just hope you don't get your self killed, for Tali's sake if anyone's!"
Shepard didn't bother to reply as he took his seat in the pilot's chair and began preparing for take-off. Outside Garrus, Kaidan, and James moved back as the shuttle's thrusters roared to life and the cargo-bay doors crawled open. With one last check of the shuttle's systems, the shuttle shot rose upwards before shooting towards the opening leading to the blackness of space
After the shuttled passed through the mass effect fields keeping the cargo-bay sealed against the vacuum of space even when the doors were open, the spectre breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that any of them would have followed him no matter the risks; of course, they had done so time and time again. But this time... this time he couldn't let them come with him. This is for their own good, he repeated to himself again and again. Let their memories of the Reapers remain memories, only dark shadows of of long ago.
Flashed of recent memories filled his mind, of the assassin's blade falling on Tali, of her blood splattering the floor as she fell limply. Of her lying still in the medbay, her life hanging in balance for those painful hours. Its for their safety, he told himself, washing away the unbidden memories. They're better off away from me, away from pain I cause to those around me. By going alone, I can protect anyone from being hurt ever again. I can protect them. I can protect them
The thought echoing like a mantra through his mind, Shepard piloted the shuttle away from the Normandy. Soon a dark shape began to materialize in the center of his display screen, the shadow corpse that served as a horrible reminder of the greatest threat the galaxy ever faced. A shadowing reminder of the beings that had haunted his dreams, even long after they had been destroyed
. . . . .
"...that idiotic, reckless, arrogant, self-righteous, bastard." Garrus growled angrily as the shuttle pulled out of the Normandy's cargo bay. He stood absolutely still, paralyzed by indecision. His eyes darted briefly to glance at the remaining shuttle. His first thought was to take it, go after Shepard, to ensure his friend's safety. But... he knew that doing so could very well just upset Shepard further and make matters worse.
"Garrus, you think we should be follow after him?" Kaidan asked, voicing the turian's own thoughts.
No, I don't like it, but us going won't help. Not when we are all clueless to how we can even help Shepard... Garrus thought to himself. Still, he couldn't just leave thing to chance.
"Get ready to move on a moments notice. If I even get the suspicion that something has happened to Shepard; we are going to save his stubborn ass, whether he likes it or not." Garrus instructed, garnering quick nods from the two humans. Turning away, Garrus started off towards the elevator at the end of the cargo bay
"What are you going to do?" Kaidan called after him.
"To get to the bottom of this." Garrus growled cryptically as the elevator closed behind him. We are going to help him, but I need to find out why hes doing this first.
. . . . .
Tali's eyes roamed over the glowing orange holographic display of her omni-tool, searching the readouts of the Normandy's engines for any irregularities. A few days ago she had managed to convince EDI and the ship's other engineers to allow her to access the ship's systems remotely so she could work while she was still on mandatory bed rest.
She knew of course that John would have been upset if he knew that she was working rather then trying to rest; but Tali found it impossible to just sit around and do nothing when she should be correcting irregular fluctuation in the drive core's energy output, optimizing cooling cycles, or any other useful task.
A knock on the cabin's door caught Tali's attention, drawing her gaze away from her omni-tool. "Yes?" she called out.
"Tali, its Garrus." the voice of the turian, muffled from behind the thick steel door, replied. "I am sorry to bother you but... we need to talk."
While she did not detect any urgency in the turian's voice, something in it told her told her that whatever it was, it was important."Uh, okay. Just give me a few minutes, Garrus." Tali answered, pushing off herself out of the the bed's sheets
"Can't whatever you need to do wait until later?" Garrus asked impatiently.
"Garrus, let me put it this way: the conversation would be far less awkward if I was wearing something other then a nightgown." Tali replied dryly, glancing down at the somewhat...revealing gown she was currently wearing as she spoke.
"Oh, right... sorry." Garrus coughed uncomfortably in response.
Rolling her eyes, Tali swung her legs over the side of the bed and pushed herself up to her feet.
Digging through one of the duffel-bags she had brought with her from Rannoch, the quarian retrieved several segments and layers of material that made up an quarian's environmental suit. While she had managed to repair the damage her suit had received a week before, Tali felt safer opting to instead wear the back-up environmental suit she had brought with her rather then trust wholly in the patchwork repairs she had made.
The process of donning her suit took several minutes, but at last she had clamped the last seal into place with a faint hiss. Checking that her mask was secured fully in place, Tali called out Garrus "Okay, you can come in now."
The door opened with a whoosh of air as the turian stormed in, his featured pursed in what Tali recognized as the turian equivalent of a frown. "So, whats this about?" Tali asked, taking a seat on the edge of her bed.
The turian didn't reply at first, throwing himself down onto the couch facing her. "Its about Shepard, he stormed off by himself, going into that damned reaper on his own." Garrus explained, frustration clear in his voice.
"What happened." Tali asked softly, failing to hide her own quickly escalating concern for her lifemate's safety.
Garrus explained everything that happened following finding Shepard in the cargo hold and of what the two had said to one-another during their argument. "I don't know whats bothering him, and I don't like it. Shepard needs my- our help, but I don't know how... how to- "
Tali closed her eyes as her friend finished, sighing deeply before replying. "I was worried John might try to do something stupid and reckless like that, the big bosh'tet. He came up here to talk to me after the meeting with the council, told me where he was going. I tried to get him to talk to me about it, but he refused. I should have said something, but I saw how it pained him, the memories I mean... so I didn't..."
"Its about what happened five years ago isn't it." Garrus stated flatly, repeating the same assertion he had said to Shepard earlier that day. "Its whats bothering him now, has been for some time now."
Tali nodded, somewhat surprised by the astuteness of the turian's guess. Then again, Garrus has always been far more observant and adept at reading people then he ever let on. "It was bad Garrus. Really bad. Shepard isn't afraid of much, you know that. But when he came back from that mission five years ago... it got to him. It opened old wounds"
"The reapers." Garrus stated simply.
"He had to live through it all again, the same horror, the same fear... a reminder of what he had to endure all those years ago and what he was unable to escape." Tali's gaze drooped to the floor as she gathered her thoughts, likely trying to find the best way to phrase it so Shepard didn't come across as a basket case. "He never really got over what he experienced during the Reaper war. He may not shown it, but to this day he is still terrified of them. He sometimes still sees them in his dreams, nightmares really, that havn't gone away even after all this time."
"I always figured Shepard tried to hide how much it effected him from us, probably thought it would protect us and everyone else if we didn't know." Garrus said with a sad smile. "Just like him running off on his own right now is probably some harebrained heroic rational that hes protecting us."
"Thats exactly what it is Garrus. last time he failed, and he wont risk it happening again with all of us there too."
Garrus did not respond, the turian appearing lost in thought as he pondered all that she had said. "What happened?" he asked at last.
"I suppose you deserve to know," Tali said thoughtfully after a period of silence of her own, "though I am not sure where to begin"
Authors Note:First off, I have to give a big thanks to Bahoogasmif for helping me brainstorm and collaborating at several point to help past several writing blocks I ran into while writing this chapter. Dude, without your help this chapter wouldn't have turned out as good as it did.
In other new, I posted the first of the seven planned character biographies last week up on the blog for my account on the Bioware social network. My account there is named "TheWerdna" and it shouldn't be too hard to find the character bio if you are interested in that. The next one will be posted some time next week end, and the others will follow every other week from that (on weeks where I do not post a chapter.