Sorry this one took a while to get out. I knew what I wanted to write, but I had a hard time putting it down. Hope it's as fun to read as it was to write it. :)
Garrus eyed the display located a distance above Joker's head with mild interest. Virmire was a significantly lush planet, streaks of green and patches of blue painting the full 360-degree display of the planet. It seemed to be somewhat of a paradise, and an ideal colonization world. However, according to the description, it would be an easy target for pirate raids or slavers if there ever were any kind of colonization.
It would also be an ideal location for covert operations. Virmire was a likely destination of a secret hideout, which was probably why the Council's STG team was here in the first place. Hopefully, they could catch Saren red-handed.
Garrus glanced at Joker, who had been steadily maneuvering the Normandy towards the tropical planet. Garrus took notice of how the pilot's hands soared over the control panels, his fingers a blur of human flesh as they danced over the numerous displays.
Garrus grinned. Joker wasn't bestowed the title of 'best damn pilot in the Alliance' for nothing. Another thought crossed the turian's mind.
I wonder how Joker got that sobriquet of his...
"So, Joker.", Garrus rumbled, receiving the attention of the human.
Joker continued to keep his eyes on the control panel as he responded. "Yup?"
"How'd you get your nickname? Joker?"
Joker stopped, his hands still hovering over the commands of his control panel. He gaped his mouth in thought as he dipped his head. Garrus had thought maybe he had put a touchy subject on the spot, and was about to say something else when Joker suddenly chuckled.
Joker tapped a command into the control panel, and then let his hands rest in his lap.
The pilot abruptly continued with a sarcastic tone. "It's a lot shorter than saying 'Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau'... Well, I didn't pick the name. One of the instructors in flight school used to bug me about never smiling. She started calling me Joker, and it stuck."
Garrus took on a concerned look. "You were... unhappy?"
Joker shook his head slightly. "I worked my ass off in flight school, Garrus. The world's not going to hand you anything if you go around grinning like an idiot."
Garrus chuckled. "I could learn a thing or two from you."
"Maybe", Joker added. "And by the end of the year, I was the best pilot in the Academy. Even better than the instructors. And everybody knew it. They'd all gotten their asses kicked by the sickly kid with the creaky little legs. One guess who was smiling at graduation."
Garrus was impressed with Joker's accomplishment. "Individuals with disabilities always seem to overcome the odds. Even some people who were born without disabilities can't achieve some the things disabled people do."
"Yeah, well, people doubted me because of my Vrolik's. I decided to prove myself."
"That you did.", Garrus said, smirking. "I'm not sure that we'd be where we are without you, Joker."
An awkward silence took over the cockpit for a while before Joker finally broke it. "You're not about to ask me out, are you?"
Garrus laughed a loud, reverberating chuckle. "I'm just glad that we have a pilot as great as you."
"There isn't a pilot as great as me.", Joker said proudly.
Garrus again smiled at his confidence. "I'm sure."
Kaidan sighed as Ashley presented an argument. "They're essentially spies, are they not?"
"The Council doesn't condone spies directly, but if an STG team is obtaining intel, to the Council, the source is irrelevant. Like Spectres, the Council prefers to stay out of their way."
Ashley scoffed. "If that's the case, they're just getting away with being irresponsible. If they don't watch over what they're infiltration teams are doing, who will? Hell, they could be raiding small colonies for all the Council knows."
"They handpick every member for the STG. No one gets in without proving themselves, and getting permission from the Council."
"I don't see why it matters.", Wrex growled. "As long as they get the job done, who gives a damn what they do in their spare time?"
Ashley slanted her eyes at Wrex. She knew Wrex well enough now that he wouldn't snap anyone's neck over a simple disagreement.
"Them having spare time to do what they want isn't a problem. What they do could have dire ramifications, though. If they're doing something illegal, like drug trafficking or something, they could slip by right under the Council's noses, and get away with it."
Kaidan sighed. "Do you really think they'd try anything? Salarian lives are too short to waste time on committing crime, in my opinion. Besides, the Council keeps them busy. They've got teams everywhere in the Galaxy. Don't you think they have uses for that? The Council's STG teams are constantly on missions."
Obviously tiresome of the subject, Ashley shook her head, turning back to the weapons on the table.
Kaidan sighed, annoyed.
Women.
He shrugged his shoulders as his gaze glided over Wrex. The krogan chuckled deeply, causing Ashley to look back at the two of them.
"...What?"
Kaidan grinned. "Shepard ordered us directly that we're to join him and Tali in the Mako for the ground team."
Ashley gave Kaidan a strange look. "And, that's funny... why?"
Kaidan shook away the urge to say 'Because women like you always find something to argue about', and responded. "It's not. Just thinking about something."
"Would you like to share it with the class, Lieutenant?", Ashley asked, eyeing Kaidan suspiciously.
"Nope.", Kaidan responded enthusiastically, and he spun on his heel to head to his weapon locker, where he would grab his armor, and prepare for the mission ahead.
A loving finger wipes away a tear left over from her nightmare. She stares up at her mother's beautiful face. The young child still struggles to catch her breath, yet she was becoming more calm every second that her mother was there. Her mother smiles, her eyes shining pools of blue.
"It's alright, Liara. I'm here. Mommy's here."
The child is locked in her mother's embrace, not daring to let go. She felt herself be engulfed by the scent of her mother, and she was reminded of fond memories that she'd had with her.
"It's alright, darling. I'm here."
The voice began to fade away, as if her mother was leaving her.
"I'm here."
She opens her eyes, her mother falling away from her arms.
"I'm here."
The child wants to scream for her to return, but she knows it would be useless.
"I'm here."
Her mother's voice continues to become more distant.
"I'm here."
Shadows begin to engulf parts of her body, soon only her face being in sight.
"I'm here..."
Suddenly, her mother's face contorts into horrified shriek. The voice deteriorates into a low, evil growl.
"I'm here."
The child weeps, screaming between sobs, but no sound leaving her mouth. She cries, but feels the darkness coming to claim her, too. She knows that she can do nothing. She begs for mercy.
"I'm here."
Flames, scorching her skin. Ravaging her body. Her mother stands in the flames, screaming as she burned alive. It was the child's fault. She had done this. To her own mother.
It was too much too bear. She felt her heart slowly stop beating. It'd been impaled. Destroyed. It was all her fault.
Everything was her fault.
She felt herself slipping away to join her mother's side within the flames of retribution.
"Good night, Little Wing."
Liara's eyes flung open. "No!"
She was seated at the desk in the room beyond the med bay, like she had been just moments before. She had only closed her eyes for a moment...
She wanted closure.
Tears conjoined with beads of sweat slid down her face. She sighed as she wiped them away with her hands. Her breath shook. She steeled her legs as she prepared to stand up.
They would be at Virmire soon, and she needed to put these feelings aside. She had to be ready. She couldn't let her team down. They needed her.
She stood from her chair, her knees buckling under her. She clasped the back of the chair for leverage.
Liara wanted to fall. She felt cold, alone, and useless. There was nothing for her anymore.
She wanted to cry, but she choked back the tears, and took a deep breath.
She wasn't sure if she would ever be able to overcome this. Her heart felt dead, but she had to carry on.
Liara balanced herself on her own two feet, and left the med bay, and her mother, behind.
Tali watched Shepard as he conversed with Joker over the comm. The display in the Mako hummed to life as its engines roared.
"Commander, I'm reading a signal. Must be our salarian infiltration team."
Garrus spoke from his position beside Joker. "Watch those defense towers."
Joker responded. "Yeah, I noticed. We'll orbit around until you take them out, Commander. Then I'll touch the Normandy down."
"Got it."
With that, Shepard disengaged the comm and focused his attention on the display before him. Kaidan shifted in his seat at the gun, earning him a tease from Ashley, who was seated in the back of the tank.
"Nervous, LT?"
Kaidan shook his head. "Just been a while since I dropped in this thing."
"You'll be fine.", the commander assured him.
The cargo bay rattled as it entered the atmosphere of the planet. "Ready, Commander?", Joker asked over the comm.
"Ready and waiting."
Then, the cargo hatch opened, the high-caliber rush of air dragging the Mako forward.
Shepard hovered his foot over the gas, ready to launch the tank into a free-fall.
"Go!"
The Mako jerked forward, a sudden feeling of weightlessness making Tali's stomach lurch.
Tali couldn't stop herself from releasing a terrified groan. The tank dropped at a velocity so swift, Tali felt as if she would float away, but Kaidan anchored her to her seat with his arm.
The tank only glided for a short time before it hit the ground. Joker must have dropped them closer than he usually does. Tali thanked the ancestors for that. But, even though it wasn't as lengthy of a drop as usual, it did nothing to assuage Tali's now upset stomach.
Tali released the death grip she had on her seat, and let out the breath she had pent up in her lungs. Shepard must have noticed how Tali's body shifted, and leaned over to catch sight of her past Kaidan.
"You alright, Tali?"
I think I'm going to be sick...
Tali attempted to mask her thoughts with her voice. "I- I'm fine... Thank you."
Shepard grinned at her, making her smile back involuntarily. No matter what, when Shepard smiled at her, she returned it instinctively. She didn't mind, however. Even if he couldn't see it, he always knew.
Tali couldn't believe what she saw. The surface of Virmire was something she did not suspect in the slightest. It was a beautiful, mostly oceanic planet, with small patches of stone and sand.
The quarian looked around with mouth agape, taking every detail of her surroundings. Green patches of vegetation grew on the massive rocks that seemed to serve as a pathway across the sandbar. She heard the tides of the ocean licking the shoreline. She longed to see what lied beyond the stone wall, but there was no time to do so. It saddened her somewhat, since she's always been fascinated by oceans, even ones that weren't native to her world. She'd always dreamed of swimming in an ocean, but her suit wouldn't agree with it.
She bowed her head and closed her eyes, feeling the low level of water sweep past her ankles. Abruptly, a gloved hand touched her own. She looked up to catch a glimpse of Shepard, who had ordered everyone into the Mako. Tali took one last savory moment to feel the water splash against her boots, and she let Shepard usher her toward the Mako, and back inside.
Shepard activated the ignition, and the tank rumbled with power. Shepard turned the Mako around a turn near the other side of the lagoon, arriving at yet another section of the sandbar.
However, numerous tiny red dots popped up on the gun display at Kaidan's seat. Geth turrets and other platforms on the other side of the rock pillars before them. "Alright.", Kaidan breathed as he engaged the weapons system.
The machine gun atop the Mako belted off rounds into the geth turrets, dropping two with efficient accuracy.
Shepard moved the Mako forward again, another geth turret showing up on the radar. Kaidan made short work of the turret with a powerful cannon shot, hitting its mark on the turret's center mass.
The commander guided the tank forward, looping around another corner. This time, get rocket troopers met them, and they managed to bring the Mako's shields down to 83% before Kaidan finished them off.
"Tali, keep our shields up.", Shepard ordered.
Tali nodded, and made sure the Mako had enough shield capacity for her to run a program that would increase the regeneration of the Mako's shields by 7.14% momentarily.
The machinist kept fiddling with the shield controls, but as the machine gun thundered and the cannon boomed, the Mako continued to lose shields faster than it could regenerate them.
She found herself in somewhat of a perilous situation when the shield power dropped to 23%. Kaidan had eliminated the geth, but it would be unwise to continue onward without letting the tank regain some of its shield power.
Shepard still trucked on, however, leaving Tali with only a few choices. She could reroute some of the non-essential power sources to the shields. The only downside was that the Mako would no longer have air conditioning. It didn't matter. Virmire had no extreme temperatures to worry about, so it was unimportant.
Suddenly, a loud beeping resounded from Kaidan's console. His radar was jammed. All four of them knew what it meant.
Without saying a word, Kaidan prepared to fire blind with the assistance of a sensory aiming module that was provided next to the radar.
Tali let Kaidan worry about destroying the geth.
Keeping the shields at a safe level would definitely prove to be an arduous task.
Gunfire rang out, both from the Mako and the geth that engaged it.
64%
Tali activated her omnitool, using the newly-installed omni-gel power converter into another source of power for the shield capacitors. This way, excess omni-gel stored within a compartment in the Mako reserved for repairs had more than one use.
45%
The shields fell at an alarming rate. Tali continued to make slight adjustments to the electric power sources of the Mako to continue to uphold shield integrity.
33%
Bosh'tet!
The quarian continued to hammer different commands, struggling to keep power routes in line with the shields.
27%...
18%...
12%...
Tali activated her omnitool, linked up her suit with the systems of the Mako, and channeled her own shield power into the capacitors.
Tali frantically twisted her head back and forth to keep up with the display and the shield strength monitor.
4%
Tali braced for a shot to rip through the metal of the tank, but just before Tali thought that the Mako was done for, the gunfire ceased, and the radar was clear of hostiles.
She sighed a breath of relief, along with Kaidan and Ashley, who were also probably looking on as the shields dwindled away.
Shepard looked back and forth between the Lieutenant and Ashley, a small grin on his face.
"You guys worry too much."
The last geth fell to a well-placed burst of assault rifle rounds into its sensors by Ashley, and the squad made their way down the corridor to find the gate control switch.
"Go ahead and take it down, Kaidan."
Kaidan nodded and approached the terminal. He glided his hands over the display, and a loud, grinding sound resounded from outside.
"One AA gun down, Commander.", Kaidan said proudly as he stepped away.
"Nice work.", Shepard complimented. "Now, we need to keep moving. There are still a couple more defense towers we need to deactivate.
The commander spun on his heel to face down the length of the hallway leading outside.
"Everyone ready?"
"Wait.", a soft voice called out. Shepard turned to see Tali tapping away at a terminal on the other side of the room.
"What is it?", Shepard asked her as he strolled up beside her.
"Look at this.", Tali said, stepping aside so that Shepard could see the terminal screen. There were a bunch of strange letters and symbols that he'd never seen before. It must have been in a language that Tali understood.
Shepard eyed the console, confused. "I still don't get it. What does it say?"
Tali still scrolled through hundreds of lists that were in a different language.
"Troves of geth data!", Tali cried out enthusiastically. "I'm... not sure what it means, but I think its blueprints or information for the defense tower. The AA gun seems to be made out of geth material. I don't think its enough to get anything useful out of it, but I think that if I can find enough useful data on the geth, I could send it back to the fleet for my pilgrimage gift and then-..."
Tali stopped dead in her tracks. She slowly shifted her gaze to Shepard. She knew as well as he did what it meant if she had found her pilgrimage gift.
Shepard suddenly felt a bit pensive. If Tali found enough useful geth data to give the fleet a leg up on the geth, that could be considered a pilgrimage gift, and if she wanted it to be so, that would be the end of her pilgrimage...
She would go back home to the Flotilla.
She would leave him.
It seemed that Tali was about to say something until Ashley interrupted.
"Uh... Commander?"
Shepard looked back at Ashley. Right. They still had a job to do. There was no time to be thinking about it.
He knew it was selfish, but... Shepard hoped that Tali wouldn't find enough geth data to send back to the fleet. It was a terrible thing to hope for, but it was true.
She meant the world to him. If Tali left...
He wasn't sure he could do this without her.
There's no time for this...
Shepard sighed, feeling less energetic than he did before.
"Let's go."
Ashley sighed heavily as she placed her assault rifle on the magnetic plate on her back. "Finally. This should be the last one. Now the Normandy should be able to get on the ground."
Kaidan approached the geth terminal by the wall.
Kaidan deactivated the last AA gun, Joker's voice sounding over the comm soon after.
"I'm reading that the grid is down, Commander. On approach to the salarian base now. Out."
"Copy.", Shepard responded. "Alright, let's meet this infil team."
Shepard lead the squad out of the room, and down the walkway to the Mako.
It was somewhat of a drive for the team to go through before they would reach the base. Shepard went full throttle across the sandbar to hasten their journey.
Tali didn't blame him. She was ready to step out of the Mako for the last time on this mission.
Joker's voice again addressed Shepard over the comm. "The Normandy is touched down at the salarian camp, Commander, but it looks like we're grounded. The salarian captain can explain when you get here."
Shepard and Kaidan exchanged confused looks, but Shepard continued to lead the Mako forward. Obviously, something was off about the situation.
Finally, the Mako turned the corner, and something of a makeshift base came into view. Shepard was definitely going to have a word with the salarian, but Tali knew what she was going to do. She couldn't wait to see an ocean again.
After checking up on everyone that had stayed aboard the Normandy while he, Kaidan, Ashley, and Tali took out the AA guns, Shepard waded across the lagoon to approach the salarian captain, who was already conversing with Ashley and Kaidan. He managed to hear Ashley as he drew nearer.
"So what are we supposed to do now?"
The salarian captain attempted to calm the soldier with a gesture of his hand. "Stay put until we can come up with a plan."
"Are you in charge here?", Shepard demanded as he came within close proximity of the salarian. "What's the situation?"
The salarian introduced himself. "You must be Commander Shepard. I'm Captain Kirrahe, Third Infiltration Regiment STG. You and your crew have just landed in the middle of a hotzone. Every AA gun within ten miles has been alerted to your presence."
Just great.
Shepard sighed, rubbing the nape of his neck with his hand. "What now, then?"
"We stay put until the Council sends the reinforcements we requested."
Shepard narrowed his eyes.
Wait... He doesn't know?
"We are the reinforcements.", Kaidan announced, taking the words right out of Shepard's mouth.
The salarian captain became suddenly distraught. "What? You're all they sent? I told the Council to send a fleet."
"We couldn't understand your transmission. They sent me to investigate."
Kirrahe shook his head, annoyed. "That is a repetition of our task. I lost half my men investigating this place."
"So what have you found?", Kaidan asked, almost demanding.
"Saren's base of operations. He's set up a research facility here, but it's crawling with geth and very well fortified."
Shepard suddenly jumped at the opportunity of catching Saren. "Is he here? Have you seen him?"
Kirrahe shook his head. "No. But his geth are everywhere, and we've intercepted some comms referring to Saren. This is his facility, there's no doubt about that."
Shepard shook his head. But there was still the issue of what this facility was for...
"At least we know it belongs to him, but what exactly is Saren researching?"
"He's using the facility to breed an army of krogan."
Out of nowhere, Wrex stomped forward into Shepard's view.
Damn! I don't think there's a krogan that's more sneaky than Wrex... I didn't even notice that he was there.
Wrex glared at Kirrahe. "How is that possible?"
"Apparently, Saren has discovered a cure for the genophage."
Shepard slanted his eyes at Wrex. Things keep getting worse...
"The geth are bad enough.", Shepard said. "But a krogan army... he'd be almost unstoppable."
Captain Kirrahe nodded in agreement. "Exactly my thoughts. We must ensure that this facility and its secrets are destroyed."
"Destroyed?", Wrex growled. "I don't think so. Our people are dying. This cure can save them."
"If that cure leaves the planet, the krogan will become unstoppable.", Kirrahe argued. "We can't make the same mistake again."
Wrex trod forward menacingly, and put his face in close proximity with the salarian. "We are not a mistake!"
Shepard was surprised at Wrex. He'd never seen him so worked up. Then again, it was his people they were talking about...
Wrex then turned to walk past Kirrahe, and skulked a distance away. Once he was out of earshot, Kirrahe looked back at Shepard.
"Is he going to be a problem? We already have enough angry krogan to deal with."
"He'll be fine.", Shepard reassured the salarian. "I'll talk to him."
"I'd appreciate that, Commander. My men and I need to rethink our plan of attack. Can you give us some time?"
Shepard nodded. "Go ahead, Captain. I'll come back soon."
"We won't be long, Commander. In the meantime, if you need any supplies, you can talk to Commander Rentola. He's in one of the tents nearby."
With that, Kirrahe walked off to rally his men. Shepard turned around to face Kaidan and Ashley.
Kaidan crossed his arms, concern chiseled in his face. "Looks like things are a bit of a mess."
"Yeah.", Ashley agreed. "I wouldn't be so worried if it wasn't for Wrex. He looks like he's going to blow a gasket."
Shepard sighed inwardly. He didn't like to see Wrex so upset. "You think I should go talk to him?"
"It wouldn't hurt. Well, it might, actually. Just do it carefully."
Shepard knew what Ashley meant by that.
There was a good chance that Wrex wouldn't be able to be reasoned with. Shepard knew about Wrex's anger, and his will to find a way for his people to thrive. When the opportunity to rebuild the krogan is right in his face, Shepard wasn't surprised that Wrex would want to take it.
Shepard nodded. "I'll be careful. But be ready... just in case."
"I'm always ready.", Ashley said bravely.
Shepard turned away from his friends, and found Wrex aiming his shotgun at the water by the shoreline he stood upon. He fired round after round into the water. Probably attempting to vent his anger.
Shepard approached cautiously, hoping that he wouldn't further agitate the furious krogan. Without acknowledging Shepard's arrival, Wrex spoke, not bothering to look up as he did.
"This isn't right, Shepard.", Wrex rumbled angrily. The krogan turned to face him. "If there's a cure for the genophage, we can't destroy it."
"I understand you're upset.", Shepard replied. "But we both know Saren's the enemy here. He's the one you should be angry with."
"Really?", Wrex challenged. "Saren created a cure for my people. You want to destroy it."
Shepard saw Wrex in a way he'd never seen him before. He'd never seen Wrex so dead serious about something. He'd never seen this side of the krogan battlemaster. He wasn't going to be convinced easily. Shepard was certain that the next few moments will mean life or death for one of them.
"Help me out here, Shepard. The lines between friend and foe are getting a little blurry from where I stand."
"This isn't a cure, it's a weapon! And if Saren's allowed to use it, you won't be around to reap the benefits. None of us will!"
Wrex shook his head. "That's a risk we should be willing to take. This is the fate of my entire people we're talking about."
Wrex closed the distance between the two of them, his face nearly touching Shepard's.
"If you can't give me a better reason than this to destroy the hopes of my people, then I'm done with you."
Wrex then drew his pistol, aiming it directly at Shepard. The commander retaliated by drawing his shotgun. He'd hoped that it wouldn't come to this, but it seems like Wrex wasn't inclined to believe him.
"Wrex, by doing this, you're jeopardizing the mission. I can't let you do this."
Wrex narrowed his eyes as his tone lowered darkly. "So that's it? All this time, and that's all I get from you? How can you not see what this means to the krogan?! This base can't be destroyed. I won't allow it!"
Shepard shook his head, not believing what he was hearing. "These krogan are slaves of Saren. Puppets, tools to be used and discarded. Is that what you want for your people?!"
Wrex watched Shepard with blood-red eyes. He looked him over once or twice. He growled lowly, then lowered his pistol.
"No... We were tools for the Council once. To thank us for wiping out the rachni, they neutered us all. I doubt Saren will be as generous. All right, Shepard. You've made your point. I don't like this, but I trust you enough to follow your lead."
Shepard holstered his shotgun, glad that Wrex was no longer inclined to hostility.
"Just one thing.", Wrex said before Shepard could turn to go. "When we find Saren, I want his head."
Shepard sighed as he walked away.
How the hell did I do that?
Tali watched Shepard walk away from Wrex. Her stomach had been in a knot the entire time they aimed at each other. She'd heard part of their conversation from where she was. She was glad and also a bit surprised Shepard was able to persuade Wrex that this 'cure' would only be a means of creating slaves out of his kind.
She watched Shepard fondly as he spoke to Kaidan and Ashley again.
There's nothing that man can't do.
Tali turned forward to gaze out onto the ocean.
She felt the water splash onto her feet. She felt her toes sink into the sand beneath her. She breathed in deeply as she smelled a faint scent of the salty water.
She saw a bolt of lightning flash across the sky, and a roll of thunder rang out soon after. She felt... almost at home. Her heartbeat had slowed, and she felt wonderful, despite the turn of events.
She felt a finger snake down her spine, and she sensed the presence of a body behind her. Two heavy arms crossed over her stomach as a suit of armor connected to her own.
She knew who it was. Just the person she wanted it to be.
The two of them stood, with Tali's head under Shepard's chin.
None of them spoke a word, even though only mutual idea crossed their minds.
But they didn't say anything. They already knew.
Tali let herself be swayed back and forth by Shepard's body. She was reminded of the position they were in on Noveria, standing in an embrace in front of the window at Port Hanshan, looking on as the snow flurried outside.
Only now, the view was infinitely more beautiful.
Suddenly, a thought revealed itself in Tali's mind. She'd want to remember this moment. She didn't know when, if ever again, she would seen an ocean as stunning as this.
She released one of her hands from Shepard's grasp, and she activated a program that could take snapshots, and store them in the omnitool itself. She was about to press the command to snap a photo, but she believed that it lacked something. It would be missing something special.
She grinned from ear to ear as the next idea flashed in her mind. She pulled away from Shepard, grabbing his arm, and spinning him towards her until he faced her.
Shepard then saw what she was doing, and grinned as well.
The two of them stood together so that they were facing each other, and the span of the ocean could be seen behind them. Tali subtly pressed the button for the omnitool to take a photo. But, Shepard sneaked a tiny kiss on Tali's visor just before the omnitool caught the picture.
Tali laughed as she went back to take a look at the picture.
Sure enough, it showed her and Shepard, their foreheads touching together, and Shepard planting a kiss on her visor, with the ocean going on endlessly behind them.
It was a perfect photo. Tali smiled as it was stored in her omnitool, and she looked up to watch Shepard again. She lost herself in the blue of his eyes, but he soon broke eye contact with her to bend down. Tali was about to say something, but Shepard rose with something in his hand.
A rock. It was blue-grey, and had been completely smoothed out by the water. It shone, even in the low light of the planet's sun.
Tali smiled for the millionth time.
Shepard handed her the rock, and she put her hand out to take it. As he placed it in her hand, he placed his other hand under hers, and squeezed affectionately.
Tali gazed into Shepard's eyes again, and a smile returned to his features that she hadn't seen in a long time.
A smile, but not just any smile. It was a relaxed, jovial smile. The happiest smile she'd ever seen. The same one that made her legs weak, and her face torrid.
She now had two things to remember this planet by. Not only the ocean. But also the man she'd never leave, the man she'd never forget.
Damon.
Damon glided his fingers down the side of Tali's helmet before bending down to touch his lips to Tali's visor again.
Shepard gave Tali another fond, loving look before finally turning away to find the salarian captain again.
Tali stowed the rock away in one of the pockets in her suit, and took once last glance at the ocean.
A gruff voice caused her to spin around.
"Chronicling our journey, are we? ", Kaidan asked Tali teasingly.
The quarian chuckled. "I just wanted something to remember him by. I want to remember the ocean. I want to remember... him."
Kaidan stepped forward to rank himself with Tali. "So, those are your two greatest loves, huh? Shepard and the ocean."
Tali grinned, and couldn't help a laugh. "Yup."
The two of them gazed at the water, neither speaking for a moment.
Finally, Kaidan spoke up. "That's good."
Not sure what he meant, Tali looked at him confusedly. As if he knew the expression she had on her face, Kaidan spoke again.
"It's a good thing to remember the things you love... the reason you fight. Sometimes we forget, and our purpose is lost. Then we lose our personality. We lose who we are."
Kaidan's statement made Tali look at him in a different light. He's always a person to go to for her problems. He's always been there for her. He's always known what to say, and what to do.
It made Tali feel close to him. Not romantically, but as a friend. Like a sibling.
A brother.
Tali's lips curved into a smile. Like the brother she never had.
Kaidan turned to face her, and gestured toward the direction of Shepard and the others.
"Ready?"
"...Ready."