LLOOOOOONNNNGGG chapter. With chapters this long, there may be parts where I made mistakes and didn't catch them. If there's a bad mistake, let me know. Enjoy!

Tali was the first to arrive at the courtroom, a surprisingly small room with only enough room for about thirty people. For a trial such as this one, that was not a large amount. Shepard told her of trials on Earth where hundred of people could watch in attendance, and she had personally seen the Council hold session, where upwards of a hundred could be seen. The courtroom was very similar to the area on the Rayya where she had been put on trial for treason. A walkway led from the door to a set of stairs, which led down to a podium for the accused and their counselor stood. On a raised platform, five consoles were in place where the Admiralty would oversee the trial and listen as the accused presented their evidence. Benches were built into the ground in a semi-circle around the courtroom to sit. Where there was not a path, neatly cut grass covered the ground. Along every wall except where the entrance stood, plants and small trees grew from the ground, the largest brushing the ceiling. Unlike the drab, basic plant life back on the Rayya, simple green and with little variety, this courtroom was a blossom of colors, green leaves and petals of red, white, blue, yellow, every color in the world. Some were bushes, with blossoms sprouting from the dense thicket. Some were flowers, small and fragile. One tree was a fruit tree, with small little buds of green beginning to grow and thick orbs of yellow and orange hanging heavily, ready to fall at any moment.

The temptation to take off her visor was too much, and she did so eagerly. The fragrances of the room assaulted her sense of smell before the irritating piece of reinforced glass was away from her face. It made her so happy to see such signs of life everywhere. She had seen enough of cold, lifeless steel on ships while growing up. Walking over to the wall to her right, she knelt and inhaled, the beautiful scent of the flowers below intoxicating. She would have to ask what type these were, and get some for her own garden. As she walked the perimeter of the courtroom, looking at the plants and flowers, her mind turned to the trial that day. Gerrel had been the only thing on her mind all night, to the point she could not sleep, wondering how the trial would play out. The evidence was overwhelming. They had brought in Hana'Klitschk, who was hiding out in a dirty, low-income apartment building, and the woman had promised to speak against Gerrel in return for no charges being brought up against her. The remnants of the 66th and 67th would also speak against the former Admiral. Gerrel himself would not deny his actions, Tali was sure. Yet the trial itself was not what worried her. It was the aftermath. What would happen when they passed down Gerrel's sentence? What sentence should they give him? She wished the answers were obvious, or that at the very least Raan and Koris had a better idea of what to do than she did.

By the time they arrived, Tali's visor was back in place and she was looking over reports from various captains on her omnitool, trying to keep busy. The first of the spectators began arriving soon after, and the moment for the trial to begin was suddenly upon Tali. The three remaining Admirals shared a quick glance with one another, and the order was given to the nearby bailiff to bring Gerrel into the courtroom. He was led in without handcuffs, head held high, back straight, dignity and power in his stance one would expect from a man of absolute power and respect, not a disgraced man facing exile or death. He had no counselor, having declined the option the day before when he was informed of the date of his trial. A swell of voices murmuring occupied Gerrel to his podium, where he rested both hands and stared up at his former colleagues. Tali was the only one to meet his eyes. "Blessed are the Ancestors who kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season. Keelah se'lai," Raan began, and the responses of "Keelah se'lai," followed. "The accused, Han'Gerrel vas Neema, will be defending himself against the charge of treason. He has denied the right to counsel. Do you still deny this right, Han' Gerrel?"

"Yes," Gerrel said, voice clear, loud authoritative. His gaze still had not moved from the three admirals in front of him.

"And what say you to the charge of treason?"

"Not guilty. Everything I've done has been for the good of the Quarian people. All I want is to protect them from an enemy that will drive us from the homeworld, if given the chance. I am guilty of nothing."

Raan nodded, and Hana'Klitschk was escorted into the room.

"Keelah, that's a lot of Geth," the young man to Shepard's right said.

"It most certainly is," Shepard said.

"And you fought them all off?"

"Not just fought them off, killed them." Shepard really didn't want to talk about fighting Geth right now. Besides those memories not being pleasant at all, he didn't want to romanticize the idea of fighting Geth. "No offense, but I really don't want to talk about it any more than that. Not exactly a pleasant memory."

"Oh, sorry. Of course, I'm sorry." The young quarian looked at the ground, and Shepard knew his attempt to not make Eden Prime sound amazing had failed. This guy next to him was probably daydreaming of such glory at that very moment.

Despite his protests, and his desire to be present at the trial, Tali wanted Shepard to join two squads following up a lead on the whereabouts of the 70th and 78th platoons. Satellite coverage indicated a possible sighting among the ruins of a small town tens of miles from Geth occupied territory, though it was known for a fact that same small town was empty on previous days. Still, it was the first sign since the disappearance of the two platoons, and hopefully they could find a trail of some kind. One hundred soldiers did not simply disappear, and they definitely left a trail.

When the shuttles landed, Shepard followed the others outside. The recent presence of soldiers was obvious immediately. Footsteps were still visible in the sand covering the roads, as were the imprints of transports and armored vehicles. Wrappers, containers, and bottles blew along the street, recently discarded. This shouldn't be hard, Shepard thought. From the look of things, the 70th and 78th did nothing to hide the fact they had been here.

An hour of searching proved that assumption to be true. For some reason, the two platoons had left the town in a haste, judging by the open doors and rations with food still in them. A clear trail led off to the northeast, away from Geth occupied territory, which was a good sign. With shuttles to fly in, they caught up with the 70th and 78th in another hour, at another small town. Shepard wondered why there were so many small towns on Rannoch, and asked Captain Ozet'Wlaz, an older man and a true history buff judging by what little conversation Shepard had with him. "We've always been a close-knit people," Ozet told him. "The harsh realities of Rannoch's climate made areas of population limited, but we still preferred smaller, more familial societies to large cities."

"But you eventually formed such large cities, like Tikdara. These small towns weren't swallowed into these cities, or leveled to make room for other things?"

"Oh no," Ozet said, as if the very idea was preposterous. "There was no reason to, and we believed deeply in preserving such areas. They were still inhabited in the days before we were forced to leave, usually by farmers. If anything, advances in technology allowed for more small towns, as the necessities could be provided further away from rivers and lakes and tillable land." Shepard found that very interesting, and sad. The Quarian people had been forced to change in such drastic ways when they were exiled, it was truly unfair. He wondered if they were all following the same pattern as the Quarians did in the months preceding their exile. With a newfound determination, he refused to let that happen. Even if it came to war, he would not accept the woman he loved and the people she was so dedicated to being forced to go through that again.

They landed the shuttles half a mile from the outer defensive perimeter, to be sure no one would take shots at them or potentially shoot them down. The pilot claimed not to see any defenses capable of doing so, and assured Shepard they would recognize the shuttles, but the former Spectre wanted to be sure. It was possible, maybe likely, that these two platoons would be on edge and ready to shoot at anything. Besides, Gerrel may have told them to react hostilely to anyone who tried to bring them in. Shepard approached the defensive perimeter with Ozet and Jota'Yen, the two captains who accompanied him on the search. The others stayed behind with the shuttles, with the orders to retreat and bring reinforcements if anything went wrong. The quarians on guard held assault rifles, but did not so much as lift them. "We want to talk to your platoon leaders," Shepard said. Another soldier approached, and wordlessly motioned for Shepard and the captains to follow.

It was quickly obvious who was in charge. The two platoon leaders were the only ones saying anything, as they talked over a map on a table, stopping once to give orders to the other soldiers around them. The soldier escorting Shepard and the captains motioned for them to wait, and walked ahead to his superiors. Shepard could see the eyes of both platoon leaders squint behind their visor as they regarded the newcomers. With a nod, one dismissed the escort. "I'm sure you know why we are here," Shepard said.

"We'd have to be idiots not to," the platoon leader on the left said. "I'm Lieutenant Kal'Kotra."

"I'm Second Lieutenant Len'Narto," the second one said.

"We will not be going back," Kal said, in a tone that made it clear he would not be convinced. "When Admiral Han'Gerrel's trial is over, the order will be given, whether he is exiled or not, to strike at the Geth. There is no turning back now."

"You can turn back," Shepard said. "You must turn back from the path you're on, unless you want to see the blood of your people drench the sands of your homeworld. Its over, the only thing your actions can accomplish is to doom your people to exile once more."

"So I keep hearing," Kal said. "Yet what I know is that the full strength of the Quarian military stands millions strong. These geth cannot hope to match those numbers. I have a clear conscience if war breaks out. I would not have a clear conscience if the Geth attack later with millions of their own."

Shepard had heard these same arguments already. It was the pro-war crowd's slogan, for all intents and purposes: Fight Them Now or Die to Them Later. "Han'Gerrel lied to you. The Geth do not want war. If you attack, you will die, and no one will march to avenge you. Your deaths would be senseless, and serve no purpose."

"I do not believe that. Maybe there is no fight today. Maybe you are right for a few years. But I know that if my men and I strike now, we will be doing the right thing. I have served Han'Gerrel for two decades. I have been at his side through so much, and I have more faith in him than the rest of the Admiralty combined. I respect and admire him even more than I do you, Commander Shepard."

Shepard closed his eyes, willing away his urge to yell, grab these two men, and drag them back to Tikdara and their families. "I cannot leave without your platoons."

Len'Narto looked over at his fellow platoon leader. "You would not be allowed to leave if you wanted to." Shepard had no time to react before a gun was pressed into his back. He heard gasps from the captains next to him as soldiers appeared seemingly from nowhere, all aiming their rifles at them. "Take them to the house. Post three guards outside their room."

"You stupid fucking son of a bitch," Shepard hissed, unbelieving of what was happening. "There's no way back from this. You've ruined yourselves."

Kal lowered his head for a moment, before staring into Shepard's eyes. "Rannoch is more important than us. We cannot let you go back and bring reinforcements to either arrest or kill us."

"They are going to arrest you anyway!" Shepard argued.

"But they won't kill us. Not while we hold you captive."

As usual, Martin was finding Han'Gerrel's trial completely boring. For some reason he thought he might find this one intriguing, thought it would find it enlightening to watch, but despite being better than an Earth trial or a Council session, and nowhere near as complicated, he was bored within an hour. Three hours in, he was considering leaving, but knew he probably shouldn't. Not like anyone was allowed in the room to see this, he should show more respect for Tali letting him than to leave. The one fascinating aspect of the trial so far, for Martin anyway, was watching Han'Gerrel. You would never know the dire circumstances he was facing to look at him. The disgraced admiral held his head high, spoke clearly and authoritative, and defended himself passionately, especially in the first two hours. He did not deny his actions, but rather defended them. There were changes over the last hour, however. Gerrel's voice was not as strong, his arguments not as persuasive. His shoulders slumped just slightly, and he did not meet the eyes of the Admiralty with unwavering focus the way he had been. Martin thought the old soldier was possibly beginning to crack.

One good thing was that the trial would end far quicker than one anywhere else in the galaxy, a heartbeat compared to an Earth trial. After four hours, the Admiralty had no more evidence, and it was Gerrel's turn to defend himself. The former admiral had no evidence to present, and simply skipped to his final argument. He turned to the crowd, and Martin could swear he saw tears in the man's eyes. "I spent decades fighting the Geth. They were my enemy, defeating them the purpose of my life. My reputation, my position among the Quarian people, it was built on my victories over the Geth. The day we took back Rannoch remains the happiest of my life. I spent ten years believing the Geth to be gone after the Crucible fired. To know they were back, and that the memories that once made them peaceful and cooperative with us were gone, I could only think of protecting you all, of protecting my family and the families of everyone on this planet. I did not do what I did out of a need for war, or a need for glory or respect. I did what I did because I thought it was necessary."

The room had gone silent, all eyes on Gerrel. Martin snuck a quick glace at Tali, whose face appeared to be no different than it had been during the entire trial. "We have a long history with the Geth, and other than one moment, one all too brief, almost dreamlike moment, that history has been one of hostility, violence, servitude, rivalry. We have never been able to cooperate. When we finally did cooperate, it was only because the Geth had Reaper programming that changed their fundamental nature, and made them more than Geth, different than Geth. Those machines I have fought are not the same as the ones that died when the Crucible fired, and the only future I could imagine was one where a single species lived on this planet. The longer we waited, the longer we allowed them to rebuild their numbers, the lower the odds that we would win the eventual war."

"I know that I am responsible for much grief, and have knowingly sent men and women out to fight, knowing that many of them would die. That is the responsibility and the burden involved with my position. I know many of you consider me to be some evil man, inventing foes to justify my need for war. You could not be more wrong. The last decade, on the homeworld, has been the greatest of my life. I wanted it as much, dare I say more, than anyone else in this room, anyone else on this planet. The past ten years were the dream in my head during all those years in the Flotilla, scheming up fruitless plans of how to take the homeworld back. I am no monster. I am not evil. I am a man who cares for the future of his people, and I will not apologize for my actions, all of which were to keep us all safe!"

Gerrel turned back to the Admiralty Board, shoulders raised, head again held high. "While I believe I did the right thing, I did not do so in the right way. I tried to force you all to see my point of view, to force you into conflict. I will accept whatever punishment is handed down to me. If I am allowed to stay among my people, I can only promise to continue doing what I have always done, which is protect the Quarian people. If I am exiled, then I promise that when the time comes that the Geth initiate violence, and we are again fighting for this planet, I will be back, and I will again do whatever is necessary to win that fight, like I always have." With that, Gerrel returned to his podium, and awaited the next word from the Admiralty.

The three admirals stood silently at their consoles, only sharing a quick glance. "We will convene for thirty minutes," Raan said. "Han'Gerrel is to remain here until such a time, when we will pass down his sentence." Martin watched them leave, and listened as the murmurs began immediately, everyone standing from their seats to wander and talk.

"Keelah, he's good," Tali said, after five heated minutes of discussion. "He certainly has us split." Koris, of course, maintained that Gerrel should be exiled, and went so far as to wonder if Gerrel should be sentenced to death to assure he caused no future problems. Raan was willing to stick with exile, and nothing else. Tali was the only one who changed her mind. She still wanted to punish Gerrel, but not with exile. Why not strip him of his rank, but let him live the rest of his days in peace?

"You're the only one letting him split us. Shala and I still want him exiled."

"He's earned more respect than you're giving him. At the very least I say we put this to a vote amongst the captains, whether he is exiled or simply stripped of his rank. I'm not saying he goes unpunished."

"Tali," Raan began, using the tone she always used when trying to convince someone of something, a mix between understanding and condescending. "This incident has taught us that he has many who will listen to him, and carry out any plan he formulates out of respect and idolization for him. It is too dangerous to let him stay on Rannoch, and it would be cruel to keep him in a cell or make him live far away from civilization. Exile is the best option."

Raan already said this, and Tali had already argued against it. She was about to do so again when a frantic knocking outside the door of the office made all of the admirals jerk their heads that way. "What is it?" Koris called out.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I must speak with you immediately." Oh Keelah, Tali thought, what has happened now? She stood and opened the door. It was apparent something was very wrong when a breathless Quarian soldier hurried inside, "This just came in over our communications." He typed a few keys on his omnitool, and held his arm up.

"HQ, this is Sergeant Kizo'Povesk, 45th Platton, First Battalion. Contact has been made with the 70th and 78th Platoons, in a town called Neeza, thirty miles northeast of Geth territory. Commander Shepard and Captains Ozet'Wlaz and Jota'Yen have been taken hostage and are under heavy guard within the town. Reinforcements are requested." The message repeated itself once more before the quarian delivering the message ended it. Tali's mouth hung open, and rage built deep within her. Raan must have seen the rage immediately, as she dismissed the messenger and placed both hands on Tali's shoulders. "I know you are angry, but stay calm. Rash reaction will not help. We must think of a calm response, and a peaceful plan to free them."

Calm!? Peaceful!? Tali wanted nothing more than to charge into this small town the two platoons were occupying and lay waste to them all with her shotgun. Luckily, age had made her wiser than she might have been in the same situation five or ten years earlier. "If we could convince Gerrel to tell the platoon leaders to stand down, they would probably listen to him. That is our best option."

Koris took a few steps closer to them. "I agree."

Raan nodded. "Okay. Then we talk to Gerrel."

The loud murmurs when the Admiralty asked to see Gerrel in private did not disappoint Tali's expectations. She could only imagine the rumors flying around the courtroom at that moment. Gerrel did not react or at least a minute after the situation had been explained and he had been asked if he could convince the platoon leaders to release their captives. When he finally did speak, leaning forward in his chair and placing his hands on the table in front of him, he said, "This was not my directive. I promise that I never told them to take any who found them captive."

"Whether you did or not does not matter," Raan said calmly. "Are you willing to talk them down?"

"Yes," Gerrel said immediately. "There is no good to come from taking captives, especially such good people as these. I want to fight Geth, not each other."

The room was comfortable, with two mattresses to sleep on and a desk to sit at. There was no air conditioning to keep the heat of the day from making Shepard sweat, but the temperature that day was not unbearable. Two hours had passed now, and reinforcements were surely on the way, if they had not arrived already. The former Spectre was still trying to comprehend the reasoning behind the actions the platoon leaders had taken. They couldn't possibly believe that taking captives would make it LESS likely they would suffer sever consequences for their actions, could they? Shepard and the captains taken hostage with him were not given an opportunity to talk to anyone since the moment they were taken captive, and none of them wasted their breath trying either. Shepard was actually impressed with the calm in the captains in the room with him. "How much action have you seen, Ozet?" he asked.

"Enough. I fought geth for about thirty years, culminating in us taking back Rannoch. Never had any real individual glory, but I was reliable, and did my job well enough. I have the scars and bad memories."

Shepard nodded. "How about you, Jota?" Jota'Yen was younger than Shepard, but not by many years.

"My first action was, let's see…About three years before we took back the homeworld. I was a grunt in that fight, running around a ship doing whatever my captain told me to do. I didn't make captain until about five years ago."

"That's a very quick ascent, from grunt to captain in that short a time."

Jota shrugged, her eyes meeting his. "There was a lot of death during those fights against the Geth and then the Reapers. I did well enough to move up the chain and replace those we lost, and just kind of made captain after that. I couldn't explain exactly how. There was a lot of anger at first, but I'm a good people person, and those under my command respect me."

Shepard was glad to have such capable people in this room with him. He shouldn't have expected any less when they were handpicked by the Admiralty Board. The three of them continued to share stories, mostly Shepard ended up telling tales of his accomplishments, when the door to their room opened and Kal'Kotra walked in. "Shepard, you're coming with me," he ordered, and Shepard didn't resist. His hands were bound behind his back at the wrist, and Kal led the way while two others kept hold of Shepard's arms, pulling him along. The sun was a little too bright outside the house, making Shepard squint, but he adjusted quickly. He was pulled along for fifteen minutes, all the way to the edge of the town, just inside the defensive perimeter Shepard and the captains had passed earlier that day.

There they waited until two shuttles landed nearby, and right away Shepard knew what was happening. When Tali exited one of the shuttle with four armed soldiers at her side, he only hoped things would not get violent. "Hey, babe," he said as she approached, smirking stupidly.

As he hoped, the tension in her body eased. "Hello, Shepard," she said, the use of his last name telling him Tali was trying to stay as professional as possible. She turned her gaze to the Kal'Kotra, eyes flaring with intensity behind her visor. "Release your hostages, come with us, and I can promise that the penalties for your actions will remain tame. You will remain in the military, you will only move down one or two ranks, and your men will not be held accountable."

"I don't believe you. If we release our hostages, we will all be court-martialed and eventually exiled, just like Admiral Han'Gerrel."

"Did Han'Gerrel give you the order to take those who came to retrieve you captive?"

/There was a brief pause, Kotra's eyes searching Tali's. "No. What has happened to the Admiral?"

"That is none of your concern at the moment. You need to release your hostages, and come with us."

"No."

Tali was frowning, Shepard could tell. "You realize the consequences of your refusal?"

Kal'Kotra nodded, and Tali whispered something to one of the soldiers to her left. Shepard began looking around, formulating a plan in case a fight broke out right now. Kal's men apparently had the same idea, aiming their guns at Tali. "Tali, please…" Shepard said. She held up a hand, quieting him. Another figure exited the second shuttle, and walked their way. Kal took a slight step back when he recognized Han'Gerrel.

Shepard would have never guessed that Gerrel was a disgraced former admiral to look at him at that moment. He looked as proud as ever. "Admiral Gerrel, are you okay? What's happening?" Kotra asked.

"You need to stand down, Kal. I never told you to do this. All you are accomplishing is making our cause look worse."

"But sir, we are so close. If we push a little further…"

"You will kill yourselves, and your men, and the other Admirals will not so much as lift a finger to avenge you. You have been given your way out, they have no reason to feel guilty if you continue on and get yourselves killed anyway."

Kal looked away, angry snorts audible behind his visor. "How can we be sure they won't arrest and exile us all?"

"You can't. But I have no choice but to trust them. Neither do you. If the Geth attack, we will be there to save our people. Until then, all we can do is stay vigilant. Now stand down." Kal let out a few more grunts, searching for the words, but ultimately nodded. Gerrel in turn nodded at Tali, who gave the orders to take the platoon leaders into custody.

The crowd was no less numerous when Tali and the admirals returned to the courtroom, where Gerrel was already standing back at the defendant's podium. Now, though, he was joined by Kal'Kotra and Len'Narto, who had already pled guilty to the charges against them. Raan cleared her throat to quiet the room. "Han'Gerrel, you have been found guilty of the charge of treason, and are stripped of rank and forbidden from military service. We sincerely hope you can find peace in this next stage of your life." Raan paused before continuing. Kal'Kotra, Len'Narto, you have been found guilty of conspiracy, and are demoted to the rank of Corporal. You will also be transferred to different units, without eligibility to advance in rank for five years. This hearing is concluded. Keelah se'lai."

Tali waited until the end of the day before asking the other Admirals to join her in her office. When they arrived, they were obviously expecting bad news. In a way, maybe this would be bad news to them. "Thank you for coming," she greeted them. They took a seat. "I have been thinking of how to tell you this. I guess I should just say it. I'm resigning from my position."

Surprisingly, the other two Admirals took the news in stride. "I expected you would want to walk away soon," Koris said.

"I did as well," Raan agreed. "I could see your increasing anger lately. It seems to be the right time."

Tali breathed a sigh of relief. "So you do not mind? I was so worried you would try to force me to stay. I still would stay, if talked me into it."

"No, its okay. I'll be honest, you were never cut out for this job, Tali," Raan said. "Authority comes easy to you, and you are always one to argue for doing the right thing, but this is a job that requires too much waiting around for you. Just because you are not an Admiral, doesn't mean you can't still be an important figure. You have my blessing to walk away."

Koris nodded in agreement. "I've been thinking of when I wanted to walk away as well. I've served for so long, and these latest incidents with both Daro and Han have pushed me to my limit. I've seen three friends die in this job now, and I have grown weary."

"Maybe its time for an entirely new Admiralty Board," Tali suggested, only half joking. If both she and Koris walked away, Raan would be the only one left. Koris laughed uneasily.

"Maybe," Raan said. "I'd hate to just walk away though. I always picture leaving this job after making some grand decision. Maybe I should walk away with you, let the new generation take control."

Tali smiled, though she knew her aunt couldn't see it. "That would be nice. You could live a normal life again. Its been a long time." Raan shrugged. "Well, I am walking away. I'm ready to be a civilian, at least for a few years."

Raan stood and hugged Tali. "Then you should. We all should, if we want to. We can announce the decision tomorrow, hold a vote a few days later, and move on with our lives. Why not?"

Han'Gerrel ended up slightly redeeming himself. I tried to have some similarities between Gerrel and Loghain from Dragon Age, since they share a voice actor and strike me as kind of being the same (Geth/Orlais, both war heroes, both paranoid about the enemy they have fought their entire lives). I was trying to think of a way to incorporate Martin into this in some vital way, but there was no way I could think of that I liked.

One more chapter, and it will probably be close to as long as this one, if not as long.