A/N - Uploading slightly earlier (Thursday night instead of the usual Friday morning). Work things.
Each quarian sat alone with their thoughts, the usual chatter and banter before a mission missing as the shuttle approached the mass relay. This was not the standard mission of either ship or resource retrieval. This was tantamount to a suicide mission. They were heading deep into geth space. Approaching geth space was not always unusual. The fleet sometimes attempted snatch and grab missions. The fleet were always interested in geth numbers and their current position. Most of the time, they simply wanted to know what they were up to.
Nominally in charge of the current mission was Tali. At the very least she headed the science team currently on board. Though she wondered why she had been selected for this mission at all. She wasn't really a scientist. She was an engineer. She dealt with ship repairs, electronics and machinery. She figured that perhaps she could help regarding old quarian technology but, other than that, her scientific knowledge was lacking compared to her colleagues. She did have experience dealing with the geth, though. And she was battle hardened, even compared to the two teams of marines currently sat around here. On military matters, though, she would defer to the marine team leader, Kal'Reegar. The man had already attained mythic status within quarian ranks regarding his exploits, almost on a par with Admiral Han'Gerrel. Whenever and wherever there was trouble, Reegar and his team of marines were sent in to deal with it.
Tali and Reegar had spent days preparing the mission, going over flight plans, battle plans and how to deal the geth when they inevitably arrived. They were of no doubt that they would be in for a fight, heading so far into geth space. They both thought the mission was ludicrous, though not completely without merit, but they had orders, and they were to be followed. They both knew this was potentially a one-way trip.
"Have anything to say to the team, ma'am?" Reegar asked quietly, as the shuttle started its slow descent.
She shook her head. "No, Kal, they're your men. They fight for you," she replied quietly.
Reegar stood up, walking forward to stand between the two ranks of men sat on either side of the shuttle. "Marines, this is it. Some of us have called this a suicide mission. I know some of you think this is all a little bit nuts. But orders are orders as apparently our superiors know better. So we suit up and get on with it. The geth are up to something here. Those synthetic bastards no doubt have something cooking in those flashlight heads of theirs."
"Do we expect any resistance, sir?"
"No doubt we're going to eventually run into some of the bastards. But we've faced the geth before. We'll face them again today. And we'll wipe the fuckers out. Every last one of them. Then we'll go home, regroup and then prepare to face them again another day. However, the priority is the escort and protection of the scientific team. We cannot leave Haestrom without the data regarding the central objective."
"Just what we need. A babysitting mission!" one of the marines joked, to some stifled laughter.
"Babysitting or not, marine, that is what we have been ordered to do. And don't underestimate the man or woman next to you. We've all been trained. We know what we're going to face. So you all know your jobs. I expect you to do them well. With any luck, we'll get this done quickly and all make it home alive. Marines, lock and load. We disembark in five."
Reegar walked back, taking his seat again next to Tali. "Your men seem relaxed, Kal."
"This is nothing they haven't done before, ma'am. We're all seasoned warriors. We've all faced geth before."
"Ever been this deep into geth space?"
"No, ma'am. We're mostly involved in simply hit and run raids along the border. I'm sure you're aware of that." Tali nodded. It wasn't a secret that the Admiralty pushed their luck at times by poking and prodding the geth. Most of the time it was simply to get information. Once or twice, though, it appeared to be something more. Almost as if they wanted a reaction, an excuse to go to war. She didn't particularly like the idea of full-scale war with the geth, but every quarian yearned for a return to the home-world.
"Ever visited a former colony world?"
"No again, ma'am. This'll be a first. But that's your field of interest. Just point out any geth we run into and we'll take it out. Keep it nice and simple."
Silence once again before the shuttle pilot announced they were descending into Haestrom itself, adding that they were picking up all sorts of strange magnetic readings regarding the atmosphere. However, the descent to the relatively smooth, the shuttle eventually touching down with little more than a slight bump. Tali and Reegar both walked forward, Reegar pushing the button for the shuttle door to open. Even with their tinted visors, both had to put a hand to their mask to shield their eyes from the glare of the sun.
"Keelah, I've never seen something like before," Tali said quietly to herself.
"Is that why we're here?" Reegar asked.
Tali nodded. "Something is wrong with the sun. According to records, it was unusual even when we colonised this world centuries ago. We've managed to keep tabs on it, even after our exodus, and the sun is even more unstable than before. That's why we're here now, to understand why. Is it something the geth are involved with? Or is it something else?"
Reegar just shrugged his shoulders, Tali chuckling lightly. "Outside of my expertise, ma'am. That's why you scientists are here." He turned and gestured to his marines, with he and Tali stepping out, the first quarians to set foot on Haestrom in over 300 years.
"Everyone stay out of the sunlight," ordered Tali, "Direct exposure will cause havoc with your shields."
The marines fanned out, knowing their roles, watching for any incoming geth patrols, covering the teams' flanks. Everyone was armed, soldiers and scientists alike. Every quarian knew at least the basic of using a firearm, remnants of training from their Pilgrimage. Tali pointed the way forward, picking up slight signals that there may still be ancient technology nearby that could still be in working order. Or perhaps it was signs the geth were also interested in the sun. No-one could be sure. No-one could ever be sure of geth intentions.
Even though she was on mission, Tali couldn't help but look around in wonder at the old quarian colony. There were still signs, if only small, that Haestrom had once been inhabited by her own people.
"Where's this observatory?" asked one of the marines.
"Other side of the colony," Reegar replied.
"Why the hell didn't we land closer, sir?" asked another.
"No safe landing zone. Don't you think we would have otherwise?"
"Of course, sir. I just hope that doesn't bite us in the ass. Er, sir."
"I agree, marine. Just stay sharp. We're bound to run into those geth bastards soon enough."
"That's just tempting fate, Kal," Tali added with a chuckle.
"Ma'am, we are elbow deep in geth space. Our asses are hanging out over the edge. I have no doubt they're going to show up sooner or later. They're probably watching us right now."
"You think so, sir?" asked one of the science team nervously.
"Quite frankly I'm surprised we were not blown out of the sky while landing. We've been lucky so far."
"Kal…," Tali started.
He just raised a hand. "Apologies, ma'am. Just being realistic about our situation. Come on, let's get to that observatory. Double time, marines."
The group started to jog onwards, deeper into the colony. But Reegar had been tempting fate. Though he wasn't wrong. They were all aware of their situation. And the geth were now aware of their arrival. No-one missed the sound of a geth ship descending from orbit, the distinct whine of the geth engines powering down as the ship flew over them, back towards where they had landed the shuttle. Reegar and his marines were into action straight away, shepherding the science team onwards, shouts of 'move' constantly repeated, rifles aimed at the sky, awaiting for the sound of geth dropping to the ground. They were lucky that the geth were unable to drop near their position, giving them a slight chance of getting away and perhaps defending themselves. It was with that thought Reegar made his next decision.
"Ma'am, I need you to do something for me."
"Yes, Reegar?" Tali asked.
"I need you take a trio of marines, the science team and get to the observatory. That is the whole reason we're here. We cannot leave without that data. I am not going to get my ass shot off without something to show for it."
Tali looked at Reegar for a moment. She looked like she wanted to question his decision. Instead, she just nodded her head. "Okay, Reegar. Meet you at the observatory?"
"Of course, ma'am. We'll just deal with the geth nuisance first."
Tali would normally have laughed, but she knew… well, she just knew. She wanted to shake his hand, but like his talking of the geth, she didn't want to tempt fate. She simply made do with another nod of the head, before she gestured to the science team and they disappeared through door and out of view.
Satisfied that the science team were safe and away, Reegar turned to his fellow marines. Now would come the hardest choice.
"Marines, we knew what we were heading into when we took on this mission. We knew this was going to happen. There is no point lying to ourselves. So what do we do now? We stop these geth bastards where they are. They do not make it to the observatory! Schematics say that we are currently 300 metres away. We need to keep them from the observatory for as long as possible, to at least give us a chance of getting the data and then… well, who knows. That means we need to set up road-blocks. Pinch points. Fields of fire. Stop them flanking. Set up traps to stop their progress. We. Take. Them. Out. Marines…"
He left the question unanswered. He didn't want to pick. Instead, understanding the unstated request, every man volunteered and stepped forward.
He could do little but nod his head. He knew what he was asking of his men.
"Ken'Dazza. Daro'Xera. Position yourselves here. You'll have a good field of fire and you should at least slow them down. The rest of you, move on."
Reegar stayed with the two marines for a moment as the rest walked away.
"Ken… Daro…," Reegar started, looking at each man in turn. But he stopped talking, unsure what to say. He knew what was going to happen. He knew what he was requesting.
"Keelah se'lai," they both stated before they came to attention and saluted.
He returned the gesture. "Ancestors preserve you both." With a final nod, he turned and jogged to catch up with the rest of squad. He didn't look back.
Twice more Reegar had to make the same request of his men at pinch points. The objective was clear: slow the geth enough to simply give them time. Time for what, he didn't exactly know. Each time he stopped, every marine stepped forward, knowing what the eventual outcome would be. Reegar was a proud marine. He'd served with distinction for years. But on this mission alone… he simply couldn't find the words for his men. Proud didn't even begin to describe how he regarded them.
He thought the situation was looking somewhat stable, at least as stable as it can be fighting the geth, on a geth planet, deep in geth space, knowing that you were pretty much fucked either way. But he had a job to do. He's complete it or damned well die trying.
But then came Tali's frantic voice over the radio. The shit had well and truly hit the fan. The science team were under attack from a new front of geth. They'd already lost people. And they were continuing to get hit hard. They needed help. Now.
Reegar and the rest of the marines at his side ran towards the observatory. There was little point worrying about personal protection now. If the science team died, then the whole point of the mission was moot, and the deaths would have been pointless. But the geth were now everywhere. Any plan he had went down the toilet. He thought of the men he had left behind, knowing now they would be cut off. He knew they would fight to the last. That they wouldn't give up. That they would take as many with them as possible. That was the life of a quarian marine. His assault rifle barely stopped firing. His marines were fantastic in their support. But they were being whittled down. Man after man went down under fire. Reegar and what was left of his marines made sure they took as many as those synthetic bastards with them, but it was a losing cause. There was only one spark of hope.
Tali reported over the radio that she had made it to the observatory. But she was the only one left. Then to make matters worse, she reported the one thing any quarian dreaded running into had dropped from the sky. A geth colossus had arrived. And was currently pounding away at the door of the observatory. However, she was calm. The door was near impregnable. But the door in was the door out. She was trapped.
A team of four arrived near the observatory. Reegar and three. All that was left of his marines. He knew some survived behind him. But he held out little hope that he or they would make it out of this alive. As long as Tali did, though, then it would be worth it. Together, they hatched a plan, knowing their chances of surviving were slim and zero, with slim having left the building. Reegar had a rocket launcher. Perhaps he could whittle down the colossus. The rest of the marines fanned out, taking shots at the colossus or the numerous geth soldiers that were filtering into the area, or now dropping out of the sky.
Reegar simply focused on the colossus. Rocket after rocket was fired towards the giant geth machine. He could see the shields of the machine failing. Rocket after rocket continued to be fired. He knew he was whittling down. Only small bites. But they would win in the end. Surely they will win in the end.
Surely?
No. The ancestors did not heed his prayers.
The colossus initiated self-repair, hunching down in on itself. He could hear the clicks and whirrs from where he sat in cover. Once completed, the giant machine then stood back up and fired near his position. He was covered in concrete and masonry, and though safe for the moment, all his hard work had been for nought.
It was in that moment that Reegar knew they were well and truly fucked.
Quarian and geth bodies littered the floor. Shepard stored his rifle for the moment as the room appeared relatively secure. The other four of his group fanned out, checking over the bodies, seeing if there were any survivors. From what the quarian commander had stated over the radio they had found earlier, they had run into tremendous geth resistance. He wondered how long they could all hold out. And as for Tali…
Then a voice.
"Hello? Is anyone there? Is there anyone alive?"
He almost ran to the console on hearing her voice. "Tali?"
"Shepard?" she cried incredulously in reply.
He knew he grinned as he replied "It's me. I'm sorry, Tali," he sighed, glancing behind him at the carnage, "Everyone this way is dead."
He heard the sigh. "Damn it," she said quietly, "We knew the mission was high-risk but…," she trailed off.
"Are you okay?"
"Feeling better knowing that you're here. But… what are you doing here, Shepard? We're deep in geth space."
"Well, let's just say I was in the neighbourhood and I heard a damsel was in distress. So I figured I could always go on another rescue mission." Shepard heard Garrus laugh behind him at the explanation. "It seems to be a habit."
"Thanks for coming, Shepard," Tali stated, a slight chuckle in her voice.
"Like you'd ever have to thank me for rescuing you!" She laughed again slightly, though he knew it was compensating for the disaster that the mission appeared to be. "Okay, Tali. Give me the details. What am I dealing with?"
"Kal'Reegar and what's left of his marines are currently holed up outside where I am now. You're not far away now. You should be able to link up with him."
"And you're safe?"
"I am for now, and the mission is a success," she stated, though not brightly, "If you can call an entire team of marines being wiped out a success," she added bitterly not much above a whisper.
"What about the geth? Any idea on numbers?"
"No. But there are bound to be plenty."
"Okay, I'll be there in a jiffy. And if we run into Reegar, we'll bring him along too."
"Be careful, Shepard."
"Aren't I always?"
The last thing he heard was laughter as Tali switched off the console at her end. Shepard turned back to his team. Garrus was still laughing slightly to himself while Miranda, Jacob and Zaeed were giving him strange looks. "What?"
"Were you flirtin' with her, Shepard?" Zaeed asked bluntly, though not without a smirk.
"And if I was?" he replied innocently.
Zaeed shrugged. "Nothin'. Just wonderin' is all."
"Tali and I go way back, Zaeed. She was on my ship as we hunted down Saren. She's a good friend. A close friend. Just like our resident turian here."
"Ah, those were the days, Shepard, when we fought against Cerberus, not with." Miranda shot him a filthy look which he simply ignored. "Anyway, what's the plan?"
"Find geth. Kill them. Sound good?"
No-one replied, instead weapons were taken out of holsters or from backs and prepared for the next fight. It didn't take long until they ran into resistance, a pack of geth drones proving to more of a nuisance than a threat. Miranda and Garrus tried a series of overloads to thin their ranks, but they simply kept coming as the five kept to shade as they tried to flank around the geth positions. Progress appeared to be smooth until they ran into a pair of geth Prime. That brought any forward progress to a halt.
"Use your heavy weapon, Shepard," Zaeed suggested, opening up a burst of fire on one of the Primes.
"Not yet, we have no idea what's up ahead. Garrus, Miranda. Focus on shields, once they're down, open up. Jacob, Zaeed, switch to incendiary for the armour and we'll do the rest. We'll take out one of the Primes, then the others. And watch the flanks. There are plenty of those other fuckers around."
The plan almost worked as perfectly as Shepard could have hoped. The first Prime was eliminated with relative ease. Almost too easily if Shepard was honest with himself. The second Prime was a pain in the ass as more geth poured into the area, resulting in the squad having to split their time between the Prime, where they could whittle shields, then armour, before its shields recharged, and the innumerable geth, which were handled without a problem but were simply a pest. It left everyone frustrated, particularly the Commander, who just wanted to get on with it and get to Tali as soon as possible.
Geth bodies littered the area as Shepard and his team slowly but inexorably moved forward, keeping to cover, either from geth fire or the burning sun, as they focused fire on the second Prime. More drones arrived as support, but were handled with ease by Miranda and Garrus, leaving the other three to simply keep up the rate of fire on their main objective. Still more geth tried to flank their area, still Shepard and his team mowed them down. Finally, finally, the second Prime was eliminated, falling to the ground in a plethora of sparks before exploding into pieces. No-one moved out of cover, everyone taking a moment to simply take a breath and recover.
"Everyone alright?" Shepard called out. He received four affirmative responses along with a few choice suggestions about where the geth could go, or where they could shove certain objects… if said objects could be shoved, the geth being machines and all.
"Right, move out," Shepard ordered, and taking point as usual, the five moved out, Garrus taking up his position at the rear, watching their six. For the moment, geth resistance had disappeared, though the five were not particularly interested in their surroundings, taking next to no notice of anything around them, except a door ahead that should lead to the observatory.
"Miranda, check that console. See what it does," Shepard asked.
She pressed a few buttons, opening a door to the left before the shutters opened to reveal the task at hand.
"Oh, fuck me," Shepard stated.
"This should be fun," Zaeed said with no little enthusiasm.
"This is what I get for joining up with you, Shepard. I haven't had to face these bastards in two years. Two years, Shepard! All I had to shoot on Omega were idiot mercenaries. Now we have to deal with that!" Garrus complained, pointing at the colossus that lay between them and the observatory.
Then the colossus fired.
"Get down!" Shepard shouted as the five dived to the floor, the pulse beam flying harmlessly over them, though leaving them choking on the dust from the collapsed wall behind them. The five quickly got to their feet, various mutters about 'fucking geth' being mumbled under their breath.
"Ah, this takes me back, Shepard, when we used to end up in the ass end of nowhere fighting geth, thresher maws, husks or who knows what else," Garrus stated deadpan.
"Never say I don't take you anywhere nice, Garrus."
The turian barked a laugh as the five quickly moved out the door to their left. Following a ramp, they came across a quarian hunched into cover, though clearly armed with a rocket launcher.
"Quick, get into cover before it fires again!" the quarian suggested. Shepard and his companions didn't need to be told twice, joining the quarian in cover as he fired a rocket at the colossus.
"Who are you?" Shepard asked the quarian.
"Squad Leader Kal'Reeger, Migrant Fleet Marines. We talked on the radio before that dropship arrived. Still got no idea why you're here, but this ain't the time to be picky. Who are you?"
"Commander Shepard."
"Ah, figured you'd show up sooner or later."
Shepard nodded. He knew what Reegar meant. "What's the situation?"
"Tali's inside over there," he stated, gesturing with his head, "Those synthetic bastards have already killed all my men, and now they're trying to get to her. All I can say is over my dead fucking body."
"Not if I can help it, Reegar."
Reegar nodded. "I've been trying to keep their attention, but more of the bastards just keep pouring in."
"I spoke to Tali earlier. Is she still okay?"
"She's fine, Shepard. It's hard to hack a door when someone keeps firing rockets at you."
The colossus fired again, causing everyone to duck as they were covered in more dust and concrete.
"The colossus looks different, Reegar. What's the story?"
"Never seen one like it before. It's an absolute pain in the ass. It's got some sort of repair protocol. Hunches down and fixes itself before I can destroy the bloody thing."
"And the rest of the geth?"
"Platoon strength at least. And they just keep coming."
"What's the plan?"
"Keep firing until I run out of ammo. I've tried to get in closer to the colossus, but one of those bastards got a shot at me. Went clean through my suit. But I'll keep fighting until that thing is dead."
Shepard peeked over cover, taking in the field ahead of him. His eyes darted left to right, focusing on potential cover, flanking areas and fields of fire. It didn't look easy but they had the numbers to make it work. He got back into cover, calling everyone into a huddle.
"Right, we split up. Zaeed, Jacob, you flank one side, Garrus, Miranda, you take the other side. Focus on the geth troopers only. I'll focus on the colossus."
"Good plan, Shepard. I'll keep it busy, you get in close and finish it off."
Shepard shook his head. "It's okay, Reegar. I've got a little surprise in stall. Take it easy, we'll get through to Tali."
"My job is to keep Tali safe, Shepard."
Shepard lay a hand on his shoulder. "Reegar…"
"They killed my entire fucking squad, Shepard. I'm not going to sit idly by. These bastards are going to pay!"
Shepard looked back at his squad. He received a nod from each of them. He turned back to the quarian. "Okay, Reegar. Keep up the fire. But stay in cover. You don't need to throw your life away. Okay?"
Reegar nodded. "Good enough for me, Shepard. A heroic death is nice and all, but staying alive would be good too."
With the plan in place, Shepard gave a series of hand gestures and the squad moved out. He stayed in cover as first Zaeed and Jacob ran from cover to cover to his left, then Garrus and Miranda sprinted for cover to his right. Soon the sound of gunfire echoed around as Shepard continued to take pot-shots at further geth with his rifle. Soon, though, his eyes were only for the colossus. With a thumbs up towards Reegar, he quickly sprinted forwards into cover, though made sure that he kept the attention of the colossus, which he could see was tracking him.
He then took the heavy weapon from his back. It was something Mordin had been putting together for him the past couple of weeks. It supposedly packed a hell of a punch, though Shepard had never actually used the weapon before, simply hoping it would work first time round. Reegar was still busy firing towards the colossus, Shepard counting how many rockets, figuring three would do the job before he stood up. The colossus fired towards Reegar, though appeared to miss the quarian, simply hitting the concrete wall behind him, likely covering him in more dust.
"Stay down, Reegar," Shepard yelled, "I've got this now."
He received an affirmative response, standing up out of cover, right in front of the colossus, pointing his M-920 Cain at the giant machine. He then grinned, almost evilly, as the colossus started to charge up its pulse.
"Say hello to my little friend!" he yelled as he pulled the trigger, watching the projectile fly towards the colossus. He then dove for cover and heard the massive explosion, feeling the searing heat flow over him before he was covered in even more dust and geth parts.
Slowly, coughing slightly, he stood up and looked towards the colossus. Or where the colossus had one stood, as there were barely any remnants of the giant machine left, nor of any of the other geth. Shepard couldn't help but jump up and punch the air in his exuberance. "Yeeeeahhh! Mordin, you little fucking beauty!" he shouted before he planted a big kiss on the heavy weapon in his hands.
"What the fuck was that, Shepard?" Zaeed yelled from cover of his own.
Shepard just held up the Cain triumphantly.
"Spirits, Shepard. This is why we normally don't let you have heavy weapons!" Garrus yelled.
Shepard simply chuckled as he walked forward, climbing up to the platform where the colossus had been stationed. He walked towards the observatory door ahead which appeared to be open, pressing the button to walk through.
And there she was.
"Hey," he said.
She heard his voice.
She slowly turned around.
She could feel the enormous grin light up her features behind the mask, noticing the large grin already spread across his own.
She ran towards him.
She leapt into his arms.
She felt him stagger back, having to stifle a giggle at his clear surprise.
She felt his arms wrap around her, holding her tightly against him.
She immediately felt safe again.
"Hey, yourself," she said quietly, squeezing him as tightly as possible, disbelieving he was there, rescuing her once again. "This is becoming a bad habit."
"I can think of worse things if it ends like this."
They both chuckled and simply held each other for a little while. Until Garrus cleared his throat. She just lifted her head slightly and looked at the turian "And you just had to ruin the moment, didn't you?"
"Hey, don't mind me but we're all wondering what's going on here."
Eventually he let her go, lowering her to the ground. She gestured towards the group, walking back to the console at which she had been working when they entered. She shook her head as she resumed her work, explaining what happened.
"This mission has been an entire disaster, Shepard," she started, before she sighed, "I wish I joined you on Freedom's Progress. Hindsight, I guess."
"You're not the only one," he replied with a slight grin. "You okay?"
"No, not really. But I had to do this."
"Is this what you couldn't tell me on Freedom's Progress?"
She nodded. "Yes. I wish I had told you now. Maybe it wouldn't have turned out like this. But I didn't have a choice. And I still don't trust them," she stated, throwing a glance towards the two Cerberus operatives. She noticed the glare from the woman, not remembering her name, but the male didn't appear perturbed by the insinuation.
"Can you come with me now?"
She grinned behind her mask. "Nothing could stop me now. Trust me on that one."
"What about the data?"
"All I can say is that it had better be worth it. But I can send it back to the Admiralty. And if they've got a problem with me leaving with you, then they can go to hell. I've just watched my friends and team die."
"Actually…," Shepard started.
"Not everyone, ma'am," stated a voice behind them, everyone turning to see Reegar walking in. The man was limping slightly but his voice was still strong.
"Reegar!" Tali exclaimed.
Shepard stepped forward, shaking his hand while laying his other hand on his shoulder. "Bloody hell, Reegar. What are you made of?"
The quarian laughed, looking at Tali. "Seems like you weren't exaggerating about him, Tali. He's as good, and as crazy, as you said he was."
Shepard just looked at Tali with a grin. All she could do was shrug in return.
"I'm going with Shepard, Reegar," she stated firmly.
"If he's crazy enough to take on a colossus head on by himself, I figured he was here to take you with him."
She turned to Shepard. "You took on a colossus head on? Alone? For me?"
He actually looked slightly sheepish. "Well… yeah… I mean…," before he trailed off and shrugged his shoulders. She just grabbed his hand and squeezed it, wishing he could see the even larger grin she now had on her face. "Thanks," she said quietly, unsure of what else she could say to express what that alone meant.
"Are you okay to get out of her, Reegar? We can take you wherever you want with the Normandy if you need transport."
"Thanks for the offer, Shepard, but our shuttle should still be safe. I'll take the data Tali has and report to the Admiralty Board. As long as we get out of here before reinforcements arrive, we should be fine."
Still hand in hand, she walked out together with her Commander, the rest of his group and Reegar following in behind, now talking amongst themselves. She couldn't help but notice the destruction that had taken place outside the observatory, and just had to make a subtle joke at his expense at the geth piled up as they walked back towards the shuttle. It was hard not to notice the quarian bodies they walked past. Shepard asked if Reegar wanted to take them back to the fleet. Reegar said it wouldn't be possible, though he stopped to take the omni-tool from each body along with the small medallion each marine carried within their suit.
Back at the quarian shuttle, Reegar shared his goodbyes with Tali and Shepard. When the quarian shuttle disappeared from view and apparent safety, he finally turned to her.
"Ready to go?" he asked.
She just nodded her head and grinned at him from behind her mask. Still hand in hand, the pair entered the shuttle together, sitting down next to each other, not saying a word, almost ignoring everyone else with them on the shuttle as they simply enjoyed the presence of the other once again.