A/N: And with that, the plot of MV3 thickens. Crazy times will definitely be had with that, let me tell ya. As for now...
Well, for now, we go back to Art. Nothing much will really happen in this chapter itself, but the coming chapters... Whoah, nelly, will you be in for some twists and turns there. For one thing, you'll finally get an answer to "what were those coordinates leading to", and for another... well, the extend of what the protheans planned for the galaxy will be revealed. And it will be crazy.
For now, though, we have to build character. So let's get to it.
Chapter 34: A New Hope
James keeps his head bowed as he finishes speaking. The twins, M'shk, and the mother all just look at James with a certain amount of shock in their eyes. The youngest of all the siblings simply looks confused. It's M'yask who looks the most devastated by Carhon's death, however, as she immediately falls to her knees in front of James.
M'yask says something I can't quite make out, even by reading her lips. James mutters another word, and then I can faintly see a tear run down his cheek. Almost immediately, I watch as M'yask breaks down sobbing right there on the ground. Skresh immediately turns to Vag'rash, the two twins looking at each other in disbelief as the mother also begins crying. Almost immediately, James kneels next to M'yask and pulls her into a comforting hug. I watch as the batarian family turns to each other, and slowly I see the batarian family grieve the loss of Carhon.
I watch this from the mess hall, where James stands within the med bay. Dr. Chakwas isn't in there at the moment, and I assume she decided it was best to give Carhon's family space as well. I simply watch the family from the mess hall.
It's such that I don't notice someone coming over to sit by me until I hear someone sit down next to me. "Well, that's a bit o' bollocks," I hear.
I turn my head immediately to see Gregor sitting down next to me. "What is?" I ask.
"Just... that," he says. "What in the hell'd 'ave to happen for some giant squid ta come in 'n' kill 'im like that?"
I sigh. "I don't know," I say.
Gregor nods, rapping his fingers against the table. We spend some more time watching Carhon's family grieve in silence, with James looking like he's whispering soothingly into M'yask's ear. I see that M'shk has sat down on one of the medical beds, giving a hollow look to the ground. The twins are hugging each other, and the mother is simply sitting there, holding the young boy that was with the family close to her.
Gregor sighs. "Y'know, mate, I was goin' mental for no reason when 'e joined the Normandy," Gregor says. "I thought when 'e came on that he was a real bad egg, y'know?" He crosses his arms. "An' yet, when it all came down t' it, Carhon Erash was a sound man, mate."
I nod. "He was a good man indeed, Gregor," I say. I then pat his shoulders. "I guess...?"
"Yeah," says Gregor. "I was wrong about 'im, mate. I think... I think I'm gonna actually miss 'is face 'ere."
I nod. "I will too," I say. "I think in the end, he was good in all the ways that counted." I turn to Gregor. "You managing the weapons?"
"Eh, I'm puttin' it on the long finger," he comments. "We jus' saved a homeworld, y'know?"
"True," I comment. "But that's no reason to slack off."
"Well, the on'y thing I need ta do is fix 'er shotgun," Gregor says. "The Commander's. It got real banged on by th'rock, y'know?"
I nod. "I think I have some idea," I comment. "I still have no idea how she saved our lives with that biotic thing."
"And that's why she's in 'ere," Gregor comments, pointing to the med bay. "Jammy ol' lady, she is. She's only gettin' up in a day."
"A day?" I ask.
"That's what the good doctor said, mate," Gregor comments.
"I see..." I comment. "I'll be glad when she finally wakes up."
"Oh, you 'n' 'alf the Normandy," Gregor replies.
I nod, patting my hand on the table. "Well... I'm gonna get going," I say. "I need to get some sleep. It's been nonstop ever since we touched down on Khar'shan..."
"Indeed," says Gregor. "You keep alert, mate."
I stand up, walking away from the table. "I'll go ahead and do that," I say. "You take care."
Gregor simply nods, and then goes back to watching Carhon's family grieve. I walk away from the mess hall slowly, passing the elevator on my way back to my quarters. It's been a long day, and I really need some sleep here, so... I should've guessed that liberating a homeworld from the Reapers would be really tiring. I guess that's why Shepard went straight to her cabin after we had finally gotten back to the Normandy after all the debriefing and the several hours of fighting that ensured that it would only be a matter of time until Khar'shan was liberated.
I step into my quarters, and barely get to move too much before I flop onto the bed. Within a few minutes, I'm fast asleep.
When I drift off to sleep, I find myself back in the corridor that defies gravity again, but there's something... different about it this time. There's something... blacker about the walls. I can't really pin my finger on what it is, but they look a little darker than they really should. They're black... like a starless night or something. Somehow I can still make out the contour of the corridor, but everything else...
I simply search for the little thing with the key inside. I find the key in there as usual, and notice that it feels slightly different, as if it's more... corroded. I don't know. I just stand up, feeling the key and walking down the corridor again. I feel gravity affect me like normal, but... I don't know. It's just... Something's wrong about this. I don't really know.
I just shrug and continue walking down the corridor. It can't get any weirder than this, can it?
I walk down, feeling gravity tug at me in the unusual ways that it usually does. The walk down is rather uneventful, of course, so eventually I just dismiss the dream around me as something else. I just walk on over, and eventually reach the door.
By now, I've learned to block out the sound of the oncoming mob, and I calmly open the door and walk into my-whoah! What the fuck?
I walk into my apartment, but... this can't be my old apartment! It... it can't be! It's all... it looks like there was a fire in here! A really, really bad fire! And... Holy crap, everything's gone!
I rush up the stairs that lead to the bed area to find that there is nothing there whatsoever. I only see the Inception briefcase sitting right there in the center of the room. I look behind me, to see that the rest of the room is in as bad a shape. It's completely empty, and I notice that there is a lot of glass over by the where the window was. A lot of shattered glass, actually. That's just... what's going on?
I gingerly walk to the main area of the room, feeling a gust of wind hit me as soon as I walk into the room proper. I look up at where the window was to see a vast black emptiness that just sort of hovers in front of me. I walk closer to the window, hearing some of the glass crunch beneath my feet as I look up to the inky blackness. I walk forward, almost bringing my hand up to the darkness as if to touch it.
I then hear a particularly loud crunch beneath my feet. I look down, seeing that I have stepped on a relatively large piece of glass. It shines in the blackness, even though there's no real light source there. Oddly, it doesn't reflect anything: it's more that there's absolutely nothing there at all. I lift my foot, seeing the many, many pieces beneath my feet. I bend down, lifting one of the glass shards and looking at it. It just looks like a typical glass shard, really, except that it seems to be... black. I can't see my fingers through it, anyway, so... I dunno, this sounds really weird and crazy to me. I just...
I turn it over, looking at it from the side. Hm... if it weren't black, it would be just like an average shard. I then look back and-
Holy shit! It's Thane's face!
I drop the shard almost immediately, jumping up and taking several steps back. I look at the shard at where I dropped it, though I don't see Thane's face anywhere. I find myself breathing in and out, looking at the shard as it lays there in front of me. Okay, Art, calm down, just...
I breathe in. "It's just a dream," I say. "None of this is actually happening."
"Says you."
I pause, turning to look behind me. I can faintly see an image of Carhon standing there before it immediately vanishes. As I look around, however, I see Carhon manifest just above where the bathroom is. I see him sitting with his feet just over where the refrigerator would likely be, wearing a smirk on his face.
"I think you would realize that even in dreams, pain can be real," says Carhon.
"No..." I say. "You're not really there! You're dead!"
"Am I?" he asks. He then pushes off, and to my surprise he slowly glides to the ground in front of me. I take a couple of steps back, looking at Carhon in shock. "I still exist here, don't I? You remember me even now."
"But you're dead!" I say. "I'll wake up and remember you're dead!"
And with this, Carhon can only smile wickedly. "And perhaps that is the point," he... it says. "Soon enough, you will have to face us. You can't run away from this forever."
"Run away from what!?" I ask.
"Ask your dear friend Orange," the apparition of Carhon says darkly. "We're dying to show ourselves again."
Carhon vanishes, and I immediately hear a rush of wind as suddenly everything begins flying around. The glass shards begin flying in the air, and I find myself ducking as they begin to fly around. I don't know what's causing this, but I try not to think about that. I notice that the glass shards don't actually cut any skin, which is odd, but... Jesus, what the fuck is-
I then look up, seeing something flash red outside. I'm standing directly in the center of the room, glass shards flying around me as the red intensifies. I hear a loud mechanical whirring, and... Oh, no...
"No..." I say. "No! Nooooo!"
Suddenly, the red light fills the whole room, and before I know it a beam shoots out of the origin of the red light.
"Nooooo-"
"-oooooooo!"
I suddenly sit up in bed, looking directly in front of me. I breathe in and out, looking at the room in front of me. I feel my chest, and then begin feeling myself. Holy fuck... Okay... Okay, I'm all right. I'm all right, don't worry about a thing, just sit there...
I look ahead of me. Holy shit, what the hell...?
I bring my hand into my pocket, and immediately draw Orange out. Orange... Oh, God, Orange, please be there! Please be there...!
"Keeper?" she asks. "Are you all right? You seem... perturbed."
I nod. I know, Orange, I'm really disturbed. I just had the worst dream, and-
"I know, Keeper," says Orange. "I... apologize. That must have been... I'm sorry."
It's fine, Orange... Just... what happened? And what was it talking about when it said 'they were waiting to'... whatever?
"I believe... I believe what you saw is your subconscious," she says. "It is... complicated."
It's compli... what? Orange, what are you talking about? What was that thing in my dream talking about?
"Art..." I hear a brief pause. "What I am about to tell you may... not make you happy." She sighs. "But in the end... I assume you must have figured it out sometime."
What, that you're controlling my dreams?
"Yes..."
I blink. Well... I can't say I'm surprised. I mean, you did drop the Inception briefcase in my dream, and I wouldn't have met you or the others in my mind if I hadn't done that. I figured that was you somehow. And I guess you were the one behind the fact that my dreams were constant for so long.
"Truly?" Orange asks.
Of course! I mean, c'mon, having the same recurring dream for over two years? Yeah, that doesn't normally happen to people. So I'm guessing you had something to do with that.
"I... did..." she says. "I am afraid this only makes the next part of what I will tell you harder to detail."
Why?
"Well..." She pauses. "In order to manipulate your dreams... I was forced to stave off a portion of your subconscious."
... So... So you were literally altering my mind in dreams...
W... What the fuck!? You were-
"It is not as unpleasant as it sounds, Keeper," Orange says.
Oh, yeah, you were just suppressing a piece of my mind, that doesn't sound unpleasant in anyway at all! What, did you change my personality too or something else that's crazy like that? What else have you done to my head that I don't know about?
"I have not touched any part of your mind that does not directly relate to your dreams," she says. "I assure you, I did nothing of the kind of activity that you assume now with this revelation."
Yeah, 'cause that's real comforting. How do I know you're not trying to bend me to your will like the Reapers?
"Because I am telling you." She pauses. "I assure you, Keeper, I have not touched your mind in any way that could be called unsavory. If you trust nothing else I say, trust me with this."
I just... I sigh. All right, but it's still questionable that you did that at all. I mean, seriously, Orange? And... wait, does this mean that my subconscious is fighting back? Does this mean it's trying to get back in my dreams again?
"It would seem so," says Orange. "I suspect that is what happened anyway."
So allow me to dream normally again! You just have to put the Inception briefcase in my dream again!
"I am afraid it is not so simple," she says. "I have seen your mind, Keeper. It is... a dark place. I fear that what you have seen in your most recent dream is only a taste of what you will find when I relinquish control of the dream to your subconscious."
Wait, so that's what I'm supposed to be dreaming about? I just... Damn it. I... I knew you were influencing my dreams, but to think you actually hijacked them... I just... I know why you did it, and if my regular dreams are supposed to be nightmares... I just don't... Why didn't you say anything?
"I... do not know, to be honest," she admits. "Perhaps I thought it best if you did not truly question the source of the dreams. It seems now that it is inevitable that you will dream what you were meant to dream."
I nod. God damn it... So I'm supposed to be having nightmares. I mean, I don't like nightmares, but the fact that you're hijacking my dreams... I honestly don't know what's worse. And I'm not even going to try figuring it out, I'm really not. I mean... this whole thing is so complicated. I'll need to think a little bit about this. At least I have my own free will, right? You swear you're not treating me like some kind of puppet.
"I would never think of such a thing, Keeper," she says. "I have far too much respect for you as a living being in the situation you are in to treat you as little more than a puppet."
All right. I guess... I guess that makes it a little better, though I still don't like that you've hijacked my dreams. I just... You said something about it being inevitable to dream the dreams I was meant to dream?
"Yes," Orange replies. "The time will come when I must leave, Keeper."
Wait, you mean... you'll really just leave?
"Eventually, I must," Orange replies. "I have resisted the call of the Black City for many millennia, yet I fear that the time may come when I will no longer be able to resist it. I feel that time coming soon. I will stay until the Reapers are defeated, but after that... I will leave your mind forever."
I blink. That's it, then? You're just going to leave when all this is done.
"Yes," Orange replies. "Once the Reapers are dead, I will have no further purpose to stay here. I will then leave. If you wish me to, I can have someone stay behind to make sure you do not experience intense nightmares."
By hijacking my mind again... I just... I don't know... God damn it. I need to think about this a little more. I need... time.
"Time which I shall give you," she says. "In the meantime, you should attempt to rest."
All right.
I then place Orange right there on the nighttable. I look at her, sighing. Damn it, she's been hijacking my mind this whole time. I mean, I knew that she was influencing my dreams on some level, but to think it actually went that far... I just... I don't know. I need to think about that.
And I also need to think about what she told me about having someone stay behind to monitor my dreams. On the one hand, I don't like the idea of someone taking over my dreams for the rest of my natural life, I really don't. It's just... unnerving. But on the other hand, that nightmare... That was... Good Lord in heaven, I'd rather not see those things again. I mean, I just... was that really the dream I was supposed to have? One where Thane and Carhon haunt me...? I just... Damn it...
I lay down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling as I ponder on this.
The rest of the night is spent tossing and turning. I try to go back to sleep, but the thought of seeing that dream again keeps me awake. I just... I'm going to have to deal with those kinds of nightmares when Orange leaves my mind...? I just... I don't know... Fuck... Why the fuck did I have to be the one who got sent here?
Eventually, I just sit in bed, looking outside at the drive core. I simply sit up, looking at the drive core. It's not glowing now, though I think it might have something to do with the fact that we're refueling at the moment. Joker said they were taking the Normandy in to get re-fueled as soon as they could. I guess we would need it, but where would we be going to with all this extra fuel? Well... maybe there's the whole 'explore other places in this cluster and hope that we can find some resources to help keep the Reapers at bay as long as we can'... yeah, that's probably what we need the refueling for.
I shake my head, pulling my legs close. It's a little colder in here than it usually is, actually. I wonder why that is. I didn't notice anything odd about Khar'shan's weather when I was down there with everyone else, so what's up with the sudden coldness? Hm... I dunno.
I simply sit at the edge of the bed. Well, we've freed up Khar'shan... now what? I'm not sure what's supposed to happen, but... I guess now I just have to play it by ear, and hope that the Reapers avoid Khar'shan long enough for us to do stuff about it.
Hm... I wonder what-
I then hear the door open, and look up to find Tali walking in. She and I look at each other for a few seconds right as she enters. The door closes behind her, and I'm almost shocked that I can hear the exact moment when the locking mechanism kicks in. I look over to the door, noticing that the door panel is red.
I then look up at Tali. "Tali?" I ask.
The quarian simply walks over to the bed, and then sits next to me. "Art," she says. "I... I have to ask you something."
I nod. "What is it?" I ask.
"Are you...?" she asks. She pauses. "Do you still love me?"
I blink. "What?" I ask. "What kind of question is-"
Tali immediately puts her hand to my mouth. "Please, answer it," she says.
Well... Huh, she hasn't nod silently. "I do," I say. "Of course I still love you, Tali."
The quarian simply shrinks back, her gaze remaining trained on the ground. "Are you telling me the truth?" she asks.
I look at Tali, blinking suddenly. "Of course I am," I say, placing a hand on her arm. "Look, Tali, if there's something you want to say..."
Tali shakes her head. "I just... I feel like a stranger in this room," she says. "You hardly ever talk to me anymore, you hardly ever really say anything to me... I just..." She shakes her head. "You're so distant now."
I look over at Tali sadly. "I just..." I say. "I never know what to say anymore, Tali. I don't... I don't want to hurt you."
"Hurt me?" she asks. She then turns to me. "Why would you hurt me?"
I look to her. Should I...? No, I have to say it now. If she thinks I'm distant from her... I have to tell her. I have to explain myself somehow. I can't... But what if it hurts her? I just...
Fuck.
"I..." I pause. "I know you're still thinking about... the incident..."
"The incident?" she asks.
"Yeah," I say. "You know... back at the Fleet..."
Tali freezes. Shit, I think I did hurt her. Well... I can't turn back now. "I just... I don't know, Tali," I say. "I don't want to hurt you if I say something that... you know..." I pause. "I don't want to hurt you."
Tali looks at me almost immediately. "And that's why you don't want to talk to me anymore?" she asks. Something in her tone is... angry? "Because you think I'm fragile?"
I shake my head, looking at her. "Tali, that's not it at all," I reply. "It's just... you've changed since then. You... You don't trust strangers anymore, you're a little aloof, and-"
"So it is me, then," she says. She then abruptly stands up, looking directly at me. "I'm the problem, is that it? I'm too weak!"
What? "Tali, that's not it at all," I say, standing up as well and holding my hands out in front of her. "You're getting it all wrong! It's not that your weak, I just don't want to say anything that could, you know, trigger something!"
"And you think that'll do anything?" she asks.
"You don't trust people you don't know anymore," I comment. "And... and you're afraid to even walk out! I don't know what I can say in front of you without triggering something!"
"That's not the point," Tali replies, the volume of her voice steadily increasing. "I lay there in bed each night these days, thinking about the things he did to me, and you just sit there saying nothing!" She places a hand on her breast. "I'm not as weak as you probably think I am!"
"And I guess I'm supposed to take it from the fact that you don't initiate conversations with me that you're all better and magically cured now?" I ask, pointing at the ground. "Because that's not the impression I got from the numerous times that you didn't start talking about things when I asked you what was wrong!"
"And you didn't think to talk to me anyway?" she asks.
"You kinda didn't speak to me either!" I comment. "You just sat there moping all the time! What the hell am I supposed to talk about when I know something like that is still on your mind!"
"You think it will ever leave my mind?" Tali immediately says. "Maybe I won't be able to stop thinking about it as my life goes on. Did you think of that?"
I pause. "Well... uh... no?" I ask. "That's not even-"
"Then I don't even know why we're having this conversation," says Tali. She shakes her head.
"I don't think we'd be having it if you just told me how you really feel without hesitating every time I ask!" I shout. "If I only knew how you really felt, maybe we'd be able to have a real conversation about things again!"
"Did it ever occur to you that there is more in my mind than that?" Tali shouts back. "I may not forget it, but there are other things to think about too!"
"You don't seem to act like there is whenever we're here!" I reply, raising my voice.
"Oh, so it's my fault that you can't talk to me, is it?" Tali asks.
"I don't want to fucking hurt you, Tali!" I yell, feeling my throat burn slightly from the force of the yell.
"We can't even talk anymore!" Tali shouts back. "Maybe the problem isn't me, after all! It's you that's got the problem here! You're too damn weak sometimes!"
"Tali, that's not what this is about!" I yell again. "You don't seem to-"
I suddenly feel a sharp stinging sensation on my cheek. I am shocked into silence, and then I slowly bring my hand up to the place where Tali slapped me. I don't get to react before Tali suddenly leaves the room without any ceremony whatsoever. I... Ow, that kind of stings... And... I...
Did she seriously just...? I... She did...
What the hell...? What was all that about? I mean... she has to understand that I don't want to... That I...
God motherfucking damn it!
I fall back onto the bed, looking up at the ceiling of the room as I lay there, wondering what that fight was all about.
Several minutes later, I find myself sitting alone in the shuttle. Most people have gone off the ship by now. The only people still here are a skeleton crew and EDI, and that's about it. It's kind of quiet here, and... Honestly, there's something that's kinda nice about that. And now... jeez, this place is surprisingly good for trying to clear my head. Especially after... whatever it was that just happened between Tali and I. I sit right there at the controls, looking out to the Normandy's hangar bay. The hangar bay door is open right now, so I can see a little light from Khar'shan's sun as it pours into the room below me. I don't pay attention to it.
Well, not too much, anyway. It's hard to do that when... well...
I place a hand on my face, wondering what... have I been too careful? That's gotta be it, but... but why would that be a bad thing? Tali went through something really horrible. I just don't want to make it worse.
I lean back, looking up. Why can't she see that?
I shake my head. Maybe there's something-
I'm startled by the sound of someone stepping into the shuttle. I jolt where I sit, looking behind me to see that...
Oh, dear.
"Well, it cannae get any weirder than this, mate."
I look to the window, shaking my head as Jenny walks in. "Oh hi Jenny," I say half-heartedly. "I see you're having a grand old time out there."
I look over to Jenny as she shrugs. "Eh, it isn't such a bad tip 'ere," she replies. "Batarians're actually kinda nice, I gotta say. They just got bad cess, is all." She looks at me. "What're ya doin' 'ere, mate?"
I sigh. "Thinking," I comment. "I just... it's a long story..."
"Still thinkin' o' Carhon?" Jenny asks.
I shake my head. "Not really, no," I comment. "It's... it's about Tali, actually."
Jenny raises her eyebrows at this. "And what 'appened there, mate?" she asks.
I sigh, looking out the window. "We... we got into a fight," I say. "I... I don't know, Jenny."
She nods, and then sits down next to me. She places a hand on her shoulder, and pats it comfortingly. "What 'appened?" she asks.
"Well... I woke up, right?" I say. "And then Tali comes in, and asks me if I still love her. Strange, very confusing question, you know? So then I told her that, and when I explained myself to her... it sort of just devolved into a shouting match." I then point to my cheek, turning to face her as I do this. "And then she slapped me pretty hard."
"Oooh, that looks like it hurt," says Jenny.
"I was more shocked at first," I say. "I just... I don't know, Jenny." I look out the window again, looking to where the engineering deck is. "It just came out of nowhere, really. She is all nervous and... well... aloof, as she was ever since everything on the Fleet happened, and then she just exploded. I'm still more confused than anything."
Jenny shrugs. "What'd she say?" she asks.
I sigh. "She said I thought she was weak," I comment. "She took my silence whenever we're together these days as a sign that... I don't know, Jenny. I just want to give her some space, because she's always brooding these days, and I know she's still thinking about what happened."
Jenny shakes her head. "Art, that's..."
"I know," I reply. "It's crazy. But she's still been very distant, and then this just happens out of asking if I still love her." I shake my head. "Of course I still love her, Jenny! What kind of question...?"
Jenny sighs. "Art, I dinnae know how ta say this t'ya," she says. "But... well..." She sighs. "Do ya think stuff like this just goes away?"
I blink in surprise. "I..." I pause. "I don't know, but she shouldn't be moping about it like this for so long."
Jenny shakes her head. "Art, somethin' like this doesn't just scram," she says. "Tali got... well, y'know. But somethin' like that never goes away."
I frown. "But Jenny, she's..." I shake my head. "When we were on the Citadel, and even after everything that happened in the Bahak system... she didn't like it when she had to go out into crowds. She's still thinking about what happened on some level!"
"And she'll be thinkin' of it for the rest of 'er life, mate," Jenny replies. "The crowd fear... that'll scram eventually. The fear o' bein' around others... that could go away too. But the memory o' what 'appened to 'er? That's gonna be with 'er 'til she's dead as a Jack in the box."
I raise one of my eyebrows in confusion. "Dead as a what now?" I ask.
"Jack in the box," Jenny replies. She then waves her hand. "That ain't the point. The point is, ya gotta stop worryin' about that kind o' shite. She ain't gonna stop thinkin' about what 'appened there. It's gonna be with 'er all 'er life." She shakes her head. "So you cannae worry about things like 'ow you're gonna hurt 'er with what ya say. I'd guess she's over that stage, if she yelled at ya." She then crosses her arms. "An' I'm bettin' ya were too busy worryin' about hurtin' her to notice."
I look to the floor of the shuttle. "I... I don't know," I comment. "I have been quiet, but I just don't know what to say to her, and whether or not it'll ruin her day."
"Sticks 'n' stones, Art," Jenny replies. "Sticks 'n' stones."
Sticks and stones? Sticks and stones may break my bones? Why the hell is she-?
...
Sticks and stones may break my bones...
...but words will never harm me...
Maybe... Maybe that's it! I've been too concerned about hurting Tali's feelings that I'm refusing to talk about anything, and except for that one time where I said it wasn't her fault I've never really addressed it. And maybe... maybe my reluctance to talk about that has meant that I'm too afraid to talk about other things. Maybe the fact that I'm clamming up is worse, and that it only reminds her about what happened in another way...
"I... I think I get it," I comment. I look outside, and then look back to Jenny. "Before I say anything, I have to ask: why were you here?"
"Oh, I just needed ta give this ol' panel a calibration or two," she says as she stands up. "Why?"
I nod, standing up. Before she can say anything, I pull her into a rather tight hug.
"I think that not only do you have the best timing ever, but you're also the best love coach a guy could ask for." I pull back, and then pat her on the shoulder. "Thanks, Jenny. I needed that." I then look at the panel, and notice the tool box that is laying right there in the corner of the cockpit. "I'll leave you to your calibrating, then. There are some things I need to take care of."
With this, I leave the cockpit of the shuttle, and begin climbing down the rope ladder. Damn, there's something I need to do within the next few days for Tali. There's something I need to do to show her that I care...
...and I think there is only one person on this damn ship who can help me get it going.
I walk up to Sturge as he holds a datapad in his hand. He looks up at me as I walk up to the mess hall, and simply shrugs, placing the datapad down on the stove top. He then looks at me, and it's only then that I notice that there are crates around the mess hall. I maneuver past some of them, even as Sturge looks around.
"Well, old timer," he says. "You're here at a strange time."
"I know," I say. "It's crazy when most of the crew is off, right?" I look around. "What're you doing?"
"Oh, just taking stock," Sturge replies. "I'm telling you, things about this place just get more and more interesting the more I see about them! Some of these meats I've got here... I've never heard of some of them. I'm going to have a lot of fun with this, let me tell you that."
"I see..." I say. "New food supplies, new stuff." I look right at Sturge, leaning against the counter. "Listen, Sturge, I need your help with something."
Sturge raises an eyebrow. "Oh?" he asks. "What sort of help?"
"Help with Tali," I say. "It's a long story, but let's just say that I need to apologize to her somehow, and there are a few things I'll need."
I sit at the table in Life Support, looking towards the drive core. It's still oddly quiet, but now it has glowed blue again. I guess refueling finished sooner than I expected it to. That's always a good thing. And now, it's back to business as usual, as I've noticed some of the crew returning. It's been strange trying to get all my items together, but somehow I managed to do it. And now... now all that's left is for Sturge to convince Tali to come up here.
I sit there, nervously tapping my foot against the ground. C'mon, Sturge, any day now please... Oh, God... I look up. What if she's still too mad to want to see me again? What if Sturge doesn't find her anywhere? What if she steps off the Normandy and decides... okay, that last one's a little stupid, but still! C'mon, Tali... Fuck...
I hope this doesn't fail. 'Cause if it does... if it does... well, it's really risky, and I'm not totally sure it'll work, but... If nothing else, it'll be a sign that I still care enough to stand by her. But if this doesn't... I don't know.
Maybe I should've thought this through a little better. I mean, hell, this is the best I could come up with? Damn it, Art, this is a stupid idea, this is a really, really stupid idea! I need to-
I hear the door open immediately. I then hear the footsteps from behind me as they slowly walk towards me. There's a brief pause where whoever is walking in there sees me, and I try not to turn my head back to look at whoever it is. It's silent for a few seconds, and then I hear the footsteps again.
And then, Tali walks into my view. She looks at me nervously, before sitting across from me at the opposite end of the table.
Well, Art, you're here now, and there's no getting out of this. You gotta do this all the way to the end. You still care about Tali, so... You'll do what you have to. And this... this is something you have to do.
I hear the door to life support close, and then Tali fidgets nervously.
"Art..." she says. "If this is about the slap, I-"
I immediately hold my hand up. This effectively interrupts her, and she blinks in surprise "No, it's not about that," I say. "It's just..." I sigh. "I've... well, you know." I sigh. "God, this is gonna be tough, but..."
I nod, gesturing to the object on the table. "I... brought you a little something." I then hold it up to her. I still can't believe that Sturge and I were able to find flowers here on Khar'shan, even after everything that's happened. It looks like a relatively nice one too, as it looks kind of large. Again, it's unlikely that it survived, but... I dunno.
Tali looks at it in surprise. "Art..." she says.
"One of your lines in the game mentioned that you couldn't smell flowers," I say. "I just... I dunno. I took it from that that you secretly kind of like flowers..."
"I... I do," Tali says. "But Art... I can't really smell this flower. Not for real, anyway. What good is a flower if you can't get outside of your suit to smell it?" She sighs. "I don't know, Art, but-"
The light sound of me placing an immunobooster interrupts her. Tali looks at it immediately, and she looks back at me. Her eyes widen a little bit, even as she looks at the flower. I can see her tense up slightly, but not enough that it looks like she's utterly terrified. It just looks like she's... extremely surprised. I look to her.
I then lean forward and grip her hand. I notice the hand sqeeze around mine. "If you want to smell it for real, the immuno-booster's right there," I say. "It's right there, and I'll be here too." I look at her. "And I'll be here, because I care about you, and I want to be by your side. I know it hasn't been easy, but I think that..." I nod to the immuno-booster. "I won't force you to smell it for real. If you don't want to, I'll understand. But if you do want to, then I'll be right here, and I won't leave or ignore you. No more fears. No more silence between us. No more separation. I promise you this."
Tali looks at me, but I can tell from the way she squeezes my hand that she's thinking about it. Her eyes dart up to me for a few seconds, and then back to the flower and the immuno-booster. Her gaze then turns to the ground, and I see her shoulders sink slightly. She then looks directly at me.
"I... Keelah." She sighs nervously. "Do you really mean this?"
I nod. "Of course," I say. "I'll be right here."
Tali nods, and then she picks up the immuno-booster. She looks down, placing that hand on the table.
"I... I'm not so sure I can do this," she admits. "I mean... I want to smell a flower for the first time, and I want to reveal my face again. I just... it's just... I've always wanted to do it. I'm revealing my face for the first time since... you know. And I don't know what will happen, because I remember that he took my suit off while I was conscious. And I'm scared, Art, I'm scared of what'll happen. I'm all alone in this world, and I don't know if I can trust anyone, and I just don't know if this is a good thing, or if I'll just think of him again. And you know how that always makes me talk too much, and I'm just so afraid of facing the world alone, and even if I've gotten over it on some level I don't know if people can be trusted again, and I-"
I grip her hand, holding it there. "It's okay, querida," I say. "You're not alone. I'm here."
Tali nods, gripping my hand tighter. She then brings the immuno-booster up to wherever she needs to and injects it into herself. Once she does this, she waits a few seconds. After this short wait, her free hand goes to her mask, and I hear the hiss as she removes it. As she sets the mask down on the table, I look at her to see her eyes shining. I see the residue of tears there, like thousands upon thousands of undried tears.
Instinctively, I bring my free hand up, brushing the tear stains with my thumb. I notice that her eyes glisten with new tears, and then I trail my thumb just beneath her eyes. I wipe the tear away, even as she brings her hand to the one that is touching her cheek. She pulls it closer to her, closing her eyes and feeling the difference of fingers between us.
Slowly, she lets go of the hand that gripped my hand, and then picks up the flower. Even as she brings it up to her nose, I can see her gaze remaining intent on mine. She sniffs the flower as soon as she brings it up there, and then I watch her eyes soften, tears once again threatening to spill out of her eyes.
"It's... Keelah," she says. "I've never..."
I nod. "Well..." I say. "I guess..."
I don't get much more warning before Tali suddenly crumples on the ground. She lets go of my hand and the flower, and then begins sobbing quietly there on the floor. I myself don't hesitate, and before I know it I'm on the ground next to her pulling her into a hug. She grips my shoulders, sobbing into them as I feel the tears stain my shirt. I don't really care, I can always wash them later. For now...
I pat her on the back. "It's all right, Tali," I comment. "I'm here..."
My lips find her forehead, kissing her tenderly as she cries against me. I hold her there, patting her back softly as she expends some tears. We stay like this for a few minutes, the flower remaining completely forgotten. I simply hold her against me like this, patting her back.
Finally, she looks up, leaning away from my shoulder. "I... I'm scared of walking around in public," she says. "I... I'm always afraid that someone is going to come around to remove my mask forcibly again... I can't wander around without a mask. I'm sorry."
I nod. "It's all right, Tali," I say as she and I look at each other. "It's fine. I just... I should've realized that talking to you wouldn't have come at the expense of hurting you. I was just so afraid that anything I'd say was going to hurt you that I just kept silent. And I promise... I promise I won't put you through that again. No more."
Tali nods. Before I can say anything else, she leans towards me, and gives me a kiss. I'm caught off guard by this kiss, but find myself falling backwards and deepening the kiss. We hold each other as I bring my arms behind her, and for a single solitary moment, everything feels all right.
And when we break the kiss, Tali simply holds me there. "If... If we survive this..." she says. "I... I want you with me. Wherever I go."
I bring my hand up to her cheeks. "Of course, querida," I say. "I'll be right here."
"Th... thank you," she says. "Thank you... my hesh'alan."
And with this, all feels right in the galaxy again.
I walk back into my room next to life support. I notice that I haven't actually brought Orange with me, as the orange paperweight is still sitting on the night table. Still, it's given me time to think. And I think... I think I have my answer to her now.
I sit on the bed, picking up Orange and holding her in my hand. All right, Orange, I've made up my mind.
"And what do you believe?" Orange asks.
I think that while it is a little unnerving that you had to do what you did, I accept why you did it. I don't think I'll ever accept the 'what' part of that equation, but I can live with why you did it since... well... you're not actually controlling my actions. I mean, if you did control my mind, I wouldn't be able to question your taking over my dreams, right?
"I do not believe so," Orange replies. "I am not the Reapers. I will never willingly take over your mind and force you to do things I know you would never do. That would be far too cruel."
Good. But once this is all done... well, I guess when you leave...
"Have you thought about my offer for the dreams?" she asks.
I have, now, and it took me something else to realize it. I... I think I'll decline the offer.
"You will decline it?" asks Orange. "Then you wish to live with the nightmares."
I can't run away from my own problems anymore. I mean... the thought that I'll have nightmares about certain things for most of the rest of my life is a terrifying thought, but it's something I think I'll live with. I refuse to run away anymore. Some things, I have to confront directly. And where better to start on confronting my problems than dealing with my own mind?
I hear Orange chuckle. "I am glad to hear it," she says. "To be honest, I would have been disappointed if you told me to leave someone to control your dreams."
I raise my eyebrows. Really, Orange?
"You still value your free will," she says to me. "Even with the problems that your free will can render unto you, you'd rather face those issues than take an easy solution to your problems. There is an admirable quality in someone who holds the freedom of their mind over their security."
I guess it runs in the family, then. Why do you think my parents came to America?
"Indeed, Keeper," she states. "On another level, however, it shows that you have grown as a person. You have developed into a man. I have no doubt that you will be able to deal with life now. I will stay until the Reapers are defeated, but once they are defeated, I will leave. I promise you this, by the River Styx."
I nod. I'll hold you to that, you know.
"I would not have it any other way," she replies.
I nod, placing Orange in my pocket. Well, that's that. The minute this war ends (if it ends), I'm going to have to deal with what I guess are PTSD nightmares for the rest of my life. But I can deal with that. I have to: from here on out, I can't simply ignore my problems. I can't pretend that if I don't talk about my issues they'll go away. Because in the end, they won't. And the only way to deal with them is to face them head-on.
Heh. If only my family could see me now.
A couple of days pass, and everything seems to be going a little better. Carhon's family still hovers around the ship, even if they don't exactly have a reason to stay behind. I've seen M'yask enter James' quarters from time to time, and I think the two are actually becoming rather good friends. I don't know, it seems that way to me.
I simply look in front of me in the mess hall, seeing Liselle standing off to the side. Hm... I haven't really seen that much from her since everything that went down on the Bahak system. She stands there, looking up at the ceiling of the mess hall. Eventually, she sighs, and I notice that she looks over in my direction. She shrugs, walking over to me and glancing to the med bay. She then sits down.
"I didn't think that Shepard would ever show up," she says. "And when she did, I didn't think there would be thousands of batarian refugees in their wake."
"Yeah, none of us were expecting that," I reply. "Welcome to the club."
Liselle looks behind her at the med-bay, before turning back to look at me. "I also wasn't expecting that kind of shift in command," she comments. "But... I dunno, things just seem to be going better, don't they?"
"You forgot the part where the Reapers invaded the entire galaxy," I reply. "That happened too."
Liselle shrugs. "Well, at least we'll get to go down fighting the most intense fight in the whole galaxy," she says. She then looks up. "I'm worried about mother, though. She has to defend that rock by herself now, and she can't be expecting any help in that regard."
I shrug. "Well, she won't be alone, even if she has to defend that rock with only what she's got within the Omega Nebula," I comment. "And hey, I didn't say anything about her going down without a fight, you know?"
"I guess so," Liselle shrugs, leaning forward, sighing. "I wish I had stayed on Omega. I thought going out into the galaxy was going to be adventurous: I thought I was going to have plenty of great tales to tell mother when I got back. I mean, I did get that, but the rest of the galaxy can just..." She sighs. "I miss Omega. It was dangerous, you could never predict what would happen on nights like the ones where I'd go... but the rest of the galaxy is honestly a little boring when it's not in the middle of a war."
"Some people prefer that," I reply.
"How do you manage to stand it?" she asks.
I shrug. "I just do," I say. "I wasn't raised in a crime den, so I wouldn't know about that. But where I was raised, everything seemed to fall into place just fine, you know?"
"I guess," says Liselle as she glances to the side. "When this is all over, I'm going back to Omega. My mother was right about this world in a way: it was cold, but not in the way I was expecting. Here, it's just so..." She shrugs. "I'm just used to being a bad girl."
I shrug. "Hey, whatever greases your wheel is fine by me," I comment. I just wonder..." I look behind Liselle...
What...? Dr. Chakwas looks...
I stand up immediately, looking into the med bay. I look over at Liselle as she turns to look there. I...
"I think the commander's waking up!" I say.
Liselle looks at the med bay, and at the same time we both see Dr. Chakwas walk over to the bed that Shepard is laying on. Yes... And then I see the Commander's hand rise up.
I immediately rush towards the med bay. I pay no attention to Liselle's reaction, and before I know it I'm at the door. My hand slams down on the control panel, and sure enough, I see Shepard laying there with her eyes open. She's gripping Dr. Chakwas' hand, and smiling as Dr. Chakwas looks directly at me. I step into the med bay, hearing footsteps from behind me. Immediately, I turn and see Kasumi walking in at the same time I do, though I have no idea where the hell she came from. Either way, we both walk up to Shepard, who looks at us and smiles.
"You're all right," Shepard says as she looks at the two of us. I nod, sitting down at a chair that I didn't even notice that Dr. Chakwas had pulled over.
"Yeah, we're fine," I say. I shake my head. "Those were some serious balls you had there, Commander. Uh... with all due respect, of course."
Shepard shrugs. "We wouldn't have survived any other way," she says. "Are the others all right?"
I sigh. "Well..." I look to Kasumi.
"Most of us got it out of that okay," says Kasumi. "It was after we landed that the Reaper killed one of us."
Shepard blinks. "Who?" she asks.
"Carhon," I reply. I look down at the ground. "It happened before any of us could react. One second, he was standing there, and then the very next one, the Leviathan just..." I bring my hands up, gesturing an explosion. "Boom. Or something like that."
Shepard nods. "I see..." she says, looking up at the ceiling. "And there was nothing anybody could have done?"
"No," I comment. "I mean, we probably could've gotten our bearings faster, but we were just so relieved that we survived a twenty-story fall that... you know."
"It's fine," Shepard replies. "Has the family been informed?"
"James took care of that," Kasumi replies. "They didn't take it well,"
"I wouldn't think they would," Shepard says. She nods, looking at us. "Well... I'm here. I think there's-"
"Not so fast, Commander," says Dr. Chakwas. She then walks up to the Commander. "You suffered extreme biotic exhaustion. I'm ordering you to stay in bed for at least a full day."
"But the Reapers-" Shepard begins.
"Doctor's orders," says Dr. Chakwas, pushing her hand onto the Commander's shoulder. "You need your rest, Commander. You'll only be out for a day at most. You can get back to worrying about everyone else then."
Shepard sighs, seeing that she won't win this battle. "Fine," she says begrudgingly. "But when I can leave, I need to leave. I can't sit by while the Reapers are in this galaxy. If they're not here already, they'll be here soon, and we need to organize a defense for when that happens."
"You'll get to that soon," I tell her. "Trust me on that, Commander." I then pat her shoulder. "We're glad to have you back with us, Commander."
"I'm not done yet," Shepard says. "If you think I'm going to sit on my ass now while the Reapers kill everyone, you've got another thing coming."
I smile, patting her on the shoulder. She simply returns the smile as Kasumi leans over, and we stay like this for a few seconds more.
Several days pass after the commander gets out of bed. As expected, she doesn't take a single moment to rest. From the moment she's up, it's work, work, work for her again. And honestly, I can't say I blame her: we're now tasked with defending Khar'shan from future Reaper attacks as best we can. It's gonna be futile, but at this stage it's the only thing we can really do.
We've had amazing luck in that regard, actually: there have been no Reapers that have come into the system yet, which has given us a much-needed break. It also gives Shepard some time to organize everyone that we probably wouldn't have otherwise. That has been a bigger help to us than anything else in this damn war. We've decided it's too dangerous to take the Normandy out of this system. I mean, it would be great if we could get to those coordinates by the Normandy, but that isn't exactly the case. When I talked to Shepard about it, she said that maybe if the rachni came she would be open to investigating those coordinates, see if they have a longer-term solution for the Reapers and then plan from there. But until then...
I sigh, standing up almost immediately. Well, I don't know if they're going to show up, but if they do... I better worry about that when they get here. For now, I think I should go downstairs to see Tali. After all, I kind of have to-
"Mr. *********."
I blink, noticing that EDI's avatar has popped up. I look over at the AI, frowning. "EDI?" I ask.
"Ah, I believed you were here," EDI says. "Your presence is required in the briefing room."
I frown. "The briefing room?" I ask. "On Shepard's orders?"
"Yes," says EDI. "Something strange has come up. There is a ship in orbit outside of Khar'shan."
"A ship?" Huh, that's unusual. "Is it a Reaper?"
"Unlikely," EDI replies. "If it were a Reaper, it would have opened fire by now. It is a ship with a signature my protocols do not recognize."
"And what, the ship called for me as well?" I ask.
"It did in fact request to speak to 'someone who helped us discover this'," EDI replies. "Isaac Clarke is in the briefing room as well, explaining to Shepard the design of the ship in question."
Wait... Hold it. That ship... Isaac's explaining its design to Shepard? Then that means...
Holy fuck!
"I'll be right there, EDI," I say.
With this, I immediately exit the room, mashing the elevator's call button when I get in front of it. Shit, if that ship is already here, then that means... fuck!
I walk into the briefing room rather quickly to see Shepard and Isaac both standing there. I see the little holographic projector for the comms which is up and running, giving off some wavy lines and stuff.
I waste no time, walking right up to the two of them. Isaac nods as I move over there, and then I see that Shepard isn't looking angry. Good, that's a good thing. I think this is more along the lines of 'your presence is required here' more than it is anything else.
"EDI said you needed me," I say, looking at Shepard as I take my place next to Isaac.
Shepard nods, turning back to the hologram in the center of the table. "He's here," she says.
"Ah. I believed I recognized his voice."
...
"Rilara?" I ask, leaning forward. "Rilara, is that you?"
"It is," she says. "Your friend's ship... we constructed it. And we are here, hovering over the atmosphere of your planet."
...
What?
"Okay, I call bullshit," I say. "How did you build it so quickly?"
"You underestimate the rachni," she says. "The rachni are tenacious builders, and exceedingly dedicated in all they do. You remembered that we were able to create a ship capable of relay travel in a short amount of time."
"But that was two years!" I say. "Or, some time within the frame of two years! I don't know!"
"We built our mass relay-capable ship in less time than you believe," Rilara replies. "And we built it without much in the way of schematics. Your friend was very detailed in what this... 'ShockPoint Drive' was capable of, and it was of great aid. And of course, there was the quarian you left here..."
I frown, looking at Isaac. "You mean that bitch Daro'Xen helped them construct that thing?" I ask.
"Hey, don't look at me," Isaac replies. "I wasn't the one who told her to help them."
I roll my eyes. "Was she actually helpful?" I ask.
"Yes," says Rilara. "Very much so, actually. She double-checked most of your friend's equations, made several suggestions on the design of the engine, and even personally helped us mine the element zero with which we fueled this ship for its maiden voyage. I doubt that we would have built this ship as reliably as we did without her insight."
I frown. "She really did that?" I ask.
"Yes," says Rilara. "She is not here with us, if you must know. But the queen was able to come."
"So she's here," I say.
"Yes," Rilara replies. "She operated the controls herself."
"And this ship is the only ship of this design in existence," says Shepard.
"Unfortunately," says Rilara. "We built this ship as quickly as we could, and even then we could not test it. We essentially used this as a test-run."
"So you made this a test-run," I say. "Ouch... that's a risky idea if there ever was one?"
"With the Reapers inside the galaxy, there was little choice in the matter," Rilara replies. "Time is of the essence in this war, and we cannot afford to wait. We have no other ships, though the rachni are busy building. They build, though we cannot be certain how long it will be until this fleet is ready."
"We'll have to see," says Shepard. "But for now..." She then looks at me. "There is something in those things you found on the Collector base that you had Liara look at. It was a set of coordinates...?"
I nod. "It was," I say. "Liara pointed them to a place that we can't access with the technology present in this galaxy. We had to build a completely new ship to even have a chance of accessing it."
"And that's why the rachni are here now," says Shepard. She then turns her attention back to the comms. "Are you willing to part with the ship for this purpose?"
"Yes," says Rilara. "We would like to return to where the rachni burrow, but we do not have the luxury of time on our hands. We will remain on the Normandy."
I nod. "All right," I say. I look over to Shepard. "And she hasn't landed yet...?"
"The batarians don't believe our story," says Shepard. She shrugs. "I honestly can't blame them. This whole scenario is difficult for me to believe as well."
"Yeah, I was about to say the same thing," I comment. "I mean, completely new FTL tech? Yeah, I can see why they wouldn't believe us." I nod. "But they know that it's not a Reaper, right?"
"I think they know that by now," she says. "They just want to be sure that it is not a ship of indoctrinated people. It's not likely. "
"Fair enough," I say.
"We shall wait above this planet," Rilara says. "We will need more fuel soon, however. Please be certain that this does not take long."
"I'll do my best," Shepard replies. "You stay safe there, Rilara."
With this, the comm line cuts out. I look over at Shepard, who simply stands there looking at me. I shrug. "Well... I guess that worked out."
"It seems like it," she says. "It looks like there was something you did that ended up helping everybody out." She then looks up. "What're at these coordinates?"
"I have no idea," I say. "Orange isn't able to find out, I get the feeling this is one of those things she'd want me to find out on my own even if she did find out what was there, I certainly don't know... but whatever it is, it's gotta be important."
"It must be, if it wound up in the Collector base in a handwriting very few people from back then could read," Shepard says. "How do we know this isn't a trap?"
"I don't think it is," I say. "Don't ask me how I know that, I just do. And besides, we could've not gone into that room, you know? Why would a Reaper order a minion to put a set of coordinates on a wall that the Reapers figure people probably aren't even going to see?"
"That is a fair point," says Shepard. "I guess we'll find out what exactly lies there."
"Indeed," I say.
And with this, I look to Isaac. The former CEC engineer shrugs. "I'm coming along, right?" he asks.
"Of course," Shepard says. "For all intents and purposes, you designed the ship. You know how to maneuver it, right?"
"I do," Isaac replies. "I can do it, though I'll need Ellie's help for some parts of the ShockPoint jump."
"Then she will be with us as well," says Shepard. "Since we don't know what else is out there, I'm also bringing a ground team over there. I'll gather that ground team on my own, plus you two and Ellie. I'll call you when the ship is on Khar'shan. Dismissed."
And with this, Isaac and I both look at each other, shrugging as we both exit the briefing room. I look behind at the briefing room, and then look to Isaac. "Well, looks like your schematics paid off," I say.
"I can't believe they did," Isaac comments. He shakes his head. "Ellie is probably going to think I was crazy for thinking that."
"Well, it helped save our asses no matter what, so..." I comment.
"I guess it did," he said. "I'll be down in Engineering, talking to Ellie. If you need anything, come on down."
I nod, smiling at Isaac. "I was gonna head down there to talk to Tali anyway," I say. "But I think we can take care of that."
And with this, we both walk through the tech lab, hoping to get to the elevator. We note that Mordin isn't there for whatever reason, but pay it no real mind as we keep moving. I mean, we got to see these guys build what we need to see these coordinates, right? So I guess this is some hope for all of us.
Who knows? Maybe what we'll find at these coordinates will be enough to save us all even after the Reapers took over the Citadel.
It takes a little over an hour for the ship to finally land, and it takes even longer than that to refuel the ship. At first, most people were really freaked out about the fact that the rachni had apparently returned, as I'm sure they had every right to what with their reputation not being so great. But eventually (through some shouting and a lot of pointing weapons at the ground) we managed to convince the batarians that the rachni queen was in fact coming in peace. No doubt about it, though: Rilara helped in that regard.
And now, we're getting ready to get off Khar'shan and investigate. Shepard's leaving Al in charge of things while we're gone, and is also bringing a ground team as she said she would. The ship we're on is actually quite small as Isaac suggested, so it's not an especially large one, from what I see. It's gonna be Shepard, Isaac, Ellie, and myself, and maybe three or four other people. Which is actually a little larger than what we normally bring into the field, but I don't know what we're gonna find there, so we'll see.
I check the sights on my assault rifle one more time, before placing it on my back. I'm not sure we'll need the weapons, but Shepard isn't taking that chance. We're all going in full armor and full weapons and all that, so... yeah. I'm not really sure who else is coming with us, but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.
I walk outside the Normandy to see that Khar'shan is well on its way to being sufficiently armed. I see various other docks with ships that are being fitted with the latest that we have to outfit them with. Some of the engineers that the fleets that came with us are helping with that, and so far it looks like we're making relatively good progress with that.
I walk past most of these ships, seeing batarian crews working with aliens. I see various things, ranging from a batarian looking over some plans with a turian and a salarian to an asari sitting in the corner with both a batarian and a former quarian slave: I assume all three of them are on break, unlike the two batarians and the salarian hanging off of the side of the ship there doing whatever it is they're doing. All the people who were on Khar'shan before this attack seem to be cooperating quite well with the people that we brought over. Maybe when all this is over, the batarians will be in a better place. Maybe...
Maybe things aren't so hopeless after all. I mean, if we saved a homeworld, then that has to mean something...
I continue walking on, seeing the many things.
And eventually, I see the ship that the rachni queen came in on. It's a rather small ship, as the USG Kellion was. It's about twice the size of the shuttle, maybe even just a tad smaller than that. I see Shepard, Isaac, Ellie, and... is that Mordin? Yeah, that's Mordin, carrying the little dream briefcase. Huh. I wonder what convinced Mordin to bring that along. I walk up the ramp to the ship, the four of them turning and looking at me. I nod as I walk up to them, and then look to the salarian.
"What're you bringing that for?" I ask.
"Have hunch," Mordin replies. "May prove necessary to bring dream-share. No knowledge of what lies at coordinates, though coordinates likely have something... Prothean in nature. Only logical to bring Prothean tech." He then sniffs. "Worst case scenario, of course. Cannot suppose anything, but cannot be too prepared either."
"I guess that's true," I comment. I look to Shepard. "I guess we're all just going on, then."
"I believe we are," says Shepard. "I still didn't understand some of Mordin's theory behind how this whole thing works, but..."
"Trust me, it works," I comment. "And it works with other people as well. Trust me, I'd know, he shared a dream with Rael and I once."
"Yes," Mordin confirms. "Was interesting dream. Went to strange place, laws of physics nonexistant, met Prothean..." He crosses his arms. "Interesting mind."
"Well... I'll hold you to that," the Commander says. "But if we do have to use it, then I'm going to be surprised." She then looks at Isaac and Ellie. "I take it you two don't need a refresher course?"
"I designed the ship, ma'am," Isaac replies. "And even if I hadn't, I know the sequence like the back of my hand. As should Ellie, right?"
Ellie nods. "We'll be ready when the time comes, Commander," she says.
Shepard nods. "Good," she says. "I wouldn't have accepted anything less." She then turns to the rest of the docking bay where we are. "Now we just need to wait for the others to get here and we'll be good to go."
I nod, looking down the ramp. I see someone turn the corner, and as he walks up to us... hey!
"Kaidan," I say, pushing off the railing. "I guess you're here too."
The Staff Commander walks up to us with a nod. "The Commander asked me to come," he says.
"I kinda figured that," I say, crossing my arms. "And I guess this means that you two are on good terms again?"
"We are," he says.
"Yes," Shepard confirms with a shrug. "He actually ended up testifying on my behalf during the trial. I expect you two to be nice to each other."
"I don't think you'll have to tell us that, Shepard," I say. "We sort of made up on our own time."
"Oh." The Commander looks pretty pleased by this. "I'm glad you did."
"Yeah," I say. "So while we're off on this ship, we should be good." I then look over to Isaac. "I'm guessing now that you know something about me, you learned a little something about Isaac, too."
"Of the sort," Kaidan. He then turns to Isaac. "The Commander told me about your... true backstory. I can't say I believe all of it, but... if it's all true, I'm sorry. That must've been rough to go through, and especially with a lot of people backstabbing you."
Isaac sighs. "It was," he says. "But I'm not going to dwell on the past. We've got bigger problems right now."
"True enough," Kaidan replies. "Still, if there's anything you need, just let us know."
The former CEC engineer chuckles. "Trust me, I think I've got that covered," Isaac replies.
I nod. "Well, we're all getting along marvelously," I comment. "So who's rounding out the party?"
"Oh, they're coming in soon," says Shepard. She then looks past Kaidan down the end of the ramp. "Actually, they're both here."
Both? Huh. I guess it was four other people after all. Well, it'll be a pretty large group, I guess, but that can only lead to good things. So... And they're here. Huh, lemme see who-
...
Whoah. Okay.
I stand up, looking at the two people that are coming up to them. One of them is Kal'Reegar, all bedecked with his weapons and all. He simply nods at Shepard as he walks up the ramp towards us, and I suspect that he's nodding at Ellie like the gentleman he is. So he walks up, and bows his head to the Commander.
But it's the second person that causes me to...
I walk forward, looking at her in surprise. Right as she gets up to us, I walk up to her, taking her hands in mine.
"Tali..." I say in surprise. "You're here..."
Tali simply looks at me, and I know she's looking at me. "You're surprised?" she asks.
"I... yes," I say. "I just... This is definitely something."
"It is," Tali says. "Is there...?"
"I don't know," I say. "It just seems a little sudden, you being here and all that."
"Shepard only asked me an hour ago," Tali replies. "And even when she did ask, I had to think about it for a little bit." She looks down, even as she rubs my hands with her thumb. "In the end, you can thank Kasumi for why I'm here. She talked me into it." She shakes her head. "I have no idea how, but... I guess I just have to confront some things."
I nod. "I guess there is room for that yet," I say. "Well, if there's anything you need, I'll be right here, querida."
I can sense that Tali is smiling for the first time in ages. "That's good to know, my hesh'alan," she replies, even as we drop hands.
I then look to Shepard, shrugging. I notice that Kaidan's eyebrows are raised in surprise, but he doesn't really say anything more as we look directly at the ship in question. I glance over to Isaac, and cross my arms as I turn my attention back to the ship itself. Shepard looks up to it, glancing at a particular part.
"Well, we're all here," she says. "But there's one thing we need to do about this ship before we leave. This ship... it needs a name."
"I thought it might get confusing just referring to this thing as 'the ship'," Kaidan supplies. "And it really doesn't have a name?"
"Not that the rachni queen gave me, anyway," says Shepard. "So this ship needs a name."
I look at the ship intensely as Shepard finishes saying this. I'm wondering why she only brings this up now. But that doesn't matter. What does matter, is that we need to name this ship something. And this ship is going to take us somewhere unknown, and it was built with technology that came from another universe. And on top of that, this is just... Hm...
I raise my hand, pointing at the ship. "I think I've got just the thing," I say.
An hour and forty-five minutes later, we're in orbit over Khar'shan. Ellie and Isaac are already working the controls, with Shepard standing by. Kaidan stands by her, and I simply sit on a chair further back in this ship. I glance over to Tali from where she's standing off to the side, looking over some of the ship's design with Mordin. Kal is sitting in the other chair, though, and still looking in wonder at the ship we're in. Yeah, it's one thing to play Isaac walking into the USG Kellion, but to actually step into an expy of it... that's something else entirely. And it feels crazy, even if it's only an imitation of what could have been.
If there's one thing I had to complain about though... jeez, talk about uncomfortable seats! I mean, really, they couldn't find any padding from any crashed ships or anything like that? That's... yeah.
I look forward, though, as Isaac steps out of a chair that he was occupying. Shepard immediately sits in this chair, and looks right outside. I watch her press a button, and then find myself standing and walking forward a little bit. Everyone's attention is then turned to Shepard as she begins talking.
"Joker, this is Shepard," she says. "Do you copy?"
"I copy, Commander," Joker's voice says. "You sure about this, Shepard? I mean, you're going into an unknown place with only some guy's dreams to say 'oh, hey, that's gonna be important'. I dunno, but I wouldn't trust things like that."
"I know it sounds crazy," Shepard says. "But it's more than how you put it. Some prothean put a lot of willpower into etching those coordinates out for us to find. If that's the case, this has to be important."
"I guess so," says Joker. "Just get your ass back to Khar'shan when you're done, okay?"
"You better believe we'll be back," says Shepard. "And when we come back, maybe we'll let you pilot this baby all by yourself."
"Sure, you tell yourself that," says Joker. "The Normandy's the only baby I need."
"Right," says Shepard. She shakes her head. "Back to business, Joker. We're taking the SSV Satie on its not-quite-maiden voyage. Shepard out."
And with this, Shepard cuts the comm line. As soon as she finishes saying this, she stands up, and Isaac takes the controls again. "All right," Isaac says. "The ShockPoint Jump is almost ready. Now, we just need to do this-" he said as his hands manipulated the controls of the SSV Satie, "-and..."
Immediately after Isaac says this, I hear a whirring sound coming from the engine. It's very faint, though, and it's barely audible around everything else. And almost instantly, the lights outside the window of the ship morph in a very strange way. Before I know what has happened, the outside of our ship is surrounded by what looks like numerous rings of gray light that just pass around us every three seconds. The ambience is grey all around, and the rings... it's like we're flying through smoke here...
I step forward as Isaac and Ellie stand up. "Well, the ShockPoint drive went off without a hitch," says Isaac. "I almost expected it to end badly, honestly."
"I can't say I blame you," says Shepard. "Being constructed by people who weren't familiar with the technology... I'll say there must've been some guessing involved." She then looks at Isaac and Ellie. "So we're on our way."
"Yes," says Ellie. "Our ETA is about three hours."
Shepard nods. "All right," she says. "I expect all of you to be ready after three hours. We don't know what we'll find on the other side, but we'll find out soon enough."
We all nod and/or salute the Commander, and then I find myself sitting back in the chair, looking out the window at the grey rings that the SSV Satie passes through on its way to whatever the protheans wanted us to find.