Mass Effect
Back In Time
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Disclaimer; If I owned Mass Effect, I would be making money for this story. And it would not be in this form.
Author's Note; I am back- I know it's been a while... My answer; Life. I am back now. And I will make up for it. I am going to post the three chapters I missed, and then some over the next few days.
P.S. I want to thank all my readers, and reviewers out there. Welcome back.
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Back In Time
Chapter Forty-Three
His steps took him to the Communications Room.
A quick code was keyed in, one that he had found from… questionable methods.
"Hello?" a voice spoke, rather high pitched.
"Is Missus Williams home?" he asked, rubbing at his eyes.
Never before had the Commander been so grateful that the Williams didn't give him a visual feed.
"Yes, let me go get her," the high pitched voice responded. After a moment, her faded voice called out. "Mom! Some guy wants to talk with you!"
"Did you ask for his name?" another voice chimed out.
"No, Mom, I didn't."
It was another moment before Missus Williams spoke again, this time her voice crystal clear through the comlink.
"Who is this?" she asked.
"Commander John Shepard of the Alliance, Missus Williams."
He almost choked when he talked, the words forced out of his body.
"Commander Shepard? You have Ashley on your ship, right?"
"Yes," he spoke through gritted teeth, his hands clasping onto the railing. "But I-"
"What's going on?"
"Are you sitting, Missus Williams?"
"No… Why?"
He squeezed his eyes shut.
"Ashley isn't going to come home the way you want her to."
There was a moment of silence.
"What? Are you telling me that…?"
"I am so sorry."
Tears slid down his face.
"I did the best I could… I couldn't save her."
Through the comlink, he heard a sob.
Then another.
Slowly, he sank to the floor, hands covering his face.
.~*~.
"Commander, I need to speak with you."
He pushed himself off of his bed, slowly moving to the door.
With the code, the door slid open, revealing his blue friend.
She looked up to him, eyes delving into his soul.
"I was thinking and-"
He shook his head, gesturing for her to follow him inside his room.
"Let's just get this over with," he commanded.
Liara looked shocked.
"Are you sure you want me to risk this again?"
He heard the pain in her voice, the subtle question.
At the moment, he didn't really care.
"Do it."
She glided over to him, blue hands resting on his shoulders.
"Embrace Eternity."
.~*~.
Tali, Garrus and Melanie all followed loyally by his side as he made his way through the Citadel.
He had made many stops along the way, speaking with the citizens on the galaxy.
Ignoring the news broadcasts, he made his way to the Flux.
"John," Melanie called.
He stopped, and looked over his shoulder at her, ignoring the admiring gleam in her eyes.
Her hand landed on his shoulder.
"That was a really good thing you did for that family back there," she nearly whispered.
"I wasn't going to stand by and let them fight," he stated. "I've seen enough fighting to last myself a thousand lifetimes."
He kept walking, moving out from under her hand.
Soon, the stairs to the Flux were in sight.
"Meet me inside," he stated, voice soft, and quiet, as he walked by. "I have some unfinished business to attend to."
He kept walking down the hallway, taking a deep breath as he made his way to the markets.
There stood Conrad Verner, in all of his glory.
.~*~.
"Do you think that the Commander's going to be alright?" Tali asked, her voice barley audible underneath the pounding music of the Flux.
"He's going to be fine," Melanie stated, attempting to ignore the colored undertones of the Quarian's voice. "He always is."
Garrus walked past them, looking to spot Anderson.
The Turian sat down at the table.
"On an emotional platform," Tali persisted. "Will he be okay?"
She turned, catching herself before she glared.
Melanie saw the weakness in the way she stood, the submissive worry in her eyes as they fell to the floor.
"I hope so," she responded, her voice barely a whisper.
At first, the Marine wasn't even sure if Tali had heard her voice in the music.
The Quarian's eyes snapped back to her.
"Uh… Melanie, I know we don't really talk much, but I was, uh, wondering if we could have a conversation while we wait for the Commander to get back."
Shepard suppressed the urge to raise an eyebrow, and nodded instead.
"Of course."
The two women found a table, sat down, and began talking.
Over the course of the conversation, their worried glances towards the door slowed, and the two began watching each other, both a little worried, and just a little scared.
.~*~.
On his way back to the Flux, Shepard saw a large group of people clamoring next to the balcony.
How had he not seen them on his way to Conrad?
He walked up to one of the Humans, possibly the leader, and stood.
"Commander Shepard. It is an honor to speak with you."
He stood there, asking questions, listening to the man's polite ranting about Terra Firma.
His arms folded over his chest.
His eyebrow rose.
His patience bled away.
Armistice Day…
"I understand where you're coming from, but with all due respect, I believe that we need to stand united with the other species."
The man gave a smile.
"Thank you, Commander Shepard, for at least understanding diplomacy."
He began to step away when he heard another voice call out his name.
"Commander? Is that you?"
He would have growled if he hadn't heard the distinct flanging of the voice.
Shepard turned to the voice, waving above the crowd to the beige colored Turian.
ShockWave pushed his way through the growing crowd to him, mandibles pulled back in a smile as his hand clasped onto another Turian's.
"ShockWave? It's good to see you," he stated, flashing a smile at the two Turians.
"Indeed; it is very good to see you."
The three stood for a moment, each looking the other up and down.
ShockWave wore a Turian suit, the female at his side, Nahvah, wearing a dress that had a slit up the side that began at the upward point of her hips.
Formal wear.
"Going somewhere?" he asked, the smile never fading.
"Home," Nahvah stated, nuzzling into ShockWave's side. "We've had enough fun for today."
"I'd like to disagree," ShockWave stated, one tattooed eye-ridge twitching upwards.
"Of course you would," she responded, a light laugh in her voice.
Shepard's smile only widened.
"Commander," Nahvah called, squirming out of ShockWave's arms. "Tarlevus told us to invite you over if we ever saw you here."
"I… apologize. The Normandy's been grounded, and-"
"Want our help with that?" ShockWave interrupted, his mandibles showing his sharp teeth.
"I actually have a friend, in the Flux, waiting for me, so that we can get this solved, so, uhm…"
ShockWave leaned to the side, nuzzling his forehead on Nahvah's, before he stood straight, adjusting his suit.
"Vah, I'll let you call the guys, and I'll make sure that our friends will be able to follow us back."
The Turian slung his arm around the Human, guiding him into the Flux.
"Shepard, you never know what an asset it can be to have friends in the Cabal."
He looked into the deep blue eyes of the Turian.
"You seem… different," he stated.
The Turian beamed.
"I have my honor, a family, friends, and my lover to fight at my side. What else could a Turian want?"
.~*~.
They were all huddled around the table, various maps projected above it.
"I could break into Udina's office," Anderson stated, pointing at the office on the map.
"You might need back up," Tar stated. "I'll go with you."
"Dad," a light voice called. "You'd attract too much attention with those neon tattoos."
The older Turian's eyes glanced upwards, as if he was trying to get a better look at the circle, and the crescent, that adorned his forehead.
"I guess you're right."
"I'll go," another flanging voice spoke up. "I'm pretty sure that I won't attract that much attention."
There was a laugh. "Rav, you self-absorbed-"
"You know I can do it," the light-skinned Turian stated, light blue tattoos softening as his mandibles pulled back in a confident smile.
"Brother, the females might get attracted by your 'spirit-like' appearance," Nahvah jibed from across the table.
"I feel as if Chaavla should go," Tar stated.
"Yes, yes," Chev called, pulling back his mandibles. "Send in your wife."
"She has more experience than any of you out in a battle field," Tar smirked.
"About five hundred more years," the Asari stated with a grin. "We'll be fine."
"We should send a few of our own with you guys, and keep some of the others along the way to keep a lookout."
"Our base of operations is here; if they figure out it's us, they might come back here. We need to leave some of us to guard our home."
"Vah, ShockWave, Aranar, I want you three to go with the Commander, assuming you will have us, Shepard," Tarlevus stated, green eyes flicking up to him.
"We are family."
The Cavras' eyes twinkled.
Then, he began pointing out spots on the various maps.
"Rav, I want you to stay here. Ny, stand out there, by that taxi platform. Chev, up on that balcony…"
.~*~.
There were twenty of them out on the Citadel, all ready, and waiting for the action that they knew was to come.
Seven of them, including Aranar, weren't even a part of the Cabal.
Well… I am one of the seven…
The Asari strutted in her work dress, the flourishing, fading colors marking her as one of the Consort's assistants.
She hated that job, but it gave her the money to look out for her extended family.
"His office is over here," she stated, no question in her voice. Chaavla had diplomats, some of them Human, come into the Consort's Chambers.
It was a part of her job to look through the information on the clients…
"Shepard, are you ready?" Anderson asked, hand up to his ear.
Chaavla heard the young Marine's response through her own earpiece; they had all connected them to allow for easier communications.
"We are standing by, Sir."
Anderson nodded at her.
She nodded in return.
Anderson opened the door, and strode inside, fists clenched.
Chaavla followed.
"Anderson? What are you doing here?"
A smirk crossed her face when the man raised his fist.
.~*~.
He stood, waiting.
The panel lit up green.
"Joker, get us out of here. Now."
A smile crossed the pilot's face as the Commander walked away.
.~*~.
"So you're Tar's daughter?" Melanie asked, raising an eyebrow.
The young Turian nodded, her mandibles pulling back in a small smile. "I am."
"But your mother is an Asari…"
The Aranar walked over to her, lightly padding on the metal.
"I was from a previous marriage. I never met my," she rose her fingers to air quote, "real mother."
Melanie nodded.
Garrus sat on the table, talons latching onto the edge.
"How old are you, Ara?" Garrus asked, one eye-ridge lifting.
"Fourteen."
"Oh," Melanie whispered, before letting a smirk cross her face. "So you're at the shoes and makeup stage?"
"Guns and bullets," Aranar corrected with a Turian grin.
"So what are you going to do when you're fifteen?" Garrus asked. "Join C-Sec?"
The smile faded from her face, her mandibles hugged her teeth.
"I wish I could answer that," she stated. "Dad thinks that I should go into one of the technology branches, but I'd rather fight the good fight."
"Maybe you could specialize in technology in… the Military? C-Sec…?"
"I'd rather be in the Military," she stated, green eyes glowing. "Like Dad is."
"Are you a biotic?" Melanie asked.
"No."
"Maybe you could be one of the intelligence units. There's technology in that…"
.~*~.
Commander John Shepard sank down onto his mattress.
They were going to Ilos.
There was a knock on his door.
"Shepard. It's me. Tali. Can I come in?"
He stood up, taking his time to get to the door.
Once the code was typed, the door slid open immediately.
Tali stepped inside.
Once she was far enough into the room, the door slid closed behind her.
"I'm worried about you, Shepard," Tali stated.
"Oh?" he challenged, letting his amusement color his voice.
She turned, her glowing eyes fixing on him.
"I had a feeling that you wouldn't take me seriously. I might as well leave."
His hand landed on her shoulder, his eyebrows pinching together.
"No. Don't go."
Her glowing eyes fell to the floor.
"Please," he added. "Please don't go."
There was a pause, a softly taken deep breath.
"Okay."
Shepard let his hand slide down her arm to her wrist. He took it in his hand, guiding her over to sit on his bed.
"You said you were worried?"
Tali nodded.
"John," she began. "After Jenkins and Ashley, I feel like I have that right to worry. Are you okay?"
He flashed a smile, even though it was just to reassure her.
"I'll be fine. Time heals almost all wounds."
Then he paused, his eyes falling to his feet.
His next words escaped him without a thought.
"I should be the one worried about you, Tali."
It was only a whisper, but it felt like a shout in the near silent room.
"Huh?" she squeaked.
"Umm…" he looked across the room as his arm rose to scratch his neck. He felt his face begin to warm. "I- I meant that… You and Ashley were pretty close. Are you doing alright?"
Tali's hands began wringing together.
"Like you said, time heals almost all wounds."
He nodded, letting his hand fall to his lap.
Slowly, he moved his hands to the bed, pushing himself up, moving away from her.
Tali sighed, her hands falling to the bed.
"I really want this to be over with," Tali stated.
"What to be over with?"
"No- I changed my mind. I never want this to end."
"What to end?"
She sighed again, exasperated.
"Maybe I should leave."
She shifted to her feet.
As she took a step, he reached out to her.
Tali nearly jumped as his hand latched onto her.
She looked down.
His eyes followed.
He almost let go of her, stunned by his impulsive action.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!
Her fingers curled around his hand.
In the silence, there was only one thing left that he could do; one thing left that he could say.
"Please don't go."
