A/N: This chapter has been edited.
After it being pointed out and a bit of consideration on my part, I decided I was slightly too over the top with the portrayal of Han'Gerrel. Honestly, I blame his actions in ME3 (don't worry, for those who have not played it, no spoilers...we'll just say he pissed me off to no end).
In the spirit of being fair and truer to the character, I have altered some of his dialogue. I also fixed some minor typos and a reference to Tali's hair...which Shepard, of course, has never seen.
Enjoy!
Shepard could recall only two or three times in her life where she had been just as furious as she was now. Given the fact that Shepard started off a good day anywhere from mildly irritated to exceedingly pissed off, that was saying something.
She wanted to let fire loose on the Admiralty Board, tell them exactly how reprehensible she thought they were, how stupid, blind and outright cruel. Not telling Tali that her father was dead? Her friend? Dragging her in for a trial without even word one of the charges, just to hit her with all this?
She knew, however, that to do so would do Tali no favors…nor the rest of the quarian people. It was not their fault their Admirals were a bunch of assholes.
Still her voice was stone, edged with fire as she spoke as evenly as she could, her arm still slung around Tali. "Admirals, I request permission to put this trial on hold and secure the Alarei."
"Y-yes," Tali echoed immediately, straightening. Her voice was thick, quavering, but determined. "Yes, please…you have to let us retake the ship! Find…find out what really happened!"
"Twenty of our best marines could not retake the ship," the terse male snorted. "What makes you think that you can?"
"Admirals, you know what I can do," Shepard retorted. "I fought the geth on Eden Prime. I fought the geth on Feros and Noveria, with Tali. I fought them on the Citadel, on Haestrom. No one knows more about how geth work than Tali does, and no one knows more about how to tear them apart then I do. Let us try. We can clear the ship, restore it to quarian control, and with luck…we'll find out how the geth really got on board because I don't believe for one goddamn minute Tali had anything to do with it."
"Hmm. Well, I suppose if you're looking for an honorable death-"
"I'm looking for my father, you bosh'tet!" Tali snarled with surprising venom, fury and grief shaking her small frame. "I'm looking for my friend!"
Shepard gripped her shoulder. "Admirals, please. The safety of this Fleet must be priority."
The three exchanged looks, then glanced up at Shala'Raan, who nodded. "Very well, Captain Shepard. You and Tali will be allowed to attempt to retake the Alarei, and find evidence of what occurred there. This trial will resume upon your return…or upon determination that you have been killed in action."
"I will notify my ship immediately," Shepard stated. "My team can be ready in-"
"Unfortunately, that won't be possible," the other female Admiral spoke again. She was much quieter than her male companions, her voice exotic enough, but sharp and hard. "You are here out of courtesy as Tali's captain, and we will allow you to board the Alarei with her under that same courtesy, however that does not extend to the rest of your crew. We will not compromise this Fleet more than it already has been."
"Quarian troops then! Surely you can give me-"
"You don't seem to understand this, Captain, so I shall make it plain. We do not expect that you or Tali'Zorah will survive. We have lost twenty trained marines and the entire crew of the ship…we cannot afford to lose any more. Tali has chosen her fate, and her choice is to die with honor rectifying her mistake-"
"You have not yet proven it is her mistake!" Shepard accused furiously. "This…this is an execution? Without proof, without solid proof you're expecting her to throw her life away on speculation and circumstance?"
"She has made her choice," the terse male replied. "Tali, if you wish we can simply destroy the Alarei and resume this trial."
"No!" Tali gasped, then gripped Shepard's arm. "Shepard, please…we have to try."
She heard the human woman actually growl under her breath, and could feel the tension in her muscles even through her hard-suit. For a moment, the young quarian had a vision of Shepard actually hauling out her rifle and opening fire on the Admiralty Board. It made her shudder.
"Please, Shepard!"
"Admirals, I would like permission to accompany Ms. Zorah and Captain Shepard."
Shepard turned her head at the oddly familiar voice, as a young male quarian stepped out of the seats and walked toward them.
"Kal?" Tali blinked.
"Kal'Reegar, this is not your affair," the first male responded.
"Reegar is within his rights to make such a request," Shala intoned. "Crew can stand with accused in such a matter."
"Reegar is not Tali's crew!" he huffed.
"Kal'Reegar stood with us on Haestrom," Shepard said quickly, turning her eyes back to the Admirals. "He was under Tali's command on that project, and I would be honored to consider him temporarily under my command."
"Kal'Reegar, will you accept Captain Shepard's command?" Shala asked before any more protests could be made.
"I would, Admiral," Reegar replied. "I would be honored."
"Then it is done. You three will depart on a shuttle for the Alarei and attempt to retake the ship. This hearing is recessed until the success or failure of that mission. Keelah se'lai."
As a low rumble of voices filled the room, Shepard turned her head toward Tali. The poor girl looked smaller than before, wilted somehow. She was still shaking as she looked at Reegar.
"Th-thank you, Kal," she said. "I…y-you didn't have to do that."
"I did, ma'am," Reegar replied. "Not sure how much help one more gun is going to be but…I don't believe for a second this is your doing, and if I can help prove that then…that's what I'm going to do. Besides, I saw your captain in action, heard your stories. Hell, give her a spanner and a tazer and let her loose, I'd almost believe she could retake the ship on her own."
Shepard might have laughed at any other time. Right now, she was too tense, too angry, to even smirk at the man's attempt at levity.
"Me too," Tali agreed weakly.
Reegar inclined his head, cleared his throat. "I'll go and make sure the shuttle is ready. We'll depart soon."
As he walked away, Shepard took Tali's arms. "You ok?"
"How could I be anything even close to ok?" Tali asked, her voice breaking. "This is a nightmare, Shepard…I keep waiting to wake up! Father…Deefa…what if this is my doing? What if I made some kind of mistake? How can I live with that, Shepard? How can I live knowing that I put the Fleet in danger, that I'm the reason my father and best friend are-"
"Hey, enough of that…" Shepard said kindly. "You didn't do anything wrong, Tali. I know it. I know you too well to believe this of you. You know more about the geth than anyone. If you say those parts you sent were safe then they were safe. Something else happened, and we're going to find out what. We-"
She broke off as she caught an approaching form from the corner of her eye. Stiffening when she realized it was Shala'Raan, Shepard was on the verge of a tongue-lashing the likes of which she had never before produced…when Tali beat her to the punch.
"Raan! How could you!" the young quarian fumed, her voice trembling and breaking with both sorrow and fury. "How could you not tell me! Father, and Deefa? Your own daughter, Raan! You couldn't tell me?"
"Tali," the older woman's voice was surprisingly gentle, filled with emotion she was keeping under tight control. "It was the only chance I could give you. The Admirals, the Conclave…they had to see it, had to hear your grief and disbelief. Without it they may not have let you and your Captain attempt to take the Alarei."
"So you manipulated her to manipulate them," Shepard said icily. "For…what? A foolish charge into a geth-controlled ship? A ship where a whole crew and squadron were already slaughtered? You wanted to give her a chance to take the quarian equivalent of execution?"
"No!" Shala'Raan said insistently, her voice rough. "Captain, Tali…please, listen. I know that Tali did not do this. I know her as well as you do, Captain. She would never do anything to hurt the Fleet. There is evidence of her innocence aboard that ship, I know there is. Deefa…knew it too. That is why she insisted her squadron be the one to go in. She refused to believe that you could have a hand in this, Tali, and she was determined to prove it before the Admirals could truly levy a charge of treason."
Tali lowered her head, a faint choke emerging from her throat. Shala's voice sounded thicker as well, as she continued. "I have listened to your stories as she did, Tali...and not just those. I found stories of Captain Shepard on my own, as well."
Her face-plate turned to Shepard. "I knew that if Tali had you at her side when she went aboard the Alarei, not only was that the best chance that it could be taken back, but that you would stop at nothing to find the evidence, and to keep Tali safe…even if it cost your own life."
Shepard stayed silent. It was true, of course, but her fury over this whole farce was unabated. Reaching out, Shala'Raan gently lay a hand on Tali's shoulder. "You are as good as a daughter to me, Tali. Your mother was as good as a sister. I have…I have lost one daughter already. Please…I have no wish to lose a second. Not to death or exile…or hatred."
The three sat in the back of the shuttle as it departed the Rayya. Tali sat with her elbows on her knees, leaning forward and cradling her face-plate in her hands. Shepard sat next to her, one hand resting on her back.
"C-can we do this, Shepard?" Tali asked in a small voice after a moment.
"Of course we can," Shepard told her. "Fuck, Tali…we've been in tighter places than this."
"I…I'm trying to hope, Jie Jie," Tali whispered. "Hope that…that my father is still alive…that Deefa made it through somehow…that we will make it through…"
"We will," Shepard insisted.
"Believe it or not, ma'am, you do have most of the Admiralty Board on your side," Kal'Reegar offered. Shepard looked over at him.
"Didn't seem that way."
"Well, Shala'Raan had to recuse herself but even so…her opinion holds weight. Zaal'Koris thinks this was all just a huge mistake-"
"He does?" Tali asked in surprise, lifting her head to look at Kal. "Zaal'Koris hates Father."
"I don't know if 'hate' is the word I'd choose," Reegar shrugged. "They don't see eye to eye, that's true, but he respects your father, and you too."
"How don't they see eye to eye?" Shepard asked.
"Zaal'Koris thinks it is wrong for us to prepare against the geth, to do weapons tests and countermeasure tests on their technology," Tali supplied. "He thinks we should find a colony world and settle down instead of trying to take back Rannoch."
"And…your father disagrees?"
"So do I," Tali replied. "Even if we were lucky enough to find a colony world that's even remotely compatible to our physiology, it would take hundreds of years before we would adapt. If we took back Rannoch, we could adapt back in decades. Unfortunately, war with the geth is the only way that is ever going to happen."
"A war Han'Gerrel is all for," Kal'Reegar stated, folding his arms.
"That was the one with the attitude, wasn't it?" Shepard asked narrowly.
"Yes ma'am."
"And the woman…? She didn't say much. What's her take?"
"Admiral Daro'Xen vas Moreh," Tali mumbled, as if speaking the name too loudly would cause the woman herself to appear. "She thinks we should take the geth back."
"Take them back?" Shepard gaped. "You mean, re-enslave them?"
"Yes," Reegar stated. "Fortunately, she thinks this trial is a waste of time. So do a lot of quarians. Truth be told, ma'am…this trial is a joke."
"Doesn't feel like a joke," Tali said hotly.
"I know," he replied sympathetically. "However it's not about you…never was. Keelah, they have no evidence you did anything at all, Tali. Someone heard a rumor that you were sending geth parts to your Father…that is all they are running on."
"That's it?" Shepard glared. "Someone heard a rumor and now Tali's on trial?"
"If the situation weren't this big this would never have come this far," Reegar agreed. "Truth be told this trial is really about the Admirals. Should we go to war, should we not, should we take back our home, should we take back the geth…they're using this to forward their own agendas, you mark my words. They'll use Tali and whatever outcome to this farce as a stomping ground to rally the Fleet into battle…or away from it. It's all crap."
Shepard had always hated politicians. Now that hatred only grew. They would ruin Tali's life, send her into what they were sure was certain death, all to forward their own agendas?
Fuck that bullshit. I'll clear her name, clear that goddamn ship, and shove the evidence down their fucking throats.
Thick smears of purple made a weaving line over the gray floor, tracing here and there across the wide, quiet bridge. In the soft orange glow of the emergency lighting, the trail looked almost black.
Near the center of the room, the smears were wider, mingling with splashes of white that still leaked slowly from the ruined geth sprawled only a few feet away. A rifle with a jammed thermal clip was dropped at its side. Next to it, a quarian's helmet had been discarded.
In the distance, she heard the rattle of gunfire again. Her eyelids moved open slightly, her luminescent gaze faint pearls in the darkness.
More gunfire, closer. Distant voices floated through the dark like ghosts, ever so faint. For a moment her bare three-fingered hand rested on the pistol sitting beside her, before it clasped instead to the OSD laying on her leg.
Another pair of shots, then voices. The door to the bridge hissed open. Almost immediately, there was a cry.
"Father!"
Around the central console, if she leaned her head just so, she could see the three shadows across the room. Two were unmistakably quarian. The third…human? Surely, it could not be human…?
Her eyelids fluttered again and sagged, the voices floating to her like a dream.
"Father, no! No…no, please…Keelah, you…you always had a plan! An…onboard stasis program maybe-"
"Tali…"
"No! He wouldn't leave me like this! He wouldn't-"
"Mei Mei…"
A choked sob. Long lashes fluttered again as she forced her eyes open. One of the shadows was crumpled on her knees next to the still, fallen form of Rael'Zorah. A second was crouching beside her, arms slung around the sobbing figure, comforting.
Tali. It's Tali…
The realization filtered slowly through her mind, like a fish trying to struggle through cold mud. Her other hand shifted against her chest, fingers dark with tendrils of blood.
"Tali…"she whispered, her voice almost inaudible, even to her.
"Shepard, I…oh Keelah," Tali moaned, a sob catching in her throat.
It is a human. It's her captain, Shepard…
Warmth moved through her throat a moment and weakly she moved her lips, swallowing back the taste of blood.
"Tali…" she whispered again, but her voice was no louder than it had been before.
"M-maybe he left a message," Tali sniffled at last, her sobs lessening a little. "He…he had to know someone would come, maybe…"
There was a faint flare of orange as Tali activated her father's omni-tool. Rael'Zorah's voice filled the air.
"Tali, if you are hearing this, then I did not make it. I tried so hard, Tali…made so many foolish mistakes. I am sorry that this will leave you only pain. I…am sorry I was not a better father to you. I…I managed to save evidence of what we were doing here on the main bridge terminal. The Fleet will see that you are innocent of this. It…it is the only gift I have left. I love you, Tali…"
The voice ended, the orange glow fading away. At the soft renewal of weeping, the eyelashes once more tried to lift, faint eyes tried to focus.
"He left proof, Tali," the human, Shepard, said quietly. "The geth are dead. The ship is taken back, and you can clear your name. It's…not what you wanted, not ideal but…he did the best he could."
Tali took in a shaky breath, then got to her feet. "Y-yes, he…he did," she sniffled, seemed to steel herself. Crossing the room on the other side of the console bank, Tali and her captain vanished from direct sight. The other quarian was lingering near Rael's body, regarding it silently.
"If I can just access…" Tali began, then seemed to gasp in a horrified breath.
"What's wrong?" Shepard asked.
"The…the console has been wiped! Everything but the very basic data interface has been cleared…Shepard, there's nothing here!"
Panic was clear in the other girl's voice. Struggling for air, gritting her teeth, the dying quarian made one last effort.
"Tali…"
"…Shepard, there's nothing here!"
Taking Tali's shoulder, Shepard half-leaned over, looking at the display herself. The quarian was right…everything had been wiped, leaving only the basic operating system intact.
Who would wipe it? The geth? Why would they care…?
A soft sound instantly drew her attention and within the same heartbeat, she had her pistol in hand, pulling Tali back a pace. "Did you hear that?"
"Wh-what?" Tali whispered, even as Kal'Reegar turned his head.
"Keelah!" he gasped, spotting something on the other side of the console. "Tali!"
Even as he rushed forward, shipping his weapon, Tali and Shepard stepped around the console.
Slumped in the corner was a quarian woman. One hand was resting on her lap, holding something. The other was plastered to her chest. The front of her suit was soaked dark with blood, more still leaking through her pale fingers.
Pale, because they were bare…as was her head and face. She had removed her gloves and helmet.
Her hair color was impossible to tell in the dim light. Lighter than Rekka's but indistinguishable in hue. Her luminescent eyes were half-closed, pale and faded, not nearly as bright as Rekka's had been.
"Deefa!" Tali gasped in horror, rushing to the girl's side. Her left hand plastered over the wound. "Wh-why did you take off your helmet? Shepard, we need medi-gel!"
Shepard was already fishing a pack out of her belt, moving over to the girl's other side. As she started to crack it open, however, Deefa lifted her closed hand off her lap and weakly waved Shepard's hand away. "No…" she said softly. "Too late for that…I'm afraid."
"No, Deefa," Tali sobbed, grasping the other girl's cheek with her right hand. "Deefa, we can still help you, we can-"
"Shh, listen to me," the girl murmured. As if they weighed a thousand pounds each Deefa lifted her hands and grasped Tali's, pressing an OSD into her palm. "I saved it…wiped it from the system. No one will know…"
"Kn-know what?"
"Proof…your father…I'm sorry, Tali…"
"Deefa, I don't understand…please, let us help you! We can get you back to the Flotilla, get you treated…you'll be fine, Deefa…Rekka needs you, we all need you…please…"
Tali's voice was rough with sobs, the extent of emotion she'd gone through more than taking its toll.
"Deefa, we can at least try," Shepard urged, more for Tali's sake than the young marine's. She could see the wound, see the amount of blood lost. Even if she were in a surgical lab right now with the best doctors in the galaxy, Shepard doubted she had a chance.
"Commander Shepard," the girl managed a faint smile as her eyes shifted to the human's. "Tali said…her stories…I…"
"Shh, just take it easy," Shepard murmured.
"I'm glad I got to meet you," Deefa whispered. "When Tali would speak of you I knew…I knew someday, that I wanted to be as you were. Strong…fearless…noble…"
"Deefa," Tali moaned softly.
"You are strong, fearless, and noble," Shepard told the girl. "I am the one that should be honored."
Deefa's faint smile grew only a slight amount, her weary face lighting up a heartbeat with joy. "I dreamed of the day that I could serve with you, Commander. I even hoped…silly…but…I hoped that I could be the first…first quarian Spectre…"
Shepard's jaw tightened, and she nodded. "I can imagine no one better for it than you."
Deefa's hand fumbled up, catching hold of Shepard's and squeezing it. Her other hand was still clasped in Tali's, the OSD pressed between their palms.
"Take care of Tali, Commander," Deefa whispered. Her eyes were barely open now, her breathing clearly labored. "She's…hopeless."
"Who are you calling 'hopeless', you thundering meat-head?" Tali gasped, sniffling. Deefa smiled again, but the expression faded almost before it had begun. Those half-lidded luminescent eyes fixed to a point beyond all mortal sight, and the wet, laborious breaths stilled. Tali choked back another sob, leaning forward until her head rested against her friend's.
"After time adrift among open stars," she murmured, her voice rough and trembling. "Along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began. You are one of our family, Deefa'Raan vas Rayya. You are loved."
Her voice broke a moment, before she managed to finish. "Keelah se'lai."
"Keelah se'lai," Reegar and Shepard both echoed softly, before Shepard gently reached up and closed the young marine's eyes.
Shepard carefully lay the girl on the bench in the shuttle, respectfully folding her hands over her chest. She glanced over as Reegar entered with Rael'Zorah, giving him a nod. Now that the ship was secure again, a crew could come in and retrieve the other poor souls who had died on the Alarei, but these two were not being left behind.
As Reegar started to situate Rael, Shepard stepped back out of the shuttle. Tali was lingering just within the docking clamp, her omni-tool lit…watching the data taken from the OSD that Deefa had salvaged.
"Tali?" Shepard asked softly.
The girl was still shaking as she switched the feed off. She took a step backward, then wavered and fell back slightly, her shoulders catching on the wall. Alarmed, Shepard strode forward and caught hold of her.
"Tali?"
"I'm…all right," Tali murmured, sounding anything but. "We…we can't give this evidence to the Board, Shepard."
"Why not? Does it clear your name?"
"Yes…" Tali told her. "It is proof that my father is the one that directed the geth to be rebuilt, networking them. There is evidence that I only sent deactivated parts…they received other parts from elsewhere and took it…took it upon themselves to rebuild the units. He…he was taking drastic risks, Shepard…all for…for me…to build me a home on Rannoch. To keep his promise."
"Tali, he made a mistake. He did it out of love but…he took a risk that didn't pan out," Shepard told her. "He had the best of intentions, and…I'm so sorry, Mei Mei. I…"
She lowered her head. She felt so helpless. She should have done something more. If they had moved faster, maybe they would have gotten to Deefa in time to make a difference. Losing her father was hard enough. Seeing her friend like that on top of it, holding her while she died…
She cleared her throat. "Tali, if this evidence can clear you, then we need to present it to the Board as quickly as we-"
"No," Tali insisted. "No, don't you see, Shepard? If I give this evidence to the Board my father will be judged to be a war criminal…no, the worst war criminal in the history of our people! My father loved his people, Shepard. He made a mistake! He would be…his name would be…oh, Keelah, it would be horrible. He doesn't deserve that, Shepard. He doesn't deserve having everything he was destroyed over a stupid mistake!"
"Tali, you don't deserve to be exiled over his stupid mistake, either!"
"I would rather that, than ruin everything my father was! Please, Shepard. Deefa knew this. She saw the data. That is why she wiped the local copy, so no one else would see it. I…"
She broke down again, sagging forward. Shepard caught her, hugging her tightly. She could feel her own eyes heating as she pressed them closed. After a moment she nodded. "C'mon. We have to get back, Mei Mei, or they'll decide we're dead and this won't matter."
Tali allowed herself to be steered onto the shuttle. Reegar had found a pair of emergency thermal blankets in the shuttle's storage and had used them to cover Deefa and Rael. Tali fought not to look at the neatly wrapped shapes, keeping her eyes fixed to the window the entire flight back.
As soon as they docked, Reegar waved them on. "I'll stay here and make sure these two are taken care of," he urged. "You two need to get back in there."
Shala'Raan stood at the entrance to the promontory, her hands gripping the railing so tightly she seemed to be trying to bend it by sheer force of strength.
"I don't like it any more than you do, Shala, but we have to face facts. They're dead," Han'Gerrel said sternly. "Call it."
"No," she murmured. "No, you don't know that. Commander Shepard is more skilled than any of our marines. We must give them a chance. It has only been a few hours-"
"And our marine platoon under the skilled guidance of your own daughter only lasted five minutes," he shot back.
She released the railing, whirling on him. "How dare you," she gasped, struggling against the pain wanting to close her throat. "My daughter gave her life bravely for this Fleet, she-"
"Brave or not, Shala, she's gone," he replied. "The same for Commander Shepard and Tali'Zorah, and because of his decency, Kal'Reegar as well! Your daughter was skilled, I'll admit, but she was far too inexperienced to have been sent over to that ship! You knew that when you sent her!"
"Gerrel! That's enough!" Zaal'Koris admonished hotly. "Deefa had her reasons for going and Shala her reasons for granting permission. Don't be cruel on top of it. Your son is a marine! Had it been his squad we had lost-"
"My son has twenty more years experience than Deefa'Raan had-" he stepped up toward Koris furiously before Daro'Xen suddenly spoke up.
"This conversation is moot," she announced. "Shepard and Tali'Zorah have just redocked and are on their way here right now."
"What of Kal'Reegar?" Koris asked.
"Alive as well," Xen replied.
Shala sucked in a trembling breath of relief, struggling not to let it show. "Then let us finish this."
Turning back to the promontory she strode out and activated the chime. The Conclave, who were milling about in quietly murmuring knots, began to filter back to their seats as the Admirals took up their positions.
Shala's eyes fixed to Tali as the pair entered the plaza. She did not seem injured…neither did the human captain.
Thank you for that, she thought in prayer to whatever force was listening. By the very stars, thank you at least for that.
"Captain Shepard," she said as neutrally as she was able as the two took their positions. "Tali'Zorah. What news do you bring?"
"The Alarei has been cleared," Shepard replied sternly. "The geth have been eliminated and the ship is secure and awaiting a retrieval team."
"That is excellent news," Zaal'Koris said, sounding surprised. "I see your skills have not been exaggerated, Captain Shepard."
"Oh, it wasn't my skills that did it," Shepard replied brusquely. "You owe the salvage of your ship and the safety of this Fleet to one person, and it's not me."
"Oh? Then to who?" Han'Gerrel demanded.
"Deefa'Raan vas Rayya," Shepard stated firmly. Shala felt her heart quicken, and straightened a little.
"Deefa…" she murmured.
"What are you talking about?" Gerrel demanded. "The marine unit was slaughtered-"
"Yes, they were," Shepard admitted. "When we arrived on board we, unfortunately, found the remains of the crew and the marines. However there was something else we found. A fuck of a lot of dead geth."
As the surprised murmur moved through the Conclave Shepard straightened and squared her shoulders. "On the entire Alarei we found only four active geth units…however we found nearly thirty already destroyed. The four still in action were damaged, and easy enough to put down. The marines put up a hell of a fight, Admirals. They did you proud."
Her synthetic eyes seemed to fix to Shala'Raan, her gaze penetrating. "Deefa was a hero, Admiral. She lived as a hero, she fought as a hero, and I'm saddened to say that she died as a hero."
Shala lowered her head slightly, the pain of grief stealing her breath a moment. Though logically she had known all the while that it was impossible that Deefa could have survived, she had clung to some thread, a desperate hope that Shepard would find her and bring her back again alive. It was the hope of a mother who did not wish to mourn her beautiful child.
It was the hardest battle she had ever fought, to choke back her emotion, the aching stab of grief that wanted to send her to her knees, wanted to make her scream at the loss of her daughter. After a moment, she steadied, and looked up again.
"Thank you, Captain," she murmured.
"This is irrelevant to the issue before us," Zaal'Koris stated. "Those marines would not have died if it weren't for blind shortsightedness regarding the geth."
"Captain Shepard, do you have proof that Tali is innocent of her charges?" Han'Gerrel asked.
"Shepard, please…" Tali murmured tremulously, softly enough only the human woman heard her. Shepard looked around at the young quarian she called her Mei Mei. Behind her face-plate her gold synthetic eyes were depthless, inscrutable. They seemed to hold the weight of eternity within them…and the eternity they held seemed cold and bleak.
Turning back to face the Admirals, the human woman took a step forward. As she did, Tali's hand reached out, her fingers softly brushing over the arm of Shepard's hard-suit, a last terrified effort to stop the inevitable, to turn aside a tide that was so enormous, so destructive, it could wash away all life in a single moment.
As such a tide could not be turned by a single pebble, no matter how desperately thrown, neither did Tali's touch halt Shepard's forward motion as the commander stepped three paces forward…and made the decision that would change Tali's life forever.
