2185 CE - Flotilla
Morinth had affected her more than she realised - the asari had used powerful drugs and the attempted mind meld had left her with a bitch of a headache. They were nothing like that of Liara's. Not that Morinth had the chance to Embrace Eternity but there was a subtle difference between the two. The doctor's probing had been soft, almost inquisitive while the Ardat-Yakshi's attempt had drawn her in with violence and temptation. Thank goodness Samara had shown up when she did, Shepard wasn't entirely sure she could have resisted any longer.
After the whole ordeal, Samara had locked herself in the observation to grieve; it had been a shock to Shepard when she found out that the Justicar had the misfortune of killing her own daughter. She couldn't imagine what that possibly could feel like. She'd have to check on her later, try to see if Samara was willing to speak about it at their meditation lessons. Maybe worrying about Samara was what was making her so irritable, standing in front of the Admiral Board for Tali, as her captain.
The young quarian had been stripped of her rights, even her own ship name, for this ridiculous accusation and since her father was dead, Tali had to take the fall in his place. That was... beyond idiotic.
The worst part of this was the fact that Tali was willing to take the fall, after discovering what her father had been doing on the Alarei. Shepard rubbed at her helmet, her forehead itchy but couldn't find relief because of possible contamination. They hadn't even waited for them to be finished with clearing the ship of the re-activated geth.
They were just about to finalise her exile when they walked in. Shepard saw red by that point. All their bickering and finger pointing was driving her insane considering this had absolutely nothing to do with Tali and everything to do with this looming geth / quarian war.
"Do you have anything to offer as evidence to clear Tali of charges?"
She looked over to her friend, someone who'd had her back for years, even helped her take down Saren when the Citadel was literally falling apart. Tali twisted her hands worriedly, the purple mask hiding her worried eyes but she could still see the white slits – she didn't want her father's name to be wiped out, all their hard work and good for the Flotilla forgotten. Shepard had enough.
"Shepard, wait – don't-" Tali started as Shepard walked forward, ignoring the quarian.
Shepard leaned over, her armoured hands grabbing the bar in front of them and she stared them down, straightened up and waved off the board. "This is a waste of fucking time, let's get the hell out of here, Tali."
"What? This is an official inquiry, Captain Shepard, you cannot just walk out-"
"And why not?" Shepard turned on her heel, shrugging her shoulder with Tali still waiting at the bar in front of them. "If this is an official inquiry into Tali's loyalty and work, shouldn't you be looking at her record?" Shepard marched back, anger rolling off of her in waves.
"This quarian has been deemed Saviour of the Citadel along with me, she was there when we brought down the geth and Saren, stopped Sovereign from summoning more of his kind into our space. She's dedicated and loyal. She would never put her people in harm's way and this whole trial is a sham anyways. You're all wrapped up in your own bickering politics and using her as a scapegoat."
The Admiralty board was stunned into silence, not realising that their open apprehension to the upcoming war was that obvious, the four of them shifted uncomfortably under Shepard's scrutiny. She wasn't done by a long shot.
"Anyway, our current mission is of the suicidal sort so none of this really matters. Take her rights away if you want, ignore all the good she's done for the Galaxy to fight the geth to make your own little squabbles better. She's part of my crew and my ship and I won't allow you to continuously harass her like this. So yeah, this is a waste of time."
This time, Shepard pulled at Tali's arm, who followed her without protest, a small sense of pride burning in Tali's belly as she walked away. She didn't reveal the truth of her father. She kept her word.
"Wait, Shepard –" They both stopped in their tracks, half way up the stairs. She refused to turn around.
"Make it quick." She snapped, the crowd watching the drama unfolding. She hated putting on shows but things had to be done to get your way.
"You're right, we are blinding ourselves with other issues that have nothing to do with Tali, please forgive us."
Shepard looked over her shoulder, shaking her head. "It's not me you should be asking for forgiveness."
The admirals all looked at each other and nodded, omni-tools flaring to life as they inputted their verdict.
"Tali'Zorah Vas Normandy, with your excellent record and lack of evidence, we clear you of all charges of treason." Tali let out a bark of nervous laughter, her gaze landing on Kal'Reegar who was nodding at her from the back of the room, there was a huge round of applause in agreement with the verdict that lifted Tali's spirit, putting her at ease finally. Shepard tugged at Tali again, this time smiling at the quarian.
"Fantastic, glad that gamble worked - now let's get out of here."
