-Two days after the attack on the Citadel-

-Christmas Day-

The medical bay of the EF-0 Dominus Ultra was eerily quiet. It was the only room aboard the Veins megacruiser that wasn't currently chock full of decor and music. Rather, it was a clean white, contrasting the usual Veins black, with no ambient noise other than the near-silent breathing of the room's only two living occupants.

The Founder tirelessly slaved over the body of his adopted son, who yet remained motionless. Alpha was connected to an arsenal of life-support equipment, preserving him in a state of partial life. Atlas had been working day in and day out in a continuous effort to revive him. At the moment, he was working inside Alpha's chest through the use of surgically-implanted nanobots and detailed real-time scans of his insides. Tali was watching silently from the seat opposite him, next to the medical cot. She didn't dare speak, or risk breaking The Founder's concentration. Luckily, he spoke first.

"Amazing." he muttered.

"What?" Tali asked hopefully.

Atlas gestured to Alpha's chest, "His heart; it was artificial. I just can't get over it. We had always assumed that it was just heavily augmented, but nope, it's a genuine robot heart. No wonder he lasted as long as he did; an organic heart would have stopped long before, regardless of augmentation."

"You sound like you're performing an autopsy." Tali said distastefully.

The Founder looked up at her. Without his usual mirrored sunglasses, she could see that his eyes were bionic, like Alpha's, but they were meant to look real. Indeed, the irises were a pale blue, but the pupils glowed faintly. "I might be doing just that, for all we know," he said almost offhandedly.

Tali was mortified at the notion. Atlas looked at her again and, seeing her reaction, rested his hands on the edge of the cot, taking a break from his work. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I understand that the two of you were close, and I'm going through the same shit that you are. Hell, he's my son! But there's only so much we can do to save him now. He had a hole in his heart for several hours, and people generally don't tend to come back from that."

Tali folded her arms over her chest as multiple doctors entered calmly and quietly, taking over for Atlas, who nodded his thanks. "Well, people don't generally do most of what Alpha can do. Let alone live through it." The Founder gestured to move elsewhere, and she shook her head defiantly, "No. I'm not leaving until I know he'll be okay."

Atlas grinned in a bittersweet manner, "Not trying leave the room, Tali, just have our conversation elsewhere in the room. The doctors need their space to work."

She reluctantly agreed.

"And to answer your statement? Yeah, most people can't. And Alpha isn't most people. But I've pulled my best doctors from around the galaxy away from their jobs and homes to work on him for the past two days, and all we've managed to do is hook him up to life support."

"What about his heart?"

"What about it?" Atlas asked, casually producing the bionic organ from his pocket.

Tali gasped, horrified, "Wh-what are you doing with that!? Shouldn't that be in his chest!?"

The Founder motioned for her to quiet down as some of the doctors shot her smoldering glares. "Normally, yes." he explained quietly, "But we're trying a new tactic. See, this thing's shot, no pun intended, but using several tissue samples from his other vital organs, we've been able to grow a new, organic heart for him using his own DNA. We've even augmented it using some old, refined blueprints that he drew when he was young that detailed his ideal heart upgrades. The doctors installed it last night. You were asleep. I was studying his internals just now in order to reach final confirmation that everything's connected properly. We're going to try to start it today."

Tali felt a new surge of hope fill her. As Atlas went to pocket the heart, she stopped him, "Actually, can I have it?" she asked, "I know it's a weird question, but-"

He placed the metal device in her hand, "No such thing. Just a good one. I can think of a dozen things you could use this for, but I can't think of anything I'd need it for. Take it. His heart belonged to you anyway, by my understanding. And while we're on the subject of gifts…"

He produced a datapad as Tali gratefully accepted the heart. He then handed her the device. Her eyes widened as she read it. "Wait… are you sure you gave me the right datapad?"

The Founder gave her a sad smile, "Positive. I never carry those things."

First, there was an enormous file, and a preliminary check revealed that it contained a treasure trove of data on the geth. Much of it was exclusive Veins knowledge, it would seem.

"Had to keep some of the real juicy stuff a secret, I'm afraid," The Founder said slyly, "We've gotta have some secrets, right?"

The datapad then detailed an extensive list of special-issue Veins military-grade hardware. From simple spare parts to even a few computer modules, the list described enough parts to supply the Flotilla for years. "Given enough time, I could build a whole new ship with these!" Tali said excitedly.

The Founder chuckled quietly, "Actually, you won't need to." he gestured to the nearby viewport, and when she looked out Tali saw an unmarked frigate.

"You don't mean…" she said, unable to believe her eyes.

"Yup." Atlas confirmed, "She's all yours. Loaded with every last piece listed on that pda. Had it refurbished and given a new coat of paint, naturally. That old cargo ship's been sitting in storage for about a decade now, just waiting for someone to take it home. It's a bit old, sure, but it's been tested well. It may not be the fanciest craft out there, but it'll hold together and do right by you if you do right by it."

"I love it!" Tali cried, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug, "Thank you so much!"

"Don't thank me," The Founder said ruefully, gesturing over at the active medical cot,"Thank our boy Alpha. He thought of and organized everything. I just authorized it all. I had no part in the planning otherwise."

"You mean…" Tali trailed off as Atlas slowly led her from the room.

"Merry Christmas, Tali," The Founder said with a sad smile, "From Alpha, with love. He wanted so badly to give this to you in person, to watch your reaction as he did, but seeing as he can't, I'm filling in. I want to make sure you can remember this as a nice memory, and not a painful reminder, just in case. I know it all sounds rather final, but preparing for the worst is my job. Oh, yes, and there was this…"

He produced a small computer chip. "See, the reason he was able to survive that shot to the head was because the bullet hit a neural augment on his frontal lobe. He has some proper brain damage, sure, but the metal bit on his noggin kept it intact enough to survive. We managed to extract the bullet, and get out most of the wreckage, but during that process, we found this little guy fully intact."

We handed her the chip, and Tali took it. "What does it do?"

The Founder shrugged, "Dunno. We've discerned that the implant was a psychological suppressor."

Tali gave him a confused look.

"An emotional dampener. Tali, Alpha wasー is human. The reason he acted the way he did was because all emotions were blocked, because that little shit was stopping his brain from producing the right hormones."

Tali had only a basic understanding of the human anatomy, but their emotions worked similarly to most other species like her own. "So… there was a chemical imbalance in his brain?"

"More like a total lack thereof. The only reason that he could feel anger, of what we've found, is because of a serious concussion he suffered years before he came to us. The implant was damaged and, to put it simply, the angry chemicals were no longer blocked."

"But what does the chip do?"

"Like I said," he shrugged, "We have no idea, other than it's connected to the implant somehow. Figured you might want it, since you might be able to plug it into your omni-tool or something. I dunno, I just know that I don't want it."

Tali took the chip, and in fact found that she could plug it into a port in her omni-tool. Upon installation, the chip booted up. After a moment, Tali reported, "Nothing's happening. I think it was redundant."

Atlas clicked his tongue. They walked silently to the docking bay, where Tali's new ship was being moved to. The rest of team Normandy was scattered throughout, waiting for repairs to finish on their own ship before heading out. They smiled and waved as Tali walked past, and she realised, as they lined up to say their goodbyes, that she would miss tremendously the colorful group of misfits that was the Normandy crew.

When the line had worked its way down, it was Garrus who stood at the back of the group. Last, but certainly not least.

He hugged her tightly, "Stay safe out there, alright? I'd hate to see your name on the list of casualties. And stay in touch? I don't want to fall out with the only other dextro who helped beat Saren."

"Thanks, Garrus," Tali laughed solemnly, "But I think that after all this excitement, I'm going to get a nice boring job repairing things inside ships."

"Not even outside? That is boring."

Tali giggled, "Don't get yourself killed, Garrus. We need your humor."

As the turian walked away, Atlas approached to see her out. He smiled softly, "It must be nice to have friends, hm?"

Tali cocked her head at him.

The Founder looked wistfully at the Normandy ground team, "It's hard being me, though I'm not complaining, since I love my job. But sometimes I'm reminded of the fact that, when on a pedestal like mine, you don't get to make any personal connections and real friends. Just Allies. I have Winters, and a few others from before, but that's really it."

Tali put a hand on his shoulder, "Well, Mister Black," she said with an unseen smile, "I might not be your friend, but you sure are mine."

Atlas smiled warmly, "Thank you, Miss Zorah. If there are any developments with Alpha's condition, good or bad, you'll be the first to know."

"Thank you."

"Now then," He breathed deeply, "Let's get you on your way, yeah?"

Tali nodded, turning to her new frigate's boarding ramp. "I just wish Alpha was here to see this. He would be happy, I think."

Then, one of the doctors from the medical bay came running full pelt, shouting, "Founder Atlas! Sir!" He seemed frantic, as if something had gone horribly wrong, but as he neared, he explained with an exhilarated smile, "Sir, we have a pulse! It's weak and it's erratic, but it's there!"

The Founder turned to Tali with a thoughtful expression. "Looks like you might get your wish, Tali. Merry Christmas, indeed." He quipped with a lopsided grin.

As he led her up the ramp, Tali asked, "Is this always how this holiday goes for you Veins types?"

"Fa la la la la," he said simply.

…

On the frigate, Tali lay on a bunk as the autopilot took care of bringing her home. She couldn't shake a feeling of giddiness. She would be hailed a hero when she arrived! And it was all thanks to Alpha, who she knew just had to survive. Her daydreaming was interrupted by an all-too-familiar voice.

"Well, finally decided to get outta dodge, did we?"

She leapt up from her lying position. "Alpha!?"

There he was. Though, not exactly. The figure she saw sitting opposite her was some kind of hologram, or maybe a hallucination. He looked just like Alpha, but for the fact that he was transparent, and purple.

He shrugged, "Sort of. I lived in his brain for quite some time. I'm more or less all of his emotions that he never got to feel. A personification of his psyche, if you will. You can call me Omega."

Tali was shocked. "Wh-what are doing here, then!?"

Omega chuckled, "I'm in that chip you have there. Don't worry, only you can see me. Which is just as well," he leaned forward, "Because you and I? We have a lot to talk about."

…

Back on the Dominus Ultra, in one of the shadowy hatchways, a turian sat in wait. A human joined him silently.

"Finally," he muttered, "Now, what is it you needed?"

The human, clad in a VEINS black trench coat, uncommon but not unheard of, approached him, and with purpose, stated, "Sir, I am in need of your swift hand and steady aim."

Alpha Log: To Whom it may Concern

Over so many years, from mindless slaughter for WhiteMask to finding a purpose among the stars with the Veins, I have held many jobs, and with them, many titles. But for each one, I have worked completely alone. Never before have I truly experienced companionship. Never before have I worked with another being and felt any attachment to them. Even my brothers-in-arms like Richard and Captain Winters, even my actual adopted brother Victor. With them, I feel a sense of commitment and trust, but no psychological attachment.

That all changed when I met Tali'Zorah. She was different. She was young, she was smart, she was capable and competent, she was kind, and she was kind to me. She was perfect. But I could never let her know about my emotions, as rare as they were. A flicker here, and a spark there, and that was it. But I always cared.

Now, as we head to the Citadel, and I have just sent a final message to my father, I wonder what the future would hold for me. When this is over, she and I must part ways, and I will likely never see her again.

I cannot shake the feeling that I will never get to find out. I fear that the Citadel will become my grave. If this is to be the case, then I need only for Tali'Zorah to survive.

I need nothing else. Nothing else matters anymore.

This is the mission, complete the mission.

A/N: And there we have it, folks! Alpha Logs will be put on hiatus for a little while, but it will be back! Don't you worry! I just have so many other projects going on, here and elsewhere, that I want to work on, and I don't want to burn out on this series due to stress! But I guarantee you, there will be more Alpha Logs in the future, as well as other stuff from me! Stay tuned!