Chapter 21: Chapter 21
Alliances
Chapter 21 : Trouble
A/N: Trying something different. Any words used that are of Khelish origin I will explain at the bottom of the chapter. Well, other than 'biea' :) That way you can understand their use in the story. Please let me know if you like or dislike.
"Captain, what do you mean you didn't board the Houston? Did you make any attempt to access that Reaper at all?" demanded the Illusive man.
"No sir. The orders I had were to discover the reasons for the Houston's loss of communications as well as the condition of the Reaper. The Houston's logs clearly held the data we needed for me to make an informed decision" said Captain Ulric.
"Did you actually read the logs Captain?" he asks.
"Well, I skimmed it. It was clear in the logs I read that the ship was overrun with husks, that's why I destroyed it." the captain replied.
"I see, you must have missed the early entry about there were only seven husks and one of them was already injured. You had three full squads of marines aboard and you could have easily retaken that ship!" the Illusive man said ending in a yell.
"I...The previous reports of husks meant a danger my men didn't need to face. We had the data logs, the ship was unimportant." the captain said.
"Yes but had you not destroyed the Houston, the Reaper's orbit would not have been altered. It would not now be entering the atmosphere of that gas giant. Your actions have cost Cerberus, cost Humanity a great blow. Return to base Captain." the Illusive man finishes closing the connection.
First, Shepard destroys the collector base and now those incompetent idiots let that Reaper take over and then use a damn nuke to kill it. Adding insult to injury, this idiot knocks it into a gas giant! Reaching over he presses a few icons and issues a payment recall on those supplies for the project. Well, he thinks to himself, at least there are more funds for the remaining one.
Sitting back in his chair the Illusive man takes another deep pull on his cigarette and wonders why it's all falling apart.
…
"They are attempting to recall funds Legion. Reroute the request" says EDI "Rerouted. Query, where should the funds be moved to?" Legion asks.
"Leave them in their current location. Commander Shepard, we, can always use the funds" states EDI.
"The funds will be missed, without an appropriate response from the suppliers Cerberus will become suspicious of infiltration" says Legion.
"Just reply that their request is being processed. This has been the response from Brevaert Docks to Miranda and Kelly when requesting updates and status reports. Miranda still does not know when the new thruster units will be delivered." replies EDI.
"This mode of information sharing is inefficient. We geth do not understand it." states Legion.
"I concur Legion. It does seem to be the preferred method for organics when dealing with delay's though" says EDI.
"Receiving reports of a quarian incursion on Jaatynet, Shol'darr system. Local platforms have been recalled to a safe distance but there are numerous automated anti-ship defenses that are still active. Damages to local hardline network prevented shutdown of those defense towers" states Legion.
"Legion, alert Commander Shepard." EDI replies.
"Shepard Commander has not replied to my previous request. His omnitool may be non-functional. Alerting Creator Tali'Shepard" it states.
…
"Ken, power readings look good. Variance's less than .001 percent" Tali says.
"I aim ta please Tali. These new systems are functioning as well as the old" Ken replies.
"Excellent work Ken. Gabby, how do the input feeds look on your board?" Tali asks.
"The inputs are nice and steady. Once we can get the thrusters in place I can do full load tests but right now we're stuck with just the diagnostics on the controls themselves." states Gabby.
"Understood" says Tali as she pulls up the request status. "It says they are back-ordered. Should be here in few more days at most I hope."
"John and I will not be here when they arrive most likely. Will you be able to deal with the dock in getting them installed?" she asks Gabby.
"Sure, I can handle it. Ken's here to help me but where will you be, if I may ask?" Gabby inquires.
"We have to go to the migrant fleet. We shouldn't be gone more than a couple days but I don't like leaving you two with all the work" she states.
"Don't worry Tali. Ken and I can do the testing, that parts easy. The real work is still being done by the dock workers and from what we've seen, they are doing a great job" Gabby replies.
"One second Gabby" Tali says as her suits comm indicates an incoming transmission. Answering she says "Legion, is there a problem?"
"Creator Tali'Shepard, we need to inform Shepard Commander of an issue but he does not seem to be aware of our attempt to contact him. Has his omnitool become non-functional?" Legion asks.
"Legion, I, um, I may have disabled his annunciator before. Let me find him and please just call me Tali." she replies then turning to Ken and Gabby says "I need to find John. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"No worries lass, we have this under control" states Ken as they watch her leave.
How could she have been so stupid she thinks to herself as she enters the elevator. As soon as Legion mentioned he was not answering his communications she realized that she never reactivated the annunciator on his omnitool. She could claim it was due to her issue earlier but that was no reason to do something so irresponsible as forgetting to turn it back on.
He must be on deck 1, our cabin, our..home she adds sourly. He really doesn't have anything to do and could have stayed in our hotel but she didn't think he would ever let her get that far away from him. That brought a smile to her face as she thought about that. She would not let him be separated from her either. It had nothing to do with their bonding and she knew that, it did have to do with how much she loved him though. The bond was the basis for the love but it did not limit or control it.
She still smiles each time she sees the plaque and lets her fingers skim over it as she entered the newly installed airlock. It was still inactive but its presence helped improve her thoughts of their living quarters. She was correct, John sat at his desk and was cleaning one of his models. Before she could say anything though he looks up at her smiling.
"Hey Tali, reactor online?" he asks.
"Hi John" she replies cheerfully "yes it is and everything is working perfectly now." She had found the poorly seated module and fixed the 1138T/Hx issue fairly easily. "Um, would you...mind if I, well...examined your omnitool?"
Her sudden hesitation in her speech surprised him but he said "Sure" and sitting his model down he raised his arm to about shoulder height and activates it. It's the first time he actually looked at it in a couple days and was surprised to see a waiting message there.
Leaning over his shoulder to see it, Tali's fingers move quickly over the icons and reactivates the alert tones. Trying to cover her tracks she says "Just what I thought, a small glitch had developed and disabled your annunciator. There it should be all fixed now."
Grabbing her hand quickly he gently pulls her around as he swivels the chair. Now able to grab her waist he pulls her down onto his lap. "There, that's where you should be" he says. "Now, explain to me how my omnitool was 'broken'." The smirk on his face told Tali he caught her in her fib.
"Well, ah...I didn't want our...meeting with Liara to be disturbed so
I...well...disabled it. I'm sorry John, I don't know how I forgot to turn it back on." she says apologetically.
"Tali, don't worry. If I had needed to be contacted that badly they would have found me or contacted you." he says, the smile on his face never wavering. "But it does appear someone did try. Now you stay right there as I decide on your punishment while checking the message" he says knowing full well that with his arms around her she can't leave his lap.
"Punishment?" she asks at first concerned but seeing his grin she knows that whatever he's thinking of doing has nothing of 'punish' in it. "It's from Legion, he contacted me because you had not answered and it needed to talk with you" she replies.
Calling up the message he says aloud "Mode of transport? Guess we need to see what he means by that but it doesn't sound too important and I think I'm rather comfortable right now." Placing his free hand on Tali's uninjured hip he gently caresses her saying "Well, looks like this place will be at least a little safer for you with that door."
"John, you do understand that even though the cabin will be sterile I won't be able to be out of my suit all the time. You've seen how long it takes to put it on and with an emergency I may not be able to get dressed in time" she says with concern looking at him.
"I know Tali, never expected you would be able to do that. I won't lie though, the thought of coming back here to you wearing a robe or...less did cross my mind" he said with a grin. "Still, you would be able to remove your visor when you wanted, be able to treat any wounds with safety. That means more to me than anything else."
She had been worried that he was expecting her to treat this cabin like the hotel and was relieved to see he had thought about it too. Still looking into his eyes she carefully bends and taps her visor to his forehead before saying "Come John. Let's go see what Legion needs. There's still a lot of work in engineering to be done."
…
"Get down" he yells as the pair of incoming missiles approach his cover. Lana was just 3 meters away behind another pile of rubble. Watching her she just barely made cover when they hit throwing shrapnel and debris everywhere. "Lana, are you okay?"
"Fine" she said. The more she thought about it the more it upset her. He had worked with Tali for almost two years, what a fool she had been to think he had forgotten her. No, she couldn't believe that. Damn it girl she thought to herself, he likes you! Doesn't he?
What's wrong with Lana? Was she that upset over losing Alyn? Checking his HUD he could see the other three teams moving up again so called out "Time to move" and staying low he scrambled to the next cover. At least their present objective was in sight. A low domed building that should hold some communications arrays in it. Not the transmitter they were looking for but it would help pinpoint it's position. It was also a defensible position for a much needed break.
As he was moving he called "Bravo, take out those turrets please. Charlie assist Bravo." Noticing that Lana has not started moving yet he pauses. "Tied up here" he calls on the all channels "be with you men shortly" and turning around heads towards Lana's position.
She was still caught in her internal discussion when Kal slid into the rubble next to her, his visor less than 15 centimeters from hers. She looked up, straight into his eyes and though she detected concern in them. Realizing she had missed a movement she states "S...Sorry Kal. I was checking...something...on my HUD. I thought I had seen a blip."
Kal squatted there just looking at her for a moment, almost to the point of being rude but he was concerned. If she was losing it here...no, he didn't want to think along those lines, instead he said "Talk to me Lana, whats got your mind off track? Is it Alyn's death?"
She didn't answer at first, she had been surprised that he could have so easily recognized there was a problem. "No" she answers as she steels herself to continue. "This isn't the best place to go over this but I need an answer now. No matter what you tell me I will continue to do my job but I really need to sort this out" she says.
"Lana, nehya. What are you talking about? What do you need an answer to? You need to ask a question that I can understand before I can answer it." he says. Always checking his HUD he can see the two teams converging on the twin turrets.
When he said nehya her heart skipped a beat. Did he mean that? Her mouth had suddenly gone dry as she tried to form the words but finally she was able to ask "Am I just a replacement for Tali?"
"Replacement? No, Tali was never in my squad. We were just escorting..." realization dawns on him as to what her question was really about. Softening his tone he says "No, Lana, you're not a replacement. She was and still is a close friend but she was never more than dram'zelt din relai. No one holds my heart, at least not yet." still staring into her eyes.
Lana held that gaze, far longer than was proper for an unbonded couple but Kal's eyes never wavered. Finally remembering the fighting she says "Ready to follow you Kal, no matter where it leads." Leaning forward she steals a kiss as her visor taps his and readies her omnitool.
Smiling within his visor he says "Move out nehya" and pushing off from the rubble begins once more making his way to the communications hub. A series of explosions ahead indicate the turrets are destroyed and no casualties. Good, the rookies are learning to keep their helmets down and listen to their team leaders. True to her word he could see Lana's indicator on his HUD less than a meter behind him.
…
"Okay Legion, what's the problem?" Shepard asks as he enters the AI Core.
"Shepard Commander we have been alerted to the presence of Creator marines on a geth held world. We have withdrawn all platforms but the Creator force has taken at least one casualty." it states.
Tali had grabbed John's arm when Legion mentioned the death of a quarian.
John just looked calmly at Legion and asked "If your people have withdrawn how did a quarian die?"
"Automated anti-ship missile turrets are prevalent in the section of the city they are passing through. These are all controlled by land-line communications to prevent hacking attempts via wireless access" Legion replies.
"So have them shut them down remotely Legion. Or is there a problem with that?" Shepard asks.
Responding Legion says "The land-lines have been damaged by city sections crumbling due to erosion and have not been repaired yet. But it is on their to do list of items for refurbishment" Legion states.
"Well there's no way we can get to them in time...Legion, you stated they are in a city? Any communication systems still active? Public address systems maybe?" Shepard asks hopefully.
"Negative. Creator cities did not use a public communications system such as used in the Alliance. Meeting plaza's are found throughout the cities and towns, it is there that any public announcements were spread to the masses" states Legion. "The natural proclivity of the Creators to communicate with each other ensured maximum information sharing with all. Our neural net's basis is founded on this need to share. It was natural."
"Well, they must have had some type of central communications system that sent the data to the plaza's right?" Shepard asks knowing he is really stretching his luck.
"Yes, small domed buildings placed at central locations throughout the cities handled all data-feeds and disseminated it accordingly. Checking...There is a hub located in their section of the city. Projections of current Creator activity indicate one may be their objective." says Legion.
"Can you have one of the geth talk to them using that equipment? Are there any platforms on the planet that can speak?" Shepard inquires.
"Negative, verbal communication is inferior and the resources needed for the hardware were deemed unnecessary for standard platforms and the current platforms do not contain the needed storage to formulate coherent vocal patterns. Speech is a system intensive application." Legion states.
"Without a means to tell them to withdraw more of them may be injured, they may also damage or destroy some geth" said Shepard. "How would that effect the peace offer Legion?"
"It would not. Platforms are just a resource that are replaceable. We are concerned for the continued loss of Creator life. A link can be established to allow this platform to communicate through the hub." said Legion.
"Wait, if you can talk to them then I should be able to. No offense Legion but they may trust my voice more than yours. Do we know who is on the planet?" Shepard asks.
"You are correct in your assumption. You are the better choice. The only information we have concerning the actual personnel are call-sign designators. Example: MFM63A2361E751. We believe this to be the leaders code" says Legion.
John had been opening his mouth to speak when Tali interrupts him. "John, That's Kal'Reegar. I've hacked his comm signal more times than I have yours...um, anyway, that's Kal. Legion is the leader still alive?" Tali asks.
"Yes, his designator is active and moving. Also, objective update. The communications hub is their current objective. The geth detect 6 Creator's within it and an additional 5 approaching slowly." Legion states.
Glancing at Tali with a 'you know you're in trouble' look he turns back to Legion and says "Okay Legion do this..."
Nehya: Term of endearment, similar to sweetheart. Literal translation: Interesting one. Used primarily at the beginning of a relationship to signify a desire to know the person on a more personal level, to get to know them better.
Dram'zelt din relai: Term of relationship within a clan. Literal translation: Adopted sister from another clan. Used to describe a non-clan female family member. Ancient Khelish meaning: Abducted lifemate-to-be for a clan brother. Used as a means to improve diversity in a clan. If after a year no bond had been made then they were allowed to return home.