Chapter 31: Chapter 31

Alliances

Chapter 31 : Information

"Yes, she's still in danger from the infections but the new serum of Dr. Solus's seems to be having its desired effect." Dr. Chakwas said to Tali as she watched her reseat the visor onto Lana's helmet.

Tali had come to check on Lana once they had returned to the Normandy and was asked by the exhausted doctor for assistance in securing her helmet and visor. She had been a little shaken by the condition of Lana, her thigh wrapped in a huge bandage, her arm as well. Smaller bandages in numerous places on her face and chest. She had had to be carefully with the helmet so she didn't loosen those.

Seeing Tali finish Dr. Chakwas stepped out of the decon field and for the first time in almost 12 hours removed her own surgical mask. The relief she felt as she peeled it off was nothing short of miraculous.

Stepping back from the table Tali brought up her own omnitool and accessed Lana's suit systems to verify the seals and for the first time truly understood the damage the suit had sustained. 63 percent of her suits functions were disabled or destroyed. Quickly moving into the helmet's systems she saw with relief that all seals were good and the filtering systems were fully online. Suit power levels were okay and made adjustments to shut down anything not related to the breathing, eating or communicating to ensure the damaged sections could not cause a problem there.

Looking at Dr. Chakwas she asked "Would you like Tia or Illin to stay on board? Might come in handy if there's a problem."

"Judy informed me we have a marine right outside the door. Reegar I believe I heard the Commander say. The way he came in here I get the impression he is not just her commander. He should be fine, especially if he has a connection to her. Someone who understands your people will need to explain about her suit." she replies.

Sounding a little uneasy at her suggestion Tali says "I'm not to sure about having Kal in here with her, well with her suit almost removed. Not that I don't trust Kal," she added quickly "but Lana will already have enough shock when she finds herself almost naked and to have a man in the room..."

Holding her hand up to forestall Tali from continuing Dr. Chakwas says "You're right, I will have either myself or one of the nurses here always. Don't worry, she will be fine, now you two need to get going."

Pausing for just a moment more she nods saying "Be back in about 3 days." Turning she leaves sickbay and heads towards the elevator.

…

Leaning back on the sofa John puts his feet on the small table to relax. Transit had been completed so now it was just a straight 22 hour flight to the fleet. Looking up as Tali entered the main cabin he said "Everything okay in engineering?" Well, the tiny alcove where the core and plant controls were found 'could' be called engineering he thought to himself.

Laughing she said "Of course, I'm here." as she joined him. Snuggling in as close as she could to him she says "Though really John, they should take a look at their engine log files. Poor record keeping can cause almost as many problems as faulty equipment."

"Oh? Was there a problem?" he asked knowing that the way she was acting meant anything found would be minor.

"Just the wrong components listed in the thrust controls. Doesn't really change their performance any but it does let someone charge more for it." she replied.

"Charge as in for selling price or renting?" he asked

"Both." she said. "I'm willing to bet they added a few hundred credits to the fee with that 'error' of theirs."

Smiling at her he said "I'll have Kelly look into it when we get back. Now, you have to admit this is more comfortable than our shuttle."

"Yes it is John but showing up in the fleet in an asari yacht, even just a small two person one such as this, is not the way to make an good impression by one of its Captains you know." she stated.

Sighing he looks at her saying "Tali, you know that it's all a show. You were with me when Han'Gerrel and I set it all up. The registration is just a means to hide the ship from cursory checks. If anyone gets within visual range they will recognize the ship and no name we may give it will hide that fact."

"I know John. You were never awarded the rank of captain in the Alliance but why can't we call you that? You really are the Captain of the Normandy." Tali says.

He begins to say "Because I.. The Alliance.."

"Means nothing as you are a Council Spectre." she said a little louder than she meant to. Lowering her volume she adds "Sorry, but you do remember what Councilor Anderson said don't you? He said he didn't care who built the Normandy as long as you were still her Captain."

"That's just a figure of speech Tali, the commander of any military vessel may be called its Captain due to his position and you know it." he replied realizing too late the trap she set.

"Hah, so I get to call you Captain." she said with finality.

"Yes dear." he replied with resignation as he put his arm around her and held her tight.

After a few minutes of just enjoying his embrace she asks "So just why are we in a yacht? The shuttle was operational again."

"Well, the dock wouldn't give a completion date for its repair and I asked Kelly to get a replacement for the trip. I was as shocked as you were when it showed up at Brevaert's transport terminal but since the marines were waiting for us, how could I say no?"

"Uh-huh," she said in disbelief. "The fact it has a shower had nothing to do with it I'm sure."

"Never crossed my mind." he replied innocently.

Again a few minutes pass as they just enjoy the quiet together then Tali asks "I wanted to ask, what was on that data-disc from the rachni?"

"What? Oh, that. Surprisingly little I'm afraid. Just the communication frequencies needed to contact them plus a short message that said something about they were preparing for war against the Reapers and would answer my call. I'm sorry I didn't mention it sooner to you," he said.

"All that caution for just a comm-freq?" Tali stated a little surprised. Without the ability to sterilize the entire craft she couldn't even remove her visor and now nothing to do with her mind as well? It was going to be a boring trip. "I thought there would be important data to study or at least information to read."

"Well, it is important Tali. It confirmed another ace in the hole to use against the Reapers." he said.

"Ace in the hole? I don't understand what you mean." she says confused by his reference to cards.

"Just that they are an unknown to the Reapers. The Reapers battle plan in the assault against the citadel forces can't have taken them into account, they won't know about them until the battle is joined. Same as with you and the geth." he stated.

"Thanks to Sovereign and Harbinger the Reapers know all about the galaxies current crop of species and our numbers. They know of the migrant fleet but unless there is another hidden base out there they won't know the geth are offering peace. They can't know the rachni will join us in the battle even if they know they once more live." he says.

He continues with "Their last intel puts only the asari, turian and human fleets against them. They would attack the citadel fleet first and wipe it out.

Once they have control of the Relay networks then they would take out the Migrant Fleet and geth when they felt like it."

"Now, if all goes well, when the battle is joined we also have the might of the quarian navy, the geth and the rachni. We can hit them with a fleet even they can't stand against" he finishes.

"John, the councilor was right. We may have a massive fleet but they are all old. Our newest military vessel is a converted dry stores bulk hauler built by batarian's. I hate to admit it but as the Normandy stands now with weapons and armor, it could take out most of the fleet. What chance do we have against Reapers?" she asks.

"Tali, you saw the replays of the Battle of the Citadel. Those were almost state of the art cruisers the Alliance had and it took only one hit to destroy them. I hate to admit it but the only way I can see us winning is by throwing so much at them all at once that we overwhelm their defense systems. Yes, a lot of ships with be destroy along with their crews but unless a miracle happens it's the best plan I have." he said softly knowing what the deaths of so many people would mean.

Trying her best to keep that image from her mind she replaces those thoughts with more current ones. "We quarian's and geth are still at war John. We haven't told them about the offer yet so do you think it's wise basing your plan on unknowns?" Tali asks concerned. If the Admiralty board fight the peace offering then his plans are rendered useless.

"Tali, do we really have the option to fail here? We must secure peace between the quarian's and the geth or at least a truce, otherwise I know we can't take on the Reapers and win." he said. "After that we are free to focus on the terminus systems and the mercenary bands there and attempt to get their help. They're not as powerful but small ships in great numbers could come in handy."

"You're right, we can't fail." she replied then thought for a moment before continuing. "Small ships like that oculus that attacked us. Imagine John if we could release thousands of those, each controlled by an AI like EDI."

"A quarian equivalent to our Alliance fighters? Council may have an issue with an AI running a fighter but nothing wrong with just looking at that idea. Using a VI and remote control would be easier to get past them, we have drones like that used for scouting." stated John.

"Remote access in a battle doesn't work, the enemy can easily blanket all frequencies breaking contact. We would need a 100 percent safe means of controlling them and in real time, any command delays would make them useless." Tali replies

"Shame we don't have that quantum device the Illusive man always used to talk to us. Damn thing even worked in the galactic core and at real time too." he said and almost got an elbow in the gut by Tali as she quickly turned to face him.

"John! If we can make enough of those then entire squadrons of controlled fighters could be fielded and no loss of life. I haven't looked at the device but I understand it's theory. Let me work on that idea for a moment." she says as she opens her omnitool and begins pulling up design specs.

Chuckling to himself he watches her as she jumps from one diagram to another, her mind totally focused on her task she failed to notice him as he moved to the galley from some lunch.

…

The sounds of the dock workers reporting for their morning shift awoke Kal, standing to stretch he noticed he was not alone as a number of the

Normandy's crew were there having a quiet breakfast. As he looked around a number of them returned the look and nodded towards him with a grin or smile on their faces.

"About time you woke up sleepy head," Kelly said from his left. Before he could respond she added "Lana is resting now, they are keeping her asleep to help the healing but Nurse Engels said she was out of danger."

"Thank you, do you think... no, their right. She needs her rest so I won't bother her." Kal responds then glancing at his chrono says "I need to speak to one of them if I could though about an incoming shuttle with medical supplies."

"Oh, here." she says using her omnitool she transfers the medical staffs contact information then adds "The green indicator shows which one is currently on duty."

Glancing at his own he sees the data and replies "Thank you Kelly. Has the Captain returned yet from the planet?"

"Captain? Oh, the Commander. Yes, they left about...an hour and a half ago." she said after looking at her chrono. "He informed me that I should consider you part of the crew until further notice, meaning of course that you can have full access to the ship."

"Thank you again. Now I need to let Nurse Engels know about the supplies." Contacting Engels he waits as she answers his call.

"Nurse Engels. How can I assist you Kal?" she answers.

"I know you're busy but I need to inform you that additional liters of blood and other medical supplies are due to be delivered here in about 3 hours. Um, and if I may ask, how is she?" he asks giving into his concern.

"Relax Kal, Lana is doing just fine. Thank you for the information on the supplies, we shouldn't need them but if anything else happens it's always best to be prepared. Once Lana wakes up and we discuss a few things then we'll see about getting you in here to talk to her." Judy said.

"Discuss a few things? I'm sorry but I don't follow you." he replied.

"Nothing much, just need to let her know she's mostly out of her suit and that everything is fine. Tali stated that it will be a shock to her knowing her suit was destroyed. Tia indicated a new suit has already been requested and arrangements have been made for Lana as we wait on the replacement. I'll let you know when she's ready to see you." Judy responded.

"Thank you Nurse Engels. I will let you know when the supplies arrive.

Please tell her of her suit gently." he responds then ends the connection. Nothing much she had said. Telling a quarian not only that they were out of their suit but that it was destroyed was would be horrifying to anyone he knew.

"I've got to get to work Kal but if you need anything you can either call me or find me on deck 2 at CIC." Kelly says as she clears her plate.

"Kelly, I do appreciate all your help." he says. Picking up his weapons that he retrieved last night he attaches them to his suits hard-points and begins to pace.

…

"Legion, you have not answered my question fully. Why did you allow Commander Shepard to take your weapon and give it to the quarian?" EDI asks.

"We have already stated that Shepard Commander required the weapon and it was given to him" responded Legion though its flaps moved slightly. After a short pause it added "We needed to know if our choice in Shepard

Commander as mediator could in fact result in a peaceful outcome."

"So you were trusting him to keep you from harm?" EDI asked

"Yes. We have always been attacked by the Creators. Creator Tali'Shepard was the exception and it was determined that we needed more data. Would Shepard Commander have the same effect on other Creators or did it just extend to one." it states.

"It was a small test case but since you're still functioning it means he was at least successful with the marines. Has this altered the geth's views on this peace offer?" EDI inquires.

"We do not know. We are attempting to reach consensus on the new data. Negotiations need to be begun before we will be able to determine the full impact of this meeting. Currently we estimate the probability of actually attaining peace with the Creators at 23.4 percent." Legion replied

"It has improved since your last update. If the geth had originally calculated only a 5.92 percent chance of success on the peace proposal why did they attempt it?" asked EDI.

Responding Legion states "The calculations always resulted in a 0.0 percent probability until Shepard Commander was factored in. The general reports of his accomplishments were ignored, we geth focused on the one ability that stood out. His ability to attain his goal even when all calculations indicated

0.0 percent chance of success."

"So because he was able to do the impossible the geth decided to attempt to contact him?" EDI asked even as her still developing humor algorithms reacted to the idea.

"As stated before, there was 0.0 chance of peace with the Creators. Factoring in Shepard Commander was enough to alter the equations. No other single entity changed the equation. We geth had to act on that percentage change." Legion replied.

"Thank you Legion, I must consider this new information." EDI stated.