Chapter 4

In the Captain's quarters, Shepard sat in front of his terminal finishing up a report that he had been neglecting ever since he returned from Therum. He opted to stay up and write the report instead of getting rest and seeing their faces haunt his dreams, so he took pills that helped him stay awake and give him the energy needed for the day. It had been a day since Therum and the ankle he had sprang has already been feeling much better. Walking on it was no problem but he did expect to get an earful and some disapproving looks from Dr. Chakwas for not staying off it for longer. I can't sit on my ass all day because of a sprained ankle, especially since Saren is still out there carrying out his plans and I have no idea where the bastard is. But Matriarch Benezia, that's a different story. Shepard finished his thought and rose from his desk and walked out of his quarters. Probably should go make my rounds around the ship. Make sure everything is running smoothly.

Walking out he spotted Kaidan sitting on the floor leaned up against the bulkhead with his head in his hand. "Alenko you alright?" Shepard asked as he approached the Lieutenant.

"Yes I'm fine Commander, just a throbbing headache from the biotics I used against those geth on Therum."

"Understood. If you need some time to recover after ground missions I need to know. I need everyone to fulfil their duties on the ship so if you are unable to do so I need to know so I can get someone who can. Now that we have an understanding I'll leave you to it Lieutenant."

Kaiden got on his feet and stood at attention. "Aye aye Commander." Shepard nodded and made his way to the mess to grab a quick bite. After eating Shepard entered the medbay.

Sitting at desk typing away on her terminal was Dr. Chakwas.

She turned around in her chair. "Commander I made it very clear that you were to keep off your foot for a couple days, but knowing how stubborn you are I guess I'm surprised you laid off it as much as you have this last day."

"Come on doc." Shepard replied, crossing his arms. "We both know that Saren is gonna wait around because I sprained an ankle and besides we are gonna make a stop on the Citadel. Need to get a couple things for the ground crew before our next mission."

"Well Commander I'm sure you didn't come in here to talk to me though did you?" She asked.

"Primarily I came here to speak to Liara, but I expected to hear something about my ankle the second I stepped inside." Shepard replied with a small smile. The doctor returned a smile and turned her attention back to her terminal. Shepard walked through the medbay and opened the door at the end of the room. Stepping inside he noticed the asari sitting at a desk in deep thought. "Liara."

Snapping her from her thoughts she quickly stood up and turned almost tripping over the chair she was sitting in. "Oh Commander, how are you doing?"

Shepard shook his head in amusement. "I'm fine. Though I came in here to ask you some questions that I want answers to." He said, voice becoming more stern and serious. Liara became more nervous and just a little worried, not knowing what Shepard would ask her.

"First question. Do you want to be a part of my crew?"

"Uhm yes I would." Liara answered looking extremely nervous.

"Good, then welcome aboard. I'll need all the help I can get." Shepard replied. "Next say you haven't spoken with your mother for a long time. Why?"

"To keep it simple Commander, she wanted me to be something I wasn't, so I went my own way. Haven't spoken to her since."

Shepard nodded and his face got even more serious crossing his arms. "Now if it came down to my life or your mothers who would you choose?"

The expression left on Liara's face could tell anybody how shocked and uncomfortable she was having heard this particular question. "What? You can't be…"

"I am so give me an answer." Shepard said while cutting Liara off mid sentence.

"I don't uhm… Commander if my mother is aiding Saren." Liara sighed and looked down at the floor, tears forming in her eyes. "Then I'll do what I have to Commander, even if it's me who has to pull the trigger."

Shepard dropped his serious tone. "That's good to know. Now I have one last question."

"And what might that be?" Liara asked.

"Would you still be willing to meld our minds together? I know I turned you down after the mission debrief but I've thought about it. And I could probably use some help to figure out what these visions mean, even better that you're an expert on the protheans."

"Of course!" Liara exclaimed, her mood brightening from the question. "Now you must relax, open your mind, and embrace eternity." Liara stated, eyes completely black and all the prothean visions from Shepard's mind flooding into her own. The melding ended and Liara stumbled a bit and pulled her hand up to her head. "Oh my that… Commander if it's alright I need to lay down for a bit. That took more out of me then I thought."

"I understand Liara. I'll come back later and discuss if you understood anything." Shepard turned to the door and left, walked up the stairs and approached the cockpit. "Joker, we need to make a stop on the Citadel before our next mission. Picking up some new equipment."

"Aye aye Commander, setting course for the Citadel." Joker replied.

Shepard nodded and made his way to the elevator, entering it and taking it down to the cargo bay. Stepping off the elevator he spotted Garrus performing maintenance under the mako. Shepard walked up to the turian. "Garrus, have a minute?"

Garrus shot up, forgetting he was under a giant armored vehicle after hearing Shepard's voice and smacking his head on the vehicle. Shepard heard Garrus mutter something that his translator did not pick up. "Commander what can I do for you?" The turian asked while wiping his greasy hand on a rag.

"How's the mako holding up? Anything that I should know about?" Shepard asked.

"Well Commander other than the fact that you need to learn how to drive, it's holding together. Also calibrated the main gun so now it's a little more accurate." Garrus answered.

"What do you mean learn how to drive? Have you ever operated a mako before? Not the easiest thing to drive."

"Right."

"Alright Vakarian, next mission we take the mako on you can drive. Dam smartass." Shepard responded sarcastically.

"It can't be that difficult." Garrus interjected.

"Can't wait to see you fail." Shepard laughed. "Anyways I'll leave you to your duties."

"Yes Commander."

Garrus continued his work on the mako and Shepard made his way over to the krogan leaning against the wall next to the ground teams lockers. "Wrex."

"Shepard." The two nodded at each other and Shepard continued on his path towards Gunnery Chief Ashley Williamns.

"How's everything going Ash?" Shepard asked.

"Weapons are all clean and ready for inspection Commander." She sharply responded.

"These weapons have all been clean thoroughly and reassembled correctly?"

"Yes Commander." She answered.

"Good. I'll take your word on it. We don't have time for stupid inspections, as long as you don't start slacking neglecting your job. I trust your word."

"Thank you Commander." Ashley said. "I would never blow off my work."

"That's good to know. So how are you holding up since Eden Prime?" Shepard asked.

Better Commander, It's just really hard losing everyone and not being able to do anything about it. I feel like I failed them. I just wish…"

"Wish what?" Shepard asked, cutting her off. "No what happened isn't your fault. But I know how you feel so I want you to start talking to Dr. Chakwas about how you feel, it will help."

"Commander really I'm…" Ashley started.

"No you're not fine. And talking to Chakwas wasn't a request, it was an order. The well being of everyone here is my concern so start talking with her Ash it will help trust me."

Ashley sighed. "Aye aye Commander."

"Ash I wasn't joking when I said it was an order so I will drag your ass in there myself I will." Shepard sternly esponded.

"Will do Commander. I'll talk to her."

"Glad to hear it. I'll leave you to it then." He said while walking away. Now only one left to talk to. He said to himself as he walked towards engineering. Shepard opened the door and walked in eyes immediately drawn to the drive core. Everytime I come down here it always catches my eye. Following the drive core his gaze found the petite quarian working on the console to the left. He smirked and made his way to her. She always seems so focused and into her work, just like she always was. Shepard's expression saddened slightly for a moment then returned to normal.

"Jeez Tali you look focused." No response. "Tali." nothing. "Uhm Tali… you in there? You alive?" Still nothing. Shepard shook his head and tapped her on the shoulder. She quickly jerked around noticing it was Shepard.

"Oh uhm sorry Shepard. I-I didn't know you were there. Uhm how long were you there?" She asked nervously.

Shepard put a hand up. "No it's quite alright. You really get lost in your work don't you?"

"I take it that you were behind me... for a bit then, and ya I do tend to lose myself when I'm working down here. Everything about the Normandy is amazing, Shepard. I still can't thank you enough for bringing me along."

So get her talking about anything related to tech or her people and that nervous shy barrier comes down. "Don't sell yourself short Tali. You are the one who pulled my limping ass out of those collapsing tunnels. I'd be buried and dead if it weren't for you." Shepard thanked her. Tali's cheeks burned up from all the praise and appreciation she was receiving from the crew and her Commander, something she wasn't used to at all.

"Thanks Shepard, it means alot to me to hear that."

Shepard gave Tali a small smile. "Of course Tali, you're a valuable asset to this crew. Anyways I need to talk to you about something."

"Uhm well what is it?"

"There is one thing that everyone apart of my ground team is required to have and that's some armor." Shepard stated.

"Oh well I don't have any because I can't afford it. Quarian armor is usually more on the pricey side." Tali explained.

"I see. Then I need you to come with me when we arrive at the Citadel. I'm getting you some proper protection. Nothing but shields don't cut it for me."

"Ok Shepard, but like I said I don't have much credits. I won't be able to afford any."

"Tali the armor is on me." Shepard said. "I won't let you join any combat without any."

Tali began wringing her hands. "Shepard It's not worth it please, I can't ask you to buy me armor."

Shepard shook his head. "Non Negotiable. Just think of it as my way for thanking you for everything you've done so far."

"I… o-ok Shepard. Thank you." Tali thanked him.

"Of course. I'll come get you when we arrive. Keep yourself busy Miss Zorah." Shepard said teasing the girl.

Tali shook her head. "Bosh'tet." She said under her breath with a smile.

Some time passed and the Normandy had just docked on the Citadel. Shepard and Tali make their way through the airlock and out of the Normandy. Outside, the pair see an Alliance Rear Admiral waiting impatiently outside the ship. Shepard motioned for Tali to stay behind him while he dealt with the Admiral. Shepard immediately stood at attention bringing his hand up into a crisp salute. "Rear Admiral, Commander Shepard of the SSV Normandy."

The Admiral returns his own salute and drops it. "At ease Commander. Rear Admiral Mikhailovich, Fifth Fleet. You and the Normandy were slated for my unit… that is until the council got their paws… Claws. Tentacles. Whatever. They got them on our ship and you. And what's one of those doing with you?" Directing his question towards Tali who was standing behind Shepard.

One of 'those'! She said to herself. Visibly getting frustrated by the Admirals question, clearly wanting to say something to this Admiral. But Shepard beat her to it. "One of those? Well to start she's a part of my crew Rear Admiral. So why does it matter if she's quarian or not" Shepard replied with an acid tone.

The Admiral looked at Shepard with disdain. "Let me remind you who you're speaking to Commander. You have one of these vagrants, a thief on your ship. And about your ship Commander, an oversized piece of tin. An experiment that diverted billions, we could've built a heavy cruiser for as much as this cost us. But no, we had to make nice with the turians. Throw money into a complete waste."

Tali looked over at Shepard, reading his body language she could tell that he was getting extremely agitated. Keelah. The Admiral might get a fist to the face if he keeps that up.

Shepard took a deep breath and calmed himself of any violent action he might have wanted to perform on the Admiral. "What is it that you need from me, Rear Admiral?" Shepard asked.

The Admiral gave a smug smile and clasped his hand together behind his back. "I'm here to inspect the Normandy Commander. It is an Alliance warship. I intend to see if…"

Shepard cut the Admiral off by putting his hand up and speaking over him. "The Normandy is an Alliance warship, but her CO is a council spectre. That means she's not part of your chain of command."

"I believe I might have misheard you Commander but did you just contradict me?" The Admiral asked in a pissed off tone.

Shepard shaking his head. "Do I need to say it again? It's not happening, I don't have time for you bullshit at the moment so why don't you stop wasting my time. This ship is council property now." And with a smug look. "So, respectfully, please clear the gangway." He said making a hand motion to go away.

"Have it your way Commander, expect a report will be made about this incident." The Admiral said as he walked away from the two.

"Asshole." Shepard said just under his breath that Tali heard which made her giggle a bit.

"Sooo Shepard, you're not gonna get in any trouble over this?" Tali asked.

"I'll probably get a slap on the wrist or something." Shepard replied.

Tali looked at him and tilted her head. "Slap on the wrist?" She asked. "I would have thought you'd get in more trouble then just that."

"No Tali." Shepard said chuckling. "It's just a figure of speech us humans use. What I mean is I'll probably get a stern talking to about chain of command or something along those lines. But it was worth it. That dick not only insulted my ship, he insulted you. A member of my crew just because you weren't human. I won't stand for that kind of bullshit." Shepard explained.

"Well thanks Shepard." Tali said while smiling. "But next time, you don't have to get yourself in trouble for my sake."

Shepard just smiled and shook his head at her. "No promises. Now how bout we go find ourselves some new armor?" The pair continued further into the Citadel making their way to the markets.

Back on the Normandy Garrus was of course working on the mako, improving it in any way possible. Working at the terminal in front of the armored vehicle, he hears heavy footsteps closing in from behind. Turning around he notices that it was Wrex. Great, what the hell does the krogan want?

"Hey turian! I wanna ask you something."

"You know Wrex I do have a name. And what is it you want? I'm in the middle of some calibrations."

Wrex laughed. "Oh please you've been calibrating that thing for hours now. Anyways I wanna talk to you about Shepard and the quarian."

"The Commander? Tali, what about them?" Garrus asked.

"Oh come on, you were a detective right? How have you not picked up on this yet?" Wrex questioned.

"What? You mean the way he treats her? I figured he just felt bad for the way her people are constantly treated."

"Don't be so dense Vakarian. Shepard is always checking up on the girl and always seems a little more easy-going when she's around him." Wrex explained.

Garrus shook his head. "Wrex I believe you might be overthinking this a bit. The Commander always comes down and talks to us a couple of times throughout the day cycle on the ship."

"I've been around a long time. Yes Shepard does talk to us. But what does he talk with us about? Nothing ever really personal right?" Wrex asked with a toothy grin.

Garrus crossed his arms and thought about it for a second. "Honestly, he's only ever asked me about thoughts on the mission and status of the mako. So basically just work related I suppose."

"Exactly." Wrex replied with another grin. "He only talks to us about the mission. If you have any problems that might affect that mission you'll be sure to hear it from him. But when it comes to the quarian he lets her talk his ear off for hours. Trust me Vakarian, he's got something for her. Just pay more attention the next time you're around the two, and I don't even think Shepard realizes that he's doing it."

"Alright Wrex but if your wrong your buying me a drink."

"Ha, your on."

In the markets on the Citadel Shepard and Tali find themselves inside a salarian's shop. Selling weapon mods, suit upgrades, armor, and top of the line tech. After browsing the kiosk Shepard waves over the shop owner.

"What could I do for you sir?"

"I was wondering if you could bring out some of these by chance?" Shepard asked.

The shopkeeper looked over at the kiosk. "Quarian armor huh. Ya I should be able to dig those out from the back. Just one moment please."

"Of course take your time, no rush." The shopkeeper nodded and disappeared in the back room of his shop. While Shepard was having the armor brought out, Tali was busy looking at the various models of omni-tools for sale. Her omni-tool itself would be completely outplayed by the ones on display. Wish I had the credits to afford something like one of these. More processing power, the cooldown on my tech attacks and hacking would be cut in half. Plus it would do twice the damage. I just wish…

"Something catch your eye Tali?" Shepard asked, breaking her train of thought.

"Yes actually! I was looking at some of the omni-tools for sale here and they are just amazing. I could do all sorts of things and do much more with one of those!"

"Well which one was it you were looking at?"

"The Savant model Shepard." Tali chirped.

"Manufactured by Serrice Council, it's pretty top of the line gear."

The shopkeeper appeared from his backroom, bringing out the armor with him. "Here is that armor you requested sir, if you're interested in purchasing please let me know. Oh and the Savant model is the best omni-tool I have for sale in the shop. If you are in need of any more assistance, please do not hesitate to ask." Shepard nodded his head in response and brought his focus to Tali.

"So why don't you look over Tali? I need to know if it's even worth getting."

"Alright Shepard." Tali replied as she picked up the chest piece and examined it. She moved her attention to the rest of the armor. Extra protection around her arms, chest, and thighs. "Honestly Shepard, I haven't seen many quarians wearing this much protection. This can't be cheap armor. I can't ask you to buy this for me."

"That wasn't what I asked you, Tali. Would this armor better protect you on the field?" Shepard asked.

"Yes Shepard, I-I guess it would."

"Great." Shepard turned over to the shopkeeper. "I'll take it… and I'll take that Savant model omni-tool."

The shopkeeper scanned Shepard's credit chit and the transaction was approved. "Pleasure doing business with you sir. Please enjoy the rest of your day."

The two walked out of the shop Shepard holding a case that had Tali's new armor within. The other hand he was holding an omni-tool. "Hey Tali. Catch." Shepard tossed the omni-tool over to her. She caught it and inspected what she was holding.

"The omni-tool I w-was… looking at! Shepard, why I… did." She looked up at him and wrapped her arms around him, taking Shepard by complete surprise. After a moment Shepard wrapped an arm around her. "K-keelah Shepard, thank you!" Was all Tali could get out while tears came strolling down her cheeks.

"Don't mention it. Like I said I always take care of my crew. Now why don't we head back to the Normandy. We have a Matriarch to find."