Freedom's Progress, 2185

Breathe, gather your bearings and focus. If you lose focus, if you start panicking, you're going to make mistakes. The breathlessness, the sound of air escaping his helmet, his hands furtively clawing at his mask in an attempt to grasp the remaining oxygen. The last images in his mind before waking up in a hospital bed were a haze of red and orange, undoubtedly the heat from atmospheric re-entry. Many soldiers throughout the generations, and of every known sapient species, have difficult memories to reconcile. Few, however, have a memory of their own death in their conscious.

Commander John Shepard, the first human Spectre, and the savior of the Citadel, was deep in thought staring at the data pad. He had been trying to make sense of his meeting with the head of Cerberus along with… well, everything else that had occurred since his awakening. The technology embedded in his body was cutting edge, and mostly experimental; his mind seemed to be the only part of his body unmodified by the procedures sans a new biotic implant and amp. After the numerous Cerberus experiments he'd shut down, they were an illogical source for his new lease on life. Knowing this, Shepard had demanded a medical report prior to any semblance of cooperation, vividly recalling how Saren had also received extensive cybernetic advancements and how the former Spectre's life ended. The Illusive Man at least appeared to sympathize with his situation, and had provided the information without arguing.

Two years, billions of credits, and the backing of a terrorist organization to thank. Not to mention all of the shit they added to make me a better fighter. He frowned at the thought. Perhaps it was misguided gratitude, but the data pad on his medical procedures and implants had been enough to at least get him to agree to scout the colony with the two operatives he'd met on the station. The Illusive Man had added an accusation that the Alliance and Council had buried his evidence, something he would need to personally confirm. Shepard didn't trust the organization nor the two accompanying him in the shuttle. In spite of this distaste for Cerberus, their cigarette smoking leader had been correct on one statement. The Reapers were still coming, and it was up to him to stop them.

The male Cerberus operative's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Orders, commander?" Jacob was inspecting his Avenger rifle, giving it a final one over before use. The colony the Illusive Man mentioned was approaching, and now was the time to switch into his leadership mode. Miranda engaged the shuttle's autopilot, and entered the main area where the other two had been seated.

Enemies may still be at the site, though previous encounters suggest this is unlikely. Shepard met both of their gazes. "Primary objective is to locate survivors. Anyone here can give us a rundown of what happened, but they could be in shock. Don't push them. The secondary objective, keep a lookout for evidence. Datapads, gunshots, structural damage. We don't know what we're dealing with here."

"Commander Shepard, no survivors have been found in the previous colonies." Miranda said while adding thermal clips to her belt. Shepard was about to respond, as the woman seemed willing to ignore his command. He paused as she grabbed a few pouches of extra medigel, handing some to Jacob and offering some to the commander, which he accepted. "However, a first hand account of the events would welcome. I'll be able to hack any security footage as well."

Two of us look ready for a confrontation, while she looks like she's about to head to Chora's Den. "Jacob's a biotic, seems to know his way around a rifle as well." Shepard returned after a brief pause. The man nodded in return, and the commander addressed Miranda. "I don't know why the hell you're dropping into a combat zone without armor, but if we work together that's going to change." The woman quirked an eyebrow, but he continued. "Cerberus or not, if you're on my squad you're my responsibility." He let the words sink for a brief moment. "Aside from that, what training do you have?"

Miranda sat down, lifting out her arm for a moment as an azure glow appeared. "I've received thorough biotic combat training, as well as expertise in hacking and cyberwarefare programming. Cerberus has also provided me with extensive weapon's training."

Shepard nodded. "Jacob and I will take point. You'll scout for hostiles and provide biotic support. Do not engage until my signal. Got it?"

"Yes sir." Jacob replied instinctively, returning to his omnitool. Alliance through and through, not sure why the hell he's working for Cerberus.

"Yes commander." Miranda answered. Her calm demeanor was off-putting to most, though Shepard could appreciate that she would likely remain collected under pressure. Hopefully, we don't have to test that theory though.

The shuttle landed soon after, Shepard and Jacob taking the lead out while Miranda followed. The trio scanned nearby buildings, and entered each and every one. Regardless of external appearances, they searched the complexes for any information. This process was repeated for any building along their pathway, which made the mission a meticulous endeavor. The homes looked abandoned mid use, often with televisions still on, albeit their displays were static due to communications loss. Food was on tables, and one home even had a shower still on, which had prompted a careful though eventually unneeded slower approach.

Might as well get some answers sooner rather than later. "The Illusive man didn't mention my crew." Shepard inquired as they exited their fifth empty housing complex. "Either of you have any intel on what happened?"

Jacob kept formation, scouting with his Avenger professionally. He quickly answered. "Seventeen Alliance losses Commander, including your XO. All of your non-commissioned crew made it out."

Shepard exhaled calmly, trying to release some of the built up tension about the day's… revelations. "Anything else? Hostiles were unknown, and they tore through the Normandy's shields like they didn't exist."

Miranda's armor was lacking, but her experience in dangerous situations seemed to be sufficient. She hadn't broken formations, and had only begun her door hacking once the coast was confirmed clear. She added. "We aren't entirely sure. The rescue team found no traces of enemy activity when recovering the survivors, and none of the crew had been able to provide enough information to identify it. The data from the wreckage only agreed with your assessment, their weapons were highly advanced."

The female operative had been dutifully using her omnitool to acquire information after opening the locked doors, although it seemed the security cameras in this area hadn't stored any useful information. In fact, most of the security data had been completely wiped from the servers. They were able to patch into the local network in a security hub, acquiring access to local cameras. As they were about to approach another housing unit, Miranda spoke relatively quietly. "Shuttle approaching, five hundred meters ahead."

"Did they hail us?" Shepard asked, gesturing the group to enter the previous empty housing module that had already been scanned.

The group shuffled in, while Miranda answered. "No commander, our shuttle has a jamming program. They'd need to see it, and assume it landed after the colony went dark."

Smart thinking, really need to keep track of these situations better. Well, at least the minor details. Bit rusty on these silent recon operations. "Can you get a visual?" He asked.

The woman nodded, plugging commands into her omnitool as a 3D screen materialized from it, showing the shuttle's occupants exiting from multiple camera angles.

Surprisingly, a group of fully suited individuals ran out of the shuttle, though in an orderly fashion. The suits and tinted visors gave away their species. "Quarians?" Shepard mused aloud, thoughts of Tali quickly came to mind, but his experience prevented him from preoccupying himself with his memories. A small frown didn't escape him, remembering it had been two years since the young engineer had somehow found a soft spot in the man. I'll figure out how to contact her soon enough. Hell, this group might even be helpful for that.

"There was a quarian pilgrim on the colony according to records, one Veetor'Nara." Miranda stated tapping at her omnitool. She'd assumed he was thinking of a logical reason why they'd be in town, and she was partially correct. "They must be here to retrieve him."

Reasonable, though with the communication blackout I'm not sure how he got a message across. Must have gotten it out before all of the com buoys were disabled. "We'll need to make contact. I don't want friendly fire." Shepard commanded as they jogged towards the building the other squad had entered. The quarian shuttle hadn't landed far from their current position; even accounting for their defensive advance, they were able to approach their location relatively quickly. The commander focused once they were outside of the door, bringing up a biotic barrier around his frame, the blue hue contrasting with the reds on the Blood Dragon armor set. Opening the door on a foreign squad went as well as one could expect, as multiple rifles immediately pointed at him and the two operatives accompanying him.

"Stop right there!" A male quarian demanded. Both operatives behind him had already lifted their weapons in return, though Shepard's Vindicator remained at his back.

"Prazza you said you'd let me handle this!" A female quarian stated, with an incredibly familiar voice. Do quarian voice emitters make their voices sound similar through the translator?

"I'm not taking any chances with Cerberus!" The male quarian responded angrily, his glowing eyes focusing on Miranda. During this confrentation, Shepard's barrier remained up. However, his mind focused on the the quarian woman who spoke. Her head piece looked very familiar as well, basically identical to what Tali used to wear. He distinctly recalled the logos both of the agents with him had on their outfits, and made a mental note to get that problem fixed.

She turned to speak, but Shepard beat her to the punch. He motioned towards her, and asked. "Are you a part of the Zorah clan ma'am?" The realks are based on familial ties, though I didn't discuss coloration with Tali. Still, maybe they'll have some news about her?

The woman's eyes widened in surprise, and her shotgun immediately lifted pointing at him as well. "Who are you human?"

Shepard's eyes focused on the gun, a heavily modified Sokolov X shotgun. The same style of gun and the highest quality version he'd purchased for Tali near the end of their mission, and the same gun that put the killing blow into Saren's form. While Tali had received multiple versions of the shotgun throughout the hunt for Saren, the one in the quarian's hands in front of him was the extraordinarily rare and expensive model X, only available to select individuals. His view returned to the woman above, her eyes now narrowed in slits of what he could surmise was anger. I don't think this is possible, but… is that really her?

Normandy SR-1, 2183

Shepard left his room unable to rest. 03:00 wasn't as meaningful aboard a ship, but ships usually tied their clocks to their destination to prepare passengers. Ever since the mission on Feros a few months ago, he'd found himself having difficulty relaxing. The images from the Cipher almost taunting him from the respite of rest, instead moving their horrendous details into the forefront of his mind. It was a pretty shitty start to the hunt for Saren, though the information was incredibly valuable.

Surprisingly, he noticed a lone occupant in the mess, a grateful mood washing over him knowing just who it was. He sat across from the suited woman who seemed lazily focused on her omnitool. Her normally vibrant eyes appeared half-awake. "Having trouble sleeping Tali?"

"Oh hey Shepard." Tali replied wearily, confirming his initial observation. She seemed to perk up at his entrance, and quickly stretched her back. After a brief pause, she continued. "I've been thinking about the geth data."

He knew this conversation was coming ever since she'd retrieved the data from the base a couple of days ago, though a slight smirk did reappear at her nervously asking if he'd give her a copy. The data that she singlehandedly was able to secure before the internal programs wiped it. Although the geth incursion was secondary to their mission against Saren, after Feros, then recovering Liara T'soni from the prothean ruins, their leads had gone cold. Never entirely idle, the team had helped Wrex with a personal mission during the interlude before the call came from Admiral Hackett. The geth invasion at the Armstrong Nebula was seen as a possible lead, though nothing linking the force to Saren was located. Raw geth data, however, was valuable regardless of the dead end. As much as he hated saying it, Shepard asked with slight trepidation. "I understand Tali. Is it time for you to complete your pilgrimage?"

Her eyes opened widely in surprise. "What? No Shepard! Not yet at least." She stood, getting up to bring a data pad beside him. He wasn't sure why she came to sit by him, but wasn't going to complain. "I was seeing if I could ship it physically, but these companies seem less than trustworthy. It would be too easy to lose or corrupt data of this amount through an extranet connection" She eyes hinted at her smirk as she coyly added. "I've seen you try to hack Shepard, I don't think the Normandy could afford enough omnigel for the missions without me."

From such a nervous little bundle, to the braven little quarian in front of him, the mission had definitely changed her. "I'm glad you have so much faith in me Tali." Shepard replied grinning. "The crew of the Normandy, conquered by a few locked doors."

She giggled in response, the light tone that seemed to always cause the Spectre to wonder just what the hell his mind was doing to him. Although he adored the sound, his mind kept trying to convince him of his emotions, his logic kept prevailing. The magnitude of obstacles always preventing his free thoughts on the matter. He had to admit, it had been curiosity about her species that intrigued him when she first came aboard. Quarians weren't terribly common outside of their fleet, and learning about them was a curiosity. However, Shepard had been forced to admit at some point, it'd been because of one specific quarian. "It's okay Shepard, you could always just knock it down. Wrex would approve."

They had done exactly that on Wrex's mission to retrieve his armor, in fact. Multiple times actually. This was something he would most certainly not be admitting to her, however. "Don't you have to be there to present the gift to a captain to complete it?" Shepard asked, genuinely perplexed. Perhaps he hadn't been paying enough attention to her explanation?

Her head tilted to the right slightly, what he'd come to learn as a smile. "Yes, normally a pilgrim offers their gift to a captain of a ship with available space, and if accepted, they become crew. However, in some cases the pilgrim may request Vasalran. The pilgrim delays becoming part of the crew until they complete their duty off the fleet, but the offering is given to help the quarian people without hesitation. If it's data, the pilgrim may even request it in absence."

He couldn't help but return her smile. They'd be helping her people, and retaining her technical prowess on board. Kaiden was good, and Garrus was adequate, but none of them could come close to this quarian engineer's mastery of technology. "We're just waiting for a lead from the Council for now Tali. If you've got the fleet's coordinates, we can get that sorted out right away. The Normandy can get there faster than any ship, and you'd be able to hand it off personally. Just uhh, make sure they don't fire on us okay?"

A gloved hand appeared on top of his, and his eyes followed to the owner. His azure eyes meeting her two glowing orbs. "Are you sure? I can keep looking for a dif-"

Shepard gently interrupted her. "Tali without you, none of us would have known that data even existed. The Alliance has their copy, and if there's something that can help your people then getting it to them immediately is a priority." He glanced down, noticing the slender three fingered hand remained on top of his.

She nodded, finally lifting her hand, typing into her omnitool and sending him the coordinates. The fleet wasn't terribly far, less than a day's journey. "Thank you Shepard." She answered softly, holding his gaze. He wasn't sure how she could express herself so well with just her eyes, though he'd garnered a large amount of experience reading them.

Of course, he had to reply with his own shitty joke to defuse his thoughts. "Don't thank me yet miss Zorah, there's still geth out there in dire need of our explosive diplomacy."

Her giggle yet again, the one sound he's noticed makes him feel.. better. Her eyes and voice softened; for any human woman, hell even an asari, all of the night's charades would be much easier to interpret. "You lead Shepard, and I'll follow."

Freedom's Progress, 2185

"Weapons down, out of the room. Now." Shepard stated to his two team members, his voice a low rumble.

"Commander?" Jacob questioned, his rifle lowering. Shepard's quick scowl backwards seemed to go through his helmet's cover. No further orders were needed to convince the man as he went backwards.

"Is this really a wi-" Miranda began.

"Miranda I said get out of the damn room. Cover the door." Shepard ordered.

The woman didn't respond, but he saw her frame leave, and waited for the doors to close. Still, the commander pondered if this was really the wisest idea as in front of him, multiple rifles were aimed at his direction. Extremely glad I didn't try out their heavy armor set, the damned logo was all over it.

Shepard looked directly at the quarian woman's eyes, her shotgun still facing him. He couldn't hide the incredulous tone in his question. "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya? Actually it's vas Neema now I'd assume. Is that really you?"

Her shotgun wavered a bit as did her voice, but she returned. "I.. I'm not going to ask you again. Who are you?"

I don't know how the hell this happened, but if it's really her...A leap of faith. He took a deep breath, lowered his biotic barrier, and took off his helmet. She froze for a moment, unable to comprehend what her eyes were showing.

The female finally spoke, her voice cracking. "Sh..Shepard? You're alive?" …Tali…finally lowered her weapon. Her silver eyes were wide behind her purple tinted visor. She took a step brazen forward, staring straight at his taller figure.

I can't believe it... "It's me Tali." Shepard responded, a faint smile on his face for the first time in the day. The other quarian soldiers finally lowered their weapons, partially defusing the situation.

Tali took another emboldened step towards him, having to tilt her head upwards to remain staring at his eyes. When she spoke, the pain in her voice was clear, and she sounded more wounded than angry. "You… let me believe you had died?" She looked down at the floor for a moment, before jabbing a finger at his chest plate. Her tone sounded heartbroken, and it took all of Shepard's willpower to remain composed. "For two years I thought you were at peace with the ancestors, but you've been here with Cerberus? How could you do this to us... to me? Why!?"

His composure failed him then, his face dropping into sadness. "Tali, please let me explain what happened."

She closed her eyes, head tilting down though they quickly met his, brimming with sadness. He heard a sniffle come from her helmet, but there was no further words. The group of quarians gathered closer to her, though thankfully the weapons remained at ease.

Resisting the urge to grasp her shoulder, Shepard continued. "I've been on an operating table for over two years, Tali. The amount of cybernetics they used to bring me back after being spaced is… astonishing to say the least. I've only been awake for less than a day. I don't fully understand why Cerberus, of all organizations, spent this amount of money on my recovery. I didn't survive the attack on the Normandy, but they were able to get me the medical technology I needed to recover. I came here as a favor for giving me a second chance at life, but I have not joined them."

Tali did not respond, her eyes remained with the almost tangible sadness of earlier. Instead, the male quarian from earlier spoke up. "The news of your actions even made it to the fleet Commander... But Cerberus has made enemies of the quarian people, and your explanation is… difficult to believe."

A second light sniffle came from Tali, then she added. "They attacked the fleet Shepard... " She shook her head softly. "You wouldn't know that if you were in a coma, and I don't think they'd want to tell you."

I don't even give a shit about this mission right now, I can't stand seeing her this depressed...and it's entirely my fault... Shepard grimaced sadly, and opened his omnitool. Ignoring that the two members were just outside the door, he ordered. "Jacob, Miranda, secure the evac zone. Afterwards, continue to scout for leads. I'll push ahead." He shut the device not waiting for a response, and gestured towards the door behind him. Tali seemed to get the hint, her dexterous fingers plugging into her omnitool as the door's haptic interface turned red.

His tone did little to hide the undercurrent of remorse. "I don't blame any of you for questioning my explanation. It's still hard to wrap my head around the fact that two years have passed. The fact that it's thanks to a group of terrorists makes it that much worse. I don't know why they attacked the fleet, but I've seen what Cerberus does. Their sick experiments must have just been the tip of the iceberg."

Tali's eyes stared into his, lingering in silence, before turning to her team. "Prazza, it's him. I don't know how to explain it... but I need you to take over the squad. I just…can't th-"

The male quarian cut her off. "I understand Tali'Zorah. I believe the admirals will also." He turned to Shepard. "I don't trust those two Commander, but if you wish to work with us I will accept Tali's judgment. Patch into frequency 109.1625." The male made a gesture towards the unlocked door ahead, and the others filed suit, though a few looked back at him quizzically.

Shepard's eyes returned to Tali's, the last one of the quarian squad left in the room. She closed the short distance between them, her arms wrapping around his much larger frame. He returned it, and felt his emotions come to the forefront as he heard her gently weeping. For a brief moment, there was no Cerberus to worry about, no impending Reaper invasion at the forefront of his mind, just the thoughts of the woman in front of him. "I'm sorry Tali. I never meant to hurt you." He gently stroked her back, soon hearing the sounds of her crying stop. "Thank you for believing me."

Her arms tightened around him, and her visor remained buried against his chest. She finally spoke, and for the first time since seeing her that day, her tone carried a light smile. "I missed you John."