Seemingly floating aimlessly above Earth, the charred and battered Alliance dreadnought SSV Everest was playing host to Admiral Steven Hackett and most of the senior crew of the Normandy – Ashley, Garrus, Liara, and Tali among them. The bridge had been destroyed during the battle to fire the Crucible, with most of the senior staff killed – including Captain Richard Lang. It was flanked by a number of smaller vessels and shuttles – human, turian, and asari craft were assisting in the ship's repairs. It was a testament to how far the galaxy had come in such a short period of time.
They sat around the long table – chairs four to a side – in the conference room found on deck eight. Everyone, of course, except Tali.
She stood with her arms crossed around her chest, staring out the observation window. She was looking at Earth slowly rotate as the lights from the continents of North and South America passed through the night. She was amazed that even now, a mere week after the Reapers' destruction, the lights of human civilization were already visible once again. While she was looking at the planet below, her thoughts were decidedly elsewhere.
John deserved to see this. He fought a damn Reaper on foot to give me our homeworld back. He deserved to see his own returned to him too. Instead, I'm the one that's here to see it.
It's just not fair.
She sniffled quietly, trying not to draw attention to herself.
"Hey Tali? Do quarians have constellations?"
They were lying on the ground on a warm evening, near the edge of the cliff that had overlooked the Reaper base on Rannoch. She laid on her side, her arm draped over her lover's chest while his arm held her close. His fingers gently stroked down the side of her hip. These moments, he feared, were going to be fewer and much farther between from here on out, so they might as well enjoy them.
Shepard had ordered a little R and R for the team after destroying the Reaper. In his opinion, they had more than earned it. The Admiralty Board was in no position to argue, not that they would have. Far be it for them to argue with the Alliance soldier that had just brokered peace with the Geth – oh, and had also helped take down a Reaper while on foot. The man was a legend, and had earned more than a few small favors from them. A couple of days off was a very small favor.
"Our ancestors had used the stars to navigate centuries…" Tali thought about this for a moment before continuing. "Keelah, I suppose probably 'millennia' ago by now. Why?"
"Oh, ya know. Just thinking out loud. On Earth, our ancestors had used stars that appeared to resemble various forms in mythology, or creatures native to Earth. It, as you implied with your own people, helped with navigation, but also as a form of storytelling."
She perked up then. Quarians were renowned storytellers, and she was no different.
Shepard reached over with his left hand and clasped his other, wrapping her completely in his arms. She wiggled a little, trying to get even closer to him. Comfortable again, she let out an audible low moan of satisfaction.
"John?"
"Yes, Tali?"
"Tell me one of your stories."
"Of course, love. I'll tell you one that's…a little close to home."
"So, we call this part of the galaxy the 'Perseus Veil'. Well, here's the story behind the name. It's a myth from one of our ancient civilizations – a people we call the 'Greeks'. They lived in an area that they – and we still do – called 'Greece'. Anyway, Perseus was born of the Greek god Zeus and a human queen named Danae, and was something of a renowned monster slayer."
"Mmmm, you're my monster slayer, aren't you, Mr. 'I-Took-Down-Saren-and-Came-Back-From-the-Dead-Just-to-Stop-the-Collectors-and-Then-While-I-Was-at-it-Figured-I-Might-as-Well-Defeat-a-Reaper-on-Foot-and-Win-the-Beautiful-Quarian-Girl-her-Homeworld-Back' Shepard?"
"That's a very impressive title, Miss vas Normandy. You forgot one very important thing in all that. The most important thing, in fact."
"Oh? And what is that?"
"I also won the heart of the that same beautiful and wonderful quarian woman. She's the best woman I've ever had the privilege of knowing." He smiled sheepishly at her. "Also, you may have helped a little bit. You know, with the 'Saren' thing, and the 'Collectors' thing, and…"
Tali interrupted him by relinquishing herself from his grasp and straddling him seductively. She leaned in close to him, her hands on his chest. Before he could protest, she removed her mask. He felt her breath dance on his lips, their pulses quickening.
"How about the 'falling in love' part?" She whispered lustfully at him.
"Yeah, that one was all you. But for the record? Falling in love with you was the easiest thing I've ever done."
Tali giggled and whispered to him.
"Sweet talker."
She leaned in and kissed him as deeply and passionately as she ever had, wishing that this could've only been the beginning. He responded in kind. The softness of her lips, and her taste never failed to astonish and – not to mince words – arouse him. She moaned softly as her serya cradled her face in his hands, gently stroking her cheeks with his thumbs and wiping away her joyous tears as they fell. After a time, Tali finally relented and ruefully pulled her mouth away from his. She rolled off of her lover, replacing her mask and sighing reluctantly as she did so.
She immediately pressed her body next to his, her head back on his chest as she draped one leg across his pelvis. Again, he pulled her close, enveloping her in his arms.
He interrupted a few minutes of contented silence. "Shall I continue the story?"
"Mmmhmm…" she responded sleepily.
"So, Perseus was first tricked into monster slaying because another man, whom he believed was 'dishonorable' wanted to get with Perseus' mother…"
John had trailed off there. He felt the slow rhythmic rise and fall of her chest, as well as the soft purring noise that he associated with when Tali was asleep and softly snoring.
"Jesus, you're so cute, Miss vas Normandy," he said as he kissed her softly on the top of her head where her realk was softest. "How did I get so lucky?"
"Mmmm…love you, John…" she mumbled as she descended completely into sleep.
Returning his gaze back to the stars, his thoughts returned to the future. It was one that he desperately hoped he would be able to join her in.
"I love you, serya. With all my heart."
Sighing, Tali's thoughts returned to the present.
I'm not ever going to get past this am I? If we can't find him, if he's…gone…what do I do? Auntie Rahn knows that I love him, but does she know how deep it goes? Does she know that I might…never be whole again?
I know I told Garrus in no uncertain terms what I expected to happen to me,
She shuddered at the thought of her earlier conversation with the turian.
but keelah, I don't want to die – but I don't want to live without him either. I've seen other races deal with loss before, but damn it, quarians are just different. It's bad enough that we were dependent on Rannoch – "symbiosis", Mordin had called it once – but why does it have to be like this all the time?
When it was just us, I couldn't imagine being happier. For the first time in my life, I felt complete. I felt easy in my own skin. But now? I can barely stand my own thoughts. What kind of leader are my people expecting? If it's anything beyond a husk, they're going to be sorely dis-
The doors to the conference room hissed as they opened, and in walked one Steven Hackett. The grizzled war veteran wore a battered uniform that had clearly seen better days, much to his chagrin. Of course, it was hard to tell when the man had "chagrin" at all – if Tali had thought humans difficult to read before, nothing had prepared her for meeting the stoic legend himself face-to-face.
Ashley and James Vega snapped to attention immediately. Tali simply turned to face him, her hands clasped respectfully behind her back while Garrus and Liara stood up in greeting.
Hackett simply shook his head.
"Commander. Lieutenant. Doctor. Mister Vakarian. Admiral." He nodded his greeting to each of them. "At ease. Please sit."
The admiral and all five of his guests did just that, with the Alliance soldiers and Tali to his left and Garrus and Liara to his right. The admiral continued.
"It is a pleasure to see you all here; thank you for coming. I'll try to keep this brief, so let's get started." He folded his hands in front of him on the table. "The mission to fire the Crucible was a success.
"First, the mass relays are mostly inoperative throughout the galaxy, with a few notable exceptions. The relays leading to many of the core worlds are operational again: Tuchanka, Palaven, Thessia, Sur'kesh, and obviously Earth and Eden Prime are all operational.
He looked specifically at Tali as he spoke. "Admiral Zorah, your colleague Admiral Rahn has informed me that the relay back to Rannoch will be operational within the week."
Tali only nodded at the news.
All of her crewmembers frowned slightly at her relative non-reaction.
Hackett sighed before continuing. "Next, I'm going to confirm the events as we know them. Admiral Anderson and Commander Shepard were able to reach the Citadel."
Go back to Rannoch. Build yourself a home.
But…I have a home.
Come back to me…
Tali visibly shuddered and looked down at the table, her hands and fingers working nervously under the table. Both Garrus and Hackett saw her reaction. Garrus swallowed hard, Hackett frowned.
"At some point after they boarded, Shepard was able to open the Citadel arms to allow the attachment of the Crucible. I ordered the fleets to fall back. Shortly thereafter, the Citadel fired a massive energy wave that destroyed the Reapers, any of their constructs, and any artificial-intelligence-based…life. Based on your reports, commander," he looked at Ashley in affirmation that it was her report, "the relays were used to spread the energy wave throughout the galaxy. We soon learned that the Reapers weren't the only ones affected. Unfortunately, those affected included the Geth. Their ships were disabled, and our rescue and salvage teams confirmed that they were all, for lack of a better term, inert."
"Creator Tali'Zorah, does this unit have a soul?"
Tali spoke matter-of-factly, yet earnestly. "You mean 'dead', Admiral."
He paused, considering what she had implied. Finally, he nodded in agreement. "Yes, Admiral Zorah. They were dead."
A heavy silence filled the room, broken once again by Hackett.
"Our ships' internal systems and VIs were momentarily disrupted, but came back up after a few seconds. It was not dissimilar to a hard computer reboot.
"As the Crucible fired, our sensors detected a massive explosion from the Citadel, and we confirmed that two of the five arms of the station were completely destroyed, with the rest of the station suffering heavy damage. We've detected sporadic power readings, and our teams have recovered a few hundred survivors. But so far, we have found no sign of the commander. He is currently listed as MIA."
Ashley was the first to speak. "Sir, how long do you plan to continue the search?"
"The current timetable is constantly changing; different species have survival abilities that differ from humans. I don't think I need to tell you that a krogan could survive in even the harshest conditions for weeks."
Garrus spoke next. "But humans…?"
"Most humans could maybe last two, maybe three weeks under those conditions." He paused and surveyed the room again. "I know what you're asking, and we don't plan on giving up on Shepard. I will be honest with you; the chances are not-"
Hackett was interrupted by a voice through the intercom.
"Excuse me, Admiral Hackett sir? This is Lieutenant O'Hara. Comms just picked up a signal from the Citadel – it looks like it originated from the Presidium. It's very basic, text only. You, uh, might want to see this."
The entire room shifted in their seats – Hackett included.
He raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Very well, lieutenant. Run it through the monitor at this station."
"Aye aye, sir. Patching it through."
In a few seconds, the holographic display buzzed to life above the table. All five of the guests gathered around Hackett and the monitor, watching as a message appeared on screen, one character at a time in bright blue light.
5-9-2-3-A-C-2-8-2-6
K-E-E-L-A-H-S-E-L-A-I
For a few moments, no one reacted – no one could react. Hackett responded first.
"Well, I'll be damned," was all he could muster.
Liara's hands immediately flew to her mouth, eyes wide.
"Shepard, you crazy son of a bitch…"
"Fucking 'Loco', man…"
Hackett followed up with O'Hara. "Can you determine a precise location?"
"Yes, admiral. From these readings, it is coming from the area that housed the embassies, sir."
Tali had taken a few involuntary steps away from the table as she felt her legs waver under the shock. The message had contained two pieces of information; she recognized both.
While the others watched her in silent wonder, Ashley had seen Tali's reaction and was at her side – just in case her legs actually did give out. Without realizing it, Tali had pulled from one of her suit's pockets the set of dog tags retrieved by Liara after the destruction of the first Normandy. Even though she had known Shepard's service number since her days on the original Normandy, it was this sense of touch that helped to make it real to her. She read and reread the service number engraved upon them -
Ancestors! He's alive!
His tags still in hand, Tali felt a sense of renewed determination. She also felt something that had become somewhat alien to her, yet recognizable. She hadn't felt it in a long time, and ancestors knew that she wasn't sure that she would have ever felt again: it was a sense of hope.
"Serya, you did come back…"
Like everyone else in the room putting the pieces together, Hackett turned his head, facing her.
"Admiral Zorah, shall we prepare a shuttle?"
Barely able to contain her feelings, she responded with a simple "Yes, Admiral Hackett. Please."
And for the first time that any one of them could remember, Admiral Steven Hackett smiled.