Niali stood among the throngs of refugees, lost in the sea of unrecognizable faces. Nothing could have prepared her for the sheer amount of organized chaos erupting around her in violent bursts and a new ship seemed to dock every other minute, dumping more and more refugees into the holding area. Some of them looked unfazed, some looked positively petrified, and others bore the ugly scars of battle. It was overwhelming and she wrung her hands together. There was no way she would find any of her crew in that crowd, even if they had managed to survive. They would have to start stacking the wounded on top of one another soon and she wished that she could flee back to the Normandy. It seemed unlikely that the commander would let her on board again and she found a quiet spot near a shipping container surrounded by a group of war-hardened turians.

None of them paid her any mind and Niali braced her hands against her knees as she doubled over, sucking in several deep breaths to calm her roiling stomach. This was most certainly not a dream nor was it a prank or illusion, she had accepted that as fact. The reality of her dire situation was starting to weigh on her more and more and there was nothing she could do. She would be trapped on the Citadel as just another nameless inconvenience. Her mother would never know what had become of her and her little hiccup in time would... would it erase her from existence entirely? The rules of time and space were blurred and she had never cared to study them much to begin with. It might behoove her to find someone that knew more, but she couldn't exactly start politely asking around for someone with extensive knowledge regarding time travel. The most brilliant of the bunch would have been sent to work on the Crucible and she sucked in a sudden breath and straightened up.

The Crucible! That was the key.

Her mother had told her all about the project and Niali let her tongue sweep out to wet her lips. She could beg and plead her way back onto the Normandy long enough to be shipped off to help build the massive anti-Reaper device. She was a scientist, after all. Her mother had passed on some Prothean knowledge that might be beneficial and while she was there, she could do some digging to see how to reverse the damage she'd done. It was a shot in the dark but it was the only shot she had at present. Sitting on the Citadel and waiting to die was not an option, at least not for her and not while she still had a chance. If she could get her mother ― Dr. T'Soni ― alone and convince her, then she stood a chance at convincing Commander Shepard too.

She had worth and she would prove it to them.

Her confidence was waning with each passing minute as she paced just inside of the docking bay door. It had been far easier to break away from the other refugees than she had anticipated; everyone was too busy keeping order to notice a lone asari wandering around where she didn't belong. The Alliance uniform helped, she supposed, though that alone should have raised red flags.

Was she doing the right thing? Would this even work? It was the best chance she had at getting back to where she belonged before she fucked it all up. There were rules that explicitly stated the many reasons why time travel was wrong. She didn't know them by heart, but she knew they had been created for a reason ― to deter the overly ambitious from doing exactly what she had done. Accident or not, the consequences could be catastrophic and had she any hair, she would have been pulling it out by the roots.

The door hissed seconds before she could launch into a full breakdown and she spun, staring into the faces of Shepard and a handful of her crew. Before any of them could speak, Niali was rushing towards them with her hands raised. "Let me come with you," the words came out in a rush of breath. Whatever convincing speech she had prepared was forgotten as desperation seized her. So much for trying to appeal to Liara first...

"You could use me," she went on. "I know about the Crucible. I know you need scientists to help build it. I am a scientist. I can help." She paused to take a deep breath. "None of my crew are here which makes me think that I... was the only one that survived. Even if they are alive, I'll never find them out there. Just look at all of those people," she gestured towards the door that had closed behind them, leaving them alone in the corridor. "Please, Commander. I... I can help." Her rushed plea was met with uncomfortable silence and she watched them exchange glances.

"You're right," Jane said finally. "We do need people and I'm not in a position to turn down anyone willing to offer their help," her expression was forlorn and Niali could feel her palms sweating in anticipation. "We can get you to Admiral Hackett as soon as possible. In the meantime... welcome aboard the Normandy, again." Without another word, the commander stepped around her and Niali released the breath she had been holding. That had gone much better than expected and she closed her eyes in a long blink.

Garrus and James both brushed past her with a nod and her eyes followed them before flicking back to the asari that regarded her with a curious intensity she knew all too well. She was as beautiful as Niali remembered and she rocked forward on the balls of her feet before planting them firmly and curling her hands into tight fists at her sides. All she wanted was to run into her arms and drown in the softly spoken assurances that it would be alright, but this was not the same woman that had rocked her to sleep as a child and Niali watched as she followed after the others, datapad in hand. Strange that her own mother did not recognize her, but then again, this Liara T'Soni had no child... yet.

Kaidan was the only one left and Niali tried to decipher the peculiar expression that he wore as he studied her. "Welcome to the crew," he said finally. Gesturing for her to follow him, the asari turned slowly to fall into step beside him. "I'm sorry to hear about your crew. I really am. I had hoped..."

"Me too," she whispered softly as he trailed off. "Just means I need to make it all mean something, right?" She asked, uncurling her fingers one at a time to let her arms hang limply at her sides.

"Yeah, exactly," he agreed with a firm nod.

"I'm sorry if you thought you were finally going to be rid of me. I'm sure that keeping an eye on me is the last thing you want to be doing," she apologized, casting him a sidelong glance. She was surprised to see him smirking as he rolled his shoulders in a shrug.

"Ah, I don't know. I wouldn't say that. I've had worse assignments," he said, earning a quiet laugh from the asari.

"Is that a challenge, Major?" Her attempt at humor felt forced, but it still elicited a laugh from him.

"Kaidan. Just call me Kaidan. And I would appreciate it if you didn't try to make my life Hell," he said as they stepped into the airlock. "Bad enough with the Reapers."

"Duly noted," she nodded her head and swept her dark gaze over the chamber before letting it settle on him once again, giving him an appreciative once over. "You're different than I thought you would be," she mused aloud. Her unexpected admission took him by surprise and he quirked a brow, puzzled by the meaning of her words.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Realizing belatedly that she had said too much while lacking the courage to explain herself, Niali feigned a cough and quickly averted her eyes from him. "Nothing. I just... never mind." She paused for a moment before clearing her throat, eager to change the subject. "So... where are we headed?"