Chapter 5 : Restoration
*finally, the time-line can slow.
Captains Quarters: 22:00 hours
Shepard looked over as Tali removed her faceplate. Once more he was captivated by her beauty. Smiling he leaned slightly and gently kissed her once before replacing the mask. Tali moved in close to him as they settled down for some needed rest.
Miranda's stateroom: 22:30 hours
"Damn it" she said as she hit her desk again. She had gone to engineering but they didn't need her there. For the first time in her life she felt useless. They had done it, they had stopped the collectors but to be stuck drifting here? Here? Even if a rescue ship was sent what could they do. The race to get away from the exploding base had been on a random vector and now the ship was cold. Just another lifeless husk in a sea of wreckage.
Best to keep to the present she thought. She had passed the word that all personnel not actively in repairs should sleep to conserve life support. Power would be restored but with no time-line it was best to take precautions. Dying from lack of oxygen was an even worse thing than just drifting.
She had heard how Tali had stabilized the drive core, saving the ship. As well as what had happened to Tali afterwards and how Shepard carried her away. He really cared for that ... girl. Her mind had called up more descriptive words to use but realized they were wrong. Dealing with Shepard had changed her, changed her in ways she would never have guessed. The Illusive man was wrong, humanity can't grow strong by subjugating others. Only by working with the other races could humanity survive.
Realizing she had nothing to gain by worrying she laid down, following her own orders and allowed her mind to relax. Her body was already exhausted by the battle today, sleep would help.
Throughout the ship non-essential personnel were all getting rest. In the dead ship, the loss of voices seemed like an afterthought.
Engineering: 22:30 hours
Neither Ken or Gabby complained when Legion entered. No matter what was asked, Legion had been able to assist. In under an hour power had been restored to the ships critical functions. Life support among the most important. Also power had also been restored to EDI though powering all her holo-terminals would take time. The one in engineering however was critical. "Ken," EDI says "I do not mean to belittle your efforts but over half our on board electronics repair stores have already been depleted. I do not believe you can repair the entire ship."
"EDI, never say that! We can fix her, we" he looks around for a second "just need alittle bit more time. You'll see. And thanks for the diagnostics, they really came in handy. That breaker box in cargo would have caused no end o trouble had you not found it." Looking over at Legion he says "Alrighty Legion, kin you grab that box o parts and bring your gun, we be going into the cave o the demon now."
The ridge plates on Legions head flared a couple of times before it moved to retrieve the box of breakers, tools and wiring. It had reached consensus on Ken's statement concluding he was joking. Following Ken, they proceeded down into the lower cargo hold.
Gabby just watched them go before turning her attention back to her control board. She had a mess to deal with but plenty of time. Both port thruster controls were beyond repair. Full replacements were needed for both. The starboard two did have working components but she wasn't sure they had all the pieces to fix anything. She was frustrated and worried.
Lower Cargo hold: 23:30 hours
Jack was pacing, had been for awhile "Shit!" she exclaims again and continues pacing. They had sent word via a crewman that if you were not repairing something then hit the rack. Sleeping used less oxygen and without knowing how long it would be before power was restored it was a real concern. She had tried sleeping, hell just laying on the rack felt wrong, she was a creature of action though Shepard had help calm her some. She also knew she wasn't a techie so she stayed out of the way. Safer for all.
She had just sat down on her rack when she hears footsteps on the ladder. Looking up she see's Ken and Legion. She just says "Hey." as she watches them access a breaker panel then tries to lay down again.
Captains Quarters: 23:50 hours
Tali opened her eye's and looked straight into Shepard's face. In sleep his frown lines softened, his brow was not as creased. She loved that face. Glancing at the clock she realized she had slept longer than she meant. Almost 2 hours lost when the ship needed her for repairs. If she had tried to leave before Shepard had fallen asleep he would have stopped her. Now he can get the rest he needs and she can get back to work. To be honest, she really needed the sleep too but that could wait.
Carefully sliding out of bed she quietly moves to the door glancing once more at his sleeping form. His left hand moving slightly as if looking for something. She smiles and leaves. Stopping on deck 3 she grabs a foodtube as well as another dose of antibiotics. Her fever isn't as bad as it could have been but she doesn't want it getting worse. After her meal she continues down to engineering.
On the ride down she mentally formulates a plan. First find out the full status of the ship, assisting where needed then to make a shopping list of required materials. Exiting the elevator she checks on the one item that will make or break their survival. Resting in its cradle the shuttle looks untouched by all the damage. She does note however, the shuttle bay is still in hard vacuum. Barrier fields must have been lost in the explosion.
Steeling herself for what she finds she enters the engine room. "Keelah!" exclaims Tali as the doors open. She can't believe anyone survived with this kind of destruction.
Engineering: 00:05 hours
Gabby drops the circuit board she held and wrapping Tali in a hug says "Tali! I'm so glad your alright." Releasing the hug she steps back asking "Should you be down here already? You took a nasty hit" with concern on her face. "You don't have to worry, Ken and Legion have been getting power back up. Oh and most of this mess is my fault, trying to find enough parts to get a engine online." she finishes with a smile.
Tali responded "Gabby I'm fine. I am a little concerned about all this." indicating the state of the engine room. "I take it some major systems are down, please give me a rundown so I can help." After the update Tali joins Gabby and together they start piecing together whats left.
Gabby was good but over the next few hours she watched Tali revive boards and modules that anyone else she knew would have flushed into space. By the time they finished they had 2 engines ready for testing. Gabby just looked at Tali saying with admiration "I don't know how you did it Tali. I can't believe you were able to get that scrap working again."
"Gabby, I didn't do it. We did. A lot can be done with a good team you know" Tali states feeling embarrassed by the compliment. Continuing "There's still a lot more to do. We need to build a list of everything we need. There is an entire fleet of ships out there we can scavenge from."
Tali and Gabby start working on the list of replacement parts needed. Halfway through the list main power is restored to the ship.
Engineering: 04:00 hours
Ken walks through the doorway yawning then see's Tali "Tali, it's good to have you back." Again he yawns this time causing Gabby to yawn as well.
Tali feels exhausted by the day, the 2 hours she had were not enough and Ken and Gabby didn't even have that. "Ken, Gabby. Get some rest. The ship is functioning again, no need to exhaust yourselves. You both have done an excellent job now get out."
"Creator Tali'Zorah" says Legion "This platform is more than capable of monitoring engineering. Would it not be advisable for all organics to rest now?"
Tali realizes Legion is right. She has trouble accepting that but even her own body agrees with it. "Legion, your right." Glancing at Gabby and Ken then back to it she finishes "um, if I'm needed I will be on deck 1." Blushing a little she looks down at her omnitool to check and save the list before turning to leave. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.
Ken and Gabby just look at each other for a second then watch Tali as she leaves. Gabby thinks to herself 'It's about time.' They both leave the compartment as Legion steps up to a console and begins monitoring
