Horse Head Nebula
Minute Man Station
Months Prior

When the Fleet declared Cerberus an enemy to the quarian people, Tali was one of the first to volunteer for the mission to fight back. Juggling the task had been a struggle. She was promised to the newly formed Alliance-Quarian strike-ops team, and their deployment was around the corner. Yet Cerberus not only attacked her home, the Neema, but went after the last of Clan Shepard. And she was not about to let such a trespass slide.

Plus, she had to admit to a bit of curiosity. Why did they want Jane? What were they doing with human biotics? It was odd. And her inquisitive nature got the better of her. How strange that it was curiosity, near death experiences, and a bit of youthful naivety that brought her to Shepard in the first place.

They were a squad of four, including her. Prazza'Dilan vas Tonbay, Zilo'Yaelas vas Neema, and Mina'Nosal vas Molarm. A team cobbled together at the last minute. Normally they were tasked with extricating youth who ran afoul during their pilgrimage. But they all volunteered after the attack. Every quarian took their home's safety seriously, and the events on both the Neema and the Idenna shook the Fleet to its core. They were vulnerable. And in order to teach Cerberus a lesson, they needed to strike at its heart. Commander Pinncok's datapad led them here. Now to discover what Cerberus was trying to accomplish by attacking the Fleet.

Tali strode through pristine, alabaster halls. The entire station was dense with chlorhexidine. Her helmet's HUD blinked, warning her of the need to change the toxin filter once she was off this wretched boondoggle. Levo based antiseptics wreaked havoc on the quarian immune system. The allergic reaction would not be pretty, should it manage to permeate her suit filters.

At least boarding hadn't been as difficult as she anticipated. They blasted through the outer doors with ease, infiltrating the facility. Clearly Cerberus wasn't expecting much resistance, relying solely on secrecy and lies.

For the life of her, she couldn't comprehend what Cerberus was up to out here. The cluster was largely unoccupied. And this facility was listed as defunct. At first, she assumed it was a resource gathering station, working under the nose of the Alliance to strip the system bare. Yet, this was a lab. One with a good amount of creds behind the endeavor. The memory of mutated rachini and thorian creatures remained fresh in her mind. She breathed in, bracing herself for whatever horrors the terrorist organization had lying in wait.

"Don't touch that Prazza!" She snapped. The man scoffed before placing a jar back on the shelf. The label read, J.S. 15 weeks, scan revealing that the fetus was human, dead, and literally pickled in order to preserve the unborn corpse. She shivered. This place was grim, even for Cerberus. There were shelves upon shelves of similar jars. Ordered by gestation week. By the time they vacated the room, she had a deeper understanding of human fetal development along with a need for antiemetics.

"Alright, let's find these bosh'tets and be done with it. Not sure about the rest of you, but I've had enough of this macabre station." Tali marched forward, omni-tool glowing, ready to unleash a series of electrical shocks on any Cerberus personnel that crossed their path. What they were doing was disgusting.

She barged through the double doors, halting so quickly she nearly tripped over her own two feet. Seeing but unseeing. Trembling but stationary. Wide eyed and unbelieving, she stared. It was the first, and last, time she was grateful for the suit. Not the mask. But the actual suit that served as both her freedom and prison. Because she peed. And not just a little bit. Total loss of control would need a mop, had it not been for the suit's waste disposal system, level of peed.

Lying in bed, with so many IV lines that they encased each arm, was John Shepard. Shepard who died. Shepard who went down with the Normandy. Shepard who… who was moving, eyelids fluttering. She tried to speak but all that came was a squeak. Her wayward feet brought her across the room of their own volition, only stopping when her thighs tapped against the metal bed frame. She swallowed, voice trembling, and tried again. "S-shepard? Y-Y-you're alive ?"

The lids flew open, meeting her eyes through the helmet. A familiar glint of green nestled beneath blazing red. An inhuman roar, and the next thing she knew he seized her by the throat, lifting her clean off her feet. She felt Prazza and the rest of the squad take aim. Straining desperately, she signaled them to hold fire. But his hand was like a vice around her throat, squeezing. "S-shepard." She sobbed. "It's me."

A flash of recognition and she slumped to the floor, free.

"T-tali?" His breath was shallow, rapid. The machines beeped angrily. "Y-you came for me? Oh thank god. But how? You're not with the Reds. Oh I knew you guys wouldn't let me rot in this place." He smiled - a broken, lopsided little grin. And her heart wept at the raw joy she saw. The relief. All this time Shepard had been alive. Alive and held captive in some demented lab.

As if reading her mind, the speakers blared to life. "Unhand him this instant. You've trespassed on Cerberus property, and I am authorized to kill on sight. Step away from the gurney."

"You are one crazy bosh'tet if you think I'm leaving him here." Tali shook with rage. Hands tangled in the various lines, figuring out how to extricate him.

"Oh man," Shepard groaned, pulling himself upright. "I'm so glad to see you. Kahoku warned me when he said Cerberus was trying to build some sort of super-soldier, but I… I never imagined it'd be me. That they were after me." He mumbled something incomprehensible then, something even she couldn't make out. Most of his words were muddled. Like one hadn't quite ended before moving onto next. If she hadn't spent her pilgrimage enthralled by his voice, she never would've made out what he was saying. "Radio Ash and… spiky friend, get them in position and ready. Soon as we clear the airlock, I'm turning this whole fucking station into a debris field." The man was obviously drugged. His eyes dragged lazily across her mask, pupils the size of saucers.

Keelah what have they done to you?

"Now we're taking him? What is this? Some lab project we're saving out of pity?" Tali jumped, having nearly forgotten about Prazza and the rest of the squad.

"He's my former Captain. And we're not leaving without him." Seeing that the most pressing issue was escape, she began ripping off electrodes and peeling back the tape keeping various needles in place. Scarcely certain of what she was doing, it was as though her body and mind disconnected but agreed on one, absolute truth. Get him out of here. Electrodes not important, IV with saline not important, IV with… yellow liquid… hopefully not important. She finished quickly, bent down, and pulled his arm over her shoulder. "Can you walk?"

"I… Yeah… yeah I can walk" He pushed her off. "If that's who I think it is on the loudspeaker, we need to move. She's a real bitch. And she's got the manpower to back it up."

He stood, wobbled a bit but stood. And she couldn't help reaching out, ever so slightly, as they shoved a pistol and thermal clip into his hands, still not quite believing her eyes. Every poke a confirmation. Every press of her fingers through the suit met something solid. Met Shepard. He was alive. He was real. And now he was looking at her as if she were… poking him like a weirdo. That might do it. His attention was divided between her oddness and his gun, a puzzled look on his face for both situations. It took a moment before it clicked. "You need to use thermal clips now… guns don't cool on their own anymore."

"What idiot came up with that?"

"Let's get you out of here first. We can worry about that later"

Shepard stated that he could walk. And he could. But running was beyond him. In an effort to speed things up, Prazza had to aid him. A task he protested every step of the way. "Why are we doing this?"

"If you can't follow orders, then perhaps you shouldn't be on this mission!" Tali snapped. There was no time. And she wasn't about to leave Shepard behind to hasten their retreat. That said, given his discombobulation, she wasn't certain they were in as much danger as he implied. A matter quickly settled when they found themselves in a break-neck chase with dozens of Cerberus soldiers. Far more than her modest squad could take.

They nearly made it. Long loping strides down the final hallway. The elevator ahead. Cerberus troops hot in pursuit. Tali skidded around the corner, they were on the homestretch. And then it happened. She heard him shout in surprise, the same voice, the same tone, the same hiss of pain. The same man she followed to Ilos crumpled in the hallway. Prazza immediately abandoned him, and dove for the elevator. It was less than a dozen feet away.

Something was wrong, his leg was crooked (Broken?) and not responding. Hollow cheeks swelled and deflated. So much thinner than she was used to seeing. He looked like a helpless bambino struggling to stand, eyes wide with fear - something she never thought to see on such a tenacious face. But the troops were closing in. She could see them inching forward, massive guardian shields in one hand. Cannons with electrified nets in the other. Every barrel aimed at Shepard.

There are moments in life that define a person, that make them who they are, and answer the age old question. What am I? My thoughts? My mind? My body?

The truth is, we are little more than choices. The sum total of a being evolves alongside the paths they took. The decisions. The mistakes. It's rarely obvious when it's happening. Usually events slam together so rapidly that one never realizes these life-altering moments are life altering - not until there's been a few decades to ruminate over the matter.

There were seconds to spare, nothing more. To her right, the elevator, and their shuttle ready and waiting to ferry her home. To the left Shepard, her captain, the first man she ever loved, and his grisly fate. He had been alive all this time.

She leapt back down the hall, mind spinning, a solitary thought spurning her onward. I can't abandon him . Prazza hollered. The elevator doors closed. Prazza still hollered. And she laughed a little as his voice grew fainter, the elevator carrying them away. At least her squad was safe.

"Tali." Shepard trembled against her suit. One arm wrapped around her neck, three fingers grasping his wrist, she pulled him to his feet. They shuffled forward, searching for cover. "Tali… what did you do?"

I made a choice.

But there was no time. She tossed Chatika into the fray, and raced for the alcove at the far side of the bridge. A hobbled, three legged bid for survival. She shoved Shepard behind a stack of crates, out of the line of fire, before setting up a turret. Chatika lay in shambles, having served as nothing more than a momentary distraction. The troops wasted no time. Their advance an inevitable fate. Each heavy footfall brought them closer. And she didn't have any other tricks up her suit.

Her heart pounded furiously, lightheadedness setting in. Like she was running towards death. Maybe she had. It's not like she could hack organic beings and send them exploding into one another. She was a tech-expert, not a marine. Her eyes locked on his, begging for guidance. But when she saw the dazed, confused look on his face, it was as though someone reached inside her core and squeezed from her all the hope she had ever known. I could've left and returned for him. What was the point of this? What have I done? Kneeling in front of him, she spoke. Answering a question he probably didn't remember asking. "I chose you, Shepard. I … chose you."

Another lopsided grin, pulling on angry, red scars. "Couldn't do it without ya Tali. Don't you worry. I'll stop him."

"Who?"

"The crazy glowy-eyed bastard."

"Saren?"

"That's the one!"

A bang. A crash. The sound of metal rending. And Tali knew the turret, their last defense, had splintered. What she didn't expect was this borderline incapacitated man leaping to his feet, and throwing himself between her and the first troop to materialize around the corner. "Get down! Don't let these things get close! Their vomit will tear right through your shields!" Suddenly, as if the Ancestors themselves intervened, Shepard remembered he was armed. And the pistol found its way into thin, gangly hands. A squeeze of the trigger, and the bullet traveled expertly through a small slot in the shield. The first troop fell. Then, with more strength than his wan physique implied, he slammed the second into the crate's sharp corner. Over and over. Brain matter oozed from the helmet. Grey and red intermingling, dripping to the floor. "Wrex! Charge on my left!"

Then it hit her. He's reliving the fight with the thorian. She'd been selected for the mission on Feros thanks to the geth presence, and was certain to give those synthetic bastards neverending hell. But when they found themselves in an underground passage, fighting creatures made of hollowed bone and horror, she felt utterly useless. Wrex and Shepard formed a wall around her, protecting her every step of the way. But Wrex wasn't here now, and the Commander's order had some strategy behind it - more than her plan anyhow. Which consisted of nothing more than spending her last moments with the man she loved.

And so, shotgun in hand, she charged.

With a scream, Tali leaped towards the closest trooper, jamming the shotgun to his gut. He fell with the blast. Quickly switching to a pistol, she shot straight through the next man's knee, bringing him down hard. A spray of bullets to the back of the head ensured he stayed that way. But she didn't realize the first trooper lived. Didn't see the gun in his hand. Didn't notice until her suit shrieked and blared. Rupture. Rupture . Even though she couldn't feel it. Not yet anyhow. Not with her adrenaline running high. Rough hands (Shepard?) threw her backwards. John's voice bellowing into a com that didn't exist. "Have the medbay prepped and ready. Tali's wounded!"

He scooped her up, gun clanging somewhere out of reach, forgotten. Carrying her, he walked straight into the fray as if they hadn't been shooting at one another moments earlier. Tali squeezed her eyes shut. The end was here. At least she'd die in his arms.

"I said stand down!" The irate voice carried over the cacophony. If Tali wasn't mistaken, it was the same voice she heard over the intercom earlier. "Of all the thick-headed, imbecilic actions to take. When I give an order, I expect it obeyed to the letter. Do you understand?"

"They killed Bill and Shaun! And…"

"So you decided to jeopardize this entire project? I clearly stated non-lethal force. Does this look like the damage submission nets would cause?" The woman was screaming in earnest now. Rage flowed from her throat.

Tali's eyes flew open, drinking in the change of events. Surrounded by a couple dozen Cerberus troopers was a short, dark-haired woman. She was dressed in a skin-tight body-suit. One hand clenched to her side. The other pointed angrily at the offending soldiers as she chewed them out one at a time. She couldn't make out what the men were saying, their voices having lowered with shame. But when the woman spoke again, her command carried like bells, cold and clear. "I don't want to hear it. That purple-suited bitch was one of his crew! We're not going to win any favors from the commander by killing his crewmates!"

She stalked towards them. And Shepard instinctively pulled away, covering Tali with the upper half of his torso, bellowing. "Get back! That's an order!" But she could hear the panic in his voice. The confusion.

Truthfully, she had dreams like this. Shepard cradling her in his arms pulling her in closer. Unfortunately, reality was stained with blood. Her blood. Purple dripped from his fingers, smearing across the mask as he pulled back to check on her. It really put a damper on the dizzying change in events. A terrified fit of giggles escaped. And she wondered at the sound. Why was she laughing?

"That woman is bleeding badly. And by the looks of it, she's going into shock. Quarian immune systems aren't meant for this level of exposure. I don't know what I can do to convince you that I'm on…" At that very moment, with Shepard distracted, a trooper snuck up with a syringe full of sedatives. A jab to the neck, and the commander fell. He blinked, paralyzed from the ground. A menacing, angry look etched deeply into his face. Soon I'll be on that floor too? Will these bosh'tets kill us both? Everything felt like rubber and glue. (Or her skin felt like rubber and glue.) Nothing was really bothering her anymore (then everything was and she gasped). She was floating down, down and out. Something stopped her before she hit the floor. Her hands pressed against that bitch's face. Purple (Her blood?) smeared across said face. "Friggin' bosh'tet." A voice said.

They loaded her onto a stretcher so fast that Tali wasn't certain what had happened. It felt as though she were breathing through a straw. A heavy weight settled on her chest. And she watched, bewildered, as the fluorescent lights streaked above.

She would swear up and down, left and right, that the shadow of death was chasing her. Swear its presence occupied the cold, sterile room they ferried her off to. It loomed out of sight, but she could feel it. This thing that would stay with her for the rest of her days. Granting a new perspective on the possibility of an afterlife.

Impersonal, suited bodies in Cerberus colors were all around. But that was not what she feared. Death was present. And his eyes were locked on her. For a time (Hours? Seconds?) that was all she could think about. Black, encroaching doom. Except her thoughts kept devolving more and more, like a span of yarn unraveling. Until she couldn't remember how she got here. And she suddenly hated them. The people around her. They needed to die!

There was a weight pressing hard against the back of her head. It reached down through her skull into her chest, a vice around her heart. She gasped for air. Everything was inconceivably heavy. Starbursts speckled out her vision. And the world sank from view.