~ Two Weeks Prior
There was no jovial welcoming party when Tali docked with the Rayya. No crowd of friends to greet her, even her father didn't show. Shala'Raan was there however, and immediately escorted her to the medical ship. It took less than forty-five minutes for the doctor to announce that she had healed spectacularly. Miranda did a stellar job. Perhaps she was too hard on the bosh'tet. Then she'd remember how the woman treated Shepard, how she grew then butchered clones of him, and immediately ceased feeling bad.
"You'll find your quarters just as you left them, Tali." Raan pulled her in for a hug. "It is so good to see you."
"I take it father doesn't share that sentiment." Her tone was dull.
"Your father was beside himself when you first disappeared. Then Cerberus sent us some vids, suit readouts, reports. Things of that nature. So, we knew you were alright. Initially we didn't believe it, but a team of techs verified the footage. That Miranda woman even kept us updated on your studies. Human anatomy and physiology, tactical combat medicine, and I believe you completed a course in orthopedics. All human-centric of course. So, I'm not sure the point of it."
Tali sighed. Her father must be furious.
"The thing is," Raan continued. "This also placed him in a difficult position. Our treaty with the Alliance dissolved."
Hearing that, Tali barely held back a wince.
"He repaired our relations with the humans, but not without them gaining the upper hand. Councilor Anderson now has primary claim over our findings on Haestrom. Whatever it is that he's after."
"When do we leave, anyway?"
"You and the team will be deployed in four days."
"So soon?"
"Some would say it's terribly late."
"I… understand. I'm just surprised they waited for me…"
"The details are on a need-to-know basis, and the only thing I am certain of is that your father was ready to take your place on this mission."
"It's that important? They'd send an Admiral?"
"I suppose. I wasn't privy to the details behind the decision. Anyhow, the Alliance marines arrived six weeks ago. They've been running drills with our troops in the interim. I suggest observing them tomorrow after your debriefing. They're on the Shaanil. It's… interesting. I had never seen a cross species team before."
Raan left her at her quarter's entrance, eager to return and ready her own people Several engineers from Tonbay were joining the raid – unless that too changed.
Tali didn't really believe the part about her father being torn up over her absence. It was far more likely that he was distraught about her bringing shame to Clan Zorah. She not only neglected her duties, but did so on behalf of a non-quarian. Something that was borderline treasonous to her people. On the other hand, the part about him losing his temper with the humans made perfect sense.
As a whole, quarians were a highly emotional species. Reactive. And her father certainly had a penchant for anger. Perhaps they had always been that way – after all, humans are similar in their emotional reactivity. First contact with them let the quarians know they weren't alone with that trait. Add in the drastic lives they were forced to live, cut off from one another, starved for touch, constantly battling illness, and one had an entire species of impassioned beings – bitter over their fate, and powerless to change it. They were fierce in their devotion to quarian issues, quarian politics, and most importantly the omnipresent issue of the geth. And while they argued, almost constantly, it was rarely with animosity. They loved each other more fiercely than any other race she'd seen.
But there was a reason quarians were isolationists. Sequestered to their fleet, only venturing into the galaxy for pilgrimage and necessity. Even exiles had a tendency to congregate together, away from other species. The fact that they had finally formed an alliance was encouraging. They needed help. Especially if they were to survive the reaper invasion. Maybe one spearheaded by an army of Collectors. A terrifying thought.
Tali found her quarters exactly how she left them. Right down to the handful of oragami birds in her top drawer. Despite months passing between Jane's departure for Tuchanka and her unexpected stay with Cerberus, she hadn't recycled them. Even a couple of Jane's drawings survived the intervening months. The multifarious and beautiful colors of discus fish, held in place with a spot of tape, still graced her fabric walls. Keelah, she missed her. It had been so nice having a friend that didn't care she was an Admiral's daughter. Someone who didn't make assumptions. True, she could say the same of Shepard. But every time her mind wandered to the man, she'd cringe and fight back an onslaught of anxiety. He was going to find those messages. And what was she to do? Hope the Collectors proved so difficult that he wouldn't have time to sort through an inbox? It was like wishing death on his people, all to save her from the absolute mortification she was doomed to face. It's not like she could hack his email remotely without alerting that damned AI either.
She was doomed.
Morning came terribly early. But Kal'Reegar, the friendliest mask to greet her, was there. And escorted her to the meeting aboard the Rayya.
"Good to see you're alright ma'am." He broke the silence.
"Thanks Kal. It wasn't so bad. Although, it sounds like you knew that."
"I didn't. And I wasn't convinced by the evidence. I'm no tech, but taking someone against their will is not gonna fly with me. I kept my marines prepped and ready should we receive information on your whereabouts."
"That's… well, thank you for the kindness."
"Anytime ma'am."
If only her father was as pleased to see her. When she entered the com room, he was alone. And gave her a quick, almost rote, hug before tapping in with Anderson. She explained everything from the Minute Man Station, sparing no detail. They'd see right through any attempt at subversion. And it's not like Anderson wasn't aware that Shepard died. He simply didn't know that Shepard was alive now, or the lengths Cerberus went to in order to restore him.
What she didn't expect was the man's uncharacteristic reaction. He wasn't angry. But he wasn't happy about the news either. Probably didn't think it was him. A few minutes and many, probing questions later, and she knew exactly what his concern was not to mention what he wanted done about it. "All I'm asking is for you to help convince him to relinquish the Normandy. He's like a son to me Tali. If you helped reconstruct his memory then you must know that. I'm not going to harm him. For Christ's sake, he can sit in my fifteen million credit condo and watch foot ball all day or whatever the hell he feels like. But having someone potentially indoctrinated in command of a war-frigate is not a great idea."
"He's not indoctrinated! I saw the whole project. And yes what Cerberus did was monstrous. But they were steadfast in restoring John Shepard exactly as he was."
"You'll pardon me for being skeptical. Cerberus isn't exactly known for their benevolence or their success. They may subvert science, but usually to their own detriment. And them using Reaper tech to bring back the dead? It's sounds…"
"It's him." But you don't have to believe me." Tali handed a data-pad to her father, which he quickly uploaded to the Councilor. Unlike the data-pad she stole, this one was given by Miranda. Cerberus wanted the Alliance to know what they'd done for Shepard. "This is the bulk of the Lazerus project. Vids of surgeries, medical reports, everything."
Anderson scrolled through the data, eyes flicking apprehensively. "I'll run it by my medical team. But no promises. If they say he shows evidence of indoctrination, I expect your help in convincing him to stand down."
"What medical whatever even is this? Do you have people specialized in the applications of reaper tech because Cerberus-"
"We have teams far more versed in reaper technology in conjunction with human physiology than you Tali." Her father interrupted tetchily.
She paused, mind spinning over the connotations. "That implies you understand what indoctrination is."
"The technology is incredibly dangerous, and you do not have clearance for this conversation! If Anderson wants the Normandy and Shepard, you will help him in that undertaking. No excuses. No arguments. No nothing! Have I made myself clear?"
They kicked her out after that. Although, she barely even noticed over the noise bouncing around her head. They knew what indoctrination was? They understood it? Why keep that a secret? Her father danced around the words but… It really sounded like they knew.
Now she would be able to think of little else.
With more time than tasks on hand, she headed to the Shaanil for no other reason than to see what the fuss was about. And to distract herself from obsessing over that revelation.
Across the fleet, many traveled to the Shaanil to bear witness – for the first time in over three centuries, the quarians had formed an alliance with another species. And their training exercises were open to some – provided they had the appropriate clearance. Any civilians living aboard had been temporarily relocated so the humans could breathe freely while they trained. The impressive ship possessed weights, bars for pull-ups, and a track that encircled the entire gym. There were several other machines that seemed weight-oriented which Tali didn't know the name for. But all in all it was an impressive facility.
Tali was there out of curiosity. And to burn a few hours between that infuriating debrief and her own preparations with the tech-squad later that evening. Kal'Reegar and a human, her onboard computer identified as First Lieutenant Darrel Flemmons, were taking advantage of the track. They ran in tandem with their respective companies of men. Two hundred strong on both sides. And quadruple the number of human soldiers they'd been promised. If the Councilor had the upper-hand in negotiations, why were there more troops on a quarian mission? A question she could only hope would be answered later.
As they pounded across the training room, both species belted out a well-measured tune. Reegar and Flemmons would shout the cadence and their men would repeat the words right back. It was uplifting, hearing their voices work together – a sign of things to come.
"Left-righta, left-righta, left-righta left.
Left-righta, left-righta, left-righta left.
Army Navy was not for me. Marine Corps!
Air Force was just too easy. Marine Corps!
What I needed was a little bit more. Marine Corps!
I need a life that is hardcore. Marine Corps!
A-one-two-three four. Marine corp!
A-one-two-three four. Marine corp!
First phase, you broke me down. Marine Corps!
Second phase, start to come around. Marine Corps!
Third phase I was lean and mean. Marine Corps!
Graduation standing tall in my greens. Marine Corps!
To anybody who asks me why. Marine Corps!
Here's the deal, here's my reply. Marine Corps!
PT drill all day long. Marine Corps!
Keep me running from dusk to dawn. Marine Corps!
I'll be a Marine til the day I die. Marine Corps!
I need a life that is hardcore. Marine Corps!
Left-righta, left-righta, left-righta left.
Left-righta, left-righta, left-righta left.
Fired up. Motivated.
Fired up. Dedicated.
Me and superman had a fight.
I hit 'em in the head with some kyrptonite.
I hit 'em so hard that I busted his brain.
Now I'm dating Lois Lane.
Left-righta, left-righta, left-righta left.
Left-righta, left-righta, left-righta left.
Quarians in the bleachers were clapping to the rhythm. The sound was muffled by the suits, but together it produced a clamoring echo that marched to their footfalls. Clearly, these marines had been working and training together for awhile. And acquired a dedicated audience in that time. It was… beautiful. Really beautiful.
She spent the rest of the afternoon in quiet contemplation. Listening to the quarian and human leaders ready their men.
Private James Vega
Age: 19
Haestrom
It was his first deployment. First chance to see some real action. He'd been so damn excited. Pumped. Ready. And then it all went FUBAR. They couldn't even land on the wretched planet, that's how bad the sun messed with tech. So, him and twenty other chumps from shuttle 298 had to GERANIMO that shit. Actually, all four hundred of them wound up in that ship, ship-less? Shitless? Situation. Their parachutes looked like little mushrooms against the orange-red haze of Haestrom's atmosphere. Docile, perfect targets. At least he made it to the ground, unlike so many others.
The geth opened fire the moment they spotted them. And it's not like they had the cover of darkness. They were sitting, well floating, ducks lazily drifting to the ground. By the time their boots hit earth, at least sixty troops were KIA.
They didn't exactly have a moment to catch their breath either. First thing they got busy with was cutting themselves from their chutes. Then they were pushing forward, trying to reach the nearest bunker. No shields. No heavy weaponry. Even their coms fizzled out. And here they were, kicking up so much dust, surrounded by so much gunfire, all he could do was empty magazine after magazine into the oncoming line of robots, hoping the bullets were hitting home, or anything that would get them the fuck outta this situation.
Home. Damn. He never shoulda left Earth. For a moment, he wondered what his uncle was up to back home. Maybe cookin' up some fine omelets or helping build the neighbor lady's chicken coop. Then he jumped, wondering why the hell he was thinkin' about that when an army of metal assholes were shootin' at him and pressed desperately against the trigger, spending his whole clip in one go.
They made it to some sort of bunker, him and about one hundred other troops. Flemmons was alive, thank god. He had no idea what the fuck they'd do without the man. Twenty minutes later, the quarian leader joined them, along with the tech team they were sworn to protect. A lot of curvy, alien women in that bunch. Most of 'em were freaking out. Their weird, alien accents bounding around the bunker. One was more an asset than a liability though. She wore all purple wrappings and cursed like a sailor, but she kept her cool even when the geth started shelling their bunker with… well he wasn't sure what it was but it shook the whole place. There was so much dust. He was pretty sure he was consuming more dust than food or water. But damn if quarians didn't know how to fortify a shelter. They didn't lose a man during that onslaught. Too bad it didn't last.
They holed up in that bunker for days. Or at least they slept on and off long enough to make him think a decent amount of time had passed. Who knows how long they were in that hole. The sun never set. And there was no break in the fighting, so they slept in shifts. Geth were above human and quarian trivialities like sleeping, eating, or pissing. The shitting was what got him though. Merely a few feet away from the rock he laid his head on was the Bona fide 'shit square.' The smell alone was enough to induce insomnia.
The quarians had it good on that one. Damn it'd be nice if him and the other humans could shit into some magical suit-sucking-thing, and not have to deal with the stench a hundred or so troops ejected.
War mainly consisted of shit, piss, and blood. Or so he was learning.
As a lowly grunt whose experience with real action was confined to Pinnacle Station, it was a shock when all hell was unleashed. Even more of one when it didn't seem to faze their leaders. He thought 'this is it, the mission's DOA. Time to nope the hell out.'
Damn was he wrong. Nothing could have prepared him for what happened as they pushed forward. The geth butchered their line. The metal heads had the most insanely precise shooting he'd ever seen. Add to the fact that anytime they had to run for shade their shields would pop out, and they were losing men left and right. They lost fifty troops – human and quarian – in an hour. All while Flemmons and Reegar ordered them to press on, with nothing more than a shouted promise to return for bodies after the mission.
He couldn't help but wonder who was responsible for this mess. And why it was worth all their lives.
A/N:
1,2,3,4 United States Marine Corp The above excerpt is a combination of military cadences. The other one is Left, Right. Great music to run or clean the house to. Gets my butt moving and keeps it that way. (If you want the youtube links head to the AO3 version.)