PART 2

Found

CHAPTER 15

The Return

Joker shifted uneasily in his seat as he poured over the readings flying across his display in the cockpit. His eyes darted back and forth, determined to discover what had set the Normandy off course. He glowered angrily when he finally found the culprit.

"What the hell did you do?" he snarled to the freshly confused Cortez sitting in the co-pilot seat adjacent to him.

"What?" Cortez questioned, indignantly. Unsure as to what he did to anger the typically flippant pilot.

"We're drifting by 1.2 degrees. What did you do?"

"Engine 3 power output was floundering at 40%, so I adjusted throughput in engine 4 to compensate." Cortez answered simply.

"You don't think I noticed that? I took care of it already. You just pushed us off course!" Joker accused while spinning his chair around fully so he could more easily glare at Cortez.

Cortez slowly raised his hands in the air, feigning surrender from the abrupt assault. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize."

Joker shook his head in annoyance as he quickly spun his chair back to its original position. "How about you ask next time before you adjust anything. What are you doing up here anyway? Don't you have a shuttle to work on or something?"

"I just thought you could use the help. Without EDI I... figured..."

Cortez' voice quietly trailed off when he saw the angry look Joker was now shooting at him from beneath the bill of his hat. "I don't need help to fly the Normandy. I flew the first Normandy just fine on my own, and I've flown this Normandy just fine on my own. You'd think people would've figured that out by now but apparently I'm the only one that pays any sort of attention around here."

Not wishing to agitate him any further, Cortez solemnly shrugged and turned back to his station.

Ashley Williams, who had been standing silently behind the belligerent pilot, placed a firm yet gentle hand on Joker's shoulder, inadvertently causing him to flinch.

"Ease up, Joker," she scolded. "He was just trying to help."

"Yeah… I figured that much. I've readjusted course. ETA to rendezvous point: 15 minutes."

Tali grimaced from behind her mask listening to the uncomfortable exchange from her workstation in the hallway behind the cockpit. For the last day of their transit back to Earth, Tali had been busying herself in the CIC working to repair the various haptic displays dotted along the walls of the deck.

Repairing and troubleshooting the displays was often tedious and rather repetitive work, and most of the Normandy's technicians loathed working on them. So when Tali came to them claiming that there were diagnostics that she herself needed to perform, they were happy to let her at it without question.

Not that they really needed it, however.

Almost all of the displays on the deck were still fully functional, and had been since the Normandy left Earth at the beginning of the war. So for many hours Tali went from station to station, absentmindedly running diagnostics, firmware backups, and latency tests. She didn't mind doing it though, as it made sure she was close to her true target: the ship's airlock.

During their transit back to Earth, Alliance Command sent one final data packet to the Normandy. Most of it was in regards to casualty numbers, fleet repair progress, and status of active comm links around the galaxy. But it was the final piece of information that truly held her attention captive. A set of coordinates and a small note left at the end of the transmission written by Admiral Hackett himself.

Commander Shepard has been retrieved alive. He is being treated aboard the SSV Ginsburg. Meet me at the ship's coordinates and we will discuss more in person.

The news spread quickly throughout the ship, and ever since, it was nearly all the crew could talk about. But when Tali had the chance to look over the data packet, she was different. She was reserved. While the news was almost everything she was hoping to hear, she couldn't help but notice how sparse it was. There was no mention as to what state he was in. Whether he could walk, talk, or even breathe on his own was a mystery. And that uncertainty gnawed at her.

Almost as soon as she finished reading it, Tali snuck away from her station in engineering and made her way to the CIC.

It wasn't enough to trust a simple note from the human admiral. She wanted to see him for herself, and she was going to make sure to be one of the first off the ship.

The clatter of boots hitting metal behind her stole Tali's attention away from her work. She glanced over her shoulder to see Liara gliding gracefully down the hallway toward the cockpit with a stoic Garrus in tow. Liara overlooked the quarian as she passed. All her focus was aimed directly ahead of her. Only Garrus seemed to notice Tali aimlessly detaching and reattaching wires underneath the control station. At first he shot her a puzzled look, but it only took a second for it to turn into a knowing smirk.

She had managed to collect several odd looks from the bridge crew earlier, but they figured there must have been a good reason for one the ship's chief engineers to be working on the CIC. Unsurprising to her, only Garrus seemed to understand otherwise.

Changing course, Garrus sidestepped away from his asari companion and crouched down to take a closer look at the quarian's handiwork.

"Hmm. Terminal must've been in real bad shape to have you up here," he mused with a sly grin.

Tali simply rolled her eyes at him and said nothing, stubbornly refusing to give the frustratingly insightful turian the satisfaction.

He chuckled softly while reaching out a hand to her. "Come on. We're almost there. The view from the cockpit is much better than from down there."

Tali shrugged. With hardly any effort, she swiftly reconstructed the display she had aimlessly taken apart over the last hour, took hold of the offered hand, and pulled herself up.

The cockpit was eerily quiet for much of the journey. Despite standing nearly shoulder to shoulder in the cramped space, nobody seemed to notice one another. Each one had their focus and attention fixed outside the viewports. The strange silence was only broken occasionally by Ashley muttering a few questions to Liara, or by Joker audibly mumbling adjustments he was making to their course.

In an odd way, it reminded Tali of when she was young in the migrant fleet. Every time the fleet would enter a new system, she, along with many other kids and curious adults, would crowd around the small viewports to get a look at whatever strange new celestial body they happened to be drifting past. But there was no excitement in the air this time. No wonder about what marvelous things could be waiting for them to uncover and explore.

Everyone knew what they would find. The only question they had was, how much of it was left.

"Entering the debris field," announced Joker. "Activating kinetic barriers."

"Power levels are too low," said Cortez, shaking his head. "Kinetic barriers can only operate at 6.2%"

"Well then…" sighed Joker. "Looks like we might be losing some paint."

It didn't take long for Tali to catch a glimpse of something in the viewport. Pieces of some warship floating silently by. A human ship she guessed, judging by the armor plating. Another one soon joined it, turian perhaps. Followed by another, and then another. Soon there were almost too many to count.

Tali stared breathlessly out the window as they carefully maneuvered through the hundreds of scorched and blasted ships now orbiting the human homeworld. Human, turian, asari and enormous reaper ships all intermingled weightlessly in an ever expanding graveyard. Her heart sank when she finally spotted the remains of quarian ships interspersed throughout the debris field.

It pained her to see so many of them. Knowing that each one of those ships carried brave souls eager and willing to fight for a home they will never see.

May the ancestors guide you safely back to the homeworld… Keelah Se'lai, she solemnly prayed, hoping that those who died might at least find some peace in knowing that their children will grow up with a real sky over their heads.

A sudden chill creeping up her spine knocked her out of her silent mourning when something different slowly took over the viewport. An enormous black, mechanical monstrosity that eclipsed all else around it and held the Normandy crew's attention captive.

The large sovereign class reaper floated weightlessly amongst the remains of its enemies. Its imposing, tentacled form spinning slowly on its axis as it grew ever larger and larger in the viewport. While Tali did feel a sense of satisfaction in knowing the reaper was dead, there was something about it that just made her skin crawl. In fact, the more she studied it, the more horrified she became.

There was hardly a scratch on it.

Minus the scorch marks from a multitude of high velocity strikes, the reaper looked almost wholly intact. All those ruined ships they passed… and all they managed to do before being obliterated was give the hulking machine a few dents.

Tali finally broke her gaze away from the viewport and looked to those around her. Garrus kept his stoic demeanor, but his twitching mandibles betrayed his true feelings. Liara too retained her typically professional composure, but Tali could make out a tired, mournful look in her eyes.

Ashley, however, did very little to hide her anger that was welling within. The lieutenant commander always had a fiery attitude. A trait that Tali had always admired in her. But this anger was different. While Ashley stared silently out the window, Tali thought she could see something else in her. It wasn't just anger. There was a sadness mixed in it. Regret, perhaps.

Tali didn't blame her. Ashley Williams was a damn good soldier. Possibly even a match for Shepard. But there was little they themselves could do against the gargantuan reaper capital ships other than stand back and watch helplessly as their fleets got decimated. A fact that apparently still frustrated the proud soldier.

Ashley reached out to tap Joker on the shoulder, once again causing the pilot to flinch. "Hey Joker, let's keep some space between us and the reaper. Ok?"

Joker nodded in uncomfortable agreement. "Yeah… don't need to tell me twice."

The monstrous ship quickly shifted out of focus as Joker changed course, and as if an unseen weight had been lifted from their shoulders, everyone's posture subtly eased.

It didn't take long before dead ships were replaced by live ones. Shuttles and all kinds of light craft were now buzzing around the broken and wrecked warships the Normandy was working to avoid. Most of them zipped right past the Normandy, only stopping to scan or deploy dozens of holographic drones to scout whatever wreckage they were parked above.

Tali's heart nearly jumped when she recognized many of the ships flying past them were in fact quarian.

"What are they doing?" asked Ashley, who was now pressing up against the viewport to get a better look.

"They're salvaging the derelicts for eezo," answered Liara. "The mass relay repair teams need as much as they can get, and the quarians have been very helpful in this endeavor. Doubt we could do this without them."

Liara's kind words made Tali feel strange. She had always been proud of her people. Always been proud to be a quarian. But for centuries the galaxy regarded the quarians as little more than thieves or beggars. A nuisance to be shooed away as quickly as possible. To hear the other species speak in such ways about her people was still unfamiliar to her. But it filled her with a new sense of pride, and that was a feeling she was looking forward to getting accustomed to.

"Yeah, as if the quarians would pass up an opportunity to do a little salvaging," Joker snarked, illicting several sideways glances from the others.

The warm feeling Tali was enjoying quickly gave way as she gave Joker a cold, icy look from behind his seat. Joker's new attitude, while understandable, was beginning to grate on the quarian, and for a brief moment she entertained the idea of hacking his chair's motor controls and taking his brittle boned ass for a ride he won't soon forget. But before she could act on the vengeful impulse, something else came into view. Something that still found ways to fill her and the rest of the crew with awe every time they saw it.

The Citadel.

This time was different, however. It was not the immensity or majesty of the station that took their breath away, but the sheer devastation now carved into its once pristine surface. The once glorious structure was now riddled with innumerable jagged holes and dark scorch marks. Gigantic pieces of the wards, once filled with dazzling skyscrapers, spacious plazas and glamorous homes, now floated weightlessly in space alongside the remnants of the station.

"Goddess…" murmured Liara. "Hackett said the damage was bad. But seeing it…"

"There were 14 million people onboard the Citadel when it was taken by the Reapers. How many did Hackett say they found?" Garrus asked in a hushed voice.

Liara didn't answer.

Tali fidgeted uncomfortably and looked away from the blasted spectacle that was the Citadel.

Keelah… all those people. And he was on that thing when it…

Despite her best efforts, her mind began wandering to dark places, and she unconsciously started wringing her hands nervously.

A firm hand gripping her shoulder quickly pulled her from her trance, and she turned to see Garrus giving her a concerned look.

"You alright?"

Tali instantly dropped her hands back to her side. "Yeah… of course," she stammered.

She half expected Garrus to hit her with some snarky comeback for her admittedly weak deflection, but to her surprise, he simply gave her shoulder a gentle, reassuring squeeze before returning to look out the viewport.

She quickly glanced around the cockpit, wondering if any of the others had noticed her nervous tick. To her relief and surprise, all their eyes were still focused outside of the ship. None of them seemed to have caught her moment of weakness.

Tali silently cursed herself for letting her fear get the better of her and slowly stepped back up to once again be shoulder to shoulder with Garrus.

A new voice suddenly, and very loudly, filled the cockpit. One that Tali didn't know she was waiting anxiously to hear.

"bzzzzz … SSV Normandy? This is SSV Ginsberg. We have you on approach. Please confirm identification bzzzz."

Joker was quick to thumb on the mic. "SSV Ginsberg, this is SSV Normandy. We hear you loud and clear. Sending clearance codes and requesting permission to doc. We have wounded on board in need of immediate medical attention."

Tali's subconscious was instantly transported back to the space outside the main viewport, her eyes widening with anticipation as her target soon came into view.

There it was. The Ginsberg.

The ship was much bigger than she expected. A large colony freighter by the looks of it. One that had been modified extensively with heavy armor plating and new point defense lasers strategically placed along the port and starboard sides of the ship. The upgrades weren't anything that would allow it to go toe-to-toe with a true warship, but just enough to allow it to defend itself from at least a fighter assault.

The staticky voice from the Ginsberg radio once again crackled throughout the cockpit. "Clearance codes received. Sending approach vector now. Proceed to docking tube 3. We have alerted medical staff and are on standby for your arrival."

"Acknowledged, Ginsberg. Approach vector received and en route."

Within minutes the Normandy gracefully glided alongside the Ginsberg until it came to a stop next to a waiting docking tube, which immediately extended itself and locked onto the side of the ship with a loud reverberating series of clicks.

Tali unknowingly took a small step toward the airlock, her head a blur of competing emotions.

She felt a tepid excitement for finally reaching the ship, and welcome relief for knowing her repairs had held up long enough for them to get to Earth. But another feeling was doing its best to cancel out the others. That insidious uncertainty. The same uncertainty that she had since reading Hackett's message returned in greater force and was busily eroding all her other thoughts away. She took a deep breath to try calming herself down, but that proved to be a difficult battle.

As soon as the doors slid open, she was greeted with a gust of new air along with a small army of medics. Tali had to practically jump out of the way as a stream of doctors and nurses pushing gurneys stormed onto the ship and rushed down the hall toward the elevator, completely ignoring the crew gawking at them from the cockpit.

Even Tali was mesmerized watching the throng quickly, yet efficiently, navigate the still rather messy CIC. And she would have easily kept watching them if it weren't for Ashley Williams' voice suddenly booming throughout the cockpit.

"Admiral on deck!" she nearly shouted, recognizing the man that had stealthily slipped through the airlock while the others were distracted.

Tali turned to see the venerable human, Admiral Hackett, standing quietly in the entrance of the airlock, his old yet sharp eyes eagerly inspecting the interior of the Normandy. His gaze drifted around the interior, taking in all of the damage and the repairs that were still evident throughout. His inspection only stopped when his gaze landed on Ashley who, along with Cortez and Joker, had been saluting at attention ever since she announced his presence on board.

The old human smiled warmly at them as he approached, only returning the welcoming salute when he was far enough to shake their hands.

"Welcome home, Normandy," he said in a proud yet gentle voice while outstretching his hand to Ashley.

"Good to be home, sir," Ashley beamed back, taking hold of the offered hand and squeezing it just enough to match his firm grip.

Hackett's attention turned to the asari waiting patiently just beside Ashley.

"Good to finally see you in the flesh again, Dr. Tsoni," he said, outstretching his hand to her in the same manner he did for Ashley.

"The pleasure is all mine, Admiral," she said, taking hold of his hand, and unlike Ashley, gave it a gentle squeeze. For a moment the two just stood there, quietly shaking hands and staring into each other. Tali was surprised. She figured the typically inquisitive Liara would have immediately started shooting a string of questions at the old human. But as she studied their faces, she quickly understood that they were speaking.

It was just their eyes doing all the talking.

They both looked tired. As if together they had been carrying a great weight that had only just recently been lifted from their overburdened shoulders. Much of the war's success had rested on their actions, and although they still had more work to do, for the moment they took comfort in the fact that they were simply standing there. That being able to meet face to face was a major victory in and of itself.

Hackett gradually made his way around the rest of the room, greeting and congratulating both Joker and Cortez before eventually finding the lone turian.

"Garrus Vakarian," he said, offering him his hand.

"Admiral," Garrus replied, returning the Admiral's gesture.

"Primarch Victus has been asking about you. He's been wondering when I'll bring him back his top agent."

Garrus smirked. "Top agent? Not sure when that promotion happened. Did he mention if it came with a pay raise?"

Hackett grinned, shaking the turian's hand. "You'll have to ask him about that when you see him. I have a shuttle prepared to take you to him when you're ready."

Garrus tilted his head respectfully in thanks.

"And same goes for you, Admiral Zorah," he said, finally turning to greet the quiet quarian standing beside Garrus.

Tali blinked awkwardly in surprise. Even after all this time she still found herself getting used to the title of Admiral. Her father's title. A title she held no desire to bear but was thrust upon her anyway out of sheer necessity.

"Thank you," she said, trying to sound gracious, yet professional all at the same time. Much like the way she remembered her father greeting other members of the quarian admiralty.

"Admiral Gerrel has been worried sick about you," Hackett continued. "He heard about your injury back in London. He wanted me to make sure you got a shuttle back to the Rayya as soon as possible."

"I'm sure he did," she replied, somewhat dismissively. While she had respect for her peer on the admiralty board, she wasn't about to let him dictate her actions. Especially now. "But there is... something I need to do first."

She paused trying to think of the best way to explain to the admiral without outright admitting why she needed to see Shepard, but her train of thought derailed when she noticed Hackett's expression subtly shift. The uncharacteristically welcoming warmth that he had in his eyes lessened, returning to the stern look they were more accustomed to seeing in him. The corners of his mouth dipped slightly as well, rendering his friendly smile into a more neutral look.

"I understand," he answered, almost flatly.

Hackett gestured to the others around him. "I'll take you to him," he said, smoothly turning and walking purposefully back down the hallway toward the airlock. Liara, Garrus and Ashley eagerly stepped in line behind him.

But despite what Tali had been planning ever since she read Hackett's message, and her whole reason for staking out the CIC in the first place, she froze.

Her feet refused to budge.

All she could think about was the shift in Hackett's expression. Why did it happen, and what could it possibly mean? Her mind dwelled on the possibilities, and none of them gave her comfort. The fear and uncertainty she fought so hard to keep at bay came roaring back, bringing with them a host of terrible thoughts and images. But despite all her fears best efforts, one single thought managed to push through all the noise.

He's alive.

That was all Tali needed. With that single fact taking root in her consciousness, Tali forced herself to step forward and out toward the airlock.