Shepard was seated outside on the little balcony that laid just outside the door to their little apartment. He'd been adventurous enough to have grabbed a chair from inside and planted it out on said balcony. Sweating slightly, he wore a pair of shorts and a plain t-shirt and held a datapad in his hand. Occasionally he would grasp the front of his shirt and flap it a little, trying to generate a localized breeze to cool himself off a little bit. He sighed a little at the fruitlessness of the endeavor and the beads of sweat that were beginning to roll down his chest. Looking up from the datapad, the man nodded a knowing smile at the clouds that appeared to be rolling in. Even he'd noticed that rain seemed to be infrequent, so when its likelihood increased, he couldn't help but look forward to it a little. Now looking forward to a bit of fresh rain, he returned to the datapad.
He was reading - something he'd not been able to do nearly enough of in his estimation. After seeing Lano with the book at their ceremony, he realized that he'd not read a book for his own enjoyment - from cover to cover (figuratively speaking) - in a long time. Too long, he reckoned. It was why he was reading what Tali had told him was a "grade-school level" textbook on quarian history. He was at first a little hurt by the implication that he was some kind of alien simpleton, but after plodding through a bit of it, he realized that, relatively-speaking, quarians simply did not mess around. A few pages in, and he'd already been assaulted with a smorgasbord of detailed and intricate retellings of pre-Diaspora quarian life: their evolution from desert pack animals (cats instead of apes, he would muse) all the way to the tech-heavy, tightly knit and deeply-feeling people of today.
It only made him appreciate them, and Tali, more. As he read, he couldn't help but think that a text such as this would have been mightily helpful a few years ago. He might have been able to offer Tali a more reciprocal conversation about her people, instead of being the ignorant alien that he'd been.
Of course, it might have been the "not knowing" that had helped to draw him to her in the first place. Each of them had been an exotic alien to the other, and in the learning they'd created a deep and caring friendship that now made him the happiest version of himself.
But that was neither here nor there.
He stood up, stretching his back and releasing a satisfied groan through his strained smile. He could still feel the light tug of scar tissue as he moved sometimes, feeling as if the knots hadn't been pulled out to their normal length. It was an odd sensation, still feeling those knots in himself that hadn't yet opened up, and perhaps never would. In time, he figured that he could get such a nuisance taken care of surgically, but not yet. A little bit of soreness was a small annoyance that could wait for the rest of the galaxy to heal.
He looked out over the railing that lined the outside of the "balcony". Not for the first time, he felt a subtle nausea staring at the surface of Rannoch that greeted him with a sandy little smile some 100 meters below. From here, he could see so much of the landscape: the craggy rock formations, the little hints of water that cut through the landscape like life-giving blood that bubbled up to the surface, the occasional passing bird that would cross above the horizon. As a man that had primarily lived in the great metropolis that comprised what had been the northeastern United States on Earth until he'd joined the Alliance, he found himself still awestruck by the sheer openness of Rannoch. He wondered if that feeling would ever actually go away.
His omnitool chimed that he was receiving an incoming call - a damned inconvenience that lassoed him from the quiet comfort of reverie.
"Who the -"
That annoyance was replaced swiftly with a smile. He tapped the key to accept and was immediately greeted by the bony visage of Garrus Vakarian.
"Garrus! You little asshole! It's about fucking time you called me, you prick!"
On the other end, his friend chuckled, but there was a hint of something darker beneath it. "Yeah yeah, I know, Shepard. I, uh, I'm sorry about not messaging you. It's been crazy here. Victus is on my ass because…" He looked down for a moment, and when he returned to the camera, John noticed a determined hardness in his eyes. "He's on my ass about everything."
The former Spectre entered the apartment, clearly no longer in the mood for the heat. "Having second thoughts?"
The turian laughed a little. "Second, third, and probably fourth thoughts by now, Shepard."
He got himself some water, sitting down in the kitchen to drink. "Damn. I'm sorry, man. But have you at least been able to -"
His friend cut him off. "Things are progressing, if that's what you're asking. I'm just tired, I guess."
Looking at the man now, John suspected that "tired" was the least of his concerns. He frowned. It was difficult to gauge a turian's mood simply by his face, but he'd known Garrus long enough to catch the cues. The mandibles sagged a little, and quite a bit of it was in the downward tilt of his head. The man was clearly burdened.
"Is it really just that you're tired, Garrus? You look completely wiped out, man."
"Heh, it's funny. She said -"
Interrupting him at the surprise slip of the tongue, John raised a curious eyebrow as he cleared his throat. "She?"
At that moment, Garrus looked to his right as the vibrant form of Kasumi Goto came bouncing into view. She was smiling and radiant as she wrapped an arm around the turian.
"Hiya, Shep!" There was a grin attached to the greeting.
What?
For a full stunned second, he could say nothing. He recalled her very…odd introduction on the Citadel when he'd first met her and realized that if there was a talent that Kasumi possessed in spades (aside from a touch of sneaky thievery, that is), it was "making an entrance". With a visible shake of his head, he finally managed to plug his consciousness back into the world.
And truth be told, he was not pleased.
"Well, well, well. Kasumi Goto, as I live and breathe. I see you made your way to Palaven."
Kasumi's eyes widened for a moment, and realization hit her.
"Listen, Shep…I…"
He raised a chastising finger while rubbing impatience into his forehead.
"Oh don't give me that shit, Kasumi. Liara tried pulling that with me before, and you can ask your - hey, you guys are back together now, right? Like you're not just…I don't know…fucking with me?"
Still a little uncertain considering that Shepard was just starting in on a veritable dressing down, Kasumi glanced over to Garrus, who gave her a little nod. "Yes, we're back together. I, uh, Shep…I'm sorry about how I left. But, you know me, right?" She offered an uncertain grin and what she hoped was a playful shrug.
"Riiiight. Good. So, you can ask your boyfriend how well I take that kind of behavior."
Next to her, Garrus was trying to contain his laughter. She punched him in the shoulder.
As for Shepard, he realized that whatever chastisement he was going to throw at her was an exercise in futility. Just "Kasumi doing Kasumi things", and then she'd worked things out in the best way that she could. On balance, he would take the result just the same.
He laughed a little sigh. "You know what? It's fine, Kasumi. Truly it is. Just don't pull that shit anymore, okay?" When she gave him a slow nod, he continued. "So I take it you guys worked everything out?"
"Yeah, Shepard. Something like that." Garrus ran an arm around her shoulders, pulling her a little closer.
"That's great. Really, it is. You know I worried about you guys. But wait - Kasumi, how did you get to -"
It was the angry sound of the door opening and heavy, annoyed footsteps that stole his attention from his friends. Then it was the string of Khelish profanity that pulled him completely away from them. "Hey, hang on guys. Tali's home and she sounds -"
"Bosh'tets! What are they going to do now? Damn it - John!" She called for him, clearly in distress.
"Tali, I'm in the bedroom! What's wrong?"
He heard her pacing around in the airlock waiting for the cycle to complete. Finally she stormed in, a mix of rage and annoyance swirling around inside her.
"Keelah, there you are! Come on, we have to get to the Fen'tal! Daro and Han are back and they've requested a 'special meeting'! Ancestors, what could they possibly -"
John stood up, hugging her hands in his. "Hey. Calm down. What's going on?"
Tali breathed in a deep, calming breath before she tried to answer. Finally looking at him, she saw the image above his omnitool - derailing her completely.
She'd stormed in with annoyance at the audacity of Admirals Xen and Gerrel for having the gall to call a meeting only when they'd returned to the Tikkun system. She was now staring face-to-face with her friend that had left without a proper goodbye, and certainly without an explanation. She was not in the mood, and Tali didn't know whether to laugh or yell at her.
"Sumi! Garrus! What is…what are you…?"
The turian smiled as much as he could before Kasumi yanked him from in front of the camera and inserted herself front-and-center.
"Tali! Hi! How are -"
In an instant, Tali's entire attitude shifted. Wagging an angry finger, she interrupted the thief. "No, you bosh'tet, you don't get to play nice with me! You left, and without a word from you? I thought that we were…"
John wrapped an arm around her waist, running his thumb along her hip in an attempt to give her a grounding touch. If it worked, he couldn't be sure. In any case, she dammed the flow of anger long enough for Kasumi to respond.
She was clearly taken aback by Tali's outburst and lowered her head, perhaps now realizing the levels that her friends did care.
"Tali, I'm…sorry. I didn't mean to. Can we…maybe talk about this later?"
With a huff, she acquiesced. "Fine, but it's only because we have to go."
They quickly said goodbye with promises to talk again shortly.
John looked up, curiosity draped on him. "So, uh, something about Xen and Gerrel?"
"Keelah, they just got back and have called a special meeting with the Conclave."
"No warning?"
"No, John. Nothing. They just showed up."
"Oh. Well that sounds bad. All right, give me a minute and we can get going."
It actually only took him two minutes.
"So, what do you think?"
John cast his bondmate a smirking sidelong glance, quirking an eyebrow for good measure.
Tali was giving him a quick tour of the inside of the Fen'tal since they'd arrived (hand-in-hand, thank you very much) a few minutes early to the meeting. He'd never set foot inside the quarian "legislative building", for lack of a better term, but he couldn't help but be awestruck.
Now that he'd begun to effectively "settle in" on Rannoch, he'd been able to appreciate more of the little things about old quarian aesthetics that otherwise would have gone completely overlooked. He was a little disappointed in himself for not noticing it before, but he assumed that it had something to do with him having other things on his mind. For now though? He had a few minutes in this truly historic building to simply observe and take note.
He and Tali had already had a brief discussion about what this might entail on their way over, so she now led him around the outside of the main room, with its bleacher-style seating and the ring of twenty chairs circling the table at the center of the large room itself.
John's looks of astonishment and genuine curiosity brought an easy smile and pulled forth a warmth from deep in Tali's chest as she would explain, as best she could, who some of the quarian figures on the walls were. Some of them were beyond her reckoning, of course, but he was still entranced all the same.
"What do I think? Tali…this place is beautiful." Still considering, he added, "it's funny, actually."
"What is?" Her curious head tilt came in lockstep with the question.
"It's…I don't know. I remember some of these old buildings on Earth. Like in the old capital of the United States, there were buildings like this. But by comparison, they seem too…'regal', I guess. Like this place feels more comfy or cozy, I suppose."
He saw that she didn't quite understand what he meant. Squeezing her hand, John realized that he wasn't exactly sure what he meant either.
"I think what I mean is that this whole building feels like…" He snapped his fingers. "I've got it!" His exclamation was louder than he'd intended and a few of the other people turned in his direction while he muttered a few understated apologies.
Tali beamed at him. Keelah, he was so cute sometimes.
"Anyway, so this feels more like the mess hall on the Normandy." Tali narrowed her eyes, as if insulted.
"John, we used to have food fights there. You once dared Wrex to kiss Garrus. You even grabbed my a-"
He held up his hands, hoping to act as air brakes of a sort. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I didn't mean it like…not like that. What I mean is, it feels more…informal, I think. Like it's a place to have a genuine discussion, less adversarial, maybe?"
He softened a little when Tali's eyes betrayed the smile that she now wore. "Oh…okay. I get it." She rubbed at her vocalizer like she'd seen John do with his chin when he was deep in thought. The whole thing was comical, but he managed not to laugh. "Yes, I can see that."
Tali was about to continue when they were interrupted by Admiral Raan, who quietly informed them that Admirals Xen and Gerrel had arrived and were nearly ready to begin.
Ten minutes later, and the now twenty-strong Conclave was seated around the table, watching intently at Admiral Xen's holo-projection. Tali was seated behind her in a line of chairs that also held admirals Raan, Koris, and Gerrel. Occasionally, her eyes would stray to find her saera seated on the far side on the lowest row of seating. He watched Xen with focus and concentration tattooed on his face.
"And it is almost entirely due to Veetor'Nara, who has proven to be an invaluable…asset, that we were able to learn any of this in the first place."
John and Tali both looked away from Daro'Xen and to each other as she finished that sentence, and they both conveyed the same emotion: curiosity. They had both heard the way that she had said Veetor's name; the way that she had paused as she tried to describe what he was.
It was so unlike her. It was a bit unnerving.
"As Admiral Shepard had learned, the Array did indeed conform its atmosphere to our needs. But that was but the start. Veetor had taken it upon himself, as something of a 'pet project' which I encouraged him to look into, to determine the cause of what was described in Tali'Zorah's – excuse me, Tali'Shepard's – report as a visual anomaly seen within the operating system itself." She tapped a few buttons on her omnitool. "What you see here is programming code. It is a mixture of Geth code and the original code written by whatever race originally built the Array - it certainly wasn't the Geth." A few members of the Conclave leaned forward for a better look. "And here," she flipped to a new screen, "is the pure code without the other code created by the Geth."
Lano'Tiel leaned forward, her hands clasped together on the table. "So, what does all this mean, Admiral Xen? It is all very interesting, of course, but perhaps we should get to the point?"
Tali smirked at the Speaker's directness.
"Hmm. Indeed." Matching Lano's directness, Daro flipped to a new panel that displayed a schematic of the Array. "The Geth had used the Array as a kind of telescope; our best guess is that they were able to channel the range of the relays themselves to extend their view considerably, in order to peer even into the Andromeda Galaxy in nearly real time. However, this was not the Array's true function. Its function was beautifully elegant: it is a one-way mass relay."
After a moment of unbelieving silence, the room erupted into a cacophony of shouted opinions and guesswork.
"That is not possible!"
"This has to be a mistake!"
"How does it work?"
Around the static, John and Tali found each other as they so often did. Their eyes locked and instantly conveyed to each other their own beliefs about the Array. Not only was it entirely plausible, but Veetor had called it from the off, saying that it was something more than what it appeared to be.
As for the cacophony of shattered shouts, it hadn't just been restricted to the Conclave, of course. Shala and Zaal first confided in each other, then tried to rope Tali in on their confused and questioning mutterings.
The youngest admiral among them was simply annoyed, because she wanted to hear more. She rose to her feet.
"Keelah! Can we all just stop, please?"
Silence ensued as all of them turned to the sound of Tali's chastisement.
"I do not believe that Admiral Xen was finished."
The same silence had taken on an air of "stunned silence". It had occurred to precisely no one that anyone - let alone Tali - would stand up for the likes of Admiral Xen. John watched his beautiful woman from afar and couldn't help the grin that he wore.
She really has grown so much. What a beautiful thing to see. What a woman.
Tali, I'm so proud of you.
Tali had stood, clad as she was in her more striking "Shepard" realk, and she struck a far more imposing figure in her own right.
Someone cleared their throat, and even Daro'Xen seemed amused by the whole thing.
"Yes, thank you, Admiral Shepard. Perhaps I can continue." Xen pressed a few keys, and a montage video of the various tests that were conducted began to stream across the display.
Satisfied that the attention had returned to her actual presentation, she continued. "At any rate, after conducting a series of tests with probes, then shuttles, we were able to use the relay for near instantaneous transport of one of Admiral Gerrel's frigates. All tests have proved successful."
Lano'Tiel cleared her throat. "Admiral Xen, please define 'successful'."
The sound of someone else clearing their throat answered instead. Tali turned to the sound, knowing that it was Admiral Gerrel. He stood as he did so, walking purposefully to Xen. He stood at near attention, with his hands clasped tightly behind his back.
"Successful, in that all probes, shuttles, and ships were transported to the designated coordinates, via the Array, without failure. Admiral Xen's tests were exhaustive and intensive - I argued that they were perhaps too intensive - and the only issue that she came across was a short-term power overload with the first shuttle."
Daro'Xen stood stiff, eyes locked on her colleague who had just spontaneously vouched for her and her methods. When they'd discussed how this should go, there had been no mention of anyone interrupting the other. With a little smirk, she understood that it was a means to his own end, but it still surprised her.
At this point, the two admirals traded explanations and dispensed information. Xen would offer her technical explanation, and Gerrel would translate it into something more easily palatable to the laymen that they were talking to.
"Which brings us to our proposition," Han finished.
John and Tali once more locked eyes, his eyebrow raised in morbid curiosity. During the admirals' presentation, they'd often shared looks of various responses: surprise, curiosity, fascination, trepidation. There was so much potential for this Array.
And so much danger.
"Which is what, Han?"
That was Shala, who, of the admirals, had known him the longest. There was something amiss here, she thought, and she hoped to root it out.
There was no need - he announced it himself.
"What I propose is simple. We have learned - thanks to Tali - that the Geth are on their way to Andromeda. We have our own people on their way, as well as races from the rest of the galaxy. These Geth, regardless of what they had done for us, are a threat to us. What -"
Tali had heard enough. Leaping to her feet with an accusingly pointed finger, she would cut this bosh'tet off before he could get started. "That is not true, Admiral Gerrel, and you know it!"
John had jumped to his feet as she did, it wasn't anything he'd thought about - he'd just reacted. Now he watched Tali, with her will of raw iron, as she grappled with her colleague.
Han glared at the youngest admiral, fists defiantly glued to his waist. "Not true? Not true? Has your judgment been so clouded that you don't see the truth?"
"The truth?" She shot back. "The truth is that these Geth could not have been tainted by the Reapers! They were…well, they were like Legion! And they wanted peace!"
Han's eyes grew wide and he took a few menacing steps toward her. The older man was armed with a shaky, pointed finger aimed at her chest.
"Han, please calm down." Jumping up from her own seat at the table, Lano gripped the table tightly as she continued. "There is no need to do…whatever it is you think you're doing."
Even Daro'Xen had taken a few steps toward him because, keelah, he was about to ruin their plan. How had she taken a back seat to this decrepit fossil?
Glaring at the floor with tired and sad eyes, he shook his head, disappointed. "Yes, of course. My apologies, Speaker. Tali." Talking a deep breath, he appeared much calmer.
Or sensing a potential defeat.
John rubbed his hands together as he sat back down. Tali met his eyes and gave him a confident nod.
Han'Gerrel continued despite the fracas. "Tali, that may or may not be the case, but are you willing to bet the lives of those people on your hunch? On your belief? On faith?" Hearing no immediate objections, he continued. "What I propose is simple: we can use the Array to destroy their Ark. We can ensure that they do not murder our - or anybody else's - people. The Geth have proved to be nothing if not consistently murderous machines."
For a moment, there was silence. The twenty members of the Conclave sat and looked at each around their table, clearly uncertain what to think.
Ikla'Faan, who had just been appointed to the Conclave with the reorganization and addition of many of the other factions to the political body, cleared her throat. "Excuse me, Admiral Gerrel, but what is it exactly that you are proposing?"
Admiral Xen stepped forward. "What we are proposing is the use of the Array to send a…device -"
"You mean a bomb?"
"Yes, Ilka. A bomb. One large enough to destroy the ark completely, neutralizing the threat."
Tali, managing to keep her seat this time, spoke up again with a mix of venom and exasperation. "Oh, you can't be serious. They're not a threat!"
Two seats down, Zaal gave her some much-needed back up. "I am forced to agree with Tali'Shepard on this. Let us state the facts as we know them." Zaal now stood from his seat, "The Geth - not the Sovereign-obsessed Geth - have not once instigated an attack against us since the end of the War." He stopped Han's labored protest with a single raised finger. "No, Han. I am not yet done."
Even John was visibly taken aback with an amused smirk on his face. Where had this Zaal come from?
"The last time we brought this question forward, we stood very much like this, did we not? Tali had told us then that it was a bad idea. She told us that the Geth did not want to instigate hostilities. She told us that we could perhaps coexist. And you know what? She was right, damn it! You wanted to ignore me, you wanted to mock me, that's fine because I can take it. But Tali? She knew more about the Geth than we ever could have! And you ignored her, and we nearly got destroyed for our trouble! If you use the Array in the way that you propose, not only do you dishonor her again, but when the rest of the galaxy learns of this, how do you think they will react?"
To everyone's surprise, there was silence. It was thick and heavy and stunned.
"Oh? Nothing? Well, I will tell you! If you thought our three centuries spent as pariahs was bad, wait until you see what happens with a galaxy that will be in no mood for any of this learns what we will have done!"
Han stood there, taking it with his head softly shaking. Daro could hear him muttering something, but she could not make it out.
"And for as helpful as the Alliance and their councilor, and all of their people have been, now imagine what their ire will be! Imagine the turians, united with them! Or the krogan! We cannot afford such a stupid decision! It is immoral, it is foolhardy, it is wrong!"
Nearly the entire room still sat in stunned silence, Tali's and Shala's eyes met in wide-eyed acknowledgment.
Keelah, where the hell had that come from?
Lano cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Very well. Thank you, Admiral Koris. Thank you, Admiral Gerrel." She turned to Daro. "Have you anything further to add, Admiral Xen?"
She sighed. This is not at all how she'd hoped this would be going. "Yes, I do, Speaker." There was silence still; now it seemed to be bathed in icy anticipation. "I would like to add that I agree that the Geth should be dealt with. However, I would recommend a second reason for use of the Array."
Tali, John, and the rest of the room leaned forward toward her. Except Han. He still stood, but appeared to shrink a little after Zaal's chastisement.
"And what reason is that, Daro?" Shala asked with more than a touch of trepidation.
"It…is important that we prove that we are…that we can defend ourselves. That if the galaxy decides to…turn on us again, we need to show that we will not be so easily pushed over. That we can properly defend ourselves."
John's mouth went dry, and he was rubbing his hands tightly together. He bit down hard on the outbursts that he'd so wanted to unleash on these two fools.
What else is going to go wrong? I…what is actually happening right now? Have they both completely lost it?
Lano stood up. "So you would also advocate for use of the Array? For the stated purpose of not only destroying the potential threat the Geth pose, but also to show that we have the means to defend ourselves?"
Daro'Xen stiffened slightly. She was not accustomed to this…doubt. "Yes, Speaker. That is accurate, if not simplistic."
Lano glanced around her colleagues and the other admirals before continuing. "Very well. Admiral Gerrel, Admiral Xen, thank you for your arguments and for your presentation. We will reconvene shortly."
Less than twenty minutes later, Lano had called them back to the main hall and shot Xen and Gerrel's proposal down in spectacular fashion. She had said that "Not now, nor ever, would be an appropriate time to utilize such a device. We agree unreservedly with Admirals Zaal'Koris and Tali'Shepard on their assessment of the threat the Geth may pose to those that have embarked to the Andromeda Galaxy. Even if we did agree on that threat, the potential damage that its use would cause to our relations with the other species in this galaxy far outweighs any potential gains we might give to those that chose to leave us."
It had all been quite the spectacle as the Speaker had so eloquently and without even a feeble rebuttal ended the idea in its tracks.
Gerrel and Xen had left with nary a whimper but acknowledged the will of the Conclave and that their orders would be followed to the letter.
As far as Tali had been concerned, the matter was closed.
Which is why John and Tali stood outside the Fen'tal, she was leaning against him with her hands resting on his chest. He ran his hands softly along her back. With her eyes closed, Tali hummed before letting out a long sigh.
"John, that could have been so much worse."
"Yeah, I know. About that, though…" He waited until she looked up at him. "Are you sure we can trust Xen and Gerrel? Something about them seemed a little…I don't know. 'Off', I guess?"
She laughed a little. "I know what you mean, but I've seen bigger fights between the admirals."
He frowned a little, scratching his cheek. "Yeah, maybe. But you don't think they'd do something stupid like actually defy the Conclave, right?"
Tali considered this for a moment. "Like I said, I understand what you mean, but they're admirals and their duty is to our people. They won't go against their orders. They were told to go and shut it down and bring their people home, and I'm confident that's what they'll do."
Even as she said the words, the quarian admiral frowned. There was something…
"Well, anyway, you did good." John chuckled as he interrupted her thoughts. "You did so good. I was proud of you for standing up to Han like that. You really got feisty with him. But I'll tell you who surprised me."
She looked up to him, her hands remaining where they were. "Who was that?"
"Zaal'Koris. Was he that fiery when you and the admirals were debating the war with the Geth?"
"Heh. No, he tried, but it was easy to shut him down as being weak or as a Geth sympathizer."
"I see. You know what the difference was this time?" A little shake of her head betrayed her uncertainty. John cupped her visor with his hand "It was you. You stood up to Han first. And this time, Zaal backed you up. And you know what? He was correct on every single count. And you helped give him the ammunition."
"Bosh'tet. So did you. Keelah, especially you. You changed my mind in the first place. And you were right."
From behind them, someone cleared their throat. "I do hope we are not interrupting anything?"
John laughed out loud. "No, Admiral Koris, you're not." He released Tali from his embrace, and they faced both Zaal and Shala with their hands remaining clasped together. "What can we do for you?"
Shala spoke next after a beleaguered sigh. "Tali, we have something that needs to be discussed privately."
John stepped back, releasing her hand to grab the cane that leaned against the low wall. "No problem. Tali, I'll head on home, okay? I want to call Garrus again anyway, that idiot." He smiled at her, but before he could actually leave, Shala interrupted them.
"Actually, Shepard…we wanted you to join us. Would you…would you mind if we joined you at your home?"
Tali and John shared a curious look. "Um…sure. Of course. Can I ask why?"
"You may ask," Zaal began, "but we cannot answer. Not here. So, we simply ask that we join you at your home."