Chapter 2: A Breach of Faith

The mission that Hackett had given him in private had fully gone to hell, in Cole's opinion. While he was no stranger to missions going sideways, this particular one had taken the number one spot. The mission was relatively simple. Free Doctor Amanda Kenson from the Batarians, then go to her facility to hear what her team found out about the coming Reaper threat. The first part of the mission went smoothly, it was the second part of it that blew up in his face.

When he arrived at Amanda's base of operations, he learned that within two days the Reaper armada would enter the system, and springboard their invasion by using the unique capability that the Mass Relay – code name Alpha Relay, has. The mission was to destroy Alpha Relay to prevent this invasion from happening. Unfortunately, as Cole suspected, both Amanda and her team were indoctrinated by the Reaper artifact they found near the relay and stopped their plans.

After being captured, then knocked out by an explosion – caused by Amanda, the two days that Cole originally had turned into less than twelve minutes. Even with Amanda's attempted sabotage of the thrusters constructed on the asteroid, Cole managed to set the asteroid on a collision course with the relay. The downside was Amanda had blocked his attempt at warning the Batarian colony from the impending doom to the system.

Pulling up his Omni-tool, he checks the timer he had coded in for when the asteroid would hit the relay. "Blast! Seven minutes left. Can't this elevator go any faster!" He charges up his Omni-tool and slams it into the console. In a matter of seconds, the elevator shot upward, making him lose his balance. "Umph… well, that's better."

――――――

Tali paced back and forth in the cockpit. For the last two days she had been growing more and more worried about the mission Cole undertook for Hackett. Within the first day, she bugged EDI with constant questioning and theories on where Cole was. Now, it was Joker's turn, though the questions and theories turned into frustrated panic.

"He should have made contact by now." She said as she quickened her pacing.

"Look, Shepard said when he was done, he would make contact."

"I know what Shepard said!" She stops momentarily, then quickly moves to one of the consoles. "Something is wrong."

"If something is wrong, he would have made contact by now."

"Tak'tal! Are you really this dense?"

Joker quickly presses the button to turn his chair around so that he could face Tali. The spectacle he saw was that of a Vorcha slicing their way through a corpse for fun. The speed at which Tali was entering and changing commands stunned him for a moment.

"Tali stop!" She doesn't. "You and I both know that Shepard is capable of handling things. He would have made contact by now."

Joker let out a scoff when Tali continued to ignore what he was saying. He closes his eyes and rubs his forehead to relieve the stress that Tali was giving him. Though, when he opened his eyes, Tali had stopped her panic induced motions.

"What? What is it?"

Entering a couple commands, she sends what she found to Joker's screen and moves to him. "We need to re-enter the system now!"

"Oh god…" Joker said as he took in the information Tali had sent him. "How did you…" He turns his head to make eye contact with Tali, but she was already gone. "Great… I won't hear the end of this from her." He reaches over the comms. "Red alert everyone. We have less than six minutes to pick up Shepard and get the hell out of here!"

Tali was nearly sprinting through the CIC when Joker called out the red alert. Kelly attempted to ask Tali what was going on, but she was quick to stop her. "Not now Kelly." She then reaches up to her comm, "Garrus, Thane, I need you to meet me in the cargo hold. We won't have long to find Shepard and get out of here."

"I'll be there." Thane said quickly.

"Do we know what's going on?" Garrus chimed in.

Tali enters the elevator and hits for the cargo hold, "Not really, but this system is about to be wiped out in a matter of minutes."

"Great."

――――――

Dealing with the last remaining indoctrinated security guard, Cole quickly looks around for the Communication Relay so he could tap into it directly and attempt to contact the Normandy to pick him up. Fortunately, it wasn't too far off from where he killed the last guard. After sprinting the rest of the way to the relay, he quickly entered his id code and sent out the alert for an immediate pickup.

"Shepard. You have become an annoyance."

Cole quickly looks around for where the mechanical, Reaper like voice was coming from. Looking to his right, he finally sees where it was coming from. A large, orangish-yellow holographic image of Harbinger floated down to the landing pad nearby.

"You fight against inevitability. Dust struggling against cosmic winds."

"Do all Reapers talk like this; emotionless?" Cole said as he made his way around the relay and towards Harbinger.

"Emotions are meaningless. Chaotic." Harbinger pauses for a moment to watch its enemy draw closer. "This may seem a victory to you. A star system sacrificed, but even now, your greatest civilizations are doomed to fall. Your leaders will beg to serve us."

Finally reaching to where he wanted to be in proximity to Harbinger, Cole looks up to it and shakes his head. "I don't think so. I've stopped you and your kind enough to know that we can resist you."

"Resistance is futile. You cannot stop inevitability."

Doubt crept into his gut along with a tingle up his spine. Harbinger sounds so sure… so confident. Even for how robotic it sounded, both it and its kind have done this countless times. Maybe it is futile… Suddenly, a shot of pain shoots up his spine and into his head. No… I've proven we can do this.

"It might be inevitable, but we'll fight you nonetheless."

"Know this as you die in vain. Your time will come. Your species will fall. Prepare yourselves for our arrival." And with that, the image of Harbinger fades away.

Mere seconds later, the Normandy swoops pass Cole and takes a sharp turn to have the cargo hold hanger face him. Going into a full-on sprint, Cole makes his way to the landing pad, where Harbinger's image was, and angles himself towards the hanger. There waiting for him was Thane, Garrus, and Tali. Tali was the one out on the edge of ramp – hand outstretched to grab him. Thane was right behind her preparing himself to help Tali pull Cole up into the ship. Garrus, in typical fashion, had his sniper rifle out – ready to put down anyone that would get in their way.

Using his momentum to fuel his jump, Cole launches himself off the edge of the landing pad and grabs Tali's forearm. Thane in turn quickly grabs Tali's waist and pulls her back.

"We got him." Garrus said as he collapsed his sniper rifle. "Time to go."

The second Cole was able to swing himself onto the hanger's ramp, Garrus hit the button to raise it. Joker on the other hand, took no time to rocket the Normandy to the relay. While he knew it was extremely dangerous to make a jump while the ship's hanger was still open, they had unfortunately ran out of time.

"Hang on folks," Joker said over the intercom while punching in the coordinates to anywhere but here. "this might not be the most pleasant of jumps."

In the cargo hold, both Tali and Thane sat down to catch their breaths from bringing Cole up from the edge. Cole had taken a few steps further away from him before he felt the need to take a knee and catch his breath as well. Garrus was quick to check on his vitals.

"Are you alright Shepard? Are you in any pain? Do you have any wounds?"

"I'm fine Garrus. Go check on Tali and Thane. They shouldn't be out of breath like me." Cole said, in between heavy breaths. Reluctantly, Garrus nods and moves his way to Tali. "EDI, status."

"Two seconds from jump. I recommend everyone to brace for any spatial disruptions."

Everyone in the cargo hold felt the slight jerk as the Normandy made the jump from relay. After a minute of being in FTL without any complications, Joker put out an all clear and lifted the red alert. Breathing a sigh of relief, Cole quickly released the seals on his helmet and twists it off. Garrus and Thane did the same.

"EDI…" he paused, not wanting to ask because he already knew the answer. "the Mass Relay, is it destroyed?"

"It is. A supernova event followed its destruction. The Bahak system has been completely wiped out."

The reality of the situation fully hit Cole. Every muscle in his body felt weak and unable to move. "Did anyone from the colony evacuate?"

"No."

"Oh god…" Cole said before the panic attack hit him.

Three hundred thousand Batarians. All dead. I… I did that. And for what? A month of reprieve before they hit our home worlds.

"Shepard?" Garrus called out as he was walking back to Cole – he didn't respond. "Shepard, are you alright?"

"No Garrus," Cole gets up from his knees and immediately throws his helmet against one of the crates nearby. "I'm not alright at all."

Garrus slowly lays his hand onto Cole's shoulder, "What happened down there?"

Cole gives Garrus a quick side-eye and just shakes his head. "Not right now." He pauses for a moment to regain any semblance of a composure, "What's going on with Tali and Thane."

Letting out a heavy sigh, "Tali is fine… well, that's what she said. What the scan revealed however is that she has a pretty nasty infection again."

"Damn…"

"She reassured me that she's been taking the necessary steps in getting better."

"And Thane?"

"Told me he didn't stretch enough and pulled a muscle."

"Yeah, we both know that's bullshit. What did the scan show up?"

"Nothing, because he didn't allow me to take the scan."

This time, it was Cole's turn to let out a heavy sigh. "Crap… EDI."

"Yes Shepard."

"Head to the Pylos Nebula Relay. We'll be meeting Admiral Hackett there. Tell him I'll be in Med-bay when he gets here."

"As you wish Shepard."

"Tali, Thane, you both are heading to Med-bay with me."

――――――

"Well Commander," Doctor Chakwas said as she finished looking over all the test readings. "everything looks fine here. All of your mental readings look normal, and the only injury you have is the graze on your shoulder."

"Even with me being in direct contact with the Reaper artifact, you found no abnormalities?"

"Not that I found. That being said, I highly recommend that you be put on constant surveillance for the next forty-eight hours just to be sure."

"Make it an entire week. I don't want to take any chances."

"That's a bit of an overkill commander."

"I got knocked out by the damn thing doctor." Cole said as he grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head. "I was in proximity of it for two whole days. Who knows what it could have done to me."

She gives him a reluctant nod, "Very well."

"What about Tali and Thane?"

"Well, Thane did pull a muscle, but nothing a little Medi-gel couldn't fix. Tali on the other hand is a little more worse for wear. I gave her a double dose of antibiotics for the chest infection, but ultimately, she's going to have to ride this one out."

Cole just rubs his forehead, "Thank you for looking into them both. If there's anything I can…"

"I'm no fool Shepard." Chakwas said in a stern tone. "Tali is claiming that this is all her fault and..."

Tali quickly gets up from the exam table she was leaning on. "Doctor Chakwas."

Chakwas snaps her gaze to Tali and gives her the same stern look she was giving Cole. "And I'm not buying it."

"But doctor…" Tali insisted.

"I may be a Human doctor Tali'Zorah, but I've become quite knowledgeable about Quarian physiology and what you have is no simple mistake or accident."

"Ahem." Everyone in the room quickly turns to the fresh voice in the room. Silence quickly followed as they saw Admiral Hackett staring at them all patiently. "I know things might be a little heated right now, but I need to talk to the Commander, in private."

"I'm sorry Admiral." Chakwas said while giving him a slight nod.

Everyone files out of the room, though Tali lingered around long enough to hold Cole's hand for a moment, then left the room.

"Tali." Chakwas said as Tali left the room.

"I don't want to hear it doctor."

"Tali listen." She starts to walk behind her. When Tali didn't stop to face her, she quickly grabbed her arm. "Tali stop."

"I said, I don't want to hear it!"

"Well, you're going to." She keeps her hold on Tali until she finally submitted in hear what she had to say. "Your relationship with Shepard," Tali quickly crosses her arms – causing Chakwas to let out a sigh. "Your relationship with him can kill you."

"I know what I'm doing doctor."

A disappointed look goes across Chakwas face. Knowing she wasn't willing to listen to her, she gave Tali a slight, defeated nod and turned to make her way to Thane. Tali focuses her attention to Cole and Hackett. She knew something bad had happened while Cole was on that asteroid. The only thing he mentioned was the Reaper artifact that he was in contact with. There was only one way to find out what happened, and that was to wait for him to come up to their room.

Once everyone left the room, Cole stood up and gave Hackett a crisp salute. "Admiral."

Hackett returns the salute, "Commander. I know this isn't an Alliance ship, so there's no need for formalities here. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay, I guess. Not seeing visions anymore, if that's what you mean."

"Good." He turns away slightly to look through the window. "You know, it's strange seeing the Normandy in Cerberus colors."

Cole nods his head in agreement, "Yeah. Unfortunately, most of my funds have burnt up. Haven't been able to give her a new paint job."

Hackett lets out a light chuckle. "Shame really." He then turns back to Cole. "Look, off the record, I don't like Cerberus. I never liked the way they go about things." He pauses for a moment to let what he said sink in. "But they brought you back. They actually tried to confront the things plaguing the galaxy. So, I was content when they spearheaded you to take on the Collector threat."

His expression suddenly takes on a sterner and more serious look. "That was until a Mass Relay was destroyed and the Bahak system being eradicated because of it. What the hell happened out there Commander?"

Immediately, Cole pulls out a datapad and hands it to Hackett. "After I freed Kenson from the Batarians, we went to her base of operations. There I found out that in two days, the Reapers were going to enter this system and use the relay to springboard their invasion." He pauses for a moment to let Hackett look over the information. "I also found out that the Reaper artifact they found had indoctrinated both Kenson and her entire team."

"What happened next?"

"After the artifact knocked me out, they kept me sedated. Two days later I awoke and put the asteroid on a collision course with the relay, as Kenson intended."

"So the threat was real."

"Yes, Admiral. Harbinger contacted me just before the Normandy swooped in to pick me up. To project a holographic image like that meant that they were close to the edge of the system."

Bringing the tablet down to his side, "There were no reports of any survivors from the colony."

Cole takes on a grim face, "I know."

"I won't lie to you Shepard, the Batarians will want blood and there's just enough evidence for a witch hunt. The Alliance doesn't want to get into a war with the Batarians, especially with the Reapers on our doorstep."

Cole just shakes his head, "What are you trying to say."

"Look, you did what you had to do. I would have done the same, but the fact remains that there were over three hundred thousand Batarians in that system, all dead."

"I did my best to warn them." Cole shot back. "If I could have chosen a different way or even had another chance to contact them, I would have. Their deaths allowed billions of others to live."

"You're preaching to the quire Shepard. If it were up to me, I'd give you a damn metal. Unfortunately, not everyone will see it that way." He pauses at the sight of disdain in Cole's face. "Look, evidence against you is shady at best, but at some point, you're going to have to go to Earth to face the music. I can't stop it… but I can and will make them fight for it."

"If that's the case then… I'll stand trial."

Hackett gives him a sharp nod, "I'm glad to see that working with Cerberus hasn't stripped away your sense of honor. Do what you need to out here, but when Earth calls, make sure you're there dressed in blues and ready to take the hit." He pulls the tablet back up to look over it once more, then hands it back to Cole. "I don't need to see a report to know what you did was right. You've done a hell of a thing Commander."

Hackett gives Cole one last salute before giving him a slight nod and then taking his leave. Cole couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh once Hackett left the room.

What the hell am I going to do? Once Alliance brass gets wind of this, I'll barely get a day out here. They'll go over Hackett's head and go straight to the Council with this. I need to find an answer and I need it fast.

"EDI."

"Yes Shepard?"

"Head for Hagalaz in the Hourglass Nebula. I need to pay Liara a visit."

"Very well Shepard."

"I'll be in my quarters until then. I don't want to be disturbed unless it's important."

"As you wish Shepard. Logging you out."

――――――

Opening the doors to their quarters, Tali goes to Cole's aquarium and presses the button to feed the fish. She knew the aquarium had an automated feeding system, but her nerves were affecting her so badly that she had to do something – even something as simple as pressing a button.

Ugh, the nerve of that doctor. Telling me I could die, like I don't know that already! No one on this ship can relate to what I'm dealing with. How I feel about all of this. Tali crosses her arms. Something so simple as holding someone's hand without a barrier is a luxury for me.

She turns her attention to the bed and notices a small, golden glint peeking through the covers.

That's the ring… I was so caught up in the moment between us that I forgot to grab it before I left.

Drawn by the shine of it, she casually strolled down to the bed and picked out the ring from the covers. She plays with the ring between her fingers and ponders on how she would even wear it.

I know these sorts of things are supposed to be worn on your finger. She stops her fiddling with the ring and sizes it up against her own fingers. It definitely won't fit on my thumb. And my index finger…. Mmfph… no. What about… She brings the ring up to her last digit and slides it about a third of the way onto her finger. Vot! Of course it wouldn't fit, especially over my suit.

Pulling it back off, she holds it up between her index finger and thumb and just stares at it. It's probably not safe to wear it on my skin. Not only would I probably have an adverse reaction to it, but it would probably dig into my skin because of my suit.

Suddenly, Tali hears the doors open behind her – shocking her to turn around quickly. Cole stood there looking at her. "Oh, hi Shepard. Everything go well with Hackett?"

"More or less." Cole said as he finished walking into the room. "Things got really heated with Chakwas, huh?"

She just scoffs, "I don't want to talk about it, and I don't want to hear anything about it from you."

"I know." He said, walking down the couple steps to the bedroom. "I happen to disagree with her sentiment. With Mordin's help, we know what we're doing, and we'll get better at this."

"Then why are you even bringing it up?"

"Because it's bothering you."

Anger shoots through her system – causing her body to go rigid. "She has no clue what I've been going though. What we've been going through."

"I know," he said, nodding in agreement. "but she's a doctor. It's in her nature to concerned about our relationship."

"Well her 'nature' needs to back off." She said while taking a seat on the bed. "I've lived in constant fear that I'm just one suit tear away from dying, or that one malfunctioning air filter can kill my lungs, or… or even finding a bond mate and linking with them will knock me out for months. I'm tired of living in fear."

She looks up to Cole, who could only put on a sad face as she vented out her frustrations. "I don't want to live like that anymore. My people shouldn't have to live like this."

He just nods and takes a seat beside her. "What do you want to do about it?"

"I want…" She stops to think about what could help ease her problem. "I…" Then it hit her, "I want to acclimatize to this room." She takes a few seconds to let her words sink in for both her and Cole. "I know it's dangerous, but this is what we did naturally before we lost our home world. With Mordin's help, I know my body can adapt to this room and to you."

Cole kept quiet as he mulled over what she said. He knew everything she said was true. Having her adapt to their room would help negate the danger of exposing herself randomly when the mood took them – like it did last time. To get to that point, however, was no small feat and not without its own dangers.

"If Mordin thinks it's possible, then we'll do it."

"It's my choice."

"Yes, but I have to live with the consequences." Tali's eyes narrow. "Look, for better or worse Tali, your health is always going to be a concern for me. Yes, I want us to be able to kiss one another whenever we want. I want to hold your hand without a suit caught in between, but I also don't want to put your life in jeopardy. So yes, it is your choice, but I must err on the side of caution to make sure it's what you truly want."

"It's what I want." She said, with no hesitation.

"Then we'll talk to Mordin about it and get it set up."

He pulls her into his embrace and sooths her back with both arms and hands. Feeling her emotions wash over her, she digs herself into him.

"Thank you." She whispered. After a few moments, she pulled back but grabbed a hold on his right hand. "Now, it's your turn."

He chuckles, "My turn for what?"

"To talk about what's bothering you. About what happened with the mission with Hackett." She watched as Cole clenched his jaw and looked down. "That bad?"

He just nods, "Yeah…" He then lets out a heavy sigh. "The short version is that I sent an asteroid to destroy a Mass Relay, that would have been used by the Reapers today."

Tali's eyes go wide, "They're here already?"

"Yeah… but, because I don't have any solid evidence of that, what happened just looks like a terrorist attack."

"What?"

"There's no proof." He said, rubbing his forehead then wiping his face. "In the next day or so, I expect a call from Hackett saying that I have to turn myself in."

"You… you can't. With the Reapers just entering from dark space, we need to do all we can to prepare for their invasion. The galaxy is going to need you."

"I very much doubt that right now." Tali leans forward to look him squarely in the face. "I killed… all those people, and for what? A few months of peace before the Reapers reach the next nearest relay and begin their cycle?"

"Stop." She said as she released his hand to cover his mouth. "You can't… do this to yourself. If you feel that you failed…"

He pulls her hand away gently, "It's not about failure Tali. What I did has isolated me. No one in this galaxy will either listen to me or fall in line with me."

"Liara." Tali said with an urgency fix the situation. "Liara can help. She must have access to some kind of information about what happened."

Cole just smiles and gives Tali's hand a couple squeezes. "Have I ever told you that I love you."

"Well yes, but…"

"I already had EDI set a course for her ship. Even if she doesn't have any answers for me, it's a nice place to lie low for a bit and figure out what I should do next."