Oh Kheelah… my head… Was the first thought that entered Tali's mind.

She felt cold, very cold, but paradoxically she felt warm too. Something soft was covering her body up to her shoulders; and somewhere in the back of Tali's mind, something told her that wasn't right.

Groaning softly, she touched her hand to her head; the feeling of her hand touching her face caused Tali to freeze.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and stared in fascination at her ungloved, three fingered hand. The sight of her own Purple-Grey skin was something she never thought she would see in her life. Sure, she'd seen Cato suitless ever since Shephard had healed him and unlocked his 'Vorpal' abilities; but seeing her own skin for the first time in her life was something indescribable.

Blinking, Tali shivered as she felt another wave of cold overtake her.

Looking down, she let out a muffled scream as she realized that the only thing covering her was a thick blanket made of some kind of material; otherwise, she was wearing nothing like the day she was born.

Despite the fact that she knew Cato would never let any harm come to her; that didn't stop the beginnings of panic to overtake her mind.

Tali began to hyperventilate, Oh Ancestors I have no suit! The air here's filthy, it'll kill me if I leave this clean room; if it even is a clean room! Kheelah what do I do?!

A set of footsteps snapped Tali's attention away from her internal thoughts, and thinking quickly; Tali quickly gathered up the blanket covering her, wrapping it around herself and holding it up as she scrambled off the bed she had been laying on.

Wincing as her bare feet touched the cold concrete floor, she then tried to rush over to the nearby hatch; stumbling over the blanket covering her. That mixed with the general feeling weakness forced her to let go and drop it so she could catch herself with her arms.

She slammed into the floor, shivering as she struggled to stand back up as the cold air now slammed into her body unimpeded. She began to crawl towards the door, leaving the blanket behind; when a pair of hands touched her shoulders.

"Calm down…" A motherly voice whispered in her ear.

Tali froze, as she idly recalled that the voice belonged to the red haired Matronly human, Kelly, who had been with Wrex before the mess with the Antlions.

"It's okay, you're safe now… your injuries have been fixed and your immune system is strengthening. Ulysses, Shephard, and Cato healed it." She whispered.

Tali turned to the human woman, and reached out and touched her face; and she burst into tears.

"I can feel you… I can feel everything!" She sobbed.

Kelly just smiled as Tali threw her hands over her shoulders and hugged her; returning the hug, Kelly said "Your brother's been worried sick about you, in fact he's probably sensed that you're awake by now.

Tali nodded, still crying as she breathed the dirty, filthy, unsanitary air of the coal mine without any pain or reactions from her body. "I want him to see me; I got to see his face, he should see mine." She gasped.

Kelly's smile turned from motherly to amused, "If that's the case, I think it would be best you don't try and greet him in your birthday suit."

Tali blinked in confusion, then looked down and realized what the woman was talking about. Tali shrieked and quickly drew the blankets around herself, her face turning a deep purple; but Kelly just gave a tired chuckle and politely looked away. "Please Ms. Zorah, I may be a psychiatrist but I'm also a doctor; with how similar your race is to mine, it's nothing I have not seen before." She said in a soothing voice, before patting Tali on the shoulder. "I'll go get you some clothes to change into, your suit was trashed but we salvaged everything useful from it; and we did manage to save your hood and those robe like belts."

"How… How long was I out?" Tali asked as the woman stood and walked towards a locker on the opposite side of the room, the purple blush not fading but still managing to somewhat swallow her embarrassment.

"Just about two Earth days; forty six hours I think." Kelly replied, opening the locker and withdrawing a pair of pants, a sleeveless brown shirt, and a kind of uniform tunic.

The pants and tunic had a similar pattern to what she had seen Mr. Massani and Cato wear before things had gone down with the Antlions. But it looked more like Commander Anderson's clothing, tan base coloration, with odd splotches of darker shades of tan and brown scattered around it.

"This," Kelly started, handing Tali the sleeveless shirt, "Is called a tank top; when Tanks first came around, they were essentially insulated boilers that were sweltering even in the best of times. So the crew's started tearing the sleeves off of their uniform shirts, until the Army decided to give them a proper article of clothing."

Tali listened with fascination as she shrugged the 'tank top' on; it was a little tight and the neckline went down a little too far in both the back and the front, but it was better than nothing.

Then Kelly handed Tali the pants, and respectfully turned around so Tali could pull them on. "Why do they have these weird patterns?" She decided to ask as she pulled up the zipper, and buttoned the top.

"It's called camouflage; large swaths of Earth is covered in trees, and most of our militaries adopted this in order to help blend in with most any environment; the main purpose being to break up the profile of the person wearing it." Kelly explained, handing Tali the tunic as she talked; now looking at her since she was somewhat decent. "This particular scheme is called the Tri-Color Battle Dress Uniform, Desert Variant; normally I'd give you the Woodland Variant, but we're low on those and this version blends in better with the current weather anyway."

Tali looked down at her feet, wiggling her toes on the cold concrete floor.

"Ah yes, I almost forgot." Kelly walked back to the locker and dug around before pulling something out. First was a pair of a tube of cloth; "with those suits of yours I doubt people wear them; but these are called socks." She handed them to Tali who stared at them dumbly.

Blinking, Kelly gestured for Tali to sit on the bed, cot really; Tali obliged, and stared as Kelly put on the 'socks' for her, memorizing the process. "They serve two purposes, one they insulate your feet during the winter; and they protect your feet from blisters during the summer. Human footwear tends to be rather harsh on the feet, so you need these to protect them."

"How harsh is your winter if they require you to wear both regular footwear and insulation?" Tali asked, already fearing the worst. Rannoch in general was a very arid and warm savannah planet for the most part, with large canyons filled with rivers.

As a result, Quarians preferred warmer climates in general.

Kelly sighed, looked away as she walked back to the locker for a third time; "Before the war? It would vary depending on the region you lived in. It was joked that Earth was a galaxy's worth of ecosystems and climates with how different each area was. Now it's just mostly cold, even the summers tend toward a high of around 15.5 Celsius; and the winter it dips down to around -24 Celsius."

Tali gaped at the Woman, as her mind automatically translated it to Quarian measurements; Their 'summer' was colder than some of the most bitterly cold winters recorded on Rannoch.

Kelly handed her a pair of boots, which Tali slipped on; and to her satisfaction they fit rather nicely. She stared at the rope that was laced throughout it, and Kelly showed her how to tie her boots; which was very easy to do all things considered.

"You said you saved my Sehni and my Realk?" She asked once they had finished tying her boots.

"Yes, your brother has them as a matter of fact; I'll go get him if you're fine waiting here." Kelly answered, giving her an inquiring look.

Tali narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "Why? Can't I leave the room?" She asked.

"Oh yes most definitely; but the fact that you couldn't even crawl your way to the door while buck ass naked does not inspire confidence in you making it very far before face planting into the ground." Kelly replied with an amused smile.

Tali just blushed at the idea of almost running out of the room with no clothes.

"Alright, I'll go get your brother." She said, walking out of the room and closing the hatch behind her.

Tali smiled, then ran a hand through her hair; still amazed at the action.

She could actually feel her hair; but that did make her wonder, Am I ugly? Oh Kheelah, what if I am. Will people want to see my face? She thought, somewhat panicked.

Her fears were put to rest the moment Cato opened the door and they locked eyes. Her brother's jaw dropped, and he just stared; "Oh Ancestors… I knew it, I'm ugly aren't I?" She asked, quickly covering her face.

Cato just walked over and hugged her, "Tali… Father showed me a picture of mother maskless once." He murmured. Tali froze, unsure of where he was going with it; having seen the picture herself, "And I swear by the Homeworld and the Ancestors you are her spitting image. The only difference is that you have Father's hair, and I have mothers."

Tali felt her eyes water, and hugged Cato fiercely; "You're not just saying that?" She asked.

"No… never." He replied.

After a long time, they broke their hug; and Cato sat down next to her. Tali took the opportunity to look him over; his Black and Crimson Realk and Sehni seemed to blend with his 'borrowed' white, grey, and black fatigues seamlessly. And he seemed less fidgety, and much calmer; his Mercury eyes now had a seemingly permanent dull Emerald Glow augmenting it, as opposed to only flashing when he used his 'power'.

"Cato… what happened while I was recovering? Beyond these humans curing my immune system that is." She asked.

Cato rubbed his jaw, and she noticed that he had begun to grow what Adam's had called a 'beard'; it suited him, especially with his raven black hair trimmed short like it was.

"Well…" he finally said, "It all started after you blacked out…"

46 Hours Earlier.

Cato was marginally okay as the base defense wore on. He could hold his own, though that was more because he wasn't relying on just the Vortessence this time; having the Combine SMG in hand helped him feel more confident in his ability and allowed him to focus better on his power usage.

Then Tali got hit, hard. He hadn't even known he was subconsciously monitoring her until he felt the pain of her injuries, and the sudden fear that accompanied it.

"Tali!" Cato swept his arms to clear a path through the antlions. Anything that wasn't nailed down or a person was thrown, including some kind of basin that had been attached to the wall by rusted screws.

He rushed over to where she was laying. "Tali! Tali! Sister!" He wanted to move her, but jagged fragments of metal stuck out of her suit in several places, while her faceplate had been shattered.

She stared blankly at the people around her. "Oh... I have a suit breech."

"Tali!" Cato lunged forward as his sister passed out. A wave of power washed through him and nearly exited when the world froze in place.

"The Cato'Zorah must be in a calmer state of mind before attempting to undo the damage to the Tali'Zorah. Biological reconstruction requires a more nuanced approach than that which you currently possess."

Cato tried to whip his head around, but felt like he was moving during high-G maneuvers. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ulysses hobbling towards him. "If you attempt to repair the Tali'Zorah in your current state, you will induce unforeseen variances in her biology."

Cato finally finished the turn and saw Ayita beginning to turn as well. "Ayita healed me in the field! Can you-"

"The Cato'Zorah was latently Votal; this vastly accelerated the process. Were there more of our kin present, then perhaps we could affect a transference." The aged Vortigaunt looked around the cavern. "Thankfully, the Tali'Zorah has already set in motion the events needed to facilitate her biological repair. Trust in those around you. Events have been set in motion that ensure a brighter probability for all."

Time sped up as Ulysses casually swatted an antlion worker aside. Ayita arrived as he bent down to pick his sister up. He glanced to Ayita for guidance just in time to see Skreech use one antlion as a club to knock another away from a red haired human woman.

"This way Cato!" Ayita mentally guided Cato towards the medic's station. He ignored the sound of battle filling the chamber as he put his sister on a bench. The redhead from before arrived soon after, followed by Skreech. "What are you doing here?!"

The Combine living weapon sneered at Ayita just as an antlion warrior swooped down. She backhanded the creature into a wall before leaping on it's back and tearing it's head off. "Helping!" She hurled the head at a second warrior, knocking it into Wrex's line of fire.

"Thank you Miranda,"the redhead called absently over her shoulder. Both Cato and Ayita boggled as the Combine killer beamed at the praise. "Could you help the defense of the cave entrance?" 'Miranda' gave a wicked grin, then leapt back into the fray with a shriek.

"Give her time and patience," the human continued working on Tali, "she was raised by monsters to be a monster. Being human is very new to her. Cato," his head jerked back, "could you go into the cabinet over there and get a case marked with two double-helix's joined by a plus sign?" He went to get the case while the redhead continued. "Ayita, bring me two vials of AGE."

Once she had the items, the redhead set them up for controlled drip through an IV. Cato wanted to trust these people, but there was still the fear every Quarian felt about alien medicine. "Ma'am, my sister's biology is vastly different-"

"Dextro-chirality amino acid based, I am aware. The Vortigaunts are as well." She set the fluid drip and began debriding the wounded areas. "The case you brought is a sort of universal genetic stabilizer and imuno-booster. The Antlion Grub Extract is many things; but among others it offers superb healing abilities when used correctly." She caught the gobsmacked look on his face. "You don't think we tolerate the antlions simply to guard our exits?"

Cato looked at Ayita, who smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "Shephard! Get your ass out here and help!" Both of them flinched at Massani's bellow.

"Go on you two. Tali is going to be fine." The human Doctor was already working to remove Tali's suit. Both Cato and Ayita blushed and headed back into the fight.

It took another thirty minutes for the antlion assault to die down. Thankfully the only serious casualties were Tali's admittedly severe injuries, and Jenkins who had died saving her. Cato and Ayita stood nearby as the members of the resistance prepared his body.

"Aren't there any rites? Even in the Flotilla we mark someone's passing." Cato stared numbly at the body of the young man whom he and his sister owed so much to.

"In the days before the invasion, it would depend on your religion; my people would hold a service for the person, asking for God to allow him safe passage to our Afterlife and forgive his sins in this Life." Ayita explained, somewhat mechanically, staring at Jenkins body. She may not have liked him at times, but it still felt somewhat hollow knowing that she wouldn't have to deal with his sometimes annoying, sometimes funny commentary on everything that happened.

Nearby, Zaeed kicked one of the antlion worker corpses into a mine cart for later disposal. "Bloody hell; haven't had a scrum like that in three years. Not since Gregor stepped on a Grub during a scavenging mission." He growled angrily.

Cato tensed immediately, something that Ayita did not miss. "Cato…" She said slowly, but he could detect the building anger in her mind. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"...Promise me you won't get mad at Tali." He said, turning to look at Ayita's shadowed face; staring right into her glowing Emerald Eyes.

He could feel the swarm of conflicting emotions, before he felt a trickle of resignation; "Very well… I'm pretty sure I can guess what happened regardless." She replied, sounding very weary.

Cato just lowered his head and rubbed his chin, "While you were..." He paused, fighting to find an alternate term to 'Moping'; and unable to think of one he said, "All depressed, Tali and I were in the back talking and she accidentally stepped on one of the grubs; it got all over her boot, and Mordin shooed us along and I'm pretty sure he took samples of it too."

"..." Ayita said nothing for a long moment, then said; "We need to dump your sister's suit somewhere far away from here. And I'm sorry to say that if she got any on those fancy robes or her hood we have to dispose of those too."

She was calm, and clinical; which was more scary in Cato's opinion given Shephard's rather short tempered nature. "Just on her boot and lower leg." Cato assured her.

She smiled in relief; she'd gathered from Cato's emotions that those two bit of clothing were very important to their people. She was certain she'd never get Tali to tolerate her, much less trust her with Cato's training if Ayita had to dispose of them.

"Good. Let's head back to the clinic and gather everything up so we can keep the next swarm at bay."

They made their way back to the clinic area just as Mordin was leading one of the rebels out on a makeshift crutch. "Ensure wound is regularly debrided then rewrapped as the follicles work their way out; current environment severely unsanitary, best not to take chances."

"Thanks Doc." The woman hobbled off.

Mordin saw Cato and Ayita approaching. "Ah; Cato, Ms. Shephard. Tali is still in surgery, though recovery prognosis is almost guaranteed. Application of juvenile Antlion secretions has remarkable restorative properties. If region can ever be successfully traversed, it would make for an excellent export product."

Cato grimaced slightly. "Yeah, about those secretions. The," Cato reverted to Keelish, relying on the Salarian's translator to keep the matter circumspect, "the little one Tali stepped on in the tunnels is likely what brought the swarm here. We need to take her suit and the sample you collected."

Cato and Ayita both started when Mordin spun back into the clinic without preamble. They began following him just as he returned with Tali's suit and a small hermetically sealed packet.

The Salarian quirked an eyebrow at the stunned expression on their faces. "Insect behavior quite well documented throughout galaxy; similar behavior reported in nearly every hive-organized species." He handed the articles off. "Was never my intention to endanger lives, merely to satiate curiosity. That curiosity is not worth the life it has cost, or those it nearly cost today." He once again spun about and headed back into the clinic.

The two turned back to the cavern to find Anderson, when they saw him standing next to Ulysses near one of the evacuation tunnel openings. Neither needed Vortal abilities to tell he was furious.

They were both ready to explain what they needed to do when the veteran affixed them with a stern glare. "I have been made, aware of the circumstances surrounding this attack." They all glanced at Ulysses. "I would normally tear you a new one Ms. Shephard; you knew the dangers and failed to notify your charges of them, and in so doing you endangered this compound and cost us the life of one of our own.

"However," some of the anger leaked out of him, "I do understand how stressful your run in with Jack must have been, and in all honesty we put too much burden on your shoulders. We're soldiers and volunteers, and you are just a child." He held up a hand to forestall comment. "A frighteningly powerful child, but a child nonetheless. It shouldn't be your responsibility to face the monsters we brought to this world." He rested a hand on Ayita's shoulder. "Get rid of those, then get back here fast. There'll be enough time to talk then."

She smiled faintly, then rushed in and gave him a sudden, bone-creaking hug. She let go and rushed down the tunnel, with Cato following close behind.

Anderson looked at Ulysses.

The elderly Vortigaunt thumped its cane on the ground. "We will not be hugging the Anderson." was all he said before smashing his cane into the ground again, but this time with enough force to drive it through the concrete and to cause it to stick like a sword stabbed into dirt; he then turned and walked off after the two Vortals

"Well thank God for small favors." He replied, wincing as he rubbed his back; then he turned back to the task of rearranging his command.

Present Time.

"What did you guys do with my suit?" Tali asked.

"We found a dead Headcrab Zombie, and we put it in your suit; before tossing it off into a water pit. Antlions can't swim apparently, but they'll be constantly tracking the scent of their dead infant until it fades away; so any Antlions that enter that area will be constantly trying to swim after the scent and kill the 'intruder' that killed their grub." He explained with a vindictive smile.

Tali just sighed and shook her head; Cato had always called her overzealous whenever she tried protecting him. After a long pause she decided to ask, "How's Shephard?"

Cato's smile faded as his eyes became unfocused; "Worried sick about you, she hasn't eaten anything, barely drinks, and mostly just focuses on training me and practicing. She says it's her fault that you stepped on it in the first place." He replied.

Tali frowned, while it would have been good to know that she should never step on one of those stupid bugs; it wouldn't have helped since Tali had stepped on it while not paying attention to where she was walking.

If anything it was her fault for not asking what it was.

"Cato… it's my fault; she may not have told us how dangerous they were, but I didn't ask her what it was I just stepped on. With how everything on this Ancestors forsaken planet has been trying to kill us one way or another, I should have assumed the same when I stepped on that bug. And above all, I tried to save that turret when it was very clear it was going to explode; I let my pride get the better of me." She finally said, looking down as she wrung her hands together.

Cato took in her words silently, then carefully put a hand on her shoulder; "Yes… you did screw up trying to save that turret; but everyone makes mistakes, some more serious than others. Everyone screwed up in some way that day, but we can learn from that and not make the same mistakes again." He said.

Tali said nothing, and so neither did Cato.

The two Quarians just sat there for a long time; before both felt a familiar presence at the edges of their minds.

Cato smiled while Tali blinked; the feeling of apprehension, shame, and worry was almost foriegn to the person emitting the emotions. But Ayita's knock on the door jostled both Quarians out of their stupor; Cato turned to Tali and said, "I understand if you don't want to talk to her but-"

"I want to see her, alone."

Cato nodded, and walked up to the hatch; he opened it to reveal Ayita had put on another one of those black skin tight suits, although she wore a vest like what Anderson and Zaeed wore over her chest, and she still wore the odd cloak that Cato had found for her during their journey to the base.

Her hood was up, shrouding her face in the shadows like normal; but Tali could read Ayita's body language, and she could tell the human was nervous.

Cato gave them both a nod, and closed the hatch behind him.

"You can sit down if you like." Tali nodded at the chair her brother had just vacated. "I'm still a little too wobbly to stand, and having you stand over me is a little uncomfortable."

Ayita seemed somewhat uncertain, but silently walked over to the seat Cato had vacated.

Tali had to suppress a smile; the hooded cloak she wore, mixed with her glowing Emerald eyes, her shrouded face, and the skintight black suit made her look very Quarian. The only real giveaways were her Asari like legs, and her five fingered hands.

The two sat there awkwardly, as Ayita was not one to talk; and Tali struggled to think of what to say. Finally, she said "The Doctor told me you and Cato fixed my immune system…"

"Yes… we-" Ayita coughed, Tali flinching away involuntarily; "I… We had to remove all the... foriegn elements from your body…" She explained, surprising Tali since she was speaking physically rather than telepathically. "Gave you immune boosters... then some gene therapy."

Tali was slightly taken aback at how casual it seemed to Ayita. She must have picked up on Tali's concern because she grimaced and Tali felt a pulse of frustration.

"If you want to talk to me the way you did before, I'll understand." Tali assured her cautiously.

Ayita smiled but shook her head. "Mentor says I should speak more... and intrude my... consciousness on yours less." The smile faded. "It's just hard to... put into words; once Dr. Chambers had treated your... wounds, Cato and I... stabilized you like I did him. Your Professor Mordin said... theVortessence... catalyzed something between... the immune-boosters and the AGE." She quirked a smile. "He and Doctor Chambers... they were so... excited that Mentor had to chase them out. I think they are trying to develop a... treatment regime for your people."

"Will it require every Quarian to get a punctured lung, or will a bad break suffice?" Tali asked, only half joking.

"I… am not sure; I do not understand everything they say. I just think… it will work, that is what is... important." was all Ayita said.

Tali decided not to press the issue, since it was clear just how uneducated Ayita was on the subject; instead she asked, "How is the rest of the base doing? I know, Jenkins..." Tali faded off, remembering the almost surprised look on the dying man's face.

"No serious injuries or deaths… none like you or Jenkins…" Ayita looked away, and though her face was mostly hidden by shadows; Tali could tell she was feeling… something over Jenkins' death. "Your earlier... help with Mr. Adams has been a… a tremendous help!"

Here she seemed to get excited, and she pulled the rifle off her back; the one that Tali had seen her use only once and had honestly forgotten was there. "Not only have all the… defenses been repaired, but our... equipment has also benefited. The Garrus... your Garrus…" here she growled in frustration, clearly struggling with her words. Tali had to resist the urge to giggle, because it reminded her of many young children at the fleet when they were talking about something they were passionate about. "Garrus has become the... unofficial?... expert on weapons upgrades."

"And Cato..." Ayita caught herself and cleared her throat, "your brother has been trying to... work with Mr. Adams on... miniaturizing our Fabricators to something more like your… Umi-Tools?"

Tali couldn't contain the bark of laughter. "Omnitools, though I think the Fabricator might be a better system. Omnitools can only make objects, sometimes complex chemicals if you have an advanced enough model. But the Fabricator makes moving parts, complex computer circuits, integrated power..."

Ayita's expression was one of total incomprehension; though it was hard to make out her face, her body language said it all. Tali smiled and laughed again; for as skilled as Shephard seemed to be in combat, she was clearly clueless in regards to technology.

"Could you… look at my rifle?" She asked, sounding somewhat small; and Tali instantly felt bad about laughing at her. Shephard had lived a life much harder than even a Quarians; she had a loving family, but they were soldiers.

Only Ms. Chambers seemed to have any parental experience, and she was no teacher.

"Sure, I'll look at it," she gingerly accepted the weapon, "though Garrus would likely be better at explaining this." Taking the rifle, Tali couldn't help but marvel at the craftsmanship; looking past the rather ugly and slapped on Combine upgrades of course. The texture of the organic parts was unlike anything she had ever felt in her life.

Ayita grimaced again, though it seemed different than earlier. "I did... left more confused..."

Tali giggled and went back to examining the rifle. "I suppose it could be worse; you could have gone to Wrex. I doubt he'd be satisfied until it had an axe or something."

"It does..." She pulled out a wicked looking blade at least as long as her forearm from a sheath on her waist; "It's… like a spear I think. Anderson called it a... a B-b-b-'Bayonet'. It attaches here." She fitted the blade on the end, leaving the barrel free to fire any shots unimpeded.

Tali boggled at it for a moment. "Was it like this before?" Ayita nodded, causing Tali to stare at the weapon again. "Your people are weird."

Ayita shrugged, "Anderson said it was... a-a-almost 100 years old… u-used it during our first… World War... I think he called it."

Tali tried to put the miniature sword-on-a-gun idea out of her mind and focused on the technical aspects of the weapon. There was a blocky matte grey assembly on top which projected a faint orange light. When she looked as if she was shooting, a pair of virtual HUDs appeared, enhancing and enlarging everything. Attached to the rear of the weapon's breach was a socket like on her valorized Combine SMG. She worked the attached handle and saw traces of embedded circuits on the bolt face that lined up with blue glowing contacts on the back of the barrel.

"Do you have one of those, what did you call them; Energy Plugs?" Tali asked.

Ayita blinked, before digging into a bag attached to her waist; pulling out one of the Energy Plug Sticks and handing it to her. Tali took it, examining it with a critical eye before turning her attention back to the gun on her lap.

She attached the plug to the socket on the back of the bolt, and the sight immediately got brighter with additional information.

"Okay, I think I see what's going on here. These E-plugs are Dark Energy, right?" Ayita nodded. "Then I'm guessing this is where the Ammo-Block, or whatever your people use, goes." She pointed to the open breach. "The plug powers accelerator coils and the sights." She tried closing the bolt a few times until Ayita reached over and pushed something in the breach downward. The bolt slid closed and a red indicator lit up on the sight. "How well did this work before all this?"

"I am… unsure as I only used it to kill the... Controller Antlion. But it was able to… penetrate its armor. But Anderson told me that it could... kill a person with one shot… provided it was not the arms and legs, not counting the arteries and the bones… or infections…" Ayita trailed off, her Eye Glow dimming as she looked down.

Tali nodded, knowing just how much she was struggling to speak; probably worried she sounds creepy or weird, Tali mused, before nodding and saying "If it could shoot through an Antlions armor before it was upgraded then it must have been a pretty powerful rifle." She agreed.

Both stayed silent, before Ayita visibly gulped; "I… I… I-I'm sorry!" She exclaimed, sounding close to tears.

Tali was under no illusions about what she was talking about. "Ayita," she waited for the distraught teenager to look up, "I'll accept your apology, if you'll accept mine for acting like a paranoid Bosh'tet; siblings are incredibly rare in the Flotilla, and I've practically raised Cato since our father accepted a Flag position."

"I… I believe I understand; Mentor practically... raised me along with Anderson after Mother... disappeared… they both get really... protective over me." Ayita nodded.

Tali smiled and extended a hand; Ayita blinked, then smiled in kind and shook it. "If you hurt my brother, no fancy weapons or mystical powers will stop me from stomping you into a grease stain." She never stopped smiling.

Ayita tilted her head, "I… why would I... hurt him? I'm not sure I understand."

Tali snorted but gave a good natured grin. "Maybe not now, but I know my brother; he likes you, and judging from the way you've looked at him I'm pretty sure you feel the same way." She said, deciding that the young woman wouldn't understand subtlety.

Ayita blinked, then the shadows dropped from her face. Tali smiled and had to resist the urge to burst out laughing at the fact that Ayita's face had turned bright red, "I-I… I would… I promise you I will never hurt him." She finally stammered out, and though her delivery was stilted and unsure; Tali knew it was sincere.

Putting an arm around the teenaged human, Tali grinned and said; "Good enough for me, how about we share some stories about our childhood? Or maybe you and Cato can show me what you've been doing while I've been asleep." Then she smirked, and stood up.

It was too much, she had to get one last joke in; "So long as it doesn't involve little Quarians or Humans running about in six months or however long human pregnancies last."

Tali laughed while Ayita choked on air, stammering the whole time; before she finally managed to say, "I… I Should Go!" Running out of the room, Tali's laughter following her the whole way back to the Pit.

Pilot A/N: Check my profile for the link to the discord.

Well then, Shephard finally says her catchphrase.

I'm trying to show that while Shephard can talk physically; she's not used to or good at it, as evidenced by her continual pauses as she struggles to find the right words to use.

And here, Cato and Ayita get some checks on how they feel about each other; and as a result, the gate is slowly opening for them.

Now the Cato/Ayita pairing is something that i've wanted for a while now.

We see all these fics about a Male Human paired with a Female Quarian; M!Shep/Tali fics, and all that fun stuff, we've never really seen any Fics where it's the other way around.

Male Quarian/Female Human, F!Shep/Male Quarian OC (or just M!Tali as that is what the end result would typically be), is something that gets very little love in the ME community. Now I'm not much for shipping and all that, just something I've noticed.

Now Ayita's Rifle will get a better description next chapter; both in the Chapter itself and in the Author's notes, though Ian can explain it a little bit.

Any thoughts Ian?

Ian A/N: The hints from the last chapter about Combine Tech meshing with ME tech is now bearing fruit, as we see the Winfield in all it's augmented glory. We also get the first serious hints at the salvation of the Migrant fleet; if they can get to Earth.

Other than that, and some opportunity to develop characters, there's not much else to say about this chapter.

Pilot: Well then, I hope all of you have enjoyed this chapter.

Please leave a review and tell us what you think; the feedback helps a lot.

A TV Tropes Page would be greatly loved and appreciated, we aren't allowed to make one ourselves since we're the authors.

And we will see ya when we see ya.