Chapter 15
Captain's Quarters - SSV Normandy SR1
After another shower, cleaning her of all the sweat she had accumulated by literally running away from a volcanic collapse, Shepard found herself sitting in front of her terminal again and resting her head in her hands. Her head was pounding at the moment. Whether that was from the lack of actual, restful sleep, or just a symptom of the stress she had been putting herself through with the new spectre training and missions, she wasn't sure. But she knew she was annoyed with it.
Looking up, she squinted at the computer in front of her and turned it on. As soon as the secure network opened, she noticed that her personal email channel was flashing. Tapping the icon on the screen brought up the dual personal and spectre screens, showing her the information sent to her personal email on the left, and the spectre information, which came from the Council, intelligence agencies like the CIA and STG, and other spectres on the right. Looking at her personal files, she the email that was sent from the Citadel while she had been planetside.
Reaching up, she tapped it and it opened, showing that it had come from a C-Sec terminal near the Presidium in Zakera Ward. Opening it, she read the extremely short message. "You owe me a drink and assistance. Meet me in my office the next time you're in the Citadel. Signed, Inspector Decian Chellick of Citadel Security," she said as she glared at the screen. "How exactly do I owe this clown anything?"
Suddenly, there was a timid knock on her door. Most of the crew were familiar enough with her to contact her on her comm instead of coming down in person, and the fire team was currently in the gym training again. Which meant that this could only be one person. "What can I help you with Liara?" Shepard wanted to chuckle as she heard the woman squeak outside the door.
Very bashfully, the doctor opened the auto-door and stepped into the entrance. "Spectre…"
Shepard looked the asari up and down oddly. "T'Soni, are those the only clothes you have?" she asked, spying that the woman was still wearing her singed smock that she had been found in.
"I'm afraid so. I hadn't intended to be out at the ruins as long as I was, so I left most of my spare clothing on my ship. Which...fell into the lake of magma we left behind," she said, almost mournfully.
"We'll have to get you some new clothes when we get to the Citadel. You'll need something better to wear if you intend to return to the Institute," said the spectre as she closed down the terminal screen and spun in her rotating chair towards the woman.
Stepping into the room, the asari held her hands behind her back in a shy manner as she looked at the ground. "A-Actually Commander, I was hoping that I could stay with you, here on the Normandy I mean! Not here in this room with you..."
Shepard's eyebrow arched curiously, a small smile curving her lips at the young woman's extremely awkward demeanor. "You want to stay here?"
"Well, to put it more clearly, I want to come with you to find my mother," said the asari as she finally looked up at Shepard again. "I...I know that it's what you'd call a conflict of interest. But I must know. I have to hear it from her own mouth."
"Why she turned?" asked Shepard, getting a nod from the doctor. Sighing gently, Shepard leaned her head into her hand. "Well, if you want to help us, I'm not going to turn down a potential ally. Especially one as knowledgeable about the Protheans as you are. But…" Shepard's tone turned deadly serious." If… when I have your mother in my sights, if you try to jump between us, I will not hesitate," she stated firmly as she locked eyes with the asari. "Do we have an understanding?"
Liara's eyes widened slightly at the implications but nodded. "If I try to stop you from catching my mother, you will kill me," she said solemnly. "I understand, Shepard. Even if we cannot find out why she has gone down this path, I still want to assist you in catching her. I will not be a hindrance," she said smartly.
"Good. Now, it's going to be a few days before we get to the Citadel. So, take these…" said the commander as she grabbed a pair of PT pants and a shirt out of her clean laundry bag and tossed them to the asari. "Get yourself a shower and get changed."
"As you wish Shepard. In my down time, I will be in the medical bay with Doctor Chakwas, helping out where I can," she said dutifully. Shepard expected her to move away, but instead of leaving, she stood still, as if unsure about something.
"What is it?" asked Shepard oddly.
"I…" started Liara as she clenched the clothes to her chest. "Shepard, I know this is asking a lot. But...I would like to see the visions that you saw on Eden Prime."
The commander's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the request. "Oh…" she said, almost speechless as she sat up. "You mean... like…"
"Y-Yes, through melding," said the asari as she stared at the ground shyly. "W-While I have full faith in your ability to describe them to me, Prothean visions are something you have to see to understand."
"You've got that right…" grumbled Shepard in annoyance as she remembered trying to describe them to the Council. Looking back at the woman, she sighed. "Alright Liara, you can see them. But just know that I've been trained against biotic mind intrusions, and I have a lot of information up here that is on a very need to know basis…"
"Of course! I...I would never Shepard! No, I mean, I would never try to see the information you did not want to give me!" started Liara as she began stammering.
Shepard eyed the woman curiously as she stood from her chair. "Liara, you're a hundred and six years old. Have you ever...melded with someone before?"
The expression on the "young" woman's face looked as if she were about to crumble away into dust. Her eyes were wide, her fidgeting hands locked in front of her, and her jaw was clenched tight enough to grind teeth. "N-No...I mean, aside from the usual teachers and parents of course…" she said nervously as she looked away from Shepard, trying to hide her embarrassment. "I've never felt close enough to someone to ask them to do so, nor have I ever trusted someone enough to allow them…"
"But you feel close to me?" asked Shepard with a small grin on her face.
"NO! I-I mean... not like that! I just meant... I…" stuttered Liara as she began to panic.
But Shepard held up her hands to calm the woman down. "Woah, slow down Doc. It was a joke," she said as she placed her hands on the asari's shoulders.
Liara stared at Shepard for a long moment before nodding. "R-Right. Joking. Sorry... I'm not used to such things. I'm not really a social person at all given my work."
"It's alright. Come on," said Shepard as she sat on the edge of her bed, patting the spot next to her. "You might be able to help translate these images better than me. So, feel free to take a look."
Liara timidly set the clothes aside before taking a seat next to Shepard. Reaching up, she took her gloves off and set them aside. Then, she apprehensively held her hands up, unsure of where she should actually touch the spectre. But Shepard solved her quandary by grabbing her wrists and planting her blue palms with one on her pale, freckled cheeks.
Letting out a sigh of anxiety, the asari closed her eyes. "Are you ready Spectre?"
"I am," she said as her eyebrows furrowed. She didn't know if this was going to be another romp through the nightmarish recesses of her mind, or if this would be similar to her encounter with the Councilor. She was hoping for the latter but wasn't positive how the trip would turn out.
Liara turned Shepard's head so that they were looking at one another, and in an instant, the asari blinked, and her eyes opened again to reveal those mysterious black sclera. "Alright Shepard, embrace eternity!"
Like before, she felt yanked out of reality and found herself within the visions themselves, reliving them as if the thoughts in her head were her own, forcing her to cry, scream, let out guttural cries of agony as her people were wiped out in front of her very eyes, turned into abominations to fight against her. She fought tooth and nail, exhaustion radiating from her muscle as she continued to fight off waves of mechanized monstrosities. As they swarmed her, she fell with a scream, pulling the pin on her last grenade and letting out a roar of defiance as they began to pull her limbs apart.
But the feeling didn't last, as she soon felt a warm presence beside her. She felt as if she had been removed from her body and now floated in a warm, golden light. Turning, she noticed that the source of the light was Liara, standing next to her and gripping her with one arm around her hip. Letting out a sigh of relief, Jane reached around and gripped her back, completely ignoring the fact that they both were missing their clothing.
Now, side by side, Shepard felt her mental exhaustion retreating, her mind safe from the visions. Looking over at the young asari noticed the woman with a look of concern. But she simply nodded and gave her a small smile. Together, they turned and watched the horror that lurked within the hidden message.
When they finally emerged again, Shepard opened her eyes and inhaled sharply. It was certainly a lot bumpier of a ride than last time, but it was still much less taxing than her normal nightmare. Liara finally opened her eyes, her own back to normal now... "By the Goddess Shepard, those visions should have crushed your mind. How do you sleep at night while reliving those images!?" asked the asari worriedly.
"I... get by," said the commander as she eyed the doctor curiously. "Why were we naked by the way?"
Liara squeaked in embarrassment at the question and lowered her gaze to her lap. "Melding with someone to view specific thoughts takes an enormous amount of concentration. And... since I have no practice with it, I am unable to concentrate on both that and our appearances. So, I apologize if I got your body measurements wrong. I promise I didn't access your knowledge of them…"
Shepard chuckled and nodded at the explanation. It was obvious now that it was spoken to her. Of course, the mighty Matriarch Tevos would have the skill to carry her through the visions, fully clothed with little effort. "I see," said Shepard as she reached up and rubbed her head gently. "So, did you make out anything that I missed?"
"Not much I'm afraid. You were certainly right when you said that it was a warning, even a cry for help. But the beacon was badly damaged. The reason why you're seeing everything in such fragments like that is because only about half the message was given. The rest is repetitive echoes of the message and images," said the doctor as she turned to Shepard with a concerned look on her face. "Are you sure you're getting sleep? Visions that traumatic are likely to come back during heavy dreaming."
"Look, I've been dealing with them, alright?" said the commander in an annoyed tone as she looked away from the asari.
Liara gave her a concerned glare for a moment before finally standing up. "In that case, I have much to thank you for Shepard. You've advanced my work on the Protheans, you've given me a haven from Saren and his geth, and most importantly, you saved my life. If there's anything I can do to help you, please let me know."
"Actually, there was one thing I wanted to ask…" said Shepard, causing Liara to look down at her. "Saren and your mother mentioned needing a key to bring the Reapers back. In all of your work did you find any mention of a Prothean key?"
The asari thought for a long moment before finally shaking her head. "Not in reference to anything that would be useful. There have been numerous keystones and passcodes that I've come across, but they held no regard to any galaxy consuming prophecy," said the doctor, who noticed Shepard groan lightly. "B-But if we can retrieve my computer from the institute on Thessia, I can go through my work once more. I'm sure with the new context you've given me, I can find something helpful," she offered.
Shepard smirked lightly and nodded. "We can get your stuff shortly. But don't overwork yourself. You've been through a lot the last few days," she said as she stretched, her muscles telling her a nap was in order. "Anyway, contact Sergeant Draven to get a room on the crew deck, and get ahold of Tyson in the cargo bay for some spare clothing. Oh, and Joker is going to try to tease you, so try to ignore him."
Chuckling lightly, the asari nodded. "I will. Thank you again, Shepard," said the woman before she finally turned and left the room.
Shepard tossed herself back on the bed, her head hitting the pillow as she sent a message to Pressly that he was in charge until she woke again. Closing her eyes, she immediately fell into a heavy sleep that was the deepest and most comfortable she had ever had.
Room 681 - Najari Hotel - Presidium - Citadel
It was always odd to Tali to see something as mundane as a hotel or housing structure have the name of a celebrity, but if what she had read was right, the Matriarch that this was named after in, fact, owned the hotel. Once again, Shepard had gotten a large room for the two of them because she still didn't feel quite safe on the Citadel with Saren's men potentially being around every corner.
Shepard, who left after saying she had some business to conduct, gave her the access codes to the room so she could come and go as she pleased. Most of the time she would spend indoors and order something cheap from room service while she caught up on all of the galaxy's latest drama shows, something she found she adored. They even had one starring a quarian, who she knew had not been required to come back to the fleet. The work she was doing by making the galaxy more sympathetic and familiar with the quarians was much more helpful than having another crewmate aboard. It also helped that her acting drew in a lot of credits, a lot of which went back to the fleet as well.
While watching the vids, she found herself wondering if she would ever be a quarian liaison to the outer galaxy as a whole. While it would be interesting, she doubted she would ever permanently leave the Migrant Fleet. She continued to watch the vidscreen on the inside of her helmet as she laid on the bed and sipped an interesting turian soft drink called Tula through her induction port when suddenly her omni-tool rang. Holding up the device, she saw a small chat communication pop up, to which she immediately replied.
[G: You there?
T: I was just watching vids. Did you get the stuff?
G: Don't say it like that! And yes! Come get it before I sell it to ANN.
T: On my way.]
The quarian sprung to her feet and headed for the door, then exited the room. Turning down the hallway, she looked around, still slightly nervous about being alone in such a rich establishment. But finally, she reached the door and knocked gently.
Immediately, the door opened and Garrus stared down at her. "I still don't understand why you can't come to get this from me on the ship. You'd have had it days sooner," he said as he turned around and left the door open. Entering the main room, he reached down and grabbed his omni-tool then started to pass the data file to her. Turning around, he noticed that she was still at the door. "Uh...Tali, you can come in you know."
The quarian finally skipped inside nervously. "Sorry... it's a habit. Quarian rooms are very small, and often times very personal spaces due to the limited room on the Fleet. So, entering without instructions to enter is considered extremely rude."
"Ah, I getcha. Anyway, here you go," he said as he finally passed the data over to her.
"As for why I don't get this stuff on the ship, we're two levels apart Garrus. I'm still awkward about wandering too far from my station. Some people aboard might not like quarians," she said sadly as she looked down to make sure she had received the package.
"Oh come on Tali. Of all the races in the galaxy that should be worried about a human not liking them, turian has to be at the top of the list. And they're all just fine with me walking around," he said as he sat at the edge of the turian-styled nest. "Well... maybe batarian too…"
"Even so, making oneself at home on someone else's ship without their permission is rude," she snapped as she placed her hands on her wide hips.
"Look Tali, if you don't stop applying Fleet rules to every scenario outside the Fleet, then I'm going to tell Shepard that you're collecting videos of her in combat," he said with an amused tone in his voice.
"You wouldn't dare!" she growled threateningly.
"Oh, but I would. Now, if you don't mind, I have... an engagement to attend to," he said, clearing his throat as he stepped towards the door.
Tali eyed him curiously as he held the door open for her before she finally noticed that he wasn't wearing normal clothing. The clothes he was wearing looked similar to what she had seen the Councilor in while he was on the stand yelling at Shepard. This meant that it was some form of formal attire, which made her grin under her mask as she recalled her lessons on alien courting. Walking casually over to the door, she waved to him. "Alright Garrus, have fun on your date!" The growl she got from him made her giggle madly before running around the corner and back to her own room.
Unfortunately, her jovial nature dropped immediately as she noticed that the door to her and Shepard's room was unlocked. Chills went down her spine as she thought back to when she left the room. She knew she secured the door behind her, so to have it open now either meant that Shepard had come back while she was away, or that someone had busted into their room. The implications of Shepard's privacy being infiltrated made her fume.
She started to turn back towards Garrus' room again to perhaps get some backup, but she ended up stopping dead in her tracks. "No…" she said to herself. If she couldn't handle something as small as a breaking and entering without calling for help, then she had no right to be on Shepard's ship. Though the fact that it could be Saren's men inside did bother her, she still turned around and reached down, pulling her blade from her boot. Unfortunately, all of the crew aside from Shepard herself was required to keep their weapons onboard the Normandy. So, her little boot blade was all she had to fight with. But it would have to be enough.
Reaching forward, the quarian slowly opened the door and stepped inside. This hotel had small hallways with the bathing facilities and kitchen on either side before leading into the bed area, which gave her some room to sneak. Activating her helmet's night vision, she looked into the darker rooms and confirmed that nobody was inside before deactivating them and moving down the hall.
Finally, she came to the main room and went wide-eyed as she stared at a man rummaging through a bag that she knew wasn't hers or Shepard's. Spinning the blade with expert practice, she stepped forward kicked him in the back of the knee. He yelped in surprise, his knee hitting the ground before the quarian stepped up and held a knife to his throat. "Who are you and why are you in our room?"
"Our?" asked the man curiously. He raised his hands gently in a show of surrender, before his omni-tool activated and sent a shock into her suit. She gasped as the attack knocked her back towards the wall, while the man barely spun his head enough to get away from the knife before it did any damage. Growling, Tali stomped one foot to make the tingling go away before spinning her knife again. Now that she got a better look at him, she was slightly relieved to see that he wasn't as large as she had originally thought. Only a little taller than her with dark hair down to his shoulders and a face with wide eyes. Suddenly, she was shocked as he looked her up and down curiously. "And who are you?"
"Sorry bosh'tet, but you've intruded into the wrong room," said the quarian as she took a step forward.
"Wait!" shouted the man, causing her to stop suddenly. "Uhhh... what's your name?" he asked, showing a relaxed nature after the question.
"My name is Tali'Zorah, and I'm Shepard's... bodyguard…" she snapped, preparing to lunge forward again. "What's your name?"
"Uhh...you can call me Romeo," he stated as he stared at her from across one of the beds.
"Alright Romeo, do you work for Saren?" she asked as she took another step forward, readying herself for combat.
"No," he said, his eyes once again giving her a once over. "I like your suit!" he said, still holding up his hands defensively.
"Thank you? Wait…" she growled as she glared at the intruder. "What are you doing in here bosh'tet?"
Finally, his serious demeanor returned, and he gave her a hardened stare. "Your precious Shepard took something of mine. And I intend to extract payment somehow."
"So, what, you were going to rob her hotel room? The security on this place alone makes that venture not worth the cost. So how did you intend to extract this payment?" asked the quarian as she pointed directly at the man, an insulting gesture in quarian culture.
"Not quite. Either way, it appears that I will have to wait. I didn't realize that Spectres carried such... adorable bodyguards," said the dark-haired man. Tali clenched her jaw at his statement, wondering if he was insulting her or attempting to toy with her to throw her off. "In any case, Miss Tali'Zorah, it appears that I've been compromised. So, if you don't mind, I'll be on my way."
"You're not going anywhere!" shouted the quarian as she moved in front of the small hallway that led to the exit.
"Oh, I think you'll find that I am," he said with a cheery smile. Lifting his omni-tool, he stunned her again before grabbing his bag off the bed and hopping over her twitching form.
"Bosh'tet! Get back here!" she shouted as she fought to move her contracting body.
"You'll see me again in the future, don't worry!" he shouted as he left and closed the door behind him.
Citadel Security - Zakera Ward - Citadel
It was still odd to see people giving her almost awed glances as she walked by. Especially when she entered the offices of the C-Sec Zakera branch, and actually had the receptionist ask for her autograph. As she walked through the hallway towards the inspector's office, even the turians turned to show her some interest, making her sigh slightly and making her wish that her ceremony had been a bit more private. It was a bit counterproductive to have the Citadel's secret agents on camera, being acknowledged as their secret agents.
Either way, she ignored the rest and finally found the inspector's office. Reaching up, she pressed the call button on the door. The door opened immediately, and she saw a relatively small office with a light-carapaced turian sitting behind a desk with nothing but a bottle of water and a terminal on it. She looked around the place as she stepped inside, noticing that the office somewhat matched the desk. There were very few personal effects at all; likely a result of the turian culture.
"Well well, you actually showed up Shepard. Even as I sent the message, I thought I was just screaming into the void," said the turian as he leaned back in his chair and relaxed.
"You still might be," she said, taking a seat without him offering. "So, care to tell me why I'm here Inspector Chellick?"
The turian sat up immediately, likely realizing that he had just gotten too casual with a spectre. "Oh, of course," he said as he typed at his terminal for a second before bringing up a video file. The terminal projected it onto the back of the screen so that she could see it as well, and immediately her brows furrowed as she saw people fleeing from Chora's Den. Looking up at her, Chellick sighed. Pausing the video, he pointed from his side of the terminal at a specific female that was fleeing the chaos of their attack on the club. "See her right there? The one with the red... hair?" he asked, looking up at her own hair as if realizing it was red for the first time.
"I do," she said in annoyance, knowing where this was going.
"That was an informant of mine that was working undercover in Chora's Den to try and crack open a ring of illegal mod trading," he said as he crossed his hands on the desk and stared at her.
"Given that she was likely a civilian, she probably got spooked from our raid and didn't return. Right?" asked the commander, who got a mandible twitch in return.
"You're pretty bright Shepard," he said as he sat back again. "On top of that, one of the men she was investigating happened to be one of Fist's men, who...well, you know."
"And as entertaining as this trip down memory lane is, I find myself wondering why you think I somehow owe you for this," she said as her eyes narrowed.
Raising his hands defensively, Chellick defended himself. "Spectre, I'm not here to place blame on you. I have the utmost respect for what you did, and why you had to do it. However, it did leave me in a bit of a bind that I was hoping you would help me with," he said, sighing slightly as he noticed her relaxing more. "This has been an ongoing case for almost two years now. Without my agent, and without the dealer, it certainly sets my work a ways back. However, there is a way to fix it, and perhaps get rid of the need for an agent in the future."
She nodded as she sat up, eyeing the chin-striped turian curiously. "I'm listening."
Relaxing slightly, the turian continued. "The human that I had my agent tailing in Chora's Den was actually a low-level buyer that I was planning to make a deal with. I had compiled enough evidence against them to bury them, and I was hoping to make him give up his boss. But the upside to your rampage through the club is that the boss himself no longer has a lackey to give him plausible deniability. He can train a new one, of course, but that'll take time. And right now, he has a schedule to continue that he now has to attend to himself."
"So, you want someone to purchase his goods in order to pin the mods to him?" she asked, getting an eager nod from the turian. "That's all fine and dandy, but my face is too well known. So, I'll have to ask for assistance from my crew," she said thoughtfully.
"However you want to do it, Shepard. Just... try not to use anyone who might be recognizable. I'll go ahead and put the word in that a buyer is looking for his stuff. I'll give you a call when we have an appointment," he said as he typed away at his computer again.
Shepard got to her feet and left the office, heading back to her hotel room to come up with some kind of strategy to pull off the inspector's plan of attack.
Room 681 - Najari Hotel - Presidium - Citadel
As soon as she arrived in the room, she gasped in horror as she saw Tali laying on the floor. Dropping her gear, she immediately ran over to see if she was okay. She was relieved to find her luminescent eyes blinking behind the mask.
"Dammit Tali, why are you laying on the floor?" asked Shepard in a tone that was less than amused.
"Someone broke into our room Shepard," said the quarian, getting a surprised look from the commander. "He called himself Romeo and said that you took something from him. But he left. I tried to stop him, but I wasn't good enough," she finished as she finally sat up and let out a disappointed sigh.
"Is that what you're worried about?" asked Shepard, who got a curious glance from the young engineer. "Tali, if you're upset that you weren't able to stop him, then all we need to do to fix that is to train you better."
"I don't think any training will get my body used to electrical shocks…" said the quarian as she scooted over and leaned against the wall.
"He stunned you?" asked Shepard curiously as she sat against the wall as well.
"Twice. The second time, he used the distraction to get away," she growled as she spun her knife in her hand as if wanting to use it on someone.
"That just means you need an armor upgrade," said the commander, who received a surprised look from the quarian. "Look, I heard from Ash that the original weapon that you came here with was barely functioning. It looks like it had been recycled more times than years you've been alive. So, I can't imagine the suit they gave you would be in much better condition."
"The Fleet recycles everything," said Tali as she leaned her helmeted head on her hand as if bored. "We don't have anything personal aside from some clothing and a few pieces of furniture. Even those are recycled after the person passes. Kitchens are enormous rooms built into the center of communities with utensils and equipment being shared by all. Tools, once used, are put into a communal tool chest for others to use. Clothing, omni-tools, even our suits are eventually recycled back into the Fleet, Shepard," she said with a sigh. "It's how we live."
"So, what happens when a suit gets a puncture?" asked Shepard curiously as she looked the young woman up and down.
"All quarian suits come in pieces. Very rarely do you find a quarian with a suit that matches. Oftentimes, quarians will have patchwork suits with black, green, red, and so many other colors mixed in. It's part of why people consider us vagrants because we often look the part," she said as she waved a hand over her own suit. "I got lucky only because my father is an admiral. He managed to find a full set of the same color," she said as she poked at her leg. "When I got shot here before I joined your crew, the leg part was damaged beyond being wearable again. So, I had to use one of the spares I was given on my Pilgrimage."
"Looks like we have more in common than I thought," said Shepard, getting a curious look from the quarian. "Do you have spares for every part of the suit?"
"No. Our torso doesn't come with a replacement. Partially because of something were to penetrate that, we'd likely be dead already. But we are given a roll of sealant tape in case of grazes so that we can survive until repairs are made. And while we do get replacements for our face shield, we don't for the helmet itself. If something were to happen to it, we'd probably die of illness before we ever got a replacement. But the helmets are some of the most complicated parts, and the Fleet just doesn't have the resources to create so many backups," she said mournfully. "So, I'm afraid there's no way for me to get any kind of upgrade or replacement without buying it myself."
The quarian looked over at Shepard, who had a small grin on her face. "You mean buy it ourself, right?" asked the commander.
"Shepard…" groaned Tali.
"Look, I already know what you're going to say because you said it when I tried to buy you dinner as well. You know, so you could eat," she said teasingly. "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, do you intend to be on my ground squad?" she said, suddenly adopting a serious face.
Tali looked at her in surprise. "I-I want to be, of course!"
"Then you need armor capable of protecting you. And we're going to go get it, right after we find out who the hell had the gall to break into my room and assault my friend," she said as she stood up and held her hand out for Tali.
The quarian looked from her hand, up to her smiling face, before reaching toward the hand and gripping it. Allowing herself to be pulled to her feet, she nodded to Shepard. "Right, let's go see what we can find."
"That's the spirit," said Shepard as she patted the girl on the shoulder. Tali looked at her in confusion, before the commander sighed and waved it off. "Human phrase, I'll explain it later."
Shepard led the young woman down to the front desk, where the manager tried to stonewall them both before he realized who exactly he was dealing with. After finally being given access to the security cameras, the spectre accessed the file and rewound it until it was around the time that Tali had said. And sure enough, there was a man who used some kind of omni-tool cracking program to get into the door. There were no cameras inside the room, so she fast forwarded to the time when he left the room. Immediately, her glare darkened as she saw the face of the man who was responsible.
"Artem Romanov, you son of a bitch!" she said with gritted teeth. Most of the time when she smacked a dog across the nose, it knew better than to attempt a second bite at her hand. This time, she would not be so forgiving. "Tali, let's go get you a new set of armor," said Shepard with a smirk as she sent an email to C-Sec regarding her new guest. "He's not going anywhere for a while."
Elkoss Armor Emporium - Presidium - Citadel
It had taken a while to find them, but with guided assistance from the spectre herself, Liara had finally managed to find Shepard and her quarian friend in one of the largest armor manufacturing stores on the Citadel. As she stepped towards the pair, she overheard them talking about a set of quarian specific armor. Though rare, they were still made as a precaution to any quarian customers that might come by.
"Is this really it?" asked Shepard curiously as her red eyebrow lifted.
"It is. Quarian suits are already insulated against most things that armor would protect against. They're airtight, they're environmentally controlled, and they contain small kinetic absorbers that help absorb blows during a fight, or even take some of the energy out of projectiles. Though, most fired from modern-day weapons are so fast that you barely notice the difference," she said as she tilted her head. "All quarian armor really requires are plates that hook into our suits to protect us further. The plates, like our suit, are easily and quickly detachable and replaceable."
"I see," said Shepard, who then turned and looked at Liara who had been standing behind them. "Oh good, you found us!" said the woman as she waved the asari over. "We were just looking for some armor for Tali here."
"Oh, she will be going to ground then?" asked the asari in slight shock as she stepped up to them. Getting a nod from the quarian, Liara bowed her head gently. "That's very brave of you considering the consequences of a suit puncture."
"A suit puncture won't kill me... unless it hits something vital of course. But I have countermeasures for simple punctures and injuries," responded Tali as she looked the asari woman up and down. "Will you also be on the ground team?"
Shepard looked at Liara curiously, no doubt wondering the same thing. "I... I don't know if I would be best to take with you on such important missions Shepard. I would need training as my combat skills are no doubt less than adequate. My only exposure to such training was the small amount I received from my mother's guards when she ascended to Matriarch. Though, I hope my biotics may make up for it," she said hopefully.
"You killed a krogan in seconds by tossing him into an active volcano, I'd say your biotics are plenty strong enough to make up for it. However, I will still be training you in both hand to hand and firearms," said the woman sternly.
"I happily await your instruction," said Liara politely. "I suppose I should find myself a set of armor as well."
"Once we're done here, we'll look for yours next," said Shepard, getting a small smile from the doctor. "So anyway, the unfortunate part of armor like this is that they don't come installed with many features, as most of those would already be installed into your suit. That means that I'd have to manually install cyberwarfare suites directly into your suit myself."
"B-But that would mean…" started Tali worriedly.
"You'd have to take it off," said Shepard with a sigh.
"Umm, if I may…" chimed in Liara from the side. They both looked at her curiously. "I happen to know from a friend of mine that there's a hotel nearby with clean room facilities for quarians who wish to step outside of their suits," she said as she looked between them.
"A friend?" asked Tali curiously.
Sighing, Liara looked down. "We used it to do work sometimes. It's technically against policy, but taking relics from the Protheans all the way back to Thessia was a hassle when we'd have to bring them back here to the Citadel anyway. And renting a clean lab is... expensive," she said as she looked between them.
Shepard just chuckled lightly and shook her head. "My my, our squeaky-clean little doctor is actually a delinquent," she said playfully.
"It was just once! Or... twice. Maybe a few times, but we cleaned up afterward!" she said defensively. Tali just shook her head as Shepard chuckled. "Sorry…"
"It's fine," said Tali as she waved dismissively. "Let's just get this done and find that thief before he manages to squeeze his way off the Citadel."
CODEX ENTRIES
Meld Teaching | Culture | Asari
Unlike many of the other species in the galaxy, asari have been naturals with biotics for most of their species' existence. As a result of their ability to meld and share thoughts, it was thought for the longest time that sharing information through melding was the most accurate method of passing knowledge on to newer generations. This became a common practice and led to the asari developing a form of writing much later in their evolutionary growth than other species. This method is still employed today all over Thessia and throughout asari space, despite new studies revealing that information passed on can still be altered by the holder's own psychology, making the information less accurate than if it were written.
Nest | Culture | Turian
Turian anatomy makes the comfortable flat surfaces that humans sleep on rather difficult. Instead, due to their more rigid, convex torso, they favor concave shapes that allow them to lay on their back. These beds commonly resemble the nests of avian and reptile creatures, thus leading to their colloquial nicknames.
Pointing | Culture | Quarian
Being a very introverted society, even the most outgoing quarians hate drawing attention to themselves or others with them. Anything that may bring unneeded attention to someone could be considered an insult by quarian standards, whether arguing, shouting, confronting people, or especially pointing directly at them.