Chapter 53
Presidium – Citadel
The whole Citadel was abuzz with people moving around at a quick pace. Shepard had just offered the Council the original data disk, unencrypted, from the geth, and the news of what it contained startled everyone. Valern nearly toppled backwards out of the holo display after the reveal, and immediately it was placed in Council custody.
Surprising to Wrex, all three of the Councilors were very friendly with Shepard. Somehow, she had even won over the loud and annoying Sparatus, who stood at full attention and spoke rather pleasantly to her. Another feat to add to the list of impossibilities that Shepard was famous for. Personally, he believed the information was more than they deserved. All the atrocities to the krogan species that the Council had allowed aside, they weren't even that grateful to Shepard for everything she had accomplished. But she still gave them the information regardless.
After the meeting had ended, everyone present for the Council meeting, all the press and onlookers fled the chambers, presumably to setup for the integration of the new technology. Shepard had stepped down as the images of the Council disappeared and basically told them to do whatever the hell they wanted for a few days. She seemed to have a plan, and he noticed that Doctor T'Soni was standing pretty close to her, closer than usual.
He really didn't have much to do on the Citadel. So, he divulged in his favorite hobby of walking around the Presidium and intimidating people who thought he didn't belong there. They knew who he was and knew not to open their judgmental mouths about a spectre affiliate, so he just smirked at them and kept walking.
As he walked across a bridge that spanned the Citadel reservoir his eyes locked onto a giant statue that sat in a small park. Moving forward, he exited the bridge and stepped up to the entrance of the park, his red eyes glaring at the eyesore of a statue. He'd have snorted and moved on already were it not for the curious figure sitting in front of it. The human was sitting in a wheelchair, and while he no longer wore Alliance-themed clothing, he still had that same ridiculous hat on his head. Wondering what he was doing, the krogan strolled down into the small park and ambled up to the chair-bound figure.
The human looked up at him as he approached before donning his usual smirk. "Hey Wrex, how's your day going?" asked Joker curiously.
"Boring. I've already driven everyone out of this sector of the Presidium and now it's too quiet," said the krogan as he stared down at the man. "Never expected a human to be gawking at a statue of a krogan."
Joker shrugged lightly and looked back up at the statue. "I like it."
"Why? Throwing the history of it aside, it looks like garbage," said Wrex as he glanced up at the rough statue. While it did hold the form of a krogan, the details were all missing. There was no detail on the headplate, there was none on the armor, nor any on the face. It just looked like a hollow representation of what the krogan were given as a gift to them for using them like tools against the rachni.
"I like how rough it is," said the Lieutenant as he leaned his chin on his hand. "It's like life. Life isn't perfect. There are no polished details. One wrong turn in life and you've accidentally cut off a chunk of the statue." Joker turned his chair and looked up at Wrex. "Life isn't perfect, and neither are the krogan. None of us are. We're all just imperfect creatures stumbling around and trying not to die."
"You're a wordy little runt, I'll give you that…" said the towering krogan as he eyed the human. "But if you were trying not to die, you're hanging with the wrong crew."
Joker chuckled lightly and nodded. "Don't I know it. My heart still pounds when thinking of those zombified colonists pounding on the hull of the Normandy."
"You're not entirely wrong. We are all imperfect in a galaxy that idolizes perfection. So much so that they'd rather erase their mistakes than correct them," said the krogan as he scowled at the statue.
"Right, you mean the Genophage," said the pilot, getting a curious look from Wrex. "If you're on my ship, I'm doing my homework on you. I've read a lot about what happened during the Krogan Rebellions. You guys got the bad end of the stick there," he said, warranting a confused look from the mercenary. "I just mean that what was done to you was horrible."
"Yeah, it was. All these people on the Presidium walk by day after day not having a worry in the world, not caring what's happened outside the walls of this station. None of them, not humans, asari, turians, any of them could imagine what it's like to live with an incurable genetic disease…" said Wrex as his anger flared. But he stopped quick as Joker eyed him. "Damn… sorry."
Chuckling, the human shook his head. "No worries. I guess in a way I kind of identify with the krogan. Not really on a species level, but personal," said the lieutenant as he stared down at his hand. "Every time I go to the doctor's office, they're always optimistic that a cure is right around the corner. Always walking around with smiles and nods, telling me they understand how I feel. When really, they don't get that I feel annoyed by them trying to pad my ego like I'm some kind of child."
Taken aback by the response, Wrex nodded his head solemnly. "Of all the people on the ship, I never expected that you would be the one who I had a kinship with."
"Well, in a random universe, weird things happen," said Joker as he looked up at the statue again. "Technology is moving rather quickly in the world, and while I'm not really optimistic about my fate, I'll keep being loud and annoying until they finally find a cure just to shut me up," he said as he looked back at Wrex.
"Heh… I like that," said the mercenary as he thought about making the krogan such a nuisance to the council that they'd get frustrated enough to actually find a solution outside the genophage.
"Hey, you wanna go to a club?" asked the pilot with a smirk.
Wrex eyed him curiously. "Why would I wanna do that?"
"Usually when I go, I get people making annoyingly sympathetic remarks as if my sickness is the only thing that matters in my life. I was hoping you'd punch them," said the man with a smile.
"That sounds like a lot of fun actually," said the krogan as he stepped up behind Joker's chair and gripped the handles. "Might wanna hold on."
Armax Armory – Presidium – Citadel
"Welp, here we are!" said Ash as she spun around and smiled at the turian.
"Here we are," he said looking up at the building. "Now, you said you had a surprise for me?" he asked as he looked back at her expectantly.
She nodded and opened her omni-tool. "It should be arriving shortly. In the meantime, we're going to-" Suddenly, Ash stopped her talk as she saw a large, nearly translucent figure charge her from down the street, its many tendrils whipping around under it as it did. Grabbing Garrus, she put herself in the way and held up her hand. "Hold it! I'm armed and… what the hell!?" she gasped as its tendrils began to reach up and grip her arm.
She yanked away, but the creature gripped her tightly as its head began flashing with light, the translating crown on its head projecting a voice it didn't actually have. "Human, you are human…"
"Yeah, I'm human, now what the hell do you want!?" asked the gunnery chief as she gripped the pistol tucked into its holster on the back of her belt.
"You are one of the Enkindled! The children of the Enkindlers, we are siblings, family!" it said, its monotone projected voice somehow sounding excited.
Garrus stepped up from behind her with his omni-tool active and waved it in the hanar's face. "Release your grip on her or we'll see exactly how much the rest of your body lights up when I stun you," he said threateningly.
Immediately, the hanar released its grip on Ash and stood in the usual, awkwardly tall pose on the tip of each of its limbs. "Forgive this one, turian. It was excited to meet another of its kind."
Ash shook her hand gently in agitation as she stared up at the milky-colored invertebrate. "What kind? I have no idea what the hell you're talking about!"
The hanar gleamed with every word that the crown spoke. "Humans, the lost children of the Enkindlers. You were taught as the hanar were taught. Language, math, the gift of intelligence. It was given to us by the Enkindlers!"
"Oh…" said Garrus as he looked from the tall hanar back to Ash. "You think he's talking about the video from Eletania?"
"Oh boy…" said Ash with a groan as she reached up and rubbed her head. "Look…"
"You may call me Larindannon," responded the hanar.
"Alright… Larindannon…" said Ash, going wide eyed as the hanar actually referred to itself in the first person. "I understand that you saw the video of humans being taught by protheans and all, but you can't just run up on unsuspecting humans and grab them."
"Forgive the excitement. For so long the hanar have felt alone in the galaxy, the Enkindlers giving us the gift of intelligence while all other species had to grow rudimentarily on their own. We thought to be alone, the Chosen of the Enkindlers. But to find that another species had been taught as well fills us with joy," he said as he swayed back and forth.
"Spirits damned, not you again!" came a shout from a turian C-Sec officer. Both Garrus and Ash turned to see the turian man powering forward and pointing at the preaching hanar. "How many times have I told you that you cannot preach your nonsense on the Presidium without a license!"
"This one was not preaching," said the towering hanar firmly.
The C-Sec officer looked to Garrus and Ash questioningly. "Is he bothering you? Or preaching about the Enkindlers again?"
Ash stared at the turian for a moment, his carapace dark with solid white lines painted onto his face, making them contrast each other, and almost looking like a decal for a racing aircar. "He startled me is all, he wasn't doing anything particularly offensive…" she said as she turned a glare towards the enkindled.
Groaning, the officer pointed at him again. "I'll tell you this and tell you this once. We've had our scraps about you preaching on the Presidium. If you start harassing citizens, I'll tie your tentacles in a knot and drag you back to C-Block. Do I make myself clear!?"
"Your threats of violence are understood, authoritative one," said the hanar in a peaceful tone, causing the man to snort in anger and turn around, stomping off down the street.
"I take it you two have a history?" asked Garrus curiously.
"Officer Daraskus often accosts this one for spreading the enlightened words of the Enkindlers here on the Presidium," responded the guest.
"Well, preaching is prohibited without a permit. Do you have a permit?" asked Garrus as he folded his arms over his chest.
"This one… does not. The missionaries of the Enkindlers live off minimal sustenance and sleep among the elements. So… to afford such a license is beyond this one's capabilities," said Larindannon, almost sounding sheepish.
"Oh, right… all the elements of a weatherless climate-controlled environment where nighttime doesn't exist…" said Garrus with a sigh.
"Regardless of that, you need to understand peoples' personal space. If you want to talk to me about philosophy, religion, and the Enkindlers and all that, then send me an email. Do not charge up to me on the street and grab me," said Ash as she glared at him.
"I apologize. I hope you can forgive me for this transgression," said Larindannon as he gently spread his tendrils out, folding them above his head.
"W-What is this?" asked Ash as she eyed him curiously.
"It's a hanar bow. It's their way of showing they're sorry," said Garrus as he motioned towards the hanar.
"I see…" said Ash as she knelt. "Look, I love talking philosophy, so if you want, you can send me messages over my comm to talk to me about it. Alright?" she asked politely.
"You honor me. May I have your name?" he asked as he rose from the ground again and stood to his full height.
"Ashley Madeline Williams," she stated in a friendly manner.
"This is your soul name?" asked Larindannon as a ping appeared on Ash's omni-tool.
"I… Yes? I only have one name," she said as she scratched her head.
"Thank you, Ashley Madeline Williams. I hope to speak to you about the teachings of the Enkindlers soon. I have sent you my information for contact."
She nodded, and the hanar turned around and began majestically shuffling off into the crowds again. Garrus watched him go before looking towards Ash. "Looks like Shepard isn't the only one with a fan club," he said in amusement.
She glared at him, placing her hands on her hips. "Keep sassing me, Vakarian, and you won't get your surprise," she said firmly. Suddenly, her expression melted from stern into a wide smile. "Speaking of which…" Garrus turned and looked behind him to see three humans of different heights standing, all with smiles on their faces. Ash immediately sprinted over and grabbed all three of them into a giant bear hug. "Welcome to the Citadel!"
"Ugh! Stop it Maddy! You're embarrassing us!" shouted the shortest one who had a head of dark hair like her older sister.
Garrus looked between them all as Ashley finally set them on the ground. "Didn't you just tell off that hanar for grabbing you out of nowhere in the middle of the street?" asked the turian jokingly as he stepped up to the four.
The three dusted themselves as the gunnery chief turned and smiled. "Garrus, I'd like you to meet my sisters," she said as she motioned towards them. "The short one is Sarah…"
"Not that short…" growled the dark-haired girl as she glared at her sister.
"She's the youngest. Next is Lynn," she said as the red-haired girl began fidgeting.
"G-Good to meet you…" said Lynn nervously.
"And this is Abby, the oldest under me," she finished with a flourish.
The sister did somewhat of a half bow and bent her legs gently in the process. He knew the gesture to be what humans called a curtsy, an elegant and extremely formal greeting. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," she said as her hair draped over her shoulder, an amazing mix of red and black that almost made it look metallic.
The turian looked between all three of them and nodded. "Good to meet you all. I'm Garrus Vakarian. I work with your sister… in a manner of speaking," he said, unsure if he should give them a return gesture.
"So, Maddy, you said we were going to Armax, did you not?" asked Abby as she turned to Ash, who was surprisingly shorter for being the older sibling.
"Sorry… Maddy?" asked Garrus curiously as he looked to the gunnery chief.
"It's because my middle name is Madeline," she said with a sour expression.
"And because she punches anything that annoys her," responded Sarah with a giggle.
"Well, you're not incorrect…" said Garrus playfully.
Ash glared at the girl and clenched her fist in front of her. "If that were true, you'd have a broken nose right now!" Turning to Garrus, she gave him a smirk. "And you, we've sparred before. Don't make me get serious next time."
He chuckled and shook his head. "So, they will be joining us?" he asked, looking at their attire curiously. The shortest, Sarah, wore a simple shirt and shorts, while Lynn had on a pair of denim pants and a dark long-sleeved shirt. Abby, however, wore an elegant dress that cut off at her knees. Garrus was unsure if the dress was meant to be attractive to human males, but it did highlight her hips magnificently.
"Abby and Lynn are. Sarah's just going to watch and cheer us on," said Ash as she waved them towards the entrance.
"Do they have any prior combat experience?" he whispered curiously to the chief.
"Abby liked fencing, and Lynn has pistol training," said Ash with a playful grin. "Don't worry Garrus, they'll keep you on your toes."
Reserved Battleground 3 – Armax Armory – Presidium – Citadel
In all his time in C-Sec, working to put away violent criminal offenders and working with Shepard to put down the scum of the galaxy, Garrus knew he had one weakness. He specialized in long range combat. He could knock the wings off a zavis from half a mile away without a second though. But he still had issues with close quarters combat.
All turians were trained in close quarters combat. The kicking drills back in boot camp still made his legs ache. But, he had never really advanced that training. Working on the Citadel as a C-Sec officer meant that you ran into many species who would easily fall to even the most amateurish kicks from a turian. So, he decided to specialize elsewhere… a decision he was seriously regretting now.
He had been fine at long distance, hitting even the smallest exposed armor and gaining him point after point. But then, they sprung out. The previously nervous one named Lynn combat rolled across the ground and fired a pistol just as he ducked, the beam nearly clipping his fringe and scoring her a point. Pulling out an assault rifle for closer quarters, he jumped up to aim, but she was gone again.
Suddenly, his hunter reaction kicked in and he threw himself to the side as two light shots lanced his left arm, missing his torso and scoring points for them. He rolled to a stop and prepared his weapon only to find himself with a pistol pointing directly at his head, and the redhead smirking down at him.
Then, a burst of fire hit her in the back, causing her to dive over the nearest barricade to escape. "Off your ass Vakarian! If you don't take them seriously, you'll be eating dirt!" shouted Williams as she chased after her sneaky sister.
Garrus got to his feet again and began running down a small, shielded catwalk, his eyes and his eyepiece both scanning the scenery for the remaining sister. But, as he neared the end of the catwalk, he screeched to a halt as the woman stepped out in front of him. He stood, staring at her, his finger inching towards the trigger of his rifle.
"Hi," she said with a smile from behind her helmet.
"Uhhh… hi…" he responded, his senses heightening by the second.
They stayed still, staring at each other for a long moment, neither moving. Suddenly, gunfire was heard yards away behind another structure, and the sound triggered their battle in an instant. Garrus raised his weapon and fired at her, backing up as he did. But she swung up a light-blade from behind her back. On her wrist was a small buckler shield made of light that she used to block the shots before she dashed forward and swung for his midriff. His eyes widened and he rolled backwards, the weapon missing by centimeters as he rolled back to his feet to fire again.
However, Abby thrust her sword forward into the gun's barrel. Immediately, the weapon flashed red, making it useless. He threw it aside, taking her blade with it before he threw out a light kick that he hoped wouldn't hurt the human. But much to his surprise, she bent backwards as if she were not limited by the force of gravity. Spinning around, he put up his arms and activated similar shield projectors in his forearms and shins. Never thinking he'd need to use them; he activated the light-blades embedded in the spurs of his armor.
He knew he was at a disadvantage. Even with his long legs, her saber was longer and allowed her more freedom of movement than any of his kicks. She took a step forward and he took a step back, their eyes locked on one another as he held his arm shields up defensively, the gunfire in the distance still going on.
Again, she leapt forward and attempted to thrust at him, but he moved his hips to the left just in time. This happened again and again, him dodging side to side to avoid the tip of the deadly blade. She quickly switched from thrusting to swinging and he held up his arm shields and blocked the best that he could. After a few swings, he put more thrust behind one of his blocks, throwing the blade wide and allowing him an opening. Ducking in, he spun around with his leg raised straight up before dropping an axe kick onto her shorter form.
Abby raised the blade and blocked his kick, holding it in place before Garrus back flipped, kicking the blade with his shin shield and sending it soaring into the air. As he landed, he stared in awe as the woman began doing flexible backwards flips by flexing herself fully backwards, planting her hands, and then swinging her legs up. His vertebrae ached just watching her.
Finally, she stopped and reached up, catching the blade again and holding it in a new stance with it next to her head, aiming straight for him. "Spirits… who is this woman?" he asked, his excitement amping up as his combat instincts kicked into full gear. His vision narrowed, his muscles tensed, his breathing shallowed. His prey was sighted.
Dashing forward, he sent a spinning back kick at her that would knock a full grown turian on his fringe. Using her own arm shield to support the blade, she deflected his kick away and flourished the blade at his midsection. Grabbing the railing of the catwalk, he jumped over the weapon and landed an aerial kick to her shoulder, causing her to spin. Using the momentum, she swung her blade wide, aiming for his arms holding the railing. However, he thrust himself away just in the nick of time to miss the blade.
Breathing heavily, he rolled forward in a technique that had always been at the back of his mind, waiting to be used on such a solid opponent. Using his rolling momentum, he hurled himself into the air and flipped forward, bringing his light-blade on his spur down in a brutal kick that would smash a normal steel blade in two. But he hadn't accounted for one thing, her stepping backwards instead of blocking.
His kick put him in the perfect position, one he couldn't move from. Being in the air, he couldn't dodge, and she took full advantage as she swung the blade upwards straight at his throat. When he finally landed, the hilt of the light-blade was pressed against his neck, and she was giving him a victorious smile. Sighing to himself, his armor flashed from blue to blinking red and all of the shields disappeared. "Casualty for Blue Team!" came Sarah's voice over the speakers.
He nodded as Abby withdrew the light-blade and tilted her head at him. "That was fun," she said with a grin, speaking normally instead of through the comm.
He stared at her through her visor and nodded. "Yeah… it was," he said as he let his breathing slow once more. "Might need a cold shower after this."
She cocked an eyebrow and leaned against the railing. "Oh really?"
He looked at her before realizing what he said. So many times, he had said or done something accidentally and potentially offensive. Before now, he would have panicked and tried to clear up his mistake with stuttering and frantic hand waving. But he was too tired at the moment. She had worn him down to the bone.
"Turians use cold showers to suppress battle instincts. It keeps us from getting into fights in heated situations. Of course, for turians… and for humans, it's used as a metaphor for arousal," he said shaking his head in amusement. "I apologize if I offended you."
"Not at all. I'm actually quite flattered," she said with a playful grin as they ignored the continued gunfire from a ways off. "So, Garrus was it?" she asked, getting a nod from him. "You work with my sister, which means you work for Jane Shepard, the human Spectre, is that correct?"
"Yeah, that about sums it up," he said as he turned his head to her, wondering where she was going with her line of questioning.
"You're watching her back out there?" asked Abby as she crossed her arms.
"That's right. Before working with this squad, I had nothing against humans. I just thought that they were weaker physically, like the salarians or volus. But three times now I've been proven wrong. Shepard put me on my behind back on the ship, Ashley somehow has a higher body count than I do, and now you've beaten the spurs off me using a simple blade," he said as he chuckled. "You humans are full of surprises, and I'll never get tired of getting surprised."
Abby giggled as she pushed herself straight and stretched her arms out. "Well, if it's any consolation, I might need a cold shower later as well," she said as she walked past him, getting another surprised look from the turian.
Docking Hangar – SSV Kilimanjaro
They exited the shuttle as the decontamination protocol inside it ended. Shepard opened the door to the transport shuttle and stepped outside while Liara did the same on the other side. They met up in front of the vehicle and walked towards the far end of the bay where a regiment of uniformed Alliance marines stood in ten-by-ten formation, all of them at attention.
Shepard smirked and walked towards them with the asari in tow and stopped right in front of the platoon. Immediately, all of them went rigid and saluted, fiercely shouting in unison as they did. "SPECTRE ON DECK!"
"Quite the welcome," Liara said as she looked over at the spectre.
Jane just shook her head and swiped her hand upwards. The regiment all dropped their salutes and turned to face one another right down the middle before marching slowly backwards, making a path for the two that led right to the armored person she came to see. "Was all this necessary?" asked Shepard as she reached up and removed her helmet, releasing her red hair from its confines as she stared at the captain.
"Oh please. You're the first human Spectre. If I tried to stop them from coming here to meet you, I'd have had to write a hundred insubordination reports," said the woman in amusement. Liara looked from Jane to the other person standing at the head of the formation, curious as to who this person was and why they were here.
"Alright, fair enough. I'll meet you all in the mess hall later and you can ask me any questions you like," she said as she looked back and forth between the two groups.
"OORAH!" they all shouted as she finally stepped up to the captain.
"Mind if we speak in private, Captain?" asked Jane with a smirk.
"Of course," said the captain as she waved her hand. "Dismissed back to duty stations. Those not on duty, go on about your day," she said before turning and heading towards the door to the hangar. It took nearly ten minutes of elevators and walking through the giant hive of the dreadnought ship before they finally arrived in a room that was sparsely decorated. The floor had built in carpet, likely bolted to the floor with two chairs built in as well. Even the desk behind the two chairs was anchored to the floor, keeping it still in times of low gravity or combat maneuvers.
The captain moved around the desk and sat in the cushioned chair behind it before finally reaching up and removing her helmet. And it was then that Liara's eyes widened as for the first time she realized why she was here and who this woman was. "Feel free to remove your helmet, Doctor T'Soni," offered the woman.
Liara reached up and released the seals on her helmet as she stared at the woman. She had red hair down to her chin with streaks of grey shining through. Liara wasn't a hundred percent familiar with human biology, but she knew that their lives only lasted a hundred and fifty years at most. This woman was definitely older than Jane but shared so many facial similarities with her that it was uncanny.
"Doctor Liara T'Soni, this is my mother, Captain Hannah Shepard. Mom, this is Doctor Liara T'Soni," said Jane as she sat in one of the chairs.
"Good to meet you Ms. T'Soni," said the woman with a smile as she got to her feet, stepped forward and held out her hands. Liara reciprocated and Hannah squeezed her hands gently.
"You too," said the asari as she looked between Hannah and Jane. "By the Goddess… Did you have a child or just clone yourself?" she asked with a small smile.
Jane chuckled off to the side as Hannah gave a knowing grin. "I've been told that we have more than a passing resemblance to one another," said the woman as she turned back and sat in the chair behind the desk again. "So, was there something I could do for you?" she asked as she spied the pair.
Liara finally sat in her chair, her face flushing as she looked over to Jane for answers. The younger redhead sat forward and smiled. "Oh, you know, we were in the neighborhood, thought we'd drop by and say high to the family." Liara looked at her oddly before looking over to Hannah, who now had her hands interlaced in front of her with her chin resting on them.
"Oh really. You just missed me? Or was there… another reason?" Hannah asked as her green eyes turned to Liara again.
"Can't sneak one past you," said Jane with a chuckle as she sat up straight in her chair. "Do you know how asari relationships work?"
"Of course. The Lieutenant let slip how close you two had gotten, so I did some studying in my off time," she said with a smirk as her daughter groaned in annoyance. Then, she looked back to Liara. "So, how far along are you two? Have you become sayna yet, or are you still in the vayna stage?"
Immediately, Liara's face blazed with heat as she flushed and looked at the ground. "I… I-I…" she stuttered as she tightly gripped the arms of her chair.
"I apologize if that seems forward. I just never expected this potential outcome," said the woman with a radiant smile.
"Potential outcome? What do you mean?" asked Shepard curiously.
Looking at her daughter, the woman chuckled. "It was clear from the time you hit puberty that you were less interested in humans than you were other species. And growing up with turian boyfriends and asari girlfriends over the extranet was a solid indicator that this was the case," said the captain as she leaned back in her chair.
"Yeah, and?" asked Shepard as she crossed her arms.
Hannah looked at her with a smile. "And, I had given up hope of the potential for grandchildren. But after some study, I learned that asari can indeed have children with another species." Liara covered her face as Shepard groaned again.
"Come on mom…" said Jane as she glared at her mother.
"Don't worry, I don't expect anything," she said with a wistful nod. "I'm just happy that it's a possibility."
"To answer your question from earlier, Captain…" said Liara as she finally forced her embarrassment out of the way and looked at her solidly.
"Please forget formalities right now. Call me Hannah," replied the captain with a polite smile.
"Oh… alright… Hannah," said Liara nervously as she looked down for a moment. "To answer your question, we have decided that we are sayna to one another."
Smiling brightly, Hannah slapped her hands together in joy, startling them both. "I'm happy to hear that! Now, stand up!" she ordered as she got up from her chair and marched in front of Liara. The asari hesitated a moment before nervously standing to her feet in front of the woman. Hannah gave a gentle smile and held her hand forward. "I hope you feel comfortable enough to confide in me for anything you need. Advice, support, baby pictures, I'm here for you as long as you're there for Jane."
Shepard glared at Liara's playful look at the mention of baby pictures. But the asari turned back to the woman and nodded. "Thank you, Hannah," she responded as she bowed her head slightly. "I did not know I would be meeting you today, but I'm certainly glad I did."
"Same," said the human as she released the asari and turned back to sit in her seat again. Liara followed suit. "Now, I know it may be odd for me, who is only pushing fifty, to offer you advice. But even if not for wisdom, I can still offer you any knowledge I have on us humans."
"Out of curiosity, is the iron-headed stubbornness inherent in all humans or is it specific to her?" asked the asari with a playful smile as she looked over at Jane.
"Well, humans are stubborn by nature, but the Shepard bloodline is specifically hard coded to be bull-headed and charge into the unknown," said Hannah with a grin. "Goes all the way back to our ancestor, Alan Shepard. The second man on Earth to have ever gone into space," she said proudly as she leaned back in her chair.
"She loves telling that story," said Jane with a smirk.
Liara's eyes widened at the story. "I see, so her drive apparently comes from her blood."
Jane nodded knowingly. "You're not wrong. She would be an admiral by now if she didn't keep turning the job down," said the spectre as she looked at her mother with a smile.
"I'd never give up the opportunity to captain a star ship over sitting at a desk and holding diplomatic meetings with the Alliance brass," said the older woman as she shook her head. "I'm a captain for life."
"I understand completely," said Liara as she smiled at the woman. "Leaving space, planets, solar systems, discovery, relays, all of that behind seems…"
"Stupid is the word I use," said Hannah firmly. "Why the hell would I want to stare at the same stupid Alliance faces when I can continue looking at all of creation?"
"Words to live by," said Jane as she sat up in her chair. "In any case… we've never really had a family tradition before when it comes to romance. But I wanted you to meet Liara…"
Hannah immediately noticed the change in the tone of her daughter's voice. "Is something the matter Jane?"
The spectre looked up to her mother, then looked at the ground as she rested her elbows on her knees. "I don't know…. It's just…" she started, trying to line her words up in her head. "With the work I'm doing now, there's a chance I may not come back. In fact, there've been plenty of instances where I was nearly killed already. And I can't help this feeling I've got in my gut that something is going to happen in the future."
"A sense of dread?" asked Liara curiously.
"Something like that. Perhaps it's just the call of the void in my head. But I can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen. And… I won't get a second chance to introduce you two," she said, letting out a sigh.
Liara reached over and gently rubbed her shoulder as Hannah sat forward in her chair. "I understand. And thank you," she said with a bright smile. "I know you, Jane; I know how strong you are. And I know that whatever challenges may come, you'll get through them just fine."
Shepard smiled sheepishly at her mother. "Thanks mom."
Nodding, Hannah raised her arms high. "Now! Let's go get something to eat. I haven't heard anything about the work you've done so far, and I demand you tell me whatever you legally can," she said as she stood from her chair and marched around the desk.
Shepard and Liara both stood up and smiled at one another as Hannah walked through the door. Reaching out, Shepard gripped Liara's hand and she felt the woman's fingers interlace with her own. With a glowing smile, they both walked out of the office and followed the captain to the mess hall.
The Migrant Fleet – The Phoenix Massing Nebula
Tali let out a heavy sigh as she felt her anticipation rising at a rapid pace. She had only been gone for months, yet it still felt like she hadn't seen the fleet for years. The shuttle she was on glided smoothly towards the massive fleet of ships. Kaidan stared out the view port in awe as they loomed ever closer. "Wow… I had no idea it was this big…"
"It houses seventeen million quarians. And while a lot of the ships are overstaffed by seven hundred percent due to Citadel regulation, that's still a huge population to take care of," she said as she sat in the driver's seat of the shuttle as the autopilot steered for them.
Suddenly, the inboard comm on the ship activated. "Unidentified shuttle, acknowledge."
Tali reached for the comm and opened it to respond. "Migrant Fleet Security, this is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya requesting permission to dock."
"Are you alone?" asked the security specialist.
"Negative. I have one non-quarian aboard who has taken all precautions and is completely safe for ship standards," she responded as she looked up at Kaidan, who had his entire sealed armor suit on.
"Understood, verify," came the quick order.
Looking over at Kaidan, she sighed to herself. "I'm sorry, but I must do this. It is Fleet protocol," she said as she activated her omni-tool and disabled his sensors so he couldn't hear her speak. He simply nodded and stared back out the window. "After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return where I began."
"Confirmed. Hold your position as we get permission for your crew member," said the security operator.
"Hear that? You're my crew member," she said with a cheeky smile as she returned his sensors to normal.
"Is that right?" he said, giving her a smirk through his sealed visor. "Well, I'm happy to be aboard, Captain."
"Ugh, don't call me that. Being a captain of a ship in the Migrant Fleet is so stressful," she said as she shook her head.
"Well, I think you're a leader, Tali. I know you'd make an incredible captain," he responded with his trademark smile.
She let out a sigh and looked away as she felt her face burning. "Don't flatter me, bosh'tet! They'll think I have a fever and I'm bringing sickness aboard!"
"Well, I'm happy to know that you're flattered all the same," he said with a chuckle as he sat back in the seat.
"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, respond," ordered the security team again.
"I'm here," she responded quickly.
"As long as your crew mate is sealed for no exposure and has taken the necessary precautions, they are allowed aboard. We will, however, require them to be thoroughly cleaned before entry," said the male quarian on the comm.
"Affirmative. He is compliant," she said finally.
"Good. You have authorization to dock with the Neema. Keelah se'lai," finished the security official as the comm closed.
"Crew mate huh? Demoted that quickly?" asked Kaidan curiously, getting a laugh from Tali before she steered the shuttle towards their target ship.
Entry had taken ten minutes due to them giving Kaidan a ton of electronic pamphlets explaining ship and Fleet rules, as well as locking them inside an airlock and spraying them with so many chemicals that Tali was surprised they hadn't melted. Quarians alone didn't receive this treatment. They typically just got a quick shower in disinfectant before being allowed onboard. But the Fleet always took excess precautions when dealing with outsiders, as if an outsider somehow brought more bacteria on their suits than quarians did.
After the process was over, however, they were both greeted by an armed regiment of quarians, all having different suit colors surrounding another quarian. He stood in a dark grey suit with a stocky build almost as tall as Kaidan. He stepped forward and greeted them. "Welcome to the MFV Neema, Tali'Zorah. And… you," said the captain as he eyed the tall human.
"Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko. You can call me what you wish," he said as he said as he opened both palms and showed them to the captain in the quarian sign of respect.
The captain's eyes widened, and many of the regiment of quarians looked back and forth between one another. "Well, that's… refreshing," said the captain as he nodded to the two. "I am Lan'Vikari bal Neema. You are welcome aboard my ship as long as you are escorted. Please forgive the cautions."
"No forgiveness needed. I understand completely that the safety of your crew is paramount," said the lieutenant as he finally lowered the gesture.
"I'm happy to hear that. Please, follow me if you would," he requested as he began walking away from the containment bay and down one of the corridors of the Neema. The armed quarians flanked the pair and walked with them as they too followed the captain.
"So, bal Neema?" asked Kaidan curiously over a private comm.
"As you know, we are renamed after our pilgrimage. Hypothetically, if I were to come back to the Migrant Fleet and become a crew member of the Neema, I would be called Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya, indicating that I am crew to the Neema, but was born of the Rayya. 'Bal' is simply a designation of respect given to captains. It distinguishes your status to others…" she said as she tapped her helmet's voice projector in thought. "It would be like if Shepard always introduced herself as Captain Jane Shepard, while the rest of the crew introduced themselves as crew members."
"Ah, I see. So those who may not know him will know he's a captain just by hearing is name," he asked as he looked over at her.
"That is correct. All captains, even those on very small ships, got to their position by working hard and being assigned honors. So, everyone, including the Admirals treat them respectfully," she said as they moved from a corridor and into a larger room.
Kaidan's eyes widened as they stepped from a small, compact corridor into what looked like a large workshop. On every single wall there were tools of every kind from hammers to omni-tools. Despite the sheer number of them, however, they looked to be worn down and eroded. Some of the hammers no longer had a flat head and now had a more rounded face, while a lot of the bladed saws had broken teeth and dents on the blades. Every quarian inside the room froze as they saw the tall human enter the room. Some ran out of the door at the back while others grabbed the tools they were borrowing and shoved themselves against the wall to put as much room between them as possible.
"They don't see outsiders often, do they?" he asked as he felt a small pang in his chest from being shunned like he was.
"They never do. Oftentimes, we quarians associate outsiders as reckless disease carriers. They get colds and influenza, they walk around, spreading their sickness to others with a lack of sanitation and respect. So, seeing one on board might get you some interesting reactions," she responded as the moved down another hallway and into an even larger room, this time near the rear of the ship.
Kaidan looked in awe at the constructs inside. To his left was practically a wall of houses built into the hull. About three meters away from those houses was another wall of houses that stretched up to the ceiling, making the entire wide bay look like Kowloon City back on Earth. One house built on another, on another with what looked like fire escape ladders leading up to the top. The entire place was a jigsaw puzzle of housing units sewn together with very little space between them.
"These are our homes, human," said the captain as he stopped and turned to Kaidan. "I noticed that you had done some studying on quarian culture prior to coming here. I want you to know that the effort is appreciated," he said before turning to the mass of housing units. "We are forced to live like this on ships that were not meant to be life ships," he said before turning back to the human. "I would ask that in your visit, you refrain from entering the living quarters. While I trust your intentions here, many will not."
"Understood, Captain," responded Kaidan with a nod.
"Good. Now, let us get to the reason why you are here," he said as he turned again and headed for a room at the far end of the large housing containment. Reaching forward, the quarian captain grabbed the handle and pulled upwards, opening the door and pushing it inside.
"Woah, been a while since I've seen a non-electronic door," said the lieutenant.
"Auto-doors require power, and power is a precious resource on the Fleet. We do not have the luxury of spending excess energy on conveniences unfortunately," said Tali in a melancholy tone. As they reached the door, Tali stopped, holding her hands laced together in front of her.
The captain turned and looked at her, giving her a nod. "Tali'Zorah, you may enter. Kaidan'Alenko, you may enter," he said as he sat down in what looked like a human lawn chair. As he stepped inside, Kaidan noticed that there were many more mismatched chairs that formed a circle. "This is our meeting room. I hope it is accommodating enough."
Alenko looked at the man, his eyes trying to scan him to see if he was mocking him. He wanted to respond but didn't want to be too condescending by saying it was good enough, while at the same time not wanting to act as if it was all that great. Instead, he opted for a head nod. "It's fine. Thank you."
"Have a seat," offered the captain, his words encouraging them to sit in one of the many chairs across from the quarian man himself. "Now, are you here about your pilgrimage?" he asked curiously.
Tali looked taken aback as if she had forgotten about her pilgrimage entirely. "Uh… no, I mean… maybe?" she said questioningly as she reached down into her boot and pulled out the small, glowing disk. "Perhaps if this is good enough, I could be given permission to return to the Fleet when I am ready."
"And… what is it?" asked the captain as he eyed the curious disk. "That looks to be of geth design."
She nodded firmly. "It is. It was taken from Solcrum, the final outpost of the geth invasion into the Armstrong Nebula."
"This sounds promising. But, have you taken precautions to make sure it isn't infected with anything?" he asked sternly as he looked at the pair.
Kaidan stayed silent, not wanting to interrupt Tali's big moment as she nodded to the captain. "Of course. It has been scrubbed and tested many times over to make sure the geth have not left anything malicious in the data," she said as she held it out to him. "Would you like to know what it contains?"
"I very much would, yes. But, as useful as data on the geth is, we get things like this on the regular from the marines. I'm unsure if this would qualify to end your pilgrimage," he said as he picked up the datacard and held it up to look through its translucent but glowing body. "Albeit this is much flashier than we are used to."
Tali looked over to Kaidan, who gave her a nod of encouragement. She turned back to the captain and locked her stare on him. "The datacard you hold in your hand contains two things. The first and most important is that it contains construction plans for a data relay that can communicate across the galaxy without the use of comm buoys."
He looked at her sharply as if to confirm her claim. "How does that work?" he asked curiously.
"The plans are there, Captain. I'm a skilled engineer, but to explain the workings of this device, you would need much more skilled engineers than me," she replied as she nodded to him. "But the fact is, I've seen it work, and I have the video proof to show that it does indeed work."
"If true, this is incredible! We would be able to communicate from anywhere in the galaxy without having to latch onto Council comm buoys!" he said with a grin under his helmet. "I have to say, Tali'Zorah, if this does indeed contain the information you say it does then I'll make you a member of my crew right now!"
Tali sat up straight in her chair, her hands gripping the seat tightly. "You mean it Captain Lan'Vikari? I would be your crew member?"
"Of course. This would make communication so much easier. Imagine how many lives could be saved without having to rely on day-to-day ship communication," he said as he held the chip up and showed it to them. "So, what was the second thing you mentioned.
Tali and Kaidan looked at one another before turning back to the captain. Tali inhaled sharply and exhaled to relax herself. "It contains… cultural and schematical data of the geth from Rannoch."
As soon as the words left her lips, the captain froze in place and dropped the chip on the ground. His surprise was apparently so great that he didn't move an inch. Kaidan was pretty sure his breathing had stopped as well. "You alright, Captain?" asked the lieutenant.
"H-H-How…?" he asked, finally lowering his hand and staring at Tali with his luminescent eyes wider than Kaidan had ever seen capable.
"As mentioned previously, it was extracted from the base on Solcrum. Before we obtained it, their base played a recording of Keelah Leylora," she said, unsure of how to really present this to him. "I have no idea why they would choose to play that recording after we destroyed four of their bases… but that's what happened," she said with a light shrug.
The captain unfroze his position and reached down to pick up the disk again. "And you're sure there's nothing infectious on here?"
She nodded confidently. "I'm sure. I checked it myself many times, but if you like, you can have a tech crew go over it just to be sure." Kaidan knew where her confidence was coming from. And he knew that explaining that another AI had not only copied the massive data file but had made sure there was nothing malicious on it as well would probably get both of them hurled out the airlock without their shuttle.
Lan'Vikari looked down at the disk, his fingers twitching as he did. "Keelah, Tali…" he said as he shook his head. "This is more than just a gift to your future captain. This is a gift to the entire fleet, to every quarian out there who lives today and will ever live," he said as he gripped the disk tightly before tucking it into a protected pocket on his torso. Standing up, he gave the same sign of respect to them that Kaidan had shown before. "Please, give me time to get this examined by our tech team. In the meantime, I will have your needs attended to as best I can."
He left them alone for approximately five minutes before they were greeted again by an older quarian woman. She stuck her helmeted head in the doorway, her eyes locked on Kaidan as she spoke. "You have been given permission to walk the ship at your leisure. I will be your guide."
Standing up, the pair exited the room with the red-suited woman in tow behind them. They once again walked through the housing block, Kaidan's eyes giving it another long look as he realized the conditions Tali had to live in before her pilgrimage. One of these houses were as big as her room back on the Normandy. Turning to the woman, Kaidan stopped for a moment. "Would it be alright if I saw the garden?"
The woman was taken aback for a moment before looking to Tali. "I… I don't see why not." Leading them through another door, she guided them into a room near the midship that was twice as large as the CIC of the Normandy. As they entered, he felt awe as he saw quarians of every age and size sitting in the large domed area, most of them with their helmets removed. "Keep in mind, you will need to be decontaminated again before you leave."
"Understood," said the man as Tali stepped forward and stood next to him.
"This is us. This is our family," she said, getting a curious look from him. "I've learned that a lot of species on the Citadel believe that blood ties are stronger than any bond in the universe. They put their family ahead of everything else. But for us…" she said as she motioned towards a small group of children wrestling in the center of the room on what looked like a padded mat. "For us, this is family. Being together, sharing and bonding with one another. Our family extends beyond the simplicity of sharing DNA."
He nodded and smiled at her. "I really like that," he said as he crossed his arms. "So, for a quarian, would the Normandy be considered one big family?"
"Of course! Shepard is the father while Liara is like a new step-mother," she said playfully.
"I could see that," he said with a chuckle. "What about Garrus?"
"He's the older brother that has really weird hobbies. Pressly and Adams are the stoic uncles, while Ashley is the older sister who looks out for us," she said as she tapped her mouthpiece curiously. "Joker is the younger brother that loves attention, and Wrex is the grandfather who loves telling war stories."
"Oh, so you have those too," he said, getting an amused not from her. "So, what does that make me?"
"You know very well I can't continue that analogy without putting us both in an awkward situation," she said with a giggle.
"Fair enough," he conceded with a shrug. Suddenly, his head spun and looked down at three quarian children who were right in front of him, staring at him with those luminescent eyes. Seeing them up close, he was surprised to find that their skin tones also had shades of purple from deep to sometimes an almost light pink.
"Wow! Is this a human!?" asked one of the kids. Immediately, the parents of the children looked at Kaidan and froze in place.
One of the young girls had circled around him and was eyeing his suit curiously. "Why are his legs backwards? Doesn't that hurt?"
"I heard they have four eyes! Is that true?" asked one that was even younger than the other two. Kaidan noticed that she was missing several teeth.
"That's batarians actually," he said with a grin. He scanned them all, noticing that they had generally the same dark blue hair that sometimes shifted towards dark red. The three in front of him all had shaved heads, but the bristles of growing hair on their head showed a similar color to Tali's, telling him that like humans, they shared range of hair colors rather than being homogeneous. Though, from the looks of it their eyes didn't vary much at all.
"Please forgive them!" snapped a fully suited mother as she reached over and yanked her child over to her side. Despite her words of concern for him, he could easily tell by her voice that she was almost terrified.
"There's no need to worry. Kids are curious, and it's that curiosity that makes them smarter," he said as he raised his hands and did the gesture of respect once more. She saw the gesture and it looked like she had immediately calmed down.
"You are right, of course. However, they do know not to ask personal questions like that! Very rude," she claimed as she glared down at her child who was still awed at Kaidan.
"It's really no bother to me but thank you for your concern." He noticed that other quarians had gathered around curiously as well, most of them too young to have been on their pilgrimage, staring at him in awe.
"Do humans have hair as well? I heard they do," came a question from a young quarian male that looked to be a few years under Tali.
"We do. In… a lot of places," he said vaguely as he got a playful elbow from Tali.
Suddenly, their question-and-answer time ended as the door opened behind them. Kaidan turned as the children around him all vanished in an instant, finding himself staring at five quarians, all suited, with the captain of the ship behind them. Tali sighed to herself as she lowered her head. "Hello, father."
A quarian man in a white suit with red highlights around the helmet and limbs nodded to her. "I'm happy to see you are well, Tali," he said before looking between them. "We are here because of this." He held up the datacard, showing them the glowing unit.
"That was fast," said Kaidan in amusement.
"We are very efficient," responded Tali. "I take it you've made a decision?"
Tali's father nodded and took a step back as another of them stepped forward. "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, your father, and Admiral Shala'Raan recused themselves from the decision due to potential conflict of interest," said the woman. Kaidan was detecting an illuminating smile behind her mask. "Admiral Daro'Xen vas Moreh, Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Quib Quib, and Admiral Yon'Simat vas Vosan have voted unanimously to accept your gift. Upon your permanent return to the Migrant Fleet, you will be welcomed as third level officer of the Neema under Lan'Vikari bal Neema," said the quarian woman in the dark suit.
Tali clamped her hands together in front of her, her body practically shivering with relief. "Lah'saat'delas," she said, her voice betraying her absolute relief. "Thank you, all of you."
CODEX ENTRIES
Hanar Bow | Culture | Hanar
When the hanar integrated into galactic society, it was found that their translators did not convey much emotion. So, any apology from a hanar would sound insincere at best, and dismissive at worst. As a result, hanar have adapted by showing their emotion through movement. To apologize, hanar commonly lower themselves onto the ground and fold their limbs above their head, trying to mimic the apologetic stance used by drell who bow and press their hands above their head.
Keelah Leylorah | Art | Music
Keelah Leylorah is a song of longing and yearning to be reunited with long lost families torn apart by war. Sung by the Son'Keelah vas Torba, a great ancestor of the quarian people, its performance was so powerful that it seemed to break the fighting spirit and anger of both sides of a civil war that destroyed his village of Torba. In more modern times, quarians can sometimes be heard singing it if they have family on pilgrimage, or who are away from the fleet on potentially dangerous missions.
Lah'saat'delas | Translation | Old Khelish
Quarians, being relatively isolated from the rest of society, have yet to try to translate this unusual saying from the extinct Old Khelish language. It's a saying that's only used in highly specific situations where someone is extremely grateful for life-altering news or events. It is sometimes used as a way of thanking a captain for accepting them as a member of the crew after a pilgrimage has been finished.