The week passed to quickly for Shepard's tastes. She would have liked to stay longer but she needed to get back to her crew and help them with any unfinished business they had. So she decided to get the job with Kasumi done first.
Kelly watched with amusement as Allison made her way through Hawke's home and getting what they needed to enter his vault. Once they were Kelly noticed Kasumi mention ancient stone tablets with Quarian writing on them. She then sent Shepard a message asking her to acquire them for Tali would love to send such an item home to the flotilla.
After Shepard secured the tablets and a set of locust SMGs they found what they were looking for and began to cut their way through Hawke's troops before killing Hawke himself.
Tali was in her and Kelly's 'room' in the cargo hold when Kelly found her, and she look to be in a serious state of panic.
"What's wrong Tali?"
Tali turned to look at her, "I just got a message from the fleet… I'm being charged with treason."
"What! Why?"
"They're saying I send active Geth parts to the flotilla, but nothing else. I'm to return to the fleet and stand trial."
Kelly activated her Omni-tool and sent a message to Shepard to get down there.
"What's going on?" she asked as she got off the elevator.
Tali repeated the story to Shepard who didn't look pleased that one of her friends was getting charged with such an offence. She dialed up Joker and waited for him to pick up, "Joker, Tali is going to give you the coordinates of the migrant fleet. Get us there ASAP."
"Got it commander."
"Shepard? I was expecting to get a ride on a shuttle from a port somewhere-"
"Tali, you've been my friend since the day I saved you from that hit squad on the citadel, you're dating my sister, and as far as I'm concerned you're practically a little sister to me. It's no trouble at all to help clear you of these charges."
"Thank you Shepard, for all of that."
"No problem. Now I do believe that Kelly has a gift for you, strait from Donovan Hawke's vault."
As the Normandy docked with the main ship of the flotilla Kelly began to feel nervous. Tali noticed this and asked, "Why do you seem so nervous when I'm the one going on trial."
"That's true but we'll also be in the position where I'd have to meet your father."
Tali looked at her before starting to laugh. Kelly was about to say that it wasn't funny when Shepard joined in. Kelly just huffed her displeasure as the doors opened and the guards who were to escort them to the trial just stood there wondering what had been said to get them to laugh so hard in the face of such a dark accusation like treason.
Tali was in her room when Kelly found her several hours after the mission, "Tali?"
"I want to be alone if you don't mind."
"I do mind, after all that's happened you need someone to hold-"
"Hey Kelly! Is Tali in there?" Allison called from across the cargo hold. A few seconds later she pushed passed Kelly and sat next to Tali on her bed and handed her a glass, "Here's to life throwing shit at you!" She said before downing a glass of something purple.
Tali looked at her glass and sipped it, coughing as the liquid burned its way down her throat.
"Well since were toasting then I might as well join you," Kelly said, swiping Allison's refilled glass and downing it in one shot, "Shit! That was stupid."
Tali laughed at that, "Well thanks for trying to cheer me up."
Allison pulled her into a hug, "Tali, to me you're like a sister… a sister my dad had with an eighteen year old when I was sixteen thus is way younger than me but still a sister."
"Oh please, Anderson would never… that was sarcasm wasn't it."
"Very much so. The point is that as I've said before you're practically family to me, and as such I'll always be a shoulder for you to cry on."
"Same here," Kelly said, sitting on the other side of Tali and pulling her into a hug.
There were some loud footsteps outside of the room before, "Hey Shepard, if Tali is like your sister, then am I like your son considering you let me out of my tank?" Grunt asked.
The three women burst out laughing before Allison left the room to give Grunt a hug, "You are just the sweetest Krogan ever."
Shepard looked over her weapon as they were docking in the Citadel. The plan was to ask Bailey if he knew anyone who could make people disappear, then to look for Thane's son.
After they talked to Bailey they headed for the warehouse where Fade's contact was supposed to be, then headed for the location that the Volus then gave them.
As they moved from one place to another Shepard kept glancing at Garrus, and she didn't like the hatred she saw burning in his eyes, "Are you ok Garrus?"
"I'm fine Shepard, but I'll be better once this is over."
"Are you sure about that? There's an old saying on Earth about the word fine. It means 'Freaked out, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional. Some cities had large columns that they'd string thieves up on who felt fine."
"Shepard! Sidonis brought this on himself, now land here. I'll have a good shot from this location."
Shepard landed and Garrus got out. As she flew off she cast a worried look back in his direction. She let out a sigh and landed in a crowded shopping area. She got out and spotted Sidonis. He was in civilian clothes and looking like he needed sleep.
As she approached he saw her and started walking towards her. When he was close enough she could smell the alcohol on him," Let's get this over with," he said.
"You're in my shot get to the side," Garrus said through the comm.
She stayed in Garrus's shot line and whispered, "Listen Sidonis I'm here to help you."
"Don't ever say that name aloud," Sidonis said nervously, looking around as if he expected someone to jump out at any moment.
"I'm a friend of Garrus. He wants you dead, but I'm hoping that that's not necessary."
"Garrus? Is this some kind of Joke…?"
"Damn it, Shepard. If he moves, I'm taking the shot!"
"You're not joking are you?" Sidonis asks, slowly backing away, "Screw this. I'm not sticking around here to find out. Tell Garrus I had my own problems…"
"Don't move," Shepard said, pulling Sidonis towards her.
"Get off me!" Sidonis yelled.
"I'm the only thing standing between you and a hole in the head."
"Fuck," Sidonis said, looking at the ground for a second, "Look… I didn't want to do it… I didn't have a choice."
"Everyone has a choice," Garrus said.
"They got to me. Said they kill me if I didn't help. What was I supposed to do?"
"Let me take the shot Shepard. He's a damn coward."
"That's it. You were just trying to save yourself?" Shepard asked with mild disgust at the Turians actions.
"I know what I did. I know they died because of me, and I have to live with that," Sidonis said, moving to rest on a hand rail, Shepard moved with him, he looked down at the foliage below, "I wake up every night… sick… and sweating. Each of their faces staring at me… accusing me. I'm already a dead man. I don't sleep. Food has no taste. Some days I just want it to be over."
"Just give me the chance," Garrus said.
"You've got to let it go, Garrus. He's already paying for his crime."
"He hasn't payed enough. He still has his life…"
"Look at him Garrus," Shepard said, moving to the side, "He's not alive… There's nothing left to kill."
"My men… they deserved better."
"Tell Garrus… I guess there's nothing I can say to make it right…" Sidonis said.
"Just… go. Tell him to go…" Garrus said.
"He's giving you a second chance, Sidonis. Don't waste it," Shepard said.
Sidonis stood, "I'll try, Garrus. I'll make it up to you, somehow." He turned to Shepard, "Thank you. For talking to him."
Shepard nodded and they both walked off in separate directions.
As Shepard got back into the car and drove it to the pick up location she saw Garrus looking peeved but otherwise not to mad at how things turned out. She landed, opened the vehicle and looked at him.
"I know that you want to talk about this… but I don't. Not yet at least." Garrus said.
"I know it didn't go the way you'd planned, but I think it's for the best," Shepard said.
"I'm not so sure."
"Give it time."
"Yeah. Maybe that'll be enough. I want to know I did the right thing. Not just for me, but for my men. They deserve to be avenged. But when I had Sidonis in my sights… I just couldn't do it."
"The line between good and evil blur when we're looking at people we know."
"Yeah, there was still good in him… I could see it. It's so much easier to see the world in black and white. Grey… I don't know what to do with grey."
"You got to go with your instincts."
"My instincts were what got me into this mess."
Shepard placed her hand on his shoulder, "Don't be too hard on yourself."
"Thanks, Shepard. For everything. Let's get going. I need some distance from this place."
"I'm with you," Shepard said as they got into the car.
Hours later they were back on the Normandy. Shepard was tinkering with the Shepard VI she had got from Mouse while looking for Thane's son, Kolyat. They had gotten to him before he could kill his target and Thane had talked him down. Now he was going to go to receive community service by working in a small temple dedicated to Drell gods near Huerta Memorial Hospital.
Shepard chuckled to herself as she thought of how ironic it was that Thane's son asked for a post in a religious setting next to a hospital.
"Shepard, if you want I could try and patch that VI and have it running properly and be a perfect imitation of you in several hours," EDI said.
"Thanks EDI, I'll drop it off at your AI core in the morning."
Ashley chuckled from the bed, "That'll be fun to play with."
Allison looked over at her, "Oh, and how is that?"
"Just watching an image of you saying, 'I delete things like you on my way to digger problems'. It'll be hilarious."
Allison stood and walked over to her, "Would it also be hilarious to share a room with Grunt for th-"
"Ok ok ok. Point made," Ashley said with an annoyed sigh, "You can be no fun."
Kelly looked at her from the couch, "You should have seen her when she was younger. She heard that some girls were going to play a prank on her and she actually convinced the super attendant to walk into it."
Shepard smiled, "The look on those girls' faces was priceless. Especially when the super intendent learned that they played pranks like this on everyone below them on the social ladder."
"They got expelled because till then their bullying had been where teachers couldn't see, like in the bathrooms or outside of school," Kelly said.
"What did they even do?" Ashley asked.
"The old bucket above the door trick, but it was full of maple syrup."
Ashley laughed, "I would love to have seen them getting escorted to the principal's office by a man covered in Maple syrup."
"The hard part was convincing him that I wasn't a part of the prank and was only trying to expose them as the bullies they were."
"Dad wasn't happy she got the super intendent hit by the prank but did help clear her name by telling of several times she helped other students after they got pranked," Kelly said.
"Hmm, well it's getting late so I'm going to go to bed," Ashley said.
Kelly, who'd been knitting, put her knitting on the table and got up "I'm going to sleep with Tali tonight."
"Ok, goodnight," Shepard said before getting into bed.