A/N

Hello again! here is the next chapter.

Enjoy!

I do not own any rights to the characters or anything else in this so there ya go. Disclaimered. New verb. Now excuse me while I go food something.

Chapter 2: Awkward

Kyson's POV

This is too much for her! What am I saying? This is too much for me!

Kyson ran after Tali who had gone into the conference room. She was by the window looking at the stars while holding onto herself like she had in the Neema's commons. Kyson slowed down as he got close. It was still not fully registering in his mind everything that was happening. He still felt so angry yet, all he wanted to do was weep. Not for himself but for Tali.

"This…this can't be real…" she said after a few seconds. Kyson felt ice crawling down his back as he walked up to the window next to her.

"H…how could…Kerris?" she asked. Kyson swallowed hard. From her state and hollow voice, this was not going to be a happy reunion.

"You…you know him?" asked Kyson. Tali turned away from him to look out the window. She nodded forlornly.

"Well, it's good to see everything is the same! We are always left in the damn dark" laughed Kyson nervously.

"Nothing is the same! Nothing!" she yelled at him. Kyson just stood in shock.

"Everything has been a waking hell! I can't sleep! I can't tell if I'm alive or dead! Now not one, but two people who I thought were dead are alive? Trying to kill each other! I have to be in hell!" she screamed at him. Kyson felt her pain. He knew it more than anyone else ever could. She had described his life since he had been swallowed by the void.

"I'm so sorry Tali. I wish you never had to go through any of this" said Kyson as he looked at the floor for he couldn't look her in the eyes. He felt ashamed for not being able to find her after all of this time.

"I'm so lost Kyson…please, I can't do this anymore" she sobbed as he felt her collapse into his arms. Kyson held on to her tightly as she cried silently. He felt her tremble as she tried to stay quiet.

"Shhhh…I'm here" he said quietly.

"I want to kill her Kyson, I want to kill Xen so badly" said Tali. Kyson began to rub her shoulders.

"I know. But right now as much as it hurts, we have to worry about stopping this war" said Kyson. He had to dig deep down in order to say those words. But now that Tali was alive. The only way to keep her so, was to figure out how to win this war. But the problem now was that he wasn't the only one who wanted Xen dead. Tali might lash out on her own.

"I know. But I hate it" she said with a sniff. Kyson just kept holding her as the stars went by. The door opened behind him from the war room.

"Are you two going to be okay?" asked Garrus. Kyson didn't have the words to respond. He didn't dare move from his spot least he lose Tali again. Tali did tilt her head on his chest to look at Garrus, but she stayed quiet as well.

"I thought I should let you know, we are about two hours out from reaching the Geth Dreadnaught…John has also brokered for Xen to still act as admiral until the war with the Reapers is over…" said Garrus with a bit of hate in his words. Kyson just kept looking at the stars. It made sense. It was too late for a massive problem with the leaders of the Quarians. It was a personal issue to top it off. Not something the fleet needed to know about.

"I'll just give you two some space, Tali…I'm glad you are still alive. We missed you" said Garrus as he walked away.

"I think we need to find somewhere else" said Kyson.

"I'm afraid to move" said Tali. Kyson gently pushed her back while taking her hands in his. He led her quietly to the elevator. The two guards at the check point saluted him. He had nodded back. Tali hadn't missed the gesture.

"Why did they salute you?" she asked as they walked to the elevator.

"When we get to the lounge" he said. Once they had hit the rec room, Kyson led her to the couch and locked the door for privacy. Tali looked around.

"So Kasumi is no longer here?" she said more than asked. Kyson nodded.

"Yeah...many are gone. We haven't heard from some of them still" said Kyson.

"I'm sorry about Earth…I have been hearing reports. Palaven is doing badly as well?" she asked; Kyson nodded.

"We knew this was coming Tali. All we can do now is fight" he said as he squeezed her hands for assurance.

"I know. I have so many questions…" she said.

"Well, the salute thing. First, I'm a Lieutenant Commander in the Alliance Navy now. Two, I'm N7 like Shepard" said Kyson. Tali just stared at him.

"Really? But you had sworn you would never go Alliance. But N7…Kyson, that is a rare honor inside of the Alliance? How did you pull all of this off?" she asked slightly amazed. Kyson bit his tongue. He wasn't so sure this was the time to start re hashing everything that had happened. He had kept it close to his chest even with Garrus and John.

"Long story, trust me…" said Kyson not sure of his words all of the sudden. Tali picked up on it.

"So?" she asked. Kyson frowned. He didn't know why it was so hard to say anything.

"It was a painful experience. I haven't even talked to John about how it happened" he said.

"Have you even told anyone how you survived?" she asked.

"No. I try not to re live that. Well, to be honest with you, I wish I could block out the past eight months" he said quietly. Tali looked into his eyes once again. He could tell she was trying to get a read on him.

"Now isn't the time…we have to be ready for the mission" he said as he looked away.

"We have more than just a few minutes" she said, but Kyson was locking down. He felt his heart start to beat faster. He felt trapped but there was nothing closing him in. He began to twitch again.

"Kyson, don't do this to me" said Tali as she brought him closer. Kyson shook his head.

"I…I'm sorry. It's just…so much has happened. I don't know where to start" he said.

"If you are scared…I know. It's okay Kyson" said Tali gently. Kyson shook his head.

"No it's not" he replied through gritted teeth. Kyson brought Tali forward.

"I love you no matter what. You know that right?" he asked. His voice had panic creeping in.

"I never forgot" she replied. Kyson stood up then and headed for the door.

"I have to do some things before we go on the mission" he said rigidly as he tried to reign in his emotions.

"I…okay" said Tali. Kyson turned away as he headed straight for the shower. He felt like he was going to implode. Only one thought was driving him now. I can't let her see how far I have fallen. Turning on the hot water, he completely scrubbed down every inch of his body twice. Now came the hard part. The hair. Kyson looked in the mirror with dread. His wet hair made him look like a drowned cat on a good day. He growled at how he had let himself go so easily. He reached into his labeled medicine cabinet. He found his razor, but skipped it. He went for the electric shears.

He took a deep breath. This was not just for neatness. This was him trying to fight back in a way. The length of his bead, his scraggly hair was a sign of eight months of resignation to being defeated by life. And how he didn't pick himself back up. He would not let Tali look upon that. It was his shame to carry.

Twenty minutes later was a new man. Or it would seem due to the fact that as he headed to his room he scared Gabby shitless. She didn't recognize him one bit. Kyson just kept quiet as he donned his armor. There was no way he was going into a fight on a Geth ship casual. They didn't need oxygen.

"Kyson. Shepard has requested your presence in the hanger bay" said EDI.

"Will do. EDI, can I ask you something?" asked Kyson as he lit another cigg.

"How can I help?" asked the AI.

"I know you have been observing and learning from the crew. It is no secret that I am not of sound mind. But…" Kyson went quite. He just stopped thinking for a second. It was as if he couldn't finish anything in his mind anymore.

"I know what you are getting at. Tali is not used to the changes on the Normandy. You Kyson, have changed more than The Normandy. You are worried she will not understand" said EDI. Kyson nodded slowly.

"You have been doing nothing but fighting Kyson. Don't stop" finished EDI. Kyson checked that he had all three of his guns along with his hammer before setting out. Once in the hanger bay, he took a swig of whiskey hoping it would settle his stomach.

Several people were in the bay. John naturally along with Liara. Garrus was standing by Tali who just stared off into space. Kyson flexed his taught muscles before walking up.

"Ready to go Kyson?" asked John as he turned around. But the expression on his face was one of slight amusement.

"Who are you?" asked Garrus with an odd smile. Kyson had his hair buzzed down to nothing but a fuzz. His scar over his left eye was fully visible now. It ran past his hair line straight down to his jaw bone. His hazel eyes were clearly seen as his goggles were pushed up out of the way. The cigg still burned between his lips as he looked everyone over.

"You coming Garrus?" asked Kyson acting as if nothing had changed.

"I uh…no armor remember?" replied the Turian slowly. Kyson walked away to kick a crate next to his alcohol stash.

"I got you a new set. Try it on bud" he said quietly. Garrus ran up opening the crate.

"How…how much did this cost you?" asked Garrus as he looked at Kyson with a hard look. Kyson smiled.

"The eighty thousand John paid me" said Kyson. Garrus just stared at the armor before lifting the crate and disappearing.

"So I guess we should wait then" said John as Kyson walked back to the group. Kyson nodded as he stood waiting. John just kept staring at him.

"Kyson, how are you holding up?" asked Liara with concern. The engineer smiled.

"Doing just fine now, I can feel air on my head again" said Kyson with a smile. John just kept his gaze on him.

"Besides, seeing that Tali is back, I can't let myself look like trash now can I?" asked Kyson glancing at bond mate.

"You didn't have too…" she stopped not sure what to say. Kyson laughed nervously.

"It was getting in the way. So what's the plan?" asked Kyson trying to chew up as much silence as possible.

"We sneak on, from there we take down the drive core so the heavy fleet can retreat" said John. Kyson nodded.

"So now we are going into the land of the Toasters. Joy! So who is ready for some fun?" he asked aloud. Silence ensued.

"Ungh, for fucks sake people lighten up. I'm alive, Tali is alive, and Xen will get hers after this war. There we go! Problems gone" said Kyson half grunting. John shook his head.

"With what has been going on with you…" John began. Kyson slammed his food down. His heavy armor made a loud boom causing the Commander to stop talking. Tali had jumped at his outburst.

"Can I have a word with you Commander?" asked Kyson dropping the casual use of John's name. The two walked off to the front of the bay.

"John! What the hell?" hissed Kyson angrily. John crossed his arms with a disapproving scowl.

"I see what you are doing Kyson. It's not going to work" said John with irritation.

"She doesn't need to know the fucked up bits. That is not her concern, it would kill her if she knew what I went through over her!" said Kyson with apprehension. He had started to bounce on his toes as he glanced at where Tali and Liara were looking at them. Tali was bouncing while fiddling nervously with her hands.

"You have to tell her. You can't hide from your demons any longer Kyson. I'm about to toss you off the ship. I was damn tempted before the Admirals showed up. But things didn't blow up as bad as I thought so know this. If you don't sort this out, you are gone" said John. Kyson felt lost. What the hell was he supposed to do? John relaxed a bit and placed a hand on Kyson's shoulder.

"Kyson, look at Tali" he said. Kyson had never stopped watching her.

"She is terrified of everything right now. Mostly of you. Be there for her, don't shut her out" said John in a softer tone.

"She is not going to like what she is going to find" said Kyson firmly. What John didn't seem to understand was that he swore to never drag her down.

"John, oblige me this, I will come clean with Tali after all of this stuff with Rannoch is settled. Right now she needs some familiarity in this crazy situation" said Kyson. John sighed.

"Fine. But if she asks you about anything, come clean with her understand?" asked John.

"You can boot my ass if otherwise" said Kyson. John patted his shoulder.

"Good. Now go to her" said John. Kyson walked away. This is going to be hard, damn I hate that I have to do this…

"What was that all about?" asked Tali. Kyson froze. He watched as John stopped right next to him. Tali had asked directly right off the bat.

"Like I said before, much has changed. Just trying to sort it out is all" said Kyson. He glanced at John who had a blank face.

"Well, Garrus had better sort his shit out fast. I'm not going to fucking wait all day" said Tali. Kyson's jaw dropped.

"Duh…wut?" he asked. Tali shrugged her shoulders as she screwed some sort of metal rod into her helmet. The end lit up blue after a few seconds. Kyson nearly lost it.

"What is that?" asked a disturbed Liara. No one was used to Tali cussing.

"And electronic cigarette" she said as if there wasn't a thing wrong. Kyson walked up to her laying both hands on her shoulders. He tried to get a read on her, but it felt like the visor had become a barrier between them once again.

"Don't look at me like that! I've been stressed as hell with this war" she snapped slightly as she took out the E-cigg.

"I'm just…a little surprised is all" said Kyson taken aback. Tali looked at the ground.

"Sorry, today has been…" she started.

"Completely crazy" finished Kyson. Tali nodded slowly. Kyson took her left hand in is right. He threw on a wry grin.

"Well, now that the crazy has calmed down, how bout making some fun of the rest of it?" asked Kyson. Tali rolled her eyes like she had a thousand times before.

"Yeah, you are still my Kyson" she said with the slightest hint on sarcasm. Kyson brought her in for a hug.

"Well duh" he said with a warm smile.

"Kyson…" Tali pushed him back.

"Your armor…it hurts" she said. Kyson hadn't realized the problem. The N7 Destroyer armor was nothing, but hard jagged edges.

"Ah, my bad" said Kyson as he stepped away.

"This is so damn cute it's scary" said the voice of Garrus. Kyson turned to see his friend wearing his new armor. Kyson smiled as he say his friend in his brand new N7 Destroyer armor made to fit Turians. Tali groaned.

"I'm done. They are twins now…Shepard, please tell me they aren't sleeping together?" asked Tali in exasperation. John chuckled to himself.

"I dunno Tali, I kinda like it!" said John with a broad smile.

"Now I get to be even more of a badass! Kyson, you are alright in my books" said Garrus with a mischievous smile.

"Alright, let's head up to the CIC and see how close we are" said John. Kyson waited for everyone else to walk ahead before leading Tali who was still in hand. She had a death grip on him.

"So how big is this thing?" asked Kyson.

"About thirty percent bigger than the Turians largest dreadnaught" said Tali as they entered the elevator. Kyson groaned.

"I'm going to be so tired by the end of all of this" he said with a smile still on his face.

"Quit your bitchin" said Garrus as he checked over his Mattock.

"Make me" laughed Kyson.

"Keelah! Liara, Shepard…I'm so sorry you got stuck with them." Giggled Tali. Kyson sighed with relief now that he heard Tali finally laugh a bit. It was all he needed. He squeezed her hand causing her to look at him.

"You know you missed us!" he said with a gleam in his eyes that had returned for the first time since he last saw her.

"It hasn't been that bad Tali. You should have been there when we faced the Rachni" said Liara with a smile.

"Rachni? But Shepard, the Queen…she promised…" Tali began with worry.

"The Reapers had found her again. We freed her and she is helping with the war" said John proudly. Tali nodded.

"Oh, and we cured the Genophage" said Garrus with a smarmy look.

"I bet the Salarians are thrilled about that" said Tali flatly. Garrus rolled his eyes.

"Screw them. The Krogan are now helping push back the Reapers on Palaven. Wrex has also promised to help when we finally take back Earth" said the Turian.

"You all have been very busy" said Tali as the elevator opened up.

"Yeah well, everyone needs a hobby. Some build model ships, others make bombs…I'll make due with war at this point I guess" said Garrus roughly. Tali cocked her head to the side. She knew Shepard made model ships.

"Who makes bombs?" she asked with curiosity.

"You are holding his hand" said Garrus as he walked forward past the galaxy map. Tali slowed a bit.

"You what?" she asked incredulously.

"Like Garrus said, everyone has a hobby" smiled Kyson. He would have to punch Garrus later.

As they made it to the cockpit, Joker spun his chair around slowly. He was looking down so his cap covered his eyes while he had his hands clasped in front of him.

"Well, well, well…look whose back" said Joker ominously. Kyson raised an eyebrow in question.

"Um…" murmured Tali. Joker looked up with a shit eating grin.

"You are going to hate me Tali" said Joker with an evil grin. They just waited for Joker to finish.

"I beat your score" was all he said. Kyson looked at Garrus to see if he understood. But everyone was at a loss of what the pilot was saying. Except Tali.

"You hacked it" she deadpanned. Joker shook his head slowly.

"There is no way you got a higher score than me on Fleet and Flotilla. It is just not possible" deadpanned Tali. Kyson looked at her with an odd look. Fleet and Flotilla was a sappy war movie about Turians and Quarians working together. Joker brought up a screen. Several names with numbers were ranked from one to ten in descending order. Joker pointed to the second rank.

"That score my feisty friend is your score" said Joker. The name in the second spot said 'Lov3sLib3ration'. Kyson snickered at the name, but got elbowed in the side for it. He didn't feel a thing while Tali groaned in pain. Joker laughed.

"Now, I hate these mushy lovey dovey space opera story lines personally. But I swore I would beat any score a crew member racked up" said Joker as he pointed at the number one spot. The name next to the number one person in the galaxy was 'PwndReaper mlm'.

"You! You are PwndReaper? You Bosh'tet! I just got that high score six months ago!" shouted Tali causing Joker to pump his fists in the air.

"Owned! Oh yeah!" shouted Joker. Kyson laughed with Garrus as John face palmed. Joker just kept laughing.

"That's right. Self-five" said Joker with a smitten look as he high fived himself.

"Wow…you need better things to do with your free time" said Kyson.

"Well, ya know. Gotta have goals Kyson" snickered Joker. But the pilot got up shakily from his seat. He walked up to Tali holding out a hand.

"Glad to have you back Tali. Now we can have a leash on our psychotic hallucinating engineer" said Joker. Kyson twitched as Tali shook Jokers hand gently.

"I'm glad to be back Joker. But what do you mean hallucinating?" asked Tali as she looked at Kyson in question. Kyson felt his gut clench.

"I can answer that for you Tali" came the voice of EDI. But the droid body she had commandeered finally showed itself as EDI got up from the comms chair on Jokers right. Kyson felt Tali's hand crush his once again. EDI calmly walked up with an extended hand.

"I also believe it is time we formally met" said EDI with a stoic expression.

"How…how did you get a body?" asked Tali who recoiled from the out stretched hand. Kyson nudged Tali slightly.

"That is another long story, but EDI has been amazing to us" said Kyson. Tali looked at him for a few seconds before shaking EDI's hand.

"I'm sorry EDI…I'm just…" Tali stopped unsure of herself.

"I understand your caution. If it helps, I wish you to know that just as before, my number one priority is my crew. That has and never will change" said EDI. Kyson saw the smile on John's face as he nudged Liara. The Asari smirked a bit.

"Yes well…just so we are clear as before, I expect complete privacy and discretion…but we have never had a problem with that like we did with Legion" said Tali. EDI nodded before sitting back down.

"We are about to hit the relay" said the AI causing everyone to look through the forward windows.

"How are we looking Joker?" asked John as he stood behind the pilot.

"Well…it looks like a giant shit storm on the scanners" said Joker as he focused on his job.

"I'm picking several hundred unique ship signatures in active combat" said EDI.

"Take us in Joker, nice and quiet" said Shepard. Kyson felt the slight weightless feeling you get when the relay jumps you to a new system.

"Stealth systems are engaged. The only way they can hear us now is if you start singing the Russian National Anthem" laughed Joker as the Normandy finished the jump. Kyson rolled his eyes at the 'Hunt for the Red October' reference. But his jaw dropped as Rannoch came into view.

"Keelah…" said Kyson and Tali in unison. Quarian ships were exploding right in front of them. Cannon rounds flew through space at all angles as the Geth fired upon the heavy fleet. But worst of all, the massive Geth Dreadnaught loomed in the background…with barely a scratch. John growled as they approached.

"Let's move" he said as he led the team to the air lock.

"My cyber suites have allowed me access to the Dreadnaught. There is a docking tube ready for access" said EDI as the team walked away.

"Right. Once we are on board, we find and shut down the Reaper code. After that we see if we can take down the drive core just in case" said John as they all walked into the small air lock.

"Reaper code?" asked Kyson as he put on his helmet.

"You missed that part after your little fight with Xen. The Geth are being controlled by the Reapers" said John. Kyson looked at Tali with apprehension. Holy shit…when I thought I was fighting Geth…no. That isn't possible.

"Well we have Tali back so this will be over in fifteen minutes or less" said Garrus.

"Make it five" said Tali.

"Well on the bright side, now with another Dextro on board…maybe I can get better Turian food" said Garrus.

"That would be a nice change" said Tali. Kyson was very thankful for being Human at that moment.

"I do have some Turian chocolate. You can help yourself to it when we get back…Teagann got it for me as a gift" said Garrus. Kyson could somehow see a shit eating grin through Garrus's helmet that was now identical to his.

"Oh…chocolate…what was the gift for?" asked Tali who sounded intrigued.

"We are engaged…wedding is on hold for now seeing that there is a war in the way…" said Garrus.

"Commander, the docking tube looks pretty shot up" said Joker as the Normandy jolted a bit as it connected to the tube. John looked at a small screen on his Omni-tool.

"Too risky for the whole team, I'll secure it right quick" said John as the air lock opened. Kyson saw a long tube with holes in it.

"This'll be fun…" said John as he stepped out. The air lock closed behind Shepard.

"We'll be here waiting…quietly" said Joker over the comm. Kyson let his breath go with a heavy sigh. The sight of open space had rattled him.

"You okay Kyson?" asked Liara. Kyson nodded.

"What was it that Joker was talking about? Hallucinating?" asked Tali. Kyson stayed quite. Now wasn't the time.

"Kyson has had it rough since he got spaced" said Garrus. Kyson tried to block everyone out. This was going to go badly.

"If it wasn't for Liara bonding with him, he wouldn't know what he was even seeing right now" continued the Turian as if nothing was wrong.

"You what?!" asked Tali with a shrill tone.

"Smooth Garrus" snapped Kyson angrily.

"It's not what you think Tali I swear! He downed a whole bottle of Lemouria! I had to make sure his mind was still intact!" said Liara quickly. Tali looked at Kyson.

"A whole bottle of Lemouria…are you crazy!" she shouted. Kyson chuckled nervously. Good catch Liara.

"I was already drunk. I didn't read the label…" he said lamely. Tali shook her head.

"How are you doing out there Shepard?" asked Tali tuning out from the situation. Kyson just kept staring at Garrus. He was getting punched twice now.

"The lack of gravity is a little disorienting…but the Gravity boots make up for it" said John.

"Damn…this ship is big" said John.

"That's because it's forty percent bigger than an alliance Dreadnaught" said EDI.

"Hey guys, what's stopping the Geth from looking out a window" asked Joker.

"Geth don't have windows remember? It's a structural weakness" said Tali.

"I am immune to your facts…and logic" quipped Joker. Kyson rolled his eyes.

"Well I can support my facts with strong bones" replied Tali.

"Wow…that was low" said Joker. Kyson was about to shake his head when the Normandy jolted again.

"John?" asked Kyson. He had a bad feeling something happened that ought not to have.

"I'm on the Geth ship…I guess you guys are going to have to find another way on" said Shepard.

"So I guess you don't want to solo the giant Geth Dreadnaught?" asked Joker.

"Not if I can help it" replied Shepard sarcastically. Tali finally let go of his hand as she brought up her Omni-tool. Kyson could see the schematics of the ship. But, she began to lean against him ever so slightly. Without even thinking about it, he leaned back.

"EDI, I have found another way in. Shepard, you have to unlock it for us from the inside" she said.

"Got it, I got gravity again now that I'm inside" said John.

"It should not be far from the small hole that was punched in the hull" Tali replied.

"I wouldn't call it small…" said John.

"We lost six frigates just so we could do that" replied Tali angrily. Tali had taken to crushing Kyson's hand again.

"You would have done it differently?" asked John.

"Han went on a full frontal assault. After the Geth tested our defenses by trying to raid the Neema, he went full tilt. Han was the one who started this war. Xen backed him so she could test her new toys…" growled Tali. Kyson felt his gut clench again. What the hell did I see down on Uttuku? The bond can't possibly work like that…

"Raan gave provisional support. Damn it I tried to warn them…Kyson and I tried to. But in the end only Zaal opposed them. In the end, Han is in charge of the heavy fleet so it was his decision. We could lose the entire fleet because of this" said Tali shakily.

"Don't worry Tali. We will get your people out of here safely" reassured John. Kyson felt another small jolt. They had made it to the next docking tube.

"Joker, how shot up is this one?" asked Kyson whose mouth had gone dry.

"Worse. It looks to be only framing holding it together for five panels. You have to jump it" said Joker. Kyson clamped down on Tali's hand like a vise causing her to twitch and look at him.

"Peachy…" mumbled Kyson. The air lock opened to the long docking tube. Garrus jumped down with Liara. Holes were all over the place revealing the light from the star Tikkun.

"What's wrong?" asked Tali. Kyson swallowed hard clearing his throat.

"I…it's nothing lets go" he said as he let go of her hand. The weightlessness almost caused him to panic but his grav boots stuck him to the metal. Oh shit oh shit oh shit. Kyson had not been in actual space since his 'accident' on the fleet. He was petrified. Kyson heard Tali land next to him. Garrus was up ahead with Liara. Kyson cinched down his fears and pressed forward. In a matter of seconds he was keeping pace with Garrus who was upside down relative to him. They walked in silence until they reached the massive gap. Five beams that all of the plates were built off of were holding the tube together.

"So, that is Rannoch" said Liara as she looked out into space. Kyson was hyperventilating as he followed her gaze. Kyson was speechless. It was so different than looking at Earth. There were almost no clouds to speak of. The very little green could be seen along with oddly shaped continents. Odd, being a relative term.

"Whelp, I'm off. Hope I don't get hit by a stray cannon round" said Garrus as he coiled his legs. With a strong push, Garrus floated through space to the other side.

"Ah…that was a bit of a jolt. Damn it my rib…" grunted the Turian as he landed. Liara was next landing with much more grace. Kyson just stared at the gap. He could bring himself to move.

"Why aren't you jumping?" asked Tali.

"I…" he began.

"This…is the first time in space since…" Tali stopped. She had guessed right. He was terrified of drifting off again. He couldn't do it again. He would die before getting left in the void. Kyson jerked violently as Tali slipped a hand in his.

"We do it together then" she said strongly. Kyson took a deep breath.

"On three" she said.

"One…" Kyson began to breathe heavily as he willed his legs to crouch. He was going to die this time.

"Two…" said Tali as she gripped his hand firmly. Kyson closed his eyes. No god or gods could save him.

"Three!" she shouted. Kyson pushed off roughly. He felt the weightlessness of space causing him to feel dizzy. He opened his eyes to see the opposite side of the tube closing in. He was starting to hyperventilate out of control.

"We are almost there" said Tali. They were inside the tube. Kyson was closest to the metal so he stretched his legs out. As he got close his grave boots anchored him firmly as he brought Tali down. His knees felt like they had turned to Jell-O as tunnel vision made it hard to see the ship access just thirty feet away.

"Keelah Kyson…" said Tali as she knelt next to him.

"Let's…get this over with awright?" he asked as he stood up fully. Garrus walked over to him.

"You got this bud" re assured the Turian. Kyson nodded as they walked forward. Tali wouldn't let go of his hand. Once they were inside the air lock Kyson relaxed as the artificial gravity returned.

"Shepard, have you found anything yet?" asked Tali.

"I'm looking at a terminal now. Let's see…let's try this" said John over the comm. The opposite door from Kyson rotated before opening in two halves. Kyson walked in with skepticism. The whole place was dimly lit with harsh angles.

"Glad you could make it!" said John with a laugh as the team climbed up to meet him.

"Have any problems?" asked Liara. John shook his head.

"Not yet. I doubt they even no we're here" he replied. The team climbed up a ladder to join the Commander. Kyson brought up the rear as everyone got situated.

"Thanks for doing this Shepard" said Tali as she pulled two pistols off of her waist. Kyson had been so worried about everything else he hadn't noticed the odd looking things. But as Kyson studied them further, they seemed very familiar at the same time.

"Here, take one of these, it might be handy" she said as she placed them on barrier wall. John picked one up while Kyson studied the other.

"Got some weight to it" said John.

"They are Xen's design, it creates an electrical pulse that disrupts Geth shields on impact" said Tali.

"Why don't I get a new gun?" asked Garrus. Kyson handed the pistol to the Turian.

"Have at it" said Kyson as he brought out his two wraiths. Garrus nodded as he walked away. John motioned for the team to head further into the ship.

"Two shotguns?" asked Tali who brought out her eviscerator. Kyson nodded.

"These are M-11 Wraiths. They are two shot versions of what you have. More powerful too" he said.

"Well if I knew you felt that way, I would have gotten you something more personalized" said Tali as she went to a locked door.

"So where can we shut down this Reaper signal?" asked John as they walked up.

"We have to get to the Operations Center. But to do that we have to go through the vents…Keelah I hate vents" said Tali with dread.

"You did just fine on the collector base" chuckled John.

"I got set on fire!" shouted Tali. Kyson remained quiet. He still had a bad feeling about everything going on. But that bad feeling had always been with him since he got to the fleet months ago. Tali opened the door to reveal a passage that led deeper in. They moved forward cautiously as John ran up to a terminal.

"Christ, they are using some high tech stuff. GARDIAN laser suites and all" said John slightly impressed.

"Those are infrared guided I believe. The Salarians use them" said Kyson as he watched the heat sink for the laser drop its load.

"Those lasers cut through the heavy fleet as if they were made of foil…" said Tali angrily.

"You gonna be okay?" asked John. Tali pressed forward without a word. As Shepard and Liara moved forward Kyson went up to the terminal.

"I guess that's a no" said Garrus. Kyson nodded as he checked the display. There was something off though. He tapped on the small icon that had nothing to do with firing algorithms. It was a program to try and override the laser, but it had a developer name in the coding.

"Kerris…" breathed Kyson. Garrus looked at the screen.

"Damn it. It shows him passing through here an hour ago. I suggest we stay quiet about this until we are done" said Garrus. Kyson nodded.

"She knows Kerris, she said it has been over a decade since she saw him last. But she sounded like he was something important to her" said Kyson with a scowl.

"Where the hell are you two?" asked Tali over the comm. Kyson left the terminal to catch up. Once they made their way down the catwalk, Kyson saw movement behind the three team mates.

"Get down!" shouted Garrus who had seen it as well. John dropped along with Liara. Tali spun around ready to fire when a round from a Geth trooper knocked her shotgun from her hands. A rocket missed Tali by a foot, but the missile exploded right next to her sending her to the ground. Kyson growled as he ran up. He slid behind a wall as he dragged Tali to her feet.

"Damn it my shotgun!" she yelled. Kyson thrust his left Wraith into her hands.

"Remember two shot reload!" he shouted over the firefight. Tali wasted no time in aiming past the wall taking out the rocket trooper with ease.

"Why don't I hear any alarms!" shouted Garrus who had his Mattock out.

"They are machines! They have instantly warned each other!" shouted Liara as she unleashed a singularity. Four Geth got trapped in the mini black hole only for Liara to collapse the unstable field. An explosion rent the machines to pieces.

"Good work! Tali, how after all of this time does your shotgun get taken out in midair?" asked John as he moved forward.

"I don't know what you are talking about" said Tali as she held up the similar looking Wraith Kyson had given her.

John laughed as he moved forward, but Kyson was keeping an eye out when he heard a small tick noise up ahead. John turned to see what it was right as a small beeping noise went off. John looked down between his feet.

"Mines!" shouted the Commander. Kyson froze as he watched John dive forward. To his surprise the explosion was quite small.

"Huh…I bet it's just to knock down shields" said John as he stood up.

"Nothing like the FISH" said Garrus as the team moved forward but with a higher level of caution.

"Fish?" asked Tali.

"It's what Kyson calls the bombs he makes. It stands for Fuck It Shit Happens" said John. Tali glanced at Kyson.

"How poetic" she said sarcastically. Kyson just shrugged as they entered what looked like a server room. Liara had already gone to one of the terminals.

"The reaper code is on all Geth platforms. Every single one is hacked" she said.

"Can't we override the code from here?" asked John as he looked around.

"No, too many redundant checking systems. We have to do it from the operation center for what we have to do…" Tali stopped as she looked up at something.

"What's up?" asked Kyson seeing that she was distracted.

"Damn planetary guns! The Geth are using them to tear apart the fleet" she said as she began to pace frantically.

"Don't worry Tali. We won't let you down" said John as he moved forward. As they opened up the doors to the operations center, a firefight erupted instantly.

"Damn it watch out for the hunters! Cloaked bastards!" shouted Tali as she found cover. A few shots went off followed by Garrus whooping in excitement.

"Couldn't hide from that one HAaaaaaa!" shouted the Turian. The team made quick work of the stragglers. They made it to a larger terminal on the opposite side of the room. Tali began to check something as she brought up a layout of the Dreadnaught. The center of the room had a massive holo of the ship.

"Damn. We are locked down…the whole ship is so we can't get out. They even blocked the Reaper code!" she snapped as she began checking other avenues of attack, Kyson looked at the ships schematics.

"Well…where is the signal coming from?" he asked.

"The drive core" said Tali as she highlighted the section of the ship near mid ship. Kyson studied a long tube running down the center.

"Why don't we just book it down the main battery?" he asked. Garrus groaned.

"Yeah, let's just run down the barrel of the massive ships cannon. That'll work out well" said Garrus.

"Let them work" said John. Garrus grunted in response.

"That would work…but we are still trapped in here" said Tali. Kyson pondered what would make the Geth freak out to drop the lock down. Then an idea popped in his head.

"Thank you Joker…" mumbled Kyson as he thought out the idea.

"What?" asked Liara. Kyson pointed to a different section of the ship below the main battery.

"What makes every ship dangerous no matter what? Fire! We fake a fire in the stern section of the ship. That'll do it for sure" said Kyson as he looked at Tali with a broad smile. Tali nodded.

"Correct. Alright let's do this, we have a bunch of Geth waiting behind the doors." Kyson got into cover as Tali sounded the alarm. All at once Geth came flooding in, but the best part was Shepard. He had cloaked himself during the conversation. The room turned into a deadly cross fire.

"John, you are awesome bud" said Kyson as the last Geth fell to Liara's SMG.

"It's what I do" said John as they made their way towards the main battery. Kyson rolled his neck in order to get some of the kinks out. He had to use some cramped and shitty cover during the fight.

"Has anyone done this before?" asked Liara as they neared the door that led to the main battery shaft.

"Nope. No time like the present though" said John.

"I still can't get over how wrong this place feels. Each arch, every corner has nothing to do with organics" said Garrus.

"Geth… Ship!" said Tali with sarcasm. Kyson smiled as the team found the door in front of them locked. John grunted.

"Well, a bypass should do it no problem. Good thing we have our engineering staff at full capacity" said John.

"Looks like it" said Kyson. He looked over to Tali, he found her right next to him. I'm not going anywhere hun. Kyson nudged her softly with his arm. She couldn't see the small smile he had but she knew.

"Now that I think about it it's going to be a lot louder on the Normandy again" chuckled John who was watching them. Kyson snapped his head to glare at John. A glare that wasn't seen.

"Gotta put on a show for Joker naturally; also need to make sure people know what's mine" laughed Tali as she lightly punched him on the shoulder. Kyson shook his head, he wanted to laugh, but something was still holding him back.

"Aw don't tell me you are the bashful one now Kyson? What about all of those times you were suggesting moves to use on Liara?" John said. Kyson saw Liara's jaw drop so he thought it a wise move as he took a step back closer to Garrus.

"By the spirits John! Can you make this more awkward if you tried? No! Please dig yourself deeper so Kyson and Liara both freak out at once! How bout the four of you go find your rooms and have at it already!" yelled Garrus as he threw his hands in the air. The Turian took a few steps away before coming back with a calmer demeanor.

"Well, someone is frustrated…" said Tali with a giggle. Garrus just grunted as he walked up to the door. He hacked the lock opening the door.

"I already see Geth! Let's move" shouted the angry sounding Turian. Kyson looked at Tali who simply shrugged.

A/N

Kyson is obviously handling things really well. holding things back always works don't it? No? Well no surprises there. Between Garrus's comments along with Liara dropping the word bonding poorly we shall see what happens.

Review as you will and thanks!