Shepard eased himself slowly into the wheelchair as cautiously as he could. But even that didn't stop the wounds from flaring up and screaming. He grunted and let out a long breath once he settled in. Even the small actions started eating at his energy, he wanted to sleep. But he couldn't. Joker just announced that Rannoch was in view and he had to be ready to get off the ship.

"You alright?" Silont asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just tired is all," Shepard replied with a wave of his hand. But he noticed Silont still staring. "What's the matter?"

Silont sat on the edge of a bed and sighed. "You are by far the most dedicated person to our people that it's almost creepy," he stated with a chuckle.

"Oh?" Shepard raised an eyebrow, amused.

Silont continued, "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that you got our homeworld back, and protected it from reapers. But going to the length of becoming one? That's a little strange."

Shepard laughed a little. "I can assure you that I didn't mean to become a quarian. I had no intentions to get a DNA change and get my immune system stripped to almost nothing."

"Yeah, that and getting a suit and taking a quarian for a mate...or marrying one, as your people put it," Silont added, his words almost with an air of mocking. Shepard's eyes narrowed.

"I would have 'married' Tali even if I didn't get a DNA change!" Shepard retorted.

"Hey! I mean no ill! Besides, that's proving my point, you're still dedicated to our people, and frankly, I'm glad. I always hoped to set foot on the homeworld someday in my lifetime, and I don't think there is a more honorable person in the galaxy to help with that."

Shepard relaxed his muscles, glad to have some quarian approval. Although Silont took an odd direction in conversation to say it, it was approval nonetheless. The fact that he was Tali's childhood friend was a big plus as well.

Again Shepard felt a wave of fatigue come over him. He needed some way to stay awake.

"Tell me about yourself, Silont. What's your story?"

"My story?" Silont was taken by surprise.

Shepard nodded.

Then Silont scoffed. "That's a first time anyone ever really asked me that. For good reason, I guess. I don't have much to say, or anything to say that's exciting for that matter."

"You're a secret operative, that has to be exciting," Shepard coughed.

"Not really, all my missions are pretty clean cut. 'Go there and do this.' I may have had a few close calls here and there, but nothing serious. All my missions are a mix of textbook and luck. But they all pale in comparison to your adventures."

"Maybe..." Shepard did have some crazy stories. He had to admit that it made him feel somewhat of an outsider to most people he met nowadays. How was he supposed to get to know others if the only topic of discussion was about him?

"What was your most intense mission?" Shepard asked, steering the conversation away from him.

"That depends, one time I was doing a recon mission in geth space. I was assigned to do regular patrols there until one day it went the wrong way. Apparently another geth fighter was there doing the same thing and caught me. It ended up with twelve fighter ships versus me. I ended up losing them near a planet's surface heavy with meteoroids. That's where I salvaged the stealth tech for my own fighter."

Shepard laughed lightly, "That's nothing serious?" He asked, recalling Silont's previous words. "That's no small feat. You versus twelve fighters? That is very impressive...very impressive."

"But you stood up to hordes of enemies and giant genocidal flying metal crustaceans. I'm pretty sure you won here."

Shepard laughed, the speaker light flickering almost mad and warping his voice to sound near insane. "W-what?" He managed to gasp before falling into another bout of laughter. "Giant genocidal flying what?" He gasped again. He could feel himself being renewed with energy.

Silont just looked at him amused, "Metal Crustaceans, you know, shellfish animals? The thing reapers resemble?"

"No, no, I understand what you mean. It's just that it's a really funny thing to call them. I like your description, it's funny."

"I have a knack for that. My friends always said that about me when we were younger. Said I was a walking dictionary."

"So I can see."

"Except the word they are actually looking for is a Thesaurus."

Shepard laughed again. He liked this person, he was funny, and seemed to know what he's doing. Although the darker colors do seem to make him less than approachable.

Shepard had to remind himself that he too wore black almost all the time as well. Maybe him and Silont weren't too different.

"What's your plans after we land?"

"Well, I was planning on retiring after the, 'End of the Galaxy,' thing happened. But trouble waits for no one. I'll have to redeploy after we get the basic settling in finished. I'll have to figure out where Chimera is getting their greasy hands on experimental weapons and who is manufacturing them."

Shepard hissed at the name, but maintained his temper. "You're sure that Chimera isn't manufacturing the weapons themselves?"

"I mean it makes sense. They're just a broken faction of mercenaries from Cerberus. I don't think they would have the resources to make those weapons. Even if they did, I don't think they would risk exposing themselves like that. You can make a lot of money off of selling those kinds of things. So I think that they are the buyers, not the sellers."

"What if those Chimera assassin's went rogue, just to get to me?"

"That is a thought. Even though they are an organization, their strings appear fairly loose. That could be a potential complication. I guess I'll just have to track the weapons and see where their head and tail is."

"Head and tail?"

"Sellers and buyers," Silont explained.

"Ah, okay...You can ask our asari Doctor, Liara T'soni for any help you might need," Shepard suggested. "She is the master at finding things out."

"That will be greatly appreciated."

"Anyway...how was your chat with Tali?"

"It was good, I got to show off a couple things I've accumulated over the years. It was a big old trip down memory lane, a lot of nostalgia here and there."

At that moment, Joker came over the intercom in the medbay. "Captain, you better hurry up, we're about to land."

Shepard began to wheel forward until Silont came up behind him and started pushing him. "We'll be there in a moment," Shepard replied to the pilot.

Silont laughed, "Don't you mean wheel be there?"

Shepard groaned. "Please, no. Not another one." Silont only laughed a little more.

It was difficult getting Shepard to the cockpit, with all the bumps and cracks in between the floor grates and plates. By the time they got there, the ship was already hovering just above Rannoch's atmosphere.

"Hey, Shepard," Joker greeted once they arrived.

"You got yourself a welcome wagon," EDI followed up.

"EDI!" Joker snapped angrily. "I wanted to say that!"

To everyone's surprise, EDI actually laughed. "Let's call that payback for making me wear those ridiculous clothes."

Joker looked hurt. "I was trying to be helpful, it was cold! That's no reason to steal my line!"

EDI chuckled some more. "Well, whatever reason there was, we're now even."

Joker only rolled his eyes and motioned his hand towards the window. "Anyways," he groaned, "have a look, Shepard."

Shepard raised himself slightly using his arms to look out the window, he managed a few seconds admiration of the planet before the pain in his stomach overtook him, forcing him to sit down again. From his brief view, he saw thousands upon thousands of ships hovering just above the surface. A welcome wagon, indeed.

"Home, sweet home," he said breathlessly. He was excited, and nervous. So many questions ran through his head at once. Will Tali like living with me? Are we going to get bonded soon? Will she like my gifts?

"Wow, where do we start?"

"One thing at a time, Captain," came Garrus's voice from behind him. "What are you doing outside of the medbay?"

Shepard shrugged. "We're going to land."

Garrus himself also shrugged. "Figured you would wait to get out of the medbay until then."

"Eh, I've been sick or wounded for several months. If I stay in a hospital bed for one more second, I might as well get glued to it."

Garrus nodded in understanding. "Wouldn't that be a treat," he said with a yawn. "Joker, start the landing procedures, the sooner off this ship the sooner we can get away from all the swarming fans."

Joker groaned, "Oh yeah...dang it."

Sadness hit Shepard as he saw Garrus giving orders, but also a small sense of pride. This is it. I'm leaving. He tugged on Garrus's leg and the birdlike alien he only knew as his best friend and brother looked at him questioningly.

"I'm going to miss you, Garrus."

Garrus chuckled, "Don't think you can rid of us that easily. We're staying for your bonding ceremony."

This surprised Shepard. "I don't even know when it will be!"

Garrus chuckled again. "Neither do we. Let's just say that Hackett let us stay for as long as we need. Figured we deserved an extended shore leave."

Shepard tried to rub his eyebrows through his mask. "You realize that could be a couple of months right? Surely you will be needed during that time?"

"If the galaxy starts ending again, maybe. But relax Shepard, we got plenty of time," Garrus replied with a grin. The ship began to descend below the fog of atmosphere, almost like diving underwater. The surrounding ships started to follow along. The altitude continued to drop until the vastness of the planet began to grow and little details on the ground began to pop. Which caused the crew's mouths to drop.

"Wow..." EDI spoke for them.

"No kidding..." Joker agreed.

The geth sure worked hard since the planet returned to the hands of the quarians. Some small towns could be seen flourishing and even a few starting skyscrapers can be seen reaching upwards. But that was not the main spectacle.

There was a center building under construction that was larger than all the others combined, and it shone with an orange glow of the afternoon sun. It looked like a castle of glass, and it was definitely a sight to behold.

"That's the center monument building. It was the first building to begin construction and it serves as a reminder to the troubles and what we went through to set foot upon the homeworld again," Silont said. "It is where the Conclave and Admiralty Board now make their decisions."

"You can house half of the quarian population in that thing!" Joker said.

"It does that, although I wouldn't say that it houses that much," Silont continued. "People needed a place to stay until their houses were built. A few old ships were recycled to make it, and the geth manufactured the glass. The rest of the quarian population are still living in their landed ships, waiting to go through processing, or you know, get recorded into population on the planet."

"Sounds like a party, holding both the government and the civilians in one place," Garrus commented.

"Yeah, those who couldn't wait for their homes decided to take the risk. I can only imagine the amount of debating going on at this very moment."

"Well, let's go find out then," Shepard yawned. He was in a hurry to get on the ground.

He allowed Silont to wheel him to the airlock of the ship. As they came to it he saw Tali leaning against the wall, a little hidden from sight. He could tell she was nervous by her obvious wringing of her hands. I can guess why.

He took a deep breath and sighed, then lifted both of his arms to invite her nearer. She edged closer warily until her legs were next to the wheelchair. With his arms, he wrapped them around her waist and hugged.

"You're not angry?" She prayed.

His helmet rubbed against her side slightly, almost like a cat begging to be petted. "Not angry, just mildly upset," he stated. "But let's not dwell on it anymore now, let's just get home."

He heard Tali sigh with relief and allowed herself to caress the cheekside of his helmet. "Yes, home," she whispered.

It's best to let go of the situation, he thought to himself. I'm technically not the captain of the ship anymore, anyways. Besides, I got work to do...and a crowd of people to avoid. He groaned as he thought that any more possible stress will cause his wounds to reopen.

He felt the ship begin to slow down, and soon enough, the cheering voices of a crowd outside went up. It's what I get for saving a planet.

He had a split second thought of what could have been if their planet was still enslaved by the reapers, or if the quarians and geth never achieved peace. The hope of the quarians continuing life on their homeworld would have been lost forever.

Suck it up, Shepard, let them be happy.

Finally, the ship touched down and sirens for different landing functions started blaring, confirming a safe landing before cutting off.

"Prepare yourselves," Garrus warned as he fell in behind the shore party. The doors opened and a bright light of Rannoch's sun on the setting horizon blinded them before revealing the crowd of people cheering only several feet away from the landing zone. They surrounded the whole ship.

Thankful for some distance, Shepard signed for Silont to let go of his wheelchair and he started rolling himself down the ramp. He saw that there weren't only quarians there to greet him, but also some humans and asari. Smart people.

Thankfully there was a path dividing the crowd for him to get through, but that still didn't stop them from trying to talk or touch Shepard.

Silont, Tali, and Garrus fell in behind him as he rolled through, and off in the distance near the other side of the ship, he could see other crew mates like Liara and Kasumi unloading somewhat secretly from the ship.

I guess everyone has had their fill of cheering. It made sense really. It's been several months since the fate of the Galaxy has been determined, and it felt like a non-stop fame train. They all waved as they passed the fans and started their way towards the center monument building.

Their first order of business was to find out where they were going to live. Tali objected to this at first, telling him that they should wait for everyone else and that she doesn't mind sleeping in the Normandy. Shepard smiled as his first gift to Tali was that he already claimed the spot where they touched down at when they first arrived on Rannoch. The place where she let her imagination roam free and determine a place for a living room window.

He managed to do this before they even left the planet. Of course it was Raan that gave consent, which was difficult, considering that at the time Raan didn't know of their relationship. But he was later informed that the team responsible divvying up land allowed it so. Not only just the piece of land, but also almost the entire beachfront on the coast where Tali and him shared a special moment. Knowing this just made him grin wider. He was thankful for the mask to hide it.

They continued towards the center monument building, it's already massive size only getting bigger as they approached it. Somewhere along the journey, Dyad actually joined in and gave them a ride towards the building. It would have taken a lot longer to get there if it wasn't for him.

They first had to meet Raan there and then they had to find the home registration department. Thankfully, they found them both easily and in the same place.

Raan greeted them when they first entered, and the departments were right there on the first floor. She slapped her hands together excitedly.

"Alright. Let's find you two a home," she said, her bright eyes winking at Shepard. She turned to the quiet quarian woman at the desk who only sat there shocked in disbelief that Rannoch's heroes stood before her.

"Excuse me? We'd like to, 'register,' for a home," Raan said.

The quarian remained silent before Raan snapped her fingers in front of her and asked her question again, although a little bit more impatiently this time. The quarian fell from her trance and started working furiously at the little terminal she had.

"O-o-oh r-r-right. S-sorry to keep y-you w-w-waiting," she sputtered nervously. "Thank the ancestors that I have been blessed with this shift!" She whispered loudly, a little more confident. She peeked over at Shepard, who's head barely reached above the desk. "Don't worry, I already know your name."

She tapped away at the terminal, and seconds later she looked up confused. "It says here that you are already registered and have one house still currently under construction with Tali'Zorah," she announced.

"That's interesting," she then added, whispering to herself, but just loud enough for Shepard to hear. He rolled his eyes...hard. Great, she's a gossiper.

"What? Already?" Tali exclaimed. He watched the look in her eyes shift easily in recognition, and she stooped down to give him a large hug and a tap of the visor.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Shepard tried to tell her that the girl at the desk was watching, but ultimately decided not to spoil her excitement.

"They won't be ready for another few days," said the woman, "Would you like a room until then?"

Shepard shook his head, "No, thanks." The rooms must be cramped, I don't want Tali living like that again.

"Can we go see the construction?" Tali pleaded.

"No, it's a surprise!" Shepard instantly replied with amusement. Tali responded by mildly pouting, an action so cute that it nearly made Shepard's heart melt. "Come on, now that we're set, let's go do something."

However, the gang didn't really do much for the rest of the day. The planet was only just beginning civilization, so it made sense that there was a lack in entertainment around. Most of the time they just saw geth and quarians constructing, and also fans on a lookout for them. They did manage to remain undercover until they got back to the Normandy, where a few people camped about the ship. All of them waiting around to get a glimpse of the one and only Shepard...and his rumored lover.

Despite Rannoch's warm atmosphere, the desert was very beautiful and very different. The sun's small amount of luminosity caused a small low-light that made the days clash between high afternoon blues and sunset oranges. The nearness to the ocean allowed for some cool breezes which were very refreshing, which the crew was very thankful for.

It got dark fairly quickly, though. Even when the sun has not yet touched the horizon, stars could be seen towards the other direction. So Shepard, Tali, and the gang decided to call it a day and huddled into the ship with its crew.

Everyone seemed to have a decent first day of, "Shore Leave," which Shepard and Garrus were both happy to see. After a visit by some of the crew like Liara and Joker, the group headed to the observation deck, the one with the bar. Garrus grabbed himself a bottle of turian brandy and, knowing that Shepard and Tali were still on the challenge, offered some to Silont, who looked sideways awkwardly.

"I, uh, never actually...drank before." Everyone looked at him, somewhat astonished, aside from Dyad, of course. "I think I'll pass."

Garrus shook his head, "Everyone's losing their sense of fun," he said somewhat sadly, and took a small sip. He pointed a finger at the quarian, "I'll get you one day, but not today. I'm exhausted."

"If you're lucky," Silont responded.

The conversation went on well into the night, with several laughs as Garrus continued to slowly get intoxicated...and the nights here were long. Shepard only thought about it when he looked back on the day. "Hey-um...how long is the...uh...days here?" He slurred sleepily.

Tali was prepared, as she learned much about Earth from her months there. She answered rather immediately, "A full rotation cycle is equivalent to 32.3 Earth hours!"

Shepard was about to respond when Garrus shouted, "Then the p-party is only getting started! Haha!" Shepard tried to do some math in his head, but numbers were all mush and he couldn't tell if it took him five minutes or twenty before he came to the conclusion that he's been awake for between fourteen and eighteen hours. "Man...I-I'm tired or s-something," he slurred slightly, bending over his knees while sitting on the couch.

"You do realize a human that has been awake for seventeen to nineteen hours has an equivalent reaction time to having a blood alcohol concentration level of point-zero-five percent, right?" Silont said.

"That doesn't seem like a lot," Tali said. "And how exactly do you know this?" She added, a little intrigued.

"For humans it's actually quite a bit...I think," Silont responded. "and I've had some pretty...uh...unique missions."

"So you're telling me that John can get naturally drunk after only seventeen hours of being awake?"

"I don't know about, 'naturally drunk,' but yeah. Pretty much reactions are similar."

"Wow, and I thought humans we're tough, didn't know they could get knocked out that easy."

"W-what are you blubbering about?" Shepard picked his head up. He was clearly beyond exhausted.

"Nothing, John. I think it's time you went to bed, can you get in the wheelchair?" Shepard only shook his head, he didn't quite hear her right.

"Why would I sleep in the wheelchair? That's ridiculous." Tali glanced at Silont and gave a knowing look, and a very hearty chuckle.

"Let's let him-"

"Ahuuuhhg-guhck. Snooooorrree!"

The three looked at the bird-alien that slumped over the bar, completely knocked out.

Then the laughing ensued, although Shepard did so somewhat maniacally. Silont reworked his sentence after catching his breath, "Let's let them sleep."

With those words, Shepard was out like a light, and though his face was happy, his dreams were disturbed. Then when he woke up in the morning, his exhaustion cleared up instantly when Dyad, who stayed throughout the night, delivered some news. "Project: Bitter Cup is going to wake soon."

Tali rubbed Shepard's shoulder, testing if he was still conscious. He didn't show any signs of it. Smiling, she carefully turned her human fiancé around so his feet could stretch comfortably across the couch, then tapped her visit against his. "Good night," she whispered. She peered into his lightless mask, seeing that his eyes were closed.

"Isn't he just the best?" Tali asked no one in particular. But Silont answered anyway.

"He's very honorable, indeed."

"And he's all mine."

Silence. Tali returned to her own seat. "And then there were three," came Dyad's heavy accent. Both Tali and Silont agreed. This got Tali thinking, and it reminded her of the photo she saw of Silont and the quarian woman in blue.

"What about you? Have you got anyone, Silont?" She noticed him instantly grab his hands in awkwardness.

"A bondmate? Uh...no, I don't."

"Well, forgive me for intruding on your privacy, but I saw that photo of you and that girl with the heart drawing. What's with that?"

He responded surprisingly with a frustrated sigh. "You don't recognize Das? Dasintha'Bokins? One of our old vid-night friends?"

So that's where I recognize her from!

"Das? Wow, she's definitely grown up!" Her young friend definitely did, indeed. The younger and much smaller quarian wore a baby blue with frilly white designs for her child suit. Despite her appearance, she was pretty feisty growing up, but she was just as equally sweet. Now in the photo, she wore cobalt colors with pitch black, more abstract designs. "What has she been up to?"

"Right now she's on a mission scouting for resources in rather dangerous areas of the galaxy."

"Surely we aren't that desperate?"

"You know us, always watching our backs. Admirals figured it was a good idea to find some tech or weaponry to keep us safe while we dismantle our ships and rebuild."

"Couldn't we ask other species?"

"We tried, everyone else is conserving their resources while they rebuild their homeworlds. So they sent Das out to see if she can strike up any deals with the underworld. She's already managed to get a crate of weapons and a high class frigate. Something like the Normandy, but far less advanced."

This was definitely news to Tali. She's been unaware of quarian affairs ever since she's been focusing on Shepard. I really need to get back in the game.

"So...are you two...a thing?" Tali asked finally.

Silont gave a sad chuckle, "For awhile I thought we were, but we never said anything about it. Or I...never said anything about it."

"Well you should, you two look cute in that photo."

"I don't know. We're both on secret service and I don't think a relationship would work in that environment."

"Still, I say give it a shot."

"Thanks, Tayi...Then maybe I could get rid of Dyad here," he gestured to the hulking purple Scandinavian robot standing against the wall.

"What's your problem with him? He seems nice."

"Don't get me wrong, he is a huge help and can even be funny sometimes, but he can't seem to figure out when something can be done alone."

The geth flicked his head flaps to make himself seem somewhat surprised. "We're tasked together, so we complete our missions together," he chirped gruffly. "Otherwise there would be no point in our partnership."

Silont leaned over to whisper in Tali's audio receiver, "I think he's just clingy."

Tali responded also with a whisper, "Hey, at least you're not alone."

"I think I might actually prefer that."

"Apologies, is this significant drop in audio volume supposed to indicate that I am not meant to know this exchange of data?"

Silont groaned his response, "Yes, Dyad."

"Recent Memory Wipe complete."

A pause, and Silont sighed. "How are you fitting into Rannoch?" He questioned, propping his knee up and hugging his leg.

"Very well, having a house already in construction is exciting. I can't wait to see it, to feel it, to touch it."

"Creator-Zorah, if you are interested, I could help you boost your immune system," Dyad interrupted. "That is if you would like to exit your suit sooner. Other quarians have already gone through with similar procedures."

Tali nodded, "Yes, yes, so I heard." She was reminded of her conversation back in Engineering with Shepard right after they made peace with the geth. Despite the fact that she longed to be out of her suit completely without risking her health, she was in no hurry to get to that point. She was more interested in seeing how well her people were settling into the planet, as well as thinking about her new engagement with the sleeping human near her.

Speaking of that human, Tali remembered a small joke that passed between their conversation that day. The one about John being the only one that got into her suit. It was just a flirty joke, but it was one that still outlined her preferences. She didn't like the idea of someone poking around her body, even if it was just an A.I.

"I would rather a...non-sentient upload of the procedure to my suit, if that's possible."

"Understood, programming can undergo development shortly."

"Thanks," Tali yawned. "I myself am getting tired." The thought of feeling the desert sand on the bare skin of her feet excited her, but the excitement drained her energy.

"You should sleep," Silont proposed, then yawned himself. "I would, too. But I have to turn in my report for the night...Stay here, Dyad, I'll be back."

"Okay, have fun, Si," Tali yawned again.

"Will try," he said simply.

With a couple steps of Silont's boots, Tali fell asleep, her arm laying towards Shepard, her fingers barely resting on him.