"For the Savior of the Galaxy, he doesn't seem all too bright."
The former quarian admiral Rael'Zorah spent most of his time sitting in his room surfing the extranet, studying the news of Shepard's past accomplishments in winning the war with the reapers. He couldn't help but be astounded and amazed at what the commander managed to pull off.
The krogan genophage cured? Peace between the krogans, turians, and salarians? A living Prothean seen in Shepard's company? Cerberus is, for certain...no more?
Rael had to admit that as much as these topics interested him, nothing stuck out to him more than how he managed to get the quarian homeworld, his world, back from the clutches of the geth and the reapers. He tried to analyze each headline to the best of his ability, looking for any new information relating to Rannoch's liberation. He wasn't all to thrilled, however. He didn't like the idea of peace between the geth and the quarians. He was still uneasy even when Randy, the geth robot most likely stationed outside to watch him, came in with the terminal that allowed him to surf the extranet in the first place.
The thing that really piqued Rael's curiosity and made him come to his previous conclusion about Shepard, were the pop culture headlines that seemingly vanished each time he tried to access them. That damned geth must be locking me out.
The headlines that Rael kept trying to access were the ones that involved Shepard and his daughter. The headlines were written in a click bait fashion so he couldn't quite understand what it was all about, other than the articles kept randomly disappearing. He did manage to get a glimpse of a picture of his daughter walking alongside Shepard, however, before it was gone. The two were hugging next to a river, but it didn't really tell him much. What told him a lot more was when Rael first laid eyes on Shepard when he first wheeled in to see him a few days prior. The one detail that stuck out to him like a sore thumb.
His suit.
Specifically, the fabric. He spent most of the time talking to Shepard just looking at it. Studying it. Wondering whether he should be suspicious or disgusted. For the fabric that was woven into Shepard's suit had his clan patterns all over it. The white whorls mixing with the red cloth and draped over his black armor. It wasn't something you simply find on a bartering deck, it had to be crafted. He looked like a long lost cousin that came out of that human N7 program. This is most intriguing.
Rael also found out about an attack on Shepard on the Citadel. He remembered asking him about why he was in an enviro-suit, but the hybrid answered him in the form of the recorded press conference. Your health was a sacrifice, huh? Rael didn't want to jump to any conclusions, but he found it very hard to believe that his health was so bad to the point that he needed an enviro-suit.
Let's see, first he takes my daughter into his crew, he keeps the Zorah name safe, he regains our homeworld, and takes an enviro-suit with my clan patterns all over it...what, because he felt kind?
Rael had to admit he desperately hoped it wasn't what he thought it was. If it was...well, he wasn't sure quite how to take it.
He tried his best to tear his thoughts away and keep his focus on the recording of Shepard's press conference. It wasn't easy, considering the fact that he could see his old friend Shala'Raan standing in the background next to a turian and, of course, his own daughter, wringing her hands. Thank goodness she's okay. Rael could've asked about Tali, but he couldn't bring himself to do so, the captain's appearance seemed to stop up his trust in him.
Rael, turning his attention back to the terminal, couldn't help but notice that his daughter wasn't doing the same wringing of hands in nervousness, but rather a fumbling. She was sort of toying with the last finger on her left hand, twisting and turning yet somehow seeming to glide. It seems her nervous habit has evolved.
The former quarian admiral continued to watch until he could see his daughter suddenly jump in front of Shepard. The screen turned black shortly afterwards despite there being a couple minutes left.
What happened? Is that when the attack started? Is Tali okay?
He quickly scanned the article that was attached to the recording, looking for any signs of casualties at the attack. It wasn't until the end of the article that he found what he was looking for.
"The attacker was identified as Jordan Carry. Witnesses at the scene noticed the Cerberus insignia on the attackers armor, only colored red instead of orange, leading officials to believe that Cerberus truly has evolved into a new terrorist organization known as Chimera, as the attacker has claimed to originate from.
"The attack has seemingly left our Savior of the Galaxy and first human Spectre, Shepard, in critical condition as well as the quarian, Tali'Zorah, in his company. But reports from his ship's medical doctor, Dr. Chakwas, has stated that the quarian will make a full and immediate recovery, while Shepard will need to take the necessary time to heal. The possibility of a full recovery is unknown at this time."
Rael grimaced. His daughter has taken shots before, so it wasn't new for her or him. But the article stating that her injuries were seemingly, "critical," didn't really make him feel better. But he was glad to see that she was reported as fine. In most circumstances, he would even go as far as being proud of her for putting herself in harms way to protect her captain. But given recent events and suspicious details, he wasn't so sure if he could say he was proud.
Humans are such a primitive species. I remember first hearing about them when I was just a young man. The humans just barely touching the stars. I must admit however that they are smart, resilient, and very, very adaptable. It was very difficult for him to like humans. For centuries, his kind had to drift upon open space while this new race got a chance at everything the quarians were denied. But he still couldn't help but respect them. After all, they managed to make a person like Shepard to rescue the galaxy and return his homeworld.
Rael's thoughts were terribly mixed.
He wasn't a particularly emotional man, but being confused about how he should feel just made him very frustrated. Words stuttered through his thoughts but he couldn't manage to make anything coherent. He tried to bring himself to the certain idea of Tali and Shepard being, "close," but he just couldn't allow it. Not until it smacks me in the visor.
Speaking of which.
The resurrected quarian closed out of the terminal and went to get himself dressed for the day. Since being brought back from the dead, Rael had become more accustomed to the room he was stationed in and almost all of its secrets.
Asides from the wall that slid away to become a window, there was also another part of the wall that slid away to a compartment with a washing and drying machine, with everything else needed for suit maintenance like polish and a spray to help clean his visor. Rael didn't really like how fancy his room was, he could think of a million ways the room could be better utilized for the good of the quarian people. But it didn't mean he wouldn't take advantage of everything at his disposal for as long as he was there.
He opened the compartment and took out the cloth wrappings from the drying machine and the rubber head casing that hung above. Setting both items down, he inspected his blue visor that rested on top of the washing machine. It was cleaned so well that he could see his own reflection clearly on the surface. He was admiring his work so much that he nearly jumped when the door at the far end of the room opened. He ended up dropping the wrappings and the head casing.
"Creator Zorah? Sorry to intimidate you once more, but I have something of interest to you."
Rael couldn't help but stare at the dust colored geth while it cautiously came into the room with something in its claws. Randy was actually rather small for a geth, but he was still taller than Rael and it was enough to make him seem imposing. Especially when Rael didn't have any weapons as his disposal.
Even if I did have some sort of weapon, I'm not sure if I would stop myself from prying its head off its shoulders. I still don't trust it completely. He simply gave the geth a steely glare, forgetting his face wasn't covered.
"Shepard-Captain had tasked me in making sure you felt as comfortable as possible. I noticed you still seem uneasy, so I have procured the rest of your enviro-suit. I thought it might make you feel better to see something familiar as well as something known to keep you safe."
Rael didn't respond as the geth set the suit down on the couch in front of the vid screen.
"If you'd like, you can customize your suit using the armor locker."
Rael was surprised as another sliding mechanism activated on the opposite wall from him and exposed a fully functional and state of the art armor locker in between his bed and the aquarium, its orange holographic display up and ready to use.
How many more secrets are held within this room? This armor locker is probably so expensive it could buy us enough parts to make the Rayya work like new! He scoffed in his his thoughts. An armor locker...Keelah, what need of I for vain cosmetics?
The conversation took a pause and the Randy geth bounced on its feet impatiently, seeming to be waiting for some response from Rael, who still just stood there, not knowing exactly what to do but wait for the geth to leave.
"Well, are you going to try it on, Creator Zorah?"
Rael still didn't respond, but after realizing the geth wasn't going to be budged by silence, he cautiously neared the couch. He didn't even take the chance to look at his suit as his arms reached down on the couch and felt around for it. He just kept staring straight at the tall robot, eyes narrowed.
He picked up the pieces of the suit as carefully as he could, recognizing their parts by touch alone. It was only when he felt like he had everything in his arms that he committed to doing the one thing he never thought he would ever do in all his life, and that was talk to the death machine in front of him known as geth.
"Am I supposed to get ready with you watching?"
"Ah, my apologies Creator Zorah. Visual feedback will be temporarily offline," Randy replied. The little mechanisms in its metal head began to swirl and the metallic tendrils began to cover the flashlight.
Of course the light in geth heads weren't exactly flashlights, but photoreceptors, covering it was the equivalent to shutting one's eyes.
Rael still wasn't exactly comforted by this, but he pulled himself away anyways and quickly got out of his clothes to start putting on his suit.
It took him awhile to put on the different pieces of his suit. Quarians never had the resources for proper maintenance so they usually never took them off unless absolutely necessary, which were in most cases if not all cases involving procreation and childbirth. So Rael usually had his lifemate help him put it back on.
Getting into his suit by himself was still as foreign to him as an adolescent child receiving theirs for the first time.
He took notice to how clean each piece was. The white armor was well polished and smoothed but still humbly bore its battle scratches and tan highlights. His belts and pouches were clean enough for its red colors to stand vibrant, and of course, his dark admiral wrappings of black aside from his normal red stood out like a shadow. Not a speck of dust could be seen in its threads. Rael looked at the geth who still had its eye closed.
Don't think that this makes me trust you, you metal bastard.
Rael then took to the armor locker. He stepped back when a scanning machine activated and began to look him up and down. A moment later and a three dimensional holographic model of Rael himself appeared alongside multiple options. The options mainly involved color and texture considering there weren't any other kind of armor to be used.
Rael pondered on this. He didn't like the idea of modifying the suit that was so well well known to the quarian people in the past years. But then again, I can't risk anybody potentially recognizing me if I ever manage to get out of here.
"Creator Zorah, you have been getting ready for quite some time. Are you not yet deemed...appropriate?"
He had forgotten about the geth, but something told him to keep the robot blind. "Er, not yet. Just came across some issues."
"Do you require assistance?"
"I'm not yet appropriate, geth!"
"I did mean to cause you to be upset. I will continue to keep my visual feedback offline for your comfort."
He shook his head in annoyance and got to work on a color scheme. His first thoughts were to simply pick opposite colors, but he felt that might be too obvious, so he decided on going halfway by making his armor gray, his belt and pouches a dark green, and his wrappings a dull brown. Once chosen, the scanning machine did quick work to print the new colors on.
The simpler the better. I think I might blend well in a crowd like this.
Admiring the new scheme, the armor locker then switched to another task. The holographic image of Rael enlarged and began highlighting certain parts on his body. It looked like a medical report.
Rael inspected the highlights, reading what it had to say. Gunshot wounds to the hip, shoulders, and side abdomen. Infection spread. Cause of Death: Geth. Obviously.
Rael was reminded of his final moments before the geth tore down the door and gunned him down. He could feel the spots of impact the report had indicated. Rael continued searching as he saw more of the Lazarus Project reports come in.
Enhancements...cybernetics...boosted immune system? That's interesting...ah, here, body handling?
Infection cleaned before burial. Body preservation in grave? An honorable Admirals funeral? A waste of resources! I'm the cause of my own death, anyhow! Damn it!
Rael felt the hot guilt down his spine. He didn't belong on Rannoch, among the people that his crew should be with. He was a failure to the quarian people. He didn't deserve to be among them. But he had to make sure his daughter was okay as the reports said she was. He could ask Shepard, but he didn't trust him quite yet. He had to get out. He stopped looking at the reports and started thinking.
Now what to do about that geth.
The former admiral turned towards the geth while the door to the armor locker moved quickly and almost closed on his hand. It made him jump a bit...but it also gave him an idea.
"I don't mean to be cause of annoyance, Creator Zorah, but are you finished yet?"
"Ah yes, but I require assistance with the armor locker."
The Randy robot peeled back the metallic tendrils from its photoreceptors and looked down at Rael. It's head fins opened up in what seemed like a perplexed fashion.
"Creator Zorah, did you mean to surprise me? I'm sorry to disappoint but I do not apply value to cosmetic appearance. I simply do not know by organic means if you look g-"
"Shut up. That is not the assistance I require."
"Then what is the assistance you require?"
Rael rolled his eyes underneath his visor and opened the door to the armor locker. Thinking quickly, he messed with the wires for the haptic controls to the door.
"There seems to be some technical malfunctions in here and I'm not quite sure what it is, do you think you can figure it out?"
"Certainly, let me have access."
The mischievous quarian turned away and let the geth put its arm in the doorway of the armor locker, feeling around for any issues. Meanwhile, Rael smirked to himself and backed up, resting upon the controls, and causing the door to slam shut onto the geth's arm.
Rael had to admit, he expected the geth to shout in pain in its gargled clicks of geth language, but all it simply did was turn its head towards him. "I see...this is most unfortunate."
The geth attempted to tug his arm free from the door, with unsuccessful results. "Do you think you can reopen the door?"
Rael, already knowing that it would not open, feigned at being confused and tried to get it to work. "It doesn't seem to be opening. Hold on...I will go get help." He turned towards the exit on the other side of the room.
"No need, Creator Zorah, I will simply hack into the door's-"
"Don't worry, Randy, I'm sure there is someone around that can get you free. Give me a second." Rael didn't waste another moment as he rushed to the door and closed it behind him. Ignoring the geth's words that followed him out.
"Creator Zorah! You are supposed to stay strictly within this room! It is too dangerous, someone could recognize-"
The geth's voice faded out as he ran down the short corridor that only his room was a part of. At the end was another door and Rael was quick to open it to get to the other side.
He didn't know what to expect, but the last thing he ever expected was the immediate outdoors. His feet vaulted off the front steps and his boots sunk into the desert sand. He instantly spun around, still stepping away, in order to see if the geth itself had also managed to escape early.
Woah.
Rael noticed that the room wasn't just any room in a building. His room was the building. Hauled up on a platform like a research facility. He could never tell because the window in his room never opened, so he couldn't look around.
He remembered that after about some time, that window tortured him, being able to see the outside but not be in it.
But now he was, and despite being able to look outside all day, the shock of being outdoors finally was tremendous. For he never saw anything like the almost fifty thousand ships hanging in the atmosphere. It left no room for admiration...just...shock.
But now was not the time, the geth could free itself at any moment and there was no doubt that it would start chasing after him. He scanned his surroundings and was delighted to see a geth hovercraft parked next to the building in the shade.
Rael cursed the geth under his breath as he struggled to climb in on top. He had to remind himself that it's been practically years since he did any serious physical activity. But it didn't matter now that he was alive and actively escaping.
Before he dropped down into the hovercraft, he noticed that upon the horizon plateau was something shining brightly, hovering above it was a rather large collection of the ships that seemed to be mostly concentrated. Rael didn't know what it was but it was a better destination than picking a random direction and driving off aimlessly.
He leaped into the driver's seat and the controls lit up for his use. The hovercraft didn't have any windows, but the controls displayed a sort of map. He was surprised at how fast the hovercraft sped off as he jabbed the area of the map where he believed the shining thing on the horizon was.
Immediately after recovering from his speedy departure, Rael climbed up to the top to the hatch to check again if the geth had managed to break free from his doorway trap and had given pursuit, but also to make sure he wasn't going to crash into any rock formations as the hovercraft drove on.
As expected, the escaping, brought back to life, and former quarian admiral could see the figure of the geth known as Randy waiting in the spot where the hovercraft was parked before it was commandeered. It gave no chase, however, as there was no way it could manage to catch up to him without a vehicle of its own. So it just stood there, its headflaps stuck out in every direction.
So long, bosh'tet. He smirked to himself as he watched the figure of the geth and the room grow smaller and smaller as the distance increased.
It was only now that Rael could admire the desert scene that surrounded him. It would be a short while before he would reach the shining thing in the distance, so any chance to see the homeworld for the first and probably his last time had to be now.
The world was just as the poems described...
He felt another rush of guilt. More should be here. The crew of the Alarei should be here. I am the reasons for their deaths. If the admirals didn't exile and brand me a criminal posthumously, then I will exile myself. Justice shall be served one way or another.
After perhaps more than a half hour of dwelling on his past mistakes, the road dipped slowly down from the plateau and became a path down a cliffside. After a turn in the road, Rael saw what the shining thing was.
A tall, gleaming building made of glass, and beyond that, what was hidden by the cliff, was a city under construction. Even further than that was an ocean glistening in the sun. It was a little oasis of life. Like Rannoch's name entails, "A walled garden."
The hovercraft took a few more minutes on the cliffside path before it reached level ground with the building. The closer the building came into view, the more Rael realized just how large it really was, and it was still under construction. This is one marvelous feat of engineering. I wonder how many people are in there.
The hovercraft came up from behind the building and the sides of its wings towards the front. Here there was plenty of transports that could be seen parked out front, and even a fancy looking blue shuttle. Rael had to jump down into the driver's seat once more in order to stop the hovercraft from overshooting the building. It came careening to a halt and he was thrown around in his seat. "Oof!"
"Hey! You alright in there?"
Rael shook his head and crawled to the top hatch once more, forcing it open again after the sudden stop. He peered out and off to the side of the hovercraft was a quarian civilian standing on the sidewalk, a tilt to their head as they inspected the hovercraft.
"Yeah!" Rael stopped himself as he realized his normal voice came out of his mouth. He wasn't sure if he ever met this specific quarian, or if anyone would recognize him after almost a couple years of being deceased. But hey, he figured better safe than sorry.
"Er, yeah!" He said, putting a little bit more compression in his voice. "Geth transports, difficult to drive, am I right?"
"I bet, man! Where's your buddy that drives it?"
"Buddy? I mean, uh, it's having a few er...issues. I don't have my own transport so I had to take this one in order to get help for it."
"It, huh? I'm still getting used to the idea myself. Anyways, if you really want to help your pal, the Geth House is just back over there along the river." The civilian pointed with his thumb behind him off to the side of the ocean. "Keep going and you'll get there, can't miss it."
"Thank you, but I need to take a stop first. I'm a little new around here, I just recently uh..." Rael scanned his surroundings, hurriedly thinking of an excuse for not knowing where he was. His eyes happened upon the ship littered skies and immediately got an idea.
"Got down to the surface from..." He pointed upwards, searching for words that was lost on him. "You know, from space. Do you think you can help me?"
"Ah, finally groundside, huh? What do you need help with exactly?"
"Just getting the feel for the area, what's this building?"
The civilian gave another confused tilt to his head. "What, this building behind me? The monument building? Have you not been through processing?"
Rael scratched his helmet nervously, thinking on his feet to the best of his ability. "I know of it," he lied. "But I'm still a little foggy on the details."
The civilian folded their arms and Rael was frightened of the idea that the civilian might be seeing through his bluff. "Well I'm no tour guide. But this big ass mega structure of glass behind me is where all the government officials and people just landing go to."
Damn it.
The civilian then tilted their head towards the other side. "I'm surprised. I didn't know the government was finally allowing ships to land wherever now. If you ask me, they should've done that from the start. It was a pain in the ass trying to get through processing when I first landed, with restricted ship placements and all that...Where'd your ship land at? Are you here for processing now?"
It was Rael's turn to point with his thumb near his shoulder over towards the cliffs, but not before he gave a huge sigh of relief that his cover was still holding up. "Uh yeah, over in that direction...and yes, I am here for processing."
The civilian looked towards where Rael's thumb was pointing towards the cliffs and uncrossed his arms.
"Interesting place for a shiptown, but hey, if it covers more ground and gets more people groundside, then I'm all for it. It's gonna get pretty hot out there in the desert, though. Anyways, if you need help with processing, just talk to the cute girl at the front desk. She'll get you sorted out and recorded into the surface population."
"Right, thank you, sir!"
"No problem, man! And good luck!"
Relieved, Rael hopped off of the hovercraft and did his best to casually stroll towards the front doors. He glanced over the lot of sorry looking quarian transports along with a few better geth ones. It was only when he reached the front corner of the lot did he remember the blue shuttle. Upon inspection, he noted the human symbol plastered on the side. Must be about Shepard. He shook his head in annoyance and continued for the door.
Before opening, he took one last glare at the shuttle. I'm going to figure out what you're doing, human. He opened the door and was taken by surprise as someone accidentally knocked into him.
"Hey, excuse me-!" He exclaimed as he took a single step back to assess who it was that crashed into him. Looking upwards he noticed it was a small woman in very dark muddy green and red colors, she looked different since the last time he saw her, but the way she held herself was instantly recognizable. "Shala!"
The woman took a moment to steady her footing. "Oops! I'm sorry, I did not realize the door was opening!" Rael's mouth was agape at the odds of running into his old friend at the front door, and how bad he thought of the situation he was in. He was even more surprised when two humans, one hobbling, rushed to her side from the doorway along with a feminine robot that wasn't like any geth that he had ever seen. He took a few steps back, fearful of what might happen if Shala knew instantly who she ran into.
"Admiral Raan!" came the voice of the hobbling human. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Flight Lieutenant Moreau. Accidentally ran into this man here," she replied, motioning towards Rael.
"Please, Admiral, it's just Joker to you."
Shala replied sweetly in her normal, soft, motherly tone. "Alright, Joker. Thanks for coming by to offer your services. Now you must be off, I'm sure you'll have a busy day tomorrow."
"Sure thing, I promise I'll be back to help out."
"That is if your mission doesn't take too long."
The human named Joker gave a small laugh, "With Shepard? It will be a breeze."
"I admire your optimism. Now, the sooner you go the sooner you get back. Stay safe."
"Sure thing, Admiral. Come on Cortez, EDI. Let's get going."
Rael just stood there as all of this happened. Shepard? Mission? He kept standing there wondering what was going on as the two humans and the robot walked off towards the shuttle, hearing their fading conversation.
"You seem to be getting awfully close to the Admiral, Joker," said the one human who wasn't hobbling, the one Rael guess was named Cortez.
"Well yeah, she's sort of like another mom. I'd hate to see something bad happen to her."
"It almost seemed like you were trying to pull some moves," teased Cortez.
"You're kidding, on an...older...quarian admiral? On Shepard's future Aunt-In-Law? Dude, that's just on so many levels of messed up!"
"I would have broken Jeff's legs if that were the case," came the robot.
"Not funny, EDI!"
Rael still stood there, a part of him wondering what the hell the humans were talking about, and a part of him sitting there wondering what to do next. Admiral Raan also stood there, but unlike Rael, her gaze followed the humans to their shuttle. It was only when they gotten far enough away that she turned her attention back to the person in front of her.
"Ignore them, they're...different...So, can I help you with anything, sir?"
Rael made an extra effort to compress his voice. "Uh no ma'am, I mean Admiral...Admiral Raan...ma'am!"
Shala gave a small laugh as Rael tripped over his words. "Relax, dear. I'm not too big on formalities like the other Admirals...Please, go on in. I have some very important things to do as well."
Rael only replied by giving a short nod, and was quick to sidestep the Admiral over to the entrance, eager to get out of her sight.
"Be careful with any more doors!" Rael heard her joke behind him as the door closed. He didn't waste time to respond and just moved his feet as fast as he could inside. That is too damn close! Too...damn...close!
He allowed himself a few moments breath as his eyes took on the inside of the busy building. He found himself in a very clean lobby where people circulated through to get to their destinations. In fact, there was just enough people for him to dodge every few seconds. He noticed that in the center of the lobby was a front desk divided into cubicles with a few ladies with different tasks, each with a certain department highlighted over their heads and a few lines of people waiting in front of them for appointments or information.
Behind the desks were elevators, and off to the sides were the ground trams to the wings, but Rael didn't care for those. He immediately ducked his way through the people to the little clearing where the front desk was. He noted the departments highlighted above the heads of the ladies involved home registration, processing, job listings, necessity acquisitions, and general information. All of the lines were filled to some extent except for the processing line. I don't think any ships were supposed to land today.
Rael stood there frustrated. This was his best shot at finding any relevant information on his daughter, and he needed to do it without seeming suspicious. He didn't want to risk going through processing in case no ships were meant to land, and judging from the civilian he met outside, ships had to strictly wait for their turns.
He also couldn't just ask about his daughter as he didn't even know what state she was in exactly. It would be rather odd for an unknown person to ask for the daughter of a former admiral if she was stuck in a hospital, or in any situation really. She could be in deep space for all I know, and I don't exactly have an idea to what her reputation is like nowadays.
Rael sat there pondering on how he should could go about this. The quickest option was through processing, and he needed to mention his daughter indirectly in order to hopefully draw out information. It wasn't the woman's job, but a friendly conversation might just get him what he needed.
The disguised quarian stood there, thinking, and surprisingly, an idea came to him rather quickly. He strode over to the woman as confidently as he could. Her head perked up.
"Are you here for the next ship, sir?"
"Ah no, just checking out the place."
"Well, notify anyone here if you come across any need for help." Her head looked down, returning to her work.
Rael turned as he leaned his back confidently against the desk. Allowing a small pause before continuing the interaction.
"You know, I hear the daughter of the Admiral Rael'Zorah, Tali, helped in designing this place, I don't know for sure, though."
The young woman once again lifted her head, a curious look in her eyes at this random person who decided to strike up a conversation with her. "Well, it was mostly the geth, but I wouldn't doubt it if Admiral Zorah had some hand in its design."
It was Rael's turn to look curious. "But the old Admiral has been dead for almost a couple years? He couldn't have designed any buildings when we were still adrift in space?"
The woman's eyes now drew away from curious to confused. "I know. I meant the Admiral Zorah now, his daughter?"
I'm mishearing things. Rael shrugged his thoughts away, his planned conversation falling apart. Whatever, I need to get to the bottom of this. "Er...yeah, what is she up to nowadays, anyways?"
"She's currently in a few meetings with the other Admirals. Why? Do you need to speak with her? She's not going to be in tomorrow so you might want to schedule with your ship captain sometime afterwards."
Absolutely not, I just need to make sure she's doing alright. "Uh, maybe later. Do you know if or when she gets out later today? It's important, but I don't want to disrupt her."
"Are you an old friend of hers?"
"I guess you could say something like that."
The response did not seem to please the young woman at all as her eyes suddenly narrowed to a slight degree, her voice began to lose its welcoming tone.
"I don't know about when she gets out, but if you really need to catch her after her meetings. You can probably take it up with Captain Shepard. Normally Miss Admiral Zorah would go to the Normandy after business, but I highly doubt you'll be able to catch her while she's there without proper...clearance...But if you are that desperate. I last heard Captain Shepard was at Miss Admiral Zorah's house helping with its construction. He can help you meet her."
My Tali...already has a house...under construction?
"Uh, yes. Can I get directions?"
The young woman glared suspiciously as she opened her omni-tool and sent the coordinates over to Rael. "May I please have your name, sir? I'm sure Miss Admiral Zorah would like to know about this when I see her."
"Oh, that won't be necessary. I'll be meeting her later today, I'm sure of it."
"Oh please," the young woman said in a cold, sweet voice, "I'm sure Miss Admiral Zorah would love to know which old friend of hers is waiting to meet her, now if you please...name?"
Rael began to sweat nervously under his helmet. She's catching on...damn it! Rael's head grew hot and his mind raced. He couldn't even possibly begin to think of a way out of it, so he relented and did his best to think of any random name. Hopefully she forgets it! "Uh...Rora."
"Rora...?"
"Zoraal! Um, I mean...Rora'Zoraal...t-that's my name."
"Interesting, I'll be sure to let her know that you're expecting her if I see her."
Please don't let that happen! Rael swiftly checked his omni-tool for the coordinates, and took a couple steps back and left without another word. Eager to get away from the woman.
Damn it, damn it, damn it! He didn't even want to think what could go wrong as he did his best to act casual and exit the building, taking long strides towards the geth hovercraft. Even after he got into the vehicle and punched in the coordinates, he didn't stop thinking of the two words damn and it.
It took him a few minutes to try and cool from the stress and think about the newfound information that he was given. He still couldn't believe much of the words that were said, or implied. My little Purple Rose of Rannoch is an Admiral? But she's far too young? And she already has a house under construction? Oh Keelah...What happened?
Although he already was on the way to his daughter's supposed house under construction, he debated whether if he should turn back and go to his room on the desert plateau with the robot geth known as Randy. But the idea of seeing his daughter's house that was getting built without his help nagged at the back of his skull. He wanted to see it, the place where the Savior of the Galaxy was picking up his slack, his broken promise. But what if Shepard really is there? How would he react to my escape?
Get a hold of yourself, you're the Rael'Zorah! No human should sway you. You got information, now you just need to confirm it with him.
But his thoughts did not so easily quell how he felt. So as he paid no attention to the small crowd that surrounded the Normandy ship as he passed by, he began to wonder if he would regret leaving his room back in the desert. It would be something he would have to find out later as he continued to his daughter's house.