Chapter 56: ...Shame On Me

Jack heard the groaning sneeze as he made his way to the drive core room in engineering. Tali was already a little sick before kissing Garrus in the truth or dare game, surely that didn't make it any better. He was worried about her but, he thought she knew what her limits were. That was until he got her request to join them on the mission to get the IFF. She was dedicated to stopping the Collectors, which he appreciated, just when it wasn't at the expense to her health. Maybe being around Kal gave Tali a sense of invincibility? Her attitude wasn't like this on the original Normandy so, it had to do with something that happened to her recently. His concern was that due to her exile, Tali felt like throwing her life away. As a friend, Jack wasn't going to let that happen if he could help it.

Rael's voice was gentle, "Have just one more sip of the tea please, it'll make you feel better."

He swore that he was never going to forget the strange sight in front of him. Legion was holding a cup of tea with a straw coming out of it for Tali to drink, except it really wasn't Legion. They had the same body but, when Rael's AI was in control, his movements were more organic. If there had been a holographic overlay of a Quarian on top of Legion, Jack would've been partly convinced that Rael himself was standing there. Jack hadn't even known the man when he was alive and yet, he knew those had to be his movements, he couldn't imagine how hard this was on Tali. The father you loved trapped inside the synthetic you hated above everything else in the entire galaxy. She would most likely get used to it, but not in the first couple days when she was on a self destructive spiral.

Tali glared at the cup, followed by the green optical sensor, "I have work to do on the drive core dad and then...ACHOO! Then I have to get ready to help...Ahhh...Shepard."

Rael let his stern voice take over, "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, your going nowhere acting like this. You have an internal temperature of 103 degrees! Please, no matter what I did, please stop being exactly like your mother and drink this."

The fact she had such a high fever, for a Quarian, made Jack want to lift her over his shoulder and carry her to the medbay without debate. She not only was a lot sicker than she let on to any of them but, she was still working on top of that. Why was she hiding the fact that she was sick from them? The Normandy had a state of the art medbay and Chakwas was more than used to taking care of Quarians by now so that couldn't be it. Did she just not really care? Or was she punishing herself because of what happened on the Alarei? Most employers wouldn't care and applaud the 'work until you drop' mentality Tali was showing off right now but, Jack wasn't most employers. Between Garrus, Saren, Kenneth, Gabby, and now Legion with Rael, they had plenty of engineers to work the drive core while Tali got some rest. He would strap her to the medbay bed himself if he had to.

Jack tried to be polite but, had his Commanders voice, "Tali, I want you to finish whatever your doing and then drink some of that. When your done, report to Chakwas to have a look at you."

Tali looked at the floor before tapping a few buttons to shut down her terminal, "I...yeah your right. I already know it's an infection though. I took a hit at Hock's estate and I didn't sterilize it properly." She ended with a string of coughs.

Rael's tone was one of disappointment as he grabbed her shoulder, "Tali...you knew you had an infection and didn't say anything? You know what happened to-"

Legion took over retreating from her, "According to Rael's memory banks, Creator Caro'Zorah was killed by an infection distributed by...young Creator Zorah. She never sought treatment fearing her daughter would blame herself."

Tali stared at him, her eyes dull, "Yeah I know dad.."

Jack gave her a concerned expression, "What happened?"

Tali looked anywhere but either of them, "I was four...my class had an art project involving scissors. I took them home and ran around with them like a bosh'tet. I accidentally got a cut on mom's leg." She took a shuddering breath, "I don't think dad, ever forgave me."

Rael pulled her into a hug, "That's why you won't talk to me...? Oh Tali, of course I forgave you. I just haven't known how to show it. I forgive you my ad'ika."

He knew that definitely wasn't the actual reason Tali had been avoiding 'Rael' but, it was nice to see them hug and bond. The ancestor AI was going to give them another chance that the real Quarian Admiral might not have ever of given her. At first, he thought the fact that the AI wasn't a perfect representation of the original being would be a problem. Now, Jack saw the benefit of the AI taking liberties when necessary, it helped heal old wounds in a family. Maybe that's the reason the Quarians created the ancestor AI in the first place. Jack just hoped that Rael would still be able to help them with the Reapers, even with his new imperfections.

Tali sniffled squeezing on Legion tightly, "I...ok dad." She let go while turning her head towards Jack, "Could you just...do me a favor and not tell Garrus? He already blames himself for enough as it is and I don't want him to carry this around."

So that was the reason Tali kept the illness to herself up until now. Much like her mother before her, Tali wanted to keep someone she cared for from having to experience that kind of guilt. She was right to say Garrus had gone through hell and back but, he suspected it was also convenient for Tali not to say anything. Their blossoming romance would screech to an immediate halt if Tali told him she was really sick because of him. He wanted to remind her that if she had not gotten any treatment and died, Garrus would've felt much worse but she already knew that. Still, she needed to learn not to repeat the exact same mistake as her mother so he had to do something.

He bowed his head, "Tell you what, we're about to go into a Reaper so I'm not going to say anything, but when we get back you have to tell him. He'll see you in the medbay anyways because your going to take as much time off there as Chakwas orders. Deal?"

She started slowly making her way to the elevator, "Alright..thank you Jack."

Jack gave her a semi stern glance, "And Tali? Don't ever keep something like this to yourself again. I'm not going to lose one of my only best friends right now."

The elevator door shut with Legion's green flashlight staring at him, "Thank you Commander, a Quarian Admiral wouldn't have cared about my Tali like that."

He bit back something sarcastic only to nod, "We're family on this crew Rael, I don't like losing family members."

Joker jumped in on the comm, "Commander, we've entered the system and are approaching the temple of doo- I mean the Reaper research site. Better get ready for a drop."

Jack waited for a few seconds before tapping the elevator button again, "Copy that Joker, on my way."

Legion stepped up along his flank, "Shepard-Commander, I have calculated that you have a thirty percent increase to your success chances if you allow me to accompany you. Seeing as how I have already explored one of the old ones interiors, I should be able to guide you to the objective."

Seeing as Legion was already holding his rifle, Jack just let him onboard the elevator, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

When they reached the command deck, Miranda, Mordin, Kal, Garrus, and Saren were all already waiting for them. He was tempted to tease Miranda about the awkward meeting he had with Feron they had this morning but, ultimately thought against it. They didn't have the same type of relationship that he and Garrus or Tali had. For what it was worth, she didn't seem any different than she usually was distant, seemingly lost in her own head. It was possible this wasn't the first time she and Feron had shared a moment together but, Jack doubted that. Despite being a competent spy, Feron's facial reactions to things made him painfully obvious to read. He had to wonder if she legitimately cared at all or, she was the one using him for information.

Garrus raised his browplate suspiciously, "Where's Tali?"

Legion responded for the both of them, "Since I was on Nazara previously, we agreed I would be a better guide for this mission."

Miranda bit her lower lip as they approached the brown dwarf, "Let's hope that's not necessary. Doctor Chandana's team could've just gone through a communications failure."

Mordin shook his head sagely, "Unlikely. Would've needed to venture out by now for food and other supplies. Most obvious solution is the team was indoctrinated."

Kal gave Legion a polite nod, "It's good to be working with you again Legion. I'm sorry I didn't trust you more on the original Normandy."

Legion's metal flaps seemed to turn upwards in surprise, "It is understandable Creator Shepard. I look forward to working with you in a full trustworthy capacity."

His flashlight turned green, "...Creator Shepard? Legion, I think we need to work on your identifier program." When the Geth didn't respond, Rael looked between Kal and him coming to the realization, "Oh."

Jack folded his arms over his chest, "Is that going to be a problem Rael?"

Rael's Geth head shook quickly, "No Commander, I just-"

He was interrupted when the Normandy had entered the atmosphere of the brown dwarf. The Illusive Man had warned them to expect heavy winds but, the way that the ship suddenly shook made him actually worried. This was worse turbulence then they experienced on the Quarian shuttle to the Alarei and it was the Normandy. What really made Jack's heart race was the swirling dust clouds right in front of the viewport. What was stopping them from ramming into this Reaper at top speed if their sensors were down? They had to trust EDI was going to take them in the right direction.

Miranda must've been just as worried because she started to pace, "What's with all the chop, Joker?"

He groaned gripping the controls until his knuckles had turned white, "Doing my best lady. The wind's gusting to 500 kph. Think hurricanes from any fake disaster vid."

Jack leaned on one of the walls for support, "Just keep doing what your doing and get us there as fast as you can."

Legion was the only one standing up completely straight in the cockpit. After a closer look to see how he was achieving such a feat, Jack could see he was cheating with magnetized feet. A part of him wished Cerberus would've spared the expense to give them some, he decided he definitely didn't need an excuse to stick around after this was over though. The longer the turbulence continued, the more Jack was worried that they were going to start risking damage to the Normandy. He was about to order Joker to turn around and get them out of there when the turbulence just stopped. A moment later the dust cloud rolled away from the viewport like they had entered some sort of bubble.

Jack was able to stand up fully again, "What just happened?"

EDI chimed in, "It appears as though the Reaper's Mass Effect fields are still active. We just passed inside their envelope."

Saren frowned looking for any signs of the Reaper, "This is an awfully large envelope for a Mass Effect field. Where's the Reaper?"

It was as if Saren had some sort of dramatic timing because Jack started to see it, or what was left of a Reaper. The hull for the fingers was much more shredded then he expected. However, the way some of the hull chunks made it seem as though they had been placed there a lot sooner than 37 million years ago. When the Normandy got closer, Jack could see an entire other structure was added around the missing pieces to try and bring them together. Chandana hadn't just been tasked with analyzing debris, he was rebuilding the Reaper as best he could. Once again, The Illusive Man had left out a key piece of information that made Cerberus look bad. Jack didn't understand why he had tried to hide it from him. Did he think Jack couldn't put two and two together?

Joker gave them all a nervous expression, "See what did I tell you about the vid? Now we're in the eye of the hurricane, huh?"

Saren glared at Miranda furiously, "Why is Harper trying to actively put one of these monsters back together?! Does he not understand the risks?"

Miranda seemed unphased by his anger, "Have you ever tried doing an autopsy before Saren? We can't know how to destroy something if we don't know how it works originally."

Mordin's eyes narrowed staring at the Reaper, "Noble goal but, wrong method. Could risk activating more systems. Such as indoctrination drones."

The last sentence made Jack give a worried look towards Mordin, "Do you think it's even safe enough for us to go inside Mordin?"

Mordin shrugged nonchalantly, "Nothing's ever safe with Reaper involvement. IFF worth the risk though. Would suggest not getting out of your armor for any reason while were inside. Bathroom breaks could be, problematic."

Jack gave a tilt of the head to Joker, "Take us in Joker. I want us out of here as soon as we can."

Legion was tapping his omni tool, "I have sent the coordinates to the old ones bridge to the Normandy's navigation systems. Our chances of success directly depend on how close we can land in relation to the bridge. Success chances range from 70 to 15 percent."

Garrus shook his head with a grumble, "That range sounds about right for what we do every single day..."

EDI actually seemed a little irritated, "I am well aware of how to perform my duties and percentile analysis. However, I find disclosing chances to the rest of the crew lowers morale which goes against my primary function."

Kal chuckled with a sigh, "It's alright EDI, we're used to it."

As the Normandy docked with one of the upper sections of the Reaper, Joker whispered, "You can keep hiding percentages away from me as much as you want EDI."

Jack stepped into the airlock, "If we aren't back in an hour Joker I want you to run to the first Alliance base you can think of. Tell them everything and make them listen to you."

The group stepped forward into the Cerberus section of the ship and Jack realized they were in serious trouble. Instead of an active Cerberus science team to meet them, there was dead Husk on the ground. While they hadn't encountered one since Eden Prime really, he was never going to forget what they looked like. The skin was almost completely translucent allowing them to see what was left of his organs. Most of the organs were totally missing and had been replaced with mechanical tubing and other machinery. The Husks had sharp fangs and nails but, Jack didn't remember any of them having spikes along their arms and spine. They looked like they could cut through sheets of metal let alone skin.

Legion hovered over the body with his omni tool and Rael sounded tense, "There's still blood inside of him, but something's wrong with it."

Mordin pulled Legion backwards preparing to use a cryo charge, "Most likely indoctrination nanomachines. Spikes are meant to distribute indoctrination to other hosts. Very dangerous."

Kal eyed the now frozen corpse wearily, "What even is that thing? It used to maybe be Human. Totally not like the ones on the Citadel."

Jack felt tense just looking at the body even if it was frozen, "These aren't the same creatures I fought on Eden Prime either. They're more advanced. Evolved."

Mordin frowned tapping his chin, "Interesting. Could be what's happening to the missing colonists. Need more data before know for certain. One things for sure, avoid the spikes."

Garrus motioned to the headshot, "Well, at least they still die if you shoot them."

Miranda used her Cerberus passcode to get access past the inner airlock and Jack didn't feel any better about what Garrus said. There were dead Cerberus technicians everywhere. Some had the signs of slash marks or bites while others had been shot. The entire team had to be dead and there was no sign of what killed them except for the dead Husk in the inner airlock. Had just that one Husk cause all this destruction? Or were there many more of them now wandering around deeper inside the ship? They needed the IFF, otherwise he would've ordered a full retreat back to the Normandy. He had to wonder how the rest of the team didn't notice the first Husk.

Jack started walking over some of the bodies, "Legion, if you could start pointing us towards the bridge that'd be great."

Miranda marched past him to the body of a middle aged, partially balding, red headed man, "Shit, this is Chandana.." She started patting down his jacket.

Garrus coughed with his mandibles fluttering, "What are you doing?"

Miranda rolled her eyes, "Looking to see if he had any recording device on him. I want to know what happened here." A second later she pulled out an omni tool from his jacket pocket, "I knew this was in here."

A voice recording of presumedly Chandana filled the room, "The crew is edgy. I reassure them it is mere nerves. A superstitious reaction to what this hulk represents, the corpse of a vast, ancient life form. Privately, I can't deny the atmosphere. The angles of the walls seem to press down on you. I find myself clenching my teeth."

Garrus looked up at the ceiling and then around the room, "What is he even talking about?"

In another situation, Jack would've laughed by how accurate that question really was. He noticed the walls and ceiling had diamond like angles across them but, they weren't sinister. Had Cerberus really hired someone already mentally insane to research recovered Reaper technology? Surely The Illusive Man was smart enough to know that was a dangerous combination. Which meant he was having these delusions before getting onboard the Reaper but, not long enough of a time to be noticed. The implication his mind kept running back to was that Chandana and his crew were somehow initially indoctrinated before coming aboard the only ship capable of indoctrination.

Mordin was the first one to voice that concern, "He's already speaking as though he's hallucinating. How could he have been in contact with nanomachines before coming here? Curious. And alarming."

Miranda surveyed the room with that same unreadable glance in her eye, "More importantly, how did the whole crew get the same level of indoctrination?"

He could practically see the wheels turning in Garrus' investigative mind, "Had to have been poisoned through the water supply. No other way to guarantee total contamination."

Saren finished for him, "Harper did this to his own people."

Miranda shook her head, "Chandana's valuable to Cerberus. He was our main researcher on indoctrination..." She trailed off staring up at Saren, "And how to remove it from a body."

A cold metallic cry came from deeper inside the facility. Jack looked to the rest of them, "Legion, get us to the bridge. Now!"