AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey everyone! Before we get started, this chapter is wordy. After what Shepard saw in Hock's vault, you'll see him later having a long conversation with Tali. A good portion of that is Earth history, (I was feeling patriotic after a visit to the Hall of Presidents at Disney World a few months ago and wanted to write something like this), but what y'all are REALLY going to care about?
I surprised myself by creating some good chunks of Quarian history. From scratch. Original. There was nothing in the Codex to help with this, and while I may be adopting some words (like det'kazaut) from Calinstel, I'm not adopting his Quarian history, their biology, and most certainly not their psychology. And there are aspects of this history that I want to make use of later as well. So, I'm going to have a little more to say at the end of the chapter, but I hope you all enjoy!
Commander John Shepard
This time, I let EDI handle the flight back. Kasumi was in the crew bay alone linking up to Keiji's Graybox while I made a call to Anderson, marking it 'Urgent' to try and hasten an answer. Still, he is a councilor. However, I did get an almost instant notification that he should be able to call for a break in the current meeting in around fifteen minutes. So, I waited. Considering she's going through her late lover's Graybox, I imagine the memories and information she'd be starting with would be personal. This dangerous information he had can wait. Kasumi can have her privacy. Slightly longer than fifteen minutes later, a voice responded on the Comm. It was David, but this is business, so, Anderson.
"Shepard? What's going on?" he asked. Concerned, but not alarmed. If it was marked as an emergency, he'd have just left the meeting he was in right away. He still had some worry gnawing at the back of his head.
"I just got done having a less-than approved private tour of the freshly deceased Donovan Hock's vault on Bekenstein. Long story short, didn't all go to plan but we're fine. Point is, there's a lot of shit in that vault he has that he absolutely should not. I need you to contact Bekenstein's garrison and have a team go in before the vultures get at it, of which there are plenty."
"Consider it done, but I'm going to need at least your own map of his mansion for how you got in and out, and some of the particulars for them to look out for."
"Short of everything in there? The only pieces I could directly identify were Human, though my squad mate was able to identify some Turian art and… it was at least a replica of a historically significant Turian ship. The Human pieces include an Ancient Egyptian stone carving of a Pharaoh, Michelangelo's David, and the head of Lady fucking Liberty."
"And I was about to cut you off in surprise at 'David'. Jesus. I'll make sure they're securing everything within the hour. Beyond that, want any mention in the press?"
"Despite what the Council wants?" I responded, a little surprised he'd just go around them.
"These are important parts of Human history, Shepard." I couldn't help but smile slightly.
"I can't say I wouldn't mind if it gets out that my team and I found the pieces. I do have two additional requests, however. They weren't our objective, but we did take two ancient Quarian stone tablets that I wanted to give directly to Tali myself, so that she could return them to the Fleet, and I want the three ancient Krogan statues that were there brought to the Normandy so that I can bring them to Wrex when I go see him again."
"That last part will be more difficult. Sparatus, Valern, and, probably Tevos will argue for those to be placed in a Museum somewhere on the Citadel, suspecting they'll just become rubble otherwise. If you can get Wrex to formally request their return, as well as have a group of curators prepared to keep them intact, Tevos at least might lean to our side here. Sparatus certainly won't, despite not giving much of a damn about art, and Valern might just side with us if Tevos does simply to end the matter quickly," Anderson explained.
"Then I'll make my visit to him sooner rather than later."
"Good. I'll make the call, and you expect to hear back with an offer of a White House visit," Anderson chuckled. There's the smile again.
"Thank you, Sir."
"Thank you, Shepard." The call ended. Alright, the Spectre induction was a pretty… surreal experience. But something about recognition and honors received from the nation I identify to? It's like… it's more real? Definitely more personal. And yet, compared to my Spectre induction, it's not even significant.
"Commander," EDI spoke through the ship, surprising me and getting me out of my own thoughts. "Kasumi appears to have ceased her interface with her partner's Graybox and is under duress. From my understanding of Organic behavior, she would benefit from your presence." Well, she was already shaky after she killed Hock, I'm not surprised she's not doing better. I stood from my seat and opened the door to the crew cabin. I'd knock, but it wouldn't be well heard.
"Kasumi?" I began, stepping in. She was sitting with her back to the wall along the seats to where she could stretch her legs out across them if she wanted but instead had her legs curled up against her, her face buried into her own thighs, muffling the sounds of sobbing. I debated whether or not to say anything else, but there wasn't much anyone could really say when I lost my father. What helped more, were the shoulders to cry on, and more often than not, they were silent. I took a seat at her feet and gently put my hand on her knee just to let her know I was there. Anything else is at her request and initiative. She let out a shaky, half breath, half sob, and grabbed hold of my hand with one of her own, and just squeezed it. I squeezed her knee in response, then released the grip but kept my hand in place.
We spent the rest of the journey silent, and exactly like that. The only change came when the shuttle touched down in the Normandy hangar and took a deep breath.
"Thanks, Shep."
"Anytime, Kasumi. I know what it is to grieve." She took another deep breath.
"Right. Thanks again, Shep. I'm… I'm just going to stay in here a while."
"Absolutely. We can talk whenever you're ready." Kasumi just nodded as I stood and grabbed the duffel bag with the tablets and left the shuttle, only checking them after the door had closed. It was a good thing, I noticed, that I had their plain, uncarved sides against one another. They were more scratched and chipped than I remember. And… I at least don't think the scripted sides had gotten damaged at all. I put them back in the duffel bag and made my way to the elevator, taking it up to my quarters first. Upon arrival, I set the tablets, scripted side up, carefully on the coffee table down by the couch and bed. I'd figured I should leave those there, and go see Tali. Chakwas should be willing to let her wander around now. I vid-called her.
"Jo-Shepard," she cut herself off then sniffled, still feeling some of the sickness. And changing to my last name tells me she's not alone. "I just heard you came back. How'd the mission go?" she asked.
"It was a success, if not all to plan. It went loud, and Kasumi put down Hock during the escape. She's… in a place I'm familiar with, right now. But," I changed my tone to lighten the mood. "I got something to show you. Come on up to my quarters." Tali tilted her head to the side, curious.
"Sure, on my way." The comm ended, and I took a seat, just watching the fish in the tank. About five minutes later, the door to my quarters opened, and Tali stepped inside.
"Over here," I gestured raising my hand over my head and waving. She noticed easily enough and joined me down on the lower segment. "Found these in Hock's vault. Nabbed them just for you," I gestured at the tablets.
"What… What are they?" Tali studied them closely, curiously.
"I… I put it the wrong way around, didn't I?"
"What do you mean?"
"Here, look at it from my angle." She did as suggested and walked around to the other side of the couch, and took a look again.
"...Keelah, is that...? It has to be," her voice filled with awe. "I can't read it, at all, but I recognize the script from some of my history classes. Shalakoni."
"Is that the name of the language or a translator glitch? Shalaconey?"
"The name. Shalakoni," she repeated. "It's one of our first, if not the first, written Quarian script."
"Ah, so like the Sumerian Cuneiform," Tali looked back at me with slight confusion.
"Sumerians were the first Human civilization, and Cuneiform is what they wrote into clay tablets."
"Then yes, this would be very similar. And- Keelah, I just began to realize," Tali got quiet, and, with a shaky hand, reached out to run her gloved hand over the stone. "That's Rannoch," Smiling wide, I put an arm around her. "There is nothing like this back on the Fleet, and that… det'kazaut had it locked away in his vault like… some kind of trophy? How many other pieces of our history, of our home, are in the hands of people like him?" she asked sadly. She turned back to me. "Thank you, John, for returning this to us." She then wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.
I gently ran my hands up and down her back, and it was almost… painful, knowing I couldn't just kiss her now. This would absolutely be a great time for our first one, after all. But, her pace, with her safety. She nestled her head deeper into the nook of my shoulder and neck, then pulled away. We shared a look, and with that look alone, I was convinced her mind was running on a similar track. And that made not trying to take her mask off that much more difficult.
"S-so, what else was in the vault?" she asked, changing focus as we sat back down."
"There were some Turian pieces that I know nothing about, some ancient Krogan statues depicting warriors with massive cleavers, axes, hammers, so, really damn old. But what I could really talk about? Three particular pieces of Human history. The first, a large rock carving straight out of a country on Earth, Egypt, depicting a Pharaoh, which were essentially kings. Here," I offered, opening my Omni-tool and running a quick image search of ancient Egypt. I pointed out the Pyramids, the Sphinx, and other examples of Pharaoh carvings. "That's all around three to four thousand years ago bare minimum. Were the Quarians spacefaring yet?"
"No, not yet. We joined the Galactic Community shortly after the Krogan rebellions. We advanced quickly, but we didn't expand nearly as much as you humans have," Tali explained.
"Got it. So, the next piece would be the statue of David, a figure from one of Humanity's religions. Sculpted by a famous artist from the nation of Italy during a period we call the Renaissance, which translates to English as a Rebirth." I ran an image search of the statue, getting it's more flattering and intact version in the past. "Says here it was finished in 1504, and it went missing after the European Civil war tore through Florence, the city the statue called home in a Museum.
"And just what was this, Rebirth?" Tali asked.
"History lesson? Alright, but I get to try and learn some of Quarian history in exchange, alright?"
"Deal."
"Good. So, the Renaissance was pretty much all centered within the nation of Italy, here," I showed her on a map on my Omni-tool. "For the past thousand or so years, Europe, the Continent it's directly attached too," I lined it out with a finger, "were in the dark ages. Everything in Europe stagnated in favor of a strict and devout following of the Christian religion. If the solution wasn't physically obvious, or the problem couldn't be solved through prayer, it couldn't be solved at all. The Renaissance began the end of the Dark age with a renewed interest, particularly in the Roman Empire from before the start of the dark ages as well as some amount of interest in the Ancient Greeks."
"But, wait," Tali stopped me and took the map I was using to show her, and pointed at Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania. "What about all of these places? Were they just, untouched by Humans?"
"Not at all. The Americas I'll touch on with the last piece in Hock's vault I want to tell you about. Africa? Humanity's birthplace, where we evolved, but it's also one of the most hostile places on Earth to us. Heh, pretty sure Australia beats it though," I chuckled. "Anyways, it had plenty of civilization all around, but, generally, because of how the environment made it harder to develop some technologies, they were less advanced than the Europeans. They never developed Gunpowder on their own, and Europe used the entire Continent to take untold amounts of slaves. They still had their own civilizations, but at worst, they were completely subjugated, and at best, the Europeans just hadn't gotten around to them yet. Asia? Several different civilizations. Here," I gestured to the Middle East. "Were the Ottomans. They didn't stagnate, following a different faith than Europe, and I believe were leading the world in technological advancement. Not utilizing electricity, however. The Russians up here, most were either struggling to survive in Siberia, trying not to freeze their assess off or become lunch for absolutely massive bears in the area, a kind of predator, or they were struggling to survive under the hand of Peter and the Tsars who followed him. Kings," I explained. "The Mongols, here, were passing their prime which was during the 1200s and the Chinese had their empire which was almost constantly shattering and reforming, then shattering again. Despite that, they still rivaled the Ottomans for tech."
"Oceania, the islands all around the Pacific Ocean, here? I have less of an accurate idea about. The northern Islands were mostly if not completely of the race we call Asian, though, like all of our races, it has different subsets. The Chinese, the Koreans, the Japanese, the Taiwanese, etc."
"Wait, I'm sorry, I need you to clarify. Different Human races?"
"It's like different breeds of Human. Like… hm, sorry, but I don't know any Quarian animals. Here," I pulled up pictures of dogs. There's a Golden Retriever, and there's a Doberman, that'll do. "These are dogs. On the left, with the light coat is a Golden Retriever, and on the right, is a Doberman. They're different breeds, and you can see some obvious differences, but they're both still dogs. It's like that, but with people. The Hispanics and Latinos, the Asians, the Africans, Gaelic's, Scandinavians, so on so forth. Did Quarians not do similar with their own?"
"In a sense, but your terminology made the separation sound more significant. Those who can trace their regional heritage to the equatorial areas of Rannoch have darker pigmentations than those further north or south of the equator, but thanks to the suits we're losing that pigmentation anyway. We would have described them just like we do with ship names now, though vas was not used at the time unless referencing their profession, generally in a guild or corporation. For example, the Zorah family called the southwest region of the main continent, Tolon, home. That region was known as Tolonsila. If I were alive at that time, my name would have been Tali'Zorah nar Tolonsila."
"I getcha. Where I'd just be called American, your people would have said that I'm of America."
"Precisely. It both refers to one as a person first, and their home, while significant, as less so than your identity."
"Damn it is funny the differences that seem to make," I chuckled. "Go on?" Tali nodded in response. "Right, so, more southbound? Australia here had the Aboriginals, which migrated from Africa and became their own people, particularly across all these smaller islands and New Zealand, the Samoans. More tribal, less advanced. Australia, when it was colonized by the British, all the way back on this small island by Europe actually dumped all their prisoners here. Explains why so many Australians are bat-shit crazy," I chuckled. "And I really mean that in the best of ways. And it certainly doesn't help their disposition that nearly every damn thing there is lethal and wants to kill you."
"Then why live there at all?" Tali asked, confused.
"Isn't it obvious? Humans are real stubborn sons of bitches," I laughed.
"True," Tali smirked under her mask. "The last thing that caught your attention?"
"Hm, this is one that kinda pisses me off. The same way learning he had those tablets of yours did to you. He had the head of the Statue of Liberty from the United States of America. The Country my parents were born and raised in, I was technically born in but still grew up Alliance. It's a damn proud heritage to be a part of though," I reinforced.
"Ok, first, the Statue, how it ended up in Hock's vault, and then why you have this pride in it."
"Gladly," I chuckled. The Statue was a gift from the Nation of France in Europe for the U.S. winning its Independence from Britain. For centuries, it stood on this small Island just outside of New York City, which is where most immigrants came to the country from at the time." I showed Tali a picture of the Statue, and then searched the poem engraved on its plaque, as I just didn't remember it by heart. Pieces, but not all. I read it off for her.
"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. 'Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!'"
"It sounds nice, but, I'm afraid I don't understand much… any of it," Tali explained a bit embarrassed.
"Don't worry about it. So, the Americas were the new world. There were already natives here when the Europeans first learned it existed, but they hadn't advanced much and were easy pickings. In the late 1400s and early 1500s. Though the whole series of events between that and the birth of America went on all the way to around the mid-1700s.
Technically, a Scandinavian explorer was the first European in 'the new world' but I don't know the date. These natives were human, of course, but their ancestors came over when there was a land bridge connecting the northern end of America to the Northern end of Asia. South and Central America were more or less all dominated by the Spaniards and the Portuguese, and building their new cities on slave labor and over the bones of the native empires. Native people did survive, both either remotely or as slave labor down here.
North America was the British and the French, and neither were as aggressive as the Spaniards. Certainly not the friends of the Natives, but not outright killing or enslaving every last one. People flocked to the new world, generally for a new start, opportunity. To find themselves a home on the frontier or the new cities in no short demand for work. At the time, however, the American colonies, the thirteen under British Control, were not well represented in the Parliamentary Monarchy. Unrest grew, and the thirteen colonies declared independence and managed to defeat the world's largest empire at the time and win their independence.
The founding fathers built their new government off of the work of ancient Greek philosophers, particularly, the focus on Democracy and Republics. Egalitarianism. The first system they tried was really weak and didn't work, but they managed to stick together to make a new system that stands to this day. The Legislative Branch, the Judiciary, and the Executive keeping one another in check. Legislators elected by the people, and the President elected as a kind of mix. A representative or Senator has to vote for which president the people they directly represent voted for. I'm going to want to touch on that in a moment as goddamn do I feel patriotic," I laughed. "So, think about the poem again in that context. Tali was silent a moment.
"Yes, it makes much more sense now. This statue represented opportunity and freedom. It cared little for the aristocrats of the 'old world' but welcomed and called for the hopeless."
"Essentially. Though it was absolutely romanticized. In reality, I'll admit the opportunity for the newcomers was not all that glamorous until the 2000s. So, back to my patriotic rambling. The first President was a man named George Washington. He was actually the leader of America's armies during the Revolution but didn't make any of his own moves to power, but the national congress still looked to him for advice. During the war, during a long cold winter, he refused extra accommodations compared to his troops as one example. Anyways, in a landslide, he was voted into power for a total of eight years. Two terms of Presidency. He could have run again, but he refused. He didn't want the Presidency, but his people essentially demanded him. After eight years, he knew the torch had to be passed on to set an example for all future presidents. Out of principal, rather than law, very, very few Presidents ran for a third term. Though it was later made a law that two terms were the limit."
"He sounds like an Honorable man."
"I genuinely believe he was. He just wanted to go home to his wife and live an easy, honest life. Fast forward about a century and some of the uglier past rears its head. During the whole time, America, the southern states to be specific, and America had been expanding, still used slave labor. The Northern states had wanted an end to it for a long time, but they knew they couldn't push for it during the Country's birth because they needed unity with the southern states. So, they left a foundation for it to be used in the Constitution. 'All men are created equal.'"
"What about the women?" Tali asked, confused.
"That's just a translation thing. We call ourselves Humanity, right? Turn off your translator for this next word." I gave her a moment. "Man," and a moment for her to turn it back on. "Is both used as a general term for Humanity, and a single male. Our term for a female is, turn it off again," I began. "Woman." Another moment. "You see? It's just some linguistics. Some people get really hung up over it, but they just take things too literally. But, to be fair, up until the early 1900s, women were still generally treated as second class, but by the 2000s, gender equality was the norm in the western countries. Other, less advanced, authoritarian, oppressive societies like Saudi Arabia and China lagged behind in that regard. Significantly."
"Thank you, I see now."
"Good. Anyways, Abraham Lincoln was the President who took that foundation and built precisely what the founding fathers hoped for. He was elected in 1861, and it was well known he wanted to abolish slavery on the national level. The southern states rebelled, and there was a civil war that lasted for just under the duration of Lincoln's four-year term. But Lincoln and the North won, preserving the union. And Lincoln still supported honoring the southern troops, welcoming them back without penalty, and he mourned every death in the war. One of his most famous speeches was at the aftermath of the bloodiest battle, while the war was still going on. He believed that no amount of consecration or hallowing could further consecrate or hallow that battlefield than the blood of all those who died there. That the world wouldn't remember the words said that day, but would never forget the battle. That a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, should not meet its end."
"Why did he not get elected again?"
"He was assassinated shortly after the war. Shot right in the back of the head while viewing a theater performance with his wife. It made his plans of an agreeable reconstruction fall apart. Wasn't the first time, wasn't the last," I shrugged. Next president that I respect the hell out of is Teddy Roosevelt. He was a badass, and another great example of someone just like the common people leading them. He was passionate about the environment and passionate about fairness and equality to the people. And he had no patience for the corporations running rampant at the time. He began establishing national parks when he took office from 1901 to 1909. He began bringing the banks to heel, regulating railroads, which were, at the time, the main method of land transportation. As well as regulating food and drugs to be safe and consumer friendly. Someone tried to assassinate him, the bullet was stopped by the massive folded up speech in his pocket just before giving his speech, and the bastard went on to give his speech. When he died, a friend essentially said that of course, he died in his sleep, because if death tried to take him when he was awake, there would have been a fight."
"That sounds like you," Tali joked.
"And that sounds like a very good compliment," I responded. "Washington, Lincoln, and Teddy are longtime role models of mine. Now, let's see, World War 1 came and went, America was only involved in the later portion, then there was the great depression where the economy tanked. FDR did what he could to try and help the poor out, and there's still debate whether or not it really worked. World War 2 gave us a war economy as Nazi Germany was on a genocidal rampage and on the brink of European victory before their allies in Japan attacked our ships, and we joined the war. Fighting on the European and Pacific front. What really screwed Germany was that they tried to invade Russia and by the time they got anywhere near the capital it was winter. No one ever succeeded in that. That pissed Russia off, and thus started the end of the Nazis. For Japan? Their culture hated surrender. But developing nuclear weapons and dropping them on two cities gives a bit of a new perspective. We severely underestimated the damage and suffering the nukes would cause. Fast forward to the 1960s, and you got John F Kennedy. Young President, charismatic, people person. Did work with the Civil rights movement, before he was assassinated, that is, to give equal rights to African Americans, the once slaves, and he also started the Space Race between America and the Russians but never lived to see America bring the first men onto our moon."
"2001, you have President George W. Bush. Debatable in plenty of things, but there's one thing that has to be respected about him. In 2001, America suffered the worst Terrorist attack in its history to that point. Thousands were dead. Terrorists hijacked several airplanes and two of them struck the Twin Towers of New York on an average morning. One struck the Pentagon in our capitol, which is like a military HQ, and a third crashed in a field because the passengers took back control, but weren't able to safely land it. We don't know for sure where it was going. Bush immediately joined the nation in grieving and sent troops to take out the bastards responsible. Personally overseeing as much as he could of the honoring of the troops. Every soldier was a national hero to him. And that was an earnest belief of his. And his successor was actually the first African American President as well. Unfortunately, the presidents of the start of the 2000s, Bush included, for the first three decades were just controversial as all hell. America has absolutely had its lows, and it's had highs. But it's always had those core values that define it and its people, that its people embrace and love. The people have a voice, and they have the power to change their government for the better. Its successful revolution inspired nations around the world to revolt and embrace egalitarianism. Equality, liberty, and individualism. Fuck yeah. If you only live for the sake of others, you're not living at all."
"But what about helping others?"
"By all means, help them! Be a good Samaritan, work together and cooperate with other people. But don't just be a drone who does nothing for themselves, who doesn't let themselves have any self-motivation, who can't attribute any of their own accomplishments to themselves." I gave a sideways glance to Tali. That was making her think. "What I said there was technically only half of my personal philosophy. If you only live for the sake of others, you have nothing, but if you only live for yourself, you have no one. Both will leave you empty and unfulfilled. Only by finding a balance between the two will anyone find their happiness. Not only will one have things they can call their own, and take pride in their accomplishments, but they will have true friends and family to share it with."
"...Are you sure you're just a soldier, John Shepard?" Tali asked after a moment, amused.
"I am. I just like to think I've gotten at least a little bit of wisdom from my years in the service," I chuckled. "What about your history?"
"Oh? Oh, right. Well, what surprises me the most about your history, is how nationalistic it is. There's a strong identity to individual nations. Quarians are very Communal. Our names may always reference our home ship, but all of us are always the Migrant Fleet first. In our past, it was always Rannoch first. In our early history, there was more separation between nations, some lasted longer, more stubborn than others, but before we could even achieve air flight, most Quarians all lived under a single banner. An Egalitarian nation where the people appointed members of a Conclave, not unlike the one we have now. They all worked together to reach outcomes best for all parties. They never appointed a leader, but with Galactic relations, they would appoint a spokesperson. We have far fewer wars to talk about than your people, and we are far too eager to discuss our issues en masse to have such large and long periods of controversy. While I don't think our earlier history is unremarkable, it is… calmer, I think is a good word."
"Yeah, I can see that," I nodded. "Who made your Conclave?"
"Despite its structure, the movement to form it was actually initiated when a Politician, Nelo'Zorah nar Tolonsila."
"One of your ancestors?" Tali meekly glanced down with some embarrassment.
"Y-Yes. Clan Zorah has always been influential. In no small part due to her. Anyways, Tolonsila was already close diplomatically to its neighbors, but still independent. She proposed to the Tolonsilan council, and convinced them, to suggest the formation of a higher conclave to unite with their neighbors more formally and to extend the same offers to further neighbors that Tolonsila communicated with less frequently, though mostly because there was little need because of distance. Because it was she who proposed it, she acted as an envoy to bring the proposal forth to Tolondelma and Telonrallir, the neighbors, first, and if they accepted to begin the transition, to bring it forth out further. It took time, and Nelo had to theorize several different additions to the Codes of Conclave first, but she convinced them. After all of Tolon was united, and other portions of the Codes of Conclave were finalized by the Conclave itself, Nelo volunteered to spread the message further. Some accepted some wanted to wait and see, and a select few flat out refused. As the Conclave grew and managed to hold together, more of those who wanted to wait, gave it a chance. Approximately two centuries later, One of the three who refused attempted to incite war, but the Conclave was not weak. The military forces of those who joined the Conclave were not diminished by the lack of adversaries but still combined as those three remaining nations were already aggressive. Narshila, Bek, and Quarlara. After the attack by Bek, the Conclave's armies moved in swiftly and pushed them back. And with the technology of flight recently achieved, they were quickly chased back and surrounded in their capitol, and the following night, Bek's Knoss, their king, threw himself from his palace, and his son accepted the terms of surrender and joined Bek into the conclave. In the following decades, Narshila and Quarlara, under financial strain and pressure from their own citizens joined as well."
"Impressive. Absolutely impressive. Far more bloodless than Human history, that's for sure."
"There were times with more bloodshed, don't mistake that, but most were before gunpowder, with keeps built of stone, and some of our people worshipped deities rather than our ancestors."
"So, like our medieval period. Still, it's commendable."
"I'm glad you think well of our history."
"So, what happened after all your nations joined into the Conclave?"
"At first, a focus on integration. Many debates were sponsored in Bek, Narshila, and Quarlara as their populations were still used to more authoritarian methods. After that, stabilization of the economy and helping it prosper, and after that, a focus on research and technology. Enhancing state-sponsored educations, increasing opportunity, and such things. The conclave even encouraged a friendly competition between its regions to reach space. While all other research must be shared, the Conclave allowed advancements in rocketry to temporarily be kept within the regions, so long as whoever reached our moon first, would share the knowledge soon after."
"Would they win anything?"
"Bragging rights and the team of scientists responsible would also win medals, naturally, a monetary reward, and whatever wagers they had made with partners elsewhere. What they also won, but certainly never expected to win, was to have their team of Astronauts credited with the discovery of Prothean ruins on our moon."
"And that drastically accelerated the space race so you could gain their technology, and then find out you had a Mass Relay in your home system."
"Essentially, yes."
"Well, now I certainly think I understand Quarians better," I remarked.
"And I, Humans." Any response I could have given, however, was cut off as my Omni-tool pinged. A message from Kasumi, which, that revelation immediately washed away any hint of annoyance.
Can I come up? I'm ready to talk. To both of you.
I'm not surprised she knows Tali's here. I showed her the message, but she remembered what I said earlier about Kasumi not doing all too well. She nodded, and I responded, letting her know to come right on up. Shortly, the door opened, and Kasumi entered, hood still up, and carrying Keiji's Graybox. I gestured for her to take a seat on the sofa, and she took a deep breath and started with a shaky voice.
"Keiji, he… left a message. Asking me to do something, but… I don't know if I can."
"What did he ask?" Tali asked quietly. Kasumi took another deep breath.
"Not yet. I won't tell you, and I won't ask for your advice until you understand just what I stand to lose. Is there a view screen?"
"EDI?" I asked. The glass on our side of the model mounts at my desk blackened as the text 'awaiting input' appeared, and a slot on its side opened. Either for a wired connection or to show that it was waiting to receive a wireless connection. Kasumi linked it to the Graybox, and the memories began. All through the eyes of a dead man I never knew. It was a dark, rainy night in a city, judging by the sounds, the cars, and the lights, but even then, it was gritty, hinting at it being a poorer district. Tokyo, I'd assume. Keiji turned into an alleyway and sitting cross-legged, almost cat-like, was a human figure in a black hoody brought low, almost too big for the body wearing it, and what I would assume to be black leggings.
"I want in," the figure spoke with the voice of a young woman. Younger teens, I'd expect. Kasumi, obviously, and I'm sure she spoke Japanese in the actual memory, but my translator was taking care of it for me. And judging by the gasp and rapid glance around by Keiji, she most certainly took him by surprise.
Other memories passed by, running and jumping over the rooftops, Kasumi just laughing. Often proclaiming how "this was the life" or how she "never felt so free." Another memory that began in what I'd bet to be a bank vault with a certainly freshly cut hole in its ceiling and several freshly filled bags of cash with devices, no doubt equipped with mass effect fields to make the bags lighter, slung over the shoulders of Kasumi, and Keiji checked his own, showing it to us. Kasumi was instead wearing a mask under her hoodie this time, but she lifted it up just enough to show a smirk as she climbed back into the hole, helping Keiji up. It flashed forward to the pair once again running and jumping over the rooftops with the faint sound of sirens.
And she would still have been a teen around this time.
They must have reached the building they were heading for, as they veered off towards the roof entrance of one. Another small fast forward, and they were celebrating with another pair of faces I didn't recognize, both men, counting the money, and enjoying what is absolutely alcohol.
There were a few other relatively similar events shown on the screen, though the other faces, aside from Kasumi's of course, always changed. All until one night, Kasumi and Keiji were sitting beside one another on the edge of one of Tokyo's skyscrapers, looking out across the city.
"It never gets old," Kasumi murmured, her voice now sounding older, closer to her current voice, but not there yet.
"Not with you around," Keiji responded.
"Always the flirt," Kasumi lightly slapped him on the shoulder, smiling.
"There's the reason for that," Keiji added, some nerves creeping. Slowly, Keiji brought his hand back to Kasumi's cheek, rubbed it with his thumb, and pulled down her hood. She had a soft face, and larger, brown eyes, with short, unkempt black hair. They kissed, and the memory once again shifted. This time, it was day, and the pair were lounging, in civilian clothes and unguarded faces in one of Tokyo's parks, having a picnic together of all things. Just enjoying one another's company, and making casual remarks about how they'd rob passersby. They soon moved to kiss again, and the memory shifted.
When the visuals returned, the two were locked in a rather… a passionate kiss and a door behind Kasumi opened. Her eyes were closed, but it seems Keiji's were open to guide them. There was a bed, and as Kasumi's thighs made contact with the bed, her eyes flared open, she broke the kiss and spun around to change their positions and shoved Keiji down onto the bed. She lifted her shirt off, turned around to pull off her pants, but was too eager to take the slow tease. I could tell Tali was a bit uncomfortable watching this now, and, I'll be honest, so was I, but we said nothing. Kasumi turned back around, her bra now undone, but it wasn't lost on me that the focus of the memory was all on her face. Kasumi's face was the only visual aspect that was burned into his memory. Even as she crawled onto the bed and over him, and when they locked lips again, the memory passed.
Different series of heists followed in the memory, and now, the scenery was changing. The Thessian skyline, the Illium skyline, Omega, Elysium, Terra Nova, and, of course, the Citadel. And the key theme in all the memories was the happiness, and the stolen moments, even in a chase, for the two to enjoy a view together, and steal however slight of a moment for one another. The memories ceased.
"I… I know a lot of that was... Personal, but… like I said. I needed to know that you understood. I'm sorry," Kasumi murmured. She keyed another sequence on the Graybox, and it showed a holographic, full body image of Keiji. Asian, of course, and of a small build. Brown eyes, short, black hair not well kept, but his face was cleanly shaven, with a purple line like Kasumi's on his chin. He was dressed in a black get up not dissimilar to Thane's, but more in style with Kasumi's. It had a hood, but it was down at his neck.
"Kasumi," he began, his voice soft, and even sad. "If you're seeing this, it's because I'm dead. And… I'm sorry. However it happened, I'm sorry." He took a deep breath. "The information I found is all here," he gestured to the side and an image of… a fucking Reaper?!
"Keelah," Tali gasped.
"I think it's the Leviathan of Dis. I don't know for sure yet, but I think the Alliance tried to raid information on it from the Batarians, but it went bad. I don't know yet," Kasumi explained quickly, then gestured back to the screen. Ok, talk about that later.
"It's big, Kasumi. If the Council ever got wind of this… the Alliance could be implicated." So that's where the assumption of a raid comes from. "Kasumi, I encrypted the information to keep it safe. And I uploaded the encryption key to your Graybox, so no one could get the whole package. But if I'm dead… and anyone knows about this? Then I've made you a target, my love. I'm sorry, so sorry," he spoke quietly and took another deep breath. "I know you, Kasumi. You'll want to keep these memories forever. But you already have them. You don't need some-neural implant to know I'll always be with you. Please, Kasumi. Destroy these files. There's nothing more I can do to protect you. Goodbye, Kasumi. I love you." Despite having already watched it, Kasumi began to silently cry. Tali immediately sat up and rushed to hug her friend.
Fucking hell, this is what I did to Tali two years ago. Never again. Never. Fucking. Again.
I waited. Tali was the first to speak once Kasumi calmed down.
"Is there a way to save the memories?"
"No," Kasumi answered. "They're laced into the information. Deleting the code will delete every memory it's connected to." I was silent for another moment.
"He was right, though. You already had the memories before we got the Graybox."
"It's not the same," she muttered, almost silently.
"But it is. When I lost my father, I had nothing but memories of him. Constantly. I still have them, the good and the bad. Letting go doesn't mean you lose what you had, it doesn't mean you'll forget. It means that you accept that there's nothing you can do, or could have done, and you come to terms with it. You won't stop mourning him, but you'll be able to move on with your life. You know it is what he'd want."
"John is… right, Kasumi. If you don't… let go," it was hard for Tali to talk about this. And that killed me inside. "It will hurt every moment of every day. You'll be an empty shell, and you'll start to push away anyone else that's close. And that would-" Tali steadied herself and her emotions. "That would break his heart to see." Kasumi took a shaky breath.
"I-I know. And you're right. But… I can't. It feels… It feels like I'd be killing him. It's all that's left."
"Do you want me to do it?" I offered. Kasumi was silent a moment before she nodded. I opened my omni-tool to interface with the Graybox. With a wave of her own, Kasumi granted me access. The prompt showed up: Delete files? Below, two boxes. Yes, and no. I pressed down on yes, and Kasumi choked on more tears. A progress bar showed up and quickly filled to 100%.
"I love you, Kasumi." played over my Omni-tool as a file was added. A simple audio file.
Kasumi let the floodgates open.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, as you may expect, all of Earth's history that I mentioned I of course googled to ensure they were factual, and everything I wrote regarding the Quarian's past, including when they joined the Galactic Community (I looked it wasn't in the codex or wiki) were all original here. So don't pull a me and confuse something in a fic for canon. Beyond that, I hope you liked the twist I gave to the Graybox, with early memories of the pair running around Tokyo, to their later escapades, culminating all in the end. I'm happy with it, I hope all of you are! See you in the next one!