HOLOCAUST

CHAPTER THIRTY:

SHOALS OF DUST

Warning: Just thought I'd give some of the newer readers some discretion. This chapter WILL contain smut at the end of it. Just a warning for those who don't like that sort of thing. Its not until the end, so you can skip it if you don't want to read it. You won't miss out on much story, so you won't have to force yourself through it. I don't usually do 'sex-position' much anyway. I leave that to Game of Thrones. :P

July 3, 2186

1635 hours.

War Room, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate SSV Normandy SR-2, Docked with the QMFV Depaxia in orbit over Haestrom, Dholen System, Far Rim Cluster.

Second Morning War.

Captain Marcus Lee Shepard, Military Advisor Garrus Vakarian, Master Thief Kasumi Goto, Soldier Javik, Admiral Han'Gerrel vas Neema, Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay, Admiral Daro'Xen vas Moreh, Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib Qwib.

The atmosphere in the War Room was tenser than it usually was. Every crew member at their terminals was working as per usual, but they did it alot more nervously; especially ever since their commanding officer entered the room.

Garrus stood on one side of the console, arms crossed and body tight as a bow string. He looked about ready to lash out, and for good reason. But there was also concern in the turian's eyes; one he shot to the main occupant of the room almost constantly, although it was never reciprocated or answered in full.

Kasumi stood next to him, idlely tapping away at her omni-tool as the group waited. It was no secret just why they were in the Dholen System in geth territory...or what had been geth territory. Just over a minute ago, they had docked with a quarian envoy ship called the QMFV Depaxia; equipped with stealth systems undoubtably passed on by the Alliance or picked up by the quarians. Either way, the quarians obviously had the tech, and had put it into a cruiser-weight looking vessel that was lined with enough firepower to sink five ships of its own class. It was the same question you posed to the Normandy; its predecessor was a frigate, but with its new size it might as well be a cruiser, and with its thanix cannon it might as well be a dreadnought. With the Depaxia, it was a cruiser, but it might as well have been a ship-killer for the amount of missiles, GARDIANs, point defense lasers and javelin torpedoes it was armed with.

Its kinetic barriers were a bit scary too; EDI had run a thorough scan of the vessel when they docked with it and out of curiosity, Garrus had asked for a copy of the diagnostic. He believed humans would say it was 'pimped out.' The quarians had thrown their utilitarianistic ideals to the wind and gone all out in the Depaxia's design; it had cyclonic barriers, which was no surprise considering Tali literally invented it, which meant it could survive a full shot from a dreadnought's main gun. It had armor thicker than that of the usual turian heavy cruiser, and some sort of odd weapons protruded from its bow; their purpose left unknown, even to EDI. But they must have done something if the quarians had them installed. They weren't known for having pointless items unless they produced something worthwhile.

So when he turned back to Kasumi, noting her nervous and excited posture, he smiled, easing his muscles only slightly. It was no secret why they were here in Dholen, in orbit over a world long conquered. The quarians had sent out a distress call. For what purpose they did not know, but it had to be bad. Usually, Garrus would wave it off as a stray ship deciding to sneak into geth space and getting ambushed, and he would think the Migrant Fleet was safe in some far away cluster.

But this ship was an envoy vessel, and from what they claimed, had the entire quarian admiralty onboard. All four of them. Obviously, that had been enough to peak Marcus' interests to get him to drop everything and come straight here; even abandoning the hunt for a Cerberus warship; yeah, he had pinged the system and flagged it for Primarch Victus to send a patrol to look at it, but even still, the Cerberus ship could be gone by the time they arrived. Marcus had effectively dropped out of class and ran.

Javik, a man Garrus really didn't like, which was feeling not only mutual for the crew, but also mutual for the prothean, stood stoic as ever, lips creased in a look of carelessness as he stood in a prothean version of parade rest; fists clenched and ready for combat. Apparently where turians were militaristic, protheans were outright tactically observant. Turians at least had civilians; from what Javik had said about the Prothean Empire, every citizen had fought in their Reaper War because they all learned how to fight when they were 30. A young age when you considered protheans had had the lifespan of an asari and then some. Why he was here was beyond Garrus, as the only reason himself and Kasumi were here was because of why Marcus was so eager to get over here. Javik had no personal endeavour in this, so why the hell was he here?

Then came Marcus; the man was more tense than Garrus was, and that was saying something. He looked about ready to snap, and his eyes were so blank that if he looked close enough, he could probably see right through them. He was braced over the table, hands gripping the edge painfully he would have guessed, if the stress marks on his skin were any indication. He looked blankly through the spinning hologram of the Depaxia, having long finished examining it and the names of all its crew members; courtesy of EDI.

Garrus would have expected excitement. Joy. Wonderment. Relief.

Garrus sighed, rubbing his left mandible. Sure, there was no guarantee she was even onboard that ship, and last time he checked, she wasn't an admiral, but they could hope that where there were quarians, there was Tali'Shepard vas Normandy. And she was the main reason Marcus had been so eager to get here, so why not entertain that little hope?

Anything to get rid of that damnable expression from his face. Ever since Jacob's death it had been there, hiding slightly and then coming out in full force when Mordin died, and then again at Thane's funeral. It was an expression he couldn't quite point a finger at and explain; you just saw it and knew what he was going through. Pain. Sorrow. Grief. Torment. Agony. Loneliness. They listed themselves off, but Marcus never shed a tear; not one bit of emotion left those eyes, because whenever he looked about to collapse, he just went blank. He became emotionless.

And that kind of shit was scary. Especially when it was Marcus Shepard.

Maybe Tali being back would get rid of that expression; kill it off once and for all.

Marcus' omni-tool buzzed, and the man seemed to snap out of it in a second. Garrus almost flinched from the sudden movement; if you blinked, you would have missed it. Even Kasumi seemed startled by it, tearing her eyes away from her game of solitaire to stare at her commander bewilderedly.

The man stood straight, almost punching the button as he accepted the call, "Shepard."

"Westmoreland here," came the voice of the second of the two guards of that ridiculous security checkpoint, "The quarians have just passed through screening; they're clean. Should be with you any second."

The doors opened just as she finished, Marcus nodding as the door fully opened and the first of the admirals walked through, three more behind her, "They just got here; Shepard out." His omni-tool disappeared as he lowered it, and he smiled warmly as the quarians descended the steps, looking to be in total awe of all the technology around them.

"Aun-" he cut himself off, deciding to be professional for their sake, "Admiral Raan; a pleasure to meet you again. Its been awhile."

The quarian shook her head at the professionalism, circling around the table with arms open, "You need not bother with such formalities; its just Shala, or Auntie to you, Marcus," her thick accent replied, sounding almost perfectly like a female indian would. He sighed, nodding as he opened his own arms to greet his adopted quarian aunt, arms wrapping around each other in warm embrace. It made Garrus slightly uncomfortable watching, with Kasumi simply giggling. Still, an amused smile crossed his lips at Javik's confused and shocked expression, the prothean having not seen the quarian admiral and his human commander to embrace in the middle of the deck.

What, did Marcus' pheromones not give that one away, Prothy? He grinned even wider at the nickname; one Joker was quite proud of.

Marcus seemed to give a genuine chuckle, "I'll keep that in mind, Shala."

The quarian known as Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay, commander of the Patrol Fleet and aunt to both Tali and now Shepard, pulled out of the embrace, straightening her brown veil as she stood out the way, allowing the other admirals their greetings.

Han'Gerrel vas Neema, leader of the Heavy Fleet and uncle to both Tali and now Shepard, stood forward, his imposing posture a testament to his war-like nature. He was an ex-marine, a strategist, and a quarian tactician. It was the main reason he led the Heavy Fleet; the Flotilla's form of military navy. He held his hand out, his American accent distorted only by his vocalizer, "Marcus, its been too long. Although I'm sure you have many war stories to tell me. I heard about Earth, and I am truly sorry. We quarians know all too well what it is like to lose a homeworld."

"Thank you Admiral, and it is good to see you too," he replied formally, taking his three-fingered hand and shaking it firmly.

Gerrel waved it off, jabbing a thumb at Raan, "I'm like her, Marcus. We're family, you and I. Just call me Gerrel. Or Han, if you'd like. Just avoid calling me admiral unless its in combat. I might even like being called uncle."

"You're pushing your luck, Gerrel," Marcus replied heartily, but the closer they got to the end of the greeting, his smile got less and less warm the more he realized Tali wasn't present. Possibly wasn't even on the Depaxia at all. And Garrus felt awful just looking at his deflated posture. Seven months of waiting to see her...then he thinks he's finally got her...only to find he hasn't, poor bastard...at least I've got Kasumi...he turned to Kasumi, glad she was too concentrated on teasing Javik to notice his wandering his eyes. He squinted his eyes, forcefully exiling those thoughts to the purgatories of his mind. Enough of that, Garrus. Pull yourself together. Quarian admirals. Distress. Need help. No Tali. Shepard in distress. Got it.

Zaal'Koris vas Qwib Qwib of the Civilian Fleet was next, his white veil seeming to shine in the blue light of the holographic Depaxia, his mask nodding to the captain and holding his hand out reservedly as he spoke, his seemingly british accent leaving little to nothing in terms of anti-amusement, "Captain Shepard, a pleasure. I just wish we were able to meet again under much better circumstances."

Marcus nodded solemnly, "As do I, admiral. These are troubling times for all of us."

"Indeed," Koris replied, following Raan and Gerrel to the other side of the table as the most infamous quarian admiral of them all, Daro'Xen, approached, holding out her hand with an almost bored expression, not even bothering with a basic formality.

There was some tension. Marcus really didn't like Xen, and it was clear the feeling was mutual with Garrus. Everything about her was wrong; from her sick experiments to her borderline obsession on trying to renslave the geth; a mistake that had led, ironically, to the quarians' current predicament. Mix all that together, and you had a mad scientist stereotype given realistic portrayal. She was also the youngest member of the admirals, as could be told by her voice; merely in her early thirties, where everybody else on it seemed to be cruising towards their twilight years, Raan prime among them, with Gerrel coming up second, and Koris third. Xen seemed almost out of place among the elder quarians, especially with her fanatical ideology.

Marcus, although reluctantly, reached out and grasped Xen's hand, shaking it lightly but not as firmly as Gerrel or Koris'. He seemed to cringe away from her, although he kept that well hidden from the young quarian. Xen shrugged it off, simply turning away as soon as the shake broke, moving to join Gerrel as she crossed her arms under her breasts, leaning back and staring curiously at Javik with a mixture of carelessness and what seemed to be shock; if the slightly bigger beacons behind her mask were any indication.

It didn't take long for things to get down to business, especially when it was made clear that Tali would not be present for the meeting. Garrus did have to frown however when he saw a lone quarian standing at the back, cradling something in their arms, but with their back turned to them. Marcus didn't seem to notice, but Garrus did, and couldn't help but notice how odd it was. Who is that?

"I have to say that this meeting was very abrupt, admirals," Marcus blurted out, turning off the holographic projector as he directed his speech to the four of them, "I was pinning my hope on you helping us fight the Reapers, but I had to learn a month ago that your people simply vanished off the face of the galaxy. My assumption was that either the Reapers had gotten to you, or you were laying low. Now I pick up a distress signal, a full month after the war has begun, and you're just sitting in the middle of geth space with the Migrant Fleet nowhere to be found? Care to explain why that is? Care to explain exactly why the Depaxia looks about ready to tackle a dreadnought and why you were in stealth when we found you?"

None of the admirals at that point seemed particularly eager to answer the captain's string of questions. They all seemed to look at each other, or at least Shala and Gerrel did; Koris just shook his head angrily and Xen continued to study Javik's form from across the room like nothing else mattered or was going on. Gerrel made a hand motion at Marcus, and Shala seemed to slowly nod before turning away and crossing her arms, head hung low in what Garrus assumed was...shame? Okay, now his interest was definitely peeked.

Gerrel let out a long sigh, turning towards Marcus as he, himself, braced over the table, meeting Marcus' steely, uncompromising gaze. He wanted to know why the quarians hadn't helped him when he needed it. Why they had disappeared. And now that he had the opportunity to find out, he was going to find out why. He could tell all that just by looking into the man's eyes.

"A...few days ago, on July 1st...the Migrant Fleet...we..." he growled, shoving himself off the table as he crossed his arms, all evidence of his hesitation now gone, voice fueled by frustration, "My people, the quarian species, decided to finish what we started. With multiple precision strikes on all geth systems, including this one and those like it, we began the war to reclaim our homeworld. The Second Morning War."

Garrus' jaw practically dropped, Kasumi stood still and Marcus...

...did absolutely nothing but stare.

It was like he wasn't even seeing Gerrel; simply seeing through him like he didn't existent. No anger was present, no confusion, no sadness. Simple blankness. It began to piss Garrus off that he couldn't even tell what he was feeling.

Luckily for him, he needn't have waited long.

"You fucking morons," he growled, eyes furrowing in anger as he shook his head, "After all I told you, about the Reapers coming and preparing, you went ahead and did it anyway. We're already in the middle of a goddamn war for survival, and you go ahead and start another one!? What the fuck were you thinking!?"

His raised voice actually seemed to disturb Xen's examination of Javik, although she only seemed to be mildly annoyed by the interruption than shock. For the rest of the admirals, that was different. Koris stared at Marcus, as if trying to discern what side he was taking and possibly hoping it was his side, while Gerrel seemed to almost flinch and he noticed Shala cringe slightly, as if hoping that the anger would end soon; more the reaction of a frightened child than an elderly, wise and experienced quarian admiral.

Finally, Koris seemed to gain the guts to actually speak, turning so he faced Gerrel fully, "A point I tried my best to present to the Admiralty Board. Not only was a war with the geth going to be more costly and bloody than we could afford, but the Reapers were already invading. But they went ahead and did it anyway. I tried to tell them, by nobody would listen," his voice seemed to crack at the end, his voice distorted and sounding almost tearful and terrified, "And now...now our people..." he cleared his throat, shaking his head, "I apologize, but our current situation is less than favourable, and if we don't act quickly, my...the quarian people...we..."

"...will cease to exist because of our foolish mistake," Shala finally declared, all eyes landing on her as she lifted her eyes to meet Marcus', "Our people are trapped over the homeworld, captain. We were winning, but then something happened to the geth and now we are trapped and are being destroyed. We...I...am begging for your help. We don't know what to do."

"Our civilians are trapped and terrified," Koris snapped, slamming a fist into the table, pointing an accusing finger at Gerrel, "If it wasn't for this bosh'tet and his damn hatred of the geth we wouldn't be-"

"Our people voted for this war," Gerrel snarled, turning to face Koris fully, "They chose this path."

"No, you chose it for them! You promised them victory and the homeworld! Of course they voted for it!" the admiral returned in kind, almost visor to visor with the man he never seemed to stop arguing with, "You gave them false hope."

"Enough, all of you," Marcus cut off abruptly, his voice low but not as angered as it was before. He loved the quarian people, and with Tali's life possibly on the line, Garrus knew what the man's reaction would be from the get go; he couldn't turn them away, "It doesn't matter who did what or why; what's done is done. You created this situation, and now you want me to help fix it. And I will. But I need to know just what led up to this point," he turned to Gerrel, frowning, "For starters, just how the hell did you manage to tackle the geth? You said you took out all their systems and managed to push them all the way back to Rannoch itself? How is that possible?"

Xen was quick to jump in, "I won't bore your simple mind with the technology, but we developed weapons capable of crippling geth warships in combat and leaving them totally vulnerable. Weapons capable of killing entire platoons of geth primes. Those weapons were supposed to give us victory. They would have; we demonstrated that when we took back Haestrom, then this system, then the rest of the Far Rim, then rest of the Perseus Veil. We would have taken Rannoch as well."

"So why didn't you?" Marcus asked, still confused.

"Something went wrong. Xen still isn't quite sure what did it, but she's working on it," Koris stated, facing Marcus with crossed arms and a straightened posture, "Basically, when we reached Rannoch, the geth had the bulk of their navy in position; a full thirty thousand warships. They had a super-dreadnought of unimaginable power with them; its firepower was unlike anything we had ever seen; but with our weapons, taking it out would have been easy. But then they changed. They were suddenly stronger, more accurate and faster. Our weapons no longer worked, and they carved through our lines and enveloped us in a pincer movement. It was the decision of the chief admiral to have us depart on the Depaxia and ask for help; she has remained behind to coordinate the fleet in our absence."

Marcus nodded, turning to Xen, "Have you figured out just what did it? Why the geth changed so suddenly?" There was a confused look on Marcus' face, one Garrus mirrored. How could the geth evolve so quickly in combat? Spirits, where is Tali in the middle of all this? And Legion? Damn it...they were supposed to co-exist together so we can fight the Reapers...

Tali, what went wrong?

The quarian nodded, bringing up her omni-tool as he patched into the holotable. I had it figured out the moment we left the fleet, I just had to be sure. But upon our entry into the system, this code..." she trailed off, a great big red hologram of a sphere with what looked to be thousands of neural links spiralling out of it like treeroots appearing above the table, "...was transmitted directly into the geth consensus. Every geth has it, and it has substantially improved their tactics, accuracy and firepower. It has made them infinitely stronger."

Marcus recognized it; he must have. Because Garrus recognized the look of it, the general feel of it, and even Javik did, even if he didn't voice it. But they needed confirmation. They always did. Things were rarely as they seemed with their team.

Xen spoke before they could talk, directing her words at Marcus as her omni-tool deactivated, taking the large hologram with it, "I think you know just what this code is, captain."

Marcus nodded solemnly, rubbing his temples, "I do. Its Reaper code," he slammed a fist into the table, cursing under his breath, "Fucking damn it. It seems that everywhere you go, the Reapers or Cerberus are there. And once again they seemed to be indoctrinating the geth; this time though, it seems every geth is affected. No heretics or true geth; just geth. Every single damn one of them, I'd bet."

Which could mean Legion. Garrus didn't like that thought at all. He wasn't exactly pals with it, but Legion had been alright as a comrade, and it would suck to have to kill it in combat. But if it came between saving Tali, who he considered to be a little sister and killing Legion to do so, he'd do it in a heartbeat. And then some.

Marcus looked up, danger in his voice as he spoke, "Here's how it is admirals; you've gotten your people stuck in an ocean of shit they can't handle. You've forced this on them, and that's on you. For every quarian that dies now, that's on you. All four of you. Its your duty to protect them, and right now, you are failing that job. So I'll save your people; but I'm doing it for the people you failed, not you..." Then he turned to Shala, his patience falling apart in an instant as he seemed unwilling or simply unable to wait anymore. After seven months of cold nights, Garrus couldn't blame him. He wanted to know too."

"But I'm not doing a damn thing until I know where my wife is. Where is she, Shala?" he demanded, "Where is Tali? Where's my yol'tiya? Is she dead?"

"She is not dead, Marcus," Shala replied quietly, trying to remain diplomatic, "She's perfectly healthy...I hope."

"Tell me where she is," he growled, although it was clear he was relieved. When an answer wasn't palpable, his voice got lower and more dangerous, more ferally desperate, "Shala, where is she?"

"Admiral Tali'Shepard is onboard her flagship, the Machina," Koris filled in, Shala and Marcus shooting the man glares all at once, both for different reasons, "She is the Chief Admiral of the Board and was the one who proposed this meeting. She decided to stay behind to lead a delaying action until such time as your arrival."

Marcus didn't say anything for a moment, remaining absolutely still as these words registered within his mind. He blinked three times in that time period, gulped five times, and his lip seemed to quiver, as if about ready to simply weep.

Then a whisper, one only Garrus, in such close proximity, could make, and even then, just barely, "Tali...wife...an admiral...proud...her..." he looked down, shaking his head as he held his head in his hands for a moment, quietly mumbling. The other admirals exchanged glances, not knowing what to do about his sudden mood swing. Garrus, concerned, raised a hand to place on his shoulder.

It made contact just as Marcus shot up, steeling himself as he looked up, "Joker, disengage from the Depaxia and make best speed for the Dholen Relay. Then get us to the Tikkun System in the Perseus Veil; prep the stealth drive for combat insertion. Area is going to be hot."

"Copy," Joker replied simply, cutting the connection afterwards.

Marcus nodded, standing up, "If you'll excuse me, I've got to get ready. Javik, Garrus, Kasumi, you're all with me," he snapped, moving and shoving past Koris, not even turning to apologize as he prepared to move up the steps, "We'll blow a hole in the geth line, hopefully scare them off, and locate the Machina. This is an evacuation op, so whatever you d-"

A hand grabbed his arm, gripping it tightly enough that he couldn't tear it away. He turned, frowning angrily at his quarian aunt, "Marcus, don't leave yet. You-"

"My wife is in danger. I need to get ready so I can goddamn save her and the damn Migrant Fleet. I need to go and get ready," he replied, but even as he turned to leave, Shala held firm, refusing to let go, even as he turned and gave her a solid death glare, "Shala, so help me God, let go of me before I-"

A loud wailing cut him off, and he stopped mid sentence, frowning as he turned towards the quarian he hadn't noticed before. Garrus turned as well, just as confused, followed by Kasumi, who reflectively gasped. Garrus almost gasped, if it wasn't for his eyes already widening to breaking point. Alot of that was happening recently.

The quarian was a marine, clearly given away by her strong posture and authoritive stance. Cradled in her arms was a wailing child, a baby, three-fingered hands waving about as his eyes clenched shut, wailing to his heart's content. Little legs shot up and about as the marine cooed quietly, tending to the child like a mother. His skin was purple, with little puffs of hair growing along the scalp. Kasumi was wobbly legged; being a woman, she found the baby adorable.

Marcus could only stare dumbstruck, before turning to Shala with incredulousness, "You brought a damn baby onto a warship? What were you thinking? Why?"

"It is not mine," Shala replied, gulping as she motioned to the child, "Tali requested I bring Junior along for his safety. She was concerned that he would not be safe."

"But why?" he asked, shrugging as he waved dismissively at the child, "Why this one? Why this particular child out of all the children on the Migrant Fleet?"

Gerrel spoke this time, delivering the fatal blow, "Because she is his mother. And you are his father. That child, Junior she named him, is your son, Marcus. Your child; flesh and blood and all."

Whatever response Marcus had been prepared for, it hadn't been that. Maybe the son of a childhood friend or a kid that left an impact on her life, but nothing like that. Not...her son. Their little boy.

Garrus merely looked at his friend, trying to look for response. For once, Marcus wasn't enigmatic or hard to figure out. He didn't hold his emotions back, but he didn't weep either. He simply looked at the boy in the quarian's arms, who was now being held out to him, expected to be taken. He scrambled for words, but in the end, he simply reached out, watching as the quarian looking child was gently placed into his arms, the quarian's wailing seeming to cease as their eyes met.

"Hey kid," Marcus whispered, one of his larger fingers stroking his cheek, which Junior abruptly ah hold of, which actually caused him to chuckle quietly. His other tiny hand grabbed a fistful of his shirt tightly, little eyes looking up into his. Marcus nodded, sure of who he was. He had his eyes, he knew it, "I'm your...I'm your dad." I'm a father. Holy shit, I'm a fucking father.

Mordin's serum had worked. Both he and Tali had taken it, but even Mordin had been skeptical about it even working. Whether it would actually help the two produce children. But it had, holy shit, it had. The only sad thing about it...Mordin hadn't lived long enough to see another of his miracles succeed. Just another reason he deeply missed the brilliant salarian.

He continued the stroke the baby's face. This was their flesh and blood; a child of their own. Not adopted, or artificially inseminated...theirs in purity. Theirs. He and Tali had to be the happiest parents in the galax-

Tali.

The mother was in danger.

With the moment shattered, he gently placed the child back in the quarian's arms, turning to the admirals as his face set in a grim line, his soft gentleness suddenly gone, as if solely reserved for his child, "I'm going to get to the Machina, rescue my wife, and then save the whole damn quarian species. I hope you realize just what kind of man you've asked for help from. Because I'm going to do more than that."

As Garrus watched him walk away, he realized that it was Junior that had revitalized him. When Marcus said he was going to do more than save the quarians, the turian believed him. He knew that look. It was of determination, spirit and courage. That of a hero.

It seemed that Marcus Shepard had returned from the dead for a second time.

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July 3, 2186

1653 hours.

Main Bridge, Wyoming-Class Destroyer QMFV Machina, Migrant Fleet, Tikkun System, In Orbit over Rannoch, Perseus Veil Cluster.

Second Morning War, First Battle of Rannoch.

Admiral Tali'Shepard vas Machina, Commander Igra'Trasp vas Machina.

The Machina tried her best to avoid the flanking shot, but at point blank range, it was an impossible maneveur. Tali could only brace herself against one of the consoles alongside Igra in preparation for the impact, clenching her teeth.

She was thrown across the room from the impact, the console she had been bracing against exploding in a flurry of sparks and destroyed machinery, Igra landing ontop of her in a heap. She watched as one of her last surviving bridge members was crushed by a falling section of bulkhead, crushing him in an instant, cutting off his scream in mid crescendo.

"Admiral!" Igra managed to make the word sound like a demand, the commander turning over to look her CO in the eyes, "Admiral, are you alright!?"

"I'm fine! Get back to your station!" Tali snapped, almost shoving Igra off of her form as she hurried to her feet, rushing over to the navigation console where its officer lay slumped against it, sticky red blood pooling over the console. Because of this, it took a few more taps than usual to summon the interface, but she managed it, and quickly brought the engines on a roundabout course, "Tactical, blow a hole through that line! We need to break through! Concentrate your fire on making us a hole!"

The entire battle was turning into a slaughter. None of the three liveships had been destroyed or damaged yet, but that could change fairly quickly. The rest of the Flotilla wasn't fairing as good; the Civilian Fleet had been largely untouched, but only because of the Heavy, Patrol and Special Projects fleets literally sacrificing entire ships to keep them safe. They still outnumbered the geth by a large margin, but it didn't mean much; the geth were completely superior in firepower, accuracy and mass. Their weapons were carving through hers, and any advantages they previously had were now useless and meant nothing. Her people were being slaughtered.

Could this truly be the extinction of the quarian race? One final battle between masters and machines over the homeworld?

Didn't Koris prophesize this?

"We can't, ma'am!" her tactical replied, his fingers dancing over the control interface as he tried desperately to summon whatever weapons he could. In the end, Kenn'Raan vas Machina turned to her in defeat, his arms slumped. He had taken command of the tactical station after Sama was killed, and he was fairly new to the role, "The geth took out our last point-defense battery with that last salvo! We're completely defenseless! All other weapon systems are offline!"

She bit on her lower lip, holding onto the console as another salvo impacted the ship, followed by an almighty bang. "Bosh'tet!" she shouted, pulling herself up so she was eye level with Kenn, "Report!"

Kenn was already on it, having gotten used to his captain requesting constant status reports through the course of the battle. What he had to say wasn't good, "The shot pierced the crew's quarters! Its...its gone, ma'am! I'm sealing off that area!"

Keelah...I hope Kal and Madi weren't still in there...

"I need shields, Kenn!" she barked, "Give me whatever you can get!"

"Cyclonic barriers aren't responding, but I can give us sixty percent shields!" Kenn stated firmly, shaking his head as he slammed a fist into the console, "Damn it! I can't give us shields without cutting all power to the engines!"

Tali had to make a decision. Make a run for it? Or raise shields and sit here until they pounded into dust? Was that really even an option? Was she seriously giving herself two options when only one made any kind of sense? What was the point in needlessly getting their ship destroyed?

"All power to engines!" she ordered, surprising both Igra and Kenn, who both froze. Tali, noticing that nothing was happening, turned to Igra with a glare, "I said, do it. All power to engines! Get us out of here! Give me all the speed you have, you bosh'tets!"

Igra hurriedly nodded, knowing well enough not to question Tali's orders directly. She spun to face Kenn, hands clasped behind her back and eminating an aura of perfect calm, "You heard the lady! Full military thrust! Give it all you've got!" Another shot shook the vessel, taking ancestors knew how many lives with it. The Machina wasn't going to last much longer; Tali was surprised it had lasted as long as it had.

Kenn didn't even respond, simply carrying out his orders without question. Tali could only watch the viewscreen as her destroyer spun around in time to watch a fellow destroyer get swarmed by a dozen geth interceptors, rendering its hull into molten sheets of rapidly cooling debris. Plasma bolts rained down around them, and Tali could only watch as they melted through ship's hulls, disintegrating them or blowing parts of them off. Debris floated about; most of it quarian vessels, but some of it geth. But only a small amount. The geth were powerful, but they still weren't invincible; it just took alot of concentrated firepower to take one down.

She watched in horror as a long bolt of plasmatic energy seemed to cut through space, bright purple vapor instantly atomizing four cruisers in a long row, along with the six civilian frigates they had been protecting. And as soon as it had fired, it was gone; dust particles spread to the cosmic winds until they winked out of existence. That had been the super-dreadnought's energy projector; its most fearsome weapon. Keelah, if that gets a lock on even one of the liveships...Luckily, they had figured the range of the super dreadnought's main gun, and had quickly moved all three liveships well out of range; as far as one can go without endangering them to the geth's flanking attacks while keeping them sufficiently defended and out of range of the energy projector.

Tali had ordered some of her ships to fire on it, but they didn't even make a dent in its shielding; it was almost on par with Reaper kinetic barriers, which pretty much confirmed her suspicions; the Reapers were involved with this somehow. Only they could upgrade the geth so quickly, and only the fact that the super-dreadnought had thanix cannons only confirmed this. The Reapers were influencing the geth, which could only mean two things: the geth had been indoctrinated by the Reapers, or Legion had lied to her, and there was no two geth factions, and only one.

She didn't know which one to believe. Why would Legion lie? It said itself; geth can't lie. Its not a logical response. But what if that, in itself, was a lie? How do we know what was truth and what wasn't? Did Legion really betray us? Keelah, I don't know what to believe!

She shook those thoughts away, and saw that they were heading towards the Bakara; the second of the Fleet's liveships. She saw that the Neema and Moreh were flanking it on both sides. So far, they had gotten lucky; the geth had only been sending fighters and interceptors to deal with them and even with their upgrades, they were still no match for a dreadnoughtified liveship and two heavy cruisers. But that would quickly change; soon, the geth would realize more resources needed to be committed, and would send capital ships. That, or they'd move their super-dreadnought in for the kill.

Hundreds of thousands of people lived on that liveship. If it went...the idea made her shiver with fear. No, she would defend that ship with her life. Same went for the other two.

This war was stupid...foolish...irresponsible! We wouldn't be in this position if I had just told them about the geth peace offering! I was weak! I didn't want to exile and it made me selfish! Keelah, if only Mar-

She was thrown against the console, her guard let down as a particularly large explosion sent a massive tremor throughout the destroyer, all their forward momentum seeming to slowly come to a stop, Tali shaking her head as she felt her mask for cracks, glad she didn't find any. She propped her elbows on the console, the blood on it now dried, and turned to Kenn, "What just happened!?"

"Kenn, calm down!" Igra barked, "You're going to be fine!"

"M-m-m-m-y my m-mask!" Kenn almost screamed, voice shaky and terrified, "My mask..."

Tali turned to see Igra consoling Kenn, who, to her immense horror, was holding shards of his mask in his hands. It wasn't totally shattered; she could only see one of his eyes and a flash of grey skin, but aside from that, most of his mask was still in place, just major cracked. But it didn't stop the quarian from going into a panic attack, body shaking in panic. Tali growled, getting up from her console and making her way over, managing to grab the console as another explosion shook the ship, causing the viewscreen to crack and explode, losing their visual of the outside world.

She looked at the tactical display on Kenn's console and felt her mind freeze. The shot had pierced their rear section, shearing it off in a bright explosion of purple and orange light, which died almost as instantly as it come up. When it lifted, the engines were completely gone, and their entire back was exposed to the void of space. Vapor trailed from the edges, and smaller fires winked out as the oxygen was ripped from the ship's confines. That was why they were losing acelleration; they had no engines to give them any.

She commed engineering in a hurry, "Engineering, report!"

Static was her response.

She cursed as she realized that there likely wasn't an engineering to actually contact, and she braced against the console, looking at it blankly. The ship continued to shake all around them, shuddering and blustering as it absorbed the punishment from the geth warships around it. The Machina had no hope of surviving. Without engines, shields or weapons, they were dead in the water, as Marcus would say. And as proud of her ships as she was, despite only captaining it for six months, she knew she couldn't stay here. She remembered just what that had done for Joker when they lost the original Normandy three years ago. She didn't plan to come to the pilot's rescue this time if that happened.

She turned to navigation and cringed. Guess the circumstances are slightly different.

She turned to Igra, who gave her an expectant look. She knew what it was: she knew exactly what Tali was thinking, and was encouraging her to go through with it. Kenn just continued to shake, holding his face in his hands, whether out of feeling exposed or simply out of an instinctual need to protect his face from bacteria, even though the act wouldn't save him.

She hit the button for shipwide comms, almost gritting her teeth as she forced the words from her mouth, "All hands, this is the captain speaking. I'm effectively giving the order to abandon ship. All hands head to your nearest escape pods. I repeat, abandon ship. This order is non-negotiable; get to the escape pods or I'll drag you out myself. Noone try to be a hero. Admiral Shepard out," she turned away, motioning to Kenn as he looked at Igra, "Help him up. We're getting out of here." The ship shook again, the navigation console exploding as a beam from the ceiling was set loose, crushing it and the dead body occupying it.

Igra nodded, wrapping an arm over Kenn's shoulders and helping him up, following Tali as they headed towards a large, circular indent in the wall; the escape pod.

Just as she entered the code to open the vehicle and she stepped inside, her comm crackled and she hit it, "Shepard."

"Ma'am, its Kal," the familiar gruff voice responded, allowing her a sigh of relief, "I've got Madi and the rest of my detail and we're heading for the pods now. Just thought you should know. And I'll drag out anyone who tries to stay behind, ma'am."

"Thank you Kal," Tali replied, sitting down as she strapped herself in, watching Igra do the same similiarly for Kenn, who was now unconscious, his immune system overwhelmed and knocking him into that state. They had to act quickly, or the poor kid wouldn't make it. His suit was already sealed, but if they didn't get him a new mask...

Igra sat down next to her, strapping herself down while Tali cut the comm, closing her eyes. She felt a sudden sense of deja vu overcome her, causing her to wince at the memories.

...Tali breathed a sigh of relief...

...she hadn't heard his voice respond over the comm, but she knew he was alive...

...Tali couldn't believe it. She refused...

...she wished she could rip her mask off and just die of infection...

...she felt hollow...

"Ish'ko lasi'ti!" ...I am alone, I am empty...

The memories were horrible. They were memories of the Normandy's destruction. Of her losing Marcus. Of how he died. But he had come back, and she wasn't about to be spaced like he was. Because she knew that, unlike him, she would not be brought back to life.

She felt a wave of vertigo wash over her as the pod shook and then shot forward, moving into space, leaving her flagship behind. She was no longer 'vas Machina.' How could she be when her ship was mere seconds from destruction? No, she was simply Tali'Shepard. Without a ship. Tali'Shepard oso Machina. Tali'Shepard, Rid of the Machina.

She hoped someone would find them.

And that the geth didn't shoot them down like she had seen shoot down many other escape pods.

She had no idea just who would find them.

{Loading...}

July 3, 2186

1703 hours.

Cockpit, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate SSV Normandy SR-2, Tikkun System, In Orbit over Rannoch, Perseus Veil Cluster.

Second Morning War, First Battle of Rannoch.

Flight Lieutenant Jeff 'Joker' Moreau, EDI, Captain Marcus Lee Shepard, Military Advisor Garrus Vakarian, Master Thief Kasumi Goto.

"What do you have, Joker?" Marcus asked, coming to stand behind the pilot as he fitted on the last piece of his armor, clicking the armoured gauntlet into place and flexing it to make sure it was in working order. Joker had to crane his neck to look up at him; his Terminus Assault Armor made him look larger and more intimidating than he actually was. His mattock was holstered on his back, his newly favoured N7 Hurricane strapped on his hip along with his N7 Paladin. On his back was his claymore heavy shotgun, and his helmet was fastened on so he couldn't see his face. Even his voice was distorted.

The pilot sighed, turning back to the screens infront of him as he lazily flicked one aside, head in his balled up fist, "Pretty much a big-old shitstorm, Shepard."

"I have detected at least forty-eight thousand quarian vessels engaged in active combat with a geth naval force of thirty thousand. From my readings, the quarians have inflicted minimal losses, and are suffering much larger. All three of their liveships remain intact and undamaged, however, they are being swarmed by geth fighter and interceptor squadrons. I also detect hundreds of capital ship sized ships, eighteen of them being dreadnought weight. However, I am detecting one particular vessel that is not coming up as a particular weight; its mass and sheer size are greater than the dreadnoughts and a liveship, and its weaponry is far greater than five turian dreadnoughts combined. I believe it fits the criteria necessary for the theoretical super-dreadnoughts. It wields a plasma-based energy weapon far more powerful than a thanix cannon, and capable of vaporizing a dreadnought upon impact. It is currently inflicting the most casualities."

"Yeah, pretty much like I said," Joker deadpanned, rolling his eyes as he turned to see Garrus and Kasumi arriving on the deck, "Although that super-dreadnought sounds like deep shit for the quarians, Shepard."

Marcus barely seemed to notice the pilot's sarcastic comment as the Normandy passed by Adas, the third planet in the system. They were almost there now; the next planet was Rannoch, and even from their distance of hundreds of millions of kilometers away, they could see tiny flashes in the distance, "EDI, give me the capabilities of that super-dread. What exactly are we dealing with?"

"Quick scans have yielded minimum results; its entire complement cannot be found out without a boarding party investigating. However, its basic manifest can be determined through a short-burst sensor scan," EDI dictated a matter of factly, and then went into the details, "Scans reveal that the vessel is slightly bigger than a Sovereign-Class Reaper, with an exact length of 2.3 kilometers. Its exact mass is two billion tonnes. It is alined with one thousand eight hundred infrared GARDIAN batteries, ninety-two heavy plasma turrets and three hundred and two light plasma turrets. It possesses seven hundred plasma mortars, nineteen pulse cannons, and seventeen thanix cannons. Its main gun is what the geth have dubbed a 'energy projector.' It is currently the main problem for the quarian fleet, as it is capable of penetrating a Reaper's kinetic barriers with a single shot, while also disintegrating them. Its only disadvantage is that it has a recharge time of a full minute, however, its cyclonic barriers are of Reaper standard, making it almost impossible to destroy. It is also aligned with numerous fighter bays, although that information, as I have said, is not privy to a low burst scan."

"Spirits," Garrus exclaimed softly, scratching his left mandible, "That thing is a monster."

And Harbinger's bane. Marcus intoned. I want that ship. Hell, if we had a whole fleet of those things, we wouldn't need the Crucible.

"Are the geth able to pick us up while in stealth?" Marcus asked, frowning.

"As advanced as the Reaper upgrades have made the geth, they are still not capable of detecting us," EDI replied, "It is safe to assume that the same can be said of the super-dreadnought."

Good. I don't think the thanix cannon would be able to kill that thing with just one shot. Not that I want to. I want that ship. I want it. He shook his head, looking back down to Joker while squeezing the back of his chair. They were much closer now; they could pick out the battle ahead; plasma and shells tearing through space to impact against one another, burning holes through space and themselves. Sleek, geth hulls intermixed with the less elegant designs of the quarians, creator and the created battling it out in a fight of strength and wits; one the geth were winning, on both accounts.

And looming behind them, the silent observer, was Rannoch, the quarian homeworld itself. He couldn't tell much from the distance they were at, as they were still too far away to make out any details, but from what he could see, Rannoch was a garden world, much like Earth, which he thought was fitting, given that Rannoch was a khelish term that roughly translated as 'walled garden.' He wouldn't be able to see much else until they got closer.

I'll want to know more about the planet I plan to settle on...

He turned to EDI, then to Joker, before turning back to look out the viewscreen, "Excellent. EDI, bring up the stealth drive and bring us into the center of the fighting."

Garrus didn't look too happy about that, turning to Marcus with a raised eyebrow, "Are you sure its a good idea to be bringing us into the middle of a crossfire? We're talking about tens of thousands of ships firing at each other, and we're just going to wonder into the middle?"

A loud cough be heard, intended for clearing a throat, and all eyes diverted to Joker, who wearingly drummed his fingers on the dashboard. He rolled his eyes, turning back to his console with mock offense, "You're such a wuss, Garrus. Don't worry, I'll try not to get hit like I always do," he added sarcastically.

"Tali's in the middle of all that Garrus," Marcus stated, "Don't you think its worth the risk just to find her?"

Garrus nodded, but before he could reply, Kasumi piped in, "Sure is, Shep, but don't you think it would be counter-productive if we got blown up by a stray shell before we found her? Not only does that not help her, but that's just embarassing. All the things we fought through, and the thing that could kill us is friendly or stray plasma. That would sssuuuucccck..."

"Again, I'll try to keep us alive. And not get us killed. Like always," Joker remarked, keen to remind them just who had always been piloting the Normandy.

"We get it, Joker," Garrus reprimanded harshly, sighing heavily, "Best pilot in the Alliance fleet. Got it. Got it three years ago, and I get it now. Just get us in there."

"You mean the best damn pilot in the galaxy," the pilot corrected, lazily flicking his fingers across the dash in a rapidfire dance of button pressing and commands, "But I'll forgive the slip up."

"I just hope they don't see us," Kasumi mumbled.

"Kasumi, the only way they'll know we're here is if we all start singing the russian national anthem," he stated dryly, but also reassuringly, "And because we've got an Israeli American, a turian and a Japanese thief, it shouldn't be too bad."

Marcus ignored the outwards banter as the Normandy flew closer, barely even noticing as Shala and Gerrel entered the cockpit, leaving Xen and Koris in the war room, where the Admiralty Board had elected to take up residence for the time being. He only had eyes for what history would call the First Battle of Rannoch...first battle because it wouldn't be the last in this stupid, pointless, proxy war. Proxy war because he would probably have to get the UGC involved if it got too serious.

Can't believe this. Wasting resources and manpower on people who should be our allies? How did the Reapers get control of the geth? Did Legion lie? No, geth can't lie; it made that clear when it admitted to a few things sleeper agents normally wouldn't admit to. Then how? Are they indoctrinated? Did the heretics take over? No, the heretics were under Sovereign's sway, and they didn't have Reaper code...

...are the Reapers reacting to this directly? What if they are here, in the Tikkun System, watching this battle was we speak, waiting to strike?

That feeling didn't exactly make him feel very safe. But then this thoughts diverted to the one, main reason he had rushed out here. Sure, the quarian people were in danger and that had been enough for him to help. But over all else, there was one person he cared about more than anything that was currently in great peril.

I waited seven months to see you again, Tali. I'm not about to lose you just as I'm about to find you again. Death can go fuck himself. He is not claiming you today. Not today.

"Is there anyway we can save the quarians? An escape route they can use?" Marcus asked, eyes scanning the battle as they got closer. EDI hadn't been exaggerating; the full might of the quarian flotilla and geth navy were clashing above Rannoch, both sides giving it everything they had. They were determined to make this battle the deciding factor of this brief war. And it was clear who would win if they didn't act quickly. And this time, he doubted the geth would allow the quarians to flee.

"I have calculated all possible withdrawal routes the quarians could take to evade the geth fleet movements," EDI stated, almost sounding regretful as she looked at the data, which made his hopes sink faster than a stone, "The geth are extremely methodical and have covered nearly every obstacle. They have initiated a quickly planned pincer movement, allowing them to close around the quarians from all sides; they cannot escape towards Rannoch, as that is where the geth are at their strongest. They cannot escape towards us because geth forces have cut off all access to the relay, and they cannot escape from the other sides for similiar reasons. They are completely trapped. They cannot fight their way through because of the Reaper code, and we cannot hope to open a hole just by ourselves."

We can't call in UGC reinforcements to create a hole either; not only do we lose more ships, but it would take days for the nearest fleet to get here, and the quarians will be destroyed by then, or will only have a handful of ships left.

He gulped, rubbing the back of his neck as he moved over to EDI's chair, squeezing the back of her chair as he leaned in, "EDI, I need a solution. I...I will not just sit here and watch the quarians get annihilated. There has to be something we can do. Dammit EDI, my wife is one of those ships!"

"Give her some space, Shepard," Joker chastized, not sounding happy about Marcus' proximity to the AI's body, "She can't work if you're in her face."

Marcus turned to growl at the pilot and give him a piece of his mind, but EDI cut in, turning to address Joker in an instant, "That is not correct, Jeff. I am perfectly capable of operating within these circumstances as they do not effect how I operate."

"It...I..." Joker stuttered, sighing as he rubbed his temples in exasperation, "EDI, if you want to be more like a human, you have to start acting like one. Which means taking what I say by its principle. I-"

"Wait," came Shala's voice, and all eyes turned to the quarian admiral in shock, forgetting that herself and Gerrel were there, the former reaching for a sidearm, "Is that an...that's an AI! Keelah!" She almost leapt back, Gerrel coming to stand infront of her defensively as he moved to unholster his pistol...

...only to have his view blocked by Garrus, who grabbed the admiral by the wrist and shook his head, "Two words, admiral: Friendly AI. She's on our side, and has saved our asses more times than I care to count. You're perfectly safe. If she's in league with the geth, we'll soon know." He added that last part more of a dry retort than any serious comment. He trusted EDI with his life, and knew she wouldn't betray them. Her betrayal of Cerberus was only proof of that.

Gerrel seemed satisfied and lowered his pistol, holstering it, but Shala seemed intent on hiding behind her fellow admiral, still not trusting it. Garrus simply rolled his eyes, waving a dismissive hand as he turned back into the cockpit.

"-I understand now, Jeff," he returned in time to hear EDI conclude, "I shall note this for later use. I-"

"Guys, this is just fascinating. Really. A truly beautiful tale of a puppet that wants to be a real boy, but uh, don't we have more...important issues to be worrying about other than EDI's quest for sentience?" Kasumi piped up, pointing out the viewscreen, pointedly ignoring Marcus' frozen stance; fists clenched at his side and deep in thought, "Like...oh, I don't know...the fate of an entire species being decided above Rannoch?"

"Right. Of course. Silly us," Joker replied, leaning back in his seat, "Uh...well, EDI...what do we do? We can't just thunder in."

"That is correct, although I believe there is only one solution, although its success will vary," EDI stated, bringing up a line of code that flickered past at the speed of light; something which only she could process, "During my talks with Legion, and through common knowledge brought on by Tali, I have learnt alot about the geth consensus and how it operates. As we all know, geth have primitive intelligence as a single solitary unit, but when grouped together, they are able to distribute data colloboratively, along with intelligence and processing power, and the more there are, the more tactically aware, intelligent and powerful they are. This is why the Reaper code is so effective; of course, a geth by itself would still be intelligent, but grouped together, they pose an incredibly powerful force. This is how the consensus works."

"Interesting EDI, but I'm not seeing where this all connects," Garrus dryly replied, "The more porn geth share, the smarter they are. The closer they are, the stronger they are. Fantastic. But how does that save the quarians?"

"I believe the human phrase is 'if you let me finish, I'll tell you,'" EDI replied, cutting the turian off. Garrus shrugged, crossing his arms as he listened intently. The whole noticed how Marcus seemed to turn his head slightly as he listened, while also musing intensely, "It helps us because Legion also told me that the geth seperate their servers into seperate clusters. Due to the geth not using conventional naming practices, I chose to, based on Legion's name, to use ancient roman military names; a cluster of 5,000 geth programs is a Contubernium. A cluster of 50,000 geth programs is a Centuria. A cluster of 500,000 geth programs is a Legio. A cluster of 5,000,000 geth programs is a Primus. And it continues from there. There are also seperate servers for battlegroups and fleets. When connected and distributing the data, in this case, they are all transmitting the Reaper code to each other, it leaves a trace of tight beam radiation that isn't easily detectable, but can be if one scans hard enough. And I..." it took her a few seconds, but she responded after one simple tap of her console, "...have just tapped into the tight-beam linking all ten of the Primus servers currently operating the geth navy."

"Uh...still lost," Joker coughed, rubbing the back of his head with a weak laugh, "...humor the dense idiot. What does this mean?"

"It means she can cut off the transmission of the Reaper code to the geth ships in orbit of Rannoch," Marcus added, turning to the group with a weary look, "The geth will return to how they were before the upgrades. They'll be vulnerable to the quarians once more, just as before."

"Exactly," came a new voice, and all eyes turned to Samantha, who leaned against a bulkhead in the corner. She blushed upon all the attention, but quickly recovered as she continued, scratching her scalp, "Although I doubt we can just keep that going. The geth wouldn't be so foolish as to just leave their servers so vulnerable like that. All it would take is one cyber attack and they'd cripple the consensus permanently. They would be prepared for that."

"Specialist Traynor is correct," EDI replied, "Which is why I am waiting for your orders, Shepard. Once this attack is initiated, I estimate the geth will counteract my virus, overwhelm it and begin transmitting again in ten minutes."

Marcus nodded, "Ten minutes is all we need."

Gerrel nodded, clasping his hands behind his back and straightening it, "This is the opportunity we need. Once that virus is up, I'll order my ships to destroy what's left quickly and efficien-"

"You'll do no such thing," Marcus hissed, turning to his uncle-in-law with a feral look in his eyes, "You've done enough to fuck this up already. From here on out, we are solving this bullshit my way. And maybe then we'll actually resolve this catastrophe you've led your people into."

Gerrel snorted, shaking his head, "If you think you can-"

"I will not let you destroy the quarian people with your stupidity and arrogance!" he snarled, moving within inches of Gerrel's face. For an instant, people thought he would punch the man, but he managed to hold back, instead giving a low growl, "You will stand down, Gerrel. When we get there, the quarians will make best speed for the relay and get out of the system. And from there we will decide what happens."

Gerrel was too shocked to respond, and before Shala could raise her voice, Marcus shot her a glare, which shut her up instantly. Turning away from them, he waved a dismissive hand, "I expected better from you. I believed you would be better than the Council; just a bit smarter. But it seems not everyone can let go of their past," he sighed, ignoring the burning in his throat as he turned to Joker, "Full military thrust, Joker. Get us in the middle and start sending comm bursts; I want the Machina found," he turned to EDI, "Once we're within one million kilometers EDI, you let the virus loose. I'll tell the quarian fleet to head for the relay while we found the Machina. I'm not leaving until I'm sure Tali is with the Fleet." Or until I have a body to bury.

A chorus of affirmatives rang through the cockpit, and Marcus heard none of them.

His thoughts were solely on Tali alone.

Was she even still alive?

{Loading...}

July 3, 2186

1710 hours.

Main Compartment, Hyena-Class Lifeboat, Migrant Fleet, Tikkun System, In Orbit over Rannoch, Perseus Veil Cluster.

Second Morning War, First Battle of Rannoch.

Admiral Tali'Shepard oso Machina, Commander Igra'Trasp oso Machina, Acting Quartermaster Gunner Kenn'Raan oso Machina.

She had left her fate in the hands of the ancestors. They guided her fate. The fate of her surviving crew. She hoped Kal and Madi were alive. She heard the rest of her surviving crew was alive. She hoped Kenn would make it. She hoped Igra would survive, despite the woman's eccentric personality. She hoped to see Junior again. And most of all, to see Marcus again. How much she missed him was too much for any one being to comprehend, but there was alot of pent up love waiting to be spilled, and she hoped she got to see him one more time.

She closed her eyes tightly, running her thumb along the jagged edge of her wedding ring under the suit; even under her armoured combat suit, she could feel it. She smiled slightly at feeling it, losing herself in the memories of her wedding as she lay there, hoping to fall asleep. And hoping beyond all hope that someone would find them...and the geth wouldn't shoot them down...

"I, Marcus'Shepard vas Normandy, take you as my wife, to love you, to cherish you, and protect you until death do us part. Keelah Se'lai."

"Keelah Se'lai," she whispered under her breath.

"Ma'am?" Igra asked with a frown, placing a hand on Tali's shoulder, although she still didn't open her eyes. It was another one of those times she was glad to have a mask on, because she didn't want Igra to notice the tears travelling down her cheeks, or her muffled sniff, "There's no need for that. We'll see the homeworld soon."

She took a shuddering sigh, wishing she could wipe away her drying tears, and turned to Igra with a smile, "I...I know, Igra. It just...its nothing. Just getting lost in memories." She turned to Kenn, who did not even bother to hold in his weeping. The poor kid.

"You'll be okay, Kenn," Tali cooed, reaching over and tapping his leg, causing the terrified quarian to look back up at her, "Everything'll be just-"

All three of them yelped in perfect order as their pod gave a loud screech, followed by it quaking. They had hit something, and hard.

Physics and gravity took over, with the pod rolling over and over, blurring Tali's vision as her body was thrown around and against the harness; something she would likely get alot of bruises from afterwards. Kenn cried out in surprise, while Igra simply gripped her harness tightly, while Tali tried to remain calm, despite her rapidly increasing dizziness.

After several seconds of torturously slow rolling, the pod came to rest, giving a final clang. Whatever they had landed on, it was made of solid metal and because they had rolled along it continously, and not bouncing off of it in random tandem, meant they had entered an artificially gravitated environment...likely the inside of a hangar.

Unfortunately for the occupants not everything was perfect, and their pod had landed on its side, meaning Tali's head was leaning uncomfortably to the left, towards the hatch. She groaned, cracking her neck as she tried to gain her bearings, hearing Igra and Kenn do the same. Surprise and shock however quickly gave way to panic.

They were in a ship. And gathering how far they were able to crash inside, it was too large to be a quarian vessel.

They were inside a geth ship. Oh keelah...

Igra must have reached the same conclusion, because she was already trying to tear open her harness. Unfortunately, the metal cage would not give way, jammed up due to the crash. Kenn had better luck, although the quarian was soon wishing he hadn't, as his release was marked a second later by a loud thud, and a cry of shock. Tali didn't need to look to know what had happened.

She managed to unclip her own harness alot more calmly. The confirmation of her bruises was confirmed when her muscles gave a throb of pain, and she groaned as she had to pause for a moment and twist her arms, hearing them crack and relax. Entering combat mode, which given their current situation, was paramount. Her hand went to her back, checking that her plasma shotgun was there, and then quickly checked her hip, her fingers slipping into the familiar grip of her phalanx pistol. She sighed in relief, glad they hadn't been damaged or knocked off from the crash. She always wore her weapons, even if it was just during a naval engagement; best to be ready for anything.

She turned to Igra, who was still struggling with her harness. Noting her distress, she grabbed her shoulder and squeezed, her attempts ceasing as she turned to look at the admiral. With a nod, Tali brought up her omni-tool, the orange glow feeling strangely relaxing. She accessed her plasma torch app and quickly brought it to life, watching it spark and sputter from its edge as she brought the tip to Igra's harness.

After a few moments of plasmatic sparking and hissing, both harness latches were melted in two, allowing Igra to pull it clear of her shoulders and free herself, only for her body to be thrown into Tali. She managed to swing her omni-tool out of the way in time to stop herself from gutting Igra, watching her commander as she landed next to Kenn, groaning loudly. Tali merely watched, shaking her head as she disengaged her omni-tool, barely noticing the hole of melted hull that she had caused with her swing.

From her position, it wasn't a long fall, and because she was actually planning on it, she managed to execute it fairly well; her legs extended and feet curled out and ready for landing. She hit the ground hard, but because of her well prepared jump, she barely felt it, and with the precision of a battle-hardened SpecOps operative, she whipped her shotgun out, moving into a crouch as she watched the hatch intently.

Softly, she whispered, "Kenn, Igra, talk to me. Status."

"Kenn's twisted his ankle. Nothing too serious," Igra reported, sounding perfectly fine and close; good, that meant she was upright, "As for me, I'm a bit shaken, but I'll be okay. Where do you think we are?"

"Lack of gravity in our landing means we are either planetside or in a hangar, and the latter seems more likely because we're not close enough for reentry, and even if we were and did, we'd feel it. That leaves a hangar. Amount of room allowed for crash means its wide open; can't be quarian. Igra, that only leaves us one option, and its not good," Tali told her, gulping slightly, trying to wet her lips. I don't even know where to start in terms of fighting our way off a geth ship...and we don't even know what type. Landing in a hangar suggests heavy cruiser and above, and I don't like our chances at escaping a ship of that class or weight.

Igra nodded, but Tali still didn't turn to her, trying to think all the possible combat scenarios through her head. She had a shotgun and a pistol, as well as one terrifed quarian with a sprained ankle and probably dying already of open air exposure as well as Igra, who had limited combat experience in the field. That left just Tali to fend for them. Again, she had a shotgun and pistol, but she also had her omni-tool; an overload program, her combat drone Chiktika, and a dozen other applications at her disposal. Her suit had special purpose combat readouts, with an expanded motion tracker, and her armoured body would be able to suffer a few geth pulse rifle shots, although not many.

Overall, it wasn't looking particularly viable for them. But anything was preferable to staying cooped up in here, waiting for the geth to pry them out. She had to do something.

Marcus wouldn't just sit here. He'd fight.

I'll fight too. I'm a Shepard. That's what we do.

The thought allowed a small grin to tug at her lips, and she shouldered her shotgun with new grown confidence, opening her omni-tool to key the pod hatch, "Igra, I want you to pick up Kenn and take cover behind me. I'm going to take point, scout it out. I'll send Chiktika ahead and feed her visuals to mine so we know what we're up against. She'll be the vanguard; once I know what we're facing, I'm going to fight forward. We're in a hangar, so they should have a fighter ready. If they do, I'll move in and we can hijack it. If not...we'll find another way out of here."

"I don't want to die..." Kenn mumbled, having finally woken up. Although by how slurred his words were, he wouldn't be for long.

Igra soothed him with a slight purr, "Be calm, Kenn'Raan pav Rannoch. We are almost home. You will not die. You have yet to see the desert plains. Think of those plains. Think of the songs our ancestors sang of them. Imagine yourself lying on your back, bathing in Tikkun's rays, your face uncovered...think of that. Because one day, that will happen. Look at me, Kenn..."

Igra's thoughts echoed that of Tali's. Of all quarians. They all dreamt of the homeworld, and here they were...

...their blood spilling into its atmosphere, poisoning it.

She growled and then took a deep breath, bringing back her old hatred of the geth; the one that had died with Tali'Zorah vas Neema. But now she was bringing it back. For that one instant, Tali'Zorah vas Neema was back. And she was going to use all her hatred of her people's creation give birth to a new fury. One that wanted to survive.

Ancestors, I'm ready.

Keelah Se'lai.

She keyed her omni-tool one final time, watching the hatch shoot open. For her, it was like time had slowed down, except for her. In the same second it took for the hatch to expose them to the hangar, she had rapidly summoned Chiktika, throwing her holographic ball out into the open to activate it.

"Go Chiktika, good girl!" she ordered, watching its POV camera appear in the top left of her screen. Still using her omni-tool, she quickly sent the orders she wanted. She was in such a haze that she didn't even know what she was doing, "Give 'em hell, Chiktika! Shock 'em!"

"Dios mio!" she swore she heard, the voice sounding pained and shocked at the same time. But she quickly shook it off as delusion brought on by her longing to see her husband again. Still, her translator had detected the usage of english. Again, it was probably just the geth fooling around with her. Maybe Legion told them about my marriage to Marcus. Maybe they're mocking me...can geth do that? Do they have the capacity for that? Isn't that...'an emotional and chemical reaction?'

It didn't take long for Chiktika to begin its job and Tali steeled one more breath before leaping from the hatch, shotgun raised, "For Rannoch! Keelah Se'lai!" She didn't need to wait to take aim; she found the nearest body and fired, sending a molten hot jet of plasma arcing towards her intended target.

She felt something loom behind her and based on instinct, she sent the elbow holding the trigger swinging back, impacting the geth's chest. She heard a grunt, and her enemy doubled over. Ignoring the surprisingly organic reaction as another delusional impasse, she ducked low and sweep the synthetic's legs out from under it, before standing up and taking aim with her shotgun at its chest...

...and then suddenly finding her shotgun wrenched from her grip, clattering uselessly to the ground as she was tackled into the steel deck. That's odd. Geth don't...tackle. Maybe its the upgrades...

She quickly twisted around and did the only thing she could think to do; she headbutted her assailant. She heard a shocked cry of pain before drawing her mask back (thankfully uncracked) and hooked the geth across the flashlight (although she swore she saw a mandible). In a flash, her enemy was off of her and she brought her knee up inbetween its legs, and the creature was finished in seconds. Wait, why did she do that? Geth don't have...testicles...so what was the need for that kind of action?

Maybe it was her delusions bringing them on.

Moving into a combat roll, she snatched up her shotgun and moved back into crouch position, taking aim at the next enemy she could find...

...and found a wall of biotics rushing to meet her.

Keelah, they have-

Her shotgun vanished, and before she could do anything else, her body was pinned against a support strut (or what felt like one), body coated in the blue tendrils of dark energy. She tried to move her head, but found that she couldn't. And in her stupor, she was just able to make out words.

"Tali, stop!"

It knows me. No, its just a trick. Don't let it-

Then she saw it. The ceiling. The lighting. The way it was angled, the design. It wasn't geth architecture. The elevated windows overlooking the hangar were strangely familiar, and as she lowered her look, she saw it. Painted on the walls. Clear as day. The most relaxing thing she would ever see.

Earth. Surrounded by painted stars, a pair of wings stretching out from underneath it, as if to touch space itself. And below it, two words Tali's translator made out quite easily.

Systems Alliance.

Her entire body immediately relaxed at the sight, filling her with immense relief. Help is here. But what is an Alliance vessel doing in the middle of a warzone?

It was then that she looked down and saw it. The elevator. The consoles lined around it. The overall set up. And then the face peering at her, still holding her in the tight grasp of his biotics, but seemed to be relaxing now that she had. She then noticed the asari next to him, the hooded woman beside her...no, it couldn't be...

But it was. It fit the description. And she'd remember this shuttle bay anywhere.

It was the Normandy. The Normandy.

"Kaidan?" she managed, eyes widening in surprise, "Keelah, is that really you?"

The man sighed in relief, finally releasing his hold on her and letting his biotics dim to nothing. A light smile graced his lips, as she came to land on her feet gently, the quarian peering at him with a rapidly growing smile of her own, "Its me, Tali. The one and only. Welcome home."

She turned to the asari next to him, her grin widening even further, "Liara!" she turned to the hooded woman beside her, happiness flooding through the more familiar faces she saw. "Kasumi!" So many faces. Could this really be real? The Normandy coming to save her and her crew? All her friends in the one place? It seemed too good to be true...

"Yeah, I think I already got my greeting..." wheezed Garrus, Tali turning to see the turian limping towards her slightly, his legs criss-crossing with every footfall. It was a funny position; he was cupping his cheek while putting priority on the area inbetween his legs, as if he had been-

...In a flash, her enemy was off of her and she brought her knee up inbetween its legs...

"Nice to see you too, Tali," Garrus greeted, barely keeping the look of pain on his features absent in his greeting, "Although I imagined I'd be having a much more...joyous reunion."

"Garrus, I am so sorry," Tali replied, looking genuinely guilty as she reached down and grabbed her shotgun, causing the turian to almost flinch for a second. She couldn't help but smile at that; her shotgun threats had had an affect afterall. Holstering it on her back, she just sighed, "I thought we had been captured by the geth, and I sort've just reacted."

"Gee, she confused me for a geth," Garrus whimpered, shaking his head as he grumbled, "I can't be that ugly..."

"Well..." Tali began, trailing off.

"There's no doubt," Kasumi butted in, grinning from ear to ear, "Garrus Vakarian, he's so ugly that quarians are seeing geth everytime they're around him!"

"Hilarious," Garrus remarked dryly, shaking his head at the two giggling women, "You two are a real riot. Should start a sitcom."

Tali, managing to control her laughing, frowned, turning to Kaidan, "Wait, how about the person I elbowed? I recall-"

"Ah, that would have been Keeling," the man replied, nodding to the fiery-haired woman who walked into the room wearing a basic sweatshirt and tightpants, a white hand towel tucked inbetween as she sat on a couch, barely seeming fazed, "You won't have met her. She's a recent addition to the crew."

Even as Tali examined Keeling, she remembered she had fired a bolt of plasma at someone. Plasma.

She whorled to face Kaidan, panic in her expression as she watched Igra and Kenn emerge from her pod, "Wait, I shot someone! Keelah, I shot-"

"-me," Kaidan added, pointing to himself, grinning, "Luckily for you, I always have my kinetic barriers with me. I don't appreciate boiled guts."

"Anybody going to take a look at me?" came another voice, one she swore she had heard before, "Her damn drone zapped me!"

Tali turned to see a heavily-muscled human form emerge, wearing a white singlet with the Alliance logo on the front, nursing what looked to be an electrified hand, wincing in pain everytime he touched the burns.

As if summoned by the man's complaints, Chiktika appeared, her orange drone coming to hover by her side, as if satisfied by its mischief. With a soothing coo, something others found weird, she patted the drone, making sure her hand didn't fall through the interface, "That's a good girl. You get some rest, Chiktika," with that, it deactivated, the ball falling into her palm before she relocated it into one of her pockets.

She turned to the man, smiling behind her mask, despite nobody being able to see it, "I am Admiral Tali'Shepard vas Normandy, original chief engineer," she was careful to place emphasis on 'original,' given that she had been absent from the frigate for seven months, and someone had likely replaced her at that point out of operational necessity. They better not have messed up my engine room. Keelah, if any bosh'tet has messed with my schematics and runtimes-

"Second Lieutenant James Vega ma'am, and I'm quite charmed," the man saluted, "And would be more if you hadn't zapped me."

"Oh, grow up you big baby," Kasumi teased, "Its just a burn."

"A painful on-"

"Suck it up."

"Shut it, Esteban!"

"Only when you do, Mr. Vega."

All these new voices were quite different. She didn't think there would be that many more additions to the crew.

Garrus approached her, smiling as he stopped an inch from her, "Its good to have you back, Tali. Spirits know how much this ship, and all of us, have missed you. Hasn't been the same without you. Why didn't you tell us you were out here though? You could have at least let us know you were alive and well. Mar-we were all worried," the turian made it a point to look disappointed, crossing his arms.

She sighed, rubbing her mask, "I would have, and I wanted to. I really did. But when the fleet entered a state of war, it was made a general order for the entire Fleet to cease all outbound communications. We were effectively adopting an isolationalist policy. We weren't allowed contact from the outside, and we weren't allowed to contact anyone on the outside. And as much as I missed you guys, I couldn't disobey a direct order. I was more helpful as an admiral then I was exiled. I'm truly sorry."

Garrus nodded, slapping her back, "Its okay, Tali, I understand. We understand. We were just...worried, that's all. Its been a long month."

She nodded, sighing and silence fell for a moment. Then Tali remembered their situation and widened her eyes, turning back to the turian, grabbing both of his shoulders, "Keelah, my crew are still out there! Kal, Madi, all of them! You need to go back and rescue them! We can't leave without my crew!"

"Already being done," Kaidan informed her, drawing her attention as she twisted her head to face him, "The Fleet's sending pickets to quickly pick them up even as we speak; within the ten minute window given, of course."

"The Fleet?" she shook her head, laughing bitterly, "No, I don't think you understand. My people can't possibly pick them up! We're taking heavy fire from all sides-"

"Were taking heavy fire until a few minutes ago," Garrus reassured her, grinning at her look of shock, "EDI came up with a brilliant plan. You can ask her for the details later, but I'll tell you this: the Migrant Fleet is making best speed for the relay, and should be out of the system by the time the geth are backup to full power. And your crew will be with them."

She let out a sigh of relief, but it was short lived when she noticed Igra out of the corner of her eye, "Kenn! He needs medical attention!" she turned back to Garrus, "He has a suit breach! His mask is broken!"

"Shit," the turian cursed, turning to Vega, "Pick him up and get him to Chakwas and Michel!" he turned to Kaidan in an instant, not letting Vega argue, "Radio ahead and tell Chakwas to prepare a sterile room! Say she's got a quarian patient heading her way with a shattered mask!"

Tali watched the man named James sweep Kenn out of Igra's arms casually and without effort before the great big tank of a man rushed towards the elevator, charging like a krogan on a blood rage. They were among friends here, it seemed.

But even as Tali watched them go, she couldn't shake the feeling that she felt Kenn wouldn't make it. The amount of time he had been exposed...ancestors have mercy...

"He's going to be just fine, Tali," Garrus assured her, a small smirk on his face, "You know how Chakwas is."

"True, although I didn't know Michel was on the ship...?" she trailed off, leaving it as an obvious question for the turian to answer.

"Another recent development, I assure you," the turian quipped, chuckling as he turned back to Kaidan, "Same with Kaidan actually. Only came onboard about over a week ago. He-" The man she had come to know as a brother seemed to stop, looking over her shoulder at someone. Whoever it was, it had a profound effect on him, but his grin only widened, slinking back slightly, "Although I'm sure you don't care about any of that." He nodded off to the right, over Tali's shoulder, almost sheepishly, before turning his head away.

Tali could only frown as she slowly turned around, her frown remaining until her eyes landed on just who Garrus was talking about.

There he stood, almost as exactly as he had been all those months ago. Tall, stocky frame; heavily built muscle causing his shirt to stretch, showing off his muscular form. Strong, five-fingered hands hung at his sides. His powerful legs only added to his height, where he was almost at ends with most krogan, but nowhere near as tall as Grunt or Wrex. But even after seeing all that, it was his face that changed her opinion.

He was nowhere near what he had looked all those months ago, and she had to hold back a gasp.

Where originally he had medium stubble lining his jaw, the man had elected to let it completely grow out. A thick bush now covered his chin and lower jawline, also moving up and over the area below his nose, but above his upper lip. Overall, he looked very intimidating. It wasn't a mane, but it was a pretty thick, black mass. Red rings hung under his eyes showing a lack of sleep, and his usually piercing eyes showed signs of wearniess and sadness. The look terrified her. The only thing that even looked remotely the same was his slightly cropped black hair. The very look made her distraught, but she held back any emotions as she simply looked at him.

Marcus was there. Alive. And within reach.

One emotion came out on top in that moment. Happiness.

But despite looking at her, Marcus made no moves. He remained where he was, standing next to Kaidan, looking at her blankly. A swarm of emotions likely went through his head as it did hers, and despite her wanting to chastize him for not making a move, she couldn't: because she just stood there as well, staring blankly at him, waiting for any sign of recognition, of movement.

Seconds dragged into a full a minute, and still, he just looked at her. But as it happened, she watched his battle of emotions quickly resolve itself, and she could only see one emotion in those eyes.

Longing. He wasn't moving because he didn't know if he should.

Without even thinking, she opened her arms, welcoming him. But for a second, he didn't flinch, simply looking at her and her wide arms, as if she were some strange creature he had never seen before.

And then, like a flash of lightning, he was marching towards her, closing the gap instantly.

All the air blew out of her as she felt his arms wrap around her tightly, pressing her mask to his shoulder and lifting her up slightly off the ground, but not too much. She heard him let out an exhale of breath, surprised that he had been holding it in this entire time. And despite how tightly she was pressed to his chest, she hugged back, her slimmer, but still well-built, arms wrapping around his broader frame, nuzzling his neck as she sighed happily. She was with him again. Nothing could ruin this.

Nothing was said, and noone around them dared interrupt, and others even averted their eyes to give them privacy. This was a reunion that was long overdue. They would hold their peace.

After what felt like a blissful eternity, Marcus pulled away from her, and so did she, but then his hands landed on her waist, holding her as he placed his forehead against her mask and looked into her eyes. As a result, she looked back into his, reaching up a hand to stroke his cheek. He looked so...lost. But when he looked at her...it was like...all of that went away. He looked hopeful even...

And then, he was moving. He turned away, tearing his head away from her hand. The sudden movement disappointed her, and she looked on as he simply moved towards the elevator...

...and Tali moved along with him, against her personal accord.

Frowning, she looked down to see his five fingers wrapped inbetween her three, dragging her along with him towards the elevator. So when she saw this, she steadied her pace until it was even with his, smiling slightly.

Marcus wasn't going to leave his crew completely in the dark however, barking orders as he reached the elevator, hitting the console to summon it, "Garrus, you're in command. Me and Tali will be in my-our cabin. We are not to be disturbed; make sure the admirals know this. And order Joker to have us regroup with the quarians in the Dholen System."

He hadn't even waited for a response, stepping into the elevator the moment the doors gave them leeway, Tali quickly joining his side. It was as the elevator rose towards the top of the ship that her mind caught up. Wait, what was Liara doing here? Wasn't she the Shadow Broker? What was an N7 and an Alliance marine doing on this ship? How did Marcus get it back after it was impounded?

Then she remembered the blue and black shuttles, the darker shuttle bay, the armoury station, and the Alliance logo plastered on the walls instead of the Cerberus golden hexagon. The Alliance had claimed the Normandy, which meant they had completely retrofitted it to their desire.

Keelah, if they have messed with my engineering station, I will kill those bosh'tets. I had it tweaked to the exact setting I wanted it, and in khelish too! It took me ages to have EDI translate everything into khelish! A translator can only do so much, it isn't infallible!

Just what else had been changed on the Normandy?

What had the Alliance done to her home?

{Loading...}

July 3, 2186

1728 hours.

The Shepards' Quarters, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate SSV Normandy SR-2, In FTL Inbound for the Dholen System, Far Rim Cluster.

Second Morning War.

Captain Marcus Lee Shepard, Admiral Tali'Shepard oso Machina.

As expected, Tali knew the elevator ride would be slow; it always had been, even on the SR-1. Although, she'd admit, the predecessor's speed was alot worse; this was one was just faster enough to be noticable, but still too slow. You'd think with all our technology the Alliance could design faster elevators. So she could only inwardly sigh as they waited for their ascent to complete.

She stepped out onto the deck when they finally did arrive, and smiled when she saw that the Alliance, thankfully, hadn't removed the decontamination unit Marcus had built-in. So when she tapped the interface, activating the decon as she went, when smiled happily when EDI spoke, "Decontaminating the room for you, Mrs. Shepard. Welcome back."

She couldn't help but smile, rubbing the back of her hood, "Its nice to see you again, EDI."

"The feeling is mutual," the AI replied before speaking again, "Decontamination complete. I will not disturb you further. Enjoy your night."

"Thank you, EDI," it was so surreal. Tali was back on the Normandy like she had only left it yesterday, and she could finally see the person she loved so much.

As the door opened, she did what she normally did; she reached up a hand, undid the clasps, and tugged her mask from its moorings, a hiss signalling its removal. Lowering it, she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath through her nose, and letting it out from her mouth. Opening them again, she relished the cold air on her skin, smiling warmly.

"It feels good to be back," Tali stated. When she got no response from Marcus, it was her turn to realize that Marcus actually hadn't walked into the cabin with her. Frowning, she searched the cabin for him, but he simply wasn't there. There was only one place he could be in.

She turned, trying to see where he was-

-only for a wall of human to pick her up and almost slam her back into the bulkhead, his lips crashing against hers.

Now that was a welcome surprise. Her eyes were wide open from the suddeness of it for a moment, simply boring into Marcus' skull as he kissed her desperately, already able to feel his tongue trying to break through her closed lips. But then she melted into it, relishing the old, almost forgotten, contact. The contact that made her feel alive.

She didn't hear her mask clatter to the ground. She didn't even care. All she did was close her eyes and moan, hands reaching up to grasp his shoulders, opening her mouth to allow his tongue passage. Their tongues locked and danced, Marcus continuing to use his body to pin her against the wall, but she didn't mind at all and actually wrapped her thighs around his hips, letting him hold her from the ground.

His hand reached up, pulling down her hood and letting her hair flow freely, the same hand gliding through the silky strands with tender loving care before cupping her cheek, his focus completely on her. But his kiss wasn't loving or caring or passionate. It was desperate, lustful...full of that damn longing.

So after a minute, and the kiss subsided and they had to part to breathe, Tali simply looked at him as he drew in long breaths, his forehead still against hers as he left little pecks along her face; lips, nose, eyebrows, her forehead, her scalp...he made sure nowhere on her head was left untouched, even nibbling her ear slightly, which caused her to giggle softly.

Finally, he looked her in the eyes, letting out a sigh, "I missed you so much..."

Her heart went out to him. All this time, and he had nothing to even remember her by except a photo on his desk. No messages, no presents, not even the odd visit (not that the Alliance would have allowed any of those), nothing. He had essentially been left alone for a whole seven months, with only one of those being action-packed enough to keep him busy. But even the war, a pan-galactic war of this scale? It was enough to drive anyone insane, and only those with those they loved to keep them going could prevail.

He hadn't had her at his side.

She reached up a hand, then brought it down, mumbling curses. Unlatching the armor plating, she finally reached the seals and frustratingly yanked it free from her hand, letting it fall to the floor. Her hand now exposed, she reached up and cradled his cheek, pale grey fingers stroking it sympathetically. He was so warm, she noticed. Warm enough that her colder hand actually started to heat up from touching his skin.

"I know, and I missed you too..." she whispered, continuing her stroking, "...but you know what? I'm here now. Keelah, I'm here. We're back. You made a promise, I made a promise, and we both kept it. We're back together. And I am never leaving you again." She had to pause after saying that and had some hesitance, but she did not let Marcus know that. There's no guarantee that my stay here is even permanent. My people do need me...I'm an Admiral. I can't just whisk away with him like in the old days. I have responsibilities now. Seventeen million responsibilities.

He actually smiled at that, and this one reached his eyes, which made it all worth it, "I know...and I can't tell you how happy I was to see you walk out of that pod...I thought...I was terrified that you'd-"

"SSssshhhh..." she quietly cooed, bringing his head in and placing it on her shoulder, rubbing the back of his neck calmingly as she held him, "Its alright. I'm here, yol'tiya. I'm here."

She heard him mumble something, and she frowned. His face was pressed against her neck, and she couldn't hear what he was saying because of it. Plus, she was confused at how he could find her comfortable when she was essentially wearing combat armor, "Pardon?"

Suddenly, she felt warm lips press against her neck. The suit numbed the feeling, but she could feel it all the same, "I need you...after so long, I...I need you, Tali."

She smiled at him, pulling his head and leaning it against hers, giving her best smile, while lacing her voice with seduction, "I need you as well, Marcus. Its been too long. I need to feel your skin against mine...right now."

He didn't need any further prompting. The lips on her neck lifted, and she was almost disappointed by the sudden lack of contact, only to have that alleviated when those same lips wrapped around hers once more. Another moan, and this time her uncovered hand moved up and grabbed the back of his head, ensuring he could not break the kiss unless she wanted him to.

She began to subconsciously gyrate against him, her core aching for release. She didn't even notice it, too enraptured in her kiss. Her body just moved of its own accord; her armoured chest pressing against his unarmoured one. The lack of contact was maddening.

Eventually, against her will, he broke the kiss, chuckling slightly as he noted what was between them, "I see you've given yourself a new look, Miss vas Normandy."

That nickname of his still managed to send goosebumps up her skin, or make her blush. She smiled then, realizing that she was indeed wearing a different suit from her old one; her new one was definitely more militaristic. It also made her look more like a warrior.

"Do you like it?" She asked slyly, grinning up at him.

He pretended to look like he was deciding, and then shrugged, smiling back at her, matching her grin, "I much prefer the old one; this one is a bit too...bulky looking. Although I must say...your ass looks alot bigger in this one."

She smiled back, sighing slightly, "Well sorry, you're stuck with this suit. My old suit was on the Machina and likely went down with the ship. Sorry..."

He looked crestfallen at that, but quickly shrugged as his hands slid down to her hips, squeezing her buttocks, causing her to hum slightly, "Well, we'll just have to make do with what we've got then, won't we...?"

She laughed, giving him a little peck on the lips, "I think you talk too much, Marcus'Shepard. I think you need to relieve me of this suit. Get to work..."

"You're very demanding, Mrs. Shepard," he tsked, rubbing the small of her back. Her body arched into his hands by instinct, closing her eyes as a sigh burst through her lips, "Almost too demanding."

"Shut up, bosh'tet," she snapped playfully, hands grabbing the hem of his shirt tightly, "And get me out of this damn suit."

"As you command, m'lady," he replied snarkily, his smile everpresent. He hadn't felt this consistently happy in...well, half a year. His hands immediately moved to the rest of her helmet, already knowing, quite expertly, where all the suit latches and seals were. Finding them, he clipped them open and Tali watched as the lower jaw section of her helmet, the one involving the vocalizer, was removed, and dumped unceremoniously behind them. Unlike the mask, it was pure metal, so it wouldn't shatter.

He didn't stop there. Next he removed the golden collar around her neck, letting the pieces drop as the nape was exposed, allowing him to lean in and softly kiss her neck, trailing them all over the exposed area, occassionally flicking out his tongue to add to the sensations. Tali, meanwhile, was in absolute bliss at the ministrusations, flashes of pleasure flicking through her eyes. Months of being trapped in a suit had made her forget just what it was like to be like this.

For her however, it wasn't enough. She stopped him, reaching around to his back and grabbing the edges of his shirt, and tugging upwards. He only ceased his motions to hold his arms up, allowing her to yank it free and throw it away, revealing his muscled body. With a satisfied coo, she unlatched her other glove and removed it, both of her uncovered hands landing on his chest as they began to subconsciously explore every nook and cranny of his well-toned abdomen and pectorals.

Marcus, on the otherhand, didn't feel that was fair, and pulled away with a smile, "That's not fair, Shepard. Why should my chest be uncovered, but not yours?"

"Because I said so, Shepard," she teased back, reaching up and nibbling his ear, simultaneously licking it. It was then that she remembered a certain thing she had done to him before their eventual night together, and with a gulp, she pulled away, motioning for him to let go of her.

While confused, Marcus still complied to her wishes and stepped away from the wall, allowing her to stand, legs unwrapping themselves from his waist. Placed down, she wasted no time in collapsing to her knees, hands moving to his belt buckle and beginning to unfasten it.

"You sure about this?" Marcus asked with concern, his lust and teasing personality gone as he suddenly became worried, "Its been seven-"

"Don't underestimate me," she remarked, managing to get his belt free and tossing it to the floor as she began to tug on his pants, "I'm stronger than I look."

His pants came loose quite easily without the belt to hold them in place, and they fell to his ankles, leaving just his boxers. She could see a rapidly expading bulge and she grinned, looking up at him as she let him know that she had seen his member, "Excited, are we?"

"Can you blame me?"

She didn't answer that, simply pulling down his boxers and watching his large organ pop free, still extending. She didn't even wait for it to get there before her left hand wrapped around it, jerking lightly and listening to her husband hum in delight. One of his hand landed on the back of her head a moment later, anticipating what was to come.

She didn't disappoint. In one swift movement, she brought his manhood to her mouth, opened her lips and brought it inside, Marcus watching as his head disappeared inside her, right up to halfway. She stayed there for a moment, moaning as she closed her eyes before pulling back and then down again. She continued this movement, the hand on the back of her head encouraging her, until her head was essentially bobbing up and down on his length. All he could do was groan and hum as she pleased him.

This went on for a few minutes before her mouth parted with a wet pop, not done with him yet. She wiped her mouth clean of his precum and stood up, hand still stroking his member between them. She leaned in, whispering heatedly, "I want to be relieved of this suit and carried to the bed, Captain..."

How the hell did she make that sound hot? He didn't even bother questioning it.

"Yes ma'am," he replied with just as much heat, and his hands reached under her thighs, lifting her up as her legs latched around his waist. Holding her, he quickly stepped out of his pants and boxers, now completely naked, and his organ bumping up against her rear. She could only giggle as she felt it, kissing him on the lips for a full second before pulling away, winking at him to urge him on. A promise of what was to come.

Still holding her, he moved towards the bed, still nuzzling her neck while one of his hands fiddled with whatever clasps he could find. He didn't get very far before he hit the bed's edge, tripping and causing Tali to fall onto her back into the sheets, Marcus landing ontop of her in a laughing fit. It quickly subsided though when he brought his lips to hers again for another brief kiss.

His five-fingered hands reached down and found all the clasps and seals holding her upper torso, wrenching them free and peeling her upper suit off; sleeves, chestplate, chest section and back all came off, landing on the floor behind them as her breasts became exposed. She almost covered them, until she remembered just who she was with.

She watched with fire in her eyes as Marcus gently picked up one of her mammaries, placing the nipple in his mouth and running his tongue along the padding. She groaned into the empty air, a hand grabbing his hair and holding it painfully tight. He just continued, totally in his own world, before moving onto the second one and repeating the same.

When he was done, his saliva was dripping down her bust. He grinned at her, and she grinned back, and that decided it. In one swift motion, he moved down and unclasped the rest of her suit; he grabbed her shotgun and pistol, clicking on the safety before tossing them away; both of them hearing them clatter across the metal ground quite loudly. He paid them no mind though, and simply removed her shinguards, then her boot knife, and finally her boots. After a few minutes of removal, she lay with him, both of them stark naked, in their bed.

She gripped the bed, relishing the feel of the silky sheets against her skin. It was an overload of euphoria, hitting her at every point at once, and it was amazing.

"You've already done me the courtesy, Mrs. Shepard," she heard Marcus murmur, and she looked down to see her legs parted, his face hovering just over her wet sex, "Allow me to return the favour."

She brokered no argument, not that she got time too, because as soon as the word was on her tongue, his own had parted her folds and plunged into her, flicking against her vaginal walls and sending shudders throughout her entire body. She jerked slightly from the contact, gasping. She jerked again as his tongue continued, her flinching slowly dissipating everytime his tongue made contact with her vagina. Usually, it would take awhile for her to reach her climax. But after so long...

She tried to keep herself from crying out, but the feel of Marcus' tongue inside her was just too much. Her hand grasped the back of his head, urging him on silently and her legs seemed to tighten around his head. As if to calm her, one of his large hands moved up and wrapped around the closest breast it could find, messaging it gently. She only cooed her agreement; coherent thought was impossible at this point, let alone speech. She just let him continue.

Eventually, the ecstasy became too much. She felt her walls tighten, clenching around the recognized presence, welcoming the organ that wasn't quite there yet. Marcus, despite the pre-juices beginning to pool at her gates, continued, satisfied that he was able to pleasure his wife. And Tali was definitely not going to object. Not when she was about to hit.

She needed something to scream into. So without even thinking, she grabbed the nearest pillow, brought it down on her chest and managed to bite down into it as she climaxed.

Her pleasure-filled scream was muffled by the pillow, but was still quite loud. Marcus easily heard it, and felt it, as her womanhood seemed to close around his tongue, ejecting its juices down and straight into his mouth. He sipped eagerly of her nectar, gathering it and swallowing all that he could. He knew he would later regret it, as he always did, as it gave him severe stomach cramps, but for now, he didn't. She tasted sweet and exotic. She tasted alien. And that would never change.

When her orgasm was finally concluded, her hand was left to stroke his head, the pillow she had captured falling onto the bed as she released her hold on it, a long line of teeth punctures in its casing. Her heavy, laboured could be heard, her body exhausted from just the one climax. Marcus, however, was quite the opposite, and he came to his knees as he wiped his mouth, gulping down the last of her juices as he came to land ontop of her, smiling down at her.

Despite her fatigue, she managed to smile back, and greeted his kiss with a deep moan. This kiss was tender and loving, not passionate and lustful. She loved it. For a moment afterwards, they simply lay there, taking a pause in their lovemaking to contemplate. Eventually, she decided it was getting too cold and nippy for her liking, and she climbed under the sheets, holding them to her chest and shuddering.

Marcus laughed at how cute her reaction was, and she simply threw him a glare, daring him to keep finding amusement out of it. He got the message quick enough, crawling over and raising the sheets just enough for him to crawl under with them with her, moving his body so it was situated between her legs, his organ bumping against her core and causing to freeze for a moment.

"You ready?" He asked. He was waiting for her.

She was not. Seven months had left her a bit unexperienced. She was still getting used to being naked with a man again, let alone making love to him. But despite what Tali thought, the wife had nodded.

He guided his manhood towards her entrance, and penetrated her in one swift thrust. She cried out for a second, arms wrapping around his frame instantly as his forehead moved against her, but she calmed down when she relaxed, her body welcoming Marcus inside.

Marcus. Inside her. Another sensation she sorely missed.

It started out fairly slow: Marcus would slowly and subtlely move his hips back and forth in a steady, stable motion, his hands pressed into the bed behind her head, forehead against hers as he closed his eyes, Tali copying the motion as they simply enjoyed the sex. Eventually, it escalated, Marcus getting faster and beginning to moan louder, getting to the point where he actually began to growl. Tali countered with her own growl, something Marcus told her was very sexy, and the sound only made him smile as he began to pick up the pace, thrusting in and out faster and harder, the heat beginning to build to boiling point. Sweat poured down their skin, and Tali's exhaustion practically evaporated.

Which allowed her to stop him, hands pressing up against his chest and stopping his motions. She couldn't help but notice Marcus' annoyed expression, and she giggled. He must be close to climax. Well, I shouldn't keep him. Quickly, she pushed him off of her and onto his back, and in one rapid motion, almost too quick for Marcus to notice, she was straddling his waist, guiding his member back inside her as she took control of the lovemaking, picking herself up before plopping herself back down again, all while keeping themselves under the bedsheets, although the heat between them was probably enough to fuel the reactor on the geth super-dread.

She got faster and faster, and felt Marcus' manhood getting more tense; he was close. She eased him along the way by making her thrusts more forceful, allowing his hands to hold her hips as she increased her pace, her growls and moans prominent.

In one moment, she stopped, feeling Marcus' dick loosen as he emptied his load inside her. He probably shouldn't have, and she knew it; this wasn't their first night. They had both had Mordin's serum, which means she could get pregnant now. Which meant protection or simply not finishing inside. Still, she probably wouldn't get pregnant from this; just because he ejaculated inside her didn't guarantee pregnancy; there was a 50/50 chance that she would.

But that wasn't on her mind as she simply let Marcus fill her up, eyes closed as she sat there for a moment and let him finish his load. When he was finally done, Tali collapsed forward on his chest, smiling contentedly, his throbbing manhood still inside her.

...and began to snore.

Marcus' laughter pretty much filled the room, unable to contain his amusement. Instead of pulling out of her, as that might just wake her up, he brought the sheets up to their chests and let his head fall back, sighing as he closed his eyes and welcomed sleep.

He was out like a light. And this time, the dead gave him privacy in his dreams.

Because these dreams were of Tali. And of Junior.

A future.

"Quite the reunion we had."

- Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.

"Pity it didn't last. It was all back to warfare and politics the next day."

- Marcus Shepard.

A/N:

Before you get your panties in a knot, 'super-dreadnought' is NOT a term Full-Paragon owns. Yes, he has used it (And the Meek Shall Inherit the Galaxy and Heavens Shall Tremble, which are BOTH awesome AU fanfics that I HIGHLY recommend) but he did not make the term up. I'm pretty sure the British used the term when referring to the HMS Dreadnought back in WWI when those kinds of battleships were a big thing. They called it a 'dreadnought,' although some called it a 'super-dreadnought.' That's where it originated from I think, although I might be wrong. However, 'super-dread' I did take from Full-Paragon, but not intentionally: it would get tedious for you to read, and for me to write, 'super-dreadnought' every time I refer to it, so its easier to simply say 'super-dread.' Yet again, I don't even think Full-Paragon owns that; you'd have to verify that yourself.

Next chapter is Priority: Geth Dreadnought. Like I said, the quarian/geth arc won't be as long as I'd/you'd hoped, and will likely be a maximum of six chapters. Still, I'll make them as awesome as I can (also, those six chapters include the two-parter Rannoch, with 1 for Perseus Veil, and 1 for Geth Dreadnought. So that basically leaves two chapters for side quests, which is obviously filled in with 'Rescue Koris' and 'Geth Consensus.' Still, I hope you enjoy it while it lasts.

Also, for those who are panicking about Aria's little quote last chapter, calm yourselves. I have no intention of following that stupid fucking script wall. That whole excuse for not being allowed to bring your squadmates was just bullshit: 'I want you all to myself'? What the fuck? No. I won't be doing that. Aria might say the same thing, but Marcus certainly ain't going along with it. And neither would Tali agree with it. So be calm and know that's not going to happen.

Until next time, Keelah Se'lai, troopers!