HOLOCAUST
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE:
GET ME A HOME
July 10, 2186
1547 hours.
Medical Bay, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate SSV Normandy SR-2, Migrant Fleet, In Orbit over Haestrom, Dholen System, Far Rim Cluster.
Second Morning War.
Shadow Broker Liara T'Soni, Chief Medical Officer Karin Chakwas.
While growing a tooth back for asari wasn't a very long process, that didn't make it pleasant.
Suffice to say, the Shadow Broker, former queen of the largest information network in the galaxy, was in alot of discomfort. If it weren't for the side railings that flanked either side of the medbay bed she was currently lying on, she may have subconsciously rolled off the bed in her irritation. Pain flared up her gums, and every gulp she took only enflamed it. Chakwas had offered painkillers, but Liara had politely refused to take them, saying that all asari deal with this at one point or another, and that giving her anasthetics for it would be the equivalent of wasting time looking for a cure for the common hiccup.
Sure enough though, she was now spending that time in torturous pain. She did her best to occupy her thoughts with other things, such as looking through extranet articles or videos she had downloaded to her omni-tool, or connecting to her office's personal wireless network and looking through the few status reports she had received from what few agents and operatives she still possessed.
While the Shadow Broker's private army had taken a huge dent from Shepard's wrath, it had coped well. After her predecessor's death, his...her...network had been in shambles. Not only had a sizable dent been put in her private army thanks to Shepard and the Normandy crew, but the assault on the Shadow Broker's Base had led to panic among her operatives, and many had considered desertion before she announced herself. Since then, and before the destruction of her former base in Hagalaz, she had steadily grown their numbers back to their previous point, and organization had been brought around. Ever since the Reaper invasion however, what had been left of her network was almost totally destroyed. What few agents she had left to communicate with were scattered, and no longer possessed the resources they previously had. What she had left couldn't be called a private army anymore, and the information network had effectively ceased to exist...but Liara was making do with what she had left. And what she had was more than sufficient for her needs.
Her main worry was Feron. With no comm buoys being present in both the Far Rim and Perseus Veil clusters, Liara had found herself, for the first time in a while, totally disconnected from her network, and therefore from her agents. Of course, she had been prepared for this eventuality, and had sent a general message to all her agents and operatives informing them of her intended absence. Ever since then, all reports or messages she got would be cuing up on the extranet band, and wouldn't be received by Glyph until they were back in range of a comm buoy. That meant she was effectively in the dark. All her operatives could die, or something important might come to her attention regarding the Catalyst or the Reapers, and she wouldn't know until this war with the geth was over.
Even before entering the Far Rim, her contact with Feron, her top operative and lover, was almost entirely non-existent. He hadn't made any reports in the last few weeks, and considering that he had been tasked to hunt for one of her missing wet work teams in the Traverse, it was more than logical for her to assume the worst. The Traverse had largely been ignored to the Reapers due to it being called the 'dead end' of colonization efforts, with most of the habitable worlds residing within Hegemony, Alliance, Council and Terminus space. Nevertheless, the Traverse was still a dangerous place, especially in terms of the newly hostile geth. Cerberus operations in the area were far more frequent than in any other area due to the lack of the Reaper's presence, and even the odd Reaper patrolled the area in search of worlds to conquer.
Given the hostile environment, it was more than logical for Liara to come to the conclusion that the wet work squad she lost was dead, and Feron had died in his search of them.
Liara scrunched her eyes shut, and took a deep breath. Even with Feron long out of contact, she completely rejected the conclusion her mind was constantly being brought back to. When she had discovered Feron caged up on the Broker's ship, she had sworn she wouldn't let him suffer such a thing ever again. If he was captured by the Reapers...goddess, she would rather him be dead than suffer the fate of becoming a husk. And if Cerberus caught him? Being a terrorist organization's lab experiment was even worse.
These thoughts were, as always, unwelcome in her mind. Any thoughts of people she loved and cared about being hurt or tortured were unwelcome, especially if it came to Feron. The drell who she had come to love was tougher than she gave credit for, and given the fact that he was a drell, and had likely done some form of contract for the hanar, as was the law dictated by the Compact, whether it be mercenary work, assassinations, military service, or so forth, her worries were likely baseless. But if Feron was okay, why the silence? Why not just one message, to at least let her know he was alive?
Or maybe being in a communication blackout was what was saving him. Maybe he was afraid of the enemy intercepting his communications and tracking him.
All of these were just theories...ones Liara couldn't legitimize without proof. She was no fool; the standards and burdens of proof had always rested on her, as many asari scholars had taught her when they rejected her theories on the protheans...back in the days when she was a mere anti-social, shy archaelogist, and not the galaxy's greatest player in the information market. Or, at least, former great player. Whether there would be even a galactic economy, let alone a market, in the next few years was something none of them could affirm to. As of now, she could only speculate and hope Feron was alive. And if she was lucky, she would get a message from him once they got back to galactic civilization. Until then, speculation is all she had.
Speculation fueled her hope. And hope was far too scarce at the moment.
As Liara looked around the room, ignoring the pain in her gums, she began to wonder why she was even here. A missing tooth hardly constituted as a battlefield injury, and even if it were, it definitely wasn't one worth wasting the medbay staff's time. It was accurate to say that the medbay hardly had any injuries to treat, but that still didn't justify taking up a medical bay bed when she could be in her office doing work.
She knew that what they were doing here was important, but she couldn't help a feeling of isolationism. They were totally cut off from the rest of the galaxy, and for all they knew, they could finish this war and return only to learn that the Reapers have taken the Citadel, or the Cerberus tried again and succeeded to assassinate the Council, or that the Crucible was discovered and obliterated. For all Liara knew, her own homeworld could be under attack...
There was just too many factors to consider. She needed to know what was happening outside of this cluster. What was Cerberus up to? What worlds had fallen to the Reaper fleets? Had one of her operatives found the Catalyst? What was the Illusive Man up to other than sending a manhunter to capture her captain's wife? Just who had Leng murdered since they left?
Too many questions, not enough answers. It began to gnaw away at her conscience. She needed exposure. She needed her network.
"You're looking apprehensive, Liara," came Chakwas' voice, the asari turning her head to face the doctor, who was seated behind her desk on her left, typing away at a medical report on her personal terminal. The doctor was now turned towards her, looking slightly irritated, with a raised eyebrow, "I haven't got you caged. You can leave, whenever you want."
Liara nodded, licking her purple lips. Sighing, she poked the new gap between her teeth with her tongue, wincing as she felt the sharp end of a tooth poking out the top of her gum. A few more hours, and it would have grown back to its original state. Liara had lost that tooth many times, but like every other time, the asari body persisted. If she were human, she would have lost the tooth permanently several decades ago, but due to her longer lifespan, she didn't lose the ability to regrow teeth until she was 900, and that was definitely many centuries away. Pulling her tongue back, she collected herself, deactivating her omni-tool and folding her hands on her lap.
"I know that, doctor. And to be honest, I don't even know why I'm sitting here. I could be working in my office."
"Please, call me Karin. We've served together long to forget the formalities," the elderly doctor replied with a smile as she twisted her chair around to face her quasi-patient, "Also, I think I might know why you're here. You need somebody to talk to."
Liara scoffed, shaking her head, "I'm asocial, Karin. I actively avoid conversations with people unless it involves research, or I'm talking to one of my operatives."
Chakwas shook her head with a chuckle, "You're talking about the old Liara. You've changed, the whole crew sees that. The old Liara didn't have to micro-manage the single largest and most concentrated information network the galaxy has ever seen, even during the midst of the greatest war the galaxy will ever witness. And if you were truly 'asocial,' you wouldn't have engendered Marcus' trust so much, or fallen for Feron."
Liara sighed, but it was an amused sigh, and she smiled as she glanced at Chakwas, before turning back to look straight at the ceiling, "You know me better than I do, Karin. You are right of course; most of my asocial qualities have dissolved quite a bit. I'd say all of the original crew has changed. Especially Tali."
Chakwas nodded silently, but didn't make any sound until she spoke again, "But aren't staying here to talk about Tali. What is on your mind, Liara?"
"Did I say there was?"
"You wouldn't still be here if there was nothing to talk about. A penny for your thoughts?"
The asari quirked an eyebrow at that, but just as she Chakwas going to elaborate, she held up one hand, smiling, "Wait, I get it now. Another unique, human idiom?" seeing the doctor nod, she laughed, shaking her head, "I see. I will keep that one in mind for next time. But...you are right. There is something I need to talk about, but I don't think I could talk with Marcus about it. He has...far too many things on his mind right now to worry about such...trivialities."
Chakwas nodded, leaning back in her seat as she crossed her legs, "Although I think you understand the amount of trouble Marcus will go through for one of his crew, you're right. Tali is helping, but he's under alot of pressure right now."
Liara rolled onto her side, opening her mouth before closing it. Turning away, she thought about what she was going to say. A few seconds later, the asari sits up on the bed's edge, hands clasped in her lap, and looks directly at Chakwas, "That's just it, though. Goddess, the amount of pressure. I think...I think its too much for one man to handle, but he's insistent on carrying it all himself. I don't think even Tali is sharing a quarter of the load she thinks she is."
Chakwas creased her lips, "What do you mean?"
"I don't think Marcus is even telling Tali the whole story. I think there's alot of things he's keeping to himself," the asari blurted out, without much real thought to it.
"And how do you know this?"
Liara gulped, preparing the ultimate bomb of the conversation. After some preparation, she decided to simply get it out and over and done with, "Marcus...back on Rannoch...he admitted to draw a gun on Mordin down on Tuchanka. He said he was offered a deal by Linron that if he betrayed Wrex and sabotaged the cure, he would get the full support of the salarian military. And he...he almost went through with it."
Chakwas, despite being shocked to hear this, kept her composure as she asked, "Almost? I mean, the reports from the salarians state that tests have proven conclusive that every trace of the genophage has been eradicated and the remaining tissue containing it broken down and destroyed. The krogan are by all meanings of the term...cured. So its clear to me that Marcus didn't go through with it."
Liara nodded, "He didn't; he admitted that too. He said that no matter how much he wanted the salarian's support, he couldn't betray a friend and a brother. Goddess, Karin. The look in his eyes. He...hates himself. I think there's a part of him that he's keeping secret from us. If we didn't even know about that, then what else is he keeping secret from us? Was there more to that assassination plot by the indoctrinated hanar? What else has he been hiding from us?"
Chakwas held up her hands in a placative gesture, looking uncomfortable, "I believe we're toeing the line, Liara. While this is alarming news, I don't think its reason to doubt Marcus. And I have no doubt Tali is helping him through these difficult times. Her reappearance is most appropriate."
"But that's the thing: even Tali didn't know!" Liara declared, "He spoke to her as if this was the first time she had heard about it! Can you believe that? Tali, out of all the people on this ship, was also kept in the dark! What else is he hiding, Karin? How can we support him if he won't tell us the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? How useful are we, really? Aside from being combatants, we're not much help on the moral side of things are we?"
Chakwas sighed, rubbing her temples as she stood up and came to Liara's side, meeting the asari's eyes with intense purpose, "I think there are some things Marcus just isn't capable of telling us right now. Telling your friends and crew that you planned on betraying two others isn't exactly light news, Liara. He would have told us if he believed the information critical."
Liara just snorted, "The problem is that the information always has to be critical. It always has to be on a need-to-know basis. We're not just his subordinates, Karin. I'd like to think I'm one of his closest friends. Tali is his wife. Garrus is his brother in many ways. We're essentially adopted family for him! And he doesn't think its reasonable that we know about this?"
"But you do know," Chakwas countered, waving a hand in the air to emphasize her point, "Down on Rannoch, he opened up. You just told me that."
Liara just let out a bitter chuckle, dropping from the bed to land on both feet on the tiled deck of the medical bay, "Yes, he told us. Eventually. This is old news, Karin. Mordin and Wrex and the genophage cure...that was a while ago. Why has he only now told us, when the genophage has long been cured?"
Chakwas narrowed her eyes, looking at the asari almost accusingly, "You are acting like Marcus isn't trustworthy, Liara. Besides, even if you're the Shadow Broker, you can't know everything. I'm sure there were good reasons for why Marcus kept this a secret from us. He was likely trying to protect us...to keep our morale up. He is our commanding officer, after all."
"Its not that I don't trust him, Karin. Its the exact opposite," Liara reasoned, grasping her head as if she was in pain, "I just feel so...useless. So helpless. How can we, as a squad, support our commander if he is carrying extra baggage we don't know about? How are we supposed to be his friends, his moral anchors, if he won't let us in?"
Chakwas sighed with a hint of sadness in her tone, the old doctor reaching up and grasping Liara's shoulder tenderly, almost motherly, "Perhaps there are some things he does not want us to carry. Maybe he thinks he is the only one who can withstand these burdens."
Liara just shook her head, looking the doctor straight in the eyes, "That's insane."
Chakwas just shrugged, turning back to her desk, "I said that's probably what he thinks. I didn't say he was right to think as such."
Liara frowned as she watched the doctor seat herself back behind her desk, "Then you agree with me, then?"
Chakwas simply nodded as she spun back to face the asari, a inactive datapad in one hand, lying on her lap, "Yes Liara, but there isn't much we can do about it. If his own spouse can't yank the information out of his head, then we certainly won't be able to budge him. You could try, but it wouldn't do much good. All we can do is leave him be."
The asari growled in response, the doctor's response sounding far too lethargic and defeated for it to be the same person. How can she possibly endorse such an unorthodox strategy? We should just leave Marcus to his demons? We should just let him remain stubborn to the point where he eventually gets himself killed?
"That's not good enough!" she shouted in response, although if the doctor was shocked or taken aback by the outburst, she didn't show it. Noticing how loud she had gotten, she lowered her voice, straightening her coat as she did, "I will not just stand here and let him continue to push us aside! How long will we wait until we step in and say enough is enough? When the time comes, and he is about to get himself killed, and he orders us to stay back, you can bet I'll be one of the people up for insubordination!"
Chakwas just smiles, leaning back as she let go of the datapad and crossed her arms, "And you think Tali, Garrus or Kaidan are any different? Tali would likely save him so she could kill him herself, Garrus would laugh his orders off and stop him, and Kaidan would point out the lack of logic in his orders. Believe it or not Liara, the crew is just as loyal to Marcus as you are. Noone is going to let him get away with any idiocy on this ship, or on the field."
With a final, discontented sigh, Liara just dropped her arms, taking a long gulp, "I know, I know. I just..." she bit her lower lip, then waved a dismissive hand, "I feel like we're being left out. Like he's deliberately pushing us away. And I hate it, Karin. I hate all of it!" she slammed her hand against the side of the bed, turning towards the doctor with a look of pure defiance, "Goddess, we should be past this by now! We should be able to tell each other things no other can hear! If he can't even tell his wife these things, than do we really know him? I don't even know anymore, Karin!"
Chakwas gulped, licking her own lips as she tapped absentmindedly at the datapad in her lap. She didn't seem to be doing anything, just simply typing without purpose. Eventually, she gulped and looked back to the asari, "Perhaps there is more to this than what we currently know. More than you or anyone else can easily identify."
Liara simply stared at the doctor, noticing her sudden change in posture. All the confidence she had was gone, and she looked uncomfortable, shifting uneasily in her seat. When Chakwas looked at Liara, she looked troubled; something had changed. Something Liara had said had sparked something in Chakwas' head, and she had now come to a realization.
But just what has she realized, exactly?
"Karin..." she spoke slowly and hesitantly, letting Chakwas know that she had picked up on the doctor's tone. But by the doctor's lack of reaction, it looked like she wasn't exactly trying to hide it to begin with, "...if there's something you know, you need to tell me."
Chakwas just shook her head, placing her left elbow on her desk's surface, leaning her face on a clenched fist, "Usually I'd be bound by doctor-patient confidentiality. Even in the military, some laws hold sacred."
Liara was quick to object. No you don't. You don't get to spark my curiosity and then shut me out. "Karin, you need to-"
"But Marcus is family. Maybe not by blood, but by affiliation," the doctor interrupted, before the asari could go on a tangent, "And strictly speaking I haven't actually diagnosed him yet, so technically this is only a theory. Which is perfectly legal to discuss with outsiders," taking a shuddering breath, she continued, "Liara, there comes a time in every soldier's life where they will see things they don't come back from. Mentally. What they see cripples them. Now, alot of soldiers can be desensitized to that kind of thing. Most of them are either trained killers, disconnected from reality or simply exhibit psychopathic tendencies, such as Kai Leng. Most of them become CAT6; dishonorably discharged and shoved off the Corps without much fuss. Its mostly clandestine. Marcus...I wouldn't call him a sensitive man, but he is not like most soldiers. He's got a keen diplomatic mind, and he cares about his crew and squad; more than I can say for alot of Alliance commanders. But like I said, there will come a time where a soldier, even men like Marcus, will see too much bloodshed for them to cope with. Watched too many people die; had to watch their comrades get killed or sacrifice their lives, either for them or the mission. Being a commanding officer does not make this any easier; it only adds more problems. Having to make tactical decisions that could lose lives, but ultimately save more."
The more the doctor spoke, the more Liara's eyes widened, and when an opening was left open for her to speak, she did so, expressing her concern and worry all at the same time, "Karin, please tell me you're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting."
Chakwas sighed, creasing her lips, and when their eyes met, she saw the...the defeat in them, "I'm afraid so, Liara. All the evidence points towards it. From Jacob's death on Noveria, right up to Mordin and Thane's sacrifices. Again and again, he's been forced to make the difficult choices. I'm sure you remember Primarch Victus? Do you remember his son, Lieutenant Victus? Do you remember when Marcus told the Primarch that his son had given his life to protect the krogan?"
Liara nodded, "Yes, I do. I was there. I...I watched Tarquin fall with the bomb. His father should be proud," she crossed her arms, leaning against the bed, "But Marcus looked so calm and collected about it. He never said a word about it; he just sort've went on as if it was business as normal. Like no one had died at all."
Chakwas gave a bitter smile that was devoid of any actual humour, "He lost most of his squad on Elysium, watched civilians die all around him and lost his girlfriend in combat to the batarians. He lost the rest on Torfan charging batarian fortifications whilst under heavy fire. Then he lost an entire platoon to thresher maws on Akuze. He had to leave Ashley behind on Virmire. He wouldn't be where he is now if he let his emotions control him, Liara. He's always been good at reining them in. Before he met Tali, and even sometime afterward, he almost never let anyone in. Sure, after his...first death he's been alot more open, but that doesn't mean he's an open book. He hides his feelings because he has to, Liara. Not because he's okay with death. Tarquin's affected him in more ways than one."
Liara just scoffed, "Have you forgotten how devastated he was after Jacob's death? He scared the crap out of Miss Chambers and then sealed himself up in his cabin for a couple of days. Not exactly the model image of a calm, controlled soldier with his emotions in check."
"I know Liara," Chakwas retorted, "I was there. I tried talking him down after he snapped at the poor woman. But you're forgetting something. Jacob was the turning point. Marcus lost it because he'd finally taken too much loss. He had reached the breaking point. Crossed the line. As I said Liara, every soldier reaches that point where they crack. Where they've seen too much loss and can't cope anymore. I imagine Jacob being murdered by a man he despises only made it worse for Marcus."
Liara looked at her warily, "I don't know, Karin."
"The evidence fits, I'm telling you. And as a medical professional, I think I can tell when the symptoms start appearing," Chakwas persisted, "Ever since Jacob's death he's only deteriorated. The fact that he pulled a gun on Mordin just before the man sacrificed himself certainly didn't help things, Liara. The fact of the matter is that we simply can't ignore what's staring us in the face. If it weren't for Tali, he probably would have found comfort at the bottom of a bottle right now."
"Even if you're right," Liara concluded, shaking her head as she stepped away from the bed to move into the middle of the room, hands on her hips, "How are we supposed to approach this? We can't very well tell the crew that he has PTSD, can we? We're on the precipice on retaking Rannoch! Telling the crew this kind of thing would only cause discontent and a drop of morale."
"What do you think I've been telling you?" Chakwas snapped back, "That is why Marcus hasn't told anyone. This is a matter of morale. If people learn now that he isn't the infallible hero with an infinite list of solutions for every problem he faces than morale will drop. And in the middle of a war that could determine the fate of the entirety of galactic civilization, that is unacceptable. As harsh a reality as it may be, no one can know about this. As a matter of fact, news about this cannot leave this room. Only you and I can know."
Liara just scoffed, turning around to look Chakwas in the eyes, "Not even Tali?"
"Tali least of all, I'm afraid," Chakwas said with an a hint of regret in her tone, "As his wife, she would be the most inclined to follow up on this. Which could lead to another outburst. That, and with her being friends with Miss Goto, it is more than likely our resident thief would get wind of this and begin spreading such information willy-nilly. I don't doubt her integrity, but with information such as this, she cannot be trusted."
"So we just let the crew continue to believe he's fine?" Liara asked, flabbergasted, "That he's not suffering from severe PTSD?"
It was then that Liara noticed Chakwas look uncomfortable once more. It was the same gesture she made when about to reveal her theory on Marcus' PTSD, and it made Liara believe that there was something else the doctor wasn't telling her. And that it was just as big as her PTSD revelation.
She cocked her head, letting the doctor know of her hidden revelation, "Karin, is there something else I should know?"
Chakwas looked at her for a moment before shaking her head, spinning back to face her desk, "No, its nothing. Just a crazy theory of mine...its of no consequence."
Liara was having none of it, quickly moving up to the doctor and placing her hand on her shoulder, squeezing it, "Doctor, if you have anything you need to say, I recommend saying it now."
There was a sigh, before the doctor nodded, letting Liara know she could retract her hand. She did just that as the doctor turned back to face her, a look of exhaustion on her features. It took her a few moments to speak, but when she did, her words were tired and hushed, "Liara, there's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it. I think the captain is-"
The doctor immediately shut her mouth at the sound of the haptic interface disappearing. Both heads turned towards the door immediately as it opened, revealing the form of none other than the devil himself.
Marcus stepped into the room, eyes immediately landing on the two of them with a warm smile, "You look better, Liara. How's the tooth coming along?"
Liara had almost forgotten the pain in her gums until Marcus brought it up. Suddenly, the pain was back, almost as if summoned by his question. She nodded, putting on a fake smile as she responded. The revelation of Marcus' PTSD had put a dent in her mood for the day, and she was hoping her smile was good enough to ward off suspicion. She didn't want Marcus to begin doubting her as she had begun to doubt him.
I'm so sorry, Marcus.
"Its fine. Healing along nicely," Liara replied kindly, maintaining her fake, but necessary, smile, "Asari teeth heal within hours after being knocked out, unlike humans. It keeps going like that until we're 900. If we lose a tooth after that, its gone for good."
Chakwas nodded, catching onto Liara's act and adding to it with her own, more successful, smile, "Liara is correct, of course. Asari lifespans means their body has to compensate for the thousand years that they are capable of living. Their body doesn't decompose as rapidly as it does in humans, their brains are more advanced than ours and capable of consuming more information, and everything heals faster aside from the odd wound. Teeth included."
Marcus nodded, turning back to Liara, "That's good to hear. Although I'm sure losing a tooth isn't exactly like getting indoctrinated, its better to be in good shape than in poor shape when we begin our final assault on Rannoch."
Liara nodded, maintaining her composure. I really am sorry, Marcus. I wish I could help you. I wish we could all help you. Damn this war.
She just replied with as cheery a voice as possible, "Even if my tooth didn't heal properly, I'd still be down there with you, fighting the geth and making history happen. I'm not going to miss this assault for anything. No lost tooth is going to stop me."
Marcus simply nodded, turning back to the door, his hands clasped behind his back, "Very good. Well, I better get moving. There'll be a squad debriefing in the War Room to discuss the attack with the quarian admirals in an hour. I expect you'll be there?"
"Certainly."
"Excellent. I'll see you then," and with that, as quickly as he had arrived, the man was gone, door closing behind him.
And despite the coming battle, Liara couldn't feel hope or determination rushing through her. On Tuchanka, she had gone in knowing that they were going to cure a thousand year old genophage and make history. Now that they were about to do it again, she couldn't muster the same enthusiasm.
In the end, Liara didn't know what to think.
Is he really falling apart inside? she thought to herself. Is there noone who can save him?
She answered that for herself within moments. There's only one person who can do that.
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July 10, 2186
1615 hours.
Engineering, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate SSV Normandy SR-2, Migrant Fleet, In Orbit over Haestrom, Dholen System, Far Rim Cluster.
Second Morning War.
Admiral Tali'Shepard vas Normandy, Chief Engineer Gregory Adams, Power Engineer Kenneth Donnelly, Propulsion Engineer Gabriella Daniels.
Tali was not happy.
On one hand, she was glad to be home in the proverbial sense. Sure, the Migrant Fleet was technically her home right from birth, but the Normandy crew had been where she was at her most useful. On the Normandy, she was achieving something. Whether it had been fighting an army of geth and hunting down an indoctrinated turian madman, stopping an enigmatic race of converted protheans from harvesting the human race, or ending a cycle that has gone on for billions of years unimpeded; possibly since the dawn of civilization itself. On the Flotilla, she was just another marine. Here, she was something.
But to be even more technical, the Normandy's engine room was where she truly felt at home. Being one of the best and brightest the quarian race had to offer, especially as an engineer, meant that having access to the most state-of-the-art technology in the galaxy was a treasure strove to the young admiral. She had gone from one of Adams' underlings on the SR-1 to section head of the engineering department on the SR-2 during the fight with the Collectors.
All the technology she could want to tinker with, vents to crawl through and clean...it was a quarian engineer's idea of vacation.
She hadn't been near engineering for a while, even after boarding the Normandy. She had been too wrapped up in seeing Marcus again. The first time she saw him again was when she thought she would die. Then she was off to blow up a geth super-dreadnought. That, coupled with her almost constant workload with being an admiral and all the meetings meant that her original skill set was sidelined.
But now she was finally back. Not permanently of course, but at least she got to see the place. She was still an Admiral, and while Gerrel didn't want to discuss battle tactics at this current moment, or having to argue with Xen about whether or not to divert search-and-rescue efforts so that the insane admiral could retrieve geth salvage (an argument Tali had won, much to Xen's vehemence), she knew she would have to delve into the realm of politics and leadership sooner or later.
At least with Marcus the people he leads are his friends, and the people who lead him respect him immensely. Most of the men and women under my command don't even address me on a first name basis, and my work colleagues are no different. Shala's my aunt and is almost incapable of seeing me as anything other than a child. Koris is resistant to almost any plan that involves military action while Gerrel is too eager. And Xen...Xen is just an insane, cold-hearted bitch.
Tali barely held a giggle at that. Marcus has adopted some of my terminology...only fair that I adopt some of his. At least it isn't as...colorful as the other language I hear him say. He and Jack could have a swearing contest.
So, Tali was home. In engineering. Adams was all too eager to let her have her old console, as it still wasn't taken. Ken and Gabby continued to use the consoles on the starboard (right) side of engineering, so the two that Tali preferred on the port (left) side were open for her to use. The main console infront of the drive core was periodically used by Adams, but his main console was the one in the middle, facing the back of the engineering bay and inbetween the starboard and port consoles.
So Tali approached her old console, the rightside of the two, and eagerly opened it up.
And now here she was, seething.
So far, it was silent. She just stared at the console, hands swiping through it as she checked all the systems...to the best of her ability. The main problem she had was that she couldn't comprehend any of the text on the screen.
Tali wouldn't lie. She missed the old SR-2. The entire ship had just been a massive improvement over the SR-1. She liked the SR-1, but the Cerberus SR-2 had just been leagues ahead of the original. The debriefing room was bright and spaceous. The Tantalus drive core had been smaller than the original, but far more advanced and easier to look at. She had enjoyed working on the Hammerhead and the two YMIR mechs they briefly had, tinkering with their parts and improving their targeting and programming. And the armoury was far more expansive. Everything was bright and the people were nice. Kelly was cheerful and always willing to help, she had another quarian to talk to, and there wasn't an egotistical prothean gloating about how superior he-
But she digressed. The new SR-2 just...wasn't the same. The Alliance had changed alot. Cerberus had built the ship in the name of efficiency and comfort. The food, the size, everything...it was all designed to give them an edge, while also letting them get comfortable when necessary. But the Alliance was alot more focused on returning the Normandy to what it actually was: a fully functional warship with stealth capabilities. All things considered though, the Normandy was no longer a frigate as much as it was a fast moving cruiser-dreadnought. The SR-2 was far larger than a standard Alliance frigate, and far outweighed the weight requirements for a vessel of that classification. It was bigger than a destroyer, but didn't have the weight of a cruiser, but was close enough for it to be a fair designation. And the firepower and shielding it possessed not only matched a dreadnought, it surpassed it. Especially when you considered the Normandy effectively carried the main gun of a Reaper.
And with bringing the Normandy back in line with Alliance regulations and conventions regarding warship design according to the Systems Alliance Charter, they had done more than just 'switch things around.' The Alliance had completely changed the ship, most of which Tali hated. The ship was much darker now, with most of the lighting toned down. Apparently it had been worse before, as the ship had been forced to leave Earth before retrofits were completed, meaning cabling left hanging, faulty and dim lighting, and other such things. Luckily, the retrofits had since been completed, although the lighting was still dimmer than beforehand. The tech lab had been switched around (for whatever reason), and the debriefing room moved to the tech lab's old position, and a War Room added. And with the armoury squeezed into the shuttle bay, it was much smaller.
The new faces were also...well, new. Tali hadn't known James Vega that long, Steve Cortez seemed nice enough, and Samantha Traynor...well, apart from sharing a similar love of tech, she didn't know the woman well enough to be friends with her. That, and while some of the faces from the SR-2 were familiar, alot of them were new Alliance personnel of the likes she had never seen before.
And with the many changes on the Normandy, there was only one that absolutely pissed Tali off.
THEY'VE MESSED WITH MY CONSOLE!
Finally fed up with knowing that all her settings had been reset, she growled and slammed her hands against the console. The holographic interface fizzed and popped, before the image was restored to normal. The sound was so loud that Ken stopped teasing Gabby to turn to face her, a grin still plastered on his face. Adams had turned from his datapad, having been running a systems diagnostic, looking at her with a frown.
"Is everything alright Tali?" Adams asked, worried.
The quarian couldn't to shake as she seethes, gripping the console so tightly that her muscles were tensing. She gritted her teeth, as she looked blankly at the screen. Eventually, coming back to her senses, she looked at Adams, shaking her head. Fellow engineers...they'll understand.
"Alright? Alright?" she hadn't intended for her voice to sound so venomous, but for reasons she couldn't explain, this change had infuriated her, "My console has been tampered with! All the core default settings have been reset! Do you realize how hard it was for me to change the English to Khelish? Do you realize how many tweaks I had to make so that the system ran smoothly? How much space I had to clear to make the system run faster and smoother? How much junk data and useless folders I had to delete just so I could store things? And then there's my music! I had hundreds of tracks uploaded to this terminal so that I could listen to them while working! All my calculations I made so that this engine room ran at peak effiency is all gone!"
There was silence for a few moments as her rant concluded, the quarian taking deep breaths as she fixed Adams with a look of absolute frustration. Why she felt the need to filter this at Adams was beyond her, as the chief engineer had done nothing to her of substance. He certainly hadn't changed the settings. For all Tali knew, some Alliance kush'ka believing himself to be an engineer had done it during the retrofits!
Eventually, Gabby coughed to clear her throat, looking at Tali uncertainly, and almost flinching when Tali's look switched to her, "I...uh...um...well...maybe it was done during the retrofits?"
Tali just snarled, turning back to her console as she slammed a closed fist against it, "That engineer is lucky he's not here. The Reapers are nothing compared to what I would have done with him," quickly, and without thinking, "Gabby, I want you to search your console for any ghost data that might have survived the purging of this console. Ken, instead of laughing and giggling like you usually do, you can run a diagnostic on starboard drive core energy bleed stabilizer. The sound is off; most likely because you haven't maintained it properly," she spun to look at Ken, arms crossed as she narrowed her eyes in a glare, "How long has it been since you ran proper maintenance?"
"Well...uh..." Ken stuttered, looking flustered as he looked to Gabby for support. He got none, the redhead human meekly smiling as she looked at her console, pretending not to notice Ken's pleading look. With his colleague not helping him, he turned back to Tali, laughing half-heartedly at her, wracking his brain for an answer, "Well...it was...um...well, I haven't run a maintenance check...since..." he met her eyes, and she knew that he knew that he was lucky that her mask was on, otherwise she would have seen the fury in her eyes. Knowing his life rested on the answer, he quickly blurted out an answer, "...since Grissom Academy?"
Tali, like she was coddling a child, responded slowly as she moved closer, closing the distance rapidly, arms at her sides and fists clenched, "And how. Long ago. Was that?" Finishing her sentence, she stood before him. Ken was only slightly shorter than she was, giving her a slight height advantage as she looked at him. He did not fail to notice her rigid posture.
Before he could speak though, Gabby stepped in to Ken's rescue, coming to stand at his side, but looking alot less terrifed than he did, "Close to a month ago now...ma'am."
Tali's eyes simply widened, "That's unacceptable! When I come in here and work with you, I expect you to run at peak efficiency! Now, I've not only found my console totally purged and in need of tweaking once more to get it back to my liking so that I can actually use it, but found that you've been lacking in your maintenance duties! You'd think with the FBA couplings installed...wait, are they still installed?"
Ken quickly nodded, answering in his scottish accent, despite it being rushed, "Yes...yes! The couplings are still there! They are pretty much the only thing they didn't touch in the-"
Tali cut him off quickly and harshly, "-then why is it that you still can't maintain the proper maintenance schedule? Marcus got you those couplings to make your maintenance easier, not so you can not do it at all!" Then she moved closer, her mask inches from Ken's face, the man audibly gulping, "Now...by the time I finish talking Ken, I expect you to be checking that energy bleed stabilizer, I expect the proper maintenance and I expect you to be working so fast that you put half a quarian engineering team to shame! Am I understood!?"
Hastily and quickly, "Ye-yes, admiral! I-I me-mean chief! I mean...ma'am!" He snapped a crisp salute.
Gabby was giggling now, and despite herself, Tali felt a slight grin creasing her lips as well, "Then why are you still here? MOVE!" Her voice echoed through the engine room, and was enough to jolt Ken into action, the engineer stumbling over himself as he raced to grab his toolkit, already opening his omni-tool to follow the orders he was given.
And within moments, he had disappeared into the room holding the drive core, sounds of the scot cursing ringing through engineering.
Tali turned to Gabby, and cocked her head, "You too, Gabby. I want an engineering status report on my desk within four hours. I want to know how the Normandy is performing before we-"
"-begin the assault on Rannoch?" came Adams' voice, and both women spun to face the engineer, who stood behind them, hands clasped behind his back as he grinned at both of them, "Of course, Tali. I will make sure she has them to you by then. Get moving, Daniels."
Gabby snapped a salute, nodding, "Yes sir. Right on it, sir." She then returned to her console, grabbing a datapad as she began to take notes, sifting through her history of system tweaks and repairs as she began to make a list.
Tali stumbled for words as Adams looked at her, that damn smile still on his face, "Tali, I wasn't aware I had been demoted."
Tali continued to open and close her mouth before shaking her head. You were the old section head, Shepard. Get a grip and respond, damn you. Taking a breath, she responded cooly and apologetically, having worked off her original anger by venting it at Ken.
Besides, it felt good to shout at him. Little bosh'tet deserves it sometimes.
"I am so sorry, Adams. My apologies," she replied calmly, just as she had practiced, "Its just...I was chief engineer on the ship before you returned, so I...guess I'm just used to running the show in here. I meant no disrespect or any-"
Adams held up one hand, still smiling, cutting her off as he chuckled, "Tali, far be it from me to push away efficiency. What you just did made me look like a fool."
That stopped Tali in her tracks, the quarian cocking her head at the man, "What do you mean?"
Adams leaned back against his console, shaking his head as he crossed his arms, "These two are excellent engineers, I'll give them that. The workload they manage together is more than the workload the entire engineering staff on the SR-1 managed to do. More more work gets done in here. But while Daniels seems to respect the chain of command, Donnelly does not. He's a bit of a smartass, and I usually have to whip him into shape before he'll do as he's told," his grin returned, and he sighed, shaking his head, "And you, Tali, just made him do maintenance by making him wet his pants. I've never seen the man so scared. Are you sure you're the same Tali? Not just another quarian with the same name?"
Tali laughed at the joke, rubbing the back of her neck, "No, its me alright. Guess we've all grown up alittle."
Adams nodded, his grin dying alittle, "Some...more than most," despite his morbid change in topic, he quickly refocused, slapping Tali on the shoulder, "I have no problem with co-managing engineering, Tali. Just, please...could you please let me know before you start shouting orders? You almost had me scurrying to do the maintenance. I tell you Tali, I think Marcus has done more than rub off on you...you're sure he's not contagious?"
Tali just giggled, turning away, "No, otherwise I'd have died by now. Explosions and what not."
"Comes with the Shepard name," Adams laughed, but then his grin died again, causing Tali to stop her retreat as she turned to him. Seeing this, he quickly elaborated, "The wedding. I should have been there. I owed you two that much. Seems like a spit in the face."
Tali shook her head, "You did what you thought was right, Adams. If I hadn't seen Marcus for myself, I might not have believed it either. You're here now, and that's what matters," looking to clear his head, she turned to her console, "Mind helping me fix the settings?"
Adams nodded, standing up from his consoles, "Why not? I was just running through the numbers on the ejector ports for the IES. Not much to do when we're just sitting around out here. Now, what did you want changed first?"
Tali nodded, the two engineers heading over to her console, "First, I need it changed to Khelish. I need to actually understand what I'm reading before I can-"
"Uh...Tali?" came Joker's voice over the PA.
Tali sighed, looking up with a look of exasperation as Adams chuckled, "What is it, Joker?"
"Sorry to interrupt, but we've got a shuttle about to dock. The quarian admiralty is onboard."
"And you're telling me this...why? Just because I'm an admiral doesn't mean I need to be informed everytime they move to this ship."
"Uh...because there's an extra person onboard who explicitly wants to talk with you."
Tali frowned, Adams simply shrugging. With a sigh, she nodded, "Thank you, Joker. Tell them I'll meet them when they dock."
"Got it. Should I send them emojis?"
"I don't know what that is, but if you send one to them, be careful it doesn't offend them."
"Yeah, on second thought, not a good idea. Besides, EDI might get offended." With that, the PA system was switched off, and Tali turned to Adams apologetically.
"I'm really sorry about this..." the admiral apologized again, but Adams simply waved it off.
"Don't you apologize once more," he dismissed, immediately moving to work on the console, "I'll change the language to Khelish, the rest you can fix. Sound like a deal?"
Tali just smiled, nodding, "Deal. Thanks."
Adams simply nodded in reply, "You're more than welcome. And I didn't say it before but...welcome home."
Tali nodded once more before turning and leaving, moving through the door and then through the second door, twisting to her left and quickly summoning the elevator. While she waited, she bounced up and down on her toes...a nervous habit she had adopted alongside the wringing of her fingers.
Who could possibly be wanting to see me? Could it be Shala? Or...keelah...
...could it be mother? She hasn't talked to me in a while, especially not since this war started. Perhaps she has come to remedy that?
She continued waiting for the elevator to arrive, growling inwardly in irritation at its slowness. Why didn't she just call ahead? Why wait until she's almost here to tell me she's coming? I'm supposed to just drop everything and talk with her? That's providing its actually my mother that's coming...
And technically I did drop everything...but only because I had no choice! We're in the middle of a war! She can't just drop by like this!
But she's here now...so I might as well make the most of her visit.
To say their relationship at present had been distant was both literal and an understatement. Meru'Zorah had persisted in remaining on ships far away from her daughter, for reasons that Tali most of the time didn't even understand. She had refused command of her own vessel, and despite Tali being elected as admiral, it had actually been Meru as the first candidate; considering she was admiral before Shala made her an almost obvious choice, but she had rejected this as well, with rumors stating that she had even endorsed Tali's appointment to the position. Of all the things for the woman to do, Meru had volunteered for a position in the Conclave as a representative for the crew of the Usela; a position that had been under alot of scrutiny and controversy, as the Usela had been the homeship of the traitor and exile Golo'Mekk vas Usela; one of the biggest and most hated traitors of the Fleet responsible for not only trying to sell innocent quarians to the Collectors, but for helping Cerberus infiltrate the Flotilla and orchestrate the infamous attack on the Idenna. An attack Tali was present for. Luckily, Golo had died during the attack. The scumbag deserved nothing less.
Despite this however, Meru had stepped up to the position. And she had done an admirable job of restoring the Usela's reputation.
The elevator arrived, and Tali stepped inside, quickly hitting the button for the fifth deck; the shuttle bay. As the doors closed and the box began its descent, she leaned back against the wall and lowered her head in thought. Aside from avoiding Tali like the plague, contact between them had been almost a fantasy. But while Meru didn't try and contact her, Tali was guilty of the exact same; neither of them were innocent of this. They had many opportunities to contact each other, but they didn't.
Yet again, it wasn't every day you found out the mother you thought was dead had actually been the Shadow Broker the entire time. Or, had been, at least. Meru had stepped down from the position after the assault on her base, and Liara had taken over, especially since Meru's "fake" Broker had been destroyed by Marcus. So, there was that. After Rael's death, Tali had been ready to move on in life with both of her parents dead...but then, seemingly out of nowhere, like a poorly conceived plot twist in a movie, her mother was not just alive, but in control of a massive information network. Go figure.
So it was no surprise that their relationship was tense. Especially since the last time Meru had seen her daughter was when she was a child, and she was now one of the heroines of the Citadel and married to a human commander. Especially since the last time Tali saw Meru was when she was "dying" of an infection. A "death" that she now knew to have been set up by Meru, with the help of Shala, to protect her from batarian slavers and her enemies in Clan Pelszaog.
So it really did come as no surprise that their relationship was distant. Nothing was as Tali remembered it. The warm love, the motherly care, the bond only a mother and daughter could have, her mother's wittiness and intelligence...none of it seemed to exist...at least not infront of Tali. Her mother had done nothing but go out of her way to distance herself from her daughter, hadn't so much as sent a single message to her, and the affinity her mother had for tech...something she has passed onto Tali...seemed to never be shown or didn't exist. Every single thing Tali remembered about her mother, and the rest that Shala told her and her father had implied, simply wasn't...there.
It was almost as if she wasn't her mother at all.
Or maybe I've been living in a fantasy. Maybe my mother is just as much a workaholic and distant parent as father was. Maybe that's why they married each other; maybe it was auntie Raan just covering for her friend...
Whatever the case, this development, if true, would be a strange turn of events...if it was really her mother coming to visit.
Why now? Is she going to ask my forgiveness just because the final battle on Rannoch? Is she going to tell me how much she loves me? Or is she only here for the debriefing? Will she ignore me?
These questions were all too eerily similar to the ones she used to ask of herself everytime her father had visited the Neema before Marcus' unexpected resurrection. Maybe she really is just a female version of father...
So enraptured in her thoughts was she that she hadn't noticed the elevator had stopped and the doors had opened until a voice spoke, causing her to flinch from her thoughts back into reality.
"You alright, ma'am?"
After recovering from her reengagement to reality, she looked to see Cortez almost comically peeking over the doorway, one hand gripping the edge of the elevator door arch as he looked at her expectantly, one eyebrow tilted upwards. He was wearing his usual Alliance fatigues, his dark skin standing out in the dark blue and black uniform.
She quickly nodded, composing herself, "Yes...yes, I'm fine, Cortez. Thank you. And please, just call me Tali." Why do I bother? Even Kal still calls me that...
Cortez simply nodded, turning back to the geth dropship he had been examining before noticing her predicament, "Sure, Tali. You here for the shuttle?"
Tali give a quick nod as she stepped out from the elevator, taking a deep breath, "Yeah, I am."
Cortez creased his lips and nodded, "They should be here any moment." With that, he turned back to the dropship, the second of which now took up a less-than-healthy portion of the shuttle bay.
Sufficiently distracted, Tali looked up to examine the ship. The Normandy was now proud to own two geth dropships; the first of which lay on the left, occupying the ground just below the second kodiak shuttle, which they had acquired from the geth super-dreadnought during their escape. The second Legion had recovered from the geth facility to aid its escape. Since then, since they obviously could not return them, the Normandy had elected to keep the two dropships, Marcus deciding that they would likely find some use out of them in the coming battle; after all, two fully operational geth dropships with advanced cloaking technology would be useful in stealthly deployments, and even Tali could see the strategic necessity of them.
The second dropship was currently occupying the ground where the first shuttle used to go, a shuttle of which now currently occupied the back of the bay, in the middle. The dropship was currently being analyzed by an overly enthusiastic Cortez, who used the torch on his omni-tool to examine the large vessel. A single geth dropship was thrice the length of a UT-47A kodiak like the ones the Normandy sported, and at least twice as big. Its cargo hold was enough to hold a company of geth primes, and the claws below it, acting like cranes, could carry seven geth colossi, or three Makos or even five Hammerheads. It was clear that the geth dropship, despite its armament, was designed for one purpose; deploy large forces of troops quickly and quietly behind enemy lines, allowing the geth to flank rapidly without using the terrain.
The geth could certainly teach us alot about military tactics...
But it was quite clear that the dropships weren't the only piece of geth technology occupying the Normandy's shuttle bay at that moment, and it was then that Tali halted her approach to the center of the bay and her eyes focused on the geth prime platoon currently occupying the back of the bay.
The Normandy crew had every right to be in awe, and shock, at the sight of them. Tali herself had no idea that one of her most terrifying foes would become one of her allies. But there they were; thirty geth primes, ready to serve Marcus and save their people. The primes themselves were an intimidating sight; they were taller than any krogan she had seen, and stood at about the same height as a full-grown yahg; smaller than a geth colossus, but much bigger than a juggernaut. However, it was clear the design of the prime had evolved quite a bit since the Eden Prime War; they had thicker armor, and instead of sporting the bright white armor they had during those times, their armor was now a a deep crimson in color. Unlike most geth, who had simple, mono-optics; a single, large eye encased in a large head, the primes seemed to have tri-optics; they had a single large eye like the other geth, but inside that eye were three, dot-like optics arranged in a triangle formation. These optics glowed with a persistent red gaze, and whenever the geth made the usual electronic stutter, it was of a deeper bass tone than other geth; more comparable to Sovereign's voice than the standard geth.
The weaponry of a prime was nothing to shy away from either; a single prime had enough firepower to wipe out platoons of of Alliance marines. Pulse cannons, sentry turrets and combat drones were the three main elements of a prime's offensive method of operation (or as Marcus referred to it in some odd human language, their 'modus operandi'); primes also had the rare geth ability to engage in melee combat, and possessed kinetic barriers as strong as that sported by M35 Makos, if not stronger. Primes were essentially the geth equivalent of krogan on the battlefield, and also mobile, two-legged tanks. To see thirty of them arranged in the bay was quite a sight.
Her eyes then landed on their leader, who stood out from the rest of them only because the geth was standing beside Cortez (or rather, towering over him), the prime's massive shadow acting as a blanket over the pilot. The prime was likely there to answer whatever questions Cortez had while Legion was conversing with EDI or what not.
It had named itself Moses; after a human religious figure, apparently. Just like Legion. Whether this was going to become a point of habit for the geth from now on, she didn't know, but at the current moment, it didn't matter; the alternative was calling it 'geth' or by its platform number, which just wouldn't cut it in combat or...anywhere for that matter. Moses was the same as the other primes, with the same looks and weapons...the only reason they could even tell it apart was because whenever its name popped up, it was the only one to react.
Not that it would matter; once the crisis was over, Moses and its platoon would likely return to its people and join the war effort, and they would never see it again.
The reason Tali had a problem with these geth primes was that the admiralty board did not know about them yet. When the dropship arrived to board the Normandy, it had been under cloak so that the Migrant Fleet didn't get trigger-happy and immediately destroy them. Because of this, the admirals were unaware that the Normandy even had a second dropship in their arsenal; let alone a platoon of geth primes. They were going to freak out when they saw them...
When Gerrel sees them...
Marcus had agreed to lift the ban barring Gerrel from boarding the Normandy for the purposes of the meeting. It was clear that this would be the final confrontation of their short-lived war with the geth, and that they would need everyone at the briefing to ensure everyone knew the plan (whatever it was); this meant Gerrel had to be present. Whether for Marcus to emphasize the necessity of not firing upon your allies or not, he had allowed Gerrel's presence; although Tali could tell he didn't like it. He obviously had still not forgiven Gerrel for his little stunt, and for what it was worth, Tali hadn't either. And she doubted that Gerrel had gotten over Marcus 'dealing' with him after the raid, especially in a way that humiliated him infront of the admiralty board. Gerrel was bound to still be angry; not that it mattered. As stupid as the man could be sometimes, she knew he wasn't about to let his anger endanger his people; after all, his whole reason for destroying the super-dread was to protect his people and end a serious threat to them.
He's still a bosh'tet though...
Suddenly, EDI's voice shook her from her thoughts, and she ripped her gaze away from the prime platoon to watch the shuttle bay door opening, and the mass effect anti-vacuum shield whizz into existence, "Admiralty shuttle has arrived has been cleared for dock. All hands present, stand clear."
Before she could move forward, she heard the door behind her open, and turned to watch as Marcus walked out, looking much better after the events that transpired back on Rannoch.
His eyes met hers instantly, and he smiled, "Tali, didn't expect you to be here. I just came to greet the admirals."
Tali smiled back, nodding, "Well...apparently there's somebody extra on the shuttle who wants to see me, so I thought I'd see what they wanted."
Marcus nodded, grinning, "Fair enough. Shall we go greet them then, hun?"
Tali just frowned, "'Hun'? What does that-actually, you know what? I don't want to know. Its probably just another human term of endearment, isn't it?"
Marcus gave a slight chuckle, shaking his head as he moved forward without her, "Sure is. You catch on fast."
As she watched him walk, she noticed just how...forced and out of place his new demeanour was; it was almost as if nothing happened in that geth facility. Like he never admitted to almost shooting the man who allowed us to have a child...a man who trusted him...not to mention almost betrayed his battle-brother in the process...Marcus' reaction was almost out of place, although Tali couldn't fault him. He's got enough to worry about. He has an assault to plan; he couldn't possibly dwell on such things that are in the past...
But is it right for me to just let this slide? Isn't that exactly what someone who doesn't care would do?
I'm his wife. Its my job to care. To love him.
So why am I just letting him put on that fake mask of...what? Normality?
As she watched a kodiak shuttle appear, its form gliding through space to head towards the shuttle bay's open doorway, she realized time was out for her to think. We can discuss that later. Right now...I've got a mysterious figure to deal with. Or rather, not so mysterious figure.
The shuttle continued into the bay, coming to a hovering stop above the middle of the bay; an area of which, like EDI had instructed, been cleared of any lingering personnel. The kodiak was a dull grey in color, and its on its sides, where you would usually find the factional logo of the faction the vessel belongs to, was the image of a single quarian liveship, facing upwards; the insignia of the Migrant Fleet. The shuttle descended until it was just above the deck, its thrusters cutting out shortly afterwards, causing it to impact the deck with a loud clang. The engines died with a vibrating hum, mass effect fields dying...
By the time this sequence had completed itself, Marcus and Tali were standing outside the hatch, although they kept their distance; anywhere else, they were a married couple. Here, Marcus was an Alliance captain, and she was a quarian admiral. And when you were planning an attack, you had to remain professional.
The shuttle was a standard UT-47 model, so they watched as the hatch depressurized before shooting upwards on its Z-axis, revealing its passengers inside. Standing infront was Shala, followed closely by Koris, Xen and Gerrel. There was another quarian inside the shuttle, a female...one Tali knew immediately as her mother: if the purple veil and patterns on said veil didn't give it away, then nothing would. Well, that explains who the mystery person is. I wonder what she has to say for herself?
As the admirals began to step off the shuttle, Marcus was immediately stepping forth, bowing in the traditional quarian manner, "Admirals. Did discussions with the Conclave go as planned?"
Tali snapped her look to him, and then remembered. Keelah, can't believe I almost forgot about those idiots in the Conclave...
Koris was quick to alay their fears, however, the man's hands clasped behind his back in their usual, quasi-military mannerism, "It did, captain, although we only just managed to get the votes we needed. It seems the Conclave is more eager for action than usual."
"Of course they are," Gerrel snorted, arms now crossed as he glared across at Koris, his entire demeanour radiating hostility, although Tali didn't think it was aimed at Koris. Tali just scoffed. Stupid bosh'tet is still angry over Marcus throwing him off the Normandy...
Men. Always with their grudges.
Marcus shot the quarian a glance, and Tali saw the heat in it. The unforgotten deed, let unforgiven...Gerrel pretended to not notice it, but it was there, even if it only existed for the briefest of moments before Marcus recollected himself and turned back to the rest of the admirals, and nodded, "That's good to hear, admirals. The Migrant Fleet will have a role to play in the conclusion to this conflict, but it cannot be on the frontlines. You cannot lose another two thousand ships. And losing more than that is unacceptable."
Shala nodded, "A point we argued vigorously. But our people are desperate to return home, Marcus. Our people saw the homeworld from orbit for the first time in three hundred years, and they didn't want to leave. They don't realize that another assault will be the destruction of us. We are lucky that a bare majority managed to save the Fleet for what needs to be done."
Gerrel nodded, "Although they aren't exactly happy about letting non-quarians fight this battle for us. It should be quarian boots on the ground, not yours or anybody else's. This has always been our fight to end; the geth are our mistake, after all."
Marcus, ever cordial, turned to Gerrel nodding with a fake smile that even Tali saw through, "I understand your concern, Admiral Gerrel, but this is no longer just a quarian concern. What you do now affects the entire UGC, because the UGC is now the galaxy. So if UGC boots need to be on the ground, then so be it. Whatever wins this war fast enough for us to get back to what really matters; destroying the Reapers."
Koris nodded, "Agreed. Its gone on long enough as it is. No need to prolong it."
Xen stepped forth, beside Shala, and gave her own, equally profound nod, although this one was slightly more eager, and laced with 'let's get on with it.' Tali just glared at the admiral as she spoke, "Yet we are prolonging it by just standing here. I suggest you escort us to your War Room so that we may begin preparations for this assault."
"Of course admirals," Marcus bowed once more, holding out an arm to gesture to the elevator, "If you will all follow me. I will assemble my crew for-"
"KEELAH!" Gerrel suddenly shot back in shock, his voice a roar as she reached to his side to retrieve a non-existent sidearm, "GETH!"
Tali closed her eyes and cringed. To be honest, it wasn't really their fault. The only place the geth primes actually fit in were the shuttle bay, so there was nowhere else to put them; but you couldn't exactly hide 15 foot tall synthetics with armor that stood in contrast compared to the silver and grey bulkheads of the bay. So there they were, thirty geth primes, standing tall and menacingly, all their optics now focused on Gerrel due to the admiral's outburst.
Xen and Koris had frozen, and Shala had crossed her arms as she turned to Marcus, eyes narrowed, "Captain, you did not tell us you had a platoon of geth primes on your ship now. Where did you get these units and why have they not attacked or tried to kill us? I thought all the geth were under control of the Reapers except for Legion."
Marcus shrugged, nodding to the admiral, "I apologize for that. It...slipped my mind."
Tali just looked at him with exasperation.
The quarian military leadership coming aboard and he forgot to mention that thirty of our enemy's greatest units were in the same ship, let alone the same room? I love him, but keelah, he can be such an idiot...
Shala was equally bewildered, but decided to voice her thoughts instead, "It slipped your mind? Captain, there are geth primes in your shuttle bay! How do you forget to let us know about this?"
Gerrel just continued to blubber in confusion, head turning left and right as he looked between Shala and Marcus, almost demanding answers.
Tali was quick to her husband's rescue...as she seemed to do alot, "We recovered them back on Rannoch. The programs in those geth were saved by Legion and they've defected to our side. They're on our side, just like Legion."
Eventually, like connecting pieces of a puzzle, Gerrel stopped looking confused, his posture definitive and furious as he stepped forward, almost right in Shala's face as he narrowed his eyes, "You knew about this? And what the hell is a Legion?"
"Shepard's geth...compatriot," Xen explained, dragging out the last word with badly concealed disgust at the notion, "And apparently our only hope of getting back Rannoch."
Gerrel's eyes snapped to Xen, his voice a growl, "You too? What is the meaning of this!? Let me guess, the suit-wetter knew about this and was completely fine with it? That would be just like you, Koris."
Koris just gave a bitter shake of the head, "Gerrel, you need to open your eyes. These geth are a strategic asset. They have offered to help u-"
"They could be spies for all we know! Sleeper agents! They could betray us at any moment!" Gerrel snapped, turning to Shala as he stepped back, looking almost...betrayed, "Is this what we've come to? Seeking the enemy for help? And why the hell would the geth help us kill their own people!"
Tali stepped in, quick to elaborate, ignoring the slight figure of Meru standing behind Gerrel, trying to not be noticed as she simply listened in, "Because they aren't. They are working to free their people. The geth turned to the Reapers for help because we forcedthem to. And now Legion and these geth want to help free their people of the Reapers so that we can negotiate the terms of a peace treaty! The galaxy needs the quarians and the geth to unite to defeat the Reapers!"
Gerrel just looked at her in bewilderment. He stood there, utterly silent and rigid, not saying a single word. Eventually, he just shook his head, looking back to Marcus, and then to Shala, "I can't believe this. A peace treaty...with the geth!? Have you people lost your minds!? The geth are the enemy! They butchered our children, murdered the elderly, and levelled entire cities with our own weapons. They turned against us, and exiled us to...to..." the admiral waved his hands over his suit in a rushed gesture, "...this! And now our children's children pay for our mistake, for their treachery! And now you want...you want us to help instead of destroy them? You want us to be allies with them?" he turned to Xen, poking an accusative finger, "You are the last person I thought would agree with this, Daro."
"Xen, Gerrel. Or better yet, admiral," the admiral hissed back, arms crossed as she leaned back in lethargic disinterest, "And I never said I agreed with this, Gerrel. The geth are machines. We are their masters. And I will ensure that they return to being exactly what they are: geth. Servants of the people. But you would have them destroyed entirely, which hinders my work. So do not misunderstand my actions for agreement, Gerrel. This is an alliance of convenience, nothing else."
"You're stuck in your old ways, Gerrel. Fueled by hatred and misinformation," Koris defended, hands coming to his sides as he became more animated, "You didn't hear what we heard, Gerrel. The geth never slaughtered children. They never levelled cities with our own weapons because those 'weapons' you referred to were removed from our hands in a treaty decades before! What you state as facts are nothing but propaganda fed to us over the centuries to fuel the people's hatred!"
Gerrel shook his head violently, "That is bullshit. Why would they lie to us if it were not true?"
"Because they wanted revenge, Gerrel!" Shala shouted back, becoming more and more defensive each minute, "Our people wanted to get back at our creations! So they created this propaganda and indoctrinated our children into believing lies! It is all true; Captain Shepard witnessed it himself! Everything we've been taught is a lie! And we need to wake up! The geth are not the enemy anymore!"
Gerrel just snorted, waving a dismissive hand at Marcus, who had remained silent as the argument between the quarians became more heated, "Oh, so we trust his every word now, do we? The man who pretends to care about us and then colloborates with our enemy! He is as much a traitor as Golo'Mekk vas Usula!"
Tali stepped in, standing right in Gerrel's face as her mask moved inches from his, "You will keep your dirty and filthy accusations to yourself, Han! How dare you insult my husband before me! Golo was a treacherous worm! Marcus never endangered our Fleet! If anything, you have!"
Taken aback by her words, is eyes widened in fury, "You dare! I have given all of myself to protect this Fleet! I have neglected my own unionmate, my grandchildren, and even my dying parents to protect this Fleet! Where do you think your father got his mindset from!? Hmmm? From me! I was protecting the Fleet since before you were sperm, Tali'Zorah vas Neema!"
Tali's eyes only narrowed, "You think you can insult me? Where were you when Cerberus attacked the Idenna? I was there! Where were you when Cerberus attacked the Rayya? I was there! Where were you when soldiers were dying on Haestrom for data on a star? I was there! Your reckless actions during this conflict have done nothing but put lives at risk! Your stupidity has lost us two thousand ships! Your idiocy almost cost us our lives on that dreadnought!"
Gerrel shook his head slowly, an action he seemed to have almost become instinctual, "For the respect I bore your late father, I forgive those comments. But Tali, you are making a grevious mistake," he turned to the rest of the admiralty, "All of you are! I've read up on your human sayings, Marcus," he now spat the name, looking at the human with pure contempt, "'If you lie down with the devil, you will wake up in hell.' The geth are nothing but machines and treacherous liars. We will not sign a treaty with them, nor will we make peace with them! They are our enemy! They will never be anything other than that!"
"Admiral," Tali hissed, and she almost swore she saw Gerrel flinch from the correction, "You will stand down. Your decision isn't the people's decision, and if they decide that peace with the geth is better than senseless war, then that's how it shall be. We will make peace with the geth, because if the krogan have taught us anything, forgiveness is the first path to victory. I thought being commander of our military Gerrel, you would know just how vital victory is. So you will fall in line, or be removed from command, but do not ever compare my husband to that filthy traitor ever again. Am I understood, Gerrel?"
Gerrel kept his pride, standing tall and buffing his chest out as he looked down at her, almost condescendingly, "I will not stand in the same room as those machines! I will not let them speak their lies and lead us into a trap!"
Tali's voice was ice, "If you want to continue being Admiral of the Heavy Fleet, you will. No more games or recklessness; you're either with the quarian people and the side of peace, or you're against us. Your choice."
Gerrel stood there, clenching and unclenching his fists, before tearing his eyes from Tali's and looking at the other admirals. From what Tali saw, none of them backed him up; not even Xen. Shala crossed her arms and shook her head; a gesture Koris repeated, minus the crossed arms. Xen simply tapped her foot idly, not even paying attention; she was looking at the geth primes that served as the subject of their argument. Gerrel, seeing no approval from his fellow admirals, turned back to Tali with a bitter look and a bitter tone.
"Very well," he hissed, "But my opinion remains unchanged. I recommend we change our course before it is too late. These geth cannot be-"
"I understand, Gerrel, and will respect your decision," Tali blurted out, turning away from her angered uncle and to the rest of the board, "Now if we may continue proceeding to the War Room, we can begin planning this assault and be on Rannoch sooner rather than later."
The admirals nodded in agreement, Shala taking the lead as she uncrossed her arms, turned and proceeded to the elevator, Koris not far behind. Xen lingered for a few moments, still 'admiring' the primes before she noticed everybody moving, and followed.
Meru hadn't moved, Tali noticed, but she would attend to that matter in a moment. Looking expectantly at Gerrel, she noticed him hesitate for a moment before nodding and quickly fast walking to the elevator, completely ignoring Marcus as he moved to catch up with the other admirals. Marcus ignored Gerrel and turned to Tali, frowning at her lack of movement. Tali, noticing this, quickly motioned her head to the still unmoving Meru, expecting her daughter to acknowledge her soon.
Marcus, recognizing Tali's mother, widened his eyes before turning to Tali and seeing the look in her eyes. Even with a mask on, Marcus could read her very easily, and her body language urged him along the path to understanding. With a quick nod, he moved to her and gripped her shoulder, squeezing it. Instead of kissing her on the visor however, as he always did, he simply whispered, "Don't take too long," before taking off for the elevator without a second glance, leaving her slightly disappointed.
She didn't allow her disappointment to show however, simply watching for a few moments as his form retreated to the elevator, unaware of his unionmate's inner crisis. But Tali was fully aware of his. I wish he'd let me in, and not just in bits and pieces...
She felt a presence at her side, and she knew it was without them needing to speak. There was a few moments of silence between the two, unspoken bitterness compelling them to quiet until one of them could figure out what to say. What needed to be said. Tali just watched as Marcus stepped into the elevator and the doors closed, ascending to the CIC. Even EDI's call for all key personnel to report to the War Room was just drowned out noise.
In the end, it was Meru that cut through the tense silence, her mother's voice thick and accented; one of the only things Tali remembered about her mother that seemed to draw upon fact. It was much thicker than she remembered; more so than even auntie Raan's accent. It just reminded Tali that her mother was no longer as young as she had once knew her; and it was clear her years as the Shadow Broker had turned her into a working freak almost comparable with her father, if not more so. In the end, Tali didn't even know she could distinguish them from each other anymore.
"The way...you defended your yol'tiya," she began, her voice hesitant and withering, almost as if afraid to invoke her daughter's judgement, "...it reminded me of the way Rael used to defend me when I was an admiral. Always backing me up..."
Tali's response was to remain still and continue staring at the elevator, not even sparing her mother a furtive glance. Her fists clenched tightly, so much so that she could feel the fabric creasing under her tight grip. Favourable responses popped in and out of her head, but none of them felt right. None of them did justice to her situation.
"Is that it?"
When Tali finally acknowledged her mother and turned to meet the quarian in the eyes, the conclave member almost took a step back in shock at the sudden response. Nor had see expected the...the...anger fueling the words. It was almost like they were spat out, like they were a burden or an obligation.
"W-w-what?" Meru responded, "I don't understand..."
Still looking at her with a cold, unfeeling gaze, Tali shook her head, "Is. That. It? Six months of silence!? You weren't even there when I gave birth! Auntie Raan was there, but you weren't! Forgive me if I wanted alittle more of a greeting that didn't involve being compared to...to...him!"
Meru simply gulped, hands wringing. She stumbled for words before looking up, shoulders slumping, "I was busy...you know that...Fleet safety must always come first..."
Tali just scoffed, shaking her head as she looked away, "You know, if father said that, I'd be annoyed. Because that's just who he was. But you? You are not busy! You are not an admiral putting her life on the line to build me a house on the homeworld while endangering yourself to achieve that goal! You're deliberately ignoring me! And I want to know why!"
Meru just shrugged, "Its clear that you've grown up, Tali. You're no longer the little girl I used to let take apart my omni-tool to figure out how it works. Tali, when I saw you again...you were different. And as the Shadow Broker, I knew about everything you ever did. How was I to know you were going to save the galaxy from a rogue turian spectre and our mistakes? How did I know you were going to join a suicide mission to save the galaxy again two years later? How was I to know you'd become a marine? That you'd become chief admiral of the Board? My little Tali...you've...grown up so much...and...you're a mother now..." She reached out with one hand to stroke her daughter's cheek.
To which Tali let her...to an extent. After a few moments, she flinched away, no doubt knowing the gesture would be like a slap to the face for the woman, but Tali needed to get message across. Stepping back, she crossed her arms, "Then why? Why have you abandoned me? You're the only parent I have left. When father died, I thought I had lost both of my parents! When I found you, I thought there was hope! Instead, it might as well be like you're still dead."
"Don't say that!" Meru spat, looking less meek now and more defensive as she stepped forth, "It hurts me when you say things like that! I love you and I still do! You're my daughter! But I couldn't look at you and tell myself that!"
That last part caused Tali to freeze in shock, letting her arms fall to her sides, before quickly bringing her hands to her hips, "You...you couldn't look at me?"
Meru nodded, noticing her mistake, and quickly tried to repair the damage, "I...Tali, when I gave birth to you, I was the happiest mother who ever lived, I swear it. When they put you in the bubble, I cried. When you disassembled your first omni-tool, I was proud. I knew you would be a great engineer! But I also saw something else...a...spark...that I hadn't seen in any other. I knew you were destined for greater things! But then...keelah, when I became the Shadow Broker...I didn't realize how far you had fallen! I never intended for you to become an admiral! I never intended for you to become another cold-blooded killer like the rest of those soldiers! I wanted you to be a pioneer! I wanted you to drive our people forward, not backwards!"
Tali was too busy processing all she had heard to even formulate a proper response, opening and closing her mouth. Before they knew it, their roles were reversed; Meru stood there, fists clenched, pose extended and defiant; Tali was speechless, staring at Meru like she had just admitted to a war crime.
She might as well be. That...that...
...bitch.
A dark cold filled Tali's heart, mind, and eventually, her very veins. Her eyes locked onto Meru's, gripping them with a tight vise as she mercilessly bore through the woman's mask. Meru didn't seem to notice this, her pose remaining defiant...unable to detect the whirlwind of rage growing in her daughter.
"You ignore me because I'm not what you wanted?" she hissed, stepping forward slowly as her rant escalated, "You abandon me because I chose a different path? Because I'm an individual? What did you expect from me? You left me alone with a father who had done nothing but ignore me since the moment of your supposed 'death.' I was exploited, used and discarded! And now that you're back in my life, you think you can...have an opinion on me?"
Meru said nothing, remaining still.
Tali ceased her approach, nodding as it suddenly became obvious, "You want me to stand down as admiral; that is the reason you're here, isn't it? You want your old position back, so you came here to tell me to stand down. So...what? You can support Gerrel and Xen? So you can do without me? So you don't have to acknowledge me? So you can ignore me and treat me like any other bosh'tet? You abandon me and jump back into my life just so you think you can dictate it?"
Meru, to her credit, stood her ground, taking the assault, biting back with equal venom, her voice a growl, "You are better than this! You're not a soldier! You're not a leader! You're an engineer! Why must you continue to pretend to be something you're not!"
Tali stepped up until she was right infront of Meru's faceplate, "Don't tell me who I am. I know who I am. I am Admiral Tali'Shepard vas Normandy, Slayer of Geth, Wife of Marcus Shepard, and Heroine of the Citadel! I made my name known! I made myself! I did all of that without you! You weren't even there! And what do you mean you didn't want me to be a soldier?" Reaching down, she quickly whipped her boot knife free of the strap on her leg, waving it in Meru's face, who flinched back slightly, "Yes, you remember this, don't you? The knife you gave me! You told me I would save the galaxy!"
For once, the quarian didn't respond, her head hung low in shame as she remembered the words, "I remember...I wasn't thinking properly..."
"Yeah, well you messed up big time, didn't you?" Tali hissed, sheathing her knife, "Because here I am, an admiral, a soldier...and I couldn't be more proud. You know why? Because I got to become part of something great. The people on this ship? They're my family. I've fought beside them and gotten to know them better than I ever knew you. You're...you're just a stranger to me. Auntie Raan was a better mother than you ever were to me."
Meru's head shot up at that, holding out an accusing finger, "Don't you ever say that! I gave birth to you, I nurtured you! I am your mother!"
Tali just chuckled bitterly, turning away, "Then how come you're nothing like how I remember you?"
And with that, she turned away, walking towards the elevator with fast, long strides, doing whatever she could to distance herself from the woman was...was...
A stranger.
Nothing to me.
Who is she?
No, Raan is the mother I never had.
My mother, as I remember her...
...is dead. Forgotten. She died of an infection. That's how I shall remember her.
And not the thing she had become.
{Loading...}
July 10, 2186
1637 hours.
War Room, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate SSV Normandy SR-2, Migrant Fleet, In Orbit over Haestrom, Dholen System, Far Rim Cluster.
Second Morning War.
Captain Marcus Lee Shepard, Admiral Tali'Shepard vas Normandy, Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay, Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Shellen, Admiral Han'Gerrel vas Neema, Admiral Daro'Xen vas Moreh, Military Advisor Garrus Vakarian, Master Thief Kasumi Goto, EDI, Legion, Shadow Broker Liara T'Soni, Second Lieutenant Imogen Keeling, Second Lieutenant James Vega, Soldier Javik, Major Kaidan Alenko, General Kal'Reegar vas Normandy, Major Madi'Reegar vas Normandy, Flight Lieutenant Steve Cortez, Communications Specialist Samantha Traynor.
Had anyone told Samantha that there would be this many people in the same room as her at that one moment, she probably would have run back to her console at the galaxy map. She never was a...people person. Her mother had always thought her too...shy. She had even pointed that out when Samantha told her she was going to join the Alliance military's Engineering Corps. Apparently Samantha was the first Traynor to even attempt military service, even if it was only for her to get stashed away in some Alliance base to take apart consoles and do the odd bit of repair work and maintenance. She was no combat engineer, and she'd be the first one to point that out, but she liked to think she was a military tech geek, through and through.
Mum never liked it...dad even less so...
Her father had been a farmer, but he could he was prone to boredom; staying on one colony had been unacceptable to her estranged father. As a result, Samantha had seen almost every Alliance colony world there was to offer. She had been born on Constantinople and lived briefly on Earth, Elysium, Bekenstein, Fehl Prime, Eden Prime, Terra Nova, even Ferris Fields...
...and Horizon.
Dread filled her mind. Memories of past grief. News reports filling her mind. Hate filling her gut. Being put on temporary suspension due to conduct unbecoming. Memories of things left unsaid. Emotional breakdowns. Breaking up with her girlfriend. Slapping her.
She reached up a hand, curling back one of her dark locks behind her left ear as she shunted the memories aside, closing her eyes and trying to beat them back. They were memories that were still all too fresh, and reminded her of why she had requested a transfer here in the first place. Before, she had been working on an Alliance facility; Fort Kamchatka, an Alliance base established on the planet Antibaar in the Armstrong Cluster. The base was established not long after the Battle of the Armstrong Cluster in the Eden Prime War, having been set up by the Fifth Fleet to bolster the region against any further possible geth incursions. Once the war was informally declared 'over', and then ended officially three months later, the base had been retasked to the duty of acting as an 'advance guard' against the Hegemony, and became one of four forts in the cluster; the others being on Maji, Casbin and Rayingri.
Samantha had served there for most of her career...until she had gotten the news...
Horror. Grief. Hot tears trickling down her face. Gazing blankly at the screen. The news hadn't registered fully yet. She felt hate well up...anger...sorrow...
After that, she had been put on suspension for disobeying the orders of a superior officer. In reality, Colonel Versburg had openly attempted to insinuate that she couldn't continue her duties due to her...sexual preferences...combined with her then-current grief. She had merely informed him of his stupidity, only for him to contact the Alliance brass and demand for her to be suspended. Versburg, being somekind of Alliance war hero for whatever reason (she believed it was only because his family were heavily political, and had close ties with a parliamentarian), got his way. Six months into her suspension however, to which she was going through therapy and seeing a psychologist twice a week, the Alliance brass learnt of...what happened that caused her such grief...and she was informed that the people...responsible...were no longer existent, and that the ship responsible was currently undergoing retrofits on Earth.
And before she knew it, she was redeployed to aid the retrofits on the Normandy. Never did she think the post would be permanent.
Colonel Gerald von Versburg is likely dead now...Armstrong Cluster was in the Traverse, and the Reapers overran that area first...no way he survived...
Serves him right.
Still, despite all that, Samantha felt...out of place.
She was on one of the most legendary ships in the Alliance Navy, serving amongst the most legendary crew in the galaxy, and the most legendary man in the Alliance military...no, the galaxy. She was sorrounded by the heroes of the Citadel, and some of the elite operatives any species had to offer. Whether saving the galaxy from a rogue turian spectre with an army of machines, or racing into the unknown to wipe out an entire alien species who, until then, had been so rarely seen as to be called a myth. And here she was, among them, just...standing there, washing she wasn't.
She didn't...belong here. She was just some tech specialist who just happened to be reposted to the ship before a massive invasion of Earth forced her to tag along. She hadn't helped anything besides occassionally talk with EDI, an experience of which left her slightly hotter than it should, and run systems diagnostics. Miss Chambers was nice enough, but she hardly knew the woman, and didn't even have the first clue how to be a yeoman...
She lived an average life. A colony-jumper; her mother worked in a hospital and her father was a full-time farmer; they lived off the land and that was it. Her father hadn't been an admiral or turian hierarch or some crazy, insane scientist, and she didn't have any combat skills that would make her useful on the field. She didn't excel at anything that anybody else did, and she hadn't even seen an actual battle until the war started. Average in every way...
I don't belong here. Not among these people. And yet...the captain hasn't thrown me off the ship yet. Why? What possible use am I? Tali, Ken and Gabby could easily handle my duties, and I can tell Kelly misses her old station...I'm just...in the way...
Every nerve in her brain screamed at her to run and hide. That there was too many people around her...it almost felt hard to breathe...
Being in the military had improved her fear of people, but it had done nothing to enhance her social skills. She was about as easy to talk to as a brick wall...and even then, at least the brick wall didn't stutter and say things they shouldn't...
Everything began to blur out of focus...
...and then snapped back into focus as Captain Shepard appeared amongst the crowd, having finished talking with Garrus, the turian turning back to the war table, crossing his arms. Shepard himself braced his arms against the table, looking up...
Samantha froze in near panic. He's looking at me...oh my God, he's looking at me! Did he say something to me when I wasn't listening? What if he demotes me for not listening? What if he thinks I'm incompetent! Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn! What do I do!? What do I do!? What do I-
"EDI, bring up the hologram you and Legion have collated," Marcus ordered.
Samantha's panic subsided almost immediately, realizing that he wasn't looking at her, he was looking past her and at EDI, who stood just behind the comm specialist. Samantha chanced a quick glance at the robot, and found her eyes almost immediately trailing down to her large-
Damn it girl, focus! No time for that kind of...thing!
She snapped her eyes back to the table as EDI responded, "Yes, captain."
Seemingly using her mind (which wasn't far from the truth), EDI accessed the table and quickly uploaded the schematics to its holographic interface. Within moments, a blue representation of a large fortress appeared. It was a large, curved structure, with the familiar elements of geth architecture accentuating its superstructure. It shot into the sky like a massive spire; the hologram's real-world dimensions put it at 400 feet in height...and in front of it lay a massive wall, curved and sleek, stretching out across the table and disappearing off the edge...its full length too much for the hologram unless they zoomed out.
Along the wall and building was a fortress brimming with armaments. Ranging from gigantic, rotary plasma cannons aiming on a Z-axis, their huge cannons obviously capable of melting a hole in a warship's hull...its purpose as artillery undeniably obvious. Dozens of them lined the length of the wall, accompanied by smaller armaments along the wall itself; ranging from GARDIAN laser batteries, plasma turrets and the geth equivalent of anti-aircraft guns. It was clear this facility was built to be impregnable, from sky and land...
And that's just a portion of the wall...
There were a few exclamations at the sight of it, Shepard quickly speaking up once more, "EDI, zoom out for a full view."
With a word, the AI quickly zoomed the image out until a clear image of a portion of the former country of Poltane'r, the Great Plains spreading out along the hologram. And smack bang in the middle, taking up a large portion of the area (almost a quarter of it), was the geth fortress.
"Damn..." James exclaimed, leaning forward, the hologram's light illuminating his features, "...that thing is a monster. We're supposed to break through that?"
Legion, the geth that was apparently friends with Shepard, spoke, standing beside Shepard with its hands hanging at its side. Its electronic voice didn't soothe all however, as Samantha did not fail to notice one of the male quarian admirals almost bristle with anger. Not surprised. What the geth did to the quarians was terrible, but from what I've heard, it was deserved. The geth only defended themselves.
"We have known about this fortress-class facility for quite some time, but we were not previously aware that it was housing the Old Machine signal until now," the geth admitted, quickly zooming closer to the base until its form was all that could be seen on the holo table, the intense mixture of blue and red illuminations casting a dim light upon the room, "The entire facility is surrounded by 210 feet of a reinforced hybrid of 120 inch concrete and titanium bunkers mashed together to create a defensive wall. Inside this wall is a large network of combat platforms, garages and automated defense systems. The wall contains numerous defenses. At most, the entire wall contains 579 100 inch long-range plasma cannons, 960 automated plasma turrets, and 344 SD-class ballistic rocket batteries. Located behind the wall and around its perimeter are 107 long-range plasma artillery units, which are also capable of redeploying themselves when necessary. All these defenses are automated."
"Spirits," Garrus exclaimed after a moment, the entire room silent at the revelation of such information, "That isn't even a fortress. That place has enough collective firepower to lay waste to dozens of Reapers. How are we supposed to even get in there? The anti-air batteries will cut us down before we get in range to even fire the thanix, and that's providing we get past those planetary defense cannons," with a grin, he turned to Shepard, slapping him on the back with a chuckle, causing Samantha to blink in confusion, "Just like the Collector Base, eh? No chances of winning, no hope of survival...yet here we are, planning out the next suicide mission."
...are they always like this? Be glum, and then suddenly act like there's no problem at all? Maybe that's how they do it...
"While hubris certainly does help..." Keeling spoke, the N7 standing in her standard issue marine fatigues with N7 stripes across them and her N7 cap, hair tied into a ponytail, and to the left side of the table, behind the quarian marine couple and Liara. She looked less than impressed, studying the table with careful analyzation, "...what it won't do is make cannons suddenly combust. What else do we know about this facility?"
All eyes landed on Legion again, who spoke without prompt, turning to Keeling, "The facility was the best geth facility ever constructed and has remained the geth's primary facility on Rannoch. Its construction began two years after the conclusion of the First Morning War, and was completed two years later."
"Two years later?" Cortez spoke, arms crossed and pointing to the holographic base, "Look at that monster! That place would have taken the Alliance a decade to build, possibly longer!"
Legion nodded, "Organics are restricted and restrained by the need for hardware hibernation, known to you as 'rest' or 'sleep.' You are also limited by your body's physicalities, which you require other machines to fill. You are also constrained by self-addressed economical values, such as budgets, and you are careful to distribute your resources. We are geth; we had no such qualms. We were restrained by no economy or resource management, and we do not grow tired. A single geth platform is capable of carrying quadruple the weight an average human male can. Organics also employ themselves for a certain trade, meaning others not qualified to carry out these duties; this is not true for geth. All geth are qualified for the same duty; we were built to do so. All geth are soldiers and all geth are builders. With the billions of our platforms that existed, completing a single facility, even as large as the one you see, was not difficult to accomplish."
"Carrying on," Keeling quickly urged, "Any other surprises we should know about?"
"The fortress contains numerous sub-structures inside, including a large silo," the hologram zoomed in on the aforementioned area, revealing a massive silo, an equally massive gate-like covering ontop of it. All of it echoed geth design, "The interior of this silo appears to be the origin of the Old Machine signal. The silo itself is 170 feet in depth, and is built into the side of the canyon. It is 200 meters in diameter. However, information ends there. We cannot describe the interior or contents of the silo, as there appears to be a powerful signal jammer emitting from inside. It is not of geth origin."
"It must be Reaper," Shepard growled, "How many troops are stationed there? What resistance can we expect?"
It took a few moments for the geth to formulate a response, its headflaps whirring in thought, "There are 607,285 active geth platforms within the facility. As we have stated, all geth are capable as combat units, and there all 607,285 units are to be deemed a threat. Also, if deemed necessary, nearby facilities may send reinforcements via dropship."
Shepard frowned, "How far is the nearest geth facility?"
Its headflaps moved in tandem once more, processing its answer. When it was done, all headflaps ceased movement, and it looked directly at Shepard, "34 kilometers, near the coast of the Uma'waz continent. This gives them an approximate response time of 10.62 galactic standard minutes if forces are mobilized correctly in response to the attack."
"So we would need to jam them some how; at least long enough to get in, destroy the signal, and get out," Garrus noted, "And that's even if we need to get out. Knocking out the signal will free the geth, after all. But that's an awful lot for one squad to do, and like it or not, we can't take on 600,000 geth. Even Saren's fortress on Virmire wasn't this heavily staffed."
Legion was quick to agree, nodding, "The heretic fortress on Virmire led by Arterius-Spectre did not possess the defenses or capabilities this fortress has. The facility on Virmire was a prefab, hastily designed base, whereas this facility has had time to grow and be improved."
Garrus grit his teeth, mandibles clicking, "So we not only have to breach the base and jam their communications, but we have to fight through hundreds of thousands of geth to reach that silo, open it, find someway to destroy the signal transmitter, even though we don't know what it is, and then hope everything goes fine? What if they have another backup? Will the Normandy be able to even get us close? I know we got into the Collector Base, but the Collectors were arrogant, dumb and didn't even have proper defenses. The geth clearly do."
Samantha gulped, looking at them. Is this one suicide mission they just aren't cut out for?
No! These people are legends! Noone can beat them! They always find a solution!
"We could deploy a few platoons of marines to help you..." Tali suggested, shaking her head as she too braced against the holo table's edge, "But even with their help, there's...just no assurance you'd break through. The defenses are just too heavy."
All eyes landed on Shepard, who quietly observed the hologram, making no sound whatsoever. He didn't respond to what anyone said, simply remaining silent.
Eventually, he spoke up, "A squad or even a platoon couldn't get in there. But a small army could."
Kaidan frowned, arms crossed as he leaned against the table, standing on Samantha's left, "A small army? I doubt throwing every single quarian at this problem will solve it, Marcus. And that lose more lives than is necessary. There must be another way."
Shepard nodded, "I never said we were sending in quarians. No, this mission has gotten too out of hand. The quarians can't help because of the blockade, any marines they sent would be cut to pieces and the casualities would be too high and the quarians just don't possess enough ground ordnance to breach that base. The Normandy can't bomb it from orbit because dropping our stealth would leave us vulnerable to those planetary defense cannons, which leaves only one option; a full frontal assault, something which our squad couldn't do, even if it were back to full strength like during the Collector campaign. No, I'm calling the UGC for backup on this one."
Gerrel was quick to object, "Now wait just a minute! This is our fight! We don't need further-"
Shepard shot the man a glare that instantly silenced him, "If you want Rannoch back Gerrel, you're going to have to work with me here. Shove aside your pride and accept help when you need it. We're going to need nothing less than a small army to breach that base, and only the UGC possesses the resources to make that happen."
"Can the UGC spare the men?" Kaidan asked.
"They'll have to," Shepard stated simply, "The geth and quarians are bloody game-changers, Kaidan. One has the biggest fleet in the galaxy, and the other has the most advanced technology. Combining the powers of both would almost make any previous assets we've acquired redundant or otherwise irrelevant. No, that signal needs to go. Hackett sees that, and I know the military board will have to see that. I'm going to make the call."
Gerrel snorted, arms crossed as he just chuckled harshly, "And you still insist on an alliance between my people and the geth. You're delusional, Shepard."
Tali was quick to shut the man up, "Unless you have something constructive to add Gerrel, stop talking. Your arrogance does not help your case."
Despite clearly wanting to object further, Gerrel ceased to talk as she instructed, most likely knowing his limits. Without further obstruction from the rest of them, Shepard nodded and straightened himself, "I won't be long. Admirals, feel free to ask Legion whatever questions you might have pertaining to the mission," he then turned to EDI, "EDI, work with Traynor and figure out how to jam the geth transmissions. We need to be able to jam it long enough that we can finish the mission without having to worry about the geth response."
"Very well, Marcus," EDI acknowledged. Samantha just watched as Shepard moved up the steps and left the room. She eventually managed to tear her eyes from him to look at EDI, dreading what was to come.
Just another defining moment in history...we cured the genophage, we can save the geth...right?
Samantha Traynor wished she was as confident as the rest of them.
"The Liberation of Rannoch is known as the defining moment in quarian history. After all, it was the day we got our homeworld back."
- Reia'Inas pav Earth.
"So much so that our exile from it is just a distant memory. Only myself, and a few other quarians even remember the Migrant Fleet."
- Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.
"So I'm guessing you got the UGC reinforcements you wanted? And all went according to plan?"
- Reia'Inas pav Earth.
"Somewhat. We got our reinforcements but...things got out of hand. The signal was more than what we...expected."
- Marcus Shepard.
A/N:
"Finally, ArchReaper! We can't survive these long waits!" Well, I'm back! And with my return, a new chapter. And yes, the next chapter will be the first of the multi-part "Keelah Re'lai" chapters depicting Priority: Rannoch. And trust me, this'll be my most epic chapter yet. I have gone all out on this one, and I can promise you this: you will NOT be disappointed.
For those who wanted a verbatim ME3 novelization story, leave now. As of now, the only thing remotely "verbatim" about this story is the missions. Omega DLC, Leviathan DLC, Citadel DLC, Thessia, Horizon, Cerberus HQ, Earth...they will all happen, but in my own, improved way...and believe me, I could have made a NOVEL with the amount of planning and writing I've got jotted down for the final battle on Earth. But that's another story. Just don't expect lines to be ripped from the game anymore; as of now, this is my story with my own original decisions, and I'm sticking to it. And I'll start with Rannoch.
Now, I'll try my best to get the first part out before the 9th, but no promises. Between the 9th and 18th of January I will be going to Philip Island and therefore will not have internet to post anything. THIS DOES NOT MEAN I WILL STOP WORKING HOWEVER. I will fit in writing where I can, but I will not actually be able to post anything until I get back. So like I said; I'll try and get part 1 out as soon as possible, but if it doesn't happen, you can definitely expect it sometime after the 18th.
Until then, have a good one, and have a Happy New Year! And yes, I just realized! This is IV: Holocaust's third year! Its been a long run, huh? This fanfic started on July 13, 2014. Its been a long ride.
Keelah Re'lai, troopers!
