Timeline wise, this takes place just after Tali's loyalty mission. They have not gone through the Omega 4 relay yet.

Homes

"Admiral Shala'Raan."

The cool word brought Jak up from his doze. He jerked, but the scene hadn't changed. Elan'Shiya still knelt beside him, her hands on his forehead. Shala'Raan stood with the two marines. Illia stood near the doorway and Daro'Xen still hung in midair.

"Tali." Shala'Raan's greeting sounded heartfelt, but that paled beside the woman who strode into the room beside the orange and yellow suited quarian. N7 armor was distinctive. Her green eyes lit on Jak through her helmet visor and then on Illia, but she did not speak. Was that a krogan behind them out in the hall? Jak couldn't see clearly. "Thank you for coming."

"I am still not happy with you." The newly come quarian folded her arms, glaring around. "And what the hell is this? Your message was incredibly vague, even for you."

"It is a mess, Tali." Shala'Raan said with a visible wince. "Admiral Daro'Xen has perpetrated what may very be an act of war."

At that, both the human in N7 armor and the newly come quarian glanced at the floating quarian. Then the human shook her head and looked at Jak.

"What have you done, Admiral?" The woman's words were calm and clear, but underneath there was the hint of barely repressed violence. Jak understood that all too well. He had never worked with an N7, they were understandably rare. But he had worked with lots of others like that if not quite as good. She looked at Illia and then paused. "Illia Jollisa? You are a long way from Illum."

"It has been...interesting." Illia replied evenly. Shepherd glanced from her to the floating quarian and back. "She pissed me off." Not an apology or an excuse. Simple fact.

"She has that effect." Shepherd replied and then nodded to the quarian who had come with her. "Your show, Tali."

"The fact that there is an unsuited human lying on the floor of an isolation cell near a pile of blood and other nastiness may mean it is an Alliance show, Shepherd." Tali said slowly. "What have you done, Shala'Raan?"

"He is clean." Shala'Raan said softly. "Admiral Daro'Xen was thorough. In that at least." She concluded sourly. "She is muted, but otherwise fine. I got tired of her ranting."

"Okay." Tali was obviously losing patience. "What has Admiral Daro'Xen done?" She paused. "Elan'Shiya? What are you doing here?"

"I was trying to help him." Elan'Shiya replied sadly. "I was called in. I was told that the marines under Admiral Daro'Xen's command had recovered two humans from a geth ship and we needed to interrogate them before remanding them to Alliance custody. I didn't know what she intended." She bowed her head. "I realized when I got here that she was doing something very wrong."

"Wait. She got humans from a geth ship?" Tali demanded, incredulous. "That is not possible!" She paused and shook her head. She looked at Illia and then at Jak. "You are here for him?" Illia nodded. "Why?"

"Because I can be reasonably diplomatic at times." Butter might not have melted in Illia's mouth. Jak had to laugh at that and Shepherd smothered a chuckle.

"So I see." Tali said dryly as she glanced at the still floating Daro'Xen. She nodded to Jak. "I do not know you. I am Tali'Zorah vas Normandy."

"Vas… Normandy?" Jak asked, stunned. No one would meet his eyes except Shepherd and he sighed. "Long story there."

"Unfun story there." Shepherd replied. "Not germane at the moment. Why Tali? Why us?"

"You are neutral in this." Shala'Raan said quietly. "Illia came to rescue Lieutenant Collains here." She broke off as Shepherd inhaled sharply.

"Lieutenant Jak Collains?" Shepherd demanded, hand going to her pistol. "I got a bulletin from Hackett. If you were the ones who kidnapped him from Earth, all hell is going to break loose."

"They didn't do that." Jak said weakly. "Cerberus did that. Got away."

"Cerberus." Shepherd said slowly. "Shit."

"My sentiments exactly." Jak said with a grunt. Elan'Shiya held him down when he tried to sit up. "I am better." He said to her, but she ignored him, holding him to the floor.

"You can do irreparable damage if we let you, so we won't." The quarian medic was firm. "We have done enough."

"Ah..." Tali sounded worried now. "Shepherd?"

"Yeah." The human sighed deeply." I better explain. Lieutenant, Cerberus brought me back from the dead." Jak hadn't know he could get that still. "They wanted me to stop the Collectors. I did and well… The ship I am using was built by them. If we bring you aboard,..." She trailed off as Jak made a face.

"They will likely know where I am." Jak said flatly. Shepherd nodded. "Illia?" Jak asked.

"We can get him to safety." Illia hadn't moved, indeed, hadn't reacted at all to anything. "But we cannot move him as he is. His inner ears were damaged by what the Admiral did to him." Tali and Shepherd made the same kind of noise. A half feral growl. Illia shook her head slowly. "We do not want to fight anyone. We just want to recover Jak and leave."

"You had a message for me from another source." Shepherd said carefully. "Are they involved?" Illia nodded. "Oh."

"We don't want to fight." Illia said quietly. "She said she would vanish and that was and is her plan. She is nowhere near here. I was contacted by a third party and they asked me to help find Jak's companion."

"Human girl named Lara." Shepherd said. Not a question. "So… okay. What do you need from us?"

No further questions. No equivocation. No meandering. Just facts and requirements. Jak liked this woman already.

"We need you to go to the Rayya and get Korri'Zemant nar Rayya to bring an isolation helmet and a set of gear I will specify." Elan'Shiya said quietly. Tali recoiled. "She is better, Tali'Zorah."

"She nearly set the Rayya on fire." Tali was not calm at all. Shepherd stared from Tali and Elan'Shiya and back.

"She did not intend that." Elan'Shiya said flatly. "She wanted to self immolate, not kill everyone aboard. She was distraught about what she nearly did."

"And that is better?" Tali demanded.

"Yes." Elan'Shiya did not retreat from Tali's ire. "She had a right to her anger. Her grief. And you know it, Tali'Zorah."

"I..." Tali paused whatever she was going to say and sighed. "Yes, I do. She worked hard to atone for what she did." She tilted her head as she looked at Elan'Shiya. "That is not the only reason. You asked for her specifically. Why?"

"That is not my secret to tell, Tali'Zorah." Elan'Shiya said quietly. "We need her here." Tali looked from the medic to Shala'Raan who nodded slightly.

"Shepherd?" Tali asked, still eyeing Elan'Shiya.

"We can do that." Shepherd replied, a bit uneasily. "But is she a danger to our ship?"

"No." Elan'Shiya replied, her tone sad. "You are not quarian. She doesn't hate anyone nearly as much as she hates us."

A profound silence echoed after the quarian's words.

"Do I want to know why?" Shepherd asked after a few tense moments. "Why is she still 'nar Rayya'? Is she younger than you?"

Quarians went on pilgrimage to show they were ready for adulthood. Once that was done, they added a new suffix, 'vas' and a ship name to show their adult status. If this quarian was still a child or considered one...

"She is ten years older than me. She never took a pilgrimage." Tali said softly. "The admirals would not let her. She asked, many times, and they always refused."

"She wouldn't have come back, Tali." Shala'Raan said quietly. "And if she acted as she has outside the fleet as she acted in our care..."

"Our care?" Elan'Shiya nearly exploded. "Say the truth. Our custody. Our cage! We never let her grown up because of our shame." Shepherd stared at her and then at Shala'Raan who slumped.

"That sounds like an internal matter for the fleet." Shepherd sounded a bit upset and who could blame her? "Lieutenant Collains is my focus at the moment. If Illia's… um… employers are involved then this can get very messy." She straightened a bit. "Tali? Get to the Rayya. Take Grunt. Bring this Korri person back with whatever the medic here needs. Keep it quiet."

"She is not violent." Elan'Shiya said weakly as she keyed her omni-tool. Tali's lit up and she scrutinized it. "She never was. Every time she has hurt people, it has been accidental."

"Not my business." Shepherd said flatly. "Lieutenant Collains is my business at the moment. Hackett was… um… a bit annoyed."

She winced and Jak joined her. The admiral was a fairly even tempered being, but get him mad and things tended to break. Or explode. His soldiers were almost all the same way.

"Not the docs' fault." Jak said slowly. "One of the nurses kidnapped me. Cerberus got to her, took her son and did something to him. Something bad." Shepherd looked at him and shuddered as Tali left the room.

"Lieutenant, Hackett will want a full report." The N7 said with a frown in her tone.

"I...I don't know what I can say." Jak said weakly." I mean… If I put what actually happened, I will go back into the loony bin and they will throw away the key."

"Been there, done that." Shepherd chuckled without mirth. "Okay. Leave Illia's friends out of it. What happened?"

"Cerberus took me and Lara." Jak chose his words with care. He didn't think Shepherd would call him on a lie in front of quarians, but he wasn't sure. "Apparently Lara did know me from before. From when I cannot remember." He saw Shepherd's eyes narrow. "What do you know of me, Commander?"

"Hackett sent me a file. You were hurt by slavers after saving an isolated colony on Terra Nova." Commander Shepherd said quietly. "Two years after that colony was rescued, you were found aboard a colony ship that had been taken by mercenaries. Somehow it mis-jumped and wound up in the middle of Arcturus base instead of wherever the hell they were going."

"Ouch." Shala'Raan whistled in awe. "How the hell could they do that?"

"No one knows." Shepherd said with a grunt. "The mercs blamed Lieutenant Collains here, but he had severe neural trauma and no one was sure if he would ever wake. When he did, he didn't remember the last two years. Nothing since his capture. A bit convenient, but he didn't do that to himself."

Jak did not speak. He looked at the ceiling and tried to limit his breathing. He didn't know if the quarians could tell if he lied, but hew wouldn't betray the trust the others ha given him. He looked at Illia and she winked! After a moment, Shepherd spoke again.

"Hackett believes the man is a hero." No one interrupted Shepherd. "That somehow he did that. Saved an entire ship full of colonists even with his brain tearing itself apart." She looked at Jak and shook her head. "Seeing the man? I can believe it."

"Commander, I am just a soldier." Jak said weakly.

"Lieutenant..." Shepherd sighed. "Not anymore." Jak went still and Shepherd shook her head. "Hackett couldn't hold the board off any longer. They discharged you. They wanted it dishonorable and everyone fought that. From Hackett on down. It is going to Parliament in a few days. They won't buck it. They will give you your pension."

"They..." Jak slumped. "I..."

"Hackett promised it will be an honorable discharge for psychological reasons." Shepherd said flatly. "Stupid bureaucratic bastards will not have the final say! Hackett and others are rallying everyone they can. Anderson too. Now that we know you are alive, the Alliance will close ranks with you. They won't get away with railroading you."

"Commander." Jak said weakly. "I can't serve like this." He raised a hand and Elan'Shiya slapped it back to the floor.

"Don't move!" The quarian snapped.

"I would do what she says, Lieutenant." Shepherd had a grin in her voice now. "Docs get testy when they are ignored."

"Yeah." Even the joking tone couldn't pierce Jak's sudden gloom. "So, I am not Alliance anymore."

"Bullshit." Shepherd snapped and Jak stiffened, only to groan as Elan'Shiya held him down again. "You are still Alliance. Stupid penny pinchers see the military as a pile of money they can siphon off into their own pet projects. Maybe some are worthy, but not all are. If we treat our veterans like garbage, then soon we won't have anyone willing to serve without the government paying through the nose and mercenaries do not make good soldiers. The politicians simply do not understand that no matter how much people like Hackett and Anderson get in their faces. They won't."

"And they won." Jak said quietly. "I mean, I can't fly anymore. Lara did something when we escaped form Cerberus. I could for a little while, but..."

"But it is not something the Alliance can duplicate or use." Shepherd finished for him. "Which is a pity, we will need every edge when the Reapers come." Jak did not react and Shepherd chuckled. "I see you have heard of my own 'delusions'." She made air quotes around that word.

"Seen enough weirdness not to judge, ma'am." Jak allowed. "But if I am not Alliance, what the hell do I do?"

"My advice?" Shepherd looked at Illia. "Talk to Illia's friends. Talk to anyone and everyone you can. Just because the Alliance cannot fix what is wrong with you doesn't mean no one can. Hackett told me you talked to Ryder." At that, Shala'Raan stiffened, but Shepherd ignored her. "He is a stubborn old cuss, but he isn't stupid. If he thinks he might be able to help..." She looked away. "If I had the choice or a family left, I might look for ways out myself."

"Pardon me, Ma'am, but bullshit." Jak replied. "You are not the type to run away from a fight. A tactical retreat? Maybe. Run away? Hell no."

"Pot, meet kettle." Shepherd laughed as Jak did. "Come on, tell me you didn't dig in your heels when they told you the Walrus couldn't fly anymore."

Jak was chuckling and almost missed one of the quarian marines jerking where she stood. All eyes landed on her and she took a step forward, hands out at her sides.

"You are the human they called 'Walrus'?" She asked, awe in her tone. "Really?"

"Sergeant, don't..." The other marine groaned. "Keala!"

"That was my call sign." Jak said when no one else spoke. "Why?" He had a sinking feeling though.

"You are the guy who flew under the bridge!" The marine nearly gushed. Jak groaned. Her hand went to her side, but she froze when Shala'Raan coughed. Illia was glowing a little brighter. Shepherd had her hand on her pistol. But when the marine's hand slowly came out of her pouch, it held a datapad? "Can I get your autograph?"

"Sergeant!" The other marine exclaimed.

"Bridge?" Illia, Shepherd, Elan'Shiya and Shala'Raan all exclaimed as one. They all stared at Jak who was blushing brightly.

"This I have to hear." Illia was smirking as Jak groaned louder. "Jak?"

Jak shook his head. The asari looked at Shepherd who also shook her head. She looked at the marines. The female one had frozen. The male on had a hand on his visor. A facepalm? Shala'Raan's posture was a mix of amused and concerned.

"Sergeant?" Shala'Raan asked slowly." Is this germane?"

"Sort of. My brother was on pilgrimage. He was there. He watched it happen, Admiral." The marine said quietly. "He collected every scrap of information he could. But all that he really got was the pilot's callsign. You did that? Twenty meters?"

"Thirty." Jak said in a monotone.

"A full salvo at full throttle." The marine said fervently.

"Four and… almost full throttle. They exaggerated. They always do." Jak sighed. "Look. I am not supposed to talk about things like that, marine. I cannot confirm or deny I was there."

"If you are the one they called Walrus, then if you hadn't been there, my brother would be dead." The marine said quietly. "So would a lot of civilians."

"Never heard about this." Shepherd said softly. "You want to me invoke Specter status and classify this conversation?" She was joking, but not.

"If he can't talk about it, I can." The marine said slowly. "Beckenstein. Twelve and half years ago. A group of terrorists had seized a structure filled with tourists. My brother was there, caught in the net. They had anti air weapons, shot down three police vehicles before the police pulled back. They had a solid perimeter and lots of heavier weapons. All were willing to die for their cause. Lots of civvies would have died."

"Wait a minute." Shepherd had stiffened. "Bridge? You don't mean the Moshawk bridge?" She demanded.

"Yes, Ma'am." The marine said with a nod.

Both were staring at Jak in awe. Illia was smirking as he blushed even brighter.

"What?" Shala'Raan and Elan'Shiya both said at the same time.

"Moshawk is a river on Beckenstein. A fairly shallow river. The terrorists had a perimeter and were setting up heavier weapons when an Alliance gunship flew under their perimeter, took out their anti-air, hovered into the middle of their encampment and blew them all to hell." Shepherd said flatly. "There were four survivors among the terrorists. All critically wounded. Not a single civilian was as much as scratched. Then the gunship flew back out the way he had come in and disappeared. To get in past the defenses, he had to be moving at nearly full speed less than five meters off the ground. Most pilots say that is impossible. Later, when the authorities had sorted out the mess, they determined that the passage underneath an industrial bridge that gunship had to have flown through to get in and out was twenty meters high and ten meters wide."

"Thirty and fifteen." Jak said in a monotone. "The newsies exaggerated."

"How wide is a gunship?" Shala'Raan asked, bemused.

"Seven and half meters with the engine pods fully extended." Jak said with a sigh. Shala'Raan was obviously goggling at him now. Shepherd was shaking her head. Illia just smiled. "Look, I can neither confirm nor deny I was there."

"No." The marine with the pad said quietly. "But the tusks on either side of the cockpit were distinctive. He looked for other Walrus sightings and found a few." She held out the pad. "Please?"

"The Alliance may not be your home anymore, Lieutenant." Shepherd said as Jak gave in and wrote something quick. "Glad you made it. Walrus' wasn't very original, but it was heartfelt. "But you are going to do just fine in whatever you do now if you can pull things like that off. That wasn't just skill, that was balls."

"The Alliance was all I knew, Ma'am." Jak said weakly. He smiled at the quarian marine as she took the pad back and nodded to him. "Please don't bandy that about. The work is still secret and will be for a while. Not that I was there."

"Course not. I won't tell him where it came from and it won't leave our family." The marine promised. "I wanted to thank you. He is an insufferable jerk at times, but he is my brother."

"Can't pick your-" Jak went still as something pinged his senses. Songs, but not like Lara's or the rachni's. Illia had frozen as well. The tunes were sad. Sad and angry. He went totally still as Tali'Zorah led another quarian into the room. "-family."

The songs were coming from her!