Chapter 60: Forward Unto Dawn

"Tali, we just tell them, Shepard and Liara will help us. There is no way they won't." Garrus reached out and touched the softness of his wife's purple cheek. Something he could only do in the 'clean room' that was their quarters. Others took the down time to shake off what happened to them on the Collector ship. Tali and Garrus were no different only they didn't leave the ship to do so. Instead they basked in uninterrupted time to enjoy each other: making love, dining with just the two of them, time to enjoy the quiet. But quiet never lasts, especially when it is broken by a vid call from home.

The quarian's uncovered hand reached up and took her husband's hand into her own and held it as she tucked her naked body into the warmth of his embrace. Still holding his hand she traced the edges of the carapace with the pad of her thumb.

"I'm terrified Garrus." her voice a shaken whisper.

His arms tightened around her. "We don't need an asari bond for me to feel it." He placed a kiss on her temple. "It's why we must go to Shepard. I won't let you face this ridiculous charge alone and neither will Shepard nor Liara.

"The Admiralty have nothing solid on you Tali. I don't know what their game is but they aren't going to win it. It wasn't even your father in that vid call. Something this big you'd think he would be the one to call you."

"He'll have to recuse himself from the proceedings...probably the same as my aunt Rhanna." Tali said.

"You're his daughter! He was the one who asked you to go gather geth intel, parts, and tech and now he's just letting you take the brunt of this crap?"

"Unless he's being accused as well." Tali said softly. "The Admiralty may not have allowed him to communicate to anyone. Especially me."

Garrus thought for a moment. Isolation of a prisoner charged with treason—the standard procedure in such a case is to isolate said prisoner from anything on the outside world: no communications, no news, no visitors. If they are lucky they might be allowed a novel from the prison library, but only after said book was thoroughly checked for any hidden messages.

If Rael'Zorah was indeed charged with the same crime of treason along with Tali it would explain much. Garrus could forgive such a thing, but still every bone in his body that was cop screamed: set up!

"We're taking this to Shepard, Tali." Garrus said firmly.

The young quarian women nodded almost meekly as she pulled her husband's arms around her diminutive frame, taking strength from him as it was freely given. Not even being on the disconcerting decks of the Collector ship had such a profound affect on Tali as discovering she was being charged with treason against her own people.

Treason!

It boggled the mind. And terrified the heart.

At first Tali was hesitant to disrupt Shepard's time with Liara, it was so very fleeting now that the prothean expert was on Illium. Each second, each minute, each hour was precious and cherished. But the Spectre would never permit any of her own to face danger alone, not if she had the ability or power to aid them. Had she not after all faced down and killed a thresher maw on foot for Grunt? Saved an agent of Cerberus's sister from a life of bleak-existence as a prized specimen of human evolution? Or agreed to rescue a man seemingly imprisoned by the Blood Pack and a clan of krogan because it was asked of her by Mordin? Had she not played the part of bait – placing her in very mortal danger in order to catch a serial killer on the run for four-hundred years? Had she not agreed to go on a high-stakes heist to retrieve stolen memories or put an end to debt of rage to those who were so very new to the crew? There was no chance in hell Shepard would say that she could not or would not be there for Tali in this darkest hour. Collectors be damned.

As it turned out Shepard and Liara were just about to call them to invite them to dinner and discus a few things. Serendipity at its finest. There was a tone in Shepard's voice that triggered something in her Trusted's hindbrain where the Archangel took roost. The Spectre was troubled, nearly as troubled as his wife. Yet true to form Shepard focused solely on Tali and utterly ignored her own malady. The Archangel however would not allow what was vexing his closest friend to go unaddressed.

Over dinner which of course was catered by a restaurant that specialized in both dextro-protein food and levo-amino Tali opened up. "Just before we came here, I received a message from the Migrant Fleet. The Admiralty Board has accused me of treason." There was a hitch in the young quarian's voice." She looked down at her plate of food and shifted the vegetables. "I'm scared Shepard." She looked up to meet the older woman's face, whose expression was mirrored on Liara's face.

"Nobody who knows you could believe you'd betray your people, Tali." Shepard said finding the news ludicrous.

"It is preposterous to even conceive you would commit such an act," echoed Liara.

Tali shook her head. "I don't know. They don't lay down charges like this unless the evidence seems absolute." behind the faceplate there was a faint smile. "But thanks. I appreciate your faith in me, Shepard…both of you."

"Tell me they didn't buy into the whole 'we're working for Cerberus' bull-shit." Shepard all but growled. One day she really was going to put a bullet in TIMmy's smug face and watch as his head exploded.

"Even if we have this so-called alliance with them, I don't work for Cerberus. I work for you. And I got leave to serve on the Normandy again." Tali shook her head equally angry at the rumors set for by The Illusive Man. "I have no idea what they're accusing me of. You'd think I would remember if I'd betrayed the Fleet!"

"What happens when a quarian is accused of treason?" This came from Liara trying to breach the despair of the younger woman.

Tali took a calming breath then began her explanation. "There is a hearing with the members of the Admiralty board acting as judges. As you know my father is an Admiral on the board. He'll have to recuse himself from judgment. I can't even imagine what he's thinking right now." Tali looked down at her plate again and flipped a few of the tomato-like plant over and over, turning it into mush in the process. "The punishment for treason is exile. If they convict me, I can never go back."

Garrus places a tender hand upon his wife's' back offering her his silent support.

"So you have no idea what they are accusing you of?" Shepard's 'Spectre voice' broke through her despair.

Another shake of the purple-hooded head. "None. The specifics of charges like this are rarely discussed on open channels. I won't know any more until I get to the flotilla."

"And if you're convicted you are exiled." Shepard said.

"Yes. The specifics are up to the judges. If it is deemed only a tragic mistake in judgment, the guilty party might receive a small ship and supplies. Not that it really matters. Either way, if I'm convicted, I'll never see the Migrant Fleet again." Only Garrus' hand on her back kept Tali from breaking down completely."

"Exile is an odd choice." Shepard said "So no prison, and no death penalty?

"We don't have the resources to spare for long-term incarceration. Monitored work detail is more effective. And we don't have enough people to afford executions." When she saw the puzzled expression on Shepard's face, Tali explained further. "An exile can still have children, and those children are welcomed back to the Fleet.

The commander nodded her head, gaining a better understanding of Fleet law. At least the kids were not punished for the parent's sin as so often was the case in human society. "How often is someone from the Fleet charged with treason?"

"It's rare. It must be something that affects the entire flotilla, not just one ship. The most recent one was Anora'Vanya vas Selani, an engineer who handed over Fleet defense schematics to the batarians. She had good intentions. The batarians were contracted to upgrade our systems. But they passed the defense schematics to a pirate gang."

"What happened to her?" Liara asked. "Was she convicted?"

"No. She made a suicide run on the pirate gang. She destroyed them before they could attack the Fleet. She was pardoned…posthumously. Let's hope I don't have to prove my innocence that way."

"Not going to happen, Tali" Shepard reached across the table and touched her friend's thin arm. "Be ready in fifteen. We'll go find the flotilla." It was a vow.

"See, I told you so. No way would Shepard let you face this on your own." Garrus beamed.

"Thank you, Shepard. I'll program the Normandy with the flotilla's current location. The Admirals will be waiting for us."

Garrus looked at his commander and then to Liara and back again. Once more his investigative cop instincts kicked him in the head. "Now your turn. I get the feeling this meal isn't just for the 'old married couples' night in. What's going on?"

When Sam shook her head, Liara stepped in. "We've all seen the news. I think we can safely say the Council has taken note of Reaper threat. They may have dressed the Andromeda Initiative as something as an extraordinary chance for exploration but we know the truth of it. The Arks including the quarian Ark were created so that our people survive what is to come.

"Those involved will never know the truth of why they are going. I've been in contact with a former N7 operative who is now the human Pathfinder, a man named Alec Ryder. He has an extremely advanced AI called SAM."

"An AI?!" Tali shook her head. "What the creation of EDI wasn't good enough; humans had to create another?!"

"This one is different. It is completely integrated into implants designed by Ellen Ryder who was a pioneer in the development of biotic amps for humans. The reason we asked you here was to ask if you heard or managed to record any transmissions from the Collector ship. With that information, the AI SAM might be able to track the movement of the Reapers when the Nexus and the Arks traverse dark space. The AI will need a full comprehensive comparative."

"But the Arks already left as did the Nexus." Garrus pointed out. "I didn't watch Garson's speech but she gave it last night at some big party at the Citadel."

"They haven't left the Milky Way yet. There is still time to transmit the data, as well as whatever we know of the Reapers. Which isn't much, they need to know what we faced when they wake 600 years from now. They need to know it all."

"A legacy." Garrus concluded.

"It is as good as word as any. So yes, a legacy, a history, and a warning. Indoctrinations, the cycles of extinction, what they are, what they did to the Protheans. The insidiousness of harvesting whole civilizations to turn them into something unrecognizable, the husk abominations, abductions, the Initiative needs to know it all.

"I've been collating data on what you all witnessed on the Collector ship, including any transmissions. Samantha's cipher allowed for instantaneous translations of transmissions but for the documentation what did either of you hear on the Collector ship?" Liara carefully worded the question as not to through suspicion as to the true reason it was asked. 'Did you hear the Reapers? Did you hear the one name itself Harbinger?'

"The ship was damaged on Horizon but not to the extent we were lead to believe by TIMmy. First thing I heard when we boarded her was the creaking of the bulkheads and the stillness of the engine core. After Shepard activated the data banks the whole ship was buzzing with Collectors and their comm-chatter, they seemed to be issuing troop movements." Tali said.

'They didn't hear him.' Sam sent along their bond.

"Seemed to be a lot of chittering, couldn't make any of it out. Just like on Horizon. There was one word or phrase they said over and over I couldn't understand it. But the meaning was clear enough. They seemed to be calling Shepard out."

'There you see…the cipher allowed for the translation.'

'That's the problem. We already knew Harbinger was transmitting. And they only heard the Collectors.'

"Shepard, all this isn't just for posterity, what's going on?" Tali asked pushing past her own fears of exile to see an equal fear in her Commander's eyes."

After a long breath Shepard and Liara laid their fears bare. Tali and Garrus were their Trusted. Trusted not only with the souls and lives of their bondmates and children but with their deepest darkest secrets and to keep their counsel close to the heart.

In the eyes of Tali and Garrus were not the reflection of denial but the guilty look of someone loath to agree with a dire prognosis.

"I know what you're thinking." Shepard muttered darkly. "All those Prothean artifacts I interfaced with, the development of CS. Have I truly been cured from it? The vinculum that tried to overwrite my memories with theirs. The dreams, constant nightmares locked in a black and white oily world with flames and whispers. The fact I heard Harbinger call me out, tormenting me, egging me on." Shepard rose from the table and paced.

"He said he knew what he was doing was hurting me. That he was the pinnacle of our evolution-our exaltation. And like Sovereign their actions were beyond our comprehension." the Spectre looked down at her glowing fists realizing that in her great anger and frustration she had summoned the power of dark energy.

With the smallest of touches to her back, Liara calmed the storm. Not a word was spoken, Garrus and Tali looked away for a moment allowing the couple their moment.

"That whole 'beyond our comprehension' thing is a lot of crap. I say it's an excuse because they don't really have plan outside harvesting us and turning us into their husk-slaves or changing us like they did the Protheans." There was an unbelieving shrug to the Spectre's shoulders.

"Doesn't change the fact that I am more than likely indoctrinated. Let's not pretend anymore. Shiala and Matriarch Benezia, even hell even Saren all said the indoctrination was subtle at first. Like a buzzing in the back of the mind, a song you find yourself humming. Fast indoctrination destroys your mind, but slow..." Sam wasn't able to finish the sentence as Liara's fingers were upon her lips.

"What is the N7 axiom?" She asked. No demanded of her bondmate.

"When your back is up against the wall and you can't beat it—use it." Shepard said dutifully.

"And that is what you're best at." Liara said and found the Trusted nodding in agreement.

Sam drew in a great breath.

"I've read the human military histories and as you know when we first met about the N7's. Samantha, even amongst the past first N7s— Councilor Anderson and Commander now Pathfinder Ryder included you are of their finest ilk. You will use quarian law to exonerate Tali and you will use the Collector tech to destroy the Collectors

"Maybe the Reapers have touched your mind beloved, but the odds have never stopped you before, and face it they were never in your favour to begin with. But you defied the odds, defied logic, and probability and triumphed. You will do so now. It is what you are best at."

"Keelah Se'lai!"

"Absofuckinglutely." Garrus echoed. "First we cut this crap with my wife's trumped up treason charges. Then we destroy the Collector base and stop those motherfrackers, then ….then we deal with Prothean / Reaper shit that's doing a mind-fuck on you Sam." Garrus for the very first time used his best friend's first name or rather a variation of it, but is usage was very significant. It brought it down to a very very personal level.

Sam nodded. "Fully agreed. Like Li reminded me. When your back is up against the wall and you can't beat it, use it. And we… we're so gonna use it."

END BOOK TWO

MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME

AN1: The story is continuing only that if I go on from here the chapter numbers will get ridiculously long as I still have ME3 to hit as well and I'm only in ME2 so BOOK 2 and now 3 simply are there to restart chapter numbers back to 1

AN2: I am using some of the tech and info we learned in ME: AI. A lot can't be utilized but some can. After all they left the galaxy for their 600 year cruise at the same time Shepard was running around the Terminus Systems stopping the Collectors-2085. So things like the jump jets, the Nomad and a few other things already existed back in the Milky Way and are available for our Normandy crew, especially for a Spectre. Also, I am still using tech and abilities found in the MP games and always storylines that are revealed in the books, graphic novels, and Cerberus / ANN online to make the world less micro and more on a macro level for our heroes.

AN3 Last but certainly not least: Thank you to all my readers who have stuck it out this far with me, thank you for all the input, opinions, often a very helpful hand in ideas or POVs or facts, pointing out errors so I can fix them and better my craft or simple encouragement Thank you for staying with the story even if at times it took very strange turns and you may not quite agree with it but stayed to see what happened anyway.

Thank you everyone! On to book 3