A/N: Here you go, a brand new chapter for you to read. this time, i swear on my mother's heart, won't take another two months to update - i'm already working on the next part. so, if you have any comments, advice, critique or questions, feel free to PM me or comment in the review section. Enjoy!
-agardner99
"...But I would never send back any active parts, only scrap! I've familiarised myself with the Geth over the course of my Pilgrimage with Shepard - and before that - enough to know the difference between an active Geth and a dead one: the first shoots on sight."
I sigh. I've been trying to dissuade Tali from accepting her father's mission: collecting broken yet valuable geth parts and sending them back to the Flotilla for research. This would be a great way to learn of their weaknesses, if not for the fact that it will lead to a chain of events that will end in the death of the entire crew of the Alarei, including Tali's father, and her to be charged with treason. And, on top of all that, I'm getting a headache.
"Look, I know this is far fetched, but you have to believe me: it won't end well. For anybody." Tali folds her arms and leans against the wall of our quarters. "And why's that? Do you know what an advantage over the Geth we would gain?" "Because Your father will die, Tali. and so will a hundred or so people. It won't matter how broken the parts are, he'll just rebuild them and hook them up to a network. something about developing a virus and planting it in the net." Tali's eyes go wide as I continue. " The experiments inevitably will fail, however, and the Geth will slaughter everyone on the Alarei. I know how much the safety of the Fleet matters for you. Don't accept this assignment."
Tali's figure remains motionless for a moment, then she looks at the floor and answers me, causing my heart to skip a beat with joy: "If what you're saying is true, I should confront my father about it - he may be an admiral, but that goes against every safety precaution in the fleet." I reassure her: "I don't think that will be a problem: he never trusted anyone else with this mission - it was very secret, event the other admirals didn't know about it before the onslaught."
Man, this headache is getting a lot worse…
The quarian raises her head and does a double take at my face: "Keelah, Alex, your nose! You're bleeding!" "What?" - I say, instinctively raising a hand to my face, meeting the faceplate with a dull thump as my palm collides with it. I lick my lips and feel the distinct taste of iron. What the hell? I draw my head back, slowing the hemorrhaging as i try to figure out what the hell could have caused it.
Meanwhile, Tali's digging through the small crate we brought back from the loading bay, searching for medigel, i suppose. Nosebleeds are not an uncommon thing for me, as I have them from time to time, usually connected with sharp weather changes. Could this be the result of me being aboard the Rayya? It didn't bother me for the few days that i spent on the Sur'tan, and i doubt the atmospheric pressure is much different. Must have something to do with that migraine that has been bothering me since my return from lunch… My train of thought is interrupted as Tali turns back to me, medigel spray in hand. "Tali," - I say, rolling my eyes to see her shuffling in front of me - "how do you plan on applying that without taking off my mask?" She looks at the small canister in her hand, at me, and back at the canister. "I… didn't really think this through. C'mon, let's go to the clean room, I'll patch you up - somehow." I wave her away, lowering my head - the bleeding stopped. "Don't worry, i'm fine now. Just need to clean up my face and shirt… no chance I can tint this visor, is there?" - I say, chuckling. Tali sets the medigel back on the table, but she still sounds concerned: "I still think we should get you checked out before your operation tomorrow." I shake my head: "Nah, I'll be fine. thanks for actually caring, though - we're even on the life-saving, remember?" - I state with a smile, the fresh crust on my lips cracking as they stretch. Tali tilts her head to one side, that sparkle in her eyes that i've learned indicates she's smiling under the mask: "I don't count friendships in lives owed - and neither should you." I shrug: " I guess. Any chance there's some aspirin in that box? Actually - nevermind, i'm fine now." Huh, that headache stopped rather abruptly.
"Hey, maybe later - after i get my eyes fixed - we could check out my suit, that might have had something to do with internal air pressure. Maybe check the filtration system,something like that." - I ask. Tali checks the back-area of my suit with her omni-tool, then looks over the data. "Well, the stats seem within acceptable parameters, no drop or raise detected - but it's a rather hastily made rig, the sensors might just be off. If that's the case, i'll just have to recalibrate them." I snicker at the word "calibrate" but don't bother to explain the age-old inside joke, leaving Tali staring at me in confusion.
The next day, I'm standing at the airlock to the shuttle that will take us to Dr. Thaal's lab. It's only about 9 am, and i'm still somewhat groggy: interestingly, the quarian day lasts about 22,5 earth hours, so morning came early.
"Right this way." - said the red-clad quarian, pointing with his rifle to the airlock. I guess it'll take more than a day aboard their liveship to gain their trust; the two guards from yesterday are right behind me, as always, rifles drawn. The airlock hisses as it slides open, revealing the insides of a rather small shuttle, packed to the brim with crates, sacks and, above all, quarians. Earlier this morning, Tali explained to me that they wouldn't lend her a separate shuttle, so we would take the 9 o'clock ride to the Ther'loc, the ship where Zear'Thaal had his clinic. The shuttles operated kind of like busses - only free of charge, communing between ships when the fleet was not in transit between systems.
We get aboard, finding a place between a couple groups of people, The ever-present guards right beside us. a few minutes pass as more people file in, until the place is packed - full of quarians. Then some more come in. And then some. How do they even fit in here?!
Eventually, we depart, and a ten minutes later the Intercom comes on and my translator does it's job: "Now arriving at: Ther'loc, Public Arrivals bay. Do not lean against airlock while docking is in progress." The airlock hisses, equalizing the air pressure, and soon, after a security checkpoint, we're on our way to the lab. "You ready for this?" - Asks Tali, giving me an indiscernible look. "Yeah, I am. I mean, I think I am. I've been under the knife before, so to speak, got a few scars from it too." I am somewhat nervous about Thaal's skills with human patients, though. I'll ask him about it when we get there. I'll get my answer soon enough: the clinic is just at the end of this hallway.
"Zear'Thaal vas Ther'loc, M.D." - I presume the alloy plaque on the wall says in quarian. in reality, It could say "WC - down that hallway and to the left, don't forget to flush, have a nice day", and I would be none the wiser. Tali presses a button on the green holographic panel on the wall, the buzzer of the doorbell can be heard coming from the other side, and then the panel says, with the doctor's voice, "Come in!" - and the door slides upwards and out of sight.
The room beyond is well lit, the walls are a white-greenish colour and the room contains a single quarian - that's about all i can tell about it from here. The quarian, who i presume is Zear, moves rapidly to greet us: "Ah, miss Zorah, Alex, good to see you. how are you feeling today?" I assume the question is aimed at me, the patient-to-be: "Fine, thanks. Had a migraine and a minor nosebleed the other day, nothing serious." The doctor nods as I speak, pacing the room and messing with some form of lamp, under which sits a white-ish reclining seat . Tali fidgets with her hands, apparently nervous. "Take a seat here, and I'll explain what i'm about to do." - says Zear'Thaal, nodding at the seat and placing a hand on the back of it. I abide, leaning into the soft material as the doc tilts it back until i'm virtually facing upwards. "So doc, where exactly did you learn about human physiology?" I ask, following his movements as he scuttles about the chamber. "Ah yes, I can see why you would be concerned - well, don't worry, I have had practice with human patients during my pilgrimage. I spent a year or two working at this multi-species clinic in the lower region of Tayseri Ward - a few humans now and then, mostly those who couldn't afford a more expensive place like Huerta Memorial. Amazing team there, a couple of Asari nurses, a salarian doctor, many more. We even had a krogan intern, but that didn't last long - you see, this one time…" Tali cuts in, interrupting him: "Doctor, maybe you can tell us later? Right now, I think we just want to get this over with." Zear snaps out of his nostalgia trip, looks back at me.
"Can you tell me what exactly you're going to do?" - I ask him. "Well, to spare you the messy details, I plan on removing part of your cornea and lens, replacing them with an ocular implant." - He picks up something gray off the nearby table, - "It was initially developed for our asteroid miners - sometimes, if you improperly seal your visor and some eezo dust gets in, it can gradually ruin a quarian's vision. I spent a couple hours with a friend of mine - a tech expert - modifying it to accommodate your human eyes. in theory, it should link with your optical nerves just fine." I go slightly pale - "In theory?" I ask. If this doesn't work.. "Don't worry - the principle behind it is pretty simple, so I'm pretty certain it will link seamlessly. If you have no further questions, I'll begin. Miss Zorah, you might want to wait outside." - Replies the doc, bringing up his omni-tool. "Nurse!" - he says. almost immediately, a small round drone spawns next to him, and answers: "Yes, Doctor?" looking back once, Tali exits, and I'm left alone for the doctor to operate on.
"Now look, i'm going to seal the room, you take off your helmet, and i'll put on the anesthesia mask." He presses a few buttons on his omni-tool, and a voice comes from some hidden speakers: "Chamber sealed." I remove my helmet, breathing in the over-processed air and probably contaminating it like hell. Zear hand's me a plastic breathing mask with a hose, I place it on my face, feeling it suck up to my skin and form a seal, and he turns a valve under the operating table-chair-thing. Almost immediately, the world begins to swim and spin, dimming the light and dulling sounds. within seconds, the world goes dark, silent and numb.