Part III
Quarian
"Shepard's a few meters that way, Tali", Chief Williams pointed after tapping the quarian driver on her slender shoulder. Tali's signature environmental suit appeared almost skin-tight, but she could last indefinitely in harsh atmospheric conditions while her companions could not. It was a pretty good technology, especially when one took into account the desperate, shoestring budget of its design process. The suit kept her safe from the lethal organisms that would ravage her unique immune system, a synthetic skin that would block the invading viruses and bacterial strains that most other life forms could fend off with barely a troubled cough.
Eletania was different, though. All the microorganisms that drifted through Eletania's air were practically fatal if anyone in Shepard's party inhaled them. Their conventional, factory-made environmental suits could only protect them from such dangers for only a limited time, while Tali's homemade suit offered virtually limitless protection. Combined with its powerful kinetic barriers, the little quarian could take quite a bit of heat in battle before risking any rupture in her suit.
"We should return fire on those geth. At least it will keep them busy while the commander gets on board", came the familiar rasp of a turian voice. Like many turians, Garrus was a man of action. Tali appreciated his value to the team, even if she did find him somewhat cold and narrow-minded at times.
"I'll take the guns", Ashley sprang into action without hesitation. She was an Alliance soldier, and Tali could tell she was just as dedicated to their cause as Garrus.
Tali felt vibrations against her back and legs as the Mako's coaxially-mounted machine gun danced in Ashley's nimble hands.
Eletania's rolling hillsides and verdant valleys presented a wonderful mixture of interesting obstacles and beautiful terrain. Tali had to admit that it was a pleasant world to drive around, especially early in the mission when there had been no geth to worry about. Even at the plateau of this hill, the surface was dotted with boulders just large enough to prevent her from picking up too much speed. For once, Tali would have preferred a very plain surface to drive upon, if only to ensure the safety of Commander Shepard.
"There she is, Tali. Bring us in", came Garrus's firm command.
Tali swerved the Mako around one of the rock formations and drove straight toward the rock Shepard was using as cover. It was heavily charred and blistered on one side, and it continued to chip away under constant small arms fire. A clean grey surrounded Shepard, though. She was standing at the one side of the rock that none of the geth could easily fire upon.
Not yet, anyway.
The Mako came to a halt, and Garrus leapt outside, shouting through the sounds of battle as his commanding officer remained stalwart against a steady stream of incoming geth fire. Tali couldn't hear them, but she could see what was going on from the Mako's driver seat window.
Garrus flailed his arms at Shepard, but Shepard remained still. Tali peered through the airborne dust and shattered rock fragments, and saw Shepard with a rifle in hand, her back pressed against the safety of the rapidly degrading piece of natural cover. She shook her head at Garrus, and shouted something that Tali could not hear.
"Armature!" Ashley shouted, the only person who remained inside the Mako with Tali. The Mako's thick hull and formidable shields could keep them safe from most of the geth's weaponry. Geth armature, however, was a living tank designed to destroy heavy vehicles. Tali could not help but marvel at how much progress the geth made since rebelling against their quarian creators just a few centuries ago.
"Ashley, Shepard's pinned down. Can you take out that armature before it gets any closer?"
"Not at the angle you've got me at. We need to either rush that damn thing or just pull back and try to protect Shepard".
Tali and Ashley were not of the same race, but the very notion of protecting Commander Shepard seemed alien to them both. Ashley was an amazing soldier, but without an orderly chain of command, Tali feared the woman might stutter in the chaos and ambiguity of battle. Tali might not have formal military training, but she did have advantages that her companions did not.
She sprang from her seat and took up a position beside Garrus, using the Mako's bulk as temporary cover. Tali had done this so quickly, she could barely hear the Chief's objections from deep within the Mako's interior. Then again, the sound of incoming fire was quickly becoming louder and more intense. Tali was the youngest member of this team, but she knew the geth like a mother knew her son. She knew the geth would surround them and kill them in a matter of seconds. They were as fast as they were efficient.
"Tali, what are doing? You'll get us all killed!"
"What's Shepard doing?" Tali had to shout almost as loud as the outraged turian to be heard over the rhythmic chorus of incoming geth fire. Garrus had an Elkoss sniper rifle in his hands, but he grasped it close to his chest as if he knew the weapon was nearly useless in this fight but found some comfort in clutching it tightly. She had never seen him afraid before. Whether he was more concerned about his own safety or the commander's, she couldn't be sure.
"That armature is headed our way! Get back in the Mako and pull it closer so she can get in!"
Tali considered this situation. The armature would be capable of ripping Shepard apart with a single blast, but even the Mako would only be able to absorb a few hits before its kinetic barriers died. Garrus believed that by bringing the Mako right beside Shepard, she could use it as cover and board safely. This would probably work, but it left everyone else vulnerable to attack. Even now, Ashley was a stationary target and Tali did not intend to leave her for long. Even worse than that, it would take time to bring the Mako closer, and time was not on their side.
"Tali, what are you doing!?" Garrus practically screamed at Tali as she darted out into the open, her tiny physique flitting like an insect across the grassy battlefield. Despite her best speed, a barrage of fire surrounded her before she even reached the commander, and her suit's kinetic barriers flickered blue as the battery rapidly depleted. Free of the relatively confined spaces of the Mako, Tali made one final jump through the air toward Shepard's cover. She exhaled, curling herself into a smaller target and tumbling a full meter before halting the roll at the sight of Shepard's armored boot.
The crew of the SSV Normandy knew of Tali's abilities, and sometimes even acknowledged them aloud in her presence. As a quarian, however, she was still a source of great suspicion and mistrust. The human engineers she collaborated with on board the ship did not hold any special love for her, and even Commander Shepard seemed reluctant to accept her as one of her crew. They had ample proof of her abilities, and Tali had initially suspected that her youth might make her seem more vulnerable. None of those things really mattered, though.
All that mattered to them was that she was a quarian.
Exile. Vagabond. Criminal.
She was not terribly surprised when she felt the commander grab her by the wrist and yank her violently to her feet, and saw her lips pursed and eyes full of scorn. Nor was she disappointed that Shepard focused on the immediate danger, and kept still and quiet despite the murderous advance of the geth infantry. Tali did not expect gratitude for her actions. She had grown largely accustomed to sitting on the sidelines, or in the background, where she could serve her role without people having to look at the dark visor that concealed her face. Tali was silent when she rubbed her sore wrist, activating her omni-tool and readying a deployable tech mine which would render any geth weapons within its blast radius temporarily inoperable.
A shred of blue light flickered in front of her, and Tali did not have the egocentrism necessary to gloat about confirmed suspicions of the geth attack patterns. They were now surrounded. Tali and Shepard would have several seconds to make their move, if they were lucky.
A second streak of blue passed them, but it was accompanied by the hollow echo of a micro-mass accelerator sniper rifle. Tali did not need to glance behind her to know that Garrus was picking off geth with his long range weapon. It might be helpful in covering their side, but they were still several meters from the relative safety of the Mako.
"Go on, Shepard. I'll cover you", Tali could barely hear her own voice over the sound of incoming fire, but it hardly mattered. They were out of time.
"Are you kidding? I've had enough of your stupid heroics for one day!"
It was a very harsh response. Tali had risked her life to reach Shepard, but it had been for nothing. If she had to die today, at least it would be for something worthwhile.
"When I give the signal, you make a run for the Mako! Understood?" Shepard commanded Tali with the precise clarity of an experienced leader.
"Yes!" Tali immediately cried out in response, trying to conceal the crackle of anguish in her dry throat.
"Wait for it-" Shepard's words were cut short by Garrus's second shot, a precise blast that sent an advancing geth trooper toppling down the hillside.
Before embarking on her pilgrimage, Tali had been warned that she would be regarded with great suspicion during her travels. She wished she had taken these warnings more seriously. It was difficult to truly understand prejudice until it had been experienced firsthand.
There was a sharp tearing sound as the big boulder began to crumble under the punishment of merciless gunfire.
Only the victim knows the crime, Garrus had once told her. Tali suspected that the turian did not see the truth depth of such words the way she did. Maybe it was a cultural thing.
"Go, get moving! Get over there!"
Tali could barely understand Shepard's words through the noise, but she instantly sprang into action. She fired a tech mine at their most vulnerable side, and one of the approaching geth tracked it, watching it with its hooded "head". The synthetic soldier did not show any sign of fear or appreciation for the mine's effect. He ignored it when it struck the nearby ground, and picked up speed when he saw Tali and Shepard at the rock, barely dodging Garrus's sniper round as he made his approach.
Several rounds were fired before it finally collapsed, a pile of lifeless cold metal on the soft green moss.
Tali briefly lowered her pistol, and glanced back at the commander, who sat against the broken boulder clutching her leg.
"Shepard's hit!" she shouted, waving to Garrus ineffectually. Garrus appeared dumbstruck by her words, as if he'd just witnessed some rare astronomical phenomenon. He steadied his rifle as he rose to his feet, glancing at the Mako as if trying to determine whether to risk running toward the two of them or hopping into the vehicle and pulling it closer. The second option would have left Tali and Shepard exposed to even greater danger, since Ashley could not use the Mako's guns to cover them until Garrus drove her closer.
No time.
Tali holstered her pistol and shook herself free of fear like a varren in a mud puddle. She lifted Shepard's heavy frame and steadied it against her own. Ignoring the commander's struggles and barely audible shouts of protest, she aided Shepard as they made a sluggish journey to the stationary vehicle. Blue flickered around them as incoming fire quickly drained their shields. Tali wanted to return fire, but knew she could not afford to slow down. She was only halfway to the Mako when she felt something punch her exposed shoulder. She hoped it had only been a grazing round, but ignored the waves of pain and continued to support Shepard as she lumbered onward.
Almost there.
A salvo of light peppered the front of her visor, but she kept moving, her hunched posture offering her a view of little more than the charred grass and mud. Her tiny frame strained against the weight of Commander Shepard, fully equipped for battle in her thickly armored combat suit. The entire picture must have seemed like an absurd reversal for Garrus, who was now using his assault rifle to discourage their pursuers from advancing too quickly. She hoped it was working, if only for a few more seconds.
When at last she saw the treads of the Mako, Tali set the commander down against its hull and let out an imperceptible wince. For once, she was glad the Mako's machine gun was so loud. Ashley's support was probably the only thing that had been keeping the bulk of the geth infantry off their backs. Garrus offered to help Shepard to her feet, but Shepard hobbled aboard on her own and extended her hand to the turian instead. Tali tried not to make too much of a show as she rose to her feet again, and did not flinch when she saw the moss sizzle at her feet. Shepard shouted something through the noise, and Tali grasped her hand as she climbed aboard. It might as well have been a part of the Mako, it felt so hard and solid to her little fingers. The sound of battle seemed very far away once the door clamped shut. There was sharp jolt in Tali's seat when the Mako's 155mm cannon fired. It was a powerful, unapologetic sound.
"Armature down!" Chief Williams declared with no effort to dampen her pride. "The rest of them are probably retreating. If we step on it, we might be able to run 'em down before they escape".
The four of them climbed into their seats without words, with Shepard taking over Tali's temporary position as the Mako's designated driver. The symbolism was all too apparent for the young quarian. Tali tried to steady her breath, relaxing the muscles that were sore with tension. She quickly noticed it in her face, right shoulder, lower back, and feet. Her right shoulder seemed like the worst, and Tali suspected that she'd been shot or hit by shrapnel. Garrus probably noticed her grasping at it, because he was the first to break the silence.
"Tali, you've been hit. Need medi-gel?"
"I'm fine".
"Crap", came Ashley's traditional follow-up remark. "If the Quarian's suit got breached, we're gonna have to rush her off to get help. I don't know if Chakwas is equipped to handle something like that. Commander, we might need dustoff-"
"I'm fine, really", Tali tried to quiet the Chief down, already embarrassed to have been the subject of a post-battle conversation for more than a few seconds. She studied the gash in her suit, and was relieved to find that it had only been a shallow rupture. She would probably be sore for a while, but some bruising was acceptable to her. More than acceptable, after the mess she'd caused on this mission. She'd be lucky if Shepard ever asked her to leave the ship again anytime soon.
"Anyone else hit? Ash?" Shepard spoke up over the muted crescendo of the Mako's awakened engine system.
"I've been pretty comfy in here, Commander. Garrus?"
"I'll be fine. I'm more worried about the commander".
Garrus had been right, though. Whatever injuries or hardships they might have endured were nothing. Commander Shepard's health was of the utmost importance, and with good reason. If anything happened to her, Saren might never be stopped and countless lives could be lost. Tali had no illusions about her importance within the social hierarchy of the Normandy.
"Just a scratch. Looks like we're clear", Shepard noted the lack of red hostile blips on the Mako's long range sensor systems. They weren't really "long range" sensors, but Tali was still unaccustomed to the level of technology and polish that permeated every facet of her journey with the commander. No wonder people treated her like a beggar wherever she went. They were all spoiled, taking their expensive luxuries for granted.
Tali sighed noiselessly.
"There was another anomaly you wanted to investigate, Commander?"
"It can wait", Shepard dismissed the Chief's reminder with a wave of her gloved hand. Even armored, Shepard's hands looked incredibly powerful on the Mako's steering wheel. "That mission got a bit messier than I'd planned. Joker?"
"Ma'am?" came the pilot's voice, so clear he might been an invisible entity in the vehicle.
"Ready for evac".
"Copy that. ETA six minutes".
The com clicked off, and Tali was once again alone in her guilty silence.
"You've got the data module, right? Chief?"
Chief Williams sat in the front passenger seat, and although Tali's gaze was downcast, she could hear the shuffle of armor and synthetic fabric.
"No, where is it!? I thought you had it, Commander!"
"Relax, Chief. It's a joke. I've got it".
Williams exhaled sharply and let her posture relax. Tali glanced at Garrus and saw the angular flaps surrounding his cheekbones flicker slightly. Was he smiling?
"Glad to hear it", Garrus chimed it. "I'd hate to think we were almost killed and ended up leaving our objective behind".
Tali had never seen Garrus smile before. Then again, she couldn't remember hearing Shepard tell a joke, either. This was indeed a rare occasion, a phenomena she was fortunate enough to bear witness to.
Her back started to feel better.
"Yeah, not to mention all those poor monkeys you ran over, Garrus. At least they died for a good cause."
"Not again, Williams".
"No, what's the matter? It was a good death, a proud sacrifice. I'm sure their parents will give them extended eulogies and sing songs of their deeds for years to come".
"I told you, it was an accident", Garrus defended himself, apparently disdainful of Ashley's playful ridicule.
"Yeah, I know that. Besides, it's not worth crying over a few dead monkeys".
"No one is crying. Not you, not the commander, not Tali. We're fine. The mission was accomplished, and we made it out alive."
Garrus's efforts to sober up the Chief succeeding only in eliciting raucous laughter from the prosecutor. The turian security officer probably felt like he was on trial all the time, like he was always being judged and reviewed.
"You're right, Garrus", Tali found herself reassuring him. "You saved our lives back there, and we're very grateful".
"Aw", Ashley crooned with mock sympathy.
"You did pretty well yourself, Tali. Especially for someone without any formal training".
"Don't make me cry, turian. First dead monkeys, now heartfelt compliments? It's too much for a girl to handle!" Ashley was persistent in trying to rile the poor guy up with her verbal prodding. He ignored her this time.
"Thanks, Garrus. I tried my best, but-"
"Forget it, Tali", Shepard spoke up suddenly. The interior of the Mako suddenly grew quiet.
"You did well out there today. Mistakes can't always be fixed, but you can learn from them. Respect the chain of command next time, and you'll be fine" Shepard spoke firmly, but not aggressively. Tali felt a glimmer of hope when she heard the words "next time".
"Yeah, that took a lot of guts, kid", Ashley emphasized the term "kid", although she was only a few years older than Tali. "Just give me some warning before you go dashing out of the Mako to play superhero next time, okay?"
"I will. I'm sorry".
"Don't be sorry. Be safe. Do the job right, and you can keep your regrets down to a minimum. That's what Shepard has tried to tell me", Garrus offered his turian wisdom as gently as he could manage, and Tali accepted it like a fresh handful of omni-gel. The cabin fell silent for a moment as the Mako decelerated.
"Yeah, lots of good that did you, Garrus", Ashley resumed her taunt.
"That's enough. Normandy is inbound. Things got heated out there, but you did a good job. All of you".
Shepard's words seemed to satisfy everyone, whether they acted like it or not. Not since leaving the Citadel had so many people given so much of their attention to Tali. She was unused to people caring so much about her actions and thoughts, seeing her for who she was and not just another faceless quarian nomad.
"Thank you", was all she could manage as the Normandy's shadow plunged them into near-total darkness. The amber glow of holopanels and data displays offered only partial illumination of the Mako's quieted interior. In the blackness, she could hear the clinking of metal and buckles as the three of them loosened their armor and removed their helmets. Tali could not remove any of her armor, but stretched her aching shoulder nevertheless.