Shepard was wondering through the corridors when he heard Joker over the comm.

"Commander, Jack and Miranda are in the middle of a… disagreement. Can you head it off before they tear out a bulkhead?"

This didn't sound good. "I'll deal with it."

"Take pictures."

Shepard then head as fast as he could towards Miranda's office and the door just open in time to see both girls' biotics flaring.

"Touch me and I will smear the walls with you, bitch!" Jack roared tossing a chair across the room.

"Enough! Stand down, both of you!" Shepard commanded.

Jack narrowed her eyes at Miranda. "The cheerleader won't admit what Cerberus did to me was wrong!"

"It wasn't Cerberus," said Miranda, not backing down. "Not really. But clearly you were a mistake."

Jack turned Miranda with fury in her eyes. "Screw you! You got no idea what they put me through! Maybe it's time I showed you!"

Shepard placed himself between the two girls, afraid in a fight between the two of them would destroy the ship. "Our mission is too important to let personal feelings get in the way."

"But your feeling." Jack narrowed her eyes at Miranda. "I just want her dead."

"You both know what we're up against. Save your anger for the Collectors."

"I can put aside my differences…" said Miranda sizing Jack up. "Until the mission is over."

"Sure," said Jack looking at Miranda unblinkingly. "I'll do my part. I'd hate to see her die before I get a chance to filet her myself."

Jack made her way towards the door, but Shepard raised an arm. "You two going to be okay?"

Jack merely shrugged and walked out of the room. Miranda on the other hand merely crossed her arms.

"It's a good thing you came when you did," she said. "As long as she does her job, we'll be fine. Thanks, Shepard."

"I was more afraid of the two of you would with the ship apart," said Shepard giving up a sigh of relief.

"I suppose that's the danger you have two powerful biotic in the same room," Miranda shrugged. "Actually is a good thing you hear, because I wanted to speak to you, in fact." Miranda then sat down on the couch and Shepard sat down opposite her. "I… wanted to apologise. I didn't fully believe you'd be up to the task. And it seems I was wrong."

Shepard was quite taken aback, he knew that Miranda was hard to read and she didn't often express her feelings. "Frankly, based on what I've seen, I wish Cerberus had recruited you earlier."

"I trust you, but I don't trust Cerberus," said Shepard bluntly. "Your experiments cross the line."

Miranda nodded. "All the time, yes. But I recall a Spectre who crossed a few lines while hunting down Saren and the geth." Shepard felt a little uneasy by that comment. "And we'd be lucky to have you. Too many join us out of simple xenophobia. We need more people here for the right reasons."

"What was Cerberus trying to prove by experimenting on children like Jack?"

"A mistake. No question. Not mine. And one that was corrected once we discovered the extent of the experiments being performed."

Shepard frowned. "With your intelligence, you could have landed any job you wanted. Why choose this?"

"Because I envy the time Mordin spent with the Special Task Group, working with people as smart as he was. Cerberus never tells me that something is impossible. They give me resources and say, 'Do it.' And they've given you even more. A new life, a new ship, the Illusive Man's personal attention…"

"The best thing he did was put you on my squad."

Miranda smiled. "You'd have done fine without me. I may not have believed it before, but…" She closed her eyes and looked at Shepard. "I don't have what you do—that fire that makes someone willingly to follow you into hell itself." She then stood up and looked out of the window. "My father got me the best genes money could buy. Guess it wasn't enough."

"You always bring up your genetic tailoring," Shepard noted. "It really bothers you, doesn't it?"

"This is what I am, Shepard. I can't hide it. The intelligence, the looks, even the biotics… he paid for it all. Every one of your accomplishments is due to your skills. The only thing I can take credit for are my mistakes."

Shepard could see that this was hurting her badly and approach her. "That's a tough feeling to live with. Maybe after we save the galaxy, you'll change your mind."

Miranda looked at him. "We can hope. Thanks for coming by, Shepard. I appreciate it."

Shepard then went down to hold to check on Jack, who was brooding.

"I needed to wipe that place off the map." She turned to look at him. "You took me there to do it, and I owe you." She then lay down on her bed and looked up at the ceiling. "You don't know what it's like, Shepard. The have garbage like that following you. It marks you in ways you… you don't expect."

Actually, Shepard had a good idea how Jack felt. "I've made a lot of hard choices, Jack. Like what to let go."

"Hard to walk away from it. You'd think it would get easier now that the place is a crater, but what else do I know?"

"I never thought I'd see you showing mercy, but you let Aresh live."

Jack shrugged. "He was trapped in his past, reliving it every day. You showed me how that could be me. I'm not getting stuck like that. I'm better than him, and I'm sure as hell not carrying that crater around with me."

"Do you think you're different now?"

Jack sat up. "I know that place is gone. But I still kind of want to kill every person I see." She then looked up at Shepard. "No offence."

"You sure about this?" Shepard asked. "I want to do whatever I can to get your head on straight."

Jack narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't get all therapist on me, Shepard. You're not the couch type." She then waved her hand dismissively. "I hate that stuff anyway. Bullshit prison psych. You did me a favour and that's enough. More than I expected. I'll keep it together."

Shepard had to admit that it was progress, considering how he found her and what she been through. The only person he had ever seen this mess was Talitha and he received a message recently telling him that she had improved greatly.

Shepard then got a message from Kelly informing him that Tali had recently got a message that was troubling her greatly.

"Shepard," said Tali, who sounded relieved in seen him. "I'm glad you came by. I may need your help."

"What's the matter?" Shepard asked, he had never heard Tali sound this troubled before.

"I just received a message from the Migrant Fleet. The Admiralty Board has accused me of treason." She looked at Shepard as he could tell by her body movement that she was nervous. "I'm scared, Shepard."

Shepard's eyes widened. "Nobody who knows you believe you'd betray your own people, Tali."

Tali didn't seem so sure. "I don't know. They don't lay charges like this unless the evidence seems absolute. But thanks, I appreciate your faith in me, Shepard."

Shepard had to admit that he had never even considered what the quarians did with their prisoners. "What happens when a quarian accused of treason?"

"There's a hearing, with members of the Admiralty Board acting as judges. My father is an admiral on the board. He'll have to recuse himself from judgement. I can't even imagine what he's thinking right now."

Shepard had never actually met Tali's father and the only time he had communicated with when Tali joined the Normandy a week ago. Shepard could tell from reading the email that he wasn't too pleased about Tali joining a Cerberus ship.

Tali was moving around in a panic state. "The punishment for treason is exile. If they convict me, I can never go back."

Tali began to explain that if she was convicted that she would be banished from them Migrant Fleet. She also mentioned that the charges had infect the entire fleet for them to press charges which is why there trials was so rare.

Shepard could see the importance of this trial and that Tali needed to get it sorted out before they made an attempt on the Collectors. "Okay. Let's go and find a flotilla."

"I was going to book passage on another ship. I didn't think there would be time for you to help," said Tali. "Thank you, Shepard. I'll programme the Normandy with the flotilla's current location. The Admirals will be waiting for us."

They soon entered into the solar system where the flotilla was located. Shepard had never seen so many ships in one place before and they were orbiting round a pair of suns, no doubt to refuel.

"This is Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya requesting permission to dock with the Rayya," said Tali over the comm.

"Our systems have you flagged as a Cerberus vessel," said the traffic controller. "Verify."

"'At the time adrift among open stars, along the tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I belong.'"

"Permission granted. Welcome home, Tali'Zorah."

"We'd like a secure and quarantine team to meet us. Our ship is not clean," said Tali warned.

"Understood. Approach exterior docking cradle 17."

Shepard, Garrus, Grunt and Thane placed their helmets on so they could grieve. The quarians shares had no atmosphere so they couldn't spread infection and is very little need of it as they all wear helmets every single day.

They soon met up with the captain of the ship along with a couple of guards. His name was Captain Kar'Danna and he was Tali former Captain before she completed her pilgrimage. He looked at Shepard and gave a nod of respect. "Captain Shepard. Tali'Zorah told me a lot about you. I wish we could meet under pleasant circumstances."

"I never actually reached the rank of Captain," said Shepard. "Technically, I'm no longer in the Alliance military at all."

"You're the command of the Normandy, responsible for the lives aboard it," said Captain Danna. "That entitles you to respect among our people. 'May you stand between your crew and harm as you lead them through the empty quarters of the start.'"

"Keelah se'lai," said Tali. Shepard turned towards her. "It's an old-captain blessing, Shepard."

Shepard nodded and turned back to Captain Danna. "Tali the Normandy's crew out of many difficult situations. I'm here to return the favour."

Captain Danna nodded. "I understand. At the command of the vessel she serves on, your voice carries weight. I wish I could do more to help, Tali. The trial requires that I be officially neutral, but… I'm here, if you need to talk." He looked at Tali and was obviously regretting the say the words that exited his mouth. "They're charging you with bringing active geth into the Fleet as part of a secret project."

The way that Tali her body she looked bewildered and furious at the same time. "That's insane! I never brought active geth aboard. I only sent parts and pieces."

Shepard stared at Tali. "You sent geth materials back to the Migrant Fleet?"

"Yes. My father was working on a project. He needed the materials. If I sent back something that was only damaged, not permanently inactive…" She shook her head. "No. No, I checked everything. I was careful."

"Technically, I'm under orders to place Tali'Zorah under arrest pending the hearing," said Captain Danna, who was clearly hating his job even more. "So, Tali… you're confined to the ship until the trial is over."

Tali nodded. "Thank you, Captain."

"Preparations got underway as soon as you arrived. The hearing's been held in the garden plaza. Good luck."

Shepard then turned to the others.

"How can the excuse Tali of bringing active geth?" said Garrus shaking his head.

"It does seem most unlikely," Thane nodded.

"We better head the plaza and find out what's going on," said Shepard.

They made their way along the ship until they reach the plaza where they were greeted by a female quarians.

"Tali'Zorah va Normandy. I am glad you came," she said turning to them. "I could delay them only so long."

Tali immediately hugged her. "Auntie Raan!" She then released her hold and turned to Shepard. "Shepard vas Normandy, this is Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay. She's a friend of my father's." Tali then turned to Raan. "Wait. Raan, you called me 'vas Normandy'."

"I'm afraid I did, Tali," said Raan regretfully. "The Admiralty Board moved to have you tied under that name, giving your departure from the Neema."

Shepard could tell that this was a bad sign. "I take it being associated with a human ship is a bad sign."

"They spit me off my ship name," said Tali furiously. "That is good at acquiring me exiled already."

"It's not over yet, Tali. You have friends who still know you as Tali'Zorah vas Neema… whatever we must call you legally," said Rann.

Shepard turned to Raan. "You're an admiral. Does that mean you're one of the judges?"

Raan shook her head. "I'm afraid not. My history with Tali and her father forced me to rescuse myself."

"I imagine Father had to do the same," said Tali.

"You'll see inside, Tali. For my part, I moderate and ensure that the rules of protocol are followed, but I have no vote in the judgement."

Shepard really want to know who Tali's defender would be, there's no doubt they had things to discuss since Tali was under his command. "I guess we should get started." He looks to Raan. "Does Tali have a defence counsellor, someone who speaks for her side?"

Raan nodded and he could have sworn she was smiling beneath her helmet. "Indeed she does… Captain Shepard. She is part of your crew, now, recognised by quarian law. And remember, and accuses always represented by his or her ship's captain."

Shepard and Tali looked at one another, clearly neither one of them had expected this.

Tali merely stared at Shepard. "So, er… you would actually speak for my defence."

Shepard could hardly lead her this far and abandoned her now. "I'll do everything in my power to help you, Tali."

"Thank you, Shepard. I could not ask for a better counsellor."

Rann looked to Shepard. "Our legal rules are simple. There are no legal tricks or politic loopholes for you to worry about. Present the truth as best you can. It will have to be enough. Now come. I promise that I would not delay you."

Raan soon led them to the centre of the plaza where many quarian gathered and in the centre was a podium where three quarian admiral stood.

"So, anything you can tell me about the admiral?" Shepard whispered.

"The one on the right is Admiral Gerrel, he is in charge of the Heavy Fleet and is one of my father's friends and allies. The middle one is Admiral Koris, he's in charge of the Civilian Fleet, he my father have always been at odds with one another. The one on the left is Amiral Xen, she's in charge of several research vessels studying the geth."

Shepard could see there was a good mixture of good, bad and neutral in the judges. Shepard really didn't have much experience when it came to trials, but as was commented he did have a keen diplomatic mind. He hopes that he could help Tali out especially after everything she did for him and the crew of the Normandy.

Raan took her position on the podium and overlooked the three admirals. She then turned to everyone present. "This Conclave is brought to order. Blessed are the ancestry who kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to search this season. Keelah se'lai."

The quarians repeated the pray. "The accused Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, has come with captain to defend herself against the charge of treason."

"Objection!" Admiral Koris yelled raising a hand. "A human has no business at a hearing involving such sensitive military matters!"

"Then you should not have declared Tali crew of the Normandy, Admiral Koris," said Raan. "By rights as Tali's captain, Shepard must stay."

Koris, must have felt embarrassed due to that outburst. "Objection withdrawn."

Raan then turned her sights down onto Shepard. "Shepard vas Normandy, your crew member Tali'Zorah stands accused of treason. Will you speak for her?"

Shepard took a step forward and looked at the Admirals. "If it helps Tali, I will. But in her heart, she remains Tali'Zorah vas Neema, a proud member of the Migrant Fleet." He then narrowed his eyes. "I regret that her captain is forbidden to stand at her side today.

Koris stepped forward. "Nobody has been forbidden from anything! It's a simple—"

"Lie to them if you must, Zaal'Koris, but don't lie to me and expect me to stay silent!" Admiral Gerrel roared. "The human is right!"

"Admirals, please," said Raan calmly. "Shepard's willingness to represent Tali'Zorah in this hearing is appreciated." She then turned and looked at Tali. "Tali, you are accused of bringing active geth to the Migrant Fleet. What are you?"

"Tali would never in danger the Migrant Fleet. She pleads not guilty," said Shepard.

Tali looked to the admirals. "I left parts and technology for teams to pick up. My father ordered me to do so. But I would never send active geth to the Fleet! Everything I sent was disabled and harmless!"

"Then explain how geth sees the lab ship where your father was working!" said Koris.

There were few gasps from the quarians and Tali stepped back shocks. "What are you talking about? What happened?"

"As far as we can tell, Tali, the geth killed everyone on the Alarei… you father included," said Gerrel.

"What?" Tali stared. "Oh, Keelah…"

Shepard took a step forward. "I appreciate the need for this trial, Admirals, but right now our first concern must be the safety of the Migrant Fleet. The Normandy stand ready to assist in whatever capacity necessary."

"Thank you," said Raan. "Quarian strike teams have attempted to retake the ship, so far without success."

Tali turned to Shepard. "Shepard, we have to take back the Alarei!"

"The safest course would be to simply destroy the ship," said Koris. He then looked down at Tali. "But if you are looking for an honourable death instead of exile…"

"I'm looking for my father, you bosh'et!" Tali snarled.

Raan raised a hand to calm the crowd and then turned to Shepard and Tali. "You intend to retake the Alarei from the geth? This proposal is extremely dangerous."

"With your permission, Admirals, yes," Shepard nodded. "The good of the Fleet must come first… and Tali need to find her father."

"Agreed." Gerrel nodded. "And if you die on this worthy mission, Tali, we will see that your name is cleared of these charges."

"We can discuss that later," said Koris.

"Then it is decided," said Raan. "You will attempt to retake the Alarei. You are hereby given the leave to the Rayya. A shuttle will be waiting at the secondary docking hanger." Raan then looked to Tali. "Be safe, Tali. This hearing will resume upon your return, or upon determination that you have been killed in action."

Shepard nodded and slowly the crowd began to disperse. Once he was sure they were out of earshot he turned to Tali.

"Thank you for agreeing to take back the Alarei, Shepard. The admirals sound sure that my father is already dead, but…" Tali sighed. "I don't know. We don't know anything until we get there."

"How are you holding up?" Shepard asked concernedly. "They just threw a lot of fire at you, even before telling you about your father."

"I knew this was bad, but I guess you're never really prepared charged with treason. And my father… I don't know." Tali shrugged. "He could still be alive. They don't know for certain that he's dead. I just don't know, Shepard. And I need to find out."

Shepard nodded. "Let's go."

"Right. The sooner we get to the Alarie, the sooner we'll know what happened."

"Shepard, the secondary docking hanger it through the Conclave chamber where you are now. The shuttle they have provided is unarmed," said EDI over the comm.

"Understood." Shepard nodded.

"This has gotten a lot more complicated," said Garrus.

"Fighting against impossible odds, sounds like fun," said Grunt.

"I suppose if we are going to attempt to retake a captured ship from the geth, it's nice to have a krogan on board," said Shepard.

They wandered around the plaza are trying to get a viewpoint of several quarians. Among them was Reegar, he told them that their theory about Haestrom sun getting old fast was right. He only remained behind to argue with the charges that the admirals had based on Tali, he was one that suggested to the admirals that they tried to retake the Alarei.

They approached Admiral Gerrel, whose body movement show that he was pleased to see.

"Tali! I'm glad Admiral Raan got to leave the hit the Alarei. Hopefully you'll find something that clears your name," he said."

"I'm more concerned with finding my father, Admiral," said Tali.

"I wish you luck. Blow up some geth on the way." He then turned his gaze upon Shepard. "And you're Captain Shepard? Admiral Han'Gerrel vas Neema. You got Admiral Koris backing up worse than a krogan toilet. Glad to see Tali's captain knows how to handle a courtroom."

"I'm just here to help Tali, Admiral," said Shepard.

"I'm glad someone is," said Gerrel.

Tali looked at him. "You believe I'm innocent, don't you, Admiral?"

"I know you and your father. You've put too much of yourselves into the fleet to do anything to jeopardise our safety. And you're both smart enough not to make mistakes like the ones they're saying you made."

"Can you tell me about the other admirals? Anything that might help me change their minds about Tali?" Shepard asked.

Gerrel looked at Tali. "The one you didn't recognise, Tali, is Admiral Xen. She's on the fence. She takes Fleet safety very seriously. On the other hand, she's always been in favour of studying the geth. I hope she sees the benefit of Rael's research. Admiral Koris in the same whining suit-wetter he always was."

"You disagree with Admiral Koris' politics, I'm guessing? Or is it personal?" Shepard asked.

"The man is a damn geth apologist," said Gerrel bitterly. "Things we were wrong to try destroy them centuries ago. He wants us to search for new colony possibilities instead of retaking the homeworld. Any research on the geth makes him angry. You don't have much of a chance to change with him, I'm afraid."

Shepard then asked about his connection with Tali's father. Apparently the two of them served together during a batarian raid. Apparently the two of them had disobeyed orders and they bought a freighter back.

"It sounds like were dealing with more politics than just Tali bringing back equipment," Shepard noted.

Gerrel gave a small laugh. "You noticed that, did you? Tali's father wasn't just running weapons test on the geth for fun. He was looking for something to give us an edge when we attacked the geth in full-scale war."

"I know Father wanted to retake the homeworld someday, but are we that close?" Tali asked.

"I don't know, kid." Gerrel shrugged. "We almost had the votes. We just need to give people hope for victory."

Shepard did not like the sound of this. "I hope the quarian people find someplace to live, Admiral, but it sounds like you're playing with fire."

"We're too comfortable now, Shepard. We've got the largest fleet in the galaxy, and we just ride around doing nothing."

"We might need that fleet to help fight the Reapers, Admiral," Tali pointed out.

"Then we need a world to shelter our noncombatants while we do it."

Shepard had to say that that prospect was quite grim and completely out of his hands. "Thanks for the information," he said.

Gerrel nodded and looked at Tali. "Hang in there, kid."

Tali nodded. "Thank you, Admiral."

They soon crossed pass with Admiral Xen, who for her arms at them.

"Tali'Zorah. Given the circumstances, are you certain that speaking to me is appropriate?" she asked.

"I'm looking for information about the Alarei," said Tali. "I don't intend to bribe you in the middle of the plaza, admiral."

Xen then turned to Shepard. "Pleased to meet you, Commander Shepard. We owe you a debt of gratitude for your actions against the geth."

"Tali was with me," Shepard reminded. "Saren and the geth would have destroyed us all without her help."

"Your political machinations are transparent, Commander. They are also unnecessary." Xen then looked at Tali. "If you and your father were actually experimenting on active geth subjects, then you are simply idiots. No reason to waste resources on a trial. If not, then this is a tragic accident in the pursuit of a higher cause. Again, no trial is needed to determine that."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "It sounds like your ideas about synthetics are in the minority."

"Yes. At least on the Admiralty Board. Han'Gerrel sees an enemy that must be crushed. Zaal'Koris would run away and hide on some new colony world. Shala'Raan is still undecided. I had thought Rael to be firmly in Han's camp, but if his experiments were on active geth, perhaps we have ideas in common."

"If we don't find Rael alive on the Alarei, what do you think will happen?"

"The power balance will be disrupted. Han loses a vote for his foolish and self-destructive war. That would favour peace, then, as Shala'Raan is too careful to risk her own neck. But if the admiral replacing Rael agreed with me… things could become very exciting."

Shepard narrowed his eyes. "You support experimental living creatures?"

"Rael should have felt no more guilty experimenting on geth then I do with performing surgery on childhood toy."

"The fact that you performed surgery on your childhood toys explains a great deal, Admiral," said Tali disturbingly.

"A ship travels faster than I can. With the right programming, it can choose locations, even defend itself when attacked. But it is just a machine. It was built for a sole purpose of serving its master. And it can be dismantled whenever its master desires."

Shepard was sure that the quarians already tried that and it led to a rebellion and then being exiled from their homeworld. First there was a major difference between a machine and synthetics, synthetics were able to think for themselves and defend themselves just like an organic would.

"Thank you for the information," said Shepard.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Commander."

They then ran into Veetor, who was looking much better since they last saw him on Freedom's Progress. He had talked to the admirals and told them how they have helped them in the hopes that they would listen.

After Tali confronted with Captain Daan, who informed her that he was under orders not to say anything about her father from Raan. Tali then practically screamed at Raan from hiding the truth from her. She then went to explain how she only did it so that the admirals would allow her to retake the Alarei. She then went on to explain everything they knew about the Alarei, which wasn't much. She also advised that they should try looking for records of the shipments in the experiments to prove Tali's innocence.

Raan then told Shepard about the connections to Tali's family, she had in fact been there when Tali have been born. She then wandered on to say how Tali's father was very committed to the quarian cause, spending very little time with his family.

As they made their way towards the hangar bay where their shuttle was waiting Admiral Koris approached them.

"Judging by your ability to play to a crowd, human. I have done Tali a favour by stripping 'vas Neema' from her name," said Koris.

"Commander Shepard, this is Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib," said Tali. Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Do not ask about the name?"

Koris places arms behind his back and looked to Tali. "I take no pleasure in this, Tali, truly. But you have gravely endangered and dishonoured our fleet."

Shepard narrowed his eyes. "What exactly is your problem with my crew member, Admiral?"

"I respect Tali immensely. Her actions against Saren are to be lauded. But like her father, she wants nothing more but the destruction of the geth… the people we created. The people we wronged."

"The geth drove us from our homeworld!" Tali yelled.

"Of course they did. We try to kill them," Koris pointed out.

"You and the other admirals appear to have some disagreement beyond Tali's trial," Shepard noted.

Koris nodded. "You are correct. Tali, I apologise for being brought into your proceedings. In the other admirals are pushing for more. Rael'Zorah was researching new weapons to use against the geth. They would see our fleet destroyed in the skies over our homeworld rather than find a new colony and adapt."

"Can the quarians coexist with the geth after all your history?" Shepard asked.

"I don't know. We all deserve to find out. They our children, Shepard. We have done horrible things to each other, but it has to end. For both groups." He then looked to Tali. "That is why I cannot sanction whatever experiments you helped enable, Tali'Zorah. I believe this message needs to be sent."

Tali nodded. "I understand, Admiral. I do not agree with you, but I understand."

"We should move on," said Shepard.

"Goodbye, Tali'Zorah. Be well."

"I'm surprised to hear you say that," said Tali.

"I don't hate you, Tali. I just think your father's plans for war were wrong."

They soon boarded the Alarei and it wasn't long until they encountered several geth they were able to take them down. However, they were nearly taken out by a Geth Hunter if Thane had noticed it and tossed it back with his biotics.

Shepard then access they log from a quarian scientist and it mentions that Tali's father ordered them to bypass safety standards for their research, in fear that security protocols would slow them down.

They then found several parts from a geth drone Tali salvaged on Haestorm. Tali went on to explain how her father asked her to send anything new the geth had she discovered to him. Unfortunately, none of the salvage gear they found proved Tali's innocence.

They found more logs from quarian scientist, who packs the moment the geth entered into the system. However, it explain how geth got a board in the first place. A researcher mentioned how they disable the ship so not to endanger the fleet for their mistakes.

"This console must have something," said Tali accessing a console. "Most of the data is corrupted, but a few bits left." Tali activated her omnitool and began to read the data. "They were performing experiments on geth systems, looking for new ways of overcome geth resistance to reprogramming."

"Do you think testing weapons on the geth was right?" Shepard asked.

"It's not testing weapons on prisoners, Shepard," Tali pointed out. "I only sent Father parts. Even if he reassembled them, they wouldn't be seen sapient. You saw what Saren and Sovereign did with the geth. Any research that gives us an advantage is important."

Shepard frowned. "Did you know what kind of tests your father was running?"

Tali shook her head. "No. Father just told me to send back any geth technology I could find that wasn't a direct danger to the Fleet. I suspect he might have been testing weapons, but I thought he was just working on new ways to bypass shields and armour."

"Could any of that data clear your name?" Shepard asked.

"Doubtful. This is mostly research data. Effects of different disruptive hacking techniques. I don't understand all of it." Tali continued to access the console to bring more data. "But… they may have been activating the geth deliberately. I don't know. Nothing here says specifically. But if they were… then Father was doing something terrible."

Tali looks frustrated. "What was all this, Father? You promised you'd build me a house on the homeworld. Was this going to bring us back home?"

"Maybe it's time for your people to let go of reclaiming your world from the geth."

Tali turned on him. "You have no idea what it's like! You have a planet to go back to! My home is one hull breach away from extinction!"

"You've got a place here, Tali. Don't forward away in a war you don't need."

Shepard attempted to place a hand on her shoulder, but she backed away. "Don't need? Shepard, if I don't wear a helmet in my own home, I die! A single case could put me in the hospital! Every time you touch a flower with bare fingers, inhaling its fragrance without air filters, you're doing something I can't!"

Tali then looked away in frustration. "Damn the Pilgrimage. Without it, I might never have known what I was missing. What we have lost when we lost our homeworld."

"Have the quarians consider colonising a new world?"

"We'd have enough difficulty reacclimating to our own native environment. Adjusting for exposure to a foreign colony would be even harder. It's the difference between 60 years and 600. For anyone alive now to watch a sunset without a mask, we must take back our home. At the very least, we can take that one ship. Come on."

Tali then walked past them and carried on down the corridors.

"Who knew there would be so much spirit in such a little quarian," said Grunt.

"I did," said Shepard.

They kept on fighting through the ship as they got close and close to the bridge. Shepard came to a stop when he saw a dead quarian body on the floor and he was wearing similar armour to the admirals.

"Father!" Tali screamed, she ran bent down at her father's dead body. "No, no, no! You always had a plan. Masked life signs, or, or an onboard medical stasis program, maybe. You! You wouldn't… They're wrong! You wouldn't just die like this! You wouldn't leave me to clean up your mess! You can't."

"Hey, hey, come here," said Shepard picking her up.

Tali then hugged Shepard and he closed his arms around her waist he was willing to bet that the need that helmet she was crying.

"Damn it! Damn it. I'm sorry," she cried.

"You've got nothing to be sorry about," said Shepard.

"Maybe… He would have known I'd come. Maybe he left a message."

She then bent down to her father's body and accessed his omnitool. Seconds later a hologram of him appeared in front of them.

"Tali. If you're listening, then I am dead," he said. "The geth have gone active. I don't have much time. Their main hub will be on the bridge. You'll need to destroy it to stop their VI processors from forming new neural links. Make sure Han'Gerrel and Daro'Xen see the data. They must—"

Then they heard an explosion and the hologram faded.

"Thanks, Dad," said Tali sounding upset.

Shepard could see that this was hurting Tali and looked at her as she stood up. "He knew you'd come for him. He was trying to help you. It's not perfect. It's not what he wanted. But it's the best he could do."

"I don't know what's worse: thinking he never really cared, or thinking that he did, and this was the only way he could show it." She then turned to Shepard. "It doesn't matter. One way or the other, I care. And I'm here. And we're ending this."

They made their way onto the bridge and they found it crawling with geth. Garrus pulled out his sniper rifle and took off the head of a trooper while her back was turned. Thane had vanished and had somehow managed to sneak behind their lines to take out a Hunter.

Grunt decided to go in headfirst, literally, and slammed into a prime. Shepard managed to hack into a trooper and used it to fire at a Hunter and after which Tali smash it to pieces with her shot gun.

"That seems to be the last of them," said Garrus.

"There could be more the ship," said Shepard.

"This console is linked to the main hub Father mentioned," said Tali gesturing to the console on the bridge. "Disabling it should shut down any geth we missed. It looks like some of the recording remains intact. They'll tell us how this happened, what Father did."

"You sound like you don't really want to hear it," Shepard noted.

"No. We have to, I know. I just… this is terrible, Shepard," said Tali uneasily. "I don't want to know that he was part of this."

Despite this Tali activated her omnitool the console showed the image of Rael along with two quarian scientists.

"Do we have enough parts to bring more online?" Rael asked.

"Yes. The new shipment from your daughter will let us add two more geth to the network," said the male scientist.

"We're nearing a breakthrough on systemic viral attacks," said the female scientist. "Perhaps we should inform the Admiralty Board, just to be safe."

Rael shook his head. "No. We're too close. I promise to bill my daughter at home on the homeworld. I'm not going to sit and wait while the politicians argue."

"We'd have an easier time of it if Tali'Zorah would send back more working materials," male scientist pointed out.

"Absolutely not," said Rael firmly. "I don't want Tali exposed to any political blowback. Leave Tali out of this. Assemble new geth with what we have. Bypass security protocols if need be."

The recording ended.

Shepard looked to Tali. "It sounds like he was doing this for you."

"I never wanted this, Shepard," said Tali shaking her head. "Keelah, I never wanted this. Everything here is his fault! I tried to pretend it didn't point to him, but this… When this comes up in the trial, they'll…" She then turned and looked at Shepard. "We can't tell them, not the admirals, not anyone."

"Tali, without this evidence, you're looking at exile!" Shepard pointed out.

"You think I don't know that?" Tali looked at him and he could tell by her body language that she was giving him a pleading work. "You think I want to live knowing that I can never see the Fleet again? But I can't go back into that room and saying that my father was the worst war criminal in a people's history. I cannot."

"Rael'Zorah doesn't need you to worry about him anymore," said Shepard. "You heard him say he didn't want you to be caught in the politics!"

Tali shook her head. "You don't understand, Shepard. They would strike his name from the manifesto every ship he served on. He would be worse than an exile. He'd be a traitor to our people, held up for children as a monster in a cautionary tale! I can't let all the good he did be destroyed for this, Shepard."

Shepard shook his head. "We're not going to decide anything here. Let's see what the admirals. say once we get back."

"You're my captain in this hearing, Shepard," said Tali pleadingly. "It's your decision. But please. Don't destroy what my father was. Come on. If we wait too long, they'll decide we're already dead, and none of this will matter."

They began heading their way back through the Alarei and Garrus looked at Shepard.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I don't know, Garrus," Shepard sighed. "I really don't."

When they got back onto the Rayya on the admirals had already assumed that they had been killed and deciding whether to exile Tali or not. It was safe to say that they were quite surprised to see them walking through the plaza, with various scratch on them.

"Sorry we're late," said Tali.

"Tali'Zorah vas Normandy save the Alarie," said Shepard to the admirals as they recovered from their shock. "I hope this proves her loyalty to the quarian people."

"Her loyalty was never in doubt," said Koris. "Only her judgement."

"Perhaps Tali'Zorah can offer something to encourage more trust in her judgement," said Raan.

"Did you find anything on the Alarei that could clarify what happened there?" Gerrel asked.

Tali looked to Shepard and he was willing to bear that she was giving him a pleading look not to say anything. However, he'd already made his choice and took a step forward to the podium.

"Shepard… please…" she begged.

"Does Captain Shepard have any new evidence to submit to this hearing?" Raan asked.

Shepard looked up at the admirals and remember the infighting I was going on, it was his best and last hope. "Tali helped me defeat Saren and the geth at the Citadel. That should be all the evidence you need."

Koris looked at him. "I fail to see what relevance—"

"You're not really interested in, Tali, are you?" Shepard interrupted. "This trial isn't about her. It's about the geth."

"This hearing has nothing to do with the geth!"

Shepard slammed his hand on the podium. "You want people to sympathise with them! Han'Gerrel wants to go to war! None of you care about Tali! She knows more about the geth than any other quarian alive. You should be listening to her, not putting her on trial!" Shepard then began to pace up and down the podium. "Tali'Zorah saved the Citadel! She save the Alarie! She showed the galaxy the value of the quarian people." He looked up at the admirals. "I can't think of any evidence stronger than that."

There was utter silence and many people look to one another.

Raan broke the silence. "Are the admirals prepared to render judgement?"

One by one the admirals accessed their omnitools, Koris looked to Tali for moment before casting his vote.

Raan looked at the voters each of the three admirals had sent before looking at Tali. "Tali'Zorah, in light of your history of service, we do not find any sufficient evidence to convict. You are cleared of all charges."

Shepard smiled at Tali beneath his helped.

Raan then looked at him. "Commander Shepard, please accept these gifts in appreciation for your time taking to represent one of our people."

Shepard looked at his omnitool and saw that she had sent them credit and some data. He then looked up at the admirals. "If you appreciate me, then listen: the Reapers are coming. I'm going to need your help to stop them. Please don't throw your lives against the geth."

"Thank you, Commander Shepard," said Koris, who nodded respectfully at him. "I hope this board carefully considers your advice."

Shepard hoped they did, because if they attacked the geth they would weaken themselves and the military power of the galaxy and considering how much trouble they had dealing with one Reaper they would need all the help they can get.

"This hearing is concluded," said Raan. "Go in peace, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. Keelah se'lai."

The crowd began to disperse and Tali approached Shepard.

"I can't believe you pull that off," she said in disbelief. "What you said… I've never had anyone speak like that on my behalf. Thank you for being there for my father and me, even when… Thank you."

"We can still go back in and get you exiled, if you want," Shepard joked.

Tali laughed. "Thanks, but I'm fine with things like this. It's fun watching you shout."

Shepard placed a hand on her shoulder. "Tali, about what your father said, what he did… You deserve better."

"I got better, Shepard. I got you."

Shepard smiled. "Come on, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. Let's get back to our ship."

"Thank you… Captain."

Raan then walked up to them, but she turned her gaze upon Shepard.

"The admirals thought they will be hobbling you by forcing you to represent her, Shepard," she said. "I'm glad they were wrong." Raan then looked to Tali. "You did mention survivors. Did you find Rael, Tali? I'm sure he must have left you a message if he'd had time."

"He did leave a message—Rael used his last words to give Tali orders," said Shepard bitterly. "That's all that mattered to him."

Rael looked at Shepard with movement that symbolised understanding. "I know how that must seem, but the Fleet's safety was the gift Rael wanted to give to his daughter."

"I never asked for that. It wasn't the gift that I wanted," said Tali.

"I know. But it's the only one he could give," said Raan. "Good luck on your mission. No matter how dark it gets, the Fleet is always with you. Keelah se'lai."

Before leaving they talked with both admirals Gerrel and Koris and acknowledged how they shouldn't allow their fear for the geth cloud of the trial. Shepard did tell Gerrel what had happened on the Alarei and he promised not to let anyone know. He also told Koris to keep up his talks for peace.

Rick was in the conference room with Anderson as the talk to the other Councillors.

"These conversations are getting tiresome, Councillor," said the Turian Councillor.

"With all due respect, Councillor the Collectors do prove a threat," said Rick.

"We did warn your people when you've entered into the Terminus Systems," the Turian Councillor reminded.

"Yes, but since when have the Collectors abducted entire colonies?" Anderson asked.

"He does have a point, Sparatus," said the Asari Councillor. "Never have the Collectors made such a move upon a colony."

"We're already monitoring the situation," the Turian Councillor pointed out.

"I'm interested in how the acquire this technology," said the Salarian Councillor. He then turned to Rick. "You say that you found more husks on Horizon, similar to the ones at the geth use on Eden Prime."

"Yes, Councillor and we have already begun an autopsy upon the Collectors, but the results are confusing," said Rick.

"We were hoping that the salarians might be interested in assisting," said Councillor Anderson. "After all this is actually the first time that we been able to study the Collectors."

"Very well, I believe this situation needs more investigation," said the Asari Councillor. "At the moment we will maintain our monitoring upon the Terminus Systems for the time being."

The holograms then faded and Rick and Anderson looked at one another.

"It's progress," said Rick.

"Hopefully I will be enough to gain their attention," said Anderson. "You still have no word on Shepard?"

"A bit hard for him to communicate with Cerberus watching his back every second," said Rick. "However, I believe if he does find anything of value he'll send it straight at us."

"At the moment let's keep that between us," said Anderson. "Hopefully we might be able to convince the Council of the Reaper threat yet."