Chapter 6
Shepard tapped his foot against the floor repeatedly, impatient as he waited for Joker to dock. The Citadel had rebuilt fairly well in less then 2 months, making sure to get as much back up and running as they could. The docks had been quickly rebuilt so that ships could bring much needed supplies and equipment. Everything seemed normal so far, so Ultimate had not made his move yet, which improved everyone's mood. But Shepard still felt anxious, knowing that someone who thought that highly of himself would not wait very long. Was he waiting for some reason? Or was he already here, waiting to make his move?
Shepard was pulled from his thoughts by Joker, the pilot of the Normandy and his oldest friend, giving them the ok to enter the Citadel. Shepard opened the door and let everyone go ahead of him, hearing Garrus making fun of James who was still limping a little from the bullet he took to the leg. James shut him up by reminding Garrus that it was his bullet.
Shepard watched as each of his team members, his friends, walked out, glad to be able to leave and stretch their legs. He turned to see if there was anyone left and saw Davin standing there. He was grinning as usual, but it looked like he was hiding something behind his back.
Shepard raised an eyebrow at him. "What is it Davin?" He was still getting used to Davin, who always seemed up beat no matter how bad things seemed to get. Shepard wasn't complaining; they needed someone who never let the situation get them down.
Davin's grin somehow got wider. "It is something that is going to make your day commander. I ran all the tests I could, and they all came back the same. I present the results!" and he moved aside.
Standing behind him was Tali, looking at the ground and blushing. What was amazing was that he could actually see her blushing, as she wasn't wearing her mask. Her head and neck were completely exposed. Her face was almost scarlet by how much she was blushing and she wouldn't look him in the eyes, but he didn't care. He beamed at her and walked over to them.
"You ran the test? You're sure this is ok?
Davin nodded. "I'm positive. Just her face for now, but with another dose, she could go without her body suit, and with a 3rd dose, I'm betting my life that she won't need her suit at all. Now this doesn't mean go crazy. Make sure random strangers don't start touching her face or anything like that. If you need to sneeze, make sure it isn't anywhere near her, and nothing beyond kissing kids." Davin smiled and patted both of their shoulders. "Besides that, she should be good for at least 4 hours. Don't let her overdue it commander. She is going to draw a lot of attention."
Shepard nodded and stepped over to Tali. He gently cupped her chin and raised her face to his, until she had to look him in the eye. Tali's eyes literally glowed, having a purple tint to them. Her forehead was a little longer than a human, but her brown hair was no different, falling past her shoulders.
"You look beautiful Tal. How about we go and see if there is anything to eat?
She smiled, still blushing but looking like she relaxed a little at his words. Shepard took hold of her hands, and led her out of the door.
Shepard stepped off of the Normandy, squinting as the sunlight hit his eyes. When his eyes adjusted, he was surprised to see everyone waiting there. Tali saw them and got shy again, avoiding her eyes.
"What's wrong? What are you all waiting for?"
"Tali and you of course." Ashley answered. Garrus grunted. "Davin said if we waited here, we would see something we had never seen before. He was correct it seems, and no alcohol needed."
Shepard heard laughter and turned to see Davin step next to him. Shepard gave him a cold stare, but let it go. Tali would have to get used to this anyway.
"How is this possible?" Edi asked, stepping forward. "Tali has a very weak immune system. This is hazardous to her health."
Davin nodded. "Normally yes, this would be dangerous for her. But, using the research we find at the Cerberus base, I found out that my wife discovered a certain type of edible crystal that has amazing immune system properties. To make a long story short, I have boosted Tali's immune system permanently. She has to be careful for now, but with a few more doses, she should have a better immune system than even us."
Everyone gawked at Tali, and Garrus chuckled, looking straight at Shepard. "I'm guessing you're glad I stopped you from killing him now, huh commander."
Shepard flicked garrus off, not being able to think of any comebacks. Ashley walked up to Tali. "Tali, you're beautiful! You were hiding this under your mask the entire time?"
Tali blushed even deeper. "Th-thank you. I guess."
"I always wondered what Quarians looked like." James said. "I always thought they had tentacles for mouths, and that the commander was just into that stuff."
Shepard laughed. "Keep it up soldier. At least I can get a woman."
Everyone laughed, including Tali. Then someone pushed past the group to get to the front. "I see you have made a full recovery Shepard."
"Liara!" Shepard replied, walking forward and hugging his Asari friend. "What are you doing here? I thought you were on Illium, helping your people rebuild?"
Liara smiled. "I was, but there wasn't much more I could do at the moment, so I came to the Citadel to help out here instead. They are recovering fast and have a lot of help already, but they took a huge hit during the war, and they can use all the help they can get." Liara looked behind Shepard, spotting Tali and Shepard swore her jaw almost dropped.
"Tali? Is that you?"
Tali, who seemed to finally get over her shyness, smiled and nodded. "Yes Liara. Thanks to our new member here, I am able to take my mask off, and in less than a month I'll be able to finally be free of my suit for good."
Liara beamed and hugged Tali. "I'm so happy to hear that!"
Shepard watched them, smiling, until he was pushed out of the way. Ashley walked to them, grabbed both of their hands, and walked back to Edi. She turned to Shepard, flashing what looked like an evil smile at him. "Now that we are all here, we are going to have some girl time. Don't follow us. Go talk about whose gun is bigger, or whatever else you guys do." And with that they walked off, Tali looking back at Shepard and giggling.
The guys stood there for a few moments, and then shrugged, heading off in a different direction then the girls.
"So, Davin, I see that you are getting pretty close to Tali. Not planning on trying to steal her away from our commander are you? He has a hard enough time getting girls as it is. It would be cruel to take the only 1 he can get away." Garrus said as the men were walking around, looking for signs of Ultimate and being themselves.
Shepard raised an eyebrow, a little curious himself, and Davin chuckled. "Damn Garrus, you caught me. I was so close too!" He laughed again. "No, we are only friends. Not saying I couldn't take her from him if I really wanted to, but she isn't my type."
Shepard shook his head, used to the teasing from them already, and James chuckled. Garrus continued. "Not your type? I thought you were into Quarians?"
Davin looked at Garrus. "Not all Quarians are the same Garrus. I'm not saying Tali isn't cute or anything, but my wife's personality was the exact opposite of Tali's. My wife was very outgoing, not afraid to speak her mind and get into a fight. She was very forward with her opinions, and I never saw her being shy. And she was a pure example of a woman, acting all cute and nice until she got her way. When I met her, she tried charming me into donating 10,000 credits to her."
Now Garrus was interested. "Oh really? And what did you do?"
Davin flashed them an evil smile. "I told her sure, but she would have to work for it. I was very brave back then. She slapped me hard. I told her I was into the freaky stuff. She laughed and I asked her on a date."
Shepard didn't think he heard him right. "You're kidding right? That actually worked?"
Davin nodded. "Yup. I told you, my wife was odd. She had never seriously been flirted with by a non-Quarian, and once she found out I was serious, she grew curious as to why. Hook, line, and sinker."
James laughed, being a human and understanding what Davin said. Garrus just shook his head. "Well now I've heard it all. Davin being a dirt bag to get a woman, Joker dating a cyborg, and Shepard actually getting a girl as well. What had the world come to?"
"I don't see a girl under your arm, Garrus." James retorted.
Garrus laughed. "Why would you? If I have a woman with me, I want her under more than just my arm." Garrus then turned to Shepard. "Speaking of which, I'm damn sure you and Tali have done more than cuddling and playing what you humans call footsies. How did that go? Is she the nerdy type that is a secretly naughty?"
Shepard felt his face get hot. "Sorry Garrus, I don't kiss and tell. Though I won't deny that we have done more, and that it was amazing."
"It must have been." Davin said, chewing on candy that he had bought without Shepard even noticing. "You have a very deep bite mark on your shoulder. I suggest wearing long sleeves if you intend to hide stuff like that, because that shirt is failing at it."
Shepard felt his face get even hotter, covering the spot on his shoulder without realizing it. James whistled. "There you go commander, get you some. So, do Quarians have sharp teeth, or dull teeth?"
Shepard punched him in the shoulder. "I didn't really look at her teeth; I was kinda distracted by the rest of her. But they felt sharper than a human, that's for sure." Then Shepard decided to pick on James. "What about you James? I recall you checking out Ashley a few times. Can't blame ya."
James grinned. "Maybe commander. I don't think she's really into me like that though…"
Garrus clasped his shoulder. "Then get her to notice you. It always helps to, you know; let the girl know you are interested. Ask her out to a gun fight. If you get more kills than her, I'm sure she will be into you then."
James laughed. "Then this is easier than I thought, if all I have to do is get more kills than her."
Davin shook his head. "Not if we go by our last battle with Cerberus, where she killed 3 more Cerberus soldiers than you did."
They all just stared at him. Davin blinked. "What?"
"Sooooooo…" Ashley said. Tali looked at her questioningly, knowing where this was going. "Soooo what?" Tali responded.
"You know what. Shepard. Give us the entire story girl. How is he in bed? Does he know what he is doing, or is he completely clueless? How is he in the 'man' compartment?"
Tali blushed a deep scarlet. Liara smacked Ashley softly on the soldier. "Ashley! Cut her some slack for goddess sake. You don't need to know all of that."
Ashley gave Liara an evil look. "So? And can you honestly say you aren't curious yourself?"
To Tali's surprise, Liara blushed a bit. "Th-that doesn't matter. That is her personal business." Edi remained quiet, smirking at them.
But Ashley didn't give up, and Tali was starting to cave. "I…well, he certainly wasn't clueless…I mean to say, he seemed like he knew what he wanted to do…as for how he was in bed, I think I understand the term…if it means what I think it does…Oh Keelah, I can't even find a good enough word to describe it…" Her entire face was getting hot, and she was getting flustered, thinking about that night. "What else did you ask? Oh, his….size…..yaaaa I have never seen 1 before him, so I don't have anything to compare to, nor do I know how big a human male is supposed to be-"
Edi interrupted her. "The average size of a human male is 6 inches."
They just looked at Edi, surprised. "Why the looks?" She said. "I have access to any information on any species. Something simple like that is no problem for me to find. If it helps, I can tell you about Jeff-"
"I'll stop you right there. We don't need to know about Joker." Ashley said, turning back to Tali, wearing that evil smile again. "So, now that you know, spill it."
Tali played with her hands. They had stopped in the Presidium commons, all of them leaning against the railing, quizzing her. "Oh, right…Well, I didn't exactly get to measure it…But if that is the common size…then…"
Before she could continue, a man walked over to them. He was a human of average height, with short black hair and brown eyes. "Hello ladies, how are you this evening?" He said to them, looking them up and down, but Tali noticed he was looking at her especially.
Tali thought Ashley would be cold, but instead she smiled. "Why, we are doing well. May I ask what you need?"
The man turned to look at Tali, confirming her fears. "Well, when I saw this woman over here, I simply could not look away. I have never seen anyone quite like you before. May I ask what species you are?"
Tali didn't really like him; He looked at her too hungrily. But instead of feeling shy, she oddly felt very confident. "I am a Quarian." She said simply.
"Ah, that is why. I did not know Quarians could go anywhere without their masks on. Well, my Quarian, you have taken my breath away today. Are you free? Can I take you out to eat or something?"
Tali smiled. She could feel her friends watching, waiting to intervene if Tali looked distressed at all. But Tali felt fine. "Sorry, but I am happily taken."
He looked left, then right, then back at her. "Well, I do not see him anywhere. Why don't you lose the zero and come with a hero?"
Ashley laughed, and the guy smiled, thinking he was being smooth. But Tali laughed as well, crossing her arms and saying "Well, that's impossible, since my boyfriend is Commander Shepard of the Alliance Navy, and more of a hero than you will ever be."
He opened his mouth to respond, then froze as the weight of the words she said sunk in. He stood there for a few seconds awkwardly, then simply turned and walked away while the girls laughed at him.
"Well, I'm glad that is over. Some men are more like pigs than anything else." Ashley said once the man had completely left. Liara and Ashley put their arms around Tali. "You handled that well. Shepard would be proud of you."
Tali beamed, proud of herself. "You really think so?"
"Of course! He would have loved-"
She never got to finish, because something flew out of the sky and crashed, not even 20 feet away from them, causing a huge explosion that knocked them all onto the ground. They got up as quick as they could, being very experienced with explosions and such, and as they did Tali saw what had crashed; a huge pod looking thing. As they were looking at it, it made a hissing noise as it slowly opened like flower pedals in bloom, and people with guns started pouring out of it.
Ashley reacted quickly, running to a table and knocking it on its side for cover, and the rest followed suit, ducking their heads just as the intruders started firing at everything that moved. They were in a bad position; none of them had brought their weapons with them. But they weren't completely powerless. Tali tapped on her omni-tool a few times and her combat drone, which she nicknamed Chatika vas Paus, appeared next to her. She felt the air stir and turned to see Liara's eyes glow as she called forth her biotic powers, ready to use them. Tali said "We need to either get to the Normandy, or find some weapons. Any ideas?"
Ashley spoke up. "We are not far from a C-sec office, which may contain some weapons or some C-sec officers who can point us in the right direction. It's close and with Liara's barrier I think we can make it."
They nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a plan." Liara said. "I'll put up a barrier in 5 seconds and we will go for it."
Tali turned towards Chatika and said, "Go for the optics Chatika." The combat drone obeyed, floating off just as Liara reached 5 and put up her barrier. They stood up and started moving towards the C-sec office at a slow jog, trying not to distract Liara. They saw the intruding soldiers gunning down innocent civilians and C-sec officers alike. The intruders noticed them and turned to fire, but just then Chatika popped up, hitting one of them in the face with an electric shock. The man fell, and the others started firing at the combat drone, giving Tali and them all the time they needed. As Tali watched, she noticed that all of the soldier's eyes were glowing purple.
Just like Ultimate's.
They got to the office and opened the door, getting inside just as Chatika exploded, probably killing the few soldiers surrounding it. Liara let her barrier down as the door closed, panting slightly but no worse for wear. There were 5 C-sec officers in the office, and they lowered their guns when they realized they weren't trying to kill them. Ashley stepped forward. "I work for Commander Shepard. I need 2 things from you; guns if you have any to spare, and if you have any info on if there are any other areas being attacked."
1 C-sec officer stepped forward, and Tali recognized him as Commander Bailey. "We only have pistols here, but we have enough for you 4. As for info, when that thing landed, it cut us off completely. It must have a jamming device in it. As long as we stay here, getting information is impossible. I highly doubt they just attacked her though." He slammed his fist on a desk as the other officers handed them weapons. "Dammit! They attacked just as I was visiting this office, away from the embassies and the councilors. I need to make contact with them and make sure they are ok, be it by destroying the jamming signal, or hauling ass over there."
Ashley went over to the door. "We will try to take these guys down and destroy the jamming device. You try to head to the councilors at the same time. If we succeed, ill contact you via omni-tool and inform you." Bailey nodded.
"Davin informed me before we left the Normandy to not let Tali overdue it. Even though her immune system has improved, it hasn't met required levels yet. So we can't let blood or anything else that can make her sick touch her skin." Edi said to them.
Tali shook her head. "Do not worry about me. I don't want you guys getting hurt over me. I will take care of myself, and-'
"You are our friend Tali, and we will not allow you to get sick." Liara said, and the other 2 nodded in agreement. "I'm not saying you can't fight, just stay behind us at all times, please. Remember you have a pistol, not a shotgun; no charging them Tali."
Tali opened her mouth to argue, and then realized they were just looking out for her. She nodded instead. She hoped Shepard was ok.
"Ok, on 3 we go back out." Ashley said. They all agreed. Liara and Ashley got by the door. "1, 2, 3!" And Ashley opened it.
Liara threw up her barrier again, providing them cover as they rushed out from the room. The intruders saw them and trained their guns on them. Ashley quickly aimed and fired 3 shots, hitting 3 of them perfectly in the head and dropping them while she dived and rolled behind cover. The intruders trained their guns on Ashley, allowing Tali to exit the room unhindered and aim, firing her gun 5 times. She got 2 headshots, killing them instantly. 2 bullets hit another in the chest, making him crumple to the ground as the last bullet hit a 4rth soldier in the face, tearing half of his cheek off, revealing his teeth and torn flesh. To Tali's horror the soldier didn't even flinch or make a noise. He just started at Tali with his purple eyes and raised his gun at her.
She ducked as fast as she could in order to avoid the bullet, but she didn't need to, as Bailey fired his pistol, hitting the soldier between the eyes and killing him. Tali joined Ashley behind the stall she was using as cover, seeing Liara throw a soldier over the edge of the platform with her biotic powers before her view was cut off.
"Something's off about these soldiers." Tali yelled at Ashley over the gunfire. "I hit 1 in the face, ripping through his cheek, yet he didn't cry out or seem to even notice. Also their eyes are purple!"
Ashley nodded in agreement. "I noticed the eyes. Did you also notice that they are not even attempting to hide behind cover? It's as if they have no fear of getting hit or killed."
Now that she mentioned it, Tali did notice it. "This is Ultimate's doing, I have no doubt about it. Does that mean he is here somewhere?"
Ashley didn't answer right away. Instead, she popped up from cover, firing off a few shots before ducking back down, bullets whizzing by where her head was a second ago. "If he is here, than he is likely near the embassies, trying to get to the councilors."
Tali mulled it over, than replied, "Then that's where we need to go."
Ashley nodded. "Let's just hope we get there in time."
Shepard hit the ground hard, feeling the air leave his lungs. As he tried to regain his breath, the soldier who had hit him walked over and aimed the gun at Shepards head. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Shepard heard a battle cry, and saw Davin kick the soldier dead in his chest hard with his Bionic legs, sending the soldier flying at least 10 feet into other intruders, knocking them down. Davin held his hand out, letting Shepard grasp it and pulling him to his feet.
"Thanks Davin. I owe you 1." Shepard said, getting behind cover. Davin laughed, shaking his head. "Nah, you spared my life back on Omega. Consider us even now." And charged off, killing soldiers left and right with his sword.
Shepard regretted not bringing guns with them. The only 1 who brought a weapon was Davin, who didn't go anywhere without his katana and told off any Officer who tried to tell him he couldn't. James, Garrus, and Shepard himself were completely defenseless unless the enemy soldiers got close enough for them to use their hands, as none of them had bionic legs like Davin. And Davin was starting to tire; they were at the embassies when the pods dropped, and the soldiers just kept coming, wave after wave. Sooner or later Davin was going to get too tired and make a mistake, and most likely be killed. They learned quickly that these intruders felt no fear or pain, which made things twice as hard.
Shepard peeked out from cover, looking for any opportunity to move forward. To his surprise he saw Commander Bailey and 2 C-sec officers being pinned down to his left. Davin was off to his right, trying to reach Bailey but being held off by a line of the soldiers, adapting to Davin's fighting style and forming a circle so he couldn't get behind them.
Bailey saw Shepard and stood up, exposing himself to reach back and toss Shepard a pistol. Bailey took a bullet in the shoulder and fell back behind cover, yelling in pain. Shepard saw it wasn't going to reach him and he jumped from cover, catching the gun before it hit the ground. He rolled to 1 knee, aiming his pistol. He saw 3 soldiers start to aim at him, and he fired the pistol, killing them and painting the ground with their blood. He ran and slid behind more cover just as more started shooting at him.
He waited there a bit, regaining his breath. Now that he had a weapon, he had a chance. But Garrus and James were still weaponless, James still being injured at that. Shepard moved along his cover, which turned out to be a bench, and popped out at the other end. He saw Davin get hit in the arm and jump back behind cover. He saw Garrus pop up on a soldier trying to sneak up on him, picking up the soldier and slamming him head first into the ground, crushing his head like a ripe melon. Shepard saw another soldier aim at Garrus, and Shepard fired at the soldier, 1 bullet taking off his hand and the other taking the top of his head with it. The soldier fell, bits of his skull and brains splattering against the wall. Just as Shepard was going to fire at another soldier, he was hit from the side hard, getting knocked to the ground. Shepard rolled over just as his assailant jumped on him, pinning him to the ground. It was a human girl, her eyes glowing a cold purple as she raised a knife and swung it down, trying to stab him. He dodged to the left, feeling the knife scrape his cheek and cut it. He swung at her face, trying to hit her off of him. But she didn't even feel it, raising the knife again. When she swung it down this time, he caught her wrist, stopping the knife inches above his face. He held her there, trying to push her arms up, but she was stronger than she looked, and the knife slowly moved towards his face. When it was about an inch away and he was getting weak, he saw the muzzle of a gun get put against her head.
"Get your hands off my man, bitch." Tali said, pulling the trigger and blowing the girls brains out. Shepard panted, regaining his breath and getting over his close call with death. Tali knelt next to him. "Are you ok John-I mean commander? No serious injuries?"
Shepard shook his head. "No, just a small cut on the cheek is all." Shepard looked at what remained of the girl that was just trying to kill him. "Remind me not to ever piss you off Tal."
She smirked. "It should be obvious really." Then surprised him by pulling him into a kiss. When they broke apart, she stood up from behind cover, firing off her whole clip and ducking again. "That was because I was worried about you. I leave you alone for less then an hour, and you have some broad trying to have her way with you."
Shepard grinned. "I just have that affect on women." Making Tali scoff. Then she said "I hope you have some thermo clips left, because I am out."
He got up, finding his gun next to the girl's corpse and picking it up. He stood up to fire, but saw he wasn't needed. The main defense force had finally arrived, much better equipped than they were, and started cleaning up. The intruders didn't stand a chance, as they never tried to take cover and were mowed down easily. Shepard sat down and looked at Tali.
"So, how did hanging with the girls go?"
