Chapter 7:
Tali'Zorah nar Rayya
"Stupid Shepard," Ashley said with a roll of her amber eyes as they sat down at a table in the other Wards' bar, the Flux. Patrick nodded in agreement, thinking about when he played Shepard in the game and had to take two crew members, leaving the others on the Normandy. Patrick had never given any thought to what the other characters had been feeling about being left behind- he didn't fully blame himself; after all he had thought they were merely pixels on a screen- but now as he waited for Shepard's return, he pondered if the other crew members felt annoyance towards the Commander. After all, Ashley was incredibly pissed that Shepard hadn't done a team of five. Had she been pissed when Patrick left her aboard the Normandy? Or had the writers not given any thought to her annoyance?
"You okay there farmer?" Ashley asked and Patrick nodded again, "You're awfully quiet."
"Tired," Patrick murmured quietly before looking down at the silver table. Tired was one way of describing what he was feeling. He was always feeling confused, overwhelmed, and homesick. He was still confused about how he ended up in the Mass Effect universe and with his knowledge about the upcoming events, Patrick felt overwhelmed. Should he warn Shepard about the Reapers? Should warn Ashley or Kaidan that Shepard has the chance of killing one of them on Virmire? Patrick was worried that if he disclosed any information about the future, it would either jeopardize being allowed to travel on the Normandy with Shepard or it could create a whole new dimension. And that was why Patrick was feeling homesick. He missed the simplicity of the "real world" and he missed Lily and his brothers. Hell he even missed William even though they had fought the last time they saw each other. Patrick wondered how his father was taking his disappearance. Did he even notice he was gone?
"Let's get you something to eat," Ashley said with a small smile as she waved over one of the waiters who hurried towards her. Patrick leaned back in his chair. Maybe during the game when Patrick had left behind some crew members, they merely went out dinner. That wasn't so bad. "Hey. We were wondering what you would recommend to eat?"
The waiter nodded, "We got a nice selection of varren meat delivered to us from Feros."
Ashley glanced at Patrick, but he shook his head, remembering the black-and-white creatures they would meet later on Feros and other planets. "I think I'll be okay with a drink. What do you recommend in that area?"
"The Serrice Ice Brandy," The waiter suggested without hesitation.
"I'll-" Patrick paused before realizing that the only money he had was a crumbled up five dollar bill in his pant's pocket and he was a hundred percent shore they didn't take that money. "Never mind. I'm a little short on money."
"It's okay, farmer, I'll pay," Ashley said, taking out a couple credits, "Two glasses of the Ice Brandy, please."
The waiter nodded and walked away.
"Listen, Ash," Patrick began, but Ashley held up her hand.
"Relax, farmer," Ashley grinned, "We're crew members now. We've got each others' back. Especially if Shepard is going to continue to leave us high and dry while he plays the hero."
"I'll pay you back," Patrick promised.
"I'm sure we can think of some way you can make it up to me," Ashley laughed as the waiter came over and handing them their glasses.
Patrick stared at the blue liquor before taking a small sip. It tasted like- like nothing on Earth and the closest thing Patrick could compare it to was rum which he only had once or twice. It smelled funny and hurt his nose, but Patrick followed Ashley's example and kept drinking.
A Turian and an Asari walked by, the Turian moving in a drunken fashion and nearly hitting their table. Ashley watched them and rolled her eyes, "Aliens. They cannot hold their liquor at all."
Patrick wasn't even listening to Ashley; his ears were trained on the two Aliens as they walked away.
"Did ya 'ere?" The Turian slurred in a gruff voice. "Scuttle says dare is a quarian on da Citadel."
"A quarian?" The Asari repeated, "We don't get many quarians here."
"Heard she got into some trouble with Fist," The Turian said.
"Fist?" The Asari shook her head, "That's bad news. Quarians don't know about the Shadow Broker. This could cause some problems for her."
"Didn't ya 'ere?" The Turian exclaimed, "Fist quit working for da Shadow Broker. Heard 'e joined up with Saren."
"Saren?" The Asari asked, "Isn't he that rogue Spectre?"
"Don't tell me you believe da 'umans' lies," The Turian growled. "Saren is a famous Spectre! It's makes much more sense for Saren to be telling da truth! Who would believe a bunch of stupid 'umans?"
Ashley rolled her eyes, "Humans aren't the problem."
Patrick wasn't even listening. He stood up immediately. "We've got to go."
"What?" Ashley asked, "Where?"
"Remember that quarian, Dr. Michel told us about?" Ashley nodded. "I think she may be in trouble."
Actually Patrick didn't think; he knew.
"Farmer! Kid! Hamilton!" Ashley called as Patrick began to walk out of the bar. Ashley caught up to him and touched his arm, "Hey, why do you even think this quarian is in trouble? It's Shepard's job to go running off into probable danger. Not us. Shepard told us not to interfere."
"No I actually believe he told us to stay in the embassies," Patrick answered simply, walking deeper into the Wards and maneuvering through humans and aliens alike. "And we clearly disobeyed that order."
"Going to get a drink isn't as bad as running into danger with our weapons unsheathed," Ashley hissed, trying to stay in step with Patrick, "Do you want to get kicked off the Normandy? It was Shepard's decision to bring you on the ship and he can take it back. Not to mention I like serving under the Commander even if he annoys me sometimes. I'm not all that excited to enlist back underneath a different ship and get a bunch of crap assignments. With Shepard, I might actually be able to clear the Williams name."
"Then head towards the embassies, Ash," Patrick said, emerging from the crowds as he and Ashley walked in the Wards's many alleys. "I'm not forcing you to come with me."
"Yes, but if I show up with no brain damaged kid, Shepard will have my head. Besides," Ashley added, taking out her pistol, "You know me. I'm never one to run away from a fight."
Hopefully there won't be a fight, Patrick thought to himself, but he could clearly remember the three assassins that tried to kill Tali in the game.
As they walked down two flights of stairs, Patrick saw a figure pacing around, occasionally examining a keeper that stood by her. Even at a distance, Patrick knew that the figure was Tali.
As they moved slowly towards Tali, Patrick couldn't help, but stare at the quarian. Her environmental suit was a dark violet although that were some traces of a blue-green as she moved underneath the red light which was the on source of light in the alley. Patrick knew that quarians were more "human" than most of the aliens, but he was not expecting the short, thin figure who bent down beside the keeper, her orange omni-tool clashing with her cooler colored attire. Patrick wanted to know if the suit was rough like an itchy sweater for that was how it looked from where he was standing yet he wouldn't want to be in an uncomfortable suit for his entire life. That made Patrick wonder if the suit was softer than it appeared. (A/N: I know some people were curious about how I was going to describe Tali so hopefully that description was good enough for everyone.)
Tali stood up as Patrick and Ashley drew closer and she rested a hand on her pistol as walked to greet them. Patrick could see the faint outline of her eyes that were hidden by her mask and as they grew closer to one another, they seemed to shrink, leaving Patrick to think that she was narrowing her eyes at them.
They stared at each other for another moment before Tali asked, her mouthpiece flashing a bright blue as she spoke, "Are you with Fist?"
"No," Ashley said before Patrick could even open his mouth, "Are you the quarian that Dr. Michel mentioned?"
"I am Tali'Zorah nar Rayya and I did meet with a Dr. Michel," Tali said, "If you are not with Fist then what are you doing here?" Tali suddenly took a couple steps back, "Are you with Saren?"
"No," Patrick said, "The complete opposite. We work with Commander John Shepard and he is at odds with Saren."
"Quarians sometimes say that whoever is an enemy of my enemy is a friend," Tali said, reminding Patrick of a similar human saying, "I believe you, but I must ask, what are you doing here?"
"I don't honestly know," Ashley said, glancing at Patrick who said,
"You made a deal with Fist, correct? He agreed he would set you up to meet the Shadow Broker?"
"Yes," Tali's voice sounded quite surprised as Patrick displayed his knowledge of her actions on the Citadel.
"But no one knows the Shadow Broker," Ashley commented, her voice puzzled, "Not even his workers know who he is."
Tali took a couple steps back, "Fist lied?"
"Stupid humans," A voice growled and everyone turned to look at a turian who was strolling in front of two salarians. "Saren only wanted the quarian, but by talking to her, you merely condemned yourself."
Patrick and Ashley withdrew their weapons while Tali asked, her voice shaking, "I don't get it. Where's Fist?"
"Fist isn't coming," The turian growled before taking out his shotgun and pointing it right at Patrick whose hand shook terribly from fear.
Tali touched his shoulder and shouted, "Move!"
Patrick and Ashley both threw themselves against the other wall while Tali did a nice maneuver as she threw a mine at the turian and his partners. The salarians collapsed on the ground, but quickly pulled themselves up while the turian remained on his feet. "Nice little trick. However the odds are still even."
"How about now?" A voice shouted and everyone turned to see Shepard, Kaidan, and Garrus walking towards them, weapons drawn. The turian didn't even have time to stay anything before Patrick and the others took them out cleanly. Patrick even surprised himself with shooting one of the salarians in the head.
Everyone walked towards them and Shepard asked, "Is everyone alright?"
Ashley nodded and Patrick gestured towards Tali, "Commander, this is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."
"Try saying that three times fast," Garrus growled, but Shepard shot him a look.
Kaidan looked at Tali and raised his eyebrows, "The quarian?"
"Who are you?" Tali asked.
"I'm Commander Shepard," Shepard said before gesturing at the rest of his team, "This is Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, C-Sec Officer Garrus Vakarian, Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, and Patrick Hamilton."
Tali glanced at Patrick, "Non-military?"
Patrick shrugged.
"Excuse me Tali'Zorah-" Shepard began.
"Just Tali," The quarian corrected.
"Tali," Shepard said, "Dr. Michel told us you might have some information that might have to do with the geth."
Tali nodded, "In thanks for saving me, I'll be pleased to show it to you."
"Commander, maybe we should do this in a more secure location," Garrus suggested.
Kaidan nodded, "What about the Ambassador's office?"
Shepard nodded, "You're right. He'll want to hear this too."
And with that Patrick followed Shepard and Tali back up to the Presidium.