15: The Walled Garden
The Pain had subsided, if just barely.
It had taken the better part of an hour, but the survivor had managed to climb out of the wreckage that was once a storage closet. The quarian had shoved aside thoughts of fallen comrades, inching up the stairs to the commons. With a wave of a sparking omni-tool, one of the side doors had admitted the wounded crewman into a waiting hallway. The survivor didn't dare to look at the dozens of fallen passed on the way, both organic and synthetic.
Keep... going...
A second wave of the omni-tool, and a door at the end of the hall opened invitingly. The quarian's mask turned toward a sign by it for but a moment, confirming the room as correct.
Communications.
The sole living occupant of the room limped toward a console, typing in a code on the seemingly-dead interface. The holo immediately sprang to life, a message emblazoned across it.
Blackout In Effect - Enter Deactivation Code
Eyes squinted shut momentarily, forcing back the Pain before it could reclaim the survivor once more. The quarian's gloved hands slowly lumbered across the simulated keys, each click a struggle for consciousness.
Code Accepted. Blackout Has Been Lifted.
The survivor slumped down against a wall, breaths slowing as the Pain intensified once more. Fingers moved by the light of a glowing omni-tool, finding a particular contact. They halted just before initiating a call.
If they find me... No, not directly... It's too much of a risk.
The fingers selected another target, one that would be sufficiently scrambled as to baffle any who tried to track the message. The quarian spoke slowly, broken ribs protesting every forced breath as the omni-tool translated speech to visual text.
It... is done.
The survivor passed out once more, but wasn't worried as consciousness ebbed away.
The recipient would know exactly what to do.
People milled about as the trial ended, a sea of colored hoods flowing for the exits. A particular black one stood out among the waves, swiftly cutting through the much slower current.
Where is Xen go- Tali'Zorah found her train of thought violently derailed as someone cleared their throat. She tore her gaze away from the crowd of dispersing quarians, pivoting with her spine set unnaturally straight. Next to her, a human mirrored the act.
"What do you want, Tovo?"
To his credit, the yellow-suited officer didn't bother to feign surprise. "I'm gathering a task force to verify that the ship is as you say. You're certain that all of the geth were deactivated?" She narrowed her eyes in response.
"Positive," John answered for her. "The leftovers dropped after we took out their networking hub. Even saw a few that had regrouped for an ambush on the way back to the shuttle. No damage, all dead."
Sanir harrumphed, not sparing a glance at the soldier. "I hope for my officers' sake you're right." He continued his studious stare, and Tali actively resisted the urge to blink. "Tell me, was there anything else you found on the Alarei? Anything that could help us discover who the traitor is? Or perhaps to help cut down our list of suspects? "
The engineer's eyes became dangerous slits. Of course, there was Mala'Reet's recording, but her head was already swiveling slowly back and forth before she even thought about it. Besides, Tovo would think it was Father's fault, or at least try to get him posthumously exiled for testing on active geth. "I don't have anything to give you, Tovo."
He stepped closer, his words a low whisper that she doubted Shepard's omni-tool could translate. "I hope, for the sake of my men that you're telling the truth... It would be a shame if your sh'rayan were to get any bloodier."
"Prazza made his choice," the woman growled back.
"I wonder if that's what the people you left on Freedom's Progress and Haestrom would say." He stepped back as John shot him a venomous look for mentioning the planet, but not because of the human. "Congratulations on being cleared, Tali. I just hope you can stay on the right side of the law this time."
The officer walked past, making a point of bumping shoulders with her once more. The act wasn't unnoticed by a pair of quarians in red and green, the latter of which narrowed her eyes.
"Everyone heard me the last time, right?" Quala asked.
"Heard, but not underst-" Tali cut off Garrus's words with an elbow to the stomach. While not enough to really hurt him with his armor, it did stop him from asking what biea meant again. Kal, meanwhile, cleared his throat.
"Garrus, I'd... like to have a word with you... over there."
As the turian shrugged and walked off with him, Tali spoke to Quala in a hushed whisper. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I know he still held a grudge from... you know..."
"Relax, Tali," the younger soldier responded. "I've convinced him to try and forgive the guy."
"Are you sure that's wise?" the engineer asked, her head tilting slightly as she folded her arms.
"No," Quala responded, lowering her voice even more. "But you'd be surprised what you can accomplish by threatening to waive your clean room request."
Tali felt her blood run cold as her friend giggled with a near-complete lack of discretion. What if John and I can't even-
"Oh, relax, Tali," the younger quarian replied as her chuckles died down. "Even if you don't find a way, I'm sure he'd figure it out for you." She gave a quick tilt of her head in the human's direction for emphasis.
"But how can you be so sure?"
Quala winked at her. "For starters, he's been staring at your butt ever since we started talking."
Tali's eyes moved without forethought, catching the human just as his head tilted upward. "We still need to get your arm looked at," he recovered, though the quarian noticed his back was much straighter than his usual stance.
"Nice try, Shepard, but she already knows."
"Knows what?" the human asked, his voice slightly higher than normal.
"Typical..." Quala responded with a roll of her eyes. "I have to go make sure that Kally isn't trying to bash Garrus's head in. Don't be a stranger, now!"
As the green-clad quarian walked away, Tali felt a grin pinch at one corner of her mouth. The human continued to play nonchalant, shrugging his shoulders as she eyed him knowingly.
"I'm just worried about that suit seal. And that ship was anything but sterile."
"Right..." she replied, blocking out thoughts of the state of the Alarei's crew. "Let's go before your eyes start wandering again."
"Wandering where?" he asked, catching up with her as she stepped toward the doorway. "I was looking at-"
"John. I know you're lying."
As the human sputtered out another half-formed denial, she couldn't help but smile.
Even if I don't deserve it... and we can't... do that for now, at least I know he's interested.
"Is Tovo always that friendly?"
"Keelah!"
Oops. Kasumi deactivated her cloak, shimmering into view next to a particularly flustered admiral. "Sorry about that, Raan."
"It's been a long time since my Pilgrimage," the quarian breathed, a hand over her breast. "I've already helped raise Tali and Quala once; I doubt I'd be able to do it again."
"I'll try to lay off the shenanigans... for now, at least," the human responded with a cheery grin.
"Ancestors, help me," the admiral muttered with a shake of her head.
"Anyway, about the yellow bosh'tet..."
Raan tilted her head to the side slightly and shrugged one shoulder. "Well, aside from his issues with Tali he's usually quite the professional."
"I find that hard to believe."
"You'll find you're not alone in that, but despite what Quala says, the man is very good at his job. He took the Idenna attack as a personal insult, and has stepped up security fleet-wide since then. He even caught a few agents of the Shadow Broker's, if the rumors are true."
"Doesn't mean he should act like that."
The old quarian gave an exasperated sigh. "If it's any consolation, he was no harder on her than he is on any suspects important enough to catch his attention." When the thief failed to hide an eye roll, the quarian gave a quick flick of her helmet. "But I can tell that there are other things on your mind, child."
I guess Tali wasn't lying about quarians reading body language. The human gave a quick glance over her shoulder. "Yeah... I was wondering if you knew where Tali had gone... Or Shep, for that matter."
Shala stiffened, the glow of her eyes becoming more intense. "I'd imagine it was the same place, given that they left the courtyard together. Tell me, how has he been treating her?"
Um, crap- Are they even going public about it yet? "He's helped her out of some tough spots. We all have, actually. She even showed me her face once. Emergency circumstances, of course."
"WHAT?!"
The thief almost let a grin slip before continuing. "It was a one-time thing. She had too many drinks and she trusted me to help her out."
"But why didn't she ask the ship's doctor?" the quarian asked.
"Well, she had actually managed to avoid willingly showing Chakwas her face up to that point. Plus, she wasn't thinking straight at the time. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I mean we had bonded a bit before then, and she called me her hesh'nealan."
"Oh," the elder woman breathed. "So I guess you've talked about a lot of things together."
The admiral's attention successfully diverted, Kasumi finally allowed her grin to show. "Yes, she even began to tell me this one story her mom used to tell. About Tas'Nerah."
"Really?" Raan asked, her voice full of genuine curiosity. "I'm surprised she still remembers it. Even when I was her age, there were few who knew the tale. Now, I doubt there's more than six aboard all of the Rayya that know all of it." She took a slow breath, her next words full of pride. "It gladdens me that Laenya was able to pass it on."
Kasumi raised an eyebrow. "The way she told it, I thought it was common knowledge."
"Once upon a time, yes," Shala responded with a shake of her head. "Even then, it wasn't the true form. Before I heard it from Laenya, every version I'd heard said that Tas and Alarei had kissed right when-"
"Whoa-whoa-whoa!" Kasumi interjected, her hands waving wildly. "Spoiler alert! I haven't gotten to that part yet."
The admiral chuckled, gesturing to a nearby bench. "Perhaps I can help you there. I happen to be one of the few who can tell the story as it was meant to be told, and my next meeting isn't for several hours."
The human nodded and followed the quarian over to the seat. As they reclined on the metal fixture, a simple plate jutting out from the wall, Raan looked at her companion. "Now, how far along are you?"
"Well, they had just seen the hidden stars in the sky, and were following them."
"Ah, yes... Yevi's tears..."
True to what Tali had claimed on the Alarei, the med-bay hadn't been far. Captain Danna had been close enough to offer his girlfriend brief congratulations from his post by the Normandy before she'd entered the room. As minutes ticked by, the human leaned against the wall, quietly playing an omni-tool game to pass the time and attempt to quiet his growing worries. Over an hour had gone by before the door's interface swapped from red to green, and a familiar armored quarian stepped out.
"What happened? Did the seal break? Are you okay?"
Tali blinked in apparent surprise at his sudden barrage of questions. "I'm fine, John. There wasn't any contamination."
"But the time-"
"Right, er- sorry about that," she sheepishly murmured as luminous eyes turned away, her fingers twiddling. "I spent most of it watching a vid... I was actually done within six minutes."
"Then why didn't you come out?"
"I just... needed the time alone..." Her eyes shot open, as if realizing she'd spoken too soon. "Not that I didn't want to be around you, I mean."
He tensed up, his heart pounding as he uttered a single syllable.
"What...?"
"Keelah, that came out wrong," she muttered. The quarian tapped the side of her helmet, tilting her head to the side. John glanced in that direction, seeing Danna's guard detail still at their posts.
She wants to talk in private? He opened up a dedicated channel, and the quarian began to speak.
"Sorry I know this sounds weird, and it was rude of me, but I just had to- to get some quiet time. It was selfish though, and I'm sorry again- Bosh'tet! I should stop saying that- 'Sorry', I mean... For saying 'sorry'... I mean I'm sorry for-" She paused, the silence making the human even more tense. "Sorry if I'm babbling."
The human stopped to take a deep breath, trying to keep his own anxiety from showing. He reached out a tentative hand, wondering for a split second if the quarian would take it. When she did, he finally exhaled.
"It's okay, Tali. Just... tell me what's wrong."
She nodded, and her words came at a pace only slightly slower. "Today, I've been put on trial for treason, could have been blacklisted by my people, walked aboard a ship whose crew had been completely wiped out, found out that my father had died after performing risky experiments that endangered the Fleet and should have gotten him exiled, discovered that somewhere there's a quarian actually willing to work with the Illusive Man, got into an argument with you... Not to mention the fact that we had to fight several dozen synthetic bosh'tets along the way. And I got shot." She gave a short, if forced breath, like a bodybuilder dropping a barbell after a set of dead lifts. "This has been the single most stressful day of my life, John. I needed some time to process everything that's happened."
The human started to relax, now that he'd found the root of the problem. "You know I would have been there for you."
"Yeah..." she mumbled, her head bowed. "Grief kind of keeps you from thinking straight sometimes."
He drew her closer. "You know I'd understand if you wanted to go back to the Normandy."
"I do, but I'd rather be here right now. With you."
"You're sure about that?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.
"I'm not going back there just so you and Ken can stare at my butt all day," she responded, playfully swatting his shoulder. "Besides, I'd rather have at least one thing worth remembering from our first time together on my birth ship."
"And that would be?"
The woman broke out of his grasp, urging him forward with a tug of his hand. "A tour, of course. I do seem to remember someone mentioning how much they liked to hear my voice."
He smiled. "Even if you were the worst guide ever, that alone would be totally worth it."
When Tas and Alerai reached the peak-
Still too far.
Hmm... As they clambered ashore-
BEFORE that. Start from when they saw the island.
But it wasn-
You're doing it again.
Apologies, child.
If you're grinning in that mask...
I'm doing nothing of the sort.
…
*Laughs*
I knew it.
No, child. You just remind me of Tali when she asked me to tell the story to her. Always sure I'd forgotten something until I learned it her mother's way.
But I digress...
It had been a full week since the eclipse. What little land-grown food that had remained on the ship had long since been consumed. The emotional high from seeing Yevi's tears had faded, and what little fish they were able to catch did little for their hunger.
Tas slowly ascended the tallest mast as the sun drifted toward the horizon. His burden, a small package, hindered him only slightly as he climbed. When he reached the top, a tired voice greeted him.
"Why didn't you use the pulley?"
The navigator spared a quick glance at the apparatus, much too small to carry his own weight. "I figured you might want the company," he responded, holding out the package.
"A man doesn't usually give his company so freely to someone who threatened his life," Sil'Reino thought aloud. He accepted and unwrapped the object, a hunk of freshly-caught lopi fish. "And not with such a generous meal, either," he added with a frown.
"I believe in giving people what they deserve for their position. You are still our spotter, and we need you to stay sharp."
"And I believe you're still leading us all to our deaths," the disgraced captain retorted, lifting the food to his mouth. "But to each his own." Sil took a bite as he finished, savoring the-
Wait, he ate a raw fish? Straight from the sea?
Why of course. That's the best time to eat it. Still tender, and with just the right amount of saltiness from the water.
But your immune systems! That can't have been healthy.
For humans or asari, or even turians that would hold true. Our homeworld evolved several species of symbiotic bacteria and viruses though. Some of them are even necessary to healthy functioning for us; the Rayya has a lab that breeds certain strains specifically as additives for the nutrient paste we produce. So long as it wasn't decaying, quarians could eat most Rannoch-native wildlife raw. At least, that was the case before the geth... But that was a long time ago.
*sigh*
Moving on- The captain handed the fish back as soon as he'd swallowed his first bite. "Let the crew have the rest, I know they need it."
"They already-"
"I know they need it," Sil repeated, wrapping it back up. "Besides, I'm not doing much up here." He leaned back against the ship's mast, allowing the column to support his weight. "I am surprised though; lopi usually don't swim this far from land."
Tas followed his eyes toward the descending sun, staying quiet for a long while. "Maybe we're close to land."
"More likely this one got away from its school," Sil responded. The pair settled into silence once more, the wind whipping at their realks. The sun had just begun to slide under the waves by the time he spoke once more. "What's your plan for all of this anyway? If we do find your mythical 'garden in the ocean'?"
"I'm… undecided at the moment," Tas confessed. "It's an opportunity too good to ignore for Neema's sake, but our state is nowhere near as bad as it is in Idenna."
"That isn't what I meant," Sil retorted. "Do you really expect Draam..."
…
…
Hello?
…
Umm, Shala'Raan?
…
Are you alr-
"LAND!"
What th-!
*chuckling* I didn't surprise you too badly, did I, child?
No... Maybe, but I might have had that one coming for earlier...
Glad to see you still remembered.
Right, but why did you have to yell out like that?
Because that's what Sil said, of course.
With the exception of the trip to the Neema, the past forty-eight hours had come and gone without incident.
And that was exactly the problem.
Miranda continued pacing across her office, despite the extremely late hour. She checked her omni-tool once more, by her count the forty-seventh time in the past few minutes.
There were no new messages.
The woman frowned, sitting down at her desk. Thanks to her father's rigorous training (and Wilson's meddling with Lazarus), she'd gained a respectable sense of patience. Normally, she'd have only considered her contact's tardiness a minor annoyance.
Of course, her correspondents weren't organizing a secret transfer of her sister on a daily basis, either.
The human drafted a message, sending it before she could allow herself a second thought.
Lanteia,
I did not receive your update. At this point, I must assume our previous plans have been compromised. Switch to the second backup I told you about at our last meeting and wait for me to arrive. Your girls will be compensated for the extra expenses.
-Ms. Lawson
p.s. Do not reply to this message.
As the XO closed her omni-tool's display, she gripped her forehead. There are too many unknowns... As much as I hate to admit it, I may need some help. She spared a glance skyward, her eyes lingering where she knew the nearest intercom speaker was. Miranda knew she was a word away from reaching EDI, and through her, Shepard, but one thing stayed her tongue.
Pride, unlike patience, was proving difficult for her to cast away.
The ship burst from its quiet stupor into a flurry of activity at Sil's declaration. Tas's untrained eye hadn't seen their target at first, but he was able to catch sight of it just before the last dying light of Tikkun faded away. With only a slight course correction, they sailed on through the night, the stars' reflections on the inky surface of the waves barely enough to steer by until the moon began to rise.
By the new moonlight, Tas stood at the ship's bow. Off in the distance, he could see the growing silhouette of the landmass in front of him.
And he was not happy.
What?!
"The bosh'tet actually proved me wrong and he's still not overjoyed? Kal would never believe that one."
Tas turned around, seeing the still-armored form of Alarei walking up behind him. "Oh, I didn't hear you coming," he murmured, distracted.
"C'mon, Bosh'tet. You've won. All we have to do is toss the hyel overboard and we can bring our people over here."
The navigator, however, shook his head. "We still need supplies for the return trip, and... Idenna needs it just as much as we do, if not more."
The soldier narrowed her eyes. "You're not telling me that the idiot, Draam, is getting-"
"No, Alarei," he interrupted. "I'm saying that their people are in a worse state than ours. I'd still like to find a way to help them as well."
"I don't see it happening, Bosh'tet. Not as long as Murin's around." She stifled a snicker, her eyes closing for a moment. "Heh, 'a-round'."
Tas, however, wasn't amused. "We still need to find a safe docking point."
"Just run her ashore. It's not like the whole place is-"
"Surrounded by cliffs?" he finished. "Actually, it is, from the looks of it. See for yourself." He passed her a telescope, allowing her a few moments to react to the sight before speaking once more. "We can't expect our whole crew to scale a damn rayya carrying a bunch of food."
Wait, I think my translator just glitched. Did you just say the name of this ship?
You mean it doesn't translate?
Nope. Is it another word for "cliff"?
Not really... Well, a rayya is... an old part of our culture. Are you aware of the old practice of ancestor worship?
I've heard of it, yes. Tali mentioned it once when I surprised her in the mess hall.
Well, not all of the ancestral spirits were seen as positive forces. Some believed there were evil ones, traeln-suri, who would sow chaos among the tribes. It's an old superstition, even older than this tale. Clan elders used to build tall walls out of stone around dwellings, blessing them to keep the spirits and the animals they possessed out of their homes.
So it's a wall?
Not quite. It's the spiritual element that separates a rayya from a typical wall. The word itself is similar to "protection". I guess you could say... it's meaning is similar to "impassible spirit-warding bastion".
Interesting... and the name of Tali's birth ship?
It took a significant amount of damage during our exodus, child. After all was said and done, it was the one ship in its class that didn't have any casualties aboard, despite the punishment it took. When the captain requested the name change, nobody was about to oppose it.
Then, Tas was referring to the cliffs as... an impenetrable shield of sorts?
Precisely.
Alarei shrugged as she handed the telescope back to Tas. "Well what do you expect me to do about it? Start singing your little legend-song?"
The navigator paused, stricken by a thought. "Actually..."
She rolled her eyes. "You have got to be kidding me."
"What? No, you don't have to sing it." He then ran to the edge of the boat, his eyes cast downward as his head disappeared over the railing.
"Don't tell me you're getting seasick now of all times."
"No, it's the last two lines. 'After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust..."
She blinked. "I will return to where I began."
"Exactly," he responded, his head surfacing. "Well, don't just stand there, help me look!"
"I've got a better idea," she replied, a grin on her face.
As it turned out, Tali was definitely not the worst tour guide ever.
John walked, squeezed, ran, and, in one particular case, crawled his way after her for hours as she led him through her birth ship. All the while, she spoke. She yelled to be heard over the rumble of the near-ancient air filtration center, whispered when they walked past a hall of young quarians in suits much too loose with heads bent over holographic displays, sped up to a rate that would have made Mordin blush when they neared the engine room, and slowed her tongue when they strode through a multilevel greenhouse within the massive sphere at the ship's bow.
Not that the human minded the change of pace. Truth be told, he was mystified by the sights that confronted him, and not always for the best of reasons. Dozens of engineers working harmoniously in the drive core, even as children played worryingly close to live wires and vents. A hundred families crammed into cubicles each a quarter the size of his office on the Normandy, spending a few precious minutes together between working shifts. A crowd of people waiting outside one of the clean rooms, most of them huddled together in pairs and speaking in low voices. A pair of marines rationing out food to a gigantic mess hall full of calm quarians, untouched heavy weapons hanging visibly from their suits. For every positive thing about the lives he saw, there was always a harsh reminder of their sad state. Despite it all, his guide remained ever cheerful as they wandered about the ship, spouting bucket loads of trivia that he was able to retain about as well as cupped hands could hold water. Even so, the quarian greenhouse was the first thing to truly stun him into silence.
Hundreds of tiered levels lined the curved walls, all of them sloping ever so slightly downward into the center of the room. A vertical shaft of light glowed from the center of the room, bathing the sphere in a bright reddish glow. It took a few seconds for the human's vision to clear after the sudden shift, due to how dark the previous rooms had been. As his eyes adjusted, figures became visible between the tall stalks of vegetation. Dozens of quarians were visible on their level alone, all toiling away without end. They labored away, seeding, watering, and harvesting without casting the two intruders a single glance.
"How many are there?" he asked, interrupting Tali as he came out of his reverie.
"Um... Like I said, this isn't my area of expertise," she haltingly responded. "I think Father told me it was something like a... a twelfth of a normal ship's crew that works specifically on food production. On a liveship like the Rayya, though, it's much higher... closer to one-half."
The two of them stepped aside, a pair of quarians pushing a bin as large as an aircar and loaded with the grassy plants back up the path where the couple had come from. The human cast another glance around, noticing that none of the farmers carried anything more complex than a power tool.
"But why work like this? Your engineers could build something to make life easier on the workers, maybe automate some of the work."
One of the workers, an orange-hooded male, paused and offered him an angry glare. "What, like the geth? Are you insa-"
"Let's move on," Tali offered, cutting in before the situation could escalate. She dragged John back to the entrance by an arm, her voice picking up in tempo again as she changed topics. "There's still a lot we haven't covered. You haven't even seen my favorite spot on the ship yet."
"I thought the engine room was your favorite spot," the human jested. To his surprise, the quarian quieted for a moment, her head tilting slightly as she thought about what he said.
"Well it's still in the top two."
Alarei gathered the whole crew to the ship's upper decking. While most of them had been confused by the decision to bring everyone topside, she soon brought them out of their stupor. Her simple order to "Look over the edge and try to find something shiny or glowing" was initially met with hesitation, many afraid of being tossed overboard. When she told them that anyone who didn't follow the order would be used as her sparring partners for the next week, however, they all rushed to the railing and followed the order.
Hours passed as the moon rose across the sky without any change. However, just as it reached its peak, one of the crewmen raised a hand, pointing frantically into the waves. Tas and Draam rushed over, and the Neeman quickly questioned the sailor.
"What is it, crewman? Did you find any light?"
"Better! I found FISH!"
Needless to say, Draam was not amused. "I don't care about the fish right now! This is our only lead to reaching the shore safely. If you can't-"
"Draam," Tas cut in, eyes widening as he spotted what the sailor had mentioned. "The fish is glowing."
Firn heard the exchange, and cast his own eyes where Tas was pointing. Sure enough, the silhouetted fish was visible just below the waves, a ghostly white aura surrounding it. "Are you sure it's not just one that got away from its school, Tas? It's only a single fish."
As he spoke, however, a second one joined the first. They began to swim off to port, where a third one joined them.
"It's also the closest we've seen to a 'tide of light' so far," the navigator responded, raising his own head. "Man the helm, Draam! We're following those fish."
While initially skeptical, the crew's doubts soon faded away. More of the mysterious fish joined the rapidly-growing school in larger numbers as they sailed, eventually bathing the whole ship in an eerie glow from below. The group swelled in size, to the point where they were not following a single fish, but rather, a luminous trail on the water. Every now and then, an unfamiliar fish would swim through the swarm, clearly visible because its own scales did not produce the others' light. As they continued, Tas noticed that a thin dusty film was becoming more and more visible on the water's surface, scattering the unearthly glow even more.
The trail led them into a sheltered bay, a creek driving a fissure into the wall just barely wide enough for the ship to pass unscathed. After a very short discussion, the crew deployed their oars and rowed them upstream. A sheltered quay lay just beyond, rolling hills evident from the glow of the rising sun.
"We should go ashore," Alarei muttered, standing next to Tas.
"Agreed," he responded. "The crew could explore, find some food-"
"Let me rephrase that. You and I should go ashore."
What?!
Tas's eyes widened, his head slowly turning toward her. "Alarei, are you-"
"Keelah, this bosh'tet..." she muttered. The soldier then raised her voice. "You should go to higher ground to get the lay of the land. I should come with you so you don't accidentally kill yourself with that thing tied to your waist."
"You mean my sword?"
"I meant your realk, but if you're feeling that confident..."
*snicker*
"Come on," he muttered, ignoring her laughter.
With that, the two of them disembarked. They ignored the score of sailors rushing around them, eagerly attacking the numerous surrounding plants with reckless abandon for their fruits and firewood. As they climbed, the joyous voices of the crew slowly quieted to a distant hum. Soon after, nothing but the rustle of wind through grasses and trees could be heard as they walked up the hill in silence.
Eventually, they scaled their way to the top of the cliff, the morning sunlight bathing everything with its bright warmth. The lay of the land was exposed to them, a blue expanse surrounding the entire area. A brownish line was just visible on the edge of the horizon, making the navigator's mind go blank for a moment.
The soldier, however, wasn't as awed. "Nowhere near big enough for all of Neema. I knew this would be another disappointment."
Tas gasped at the sight. "Alarei, look at-"
"If you try to tell me how 'beautiful' this view is, Tas, I swear I'm going to vomit. On you."
"No, look! See that line over there?"
She squinted, shading her brow from Tikkun. "Yeah, I guess. Why should we care?"
He smiled. "Rannoch f'Traeln isn't just an island, Alarei. It's a whole continent!"
"Wow..."
Tali grinned behind her mask, silently agreeing with the human at her side. All around them, workers hurried to and fro, bustling between ships and rapidly-emptying loading trolleys in an eerie silence. Transport vessels were densely packed on the floor, each barely allowing its neighbors enough room to load up.
Of course, those weren't the ships they were looking at.
Thousands more were easily visible from where they stood at the edge of the ring of transports. The stunning panorama offered an unobscured view of nearly the entire Migrant Fleet. Without as much as a pane of glass separating them from the expanse, the ships formed a shimmering blue-silver sea of light across the inky darkness of space.
"And I thought the view from the cockpit was amazing," the human muttered over their comm line, a necessary tool in the vacuum.
"It'd be a shame if this wasn't," Tali replied over her own comm. "It was designed as an observation deck. People were supposed to be able to look around and see all of space around the ship from anywhere in this room."
"I just can't believe that your-" The human stopped himself from continuing, clearly self-conscious. "I mean of course they could have, but seeing... this..." He gestured toward the extravagant view, searching for the right word.
He'll mince words with the most powerful people in the galaxy, but worries about his speech in front of me... Tali grinned at the momentary inversion, allowing him to fumble for a few seconds before letting him off the hook. "I didn't believe Mother the first time she told me either. I thought this part of the ship had been scrapped by an asari vessel, myself." When he gave a nervous chuckle, she took a comforting hold of his hand.
She knew the other quarians were too busy to notice, let alone care.
And they could go to hell if they did. She turned back to the vista, her eyes wandering over the innumerable waves of silver. "It's odd, really. The last great marvel of quarian engineering before the geth rebelled: a group of self-sustaining luxury hotel ships, ones even the asari would have died for a chance to come aboard... And now..." She sniffled slightly, picking out the form of the Hesh'la, second of the three liveships among the crowd.
"And now you're lucky any of them are still around," John finished for her.
Tali nodded, her eyes watering. "It's such an amazing view..."
The human scooted closer. "Thanks for bringing me."
She chuckled a little despite the tears, the situation feeling more bizarre by the second. "I kind of wish Father could say the same... After Mother died, there was a time where I tried so hard to stay close to him." The quarian looked away, huffing as moisture continued to collect on her eyes. "But there was always something he had to do. Always a reason he couldn't just... be there, be a real parent. I mean it was like that part of him died with her, but I always thought- I hoped- But there wasn't enough time to-"
She turned away, her sorrow threatening to overwhelm her as it had in the med bay. She reached for her helmet, a digit heading for the switch that would mute her end of the channel. And spare him the embarrassment.
It never finished the trip. John stopped her hand just short of its destination, fingers parting in that special way of his as they guided her arm away from the mask. She felt his other arm on her shoulder, drawing her closer even as she fought to control her breathing. I can't be weak. Not in front of my captain. I have to be strong, always. It's my duty as chief engineer, morale-building... For the good of the crew, just like Father... She closed her eyes, casting her head downward and quietly hoping that he hadn't seen a telltale shine from the warm droplet racing to her chin. Like he taught me...
His hand moved from her shoulder to the side of her mask, turning her head back. Against her better judgement, she opened her eyes. Through small slits in the human's own armored helmet, the woman could see twin glints of blue.
"You could never do anything that would make me think less of you, Tali."
She moved without thinking, pulling him toward her in a tight embrace as her head rested next to his. There, in the cold vacuum of the Rayya's makeshift shuttle bay, she stopped holding back. Tears streamed down her face; sorrow, joy, and fear melding together into one as she cried on his shoulder.
For better or worse, she knew he was hers.
Note from the author: Aaaaand... done!
Went through two rewrites on the Tas parts, and still not quite satisfied, but oh well...
On the other hand, it felt great writing Miri again, something that will be happening a lot over the next few chapters.
Hopefully, I'll get back into swing by the end of the month. (I'd like to see the end of that Shadow Broker plotline soon, wouldn't you?)
The gang will (finally) leave for their next destination in Chapter 16.
Quala'Oro was created by Levi Matthews for Finding a Way and is used by permission.
Day 1 edit: Forgot the glossary (D'oh!)
hesh'la = [redacted]
(Credit to Tairis Deamhan)
traeln-suri = "tainted ancestor-spirits"; malicious spirits who would possess animals and the elements to wreak havoc on the living. No longer a major part of mainstream ancestral worship among quarians.
rayya = "spirit wall"; a sturdy (and often difficult to surmount) wall created around old quarian dwellings, from their times as a nomadic people. They were used to protect them from perceived traeln-suri, as well as the occasional invading tribe. The clan elder would bless a rayya regularly to maintain the protective effects of the wall.