*SSV Normandy*
There were screams. Unearthly wails that seemed to endlessly echo through his skull while being run through an electronic filter. He could see meat and sinew being liquified before oozing across circuitry and melding into machinery. He was familiar with this nightmare. He'd had it almost every night since Eden Prime. The difference this time was that it was a great deal more detailed. More vivid. The sense of agony and indescribable violation was much more palpable this time, as well. As was the feeling that he was being given directions to somewhere. He didn't remember seeing a planet before or another ship that looked like the one Saren was currently in possession of.
None of it made sense. It didn't have to. It pissed him off, which was all he needed to know. He didn't really care what the vision meant, or what the ship represented. He just knew they were connected, and the latter was going to need to be dealt with. Preferably with many titanic explosions and giant space guns. The satisfying image of the gargantuan, purple ship going supernova was more than enough to chase away any lingering misgivings he had from his nightmare. Although there was still some kind of incessant beeping that refused to fade. In fact, it seemed to be getting louder.
He endured the irritating noise for several minutes while doing his best to hold onto his destructive daydream, but couldn't recover his concentration. At last, he gave up and started to open his eyes. Except his eyelids felt like they were being held down by a pair of bricks. He gritted his teeth, and tried again. This time he was rewarded by the tiniest sliver of light seeping into his pupils. Encouraged, he redoubled his efforts and, with great effort, eventually convinced his stubborn soul-shutters to widen.
The world around him was mostly just a dark blur at first, but gradually began to swim into focus. As he waited for his vision to improve, he cast about with his other senses. He could smell the telltale funk of antiseptic and medi-gel which helped to confirm his suspicions that he was on a bed in the infirmary. He heard the rustle of fabric off to his right which alerted him to the presence of someone nearby. He assumed it was the doctor until he heard the tiny, whining hum of a respiration exchanger.
Despite his muscles screaming in protest, he swiveled his head to bring her into view. "Tali?"
She practically jumped out of her suit upon hearing his croaking voice. "Sh- Shepard! I didn't know you were awake."
He would have chuckled if his parched throat had let him. "No worries. To what do I owe the pleasure?" He spent more time in med bays than he liked, so visitors weren't terribly common anymore.
She sat up a little straighter. "I… It's pretty late so everyone who isn't groundside is asleep. Plus, the ship is so quiet I tend not to sleep very well. I just figured I would come by to see how you were doing."
"I'm touched… did you say groundside? We still haven't left Feros?"
"No, actually we're at Therum. Navigator Pressley said that was the next world on our list, so he figured we should get a jump-start while you were recuperating."
Shepard nodded appreciatively. "Glad to hear. We don't have a lot of free time." He lapsed into silence for a second. "Wait… did you say you can't sleep because it's too quiet?"
"It's not something I'm really used to. Back home in the fleet, if a ship isn't making the right noises it means something is malfunctioning."
He leaned back into the paper thin pillow on his bed. "Ah. Finch-in-the-coal-mine kind of thing, huh?"
She cocked her head quizzically. "What?"
He sighed inwardly and hoped the day would come when he completely ran out of idioms. "Never mind. The company is definitely appreciated."
He could have sworn he saw her ghostly, glowing eyes smiling. "Thank you."
"So how long have I been out?"
Her jovial demeanor instantly evaporated as she pulled up a chrono on her omni-tool. Back to shy, nervous Tali again. "A little over two days."
"Well… shit. What happened?" He had a vague idea but considering he felt like he was just coming off the worst bender of his life, he wouldn't turn down an explanation.
She wrung her fingers for a moment before answering. "Um… the three of you went down to fight the Thorian. We'd just finished rounding up all the colonists we could find when Kaidan called for a medevac for you. When we got there, the Thorian was dead and you were unconscious. There was an Asari Commando there too, but she wasn't completely coherent…" Tali seemed like she had more to say but remained quiet.
His rattled mind felt about as sharp as a box of socks, but he was keenly aware of her discomfort. "… Sounds like everything sort of hit the fan. You ok?"
She nodded quickly. "Yes, Commander. It's just… Well Kaidan or Wrex could explain better since they actually saw."
"Saw what?" Ordinarily he would have started to get annoyed by the lack of details, but somehow he found her awkwardness to be endearing. "Don't tell me I did something embarrassing."
She shook her head. "No it definitely wasn't something embarrassing…"
A cold thought gripped him. "Wait… you said I was unconscious. Does that mean I… lost? Son of a bitch, were there any Creepers left alive when you got there? Did they kill any without me?"
"… No, there weren't any Creepers left…"
It was a slim chance, but one he was determined to exploit if he could. He didn't relish the idea of calling a subordinate Sensei or being referred to as princess either. All that aside, she had him officially stumped. "So, what's up? You're killing me with the vagueness here."
"I don't really know how to explain it. They said you found some kind of artifact, and then went completely Barukaza."
"Um… you'll have to run that one by me again."
"Crazy. You went crazy."
He stopped to think for a moment. "… Crazy how?"
"Like I said, I wasn't there so I can't give you any specifics. Once they get back you can ask them."
"Hmm… I suppose I will. What about this artifact?"
"It's down in the shuttle bay. We weren't really sure where else to put it, and didn't want to leave it at the colony."
He started to prop himself up and slide the catheter from his vein. "Let's go take a look. What about the colonists? Did they snap out of it?"
She nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. Almost as soon as Kaidan called for help they all started to come to, and seemed to be behaving normally." She hesitated for a moment. "… Are you sure you should be moving around?"
He waved away her concern as he swung his legs over the side of his bed. "Nothing to worry about. I've had much wo… ooooooo." As soon as his feet hit the deck and his legs straightened, his head started to swim.
He teetered and tried to take a step forward, but immediately started to lose the fight with gravity. He pitched forward, attempted to catch himself but overcompensated, and then began to fall backward. He would have unceremoniously greeted the deck if Tali hadn't leapt from her chair to catch him.
She gingerly helped him to sit back on the bed. He wasn't entirely prepared for the assistance, but was certainly thankful for it. He shook his head to clear it, but that only served to set the room spinning. "Thank you… did I take one to the dome or something?" She started to reply, but he quickly clarified. "I mean did I get hit in the head?"
"Oh… In that case, yes. At least the doctor seemed to think you had a concussion."
"Explains the headache." He grunted before trying to rise again.
Tali stood awkwardly to the side hovering on the indecision of whether to help him or try to get him to lay back down. It wasn't until he started to waver again that she chose to step in, and loop one of his arms around her neck.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
Together they started the arduous journey from the infirmary to the elevator. On the way he was struck by just how thin, and frail she felt beneath her suit and yet how strong she was. He was no stringbean by any means, yet she hardly balked at the weight he was forced to burden her with. He was also struck by just how weathered and worn her suit was. Both realizations resulted in two overarching conclusions. First and foremost, he needed to get that girl something real to eat. Second, her suit appeared ready to fall apart at any moment, a prospect the irrational side of his brain wasn't entirely opposed to given how curious he was about what lay beneath. Still, he needed his team to be at their very best, and using subpar protection in a hot zone simply wasn't going to cut it.
Finally they reached the elevator and started the mind numbing crawl downward. "So… how does our little expedition compare to life aboard the Fleet?" He had an inkling he knew how to get her to open up. He figured now was as good a chance as any to test his theory.
"A great deal more dangerous." She answered flatly.
"Can't argue with that. I don't imagine you had many Geth creepies or shrub-monster thralls prowling around."
She laughed. "Not so much."
They lapsed into silence for a moment. He decided to try again. "Where did you get your suit?"
She readjusted his arm on her shoulder. "We're given them by our family once we're old enough to strike out on our pilgrimage."
"Running from Saren's goons must have taken its toll."
She sighed. "It did, but not like that. I assume you're referring to how ratty mine looks?"
"I… Well… I don't mean any offense." He mentally kicked himself.
"Don't worry, it's nothing I haven't heard already."
He thought about simply apologizing and calling it a day before turning his foot into a three-course meal, but decided to forge ahead to sate his curiosity. "Didn't you mention that your father was an admiral in the Flotilla?"
"I did."
"Oh… Wouldn't that sort of entitle you to, I don't know, better equipment?"
She shook her head and looked down at the floor. "You'd think so…"
His experiment wasn't going very well. His assumption being that if he wanted to get her talking all he'd have to do was mention the Fleet or her pilgrimage. He'd obviously hit a sore spot this time. "I see. Sorry for prying."
Her head came up. "No, it's ok. Just a little family drama. You wouldn't want to hear about any of that."
The lift finally came to a stop and opened the door facing the cargo bay. "I asked, didn't I?"
She was quiet for a moment before they exited the elevator. "Yeah… I guess you did."
"Anyway, let's see about this antique I dug up." He didn't notice her surreptitiously glancing up at him as they made their way over to Ashley's workbench.
He stopped short. "So this is it?"
She nodded.
"Wow that's… interesting." Somehow, when Tali had mentioned an artifact he had assumed she meant some kind of ancient tablet, or pot or something. The wicked looking instrument in front of him defied those expectations. "It's a sword."
"Not just any sword, apparently. From what Kaidan and Wrex said you went completely berserk while you had a hold of it, and just about anything it touched exploded like a bomb went off."
His eyes gradually scanned along the much abused surface of the blade trying to subconsciously suppress an involuntary shiver. It was big, but not comically so. There were a myriad of cracks, scuffs, and pits marring its finish from who knew how many years used, and buried. It was slightly concave along the cutting edge but widened substantially near the point, denoting its use as a chopping weapon as opposed to a stabbing one. It's handle, which appeared to be made of some sort of bone, was badly weathered and cracked. He could barely see some kind of circuitry buried beneath a housing that formed the bulk of the diagonally-canted hand guard. The material it was fashioned from was obviously not native to Human habitats, although he couldn't begin to guess what species had constructed it. Peeking out from the numerous blemishes along the blade were some kind of runic script that he wouldn't even try to read. All-in-all, while it might have been a fearsome weapon in days long past, it looked like a useless relic now.
She gently nudged him. "Are you ok?"
"Hmm… yeah I'm good. Just curious." He reflexively started to reach for the weapon.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"I've got a brilliant Quarian engineer babysitting me. What could go wrong?" He chuckled as he wrapped his fingers around the hilt.
He could feel her tense, but decided to pick it up anyway. He didn't have the strength enhancing properties of his hard suit to help, so he had to heft it using muscle power alone. He grunted with effort to hold the heavy blade aloft with his good hand. It felt good. Probably better than it should have.
He waited for any strange sensations to tickle up his arm or invade his brain, but nothing happened. He held it for a few moments, inspecting its contours and balance, before his waning strength demanded he put it down. "See? No harm done." He announced carefully placing it back on the bench.
"Just the same. I didn't want to have to put you down if you lost your mind again." She quipped.
He glanced down at her with a suspicious eyebrow raised.
"I mean… that is I wouldn't um… Keelah did it just get hot in here?"
"Alright, Miss Zorah. I think it's time you helped me back to my bed before I say or do something to earn a shot in the back."
She nodded mutely.
He laughed knowing she was probably too embarrassed to say anything else, but wanting to show that her good natured kidding hadn't caused any offense. The rest of the trip back up to the infirmary was passed in silence. Although, once they had entered the med bay and she was helping him back onto his gurney, he couldn't resist just one more little jab.
"Remind me the next time we're planet side together to keep you at the front of the formation."
She nodded silently again before turning to leave. She stopped short just before the door to half turn. "Probably just so you can gawk at my legs without me noticing."
He smiled. "Guilty."