Kal'Reegar – Present.
I wake up to find my nose congested with something awful and my head aching. I'm cold, even with the blanket someone has put over me, so I guess I'm running a fever. All in all, this is pretty normal given my suit puncture, and a lot better than it could have been. So long as I stay drugged up on medication for a day or so, it'll pass.
My throats dry and itchy and it hurts to swallow, but I reason part of that is because I haven't had anything to drink since before I even landed back at camp. But I've slept well, so that will help. And I can still consult with the turian General here, so long as he doesn't mind putting up with a sniffling and croaky quarian.
I push myself up onto my feet and wrap the blanket around my shoulders. Until I have to leave this tent, I'm keeping it with me to stay warm. I can hear someone murmuring to themselves and glance over. Squishy's crouched in the corner of the tent with his omni-tool open and working on some machine. I have no idea what he's doing, but he probably doesn't need to be distracted. So I'll make it brief.
I walk over to him but he doesn't notice until I put my hand on his shoulder and glance down at him. He looks up and pauses his work. "How are you feeling?"
"Awful, but it's from the infection not-" my head starts spinning suddenly and I stagger, before groaning and righting myself.
"Maybe you should sit down for a bit," Squishy chides gently.
"No, I need to speak with Kineka." I press a hand against my visor in vain hope that it might stop my head from throbbing.
"He's going to have to send a team to take back the radio tower," Squishy murmurs. "We can't fix it on this end."
I thought as much, but given how suicidal taking the tower back would be from what I saw of it... I sigh and shrug my shoulders. It still has to be done. I can't see Kineka sending his own men when he seems to think it's so unimportant, but we're technically not under his command.
"I'll speak for you from an engineering perspective about the comm's relay," Squishy interrupts my thoughts. "But I doubt it will do much. Saul will probably support you, though, that might mean more."
I remember him mentioning Saul was the turian engineer he'd been working with. It might not be much of a help, but I'll take what I can get. I nod at him and thank him briefly. "I should go talk to Kineka."
Squishy doesn't reply but inclines his head towards me, and returns to his work. There's a comfortable silence for a few seconds, before I stagger out of the tent and groan again as the noise outside makes my head throb again.
Kal'Reegar – Haestrom.
Shepard is imposing, larger than life, and the kind of man who inspires loyalty and suicidal tendencies the moment he walks into a room. Or the urge to shut him up, if you're not into that whole Reaper theory he's always going on about. To be honest, I don't really have the time right now to give a damn either way. I'm just glad he's here.
I guess it's a testimony to his legendary status that he can appear at the worst possible times and right when you really need someone with a bunch of guns help. I heard the explosion and screams over our patchy comms. I know the rest of my squad isn't alive any more if they're not here with Shepard.
There's a turian with him who looks like one side of his face got on the wrong end of an angry geth rocket trooper. I remember Tali talking about a turian she travelled with while on the Normandy more than once. She used to go all giggly, stare down at her fingers as she wound them together and I swear, even with the mask, her blush was almost visible. I think she called him Garrus. He looks like a nice enough guy, even with half the side of his face blown off.
And also with them is- I startle as Shepard crouches next to me in cover. "Commander," I start in a hiss. "You've got a geth right behind you!"
Shepard frowns at me for a second as if he's not entirely sure what I mean, and then glances at the geth next to him holding a sniper rifle. Recognition dawns on his face and he gives me a reassuring, "he's with us."
The geth turns to face me and I flinch, fingers reaching for the trigger on my rocket launcher out of habit. "We will fight for Shepard Commander against the geth."
"Normally that wouldn't sit with me," I start but note Shepard's stern look and reconsider. "But I'll let it slide this time." And you can be fucking sure I'll be keeping my eye on him, I add to myself.
There's shot from the courtyard in front of us and I remember the situation. Turning to Shepard, I explain what I can in the shortest way possible and hope we can sort this out together.
o0o
They're talking about something as I hobble like a cripple up the corridor, and I pick up enough of it that I realise Tali's probably going to leave with Shepard and join him again. I'm not surprised, after all, that's why Shepard came here. And Shepard always gets what he wants from what I've heard, even if that means banging his head against a wall and screaming loud enough that people eventually cave in. Or headbutting krogan into submission. And he did kill the colossus and forced me to stand down against my wishes, which probably is the only reason I'm still alive right now, so I guess it would be rude to try and stop him taking Tali.
My arm's curled around my abdomen but it's not really making much of a difference, I'm still in pain, and my mind is going a little delusional from all the antibiotics coursing through my veins. But I can walk, and so help me, I'm not going to die today because of a bleeding suit puncture.
I can see Squishy ahead, too. He looks miserable, like he's not even paying any attention to the conversation going on because his thoughts are somewhere else entirely. None of them have seen me yet.
"I lost my entire crew except for Beir for this data," Tali says bitterly. "It better be worth it."
"Not just Squishy," I manage to croak out, and everyone's attention snaps to me.
Shepard's expression doesn't really change, although he does give Tali a brief look that speaks volumes of well, whoops, sorry I forgot to mention he was still alive. I realise then that they thought I was dead, perhaps even before Shepard came, since the moment Squishy saw me take that colossus' attack and our radio contact cut off.
I barely have time to process any of it between the scream of, "Bosh'tet!" from Squishy and the punch landing square along my jawline. A groan leaves my lips and I curse him. As if I wasn't aching enough the way it was, without that adding to it.
He's shaking me now. "I swear, if you ever do something that suicidal, that stupid again I-"
But I don't hear the rest, because between his fists pounding against my chest in anger, I'm staring at Tali. And I'm smiling, because I can practically see the look that she's giving the turian under her mask, and the look he's giving her back, and I know that I was completely right.
Squishy/Beir – Haestrom.
After Shepard, Tali, the turian and the geth with them (the Commander was smart enough to have the geth wait outside when he came into the conservatory to speak with Tali, but we both almost shot it when we saw it afterwards) left, it took a while to get through to high command. But we managed it eventually and relayed what had happened. They seemed remorseful that nearly our entire squad had died, but it didn't sit right and felt as if they were only expressing their condolences because they felt obliged to.
But either way, it doesn't matter. We decided on leaving the next morning, given Reegar's injury and while he slumped down in a corner and treated himself, I packed up what supplies and equipment we were taking with us and gave our ship a brief look over. Reegar said he didn't think it had been damaged by the geth, and he was right, apart from some superficial scratches here and there. It'll be strange trying to fly it with just two people, but we should be able to manage so long as we're not attacked.
I'm just about finished disentangling some wires from one of our machines in the communal rooms when someone grabs me by the shoulders. There's a flash of red enviro-suit and I realise it's Reegar before he's pushed me into the wall and looming over me. I frown at him before my eyes widen in surprise as his hand trails down the front of my suit and tries to grope me.
"Reegar!" I clasp my hands to his shoulders and push him away. It's not particularly difficult and he staggers. "You.." I sigh as recognition dawns. "You're delirious," I state bluntly.
He tries to resist me half-heartedly. "Stop moving, you're... making difficult... ugh..." He's swaying and I'm surprised he's managing to stay awake at all. The medications he would have taken make you sleepy and most people collapse into a near comatose like state soon afterwards.
Reegar almost falls over and I grab and lower him to the ground. I realise now he's half asleep already. He rolls over onto his side and mumbles something I can't make out and I roll my eyes at him. Idiot fell asleep on the wires I was trying to pack. Now I'll have to wait till morning.
I figure that's a better excuse for my annoyance than some of his other choice actions.
