It saddens me to inform our submitters that, while i do enjoy the OC's submitted, they shall not play a role in this fic. Apologies, but there can only be so many women in a harem without the original, prime female becoming so fed up as to simply leave, and we dont want that. (All 'companion' slots for the commander have been filled with every canon female quarian who has made an appearance. Well, nearly every female quarian)

So no OC's shall be included from this point onward. My sincerest apologies to those whom i promised their OC's to have an appearance.

You CAN however submit these OC's and any character you may wish to have an appearance in a stand-alone one-shot with Shepard and, optionally, any quarian of your choosing, unofficially being an addition to the clan which is Shepards.

Again, i apologize and do hope you all can forgive me.

And so it begins...

Shepard was relatively calm and collected. Or so it appeared. Standing with his arms crossed, it was understandable why the famous commander was internally insecure. Even more so as he stood between his love interest, Tali, and the woman she seemed to glare venomously at, Iya.

He wished for things to progress smoothly without incident, but as soon as they stepped in the room, both women began sizing each other up, scanning each other carefully for reasons Shepard was slightly sure he knew, but didn't voice. It was already troubling him, having them see each other, and even more so when neither of them spoke, taking their time to look over each other. Thankfully, Tali seemed to have managed to gather enough 'intelligence' on Iya for her to begin speaking.

"Iya." she said, stressing the quarians name and giving a slight nod.

Iya didn't give the same impression. She responded casually. "You must be Tali'Zorah. You have quite a reputation for someone so young."

Tali was caught off guard by the compliment. She seemed hesitant to respond, uncertain of how she would do so anyways, but she managed to stop thinking of one and get back to the point mentally. She crossed her arms.

"Put the pleasantries aside, Iya. I'm not here for that."

Iya stared at Tali for a while. "Alright then." she said shortly after. She tried relaxing her body, shifting slightly. "I imagine you wish to throw me out the nearest airlock?"

"As much as I'd like to, its not an option. Not now, anyways." Tali replied. The sentence alone gave off just how much resentment she had towards her fellow quarian. Shepard figured, had he not been there, Tali wouldn't be keeping her hands to herself. As much as added to how uncomfortable he felt, he watched on silently, though ready if things went out of hand, which he hoped they wouldn't.

Iya managed to look surprised. "Oh? Well, considering Shepard already told you 'everything', which I'm sure he did since both of you are approaching me like this, I wouldn't think you'd try no less than just that."

"Don't push your luck." Tali replied, eyes squinting somewhat threateningly. Iya managed to keep to herself from that point, though she appeared visibly unmoved. Tali continued. "You put us all in a very grave position, Iya. One that doesn't just simply affect the three of us."

Iya seemed more attentive now. "Oh? Do tell."

Even for the simplest thing this quarian did, Tali found herself disliking Iya more and more. Were she thinking rationally, she'd have known exactly 'why' she was disliking this quarian greatly. "Politically, you've put us all in a horrible position, Iya. If you'd have 'died', things would be a hell of a lot worse. Thankfully, Shepard talked you out of that…"

Iya turned and nodded to the commander once, a gesture Tali hated to see before her. The bosh'teta…

"Your act of 'getting what you wanted' could have serious repercussions to relationships between the quarians and the humans!" Tali found herself declaring it. While it did provide her being able to tell Iya what is happening, it additionally served to bring this quarians attention on her entirely. She disliked the way she looked at Shepard…

"Understood." Iya said after a short pause. It wasn't entirely hard for this quarian to know exactly where Tali and Shepard were getting at. What surprised Shepard somewhat the most was how casually Iya was taking it. He didn't know whether it was some strange sense of determination, or if Xen's tutelage did more than simply show her how to make and break objects.

Tali only looked at her. More specifically, glared at her. Shepard wasn't sure if it'd ever go away. She continued. "You could have easily created a large sense of distrust between the Citadel races and our own in a time where things are only going to get worse. This is 'not' what we need, Iya. To make matters worse, the chances of that distrust forming is still possible."

Tali took a thoughtful silence, giving a soft sigh only Shepard heard. "Chances are, some people may have seen you and Shepard walking around. The same goes for entering your quarters as well as… leaving.. a time later." While Tali found it somewhat hard to say, Iya seemed to have no problem with the words Tali was saying. At least, she wasn't troubled visibly. Shepard figured his suspicions were correct. Xen had taught her to keep her visible appearance neutral and passive. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, however.

"With that in mind, the sickness you find yourself with only a while after Shepard left will probably make some people put two and two together. Undoubtedly a 'rumor' would arise and spread greatly, and since rumors aren't made lightly within our society without some form of truth, I am certain there would be a brief investigation." Tali sighed once more, shaking her head. "We need to avert attention from us. We need to come up with a plan…" Shepard and Iya looked at her until she finally said, "A plan Shepard and I have already made…"

Iya finally showed a form of intrigue, though her solid figure betrayed how uncertain and worried she was becoming of how her actions alone could cause so much damage. "A plan? For a situation of this magnitude? While I will admit, any morally sound reason is beyond me, I wouldn't hesitate to hear this plan of yours."

Tali continued to speak, doing more than beating Shepard from speaking. "We've determined that we'll need to… make some.. changes."

"To what?"

"Your past." Shepard finally spoke. Again, both quarians attention went to him. He tried voicing the result in a way that would appeal to both Iya and Tali. "We'll need to form a false bond between you and Tali, as in, we make you and Tali false long-time friends."

Iya tilted her head slightly, though she crossed her legs somewhat. "And how does that help?"

"It would give us a reason." Tali replied for him. "As your friend, you would play as a… deprived figure." Shepard figured it was rather hard for her to indulge in the plan they set forth. Nonetheless, it had to be done. "An explanation for this is that, as your 'friend', I… 'allowed' Shepard to be with you. To… help you experience intimacy."

Iya understood easily. "Give us a false history and say that, out of pity, you allowed Shepard to bed me. That way it would ruin suspicions of sorts, if not at least give us an explanation to what's happening." She was already running the entire scenario out in her mind. "While it would not get rid of all suspicion, at least not for a while, it does seem like a viable option. Though I must admit, coming from you, this plan surprises me."

"I see little enjoyment in it." Tali replied somewhat hostile. Keeping her hostile stance, Tali continued. "We'll have to implant false documents, chats and messages between us to strengthen the image of us being friends. That and we'll have to start knowing each others pasts."

Iya stared at Tali momentarily. She tilted her head slightly. "Thought all of this out already. Your reputation precedes you." She commented. Tali only shook her head.

"That's not all the specifics, but we'll fill you in later when there's more time allowed." Shepard concluded. "Overall, the result is this. You're stuck with us. We're stuck with you." He looked over to Tali and gestured to the door. He moved to it. Iya nodded to herself, understanding.

"Shepard." Tali said as they stood by the door. She spoke quietly to him. He nodded and left, the door opening and sealing behind him, leaving the two quarians alone. Tali turned around to Iya, who didn't appear moved at all.

"Listen to me, bosh'teta." Tali said, taking a few steps to her. Though her hostility was clear, Iya still didn't look moved. "We are doing this for the galaxy, not you. If this was a problem between only us and there were no such punishments, don't think I wouldn't try throwing you out the nearest airlock or bringing my shotgun."

Iya's eyes moved slightly. Tali took it as a form of understanding. "You wont do anything, anything, close to him or concerning him in any way." She kept her eyes locked on Iya's, who didn't blink at all as the two exchanged glances. Tali stepped back slightly. "I've been selfless all my life. The only thing I'll be selfish about, ever, is my mate, my lover, my Shepard." She kept her gaze until she was sure the message was clear. She moved away. "Try anything and you can expect me to come after you."

With the message clear, Tali left the room, stopping at the door only to say, "Get well soon" as a friend. With that, she left and the door sealed behind her.

Iya looked at the closed door for a second. She nodded off to herself slowly. She couldn't help but grin slightly at the quarians display. 'Shepard chose well…'

We can expect a few more short chapters following this. Apologies.