Hey everyone sorry for the long delay was moving cross country and that took a lot of me but I am back and ready to continue on with our story this chapter is going to be kind of slow but it's import to Tali and Shepard new relationship without further adieu chapter 4
Also I highly recommend listening to down with the fallen by starset for this chapter
Chapter 4: A Long Night
Shepard made his way to his new quarters after grabbing some items from his locker. Once he was he inside he looked around his new room, "I guess it could be worse." He walked over to his desk laying some paperwork on it before pulling out a bottle of liquor from his bag.
Sitting on the bed he pulls himself a glass, the liquid burning as he drinks it. This happens for a good while before he lays down and passes out into sleep.
The highway is dark minus a faint red glow shepard is running the only thing he hears is gunfire, "Come in! Jackson? White? Does anyone copy" only static "Damn it!" he finally reaches a door slamming his way through it only to be greeted with bodies
He looks around hoping to find someone alive then a voice just a whisper "Your fault."
Looking around for the source only finding himself alone the voices getting louder and louder.
"Your fault. Your fault. Your fault! Your fault!" the bodies start to get up surrounding him.
"No I tried!" He screams before nothing
Shepard jumps out of bed screaming before he gets his Bering looking around he find the bottle quickly taking a drink from it. Checking the time only to find it's just been 3 hours "Well most everyone should be asleep" he gets dressed in his gym clothes and heads to the cargo hold.
Tali tosses and turns in her sleeping pod "keelah how does anyone sleep." she decides to go back down to engineering. As she makes her way to the elevator not really pay attention she runs right into Shepard, she gets knocked back falling down.
"Why don't you watch where you are going bosh-" getting cut off after realizing who it is.
"Hey snipes going somewhere?" He offers her his hand, Blushing Tali grabs it as he lift her up
"I...I'm..I mean what are you doing up so late?" Tali cursed herself trying to figure out why she had such a hard time talking to him.
Shepard chuckled thinking how cute it was when she tripped over her words "Can't sleep so having a drink care to join me?"
"S..sure" Tali told him as they took the elevator down once they reached the cargo hold Shepard climb on top of the mako and reached down "well come on"
Tali grab his hand climbing up the sat next to each other not speaking for a moment, she looked at him seeing sadness in his eyes. "Something on your mind Shepard?"
He just sat there taking another drink from his bottle" Just thinking a lot is riding on us to find Saran.."
"That's not the only thing is it?" trying to pry more from him.
"No it's not…Just things from my past still haunting me" He looked at her, he felt he could talk to her and that she would pity him at least he hoped
"Like what?"
Shepard took a breath "Have you ever heard of torfan?" Tali shook her head
"A lot of good people died there and it's how I got my nickname because of my actions."
Almost scared to ask Tali spoke up "What's the name? And what happened?"
Shepard eyes looked like there was nothing in them as he spoken "Me and my team were sent there to stop some batarian slavers once we landed we made our way to their compound , once inside I decide to split the team to cover more ground. Needless to say it was a bad Idea. I lost the people I was with in the first three minutes, soon the comms picked the rest of my team was surround and taking heavy losses I made my way to their location." He took another drink
"By the time I got there everyone was died and I lost it. I went after the Batarians, killing everyone I saw soon I was outside, I got surround by them."
"How did you make it out?" Tali asked
"I killed them every last one of them, even when the rest tried to surrender. By the time I was picked up by the rescue team I was covered in blood and wounded pretty badly. From that point on I was known as the Butcher of Torfan."
Tali was shocked by his story she couldn't imagine what that must have been like see reached over grabbing his arm, he looked at her. "I'm sorry.." he smiled slightly, "Thanks feels kind of good to talk about it."
"But I've been talking to much your turn."
Tali start off by telling him a little bit about the flotilla but soon moved to her time on the citadel before they met, before she could continue with her story Joker came on the comms
"Uh commander we have a incoming distress signal from a nearby system"
"I'll be right there Joker...Same time tomorrow Snipes?" Shepard asked smiling
"S..sure I'll go get ready in case you need me on the ground"
With that Shepard headed to the bridge
Again sorry for the delay tune in next time for X-57 as always review give some advice