Chapter 40: A long goodbye and a short farewell

-Citadel, The Flux

Danger gazed at her surroundings and smiled serenely. It was the last day of her "vacation", and she had dragged Jane and Liara out to the bar for one last hurrah. The past three days of her stay had been spent pouring over old digital textbooks and notes, teaching Tali the ancient human language that had reminded the mercenary of the geth's programming. It was fun work and she didn't mind getting to hang out with the brilliant quarian, but after days of nothing but spaghetti code and algorithms, she was more than ready for a few drinks. She raised her glass, and leaned back in her chair to enjoy it.

She thought about the quarian, and how much fun it had been to hang out with someone who understood and loved the things she did. Tali had picked the language up almost immediately, and they spent the rest of the hours trying to combine bits of the quarian code with bits of the programs she had made. It was the most fun Danger had ever had sober. In the end, they didn't come up with anything particularly useful, but it was still progress toward figuring out a way to shut down the geth forever, and the two hackers enjoyed the last bit of time they had together.

Now, the mercenary was sitting in a booth with what she considered to be her two best friends in the world, just slowly sipping a popular Earthen drink commonly referred to as ale.

"I'm going to miss this place, Jane."

Jane scanned the room. "The bar? Surely there are bars on Thessia."

"Yea, but all they drink there is wine. It's disgusting, really, and I'm not entirely convinced it isn't poisonous to us."

"It is not poisonous, Danger." Liara interrupted. "It is just an acquired taste."

"Right. Is pizza an acquired taste?"

"Well, no…"

"That's because it tastes good, no matter what species you are. That wine is disgusting. Terriana tried to feed it to me one night. I swear the woman is trying to kill me. I'm sure she was using it to mask the rat poison she put in the food, but I'm onto her. It's a miracle I'm still alive. Thank all the gods for Rolus' wife. She's a human, you know. I have to escape to their apartments just to get some decent food."

Jane looked at her friend and laughed. She knew Danger was exaggerating, but she was happy that it seemed like the mercenary was starting to cheer up again. Mentioning Terriana the way she did was certainly a good sign. It was clear that Danger was pleased at returning to the asari home world, even if she wouldn't come out and admit the real reason why. That asari brought something different out in the mercenary, and it was something Jane was glad to see. She looked around the room again.

"I'm sure she wasn't trying to kill you, Danger."

"She was. And she would have succeeded too if I hadn't seen the poison in the kitchens just the day before. There it was: a huge sack of some sort of white powder. It was clearly meant to take out targets about my size. I had sneaked down there to grab a snack. These asari don't eat like we do, Jane. She was trying to starve me."

"So first she was trying to poison you, and then she tried to starve you?" Jane glanced behind them and then looked at Liara. "I thought asari took the direct approach when making someone disappear." Liara just shrugged.

"It is possible that the matriarch wants to handle the matter quietly. She is a very important political figure, you know. How would it look if she were to stab Danger or, maybe shoot her? Very messy. That would get a lot of bad press."

Danger slammed her hand on the table. "Damn it Liara, don't make suggestions like that. She might even have me bugged. Don't give her ideas!"

Jane and Liara looked at each other, then at the grinning mercenary, and the three of them burst into laughter.

Jane wiped a tear from her eye and put her hand over her friend's. "It was good having you here, Danger. This was a lot of fun. You really helped my crew a lot, and I feel like we're finally ready now to get on with the mission."

"Hey Jane, what are friends for if not to hook you up with whores? Don't be a stranger this time, either. We shouldn't go months at a clip without talking. It's just not healthy for our relationship you know. You never know when someone is going to snatch me up. I'm a pretty good catch. You better make a move and fast."

"Right, Danger." She rolled her eyes and scanned the room for the fourth time. She was a little on edge since their last time visiting a bar, but Danger had insisted they come out for a drink before she left. "You don't see anyone suspicious, do you?"

Danger shook her head. "I see some religious nuts proselytizing, but nothing overtly suspicious." She gestured behind her to a group of asari dressed in dark robes, passing out pamphlets.

"I know what you are worried about. He won't come after me again so soon, and this bar isn't the kind of place that lets random packs of commandos hang about and drag people out the back door without a really good reason. Relax, Jane. I'm back to being myself again now, mostly. I put out some feelers to see if anyone has seen Red. He will turn up eventually. Shit always floats to the top, right? Speaking of shit, Tattoo sends his regards, Liara."

The asari nodded.

"Tattoo? Is there something I should know about?" Jane looked at the two of them suspiciously, recalling the name vaguely through the haze that clouded the years.

It can't be the same one…

Liara shook her head. "He contacted me when you and Danger were kidnapped. I did not spend much time with him. He simply gave me a name, and suggested where they might have taken you. The rest Tali and Garrus figured out. If I had not met him, we may not have found you in time, Jane."

"I had a feeling he was your source. He dropped some hints and stuff like that, probably trying to get off my shit list. He isn't necessarily a bad dude, but he definitely was mixed up in some questionable activities back in the day. I wouldn't trust him, Liara. He may have done this out of some twisted sense of honor or debt repayment to me for saving his kid all those years ago, but he's the kind that will switch sides in a heartbeat if the price is right. Just… don't get too tangled with those kinds of folk. Information brokers are your friends until they aren't anymore, and sometimes the questions you ask are more dangerous than the answers they provide."

"When did you start talking in riddles, Danger?" Jane studied her friend, wondering what kind of jobs the mercenary had done during the long years she had spent alone. She never really asked, and as with just about everything else, Danger rarely offered up information.

The mercenary just threw her head back and laughed. "I'm just passing along words of wisdom that were passed to me. Information is a funny thing. It's not like weapons or slaves or tangible stuff like that. Physical things are easy to put value on, and easy to trace. Words… not so much. You ask one seemingly innocuous question, and all of a sudden you are smack in the middle of some major conspiracy against some big corporation and every merc within a hundred light years is gunning for your head. You know… I've heard." Danger scratched the back of her neck and tried to look innocent.

"Right... So what are your plans after this?"

"Ned is still here. Since we never got to play the last war game, he has just been hanging out and getting wasted with his crew. I still paid him you know. It wasn't his fault we got kidnapped, it was mine. So they have been living it up for the last few days, on me. I don't mind. I figure I'll spend another day or two here getting drunk with them, and then head back to Thessia… slowly. There are a few places I can visit on the way."

"Are you serious? I thought you would be in a hurry to get back there."

"Well... I kinda am, but I should probably start acting a little more like a mercenary and a little less like a high schooler with a crush. Mercenaries show up when they feel like it, and they leave the second the credstick is in their hands. They don't hang about, guarding things that are already well-protected, and they don't fall in… Well there are just a lot of things they don't do. I'm still not sure how everything is going to work out with that commando, but I can promise you that this time I won't be so naive. This time I know the score, Jane. So far it's Terriana 1, Danger 0, but that's about to change. This is just another job to me now."

"If you are so adamant about this being just a 'job', why didn't you take what the Alliance offered you?" Jane looked quizzically at the mercenary, wondering what was going on in the woman's head. She was half tempted to see if Liara would be willing to poke around in there a little… Surely there would be interesting bits of information floating about in Danger's mess of a mind that even the honorable and moral asari couldn't resist…

"I don't know. Udina said it would be there if I changed my mind, so it doesn't really matter. It's not like I'm hurting for it or anything, Jane. I still have plenty of time to decide. We'll see." She finished her drink and put her coaster on top of it. "I'm going to head back to the ship and get my things packed." She got up and walked over to the bartender, handing over her credstick and gesturing to the table the three had occupied, indicating she was covering whatever her friends wanted. Then, she gave Jane her best impression of an Alliance salute, and left the bar.

Jane looked at Liara, but the asari was watching Danger leave. The commander started tracing around the rim of her glass with her left forefinger. "So, are you going to tell me about this… Tattoo character?"

Liara looked back at Jane. "There is nothing to tell. I went looking for you and Danger, and he had apparently been tailing her for some time."

"Why was he tailing her?"

"He did not really say. I assumed it had to do with this Jacob Red person. Who is he?"

"I don't know, Liara. He's apparently just some guy that Danger pissed off, but I mean he's only one of probably thousands over the years. Still, this one was mad enough to try and get revenge, and he's probably still out there. I hope she's right about him staying out of asari space."

"I am going to miss her."

Jane smiled sadly and took Liara's hands. She stared in the direction Danger had been walking and nodded. "Yea, I'm going to miss the grinning idiot too, but she has to do this you know. She's been absolutely miserable here, and I don't know if you've noticed, but she seems a little happier now that she's headed back to Thessia."

"Of course I noticed, Jane. Her aura has shifted heavily, almost back to where it was when we met her and Terriana here for drinks. Almost…"

"Good. I'm not going to pretend I know what is going on with the two of them, but it's clear they are miserable without each other. I still can't believe the matriarch is offering Udina space on an asari world. I hope he doesn't screw it up."

"I am sure it will be fine, Jane. Our species are well suited to one another." She smiled warmly at the commander, and Jane nodded her agreement.

Jane motioned to the waitress to bring her another round. "Can I have a menu too? Thanks."

She turned to Liara. "Are you hungry? We might as well eat, since Danger is paying. I'm sure that she is going to take her time packing and ten to one, Garrus and Tali are hanging around the Mako. Those three will be chatting for at least another hour before we have to worry about her leaving."

"Yes, that is good idea." She scooted next to the human to get a better look at the menu, and they both indicated to the waitress their orders.

"Great. I wanted to ask you more about… Well about that whole thing with Danger getting burned and the biotics. You said something about your goddess, but we never really had a chance to talk about it."

Liara inhaled deeply, and wondered where to begin. She knew more about the subject than she really cared to, thanks to her mother, but she didn't want to give the human the impression she actually believed in any of it.

"Jane, it is really hard to say what it was that happened to Danger. My mother taught religion and philosophy, and she appeared to be a firm believer in Athame, but I always thought it was just a big show. There are so few among us now who actively and openly worship the goddess. It fell out of style, so to speak, millennia ago, when we started developing technology in earnest. By the time we reached the Citadel, asari outside of Thessia had all but forgotten her very name."

"Yea, what about those," Jane started to gesture to the group of maidens who had been handing out pamphlets outside the bar, but they were gone. "Well, they were there." Liara nodded.

"There are of course, groups like that all over the galaxy. It is mostly the young ones, who are looking for something to believe in or something to give them purpose. Not all of us follow that path, though. I never understood why my mother, who was so wise, spent so much time pouring over the old texts dealing with legends of Athame."

"You don't believe in her."

"I… No I do not. At least, I do not think that she is as the legends say. It is possible she was simply a kind and compassionate woman who once walked among our people and performed great works, and eventually she was elevated to deity status. I never really spent much time worrying about it. My mother taught me the legends, and let me make my own choice. I am more interested in the Protheans, and they do not really have much to do with Athame."

"Tell me about these legends. Are there any of her burning people alive?"

Liara nodded. "There is one legend, but it is unclear and no one believes it is ever to be an actual event. There is a story in ancient texts, telling of a soul that will be able to stand in the presence of the goddess' full fury, and channel her powers. The burning is just a side effect, and legend has it that if the soul survives, she will be marked by the goddess as her consort, and upon her death, she will ascend to the black halls and sit by the side of Athame for the rest of eternity. The Goddess herself will bear daughters, and her new brood will capture moons as their thrones and rule the skies, bringing a hundred thousand years of peace and prosperity to the asari. It is just a child's fairy tale, though. It encourages young maidens to strive for excellence that they might someday be the chosen of Athame. I do not think that even the zealots take it seriously."

"You said something about special bloodlines. What is that all about?"

Liara took a breath and continued. "That legend tells of one soul, but there are many others of Athame falling in love with various asari over the years and descending from her throne to mate with them. The stories regarding the progeny of these unions range from relatively benign to absolutely ridiculous and it would take me years to tell you all of them. Some of our people say that Athame would take a mate once per millennia, and others still think she visits our people regularly, spreading her seed across the land, forever adding new traits to our kind. However, no one has claimed to have actually seen her in seven hundred years."

"Tell me about that. What happened?"

"There was once a group of young asari maidens who had been spending a lot of time misbehaving and causing no end of trouble to their village. The six of them were restless, and wanted to travel to the stars, but they were still too young to be considered for any flight crews and so they occupied themselves with getting into mischief. One night they raided a local warehouse and stole some wine, and then gathered in a field near a small compound where a lone woman lived tending her pets. They often came to this spot because the woman never left her house, and it was far enough from the rest of the village that no one would come out there to bother them. The six of them built a fire and drank the wine, talking late into the night."

She cleared her throat and continued.

"It was clear and bright, and the moon was full. The sky was peaceful, and one by one they laid down in the grass and gazed up at the stars. As they beheld the dotted velvet blanket covering the planet, wishing that they were on a starship exploring the galaxy, they noticed a shadow pass across the brilliant night sky. They all sat up to see where it went, and legend says that the figure they saw was that of a winged demon descending upon on the house and entering through the crystalline window. They were emboldened by the liquor they had imbibed, and crept closer to investigate. They heard screams coming from inside the house, and fearing that the villager was in danger; they broke down the door and entered. When the six arrived at the topmost room, they found the woman cradling a newborn, and the goddess kneeling over the two, wrapping them in her massive wings."

"What happened to the six asari?"

"The legend says that the goddess touched each one on the head with one of her six hands, and proclaimed them honored daughters and guardians of her brood. She then left the woman and child in their care, and departed the planet to attend a meeting of the Pantheon. They took up positions around the small compound and defended it for the next five hundred and seventy five years, until the mother died, and the child, in her grief, flew over the moon and disappeared into space, never to be seen again. The legend says that Athame returned shortly thereafter, and was so heartbroken when she found her love had died and her child had run away that she made it rain over the village for a century. She then gathered the six who had given over half their lives to guard her family, and ascended back into the heavens with them. None of them were ever seen again."

"That's a heck of a legend, Liara."

"It is just a tale. Nobody actually believes that it rained over one village for a century, or that six asari guarded a house with no food, drink, or sleep for half a millennia. It is just a beautiful story that someone came up with and somehow it managed to get penned into some theology books. Humans have similar tales, do they not?"

Jane nodded. It was true. Her people had stories just as wild and exotic about angels and demons, and Jane really shouldn't have been surprised that the asari did too.

"Thanks for telling me that, Liara, but I don't think I'm any closer to really understanding what happened to Danger."

"I am sure it was just something to do with her trying to use biotics without her amp. Remember, humans are still new to the technology. We asari mastered it long ago."

Jane wasn't convinced. "Liara, you saw that hole. That wasn't a human's barely competent use of light biotics. Something big made that happen."

Liara shrugged. "Maybe, but we already are having a hard enough time convincing the council to take action. Do you really think that going in there with stories of Athame will win their support? Jane, I grew up in a religious household and was taught nearly everything there is to know about the goddess, and even I find the idea a little hard to swallow."

"No, I suppose we can't go to them with wild tales about asari gods." Jane leaned back in her seat and threw her napkin down on the plate. "I'm sure you are right. I mean, what the heck could a goddess want with an idiot like Danger anyway?" She laughed, and then pushed away from the table. "We had better get going. I want to see Danger off." She held out a hand and Liara allowed the human to help her out of the seat.

Jane thought about her dream, and Liara's stories, as she tossed a few cred notes on the table for the waitress and led the asari away.

I don't know Liara; a few years ago I might have thought things like Prothean Beacons and Conduits and ships that can control thoughts were just fairy tales as well or possibly just the imaginings of a madman. All of a sudden though, it seems like our worst nightmares are coming to life. And you know what? It might not be that bad an idea to have a couple gods on our side... not a bad idea at all.

-Normandy, Comm room

Jane and Liara entered the Normandy, and noticed that the bridge was almost completely silent.

"Joker, what's going on?"

"Everyone is in the comm room saying goodbye to Danger, Commander."

She nodded. Of course everyone would have gathered for this. Ashley probably coordinated it. She nodded to Liara to go ahead and turned to Joker. "You want to come say goodbye too?"

"You bet I do. It's just… You know."

"Yea, I know Joker," she said as she wrapped his arm around her neck and helped the man walk toward the comm room.

"She's really great you know. You should see some of the vids she set up for me. Real classy stuff."

"Joker, I really don't want to know…"

"Sure, you say that now, but after you watch it once, you wonder how you ever survived without it!"

"I'll take your word for it." She punched in the sequence to open the comm room doors, and had to step back as people practically fell out of the small room.

"Ow, damn it what's going on in here? Ash, can you come help Joker for a second?" the gunnery chief pushed her way through the sea of humanity, and took Joker's arm from the commander.

"I had no idea we even had this many crew members, Commander."

"I don't think we do gunny. I don't recognize half these people." She took a stance right in front of the doors and switched to her 'commander' voice. "All right folks, party's over. Time to get out of here. You don't have to go home but you can't stay here!"

Slowly, people started filing out of the room, all of them shaking Danger's hand or slapping her on the back as they walked by. Jane watched them all leave, and when all that was left was the core crew, she, Ashley, and Joker walked in. The commander turned around, and set a lock on the door to dissuade any of Danger's admirers from trying to get back into the room.

The mercenary slumped down in a seat next to Tali, and breathed a sigh of relief. She had always hated long goodbyes, and this one was shaping up to be one of the worst. The entire crew had turned out to see her off, even some of the humans who ran the various stations around the ship she had never even met. Handshake after handshake, hug after hug, it never seemed to end. A couple of them even tried to make out with her, but luckily Jane managed to calm them all down and get everyone out of the room but the core crew group.

Danger looked around at each of them, and her heart ached. She wanted to stay, but she knew she had to go. She had to do this, and she had already given Jane pretty much all the help she could. The Mako was running better than ever, and she had passed on as much mechanical knowledge as she could to Garrus in the short time they had together. There wasn't much more she could do. Jane already had plenty of muscle that was far better trained and ready for war time than the covert operative. Danger's job here was done, and it was time for her to go home.

Yes, it's time for me to go home. I can almost convince myself it really was just a little vacation, and she will be waiting for me with open arms…

Danger stood and picked up her bag. "Everyone, this has really been great and I hope I get to see you all again before you get yourselves killed. You are really the best crew in the universe, and if Jane ever gives you a hard time, you call me and I'll straighten her out."

Jane aimed a kick at her friend's shin, but there was barely any force behind it. She was focusing more on trying to keep her eyes dry.

"Danger, why don't we take everyone to the Mako and get a group holo to remember this by?" Jane asked.

"That's a great idea! Let's get down there!" Danger led them out of the comm room and slowly made her way down to the garages. She looked around at the ship as she walked, and felt a brief pang of regret at taking this job.

You know, it would have been nice to serve on this starship with Jane. I could have hung out with Tali and Garrus all the time, and filled my days with nothing but machine code. Who knows, maybe in a year or two Tali and I could have cracked the geth wide open. I guess I'll just have to settle for messages during off duty hours.

They arrived at the garages, and she dropped her bag next to the vehicle. She and Garrus helped Joker get seated on the hood, and the rest of the crew, except for Tali and Garrus, took up positions along the roof of the machine. Danger leaned up against the side of the car and grinned. Garrus opened the passenger side door to reveal DIDI, and then sat down in the vehicle next to the AI. Tali took up a position on the human's left, between her and Garrus. Jane placed her Omni-tool on some cargo crates, pushed a few buttons, and then ran back to Danger's right. The mercenary wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulder, gave the thumbs up to the Omni-tool with her other hand, and the crew of the Normandy smiled widely as the moment was forever immortalized in digital form.

"Well… I guess that's it, Danger…" Jane said, as they all started moving again.

"I guess so, Jane. It's time for me to get going."

Danger hugged each of the crew members, as they left the garages and went back to their various duties.

Ashley and Joker were first, and the gunnery chief swiped at her eyes as she stepped back.

"Jane's right about you, Chief. You really are a great soldier. They will realize it before the end."

"Thanks, Danger."

"Joker, you really are the best in the fleet. I hope you make good use of those navigational tweaks, and the new… instructional… vids."

Joker grinned widely at the mercenary. "You bet I will, Danger. You come back here anytime. You're welcome in my cockpit day or night." He threw his arm back around Ashley, and they made their way back up to the bridge.

Danger threw her head back and laughed. "Yea, I bet. Take care of yourself, Joker."

Kaidan was next. "Thanks again for saving my niece, Danger."

"Don't mention it, Kaidan… like, ever again…"

"Right, I didn't mean to… Yea. Sorry."

"Nevermind." She wrapped her arms around the man's neck and squeezed him tightly. She whispered in his ear, "That Williams is one hot piece of ass. You should totally tap that, bro."

Kaidan pulled away blushing.

"Ha, go get her, Lieutenant." She gave him her best impression of an Alliance salute, and watched him walk away.

Wrex stepped up to her next, and for a second she was worried he would attack her if she tried to hug him. But, she threw her arms around his massive neck anyway, and said, "You will find your way, Wrex. Now that you've seen what's really going on out here, you can lead your people into a better life."

The krogan nodded, and stepped back. "Perhaps you humans aren't as weak as we thought. There is strength and courage in your kind." He glanced at the commander, then back at Danger, and walked out of the room.

Liara fairly threw herself into Danger's arms, knocking the human back a few steps. "Gosh Liara, calm down!" She put her arms around the asari, and whispered, "You know, you really have Jane in a knot. Don't you think it's about time you threw her a bone, and you know, sealed the deal?"

Liara closed her eyes and nodded into the human's shoulder. Mentally, she sent a message and hoped the human received it.

I know, Danger, and I am working on it. You do not have to worry about Jane. I am in love with her, and I will take care of her while you are gone.

Danger pulled away and smiled at the young woman. "Good. Jane is lucky as hell to have someone like you."

Liara brushed her hand across Danger's cheek, and then left the garages. She figured Jane would want time alone with her friend, and she needed to go see the gunnery chief about upgrading her weapons anyway.

Finally, Garrus and Tali walked up to her. She embraced Garrus first. "You are the best guy I've ever met, Garrus. You know, if I wasn't already with, and well, didn't already lean toward… you know… that too… and like, the whole interspecies thing… well we might have really been something."

Garrus laughed and squeezed his human friend tightly. "Thanks for all that you taught us, Danger. This car is running better than ever, and I can't wait to get her out in the field again."

"Not a problem. I'm happy to help."

Tali walked up to her next, and Danger's breath slightly caught as they both hesitated a little. The mercenary studied the quarian, and wished, not for the first time and certainly not for the last, that she could see inside that mask. It seemed like the environment within was darker than usual, and she couldn't make out the young woman's facial expressions. She stood there and stared for a few minutes, and then suddenly reached out and pulled the young engineer close.

"I'm going to miss you most of all, Tali."

The quarian just nodded, and held onto the human. After a few moments, Danger heard Jane clear her throat, and knew it was time to leave. She held Tali for a second longer, and then let her go. She picked up her bag, nodded to her two hacker friends, and turned to exit the Normandy with Jane, ready to start the next chapter in her life.

-Normandy, Garages

Tali leaned against the Mako and watched the human mercenary walk away. She tapped on her Omni-tool thoughtfully, and then punched in a short message. It was received almost immediately, and the human stopped, quickly read it, and turned around. Danger stood there looking at her for a few moments, and then saluted the quarian from the bottom of the exit ramp, a sad smile on her lips and tears in her eyes. Tali just watched the human's face as the door slowly lifted and closed itself, finally hiding the motionless extraction specialist from her view. She nodded to herself, and then turned back to the equipment she and Garrus had laid out on the roof of the Mako.

"So… what do you think of that Danger character?" Garrus asked her.

"I think she's brilliant. She would make a fine gift to the flotilla. I could end my pilgrimage right now, take her home with me and live happily ever after. I'm sure they would make an exception for someone with her knowledge."

"Since when do you bat for the other team?" he asked, grinning.

"I don't actually. Well, at least I don't think I do. But you have to admit, Danger is a very… unique and interesting individual."

"Yea," he agreed. "You know, it's too bad I didn't meet her first. That asari doesn't know what she threw away."

"Hmph. It's too bad I didn't meet her first. You wouldn't have stood a chance anyway."

"You're probably right. All the good ones are either taken or not interested, right?"

"Right. Look at this," Tali said, showing Garrus her Omni-tool. "Can you believe that she increased the efficiency on this program tenfold by just flipping this bit?"

Garrus looked over at the program and shook his head. "Who would have thought of that? She bypassed the need for at least fifteen loops. I'm not sure it's the way I would have gone… Who wants to do extra work every time you update? But still… yea, I see the value."

"I might just kidnap her to the flotilla anyway. To hell with her asari. They are the scourge of the universe. They wander about, leaving broken hearts in their wake and never even realize they are causing actual pain to living people. There's just too many of them. They are arrogant and completely oblivious to their effect on everyone, and when they are around no one else stands a chance. And they are always around…"

"I dare you to kidnap her."

Tali leaned up against the Mako and stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. "No, she is in love with that asari. You can see it in her eyes. There is no room for anyone else, not at the moment, anyway. I will have to continue my pilgrimage, but," she tapped her Omni-tool, "at least I have increased my knowledge base. This data might help correct our mistakes with the geth."

Garrus just nodded. "Yea. I hope that everything works out for her."

"I do, too. Well… sort of. Anyway, let's get back to these new upgrades. I am curious to try out some of her bit flipping techniques on this new specialty hardware. "

"Right."

They turned to get back to work on installing the new parts in the Mako. Garrus wanted the machine in top shape for the commander's next operation, and he was working especially hard after hearing about the weapons failure during the gunnery chief's rescue mission. He blamed himself for not testing the weaponry thoroughly, and it didn't matter to him that Danger had planned it and planted the ammunition where he and Tali would buy it. It was still his responsibility, and he was going to make it up to the commander.

"So, what did you tell her, anyway?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Don't be coy with me, Tali. I saw you send that message. What did you tell her?"

"Oh. I just told her if it didn't work out with that matriarch, the migrant fleet could always use another hacker."

Garrus smiled. "I knew it. You know, those masks don't hide everything."

"No, perhaps they don't. Here, hold this." She handed him an alligator clip attached to a grounding wire, and then opened an electronics panel on the Mako. The two of them looked at each other, and then fell against the side of the car in hysterics as DIDI roared to life and demanded to know what they were doing under her skirts.