The soft chiming brought Alec out of his sleep. Blinking his eyes, he groaned as he adjusted his body position and turned off the built in alarm on his chronometer. Resting comfortably on his shoulder was a wisp of silvery hair atop a smooth grey head. Alec smiled at the sight, this part never got old even after twenty two years of marriage.

Tali was now starting to stir, she yawned as she slowly brought her head up. With the weight off his body, Alec left the bed and made for the bathroom, not wanting to waste any time. Depressing the button for the shower, he relaxed in the hot spray as he gradually became more awake.

He glanced over at the mirror on the side and ran a hand through his scalp. He noted the greying of his temples but rather oddly, he didn't care about the sign of age. Tali had mentioned that it made him look more "quarian" and that put a whole new perspective on the human aging process.

As if his thoughts were read out loud, he heard a slight scraping as the curtain to the shower was pulled away and he felt a pair of smooth arms wrap around his waist. He gave a smile; he always loved when she did this.

"Something on your mind?" a lovely voice swept through.

Alec turned to face Tali, who was edging into the spray of the shower, eager to feel water on her skin (a sensation that she had yet to take for granted). He wrapped his arms around her, feeling her warmth overpower the shower itself, "Just on how this day is going to turn out. I'm still very puzzled as to why the Council requested me, specifically."

"It should be fine. What could they possibly ask of you?"

Alec gave a laugh, "I have no idea."

Tali smiled as she rested her head against her husband's chest, feeling his heartbeat against his firm skin, "Should we start getting ready?"

Running a hand through her hair, Alec replied, "Might as well, if we want to get to the Citadel on time."

Rather reluctantly, they both finished up their chores in the bathroom and exited fifteen minutes later. Alec grabbed a pair of pants and a nondescript shirt, plus a worn and tired looking leather jacket. Tali stepped out of the bathroom in her new environment suit shortly after. She didn't need a helmet for this trip and every part on her suit was brand new. It featured more angular gauntlets, her boots were made out of tougher material, and she had appropriated a scarf, colored purple that she wrapped around her neck in place of her gold choker, which flowed down behind her. Her silver hair gleamed lusciously in the light as she checked herself over, making Alec give an appraising nod.

Leaving the room together, they walked down the stairs to find Garrus waiting at the foot. He was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, complete with the same glowing blue eyepiece.

"I was beginning to wonder if you two were ever going to come down," the turian growled.

"Quit your complaining, Garrus," Alec said. "We've got three hours until the meeting."

"Yeah, and the next shuttle to the Citadel from the city leaves in half an hour."

Alec waggled a finger, "We're not taking the shuttle."

Without waiting for a response, Alec and Tali walked over to a door on the side of the room. It slid open when Alec approached the green icon and they all stepped in. It was the size of a closet, nothing in it whatsoever. Garrus was about to make a snarky comment when the floor lurched and he could feel its descent.

"Elevator," Garrus said. "Tricky."

Uncharacteristically, the elevator reached its destination within fifteen seconds and Garrus breathed in sharply after seeing what the cavern they were now in contained.

The ship was large, by civilian standards, and featured a blue and white color scheme on its wings. It was lightly armored and moderately equipped with micro-turrets. It was a turian design and only now did Garrus recognize the ship.

"Is that…the ship that you got on Tuchanka?"

Alec grinned widely, "Same one, with a few extra upgrades. Garrus, meet the Alamo."

"Should I know what an Alamo is?"

Alec gave a shrug, "It was the site of a siege on Earth roughly two hundred years ago. It became the site of legend for the freedom fighters in the area and became the catalyst for independence at the time."

"Humans and your silly names. But why do you keep it in a cave?"

Tali now answered, "Have to, Garrus. Otherwise the elements will just eat away at it."

"Plus it saves us the costs of having to park it in a dock," Alec added. "No annual fees to record on the ledger." The group was now approaching the gantry that extended to the ship's right side, the door open and inviting.

Alec waved a hand to his turian friend, "Want to take a look?"

The Alamo was entirely automated, thanks to the geth runtimes uploaded into its servers. With mechanical precision, the ship edged itself out of the dock and out of the Rannoch atmosphere within three minutes. Proceeding directly to the relay, the ship was struck by the characteristic burst of energy as it suddenly was propelled forward faster than the speed of light.

Two hours later, the same ship winked back into existence as it approached the Widow relay. The turian vessel edged through the nebula and towards the huge station situated in the middle.

When it docked, a human, turian, and a quarian hurriedly exited off the walkway, proceeding to the nearest elevator that would take them to their destination. Once they stepped inside, Garrus pressed the button for one of the lower docks on the station.

"We're not meeting in the chambers?" Alec asked.

Garrus shrugged, "Guess not. They said to meet in bay 081. That's usually restricted to civilians."

"What could possibly be this important that they want to see Alec for?" Tali asked. "None of this is making any sense."

"We'll find out in a minute, anyway." Alec said grimly.

When the doors finally slid open, the group was immediately approached by a pair of turian guards, who waved their omni-tools around everyone. They blinked green after the scan had completed and waved them on through, the door opening.

The bay was smaller than Alec was expecting. It only had enough room to fit two turian light attack craft. In the center of the bay stood an object that Alec was not expecting to see. It had several exposed parts, struts protruding in all directions, foil covering the main body, and a huge dish situated on top.

Alec shook his head in disbelief, "I don't fucking believe this."

"What is it, Alec?" Tali asked, worried.

"This," Alec waved a hand. "This is a human satellite."

"That is correct, Mr. Lee," came an unfamiliar flanged voice. The group turned to observe as four individuals were walking to them from across the bay. Approaching them were a salarian, an asari, a quarian, and a turian. The Citadel Council.

Pointing at the object, Alec asked, "Why? Why did you bring me here? Was it to confirm what this was?"

The turian councilor shook his head, "Not exactly, Mr. Lee. You were brought here because of the significance of this satellite."

"I don't understand. This looks like a normal satellite to me."

The quarian councilor stepped forward, "It may be a normal satellite to you, but to us, it represents something much different." She tilted her head sadly, "This was built utilizing technology that was reverse engineered from our projects when we had arrived on Earth. Our interference with your species has caused them to develop in ways we could never have predicted."

Alec was curious, "What exactly are you saying?"

"This…this represents humanity's next step towards reaching the cosmos. They know that they are not the only species to inhabit this galaxy and they have increased their efforts in an attempt to match us technologically."

"Oh no," Tali breathed. "We inspired them…to go beyond what we had intended."

"Think about it," the asari councilor said. "Humanity has only ever been able to send out objects that were limited to a certain speed. When we picked this up, we were able to determine that it had been launched only three months ago. Three months, from a distance in which it should have taken a hundred and twelve years, given your research status at the turn of the century."

"So you called me over here so that you could tell me how much humanity has grown? Forgive me councilors, but there has to be another reason for why you called me here."

"There is," the turian councilor replied. "This decision was not initially my choice. The other councilors managed to convince me to their way of thinking on this but I still hold back some reservations. Regardless, we have decided that with humanity's current rate of expansion, they will be able to move past their current boundaries very quickly in the galactic sense. When that day comes, we will not be able to hold them back as they race to expand further than anyone, besides you, has gone."

The turian cleared his throat, "With that being said, the Council has decided to extend an offer of cooperation to your human hierarchies within the month in the hopes that they will see the potential of having allies in this galaxy."

There was silence in the air. No one spoke as the quiet threatened to drown out everything. Alec slowly blinked his eyes in surprise and elicited a short laugh.

"You…you're kidding right?"

"I assure you, Mr. Lee, that this is no laughing matter."

"No…you're damn right it's not. What are you thinking?"

Everyone in the room recoiled at Alec's words. "Excuse me?" the salarian councilor asked, shocked.

"Don't tell me you forgot what happened here over twenty years ago. Humans tried to murder all of you!"

The quarian councilor spoke, "That was an isolated incident, we cannot-"

"Isolated? Dozens dead and a councilor killed and you call something like that isolated?" Alec turned to the turian councilor. "You say you have looked past your reservations but I've got plenty right now!"

"Actually," the turian admitted. "They're all coming back to me."

"This is incredible," Alec said in shock. "You told me specifically that you had enacted a blockade around the system. Now because humans are growing you decide to suddenly break it?"

"If we kept up the blockade," the quarian councilor explained. "The humans would start to feel caged. Resistance and revolt would spread throughout their ranks and would lead to a galactic war. We are simply hoping to avoid that inevitability."

"Despite the fact that humans have constantly proven to you that they are incapable of earning anyone's trust for very long? An attack on the quarians, a siege on the Citadel. What's next for the human history book of war?"

"That's not true, Alec!" Tali cried. "If there is one thing that you are wrong about, it is about yourself. You are the proof that humans can be trusted. We all trust you here! I…I trust you…"

Alec felt extraordinarily guilty as he held out a hand to which Tali grasped tightly, "You're right, Tali. I got a little carried away there, possibly." He raised his voice slightly to be heard, "But I'm an anomaly for all of you. I'm the one human you all have known to put faith in. That statistic is not enough, especially when it's the safety of the people I care about that are affected by this fact."

The asari councilor dipped her head, "We have not known many humans in our lifetime, Alec. But…what if there were others like you? People who are capable of adapting, even in the most extreme of circumstances."

Alec wilted in slight embarrassment. Tali squeezed his hand in assurance. Alec returned the gesture, savoring the smooth feel of her skin in the strong grip.

"But there is another reason why we brought you here today, Alec."

Alec lifted his head to meet the asari's gaze, "What is that?"

"We…we were hoping that you might lead the expeditionary force to Earth as part of the team to make contact with the human representatives."

"What?" Alec stammered in shock. "No. Absolutely not."

"In these circumstances, it would seem to reason that you are the best-"

"There is no way that I am going back to Earth."

He could see Garrus stiffen slightly at his harsh words. Tali on the other hand gave a slight jolt, "W-why? You don't want to see your world…your home again?"

"I have a home, Tali. Earth no longer became my homeworld when they tried to take you away from me."

"But…but it doesn't seem right…"

Alec turned to the councilors, "Why me? Why choose me? I'm no diplomat, what good could I possibly do for you in this case?"

The turian councilor now spoke, "Because you are a human, it would be a source of relief for the other humans on your planet to see what integration with our society can achieve."

"And," the quarian councilor added. "You do have experience negotiating. You already know of the stakes the situation presents. Your perspective will give the humans valuable insight on-"

"My answer is still no, councilors. Earth is a very dangerous place. We have no business being there at all and an alliance will not be to our benefit."

"And you don't feel guilty in the least about potentially condemning your fellow humans to their fate? By not providing them with an opportunity to explore the limits of their abilities?"

"They aren't 'mine,' councilor. It's also the fact that we have no way of telling what will happen once humanity reaches the very limit of its potential. And that scares me."

Without waiting for a reply, he abruptly turned and walked quickly back towards the elevator. He heard a slight shuffle as Tali and Garrus shortly ran up to join him. There were no words of protest from the councilors as he walked away. Nothing whatsoever.

"You stubborn bosh'tet."

Alec groaned at the rebuke. They were in their apartment near the embassies on the station. Garrus had gone back to his home shortly after they left the bay. Currently they sat across from each other on opposite beds, both staring at one another. Tali was glowering at him, her eyes mixed with sadness and confusion.

"Why did you just walk away like that? What was the point?"

Alec shook his head, "There was no point, Tali. I'm never going back to that planet and I made that part quite clear."

"It's been over twenty years, so much could have changed?"

"You really think that?" Alec asked darkly. "In a five year span, Earth has only provided a slew of monsters that have all tried to take you away from me. I cannot take that chance again."

"Surely you can't think that they're all like that!" Tali exclaimed. "I know that there are millions of humans like you on that planet. Good, kind people who are capable of emotion...of love."

Alec stared out into space, a glazed look on his face, "You...are right, Tali. But I will always be ashamed at how initial impression. I don't know if I can face the prospect of going back..."

Tali got up and sat down on the edge of his bed, grasping his hands in her own, "But Earth is your home. You have a chance to go back to your homeworld now. You gave me mine, so why not take yours?"

"There is nothing for me there. Only bad memories."

"They're just memories," Tali soothed, rubbing his scalp. "There have to be some good ones there, though. Remember, when you first met me? Does that count?"

Alec smiled sadly, "Of course it counts. That was one of the best days of my life."

"And the day when we declared our love, was that any better?"

"That was the happiest I had ever been in years…but what happened right before that was…horrible. I…just…"

"What? Tell me, what is it?"

"I just don't want you to get hurt again!" Alec said savagely. "Humans have brought us nothing but pain. Christ, Tali, they tried to kill us! And you want me to suddenly forgive them?"

She started to tremble, her eyes were welling with tears. Alec, internally fuming at his sternness, brought his wife in for a tender hug, "Tali, I'm sorry. You didn't need that. I just can't abide the thought of losing you-"

She kissed him passionately, her hands slithering around his neck. Alec immediately stopped all protest and closed his eyes in the wake of the tender sensation, feeling her lips on his as they focused on nothing else.

She pulled her head back, "You don't need to be sorry. I understand."

Alec traced a line with his fingers over her cheek, "I…the last thing I want to do is hurt you, Tali. And I don't want anyone coming between us again. I just can't take that risk with the way humans as a whole have treated us…you."

"You could never hurt me, Alec. Personally, I can't just sit here knowing you don't want to even return to your homeworld again."

"Drawing from parallels now?"

Tali nodded, "Seeing my homeworld was a goal I thought I would never achieve. The ultimate victory for the quarian people and now you view your own homeworld as a blight, a scar upon the galaxy."

Alec sighed, "Perhaps it is."

"That's the problem! You are capable of seeing the good in everyone except your own species. I know that you would do anything for your friends…for me. Yet you constantly shun humans at every turn as if each one has sinned against you."

"I can never forget what they did to us," Alec growled. His arms were now grasped around Tali's slim waist, drawing her closer to him unconsciously.

"Screw them," Tali said forcefully, utilizing a favored expression of Alec's. "The ones who tried to kill us, they're gone. The councilors were right in one area that you were wrong in, you can't characterize the actions of a few for the actions of many."

"Even so…"

"Even so, you're not giving them a chance! Why can't you look and see the good in them as I do with the man who's sitting here before me?"

Alec opened his mouth to argue his point further when he realized that he had nothing left. He didn't have anything to say at that. Tali sat across, mouth in a hard line but he could tell that she was triumphant at her victory of being able to put him at a loss for words.

He sighed, "Do you really think that everything is going to turn out okay?"

"I have to, you bosh'tet."

"You should have been a diplomat, Tali," Alec shook his head with a laugh. "You make a convincing argument."

Tali wiped her eyes as she leaned in to kiss her husband once again. Slowly they leaned back on the bed, each one protectively encasing the other in an embrace as their hands started to explore the other's body. Sighs of pleasure escaped from the both of them as their lips brushed one another, every tender touch in reassurance of their mutual desire.