III: Requiem

by RedCenturionG

The Collector threat is done; and the Normandy crew survived. The Shadow Broker has eyes watching a friend of Shepard's. Loyalties will be questioned, lives put on the line. And Peta will stop at nothing to get the girl of his dreams. In this, the crew is never safe. And in the end, Marcus Shepard will have to make a decision that could cripple his resolve forever.

7. Chapter 6 Hello To You Too, Mum

REQUIEM

CHAPTER SIX:

HELLO TO YOU TOO, MUM

October 15, 2185

1310 hours.

Citadel Embassies Courtyard, Citadel Embassies, Presidium, The Citadel.

Commander Marcus Lee Shepard, Gunnery Master Garrus Vakarian, Soldier Urdnot Grunt, Master Thief Kasumi Goto, Assassin Thane Krios, Captain Hannah Rila Shepard.

"Where the fuck have you been!?"

Marcus was still trying to recover from the massive slap his mother had given him, but didn't cradle his face, merely trying to ignore the sting covering his right cheek. He could just imagine the red hand print it left. After all these years, his mum still had one hell of a swinging arm. A city buster, Anderson called it. As he looked on, he saw Garrus barely containing a smirk, while Grunt didn't even bother, deciding to go all out in his laughter. Thane remained inpassive and he couldn't even see where Kasumi was.

He turned back to his mother, who's hands were clenched in tight fists and her face had veins popping all over. He had never seen her so angry; so infuriated. He understood her reasons, but it didn't stop him from feeling victimized.

She was still fuming when he finally responded to her outburst, "Hello to you too, mum."

She moved forward, prepared to give him another swing, but instead shoved a finger in his face, "You selfish boy! You stupid, idiotic, fuckwit of a boy! I thought you were dead! We all thought you were dead! I spent two years grieving! I had buried all but a body! Hell, I outright refused a promotion to admiral to honor your legacy! And now you pop up? Oh, don't tell me, its classified. But you could have at least told me you were alive! You spent two years alive and only now appear? You selfish idiot! Your father would be disgusted in your-"

"I was dead mum," he had let his mum rant, but now he had to cut her off before she went too far, "I was just a scorching piece of meat rotting on Alchera's surface. These past two years I was dead. Not alive, just dead. You had every right to grieve."

"I am not stupid son!" Hannah growled, "You expect me to believe you were actually dead? I believed you about the Reapers, as ridiculous as it sounded, but I'm not about to believe you died and got resurrected."

"Then you're in for some disappointment," Marcus mumbled, standing up to his full height to meet her eyes. Her features softened, but her face was still full of anger, "For two years, I was dead. But...I was found, and they put billions of credits into resurrecting me. I'm not a clone, and I'm not a VI construct, I'm the real thing. I'm your son."

A tear left one of Hannah's eyes and drifted down her cheek, "But...but how? How could they-who?"

"Cerberus mum. Cerberus brought me back," he admitted and he saw his mother visibly bristle at the mention of the terrorist organization, "I know, I didn't like it either, but they brought me back mum. They gave me a second chance, and I have to at least thank them for that. I only woke up a few months ago."

"You've been up for a few months and still never bothered to contact me?" Hannah asked incredulously, "Why?"

"I had to put the mission first, I'm sorry," Marcus informed her, "There was too much hanging on my mission; I couldn't drag you into that. Besides, there was a possibility I could have died again, and I didn't want you to know I was alive incase you had to go through my death all over again."

"The brass told me about the Collectors, but they only just told me you were involved," Hannah's eyes continued to tear up, "I'm glad you sent the Collectors straight to hell, and I would have lended my dreadnought if I could. I...I'm so sorry, son," Without prior warning, Hannah launched forward and wrapped her only son in a tight hug. He was surprised at first, but he quickly recovered and returned the embrace. He heard her mumble in his ear.

"I'm so proud of you. All those things you've done," Hannah told him, breaking off the hug, but holding him at arm's length, afraid death might take him away again, "Those brass scumbags wanted to sweep you under the rug. My boy, all his achievements, forgotten. You didn't deserve that."

Marcus nodded in understanding, "What about that promotion you mentioned? You turned down becoming an admiral?"

Hannah laughed lightly, "Yeah, my own way of telling the alliance that they could get fucked. I'll tell you more; how about we go to a restuarant and catch up? I want to know all about your mission against these Collector bastards and how my son once again showed them who's boss."

Marcus chuckled, "Sounds great, mum. I've got some time to spare," But there's also someone I want you to meet, "Also mum, I don't think I told you this, but I met someone, someone very special. We met two years ago, but our relationship has only-"

"You mean Tali?" Hannah finished for him and the spectre gave a him wide-eyed look of shock. She only laughed, eyes filled with mirth and amusement, "Don't look so shocked Mark; I met that sweet girl...two years ago. It was just after your death. We met after your funeral, and she told me about how you two had been together. Poor girl thought I'd hate her for taking my son, but I was just happy that you found someone special in your life. You never did have any solid relationships."

The spectre laughed, rubbing the back of his neck, "Ten girlfriends. But Tal is special; she's the only one I've felt...this protective over."

Garrus scoffed, quickly gaining the attention of both Shepards, "Ten? You must suck at relationships if you've been dumped ten times! Shepard, the King of the Dump."

Marcus shot a glare in his direction, "They were high-school relationships mostly and...and two of them...they were marines under my command and..." he stopped for a moment, meeting Garrus' eyes, look serious, "One I lost on Akuze, and the other on Elysium."

Garrus' eyes widened with guilt, "Shepard, I didn't mean it like that. I-didn't know."

"Its fine. Not your fault..." Marcus drifted off, but hopefully noticed the turn the conversation had taken and cleared her throat, looking at the four bodyguards surrounding Marcus, "And who are these you find yourself in the company of? I remember Mr. Vakarian, but I'm pretty sure the krogan looked different in the vids. And I don't recognize you two at all," Hannah told them.

"I am not Battlemaster Urdnot Wrex. He is still on Tuchanka, uniting the krogan clans," Grunt informed Hannah, slamming his fists together, "I am Urdnot Grunt, student under my battlemaster's wise counsel. Your son is strong, powerful and unmatched in battle; he is the battlemaster of all battlemasters. I am honored to meet the female who created such a powerful seed," With that, Grunt kneeled infront of Hannah; a symbol of respect among krogan.

Hannah raised an eyebrow at the krogan's symbolic bow and turned to Marcus, smirking. She turned back to Grunt, wiping the smirk from her face and clasping her hands behind her back, "Well...Urdnot Grunt, I am...honored to have such a son."

Grunt stood to his full height, easily matching Hannah's size, "The krogan will sing songs of your offspring, and you will be remembered as the one who created such a powerful warrior. He chooses a powerful and possessive mate as well."

Hannah frowned. Powerful and possessive? The Tali I knew was a shy, selfless, nervous little girl on pilgrimage. She must have really changed over the past two years. She nodded at Grunt, and watched as Kasumi and Thane approached and introduced themselves.

"I am Thane Krios, an honor to meet Shepard's mother," the drell greeted, shaking Hannah's hand, "I have worked with your son during a sizable portion of the Collector conflict and I admire his audacity in combat, his charisma when talking with his crew, and his ability to look past interspecies-barriers to find someone to love. Your son is a remarkable individual, and it is truly inspiring to work alongside him during the last days of my life."

"Last days?" Hannah asked, confused, "If you're so old, how could you fight on the battlefield?"

Thane laughed a croaky laugh at the captain's misinterpretation of his words, "No, I am not old, not for drell anyway. All drell suffer a degenerative disease called Kepral's syndrome. It is not communicable, but is lethal to drell and dramatically shortens our lifespan. We get it on birth and once we have it, we have a certain time limit until our lungs can no longer take in oxygen, and we die. I am just glad I got to serve with your son and live to see the results of our work."

"I'm sorry to hear that. If you're working for my son, you must be a good man. I hope you find peace when you die," Hannah reassured him, turning to the young thief, who was smiling a huge grin, "And you are?"

The little thief shot out a hand, eagerly awaiting Hannah's reciprocation, "Kasumi Goto, Master Thief. I have to say, it is quite interesting meeting Shep's mother. Maybe I could-"

"Kasumi," Marcus stopped her mid-sentence, suffering a glare from the thief, "I know where you're going with that train of thought. Best derail it now."

She poked her tongue out at him and turned back to Hannah, whispering in her ear, "I'll tell you later. Let's just say, I've got some embarassing Shep moments to show you. You know, we'll reserve it for some womanly time?"

Hannah nodded, smiling at the prospect. She liked to tease her son, and this thief might be able to help her dig up dirt on him. He even used to look at fornax, especially the sections that involved asari. Obviously that obsession had died quickly. She was liking this young thief, Kasumi, already. Yes, she would definitely talk with her when this was over.

She turned to her son, motioning to the skycar, "So, you going to take your old woman to a nice little restuarant and invite your girlfriend over? I'd like to see her again. We haven't spoken in two years, after all."

Marcus nodded and they all piled into the skycar, Marcus taking the skycar controls and taking off, selecting the Amazonian Rain Restuarant, setting it to autopilot, and asking Tali to meet him at the specified coordinates. She told him she had work to do and had to coordinate the construction workers, but Marcus explained they weren't coming and promised to explain when she got there. Her response was a frustrated 'fine' and then she cut the comm.

He leaned back and smiled. The Council and Alliance will fall in line eventually, they'll have to. The Illusive Man will be out of the picture at least and we can get the repairs we need at Illium, and then head to the Migrant Fleet. But for now, I've got alot of catching up to do with my mother. And Tali will be able to sit down and have a proper conversation with her.

This day was better than most. No Collectors to worry about, just the little things.

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October 15, 2185

1327 hours.

Shuttle Bay, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate Normandy SR-2, Docked with the Citadel.

Subject Zero Jack, Justicar Samara.

She yelled out as she slammed into the crate behind her, pain shooting up her back. Her biotics dimmed to a dull glow as she collapsed, face first, onto the floor, hands only just stopping her from completely face-planting into it. The floor was cold to the touch and she watched as blood dripped from her nose and fell onto the ground in tiny driplets. She growled, wiping the thick, red liquid from her mouth and turned her head up, looking at Samara, who stood poised at the other end of the bay, position firm and azure glow pulsating.

With a shout of pure anger, Jack stood up, determined to keep going. She was exhausted from their training, and it was because of her strained biotics that she was getting a blood nose. She was ready to collapse from fatigue, but she wasn't going to give in yet. Not to this righteous asari. I'll be fucked before I give up to this asari bitch.

Samara didn't waste anytime and quickly picked up another crate with her biotics, and immediately threw it towards Jack. The petite young woman sent a jet of biotic power off to her side, acting as a thruster to send her skidding out of the way as the crate flew by harmlessly. With the crate gone, Jack charged the justicar, raising a biotic barrier infront of her to block any attacks the asari might give out.

But like always, the justicar outwitted her. Without even flinching, Samara used that biotic jumping shit she liked to show off and 'teleported' inside Jack's barrier, following this up with a biotic shockwave that the convict shooting through the air to collide with the wall behind her, sliding back to the ground in a crumbled heap.

The asari justicar disappeared from sight as Jack landed behind the scorched, torn mess of the hammerhead tank. The vehicle had been crippled during the Battle of the Collector Base; one of those oculus sphere things boarded the ship and attacked them, and they took the hammerhead to destroy it. They succeeded, but not before the Oculus tore half the tank in half. Now it was just laying there, completely useless, waiting to be thrown out the airlock.

She heard Samara speak as she once more crawled back to her feet, "You rely far too much on your biotics, Jack. Use your surroundings to your advantage; with your biotics, inanimate objects, like crates, can be turned into lethal projectiles. This will greatly bolster your offensive and defensive capabilities, as the objects can also be turned into shields."

With the asari's words, Jack had an idea form in her mind. Her eyes locked with the side of the tank and she stood up fully, calling upon the full might of her biotic abilities. Soon enough, Jack was so alight with dark power, that she was almost unrecognizable in the ball of bright blue and white light. This is why they call me the all-powerful bitch. And with a massive biotic shove, she literally picked up the hammerhead and tossed it at Samara before collapsing back to the ground, unable to keep up her work ethic.

Samara's eyes widened as she saw the crippled tank rush towards her, and she knew she couldn't dodge it. Instead, she shot a singularity at it, capturing the vehicle in a tight gravity well, before detonating it with a warp field, the resulting explosion sending the hammerhead slamming into a wall nearby. The sound was enough to shake the whole ship, and she knew people would come prying, but she had been impressed by Jack's sheer display of power. Only the most powerful of biotics could hope to pick up vehicles. Not even matriarchs had been known to do it. There was a legend that an asari matriarch saved an entire colony from a krogan attack by using her biotics to pick up a frigate and throw it into another ship, but it had never been proven.

Shepard calls her a biotic powerhouse, and for good reason. Samara, now genuinely breathing heavily, steadily approached Jack's slouched form, noticing just how much effort it had taken for the convict to move the vehicle.

Jack, noticing the justicar standing over, meekly looked up and, to keep up her image, growled, "Well, come to gloat? Go on, tell me how superior you are. You kicked my ass. Again."

Samara shook her head, look solemn, "I did not win. You did not win. There was nothing to win; only something to learn. You are improving, but have a while to go. I was impressed by your ability to manipulate the hammerhead however. Few biotics have the will or energy to do it, even my people."

"Bullshit," Jack spat, "You're just saying that to make me feel better. I've been through all this shit before."

"I am an asari justicar and my word is my bond," Samara solemnly swore, "Goddess curse me if I ever lie. You are a powerful biotic Jack, one that could give the most experienced of asari matriarchs pause if taught right. You just need to learn to harness your abilities, improve them and keep your anger in check."

"See? A fucking therapy session. 'Anger in check.' Who the fuck are you, my mother? If I wanted therapy, I'd ask the red-head upstairs," She stood up, ignoring Samara's display of help, wanting to keep her own pride secured. After a bit of fumbling, she stood up and simply gave the placid asari a lingering glare before turning to leave, only stopped when the justicar placed a hand on her shoulder and the convict spun around to face her again.

"Your anger needs to be kept in check because it will eventually kill you in combat. I understand you have seen horrible things and the Cerberus experiments wrought on you are unethical crimes, but you cannot let them define who you are," Samara lectured, "You do not remember your real name, or your parents, only that your home was on Eden Prime. You do not remember your old personality before you became Jack, but you can still recover it. You can still become the girl you forgot about and abandoned. Cerberus did not break you. They will not break you unless you let them."

Jack felt painful memories return. She remembered Eden Prime at least; a beautiful colony, looked just like Earth, with its blue skies and endless expanse of green plains. But her parents were the problem; she couldn't remember their faces, no matter how hard she tried. And her name...it had started with J, which is why she called herself Jack, as it was the most basic name she could think of starting with J, but she couldn't remember it fully. She didn't want the memories to return. She shook the asari's hand off and quickly stormed into the elevator, not looking back as Samara stared blankly at her. She waited for the doors to close infront of her before hitting the button for the the engineering deck.

Damn it, why did that justicar bitch make me remember? I forgot about that place long ago. Who I was, who my parents were...I don't give a fuck about that anymore. I am Jack, not Subject Zero, but Jack, the scared kid turned powerful biotic bitch. I'm the little crazy girl that noone cares about. I'm just a tool to be used and discarded...Fuck, am I that retarded? Self-pity? Damn I'm pathetic.

The elevator quickly arrived on the engineering deck and she stormed out, hoping to just hide in her hidey-hole under engineering; hopefully that quarian wasn't working down there. She'll just remind me of what I could have had. As she moved, she bumped into Zaeed, who gave a grunt of disapproval, but otherwise ignored her. She liked Zaeed; he was the only one who get down on her level. Everyone else was either too calm, too rough, too kind or too...boy-scoutish. When you get down to it, its always about Shepard himself, isn't it?

She rushed down the staircase and quickly ran into the maintenance area of engineering; her hidey-hole, as many called it. To her relief, Tali wasn't working down there, so she had the whole area to herself. She dumped herself on her bunk and lay down, looking up at the grey, metal grates that served as her ceiling, the drive core humming behind her.

She growled as she inadvertently let her thoughts return to the topic of Shepard. Why can't I let that slide and stop thinking about him!? He obviously doesn't want me, that's why he chose the quarian! Those two have been together like...two years ago. How can I compete with that? They've fought, bled and sweat together, and me? I've known him a few months and instantly want to fuck him everytime he enters the room. He doesn't want to be with my type, fine with me, but why do I have to be so fucking sentimental about it?

Lying down wasn't helping, so she gave up and decided to sit up on her bunk, letting her face fall into her hands fluidly. She wiped at her face, but stopped as she examined her tattooes. Her entire body, save the head, was covered in them, and all of them had been for kills or simply because she wanted them. She even had an omni-tattoo on her back. A special ink from a special person who was now dead in a special place. He liked my tattooes. I could tell; the way he talked about them; he thought they were intricate, fascinating...

Or she was looking for excuses, loopholes...

She sighed as she stood up and leapt ontop of the container infront of her, which existed for the sole reason of...nothing, she just liked jumping ontop of it. I stood ontop of this thing when I suggested to Shepard that we go pirating...such a boy scout...anyone else would have said yes just to get me into bed, but he just denied me like he hadn't even considered it. Fucking paragon. She snarled. Just stop it! Why the hell do you care so much?

Because she wanted him; she didn't show it, but she wanted him. She wasn't as obvious about it as the quarian upstairs, but she knew it. Deep down, she knew it. Who could blame her anyway? Shepard was the man that every woman wanted to get their hands on; either to make them feel special or simply because he was a reknowned hero. Hell, she knew the cheerleader wanted Shepard all over her...and that red-head...damn, that red-head would fuck anything if it had a cock...I've seen how she looks at that drell dude...

And the more Jack thought about it, she'd do anything to get her claws on him. Shepard had risen her out of the primordial muck, as far as she was concerned, and that made him hers. She had always wanted someone to love her, to care for her, and the only person who had actually done that was dead; he sacrificed his life so she could escape a batarian frigate that they had both decided to raid. She never forgot him.

She needed Shepard; for closure, for stress-relief, for love? She had no idea, she just needed him. Maybe he felt the same way. Maybe he secretly wanted her in return and just didn't show it or tell her. Maybe he's with the quarian out of a sense of obligation. Pity, maybe? Yeah, that has to be it. Why else choose her over someone like big-tit-cheerleader? Hell, he could have had the asari. Maybe I'll go up there and ask him. Maybe...maybe I'll go up there and just fuck him. No...that's not how the boy scout would do it. He'd want me to confess my feelings first. I'll do that and then I'll fuck him. Yes, he can't resist me. He won't.

She smiled lightly as she looked for one of EDI's holopads. After finding one, she asked if EDI was there. Her hologram quickly appeared, "What can I do for you Jack?"

"Where is Shepard right now?" Jack asked as innocently as she could.

"He is not onboard the ship. Garrus returned and stated that he was at a restuarant with his mother and Tali. He most likely won't return to the ship until late night, and most likely unavailable as he will either be sleeping or having...time with Miss Zorah."

"Thanks EDI," Jack thanked.

"Logging you out Jack," and with that, EDI's hologram disappeared, allowing Jack to return to her bunk, fall down into it and rest her eyes, a smile on her face. I'll wait until the quarian isn't around and then spring. He's got to love me, I know he does. And I'm going to prove it. I'll be patient; not a proud trait of mine, but one I'll learn fast. I hope.

And with that, Jack fell into a dreamless sleep. Most of her sleep was like that. But soon, it would be filled with Shepard. She liked the quarian for her spunk and badass attitude, but when it came to getting the boy scout, her friends didn't matter. Hell, she'd probably laugh at the sight of Shepard kicking Tali out of his cabin. Oh, the mirth...

Jack wasn't an evil person. But when it came to Shepard, anything could happen...

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October 15, 2185

1348 hours.

Table 12, Amazonian Rain Restuarant, Romulus Ward, The Citadel.

Commander Marcus Lee Shepard, Chief Engineer Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, Captain Hannah Rila Shepard.

And here, Marcus thought it would take a while to get a seat. But once people know you're Commander Shepard, getting a table was as easy as asking for one. Now they sat at a three-seat table; Hannah on one side, Marcus and Tali on the other. There was obviously no point in hiding their relationship from her, as Hannah apparently already knew. Now they were just waiting to be served. It as a human restuarant, so luckily the staff hadn't been...too troubled by letting a quarian in, much to Marcus' relief.

Hannah smiled, or she grinned, but either way, her lips tugged upwards and she looked at both of them, "So...Tali, its been a while. Two years? God, feels like a century. Last I saw you, you were a shy girl on...pilgrimage, was it? You've changed alot."

Tali laughed, leaning forward and placing her hands on the table, "Shepard's death..." she seemed to lose her smile for a moment, but it sprang back up when Marcus wrapped his arm around her waist and rubbed her back, letting her know he was there. With this knowledge, her smile returned and she continued, "Shepard's death was hard, but I managed to seal that wound and move on. I got a new suit immediately upon returning the fleet and got posted to the Neema. The data Marcus gave me really helped," she nodded in Marcus' direction, allowing the spectre to smile, "I later decided to become a marine, and I technically outrank Marcus now, but I follow his command still. He's a far better leader than me anyway."

Marcus scoffed, "She does herself no justice. I've seen her lead teams; if it wasn't for her being quarian and female, I would've thought I was watching myself. She was a natural."

She blushed under her mask, "I learnt from the best."

Hannah smirked widely as she leaned forward, "So, what did you think when you first saw him again? Did you freak out like I did?"

Tali giggled, as she looked at Marcus, "Well, at first I was ready to put a bullet in his head for being an impostor. I was so angry at seeing him again, I thought he was just a Cerberus abomination. But when I learnt it was him, I...I..."

"Slapped me," Marcus finished for her.

Hannah guffawed, "So you did freak out. I have a feeling we'll get along just fine Tali. We're more alike than you think."

"Because she slapped me?" Marcus asked, "And now you two suddenly have a bond?"

"Because she slapped you," Hannah firmed, "Commander Shepard, Hero of the Citadel, Conqueror of the Collectors, slapped by a quarian marine. That's a headline I'd love to see. She's the only one allowed to slap you and get away with it unharmed; just like me," she got a devilish grin in Tali's direction, and the quarian grinned alittle behind her mask.

"Well, if there's a little woman conspiracy going on between you two, I think I'd better break it up for fear of my life," With that, the spectre moved onto a different topic, "So mum, how's life been treating you? Is Commander Phillipo still on the ship?"

"Hasn't left," Hannah grinned, taking a sip of the water provided, "The man's as loyal an XO as you can get, aside from that turian of yours."

"He's not my XO-"

"Anyway," Hannah continued, "I wasn't the only one to refuse a promotion. He used three offers of promotion to Captain. He was offered the Stalingrad, another Normandy-Class stealth frigate. Then he was offered the Tai Shan, a Kilimanjaro-Class dreadnought, and finally, he was offered the Hastings, a light cruiser, but he refused all three of them to stay on as my XO. He liked you Mark; he was pissed off what they did to you after your death and how badly they treated your funeral. It was pathetic; it wasn't a funeral, it was an inconveinence. You deserved better. So he basically told the Alliance to get fucked when he refused all those promotions. 'Italian spirit' he called it."

Marcus smiled at the memory of Phillipo. His memory was blurry, but he was pretty sure he met the guy when he had just finished destroy a bunch of geth strongholds in the Armstrong Cluster, and he was handing over the classified data to his mother. Phillipo, or Phillip as he preferred to be called, had been a respectable man that Marcus had grown to like. A pity he only saw him twice; the geth data exchange and the 2183 War Games. Those were two years ago...

"Where is he now?" Marcus asked.

"Fashioning supplies for the Orizaba. We're low on rations, so we have to restock on those," Hannah joked, "We just got back from completing the 2185 War Games with the quarians. Now we're going to be assigned to the newly discovered 2185 Xavier Nebula to help with a first contact situation."

Marcus' eyes widened at both revelations, "War Games with the Migrant Fleet? How long as that been going for?"

Hannah shrugged, "About half a year. We're trying to improve relations with the Flotilla, or at least that's the official story. I really think its just the Alliance giving Primarch Fedorian a helping hand."

"Why's that?" Tali asked.

"One of the quarian admirals, this Han'Gerrel, he's been causing trouble along the turian border for quite awhile now and the primarch thinks enough is enough. He wants us to keep Gerrel distracted so he'll stop harassing their trade routes and raiding shipping lanes. Fedorian knows better than to declare war against a species that can barely defend themselves, but it won't be long before the hierarchy calls for it," Hannah informed them.

Marcus shook his head in annoyance, "The acts of one admiral out of four of them. Anyway, that sounds great, but what's this about a first contact situation?"

Hannah rolled her eyes, "Those nosey asari poking into corners they best keep out of, yet this time, they find a species that doesn't tear apart their diplomats," Hannah announced, "They're called the raloi. Asari sent a cruiser to make direct, formal contact with them after they launched their first spaceship and discovered their system's mass relay. The Alliance has sent for a dreadnought task group, that's mine, to escort the asari and turian task groups in picking up the raloi diplomats and ambassadors and transporting them to the Citadel to welcome them into the galactic community."

"I wish our first contact went half as well," Marcus mumbled.

Hannah smiled, "In some ways, it did. We kicked the turians in the ass and showed them they aren't the top guns they think they are; now they have humans to compete with."

The spectre laughed at that, "Damn right."

"I guess since you didn't hear of the raloi, you didn't hear about what the reporters are calling the 'Virtual Aliens?'" Hannah asked, waving her glass around.

Marcus frowned, not sure what she meant, "Virtual Aliens? Is that another alien species we don't know of?"

"You really haven't watched the news, have you?" Hannah asked and noticing the blank stares from both of them, she sighed and continued, "Some human organization, ExoGeni I think it was, found this derelict ship that had been wandering the stars for close to eight thousand years. It had come from another galaxy apparently and was of technology incosistent with ours. They found noone onboard, but quickly found out it was a ship filled with supercomputers that housed the souls of billions of 'virtual aliens.' Apparently something went wrong with their homeworld and they had to save themselves by uploading into the ship and escaping. So let's just say that 2185 is the year for first contacts."

All three of them laughed and were about to switch topics when the waiter finally arrived, standing infront of them, omni-tool out and ready, "Are you ready to take orders or do you need alittle more time, sir? Ma'ams?"

Marcus nodded, looking the waiter straight in the eyes, "I'll have the Texas Rib with a Creamy Soda, please."

"I'll have the salad, dressing, but with no steak please. I'd also like a large skinny latte, no sugar," Hannah replied.

All eyes turned to Tali, who seemed to be staring at the dextro section of the menu.

"Tali," Marcus whispered softly, lightly tapping Tali on the shoulder. She flinched, realizing they were waiting for her and quickly went to make her order. And he knew what she had chosen. Oh no you don't...

"I'll just have the nutr-"

"Sorry," Marcus interrupted, drawing the waiter's attention and causing Tali and Hannah to glare daggers at him, "What she meant to say, was could she please have the gil'vat'i with dextro sauce? She'd also like a Palaven Hot Wine, thank you."

When the waiter had finished taking their orders, he quickly left, leaving Tali to argue with Marcus. Hannah had broken off after she saw what Marcus was doing, but Tali wasn't giving in, "Why did you do that, Marcus! A gil'vat'i!? Do you know how expensive that is? Its a waste of resources, especially on something like me! Nutrient paste would have been-"

He quickly placed a palm over her vocalizer, stopping her rant for a second. He then leaned in, kissed her on the visor and looking into her eyes, "Tali, you deserve something nice every once and a while. All you do is eat the same, bland nutrient paste. I wanted to give you something different to eat. Something better than paste. Think about it; it'll be the first real meal you've had in months!"

"In two years, you mean," Tali replied, "Marcus, I-"

"Enjoy it Tali. Its on me," Marcus promised, getting out his credit chit and placing it on the edge of the table, deciding he'd pay for it all, "The least I can do for the mother I haven't seen in two years and my quarian girlfriend."

Tali sighed, giving up on arguing with the spectre and leaning back in her seat, which Hannah watched with an apt grin. Hannah did the same thing with Marcus, making him instantly nervous. His fears were confirmed when Hannah leaned further forward, mostly directing her question at Tali, "So...how did you two get back together? And have you done the deed yet?"

Of course, his mother just had to ask that. Of all the questions, she had to ask that. This was going to be a very awkward conversation. And to his further chagrin, Tali didn't understand what she meant by the last bit, "'Done the deed?' What does that mean?"

Before Hannah could answer, Marcus leaned in, a flush of red collecting in his cheeks, "She's asking if we've had sex yet."

He could almost feel the heat rising to Tali's cheeks, and he could just imagine that bluish tinge on her pale grey skin. She lowered her head and began to fiddle with her fingers, unable to meet Hannah's eyes out of fear she might say something wrong and humiliate herself. Marcus, deciding to save Tali the embarassment, looked up and answered, "We met on Freedom's Progress, a couple of days after I woke up; call it a very good stroke of luck. She couldn't join me then, but a month later, I rescued her on Haestrom and she joined my team. We began to mend our relationship upon her return and we...um...well she did some research and so did I and we...um...we..."

"Did it," Tali filled in, voice shaky, "We...We did...did it. Just before the assault on the Collector Base. We didn't know if we were going to live or not, so we thought that we might as well spend whatever time we had left together."

"You two are priceless. Just don't talking about sex makes you blush. I may not be able to see her face, but I know Tali is blushing. Its in her body language," Hannah dictated, chuckling to herself, "But I can also see that you two are perfect for each other, and I'm glad my son found a proper woman. I was surprised you didn't go for the asari, Liara T'Soni was it? Surprised you didn't go for her, considering your obsession with the asari when you were young."

Marcus gave his mother a pleading look, but it seemed Tali was too curious for her own good.

"He was?" the quarian was, sealing Marcus' fate.

Hannah smiled evilly, looking thoroughly content with spilling out her son's secrets, "When he was about thirteen, Marcus started going through adulthood. Don't know if you quarians start going through that at that age, but humans do, and he was well into it by thirteen. One day, when I was cleaning his room, Marcus forgot to hide one of his magazines before going to school. You know what I find under the bed?" She asked, and Tali shook her head. Hannah looked at Marcus for a moment, noting how thoroughly uncomfortable he was before looking back at Tali, "A fornax magazine. All I could remember was the picture on the front of it; it was an asari wearing a-"

"Well, I think that's enough!" Marcus almost shouted, sweat collecting on his brow.

"You shut up. Don't interrupt a woman when she's talking," Hannah hissed and Tali nodded, obviously wanting to know more. Before anyone could say anything, Tali exclaimed almost immediately when the full impact of what Hannah had told her hit her.

"He looked at porn?" Tali asked, "Asari porn?"

Hannah nodded, "Yep. When I confronted him about it, I'm pretty sure his face was like a lobster, he was that red-"

"What's a lobster?"

"A sea creature honey," Hannah added for the quarian before continuing, "Anyway, he kept throwing these apologies in my face, but I just asked him why he was so obsessed with asari. I swear he thought I was going to slap him."

"If you were me, you'd understand," Marcus mumbled, "You were the bloody devil."

"And don't you forget it," she responded, turning back to Tali just as the quarian's meal arrived. Tali, for a second, looked at the food, realizing that the restuarant had even remembered to sterilize it. Her drink came next, followed by a small bowl of dextro sauce to dip her food in. From the spectre's point of you, her food liked the Shepherd's pie his mother used to make, which he found slightly ironic. The dextro sauce was a whitish grey in color and didn't look too delicious. To a dextro, it must be delicious. Instead, Tali just stared at her food before turning to Marcus. He frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Tali replied, smiling, "I just...it'd feel wrong to start without you. You were always so kind to me; always waiting for me to eat my paste before you ate your own food, I thought I might repay the favor."

He smiled at her but it quickly demolished when Tali turned back around and looked back at Hannah, "So, why was he so obsessed with asari?"

"After some reluctance and some prodding from my end, he finally spilt the info I wanted," Hannah told her, "He told me that, get this, humans were 'boring' and he wanted to be like 'other people.' I swear he was going to say 'normal people.' Its sad when finding an asari mate instead of a human for our species is considered normal. Four hundred years ago, we hung homosexuals. Now, we just allow it, so it shows just how far we've changed. But, I digress. He also told me that 'they were pretty' and he 'liked the color purple', pretty ironic, heh?" she motioned towards Tali's purple veil, but continued despite this, "I told him asari were blue, but he didn't care. He seemed set on getting off to asari porn and eventually decided he wanted an asari girlfriend. And when the opportunity was finally given; he fell for a young, shy, quarian girl instead."

"I grew up," Marcus told her, "I was just a horny teenager back then. When I met Tali, I was an N7, bordering on spectre candidacy. Alot had changed." Besides, as soon as Tali mentioned research, I may have started looking up quarian fornax...

"Yet you were still into aliens, which I'm perfectly fine with!" Hannah made clear, pointing to Tali, "Miss Zorah is far better than any of those girls you chose to date when you were in high school. She actually cares about you and loves you, unlike those other women. Only one gave a damn about you, and it turned out it was simply because she thought you were a Terra Firma supporter."

Marcus scoffed, "Yeah, Maria was a racist bitch."

"And all the others just used you because of...well, you were pretty popular. Not to mention a few just wanted to get in your pants..." Hannah trailed off.

Marcus sighed as he remembered that, "I was drunk mum, I didn't know what I was doing. By the time I got over that bloody hangover, I'd already done the deed with her. I dumped her after that, remember?"

"You shouldn't have gotten drunk in the first place," Hannah scolded, turning back to Tali, whispering, "He went partying alot; typical teenage stuff. Sometimes he got drunk, but he would never do red sand. Anyone who offered it to him either got a beating or was reported to the ship's captain."

"Wait, you lived on a ship?" Tali asked, directing the question at Marcus.

"Born on one yes, I'm sure I told you this," Marcus declared but the quarian shook her head, forcing Marcus to explain. Sighing, he began, "I was born on the SSV Einstein, an alliance light carrier. I never met by father, as he died long before I was born, so my mum and lived onboard it. We sometimes got reassigned, like a few temporaries on Arcturus, then a few on some cruisers, dreadnoughts or frigates, but we eventually landed back on the Einstein, where we stayed until I joined the Alliance. In quarian culture, I guess I would have been...?"

"Marcus'Shepard nar Einstein," Tali remarked playfully.

"nar Einstein?" Hannah asked, confused, "Why would he be called that?"

"Its part of quarian culture. Before we complete our pilgrimage, we are called 'nar' and then the ship we live on. Nar means 'child of.' I am nar Rayya, which means I am a child of Rayya. My new name is 'vas Normandy', because once I complete my pilgrimage, I am an adult and must choose a new ship to live on. 'Vas' means 'crew of.' I am 'Crew of Normandy.' We used to refer ourselves by 'pav' instead of 'vas', but that changed when we lost our homeworld."

"What does 'pav' mean?" Hannah asked.

"It means 'Citizen of'. If I was born on Rannoch, I'd be pav Rannoch, 'Citizen of Rannoch.' Its a title we lost the right to a long time ago."

Hannah nodded, impressed, "Well, consider you two are together, I'm guessing you'd be teaching each other your respective language."

Marcus looked at Tali, raising an eyebrow, and he could tell Tali was as well. The quarian looked back at Hannah just as the rest of the food arrived, and the two Shepards quickly dug into their meals while Tali began eating hers and speaking at the same time, "I...we never really thought about that. I mean, if Marcus wants to learn khelish, I could teach him..." she stopped, widening her eyes at the delicious taste of the food she was eating. She arched her back, displaying the pleasure assaulting her taste buds and moaning, causing Marcus to chuckle alittle. She slapped him across the back of the head, but that didn't stop him from continuing to laugh.

Remembering what they had talked about before, Marcus turned to Tali, smiling, "You know what Tali, I think I would like to learn some khelish. Starting with what bosh'tet means."

The engineer sighed, shooting him an accusing look, "I promised I'd tell you what that meant!"

"I promised to tell you what pun meant as well, you know," Marcus winked, garnering another sigh from the engineer. He couldn't on, but this time more seriously, "I honestly want to learn Tali. I love you and it'd feel wrong not to learn your people's culture and language. Maybe you could give me some history lessons too. Besides, it might help later when I want to impress you. Nothing like seducing someone in their own language."

Tali shot a knowing look at Marcus that he could read easily. You and me. Later. Your cabin. He smiled devilishly, but apparently his mother knew him too well and decided to break up the moment.

"Please you two, not while this old woman is here," Hannah pleaded, turning back to her food, "Now Tali, let's talk about you..."

They had a very long lunch.

{Loading...}

October 15, 2185

C-Sec Customs, Level 27, Zakera Ward, The Citadel.

Assassin Thane Krios, Captain Armando Owen Bailey.

Thane quickly made his way out of his skycar and weaved through the tight crowds of the Zakera Ward, deciding that using his assassin skills to hide wasn't necessary. The area was a flood of activity; a salarian game store clerk was shouting about discounts on the new 'Galaxy of Fantasy' expansion packs, and the drell was sure he could hear Shepard's voice being played a PA system outside a cafe.

The drell assassin had learnt alot travelling with Commander Shepard. When he had stormed the Dantius Towers, he had planned to die there, fighting off waves of eclipse mercenaries until he finally fell. But then Shepard had turned up and asked for his help; and how could he refuse? The paths he took in his life were always distraught and full of unplesantness, and Shepard's mission against the Collectors had been no different, so he had no reason not to do so. Shepard's crew was something different.

They were a mixed and charismatic bunch. They had a convict, viglante, justicar, master thief, three quarians of varying skills and so much more. And Shepard himself had always treated the drell has an equal; Mr. Taylor was always skeptical and hostile towards him, and understandably, but Shepard had treated him like a person that belonged. He did this with all of his crew. He was of a unique character, and because of that, Thane thought of him not as a comrade or fellow person, but a friend. It was a quality Thane couldn't share with many people he met; the assassin's life was usually one of solitude.

All these thoughts and more clouded his mind as he moved towards the C-Sec Outpost, one particular memory hitting him as he moved towards Captain Bailey's desk.

Thane doubled back to his cover, lowering his rifle and watching his allies move in. The bulky form of the krogan came first, shotgun in hand, roaring with laughter. Than came an asari, adorned in a red uniform. 'A Justicar? Interesting,' I thought. The rest of the squad followed; a turian with a sniper rifle, a half-naked tattooed human, a human in alliance combat armor with tech armor, another human wearing a cerberus uniform and finally a quarian with a shotgun with the leading man himself. The way the quarian and himself stayed close caused the drell to quirk a brow. 'The quarian is his siha,' he thought.

The memories faded away and he was almost at Bailey's desk. I lost my own siha a long time ago, and I miss her dearly. Shepard is a lucky man, and unique to find love in a non-human. I may not have Irikah anymore, but I still have something important. And now that we have reconciled, we can finally talk to one another again.

He arrived at the human C-Sec officer's desk, reptilian hands folded behind his back, waiting. He waited for a bit before the human captain finally noticed him and looked up from his terminal. Upon seeing who it was, he forgot about his objection and let a smile cross his face, "Ah, you must be Thane. Is there something I can do for you?"

"I'd like to see my son, Kolyat," Thane requested.

"Of course you do," Bailey replied, leaning back in his seat, "I'm sorry to tell you, but he's still out on community service. He most likely won't be back for another hour at the most. After that, I can release him and you can talk to him. I didn't take his whole 'assassinate the anti-human' thing to court, so all he got was community service, lucky kid. Not all kids are as lucky as yours."

"To which I'm grateful," Thane thanked, looking for a seat, "I shall wait until he returns."

"Suit yourself. Better find somewhere comfy, it'll be a while," Bailey told him, nodding to the drell as he turned back to his console and began typing into it again. Just as the drell left the customs outpost, he could hear Bailey begin to chastise someone for doing something wrong. Thane just found a place to sit and waited for his son's return, hoping he didn't do anything rash.

Finally, after an hour, like Bailey said, Kolyat returned, a mop and bucket held firmly in his hands as he approached the janitorial closet. Thane got up and followed him, waiting for him to finish in the closet before greeting him. As Kolyat came out, he almost leapt back in surprise from seeing Thane, thinking he was someone trying to spring him, "By Arashu! Don't do that, father."

"I apologize," the assassin replied, motioning to Bailey's desk, "Once you've signed out, would you like to accompany me to a local cafe? We haven't spoken since I stopped your assassination of Joram Talid."

Kolyat let a meek smile cross his features, "That sounds...good, father. Just let me sign out and I'll join you."

Thane nodded and waited outside, once more contemplating all that Shepard had done for him. He turned back to Kolyat, who was currently speaking with Bailey. He watched his son talk, and a smile crept across his face. Shepard not only lifted me from my battle sleep, but he let me see my son again. To stop him from walking a deadly path. He let me reconcile with my son, to which I'm eternally grateful. He's all I have left now; with Irikah gone, Kolyat's all the family I'll ever have...

Eventually, Kolyat returned and nodded to his father, who quickly turned around and walked over to the cafe nearby, ordering a couple of drell-friendly drinks for both of them before taking a seat in the cafe, away from most of the commotion. The store was occupied by a single elcor and hanar, two volus and a couple asari. The only turian was the woman behind the counter, and she seemed pretty bored.

As Thane came back with the drinks, he placed them on the table and took a seat across from his son, hands clasped on the table. He looked at Kolyat, watching as the drell eagerly gulped at his drink, looking as if he hadn't had a drink in ages. He's still as ecstatic as he was when I left him on Kahje all those years ago. He was always so energetic, so full of life. Irikah used to call him 'Qualiz', God of Energy reborn. She loved Kolyat so much, said he had a part of herself in him, and his father's determination. He felt weak without Irikah, but with his new band of friends, and Kolyat? He felt stronger than before.

"Father?"

"Yes Kolyat?"

"Are you okay? You're crying."

Thane quickly wiped away the tears that had formed on his cheeks and smiled, "Its nothing Kolyat. So, tell me what you've been up to."

And father and son talked. Two people seperated for decades, reunited by a galactic hero. Anything seemed to be possible in a galaxy like this.

"So, next it was time to say goodbye to Hannah and head for Illium."

- Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.

"With some problems along the way."

- Marcus Shepard.

A/N:

I suck at writing Thane okay! Its not my fault...well, actually it is, as I just don't seem to like the Thane character as much as everyone else. He's a great character and well-developed, I just simply can't write him, no matter how hard I try, so scenes with Thane will be short and to the point. Don't worry though, I won't marginalize him. Actually, he'll play a more pivotal part as the story progresses.

This might be the last chapter I do for a while, so don't get your hopes up. School just started up again and Year Ten promises to be brutal to me. However, I might get lucky, so I guess we'll see. You'll just have to keep your fingers crossed. But at least I've got motivation; I bet you guys will want to see how the whole Marcus/Jack thing will turn out.