Tali
"How's the squad doing, Prazza? Are they ready?" Tali asked the quarian marine who was inspecting the weapon on his lap.
"They're fine," was his clipped response.
She held back a sigh. Prazza had been acting surly and standoffish since they met yesterday to go over a plan of action for Veetor's recovery. Tali couldn't really blame him though. He was more than likely under the impression that he was going to lead the assignment with his squad, only to find out some admiral's upstart daughter, a decade younger than him, would be taking two days before the mission. It was a hard pill to swallow for anyone let alone a prideful marine like Prazza.
"Listen, Prazza," Tali said with a quiet force, "I'm not here to take over your squad. The Admiralty Board put me on this mission to act as a cushion between us and the human colonist. I'm not going to tell you how to run your marines. All I ask is that you follow my orders when it comes to working with the humans."
He didn't answer immediately, choosing to perform one last diagnostic sweep with his omnitool. Eventually, he looked up at her. "Fine. We'll do it your way. But I make no promises if they don't cooperate." He paused for a moment. "Why Veetor chose a human colony to spend his Pilgrimage, I have no idea. I don't trust them."
There was the hostility toward humanity prevalent in the quarian fleet in recent months. Tali knew it stemmed from the attack on the Idenna by a certain pro-human group. Most that didn't know the entire situation were both angry at and fearful of humans. Even a few that knew shared their sentiments. With how long she spent in the company of humans, it was easy to forget how new to the galactic community humanity was and how insular the quarians had become.
It was probably the reason Tali was there as well. With all of the disdain quarians had toward humans, they would most likely need a buffer if they didn't want an incident.
"Cerberus is radical and xenophobic. Not every human believes what they believe or are so untrustworthy," Tali defended.
"Spoken like a true human sympathizer. I'm really beginning to wonder were you loyalties lie, Tali'Zorah. Maybe you should go back to your human commander. Oh wait. He's dead. Guess we're stuck with you."
It took all her willpower to keep from kicking the seated marine in his most sensitive of areas. A reaction was what he wanted. Tali wasn't about to give him the satisfaction, no matter how much she wanted to.
"Don't you disrespect Shepard like that, you bosh'tet," she fired back. Tali may have been able to stop any physical reprisal, but she wasn't going to let the attack slide completely. "He gave his life protecting this galaxy. And what do you mean you're stuck with me?"
Prazza didn't answer which only infuriated her more. It shouldn't have affected her so much. It was one comment from one rude marine upset that he'd been temporarily usurped from his position of command. Yet it got under her skin in ways she wasn't prepared for or expected. It struck too close to home.
Before Tali could demand an answer from him, the pilot spoke. "Entering Watson's atmosphere. Everyone buckle in and prepare for turbulence. ETA to Freedom's Progress, thirty minutes."
The shuttle heated as they transitioned from the open vacuum of space into the thicker air. It shook violently, and Tali heard the telltale whining of a bad stabilizer that needed to be fixed on the starboard side. By the sound, it would make the trip back to the flotilla without maintenance, but she would see what could be done to fix it after they completed their mission. She didn't want to leave anything to chance.
They circled their destination a few times, making Tali wonder what was happening.
"What's going on up there?" she called to the pilot.
"I'm not getting any response from docking control," he answered. There was a pause before he continued. "It's so quiet down there. No movement to speak of."
"Maybe they are sleeping or eating," a marine named Kishet'Bav said.
Their medic, Zaan'Ara, answered. "I don't think so. Even if they were, someone would still come out and check the unscheduled shuttle circling their colony."
"Zea, land this thing," Prazza told the pilot. "That should get their attention." He looked pointedly at Tali. "If that's okay with you."
Tali's eyes narrowed at his complete lack of respect for her. "Do it, Zea. We can only do so much from up here. We need to get groundside."
"Okay," the pilot answered. "Wait. I see someone. It's a quarian."
"Is it Veetor?"
"I'm not sure. We're too far away. But how many quarians do you think are in this colony?"
"What's he doing?" Prazza asked.
"Searching for us, I think. Wait. He just spotted us. He's running into one of the warehouses in the center of the colony."
"Get us as close as you can to that warehouse, Zea," Prazza ordered.
"Shuttle's too big for anywhere besides the port. You guys are going to have to huff it from there."
The shuttle landed, and all nine of the ground team filed out. Tali and Prazza got into an argument about the size of squad when they were discussing the plan yesterday. She believed that bringing so many armed quarians would be a show of force that would make her job difficult. He didn't want to risk being in the middle of a large colony of potentially hostile individuals without a sizable group. Prazza eventually won the dispute, and Tali could merely hope that the human colonists would be more amendable and receptive than her people were going to be.
It seemed that she hadn't needed to worry about the interactions between the two however. As the shuttle powered down and settled, there was a pervasive quiet. The entire colony was silent and unmoving. Eerie was the nicest term for it.
"Where is everyone?" a marine asked.
"Don't know," Prazza answered cautiously. "I don't like this. Ready your weapons."
The sound of nine weapons expanding and being shouldered was deafening in the stillness. Tali wanted to say the action was unnecessary, but the situation was making her uneasy as well. She readied her shotgun and loaded a few attack programs on her omnitool.
She moved next to Prazza and whispered, "We need to be wary. We don't know what's happened here."
"This isn't my first mission, Zorah," he snapped back. "I know what I'm doing." He turned to address the squad. "We need to be cautious with how we proceed. We don't know what's happened here. Keep your eyes open and your weapons-"
Gunfire interrupted Prazza. One marine let out a pained cry and fell to the ground, clutch his leg. The others ducked and searched for whatever was firing at them.
"Mechs, three o'clock!" someone yelled.
Tali loosed her combat drone, Chatika vas Paus, in that general direction, hoping to cause a little chaos that would give the squad time to find adequate cover. Her omnitool started to beep only a moment later. It was the alarm indicating her drone wouldn't last much longer. Fortunately, everyone was able to stay out of the line of fire as the mechs destroyed Chatika and turned their attention to the quarians.
"Medic! Zaan, get over here! Uli is hit."
"Give him some cover," Prazza ordered.
The marines did so, each peeking over cover and firing on the mechs. Tali took a quick count of the opposing force while she blasted away at the closest machine with her shotgun. She counted ten before her shields dipped too low to ignore.
Zaan made it to the injured Uli, and the marines shifted tactics to slowly whittle down the encroaching army.
"Why the hell does a colony have so many damn mechs?" one marine yelled over the din.
"We are in the Terminus," Tali yelled back. "They have to protect themselves somehow."
Next to her, Kishet popped out of cover briefly and fired a few shots downrange. "There's too many of them."
"Enough whining, marines!" Prazza said coarsely. "They're mechs. They can't compete with us."
As if to prove his point, the squad leader stood and loaded an entire thermal clip, taking out three mechs. He ducked back down.
"See?" he said smugly.
"We have FENRIS mechs incoming!"
The dog-like mechs were hardly threatening when they were alone. They had no long range weapons, and their only tactics were to run toward the enemy. Coupled with standard mechs, however, they became a problem. You are left with a choice: leave cover to destroy the FENRIS mechs and get peppered by bullets or stay behind safety until the dog machines force you to leave. The combination was ruthlessly effective.
Tali took it upon herself to deal with as many as the FENRIS variety as possible. With her close range shotgun and tech abilities, she was best equipped to handle the threat they posed. Hopefully the other marines would be able to keep her covered.
"Leave those to me," Tali called.
She leaned out and blasted the closest FENRIS. It collapsed midstride. Just as another one passed it, the downed mech blew. The concussion sent destructive shrapnel into the second and rocketed the mech off course. It screeched to a halt and didn't move.
She ducked back into cover and ratcheted another thermal clip into her shotgun. She peeked over cover to see the mech force dwindling at a good pace. Prazza may be a bosh'tet, but his squad was efficient and well-trained.
"More FENRIS incoming," a marine yelled as she started firing.
Tali took that as her cue and leaned out again to fire on the new enemy. This one must have had more advance software. As soon as she unleashed her shotgun, the mech jumped to the side and avoided being perforated. It did this every time Tali pulled the trigger, and the dog took minimal damage. She changed her attack to tech, wirelessly draining its power and causing it to stutter. It slowed the mech enough for her to finish it off with another shotgun blast.
The second FENRIS was much closer than Tali would have liked. She took aim and pulled the trigger only to have the shotgun click. She looked down at her weapon and realized that she had overloaded the clip, and there was no time to replace it.
She looked back up to see a mass of white metal ram into her, knocking her shotgun from her hand and pushing her from cover. When she finally stopped sliding, the mech was standing over her and trying to drive its head through her helmet. She pressed her arm into where the jaw would be, keeping her visor and skull from being crushed. She struggled to push the machine off with her free hand or her knees, but it was too bulky and solid.
The mech released small EMP's, slowly draining Tali's shields. If the FENRIS didn't eventually overpower her and kill her, the fire from the other mechs would soon break through her weakening kinetic barriers and finish her. Tali chose the only option she had left. She removed the knife strapped to boot and stabbed it in between the plates at its neck joint. She worked it until sparks began to fly. The mech stuttered and sputtered before it collapsed on top of her.
If she thought the machine was tough to move before, it was nearly impossible now. Tali just hoped she wouldn't look like the easy target she felt like and the others would be able to take care of the remaining mechs by themselves.
Eventually, the gunfire subsided and a chorus of "Clear's" sounded. Tali caught movement out of the corner of her eye and heard Prazza's smug voice.
"Does our commander need some help?"
"Would you just help get this thing off me? It's heavier than it looks."
He moved out of her vision, and Tali felt the mech shift slightly. It moved again, this time a little further but not enough to free her.
"Kar, get over here and help me move this thing," Prazza yelled over his shoulder. He sounded a little winded.
It was another moment before the mech moved again, almost enough to throw it off her. The next try finally rocked what was now a heavy lump of scrap metal off Tali. She rolled away from her prison but quickly went back to the metallic corpse to retrieve her knife.
"You took out a FENRIS mech with a knife?" Kar asked as she slid her last resort home. She recognized the awe in his voice.
"Didn't have much choice," Tali answered as she retrieved her shotgun and headed toward Zaan and Uli. "It knocked my shotgun out of my hands. It was the only thing I had left."
Prazza spoke before Kar could continue the obvious praise that was coming. "Kar, stop gawking and secure this docking area. Take Kishet, Daro, and Ari with you."
The marine did as he was told, collecting the other members and heading to the entrances. Tali knelt next to Uli who was being scanned by Zaan.
"How you feeling?" she asked.
"I'm fine," he said with a little disgust in his voice. "Mechs caught me with my shield down, and I took one in the knee. Zaan here says it was a graze, nothing career threatening. Seals have already been engaged, but I should be getting a wicked infection in the next day or two."
"You're lucky it didn't hit anything major," Zaan added.
Prazza, who Tali hadn't realized was standing right next to her, asked, "Is he good to continue?"
Zaan shook his head. "Firing a weapon shouldn't be a problem for him, but he needs to stay off his leg or he could damage it more and forced out of the corps. He can help guard the shuttle with Zea."
"Then you'll stay here and keep this area clear," Tali said. "No need for you to aggravate your injury."
Uli briefly looked to Prazza for confirmation which he must have received. He reluctantly nodded.
"Tali, I need to speak with you for a moment," Prazza said before walking to a secluded area.
She gave the two men a quarian smile before getting up and following the marine.
"I'm guessing it's safe to assume that the humans here are hostile," Prazza said when she got close enough to hear.
Tali looked around the port and shook her head. "I'm not willing to write them off yet."
His body tensed. "Weren't you just there five minutes ago? They just sent three squads of mechs at us. Unprovoked!"
"Something is going on here. Or something has happened. Just look at this dock. There are crates still on the moving dollies. Who leaves a job like this unfinished?"
"Lazy, conniving humans, that's who."
Tali lost her patience. "I'm in command of this mission, Prazza. What I say goes, and I say we don't assume any human is hostile unless they fire first. Do I make myself clear?"
He was silent for a moment, and his eyes narrowed. "Transparent," he almost growled.
She ignored the thinly veiled barb. "Good. Now get your squad ready. We head toward Veetor as soon as Zaan gets Uli squared away."
They didn't have to wait long. Uli was placed just inside the shuttle with his assault rifle ready. Then they were off to forge deeper into the colony. What they found was startling.
"What the hell happened here?" one of the marines asked as they entered the third modular home.
Tali didn't have an answer for her. There was no one inside any of the buildings, and the only sounds were the footfalls of their group. Trays of cold food were left on the tables, burners in the kitchen still lit, and vid screens played their shows to no one. It was like everyone abandoned whatever they were doing and walked out.
Being around so many human items and customs brought back fond memories of her time on the Normandy, but it was marred by emptiness of the colony. It left Tali in a limbo state, stuck between relaxed and tensed.
So when the pilot radio in, the news didn't help ease the anxiety.
"Another shuttle has landed in the colony," Zea said. "Its IFF indicates Alliance, but Uli says he saw a Cerberus logo."
"What kind of transport was it? How many are we looking at?" Prazza demanded.
"The shuttle was small. Only big enough to hold five humans comfortably."
"All right everybody, keep weapons primed. We may have some unwelcome visitors coming in on us."
"Belay that order," Tali said. "We don't know if they are hostile or not."
Prazza bristled. "This is Cerberus we are talking about. They are always hostile."
"This isn't a quarian colony. It's a human one. We are the unwelcomed ones here. And look around you, Prazza. Something terrible has happened here. I am willing to bet they came to find out what. Maybe we can help each other."
"Yea, and then the geth will come to the Migrant Fleet and escort us back to Rannoch."
"It's not an impossibility. You said I would handle any human relations. Let me handle Cerberus."
He didn't give Tali a definite response. Instead, he turned to the rest of the squad. "Let's find a terminal so we can figure out the fastest way to Veetor. I want to get off this planet as soon as possible."
They found a bank of terminals just a little further down the row of empty homes. The consoles were still powered, and programs were still running. There were open mail accounts, half-finished reports, and a presentation waiting to be advanced. The squad walked into the middle of an unfinished business day.
Tali took the nearest console and began to see what she could find. It appeared that the colony was having difficulty getting messages in and out for weeks. They blamed abnormal electromagnetic interference and were trying to find a workaround when all activity in the colony ceased two days ago. Then there was nothing: no logs, no shipments, not even a flipped light switch if what she read was true.
That was until she broke through enough firewalls to reach the security force protocols. Someone had hacked the mechs and changed them to attack anyone on sight. She traced the signal to the warehouse they watched Veetor run into.
"Veetor reprogramed the mechs to attack us," Tali said aloud as she worked on finding the fastest route to his hideout.
"What? Why would he do that?" a marine, Ari if she remembered correctly, asked.
"Veetor's skittish when he's in the Migrant Fleet," Prazza answered. "Being with humans probably made him hyper sensitive."
"Or," Tali interjected, "it could be that something horrible happened here, and he's terrified. Just walking around this place is unsettling for me. He lived through it. Give the kid a break."
Any response Prazza was going to make was cut off by the door behind her opening. Three humans walked in with weapons drawn, two of them with proud Cerberus logos on their clothes.
"Stop right there!" Prazza ordered as he shouldered his gun and advanced.
They didn't need this right now. They had a colony of mechs to fight. They couldn't waste time or people on fighting the only other living things here.
Tali maneuvered between the two parties, directly in front of their guns.
"Prazza! You said you'll let me handle this!"
She took a quick glance at the humans. One was a dark skinned male whose body glimmered with the light blue of biotics. The woman next to him wore an extremely tight, extremely revealing body suit. Tali wasn't sure about the tactical advantages of wearing something with such little protection.
The last man in front was fully armored with his helmet secured and the rebreather stretched across his face. His chest was marked with the familiar N7 insignia, the red and white stripes running down his right arm. She briefly wondered why an N7 graduate would be working with Cerberus and if this man knew her commander.
The submachine gun in his hand dipped when he noticed her, and he motioned for his two squad mates to follow suit. When he turned, Tali noticed the lone sniper rifle secured on his back and the pistol on his hip pointed the wrong direction. In all her time around marines, she knew of only one person who equipped himself like that. But there was no way…
"Wait… Shepard?" she hoped.
Prazza took another step forward and tightened his grip on his weapon. "I'm not taking any chances with Cerberus operatives!"
"Put those weapons down!" she yelled so forcefully that she barely recognized her voice. There were too many emotions buzzing in her head to deal with a trigger happy marine that might just open fire on the man she thought was dead. "Shepard? Is that… you're alive?"
The man removed his helmet. His skin tone was lighter than she remembered, and his hair was shaggier than he would have allowed. The familiar scar that stretched from his mouth to his cheek bone was completely missing. But, when Tali met his eyes, there was no question this was him.
"I can't believe you would forget the marine that gave you that geth data, Tali," the ghost said with a bright smile on his face. "Did it help you complete your Pilgrimage?"
Memories from the Normandy crashed over her. Shepard's voice was ten times more potent than the familiar human articles in the colony. Tali had to fight the urge to hug him. She still had to deal with a disgruntled quarian to deal with.
"Yes, it did," she said with a smile which quickly vanished when she turned. "Prazza, weapons down. This is definitely Commander Shepard."
Only then did Prazza drop his weapon. "Why is your old commander working for Cerberus?" he asked. It was the most sincere and calm sentence he had said to her since she was given this mission.
"I don't know. Maybe we should ask."
"I nearly died, Tali. Cerberus spent two years rebuilding me. They want me to investigate the attacks on human colonies," Shepard said.
To anyone who hadn't spent a significant amount of time with him, the commander appeared neutral during the short explanation. Tali, however, noticed the small wrinkling of his brow and the tension in his face. He and Cerberus had history, and none of it was good.
"Likely story," Prazza said sarcastically as he crossed his arms. "No organization would commit so many resources to bring back one soldier."
"You haven't see Shepard in action, Prazza. Trust me. It was money well spent. Perhaps we can work together. We're here looking for a young quarian named Veetor. He was here on Pilgrimage."
Shepard nodded. "If Veetor survived, he may be able to tell us what happened."
"Hopefully. We've seen him, but he might not be in the best state to answer questions. He's always been nervous around large groups, and whatever happened here probably pushed him over the edge.
"When he saw us landing, he hide in a warehouse in the center of the colony," Tali continued. "We found that he programmed the mechs to attack anything that moved."
Shepard thought it over for a minute. "Veetor's the only one who can tell us what happened here. We should work together to find him."
Tali was glad he offered. "Good idea. You'll need two teams to get past his defenses anyway."
"Now we're working with Cerberus?" Prazza said, disgusted.
"No, Prazza. You're working for me. If you can't learn to follow orders, go wait on the ship." Tali turned to Shepard and saw a proud smile on his face. "Head for the warehouse in the center of the colony. We'll circle around the far side and draw off some of the mechs to clear you a path."
"Don't get yourself into too much trouble," Shepard said. "We can handle ourselves. Make sure to keep in radio contact."
Tali nodded. "Will do. Good luck, Shepard." She fought the urge to hug him. "Whatever happens… it's good to have you back."
He gave her one last smile before resecuring his helmet and moving out the door in the opposite direction her group was heading. Tali wanted to go with him, make sure that he was real and not just a figment of her imagination. But she didn't trust Prazza to help.
Their squad left the small office and took the route Tali set for them. Their force drew a few mechs, but they never came with the numbers that they faced at the docks. They barely slowed.
She did notice a set of airborne drones swung away from them at the last second and peeled off toward Shepard's position.
"Be careful, Shepard. There's a squad of drones up ahead."
"Thanks for the warning," he answered after a moment. "How you guys doing?"
"Some resistance, but nothing we can't handle."
"Good. We'll be in position in five."
"Copy that. We'll be ready. Tali out."
They moved a little further into a plaza. As they made their way across, a group of LOKI mechs attacked. It forced Tali, Dalo, and Ari backwards while Prazza and the rest of the squad made it safely to the other side. Their eyes locked, and she could see the wheels turning in his head.
"Don't do it, Prazza," she whispered as she shook her head at him.
His eyes narrowed. Then he motioned for the rest of the squad follow and left the plaza, heading toward Veetor.
She swore before opening the channel to warn Shepard.
"Shepard!" Tali yelled over the mechs' weapons. "Prazza and his squad rushed on ahead. I told them to wait, but they wouldn't listen! They want to find Veetor and take him away before you get there!"
There was static and gunfire before his voice broke through. "Copy that. We'll pick up the pace."
Tali turned to the two marines left behind with her. "We don't have time for this. We need to follow Prazza. Give me some cover."
The two did so, and Tali sprinted to the other side. Her shield took a beating, but it held. Once they recovered, she called for the next person to cross.
Ari took off once Tali and Dalo opened fire. With three targets to choose from, the mechs couldn't concentrate their fire, and she crossed with ease. Dalo moved next. The mechs opened fire on her and she needed to dive into cover to keep from being torn up by bullets. Tali sent her combat drone into the mix to keep the mechs from following and took off after Prazza.
They caught up just as a large YMIR mech began its wind up cycle, forcing Prazza and his squad back. Tali knew that they weren't equipped to take on the heavy. Its chain gun and grenade launcher would rip the squad apart. They needed help. They needed Shepard.
She raced to the door control that separated them and Shepard. The gun on the mech whirred and unleashed a torrent of bullets on Prazza's squad. Tali hoped they were able to find cover.
"Hurry, Shepard!" She radioed to him as she primed the door. "We're inside the warehouse courtyard. Veetor reprogramed a heavy mech. It's tearing Prazza's squad apart!"
"Stow it, Lawson," Shepard said. She didn't know which one was Lawson or what he or she said, but it was enough to get the commander upset. "We're just on the other side of the door. We need you to open it."
Tali did so. The doors open painfully slow, forcing Shepard and his Cerberus squad mates to squeeze through as soon as the opening was big enough.
An explosion drew her attention back to the heavy mech. She didn't see anyone caught in the blast, but it did force the squad to retreat. The heavy's chain gun roared to life, chasing the scrambling marines. One was caught in the leg and fell only a few meters away from the mech. Another was struck in the back, and Tali watched as puffs of blood spurted from his chest as the bullets exited.
Prazza was backpedaling away from the YMIR while firing with his assault rifle. It turned on him and loaded the rest of its thermal clip. The assault overloaded Prazza's shields and riddled him with new holes.
Tali took cover when the mech raised its grenade launcher and aimed it in her direction. The explosive didn't strike her cover, but the concussion rattled her teeth all the same. She looked over and saw Kishet's smoking body just off the ramp leading to a prefab. She pinged his suit for information and found no pulse.
The machine didn't stop there. It slowly lumbered to the injured quarian who was desperately trying to crawl to safety. It stomped its foot down on top of her, causing her to scream in pain. Shepard and his squad fired on it, trying to draw its attention from the prisoner. It didn't work, and the YMIR fired into the back of her helmeted head.
She couldn't believe how quickly everything went FUBAR. In minutes, one heavy mech decimated her squad. If Prazza would have only listened to her. If only they had worked with Shepard. None of this…
"Tali!" someone yelled at her. It was Dalo's voice, and it came from up the ramp. "Ari and Zaan were caught in the blast, but they're still alive. Help me get them in the prefab!"
That spurred Tali into action. Dwelling on what happened wouldn't help those still alive.
Confident that Shepard was keeping the mech preoccupied, she sprinted around her cover and up the ramp, latching on to Zaan's suit as she went. The sudden, jarring movement must have woken him because he started to struggle against her grip.
"Zaan! Calm down! It's me, Tali. I need to get you to safety."
His struggling didn't stop, but she managed to drag him into the prefab. She let go of his suit, crouched down, and grabbed his helmet, forcing him to look at her.
"Zaan. Zaan. Calm down. You're safe."
His eyes shot around, searching for any danger, before finally settling on Tali's. His breathing slowed, and he nodded his head.
"I'm okay. Thanks."
Tali patted him on the shoulder and saw that Dalo had already gotten Ari inside and began to work on her wounds. Tali did a once over on Zaan and found suit tears and open punctures. She quickly got to work to keep him from becoming badly infected.
As she worked, she heard the mech unleashing more bullets and grenades outside and the squad firing back with a shotgun and submachine guns. One explosion was followed by the unfamiliar male yelling "Miranda!"
Shepard must have given up with subtlety after that. Tali heard a sniper rifle's distinct sound and knew it would be over before she finished with Zaan. A second shot sounded. Then a third. A warning bell went off, followed quickly by a blast so intense it threw her from her squatting position.
She peeked out the window to see small pieces of the YMIR mech spread about. The dark male Cerberus agent was helping the woman up while Shepard was quickly making his way to their prefab.
"Tali! Are you okay?"
"Yes, but these two need to be tended to. Go find Veetor, Shepard. He shouldn't be far. I'll catch up when I can."
He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and squeezed. Then he was gone, not waiting for the other two.
Tali was eager to catch up. She finished with Zaan, asking the medic if there was anything more she could do for his injuries. When he responded negatively and Dalo said she was fine with Ari, she took off in the direction Shepard headed. She heard mumbled voices from one warehouse and hurried in.
"Grab the quarian and call the shuttle to come pick us up," the female, who Tali assumed was called Miranda, said.
"What?" Tali said as she entered. "Veetor is terrified and probably injured! He needs treatment, not an interrogation!"
"We won't hurt him," the dark male said. "We just need to see if he knows anything else. He'll be returned unharmed."
"Your people tried to betray us one already," Miranda added. Her voice was labored, and she clutched her side in pain. "If we give him to you, we'll never get the intel we need."
"Prazza was an idiot, and he and his men paid for it. You're welcome to take whatever data Veetor has scrapped together, but please." She looked directly at Shepard, pleading. "Just let me take him."
"You don't have to take Veetor and go. You can come with me, just like old times." This time it was Shepard pleading with her.
Keelah, she wished she could. "I want to, but I can't. I've got a mission of my own. It's too important for me to abandon, even for you. When it's over, and I'm still alive, we'll see what happens."
"That sounds dangerous. What are you doing? Do you need my help?"
Even after two years with Cerberus, he was the same Shepard. His willingness to help and deep, genuine concern made her smile. She wanted to tell him everything about Haestrom, but his Cerberus followers weren't friends with the Migrant Fleet.
"It's in geth space. That should tell you how important it is. But I don't think Cerberus needs to near more."
His hurt look made her feel like her heart was being torn from her chest. She didn't want to keep secrets from him. He meant too much to her. But Tali knew she had to.
It crushed her.
He turned toward his squad mates. "He's traumatized, and he needs medical care. Tali will give us the omnitool data and take him to the flotilla. Taylor, get Lawson back to the shuttle. I'll call you for a pick up after I help Tali and her people get back to theirs."
Taylor saluted and helped Miranda out of the warehouse.
"I'm glad you're still the one giving orders." Tali turned to Veetor. "Veetor," she said slowly, "my name is Tali'Zorah. I'm here to take you back to the flotilla. Are you okay? Any suit ruptures? How are your CO2 scrubbers?"
Veetor shook his head vigorously at each question. "No, no, no. I'm whole, mobile. Never got stung. Hid from the swarms, from the thieves."
Tali looked at Shepard. He knew her question before she had a chance to ask.
"Let's get Veetor and the others back to your shuttle. I'll explain on the way."
He told her about the disappearing human colonies in the Terminus Systems. After he woke up and escaped a hostile Cerberus station, the leader of the group, the Illusive Man, wanted him to look into the latest silent colony, Freedom's Progress. When they found Veetor, he showed them security footage of the Collectors abducting the colonists. Why they wanted them, Shepard had no idea, but he was going to find out.
Tali was silent throughout the entire debrief. It all seemed too fantastic: Cerberus rebuilding Shepard, the Collectors taking humans by the hundreds of thousands, Shepard willing to work with Cerberus to figure out why.
He didn't specifically say the last one, but Tali knew that would be his decision. He wouldn't leave so many innocents at the mercy of the Collectors.
She must have stayed silent longer than she realized because Shepard uneasily readjusted himself under Zaan and asked, "Too much to process?"
Tali shook her head. "No. I mean, it is a lot. But I'm just surprised Cerberus did something right for once."
He laughed, but it was tainted by some other emotion she couldn't quite place. "Surprised the hell out of me too. First, they tried to kill me twice. Now, they're bringing me back from the dead." His free hand went up to rub the left side of his face, the exact spot where his scar once was.
"What happened to it?" she asked quietly.
Shepard appeared surprised by the question and that his hand was touching his face. The look reminded her of when she first caught him doing the motion and asked about the scar. He hadn't realized he'd been doing it then either.
His hand dropped, and he looked at her with a small, sad smile. "I guess my skin was pretty charred when they got me. Falling out of orbit can really burn a guy up. Grafts can replace the skin but not the scars. I guess I'm the new and improved Commander Shepard." He didn't sound like he was happy about it.
"You may have new skin, but you're still the same Shepard I followed fresh off the Pilgrimage boat," Tali reassured him. "And that's more than enough for me," she added quietly.
His small smiled stretched, this time reaching his eyes. "Thank you, Tali. You have no idea how much I needed that."
She shrugged her shoulders, knowing that someone would understand the gesture for the first time since she left the Normandy. "It's the truth. If you ever need a reminder, just come talk to me."
They fell into a comfortable silence the rest of the trip. They found Uli still ready for an assault and Zea working on that stabilizer Tali heard earlier. After briefly telling them what happened to the rest of the squad, all the quarians minus Tali soberly got in the shuttle and readied for the return trip.
Tali chose to stay outside with her commander just a bit longer. She didn't want to leave him again. It reminded her too much of the first time she did. Back then, it had surprised her how much she wished she could stay. Tali wanted to hold off that feeling just a bit longer. So she stood there with him, neither one speaking.
Shepard was the first to break the silence. "What about the others?"
She knew he was talking about the fallen. "We're too few and too injured to retrieve them. Once we get back to our scout ship, we'll send a shuttle back. 'No marine left behind.' You taught me that."
He flashed her another smile. "You've become quite the marine and leader. If it wasn't for your voice, I wouldn't have recognized you back there. I'm proud of you, of how far you've come."
The praise did an odd number on her. It made her stand straighter and yet she wanted to drop her head in shame. HE was proud of HER and she couldn't even tell the man she trusted the most what her next mission was.
"I'm sorry I can't tell you about my next mission," Tali told him while trying to not avoid his eyes. "I want to. I trust you. I just-"
He stopped her with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Stop right there, Tali. I understand. I'm sure Cerberus did something to warrant the caution."
"They attacked the flotilla and tried to blow up one of our ships," she told him. "We stopped them, but it cost us."
She noticed his hand clenching, and his jawline was tense. Eventually, he slowly loosened his grip, like he willed the anger away.
"Just promise me you'll try to stay safe," Shepard continued. "No running around in the middle of the night chasing geth with your shotgun, okay? I need my quarian combat engineer back on my squad. Cruising around the galaxy just wouldn't be the same without you."
She couldn't contain herself anymore. She lunged, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing. He seemed to get over his surprise quickly and tightly held her as well.
"I will, Shepard. You stay safe too." She gave him one last good squeeze before letting go. "It's good to have you back," she said smiling.
He returned it. "It's good to be back."
With that, she walked onto the shuttle. As the doors closed, she gave one last human gesture, a wave, before her line of sight was cut off. She didn't bring up an external view of him on the monitor. She didn't enhance the image as they rocketed away. She sat there and looked at her clasped hands because Tali knew that, if she did see Shepard standing there watching her leave, she would have demanded to land and be let off the shuttle.
Then, Tali would have gone with Shepard without a second thought.