Saren Can't Hide From Us
The sun was setting on Virmire, where the salarian reconnaissance team was encamped. They were located near the coast, and the Normandy was hovering just outside the camp, over the water. Shepard and his team had arrived a short while ago.
After meeting with the leader of the salarian team, Captain Kirrahe, the group came up with a plan to attack Saren's nearby base. They were going to split up into four teams: Aegohr, Mannovai, Jaeto, and Shadow. The first three teams were going to be led and coordinated by Kirrahe and Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko. Their purpose would be to do a frontal assault on the base, attracting the attention of the base's forces so as to create a diversion. Meanwhile, Team Shadow, which would be led by Shepard, would infiltrate the rear of the base and plant a nuclear bomb, jury rigged from the drive core of the salarians' ship.
Because the Normandy had reached the planet at a late hour and night was nearly upon them, the group decided to go through with the attack the following morning. Although darkness would benefit Shepard's infiltration team, a nighttime attack would be disastrous for the diversion teams.
There was an eerie calm in the camp as night approached. Very little could be heard, besides the sounds of the nearby ocean. Most people were focused on the upcoming battle. Their minds filled with a strange mix of determination, nervousness, and uncertainty. A feeling shared by countless soldiers and warriors throughout the ages on the eve of battles.
Tali stepped out of one of the tents in the camp where she had been killing time by discussing tech with one of the salarians. She now wanted to speak to Shepard, so she quickly scanned the area for him. On the far side of the camp she saw Wrex, who was talking with Garrus. She smiled to herself, thinking back to how Shepard managed to reason with him and convince him that destroying the base—and the Genophage cure—was the right thing to do. Is there anything that man can't do?
She kept scanning the camp with her eyes, but couldn't see Shepard anywhere. She noticed Ashley Williams was nearby. Tali approached her, figuring maybe she knew.
"Chief Williams, have you seen Commander Shepard? I want to speak to him."
"Skipper said he was going to go for a walk. He went down that path over there," Ashley answered, and pointed down the path they had driven through on the Mako earlier, that brought them to the salarian camp. The path was a watery trail through a small canyon within the rocky terrain, which eventually led to the coast.
"Thanks," Tali responded, and started walking in that direction.
The entire area beyond the camp was covered in shallow, foot-high water. Tali found it fun to walk on. She liked hearing the subtle splashing she caused as she walked, and enjoyed the sensation of the wet sand beneath her boots sinking with each step. Walking on such a surface was one of the many things she had just now on her pilgrimage experienced for the first time. She found herself wishing it were possible for her to walk barefoot; she could only imagine what the wet sand would feel like without her suit and metal boots in the way.
After several minutes of walking, she reached the mouth of the small canyon, which terminated near the coastline. Numerous large rocks made up a natural wall against the ocean. She then noticed Shepard sitting on one of the rocks, staring out at the orange, setting sun on the ocean's horizon.
"That is a beautiful view," Tali commented as she approached him.
Shepard turned his head and smiled as he saw her approaching. "Yes, it is," he responded. It wasn't obvious, but his response was a double entendre referring to more than just the ocean vista before him; Tali looked particularly nice with the orange light of the setting sun shining on her.
She approached and stood behind the rock Shepard was sitting on, which was tall enough for her to rest her hands on it. She stood at his side, and joined him in admiring the ocean.
"I've never seen anything like this before. The sun setting over the ocean's horizon like that… it's amazing."
"It's very soothing, and peaceful. This view brings back some pleasant memories from my youth. When I was a kid on earth, on some evenings I'd go to one of the harbors of the city I lived in, and I'd stare out at the ocean until dark. It always made me feel at peace—it made me feel like everything would be alright." Shepard said, now back to staring straight ahead at the ocean and setting sun.
Tali was pleasantly surprised hearing him mention something about his youth. Shepard always avoided talking about his life on Earth; his upbringing. Even after all the time she had spent on the Normandy talking to him, she hardly knew anything about it. She decided to try her luck and ask about it again; maybe this time he'll open up to her.
"Why don't you ever tell me about your childhood, Shepard? Even after all this time, I still don't know anything about it."
Shepard didn't respond.
"Come on. You know a bunch about my life growing up on the flotilla. Yet I still hardly know anything about your life before the Alliance. You can at least tell me about your family. I don't even know anything about your parents; you've never once mentioned them."
Shepard laughed quietly at her comment. "You really don't know anything about my life on Earth, do you?" Shepard hesitated for a moment, and then finally continued, "I never bring up my parents because… I didn't have any. I was an orphan."
"Keelah. I didn't know. I'm… I'm so sorry." Tali was surprised to learn of that, but at the same time, it suddenly made so much sense. She couldn't believe it hadn't occurred to her before.
"Don't be."
"Who raised you, though? You must have had some kind of family on Earth, or at least someone who took care of you."
"I didn't. I was raised in some hellhole orphanage until I was about eight—I don't remember exactly. At that age I ran away, and I lived on my own on the streets." There was a short moment of silence, and Shepard sighed loudly. "I ran with some street gangs for a while, too. I had to, in order to survive. It's one of the reasons I hate talking about my youth so much. I'm not proud of that life, or many of the things I did during it."
Tali didn't know what to say. As difficult as life on the flotilla was, she at least grew up with a family. She was taken care all through her life, and never felt alone. Growing up without some kind of caring family was something difficult for her to imagine. On the flotilla, even quarians she wasn't related to at least felt like distant family members.
After a moment, Shepard continued and said, "It's funny. Quarians are the ones who have reputations for being beggars and thieves. And yet that's exactly what I was for a long time." He sighed again, "I don't know, maybe… that's why I like to hear you talk about your people… I like hearing how their reputation is false, and that they're more than what others believe them to be. It's also nice to hear how close you all are; you're all a family. That's something I never truly had."
Tali got up on the rock where Shepard was, and sat down right next to him. She turned her head and looked at him. He looked right back.
"Don't feel sad, Shepard. And don't be ashamed. You were just a child. Like you said, you had no family, no one to take care of you—I can't even imagine what that's like for a young person. You did what you had to in order to survive. All that is in the past now; it doesn't matter. What matters is who you are now. Which is an amazing, wonderful person. It's an honor to serve with you, Commander… and to be your friend."
Shepard smiled at her, and looked at her for a short while, right at her eyes. He finally said in a soft voice, "I'm not sure what it is about you, but you always manage to make me feel happy, and at peace, when I need it most. You've been like that since I met you. It's almost like… you're the ocean I use to stare at as a kid, bringing me peace; letting me know everything will be alright."
Tali was very touched by his words. She didn't know she meant that much to him, or that she had that effect on him. She wasn't sure how to respond, but she knew she had to say something. "You're, um… welcome. I'm glad…" was all she could respond with, in quiet, nervous mumble.
There was a long period of silence. Neither said anything, and the only noise heard came from the waves of the ocean gently crashing against the rocks before them. After a while, the lull in their conversation was broken by Shepard.
"You wanted to ask for the geth data yesterday, didn't you?"
"How did… yes. Yes I did," Tali answered, caught off guard by the question.
"For your pilgrimage, right?"
"Yes, it would be my pilgrimage gift. But it's more important than just that… it might help my people get our home back one day," Tali held her hands together nervously as she talked. A moment passed and Shepard hadn't responded to her comment, so Tali finally asked, "Will you give me the data?"
After hesitating for a short while, Shepard quietly responded, "I really don't want to."
Tali was surprised to hear that. And saddened. While nervous about it, she hadn't been expecting him to decline her request. "You… really won't give me a copy?"
"I didn't say I wasn't going to. I just said I didn't want to."
Though Tali was relieved to hear him say he would give her the data, she was curious as to why he didn't want to. "Thank you. It means a lot to me. But… why don't you want to?"
Shepard turned his head and looked right at her again. He smiled, and said in a warm voice, "I'll tell you another time, Tali. But don't worry, I know how important it is to you. And it's really difficult to say no to you—I'll give you a copy, I promise."
Tali was glad to hear him say all that, and again felt touched by his words. But she still wanted to know why he didn't want to give her the data. "Is it because it's technically Alliance intelligence now? Are you worried you'll get in trouble with your superiors?"
"Nah, I'm not worried about that at all. If they ask, I'll just tell them you beat me up and took it," Shepard answered with an amused grin.
Tali giggled at his joke and said, "Yes, I'm sure they'll believe that a young female quarian was able to beat up the great Commander Shepard."
"I've seen you on missions. You can be pretty scary, especially with that shotgun of yours."
"Hah, thanks, but it's only because father made sure I received extra training before my pilgrimage."
"Oh, that's right. Your father is like the ruler of your people. I forgot you were a princess."
"I told you, I'm not royalty! Our government doesn't work that way. My father is just the senior member of the admiralty, so don't call me that."
"Sure thing… your majesty."
"You bosh'tet…" Tali mumbled in a playful tone.
Shepard chuckled and asked, "What does that even mean anyway?"
"Trust me, you do not want to know…"
Laughing quietly, Shepard turned his head back towards the ocean.
The sun had now set. Just over the horizon the sky was a gradient that began as a fading orange, and eventually turned into the dark blue of twilight. Some stars were now becoming visible overhead in the darker parts of it.
Noticing that night was now upon them, Shepard got up off the rock and said, "Come on Tali, let's go back to the camp."
Tali also got up off the rock, and started to walk back in the direction of the camp. Shepard looked at the ocean one last time, and then turned around. As he turned, he saw Tali's back as she walked. He took a moment to admire how nice she looked in the subtle light of twilight. He noticed her shotgun on her lower back, and suddenly remembered something he had been meaning to show her.
"Hey Tali, hold on a second," he said as he quickly walked up to her. She stopped and turn around.
"Yes?"
"I've noticed on missions you tend to favor your shotgun. Let me see yours, there's something I want to show you."
"Alright." Tali reached behind her back and detached her shotgun. She then handed it over to Shepard. "What do you to show me?"
"A shotgun technique." Shepard held up the shotgun, and pointed it out over the sea, "What you do is keep the weapon armed, but disable its mass accelerator. And then you pull the trigger," he explained, and did it himself. The gun made a slight mechanical noise, but nothing happened.
"It doesn't do anything. The weapon can't fire if the mass accelerator is off."
"You're half right. It doesn't fire, but it does do something. Since the weapon is active and ready to fire, the slugs still get removed from the ammo block, and loaded into the barrel. So when you re-enable the mass accelerator and pull the trigger again, this happens," Shepard then pulled the trigger, and a bright, glowing projectile that looked like a fireball blasted out of the shotgun, flying out over the sea and leaving a faint, smoky trace behind it.
"Oh wow, so that's what that is. I had seen some of the geth do that before—I always wondered what it was. It makes sense though; by forcing the shotgun to shoot twice as many slugs at the same time, the extra friction causes them to get superheated and fuse into a fireball projectile."
"The Alliance guys refer to the technique as 'Carnage,' and with good reason."
"That's really neat, Shepard. Thanks for showing me that. I can't believe I didn't know about it already…"
"Don't mention it. Hopefully it'll come in handy on the mission tomorrow."
After handing the shotgun back to her, they proceeded to walk back to the camp.
. . .
Saren's base on Virmire had two primary purposes. In one area of the base, the effects of indoctrination were heavily studied; Saren's attempt to protect himself from eventually falling under control of Sovereign. In the other, there was a large breeding facility for krogan, with the intent on creating a krogan army.
At the very heart of the base was a large outdoor area, where water flowed down an inclined concrete ground in a wide, shallow stream. There were several fuel tanks on either side of the stream. Near the end of the area, the water swirled around a tall silo structure, which was where it drained. This was the area where the nuke was to be placed.
Shepard's Shadow team managed to successfully infiltrate the base and fight their way to its heart. Shortly after planting the nuke, Saren appeared. He swooped into the area standing atop a geth-designed flying platform. After some shots were exchanged, Saren and Shepard talked from a distance. Saren revealed the reasons for his actions, and how he believed destruction from the reapers was inevitable. Shepard attempted to talk him out of his decision to help Sovereign, but it was futile. All it did was instigate Saren to keep attacking.
"But you would undo my work. You would doom our entire civilization to complete annihilation. And for that, you must die." Were Saren's words as he ascended into the air on his glider, and began a heavy assault against Shepard.
Shepard and his team were forced to hide behind cover as Saren unleashed numerous biotic attacks upon them. Gunfire got exchanged, and at one point one of the large fuel tanks suddenly exploded, creating a bright flash and sending a wave of heated air in all directions. Saren took advantage of the confusion caused by the explosion, and quickly unleashed a barrage of biotic attacks on them. Ashley, who was near the nuke, got knocked unconscious. The rest of the team was also momentarily incapacitated from the assault, and Shepard found himself isolated from them as one of the biotic attacks blasted him away from his cover.
Seizing the opportunity, Saren quickly swooped down on his glider and jumped off. With a firm grip of his left, synthetic geth arm, he grabbed Shepard by the throat and held him up high. Despite his nearly unconscious state, Shepard immediately clutched at Saren's hand and wrist with both hands in order to keep his body weight off his neck. Saren was at the point of killing him by crushing his throat.
Suddenly Saren's biotic barrier flashed as a shotgun blast struck him from behind. He tossed Shepard forward and turned around to assess the current threat. Just as he turned around, a bright fireball—a carnage attack from a shotgun—exploded right in front of Saren. His biotic barrier absorbed all the damage from it, but the sudden flash of light and loud noise left him momentarily stunned.
Tali was the one attacking Saren. She fired unrelentingly at him, as quickly as her shotgun allowed, walking forward with a determined step. With each attack, Saren's biotic barrier flashed, absorbing the damage. Tali wasn't sure just how strong it was, but she knew it was impossible for it to handle many more shotgun blasts from such a close range. There were limits to how strong a biotic barrier could be, even from a cybernetically augmented individual like Saren.
Her teeth were clenched with anger and determination as she fired again and again. With each shotgun blast, she wanted nothing more than to see his biotic barrier disappear, and for the blue blood of a turian to spray into the air, as his scales and flesh got shredded to pieces by shotgun slugs. Not only did Saren directly threaten her life at one point, and just now Shepard's, but he was a threat to all organic beings in the galaxy. She wanted to see him die.
Saren's biotic barrier was at the point of breaking. But despite the unrelenting barrage from Tali, Saren managed to compose himself enough to extend his arm forward, launching a biotic push towards her. It was weak, but it was strong enough to push her back, causing her weapon to be knocked out of her hand as she fell down to the watery ground.
Saren quickly approached her and removed his pistol from his hip. He pointed it at Tali, who was still on the ground, holding her upper body up with her arms. She was frozen in place as she stared at Saren.
"You're the quarian responsible for that evidence against me. Things would have been much easier if I hadn't lost my Spectre status. I should have done this a long time ago."
Saren lifted his pistol slightly and took aim at her faceplate, pointing right between the two dots of light that were Tali's eyes.
Just before he fired, Saren's body got harshly pushed as he got tackled by Shepard. The pistol still went off, and it hit Tali on the outside of her upper left arm. She instantly clutched at it. It hurt, but she was grateful for the pain. It meant she was still alive.
"Get the FUCK away from her!" Shepard yelled as he assaulted Saren.
They both nearly lost their balance from the tackle, but they managed to stay on their feet and clutch at each other, wrestling on their feet briefly, trying to get leverage on the other. Shepard kept churning with his feet, pushing against Saren, and finally managed to get enough momentum to give him a strong push. Now that there was some space between them, Shepard launched a quick, hard punch with his left fist, hitting Saren in the face. Saren then swung back with his right arm, but Shepard lifted his left shoulder and managed to block the punch.
With his torso's left side twisted forward from blocking Saren's punch, Shepard unleashed a right hook with all the power of his body behind it. Saren attempted to dodge it, but it came too fast and too hard; it struck the side of his head. The force of the impact caused Saren to stumbled backwards and collapse unto the shallow water flowing beneath their feet.
Saren's vision instantly went black for a moment, but quickly reappeared; everything was heavily blurred and doubled. He had a pounding headache, and there was a strong rush of lightheadedness. He knew he had almost lost consciousness, and he was also aware that Shepard had momentum now. His many years of combat experience told him that this fight was already lost, and that he had to ignore his hurt pride and escape.
Knowing he had to flee, Saren quickly jumped up and ran to his nearby glider with a light stumble. As soon as he got on it, the glider took off and fled. Both Saren and Shepard stared at each other for a brief moment as he flew away. The two of them knew this would not be their last encounter together. Right after Saren escaped, the loud warning siren from the nuke started to sound off.
Tali approached Shepard, still clutching her left arm. Just then Shepard realized she had gotten shot and worriedly asked, "Tali, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I barely got hit, it's just a scratch."
Seeing that her injury was minor, Shepard turned around to check up on the rest of the crew. He saw Garrus helping Ashley up, who had been lying near the nuke. He jogged over and helped Garrus get her up.
"Let's get out of here, we don't have much time!" Shepard ordered as soon as Ashley was on her feet. The Normandy touched down in front of them, and they quickly boarded it through the docking bay. The Normandy then took off.
As they were leaving the planet's atmosphere, there was flash of light on Virmire's surface. The nuke had gone off, creating a bright glowing ball of energy with a shockwave that quickly expanded away from it. After several seconds, the luminosity of the nuclear explosion faded, and was replaced by a rising pyrocumulus, mushroom-shaped cloud.
Shepard stood there in the Normandy's docking bay, unmoving and unsaying a word. Though they had successfully destroyed Saren's base, this was not a time of celebration. Only moments ago he had been forced to make a choice, and one of his crewmates had to be left behind. He stared at his omni-tool, which showed the status of all his team members. Under Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, all that his omni-tool displayed was 'NO SIGNAL.'
Tali stood nearby, looking at Shepard. She knew he had lost not only one of his crewmates, but also a friend. She was aware that there weren't words that could make him feel better. But she also knew that she should say something to him, and let him know he wasn't alone.
She approached him slowly, and Shepard looked at her to acknowledge her presence. "I'm so sorry, Shepard. Having to choose between two crewmates—two friends—I can't imagine ever being able to make a choice like that," Tali said in attempt to comfort him.
Shepard looked at her, and gave her a weak, weary smile. "Pray you never have to. But thank you, Tali," he responded with a sigh, and then noticed she was still holding unto her injury, "Go to med-bay and have Chakwas look at your arm. I should go talk to Ashley. And I need to inform the Council of what happened."