Recap: 'Saren, your record shows that you were a fierce protector of Council Space. What the hell caused you to be like this?' Shepard thought as he tried to make sense of it. After a minute or 2 he decided to give it a rest until he had more data. With that in mind he shut off the OSD and terminal, preparing to go talk to his crew and see if he could do anything while waiting for his next mission from the Council.
Now
Shepard walked out of his room and toward Kaidan. As Shepard approached he noticed that Kaidan seemed to have a lot on his mind. Kaidan then turned to Shepard as he walked up.
"What's up Shepard?" Kaidan asked first.
"Just wondering what you think of our mission so far. Any thoughts?" Shepard asked. Kaidan raised his eyebrow at the question. He smirked before answering.
"Well, the crew knows about the stonewalling you've had from the Council." Kaidan said. Shepard smiled a little at that.
"They should know about what they'll be facing." Shepard said. Kaidan nodded with a smile now.
"That's why everyone is behind you on your side. That's why they're pissed about the opposition we're getting from 'our side'." Kaidan said before he winced suddenly. Shepard sensed that Kaidan's biotics flared up just a bit when he winced.
"You alright?" Shepard asked crossing his arms as he observed the feeling. It was like a whirlwind around Kaidan instead of the usual calm, breeze-like feeling he felt around the squad's biotics.
"Yea, I'm good. I'll have a better handle on all of it when my head stops hurting. Another L2 flare-up." Kaidan said with some forced control.
"Ever thought of upgrading to L3s? At the very least to stop the pain?" Shepard asked a little concerned. He knew L2s were bad when it came to the side effects. Kaidan shook his head at that.
"No, one slip and I won't even remember my own name. Besides L2s spike higher than the L3s, so my abilities would drop with the change. And it'd be a cold day in hell before I turn myself over to a Conatix subsidiary." Kaidan said with a somewhat dark glint in his eyes. Shepard noticed the anger immediately.
"I thought Conatix was gone." Shepard said trying to get to the bottom of Kaidan's anger. Kaidan then had a calmer expression as he began to explain.
"Yeah, they quietly divided into a few small corps after they botched the training at Jump Zero. After first contact, Conatix was set up to track element zero exposures over the years. Once we had an embassy on the Citadel, Conatix could bring in 'experts' instead of taking it slow." Kaidan informed.
"The only experts would have to be aliens." Shepard said thinking back to those times. He could remember his mother teaching him a little of human biotics and combined with what he learned over the years as well as his last conversation with Kaidan, he found it more curious than before. He then notice Kaidan nodding at his statement.
"Dead on. Turians actually. That's why Conatix kept it a secret. They were afraid people back home would think. Asking the turians for help when we'd just fought a war with them." Kaidan said. Shepard looked confused at that. Why go to the turians, who humans had just waged war on?
"The asari would have been more acceptable than the turians." Shepard said aloud, not really meaning to say it.
"Yes, but the company didn't go through the Citadel. It would have made Earth look weak. So they discreetly hired some turian mercenaries." Kaidan said making Shepard look at him in mild surprise.
"Really? Is there some reason we couldn't learn it on our own?" Shepard asked incredulous.
"They didn't know where to start. Hell it took them a couple of years just to even link biotic and eezo. Forget trying to get the kids to move stuff. They had trouble just helping them not break their own limbs..." Kaidan said.
"Damn." Shepard winced out. Breaking your own limbs by using your biotics. What bad situation to be in.
"And their choice of teachers didn't help much." Kaidan finished with a sigh. Seeing this, Shepard was starting to believe that he was coming closer and closer to the problem.
"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you got a bad teacher." Shepard said. Kaidan looked glum and bitter at that.
"Yeah you could say that. They brought in this turian named Commander Vyrnnus. The guy basically had a free pass to break us if it produced a biotic. It kind of spiraled from there Shepard." Kaidan said with a look of... regret perhaps?
"Did he ever get what ever was coming to him?" Shepard asked watching Kaidan's reaction.
"He got what was is Shepard. But like everything at Jump Zero, it was under the table. No need to hash this ancient stuff out. As for me, I walked it off a long time ago." Kaidan said with some finality. Shepard knew it was best to leave the subject alone until later so he changed the subject to more recent things.
"What's your personal opinion about the last mission?" Shepard asked. Kaidan grew silent for a moment. Shepard guessed it was because of the time Kaidan was in that pod the Thorian had them trapped in.
"I'm glad their aren't many aliens like the Thorian. I don't think my stomach could take it. One of my cousins has an agri business. I was thinking of calling him, maybe he can get some shipments into Feros. I mean, now that they're cut off from the company." Shepard nodded at that.
"That would be very good." Shepard said. He then turned away as he said, "We'll talk again later Kaidan." He got a couple steps away before Kaidan called him back.
"Hey Shepard..." Shepard turned to Kaidan, "...thanks for saving all of us from that thing." Shepard nodded.
"Thanks for saving my ass when we fought New Growth." Shepard said as he walked towards the med bay. As he entered it, he saw the devil herself glaring at him.
"I-I-Is there something wrong, C-Chakwas?" Shepard asked nervously as he looked for any exits he could use. Sadly the only one was the door behind him and it was suspiciously locked as he entered. He noticed Chakwas omni-tool was out and figured she locked the door herself.
"Is there something wrong? Yes there is actually! Everyone but you came and got examined, even Wrex did! And you know what they all told me? That you were the one who got hit the most!" Chakwas said in a strict tone. From the look on her face, she was concerned and angry at Shepard's recklessness on the last mission.
"I'm fine Chakwas. I was in no danger." Shepard said in a scared voice. Without a doubt, only Chakwas could cause him to be afraid. She looked at him with an accusing glare.
"You go on a solo mission to fight numerous geth of all types, then come back and battle several alien creatures who spit some type of unknown acidic compound..." Shepard looked down a little at that. "If that wasn't enough, you got knocked around by an alien who's attack went through Wrex's barrier, armor and natural plate armor. And to sum it all up, you went into that form again when it put you in here last time. Now sit down and let me take a look over you Shepard!" Chakwas ordered, finishing by pointing to the medical beds. Seeing that there was no way to when the argument, and not wanting to incur the wrath of Chakwas, Shepard sighed and did as he was told. He could just imagine Isaac laughing at the whole situation, hell that was probably what he was doing right now considering he was inside Shepard's omni-tools.
As he laid down on the bed he noticed some of the medical equipment starting to scan him. Nothing pointy yet. He then saw Chakwas making out the commands on her omni-tool and in a few moments received the results.
"No internal bleeding, broken bones or damaged tissue. Your fast-healing is quiet impressive Shepard." Chakwas stated as she read over the details.
"I know. I remember when Torfan happened, I got a couple of my ribs broken. My healing took care of it in a couple of days." Shepard said. Chakwas looked at him in shock at that. Broken bones healing completely in a matter of days? Even with modern day medical equipment, it took around a month to partially heal. Thinking about his genetics, she couldn't help but wonder who had given them to him and why only him.
"Well there doesn't seem to be anything else out of the ordinary and... uh oh." Chakwas said with a shocked look as she stared at her omni-tool. Shepard looked up at her fast with wide eyes.
"Uh oh? What is it?!" Shepard asked a little afraid now. Chakwas' shocked looked turned into a cruel smirk as she looked at him.
"Just messing with you." She said chuckling a little. Shepard looked at her with a blank stare before, "You hag!" Chakwas was laughing at the glare Shepard was giving her. After a minute of her laughing she turned serious.
"There is something that you need to know though." Chakwas said.
"If your gonna tell me I have cancer, I'm going to get you crazy lady." Shepard said as he got up off the bed... just before a datapad slammed into his face.
"AHH DAMMIT!" Shepard yelled out as he held onto to his nose.
"As I was saying, the structure in your DNA has changed a little." Chakwas said getting Shepard's attention again.
"What about it?" Shepard asked seriously.
"The first time you changed. the structure was glowing a little, but now it seems to have gained more light now. Not much but enough to tell the difference." Chakwas said making Shepard cross his arms and look down as he thought of what could have caused this. Every time he changed, that structure was involved somehow. His mother said it was already there before but how? Why does it make his power explode out under pressure? What exactly was it?
"You know it don't you? Every time you go into that form, your DNA changes a little." Chakwas said as she leaned on her desk with her arms crossed.
"Well no point in worrying about it then since we can't do anything about it." Shepard said as he walked towards Liara's room in the back. As he entered he could have sworn he saw Liara jump in her seat.
"Shepard? Are you coming to check up on me?" Liara asked.
"You look much better. How are you feeling now?" Shepard asked.
"Dr. Chakwas took a look over me and assured me I was fine. Though she seemed to be mad at you when she heard about what happened on Feros." Liara said looking at him a little happily.
"She's one of the best to be sure, but... ughh... she can be such a mother hen to everyone." Shepard said exasperated as he rubbed his forehead. Liara giggled at his expression.
"I think that's usually because you and Joker act like children when your both near her." Liara continued to giggle as Shepard groaned. The whole crew had seen how Joker and Shepard acted with each other and with Chakwas. When Shepard and Joker talked, it was like looking at 2 brothers for a moment with ow one would say something and the other would agree so easily. When it was with Chakwas, it was like the 2 kids would get scolded for something. For instance Shepard being scolded for not showing up for an examination and Joker for not taking his medication.
"Did you want to talk about something?" Liara asked. Shepard mentally smacked himself for forgetting why he came here in the first place.
"I wanted to pick up where we left off. You know, you were telling me about your interest in the protheans." Shepard said as he pulled up a nearby chair and sat down. Liara remained in her chair as she remembered the conversation.
"Actually I think I was talking about my interest in you and making a fool of myself in the process. As I said, I'm not used to dealing with people especially humans." Liara said looking to side, embarrassed. This made Shepard chuckle a little.
"Well, being on board a human ship might help with that." Shepard said. Liara smiled a little nodding.
"You're right. I must admit, I did not really know much about your species when we first met. I found it hard to take humanity seriously. Your kind always seemed so rushed and high-strung." Liara said. She looked down in guilt as she said the last part. Shepard merely cocked his head to the side.
"Oh? Has your opinion changed since then?" Shepard asked. He had a feeling it did with how well she managed to work with everyone back on Feros. Liara nodded.
"It has. I've been watching you and crew. It has taught me a lot about your species. You humans are creatures of action. You pursue your goals with an almost indomitable determination. It is an admirable trait, but also an intimidating one." Liara said making Shepard raise an eyebrow at that last comment.
"You're afraid of humans?" Shepard asked. Liara shook her head.
"Unfortunately the rest of the galaxy sees humanity as something of a bully. You run over anyone in your path to get what you want. It it up to people like you to change their minds Shepard." Liara responded making Shepard look at her in mild surprise. He then chuckled a little at her statement.
"Why me? I'm not the type of person to change things." Shepard said finding it funny. Liara frowned at his response.
"Your wrong. There is a reason the Council chose you to become a spectre. They saw something special in you. The best of what humanity has to offer." Liara said. Shepard merely shook his head.
"Liara you don't see what humanity can be like. I see it clearly because I'm human, yet I'm disconnected from my species, so to speak. I don't know what you see humanity as, but I see it as a bunch of people who don't know what they want. And those that do end up doing great things. Some of it evil and some of it good. All of it ends up leaving lasting affects in history and the future. You know how know? It's because when humanity mostly mastered Earth, when we stopped finding constant threats that nature could give, when we spread to the corners of our planet, we gained new beliefs each one different in each region. And like most things do when humans are involved, those beliefs clashed. To this day, they never stopped clashing. The only thing that changed is the players and the pieces, not the game itself." Shepard said. He had been looking into things such as religions and history of all species. To him, humanity's was the grayest one in how it evolved. The asari were simple. The Krogan were simple. Vorcha, a little confusing but still simple. Salarians, very confusing but he could see the direction they were going in. Elcor, Hanar, Volus, Drell, Batarians, all were easy to see. Humanity? It was just one big melting pot with people going in different directions.
"You may be right about that. I've looked at human history and have seen works of art that would make a Matriarch cry at the beauty it represented and I have seen acts that would have made a krogan warlord cringe. Your species is unpredictable, Shepard. But that's why I believe you might be the one to show the galaxy that humanity is more than a bully. More than the negative actions they have done in the past." Liara said with confidence burning in her eyes. Shepard could see that she really believed it.
"And what makes you think I'm the one to do that?" Shepard asked. He knew despite all the good thing he's done in his life, he wasn't the paragon of humans. He wasn't the worst, but he wasn't the best either. He saw Liara look down at her feet before she answered.
"I-I looked into your history. I know what you did during the Blitz, Akuze and on Torfan. You showed great courage and heroism, remarkable strength in surviving all of that and... I know it must have been horrible that must have been, but you did what had to be done." Liara admitted making Shepard look at her with a blank stare. He'd be lying if he said what happened on Torfan didn't bother him. When he looked back on it, he felt maybe all of those slavers didn't need to be executed, at least the ones who surrendered. Then he remembered what they did to the other people. What they did to those families. What they did to him. He never showed it though, not even to Isaac.
"That still doesn't explain why I'm the one who has the most potential to show the galaxy what humanity is." Shepard said evenly. Liara looked up at him.
"Because you stood for humanity at key moments as the Ghost of the Terminus. Whether you know it or not, when people look at you, they look at humanity in general. You showed courage on Elysium, a will to live on Akuze, and commitment to one's cause on Torfan. You showed what humans can do in your recent history. Like it or not Shepard, you've become a representative of humanity. Probably one of the more honest ones too." Liara responded back. Shepard didn't want to be that. He didn't want to be someone that the galaxy looks too for an explanation or something. He just wanted to live quietly after doing what he thought was right. That was when he realized something. Ever since he met her, Liara has looked toward him the most out of everyone.
"Why are you so interested in me?" Shepard asked. He just didn't understand why people wanted to know about him as a person. He understood that his enemies wanted to learn more about him for obvious reasons, but when he came in contact with people he had saved or inspired... it was difficult to understand. How could he, someone who worked mostly alone, draw so many people to himself?
"I wanted to know more about you. To understand what made you into the man you are today. There's something compelling about you Shepard." Liara explained. Something compelling? What did she mean? Then Shepard realized that she might mean something else.
"You're interested in me because of my vision. Because you want to learn more about the protheans." Shepard said as he looked into her eyes, trying to see her true motives. Liara seemed a little embarrassed but it quickly disappeared.
I admit your connection to the protheans had something to do with my initial interest, but it has grown beyond that. You intrigue me Shepard, but I was not sure if it was... appropriate to act on my feelings. I thought there might already be a relationship between you and Chief Williams." Liara said making Shepard eyes go wide. He then remembered when Ashley kissed him on the cheek an hour ago.
"What gave you that idea?" Shepard asked as composed as he could. He noticed that he kept thinking about both Ash and Liara a lot lately, more than Liselle in fact but that didn't mean anything did it?
"Well it's just that when you 2 are together you seem to get along well. And the way she looks at you, it's like she wants to become more than friends. And then there was the time we-" Liara said before closing her mouth sharply, clamping her hands over it.
"What?" Shepard asked now very curious.
"Nothing! My mistake." Liara said quickly as she tried to change things. Shepard started to think the 2 of them talked a little bit, but decided not to push it.
"Well then, if I had to be honest I'm not too sure about Ashley," Shepard said as he leaned in a little and started to rub the back of his head like he did when he was thinking about things. Liara looked at him in interest as he continued on, "I mean it's strange. I'd like us to be friends, but I don't exactly dislike the idea of us being together. I'm just not that good at figure out my feelings. Hahaha" Shepard said, laughing a little at himself. Liara looked down at his response.
'So there are some feelings he has for Ashley. But what about..' Liara thought before voicing her next question, "Then what about us Shepard?" That made Shepard freeze for a second before he looked at her bewildered, thinking he might have heard it differently.
"What?" Shepard asked a little clumsily.
"Is there a mutual attraction between us or was I wrong about that?" Liara asked with a little more fire now. Shepard then looked up as if he was pondering the question.
"Hmmmm, well... about us... I'm sorry Liara..." Shepard said as he scratched his cheek with a sheepish grin. Liara looked down sadly thinking he didn't feel the same way. What Shepard said next stopped that line of thinking.
"but with it's the same thing with Ash when it comes to you." Liara looked up at him now with hopeful eyes. Shepard didn't see it, but he still kept going.
"With everyone on the crew I feel close to all of them. With Joker it's like having a little brother. With Chakwas, it's like she's a stern mother to me. Pressly is like that uncle you don't talk to very much, but you still appreciate them as family. Wrex is like that one family member that you like having around, no matter what he does. Kaidan is like a brother who is calm and surprisingly deep, but easy to get along with. Garrus, it's like watching a brother or cousin who is about to go to college for the first time: You don't know what he's feeling, but you can tell he's thinking about who he really is and what he really wants to be in life. Tali, well I like to think of her as a sister, but I don't know for some reason she feels closer than that sometimes. Then there's you and Ash," Shepard said making Liara pay extra attention. Everyone he named had meant like family to him so what she and Ashley?
"You and Ash, well I'm not to sure. I want to say your family to me, but I also want to say you mean much more than that. Crazy huh?" Shepard said smiling at his little speech. He meant every word of it though. Liara listened and went over everything he said and she started smiling more.
'I still have a chance.' She thought. Shepard decided what he said was enough and began to get out of his chair to leave. Liara saw this and got up too.
"Well Liara, it was nice talking to you. Sorry things didn't turn out clearly." Shepard said grinning a little. Liara just smiled at him.
"It's fine Shepard, it's nice to know something might happen though and also just for saving me again and for what you said..." Liara said before she stopped. Shepard looked at her curiously as she walked toward him and suddenly kissed him on the opposite cheek that Ashley kissed earlier. Liara looked at him slyly before she smiled and went back to her chair, swaying her hips a little as Shepard noticed. He then quietly left the room, his body on autopilot with his mind racing faster than a ship entering a mass relay.
As he kept going he heard Chakwas ask him if he was alright. He didn't trust his mouth so he just nodded as he kept walking. When Shepard walked out of the med bay he saw that Joker had come down to eat. Joker was sitting at one of the tables eating some type of soup. Shepard then realized that he was hungry too. He quickly walked over to where the food was. Being a biotic, Shepard used up more calories than non-biotics, so he ate a lot. He looked at the stove and noticed that Joker had made tomato soup.
Looking over to Joker, Shepard asked, "Hey Joker. Can I have some soup?" Joker turned around and looked at him still in his seat.
"Sure."
"Thanks." Shepard said. Joker nodded before turning back to his bowl. Shepard poured himself some, but noticed that it wouldn't be enough. So he took out a pan, some butter, 2 slices of bread and a slice of cheese. He threw the butter on the pan which he had placed on the lit stove. He then put the rest of the butter on each side of each bread slice and then sandwiched the cheese in between them. He then cooked the sandwich on the pan until it was golden brown on both sides. After he was done he placed all the ingredients back where he got them from. Shepard quickly put the grilled cheese sandwich on a plate and moved to the table along with his bowl.
"You know Shepard, Next time we touch down, let's try not to park in a colony of mutant zombies. Just thinking out loud here." Joker said without looking up as he continued eating his tomato soup. Shepard smirked a little at Joker's statement.
"I'll try to keep that in mind next time Joker, but for now I'd like to focus on my food. I'm starving." Shepard said as he started to sit down. Joker suddenly smelled something delicious. He looked up seeing Shepard set his food down and looked at the grilled cheese sandwich.
"Damn Shepard, that looks great. I didn't know you could cook anything." Joker said as he looked at it. Shepard smiled and chuckled.
"It's actually one of the few things I can cook." Shepard admitted. Joker looked at him curious as he sipped a little more of his soup.
"Really? How did you learn? Did you teach yourself?" Joker asked. He wondered if Shepard learned it during his time as the Ghost. Shepard's smile withered a little at the question.
"My mom actually taught it too me." Shepard said as he broke the sandwich in 2. He handed one to Joker who was a little surprised. Shepard hardly mentioned any of his family. Joker watched Shepard take his piece and dip it into the soup and ate it. Joker replicated it and felt like he just had a tiny slice of heaven enter his mouth. Joker saw that Shepard seemed to be carrying a little baggage about his mother so he decided to get him to share, if only to lighten the load.
"You wanna talk about it champ?"Joker asked as he dipped his piece into the soup again. Shepard looked at him shocked before he looked a little more alive and a little less heavy.
"What do you want to know?" Shepard asked.
"What was she like, your mother I mean." Joker said finishing his sandwich. Shepard took another bite of his before he swallowed and started talking again.
"My mother, Hannah Shepard was very kind and very smart. Whenever I asked her question, she would respond *snaps his fingers* just like that with a real answer. She knew how to cook, obviously, but she said it took her a lot of practice. I remember her telling me she set the stove on fire trying to boil water on her first try." Shepard said as he snickered a little. After a few seconds Joker started to snicker at it too. Shepard eventually stopped, but he still retained his smile.
"She wasn't a complete angel though." Joker looked at Shepard inquisitively. "If you made her mad enough, which was easy to do if you knew what buttons to push, she could become the devil in a heartbeat." Shepard said still smiling.
"She sounds like a really awesome mother." Joker said. Shepard's expression changed from smiling to sad in seconds as he continued to think of his mother. Joker saw it too.
"What's wrong Shepard?" Joker asked out of concern. Shepard looked down at his bowl of soup. It was completely still and despite being red Shepard could clearly see his reflection. But it wasn't his current reflection. It was his eleven year old face when he saw his mother dead. Even after 18 years he still remembered that awful sight, the pain and the numbness he felt after.
"Shepard, are you listening to me?" Joker said with his voice raised now. That was enough to jog Shepard out of it as he looked back up to Joker.
"Yeah." Shepard replied weakly.
"What's wrong man?" Joker asked. Shepard had become a good friend and had carried everyone this far. Joker just didn't feel like it should be his burden only.
"It's just that... there is hardly a day where I don't think about her. I miss her a lot. Did you know that she was the only one who raised me?" Shepard asked suddenly. Joker shook his head no.
"I grew up without a father. Don't even know who he is or his name. Sorry, it's just this latest mission brought up some bad memories." Shepard said as he got up to leave.
"How so?" Joker suddenly asked. Shepard downed his soup in one go and ate what was left of his sandwich to.
"What?" Shepard asked as he took his dishes to the sink. Joker got up having finished his food and wanting to clean up his stuff too.
"You just said the last mission brought it up. How?" Joker asked as he placed his dishes in the alongside Shepard. Shepard stopped washing his dishes for a moment before answering and continuing.
"When everyone was trapped, the Thorian put them all into a dream-like state, seeing what they wanted the most. The Thorian did something similar to me when I tried to save them. It used the memories of my life against me. That's what bothered me. And now being here with all of you..." Shepard began to admit before stopping. Joker looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Being here with all of us is what?" Joker urged. He knew Shepard needed a talk after all of that.
"*sigh* You make me feel like I have what I lost on Mindoir: A real home and a family." Shepard said shocking Joker a little. He then felt humbled that Shepard started to view them all as family.
"It's reopening old wounds though." Shepard said in an even tone.
"Well Shepard, I don't know what it's like to lose everything. Especially at your age then." Shepard looked down in depression, feeling worse now. "But I do know that home is where you make it and family...Well family is more than blood ties. It's the bonds you form with others. There not meant to hurt, but to heal and cause joy." Joker said as he turned and walked toward the staircase leading to the CIC. Shepard looked on after him. Unknown to Joker, Isaac and even himself, a lone tear fell down his cheek.
"Thank you." Shepard whispered feeling much better. With his spirits lifted he went to the elevator to talk with the rest of his squad. Even as he rode down the slow elevator, he didn't notice. He was too happy now. He silently rode the elevator down and waited patiently for it to open as soon as it stopped. After 5 minutes he exited the elevator and walked to where Wrex usually stayed. As he approached, he saw Wrex holding a bag of ice to his shoulder.
"Hey Wrex. How's your shoulder?" Shepard asked as stood in front of Wrex. The krogan looked at Shepard as if noticing him suddenly appearing. It was clear to Shepard that Wrex had something on his mind at the moment. Wrex answered the question fast to cover it up though.
"It's fine Shepard. A little sore, but nothing your doctor couldn't patch up." Wrex said. Shepard nodded at that. He could still see the contemplation on Wrex's face though.
"What's on your mind Wrex?" Shepard asked. Wrex stared at him for a moment before responding.
"Just thinking about things that the Thorian dug up." Wrex said. Shepard raised his eyebrow at the answer.
"I know it put all of us in a place we liked to be, but what was it that got you?" Shepard asked thinking Wrex may want to talk it out, like how Joker did with him. Wrex shook his head at the question.
"It's nothing. What do you want Shepard?" Wrex asked.
"Well uh I got curious about why you became a mercenary." Shepard admitted looking a little sheepish about it. Wrex gave him a deadpanned stare. Why was this human so curious about everything? And why didn't he leave him alone like the rest of the crew?
"Lot's of reasons." Wrex evasively said. Shepard scrunched up his nose at the vague answer. That didn't answer his question.
"Anything in particular?" Shepard asked, leaning on his back foot and crossing his arms. Wrex noticed that humans tend to step into that stance when they weren't going to leave and were expecting a straight answer. Wrex sighed before he explained things.
"I needed to get out of our system. I needed to eat. I needed to survive." Wrex said vaguely, silently hoping Shepard be satisfied with that answer and go away. No so such luck.
"Why not stay and help your people?" Shepard asked. Wrex narrowed his eyes in annoyance at Shepard.
"I tried to help. That's why I had to leave." Wrex said more directly. Shepard looked confused now.
"I don't get it what happened?" Shepard asked.
"I was betrayed." Wrex said making Shepard's eyes go wide. Seeing his surprise, Wrex continued, "I was the head of a small tribe. We were trying to restore order after the war, but the other tribes were against us. They followed Jarrod, one of the few warlords who survived the war with the turians. But he was old and so were his ideas. He wanted to continue the war. He wanted us to fight: turians, salarians, each other. It didn't matter who as long as we were fighting."
Shepard was flabbergasted by it. "Fighting for the sake of fighting? That-that just doesn't make sense to me. What did you want?"
"I just wanted Jarrod to shut up. To stop his ranting. I wanted him to stop leading the tribes astray, but he couldn't understand how much things have changed."
"Changed?" Wrex nodded.
"We didn't have the numbers to go to war. Even if we did, the genophage made sure we couldn't replenish our numbers fast enough. I told them all to forget about war. We needed to focus on breeding, at least for one generation. And for a while, we were getting through. Some of the tribes started coming around." Wrex explained.
"I take it Jarrod didn't like that." Shepard commented. Wrex nodded at that.
"Your right, he didn't. He arranged a Crush with the tribes: A meeting on neutral ground. He wanted to talk. We met at-" Wrex said before Shepard cut him off.
"The Hollows, the krogan's most sacred ground on Tuchunka." Shepard said with his eyes closed in thought. Wrex looked at him in surprise before narrowing his eyes.
"How did you know that?" Wrex asked with heavy suspicion mixed with some hostility. Shepard looked a little caught off guard from the tone but answered anyway.
"On Omega, there is an old krogan warlord named Patriarch. He taught me a lot about krogan culture." Shepard informed. Wrex looked a little more calm now, but still wondered who this warlord was. There weren't many of them left.
"Yes well, he seems to have taught you well Shepard. Violence is forbidden at the Hollows, he did tell you that right?" Wrex said, teasing a little at the end. Shepard nodded rolling his eyes.
"It sounded like a trap to me Wrex. I know you had to have expected that." Shepard said trying to bring the conversation back on track.
"I did Shepard. But when your father invites you to a Crush... well, there are some laws even we hold sacred." Wrex said making Shepard looked floored. What the hell?!
"Jarrod was your father?!" Shepard asked in complete shock. Wrex nodded, a little solemn now.
"He was... until that day." He said.
"What happened?" Shepard asked.
"We talked, but we didn't get anywhere. When it was clear that I wouldn't join him, he gave the signal. His men lept from the graves of our ancestor's like krogan undead! The few that were loyal to me died quickly. I escaped with my life, but not before I sank my dagger deep into my father's chest. That... is why I left and that's why I'll never go back." Wrex finished with fire in his eyes. Shepard stared right back into them and saw that there was still some part of Wrex that didn't fully believe it. Shepard smiled upon seeing it, confusing Wrex.
"You must have family other than your father, don't you miss them?" Shepard asked suddenly.
"You trying to make me cry Shepard?" Wrex paused for a minute before he thought of something, "I've got some... unfinished business with my family, but that's all."
"Oh? What kind of business?" Shepard asked curiously. Wrex sighed in exasperation at the human's constant questioning.
"Before I left I made an oath to my father's father." Wrex said.
"Your grandfather? What was it?" Shepard asked. Wrex grunted in annoyance at being interrupted and questioned. Shepard kept his mouth shut this time.
"I swore to recover my family's battle armor. It was taken from him after the uprising." Wrex said waiting for the next question to come along as he crossed his arms. He wasn't disappointed.
"What's so important about this armor?" Shepard asked.
"It's a relic, useless really. But it was worn by 5 generations of my family before the war. It's rightfully mine. Originally, it was taken by the turian military. We weren't allowed armor or weapons after the war. Now it's in the hands of Tonn Actus, a turian scum who collects relics from the war. He's made millions selling krogan artifacts that were stolen from my people. He's got several bases where he stores his goods. All fortified and guarded. I just don't know which base has my family's armor." Wrex sad looking irritated. Shepard saw this sand decided to do something.
"Alright then, tell me where to start looking." Shepard declared. Wrex looked at Shepard and grinned.
"I'll upload the data to your nav system. But Shepard, I want to be there when you find him." Wrex said as he got his personal omni-tool out.
"I take everyone out on missions. Makes things more fun that way." Shepard said as he turned in Ashley's direction.
"Spoken like a krogan Shepard. Looking forward to it." Wrex said as Shepard began to walk toward Ashley. As Shepard got closer he saw that she was having a conversation with someone on her terminal. He could hear the last part clearly as he approached silently.
"Oh, before I go, you said you're serving with the Ghost of the Terminus? We saw his induction on the news here. He's cute. Later Sis." A young woman's voice spoke before the call cut. Ashley sighed and rubbed her forehead as she started to talk to herself, blushing about it.
"Yea I know he's cute and so do the other girls on this ship to. I even kissed him on the cheek, but he probably thinks I'm weird or-" Ash said as she turned only to see Shepard right behind her. She jumped a little and almost fell back on the table but Shepard caught her and held her for a moment, almost hugging her since they were so close. Ash had a deep blushed staining her cheeks now.
"Uh *ahem* Shepard please tell me you didn't hear that." Ashley asked, almost begged. Shepard released her as he kept eye contact. Deep blue peered into dark brown.
"Which part? The part where someone called me cute, or the one where you said I had multiple girls liking me?" Shepard asked teasingly. Ashley was now doing an impressive impression of a tomato. If Shepard was a judge, he would have given her 10 out of 10.
"Dammit, you did huh?" Ashley asked as her blush went down, back to her cheeks. Shepard nodded, smiling a bit.
"*Sigh* Shoot me now. That was Sarah, my youngest sister. I'm surprised to see you here. So what's up? You didn't come by to eavesdrop on family mail." Ashley asked trying to move the situation away from what she said when she thought she was alone.
"Your close to your family if you and your sister talk from this distance." Shepard commented his own observations. Ashley smiled at his remark and nodded.
"Yea we've always been close, me and my sisters especially. With Dad on duty so much, I had to help Mom raise them." Ashley explained. Shepard being an only child was curious about what it was like to grow up with siblings.
"You got more than one sister? Sounds like a big family." Shepard said with a smirk. Ashley smiled.
"Yeah, I'm the oldest. Then Abby, then Lynn. Sarah's the youngest, she's still in high school. With four girls, Dad used to say he felt more outnumbered at home than on maneuvers." Ash said.
"I'm guessing your father served in the Alliance fleet." Shepard asked. Ashley's smile became more bitter now.
"Yeah. He took any crap posting he could get that offered space time. You know what? He worked his ass off trying to get recognized, but he never made it up above Serviceman Third Class. He was real proud when I made Chief. First thing he did was salute." Ashley said a little somber now. Shepard decided to ask another question.
"What about your mother? You haven't mentioned her." Ashley looked at him skeptically before she looked like she just realized something.
"Oh right you don't know about military wives do you?" She asked. Shepard shook his head no like a little kid.
"Military wives are strong because they have to be, able to raise kids while Dad's on a six-month cruise. She's got a degree in planetary geology. She and Dad both wanted to see new worlds. Tch She gave up her career to raise us though." Ashley said looking down. Shepard saw this and thought that because of her parent's choices, she didn't live on Earth.
"Where did you grow up?" Shepard asked. Ashley laughed at him this time. Shepard gave her a confused stare in response.
"All over. We transferred half a dozen times before I finished grade school. You go where personnel sends you right? I guess that's why I'm so tight with my sisters. We'd have to leave all our friends every two or three years." Ashley said smiling at her memories of her sisters and her as kids. Shepard saw the happiness she had with her family and felt jealous of her.
"You're lucky to have such a close family." Shepard in a solemn tone. He quickly caught what he said and regretted it a little. Ashley heard him and immediately started to apologize.
"Sorry. I forgot about your family situation." Ashley apologized. Shepard shook his head at it.
"Don't worry about it Ashley. I've done what I can to make my peace with it." Shepard said.
"Let me deal with a fire-fight, no problem. Dealing with a foot in my mouth? Yea good luck on that." Ash said.
"So what's it like having a younger sister in high school?" Shepard asked as he tried to push away from the topic they got on.
"Things were tense with me and Sarah for a while. Then we... bonded." Ashley admitted. Shepard got interested in that last part.
"Sounds like a story. Want to share?" Shepard asked. Ashley nodded a little reluctantly.
"Sarah got herself a boyfriend who wanted to go faster than she did, Mike. I didn't think he was a bad kid. Just pushy. Lynn, would send me these worried vid-mails, and I'd tell her to relax." Ashley started to explain.
"Where were you when this happened?" Shepard asked. Ashley stared at him for a moment.
"I was on active duty. Sarah's graduating high school this year. This was only a couple years back. They were on Amaterasu. At the time I was assigned to Czarnobog. Same cluster, but a dozen LY away. Close enough to talk regularly, too far to make it back in an emergency. I couldn't afford a fast-packet flight." Ashley said looking down at her feet.
"If he really liked her, he shouldn't have pushed." Shepard said. Ashley nodded.
"Yea, but if he didn't ask, I'd wondered if he thought Sarah was ugly. Damned if you do, damned if you don't."
"True. So what happened next?"
"Mike thought they'd go for a romantic stroll through the woods, because he figured it was past time they did the deed."
"She's your sister, so I'm guessing Mike got hurt." Shepard said. Ashley nodded vigorously.
"Oh yeah. She levered Mike face-first into a tree and left. Didn't have a scratch on her. Good thing Mom and Dad had us all learn some kind of self-defense. I took emergency leave and walked Sar to school for a few days." Ashley said grinning.
"You all learned self-defense?" Shepard asked.
"Lynn did pistol practice, but didn't like it. She's kinda nervous. Sar took aikido. Abby decided to learn the sword. She always was a little weird. Likes big skirts and tops you have to tie her into. They do great things for her figure though." Ashley explained.
"Kendo." Shepard said aloud. Ashley looked at him in surprise for a moment.
"What?"
"Kendo. Abby does kendo. It's an old human art of swordsmanship going back to the Feudal Era of Japan." Shepard informed.
"How do you know that?" Ashley asked.
"I looked up historical things when I was a kid. Human history was a major one." Shepard informed. He then asked, "What did you do learn?"
"One of Dad's friends taught me marine hand-to-hand." Ashley said getting over her shock.
"Really? I never really seen that type of style. You think we could spar?" Shepard asked. Ashley looked bewildered at Shepard.
"I don't think I'd be able to take you on Shepard." Ashley said remembering his fight with Wrex. Shepard deflated a little before shrugging it off. No point in getting depressed about it.
"So what happened at home?" Shepard asked. Ashley's happy demeanor changed to an angry one.
"On my last day out, Mike was waiting for us. Sar had told all her friends what happened so everyone at school knew about it. He wasn't happy. I wanted to snap him in half, but Sar gave this look. This 'Let me handle it, I need to do this alone' look. She kept her cool God bless her, as he screamed in her face. She just let him vent, then he tried to punch her." Ash said making Shepard listen on in interest.
"I swear she just flowed around him. Next thing I knew, he was face down on the side walk and blood was everywhere." Ashley said.
"That's Aikido for you." Shepard said.
"Yea, when he swung, she just wasn't there anymore. And he fell. She helped him stop the bleeding and had me call the ambulance. She told the paramedics he fell. Before they took him to the hospital, Mike touched Sarah's arm. I thought he was going to end up on the ground again, but he hung his head whispered 'I'm sorry' and started crying. And she hugged him." Ashley said with a little pride in her voice. A smirk appeared on her face suddenly, "The Williams women are a decisive bunch Shepard. We do things when we're ready. Not before, not after."
Shepard chuckled at her, thinking it was cute before he noticed something. "You didn't mention anything about your old man. Was he away?"
"My dad always wanted to serve in space, but he wanted us to have real ground under our feet. He'd say space is beautiful, but you can't raise a family there." Ashley said before she started to say something else.
"I cannot rest from travel: I will drink life to the lees: All times I have enjoy'd greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those that loved me, and alone. For always roaming with a hungry heart. Much have I seen and known. Cities of men and manners, climates, councils, governments," Ashley said. Shepard vaguely recognized those words.
"I didn't know you liked classical literature." Shepard said. Ashley appeared happy that Shepard had known about it.
"Ulysses was Dad's favorite poem. Every time he shipped out, he recorded me reading it. He had over a dozen versions when he retired." Ashley said happily. Shepard smiled at her.
"Does he still like it?" Shepard asked. Ashley's smile became a bit more somber.
"I would hope so. I read it to his grave every time I go home." Ashley said. Shepard's eyes widened.
"Oh man. I'm.. I'm sorry." Shepard said feeling bad now. Ashley saw it and smiled at him. 'He's very sincere about things isn't he?' She thought.
"Don't be. Dad passed on a few years back. He's probably still watching though. So behave." Ashley said.
"I thought you said he was dead?" Shepard asked.
"From Heaven. Wherever that is. That's not going to be a problem with you is it? That I believe in God?" Ashley clarified, afraid that Shepard might be one of those people who would be weirded out by her faith.
"Your beliefs are your own business. I'm just your... what would you call it? Your temporary commanding officer." Shepard said. Shepard wasn't really surprised by Ashley's belief in the afterlife. In his view, everyone had their own views of a higher power.
"Just my commanding officer huh? We'll have to see about that." Ashley said. Shepard observed her for a moment.
"What are you saying Ashley?" Shepard asked a little unsure.
"Me? I'm not saying anything..." Whew that was close. "Skipper." Oh boy. Shepard was now sure that Liara and Ashley were both interested in him now. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in them. He thought they were Fine, with a capital F. It was just that, he still felt broken from his break up wit Liselle. But he was slowly coming around to the idea of it, but sadly he liked both of them. He was pretty sure they weren't the sharing type.
"Shepard, what do you believe in?" Ashley asked all of a sudden. Shepard gave her a confused look.
"What?" he asked.
"I told you what I believe in, what do you believe in?" She asked again.
Shepard looked up in thought. 'What DO I believe in?' All of his life Shepard had never focused on a belief of things. Actually scratch that he did, but he didn't really think Ashley or anyone would accept it. Oh well.
"Umm actually. If I had to say anything, I guess I believe in a little of everything." Shepard said confusing Ashley.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Well like you, I believe in a primordial entity that created us. I'm not sure if they did it with a plan in mind or simply on whim. I like to think they created each of us with a task in mind. Like the asari, I like to think that there is something that binds us all together no matter the species or differences. Similar to the Salarians, I believe in reincarnation where we are constantly reincarnated until we accomplish our task and then when we die, we go to wherever we find peace. Like the quarians I also believe that our ancestors watch over us and guide us during this time." Shepard explained. Ashley wondered how Shepard could believe in all of that. She eventually just chalked it up to his upbringing.
"Hey uh Ashley. Umm why exactly did you kiss me?" Shepard asked as he looked to the side, away from her. Ashley looked surprised at him and her blush came back full force.
"Uh umm I-I-I." Ashley stuttered out but Shepard cut her off.
"Never mind, it's fine." He said quickly as went to where Garrus was, hoping to calm himself down.
'It's because I like you, you dunce.' Ashley thought out. She wished she could say it more directly but she couldn't. Shepard approached Garrus, watching the turian work on top of the Mako, calibrating the cannon more.
"What's up Garrus?" Shepard asked. Garrus looked down from his perch to see who was talking to him.
"Shepard, good to see you." Garrus said. Shepard noticed that Garrus was probably not getting down any time soon so he just started talking.
"I'm curious, have you seen a lot of action while you were in c-sec?" Shepard asked. He wanted to learn more about Garrus so he figured asking about c-sec from him would help him understand. And hopefully curve that recklessness in him. Garrus looked to be in thought before answering.
"Well not so much as you obviously, but yeah, I've seen some interesting things." Garrus said. There was something about the way he said that made Shepard question himself if he really wanted to know or not. Sighing he asked.
"I bet you have. Anything in particular stand out?" Shepard asked. Garrus nodded.
"I remember this salarian geneticist I was sent to investigate. That case was a bit... disturbing." Shepard looked at Garrus in morbid interest. 'A geneticist? One that required a c-sec agent to investigate? That had to have had some gross details. Jackpot.'
"What happened? Why were you investigating him?" Shepard asked. Garrus looked to be visiting memory lane as he spoke.
"I was tasked with tracking black market trade on the Citadel. Most of it was harmless, nothing I needed to pursue. But during the course of my investigation I noticed an increase in the trade of body parts, organs mostly. We usually get a few of those, but not in the numbers I was seeing. We weren't sure if there was a new black market lab or if some freak was harvesting organ's from citizens." Garrus said.
"I know on Omega we got a few of those people, but I usually stop them now. This happens on the Citadel too?" Shepard said remembering a few of the sickos he found on Omega. The only reason Aria supported him in that endevour was because if someone was killing people and selling their parts, it was bad for any real, necessary trade. Besides, there aren't a lot of healthy people on Omega and the few that are, are usually trained killers. Selling tainted parts killed more than helped.
"Every so often some lab sells unwanted parts through the black market. They're not as bad as the psychos. I remember this one elcor diplomat we caught in my first year on the job. He was hacking people up and selling their organs. Had the station in a bit of a panic. But this case wasn't that clear cut. Turns out there was more going on than we first realized." Garrus said. Shepard listened on, intent on finding out what had happened.
"So how did you figure out what was going on?" Shepard asked.
"First we got a hold on a sample and ran DNA tests. The weird thing was that the match led us to a turian who was still alive and was very convinced he never lost his liver. After a bit of digging, I discovered this turian had worked briefly for Dr. Saleon, the geneticist. So I went to his lab, hoping to find evidence of cloned organ development. But there was nothing. No salarian hearts, no turian livers, not one krogan testicle." Shepard rose his eyebrow at that last one.
"Seriously? They do that here too?" Shepard asked.
"Yes, they'll pay up to 10,000 credits each. That's 40,000 for the full set. Someone's making a killing out there." Garrus replied with mirth.
"Yea on Omega, I think I found one guy selling them double of that." Shepard said causing Garrus look at him in shock. Before Garrus could ask what else Shepard had found, Shepard steered it back.
"What did you do about the geneticist?" Shepard asked.
"I brought in some of his employees for interrogation. See if I could get them to talk." Shepard nodded at Garrus' thinking. If you can't get through the boss, go through one of his cronies.
"And?" Shepard urged.
"While I was interviewing one of them, I came across something suspicious." Garrus said.
"Go on."
"One of my detainees started bleeding profusely during the interview. We offered to patch him up and he got frantic, freaked out. I ordered a full exam to find out what was going on. Our medics found incisions all over his body, some of them fresh. That was our big break. These people weren't just Saleon's employees. They were-"
"Test tubes. The bastard was growing and harvesting organs inside his employees." Shepard said in disgust.
"Wrex was right about you Shepard. Your ability to read into things is astonishing. You would have made a great detective. Most of the victims were poor. He payed them each a small percentage of the sells, but only if the organs were good. Sometimes an organ wouldn't grow properly, so he'd just leave it in them. Most of htme were a mess, but only on the inside-hidden so nobody could see it." Garrus said.
"He was either an arrogant amateur or a colossal idiot." Shepard said. Garrus looked at him in confusion.
"What do you mean Shepard?"
"You don't see it? He left the parts in them. You leave evidence inside living people, especially organs, it either blocks something or messes up there systems. That was what led you to finding him out. Tell me you got the bastard." Shepard asked.
"That's the worst part. We never caught him." Garrus said, ashamed.
"Why not? What the hell happened?" Shepard demanded.
"He ran. Blew up his lab, grabbed a few of his employees and ran for the nearest space dock. By the time I found out, his ship was already leaving. He threatened to kill his hostages if we tried to stop him." Garrus said in a bitter tone of voice. Shepard could here the venom laced in it though.
"What did you do?" Shepard asked. He had a bad feeling about it.
"I ordered Citadel defense to shoot his ship down, but C-Sec HQ countermanded my order. They were worried about the hostages, worried about civilian casualties since the ship was so close to the Citadel. I told them those hostages were dead anyway. He'd just use them to make more organs, but they didn't listen." Garrus grumbled out now.
"You can't get them all." Shepard said remembering one of his toughest lessons. He eventually found a way around that though. Get the criminal next time and be prepared for a trap.
"Yea. But letting him get away... All they had to do was disable that ship. Stop him from running. Maybe the hostages die, maybe they don't. But at least we stop the bastard responsible for it all." Garrus said, eyes burning in resolution.
"If you don't care about the lives of those hostages then your no better than Saleon. Your just a terrorist with a badge." Shepard rebuked.
"Yeah maybe your right. It doesn't make it any easier, but I see your point. I just wish I could have stopped him. That's all." Garrus said simmering down. Shepard then thought of Saleon. Knowing Garrus, he had to have set out some contacts to search for the guy.
"Any idea what happened to Saleon?" Shepard asked. Garrus nodded.
"I sent out feelers from time to time hoping to find something. I thought I found him a while back. He changed ships and changed his name to Dr. Heart." Shepard's eyebrows rose at that. Garrus must have seen it too. "His idea of a joke I guess. I told the military, but they weren't convinced it was him. I got the transponder frequency for his new ship, but I just can't get anyone to check it out."
"Send it to Joker and we'll put it on our to do list." Shepard said. Garrus grinned at him.
"I was hoping you'd say that. But Shepard take me with you when you go. If it's Saleon, I want to be there when you find them." Shepard nodded and left to the Engine room to speak to Tali. Garrus watched Shepard leave for a moment.
'That dream state the Thorian put me into. Was that what I really wanted?' Garrus thought to himself as he turned his attention to a misaligned barrel for the mako's turrent. Shepard entered the engine room silently as he made his way to Tali. He noticed she seemed to be a bit more jumpy as he got closer. When he was a few feet behind her he greeted, "Hey Tali."
She jumped before whirling around. Seeing who it was, she smiled happily. "Shepard! I'm glad you're here."
Shepard could now see she was just happier now in comparison to when she was feeling homesick. "Good to see you smiling again." Shepard said.
"I'm sleeping much better now. I think I'm getting used to how quiet the ship is." Tali chirped out. Shepard looked at her closely and noticed that she had something on her mind.
"That's good to know, but it seems like something's bothering you." Shepard said. Tali's smile went down for a minute.
"Yes. I still think a lot about my Pilgrimage, though. I know Saren's our top priority, but with all the worlds we go to, I was hoping to find something to bring back to the flotilla." Tali explained wringing her hands.
"What are you hoping to find?" Shepard asked. He knew quarians on their Pilgrimage had to bring back things that would benefit their people as a whole, but it wasn't always the same thing.
"Usually, people bring back something like a derelict ship we can use for salvage. But I need something bigger! There's a lot expected of me." Tali said with determination burning in her eyes. That last sentence had Shepard's curiosity piqued now. Why was there a lot expected from his quarian crew member?
"I don't mean to sound mean, but what's so special about you?" Shepard asked carefully. He knew if he ever insulted a woman, especially one close to him, there was a chance he could get hurt in a very painful way. Thankfully Tali just waved her hand at the question, making Shepard relieved.
"Don't worry about it. It's my father, he's the senior member of the admiralty board. He's one of only 5 people who can overrule the decisions of the Conclave for the good of the Migrant Fleet. My father is responsible for the lives of seventeen million people- our entire race is in his hands... And I'm his only child." Tali said, surprising Shepard. He had come upon someone this important? He honestly didn't know whether someone set this up (your welcome) or if the galaxy was just kind.
"So are you some kind of heir to the Quarian throne or something?" Shepard asked jokingly.
"*giggles* No it doesn't work that way. My father's position as Admiral isn't hereditary. I'll probably never serve on the admiralty board myself. Officially, Im just the same as any other citizen, but it doesn't work that way in practice. People have always treated me differently because of who my father is." Tali said sighing at the end.
"I'm guessing you had a lot of privileges then?" Shepard said as he scratched his left shoulder. Damn thing was itchy.
Tali looked up in thought as she remembered her childhood. "I probably had it easier than most growing up, but it's not all good. People like my father have enemies and they're not above using me to get to him."
Shepard winced at that. He knew some people tried to use things against him when he was the Ghost. Luckily for him, it was nothing personal, but still valuable: innocent people. "That's gotta be tough."
Tali nodded her head vigorously in response. "My people place a high value on family and ancestry. There's an unspoken expectation. That I'll live up to my father's example. Everyone is waiting for me to do something great on my Pilgrimage, something that will forever change our lives for the better. If I don't, it's like I failed and that reflects badly on both me and my father Shepard." Tali said getting a little panicked at the end. Shepard calmly grabbed her shoulders and talked softly to her.
"Calm down Tali. Unlike before when you left the fleet, you were alone. Now your not. You got me, Wrex, Garrus, Ashley, Kaidan and Liara. Plus Joker and Adams as well as the rest of this crew. We'll help you find something to bring back to your flotilla. And when your dad sees it, he'll be so proud he might start dancing." Shepard said. His speech made her calm down. Seeing it, Shepard released his grip on her shoulders. Then she started to giggle at something.
"What?" Shepard asked.
"I was just picturing my father dancing." Tali answered as she continued to giggle. Shepard chuckled at the thought.
"Our greatest dream is that one day, we'll return to our homeworld and drive out the geth. But even if we stop Saren, that's not going to happen. There's still millions of geth behind the Veil. Until they're gone, our exile will continue." Tali said evenly. Shepard sighed.
"What would you need to make your people happy?" he asked. He figured that she was going to ask him something along those lines so he decided to just go ahead and ask her.
"Something that would help us better understand the Geth. They've changed significantly since the exile, they've continued to evolve. We've done our best to study them, but it's not easy. They're very reclusive. Until recently, they never went beyond the borders of the Veil and all the geth we run into now are under Saren's control. We'd need to find geth operating on their own, independently. But I don't want this to get in the way of our mission Shepard. First we stop Saren. Then I'll worry about my own problems." Tali explained. Shepard nodded and suddenly remembered something. Back in the ExoGeni HQ on Feros, there was a geth terminal he and Isaac hacked that mentioned a geth fleet out away from Saren's main force. That could help.
"I need to go tell Joker our next destination. It was nice talking with you Tali." Shepard said as he turned to walk away.
"See you later." Tali said as she watched him go. At first she was having trouble asking Shepard for help, but with such a close call with the Thorian, she decided it was past time to ask him. 'Thank you Shepard' Tali silently thought out as she turned back to her terminal. She meant for both the offer to help and for saving her from the Thorian.
With Shepard
Shepard was currently in the elevator. Since it was taking to long he hacked the comm system to Joker specifically.
"Joker." Shepard said scaring Joker again.
"Wha-What?" Joker asked a little surprised.
"I need you to make a jump to the... *Shepard checks the data he got* to the Armstrong Nebula. I've found some geth outposts there. Thought we should go hunting." Shepard said grinning a little.
"Finally some action! Headed there now." Joker said as he banked for the nearest mass relay. Shepard smiled as the elevator door opened and went back to his room, thinking her should get some sleep before the fight began.
Almost 12,000 words! You have no reason to be mad about this one now. Tell me what you thought.
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Review and I hope you all enjoyed it.
Also I will be taking my poll down tomorrow so if you haven't voted, get to it. Bye.