Author's note: This is my first fanfic, something I put together in hopes that my unique idea might be well received. If not that's okay, I just want to contribute another story to the Tali/Male Shepard tag, since it seems to be lacking.

I'm open to edits, but I've been wanting to publish something for awhile, so please kindly let me of your thoughts!

If this is received semi-well, I'll include a brief biography of my Shepard!

I hope you all enjoy reading.

Every parting is a form of death, as every reunion is a type of heaven – Tryon Edwards

Unnamed spaceport, Freedom's Progress, January 12, 2185, late evening local time

Tali'Zorah vas Neema was stunned. Her mission, to rescue the Quarian pilgrim Veetor'Nara, had not gone according to plan.

The landing of their ship the MFV Apollo a human designed frigate, a gift from a budding alliance, had proven troublesome. It was almost twice the size the Normandy SR-1 had been making it difficult to land the behemoth on the conventional landing pads that had been approached. A scan of the surrounding area, of the settlement at-large, was met with the realization that the human colony of roughly one million was empty. Holographic screens were left on, dinners left on tables, vehicles abandoned; the silence was eerie. Only the sound of footsteps crunching on the snow-laden ground broke through the stillness.

Humans for the most part, like quarians, were a social people interacting with each other in some capacity either through work or extracurricular activities. While other species were social, it appeared evolution had favored that trait in humans and quarians, specifically. While it seemed the asari and Turians functioned well without social groups or pairings, it seemed humans and quarians struggled without them. Perhaps intergalactic convergent evolution does exist, Tali thought to herself.

It was this that made the lack of activity truly bizarre to her, even at night humans congregated, even on colonial settlements a nightlife existed. For there to be nothing was unsettling.

"This…this is creepy right? Humans don't just…disappear?" Her best friend and roommate Lena'Raan vas Neema remarked.

"No, Lena. It's not normal. They're like us, once they settle, they settle and congregate. An empty human colony is as rare as an empty ship; it never happens, only under extreme circumstances."

She led the contingent of marines through the abandoned settlement, clearing pre-fabricated houses of potential belligerents. Despite the lingering quiet there was potential that enemies had hidden, waiting for an opportune moment to attack. But while each unit was cleared the chances of such an ambush were becoming unlikely for the contingent of marines; a group of ten led by Tali and a disgruntled male quarian named Prazza.

A whirring sound in the distance captured her attention, forcing her to unlatch her Spectre-grade shotgun from the small of her back; a gift from an old friend. She smiled, reading the inscription on the HMSWG X, tracing it lightly with her finger before accessing her omnitool's combat programs.

It wasn't state-of-the-art but the model itself, another gift, had been meticulously maintained since it had been given to her. Her fingers tapped away at the holographic interface accessing her programs; an overload function, a sabotage program, and a combat drone.

The whirring grew louder until she saw it, a swarm of mechanical drones flying toward their location, jamming their communications. "Contact," she yelled leaping behind cover, a thin sheet of metal attached to a railing.

The others followed suit, hiding behind doorframes or behind the same railings she had. She exposed herself quickly, using her overload program to deplete the shields of the closest one, yelling at a marine to shoot it down.

The marine complied raising her rifle, shooting a volley of shots at the drone causing it to descend, crashing into a wall. She looked around and saw the other drones had suffered similar fates allowing for a brief reprieve. It wasn't but a moment until mechanized beeping filled the air, a familiar sound.

She peeked from cover and saw a group of LOKI mechs amassing on the platform in front of them, weapons drawn and accompanied by FENRIS models. The tell-tale shuffling of the canid mechs approached causing her to shift her position, turning her body to the side to as the machines descended the stairs.

She shot three rounds into the first, following with the deployment of her combat drone, affectionately named Chatika vas Paus, to finish with a disabling electronic pulse. Chatika emitted another pulse, delaying the descent of another, allowing her to finish it with a flurry of rounds from her shotgun.

A vented hiss filled the air, forcing her to reach into her pockets for fresh thermal clips. She replaced the spent cartridges and pre-fired her weapon, causing a near malfunction of the weapon, but she had done it purposefully. With the increasing heat in the weapon, she waited until the right moment, she turned to the group of LOKI and fired, pressing the trigger, emitting a blast from her weapon.

Humans had dubbed the maneuver "carnage," a blast of the combined slugs in the weapon reaching a critical heating point, resulting in a fiery projectile. It had worked, taking down two mechs allowing for the marines to handle the remaining few.

A couple remained "alive" the crackling of electricity, the last vestiges of mechanic life now filling the once silent space. She walked across the platform firing shots into the now defunct machines, ensuring that none survived.

She looked around, it appeared that there were no reinforcements, no the group was alone once again, the crunching of snow seeping it's way into her audio receptors. It reminded her of Noveria, it reminded her of her late commander.

She stepped into the abandoned prefab, walking to a terminal to collect potential data but she allowed her mind to wander. She felt the stinging of tears at the corner of her eye's and she bade them the mercy of falling, thinking of her late commander.

She had been just a simple Quarian on her pilgrimage, he was an illustrious commander with the human Systems Alliance. The Lion of Elysium, a Spectre, the Savior of the Citadel but to Tali, he was her closest friend, a crush, the first and only man she loved.

She thought back to those early days returning from her pilgrimage, presenting her gift, the geth data that her commander had given to her without a second thought. She was a mess, inconsolable, depressed.

She had mourned Shepard for quite some time after his death and her return to the fleet finding it difficult to move on from her unrequited love. In fact, she did not want to move on and did not foresee a future beyond her duties to the fleet, and her new home, the Neema. She now understood her father's obsession with work and the admiralty after her mother died; it helped to dull the pain of loss.

To Tali, the man she loved was gone, the one and only man to see her for who she truly was, and nothing else. She had made friends, of course, her people were excessively social beings, she didn't avoid that, nor did she want to. She did not, however, develop relationships to the extent that they had been expected.

Her "auntie" Shala'Raan, an admiral of the fleet like her father Rael, had attempted to play matchmaker but to no avail. None of the potential suitors captured her attention like Shepard had done. Tali was not vain; she did not care that these men had not accomplished what Shepard had in their careers. It was how she was treated, how she felt when engaging in such "courtship."

"Tali!" Prazza interrupted her thoughts, "we have an incoming shuttle, it has been flagged as Cerberus," he growled. "Everyone get your guns ready for potential contact."

"Prazza, stand down!" Tali shouted attempting to get the hot-headed marine's attention. She also had not realized she was in a prefab and in front of a terminal. "We will attempt to avoid them and continue what we came here to do, save Veetor. IF we cross paths with them, you let ME handle it, understood?"

"Understood."

The sound of muffled voices could be heard approaching the door, Tali readied herself and glared at Prazza, "let ME handle this. But be prepared. If you need to reload your weapons do it now."

Tali took one additional glance at the terminal in front of her, just ahead were more mechs and drones, however, the logs indicated the presence of an YMIR mech, an obstacle that made her nervous. Her squad had not come prepared to fight anything close to that size. Nor had it come prepared to retaliate against possible Cerberus aggression.

As she thought of tactical scenarios to avoid the YMIR and the potential Cerberus operatives, the electronic whooshing of a door was heard and three humans had now entered the room occupied by the quarians.

Tali had made out that one of the individuals was a dark-skinned human wearing light armor emblazoned with the Cerberus logo on the right breast. He was carrying a Katana shotgun, but held the barrel to the ground, with the safety was off. Odd, but welcome.

She then noticed a light-skinned woman, wearing a suit that was somehow tighter than hers. She held her submachine gun higher than the dark-skinned individual, as if expecting a firefight. Now that's the reaction I expect.

Before Tali had gotten to the other individual, Prazza had appeared to be unnecessarily escalating the situation, despite the terrorist group the humans appeared to be affiliated.

"Identify yourselves, now! Cerberus. Don't make us make you pay for what you did to the Idenna!"

Before Tali had a chance to reprimand Prazza and regain control of the situation the other human she had yet to observe had stepped forward.

He, at least his towering figure lead her to assume it was a male human, wore all-black armor with what Tali had identified was an N7 symbol on the left breast. The symbol made Tali question herself.

There are other N7's, you silly girl. It's not him. He's dead. Gone. Never coming back. You can't assume all N7's would be honorable like he was…

The thought trailed off, mentally chastising herself for having such high hopes, but before the thought could fully leave her consciousness, the man spoke. In her clouded mind she hadn't even noticed that he was speaking Khelish, her mind only registering the calming, deep baritone that she had ever heard from one man in particular.

"I understand your concern, I do. I spent six months hunting these bastards down and dealing with their twisted experiments. I don't know what happened to the Idenna but I believe you and your pain and am sorry for those lives that were lost. If I could, I'd join you in fighting them because I have no sympathy for these Cerberus scum."

She was stunned. She could not believe what she was hearing. It was not the sympathy in the man's words, nor the blatant disdain he held for the organization. It was his voice. It was him. It was his voice. It was her Nate.

I'm dreaming. This isn't real. No. No no no no… She backed away slowly, hiding behind Lena who herself had been surprised by the humans complete grasp for the quarian language.

"Tali," she whispered, "what's going on?" The lack of an immediate answer concerned her, "Tali, what is the matter? I know it's Cerberus but we shouldn't be this afraid."

"I'm not scared, Lena. I'm going crazy. That man, that's Shepard. I don't know how, I don't know why but it's him," her voice was a frantic whisper.

"I have to be dreaming. This isn't real, I need to wake up. I can't go through this again, Lena, I can't. I can't."

Lena attempted to console the quarian, "Tali, I only know him from what you've told me but this seems like him. And it's not a dream, Tali. This isn't one of your nightmares, I promise."

Tali felt herself spiraling out of control, but, she tried to keep her composure, somehow. That is, until he took his helmet off and addressed her. She saw his dark eyes, black like the void of space, yet they held a warmth to them as he looked at her, a gaze that no one had given her, quarian or not, since he had passed.

She then observed his physical attributes, attempting to find signs of the man she loved. She looked back into his eyes a rich black like the void of space, that carried a warmth that comforted her on more than one occasion. His hair, just as dark as his eyes, was pulled into a high know ponytail, with dark stubble on his face to match. The only noticeable difference were grotesque glowing scars on his face. It pained her to see them, even more to imagine the suffering he had endured.

It was when he spoke again that she registered the Khelish, an accent that was distinctly non-quarian due to the nature of the speaker. She understood him, she knew he was speaking her language but there an alien quality to which he uttered the words that was striking.

"If I may, might I speak to the leader here? Perhaps we can reach an agreement to proceed?" She had found herself unable to move but for once Prazza's arrogance was welcomed for he stepped forth and confronted the man.

"I am the leader here, human," his rifle aimed at the human's chest, "what are you doing here? What is Cerberus doing here?"

"Do you want me to make them leave? Would that make you more comfortable? I am them their superior officer, they will follow orders." Prazza stood for a moment contemplating the questions.

"Yes, make them leave, human."

He nodded, returning to the human standard English. "Jacob, Miranda. Head back to the shuttle, scan the perimeter for survivors or evidence of what took place. I will de-escalate the situation, okay?"

"Commander, I don't think that's a good idea. You'll be alone without backup," the dark-skinned human she now knew was Jacob said.

"Jacob, I'm fine. Trust me on this." She turned her gaze to the woman, who's own eyes held a cold look, she disagreed with the command but was keen to follow through.

"Of course, Commander," she coldly replied. She turned heel and left, with the who she assumed was Jacob following close behind.

There was an uncomfortable silence that followed before the commander spoke, returning to Khelish. "I appreciate your willingness to cooperate, but if I may, can I ask you a question?"

Prazza stiffened by slowly nodded his head, "I mean no offense, but who is the actual leader? I know if I were in your shoes against a potential hostile enemy I'd rather myself be harmed than my commanding officer."

Prazza bristled but eventually he answered, "I will tell you, human, but first answer my questions. Then I will decide if I will expose my commanding officer to potential danger. Understand?"

The man nodded, "of course. I will answer as best I can." Prazza looked at the marines behind him and signaled for two to stand on either side of the man. The weapons pointed at Shepard's head made her angry, wanting to "I hope you understand our cautiousness. You are quite large and we do not know what you are capable of, although I assume a powerful biotic considering that you're glowing."

She looked and saw Shepard sheathed in a deep purple, no doubt a response to the marines holding weapons to his person. She had wanted to berate and perhaps beat senseless the marines who held the unarmed man at gun point.

"I understand, but I hope you understand that I'm protecting myself as well." Prazza nodded and began pacing, "I do, human. Now, tell me your name."

"I am Commander Nathaniel Cuauhtémoc Shepard."

She gasped, but Lena held her close, "it's okay, let them finish," she whispered. "You need to compose yourself, Prazza might let him talk to you. Can you handle that if comes to it?"

She weakly nodded, "Lena there's just…so much I need to say, so much I want to ask." Lena shushed her, "it's alright, just…try to calm down, yeah?"

Prazza paced in front of the male human, "what are you here for?"

"We're here to investigate abducted human colonies. I understand news on human disappearances isn't a high priority on the Fleet, in fact I just found out about it today."

"How long have you been with Cerberus?"

"I am not with them. I am working for them, regarding this one specific issue. But it has only been for today. I woke from a two year coma a few hours ago."

Prazza looked at Lena then at Tali gauging their reaction as if he was waiting for a cue to continue, which he apparently received.

"Tell me, Nathaniel, where did you learn Khelish?" She saw him grimace. He hated being called by his first name especially the full version, another sign it was truly him.

"I learned it from a close quarian friend of mine. I was her captain during her pilgrimage. She was lonely so I thought the least I could do was learn her language so she could feel a little more at home." Tears flowed freely down her face, he had returned to her, but despite her own thoughts he continued.

"I certainly hope she's alive, our ship was attacked almost two years go, but if she's not I hope she's walking the plains of Rannoch with her mother, Rela, and the Ancestors. Keelah se'lai."

She had a strong urge to run and embrace him as tight as she could, but Lena held her back, "let them finish, Tali. I know you're positive, but we need to be sure."

"Lena, I've never told anyone but him what my mother's name was, and I highly doubt Cerberus has quarian death records from seven years ago. It's him, Lena."

"I know, Tali, but he still appeared with Cerberus."

"He would never join them willingly," she hissed, "he can help us. I know he can. We don't have the manpower to take on that YMIR, Lena. If he is able to help, and further prove he's the man I know, I'm asking him to come back with us."

Lena sighed, "fine, but you're explaining it to the admirals, not me."

Before she could respond she heard Prazza ask another question, "and what was this pilgrim's name, commander?"

"Tali'Zorah. I'd say nar Rayya, but I'm certain she finished her pilgrimage, probably vas something now."

Prazza looked at her and then back to Shepard, "what was the gift she was to present?" Shepard responded quickly, "data that showed the geth's evolution since your people's exile."

She couldn't take it anymore, she released herself from Lena's hold and stood in front of the man, glaring at the marines who still held him at gunpoint.

"Release him. Now."

One of the marines complied however one still kept aim at the unarmed human. "He's Cerberus, he could still harm us. I won't let him endanger us."

The marine looked at Prazza who had his hands raised and was walking away, washing his hands of the problem, muttering "even I'm not dumb enough to ignore her orders."

She scoffed, "if this man wanted to harm you, harm us, there's nothing we could do about it, do you understand? I've seen this man take a shot at point-blank range from a Krogan's Claymore while his biotic barrier was up. Do you really think your third generation rifle will do damage?"

The marine's gaze intensified, "I can't allow it. I had family that died on the Idenna, I can't let him live." It was now Prazza who spoke, "and I didn't? This man is unarmed, despite his biotics. You are no better than them if you execute him, and doing so won't bring your family back."

The marine appeared conflicted but steadied his aim, "I'm sorry, but I must do this." Before Tali could reach for her shotgun he fired. The marine pulled the trigger but as he did so his rifle was lifted to ceiling peppering the roof with gunshots, the entire clip emptied. As the gunfire ended, he remained still enveloped in a light blue glow held in stasis by the man that had been held captive.

"If you want me to release him, I can. I just thought he was a harm to others and himself."

She just looked at him, dumbfound unable to speak. She gestured at the other marines who handcuffed the other marine, turning to her for orders.

"Take him back to the ship. Detain him, I don't want him out of your sight, understood?" The marines nodded and dragged the man towards the exit, leaving the room in a stunned silence.

"I assume she's your leader?" He stood, looking at Prazza for confirmation, and the quarian man nodded. "She is. I'd introduce you but I feel she'd shoot me if I deprived her of the opportunity."

The human cocked his head to the side, "oh? Do I know you? I see you have the markings of clan Zorah, my close friend, she might have been a cousin." She then saw his eyes become downcast and her heart broke, a sadness spreading on his face, "do you…do you know a Tali'Zorah? I was her captain on her pilgrimage. She was one of my closest friends…does she walk with the ancestors now? Has she found peace?"

She couldn't bring herself to speak. Here he was in front of her, near tears worried about her potential death and she hadn't found the courage to tell him who she was, taken hostage by her own overwhelming emotions. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, but her own feelings paralyzed her, unwilling to accept the fact that he had come back to her.

"I'm…sorry if it's a sore subject, I mean no offense. She was just…very close to me." He turned to Prazza, "if I may, I'd like to offer my assistance, in whatever capacity I can. I am a powerful biotic and a capable marksmen."

He stood straight with his hands behind his back, "I am at your service, should you allow." He now turned to her, a look of concern in his eyes, "ma'am I meant no offense when bringing up Tali'Zorah, I apologize. She was an excellent squad mate and an even better friend. May she be at peace with the ancestors."

He paused, "I'm just sorry I couldn't protect her, I let her down" he mumbled to himself. Despite herself she couldn't allow him to think he had failed her, he had done anything but do that. He had given her a home and treated her with respect that was rarely granted to her people.

"Shepard, you could never let me down. It's…I'm so glad you're back, I missed you." She reached out to him but before she could he picked her up in a tight embrace, lifting her legs clear from the ground.

The marines raised their weapons but Prazza demanded they lower them, "he was her pilgrimage captain, and has shown no indication that he'd cause us harm. Put your weapons down," he hissed.

The marines complied but Shepard still placed Tali down gently, releasing her from his hold and ignoring the weapons that had been pointed at him.

"Shepard? What happened to you?" She held his face in her hands, gingerly caressing the harsh orange lines, and to her surprise he didn't cringe or pull back.

He looked at her, "I…honestly don't know…" he paused, "It's a pleasure to see you again. I thought…I'm sorry I didn't recognize you…" he trailed off, but she shushed him. "It's been awhile, Shepard it's alright. I was surprised to see you, too. To be honest I still think this is all a dream…" she trailed off but Shepard smiled, that grin that she loved stretched across his face.

"I'm sure if you were dreaming of me I wouldn't be this hideous," he gave a light chuckle but she heard the pained tone in his voice.

"You're alive, and if that means looking at these scars, so be it," she smiled, hoping he could hear it." He laughed now, "I must really look ugly for you to drop that card."

She playfully punched his shoulder, "listen, I was being nice. The scars will heal eventually, so I won't have to look long." She giggled, a sound she hadn't made in a long while removing her hands from his face.

She heard Lena's throat clear and she turned to her, "Shepard," she glared at the woman, "let me introduce you to some of the contingent here." He bowed his head, "of course, Lieutenant." She giggled again, and Lena's throat cleared a little louder, she huffed.

"This here is Lena'Raan vas Neema. My best friend, my roommate, my sister in all but name," the happiness apparent in her voice. He turned to Lena and extended a hand, the woman just looked at it, bewildered.

"What, I don't get a hug? Isn't that the standard human greeting?"

"Lena," Tali hissed, "it is not the standard greeting. It is a gesture shared between close friends and mates." Lena held back her reply, shrugging and settling for the handshake, "it's a pleasure to meet you, Shepard. I've heard a lot about you."

"Good things I hope," he rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, of course! She never said one negative thing about you. And to be honest, I can see why, you're practically quarian, you even speak Khelish!"

"I'll…take that as a compliment," he smiled slightly and turned to Prazza, "and who might you be?"

The quarian stood straight and saluted him, "I am Prazza, a member of the Migrant Fleet marines, reporting to lieutenant Zorah. My apologies for holding you at gunpoint, as well as one of our men shooting at you. He will be dealt with."

Shepard waved him off, "that's standard protocol and don't worry about the marine, Prazza. He did what most would do when exposed to someone he thought had contributed to the death of his family."

Prazza nodded, he then turned to Tali. "Lieutenant Zorah, I don't mean to interrupt your reunion but we must figure out how to rescue Veetor. I trust Shepard, as he seems to mean well, but I don't trust those other two."

She sighed, "I know. It complicates things." She saw Shepard looking at her, "is that why you're in the Terminus? To rescue a pilgrim? What was he doing on a human colony?"

"Veetor has never been…normal. He suffers from social anxiety, which for a quarian is rare. He came to a human colony because they're similar enough to us for it to feel familiar, but they'd likely leave him alone. But he likely has a damaged carbon dioxide filter, which more than likely has left him delirious," she covered her visor with her hands. "He's likely the reason there's so many mechs. He probably thinks someone or something is after him."

"Based on reports we got, he might not be wrong. This entire colony was abducted in the last twenty-four hours. It was pirates or slavers, there's no signs of struggle or looting."

She walked back to the terminal and expanded the screen, "there was a shipment of mechs that arrived two days before the abduction, additional security against pirates, slavers. It seems Veetor has altered their friend-foe programs, normally they wouldn't be this aggressive, but if he was here when the humans were taken…"

She scrolled through the pages and found what she had been looking for "we didn't fight these against Saren, they're a recent development. It is fitted with a rocket launcher and a machine gun, and has a self- destruct protocol that is a nuclear explosion."

Shepard whistled, "that's a lot of firepower. What about shields and armor?" She expanded the notes left by the technician, "it looks like we'll have overload the extensive shielding and then attempt to breakthrough the armor. Do you have an overload protocol on your omnitool?"

He looked, "I do, but I don't trust this thing. It was one my wrist when I was woken up and I don't trust it." She ran a quick scan, "even a basic scan detected tracking protocols," she began typing on her omnitool, "beneath that there are health monitors, a keystroke tracker, a listening device."

He took the device off his wrist and threw it out the window, she placed her hands on her hips "really, Shepard? They already know you're here, and you're armor has a tracker, too."

"Well, fuck. Is there a way we can look through these houses and find clothes or armor? It doesn't have to be snug, I've worn loose fitting armor and clothes before."

"Shepard, aren't you rather…large for a human male? I don't think the clothing would be loose, but it'd be…tight." She was blushing, imagining him in tight fitting clothing that accentuated his soldier's physique.

"I'm above average, yes….forget it, I'll wear this for now and then once that's dealt with we'll figure out where to get me more clothes." He shook his head, "but what's the plan, Tali? How are we going to attack this YMIR mech?"

He addressed her as if she was in charge, which baffled her. Even if it had been two years and she herself was a squad leader now, she was accustomed to him leading and taking point.

But he gave her a reassuring look, one that spoke volumes to the amount of trust he had for her and her leadership abilities, despite never having been under her command.

"Since you're not willing to use your omnitool, we'll have you do what you do best, Shepard; draw fire. Use your biotics to draw it's attention and we'll wear wear down it's shields. It'll be like when we fought that Geth Colossus on Therum."

He nodded in understanding, "okay. I'm feeling drained but I'll do what I can. Do we have a weapon I can use? I can use anything." She reached for the small of her back, and held her shotgun in her hands reading the inscription once again, smiling.

"Here Shepard, take this. I have a feeling you'll be up close anyways." She handed him the shotgun but he refused, "Tali that's yours you'll need it, I'll be fine with just my biotics, maybe that old rifle."

She shook her head, "I'll be fine, I'll be shorting the shields anyways. And the marines will provide me with suppressive fire."

He hadn't seemed entirely convinced but he took the shotgun, "fine. I'll charge on your mark when we're out there." She touched him arm gently, "we'll be fine, I'll be fine. Trust me." He simply nodded and began walking towards the door, placing his helmet back on.

"Is he always this…imposing?" Lena asked. Tali nodded, you should wait until you watch him fight." She walked toward him, standing beside him at the door. Lena looked at her, a grin spreading on her face, her best friend, her sister was the happiest she had seen her in almost two years.

The door opened with the her and Shepard leading, with the marine contingent following, fanning out to separate sides of the courtyard. She looked at Shepard and felt a smile creep across her face, hoping he returned it. It was a gesture she had loved, one that filled her with warmth even just thinking about it.

His voice and a large five-fingered hand at the small of her back broke her from her thoughts, "you lead, I'll follow." It took her a moment before it registered, but she couldn't help but giggle.

"Hey, that's my line!"