"Joker, lose this channel" Commander Shepard ordered her flight lieutenant as she stormed out the holoprojector.
"Finally!" the good-humored man replied. "I was getting sick of playing by that asshole's rules."
Shepard took a few deep breaths and shook the tension that had built up during her conversation with the Illusive Man. His cybernetic glowing blue eyes stared at her every time she blinked. "Too idealistic" she mumbled mockingly under her breath as she stepped carefully around the debris cast into the hallways from the earlier battle. They had just returned through the Omega Relay-the first ship in history to do so-just barely outrunning the explosion caused by the Collector base as it was destroyed. She was glad the expected suicide mission didn't live up to its name. A tinge of guilt ripped through her body...it did for the three caskets in the cargo bay.
A part of her wanted to push Miranda and Jacob's bodies out the airlock if it meant never having nothing to do with Cerberus again, but they deserved better than that. She ran her right hand over the top of the gunmetal caskets, pausing on the third. Tali.
"EDI, patch me through to Joker" Shepard told the ship's AI.
"What's up Commander." the flight lieutenant responded quickly.
"Set a rendezvous with the Migrant Fleet. I want to take Tali home before heading back to earth."
"Aye, Aye Commander." Joker replied in a distinctly saddened tone. "I'll contact the fleet and let you know an estimated arrival time."
"Roger that."
The migrant fleet was nothing short of intimidating. The fleet of fifty-thousand plus ships covered a mind-bending amount of space and the three massive live-ships at the center of it all almost taunted passersby to try to destroy them. Shepard was intimidated herself, even though they were guests of the fleet.
They weren't entirely welcome the last time they had visited the Flotilla, but at least then they had left in somewhat of a good standing. Now that they were returning with the fleet's most promising youngster in a coffin, Shepard didn't want to give any indication of ill-will.
Unstealthed, the Normandy threaded its way through the ships toward the heart of the Flotilla. They were headed towards the Rayya, Tali's birth ship and namesake before she took the name vas Normandy.
The docking bay, hell, the entire ship, was nothing but engine noise and silence as they boarded the Rayya. Shepard refused to let the crew turn on the Eezo field around the coffin. Instead, herself and five other members of the crew bore Tali's full body weight between them. Shepard and Garrus, at the head of the casket, lead the way. The entire Normandy crew followed behind. The procession weaved through the bowels of the ship. It passed every district, every office, and every floor. Each hall was lined with people, a show of solidarity that hit Shepard right in the gut. She snuck a glance at Garrus, knowing if they made eye contact she'd lose her stoic resolve. He wore his dress uniform, as they all did, even leaving his beloved visor behind. In the corner of his usually covered right eye she saw trails where fresh tears had fallen. She took a que from her second-in-command and opened herself to the pain.
As they wound themselves to the center of the ship they were somberly greeted by Tali's old captain, Han'Gerrel vas Neema. He directed them into one of the life ships' massive growth chambers. A sacred place of growth and rebirth which feeds the entire population of the Flotilla.
An honor garden framed in flowers stood in the center, and as the procession entered the space Shepard felt herself deeply moved by the presence of dirt beneath her feet.
They rested the casket on top of the platform. The crew filled in where they could find room to stand, yet Shepard remained standing at the Casket. She looked over at Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay and nodded, signaling her to begin.
"Thank you all for coming," Shepard heard the translation smoothly cut across the silent room. "We gather here to lay to rest one of our most bright and shining stars." Shala'Raan glanced to the coffin to her right.
"We are no strangers to loss. As a people we are born with it in our souls. We pass the story from generation to generation in the hope that our future will find us back home.
"We are also no strangers to hubris. Our ingenuity and determination pushed us beyond ourselves. This, if anything, is our collective hamartia.
"Tali shared this fatal flaw with us. Her brilliance pushed her to do great things for our people. It was her pride in herself that pushed her to bring us back the most detailed information we have had on the Geth in hundreds of years. It was her pride in her ship that made her into the brilliant mechanical mind we all knew and loved. It was her pride in her friends, in her captain, that made her leave us and in doing so furthered relations with the other races who saw her as a beacon of good. But most of all, it was her pride in her people, in ALL people, that led her to chase Collectors across the galaxy to stop their brutal attacks on innocents.
"We must all strive to be prideful like Tali'zorah vas Normandy. A pride that is mixed with empathy. A pride that is mixed with compassion. A pride that is mixed with forgiveness, understanding, and with love.
"Today we take this shining star among our people and return her to the air and to the she is laid to sleep in a little piece of home. This patch of grass and earth is what we have of Rannoch. Here it reminds us of what we are fighting for and the simplicity of life as it used to be. We come here to be inspired, to learn what keeps us alive, and to find someplace solid to stand when we need it the most."
A small group of Quarians approached the human-made casket. Shepard moved aside to give them more room. They opened the coffin where Tali lay and started to undo the clasps on her environment suit.
Shepard turned away. She didn't want to see her friend's face for the first time like this. Garrus' subharmonics grumbled a low, pensive sound, one which somehow comforted her and strengthened her resolve. She turned back to the scene and he gently brushed the back of her hand with a gloved finger. She silently nodded at him in return. Together they watched the Quarians removed pieces of the suit until Tali laid gently in the box. Her under-suit clad body exposed to air for the first time in years.
Tali was beautiful. Shepard tried to memorize every inch of her face. The dark markings she found there contrasted with the pale, almost translucent quality of her skin. She looked for the first time into the eyes of her friend, saw nothing looking back, and cried fiercely.
"Tali deserves to be back home." Shala'Raan continued. "She deserves to be laid to rest forever feeling Rannoch on her skin, and this is what we will do for her." She walked to the body and laid her hand on her forehead. "May the spirits protect you and guide you home as we protect your body. Keela Se'lai."
"Keela Se'lai" a chorus of Quarrian voices echoed. Shepard added her voice to the wish.