Sadly, today is the last day of our vacation. It always goes by way too fast. Legion informed us that Shepard had finished discussions with various leaders of Rannoch and we were to leave at sunset. Tali is understandably disappointed she has to go. Karla and Raon said we are welcome to come back. The little voice inside my head says it isn't going to be anytime soon. Tali is walking outside right now. She wishes to enjoy as much of the planet as she can.
Raon and I finished the knife handle and the karambit looks awesome. Shiny brass fit for a quarian hand. Raon has an impressive shop. The metal working area is to the right of the building and an envious display of metal ingots. He has a freaking treasure chest of copper, bronze, aluminum, I think. This place is awesome. I make smalltalk while Raon hammers the brass rod to secure the handle.
"How do you and the geth live peacefully? Many places I've been to don't like artificial lifeforms and you guys don't seem to have any problems" I said.
"It is easy when you don't live next to each other" Raon accidently hits his thumb. Work can't be easy with those giant fingers.
"What?"
"The geth prefer to live in space. From their perspective it is easier to collect metals from our asteroid belt, solar energy, and build giant stations to house all of them at once. They believe it makes them smarter" Raon explained.
I ask "You don't help each other out?"
"Well after the Morning war and trials, we took our power back. Restored local growing, manufacturing, etc. The geth didn't see any value living on Rannoch for their needs. They had freedom to think, and the stars were their solitude. So, there was no conflict. They sometimes come down to ask questions or to request materials hard to find in space. In exchange they help out with natural disasters and prevent meteors from crashing into us. Other than that, we hardly interact" Raon said.
"You are not buddies?" I said in a sad childish voice.
"We are with that geth platform. What did you name it? Legion? Why did you name it that? Does it mean something?" Raon asked.
"It is a word for a particular number I don't remember" I said.
"Why us that?" Raon asked.
"We name it because…. Um… how should I tell this story? A long time ago, there was a special man who came across another who was plagued with many personalities in one body. He called himself Legion because he was many. The special man helped him remove those excess personalities and continued his journey" I said. If you know the story, the name Legion implies he is a collection of demons when he is the bestest steely robo buddy someone could ask for.
"Is it a real story?" Raon asked.
"It happened so long ago there is no way to prove if it happened" It is probably real in some universes.
I hand him the file to smooth out the blunted brass rod. We can buffer and make it shiny later. Raon is grinding the karambit outer blade when I hear a faint high-pitched noise. That doesn't sound right. I wave for him to turn the grinder off. The noise isn't there. Do his motors need oil?
"AAAAAAAA!" That clearly is a woman screaming. Raon and I drop our tools and run straight for the house. Karla asks "why are you two bringing mud inside?"
Raon says "We heard a scream. What happened?"
Karla replies "I didn't hear anything."
Raon asks "where are our daughters?"
Karla answers "cleaning their bedrooms. Is Tali out there looking?"
My gut sinks as if it is a lead balloon. I sprint out the porch door, jumping off, and rolling into the grass. I run to where I think the sound originated from, but I can't see anything. I yell for Tali as loud as I can but no answer. As fast as my heart is racing, I pull out my omnitool and was about to send a message when I'm notified that her omnitool is offline. Tali never turns her omnitool off and is always charged. Something terrible. I scream for Tali and get no response. Raon catches up and is out of breath.
I ask "Raon where is she?"
His tired arms tremble trying to support his torso with his weak knees "I don't know. She wouldn't have gone off into the woods on her own. Any clue of her?"
"NO! Oh god please don't let anything happen to her. I'm not risking it and calling an expert" I send a request to videochat with Garrus. Please pick up. The wait is killing me. Garrus stops taking his sweet time and finally answers. He is somewhere definitely not on the ship. The walls are decorated with vintage style wallpaper which I can't make out from the dim lighting, and he is weirdly out of armor. Turians don't normally like taking off their suits. I can see what I assume about his pecs. His ring exoskeleton goes down towards his sternum.
"********* can this wait?" Garrus asks.
"Garrus where are you?" I ask.
Garrus turns to pick up his armor. His swinging arm goes in all sorts of directions. In a brief moment of the horror movie shaky camera scene, I spy a mirror. An unmade bed with an all-natural light brown hair quarian woman laying down. GARRUS! I'm surprised and enraged he got to partake in the garden of Rannoch before I did.
"Garrus get to my location. Tali is missing and we can't find her. Legion came and is trying thermal scans of the woods but no luck so far. My gut is telling me something bad happened and it is almost never wrong" I said.
"I'll be there as fast as I can. I'm not far from the Normandy. I'll get the hammerhead and be there twenty minutes top" Garrus hangs up. I'm so worried I can't think straight. I walk in circles while Raon tries to calm me down. Karla and the kids join us. She said they will search the woods while we wait for Garrus. What should have only felt like two minutes to me seemed like an eternity. The beating drum inside my chest as if it is a clock ticking almost prevented me from hearing the hammerhead from approaching. The wind its turbines produce blows grass into my eyes. Garrus turns off the mako, steps out, then asks what happen. We tell him and Garrus takes a look for himself. The turian detective requests to go onto the roof to search the surroundings. Raon offers to grab a ladder, however Garrus wall jumps to the ledge, pulling himself up. Digging out of his utility belt, his C-sec binoculars scan the area.
"Anything?" I ask.
"No. My training is for urban environments not rural areas. Did Legion find anything?" Garrus asked.
"Not yet. He would have messaged me. God what if something happened to her?" I had one girlfriend murdered in a fantasy universe. I can't go through this again with my sweetie.
Raon asks the birdman perched on his chimney "Is any grass bent? She may have tripped and knocked herself out?"
Surprisingly, Garrus in a very good pronunciation of kesh replies "No I don't. The fences aren't damaged either or any open gates. Spirits if she wasn't wearing her suit I might be able to track her scent."
"She took off her suit. Chakwas thought it would be good for her health and borrowed a dress. If I get it can you find out where she went?" I ask.
"Yes, that should narrow things down. Turians have very good senses of smell. Hurry before the wind blows and throws off the trail" Garrus said. I rush into the house and dig through the hamper. I find the green and black dress halfway under the pile. I head back outside and throw the garment up to Garrus. Taking a few deep sniffs, he has her scent but needs to get closer. We take Garrus to the shop and hope he can pick up a trail. Garrus has something. We follow him until we reach a locked gate.
Garrus said "Tali definitely went through here."
"That can't be right" Raon said.
"Why is it?" I ask.
"This gate is locked to prevent the animals from getting loose. She'd need a code to open it. Did she climb over?" Raon asked.
Garrus smells the handle. "Someone else opened it. Did one of your family members use this recently?"
"We haven't used it since winter. Why?" Raon asked.
"Because someone who smells like you opened this" Garrus said. There can only be one person.
"If Jude does anything to my Tali" The anger inside instantly boils. I worked so hard to keep unbearable amounts of rage contained within, however if anything happens to the love of my life. No holding back.
"Who is Jude?" Garrus asked.
"My oldest. He doesn't like quarians from the fleet. My boy talks big but won't do anything to her" Raon said.
"There's other scents in the air. At least two more and I see lines in the dirt. Narrow tire tracks I assume. Never actually tracked something with wheels before" Garrus said. Raon inputs the code and opens the door, letting us through. Garrus removes two small pistols from his ankles and gives one to me. We follow the trail until it goes cold at a fork in the road. They ditched a covered wagon with no sign of Tali.
"Spirits curse this!" Garrus said.
I ask "What is it Garrus?"
"The wind from the top of the mountain flows through here. I don't know which way they went. Weird thing is they didn't use the road on foot or I would have seen tracks" Garrus said.
"You got to be kidding me!" I yell.
Garrus asks Raon "is there anything close by someone would take her too?"
"It is hard to tell. Abandoned mines. Old missile silos from before the morning war. Hold on. See that yellow flower? The left side of the right road. It usually stands tall. Someone must have stepped on it." Raon said. Garrus knees down and can get a scent. He crawls forward slowly. Sniffing on all fours for at least twenty meters.
"Did they go along the side to avoid leaving tracks? What is up ahead" I ask.
"No. The trail turns to the left here into the woods" Garrus said.
"If they went straight, that leads to a trial that goes to abandoned train tracks. I know a faster way down. We have to head back to the fork. We can get there before they do Raon said.
"You can't promise that is where they will be" I said.
"I don't want anything happening to her either. Please trust me" Raon said. I haven't even known this man or his family for a week and I'm supposed to trust Tali's life with him?
"I'll follow the scent just in case. We can track each other's omnitool locations just in case. Go ********* I'll radio if I find anything" Garrus said.
I hate this but don't have any other options. Raon and I jog back to the fork. He stops to catch his breath. I scream at him this is not the time. He is old and can't help it. Sadly I need his help. If only I could feel Tali's general location, but we haven't been able to exchange our energies enough. Kissing is not enough to transfer information between two souls. Raon starts jogging again, able to last much longer since it is downhill. I see the tracks and spring towards it, leaving Raon behind. The tracks are insanely old based on the thick layer of orange rust completely covering the steel. The wood has degraded so bad, it is practically dirt.
I ask "Raon, would they use these tracks to go anywhere?"
"No. My great grandfather blew up the bridge in the war plus the metal is warped beyond repair. They must be that way" Raon points to where Garrus is hopefully at.
"I'll take this from here. Go back to the house" I check to see if the heatsink is inserted fully.
"I know they have your girl but please don't hurt my boy or his friends" Raon said.
"Your BOY isn't coming out of this unpunished. I'm doing what I have to" I said.
"Please. They are just scared. No one wants to go back to how things were, but what they are doing isn't right. Please *********. They might have families who rely on them" Raon pleads.
Internally ERRRRRRRRGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!
"Fine. I'll only knock them out. Stay back. I'm better off doing this alone" I sprint away from Raon. As soon as I am out of view, I'll fly up and find their exact spot. The camp they made up is crude and open. Damn it. I would have preferred cover. There are six guards. Tali is in the middle and tied up. Seeing her like this puts murder in my eyes, but I can't do this alone. They might kill her. I find Garrus on the local omnitool map and fly to him.
"I found her. There are seven of them and we need to take them out quietly. I'll fly you up and we can come with a plan" I said. Before Garrus has the chance to say no, I have him cradled in my arms. We hid at the top of the treeline for the best view and minimal chance to be spotted.
"I can drop you off on this side and I can fly over to the other. We each can take three. Non lethal. We'll have to be fast" I said.
"Can you stop their guns from firing?" Garrus asks.
"I can do two at a time or one and a distraction" I said.
"What do you know about these people?" Garrus asks
"The one holding the gun to Tali is named Jude. The man's son you just met. He is part of some group that keeps migrant quarians away from Rannoch. They have their reasons. He came by yesterday, found us, and didn't like what he saw" I said.
"Can you scare them into submission? Darken the sky and boom your voice down like your god?" He suggests.
"Doesn't actually work. People are more rebellious than you think" I said.
"Hmm. If you can make one of these trees to fall down, it will give me cover. I'll be able to sneak up on one. The other two I'll have to distract with a rock and take both of them down swiftly.
"My guys will be paying attention to the suddenly fallen down tree and I'll use superspeed to knock them out. It will loosen my hold on Jude's gun, but it will only be for a moment. It will be worth the risk. Are you ready?" I ask.
"I think so. See that tall one? Make it fall down at an angle like this" Garrus uses his arms to show a 45 degree angle. Turians don't use base ten math so he has to show me what he wants. "Go in the direction away from the sun when I send a ping on your omnitool" Garrus said. I gently lower him to the ground. I zip over to the otherside. Thankfully no one saw me. Waiting patiently for Garrus's call, I watch Tali. She is tied up in a chair and facing away from me. Jude is yelling at the top of his lungs, forcing the gun into her temple. I want to rip that hand off his wrist.
Garrus sends me the message and I do my magic. A mighty tree falls down. The thud shakes the ground. Tali tenses up. The guys on my side and Jude are distracted by the crash. This is my moment. Quickly I knock my guys out with a chop to the neck while Garrus is able to pick one off. The turian is a silent predator. From my angle I'm only afford a partial view of the guy's head that is pulled down. His screams of an alien beast sending him to sleep are soul piercing. If I didn't hate them for abducting my girlfriend, I'd feel sorry for them. In the corner of my eye of a sizeable piece of concrete which I pick up. Garrus tosses a rock to distract the one on my left. He lunges out, cutting off his prey's blood supply to the head. Not like he was using his brain anyways. I hurl the night brick towards the other one's back. Garrus runs towards him and kicks his face before he could reach his gun. Our focus is on Jude.
"Don't step any closer" Jude holds his pistol against Tali's head.
"Tali listen to me. I promise I am going to take you home. That gun won't fire" I said.
"CHERISHED! I'm so scared but I know to trust you. Please I want to go back to the ship" Tali wrestles and sobs in her chair.
Garrus said "Put the gun down. This isn't going to go your way. There are three of us and one of you."
"What? Who is the other guy?" I ask Garrus.
He slowly turns his head towards me. I've known him long enough to know is his annoyed look. "Our sniper who will blow bloody chunks out your nose if you do anything stupid." Oh I get it.
"You better hurry it up. He is a diabetic with an itchy trigger finger" I said.
Jude says "I have no quarrel with you. It is only this quarian here who has to die."
"No one has to die today Jude" I said.
"Sadly she does. You don't know what it is like. Growing up hearing how my people used to be slaves. How no amount of pleading, deals, or anything would appeal to these monsters. I'm not risking my child to live in that world" Jude said. I feel for the guy. I really do.
"Whatever her ancestors did was on them. Leave it in the past. Let go of her" Garrus said.
Tali says "Please let me go. I didn't even know quarians were still living on Rannoch. All I ever wanted was to live here. I don't want to rule over anyone. I just want to be here and happy."
"Shut up. Your people are incapable of telling the truth. We studied in school how crafty you used words. These lips can't be trusted" Jude's gun smacks Tali's mouth.
SNAP!
That human in front of me roars so loud all the birds in the trees fly away it darkens the sky. He walks towards. My body moves for me and aims for him. I press the trigger. What no. Why did I do that? I didn't want to hurt anybody; I just wanted my family safe. This human in front of me changes. It transforms into a blinding white light. What is happening? Is there an earthquake or is my heart beating so hard it sounds like there is one. Everything around me is shaking. The core of my being tells me I am doomed. I try firing my gun, but it doesn't work. Suddenly it glows red, burning my hand. I'm forced to drop it. This thing is coming after. This divine anger I can feel is directed straight at me. My skin has never felt so hot yet doesn't burn.
"Wha-What are you?" I ask.
"PISSED OFF!" the roar shakes my bones.
"I-I-I.."
"YOU HURT MY TALI!" it screams.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to," I said.
"YOU ARE NOT SORRY! I KNOW WHAT IT LOOKS AND THAT IS NOT IT! IT FEELS LIKE THIS!" Out of nowhere I feel this tremendous pain in me. Memories of the time I took my father's tool and broke one flood into my mind. Tears flowed through me. I feel so guilty but it feels unnatural. I beg for his forgiveness.
"I'M GOING TO COAT YOUR FUCKING SOUL IN SCARS!" There is no negotiation. This thing is going to hurt me in ways I can't imagine. I try running for it. An invisible force glues my feet to the ground. I'm going to be tortured. I'm not going to be able to raise my child. Oh Lord please save me. The quarian woman I smack is freed by the other alien. She runs in front of this being of light whiter than any full moon or snowpack I ever seen.
"********* you don't have to do this" she said.
"HE HURT YOU! I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE HE'LL NEVER DO IT AGAIN!"
"Look cherished, I'm free. He isn't going to hurt me anymore. We can go home now. Isn't that what you want?" she is asking it to spare me?
"I WANT HIM TO SUFFER!"
"*********, he isn't going to hurt me ever again. Will you?" she asks me. I quickly nod yes.
"I'M MAKING SURE HE WON'T HAVE THE CHANCE!"
I get on my hands and knees. My forehead to the ground that feels tingly as if lightning is about to strike. "Please I promise I won't hurt anyone ever again. I only wanted my family safe. I was wrong to hurt her, Please have mercy on me."
"Please *********. Don't do anything you will regret" she said.
"I WON'T REGRET THIS!"
"I know you. You're not the type of person who would do something like this" she said.
"Nothing bad is going to happen to me if I kill him. I know it. I'm not going to hell or anything if he dies so why not?"
"Because your soul deserves peace" She said. He pauses. That appears to calm him down. It looks human again. Streams of water run down his face as he hugs that woman. I apologize again.
"RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!"
My legs move on their own. I sprint faster than I ever have in my life. Into the woods. Whatever is in the forest can't be more dangerous than what that is. My body has total control. It makes me run through a thorny bush, not caring about the pain I feel. I run and run and run until I collapse.
"I'm sorry Tali, I just got so upset and I lost it. I don't want to cause pain but I would to keep you safe" I said.
"I know. That wasn't you. I want to leave and return to the ship. I love you. Thank you for saving me. You too Garrus" Tali said.
"So that is what was hiding under that mask. She seems cute for a fleshy face. You have a good woman *********" Garrus rubs his hand on my shoulder.
"What in lord's nameless name are you?" Raon said behind me. A click from a gun aiming at me is heard. I push Tali back. There has been enough violence for today. I hold my hands up in the air.
"Easy Raon. I let your son go. Please let us return to get Tali's suit and we'll be on your way" I said.
"I'm not letting whatever you are near my wife and kids. What about those two? Can they do that?" Raon asked.
I know Tali hates this, but it is the easiest way to get out of this. Both of them are safe enough away from me. I look over to her and say "sorry."
A gunshot from Raon enters into my chest. Striking a fatal blow. Tali cries my name. Give it ten seconds to build up the guilt. Garrus points his gun at Raon. Tali cradles my deceased corpse. My soul hovers over my body, using its matter to recreate my physic without the damage. I sit up and scream.
"Oww!" he looks confused.
"OWWW!" He doesn't look ashamed.
"OWWWW! I got shot. Do you know how bad that hurts" if I didn't turn of my pain sensors.
"I'm sorry I swear I didn't pull the trigger, it just went off" Raon claims. Well in his defense, my telekinesis does to that if I chose to.
"Is every quarian I meet going to shoot me sooner or later?" I said.
Tali said "For the last time I didn't shoot you!"
"I felt your energy. You were a hair away from doing it" I said.
Tali lunges towards me and hugs me so hard I can't breathe. "Don't do that! I thought I lost you for good!"
"I explained this before I can't truly die. Nothing is going to keep me away from you my sweet" I said.
"I didn't know that. Your powers have been acting up recently and I was scared. Don't ever do that again" Tali said.
"I promise" I swear it.
Raon puts down the gun. Holding his hands up. He doesn't want to fight and neither do I.
"Look I'm sorry. I don't want any trouble" Raon said.
"Why are you sorry? I'm the one who pulled the trigger" I use my magic gun pulling powers to demonstrate how much firearms love an american.
"Wait, you made the gun shoot you? Why?" Raon asked.
"To make you feel guilty and be a tad more reasonable" I said.
"Wha- can all humans do this?" Raon asked.
I give him a brief summary of my life, how it led to me becoming even more amazing than I already was and the recent events.
"What is it that you want?" Raon asked.
"What I wanted was to build Tali a house on Rannoch and live in it, but apparently quarians already live here so we can't do that" I said.
"I don't need a house on Rannoch. I just need you" Tali said.
"That is really all what you want?" Raon asked.
"YES! I said.
"Why aren't you just taking it?" Raon asked.
"Because I felt like I was kicked out of my home by rich companies buying all the houses and I'm not going to deprive someone else of what belongs to them" I said.
"Lord, what did you bring into my life? What I meant was there is a lot of unused land inwards of the continent. If you build on it, it is yours. It ain't great but it is something" Raon said.
"Really? You'd let us?" I said.
"There are over two hundred million quarians living on ships. Your people would house, feed and help us build our homes?" Tali asked.
"Of course not. You can take care of yourselves while you build something. You got ships, food, water, and tools. It won't be that hard. It will just take a while. Like my boy, others won't like it but what they think doesn't matter" Raon said.
"Raon I know we haven't known each other that long, but this is the greatest thing I heard in a long time. We'll leave and you never have to see us again" I said.
"Wait hold on, I'll need you to come back to finish the other knife. One for each hand" Raon said.
"Really? You aren't afraid of me? Want me gone to never see me again?" I ask.
"I don't even understand half of what you told me, but the geth unit likes you, the animals and family like you, I saw how you defended your woman, and you let my son go. I figure I owe you one" Raon said.
"Thank you Raon. Please keep my secret safe. I'd like to have a normal life for once. Listen we have to go back to the stars and take care of some stuff, but I'll come back to show you how to make more cool stuff" I said.
"I won't say anything. We should head home, You three better get going" Raon said.
"Hey Tali… I'm sorry your trip to Rannoch wasn't what you hoped for. It started rough and now this. You deserve better" I said.
"At least we got to enjoy some of this. I'm ready to go, besides I think you waited long enough and when we get back to the ship, I have a special reward for you" Tali seductively winks.
"MOVE IT PEOPLE!"