A/N: YOU NEED TO READ THIS.

WARNING:

CHARACTERS WILL BE DISCUSSING EVENTS THAT HAVE OCCURRED IN THE FALL OF NORMANDY. SPECIFICALLY, THE CHAPTER "THANKSGIVING".

If you want to refresh your memory, go there and read the chapter real quick. Otherwise, I'll provide a quick summary below to get you up to speed.

The summary below contains major spoilers for the first book. I'D REALLY SUGGEST READING THE FIRST IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY.

/SPOILER STARTS\

The Normandy crash lands on a planet called Ullipses. A "garden world" in the barest sense in that it does have a protective atmosphere and breathable gases. Nothing else roams the planet other than tundras and deserts.

A mere two days pass before the Normandy crew discovers the collectors are there on the planet with them. And only because the collectors attacked them without any provocation. Fortunately, the Normandy and her crew are able to withstand the firefight and emerge victorious, at the cost of several lives and two missing in action. Desperate for escape and safety, the crew repairs their only surviving distress beacon, in spite of knowing that the closest com buoy is light years away, and hope that Alliance will start an investigation to their last known location when they realize the Normandy hasn't returned.

This is where it gets worse.

The collectors had attacked because they needed three humans to synthesize a paralytic for their seeker swarms. When the collectors finally had created what they needed, they sent out the seeker swarms and captured the Normandy crew in its entirety. Nobody, not John, not Tali, Garrus, or anyone on Ullipses has any recollection of the seeker swarms. Their only guess is that they were also administered (forcefully of course) a drug to also give them memory loss.

But something eventful happened. The non-human crew, Tali, Garrus, Wrex, and Liara, were left behind. It is unknown how this occurred.

Shepard's band of misfits leave the Normandy by taking the Mako to mount a counter-offensive to rescue Shepard and the crew. After infiltrating a collector base, and after noting that the crew is nowhere to be seen on the ground, the group steals a collector gunship and flies to the collector ship (Yes the one from ME2 at the beginning of the game). After crash landing the gunship (Because of Garrus' lack of ability to fly an alien gunship), the group stumbles out and begins their search for the crew and John.

That's all you really need to know. If you want the rest, you gotta read the first story. :)

/SPOILER ENDS\

Enjoy!

Will have more questions for you guys to answer when you're done reading. Would gladly appreciate your input/feedback.

Thanks.

|Chapter 21|

|Present Time|

|Date: 2/07/2185|

It wasn't long before Miranda and Jacob were in the Normandy's lift to take them down to the cargo bay.

And while they both weren't ecstatic about the quarians John brought with him, Jacob was the only one who'd expressed his discomfort.

"Our luck." Jacob muttered.

Miranda slipped in one small smile. "I know, Jacob. It's bad." She said with a sigh.

Jacob chuckled. "What're you expecting will happen?"

"What else." Miranda answered plainly when the lift stopped and the doors opened.

"Let me go first, Miranda." Jacob insisted, "You aren't exactly the most finesse person on the ship when it comes to making amends."

"—or establishing relationships, apparently." Miranda sighed before falling in line behind Jacob and giving him the go.

He nodded his thanks and went up the Kodiak while watching Garrus step out.

With John.

And his three quarians.

"Like it so far?" Garrus said, holding his hands up to parade the cargo bay's size to the guest's he brought.

"We just got here Garrus." John said.

The first thing Tali noticed when she stepped out of the Kodiak was the Normandy's fluorescent lighting.

And it reminded her nothing of the old Normandy.

"...It's… definitely brighter." Tali said immediately as she graced the walls around her with a snooping stare. When she finished her full round-a-bout, her stare fell immediately on the black man approaching them and the woman behind him.

Tali's temper flared and she flexed her hands tightly into fists.

Fuck.

Did they really have to see them so soon?

John, Olasie, and Juel still hadn't finished their own quick skimming before realizing who was walking up to them.

"Right on time." Garrus noticed before giving the two operatives a single nod, "I see you've come for the welcome party."

"Glad you came back with the right stuff." Jacob said with his pearly smile as he greeted the turian.

Garrus just nodded his thanks and gestured toward the group of newcomers.

John gave the man an awkward stare while Olasie couldn't help but fume at him.

Matter of fact, all three of the quarians were fuming at the man.

And Miranda.

"Not exactly sure if you remember, Mr. Jacob." Olasie spat before putting all her weight on one foot and crossing her arms, "But I'm Olasie. We exchanged pleasantries on Freedom's Progress."

John couldn't help but bite the tip of his tongue and clench his teeth.

God damnit. He was afraid this was going to happen.

John glanced at Tali, and, from what he could tell (just by her body language alone), told him she was actually looking forward to seeing if Jacob would squirm a little.

Jacob's smile waned slightly.

"Yes… I remember perfectly, ma'am."

"Hmph."

"I understand, very completely, why you dislike me." Jacob admitted before frowning, "And I know it doesn't mean much, but I have no ill will against the quarians. None. And what Cerberus did to your people was evil and wrong."

Miranda rose an eyebrow, but kept her lips shut and let Jacob have the stage. He said he was going to handle it, and by god, she was going to let him.

Olasie's standoffish attitude eroded just slightly and she slouched a little.

But Juel didn't.

"Words don't mean much to the dead, Jacob." Juel intoned very evenly. Tali positively smiled at Juel's well put out remark.

"I know." Jacob admitted immediately, "And that's why I'm not excusing Cerberus' actions."

Juel didn't bother replying and Jacob took the hint.

"Look," Jacob began, "I don't know what kind of relationship we're all going to have together in the future, but I'm looking forward to working with all of you on Haestrom if it means anything."

Jacob finally laid his eyes on John.

"Commander." He nodded.

"Jacob." John replied, "How pissed was your boss when you had to tell him I left you guys?"

"Fairly." Miranda interrupted.

"I'll tell him I'm sorry, if that matters." John replied, casting her a quick and blank stare.

Garrus had been staring between them all and twiddled his thumbs rather anxiously the entire time.

And since nobody else was talking anymore, Garrus decided it be best to finally intervene.

"So. It's by order that all privileges and responsibility of the Normandy be handed solely over to Shepard's immediate oversee, effective immediately."

All three of the quarians nodded happily at that, including John and Jacob.

"Sounds about right." Jacob agreed.

Olasie tilted her head up and noticed someone staring at them from a floor above. She gave the person an odd look. "Uhm... who is that?"

Garrus glanced behind him to get a look himself before turning back around and thumbing the windows on the engineering floor that spanned its main hall. "There, the classy lady staring at you right above us, is Subject Zero. She likes to be called Jack."

Tali looked up, as did the others, and stared at the… bald human female with tattoos lining her entire body.

Tali couldn't help but stare oddly at her boobs also.

"Eh… any… reason why she's topless at the moment?" Tali mentioned to add, still staring at Jack and her completely bare breasts, "Isn't that—I don't know—frowned upon for humans?"

John stepped up next to her and stared at the strange looking woman. "Uh… generally, yes." John said with a raised eyebrow as he nodded absently to Tali's comment.

When Jack finally realized everyone from the lower deck was staring at her, and sensing they were ogling her because her boobs were out in the open, she cupped her breasts to show them off and mouthed, "they're just tits, ladies and gents," before rolling her eyes and walking off back to her hidey-hole.

"So what she, uh… what she doing here?" John decided to ask.

"She's a biotic." Garrus answered after watching her walk off, "Best one I've ever seen at that. I'll tell you more about her later."

"She looks like a criminal." Juel hesitated to say.

"How'd you guess?" Garrus hastily added with a smile, "She's fucking crazy."

"She going to be a problem?" Shepard said with a confused expression.

"Unknown." Miranda said with a blank stare.

"Right." John nodded with a smile that was anything but happy, "First impressions guys. They're important."

Jacob didn't do a good job of hiding the look of embarrassment on his face.

"Mrs. Lawson," Garrus turned to her, "Is it possible we have Mordin come down and give both Olasie and Juel a tour of the Normandy? I have to go up and talk to Tali and Shepard."

"Of course." Miranda said before turning on a heel and heading to the elevator.

"I'll go with her. Give you guys some space." Jacob said before following her.

And just like that, they left, and the group was left alone.

"Let's just make one little rule, okay?" Garrus addressed with his back still facing them all, "Let's all get along and not cause any more drama than the ship already has."

"He's right." John agreed reluctantly, "If we want this ship to be anything like the original, we can't incite anything anymore than what's necessary. Cerberus bullshit or not."

They all nodded and didn't bother with saying anything.

"Can you tell us a little about this… Mordin?" John asked as he faced Garrus.

"Interesting man. Former STG. Biologist who'd been involved with handling the Genophage."

"What's he working on exactly?"

"Not something I can explain without lecturing you."

"It'll be another few minutes before he comes down the elevator… I think we've got time." Tali said.

Garrus caved in and shrugged. "Fine." He grumbled, "How intact is your memory, Shepard?"

"Pretty intact so far… haven't had any issues. At least, from what I can remember." John joked.

"Funny." Garrus said as he shook his head, "But we all remember Ullipses. Right?"

John's smile fell off his face.

Tali's too.

"Yes. We do." Tali nodded stiffly.

Garrus' mandibles pressed into his face to frown. "Remember, Tali, when we woke up alone on the Normandy, with all the crew gone?"

Tali shuddered. "Yes."

"Turns out they used these… little drones. Millions of them apparently. And they swoop in giant waves toward their target and inject some kind of paralytic into you with several microscopic needles on their asses."

"You'd make a great teacher, Garrus." John managed to say with a tired grin, "I'm imagining Mordin told you all this?"

"Yeah."

"That doesn't explain how we all woke up without any recollection of what happened though." Tali mentioned.

"Mordin doesn't know why either. He guessed the drones inject something to make you forget too."

John shook his head as his eyes glazed over in memory. "You know, the last thing I remember then, before waking up on the collector ship… was driving on my way back from a patrol in the Mako." John said, "And… that was it."

"I was taking a nap at my post while Garrus took his turn to stay watch." Tali said with the shake of her head, "That's what I remembered."

"And the last thing I remembered was thinking about whether or not to write something on your visor with that marker." Garrus panned with a smile.

John laughed. "God, I forgot all about that."

Tali rolled her eyes at both of them. "Bosh'tet."

"I feel so out of the loop." Juel butted in. Olasie couldn't help but nod and agree with Juel.

"Ah, you didn't miss out on much." John said as he shook his head, "I mean, we laugh at it now… but it was hell then."

Tali and Garrus nodded.

John turned back to Garrus. "When all of us were back on Freedom's Progress, there was a quarian there. Only one guy left in the whole damn city. Showed us the drones you just mentioned with some security footage he'd pieced together."

Tali nodded and spoke. "John and I guessed it was the little drones that were responsible for all that."

"You guys are talking about Veetor." Garrus said.

Tali eyebrows scrunched up. "What? How'd you know his name?"

"Cerberus gave the data you handed over to Mordin. Then Mordin gave everyone on the Normandy a seminar of his studies and research he'd been doing since he joined us. Mentioned Veetor as a reference in his bibliography."

"You still haven't answered the question yet, though." Tali hastened to add, "What did he learn?"

"A lot, actually. He's working on a countermeasure to prevent any of that from happening again."

"That's good." John nodded, "Because there's nothing stopping them from doing it again."

"Which makes them impossible to fight right now." Garrus agreed, "So, until then, all we're doing is recruiting people to help us along the way."

"There's a lot hinging on one thing." Juel worried, "What if he never finds it?"

"It's not an option." Garrus said as he faced him before shaking his head, "He either synthesizes the counter-measure or we all go home."

The elevator doors opened, and out popped a salarian with a mug of hot tea in hand as he ruffled through one of the pockets in his lab coat, all while he held a conversation with EDI.

"Genetic locus full of ad hoc, EDI. Alleles, product RNA, phenotypic traits, DNA; all synthesized…" Mordin took a breath, "Synthetic organism. Must be. Very clear collector drone organic machine."

"Understood, Mr. Solus." EDI agreed in a more VI'ish tone since she hadn't been introduced to her new guests and captain yet, "I will continue culture sampling and report to you when it is completed."

"Mordin." Garrus greeted when Mordin took a moment to sip his tea, "glad you could come down here."

"Of course." Mordin smiled when finally found what he was looking for, "Here to serve."

Mordin turned to face the commander before blinking. "Commander Shepard. Glad to have you aboard. Look forward to working with you."

John extended a hand. "Likewise, Dr. Solus. Haven't been told much, but I'm impressed with what I've been informed of so far."

Mordin took the hand and smiled. "Still have much to do, however. Please hold applause though. Should be for after I create counter-measure."

John laughed. He could tell right off the bat the he and Mordin would get along well.

And it looked like he had a sense of humor.

Everyone liked that.

Mordin then turned to the three quarians. "This must be Tali'Zorah." He bowed his head slightly, "Honor to meet you."

Tali immediately went up to the man and they exchanged handshakes. "The honor is mine, doctor. I'm glad you're on the Normandy."

"Likewise." He said before taking another sip of his tea and stepping a little closer to the last two guests, "Apologize for not knowing your names; Tali'Zorah and Commander Shepard understandably more famous."

"Not a problem, Doctor." Juel intoned with a slight smile, "Juel'Kaan with my friend here, Olasie'Venn. We're friends of Tali and John."

"Hi." Olasie greeted.

"Shall we?" Mordin said as he turned back to the elevator, "Would love to start at lab and work way down."

"Wherever is best for you, Doc." Juel said as both the quarians follow him into the elevator.

Olasie waved both John and Tali good-bye before the doors closed on them to bring them up to the Normandy's CIC.

"And then there were three." Garrus said as he faced John and Tali.

"Where we going?" John wondered.

"Up to your room." Garrus answered, "Or, should I say, both your guys' room?"

"I don't mind that. Do you Tali?"

Tali shook her head. "Nope. Don't mind at all."

"Good." Garrus conceded.

They all stepped next to the elevator and waited. When it came down to pick them up, Garrus went in with both John and Tali and pressed the button to take them up to the Captain's quarters.

"Remember, I got presents for you guys when we finally get to your room." Garrus started, "And they're good ones."

Tali leaned back on the elevator's railing. "What is it?"

"You'll find out."

"How's management been doing since I wasn't here?" John decided to ask.

"Miranda's been the acting captain in your place." Garrus explained, "And she's been doing surprisingly well. I don't have any complaints. She gets the job done."

But then Garrus sighed. "However, she doesn't exactly have the same… tact as you do."

"How so?"

"Well…" Garrus shrugged, "She's not the one to go to when you want to spark up a conversation… or even develop a relationship outside of something professional."

"She's a textbook, Garrus." John said before shrugging himself, "It's hard to see her any other way."

The three finally arrived at John and Tali's new cabin.

"Here we are." Garrus said as they all step out.

"Kinda small up here…" John observed as they step into a foyer of some kind.

"That's because the only thing up here is your living quarters."

"I was actually expecting the quarters to be on the crew deck…" Tali murmured.

Garrus finally opened the door to their room. "You're special. In the good way."

John bristled at the living space. "Holy shit, Garrus…" He stared boggle eyed at all of the eccentricities, "I feel like I'm some kind of… of—"

"—Space King? Yeah." Garrus confessed, "But you have to admit, it's certainly an upgrade from the SR1."

Tali didn't muster enough energy to say anything. So she stared at the aquarium full of fish before laying her eyes on their new desk and, more importantly, their new bed.

California King Size.

Nice.

"Plus, you did save the Galaxy." Garrus continued, "Think it's fair, given the circumstances."

Tali looked around. "Where's the bathroom?"

"Sliding door right behind the desk." Garrus said as he stepped near the door to open it, "You've got everything you need here now. No need to shower with us simpletons anymore like you did with the old Normandy."

John scoffed. "This is… a lot to take in." He finally breathed.

"That's not all. I've got something else." Garrus walked over to John's dresser and retrieved a cardboard box.

"I believe this stuff is yours, Tali."

He handed it to her.

She gave the turian in front of her a cursory glance before accepting the large parcel and setting it on the desk.

"Should I open it?"

Garrus nodded. "Yes."

She opened it and gasped.

She reached in and took out the shotgun resting inside. "This… it's my old shotgun. One of my old spare ones."

"My god." John said disbelievingly before crossing his arms, "That's all the same stuff you left on Gonzalez's ship."

"Yup," Garrus nodded, "along with a thermal bandolier."

"But…" Tali shook her head, "I'm pretty sure I put something else in here."

"You mean your Medals of Honor." Garrus supplied as he opened up a drawer on John's desk to retrieve them, "They're right here."

John immediately walked up next to Garrus and shook his head in amazement.

"Keelah…" Tali whispered as she took her Medal of Honor from Garrus' hand, "...never expected to see these again..."

"Wish you would have rescued mine." Garrus panned with a laugh.

Both John and Tali rolled their eyes.

John reached for his also and gave it a long gaze before shaking his head lightly and setting it back down on the desk.

He had completely forgotten about earning that.

As a matter of fact, he was sure Tali did too, judging by how wide her eyes were at the moment.

"Here's your last surprise, Tali. At least before you see the Normandy's engines." Garrus mumbled as he pulled out a chocolate bar out of his pocket, "For you. It's apology candy."

He gently handed it to her. When she accepted the bar of turian chocolate, she cocked her head to the side and set her medal back down onto their desk.

"What for, Garrus?"

"You know why." Garrus replied quietly without even having the courage to look her in the eye, "…Because of Liara and I not telling you John was coming back."

Tali's heart sank.

Lifeless silence between the three quickly followed after.

"Garrus…" Tali whispered as she shook her head, "…It's okay…"

The turian shook his own head sharply at her. "No. No it's not. What we did was wrong." He argued, "Very. Very. Wrong. And you had every right to know what was going on."

She stared at the bar of chocolate for a long moment and felt two years' worth of pain she'd endured from losing John in under a second.

She did have every right to know.

She should have known.

And what they did was unspeakably wrong.

She should have hated them both. More so to Liara than him, considering Liara had forced Garrus into promising that he'd keep his mouth shut to keep anything regarding John away from her.

But staring at this bar of chocolate, with its paper wrapper and silver foil, was, in a weird kind of way, a sense of symbolism.

A symbol for Garrus' mistake and his aim to recompense the suffering Tali's grief had procured upon her.

And she supposed Garrus was hoping she'd see that.

Fortunately enough, she did.

For as much pain and hopelessness she'd experienced over the years of John's death, it wouldn't bring her to actually hate them for anything longer than, maybe a year.

Two for Liara's case.

But still.

"I know it doesn't mean much…" Garrus rasped disappointedly to himself as he stared at the floor, "But I want you to know that I did care. And that it ate me up inside. A lot."

Tali kept staring at the chocolate.

Seeing as how Tali wasn't replying, John decided to speak up and save them all from another episode of silence.

"It's the thought that counts, Garrus." John said as he stepped next to Tali before clasping the turian on the shoulder, "Definitely the thought that counts."

Garrus still didn't look happy with himself. "Thanks Shepard. I guess I'll leave you two to be. Take your time and… talk things out. I'll be down in CIC in the meantime."

"Garrus?" Tali finally said aloud, looking up from the candy to him, "Thank you."

She even had the courage to smile at the turian before slipping the bar into a pocket, "It means a lot. Really."

Garrus finally let go of the imaginary breath he was holding and nodded to her. "You're welcome, Tali."

"I'll see you around?"

"Absolutely. Engineering is on the third deck, Chief Engineer. Whenever you're ready, ma'am."

Garrus nodded to them both before turning on his heel and walking out to leave them alone.

When the door closed behind him, both Tali and John stared out into their new quarters.

"Well…" John said finally, "What do you think?"

"Homey." Tali whispered as she wrapped an arm around his waist, "Definitely homey."

John smiled. "It won't be like the old Normandy… but I think we can make it pretty close." John said with a sigh, "All we need is Wrex and Ash."

"We can certainly try." Tali agreed.

He stepped down toward his bed before glancing at the lounge area.

"Wow, Tals…" He breathed, "This place is really something else."

"It's no Vista Cova," Tali jested by leaning up next to him, "But it'll do."

"Surprised you're not already on your way down to see the engines." John said before smiling at her.

"Well, I mean, I'm still new here. Kind of a little wary of the idea of wandering around by myself."

"Oh, Tali." He laughed, "You're a big girl now. Cerberus vessel or not."

"This is different, John," she pouted, "Would you care to join me when I do though?"

"Maybe after I change into some fatigues… that okay?"

Tali nodded. "Oh. Right. That'd probably be more comfortable."

He went over to the dresser and started rifling through its contents.

Seeing as how there wasn't anything better to do, Tali sat down on the sofa and decided she'd watch him take off his armor.

He popped off the seal on his gauntlets before unclasping the neck seal. "Appreciating the view?" he smiled.

"Mhmm…" She garbled with a lopsided grin, "Never gets old."

"It's been two weeks since I've been able to lift weights." John added as he finally got around to unlocking the clasps on his grieves, "Hoping they've got a proper gym we'll be able to use."

"Put it to good use." Tali said as she leaned farther back before putting both her hands behind her head to web her fingers together, "…Bend over a little bit."

He gave her a crooked looking expression. "…What?"

Her smile grew two sizes. "You heard me. Bend over a little bit. I wanna see your butt."

He scoffed at her and relented before comically showing himself off. "Like what you see?"

"Oh yes…" She nodded, "I do…"

"I feel like a stripper."

"Mmm… roleplay." Tali said as she bit her lip guiltlessly before laughing at her own stupid joke.

John couldn't wipe the smile off his face and he laughed. "I love you Tals."

"I love you too, John."

John immediately frowned. "Oh, shit." John started massaging his forehead, Tali's joke making him think of something, "This room's probably bugged."

"Let them see." Tali shrugged as she stared casually at the ceiling for some kind of camera, "I could care less if they want to watch our love life, John."

His shoulders sagged and he put on a shirt before walking over and sitting down next to her.

"I'm sorry we even have to consider something like that here." John sighed, "I don't have to think very far to imagine our cabin's bugged."

"It probably is." Tali said as she gave the room another cursory glance, "We'll find them. And we'll destroy them."

He smiled and put an arm around her. "That's what I wanna hear."

"But until then, they're going to have to be repulsed by our relationship." Tali mused, "And I'm hoping it makes them absolutely nauseous."

"We can hope." He finished before finding a pair of boots and pants and putting them on.

"Ready whenever you are, Tali."

"I'm actually excited."

"I bet."

They leave their room and go to the elevator. While they waited for the lift to pick them up, John crossed his arms and started thinking.

"How long before we get to Haestrom?"

"Thirty-six hours, fourteen minutes." Tali checked on her timer, "Plenty of time to get up to speed with everyone on the Normandy."

"After we see the engines, maybe we should go and visit Joker. And then Chakwas."

Tali nodded. "That would be a good idea."

John bit his lower lip. "…Think we'll get paid?"

"What do you mean?"

"Think Cerberus is going to give everyone we pick up a paycheck?"

"I'd hope so." Tali said as she thought about it herself, "But… isn't that accepting, like, blood money pretty much?"

John shrugged. "I have no idea."

"It doesn't matter." Tali shrugged herself when the elevator finally arrived, "I'm doing this for you and the people getting taken from their homes, and because the collectors could be working for the reapers." She added with finality, "Nothing more."

They stepped inside and he gave her a nod. "We're on the same boat then."

When the door closed behind them, the elevator's PA clicked on. "Is there a specific level you wish to go to, Commander?"

Both Tali and John look up at the speaker.

"Ah. I heard you speaking with Dr. Solus just earlier." John said, "You're the ship's VI, correct?"

"No." The voice answered factually, "I am EDI; The Normandy's Artificial Intelligence."

1.) Jack. She's crazy. I know I've asked already, but am I handling her character right? At least from what you've seen so far?

2.) Olasie (Tali's other friend). What's your opinion of her, if any? Do you like original characters? Would you be interested in knowing them more?

3.) EDI just introduced herself. To both Tali and John. What do you think's gonna happen? Hazard a guess.

4.) What do you see happening on Haestrom? Hoping for a formal introduction into the "DARK MATTER" Theory? Because I've got pages of stuff I'm ready to dish out for it.

You don't have to answer all of them, it isn't necessary at all. Just whatever you wish to answer. The feedback and input really help me as a writer because the reason I write this isn't just for me. It's for all of you, my readers. Because really, I do care about what you have to say.

Thanks guys. Really. It warms me heart right up to know people actually take the time to read my stuff and actually enjoy it.