Chapter 26
When Castis returned to Palaven, his wife, ran to him with tears in her eyes overjoyed to see her husband again. When she'd found out he had been abducted, she nearly lost her mind. More than once over the torturous weeks that he was gone, her mind had drifted to the old Mantis sniper rifle sitting in her closet. It would be so easy to call in a few favors and go Batarian hunting, but she was terrified about those implants they use. Then before she could act rashly word came through that he'd been recovered, and by the Alliance of all people. She had never been so grateful for people she'd never met.
Garrus was relieved beyond words when finding out his father had been recovered. He had resigned his position from C-Sec after the debacle with the humans, and he'd feared that would slow their efforts in buying his freedom from the Batarians. Thankfully the same humans that humiliated Tevos had rescued his father, and he'd made it his goal to express his gratitude to this new race.
"Spirits, Castis are you sure you should be up and around this fast?" Nuleh Vakarian asked fussing over her husband.
"The humans' medicine is amazing, Nuleh. I was sure I'd broken three ribs and cracked a vertebrae, and the next day I walked out of their medbay." Castis said, looking as though he had never been injured.
"Just please be careful. I can't lose you again." She said, hugging him.
"Never again, Nuleh. That's why I want you to come with us, I'm sure you'll keep us safe." He smiled. He wasn't joking. During his time in the Turian military he had served with distinction, but Nuleh was demon on the battlefield. During a brief war with the Batarians over several Turian colonies upon which they were encroaching, she had racked up two hundred kills with a sniper rifle during a two-month engagement. They had met under a bridge, Castis' squad was holding the path under the bridge to disrupt a Batarian supply line when they started pouring in from above. His squad was overwhelmed and they were being pushed back. At one point he was knocked over by a rifle butt to the temple, and when he looked up the Batarian that struck him was literally torn in half by a tall Turian woman, her uniform tattered and soaked with Batarian blood.
"I know, but what about Garrus? He's stuck on the Citadel and they're not likely to take our diplomatic efforts with the Alliance very kindly." She said
"If I'm right, Garrus probably put in his resignation after he saw that sorry display with the council. I wouldn't be surprised if he finds his way back here soon, you should call him." Castis said as he walked to the window and drew the shutter. Even with their metallic skin, it was best to avoid prolonged exposure to their star.
"That's a good idea. I'll do that." She said bringing up the communications application on her omnitool. A few seconds later, Castis' predictions were all but confirmed. Garrus was aboard a transport heading to Palaven. He had inherited his father's good sense and he refused to serve such incompetent leaders as the Council. His resignation had barely hit his supervisor's desk before he was packed and arranging transport.
"Sorry, mom but I just couldn't keep working for the council. I'm glad I declined when they asked me to be a Spectre." He said.
"Don't be sorry, you did the right thing. I really don't think being a part of the citadel council is good for us any more." She said.
"Well we should talk more about it when I Get home. Speaking of which, mind if I stay there until I can find a place?" he asked, a little embarrassed.
"Of course dear, you know you'll never have to ask." She said, for the first time in years she was going to have both of her boys in the same house, she was over the moon. "Your father has some news to tell you. When will you get here?" She asked.
"Tomorrow, the transport I'm on has to make a stop at Omega. Before you say it I'm not even leaving the ship." He said, derailing what was likely to be a long lecture about how dangerous that particular station is.
"Good, looks like some of what I taught you might have stuck." She said sternly.
"Yes Mother. I'll see you soon." He said, disconnecting. Garrus reflected on his short career at c-sec. When he joined up he was full of zeal, excited to be a part of the galactic center of civilization. That was before he discovered the depth of corruption within all aspects of Citadel administration. All the way from lowly patrolmen like him, up to the councilors themselves. Everyone was scratching each other's back with one hand while preparing to stab it with the other.
It sickened him to no end how easily and freely they'd bent the rules and laws to fill their own pockets, and his resignation had been a long time coming. The debacle with the humans was the straw that broke the camel's back. He sincerely hoped the Primarch and the Hierarchy in general would be wiser in its dealings with this new power player. His musings were broken a disturbance in the Omega docking bay as an Asari with a considerable escort was displacing the crowd as she angrily made her way to a transport shuttle. The group surrounding her were busily shoving people out of their way as she strode unflinchingly not saying a word, the crowd stepping over itself in an attempt to get out of her way. Whoever this was, Garrus was glad he wasn't in her way.
Meanwhile on Thessia, a group of Asari matriarchs were meeting in an elegant boardroom atop the tallest skyscraper in Armali. They too had grown weary of the Citadel council, and sought to distance themselves from that pathetic whelp representing them there.
"They appear to be a gregarious people, however don't underestimate them. They called that explosion that rocked the Citadel a "medium-yield" weapon and I have little reason to disbelieve them." Chella D'nuria, the head of the Matriarch council said.
"Of course, Chella. I will be cautious, but we cannot ignore this opportunity. From what we've learned their FTL drive and weapons technology are millenia beyond anything we have, and we still have no idea how they power it all." Benezia T'Soni said.
"Will you be bringing Liara along with you?" Navea Denno, another Matriach asked.
"Of Course, I don't think she'd forgive me if I didn't bring her to meet these new people. They're bound to have an interesting past, also given their technological advancement it's likely they may have access to Prothean ruins of some description." Benezia confirmed.
"Well do keep us informed." Chella said, bowing slightly as T'Soni turned and left. When she arrived home, her excitable daughter was already waiting with their bags ready to head to the spaceport.
"Goddess, child, have some patience." Benezia said, smiling at her daughter's eagerness.
"I know, mother, I just want to get moving soon, these people are entirely new I wonder what kind of government they have, and how far back their written history goes, and..." She rambled.
"I know, little wing. We will leave as soon as our transport arrives." She said. Unfortunately for the impatient young archaeologist, the passage they booked was scheduled to take a round about trip, having a stop at Omega before moving on to Arcturus, thankfully Liara had plenty of proofreading to do on her most recent work about the Prothean's spread throughout the galaxy, so she would not be idle for very long.
Meanwhile on Earth, Shepard was smiling as she watched her lover bounce around their hotel room gathering her things.
"Keelah did I bring a toothbrush? WHERE'S MY TOOTHBRUSH?" She yelled to herself.
"Relax, Tali. There's a store in the lobby they sell them there." Shepard reassured her.
"Sorry, I'm sorry. Just, Keelah, the homeworld. Every Quarian's dream for 300 years has been to return." She said.
"Well, we should probably go grab that toothbrush then. Raan said we're heading out in 30 minutes." She said
"SHIT!" Tali swore and began darting around collecting hers and Shepard's things. Shepard laughed, sorting through the pile of discarded undergarments making sure to keep the dirty ones separate from the clean and packing them accordingly. She was happy to see Tali so excited.
Their trip was a short one, thanks to the fact that they no longer needed to stay under the radar, they were able to use the relays, so after four quick jumps they were able to get there the rest of the way by traditional FTL, and soon they were in orbit. Joker was grateful for the lack of gravity, since once they arrived in orbit around Rannoch all the Quarians aboard rushed to the starboard side to look out the view ports. He refrained from making any jokes about it, because he understood the gravity of the situation. He was secretly deeply honored to be a part of bringing his brothers and sisters there to visit their homeworld.
"Captain Anderson, the Geth have cleared us to land." Joker reported.
"At your convenience, Flight Lieutenant." Shepard said, and Joker brought the Normandy down. The humans stood aside to allow the Quarians to disembark first. The hatch opened, and they slowly made their way down the gang plank to be met by dozens of unarmed Geth platforms. They kept a respectful distance as the Quarians took their first steps on their homeworld, many falling to their knees and weeping. Tali was crying unreservedly into Shepard's chest. Raan was doing the same to Anderson and Rael stood there in shock. He was still wearing his suit, having been reluctant to take the immunotherapy and now well and truly regretted it. A Geth unit stepped forward.
"Anderson Captain, Creators, welcome to Rannoch. Welcome... home." it said.
"Thank you. Thank you so much." Raan said, who in her emotional state forgot herself and ran up to hug the Geth platform. Thankfully the Geth were well aware of Quarian history and their status as the Galaxy's most prolific huggers, so they knew not to interpret the action as aggression.
"Well it ain't quite Earth, but it's alright I guess." Shepard said, earning an elbow to the ribs from Tali.
"Quiet, you." Tali said, smiling too hard to be fazed by it. They continued walking behind the Geth units until they reached a large, very old building. It was easily a thousand years old but looked to be in pristine condition having been lovingly maintained. Adorning the wall were murals and tapestries of suitless Quarians in scenes reminiscent of human folklore. There were clear signs of them having been patched and touched up fairly recently.
"It looks better than the vids." Tali said.
"Creator Zorah, after the Morning War, we acted to preserve everything that we could in anticipation of one day reuniting with the creators. Buildings destroyed in the war have been repaired, crops and livestock have been maintained, factories are still in functional condition." The Geth unit said.
"Keelah, why? We tried to slaughter you." Raan asked.
"You were afraid. As we have learned with the Angry ones, fear often leads to irrational decisions." the unit responded.
"For what it's worth, we are sorry." Admiral Korris said.
"Creator Korris, for what it is worth, we forgive you." The geth said. This left the Quarians dumbstruck yet again.
"This is nice." Shepard said, ruining the moment after a few minutes and earning another elbow in the side.
"That's my baby girl." Hannah shepard said, stepping through the hall rolling her eyes.
"What'd I do?" Shepard asked with feigned innocence.