AN: Not gonna lie, this was written in several chunks over a few days. Life has been weird lately, I managed to recover from Covid no prob but my mother and mother in law are in the hospital with serious but not life-threatening issues, my kids are going through a rough patch and my wife is on the verge of a nervous breakdown because of all of it. This is not an excuse, because frankly I don't feel I need to excuse myself for a weird, late chapter, but I have no problems explaining myself. Also if I keep at it the way I'm planning on this thing won't be done for years and will end up being half a million words long, but updates won't be regular for the time being.
Chapter 56
"Captain Kirrahee, while I appreciate your willingness to help, I can't help but question your motivations." Colonel Hastings asked, noticing his partner Tek'Noonar in the corner writing notes in Kheelish on a paper notebook. She had gotten in the habit of using old human writing implements since during the interrogation of a suspect in a robbery in Sydney, the perpetrator had utilized a portable EMP device to scramble the evidence she'd collected once he realized he'd incriminated himself.
"Understandable, given the situation. Our group within the Salarian government calls itself STG, the Special Tasks Group. Analogous to Earth's Special Forces or Council Spectres. In fact Council Spectre role was based on Salarian STG. We are, given our roles, privy to information unavailable to the general public. Years ago, my predecessor discovered some... troubling information. The decision making at the top of the Salarian Union has become...erratic." Kirrahee said.
"Oh?" Hastings asked, prompting him to continue.
"Resources were being diverted from long-running projects like the next generation dreadnought research, terraforming experiments, medical research etc to "top secret" projects. These were not small amounts of resources either, the next dreadnought model for example it's estimated has been pushed back twenty years in development. That's half a Salarian lifetime. Furthermore STG teams were being ordered, without my knowledge, to assist in these "projects" and the teams dispatched were never heard from again." Kirrahee said.
"I don't think I like where this is going..." Hastings said. Kirrahee nodded in agreement.
"Several months ago, I learned from one of my team leaders that he was being sent out by the Dalatrasses on a sensitive project. I ordered him to bring surveillance equipment capable of transmitting a live feed to STG headquarters on encrypted channels, and thankfully he complied. They traveled into Batarian space and landed on a barely hospitable planet and met with a Turian spectre, to whom they delivered a shipment of experimental eezo processors. Once the STG team finished unloading, the spectre killed the entire STG team. This was the last image the equipment transmitted before it shut down." Kirrahee said, before activating a display in front of him.
The image was of a well-known Turian Spectre, Saren Arterius, pointing a gun at the holder of the camera. In the background was a giant, black squid-shaped dreadnought with menacing glowing red running lights. Hastings paled, and immediately pressed a button on his omnitool.
"We need to get that Prothean expert, the Asari one in Egypt, here right away." Hastings said into his omnitool. His conversation was abrupt and ended with a startled "Yes Sir," on the other end, and then he turned to Kirrahee.
"That Spectre, he's named Saren Arterius. He's involved with the recent attacks on Alliance territory, though we cannot prove it. That thing in the back is what's worrying me though. Tell me, Kirrahee what do you know about the reapers?" Hastings said.
Tali took one last look at her property, her house, before boarding the shuttle to bring them back to Earth to hook up with the Normandy. The repairs were once again complete, and they were to prepare for re-deployment. Tali could not believe how well things were going for her, and she was endlessly grateful. As she was settling into her seat, she looked over and was shocked to Ashley passionately kissing a male Quarian she didn't know. She gasped audibly, causing Shepard to look over to see what had happened.
"Keelah, what is she doing? Kaidan will be crushed.." Tali said.
"Huh? Oh, you didn't know? Ashley and Kaidan are in an open relationship." Shepard said.
"A what now?" Tali asked.
"Open Relationship. They are together and in love, but they both see other people as well. " Shepard explained.
"Oh, I didn't know that. That's a relief." Tali said. She brought up a document on her omnitool. Shepard was about to ask what she was reading but she noticed quickly Tali's jaw had slackened slightly and her eyes were darting furiously all over the page. She was geeking out over something relating to engineering and there would be no reaching her until she was finished. Shepard shrugged and leaned back in her chair to try to get some sleep.
She awoke with a jerk to find the seat next to her was empty. The whole transport was empty, the lights were out and it was cold. The reason for this was that it was landed on a planet she didn't recognize, and the escape hatch was open. There were scorch marks all over and damaged equipment and armor pieces littering the cabin.
"Tali?" She said, but heard no response. She unbuckled her restraints and frantically began searching around. There was no sign of anyone aboard, so she tentatively stepped off the ship and immediately regretted it. The bitterly cold, dry air bit at her skin, she was not dressed for this weather but years of rigorous training as well as genetic modifications from the N7 program would protect her for a while. The ground was covered in a thin dusting of snow, grey featureless dirt and rock lay underneath it. While uncomfortably cold, the air seemed to be oxygen rich and at a similar pressure to Earth's environment, as she had no trouble breathing. She went back aboard and raided one of the emergency supply caches present on all military and civilian spacecraft, there she found a first aid kit, a thin foil thermal blanket which she wrapped around herself, and a package of flares. She lit one and left it in front of the wreck and then began looking around.
After a few minutes she discovered footprints. Two-toed Quarian footprints. The pattern appeared as though the Quarian in question was slightly dragging his or her left leg. She followed them, hoping that they belonged to Tali, and they took her a mile away from the wreck. The terrain was blessedly flat so she could still easily see the flare she'd left, but that was the least of her concerns. Laying on the ground was the crumpled form of a female Quarian. Shepard threw herself forward and collapsed on top of the Quarian, scrambling to turn her over and to her utter horror the shocked, lifeless eyes of her beloved stared into the middle distance behind her, her complexion nearly devoid of any color and her beautiful features were twisted into expression of terror.
"No no no, you can't be... Wake up... You can't be gone..." Shepard sobbed, shaking Tali's corpse. As she did, her shirt ripped open exposing her neck, showing Shepard the likely cause of her death. Two perfectly circular puncture wounds right over the jugular vein.
"God..." Shepard said.
"God won't help you here." A deep, Hungarian accent spoke from behind her. She spun to look at the figure, only to see a six-foot slender man wearing a nineteenth century tuxedo with cape, a medallion and his perfect hair slicked back. Dracula stood, smirking at her from a few meters away.
"You Bastard!" Shepard yelled. Before she could move to attack, Dracula had grasped her by her upper arms and was shaking her violently.
"Wake Up, Jane!" He said his mouth curled into a sadistic grin.
"Fuck you Dracula!" Shepard screamed!
"Goddamnit wake up Jane!" Tali yelled, shaking her harder. The frozen planet dissolved and she awoke, surrounded by the concerned looks of her fellow passengers. Tali was holding her, panic evident in her eyes.
"What the fuck? Where's Dracula? Tali' You're alive! That's awesome!" Shepard said, a goofy smile on her lips. Tali rolled her eyes. The rest of the passengers began chuckling as they went back to their seats and strapped in to prepare dock with Ellis Station in orbit around Earth.
"I'd be embarrassed if you weren't so cute." Tali said smirking.
"Shut up." Shepard grumbled, crossing her arms defensively.
"So I guess I'll delete the vampire movies from our collection." Tali said, mockingly.
"Shut up." Shepard repeated, pouting harder.
"I love you." Tali said soothingly.
"I love you too, even though you're mean to me." Shepard said, uncrossing her arms but still pouting.
"Here have some chocolate." Tali said, passing her an open chocolate bar.
"WOO! CHOCOLATE!" Shepard yelled completely forgetting she was surrounded by other people.
"Behold the Hero of Arcturus." Ashley said, grinning.
"What was that, Ensign Williams?" Shepard asked.
"I'll be good." Ash said. The remainder of the flight was uneventful, they disembarked at Ellis. They were surprised to see Admirals Raan, Anderson and Hackett waiting for them. Shepard immediately walked over, Tali and Ash close behind, and after saluting they greeted their friends.
"Admirals Anderson, Hackett, and Raan to what do we owe the pleasure?" Shepard asked.
"We were hoping to speak in private, if possible." Anderson said, cryptically.
"Like, just me private or can my senior staff here join in? Shepard asked.
"It would be best for the three of you to join us please." Anderson said, and gestured towards a side office. When they arrived, the station officer to whom it belonged immediately got up, saluted and left having been asked previously for the use of the room. They were surprised to see Vil D'inan sitting in the room waiting for them, nervously wringing her hands. There was visible relief on her face when she saw her commander enter the room.
"Vil, are you ok? Did something happen?" Shepard asked.
"No, Commander." She said.
"Sir I don't care what the Asari say, Vil D'inan is a vital part of our crew, her condition has never been a problem, and I trust her implicitly. If she's not good enough for the Alliance than neither am I, you can have these bars back." Shepard said, subconsciously placing herself between the Asari and the Admirals.
"Jesus, is she this protective of all of her crew?" Hackett asked.
"You don't know the half of it." Tali said, smiling in pride at her beloved.
"Commander, I promise, Dr. D'inan is not in any trouble."
"Oh, uh I'm sorry, Admiral." Shepard said sheepishly. She looked over to Vil who was staring at her, tears streaming from her eyes. Shepard smiled at her, took her hand an squeezed it.
"I promise you, Commander, only good news here today." Raan said, also smiling at Shepard.
"Ok, what can we do for you?" Shepard asked. Hackett punched up a communications console and the image of the Turian ambassador appeared before them.
"Ambassador Vakarian, Thank you for joining us.
"Not at all, Admirals, it's my pleasure. You are Commander Shepard and her crew, I presume?" He asked, and Shepard nodded.
"Yes sir, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance sir." Shepard said, and saluted him. Tali and Ash followed suit.
"No need for that Commander, I haven't been active in the military for years now." Castis said.
"Of course, sir. How can we be of assistance sir?" Shepard asked.
"My esteemed colleague, Matriarch Benezia T'Soni and I have been speaking extensively with your mother and making massive progress on diplomatic relations between our peoples. Frankly bypassing the council while it has caused some trouble, has been the best thing we could have considered in that regard. Your government makes so much more sense than the Council." Castis said.
"Don't say that in front of Mom it'll go to her head." Shepard said grinning. Castis barked out a laugh.
"Oh I'll be sure to tell her you said that. Anyway, we heard that Dr. D'inan has been serving aboard the Normandy for some time now, and your crew finds themselves favorably navigating matters involving other species so often, we were hoping to request that a Turian could join your crew." Castis said.
"Provided said Turian keeps an open mind, and contributes something to the Normandy I would have no issue whatsoever bringing them into the fold. Quite frankly I think their perspective on things would be invaluable." Shepard said, not missing a beat.
"I'm pleased to hear that." Castis said.
"Sir, do you have anyone in mind?" Shepard asked.
"We will leave that up to you, Commander, nobody here is more qualified to determined whom would be a good fit." Castis said.
"That's tough, I've only ever met a couple of Turians. The one I've spent the most time with was a Security officer aboard this station, I think his name was Garrus. He had a sharp mind and was quick on his feet. Definitely got along with my crew too, I think without knowing more Turians he'd probably be my first pick." Shepard said. Castis grinned and shook his head.
"Something wrong with Garrus, sir?" Shepard asked.
"Oh no, I know him very well. He's my son. I think he'd be delighted to join your crew." Castis said smirking.
"I don't know sir, he seemed to enjoy his posting here doing good honest security work as opposed to what they had him doing on the Citadel." Shepard said.
"Show him the main battery installed on the Normandy and you'll find yourself struggling to get him off your ship." Castis said, smiling again.
"Yes Sir. That works out well, we could use more experience in that department. Our strategy tends to lean more towards boarding and landing operations, ship to ship combat is where we are weak." Shepard reasoned.
"Very good. As he's a Turian citizen I'll make the arrangements on my end for the transfer. Admirals, Commander, Lieutenant Commander, Lieutenant and Doctor I bid you farewell." Castis said as his image dissolved.
"Of course you'd pick the Ambassador's son." Anderson said rolling his eyes.
"Yeah not even remotely sorry on that one Admiral Anderson." Shepard said grinning.
"Well that's one topic down, the next matter is your Doctor here." Raan said. Vil looked nervous again, and returned her gaze to the floor.
"Prime minister Shepard discussed your situation at length with Ambassador T'Soni, Dr. D'inan. Personally, Ambassador T'soni is completely behind you, and is proud of your service to the Alliance. However, she has informed us that since you are an Asari citizen, if the Normandy were to cross into Asari space with you aboard, the border guard would likely forcibly board her and arrest you." Raan said, her voice soft and compassionate. Vil paled and began shaking upon hearing this. Shepard got ready to raise her voice, but Raan beat her to the punch.
"Ambassador T'soni made a recommendation that Prime Minister Shepard agreed with and accepted immediately, that will prevent that possibility from ever coming to pass. Dr. D'inan I am honored and pleased to offer you full citizenship effective immediately in the Systems Alliance. You would enjoy all the rights and privileges, as well as shoulder the responsibilities that come with that." Raan said. Shepard immediately lunged forward to catch Vil as she slumped forward in her chair.
"Keelah is she ok?" Raan asked.
"She's overwhelmed. She's spent her whole life thinking she's a monster and being shunned for it, and now suddenly she's surrounded by people who love her unconditionally despite knowing of her condition. It's a lot to take in." Shepard said, waving air in front of the unconscious Asari's face with a folded piece of paper.
"Goddess where am I?" Vil asked as she slowly came to.
"Gonna need you to stay with us this time." Shepard said grinning, the Asari doctor looked around and the memory came flooding back into her mind.
"Goddess, are... are you serious?" She gasped.
"You need only sign on the dotted line." Raan said, cautiously sliding a paper towards her. Vil signed it in shaky Asari script and then began softly crying. Shepard sat beside her rubbing her back, knowing that physical contact was something the Asari cherished.
"I can't begin to thank you for this." She said, finally regaining some of her composure.
"You're one of us now, kiddo. The only difference this makes is we won't have to blow up any Asari ships we encounter if we cross the border." Shepard said smiling.
"Kiddo? You realize I'm easily a hundred years older than you." Vil said, smiling. Shepard just shrugged her shoulders and hugged her.
"Congratulations, Doctor. Welcome home." She said. Vil smiled despite the fresh batch of tears.