The End of Dawn Chapter 19: Over The Phone Reunion, a mass effect fanfic

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ

CHAPTER 8

1-24-2186

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ

"This is the Shepards' residence. How can I help?"

The air around John, petrified with anxiety, hung silently over the phone. "Dad…?"

The voice of John Shepard was unmistakable.

"Who the HELL is this? Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"Dad—"

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Stop—"

"I'm going to find you, you son of a bitch."

"It's me-It's ME—It's me, Dad. It's me."

A shallow breath filters through the phone. "…John? Son?"

John felt a hand rest lightly onto his shoulder. He gave Tali a long sideways glance and suddenly remembered, from his library of memories, how lively and animated those glowing silvery orbs were behind her mauve glass. She conveyed her feelings through them. Spoke with them. John could feel the alluring quality of what her eyes were capable of alone. So when her vibrant orbs, glowing behind her delicately pressed sheet of purple, dimmed as she gave him her convection of love and sympathy, he died a little inside.

He willed himself back into focus and answered his father.

"Yes. It's me, dad. It's me. Where's mom?"

"She's— she's on tour. Never mind that. Where are you? What are you doing? We thought you… we thought you were dead."

"I know. And my situation's complicated. Something you need to get caught up on. And it's not something I can discuss over the phone right now."

His father's breath was heavy and ragged. "Oh, my son. It's so good to hear your voice. I've missed you so much. You're mother… she's… she's missed you too." He stressed his words with a shrill sigh. The man took a few deep breaths and composed himself a little more.

"Listen to me. I know your line of work is keeping you busy, and it probably explains why you've been gone for so long. But— but you come back and see us. You hear? You come here and see your mother."

"I will. I promise. I'll visit as soon as I can. But I have a favor to ask."

"Anything, John. We owe it to you."

"I... need my money back."

"Done. I'll get it back to you. We haven't touched it since you died. Hell…" He put a small frail laugh between his words, "We were debating on giving it to charity. Or donating it to Grissom Academy."

"Well," He gave Tali a small smile and looked out upon the busied landscape, "I'm kind of glad you didn't. Just whenever you can, dad. My friend is going to text you her routing and account number. Her name's Tali. You remember me mentioning her, don't you? Back on the Normandy?"

"Of course! That little rascal quarian you've babbled about over the phone all the time! I'll be waiting, son. Don't take too long to call back, you hear? Once I tell your mother, she'll be worried sick."

"I will dad. Make sure you tell her I said hi and that I love you both. Tell grandpa and grandma too."

"Will do. Will do… Take care, John. I love you. And I'm proud of you."

John hung the phone back onto its receiver and leaned into a pillar. "It was good to hear him. Wow." He said with a sideways hug he'd received from Tali.

"How's the weight on your shoulders feel now?"

"Lighter, now that I've talked to him." The arm he'd draped around her waist squeezed to put more 'oomph' to his words.

They were on Illium, of all places. Some city called Vista Cova. The sky was brilliant, and the skyscrapers did well to compliment the sun's milky colors setting along the mountainous horizon.

They both stood near the top of a luxury scraper, whose rooms housed hundreds of plazas and stores. They began to move slowly amongst the well-spaced shoppers from the plaza's center to the building's overhang to get a great bird's eye view of the city below.

"Nice place, isn't it?" John murmured aloud with a pursed grin.

Her eyes, drenched with the details of which lay below and above, finally peel away to John. "It's quite the view, yes."

"How's Prazza and his marines?"

"Sticking together and making their way to the closest bar they could find."

"What about Veetor and Juel?" He asked.

"Getting a drink with them." She smiled and thought it good of Veetor to get a fresh breath of air.

"So we get to stay in this paradise for a whole day, huh? I'm surprised your uppers let you do this."

She turned around and let her arms dangle onto the silky bars that bordered the large edge. "They treat their marines well, huneey." Her arm hooked around his.

"Oh. I almost forgot. Could you text your routing number to my dad? I really need that money to run some errands."

"That's right. Here, I'll send it now." While keeping her arm around his, she typed through her omni-tool.

"Good. I'll need to get some things like food. Change of underwear. Maybe a nice Exo-suit just like yours for when I'm on the Neema."

She sent the text message and gave the man a curious smile. "That'd be a really good idea."

He mimicked her relaxed posture and nudged her shoulder jokingly. "You can actually pretend to be dating a quarian."

"As opposed to what? Just a human? Uhm, you saved the galaxy and killed a reaper. And you let me tag along. I'd rather just have you."

"Aw, shux." He said with a small smile.

His stomach growled and he suddenly realized he was starving. "I'm hungry. Haven't had anything to eat since leaving that Cerberus facility. Did you know they called it the Lazarus station? Crazy."

Tali liked to think of herself as a reasonably composed woman. Being polite was always a good thing. But right now wasn't really a good time to feel composed. As a matter of fact, Tali felt like the grudge she had against Liara, the one she'd buried all that time ago, wasn't really a grudge anymore.

She couldn't even really being to explain the enormity of hate she suddenly had toward that bitch.

Oh, Liara. You cunt.

Tali couldn't stop imagining how glorious it would feel to wrap her hands around that smug, blue neck. Not in a homicidal way, of course—just a quick, therapeutic squeeze. A stress-reliever, really. Just enough to watch those perfect eyes of hers widen in shock, maybe hear a little squeak of panic escape those lying-bitch lips.

She looked sharply at him, eyes burning. "What did you just say?"

A shifty glance.

"—I'm hungry?"

"You came from Lazarus station? You were the Lazarus project weren't you?" Her lips trembled at how her tongue curled at saying the word.

Liara lied to her.

John looked slightly taken aback. "How'd you know?"

"That stupid blue bitch."

"What are you talking about?" He seized both her shoulders in a tight grip and tried to shake her out of it.

"Liara knew about this the entire time." She accused with a sneer, "That stupid whore kept you away from me. Why? Why would she do that?"

"Tali. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I know you don't." She said between a hard swallow, "But you're going to find out— I'm going to find out."

"Let's just sit down." He grabbed for her hand and walked her over to a nearby table, "Tell me what you know."

The café they sat outside from spit soft music from its speakers. She would've enjoyed the atmosphere had she not been so entirely focused on Liara's unforgiving betrayal.

"Start from the beginning." He said as they both take seats outside the SouthStar café.

"There isn't much to share. She told me she was working on something with Garrus a few months after your death. Left a cryptic hint and all it said was 'Lazarus'. Then the hints stopped. I ran into her months ago on the Citadel and she lied to me about what it all meant. Everything she said was the polar opposite of the truth. Now. Here we are. You and I meeting on Freedom's Progress."

They sat in a moment of silence and she chewed over whatever was left of her mind. Her soup of thoughts boiled and spilled and she threw her hands up in the air before gripping the table frustratingly. "Why would she do this to me? How could she have not thought this would blow up in her face?!"

"We can't be sure of anything until we actually talk to her."

"She left me out in the dark. Kept me out of the circle." She remarked pointedly with a small growl.

"Have you considered that maybe she did it to protect you?"

"Protect me? Protect me." She scoffed, "John. From what? What they would do if I got in on the secret? Kill me?"

"Maybe she did it for your mental well-being."

"Do you know how relieved I would have been, knowing you'd be coming back? I would have been there since day one to help." Her index finger simultaneously rapped the table for every word she spit from her lips.

"From Cerberus?"

"That's not even a question worth answering." She spat before giving him a glare and frowning, "She's going to pay."

John's head dipped slowly and hoped the brewing shit-storm with these two women would pass with time. Some way to relieve this dense pressure amicably; and not through some biotic smashing, hacking frenzy, fist-fight. If one thing was for sure, Tali would at least get two good blows to Liara's face before being thrown across the room. He'd give Liara that. She was a great biotic. But it wouldn't really matter. An enraged quarian who knew everything there was about a biotic amp might as well be a demon terrorizing nothing but a defenseless toddler.

Liara would lose that fight in the long run. Jesus Christ.

"Hun. Calm down. It's alright." He got up from his chair and sat down right next to her. When he put a hand on her arm, he could feel the anger and anxiety literally radiating from her.

"I'm right here, Tali. And I want you to hold it together."

"I'm trying."

"Good."

When he pat her on the back, she got a reply from John's father. Tali took a look at the message and read it aloud. "It's ready for you, son. Be safe. Talk to us soon. -dad"

"Good." He said with a nod, "Now come on. Let's eat. I'll pay."

She kept her eyes on the table so she could garner enough will to reply. "I could really go for a drink," She said finally, "Think they got any liquor here?"

"I wasn't aware you drank." He offered his hand to get her up from her seat and into the sit-down restaurant.

"No better time than now to celebrate you." She said with a meager smirk. She took his hand.

"It's a sit-down café, Tali. Don't think there's alcohol here."

"Damnit."

He laughed at her and smiled. "How about this. We eat here, go get some of the stuff I need, and we'll drink. Maybe we can retire for the night at a nice resort."

She took a deep breath, willed away all the fire she had against Liara, and came to realize that she had John right now and a whole night to release herself of responsibility.

"I'd love that."

"Good." He said with a gentle smile before looking up at the restaurant's door, "Ah. They got pho here. You know how good that stuff is?"

She let her eyes look over the picture of soup John had pointed out. "Noodles in a giant bowl of broth… spiced with… seelahnntro? Beef, chili sauce, and bean sprouts. Veeitnuhmeese origin." She stared blankly at the picture for another moment, "They look like worms."

"Trust me," He laughed, "It's delicious."

"Worms."

"Worms or not, I'm getting it." He opened the door, and with a little chivalry, let Tali through.

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome, Ms. Zorah." They walked past the lobby's empty podium to a booth and took their seats. Tali, emptily, engaged her toes to a steady beat over John's feet while they waited for a waitress to get them started with something to drink.

Some habits did indeed die hard. Tali's quirks were just as John remembered. The past two years had changed absolutely nothing. He smiled at her usual routine of inspecting or messing with some of the objects included on the table's centerpiece. When she finally got bored with the spice shakers and sauce packets, she'd usually move on to the Dextro menu to browse through their 'purified' selections.

"Anything good, hun?" John asked her before placing an affectionate hand over hers.

"Uhm… yeah. Wow. This looks good. Here. Look." Her finger hovers over the laminated picture.

"Get it, then." He grinned while looking at the mighty morsel of meat sitting on a plate in the picture.

"I will." She whispered.

John started to read the description of the food himself loud enough for her to hear. "A… sahmyahgh steak… boiled and tenderized in… sweet elilmehg… is simmered to perfection in this victorian style dish."

His tongue had trouble pronouncing the difficult words.

She giggled at his unwieldy pronunciation. "They're animals raised fresh from the fields of Caravehere, native only to some Turian colony… I forget which." She added, "Other quarians I've talked to said it tastes amazing…" Her tongue felt heavy and her mouth watered. "I can't wait…"

They ordered their food and waited. When it finally came, John busily separated his pair of chopsticks before dipping in his desired sauces. Tali, herself, ate her scrumptious meal through her induction port with a happy smile on her face while she chewed on the delicacy.

"How are your worms?" She asked between a mighty morsel of steak.

"Delicious, thank you." He slurped the noodles and let out a sigh of satisfaction.

The last time he had a real sit-down meal had been… well… two years ago.

John had to keep reminding his internal clock that Ullipses didn't happen a couple months ago.

"How about your food? How's it taste?"

"Oh my god, John. I wish I could share."

"I'd probably die." He pointed out with a grin.

"It'd be worth it." She said with a swallow.

"Tell me something Tali." He opted to switch to his spoon to sip on some of the spiced broth.

"Mm?"

"Where'd you get that suit? My god. It just looks great on you. I would've said it sooner, but I wanted to wait 'till we were alone."

Her hands immediately went to the frill of her veil. "You like it? My Aunt gave this to me as a gift. She's like a mom to me." She snorted as she flattened her clothes to try and enhance the suit's snug features.

"Although I don't get to see that thigh gap anymore. Damn shame. Dem' Hips, Tali." His smile, smeared from cheek to cheek, grew.

She rolled her eyes at the joke. "All quarian women have thigh gaps. It's considered very attractive."

"I'll agree with that. I guess it leaves more to the imagination anyway." He shrugged.

"You dirty Tet'Shuct… But I'm flattered to hear that from you." She giggled a little, "I would say it does enhance… ahem… some of my assets wouldn't you say?" She stared at her legs and gave herself a good once-over. She had a good body and she knew it. Hearing John confirm her self-evaluation only made it that much better.

"Human women would kill to get a figure like yours." He nodded to affirm his statement.

"I'm sure. I've seen some... not so great looking humans."

"Yeah. People like that usually let themselves go. Physically. Emotionally."

"You gonna let that happen to you?" She asked a little admonished by the idea of John actually weighing over 150 kilos and being grossly depressed with his state of life.

"Sure. If I ate too much."

"Don't eat too much. Please. I like the John I have now."

"Count on it."

She pointed at him. "Good. I don't think I could handle kissing you if you were that big."

"I wouldn't either." They both laugh a little.

"So what's it like living on a quarian ship? Get me up to speed with what I need to know."

She forestalled the question with a finger while she chewed. When she was done, she answered.

"Well! First, I'd like to say it's something that you could handle. Sometimes the jobs we get are a little touch and go, but it's nothing too difficult. Jobs like that usually weed out the lesser ones anyways."

"What's your job, Tali?"

She let that question settle in as she started to ponder on what exactly her job on the Flotilla really was.

"Varied." She said finally, "Everyone's is. Mostly. Right now I handle some engineering tasks among five others in a group." She took a long swig from her hydration pack, "When I'm not turning knobs and reassembling wires, I'm in my lab or running special missions like this one. Although I haven't exactly had a project to do in a while. At least three months. They've been taken over by Admiral Xen and my Father."

"Wait. You've got your own lab? Christ, Tali. You sound like you're a doctor or something."

"Well. Technically I am. I have a doctorate in engineering, a major in math, and an associates in Eezo theory."

"You majored in math while you were in doctorate school?" He bristled.

If she really was telling the truth, then his education paled in comparison.

"Mhmm. I finished the doctorate a year early too." She said with a slight smile. She hated to boast, but it felt good sometimes. Plus, it was Shepard she was impressing to. So double good.

"How often do people do that?"

"Not too often."

"Uh-huh. Guess you could smoke me in a math test."

"Doubt it," Tali said, "Forgot how to do calculus."

"I guess everyone does."

"What about you?" She asked while putting both her elbows on the table and interlocking her six fingers, "I know you're smarter than you'd like to admit."

His chopsticks absently prod his food as he chewed over the words he was going to say to her. "I majored in engineering, actually." He said through a sigh, "That, and I got an associates in avionics along with an M.A. certification just for the hell of it. Did all of that with a dual-membership program. Full-ride scholarship with ANROTC at Ravington. Only because I had kickass grades and a little pull from my mom and dad."

"John. That's awesome."

"Okay, Dr. Tali." He joked, "You know, I'm surprised I hadn't known about this earlier."

"Not like you had a file on me. And it wasn't that important, I guess. Half the stuff I learned I still haven't used yet. Nobody cares about certificates except for snobbish bosses."

He agreed by nodding and pursing his lips. She continued.

"I got my associates when you were gone, though. Did it in my spare time. My played-down fact? Finished the last class with an eighty-two. So. I'm not that prestigious."

"Uh huh," He put down his utensil and put a hand on his forehead, "It's great to know my fiancé's smarter than me."

Her grin turned into a bright beaming smile. "Oh shut up. I needed to round out my understanding of the field." She said, grinning. Her hand propped the side of her head. "So, do you really want to spend the rest of your life with me?"

"You're wearing that thing, right?" He pointed at the pendant around her neck, "Don't know what your kind calls it, but we call it getting married."

"It's all semantics to me." She said before gliding a leg along his. He grabbed for both of her hands and played with the ends of her glove. She acknowledged the affection by squeezing his own digits lovingly.

"John?" She whispered with her dreamy eyes.

"Yes?"

"I'd like to go."

He nodded in agreement and paid for their meals by sliding his credit chit (wired with Tali's bank account) into the kiosk next to their table.

They gathered their possessions, took one last moment to make sure they hadn't misplaced anything, and left to take a stroll down the plaza.

She took his arm into her two and squeezed affectionately.

"Beautiful nightlife, isn't it?" She let her eyes drink in the dark sky and warm colored signs that hung over the lengthy boardwalk.

"Yes. It certainly is." His own eyes took in the vibrant display, "Let's find a place to stay, Tals. We can toast there. We can do the errands in the morning. What do you say?"

"I'd love to."

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ

Juel hadn't felt this bad for a long time.

It'd been years, in fact.

He'd thought, at first, that losing himself in the company of fellow friends and drink, he could buzz his 'not-so-bad' problems away until they came back in the morning with some breakfast and a pounding headache.

But he stood there, staring at his sealed container of harsh liquor as if he'd been staring at a blank wall for hours.

He knew exactly why he felt terrible too.

He didn't want to admit it, but it had to do with Tali.

Well. Not necessarily her, per se, but it had to do with the whole recent reuniting with her long-lost lover.

For a lack of better words, he was jealous. Not because Tali had John again. No. Far from it in fact.

It was because he knew he wouldn't get Serah back. His brows furrowed a little while his eyes drooped from exhaustion. It was years ago, but if he put his mind into recalling that terrible day (Which he did more than he'd care to admit), the scabbed wound in his heart would split open big enough for fat to come out.

He rolled his eyes at the precarious thought. He stared absently at his potent concoction in front of him.

The drink's alluring powers, still contained within his unopened bottle, called to him.

Wow he felt depressed.

"What's wrong, Juel?" Prazza pulled up a bar stool and set next to the sullen man, "We should be happy. No one got hurt, and we've got a day off to pretend we still live like normal people. It's a good day."

"You're right." Juel uncapped his bottle and rose it into the air, "For us Bosh'tets that get to live for another day! Keelah Se'lai you dumb Tet'shucts!"

Prazza rose his own glass in silent understanding and took generous swigs from their respective drinks.

The bar's electronic music complimented the modern bar's ambiance. More than half of the congregators were quarian.

Juel allowed himself to smile grimly. There were too many of them to pick a fight with. The people here would have to deal with it. And if they did, they'd be fighting marines. Hardcore, Geth-Killing, Krogan ball-kicking, ones.

Weapons or not, their martial arts and tech capability could give even the Asari's biotic flexibility pause.

Juel's throat burned with alcohol. He washed down the sensation with another swig of liquor.

"Think they're pissed they have forty quarians running around in their bar?" Prazza spoke his concern between a sip of his beer.

"Sure. But we pay and keep to ourselves. Mostly. They should be happy enough for that." They both swirl around in their seats and stare at the room they had been keeping their backs to the entire time.

Some of the congregators, both quarian and turian alike (Likely too drunk to care or notice), held each other's shoulders while they rosied around in a circle singing to some illegible and ill-sung tune. Several salarians stare absently at the senseless camaraderie while they sipped on their own drinks.

"So—it's none of my business—But we're men. Why the droopy shoulders? Is it— is it because of Tali?"

Juel's head lulled and shook. "Nah. That blessed Bosh'tet. I wish I was lucky as her." He muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"I lost someone. Slavers and pirates. They took her away from me."

Prazza's grip waned on his drink when he knew he'd trespassed some serious personal territory. "Juel, I— I'm sorry."

"Don't be. She scuttled the ship with her aboard before anything could happen. It's about all a man can ask for at this point."

Juel took the silent lull as his invitation to segway himself away from this. "It's fine, Prazza. It's just—"

The man gathered enough to know what he was about to say when Juel's voice trailed off. "—That you wished you could've gotten a second chance too. Like them."

Juel nodded sullenly. "Yeah."

They both, simultaneously, sip through their straws.

"If it means anything, I'm here if you need me. You can always come by my place if you ever need to talk. I've got a good stash of some beer if you need a drink sometime at home. You remember what deck I'm on, right?"

"Of course. I'll take that invitation, Prazza. Thanks."

"Good. Now finish that drink and come join us whenever you feel the need. I'll give you some space."

Juel nodded and watched Prazza slowly walk over to his marines.

He groaned slowly and downed whatever remained in his bottle.

"Hey. Could you fix a man another round?"

"My pleasure, pal."

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ

"The data confirms it. It's the collectors. No doubt." Miranda made it clear to her boss.

The Illusive man nodded absently to her report while he skimmed over Veetor's thorough readings.

"It's disappointing to hear Shepard had decided to leave you."

"It changes everything."

"Not necessarily." He replied through a tight and professional smile, "You're both being assigned to the SR-2 effective immediately. For now, you'll be the ship's captain until we can find a way to secure the Commander's trust."

The Illusive man took Miranda's silence as an invitation to continue.

"In the meantime, I'll outfit the ship with the intended crew along with a detachment of soldiers to begin recruitment. I'll forward you the dossiers."

She nodded. "Right away."

"Miranda." He intoned between a swig of brandy.

"Yes?"

"Don't fail me."