Chapter 47
Weapon Battery – SSV Normandy SR2
It had been a long day for the turian. He'd spent most of the day calibrating the new weapons before they were even finished, which was how to do things if you wanted pinpoint accuracy. But he looked up at the guns and it was a daunting task. He'd had assistance from Counselor Sparatus whenever he boarded the Citadel.
The politician sent a construction team of his own to try and help build the weapon here and there as he wanted to see such a thing in action. Garrus knew he was snooping for schematics and such. But honestly, once the project was done and was proven that it could work, he'd be giving them over to the Citadel Fleet anyway. If they had any hope of defeating a fleet as big as the reapers, they'd need the extra firepower.
Flexing his neck again, he exited the battery and headed for the chow hall. They were currently parked at Illium as Shepard met with Liara once more. He didn't know if it was for broker related business or just to relax, but he didn't want to interrupt what little time they had together. He did opt to babysit for them, however. The thought of teaching her how to take apart a pistol and put it back together again before she reached the age of ten made him purr happily.
As he exited the battery, however, he found himself confronted by the yeoman of the ship. "Kelly? Is something the matter?"
"Actually, I was hoping you could come with me," said the young woman. It was clear she was nervous about something.
"I've got the time to spare, so sure," he said as he stretched his arms and popped both shoulders before walking towards the elevator with her. He looked down at her and could see that she was hiding something. He didn't know if it was some kind of surprise, or if she was simply terrible at expressing herself. Then he found himself wondering if this was some odd human mating ritual behavior.
He hadn't looked those up since he and Chloe had gone their separate ways. But he did recall that humans sometimes hid their emotions around people they liked. Turians were far more straightforward about wanting sex or a relationship. He supposed he should be grateful for that, as human methods seemed frustrating at the least.
But he also knew he shouldn't jump to conclusions. "Everything alright?" he asked curiously as he looked down over her. He knew it shouldn't, but it sometimes amused him how short humans really were. And then he remembered the time that Shepard put him on his cloaca and shattered the leg of Warden Kuril from the Purgatory prison. Short absolutely didn't mean helpless. He and Ash had even gone a few rounds on the mat to a standstill.
"Oh, yeah!" said Kelly in her chirpy, cheerful voice as she realized she was being awkward. "Sorry, I just had something I needed you to sign off on. Shepard asked me to get you on it."
"Shepard asked, huh?" he questioned with a snort. That only made this seem even more suspicious. Shepard asked his opinion on things all the time, but she did so personally and not through any kind of intermediary. Regardless, he knew something odd was going on here. Crossing his arms, he waited for the elevator to sink into the cargo bay of the ship before the doors finally opened.
As soon as they did, the sight of a squad of turians nearly smacked him in the face. Each one of them was familiar to him, with the exception that they were no longer wearing uniforms of the Hierarchy. He stepped off the elevator, completely forgetting about Kelly for a moment as he looked into the piercing eyes of his former comrade. "Praetor Gavos?"
"It's just Zannia now," said the turian woman as she smirked at him. "Most of us are civilian sector now."
"But…" he asked in confusion as he looked between them. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be working with the Hierarchy on their reaper efforts?"
"I heard an old friend of mine needs help calibrating some new weapons he's making," she said as her mandibles twitched.
"I never need help calibrating," he said amused before he finally turned and looked down at Kelly. "Wait… is this what you were talking about?"
"Yep. Bye!" squealed the young woman before he bolted for the elevator again. He simply watched her disappear and leave him behind with the group.
"Starting to think she needs a therapist next," he said shaking his head before turning back to the group. "So, I assume she somehow managed to call you all and get you gathered together again?"
"She's cute for a human. She was very excited to have us here," said Zannia as she crossed her arms. "So, Vakarian. I hear you've been working on some new project that you could use some help on.
He felt a great weight lift from his shoulders as he nodded to her. It wasn't just the weight of working on the Thanix, as he called it. He could do it alone, though having a team would greatly help. It was more that ever since he had been on the Normandy, he'd felt the loss of his team even more.
He absolutely loved the team members he was working with now, of course. But they were Shepard's team. And outside of Tali and Ash, he never really saw them as people he could confide in, or people he would ask to share a burden with him. Or… who knows, maybe he just felt the hollow void where his own team once stood. He knew if Shepard had come back weeks earlier that each of his crew would be aboard the Normandy and helping to fight with the reapers.
He felt slightly scared at the prospect of leading a new team. "Are you sure you want to be here? You know we're flying into certain-"
He stopped dead in his tracks as Zannia gave him a firm glare. "Are you telling us to leave?"
"O-Of course not," he said as he held his hands up defensively. "I just want you to know what you're getting into."
"Your yeoman explained the situation to us in pretty graphic detail," said Gavos as she stepped up to Garrus. "You're fighting the collectors who are a slave race of the reapers that we were fighting on the last Normandy. And to officially end their reign of terror on human colonies, you need to go through the Omega 4 Relay, which is a suicide mission by all rights. Got everything so far?"
"Yeah, I suppose you do," he said in slight shock that she knew what they were up against, but still showed up. "And you're fine with flying into the storm aboard a vessel that may never come back?"
The former praetor snorted. "Ever since the Treaty of Farixen was suspended to make way for more dreadnaughts, the Hierarchy has been picking the colonies clean for new recruits. They're not going to miss me, and to be honest, I miss this," she said as she waved her hands at the cargo bay of the Normandy. Then she let out a sigh and looked down at the ground. "We saw the original Normandy go down."
"Yeah, I'm sorry you had to go through that," he said, feeling a slight stab of regret as he had returned to C-Sec after Sovereign's destruction. He should have been there with them.
"Don't be sorry," she said as she stepped up to him face to face. He was slightly startled at the confrontational move but stood his ground and stared into the eyes of the slightly shorter woman. "Those bastards tore our spirit apart and killed our commanding officer, and I'm going to make sure they regret it. Do I make myself clear?"
Garrus snorted and nodded. "Clear as water, Zannia," he said before holding out his talons for her. She clasped his wrist, and they gripped each other fiercely.
"Good. Now show me this giant gun you've been working on so I can make it better," she ordered with a cheerful grin.
Eternity Bar & Dance Club – Nos Astra – Illium
"So, how's she doing?" asked Shepard curiously as her bondmate sat across from her.
"Currently Serraia is taking leave to watch over her while I relocate," said the asari as she squeezed Shepard's hand. The pair of them had a music dimmer at their table which allowed them to talk without having to worry about shouting over the loud club music.
"That reminds me, you never told me where you were relocating the ship to," said Shepard as she cocked a brow at the doctor.
Liara smiled gently and leaned her head onto one hand. "A place where I can keep vigil over all," she said, immediately causing Shepard to smirk.
She understood the clue, but also knew not to confirm or deny in case anyone with enough information to be dangerous was listening. "You can tell me some other time," she said with a knowing look to the woman across from her. "I'm glad to hear that Serraia has taken a bigger role in Lilly's life. Especially with us both working our asses off to fight the reapers."
"Asari live long lives, Jane," said Liara with another squeeze of her hand. "Once the reapers are dead, you'll have plenty of time to spend with her. Right now, visit her when you can, and when you can't, destroy reapers."
"Words to live by," said Shepard with a grin as she took a drink of her asari soju. Her eyes drifted over to the bar as she heard Aethyta start griping. But as she saw the man standing at the counter, she immediately choked on her drink and began gasping for air as the alcohol flooded her sinuses.
Liara leaned back in surprise as her bondmate suffered in front of her. "Jane! Are you alright!?"
Once she could finally breathe again, Shepard lifted her head groggily and stood up. Not answering Liara's question, she made her way over to the bar to hear the conversation between the retiring bartender and the man who was currently wearing N7 armor.
"Look, I know this is a secret red sand operation! I'm telling you that if you don't hand the deed over to me right now, I'll use my spectre authority to have this place closed down!" snapped the man who was trying his best to sound angry and tough.
"Look jackass, red sand is legal on Illium. You just need a damn permit, which this bar has! Even if it didn't, spectre's don't have the authority to shut anything down on Illium. You'd have to have the firepower to make it close, and I don't think you do! Now get the hell out of my bar before I mail you back to the Council in pieces," growled the ostracized matriarch as she glared across the bar at him.
"Conrad!?" snapped Shepard angrily as Liara stood up next to her.
"Ohhhh, your fan," said the asari with a bit of amusement in her voice.
The man seemingly froze before turning around slowly. As soon as he saw her standing there, he went stiff and saluted for some reason. "S-Shepard! I… I heard you were alive!"
"And angry," she cut him off as she crossed her arms. "What the hell are you doing here trying to extort a bar and what's this about you being a spectre?"
"Oh… uh, well," he said as he slunk closer to her. She was immediately repelled by his proximity, but didn't move a step backwards. Instead, she gripped his collar to keep him from coming closer. "Ya see, I'm helping this cop over in the Market District bust open a huge red sand ring! All she needs is for me to get the deed to this place and the case will be cracked."
Shepard slapped her forehead before sliding her hand down and rubbing her face tiredly. "Conrad…" Instead of saying what she was going to say, she looked down at his armor. "Where did you get N7 branded armor?" she asked in bewilderment.
"Oh, you can get some pretty good replicas if you're willing to pay. Of course I don't wear it as well as you. But we do what we have to to help save the galaxy!" he said proudly.
But she blasted his pride by shaking her head. "Conrad, you're not helping the galaxy by harassing bar workers."
"I'm trying to help people, Shepard!" he snapped back at her, shocking her into silence for a long moment. "I don't know how to do the kinda stuff you do. But you died, and someone needed to help the galaxy. I'm really trying here…"
Shepard let out a heavy sigh. "Conrad…"
"You said you were my friend, and then you died," he said sadly as he looked at the ground. "I just wanted to make you proud."
She couldn't help feel slightly gutted by his admission. "Yes, I died. But I have the good fortune to have been given a second chance, and I'm not going to waste that second chance. I'm doing everything I can to help people in the galaxy," said the spectre as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "I'm sorry you were hurt by my death, but being hurt doesn't justify hurting others, and that's what you're doing."
"What do you mean?" he asked as he scratched his head in confusion.
"Conrad, you have to stop being so gullible. A cop in the market district trying to bust open a red sand ring on a planet where red sand is legal?" she said, her eyes narrowing sternly.
"I-I guess I should have done more homework before coming here…" he said as he began to wilt.
"Look, if nothing else, you being here helped us find an extortionist or a corrupt cop. But I really need you to stop going around and pretending to be a spectre," she said with pleading on her face.
"Okay…" he said with a surprising amount of confidence in his voice. "I'm leaving the galaxy to you, Shepard."
She wanted to facepalm herself again as Liara giggled next to her. "Thank you for allowing me to do what I was already doing," she said as she shook her head. "Now. You want to see how a real spectre works?"
"Do I?" he asked, his face illuminating at the offer.
"Aethyta," said Shepard as she looked at the sour-faced asari across the bar. "Write up a fake deed and I'll put a fake signature on it," she ordered before turning back to him. "I want you to take this fake deed back to this supposed cop and tell them the bar is theirs. Then tell them we need their signature to sign it over."
"I'll do that!" he said excitedly as he headed for the door. "Just you wait, Shepard! I'll show you how useful I can be!"
"What's that human expression about the more things change?" asked Liara with a smile.
"Quiet you, I need to make a phone call," said Shepard in good humor as she sat back down at her seat. She placed her call and within minutes Samara was standing at the door.
"You said you needed my help, Shepard?" asked the older woman as she approached their table.
"I do, yes," said the spectre as she spotted Conrad at the door again. "I need you to look as imposing as possible."
"Understood," said the asari woman as she allowed the glow of her biotics to enter her eyes giving her a soul-crushing stare.
As soon as Conrad's cop entered the bar behind him, Shepard slammed the door shut, much to the asari's surprise. "Goddess you scared me… holy… Shepard!" said the woman as she backed away from the human.
The spectre stood in front of the door. And with the other exit guarded by Aethyta, she wasn't going anywhere. "Good, you know who I am. That'll make things go smoother. How about her, do you know who she is?" asked the redhead as she nodded towards the looming figure behind the fake cop.
The asari spun around and her eyes about shot out of her head in her terror. Instead of saying anything, she fell onto her behind and backed away as Samara took slow, intimidating steps towards her. "P-Please… I have kids…"
"I don't believe you," said Shepard as she knelt down next to Samara, staring at the fallen asari eye to eye. "But honestly it really doesn't matter. Because I'm not going to kill you right now." The woman's stance seemed to ease at the words. "I literally have a million better things to do than put a bullet into some idiot extortionist trying to muscle her way into owning a bar she didn't earn."
Shepard drew her pistol for emphasis, causing the woman to cower anyway. "You were just using me!" shouted Conrad from behind them.
"Are you a cop?" asked Shepard curiously. She hated corrupt police more than almost anything in the galaxy, and she might reconsider her stance if it were true. But the asari shook her head. "Better for you. I might have killed you if you'd said yes." Finally, Shepard stood up and ordered the woman to follow. She did, but still cowered in front of them, her hands held up as if they were going to attack. "You had a very close brush with death today. Don't ever let me see you trying to extort someone again."
The asari nodded, but she shrank once more as Samara stepped forward, her glowing eyes locked on the younger woman. "I will be watching you."
"Now get the hell out of my goddess damned bar!" snapped Aethyta, causing the asari to flee in terror.
Shepard turned to Conrad and put her pistol away. "Do you see what I mean?"
"Y-Yeah…" he said, his face showing his shame. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize to me," said the spectre as she waved towards Aethyta.
Conrad turned to the matriarch and saluted her as well, causing Shepard to groan. "I'm sorry ma'am. You're a beautiful lady running a beautiful bar and you didn't deserve what I was doing."
"Whatever kid," said Aethyta with a smirk. "Just don't let it happen again and we're cool," she said as she wiped the bar down. "Oh… and learn the damn law, wouldja?"
"Right…" he said before turning back to Shepard.
The redhead nodded to him. "Now, I'm taking care of the galaxy. I need you to go home and take care of your family. As a friend, it helps me fight harder knowing I'm keeping my friends safe."
"Alright Shepard," he said saluting one last time. She sighed, then saluted him back.
After he finally left, Shepard looked over at Liara with a glare. "If you mention a word of this to Joker or Ashley, I'm divorcing you."
The asari smiled and chuckled as she shook her head. "Sorry Jane, I'm an info broker. I know every loophole. So, you won't be getting rid of me that easily," she said as she wrapped her arms around the spectre's waste and pulled her close.
With Liara behind her, Shepard nuzzled into her cheek for a moment before Aethyta sprayed at them with one of her drink serving hose contraptions. "Get a room you two."
Chuckling, Liara released Shepard and sat back down in her seat, soon followed by the spectre. "I did have a question for you," she said as she requested a refill on her drink.
"I'll answer it if I can," said Shepard as she took another drink from her own.
"Your punches were exploding through you-know-who's body. You were warping him with every punch and drilling holes through him and through our cages," she said as she cocked her human-like brow, an interesting trait she picked up from Jane. "How?"
"Right…" said the spectre as she looked at her fist. "So, remember the prothean cipher?"
"How could I forget?" asked Liara with a grin.
"It's been giving me memories of how to fight like a prothean. Hand to hand, use of weapons, so on and so forth," said Shepard as Liara took the entire bottle of alcohol that was served to her and popped the cork seemingly with her mind.
Shepard looked from the bottle to her piercing stare, almost terrified of the woman. "Go on…" said the asari as her gaze narrowed.
Medical Bay – SSV Normandy SR2
Shepard sat on the medical bed tilting her head back and forth, stretching her neck as she felt the doctor's poking and prodding. Both Miranda and Doctor Chakwas were in the room at the moment, with Miranda sitting in one of the chairs at the doctor's desk and the doctor herself currently hooking the spectre up with an IV for her procedure.
She couldn't tell if something had happened between the two, but Shepard could almost feel the animosity between Karin and Miranda. The XO sat forward in her chair, simply looking at Shepard as if watching her like a hawk. "Everything alright, you two?" asked Shepard as she looked between the pair.
"Perfectly fine," said Karin in a frosty tone as she finished her work. "Lay back and let the solution hydrate you before we do our work." Shepard could tell from the woman's tired smile at her that whatever anger she was feeling wasn't directed at her. "I'll be back shortly."
After Karin left the room, Shepard looked to Miranda for answers, but the woman just shrugged. "She hasn't liked me since that time I kept your biotics from her. That said, I have a pretty good idea why she's mad. But we'll save that talk for after your operation."
"If you say so," said Shepard as she leaned back in her bed.
"By the way, Shepard," said Miranda as she looked at the ground. The spectre eyed her curiously before she looked back up. "I wanted to thank you… for everything."
Shepard's eyes narrowed at the XO suspiciously. "Why does it sound like I'm about to die under the knife?"
Miranda, caught off guard, chuckled lightly before shaking her head. "Quite the opposite. I just wanted you to know that I've been proud of a lot of things I've done in my life. Some things I look back on weren't really pride, but arrogance. And you helped me see the difference. But one thing that I'm the proudest of by far is my work on you."
Shepard's suspicious stare returned again. "Are you flirting with me?"
"Oh my god, Shepard, please…" growled Miranda as she clenched her fists.
The redhead chuckled and shrugged. "I'm glad I've been such an inspiration to you Miranda. I really am."
"You really have been. I didn't think anyone could impress me as much as the Illusive Man, but somehow, you've made more progress against the collectors than the entirety of the Alliance. And if it were a race between the two of you to defeat the collectors, I honestly doubt the entire Alliance fleet could keep up with you," said Miranda as her brows rose in surprise. "At the beginning of the year if you had told me I was putting together the sole human that'd be responsible for destroying the collectors and reapers, I'd have laughed in your face. But now…?"
"Well, regardless of what happens with the collectors, we're still not out of the bag when it comes to the reapers," stated Shepard plainly.
"I know, but I have confidence all the same," said the XO as she brushed a lock of her raven hair from her face. "You've somehow won me over."
"Cool, so where can I find the Illusive Man?" asked Shepard with a grin.
"Don't push your luck," said Miranda as she shoved Shepard's head back playfully against the bed. "Besides, he'd see you coming kilometers away."
"I'll get you to turn yet, Ms. Lawson," said Shepard as she looked over at the door of the medbay as it opened again. "Right Doc?" asked the spectre, but she realized too late that it wasn't Doctor Chakwas that had reentered the medbay. Instead, Jack stood in the doorway staring at her with a glare. "Is something the matter?"
"I don't like asking for favors, Shepard. So, I'm gonna make this quick," she said before walking over and hopping up onto the medical table next to the spectre.
"Alright…" said the redhead as she cocked an eyebrow.
Jack leaned over to see Miranda sitting opposite her on Shepard's other side. "Oh look, it's the Cerberus bitch."
"Always a pleasant visit with you, Jack," said Miranda as a bit of her frosty tone returned to her voice.
"Yeah, well fuck you," said Jack before looking back at Shepard. "Anyway, you remember when we went through the krogan hospital?"
"Of course," said Shepard, wondering where the woman was going with her question.
"And then the collector ship with all those coffins and shit. All that stuff one after the other reminded me of my own childhood when Cerberus…" she said, putting emphasis on the name as her eyes flitted over to Miranda again. "Kidnapped me, tortured me, and drugged me as a child."
"Right. Sorry, I didn't think about the link between that and the experimentation you may have experienced. I wouldn't have brought you if I'd thought about it," said Shepard as she scratched her head.
"I don't need your fucking apology, Shepard," growled the young convict. "What I do need is a bomb and a ride to the Teltin Facility on Pragia."
"Why?" asked Miranda firmly.
In the most condescending voice she chould muster, Jack looked at her and responded, "Because princess. I'm gonna take that bomb to where my cell was back then, plant it, and then blow the entire thing to hell with all your little Cerberus buddies inside."
"According to the Illusive Man, the facility was shut down as soon as he found out what was happening," said Miranda as she crossed her arms. "So, you're bombing an empty building."
"Don't care. I'm still gonna do it," said Jack as she looked back over at Shepard. "But… I can't do it alone. Can I… Can I ask for your help? Not just getting there, but to make sure I stay level-headed?"
"Of course, Jack," said Shepard as she got a warm feeling from the young woman trusting her.
"And hey, why not invite your Cerberus sex doll over there so she can see the kind of work her buddies do behind her back," snapped Jack condescendingly before Shepard snapped.
"That's enough," she said firmly. "We'll go once I've recovered from my procedure. Afterwards, we'll decide who goes and who doesn't."
"Thanks," said Jack as she stood to her feet again and headed to the door. She stopped temporarily before turning back. "I owe you Shepard. I'd never put myself in that position with anyone else. So, don't squander or abuse it."
"I'll remember that," said the spectre, and within moments the convict had left.
"You can't seriously be thinking of making me go," said Miranda with a glare.
"That depends. Do you want comfortable lies or painful truths?" asked Shepard as she turned to look at the XO. "I'm not going to force you to go if you don't want to go. But do you really have the right to defend Cerberus if you can't seek out the difference between truth and lies?"
"What does that mean?" asked Miranda as she crossed her arms.
"It means that you know the Illusive Man lies to you. He has to, he's in charge of everything in Cerberus and he couldn't possibly trust you with everything," said Shepard firmly as she pointed to Miranda. "One of two things is true. The Illusive Man's words are true, and he didn't know what was happening. And when he did, he shut it down," said the spectre with a grin. "Or he knew exactly what was happening and him shutting things down was simply a lie to make sure you didn't find out he authorized the torture of children. Are you scared to find out which one is true?"
Miranda's scowl turned into an angry glare before she let out a pent up sigh through her nose. Instead of answering, she stood to her feet. "I'll go get Doctor Chakwas so we can get this over with. We'll talk more about this later." Within seconds, the XO was gone from the medbay.
Crew Deck – SSV Normandy SR2
Lia had finally found the captain after consulting her yeoman on the bridge of the ship. She felt her hands become sore with how much she fidgeted with them, but she couldn't help how nervous she was. She had never in her life asked anyone to do something for her like she was about to do now, and it was terrifying.
As she approached, she saw that Shepard was wearing a loose fitting shirt. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't hide the mass of bandages that could be seen trailing down almost her entire spine. "I thought human biotics had their amplifiers in the neck. What happened to your back?"
"It's a long story," said Shepard as she grimaced at the pain that simply looking up caused her. "The medigel is working to fix it, but it's still going to scar pretty bad. But it was a necessary procedure."
"I see," said Lia as she sat at the mess hall table across from Shepard. "Biotics are something I don't know if the quarian people will ever understand."
Shepard cocked an eyebrow at the young quarian. "Do quarians not have any biotics?"
"Not that I'm aware of. Or…" she said shyly. "If we do, we don't have the resources to find out, treat, maintain, and equip them all."
"I'd imagine given you all are constantly living aboard ships and have been for centuries, you'd have more biotics than anyone besides the asari," said the spectre as she leaned her head into her hand, then took a long draw from a straw in the cup she was holding.
"I… don't really know. We don't talk about them, and as far as I know we don't train them either. Surgical procedures are already a life and death situation for us due to our immune systems, so doing the necessary work to get the biotic wetware into our brains may end up killing us, where in another species it would be a mundane procedure. Then there's the cost of amplifiers, training that we would have to get from other species…" she said with a slight shrug.
Shepard nodded. "You all are really struggling in places where the rest of us thrive."
"Indeed. And, if you don't mind, that's what I came to talk to you about," said Lia as her nervous demeanor returned.
With her curiosity no doubt piqued, the human sat up straight. "I'm listening."
"A few years ago, you did the Alliance a favor and cleaned out a geth intrusion in the Armstrong Nebula. While I'm sure they were grateful, nobody was moreso than Tali'Zorah because you also gave her something that exceeded expectations as a pilgrimage gift," she said as she tried not to fidget.
"The data disk containing information on the geth of Rannoch," responded the spectre, getting a nod from the quarian.
"Yes! It was very useful data and Tali was able to return to the Fleet proudly," she said as she turned her head away to try and figure out the wording of her request.
But Shepard seemingly read her thoughts. "You're thinking about what you want to give as your gift?"
Letting out a heavy sigh, the quarian nodded. "I've been on my pilgrimage almost twice as long as Tali was. I just started mine right before you died, and you saw the state I was in on the Citadel. If it weren't for you, I'd have had to return with my head low in shame as I presented a sub-par gift, or be branded a yelyett as I stayed on pilgrimage for years."
"I'm glad I was able to help, but were you here to request a gift? Is there something I can give you?" asked Shepard curiously.
"I… By all rights, I shouldn't be asking anything of you. You've done so much for me already and I…" she said, beginning to ramble.
"Lia'Vael," snapped Shepard, shocking her out of her stupor. "Tell me what you need."
"I… I want you to schedule a private meeting with the Council," started the young woman.
"Not a tall ask. What else?" asked Shepard curiously, her pains forgotten for the moment.
"I would like your cooperation in negotiating the colonization rights of the quarian people," she said, blurting it out all at once before covering her helmeted face. "I know it's stupid. I shouldn't even be…"
"Sure," said the spectre before she took another sip of her drink.
Lia froze for a second, then uncovered her face. "Truly?"
"Why should the quarian people help fight the reapers when the destruction of one of their ships could doom millions?" asked Shepard as she smirked. "Besides, the quarians deserve a home. And if we can't help give them one then we don't really get to call ourselves civilized galactic society."
She felt her heart beat quickly as she let out a sigh that felt like it weighed as much as a cruiser. "Thank you, Shepard. You have no idea how much this means to me, and how much it will mean to the quarian people." Suddenly, her eyes were drawn to her omni-tool as she pinged a message.
"I'll help whenever I can, Lia. Whether it's you or your people, you deserve better than you're getting from the Council," she said as Lia opened her mail.
Almost immediately the young quarian woman stood up straight. "Oh Keelah no!"
"What is it?" asked Shepard, but Lia simply shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Captain, I can't say right now. Please forgive me, but I have to go!" she belted out before immediately heading to the elevator. She knew Tali was in the engine room most of the time, dealing with the two funny but sometimes hard to understand engineers. While she was good with engines and engine cores, since joining the Normandy she found she much preferred flying rather than poking around in the engines.
This sometimes resulted in days without speaking to her only quarian friend who spent most of her time down in engineering when she wasn't kicking collector or mercenary behinds. Even with her new task as the shuttle pilot, engineering was a separate block, giving her very few excuses to go and visit. But now it was not an option. As she exited the elevator, she entered engineering and looked around. Luckily, the other engineers had left for the day or taken lunch, either of which was convenient.
"Tali'Zorah!" cried Lia as she ran up to her, slightly out of breath from how quickly she had crossed the ship.
Her quarian elder spun around in surprise. "Keelah, Lia'Vael! You surprised me!"
"Apologies Tali'Zorah, but I have news from the Migrant Fleet!" said Lia as she composed herself again. After having read the message, she felt like a traitor for even reading it to her. Or maybe she felt like it was private, and those in the Migrant Fleet who sent it should have sent it directly to Tali herself. Either way, she was forced to know now.
"Was it my father?" asked Tali as she tilted her head slightly out of curiosity. "But… then why wouldn't he send it to me."
"It was sent through official channels. I'm here as a messenger on pilgrimage to ask you to return to the Migrant Fleet," said Lia, lowering her head before she could read the rest.
"Return? Now?" she asked in confusion before shaking her head. "I can't right now! But why do they need me?"
"You're being charged with treason against the Migrant Fleet. And you need to return to stand trial," said Lia as she blurted it out all at once, trying to get the words out of her mouth as quickly as possible.
"Oh, am I now?" asked the commander in amusement. "Is this some ruse by my father to get me to come home for Kacsetra?"
Lia shook her head and held up her omni-tool, showing the mail she had received. Tali eyed it, her eyes growing wise as she read that it was from Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib. "They didn't say why. They said it was too sensitive to talk about over open channels, and that you should return to the fleet at your earliest possible opportunity," replied Lia as Tali finally allowed her to lower her wrist.
"This… this couldn't be because of Legion, could it?" she asked, her voice croaking now in worry. "How could they know? The only time it's ever been in his body was during missions with almost no witnesses!"
"I'm sorry… I don't know," said Lia as she lowered her head. "I apologize Tali'Zorah. I really wish this was a joke. But I just received it moments ago."
"I need a word with Shepard. Thank you Lia'Vael," she said before she left engineering.
Lia held her helmet in her hands shaking it as she did. "Ancestors please protect her."
Training Room – SSV Normandy SR2
Her back was healing fine, but it itched like crazy. And if she had to put on space armor while her back was feeling like this she knew she'd be driven mad before long. She found herself wondering if there were armor mods that allowed back scratching while equipped, but tossed the idea as a sigh escaped her lips.
Sitting on one of the mats with nobody around her, she began to flex herself and stretch her body out. She noticed almost immediately that the pain from her surgical procedure was gone now. The medigel did its work, though she'd still have to deal with a scar down her spine after Miranda and Karin went poking at her cybernetics.
As she worked her body to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary, the door to the training hall slid open and she saw Tali enter. But she felt herself go on high alert as Tali no longer stood straight with her head held high as she had done every day since boarding the new Normandy. Instead, she was that meek young quarian woman from the Citadel who was looking for a place to hide.
Shepard immediately stopped her training and stared at the quarian as she approached. "Shepard! EDI told me you would be in here."
"Tali, is something wrong?" asked the spectre worriedly.
"A lot actually. Mind if I sit with you?" she asked in her meek voice again.
Shepard nodded and patted the spot next to her. Tali sat with her legs spread out as her digitigrade knees didn't allow for the same kind of flexibility as Shepard's own. "So, tell me what's going on," ordered the spectre as she began stretching again.
"Shepard, I need to go back to the Migrant Fleet; if only for a little while," said the quarian as she turned towards Shepard.
The redhead sat back up and cocked an eyebrow. "Did something happen?"
"An official charge was passed to Lia from the Admiralty Board. I'm being charged with treason, and of endangering the safety of the Migrant Fleet," she said, her voice cracking as she spelled out the charge.
Shepard nearly shook her head to make sure she heard her right. "I'm sorry, treason? Do they know who you are?"
"Yes, Shepard, of course," she said shaking her head. "They haven't told me the reason for the charge. They said it's not to be discussed over open channels."
"So, you don't even know why you're being charged," said Shepard as she leaned her elbows onto her knees.
"I don't know if it has to do with Legion or not. But treason is a serious charge, Shepard. For treason, if I'm found guilty, I could be exiled from the fleet!" she said, her hands almost shaking in worry.
Shepard reached over and grabbed her hands firmly, holding them and getting her immediate attention. "Nobody who knows you could think that you've committed treason against the Migrant Fleet."
"It takes an admiral to levy charges of treason against someone of the fleet. According to the message that Lia got, it was made by Admiral Zaal'Koris. He would have had to go around both my father and Auntie Shala'Raan. Whatever is going on there can't be good," she said worriedly as she looked down again.
"Then we'll go there and see what's happening for ourselves," said Shepard with a glare in her eyes. "Nobody accuses my crewmate of treason without doing so to my face. It's cowardly to do that through a damned email."
Tali stared at her for a long moment before sniffles could be heard. "Thank you Shepard. I was thinking of asking for leave and going alone… but I'm scared of what could happen. Being exiled means I would never get to see my family aboard the fleet again. I could never go back."
"Then we'll have to get you an innocent verdict," said Shepard as she stood up from her spot and pulled Tali up with her. "Let's go get Joker on course."
CODEX ENTRIES
Praetor Military | Palaven | Hierarchy
The equivalent of a 1st lieutenant in the Alliance military, they are typically put in charge of small squads that are utilized for specialized missions that require them to be away from the Hierarchy's main forces.
Yelyett | Culture | Quarian
With their culture of pilgrimage, quarians are required to give a gift of value to the Migrant Fleet before returning and becoming a full-fledged member of the Fleet. The The Khelish word for late bloomer, yelyetts are quarians who stayed on pilgrimage well into their adult years due to being unable to find an acceptable gift. Even returning with a proper gift at an advanced age could result in the stigma of being seen as unreliable.
A/N: I hate writing when I'm tired. Unfortunately, I'm always tired...