*Many years ago*

…

"Hmmmhmmmmhmmm… Hmmmhmmm…"

*fusses and chitters*

"Ah, Eido. Why do you not sleep? You are tired. I—I am tired."

*chitters softly*

"Do you wish to hear a story, hm? Beloved daughter, I will tell you a story of Riis. As my mother told me.

Before the Long Drift, before the Great Machine left our people, we lived in heart-joy. We built great cities that reached the sky. We built great ships that brought us to the stars. We were kind, and gentle. It was our sky, they were our stars. Many hands held us aloft, together.

This was Riis. It sheltered us, and we tended it, as we tended our people."

*chitters happily*

"You will never know Riis, my hatchling. My Light. You will never know it as my mother did. But… but also… you will never know my hardship. I will be sure of that."

...

Zavala's office was dead silent. All the commotion from just moments ago was now gone, now dead calm like a pond on a windless day. Garrus, Jane, Zavala. All of the Coalition leaders now lost in a state of unconsciousness. Their minds joined together in psychic union courtesy of Caiatl's Psion attendant. Its abilities linking each mind in the room to the turian's like the threads of a spiderweb, aligned together in perfect union.

It had only been a few minutes since their minds were connected. The only one who was still conscious was the Psion operative, as he needed to remain awake in order to maintain the neural link and only release when Caiatl gives him the signal telepathically.

The Psion looked over his subjects. So far, everything seemed to be going just fine. He walked around the room. A single eye examining each and every individual in the office, studying them, as if trying to make sure they were out. The Psion walked up to Queen Mara. She was standing upright while lost in the psychic link. Even unconscious, she would start tall. Commendable. Everyone else had either fallen to their knees or onto the floor. Jane Doe was face down with her rear pointed upwards, with Crow on his knees… and his face planted firmly in the center of her butt.

Even their Ghosts were affected by the psychic wave eliminated from the small creature. Edith, Glint, Targe, Geppetto, and Ophiuchus all laid on the ground around their Guardians with their optics powered down. The Psion was careful not to step on them. He actually picked them all up and gently placed them on top of Zavala's desk.

The Optus walked over to his empress after. Caiatl was sitting back against the wall, her head slouched to the side over her shoulder. He simply stared at her. Such a powerful individual like her, incapacitated so easily, unable to resist, unaware of what was happening around her. One would think this as an excellent way to assassinate a VP.

One would agree.

The Psion drew his knife from his side. He lifted Caiatl's head up to expose her thick neck. The Psion pulled his arm back, ready to plunge it directly into her arteries. An angry sigh escaped from behind his helmet.

He thrust forward, but his arm didn't seem to budge. The Psion looked back at his arm. Its eye caught the glimpse of a human hand tightly grabbing his appendage. Confusion overwhelmed the small alien. Everyone in the room was out like lights. Who was this? From the shape and slenderness of the forearm, this arm belonged to a woman.

Looking back, the Psion saw who had stopped his attempt to slay Caiatl. It was indeed a human woman, and a Hunter. She looked young. Her side swept hair and eyes are a deep brown, with two white streaks running down her eyes angularly. Facial features indicated that she was of Asian descent. The woman's outfit consisted of white winter survival armor. A white and cyan cloak dripping down her back; the center of the cape had an image imprinted onto it. The head of a white wolf.

The woman shot the Psion a cocky smirk. "Now that's not how you wake Sleeping Beauty."

The Psion panicked. He recognized this Hunter, knew what she could do. The small alien tried to escape. The last thing it remembered before everything went black was the sole of a boot smashing into his face.

The hallway was lit up by the natural light of the morning sun. It's early rays warming the land below from the biting cold of the previous night. It was still the most part of February, after all. The peak of winter, when temperatures reaching below freezing were most common. This would be problematic, even dangerous, for those without heat. Luckily, the Last City still had many of today's conveniences, even with its post-apocalyptic appearance.

Heaters were turned on at full blast within the confines of the Tower. Gusts of warm air flowed freely through the hallways. It was comforting… to some, anyway.

A cloaked figure strolled down the corridor. A woman, from the shape of their figure. Strapped across her body was metalic, high tech armor lined with as many belts as there was LED wiring. A small knife was strapped to her right calf. There was a cloak draped over her head, covering the O2 mask attached to her face, with a large hat on top that looked as though it belonged to a vampire hunter. Running down her back, a long cape that was lined with fur and had a familiar insignia woven onto it. The armor's colors were mostly purple, with some brown, gold, and small hints of blue across it. (Shadestalker Armor, but with the Royal Treatment shader)

At first glance, the woman appeared to be a Hunter, but her three fingered hands and digitigrade legs begged to differ.

"Come on, Tali. I assure you that you look fine. Fearsome, even."

"I look like I'm about to go hunt werewolves."

"My point exactly!"

Walking next to the Hunter revealed to be Tali'Zorah vas Normandy was Scribe Eido, of the House of Light and daughter of Mithrax. They were both traversing the confines of the Tower. The armor successfully concealing Tali's appearance from others.

After her recovery aboard the Ketch, Mithrax had taken steps to interview Tali to learn of who she was and where she had come from. The quarian engineer explained that she and her crew had come from a place known as the Citadel, in search of their commander, Garrus Vakarian, who she "claims" was manipulated into going with a group of Guardians compliantly. Their ship was damaged upon entry into the Sol System and they put out a distress beacon to anyone who could hear it. Unfortunately, it had ended up catching the attention of the Hive and Tali and her team were forced to abandon ship. That was how she ended up in the pod.

Mithrax was suspicious of this at first, but he could see she had an aura of truth whilst she spoke. The Kell had been alive more than long enough to know when somebody was lying, so he took her word. Tali also spoke of concern for the wellbeing of her comrades who were all lost somewhere in space. Mithrax comforted her and stated that he will inform the Vanguard of this and request a search and rescue party, once his business with Zavala was concluded, and only then after.

Upon landing in the Last City, Mithrax knew that Eido's tonics could only boost Tali's immune system for so long, not to mention he was not going to just confine the one he rescued to a clean room until the Vanguard was notified of her, so he outfitted Tali with a special armor he helped design to not only protect her, but shield her from prying eyes so that she may explore the Tower freely, with Eido remaining by her at all times to keep watch over her, of course. Mithrax was well aware of the Vanguard's protocols on encountering new species, so hiding her form and waiting until after the meeting had finished to inform him was a better course of action, especially since he viewed the idea of confining innocent people for no reason as ridiculous.

Tali was grateful that Mithrax trusted her enough to allow her to explore, though she did have some complaints. Not about the need for a babysitter that Tali was sure was younger than her, but more… the style of her disguise. At least it was purple.

"Look, I appreciate the armor, Eido. It's just… You didn't have anything less… flashy?"

Eido made a soft clicking noise through her mask before giving a response. "I'm not sure what you are so upset about, Tali. I know of many Guardians who would absolutely adore the armor you wear now. They do love their fashion. That's why my father and Ms. Everis collaborated together in order to design it."

"Which of them came up with the idea for the hat?" Asked Tali irritably, pointing at the massive hat resting on top of her hood.

"That was actually my suggestion!" Eido giggled happily.

"Oh, so YOU did this to me?!"

The two of them both laughed softly as they continued walking. Tali found it refreshing that Eido had a sense of humor. At least she had someone to talk to while she was stranded on this bizarre version of Earth. Eido was very friendly. She showed no wariness around the quarian, which meant she must have been a very trusting and curious individual. She reminded Tali of herself almost.

"So, what exactly is this Tower?" Asked Tali.

Eido chittered. "Well, I have my word to Misraakskell not to relay too much information to you since you are still an unknown, but I can still tour you around the more public areas."

They passed through the doors and exited the hallway. On the other side, the Tower bazaar. The whole area was flooded with humanoids of all kinds, as well as more eliksni and larger, beefier looking aliens. Eido happily hopped forward in excitement, which Tali found absolutely adorable.

"The Tower is the main hub for Guardian activity. Since my father is a Coalition leader, I have access to the less restricted areas. The bazaar is where Guardians come for leisure time after missions." Eido explained.

An entertainment district, then. Tali looked around. There were two Guardians over by the ramen stand enjoying a meal together. Some more by a lounge and were smoking a hookah pipe. Two more at a large table with a net in the middle of it. A ping pong table.

Tali was slightly unnerved at seeing this many Guardians all gathered in a single place. She remembered the damage they had done to the Citadel, and that was only four of them. Such powerful forces of nature, made even more frightening by the fact they were all fully human. She shuttered to imagine what would have happened if they all worked for Cerberus. But then she saw something that put her worries at ease. A small eliksni child being gently picked up by a Titan wearing absolutely ghastly armor made of pure bone. (War Numen's Armor) The Titan lifted the small child up onto his shoulder. The child let out a joyous laugh of innocence as a result. Seeing such a powerful looking individual being so gentle with a being so small warmed Tali's heart.

She was still clueless as to how their powers worked, however. Tali had seen humans with powerful biotics before, like Jack, but never

"Hey, Eido." She started. "What can you tell me about these humans? Not about the species, but the powers they wield. Just curious."

"You have never seen a Guardian before?" Eido asked back.

"Not since last night. I've never seen abilities like this before."

The young eliksni stopped at a local stand. The sign revealed that it was a small tea stand. Eido ordered a beverage more suited for her people. A mint bubble tea infused with ether. Eido slipped the straw into a small slot in her mask. That allowed her to drink out of her delicacy.

"I suppose it will not cause any harm to tell you about that. Do you see that, up in the sky?" She pointed up at the massive white sphere in the sky. It was floating just above the planet's atmosphere. "That is the Great Machine, or the Traveler, as the humans call it. It is an entity of unimaginable power, capable of transforming entire worlds into paradises with its Light."

Eido directed Tali's attention to a Warlock across from them. They had summoned a sword of pure fire in their hand, and using it to roast some kind of meat.

"Light that the Guardians use to perform extraordinary feats. Summoning flames to burn away evil, illuminating the darkest nights with lightning, and drawing from the void to consume any who oppose peace in crushing shadows."

Tali remembered seeing what that Light was capable of first hand. How Shinazu was able to fire off such a powerful blast of lightning, one capable of incapacitating every soldier around him and shooting off into the vacuum of space itself. Tali never could have imagined something like that was a possibility.

"Not only that, they possess the ability to rise from the dead when they fall in battle. Their wounds heal almost instantly, and they are imbued with strength like those in the eliksni tales of old."

Wait. Did Eido just say they can come back from the dead? Resurrection? She had to have been making this up. Although, if what Liara said was true and Shepard was alive… Wait. No, that's crazy. Sure, Cerberus was able to bring her back the last time, but that was through science and high tech equipment, not through some magic ritual.

"I'm sorry. "Resurrection"?" Tali repeated. "Did that barista slip something into your tea?"

Eido chittered humorously. "I understand if it sounds silly, but I have seen many Guardians do so before. I assure you, Tali."

"I think I'll believe it when I see it."

Looking up, the quarian gaze at the Traveler. She would admit, it was quite a sight. The sheer size. The luminous aura around it. It had a majesty to it that Tali could only compare to a nebula. Tali wished her people were here to see it. They would have a blast studying such a marvel.

Tali and Eido stopped at a lookout at the edge of the bazaar. It had a view of the entire city. Down below were streets alive with commotion. Local vendors, street performers, passing Guardians on patrol. Zorah's vision then looked up the far end of the city. She noticed a massive wall, stretching on for miles and enclosing the whole of the city within its confines. The wall looked like it was made from scrap metal and was severely beaten and rusted.

It was a ways away, but Tali could also make out small settlements on the outside of the city wall. However, there didn't appear to be any activity within them. That convinced her that the settlements were abandoned. Ghost towns that littered the landscape around the walls.

"What happened here? Everything looks so… dystopian." Tali asked.

Eido turned to her companion, her eyes saddened, but she decided to tell the tale.

It was long ago, when the Traveler first arrived in Sol. It bestowed its Light onto humanity, allowing them to create new settlements across the system. Human lifespan tripled, and they were brought into a perfect new era. They called it the "Golden Age". Too bad it didn't last forever. Centuries after the Traveler's discovery on Mars, something had come for it. A great threat.

A Darkness.

It had followed the Traveler across the stars and decimated the Sol System in its attempts to snuff out the Traveler's Light. Entire worlds were destroyed. Humanity was fractured, on the verge of extinction. Nowhere was safe, especially when the eliksni had come to Earth.

The Traveler had graced Riis with its presence as well, guided the eliksni into their own Golden Age also, and just like with Earth, the Darkness had come for them as well. Riis was not so lucky as Earth. The planet was completely erased. Millions died. And the Traveler, their Great Machine, abandoned them to save itself. The eliksni used their ships to follow the Traveler to Sol, where they found it had stayed to protect humanity from the Darkness. Overcome by jealous rage, the eliksni, who the humans refer to as the Fallen, started waging war with the survivors, believing they could win back their god's favor through bloodshed.

Centuries they had fought. It wasn't until recently that the eliksni who refused to fight were accepted into the city by the Vanguard… and one Jane Doe.

"We eliksni refer to the destruction of our world as the Whirlwind. Humans have dubbed theirs as the Collapse." Eido finished her story.

Tali was speechless, clueless as to what she should say to the young scribe next to her. Eido's people lost their home. Just as her own did so long ago to the geth. Only difference was that the quarians were able to return to their planet. The eliksni have nothing to back to. It shattered Tali's heart.

"Keelah… Eido, I'm so sorry." She consoled the insectoid girl.

Eido smiled sadly beneath her breather. "No not apologize, Tali. Your condolences are appreciated nonetheless." She replied. Her hands reach into her pack and pull out a small booklet with a pen strapped to it. Eido opens up the book and shows Tali its contents. Numerous notes that were written in eliksni. "I was born long after the Whirlwind, as was my father, so I know not of what Riis was like. That is why, as a scribe of my house, I am tasked with the archiving and preservation of my people's history."

Through her visor, Tali peaked at Eido's notes. She couldn't make out a word of it, but she could clearly see that these notes were extensive. Eido was very skilled at recording data, maybe even better than Liara.

"Your work looks impressive. I wish I could read it." Complimenting Tali. "Your father is lucky to have you."

All of a sudden, Eido's smile vanished, replaced by eyes of doubt. Hearing her father be mentioned seemed to strike something inside her. The young Fallen thought back to a fight she and him had months ago.

"I did not have to hear it from HER. That was your choice."

"That was not a story Eramis had any right to tell."

"Did you believe that I would never find out? That no one would remember? I'm charged with preserving the history of our people!"

"Some history does not need to be preserved."

"Like the Whirlwind? So much was lost; so much we will never recover, no matter how much we search... no matter how much we remember. Is that what you wish to happen to us now?!"

"You do not understand."

"I want to understand! You will not let me!"

"You do not know what I know! You did not see what I saw! When I pulled you from the wreckage of a Ketch, I knew that you deserved more than the world that orphaned you. I want you to look forward! Not to what the Whirlwind made us. You do not need to carry this history."

"It is a part of me, whether I witnessed it or not. I don't want to look away, and I don't want to forget."

"You do not know what you ask."

"Perhaps not. But nothing good comes from refusing to face the truth."

"Eido?"

She snapped out of her thoughts, then turned over to the quarian who was looking at her with curiosity. Eido pulled herself back into reality.

"O-oh. I apologize. I am fine."

Her tone was off. Uneasy. Tali could tell. Behind her visor, her brow cocked dubiously.

Just then, Eido started receiving a transmission on her comm system. Her fingers reached for the earpiece in her head and powered on the small device.

"This is Scribe Eido. Who am I speaking to- Huh? What?! Are they alright?!"

The young eliksni started to panic. Whoever she was speaking to was clearly giving her bad news.

"W-what about my father?! I see. I am on my way." She turned off her comm and stuffed her notes back in her pack.

"What's wrong?" Asked Tali, worried.

"We must go to Zavalakel's office! My father is in danger!"

The two quickly rushed down the corridors of the Tower. Eido was leading the way for Tali to follow. Fear and concern, now as clear as day in all four of the young girl's eyes, and a black and green, cyberstyle sidearm in one of her hands. (Farewell) Eido wasn't one for weapons, but Mithrax insisted that she at least carry something for protection, if she had to.

"What is going on, Eido?" Tali asked again.

"A Vanguard operative informed me that one of Empress Caiatl's Psions had just gone rogue and tried to assassinate her. My father is in the room with her." Eido replied anxiously.

"Was he injured trying to stop it?"

A small wheeze escaped her breather. "It is more complicated than that."

Finally, they had reached the door to Zavala's office. With a quick input of commands on the keypad, the door opens. Eido rushed inside.

"Anastasia!"

Somebody was inside. Someone, unlike everyone else, who was still conscious. The woman in white armor. She had a sleek, chrome colored rifle in hand and her foot atop the Psion, who was restrained with a pair of energy cuffs and squirming on the floor like a helpless worm. The woman looked over at the door. She noticed the two girls running into the office and were both very out of breath.

"Nice of you to drop by, Eido. Don't worry, everyone's alive. You're welcome." The woman greeted the alien. Her tone was chipper and smug, and her body language gave off a free spirited aura. She looked at Tali and wolf whistled. "Hey, who's your new friend? She's hot!"

Eido searched the office in a panic for Mithrax. She found him sitting against the side wall, alongside everyone else who were affected by the Psion.

"Father!"

Eido cried out for him and ran to his side. One of her hands gently pressed up to the side of his neck, under his helmet. She was checking for his pulse. Her hands felt a gentle thumping sensation. Mithrax was fine physically, just like the Guardian said. That didn't help his state of consciousness, however.

"Wake up!" She pleaded. "Father, you have to wake up! Misraakskel!"

Eido shook him, but not too hard. Merely to see if she can get a rowse out of him. Her efforts were fruitless as Mithrax was deep in his comatose state. The words of his daughter failed to reach him.

"No good, kid." Said the woman. "Everyone's locked in a psychic link thanks to our little friend here. They can't hear us."

"A psychic link?" Tali questioned.

"It's, uh… a little complex."

Eido kept her eyes trained on her father, her hands gently squeezing his own. "He's still alive. That is what matters. Thank you, Ana."

Ana walked over to Eido. Gently, she placed a hand over the young one's shoulder in a reassuring fashion and put on an easing smile.

"Any time. We're all in this together."

Ana took her hand off Eido and turned back to Tali. The quarian had her hands hidden behind her back the whole time to keep the human from seeing how many fingers she had. If Tali got caught, her and Eido, even Mithrax may get in trouble. She was fortunate the boots covered her feet and so long as she kept her legs straight, Tali's charade would remain.

"So, Eido. Are you gonna introduce me to your new alien friend?"

…or not. How did she know?

"Uhh…" Tali was speechless. Ana simply smirked.

"I had a hunch when I saw you. The way you walk, and how you're hiding your hands."

Zorah's face turned blue from embarrassment. Thank goodness for the helmet. Was she really being that obvious?

"Relax. If you're fine by Eido, you're fine by me. You seem friendly enough. Nice hat, by the way." Ana held out her hand to Tali, offering a handshake. "I'm Dr. Anastasia Bray of the Vanguard, but you can call me Ana."

Her smile and demeanor were both genuine. That was a good sign that Ana was trustworthy. Tali decided to let her guard down and accepted the handshake. "Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. It is a pleas-"

Something in the corner view of her visor caught Tali's attention. She looked to her right past Ana. Sitting in the corner, at the end of the row of unconscious bodies was a familiar looking turian with a scar on the right of his face.

Garrus!

"You okay?" Asked Ana.

Tali was flabbergasted. Her companion was here. She slipped past the Hunter and ran towards him. That was when she saw who was sitting next to him and her jaw dropped. A human female with red hair and freckles, wearing armor with an N7 insignia.

She couldn't believe it. Liara was telling the truth. She really was alive!

"Shepard..?" Tali gasped.

Eido and Ana directed their attention over to Tali, curiosities peaked. "Wait. You know Jane?" Ana questioned.

Her legs quivered, breathing became uneasy. It wasn't long before the tears behind her helmet started to fall. Tali went down onto her knees and pulled both Jane and Garrus into her arms in a joyous hug.

"She's my friend."

Commander Shepard really was alive. If Tali were dreaming, she didn't want to wake up.

The Psion was thrown aggressively against the wall. A yelp was expelled from his mouth and the helmet atop his head cracked. Ana pinned the alien down with her foot to keep him from moving. She had the tip of her rifle trained on the Psion, her trigger finger just a tad too itchy.

Standing beside her were Eido and Tali, both of whom glared down at the Psion with venom in their eyes. Tali had her Omni-Blade drawn, and Eido's grip on her sidearm was firm. Intimidation at its finest.

"Alright, pal." Ana started. "This is the part where you get all defensive when I ask you why you tried to take out your empress while she's out cold." She cocked a round onto the barrel of her weapon, ready to fire at a moment's notice. "So, start talking."

The Psion sneered and squirmed in his bindings. He sent a weak telepathic wave into the minds of the three. This was how they communicate with other species. 'That usurper is no empress! She is false! An imposter to his true majesty!'

Ana scoffed. "True majesty", huh? She knew exactly what he was talking about. Or rather who.

"Calus."

Tali tilted her head to the side cluelessly. She wondered who that was.

"The previous emperor of the Cabal. Caiatl's dad, and a real pompous snob." Ana explained to the quarian before looking back over to the Psion. "So did he pay or convert you to his side so that he can have you off his daughter while she's, at the moment, having her beauty rest?"

The Psion smirked behind his visor. A small burst of psychic energy was released from the horns atop its mask. A series of fleeting images beamed into Ana, Tali, and Eido's minds. Images of it one, but two Psions aboard Caiatl's flagship. One knocking out the other and stripping him of his armor before locking him in a dark room and dawning the armor himself, then traveling down to Earth with Caiatl. The Empress, so foolishly unaware of the danger that was standing right next to her.

The images ceased. The girls all held their heads in aching pain as the psychic intervention was strenuous. The Psion did not take measurements to slowly connect with their minds, and instead just bombarded them without consideration. Ana felt a rash of anger ignite within her.

"You're a Loyalist. You suck onto the Eligos, knocked out the Optus Caiatl chose as her escort, put on his armor, and the rest is history."

'The Loyalists are but a thing of the past now!'

Energy suddenly surrounded the small alien psychic. The armor around its body glowing a bright white that quickly darkened. The Psion's armor had fully changed. It was no longer the brilliant shades of blue and gold, but now a duller gold, dark purple, and black. There was a strange crest painted onto the right shoulder pauldron of the armor in gold. Ana was unfamiliar with the design. It wasn't Cabal, that was for sure.

'We are the Shadow Legion, the loyal subjects of the great Emperor Calus, the Disciple!'

"Is that right?" Said Ana, unimpressed. "So Calus has a new posi, huh? Can't be any better than the last one."

"We know who this Psion is. Now what?" Asked Eido.

Tali charged her Omni-Blade. It crackled with electricity. "We take our time." She tried to step closer, but Ana and Eido stopped her.

"Wait!" Pleaded Bray. "Psion mind links are highly fragile. Any shifts in their concentration that are too immense and the Mindscape will crumble with their minds still inside. They'll all go brain dead. Ghosts included."

Eido quaked at hearing what the Hunter said. That's what could happen to Mithrax if they aren't careful. They learned the hard way how that works from a few months ago.

"They're not just his targets, they're his hostages." Tali stated coldly.

This wasn't just given opportunity. It was planned. The Psion knew about the upcoming interrogation long ahead of time to trap the Coalition leaders and their new friend in a mental prison. Unfortunately, it didn't plan on another Guardian walking in and putting a stop to his plans.

Ana bent down to the Psion and looked him in his single eye. "Here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna pull the Coalition leaders, Jane, and our fringey friend back there out of whatever mind prison you put them in. Otherwise, me or either of these lovely ladies are finally gonna 'touch' you in your special place."

'You do not frighten me, Guardian! I have seen horrors far beyond your Traveler's Light!'

Bray pulled back. There was no fear in the alien's voice, nor his thoughts. He wasn't joking.

"Obviously threats aren't going to cut it." Said Tali. "

"Our only option would be to somehow sever their link through ulterior methods, without disrupting the Psion's connection to them." Eido deduced.

"Eido, you're an apothecary, right? Can't you, I don't know, brew up a potion or draw a transmutation circle around them or something?"

"Ana, she's not Edward Elric!" Said Ana's Ghost, Jinju, beratingly as she appeared.

How could they possibly pull this off. Tali needed to think about what she could do. Normally, this would be something either Liara or Samara could pull off, being asari. They could try and plug them into a virtual world to redirect their minds away from the Psion's control. But Tali doubted the Vanguard had the equipment to pull that off. The options they possessed were limited and couldn't guarantee they would work, or leave anyone unscathed. There had to be something they could do.

Tali looked to her companions. She noticed Eido was gone. Turning around, she found the eliksni on her knees and back with the unconscious Mithrax, holding his hand tightly in her own. Eido was gravely worry stricken for her father's well being. It was clear as day in all four of her eyes. Tali walked over to the young girl. She crouched down to her level.

"We'll find a way to wake them up, Eido. Don't worry." Assured the quarian.

"What if we can't, Tali?" Eido quivered. "What if they die like this? My father is Kell. How can he guide our people if he is reduced to a husk?"

She squeezed her father's hand tighter and whimpered. Fear was overtaking her.

"He cannot die like this. Not after what I had said to him!"

"What do you mean?" Asked Tali.

Eido turned over to Tali with tears now welling up in her eyes. She explained how Mithrax had hidden his true past from her. In the days before the House of Light, Mithrax was a ruthless, bloodthirsty, savage pirate who took the greatest of pleasures in bathing in the blood of his victims and plundering their ships for booty. Mithrax once even went as far as abandoning his own crew to rot on an asteroid because of his paranoia of them undermining him. He had attempted to hide these past sins from Eido, but they had come to light through the aid of another. An enemy.

When Eido learned of all this, she was disgusted, unable to even look her father in the eye. She was infuriated, both by his crimes and lies. One night, Eido had gotten into a few too many bottles at the Ether Tank and said things to him that she shouldn't have. She had called Mithrax a murder, a hypocrite, a monster, then stated that from that point forward that they would merely be Kell and scribe, and nothing more.

Yet, even after all those things she said to him, Mithrax fought to save Eido from the Lucent Hive, even sparing the one Fallen who was supposed to be her enemy. Eido was speechless, and even though they were speaking more now than before, she still kept her distance from her father, no matter how much he tried to make things right with her.

And now, Mithrax was dangling on the thin line between life and death, unaware that his daughter who he believed wanted nothing to do with him anymore, was by his side with tears streaming down her face.

"I had said things to him… Awful things, and so many of them… That is why it can't end like this, Tali..! I have to tell him that I forgive him for his lying! That I take back every malicious remark I called him! My father can't die thinking that I despise him!"

The young eliksni finally burst into tears. She buried her face into her father's neck and wrapped her arms around him. The guilt was just too much for her to bear. Tali just stared at Eido with disbelief, and a sense of familiarity. The quarian felt an ache in her heart and was reminded of a memory long since buried. Looking back at it, and then looking at Eido, Tali came to a conclusion. An undeniable fact.

"Eido…"

They were the same.

*The Alarei, Derelict Quarian Vessel: 2185*

…

"First entry: Our hacking attempts failed. The geth have adaptive consciousness. Hack one process, and the others auto-correct. Still, we're making progress. Rael'Zorah is convinced we'll have a viable system in less than a year. This weapon will put our people back on the homeworld, and it's all because of Rael'Zorah."

If only that were the case, otherwise there wouldn't be so many bodies littered across the ship.

It had started with the accusations by the Admiralty Board. Quarian high command had accused Tali'Zorah of illicit activity, bringing geth aboard the ships of the Migrant Fleet and putting the lives of the quarian people in jeopardy. Such a drastic crime against the Migrant Fleet is punishable by exile, being thrown from the ships, never to see your people again.

Tali obviously had done no such thing, believing someone was setting her up. So she brought her case to the Conclave to clear her name. That was when they informed her of incriminating information regarding her father, Rael'Zorah.

Apparently, the research ship he was stationed on, the Alarei, had fallen under geth control. They believed the geth had managed to infiltrate it thanks to the inactive geth tech that Tali had been acquiring for research. Upon hearing the news, Tali and Shepard insisted on putting the trial on hold so that they may go search for survivors. The Conclave agreed.

After fighting their way through hordes of hostile geth, Tali, Shepard, and Legion had made their way into the bowels of the ship. The amount of carnage they witnessed at the hands of these monstrous robots was sickening. Dead scientists as far as the eye can see, with not one survivor among them.

The doors to the next room slid open with a loud hiss. Shepard and Legion slipped into the hallway, weapons hot. The coast seemed clear. The friendly geth looked down to the floor. It's optic found yet another body lying dead on the floor.

"SHEPARD, COMMANDER."

Legion alerted Jane of what it had found. She turned her eyes to the body. There was something familiar about this quarian. That was when Tali came through and she felt her heart stop.

"Father!"

She ran to the body, crouching down on her knees. It was Admiral Rael'Zorah, Tali's father. He was among the casualties of the geth attack as well.

"No, no, no! You always had a plan. Masked life signs, or-or an onboard medical stasis program, maybe. You! You wouldn't…"

Tali was frantic. She desperately searches her father's suit for signs of function. Any indicator that he may still be alive. Quarians are prepared for almost anything. That's what her father told her. She kept looking, ignoring the bloody hole in the spot where her father's heart was.

"They're wrong! You wouldn't just die like this! You wouldn't leave me to clean up your mess! You can't…"

The grief was overwhelming. Tali was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Shepard gently lifted her off the floor, then wrapped her arms around her in comfort.

"Hey hey, come here."

The dam broke. Tears ran down Tali's eyes from behind her mask and she buried her face in her commander's shoulder. "Damnit..! Damnit..!" She sobbed.

"This wasn't his choice. He was trying to help you, Tali, the only way he knew how. He didn't want to leave you." Shepard told her supportively.

"Of course he did." Argued Tali. "Every time he went off to battle. Every time he sent me away. It was all about what HE wanted."

She broke away from Shepard's home and looked back at the remains of her father. Her insides twisted and churned with both sorrow and anger.

"I wanted a father who'd take the sick leave time and let me see his face without a helmet in the way. Instead, I got orders, and this, and a panel of admirals who think I'm a traitor! Those were my father's gifts to me."

It wasn't until later that Tali learned what had happened aboard that ship. Her father had been using the inactive geth parts Tali had been supplying him to reconstruct full geth and experiment on them in order to find ways to hack into their neural network and exploit them. What Rael did made the work 'wreckless' sound like he accidentally spilled milk. It put the whole of the Migrant Fleet in danger.

However, this was not without reason. Rael was performing these acts all for Tali. He believed that, if he could successfully gain entry into the geth network, then the quarians could finally defeat them and reclaim Rannoch after they were banished from it their own mechanical creations centuries ago.

Rael'Zorah violated the most sacred laws of the quarians, committed treason against his people, all to keep his promise to his daughter that he would build her a house on their homeworld.

All Tali could see now in Eido was herself, kneeling down over the corpse of her father in despair, believing he had just left her behind to deal with his problems. The difference is that Eido's father can still be saved. Hope was not yet lost. Tali's hand gently rested atop Eido's shoulder.

"Don't lose hope." She told her. "That would be the last thing Mithrax would want you to do."

Eido lifted herself off of her father and turned to face Tali.

"You need to have faith. Faith that he's in there, fighting to break free and see you again. If he is as menacing as you say he is, then this will be nothing he can't handle."

Her words carried heft. They shone a ray of hope into the dark despair that had engulfed the eliksni. Eido wiped away her tears and regained her composure, but she still couldn't help but shutter in unnerve. "What makes you believe that so easily, Tali?"

Tali smiled beneath her helmet. That part was the most obvious.

Because a father will do anything for his daughter.

*YAY! I have been dying to finally write this chapter and I finally got it done! Also, I can't get enough of imagining Tali wearing the Shadestalker armor and that bigass hat! Bet the crew are gonna start calling her Tali the Vampire Slayer. (I recently started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Disney. Lol)

Also, I wanna ask you guys and I really want your honest opinion. If I were to write an OG story to publish, would anybody be interested in reading it?

Please leave your responses in the comments. It would really mean a lot. Thanks everyone!*