A quarian SurpriseAfter I made my way down the elevator to C-Sec, I continued on to the wards section.
Before talking with Captain Anderson I had planned to go to Chora's Den, hide out in the alley where Fist's assassin was going to attempt to kill Tali, help her out and then use this as a way to make Shepard take note of me again.
But since I was only a few hours away from basically being part of the Normandy's Crew, that wasn't necessary anymore. Meaning I was left wondering what to do and where to go.
I had a few credits now, I didn't know how much, but since it was supposed to be the payment for the next mission, I was going to go on, it had to be a decent amount of money. I doubted the military had stopped paying soldiers respectable amounts in the 200 years I had effectively missed out on.
This meant that I wouldn't have to sell any of my belongings, a fact that relieved me greatly. I hadn't expected to get much out of them, but the personal value they held, now that I had no way of going back home, was immense. Having been able to leave them on the Normandy was a huge relief.
Walking down the wards, which were a lot fuller than in the game, as you'd expect from the hubs of a megalopolis, I decided to buy me some new clothes – the ones I had on wouldn't be sufficient forever . Suddenly I noticed some kind of commotion in front of me. Pushing the questions in my mind away for the moment, I tried to make out what it was about.
I was close to the alley in which Tali's meeting would occur, in the part of the wards with the small clinic. One of the doors, leading to other sections of the wards, slid open and the people were jostling each other, trying to get away from … whatever was on the other side. Was it a Krogan coming through?
I tried to get closer to it, and since everybody else was trying to get away, I didn't have trouble doing so. What I saw as soon as I went through the door … was appalling and infuriating at the same time.
It wasn't a Krogan but a wounded Quarian. A badly wounded Quarian.
She was bleeding strongly from where she held her side, leaning on the wall, panting. Yet everybody only cared about getting away from her. At best they sneered at her.
I had seen a very similar scene in one of the comics additional to the mass effect games. But nothing could have prepared me for the macabre ignorance with which reality treated the wounded and bleeding Quarian. I had hoped that the comics were exaggerating, but reality proved to be much worse than fiction.
Shock ran through my body when I realized that this had to be Tali. There couldn't be that many Quarians on the Citadel at any time; certainly not enough wounded Quarian women desperately trying to get to a clinic on the upper wards.
Tali staggered forwards and was now directly in front of me. She was desperately pressing one hand on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. Judging from the way she held herself and the amount of blood pouring out between her fingers, I realized she was bleeding worse than in the comic. I stared at her unable to even move out of the way. I had never seen somebody this wounded in my life. She looked so weak and fragile just then, but at the same time radiated a fierce determination.
"Could … you please … move to the … side?", Tali panted, her voice shaky from blood loss and pain.
Brought back to my senses I did the exact opposite and took the last step necessary to close the distance between us. "No, but I can help you. You can barely walk on your own," I answered her strained plea. I carefully put my arm around her, sliding her free arm over my shoulder, so that her weight rested against me. Tali jerked, wanting to protest, but her breathing was still shaky and her body was trembling all over. "You need help. And I'm not rotten enough to ignore that, " I said gently. " Just concentrate on staying conscious."
Too weak to genuinely resist, she gave in and started moving a bit faster, now that I was supporting her weight. Ignoring the unbelieving glances and whispers, the masses around us were giving us, we made our way through the door I had just passed and across the ward. Luckily we didn't have to fight our way through, since everybody was avoiding us like the plague.
I still couldn't believe their reaction. A wounded woman was staggering around the ward. Everybody should have been trying to help her. Her species shouldn't matter.
I suppose moral courage hasn't become any more popular since the twenty first century. I grimaced darkly, but quickly calmed my anger. Quarians had a reputation as bad as the gypsy back in the Middle Ages. There was nothing I could do about that.
My concentration fully returned to Tali, when she tripped and nearly collapsed. "Hang in there, the clinic is just ahead."
"I … know. My eyes... aren't hurt," she retorted sarcastically.
A slight smile crept onto my face. If she still had enough strength to be sarcastic, she couldn't be that close to death. She was, however, very close to losing consciousness. I had to keep her conscious somehow.
Maybe you should talk to her? ... Well, it wasn't a bad idea, was it?
"Drek, you are in bad shape. Did you wrestle a Krogan for Pyjak meat, or something?" I know, it wasn't the brightest joke, but it didn't have to be.
Tali started to laugh, but stopped abruptly, jumping in pain. I guess making a joke hadn't been the best idea after all. "No … nothing like that. We came here … because I found … information." She coughed heavily from the stress of trying to talk, but it was keeping her conscious and she was telling me what had happened, making this doubly useful. This way I wouldn't have to feign ignorance about what was going on later. "We … were attacked … by mercenaries," she continued slowly, all the while getting closer to the clinic. We were now only a few steps away.
Mercenaries? As in more than one mercenary? On the citadel as well? That explained why she was in worse shape than in the comic.
"So you were trying to sell that information and mercenaries, probably hired by someone trying to prevent you from selling it, hunted you down."
She didn't answer. Maybe she was too weak, or maybe she just didn't want to be reminded of what had happened to her friends. I didn't know.
It also wasn't relevant anymore since we reached the doors to the clinic a second after I finished.
For a moment I wondered where the button to open the door was, but it slid open automatically, revealing a small clinic much like what I was used to from the game, though it was a bit larger and had more beds. In one corner, the clinic's doctor talked to a Volus, presumably Barla Von. I remembered her name now: Dr. Michel.
"Doctor, I've got a wounded Quarian. She's in bad shape!" I called out to her.
Their glances fell on us and Dr. Michel hurried towards us. After a quick look at Tali, she gestured to one of the beds. "Put her on that one, I'll take care of it immediately."
I followed her instruction, gently lifting Tali up and lying her down. I didn't listen to her protests. They were barely audible anyway. The doctor followed me, starting to fiddle around with an interface next to the bed. "You did good, bringing her here. Now get back, please, I need to work. There is nothing else you can do for her," she said, already starting to apply medi-gel to Tali's wound. Looking up at me, she repeated her order. "Now. Operating on a Quarian is a delicate matter."
I hesitated a second longer, then stepped back as I was told and left Dr. Michel to her work. Behind me I heard the characteristic sound of a Volus breathing in. "How did it happen?"
I turned around and faced Barla Von. " She said she was attacked by mercenaries."
The Volus nodded. "Nobody cares about what happens to a Quarian on the Citadel. You showed a great amount of courage, bringing her here."
"Sadly, I did," I agreed with him. Yet what worried me a lot more than the miserable attitude of the Citadel inhabitants towards Quarians were the implications of my meeting Tali on her way to the clinic.
Considering how long I had stayed on the Normandy, Shepard was bound to be looking for evidence that linked Saren to the Geth by now. If Tali didn't hurry, there was a good chance she'd miss the commander altogether.
Of course in that case, I would just have to lend destiny a helping hand, but still … a derivation from the game this early in the plot, it made me worry. What else was going to be different? Was my knowledge going to be of any use at all?
"Why were the Mercenaries after her?" Barla asked, interrupting my thoughts.
"Hm? What? She said she had some sort of information."
That got his attention.
"Information?" he wheezed interestedly. "What kind of information?"
I was about to answer him, but stopped myself at the last second. I had to pretend I didn't know that, Tali had never told me, after all. "I don't know. She didn't say. But seeing how she ended up it must be important to someone."
Barla Von wheezed thoughtfully. "I will have to ask her, when she is responsive."
"I guess ..." I started to agree, but broke off mid-sentence. Wait. Barla Von was here. Right now. And Tali was late. Commander Shepard was probably already hunting for proof on Saren's betrayal. And she couldn't have started too long ago. Also, I somehow doubted she would go to Harkin first. Did that mean she had already talked with Barla Von? "You are Barla Von, aren't you?"
He looked up in surprise. "Yes, I am, how did you know?"
"I have my sources. Did you speak with Commander Shepard today?" I asked him.
"I don't know why that should interest you, but I didn't," Barla Von wheezed quizzically.
I grimaced. That meant she went to Harkin. He should have directed her to Garrus, but since Garrus doesn't know about the danger Dr. Michel was going to be in, he wasn't going to end up here. "Maybe they are going directly to Fist." I muttered to myself, "I just hope they are going to pick up Wrex on the way..."
"What are you mumbling about?" Dr. Michel's question brought me back to reality. She had left Tali's bed and joined Barla Von and me.
"Nothing. I was just thinking out loud. Bad habit of mine. More importantly, is she alright?" I asked, changing the subject.
The doctor looked at me for a moment, then shrugged. "It was only a graze shot, though a deep one. The problem was that she didn't have Medi-gel to stop the bleeding. She also shows signs of shock."
"But she'll be fine?""
"She's currently sleeping, but will wake shortly. She is going to be exhausted, but she will be fine."
I started to relax. That was at least one burden off my mind.
"Good."
Dr. Michel seemed sympathetic to my concern, "Do you know her?"
I hesitated, then shook my head. "No, but I couldn't just leave her alone to bleed. No one else was willing to do much."
"Quarians aren't welcomed on the Citadel," Dr. Michel agreed sadly. "She was lucky you came along. I am Dr. Michel. Nice to meet you."
She held out her hand in a greeting. I shook it and smiled back. "Thanks. The name's Scades. Philipp Scades. Nice to meet you too."
I turned to Barla Von. "Greetings to you as well. I'm sorry I was a little impolite earlier."
He shook his head. "It is alright. You wouldn't tell me how you knew who I was, would you?"
"No, that's going to stay my secret," I grinned.
An audible groan from the bed on which Tali was lying caught our attention. I went over to her side as she slowly got up. "Are you alright?" I asked worriedly.
Tali's body winced. "I feel as if I wrestled with a Krogan", she said, in a dry voice.
"You should have just given him that Pyjak meat, after all," I smirked. Tali laughed weakly. Apparently she remembered my joke from earlier.
"Your drowsiness is most likely because of the painkillers I gave you," Dr. Michel informed Tali helpfully. "They should wear off in a few hours."
"I hope so. I'd rather be in pain than unable to defend myself," she answered.
I could relate to that. Right then I wanted to come to the point though. The sooner she told us what had happened, the sooner I could stop pretending not to know.
"More importantly, how did this happen to you? You said you had information. What kind of information? What would be important enough to openly hunt someone down on the Citadel? Even if it was a Quarian – no offense, by the way."
Tali shook her head. "None taken" She started to recount what had happened.
"Finally someone is willing to listen to me… it all started just a few days ago. I had left the fleet for the first time in my life, taking the first steps of my pilgrimage. On our way to Ilium we came across a peculiar transmission from an ice planet in one of the systems of the Crescent Nebulae. We scanned the planet … and found traces of the Geth."
"Geth? But they haven't been outside of the Perseus Veil in centuries!" Dr. Michel called out astonished.
"Oh, they have. Just today they attacked Eden Prime," I informed her.
"Yes! That's the attack, that spectre's message was about! ," Tali excitedly exclaimed.
"A Message from a Spectre?" Barla Von asked. "How did you obtain it?"
Pausing, Tali gathered her thoughts.
"The Geth were our creations. The Citadel council blamed us for unleashing them. For that we are treated like outcasts. Pariahs," she groaned. "If the Geth spread to other worlds, we will be blamed for that too. We had to do something. I short-circuited one of the Geth units on the planet and was able to salvage a transmission from its data banks. Shortly afterwards, we were attacked so we couldn't investigate further, but we managed to get away.. We continued to Ilium, were they found us again. Keenah'Breizh and I managed to stow away on a freighter to the citadel, but we were followed. By the time C-Sec let us go, they had spotted us …" her voice got shaky for a second, " Keenah didn't make it. I'm the only one left." She grew silent, pained by her memory, then got a grip on herself. And that's how I got here. Though, honestly, I don't remember how I made it to the upper wards."
"That doesn't matter now. No one can get to you here. You are safe,"Dr. Michel reassured Tali.
Barla Von didn't feel quite as certain about that. "Yes. For now. But that recording you are carrying – if a Spectre is trying to have you assassinated, it must be very serious, very dangerous information." He wheezed firmly. " And very valuable. There are people who'd pay a lot for what you've got there. Either to use it or to destroy it. If I could guarantee your safety, would you trust me to trade this information for you?"
Tali put one hand on her helmet in a gesture of unease. "I don't want anyone else to die for it."
"That's not what he's saying," Dr. Michel said. "We can get that recording into the hands of someone who'll know what to do."
"Yes, I bet you can," I broke in, " But your first choice as a protector would have been Fist, wouldn't it, Barla Von?"
He turned his head to me. " Yes it would have been, but he has been … compromised, I will look for other means of protection."
"That means my information was right." I looked at Tali, " Listen, I know someone who, by now, should be trying to hunt down that Spectre your recording is incriminating. Commander Shepard. She's with the Alliance Navy. At her side, you will be safe and she is going to be able to put your recording to good use." I turned back to the Volus and looked at him questioningly. " What do you say? It might not be as profitable, but it is her safest option."
He nodded hesitatingly. "If one can trust her."
"Definitely."
Tali stood up from the bed. " I'll talk to her. Just tell me where to go."
I smiled. Things were going well. Now all Shepard had to do was get Wrex and Garrus onto the team.
"Your best bet would be to meet her at the Normandy, that's the ship she is stationed on. I'll take you there, I'm part of the crew."
"You are with the military?" she asked surprised.
"Only since today,"I smirked.
Tali tilted her head questioningly.
"Long story. I'll tell you later."
We said goodbye to Dr. Michel and Barla Von and were just about to leave the clinic, when the doors opened and revealed three armed thugs. All of us stood still for a moment. Then the thug in the middle pulled out his pistol and the other two followed his lead.
"Hands in the air!" he yelled. "Get back, both of you, or I shoot your fucking heads off!"
What can I say? We did as we were told. He made a very good argument.
"You, Quarian! Give us the recording!" the middle thug demanded. Apparently he was the leader of their merry band.
My thoughts were racing. Those guys had to be Fist's thugs. This implied that, if Shepard attacked Fist, he would probably try to buy his life by telling her about the thugs he sent here. And if he did, Shepard would most likely try to get here in time to save us. But why would she attack Fist? She didn't know he had betrayed the Shadowbroker to work for Saren now. Barla Von hadn't told her yet.
Tali hesitatingly started to fiddle around with her Omni-tool. I stopped her. We had to play for time, until we found a way to solve this situation. Or until the solution found us. She probably hadn't planned to just give them the recording, but I had an idea. "Don't. They'll shoot you."
The Leader turned to me, his face contorted in a scowl. "What are you? Some wise guy?"
He came close to me and waved his gun in my face. "Shut up or I shoot you."
Right. You aren't the brightest bulb in the box, are you?
I threw a quick measuring glance at his companions. Both of them seemed unsteady and nervous, looking at each other constantly. If I could rattle them a bit more, I might be able to get control of the situation. That would give Tali the opportunity to work her tech magic. I would have to get rid of the leader first, though. He was too trigger happy. If I tried anything, no matter what, he'd shoot without hesitation.
But he was still waving his gun in my face. Directly in my face.
My heart pounded against my chest so fast, I could hear my blood flow through my ears. This was it. I had to go all in.
I smiled arrogantly, trying to distract the three thugs. "Do you know what mistake most people make when using firearms?"
Confusion showed on the leader's face. "What the fuck are you babbling about?"
He never heard my answer to his question.
In one swift movement I grabbed his weapon hand, twisted it and pulled him towards me. With my free arm I used a lever hold at his elbow and pushed. He screamed, as the arm broke, and dropped the gun. I could have taken it from him at that moment, but I had something else in mind.
Ignoring the pistol, I punched him in his windpipe with a right hook, as hard as I could. He jerked and toppled over backwards. He tried to get back up, but collapsed and fell silent.
Eat that, sucker.
Breathing heavily, I kicked away his gun and drew my own. Facing the other two thugs -Lefty and Righty - I found that they were aiming at me, shakily and with fear in their eyes.
It probably would have been the smart thing to stop then, but the bluff I had in mind could actually work. And with all the adrenalin pumping through my veins, I didn't feel like making the smart choice. Besides, I still had to keep their attention on me.
"Oh no, no. This won't work, chummers. This won't work at all." I called out to them, waving my gun around trying to appear confident. At the same time I casually took a step away from Tali, gradually removing her from their lines of sight.
They looked at each other, unable to comprehend what I was saying. "I'm talking about the way you are doing this. Your grip on your pistols is totally screwed. If you fire like that, you're gonna bust your elbows."
They readjusted their grip and balance and tried to suppress their shaking.
I nodded, satisfied. "That's better. Now think about how you want to do this. Your friend -", I looked down on the unconscious man at my feet and kicked him in the temple, just to be sure, " - was obviously doing it wrong."
Meanwhile Tali had caught onto my plan and hid her left arm – the one with the Omni-tool – behind her body. I imagined she was working up an electrical storm that would knock both of them out. Granted, that was highly unlikely, but maybe she was readying an overload or a sabotage. Those could still have a similar effect. They would at least take out their weapons and in a dogfight, I was confident in my abilities.
"G- give us the recording!" Righty stammered.
I smiled at him forgivingly. "Give us the recording, please."
Not waiting for a reaction, I closed the distance between us in an attempt to undermine the last remnants of their confidence, at the same time focusing their concentration on me.
"You see, we would like to give it to you, but just a moment before you came in, we hid it." Dr. Michel looked at me astonishedly, but I ignored her. There was no way back, I had to go through with this.
"We hid it in a safe place. And if we don't pick it up within twenty minutes it is going to be released to the extranet." I paused dramatically. "From there it will be directly sent to several information dealers."
"You're lying! Stop lying and give us the recording!" Lefty yelled.
I ignored him At the moment, I had control over the situation. I couldn't afford to lose it. Still, slowly but steadily things got riskier.
Come on, Tali, hurry it up!, I silently urged Tali on.
"I fear I am not. You will have to have us lead you to the hiding place. Oh and I would advise you to hurry,"I smirked.
"Why's that?" Righty asked carefully. I assumed he wasn't one of the brightest ones either.
I shrugged. " As I said, if we don't pick up the recording within twenty minutes, it's going to enter the extranet, and from there be sent to information dealers. Your boss wouldn't like that, now, would he?"
They looked at each other again, not knowing what to make of my story. But for now they weren't shooting me and that was all that mattered. After all, I was only stalling for time, until Tali got ready whatever she was readying or Shepard got here. If she got here.
You have to get here, Shepard, and fast. I won't be able to keep control of the situation much longer...
"You're lying! You have to be! Stop lying and give us the recording!" Lefty yelled again, more forceful this time.
I raised my brows contemptuously. "You are repeating yourself, chummer. I heard you the first time."
He scowled and was about to say something else, but Tali beat him to the punch. "You want me to give you the recording? How about this, Bosh'tet!" she yelled and made a waving motion with her left arm. From the tip of her fingers – or rather from the tip of her Omni-tool – a bolt broke free, powerfully hitting them and their weapons. Screaming, Righty and Lefty let their weapons drop and collapsed in pain. As soon as they stopped jerking, I ran to them and checked if they were still conscious. Lefty was, so I hit him a few times. He didn't move again.
"Wiz, Tali! I was starting to think I'd have to keep them busy until they died of old age." I grinned broadly and got up off my knees.
"I had to charge the overload first," she apologized, seemingly taking my joke serious.
"That was a joke. I knew that,"I said, "Or I figured it."
"Oh. Sorry."
I shrugged. "Anyway, honestly, nice work."
At that moment the door behind them silently slid open and Shepard marched through, in full battle armor and with weapon drawn. Ashley, Kaidan, Garrus and Wrex followed suit.
"Hey Shepard!", I called out to her "You're late! The party's already terminated." I had to snicker at my own pun. Terminated. I had just reached a new level of shallowness.
Recognizing me, Shepard's eyes widened in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
I grinned stupidly. "Protecting wounded Quarians, playing with the brains of weak-minded thugs and generally enjoying myself."
Ashley looked at me skeptically. "You what?"
Maybe it was the high from having survived my reckless bluff or maybe it was the faces all of them were making as they noticed the three unconscious and badly beaten thugs. Whatever it was, it was too much. I burst out laughing.
"I think he wants to say he helped me get to the clinic and take care of those thugs you see lying around." Tali put in, trying to be helpful.
"Just what exactly happened here?" Garrus asked in amazement.
I tried to calm myself down and explain the situation but Tali had to help out a lot, since I couldn't get rid of my laughing fit. When it finally passed I asked how she had known we were in trouble.
"Fist told me.", Wrex said, "He tried to beg for his life, when I cornered him in his office. Didn't work though."
Shepard grimaced. "We tried to stop him from killing Fist. There are rumors of him working for Saren. But we were too late."
"Don't say that like it's a bad thing," grunted Wrex. "He didn't deserve any better. And besides, I was payed to kill him. I don't leave contracts unfulfilled."
Shepard sighed audibly. "I told you already, Wrex. We could have used his knowledge."
"And that's why I told you about the Quarian." He nodded his head grimly into Tali's direction. "She's right there. Talk to her."
Apparently Shepard knew there was no way to reason with Wrex on this matter. "Garrus, Check up with C-Sec. Tell them what happened here. And make sure there aren't any other thugs moving around."
"Yes, Commander," Garrus answered. He took a few steps away from us, where he started talking into a communicator on his arm.
Shepard turned to Tali, noticing her bandage. "Are you alright? That wound looks bad."
"Thanks. I know how to look after myself. The wound isn't too bad. Thanks to your friend I got here in time."
Her friend? I have a name Tali... Then I realized I hadn't introduced myself yet. "Oh. Right," I said out loud.
Kaidan looked at me. "What, oh right?"
I shook my head, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. "Not important."
He shrugged and turned his attention back to Shepard.
"My name's Shepard. I'm looking for evidence to prove Saren's a traitor. Wrex told us you had information about him. Is that true?"
"It is. I'll give it to you, but not here. We need to go somewhere safe," Tali answered, visibly relieved to finally meet someone who listened to her and was able to make use of her recording.
"For now we should be safe here, but we could take her to the human embassy. Your ambassador will want to see this anyway. We'll just have to wait until C-Sec gets here to pick up those goons."
"Good idea. We'll go there as soon as C-Sec arrives."
Having decided that, they tied up Leader, Lefty and Righty. Just as they finished, two C-Sec officers arrived and took our three friends into custody. A few minutes later we were all heading to the human embassy where we would get to meet Humanity's wonderful ambassador, Donnell Udina. I was getting sick already, but seeing as he was the only one who could get Shepard a second hearing with the council, I supposed there was no other way.
When we arrived in front of the embassies, I got my first real look at the presidium – I had to say, it was magnificent.
If one was a friend of sterile order. And fishless lakes.
But other than that, it really was something to look at. It was hard to believe that all of that was nothing more than a sophisticated trap put up by the Reapers.
Anyway, we entered the embassy where we were instantly greeted by Udina's scrunchy, constantly scowling 'You-are-all-such-a-bother-to-me' face. "You're not making my life easy, Shepard. Firefights in the wards? An all out assault on Chora's Den? Do you know how many-" He stopped his rant and threw an odd look at Tali. "Who's this. A Quarian? What are you up to, Shepard?"
"Making your day, Ambassador. She has information linking Saren to the Geth."
Ha! Take that, Donna. I smirked inwardly.
Udina looked at Tali sceptically. "Really? Maybe you better start at the beginning, Miss...?" He slightly nodded his head, asking for her name.
"My name is Tali. Tali'Zorah nar Raya."
"We don't see many Quarians here. Why did you leave the flotilla?"
"I was on my pilgrimage, my rite of passage into adulthood," Tali explained, shifting her weight and facing all of us. "During my travels I began hearing reports of Geth activity. I was curious." she shrugged slightly.
"I tracked a suspicious transmission to an uncharted planet. On it we found a patrol of Geth. I waited for one to become separated from its unit. Then I disabled it and removed its memory core."
Anderson frowned. "I thought the Geth fried their memory cores when they died. Some kind of defense mechanism."
"Yes, that's what I thought, as well.", Shepard agreed. "How did you manage to preserve the memory core?"
"My people created the Geth," Tali reasoned, "If you're quick, careful, and lucky small caches of data can sometimes be saved. Most of the core was wiped clean. But I salvaged something from its audio banks." She activated her Omni-tool and punched in some commands.
"Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to the Conduit." issued Saren's voice from her Omni-tool.
"That's Saren's voice. This proves he was involved in the attack!" Anderson exclaimed triumphantly.
"He said Eden Prime brought him one step closer to finding the Conduit. Any idea what that means?" Shepard wondered.
"The Conduit must have something to do with the beacon. Maybe it's some kind of Prothean technology... like a weapon," Captain Anderson pondered.
"Wait... there's more," Tali chipped in. "Saren wasn't working alone."
She played the recording again.
"Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to the Conduit."
"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers." This time Benezia's voice was audible as well.
Udina scratched his chin pensively. "I don't recognize that other voice. The one talking about Reapers."
"I feel like I've heard that name before...", Shepard mused.
"According to the Geth the Reapers were a hyper advanced machine race that existed 50,000 years ago," Tali explained, "The Reapers hunted the Protheans to total extinction, and then they vanished. At least, that's what the Geth believe."
Udina crossed his arms doubtfully. "Sounds a little far fetched."
"The vision on Eden Prime... I understand it now. I saw the Protheans being wiped out by the Reapers," Shepard realized.
Yep, that's exactly what happened. But nobody's gonna believe you yet. That is going to take an all out invasion. I grimaced.
"The Geth revere the Reapers as gods, the pinnacle of non-organic life. And they believe Saren knows how to bring them back," Tali elaborated.
"The council is just going to love this," Udina sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"The Reapers are a threat to every species in Citadel space. We have to tell them," Shepard said forcefully.
"No matter what they think about the rest of this, those audio files prove Saren's a traitor," Anderson asserted.
The ambassador agreed with him. "The captain's right. We need to present this to the council right away. I'll go and prepare a meeting. Meet me in the Citadel Tower." Not waiting for an answer he hurried out of the embassy.
"What about her? The Quarian?" Wrex nodded in Tali's direction, as Udina left.
"My name, is Tali!" Tali chided energetically. To Shepard she said, "Your friend saw me fighting. He knows what I can do. I can handle myself in a fight. Let me come with you."
Again I was reminded that I hadn't introduced me yet. I'd have to remedy that as soon as possible. "She's good, Shepard. Damn good. Especially with tech," I supported her. Seriously. In this whole galaxy there were probably only a handful of people able to keep up with her when it came to electronics and engineering. And that shotgun of hers was wickedly evil.
Shepard looked at me, then back at Tali. " I thought you were on your pilgrimage. Wouldn't this interfere with that?"
Tali vehemently shook her head. "The pilgrimage proves we are willing to give of ourselves for the greater good. What does it say about me if I turn my back on this? Saren is a danger to the entire galaxy. My pilgrimage can wait."
"Well, I'll take all the help I can get." Shepard smiled, satisfied with her answer.
"Thanks. You won't regret this," Tali said, a broad smile detectable in her voice.
Oh, how right you are, Tali. I grinned inwardly. Of course, Shepard probably wasn't going to delve into a romance with Tali, seeing as they were both female and at least Tali had never shown any homosexual tendencies. Or bisexual ones. Although that would definitely be hot. A man could dream, couldn't he?
"There is something else you should know, while we're at it," Anderson cautiously broke in.
Shepard looked at him quizzically. "Yes, Sir?"
"I have recruited Mr. Scades as a special operative on the crew of the Normandy. Dr. Chakwas is going to put him through an experimental gene-therapy not yet used by the Alliance military.", He looked at Ashley, "As the Normandy's gunnery chief you are going to instruct him in the usage of firearms. Lieutenant Alenko, you will be in charge of hand-to-hand drill."
Shepard, Ashley and Kaidan were at a loss for words. For all of 30 seconds.
"What?" Shepard asked.
"Why?" Kaidan wanted to know.
"Special operative?!" Ashley exclaimed.
"This is not up for debate," The captain added.
I didn't know what to say myself. I had expected a training routine, but not this.
Then again, if you thought about it, it seemed logical. He was giving me giving basically me pseudo-N7 status. N7 was the highest grade of qualification one could achieve in the Alliance military. I should have known I wouldn't get off with a bit of gene therapy, a fitness program and a few hours of getting used to my new weapons.
Shepard was the first to recover herself. "Are you sure about this, sir? He's only a civilian."
"Be assured, Commander, I have not made this decision rashly. Mr. Scades and I had a very extensive conversation. Yes, I am sure about this."
Looking at the three of them I felt guilty. I was smashing every piece of regulation there was to tiny, unrecognisable bits and they had to face the music.
"Listen, guys. I know what I'm doing. I'm not just doing this for fun. I want to help. And I will not disappoint you."
"This isn't about you disappointing us," Ashley groaned.
"Wait... then what's your problem?" I frowned. What did she mean, it's not about me disappointing them? If this wasn't about me being unable to keep up with them, then what?
"Our problem is that you are a civilian," Kaidan explained tensely.
What?
"What?"
Shepard sighed. "We know you have what it takes to become a soldier. You showed that on Eden Prime. But you are a civilian. You shouldn't have to risk your life on the front lines. That's our job. You should be at home, living a normal life."
So that's what this is about. I realized Shepards point.
My face darkened. Not because of their concern for my well-being but because I could never live a normal life in this reality. Not without my family. Not without my friends. Not knowing what was going to happen. But I couldn't blame them for that, they didn't know about any of it.
I looked down awkwardly. "My chances for a normal life went down to zero when I arrived on Eden Prime."
Nobody said anything. Tali, Garrus and Wrex probably felt very out of place right now.
...
"Then there's nothing we can do about it, is there?" Tali eventually broke the silence, trying to sound unburdened. Wrex grunted something unidentifiable. It didn't sound nice. Garrus didn't react at all.
The other three looked at each other and finally accepted their orders. Not that they could have done anything about it. But I'd rather have them train me willingly. That way, there would be less danger to my life.
"We are going to work you to death," Ashley started grinning. Shepard and Kaidan joined in.
Or maybe not. I was getting a bad feeling about this. They didn't mean that literally, did they? "I'm looking forward to it", I laughed nervously. The others were amused by my apparent discomfort.
After a minute Shepard got back to more important matters. "We should get going. The sooner we hand the council our proof the sooner we can hunt down Saren." She looked at Tali. "You are hurt, Tali. Get some rest. You can give the recording to me."
"Yes, I'll take you. I wanted to show you the way to the Normandy, anyway. Also, Dr. Chakwas is going to want to start with my gene-treatment," I agreed with her.
Anderson nodded. "She contacted me earlier, all the paperwork is done, she's got the Omni-tool and the batch of the retrovirus. She'll be able to begin as soon as you're back."
Taking note of that, I looked at Tali inquiringly. She had to be exhausted, but it was her decision. If she wanted to be there when her recording was presented to the council, then none of us would deny her that right.
"Alright. I'll transfer the audio file to your Omni-tool, Commander." She decided to come with me and activated her Omni-tool again. Her relief at being able to rest in a safe place had to be vast. It was certainly recognisable in her body language and voice.
"Good. You can take one of the empty officer's quarters. Garrus can take the second bunk in the one Philipp has chosen – I assume you told him too, captain?" Shepard said, looking at Captain Anderson questioningly.
He affirmed her assumption. "I believe it would be best for the Krogan to take his own quarter as well. I assume you want to stay with us?" he asked Wrex.
"It's Urdnot Wrex. Saren complicated my last contract immensely. I'll be damned if I let him go."
Tali finished copying the recording of Saren's and Benezia's voices on Shepard's Omni-tool and we parted in front of the embassies. Tali and I made our way to the Normandy while Shepard and the rest of the team followed Anderson to the Citadel Tower. There Shepard was going to be inaugurated into the ranks of the Citadel Spectres. I would have liked to have borne witness to that moment, but making sure Tali got back to the Normandy safely and starting my training to be able to keep up with the others would have to take priority.