Love, Blood and Tears: Chapter 13

Love, Blood & Tears
Chapter 13:



Shepard left Mordin's lab and headed for the elevator.  She needed to get suited up before they arrived at the Migrant fleet's location to speak to the Admiralty Board.

Jack was headed to the elevator as well.  She caught eyes with Shepard…

Shepard's lips were still puffy and the fact that she was coming from the direction of Mordin's lab…Shepard could see Jack's mind at work.

Jack smirked, "Nice lips…what's your secret?"

"Shut up Jack."

"You didn't waste much time did you?" Jack said with a laugh.

"Please keep your voice down."

Jack proceeded to follow Shepard to the elevator.

"Well?" asked Jack, "you gonna give me the details? We had an agreement."

"Yes I know! We took a shower together and I…well, I caused a situation that I had to take care of."

"Wow Shepard, I'm impressed you were able to fit all of that in…"

"I wasn't."

"So how did you…oh…it was a collaborative effort, eh?"

Shepard blushed, "Yes."

"Nicely done! I assume it was anyways…did he enjoy himself?" Jack laughed. "By the look of your lips that was a stupid question to ask, he obviously did! Oh Garrus…his first encounter of…"

"Thank you Jack! Don't need to hear you explain what happened!"

Jack smiled big, "So what'd you think of all those ridges and grooves, huh? Human men don't stand a chance against a huge ridged turian co…"

"Geez Jack!"

Shepard's face was bright red.  She loved how freely Jack spoke but sometimes the things Jack said were more than she could handle.

Jack let out a hearty laugh, "Okay okay, I'm done. "

"Jack, please don't say anything to Garrus about this. He doesn't know that I had a reaction and I don't want him to find out. "

"My lips are sealed.  Wouldn't want to freak Garrus out and ruin your chances of experiencing sex with a turian!"

"I'm serious Jack.  This isn't a request, it's an order from your Commander."

"Geez Shepard, I get it! Listen, you're the first person ever to play it straight with me and you bring out the best in me.  I'm not going to do anything to mess that up."

"Thank you Jack. I've got to go get suited up for the mission.  You can go with us if you'd like. Tali could use the moral support."

"Sure! I'll go get ready."



*****



The Normandy approached the Migrant fleet and requested permission to dock with the ship called Rayya.

The traffic controller responded, "Our system has your ship flagged as Cerberus. Verify."

Tali spoke, "After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began."

"Permission granted. Welcome home."

"We'd like a security and quarantine team to meet us. Our ship is not clean."

"Understood. Approach exterior docking cradle 17."


***


Shepard and her squad were greeted by Captain Kar'Danna.

Tali rushed up to him, "Captain, do you have any idea what's going on? Why am I being charged with treason?"

"They're charging you with bringing active geth into the Fleet as part of a secret project."

"That's insane! I never brought active geth aboard. I only sent parts and pieces."

Shepard looked a little shocked, "You sent geth materials back to the Migrant Fleet?"

"Yes. My father was working on a project. He needed the materials. I checked everything, I was careful to not send anything that was not permanently inactive."

Captain Kar'Danna spoke, "Technically, I'm under orders to place Tali'Zorah under arrest pending the hearing. So, Tali…you're confined to this ship until this trial is over."

"Thank you, Captain," replied Tali.

"Preparations got underway as soon as you arrived. The hearing is being held in the garden plaza. Good luck."

They made their way to the plaza, stopping along the way to speak with a quarian named Shala'Raan.

"Tali'Zorah vas Normandy," she said, "I am glad you came. I could delay them only so long."

Tali reached out to hug her, "Auntie Raan! Shepard, this is Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay. She's a friend of my father's. Wait…Raan, you called me "vas Normandy."

"I'm afraid I did, Tali. The Admiralty Board moved to have you tried under that name, given your departure from the Neema."

Shepard spoke, "You're an admiral. Does that mean you're one of the judges?"

"I'm afraid not. My history with Tali and her father forced me to recuse myself."

"I imagine Father had to do the same," Tali said.

"You'll see inside, Tali. For my part, I moderate and ensure that the rules of protocol are followed, but I have no vote in the judgment."

"I guess we should get started," said Shepard, "does Tali have a defense counselor, someone who speaks for her side?"

"Indeed she does…Captain Shepard. She is part of your crew, now, recognized by quarian law. An accused is always represented by his or her ship's captain."

Tali looked at Shepard, "So, er…you would actually speak for my defense."

"I'll do everything in my power to help you, Tali."

"Thank you, Shepard. I could not ask for a better counselor."

Shala'Raan spoke, "Our legal rules are simple. There are no legal tricks or political loopholes for you to worry about. Present the truth as best you can. It will have to be enough. Now come, I promised that I would not delay you.


***


They followed Shala'Raan to the panel of judges.  A crowd of quarians followed to stand by and watch the hearing.

Shala took her place above the three judges, "This conclave is brought to order. Blessed are the ancestors who kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season. Keelah se'lai.   The accused, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, has come with her captain to defend herself against the charge of treason.  Shepard vas Normandy, your crew member Tali'Zorah stands accused of treason. Will you speak for her?"

Shepard stepped forward, "If it helps Tali, I will. But in her heart, she remains Tali'Zorah vas Neema, a proud member of the Migrant Fleet. I regret that her captain is forbidden to stand at her side today."

One of the judges, Admiral Koris, spoke out, "Nobody has been forbidden from anything! It is a simple…"

Admiral Gerrel, another judge, interrupted, "Lie to them if you must, Zaal'Koris, but don't lie to me and expect me to stay silent! The human is right!"

"Admirals  please," Shala said, "Shepard's willingness to represent Tali'Zorah in this hearing is appreciated.  Tali, you are accused of bringing active geth to the Migrant Fleet. What say you?"

Shepard responded, "How could Tali have brought geth to the Fleet while serving on the Normandy?"

The third judge, Admiral Xen, spoke, "To clarify, Shepard, Tali isn't accused of bringing back entire units – only parts that could spontaneously reactivate."

Tali replied, "But I would never send active geth to the Fleet! Everything I sent was disabled and harmless."

"Then explain how geth seized the lab ship where your father was working!" yelled Admiral Koris.

Tali was shocked, "What are you talking about? What happened?!"

"As far as we can tell, Tali, the geth have killed everyone on the Alarei…your father included," replied Admiral Gerrel.

"What? Oh, Keelah…"cried Tali.

"I appreciate the need for this trial, Admirals," said Shepard, "but right now our first concern must be the safety of the Migrant Fleet.  The Normandy stands ready to assist in whatever capacity necessary."

"Thank you," replied Shala, "quarian strike teams have attempted to retake the ship, so far without success."

"Shepard," Tali pleaded, "we have to take back the Alarei!"

Admiral Koris spoke up, "The safest course would be to simply destroy the ship. But if you are looking for an honorable death instead of exile…"

"I'm looking for my father, you bosh'tet!" yelled Tali.

"With your permission Admirals, I would like to take a crew on the Alarei."

"Agreed," said Admiral Gerrel. "And if you die on this worthy mission, Tali, we will see that your name is cleared of these charges."

Admiral Koris looked at Gerrel, "We can discuss that later."

Geez, what a prick!

"Then it is decided," said Shala. "You will attempt to retake the Alarei.  You are hereby given leave to depart the Rayya. A shuttle will be waiting at the secondary docking hangar. This hearing will resume upon your return, or upon determination that you have been killed in action.

The meeting was concluded.  Shepard and her crew headed for the docking hangar. The shuttle guard unlocked the shuttle for them and they headed out…


***


They docked with the Alarei and headed in.  They were greeted by the gun blasts of geth troopers as they entered the first room…soon geth hunters entered the room as well.

Here we go…

Between Jack's biotics, Garrus' sniping and Tali's handiness with a shotgun…they were making their way through the geth pretty fast.  They made it through a few more rooms and saw a deactivated geth on a table…

"This is one of the storage units I sent to Father," said Tali. "Looks like parts from a disabled repair drone, plus a reflex algorithm that I didn't recognize. I got this on Haestrom."

"What made a part worth sending to your Father?" asked Shepard.

"It had to be in working order. Something that could be analyzed and integrated into other technology. Anything new had priority; technology the geth had developed themselves, signs of modification, clues to their thinking."

"How did you get these things to your father?" Garrus asked.

"Sometimes I left packages at secure drops in civilized areas. Someone on Pilgrimage would see that it was shipped home. For very valuable finds, I'd signal home, and Father would send a small ship."

"Haestrom was a war zone," said Shepard. "How did you salvage gear in the middle of all that?"

"These suits have more pockets than you'd think. Quarians have learned how to salvage whatever we can whenever we can. We repair what most people would throw away. Hundreds of the ships in our fleet were salvaged wrecks, either found dead in space or purchased for next to nothing."

Tali looked at the geth on the table, "Shepard, I passed up great finds because they might be too dangerous, prone to uncontrolled reactivation or self-repair.  I don't know which possibility is worse: that I got sloppy and sent something dangerous, or that Father actually did all this."

"Let's keep moving, see what else we can find," said Shepard.


***


They fought their way through more geth troopers and hunters before making their way to a back room…there was a wall console…

"This console might have something," said Tali. "Most of the data is corrupted, but a few bits are left."

Tali scanned through the information, "They were performing experiments on geth systems, looking for new ways to overcome geth resistance to reprogramming."

"What kind of tests was your father running?" asked Jack.

"I don't know. Father just told me to send back any geth technology I could find that wasn't a direct danger to the Fleet. I suspected he might be testing weapons, but I thought he was just working on new ways to bypass shields or armor."

"Do you think testing weapons on the geth was right?" scolded Garrus.

"It's not testing weapons on prisoners, Garrus!" snapped Tali. "I only sent Father parts. Even if he assembled them, they wouldn't be sapient. You saw what Saren and Sovereign did with the geth. Any research that gives us an advantage is important."

"We should keep moving," Shepard said.


***


"Jack! Tali! Take the right! Garrus! You're with me…we'll take the left!"

They fought their way down the stairs and took out all the geth in the room below.

The continued on...eventually reaching the body of a dead quarian laying in the middle of their path…

"Father!" yelled Tali and she dropped to her knees. "No, no, no! You always had a plan. Masked life signs, or, or an onboard medical stasis program, maybe. You! You wouldn't…they're wrong! You wouldn't just die like this! You wouldn't leave me to clean up your mess! You can't."

Shepard reached out to touch Tali's shoulder, "Let's finish this...it's what he would have wanted."

"I don't care what he would have wanted! I wanted a father who cared about me more than his war effort. 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."

"Tali, you know that's not true...you know your father loved you. We can leave if this is too much for you…"

"No, someone in this family needs to stop walking away. He had to know I'd come. Maybe he left a message."

Tali checked her father's comm…a hologram of him came up…

"Tali, if you are listening, then I am dead. The geth have gone active. I don't have much time. Their main hub will be on the bridge. You'll need to destroy it to stop their VI process from forming new neural links. Make sure Han'Gerrel and Daro'Xen see the data. They must…"

The transmission ended.

"Thanks, Dad," Tali got up and looked at Shepard," let's finish this!"


***


The next room held a geth prime with hunters backing him...

Of course…

"Let's make this quick!" shouted Shepard. "Jack! Focus on the hunters. Tali! Support Jack. Garrus! Take down that prime's shields...I'll handle the rest."

They took out the geth and made their way to the console in the back of the room.

Tali approached the console, "This system is linked to the main hub Father mentioned. Disabling it shut down any geth we missed. It looks like some of the recordings remained intact. They'll tell us how this happened, what Father did."

"Okay," said Shepard, "let's listen to the recording."

It was Tali's father speaking to a scientist and a reseacher…


Rael'Zorah: Do we have enough parts to bring more online?

Scientist: Yes. The new shipment from your daughter will let us add two more geth to the network.

Researcher: We're nearing a breakthrough on systemic viral attacks. Perhaps we should inform the Admiralty Board, just to be safe.

Rael'Zorah: No. We're too close. I promised to build my daughter a house on the homeworld. I'm not going to sit and wait while the politicians argue.

Scientist: We'd have an easier time of it if Tali'Zorah could send back more working material.

Rael'Zorah: Absolutely not. I don't want Tali exposed to any political blowback. Leave Tali out of this. Assemble new geth with what we have. Bypass security protocols if need be.


The video ended.

Shepard looked at Tali, "Your father wanted to keep his promise to you…he loved you."

"He broke our most sacred laws. Laws that predate our flight from the homeworld! Everything here is his fault. I tried to pretend it didn't point to him, but this…when this comes up in the trial, they'll…we can't tell them, not the admirals, not anyone."

"But Tali…you heard him say he didn't want you to be caught in the politics."

"You don't understand, Shepard. They would strike his name from the manifest of every ship he ever served on. He would be worse than an exile. He'd be a traitor to our people, held up for children as a monster in a cautionary tale! I can't let all the good he did be destroyed for this, Shepard."

"We're not going to decide anything here. Let's see what the admirals say once we get back. Let's move out."



*****



The hearing was already underway then they arrived back on the Rayya.

They heard Shala'Raan speaking as they entered the plaza…

"Very well. Is the Admiralty Board prepared to render judgment?"

The crowd of quarians took notice of Shepard and her crew approaching.

"Sorry we're late," said Tali.

"Wow, you didn't waste much time before declaring us dead," Shepard said.

Admiral Gerrel spoke, "We apologize, Shepard. Your success in taking back the Alarei is…very unexpected.

"But also very welcome," Shala'Raan said.

"Tali'Zorah vas Normandy saved the Alarei," said Shepard. "I hope this proves her loyalty to the quarian people."

"Her loyalty was never in doubt," said Koris, "only her judgment."

"Did you find anything on the Alarei that could clarify what happened there?" asked Admiral Gerrel.

Shepard and Tali looked at one another…Shepard approached the board…

"Shepard...please…" begged Tali.

"Does Captain Shepard have any new evidence to submit to this hearing?" asked Shala.

"Tali helped me defeat Saren and the geth at the Citadel. That should be all the evidence you need.

Koris spoke, "I fail to see what relevance…"

"You're not really interested in Tali, are you?" interrupted Shepard. "This trial isn't about her. It's about the geth."

"This hearing has nothing to do with the geth!" shouted Koris.

"You want people to sympathize with them! Han'Gerrel wants to go to war! None of you care about Tali! She knows more about the geth than any other quarian alive. You should be listening to her, not putting her on trial!"

Garrus, Jack and Tali all looked at Shepard in awe…the passion in her words…

Shepard wasn't finished, "Tali'Zorah saved the Citadel! She saved the Alarei! She showed the galaxy the value of the quarian people. I can't think of stronger evidence than that."

There were whispers throughout the crowd…

Shala spoke, "Are the admirals prepared to render judgment?"

The admirals looked at each other…they brought up their comms and typed in their decisions.

Shala received the results on her console, "Tali'Zorah, in light of your history of service, we do not find sufficient evidence to convict. You are cleared of all charges. Commander Shepard, please accept these gifts in appreciation for you taking the time to represent one of our people.  This hearing is concluded. Go in peace, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. Keelah se'lai."


***


They were making their way back to the Normandy…

"I can't believe you pulled that off," said Tali. "What you said…I've never had anyone speak like that on my behalf. Thank you for being there for my father and me, even when…thank you,"

Shepard grinned, "We can still go back in and get you exiled, if you want."

Tali laughed, "Thanks, but I'm fine with things like this. It's fun watching you shout."

Shepard chuckled, "Come one Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. Let's get back to our ship."



*****



Shepard approached Joker, "Set a course for the Citadel, we need to pick up supplies."

"You got it, Commander."

Shepard talked to the ship's cook to get a list of what he needed, she talked to engineering to see what they could use and she talked to Dr. Chakwas and Mordin to make sure they stocked up on supplies while on the Citadel.

Shepard was tired and figured she would use her free time to take a nap.  It had been a very long day; first Samara's mission, then traveling to the Migrant Fleet,  her encounter with Garrus followed by the allergic reaction…docking at the Citadel that evening would be her last objective of the day.  She wondered if the serum Mordin injected her with had anything to do with why she felt unusually tired.  She didn't have the mental energy to think about it though.  

She entered her quarters and made her way to the bed.  She stripped down to her skivvies and crawled into bed.  She heard the door to her quarters swoosh open…only one other person besides herself had the code…she smiled.

Garrus took a seat on her bed, "Today prove to be too much for you?"

She chuckled, "No, I've just found myself oddly tired today.  Thought I would try to get a nap in before we got to the Citadel."

He caressed her face, "You did a wonderful thing for Tali today…and for Samara.  You're always looking out for all of us. You truly are amazing, Jane.  You spend so much time taking care of everyone else…who's going to take care of you?"

"Are you offering yourself up for the task?"

"I don't see it as a task, Jane.  I want to take care of you."

"That sounds really nice, Garrus.  It's been so long since I've had anyone special in my life. I'm so glad that I have you."

She could barely keep her eyes open…she was so tired and Garrus could see that.

"Do you want me to stay?" he asked her.

She reached for his arm, "That's a silly question."

She pulled at him, leading him to climb into her bed…Garrus stopped her.

"I think it'd be more comfortable for both of us if I took this armor off first," he said with a smile.

"Yes, that'd probably be best."

He took off his armor and got into bed with her…cuddling her into his body.  He was so warm…made her feel so safe…a feeling that had become foreign to her in her current line of work.  

He nuzzled her shoulder, "By the way…Mordin got back to me with my test results."

Shepard tensed, "And?"

"And…I'm moderately allergic to you," he chuckled.

"But, you've had no reaction from kissing me…"

"I wondered that too. Mordin said that the levo-amino acids have to be in a more concentrated form…like…you know.  Just like you could have a sip of my drink and be fine but have an allergic reaction from something with higher concentrated levels…"

Crap…

"How did you find out?"

"You mean besides the panic in your voice as I was leaving your quarters after our shower?"

He did pick up on that…

"Yes, besides that."

"When Mordin was going over my test results, he left his console open…I scanned the notes that were displayed on the screen…he had the case notes open about you."

"Oh, I see…sneaky turian. Well, I'm fine and like I said before…I don't care about having an allergic reaction…I would do it again.  And before you object…I'll have you know I've got Mordin researching the creation of specialized serums; one for you and one for me.  A solution that we can inject prior to contact that will ward off any sort of allergic reaction.  I have faith that Mordin will come up with something. I just hope it's sooner rather than later."

"That's a smart idea, Jane.  I hope he comes up with something.  If you reacted like that with mild allergy levels…then I wonder what would happen to someone with a moderate allergy level."

"So until then…kisses and cuddling it is," she said as she snuggled in closer to his body.

She let out a long soft yawn.

He tightened his hold on her, "Get some rest, Jane. You need it."

He kissed her shoulder and enjoyed the feeling of her tucked into his embrace.

Within minutes, they had both fallen asleep.  The Commander and her loyal turian…enjoying a moment of peace.