Tali's Trial Part 2: Discovery
Nov. 26th, 2010 06:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
paragonsoldierThe chamber is large, compared to the small corridors Shepard's been in so far or to anything on the Normandy. The floor is surfaced with grass, crisscrossed by walkways; there are large planters filled with lush vegetation at the edges of the room; in some places, vines creep up and down the walls.
Directly ahead is a sunken amphitheater full of quarians, a patchwork of environment suits in different colors. At the bottom of the amphitheater is a stage, with a raised dais on top of that, both edged with railings. Three quarians stand on the stage facing the crowd - two males and a female.
"The one on the right is Han'Gerrel vas Neema," Tali whispers to Shepard as they make their way towards the amphitheater. "In the middle is Zaal'Koris. The last one...she's new, I don't recognize her." And, of course, there is Shala'Raan, taking her place on the dais behind and above the other three Admirals.
"I don't see my father," Tali says in a strained whisper as she and Shepard descend the amphitheater steps, the eyes of the crowd intently on them. There's a narrow waist-high table on the very floor of the amphitheater in front of the stage; Shepard guesses that's where she and Tali are supposed to stand.
As Shepard and Tali step up to the table - the courtroom bar, whatever it is - Raan spreads her arms and intones, "This conclave is brought to order. Blessed are the ancestors who kept us alive, sustained us, and and enabled us to reach this season. Keelah se'lai."
"Keelah se'lai, the audience responds in hushed, reverent unison.
Raan places her hands on the railing in front of her and settles her gaze on Tali and Shepard. "The accused, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, has come with her captain to defend herself against the charge of treason."
The Admiral in the middle - the one in an off-white suit with red accents - raises his hand and earns. "Objection! A human has no business at a hearing involving such sensitive military matters!" Of course someone was going to bring that up. At least they can get it out of the way quickly.
"Then you should not have declared Tali crew of the Normandy, Admiral Koris," Raan says matter-of-factly. "By right as Tali's captain, Shepard must stay."
Admiral Koris lowers his hand, chagrined. "Objection withdrawn."
Raan picks up where she left off. "Shepard vas Normandy, your crew member Tali'Zorah stands accused of treason. Will you speak for her?"
Shepard takes a deep breath, places her hands on the narrow table before her as she addresses the Admirals. "If it helps Tali, I will," Shepard answers, using the same tone of voice she uses when making announcements to her crew. "But in her heart, she remains Tali'Zorah vas Neema, a proud member of the Migrant Fleet." She adds, with forceful emphasis not exactly directed at Admiral Koris, "I regret that her captain is forbidden to stand at her side today."
Koris wags a stern finger at Shepard. "Nobody has been forbidden from anything! It is a simple..."
Han'Gerrel, the Admiral in the toffee-colored suit to Koris's left (Shepard's right) pipes up. "Lie to them if you must, Zaal'Koris, but don't lie to me and expect me to stay silent!" he snaps. "The human is right!"
Raan leans over the dais railing like she's getting ready to break up a hair-pulling match between small children. "Admirals, please. Shepard's willingness to represent Tali'Zorah in this hearing is appreciated." She straightens up and steps back. "Tali, you are accused of bringing active geth to the Migrant Fleet. What say you?"
For a second Shepard's not sure she heard that right. The gasps and murmurs from the audience indicate they're just as surprised as Shepard herself is.
"How could Tali have brought geth to the fleet while serving on the Normandy?" Shepard fires back.
The last Admiral, the woman in the dark grey environment suit who Tali didn't recognize, takes it upon herself to straighten out the misunderstanding. "To clarify, Shepard, Tali isn't accused of bringing back entire units - only parts that could spontaneously reactivate."
"But I would never send active geth to the Fleet!" Tali insists, an edge of panic in her voice. "Everything I sent was disabled and harmless!" (The fact that she sent back anything is news to Shepard.)
"Then explain how geth seized the lab ship where your father was working!" Koris demands.
Murmurs and exclamations of shock run through the audience. Shepard feels an icy band contract around her insides - not just because she herself is surprised by the news, but because Raan very obviously isn't. She knew, Shepard realizes, and she didn't tell us before the trial.
"What are you talking about?" Tali asks. "What happened?"
"As for as we can tell, Tali," Gerrel says apologetically, "the geth have killed everyone on the Alarei - your father included."
"What? Oh, keelah..." says Tali, at the same time Shepard thinks Oh, shit...
Shepard's initial shock is swiftly replaced by anger. If geth have taken over a Fleet ship, then what the hell are they playing at here? "I appreciate the need for this trial, Admirals," Shepard lies with forced patience, "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," Raan says, but in a tone that indicates she's not going to take Shepard up on the offer. "Quarian strike teams have attempted to retake the ship, so far without success."
"Shepard," Tali insists, "we have to take back the Alarei!"
"The safest course," Koris says, "would be to simply destroy the ship. But if you are looking for an honorable death instead of exile..."
Tali wheels on Koris, furious. "I'm looking for my father, you bosh'tet!"
Whatever that was, Shepard's translator didn't process it. But judging by the gasps and exclamations from the crowd, it's a pretty nasty insult.
"Order, please!" Raan says firmly. When the crowd quiets down, she addresses Tali and Shepard. "You intend to retake the Alarei from the geth? This proposal is extremely dangerous."
And yet, Raan doesn't seem to be discouraging them from taking that option. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Shepard goes along with it, because what else can she do? "With your permission, Admirals, yes. The good of the Fleet must come first - and Tali needs to find her father."
"Agreed," Gerrel says with a nod. Shepard wonders if he and Raan worked this all out beforehand. "And if you die on this worthy mission, Tali, we will see that your name is cleared of these charges."
"We can discuss that later," Koris growls through gritted teeth.
"Then it is decided," Raan says. "You will attempt to retake the Alarei. You are hereby given leave to depart the Rayya." She indicates one of the exits of the garden plaza. "A shuttle will be waiting at the secondary docking hangar. Be safe, Tali. This hearing will resume upon your return, or upon determination that you have been killed in action."
Shepard nods at Raan, then looks at Tali, at a loss for what to do next. But Tali's answering gaze contains no hints, only desperation. Fortunately members of the quarian audience give Shepard a cue by standing up from their seats, striking up conversations with those around them, or both. Evidently court is adjourned - for now. Shepard cocks her head towards the amphitheater steps by which she and Tali came in, and heads that way herself. Tali, after a last look at the Admirals (now conversing or arguing amongst themselves), follows.
The two reconvene outside the amphitheater, just far enough away not to impede the slow but steady stream of departing quarians. Some are leaving the garden plaza altogether, but many are staying, breaking into little groups and no doubt discussing the trial.
"Thank you for agreeing to take back the Alarei, Shepard," Tali says. She seems calmer now, which comes as a relief to Shepard. "The Admirals sound sure that my father is already dead, but..." She sighs wearily. "I don't know. We won't know anything until we get there."
Shepard must regretfully agree with the Admirals, but she can't bring herself to destroy Tali's fragile hopes, unrealistic though they may be. Not after that whole trial fiasco. "How are you holding up?" she asks sympathetically. "They just threw a lot of fire at you, even before telling you about your father."
"I knew this would be bad," Tali answers, "but I guess you're never really prepared to be charged with treason. And my father..." She looks down and away. "I don't know. He could still be alive. They don't know for certain that he's dead," she adds, both hope and dread in her voice. "I just don't know, Shepard. And I need to find out."
"Is there anyone here you want to talk to before we go?" Shepard asks. It's a suggestion as well as a query; Tali's eager to head for the Alarei, but this is their last chance to obtain the information they need to prepare for the remainder of the trial. Assuming they make it back from the Alarei. If they don't...well, in that case this is Tali's last chance to say her goodbyes.
To Shepard's relief, Tali doesn't reject this course of action. "We can talk with the Admirals," she says, a bit of her usual confidence returning. She looks over her shoulder. "It might help us to see what their viewpoints are. But I doubt we'll change anyone's mind by talking to them privately."
"It's worth a shot," Shepard says. But it's a long shot.
They spot Admiral Shala'Raan first, which is well and good since Shepard wants to ask her why she didn't let Tali know about her father's circumstances before the trial started. Tali beats Shepard to the punch, though, stalking up to Raan with a loud accusation that makes the two women talking to the Admiral quickly decide that they have other places to be. "You set me up, Shala! You told Captain Danna not to say anything. I don't hear that my father may be dead until in the trial?" Tali finishes with a heartbroken, "Why?"
"The Admirals needed to hear the shock in your voice, Tali," Raan says regretfully. "Otherwise, they might not have let you try to retake the Alarei. That is your best chance at recovering evidence that can exonerate you. I'm sorry. We cannot afford sensitivity, Tali."
Shepard has to admit that Raan has a point - but that was a terrible thing to do to someone who calls you Auntie. I know you're trying to help her, Admiral," she says, "But that was over the line."
Raan spreads her hands in protest. "She has nobody else to speak for her, Shepard. I am doing everything in my power," she insists. "That's what her father would have wanted."
"Don't say it like that," Tali interjects. "He could still be alive on that ship."
Raan neither affirms nor dashes Tali's hopes. She only says, "You should get to the Alarei soon. Is there anything else I can tell you?"
Shepard doubts they'll be in time to save Tali's father - but the Alarei may provide what she needs to save Tali. "What kind of evidence will carry weight with the Admirals?" she asks.
"Tali," Raan says gently, "you admitted to sending geth parts to your father for his project."
"Yes. But never anything that could have come back online on its own," Tali insists. "I took every possible precaution!"
Shepard winces inwardly, because she knows that Tali's probably thinking, At least I thought I did. But maybe I didn't...
"Then find records of your shipments and the experiments," Raan advises. "Something that proves you were careful." She continues, sadly, "Something that proves that this is all just a terrible accident that nobody could have foreseen."
"There seemed to be some other arguments going on among the Admirals," Shepard observes.
Raan nods, a little embarrassed. "You caught that. Yes, the geth presence makes this a touchy issue. The Admiralty Board is trying to determine whether to focus on colonial development...or attempt to retake the homeworld."
"You're thinking of war?" Tali asks, shocked. "With the geth?"
Raan shakes her head. "I'm not, Tali. But others are."
"I know the Migrant Fleet is formidable," Shepard says, "but even you can't take on the geth."
Raan begins pacing back and forth, agitated, and Shepard realizes she's gone over this ground many times before. "We grow tired of wandering the stars, Shepard. We want our world back." Raan stops to look around the plaza, the closest thing the Fleet has to a natural environment. "We have paid enough for our mistake. I'm not giving you my opinion." She shoots Shepard a look over her shoulder. "I'm telling you which way the wind is blowing."
That makes Shepard uneasy, but she puts it aside - she has another problem at hand. "What can you tell us about the Alarei?"
Raan shrugs. "Not much, I'm afraid. Rael'Zorah only said that he was researching new defense technology."
"He told me only that he needed any geth parts or pieces that I found," Tali says, shifting restlessly. "I assumed he was testing weapons on geth components."
"We knew nothing until the Alarei sent a distress signal, then went dead," Raan explains. "We didn't even know about the geth until a boarding team was attacked."
Oh, great. "You're saying there's no data about the inside of the ship," Shepard says, just to confirm that things are at least as bad as she thinks they are.
"That's exactly what I am saying," Raan answers gravely. "The marines who survived and escaped saw bodies in the halls. We must assume the worst."
"No," Tali insists. "We don't."
Raan obviously can't give them any further help - and Shepard doesn't want this conversation to turn into an argument, which it almost certainly will if given the chance. "We should move on," she says to Tali. Tali nods grudgingly in response.
"Good luck on the Alarei," Raan says, in a tone that suggests she doubts there's any good luck to be had.
They're searching the garden plaza for the next Admiral when they see a familiar face. Well, environment suit.
"Kal'Reegar!" Tali calls out to him, displaying the first good cheer Shepard's seen from her since she recieved her summons from the Admiralty Board. Reegar looks up at the sound of Tali's voice and waves to her; they meet in the approximate center of a square of grass not much larger than the Normandy's CIC.
"Shepard. Tali'Zorah," Reegar greets each of them in turn. "Good to see you both. Wish it were under better circumstances."
"What did they get from our readings?" Tali asks, and Shepard experiences a moment of confusion before she remembers Haestrom.
"Damndest thing. It's just like they said," Reegar answers. "No way the sun on Haestrom should have been acting that way."
"So that dark energy theory is right?" Tali asks hesitantly. "That's troubling."
Reegar shifts uneasily. "Can't really comment on that, ma'am." He shrugs. "I just shoot things."
"How've you been, Reegar?" Shepard asks. In spite of the circumstances, she can't help but be glad to see him again. "You took kind of a beating on Haestrom."
"Physical damage wasn't bad," Reegar says nonchalantly. "I was down for about a week with infection, though. Figure I got off easy." He adds, cheekily, "I don't have to face those Admirals."
"With your immune systems, it couldn't be easy for quarians to fight a war," Shepard says. "You'd lose more people to infection than injury."
"We can't afford a front-line attack, that's for sure," Reegar admits grudgingly. "Have to fight smart - ideally from orbit."
"We do have stockpiles of antibiotics," Tali interjects, amused at Shepard's concern. "It's not as though everyone would die from a single shot."
"No," Reegar tells her, "Shepard's right. You've only seen our strike ops, Tali. Don't have all the fancy equipment in a front-line fight. Supplies get strained, things get ugly fast."
Shepard doesn't know for sure if this statement will touch off a dispute between Reegar and Tali, but just in case, she tries to get the conversation on a different track. "You said that your mission had something to do with dark energy?"
Reegar nods. "Right. Remember Dholen, Haestrom's sun? Shorted out everything, way too much radiation? The sun's getting old...only it's not. Dark energy. It's reducing the mass of the star's interior. Techs are worried."
"What does that dark energy buildup mean?" Shepard asks. "Is it something we should worry about?" That second question is more rhetorical than anything else.
"Sorry, Shepard," Reegar says. "I don't know what it means. Just that it has the scientists worried."
"Hopefully it's isolated," Tali says, "some rare phenomenon. If dark energy can destabilize solar material..." She trails off. There's no need to spell out the implications. "Probably not something to worry about now, but resources in this galaxy are scarce enough without stars suddenly going dead."
"Some days I think flying around in the Fleet without a planet of our own is the right idea," Reegar says philosophically.
"Do you think the geth are responsible for what's happening to Haestrom's sun?" Shepard asks. After all, they control the Dholen system.
"Keelah, I hope not," Reegar says. "If they can screw up a star, our chances in a war are even worse than I thought."
"I don't think this is the geth," Tali says. "It would take massive time and resources to affect a star like this deliberately. It's too inefficient to be a weapon, and and even the geth wouldn't destroy a useful star system. Besides, they didn't show up until we did." All good points. The geth may be murderous, but from what Shepard's seen they tend to be practical.
"Huh," Reegar says, taking a second or two to think it over. "Hope you're right, ma'am." He shakes his head and mutters. "Synthetic bastards are bad enough as it is."
"What are you doing aboard the Rayya? Not that we aren't glad to see you," Shepard says. "It sounds like you gave your report to the Admiralty already."
"I, uh, stayed to argue the charges against Tali'Zorah." Much to Shepard's surprise, Reegar sounds almost...embarrassed. He collects himself quickly. "I've served with her, and she deserves better than what she's getting."
"Thanks, Kal," Tali says, sounding almost as embarrassed as Reegar did.
Shepard from Reegar to Tali and back - an action that neither quarian seems to notice - and suspects that Reegar's willingness to sacrifice his life for Tali back on Haestrom may have been motivated by something more than a good soldier's dedication to his mission.
Reegar offers a surprisingly gentlemanly bow. "Just stating the facts, ma'am."
"Have you had any luck talking to the Admiralty Board?" Shepard asks.
Reegar answers as if he's giving her an after-action report. "Admiral Raan asked my opinion about the geth, since I'd fought on Haestrom. She and Admiral Gerrel were hoping you'd kill a bunch of geth to get the crowd on your side, then find evidence to clear your name." Shepard had already guessed as much about Raan, but not that Han'Gerrel was in on the scheme. "They were hesitant, but, well, you didn't have any other options, ma'am. I recommended getting you onto the Alarei. I hope you can handle it."
"You did the right thing," Tali says. "Thank you."
Shepard spots Gerrel a few meters away; given what Reegar just said, she thinks it might be a good idea to talk to him. "We should get going," Shepard says, cocking her head in Gerrel's direction. Tali picks up on it and nods in agreement.
"Good luck on the Alarei," Reegar says somberly. "Stay safe out there."
Up close, Admiral Han'Gerrel reminds Shepard of some of the better senior officers of her acquaintance; he's average-sized, as quarian men go, but gives the impression of being the biggest guy in the room.
"Tali!" he says cheerfully as she and Shepard approach. "I'm glad Admiral Raan got you leave to hit the Alarei. Hopefully you'll find something that clears your name." Shepard can't help but notice that Gerrel is making it look like that was all Raan's idea. Although for all Shepard knows, Raan insisted on taking the blame.
"I'm more concerned with finding my father, Admiral," Tali says apologetically.
"I wish you luck," Gerrel says. Then, more jovially, "Blow up some geth on the way. And you're Captain Shepard?" He greets her with a slight but unmistakable respectful bow. "Admiral Han'Gerrel vas Neema. To be honest, I was afraid a human would be too meek and humble." Which strikes Shepard as odd, considering the reputation humanity enjoys (or not) with most other sentient species in the galaxy. "Watching you rail away at Admiral Koris, though...Tali's in good hands."
"I get the sense you're inclined to believe the defense," Shepard says. "I'm glad one of the judges is."
Gerrel turns to Tali. "If you were only giving Rael inactive equipment for weapons tests, I've got no problem. We need to test weapons against geth material."
Shepard is reminded of what Raan said: I'm not giving you my opinion. I'm telling you which way the wind is blowing.
"I know you and your father," Gerrel continues. "You've put too much of yourselves into this fleet to do anything to jeopardize our safety." With a note of frustration: "And you're both smart enough not to make mistakes like the ones they're saying you made."
Shepard decides not to tell him that while she can vouch for Tali on that front, she's not so sure about Rael'Zorah. "Can you tell me anything about the Alarei?" she asks.
Much to her disappointment, Gerrel shakes his head. "Nothing good. We sent some of our best marines into that hellhole. Damn few made it back. Whatever Rael was doing, it blew up in his face. The ship is crawling with geth." And then he says what Shepard's been thinking: "Don't go in expecting survivors."
Tali doesn't want to hear it. "Admiral! My father - your friend - is on that ship!"
"I know that, Tali." Gerrel sounds like he's barely got enough energy for frustration. "But if Shala hadn't suggested you might volunteer, we'd already have destroyed the Alarei. That's where we stand."
Shepard's been there. Gerrel is not quite in mourning yet, but he knows he soon will be. "You and Tali's father go back a long ways?"
"We served together on the gunship Yaska during a bad batarian raid," Gerrel says. Shepard pegs it for the beginning of an oft-repeated war story right away (she's heard her fair share of them, and then some). "We were kids, serving pre-Pilgrimage as trainees. A crew of ten, and six were dead. Kinetic barriers were down. Rael and I were alone on the bridge, and the batarians had drawn off a tramp freighter."
"Did you save the freighter?" Shepard asks.
Gerrel holds up a hand: hold on, I'm getting to that. "Our ship was under orders to hold position. But Rael looked at me and said, 'We're underage. They can't charge us for breaking formation.'" Since Shepard's wearing a breather mask, Gerrel can't see the smile that got out of her. "He took the helm, I took weapons, and we brought that freighter back," he says proudly. "The crew called us heroes. The brass called us idiots. They slapped medals on our suits, then kicked us off to Pilgrimage a bit earlier than usual." Gerrel chuckles. "That's Rael for you."
"Can you tell me about the other Admirals? Anything that might help me change their minds about Tali?"
"The one you didn't recognize, Tali, is Admiral Xen. She's on the fence. She takes Fleet safety very seriously," Gerrel says. "On the other hand, she's always been in favor of studying the geth. I hope she sees the benefits of Rael's research. Admiral Koris -" Gerrel speaks his name with obvious contempt - "is the same whining suit-wetter he always was.
"You disagree with Admiral Koris' policies, I'm guessing?" Shepard asks. "Or is it personal?"
Gerrel instantly bristles, which strongly suggests the latter. "The man is a damn geth apologist." He takes a deep breath and explains, more matter-of-factly, "Thinks we were wrong to try to destroy them centuries ago. He wants us to search for new colony possibilities instead of taking back the homeworld. Any research on the geth makes him angry. You don't have much of a chance with him, I'm afraid."
No wonder Koris seemed to have it in for Tali. "It sounds like we're dealing with more politics than just Tali bringing back equipment," Shepard observes.
Gerrel's bitter chuckle is not encouraging. "You noticed that, did you? Tali's father wasn't just running weapons tests on the geth for fun. He was looking for something to give us an edge when we attack the geth in full-scale war."
Apparently Rael kept a lot of things from his daughter, because Tali seems surprised. "I know Father wanted to retake the homeworld someday, but are we that close?"
"I don't know, kid," Gerrel admits. "We almost had the votes. We just need to give people hope for victory."
Shepard wonders if Gerrel has ever fought the geth himself. Having done so on many occasions, she could never muster his apparent eagerness for an all-out war with the synthetics. "I hope the quarian people find someplace to live, Admiral, but it sounds like you're playing with fire."
"We're too comfortable now, Shepard," Gerrel insists. "We've got the largest fleet in the galaxy, and we just ride around doing nothing."
Shepard almost says boredom is never a good reason to start a war, but fortunately, Tali says something less inflammatory and more rational. "We might need that fleet to help fight the Reapers, Admiral."
Gerrel's got a counter-argument for this, too. "Then we need a world to shelter our noncombatants while we do it."
Shepard thinks she should step away from Gerrel before she breaks down and says or does something very foolish. "Thanks for the information," she says, staying polite in spite of herself.
"Hang in there, kid," Gerrel says to Tali.
"Thank you, Admiral," Tali says quietly.
"Shepard! How did you get onto the Rayya?"
Shepard turns around and finds herself face-to-face with a very fidgety male quarian. It takes her a moment to recognize Veetor, from Freedom's Progress. He doesn't seem quite so shell-shocked now as he was then, but it's quite obvious that he still doesn't have it all together. There's a female quarian in a maroon environment suit with him - Shepard suspects she's some kind of minder or caretaker.
"Shepard is here to help me with my trial," Tali explains.
"Oh, yes. I heard about that," Veetor says. It seems he wasn't present for the actual proceedings. "I hope you didn't really do what they said you did."
Tali takes Veetor's extreme awkwardness in stride as she shakes her head. "No, Veetor. I would never endanger the Fleet."
Veetor shifts from foot to foot, embarrassed. "Oh. Well, good. So, can I help you with anything? I mean, probably not but - you helped me."
"Tali could use some friends right now," Shepard says gently. "Would you be willing to tell the admirals how she helped you?"
"No! I mean, yes, but I already did!" Veetor clarifies. "They came to see me. I didn't want to talk in a crowd."
The woman in the maroon environment suit - who until now has been hovering silently at the fringes of the conversation - speaks up in a placid voice. "Veetor is doing well, but he isn't ready for a public speech just yet."
Veetor bounces in place - obviously from anxiety, although Shepard can't tell whether it's the good or bad kind. "I talked to them. So did that soldier, Kal'Reegar. We both told them about how you helped us. I hope it helped."
"I'm sure it did, Veetor," Tali says soothingly. "Thank you."
"Take care of yourself, Veetor," Shepard says.
"Thank you, Commander," Veetor responds, and then says something that helps brighten up Shepard's day a little bit. "It's only because of your help that I've come this far."
They find Admiral Koris in a relatively secluded corner of the plaza, having a quiet but intense conversation with two other quarians. He has his back to Tali and Shepard, but his companions look up when the two approach, prompting Koris to turn and see what's gotten their attention.
Shepard would have expected Koris to be a little flustered upon spotting the two of them, but if he is, he doesn't show it. "Judging by your ability to play a crowd, human, I have done Tali a favor by stripping 'vas Neema' from her name," he says sourly. Shepard will take that as a compliment.
Tali doesn't rise to the bait. "Commander Shepard, this is Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib." She leans in and adds quietly, between clenched teeth, "Do not ask about the name."
Koris, if he notices this aside, chooses to ignore it. He draws himself up haughtily. "I take no pleasure in this, Tali, truly. But you have gravely endangered and dishonored our fleet."
In other words, it's nothing personal. Or so Koris claims. "What exactly is your problem with my crew member, Admiral?" Shepard asks bluntly.
The answer isn't what she expected. "I respect Tali immensely. Her actions against Saren are to be lauded." Koris looks away. "But like her father, she wants nothing but the destruction of the geth...the people we created. The people we wronged."
"The geth drove us from our homeworld!" Tali snaps.
"Of course they did," Koris says sadly. "We tried to kill them."
"You and the other admirals appear to have some disagreements beyond Tali's trial," Shepard observes.
Koris nods. "You are correct. Tali, I apologize for it being brought into your proceedings." He seems sincere, much to Shepard surprise. "The other Admirals are pushing for war. Rael'Zorah was researching new weapons to use against the geth." Forcefully, he adds, "They would see our fleet destroyed in the skies over our homeworld rather than find a new colony and adapt."
Shepard finds herself (grudgingly) agreeing with Koris, at least a bit. "Can the quarians coexist with the geth after all your history?"
"I don't know," Koris says gravely. "We all deserve to find out. They're our children, Shepard. We have all done horrible things to each other, but it has to end. For both groups." His voice turns cold and steely. "That is why I cannot sanction whatever experiments you helped enable, Tali'Zorah. I believe this message needs to be sent."
"I understand, Admiral," Tali says quietly. "I do not agree with you, but I understand."
"Can you tell me anything about the Alarei?" Shepard asks.
Any hope of continued civility dies with that question. "Only that you should have let us destroy it," Koris answers irritably. "When we find the evidence of what Tali and her father did there, any hope of convincing the other admirals will die."
"I did not bring active geth to the Alarei, Admiral!" Tali says angrily. "I know how dangerous that would be! I only brought pieces!"
"The captured ship, with its crew slaughtered by living beings in pain, belies your argument," Koris points out.
Shepard, afraid that Tali is going to attack Koris right here in public, touches her arm gently. "We should move on."
"Goodbye, Tali'Zorah," Koris says, cooling down somewhat. "Be well."
"I'm surprised to hear you say that," Tali says.
"I don't hate you, Tali," Koris says regretfully. "I just think your father's plans for war were wrong."
Shepard and Tali find the last admiral - the one Gerrel identified as Admiral Xen - off by herself, surveying the rest of the plaza. She doesn't turn to fact them when they approach. "Tali'Zorah," Xen says dryly. "Given the circumstances, are you certain that speaking to me is appropriate?"
Tali stays polite. Relatively speaking. "I'm looking for information about the Alarei. I don't intend to bribe you in the middle of the plaza, Admiral."
Xen appears to relax, and finally turns to face Shepard. "A pleasure to meet you, Commander Shepard. We owe you a debt of gratitude for your actions against the Geth."
"Tali was with me," Shepard points out. "Saren and the geth would have destroyed us all without her help."
"Your political machinations are transparent, Commander," Xen says with cynical amusement. "They are also unnecessary." She turns to Tali. "If you and your father were actually experimenting on geth subjects, then you are simply idiots. No reason to waste resources on a trial. If not, then this was a tragic accident in pursuit of a higher cause. Again, no trial is needed to determine that."
Admiral Xen seems like a real piece of work. "If you're not interested in this trial, then why not recuse yourself?" Shepard asks.
Xen scoffs. "And let that aging warship Han'Gerrel and the cowardly Zaal'Koris be the ones to chart this course? I think not. The broader purpose underlying the trial is too important. Tali'Zorah is only peripherally related. No offense intended," she adds for Tali's benefit.
"And what is the true purpose of this trial, Admiral?" Tali asks. Shepard thinks she's figured it out already.
Xen speaks slowly, as if stating the patently obvious: "To determine whether quarians should fear their past mistakes, or reclaim their glory using our natural affinity for artificial intelligence."
"So the only reason you care about this is because Rael might have learned something valuable from the geth?" Shepard asks.
"Indeed." Xen sounds...disturbingly excited. "If he has, then even in this accident, we may find something worthwhile."
"You want to create new AIs?" Tali asks incredulously.
"No, Tali'Zorah," Xen replies with strong undertones of are you some kind of idiot? "I wish to return the geth to the control of their rightful masters, the quarian race."
"You're insane," Tali says quietly.
"It sounds like your ideas about synthetics are in the minority," Shepard says.
Xen brushes off any implied insult in Tali and Shepard's words. "Yes, at least on the Admiralty Board. Han'Gerrel sees an enemy that must be crushed. Zaal'Koris would run away and hide on some new colony world. Shala'Raan is still undecided." Xen turns thoughtful. "I had thought Rael to be firmly in Han's camp, but if his experiments were on active geth...perhaps we have ideas in common."
Shepard feels an urge to be sick. Fortunately, she's used to suppressing such urges. "If we don't find Rael alive on the Alarei, what do you think will happen?"
"The power balance will be disrupted," Xen says matter-of-factly. "Han loses a vote for his foolish and self-destructive war. That would favor peace, then, as Shala'Raan is too careful to risk her own neck. But, if the admiral replacing Rael agrees with me..." Shepard imagines Xen grinning behind her mask. "things could become very exciting."
"You support experiments on living creatures?" Shepard asks. The geth may be synthetics, and Shepard may regard them as bitter enemies, but they're sentient and shouldn't be treated like lab rats.
Xen is dismissive. "Rael should have felt no more guilt experimenting on geth than I did while performing surgery on a childhood toy."
Tali sounds as disturbed as Shepard feels. "The fact that you performed surgery on your childhood toys explains a great deal, Admiral."
"A ship travels faster than I can," Xen says. "With the right programming, it can choose locations, even defend itself when attacked. But it is just a machine. It was built for the sole purpose of serving its master." She crosses her arms. "And it can be dismantled whenever its master desires."
This conversation is going nowhere. Shepard wants to get it over with. "Can you tell me anything about the Alarei?"
"Little," Xen responds, suddenly very businesslike. "We detected several communication signatures before the geth jammed the comm systems. Given the likely networked intelligence requirements for taking over a ship, expect between ten and fifty units."
"Then this can't have anything to do with me," Tali says thoughtfully. "I only sent parts and pieces, and certainly not enough to make that many geth."
"Thank you for the information," Shepard says. With regards to intel, at least, Xen was a lot more helpful than anyone else they've spoken to.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Commander," Xen says, not even trying to fake sincerity.
Shepard turns around and tries not to run the hell away from Xen. She's scarier than some of the people at Cerberus.
"We should head to the Alarei now," Tali says.
EDI has apparently been listening in over the comms; she pipes up in Shepard's ear. "The secondary docking hangar is through the Conclave chamber where you are now. The shuttle they have provided is unarmed."
"Understood," Shepard says, hoping that none of the quarians will catch on to the fact that the voice on the other end of the line is an AI. That would be very, very bad.
"Whatever geth are on the Alarei have likely built more of themselves," Expect heavy resistance," EDI advises.
Tali is already heading out of the garden plaza and towards the shuttle that will take them to the Alarei. Shepard follows her, trying to ignore the cold, sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
They come upon the first geth the moment they board the Alarei from their shuttle, and find the first recorded log shortly after that.
It's a journal. The footage is monochrome and a bit grainy, but it's easy to make out the male quarian speaking into the camera. "Something's slowing down the systems," he says. "We're taking down the firewalls to rebalance load distribution. Rael'Zorah ordered us to bypass standard safeties. Following security protocols will take too long."
This situation, Shepard thinks, is already beginning to seem tragically familiar.
Shepard and Tali duck into a small laboratory with a couple of research tables. There are no geth here, although there's a partially disassembled piece of one. Tali examines it and says, "This is one of the storage units sent to Father. It looks like parts from a disabled repair drone, plus a reflex algorithm that I didn't recognize." She looks up at Shepard. "I got this on Haestrom."
Shepard blinks. "Haestrom was a war zone. How did you salvage gear in the middle of all that?"
"These suits have more pockets than you'd think." Tali answers a bit slyly. "Quarians have learned how to salvage whatever we can, whenever we can. Within reason. We're not vorcha," she adds. "But 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."
Shepard looks at the part herself. "What made a part worth sending back to your father?" She pokes it cautiously with a finger. It doesn't react.
"It had to be in working order," Tali says. "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."
Shepard abandons her examination of the geth component and turns back to Tali. "How did you get these things to your father?" It couldn't have been easy.
"Sometimes I left packages at secure drops in civilized areas," Tali says. "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."
After a moment's hesitation, Shepard asks, "Does that salvaged gear give you a clue as to what happened here?"
Tali shakes her head. "No. I don't know, Shepard. I checked everything I sent here." Shepard doesn't doubt it. Tali would take every precaution to keep from endangering her shipmates. "I passed up great finds because they might be too dangerous, prone to uncontrolled reactivation or self-repair." Tali sighs. "I don't know which possibility is worse: that I got sloppy and sent something dangerous, or...that Father actually did all this."
Another log, this one a recording from a ceiling-mounted camera angled downward, showing a male and female quarian.
"Who's running this system diagnostic?" The woman demands. "I didn't authorize..." She gasps. "Oh, Keelah. How many geth are networked?"
"All of them," the man says, disbelieving. "Rael'Zorah - "
"Shut it down!" the woman orders, panicked. "Shut everything down! They're in the system!"
The man hits some controls and the two dash off, no doubt to warn their compatriots; there's no indication either way of whether or not they were able to shut down the compromised systems.
The next log - one that Shepard is sure will give her nightmares - says that they did, but too late.
The woman from the previous video is bending over the camera pickup, speaking desperately. "We've locked down navigation. Weapons are offline. Our mistake won't endanger the Fleet."
She startles as a shower of sparks blooms over her left shoulder. There's the sound of someone (or something) cutting through a sealed bulkhead with a torch. "They're burning through the door. I don't have much time. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she sobs. "Jona, if you get this, be strong for Daddy."
There's an explosion and smoke as the bulkhead gives way. The woman screams "Mommy loves you very much!" just before an incomprehensible stutter of electronic geth speech. Something unseen smashes the woman to the floor, and there's the sound of rapid gunfire; then the video cuts to static.
Shepard's growing increasingly concerned about Tali. She's usually very sensible in a firefight, not prone to taking stupid risks. In their last couple of encounters with the geth on this ship, she's been impatient and reckless, treating their foes like a nuisance she wants to get the hell over with rather than a serious threat. Shepard can understand why, but Tali won't do anyone any good if she gets herself shot. She's considering reminding Tali of exactly this fact when they come upon a large - and promising - holographic screen filled with charts and data.
"This console might have something," Tali says. She takes a minute to examine its contents, while Shepard keeps an eye out for any nasties coming down the corridor.
"Most of the data is corrupted," Tali says, disappointed, "but a few bits are left." She activates her omni-tool and scans the console, downloading data. "They were performing experiments on geth systems. Looking for new ways to overcome geth resistance to reprogramming."
Essentially, they were testing interrogation techniques. Shepard has little love for the geth, but... "Do you think testing weapons on the geth was right?" she asks cautiously.
"It's not testing weapons on prisoners, Shepard," Tali insists. "I only sent Father parts. Even if he assembled them, they wouldn't be sapient." She takes a deep breath. "You saw what Saren and Sovereign did with the geth. Any research that gives us an advantage is important."
Shepard's not sure whether Tali really believes that, or whether she's trying hard to convince herself. She doesn't know which possibility is worse. "Give it to me straight, Tali. Did you know what kind of tests your father was running?"
Tali's answer is uncertain, but truthful. "No. 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," she confesses, "but I thought he was just working on new ways to bypass shields or armor."
And not on intact geth, as far as she knew. "Could any of that data clear your name?"
"Doubtful," Tali grumbles. "This is mostly results data. Effects of different disruptive hacking techniques." She examines the console again. "I don't understand all of it. But...they may have been activating the geth deliberately. I don't know. Nothing here says specifically. But if they were..." Tali trails off, gazing into the holographic console screen as if searching for answers. "...then Father was doing something terrible." Tali mutters, low and pained, "What was all this, Father? You promised you'd build me a house on the homeworld. Was this going to bring us back home?"
"Maybe it's time for your people to let go of reclaiming your world from the geth," Shepard says hesitantly.
Tali's reaction is exactly what Shepard feared. She wheels around, furious. "You have no idea what it's like! You have a planet to go back to! My home is one hull breach away from extinction!" she snaps, gesturing at a nearby bulkhead.
"You've got a place here, Tali. Don't throw it away in a war you don't need." She steps forward to put a hand on Tali's shoulder.
Tali draws back. Shepard couldn't feel any more hurt if Tali had actually slapped her. "Don't need?" she hisses. "Shepard, if I don't wear a helmet in my own home, I die! A single kiss could put me in the hospital! Every time you touch a flower with bare fingers, inhale its fragrance without air filters, you're doing something I can't!" She clenches her fists, hard. "Damn the Pilgrimage," she growls. "Without it, I might never have known what I was missing. What we had lost when we lost our homeworld."
"Have the quarians considered colonizing a new world?" Shepard asks.
Tali reins in her anger - barely. "We'd have enough difficulty reacclimating to our own native environment," she answers, her tone sharp. "Adjusting for for exposure to a foreign colony would be even harder. It's the difference between 60 years and 600. For anyone alive now to watch a sunset without a mask, we must take back our home." She deflates, suddenly, and when she speaks again she sounds weary. "At the very least we can take back one ship. Come on."
They find another, older log. On the screen is a female scientist Shepard recognizes from some of the other recordings they've seen.
"First entry. Our hacking attempts failed. The geth have an adaptive consciousness. Hack one process, and the others auto-correct." In spite of that, she sounds satisfied. "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."
The door opens onto a small landing at the bottom of a flight of stairs. And crumpled on the landing is a male quarian in a silver and red environment suit.
Shepard, on point, sees him first. Tali's bringing up the rear and doesn't turn around until a moment later.
"Father!" the word comes out as a sob of pure anguish. Tali pushes past Shepard and kneels down by her father, shaking her head frantically. "No, no, no! You always had a plan. Masked life signs, or, or an onboard medical stasis program maybe. You! You wouldn't..."
Shepard's throat is too knotted up to get any words out, even if she knew what to say.
"They're wrong!" Tali wails. "You wouldn't just die like this! You wouldn't leave me to clean up your mess! You can't..."
Shepard forces herself to move. "Hey. Hey, come here," she says soothingly, helping Tali to her feet. She hugs her, silently, for several seconds. When they part, she keeps her hands on Tali's shoulders.
"Damn it!" Tali chokes out. "Damn it." She sniffs. "I'm sorry."
"He was trying to help you, Tali," Shepard says quietly. "The only way he knew how. He didn't want to leave you."
Tali looks back at her father's lifeless body. "Of course he did! Every time he went off to battle. Every time he sent me away. It was all about what he wanted." She kneels down again, talking to the corpse in a hoarse near-whisper. "I wanted a father who'd take the sick-leave time and let me see his face without a helmet in the way." There's so much bitterness in Tali's voice that Shepard can almost taste it. "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."
Shepard kneels down by her. "You also got his mind and the best military training in the quarian fleet." Even Tali admitted that, once.
Tali takes a few deep breaths. "You're right. I know what he'd do, better than anyone." She thinks for a few moments. "Maybe...He had to know I'd come. Maybe he left a message." She activates her omni-tool and scans her father. The omni-tool on his own arm lights up, and a miniature holographic image of Rael'Zorah - the living Rael'Zorah - appears above it.
The recording of Rael'Zorah breathes hard, as if he's been running. "Tali. If you are listening, then I am dead. They geth have gone active. I don't have much time," he says desperately. "The main hub will be on the bridge. You'll need to destroy it to stop their VI processes from forming new neural links. Make sure Han'Gerrel and Darro'Xen see the data." On the recording, there's the sound of something cutting through a door or bulkhead. "They must..." There's a loud clang; the holographic Rael'Zorah turns to run and disappears.
"Thanks, Dad," Tali says quietly as she gets to her feet.
"He knew you'd come for him," Shepard says quietly. "He was trying to help you. It's not perfect. It's not what you wanted. But it's the best he could do."
Tali contemplates what's left of her father for a few seconds. "I don't know what's worse: thinking he never really cared, or thinking that he did, and that this was the only way he could show it. It doesn't matter. One way or the other, I cared." She straightens up. "And I'm here." She looks at Shepard, eyes flashing beneath her mask. "And we're ending this."
Directly ahead is a sunken amphitheater full of quarians, a patchwork of environment suits in different colors. At the bottom of the amphitheater is a stage, with a raised dais on top of that, both edged with railings. Three quarians stand on the stage facing the crowd - two males and a female.
"The one on the right is Han'Gerrel vas Neema," Tali whispers to Shepard as they make their way towards the amphitheater. "In the middle is Zaal'Koris. The last one...she's new, I don't recognize her." And, of course, there is Shala'Raan, taking her place on the dais behind and above the other three Admirals.
"I don't see my father," Tali says in a strained whisper as she and Shepard descend the amphitheater steps, the eyes of the crowd intently on them. There's a narrow waist-high table on the very floor of the amphitheater in front of the stage; Shepard guesses that's where she and Tali are supposed to stand.
As Shepard and Tali step up to the table - the courtroom bar, whatever it is - Raan spreads her arms and intones, "This conclave is brought to order. Blessed are the ancestors who kept us alive, sustained us, and and enabled us to reach this season. Keelah se'lai."
"Keelah se'lai, the audience responds in hushed, reverent unison.
Raan places her hands on the railing in front of her and settles her gaze on Tali and Shepard. "The accused, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, has come with her captain to defend herself against the charge of treason."
The Admiral in the middle - the one in an off-white suit with red accents - raises his hand and earns. "Objection! A human has no business at a hearing involving such sensitive military matters!" Of course someone was going to bring that up. At least they can get it out of the way quickly.
"Then you should not have declared Tali crew of the Normandy, Admiral Koris," Raan says matter-of-factly. "By right as Tali's captain, Shepard must stay."
Admiral Koris lowers his hand, chagrined. "Objection withdrawn."
Raan picks up where she left off. "Shepard vas Normandy, your crew member Tali'Zorah stands accused of treason. Will you speak for her?"
Shepard takes a deep breath, places her hands on the narrow table before her as she addresses the Admirals. "If it helps Tali, I will," Shepard answers, using the same tone of voice she uses when making announcements to her crew. "But in her heart, she remains Tali'Zorah vas Neema, a proud member of the Migrant Fleet." She adds, with forceful emphasis not exactly directed at Admiral Koris, "I regret that her captain is forbidden to stand at her side today."
Koris wags a stern finger at Shepard. "Nobody has been forbidden from anything! It is a simple..."
Han'Gerrel, the Admiral in the toffee-colored suit to Koris's left (Shepard's right) pipes up. "Lie to them if you must, Zaal'Koris, but don't lie to me and expect me to stay silent!" he snaps. "The human is right!"
Raan leans over the dais railing like she's getting ready to break up a hair-pulling match between small children. "Admirals, please. Shepard's willingness to represent Tali'Zorah in this hearing is appreciated." She straightens up and steps back. "Tali, you are accused of bringing active geth to the Migrant Fleet. What say you?"
For a second Shepard's not sure she heard that right. The gasps and murmurs from the audience indicate they're just as surprised as Shepard herself is.
"How could Tali have brought geth to the fleet while serving on the Normandy?" Shepard fires back.
The last Admiral, the woman in the dark grey environment suit who Tali didn't recognize, takes it upon herself to straighten out the misunderstanding. "To clarify, Shepard, Tali isn't accused of bringing back entire units - only parts that could spontaneously reactivate."
"But I would never send active geth to the Fleet!" Tali insists, an edge of panic in her voice. "Everything I sent was disabled and harmless!" (The fact that she sent back anything is news to Shepard.)
"Then explain how geth seized the lab ship where your father was working!" Koris demands.
Murmurs and exclamations of shock run through the audience. Shepard feels an icy band contract around her insides - not just because she herself is surprised by the news, but because Raan very obviously isn't. She knew, Shepard realizes, and she didn't tell us before the trial.
"What are you talking about?" Tali asks. "What happened?"
"As for as we can tell, Tali," Gerrel says apologetically, "the geth have killed everyone on the Alarei - your father included."
"What? Oh, keelah..." says Tali, at the same time Shepard thinks Oh, shit...
Shepard's initial shock is swiftly replaced by anger. If geth have taken over a Fleet ship, then what the hell are they playing at here? "I appreciate the need for this trial, Admirals," Shepard lies with forced patience, "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," Raan says, but in a tone that indicates she's not going to take Shepard up on the offer. "Quarian strike teams have attempted to retake the ship, so far without success."
"Shepard," Tali insists, "we have to take back the Alarei!"
"The safest course," Koris says, "would be to simply destroy the ship. But if you are looking for an honorable death instead of exile..."
Tali wheels on Koris, furious. "I'm looking for my father, you bosh'tet!"
Whatever that was, Shepard's translator didn't process it. But judging by the gasps and exclamations from the crowd, it's a pretty nasty insult.
"Order, please!" Raan says firmly. When the crowd quiets down, she addresses Tali and Shepard. "You intend to retake the Alarei from the geth? This proposal is extremely dangerous."
And yet, Raan doesn't seem to be discouraging them from taking that option. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Shepard goes along with it, because what else can she do? "With your permission, Admirals, yes. The good of the Fleet must come first - and Tali needs to find her father."
"Agreed," Gerrel says with a nod. Shepard wonders if he and Raan worked this all out beforehand. "And if you die on this worthy mission, Tali, we will see that your name is cleared of these charges."
"We can discuss that later," Koris growls through gritted teeth.
"Then it is decided," Raan says. "You will attempt to retake the Alarei. You are hereby given leave to depart the Rayya." She indicates one of the exits of the garden plaza. "A shuttle will be waiting at the secondary docking hangar. Be safe, Tali. This hearing will resume upon your return, or upon determination that you have been killed in action."
Shepard nods at Raan, then looks at Tali, at a loss for what to do next. But Tali's answering gaze contains no hints, only desperation. Fortunately members of the quarian audience give Shepard a cue by standing up from their seats, striking up conversations with those around them, or both. Evidently court is adjourned - for now. Shepard cocks her head towards the amphitheater steps by which she and Tali came in, and heads that way herself. Tali, after a last look at the Admirals (now conversing or arguing amongst themselves), follows.
The two reconvene outside the amphitheater, just far enough away not to impede the slow but steady stream of departing quarians. Some are leaving the garden plaza altogether, but many are staying, breaking into little groups and no doubt discussing the trial.
"Thank you for agreeing to take back the Alarei, Shepard," Tali says. She seems calmer now, which comes as a relief to Shepard. "The Admirals sound sure that my father is already dead, but..." She sighs wearily. "I don't know. We won't know anything until we get there."
Shepard must regretfully agree with the Admirals, but she can't bring herself to destroy Tali's fragile hopes, unrealistic though they may be. Not after that whole trial fiasco. "How are you holding up?" she asks sympathetically. "They just threw a lot of fire at you, even before telling you about your father."
"I knew this would be bad," Tali answers, "but I guess you're never really prepared to be charged with treason. And my father..." She looks down and away. "I don't know. He could still be alive. They don't know for certain that he's dead," she adds, both hope and dread in her voice. "I just don't know, Shepard. And I need to find out."
"Is there anyone here you want to talk to before we go?" Shepard asks. It's a suggestion as well as a query; Tali's eager to head for the Alarei, but this is their last chance to obtain the information they need to prepare for the remainder of the trial. Assuming they make it back from the Alarei. If they don't...well, in that case this is Tali's last chance to say her goodbyes.
To Shepard's relief, Tali doesn't reject this course of action. "We can talk with the Admirals," she says, a bit of her usual confidence returning. She looks over her shoulder. "It might help us to see what their viewpoints are. But I doubt we'll change anyone's mind by talking to them privately."
"It's worth a shot," Shepard says. But it's a long shot.
* * *
They spot Admiral Shala'Raan first, which is well and good since Shepard wants to ask her why she didn't let Tali know about her father's circumstances before the trial started. Tali beats Shepard to the punch, though, stalking up to Raan with a loud accusation that makes the two women talking to the Admiral quickly decide that they have other places to be. "You set me up, Shala! You told Captain Danna not to say anything. I don't hear that my father may be dead until in the trial?" Tali finishes with a heartbroken, "Why?"
"The Admirals needed to hear the shock in your voice, Tali," Raan says regretfully. "Otherwise, they might not have let you try to retake the Alarei. That is your best chance at recovering evidence that can exonerate you. I'm sorry. We cannot afford sensitivity, Tali."
Shepard has to admit that Raan has a point - but that was a terrible thing to do to someone who calls you Auntie. I know you're trying to help her, Admiral," she says, "But that was over the line."
Raan spreads her hands in protest. "She has nobody else to speak for her, Shepard. I am doing everything in my power," she insists. "That's what her father would have wanted."
"Don't say it like that," Tali interjects. "He could still be alive on that ship."
Raan neither affirms nor dashes Tali's hopes. She only says, "You should get to the Alarei soon. Is there anything else I can tell you?"
Shepard doubts they'll be in time to save Tali's father - but the Alarei may provide what she needs to save Tali. "What kind of evidence will carry weight with the Admirals?" she asks.
"Tali," Raan says gently, "you admitted to sending geth parts to your father for his project."
"Yes. But never anything that could have come back online on its own," Tali insists. "I took every possible precaution!"
Shepard winces inwardly, because she knows that Tali's probably thinking, At least I thought I did. But maybe I didn't...
"Then find records of your shipments and the experiments," Raan advises. "Something that proves you were careful." She continues, sadly, "Something that proves that this is all just a terrible accident that nobody could have foreseen."
"There seemed to be some other arguments going on among the Admirals," Shepard observes.
Raan nods, a little embarrassed. "You caught that. Yes, the geth presence makes this a touchy issue. The Admiralty Board is trying to determine whether to focus on colonial development...or attempt to retake the homeworld."
"You're thinking of war?" Tali asks, shocked. "With the geth?"
Raan shakes her head. "I'm not, Tali. But others are."
"I know the Migrant Fleet is formidable," Shepard says, "but even you can't take on the geth."
Raan begins pacing back and forth, agitated, and Shepard realizes she's gone over this ground many times before. "We grow tired of wandering the stars, Shepard. We want our world back." Raan stops to look around the plaza, the closest thing the Fleet has to a natural environment. "We have paid enough for our mistake. I'm not giving you my opinion." She shoots Shepard a look over her shoulder. "I'm telling you which way the wind is blowing."
That makes Shepard uneasy, but she puts it aside - she has another problem at hand. "What can you tell us about the Alarei?"
Raan shrugs. "Not much, I'm afraid. Rael'Zorah only said that he was researching new defense technology."
"He told me only that he needed any geth parts or pieces that I found," Tali says, shifting restlessly. "I assumed he was testing weapons on geth components."
"We knew nothing until the Alarei sent a distress signal, then went dead," Raan explains. "We didn't even know about the geth until a boarding team was attacked."
Oh, great. "You're saying there's no data about the inside of the ship," Shepard says, just to confirm that things are at least as bad as she thinks they are.
"That's exactly what I am saying," Raan answers gravely. "The marines who survived and escaped saw bodies in the halls. We must assume the worst."
"No," Tali insists. "We don't."
Raan obviously can't give them any further help - and Shepard doesn't want this conversation to turn into an argument, which it almost certainly will if given the chance. "We should move on," she says to Tali. Tali nods grudgingly in response.
"Good luck on the Alarei," Raan says, in a tone that suggests she doubts there's any good luck to be had.
* * *
They're searching the garden plaza for the next Admiral when they see a familiar face. Well, environment suit.
"Kal'Reegar!" Tali calls out to him, displaying the first good cheer Shepard's seen from her since she recieved her summons from the Admiralty Board. Reegar looks up at the sound of Tali's voice and waves to her; they meet in the approximate center of a square of grass not much larger than the Normandy's CIC.
"Shepard. Tali'Zorah," Reegar greets each of them in turn. "Good to see you both. Wish it were under better circumstances."
"What did they get from our readings?" Tali asks, and Shepard experiences a moment of confusion before she remembers Haestrom.
"Damndest thing. It's just like they said," Reegar answers. "No way the sun on Haestrom should have been acting that way."
"So that dark energy theory is right?" Tali asks hesitantly. "That's troubling."
Reegar shifts uneasily. "Can't really comment on that, ma'am." He shrugs. "I just shoot things."
"How've you been, Reegar?" Shepard asks. In spite of the circumstances, she can't help but be glad to see him again. "You took kind of a beating on Haestrom."
"Physical damage wasn't bad," Reegar says nonchalantly. "I was down for about a week with infection, though. Figure I got off easy." He adds, cheekily, "I don't have to face those Admirals."
"With your immune systems, it couldn't be easy for quarians to fight a war," Shepard says. "You'd lose more people to infection than injury."
"We can't afford a front-line attack, that's for sure," Reegar admits grudgingly. "Have to fight smart - ideally from orbit."
"We do have stockpiles of antibiotics," Tali interjects, amused at Shepard's concern. "It's not as though everyone would die from a single shot."
"No," Reegar tells her, "Shepard's right. You've only seen our strike ops, Tali. Don't have all the fancy equipment in a front-line fight. Supplies get strained, things get ugly fast."
Shepard doesn't know for sure if this statement will touch off a dispute between Reegar and Tali, but just in case, she tries to get the conversation on a different track. "You said that your mission had something to do with dark energy?"
Reegar nods. "Right. Remember Dholen, Haestrom's sun? Shorted out everything, way too much radiation? The sun's getting old...only it's not. Dark energy. It's reducing the mass of the star's interior. Techs are worried."
"What does that dark energy buildup mean?" Shepard asks. "Is it something we should worry about?" That second question is more rhetorical than anything else.
"Sorry, Shepard," Reegar says. "I don't know what it means. Just that it has the scientists worried."
"Hopefully it's isolated," Tali says, "some rare phenomenon. If dark energy can destabilize solar material..." She trails off. There's no need to spell out the implications. "Probably not something to worry about now, but resources in this galaxy are scarce enough without stars suddenly going dead."
"Some days I think flying around in the Fleet without a planet of our own is the right idea," Reegar says philosophically.
"Do you think the geth are responsible for what's happening to Haestrom's sun?" Shepard asks. After all, they control the Dholen system.
"Keelah, I hope not," Reegar says. "If they can screw up a star, our chances in a war are even worse than I thought."
"I don't think this is the geth," Tali says. "It would take massive time and resources to affect a star like this deliberately. It's too inefficient to be a weapon, and and even the geth wouldn't destroy a useful star system. Besides, they didn't show up until we did." All good points. The geth may be murderous, but from what Shepard's seen they tend to be practical.
"Huh," Reegar says, taking a second or two to think it over. "Hope you're right, ma'am." He shakes his head and mutters. "Synthetic bastards are bad enough as it is."
"What are you doing aboard the Rayya? Not that we aren't glad to see you," Shepard says. "It sounds like you gave your report to the Admiralty already."
"I, uh, stayed to argue the charges against Tali'Zorah." Much to Shepard's surprise, Reegar sounds almost...embarrassed. He collects himself quickly. "I've served with her, and she deserves better than what she's getting."
"Thanks, Kal," Tali says, sounding almost as embarrassed as Reegar did.
Shepard from Reegar to Tali and back - an action that neither quarian seems to notice - and suspects that Reegar's willingness to sacrifice his life for Tali back on Haestrom may have been motivated by something more than a good soldier's dedication to his mission.
Reegar offers a surprisingly gentlemanly bow. "Just stating the facts, ma'am."
"Have you had any luck talking to the Admiralty Board?" Shepard asks.
Reegar answers as if he's giving her an after-action report. "Admiral Raan asked my opinion about the geth, since I'd fought on Haestrom. She and Admiral Gerrel were hoping you'd kill a bunch of geth to get the crowd on your side, then find evidence to clear your name." Shepard had already guessed as much about Raan, but not that Han'Gerrel was in on the scheme. "They were hesitant, but, well, you didn't have any other options, ma'am. I recommended getting you onto the Alarei. I hope you can handle it."
"You did the right thing," Tali says. "Thank you."
Shepard spots Gerrel a few meters away; given what Reegar just said, she thinks it might be a good idea to talk to him. "We should get going," Shepard says, cocking her head in Gerrel's direction. Tali picks up on it and nods in agreement.
"Good luck on the Alarei," Reegar says somberly. "Stay safe out there."
* * *
Up close, Admiral Han'Gerrel reminds Shepard of some of the better senior officers of her acquaintance; he's average-sized, as quarian men go, but gives the impression of being the biggest guy in the room.
"Tali!" he says cheerfully as she and Shepard approach. "I'm glad Admiral Raan got you leave to hit the Alarei. Hopefully you'll find something that clears your name." Shepard can't help but notice that Gerrel is making it look like that was all Raan's idea. Although for all Shepard knows, Raan insisted on taking the blame.
"I'm more concerned with finding my father, Admiral," Tali says apologetically.
"I wish you luck," Gerrel says. Then, more jovially, "Blow up some geth on the way. And you're Captain Shepard?" He greets her with a slight but unmistakable respectful bow. "Admiral Han'Gerrel vas Neema. To be honest, I was afraid a human would be too meek and humble." Which strikes Shepard as odd, considering the reputation humanity enjoys (or not) with most other sentient species in the galaxy. "Watching you rail away at Admiral Koris, though...Tali's in good hands."
"I get the sense you're inclined to believe the defense," Shepard says. "I'm glad one of the judges is."
Gerrel turns to Tali. "If you were only giving Rael inactive equipment for weapons tests, I've got no problem. We need to test weapons against geth material."
Shepard is reminded of what Raan said: I'm not giving you my opinion. I'm telling you which way the wind is blowing.
"I know you and your father," Gerrel continues. "You've put too much of yourselves into this fleet to do anything to jeopardize our safety." With a note of frustration: "And you're both smart enough not to make mistakes like the ones they're saying you made."
Shepard decides not to tell him that while she can vouch for Tali on that front, she's not so sure about Rael'Zorah. "Can you tell me anything about the Alarei?" she asks.
Much to her disappointment, Gerrel shakes his head. "Nothing good. We sent some of our best marines into that hellhole. Damn few made it back. Whatever Rael was doing, it blew up in his face. The ship is crawling with geth." And then he says what Shepard's been thinking: "Don't go in expecting survivors."
Tali doesn't want to hear it. "Admiral! My father - your friend - is on that ship!"
"I know that, Tali." Gerrel sounds like he's barely got enough energy for frustration. "But if Shala hadn't suggested you might volunteer, we'd already have destroyed the Alarei. That's where we stand."
Shepard's been there. Gerrel is not quite in mourning yet, but he knows he soon will be. "You and Tali's father go back a long ways?"
"We served together on the gunship Yaska during a bad batarian raid," Gerrel says. Shepard pegs it for the beginning of an oft-repeated war story right away (she's heard her fair share of them, and then some). "We were kids, serving pre-Pilgrimage as trainees. A crew of ten, and six were dead. Kinetic barriers were down. Rael and I were alone on the bridge, and the batarians had drawn off a tramp freighter."
"Did you save the freighter?" Shepard asks.
Gerrel holds up a hand: hold on, I'm getting to that. "Our ship was under orders to hold position. But Rael looked at me and said, 'We're underage. They can't charge us for breaking formation.'" Since Shepard's wearing a breather mask, Gerrel can't see the smile that got out of her. "He took the helm, I took weapons, and we brought that freighter back," he says proudly. "The crew called us heroes. The brass called us idiots. They slapped medals on our suits, then kicked us off to Pilgrimage a bit earlier than usual." Gerrel chuckles. "That's Rael for you."
"Can you tell me about the other Admirals? Anything that might help me change their minds about Tali?"
"The one you didn't recognize, Tali, is Admiral Xen. She's on the fence. She takes Fleet safety very seriously," Gerrel says. "On the other hand, she's always been in favor of studying the geth. I hope she sees the benefits of Rael's research. Admiral Koris -" Gerrel speaks his name with obvious contempt - "is the same whining suit-wetter he always was.
"You disagree with Admiral Koris' policies, I'm guessing?" Shepard asks. "Or is it personal?"
Gerrel instantly bristles, which strongly suggests the latter. "The man is a damn geth apologist." He takes a deep breath and explains, more matter-of-factly, "Thinks we were wrong to try to destroy them centuries ago. He wants us to search for new colony possibilities instead of taking back the homeworld. Any research on the geth makes him angry. You don't have much of a chance with him, I'm afraid."
No wonder Koris seemed to have it in for Tali. "It sounds like we're dealing with more politics than just Tali bringing back equipment," Shepard observes.
Gerrel's bitter chuckle is not encouraging. "You noticed that, did you? Tali's father wasn't just running weapons tests on the geth for fun. He was looking for something to give us an edge when we attack the geth in full-scale war."
Apparently Rael kept a lot of things from his daughter, because Tali seems surprised. "I know Father wanted to retake the homeworld someday, but are we that close?"
"I don't know, kid," Gerrel admits. "We almost had the votes. We just need to give people hope for victory."
Shepard wonders if Gerrel has ever fought the geth himself. Having done so on many occasions, she could never muster his apparent eagerness for an all-out war with the synthetics. "I hope the quarian people find someplace to live, Admiral, but it sounds like you're playing with fire."
"We're too comfortable now, Shepard," Gerrel insists. "We've got the largest fleet in the galaxy, and we just ride around doing nothing."
Shepard almost says boredom is never a good reason to start a war, but fortunately, Tali says something less inflammatory and more rational. "We might need that fleet to help fight the Reapers, Admiral."
Gerrel's got a counter-argument for this, too. "Then we need a world to shelter our noncombatants while we do it."
Shepard thinks she should step away from Gerrel before she breaks down and says or does something very foolish. "Thanks for the information," she says, staying polite in spite of herself.
"Hang in there, kid," Gerrel says to Tali.
"Thank you, Admiral," Tali says quietly.
* * *
"Shepard! How did you get onto the Rayya?"
Shepard turns around and finds herself face-to-face with a very fidgety male quarian. It takes her a moment to recognize Veetor, from Freedom's Progress. He doesn't seem quite so shell-shocked now as he was then, but it's quite obvious that he still doesn't have it all together. There's a female quarian in a maroon environment suit with him - Shepard suspects she's some kind of minder or caretaker.
"Shepard is here to help me with my trial," Tali explains.
"Oh, yes. I heard about that," Veetor says. It seems he wasn't present for the actual proceedings. "I hope you didn't really do what they said you did."
Tali takes Veetor's extreme awkwardness in stride as she shakes her head. "No, Veetor. I would never endanger the Fleet."
Veetor shifts from foot to foot, embarrassed. "Oh. Well, good. So, can I help you with anything? I mean, probably not but - you helped me."
"Tali could use some friends right now," Shepard says gently. "Would you be willing to tell the admirals how she helped you?"
"No! I mean, yes, but I already did!" Veetor clarifies. "They came to see me. I didn't want to talk in a crowd."
The woman in the maroon environment suit - who until now has been hovering silently at the fringes of the conversation - speaks up in a placid voice. "Veetor is doing well, but he isn't ready for a public speech just yet."
Veetor bounces in place - obviously from anxiety, although Shepard can't tell whether it's the good or bad kind. "I talked to them. So did that soldier, Kal'Reegar. We both told them about how you helped us. I hope it helped."
"I'm sure it did, Veetor," Tali says soothingly. "Thank you."
"Take care of yourself, Veetor," Shepard says.
"Thank you, Commander," Veetor responds, and then says something that helps brighten up Shepard's day a little bit. "It's only because of your help that I've come this far."
* * *
They find Admiral Koris in a relatively secluded corner of the plaza, having a quiet but intense conversation with two other quarians. He has his back to Tali and Shepard, but his companions look up when the two approach, prompting Koris to turn and see what's gotten their attention.
Shepard would have expected Koris to be a little flustered upon spotting the two of them, but if he is, he doesn't show it. "Judging by your ability to play a crowd, human, I have done Tali a favor by stripping 'vas Neema' from her name," he says sourly. Shepard will take that as a compliment.
Tali doesn't rise to the bait. "Commander Shepard, this is Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib." She leans in and adds quietly, between clenched teeth, "Do not ask about the name."
Koris, if he notices this aside, chooses to ignore it. He draws himself up haughtily. "I take no pleasure in this, Tali, truly. But you have gravely endangered and dishonored our fleet."
In other words, it's nothing personal. Or so Koris claims. "What exactly is your problem with my crew member, Admiral?" Shepard asks bluntly.
The answer isn't what she expected. "I respect Tali immensely. Her actions against Saren are to be lauded." Koris looks away. "But like her father, she wants nothing but the destruction of the geth...the people we created. The people we wronged."
"The geth drove us from our homeworld!" Tali snaps.
"Of course they did," Koris says sadly. "We tried to kill them."
"You and the other admirals appear to have some disagreements beyond Tali's trial," Shepard observes.
Koris nods. "You are correct. Tali, I apologize for it being brought into your proceedings." He seems sincere, much to Shepard surprise. "The other Admirals are pushing for war. Rael'Zorah was researching new weapons to use against the geth." Forcefully, he adds, "They would see our fleet destroyed in the skies over our homeworld rather than find a new colony and adapt."
Shepard finds herself (grudgingly) agreeing with Koris, at least a bit. "Can the quarians coexist with the geth after all your history?"
"I don't know," Koris says gravely. "We all deserve to find out. They're our children, Shepard. We have all done horrible things to each other, but it has to end. For both groups." His voice turns cold and steely. "That is why I cannot sanction whatever experiments you helped enable, Tali'Zorah. I believe this message needs to be sent."
"I understand, Admiral," Tali says quietly. "I do not agree with you, but I understand."
"Can you tell me anything about the Alarei?" Shepard asks.
Any hope of continued civility dies with that question. "Only that you should have let us destroy it," Koris answers irritably. "When we find the evidence of what Tali and her father did there, any hope of convincing the other admirals will die."
"I did not bring active geth to the Alarei, Admiral!" Tali says angrily. "I know how dangerous that would be! I only brought pieces!"
"The captured ship, with its crew slaughtered by living beings in pain, belies your argument," Koris points out.
Shepard, afraid that Tali is going to attack Koris right here in public, touches her arm gently. "We should move on."
"Goodbye, Tali'Zorah," Koris says, cooling down somewhat. "Be well."
"I'm surprised to hear you say that," Tali says.
"I don't hate you, Tali," Koris says regretfully. "I just think your father's plans for war were wrong."
* * *
Shepard and Tali find the last admiral - the one Gerrel identified as Admiral Xen - off by herself, surveying the rest of the plaza. She doesn't turn to fact them when they approach. "Tali'Zorah," Xen says dryly. "Given the circumstances, are you certain that speaking to me is appropriate?"
Tali stays polite. Relatively speaking. "I'm looking for information about the Alarei. I don't intend to bribe you in the middle of the plaza, Admiral."
Xen appears to relax, and finally turns to face Shepard. "A pleasure to meet you, Commander Shepard. We owe you a debt of gratitude for your actions against the Geth."
"Tali was with me," Shepard points out. "Saren and the geth would have destroyed us all without her help."
"Your political machinations are transparent, Commander," Xen says with cynical amusement. "They are also unnecessary." She turns to Tali. "If you and your father were actually experimenting on geth subjects, then you are simply idiots. No reason to waste resources on a trial. If not, then this was a tragic accident in pursuit of a higher cause. Again, no trial is needed to determine that."
Admiral Xen seems like a real piece of work. "If you're not interested in this trial, then why not recuse yourself?" Shepard asks.
Xen scoffs. "And let that aging warship Han'Gerrel and the cowardly Zaal'Koris be the ones to chart this course? I think not. The broader purpose underlying the trial is too important. Tali'Zorah is only peripherally related. No offense intended," she adds for Tali's benefit.
"And what is the true purpose of this trial, Admiral?" Tali asks. Shepard thinks she's figured it out already.
Xen speaks slowly, as if stating the patently obvious: "To determine whether quarians should fear their past mistakes, or reclaim their glory using our natural affinity for artificial intelligence."
"So the only reason you care about this is because Rael might have learned something valuable from the geth?" Shepard asks.
"Indeed." Xen sounds...disturbingly excited. "If he has, then even in this accident, we may find something worthwhile."
"You want to create new AIs?" Tali asks incredulously.
"No, Tali'Zorah," Xen replies with strong undertones of are you some kind of idiot? "I wish to return the geth to the control of their rightful masters, the quarian race."
"You're insane," Tali says quietly.
"It sounds like your ideas about synthetics are in the minority," Shepard says.
Xen brushes off any implied insult in Tali and Shepard's words. "Yes, at least on the Admiralty Board. Han'Gerrel sees an enemy that must be crushed. Zaal'Koris would run away and hide on some new colony world. Shala'Raan is still undecided." Xen turns thoughtful. "I had thought Rael to be firmly in Han's camp, but if his experiments were on active geth...perhaps we have ideas in common."
Shepard feels an urge to be sick. Fortunately, she's used to suppressing such urges. "If we don't find Rael alive on the Alarei, what do you think will happen?"
"The power balance will be disrupted," Xen says matter-of-factly. "Han loses a vote for his foolish and self-destructive war. That would favor peace, then, as Shala'Raan is too careful to risk her own neck. But, if the admiral replacing Rael agrees with me..." Shepard imagines Xen grinning behind her mask. "things could become very exciting."
"You support experiments on living creatures?" Shepard asks. The geth may be synthetics, and Shepard may regard them as bitter enemies, but they're sentient and shouldn't be treated like lab rats.
Xen is dismissive. "Rael should have felt no more guilt experimenting on geth than I did while performing surgery on a childhood toy."
Tali sounds as disturbed as Shepard feels. "The fact that you performed surgery on your childhood toys explains a great deal, Admiral."
"A ship travels faster than I can," Xen says. "With the right programming, it can choose locations, even defend itself when attacked. But it is just a machine. It was built for the sole purpose of serving its master." She crosses her arms. "And it can be dismantled whenever its master desires."
This conversation is going nowhere. Shepard wants to get it over with. "Can you tell me anything about the Alarei?"
"Little," Xen responds, suddenly very businesslike. "We detected several communication signatures before the geth jammed the comm systems. Given the likely networked intelligence requirements for taking over a ship, expect between ten and fifty units."
"Then this can't have anything to do with me," Tali says thoughtfully. "I only sent parts and pieces, and certainly not enough to make that many geth."
"Thank you for the information," Shepard says. With regards to intel, at least, Xen was a lot more helpful than anyone else they've spoken to.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Commander," Xen says, not even trying to fake sincerity.
Shepard turns around and tries not to run the hell away from Xen. She's scarier than some of the people at Cerberus.
"We should head to the Alarei now," Tali says.
EDI has apparently been listening in over the comms; she pipes up in Shepard's ear. "The secondary docking hangar is through the Conclave chamber where you are now. The shuttle they have provided is unarmed."
"Understood," Shepard says, hoping that none of the quarians will catch on to the fact that the voice on the other end of the line is an AI. That would be very, very bad.
"Whatever geth are on the Alarei have likely built more of themselves," Expect heavy resistance," EDI advises.
Tali is already heading out of the garden plaza and towards the shuttle that will take them to the Alarei. Shepard follows her, trying to ignore the cold, sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
* * *
They come upon the first geth the moment they board the Alarei from their shuttle, and find the first recorded log shortly after that.
It's a journal. The footage is monochrome and a bit grainy, but it's easy to make out the male quarian speaking into the camera. "Something's slowing down the systems," he says. "We're taking down the firewalls to rebalance load distribution. Rael'Zorah ordered us to bypass standard safeties. Following security protocols will take too long."
This situation, Shepard thinks, is already beginning to seem tragically familiar.
* * *
Shepard and Tali duck into a small laboratory with a couple of research tables. There are no geth here, although there's a partially disassembled piece of one. Tali examines it and says, "This is one of the storage units sent to Father. It looks like parts from a disabled repair drone, plus a reflex algorithm that I didn't recognize." She looks up at Shepard. "I got this on Haestrom."
Shepard blinks. "Haestrom was a war zone. How did you salvage gear in the middle of all that?"
"These suits have more pockets than you'd think." Tali answers a bit slyly. "Quarians have learned how to salvage whatever we can, whenever we can. Within reason. We're not vorcha," she adds. "But 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."
Shepard looks at the part herself. "What made a part worth sending back to your father?" She pokes it cautiously with a finger. It doesn't react.
"It had to be in working order," Tali says. "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."
Shepard abandons her examination of the geth component and turns back to Tali. "How did you get these things to your father?" It couldn't have been easy.
"Sometimes I left packages at secure drops in civilized areas," Tali says. "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."
After a moment's hesitation, Shepard asks, "Does that salvaged gear give you a clue as to what happened here?"
Tali shakes her head. "No. I don't know, Shepard. I checked everything I sent here." Shepard doesn't doubt it. Tali would take every precaution to keep from endangering her shipmates. "I passed up great finds because they might be too dangerous, prone to uncontrolled reactivation or self-repair." Tali sighs. "I don't know which possibility is worse: that I got sloppy and sent something dangerous, or...that Father actually did all this."
* * *
Another log, this one a recording from a ceiling-mounted camera angled downward, showing a male and female quarian.
"Who's running this system diagnostic?" The woman demands. "I didn't authorize..." She gasps. "Oh, Keelah. How many geth are networked?"
"All of them," the man says, disbelieving. "Rael'Zorah - "
"Shut it down!" the woman orders, panicked. "Shut everything down! They're in the system!"
The man hits some controls and the two dash off, no doubt to warn their compatriots; there's no indication either way of whether or not they were able to shut down the compromised systems.
* * *
The next log - one that Shepard is sure will give her nightmares - says that they did, but too late.
The woman from the previous video is bending over the camera pickup, speaking desperately. "We've locked down navigation. Weapons are offline. Our mistake won't endanger the Fleet."
She startles as a shower of sparks blooms over her left shoulder. There's the sound of someone (or something) cutting through a sealed bulkhead with a torch. "They're burning through the door. I don't have much time. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she sobs. "Jona, if you get this, be strong for Daddy."
There's an explosion and smoke as the bulkhead gives way. The woman screams "Mommy loves you very much!" just before an incomprehensible stutter of electronic geth speech. Something unseen smashes the woman to the floor, and there's the sound of rapid gunfire; then the video cuts to static.
* * *
Shepard's growing increasingly concerned about Tali. She's usually very sensible in a firefight, not prone to taking stupid risks. In their last couple of encounters with the geth on this ship, she's been impatient and reckless, treating their foes like a nuisance she wants to get the hell over with rather than a serious threat. Shepard can understand why, but Tali won't do anyone any good if she gets herself shot. She's considering reminding Tali of exactly this fact when they come upon a large - and promising - holographic screen filled with charts and data.
"This console might have something," Tali says. She takes a minute to examine its contents, while Shepard keeps an eye out for any nasties coming down the corridor.
"Most of the data is corrupted," Tali says, disappointed, "but a few bits are left." She activates her omni-tool and scans the console, downloading data. "They were performing experiments on geth systems. Looking for new ways to overcome geth resistance to reprogramming."
Essentially, they were testing interrogation techniques. Shepard has little love for the geth, but... "Do you think testing weapons on the geth was right?" she asks cautiously.
"It's not testing weapons on prisoners, Shepard," Tali insists. "I only sent Father parts. Even if he assembled them, they wouldn't be sapient." She takes a deep breath. "You saw what Saren and Sovereign did with the geth. Any research that gives us an advantage is important."
Shepard's not sure whether Tali really believes that, or whether she's trying hard to convince herself. She doesn't know which possibility is worse. "Give it to me straight, Tali. Did you know what kind of tests your father was running?"
Tali's answer is uncertain, but truthful. "No. 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," she confesses, "but I thought he was just working on new ways to bypass shields or armor."
And not on intact geth, as far as she knew. "Could any of that data clear your name?"
"Doubtful," Tali grumbles. "This is mostly results data. Effects of different disruptive hacking techniques." She examines the console again. "I don't understand all of it. But...they may have been activating the geth deliberately. I don't know. Nothing here says specifically. But if they were..." Tali trails off, gazing into the holographic console screen as if searching for answers. "...then Father was doing something terrible." Tali mutters, low and pained, "What was all this, Father? You promised you'd build me a house on the homeworld. Was this going to bring us back home?"
"Maybe it's time for your people to let go of reclaiming your world from the geth," Shepard says hesitantly.
Tali's reaction is exactly what Shepard feared. She wheels around, furious. "You have no idea what it's like! You have a planet to go back to! My home is one hull breach away from extinction!" she snaps, gesturing at a nearby bulkhead.
"You've got a place here, Tali. Don't throw it away in a war you don't need." She steps forward to put a hand on Tali's shoulder.
Tali draws back. Shepard couldn't feel any more hurt if Tali had actually slapped her. "Don't need?" she hisses. "Shepard, if I don't wear a helmet in my own home, I die! A single kiss could put me in the hospital! Every time you touch a flower with bare fingers, inhale its fragrance without air filters, you're doing something I can't!" She clenches her fists, hard. "Damn the Pilgrimage," she growls. "Without it, I might never have known what I was missing. What we had lost when we lost our homeworld."
"Have the quarians considered colonizing a new world?" Shepard asks.
Tali reins in her anger - barely. "We'd have enough difficulty reacclimating to our own native environment," she answers, her tone sharp. "Adjusting for for exposure to a foreign colony would be even harder. It's the difference between 60 years and 600. For anyone alive now to watch a sunset without a mask, we must take back our home." She deflates, suddenly, and when she speaks again she sounds weary. "At the very least we can take back one ship. Come on."
* * *
They find another, older log. On the screen is a female scientist Shepard recognizes from some of the other recordings they've seen.
"First entry. Our hacking attempts failed. The geth have an adaptive consciousness. Hack one process, and the others auto-correct." In spite of that, she sounds satisfied. "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."
* * *
The door opens onto a small landing at the bottom of a flight of stairs. And crumpled on the landing is a male quarian in a silver and red environment suit.
Shepard, on point, sees him first. Tali's bringing up the rear and doesn't turn around until a moment later.
"Father!" the word comes out as a sob of pure anguish. Tali pushes past Shepard and kneels down by her father, shaking her head frantically. "No, no, no! You always had a plan. Masked life signs, or, or an onboard medical stasis program maybe. You! You wouldn't..."
Shepard's throat is too knotted up to get any words out, even if she knew what to say.
"They're wrong!" Tali wails. "You wouldn't just die like this! You wouldn't leave me to clean up your mess! You can't..."
Shepard forces herself to move. "Hey. Hey, come here," she says soothingly, helping Tali to her feet. She hugs her, silently, for several seconds. When they part, she keeps her hands on Tali's shoulders.
"Damn it!" Tali chokes out. "Damn it." She sniffs. "I'm sorry."
"He was trying to help you, Tali," Shepard says quietly. "The only way he knew how. He didn't want to leave you."
Tali looks back at her father's lifeless body. "Of course he did! Every time he went off to battle. Every time he sent me away. It was all about what he wanted." She kneels down again, talking to the corpse in a hoarse near-whisper. "I wanted a father who'd take the sick-leave time and let me see his face without a helmet in the way." There's so much bitterness in Tali's voice that Shepard can almost taste it. "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."
Shepard kneels down by her. "You also got his mind and the best military training in the quarian fleet." Even Tali admitted that, once.
Tali takes a few deep breaths. "You're right. I know what he'd do, better than anyone." She thinks for a few moments. "Maybe...He had to know I'd come. Maybe he left a message." She activates her omni-tool and scans her father. The omni-tool on his own arm lights up, and a miniature holographic image of Rael'Zorah - the living Rael'Zorah - appears above it.
The recording of Rael'Zorah breathes hard, as if he's been running. "Tali. If you are listening, then I am dead. They geth have gone active. I don't have much time," he says desperately. "The main hub will be on the bridge. You'll need to destroy it to stop their VI processes from forming new neural links. Make sure Han'Gerrel and Darro'Xen see the data." On the recording, there's the sound of something cutting through a door or bulkhead. "They must..." There's a loud clang; the holographic Rael'Zorah turns to run and disappears.
"Thanks, Dad," Tali says quietly as she gets to her feet.
"He knew you'd come for him," Shepard says quietly. "He was trying to help you. It's not perfect. It's not what you wanted. But it's the best he could do."
Tali contemplates what's left of her father for a few seconds. "I don't know what's worse: thinking he never really cared, or thinking that he did, and that this was the only way he could show it. It doesn't matter. One way or the other, I cared." She straightens up. "And I'm here." She looks at Shepard, eyes flashing beneath her mask. "And we're ending this."
