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Shepard Finds Her Soul Mate	By : KTT2123 Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 5865 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect nor its characters. I am making no money from this.

Chapter List
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- 15
Shepard isn’t especially excited to go to Haestrom but then going to a geth stronghold is never something a sane being would be looking forward to. Fighting geth seems to be a never-ending battle for her and she doesn’t anticipate that will change any time soon. Lily decides to take Garrus and Zaeed with her. The more geth that can be sniped out, the better. Dealing with the harsh sun sapping their shields and the seemingly endless number of geth serves only to make Shepard’s mood plummet. She wants nothing more than to get off this hell hole of a planet but first she needs to find Tali. All this will be worth it if Lily can recruit her old friend.
The mission goes pretty much as she expects, Garrus and Zaeed are both very much in their element. Their sniper rifles are never silent for long, although Shep has to admit if only to herself that watching Garrus in his element is definitely a turn on. Becoming intimate has made her take more notice of Garrus’ body and the way he moves. Her turian is lethal, utterly confident with his beloved sniper rifle in his hands. More than once, Lily catches her eyes straying to watch Garrus. How could she not have noticed how sexy he is in battle mode?
*Focus!* she scolds herself for the third time as she tears her eyes away from Garrus.
Shepard finally encounters her first live quarian on Haestrom. The geth had ripped through the squad that had been sent here with deadly force. Kal’Reegar is a stubborn sort, determined to risk his life despite his injury. But Lily’s golden tongue soon has him standing down. At least one quarian besides Tali will survive Haestrom; neither Shepard nor Garrus can even consider the option of Tali not making it.
Slowly and carefully, the squad advances. The smaller geth are being picked off one by one until they are close enough to the Colossus to engage it in combat. With her arc projector in hand, Shepard and her team work quickly and efficiently to eliminate the Colossus and the remaining geth.
Shepard breathes a sigh of relief at the sight of Tali. She can’t imagine discovering her friend’s dead body; just the thought makes a shiver run through her body. Lily has lost enough in her relatively short life and she’ll do everything within her power to prevent losing someone else.
Garrus notices immediately her grim mood and brushes his gloved talons lightly across her back to remind her that he is there for her.
Tali’s face mask hides the expressions that flash briefly on her face. She notices the touch but is more intrigued by the way that Shepard reacts to his touch. The brief caress seems to calm and comfort Shepard instantaneously. Something has happened between her two friends. Tali doesn’t doubt that she’ll soon find out what happened. If Shepard and Garrus aren’t planning on sharing, she can count on Joker to share the gossip.
Aboard the Normandy, Tali isn’t shy about voicing her concerns. Cerberus and quarians don’t exactly mix. Yet, faced with Shepard and her ever present integrity, Tali caves. She trusts Shepard enough to be willing to work with Cerberus. “I am going to set up in Engineering, if that is okay with you, Shepard?”
Lily nods. Tali is loyal to her core, something that Shepard greatly appreciates after what happened with Kaidan on Horizon.
Tali begins to walk out when Jacob tries to be friendly and adds, “You should introduce yourself to the Normandy’s AI, EDI.” Tali’s body language alone makes it clear how unhappy she is to hear the new Normandy has an AI on board. The history of her people has made the dangers of artificial intelligence more than plain. The geth took the quarian homeworld and they’ve been at war ever since. Tali cannot afford to trust an AI, not even for Shepard.
LS*GV*LS*GV*LS*GV*LS*GV*LS*GV
Engineering looks somewhat the same but there are obvious differences. The two Cerberus agents that she’ll be sharing the space greet her surprisingly warmly. She marvels at how Gabby and Ken are friendly and open, seemingly having no issues with her being a quarian. Gabriella or Gabby as she asks to be called is a very likeable human. Tali can see right away that Gabby is kind and smart, which only makes her wonder why she chose to work for Cerberus. Gabby doesn’t exhibit any possessiveness over the Normandy’s engineering but in fact expresses excitement at working with Tali. “Commander Shepard speaks very highly of you, Miss vas Neema. I imagine I could learn a lot from you.” Smiling behind her mask, Tali says, “Please Gabby, call me Tali. I look forward to working with you.”
Tali isn’t sure yet about Ken. He too is welcoming, although she can understand how he could run into problems in the military. Ken’s demeanor isn’t exactly the most professional. Although Tali has a feeling that Shepard and him get along just fine. Shepard is the type of leader that values comradery; she doesn’t care for the separation often expected between boss and subordinate. It doesn’t look like that’s changed since the moment she stepped back onto the Normandy, Shepard started making rounds and talking to her crew.
Tali swears Ken is shooting her appreciative glances; he doesn’t seem to be trying to hide it either. Quarians cross-species relationships are fairly rare and most are of the quarian-turian variety like her favorite vid Fleet and Flotilla. Ken has no appeal to her however, he can look all he wants but that is as far as it will ever get between them.
Gabby is happy to give Tali a brief rundown of the new Normandy squad and crew. Ken butts in occasionally but for the most part remains silent. The only crew she recognizes are Joker and Dr. Chakwas. While Tali had for the most part cared for herself medically on the first Normandy, Karin had been surprisingly interested in learning about quarians and their health issues. She’s glad to see Chakwas as she trusts the doctor’s integrity. Tali is both surprised and unsurprised to find out about Joker. The pilot had taken the loss of the Normandy and Shepard’s death hard. And the fact that the Alliance grounded Joker after the funeral had likely only made things worse, the quarian shudders at the thought. Joker is a pilot; it isn’t just what he does but who he is. Taking that away from him had to have been more than devastating. Tali vows to go up to the cockpit later and talk to Joker.
Shepard’s new squad seems like an odd bunch: another krogan, a possibly insane human biotic, an ex-Alliance soldier, a human clone, a mad scientist salarian, a thief, a drell assassin, an asari justicar, and a mercenary. And Garrus of course. Tali is happy to see at least one familiar face has re-joined Shepard. Her and Garrus are the only squad members from the first Normandy that are willing and able to rejoin. She knows that Wrex is far too busy trying to unite the krogan to join Shepard’s mission and last she heard Liara had a mission of her own to deal with. Kaidan is one person from the Normandy’s first squad that Tali has not kept up with. She wonders why he isn’t with Shepard, especially considering their prior relationship.
Suddenly her omni-tool beeps; checking it Tali sees Shepard’s name flashing and opens the call.
“Tali,” Shepard says with a smile. “Would you like to come up to my quarters and catch up? Garrus is here too.”
“Sure, I’ll be up in a few.”
“Great.”
Tali turns to the two engineers, “It is great to meet both of you but…”
Gabby laughs, “But Shepard is calling. Go, have fun catching up. The Commander hasn’t had the easiest of times since she woke up. It will be good for her to have another trusted friend in her corner.”
Tali bobs her head and waves goodbye.
Ken ogles the quarian as she leaves, noting how her suit is snug in all the right places. Gabby rolls her eyes and smacks her best friend.
Tali hears a smack and looks back to see Ken rubbing his bare arm. Not knowing what that is about or even much caring, Tali shrugs it off and goes to Shepard’s quarters. The door opens immediately upon her arrival and the quarian walks in hesitantly. “Come on in, Tali,” Shepard says. Her and Garrus are sitting on the sofa.
Tali sits down, her eyes locked on her two friends. “So…this is new.” Shepard is snug against Garrus’ side, leaving no doubt of their new intimate closeness.
Shepard laughs. “Yeah, it is.”
Tali marvels at the open happiness on Shepard’s face. She’s never seen her relaxed in such a manner before. Garrus too looks different. Gone is the fierce rigidity and carefully contained unhappiness. The turian is obviously quite content and relaxed. They love each other and unlike Shepard’s relationship with Kaidan, neither is trying to hide it. “I am really happy for you both.” Both Garrus and Shepard deserve to be happy and if they find that together, who is she to complain? She hopes to find a love as wonderful as Garrus and Shepard share some day.
“Thank you, Tali. It means a lot to us,” Garrus vows.
Wondering how this came about, “So how did it happen if you don’t mind my asking?”
Garrus and Shepard look at each other; they seem to be having a silent conversation with just their eyes. Shepard says, “It’s a complicated story. We met up with Kaidan on a mission and it went…badly.”
“What Lily is avoiding saying is that Alenko when he realized that she was alive and working with Cerberus and he called her a traitor, going so far as to say she faked her own death and let everyone that knew her believe she had died when the Normandy was attacked,” Garrus adds.
Shepard’s face hardens with anger. “He refused to even give me a chance to explain. I did not take it well. Garrus was there for me, when I needed him most.”
Tali watches as Shepard and Garrus clasp hands, comforting each other.
“Cue in a prank gone wrong which revealed our genuine feelings and suddenly we’re a couple,” Shepard admits laughing.
Garrus admits, “An odd couple at that but a couple all the same.”
“Wait, what?” Tali scans both their faces in disbelief. “A prank got you two together? You’re joking; you have to be joking.” The look on their faces makes it clear they aren’t. “You are not joking, are you?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Garrus admits.
“Well, you can’t leave it at that. Tell me the whole story.”
Tali sits back and enjoys the crazy story of how her two friends got together.
LS*GV*LS*GV*LS*GV*LS*GV*LS*GV
After she leaves Shepard and Garrus’ quarters, Tali goes to the cockpit to speak to Joker. The Normandy’s AI greets her and with reluctant Tali acknowledges EDI.
“Tali, welcome back to Normandy, new and improved.”
The quarian smiles behind her mask, “Good to see you, too. I can’t imagine another pilot behind the helm of the Normandy.”
“Shepard said the same thing. I think she was quite surprised to see me after they brought her back.”
Tali says, “She was really dead, wasn’t she?”
Joker shudders visibly, “Yeah, she was. I—I saw her and it isn’t an image that I will ever forget. I don’t know how they did it but…Shepard is alive and the same Shepard she always was.”
“Yes, except now she is with Garrus.”
Joker laughs, “Yeah, who would have guessed that? An odd pair they are. I’m not sure how it works exactly. I mean do turians even have…” His hands make vague gestures.
Tali laughs at his confused face as he clearly tries to figure out how a turian and a human have sex. “I’m sure they figured it out.”
“Oh, they definitely did.” Joker plays with his hat, asking curiously “What do you know about turian anatomy?”
“Are you sure you want to know?”
Joker makes a disgusted face, “On second thought, you’re right, I don’t want to know.”
Tali giggles at bit. The brief silence that follows is companionable. “They seem really happy.”
“They are. After what Kaidan did on Horizon, Shepard deserves to be.”
“Yes, they said that Kaidan called her a traitor. That must have been difficult.” Tali is surprised by Kaidan’s behavior. During their time together, he had always seemed like a kind and caring person. He was open and welcoming to the aliens on the Normandy. Ashley had always been the more judgmental of the two Alliance soldiers; her xenophobia had been glaringly obvious. Although it was something Tali had gotten used to once she started her pilgrimage.
“She was stunned. Kaidan blitz attacked her. Shepard didn’t see it coming,” Joker declares.
“At least she had Garrus.”
Joker confesses, “I don’t know if she would have gotten through it without Garrus. She was pretty broken up after Horizon. I’m sure it was a lot to take in even for her, having to deal with her death, her resurrection, Cerberus being the ones that did it, working with Cerberus, new ship, new crew, new squad, snubs from her old friends, and all in a very short time.”
Tali remains silent as Joker seems to lose himself in his thoughts. A few minutes pass before she asks, “How about you, Joker? How have you been? You look better than when I last saw you at Shepard’s funeral.”
Joker laughs cynically. “Wouldn’t take much, I was not at my best at that point.” Something about Tali’s energy makes him want to open up in a way he hasn’t with anyone else. “Her death is my fault. If I hadn’t been a stubborn jackass and tried hopelessly to save the Normandy, Shepard wouldn’t have died at all.”
As much as Tali wants to tell him that it isn’t his fault, there isn’t much she can say to change his mind. The truth is that he is at least partially responsible, Shepard went back to save him. If she hadn’t done that, she might have survived but that is something they’ll never know. The Reapers are ultimately responsible but there is nothing anyone can say that will erase his guilt completely. “You can’t change the past, Joker, no matter how much you wish you could. Quarians know that more than most.” They made the geth and still suffer the consequences of creating them today. “Shepard’s alive now. And it sounds like you were there when she woke up. A friendly face, someone she could trust must have meant a lot to her. Garrus isn’t the only one that has been there for her through this all. You and Dr. Chakwas have been too. She can rely on you through thick and thin and that counts for a lot. Don’t forget that.”
The kind words can’t erase his guilt but they do make him feel a bit better. “Thanks, Tali.”
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- 15
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Shepard Finds Her Soul Mate