Mass Effect - Fragments

Chapter 5 - Repurcussions

She had screamed all the way to the med bay. Garrus had practically been holding her together, the shrapnel having shredded her suit. It had taken Liara and Kaidan to hold her down, as she had tried to scramble for the hangar doors. The sedative administered by Chakwas had reduced her thrashing to mild, twitching spasms. Her screams had becoming whimpered sobs. And she still struggled to get away. Garrus had watched as the Normandy roared away from battle, seen the slight figure hit by the bea, bowed his head and offer prayers for swift passage to the spirits. His heart had been heavy as he staggered to the med bay. She had lain there, silent, not looking at him. They had sat in silence, hearing the general alert sound as the Admiral announced that the Crucible was firing. She had looked up then, hope apparent. And then the ship had lurched, alarms blaring.

They had found themselves on a marked, but unmapped garden world. Their comms had been on and they were only able to receive traffic. News had been scant for the first week, even rarer after that. Tali had been on her feet after two, once the fever had subsided. She busied herself in the engine bay, becoming withdrawn, utterly focused on getting the ship repaired.

And then Traynor had, in stunned shock, announced that Shepard was MIA, suspected KIA, during the assault on the Citadel. It took two days for her to get over the concussion.

Tali had confined herself to the engine room after that, her work more rote and by the numbers. She emerged once and had drunk herself into a stupor after frying another coupling. Gabby and Donnelly had fled the engine room at her rage, with Tali stalking to the bar. Garrus and Liara had tried to calm her down, figuring older crew might have more luck. Her response: to lean towards the Turian and say:

"What about Garrus? I mean, I'm free, you're free. Whaddya say? We're going to die here. He left us here. Left us behind. Why not go out on a high note, you ugly bosh'tet."

Liara had laid her out with a single punch. Tali took it and had lain on the floor, whilst her two friends sat with her, crying together in their grief.

After that Tali had worked in silence, a machine. The Normandy was fixed after three months, back in contact with the Alliance and back in the Sol system after another one.

When they arrived they all visited the site, but it was more a gesture - the site had been swept. The field hospitals had no records and they didn't know where to start before the various chains of command had torn them apart - the migrant fleet had recalled Tali to help with engineering, the Alliance taking Liara and Kaidan and the Normandy, Garrus becoming first advisor to the Primarch. They had held a final ceremony aboard. Tali had placed the nameplate on the wall and stormed off the ship, not even stopping to bid farewell to the crew.

And during that time no one had gone to Shepard's room. It had been too painful.

Liara had kept in touch, watching the crew as they went about their routines. She spoke to Tali, but the conversations were short, brusque. They met aboard one of the temporary shipyards in Luna's orbit, which is where she met a formal young Quarian name Jin'Draxen vas Tranlor. The introduction had been stilted, but Tali had seemed a bit more friendly - he was helping her as a liaison from the Live Ships. Apparently a distant relative of Dar'Xen, according to her research. But they had spoken in friendly terms and it had seemed like Tali wanted Liara's blessing.

But Shepard had been spoken of in bitter terms, even by Jin. There was a block there now - grief turned to anger. And Jin seemed protective of the Fleet's youngest Admiral - a hero to her people. Shepard was the Man Who Had Left, someone who had fled the battle and left them all with pieces to repair. Vash'Tot nos Krik as Jin had put it - a half finished job. Tali had nodded along.