The Citadel, Serpent Nebula, 2183 (A Few Weeks Later)
Well, this was it. It was a good thing that the Portalocity terminal had somehow managed to emerge unscathed from the battle with Sovereign, even if huge swaths of the Citadel were going to be a smoking wreck for months to come. They'd all survived the battle, which only made leaving a little bit harder, but Tali was glad everyone had come to see her off.
"I still can't believe you're going to Earth," Ashley said from where she was leaning against a wall. "In a completely different dimension. How did you find out about this place again?"
"In an encrypted file on a terminal in the embassy archives," Tali said. Completely innocently.
Shepard shook her head. "I still can't believe you hacked into a terminal in the embassies."
In the same innocent tone Tali asked, "Did I mention this was while you and Captain Anderson were planning how to steal the Normandy?"
"She's got you there, Shepard. Now, remind me, how did we know to go to the Armstrong Nebula to find that geth base, again?" Garrus drawled. "It wasn't because you went snooping around in Ambassador Udina's files -- oh, wait."
"Or to go looking for that survey team that went missing on Trebin?" added Liara.
"Hah! You're a terrible influence, Shepard." Wrex clapped a hand lightly on Tali's shoulder. "Don't forget that fast-reloading trick, all right? Doesn't sound too dangerous where you're going, but you never know."
If you'd asked Tali a few months ago whether she believed she'd end up with a krogan mercenary teaching her shotgun techniques like an indulgent and bloodthirsty older relative she would have said no without having to think about it.
"I won't forget," she promised. "It's been a good trip. I'll miss all of you."
"I hope you find what you're looking for, Tali," Shepard told her. "After you do, you'll be a valuable asset to the Fleet. They'll be lucky to have you back."
"Thanks, Shepard. Me too. I still can't believe the Council is sticking you with cleanup duty --" she heard Ashley snort in disgust at that -- "but take out a few geth for me, all right?"
"Geth," muttered Ashley. "Shepard only saves the damn galaxy, and what do they stick her with? Mop-up duty, like that's the biggest thing they have to worry about, and not when the rest of the Reapers show up. Geth."
That wasn't the first time someone had voiced that opinion. Shepard wouldn't complain about the assignment -- she never did -- but the rest of the squad wasn't shy about expressing their indignation.
"Will do," Shepard began, only to get interrupted by the pleasant voice of the Portalocity VI announcing that the portal to Fandom had just opened, and would be closing again in two minutes. "You should get going. Be well, Tali."
"You too, Commander. All of you," Tali answered, and gave them one last wave before she headed for the portal. "Keelah se'lai."
[OOC: . . . a half-assed post that's like 10% establishy, 5% an excuse to appropriate a bit from the Citadel DLC, and 85% just an excuse to poke fun at how many ME1 side missions you can get by snooping around on other people's computers, really. There were originally four longer posts recapping the entire last three missions of the game and then I randomly decided to exercise restraint for once. NFI/NFB, OOC okay!]
"I still can't believe you're going to Earth," Ashley said from where she was leaning against a wall. "In a completely different dimension. How did you find out about this place again?"
"In an encrypted file on a terminal in the embassy archives," Tali said. Completely innocently.
Shepard shook her head. "I still can't believe you hacked into a terminal in the embassies."
In the same innocent tone Tali asked, "Did I mention this was while you and Captain Anderson were planning how to steal the Normandy?"
"She's got you there, Shepard. Now, remind me, how did we know to go to the Armstrong Nebula to find that geth base, again?" Garrus drawled. "It wasn't because you went snooping around in Ambassador Udina's files -- oh, wait."
"Or to go looking for that survey team that went missing on Trebin?" added Liara.
"Hah! You're a terrible influence, Shepard." Wrex clapped a hand lightly on Tali's shoulder. "Don't forget that fast-reloading trick, all right? Doesn't sound too dangerous where you're going, but you never know."
If you'd asked Tali a few months ago whether she believed she'd end up with a krogan mercenary teaching her shotgun techniques like an indulgent and bloodthirsty older relative she would have said no without having to think about it.
"I won't forget," she promised. "It's been a good trip. I'll miss all of you."
"I hope you find what you're looking for, Tali," Shepard told her. "After you do, you'll be a valuable asset to the Fleet. They'll be lucky to have you back."
"Thanks, Shepard. Me too. I still can't believe the Council is sticking you with cleanup duty --" she heard Ashley snort in disgust at that -- "but take out a few geth for me, all right?"
"Geth," muttered Ashley. "Shepard only saves the damn galaxy, and what do they stick her with? Mop-up duty, like that's the biggest thing they have to worry about, and not when the rest of the Reapers show up. Geth."
That wasn't the first time someone had voiced that opinion. Shepard wouldn't complain about the assignment -- she never did -- but the rest of the squad wasn't shy about expressing their indignation.
"Will do," Shepard began, only to get interrupted by the pleasant voice of the Portalocity VI announcing that the portal to Fandom had just opened, and would be closing again in two minutes. "You should get going. Be well, Tali."
"You too, Commander. All of you," Tali answered, and gave them one last wave before she headed for the portal. "Keelah se'lai."
[OOC: . . . a half-assed post that's like 10% establishy, 5% an excuse to appropriate a bit from the Citadel DLC, and 85% just an excuse to poke fun at how many ME1 side missions you can get by snooping around on other people's computers, really. There were originally four longer posts recapping the entire last three missions of the game and then I randomly decided to exercise restraint for once. NFI/NFB, OOC okay!]