What Was Lost Chapter 11 - Reunion

What Was Lost

Chapter 11 - Reunion


Shepard sulked.

The recon ship was on course for Freedom's Progress, the latest human colony to go silent.  She had some basic intel about the colony - population numbers, basic layout, things like that - but she hadn't done more than glance at them.

Miranda and Jacob, sensing her mood, had left her alone for the trip.  She appreciated it.  Not only did she not trust them yet, but she really didn't feel like talking at the moment.

It can't be true!

She kept repeating it in her mind, over and over.  The Illusive Man lied to her.  He wanted her off-balance, solitary.  Liara would never betray her like that.  If Liara had found her, she would have taken her body back for a real funeral.

He lied to me.  It has to be a lie.

Cerberus wanted to use her, make her its tool.  She refused to let them.  For the moment, she would cooperate, but the sooner she could get rid of them, the better.

There's no way she'd betray me like that...

Shepard picked up one of the datapads, scanning the map on it briefly.  She tried to concentrate on it, but her mind wandered back to Liara.  He obviously knew about their relationship, so of course he would try to drive a wedge between them.

Damn it!  I need this stupid recon over with so I can find her and get some answers.

He must have lied to her.

The shuttle flew onward, eventually entering orbit.  Shepard, lost deep in thought, never noticed their arrival to Freedom's Progress.

*******

Tali fired a blast through the window over her head, dropping another of the mechs.  They were holding for the moment, but two of the marines were injured and their stock of thermal clips and medigel was running low.

They hadn't been able to signal their ship or the recon shuttle they had spotted a few minutes ago.  Whatever had jammed their comms was still working, and she still didn't have a way around it yet.  She could only hope Neeri got the 'hold' message and either her team or whoever was on the new ship would come take the pressure off them soon.

Three more mechs approached from around a corner, as well as a gun drone.  Prazza fired their second to last rocket, taking out the group while it was still clustered.  The explosion also managed to catch one of the other mechs in the area, clipping its legs.

Gunfire echoed from a few buildings away.  Apparently, whoever was on that other ship was also fighting the mechs.  She motioned for one of the marines to join her at the window nearest the sounds of combat.

"We need to keep the mechs on this side busy.  Whoever just landed is also fighting them.  If we can clear a path between them and us, we might be able to make a break for it."

"We don't know that they're friendly, Tali."  Prazza objected.

"Even if they're not, its the best chance we're going to get.  We have to risk it."  She called up Chiktikka, setting the drone to scouting mode.  "With any luck, it's an Alliance squad here to check on the colony."

Chiktikka circled the building they were holed up in, and, upon returning to her, displayed a map of the general position of the mechs near them.  Thanks to Prazza's rocket and the efforts of the newcomers, they only had a few mechs close enough to pose any real danger.  She redeployed the marines to cover the most likely approaches for them.

She crouched down behind the window.  Nothing to do now but wait.  And hope that whoever else was out there proved to be friendly.

*******

Shepard ducked behind the overturned bed, sending a biotic wave towards the mechs as she took cover.  Two of them toppled, and one of the hound mechs staggered into a wall, damaged, but not destroyed.  A quick burst from Miranda's SMG took it out a second later.

"If all the colonists are gone, who's controlling these mechs?  The main computer for the settlement is shut down, right?"  She asked the two Cerberus operatives.

"No idea, commander,"  Jacob answered.  "Could be one of the colonists managed to hide and activated the security systems."

"We did see some activity as we landed, in one of the buildings ahead," Miranda added.  "It might be a trap that whoever else is here triggered."  She fired off a tech blast, disabling one of the last mechs in this building. "That or whatever took the colonists might have left it behind to take care of anyone who followed after to check it out."

"Let's assume 'trap' and go from there.  Unless you really think luck is on our side?"  Considering how the past two days had gone since she had been revived, she wouldn't be surprised if the reapers were watching them right now, ready to land and crush them.

Shepard took out the last mech with a singularity then triple shot from her SMG.  They checked the room, but like the last few buildings, none of the computers could access the colony network.  Someone had deliberately isolated the main colony.  Her bet was on whoever had activated the mechs.  Cutting any rescuers off from the security network meant their progress slowed to a crawl.

After they cleared the room, she called the other two over.  "This is getting us nowhere.  We need some solid answers on what happened here.  It seems really weird that none of the buildings we've checked have any evidence or records.  Even the most careful slavers couldn't clean up a raid as thoroughly as this."

"I agree, commander,"  Miranda nodded.  "We're close to where I spotted the activity on our flyby.  At this point, even if it's a trap, it's probably our best chance to find some clues."

They hurried over the walkway between buildings, pausing just long enough to take out a few drones that tried to flank them.  The room was empty, but beyond it...

"Shepard, that's the building I saw when we flew in,"  Miranda quietly told her, pointing to a small house across the walkway.  Many destroyed mechs littered the ground around it.  Shepard edged up to the corner, getting a better look.  At first glance, it appeared deserted too, but she could see shadows moving on the wall opposite the window.

"Looks like whoever took out those mechs is still inside.  Stay in cover, but don't fire unless I say.  They might be survivors or an Alliance team.  Let's do this right."

Jacob took point, carefully approaching the house.  Shepard and Miranda covered him from their doorway, then advanced to join him.  She listened at the door while her omnitool started unlocking it.  Definitely movement inside.

"Be ready," she told her team as the door hissed open.

*******

Tali tensed, keeping her weapon at the ready.  Cerberus!  Things just kept going from bad to worse on this mission.  At least the human wasn't being openly hostile.  He looked over the quarians, then gestured towards the doorway.  Two other figures stepped in.

One was human woman in a white jumpsuit.  She had dark hair, and was attractive, by human standards, anyway.  She only had a small pistol and SMG, but there was the faint dark purple haze of biotic energy slowly dissipating as she released her readied power.  As for the the other human...

Tali gasped.

That's not possible...

Shepard was dead!  She had watched the Normandy blow up.  She had heard what Liara said in the cargo bay back on the Citadel.  This had to be a clone, or an imposter or...

"Did that geth data I gave you help you after your Pilgrimage, Tali?"  Outside the Fleet, only Shepard knew what Tali had taken back to the Fleet.  Not to mention, she recognized her - most humans had trouble telling one quarian apart from another, unless their suits were very different.

"You... how... I..."  She had so many things she wanted to ask, but the questions all jumbled together and they all tried to come out at once.

Shepard made a 'stay-put' motion to the two humans with her, and put her hand on Tali's arm, guiding her to the small room off to the side of the main one.  Tali also signaled her people to stay where they were, not that it was really needed.  Prazza and the dark-skinned human were busy glaring at each other, and the woman was doing an impressive job of pretending she wasn't in a room with five quarians with weapons at the ready.

As soon as they were in the relative privacy of the small bedroom, Tali threw her arms around Shepard, hugging her tightly.  A second later, the human's arms were holding her too.  She felt tears building behind her mask.

"Keelah, Shepard, I never thought I'd see you again," she whispered.  She didn't want to let go, not even for even a second, not when her most impossible wish had come true.

"I missed you too, Tali, very much."  Shepard hugged her tighter.

Eventually, she stepped back, keeping her hands on Shepard's arms, but giving them some room to talk.  Shepard looked... she wasn't sure how to describe it.  Lines of oddly glowing orange scars covered her face.  She also seemed tired, hurt.

"Are you... are you okay?"

"I don't know,"  Shepard shot her a small grin.  "I know that sounds stupid, but I really don't know how to answer that one.  I still hurt all over.  Whatever they did, they didn't finish before I woke up, and it... it hurts."  She paused.  "But I'm here now.  I'm back, and I found you."

'I found you.'  Tali shivered a bit.  She knew Shepard didn't mean it quite the way she wished, but still... warmth filled her.  "I'm not complaining, but how did they bring you back at all?  I mean, I doubt they used a miracle pill..."

She cut off, as Shepard leaned back against the wall, laughing.  "What's so funny?"  She asked the human, glaring a bit.

Shepard stifled her giggles.  "Sorry, Tali.  I wasn't laughing at you.  It's just...  everything that's happened, and you read that book...  I remember Ash saying she lent it to you."  She looked down at her hands.  "As for the how, I really don't know.  They had a long, detailed explanation full of medical terms I didn't understand, but the basic gist of it is, this is the real me, I'm not a clone or robot or whatever.  They actually brought me back, no tricks or mind control. So they say, anyway."

Tali frowned at that.  "And you trust them?"

"Hell, no,"  Shepard snorted.  She sat down on the bed, leaning back, sighing.  "Unfortunately, I haven't really had any other options.  They've been very careful to not tell me anything really useful.  Just that it's been two years, colonies are going missing, and no one is doing anything about it, so I have to."  She grinned.  "Nothing ever changes."

"So if you don't trust them, why are you still with them?"  Tali asked the obvious.  She sat down next to Shepard, taking comfort just being in proximity to her.

"Like I said, no real options yet.  Haven't even had a chance to steal one of their ships.  Plus, I felt like I had to investigate, just in case they were telling the truth."  She looked out the window at the vacant colony.  "I guess they were, for once."

"I'm sorry, Shepard,"  Tali glanced down at her hands, embarrassed.  "I looked for you, for so long, but...  after the Citadel, I lost all traces of your body.  And one thing after another kept happening on the Fleet, and suddenly it's been two years..."

"It's okay, Tali,"  Shepard pulled her in for another hug.  "You still looked for me.  I... It means so much that you tried."  She paused.  "Wait, you said 'after the Citadel.'  How did I get to the Citadel?  Did they bring me there for a funeral or something?"

"Shepard, they didn't even look for you."  She felt an echo of the old anger rising.  "They didn't want to 'waste any more resources' on the matter.  We were rescued, then they took us right to the Citadel and had a memorial service for you."

She hugged Shepard tighter - this next part was going to hurt her, but there was no way to avoid it.  "As for how you got to the Citadel, I... I'm sorry.  There's no easy was to say this."  She gulped.  "Liara found you.  She brought you back to the Citadel and..."  She tried to go on, but couldn't.

Shepard's smile lit up her face.  "I knew he was lying!  She didn't give up on me!  She came for me and saved me.  I guess Cerberus stole my body after that, then put me through that project."

Keelah, I don't want to do this...

"There's more, Shepard.  She...  she's the reason you're with Cerberus.  She sold you to them."

*******

Shepard sat on the bed, reeling from the shock.  It wasn't a lie...  she really sold me out.  Why, Liara?  What did they give you that was so damn important?

It hurt.  Deep inside, knives tore at her.  Liara betrayed her.  I love you, Liara, and I thought you loved me, too...  How could you do this to me?

"Commander, we really should get moving,"  Miranda peered into the small room.

"Not now, Miranda."

"We have a mission to complete, Shepard."  She started into the room.

"I said, not now!"  Shepard didn't remember calling up her biotics, but the familiar energy pooled in her, vibrating along with her fury.  "I really don't give a damn about your mission at the moment.  Just...  just go, please..."

Miranda nodded doubtfully and stepped back into the main room, leaving Shepard alone with Tali.  They sat there for a while, neither of them speaking.  The quarian held her, supporting her without words.  After a while, she straightened up, getting ready to stand.

"I really do have to get this over with."  She stood, unsteadily.  She looked over at Tali, who was also getting to her feet.  "I never got to ask, what are you doing here?  Not that I mind, but is it something I can help with?"

"We were sent to check on a young man on his Pilgrimage.  He had been out of contact for a while, but when the colony as a whole went dark, the Admiralty Board decided to send a full scouting team to see what happened to Veetor."

"He disappeared with the colonists, too?"

"No, he's holed up in one of the freight warehouses near the cargo dock."  She pulled up a map on her omnitool.  "We managed to find an unsecured feed from the cameras, and spotted him there.  I think he activated the mechs to protect himself from whatever took the colonists.  We just happened to trigger them when we landed."

"We'll help you find him, Tali."  Hearing there was a survivor cheered Shepard.  Helping someone - someone who wasn't Cerberus - was a worthy cause.  And helping Tali even more so.  "Maybe he knows what happened here and can help us."

"Thanks, Shepard.  I... We'll talk more after, okay?"  Tali gave her a quick hug, then stepped in the next room to organize her marines.

Shepard called Jacob and Miranda over and briefly explained the situation.  After she was done, they rejoined the quarians in the main room to plan the attack on the warehouse.

"Tali, we'll take the main door while you slip around the side and flank it.  Hopefully the distraction will keep the mechs busy so you can grab your guy and pull back.  Try to get in touch with your other team too.  If we can attack from all three entrances, this will be much easier."

"They're Cerberus, we can't trust them, Tali!"  One of the quarians, Prazza, objected.  "You know what they did to the Fleet."

"I don't trust Cerberus.  I trust Shepard, and she's not Cerberus.  If she can work with them to find out what happened here, so can we, long enough to get Veetor out anyway."  Tali replied.

Shepard caught Tali's arm on the way out.  "Be careful, okay?"

"You too, Shepard.  I don't want to lose you again."  She glanced over at Jacob and Miranda near the door and dropped her voice to a whisper.  "I know what I said, but don't trust them.  They're just going to betray you as soon as it's even remotely worthwhile."

"I know," she nodded.  "See you at the warehouse."

She watched Tali leave the room to rejoin her people.  Sighing, she readied her guns and walked over to the other two humans.  The pain of Liara's betrayal still ripped at her, but she suppressed it for now.  She had a mission to complete.   After...

There would be time for answers later.

*******

Tali cursed.  Prazza, that hotheaded idiot, ordered the marines to rush the warehouse grounds before Shepard's squad had made it to position.  They had slipped into the loading area without problems, but now...

The towering YMIR mech fired a rocket at one of the marines.  It didn't hit her directly, but Tali cringed as the blast wave ripped into the woman's suit.  She darted over to the fallen marine, pulling her further into cover.

"Shepard, this thing's tearing us apart!  We could really use some backup!"  She yelled into her commlink.  She called up her omnitool and booted up the medical program on it.

"...our way.  We'll...  ...door now..."  Whatever was interfering with the comms didn't block them nearly as much now that they were close to their target.  From the other side of the large door to the compound, she could hear gunfire and the distinctive sounds of tech blasts.  Shepard has to be close enough.  She'll help us deal with that thing.

Prazza pulled the missile launcher from his back and readied it, loading their last rocket into it.  "Prazza, you moron, wait for Shepard to get here and distract it!"  She called to him, hoping common sense would triumph.

He angrily waved off her orders.  "I'm not going to let Cerberus have Veetor, Tali!  We're taking that thing out and getting him out of here before they can abduct him."

Before she could stop him, he stepped out from the crates he was taking cover behind and braced himself to fire the missile.  The YMIR noticed the movement and turned to face him, its minigun arm swinging into line with his body.

Tali desperately fired off a disabling blast, hoping to distract the huge mech, but it was hardened against such attacks and the blast did little more than chip off some of its shields.  She could only watch as the gun whirred and sent a stream of bullets into Prazza, ripping his body to shreds before he could fire off the rocket.

She ducked back into cover, dragging the marine with her.  She could hear the heavy thuds announcing the mech's approach.  When it was almost to her crate, a second, much more welcome sound filled the courtyard.  Shepard's team had opened the large loading bay doors.  The three humans sent a stream of fire into the mech, staggering it and turning it away from her.

She used the distraction to haul the marine inside one of the side offices nearby.  The remaining survivors of her team joined them there and covered her while she once again called up the med program to treat the injured woman.

Soon enough they heard a large explosion.  The humans had taken out the YMIR.  Shortly after, Shepard stepped into the room with them.  Tali stood, walking over to her.  "I said we'd talk later, but I need to stay here with her."  She nodded down at the injured marine.  "Go see if you can find Veetor."

"I'll find him for you, Tali."  Shepard turned, heading out the door.

A few minutes later, the marine was stabilized and Tali had finally been able to make contact with the shuttle and Neeri's team.  The shuttle would pick up the other squad then meet them here so they could take Veetor and go.  She left the marines with the wounded and walked to the administration building Shepard had entered.

"...and if he did see these Collectors, we should take him with us for further debriefing."  She heard the female Cerberus agent say.  "He might be able to tell us more, Commander."

She stepped around the corner, ready to object, but she didn't need to.

"He's in shock.  He needs treatment, not interrogation.  He's going home with Tali.  We have the data, that should be enough."  Shepard was glaring at the other woman.

"Thank you, Shepard."  Tali said quietly.

The other two humans turned to her, surprised.  Shepard smiled her way, then returned her attention to her squad.  "Take the data back to the ship.  You can start uploading it to the Illusive Man while I talk with Tali."

*Next Chapter: Shepard gets a chance to talk more with Tali.  She meets up with Joker and the new Normandy.  Plus, a quick trip to the Citadel.*