Lazarus Project: Mass Effect 2 (Shenko)

Chapter 14

Milky Way/Far Rim/Flotilla/Migrant Fleet/Rayya

Earth year: 2183 CE --- April

The first few weeks back on board the Rayya had been very difficult for Tali. The noise, the people... after all the time she'd spent aboard the Normandy, she just couldn't get used to the change in noise level or how crowded the Rayya seemed.

Even the tiny sleeping pod she had used on the Normandy had been preferable to the cramped conditions of the Rayya. Every time she turned around she felt as though she were about to trip over something or someone. Whether a fellow quarian or a salvaged piece of tech, there was always something blocking her path.

By the end of her third week aboard the Rayya, she was having a hard time reigning in her frustration and found her patience with her fellow quarians wearing thin. More than once she'd snapped at her shipmates in irritation over their carelessness and lack of organization. It hadn't changed anything in their habits of course, but they'd begun to avoid her – casting her strange looks whenever she came near.

Tali sighed again as she settled herself on her assigned bunk, rubbing her hands together in nervous frustration. What was she going to do? She thought to herself. She couldn't keep going like this. It was driving her crazy trying to keep her temper under control and her frustration in check. No one here understood what she was going through, not that they had paid her much attention anyways.

Yet now, as an Admiral's daughter, she was also beginning to behave like an outsider. Wanting to be out in space, no, craving space of her own. It was something she knew she would never have with the Flotilla. But with Shepard gone and the Normandy lost, where could she go?

Her father hadn't been much help either, not that she'd expected it. After listening to her complaints over the course of several days, he'd patted her on the shoulder as though she were a child before telling her she just needed to give it time.

Well, she thought bitterly, she had given it "time" and it hadn't helped at all. If anything her patience had grown thinner and her temper simmered just below the surface of her polite facade. It was only a matter of time before she lost it.

"Tali'Zorah?" Came a male voice from outside the privacy curtain to her sleeping quarters. "Are you in there?"

Startled, Tali rose to see who it was. "Yes, I'm here." She said, pulling aside the curtain.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya." Said a regal looking male officer, who bowed as he spoke. "My name is Kal'Reegar. I've been asked to escort you to a meeting."

"A meeting?" Tali was confused. "What kind of meeting? And with whom?"

"Couldn't say ma'am." Kal replied. "It's all I was told."

"Oh. Well alright then. Lead the way."

"Ah Tali." Her father, Rael'Zorah greeted her as she stepped into the private office Kal had brought her to. "So glad you could join us."

"Father."

"The Admirals and I have been discussing your case and we think we may have come up with a solution for you." Rael said, smiling.

"My case?" Tali repeated. "What are you talking about?"

"We understand that your return to the Rayya has been... difficult." Her aunt, Shala'Raan vas Tonbay said. "We had hoped to give you something that might help with your return to the Flotilla."

"Yes." Her father's friend and fellow Admiral, Han'Garrel vas Neema agreed. "We are putting together a small task force – a research team to be exact, and we'd like you to lead it. We've already made all the arrangements. A ship, a crew and we've put together a list of missions for you to lead."