milliways_bar | The Pilgrim's Return

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The Pilgrim's Return

The quarian who comes through the door is walking a little taller than she did the last time she was here, and more confidently as well. In fact, she's very nearly swaggering. She's also in a much better mood than she was on her previous visit - although she's not as happy as she might otherwise have been.

Still, she's in enough of a celebratory mood that the unexpected appearance of Milliways doesn't ruffle her one bit. She is also feeling generous enough that she might buy drinks for friendly strangers, in the interests of spreading her good mood around.

[Tiny space tag: Tali'Zorah]

[OOC: Slowtimes are inevitable, but I promise I will respond to all tags when I can. Also, until next Saturday, I'm on mountain time, not the usual Eastern Standard Time.]

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"It's all right. What are friends for, after all?" Tali falls silent for a moment. "Remember what I said before, about how people tend to go back to their old ways in times of trouble even if trying something new would be better? I think you did that, when you returned to C-Sec. You don't like it, but it's familar, and in a way that's comforting."

It was true that Garrus had felt lost after Shepard died. He still felt lost, sometimes. But was that really one of the reasons he went back to C-Sec? To seek familiarity?

The idea disturbed him.

"I... never really thought of it that way," Garrus says, brow knitted in thought. "The Citadel is the same as it was when I left--I'm not talking about the physical damage. The people, the Council, the shady underside. It's all just like it was." He pauses for a second to think. "Maybe that's why I can't stand it," he continues slowly. "I've changed."

His mandibles pull close in a worried frown. "That's... not a bad thing, is it?"

"We all changed," Tali points out, spreading her hands. "I don't know whether it's good or bad. I think you just have to figure out how you changed and what you should do now."

"I've already figured out how I'm different, at least," Garrus rumbles in laughter. "I can't sit still, and I'm damn impatient. Maybe I should go out and make nice with a band of Krogan. At least then I wouldn't be so bad, in comparison, if not reality."

"Unless you teamed up with Wrex. Then the krogan would compare favorably to you," Tali jokes. "But you have options. You're a war hero: any military outfit would be glad to have you. Keelah, you could probably start up your own."

"That would be something," the turian muses, grinning wistfully. "I came closer to that than you know. Shepard... she convinced me to reapply for the Spectres a while ago. Just this week, the Council called me up in person about the application. They told me I was everything they were looking for, that I could do more good with them than with C-Sec." His smile becomes wan. "Before I was sworn in, they asked me if I believed Shepard, about the Reapers. I told them exactly what I believed." Garrus shakes his head, still smiling. The expression looks painful. "Probably wouldn't have been able to get command of a stealth frigate, anyway," he jokes.

"What, they rejected you because you said you believed what Shepard said about the Reapers?" Tali shakes her head fiercely. "Idiots. Stupid, stupid idiots. And they are making her look like she was delusional, or a liar, or..."

"Hey," Garrus coos, interrupting Tali, "don't worry about what the Council thinks, or what anyone else thinks. We know the truth. That's what counts."

Tali takes a deep breath, but it doesn't seem to calm her down much: she starts pacing restlessly. "I would like to believe that," she says, "but you know as well as I do that if everyone else denies the existence of the Reapers, everything Shepard did - we did - might as well be for nothing." She makes a frustrated noise. "They wouldn't be able to do this if she were still alive."

"Sure they would," Garrus counters. "The Council's never been good at doing anything. It took them hundreds of years for the Rachni to start worrying them. Same with the Krogan Rebellions. They would have continued to ignore us like they always did. Did you ever see Shepard coming out of one of those council reports looking satisfied?" He snorts. "It was the humans who came through for us in the end, not the Council. You said your people were going to try to decide whether or not they should do anything about the Reapers. That's how it's going to happen. It's going to take every independent government in Citadel space deciding for themselves if Shepard was telling the truth. The Council's made up its mind, but it's only one of many. Sure, they might... slow us down a bit, but eventually, people will start asking questions that the Council won't be able to answer."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Tali says. "The Alliance would be asking the questions, but now that they have a place on the Council, they might not be so eager to make noise. And they suffered substantial losses during the Siege of the Citadel," she adds. "They were already spread rather thin. This makes the situation worse. No, the humans will be absorbed with their own problems for a while. I can't imagine any other species pushing for answers when the Council stonewalls them."

Garrus exhales bitterly. "Optimism, it was nice having you over. Come again sometime. C'mon, Tali. I don't like it either, but I have to hope for the best. There's nothing else I can do."

He watches her, trying in vain to gauge the expression under her mask. He could make out her bright eyes, but not much else.

"I don't think we're doomed. There are trillions of people out in the galaxy and at least a few of them are bound to see what's really going on and do something about it," Tali says. "But I doubt any of them will be politicians. Except perhaps Anderson."

"I hate to sound pessimistic, but I hope you're right Tali."

Garrus blinks. "Why does every conversation we have turn into some weighty discussion?" He wonders aloud. "I haven't talked... casually... to anyone for a while, not even here. It always turns into something 'meaningful'. Why can't it be like it used to, where I'd ask you about your Pilgrimage, or you'd ask me about my face paint?"

Both of them know why it's not so easy to do that anymore, but pointing that out would just be cruel.

"I think we've wrung out those subjects, Garrus," Tali says gently, "but there are other things. The Conclave appointed a new Admiral while I was away. His name is Zaal'Koris vas Qwib Qwib."

Garrus cocks an eye-ridge. "What's with the name?"

"Well, almost all our ships are secondhand, and from other species. Depending on how they were acquired, it may be difficult or even impossible to change registry information. And the Qwib Qwib is one of the few ships that frequently separates from the flotilla in order to trade with outsiders, so...it sort of had to keep the name." Tali does not quite manage to repress a snicker.

"That reminds me of a certain little planet in the Hierarchy," Garrus grins. "Their origin markings are a sickening sun-yellow color, and the pattern is a solid block above their eyes and on their mandibles. They have my respect, though, of course," he deadpans. "I'm not that brave. I'd sooner go barefaced."

"Did they choose that marking? The unfortunate crew of the Qwib Qwib had no choice in the matter; they're not to blame."

"Well... not really," he replies. "I suppose someone had to have made them up, but that was a long time ago. They represent that world. It is a rather bright and sunny place, I guess. If you were born there, you'd use those markings--kind of like whoever decided to live on the Qwib Qwib. They could have seen the name and turned away. Even if that's your ship, you could change your name, maybe pretend that's not where you're from. It's the same with the markings. You could change your markings, pretend it's not your home, but it wouldn't change the truth."

Garrus pauses. "Am I rambling again? I'm rambling again."

"Garrus, no quarian would ever deny his ship name - no matter how embarassing it might be. It would be a grave insult to his captain and crewmates. I suspect that if a turian wore false colony markings for some reason, it would not go over well either.

"As for ships like the Qwib Qwib, a vessel that is actually on the registries is very valuable, even if the name is stupid. Since we are not recognized as a legitimate polity by the Council, we can't get our ships registered in Citadel space. That's also why we have problems changing registry names."

"I know, I understand. But it's not really the same, though. If you could register your own ships, you wouldn't have to be stuck with embarrassing ship names," Garrus says. "It's not fair for the Council to ignore millions of people because of something that happened hundreds of years ago. But yet, there they go. Sometimes, I... never mind."

"If they decided not to ignore us, they'd have to do something about us. And given the possibilities, I think we're better off being treated as an annoyance than a problem to be solved." Not that the current state of affairs is so comfortable, but Tali's not sure that the Council's solution to 'the quarian problem' would be benevolent.

It doesn't look as if Garrus completely agrees with that sentiment, but just he shrugs. "If you say so."

He glances over his shoulder at the bar. "Soooo... you come here to get a drink? Or to just stand around and talk to bitter turians?"

"I came here by accident, but now that you mention it, a drink seems in order. You were sitting over there, right?" Tali points to the table where Garrus left his drink ~~many tags ago~~.

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