97 – Migrant Fleet (1)

Many friends stayed behind at Tuchanka, like Okeer and those captured by the female Krogans. They would be rescued later, so their situation didn't worry Samael too much.

Samael's next target was the Migrant Fleet, a collection of 50,000 ships responsible for housing nearly all Quarians in the galaxy.

Truth be told, they could have received help from other species, but they didn't. Most felt the Quarians deserved their predicament since they introduced the threat to the galaxy known as the Geth. However, the public justification given was financial concerns.

The Migrant Fleet was always near Rannoch, the Quarian homeworld that had been taken by the Geth, in the hopes of retaking it when the Geth showed an opportunity.

Samael asked Veronica, Joker, and EDI to go there, and they obliged. The journey would take 10 hours, which meant they now had only 5 days and a few hours left until the Citadel Reunion started, rather than the original one week.

Since the Fleet rarely received guests, Tali had to call her father in advance, not only to inform him of their arrival but also to request an assembly.

'' So, you want me to call a meeting with all the Admirals? For what?'' Admiral Rael'Zorah, Tali's father, asked her after she called him.

He was puzzled. Tali had left the Fleet not long ago and was now returning, asking for an immediate meeting. He knew what it implied, she must have found an amazing Gift capable of helping the whole Fleet, but calling a meeting of such magnitude required time and a reason, so he was probing.

Tali took a deep breath and decided to reveal part of the truth. She had learned this from Samael. "In my Pilgrimage, I found something... the ultimate gift for the Fleet. I wish to present it to everyone... Father, it's serious."

The Quarians sent their young ones on the Pilgrimage, a rite of passage that required them to search for something to better the Fleet, after all, the entire culture/society revolves around the Fleet. Generally, they only returned if they found a good gift.

And, just like Tali said, she had found the ultimate one: a way for the Quarians to live outside their suits once more.

Rael'Zorah could hear the sincerity in his daughter's tone. He weighed the pros and cons and sighed. "Alright, I'll see what I can do. When are you arriving?"

"...In 10 hours."

Another sigh. "Tali... this better be important."

Tali almost couldn't hold back the news, but she managed in the end. She wanted everyone in the Fleet to hear what she had done. If she told her father the news now, within minutes, the entire Fleet would know.

She was acting a little selfish, as she wanted to be the one to tell everyone the news. She would also use this opportunity to reveal to her father her relationship with Samael.

No way was she using the Pilgrimage/Pill as a way to shield herself from her father's possible ire. No way.

"Father, again, this is revolutionary. It will change the fate of our species."

Rael'Zorah had nothing more to say. He trusted his daughter and hoped her gift was as amazing as she claimed. "Consider it done. I miss you."

"Me too, Father. But in a few hours, we will see each other again. Keelah Se'lai."

"Keelah Se'lai."

The call then ended, and Tali relaxed. She looked around Samael's room. While she was making the call, the room had been busy with various activities.

Shepard was discussing leadership with Samael, focusing on specific scenarios and the choices they would make. "But if you choose that, half of your forces would die!"

Samael sighed at this. "Sometimes, we don't have a better choice. Our job is to find and select the least damaging option. Now, how about this scenario: Your crew vs stopping Saren?"

Shepard became intrigued and said, "Explain more." She found these scenarios interesting, as they forced her to imagine them and prepare to face them if they ever happened.

She was also inspired by what Samael had said to Mordin on Tuchanka, so she listened to him intently.

Samael then presented a scenario: "Let's say this: On Virmire, at the Saren facility, there was a bomb that, when detonated, would destroy the facility and everyone inside. On one side of the facility, Ashley was fighting Saren himself with good chances of killing him but was far away from the bomb. Meanwhile, Alenko was attempting to disarm the bomb.''

'' If you choose to help Ash, Saren would escape seriously injured and you both would be out of the explosion radium. Alenko would die, because he failed to disarm the bomb. If you choose to help Alenko disarm the bomb, Ash would be killed, and Saren would escape unharmed but the bomb didn't explode. You could only save one."

Shepard fell silent. This was a choice she really didn't want to make.

After some time, she sighed, '' I would-''

Meanwhile, Liara and RR were brainstorming ways to preserve information for eons.

"How about trying to create an Omni-Tool from Element Zero? Maybe it could withstand the erosion of time?" Liara suggested to RR. She recognized that the AI possessed a vast wealth of knowledge, so she was not shy about asking for her opinion.

"Hmmm, I doubt we have something like that in the market. Perhaps we can consult Mordin and the research team on Earth to help develop it. But yes, it could work," RR replied.

"Nice!" Liara said, feeling encouraged by the response.

They were speaking softly so as not to disturb Tali, something she appreciated. "Guys, I finished the call."

They stopped talking and looked at her. "How did it go? Did you convince him to call a meeting?"

The Migrant Fleet rarely accepted strangers, as they could compromise the entire Fleet with normal germs, which normally killed the weak Quarians.

By the way, Veronica wasn't in the room because she was driving the Phoenix.

"Yes, I did. It took some convincing, but I managed to do it without revealing the Pill."

'' Good job.''

'' Now, what do we do? Should we join the others?'' Tali asked.

Samael knew what was happening around the ship, as RR informed him periodically. He was aware of the chaos taking place in the bar and really didn't want to miss good times with his girls.

"How about we watch some movies?"

At Samael's suggestion, everyone in the room nodded. Soon, everyone cuddled in bed to watch something together.

Samael wasn't really watching; he was enjoying their company more than anything. He had seen the movie many times before, so he wasn't paying much attention to it.

This is all he wanted: for the people he loved to be happy. But he knew how hard was to get that wish and he was willing to fight until his last breath to make sure his wish was achieved.

---

While Samael and the others were bonding in his room, the rest of the crew was also doing the same. Several hours had passed since they left Tuchanka, so those who were tired had already rested, and those who were injured had recovered enough to walk around the Phoenix.

Alenko and Keiji, who hadn't participated in the crew's activities back on Tuchanka because they didn't feel like partying and the rescue team had enough members, grew closer and formed a friendship. Once things settled down, they called everyone to join them for a game of poker.

However, the outcome of the game wasn't what they expected.

AT THE BAR

EDI and Joker were there, observing everyone and nursing their drinks. They had left Veronica alone in the cockpit since they had covered for her a few times when the pilot visited Samael's room. Legion was with them.

The Geth wasn't particularly liked by everyone there, but he had Samael's trust, and that was enough for the others to refrain from showing any hate towards him. Although he was slow, Legion was gradually making friends.

Nearby, Thane, Kasumi, Alenko, and Keiji were watching the scene around the bar, with the last two having deadpan expressions.

"So, is this what you had in mind?" Kasumi teased her boyfriend.

Keiji silently shook his head, a gesture Alenko almost copied.

"This is a little bit fun," Thane was Drell of few words and even fewer emotions, but his tone indicated that he was enjoying the situation.

It also helped that not long ago, Samael had informed him that Kolyat was safe and adjusting well on Earth, even helping around with a few tasks. This news clearly made Thane less worried, allowing him to relax a bit.

"I swear this wasn't what we had in mind. We just wanted a normal game of poker…" Alenko said, just as a few unknown liquids splashed against his biotic barrier.

"Maybe this is normal for them?" Kasumi tried to offer encouraging words, but her point failed to resonate as John was flung from one side of the bar to the other.

BOOM

Mordin, Clare, and Chakwas rushed to John to check on him. He was already getting up when they arrived on his location.

Mordin pointed his omni-tool at him. "Vitals are normal, no broken bones, yes."

"No signs of concussion either," Clare added after a few more seconds of examination.

"Then he's good to return," Chakwas said after checking John a bit. "Do you want to go back?"

John nodded. "Yes. And you guys can bet on me this time."

The trio of doctors exchanged glances, almost reevaluating their decision to send John back. The man was clearly hallucinating, as he hadn't won a single hand since the poker game began.

"What is taking so long?!" Grunt roared from the other side of the bar. "I'm getting bored here!"

"Coming!" After thanking the doctors, John returned to the game table while the trio went back to their positions.

They had been 'hired' by the poker players to assist with any injuries that might occur during the games.

The players at the table included Wrex, Javik, Grunt, John, and a few other crewmembers who had taken the serum. They were the only ones allowed to participate, as regular people wouldn't be able to keep up.

Samara was the dealer, and since Samael hadn't bribed her, and considering she had beaten up Wrex not long ago, she was dealing fairly today.

Initially, the poker game began normally, but when Alenko and Keiji, the game organizers, stepped out for just two seconds, Grunt came up with an idea. "Hey, how about we make this game interesting?"

Everyone perked up, signaling Grunt to continue.

"How about if you lose a hand, you can still keep your credits if you win a fight with the person who won the hand? I call this 'Fight Poker.'"

Ignoring the rather simplistic name, a few players found the idea interesting, especially Wrex and Javik, although the rules seemed too basic for their liking.

Then Samara entered the discussion. "Let me offer some suggestions."

After Samara spoke for a while, the game adopted new rules:

1. It was still poker through and through, but this time, you could reclaim your money if you lost and if you wanted to.

2. Only the person with the worst hand could fight to try and win their credits back; this rule was meant to allow the winner to gain some credits while not exhausting themselves with constant fighting.

3. The loser could choose not to fight, but the winner had to accept if the loser decided they wanted to battle.

5. If the loser loses the fight, he has to pay what he lost plus 10% for the trouble.

4. The dealer would take 3% of every pot.

While some tried to argue about the last rule, Samara quickly shut it down.

There were other rules, but this was the gist of it.

With Samara's revisions to the rules, everyone was on board with the game. By the time Keiji and Alenko returned, the atmosphere was already charged with excitement.

And now, they could only watch chaos happen.

Kasumi could no longer bear to see her boyfriend so down, so she said, "Let's go to our quarters to relax."

Keiji nodded, "Let—"

BOOM!

John was sent flying across the bar again, accompanied by laughter. He had lost a hand against Wrex and tried to win his credits back, only to lose it.

The light in Keiji and Alenko's eyes dimmed once more.

The game continued for a few more hours as the crew bonded over it. Joker's group mixed with Kasumi's, and Legion took that opportunity to make more friends.

HOURS LATER

Samael was awakened by Veronica's voice speaking through the comms of the Phoenix. "Attention, we will arrive at the Migrant Fleet soon. You have 20 to 30 minutes to prepare."

As he got up, he saw that everyone was already armored and armed, ready to head to the Migrant Fleet. After all, most of them were soldiers, so it made sense that they were prepared for anything.

"What did I miss?" Since he was the last one to wake up, Samael asked curiously as he got up and headed to take a shower.

"Nothing much. We just took a shower. We didn't want to wake you," Shepard said as she finished checking her guns.

Samael kissed her and the rest and nodded. "I'll take a shower and meet you guys later."

They left the room, and Samael entered the bathroom. Before he took his clothes off, he looked in the mirror.

What looked back was his face, still missing an eye. He touched the left side of his face, feeling the weight of his failure. "Still handsome though."

What happened to Thessia was something he hadn't predicted, and it worried him quite a bit, as it could happen again now.

Of course, with Saren and the Reapers dead, things should go 'smoothly' from now on, but not being prepared enough has resulted in him losing his eye and putting his family in danger.

This time, Samael would make sure that nothing went wrong.

'Nothing like changing the fate of your girlfriend's species to gain favor with her father.'

Samael chuckled at his thought, dispelling his previous heavy mood.

"I'm sure things will go okay today."

After that, he took a shower.

When he got out, Veronica's voice once more reverberated through the Phoenix. "We have arrived at the Migrant Fleet."

Samael put his now almost battered armor. It was the same one he made many moons ago, but now battle-hardened. It was also ahead of its time, and LD would soon launch it on the market.

He then put his gun on his waist, "Time to change fate once more."