The other offered a small comfort to Helaena.  âIt is nice to know others have struggled.â She picked at the top of her nail bed, âMost of my family has seemed to just fit in, like a puzzle piece..â As usual Helaena was the awkward jaded piece that never felt like it quite belonged.  âBitter might just be what I need⊠I thought about trying every possible cupâ wasnât quite sure though if that would be recommended. I just donât know my own taste..â She had never really been allowed to have a say in her life, not even when it came to her meals. She didnât realize how many choices sheâd be able to make in a single day.
"I didn't grow up knowing a lot of things. So learning them all at once was intimidating. But it gets easier. Still weird sometimes." There were gaps in her knowledge even to today- simple ones that others had learned when they were small, while she'd only learned to fight. "Maybe they could help?" It was a bit more tentative; they were well-aware not every family would care to do such a thing, but perhaps it just needed to be asked for. "You could." Cass grinned, the thought of a taste test experiment sounding fun. "MJ is nice. I'm sure she would make sample size cups. You don't want too much caffeine though. So just small sips of everything. Then we could find your taste!"
Liara listened to her friend, she often felt empathy for the Quarians. She couldnât imagine the pain sheâd fell knowing she had lost Thessia and there was a small chance theyâd ever make it home safely again.  âPerhaps there is technology aboard this ship that can help with re-assimilation to your planet.â Liara offered, âMaybe the Research and Science division could help find a way for you to jumpstart your collective immune systems.â Back home re-colonization was reliant on their efforts against the final surge of Reapers. Liara hated not knowing how it ended, not knowing if her friends got to live their dreams. If Shepard and his ground squad had made it home safely. It was a lot of unknowns that she hoped to get answers too before returning home.  âIâm glad to be with you too Tali.â She smiled placing her hand on her friends covered shoulder.  âIâm learning quite a bit, but sadly not much about our home.â She wouldnât admit it to any of her crew, but a part of her didnât want to know if they succeeded or failed. She wanted to cling a bit to the naivety that they were all alive and well back home. Â
"That is what I am hoping! Multiple universes worth of medical knowledge and research, there must be something." Maybe even something that could get her out of her own suit while they were here. That wish she discarded as soon as it resolved; these things took time, and that time probably wouldn't be within her own lifespan. "Even just not needing them on Rannoch would be freeing. Though, culturally, I expect aspects would stick around, if not the whole rig." Like the hoods, or maybe even the whole mask segment. They'd all gotten so accustomed to not showing their faces, to scraping at any measure of privacy one could get on the Flotilla. But Tali would like to be free, to feel the wind on her face and to smell the flowers lining the walking paths of the garden they strode through. Even the horticultural knowledge could be useful. Her own hand lifted up, three slender fingers to cover Liara's as she tilted her head closer too, like she could squish her friend's hand with her cheek. "And it's a good group! If we could just get Joker too it'd feel almost like home. Do they bar that sort of stuff of from even you? I tried to look in the library, but it said I didn't have access to records from our universe. And they absolutely neutered my omni-tool while I was frozen so I couldn't even hack in."
âYouâre not allowed to get that sick,â said Garrus, teasing tone doing its best to hide the genuine thread of worry her arrival had inspired within him (not because she was there â it was better to have her in front of him and visibly alive than to not know where she was or if she was alright â but because cryo had taken a toll on her). Hopefully his subvocals wouldnât betray him. Tali seemed uncannily good at perceiving and reading them, for a non-turian. Or maybe she was just good at reading him, other turians be damned. Hearing about her suit VI quells the worry a little bit, at least. âIt would compromise the mission. If I end up the sole person on this ship who can taste the awful dextro food, then where will we be? Doomed. And Iâll have to do something drastic.â He shut the door to his quarters behind him, careful not to let too much heat escape. âBut yes, getting frozen is, uh, not good.â Heâd seen footage of earth felines being bathed against their will, crawling out of the water with what could only be described as homicidal airs. That was (though heâd never in his right mind confess this to any of the Normandy crew after the debacle over the comms earlier) how Garrus had felt coming out of cryo. Frigid, uncomfortable, irritated enough to claw someoneâs eyes out. âLetâs find something warm.â
"Oh, allowed? On your authority as C-sec?" Her arms crossed as if affronted, but her teasing tone matched his. She found it touching he was being so protective on her behalf- Tali could read between the lines on his anger, knew he got righteous when hurt, and the warmth of that could chase away the lingering chills of cryo. That was- a good crewmate. A very good friend. "Doomed by the nutrient rations and led down a life of crime in response. They could make a vid with that plotline." The envirosuit doing its job meant she didn't feel the ambient cold of the ship, but the readings said it was nearing the temperature it had been for much of their time on Noveria, and she knew how much that had bothered him. "Are you feeling okay? I really will make you a personal heater, once I get my hands on a good piece of tech to sacrifice- oh!! Why didn't I think of that earlier?" Tapping away at her thankfully unconfiscated but certainly less deadly omni-tool, she fiddled with a few settings to radiate the heat her suit produced rather than cycling it, then sidled up closer to Garrus' side so he could catch the effects. "There! I can be your personal heater for now instead. I can run like this indefinitely as long as I don't need the shields. Which, well, you know, might be tempting fate enough to make things interesting here. Is that a good temperature?" She peered up at him, watching for a flicker of his eyes and listening to hear how his subvocals shifted. She could adjust it higher, but she also didn't want to scald him. "Let's! Oooh- soup! Very easy to get through the emergency induction port."
tali'zorah vas normandy & katniss everdeen in the halls outside the bridge
Though certainly larger than the Normandy, it turned out the station wasn't quite as large as the Citadel. And, infinitely more welcoming in some parts. For one, no Keepers. For two, and all points after, no one was giving her dirty looks. Curious ones regarding her suit and helmet definitely, but not the sort that said they were automatically judging her as a liar and thief because of it. It made familiarĂzing herself with the ship significantly easier, letting her explore in ways that would once have been tentative. She'd wanted to maybe start on top and work her way down to the engines, but found that not all areas were welcoming. Tali found herself face to mask with a human barring her way. "The command center is through there, then? I understand why it would be closed to particular personnel on a military ship, but this is civilian- are there not even tours? I'd just like to see some of the tech that's being used."
â Thatâs because itâs not , not really , â he offered , spinning his chair around so that he could face her. He understood why Joker was always raving about the seats , it was comfortable. â Itâs a waste of resources and manpower , especially when thereâs something else you could be doing. â He spoke from experience , though he doubted anyone on board knew that , or cared enough about him to ask the archivists what his life was like. â You manage to get in there , grab my rifle for me , would you? â
John was glad he got to work with Rey , she made everything seem a little less bleak. She was a good kid , he knew heâd have done his damnedest to get her on the Normandy if they were back in his home universe. â Iâm not sure why they got me flying the ship when Iâd be better off in security or science. Iâm kinda glad they didnât stick me in science though , itâs been years since I was that guy. â His face fell just a little bit as he thought of the Council , and he nodded , before he offered a small shrug. â I wouldnât call them my best friends , thatâs for sure. There was only one I could get along with , and thatâs because I appointed him , and then he stepped down because of how shit the Council was. â
Growing up and living like she had, Rey found the waste unfathomable. Which left her mind scrambling for an actual reason behind the seemingly mindless traversal, and getting antsy about it in the meantime. âAnd what something else would we be doing, if we donât have an actual goal.â It wasnât a question so much as a complaint, because she could see how that was going in circles. It was a waste to wander around, but they were going to do nothing but in the absence of a goal. Or, knowing the goal, at least. There had to be something, some reason they were all brought here. She chuckled again, a bit more glumly. âIâll do my best, but if itâs nice enough I might just keep it.â Not that she had any business handling a rifle.
âI donât get why they shuffled some of us round like that.â Rey idly kicked at the base of the helm post as her gaze wandered off before snapping back with interest. âWhat sort of research did you do?â Force weak though it was, Rey was still decent enough at reading people to see the shift in his expression. She made a note to research more of the world heâd come from. They worked together, after all, and itâd be polite. And sounded interesting. âIf your good one couldnât make it, then it mustâve been a real mess.â
tali'zorah vas normandy & john shepard in the private residences
It had taken only moments for Tali to get tangled up on Shepard, curling close on his lap and resting her helmet against his shoulder, as if that could replicate the need for closeness that nothing ever quite fulfilled when stuck in her suit. They'd need to wait- until they were sure she wouldn't get sick from the cryo, until she'd buffed up her immune system and sterilized the room- but she wanted him to look at her face, to see her, to feel him properly. "This is torture." Tali bemoaned glumly, feeling as if she'd never hated the envirosuit more acutely than this moment. "I am- incandescent to see you. I am so happy! It would have been hell to be stuck here alone but you're here and Garrus and Liara and that's incredible! But I want to kiss my cute human boyfriend now and I hate this!" With a groan, she twisted up to look at him, gloved fingers lifting to skim along his jawline then his shoulders and upper arms. Very nice ones, very strong. "And I know that's very selfish... You have been here alone, with all these humans- no offense- for how long, now? I am sorry I wasn't here earlier... And I hope you're not thinking this is your problem to solve all by yourself because it's not. Your crew is here."
tali'zorah vas normandy & liara t'soni in the gardens
"Rannoch means walled garden in Khelish." Tali pronounced the name of her people's home world deliberately, trying to get past the translators so she didn't end up saying walled garden twice in a row. That'd be a bit redundant. It usually worked with the translator units on the Normandy, so she hoped she didn't sound silly here. "Our skin carried the seeds that grew into desert grass. It won't be like that again right away, though. Maybe ever." And right now she couldn't reach out and touch a flower without crushing it. Her homeland was far, the Quarians who knew how far along in their resettlement of the planet. "You probably knew that already- but, I guess I'm saying... I want to find something here that will help everyone rebuild. Which I guess sort of makes this like a Pilgrimage part two. Which makes me even gladder you're here, I was in the first place, but now it's almost... Circular. Like a story." There were certain ways Tali felt like she'd grown up with Liara. Not in a known her all her life sort of way, but in that they'd both fought and suffered and learned from that same awkward young adult place they'd been to the powerful assured people they were now alongside each other. Quarians didn't have siblings by nature of the crowding on the flotilla, but if Tali had ever imagined a sister, it would be Liara. "Does that make any sense? Are you learning a lot here, in the archives?"
taliâzorah vas normandy & garrus vakarian in the private residences
The Normandy was cozy in size compared to this place- which seemed more Citadel-like, though luckily with no Keepers skittering about- and sheâd grown so used to having Garrus close at hand that being in space, with him, but not near him felt unexpectedly... unsettling. He wasnât as far away as another planet or system as they had been before, but there was no ambling around the corner to tease him or peer over his shoulder at his work like there had been either. Keelah seâlai, Tali found an uneasiness in her that simply demanded to see Garrus in person, immediately. It was one thing to replicate their playful banter over the little comms unit, but another entirely to see him, hear the low thrum of his voice and watch the little flick of his mandibles as he quipped at her. She rapped at his door, shifting from foot to foot and fiddling with how the cloth decorating her envirosuit sat on her hips before snapping to attention when he opened it. He couldnât see much of the smile that erupted over her features, so it was unabashed and, yes, seeing him quelled that plaguing agitation. âGarrus, we have a mission. We need to find tolerable dextro-food before I become too ill to taste it.â Her head shifted, an easy tell. âNot that I think Iâm going to get that sick. Maybe. My suit VI is reading optimally and I only feel a little stiff so far, but getting frozen canât be good for even sturdier species, right? Either way, we need to find the good stuff sooner rather than later if we're going to be here indefinitely.â
â° itâs time to wake up, TALI'ZORAH VAS NORMANDY youâve been in cryosleep for too long and the people of MASS EFFECT miss you. when you went into slumber you were TWENTY FIVE years old, your pronouns are SHE/HER and you WERE VOLUNTEERED for the cambria program. now that youâve awoken, your position as a CARTOGRAPHER is waiting for you. remember, the cambria one thanks you! ( luna, neelam gil )
the basics;
NAME: TaliâZorah vas Normandy
ALIAS(ES): Tali, Admiral, Sparks, Miss vas Normandy
AGE: 25
PRONOUNS & GENDER: quarian female, she/her
BIRTHDAY & ZODIAC: n/a
FACECLAIM: neelam gil
AESTHETICS: silken fabric over an unyieldingly hard envirosuit, the flash of sharp eyes behind a mask separating you from the world, a kind heart after a lifetime of hardship and judgement, quick fingers in the guts of a humming ship, a yearning for real touch, and an undying dedication to her people
a deeper look;
BACKGROUND: tali is taken from a few months past the destroy ending of mass effect 3; the galaxy was undertaking the massive task of rebuilding.
WEAPONS: her mechanical abilities as an engineer and sharp wit can't be confiscated, but her shotgun, knife, and combat drone, chatika, definitely were.Â
POWERS/ABILITIES/SKILLS: high IQ with extensive knowledge and experience working with AI and defense drones. sheâs used to hard scrabble situations and can cobble together mechanical tech from scraps. her time serving on the admiralty gave her political knowledge and strengthened her negotiation skills.Â
GREATEST STRENGTH: her compassion and ingenuity
GREATEST WEAKNESS/FLAW: shoulders all the blame she possibly can
ONE FEAR: spider and spider-adjacent creatures. and their skittering.
ONE HOPE: that something they find here in this universe can help the rebuilding effort back home
HEADCANON(S): quarians have functionally no immune system due to generations of living on sterile ships, and before that they lived symbiotically with the organisms on their home planet, so outside her room tali is always in a hermetically sealed enviro suit. since I am not bound by what video games can render I'm going to say the face mask is slightly more sheer than in the games, so the glow of her eyes and general shape of her face are visible in good lighting, though the specifics of her features are obscured.Â
the questionnaire;
How does your character feel about being dropped into the cambria program? Are they excited? Suspicious? Confused?Â
once she realized other normandy crew was there along with her, she became significantly less scared and instead curious and fascinated by the mechanics of the ship and method of bringing people in
What does your character hope to see the most during the cambria oneâs journey?Â
as much new tech as possible
If your character could bring one thing or person from home, what would it be?
sheâd break her combat drone out of weapons holding
wanda let out a soft hum. the room cleared eventually and she made her way out with quiet footsteps and a slow walk, allowing cassandra to followâif she so desired. ânot really. iâve never been into movies, not enough to keep up with them.â thereâs a chuckle behind a closed-mouth smile, and she glances to cassandra through her peripheral vision.
despite her time aboard, Wanda felt restless. her work only allowed for so much room, and it wasnât enough. she couldnât even study, couldnât practice. she felt trapped, enough so that resorting to being polite with strangers was something of a change she wanted to seek out in her routine. she simply just wanted to go home. âiâve always been more into cable tv shows. i grew up on them as a child, and watched them with my brother.â
With little hesitation, Cassandra followed along. Talking with new people was good. Enriching. And... strategic, to know the surroundings and the people there. Mostly they were bored. âTheyâre very long. And thereâs a lot. It would be a lot of work to keep up.â She knew Tim had favorite franchises; franchises that had what seemed like dozens of movies, all hours long. It seemed daunting to sit still that long.Â
âWhat sort? Iâve watched some with my best friend. Like Buffy...â Oh, Cass missed Steph so much. Theyâd mostly left shows running while training or researching rather than watching them, but she had some frame of reference. Of course, whatever shows this woman watched growing up might be totally different. They could be from different times, or worlds even. âOh. They might be completely different where youâre from. Isnât that weird?â
He remained silent as she spoke , taking in the situation as best he could. He had no physical weapon , but neither did she. The Force was strong within her , that much he could feel , but was she as strong as he? He wouldnât let his guard down , because he knew the answer could be yes. Anakin could tell that her guard was not down either , by the tone in her voice and the way she looked at him , but he took no offense to it.
That she took the Skywalker name surprised him , and it showed on his face for a brief moment , but he offered a nod as she explained. â Luke did have my last name. â That one of his children did , it meant more than he had ever expected it to. He assumed their baby would take Amidala , to play it safe. Knowing Luke was a Skywalker , it was nice. â If Luke felt you deserved the last name , I donât have anything against it. â He stood then , and offered a small smile. â I donât believe Iâm in such a position I can be offended , anyways. â
âMhm. I saw yours in the comms. Lots of Skywalkers bumbling about. I mean, more than I expected. Itâs not bad, though! Definitely not.â After all, there hadnât been any left to complain when sheâd initially claimed it. An odd, off-kilter feeling settled in her gut. She didnât want to fight. She knew it would be hypocritical to given all sheâd pursued the light buried in Ben. But that didnât make it any less strange to be conversing someone that had, in his own future, been such a huge, towering figure of the dark side. And- someone that had known Palpatine.
âIt-â Her mouth twisted up, small and sad before she could force through. âHe wasnât around to say no, exactly.â A beat passed with her nerves fizzling. âI suppose he couldâve kicked up a fit in the Force, but... it was in honor. And a promise. And I was sick of not having one of my own.â His statement surprised a little laugh out of her, and she shook her head. âNot really, no.â
âPigheadedness can get in the way of finding the right solution to the problem. Everyone wants to be right,â Betsy replied with a shrug and stuffed half of a cocktail shrimp into her mouth to chase the cheese. She wasnât sure what it was exactly about the food, but she found she couldnât put it down.
âNot on the ship, no, but I have a brother. A twin. We argued all the time growing up. Thankfully, I get to be the older one or weâd both be knee deep in some of his shenanigans right about now.â Not to mention stubborn. Brian had a hard time convincing her to do anything she didnât want to do.
âYouâll have to introduce me. Perhaps I can be the mediator to your little squabbles.â She wrinkled her nose in amusement at the idea. Sibling squabbles always seemed to be the best.
Stubbornness, Cassandra understood, it afflicted them often enough. But the real goal was always learning and getting better, and to do those, they often needed to give up and listen, or watch. The only time they felt the need to be right was when rescuing people, which they felt was admirable enough. Not in arguments, not really. âHuh. I think doing whatâs best for everyone is usually right. But things donât always work out easy like that.â
Tipping her head, she listened with interest as she twisted back to the snack table and pick out some little rolled meats and cheese cubes of her own. They werenât as fancy as the teensy hors dâoevres often provided at the Wayne galas, but they almost liked them more for that. She laughed quietly, shaking her head. âJust barely older is enough to be in charge?â It made sense that Dick so often led of the kids; he had the most experience. But just a few minutes between twins seemed silly. âI donât see him right now... But he works in security with me! Sort of. Internal affairs.â
when rey spoke up, it seemed to pull ellie out of her stupor. there was a slight raise of her brow in confusion, and she glanced to her plate to point at what she only assumed rey was talking about. âthis? itâs fine, i guess.â she attempted to fall back into silence, since she didnât entirely feel like keeping up a conversation, but there wasnât much of a point.
about two minutes later, she ended up picking through her plate, and gently pushed it forwards. âif you want these, you can have them. i donât think iâm gonna eat everything.â she was trying her best to be polite, it seemed, though there was a mannerism to her gestures that seemed clunky, almost roboticâas if she didnât entirely know what she was doing. coupled with the sleepless nights and a lifelong intensity to always be rough, jagged, and tense in her bones, ellie didnât quite know how to be gentle. to be comfortable.
Rey hummed, almost biting her lip in holding herself back from blurting out more. Inexperienced though she was with interacting with strangers, she could most certainly read a vibe, and this personâs was saying quiet. Rey, though, was anything but. âJust fine? Thereâs loads of food here, bet we could find something youâd say was good. Itâs crazy thereâs so much around in the first place, but maybe youâll discover a favorite.â It probably read oddly to be so impassioned about food choice, but for most of her life she hadnât had that, and this place really was bonkers.Â
âOh, thatâs alright, I wasnât trying to bully you out of your food.â A wide grin lit her face, and she chuckled quietly as she shook her head. âWe could share, though, if you wanted! I found these little chocolate cluster things... thereâs caramel!â
Closed Starter for Zatanna & Diana ( @astcrfieldawayâ )
Where : Observation Cafe
âZee.â Diana was already aware of the others presence on the ship via their communications devices. It still couldnât help the warm feeling she had because of the visual confirmation.  âWould it be a fools thought to hope your Father made it through with you as well?â She questioned earnestly. The old Zatara had been an old ally, it is how she came to know many of the children of some very old friends. Â
âDiana!â Her smile was bubbly bright, champagne fizz joy at seeing yet another person she deemed far more competent than herself arriving. And- a friend. Zatanna reached out to squeeze Dianaâs hands, even as her smile grew muddled at the question. âI- oh, that honestly wasnât something it had occurred to me to hope for.â It would be glorious to see him again. And it would tear open the patchwork shreds sheâd bandaged over his loss. She blinked a few times, internally trying to sweep out the melancholy and shook her head. "Everyone so far's been from about the same era, give or take a few years or minor timeline differencs, I think."