Without Vakarian
Chapter One: The Grudge
Garrus Vakarian was pacing. As a C-Sec officer, he had seen many illegal and maddening things. But Saleon was different. The turian could still recall the day he had interrogated one of the salarian's employees: the blood dripping on the table seemingly out of nowhere, a medic rolling up a sleeve to reveal fresh incisions. The male had winced at the sensation, and after Garrus had discovered the experimentation taking place within the turian's body, he could only guess what walking around for the creature must feel like. Garrus remembered the way his body had stiffened in disgust, the closing and opening of his fingers as he yearned to throttle the doctor. But Saleon had gotten away, and Garrus was left with an anger that flared every time he saw a salarian. He had agreed to join Shepard on the Normandy and help her take down Saren, and with the discovery of Sovereign being a Reaper, time was growing short. Still, the more the turian tried to purge his mind of the experiments that had taken place, the more frustrated he grew, and the harder it was to concentrate on his missions. Shepard took him on nearly every mission, and lately she had been giving him some side-eyes as he missed shots he otherwise would've nailed easily. The Commander was an Adept, and she counted on her squadmates to finish the enemy with bullets while she set up singularity fields and warped enemies half to death. He wanted to be at his best, but he simply couldn't be with the burden of Dr. Heart on his shoulders.
So when the Commander was making her rounds on the Normandy, greeting her crew and inquiring into their health, Garrus squared his shoulders and asked her to help. And to his relief, Shepard told him they could go finish the criminal. He thanked Shepard and smiled as he turned away, imagining the fear on Saleon's face when he saw him again.
The next day Shepard, Wrex, and himself boarded the Fedele. The Commander, cautious as usual, creeped through the ship, and soon they found themselves crouching behind cover as some twisted test subjects attacked them. Garrus found the hatred within him rising as he gunned down what once had been a healthy creature. Once all the test subjects were taken care of, Shepard advanced to the next room. A salarian with warm brown skin was on the other side of the door.
"Thank you, thank you for saving me from those things," he said, relief etched on the lines of his face. Garrus scowled.
"Commander, that's him. That's Dr. Saleon," the turian said without hesitation. He saw Shepard raise an eyebrow, gun pointed to the floor.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. There's no escape this time, doctor. I'd harvest your organs first, but we don't have the time," Garrus said, drawing a pistol from behind his back and aiming it at the salarian's head.
"He's crazy! Please don't let him do this to me," Saleon begged. This time when Garrus turned to Shepard, he could see the frown on her face, the tension in her back.
"Put him out of his misery," she said.
"Gladly. Your days of butchering are over, doctor," Garrus said, and the doctor pleaded twice, then fled. The turian aimed carefully, and the salarian's life was over by the time he lowered his gun.
"That was satisfying," Garrus said, feeling the doubts that had bogged him down slip away. Shepard holstered her gun.
"Good. We're done here."