Love is All We Have Left

by Nylon Nyx

The galaxy is torn apart by the reaper war, and a relationship that was once strong seems to be out of reach. Garrus searches the galaxy for his loved needle in the huge haystack. Kiana seems to be lost forever. Will she ever be found? Sequel to The Beginning of the End. Rated M just to be safe. MASS EFFECT IS BIOWARE'S.

1. Chapter 1

~Love is All We Have Left~

Story~ Belongs to me

Background~ My view of after Mass Effect 3, Garrus and Shepard pairing.

Disclaimer~ I own the added storyline at the end of Mass Effect 3

NOTE: Some flashbacks take place in the Mass Effect games. BIOWARE owns this Mass GALAXY, except my Shepard and any additional characters that you do not see in the Mass Effect Games.

These ~~~ are beginnings and at ends of flashbacks

NONPROFIT~ This is just for fun. :)

CHAPTER 1~ RESUGENCE

NOVEMBER 13th ,2186 04:23am

Earth.

Home world of the prosperous Human race. Now lay in ruin. Distant generations of prosperity, health, and long lost history, now lay in heaps of cobble across the globe. Other worlds of this kind, destroyed. Families torn. Friendships broken apart. Races nearly extinct. The victory was won, but the battle for survival is hanging thick in the cloudy air.

London.

Once a rich land with beautiful streets and towers built by hand, now destroyed and vaporized into rubble. The cold air was heavy and the clouds in the sky lay thick with smoke and fumes of gunfire.

Silence.

It was deafening in the dead of the early morning. As days went by the sun never shone through the bush of clouds covering most of London's city. Blue sky was never seen. Birds were never heard. The smell of smoke and rock hover in every corner.

Life.

Slowly, a life form thought to be dead, emerges from the cobble of stone. Barely alive and breathing. Barely awake and moving. The savior of the Galaxy. Wandering helplessly. Not knowing where she is.

Alone.

No person or living creature in sight. No insect, nor bird or Human alive.

Dead.

A woman as dead as death itself. No where to go. Death's smell filled her nose. Death was everywhere. Not one thing on the ground was alive. Not even a tiny dandelion growing in a crack in the concrete was alive.

Shadows.

The shadows followed her wherever she went. The shadows made her alert and aware...

Darkness.

No light shone on the street in the dark. Darkness overtook the light. It swallowed any pigment of brightness anywhere. In every corner darkness made it's self known.

Light...

Walking down a street.. A sudden bright light...

Rescue.

It was in her midst around her. Now she knew, she could let go...

~ON THE NORMANDY~

Garrus held the plaque up to the wall.

Pausing to run a hand across the name engraved in it.

He knew this was his call..

She was still alive.

He felt it in his heart.

She wouldn't leave without a good-bye.

His heart said one thing.

While his mind said another...

In this moment.

The decision was clear.

Turning he glanced at each one of the crew.

Each, waiting for an explanation.

Each, wanting something more than a plaque on a wall to honor her.

Garrus looked back down at the plaque in his hand.

It was useless to speak.

Nothing needed to be said.

Yet, something had to be done.

Each one nodded in agreement.

Each one followed him.

Each one had followed her.

Thus, the search begins...

NOVEMBER 15th ,2186

A knocking came from outside the captain's cabin.

"Garrus, I know you're upset, but, please come out. We need you on the bridge."

Liara's soft and pleading voice still wasn't convincing him. Ever since the Normandy retreated from Earth and took off through a relay that nearly fried the ship, Garrus was in more emotional pain than physical. He'd been wounded, but his physical pain didn't even compare to the damage taken to his mental self.

As he sat in silence, Garrus ran a talon over the engraved tags. Her tags. His mind took him to a place he didn't want to go...

"Normandy! Do you copy? I need an evac. Right now! " Shepard reported and carried Garrus as Liara followed closely behind.

She carried him until they reached the Normandy's cargo hold. "Here, take him." Kiana said to Liara and gently eased his weight off of her and to Liara."Shepard." "You've got to get out of here, Garrus."

"And you've got to be kidding me." "There's no time to debate!"

Garrus looked down, he having trouble staying on his feet. The pain in both of their eyes. The realization of separating when they'd always had each other's backs was horrifying. "We're in this together till the end."

"No matter what happens here..." Kiana steps toward Garrus and runs her hand across his mandible.

"I love you, I always have, and I always will." "Kiana..."

One last glimpse... They stared at each other and took in one last long look. Printing each other's faces in their minds. "I.. love you too."

Kiana quickly reached into her neck collar and took off her tags, placing them in his hand as she kisses his forehead.

Backing away and looking behind her she yelled for them to go. Garrus was eying her. Taking in her form and watched her disappear into the horde.

Little did he know that that was the last time he'd set eyes on her for a very long time...

"Garrus!" Liara called softly.

Garrus continued to stare at the name and looked up and around the room. He got up and a very startled Liara stood shocked outside of the door. She hadn't been expecting him to come out...

Garrus gripped the tags tighter and his mandibles twitched as he walked past her and entered the elevator. Liara peeked her head inside the cabin. Taking a glance at the fish tank that was illuminating the dark room. She hadn't been in here for a long while and decided to snoop.

Liara cautiously walked in and made sure not to touch anything. She sighed when she saw a pile of clothes, most likely dirty ones, lying on the floor beside the bathroom door. Kiana had never known what to do with clothing.

She had been so used to wearing armor that she hadn't been fond of clothing. Liara picked up an N7 sweatshirt that was lying on top of the pile. She bowed her head a bit and thought of all the times Shepard had worn it. Liara sighed and put the sweatshirt back. Feeling something tugging at her chest, she backed away.

Now wasn't the time...

For the next couple weeks, Garrus fell into a state of anger and in a way, depression. He felt that his life didn't hold any special purpose. Deep in his heart he knew Kiana was still alive, but his head was telling him it was all pointless.

The galaxy had been torn apart apart from the war. Not only that, but the Normandy was running low on fuel and was mostly running on power saver energy. Most of the lights were off, making it harder to navigate through the ship. Garrus 'needed' to work on the ship's gunnery system to get them working again, but- he couldn't get to doing it.

Just working on the calibrations in the battery reminded him or her...

Knocking came from the Main Battery door and Garrus didn't bother turning to see who it was. He could hear her steady footsteps feet away from the door. He had already memorized her smooth steps she took as she walked toward the door.

His obsession had escalated since he felt like they were.. almost like, in Human terms, an item. It didn't comfort his stomach to think that he was actually in love. Never before had he ever felt these emotions except with Shepard.

Never in his life had he ever met someone like her. Strong, faithful, obedient to friends, kind, respectful, caring, violent, slick. She had the flexibility AND the reach. Thus, he fell in love with her. To him he wasn't sure why he'd fallen in love with her even though the answer was dangling above his head.

"Hmm?" Garrus called. The door opened and Shepard walked in behind him. She slid a hand up and down his shoulder comfortingly. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. How are you holding up?" She whispered and looked into his eyes.

"I'm in the middle of some-" "Calibrations? Garrus-" She stopped herself, knowing that he just needed time. Palaven was rough to see, and even being on its moon and not the planet itself was brutal. "She forced him to face her and saw the pain and worry in his eyes. Running a hand over his scarred mandible she hugged him tightly and laid her head on his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her and laid his cheek on the top of her head. Kiana reached up and stroked his fringe...

May 16th ,2187

The Normandy made it to a far off system near Thessia that was mostly now inhabited by Cerberus troops. They managed to get around Cerberus and find the locals. The locals helped the crew fuel the Normandy and repair the major damages from the crucible blast. For three whole months the ship stayed on the planet until they were able to take off for Illium.

That was three months ago, February.

The Normandy landed on Illium and they immediately noticed the damage that still lingered on the planet. Somehow, someone heard that the Normandy was on Illium and the one who was commanding it, was summoned to a meeting with Illium security. Garrus was afraid they'd be taken into custody of some sort.

Garrus decided it was a good idea to go. He brought Liara with him and was led by security to some offices. Thinking of all the possibilities of what might happen at the moment. He watched the guards open the door and Garrus stared in disbelief at what he saw.

"Bailey?" "Yeah, yeah. Close your mouth and stop gaping." "How did you escape the Citadel?" Garrus stepped in the room and Liara seemed to be hesitant. "Well," Bailey said while he got out of his chair, "the Citadel had been evacuated when it was moved to London. Every person and family possible moved into London. I had been scheduled to leave Earth before anything happened in London. I wanted to stay and fight, but I was needed here."

Garrus nodded and Liara tapped his shoulder. "I'm going to go look around in the area and see if there's anything I can help with." As she turned to leave Garrus chuckled. "Are you bringing Javik with you?" Looking over her shoulder, glaring she replied with a stale 'no' and walked out of the room.

"What I want to know, Vakarian, is why you're here." Bailey lent on his desk and lifted a mug to his lips. "Honestly, I am here for extra parts for the Normandy and what relays you've been working on."

Bailey nodded and waved a hand. "We've gotten the Sol Relay to work and it's connected straight to the Crescent Nebula. It didn't take long to repair two relays, but I have a feeling we won't get to ALL of the relays online in just a couple of months. We're working on the Krogan DMZ and the Athena Nebula. They'll both take about a year more to repair. Some were more damaged than others. How did you guys get here anyway?"

Garrus shrugged. "It's a long story. We got through the Athena Relay before we got caught in the crucible's blast. After we'd been hit. we went to one of the nearby colonies and supplied from some of the locals. We then went on our way and took a rough six months to get here." Bailey nodded, Garrus shifted his weight on his feet as Bailey continued to talk. His mind was spinning again. How would she have handled the problem? Her notion would probably have been a bit of negotiation and a lot of compromise. She would have been calm and collective about it and set her jaw to ensure she didn't open her mouth and speak her mind.

Garrus had a hard time doing all of these things. He'd just lost his best friend, mentor, lover, the woman he loved. The bitter chill that ran up his spine made him quiver with anger and frustration. Not knowing whether she was still alive and breathing was frustrating. The first place to look would be Earth.

Garrus turned his head when he saw another Turian enter the room. He had white clan markings and a tight set jaw. He sported the blue C-sec uniform and a military posture. He saluted and spoke lowly to Bailey. They spoke for a couple more minutes before the Turian saluted and left the room.

"Damn it." Bailey muttered and ran a hand over his face. He looked up and something in his eyes lit up and it looked as if he was putting together an idea. Garrus started to dislike the look on Bailey's face. He knew that he was in for it big time. "Why didn't I think of it before?" Bailey muttered and shook his head. "You're like a war hero on Palaven, am I right?" Garrus raised a brow plate. "It's sort of like that I suppose."

He thought of what Kiana would have said about that... probably, "Cocky Turian" or, "damn right".

Bailey clapped his hands together and grinned widely. "This is on the bottom of my list, but it would be nice to get it off of my shoulders. I have a young male Turian that we caught snooping in the offices. He won't speak or even look at us and he refuses to tell us who he is where his parents are.

It's frustrating. Since you're a good example of your people I'm thinking maybe you can get him to talk.

Garrus stood, stunned. He'd only dealt with a teen in his C-sec years, but that was once! He scratched at his scarred mandible. "Eerrm, I guess." "Great! Corporal Queene, take Commander Vakarian to section AD3." As Garrus started to leave the room Bailey caught his attention again. "Oh, Vakarian. We call the kid Casper." Garrus gave Bailey a strange look and Bailey rolled his eyes. "It's a long story." The Human officer that Bailey had called appeared and saluted. Garrus followed the Corporal to the room holding 'Casper'.

On his way through the various hallways Garrus was thinking of things he would say. He recited words and statements over and over in his mind. It had become a habit when he was on the way up to Shepard's cabin. He'd go over what he would say and what reactions might be. He learned in his early C-sec years that teenagers were unpredictable. You have no idea how they'll react or respond.

Once they reached the room, everything that Garrus had planned to say suddenly faded away in an instant. He had forgotten his plan and was left with a pin's point of courage. Taking a deep breath, Garrus entered the room and saw the boy sitting on the floor near a window that overlooked some of the vast planet's city.

Garrus stopped abruptly, and the door closed behind him. He couldn't turn back now. What was he so afraid of? The kid biting his head off or the boy hating him? Garrus quickly thought of what she would have done in a situation like this. Garrus carefully approached 'Casper' and sat down next to him.

For a while Garrus sat there. Not sure of what to say to this kid. Casper didn't even look up from the floor when Garrus had entered the room. He was probably in shock from the war and he probably does not know where his parents are. Garrus was in somewhat of the same situation.

He did not know what condition his mother was in and where his family was. He desperately hoped they were alright, but most of all he did not know where the love of his life was or even if she was alive. Shrugging off the thoughts that twisted his stomach from side to side, he got up and looked out the window at the planet that was still recovering.

He was not surprised. The whole galaxy was still recovering from the war. "So," Garrus started confidently, "Casper," Garrus said while kneeling next to the boy, "look, I know you are alone. Most of us are. I know that you're confused, but the only way we can figure out what to do with you is if you tell me who you are." The boy nicknamed Casper, continued to sit completely still and didn't look up.

"It's alright to tell me. I'm in the same situation as you." Garrus sat down and looked toward the ceiling. "I don't know where my parents and sister are, my best friend is missing. I don't know what to do next, but someone told me a long time ago that, "If you're down and lost, get back up and find your way."

"The next thing I knew, I was on my feet and back on track. I think you could do the same thing, Cas." Garrus looked over at the boy and noticed his bright green eyes and maroon-red clan markings. "Who are you?" Casper asked nervously and his eyes wandered over Garrus' scarred face and chipped armor.

"Garrus Vakarian-" Casper's eyes widened and when Garrus turned, Casper hid his expression with a tight mandibled frown. "You're that guy who worked with Commander Shepard and took down Saren, the Collectors, and the Reapers right?" Garrus nodded and scratched at one of his new scars that ran down his neck. "Hhmm, yeah." Garrus looked down and thought of Shepard again. There was not one hour that went by that he never thought of her. "What? You not happy that you saved the galaxy?"

Garrus looked back up at 'Casper' and shook his head. "It's not that-" "Then what is it?" The young Turian stared int his eyes. Tormenting him to say something. The truth most likely. Garrus glared at the ceiling and kept his mouth shut. If he started talking he would not be able to stop. He hated reality. It was slowly but surely eating holes into him.

"Casper-" "Tarek, it's Tarek." Garrus nodded slowly, "Tarek, I lost a lot of friends months ago. I lost people who were so close to me they were like family. Some were closer than that." Looking down Garrus took off a glove and scratched a star on the metal floor with a talon.

Tarek watched him and marveled. He knew not to speak when an adult didn't look happy, but Garrus didn't look angry, he defiantly wasn't happy, but he seemed more upset or sad than anything. "There's a friend, I don't even know if she's still alive. She's out there, but I don't know where."

Tarek looked over at the strange marking Garrus made on the floor and glanced back up at Garrus. "Why don't you just look for her?" Tarek asked and Garrus shrugged. "The relay to Earth is up, but... part of me does not want to find her dead." Tarek scoffed. "Wouldn't it be better just to find out rather than not knowing at all?"

Garrus started to grind his teeth and his chest started to hurt after the thought of finding her limp body under some rubble. His mandibles started to throb from holding them so tight against his face. At this point what would Shepard have done if he was missing? Would she look for him or sit around, afraid of what she would find. Of course she would look. He is just being selfish. He didn't want to find a body...

Yet, there was a small chance he would not find a body. "My parents...died before my eyes. I'm all alone now. I don't have anyone else, but.." Garrus started to feel a little embarrassed. He wasn't here to tell Tarek about his problems, he was here to listen to the kid's problems.

"How old are you, kid?" Garrus glanced up and Tarek picked at his pants. "Fifteen." Garrus nodded. This kid wasn't too bad. He'd heard that a lot of kids these days are raised poorly and had nasty attitudes toward adults and authority, but this kid was pretty respectable. Something told him that Tarek was raised under military influence. "So, who was your father?" Garrus asked, Tarek's green eyes wandered the room.

"He was a soldier. One of the best in my opinion. He was a big techy. His job in the Turian military was engineering and he was great at building and fixing things. He loved weapons though, anything shiny was his favorite." Tarek chuckled and looked to the floor. " Major Rezdor Lynxsus, that was my father."

"What about your mother?" Garrus asked while glancing toward the window and back at Tarek. " My mom stayed home with me most of the time when the Reapers were on Palaven. It was awful, but she always reassured me. It was her job I guess, but yeah..." Garrus let it sink in before asking the worst question.

"How did they-" "A shuttle explosion. My parents put me in a shuttle with some soldiers and other passengers evacuating Palaven. My parents stayed with my dad's men and some other passengers on another shuttle. They were trying to make sure that if anything happened to their shuttle that I would be safe.. They were right. As soon as we went into outer atmosphere a blast exploded their shuttle."

Tarek stared at the ceiling, his green eyes telling the terrible story with a waver in his voice. "It was the worst thing I will ever experience in my life." Garrus put a hand on the boy's shoulder and a soft understanding purr erupted from Garrus' chest. "I'm sorry, but I know that's not enough." Garrus stood up and Tarek glanced up at him.

Garrus headed to the door. "Where are you going?" Tarek called after him and got to his feet too. Garrus turned his head over his shoulder, "To find my friend." Tarek stared out the door as Garrus left.

"Wait!"

EARTH

May 18th 2187

Garrus exited the airlock and looked up and down the hallway that greeted them. Liara tapped him from behind when a man came toward them. The man was clad in an Alliance Admiral uniform and he looked rather exhausted, but a welcoming smile was at the corners of his lips. "Welcome, you're the crew of the Normandy, yes?" Garrus nodded. "Admiral Hackett, it's.. good to see you."

"Likewise, Vakarian. What is your business here on Earth?" Garrus was about to speak, but he got interrupted when Hackett raised a finger. "Wait, don't tell me... Let's go to my office, I have papers and construction contracts I need to sign." Hackett led them to his office. It wasn't a huge office, but it had a large conference table on one side of the room, on the other was a large window that revealed a city.. more like a "world" under construction.

Hackett shoved all the data pads to one side of the desk and laid his hands on it. Glancing between Liara and Garrus. "So, where is the rest of the crew?" Garrus stood by the window and listened to Liara explain their situation. "Well, um.. we have Kaiden, Joker, James, and Javik aboard. We do not know where everyone else is. We are here to find-"

"I know," Hackett ran a hand down his face and sighed, "There have been a lot of injured people coming and going from all the possible hospitals. We've tried tracking the most injured soldiers and people, but we can't identify most because of lost tags, destroyed fingerprint scanners, and lost computer profiles. We're still working on getting the extranet buoys online in the main systems."

While Liara and Hackett chattered on, Garrus had his eyes glazing out the window. He traced a couple of large cranes and suspension cables and such that were working on the neighbor building. Garrus started to think of the tags...

He reached into the front of his chest piece and pulled out the tags that hung around his neck. That last moment. If only he could have made her keep them. If only she had not thrown them to him that last time that he'd seen her...

It would be harder to find her now that she probably wouldn't be recognized when she was in bad condition. That is, if she is still alive. Hackett must have spoken to him, when he felt eyes on him. Looking over Garrus looked back down at the tags, took them off and slammed them on the desk.

"She gave these to me before she left." Garrus said as he sat down in the chair beside Liara.

Hackett's face grew compassionate and soft. He sat back in his chair and rested a hand on his chin.

"Hm." Liara shifted herself in the padded chair and picked up the tags. She frowned and ran a finger over the name engraved on them. "Commander Eveline Shepard." Liara mumbled and looked up at Hackett. "Do you have an idea of where to start looking for her?" Hackett shook his head. "If I were you I would start here on Earth. We have some of the best hospitals on the wards I can check up the best and most crowded hospitals. We've repaired most machines and hospital equipment and buildings to hospitalize the wounded.

I can also check some smaller, but more popular ward hospital housing. Hackett stood and spoke, "If you don't mind I need to get to some unfinished business." He saluted and walked out of the room. It was silent in the room for quite a while. Liara was staring at the tags, while Garrus' eyes scanned the floor.

He had to find her. His chest started throbbing and his hands were almost trembling. For the past few months Garrus was telling himself that he couldn't miss her, otherwise he would be an emotional wreck. Lately he had gotten a bit more anxious than usual. All he wanted to do was find her and hold her in his arms.

Liara must have noticed his distress, because she knelt in front of him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Garrus, I know you're upset, but we will find her." Garrus didn't look at her, he didn't shake his head, he didn't speak. He just sat there in silence. He finally had to admit it to himself. He missed her...

More now than he ever had. Garrus stood up and Liara put the tags in his hand. "Here." He shook his head. "No, I don't need them." Liara grabbed his shoulder as he walked away and turned him around. "She gave them to you, Garrus." The tears in her eyes made his stomach sink to the floor. He had never seen Liara this upset since Thessia.

"She was a part of all of us, but you were more to her than you will ever know. After Tali..." Her pause made the air in the room stiffen. "After Tali's death, I had to do everything I could to make her happy and in a way, take Tali's place, but after Shepard told me how much she missed Tali... I knew I could never take her place in Shepard's heart." Garrus stood and watched a tear fall down Liara's face. She wiped it away and smiled. "My point is, even if you are apart for however long, when Shepard places someone in her heart no one can replace that place when it is temporarily or permanently empty."

"If you're worried that there will be no room in her heart for you when we find her, don't be. I know that she'll always have room in her heart for you." Garrus was speechless. He had nothing to say. His mouth, heart, and mind were dry. "Take them." She said once again and put them in his palm, folding his hand. She quickly wiped her tears away and walked out of the room.

Garrus was left standing alone, and soon an officer came in and gave him a list of hospitals.

On the docks

Garrus had waited in the docking bay for Liara and Javik long enough. His patience was running thin. He was tired of all the waiting. All waiting did was eat time, precious time. He tapped his foot and looked over at the nearest docking clock, It read 3:12pm. Garrus sighed and out of the corner of his eye he saw a blue figure and a more bulkier figure beside it.

He looked up and pushed off of the airlock door as Liara and Javik approached. "He didn't find anything in the hospitals. There are still hundreds of terribly wounded people here, Garrus. Even if we tried we wouldn't be able to find her." Garrus watched her fumble with her fingers and her eyes waver as she spoke. Nothing ticked him off more when he knew he was trying the impossible.

It was his will power that kept him going mostly.. or was it love? He wasn't sure, but at this rate they needed to keep looking. Garrus didn't reply. He turned and headed into the airlock. Javik gave Liara a reassuring look and a shoulder pat.

Garrus entered the CIC and headed straight toward the galaxy map. He heard footsteps following him, but he didn't stop to look or even guess who it was. "So, where are we going to start?" Tarek asked from behind Garrus' shoulder. "Not we, me and the crew, 'you' aren't necessarily included."

"Why not?" Tarek barked and went into defense mode. "I'm here for a reason right?" Garrus almost scoffed. This boy was here because he begged to come in the first place. He pleaded and said he had nowhere else to go. Garrus had simply sympathized. He hadn't realized that this boy was going to be any trouble in the first place, but he was more stubborn than he'd imagined.

"If you're going to complain, go to Liara. I don't do complaints. If I say you aren't included you're not included. Got it?" Garrus snapped and continued leaning forward on the railing. A massive headache was pounding on his head. The stress, frustration, and emotion was doing everything it could to break down the door and Garrus was desperately trying to keep it in.

Tarek

had marched his way to Liara quarters. In his mind he felt outraged. For all of his life he had been secluded from nearly everything. He had not been able to go with his father on trips. His mother never allowed him to visit other planets, see other races, until now. She hadn't actually let him, she'd died and he had no choice. Illium was full of different people, and he'd finally gotten a taste of the galaxy when he'd boarded the Normandy.

Tarek went to knock, but he heard a sound from the room. He listened for a moment and heard a laugh and different types of strange noises.. His eyes widened and he stepped away from the door as it opened Tarek ran away and hid in the kitchen. He heard footsteps and saw the thing called Javik and the blue Asari named Liara emerge from around the corner. He sucked in a breath when they passed by.

He silently watched them disappear toward the elevator. Tarek sighed. That had been too close! He was about to stand up when, "What are you doing?" Tarek jumped and looked behind him. A... human? He was in a uniform and had crossed arms. A stern, but playful look on his features. "Uhh... who are you?" The man chuckled at the boy's hesitance. "I'm Alenko, Kaiden Alenko, and you are?"

Tarek stood up. The man was only an inch taller than him and had chocolate-brown eyes. Tarek pointed a talon at himself and looked around. "Me?" Alenko nodded. "Yeah, you!" "Oh." Tarek shifted on his feet and looked around again. "I'm Tarek.. Tarek Lynxsus." "Lynxsus? Hmm, so Garrus finally found some kid to drag along and do his chores, huh?" "Actually, sir," Tarek cut in quickly, "I wanted to come along."

Kaiden paused and his eyes stayed on Tarek. "Uhh, right." He looked around for a quick second. "So, where are your parents." "Dead." Tarek remarked and Kaiden nodded solemnly. "Oh, sorry. I didn't think about.-" "It's okay." There was a long silence between them and Kaiden yawned.

Stretching he groaned. "Well, I have to get back to work. I'll see you around." Kaiden passed Tarek and headed toward the elevator. Tarek watched after him and suddenly had the urge to explore the ship while he wasn't being under surveillance.

He strode toward the med bay and peeked in through the window. His green eyes hovered over the white walls, and various vials of liquid, and tiny computer chips. He lost interest and headed toward the crew quarters and observation deck. He found the men's restroom and decided to go before he did anymore exploring.

After he relieved himself, Tarek went on to Life support and the starboard observation deck. In every room there was not one soul. It was quiet and the only sound that could be heard was the ship's engine and the occasional crackle and spark of clashing wires hanging from the walls and ceiling.

He sat down in one of the chairs in the mess hall and leaned on the table. He looked around and his eye caught a door that he hadn't inspected before. It was a door at the end of a hall way. He was sure it was the main battery, but he had to see for himself. Tarek slid out of his seat and went to enter the door. It was quite dark in the hall that didn't seem to have many lights working.

It was eerie and strange. When the door opened a hot gust of air blew over him. It reminded him of Palaven's hot dry air. He slowly stepped inside and looked about him. He noted a crate theat was in the middle of the floor and various datapads spread on a crate. He looked toward the terminal and oer to a map that had red dots on certain systems and planets.

He looked below and saw a datapad that had a list of planets and systems on it. Names of.. hospitals?

'Red Tide General Hospital', 'Illucotse GGP Hospital', 'Alli's pediatric center', these hospitals and more, doted various places on the digitalized, blue map.

It would take them months to find the woman Garrus was looking for if she was in one of these hospitals. Some are galactic miles away and the relays were down. It would be months maybe years to visit each hospital individually.

Tarek looked up and walked toward the terminal he noticed a digital frame standing on the terminal in the middle of the two large orange screens. He looked closer and saw it was a photo of Garrus and a human woman. The woman had medium length hair that was black and had a tinge of dark red in it. She had dark blue eyes and were icy blue near the pupil.

She was smiling widely and Garrus was also doing so while holding her shoulder and seemed to be taking the picture. Tarek picked up the frame and examined it a bit closer. The woman was wearing a sweatshirt and Garrus was wearing his casuals.

Tarek guessed that this was the woman Garrus was talking about? Had Garrus really meant a Human woman? Thoughts raced in his mind as he put down the photo and glanced around the room. He looked to his right where he saw a work bench, there he saw another frame with a photo in it. He reached over the scattered gun pieces and wires to pick up the frame.

This photo was of another woman. This time she was saluting and was in formal commander wear. Hat in all. She had a stern look on her face and her hair was short and cupped around her face. Tarek became confused and went to pick up the other photo.

He began to compare the two and notice differences and similarities. In the photo with the lone woman her hair is short. In the one with Garrus her hair was a little past her shoulders. Can human hair be cut? Or is it a different woman. He compared the pictures again, but to facial features. They were the same. Tarek was about to put the photos back when a gruff voice startled him.

"What are you doing in here?" Tarek turned to see the blue Asari, Liara, standing in the doorway. Her face was sincere, but she looked a bit strict and terrifying in the dim light. "I was just-" Tarek set the photos down and Liara walked up to him. Garrus hasn't told you where we're going yet had he?" Tarek shook his head and stepped in front of the photos.

"Those photos are special to Officer Vakarian. You would be better off not to touch them." Liara went to look at the datapad near the map. Tarek turned to the photos again and picked up the one with Garrus and the woman. "This woman. Who is she?" Liara looked up from the datapad and set it down before walking over to Tarek.

"She was a great leader. You haven't heard of her before?" "No, ma'am." Liara smiled slightly and looked at Tarek. "This is the Commander of this ship. Commander Shepard." "Commander Shepard?" Liara nodded. "Her you've heard of?" Tarek nodded and the realization came to him.

"I never knew. I knew Garrus had a relationship with a woman, well, the woman he's trying to find. And I knew he worked with Commander Shepard, but I never thought in Spirit's name that those two would be the same woman." Tarek became confused.

Why had Garrus loved this Human so much? Why hadn't he found a Turian woman on Palaven or somewhere else? Tarek wasn't trying to be racial or racist. He just didn't understand. Why a Human?

"Are you confused?" Liara must have noticed his distress. "I don't understand. Why does he love her?" Liara chuckled. "Have you ever met the Commander? Anyone and everyone that she met she charmed. She's kind and compassionate. She knows how to fight. She's funny, smart and generous."

"I think if you had met her you would have liked her too." Liara added, "but I think you might have to ask Garrus that." She smiled and walked out of the main battery. Being careful of the photos, Tarek quickly set them in their original place and ran to follow Liara.