Disclaimer: All characters and settings belong to Bioware.

A/N: These three chapters on Virmire are from my other fic Chronicles of a Legend. I extracted them from the main story for those who want to read the climax without going through the entire story. Some minor details here and there might not make sense without previous chapters, but overall it's could be a standalone short fic.

Please excuse any typos or mistakes. I don't have a beta. Enjoy.

Virmire

Part 1: Trouble in Paradise

Location: Virmire

Target locked on. Three more seconds and the cannon would be charged once more. Machine gun worked, but Garrus preferred the sheer firepower of the cannon. One shot one kill. Clean and simple. That's the way he liked it.

Hidden around the corner, out of sight, Garrus waited patiently.

Two more seconds.

But Shepard had another idea. Instead of waiting, she accelerated the mako and ran over the last Geth that dared to stand in her way. The vehicle bumped violently as the synthetic creature and its rocket launcher crushed under the massive wheels.

"...Well, that works too," Garrus mumbled as he powered down the cannon.

"That's the last one, Commander," Kaidan confirmed upon checking the sensor.

Joker's voice came through. "Commander. Normandy's touched down at the base, but it looks like we're grounded."

Oh crap, Garrus thought as he peeked at the commander whose frown only tightened at the news.

"Grounded?" Shepard asked. "What the hell is going on?"

"The salarian captain can explain when you get there," said Joker. "Joker out."

First they had to fight through an army of Geth to disable those AA guns before the Normandy could touch down. And now her ship was grounded by the salarians? Shepard had to be murderous by now, Garrus was willing to bet his entire rifle collection on that.

Another peek at the commander's face confirmed his suspicion. If looks could kill, Shepard could annihilate every enemy on this planet with her death glare.

"They dare to ground your ship? Give them hell, Shepard," Wrex suggested, quite predictably so, in Garrus' humble opinion.

"The commander has enough to deal with already, try not to add a diplomatic incident to her list," said Kaidan, the forever voice of reason in their little ragtag group. "Let's talk to the salarians and see what they want."

"I never trust those STG guys," said Wrex. "Bunch of sneaky bastards."

"They're experts in espionage," Garrus corrected him. "We could use one of them on our team."

"Let's see how much you like them after the salarians neuter you, Vakarian." Wrex sneered.

Even though he had been called impatient and hot-headed by his own father, Garrus was always smart enough to know when to shut the hell up. There were some issues he'd better not touch. Genophage was one of them.

The salarian camp was in sight, ahead of them along the sandy beach. Garrus was more than certain Shepard could see it as well as he did, but instead of slowing down the mako, she accelerated with the intention of crushing onto the camp out of frustration, or so it seemed to Garrus.

"Er... Shepard," Garrus warned quietly.

Shepard didn't respond. The mako rushed towards the camp for yet another second more before it slowed to a stop. Garrus let out a silent sigh of relief.

The commander finally looked at him with her eyebrow arched questioningly. Her glare was gone when her eyes landed on him

"...Nothing." Garrus motioned the exit. "After you."

Still without a word, the commander exited the vehicle. Garrus jumped out after her and landed on a soft sandy ground, white foamy wave hit his ankles. This planet was gorgeous; with clear blue sky and ocean front. The weather was warm but comfortably breezy, perfect to dip into the crystal clear water along the sandy beach, at least for humans. But Garrus knew even the paradise couldn't cheer Shepard up, her mood was shades darker than the bright blue sky.

"Welcome to Virmire," said Garrus as he glanced around. "Tropical paradise with a healthy population of Geth, and massive defense towers with AA guns as popular tourists destinations."

Shepard gave him a sideways look. To his surprise, there was even a hint of smirk on her face. "Try not to drown, Garrus."

There she was, the murderous commander was gone, the Shepard he had come to respect was back temporarily. Garrus was glad he could lighten her mood if only for a few second. "I'll try not to," he said then pointed at the beach front. "I'll be lounging on the sandy beach, sipping my drinks while sniping some Geth."

The commander seemed to be pleased with the plan. She nodded with her approval. "Keep an eye out while I talk to the salarians." Shepard gave him a soft punch on his shoulder before she marched towards the main camp.

Garrus had to smile at that. He idly wondered if that was a human way of showing camaraderie. But in the end, it didn't matter if it was a human way or not, Garrus knew it was Shepard's little way of showing her appreciation. Perhaps next time, he would give her a gentle punch back.

When Kaidan walked past him, the two men exchanged a look. Garrus shot a quick glance towards Shepard, and Kaidan responded with a subtle nod. It was all they needed to get a message across: Kaidan would stay with Shepard while Garrus secured the perimeter.

Garrus took a deep breath and enjoyed the fresh air as the lieutenant followed the commander towards the camp. He looked up to the clear blue sky. It was a beautiful day here on Virmire. But something didn't feel right; his instinct told him something much darker was hidden beneath this perfect world. Whatever it was, Garrus just wanted to find Saren and put a bullet between his eyes and get the hell out of this paradise as soon as possible.

But things would never be that easy, would they?

Location: Virmire Salarian Camp

Kaidan got the silent message from Garrus, and he agreed with his friend's assessment on the commander. Shepard was under tremendous stress, and grounding Normandy would only further sour the commander's mood. While he trusted Shepard not to make any rash decisions, he knew she could use his support, now more than ever.

"Commander?" Kaidan called out.

Shepard paused to wait for him.

He noticed her face was stone cold when he reached her. Taking a risk, he changed his tone and called out again, softly this time, "Hey..."

And it paid off. Her expression softened a few notches almost immediately. "They grounded my ship."

It felt inappropriate to think she was beautiful even when she was pissed as hell, but to him, she was. "They don't have the authority to ground the Council Spectre's vessel. There must be a good reason," Kaidan reasoned calmly. "We'll sort this out."

Shepard nodded and took a deep breath. Then, in the blink of an eye, her commander face was once again back on. "Let's see what they want from us."

Kaidan followed the commander to the biggest tent in the camp.

"Are you in charged here?" Shepard asked a salarian who had just finished issued a few orders to the rest of the soldiers.

The salarian nodded. "I'm Captain Kirrahe, Third Infiltration Regiment STG."

"Commander Shepard, Alliance navy, Council Spectre. What's the situation?"

"You and your crew have just landed in the middle of a hotzone," the captain informed her. "Every AA gun within ten miles has been alerted to your presence."

"We disabled three on our way here," said Kaidan.

"There are more," said Captain Kirrahe.

"That's why you grounded the Normandy?" Shepard frowned. "What are we supposed to do in the meantime?"

"We stay put until the Council sends the reinforcements we requested."

"We are the reinforcements," Kaidan told the captain.

"What? You're all they sent?" The captain shook his head in disbelief. "I told the Council to send a fleet."

"We couldn't understand your transmission," Shepard explained. "They sent me to investigate."

"That is a repetition of our task," said Kirrahe. "I lost half my men investigating this place."

"So what have you found?" asked Kaidan.

"Saren's base of operations. He's set up a research facility here, but it's crawling with Geth and very well fortified."

"What's Saren researching?" asked Shepard.

"He's using the facility to breed an army of krogan."

Shepard's eye widened in alarm. "What? How's that possible?"

"What about the genophage?" Kaidan asked, from the corner of his eye, he spotted Wrex approaching.

"Apparently, Saren has discovered a cure for the genophage."

"Oh god..." Kaidan mumbled under his breath. Wrex was well within hearing range, Kaidan noticed, this could get ugly.

Shepard scowled. "The Geth are bad enough. But a krogan army... Saren'd be almost unstoppable."

The captain nodded. "Exactly my thoughts. We must ensure that this facility and its secrets are destroyed."

"Destroyed? I don't think so," Wrex interjected. "Our people are dying. This cure can save them!"

"If that cure leaves this planet, the krogan will become unstoppable," the captain explained. "We can't make the same mistake again."

Kaidan winced inwardly at those last few words. It was definitely getting ugly. Fast.

Wrex stepped up to the captain and jabbed a finger at his chest. "We are not a mistake!" he claimed before storming off.

"Is he going to be a problem?" asked Kirrahe. "We already have enough angry krogans to deal with."

"Don't worry about it, Captain. He'll be fine. I'll talk him," said the commander. Her tone was as confident as always, but Kaidan suspected it was just a front.

"I appreciate that, Commander. My men and I need to rethink our plan of attack. Can you give us some time?"

"I understand. Go ahead, Captain. I'll deal with Wrex."

Kaidan glanced at Wrex, then back to the commander. Going after an angry krogan would be as safe as disarming a bomb in the dark. One wrong move, and...

"Commander, a word?" Kaidan requested.

Shepard nodded and motioned him to walk with her and slowly approached Wrex's direction.

"I can disable Wrex with my biotics in case anything happens. Just give me a signal."

Glancing over at Wrex's defensive stance, Shepard assessed the situation for a second then nodded again. "Don't do anything until I tell you to. I want to reason with him, not fight him."

"Understood." He paused for a moment, studying her profile. Pink lips pressed, blue eyes narrowed as they locked onto Wrex as though she was scanning for a weakness and strategizing on how to take down her target. He wanted to reach out to her. Not the soldier, not the leader, but the person hidden underneath. Taking yet another risk, he called out softly once again, "Aerin?"

That got her full attention. Shepard turned away from Wrex and looked at him questioningly, her gaze had softened considerably when she met his eyes.

As much as he wanted to touch her, or perhaps just taking one step closer, he wouldn't allow himself to. Not here, not now. "Please be careful."

The corners of her lips curled up ever-so slightly in a faint smile that never reached her eyes. It was her way to reassure him everything would be fine, Kaidan knew. However futile the gesture was, he appreciated her effort and loved her for that. "I'll be careful," Shepard promised. "But be ready... just in case."

Location: Virmire Beach Front

The cure for genophage. An answer his people had been seeking for centuries, millennium. It was here on this planet, within his grasp.

And Shepard wanted to destroy it.

Wrex took a deep breath to control his boiling anger. If Shepard hadn't been good to him, he would have shot her then and there.

Shepard was approaching, he could hear her soft footsteps. But that wasn't the only thing Wrex noticed. He also spotted two sniper rifles pointing straight at him, protecting the commander. But Wrex wasn't concerned about those; if Shepard wanted him dead, she would kill him herself. That woman had her own code of honor, almost krogan-like. And for that, he respected her. And because of that respect, he would give her a chance to hear her out.

"This isn't right, Shepard," said Wrex as soon as she was within range. "If there's a cure for the genophage, we can't destroy it!"

"I understand you're upset, but we both know Saren is the enemy here," Shepard pointed out calmly. "He should be the one you're angry with."

"Really? Saren created a cure for my people. You want to destroy it." Wrex turned and approached her one step at a time. "Help me out here, Shepard. The lines between friend and foe is getting a little blurry from where I stand."

An angry krogan staring down at an opponent half his size should be intimidating enough to make that person run away with their pants wet.

Shepard, however, stood her ground firmly, her gaze never faltered. "This isn't a cure, it's a weapon! And if Saren is allowed to use it, you won't be around to reap the benefit. None of us will!"

Wrex stopped right in front of her, his much larger size loomed over her smaller form. "That's a chance we should be willing to take. This is the fate of my entire people we're talking about!"

"And this is the fate of the entire galaxy we're talking about!" Shepard countered sharply, staring him down as if he was not a krogan twice her size but a varren who was misbehaving.

This woman had more balls than her entire crew combined, Wrex had to give her that. She would be a worthy opponent, he always knew.

"We all know how this will end." And suddenly, there was his shotgun pointing at her.

Shepard's well-honed reflex reacted, her own shotgun was in her hand in a flash. Wrex expected nothing less from her.

"It doesn't have to end that way, Wrex," said Shepard.

"It does," he countered, not at all bothered by her shotgun pointing at the softer muscles around his chin. Shepard sure knew where to aim. "Don't you get it? There's finally a cure for genophage, and I cannot let you destroy it."

"Stop being blinded by the fact there's a cure," she told him. Not once did she bother to glance at the shotgun jabbing at her chest over her heart. "Saren is using it to make more krogans for his army! He doesn't care about these krogan; he's using your people as tools!"

Wrex sneered. "Many of my people died in wars that weren't even ours to start with. This is just another one. And we'll get a cure for genophage out of it. When we bring the cure back to Tuchanka-"

"There wouldn't even be a Tuchanka if Saren unleashed the Reaper on us! You know it! There wouldn't be anything left in this galaxy if he won!"

The truth hit him harder than a headbutt from an elder warrior. Wrex went silent.

"I'll stop Saren or die trying," Shepard vowed. "And I cannot let him have another edge. You know what we have, it's just us versus his army of Geth. The Citadel Council isn't going to lift a finger to help. We have no backup. I cannot let him have another edge against us. How are we supposed to fight an army of Geth and krogans with just the seven of us?"

"Six," he corrected her. "I am not going to make it out here alive, I know that. But if I'm going to die, I want an honorable death. Just you and me. You owe me that much, Shepard. Call them off."

"What?" The confusion in her eyes was genuine.

"You don't know?" asked Wrex curiously. "Williams and Vakarian have their sniper rifles aimed at my head. Alenko isn't armed, but he doesn't need a gun to kill, and we both know he won't let anything hurt you."

Shepard took her eyes off him for a moment and saw what he had just described.

"You didn't have to order them," said Wrex upon seeing her confusion. "They did it on their own. They'll follow you straight to hell. You're their leader, their friend. Hell, you're my friend... But this, I can't let you destroy the genophage, not even for you, Shepard. So, get on with it. At least try to make this a challenging fight worth dying for."

"No," said Shepard. To his surprise, she suddenly took a step back and lowered her gun. "There will be a fight, but it won't be between us. If either of us is going to die fighting, it's a fight with Saren." She took another step back and shook her head. "I can't die just yet, if I did, Saren would win. But I won't let you throw away your life either. I need you to help me win this! And after we win, we will find a way to get a cure for genophage."

Somehow, he believed her. When Shepard promised, she would deliver. But still... "You're not scientist, Shepard."

"I'm not. Neither is Saren, and he found the cure. We now know there's a formula out there, that the cure exists. And if it exists, it can be duplicated."

She was right, Wrex knew. However, hope was a dangerous thing. How many lives had been sacrifice in the name of researching for a cure, all done in hope that a cure might be found? But this time was different, a cure had been found. It existed. And if it existed, it could be duplicated...

Shepard continued, "Fight with me, Wrex. Don't let that bastard use your people as slaves. Krogans deserve much better than that. They're the best infantry the galaxy has ever seen, and they should be treated with respect, not as cannon fodder for an insane turian who wants wipe out the galaxy including your people!"

There was a fire burning inside him. Not anger, but a fire filled with renewed purpose. Wren lowered his shotgun. "I've been loyal to you so far, Shepard. Hell, you did more for me than my family ever did. But if I'm going to keep following you, I need to know we're doing it for the right reason."

"You know damn well this is the right reason. Saren will use these krogans as tools to destroy us, then he'll destroy them as soon as they're no longer useful to him. Is that what you want for your people?"

Again, the truth hit him like a headbutt.

"No..." Wrex answered quietly. "We were tools for the Council once. To thank us for us wiping out the rachni, they neutered us all. I doubt Saren would be as generous."

"I can't do this without you, Wrex. I can't do this without any of you."

Yes, you can, Shepard, Wrex eyed the commander. This woman knew when to threaten you and when to sweeten the pot, she would make a fine clan chief, but Wrex was not about to tell her that. "All right, Shepard, you've made your point. I don't like this, but I trust you enough to follow your lead. I'm not going to stop you from doing what needs to be done. Just one thing, when we find Saren, I want his head."

"All yours, Wrex." Shepard breathed out a sigh of relief. "All yours."

Location: Virmire Salarian Camp

"Thank you for speaking with the krogan," said Captain Kirrahe. "The assault on Saren's base will be difficult enough as it is."

Assault? Finally, Shepard thought. "I assume that means you've come up with a plan."

"Of sorts." The captain nodded. "We can convert our ship's drive system into a twenty-kiloton ordnance. Crude, but effective."

Shepard glanced over to Kaidan briefly, his subtle nod confirmed it was a viable plan.

"Nice," said Ashley. "Drop that nuke from the orbit and Saren can kiss his turian ass goodbye."

"Unfortunately, the facility's too well-fortified for that," said Kirrahe. "We'll need to place the bomb at a precise location."

"Where do we take the nuke?" Shepard asked. "And how do we get there?"

"The bomb must be taken to the far side of the facility," said the captain. "Your ship can drop it off, but we'll need to infiltrate the base, disable the AA guns, and pacify any ground forces first."

"You want us to go in on foot?" asked Kaidan. "We don't have enough men."

"It does sound a bit risky," Shepard agreed. "We won't be able to meet their force head on. Is there no other way?"

"No, but I think we can work about that," said Kirrahe. "I'm going to divide my men into three teams and hit the front of the facility. While we've got their attention, you can sneak your 'shadow' team in the back."

Suicide mission? Shepard considered for a second. "That's a good idea, but your people are going to get slaughtered."

"We're tougher than we look, Commander. But it's true. I don't expect many of us will make it out alive," the captain admitted. "And that makes what I'm going to ask even more difficult. I need one of your men to accompany me. To help coordinate the teams."

Her eyebrow arched high. That was a bold request, sending one of her team on a risky mission where she had absolutely no control over. Shepard didn't like it a single bit.

"He's right, Commander," said Kaidan. "We can't do this without both teams at their best."

Shepard nodded reluctantly. "All right."

Based purely on experience and combat prowess, the one who had the highest chance of survival would be Wrex, but Shepard wouldn't trust him playing nice with the salarian soldiers, much less taking orders from one.

"We'll need someone who knows Alliance communication protocols, Commander," Kaidan suggested. "I volunteer."

Shepard looked at him sharply. His face was as calm as his tone when he gave her a reassuring nod. Kaidan was, first and foremost, a professional soldier with a decade experience and a talented biotic, Shepard knew full well, yet there was an irrational fear latching onto a hidden corner of her mind. Would she knowingly send him to a high-risk mission? Could she?

For the first time in her decade-long career, she finally had a firsthand experience of the repercussions of fraternization. And to think that technically they had not even broken any rules yet. Kaidan was right, who knew it would be this hard?

Still, it wasn't the time or place to contemplate. Her rational instinct kicked in. Logic took over, shoving all the unwanted emotions away, Shepard was once again back in her comfort zone with her mind focus on just one thing: Finishing the mission.

"Not so fast, L-T," said Ashley. "Commander Shepard will need you to arm the nuke. I'll go with the salarians."

She was inclined to agree with the chief; the lieutenant was better suited at arming the bomb.

"With all due respect, Gunnery Chief," said Kaidan, "it's not your place to decide."

Ashley folded her arms. "Why is it that whenever someone says 'with all due respect' they really mean 'kiss my ass'?"

"That's enough," Shepard snapped, effectively stopping any further debate on their situation. She then turned to the captain. "I want to know more about the bomb. How reliable is it?"

"Its reliability depends on the person arming it," said Kirrahe. "The drive system is highly impervious to damage from external sources. Once it has been armed, very little can stop it. The key is getting it into place and armed before the Geth can stop us."

It was all Shepard needed to know to made her decision. "Alenko, I need you to arm the nuke. Williams, you'll accompany the captain," Shepard ordered, somehow words didn't come out as easy as it should have. "No heroics, understood?"

Ashley nodded. "Aye, aye, Commander."

"I'll have the ordnance loaded onto the Normandy and brief your crew on its detonation sequencing," said Kirrahe. "I won't lie to you, Commander. There is a chance none of us will survive this assault. Even your team. But we do what is necessary."

"That we do, Captain. It's our job." Shepard nodded understandingly.

"Good luck, Commander. Now excuse me, I have to give my men one last speech."

Ashley had never thought she would be working with salarians. It almost felt surreal. But then again, before she had been assigned to the Normandy, she had never thought she would work side by side with a turian, a krogan, a quarian, and an asari. If Shepard hadn't touched down on Eden Prime that day months ago, things would have been very different.

For one, she would probably be dead.

No use thinking what might have been when there was a crazy turian running around threatening the entire galaxy. They all had their job to do, and they all would do what they did best. The commander would lead, the L-T would arm the nuke. As for herself, she would shoot at things until they dropped dead.

Still, it felt weird to leave those people she had considered her family for the past few months, even for just a bit.

"Well, this is it," Ashley said, hiding a sigh. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone, L-T. You too, Commander."

The commander was quiet, she only nodded.

"We'll be fine. You'll see," said Kaidan with a poor attempt to calm everyone's nerves. But Ashley had to give him brownie points for effort.

Even though she never showed, Ashley always had a soft spot for the lieutenant. Without him vouching for her in front of Captain Anderson, she might never have transferred to the Normandy. And since then, he had helped her in more ways than she could count, especially during the first few days of the transition. She had never served on a ship before, but for Alenko, he must have served on more ships than he could count with both hands. Without him showing her the ropes and being a friendly face to her among the elite crew, Ashley doubted she could survive on the ship for more than a week.

"Yeah... I just..." This is another opportunity to prove yourself, Williams. What the hell is wrong with you? Ashley shook her head and swallowed all her thoughts. "Good luck."

"What is it, Chief?" asked Shepard. Those eyes as bright and blue as the clear sky looked straight into her own, Ashley swore the commander could see through her sometimes.

She could only shrugged. "I don't know. It's just weird. Going under someone else's command. I've got used to working with you... all of you."

"It's only temporary," said Shepard. "I'm not going to sign off on your permanent transfer to the STG."

Ashley had to smirk a little at that.

"Don't worry," Kaidan said with soothing tone. "We'll see you on the other side."

"I know. I, ah..." Stop it, Williams! You'll be back with them by the end of the day, and you all will go get drunk at the Citadel again! Still, there were things that should be said whenever there was a chance, her father had taught her that much. "It's been an honor serving with you, Commander."

"The honor is mine, Chief." Shepard gave her a faint smile. Ashley had always thought the commander looked pretty when she smiled, it's a shame Shepard didn't smile often. "When this is over, I'll talk to Captain Anderson about your records and see if he could do anything to give you the recognition you deserve."

Ashley's eyes lit up. She almost couldn't believe what she had just heard. After being in the fleet for yeras, finally someone stood up for her. "Commander, that's not necess-"

"That's overdue," Shepard cut her off firmly. Her tone left no room for negotiation

"Don't argue with her, Ash," Kaidan said with that warm smile of his. "Our commander can be... very persuasive."

"Yeah, I bet you know that all too well, Alenko." Ashley flashed a grin at the lieutenant, teasing him one last time before the start of their mission.

It had almost become a habit of hers to tease the lieutenant now and then. Kaidan was an easy target to squeeze some fun, especially when the topic was about Shepard. But lately, she had noticed a change in Kaidan, he had become harder to fluster especially after the Citadel shore leave. Perhaps the shy little Alenko had finally gathered enough courage to confess to the Goddess of his dreams. If so, good for him, Ashley thought with a strange sense of pride. Even though that man was older than her, sometimes Ashley couldn't help but feel like protecting him as her little brother. It was probably the side effect of being the big sis to three younger siblings.

Old habits die hard.

And now, this big sis would go distract those synthetic jerks to buy them enough time to sneak in and set the nuke. It's risky, she knew, but she would do anything to protect her family. Blood-related or not.

"Whatever happens, everyone just keep shooting," said Shepard, her expression steeled with determination. "We go in hard, hit them harder, and we'll be the only damn thing that comes out the other side."

"You bet, Skipper." Ashley nodded. "See you on the other side."