AN: Hello All :) Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback - I was so wonderfully surprised at the positive response. For all those who reviewed, added this story to alert and favorite, thanks all so much!
Also, a quck notice - due to the problems I have been having with grammar I was wondering if anyone out there would be able to act as a beta-reader for me. I want to produce great quality work, and its quickly becoming clear to me that to do that I will need the help of a great editor. if you are interested, or you know someone who doesn't mind - please, PLEASE send me a message, I would love to chat.
Thanks so much everyone - Here's the next chapter, enjoy!
Voi
Omega was a mercenary's paradise.
Loud, dirty and as gritty as any backwater planet in Citadel space, the unchecked violence of the station played in harmony with the gritty sexuality that seemed to dominate the various public venues. Money could buy anything, anyone, alive or dead, and Shepard wanted Archangel; she quickly found she wasn't alone.
"I'm here to see your boss."
Nora's blue-purple eyes flickered for a moment to the Asari woman dressed in the tight body suit before eying her guards, wondering if perhaps Aria couldn't defend herself well enough without them. The club, Afterlife, reminded her minutely of Chora's Den, if only for the fact that she remembered the dancers.
And a kiss…a soft melting touch in the arms of the one she loved…
The momentary flash of memory made the woman frown, an expression she quickly hid with one of indifference.
"Well well, if it isn't the resident saint come to pay me a visit." Aria's voice was more feminine than Nora would have expected, "Welcome to Afterlife Shepard."
She couldn't risk thinking about such things now, not when she was surrounded by five heavily armed guards.
"Helping one Quarian is hardly enough work to warrant sainthood."
Multitasking had always come easily to Nora, but now it truly served her well, replying to the steady stream of conversation while she continued to analyze the so-called leader of Omega. She still didn't think the guards were actually needed.
Then again, cannon fodder always did have its uses.
Nora didn't doubt for a second that the Asari had gained her position through ruthless maneuvering, and Omega seemed the sort of place where loyalty ran all but skin deep.
Sort of like the situation she found herself in now.
Commander Shepard knew without looking that Miranda and Jacob had left her alone on the dais, a solitary target. Then again, she could use this to her advantage.
Nora didn't even bother asking permission as she moved to sit down, her features impassive as Aria's guards growled at the deliberate lack of respect.
Poor fools didn't know a thing did they?
The warning, a crackle of biotic power, came from Aria, and as Nora had expected, was directed at her guards.
"Leave us."
More a snarl than proper order, the Asari woman dropped into the seat next to Nora an annoyed expression on her face. She didn't speak until they were completely and entirely alone.
"You make me do that again and I swear I'll kill you."
Having died once, Nora merely gave the other woman an amused, mocking, smile, "You're a little late for that."
Her companion pulled her pistol from her side and pointed it directly at Nora's head, both watching each other unflinchingly for some time.
"When I kill someone, they stay dead."
"So I hear." The wicked smile stayed on Nora's face as she arched backwards and reclined on the plush seating not bothering to push the weapon away from her head, "Speaking of which, I'm looking for two people. I know you're the one who knows where they are."
"I know more than two people, Shepard, but whether I will give you the information about your two people is entirely up to me. Knowledge is power around here."
For a woman who had been dead for little over two years, Nora found the rush of hunt a heady sensation she had all but forgotten since waking up. She could play these games with the best of them.
"So you want me do you a favor right?" Purple-blue eyes closed with an exaggerated sigh, "Nothing for free, I get that. So…what will it be? Do you have a pet Krogan I need to rescue from a tree somewhere?"
The ensuing silence was answer enough. Nora's smile widened into a cocky grin as she straightened up to go.
"I do my homework Aria; I'm not one of your usual Omega flunkies waiting to be stepped on."
"I can see that…" The owner of Afterlife seemed to resent her admission, "Alright then, here's the job."
* * * * * * *
"Alright, so I've done your little project," Commander Nora Shepard eased herself into the low sitting bench, a rather brilliant green beverage in her hand, "I need my information."
"Your method was not exactly what I had in mind when I gave you that assignment." Aria groused.
"You asked me to get it done and I did. Tell me what I need to know about Archangel, I heard he's in a bit of trouble."
Aria scoffed, "Half of Omega is hunting him down…that hardly counts as 'little,' even by our standards. What do you need him for?"
"I'm building a team; he's on my list."
The smile on the Asari's face was particularly sweet and entirely disingenuous, "Interesting…well, you're going to make some enemies teaming up with Archangel. That's assuming you can get to him. Like you said yourself, he's in a bit of trouble right now."
"Just tell me how to find him."
"The local merc groups are recruiting anyone with a gun to help them take down Archangel. They're using a private room for recruiting…just over there. I'm sure they'll sign you up."
"I appreciate the help Aria."
"See if you feel that way when the mercs realize you're here to help him."
Commander Sheppard got to her feet, "Sounds like I don't have much time to waste."
"You've got all the time in the world," Aria teased, "Archangel…not so much."
Nora mirrored the insincere smile and then turned to go, "Don't think this is the last time you'll be seeing me."
She left before the other woman could make her reply; walking quickly down the stairwell to the private room Aria has spoken about.
"I hear you're hiring?"
The merc thug merely grunted and pointed her through a heavy plate door, where she met the merc recruiter, a batarian who obviously didn't know a pistol from a shotgun.
"Well, aren't you sweet?" All six eyes roved up Nora's armored figure not quite drawing the right conclusion, "You're in the wrong place, honey. Strippers' quarters are that way." He pointed to some location over her shoulder but stopped short when Nora leveled her gun with one of his eyes.
"Show me yours, tough guy. I bet mine's bigger."
Nora didn't bother pushing the issue; her main concern was getting to Archangel as quickly as possible.
"Impressive." Reassessing the woman in front of him, the merc recruiter drew up the proper paperwork, "So you're here to fight then?"
The woman smiled, "You could say that."
Rattling off the various technicalities of the contract, the Batarian collected the required fees before pointing her in the direction of the driver, calling for the next recruit as Nora left the room.
The incoming recruit looked to be little more than a boy.
"Hey, is this where I sign up?"
Nora stopped just short of the door, eyeing the youth that looked for all the world like some wide-eyed innocent.
"You look a little young to be freelancing as a merc." Her voice was hardly raised, but drew the attention of all those in the room.
"I'm old enough." The way his voice cracked suggested otherwise. "I grew up on Omega; I know how to use a gun."
"So does Archangel."
Nora didn't doubt that the boy was going to get himself killed, a notion which the young adventurer didn't apparently share.
"I can handle myself!" Puffing out his chest, he pulled out a pistol of some junk-yard make, "Besides, I just spent 50 credits on this pistol and I want to use it."
So stupid…
Uncoiling with all the grace of a predator cat, Nora closed the space between them in an instant, face to face as she pulled the pistol out of his hands.
"Go get your money back."
Jamming the poorly designed heat sink until it was unusable Nora handed the disabled weapon back to the surprised boy knowing there was nothing else he could do. She clapped his shoulder before she left,
"Trust me, kid. You'll thank me later."
She was out of the club and at the small shuttle bay by the time the now ex-recruit realized what had happened.
"Who was that woman?"
It was a question for which no one had an answer.
* * * * * * *
"Well well…it's about time you sent me somebody who looks how they know how to fight."
Another Batarian mercenary met them when they arrived on location this one more competent than the last, "They tell you what we're up against?"
Nora knew full well who, but there was no sense in working with just the bare facts; as Aria had emphasized, knowledge was power here on Omega.
"The recruiter was a little vague."
The Batarian nodded, "We wouldn't get so many hires if everyone knew the truth. Archangel is holed up in a building at the end of the boulevard over there. He's got superior position and the only way in is through a very exposed bridge. It's a killing ground. But he's getting tired, making mistakes. We'll have him soon enough."
Nora nodded, keeping a level head as she thought through her options, how was she supposed to get across that bridge without dying?
"I take it you guys have a plan?"
"A small team is waiting to infiltrate his hideout. We need to draw Archangel's fire so they can move in."
"I'm assuming that's where we come in?"
The fact that she was going to have to act as bait wasn't lost on her.
"Exactly."
Nora couldn't fault him for his honesty; at least he was more forthcoming than Aria had been. "You'll be on a distraction team. Head straight over the bridge and keep Archangel busy so the infiltration team can sneak in behind him."
From behind her Jacob moved restlessly, "Sounds like a suicide mission to me."
"Pretty much." The Batarian merc agreed, "But you look like you can handle it. In any case, go up the boulevard and get to the third barricade. You need to talk to a Sergeant Cathka; he'll tell you when to go in."
"So the bridge is the only way to his hide out?"
"Exactly. Archangel collapsed all the other underground passageways and sealed the doors to the lower levels. We've got teams digging, but they're taking too long - if they can get the gunship flying again that'll help. I'm just hoping the infiltration team will do their job and we can all go home."
Gunship? The situation sounded like something out of an old adventure vid Nora had watched as a child.
"They were using a gunship to take out one guy?" She didn't know whether to be amused or appalled.
"Yeah, but then Archangel shot it down. He didn't destroy it, but he knew just where to hit it to disable it. It wasn't even a fair fight, at least not for us."
Nora hid her smile behind the back of her hand, smothering a laugh as she turned to give both Miranda and Jacob a very pointed look.
"I guess we'd better go find Sergeant Cathka."
"Good idea," the Batarian nodded a final time, "But watch yourself on the boulevard, Archangel's killed dozens out there already."
Nora smiled, "Will do."
Turning to the two Cerberus operatives behind her, she tapped the helmet in her hands, ordering them to do the same. Omega may not have a toxic atmosphere, but with a Archangel watching the entire length of the boulevard every extra layer of armor helped.
Nora slid the helmet over her head, and waited for the telltale click-and-hiss that signaled the locking mechanism had sealed in place, the electronic HUD flashing to life as the glass tinted. Both Miranda and Jacob followed her lead, their faces all but invisible beneath the darkened glass. From beneath the privacy of her own helmet Nora's confident cocky smile gave way to trembling frown.
She was playing her part well, had always played it well, but she missed being able to take a break from it. It had nearly been her undoing two years ago, she could remember that clearly enough, but now there was no one here to shelter her when she wanted remove the mantle of leader. There was no one to trust in Cerberus, and so she would just have to do what she did best; survive, and somehow, someway find a way to cope.
She always did.
* * * * * * *
"Well that should take care of things."
Miranda looked pleased as she straightened up from beneath the large assault droid, her white suit still pristine despite the otherwise filthy conditions around them.
"So it'll buy us time?"
Nora might not have trusted the woman, but her own skills were woefully inadequate in dealing with electronics. Cerberus was untrustworthy not unskilled, it was a distinction Nora had quickly put to use.
"I've just reset its parameters, when the mech is activated it should fire on anyone who gets within ten feet. Assuming that we've already reached Archangel by the time they pull this thing out, we should have no problem."
Commander Shepard nodded in understanding before signaling they move on, they still had to find Sergeant Cathka and see if there were any more minor disruptions they could cause among the mercenaries before they were forced over the bridge into Archangels more immediate firing range.
As fate would have it they found the Batarian leader standing in the shadow of the imposing gun ship, his head bent as he spoke with his peers. It would seem she had caught him just as the meeting was ending.
"Ah, the freelancer, Salkie mentioned you."
The mirrored tone of his visor disappeared at the touch of a button.
"Salkie?"
Nora frowned behind her still tinted helmet.
"You met him when you were dropped off, he radioed to say you were coming; you three kind of stand out from the rest of the freelancers. Anyway… the infiltration team is about to give us the signal. Archangel won't know what hit him. Got any questions, this may be your last chance?"
Lighting up, the Batarian sighed, "Well?"
Nora only had one question, trusting Miranda to start working on the gunship whenever she saw an opening.
"Are you leading the assault?"
He laughed, "I don't get paid to fight. I just plan the attacks and fix the damn gunship. You freelancers get the privilege of – "
The computer next to him suddenly beeped.
It was the infiltration team, they were ready.
"Check, Bravo team – go, go go!" All in the surrounding area cleared out at Catha's command, hauling heavy weapons and thick armor as they went.
"Archangel's got quite a surprise waiting for him. But that means no more waiting for me." Turning on the reflective coat on his visor, the Sergeant moved back to the gunship electrical panel, "Got to get her back to a hundred percent before she's needed again…now where did I put that Omni-tool?
Out of the corner of her eye Nora caught site of the sparking repair tool Cathka had mentioned and wondered if perhaps she should take it with her, it would slow repairs while the mercs tried to find another.
Still, she imagined replacing a skilled tactical advisor and qualified mechanic would be much harder than any tool, especially once Miranda was done with her own work.
Unbidden, a grin crossed Sheppard's lips, her eyes focused on the back of the now unsuspecting Cathka. Picking up the device she idly tossed it up in the air, wondering for a long minute if she could bring herself to go that far. In the past she had always prided herself at being straightforward, honest, and not underhanded.
Two years was enough to change anyone.
The grin on her lips grew wider, "You know you're working too hard, Cathka. You need to relax."
His scream of agony echoed in the empty hangar a second later as she slapped the pronged end of the fork into his back where his life-support system attached to the rest of his suit. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as the crackling electricity all but cooked the man in the suit.
Strange, but the decision had been easier than she imagined it could have been. Looking at the charred corpse at her feet Commander Shepard found that there was neither sorrow nor uncomfortable guilt in the way she felt about what she had done.
She had had a problem, and killing this man had fixed it, what more was there to know?
Turning from the smoldering remains Shepard signaled both Miranda and Jacob to her side, "Let's get this over with."
* * * * * * *
She had started killing the mercenaries the moment they had breached the bottom floor of Archangel's base. Shielded from view by the heavy plascrete columns and various obstructions, she took each one out with ruthless efficiency. The rush of adrenaline with each successive explosion from her shotgun made her smile, and the use of her L5 implant had more than made up for its otherwise unsatisfactory side effects.
And then there was new talent she had discovered, the benefit to having a partially cybernetic body and excess L5 power, Biotic Charge. It had been an accident really, finding out what she could do. One moment she had been standing at the bottom of the stairs trying to avoid the hail of bullets from above, the next she was face to face with a very surprised mercenary. She pulled the trigger before either one of them had taken their next breath.
The strain on her body had been tremendous for a while afterwards, her body just a touch less responsive in movement, the ability to move requiring a bit more effort despite her high levels of adrenaline.
But it had been worth it, the look of fear in the eyes of her prey an all too powerful drug.
Commander Shepard grunted as she disposed of the last mercenary on the upper level, shrugging off the lingering effects of her last Charge. Miranda and Jacob were still finishing the lower level but would no doubt join her once they had finished.
She had to go check on Archangel.
Weapon still in hand, Nora crossed the now empty upper floor a grim look on her face. She didn't doubt they had prevented any mercenary from shooting him in the back, but what was to say a mercenary sniper hadn't got a lucky shot while the fighting had been going on inside.
Rounding the corner, the sound of gunfire grew louder once more, though the smooth metallic sound of sniper recoil echoed almost systematically within the confines of the room in which Nora had found herself.
Archangel was seated not more than ten paces from her own position, his elongated body just slightly curved as he focused his rifle and cleaned up the remaining mercenary forces.
Unrushed, calm under the stress of passing bullets, he squeezed the trigger once, twice, after the third all extraneous gunfire seemed to have stopped.
He had killed the last of them, at least for the time being.
Pulling away from the window ledge, the mysterious Archangel turned in place and paused suddenly as if surprised to see her, his expression lost beneath the dark of his visor.
"Archangel?"
Her voice seemed to bridge the chasm between their two positions, but felt too loud in the newly fallen silence. Awkwardly Nora took a step closer and holstered her shotgun in what she hoped was a sign of trust.
She couldn't have him thinking she was here to finish a kill.
But as he straightened, what caught her attention was not the fact that he had accepted her gesture, rather, her attention fell instead on the smallest finger on his right hand. Strange, but she recognized that habit, that bent finger, curved while his other two had straightened; the detail seemed bring with it a torrent of images and sounds.
Nora looked up immediately and braced herself, it was another memory.
~Memory~
Bang!
Sighing deeply, she turned away from the firing range, her eyes stinging from intense focus and her arms aching from the unfamiliar position she had held for the better part of two hours. She really should be sleeping, but sleep has eluded her yet again this evening, her mind filled with horrendous flashbacks better left untouched.
Shuffling to the sharp chrome weapons locker she pulled out yet another box of ammunition and turned around to once more move towards the firing range, only to find herself blocked.
He really did seem larger when he was upset, more physically imposing in a way she rarely saw.
"Shepard."
Looking up with blurry eyes, Nora frowned as she tried to focus on the face above her, smiling suddenly when she succeeded.
"Couldn't sleep either?"
He didn't bother responding, moving instead to pull the long barreled sniper rifle out of her hands. "You should be resting."
He wasn't smiling.
"You're upset with me."
It wasn't a question, she knew him well enough to read his moods. She immediately felt like a child, caught doing something she shouldn't have. Which was ridiculous really, she was the Commander not an infant. If she wanted to stay up late working with a stripped down sniper rifle then she was well within her rights.
Nora looked up at him with a frown of her own, ready to defend her right to practice when he spoke up, his voice both tired and anxious.
"I was waiting for you at the apartment, when you didn't arrive at your usual time I worried."
Nora went from upset to guilty in all of a second, her eyes immediately lowering to focus on the floor.
"Oh...I…."
"I know you're sorry Nora, but you really shouldn't be out here this late."
"I'm not a child." She argued, albeit minimally, still feeling too guilty to retaliate.
"You're not a child," he nodded in agreement, "But you are a very stubborn woman, one who needs to finish her healing before taking to the firing range. Doctors orders remember?"
Shepard nodded miserably, "I just wanted to get some practice in; you know I'm a terrible shot at long distance."
His arms tugged her gently into his chest, comforting with its all encompassing warmth and familiar rumble as he began to speak. "It's a good thing you bring me along then, that way I can take those shots for you. Just think what would happen if you got any better, I'd be stuck on the Normandy while you brought someone else along."
Nora looked up him for a moment before grinning, "So you're here to safeguard your position on the squad and not because you love me? Oh it's just too terrible…no, don't try to deny it! You've admitted your ulterior motive."
She smiled as she struggled against him, laughing at she feigned distress, "No, it's just too terrible…I can't believe it. All of it was a farce…"
Funny that he seemed to know just the right thing to make her forget her train of thought, indeed forget anything but him. Her arms wound around his neck as he tugged her closer, burrowing his forehead against the side of her neck.
And when at last he released her, she remained where she was, her eyes temporarily closed as she leaned against him, savoring the contact.
"Now, what were you saying about not loving you?" His voice was husky as he turned to cradle her face in his hands. Her eyes opened slowly to reveal dazed purple-blue.
"I…can't remember."
They both smiled.
"Come on, let me get you home."
He took her hand and moved to leave the private room, her sniper rifle looking more like a child's toy in his other hand.
"Wait…" She hesitated, her eyes once more on the distant target located at the end of the firing range, "Just one?"
When he started to argue again Nora shook her head, "I meant…let me see you shoot one."
"You've seen me more than once; I've been with you on nearly every mission. You need to be in bed, not watching me shoot."
"Please?"
He sighed, "Only one."
Her answering laugh was response enough, and as she settled herself on a nearby chair he readied himself, falling into the position that had been ingrained into him as a young cadet.
Neck relaxed, muscles ready but not tense, breathing a steady flow unbroken by nerves or the events around him.
"Whenever you're ready."
Nora's voice had dropped to a whisper in anticipation, her eyes almost glowing in the dim light.
The shot crackled through the air a moment later, striking the target through the center cleanly.
Smiling as she watched him straighten, the lingering curl of his smallest finger caught her attention, and his.
"Hmm…it's been a while since that's happened."
Coming up beside him, she touched the bend in his finger, "What is it?"
"My stress twitch. I never could master the 'complete relaxation' during basic training; the finger had a tendency to curling up whenever I got stressed…or nervous."
"So do I make you stressed or nervous?" Nora smiled as she looped an arm through his.
"A little bit of both I suppose…though I think 'nervous' more so than the other."
He smiled down at her and ruffled her hair affectionately.
"Come on, let's get home."
Nora smiled back, "Right behind you Garrus."
~End Memory~
Nora felt her head snap up as the memory disappeared, her eyes looking but not seeing.
It couldn't be…
He was standing right before her. The one she had loved…who had protected her…who…
Nora staggered a little, using her hand to steady herself; hey blue-purple eyes wide as Archangel removed his helmet and placed it on a nearby crate, crossing the room towards her still figure.
She remembered that face…the fluid movements and deadly grace.
Her voice shook as she looked into familiar dark eyes, "Garrus?"
The turian didn't respond until he had tugged her further into the room, away from the open window and any potential attack. Large hands grasped her helmet on either side and gently pried the locks open, the soft hissing release of locks just barely audible over the sounds of voices downstairs.
Carefully the helmet was removed, pulled up and away, until her silky hair was released and splayed across her brow. For the first time in two years they were face to face, and nothing felt as it once had.
A terrible grief tore through her.
He didn't smile when he looked at her, his eyes dull though from exhaustion or something else she couldn't say. There was no tender embrace, no soothing hand through her hair or around her waist.
"Shepard. I thought you were dead."
She couldn't remember a time when he had ever spoken to her quite like this, could barely remember him at all, but she knew enough to feel a difference in the way he was treating her now. She wanted to laugh, cry, something, but all she could muster was a half-hearted smile, "Hello Garrus, what you are doing here?"
"Just keeping my skills sharp. A little target practice." There was a lack of heart in his words, a roughness to his usually smooth voice.
"Are you ok?"
She moved to touch his arm in concern but stopped short when he jerked back suddenly. Her smile widened as she fought the pain of rejection, settling a false tilt of her lips like a perfect little mask, disguising the way her heart ached.
"I've…" looking away, Garrus continued to speak, "Been better, though it is nice to see a friendly face."
Nora could only nod with her smile still in place, hands locked tightly behind her back, the pain helping to center a mind too emotionally overwrought.
They were barely more than strangers now, friends, if she was willing to his words. She had no claim on him, no reason to hurt as deeply as she did.
"What are you doing on Omega?"
Speaking softly, Nora walked a few paces away to check on the landing below, ignoring the fact that she no longer wore her helmet.
"I got fed up with all the bureaucratic crap on the Citadel, figured I could do more good on my own. At least it's not hard to find criminals here. All I have to do is point my gun and shoot."
"That still doesn't explain how you pissed off every major merc group in the terminus system."
"It wasn't easy," Glancing over her shoulder she saw a flicker of humor in his eyes, "I really had to work at it. I'm amazed that teamed up to fight me. They must really hate me."
Nora managed to muster only a little more truth to her smile before turning back to the floor that Miranda and Jacob were keeping clear. "It does seem you've made yourself quite the nuisance. Though I have to ask, when did you start calling yourself Archangel?"
"It was just a name the locals started giving me. For all my good deeds…I don't mind it. But please, it's just 'Garrus' to you."
Nora couldn't manage to look at him again, but Commander Shepard had no problem nodding in response to an old crewmate.
Commander Shepard, the role, the leader, would be the only way she would survive the heartache.
Unwittingly Nora's hands tightened on the railing before she sighed, accepting what she had to do, turning to face him once more, her true expression lost behind the impenetrable mask of control and friendly camaraderie.
"You know, you nailed me good a couple of times by the way." One long tapered finger pointed to just left of her jaw.
"Concussive rounds only. No harm done. Didn't want the mercs to get suspicious."
Commander Shepard merely gave her old squad mate a look, "Uh-huh."
"If I had wanted to do more than take your shield down, I'd have done it. Besides, you were taking your sweet time; I had to get you moving."
"Well, we got here. But I don't think getting out will be as easy."
"No it won't." Garrus picked up the sniper rifle at his side and moved languorously to the window ledge, "That bridge has saved my life, funneling those witless idiots into scope. But it works both ways. They'll slaughter us if we try to get out that way."
"So we just sit here and wait for them to take us out?"
Miranda and Jacob had arrived, their presence once more asserting the power of the Illusive man over them all.
"It's not all that bad." Garrus responded mildly, "This place has held them off so far. And with three of you…I suggest we hold this location, wait for a crack in their defenses and take our chances. It's not a perfect plan, but it's a plan."
"If we fight as a team we'll hold them off."
"You're right; their numbers won't help them in here anyway. Let's see what they're up to…" Lifting up the rifle, the turian rogue lapsed into the momentary silence of concentration. "Hmm…looks like they know their infiltration team failed."
Beckoning her forward, he settled the heavy weapon in her hands. "Here, have a look. Scouts. Eclipse, I think."
Through the reticule Nora could see an ever swelling number of robotic drones amassing on the other side. She handed the weapon back clumsily when she was finished.
"That looks a lot more than just scouts."
Tense but now worried, Shepard knew well enough that the upcoming battle would test her in more ways than any previous Cerberus mission she had been on.
"Indeed." She watched as Garrus tightened his grip on his sniper, "We better get ready. I'll stay up here; I can do more damage from this vantage point."
Watching as he turned to meet her gaze, she could have sworn he almost smiled, "You…you do what you do best. Just like old times, Shepard."
Nora couldn't help but smile back, a ghostly almost invisible smile, "Just like old times."
* * * * * * *
The firefights had been going on for a little over two hour, long tense moments of furious activity momentarily broken by equally strenuous periods of silence. Fighting to seal the basement doors had heavily damaged all of their armor, but they had managed to close both with only minor injuries. As it was, Nora had only two more packs of medigel left after treating a sever burn on Miranda's side and a gash on Jacob's forearm.
They had to get to Garrus and then punch through the remaining tatters of the mercenary defenses before they wore themselves out.
But no sooner had Commander Shepard cleared the bottom floor when she heard the sharp automated roar of an engine, and the blaring voice from a loudspeaker calling for Archangel.
The gunship had been repaired.
Swearing as she ran up the stairs, an explosion of fire and wreckage made her stop short as she entered the room where she had last left her old crewmate.
She found his prone body lying in an ever growing pool of his own blood.
"Garrus?!"
He didn't respond.
"Garrus!"
She had made it only half way when the gunship reappeared in the window, its operator crowing in victory. Half hidden in the glare of the windshield, she could see enough to know it was the Blue Sun leader Garrus had mentioned earlier.
And that was when Commander Shepard knew true rage, cold and merciless as it pumped through her veins and cleared her eyes.
She'd kill the damned bastard herself.
Pulling the heavy weapon from the strap on her back she checked the small digital reader, her expression serious.
Six shots…more than enough.
She waited until Jacob had garnered the attention of the ship before standing upright, leveling the weapon and firing four of the small rockets. The first two slammed into the propellers, the third into the main fuselage, and the fourth directly through the glass and into the cockpit.
The explosion seemed to rock the very foundation on which they stood.
Commander Shepard didn't bother waiting for a signal that she had indeed killed the pilot, choosing instead to fire the last two rockets at the burning wreckage before discarding the weapon entirely.
She had to check on Garrus.
Miranda had already begun to administer the last two medigel they had when Nora arrived at his side, her hand gently ghosting across his head crest.
"Garrus?"
Half afraid that he wouldn't respond, his sudden shuttering gasp and gurgling breath seemed all the more painful to hear.
There was no doubt he was dying.
"We're getting you out of here Garrus, just hold on!" Whispering softly, she removed the heavy tint of her helmet so that he could see her better.
His eyes seemed to lock on hers and hold, a desperate attempt to focus on something, anything, to keep the pain at bay.
Trembling slightly as she cradled his battered body, she couldn't help the way her hand clutched his own as she ordered Joker to their position and sent Miranda and Jacob to clear the landing zone of any surviving mercenaries.
She wasn't going to leave his side until the doctors were here, and she wasn't going to forgive the bastards who had hurt him.
Kill them, she had ordered through their com-link, I don't care who they are, if they get in your way, kill them all.
* * * * * * *
Nora had remained in the large meeting hall ever since arriving back at the Normandy, not trusting herself to follow the doctors down to the medical ward nor talk with Miranda about a mission that had gone quite horribly wrong.
She should have reacted faster when she had first seen the gunship, done more to prevent it from becoming operational.
The crackle of biotic energy and stinging on the side of her face served as a reminder that if she continued to pursue this particular avenue of thought the implants Cerberus had given her would have a harder time working. Finger tracing the circular scars on her cheek, Commander Shepard wondered if Garrus would have something similar now.
Assuming he even survived.
Nora bent over one of the railings and sighed deeply, trying to exhale the tension from her shoulders as her biotic powers spiked once more.
She had to remain calm.
The sudden touch on her shoulder made her jump, and nearly sent Jacob flying through the air for a second time as her biotics lashed out like a whip. Thankfully it seemed the Cerberus agent had anticipated such a response and managed to dodge the otherwise concussive biotic shock.
"Remind me to stop doing you favors." Despite the sting of the words, the taller man smiled, "You busy?"
"Not really," Commander Shepard turned and nodded apologetically, "Sorry about that by the way, force of habit."
"You don't like people standing too close?"
Purple-blue eyes focused a little more on the man standing before her, "We're both Vanguards, Jacob. The only time anyone is close enough to touch us is when we're standing a foot away and sending shotgun shells into center mass. I don't like the sensation of being boxed in without my weapon."
"Fair enough." The man nodded, "I had just wanted to give you an update on Archangel."
"On Garrus?" Nora looked at her companion for a long moment before turning away, not trusting herself to keep composure, "What of him?"
"Commander. We've done what we could for Garrus, but he took a bad hit. The docs corrected with surgical procedures and some cybernetics."
Closing her eyes, Nora grit her teeth, the damage would have had to be extensive to implant cybernetics.
If only she had acted faster…
"Best we can tell, he'll have full functionality, but…"
The metallic hissing of the doors sliding open made both of them jump in surprise. "Shepard."
Nora looked across the distance and saw the deep scars on the side of his jaw, his face. What he was doing up so soon she didn't know, but the damage to his face made her heart ache anew. It served as a warning for her, as if asking her if she would willingly sacrifice him on the mission the Illusive Man had called suicidal by any standard.
Damn but her hands were shaking; she had thought he would still be unconscious on the operating table.
Looking away for a moment, she struggled to collect herself.
Laughing in admiration, it was Jacob who acted as distraction, shaking his head in disbelief as he got a good look at the Turian vigilante, "Tough son of a bitch. Didn't think he's be up yet."
"Nobody would give me a mirror." Walking cautiously into the meeting room, Garrus turned to speak more to Shepard than not, "How bad is it?"
It was Commander Shepard, not Nora, who answered with a playful smile. "Hell, Garrus, you were always ugly. Slap some face-paint on there and no one will even notice."
The response was immediate, and for a moment so heartbreakingly familiar that Nora surfaced enough to smile a little too.
"Ha-ah…oh," Garrus laughed for a moment groaned in pain, "Don't make me laugh, damn it." He grinned as he shook his head, "My face is barely holding together as it is. Still, some women find facial scars attractive. Mind you, most of those women as Krogan…"
Shepard grinned before nodding Jacob out of the room, turning back only when the door had firmly slid shut leaving the two of them alone.
He was the first to speak, his voice echoing in the metallic chamber, "Frankly, I'm worried about you. Cerberus, Shepard? You remember those sick experiments they were doing."
Tilting her head, Commander Shepard met those blue eyes with the calm collected reasoning she had long since forced herself to repeat, if just to keep her walking forward.
"I don't have much in the way of choices, Garrus. The Collectors are wiping out human colonies, Garrus. Nobody else cares enough to stop it."
She sat on the corner of the table as she waited for him to respond, one hand idly tracing the designs etched onto the surface.
"I suppose I can't argue with that." He answered after a long silence, "Hard to believe the Council is letting the attacks go unanswered, though. Damn politicians."
He sighed as he let the rest of her information sink in, coming to a decision. Turning to leave, he paused at the doorway "I'm fit for duty whenever you need me Shepard. I'll settle in and see what I can do at the forward batteries."
Commander Shepard smiled, "It's good to have you aboard once again Garrus."
He left without another word, taking with him the smile on her face, the calm which she had projected so convincingly.
Neither one of them had spoken about those final few minutes on Omega, nor was there a good chance they never would. The painful tightening in her chest seemed all but unbearable.
And with the renewed heartache Commander Shepard disappeared, leaving only Nora to catch the elevator up to her quarters, to lock the interior door and ordering EDI not to let anyone in.
And when she had removed her armor, luxuriated in her shower as she washed away the dirt and noxious smells of Omega, it was not into the tunic length Cerberus uniform that she changed. Instead, she pulled out a large shirt and shorts, items which EDI had been so kind to supply upon request.
There was a familiar sense of peace she associated with such informal garments.
Curled up on her bed, the thick blankets pulled snug around her waist, Nora closed her eyes and allowed one small shuddering sob as she drew in a deep breath a pulled herself slowly back together.
She did not have the time nor the safe harbor to cry here. After two years there was little to soften the blow that the world she had known was gone. Garrus was now a friend, nothing more. She would have to come accept that, as she had learned to deal with her nightmarish childhood on Earth.
She was a survivor, she would persevere.
Pulling out a battered paper novel, Nora pulled the covers up a little higher before turning the first page, her eyes scanning, searching ,reading, hoping that somehow, someway, the text in her hands would make her forget about memories better left forgotten.
But it was too late already, and no amount of hoping could undo the way her heart had begun to fracture.
~Main Battery~
Garrus sat quietly in the small space he had made, content in the low hum of the main battery and the muted sound of voices just outside. Eyes closed, the turian breathed slowly, easily, though he was still very much awake, aware.
So much had happened in the past couple of hours, the past couple of years.
Loss, pain, deception, the amount of disappointment threatened to crush him.
And she was alive.
Struggling with the realization that once more his Commander had once more escaped death, the guilt all but suffocated him.
Hadn't her near death on the Citadel taught him anything?
Two years of utter loneliness, of terrible undiluted grief and anger, throwing himself into whatever dangerous situations he could find. His work on Omega had been all he could do to try and move on, doing what he believed in while cherishing the gift of life she had given him for the second time.
Shifting slightly, the soft clacking noise of a disk on the floor made him open his eyes.
It was a vid copy of the old Normandy crew celebrating their victory over Sovereign the day before they had had to ship out once again.
Reaching down Garrus delicately picked up the chip and gently inserted it into his Omni-tool in much the same way he had for the past two years.
He knew every detail of the video, had listened to Kaiden and Wrex get into the same argument over Batarian Ale, while Liara had smiled at the camera before turning to pull another woman before the camera.
One.
Two.
Three.
On four, Commander Nora Shepard appeared, her face flushed with mirth, her hair mused and eyes bright with laughter. Grinning, she had poured the young Asari a very generous glass of some human vintage wine before turning to face the camera directly. Hands on her hips, she looked so serious that for a moment he almost wondered what he had done wrong. But then her lips had curled upwards in that familiar smile, shy almost hesitant before she blew a kiss at the camera.
'Love you.'
She smiled again, tender as she tilted her head to the side for a moment.
'Love you.'
Garrus choked softly as he turned off the vid, unable to watch any more.
The pain of losing her had torn at him every time he had watched the vid, every day of every year he had blamed himself for losing that smile, those words. And never once did he forget her startling shyness or affection.
He had been the one holding the camera.
Closing his eyes in pain once more, he could do nothing but accept the two years that had done nothing but twisted who he had been. Garrus had recognized well enough the emotions on her face as he had lain there dying, but there was nothing he could do, nothing he could say.
That man…the one she had loved, no longer existed.