To say Katori had never walked around blind would have been a lie. She had plenty experience, having dealt with over ten years of this never-ending blackness before she had finally token her first look at the world. It wasn't hard to walk around, having mastered it so much that some people refused to believe her lack of sight. But she had never done it in a warzone before, the constant piles of rubble and the charred bodies of soldier who had given their lives impeding their path at random intervals. So she stumbled about, with grace the equivalent to a clumsy drunk. Thatch repeatedly came to her side to assist her when she stumbled over even the smallest bump, treating as though she was a child to be escort through a mall. She shook those negative thoughts from her mind, knowing that her didn't mean anything by it.
The Sergeant had meant her well, even telling Drizen that her clumsiness was most likely a concussion from the crash. It was an injury but she was fine to defend. Though she sensed that Drizen didn't believe him, still harboring his obvious mistrust for the two Alliance soldiers as they walked. He had suggested, or perhaps ordered would be a better word, that the two humans take point and spread his men out on the other sides of the group. Thatch had joked that this was so they would be killed first in the event of an attack, and Katori felt that his guess was accurate.
The katana wielding soldier stopped as she heard the distant howl of a reaper. She didn't to what type it belonged to, knowing that which each species the reapers come by, came a new foot soldier from their twisted ideal of a perfect breed. That was one upside to having no sight, her hearing could now rival any turian. However, she could also smell the burning flesh from at least a mile away and taste it in the air. The fact that she was not disturbed by either of these things worried her, leaving hoping she hadn't developed the taste of a Krogan. As she thought about her lack of disgust, she heard all of the footsteps around her stop. "What is it?" She asked, whispering to Thatch on the off chance that it was something blatantly obvious.
"Skycar roadblock." He whispered back. She heard the doubt in his voice and the priming of his weapon as he said this. She guessed what he meant. The roadblock was not an accident, probably having been stacked on top of one another in a several foot high blockage. "There's no getting over that safely, I suggest we see if this building over here has a clear route through." Thatch suggested to Drizen. The turian growled to himself as he thought.
"Right, you Alliance soldiers clear a path. I'll keep my men here and we'll allow the group to catch a few minutes of rest. Contact when you've found a safe route through." Drizen told them. Katori frowned at this, not believing what had just happened. This Drizen was trying to send them to their deaths. Thankfully, Thatch didn't need her help to figure this out.
"With all due respect sir, that's suicide. We go in there and the Reapers ambush us, we'll be slaughtered." Thatch argued, taking a few steps forward, probably getting in the Turian commander's face.
"Oh, would you rather I send in all my men with you and allow these people to be slaughtered?" Drizen told him, his voice full of anger and disbelief.
"No sir, but I do expect to get some sort of trust from you. We came here to help but we can't do that if you're opposing us the entire time." Thatch replied. She felt the Turian open his mouth to continue the argument when someone stepped forward.
"If you two are done, I volunteer to go with them. A three man squad will be fine." This voice was female, but still Turian. Katori could tell from her walk that she was not in any armor, probably dressed in a turian casual outfit. That also meant she was very unlikely to carry a weapon, having only stepped forward to quell the argument. Though Katori could tell that this woman was no stranger to fighting, though the same could be said about most Turians.
"You don't even have a weapon." Drizen dismissed, most likely waving her off.
"Take mine. I'm a biotic so I only carry the weapon to look badass." Thatch said as the sound of his weapon whistling through the air hit Katori. The woman caught with a small grunt, priming the weapon once more to make sure it was ready to fire. Drizen was still making unhappy sounds at this but didn't say anymore on the subject. "Shall we?"
"So, since we'll be shedding Reaper blood together, mind sharing your name?" Thatch asked the Turian woman as they activated the flashlights on their omni-tools. The turian woman came back into view. She was tall, dwarfing Thatch even though he stood at a good six foot , and had a brownish silver tint to her scales. She had dark blue tattoos, one set under her eyes and another set on either end of her mandibles. She wore a light yellow outfit with a dark purple vest. Her three fingers were curled easily around Thatch's M-8 assault rifle, furthering his belief that every Turian was militarily trained.
"Name's Solana Vakarian." She introduced herself, peering cautiously around a corner into a dimly lit hallway. Ominous was the best way to describe it, the only light a lamp that lay on the floor and cast long shadows of an overturned table. The corpse of a turian soldier lay nearby, his death owed to a shot to the center of his plate. Katori creased her brow as she thought about that.
"I've heard that name before. Vakarian." Katori thought aloud, deep in though. Solana sighed, and looked back at her.
"My brother, Garrus, is the Turian that is always hanging around Commander Shepard." She said with a deep bitterness. She continued into the hallway, her weapon alert. Thatch cast a wary eye towards Katori who was easily keeping pace and then followed behind her. They said no more on the subject, much to Solana's obvious relief. The air was eerie, the lack of sound causing Thatch's ears to ring with irritation. To pass the time, he spoke to his two squadmates.
"So, Sol, Katori, may I escort two ladies to the bar after this?" He asked. They both stopped, looking at him in disbelief. Both of them obviously thinking who in the galaxy asks a woman on a date in the middle of the battlefield, let alone two at one time. "Not in the whole 'lift your shirt and we'll get busy afterwords' kind of drink. Like three people who just survived suicidal odds getting a drink." Thatch clarified. Sol gave the Turian equivalent of a frown before turning away.
"Don't call me that." She said before continuing on. Katori just shook her head and followed her example. Thatch however, was still smiling when he rejoined them.
"I'm not hearing a no from either of you." He stated, walking along side Solana. She stopped, holding out a hand to stop the biotic next to her. Katori had stopped to, tilting her head to one side as if they were both hearing something that Thatch was unaware of. He said nothing, trusting both of them.
"I hear three ahead, maybe. Sound like husks." Solana informed finally, her voice barely above a whisper as she said so. Katori nodded, agreeing with her and pulled the M-3 predator from her belt. Thatch took a step to be clear of the woman's aim. He had been reluctant to give his commander a pistol due to her lack of sight, but upon remembering she was in fact above him in rank he forked it over. She had given Thatch her katana as collateral but after a few threatening words about what she would do to him should anything happen to it, it only made him more worried.
"Allow me. I have biotics. It's quieter and I can hit them all at once." Thatch suggested, stepping in front of the two. Solana cast a worried look at him, wondering whether it was wise to trust him or not. But after a reassuring nod from the woman behind him , she collapsed the rifle and waved for him to do the honors.
By the time that Drizen had rejoined the three, they were in a furious debate on the parallel street. This one was free of roadblocks but the number of bodies was much heavier, not helping the morale of the civilians. One of the children had started to cry upon seeing one of the 'Dragon teeth'—as the humans called them- and was picked up by his mother who looked equally traumatized. The lack of the father allowed Drizen to put the facts together rather quickly.
"Come on, one drink and I'll let you leave!" The human sergeant begged of the two woman before him. Solana and Katori both looked in his direction, not believing this man was still on this subject. Drizen must have arrived well into the conversation before Katori sighed with exasperation and defeat.
"If you shut up, I'll buy the damn drinks!" She told him. Despite being yelled at, the human smiled as if he had won a prize. Then his eyes fell on Solana as she chuckled at that. She shrugged as if to say 'why not'. Drizen cleared his throat to announce his arrival, though he was unsure why he had to do so. If these Alliance soldiers were taking their duties seriously, then they should have noticed when was entering the room that led out to this area not just now.
"We have another three klicks to go. If you can manage to take the rest of the way seriously." Drizen said, directing towards the three as they sat there. They stood up and walked towards him, Solanaa holding her weapons proudly and expertly. Why had he not noticed the military training in her beforehand? Perhaps he would have another defender a lot sooner. It would have made holding the parking garage a lot easier.
"Of course. I suggest we rush the rest of the way. The sooner we're off this rock the better…..uh, no offense, I'm sure it was beautiful before the Reapers." Thatch spoke up. His hands glowed with his biotics. Drizen didn't argue thought he thought about how it had been going well so far, why push their luck?
Of course, when someone makes plans and hopes, the universe feels the need to grab the nearest crayon and scribble on them like a deranged toddler. No sooner had the building been left behind, did the Reaper forces finally find them. Two of the Turian defenders were slaughter before long, the rest only spared because Thatch erecting a biotic barrier. Now they ran, a hundred reapers chasing them. Marauders, Cannibals, Husks and even a fair number of Brutes made up the crowd, making Thatch question their luckiness. Though in retrospect, it made sense that an ambush was waiting for them. The roadblock and the conveniently placed hall that lead straight to a seemingly clear path. It was a wonder they made it that far.
Thatch sent a shockwave through a squad of husks heading for the right side of the group, sending them flying through the air, killing most of the group. Two got up, only to be put down once more by Solana. Thatch checked on Drizen who was practically throwing turians over a hill of rubble. They were almost there, they even saw a shuttle flying through the air. Their only disadvantage was they were out of sight, blocked by a collapsed building, so the Turian soldiers did not know to send them reinforcements.
"Drizen!" Thatch shouted above all the gunfire. The Turian looked towards him, having just tossed a small child to his mother on the other side to his mother. "Send one of you soldiers ahead to the extraction zone! Have them send in some reinforcements!" Drizen hesitated at following a human's orders, especially one that ranked lower than him. But in the end, he called forward a single turian and relayed the order, the turian slightly relieved that he could leave the battlefield as he took off. Drizen covered him, taking down a Marauder who had his sights on their messenger.
"Not a bad idea!" Katori complimented as she fired in the general direction of the reaper, scoring a shot on a cannibal. Thatch did not know this, but Katori was firing blindly , mind the pun, only focusing on the general direction of the reaper. Thatch looked back as a Brute surged from the army, making a direct path towards Solana. The biotic quickly summoned a charge and hit the Reaper with all his might. Despite all his power being poured into this, it only caused the Brute to stumble back and one of the stomach plates to come loose. Solana took noticed and poured an entire thermal clip into the monster, giving Thatch enough time to recharge his biotics enough to put a powerful biotic punch into the creature. The attack punched through the soft spot revealed, splattering Thatch with blue blood.
"I need a bath when I get home." Thatch commented as he took a position between Solana and Katori. Katori let out a small laugh.
"Be glad you don't have to smell it." Solana commented, saying what Katori had planned to say. The woman exchanged looks and shared a laugh, leaving Thatch confused on what they were laughing at. This didn't last long as a shot on his cover snapped him back into reality, making his reaction another biotic shockwave. This continued for another minute, until Drizen had managed to clear the civilians and called for them to retreat. Thatch turned, ready to follow, only to feel the searing pain as a Reaper shot pierced his armor and into his back.
A/N: Heyo! Bit late for my first update and I apologize. So, what do you think about Solana? I always felt that Garrus's family is the only one we never really get to me. I mean you meet Liara's mom and dad (or other mother), you technically meet Tali's dad and her "aunt", Thane's son, Miranda's sister, etc. My point being all you really ever learn about Garrrus's family is the Shadown Broker files and his side story about them getting off the planet (by the way, I have that covered). Um, like I said, still accepting OC's and all that. Read, Enjoy, and Review.