Hey everybody! Sorry for the wait but my editor insisted on having me going back to fix up some stuff before proceeding. Big thanks to anyone who read the previous chapter. So yeah it took me a while to get the chapter to turn out the way I wanted it. Anyhow lets get on with it shall we? Enjoy!

Chapter Two

Garrus sat in the mess alone, examining the reports on the Normandy's repairs. They had hit a few snags but almost all of the problems were taken care of with relative ease. Any of the systems that had been compromised were now repaired with the exception of their long range communications and QEC. Garrus sighed and leaned back in his chair, dropping his datapad carelessly onto the table. He had been working constantly ever since they had begun their repairs. He wasn't sure of how long they had been stranded because of the strange time cycle of the unknown jungle planet. He estimated it had been close to a week.

Most of the non-essential crew were either sleeping or on guard duty. He had even considered snagging a few hours of sleep, the idea of closing his eyes was appealing. However he had decided to check in with everybody. Grabbing a few tubes of nutrient paste, Garrus made his way to the elevator and tapped the button for the loft. Garrus waited as the elevator took him to his destination and was forced to wait a bit longer as the decontamination cycle started up.

At last the door lock opened and he entered the cabin. The cabin was dark, the majority of the light came from the fish tanks while what little light the stars gave off was angled towards the office through the skylight. Moving as quietly as possible, he made his way into the office.

"Tali?" Garrus called out. There was no reply except for a slight rustling in the back of the room.

Garrus took a few more steps into the room before stopping. Squinting, he could just see the outline of his friend sitting at the edge of the bed.

"I brought you something to eat. You know in case you get hungry." Garrus continued as he pulled out the paste and set them next to Tali. He knew better than to ask her how she was feeling. Tali was a powder keg just waiting to explode and if he wasn't careful he could set her off.

Again, Tali did not reply but gave him a slight nod. It was obvious that she was not ready to speak with anyone.

"Alright well if you need anything, just shoot me a message or tell EDI." Garrus tried once more but only earned a small glance. Feeling awkward and out of place, he retreated from the cabin and hit the button for the cargo bay. Garrus could only imagine how Tali was feeling and hoped that she would pull herself together eventually.

Liara staggered up the ramp into the cargo bay. Each step she took was heavy and she was grateful for the shelter of the Normandy. She had been gathering as much data as she could about their surroundings and taking pictures of some of the constellations. Hopefully she could compare it to the star charts on her computer and figure out where exactly they had ended up. As fascinating the world was, Liara knew that she had to focus on finding a way to reestablish contact with the rest of the galaxy.

With Javik's help, they had determined that they were on a world that had evolved with levo based DNA. They had encountered some wildlife but nothing that seemed threatening. The marines weren't convince as easily and had set up various defensive positions around the Normandy. She deposited most of her equipment on the table near the elevator except for her sidearm. As soon as she finished stowing her gear away the elevator pinged, Liara glanced up and saw Garrus emerge. He looked around the bay for a moment before joining Liara.

"Anything useful?" Garrus queried as he pulled his rifle off of the wall.

"I've managed to gather several detailed images of the constellations. I'm hoping that it will help narrow my search." Liara replied while she showed the images to Garrus from her omni-tool.

"Well let's hope that it helps." Garrus nodded as he shoved a few spare clips into his ammo pouch.

"Have you checked on Tali yet?" Liara asked. She worried for Tali and could only hope that she could help her in some way.

"Yeah."

"How is she then?"

"Not much better than yesterday. She's been eating at least. I'm still worried though." Garrus answered while shaking his head.

"I'll check on her in a bit. I'm on my way up to the CIC to see if Traynor has had any luck."

The two of them nodded before they went to their respective tasks. Garrus strolled across the bay and down the ramp. The marines who were on guard duty tonight nodded to him before returning their attention to their assigned areas. Garrus saw James sitting on a crate, James had his Valkyrie in his lap as he scanned the treeline.

"Hey Scars." James acknowledged as Garrus stopped by his side.

"James. Everything quiet out here?" Garrus asked.

"All quiet except for the crickets. But I don't think it's crickets making the noise. Long as it doesn't turn out to be man eating bugs I'd say we're secure."

"Well if they do turn out to have a appetite for humans you can add it to the list of things you dealt with," Garrus remarked before asking,"How are we on supplies?"

"Well we got plenty of food to last us a good few months. As for the dextro stuff, I'd say for at least two months. So we don't have to worry about food right away. We definitely have enough weapons and ammo in case anything decides to attack us." James explained as he shifted in his armor.

"Sounds good to me. Most of the repairs are taken care of, although Adams and his team had to cannibalize the shuttle power cells and all of the spare parts they could get their hands on."

"Yeah I heard Esteban didn't like the idea that much. Any chance the Normandy is space worthy again?"

"I wouldn't take a chance with it right now. We don't have to worry about a discharge but what I'm worried about is if the systems can handle it when we try to make it back into orbit. Besides there's no use in going anywhere until we get our communications back online." Garrus explained as he looked back to the Normandy.

"Got it. If your looking for Ashley don't bother, LC took another team to scout out the area some more, she said she would be back in about an hour. As for Javik he's over there." James nodded towards the edge of the cliff.

"Thanks. Stay sharp."

"You got it Scars."

Garrus let the marine get back to his duties and wandered over towards Javik and took in the vista with the Prothean. The alien sky still unnerved him, the constellations were different. The thought of it only reminded him of home and how far it was.

"Vakarian." Javik finally spoke.

"Javik. Hows everything going so far?" Garrus replied. He was still annoyed that Javik still spoke to him in a condescending manner except when they were discussing wars.

"If you are referring to the reconnaissance mission than it was successful and little has happened. But if the question was about me personally, that is none of your concern." Javik's reply was blunt as he continue to stare off into the distance.

"Listen Javik, we're all in a rough situation and we need to work together." Garrus pointed out.

Javik did not say anything but tilted his head slightly as a sign of understanding.

"Is there anything we need to be on guard for?" Garrus asked in a more direct manner.

"There is always the need to be on your guard. But no, there is nothing that can threaten us at the moment. Life on this planet is still in it's early stages. We are most likely the only intelligent life on this planet right now." Javik explained.

Javik paused as he looked back to the Normandy and then back to the Garrus before asking, "How is the quarian?"

The question caught Garrus by surprise. Javik rarely showed any concern for anyone else unless he considered them a risk that needed to be eliminated. Garrus heard of the many times Javik arguing with Shepard on the topic. Still Garrus bristled at the way Javik had addressed Tali.

"Tali," Garrus stressed the name before going on, "is doing fine. She still needs time."

"War has it's losses. It does not matter how great a person is, death always lurks in the shadows waiting for a chance to steal the light away. If she does not accept it than she will become lost to us."

Garrus shook his head before turning away to head off to his perch in the trees. Arguing with Javik was pointless. He couldn't blame him though, Javik did have a point, but it didn't mean that Garrus wanted to agree. Garrus even suspected that if Javik had the chance, he would have let them all die if it brought his people back.

Grabbing the rope that was attached to the tree, Garrus pulled himself up until he reached his branch. Pulling out his rifle, he watched the clearing as he pondered Javik's words. Although Javik might be correct, something deep inside him told that Javik was wrong. Shepard had always done the impossible, he had already cheated death once. Hopefully luck would would be on their side again.

"Spirits, if your out there give us a sign that Shepard is still out there somewhere." Garrus murmured as he looked out onto the alien sky.

There you have it folks. Now if you felt that the chapters were too short, don't worry. I am going to make the chapters longer as things pick up. I'll try not to keep you waiting too long on the next one. Until next time!