Ghost
By KSCrusaders (Sable Rhapsody on BSN)
PART TWO
"Don't be such a hard-ass, Garrus," said Sensat as Garrus poked suspiciously at the oddly-shaped package with the butt end of his rifle. "It's clean. And do you really think Butler's wife would send him explosives?"
Garrus stopped prodding and shrugged. "You never know with Butler," he said with a small grin. Sensat may have been the explosives expert, but Butler also had a knack for loud, amateur fireworks. He reached into his pocket and produced his own present, a much smaller package, and set it on top of Mrs. Butler's gift.
He had an hour or so to get some work done before Butler got back from his recon mission. The armory was relatively empty today; Vortash was the only other person in there, running his omnitool over the weapons with his characteristic scowl.
The batarian merely grunted at him before letting out a disgusted snort and tossing one of the Vindicator assault rifles unceremoniously off the gun rack. It fell with a clatter against one of the chairs, bent barrel facing up. "Damn thing's never going to shoot straight again," he said, all four eyes looking accusingly at Garrus.
"You try smashing in a krogan's face with that thing," said Garrus absently as he started cleaning the scope of his sniper rifle.
That got a snort out of Vortash. "Gotta hand it to you, crazy turian bastard. Where'd you pick that one up? C-Sec?"
Garrus shook his head. Not C-Sec. The only time he'd ever seen someone engage a charging krogan like that was-
He abruptly cut off his own train of thought. He merely shook his head, hoping Vortash wouldn't ask questions.
He needn't have worried. The batarian liked a few things in life, and talking wasn't one of them. Garrus heard one of the other entrances to the base open, and the laughing and talking from upstairs got louder, drifting down to the armory on the lower floor. That would be Melanis causing the racket.
The distinct sound of a popping champagne cork echoed down the stairs. Vortash shot Garrus a look, and the turian just rolled his eyes and gestured up the stairs. Alcohol and tech. Vortash's two great loves in life. He sincerely hoped Melanis hadn't been an idiot and mixed up the bottle chirality. He didn't much fancy having to rummage through Krul's stuff looking for the epinephrine injections.
Garrus did have to laugh at how much his men were looking forward to this little impromptu celebration, even getting started without the birthday man. Butler wouldn't mind-probably. It was really more of an excuse for the younger guys who weren't on assignment tonight to blow off some steam.
Garrus checked his watch as he worked his way through resighting the guns. The human should be back any moment now. He pressed the comm in his hardsuit. "Sidonis?"
Static blazed through the comm for a moment and Garrus winced a little. Sidonis always forgot to maintain his own damn armor. "Yeah, boss. Loud and clear."
"Did Butler check in with you and the others already?" Sidonis, Weaver, and Monteague were on stakeout tonight inside a safe house a little ways from a Blue Suns stronghold. The idea was for Butler to scout out the Suns' next shipment of red sand at a nearby dock, then check in with the stakeout team.
"Yeah. About ten minutes ago."
"Ten minutes?" asked Garrus. Immediately, his mind began going through all of the things that could have gone wrong. "What kept him?"
He could almost see Sidonis's shrug. "I take it he's not back yet. Garrus, there were mechs in some of the crates."
Garrus was silent. That meant only one thing. Eclipse had provided the mechs to a rival mercenary gang. They were getting desperate-and dangerous.
"They sure love us, don't they?" said Sidonis dryly. When Garrus didn't reply, he continued. "Butler avoided most of them, but he tripped four and had to give them the slip." Sidonis paused, and Garrus knew he was about to hear bad news. "I think they might be alerted to us now. The active mechs haven't gone off sentry mode, even after Butler left."
Garrus thought about it for a moment. "Don't engage. If any more mechs or Blue Suns turn up, take note of how many and whether they're moving the sand, then get out. Your lives aren't worth a handful of theirs."
Monteague's voice now came through the comm, low and raspy. "Fucking honorable of you. Catch you tomorrow."
Garrus disconnected, relief flooding him. Butler's birthday would have been a bad day for an accident. They'd already had two relatively close shaves in the last few weeks, first with Eclipse, then with Garm almost killing him. The mercs were no longer playing nice-the harder he pushed them, the more erratic and more deadly they got.
Of course, that meant more weaknesses for him to exploit. If Eclipse were providing sentry mechs to the Blue Suns, that inevitably meant fewer mechs protecting their own goods and strongholds. The seeds of another plan began to take root in his mind. He rolled his shoulders, still sore from his narrow shave with Garm. The krogan punched like a dreadnought.
An unruly shout from upstairs and a burst of laughter told him Butler was finally back. Smiling to himself, Garrus put down the sniper rifle and headed upstairs to join the party.
"Vortash even saved some of the good stuff for you, it seems," said Garrus, coming up behind the shorter, stocky Butler and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Happy birthday, Butler."
The human man grinned back at him. "Thanks. Now if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to get out of this sweaty armor before I get plastered with you." He headed back toward the sleeping quarters, and Garrus settled himself down in an empty chair.
Sensat handed him a glass of dextro wine. The salarian's large eyes were fixed on the large, irregular package from Butler's wife. "What do you think is in there?"
"Sex swing," said Melanis immediately as he took a large swig out of his own glass.
"Of course, for all the asari dancers Butler brings to the hideout of the most wanted men on Omega," said Sensat, poking at Butler's gift with one long finger. "Is it bad if I take a look?"
"Humans get pretty upset if you do," said Garrus. "Something about spoiling the surprise." Liara's curiosity had gotten the better of her just before another human holiday aboard the Normandy. He couldn't help but let his mind drift back to the comically affronted look on Williams' face when she'd seen Liara and Tali with a colorful package in hand, scanning its contents. And then Adams and the rest of the crew had walked in and-
"Back," said Butler, interrupting Garrus's thoughts. He grabbed a glass and poured himself a drink.
"A toast!" said Melanis with annoying cheer. The younger turian had somehow managed to get himself quite tipsy in a relatively short time span. "An epic and stirring speech!"
Sensat and Vortash merely snickered as Butler raised his eyebrows. He looked at Garrus for assistance, but Garrus just grinned back. Butler sighed and thought for a moment before raising his glass.
"Remember today, my friends. Because today, life is good."
Five glasses clinked together, five drinks downed. Garrus made a face as the stuff burned its way down his throat-he'd never been much of an alcohol guy, and a vigilante's salary didn't make for decent drinks. He left that to Vortash, who was on his second bottle and still going strong. Butler dropped into the seat next to Garrus and reached for the smaller of the two packages sitting on the upturned boxes that functioned as impromptu tables.
The rest of the team had already chipped in for a present to Butler-a lovely cloaking upgrade for his hardsuit. They'd installed it yesterday so he'd have it for today's mission. Butler carefully opened the rough brown paper on Garrus's gift. A custom rifle scope fell into his open hands.
"And here I thought I'd have to get a new one out of pocket. Thanks, Garrus."
"You should open your wife's gift. Sensat's going to wet himself with curiosity," said Vortash. He propped his feet up on the nearest box.
The contents of the lumpy package shifted when Butler slowly lifted them. They were wrapped in bright, cheery paper, something Garrus recognized as a human thing. When Butler had painstakingly peeled back the last of the tape, the paper fell away to reveal the strangest assortment of things.
Four odd cylinders with printed images of what looked like plants on them. Two boxes of what Garrus recognized as chocolate. A sizeable stack of datapads containing newer novels-Butler loved to read. And finally, a circular contraption with two moving levers. Butler's eyes lit up at the last object. He picked it up with shaking hands, then fastened the strap around his wrist.
"What...is that?" asked Sensat.
"A watch," said Butler. "What's it look like?"
"What are the little sticks for?" said Melanis, now also crowding in for a better look. "Why are all the numbers on the edge?"
Butler laughed. "No, no. This is an old-fashioned human watch. They still make them as collectors' items. They're mechanical, not electronic. He flipped the face over to show the fascinated turian and salarian the tiny little cogs and springs driving the device. "You wind it up every day."
"Not the most practical object," said Sensat.
"Practicality's got nothing to do with it. My brother got me one of those on my eighteenth birthday," said Butler, and everyone fell silent. Butler's older brother had been killed three years ago in a firefight with the Blood Pack. "I broke it when I punched out a mouthy merc outside Afterlife. I can't imagine what my wife must've gone through to get it."
He looked at the rest of them, then down at the glass in his hand. "How did you guys know about birthdays, anyway? I thought aliens didn't really do them."
"I worked with some humans a few years back," said Garrus. "Seems like you celebrate just about anything, and usually with a lot of food and alcohol."
"And toasts," said Butler with a small smile. He refilled Sensat's glass. "Your turn."
"First tell me what the cans are supposed to be."
Butler picked up one of the odd cylinders and twisted it. Immediately, a light but pervasive floral scent assaulted Garrus's nostrils. "I think," said Melanis, "this is Mrs. Butler's way of telling us all to shower more." That got a grunt from Vortash.
"We're a bunch of guys guys living the good life of murder, arson, and sabotage. We're allowed to skip a damn shower now and then."
Sensat made a face. "You, maybe. I'll toast to showers. And the distant possibility of Sidonis remembering to clean his damn armor before dumping it on my bunk." Five glasses again went clink-Garrus didn't drain his. He foresaw the distinct possibility of taking care of the rest of his friends tonight.
That made it Melanis's turn. "To big explosions, sharp knives, and ass-kicking for great justice!" Melanis's proclamation got a roar of approval, and Garrus had to smile. Melanis sometimes reminded him very forcefully of himself when he was younger.
Garrus braced himself for Vortash saying something coarse. The batarian got to his feet and tipped his bottle solemnly toward Garrus.
"To this crazy bastard, who makes all that possible," he said quietly. All four of his eyes were fixed on Garrus's.
A bomb could have gone off and none of them noticed. Very slowly, Garrus raised his own glass and the others followed suit, all watching him and Vortash. He raised the wine to his mouth and drank, but found it difficult to swallow. The memories still caught up to him from time to time. He'd once made a very similar toast to the woman who pulled together a very similar team of misfits.
They were all quiet, waiting for Garrus to say something. Finally, unable to come up with anything better, he murmured, "To the fallen," and drained his glass.
Spirits bless Melanis, who quickly started pestering Butler about what chocolate tasted like, and whether it really was good enough to risk being sick. Garrus got to his feet and made his way downstairs on the pretense of getting more food and drinks for everyone. He leaned against the weapons locker and closed his eyes.
He couldn't decide which was worse-the way Shepard still haunted him, or the slow, inevitable decay of his memories. They didn't do her justice; in life she'd been brighter, fiercer, stronger than the phantom that followed him from the Citadel all the way to Omega. Almost two years later, and he still saw her when he was off his guard.
Approaching footsteps pulled him out of his thoughts, and he opened his eyes to see Butler. The human handed Garrus a new glass of wine. "Here, boss. You looked like you needed it."
"Thanks." Garrus gestured toward the party still going on upstairs. "You should go enjoy yourself, Butler."
"Eh, I wanted a little peace and quiet. I'm not as young as, say, Melanis." Butler joined him at the weapons locker, still fiddling with the watch on his wrist. "I still can't believe Nahla got this for me. You ever get a gift like that?"
"A watch?"
"No. Something that really means a lot to you, no matter its practical worth."
Garrus thought about it for a moment. Turians tended to exchange more practical things than humans did. But there was one thing...
"Not anything tangible," he said slowly. "It was more like an...an ethos, in human terms."
"Got that from Commander Shepard, did you?"
Garrus gaped. He hadn't told anyone on his team about the mission to stop Saren, and news about Citadel space tended to be glossed over in the Terminus systems, even news like a geth attack. Butler chuckled and put a hand on his shoulder.
"I thought you looked familiar from the vids, but Shepard was a lucky guess. Other people out here may not pay attention to the rest of the galaxy, but I do." He watched Garrus's expression slowly change from surprise to something much more somber.
"Yeah," said Garrus very softly. "I got it from her." He looked into the deep red liquid in his glass, not meeting Butler's eyes.
"Hey." Butler let go of Garrus's shoulder and took a step back. "I'm sorry about what happened. If you don't wanna talk about it-"
"It's fine." Garrus sighed and took a long sip of his wine. "I'd like to think she'd approve of gunning down mercs on Omega." The words came out sounding more bitter than he'd intended. "I-I just-"
"You miss her."
He closed his eyes again, leaning his head against the armor locker with a dull thunk. "Yeah," he admitted. "I miss her." It'd taken him two years to say the words out loud. When he finally opened his eyes again, he saw Butler regarding him with a very sympathetic smile.
"When my brother died, I felt like someone had punched a hole through my gut," said Butler. "He was my twin, you know? We grew up together, did everything together. Everyone tells you to move on with life, but that's bullshit. They'll always be a part of you." He smiled and shrugged. "I'd say it's human nature, but, well..."
"I understand," said Garrus. "It's just that I miss her more than I thought I would. More than...a soldier usually misses his officer."
The older human gave him a long, searching look. "You'd feel a lot better if you spat it out, Garrus."
"What are you, a shrink?"
Butler sighed. "There are no shrinks on Omega, my friend. If there were, this place would be different." There was a long silence after his words, which Garrus broke by clearing his throat.
"Thanks, Butler," he said, lightly punching the human on the shoulder. "I can handle it, but thanks. Go rejoin the party."
Butler raised his eyebrows, but nodded and walked away. Garrus waited until he was gone before booting up his omnitool. He flicked past all the documentation on the Omega mercs to an image from Christmas on the Normandy, just a few months after he'd joined the crew.
It was a candid shot, and it was the only one he had of her where she wasn't Commander Shepard with a capital C and S. Williams and Joker were sitting in the mess hall, wrapping presents for the crew while Tali looked on with powerful curiosity. Liara stared dubiously into a mug of something called eggnog while Shepard watched the whole thing with the hint of a smile on her face. Garrus enhanced the picture, zooming in on her face. It was one of the few times he'd ever seen her relaxed, at peace.
His fingers clipped through the image projection as he brushed the edge of her face. "I miss you, Shepard," he whispered. "And I wish..."
I wish you'd come back. I wish I'd had the guts to tell you.