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I was off doing errands when Garrus Vakarian shows up. A year and a half after Commander Shepard is killed, he calmly walks up to me and in a determined voice declares we need to talk. Having never actually met him this was quite surprising. After agreeing to talk, we head back to my apartment, which is as safe and secure as we can get.
"You lived on Omega, correct?" Garrus states.
"For a while, yes. Tea?" I ask, pouring a cup and offering it to him. He thanks me and takes the cup.
"How would you like to head back to Omega?" Garrus asks me. He sips the tea and calmly waits for my reply.
I toss the idea back and forth in my mind. Life on the Citadel had its perks. It was quiet, peaceful, and usually nobody tried killing you. However, it was boring as hell and filled to the brim with politics. It's Council this and Council that and Reapers don't exist. Why everybody hangs on to the Council's every word as if they were divine prophets is a mystery to me.
On the other hand, Omega is a hive of scum and villainy. A diseased jellyfish floating among the stars. No solid government, just the Reign of Aria. Cause trouble for her and you'll get beaten and then tossed out an airlock. She and I are on good terms, thankfully and I'm wanting things to stay that way.
Quiet, peaceful, boring life or dangerous, exciting life? I wanted to stay on the Citadel and stay alive, yet the thought of having an adventure with Garrus was the most exciting thing that's happened to me. "You heading to Omega?" I inquire.
"Yes." Garrus replied. Short and to the point. I wonder what it is that made him give up rejoining C-Sec and applying for the Spectres. As if he read my mind, he adds, "C-Sec wasn't working out for me. Too much politics."
"I'll go with you Garrus. Life on the Citadel is too quiet and boring." I reply. We both share a half-hearted laugh. I see it in his eyes, a distant sadness, a great pain. He's still feeling the loss of Shepard, the loss of the Normandy. The loss of so many friends. Granted, most of the crew survived. Still, a loss is a loss no matter how you put it.
"There are a few things you should know," Garrus chirps, "we'll be taking on different mercenary bands. Blue Suns, Blood Pack, Eclipse. Omega will be more or less our base of operations. If the occasion calls for it, we'll head off-world." He pauses for a moment, presumably to let me take this all in. I give him a nod and he continues.
"I know you're on good terms with Aria. This might change things. Hope you're okay with that." He studies me for a moment, then takes another sip of tea.
"I don't think Aria will mind if we mess with the mercs. As long as we don't blow up Afterlife or attempt to kill her or her people I think we're okay." A grin crosses my face. "Besides, I've been dying to get off the Citadel, even if that means getting shot at. Which we've both had experience with."
This time, the laughter is not hollow. It's true, we've had our fair share of being shot at; it seems neither of us minds it.
If only I had known what I was getting myself into.
One month later
An angry krogan is never a good thing; especially when said krogan is charging at you. Even if you're dual wielding M-5 Phalanx pistols with incendiary ammo. The ground trembles beneath my feet, his roars fill my ears with vicious fury, his unyielding determination demanding my blood. He catches fire and doesn't stop; I'm forced to roll out of the way, and he collides into the wall. I keep up my fire, changing thermal clips when I need to.
The blazing krogan turns to me, charging again. The heat coming off him is intense, I nearly turn my head. One shot explodes into his open mouth, sending the krogan to the ground screaming. There is no time to savor my victory as the battle heats up.
More Blood Pack mercenaries were flooding in to the Command Center. "Somebody close the bloody door, we got a draft!" I roar, taking cover. Putting the pistols away I draw out my Matlock and fire. "Keri, how much longer?"
"Two minutes," she replies, her thick French accent cutting through the air, "this isn't as easy as it looks!"
Keri Meriu, medical and explosives expert. Also has some biotic abilities. One of eleven that Archangel has chosen. Born and raised in Paris, France. Blonde hair and emerald eyes. Twenty-seven. Six feet four inches tall. Fourth member Garrus picked up. Currently trying to rig explosives at a Blood Pack weapons storage facility. A large one at that.
"Quit bickering you two and get to work!" Sidonis yells. He takes down three vorcha with ease then focuses on a rather large krogan.
I turn my Matlock on the brute and fire. "I don't need your help Tristan! Concentrate on your own targets!" Sidonis growls.
"Arrogant prick," I mutter. Kingor and Ronan are keeping up a steady stream of fire, taking the heat off us a quite a bit. The salarian twins chuckle as their combined firepower brings down a fresh contingent of vorcha. The presumed leader barks something and more krogan enter the room.
Ignoring the vorcha, I switch to armor piercing ammo and pick a target. Krogan to my right, a Vindicator assault rifle in his hands. My shots charge into his shields and he returns fire. Time crawls by as I do my best to kill him. Not having biotics really sucks.
A warp charge disrupts him as Keri joins the fight. "Done!" she proclaims happily, swinging her sub-machine gun around and opening fire. Our continued fire brings the krogan down and we switch targets. The way out is littered with krogan and vorcha dead. Sidonis is still battling the brute krogan. I can see blood dripping from the krogan and Sidonis plugging away.
The brute lets out a roar and jumps forward, crashing into Sidonis, whose Eviscerator shotgun goes flying. Keri and I train our weapons on the krogan and fire, blasting him back. He stumbles and falls, gets back up, charges, and falls, sliding into Sidonis, who is again knocked to the floor. Sidonis says nothing as he picks up his Eviscerator and begins firing. Once all enemies are dead, we head out.
"Shadow to Camelot, over. What's your status?" Garrus asks over the head-comm.
"Camelot here," I reply, "explosives are in place and we're heading out."
"Any casualties?" he asks.
"None," comes the swift reply. I can hear him give a sigh of relief. "Though I think Iceberg is a little pissed."
"I could have taken that krogan!" Sidonis growls. "Stop calling me Iceberg!"
"That's your code name, deal with it!" I shout. Thankfully Garrus steps in and the conversation is over. There is little resistance as we make our way to the shuttle. Most of the Blood Pack was probably killed in that Command Center. Or the weapons garage. Either way, we're home free in a matter of speaking.
Once aboard the shuttle and heading to orbit, Keri pulls out the remote and blows the facility to kingdom come. The sound of the explosion drowns out the engines for a moment and the shuttle jerks side to side and shakes. Thankfully it stays together.
"Good job people," Archangel says as he debriefs us. "The destruction of that facility should hinder their weapons distribution in the Terminus systems for a long while. Plus, you took out Heikan and a ton of his troops. The Blood Pack is going to need to do a hell of a lot of hiring now."
"So, where next boss?" Kingor asks excitedly. His desire for justice and hatred for mercenaries is to be admired.
"Back to Omega for now. We're rendezvousing with the others back at base and then taking on the Blue Suns. Word is that they've been attempting to kill Dr. Mordin Solus for giving humans shelter at his clinic. I'll be leading a team to hit their base near the Gozu district." He turns to me with a grim look.
"Since the plague doesn't affect humans, you'll be leading Keri and Francis into the Gozu district. Attempt to escort as many humans out of there as possible. Watch out for Blue Suns and more importantly the vorcha, they've been gaining ground that the Blue Suns lost."
"How can the vorcha stay there?" Keri asks. "I thought only humans weren't affected."
"It seems the vorcha are immune as well," Garrus replies, "and they don't care who they kill. Even their own kind, if they're with the Suns."
"So, does this mean I'll finally be able to blow something up?" Kingor asks. He's our other demolitions expert, and he's been itching to prove himself. Ronan looks between his twin and Garrus, but says nothing. He rarely speaks, so this isn't a surprise.
"You'll be blowing up many things," Garrus assured him.
The rest of the ride back to base is quiet. All is well.
Our team consists of three humans, two salarians, a batarian, two asari, and three turians, including Garrus.
The other human, Francis, is a specialist in assassination, stealth, and recon. He hails from Eden Prime and was devastated when the geth attacked, killing his family. He's thirty-two years old, five feet seven inches tall, light auburn hair, hazel eyes, optimistic personality. He, Keri, and I often play poker when we have off time together.
Sidonis is a calm headed, arrogant prick. Close combat weapons specialist. Blood thirsty. Twenty-nine years old. Six feet tall turian who doesn't like me. Has one hell of a right hook; trust me on this.
Kayle is a female turian with attitude. She's an expert at creating diversions spreading false information. Prefers to use the Vindicator assault rifle. Thirty-three years old. Tallest member of our group standing at seven feet two inches tall. Often speaks her opinion on anything, no matter what. Thinks low of humans, works with us only because of her respect for Garrus; old friend of his.
Next up we have the salarian twins, Kingor and Ronan. Kingor is four feet tall and former member of the Special Tasks Group. Bright green skin. Twenty-five years old.
Ronan is our linguistic and hand-to-hand specialist. Like his twin, he has bright green skin and is a former member of the Special Tasks group. Four feet nine inches tall. Quiet personality, prefers to be alone or with his twin. We have a mutual respect for each other.
Then there's Krull, our batarian. Hacking specialist. Sarcastic. The only batarian I've met who is friendly. Thirty-seven years old. Five feet eight inches tall. Note: never challenge him to a drinking contest. Just ask Sidonis, or anybody who watched their competition. Yeah, stories are going to be told about that for a long time. A good friend.
Nelia, an asari biotic specialist. Extremely powerful. Two hundred ninety years old. Six feet three inches tall, piercing ocean blue eyes. Determined to be the best biotic in the galaxy, follows orders without a second thought. Enjoys learning about human culture.
Shayida is almost the complete opposite of Nelia. An asari weapons specialist. Loves guns; to put one in her hands is to make her extremely happy. One hundred and seventy-five years old. Five feet eight inches tall, light cyan eyes. The only thing she shares with Nelia besides their species is a love of learning about human culture.
Garrus, of course, is our leader and sniping specialist. Part of the team that took Saren down. We all respect him. Works on calibrations for the base's guns from time to time.
As for me? I'm the relations specialist. I keep the authorities off our backs and bickering among the team to a minimum. I get us supplies and set up a network of informants. I'm also second in command, something some of the non-human members resent. Still, I do my best to make friends. In the heat of battle, we don't have room for resent or dissent among our ranks. We need to be one coherent unit, a force to be reckoned with that disrupts the criminal and mercenary elements within the Terminus System. The flame that will wipe this System clean of crime once and for all. No matter how long it takes.
Three days later
As Garrus leads Kingor, Nelia, Kayle, and Sidonis into the Blue Suns base, Keri, Francis, and I sneak into the Gozu district. We go door to door checking for signs of human life. None. Either they've been evacuated to Mordin's lab, left the district, or have been killed.
The seventh house yields a nasty surprise. The vorcha kind. We quickly deal with them before moving on. No doubt the gunfire has alerted the Blue Suns to our presence. Sure enough, a squad of four batarians comes rushing around a corner as we enter the next building. Thankfully, they didn't see us. I lift my Matlock, Keri raises her Tempest, and Francis heads upstairs to get a vantage point from which to snipe. "Wait until they come out, then take the Legionnaire out Francis. Keri, toss a concussion grenade before opening fire."
"Search the area! Whoever killed them has to be around here somewhere!" the Legionnaire ordered.
The door opens, they step out, Keri tosses a grenade as Francis and I open fire. The Legionnaire's head disappeared in a cloud of blood as the other three scattered. I manage to get one of them in the arm before their shields raise. The flash of Vindicator rifles, of flaring shields and the screams of the dying fill my senses. The fight is over in minutes, the last batarian being warped by Keri and simultaneously being blasted by Francis and me.
"The coast is clear," Francis reports. "Orders?"
"Get back down here, we're heading out." I reply. The stench of the dead fills my nostrils and I nearly puke. For the first time, I notice the stench in this district. Decaying bodies left by the disease or the result of the slaughters that have happened I don't know. From the looks on their faces, Keri and Francis have noticed this.
"Are you going to be alright Tristan?" Keri asks. "You look ill."
"If you're not feeling well," Francis adds, "we can pull out. He'll understand."
"No, it's this place. If we return here, let's bring filtration masks. The stench is putrid," I state, "besides, we haven't found any humans. Yet. Let's get at least one before we go."
Keri and Francis give me a thumbs up, but still look concerned. The sooner we're out of here, the better. I have a slight headache now. Well, as long as they're still feeling well, I'll be fine.
We pick up thermal clips from the batarians before moving on. Advancing slowly, we turn the corner the Blue Suns came from. Other than a few vorcha corpses, it's empty. The stench and my headache are getting worse. I have a feeling the further we go in, the worse they're going to get.
Deeper in we go, encountering few vorcha and a couple of Blue Suns patrols. No humans. "Looks like if there are any humans in this district, they're in Mordin's lab." Keri states calmly.
I'm about to give the order to leave when a little girl, no older than four, runs out from a doorway and hug my left leg. The fear in her eyes is evident. "Don't worry little one," I say, slinging my rifle over my shoulder, "we'll get you to safety. I promise."
She looks up at me, her dark blue eyes filled with tears. I kneel down and pick her up, hugging her to my chest. "Everything's going to be alright," I try to reassure her. She nestles into my chest, against the cold steel of my armor. Turning to Keri and Francis, I declare "we're done here. Let's get this little girl out and head back to base."
If only fate was so kind as to give us a break. We run into a Blue Suns patrol; one with backup. Two Legionnaires, one Centurion, and seven regular troops. We duck into cover, Keri warping the Centurion's shields, which flare and die. Francis takes the chance and kills the Centurion before the rest of them know what happened.
"Humans!" one of them roars. The little girl in my arms starts to squirm, scared, as if she wants to run. She probably does, but I hold on to her; if I let her go, she'll probably try to run.
The battle rages around us and I wait. Wait for Keri or Francis to say the coast is clear, wait for the guns to stop, wait for a chance to get everybody out of here. Time slows to a crawl as I'm lost in the furor of battle. More gunfire, more screams, more death. To think I once had a peaceful life on the Citadel. Not that I'm complaining.
A luck shot flings Keri's Tempest from her hands. "Keri, take my Matlock. Hurry!" She reaches over, takes the rifle off my back, and resumes firing as if nothing happened. "How many left?"
"Three," Keri shouts, "One Legionnaire and two troops… where'd Francis go?"
Looking around, I see that Francis has disappeared. He's not lying on the ground or firing from the balcony above us. Maybe he got hit and is out cold. There's no time to wonder where he went. The sounds of an explosion and screams rise up in a horrifying chorus. "Only the Legionnaire is remaining!" Keri informs me. She ducks down to reload and the batarian gasps.
Peering out from behind cover I see the Legionnaire fall and Francis standing with a bloody knife. "Thought you had been hit!" I gasp.
He grins, cleans the knife, and puts it away. "Never going to happen." Francis jokes. "I'm a ninja after all!"
The three of us share a laugh and move out, Keri having reclaimed her Tempest. My Matlock rests on her back.
"Okay team, through the ventilation shaft!" I order. They put their weapons away and climb in. I put the little girl in then climb up. We're finally heading out of this hellhole.
Arriving on the other side, we head back to base. The little girl clings to me, refusing to let go. We can't just leave her here on Omega. I'll see that she finds a nice family. Another explosion from behind us, but we can't feel it. Garrus and the others must have finished their job. "You guys done?" I ask.
Nothing but static over the comms. "Garrus, was that you? Garrus?"
Again, static. I've got a bad feeling in my gut, but we have our orders. "Let's head home."
Ronan, Shayida, and Krull are waiting for us. As per Garrus' orders, there will always be three people defending the base. We'll switch out so that everybody gets to fight. After getting food and water for the little girl, we wait.
It's not long before Garrus and the others return, bruised but intact. I quickly debrief him on what happened and we find a family for the little girl. A family I knew on the Citadel; kind, caring, loving, unable to have children for biological reasons. She's everything they ever wanted and more; she'll be in good hands.
The rest of the month passes by with little incident. The Blue Suns and Blood Pack look like they might start a gang war on Omega; the Suns are weakened by the plague and might be swept from Omega by the Blood Pack.
We continued disrupting the criminal element on Omega. The Eclipse band tried setting up a trap for us but we turned the tables on them. A shipment of hallucinogenic drugs belonging to the Eclipse went "missing" a week later.
Raids on drug deals, factories, various operations caused an uproar. Not only on Omega, but through the Terminus Systems. Garrus was labeled Archangel by the criminals of Omega and has taken that as his code name. Our success continues, or trust in each other grows stronger.
Hell, even Kayle has lightened up. Kayle, the human hating, over the top serious, stuck up turian. She's not that bad once you get to know her. This is more than just a group of vigilantes; this is a family.
Which is why we never saw what was coming.