"Stay out of the sun!" came a frustrated hiss over his comm. Grimacing, Shepard hauled herself behind cover, the light from the nearby sun overloaded her shields, the warning sensor beeped in her ear.
"Ugh, this sun is destroying our shields," came Garrus' aggravated response. This was going to make things difficult. They were here to pick up Tali'Zorah vas Neema but none of their intel had mentioned the geth currently assaulting their position or the burning sun. Selydra growled in irritation again as bullets whizzed overhead.
"Between the sun on our left and the geth ahead there's no good way to spread out and flank them. There just isn't much cover," slinking her way through the few shadows there were, she ducked into the alleyway on the right, leaving Garrus and Mordin pinned down in the middle. The blazing sun and incoming fire made it impossible for the renegade turian and the scientist to move.
"Shepard, as fascinating as the hypothesis for why the sun is reacting this way is, the current situation demands that we find another less illuminated route to our destination," Mordin said into the comm, picking off the geth drones attempting to overrun their position.
"I know," Shepard said quietly back, meanwhile already having maneuvered into a more advantageous position. The spectre began to rain down fire on the geth from the side of their own cover, using tech and biotics to overload their systems and took down their shields with warp and her M-9a Tempest sub-machine gun.
Garrus took full advantage of their shift in attention, holstering his assault rifle he pulled his sniper rifle, sighting down the closest geth and putting a bullet in what could be construed as its head. He couldn't see her, but the flashes of purple and blue as she lit their enemies up with her biotics told him her position. He couldn't deny his protective nature concerning her, nor could he deny the feelings he felt churning in his gut every time his gaze fell on her. If anything were to happen to her, well the consequences wouldn't be good for whatever touched her. The blood splatters on the wall from when she'd stubbornly stood in the GUARDIAN mech's fire back on the Purgatory had made his own blue blood run cold. She'd stood and walked away as if nothing had happened, but that didn't change the way he felt. In the back of his mind he knew it wasn't a healthy military strategy. It created a weak link in their team's defenses if he concentrated more energy on protecting one specific person than the team overall, but he couldn't help it. Shifting his rifle as he stood, the air finally silent, he fell into step behind the object of his thoughts, watching her move cautiously through the ruins.
Shepard kept their banter to a minimum until they had more intel on their situation. They had no idea how many geth there were nor if using the comm would give away their position. She also did not want to potentially endanger any holed up Quarians with their radio chatter.
He found himself biting back amusing comments as they fought, definitely more accustomed to their usual light-hearted banter and quips during firefights. His best guess was she had to bite back the comments too, more than once he'd notice her unusually light blue eyes rest on him, some unspoken joke giving them an amused twinkle.
Clearing their opposition and proceeding through the compound, they discovered traces of recent quarian occupation, crates and equipment, mostly destroyed lay strewn about, but no quarian bodies or living members apparent among the wreckage.
Flitting from shaded cover to the next, they moved through the ruins like shadows, the darkness granted them a reprieve from the scorching light. Shepard watched the geth dropship fly overhead and thinned her lips, glad she'd enforced comm silence. Any advantage over these damn synthetics was gladly taken.
Two more geth squads lay dead in their wake when Shepard approached a squawking comm on the ground, the dead Quarians all around betrayed the manner in which they fell.
Acquiring the comm and identifying herself, Shepard cooperated with the marine on the other end, following his instructions further into the ruins, they eliminated any geth resistance along the way. Apparently there was only the one drop ship of geth and the sun was preventing further off world communications. Until the geth left orbit they wouldn't be calling for help. This presented good and bad news depending on how well fortified that drop ship was.
Garrus watched Mordin hum slightly to himself and bop a little while Shepard spoke with the quarian, kicking into gear immediately when the marine's instructions concluded. Shepard had quickly determined that as bad as the sun was for their own shields it was just as damaging to the synthetic beings, her keen observation skills picked up on their electrical failure in the brutal sunlight. This was a major advantage as long as they weren't the ones caught in the sun. The salarian had quickly applauded the Commander on her keen combative insight and immediately put his tech to use in aiding the sun's natural damage to shields as well as synthetic material. Like a hamster on coffee. The yeoman had called him. Garrus didn't know what a hamster was, but it sounded energetic, he supposed. With effort he suppressed a smile as Mordin went through the next confrontation as though running tests or examining a specimen. Little mutters here and there, even small pleased chirps when he took down an enemy.
Garrus couldn't help agreeing with Shepard that he was an excellent choice of squadmate, but he greatly looked forward to the familiarity Tali would bring.
Charges set they blasted their way through the fallen rubble, Shepard and her team waded through to the hiding position of Kal'Reegar, the marine in charge of protecting Tali. Diplomacy won over and Shepard convinced the injured quarian to stay concealed and cover their backs in case of reinforcements. Shepard didn't like the options presented before her, but she could see no better alternative. Unusual situations called for unique tactics.
The geth platoon didn't bother the squad of three terribly much, but the Geth Colossus was laying down too much heavy fire in addition to huddling out of visual and repairing itself. Using Garrus and Mordin once again as distractions down the middle, Shepard took the high, sun baked road to an advantageous position above the Colossus. She kneeled by the corner of the railing, eyeing appraisingly the long, open stretch of baked balcony before her. She stayed low, sprinting a short distance until she could take cover behind some crates, her shield alarms blared, taken down twice as fast due to incoming fire. Cursing repeatedly under her breath she used her small square of shade to repair her shields as she whittled down her opposition. Too bad geth were virtually immune to the mentally crippling effects reave had on the organic nervous system.
The geth below were easy for the two squad members to dispatch before resuming their role as bait while the commander positioned herself. Garrus kept a close eye on her from his peripheral, making sure not to make it obvious where he was looking while harrying the Colossus. Shepard was dangerously exposed to heavy fire and sunlight, her armor was going to sustain heavy damage from overexposure, he could already tell.
Shepard thinned her lips in a concentrated line. The geth Colossus was under too much protective cover to assault from the ground, requiring her to move to a small shaded corner of the upper walkway, well above the synthetic tank. Unfortunately, once in position, the heavy unit realized the danger of her new perch. Garrus watched, his heart in his throat as Shepard ducked just in time to avoid a huge missile, the projectile instead slammed into her cover, knocking the spectre forward a slight bit, showering her with debris, an irritated look on her pale features.
"Hey," Garrus paused as his rifle discharged, tearing a hole through a geth, "remember on Feros, when we made it into the Exogeni Base?"
"Mhm…" she was obviously concentrating.
"Remember when you opened the security panel on that storage room and came face to face with a huddled geth colossus?"
Shepard snorted. "Yea."
"I don't think I've laughed so hard as I did watching you yelp and lob that augmented grenade at it, knocking us all flat with the blast," Shepard snorted louder encouraging Garrus to continue. "Then I look up to find you face down, covering your head with your hands only to ask, 'is it dead?'"
Shepard outright barked with laughter. "You'll do well to keep that story to yourself," she threatened, chuckling.
"I only wish I'd had my omni-tool ready to snap a picture!"
"And I'm glad you didn't! The destruction of the good reputation the only human spectre has would be assured if that ever got out," the amusement was clear in Shepard's voice and Garrus laughed.
Shepard wondered momentarily at the warmth that spread through her at that particular sound. Despite the situation a small smile broke her lips. Good old Garrus. He was always there for her. Though he may not know it, the turian was always so easy going and ready with a joke, but in many ways he helped keep her feet moving forward.
Garrus and Mordin did what they could from their limited visibility on the ground, letting the Commander take the heat now while they unloaded on the huge, armored unit. Utilizing the armor piercing qualities of her heavy pistol and tech overload, Shepard and the Colossus traded pot shots until the spectre's patience won out; interrupting the repairs of the geth heavy unit, she whittled away at its armor until it shorted out, the thick, baked air going silent.
Mordin stood from his hiding place, throwing out a quip that he too wished Garrus had snapped a picture while Shepard chuckled, grabbing up any medical supplies around and making her way quickly to where Tali was holed up. Garrus fell into step behind the scientist, both jogging to keep up with the quick moving sentinel.
Shepard came along side Kal'Reegar, but didn't offer a hand to help him, knowing the proud marine would rather only ask for help if he absolutely needed it.
"That was impressive, ma'am," he complimented her, but she waved him off.
"Anything is worth making sure Tali is safe," she said somberly and he nodded in agreement.
"Although, I have to say it's not difficult to imagine you lobbing a grenade at a colossus and diving for cover," he chuckled as she face palmed, "you seem the type very capable of impromptu and spur of the moment tactics. A rare quality on the battlefield these days," he grunted slightly and she held a hand to his shoulder to steady him before they continued to find Tali.
Shepard smiled a little at the tender way Tali spoke to the battle hardened quarian marine, the idea flitting through her head that they'd make a great couple. Tali transferred the important information from her omni-tool to Kal'Reegar's and gave him specific instructions on where to take the information and to make sure it got to certain individuals. She also made him promise to take it easy until he healed causing the Commander to grin at her over his shoulder, the young quarian sputtered a little. Shepard positive she was blushing furiously behind her face mask.
Careful instructions for landing the shuttle were given and received and within a few minutes the team was preparing to leave the irksome planet behind them. A soft touch caught her arm and the commander turned to find Tali at her elbow, the turian not far behind her. Tali gave Mordin a raised eyebrow, as evidenced by the shape of her eyes through her mask and Mordin just smiled and waved back.
"If you're worried about Cereberus, then you're fine, Tali. I bring people with me on missions who aren't connected to them," Shepard grinned and Tali nodded.
"I'm so glad you came, Shepard. I'm not sure I'd have made it out of there if not for you," Shepard shrugged with a smile and Tali shook her head. "No seriously, thank you." Looking over her shoulder she cocked her head at the taller man. "And you, you weren't with Shepard last time I saw her, where have you been?" Garrus scratched the back of his head with a chuckle.
"Nice to see you too, Tali," the quarian sighed exasperatedly and Shepard grinned. "I've been on Omega messing around with mercenaries. Shepard found me just recently and I re-joined the team. Damn glad I have too… she found me in a similar situation to yours," Shepard smiled.
"And damn glad to have you both back, especially with Cerberus on the loose. We'll see how tightly I have to hold their leash," the young quarian sputtered slightly as the spectre laughed heartily, swinging herself easily into the shuttle, followed closely by Garrus and a bemused Tali.
=/=
Striding across the CIC deck of the Normandy, Shepard was reviewing reports on her holo-pad before heading down to engineering to check on her newest quarian addition when her administrative assistant, Kelly stopped her.
"Commander, a moment please?" the Yeoman was a constant source of extremely valuable information and irritation for Shepard. The most grating part for Shepard was how young and naive she seemed. Her appearance did much to encourage this, but her attitude was so annoyingly… loving. Somehow she was sure she would have found the good even in Saren and made Shepard feel guilty for killing him. Yes, Shepard knew there was good in him, which was why he took his own life before Sovereign took control of his implants, but Kelly had a way of making you feel bad about your opinion.
"As you know it's my job to keep an eye on the mental state of every crew member and I thought you should know…" Shepard gave her an expression that clearly stated she needed to get to the point. "Oh, um, what I mean to say is Garrus has been acting rather agitated lately and he seems like he wants to speak with you about something, but has been hesitant to do so with how busy you've been…" without letting the girl finish the commander gave her a curt nod and a mumbled thanks before continuing on her way, leaving the perplexed woman behind.
Truth be told she had noticed Garrus' change in behavior but hadn't had a moment to speak with her friend alone. Reflecting back and suppressing a sigh it seemed to her that in the search for Saren she'd had more free time while aboard the original Normandy. Then again, they believed the Normandy to be the best piece of technology in space, boy were they wrong.
The growling in her empty stomach was staunchly ignored as she passed the mess hall on the way to the forward battery, her purposeful strides covering the distance quickly. Activating the door she stowed her holo-pad and research materials under her arm and tucked her stray hairs back behind her ear, the door sliding open to admit her. The light from the main platform revealed no sign of the turian. Swiveling her head around a bit, she failed to determine his whereabouts, though the spectre was sure he was here somewhere.
"Back here, Shepard," Garrus' voice sounded a distance away and muffled, slightly elevated from her current position. Dropping her armful on the nearby container, she easily levered herself up to the catwalk and made her way in the direction his voice emanated from. Finally she spotted his boot covered talon feet sticking out from under a console and squatted down to peer in the narrow space.
"What's up, Shepard?" his voice was slightly muffled with a strange echo tonality to it as the sound waves bounced off the metallic paneling. Kneeling down, she studied the part of him that was visible, his tinkering and the occasional electrical buzz carrying to her keen hearing.
"I could ask you the same thing," she responded, rewarded with his hands stilling on his equipment.
"And what do you mean by that?" she could hear the slight trepidation in his voice, though she was sure he tried hard to hide it. Wordlessly she placed the tool she knew he was requesting in his outstretched hand, watching it disappear into the shadows of his hidey hole as he resumed working, staring for a moment unabashedly, taking the rare opportunity to really study his physiology while he wasn't capable of catching her. In a strictly… scientific way, she reassured herself, appreciatively considering the very masculine expanse of his chest.
"Come on, Garrus. I know you well enough to know when you've been in an overly quiet and pensive mood," she insisted and his hands stilled again. "Tell me what's up and why you haven't talked to me sooner," she gazed at his armored chest, waiting for a response, wishing now that she could see his eyes.
"You've been busy, Shepard. You have a lot on your plate right now, too much for me to burden you more by adding to it-" he was interrupted as her fist slammed against the console above the niche.
"Damnit, Garrus! You're one of very few people I actually consider a friend. I need you to work with me here, if something's bothering you, it becomes my problem too. Don't make me beat it out of you."
Garrus cocked his head, a mischievous gleam borne of delicious daydreams involving her attempting to beat anything out of him reflecting in his grey blue eyes, unbeknownst to her, before becoming serious again. Sliding carefully out of his workplace, he propped himself up in a sitting position and considered the woman before him.
"Garrus, I need you here," she tapped her temple with one slender finger. "I can't have you burdened by something when I need you at my back most," she shook her head, "not when we have as much riding on this as we do. The entire crew needs us at our best," Garrus shook his head in defeat, his mandibles twitching nervously.
"You really know how to make a guy feel guilty for trying to help, don't you, Shepard?" he smiled.
Giving him a look that spoke volumes about how she clearly disagreed she crossed her arms over her chest. "You weren't helping, you were moping, now spill it."
Despite himself he chuckled. Growing serious, he stared off to the side, considering his words. Shepard waited patiently. "Remember when I first boarded you wheedled out of me information regarding my time on Omega and my now currently deceased anti-mercenary squad?"
Shepard snorted. "I hardly consider being a friend and making conversation about your past 'wheedling' but go on."
The turian chuckled lightly in response before returning to his somber tone. "I believe I mentioned the fact that my team was betrayed but I didn't reveal a lot about the situation," Garrus stood and moved to the railing, leaning on it and staring out at the interior of the Normandy's main cannon. "It was my fault," he shook his head, "my team was betrayed by one of our own and I never saw it coming." Narrowing his eyes ahead of him, he stared intently at something that wasn't there.
"His name was Sidonis, his machinations resulted in the summary death of the entire squad, he and I are the only living members now, and he must pay for that. One of the mercenaries must have gotten to him," he shook his head again. "He approached me with something he claimed he needed my help with. When I arrived at the designated spot, there was no one there. It was a setup.
"By the time I got back, it was too late. My team had been ambushed. They put up a good fight, all but two were dead and they didn't last long. By the time I knew to look for Sidonis, he was long gone from Omega. His trail grew cold there and I was never able to pick up a lead… until now," he turned his burning gaze to the young woman.
"He has to pay for the crimes he's committed, Shepard," the spectre in question regarded him carefully, her friend was very apparently consumed with rage and a desire for revenge for his fallen comrades. Shepard stood and moved to his side, leaning on the railing thoughtfully, his piercing eyes following her movement. The young turian desperately tried to keep the nervous knots in his stomach from showing in his features. He knew Shepard's regard for revenge and her penchant for more paragon solutions.
"Is there no possibility that Sidonis is a victim here? That he was set up?" she asked.
Garrus shook his head with certainty. "No, my information in that regard is solid. Sidonis set the squad up and moved me out of the way purposefully. He then emptied his accounts and booked passage off Omega. Their hope in eliminating my squad without me present was to weaken my position. Without backup, I'd be easier to take out, or so they thought."
Shepard smirked remembering how that had turned out for them. Lowering her head, the spectre grew serious again as she studied the space before her, weighing her decision carefully.
"Garrus," she paused, though outwardly he was calm the deep tension in his chest nearly suffocated the agent as he awaited her response, "obviously this is extremely important. Truth be told, I have no idea how this will turn out," she paused again looking at him, her piercing gaze seemingly searching his soul, her expression more than words telling him she may not agree with his decision, "but I promise we'll find him and resolve the unrest in your mind." The turian nodded at the shorter woman, it was a better answer than he'd been hoping for.
Shepard looked up at him, her hands on the rail, an unreadable expression in her clear blue eyes before turning, leaping gracefully off the catwalk to the floor, blending with the shadows as she disappeared toward the exit to the battery.
Garrus stared into the empty void for an eternity of moments before turning his attention to the tool still in his talons. A fierce expression crossed his features as he gripped it tightly. Sidonis would not get away from him this time…
=/=
The inertial dampeners kicked in, the familiar and comforting sensation of slight vertigo washing over the lone occupant of the armory as the Normandy kicked clear of the atmosphere and slipped into FTL, on course straight for the system relay. It was well past the evening cycle, most of the lights had dimmed giving the occupants a sense of day and night. Providing the crew with a visible indication of time passage helped the typical space depression and confusion from becoming overwhelming. The never ending void consumed those who didn't take precautions, the sheer vastness and emptiness psychologically damaging. It was important to keep crew grounded, maintaining a healthy sleep cycle was a major part of that.
Shepard was all too aware the consequences of sleep deprivation on a soldier under the stresses of combat. Too bad that didn't stop the nightmares from preventing it. Alone she stood at the workbench, soldering tool in hand, omni-tool lit her haggard features, working on the N7 emblazoned chest plate. After two hours of tossing and turning she figured she'd at least get something useful done.
Sparks flew, small zaps filled the silence as she patched the damaged armor, smoothing over the rough new material to make it look more seamless and less a patch job. Despite concentrating on the material in her hands her mind was going ten million miles an hour. Worry for Garrus plagued her incessantly. It seemed he could think of nothing else, the idea of enacting revenge on behalf of his deceased squad had all consumed him. The cynical side of her mind gloated that she was being hypocritical, what would Commander Shepard do if her own squad was taken out by a traitor? In frustration she admitted to herself that she had no idea, just the thought... she slammed her tool down harder than she'd intended, picking up the next.
Who was she kidding? With the emotional rollercoaster she'd been subject to since waking and her frequent and alarming outbursts, there was no telling how she'd react. A deep cleansing breath and sigh tore through her as she paused, closing her eyes a moment, feeling them burn from lack of sleep. She had to believe she'd do what was right. On the SR-1 she'd never had these problems. Doubting her own reactions? Maybe Kaidan was right. The very idea was like a kick to the stomach. Nausea overwhelmed her.
No, she had to believe Chakwas and Garrus were right. That this was just a phase that would pass. Already she had seen improvement. It was up to her to keep at it, tamp down on those overwhelming emotional urges and remain calm.
The moments dragged past, only the quiet sounds of her working filled the silence, even the ship seemed to echo slightly with the day time systems powered down and most of the crew asleep. Memories began to drift back to her, softening her expression slightly. Things had been so much simpler before, during her time in special forces. Once her rehab and physical therapy from her traumatizing mission on Akuze was completed she was immediately put forward for and accelerated to the fast track program through Alliance special forces. The competition had been fierce at the Villa during their N1 training, but she'd never been happier the day she stood at attention on the parade ground, called to the dais to receive her N1 commendation.
It had also been a slightly bittersweet day for her as well. Though she'd achieved the highest honors and scoring she was the only trainee to walk off the field alone. Every other candidate had family or friends who'd come to see them complete the first training cycle. It was the first time Shepard had felt truly alone. With the death of her family on the colonies once she'd enlisted any friends she made were all soldiers who had other duties they were assigned to. This meant no one was available to congratulate her except her superiors and trainers.
From there she had been assigned a squad and proceeded rapidly up the N ranks, noted by her superiors to be among the fastest to do so. A sad smile crossed her features as she remembered those days. Many of those friends were dead, either on mission with her or later ones. N7 recipients were highly regarded and usually picked for the most dangerous missions the Alliance had to offer. Not to mention the N training program had a high attrition rate due to deaths. Many trainees didn't make it to 7, the missions chosen for N6 to N7 qualifications were always full combat missions and very dangerous. The standards were also high: complete in "admirable and effective fashion."
A thought crossed her mind to try and seek out any surviving former squad mates from her N days, but was quickly squashed. The rejection from Kaidan had been bad enough, until this mission was over she would maintain her focus.
She checked her chronos: 01:34. A heavy sigh escaped her as she put her tools away and carried her chest plate from the room. Time to go lay in her rack some more and stare at the stars, wishing she could sleep.
=/=
Striding from the comm briefing room, Selydra nearly collided with Garrus, giving the turian a sidelong glance as she clipped her sentry visor into place, the blue display flashed a few times as it powered on and adjusted to its user.
"Quick stop on our way into the Citadel," the taller man cocked his head in question, "apparently we have a new recruit to check out and possibly pick up," he nodded in acquiescence and the pair made their way to the airlock, Tali joined her friends as they waited for the Normandy to finish docking procedures, the familiar hissing and hydraulic sounds heralding the depressurization of the ship.
Keeping up easily with the Commander's long strides, he couldn't help the customary warmth in his chest watching her move with such grace and confidence, her casual tread efficiently veiling her true motives and intentions. Impatience and apprehension warred within him as he stood post beside a tranquil Tali, completely undisturbed by his inner turmoil. Sidonis was nearby, he knew it. He could feel it. The back of his mind caught the general tide of the conversation Shepard was apparently having with an advertising monitor. Kasumi Goto, an extremely talented thief was evidently joining the squad under the conditions that the commander help her with something of importance. Wonderful, he thought, just something else Shepard needs to complicate her mission. Not that I'm helping any. The thought did nothing to assuage his nerves, his urges to twitch violently and hurt something becoming overpowering. Turians were not known for being calm, gentle creatures.
When he thought the conversation would never end he heard Shepard tell the woman that they would meet her on board at a later time before turning, looking behind him and above his head, an unreadable expression on her pale features. Glancing in the direction her gaze was fixed, he saw nothing, but couldn't shake the feeling that the thief had possibly been up there.
Finally Shepard motioned for her two partners to follow her and she made her way into the bustling crowds of the Citadel.
A few aggressive inquiries at C-Sec later found them making tracks down to the Zakera Ward. The information they'd been given detailed a contact by the name of 'Fade,' a nuisance to the C-Sec operatives who was adept at making people disappear, right under the noses of the Citadel Security. This person apparently knew C-Sec inside and out.
Upon meeting with and successive threatening of the timid volus that showed up claiming to be Fade, they discovered that it was in fact Harkin, an ex-C-Sec officer who was responsible for the title and the disappearance of Sidonis.
Back in the vehicle, Shepard steered their small unit toward the factory district, following the directions the volus had given. Unnoticed she sent a few worried glances in the turian's direction. He'd acted no more aggressively than normal during the conversation with the fake Fade, but the commander had noticed the subtle difference in his attitude and the seething anger below the surface. This worried her, though she thinned her lips and simply steered the small transport vehicle in the direction of their next source of information.
Landing in a cleared spot outside the factory district, Shepard swung herself out of the vehicle, Garrus and Tali close behind, their heads swiveling to take in threats and possible cover. Selydra Shepard caught sight of their target in the nearby doorway, talking to some Blue Suns guards in hushed tones.
"Harkin!" the formerly deceased spectre pulled her pistol and 'Fade's' head snapped up.
"Shepard?!" he gaped for a moment before regaining his senses, "Well don't stand there! Stop them! Stop them!" the trio dove for cover as the Blue Suns mercenaries snapped into action, the cowardly Harkin retreating through the closing doors and into the industrial factory beyond.
"Run all you want, Harkin! We'll find you!" Garrus taunted him as he snapped his sniper rifle into place. Flashing biotic, Tali's talented tech skills and Garrus' well placed shots cleared opposition easily. The trio progressed past the fallen guards and shattered synthetic sentinels, traversing deeper into the facility, warnings from EDI occasionally chiming in regarding various overhead hazards. Moving swiftly and silently, the group slunk from cover to cover, decimating anything that moved in their path, stopping only to apply new heat sinks before pressing on.
Selydra dove behind cover as a new wave of mercenaries and their mechanized counterparts appeared from behind industrial barrels ahead of them. Powering up a reave skill, the commander blasted the Blue Suns hired gun in the center of their formation, effectively spreading the neurological biotic effect to his comrades, Garrus and the spectre gladly picked them off as they spasmed in pain, Tali's drone efficiently disabling their mechs. Commander Shepard stepped lightly over the trail of bodies they were leaving in their wake, approaching what appeared to be a command room door, checking for hostiles before motioning her squad mates in closer.
Opening a blast shield door over the paneled window that overlooked half the factory, Garrus studied the ground ahead of them while Shepard sifted through the materials left in the makeshift type office for relevant information.
"So, Harkin's finally gone completely bad…" the commander's voice commented dryly.
"He was always a pain in the ass, but I'm in no mood for his games," came the overly aggressive reply from the turian. "If he doesn't cooperate I'll beat him within an inch of his life," the intensity tangibly rolling off the agent in waves concerned Shepard.
"You seem to be getting tense, Garrus," she commented, throwing him a slightly worried glance that only his shoulder received.
"Harkin may know why Sidonis wanted to disappear. If so, he knows why we're here and I don't want him tipping Sidonis off," Selydra could only nod in agreement to his assessment of the situation. She couldn't seem to assuage the cold knot of worry that gripped her stomach. She wanted so badly to help him with this burning hatred inside him, but she couldn't seem to get through to him. For now it was enough to watch his back and hopefully stop him from doing something he might regret. As she scanned the factory ahead of them, her sharp blue eyes taking in the terrain and creating a strategy some movement to the left caught her eye and the pair immediately ducked.
"Did you see that?" he asked as he glanced cautiously over the window sill.
"I saw something," the woman replied, convinced it was some kind of mech, but unsure exactly what it was she saw moving up ahead.
Selydra left Garrus to sift through some documents, joining Tali by the door. She pointedly tapped her comm 'off' in the process watching as Tali mirrored her action.
"How is he?" Tali asked concern filled her voice.
"Obsessed," Shepard sighed. "The most we can do is follow him and try to prevent him from doing something he might regret," Tali nodded. Shepard went to reactivate the comm, but a soft hand on her arm stopped her.
"Shepard, be careful. You might not be able to stop him… I don't think Garrus would ever do anything to hurt you but…"
Shepard sighed. "Yea, this is a lot more intense than the situation with Dr. Heart," Tali nodded.
"Just… you can't fix everything," Tali regarded her sadly, knowing how much this was worrying Shepard. Garrus had always meant a lot to her. Shepard smiled.
"Don't worry, Tali…" Garrus came striding up, clearly irritated.
"Did you two turn your comms off? I've been trying to talk to you both for a few minutes now…" he eyed the women warily. "What were you two talking about…?" Tali crossed her arms over her chest in indignation.
"If we'd wanted you to hear it we'd have left the comm on!" Shepard snorted. Leave it to Tali. Garrus gave them both an annoyed look. Briefly they discussed a plan of attack, knowing Harkin was cornered and the bastard knew it. They were walking into an ambush and the sooner they found out what it was, the sooner they could adapt to the situation. Grabbing up all the available supplies and possible intelligence in the office area, the team moved out, resuming their silent vigil as they ascended the platforms toward their goal of the observation room Harkin was holed up in.
The commander cast continual assessing glances Garrus' way, observing the turian, his intense eyes always straight ahead of him, scanning for signs of their forthcoming ambush. Maybe Tali was right. Maybe this was something she couldn't fix. But she was damn well going to try. She didn't want to lose him to something like this without fighting. He was practically obsessed with thoughts of revenge. With a twinge of realization, the commander knew she could hardly fault him for it. In his position, had the team been hers and with those close to her dead… she could barely consider the possibility. The murderous rage she would commit to would leave his pale in comparison. For all rights and reason, he was relatively calm considering the situation.
Garrus was a particularly justice driven creature, although his methods tended toward the brutal and violent side. This didn't bother the spectre in the least, in fact it was a quality she carefully cultivated in him during their conversations. No, she didn't want him blowing off the head of whatever moron had decided to piss him off, but that drive, that aggression was a valuable tool. When they'd met up with Dr. Saleon, renamed Dr. Heart she had convinced him to stay his hand, knowing the salarian would force them to kill him anyways, just to teach him that there was more than one way to skin a salarian so to speak. This way left him blameless. Dr. Saleon had brought it on himself.
Turians were by nature overly aggressive, she wanted that aggression channeled into a positive force of destructive power. Having him cage that aggression would only frustrate him and one day result in a murderous break down. Using it as a tool was much more effective. For the most part she had succeeded, though seeing him now, she was definitely worried.
The opposition they met on their way through the factory was pitiful at best, the leader of the Normandy's team's mind cycling through possibilities, realizing these were simply a distraction, something to slow them down for a few moments. But what for?
Momentarily Harkin's voice came over the loudspeakers taunting them as the sound of whirring engines sounded overhead.
"Incoming heavy mechs!" Garrus shouted as he took cover behind a few industrial containers, their quarian friend doing the same. The commander vaulted herself to a higher platform, holstering her tempest and pulling out the collector heavy rifle Mordin had reclaimed and researched for her. The buzzing sound of the mech's heavy shields powering up resounded through the high ceiling of the building, her peripheral vision picked up Garrus' movement as he positioned himself on top of a stack of crates, making for himself a nicely covered sniper nest of sorts. Tali took cover below, knowing the mechs would have to approach her position to get a clean shot at her, the deck provided cover from their heavy cannons and she prepared to attempt to overload or hack their control system, her omni tool reflected hazy orange light off her suit mask. The commander gracefully leapt atop a crate stacked behind a few solid looking crates and prepared to assault the two advancing heavily armored mechs.
A clicking and hissing sound rewarded the spectre as she powered up her tech shield, the familiar orange holographic armor blinked into existence around her N7 armor. Flicking on the collector rifle, the human woman took up a supported kneeling stance behind her cover and popped up, she blasted the mech with the steady yellowish stream of energy, and immediately attracting both synthetic's attention. Bullets whizzed by her and slammed into her armor, heavy hissing and buzzing assaulting her ears, her visor updated her status.
The spectre remained in place as long as her shields held, not only keeping their attention off her squad mates so they could hammer their steadily approaching opponents allowing them to work their tech skills, but also damaging their shields with the brutal beam of power. A warning flashed across her vision just moments before her shields dropped completely and a rocket blast slammed into her cover, the woman knocked back unexpectedly, a bullet caught her in the shoulder as she went down, the suit alarm in her ear faded away as her hearing was obliterated by white noise. The updates to her visor blurred as she hit the deck. She noted with strange clarity that her own breathing and heartbeat seemed so loud, almost reverberating through her skull.
Through the ringing in her ears and cotton ball like effect on her hearing Garrus called her name, sounding terribly far away, though she ignored him. She pulled herself to a sitting position with her back against the crates and waited for her med-gel to kick in and her suit to regenerate her lost shields, sound slowly returned to normal, the high frequency ringing in her ears began fading away. The clanking of the mechs grew steadily louder as her suit hummed, replenishing her damaged shields and she knew she would need to change cover soon….very soon.
Two more rocket blasts slammed into the crates she was using as defense, the disheartening sound of cracking and splintering reached her ears. Leaping down and storming to the metal support wall, she was relieved to feel the med-gel kicked in fully and her shoulder regained full range of motion. Diving over the wall she hit the ground hard, rolling against the cold steel. Peering over the wall and assessing the situation, the spectre covered her eyes as rockets slammed into her former cover, shattering the crates and showering her with debris. Using the metal wall as a stabilizer the commander lay into the nearest mech again, rewarded finally with the sound of shields overloading and shutting down.
A triumphant squeal sounded down and to her left as Tali gained control of the shield-less mech, turning the monstrosity on its partner and hammered it with rockets as it continued searching for its primary target. Realizing the danger too late, the mech switched priority and opened fire on its companion damaging its armor badly. Shepard and Garrus took the opportunity to overload their heat sinks into the enemy mech, eventually decimating that one's shields as well.
"Bosh'tet!" Shepard's head snapped up at the sudden outburst from the quarian, realizing her control over the mech had been lost. Shepard couldn't help her smile at the comical image Tali made, throwing her hands up in alarm as the previously hacked mech turned on her, before she dove to the deck behind cover, her hands covering her head as machinegun fire pinged all around where she'd just been. Both heavy machinery resumed their attacks on the trio, the commander and Garrus diving for cover as rockets slammed into the empty spaces they'd momentarily vacated. A combat drone appeared where Tali had been, quickly closing the space and attacking the huge synthetics.
"Go for the optics, Chiktikka! Go for the optics!" Shepard smiled as she resumed assaulting the closest mech with her collector particle beam, the antics of the quarian brightening her outlook.
The rewarding sound of the first mech shorting out filled the air with mechanical clicks, static and buzzing sounds accompanied by the unanimous cry of victory from the trio. With the first one down, it wasn't difficult to skirt around the room, avoiding missile attacks and returning fire, armor failed then mechanical shorted, the heavy walking armament slowed to a halt, an electrical buzz then a short explosion, showering the room with flaming debris.
Taking no chances, the team moved under cover toward their goal, picking their way silently along, watching the observatory window for signs of movement. Harkin had nowhere to go, they knew it, he knew it too.
Ascending to the room, Selydra stepped in the door, Harkin backed away from his console as Shepard trained her sights on him.
"You were close, but not close enou-… ugh!" turning to the opposite exit he ran straight into a very tall, very angry turian. Garrus pistol whipped his face before slamming him back against the console.
"So…'Fade,' couldn't make yourself disappear, huh?"
"Cmon, Garrus… we can work this out. Whadda ya need?" Harkin asked slyly, smiling in a manner that spoke of former camaraderie. Garrus stepped away, giving the man space.
"I'm looking for someone," Harkin rubbed his neck, getting the kinks out from being manhandled and watched the turian warily.
"Well I guess we both have something the other one wants," he replied confidently, working out his shoulders. Garrus turned, getting in the now nervous man's face, slamming him in the stomach with his fist, dropping the former C-Sec agent to all fours. Shepard watched with a smirk, not at all phased by Garrus' aggressive interrogation. Her clear blue eyes flickered to the turian's face, soaking in his predatory appearance.
"That had to hurt, maybe you should just tell us what we want to know," she said smoothly, the cornered man regained his composure and staggered to his feet, his arm cradling his stomach. Inwardly, Shepard's stomach churned, she hoped this grilling didn't slide downhill, as she knew they could with an overly emotional interrogator.
"Maybe… I still haven't heard what you want," he gritted out between clenched teeth.
"You helped a friend of mine disappear," Garrus stated calmly, "I need to find him," his voice took on a darker tone and Harkin looked taken aback.
"I might need…" he panted slightly, "a little more information than that," he rubbed his neck nervously.
"His name is Sidonis. Turian who came from-"
"I know who he is and I'm not telling you squat," Harkin interrupted him, getting in the turian's face.
"Harkin, this doesn't have to be hard," Shepard interjected, bored annoyance clearly reverberating through her voice, smirking slightly as she knew more pain was in store for the ignorant human, her bravado winning out through her thorough enjoyment of watching Garrus work.
"Screw you, I don't give out client information, it's bad for business," he glared at the formerly deceased Shepard, bitterness clearly etched on his features. She shrugged, quirking a small smile as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Screw you? I can deal with that. Not willing to leer at me and call me 'princess' after hearing what I'm capable of, huh?" Garrus glanced at her, his eyes wide and she smiled. "I guess saving the Citadel and coming back from the dead has that effect," Harkin glanced away, clearly angered and embarrassed that she'd brought it up.
"You called Commander Shepard 'Princess?!'" Harkin started to respond but in one swift movement Garrus slammed 'Fade' in the gut again, dropping the man to the floor before stepping on his neck and towering over the man.
"You know what else is bad for business other than insulting Shepard? A broken neck," Garrus tone took on a more sinister hue as the human struggled futilely against the greater strength of the turian above him.
"All right! All right!" he protested in a haggard voice, "Get off me!" Garrus relinquished his weight and the man pushed his foot away, slowly dragging himself to a sitting position. Shepard touched Garrus' elbow and the agent glanced over his shoulder at the one woman he respected above anyone else, taking note of the concerned look on her face, a twinge of regret tinting his thoughts. Though she was supportive of his aggression she didn't totally approve of his current methods.
"Terminus really changed you, huh, Garrus?" he asked in a hoarse voice, looking up slightly.
"No, but… Sidonis… opened my eyes," he replied cryptically, "now arrange a meeting," he said forcefully, nodding his head to the communications console. Harkin rose to his feet and glanced at it nervously, spurred into action by another nod from Garrus.
"I'm going," he moved uncertainly to the console and punched up the correct settings, contacted Sidonis and arranged a meeting. While he was distracted Garrus examined his assault rifle, glancing up at Shepard who moved to his elbow, a small smile played at her features.
"He called you 'Princess,' huh?" Garrus gave her a curious expression and she grinned.
"Yea, I was actually looking for you, met Harkin at the club. This was before I was a spectre and all that. He thought I was his 'entertainment' in a military get up for the evening," she rolled her eyes.
"And he still lives?" Garrus gave her an incredulous look to which she chuckled quietly. Never would she cease to be an enigma to him. Her apparent grasp of the fine line between aggressive interrogation and outright brutality was a constant source of confusion for the perturbed turian. She seemed to instinctually know when that line had been crossed. The communication ended and the former 'Fade' relayed the place and time of the meeting.
Shepard crossed her arms and smirked at the shady dealer, amused by the black eye already forming on his pathetic face. Garrus turned back to the spineless man, hiding his inward grin at Shepard's apparent enjoyment of Harkin's appearance.
"So… if our business is done I'm gonna get going…" he said nonchalantly and turned away. Garrus grabbed him and he yelped, pulling him in close so he was right in his face, all thoughts of Shepard and their banter completely forgotten, the pain and guilt on his mind from his team's deaths surfaced with a vengeance, filling his every thought.
"I don't think so," he growled out, "you're a criminal now, Harkin," he sneered at the shorter man his eyes grew impossibly cold.
"So, what? You're just gonna kill me?" he responded nervously. "That's not your style, Garrus," he said, gaining confidence.
"Kill you? No," he shot back, he let the man go and took a step back, "but I don't mind slowing you down," aiming his assault rifle, he prepared to shoot the man in the leg when Shepard's strong hand on his arm stopped him his bullet went high and into the ceiling.
"You don't need to shoot him," the angry look he leveled her with surprised her slightly though she continued, "he won't be able to hide from C-Sec now," he pulled away angrily; she relinquished her hold on his elbow, his blue eyes simmered with barely suppressed fury. Stepping back and away to give the overreacting turian space she waited, unintimidated as he turned to Harkin. Garrus may be much larger than her, every part of his body screamed predator, but she was no prey, especially not his. Even if it came down to it, she was convinced she could take him down, though it would break her heart.
Never in her whole career would she want that to happen. Garrus was a good man deep inside and she knew he would regret his actions today if she let him flow on the raging torrent of his emotions. Her team, Garrus, Tali, even her crew, they meant everything to her. To lose all that, she couldn't imagine; she just had to be there for him in this time of turmoil and rage. To stamp down when he crossed the line and be the solid shoulder to his topsy-turvy world.
"I guess it's your lucky day," Garrus said staring the man down.
"Yea, I hope we can do this again real soon," the human responded sarcastically, a smug smile on his bruised face. The turian jerked forward suddenly, slamming his forehead into the shorter man's head, and dropped him to the ground like a brick, watching a moment as he cried out in pain and gripped his head.
With that the trio turned and strode from the command center intent on keeping their appointment. Garrus glanced at Shepard walking ahead of him.
"I didn't shoot him," he said glibly, Shepard smiled and shook her head.