I'm loving the reviews guys. It makes me all warm an fuzzy on the inside. Remember people, reviews are like crack to authors. The more I get the faster I wright more chapters. It makes me all kinds of excited.
Also I am still not amazing at the whole action/fighting scenes just yet. Try and bare with me. I will work on getting better. As well as still waiting on my beta to reply. I just am really excited about this chapter and wanted to get it to you as quickly as I could. I will repost edited chapters once I get my beta going...
Disclaimer: Still no word from BioWare about owning Mass Effect. But I'll keep working on it...
It was without fail. If it was a merc base or some kind of bad guy hangout, they always seemed to have a few krogans to send at them. It was almost like there was some evil store in space that had a sale on them. 'Thinking of starting that evil base you always wanted? Well if you act now you get a dozen krogan thugs for free with any order over 5000 credits.'
A small grunt escaped Garrus as his back painfully made contact with the wall behind him, courtesy of the overly energetic krogan who now was pinning him to said wall. Such a lovely day it turning out to be.
It had start off as a simple go and investigate a missing ship and quickly turned into taking out an entire pirate base. Nothing ever seemed to be easy when Nihlus was involved. Or maybe it was just a Spectre thing. Not that he didn't mind fully. By why did they always set up bases in such nasty places. A firefight on a remote beach would be wonderful, maybe a cocktail to go with it. Surely he could take out a few mercs or pirates with one hand, right?
Well maybe not this guy. Garrus's attention was pulled back to the krogan who was so close to his face shouting threats about ripping off face plates and mandibles that Garrus could smell the rot of whatever the krogan had been eating recently.
Turning his hip slightly Garrus brought up a knee and made contact with the krogans quads. As the krogan shift back slight, not fully effected by an attack like that, Garrus had enough room to drop his rifle and reach up and to his back to retrieve his assault rife. Before the krogan cold fully react Garrus unfolded the rife and placed the barrel between the krogans eyes. He had enough time to smirk before he pulled the trigger and unloaded a full clip into the hulking masses head.
As the krogan was pushed back and down with the assault Garrus was able to ease down to put his full weight on his feet. Taking a step over to the unmoving krogan he worked on switching out thermal clips. It was as Nihlus was walking over that Garrus finished and put the nose of the rifle to what was left of the krogans head.
"That should be the last of them. I have sent out messages to the owners of the missing ships. The should arrive any day to gather their cargo that was stolen." His eyes moved to the krogan as his head tilted slightly. "I think you got him... Any more and there won't be a head left."
Garrus chuckled slightly as he looked up to Nihlus. "You know these guys... Always have one last come back..." With that a small grunt came from the mass on the floor. Without another word Garrus pulled the trigger and did not ease up until there really wasn't anything left to be thought of as a head. Nihlus chuckled once again and shook his head.
Turning away from him Nihlus began to move towards the door. Garrus chanced one last look to the yellow splatter all around him, including all over his armor, before he moved after Nihlus.
To keep up with the bad guy nasty place theme, they made their way out of the base and into the pouring rain. Thankfully it washed away the blood and other fluids that had found their way to their armor but it replaced it with mud and put Garrus into more of a sour mood. His shoulder was starting to sting from its recent acquaintance with the wall.
After the long, soggy and dirty hike to the ship, Garrus mimicked Nihlus's sigh as they stepped out in the airlock. As the door opened to the ship a white smiling face greeted them with her hands tucked behind her back. Although the holo's eyes looked them up and down it was odd knowing she was not viewing them fro her eyes but from the camera that was tucked away in the corner. After a moment the holo finally spoke to them.
"It seems that the mission was a success. I have turned the ships temperature up a few degrees, readied both your showers to a comfortable setting and have both armor cleaning kits on stand by. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
Nihlus offered her a smile as he moved to stand beside her. "Luna I have no idea how I survived before you. You are a product of the Spirits. I swear it." He chuckled once more before moving to his room. Luna's holo turned her head to 'watch' him before she turned back to look at Garrus.
It had been about a month and a half since Luna had received her holo upgrade. And where Nihlus didn't know what he did before her, Garrus couldn't imagine what he would do without her once he left his mentors ship. He was none the wiser of what she really was and no closer of getting it out of Nihlus. But she had become a crutch, he hated himself for admitting. On days where their was a mission it was her soft voice that woke him from his slumber. When a mission was ruff she would have the ship waiting and ready when they returned. When they docked anywhere she had a list made up of the supplies they were running low on. Even on his days where he had nothing to do he found himself holding conversations with her or in cases like two months ago and Nihlus was not around or locked in his room they watched vids together.
Garrus had never found himself greatly attracted to other races before. Not in the since that he pursued them or thought any to be desire worthy. But there was something different about the Luna program. It wasn't like he was sexually attracted to her. That would be wrong wouldn't it? He kept those thoughts as far away from his mind as possible. But there was an attraction there. A desire for her company. To simple have her around for as long as he could.
Coming back to himself he offered her a smile and a small nod. "Yes, Luna. You really help us out. Do you know what mission we have lined up next."
A smile graced the holos lips once more before her silvery eyes met his. "As of now the mission is to get you both clean and rested. Once you wake and eat dinner then we can discuss the next mission."
Garrus chuckled as he raised his hands in defeat. "Alright mother, I'm going." Turning he began to walk down the small stretch of hallway to the mess area and his room. She called out to his from where her holo program stopped at the entrance to the hall.
"Your rifle will be able to wait for a cleaning after you yourself are clean, Garrus. It will not do you any favor to clean your rifle with dirty hands." With that the holo flickered before disappearing. Garrus couldn't hold back the smile that rose to his mandibles. Did the program already know him so well?
It was several hour later that found Garrus and Nihlus sitting at the mess table eating a hearty dinner. The pirate mission had taken the better part of the day, with them munching on ration bars. So needless to say they were quite hungry. It was as Nihlus was moving to place his clean dish in the sink that he finally spoke to Luna.
"Alright deary, what is next on our agenda?" He stayed by the sink, leaning back slightly to rest against the counter. As he spoke the holo asari flickered into being as she smiled up to the taller turian. That was another oddity about the holo that Garrus had discovered. Her face was that of an older asari but her height seemed to be to short, more like a child's. Her height caused the holo to reach his shoulder. But once more he shrugged it off to being a glitch in the holo program.
"While you were resting a message came from the Council. There has been negotiations between the turian and the humans. It seems that they are beginning to reach an understanding. But the Council is interested in reports of a human ship that is attack other races and taking the occupants aboard. They are requesting we look into the matter and determine if it is human and if it is, discovered just who they are and what they are doing. I have already set our course to the last location they were spotted." Her voice grew a slight bit hesitant as she spoke. Her eyes never left Nihlus's as he looked back to her with a worried glaze.
Finally Nihlus spoke with a soft sigh. "Seems like they are back at it again, huh?" Garrus's eyes moved between the holo and the elder turian. when it seemed no one was going to continue he spoke up. "Just exactly who is back?"
Nihlus seemed a little taken aback, like he had forgotten Garrus was there. But it was Luna who spoke, here holo eyes falling to meet his. "Cerberus..."
Garrus was now the one that was taken aback. He had heard rumors of Cerberus back when he was doing his time in the war. An organization that was human based and only cared about making humans top of the galaxy. His brow plate rose as he looked over to Nihlus.
"'They are back'? Have you had a run in with them before?" With all the stories he had heard, Garrus could only claim them as stories, seeing as anyone who had ever been taken by Cerberus never seemed to come back. Alive anyway. Nihlus gave a small nod as his eyes drifted back to Luna.
"I came across one of their bases a few years ago. Stumbled upon it actually. It seemed to be one of their smaller bases and they were just as surprised to see me as I was to see them. It wasn't easy but I fought my way out and blew the base. Took me a few days to recover." His eyes dropped to the floor as Luna's eyes seemed to narrow slightly.
"It in fact took you 12 days to recover fully from the incident." She once again appeared worried which cause Garrus to become even more worried. Looking between the two of them he offered a bit of reassurance. "At least this isn't a base right? I mean its a ship that seems really food at demobilizing other ships. We are small and can evade almost anything they can throw at us. Plus we have Luna to help out so they won't know what hit them."
Nihlus seemed to be ready to correct him when a small beep echoed down the hallway. Luna stood straighter and her eyes grew wide as she looked to Nihlus. "Unknown ship making a fast approach..." He nodded quickly as he moved at a brisk pace down the hall, Garrus hot on his heels. The holo of Luna met them at the cockpit, her face turned towards the screen.
"Weapons systems are primed and ready, shields are at full strength, waiting your orders.." Nihlus nodded once more to her as he slipped into the pilot seat, Garrus in the seat beside him.
Crystal blue eyes watched Nihlus as he began to ready himself. He was very worried about something, not just about the attack. Garrus had seen him in the face of all sorts of odds. He always held some sort of calm and almost humor to any situation. It was very odd that he was lose so much focus now.
As the ship grew near Luna stepped up behind them, worry even in her appearance, another AI not AI moment for Garrus to think about later when they were not under attack. Luna's voice was quite as so spoke to them. "Ship identified as Cerberus. Com link is being requested..." Her eyes shifted to Nihlus who offered her a small smile.
"Patch them through, Luna." A small nod from Luna before her holo disappeared. Garrus took a moment to ponder that before letting his attention drift to the message window that opened in front of Nihlus.
A human man sat looking at the screen with a smirk that could only be described as dastardly. His finger were locked together and posed in front of his black goatee. He had an air of military to him as he sat high in his chair. When he spoke it was with an almost cocky undertone. "Well, well.. look what I caught in my net. Here we are on a normal exploration looking for new friends and we stumble across the turian thief. Won't the Illusive Man be excited to know we found you."
Nihlus gave a small growl as his finger danced over the control panel. Garrus let his eyes drift over to see what he was doing. He almost chuckled as he looked at the specs of the ship that was facing them. Although it was larger it didn't have half the fire power that Nihlus's ship held. But its shields were something to admire. So it was going to be a close fight. He was brought back to the conversation by Nihlus bashing his teeth at the man on the screen.
"I did not steal anything from you. I simply freed her." The man on the screen did not seem amused by Nihlus in the least. His hand dropped as he pointed to the turian. "You will return Luna even if we have to retrieve her from your destroyed ship. Fire at will!"
The human screamed the last order as Nihlus ship shook, a shot just barely missing the ship. Nihlus quickly went to work flying the ship around the Cerberus ship. "Luna search for a weakness. Garrus," His eyes turned to Garrus and saw the anger in the blue gaze. It was clear why Luna was so alien to him. She was product of Cerberus. He shook his head to the younger turian to show that they would talk about it later. "I need you to work the guns until Luna finds a weak spot."
Garrus nodded as Nihlus turned the ship quickly to the left to dodge the blast, sadly it was not quite quick enough. The beam brushed against the underside of the ship. A few sparks began to flicker on the edge on the console. Nihlus cursed before he looked to the screen. "Come on, Luna... We need something here."
Garrus quickly went about firing the main gun at the Cerberus ship, among mostly for the other ships underbelly. It was an unknown ship to him, he had never been inside a Cerberus ship so he had no idea where the drive core may be. Another blast hit the side of Nihlus's ship causing it to rock and the lights to flicker. Another curse was muttered under Nihlus's breath as he dodged to the side. "Damn it Luna. I need something NOW!"
A beep on the panel told him that shields were starting to fail. It was then that Luna's voice rose with a small amount of urgency. "I've located a weakness! Aiming all guns now. Ready to fire on your mark."
Nihlus growled slightly as he watched the Cerberus ship turn and aim its gun at them. It was now or never. "Fire now, Luna!" The ship shook as the guns all fired at once. There was a moment both turian held their breath, waiting. Then the space outside the window lit up as the side of the Cerberus ship exploded. It did not fully explode but the ship was not going to be fighting back. A shock wave turned the ship on its side as well as caused Nihlus's small ship to shudder, the lights once again flickering before going out.
As the back up systems came on line Nihlus began to run a check. "Main power is on. We still have engines as well as environment. The importance stuff. How are you Luna?" At first silence met them before text appeared on the screens before them.
'I apologize for the lack of communication. The feed back wave knocked a few of my systems out. Audio and visual on my end are out. I can still hear your side.'
Nihlus nodded as he sat back and nodded. "Alright then Luna. Go ahead and get to repairing what you can. And get a list together of what you can not fix and I will take a look at it tomorrow. For now start us towards the nearest port for repairs, slowly." His eyes moved over towards Garrus with a sigh. "If you want to talk about Cerberus I will need a drink first." Garrus nodded and chuckled as he rose from his seat.
"And I'm pretty sure I will need one after you explain everything..." Turning away he moved down the hall, Nihlus behind him, and headed towards the kitchen area.
A few moments later they were sitting at the small table each holding a glass of ale. Nihlus's eyes were on his glass while Garrus looked over Nihlus's shoulder towards Luna's room. After a moment he finally spoke.
"So Luna is a program made by Cerberus?" Nihlus seemed a little surprised by what Garrus asked which surprised Garrus himself. Why would Nihlus not expect that question? But instead of going into that Nihlus began to explain Luna.
"She was created by Cerberus in a since. They simple altered something that already existed. They believed they owned her. So when I stumbled upon the lab and happened upon her I knew that she was special. I only had enough time to gather the basics on her before grabbing her and running. I've stayed out of Cerberus's radar so they don't find her. That is until now."
Garrus nodded as he took a sip of his drink, taking in what Nihlus said. He thought a moment before looking back to the door. "Why not tell the Council about her? Coping her system could help a lot of ships. She is very useful technology."
Garrus was once again taken aback by Nihlus, as he now seemed angry, his eyes trained on the table in front of him. "They would take her from me, see what makes her run. When I would gt her back, if I would get her back, there was a high chance she would not be the same. I couldn't take that chance."
Garrus could understand Nihlus, simply from being with Luna for a few months. What if he had here for years? Would he be able to give her up. Most likely not. He simply nodded to Nihlus before looking to his glass. He heard Nihlus shift as he stood and downed the rest of his ale.
"There is nothing we can do now for the systems. If you are like me you only got about an hour nap in. We might as well call it a night and get some rest. We have a long day of repair tomorrow." He offered Garrus a nod which he returned. His eyes stayed on Nihlus as he watched him disappear into his room.
Garrus sat at the table for a moment longer, slowly finishing his drink, before he stood and moved to his room. As the door shut behind him he let his shoulders drop. It was a lot of information to take in in one sitting. He thought it over as he began to strip out of his armor. What did that say about him if he liked a human program. It wasn't that he hated humans in the since he wanted to kill them. He just never met one that he really liked. Though granted most of the humans he meet were on the other side of the battlefield.
Now stripped down to nothing he laid down on his bed, arms raised to rest under his head. He had been thought all his life to not hold any respect for human kind, simple because his race was at war with them. There were always stories of some trick or evil plot a human thought up. Most turian didn't even know the difference between the Alliance and Cerberus. It all ran together in their minds.
But Nihlus said that Luna was something else before Cerberus got a hold of her. Maybe she was a turian or asari program turned human. Maybe that's why she was so odd yet he seemed to get along with her. It would also explain her need to learn. He signed as he moved to a comfortable position, getting ready for sleep. Before he shut his eyes he looked up to the camera.
"Good night, Luna." It was the first time since his stay on the ship that he didn't receive a reply. And he hated to admit that it bothered him. Pushing those feelings to the side as he shut his eyes to sleep.
He wasn't sure how long he slept before he was pulled out of his rest. At first he wasn't sure what had awoken him. Until he noticed the lack of humming coming from the room next door. That was not a good sign. Standing he reached over and pulled on the lower half of his under armor. If Luna was down then he would need to wake Nihlus, if he wasn't already up, and get to work on fixing her. It was then that he heard a faint noise.
He knew it was coming from the cockpit, and it was not a normal sound. There were small clanks and a hushed voice talking to themselves. He could not hear what they said but it was clearly not Nihlus. If they were under attack then he didn't have time to put on all of his armor. Moving into the hallway he searched for his pistol. Seeing it made him feel slightly better, even more so once the weight was in his hands. Moving down the hallway he let his eyes search ahead of him, the pistol aimed to the ground.
As he approached the cockpit he saw the last thing he wanted to see. A human ducked under the control panel, fiddling with tools. His only thought was that it was Cerberus. But how had one of their operatives make it aboard the ship? That was sure to be one of the many questions he would ask them.
As he neared the human he trained the gun to the figures back. They were dressed in a simple black tank top and pants. It must have been what was under their space suit. He could not see the figures coloring clearly but the hair from their head hung down to their mid-back. He thought at first that only females wore their hair like that, but later learned even men sometimes wore their hair long. He still couldn't tell the gender but he would soon.
Placing the gun a few inches from their back he spoke softly as not to startle them to much. "Put your hands where I can see them, stand up and turn around slowly."
He couldn't help the smirk as the figure jumped slightly and cursed as their hands rose into the air, the tool in their hand dropping. Slowly the figure rose with a sigh. Garrus looked the figure over and determined that it was a female. Human females always had thinner waist then shoulders, something he found odd. He kept his gun aimed to her as she slowly turned.
It was not her face, or her clothing, even the look she gave him that made him falter slightly. It was her eyes. Even with only the back up lights on he could see the intensity of her pale eyes. They stood out against her dark hair and tan skin.
It was the falter that aloud her to make her move. As she took the first step towards him she dropped her shoulder. Her next step rose it back up under his gun before he could react. Her arm came up and took hold of his wrist to control the gun. By ow he had regained his bearings and was on the offensive. Sacrificing the gun that now was useless he released his hold. Twisting his wrist he took hold of the hand that held him. Since the arm was crossed in front of her she simple ducked under his arm to untwist her own, twisting his as she appeared on his far side. He only had a moment to react before he noticed a foot coming over his shoulder and towards his face.
He released her as he took a step back to avoid the hit. She took that moment to begin to run toward the hallway, it must have been where she had come in at. Not wanting her to get away, especially if she had already taken Luna he lunged at her. She must not have been expecting his speed because all she could do was hold her arms up as he garbed her and slammed her against the wall.
One arm rest against her waist while the other was at a tilt hold her chest down with a taloned hand around her throat. He growled as he leaned in close, please to see and smell a small amount of fear mixed with something else spread across her features. "Alright Cerberus... What have you done with Luna?"
Surprise filled her eyes for a moment before a smirk pulled at her lips. Her finger moved up to hold the hand around her throat. It seemed she was trying to get some relief from the pressure. He growled once more as he pushed her body against the wall just a bit harder.
"I am not in the mood to play detective, Cerberus. Either you tell me what you are doing here or I will-" He did not get to finish his threat as a hand grabbed him by his crowl and for fully pulled him away from the human. Expect Cerberus back up Garrus turned quickly with a fist raised, ready to attack his attacker.
Nihlus blocked the hit with the arm not holding his crowl. Once Nihlus could see the recognition in Garrus's eyes he let him go. They stood looking to each other before a small round of coughing caught their attention. They both turned to watch the human stand from the floor where she dropped, her hair now hanging slightly in her face and over her shoulder. Nihlus stepped over to move the hair back over her shoulder, checking her neck where Garrus had been holding her.
Nothing was making since to Garrus. There was a human on the ship. One that he could swear was not there before. Nihlus seemed to know her, or at least was not surprised to see her. At the moment he was looking her over with worry and care. Garrus's brow plate rose as Nihlus smirked to the human and she smiled back.
Her smile stirred something in Garrus, something like dread or fear. There was something about that smile that stuck his memory and he didn't like it. After a few moments Nihlus sighed and spoke.
"It looks like you are fine... All that money spent seems to have paid off.." His eyes moved to Garrus with a small twitch of his mandible. Was that shame or embarrassment? Nihlus tilted his head towards the hall. "I guess another drink is in order..."
Garrus growled slightly as he stared down his mentor. "A a great deal more of an explanation." His eyes moved to the human as she looked to him and then turned to walk down the hall. It wasn't that there was a human on the ship that bothered him. That was a lie, it did bother him. But not as much as the fact that Nihlus had someone hidden on the ship. If he told him it would have been easier. It was an issue of trust. A voice traveled down the hallway as Nihlus and Garrus moved after the human. At first Garrus was filled with relief in the thought that Luna was back online. But as he realized where the voice came from he understood why her smile had made him so uneasy. It almost felt as though the ground slipped out from under him.
"Nihlus... Does this mean I can stop pretending to be a damn program?" A chuckle came from beside Garrus as his eyes turned towards Nihlus, his eyes wide. Surely it was a joke? Surely it was all a big misunderstanding. Surely she wasn't...
"Yes it does, Luna..."
