The most cherished colonies of the turians tended to resemble their own homeworlds. Reflective skin allowed their species to thrive in relatively harsh solar conditions. For Garrus Vakarian, the golden sunlight filtering through exotic Virmirian flora was more of a visual enhancement than a tactical nuisance. He suspected that a turian colony would one day settle and develop the world, since their military prowess would likely enable them to take the planet back from the villainous scum that presently quarreled over its resources.
Garrus did not consider Saren to be the usual sort of scum, however. As a former member of the council spectres, he was once their greatest asset and something of an icon among turians. Now, the turians were shamed by the knowledge that one of their finest had fallen from grace. Even worse was the fact that Saren was an extreme threat to security and peace throughout Citadel space and beyond.
One way or another, the rogue agent would be brought to justice. Garrus was honored to aid Commander Shepard in achieving this noble goal.
"Yeah, maybe we ought to get moving. Today, preferably".
"Stay quiet, Wrex" Garrus spat orders at the callous krogan. "There could be geth nearby".
"Then what the hell are we waiting around for?" Wrex rolled shoulders for the pleasure of stretching more than personal indifference to the so-called "team leader".
"They could be lying in wait, ready to take us by surprise", came the silky voice of the asari squad member. "I am sure Garrus has a plan of some sort".
"Thank you, Doctor T'Soni", the turian muttered aloud. He studied the stony sloping architecture with his rifle sighted, ignoring the krogan's groan of frustration. Several geth corpses littered the walkway up ahead, as sure a sign as any that the great Commander Shepard had passed through.
"Wait a minute", the krogan lifted the width of his head. "What is that?"
"What is what?" the asari asked.
"Down there, that broken mess all over the ground".
"Oh, I see it now", Garrus remarked at last. He lowered his rifle and made swift paces to the scattered debris strewn across fine sand and shallow azure waters. "Looks like some kind of communications rig".
"Transmitter", Wrex mumbled, tapping a tattered cable with his armored toe. "Shepard must have blown it to bits. Probably slow the geth down, if nothing else".
"Perhaps there is an access terminal nearby, something valuable we can use later", the asari trotted up a nearby ramp without waiting for an official movement command. Garrus knew he couldn't command loyalty the way Shepard could, but things would be easier if his fellow squad mates respected the chain of command.
The krogan grunted, and followed the asari up the ramp.
Vakarian supposed, technically, he didn't outrank any of them. The fact that Wrex was already difficult to control was not alleviating any of his worries.
Eyes open for geth, Garrus ascended the ramp and rejoined his companions. Something flashed red in his HUD.
"Oh, great", he froze in his tracks. "Hostiles inbound, get to cover!"
Liara pressed her back to a nearby wall, blue eyes darting wildly for signs of danger.
"Where?" Wrex asked, eagerly drawing his Firestorm shotgun.
"Not sure", Garrus replied, taking up a position against the wall adjacent to Liara's. "Sensors are jammed".
"That doesn't help much", the krogan scoffed. He plodded through jagged debris until he arrived at a widened gap in the rock wall. The opening was a full meter over the massive krogan's head, and the surrounding wall was too steep and smooth for the krogan to climb.
"Hey", he gestured to the cowering pair. "Get over here".
"Me?" the asari asked.
"Yeah, you", Wrex bellowed. "You're lighter than the bird boy, anyway. Come here and I'll give you a leg up".
Bird boy?
Doctor T'Soni holstered her pistol and approached the krogan without hesitation. Centering her right boot in the krogan's exposed palm, she grasped the armored plating at his shoulders and propelled herself to full height. It was like climbing the trunk of a sturdy tree.
"See anything?"
"I cannot see from here, I need a bit more height", she said.
T'Soni flattened her palms against the rock and adjusted her footing for a proper climb. Her foot seemed to stick momentarily, and the krogan used his free hand to dislodge it.
"Keep your foot in your own mouth, asari".
"Oh. Excuse me.", she apologized politely before mounting herself upon the krogan's dorsal hump. Wrex spat sandy particles from his lips and teeth.
"There, now I can see them", Liara reported. Garrus peered at the unlikely duo, a slender asari astride the bulk of an armored krogan. Just another day on the job for the C-Sec investigator. "It looks like they are heading away from us, though".
Garrus suspected that Matriarch Benezia never taught her daughter how to use contractions in sentences.
"Away?" Wrex bellowed. The krogan's vocalizations sent noticeable vibrations up the asari's legs. The sensations were not entirely unpleasant. "Guess they don't know we're here".
"Or they're hunting for the assault team", Garrus corrected the krogan. "Reinforcements would paint the commander as a priority target. We'll have to radio Shepard".
"Why bother? Let me take them out", the krogan shifted restlessly, still balancing the scrawny scientist in his palms as though her ablative porcelain suit was empty inside.
"Wrex, please try to be careful" the asari whined, stooping to all fours before sliding gracefully off the plated krogan armor. She decided a real tree would have been more predictable and less temperamental.
"We can't just stand here", said the krogan, not caring that Garrus pressed a hand against his ear. Captain Kirrahe sounded highly distraught over the comm.
"Sounds like they're close to the AA tower", Garrus noted, now checking the magazine in his rifle. Cheek flaps fluttered briefly at the satisfying sight of tungsten rounds. "We can hit the geth before they get behind the commander, but we would need to hurry toward the base and regroup at the Normandy before the nuke is armed. It'll be a tight squeeze, and-"
"Good", the mercenary barked. "Make a nice geth sandwich".
Wrex didn't care for sandwiches; even the tastiest ones were too mushy for his krogan palette. Far more appealing than food was the notion of self-distraction; tearing up geth would be pleasurable enough to pull his thoughts away from the wretched work Shepard would have to do, destroying the only known cure for the krogan genophage. He knew what was at stake. The fate of the entire galaxy took priority over the fate of his people. Shepard was right. She had always been right.
Damn her.
It was still too early to know who was damned, though. If Saren managed to find a cure, maybe someone else would. Maybe even Shepard. Hell, it wouldn't surprise him in the slightest.
The battlemaster lumbered down the ramp after the agile asari, while the turian team leader followed with a shake of his head. Garrus would have traded Wrex for Tali in a heartbeat.