A/N: Thanks to a guest reviewer, Shockeye7665, and Danie-Dono for your reviews last chapter as well as those who have favorited or followed this story. Your support means a lot!
-6-
The silence on the other end of the comm almost seemed deafening. Garrus had been trying to get in contact with Jane, just to hear something, anything, a sign she was still doing alright. He knew he was worrying too much, acting like she was nothing more than a civilian who had never been within the presence of a gun in her life, but when he spotted the healthy number of mercs he had on the way to Jane's last location, he had every right to be concerned.
If they had gotten to her, they wouldn't still be roaming around, he consoled himself, ducking (as well as any turian could) behind a wall until a group of them passed him by. Last thing he wanted to do was raise an alarm among all the mercs, then he would be reliving the siege on his base on Omega all over again and Jane would have to be the one to come in guns blazing and save his ass.
What Garrus still couldn't figure out was who these mercs were. From all his years either with the turian military or C-Sec, Omega and teaming up with Jane to traverse all corners of the galaxy, it had ensured his exposure to lots and lots of mercs. He couldn't remember ever seeing these mercs before and didn't recall this camouflage-type armor. Was this a gang that had recently been formed or had they been keeping a low profile until an opportunity presented itself?
Once sure there were no other mercs in the vicinity, he continued his trek. He tried calling again for Jane, but again all he received in response was static. Obviously their usual channel was a no-go.
He switched to the next available frequency, encouraged by the lack of interference on the channel.
"Jane, can you hear me?" he asked as he slid down a ladder to the floor below him, dumping him into an area with a bunch of grocer stands. "You ok?" He tried not to reveal how panicked he was growing, but he couldn't help a little of it seeping into his inflection.
After a moment, he finally heard it. Her voice, breathless and a little pained, but alright. "I'm fine. Might need a little back-up."
He let out a sigh of relief he hadn't realized he'd been holding, feeling most of the tension lift right off of him. She really was going to age him twenty to thirty years by the time this was all finished.
"Well, lucky for you, Archangel is your boyfriend," Garrus replied, filling the gap the tension had left behind with humor (his specialty). "Joker filled me in, I'm on foot. Be there as fast as I can."
He had just been about to sign off and continue on his way, when he heard a shrill voice on the other end, definitely not belonging to Jane. "Excuse me, who is this? You're on an unsecure channel and you're putting Commander Shepard in danger."
That stopped him in his tracks, almost causing him to crash right into the fruit stand and spill all the produce on the floor. "I'm doing what? Who is this?" he demanded, an emerging growl in his sub-harmonics.
"Hang on, Joker mentioned Staff Analyst Brooks, yes?" Jane asked him, once again stepping in to play the role of mediator. "Everybody play nice."
"I think I spot a turian on the far side!"
So much for not raising an alarm.
Signing off the comm channel for the moment while he dealt with this, he darted a few feet and up a nearby ladder, bolting across an awning for many more yards, and made the small jump down below. He barely had time to take in the many shops lined neatly in a row to his left before a cluster of those mercs were on him, forcing him to take cover from a nearby pillar. How the hell had they beaten him to the punch?
Not feeling like reaching for his assault or sniper rifles, he unhooked Jane's pistol he had brought with him, setting the configuration to shoot armor-piercing rounds. The mod he had installed had synchronized well with the rest of the gun. It definitely packed more of a punch than he remembered, watching as his target's feet were swept under him from the force of the bullets hitting his head and fell to the floor in a heap.
He had always dismissed Jane's choice of pistol, much to her annoyance. There were much more powerful ones on the market than the Predator, he had argued. Predators were as basic as it got. Not when compared the newer models to other pistols, she had argued just as passionately.
But even he couldn't argue with the results now. If it had the right mods, he'd have to rethink his position on the most superior model of heavy pistol. However, she'd never let him live it down that she was right, so maybe keeping that thought to himself was a better idea.
He heard the merc pop up next to him when it was too late, unable to dodge the baton strike on him fast enough. Garrus tried rolling away from him, but he was too dazed to get himself up from the floor. What had happened to his lightening reflexes and his superior hearing all of a sudden?
He could hear the approaching footfall of more mercs, every sound matching that of his now pounding heartbeat. He wasn't going to let this be the end. Not now, not right before the final assault, when Jane would need him the most.
The merc who had hit him raised his arm, preparing for another strike, but was distracted by the sound of more gunfire and a cry from a familiar sounding voice, "You're mine, you bastard!"
Only one other person spoke with such a low, gruff voice, with that similar sounding accent as Traynor's.
Garrus took advantage of the merc's inattentiveness and fired two clean rounds right in between the round, glowing eyes of his helmet. Garrus pulled himself up from the floor, watching as Zaeed Massani, feared bounty hunter and former Normandy squadmate, beat the living shit out of a merc with the back end of his rifle.
So focused on the task at hand, Zaeed didn't see a sniper setting up his sights on him. Pulling out his sniper rifle, Garrus unleashed a concussive shot to knock the merc off balance and allow him to make a few precision shots with his Viper.
"Nice one, Vakarian!" Zaeed called out to him once finished with his merc, as naturally as if Zaeed had never left the Normandy and it hadn't been more than half a year since they last saw each other. An answer on what Zaeed was doing there would have to wait until they had less mercs and bullets coming their way.
Zaeed directed his assault rifle at the oncoming horde. "Bring it on, you sons of bitches!" He threw in an inferno grenade for good measure, watching one burst into flames on the spot.
Good to see Zaeed hadn't mellowed with age.
"So what do I owe the pleasure, Zaeed?" Garrus asked, approaching Zaeed once the last wave of the mercs had been dealt with.
Zaeed shrugged. "Saw you pinned down, thought I'd lend a hand," he said, as if he had had nothing better to do.
Garrus couldn't believe it was so simple. "Just passing by?"
"I like wandering around the Citadel underbelly, see what trouble me and my rifle can get into." When he sensed Garrus wouldn't let him off the hook, he finally relented. "You're a stubborn one, Vakarian, I'll give you that. Fine. I heard reports of gunshots and thought it might be Cerberus. Thought I'd do some cleaning up. Turns out I was wrong, but how they were shooting at you, I'm guessing they weren't friendly."
"I thought you were still under contract with them."
"Was. Until they fucked up negotiations. The Illusive Man thought shoving a bunch of god-damn credits under my nose would make me more amenable to their cause."
That raised Garrus's curiosity. "So what was the job?"
Zaeed popped out a heat-sink, forcefully replacing it with a new one. "It's not important."
Garrus was interrupted from probing more deeply at the sound of gunshots across the way. He frantically tuned back into the comm, knowing what the sound meant.
"Jane, what's happening? I heard that from here!" Zaeed shot him a raised eyebrow, but stayed silent for the moment.
"It's all under control!" He hoped that wasn't an overstatement for his sake.
A new voice entered onto their channel, but this time, it was a familiar and welcome one.
"There are alarms going off across the Wards, what's happening?" Liara. Joker must have gotten in contact with the others.
"Thought I'd make things more interesting," came Jane's winded reply. As wound up and worried about her as he was, he couldn't help but flicker his mandibles at that. He had found banter during a firefight usually made everything better.
"We need to sit down and have a chat about your methods," Liara replied, sounding like she was questioning Jane's sanity.
"That would probably take longer than we'd have time for," a filtered voice belonging to their quarian friend stated, adding her few credits to the conversation before the comm went silent again.
Zaeed turned his differently colored eyes on Garrus. He still couldn't get used to the sight of blue and green where there should have been just one or the other. "So your old ball and chain is in trouble, I take it?"
Garrus didn't know what a ball and chain had to do with anything, but they had bigger things to worry about. "If you mean Shepard, then yes."
"Course I do. Haven't you ever heard that expression before?" At Garrus's blank look, he continued, "If you're still with her in a hundred years, you'll understand the meaning."
He could only hope he'd have that chance a hundred years from now, even if it was a negative meaning. Which, with a ball and chain, probably was. But it would never apply to him, anyways.
A hundred years would never be enough time with her.
Garrus's omni-tool suddenly pinged at him, persistently binging until he finally opened it and saw the message awaiting him from Brooks. C-Sec was coming with a shuttle. All they had to do was get to Cision Motors, not too far from their current location.
"I have to get over to the skycar lot. You coming with, Zaeed?"
Zaeed gave that nonchalant shrug again. "Not as if I have a choice now, do I?"
Garrus set the navpoint up in his omni-tool, directing Zaeed to follow him. He gave Zaeed a brief summary of what had happened, also informing him of what comm channel to set his communicator to so he could listen into his conversations with Jane.
Zaeed let out a low whistle when Garrus had finished. "Christ, she can't go anywhere without someone trying to kill her." That was pretty much the consensus Garrus had come to.
"But she's damn good at getting under peoples' skin, so shouldn't be a surprise." Garrus assumed Zaeed included himself in that category, though Zaeed said it without any hint of bitterness. It was reassuring to know Jane's charm and forceful personality had won Zaeed over to her side in the end, despite saving those hostages at the cost of Zaeed getting his revenge on that leader of the Blue Suns.
"Jane, Brooks just sent me the nav point for the skycar lot. Meet you there," Garrus said into his communicator, moving at a brisk pace. He intended to be waiting for her when she arrived.
"Good to hear."
"What do we know about these mercs?" Maybe Jane had gained some insight he hadn't.
"They have guns and don't like me."
For some reason, he didn't find that sarcastic answer as humorous as the first one to Liara. "Not helping, Jane."
"Commander, it would be really great if you could stay off the comm." Brooks again. Where the hell was she if not with Jane?
Garrus didn't hear Jane's response, encountering more resistance in the form of five more mercs up ahead.
"How many of these guys are there?" Garrus asked more to himself as he ducked for cover, but Zaeed who had sought shelter beside him, still chose to answer.
"I've been in this line of work for over thirty years. Don't recognize them one damn bit!" he growled, releasing a concussive shot at a merc who thought getting closer was a smart idea.
If Zaeed, one of the most feared and respected bounty hunters/mercenaries in the business didn't recognize them, that made things all the more troubling.
"Commander, there's a C-Sec shuttle inbound if you can get to the skycar lot," Brooks informed Jane, coming online again.
"Understood."
"Ok, Brooks over. No, out. Brooks, out. Over and out. Brooks...damn it!" She cut off the transmission with an abrupt halt.
"Nervous little thing this Staff Analyst, isn't she?" He had to agree with Zaeed there. Something told Garrus she didn't see much front-line action. Not that there was anything wrong with that. Plenty of people had done great thing armed with nothing more than datapads, their desks the only battlefields they've engaged their foes at.
They made it to the skycar lot without any further interruptions, promptly encountering around set of mercs waiting by the door, as if expecting their arrival. Obviously they had heard about their travel plans.
Garrus and Zaeed used a nearby skycar as cover, bullets either nicking the car (or the cars unlucky enough to be in the bullets' paths) or burrowing deep within the metal, waiting until the mercs had to reload before springing out and attacking. Fortunately, the mercs were preoccupied by the arrival of an auburn-haired human, firing her heavy pistol at them. Garrus slid over the hood of the skycar (pretty fancy maneuvering, if he did say so himself), firing Jane's pistol at their turned backs. With Zaeed providing back-up with his rifle, they made easy work of the mercs.
Garrus took this moment to look over his mate, searching for any hint of pain or discomfort on her face. At least there were no serious injuries, as far as he could tell. Though she had those Cerberus implants, they were probably tested with Jane falling through a glass tank for an unknown number of feet. The only thing he noticed was how pale she looked than usual, but he'd take it if that was all that was wrong.
"Sounds like you've had a fun evening," Garrus remarked as she approached him, hiding his emotions behind humor, just as he always did. At least until they were alone.
"That's one way to put it," Jane replied in a strained tone, lowering the pistol in her hand to her side. She must have picked it up from one of the other mercs. Small, with an extended barrel, typical of sound suppressors, though he couldn't say he recognized the design. Much like everything else about this merc gang.
"You can't go ten seconds without pissing someone off, can you, Shepard?" Zaeed asked, revealing himself from behind the skycar.
Jane cocked her head, studying Zaeed intently, as if analyzing him for the first time.
"Zaeed," she finally greeted, offering her hand. "Good to see you."
Zaeed gave it a vigorous shake. "Likewise, Shepard. Couldn't stay away from your sunny personality."
Though Jane looked anything but sunny as she clutched at her rib cage upon releasing Zaeed's hand, finally prompting a grimace on her face.
He stopped himself from reaching out for her at the sight of her in pain. "Are you ok?"
"Fine," she answered curtly, pulling her hand away and straightening herself back up.
Garrus crossed his arms. "You sure about that?"
"I'm fine, Vakarian," she insisted. "Just need some pain reliever, that's all."
Garrus bit back a defeated sigh. He knew first-hand how stubborn she could be where personal injuries were concerned. She'd be the last one to admit an injury or an illness until she had pushed herself to the brink.
But at least he had learned enough about human physiology to know what signs to watch out for with internal injuries. She didn't seem like she was having trouble breathing, meaning no ribs punctured her lungs. Nor did she seem like she was in excruciating pain like she had cracked a rib, so he could take comfort in those two things. She was probably right. She was just sore as hell from that fall. Simple as that. Hopefully she had brought some painkillers with her from the Normandy.
"If you two lovebirds are done, the landing pad is just over there. But the gate's blocking our path." Zaeed interrupted, gesturing to the area behind them.
"Let's look for a control panel, then," Jane stated, brushing past Garrus, close enough their sides almost touched. At that angle, he noticed how those standard Alliance civvies accentuated those curves of hers, especially around her waist. He vaguely wondered how he had never noticed before.
"Nice outfit," he drawled appreciatively once Zaeed was out of earshot. He knew it wasn't the time or place, but the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.
The look she sent him echoed what he already knew. Not the time. She was probably still wired from the pain, being shot at by an endless siege of mercs, and from…
"So about that fish tank you fell through," he began, trying to keep the image of the glass floor opening up to consume her at bay so it wouldn't tie his stomach into knots. "Was this all part of your plan to kill more fish? The aquarium in your cabin wasn't enough?"
"Can we talk about it later?" she dismissed, not looking at him.
"A damn shame, by the way, about that place. Great food there," Garrus continued to quip, trying to lighten the mood for her sake.
She turned her head back towards him, her eyes flashing in irritation. "We'll talk about it later," she repeated in the form of a statement, a little more forcefully.
Yep, definitely still wired. Probably best to keep his mouth shut about that until they were safe in Jane's apartment and she had time to wind down.
Zaeed called them over towards the end of the room, past the very expensive, top of the line skycars with their fresh coats of paint and upgraded features from last year's models.
He spotted the control panel inside the locked room. As Garrus got closer, he noticed the volus inside who had his back turned from them.
Garrus turned to the others to tell them someone was in there and could probably unlock the gate for them, when he noticed Jane. His eyes widened in surprise as Jane raised her pistol, poised to shoot at the door. "Stand back."
She wasn't kidding. She was dead serious at choosing the fastest way, not the best. Not usually in that situation.
"Never seen this side of you before, Shepard. I like it," Zaeed chimed in with an approving drawl.
Garrus chose to intervene before she could shoot, lowering her arm holding the gun.
"Hold on, Jane," he said, pointing in the direction of the window. Her sapphire eyes flicked over to the volus, understanding flooding them. He figured she hadn't seen him.
He went over to the glass separating them from the volus, tapping lightly against it so as not to startle him. "Hi there, ah…could you open this up?"
They didn't have to wait long until they heard the resounding noise of the gate swooshing open.
"Much appreciated," Garrus thanked.
The volus inhaled a sharp breath before pleading with them to leave.
Garrus couldn't help the saunter in his step or the teasing smirk on his face at having resolved the situation before Jane had. His mandibles flared when he heard her murmur behind him that she could have done that if she had seen the volus.
He didn't doubt it. She was too much of a firm believer of using your weapon as a last resort. But now that Garrus knew Jane was safe (or would be, anyways) and relatively in one piece, he could indulge in feeling good at one-upping her. Just like with the sniper contests. It helped to dull the intensity of the situation.
They made their way to the landing pad, Zaeed grumbling something about how they should have been encountering more resistance. They wouldn't let up now with a shuttle en-route.
The shuttle in question was currently heading right for them and Garrus couldn't remember a time he had been happier to see a C-Sec shuttle. That relief quickly turned to dismay when the door swung open, revealing more of the same mercs, one of which held some type of heavy weapon.
Before the barrage of projectiles came their way, Garrus felt himself being pulled towards cover by Jane. Even with three of them, that heavy weapon (which seemed to be a Geth Spitfire, if he was not mistaken) along with the continuous firepower of the mercs ensured they were effectively pinned down.
"Are you happy now, Zaeed?"
"Was just stating the obvious, Vakarian," he barked over the roar of gunfire. "Next time I'll knock on wood, cross my heart."
The sound of shattering glass from above instinctively had him reaching for Jane, to tuck her underneath his body so she wouldn't get caught in the shower of shards, but a more comforting sight was above them, in the form of two (not just one, but two) krogan.
One slammed down onto the shuttle, knocking it clear to the ground. The other followed suit behind him, falling further up the shuttle without batting an eye. The mercs didn't stand a chance against their combined fury. Taking down one krogan at close range was a challenge in itself, but two? The only thing they could hope for was a quick death. Two of them weren't so fortunate, as they were pushed or kicked out the opposite door to the endless chasm below.
"Well I'll be damned," Zaeed muttered, the first one to pop out from cover.
"Wrex, Grunt," Jane greeted, not missing a beat, following Zaeed out to where the two krogan hopped off the damaged shuttle. "What are you…?"
"Just butting heads with the Council over krogan expansion," Wrex provided Jane as way of explanation for his presence on the Citadel, pausing at a merc corpse and turning him over off his stomach, revealing what he had hidden underneath him. Garrus had been right. The heavy weapon had been a Geth Spitfire, a weapon used by many heavy geth units back on Rannoch.
"Weren't you at Huerta recovering from the Rachni encounter, Grunt?" Garrus asked the younger member of Clan Urdnot.
"Yeah, was. Didn't feel like sticking around. Bumped into Wrex," he replied coyly, rotating his neck around in a full circle to loosen it up.
"If it weren't for me, Baby Pyjak here would be rotting in a C-Sec cell about now."
Endless scenarios started running through his head, one crazier than the next. Chances were Grunt had gotten in brawl with someone important, but Garrus still had to hear this from him later.
And here Garrus had thought Grunt had begun to mature.
Wrex tossed the Spitfire to Jane, who easily caught it. That reminded Garrus. He still had Jane's pistol in his possession, but she probably didn't need it, now with a heavy weapon and another pistol. He'd just have to remember to put it back with her Widow as soon as they got back, have her "ooh and aww" over the mod upgrade some other time.
A boom ahead and a constant thumping of heavy boots signaled another intense fight on their hands.
"Shepard, we got a way out of here?" Wrex called.
"Wrex, she's a professional," Garrus defended, sounding offended on her behalf.
"That's not a yes, Garrus."
"Not a no."
They moved further up, back into the lot to allow them closer access to their targets. They spread out, picking the mercs apart one by one. Though Garrus found himself drifting towards Jane on more than one occasion. He didn't know why he was doing it. She could obviously handle herself without him, but he still felt compelled to watch over her. He doubted that would ever fade over time.
At some point, the icon on Garrus's Mattock changed from a green to deep red. Grunt must have activated the inferno ammo on his shotgun.
"Great place to fight in. Lots to destroy!" Wrex cackled, head-butting an unlucky merc smack on the top of his helmet. He crumbled right on top of a skycar windshield, cracking the glass.
Wrex needed to tell that to the owner. Better hope none of them got saddled for the bill for any damages to the skycars. Then again, they could always have Jane pull the "on official Spectre business" card.
"Commander, did C-Sec find you? Are you ok?" Brooks again.
"Yes and no. Mercs in a C-Sec shuttle." Jane threw an incinerate blast at two mercs. "Joker, lost our ride. Where are you?" she called over the comm.
"On my way. Picked up Brooks, figured you'd have a few questions."
"I am krogan!" he heard Grunt roar, charging at his enemy. Just like old times on Tuchanka, battling all those monsters during Grunt's Rite.
Despite the skilled fighters in their party, that did not deter the mercs or slow their numbers. The only thing they could do at this point was keep them at bay until Joker arrived.
Garrus eventually found himself with his Viper back out, taking targets out on the other side of the room. Jane appeared in his scope. With no one around him and their other squadmates handling their opponents just fine, he took that moment to take in the sight of her. She had always been a tenacious fighter on the battlefield, but there was ferocity when she swiped a merc with her omni-blade he had never seen before, even when she was clearly in pain.
Despite his worry over her straining herself, he couldn't deny how intensely attractive the sight of it was, how Jane could be such a force to be reckoned with when she wanted.
Garrus broke himself out of those more pleasant thoughts when Joker came back on the comm. "Approaching your position, Commander, just following the gunfire. Sorry I'm late. Had to take the scenic route."
"Scenic route? We nearly crashed four times. Where the hell did you learn to drive?" Brooks's voice grew shriller the longer she berated him.
"Yeah, Brooks says hi."
"The fight was just getting good," Grunt exclaimed, almost sounding disappointed at having to leave the battle so soon.
"Plenty more where this came from, junior. Just you wait," Zaeed called back mid-carnage shot with his rifle.
Joker's arrival could not have been timelier. More mercs had dropped down and they were running out of thermal clips (despite the high levels of bravado). Garrus led the charge to the shuttle, with Jane heading up the rear. Zaeed, Grunt and Wrex hopped on after him. Jane reached her hand out to Garrus and he pulled her up, though it was unnecessary to, mindful he didn't pull too forcefully. He squeezed her hand tightly and lightly patted her back with the other, relishing in this little bit of contact.
"Get us back to the apartment, Joker. Double time." She collapsed onto the seat closest to her. Though she looked like she wanted to do nothing more than lay her head back and take a breather, she maintained a straight posture.
"Roger that. Should be smooth sailing from here. Unless they hijacked more C-Sec shuttles," Joker called back to them.
"Not comforting in the least." A dark-skinned woman in an Alliance officer's dress blues stepped out from the cockpit, playing with her uniform cap in her hands.
"I'm so glad you made it out of there, Commander. And I'm sorry about earlier, Officer Vakarian, I had no idea who you were," she apologized with wide eyes when her gaze fell on him. This must have been Brooks.
Garrus waved away the tension from before, as he took his seat beside Jane. "It was a crazy situation."
Brooks then noticed Zaeed, Grunt, and Wrex on the opposite side of the shuttle. Zaeed sat, resting an elbow on his knee, while Wrex and Grunt stood. She looked to be struggling to keep her jaw from dropping at these hardened warriors. "Wow. No wonder you were able to hold out. How'd you manage to get so many to come to your aid?"
Jane shrugged. "I have a lot of friends."
This had not been part of the plan.
She knew the turian would show up, not resisting the urge to play the hero to Shepard's damsel in distress. But the arrival of Urdnot Wrex, the tank-bred krogan, and the bounty hunter had been completely unexpected. And baffling.
She had made up some excuse to Brooks that'd seem feasible to the others. It had worked, with both krogan jumping in and boasting that it was a guarantee she'd survive with their aid.
But in actuality, she was still struggling with that same question.
Why would they bother coming to Shepard's rescue? Just because she had shown them favor in the past, helped them deal with their own trivial problems? Zaeed Massani was most perplexing of all. Why didn't the bounty hunter still hate Shepard for letting that Blue Suns mercenary on Zorya go? What did he owe Shepard?
She knew what Brooks would say about all this. She had seen the quick glance Brooks had given her before she went back to the cockpit to sit with the pilot. More people around, more chance for someone to realize something was amiss. She'd have to be doubly on her guard.
For the moment, no one suspected a thing. Why would they? Shepard was supposedly being targeted by people who clearly wanted her dead. Why would they expect a wolf in sheep's clothing? Any lapse in temper (like earlier with Garrus Vakarian) and she could blame it on still being on edge from the attempt on her life.
Or the discomfort in her ribs, which she had exaggerated to further cement the ruse, but it wasn't completely fabricated. They were still really sore, despite the heavy bone weave upgrade Brooks had given her. Would Shepard have fared better with her cybernetic enhancements? Being the spare, she hadn't been blessed with all of Cerberus's upgrades. Not that she needed them to reach her full potential.
She knew the excuses could only last for so long. She'd have to mind herself. She couldn't make mistakes like shooting at that locked door. Thankfully, she had had a pretext to fall back on.
The noise in the shuttle was limited to that of the engine, now that they were almost to Shepard's apartment. She could feel the turian's eyes on her when he thought she wouldn't notice.
She forced herself not to display any hint of disdain or snap at him to mind his own damn business. She saw him in that lot, how he stayed close to her, how he reached for her when the krogan arrived. She heard the distress in his voice over the comm, in person when he saw her grip her ribs, no matter if he chose to verbally acknowledge it. How could Shepard tolerate it, this overbearing concern of his, however subtle he thought himself?
Putting that out of her mind at the announcement of their arrival back at the Silversun Strip, she could only hope the pilot had not reached out to anyone else beyond those currently among Shepard's crew.
Else the trip to the Archives would have to take place sooner than anticipated.