Garrus sat in front of his personal terminal inside his private cabin. The Havincaw's captain quarters weren't as extravagant as the Normandy's but they were sufficient. The room only contained a desk, bed, and a small bathroom. No couch and no fancy fish tank. Garrus was actually glad there wasn't a fish tank. He didn't see the point to keeping pets. He remembered how many times Shepard killed her fish because she forgot to feed them but then she got the VI to do the job for her.
Then he looked over to the other side of his desk and realized the irony in his thoughts. Shepard's space hamster was curled up inside his little house, sleeping the day away. Garrus figured the fish were expendable but her precious hamster, oh that damned hamster, nearly meant more to her than he did. He could have left it to its own fate on the Normandy but Garrus knew better than that. Shepard would have his head if anything happened to her "little guy."
Garrus' thoughts eventually wandered to the mission ahead of him. Officially, the Havincaw was to rendezvous with the Normandy and perform a joint medical relief mission in the Kite's Nest and drop off medical supplies on Anhur. However, it was the meeting with Kaiden Garrus anticipated the most. Kaiden had info on Shepard's whereabouts and this was Garrus' actual top priority.
ETA to Khar'shan in one hour, Captain, his helmsman, Sanctus Lenten, came in over the comm.
"Thank you," Garrus simply replied.
He got up from his desk and stretched out his cramped muscles. Turian standard furniture was not comfortable, no matter how ergonomic they made it.
With the remaining time, he figured it would be a good time to make his crew rounds. It was something he picked up from Shepard's command and he wanted to try it out once he had command of his own ship. The crew was taken aback when he first implemented it but they grew to expect it and sometimes the crew enjoyed the conversations they had with their captain. Garrus also noticed increased crew camaraderie after a few months of using the tactic.
Garrus took the elevator down from his quarters and pressed the button for the CIC. He figured he had enough time to talk with his newly appointed crewmates and his first stop would be with navigator, Acanthus Cinna.
The elevator stopped and beeped once before the door opened, revealing the CIC. Its setup wasn't different from the Normandy SR1's. Her CIC was strictly based off of turian design, so the look and atmosphere of the Havincaw was familiar to him.
Acanthus was stationed to the left of the galaxy map, typing away at something on his consol. He noticed Garrus approach him and swiftly stood at attention and gave him a salute.
"Sir."
"At ease, Cinna," Garrus returned the salute, "How are you adjusting to the ship and the crew? They treating you alright?"
"Yes, sir, they are. It's an honor to be able to serve under you. I was actually surprised I got this assignment. You're one of the top generals in the Hierarchy and…," Acanthus' voice trailed off.
"You're too modest, Navigator. I'm flattered," Garrus laughed, "Anyways, welcome aboard. Be sure to give Lenten the right docking orders when we make our final approach on Khar'shan."
"Aye-aye, captain," Acanthus saluted again.
Garrus' next stop was in the cargo bay where Flora Domitilla took up residence. She was in the process of checking and cleaning her equipment, so Garrus decided not to bother her.
Next he headed to engineering to check in on Ovid Milo. Garrus received a status report on the ship's engines, which were working at optimal capacity. He also got a status report on the ship guns. Though the report showed the guns were at 97% efficiency, Garrus urged the young engineer to try calibrating it and extra 2%. The engineer eagerly agreed and continued on with his work.
Lastly, Garrus made his way up to the med bay to check in on his sister. The doors swooshed open then Garrus heard a "Captain on deck," from one of the doctors. Everyone in the room turned towards him and stood at attention, his sister included. She was always informal with him but she wasn't stupid. She knew the social norms on a turian ship, regardless if it was her brother captaining it or not. In all honesty, Garrus hated the strictness of how turian ships ran. However, it was easier to "go with the flow," as humans would say instead of trying to change the way everyone thought and acted. His crew rounds were already awkward enough, no need to force everyone to be more laid-back.
"At ease," Garrus ordered and everyone went back to their work, except Solana. She approached her brother.
"Hey Garrus. Here to check up on me? I heard from some of the others you go around and do this from time to time. What's up?"
"Yeah, just checking and seeing how you're settling in. How's life in the med bay?"
Solana's mandibles widened into a smile, "It's great down here! There's a lot of machinery and supplies here than most other ships I've served on don't have. It'll be a great place to work on my research when I have downtime."
Garrus knew exactly what Solana meant by "research." Ever since their mother was diagnosed with Corpalis Syndrome Sol dedicated her life to finding a cure. She was still young and not quite old enough to join the military when their mother became sick. Garrus remembered how Sol would lock herself in her room with medical books and would only come out to take care of mom or to briefly eat something.
When she turned fifteen, she decided to focus on becoming a field medic, since it would easily guarantee her training at Cipritine Medical University. She exceled in all her classes and graduated at the top of her class in less than two years. Since her studies at the school weren't considered military service, she then spent her mandatory time serving. She told him once via vid comm that every ship in the Hierarchy wanted her and the issue had to be sent directly to Fidorian to make the final assignment.
"I'm surprised you decided to stay with the military after the war, Sol. I would have thought you'd hide away in some lab," Garrus commented.
Solana leaned against the wall, "I found that doing research on my own time, on my own terms, works out better in the long run. I can't allow myself to be blocked by scientific red tape with my studies. Sometimes the work I do is considered unethical by others. I'm not experimenting on other people mind you; my methods are just a bit more reckless. I've had a lot of chemical explosions happen in the military labs trying out different simulations. I think I've been banned from half of them."
"Why not run them through a program first?" Garrus suggested.
"Because the calculations the computer puts out s is different from when I physically do it myself. I find those results more reliable. Don't worry, Garrus, there won't be any explosions coming from this lab. That hasn't happened to me in seven months."
"How reassuring," Garrus mocked.
Captain, we're making our final approach on Khar'shan, Sanctus came over the comm again.
"Thanks. I'll be right there," Garrus said, "Well, Sol, looks like duty calls. This mission should go without a hitch as long as you and your team have those medical supplies ready to go."
"We're ready for the drop off. The crates are in the cargo bay now. When you give the order, we'll load them off the ship," Solana said, giving her brother a salute. Garrus gave a salute in return. He exited the med bay and made his way to the cock pit.
When he finally arrived, he asked Sanctus if Acanthus gave him the docking coordinates, which he did. He said they would be docked a few bays down from the Normandy.
Perfect. Now it's time to get down to business, Garrus thought.
"Good. Take her in easy, Lenten. When we dock, I'll head over to the Normandy and speak with her captain. Be sure to fuel up while we're here. When I return, we'll be ready to head out," Garrus commanded.
"Aye-aye, captain." Sanctus Lenten replied.
The Havincaw made its final docking procedures and Garrus moved out into the shambled docking bay by himself. A look at the docking board just outside the airlock told him the Normandy was at Docking Bay 5.
As Garrus made his way over, he received many strange and insulting looks from the Batarians. They still showed animosity towards the Council races and some of their hate was warranted. The Batarians were nearly extinct by the end of the Reaper War but enough remained alive to start rebuilding their homeworld. They initially refused galactic help when the war ended and it wasn't until recently they accepted that help. They were still suffering and Garrus was glad they were able to swallow their pride. Every race needed to work together to make this galaxy function again. Old grudges needed to be put in the past and everyone had to move forward.
The docking port, confirming Garrus' assumptions, was in dire need of repair. The Batarians already fix a good portion of it but it was barely standing and functional. They didn't have the resources to properly fix these structures. It was hard for Garrus to see the Batarians like this, no matter how much of an ass they were to him. No race should ever have to go through these hardships alone.
Before he knew it, Garrus arrived at Docking Bay 5. The first thing that caught his eye was the Normandy and all her glory. She was still as majestic as ever. Some of Garrus' best memories were aboard that ship. A jolt of remorse hit his body, realizing he probably would never get to serve under her name again. He moved on and had his own ship now. The glory days of the Normandy were past him.
The second thing he noticed was a human decked out in blue Alliance armor. He was no one other than the human biotic, Kaidan Alenko. Garrus was glad to see Kaidan again. The jealousy the biotic once had towards Garrus finally subsided and the two were finally able to form a civil friendship. He knew Kaidan still cared about Shepard but it more out of a brotherly love more than anything now.
"Garrus! It's glad to see you again. How's everything back home?" Kaidan approached, giving Garrus a firm, welcoming handshake.
"It's been a long time, Kaidan. Everything is going well back on Palaven. Rebuilding efforts have been successful and we've been running relief missions to other races in the galaxy. How's Earth doing?" Garrus hadn't seen Earth since he left the Normandy.
"Rebuilding has been going well. Most of the larger cities, like London and New York, are still rubble but a lot of the smaller cities and towns look like they were never touched by the Reapers. It's shocking to see how unified a race can be after a war. People are saying that this kind of unity hasn't been seen since World War II during the 20th."
"It's good to see Earth is faring well," Garrus earnestly smiled, "I hate to cut the pleasantries short but I wanted to discuss that message you sent me the other day."
"Of course. Let's board the Normandy. We'll be able to discuss this more privately there."
Chilling shivers ran down Garrus' spine. This would be the first time he was back on the Normandy after such a long time.
Not much changed aboard the ship. Garrus was glad that Joker still piloted the ship. The two exchanged greetings and Joker admittedly expressed that he was glad to see the turian again. The CIC was still the same dark and dingy room it was when they fought the Reapers. Garrus liked the lighter interior of the Cerberus SR2 than this but he was glad the Cerberus days were put behind him.
Garrus didn't recognize most of the human crew that bumbled about the CIC; however, he noticed Specialist Traynor was not at her usual post. In fact, it was empty. Kaidan and Garrus then entered the elevator and Kaidan punched the button for the crew deck.
"Why not go to your cabin, Kaiden?" Garrus asked.
"We are going there," he dryly replied.
Garrus gave him a questioning look before asking, "You're sleeping on the crew deck?" What happened to the captain's cabin?"
"It's still there. It's just," Kaidan hesitated, "Even though this ship is under my command, I still consider it to be Shepard's. It just doesn't feel right for me to take over her quarters, so I've taken the XO's room. XO Bradley agreed with the situation and he's taken the starboard observation deck as his private quarters instead. He said he enjoyed the view better."
With Kaidan's last words, the elevator finally reached its destination. As they walked over to Kaidan's cabin, Garrus glanced over to the med bay. He was glad to see Dr. Chakwas was still aboard. She sat at her desk and looked busy. Garrus would have to pop in to see her afterwards.
Kaidan's cabin changed drastically from when Liara commandeered it as the Shadow Broker. The walls were no longer littered with giant screens, though Garrus did notice Kaidan kept one. He probably used it as a television screen. All the machinery was gone, leaving the room bare. He obviously hadn't found anything to fill in the emptiness.
Kaidan beckoned Garrus to take a seat on the couch and asked him if he wanted anything to drink. He asked for water.
Kaiden didn't join him on the couch. Instead, he opted to sit on the corner of his bed, opposite of Garrus. Kaidan pulled up his omni-tool and punched a few buttons on it. A second later, he projected an email he received for Garrus to read.
Spectre,
We have your precious Commander Shepard. She's not in any danger…yet. However, she will be if you do not answer to our demands. All we ask is for a modest ransom of 50 billion credits and she's yours. Sounds simple enough, right?
Be sure to have the money stored safely on a credit chit and deliver it to our agent on Illium. He will approach you when you arrive. You have 16 solar days to fulfill this request. If you don't, well, I'd rather just send you a picture of what happens when you don't cooperate.
Garrus' blood boiled while he read the mail. If anyone hurt Shepard, there would be hell to pay. He would make sure their suffering was long and excruciating. Their captivity of her was enough to deserve a head shot from his Black Widow then tossing their bodies out of the nearest airlock.
"Do you know who sent it?" Garrus seethed.
"I have a pretty good idea. Remember that CAT6 incident on the Citadel?"
How could he forget that? Shepard's clone nearly killed her and took off with the Normandy. Luckily they were able to kill her and her sneaky assistant, Maya Brooks, or whatever her real name was.
"I think they're behind this," Kaidan continued, "Ever since the end of the war, they've been nothing but trouble for the Alliance as well for the Council. Shepard took out Cerberus and CAT6 filled the power vacuum. They've been trying to undo everything Shepard did. They've made it clear the genophage cure was a mistake and made countless attempts to destroy the Shroud. Fortunately they haven't been able to get past the small krogan army that guards it. They've also outwardly attacked the Migrant Fleet and Rannoch, trying to stop them from reactivating the geth. The list goes on and on. They still fly under the banner of 'destroying the cult of Shepard' thing. Haven't you heard of their recent exploits?"
Garrus shook his head, "No I haven't. Sadly, I've been sucked into Hierarchy business and haven't heard anything from them on the matter."
"Hmm. I guess they haven't made their beef with the turians yet. I'm sure it'll happen soon. Even the salarians are getting hounded by these guys."
Garrus leaned forward and set his elbows on his legs and clasped his hands together, "So what about the ransom? How long has it been since you got the message? You're not going to pay it, are you?"
Kaidan closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, "It's been six days already. Once I got the message, I sent it to Liara and when she replied, I sent you a message. I'm so glad she's on our side, because the miracle worker pinpointed a location for the email. She was positive the email didn't come through scrambled communications, so she's sure this place is a base of operations. It's out in the Terminus systems. On Garvug to be exact."
"Seems like sloppy work. You'd think they'd mask their location better, especially on a former krogan colony world."
"Or, they purposefully exposed it to me. I think this Illium thing is a ploy. They wanted me to find them and then they think they can take me out in one shot. Get rid of the human Spectre and hurt the Alliance and Council in the process. Two birds with one stone."
"Except they're going to fail," Garrus responded, "Because you're not going in alone. You'll have the best sniper in the galaxy covering your six."
"Not only that, I'll have quarian mechanist and one of N7's best new operatives working with me too," Kaidan smiled.
"You're kidding!" Garrus was taken aback.
"Nope. I messaged Tali and James right after I messaged you to see if they were interested. It didn't take long for either to reply. I figured since I would see you the next day I'd brief you in person. I hope you understand that."
"I understand. I'm actually glad you did. It's nice to be back on the Normandy again."
"Get used to it, Vakarian. You'll be back on board soon," Kaidan confirmed.
Garrus was glad he would be back on the Normandy again. It would be just like old times. There was one concern he had with the plan though.
"What about my ship and crew, Kaidan? I can't just abandon them."
"Don't worry about that. I talked with Primarch Victus about it and he gave his permission. It's one of the perks of being a Spectre," he shrugged, "You'll need to return to Palaven after we finish this other mission though. From there, your ship will be reassigned a new captain and you'll be free to join me."
"I really wish Victus told me directly though," Garrus said, slightly upset at the deception.
"The surprise wouldn't be as extravagant if he told you. Plus, I need you to be on this mission. It doesn't move forward until you're back on board this ship, so let's drop off these medical supplies to Anhur and get moving. The more time we waste here talking, the more time we lose to infiltrate the CAT6 base."
"You're right," Garrus agreed, "But before I leave, mind if I roam around the ship, to drop in and say hi to some of the crew?"
"Sure, but don't waste too much time. We still have to pick up James and Tali before heading to Garvug. Those trips in total will take a few days. I'll grab James from Earth and then head to Palaven next to grab you. Then we'll head to Rannoch, pick up Tali, and then head out to the Vallhallan Threshold," Kaidan laid out his plan, "We're going to murder these bastards for what they've done."
"Show them no mercy," Garrus concurred.
Kaidan led Garrus out of his cabin and left him to his own devices. Kaidan went to finish preparations for the medical drop. Garrus first went to the med bay to say hello to Dr. Chakwas. She was elated to see he was in good health and doing well and Garrus was glad the doctor was doing well herself. They talked about the good old days for a while before Chakwas mentioned she needed to get back to work. Garrus left her to her and thought he would check the Thanix cannon in the Main Battery before heading back to the Havincaw. He was sure someone messed with his calibrations and wanted to know how much time he'd have to invest to fix it.
When the battery door opened, the first thing Garrus notices was a flashing on the terminal. He walked over to it to investigate it. When he turned the screen on, a message popped up. It was all jumbled though.
6 rr)s,
!^ /*)'r3 r3 d!Ɯ6 #&!ş, #&3Ɯ !'% l!-3. !'% Ɯ*# !Ɯ 1l (3 ~!#&!Ɯ /*)r r3 (& #&*)6&, s* 1l3 s3 d*Ɯ'# #r/ Ɯd ^!Ɯd %3. !'ll (*%3 ^!Ɯd /*). ! d*Ɯ'# 9Ɯ*~ &*~ l*Ɯ6 !#'ll # 93, 8)# ! ~!ll (*%3 8 (9 #* /*). /*) 83##3r Ɯ*# 83 ~ !#!n6 ^*r %3 # #&3 8 r. ! s#!ll 1l Ɯ #* % 93 6**d *Ɯ #& # !d3 /*) & d 83^*r3 ~3 % d3 #&3 ^!Ɯ l 9)s& !Ɯ l*Ɯd*Ɯ, s*9l3 s3 d*Ɯ'# d* Ɯ/#&!Ɯ6 s#)1!d l!93 /*) d!d l s# #!%3 ! ~ s 6*Ɯ3 ^*r #&!s l*Ɯ6. ! l*-3 /*), 6 rr)s. !'ll s3Ɯd /*) Ɯ*#&3r %3ss 63 ~&3Ɯ ! ( Ɯ .
S&31 rd
It hurt his head to look at the mixture of letters, numbers and symbols but he studied the first and last word in more detail.
The placement of the letters amongst the numbers looked oddly familiar. Then it hit him. The first word was his name and the last was...
Shepard
It had to be. The correlation couldn't be pure coincidence. Garrus immediately opened up the cracking device on his omni-tool and input the coded message. The program should have decrypted the message instantly but it took it about ten minutes. Those ten minutes seemed like ten hours to Garrus. The wait was excruciating. The program dinged when the decryption was complete and Garrus hurriedly opened up the file.
Garrus,
If you're reading this, then I'm alive. I'm not in a place within your reach though, so please don't try and find me. I'll come find you. I don't know how long it'll take, but I will come back to you. You better not be waiting for me at the bar. I still plan to make good on that idea you had before we made the final push in London, so please don't do anything stupid like you did last time I was gone for this long. I love you, Garrus. I'll send you another message when I can.
Shepard
Garrus was lucky he was in the main battery alone because he keened at reading the message, relief engulfing his body. She was still alive. The time stamp for the message was a few months ago, which was enough evidence for Garrus to know she survived the Citadel explosion. He noticed the vagueness of the message and relief was quickly replaced with fear. If she sent this from the CAT6 base, then she really was in trouble. Her advice about her finding him was simply ludicrous. Sometimes she could be stubborn and this was one of those times. She needed his help.
He finally recomposed himself and went to find Kaidan. He would want to see this. He found the biotic in the cock pit with Joker, going over mission details. The clanking of a hurried turian was enough to make Kaidan and Joker turn around.
"What the hell's your problem, Garrus? You've never run through the Normandy like that before," Joker wisecracked.
Garrus ignored Joker's comment, "Kaidan, look at this. It was on the main battery terminal." He pulled up his omni-tool and showed the message.
Kaidan took a step back after finishing the message, "This changes the game plan entirely. We still need to gather the crew before going the Garvug though, which means we need to hurry and get these damned medical supplies dropped off."
Garrus nodded in agreement and without another word, ran off the Normandy and back to the Havincaw.
Upon his return to his ship, Garrus began to bark orders to his crew. They were to get in and get out. No missteps. Sanctus established his radio connections with Joker and the two frigates were ready for departure.
A/N: We all know where Shepard is but Garrus and Kaidan don't know that! So what's CAT6 up to? That won't be answered for a few chapters, but we're close to Shepard and Garrus' reunion! Next chapter we will bounce back to Shepard's POV and the voyage to the Milky Way.
Please leave any reviews, comments, and critiques. I'd love to know what you think of the story so far.
