Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect this belongs to Bioware. Please Enjoy.
Chapter 7: Show down in the Shuttle bay.
"Garrus! On your nine!" Shepard shouted down the radio as Cerberus troopers fell from the shuttles above. Shepard loaded in a clip into her rifle; her eyes were on over drive while cold sweat dripped down her forehead and back, she saw every detail within the rocks and broken buildings of Tuchanka. The heat and gusting winds played hell with Shepard's breathing and her armour felt like it was shrink wrapped to her body, she felt like her head was on fire as her dark brown hair soaked up the heat of the sun and Shepard knew she wasn't going to last much longer. EDI deployed decoys to confuse the Cerberus troops as Garrus sent out mines by the dozen. Shepard groaned as an earlier injury flared up in pain while she pressed herself against the rocky edge of the broken building she had taken as shelter from the hail of bullets. She thought back to how they got into this mess.
Victus asked her to go to Tuchanka because he had lost contact with one of his teams there. She didn't know the mission and it made her chill run like crazy but she agreed. Later finding out that the leader of the Ninth Platoon was Victus's son, Tarquin Victus, Shepard felt the pressure mount up. When she had fought her way through the waves of Reaper ground forces and several Harvesters, she found the team severely drained of energy and hope for the mission. Shepard couldn't blame them; the Reapers had certainly beaten the team to their limits. When Shepard saw Tarquin she thought she was looking at a younger version of Victus, his vibrate green eyes held sorrow for the mistake that caused everything to spiral out of control. He explained the situation saying that if they were going to do a head on attack they would have lost more men than they already did and Shepard couldn't argue with that. Then Tarquin told Shepard something she didn't want to hear, Cerberus had a planet size Turian bomb on the planet and their mission was to deactivate it. Shepard thought that Victus must have known about it but she couldn't dwell on it too long, if Cerberus had it there wasn't much time. Shepard rallied the troops and Tarquin gave hope to his men and soon they were heading off towards the bomb site.
Now she was defending Tarquin as he flew through the streams of data to try and deactivate the bomb. Shepard focused her sights on the incoming Cerberus troops that were pressing down up on EDI's position, Shepard growled as she took out a Cerberus trooper with a headshot that exploded over EDI's cover. The skull and bone fragments showered down on EDI while the other troopers started to fire at Shepard's position.
"Commander, are you alright" Tarquin called back as Shepard grunted in pain. During one of the waves of Cerberus troops that tried to delay her, Shepard was shot in her thigh. The pain screamed through out her leg as she tried to peer over the wall to see Garrus and EDI fighting off a new wave of Cerberus attackers, they really weren't letting up this time. Tarquin ran over to Shepard he waved his hands over her wound as the blood gushed out. Tarquin growled but the clicking in his voice was rampant as if he was saying sorry a thousand times over. Shepard cupped his mandible gently in her hands and gazed into his vibrant greens eyes, his pale plates looked almost white in the Tuchanka sun.
"Tarquin I'm fine, go take care of that bomb" Shepard ushered him. Tarquin nodded and ran back to the bomb controls, Shepard smiled at the young Turian before she peered over the cover again. EDI and Garrus were going to get swarmed if she didn't do something and only one thing came to mind, Garrus was going to bite her head off for it but it was the only thing that would work.
Garrus threw his last mine before he popped in another heat sink. He wondered what was taking so long and he was worried about Shepard. He had told her to use her sniper so that it gave her legs a chance to rest but he kept on looking up to see if she was still there and not running down to save him or EDI. On his other side EDI was busy hacking into the jet packs of the assault troopers and sending them flying while she overloaded the shields of the Centurions, Garrus looked over his cover and saw more Assault troopers pouring down from the shuttles. Suddenly the troopers, Centurions and shuttles started to glow blue. Troopers started to float off the ground while the centurions and shuttles looked as if they were about to over heat. EDI and Garrus looked confused as they watched the troopers float in front of them, it was as if he was back at the…collector ship where - . Garrus's heart stopped as he spun round to see Shepard standing up, her good leg supporting her weight as she shone with her biotics. Her teeth were grit and her muscles looked strained even under the armour, her brow knitted together in pain as blood spurted from her mouth and nose. Shepard felt the pull on her limits but she clenched her fists and with an almighty scream she pushed a wall of biotic power towards the troopers and centurions and shuttles. The Troopers went flying as they were impaled on the broken metal spikes that stuck out of the walls and ground. Centurions were bludgeoned together in a bloody and sticky mess of organs and reaper tech. The shuttles over heated as they began to explode sending the rest of the Cerberus army plunging into the fiery depths.
Garrus and EDI watched as the massacre happened before their eyes, the screams that were quickly silenced by death made it all the more real. Soon the scene was over, Tuchanka's dust filled air washed over the blood painted ground as if they entered a ghost town the only noise was coming from the countdown on the bomb. Garrus blew out the breath he didn't know he was holding, that had to be one of the scariest things he had seen besides his mother getting mad at him for stuffing his sister in the air lock.
"Shepard" EDI's robotic voice broke the silence and as Garrus looked round towards Shepard his heart stopped, she was slumped on the ground and didn't appear to be moving. Tarquin hovered over her unsure of what to do while his team secured the area. Garrus's feet flew across the ground to get to his mate, he didn't remember his feet hitting the ground but when he reached Shepard he fell to his knees and gathered her up into his arms, Tarquin watched on as Garrus ran his talons through her hair.
"Come on Shepard, you survived this once before you can do it again" Garrus muttered against her cheek. EDI knelt down and read Shepard's vitals as Garrus kept holding her to his chest. EDI smiled as she put away her omni-tool and as Garrus's eyes flicked between EDI's smile and Shepard, Shepard coughed as her chest lunged forward. Garrus's eyes and mandibles flew wide open and he brought Shepard into a crushing hug. Shepard wrapped her arms round him as she kept on coughing as faint traces of blood lined her cheeks and jaw line.
"Shepard, when we get back…" Garrus growled as he drew back, Shepard could only smile as she cupped his mandible in her hand. Garrus nodded and helped her up; Shepard found purchase on her semi good leg as Tarquin went back over to the console to finish off stopping the bomb from exploding. Everything was calm as Shepard and the others waited for Tarquin to finish up and then they could head back to the Normandy, the sound of the countdown filled the air with a loud buzzing noise and pain filled Shepard's body from her over use of biotic power. She scanned the other Turians in the group; all of them had minor flesh wounds or were reloading their rifles Shepard smiled, knowing she saved so many did lift her heart a little.
"Shepard to Normandy. Get ready for pick up" Shepard radioed Joker as she limped over towards Tarquin. Tarquin nodded towards her as Shepard smiled, the data flying across the screen like lightning streaking across the sky, the faint glow of the console illuminating Tarquin's face with a fiery glow. His pale plates looked bright orange against his vibrant green eyes and Shepard couldn't help but stare at the young Turian, he certainly had his father's looks and if he lived through this he would make a really good general. He just needed to stop blaming himself for every bad mistake that happened.
"Alright Commander, give the word and we'll be there" Joker's voice broke the calm peace of Shepard's wandering mind. Shepard coughed trying to pretend there was interference down the channel.
"Thanks Joker" Shepard looked round and noticed EDI looking off into the distance. Shepard followed her line of sight and as her eyes enhanced, zooming into the distance, Shepard cursed as two more Cerberus shuttles came into view and no doubt loaded with even more Cerberus troops.
"Watch it! More Cerberus troops incoming!" Shepard shouted towards Garrus and the other Turian troops. Garrus nodded and readied his sniper while EDI set up more decoys. Shepard clipped in another heat sink prepared to protect Tarquin. Suddenly Tarquin growled at the console making Shepard's head dart towards him.
"What's wrong?" Shepard asked as Tarquin punched the console screen.
"Cerberus re-routed the code for the detonation trigger to other main functions, I'll need to go up there and disable is manually." Tarquin pointed up towards the main epicentre of the bomb and Shepard's heart sank.
"Then I'm coming with you" Shepard growled but Tarquin gripped her arms and looked into her eyes making Shepard freeze. The others had already engaged the Cerberus backup and Shepard was glad Garrus didn't see how close Tarquin was to her.
"You can't Commander, you're injured and you'll only slow me down" Tarquin told her, Tarquin voice half clicked but half growled and Shepard some how understood. Shepard bit her lip and she gave a growl in return but nodded her head, Tarquin looked taken aback but Shepard made him release his grip as she loaded her sniper.
"Go." Shepard growled but gave him a smile. Tarquin smiled back and gently ran his talon across her jaw before he vanished up the ladder. Shepard paused for a moment as Tarquin's touch lingered on her skin, what was it with her and all Turians having an attraction towards her? Shepard growled as she went back to focusing on the task at hand.
Shepard sighted a Cerberus trooper and fired a bullet towards his head soon making it explode into a bloody mess. Shepard smiled as she looked over at Garrus who was giving a smile; Shepard pulled her finger towards her mouth as Garrus watched her closely. Wrapping her lips round her finger and slowly taking out the digit Shepard scratched a one in the air. Garrus groaned as she smiled, Garrus couldn't help his smile but the feeling of his plates shifting from watching her lips envelope her finger was too much.
"It's on Shepard" Garrus told her over the radio as Shepard laughed in response. Garrus set to work, he wasn't going to loose this bet.
Shepard smiled as she watched her mate's form flow like water as he set up each shot. Spirits he was good to watch but Shepard's attention turned towards Tarquin as she watched the young Turian gracefully cross the bombs leg like he was walking across the highest tightrope in the world. She couldn't see anything beyond that but her Chill shot right up her back and Shepard could sense something was going to go wrong. She cursed her cybernetics for being so slow with her injury and even though her body was flooded with medi-gel the pain was still numbing her leg. Shepard continued to shoot the overflow of Cerberus troopers as the screams of their enemy filled the crushing silence.
Then the clamps on the bomb started to detach, each one large enough to crush her if it fell. But as the first three became undone Shepard noticed that the last seemed to be struck, Shepard flipped on the console to try and see what she could do but suddenly the access she nearly had was wiped from the screen, filling with error alerts. Shepard wondered if Tarquin punching the screen might have loosened a few bolts or something but Shepard went with maybe Cerberus was jamming the signal. Shepard looked over to EDI and saw she was still busy fighting; she certain didn't have time to override the systems.
"Commander" Tarquin's voice rang through her radio and Shepard looked up. Shepard's heart stopped as she watched Tarquin dangling from the jammed clamp, he pulled out one of the connectors letting it fall to the ground.
"Tarquin…!" Shepard shouted as the lump in her throat grew in size. Her eyes grew wide with fear while they zoomed in on the dangling figure.
"Get my squad out of here Commander and… tell my dad I'm sorry" Tarquin pulled out the last connector and as the bomb fell into the pit below so did Tarquin. Shepard propelled herself forward over the edge, her hand reaching out for Tarquin's. As Tarquin quickly fell, time slowed, Shepard saw the detail of fear in Tarquin's face but also he was smiling as their eyes met. For the briefest moment Shepard's and Tarquin fingers brushed against each other and Shepard knew then she couldn't reach him. Time sped up again as she watched Tarquin be enveloped by the white hot flames of the bomb, Shepard screamed as her hand continued to reach for Tarquin. Tears flew down her face as she watched flames gather in strength.
Garrus looked up to see Shepard leaning over the edge of the pit below the bomb and suddenly Shepard rose to her feet. As she did his heart stopped but not with love, with fear. Shepard's eyes were hollow, all emotion gone from her ice like eyes. Her lips were strained tight against her teeth as she gripped her fists together, Garrus watched her as suddenly Shepard roared and ran towards the rest of the Cerberus troops. Garrus's throat tightened as he heard her roar, a cry of pain and anger filled his being as he watched Shepard.
Shepard flew towards the Cerberus troops almost like a Krogan and Turian combined. With her biotics she slammed some troopers into the walls, painting the crumbling walls with blood and brains while she used her assault rifle to rip through the shields of others. Cerberus ran for their lives as Shepard started to pursue but suddenly a pair of arms enveloped her and brought her close. Garrus brought her close to his chest as he nuzzled her temple and ran his talons through her hair, Shepard fought a bit against his grip but his strong arms held her in place he purred and hummed in her ear as if to tell her that everything was alright and to stop, the tears still flew down her cheeks while speckles of blood decorated her face. Shepard soon calmed in his embrace and was soon silently sobbing, Garrus held her close to him as he nuzzled the top of her head while Shepard gripped his arms. Even thought they didn't know Tarquin for very long, Shepard quickly accepted him into her family and now he was the first victim of this war. What was worse he wasn't taken by the Reapers, he was taken by Cerberus. Garrus growled as Shepard sobbed more, Cerberus was going to pay.
)_)
Back on the Normandy, things were quiet. The first death people had known had taken its toll, Victus had hidden himself away from the people while the survivors of the Ninth Platoon were held up in the shuttle bay, Garrus said that he would help them settle in and help Chakwas with what injuries they had. EDI had gone back to the cockpit to help Joker fly the Normandy leaving Shepard alone in her room with medi-gel wrapping round her leg and other minor injuries.
Shepard sighed as she thought Tarquin, he looked so scared as he fell to his doom but he was smiling that smile was what was hitting her hard. The feeling of his talon brushing against her fingers wouldn't go away, she was so close to catching him but he was just out of reach. The image of Tarquin was swallowed up but the searing hot flames, licking his features until there was nothing left but ash. Shepard growled as she punched the table in front of her, she should have been able to do something, anything but she couldn't. She wished she was a miracle worker and rewind time so that she could save Tarquin, to make sure she didn't get injured, to reunite a father and son in this war. But she couldn't and it made her feel weak…she was meant to be Commander Shepard, the woman who survived Akuze and the hero of the Citadel, the woman who made it to Ilos and survived the Omega 4 relay while kicking the Collectors in the Daddy bags (as Ken so rightly put it). She was meant to be all these things and right now she felt like she was letting everyone down, she felt like she was just one solider who was winging it through this war.
"Some saviour you are Zo" Shepard whispered to herself. She gripped her hair before she leant back into the couch; her room was as empty as ever but this time it seemed to haunting to stay. The quiet reminding her of the echoing silence that enveloped her when she died, she hated it. Shepard pulled on her track pants and her N7 hoodie before she set out to find Victus, she was sure he might need someone to talk to and she had offered her shoulder if he ever needed it and right now he might need it. She stepped into the elevator and pressed the button to the crew deck; if she knew how Turians worked he was possibly in the lounge drowning his sorrows in Garrus's secret stash of Turian ales.
The elevator doors opened and Shepard stepped out on to the quiet deck, the smell of alcohol filled the air the closer she went towards the lounge and Shepard nearly went green with how strong it was. She opened up the door and the first thing that greeted her was the low clicking and low rumbling cry of a male Turian. Shepard looked over and saw Victus with his head in his hands, she knew Turians couldn't cry but this was pretty close. Shepard walked over silently without disturbing Victus, Shepard's guilt kicked in and her heart nearly dropped out of her chest. Shepard sat down next to Victus and before he had a chance to see who it was sitting next to him, Shepard enveloped him in a hug. She wrapped her arms round his neck and Victus stilled he didn't understand what she was doing but her scent was starting to relax him.
"I'm sorry Victus, I'm really sorry" Shepard spoke from his shoulder and Victus wrapped his arms round her shoulders and brought her close to him. He clung to her as if she was the only thing that was keeping him sane as his clicking became louder, Shepard's voice clicked in response with a few tears escaping her eyes.
"It wasn't your fault Shepard; you didn't know what was going to happen and you certainly didn't expected Cerberus to show up" Victus told her as he slowly pulled away and wiped away her tears. Shepard voice still clicked, Shepard knew death she had lived through it and she had gone through it. Death seemed to follow her everywhere first on Mindior and then on Akuze, now it was on Tuchanka with Victus's son. Shepard growled as the image on Tarquin falling into the fiery pit licked at her eyes.
"I will make them pay, Cerberus won't get away with this" Shepard growled out as her nails dug into the palms of her hand. Victus wrapped her hands up within his own making Shepard look into his faded green eyes.
"Hurting yourself won't bring him come back Shepard" Victus told her as Shepard seemed to deflate, Victus looked down at the palms of her hands and saw the tiny scars of where her nails embedded themselves each time she gripped her fists. Victus surmised that she gripped her fists often so collect so many tiny scars on her delicate palms, with the recently added red marks on her pale skin made Victus glad he had made her stop from making more scars.
"I sorry Victus" was all Shepard could squeeze out of her mouth as Victus rang his talon along some of the unruly strands of her hair and tucked them behind her ear. Shepard looked up at him and saw him smiling.
"You don't need to be sorry Shepard…I should have expected this…but as a father I didn't want to believe my child would be hurt, I suspect your parents feel the same thing about you" Victus told her as Shepard's heart clamped at the mention of her parents. Images of Mindior flashed before her eyes as she let out a shaky breath.
"I wouldn't know…they died many years ago during a Batairian slaver raid" Shepard spoke as Victus stilled, he felt like he had spoken without thinking but Shepard only smiled and gripped his hand.
"But I understand Victus…thank you" Shepard spoke and stood up and began to walk over to the bar. Then Shepard had an idea, it was crazy and she didn't know if Victus would go along with it but it would be something that would help them both.
"Victus…when was the last time you…eased your tension?" Shepard bit her lip as Victus gave her a puzzled look.
"I don't understand Shepard" Victus looked at her, Shepard shifted on her feet as his green eyes looked over her body.
"You know…relaxed…blew off steam" Shepard felt like she was talking to Garrus again about that stupid recon scout but this time it was much worse. Her stomach was doing flips and she could fully look at the surprised Primarch.
"Quiet some time…why?" Victus asked as he got up and walked over to Shepard. Shepard played with a strand of hair as she tried not to look at the approaching Turian.
"Great then meet me in the Shuttle bay…" Shepard walked past Victus before he had anything to say. Victus was stunned by what just happened, he wasn't good at reading humans and how they were always subtle with each other but that seemed pretty obvious. But wasn't the shuttle bay full of people?
"Oh and Victus" Shepard popped round the door as Victus's heart leapt into his throat.
"When you see Garrus down there tell him this…"
)_)
Garrus looked through one of the boxes of new weapons Shepard had purchased back on the Citadel. So far he was impressed, many of the SMGs and pistols were top of the line and some looked like they hadn't seen a battle as the clean fresh new gun smell clung to the metal. The survivors of the Ninth Platoon were making themselves busy by going over the mission reports for the Primarch but the silence held within the group was thick, the lose of their commanding officer had hit them hard and Garrus couldn't blame them, Shepard and Tarquin worked hard to try and mend the shattered remains of the mission that nearly failed. Tarquin had gained the respect of the men back and Shepard was there to give support to the splintered spirits of the Platoon. Garrus was in awe of Shepard, he didn't think they would be able to follow Tarquin after the mission was nearly dead in the water but Shepard managed to get Tarquin of his scaled ass and kicked him into gear. Unfortunately Tarquin had to give his life for his men to live. Garrus thought back to his family, his father and sister were still on Palaven as far as he knew and he was glad his mother wasn't alive to see the war. His mother pasted two months before the war broke out and Garrus felt like a part of him had shattered. He spent all that time sending samples of collector skin tissue or technology that he could swipe, convincing Mordin to pull some strings to get his mother into the hospital and still she was gone. One thing did bug him though, after his mother was committed to the hospital the Salariens never asked him for any money to pay the bills and simply said it was being taken care of. Even when he asked who was paying they wouldn't tell him, so he had no idea who to tell that their money had gone to waste and he had no idea who to pay back. Garrus hated the idea of owing someone he didn't know and even after looking into who was paying the bills the tracks were covered up so well they looked like they didn't exist. But he still had his father and sister to worry about and he prayed to the Spirits that they would be safe.
Suddenly the elevator doors opened to relieve the Primarch. Garrus suspected he was coming down to see the Ninth Platoon but to his surprise Victus walked straight over towards him. Garrus stood as Victus walked over to him, rubbing the back of his neck with cast down eyes. Garrus's mandibles went flush against his face; he didn't like the smell coming from the Primarch. He could smell Shepard all over his body but from what he could tell it wasn't sexual instead it was the scent of her tears and blood, if Victus did anything to harm Shepard…they would need a new Primarch.
"Vakarian, Commander Shepard told me to meet her here" Victus began as he looked round the shuttle bay. He looked like he was looking for something in the shadows and Garrus didn't like the fact he wouldn't look him in the eye.
"Sir…" Garrus brought the Primarch's attention back to him and Victus clicked an apology.
"She told me to tell you…Reach and Flexibility..." Victus tried to figure out what Shepard could have meant but Garrus was struggling to hide his shame and laughter. Garrus covered his face with his gloved hands as his mandibles flared out into a Turian smile, Shepard needed a new code. Victus rumble as Garrus tried to regain his posture.
"Sorry sir…I understand" Garrus rubbed the back of his neck as he looked over towards James who was doing his usual exercise routine on the pull up bar.
"Vega, help me set up the mat!" Garrus shouted across making the Primarch jump in surprise. James looked round with a grin on his face before hopping down off the bar and rolling his shoulders.
"Alright Scars but their better be betting on this" James shouted across the room and started to pull out a huge rolled up blue mat from one of the storage areas. Members of the Ninth Platoon looked confused as did the Primarch as Garrus handed him some clothing.
"Vakarian, care to let me in on this" Victus almost ordered but Garrus smiled as he started setting up creates and benches.
"Shepard is going to spar with you Primarch, you might want to change" Garrus told him as Victus suddenly stiffened at the thought of sparing with Shepard.
"Vakarian is she mad or does she welcome death?" Victus growled out as he watched James roll out the huge mat on the shuttle bay floor making sure there weren't any bumps or uneven parts to trip on. Garrus laughed and shook his head…he remembered something she once said to Miranda. Ten percent idiot, fifty percent fool, thirty percent crazy and ten more percent suicidal. It certainly summed up Shepard to a tee but he doubted the Primarch would understand.
"No sir…she just knows how Turians work off stress. Maybe with the death of your son sir, she might think you need to work out your anger" Garrus explained as Victus looked at him like he was crazy.
"Then why not put me up against another Turian…like you" Victus growled as Garrus saw Shepard's reasoning.
"Victus think of it like a battle strategy, she's human and you don't want to seriously hurt her…that I can understand but she's trying to get you to use your mind instead of wasting away in front of consoles that tells you the death count on Palaven." Garrus growled out making Victus consider his words. Garrus knew that Victus was just as worked up as could be and Shepard was on the right track but he still wasn't happy with her sparring Victus.
"Alright Vakarian…now where can I change?" Victus asked as Garrus pointed out a shady spot in the corner. Victus nodded and walked off but not before Garrus noticed he was slightly disappointed…was he expecting something else from Shepard? Garrus growled as he got back to work setting up the seating area round the ring. The thought of the Primarch having an interest in Shepard was something he couldn't stomach, Shepard was his mate and sharing was out of the question.
After a while the room was set with creates circling the mat while spectators from other decks congregated round the edge. Victus stood in the middle of the mat stretching out his arms while James was busy taking bets. Garrus carefully watched the elevator door waiting for Shepard. Suddenly the elevator doors opened and Garrus had to conceal a groan as his plates shifted at her appearance. Shepard walked out adjusting her fingerless gloves while her small tank top barely covered her waist and looked like it was about to rip from her chest while her knee length skin tight pants showed off her lean muscle and shape of her curves. Her hair was tied back but still some strands of hair escaped the bands grip. Garrus stalked over towards Shepard and as she glanced up at him with a smile, he quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind the Kodiak before people saw.
"Garrus what…" Shepard stammered as Garrus pressed her against the wall with his face inches away from hers. Shepard's face flushed with colour as her heart rate began to rise and her knees started to tremble. Garrus gave a low rumble before taking her hand and looking at the tiny nail holes in the palms of her hand.
"You need to stop that Shepard, I thought Victus had hurt you" Garrus growled out as Shepard's eyes widened. Shepard smiled as she touched her forehead to his making Garrus purr slowly.
"I'm alright, we were talking about Tarquin and I got a bit angry that's all" Shepard assured him but Garrus's body language told her that he was still worried.
"Look Shepard I want you to be careful, you've sparred humans but you've never sparred with a Turian…it'll get rough and I don't want you to get seriously hurt" Garrus ran his talons through the unruly strands of her hair, Shepard leant into his touch as a smile played upon her lips. She reached up and ran her fingers along his scared mandible making him shudder under her touch.
"I'll be alright, tell you want for every scratch I get my punishment goes up" Shepard smiled as Garrus grinned. He grabbed her waist and pulled her close to his body, the edges of his armour digging into her soft flesh while his gloved talons ran up her back. Shepard moaned silently when Garrus bent down and lightly nipped at her neck while his tongue darted under her jaw, sending shivers down Shepard's body. Shepard reached up to rub his fringe but Garrus backed off smirking.
"That's the first part of your punishment" Garrus purred as Shepard pouted. Garrus chuckled and lightly bumped his forehead with hers.
"By the way, don't loose I've placed a bet on you and everyone else has bet on the Primarch." Garrus rumble as Shepard gave a deadly grin.
"Orders received" Shepard grinned before she leant up and kissed Garrus on his mandible before she went back round the Kodiak to be greeted with cheers from the spectators. James gave her a wicked grin with teasing eyes while she walked past the cheering crewmen, Shepard tried to fight off her blush but when her eyes graced Victus's body she couldn't but admired to muscle and plating that graced his upper body. The pale plates stood out from the darker skin and very much like Garrus's the plating looked well worn with lots of little scrapes and scratches covering his body. He also had his fair share of scars that ran along his waist and chest. Shepard gulped down the bit of dry air that seemed to surface in her throat as her body suddenly felt tingly, seeing Victus like this was a bit nerve wracking.
Victus looked over Shepard's body and his throat tightened. Her body was covered with horrific scars and Victus was still coming to terms that Shepard had not worn any type of protective padding and leaving her flesh open to Victus's wrath. His eyes scanned each scar; some looked like they had morphed her skin into a reddish blob which Victus could only describe as a burn scar while others looked like bullet wounds and scars of war but his eyes fell on one set of scars along her shoulder, they were covered by the strap of her tank top but he could still see them. Tiny puncture marks embedded into her skin that also looked recently healed scars, they looked a lot like a Turian bonding mark. Victus shook his head as James took his place in the middle of the floor.
"Alright, I want a fair fight. No Weapons. No Biotics. No Dirty tricks. Best two out of three wins" James's eyes glance between them both. Victus nodded while Shepard rolled her shoulders and neck. James smiled as he put his hand up in the air.
"Begin!" James shouted before he got out of the way. Victus and Shepard began to circle each other, Victus hunkered down while Shepard looked fairly relaxed but her guard was still up. The room was silent as the two circled the mat, Victus looked over Shepard's guard and growled. She had too many openings and didn't know if she was baiting him or wasn't taking this seriously, to be sure Victus took a swipe at the opening on her waist but Shepard quickly side stepped his attack and before he knew it she was up close to him. Victus could only glance at her eyes before he felt pain in his under arm, Shepard used a pressure point under his arm before she quickly duck under his arm. Victus reached round to slash at her but she had ducked down to the floor and kicked at his legs. Victus staggered back while Shepard stood back up, she was quick but Victus's blood ran cold. The look in her eyes, it was dead their shine of life had gone and it was like she wasn't even in the fight. Victus shook off the pressure in his arm as he looked over Shepard one more time and again she had lots of openings. Victus decided to go low and made a leg sweep to her feet, Shepard quickly jumped over and before he knew it he was on his stomach with his arm behind his back while Shepard pulled on his fringe. Shepard growled as Victus struggled in her hold, he had to be careful one pull and either way on his fringe and his neck would snap but his mind was racing as Shepard's body pressed against him, her soft flesh moulding against his plates and the icy warmth coming from her skin was like the snow on Noveria.
"I…yield" Victus growled as Shepard slowly let go of his fringe and wrist before standing up. James swung his arms up in the air signalling Shepard's win as Victus growled in frustration, the crew of the Normandy erupted into cheer while the members of the Ninth Platoon were standing in shock that the Primarch had lost to a human. Garrus smiled towards his mate as she stretched her arms, Shepard smiled over at him as she bounced on the balls of her feet and Garrus had to stifle a groan as he watched her breasts bounce in place, she was going to kill him. Soon after Victus was off the floor and Shepard was rolling her neck, Javik and Liara joined the crowd in the cargo bay. Garrus nodded towards Liara while Javik gave a confused glance towards the couple on the mat.
"I thought we fought the Reapers, not ourselves" Javik muttered as Garrus gave him an annoyed click with his mandibles. Javik gave him a sideway glance but Liara placed a hand on Javik's arm, Javik nodded and brought his focus back on the couple on the mat while Liara gave an apologetic look to Garrus. Garrus smiled towards the young Asari turned Shadow Broker, letting Liara know that it was alright.
Shepard and Victus hunkered down into a battle stance again as James signalled the second fight to begin. Shepard raised her arms up into her guard while Victus's fingers twitched with tension. Shepard knew that Victus wouldn't underestimate her again and that he would give it all he had, suddenly Victus lunged towards her while wrapping his arms round her waist. Shepard's breath escaped her as she felt the full force of Victus's weight strangled Shepard's waist while she crashed down to the floor. Victus went to pin her hand above her head but Shepard head butted the plates under his eye, Victus hissed and growled until Shepard planted a well planted knee into the soft flesh of his waist. Victus grunted as he rolled off to the side allowing Shepard to get up, Shepard looked over at Victus and saw a thin line of blue blood running down his face. Victus growled as he got up and lunged at Shepard again, she barely had time to register when his talons sunk into her thighs. Victus flung her across the mat leaving a trail of speckled blood along the flat surface, Shepard hit the wall of creates and the pain sent Shepard's head spinning. Blood pooled from her leg as her vision blurred but Shepard grit her teeth and slowly got up, the crowd cheered as Victus looked in shock that Shepard stood up.
Garrus held back a growl as he saw the blood rushing down her legs, the holes in her thighs made the flesh an angry red. Liara was tense as she watched Shepard's ragged breath escaped her swollen lips. Javik held a small smile on his lips as he watched the fire in Shepard's and Victus's eyes radiate throughout the room. Shepard growled as she took some tentative steps, the pain screamed through her body like a tide of the sea slowly building to a point where it became a numbing feeling. Her cybernetics sending a pulse through her body but Shepard ignored it as she ran towards Victus; Victus smiled as he captured her shoulders and grappled her to the ground. Shepard felt her legs give out as she fell to the ground with Victus towering over her, for a moment she thought it was Garrus with the way his hand held her neck but his green eyes bore into her making Shepard growl and hiss. Shepard jabbed him under his arm again and while Victus growled Shepard made her move and roll until she was on top of Victus pinning his arms above his head. But Victus had other plans and using his hip spur he dug into the holes on Shepard's thighs making Shepard wince and loosen her grip on his wrists allowing Victus to push Shepard aside and get up. Victus was amazed by Shepard; she was covered in her own blood, the holes from his talons making her thighs look like gnarled meat and the chaffing from his plating made her skin look an angry red and yet Shepard was stood there smiling with a thrill in her voice that made Victus shiver. He looked over at Garrus who was watching Shepard closely and his mandibles were flushed against his face and Victus could tell he was stifling his growling.
"Primarch! Look out!" one of the other Turians called out but before he knew it he saw Shepard's legs in front of him and before he could move she wrapped her legs round his neck and with such force Victus was thrown to the ground, his breath escaped him as Shepard landed on top of him and grabbed on to his mandible, the pain shot through his face as blood trickled down her face and landed on cheek. At that moment Victus felt the stress of everything that had built up lift from his chest, the sight of Shepard bearing down on him with her blood spattered face and fire filled eyes. She looked like one of the Spirits of war but her smile lit up her face like an angel.
"Give up?" her voice whispered as Victus smiled.
"I'll give you this one Shepard only because you look like you're about to collapse" Victus spoke with a chirp in his voice and as Shepard began to wane from the blood lose, the crowd cheered and groaned as bets were being paid up. Suddenly Garrus appeared as Shepard collapsed into his arms; Victus watched as Garrus purred into Shepard's sweat ridden hair and began to carry her off muttering something about being under house arrest for the next month. Victus smiled as the Ninth platoon helped his ass off the floor.
"Sir, are you alright? The Commander got you in a few vital points" a young turian spoke as Victus rolled his shoulders.
"I'm fine, come on the show is over" Victus order and began to make his way back to the war room , his split plating stung but his vision was haunted by the Shepard's unwavering smile and fire filled eyes. Suddenly Mordin appeared from the elevator with his rapid ramblings.
"Oh Primarch, good timing, need to talk have finished cure for Genophage will need you and Shepard to meet me and wrex in the war room." Mordin spoke in rapid succession. Victus nodded and made his way towards the elevator; at last things were going to come to an end.
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Sorry for the long delay guys having major computer problems with the hard drive. Hopfully get it sorted soon.