To Survive: Terminus Coalitions

Chapter 8 : Fitting In

"You know Miranda, I think Shepard picked us for this because he knew we'd hate it." Garrus said with mock disdain.

"I don't know, Garrus, the only thing I hate about going undercover is having to wear this god-awful armour." Miranda responded sincerely, not catching the joke.

"Well that's exactly what I mean. I've got to leave my armour, my guns, and pretty much everything that's worth anything to a guy like me. All I get to do, for Spirits-know-how-long, is make nice with a merc group I spent the better part of two years hunting." Garrus said, now realizing that maybe he actually did mind what he was about to do as much as he had been letting on.

"Suck it up, Garrus." Miranda said as she began to peel the armour off of one of the dead Blue Suns mercs down on the second sub-level. The armour was the traditional blue and white design, but it had scorch marks covering the right side, indicating the victim died from an explosive. It would be easier to pull off that a cover like that than to fake being shot.

"Hmph," was what he said in response to that remark. Sure, Miranda and Garrus had gotten to the point of 'getting along' in their travels, but they didn't exactly engage in friendly banter. I better get used to it, who knows how long we'll be undercover before we report anything useful on their command's location. "Are you almost finished strapping in? We're going to have to look pretty beat up if we're going to convince them into letting us join after all this time. It's been close to six hours since the attack now."

"Don't remind me. I get a little cranky when–"

"You miss your beauty sleep," Garrus finished spiritedly.

"Hmph," she replied in turn.

After putting on the low-quality equipment that they'd have to get used to for the next leg of their journey, Garrus grabbed a standard issue Mantis II from a fallen sniper, as well as an Avenger III assault rifle. Miranda grabbed a pistol and a submachine gun for herself, also of lower quality than what she had become accustomed to while serving on the Normandy.

They discussed their cover story as they made their way up to the proper docking bay area. When they were about to come into view of the correct dock, they both assured each other silently that they were ready, and then awkwardly ran towards the docking bay doors.

A female turian lookout held up an assault rifle to point directly at them, "Halt!" she yelled. Miranda, who had been faking trouble in her leg as they ran, stopped in front with Garrus just behind. The guard lifted her omnitool and sent a page via her comm-unit.

Miranda and Garrus both pretended to be short of breath as they waited to gain entry, "What is it?" the irritated voice of Demetri shot from the omnitool with clarity.

"We have two troops reporting in, they're pretty late so I thought you might want to come and identify them personally." The turian responded properly.

"I don't have time for this, it shouldn't be too difficult to make sure they're not spies. Hell, no one would have a reason to spy on us right now anyway. It's not like I know who they'd be if their commander died."

"Yessir!" The woman snapped. She turned to face the new arrivals, "What happened to the two of you? What took you so goddamn long to retreat?"

"The hallway we were stationed in took a rocket to some of the support structure. We were trapped for while and managed to get clear of the wreckage, but as far as we could tell there were no other survivors." Miranda answered. Garrus lifted his mandibles in amusement behind his helmet as he remembered the mercs running down the hall while he picked the las of them off. He knew no one had escaped from that particular hallway. It was the same hall that took the last blast from Reegar's rocket-launcher, so, even though no supports actually came crashing down, they'd likely get away with the story.

"Yes. We've had no others report back from that front. Get refueled and a bit of rest in the staging area. We're getting picked up tomorrow around first shift. Report to a turian named Gonnos, he'll be your new commander until everything gets sorted out."

"Will do." Garrus finally jumped in.

"Oh! And are either of you pilots by chance? Demetri's been all uptight about losing all of the pilots."

"We can both fly shuttles, but we're not trained to pilot anything considered relay-worthy." Garrus answered, squirming with the discomfort his suit provided.

"Alright. Head on in." She replied.


"We want answers Aria. You saw what happened, and I'm not just going to let this slide." Shepard said with strength in his voice. He, Tali, Samara and Jack sat around one of the round tables in Afterlife waiting to hear Aria explain herself.

"I don't answer to you Shepard. You need me, and we've already established how I'm going to repay you for helping me reclaim Omega. I'm going to stay here and prepare for war. I've got nothing else to say to you." Aria snarled.

"Oh! You don't owe me. You owe her!" Shepard responded with a firm arm stretched out towards where Samara sat in full control of herself. "I'd think you'd understand what it means when you owe a justicar a life to be repayed. I had no idea you were a matriarch, but maybe it's because you don't act like one. I couldn't have blamed Samara if she killed you, no matter how much I need you. As far as anyone's concerned, you're at her mercy." Shepard responded with hardness etched in his face as he stared down Aria. However, Aria didn't flinch.

"It's very rude to say to an asari that you believed she was younger than she is. But I'll think about forgiving you this one time." Aria said curling a lip upwards. "You want to know more about her?" she said, pointing to the dead body of Sytha that was now covered over with a sheet to show what little respect they could offer. "When I was young, I mated with a damned batarian who I won't name. I was around the age of 80 when I had her and, as you likely know, that age is one most asari believe to be far too young to raise a child. It didn't matter though; I would have been fine. I would never fail at something so easy, considering how inspiring I would be to the little brat of a wing. Problem was, the batarian got selfish, like they always seem to do, and he left me." She said, clearly still harbouring bitterness after all of the centuries that have since past. The batarian was certainly dead by now, but he made quite the impact on Aria in his short lifespan.

"I raised her, but the older she got the more of her father I could see in her. She was bold, rash, and often harsh. It made me grow sick of her, and I couldn't stand it any longer. Eventually, I got fed up and convinced the asari government that she was a blooming Ardat-Yakshi. They don't have anyway to check if it's true, since it is far more dangerous to let them loose long enough for proof to emerge. But the galaxy could do with fewer people like her. The bitch deserved every year she spent in that Goddess-forsaken prison."

"Damn it Aria. That's one fucked up thing to do to a kid." Jack shared as she glanced up at Samara who remained as quiet and still as stone. "Locking up a kid is sick shit."

"Because you're such a great parent?" Aria remarked sarcastically.

"I think Jack knows a thing or two about how not to treat a kid." Shepard said in support of Jack.

"You're damn right I do!" Jack spouted.

"She killed the Patriarch and Anto! I'd say she was more than a thorn in my side. I make sure people that fuck with me, like she did, get killed. She would have caused me endless trouble if I simply abandoned her back then."

"What she did to your trophies is called revenge princess! You ever heard of it?" Jack said snidely, "But I guess your only personal experience is by taking your revenge out on your daughter." Jack finished with a cruel smirk.

"Get your pet on a leash Shepard." Aria directed at Shepard without giving Jack the satisfaction of eye contact as they conversed.

"She's a part of my crew Aria, and I like to let them express themselves." Shepard said before he leaned forward to say, "And don't ever call a friend of mine a 'pet'." Shepard threatened.

Jack continued pushing, knowing she'd only have the support of Shepard a little longer if she did so. Best to take what she could get, "Seems like you have a thing for batarians Aria. You and Anto seemed pretty close, and I sure don't hear you talking about Grizz as that much as him. Personally I think they're ugly bastards."

"That's enough Jack." Shepard said preventing the conversation from getting any more heated than it already was. These people were all too powerful for there to be any unnecessary tension, and yet there was always lots of it. "Alright Aria, I'm sure my wife would love to hear all about your life, but I'm tired and plan to get some rest before we head out."

"What?" Tali asked, having lost interest in the conversation rather early on. She was distracted by the thoughts of what happened to Shepard earlier. Normally she would feel a natural resentment towards someone who hurt Shepard the way Samara had, but she was too tired to give it much thought.

Shepard smiled at his exhausted lifemate, but she only let out a sigh in response.


"You know Nringa, I hardly notice the geth anymore." A quarian male said to his lifemate as they calibrated the nutrient vats on Aeia. The partners were both engineers, adorned with the traditional purple Realk of that trade.

"I know what you mean Bernesh. I still wouldn't trust them here in numbers, but over the last month– Ancestors forgive me –the Ambassador has almost seemed friendly."

"Your words are echoed between many of those that have worked with it palla. I may not trust the geth enough to be comfortable living alongside them on Rannoch, but I hope that everyone can see that peace is achievable. Especially with such reasonable terms." Bernesh stated.

"Aye Bernesh, soon we'll see the garden, after being exiled for so long. Our time to visit Rannoch is within the month; I can hardly work with my body shaking in anticipation, the way it does." Nringa responded in turn.

"We will be there soon, but for now we must put to use this wonderful gift. We have been given a world to live on! This colony is an answer to many of our people's hopes."

Both of the quarians watched with mixed feelings as a geth platform approached from across the worksite. The nutrient vats were just being finished and it was likely that the geth wished to help in the calibrations to speed up the process. The feelings of discomfort were overshadowed by the promise of seeing Rannoch that lingered in the forefront of their minds.

"Creators Bernesh'Biin and Nringa'Biin. Do you require assistance? This platform is able to provide support that will increase work efficiency by 43.2%."

"Thank you Ambassador, but we would like to finish this on our own. It shouldn't take too long anyhow." Bernesh responded, without giving a reason as to why.

"Do we understand that you desire to experience pride, Creator?" The platform asked in genuine inquiry.

"I suppose we do Ambassador. It... may only be something an organic can feel, but it's good you're getting to recognize some of our more subtle tendencies. My bondmate and I want to make a difference in the new colony. Thanks for understanding."

The geth left without a proper farewell, and the two quarians stood in silent wonder. The geth were far from stupid, and they everyone could recognize that, but this was more than intelligence. It seemed more as if they wanted to understand them more than the quarians knew. As if they desired to have them close to ask such things, and never wanted them to be pushed away. It was a lot to speculate from such a question, but that's something quarians have faithfully done for a long time.

Bernesh and Nringa spoke about the motives of the geth animatedly. The idea that they wanted understanding was as exciting as it was terrifying.


Glossary

Palla: Term used to describe one's lifemate. Literal translation: My soul's soul. Uncommon term used by clans from the southern continent of Sumeern. Though the clans have mixed with other ships, its use has remained only on the ships; originally from the cities of Kilmest il biin and Toovaz il raan.

Realk: Cloth covering used by the quarians. It is used to describe not just the hood seen on most, but any material adornment.