Anomaly Detected

Chapter Nine

Garrus Vakarian, mate-rescuing extraordinaire. The sturdy Turian thought as he threw aside a key piece of rubble.

As expected, the mound shifted, and light shone through the top. He grinned and started climbing up.

Shepard heard the sound of debris groaning, then a tumbling sound, followed by some curses her translator couldn't quite work out.

"Garrus?"

"Y-yeah?" came a slightly breathless reply.

"Everything okay?"

"Of course honey, I-"

He was cut off by Kaidan's voice.

"Shepard, we have a problem."

Garrus rolled his eyes.

"What is it?" she asked over the radio just as she saw a handsome Turian head poke through the gap in the debris. She grinned, "did you find the data?"

"Yes." Was the clipped reply.

"Good, get back here, then."

"No."

Shepard frowned. "I'm sorry, the radio must have glitched. I thought I heard you disobey an order." She hissed, and Garrus snorted.

"This data is stolen." Kaidan stated, distaste in his voice.

Shepard shook her head in annoyance. "I know that. Their loss, blah, blah blah."

"Stolen from the Alliance."

Oh shit.

"Really?" did her voice sound unusually high pitched to anyone else?

"This is big, Shepard. This makes the Thanix Cannon look like a water pistol. In the wrong hands… Shepard, this thing could wipe out a small planet if it got enough shots in." Kaidan's voice sounded disgusted and afraid, and Shepard's brow furrowed.

"No one should have that kind of power." She mused.

"We need to give this back, Shepard. If this is the original data disc, the alliance has nothing, and Cerberus can't have this."

"Cerberus has made copies by now, I'm sure. Taking it won't stop them." Shepard reasoned as she watched Garrus shimmy the rest of the way through, then tumble down the pile of debris.

"All the more reason to give it back to the Alliance. They can counter Cerberus if they have the same advantages."

"Right, so two groups can be running around the galaxy vaporizing planets. No way."

"Shepard-"

"Kaidan-"

"Destroy it all." Garrus's voice overpowered theirs.

The radio was silent for a moment or two.

"Look, destroy the disc and wipe the systems. Then no one has it." He reasoned.

"That would take significant tech abilities-" Kaidan began, but was interrupted by Shepard and Garrus's simultaneous:

"Legion."

XXXX

"Shepard-Commander, I have successfully penetrated Aite's security protocols. Should I begin removing all pertinent data from the network?"

Legion stood with Kaidan, Shepard and Garrus in then main control room, the way clear after Zaeed and Grunt played with some controlled explosives. Doctor Thomas had been (a bit forcefully) escorted to the Normandy after repeated attempts at stopping Legion from hacking into the system. As far as Shepard knew, she was locked in one of the rooms of the lower decks crying about "her life's work".

"Do it, Legion." Shepard said with a nod.

Kaidan just stared at Shepard, unbelieving.

"A Geth?"

She looked at him coolly.

"Yes."

Kaidan looked disappointed and revolted simultaneously. It was not a pretty expression.

"If I'd have known it was on board…"

"What, you would have told us to leave you and your crew on Eingana?" she laughed, and Garrus gave a forlorn sigh.

"If I had known it would be that easy, I'd have made the introduction before they boarded." He grumbled, and Kaidan ground his teeth.

"That's it. I've had enough of this, Vakarian." Kaidan began to glow blue, and just as he raised his hands to deliver a 'push', Garrus calmly stepped forward and delivered an impressive right hook right into Kaidan's shocked face.

The biotic went down hard, and Garrus preened a bit, studying the backs of his talons with a smirk.

"I've wanted to do that for quite a while."

Shepard hid her laugh behind her hand as Kaidan sat up, rubbing his jaw.

"Cool it, Alenko." She warned, and he nodded.

"Okay, okay. I know I've been acting like a jerk," he said, looking up at Garrus, "but if you lost her, wouldn't you do the same?"

Garrus looked over at Shepard, at her dusty, dinged up combat armor, her mussed hair, wet with sweat, her smudged face, her shining eyes, and sighed.

Extending one taloned hand, he helped Kaidan to his feet.

"This doesn't mean we're friends." He warned, and Kaidan smiled.

"Of course not." He assured.

XXXX

Don't worry, it isn't over yet. We still have a few chapters left.