My heart hammered against my chest as we dropped down from the Normandy. Our MAKO hit the ground hard and rocked before settling on the thick ice. Shepard loaded her gun and settled it in its holster, avoiding my gaze. She took to the wheel and began moving over the frozen planet. I trusted Shepard to do her best to handle this delicately, but...Elliot could die today. Garrus bumped my shoulder gently with his. I looked up at him, letting him see all the emotional turmoil I was feeling. His returning gaze was full of strength, determination. Affection. I broke eye contact and looked out the window.
"Keep your eyes open. Do not leave the MAKO unless we know we found something. Our armor can only protect from the cold for so long." Shepard's voice filled me with resolve.
"Shepard, on our ten." Shepard and I snapped our necks in the direction Garrus indicated. In the distance was a speck of orange. A fire? Shepard drove faster, and soon we could see a crashed shuttle, door busted open, with a small fire burning close by. We could see a woman sitting in the shuttle, she saw us too and stood as our vehicle approached. She was clearly frightened, but was prepared to stand her ground. It became obvious she was very pregnant. Shepard parked, and we climbed out. The woman lifted a pistol and aimed it at us, her hands trembling.
"My name is Commander Shepard, I'm here to help." The woman seemed willing to listen, but the gun stayed up. "I was sent here by Admiral Anderson to find Elliot Gallagher . Do you know him?" The woman frowned.
"You're here to hurt him!" I stepped forward with my hands up.
"I'm Natalie, Elliot's my brother!" She hesitated and the gun wavered.
"He mentioned a sister..." I nodded.
"Please, please tell me he's okay. Where is he?" She lowered the gun.
"He went off trying to find a signal. He's been trying for a while to get in contact with anyone, for help. He should be back soon." Shepard stepped closer to her.
"Who are you? Can you tell us what happened?"
"My name is Naomi...I met Elliot on Horizon." She sat back down and sighed, rubbing her belly. "When the soldiers got a tip that Horizon was next to get hit, they requested more soldiers. I was scared, I begged Elliot to leave with me, but he was certain that they could protect the colony. Then the ship touched down. When Elliot saw the size of it in person, he realized that they had no chance...so he packed what he could of our things, and found a shuttle." Her eyes grew wet and shiny. "It's my fault he's in trouble, but he was only trying to save me and my baby." I walked as quickly as I could over the snow and ice and hugged her tightly.
"You saved my brother's life. Thank you." Naomi smiled a little as I pulled away.
"Who's there? Naomi, you okay?" My brother's voice broke through the thick mist, sounding panicked.
"It's okay, it's your sister!" We listened as he moved in closer, finally breaking through.
"Nat?" He asked, suspicious.
"Yes, you idiot. Come here!" I watched him and almost cried. There was my brother. Finally. I ran to him, both Garrus and Shepard tried to grab me but I leaped into him and hugged him tightly. He hugged back just as hard.
"It's so good to see you, Nat." I nodded.
"Same to you, El. Did you knock her up?" I whispered. He laughed.
"No, but..I love her, Nat." I smiled, but it faded quickly. I pulled away.
"Please come with us, the Alliance wants you to go to trial, but once they see what you did, you'll be fine." He sighed.
"I'll go, Natalie. I never meant to get stuck here. I just wanted to get Naomi off of Horizon." I smiled and walked over to the group. Shepard smiled, Garrus winked at me. Shepard called for pick up, and we helped them into the ship. Dr Chakwas had us drop them off in her clinic. I didn't want to leave Elliot, but Chakwas told me to come back later. I grumbled and left, dropping my things off in the Armory.
Shepard told Joker to head to the Citadel, where we would hand over Elliot to Admiral Anderson. I made my way back to the med bay, and Garrus met me there. He looked at me, smiling comfortably. "I'm glad you wanted me there." I blushed and shrugged.
"I knew you'd let me handle it." He smirked.
"You were reckless, Gallagher." He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "There can't be two reckless crew members, and I called dibs a long time ago." I laughed.
"Well, out with the old..." I teased. His mandibles clicked playfully.
"Watch it, Kid. I'm good friends with the Commander." I giggled. A cough made us jump.
"Chakwas cleared me, so I came to find you." Elliot glanced between us. Garrus shifted nervously from foot to foot before standing.
"I should go. I'll talk to you later, Natalie." I smiled at him and watched as he went to his safe space.
"So, a Turian, huh?" I looked at Elliot, confused.
"Yeah, that's what he is..good job, Elliot." He shook his head.
"Don't play dumb, sis. I just interrupted an intimate moment." I blushed heavily and looked away. "How close are you?" I glared at him. He lowered his voice. "You know how dad is. You can't do...anything with an alien."
"Shut up! There's nothing going on with Garrus. We're friends. I'm friends with everyone here." I lied.
He scoffed. "Whatever. I'm starving, how's the food on this ship?"
When we docked at the Citadel, Anderson met us at the door. He looked from Elliot to Naomi to me.
"I got you a free night. Go have a nice dinner with your family. This trial is going to be stressful." I nodded appreciatively. Elliot and I led Naomi to our apartment. He was excited to introduce her to mom and dad. I thought about Garrus. Elliot was right, dad did not like or trust aliens. Garrus was too militant, to violent for mom. Naomi was a human girl, perfect for them. Garrus would never be enough for them.
My parents were stoked during the whole meal. Dad had scraped together what he could and already had the best lawyer he could hire for Elliot. He was unconcerned, sure that Elliot would get off easy. I wasn't as optimistic. Mom loved having another 'girl' around. Everyone was in Heaven. Except me. After dinner, I said my goodbyes and hugged them all awkwardly.
"Do you know where you're going next?" Elliot asked.
"Haestrom, we're picking up a Quarian named Tali. She's a friend of Shepard's." My dad rolled his eyes, but we all ignored him.
"Be careful, that planet is overrun with Geth." I nodded.
"I'll be fine." I smiled at him and left the apartment. Time to return to the comfort of the Normandy.
I found a nice spot in Starboard Observation, and watched as we raced through Space. I was actually really excited about meeting Tali. She was a badass with technology, and really just a badass in general. And she was really good friends with Shepard and Garrus. I wanted her to like me. The door opened and I turned to find Shepard walking in. I smiled when she sat beside me.
"How was your family time?" I rolled my eyes dramatically, and she chuckled.
"I get that, I can't even remember the last time I had a meal with my parents." She leaned back. "We're better with a long distance relationship." I nodded in agreement. "You know, Anderson wasn't the only one who recommended you." I looked at her, intrigued. She smirked and leaned closer, whispering conspiringly. "When Anderson said your name, Garrus twitched." I swallowed hard. "That Turian never breaks unless he's nervous. I had to meet the person that made Garrus Vakarian nervous." I leaned back hard.
"Oh." She laughed. "That's...interesting." I replied, and looked away.
"Hey." When I met her gaze again, she was serious. "I like when Garrus is happy. You make him smile, Natalie." I blushed. She continued on. "Soldiers don't find many reasons to smile out here. Especially my crew. Take what you can get, Gallagher." She stood and walked to the door.
"I asked EDI to message you some vids. Call it research." She left me alone then, but I could hear her chuckling all the way to the elevator. I shook my head and laughed a little. Hopefully she was joking, but I'd check my messages later.