"For every action there is an equal or opposite reaction." –Isaac Newton
Welcome to hell, was all she could think as she shot the husks attempting to swarm her. Menae looked almost as bad as Earth, and, according to General Corinthus, their casualties were just as high. Having just fixed the tower for the General, she said into her comm link, "General, do you read? The comm tower is now operational."
"Much appreciated, Commander. I'll contact Palaven Command," the two-toned voice said into her ear.
"Let me know when you've got something," she said in response. "I'll help your men till I hear from you."
"Understood," the General confirmed.
"Shepard out," she ended as a wave of husks wildly approached her squad. Holstering her pistol and arming her Phaeston, she sent a plethora of bullets into the abominations that charged her. Feeling a sudden, grasping weight on her back, she jumped slightly as the husk slammed its fists onto her armored shoulders.
"James!" she called out, hoping that he would notice her dilemma and help her out of it.
"On it, Commander," she heard him say with determination, and after a few well-placed shots from the lieutenant, the husk fell to the ground with a thud.
"Thanks," she yelled over her shoulder, aiming at another surge of the creatures. As one after one fell to the ground, she realized how ineffective her shots were proving to be. "Damn it," she muttered and put away her assault rifle.
Letting out a rather dramatic battle cry, she charged toward a pocket of them and began to strike them down with her armored forearms. Activating her omni-tool, she impaled a husk that was attempting to grab her.
"Commander Shepard, come in," Corinthus said in her ear.
"Go ahead," she said breathlessly as she continued beating down the enemies surrounding her.
"I have information from Palaven Command. Please return ASAP."
"On our way," she answered, her breath coming out in pants. "Let's go," she said to Liara and James before running toward the base camp, indicating for them to follow.
Once inside, Shepard watched as turian fighter ships flew overhead, making their way to a destructive Reaper in the distance. Shaking her head with sympathy (will this war ever end?), she continued to the General, who was waiting in one of the make-shift stations.
"What have you got?" Shepard asked the General as she approached, internally praying for good news.
"As your partner said, succession is usually simple," he said, and Shepard's hopes fell. "But right now, the hierarchy's in chaos – so many dead or MIA."
Her patience starting to wear thin, she sighed. "I need someone – I don't care who, as long as they can get us the turian resources we need." Damned politics.
"I'm on it, Shepard," a familiar voice said in approach. "We'll find you the primarch."
"Garrus!" Shepard exclaimed warmly, smiling for the first time in what felt like forever. Damning the consequences and the regs, she strode forward and gripped him in a thankful, yet brief embrace. Stepping back, she saw Garrus' mandibles move into what she had learned was the turian equivalent of a smile.
"Vakarian, sir-" the General began to stutter. "I didn't see you arrive…"
"At ease, General," Garrus said formally, his voice commanding and firm.
"You have no idea how good it is to see you," Shepard said in turn. "Although, I thought you'd be on Palaven."
"If we lose this moon, we lose Palaven. I'm the closest damn thing we have to an expert on Reaper forces, so I'm… advising," he explained briefly.
"James," Shepard said, inviting him to come forward, "this is Garrus Vakarian. He helped me stop the Collectors. He's a hell of a soldier," she ended, nodding as the two shook hands.
"Lieutenant," Garrus greeted. "Good to see you too, Liara."
"Good to see you in once piece, Garrus," Liara said cordially.
"General Corinthus filled me in. We know who we're after," he began.
"Palaven Command tells me that the next primarch is General Adrien Victus," Corinthus jumped in from next to Garrus.
"Victus? His name's crossed my desk," Liara connected.
"Know him, Garrus?" Shepard asked.
"I was fighting alongside him this morning," Garrus said. "Lifelong military. Gets results, popular with his troops," he said, pausing for a moment. "Not so popular with military command – has a reputation for playing loose with accepted strategy."
"Regardless of his popularity, he might be the only way to save Palaven. And Earth," Shepard theorized, her voice containing hints of desperation.
"He'll do whatever it takes," he said, his mandibles lifting again. "Reminds me of an old human Spectre I knew."
Laughing slightly, she shook her head. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing, Garrus," she joked. "Okay. Let's get him on the shuttle and get out of here."
"Commander! Shepard, come in," Joker called over the comm link.
"What do you need, Joker? We're in the middle of a war zone," she answered back.
"We've got a situation on the Normandy, Commander," he said seriously. "It's like she's possessed – shutting down systems, powering up weapons. I can't find the source."
"I need the Normandy standing by; we may have to bug out," Shepard sighed tiredly.
"Should I go back and take a look?" Liara offered.
"Do it," Shepard agreed. "Garrus, you said you were with Victus this morning?" she asked as Liara ran towards the shuttle.
"Yeah, but we got separated. He went to bolster a flank that was breaking," he said. "Could be anywhere out there."
"We're trying to raise him, Commander," Corinthus said from his post.
Suddenly, a screeching noise caught all their attentions. "Incoming Harvester, headed for the air field," James called out, pointing at the source of the noise.
As it flew down, coming increasingly close, every soldier in the base unleased the full power of their weapons at the creature. It increased altitude, dropping something just outside of the camp and flying away.
"General," Shepard told Corinthus. "Tell Primarch Victus we'll rendezvous here. In the meantime," she said, "let's go take care of whatever that thing dropped off. Coming, Garrus?" she offered, smiling slightly at her old friend.
Unsheathing his sniper rifle, he smiled. "Are you kidding? I'm right behind you."
"Hell, yes."
"Mom?" Reila called out into the spacious office, secretly hoping that she wasn't in. "You here?"
"Reila?" a voice called back, and Shepard cursed inwardly. "Come in," her mother commanded, and Reila obeyed.
"Hey, mom," she said as she approached her stern-faced mother. She was sitting at her desk, a few datapads spread in front of her, her mouth a thin line and her greying hair pulled back in a tight bun. "How are you?"
"Things have been hell lately," the older marine said, her lined face hinting at a smile. "Ever since Saren's attack on the Citadel a few weeks ago, well… you know," she said as Reila sat in the seat opposite of her mother's.
"Yeah, I know," Reila said awkwardly, wanting her mother to be too busy for this social call.
"So what have you been doing on your shore leave?" the captain asked.
"Visiting… friends," she said, hoping her hesitation wasn't too obvious. "You know, letting myself go some," she laughed uncomfortably.
"Not too much, I hope," her mother said. "I didn't raise you to be lazy."
"Of course not, mom," Reila said, mindlessly and anxiously thumbing her dog tag.
She watched as her mother's hawk-like eyes honed in on her hand, her eyes flashing slightly with anger. "Honey," she said, her voice level, "why are you missing a dog tag?" she asked.
"I, uh, gave it to a… friend," she said, her reluctance much more prominent.
"A 'friend'?" she asked, her voice raising slightly. "Reila, don't lie to me. Councilor Anderson told me about you and the lieutenant."
"How did he-?" she began to ask, but the cold look her mother gave cut her off.
"How he knows is not the point, Reila. The point is your blatant disregard of the regulations that specifically forbid this."
"Is that why you asked me to visit?" Reila asked indignantly, standing with fury. "To lecture me on regs?"
"Have you even thought – for one second – how this could affect you? Your career?"
"Yes, mother!" Reila yelled. "But I don't really care anymore."
"Well, you should. Think about everything you've done, all you've done up to this point. Would you really squander that on this… fling?"
"Kaidan's not a fling," Reila shouted. Allowing herself a moment to breathe, she calmed herself and spoke with a lowered voice, "I love him, mom."
"'Love'?" she asked with a taunting tone. "Love is fickle, Reila. You should know that," she said, her eyes daring Reila to contradict her.
"Just because your love was fickle doesn't mean mine will be," Reila snapped, hoping that her words would hurt.
After a still moment of silence, her mother shook her head. "It was nice seeing you, Reila," she hissed, "but I think it's time for you to go."
"I agree," Reila said, turning towards the door.
"And Reila?" her mother said, making her pause.
"Yeah?"
"Think about what I've said. End this thing before it's too late."
Sighing, Reila murmured as she left, "It already is."
"Hey, Garrus," she called out from inside the Main Battery. "You in here, big guy?"
"Yeah, Shepard," he answered back from deeper inside. She walked towards his voice, and when she found him hunched over (probably calibrating something), he looked up and said, "Hey."
"So how are you, Vakarian?" she asked coyly.
"I'm alive, Shepard," he answered, his voice cynical. "I guess that counts for something."
"Yeah, I understand," she said as he continued fiddling with some wires. "Didn't waste any time getting back to work, I see."
"After what I've been through lately, calibrating a giant gun is a vacation. Gives me something to focus on," he explained and stood, turning to face her.
"We're going to need you for more than your aim," she said, trying to keep her tone light.
"Oh, I'm ready for it, but I'm pretty sure we'll still need giant guns," he said teasingly, "and lots of them. Sovereign didn't go down without a fight. And I doubt a thousand more of his friends will be any different." After a moment, he said, "Still not convinced I should've left Palaven behind."
"I know, Garrus. It was hard leaving Earth, too," she said. "But we have to deal with all this political shit before we can actually kill anything," she said bitterly. "Anyway, I hear you're their 'expert advisor' now?"
"Just followed your example, Shepard. Yell loud enough, and someone will eventually come over to see what all the fuss is about," he joked, making her laugh slightly. "Not that they'll actually do anything about it."
"Until hell shows up at their door," she grinned ironically. "Then they put you in charge."
"Not like the old days, is it?" he asked turning and walking to the central part of the Main Battery, and she followed. "Rogue Spectre and C-Sec agents running and gunning outside the lines, making it up as we went along." He paused for a moment, laughing somewhat. "I guess we're actually respectable now."
"It's not like things will be any easier because of that," she sighed.
"I know," he said, exhaling. "But when have they ever been?"
"Never," she chuckled.
She leaned against the railing as he began to work again, and the air between them fell into a comfortable silence. She couldn't help but think just how good it felt to have him back on the Normandy, back with her.
She had really missed him.
"So, uh," she heard him begin to say, "I don't want to bring up any unpleasantness, but how's Kaidan doing? I hear he was injured on Mars."
"Yeah," she mumbled. "He suffered severe trauma to his head and neck. Things got… pretty close," she explained, trying not to relive any of the pain his near-death had brought.
"Has he woken up?"
"Mmhm," she confirmed. "I actually visited him a couple days ago. He was… distant, to say the least. He asked me to leave ten minutes in."
"Jackass," she heard Garrus mutter to himself, and she smiled faintly in response. "But he's going to be okay?" he asked louder, intending for her to hear his words.
"Yeah," she answered. "Udina wants him to be a Spectre."
"Do you think he'll want to come back to the Normandy?" Garrus inquired, and she shook her head.
"I really don't know, Garrus," she sighed. "It didn't really seem like he wanted anything to do with me." She watched as Garrus' mandibles clicked anxiously, his hands curling into fists with anger he had never gotten to express to the Major. "Regardless, that's a problem for another day."
"Yeah, I guess it is," he said simply. "Anything else you needed, Shepard?"
"Nope," she answered. "I'll let you work."
"Alright, Shepard. See you later."