"You know, Shepard… we could have been on Illium by now… having a drink, relaxing…."

Shepard popped the heat sink from her assault rifle and glanced back over her shoulder in the direction she knew Garrus was, grinning, she said,

"Oh come ON, this is fun"

A snort to her left had her glancing at Zaeed, who shook his head from where he was crouched behind cover, firing at the husks that appeared over the hill. The flow had lessoned considerably, but there were still a few stragglers. Shepard made a face, "Seriously guys! Come on! Garrus… you know you love to snipe!"

Garrus flanged voice, filled with genuine amusement and mock irritation came over the com, "Yes, Shepard… but even sniping gets tedious after a while when there are 500 husks coming at us…."

"Duck, Siha", Thane voice was, as ever, calm and rational and Shepard automatically ducked as a projectile zoomed over her head and took out the pair of husks that had been coming up from her blind side.

Standing back up and shaking her head, her voice filled with mock sadness, "Stop exaggerating, there were nowhere near 500! You guys just aren't seeing the whole picture! I mean, look… I've two of the best damn snipers in the galaxy at my back…Tali and Zaeed on close up work… and Samara and Liara…" there was a pause, and then Shepard's voice came back on, this time musingly, "Samara and Liara… is this some sort of asari thing?" A pregnant pause in which both of the asari in question turned to glare at the human, then Shepard shrugged and went on, "Anyway... Samara and Liara pulling biotics… this is like family BONDING time! All we're missing is a couple of Brutes!"

Just as the words cleared her lips a familiar roar came from beyond the hill and everyone seemed to hold their breath. As they watched the hill, a pair of Brutes lumbered over the crest and started toward them… followed by another pair. Shepard couldn't see her entire team, but she felt their eyes on her, their ire nearly palatable. Glancing around, she glanced around all she could say was, "Ooops…"

The final Brute, along with yet another wave of husks fell and Shepard stood up, rolling her shoulder. That had, in fact, been brutal, pun intended. A total of six Brutes and who knows how many husks. Her team stood up slowly, carefully looking around them, making sure they were in the clear. Slowly, Garrus said, "All clear from here… Thane?"

"Clear, as well…."

Shepard pulled her helmet off, shaking her head, "Damn… that sucked. Everyone ok?"

Samara, her voice as calm as a placid lake, said, "I believe we are well, Shepard… however, I humbly request that if you open your mouth once more giving the Universe ideas, someone put something in it."

Shepard blinked at the ancient asari, frowning, but before she could reply, they were joined by Thane and Garrus and Thane spoke, his voice calm as ever but with a current of humor, "I believe that would be Garrus' job…."

Eyes wide, Shepard glanced at the Drell as he placed his sniper rifle on his back and observed her calmly, she glanced at Garrus to find him grinning in his unique turian way as he said, "I knew there were perks to being on this team…."

Shepard made a face, "Ok… so I won't say anything about Ban…."

Almost immediately, six weapons were trained on her, and six sets of eyes glared at her, daring her to finish that statement. Eyes wide, she finished the word and the thought, "…dying words about… sheesh! Come on guys! We've got a mission to finish…."

Turning, she began to jog in the direction of the tower they were supposed to check out, grinning, knowing that her team was at her back… and they wouldn't REALLY have shot her… At least; she hoped they wouldn't have.

CHAPTER BREAK

"Come on, Tali… come on…"Shepard's foot tapped as she listened to the sounds of husks approaching.

"Shepard… they're almost to you… maybe getting into cover would be a good idea…." Garrus' voice was no longer amused, but tense and worried.

Shepard frowned, "As soon as Tali gets the information downloaded, you bet your sweet bippie we'll hit cover, Garrus… can't move until she's done…."

"Shepard, go to cover, I'll be fine, I have my shot gun if I need it and I'll follow you as soon as this finishes."

Shepard snorted, "Not happening, Tali… how much longer?"

"It's working, Shepard… but it's old and not very compatible with my equipment, so I had to overcome the compatibility issues and…."

Shepard waived a hand at her, "You can explain it later… for now, how long?"

"At least two minutes."

Curses filled their com units; the rest of her team was arranged in the tree-line, waiting with guns trained on the spot that would soon be occupied by the enemy. Shepard and Tali, on the other hand, stood at a tall, willow like structure that had once been a communication unit. There was nothing within 100 feet of them behind which to take cover… they were as exposed as they could be. Shepard sighed, "Well… HELL. Fine, everyone get ready, keep as many of them off us as you can. BUT STAY IN COVER… nobody needs to play hero, got it? Tali and I will take the stragglers that get past you…."

Zaeed's deep voice was concerned, "Let me come out there Shepard… I'm better up close and I can help protect Tali and you while she works on the bloody machine…"

Shepard shook her head, "Negative, Zaeed… stay behind cover. That's an order for ALL of you."

Tali's hands fairly flew over the pad, working as fast as possible, and Shepard alternated between watching her and gazing at the direction where the husks were most likely to come from. As the first of the husks appeared over the hill, running with their unique, bouncing style, Shepard stood in front of Tali and took aim, bringing down as many of them as she could. "Faster would be better, Tali…."

"GOT IT!" yelled Tali, just as two husks attacked and Tali drew her shotgun and shot them as she closed her omni tool. Shepard was shooting as quickly as she could with her Mattock, popping used heat sinks and reloading rapidly. The rest of the team dropped as many as possible, but there were just so many coming at them. Tali and Shepard began to backing toward their teams as a Banshee appeared from the trees across the way. Cursing, Shepard said, "Thane, Garrus take her down when she moves…."

"On it, Shepard…."

"Yes, Siha…."

As Shepard and Tali made their way back to their team, Zaeed cursed, "Where the bloody hell are they coming from… there must be a thousand of the bloody things…."

Shepard and Tali reached their teammates and Shepard snapped, never stopping her shooting, "Fall back to the landing zone… NOW! Move...move…." Garrus and Thane fell back first, keeping their distance to snipe. Zaeed and the two asari women filled in as they all covered Shepard and Tali's retreat.

"Cortez… we're coming in hot… be ready."

"Roger that, Commander... ready for you.

Six husks got a little close as Shepard shoved Tali behind her and she flung her gun over her shoulder and just attacked then with her omni blade. As she and Tali made their way back toward the rest of the team, several of the husks rose into the air, being slammed together and dropped, or shot. The lead husks fell backwards, both with bullets in their foreheads. Garrus and Thane at their best.

As they reached the woods, Garrus rose up sending three more husks down as Thane joined him. Shepard called, "Cortez… time to go…."

The sound of the shuttle was loud and Shepard yelled, "Onboard everyone… .Garrus, Thane… go first and keep sniping…."

A few seconds later, Garrus' flanged voice in her ear said, "Come on, Shepard…." Taking one final spree at the husks, Shepard turned and threw herself at the shuttle as her team gave her covering fire. The shuttle rose into the air and everyone took a seat, Shepard grinned,

"Well…that was FUN!"

Groans and glares were her only response.

CHAPTER BREAK

Liara sighed, obviously un-amused by the current situation. They'd gone to the planet, saved the fuel reactors and restarted them, destroyed the Marauders and husks that were lurking in that building and saving Captain Riley and her group. The worst part had been the "green fog;" a radioactive chemical that meant instant death at the first breath. Unbidden, the situation with Garrus and the Chili came to mind, but she managed to maintain a proper amount of decorum; no way was she going to remind him of that incident. Hiding her smile, she leaned back against the bulkhead and watched as Garrus sat across from her and Liara saw next to her. Liara glanced at her and asked, frowning, "Shepard? What's funny?"

Shepard shook her head, glancing at Garrus and said trying to keep a straight face, "Nothing Liara… just thinking of something. That was interesting… but I'm glad the mission is over."

Liara nodded, "Yes, now this theatre will have fuel. We can't allow anything to hold us back from defending our homes…."

Glancing at Garrus, who frowned and shook his head, Shepard continued, "I know Liara… but we can only move so fast… we're not going to get out of here without losses…."

Frowning, Liara said, "I know that, Shepard… but we can't keep holding back, waiting… we have to find the Catalyst."

Shaking her head, "We're doing what we can, Liara…" she tried to be firm, as the shuttle landed, but Liara just stood and shook her head,

"It doesn't seem like it, Shepard… it seems like you're scared. I know it's tough, and I know there will be… losses. But we can't keep holding back and waiting… we have to get things moving."

Garrus had stood up, now he glared at Liara's retreating back as Shepard watched her friend, frowning. Shepard sighed, "Stand down, big guy… I know it's irritating, but she's just scared."

Garrus shook his head, his hand moving to rest on her back, "I know that, Shepard… but she doesn't seem to get it. We're doing what we can, but we can't make things happen if there isn't an opening."

Shrugging, Shepard said, "Come on, let's get to our quarters. I want out of this armor and into a hot shower… sound good?"

Garrus nodded, agreeing with her and followed her into the elevator, but Liara's words and attitude were still concerning him.