In the End of the World
Chapter 25: Menae
She stared into his eyes for several long moments, as if she thought she'd never see them again.
He looked back at her warily, clearly off-put by the look she was giving him. "Commander, did you hear me? I said I'd lead you to the primarch."
"Uh, yes. Good to see you, Vakarian. Lead the way."
"Palaven Command tells me that the next primarch is General Adrien Victus," Corinthus informed them.
Garrus' subharmonics hummed thoughtfully. "I was fighting alongside him this morning. We got separated when he went to bolster a flank that was breaking. Could be anywhere out there."
"We're trying to raise him," Corinthus assured them. "I'll have him rendezvous with you here."
Jane nodded at him and walked a few steps away, letting the General return to his work. She stared up at Palaven, lit up by fire in the dark sky. She wondered if Earth looked like that now. To her surprise, Garrus walked to her side and followed her gaze up to the burning planet.
"That blaze of orange - the big one - that's where I was born." He sounded calm, but his sub-harmonics were filled with grief.
She wondered why he was opening up to her like this. The last time they'd spoken was on the Collector base, when she'd ordered him to stay behind. It had been a tense exchange, particularly after their prior conversation where she had refused to discuss their relationship. He'd been so angry with her, but if she died that day, she wanted him to move on. She had refused to tell him how she felt, because she wanted to make her inevitable death as easy as possible for him.
But she hadn't died.
"I'm sorry."
She didn't know what else to say. It was true; she was sorry about Palaven, sorry that she'd hurt him before they entered the Omega Four relay, sorry that she hadn't realized she loved him until they'd shipped her off to Earth where she was sure she'd never see him again.
Half a year since Jane had last seen him. She wanted to throw her arms around him and say everything she'd worked on for six months, but in the middle of a warzone in front of dozens of Turian soldiers she'd never seen before was neither the time nor place.
"If they'd only listened to your warnings about the Reapers, we might've been ready. Maybe it would have helped if you visited Palaven."
She heard judgment in his voice that she didn't understand.
"Obviously that wasn't going to happen," she replied cautiously, and he turned away from her. His posture was rigid, even angry.
"So here you are on Menae, trying to get help."
"Yeah. Leaving Earth was the hardest... one of the hardest things I've ever done."
"But you're here asking Victus to do the same thing. Leave the fight and make nice in some board room."
"This summit is the only chance we've got," she snapped at him, irritated but not surprised at his resentfulness. "None of us is beating the Reapers alone."
"Vakarian." They turned to see a Turian with black and red armor striding toward them. "Where did you go?"
"Heavy Reaper unit on the right flank. I believe your exact words were, 'Get that thing the hell off my men,'" Garrus smirked in reply.
"Appreciated," the other Turian nodded. "Who's your human friend?"
"This is Commander Shepard of the Normandy."
"Commander Shepard," he said in surprise, holstering his assault rifle. "I know you. I'm very interested to find out what brings you here."
Her reply was formal and straight-to-business. "General Victus, you're needed off-planet. I've come to get you."
He eyed her skeptically. "It will take something beyond important for me to leave my men, or my Turian brothers and sisters, in their fight."
"Fedorian was killed," Garrus interjected. "You're the new primarch."
Shepard took a step toward him. "You're needed immediately to chair a summit and represent your people in the fight against the Reapers."
Victus was silent for several seconds. "I'm primarch of Palaven? Negotiating for a Turian hierarchy?"
"Yes."
"I've spent my whole life in the military. I'm no diplomat. I hate diplomats."
"War is your résumé. At a time like this, we need leaders who've been through hell. And honestly, uniting these races may take as much strength as defeating the Reapers. See this devastation, Primarch? Double that for Earth. I need an alliance. I need the Turian fleet."
He stared at her, then sighed. "Give me a moment to say goodbye to my men." He walked to the group of soldiers resting a few paces away.
Garrus turned to Jane. "Without him down here, there's a good chance we lose this moon."
"Without him up there, there's a good chance we lose everything."
The look in her eyes was fierce enough that he let it go.
"Think you can win this thing, Shepard?"
"I don't know, Garrus, but I'm sure as hell going to give it my best shot."
"I'm damn sure nobody else can do it."
She shifted uncomfortably. His attitude toward her was completely unreadable, and it made her feel awkward.
"General Victus, are you ready?"
He walked back over to them. "One thing: Commander I appreciate your need for our fleet, but I can't spare them. Not while my world is burning. But if the pressure could be taken off Palaven.."
Jane crossed her arms. "That's a pretty tall order."
"We need the Krogan," Victus reasoned. "I can't see us winning this thing without them. Get them to help us, and then we can help you."
"The Krogan..." she mused, turning over the idea.
"Looks like your summit just got a lot more interesting," Garrus murmured.
"If by interesting you mean difficult, then we agree." She gave him a curt nod. "It was nice to see a familiar face. Good luck, Vakarian."
"You think I'm staying behind?" he almost laughed. "Who's going to cover your six?"
She looked at him solemnly for several moments, not sharing his mirth. "Welcome aboard."
(A/N): The weird behavior will be explained soon. Don't forget to vote on the poll on my profile, and thanks for your continued support!