Dasov stood going over the reports on the datapad in his hand; only the slight flutter to his mandibles provided any insight into his true feelings. Surely, Victus must have found Tylial by now. The echoes of booted feet had his head snapping up. Victus strode into the area, followed by several more soldiers.

"Sir?"

"Lt. Dasov, you are hereby relieved of duty."

"What are the charges?" he asked, his spine stiff.

"Conduct unbecoming of an officer."

"What did she say?" Perhaps he could find some way to turn this around.

"Nothing."

"I don't understand," Dasov said, rubbing his brow plate.

"She showed me."

"What?"

"A vid she made to study that first explosive, the one where she worked with Shepard. And in that vid, all I saw was two soldiers working side by side, trust evident in every action as they defused it together."

Dasov's eyes narrowed as he realized his gambit had failed.

"I can't believe you would choose that human over a fellow turian - an officer even," Dasov spat out.

Victus sighed; now he understood Nalril a little better. "You lied to me to further your personal vendetta. If I can't trust you to tell me the truth, then how can I trust any decision you make?"

Victus held his hand out towards Dasov. "Your weapons."

The slight hesitation on Dasov's part caused the soldiers behind Victus to draw their weapons and aim them at him. Seeing no other recourse, Dasov reached for his weapons carefully, pulling them out one at a time to place in Victus's hands.

Victus gestured to the soldiers. "Put him in a detainment cell until the next shuttle heads back to the ship. Then escort him to the brig on the Intrepid until I can arrange for his transfer back to Command."

His soldiers saluted him before moving to flank Dasov as they left the area. He pulled up the ship's roster on his tool before activating his comm.

"Sgt. Tyrek, you are in sole charge of your squad until further notice."

"Sir, yes, sir," Tyrek replied, her words coming out in a surprised rush.

Hours later and the complex had finally been checked thoroughly for both explosives and hostiles. The bodies of the fallen were moved into a makeshift morgue until families could make arrangements for them. They had even had to tinker with the air ducts to allow for certain areas to have negative airflow: the 'hospital', along with a set of barracks and a bathroom to use. The last two were areas that the recon and tech squads would need for their stay in the facility as all of them had removed their helmets at one time or another. The medical teams from the ships had been brought down and their first order of business had been sanitizing anything that might have been contaminated before moving on to assist those in the hospital.

The squads were tired and hungry when they headed to the barracks they had been assigned to. Meals for the near future were ration bars until the food could be checked as a possible source of the outbreaks. Ideally, they would have all been kept separate, but they just didn't have the room - well, unless they took over private quarters, so this had been the best compromise. The stack of clean linens at the door indicated that this room had already been cleaned by some member of the ship's crew.

"Grab some sheets and pick a bunk. This is where we will be sleeping until further notice," Velox announced.

Vesci moved up to stand beside Velox, all the while watching their soldiers spread out in the room. At least there were a few tables and chairs for their use while confined to this room.

"You realize if just one of us gets it, chances are we all will end up sick."

"Don't remind me," Velox said, as a soft sigh escaped her. "This could really suck."

The room was set up to hold twenty soldiers, so there was plenty of room for just the ten of them. They spread across the room except for Lily and Garrus; they decided to take their usual spots on the same bunk. Personal items had been moved into storage, but Lily noticed from her top bunk something they had missed. Tucked in between the wall and her mattress was a deck of cards.

She clutched it in her hand above her head even as she said, "Bingo!"

Garrus chuckled from below her. "Find a credit chit?"

"What does that even mean?" Serlo asked from a nearby bunk.

Lily leaned over the edge of the bunk, her prize still clutched in her hand. "Cards - we can at least have something to do while in here. Do you want to start with something easy, Vakarian, like 'Go Fish'?"

"Uh, you have a game named after-," he paused for a moment as he looked up the word, "after an aquatic life form?"

"It's a child's game, you know, matching pictures and numbers," she laughed.

"Laugh it up. Maybe you're just afraid of something with a little skill needed," he chuckled.

"Oh, it's on now. How about Skyllian five? Though what are we going to bet with?"

Garrus glanced around the room looking for anything that might be used for tokens. His eye caught on Relmos chomping down on a ration bar even as he watched Shepard and him.

"Ration bars! We can use them to bet with, they gave us a whole bag of the things."

Lily laughed as she swung down off her bed. "Better than nothing."

He dipped his head down low so he could whisper in her ear. "If we were alone I would suggest we play for clothing; sadly we are not."

Lily rolled her eyes. "How did I know you would say something like that?"

"Lucky guess?"

That drew another laugh from her as she moved to one of the tables. Garrus grabbed the bag of bars and handed a stack to Lily and another for himself. Lily shuffled the cards; a voice from behind her had her swiveling around to look at the speaker.

"Can I join in?" Tylial asked.

"That would be great and then we can gang up on Vakarian. I'm Lily, by the way."

Garrus grabbed another stack of bars to place in front of Tylial. "Garrus, and now I'll have twice as many bars when I take you both down!"

"Ligea."

"This seems terribly unfair. Two against one," a bystander said.

"Well, join me then," Garrus said, motioning at a chair.

The newcomer slid into a chair. "Thanks. I'm Creon Eldon."

Garrus slid another stack of bars in front of him. The rest of the squad watched as the four of them played. It soon became evident that the two women would be the last ones left. Garrus was the first one out of bars. Creon had one left in front of him when Ligea raised the bet to two bars. He eyed his cards and then held up his last bar.

"Look see, this one is special! It's easily worth at least three regular bars. See this little spot here, it means it's a premium bar."

Ligea and Lily laughed and played along, giving the item a closer look.

"Looks like a printing error to me," Ligea chuckled.

"Hate to break up the tournament, but it's lights-out," Velox announced, bringing a chorus of sighs.

They carefully placed their cards face down on the table before moving to their beds. At least they had something to look forward to tomorrow after shift.

Garrus puzzled for a moment over what exactly had awoken him. No alarms could be heard, no omni-tools were vibrating, and the only sound he heard was that of his fellow soldiers. Nothing seemed amiss, yet he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong. Then he heard it: a slight noise from above him where Lily slept. However, it sounded like she was awake - no, in distress. A small whine then a weird chattering noise could be heard coming from where she was.

He rolled out of his bunk as quietly as he could. The clock indicated that there was still several hours before they were due to get up. He blinked a few times, giving his eyes a chance to adjust to the dark. The lump on the top bunk took shape; Lily had curled up as tightly as she could. He knew humans were flexible, Spirits were they ever, but this wasn't Lily's usual position. He grazed the side of her cheek with the back of one finger. Her skin was warm to his touch, turian warm. That couldn't be good. Crap, he needed to get her to the doctors in that makeshift hospital.

"Garrus? So cold. Any more blankets?" she asked, her voice weak.

She must have woken up when he touched her. He laid his hand on her shoulder.

"I need to get you to the hospital."

He tried to gather her up, but she weakly slapped at his hands.

"Have to be in armor," she said.

"More important to get you to a doctor."

"Rules. Won't let you in. Get in trouble. Don't want that," she said, every breath louder than the last.

"Fine," he said. Arguing with her was often a waste of time, he had found, even if this time she was right.

His hands flew as he retrieved his armor and slapped it into place. He understood the reasoning; after all, they were trying to minimize the chance that they would spread the virus around. But Lily was sick now, and to him that was more important.

His armor in place, he reached out to help her out and this time she grabbed onto his arms gratefully. However, when her feet hit the floor, her legs crumpled under her. He helped her onto his bunk while he grabbed her armor. Although he had more practice removing it, he still was able to put it on faster than he'd expected. Unwilling to waste any more time, he scooped her up and held her against his chest as he headed out the door.

He passed a few patrols, but no one stopped him beyond asking where he was going. As soon as he said the hospital, they waved him on. The guards in front of the warehouse door yelled 'medic' upon sighting him and his cargo. One of the medical staff in full enviro-suit, obviously from one of the ships, hurried to his side.

"Follow me," she said.

She wove her way through the area until she found an empty cot. Garrus put her down as gently as he could.

The two of them began stripping off the armor of the young woman.

"Cold. Can I have another blanket?" she asked as she curled up under the one that had been on the cot.

Garrus's head snapped up and he looked around for another, but the doctor stopped him from retrieving one with a hand on his arm.

"She can't have another."

Garrus stared at her, trying to decide if this was something personal against Lily. The doctor must have noticed the tension in his stance.

"She's already running a fever; another blanket would raise her body temperature to dangerous levels. Trust me, we will look after her."

Garrus nodded, unsure what to do now. Sleep was out of the question. He watched for a moment as the doctor scanned Lily. The doctor looked up and waved Garrus off.

"Inform her squad leader that she is here, Private."

Garrus saluted. "Yes, ma'am."

He gave one last look at Lily before he left. His steps were slow as he walked back to the barracks. His fingers were busy typing a message to Velox that Lily was down.

By the end of the day, there were only three left standing of the original ten: Vakarian, Vesci and Dievas. The following week ranked as one of the worst in his life. Off duty, he was forbidden from visiting Lily, so he could only assume she was still alive. After a few days, some of the colonists were recovered enough that they were released from care. They assisted the soldiers in putting the colony back together. Victus kept them busy and that made the day bearable. Once they were cleared of carrying any virus, then off shift they could sleep back on the ship, however that only brought home the fact that Lily wasn't there in her usual spot above him. At least no one had come to clean out her locker. He wasn't sure how long he was staring at her bunk, but he was jolted out of his reverie when his omni-tool pinged. His heart soared; maybe Lily was finally well enough to send him messages. He opened it up and he nearly deleted what he saw, but after a moment, he typed a reply.

Fine, you want to talk then meet me in the ring tonight. We'll talk there. - Vakarian.

He only had to wait a few seconds before a new message came in.

Agreed, but let's do this before the main meal. - Nalril.

Garrus sent off his agreement without a moment's hesitation. Maybe he could get some answers as well as some satisfaction. Not wasting any time, he strode out, heading down to the combat room to get warmed up. Along the way, he nearly ran over Roka in his haste to get there. Roka changed direction to pace alongside Garrus upon seeing his agitation.

"What's going on?" he asked, seeing that Garrus wasn't going to stop for anything.

"Nalril has agreed to meet me in the ring. He says he wants to talk," Garrus said with a certain amount of glee.

"You know he is ranked higher than you?"

"That doesn't matter to me," Garrus said. As far as he was concerned, pain might be cathartic at the moment.

"Mind if I come along? I'd love to know what he is planning now."

Garrus grunted something that might have been a yes; anyway, that was how Roka took it.

"Heard from Lily yet?" Roka asked.

"No."

Roka heard the sadness laced in that one word much as Garrus tried to quell it.

"She'll be back before you know it."

Garrus could only nod as he hoped that was true. The combat room was nowhere near capacity when they entered it. Most were in the process of finishing what they were doing before heading up for the evening meal. Probably why Nalril wanted to do it now: less witnesses for whatever he had planned. Of course, he wasn't alone, but Nalril didn't need to know that.

He didn't have long to wait; he had barely gotten a few hits in on one of the practice dummies when his opponent showed up. They nodded to each other and Garrus moved up into the ring. Nalril joined him as soon as he donned his sparring gear. Nalril gestured towards where Roka stood.

"Why is he here?"

"I'm their friend and I want to make sure you weren't going to blindside him as well," Roka replied.

Nalril's shoulders dropped a little. "Yeah, I guess I deserve that."

Nalril turned back to Garrus and gestured that he was ready. That was all Garrus needed; their talk would have to wait. With a snarl, he launched himself at the other turian. Nalril chose to meet him head on and they clashed together with a thud as they grappled for control.

"Why?" Garrus bit out as he strained to stay upright.

"You'll have to be more specific." Nalril was surprised by the strength behind the younger turian. He knew Vakarian was moving up the ranks, but he hadn't thought he would be a true fight.

"From attacking Lily to sending that message to my dad," Garrus replied before tucking his head down to push against Nalril.

"I blamed her. Now answer one of mine."

They broke apart and circled each other.

"On that colony, the colonists who were killed. I didn't expect to see them all jumbled together. Why wouldn't the turians keep apart? Wouldn't they be stronger that way?"

Garrus shook his head in disgust. "Just because you're a turian doesn't mean you automatically shoot better than a human. They were all fighting for their homes and they were stronger together than apart. It's sad you can't see that."

Nalril threw a wild punch, more anger than precision behind it. "No! You are wrong!"

Garrus ducked under the punch, pushed Nalril's fist up, and spun him around. "And if you swallowed any of the crap that Dasov was feeding you, then you have to ask yourself; maybe he lied to you as well? After all, he was caught in a lie by the Captain and will be demoted and kicked out of the military."

Nalril had thought the same thing upon hearing what had happened. He had trusted him and to find out that perhaps he had misjudged Dasov was painful to say the least. A snarl escaped him and he twisted free from the hold Vakarian had on him. They circled each other once more.

"What did you plan to do if my dad hadn't taken Lily with us?" Garrus snarled.

Nalril gave him a lopsided smile and it worked exactly as he hoped it would: the younger turian charged him with a roar. Nalril used his momentum to toss him to the mat.

"How did you convince your dad to take her with him?" Nalril asked, even as he worked to secure pinning Garrus to the mat.

"He's a C-Sec officer; he's sworn to protect everyone on the Citadel, regardless of their species. All I had to do was present the facts that she was the target, not me," Garrus said.

He twisted violently and managed to dislodge the other turian. Instead of rolling away from him, he followed Nalril as he went over and used his weight to try to pin him.

"Why do you hate her?" Garrus snarled.

"I hate all humans; they killed my parents."

Garrus smashed his head into Nalril's, stunning them both for a second.

"Idiot, people died on both sides. That's what happens in wars."

Garrus released Nalril and slowly stood up. "I'm done here. Nice talk."

Nalril climbed to his feet. "You don't understand," he began.

Garrus stopped, but didn't turn around. "No, you don't. They are part of our society. I'm sorry about your parents, but you need to let it go or you'll end up like Dasov. The Hierarchy won't tolerate a troublemaker."

Roka moved up to walk beside Garrus as he headed into the locker area. Garrus was quiet as he donned his armor.

"You did a lot better than I expected against him," Roka said with a grin.

Garrus snorted. "I was motivated. I don't know if I should just pity him or smack him upside the head for being a fool."

"A little of both might work. Come on, let's go grab some dinner."

Garrus nodded. His body hurt, but he did feel better after his time in the ring. And he'd have a good story to tell Lily when she got back. Spirits, did he miss her.

~Thanks once more to Mordinette for all her help and another to the readers. Thank you!~