Chapter 28: A House of Glass


The galaxy was still. The stars and planets trapped in their planned orientation and rotation, each revolving around a bigger mass. These masses swirled and twisted, not in control of their path yet all accepting of the necessity of following the laws set forth since the dawn of time. Amidst this turning of civilizations, the Normandy cut through the great darkness, its hull displaying a glittering sheen amid the light of a passing star. They would soon approach a small moon near the gas giant where the secret base awaited. It would not be long now.

"Checking cloaking function and stability," stated Joker as he ran his fingers along the holographic keys. "Relaxing the FTL drive, reaching an equilibrium for our mass effect fields." The sleek ship creaked, the repairs still not fully complete from the vessel's last conflict. The pilot gritted his teeth at the sound and compensated the hull's strain by relaxing the ship's velocity towards the target.

"How much longer till we enter orbit?" asked Garrus as he straightened his gauntlets for his armour. Nothing could be out of place.

"I'd say ten minutes. Therefore, get the teams up here, pronto!" Garrus nodded and turned to Miranda who was also in the cockpit. Her face was filled with strain, concentrating her thoughts on the mission ahead.

She turned towards her captain. "Your team ready, Garrus?"

He nodded. "As well as we will ever be. We should be able to drop right on top of those bastards."

"Yes," she replied, gazing at the display of the moon on the screen before her, "it will be good to end this."

The plan was fool-proof and had required the brains of all the tactical personnel onboard the ship. Two teams were ordered to enter the base. An unofficial 'third' would stay on the ship, monitoring the teams' status and giving reinforcement if necessary. The leaders of the ground squads were Garrus and Zaeed, while the leader of the Normandy's division would be Miranda. Liara offered to monitor the location and vitals of both infiltration teams. No one objected. Tali was to join Garrus' group along with Kasumi and Jack. Zaeed's squad was comprised of Grunt and a handful of rookies. Initially, Zaeed had complained about the placement but Garrus had explained that they needed fresh guns. One day they would meet the Viper's full force and he'd be damned if his crew wasn't prepared.

No one argued beyond that. Exiting the meeting, Garrus met with Liara in her room once more, wanting to see how she was. After spending some time together, Garrus asked if she had signaled anyone in the vicinity of their plans. She said that she had.

"The problem is," she continued while staring at a data pad she had with her, "there really is no one near us. I contacted the expeditionary fleets, some nearby space stations in the Systems Alliance's region of space, but all I got was silence. I should expect this from the former, but not finding any support or even notice from outposts near us? It feels wrong and suspicious."

He understood her words and continued to ponder over them as they drew closer to the moon. Joker moved his hands with fluidity over the controls as he brought the Normandy into orbit of the moon. "Here we go people," he said over the com. "The drop will occur in t-minus thirty seconds. Beta team get to the hanger now, Alpha team I expect you guys right near my ass." The com shut off and Joker chuckled heavily. "Damn, you'd never think we'd be here right now. Running from the law, breaking into some gang's base to find a device that apparently caused this mess." Joker shook his head. "It all seems like a dream."

"I know what you mean," replied Miranda as she turned from the front view screen to Garrus. "But we have to trust each other now. There can be no room for mistakes, there are no second chances. Whatever is on the Crucible has the ability to vastly change this galaxy. No person can ever hold that power, especially ones that are as mad as the Vipers."

Garrus agreed. "Don't worry, we will prevail." With those words, he left the cockpit and entered into the main hall. He could hear Miranda begin to speak to Joker again but he concluded that it did not concern him. What mattered now was results. They needed to secure the Crucible and figure out the next step that Raven was planning. However, he did find it particularly worrisome that the geth dreadnought the Viper's had been using was not present at this time, nor was there any significant life signs through the entire base. Then again, that could be the systems acting up and Thionan had not confirmed the location of the dreadnought, he only cautioned the approach if the ship was present.

In the decontamination chamber of the Normandy, his squad awaited him. Each had a face of worry, fear, and acceptance. Jack was there for revenge against those who dared to hurt her students; her only hope of redemption left in this galaxy. Kasumi was there for those who had died to prove to herself that their deaths were not in vain. Tali was there to fight for her love, the person who slept aboard the Citadel in the care of the best doctors in the Alliance. But what did Garrus fight for? Why was he here, trying to stop these crazed madmen who deemed themselves gods above all else? It was then he realized that it was all because of his self-worth. He did not consider himself useful. This was all to patch up his doubts that he was useless in a peaceful galaxy. And it was only then, in that small space with his friends and allies, that he realized that he didn't need to prove himself anymore. He had a purpose: to help the galaxy and live well with Liara.

A burst of air rushed past all of them as the room started to decompress. Each member placed their helmets on and secured the oxygen flow in their armour. Once everyone was set, the doors opened to the screaming air outside. The ship had landed extremely close to the base, it was only a few meters from the main entrance. The second group had already landed elsewhere using a shuttle as they were the ones who would scout the perimeter and secure the entrance. Garrus' squad would be in charge of infiltrating the base and finding where the Crucible was being kept.

With the cold chill of the airless world, Garrus and his friends – no, family – stepped out of the Normandy and onto the cold rocky moon. The base was not spectacular in any respects, in fact, Garrus assumed from the exterior that it was simply and old Alliance base that had not been used. Around it were anti-air turrets pointed to the sky, yet not a shot was fired towards them. Liara had figured out that the base was basically powerless a long time before they reached orbit, which only bothered Garrus more. But I have to trust Thionan. Even if it is not here I need to know where the Crucible resides.

Rushing ahead and ducking behind cover to rest, they were only about twenty meters away from the entrance to the base. "Zaeed," Garrus said through the com. "Zaeed, I need your status and position."

Silence and then, "I'll give it to you when I'm goddamn ready!" A few members of his squad who heard that, namely Jack and Kasumi, chuckled behind their hands.

"Shit, he's just as grouchy and bitchy as ever," commented Jack as she eyed her gun meticulously. It seemed she wanted to be ready for any circumstance.

"That's saying something, Jack," replied Kasumi with a smile. "I did not expect the queen of bitching herself to be calling someone else out on it."

The human biotic whisked her head around and snarled exaggeratedly. "Kasumi, I didn't see you there. Tell me, when and where did you grow balls all of a sudden?"

Kasumi lightly laughed at the comment. "The galaxy is a strange place, Jack."

"No shit."

"Hey, Garrus?" called Zaeed through the com that Garrus had momentarily closed. He opened it again. "My team took the perimeter, seems no one's home out here. I've got the outside area secured. Be my guest if you want in."

"Thanks," nodded Garrus as he peeked over the cover to see the entrance to the base. "Did you notice anything strange? I just have a bad feeling about this."

"What? No goddamn security or any sign of life? Nah, can't see why in hell that would bother you, Garrus." The merc was now laughing hysterically. "Fucking hell, you turians have a way with stating the most obvious shit!" After sharing laughter with his fellow comrades, Garrus signaled his crew to move forward. The base would be theirs in under an hour.

The doors to the base were sealed shut and all electricity had been cut to the mainframe that controlled the entrance. Garrus had his crew move the great metal panels manually with Jack using her biotics and everyone else using their brawn. Opening the doors lead them into a dimly lit hallway that snaked and squirmed onward for what seemed like an eternity. There were no lights on, no sign that life had existed there before. It was now certain that no people were residing in this base.

"Miranda?" Garrus called over the com as his team searched the base using their flash lights.

"Yes, Garrus?"

"We are systematically going through this base, but there seems to be no one here anymore."

"Understandable, but do you think you can find anything that could lead us to the location of the Crucible?"

"Doing so right now," replied Garrus as he entered another room, which appeared to be a large mess hall. "Has Liara got a map of the entire base yet?"

Some murmuring was heard beyond Miranda but her voice quickly returned, unabated. "Apparently she is getting close, she can update you on what appears to be a central dogma of sorts for the base. I'm guessing most information about what happened on this world will be there." A pause as the clicks and hisses of an omni-tool's holographic monitor was heard over the link. Then, "Tali's omni-tool now has the location of the map, she should be able to lead you there."

Garrus nodded and shut off the com, turning to the quarian for the location of the main section of the base. "We are not too far from it," she commented as she inspected the coordinates. "No more than fifty meters away, actually. I can get us there in no time." Garrus told her to do so and the team was off again, searching the base for any indicator as to why it was abandoned. They continued to find nothing but dust and decay.

Still they pressed onward, searching desolate rooms on their way to the cerebral cortex of the base. Tali, while leading the group through the musty halls, pondered Jack's final sentence. "Food is rotten, tables have been turned over, dust has settled for what seems like weeks." Tali shook herself as she gazed around the once pristine walls with scrutiny. "There has to be a reason why your contact brought us here, Garrus. He wouldn't just send us here if there was nothing to be found – "

"Maybe the little bitch ratted us out," stated Jack as she pried open another metal bulkhead to find nothing but rotting food. "He's a turian, I wouldn't be surprised if he gave in to save his rat-ass – "

"Can we just stop talking about rats, please?" asserted Kasumi as she trudged on. Jack shrugged at the comment but kept her defiant demeanor.

"I have every belief that Thionan's information is correct. This is a lead and I will take every opportunity to utilize it. Besides," he started again with a smirk, "we turians would never give away information. Our sticks are too far up our asses to change us anymore." A few pots of laughter brought light to the dank hallways around them, yet the turian felt nothing but the cold chill of death. Places like this always bothered him. They reminded him of his nightmares, which entailed being trapped aboard a Reaper or a Collector ship; alone, hungry, and afraid.

It was a few more halls before Tali informed them that the central complex of the base was ahead. Garrus acknowledged this and immediately brought the group into a defensive position. They reached the door and, before entering, he contacted Zaeed once more. "We've reached the central section, be prepared to meet resistance if it's bugged."

The human merc laughed aloud at the comment. "Goddammit Garrus, I'm always ready!"

A smile worked its way onto his face as he cut the channel between the two squads. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he nodded for Tali to hack open the door. She did and the great metal sheets slid open at her command. The members burst in, guns held high and pointed to all areas of the room. No shadow was left unlit as they scanned the area with their eyes and their omni-tools. It was empty.

"Empty?" Jack noted with disgust. "Damn, I expected something more enticing than that."

Walking around the room, his gun still at-the-ready, Garrus inspected every detail he could find. There was nothing that suggested movement or life in this place. Before them was a large console that had a rugged monitor attached to it. Around that, small pieces of scattered technology and surveillance monitors attached to satellites. The Vipers had hacked into nearby a space station and gained access to records far outside of their reach. This was their base of operations, the reason for their seemingly omnipresent eye over the galaxy. There was years and years of work piled in these stores. Histories, files, secrets that had been long passed down through organization after organization. They even had dirt on Cerberus, something Garrus knew Miranda would want to know had been leaked.

"This… this is incredible," Tali muttered, crossing the room and planting her hands on the monitors before her. "The amount of data here… it must have been impossibly hard to compile all this."

"While the galaxy licked its wounds," uttered Garrus as he walked about the room, "these bastards were planning all this. Planning to take down the Council."

Even Kasumi found the array of data impressive. "Hey, do you think anyone would mind if I … well, borrowed this information? I have a few ideas about how to put it to good use," she said comically. A few people turned their heads but did not indulged in the whimsical comment of Kasumi's. They were too shocked at the revelation and the implications of the planning to be light about this situation,

While everyone continued to gawk, Tali delved into the impressive library the Vipers had collected. Initially she started a general search, exploring strategies and missions the Vipers had succeeded in. But during her search, Garrus informed her that they needed to find the Crucible above all. That was their most important priority. Tali agreed and shifted her focus onto searching for the Crucible's current whereabouts.

They found it and instantly began to fear. "No, they couldn't have…" A soft cry from the quarian.

Garrus approached behind her, gazing with horror at the illuminated display. "So," he said after he found his voice, "this so called 'Raven' found out about Thionan's message."

"You think?" questioned Kasumi, who also approached the large screen with wide eyes. "Maybe this was their plan all along."

"Of course it was!" cried out Garrus, slamming his fist on the monitor. "They always planned to take it to the Crucible, always wanted to recreate that fateful Battle of Earth! But the problem is that the order was sped up. Look!" His outstretched finger led to a few messages sent from the Council to the suppliers of the device. Apparently it had been under much scrutiny over the last few years, scientists searching for any explanation as to the origin of the burst of energy that had wiped out all synthetic life. Now, under good orders from the Council, it was being escorted back to the Citadel for some new 'special ops' group that was entrusted with the galaxy's safety. Garrus could guess that this group was another one of the Vipers' clever ploys; a chance to get inside the Citadel and gain the trust of the Council. It gave reason to why the Normandy had always suffered such scrutiny.

This revelation that yet again they had been outsmarted by the Vipers, caused Garrus to scream and thrash at the monitor, slamming his fists against it in rage, his hulking turian form now heaving under the stress and strain he was putting it through. Everything was collapsing before him and it could not get worse. But it did.

"Garrus!" screamed Tali as, all of a sudden, the place erupted in a sea of lights. The whole place sprung to life; each broken fixture, each shadowed corner started to show vitality and scream at existence. Rushing around to the quarian, fear gripped his throat. He started to bark orders, asking anyone he faced what the hell was going on. Tali could only utter, "We must have tripped a firewall, we must have alerted the base… but, no, there wasn't anything there—"

"Face it, princess," Jack sneered, "we are in for a fight." She cocked her gun as he said this, eying the base that was awakening around them.

It was then that Garrus ordered them to move out. "We need to get out now! This is not a suggestion, it is a command. I don't want to find what horrible shit is in here." He looked to each friend in that space. "Everyone understand?" Everyone nodded in succession. "Good," he sighed as he cleared his mind. "Let's get out of here."

They started moving forward then, guns held high as they pushed through the base. Tali had uploaded the data she could, but even then it was only a fraction of the information present. Still, something was better than nothing. But as they trudged on, fear started to work its way from Garrus' throat into his chest. This had to be planned, all of it had to be part of some master scheme. Maybe the Vipers did not know Thionan was the traitor or maybe they did, it didn't matter. What mattered was that Raven had figured it all out in the end and that they were paying for it now. But we still have a heads up, grinned Garrus. We still know exactly where the Crucible is. There is still hope yet. He lightly chuckled as he continued the thought. Gotta love a suicide mission.

Their boots clicked and hissed as they each collided with the ground while rushing across the metallic floor, the previously closed bulkheads started to creak, open and squirmed alive. Garrus and his squad squared their sights on the doors but were surprised to find geth arms breaking through and clawing at them. Well placed bullets dispatched them instantly, but not without a cry from Tali.

All turned at her scream as she held her hands to her face plate. "Keelah… just… they were our allies. We were fighting the Reapers together. Once… Shepard had tried to stop this… he tried…" Her face became contorted as she started to weep. Garrus rushed towards her, catching her as she started to collapse under the weight of gravity. The turian soothed her wallows but still glanced around the hall at the approaching geth. They were easily dispatched by Jack and Kasumi.

"How many more are there here?" grunted Jack as she threw another burst of biotic potential into another mechanical beast, its one-eyed head snapping back into the ground. She was straining, Garrus could see that.

Kasumi, on the other hand, was cursing and muttering as each geth she downed gave a sickening cry. She noted something more sinister from the metalic creatures: they seemed alive. "These geth," she stated, looking forlorn at the dead bodies around them, "they are from an AI core that achieved sentience… just before… oh god!" She looked down at the robotic fluids spewing across the floor. Their opaque, alabaster blood ran into rivulets as the viscosity became thinner, looser across the clinical skin of the base. Everything had a beautiful scientific horror to it, like the beasts were created of their own sin, stitched together by their fears and impure perceptions.

Finally, Tali started to gain control of her outburst, much to the relief of Garrus. They needed to get out of this hell hole. The walls becoming a mirror reflecting the monsters they all had become, the dead eyes of the geth staring out towards them. Garrus could not stand being in such a house of mirrors. He needed to act, to reach the Normandy again and to move against the Vipers…

"Get your ass out here, you turian bastard!" called Zaeed through the com again.

"No!" replied Grunt with a sense of frivolity and humour. "Let him stay in there! More of these geth for us to kill! More for the hunt!"

"There are geth troopers outside?" interjected Garrus quickly as he set Tali on her feet again.

"Geth? Fuck, there's a lot more than geth troopers. There are a few juggernauts converging—"

"Fantastic! More to slay—"

"Shut up, you big krogan lug!" screamed Zaeed as the sounds of conflict orchestrated the background of the channel.

Garrus would have found the exchange humorous if he wasn't so stressed. "Listen, can your team hold the position for a few more minutes?"

"Yes, we can," said Zaeed as he swore some more and cursed the situation around him. "Just get your ass out here!"

Garrus agreed to this sentiment and immediately cut the com. "You ready to move out, Tali?" She nodded and they set off again.

A few more geth crossed their path as they journeyed back to the exit, though these ones had guns unlike the rest and were removed with slightly more difficulty. However, these geth seemed infant, fragile, and innocent. One seemed to cry over a comrade that had been shot through the eye piece and another was screaming a mechanical shrill as it tried to attach its leg back onto its body. The scene was horrific. Garrus would dream of those cries and the guilt they brought for years to follow.

Almost at the exit, a few more paces away, the Normandy contacted Garrus through the voice of Joker. This was not a conversation Garrus was awaiting but he opened it quickly and with efficiency. "What is the matter?" Garrus asked, shooting another geth in the chest with his assault rifle. There was no response after Joker's initial cry of the turian's name. "Normandy?" asserted Garrus once more. "Joker? Anybody?"

"We are still here, Garrus," uttered what sounded like an exhausted Miranda. "But here in one piece? That's to be debated."

"What do you mean—"

"The damn anti-aircraft defenses have started up again!" screamed a stressed Joker who was quickly hushed by the calmer, yet equally worried Miranda.

"Is the ship okay?"

"The ship? What about its pilot-?"

"Yes, the Normandy is fine, Garrus," rectified Miranda as she shushed the pilot back to his work. He muttered something beyond Garrus' hearing, he could only guess that it was something to do with attitude. "But I'm not sure we can take any more from this base. We've damaged some of the outside infrastructure but we are still unable to get closer. You will have to use the shuttle the second team used to get down to the base."

Garrus acknowledged. "Does Liara detect anything else coming from the base?"

"She noticed a huge energy signature originally, but right now we notice nothing that our initial scans did not first reveal. However, I have a feeling there could be more to this base than meets the eye. I suggest we make these conversations short and sweet. I don't want to stick around for round two, if you know what I mean."

The turian captain could only agree to her comment. "We have almost reached the second team. From there we should be able to get to the shuttle in a few minutes and from there, we should be aboard the Normandy in—" A loud explosion on Miranda's end caused the turian to lose his train of thought. "Are you okay?"

"Just get to the shuttle!" screamed Miranda and the channel was cut once more.

Their pace quickened from that point and they soon approach Zaeed and his crew outside who had staked a defensive position behind cover outside the entrance. Zaeed was picking heads off with little difficulty, yet the two geth juggernauts proved to cause him pause. Grunt, hating to be confined behind pathetic cover, was snapping any mechanical necks that came to close and gunning any foolish geth that thought traveling in packs was a good idea. Two rookies were dead but the others fought valiantly onward. A few were using rocket launchers to try and bring down the massive geth machines, each crying out in anger at the futility of it all.

Ducking out of the entrance and slipping into the squad without any difficulty, Garrus turned to Zaeed after picking off a geth whose shields had been broken by Grunt. "Hey!" the krogan growled humorously. "That was my kill!"

"Then be quicker with it, you big bastard!" snapped Zaeed with wiry sarcasm. His attention focused on Garrus after that. "Nice shot, by the way."

"I'm not here to get kills, I'm here to save lives." Garrus glanced across the cover again and uttered under his breath, "Though it was a very clean kill."

"You can say that again!" yelled Zaeed in response as he ducked out of cover again to pick off a few lone geth. Behind cover once again, he glared at Garrus. "So, what now? Where's the glorious chariot coming to save us?"

Garrus chuckled. "The Normandy is experiencing difficulty reaching us due to anti-aircraft."

Zaeed snorted, "Figures, fucking pussies." Again he reached over the cover and took down some more targets. "So what do you suggest?"

Garrus licked his lips as his mandibles flickered in discontent while he pondered the predicament. He knew what had to be done, but at the same time he knew the risks of allowing the Crucible to be held in those madman's hands. His choice, and the risks associated with them, were obvious. "Where did you land the shuttle?" he ordered Zaeed as the bullets flew over their heads.

"Some yards away, I think I landed it in a crater over to our right." He motioned in that direction as he spoke. "We going to make a run for it?" he asked expectantly.

Garrus nodded. "Now is the time to act, let's get off this rock."

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" grunted Zaeed as he fired a few more shots and ordered his men away. "To the shuttle, men! Let's show these bastards what we are made of!"

The rush started quickly across the rocky plains of the moon. The two teams merged together, forming rank and firing across at the impending geth forces that seemed to be crawling from the earth; their graves. Garrus led the group with Zaeed taking the rear and ushering personnel to not get left behind. Jack completed some suppressive firing with Tali and Kasumi, who were desperately trying to take down the geth who were marching ever onward.

Running along the dusty gravel, they approached a small slope that lead to the edge of the crater. There was no cover here and the team took up positions that allowed a few to run at a time while the rest gave cover fire. Garrus decided to go up first with a few of the rookies. Once at the top he would give supportive fire against the geth so the bottom team could also reach the shuttle. Slipping, falling, and getting up again was the routine as he climbed the hill. Sweat pouring into his mouth, mixing the harsh taste of metal with salt. The pounding of his heart had reached his ears, sounding like a battle drum on a march of death. Shots cracking slithered in and out of his ears once he finally reached the top.

He turned on his heel, ordered his men to hold ground, and fired away a barrage of their guns towards the approaching geth forces. They were spreading out, that or getting smarter at the very least. The two colossi were still approaching, their energy weapons tearing apart the ground around the climbing members of the team below. Kasumi had enabled her cloak, using it to fire shots without being noticed by the larger forces. It worked for a time, but the cloak soon overheated and sent Kasumi into the ground from the force of feedback.

She was a little ways behind the gang, that much Garrus knew, and he started to fear for the thief's life. But, just as the fighting started to reach its peak, a bubble was erected around the thief as a rain of energy and bullets smashed into the field of biotic energy with all their might. Turning her head, she looked up to find Jack at the top of the hill, straining as she held the force field in place using her biotic prowess. They stared for a moment before Jack finally spat, "You going to just sit there looking pretty? Get your ass up here!" Kasumi needed no more encouragement.

Running along the hill, the force field moving to match her speed, she was covered by bullets from the main team aiming their guns all together now standing at the peak. A few get were shot, flying backwards down into the crater but a field medic was down there, helping all those who fell and healing those who were wounded with ample supplies of medi-gel.

Kasumi finally reached the peak, much to the joy of Jack who could barely stand under the fatigue. Garrus looked around, making sure all were present. They weren't. Below a few bodies lay strewn across the ground, their face masks broken on the ground, blood across the rocks. They could not mourn them now when they were so close to escape. The turian ushered his squadron down the hill, giving one last futile clip against the onslaught before jumping down into the crater.

He slid down the rock, feeling the jolt and rustling of the hard stones against his back. Then he hit ground and tucked himself into a forward roll to maintain momentum. Garrus was the last to arrive at the shuttle and upon his entrance he started to yell orders. "Get this ship up in the air!" he screamed as the geth began to crawl over the peak of the crater.

"You don't have to say that twice!" replied the pilot as he jammed the ship into gear, setting the gravitational dampeners to maximum and the thrusters to the highest setting. The jolt, even with the inertial dampeners on high usage, sent the members of the squadron sprawling across the floor as the shuttle lurched into the sky, changing its course towards the battered Normandy in orbit.

"Goddammit! Couldn't take that any lighter, could you?" muttered a disgruntled Zaeed.

"I don't care," replied Garrus with a huff, "as long as we get as far away as possible from that damn place."

"Goddamn right," Zaeed said as he fell back into a seat beside the pilot. The merc's head turned and stared at the young human beside him incredulously. "What time should we get to the Normandy?"

The pilot, though unnerved by Zaeed's glare, persisted to comply with the question. Though as he did, the anti-air guns started to fire towards their position and the shuttle swerved about as it dodged the impending missiles of energy that spelled doom for the tiny craft. Each member felt the jolts of escape as they lurched out of orbit to escape the guns' lock on them.

"Well?" questioned Zaeed as he was disoriented by the pilot's swerving in the three dimensional space.

Gritting his teeth in agitation and concentration, the pilot managed to exert a simple but blunt, "What do you think is right ahead of us, you idiot?"

In his youth, Zaeed would have shot the man with no questions asked. But his age had mellowed him, eased his hot temper. So he contented to slapping the boy across the head and lifting himself out of his chair once the craft had escaped the moon's gravitational pull. The mercenary turned towards Garrus who was sitting with the rest of the crew for safety reasons. "So, what's the plan now?"

"We take the information Tali has and use it against the Reapers when we fight them around the Citadel," stated Garrus decisively.

"That simple?"

"That goddamn simple."

The merc smirked. "I like the way you think, Vakarian!" He turned towards the quarian, gave a quick salute, and then turned back to his favourite new punching bag: the human pilot. "You heard the turian! Full speed ahead, you young 'un!"

At the sound of everyone getting prepared to board the Normandy, Garrus decided to check up with Miranda on the situation onboard. He had heard nothing since they had left the main base on the moon, he hoped everything was sane where she was. It appeared it wasn't, for all he could get from Miranda was simply, "Get your ass to the bridge." He persisted, wanting to know what the hell was going on and what the big hurry was. She simply responded, "Now." That's sure as hell one way to get my attention! Though he often was in conflict with Miranda's bossy attitude, he often appreciated it in dire situations. He needed someone who could take charge without a second thought to get the job done. And, he realized sullenly, when Miranda asked for help she really meant it. Which meant there was trouble coming towards the Normandy. They weren't out of this yet.

Shit, and I was ready to crack open the champagne at this point, sarcastically quipped the turian as they landed into the open hanger of the Normandy's lower bay (which was still filled with holes from the previous dance with the geth dreadnought). The gravity in this space was still weak, yet it was functional to those who had a space suit. Garrus quickly flung himself out of the shuttle, alerting Zaeed that he was now in control of the team's decommissioning. The bridge needed him.

"Go get 'em, you bastard!" Grinned Zaeed as he started ordering the wounded to certain sections and some of the rookies to secure the shuttle in lines that had been created to prevent the movement during the Normandy's flight.

Meanwhile, Garrus had removed the helmet of his suit and was in the process of climbing the decks of the Normandy SR-2 to reach the command deck. His breathing was taunt, his skin wet with sweat, and his eyes beady and red. This is to all those who have died, he reassured himself. I will not let this operation fail after so many have given their lives for this. The memories of Kenneth, Gabby, Ashley, and even Shepard flashed in his mind, staggering him. No, none of them have died in vain.

These thoughts assaulted his mind and his heart as he staggered on the main deck of the Normandy once more, truly realizing how tired he was. I'll rest when this is over, he thought grimly as he sauntered across the metal plating. Personnel all looked at him curiously, almost fearfully, for his gait was weakened and staggered. Yet the turian shook it off with a motion of his hand. "I'll be fine," he muttered to no one in particular. "I'll be fine."

He reached Miranda and Joker in the cockpit, finding a nice leather chair near Joker's, and sat down in it to await the response Miranda had for him. "Well," he said with laboured breaths, "what is so important?"

Joker turned his head slightly to spy the aged turian. "Shit," said the pilot worriedly. "Garrus, I know I say this often, but this time I mean it: you look like shit."

"Thanks, I'll keep you posted in an hour."

"Seriously, Garrus. Now is not the time—"

"Now? Now is not the time for what, to talk? To joke? When am I allowed to do whatever I damn well please! Why am I always chained to one bullshit task after another! I want to live, dammit!" There was a long silence punctuated by his heavy breathing in that space. He had not meant half the words he said, or instead he meant them in his heart but never wanted them out in public airspace. Now he had said it and he cursed the gloom he set over the cockpit.

After a while, Miranda was the first to speak. "Look, Garrus—"

"I'm sorry, anger got the best of me," he said, monotone.

Miranda was slightly set back by the comment and she acknowledged it accordingly. But now was not the time for fighting, now was the time for action. "I understand the strain you're under, Garrus. But now I need a leader." She took a deep before she stated, "There are three geth fighters coming towards us."

His eyes opened wide with shock. "What?" he said, horrified at the implications.

"Geth fighters are inbound as well as some unidentified crafts," stated Joker again, his teeth all gritted into a line. "We need to prepare whatever weapon stores we have while we can. This may not be a battle we can run from."

Garrus began to worry. The ship and its crew were not ready for battle, much less against a foe that probably outclassed and outnumbered it. He was not ready to send his friends and crew to their deaths. No, they would not die here. "What do you say we do, Miranda?"

The human licked her lips with agitation. "We have to fight. There is no question about it. If we run off we might be able to outrun them, but they might catch us while we are in FTL. If that happens, more damage would occur and we would not be able to defend ourselves." She finished this statement as ships flashed onscreen for Joker. Bright green dots marked the screen as an indicator of the three geth fighters.

"Turn this ship around, Joker," ordered Garrus as he sat at his full height. All the fatigue he had felt was now washed away and suppressed for another date. "We shall do as Miranda suggested." He looked to his human friend and smirked. "Give them hell."

"Aye, aye, sir."

The night was once again filled with fire. Slugs from both the Normandy and the three fighters clashed amid the canvas of ebony in the twinkling lights of dawn. The four ships tangoed in the air, shooting lasers and missiles, which darted into space or slammed into hulls. One fighter was taken down, courtesy of a maneuver Joker pulled that confused the automated drones. Whoever had programmed these geth were good, but limited as well.

The two other learned from its predecessor's mistake, scoring two hits against the hull which rattled the ship's frame as the blasts connected with the kinetic barriers. The ship was already holding on by the skin of its teeth, not much would unravel the house of cards now. Garrus knew these facts all too well.

The dance continued, only quicker now as Joker strained the Normandy to produce maneuvers that would have been easy in its pristine condition, but were difficult in its current state. Two more hits connected with the hull and the ship lurched forward, causing another to slam against the rear bulkheads. An explosion sounded. The implications were clear: the geth were too fast for the Normandy.

"How much longer can we continue this?" demanded Miranda as she was thrown about the cabin by another one of Joker's insane, but somehow successful, dodges.

"Don't know, Miranda," he said roughly as the ship slowed to a stall, turned to face the enemy, then darted forward with all its lasers blasting. The tactic destroyed another fighter. "Hell yeah!" screamed Joker, yet the maneuver had yielded another two hits against the hull. The kinetic barrier, the only thing holding the ship together, was failing. The cause for celebration, quickly died.

"One more ship, that is good, right?" asked Garrus through broken breaths. Stress and strain had caught up with him again and the pain of all the suppressed memories and worries were finally paying a toll on his body. He could barely see through one eye right now.

"We still have those unidentified vessels approaching us," stated Miranda coarsely. "Once we find out who they are we can assess the situation further."

Garrus turned quickly towards her. "Why can't we figure it out now?"

Joker supplied the answer. "The geth are blocking out our signal. Once the fighter is destroyed we can use our long ranger sensors to detect—" Another hit against the hull and a jolt of the ship stopped his sentence in its tracks.

The turian gritted his teeth as the Normandy came around for another pass, only to have the geth set its slugs locked onto the Alliance vessel. Everyone in the cockpit knew what was going to happen, there was no way to stop it. Joker swore. Miranda clenched her fists and eyes. Garrus stared and, for the first time in what seemed like forever, he prayer for a miracle.

And a miracle came from the stars.

The geth fighter exploded in a fantastic array of fire and light before being snuffed out instantly by the void around it. Every eye turned to that dying light, looking to it like a beacon of salvation from the expanse of starlight above. Through the void of space, six frigates broke through the veil of ebon. The mark on their sides were distinctly Alliance though another symbol was present that Garrus had seen before. Liara had shown it to him long ago. It was the symbol of…

"The Expeditionary Fleets!" shouted Garrus, shocked and elated by the sudden appearance of the ships. "How… how…?"

"I guess Liara's message about the base got some traction after all," grinned Miranda as she stood in the cockpit, gazing up at the ships, awestruck at their sudden appearance and saviour-like sheen.

Joker looked to the panel before him and, much to his surprise, noticed he was being hailed. "Wha… what do I do, Captain?"

Garrus looked to Miranda and the perfect human female simply nodded for him to go on. The turian needed no second suggestion. "Answer it, Joker."

That they did. "This is the Milky Way Galactic Expeditionary Force, Alliance ship, the Defiant. We picked up your distress call on the way to the Citadel and are grateful we could help." There was a pause of static. "We wish we could have been more help SSV Normandy, though it looks like you tackled the situation well enough until we got here."

There were so many questions that Garrus wanted the answers to. So, he started with the simple ones. "This is Captain Vakarian of the SSV Normandy, we thank you SSV Defiant for your support. May I ask who it is I am speaking to?"

The thickly accented young male voice replied, "My name is Captain Franz Schröder, Captain Vakarian. Our fleet has not been in Council space for a long time. There is much we need to discuss—"

"No!" interrupted Garrus with a ferocity he had come to expect now. "I need to know one thing. Hackett's forces in the fleet, are they too coming to help us? We need all the help we can get!" There was no response. "Please, Captain, I need to know!"

At last, the German man spoke, "I'm sorry Vakarian, Hackett's portion, as well as the rest of the force, went missing in dark space. We current have no idea where they are." There was another pause, possibly one of mourning placed by the captain of the Defiant. "We are all that is left."

With those futile and shaken words, Garrus nodded and let the darkness around his vision consume him. He fainted and the fatigue finally drew its long and dreadful course on the turian captain.