Garrus glared at his visor as the tone of it's customarily irritating morning alarm sounded. While turians had a much higher overall tolerance for alcohol, they were not, sadly, immune to the after effects of a night of binge drinking. After a night like last night, he found himself suffering for his lack of restraint. Opening the small kit of medical supplies he had brought on-board, he fished out some of the hangover antidote he used back during his days at C-Sec. It tasted terrible, but he knew it was remarkably quick acting, and more importantly, very effective. He and Jack had spent the better part of an hour discussing their plans for today and his biotic accomplice would not take kindly to him ruining her fun by some how messing things up.
He had just finished getting ready and was about to begin sorting out today's errors in the ship's weapons systems when Shepard's assistant came bouncing into the Main Battery looking like she had a dirty little secret.
"Morning Garrus!" He grunted his acknowledgment but turned back to his work station. Whatever she was up to, it definitely wasn't good. "So I hear you had an exciting night last night." She said teasingly as she perched on a nearby weapons bench to watch his reaction. Sure enough, his head snapped around to look at her for a moment before he recovered and returned to his calculations.
"Oh? And where did you hear that?" he asked, doing his best to sound casual.
"A little birdy told me," she shot back, that shit-eating grin still plastered across her face. "You know, your shenanigans almost cost us a valuable crew member," she chastised, wagging a finger at the tall turian's back. He just snorted.
"I don't recall air-locking anyone...(not yet anyways, he thought to himself)"
"You're telling me that you had no idea that Thane was going to leave the ship after that stunt you pulled?" she asked, her skepticism apparent in her voice. Garrus growled in frustration before swinging around and stalking over to the impertinent little human.
"I didn't DO ANYTHING!" he spat as the frightened woman scrambled to get as far away from his bared needle-sharp teeth as possible, "If anything was done, it was all Shepard. I know better than to second guess my commanding officer ESPECIALLY when she is my best and only friend. So I will thank you to stop making accusations and tell me what you are on about!"
"I was talking about the messages Mr. Krios sent the Commander," she squeaked, hiding behind a data pad as she offered it to him. He snatched it out of her hands and quickly scanned the contents of the short exchange between Thane and Shepard. It was all he could do to keep his mandibles from flaring into a grin on the off chance that this simpering human might be able to read turian expressions.
"Krios is leaving?" he asked cautiously, not wanting to get his hopes up prematurely. Kelly nodded.
"Unless the Commander can convince him to stay when she talks to him after she gets back from the mission, we have orders to drop him off at the Citadel when we are done on Tuchanka," she sniffled. "The Illusive Man will be furious if we loose one of our best assets-"
"The Illusive Man shove his opinion," he snarled. "The only one who matters is Shepard. What does SHE think of all this?" he asked, gesturing at the data pad. Kelly bit her lip in thought.
"She seems conflicted, cautious. But she is willing to try and sort things out if he is." Kelly said after a moment's thought. Garrus sighed, scratching his forehead plates gently with his sharp talons.
"I... I will see what I can do," he grumbled, setting the data pad on the corner of his work station before turning back to his calibrations. Kelly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you Garrus, I don't want to see Shepard hurt any more than you do," she said as she headed for the door. "And for what it's worth, I can understand how you feel." Before he could ask her what she meant, she was gone.
How had this happened? After months of planning and preparation, he had finally joined his Siha on her quest and now, less than a day later, he had somehow managed to not only alienate her, but agreed to leave her company. What had he been thinking?!
A loud bang rang through his quarters as he struck the table on which he had been leaning, letting out an anguished sigh as a single tear ran down his cheek to splash on the arm of his assassin's leathers. Why did he feel so angry at seeing her with the turian? It was not as though they had made any vows... In fact they had only spent a few days in each others' company, and she had been unconscious for most of that. As much as he desired to be near her, he knew he didn't want to be a burden. If she still wanted him to leave after this mission was over, he would honor her wishes. After taking a brief moment to compose himself, he made his way to the briefing room for his first, and possibly last, team mission briefing.
Shepard noticed a subtle tension in the air the moment she stepped in from the hall. So far only four people had arrived for the briefing: Miranda and Jacob (ever punctual, so like Cerberus to keep a tight schedule), Garrus, and Thane. Now that she understood the true meaning of her gesture the night before she could easily guess the cause. She bit the inside of her cheek as she took her place at the head of the platform and waited for the rest of the crew, reminding herself over and over that as soon as this mission was over she would to speak with both Thane and Garrus and, with any luck, put this whole mess behind them.
It felt like an eternity, but it was only a few minutes before the rest of her ground-approved team members joined them. Grunt was the last to arrive, looking distinctly grouchy and a bit embarrassed, and the moment the doors shut behind him Shepard was only too glad to begin the brief.
"It's a pretty straight forward mission really," she said, doing her best to shake off her discomfort and look confident. "As most of you will have noticed, Grunt has been a bit... out of sorts of late and as Tuchanka is the best, really the only, place where they have access to proper krogan medical records that's where we will be heading. Now the krogan don't usually take kindly to outsiders, but I happen to have fought along side the current clan leader Urdnot Wrex during the campaign against Saren and he has assured me that we will be able to spend out time there in peace as long as he is in power."
"As for a team, Mordin has been kind enough to volunteer to accompany Grunt and I as his unique skill set and experience may come in handy, but that doesn't mean the rest of you are off the hook. I know it's early days still for most of you but I need this crew in top form and that means learning whatever you can from your crew mates and constantly working to improve your skills. I've talked to Wrex and he has agreed to set you guys up with an area to practice your hand to hand skills in, so I want every one of you to have spent some time in the sparring ring by the time I get back. Have I made myself clear?" A chorus of grumbles and nods followed.
"Good. Garrus, it's time you made good on all that bragging about being 'the number one ranked specialist' in the past. Let's put it to the test. I'm putting you in charge of hand-to-hand instruction for those less experienced crew members." The turian blinked in surprise before nodding briefly. "I think that's about it. Any questions?"
"Yeah, how long before we get off this rock?" Jack hollered, a sneer on her face. Shepard didn't bat an eyelash.
"As long as it takes, but I expect we should be done by early evening. Wrex mentioned something about travel time taking a couple extra hours. Anything else? No? Alright then, dismissed!" Everyone promptly filed out, eager to escape the awkward atmosphere. Waiting until she and Thane were the only ones left in the room, Shepard caught the assassin's arm as he moved to leave. "Thane, do you have a moment?" A flicker of sadness crossed his features as he looked back into her eyes before he replaced his mask of neutrality.
"Of course, Shepard. You need only ask," he said politely, bowing a bit. He watched as she bit her lip and fidgeted ever so slightly before continuing.
"I was just wondering if, once I am done with this mission, you and I could talk? There are some things I'd like to clarify before we leave Tuchanka..." He smiled slightly then nodded.
"As you wish, Commander. Just send me a message on my omni-tool when you arrive letting me know when and where you want to meet." This time it was her turn to nod, feeling the racing of her heart slow to a less alarming rate as he headed out into the hallway and the door closed behind him.
Perhaps there was some hope after all, Thane thought to himself as he walked out of the briefing room, a bit light headed from having been alone with his Siha. Gods the things that woman made him feel without even knowing it.
Despite his distraction, it was hard to miss the tall, blue-armored turian leaning against the wall next to the elevator. It seemed that Garrus had opted to wait for his fellow sniper, as there had been plenty of time for the former C-Sec officer to make it down to the lower levels in the time since he had left the meeting.
"Problem, Krios?" Garrus asked smoothly, not bothering to hide the suspicion in his voice as they were relatively alone. Kelly must have gone down to the mess for breakfast. Preferring to err on the side of caution, Thane decided it was best to keep the Commander and his concerns to himself.
"Not at all. Why do you ask?" He said smoothly, mentally chastising himself for baiting the turian.
"Just making sure. Say, I'll bet someone like you is good at hand-to-hand. What say you assist me in me in today's sparring exercises? Show the less experienced crew members how it's done." Thane's eyebrow twitched slightly in surprise.
"I'm not so sure that's a good idea, it has been a long time since I sparred with anyone, let alone someone inexperienced in hand-to-hand. My training may take over and someone could get injured or worse..."
"Nonsense! How often do they get a chance to learn from someone with your skills? Plus, it will give you a great chance to establish a rapport with the rest of the crew, show them that you are more than just a mindless killer and are willing to share your knowledge." Although it was said casually, the remark hit home. Did the crew really see him like that? Was this the chance he needed? Maybe if he could somehow make things work with the crew, Shepard might let him stay... After a moment, Thane nodded his consent.
"Alright, if you think it is best, I will defer to your judgment. How soon should I report?"
"I am headed down to the surface with a couple of others to get things set up right now. Why don't you join us in, say, half an hour?"
"Understood." As Garrus walked away, Thane could feel in his gut that he may have just made a huge mistake.
