Chapter 35: Detainment - Garrus
Leaving the Normandy for a second time was by far the hardest thing that Garrus forced himself to do. Walking out of the airlock brought back memories from just under three years ago, memories that made his subvocals weep out of his control. He couldn't help the feeling that history would repeat itself again, that Shepard would never come back to him. He knew that if the Reapers didn't kill him, Shepard's death would.
After a week of staying on the Citadel, waiting for any news of Shepard, Garrus finally relaxed when the news networks had a live feed of Shepard turning herself in. To see her safe and unharmed was a massive weight off of Garrus' shoulders. The next day, he left the Citadel.
Garrus headed straight for Palaven, knowing that if he wasted any more time, it could be disastrous. When he reached his homeworld, Garrus found himself in the unfortunate situation of needing the help of the one man that he didn't want to ask it from. His father.
Garrus felt odd standing on the doorstep of his childhood home. It was like he was going back to being that kid that never recieved his father's approval. While he knew that he still would never get it, Garrus didn't care at this point.
Garrus looked straight into the face of his father when the man opened the door. Garrus had been waiting only a few moments, but it wasn't enough time to prepare himself.
"Garrus?" His father asked in shock.
"Dad." Garrus nodded, his voice cool and even.
"Come in." His father told him, both of them knew that what was sure to follow was not meant for others to hear.
"So finally showing your face after what? Five, six years?" His father asked, leveling a sceptical look at Garrus. "And with damage that will prevent you from being mated to anyone respectable."
Garrus bit back a reply, he knew that his father would have more than a few words to say about him and Shepard as it was.
"You are willing to contact your sister and even visit your mother, but not me." His father told him, if Garrus didn't know better, he'd think there was a hurt note in his voice. "Tell me Garrus, what makes you show your face now?"
"I need your help." Garrus replied, cutting straight to the point. "I need to get in contact with the Primarch, and you can do that for me."
"Why should I have expected any less." His father snorted.
"Dad, you and I aren't on the best of terms." Garrus spoke, understating their relationship a bit. "But you know that I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."
"Do I?" His father barbed back. "How could I know that? I haven't seen you in well over five years, and I doubt I even know the person that you are anymore."
"You don't." Garrus told him, a slight growl to his voice. "But it doesn't change the fact that I need to talk with the Primarch."
"Why?" His father asked, surprising Garrus that the elder Turian believed him.
"The Reapers are coming." Garrus told his father. "We need to be ready when they get here."
"Yes, Reapers." His father rolled his eyes. "The mythical terrors that mothers tell their children to keep them in line."
"Listen to me!" Garrus barked to his father, taking a step towards the older Vakarian. "If they were a myth, then tell me what it was that attacked the Citadel three years ago! Tell me you don't believe the bullshit that the Council is spewing about Sovereign being a Geth ship!"
"What else am I supposed to believe Garrus?!" His father yelled back. "The person that was there when everything happened has kept me in the dark for the last five years! For all I know you have a family of your own now and I wouldn't even know it!"
A heavy silence hung between them for several long moments. When it was broken, it was Garrus who broke it.
For the next several hours, Garrus told his father everything. Garrus told him about everything with Saren and Sovereign, everything with the Collectors. The only thing he left out, was his relationship with Shepard and what he did on Omega. The entire time Garrus spoke, his father listened and wore the same face he would wear when on a case in C-Sec. His father didn't interrupt, only listened and absorbed the information he was given.
When Garrus stopped talking, the room was filled with silence once more. This time, the silence was heavy with expectation. After a while, his father nodded and Garrus let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"I'll talk to Fedorian. No promises, but I'll see what I can do." Garrus' father told him.
"Thank you." Garrus returned.
"I have one request Garrus." His father spoke. To Garrus' surprise the elder Turian looked more like a worried father than a retired C-Sec agent in that moment. "Just don't keep me in the dark. I only want what's best for you, that's all I've ever wanted."
"Let me decide that then." Garrus returned, holding out his hand in a peace offering.
His father took the outstretched hand. It was far from a father-son relationship that was the norm, but it was better than what they had before.
One month after Alpha Relay destruction.
"Advisor Vakarian? Sir?" An almost timid voice asked Garrus.
Garrus looked up from his terminal to see a young Turian standing at his now open office door. What was called his "office" was nothing more than a room slightly larger than a broom closet amongst a few other small rooms. While Fedorian had given him a small task force to investigate the Reapers, it was clear that he wasn't being taken seriously by most of the Hierarchy. The "task force" that he was given being made up of mostly fresh boot camp kids was proof of it.
"Bakas." Garrus nodded to the younger Turian, taking note of two data pads in his hands. "What have you got?"
"A human dropped these off." Bakas replied, shifting on his feet nervously. "Told me to give them to you."
"This human say anything else?" Garrus asked, leaning forward on his desk.
"He told me that his employer knew you." The turian replied, looking over his shoulder. "Said something about you liking the cooking of his employer."
Garrus smirked at the younger Turian and held out his hand. "If they're from who I think they're from, you're damn right I liked his cooking."
Bakas handed Garrus the two pads and her set them aside for now. Garrus noticed the nervousness still in the younger Turian's shoulders and let out a curious thrill in his subvocals.
"Something wrong?" Garrus asked.
"If you don't mind me asking sir, why are we here?" Bakas asked. Garrus could smell the kid's nerves now, it was going against everything in Turian culture to even think of such a thing, let alone speak it aloud.
"Bakas, do you remember the attack on the Citadel?" Garrus asked, letting out a sigh and leaning back in his chair.
"Yes sir."
"Remember the massive ship? That wasn't a Geth ship. That was a Reaper." Garrus told the younger Turian. "Our job, is to find a way to fight those things. They'll be here before anyone knows it and ready or not, we will lose."
"Sir? What makes you say that?" Bakas asked.
"The Alliance locked up the only chance that we had to fighting the Reapers. Commander Shepard was the only way for us to prepare for the Apocalypse that the Reapers bring. Without her, we need to be able to hold out long enough for her to pull out a miracle.
"When that day comes, that woman will pull a miracle out of her ass. She always has, and probably always will. Until then, we need to do the best we can to prepare the Hierarchy. It won't seem like it pays off, but what we do until they get here, it could mean the difference between the deaths of all Turians, or the deaths of most of them."
When Garrus was done speaking, he noticed that the younger Turian stood a little straighter. Garrus wouldn't sugar coat it, but he knew that his men needed inspiration to do what had to be done.
"Dismissed Bakas." Garrus told the soldier. Bakas saluted and Garrus returned it before the younger Turian marched out of the small room.
Garrus turned his attention to the data pads that were left with him. He powered on the first one, and was surprised to find a short note from Rah.
Scarface,
Got a present for ya. One way line to Sarge that she can see once a week and the next data pad.
You owe me.
Rah
Garrus was floored. He had known that Rah was getting promoted, but to be able to pull off something like this, it was staggering. Just where exactly did the N7 get promoted to?
With a speed at shocked even Garrus, he snatched up the other pad. Once powered on, Garrus began reading the messages that Shepard had been writing to him. The messages were not text, but images. On paper, with a hand writing that Garrus had never seen before, were several letters to Garrus from Shepard.
Over the next several hours, Garrus read and reread the letters a hundred times. The fact that Garrus could see what Shepard's writing looked like, and that she was writing these in the first place, pulled at his heart. By the time Garrus left his office, he was more in love with his mate than he ever thought possible.
Two Months after Alpha Relay destruction.
In cold and confident silence, Garrus stood in the center of the Hierarchy's top officers. Around him, renowned generals and the Primarch read the reports he'd given them all.
A few days ago, two datapads had found their way to his office. They had been put there, but by whom, no one knew. One of the data pads however did have a note at the top that simply read "You still owe me".The contents of those pads were now what he was presenting to the leaders of the Hierarchy.
"Advisor Vakarian." The crisp, easy voice of Fedorian spoke out, breaking the silence around them. "What exactly are we looking at here?"
"Analysis of the Reaper ships Primarch." Garrus confirmed to the room. "My sources gave me these only a few days ago. I've reviewed them myself and I can't find any fault in the information."
"Are your sources repliable?" One general, Victus, asked.
"I know them and fought side by side with them." Garrus told Victus directly. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't know they were."
Victus nodded and leaned back in his chair, satisfied.
"Tell me Vakarian." Fedorian spoke again, his gaze critical. "What do you suggest we do with this?"
"The only thing we can do." Garrus replied. "We use it to our advantage."
"Any suggestions?" Fedorian asked him again.
"Give me more men and more resources and I'll do what I can to exploit this information." Garrus told the Primarch, his face and voice calm and serious.
"Exploit." An older general snorted. Garrus didn't know the man, but by his age, he'd been around since the unification wars and maybe even before. "You talk as if we are to fight dirty. Why not go to the humans with this then?"
"General." Garrus snarled at the older Turian. "The Reapers are not a force that we can fight with conventional tactics. If they were to show up at our doorstep tomorrow, and you lead them, the entire Turian race would fall to your foolish ideals. The Reapers can't be reasoned with. They can't be fought against on even playing fields. The only way to kill them, is to fight with every trick in the book, and then make new ones."
The general snarled back at older Turian looked as if he were to lash out at Garrus, but a chirp from Fedorian stopped him.
"Consider it done Advisor." Fedorian told Garrus.
"Primarch." Victus spoke up, his gaze still on Garrus. "I'd like to offer my men to Vakarian's cause."
"Noted." Fedorian replied and stood up. Everyone in the room took that as their dismissal.
Garrus left the room, but only made it a few dozen feet before an hand on his arm stopped him.
"I hope you know what you're doing Vakarian." Victus' voice told him from behind.
"I always know what I'm doing." Garrus smirked at the older Turian.
Three months after Alpha Relay destruction.
Garrus and Sol both collapsed on the couch of their family home. It had been an exhausting day for the both of them, but not from any physical work. The two of them, along with their father, had gone to a party that one of the Hierarchy generals hosted. Garrus only went because Sol dragged him along. If it had been his way, he'd have been working.
"Still wish you hadn't brought me." Garrus grumbled to his sister, who shot him a dirty look.
"If I had known you were still thick headed, I wouldn't have." Sol barbed back.
"No clue what you're talking about." Garrus returned, shutting his eyes and leaning back into the couch.
"So it completely escaped your mind that half the people there were the sons and daughters of other officials?" Sol asked, Garrus could feel her rolling her eyes at him. "Or how more than a few high ranking members of the Hierarchy introduced you to their daughters? The Primarch included?"
"Fedorian and the others have come to respect me." Garrus shrugged. he didn't really understand what it was that Sol was getting at.
"You can't possibly tell me that you didn't notice that ALL of them tried flirting with you." Garrus could feel the weight of Sol's gaze on him. "Even with that fucked up face of yours."
"I noticed." Garrus replied. "Despite what you might think, not a lot of people flirt with me. It's hard to not notice something like that."
Garrus' mind instantly shifted to Shepard. There had been times on the first Normandy where she had flirted with him, but at the time he passed it off as nothing, that she was just being friendly. Now, Garrus knew what it was like to have someone like Shepard after him, comparing her to those that had tried it with him at the party was unfair to everyone else.
"Then what's wrong with you?" Sol asked and Garrus' eyes shot open. "Do you have a death wish? No one is allowed to simply shut down the advances of a Primarch's daughter."
"I did." Garrus returned. "And I'd do it again. Just because Fedorian was trying to set me up with his daughter doesn't mean I will accept it. Thank you for pointing that out to me, hadn't really clicked until you said something."
Garrus spoke the truth. He would never do anything to harm his relationship with Shepard, not even if it meant having the Primarch himself pissed at him. He was a one woman type of guy and his woman was Shepard. If Sol hadn't pointed it out to him in the first play though, he likely would not have put two and two together, hell Shepard had to make the first leap before he saw that she returned what he had for her.
"You have someone already." Sol stated and Garrus narrowed his eyes at her. "You do! Why the hell didn't you tell anyone?!"
"I did tell someone." Garrus replied. "And until I'm ready, I'm not telling dad."
"Mom knows?" Sol asked, her eyes wide. "Does she know who?"
"Yes." Garrus replied. He could see the gears churning in his sister's head.
"Turian?" Sol asked him. Garrus looked around, making sure that their father wasn't around.
"Human." Garrus replied. And Sol let out a sound of surprise.
"So she's bare faced…." Sol mused.
"But she's not." Garrus replied, nodding his head.
"Have you marked each other?" Sol asked. Garrus nodded and pointed to a spot on his neck. In the right spot was a small, almost invisible, bite mark. Compared to the ones that Turian's left, it was tiny, but there nonetheless.
"Who is it?" Sol asked after several moments of silence. Garrus chuckled that his sister hadn't figured it out yet.
"She's met mom." Garrus smirked at Sol.
"No." Sol gasped. "Her? You're mated to a terrorist?"
"She's not a terrorist Sol. Just because she used Cerberus' resources, doesn't make her one of them." Garrus growled to his sister. The two of them had fought over this point a hundred times. When it came out that Shepard was being tried for working for Cerberus, Sol and his father had been livid.
Sol however, knew that to argue with her brother was pointless. Garrus was thankful when she dropped the matter.
After several seconds of uncomfortable silence, Sol made things even more awkward, but not in the same way.
"So what was it like?" Sol asked. "Being with a human?"
"Better than any Turian or Asari." Garrus smirked. "But Kate might just be a special case."
"How did it even work?" Sol asked, Garrus shifted uncomfortably. "Wouldn't she be too small for you to even….."
Garrus shot up and ran out of the room, and then the house. Sol's laughter followed him out the entire way. He didn't need to talk about sex with his mate to anyone, let alone his sister.
Four months after Alpha Relay destruction.
"You sure as fuck took your sweet time Scarface." Rah's joking voice called to him once Garrus' shuttle landed. Only a week after Rah had invited Garrus to Elysium, he and his men had arrived.
Garrus gave his friend a cocky smirk before replying. "You're one to talk about timing Captain Slow."
"Oh so its Captain Slow now is it?" Rah chuckled. "Whatever General Calibrations."
Garrus let out a barking laugh and strode up to the N7. Garrus could feel the stunned gazes of his men on him and Rah. They were all shocked when the two of them clasped forearms.
"Good to see you again Rah." Garrus smiled to the man.
"Good to see another friendly face Garrus." Rah replied.
"So, who else is here?" Garrus asked and Rah began leading him towards the Alliance base.
"For now, just my guys and yours." Rah replied. "Tali, Wrex and Samara made no promises, but they said they'd do their best."
"How would Tali be able to get people here?" Garrus asked.
"She's made quite a name for herself." Rah smiled back. "Something to do with Sarge yelling at Admirals or something."
"Yeah, that was pretty fun." Garrus chuckled.
"Knew you'd have something to say about that." Rah smirked. "So how many did you bring with you?"
"Three dozen." Garrus replied. He'd brought most of his men that he could, but Victus still needed men, and there needed to be those still researching while he was gone.
"Damn." Rah replied and let out an appreciative whistle. "Doing well for yourself I see there Advisor."
"Going to need to find out how you know that." Garrus replied, shaking his head with a smile on his face.
"I know things that I shouldn't Scarface." Rah replied, a mischievous glint to his eyes. "Like what kind of panties Sarge wears."
"Funny." Garrus snorted back. "So where will my guys and I be staying."
"Spare barracks, over this way."
Five months after Alpha Relay destruction.
"Advisor Vakarian! Sir!" An out of breath Bakas ran towards him.
"Slow down son, get your breath, tell me what's going on." Garrus replied, clasping a hand on the younger Turian's shoulder.
"Our outposts, they're picking up massive shapes coming from dark space." Bakas replied once he caught his breath.
"They're coming." Garrus muttered to himself. "ETA on arrival?" Garrus asked and Bakas nodded.
"Twenty eight solar days." Bakas replied.
"Alert the others. I'll let the Primarch know. Once you've sent out the message to the other generals, get everyone to prepare to move."
"To where sir?" Bakas asked.
"Menae, we need a forward base, somewhere to keep the Hierarchy going outside of Palaven." Garrus replied and the younger Turian nodded.
"Yes sir." He saluted before running off as he was ordered.
"We need you Kate." Garrus muttered to himself, heading to his office. "I need you."
A/N: Thank you all for reading! Hope you all enjoyed and had a good Holloween!
Until next time!