This is the latest parle we will admit:

Therefore to our best mercy give yourselves,

Or, like to men proud of destruction,

Defy us to our worst: for, as I am a soldier…

- Shakespeare, Henry V: III,iii

Garrus kept a watchful eye on the readouts from his targeting visor as the final seconds of the countdown clock ticked away over his earpiece. In those several moments of anxiety and dread, as Shepard and Tali and EDI barked at one another in panicked whispers, his and every crew member's hearts beat nearly as one. When he heard Shepard let out a sigh of relief after the feminine voice was a cut short, he let out a breath as well, one he hadn't realized he had been holding.

"Mierda," muttered Vega heavily. Garrus peered over the tops of the crates they had positioned themselves behind as his visor's night vision ticked on. They had been thrown into complete and utter blackness.

"All power is shut down," Tali whispered, her helmet lights flaring as she spoke. "Only basic life functions remain."

The elevator doors remained tightly sealed as the guards scrambled about in the darkness, tripping over one another and shouting through their comms, seeking orders. They were still oblivious that the Normandy's crew had a hand in this, though they would figure it out in due time.

"Well that could have turned out a lot worse," Shepard said in his ear. "The plans haven't changed. You ready Garrus?"

"Sure thing," he replied. He still wasn't too keen on the idea of her heading this assault, and she knew it, whether or not he voiced his opinion. "You alright?"

"Yeah…," she said quietly. She sounded exhausted… weak. This had taken a toll on her, even if she refused to admit it. "Considering I very nearly sabotaged my own military's network... I think I'll just stay here for a minute."

"You don't always have to be the hero, Shepard," he said softly. "You can sit this one out if you like." No matter how hard he wished it, there was no way she would stand on the sidelines, least of all, when it was Cerberus they were dealing with.

She snorted sardonically, "Nice try, Garrus… but, not a chance in hell… Just give me a minute... I'll be fine…"

"Okay Shepard...," he sighed, conceding. There was no point in arguing with her, especially when she had her mind set toward vengeance. "See you in a few. Archangel out."

Alenko stepped forward, biotic sparks dancing at his fingertips. Garrus could feel the static discharge in air around the Major. For just a moment, Garrus thought Alenko was going to attempt to pull something foolish, instead the Major approached him, fury written all over his face, reflecting how Garrus felt.

"Let's end these bastards," he said radically, his biotics lighting up the space between them. Garrus stood blinking at the typically rational and level headed Alenko. He had never seen him so vexed... then again, they were dealing with Cerberus. Cerberus alone was enough to get any calm and collected person worked into a frenzy, and so, Garrus nodded his approval. In rapid succession, Javik's green biotics flared to life around his hands, and Liara's raced from her palms, covering her arms and shoulders in a blaze of blue. Wrex moved forward as well, his entire body sparking. Static electricity jumped through the hangar, prickling at Garrus' soft, exposed skin. A number of omni-tools responded, and Vega and Hannah unleashed their blades.

No guns…, thought Garrus sarcastically. This was going to be… interesting… remarkable if they could pull it off… though if anyone could… it was them. The wounded Admiral Hackett, Joker, Traynor and the remaining engineers who were not trained for this sort of combat, stayed back, taking cover behind the storage units and watching with hope as the battle of the Normandy began.

As a singular unit, the battle hardened crew members of the Normandy charged forward in one fell swoop, their shouts growing louder as they surged headlong into an uneven conflict. They smashed into the Cerberus guards, taking them by surprise.

Tali sent Chatika out first, the guards swatting at the combat drone as it shocked them with electrical pulses. The drone was a simple distraction for the hellfire that was to come.

Liara immediately threw up a biotic shield to protect them all from any potential gunfire. At the same moment, Javik let loose a violent Slam, sweeping two of the six sentries off their feet and into the air. As Liara's shield still holding together, she flung a well timed Warp at them. It exploded as they smashed into the metallic floor. They remained there, still and unmoving, their Geth Spitfires sliding across the surface the hangar, and coming to rest against the wall.

Alenko unleashed a vicious Reave at a third. The power hit its target squarely in the chest almost immediately. The guard shook in agony as the Reave aggressively attacked his nervous system with one intense wave after another. Vega took the opening to release a powerful Carnage at the already disabled guard. Upon collision with the Reave, both powers ignited and detonated with devastating effect. The impact radius caught another Cerberus operative in its wake and exploded, showering Alenko and Vega in a flurry of body parts and fluids.

Garrus set his eyes upon the guard closest to the elevator door and crashed into him. The guard let out an audible Oof! as Garrus struck him under the chin with his hardened crest. He then slammed his elbow into the side of the head. The untrained grunt was no match for a turian masterfully skilled in hand to hand combat. The trooper doubled over, grunting and grasping at his now dented helmet, scrabbling to remove it. Garrus took full advantage and grabbed hold of the Cerberus shoulder plating, hooking his right leg around the soldier's. Just behind the knee, Archangel found the armor's weak point and pulled violently, his spur sliding easily between the cuisse and the greave. As he heard the snapping of bone, he twisted his leg even more, digging the spur further into flesh and marrow, causing his victim to collapse to his knees, howling in pain and begging for mercy. Removing his leg, Garrus stood up tall and straight, as he placed his foot on the guard's head, forcing him the rest of the way down. Foot still in place, he bent over, snatched up the guard's fall pistol, aimed it just below the helmet, at the base of the skull, and fired, spraying himself and the surrounding areas in crimson blood.

The final guard backed himself against the corner of the hangar, scrambling over the bodies of his fallen comrades as Urdnot Wrex charged him. When he realized he had nowhere else to go, he implored and begged the krogan battlemaster to show mercy, to show just a little bit of humility. For a brief moment, Wrex regarded the Cerberus trooper by cocking his head to the side, listening to his desperate pleas and cries for leniency.

"Please… please! Don't do this!" he cried, clasping his hands together as if he were praying to a higher deity. "I can give you information. I can help you!"

"Can you believe this guy?" Wrex snorted, turning his head to look toward Garrus. "He pleads for his life as if a child!"

Javik shook his head, disgusted, and mumbled loud enough for Garrus to hear, "Foolish primitive, resistance is futile…" Then changing his tone to a gleeful shout, the prothean yelled, "TOSS HIM OUT THE AIRLOCK!"

"Forget the airlock," Wrex snarled. "I'll tear him limb from limb!"

"No no no no!" Please!"

"Wrex…," Garrus warned in deep guttural growl.

"Fine," huffed the krogan, disappointed. He reared his head back and brought it crashing into guard's own skull, causing him to crumble into a heap, whimpering pathetically.

Wrex sighed, heaving his shoulders, disgruntled, "Well, that was less than satisfying…"

Without saying so much as a word, and pistol in hand, Garrus swept the battleground in long strides, firing single well placed shots at the remaining Cerberus bodies to be certain they were all dead. Approaching the cowering guard, Archangel aimed his new found pistol and double tapped him without batting an eye; one slug in the chest and another in the forehead in rapid succession. The lifeless body keeled over, frozen in time, still clutching its arms and huddled in a fetal position.

"Everyone okay?" Liara shouted to the hidden crew members. "Was anyone hit?"

Joker was the first to stand, peeking his head over the crates.

"Shit…Yeah," he replied breathlessly. "We're fine… No one got hurt."

Garrus tapped his earpiece and hailed the Commander, "Shepard, we're done here."

As his son awaited Shepard's next orders, Tychus surveyed the Normandy's lowest deck. From start to finish, the entire fight barely lasted a mere five minutes: short, but effective, judging by the state of the hangar. The ceiling and storage containers were riddled with stray bullet holes. Bodies and gore littered the floor as the combatants slipped and slid through enemy blood to retrieve fallen weapons and ammo. No matter how effective it was, this hadn't been just a fight… No… This was a massacre… a bloodbath at the simplest of levels. And it horrified the elder turian to think his only son had a hand in this, all of it done in the name of the woman he had praised and commended barely an hour ago...

Updated 6/7/14