AN: Hey! Guess who'd back after an amount of time that isn't long at all... ^^;
Okay, in my defence, I've been working on a novel. Because, you know, I've had a story that I've wanted to write for a while now and, as I broke student, I gotta say, a paid gig might be nice. Even if it's just literally pennies... I've just finished the first draft so I've finally got time to write some more of this. Yay!
Also, apologies if the errors are worse than usual. I finished writing/edited this chapter while watching the Lazer Team livestream. Also, I'm super tired, so, you know...
Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 48 - There's Always A Lighthouse, A Man, A City.
"Hey, Victus. Do you know how we were working on non-lethal takedowns, well I… Oh, shit… You were asleep and I just walked in here…"
Victus groaned as he sat up to see his friend standing awkwardly in the doorway of his room.
"It's fine," he assured her as he turned the light on. "You're not the worst thing to wake up to."
Her face did the thing that he found both curious and adorable where it changed colour, becoming slightly pink. "You're still half-asleep," she said, as if to dismiss what he was saying. "I'm sorry to have bothered you."
He shook his head. "Well, since you've already woken me up, you'd better make it worth my while. So, what was this about non-lethal takedowns?"
"Oh, well," she started as she sat down on the end of his bed. He responded by sitting up, allowing his sheet to fall from his naked torso. "I…" she seemed to lose coherence as her gaze became fixed to his chest.
His mandibles flexed a little as he failed to hold back a grin. "See something you like?" Normally he wouldn't be so bold, but usually he was fully awake.
"I… Sorry! I just… I've never seen a naked turian before…"
"You had a turian partner for years."
She nodded, her blush deepening as she looked away. "I know, I just… Sil had weird modesty for a turian. Or maybe he just didn't want me to know his weaknesses."
"Did he not trust you?"
"Sil didn't trust anyone. Which, given how he died, was probably a sensible attitude to take…"
Victus moved his hand over to her cheek, hoping to comfort her. "Rosa… I trust you."
"I'm human."
"I don't care." He leaned forward, pressing his browplates to her forehead.
"What's this?" she asked softly, but not pulling away.
He shrugged just a little. "Just my way of showing just how much you've come to mean to me. You've really never seen this before?"
"I… I don't think so. Not that I noticed, at least."
Victus woke up with a groan, not really wanting to return to the waking world. The world in which Rosa was dead and he was alone.
If he'd known that he would lose her, he would have just told her how he felt right then and there.
But, there was no point dwelling on the past, he figured as he got up. If he focused too much on the past, he would become bitter like Titus had and he had put up with the Primarch enough over the past few weeks to know that that was the last thing he wanted.
He tried not to let his weariness overcome him as he entered the crew deck, only to find someone handing him a cup of capalus, which he'd once heard Rosa call 'turian coffee'.
"Thanks," he told the human who handed it to him.
He shrugged. "You looked like you needed it and I'd made some along with my coffee. It's how I used to start the day back in the old days with Zaeed."
Victus nodded as he realised just who it was he was talking to. Rosa had told him enough stories for him to figure it out. "You're Will, yes?"
"Yeah. Though, apparently, everyone here just knows me as 'Shepard's father'. It's very strange… Speaking of Sophia, I don't suppose you've seen her?"
Victus shook his head before indicating over to the other end of the room, where Titus was just leaving. "You won't find her anywhere within the proximity of Titus. Luckily, I think he's headed to the war room."
"Wait, why is Sophia avoiding him?"
"Well, he's Garrus' father. He's also the Primarch of Palaven and… he doesn't exactly have a good opinion of humans."
"Any particular reason or just a remnant for the war?"
Victus gave him a blank look before realising that he really didn't know. "I… Both of us were stationed at the base that your shuttle crashed outside of."
"You were the turians who recovered Rosa?" he asked, his voice sounding a little strained as his gaze dropped.
Victus nodded. "Yeah."
"And she made him hate humans? That doesn't seem like Rosa."
"It wasn't her directly. She, in fact, became one of his close friends and made him an advocate for peace."
"Was… Were you there when she…"
Victus shook his head. "Titus was the only one. The Alliance attacked the base and the structure caved in…"
Will nodded, folding his arms as he decided to switch the subject back. "So how did he end up hating us?"
"There was… a diplomatic opportunity. There was a system which wasn't really important to either species. It was a 'we have a base because they have a base' type situation. The only civilian presence were a few turian geologists on one of the planets' third moon. Titus argued for an agreed withdrawal of troops from the system. And he got it, too. The only problem was… the humans didn't stick to the agreement. They returned in force after half of the turian force was already gone. They killed the remaining soldiers, including those evacuating the geologists. Among them was Titus' bondmate…"
"So, not only does he hate humans, he has a special hatred for my wife. And now his son has bonded to our daughter? Ouch…"
"Yeah. Though, as much as Sophia is like Rosa, she's not as much so as Kira is."
"Kira… She's one of the time travelers, right?"
Victus frowned at that. "Wait… Do you not… Have you not really talked with Sophia since you came on board?"
"Not really," Will admitted. "Which is why I'm trying to find her…"
"Well, with Titus gone, I'm sure it's just a matter of time."
"So… Who is Kira? Why do I need to speak with Sophia?"
"Oh no, I'm not ending up in the middle of that…"
Their conversation was interrupted by Sophia storming into the room.
"What's up?" her father asked her.
She growled a little, shaking her head. "Trust me, you don't want to know. Have either of you seen Garrus? I need him to come with me to Tuchanka."
"Nope. But, if you need an extra hand, I could use the exercise," her father said.
"You've only been out of stasis for five minutes. I'll need more evidence that you're okay before bringing you on a mission."
"You going to take Kira with you?" Victus asked.
Sophia shook her head. "She went with Nihlus to help Grunt with the Rachni."
Will sighed. "I swear you're just making up words now… Anyway, who is Kira? I'm getting the sense that there's some secret there."
"Oh, that? That hasn't been a secret for while now," Sophia told him, distractedly, her gaze not quite meeting his.
"Okay, but I'm new around here. So, what is the secret?"
"She and her brother Tom are my kids."
"Wait, your-"
"Yeah. Listen, I've got to find Garrus. I'll speak to you later, okay?"
She hurried off before he could answer, leaving him to sigh as he shook his head. "She can't even look at me… My own daughter doesn't even look at me…"
Tali sighed as she leaned back against the wall outside of the admirals' meeting room. She really didn't want to go back in there.
It seemed as if all she did these days was argue.
"Are you okay?" Raan asked as she approached.
"No… Why did I think that they would listen? It's as if everything I say falls on deaf ears."
Raan shifted awkwardly at that. "Tali… There is… There is a perception that you may not be as invested in retaking Rannoch as others are."
"What? That's ridiculous! Of course I want us to be able to return. I just don't think a full-scale war with the geth is necessary. Nor do I think that this is the best time…"
"I know that. But… you don't have to worry about your children ever having to stay trapped within their suits or losing them to minor infections… The others see that as… a reason why you might not be so eager…"
Tali just gave her a disbelieving look for a moment before shaking her head. "They're using Thee against me?"
"She is… Her ability to survive without her suit is seen as a symbol of what we could possibly regain if we confronted the geth."
"You say 'if' as if things aren't already in motion. At this point, I'm just trying to limit the casualties." Tali sighed, folding her arms. "This isn't going to end anytime soon and, as long as this continues, we are vulnerable to attack from the Reapers. Short of some kind of miracle, I don't see this ending without significant losses. Not to mention the fact that none of this was even necessary."
"You still believe that we could have had productive negotiations with the geth?"
"Yes. But, then again, my daughter doesn't have to wear a suit to survive, so what do I know?"
"Tali…"
"Come on. Let's go before the others decide to sacrifice a civilian ship or something…"
"You seem… mad," Garrus ventured as Sophia stormed through the battle field.
"And why would I be mad?" she asked through gritted teeth.
Garrus turned to Tom, but he simply held his hands up in a very clear signal that he was refusing to get involved. "You know that there was no way for me to know about this, right?"
Sophia sighed, nodding. "Of course I know that, Garrus. I'm just sick of being lied to. Of feeling used. Especially when I know that things are probably going to get worse before they get better."
Garrus responded with reassuring subharmonics tones, mostly because he didn't have much else. She was probably right and they both knew it.
Thankfully, Tom called them over to some more wreckage before the silence continued for too long.
"Are there any survivors?" Sophia asked as she made her way over. They had already encountered a couple of crashed ships, along with a handful of survivors, along the way. One thing all of the survivors seemed to agree on was that Tarquin Victus was to blame. In all honesty, Sophia felt bad for the kid. She was very much aware of just how many of her own command decisions had only panned out because of luck. Though, she supposed that the real test would be if he managed to regain their respect despite this.
As Sophia approached, she found herself stopping dead due to a bullet whizzing past her ear.
"Stop!" she heard a female turian yell from behind the wreckage, not too far from where Tom was standing.
A male turian, who had appeared to have been the one to shoot at Sophia, got up and made his way over to where Sophia guessed the female was hiding. "Why? They're with a human." He leaned over and a few moments later he pulled back, supporting the woman who seemed to have an injured leg.
"Because," she told him, the sound of her voice cutting through the fact that she was covered in blood and dirt to allow Sophia to recognise her, "she's my sister-in-law."
The male frowned as they came up to where Tom was standing. "So, this is your brother?"
"Ye… No," she said, after regarding Tom for a moment. "My nephew."
The male turian gave her a surprised trill of his subharmonics, but was cut off by Garrus rushing towards them.
"Spirits, Sol," he said as he approached, "are you okay?"
She nodded, dismissively. "I'm fine. Just a scratch."
"Father didn't even tell me you were down here…"
She just rolled her eyes at that. "Not really surprising. Are you guys heading to meet up with Tarquin?"
The turian holding her up let out a rather offensive trill of subharmonics. "That bastard is the reason why we're in this mess. We'll all be better off if the locals get him."
Sol responded by jabbing him sharply in the side, despite the fact that he was holding her up. "Watch your mouth. We all knew that this could have gone bad, no matter which route we took."
Sophia raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Sol was the first turian to not spit on Tarquin right away.
Garrus moved over to her and offered his arm. "Here, let me help."
Sol seemed to pause for a moment, perhaps thinking the same as Sophia - that Garrus' shooting ability was probably far more valuable than that of the turian she was currently leaning against - but she accepted his extended arm, leaning against him as they moved.
"We need to get you back to the Normandy," Shepard told her.
Sol shook her head. "Don't stop on my account. We have to get to the others. I'll manage, Shepard."
After a moment, Sophia relented with a nod. "Okay then. Time to press on."
The rest of the journey was rather slow since they had Sol in tow but the young turian had her mandibles clamped tightly shut in determination, making Sophia wonder if she was doing herself further harm. Whether she was or not was difficult to tell since she was refusing to let out even the smallest of complaints. Sophia had to admire her dedication to her team, though she wondered if that was all there was to it.
Her wondering got what could be construed as an answer as they approached Tarquin and the others. The pained look on Sol's face, that Sophia had been putting down to her leg, somewhat lessened as they approached.
"Sol!" Tarquin cried as he spotted them approaching. He headed over to meet them, though he slowed a bit once he noted Garrus giving him a wary look. "I… You didn't call in…"
She nodded and Sophia had seen Garrus blush enough times to recognise the familiar blue tinge beneath her plates. "Our comm broke in the crash."
He nodded in reply, seemingly wanting to say something, though remaining silent.
Sophia took the opportunity to interject. "What's the situation here?"
Tarquin shook his head. "Not good. We lost too many men. Not to mention…" He trailed off, sighing. "Regardless, we don't have the strength to finish this mission."
Sophia was about to remind him just how vital the mission was, when Sol wrenched herself from her brother's grasp. She almost fell forward, though managed to right herself closer to Tarquin, her subharmonics trilling with anger.
"No," she told him, her voice determined. "Turning around is not an option. Not with this much at stake."
"Sol, the others… They don't trust me anymore. And they're right not to. You should have been leading this mission, not me."
Sol shook her head. "Tarquin, I'm even younger than you are. How would that not have looked like the Primarch showing favouritism? Not to mention, I stood by your plan because it's exactly what I would have done. Even if I had been in charge, we would still be in this mess. And I'm pretty sure that you would be standing where I am now, telling me to rally the troops and finish the mission."
"I don't know that I still can," he admitted.
"Well, no one ever said this gig was easy," Sol replied, her subharmonics trilling with reassurance.
"No, I guess they didn't…"
Once back on the Normandy, with an injured Sol in tow, it had taken all of two minutes for a fighting match to break out between Garrus and his father. Pretty much the time it took Chakwas to get Sol behind the doors of the medbay. Sophia had simply elected to stay out of the way. As much as she wanted to back up Garrus, she knew that her presence would only complicate things. So, instead, she took a shower and got changed. Only to find that they were still at it once she had finished. She sighed to herself, briefly toying with the idea of breaking it up, before simply deciding to head to the medbay.
"Hey, I thought I'd check in on you," Sophia said as she approached the bed Solana was currently occupying. Her leg still looked pretty messed up, but it was definitely getting better.
"They're still fighting, aren't they?" Sol asked right away.
Sophia shrugged, not wanting to go into too much detail, but also not wanting to lie. "Garrus is still furious with him for putting you in that situation."
Solana scowled at that. "Garrus needs to stop being so overprotective…"
"Tell me about it," Sophia agreed with a smile. "But he's just worried because you got hurt."
Solana nodded. "I don't know if I'm more annoyed at him for being overprotective, or my father for not giving a shit…"
"Really?"
Sol sighed. "No… Obviously, I'm more annoyed at my father. At least, I would be. If I cared. And I don't… I guess I'm just not used to anyone caring…"
"Your brother has always cared," Sophia assured her.
Sol nodded. "I know, but… It was always from a distance, you know? He was already off in basic when Mom died…" Her subharmonics trilled with sadness as she tried to bring up some of the vague memories she had of her mother, to no avail.
Sophia responded the same way she always had when Tom or Kira had made those noises when they were younger, stroking Solana's mandible soothingly as Garrus had once shown her turian parents and older siblings did. "I lost my mother at about that age too," Sophia told her. "I know that it's tough when you can't remember…"
Solana jerked away from her touch a little but her subharmonics then proceeded to trill with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I'm just… not used to anyone… I'm just not used to this. I can't remember the last time I could… just be a kid… Not that I am anymore, just… You know..."
"I know exactly what you mean…"
Sol paused for a moment before taking a deep breath, apparently steeling herself for something. "Shepard… You're going back, aren't you? To help Tarquin finish the mission?"
"Yeah, that's the plan. Why?"
"I want to go with you."
Sophia raised an eyebrow. "Sol, can you even stand?"
"Just pump me full of painkillers. I'll make it work," she said, the determination clear in her voice.
"Not happening, Sol." Sophia sighed a little as the younger woman clearly wasn't buying it. "You'll just slow us down and you know it."
The pain at the statement was clear on Sol's face but she nodded, if reluctantly.
"Hey," Sophia said as she placed a comforting hand on Sol's shoulder. "I promise that we'll do everything we can to make sure your team gets back safely. Okay?"
"Okay…"
"You sure you're okay?" Kira asked as they returned to the ship.
Grunt just laughed. "Every time you ask that, you sound more like your mother."
Kira responded by punching his arm, ignoring the copious amounts of rachni goop that he was drenched in. "You're not funny."
"Says the woman who released the rachni queen. Classic Shepard."
Kira punched him again, only to earn more laughter.
"Though your punching could use some work."
She rolled her eyes. "Do you want me to use my robot hand? Because I am not above using the robot hand."
"Okay," Nihlus interjected, "timeout you two. Don't make me separate you."
Grunt just let out another bark of laughter. "I'd like to see you try."
Kira smirked. "Seconded."
Nihlus rolled his eyes. "I don't know why I bother with you two…"
Kira responded by skipping over to him and wrapping her arm around his as rested her head against his cowl. "You know I only do it because you're so… creative with the punishments." Her subharmonics chimed in to make sure that he didn't miss her meaning.
Grunt shook his head. "And that's my tolerance for you two."
"I'm just surprised it took so long," Kira told him with a grin.
Shepard watched helplessly as Tarquin slipped from the top of the bomb.
However, before a single moment could pass, Tom called out, "Mom!" with his biotics activated. She quickly caught on to what he was suggesting, extending her own biotics out to meet his, knocking Tarquin over to a nearby platform. The blast hadn't been soft and so she couldn't be sure if he was okay, but the forces still pressing them meant that she couldn't check right away.
By the time they had finished with Cerberus, she looked over to see him getting up. He looked a little unsteady but she took the fact that he was up at all as a good sign.
Once they had returned to the shuttle, it was apparent that he would need medical attention, but that his wounds wouldn't be a problem for long. So, once they were back on the Normandy, they took him to the medbay right away.
"Tarquin!" Sol cried as soon as he entered. "Are you okay?"
He nodded with a smile. "Fine. Just a little banged up."
Sol grinned back as Chakwas made her way over. "I'll decide that," the doctor told him as she moved him over to one of the other beds.
At that point, Victus entered, hurrying over to his son. "Are you alright?"
Tarquin's subharmonics trilled with embarrassment. "I'm fine, Dad."
Sophia held back a laugh as she moved over to Sol. "Fancy a walk?" she asked.
Sol sent a quick look over to Chakwas but, seeing that she was busy, she nodded. "Sounds good."
Sophia helped her up and, once the door closed behind them, she finally let out her laugh.
"What's so funny?" Sol asked.
"Garrus has been wondering who your secret crush is for ages now. I just find it funny that he hasn't figured it out yet."
"I… I don't know what you mean…"
"Right…"
Sol was blushing furiously. "I… Am I really so obvious?"
"Well, I don't think Tarquin's figured it out yet, so…"
Sol nodded. "Yeah, I… If I just wanted… well, you know… it would be easy. But I actually care about him, you know? And if he doesn't feel the same way, it could mess up the whole team dynamic. I don't want that."
Sophia nodded. "Yeah, I can understand that."
"How… How did you and Garrus figure it out?" she asked, quietly.
Sophia shrugged. "I waited until after we had finished with Saren. Though, part of me always wished that I hadn't. Especially just after Cerberus woke me up. I mean, Sol, if they hadn't brought me back… I hadn't even told him that I loved him. If I'd never gotten that opportunity…"
Sol sighed. "There was never any chance that you were going to just tell me to continue ignoring this, was there?"
"No. Though, admittedly, that might be to do with the fact that you dating Victus' son might take some of the heat off me and Garrus."
Sol laughed at that. "Don't hold your breath. I think he'll be giving you two trouble over this forever."
"He will, won't he?" Sophia sighed. "You know that they're arguing again, right?"
"Still over how dangerous the mission was?"
"I don't know. That's how it started but when I last checked with EDI, she said that it had devolved into pretty much everything else."
"I'm surprised you don't keep them permanently separated."
"Trust me, if I thought that I could get away with locking the Primarch of Palaven in the war room, I would."
"I can imagine."
Sophia looked away, her gaze darkening. "I've been deliberately giving Kira and Nihlus missions off the ship so that she doesn't have to deal with it. Especially since… Let's just say that your father is not afraid to take shots below the belt…"
Sol raised a browplate. "Okay, now you have to tell me what he said."
Sophia sighed. "He… Do you know what happened on Akuze?"
Sol shrugged. "I know Garrus went there at some point. It was back when I was still at school and we messaged each other constantly. In fact, now that I think on it, I remember thinking how odd it was that he didn't tell me more about it..."
"He didn't tell anyone because he came across a dying human soldier just outside of a thresher nest. He figured that telling people he had saved them when we were in the middle of a war…"
"Let me guess, that soldier was you?"
Sophia nodded. "It turns out your father had put two and two together after the war ended and both sides traded files. I was a little worried that one of their arguments was heating up and so I kept an ear on it… And your father told him that he should have left me to die."
"Ouch…"
"Yeah. So, I am keeping Kira away and avoiding him myself. And Garrus is dealing with it all by yelling at him."
Before Sol could say anything else, Victus arrived, interrupting them.
"Shepard," he greeted.
"I'm gonna head back to the medbay," Sol told her.
"Can you make it on your own?"
She nodded. "I'll manage," she said before limping off.
"I… I wanted to thank you, Shepard," Victus told her as Sol moved out of earshot. "For saving my son. He told me that without you… He might not have made it back."
Sophia shrugged awkwardly. "It's actually Tom you should be thanking. It was his idea that saved him."
Victus nodded. "Then I shall thank him as well."
Sophia thought for a moment before deciding to ask the question on the tip of her tongue. "Why did Titus choose Tarquin to lead this mission?"
Victus sighed. "He needed someone he could trust. He would have chosen Sol but he didn't want to be accused of promoting her without merit. He knew that I appreciated how important this was, despite our personal differences, so I briefed Tarquin on the mission and the Primarch promoted him."
"So, he threw you under the bus to avoid it himself?"
"Let's just say… You can't quite appreciate how grateful I am that you and Tom were there. He's the only family I've got left and to think that I might have sent him to his death…"
Sophia nodded. "Trust me, I can't help but imagine the worst every time I send Kira or Tom on a mission…"
"I'm proud of him, though. For being so willing to sacrifice himself for the mission. As close to failing as that mission came… he did me proud."
Sophia just nodded, not sure what to say. She still found a lot of turian culture just plain weird. Which was why she was glad that Garrus didn't often hold too closely to those traditions.
"Have you spoken more with your father?" Victus asked, surprising Sophia with the change of topic.
"I… No." She didn't elaborate further since she wasn't sure what to say. She knew that she should talk with him but… she just couldn't. She had this feeling that he was half expecting a little six year old to run around the corner at some point. And, in all honesty, she wanted to be that kid again. She wanted that childhood that she'd never had. But it was too late for that and she couldn't afford to spend her time wishing for things she couldn't have.
"You should," Victus told her softly. "Shepard, we have no idea how things will pan out with this war. Time might be even more limited than we suspect. I would suggest not wasting it."
She nodding, knowing that he was right. "Alright. You've convinced me. I'll go see him now."
"And I shall return to my son," Victus told her.
"Chakwas has asked that the medbay be locked down," EDI interjected, earning a raised browplate from Victus.
"Why?"
"She left the medbay shortly after Solana returned and told me to lock it down in order to preserve privacy. I believe giving you the exact reasoning behind her decision would infringe upon that privacy."
"Wait… what?"
Sophia sighed. "Give yourself a moment to put two and two together," she told him simply before deciding that now would be a good time to leave.
Sophia approached the room Zaeed had once occupied, a little surprised to find the door was open. She hesitantly approached, finding that her father's back was facing her as he worked on his new omnitool. What caught her attention, however, was the tune he was humming. It was more than familiar to her and, after a few moments, she recognised it as the theme tune from a vid series she had watched religiously as a child.
"Fighting evil with our power,
Defeat them in our final hour," she sang as she remembered, drawing her father's attention.
He smiled as he turned to face her. "I've had that song stuck in my head all week," he told her. "There was this whole day marathon on just before we left and you insisted on watching every damn episode…"
Sophia looked away at that. "I don't remember…"
He shrugged, looking a little saddened. "For me, it was only a few weeks ago…"
"I…" she started before trailing off, sighing. There were things she had to say to him but… she knew that it wouldn't be easy for either of them. "Look, I understand how it is to wake up and realise the world has changed without you. I really, really do. But… I can't be her. I can't be the little girl you remember."
He frowned a little, shaking his head. "I never expected that from you. I mean, just look at you, Sophia. You're all grown up. You're regarded as a hero, you're the first human Spectre, you're bonded to a guy who seems to be just as impressive as you are, which I would have actually thought to be impossible, and you're also a mother, in a weird round-about way. I am sad that I didn't get to see my little girl grow up but I want to get to know the woman you've become."
Her gaze darkened, still refusing to meet his. "I… What if I'm not the person you think? The person you had hoped I would become? I have… I've done things over the years that I still struggle to deal with. All you've heard so far is the positive PR…"
"Then tell me the rest," he reasoned simply.
"You'll hate me…" she whispered, so softly that he almost didn't catch it.
He responded by moving towards her, trying to get her to look at him, though she still refused. "Look, Sophia, do you think you're the only one who was left to survive on their own as a kid? Do you think you're the only one who has done things that… they're not proud of? Your mother and I weren't saints or heroes and you won't find a single person who would say that we were. But, I can assure you, you're still my little Sophie," he told her, indicating to the ribbon in her hair. "No matter what, even if I hadn't ended up dead or frozen, that would always be true."
Her gaze finally lifted to meet his, her lip quivering a little. "Papa…"
He responded by wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight.
