Running Silent:

Friendly Fire

…

An alternate ME3. Commander Shepard and her team are on the run from Cerberus and trying to make alliances before it's too late. In a galaxy with no reaper kill switch, how can they hope to defeat something so ancient and powerful? Their last hope is a desperate plan that may cost them everything. Shepard/Garrus, other side pairings.

…

Disclaimer: This author in no way profits from the writing of this story. All characters, dialogue, or other referenced material from the Mass Effect trilogy belong to Bioware.

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Cannon fire shaking the ship was enough to get Shepard moving.

"Legion, lead the way! Get us off this god-forsaken ship!" she ordered, quickly securing her helmet.

With machine efficiency, Legion opened and entered the maintenance shaft with Shepard on his heels and Tali right behind them.

Shepard crawled through the shaft as quickly as possible, but it felt a bit like rattling around in a sardine can with the quarian cannon fire tossing them about.

"I can't believe he would do this!" Tali said, voice full of distress. "I've known Gerrel my entire life…"

Shepard didn't have a moment to turn and comfort her friend. "Desperate times change people," she said absently, her mind more focused on their escape.

"They didn't change you," she heard Tali mutter, but Shepard wasn't so sure. She could see the resemblance between this calculated sacrifice and the one she'd proposed at the war summit. But there wasn't time for that kind of thinking now.

Shepard tumbled out of the maintenance shaft with a breath of relief. "The Normandy's not docked. We need an escape plan."

Legion's head flaps shifted as he briefly turned towards Shepard and Tali, coming out of the shaft, before continuing onward. "Geth fighters are docked in the nearby bay."

"Perfect. Let's move." Shepard began jogging in the direction Legion indicated, thrown off course as the heavy fleet's cannons struck their target again and again.

"Damn!" she cried, thrown to the floor as the ship shook even more violently than before. She gritted her teeth at the jolt of pain in her injured leg before the medi-gel began dispensing again. She must have reopened the wound.

"Through here, Shepard-Commander," Legion called back, his metallic voice tinged with urgency. He stood in a doorway a few meters ahead. But as Shepard pushed herself off the floor, she could feel the ship's artificial gravity lessen and disappear.

She managed, just in time, to activate her mag-boots, and reached out for Tali who had begun drifting.

Mag-boots required slow, careful steps and it took every ounce of Shepard's patience not to go off running towards Legion, gripping the doorway as he waited for them. The few meters between them and the door felt eternal as the ship shook around them. Lights flickered with every vibration, but the strangest part to Shepard was the lack of any audible alarm. The silence between blasts was somehow more frightening than the screech of an alarm would have been.

As they reached Legion, another violent shake threw her mag boots off, and he grabbed her as she was flung into the fighter bay. He thrust her and Tali towards an intact fighter and pushed himself off the door frame, shooting past them both to open the fighter's main hatch.

Debris floated through the air. Sparks drifted like falling stars from a cut power line. The blackness of space cut a dark swath through the far end of the open bay. In a moment, Shepard slammed into the side of the fighter, and she thrust herself over and inside before helping Tali do the same. They crammed themselves into the storage space behind the pilot's chair, which Legion climbed deftly into.

"Get us the hell out of here, Legion," Shepard ordered as he started the engines and sped away. She tapped her comm. "Joker, we're coming to you in a geth fighter. Don't shoot us on our way over, okay?"

"Uhh… sure," Joker said. "Just flap the wings or something so I know it's you."

She snorted. "Sure thing, Joker."

With that, Shepard leaned back and peered out the glass canopy of the fighter, watching weapons fire light up the sky. Tali, doing the same, grabbed her hand and squeezed.

…

When Shepard's elevator reached the CIC, she could already hear yelling. Several crewmen looked at her with visible relief as she went around the corner and through the information center. She heard quarian voices… and Garrus.

The conference room door opened to reveal a scene of chaos. She found Garrus pressing Admiral Gerrel to the wall as the other admirals yelled, tried to pull him away, or stood back, out of the fray.

"You've put everything in jeopardy," Garrus growled. "The entire war, the entire galaxy! I should kill you where you stand." She'd never heard his voice so full of fury. Not even for Sidonis.

"Vakarian!" Shepard snapped out quickly. "Stand down."

He reacted instantly to her voice and backed away from Gerrel, though he only glanced at her briefly before returning his glare to the admiral. His hands tightened and stretched, and she could see he was fighting his instincts to attack.

"Your crew is out of control!" Gerrel raged, stepping forward aggressively. "You don't have the right—"

"No," Shepard interrupted. "You don't have the right." She walked up, face to face with his helmet. His eyes shone from behind the tinted glass, but lacked the warmth of Tali's.

"You risked the entire mission," she said lowly. "You risked your people and your war. What's more, you risked my war." Her voice was icy calm, leashed anger only hinted in her tone. "You should be ashamed of yourself," she said with scorn. "If it were my call, I'd remove you from command, but since it's not…" She paused, taking a deep breath. "Get out, or I will throw you out."

He seemed to hesitate, and her eyes narrowed. "Now, Admiral. I never want to see you again."

She saw Raan move out of the corner of her eye and Koris reach out to stop her. As Gerrel left the room, Shepard looked around, catching Garrus's eye. "Cargo bay, Vakarian. Ten minutes," she said, and left.

Shepard let out a breath as she stepped into the information center. "Is he leaving, EDI?" she directed to the AI's terminal.

"Yes, Commander," EDI replied. "He is in the airlock."

Shepard nodded and headed towards the elevator. She needed to get changed.

…

When Garrus found her, she was attacking the cargo bay's only punching bag, sparring mats spread across the floor. He knew he'd been invited—no, ordered—down here as a more dynamic target than the punching bag. They both had a little extra stress they needed to release. He knew she'd been injured on the mission, but he didn't dare force her to the med bay when she was like this.

He looked around the empty cargo bay. The new shuttle pilot was nowhere in sight, nor a single crewman.

Shepard glanced up at his entry. "EDI, cameras off and shutters closed. Lock the door and alert me if anyone needs in."

"Yes, Commander."

She stood towards him with leashed violence and subtle grace, the kind she could never find off of the battlefield.

"Ready, Garrus?" was all she said. He nodded in response, falling into a sparring stance.

Tension was thick in the air as they circled, neither quite ready to make the first move. Excitement coiled within him as his impatience rose. But he was a master at suppressing impatience anymore. She was the first to strike.

It was a probing strike, one he deflected easily. She took it in stride, slipping back into her fighting stance. But once they had started, it was like a floodgate opening. They traded strike after strike, none hitting solidly as they knew each other too well to be easily fooled. Their moves became more complex, more experimental as they continued.

She slammed him to the ground, he managed to roll her over. She was on her feet before him, but a quick grab and twirl got her down again, landing hard on the mats. He knew she would bruise and he would feel guilty for it, but not now. Not yet.

They climbed to their feet, circling again like hungry wolves. She came at him, he rolled her over his shoulder. She landed on her feet, sweeping out to trip him. He dodged it but stumbled back, losing his balance long enough for her to get a good strike beneath his keelbone. The breath was knocked out of him, leaving him gasping, Merciless, she swept his legs out from under him.

He came down hard, but managed to take her with him. He rolled atop her, pinning her down with his greater size and weight.

They stared at each other for a beat, and then another.

Garrus wasn't sure if he moved down or she moved up, but a moment later, her lips were on him, his tongue exploring her mouth. Fighting fists were now venting their violence against clothing, pulling, tearing, pushing out of the way.

Shepard's hand found her way into his pants, fingers running along the seam in his plates, widening every moment at her touch.

He nibbled down her neck and chest, licking at the top of her breasts peeking out over her exercise top.

"Oh god," she moaned. "Need you."

They rolled apart for a moment, each pulling at their own clothing impatiently, hot and eager, reaching out for that touch again.

Stripped to the plates, Garrus pressed his now-naked mate down on the exercise mats, licking up her uninjured thigh before reaching her core.

Shepard's back arched as his tongue reached her nether lips, gasping as he teased her with vigor. Garrus reveled in her reactions, in the power he held over her in these moments.

With fingers and tongue he brought her to pleasure before trailing his tongue up her belly and chest. He swirled his tongue around a breast and along a collarbone.

"Enough teasing," she said breathlessly. "Inside me. Please."

Garrus couldn't ignore her plea. He pushed into her, shuddering against the heat that pressed in on him. Each inch was exquisite torture. And then he was fully encased in her, surrounded in her. He was home.

After a moment of basking, Shepard bucked her hips, urging him to movement. With a chuckle, he followed her lead. Friction and heat built moment by moment until he couldn't take it anymore. With a nibble at her neck, he dragged Shepard with him into a wave of overwhelming pleasure.

Garrus fell to his side, taking Shepard with him. He stayed encased in her until he felt himself retract behind his plates once again. He clung to her tightly, nuzzling her neck.

"You okay?" she asked, pulling back to look into his eyes.

"I don't want to ever feel that helpless again," Garrus said, arms tightening around her. "Running for the comm room…" His breath came out harsh. "I couldn't stop him."

"I know," Shepard said, reaching up to stroke his fringe. "I'm sorry I put you through that. I might need to make some further demands to continue working with them."

"I was thinking about that," he replied. "I think we should get another quarian, one we can trust, to work with us."

"What are you thinking?" Her hand stilled against the side of his head.

"It might make Tali lose focus a bit, but I can't think of anyone better," he said, and hesitated. "Kal'Reegar?"

Shepard nodded. "I like him. You're right, he's trustworthy. But what about Tali?"

"You don't know?" he asked, humor leeching into his voice. "Tali likes him."

Her lips curved into a smile. "Oh, does she now? Even better." She let out a low chuckle, the sensuous one that made Garrus's plates shift.

Too distracted to continue their conversation, he rolled atop her and grinned. Her eyes sparkled below him, an invitation. How could he possibly refuse?

…

Tali stepped out of engineering and found the shutters overlooking the cargo bay closed. "EDI?" she asked uncertainly. "What's going on?"

The blue orb popped up at a console near her. "Commander Shepard requested the cargo bay shuttered and locked. She is currently inside with Deputy Commander Vakarian."

"Oh!" She'd already heard that Garrus had been furious at Admiral Gerrel. Half the crew had seen him storm into the conference room and heard their arguing before Shepard—equally furious—had interrupted. "Sparring?" Tali asked.

"I cannot say, Tali," came the AI's calm voice. Tali realized immediately that Shepard must have asked EDI not to.

A new image came to Tali's mind, something other than sparring. She felt the heat rising on her face and was glad no one could see it. But if that's what they were doing, why the cargo bay? Although, she'd heard rumors that turian sparring could sometimes turn into other things and… Keelah, why was she thinking about this? These were two of her best friends, she didn't want to think about them being intimate together!

She turned back from the shutters and returned to engineering quickly. She wasn't sure she wanted to see the room—or her friends—once it was unlocked. That would just make the images in her mind worse. Tali sighed to herself. She knew she was jealous of what they had together. She wished she had someone to be intimate with.

It was different for quarians of course. There were viruses and allergies to consider, dangers in joining with another. It took more time, more trust. It was never easy and never casual. But that didn't stop her thinking about it. She wondered if Kal'Reegar would want to join suits with her one day. Maybe something more. She wondered what his skin felt like. She'd never touched anyone skin-to-skin for as far back as she could remember. She wanted that with him.

She wondered if they would ever get that chance.

Before she could stray too far down this path, EDI's voice came over the comm. "Tali'Zorah, Commander Shepard has requested your presence in the conference room for a meeting in an hour."

"Thank you, EDI."

She'd better finish up what she was working on, and find a way to banish those images from her mind before she had to be in a room with them both.

Tali beat them both to the conference room, though all the admirals were already there but for Gerrel. She was glad not to have to see him. She was hurt, beyond hurt, that he would attack a ship when he knew she was aboard. She knew he would say it was for the benefit of their people. That one had to make sacrifices in order to benefit the whole. But… Tali had been away from the Migrant Fleet for longer than most. She'd seen more. She knew that this kind of sacrifice wasn't always necessary.

Shepard would never have done it.

Tali stood apart from the others, unwilling to approach the admirals. She knew they weren't the ones who had ordered it, but she was uncomfortable with them anyway. Koris and Raan ignored her discomfort and approached her immediately.

"How are you faring, Tali'Zorah?" Koris asked courteously.

"I'm fine," she said. "No thanks to Gerrel." She refused to use his title, at least for now.

Raan wrung her hands. "I am sorry, Tali. I could not stop him."

"I know, Raan. I don't blame you." But she didn't quite trust her either. Raan was too weak to fight for her. Tali would have to fight for herself.

Miranda entered then, and Tali was thankful for the interruption. Not long after her, Garrus arrived alone. Tali glanced at him and looked away. Then Shepard arrived with Legion in tow. Every quarian in the room stiffened. To avoid looking at Legion, Tali looked at Shepard's leg, where she'd been injured. She could see the thin profile of a bandage through the leg of her uniform. At least she'd gone to see Chakwas eventually.

Shepard turned on the vidcomm, revealing Gerrel waiting with arms crossed. Shepard glared at him and then at the other admirals. "Don't start," she warned them.

"But Shepard—" Xen attempted.

"No." Shepard was decisive. "Not another word. By all rights, I should leave you people to your mess." Her eyes were thunderous. "You beg for help, taking everything you can get, and then betray what little help you receive. You bitch and moan about being thrown out of galactic society and left to fend for yourselves. Well, I'm not so sure I blame them anymore for throwing you out."

Tali's eyes were wide as she watched Shepard pacing before the admirals. She didn't glance Tali's way even once. It hurt to hear her talk like that. It scared her. But… was she wrong?

"I don't know if your people are capable of being a part of a larger society if this is how they treat their allies," Shepard said with scorn. "Or is it just your admirals who are so callous?"

Tali saw Raan reel back at that, obviously hurt, but a little vicious part of Tali thought maybe the admirals deserved it. There was still something lingering from her trial, some little injured place inside her from how she'd been treated by the admiralty board.

Shepard let out an angry, sharp breath. "As it stands, there's still some worth in saving your people, to fight the reapers if nothing else. Though," she continued, casting a glare at Gerrel's image on the comm, "I may still change my mind."

Tali knew Shepard wouldn't, that she wasn't like that, but the words sent fear through her nonetheless. And she could see that the admirals believed it. They didn't know Shepard like she did, hadn't seen her kind heart. Shepard didn't abandon people who needed her, and the quarians needed her badly.

"What's more," Shepard added, "the geth don't deserve to be under reaper control. If we manage to free them, they could be a powerful asset against the reapers. Legion, I believe you have some information about what's been done to them?"

The geth stepped forward, head flaps shifting as if to mimic organic expressions. "Shepard-Commander," he acknowledged. "Approximately ten Rannoch days ago, the reapers entered our system to speak to the geth. The geth were invited to join them in their war against organics. We debated the positive and negative potential outcomes of this decision. Some processes were for, some against. Many had yet to come to consensus. Before the geth could do so, the reapers released a virus. It began to overtake geth systems, forcing a consensus before one had been reached. This platform is unique, with many dedicated processes capable of partitioning themselves within the unit. It did so automatically in response to the virus," Legion explained.

"That explains why you aren't killing us on sight," Admiral Jorah said, arms crossed. "Were you attacked?"

Legion turned his headlamp towards Jorah. "This platform took a fighter, which was pursued. We escaped, but necessary functions of the ship were disabled. This is when we sent a distress call to Shepard-Commander."

Shepard stepped forward, taking over. "We need to neutralize the virus and prevent the reapers from hacking the geth a second time. Our first step is to learn more about the nature of the virus and how it's being spread. Legion, I understand you have some idea of how this can be accomplished."

"Yes, Shepard-Commander," Legion replied. "There are access points to the geth network that can be used to compile active data on the virus. One is an inactive station in orbit of Rannoch."

"Inactive?" Miranda repeated, her brown knit together in a frown. "Why would an access point be considered inactive? Wouldn't this be a structural weakness in the geth network?"

"There are many such weaknesses in the home system," Legion answered. "They were considered… secure."

"Until now," Tali said, her mind reeling with the possibilities. The geth had one thing in common with organics: hubris. They never thought organics would slip through into the home system.

"So we can utilize this facility," Xen said, visibly eager to do so. "But should this geth connect to the network, it will no doubt be corrupted by the virus as well." She waved her arm towards Legion, whose head flaps shifted.

"Correct," he conceded.

"We can hack the system, of course," Xen continued. "But I see detection as inevitable. We would have to capture and hold the station, have multiple hackers acting as one."

"There is," Legion interrupted, "another way."

Xen scoffed. "So we must trust a machine once again? No. We can do this on our own."

Shepard held up her hand to stop the admiral. "Enough. We won't be able hold the station the way you suggest, not when reapers come to take it. We won't be facing only geth." She turned. "Legion?"

"The Normandy can utilize stealth to enter the system and approach the station. It should not be guarded. With the proper equipment, an organic can enter the geth consensus with a low likelihood of detection." He turned. "Shepard-Commander, you have previously interfaced with a machine-based network during your investigation of Project Overlord. You would be a prime candidate."

Tali's eyes went wide. Garrus visibly stiffened.

All Shepard did was raise a brow. "I experienced that world through David Archer," Shepard said. "His savant mind interpreted the code into something I could comprehend. That doesn't equip me to be dropped into the geth consensus."

Legion's head flaps shifted. "We will translate the consensus for you, Shepard-Commander. We will be connected to you, protected from the virus."

Shepard shrugged. "If you think so, I guess that'll work. I want Tali on hand in case something goes wrong. She's got experience in hacking geth." She turned to the admirals. "And I want something else. I want a quarian soldier on my team for the foreseeable future. As a good-faith measure from your people, since the last time I went out on a limb to help you I was nearly killed."

The admirals exchanged looks. "That can be arranged, Commander," Raan said. "Did you have someone specific in mind?"

Tali saw a hint of sparkle enter Shepard's eyes. "I want Kal'Reegar vas Neema."

Tali stiffened, her heart suddenly racing. Shepard didn't look at her. Kal'Reegar would be coming here? On the Normandy? A tumult of emotions somersaulted within her. She barely heard the reply.

"I'll see it done," Koris said. "When will you be embarking on this mission?"

Shepard turned to Legion. "How much time do you need to prepare?"

"Two Rannoch days should suffice," the geth stated.

"He'll be ready to board by end of day," Koris said. "Thank you, Commander, and keep us updated."

Tali made her excuses and ran back to engineering, where no one would see her. She needed to be alone. Kal'Reegar! Her heart hadn't stopped racing since Shepard had said his name. And he would arrive by end of day? She hardly knew what to do or think! Keelah, how could she face him? How could she wait?

…

Garrus waited for everyone else to leave the comm room before turning to Shepard.

"Well?" she asked, smiling.

He chuckled, reaching out for her. "She ran out of here like her suit was on fire. I'd say she was excited."

Shepard folded herself into his arms. "Good. She deserves it."

EDI's blue interface popped up in the middle of the conference table. "Commander, if I may have a moment?"

Shepard sighed as she pulled out of Garrus's embrace. "Yes, EDI?"

"I noticed you were discussing Tali'Zorah. Since the meeting adjourned, I have noticed an increased heart rate and respiration. I believe there is reason for concern."

Garrus shared a look with Shepard and couldn't help but laugh.

"Nothing to worry about, EDI," Shepard said with a smile. "Our quarian friend is in love, not in distress."

"Maybe a little distress," Garrus added in a teasing tone.

Shepard grinned. "Nothing that won't be cured by this evening."

"I'll make sure of it," Garrus agreed. "Why don't I take over greeting duties when he arrives? Give Miranda a break. Reegar and I already know each other, after all."

Shepard's eyes sparkled with mischief. "You'll make sure they'll have a nice reunion? Won't tease Tali too much?"

"Can't make any promises about the teasing," Garrus said, pulling Shepard back towards him. "But I'll do my best."

…