Note: Hello, everyone! With all the stuff going on in the world I do hope this finds you well and safe. I apologize for the delay on this chapter but I don't like to rush through it.
Feedback is always appreciated and thank you for reading. If you are in need of someone to talk to during this global crisis please feel free to IM me.
Please enjoy Chapter Three: The Primarch
Mass Effect
"Foreign Relations"
Chapter Three: The Primarch
The Normandy was stocked full before they left the Citadel. With her Spectre status upheld she had access to all the best inventory for armor and weapons and with dock crew loaded the ship in record time. Sidda knew that either Udina or Sparatus had something to do with that and as much as she wanted to wait for Nov to come back before she left, Sparatus was insisting that she didn't have time to wait for however long it took Nov to get the Havincaw back to the Citadel.
Dr. Michel griped as well, Sidda was nowhere near healed and swore she'd give that councilor a piece of her mind when she saw him. The only reason she didn't was that Chakwas was onboard and had already taken steps to make sure Sidda was okay.
Chakwas ordered Sidda to be in Medical whenever she wasn't somewhere else. Bone healers were a fantastic invention like Medigel but even they had a maximum dose limit. Too much medigel made you jittery, too much Bone healers made you sick and shaky. Sidda was given the maximum and remained in medical for monitoring. The maximum dose made her stomach turn. On top of that Chakwas monitored her head injury and the implants that Cerberus grafted into her. The implants were aiding in the healing and it was staggering. When Chakwas first examined her after she was brought back from the dead she wasn't sure how deep they went with the upgrades, now she knew. The implants were state of the art and the biotic amp was maintaining the head injury as well as any medical interface could.
"You should not go into a combat zone, Commander, you can barely move." Chakwas lectured. It was her medical opinion but, in this case, there was no medical override. The situation was too dire.
"I'll be fine, Doc." She said quietly but she was in pain. Her head still hurt, the concussion was healing, and her shoulders were still in pieces. "Once I get in the armor I'll be okay."
"I'll issue you a cocktail of meds so you can function if you are insisting on the idiotic notion of going into combat. A mild painkiller for now. I can't in good conscious let you go down into combat under the influence of a narcotic. You're already going to be a liability." She said and was brutally honest with what she had to say. Someone else could just as easily recruit the Primarch but she left that someone else – Kaidan – on the Citadel. Sidda heard her and allowed Chakwas to do what she needed to do to help heal her injuries.
Leaving Kaidan on the Citadel was his decision, he needed to work out his path. Udina asked him to be a Spectre, something Sidda believed he would be great at, it was a huge opportunity for him even during a war. They still hadn't worked their differences out completely, but it was better than it had been. It took almost two hours to get to their destination and Sidda spent it all in Medical before taking a brief tour ending in the armory.
Pulling the armor on hurt but she knew that going in. She her right-hand shook holding the Mattock rifle she thought about the intelligence of her actions. Was she going to be a liability over anything else? If so, the conditioned military mind she possesses, screamed at her to stay behind. She thought back to the Citadel too, she stopped Saren with internal bleeding…a headache and broken bones should pale by comparison.
She managed to shoulder the Mattock and prepped the Predator pistol; she'd defer to that unless she needed to use something bigger. Vega and Liara would suffice as her fireteam, she didn't know what she was walking into but Liara could handle herself and Vega proved to be a good solider if not a little brash.
The state of Palaven caused a knot in her stomach, the planet was on fire and the fleet was in a brutal fight. Sparatus briefed her on Rylo via the QEC while she was in route, the 3rd Division managed to prove that the Reapers could be destroyed but it took far too much firepower to manage it efficiently. Sidda and Liara both worried about Garrus, neither one of them had heard from or about him in months. Sidda had lost track of him while she was on Earth and if Nov knew where he was he never told her.
Menae was Palaven's largest moon and it had an atmosphere, most of its metrics were classified and if she knew the Turians, whatever they were hiding was probably underground. The Normandy slipped in undetected and deposited the Kodiak on Menae. It was a warzone as soon as the shuttle door opened and Sidda fired a few shots from the pistol but regretted it immediately. Body mechanics were never more prevalent then when you had something broken then all the shock from whatever you were doing stopped at the break like an earthquake. Her right shoulder took the brunt and she felt all the broken pieces of her scapula absorb it. She growled through it and deferred to her biotics, they hurt less but any sort of movement hurt. This was a bad idea.
Petrus Corinthus reminded her of Victus, tall, handsome, serious…typical Turian. Since her stint on the Lante she found Turians more attractive to her then Humans. It was disturbing on some level. He looked her up and down, the black armor with the Spectre emblem was all he needed to confirm who she was. Earth only had one Spectre. "Not that I don't appreciate the help but what brings a Council Spectre here?" he asked and resumed his work over the monitor. Sidda was out of practice at reading Turian script and it was flying by too fast on the screen so she had no idea what it said.
"My name is Commander Shepard, I need to extract Primarch Fedorian to chair a War Summit with the Salarians and the Asari." She told him and the pause from Corinthus told her everything she needed to know before he even opened his mouth. Turians were easy to read for her now.
"Primarch Fedorian is dead, Commander, his shuttle was shot down as it tried to leave Menae a half an hour ago." He said in a professional tone. Being that he was a general Corinthus probably knew Fedorian well just like Victus did.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know him well but I knew he was a good leader." She said and Corinthus accepted the platitude.
"He was terrific leader and he would have made an outstanding diplomat." Corinthus said to her.
With Fedorian dead her options narrowed. "What's the situation?"
"We just lost 400 men in a half an hour, Commander, what's that tell you? We set up advance positions on this moon to flank the enemy but the it's all…."
"Irrelevant."
He gave a curt nod that reflected the buried frustration. "Exactly, the sheer force of the Reapers make them immune to that tactic but now we're committed no matter what."
Sidda wanted to help them but needed the help for Earth first. Turian's could hold…but for how long. "I hate to sound crass, General, but who's next in line for Primarch?"
"Palaven Command would know but right now we can't send any communications out. The tower is down and my men are having a hard time getting to it for repairs." He explained. "Husks keep swarming the area."
"Let me try and help you with that, I get to the comm tower help you men."
Corinthus gave a single nod, he wasn't going to turn away any help and even he knew Shepard's reputation. "As soon as it's up I'll send a message to Palaven Command."
The roadblock for Corinthus' men was the sheer number of Husks, they just kept coming. Sidda still didn't use her weapons and stuck with only the biotics. It still hurt but not as much, reave was the best thing she had as it drained life from whoever she threw it at and gave her a boost that felt like a high. The fight wasn't hard once everyone was together and gave the Turian engineer time to do his job and repair the tower.
"Commander, are you okay?" Vega asked as she was slow to get to her feet. On the bright side her head didn't hurt anymore…her shoulders on the other hand.
"I'm alright." She replied and Corinthus cut in summoning them back to the main barricade.
"Thank you for your help, Commander, succession is usually simply but right now the hierarchy is in chaos. So many dead or MIA." Corinthus commented as she leaned on the barricade with a slow exhale. He didn't ask about the pain, but she was definitely in pain.
"I will take you, General, if need be but I need someone to come with me." She said now starting to sound irritated. Everyone was in a bad situation and Corinthus didn't let any of her tone bother him. Corinthus looked over his shoulder to the Turian coming off the top of the barricade across from his.
"I'm on it, Sidda." A very familiar voice said and drew the immediate attention of Sidda and Liara both.
"Garrus!" Sidda felt a wave of relief seeing the scarred Turian she considered to be her closest friend stroll across the lane and up into the barricade with her. He looked the same, blue and black heavy armor and, as always, the black Spectre HMWSR Mk.X that was a gift from Sidda and his most treasured possession. "Glad to see you in one piece."
"You as well, Sidda." He replied and shook her hand noting how 'rough' she looked then turned his attention to the other person he recognized. "You too, Liara."
"Vakarian, Sir." Corinthus saluted and Sidda raised an eyebrow. The general just saluted him and called him 'sir'. Odd.
"We know who we're looking for, Sid, and you're not going to believe this…" Garrus said and Corinthus finished it
"The next Primarch is General Adrien Victus." Corinthus said and Sidda stepped forward, shocked and surprised.
"Oh, Christ, I don't believe this." she said with a sigh. It would be nice to see him again and to make sure he was okay but it was also the last thing she needed right now. Drama with her ex-lover in the middle of a warzone.
Corinthus looked at her with a quizzical expression. "There a problem?"
She hoped they'd cleared the air at the Tribunal but only time would tell. Turians were territorial which meant they could be jealous and possessive. "Personal history. That's all…where is he?"
"I was fighting alongside him this morning." Garrus said and she nodded.
"Do you remember where you left him?"
Garrus, Sidda, and Vega quickly made their way to the last location of the Victus. After a brief gun battle on Corinthus' main barricade and their first encounter with something they were all calling a 'Brute' they pressed on. Garrus was retracing his steps but was still amazed that of all the Turians on the moon the Sidda and Victus would wind up in the same place.
"You know I think the universe is saying something, Sid." Garrus said and she followed him keeping an eye out for Reapers.
"Uh-oh." She replied and he chuckled.
"In this whole damn war, you and Adrien wind up on the same Moon. Not only that but you have been sent to get him." Garrus said and she listened to his comments. "The spirits like you two as a match."
"Am I missing something, Lola?" Vega asked as they got closer to the command post Victus has set up.
Sidda didn't answer Vega right away and disagreed with Garrus' interpretation. Being with Victus was wonderful, he was great but it wasn't meant to be. "They didn't like us together at all. I'm married now, Garrus."
Garrus chuckled. "I know. And don't get me started on Tali getting a wedding invitation and not me." He said. "I hear she caused quite the stir among the Turian males.
Sidda laughed lightly as she remembered the Turian's mesmerized by the Quarian that was her maid of honor. "Only one of my wedding party that was armed the whole time. Had no idea she'd become famous for that."
As Garrus laughed Vega asked his question again. "Commander, something I should know with you and the General?"
She shook her head. "Victus and I have a history. That's it."
The chatter after that was mainly about the current situation and how everyone needed to drop their differences and just work together. It never happened that way, no one ever just stopped hating others to defeat a common enemy without concessions. The Krogan and the Batarians needed to be at this summit but that was never going to happen. Krogan hated the Salarians and Turians too much and the Batarians, had they not been wiped out already, had the same relationship with Humans.
Clearing a rise showed them an aerial battle between a large Turian frigate and one of the Reapers on the ground. Sidda recognized the frigate firing on the Reaper, older and bigger than the usual frigate. After spending a year on it she'd never forget it. It was the Lante attempting to hold her own in a one on one fight about 100 feet above the surface.
"That's the Lante!" Sidda shouted and paused watching it take a direct hit to the midships. "That's Victus' ship." She clarified for the uninitiated.
Garrus trotted the edge of the rock face and looked up as the frigate began to list to the right. An explosion secondary to the reaper hit was seen on along the dorsal side of the ship as the thrusters fired to level off. She was going down, in a lateral spin and losing altitude. The ship seemed to be under some power as the pilot, probably Ruvio, tried to set her down in one piece. The frigate pretty much backed into the rock formation across the valley but seemed mostly intact. The impact smashed the right wing so there was no way she was getting back up, but the important thing was that the Lante was intact and there was no explosion. "He's not on it." He assured. Victus had been on that ship for a while. He led the ground crew into the fight, that was how Garrus bumped into him.
"Commander, how many people on that ship? 75?" Vega asked and Sidda felt a rush of emotion from sadness to anger.
"130." She replied. "I served on that ship."
"Hard to see a beautiful ship like that go down." Vega said carefully, it didn't matter the military you were in there was a comradery during an emergency like this. "At least she went down swinging."
Garrus didn't want to be insensitive but he didn't have time to be polite. "We need to go, Sid." He stated and Sidda looked away from the downed frigate and followed Garrus to the firebase.
She fell in line behind Garrus with Vega behind her. After a few seconds they came around a bend to find a few soldiers tending to some wounded. "Soldier," Garrus greeted. "you guys okay?"
"Yes, Sir, we'll make it." One of them replied as Sidda handed him a few more medigel packs.
"Have you seen Victus?" Garrus asked quickly.
"A little way ahead at the firebase." He replied and Sidda slowly turned toward the way he'd indicated.
"Sid, before we go in there. Are you okay?" Garrus asked and she was surprised that he hadn't asked before now. Falling off the barricade and then coming face to face with the Brute nearly made her cry and he saw that but didn't say anything.
Sidda was both tired of being asked that and being in pain, the look on her face reflected that. "She went toe to toe with a Cerberus Mech on Mars." Vega said and Sidda grumbled to herself, she didn't like being vulnerable but here she was…injured in a combat zone.
Garrus gave her a concerned look. "How bad is it?"
"Head injury, broken shoulders, skull fracture." She said and waved him off. "I'll survive, just a little tender. Let's go."
The sound of four small explosions caused them to quicken their pace. All three of them identified them as proximity mines, the firebase probably had them set up to catch any intruders. Sidda was running out of time. The firebase had a decent location and was set up well but the Reapers didn't play by any rules. The arrived in force and overwhelmed any defenses they found. They sent wave after wave at them which caused a problem for the Turians.
As they moved in on the area things got worse, cannibals, Husks and Brutes. It was becoming a hell of a firefight and she couldn't just use her biotics anymore. The Mattock was felt across both shoulders, but she'd live…maybe. Vega and Sidda were back to back fending off husks. She was sending a lot of biotics into in the mix and husks were being torn apart.
Trying to systematically take them down was working. The three Brutes were the hardest, however. At the main barricade with Corinthus she was able to take one down with her biotics alone, an impressive display but she didn't think she had that in her twice. The firepower it took to take one down was troubling, but Vega demonstrated that the Mattock could do the job without much fuss as he managed to knock one of them down before it crushed them both.
The fight wasn't over. She could see Victus at a Command Post firing at a Brute that was making its way toward them, if the Brute hit the post it could crush the occupants or knock them off. Either way it was bad.
"Garrus! Vega! The Brute!" she yelled and ran toward the Command Post to head off the Brute. "Bring it down!" Victus was up there and she would be damned if she was going to let him get hurt.
Victus made a double take recognizing the voice shouting orders; that was Sidda. Her armor was different, not the black and yellow he was used to but it was her…he was sure of that.
"Bring it down!" she yelled again and used the same tactic she did on the other one. This one was bigger and closer. Victus and his men trained their fire on the Brute also as it charged and tried to smash Sidda between it and the Command Post structure. She rolled out of the way and heard the familiar sound of Garrus' sniper rifle. If any conventional weapon they had could do the trick it was that one. A few more Reaper enemies were still present and Sidda was slow to get out of the way of the Marauder. Two Turian figures appeared in front of her and shielded her. One had a helmet on and the other one didn't. The one with the helmet she knew was Maridus just by his armor, black and orange, the other was Cerrus of all people.
"Clear?" she heard Vega yell as they finally found the end of the Reaper attack. Probably wouldn't be forever but it would be long enough for her to get what she wanted.
Maridus and Cerrus hears the same thing Victus had and jumped off their barricade to help Sidda and Maridus reached down to help pick her up.
He pulled on her left arm. "No. No. No." she cried out in pain a little louder than she wanted to.
"The beast didn't hit you," Cerrus commented curious about the clear pain she was in. "you okay?"
They were only trying to help but she couldn't survive help right now. "I'm fine." She growled out as she managed to get up on her own.
"She had a run in with a synthetic on Mars." Vega explained as he came over to make sure she was in one piece.
Sidda regained her composure and looked up to see her former lover. "Adrien." She greeted with an uneasy tone. She wasn't sure how he would react to seeing her again.
Victus was surprised to see her to say the least. It was a welcome surprise for him though, if she was in his ranks this fight could end a totally different way. "Sidda." He greeted in kind. She approached him and he took her hand in both of his. "Glad to see you are okay." He said and Sidda allowed an awkward smile. "Vakarian, where did you go?" he asked turning his attention to the mission and releasing her hand.
"Reaper attack on the left, I believe your exact words were 'Get that thing the hell off my men'." Garrus replied and Victus nodded, he and Garrus had their differences but in the end he was a hell of a solider.
"Appreciate it..." Victus turned his attention back to Sidda and asked the obvious question. "I can't wait to find out why a Council Spectre is here." He said and she sighed.
"Oh, you're not gonna like it, Adrien." she told him and he cocked his head to her. "we've come to extract you. We need you to chair a War Summit with the Asari and the Salarians."
Victus looked at her confused. "Why me?"
"You're the new Primarch, Adrien. Fedorian was killed earlier today." She stated and he looked at her more shocked than confused this time.
"What?" he breathed and walked away from them to look at a view of his home planet burning. Sidda walked up to stand next to him. "I'm Primarch of Palaven?"
"Adrien…I need you." She said. "Look at that destruction, double it for Earth. I was there when they hit. I saw it." Victus was silent as he listened to her talk; he heard the break in her voice and knew how she felt. "The Council won't help me but Sparatus gave me an option to come get you and start organizing a fleet."
Victus moved his head to the side toward her but didn't look at her. "I'm not a politician, Sidda, I'm a soldier and I piss people off you know that." He said and she put her left hand on his arm.
"You're perfect, Adrien, you know how to get things done and you're not afraid to stomp on anyone's toes." She said trying to persuade him to help her out. This wasn't something she could do on her own and was completely sincere. "Please…I need you, Adrien."
Hearing her say that was a shot in the arm for him though it was taken out of context. She needed him for his pull and his fleet not because she loved him. It felt better to believe that she loved him but that was over. Either way…not much was going to stop him from helping. "Okay." He relented after a few long moments of thought. "Give me a moment with my men."
"Of course." She nodded as Victus walked away from her. She looked around to the Turians that had gathered to find out what was going on and found several familiar faces. Cerrus, Kalvaris, Masso, Ruvvak, Desala, all of them from the Lante that was crashed in the valley below them.
"Sidda," Kalvaris called moving up to her. "any word on Thessia?"
Sidda remembered that he was raised on Thessia and his mate was an Asari Commando. "The Councilor said the Reapers were pressing but hadn't entered Asari space yet." She said and Kalvaris sighed but it was a sigh of relief. "If I hear anything about Yarazia I'll get a message to you."
"Thank you." He replied sounding like it was the first bit of relief he'd had in a long time. She understood, not knowing where Nov was impacted her the same way. "Last I knew she was on leave in Armali but she could be anywhere now."
Sidda offered him a reassuring smile. "I'll keep an eye out for her."
"What's happening?" Masso asked, it was clear there was an attack but beyond the Fifteen-Minute Plan that Coronati and Victus came up with they didn't know much beyond Palaven under attack.
Sidda looked at him and then to the rest who were as of now just defending their homeworld without much more knowledge than that. "Reaper invasion. They took out the Batarians when they poured through their relay, attacked Earth, Rylo, Taetrus, and Gammae."
She had their undivided attention but Ruvvak scoffed. "Fuck, that means you were right this whole time?" he commented as he reloaded his Phaeston. "Damn bastards never even prepared us for it."
It was a shared sentiment but they were in it now so there was no use bitching about it so Cerrus pounced on the opportunity to remind everyone of that. "Keep that talk to yourself, Sergeant, we're in it now." Cerrus ordered casually. Negative morale was contagious.
Victus joined the group with Maridus in tow. "Damar, I'm giving you a battlefield promotion." He told him and both Maridus blinked the surprise away…he'd been bucking for it but wasn't expecting a warzone to earn it. "You and Corinthus hold this moon. We have to hold it. If we lose Menae we lose Palaven."
Maridus was his most trusted officer. He'd groomed him since he was a Captain and held on tight when people tried to promote him out of his command. The son of two generals…strategy was in his blood. "Yes, Sir." He nodded as Victus extended his hand to him. Nothing profound came to mind besides that, everything else sounded idiotic in his head.
"Good luck, General Maridus." He said as Cerrus and Sidda looked at each other as the rest murmured, Maridus was a general. He would be the third active serving General named Maridus. His mother and his father were still active duty though he had no idea where either of them were.
Maridus swallowed hard and nodded to him. He owed Victus everything that was his career, the ups and downs both. Half his face was different because of him but Victus was the best officer he'd ever served with. "You also, Sir." Somehow this felt like goodbye and it was an unsettling feeling.
Victus turned to SIdda after that was settled. He would help her, but it wasn't as simple as that. "Sidda, I appreciate the need for our fleets but I can't spare them. Not while my world is burning." He told her and Sidda cursed quietly. There was always a catch.
"Always a catch." She muttered irritability. "Adrien, I need those fleets. I need your help."
Everyone was in the same situation. Earth was burning and needed help, Palaven was burning and needed help. There was no easy win. "I understand that, but my people need them as well. We need the Krogan, I can't see us winning this without them."
No matter how much the Krogan loved a fight they may just pass up helping the Turian's against the Reapers. "The Krogan? Are you kidding?"
Victus straightened his posture, it sounded crazy but tactically sound. "That's the price." He said firmly. "I'll help you; I give you my word, but I can't let my people die to save yours."
Sidda understood the need to save their people and had to remember that it wasn't just Earth in this but the rest of the galaxy as well. She nodded. "Fine. I'll figure that out."
Victus turned to his group. "Ruvvak. Cerrus. You're coming with me. Ready when you are, Commander."
After speaking to Hackett, Sidda stepped down to the War Room, her eyes fell on Victus. It was strange to see him on the Normandy. Though she could see it from his side it still hurt to be dumped like that after what was only a few weeks for her. Victus was the first person she could say she truly loved and she'd be lying if she said she didn't love him still at least on some level. He looked troubled and she couldn't blame him given the recent events.
"You okay?" she asked approaching him quietly.
Being around her was still awkward, there was no real closure between them. He ended the relationship, things got hostile, then better, then she got married to someone else…figuring out how to behave was harder than he anticipated. "I'm fine." He replied simply but she knew by his tone that it wasn't the truth.
"Come on, Adrien, you can't lie to me…I know you too well." She stated and Victus sighed, she did know him well.
He relented and ignored the odd feeling between them and spoke to her as he would a friend. "The battle of all time is raging on my planet and I'm light-years away reading casualty reports in the millions." He said sounding frustrated and defeated at the same time. "I still can't stomach the idea of leaving."
Sidda leaned on the table beside him and he eyed her trying to decide if he was comfortable with the proximity. "I understand, leaving Earth to save it…it was one of the hardest things I've ever done."
She was right, that was exactly how he felt. "I now realize why leaders so often seem lonely and I understand the burden you bear." He stated and snorted. "I wish I could take back all the grief I gave Fedorian now."
Sidda giggled softly to his comment. "How is it on Palaven?" she asked.
Victus still hadn't moved from his braced posture on the table. "You saw it. The Reapers have attacked with paralyzing, overwhelming force. The strategist in me admires their brutality but the Turian in me knows I'm watching 15,000 years of civilization." He stated and stood up straight with a low grumble. He was frustrated and she could tell. "Thank you for the use of the Normandy."
Sidda nodded, it was no trouble, Victus was welcome wherever she was. There was no reason why they couldn't have a professional relationship. They were adults after all. "It's no problem." She replied offering him a smile. "What's the status of the Lante?"
That was another thing that upset him. His beloved ship crashed and he wasn't sure about the official casualty count yet. "Wrecked, but if we can stop the fighting Zara assures me she's salvageable. She tried to keep casualties and damage to a minimum as they went down." He said and his tone was quiet.
"Traynor's finding room for everyone. Should have a temporary barracks set up shortly." She said and he looked down at her as she fiddled with the buttons on the war table.
The Normandy was a small ship and he appreciated the effort to make them comfortable. "Thank you." He said and she nodded. "I'll let you work. If you need anything comm me." Victus grunted his response. This was the worst day anyone could think of and it was going to get worse before it got better…if it even got better.
After a mandatory visit to Chakwas where she was told she was ordered to rest, Sidda made her way to where she knew Garrus was. The Main Battery probably calibrating the Normandy's weapons to the point of madness.
"Well, you didn't waste much time." She commented as Garrus was busily doing exactly what he did best.
"Gotta keep busy."
Sidda snorted understanding that very feeling. "I hear that." She said and sighed tiredly. "I had to ask…I noticed Corinthus saluted you on Menae. How far down the line of succession are you?"
Garrus was quiet for a minute. "Don't go there." He replied and she chuckled.
"If Adrien doesn't work out you could be next." She giggled and he gave her a look. "Primarch Vakarian, honored war hero."
"Sidda." He warned and she chuckled some more.
"Where's your side kick? I didn't see her with you down there." At first, she'd been leery of Isla but she grew on her. The former Blue Suns merc was extremely handy in the Terminus and she was good for Garrus, he needed a hobby apart from calibrating a giant gun.
Garrus stopped what he was doing and stood up straight. He was worried about the people he cared about but so far just kept it to himself. "I'm not sure." He replied after a moment. Isla's location worried him, he needed to know but as of yet hadn't gotten a message from her. "Last week she got a message from Zaeed and left to help him. I don't know where she is now."
"Do you know where she went?" she asked.
"Terminus I think. Knowing Zaeed it probably has something to do with the Blue Suns."
"What about the rest of your family?" she asked, and he paused before doing anything else. "Have you heard from them?"
"No. My Dad and sister are on Palaven but I'm not sure where they are." His tone told her not to press it. Life was going to be hard for them anyway and people needed to process loss, worry, and fear in their own way. At least she had him back, Garrus was her friend and she cared as much for him as she did for Nov and Victus.
"You'll hear from them." She said trying to give him a little hope. Sidda hadn't heard from her mother either but she couldn't think about that right now. Garrus was right about one thing… it was going to be bad all over.
The platitude was nice but Garrus was a cynic. "You should sleep, Sidda," he commented after her long silence made him look at her. She'd lost herself in thought, pain, or exhaustion. "you don't look good."
It was a solid idea, she was tired, and the adrenaline of the day was wearing off, pain was coming back, and rest was calling her name. "Yeah, that's what Chakwas said. You rest too okay."
The Normandy had a small Turian contingent on it now, not only Garrus and Victus but the two plucked off Menae with the general. Cerrus and Ruvvak were busy making a makeshift bunk in the Life Support compartment. Thane's old haunt. It was empty and not really meant for housing but unless they wanted to add another layer to the hot bunking that occurred on the ship anyway, they needed to make this home. Turian's had a different sleep cycle from Human's anyway. They didn't need eight hours normally and were used to a longer day.
The gear they brought with them was mostly weapons and armor but they had some food supplies that she knew she was going to have to replenish at the Citadel. "Settling in?" she inquired as she observed Cerrus and Ruvvak checking the contents of a few crates as some helpful Human crew members helped them set up the cots.
Cerrus looked up at nodded before closing his crate and approaching her. "Yes. We'll need more rations. We didn't bring many, didn't want to short everyone we left on Menae."
Sidda nodded quietly and was still not sure why Victus brought them along. He always had his reason but it had been a hard day as it was so it could be answered later. As much as he irritated her, it was good to see Cerrus again, but he didn't look like his normal surly self. He looked weary, which for any other Turian would be understandable, but not him. He was solid, battle-hardened, grumpy but he looked lost. "Are you okay?" she asked and recognized that he was from a colony that had been attacked, Taetrus.
"No."
"Your family?" she asked, and he looked down at her sharply almost surprised that she would ask. "I know you're from Taetrus."
He was surprised but he wasn't sure why. He knew more about her then he let on and it was clear the opposite was true for her. He had gotten word from his mother, the ever-vigilant soldier. "They can't find my older brother." He answered simply and changed the subject. "Excuse me."
As he left to go do whatever it was that he set off to do Sidda didn't get a clear impression that he was only acting strange because he was worried about family. Something else was bothering him so her eyes fell on the tank sized Turian kicking a crate where it needed to go. "Linus," she began and stepped closer to him. "what's with him?"
Ruvvak considered the answer for a moment then decided he didn't have the patience to take the long route. "He resigned."
Sidda blinked and tried to form a question but only "What?" came out.
Cerrus resigning was the biggest thing to happen on the Lante since the blowout with Nov and Victus. It didn't make anyone happy but those who knew him and knew his story saw it coming like a bomb even though they tried to talk him out of it. "That's why we're in orbit of Palaven. The General accepted his resignation and then this whole thing jumped off and he got sucked into a ground war on Menae."
"Why in the hell would he resign?" she asked and thought back to the first time he tried that. It was a few months ago when he tried to resign after learning the truth about his wife's death. Once she asked the question it became rhetorical and thankfully Ruvvak didn't give her sarcasm.
"Got tired of Palaven Command giving him the run around about what happened to his wife." Ruvvak answered with a tone that reflected how irritated he was. Ruvvak's irritation as attributed to the whole situation and everything that came with it. "Cerrus has over 20 years in the military. Distinguished service record…colorful…but distinguished and Palaven Command just tossed it right out the airlock." He went on and kicked a crate for good measure.
He was frustrated, clearly but there was more to it than just Cerrus. War affected everyone differently. "Are you okay?" she asked as she was genuinely concerned for him. Ruvvak had given her a little trouble when he first met her but after that he was a great friend to have.
"I'm fine." He said with a clipped snap and Sidda didn't believe it. When a Turian said 'I'm fine' they usually weren't. "I'm a lucky one, Commander. I don't have a family or a home colony to care about." He stood in the middle of the half-made barrack with his hands on his hips and just kept going. "My parents died when I was a kid and I was a ward of Altakiril until I was 15. My squad mates are who I care about and I left them behind, Sid, why the fuck am I here?"
Sidda shrugged, regretted it, hissed and moved past it all in the span of ten seconds…it had been one of those days. "Victus always has a reason, Linus." She said and stepped up to him. He was short for a Turian but still much taller than her. "For what it's worth, I understand: leaving Earth in the middle of the fight…I get it. But, know that you'll be right next to me when we shove this invasion back down the Reaper's throat."
Ruvvak snorted, he'd always liked Sidda. He respected her on a profound level, not only was she was fantastic commanding officer, but she was one the most incredible individuals he'd ever known. Strong and driven, someone worthy of respect. "You could sell water to a drowning Turian." He commented and she chuckled.
"Get some rest, Linus, we have a hell of a fight ahead of us." She said and slapped his left arm before leaving him for her quarters. Cerrus had vanished and she made the mental note to check on him but not right now. It was best to give him space before showing empathy because he only had one speed when it came to be being upset and Sidda knew she couldn't handle him losing his temper on her. He'd kill her by poking her with a finger.
Sidda whimpered in pain as she tried to change shirts. She was healing fast just not fast enough and definitely overdid it on Menae. Chakwas ordered her to delegate missions to others until her shoulders mended better. Sidda doubted that she would be able to comply but as of now she had some downtime. There was a tap on the door and she grumbled. "It's open."
The door opened and Sidda turned to see Victus' figure in the doorway. He looked over the room slowly stepping in. He hadn't seen this part of the rebuilt ship, but he'd always liked the hybrid frigate. Just enough Turian in its design to feel like home. "Am I disturbing you?" he asked, and she gave up trying to hide the pained expression.
"No." she replied. "Actually, you're just in time. Gimme a hand."
Victus' expression narrowed as she stepped in so the door could close and quietly approached her. "With what?" he asked not seeing anything that he would be needed for.
"Help me get this off." She stated referring to her shirt and Victus froze in mid step. "I was able to get my armor off but I can't get out of this…adrenaline wore off so now everything hurts."
Victus spied the dark bruise that extended up the back of her neck and felt his anger build, he hadn't felt that in a while but seeing her hurt was something he still didn't like to see. "What happened?" he asked getting closer to her giving her the help she wanted. Of course, that ended up with her standing before him with nothing on from the waist up than a bra. He heard her hiss in pain as he quickly pulled the shirt off over her head and took a step back from her now able to see the extent of her injuries. Sidda's entire back was one big bruise but the discoloration was darker across her shoulder and up the back of her neck.
"A Cerberus mech damn near killed me on Mars." She stated grimacing in pain as she managed to slip her right arm into a button up shirt and then the left. "Both shoulders are fractured, bone healers are working as fast as they can." She said Victus turn away from her looking uncomfortable about her half naked body that he wasn't supposed to touch anymore.
"Do you always let your former lovers help you undress?" he asked and Sidda froze giving his back a look that could have killed him.
"Where the hell did that come from?" Sidda demanded, they'd been getting along so well since the Tribunal. "You left me remember?"
Victus didn't need to be reminded of that. To this day it was the hardest thing he'd ever done in his life. "I remember." The comment was leftover resentment but what was done was done. She didn't say anything after that and he turned back to look at her. He'd never seen her looking so beaten…not just physically. He could see the mental and emotional wear and tear. "Are you okay? Honestly."
She didn't answer right away, if she was being honest the answer was an emphatic no. Her worst nightmare had come to fruition, the Reapers were here. No one had listened and no one had prepared, now they were all sitting squarely on her broken shoulders asking for her to save them. She'd never be okay again. "No." she answered through a broken breath. "I'm not."
He carefully pulled her into a hug as she cried. "It's okay. Shhh." He soothed as he gently hugged her.
She couldn't even count how many people she knew and cared about that her missing or dead. "I'm losing people I care about. I…I nearly died on Mars…I've already done that once. I don't know what to do anymore…"
If she wanted to scream and cry, lose her composure, whatever, he was fine with it. Even Turians reached this point. "It's okay. It's okay. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. You're always safe with me." He said to her. He'd protect her and comfort her for as long as needed. It didn't matter their relationship.
The safety and security appealed, Earth had been attacked and she barely escaped then on Mars she remembered the first few hits and nothing from the Mech but when she closed her eyes now she was haunted by more than just Nihlus, the moment she realized she was about to suffocate, and the burning of Earth, now she saw that hand over her faceplate and the first impact. It was a claustrophobic feeling and it scared her. She wanted Nov but she couldn't have him now and being held by Victus chased the fear away at least for the time being and when she looked up at him the need to feel safe and protected overwhelmed her and she kissed him.
Victus was surprised and pulled back sharply. "Sid, this is…" he trailed off as he looked at her. "We-…" his comment was cut off as she kissed him again. The side of him that needed to feel her again won over the side of him the said everything about this was wrong.
Years he'd wished for this and now he had it, however wrong it was he would deal with at a later time. The morality was boxed, and he let her guide and push him to the bed then straddled him like she usually had. He removed the shirt she'd painstakingly put on and purred seeing her body again. Nov's mark flagged the guilt, but he was already down that road now. He grabbed her shoulders to play with her but she squeaked in pain, a sharp reminder that she was injured. After that he was gentle. For Sidda it was never a question of who the better lover was, Victus or Nov. They were different but neither better than the other. Nov was aggressive and playful while Victus was always gentle but possessive.
Victus didn't want to hurt her, she'd been through enough and knew she was looking for comfort and safety. It was wrong but he did it anyway. He changed positions and carefully laid her on her back before removing the rest of her clothes and tasting her again. Hearing her soft moans brought back all the memories of her and he wanted her more and more. He filled the dark cabin with her quiet moans as he made love to her. The ramifications, which were going to be huge, they'd deal with later.
The bed was empty when Sidda woke up, Victus was gone but nothing that happened the hours before was a dream. Sidda's head was spinning, what the hell did she just do? She knew what she did and it felt great, it was also very wrong. It was disconcerting to know that Nov, the Turian James Bond and a playboy to boot, was more faithful than she was. He was going to kill her, Victus, or both; he was also going to be crushed by what she just did.
She avoided everyone in her trek through the Normandy especially the Turian bunk in Life Support since if Victus was anywhere at this hour it would be in there. Sidda needed to talk to someone that she trusted and entered the Main Battery glancing around to find Garrus. He wasn't asleep, she knew that. She spied him doing what he usually did, tweaking a gun but this time it was the sniper rifle. He loved that thing and he was damn good with it. "Hey," she greeted. "can we talk?"
Garrus grunted a response but could sense that something was up and looked over at her. It was early…or late depending on how you looked at it and she looked a little frazzled. "Yeah…something wrong?" Talking about her problems was better than thinking about his own. He couldn't get a message out to Isla or at least not a response to one he'd sent.
"I'd say so." She replied trying to relax her body, sex wasn't what her sore back and shoulders needed but in all honestly it did feel good. "Can you keep a secret?" she asked and even if he couldn't he say he could. You couldn't just walk away from a comment like that.
He dropped the tool on the table he had the rifle on and the act seemed to reiterate the giant fuck up she just embarked on and he just looked at her. "What's wrong?" he asked narrowing his eyes and standing up straight.
"I slept with Adrien." She blurted and Garrus blinked raising his brow. The first thing that came to mind was Nov was going to kill them both.
Garrus didn't know what to do with that. He was awkward enough in his own relationship. "You…oh…wow." He stammered trying to understand the complexities of Human relations. From what he'd experienced they were too different from Turians. "So, does that mean you and he-…"
She gave him a look. One thing she knew was that Nov was the man she loved, the one she wanted to be with forever. "I said I slept with him I didn't say we were getting back together." Sidda clarified and Garrus snorted shifting his weight seemingly uncomfortable.
"Yeah, I don't think Nov is going to see that distinction." He stated and asked the obvious. "You do know that Turians are-…"
"Territorial as hell?" she finished. "Yeah…I'm aware of that." Nov and Victus squabbled over her enough. She remembered the Oriso incident that made Victus jealous of Cerrus of all people.
"Oh, good…because he may just kill both of you for this." He replied. Turian's were known for going to extremes when it came to mates and honor, most of them nowadays in the evolved culture didn't go through those extremes. "He's from Rylo and they are very, very traditional. There's a traditional Rite of Honor that deals with infidelity…if he evokes that he has the right to confront the guilty party, the end result usually isn't very good."
Sidda considered that, Nov did get a little basic when it came to relationships. It was in the Rylo culture. She replayed the evening back to when it started. She kissed him…twice. This was all because of her. Nov may not kill her, but he also may not forgive her. "Why the hell would I do that?" she asked in a frustrated, exasperated tone. "What the hell was I thinking?"
Garrus wasn't sure what to say in response to that. "Sid…it's been an interesting past few days." He said and she scoffed. Neither one of them believed that as a valid excuse. "Yeah, I don't believe that either."
Sleep came but it only meant about four hours for Sidda, her mind raced until it raced her into the ground and she woke with the alarm. It was another day at War…the Reaper War and she had a summit to take care of today. Salarians, Turians, Humans, Krogan…it was a disaster waiting to happen. Victus being there was the other disaster waiting to happen, she didn't know what to expect. She followed her routine, showered, put her official uniform on, got breakfast and worked up the courage to go into the War Room.
"Why all shined up, Commander?" Ruvvak asked referring to her dress blues as she rode the lift with him and Cerrus.
"War Summit." She replied and the two Turians glanced at each other. She seemed to a little bit better than she had been the day before. The bruising around her eyes was still there but she'd covered it as well as possible for the time being, but they could still see come of it.
"You look better." Ruvvak observed. They'd heard that she's been injured when she came and got them and Cerrus respected her for her determination.
Her shoulders did feel better, still tender but she could move a little better. The Bone Healers were doing what they had been intended for once they had the time to do it. "I feel better." She said but just getting dressed was an event so it was better…not good. Handling sex the night before helped relax her but made her tense all at the same time. "Little bit anyway."
"Primarch's ordered us to help in the armory. We sent all of our weapons and gear down there last night." Cerrus said and she nodded figuring that is exactly where they would end up. Cerrus gravitated there anyway. She made a mental note to check in with Vega and Cortez after the event of the day were finished. She didn't see an issues from the two of them but Cerrus wasn't the easiest person to deal with. Ruvvak was fine but Cerrus may create issues.
"Let Cortez know if you need anything down there." She said and as the lift stopped and she stepped off onto the CIC. As she left Cerrus and Ruvvak shared a look, for Cerrus nothing needed to be said. Victus returned late to their barracks and it didn't take a genius to figure out something happened between Victus and Sidda.
In the War Room she found Victus and fought the urge to hide under a rock, how could she do that to Nov? The guilt was going to kill her but she needed to focus now. If she didn't manage to pull herself together the summit was going to be interest.
"Adrien," she greeted quietly as it was just them in the War Room at the moment. He was quiet, looking up from the casualty reports and studied her. "Ummm…I…that was a mistake." Victus was mildly offended but understood what she meant. Had he not ended their relationship months ago none of this would have been an issue but it was the bed he made. "I…I don't mean you're a mistake, I mean…"
It was almost amusing to watch her babble and it made him smile slightly. "Sidda, stop. It's okay." To have her for a night was a gift that he couldn't have twice. "I know what it was."
Sidda felt worse with that admission, she was out of sorts and looking for the nearest safe embrace. That safe embrace was the first person she could say she loved. The gentle General who loved her so much that he had to let her go. "I shouldn't have put you in that position…" she said and then recognized her poor choice of words. "Sorry. I mean…I…I'm sorry."
"Don't be." He said through a soft laugh as she stumbled over it, puns and all. "I'm not."
That response was a little more troubling then she wanted it to be and it just added to the confusion. "We can't do this again."
Victus wasn't a fool. He knew his chance with her died a slow and painful death, she was married and what they did the night before was wrong. Nov never acted on his feelings for Sidda until after it had all blown up. He owed him an explanation. If they survived this, he'd give him one. "I know."
"Commander, the Salarian Dalatrass and Krogan Clan Chief are ready to come aboard." Traynor said over the comm.
She successfully broke the tension and awkwardness between Sidda and Victus. "Show them to the conference room." She ordered and sighed as the previous topic was shelved but not forgotten. "Well…wanna go see if we can start another war?"
Putting Krogan, Salarians, Turians, and Humans all in the same room together was a bomb waiting to go off. He didn't like it at all but bring the Krogan in was the only way he could see the tide of the war on Palaven turning. "The current one not enough for you?"
"We'll find out." She muttered.
Cerrus and Ruvvak were the definition of out of place in the Normandy's armory. A lot of things had changed since the last time either of them were on board. The Alliance really went all out in its renovations to bring it back to standard issue. Cerrus approved, the design was more practical than the Cerberus version.
"Well, this place has changed." Ruvvak commented and drew the attention of the two crew members on deck.
Cerrus grunted. "Like the old one." He said and looked at the two men approaching them. The shorter one he recognized from Menae. He was on Sidda's fireteam, but he didn't know the other one.
"Cerrus right?" Vega asked hoping that was the name he remembered from Menae. Cerrus gave a sharp nod and his cold demeanor showed through. Vega offered to shake his hand but Cerrus ignored it. "James Vega. This is Steve Cortez." He said awkwardly lowering his hand.
Cerrus' tolerance for Humans had grown a lot over the years but he still wasn't perfect. If he didn't need to be friendly with them he wasn't. Ruvvak on the other hand…didn't have a problem with anyone. "Linus Ruvvak." He greeted with a happy tone. "Don't mind the Major, he's a little prickly."
Cerrus' silent glare did nothing to Ruvvak except confirm that he was, in fact, prickly. "We need a space to work on arms and armor."
Cortez nodded. Cerrus was to the point and he respected that. "No problem." He said and gestured to the bench and locker with three crates stacked neatly. "I stowed the gear that came with you. Help yourself to anything you need. Armor mods, weapon mods, whatever you need I can get."
Cerrus was indifferent about Cortez's accommodating nature but he didn't dismiss it. "Thank you." He said making to conscious effort to be nice.
While Cerrus tended to the General…or rather the Primarch's…armor he tried his very best to ignore Ruvvak and Vega who apparently bonded as fast friends. He was used to Ruvvak's behavior, the Sergeant was a good soldier and a friend but he was like his little brother, irritating and tiring. "Here's the servo replacement." A voice said and drew his attention from repairing the armor.
"Thank you." He said maintaining his manners. Cortez was quiet and seemed to just do his job without causing a fuss. Ruvvak and Vega hawked loud laughs. He gave them the glare he'd given his brothers multiple occasions.
"They're like children." He commented and actually got a snort from Cerrus. Cerrus was the biggest Turian Cortez had ever seen. Tall and broad with several small scars on the left side of his face.
"They remind me of my brothers." Cerrus muttered as he installed the servo and fixed the one that took a round on Menae. Jamus and Tannus bracketed him in the age but he was always the one that was quieter and more reserved. He had a quick flash of worry before he made it go away. No one knew where Jamus was.
"How many do you have?"
Cerrus decided not to be anti-social, he thought about Tali telling him to be nice until he decided he didn't like someone, but he couldn't decide he didn't like someone right off the bat. "Two. Older and younger."
He thought about the next question, if he wanted to ask it. Cerrus didn't appear to be the friendliest. "Are they safe?"
Cerrus didn't answer right away. Everything bad that happened to him usually came in clusters, this time it was the resignation, the attack, and missing family. He didn't want to talk about it. His mother, younger brother, and sister in law were reported safe but Jamus was missing. "I don't know." He replied and Cortez didn't push any further.
The conclusion of the Summit's first meeting was obvious, most came to the launch bay in some kind of mood. Wrex was one of them but the interesting one was Sidda and Victus. They came to the bay arguing. Cerrus grumbled to the argument, it wasn't that he didn't like relationship – it wasn't his business – but Victus was different around her and sometimes not for the best.
"Sidda, you're the Spectre, why am I going?" Victus asked as they came off the lift.
A little rest and relaxation did her body good and the bone healers were able to mend her shoulders to a better degree. They still hurt but she could at least move better. "Because this impending disaster show was your idea, Adrien." She replied. In the Summit, Victus had her back. He sided against the Dalatrass and promised to help Wrex cure the genophage, the hot button issue his people leveled on the Krogan. Sidda took his support and shanghaied him into tagging along on a mission that he suggested.
Victus shook his head. "You don't have any faith in your friend the Krogan?"
Wrex was smarter than any Krogan she'd ever met. He didn't want to make war on those who nearly destroyed his race. He wanted to fix it and return the Krogan to the galactic society. She trusted him and believed in him. Victus wasn't wrong to see that there was a little bit of doubt. "I barely contained Wrex on Virmire now I'm sending him down to the Salarian homeworld with a chance to cure the genophage. Picture, if you will, if this goes wrong."
This was going to go wrong anyway; any blind idiot could see that. "I understand that, Sid, but my presence will only serve to make things worse."
By now they had an audience trying to make it look like they weren't eavesdropping. He followed Sidda to the locker where her equipment was stored. "Why? The Primarch of Palaven personally overseeing the return of Krogan females to the Urdnot clan Chief."
It sounded good on paper but there was a lot of animosity between the races and after the display against the Dalatrass there was a little more now. "We deployed the genophage."
"Yeah…1,400 years ago. Time to let go and move on or we're all gonna die." She said and clapped his shoulder. "Suit up, Primarch, we're going to Sur'Kesh."
Victus' sigh reminded him of what it was like to be in a relationship with her. She was wonderful and he did love her but she aggravated the hell out of him.
Ruvvak and Cerrus protested the order to stay behind loudly, Victus was the damn Primarch now and he did have to order them both to shut up and stay put.
"Well, well…" a familiar voice said from behind Cerrus causing the Turian to turn. "if it isn't the surliest Turian in the galaxy."
Cerrus came close to a smile and stepped toward the Krogan. "Wrex, thought I smelled you." He said and Wrex laughed.
"The only Turian in the galaxy that can give a Krogan lessons on bad attitude. Shame you're not coming with us."
Cerrus gestured a thumb back to Victus. "You have him, you don't need me." It wasn't a suck up complement either Victus put them all to shame in tactics and combat prowess. He didn't get to be a general by sitting on his ass.
"Are you kidding, you stopped a charging Krogan with a pistol."
Cerrus remembered all too well, that was where the small scars on his face came from when the Krogan in question fired a shotgun inches from his face into the wall. "Hey, I nearly melted that Brawler and that was my favorite one."
"I'd feel a lot better if we were going with you, Sir." Ruvvak commented again as he checked the Primarch's gear. Victus took the weapon that Vega handed to him. The Phaeston wasn't his, he lost that somewhere on Menae, but the modification on it matched. Judging by the way it was modified the architect was Ruvvak. The scope, lengthened barrel, and a recoil buffer. The Phaeston was a good weapon but even when it was being tested over two years ago it tended to walk.
Victus grunted his response while checking the weapon but kept what he was thinking to himself. He'd feel better if Sidda hadn't voluntold him into accompanying her. It wasn't just the potential interspecies incident that was around the corner but also the fact that he slept with Sidda twelve hours ago. They were adults and could work together but he had no illusions about their relationship status…still it made things slightly awkward.
"Well, we kinda bull-rushed our way into this, if we take too many people down there the Salarians are libel to create an entirely new problem for us." Sidda replied and Victus agreed with that. The other members of the landing party were Wrex and Garrus. A trusted crew for Sidda especially in Garrus.
Cerrus had returned to his duty in checking out armor. He bypassed Garrus in the weapons area as he didn't need any help. The Spectre sniper rifle, which was still the envy of the soldier, was finely and meticulously calibrated…if he messed it up Garrus might just kill him. Now he came to his rival, Sidda. She'd been banged up a bit over the past few days and he kept that in mind as he went over her armor a he did everyone else's.
"It feels different," she commented as it felt better than before. Maybe her shoulders were healing faster. "What did you do?" Cerrus checked everyone's gear during the summit including hers.
"I adjusted it across the shoulders," he said and tapped a few things on his omni-tool. He wasn't an engineer but Turians were very good about working around injuries. Armor could be adjusted to be more comfortable to accommodate an injury like she had. "should give your shoulders some relief."
Cerrus continued to surprise, she didn't ask him to do this, he did it on his own. "Thank you." She said with an appreciative smile. Cerrus nodded and moved on.
The flight was quiet for the most part, Garrus of course knew the awkward silence was Sidda and Victus trying to sidestep the mess they created. "We need to talk about Cerrus." She commented after a long silence. Victus looked over at her seated to his left, his expression said it all. "Ruvvak told me." She said but left out his meltdown in the process.
Victus sighed with what was certainly an irritated growl. "I couldn't fulfill my promise."
Whatever Palaven's dirty little secret was it was locked up tighter than a drum. "After all this time, you still couldn't get them to fess up?"
"They revoked Desala's clearance and I was told, point blank, by Fedorian to stop asking." He said and scoffed to the fact that if they survived all this, he might be able to find the answers with the Primarch clearance.
"You're just gonna let him walk?"
"I stopped him six months ago because I thought I could help him. I can't, so if he wants to leave this is his decision." He explained and Sidda gave him a disapproving sigh. Victus knew that sigh, the sigh she gave him when she didn't like his answer but didn't say it outright.
"Don't give me that." He said and the shuttled shook heavily. They entered the atmosphere and ended the conversation between them.
The one that would cause an interspecies incident was not going to be Victus, Wrex made an entrance as only a Krogan could. He nearly started a firefight on the landing pad as the Dalatrass finally issued clearance to land.
As they waited for the go ahead to enter the labs Sid and Victus stayed as far apart as they could. It wasn't that they didn't work well together but it was the awkwardness of knowing they did a bad thing. "Isn't the one you used to rut with?" Wrex inquired with the worst tact in existence.
His comment snapped her from her thought. "Wrex." She scolded, that was not a topic of polite conversation.
Wrex wasn't as refined and he didn't aim to change. "What…you smell like him."
Sidda cringed. Turians and Krogan had a better than average sense of smell. "Oh…perfect." She had showered but apparently the scent remained.
Wrex knew about Sidda and Nov, knew they were married and knew that Sidda and Victus had a thing before that. "Why'd you do it?"
Sidda sighed, that was the question. Why did I do it? "Moment of weakness. Big one actually."
Wrex grunted his response, he cared for Sidda almost like he would a sister. "Where's Cal?"
Thinking about him only reiterated the mistake she made. "Citadel I think. He's gonna kill me when I tell him."
"Nah, any idiot can see how much he loves you." Wrex said and glanced over to Victus and Garrus talking to a Salarian who he recognized, Kirahee. The STG operative from Virmire. Wrex generally wasn't invested in someone else's love life but Sidda was different.
"I slept with someone else, Wrex, you can't tell me that Krogan males would forgive that let alone a Turian."
She did make a mistake; she made a big mistake but there was no way Nov would do anything to her or leave her. "No but sometimes, Kid, the desire to be with someone overrules the indiscretion. He'll be pissed but you two will be fine."
She wasn't so sure about that. Her guilt wouldn't let her see what Wrex saw but she was more shocked by Wrex himself. "Wow…warrior, reformer, and philosopher…you're a regular renaissance Krogan."
Wrex grunted a chuckle. Most people who looked at Wrex saw him as a dangerous thug but in reality, he was a softy when it came to people he cared about. "Did you get the wedding present?"
The change in subject was welcomed and she smiled remembering when the package arrived. "I did…I don't know what to do with it, but I got it." Nov commented that only Turians and Krogan sent weapons as wedding gifts.
Wrex cackled. "Hang them on the wall. When you and Cal get tired of each other use them to fight it out. Wedding blades are cheaper than divorce."
"I'll make sure I tell Cal that." She replied with a snort.
The only ones allowed to go down into the labs were Sidda, Victus, and Garrus. Wrex was forced to remain on the main level because the Salarians were worried about his reaction to whatever was hidden away below.
"I'm trusting you, Shepard, if the Primarch doesn't come through-…"
"He'll come through, Wrex, let diplomacy play out." She cut him off trying to be a sincere as she could. Whatever issues she may have with Victus she did trust him. "You have my word, Wrex." She said and joined Victus and Garrus in the elevator.
The alarm that had sounded before they took the elevator down to the lower labs worried them all and as soon as the elevator door closed Victus voiced his opinion. "Somethings wrong."
"Yep." She commented in response. "Reapers?"
If it were Reapers they picked an odd place to start when it came to Sur'kesh. Victus didn't think it was Reapers and he glanced to Garrus who was clearly alarmed as well. If this were Reapers they knew the intent but this felt like something else. "I don't think so."
"Same." Garrus commented.
The lower lab was bustling with activity. Salarians never slowed down as it was but with the sense of urgency it was like watching a disturbed hornet's nest. A familiar voice drew all of their attention, it was Mordin. The last time Sidda saw Mordin was just after she was confined to Earth. She and Nov were serious about children and he did a complete genetic work up on both of them. He was tightlipped on his job now that he was off the Normandy but knowing him it was always complicated.
"Mordin?" she questioned.
"Shepard. Good to have you here."
Mordin being here made more sense than she had anticipated. Wrex was passed information from an inside source, Mordin being that source clarified things. She took issue with his work with STG but if there was anyone in the galaxy that could cure the Genophage it was this mad scientist in front of her.
There was definitely something wrong on the surface but Mordin bypassed everyone scurrying around. "Need to act quickly, Shepard. Alarm unusual, need to act quickly for sake of Krogan."
"How many survived?" Sidda asked as Victus and Garrus followed.
"One. Immune to genophage." He answered in a clipped, concise manner.
Sidda studder stepped at hearing that only one Krogan female was alive…that mean they had one shot at this. The alarm was creating a bigger, looming sense of dread with that information.
Victus had the same thought as Sidda did and they shared a brief telepathic moment. If she was the only one, this alarm was too coincidental. He turned his attention to the Krogan in the shielded pod. The females were rare off Tuchanka, they were too valuable and were protected even by the nastiest Krogan males. "My name is Adrien Victus, Primarch of Palaven and this is Council Spectre Commander Shepard."
"Are you here to kill me?" she asked in a fierce tone. If the females were anything like the males they were not ones to tangle with.
"Why would we kill you?" Sidda asked as she stepped up to stand near the enormous figure of Victus in full armor.
Her tone didn't change, and she remained focused on the Primarch. "My sisters died in a lot of pain. I didn't, that makes me dangerous to a lot of people. So, I ask you again, Primarch, are you here to kill me?"
She didn't trust him, and he was okay with that. He needed to earn it, Turians and Krogan had a long-standing animosity and there was no time like the present to start mending old wounds. "Quite the contrary. I'm here to save you." He said with note of pride. He would be pleased a punch to be the one to facilitate the genophage cure. He would also be drummed off Palaven if the Krogan didn't responded with anything less than sheer gratitude.
Sidda gave Victus a smile he didn't see. With all his griping he was the perfect person to help her do this. He was an intelligent leader and was willing to go out on a limb. "Urdnot Wrex is on the surface waiting to take you back to Tuchanka."
"Why?" the female asked with a short cough.
Sidda offered her a smile. "Because we're gonna cure the genophage."
The base rocked as if something bombed it and Sidda's Omni-tool buzzed to life, on the other end was Wrex. The uninvited guest was Cerberus…of course. They dropped a bomb down the elevator shaft just to trap them but it was only effective in making everyone take the long route to the surface. They needed to protect the female but it didn't make much sense for Cerberus to be after the Krogan but no one understood their motives. They were guaranteed to do whatever was in their own best interests and stopping the genophage cure would keep the galaxy at the status quo of chaos.
"Why is it everywhere I go, these assholes follow?" she muttered to Victus and Garrus as she roared through the pain of climbing a ladder.
"Be careful who you jump in bed with." Victus commented as he followed her up the ladder.
She glared down at him as he turned to offer Garrus a hand. "Look who's talking."
"You started it." He said and meant that in every sense of the phrase. Jumping in bed with Cerberus and she started their fling in her quarters.
Garrus passed between them. "Not now, you two." He wasn't sure if they were sniping, flirting, or bickering but whatever it was it didn't matter at the moment.
They had to move quickly and Sidda felt her body protest, Cerrus' adjustment to her armor was a godsend but climbing the ladder was just about as much as she could stand. "Oh this sucks." She grimaced as they managed to reach the containment pod at the checkpoint just as Cerberus arrived as well.
"Do not let them take cover in the labs!" Victus ordered and sidestepped to his right get into the labs and make sure Cerberus didn't do exactly that. When Cerberus attempted to enter the lab they were met by Victus. He opened fire with the Phaeston, a single shot first that landed right between the eyes of a soldier then a longer burst into the rest. They scattered and rightly so or the Primarch was going to shred them.
Victus heard the bark of Garrus' sniper rifle and tracked the blue light of Sidda's biotics. His battlefield awareness was honed over the years and still as sharp as it was when he was a lieutenant. He grabbed a Cerberus soldier talking cover where he thought he was safe, pulled him over the wall onto the ground and rammed an Omni-blade into his face in a gruesome death. The fight was brief but brutal, Cerberus wasn't pulling punches, but the initial skirmish was won by Sidda and company.
"These guys aren't fucking around." Garrus muttered in a tight tone as his chest protested the concussive shot he took.
"Cerberus is persistent to the end." She replied as they rushed to the next checkpoint. Trying to beat Cerberus to the next punch. They could hear fighting and ships flying overhead, Cerberus was trying to drop troops but being harassed by the Salarians and one Alliance Kodiak piloted by Wrex…Sidda would love to see how Cortez was handling that.
Victus didn't let his guard down even though they'd made it back to the top. The transfer station showed the deteriorating state of the pod. They needed to do this quickly, Cerberus wasn't going to just sit around and let them have it.
"Wrex," he said sharply. "get down here, now." It was his General voice and Wrex didn't argue. He didn't argue until Cerberus showed up again, Wrex waved off his approach rather abruptly and the rest soon saw why. When the Atlas landed Victus decided that any mission with Sidda was terrible. The first and last mission he accompanied her on destroyed a research station gave him a concussion and a new scar.
Victus did hear it but he knew Sidda was cussing to beat the band. They'd scattered into cover and he dropped down behind the console nearest to Mordin.
"Stay put, Mordin." Sidda ordered as they took cover from the hulking machine. "Adrien?"
Victus tapped a few things on his Omni-tool and his Phaeston switched to armor piercing rounds. He had a plan. He couldn't have asked for a better crew to handle it and knew the weapon he carried was modded correctly. Ruvvak's modifications usually trended toward maximum damage where Cerrus were precision. "I got it." He announced and Sidda snorted, curious to see how the badass Palaven Primarch handled this with such a casual tone. "Vakarian, I need that sniper rifle of yours. Sid, biotics when I say so."
"More incoming troops, Adrien, whatever you're gonna do make it quick." She said and covered him from the troops that were landing where they had arrived from.
While Sidda covered Victus made do with Garrus. The marksman fired the sniper rifle with his own brand of armor piercing rounds but it barely made a dent. After Garrus' shot they coordinated the hulking machines take down. Atlas' were worse than the YIMR Mechs and it just kept walking to get into a position to kill Mordin and the Krogan female.
Victus had a plan, they could reduce this thing to scrap if they acted quickly and fortunately the stars aligned. Garrus took down the shields with a strong overload from his omni-tool and a coordinated biotic explosion caused significant damage. Victus didn't ask her for the powerful warp, at least he didn't think he did, but she timed it perfectly. She really was battlemaster. Sidda's biotic display shattered the glass on the Atlas' cockpit and Victus threw the thermal grenade. That was the last thing the Atlas pilot wanted and once it went off it killed him instantly. The Mech stagger stepped and the explosion from the grenade caused a secondary explosion that caused it to blow up.
The mission was a success. Somehow, someway they managed to pull it off leaving Cerberus empty handed, Sidda with a one in the win column, Wrex one step closer to righting the galaxies biggest wrong, Victus with a question mark, and the Salarian Dalatrass pissed. They needed to head back to the Citadel and resupply and regroup before heading back to Tauchanka. The Normandy had more Turians on it then she'd expected, and the frigate wasn't built for as many people as were on it.
Filing her report in silence let her dwell on the mistake she'd made, and she nervously fiddled with the ring Nov gave her. Maybe Wrex was right and Nov would look past the indiscretion but until then she stayed as far from Victus as she could. Seeing him in action on Sur'kesh dredged up all the old feelings she had for the General and it bothered her profusely, but it wasn't him that she wished for right now…she missed her husband.
PS: Oh yeah, I did a thing. (braces for the Nov and Victus fans alike) Soundtrack for this little impending disaster Santa Monica by Theory of a Deadman and Outside by Stained