It was 06:00 and Garrus was fairly certain Tali was about to blow a gasket worrying while they waited for Shepard to join them in the com room. Honestly, he never understood the point of allowing such a useless emotion to run rampant. When an issue is causing you distress, do something about it. The anxiety subsides with the problem's resolution. Case closed.
"I'm fairly certain you've paced enough to wear in the floor."
His only answer was a disgruntled snort.
A few more minutes passed, and Tali continued pacing. It was enough to drive him mad.
"Here." He pulled out a chair and motioned for her to sit.
"I'm fine Garrus."
"Sure. You're fine. Whatever. I, on the other hand, am getting tired just watching you."
"You're an ass, I hope you know that."
"You've mentioned it a few times."
"Aren't you the least bit worried about Shepard?"
"Not really. I miss our poker games though."
"You mean your thinly veiled excuse to drink yourselves silly between missions?"
"It was fun!"
"He's completely shut down. And I overheard Chakwas lecturing him about breaking his hand back on the Rotund."
"How? The batarians went down easy and his hand was fine when we met up in the cockpit."
"When he went ballistic trashing the docking area. Surely you heard it. Or are those rumors about superior turian hearing exaggerated?"
"He was blowing off steam. Can't say I blame him. He's pissed and going through some crap. Why can't you just leave it alone?"
"He's hurting. We're his friends it's our job to..."
Tali was abruptly cut off as the commander entered with his nose buried in a datapad. "Alright. The plan for today is a little complicated. So, I'd like to go over it with you two before setting out."
"Wait, it's just going to be me and Tali?"
"Well, who did you think would be shuttling the ex-slaves ground-side? I'm too famous, I'd be recognized on the spot. Wrex would scare the shit out of the colonists. And after Benezia's involvement with Saren, Liara is nearly as memorable as this ugly mug." Shepard pointed a thumb to his face. "That leaves you and Tali. Anyhow, two of the children won't be receiving the amnesiac treatment per Dr. Chakwas recommendation."
Garrus let loose a breath he never realized he was holding. "I take it that means Brian's memory hasn't been wiped?"
"Yes. Neither him or the girl will receive the treatment. Actually, Brian's parents are planning on adopting the female child, which is ideal. He'll need a friend to talk with about all this since everyone, including his own parents, will be in the dark regarding their rescue details. I've been communicating with his family via an encrypted email. I'm posing as you by the way Garrus."
"Wait what?"
"I've established a cover identity for you courtesy of our old friend in STG, Captain Kirrahe."
"No kidding."
"Yeah. You're Caster Surion. Ex-Blue Suns merc who left over disagreements with batarian comrades regarding the morality of slavery. You're an independent smuggler now and have commandeered a small scout ship. For whatever reason, you've been using it to track geth movements in Terminus Space with your young, quarian friend. You happened upon a ship under attack by a small geth force. The geth had slaughtered the batarians and you two found the slaves caged in the hold. You miraculously escaped before the geth's reinforcements arrived, blowing the ship to smithereens."
"Wait, do I have a secret identity too?" Tali inquired.
"You didn't really need a cover given the fact you're a member of the migrant fleet and the council has no jurisdiction over you. That said, be sure to give a false name and ship affiliation. Your suit protects you from being recognized as a member of my team. So, I'm not overly concerned."
"Faala'Vir nar Qwib Qwib. Has a nice ring to it."
Garrus snorted. "Qwib Qwib? Is that an actual ship in the migrant fleet?"
"Yeah. My father has to deal with an insufferable admiral from that ship. But he's the leader of the civilian fleet which is the most diverse. Plus if anyone makes an inquiry, Zaal'Koris will give them the run around just for fun. He enjoys being difficult."
"I like it." Shepard interjected. "Anyhow, a lie is easier to remember if there's some truth at its core. According to Chakwas's psychological profiles, both children are capable of maintaining our cover story. The doctor has briefed them. They'll only have to omit a few details like The Normandy and the rest of the crew along with your real names."
"Sounds good to me. Do you have the ship ready?" Garrus was rearing to go. This would be a fun mission. As much as he enjoyed the explosions and target practice, returning Brian to his parents and watching that girl finally find a home sounded incredibly rewarding.
"Yeah the Rotund had plenty of resources stashed away. We've already purchased a small scouting vessel. She's hovering alongside the MSV Worthington. Tali is piloting and Garrus, you'll be in charge of the mission. Better ready yourselves, you leave at 08:00. That said, the kids have taken a liking to our turian friend here and a briefing for children their age is nowhere near enough to maintain our cover. Garrus I want you to go over the details with them personally and verify that they both understand the consequences of revealing our identities."
"Me? Seriously?"
"It was your idea. Team dismissed."
Tali left on Shepard's heels, clearly intent on checking up on her commander. Garrus on the other hand merely stood in place, completely dumbfounded. Recommending a course of action was one thing. Being responsible for such a hefty decision was another. Could he handle it if the entire crew along with Commander Shepard wound up court marshaled due to his poor judgment? Either way, the die was cast. It was too late for Chakwas to administer the treatment and this is what he wanted in the first place. Now it was his responsibility to ensure Brian and his soon-to-be sister kept the truth regarding their rescue under wraps. Maybe the answer to this conundrum was simpler than he realized. Brian reminded him of himself as a boy. And he knew exactly what his younger self would have needed.
Brian's eyes looked like they may pop out of their sockets at any moment. Were human eyes supposed to grow that large? "This… this is for me?"
"For you both." Garrus responded with emphasis. They were loaded onto the scouting vessel, surrounded by the slumbering bodies of 52 slaves whose memories of the past few months had been completely obliterated. "Not only do you need something to remember us by but I want your entire family to learn how to protect themselves. Now, Brian and…." He trailed off, unsure of what to call the girl. She simply went by 6021 and that didn't seem healthy.
"Alice." Brian grasped the girls hand. The boy was absolutely beaming with pride. "Her new name is Alice like in the book. I picked it. That's way better than some dumb number."
"You'll have to forgive me, I don't know many human books."
"Brian says she falls through a rabbit hole with loads and loads and loads of …." Whatever grand adventures Alice was about to depict were cut off by Tali. "Fifteen minutes until landing."
"As much as I would love to hear the rest of your story guys, we need to go over what we're telling people one more time."
"Your name is Caster. And her name is Fala.. falvee?" Brian tried.
"You don't have to pronounce it exactly right. Fala is fine. Now the rest of our story from Alice this time." Garrus turned to the girl who was still clenching onto her new brother's hand.
"You and Fala found us. We've been on this ship for many sleeps. And… you gave all the grown ups sleeping medicine because they were angry and scary."
"We won't forget Caster. And I'll help Alice remember too." Brian beamed. "And whenever I feel alone or scared, I'll look at the ultra-special pistol you gave us." He whipped out the present Garrus had given them a few moments earlier. It was an unloaded, fully upgraded and heavily modified M-5 Carnifex. "But I'm not sure my parents will let us keep it."
"I'll talk to them. Don't worry about that."
Despite the fact the children seemed to have a solid grasp on their story, Garrus had them take turns reciting it until they were less than a minute from landing. Regardless of how much he absolutely detested he notion of being responsible for this decision, his confidence in Brian was growing. The boy was sharp, determined, and clearly understood the ramifications of revealing their true identities. Hopefully, that would be enough. He could feel the ships thrusters vibrate as they approached their landing zone.
Nothing Garrus had experienced in his lifetime could compare with the moment the ship's doors opened to the bright, vibrant Terra Nova. There was a throng of humans awaiting their arrival, clapping and cheering. Some held up signs with "Welcome Home Brian" written in various glittering colors. But the pair at the front of the pack stood out. One was a human male with a sandy colored fringe. He was barely hanging onto a small woman as she attempted to rush straight for their vessel. She had frazzled, dark hair that stuck out at odd angles as it spilled out over a simple blue t-shirt and denim overalls. Regardless of the difference in their species, the cry that emanated from her when she laid eyes on Brian was universally understood. It could only be that of a mother's. When Brian emerged from their small ship, the man's resolve broke, his grasp slackened and the woman came charging towards them. Brian raced down the landing pad and jumped into his mother's arms. Even from a distance, he could tell the woman was bawling. Her sharp, joyful sobs carried over the crowd's cheers.
Several medical personnel emerged from the crowd wheeling gurneys for the unconscious slaves still aboard. They began ferrying the remaining slaves out of the scout ship, not paying him the least bit of attention.
Garrus watched in silence as Brian retrieved a timid Alice who was trying her best to look inconspicuous by crouching between his trim, turian legs. The boy grasped her hand and lead her down the ramp and across the landing pad to his parents. Both adults were kneeling, probably so they'd be eye-level with their new daughter, patiently waiting for the girl to lower her guard. Finally, she leaned into the woman and wrapped her arms around her neck.
Garrus quickly looked away. Even though they were out of earshot, this was a private, family moment. And according to Shepard, this would be their first encounter with a turian. It was easy to forget how new humanity was in the galaxy. They had been around for as long as he was alive afterall. His father was old enough to recall a time on the citadel before humans were discovered and as a result, he wasn't particularly fond of them. He'd often lament about the 'rabble-rousing humans' who frequently got into bar fights or strutted about the citadel as if they owned the place. The fact it took a human who was new to the citadel merely a few days to settle in, adapt, and begin loudly voicing their opinions frustrated his father to no end. 'Always remember son. Respect isn't given. It's earned through years of hard work and a dedication to established precedents.' That line was a favorite of dear old dad's. He'd pull it out as some sort of life lesson whenever the opportunity presented itself. Then there were the rare family dinners back on Palaven where his father complained about them frequently. 'It's absurd how bossy the humans already are. They've only just arrived! We're not even sure what their species is about yet and they're demanding an embassy.' When Garrus vid-called home to shove it in his father's face that he not only quit C-Sec to join a spectre but a human at that, he thought the man's head would explode. A small chuckle escaped him, remembering as his father's mandibles took on a life of their own when he broke the news.
Suddenly, a small, five-fingered hand jolted him out of his reverie. Brian was shouting down the ramp to his parents while pulling on Garrus's talons. "Mom! Dad! I want you to meet my friend Caster."
Garrus obliged, and allowed the boy to lead him towards the family. To his surprise, the woman walked right up to him without hesitation, and threw her arms around his oddly shaped, alien body. "You saved him. You saved him. I didn't dare believe… I thought he was lost to us." She practically choked on the words as tears streamed down her face. Before today, Garrus had no idea humans cried when they were happy. In his experience, this type of sobbing only happened when they were extremely upset or terrified like the human female whose husband had been arrested by 'scary aliens' or the guy whose wife was murdered during a violent mugging. He awkwardly placed his three-fingered hand on her back and patted for good measure. "Uh… it was nothing. Really."
Then human male came up beside him and began vigorously shaking his hand despite the fact the female hadn't yet released him. "I can't thank you enough for saving our son. My name is Jack Hammond. This is my wife Tessa. Honey? Honey? I think he gets the point. How about you let go?"
"Oh my! I'm sorry. I'm just so relieved. Sir. You're an angel. An absolute angel." The woman stood back and wiped her face.
"It was uhm… my pleasure really." Garrus stammered. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Tali peering out of the ship's doorway. Relief washed over him at the prospect of diverting some of the attention. "Let me introduce you to my partner in this particular venture Faala."
Tessa immediately rushed across the landing area and met Tali as she disembarked. Like before, she pulled the quarian into a warm embrace sobbing as she heaped praise and thanks on her. Only Tali handled the matter with far more grace, and tightly hugged the woman back. The two women seemed to strike up an immediate friendship. They amicably chatted as they gradually returned to Garrus and Jack. Tessa wanted to know every detail regarding how they encountered the slaver ship.
Garrus quickly intervened when he saw Tali struggling to come up with a plausible story. "I hope you understand miss, but … well… what we do isn't strictly legal."
Picking up on where he was going with all this Tali found her voice. "I'm on pilgrimage but when the geth invaded, I couldn't sit back and do nothing. Caster here wanted to help as well so we sort of teamed up to take out as many of the synthetics as we could."
"Technically, we're not supposed to be hanging out in Terminus Space but we have to fund our little project somehow."
"Sir, I couldn't give a rat's ass." Jack interjected. "You returned our son. You freed dozens of slaves and brought them to safe harbor. Whatever the fuck you do is your business."
"Jack! Language!" Tessa admonished but her words lacked any hint of anger.
"Sorry honey I got a bit carried away. Anyhow, I want to invite you to back to our place for dinner. The wife makes a mean shepard's pie."
"Ahem. Jack? They can't eat our food." Tessa strode forward. "You'll have to forgive my husband. We've never met your kinds before. I looked up a few things on the extranet when you first contacted me though."
"Oh yes of course. My apologies. You're still welcome to come by our house. I'm sure the boy would love to show you around."
"Don't worry about it. And we'd love to visit. It's been a long journey and it would be nice to stretch our legs" Tali responded tactfully. "I've never seen a human colony before."
Garrus had no idea Tali could be such a smooth liar. And he couldn't wait to ask Shepard why there was a pie named after him. What was in it? Or was he named after the pie? Do humans do that? Base their surnames after foodstuffs? It seemed rather odd. A sharp pain erupted from his right spur as Tali's foot connected, knocking him out of his daydreams.
"Right! Of course. I'd love to. Never been to a human colony either."
The walk through the village was uneventful but the world around him was fascinating. Terra Nova was home to vibrant vegetation that was native along with imported livestock from the human homeworld. Golden clouds drifted across a vivid, purple sky. Flowers larger than himself bloomed around them. The blossoms had a tubular shape, their wide petals of various colors intertwined and narrowed at the stem. Several colonist had landscaped their properties with these brilliant plants, which provided shade to their various animals. Brian gleefully pointed out several creatures Garrus came to learn were cows, horses, pigs, chickens, and dogs. Now the last one he remembered from Shepard's tale of Jane and her 'mongrel.' It was nice to be able to picture the animal in the story. Although, they seemed alarmingly similar to varren, the krogans' companion of choice. That was a shocking revelation. Garrus had pictured dogs as large, fluffy creatures similar in shape to what human cheer-leaders dubbed 'pom poms.' Soft, like their human masters and very gentle. Yet, the animal Brian had him petting had a coarse texture that reminded him of the utensils the cook used to scrub pots. And it had long fangs that protruded rather noticeably as the animal panted.
"This is Sally. She's a Shepherd mix. They're cop dogs back on earth." Brian offered as an explanation. Garrus couldn't help but wonder why there were so many various types of 'Shepards' in human culture. And he could only hope that the commander would be in an amicable enough mood to explain this new found conundrum.
"And this is my house!" Brian proudly strutted forward and pointed to a cabin. A wide path consisting of gravel and dirt lead up to the modest home.
"What's it made of?" Garrus wondered absentmindedly. He had never seen anything like it. The home itself was brown and constructed from thick, round beams laid one on top of the other.
"The exterior is made from Redwood trees back home. I used Oak for the floor however. You need a nice, hardy wood to endure the beating a young boy and the dogs give it. And Redwood has fire resistant properties, so I used those logs on the exterior. My old man was a frontiersman himself. Built our family home with his own two hands in Alaska back in the day. I wanted to keep the tradition alive so I had timber imported from earth. Never did trust that prefab crap." Jack explained.
His talons traced along where the beams had been sharply cut. A hardened, clear substance that looked similar to frozen tears dribbled down the exterior where the wood had been carved into the necessary configuration to make way for windows. Garrus could only imagine the plant life that was capable of producing these 'logs.' All vegetation on Palaven was a uniform silver or brown with narrow, spindly stems. Nothing grew quite so large as these beams. Tali seemed equally fascinated. She was running her gloved hands along the solid, oak door. Their hosts didn't seem bothered by their peculiar behavior in the least and were more than happy to explain every nook and cranny. Yet the sky was beginning to turn a vibrant magenta, a sure sign night would soon fall.
Garrus cleared his throat and approached Jack with the M-5 Carnifex. "This is for Brian. And, well, your whole family. I've thoroughly taught him the rules of gun safety."
The man's eyes warily darted to his wife before continuing the conversation. "I appreciate that but he's a bit young."
"He needs to learn how to protect himself. You all do. There's a gun range not far from here, I'm sure they'll offer lessons. I modified this pistol myself. If you're attacked again, well, let's just say it packs a mean punch."
"You have a point. Thank you sir. You've done so much for our family already..."
"So I can keep it?" Brian had overheard the conversation and immediately butted in when the opportunity was ripe. "Can we put it somewhere I can see it? Anytime I want? I promise that I won't touch it without permission."
"I...Of course son."
"We'll mount it above the fireplace and only take it down for lessons until you're ready. How does that sound?" To her husband's apparent surprise, Tessa rapidly agreed.
Brian strode forward and pulled on Garrus's talons once more When the turian knelt down, the boy threw his arms around him. "I'll never forget you Caster." He repeated the gesture for Tali. And Garrus was fairly certain, that if she hadn't been obscured behind a mask, he'd be learning that quarians were capable of crying in a similar fashion as humans. The family accompanied them back to the scout ship. And as all four of them eagerly waved while they readied for departure, Garrus vowed this wouldn't be the last time he'd reunite a family torn apart by slavery. Not if he could help it. There was no better feeling in the world. This newfound sense of rightness was rare in such a fucked up galaxy. No way he'd lose that. For the first time in his life, he wasn't left wondering whether he made the right choice. Not a single lingering doubt plagued him in his bunk that night. And if it ever came to it, he'd fight for the privilege to do it again.