Chapter 3: The Expert and Headaches

She had taken him on a few missions, nothing big. Mostly planet side drops to find intel or material or resources as they trekked their way to their first true destination. There was a lull in time from one major point to the next in this and sometimes the slow crawl made him itch. His muscles itched to be used, his skill behind the scope itched to be tested. It was almost painful, and it made him agitated on most days. Knowing that he was stuck in this ship in the middle of a galaxy heading into more of it with only so much to do. It had been what? Three weeks, since they had left the Citadel and still, they were a week out from their first priority.

First priority.

That's what the mission was. He disagreed with it. The only priority should be to find Saren and everything in between was a waste of time. The longer they waited, the more powerful and harder he was to find. Saren was the end goal. Not some expert of a dead species or planet side visits to find minerals for credits. He growled as he worked, not caring if the clanging of his tools brought attention his way or not. They had been traveling for too long and still they hadn't gotten to their destination. Finding some asari Prothean expert named Dr. Liara T'Soni. He grunted at the name as he unscrewed a panel under the Mako.

It had become is responsibility. Unassigned, not truly spoken, but the entirety of the crew knew that it was his job now. Keeping the Mako up to date in repairs and upgrades. More often times than not one would find him there, huddled inside or under or on top of the beast of a machine, finding ways to make sure that the next drop didn't cause the same damage as the last. And it did drop.

The first few times he had been inside the Mako as the Normandy crew steered it out an open hatch as they were still flying he had decided, then and there, that humans were crazy. Absolutely insane. Nothing about this was legit, nothing about this was safety. He didn't scream when they began the plummet, he just steeled himself and resolved downward into acceptance that this was how he was going to die. In a small cabin next to a krogan and a red-haired woman who laughed at the descent.

He had been dramatic, he now knew.

As the Mako had been specifically designed for the task. Its six wheels were built to the frame in such a way that the impact only made it stronger. A design by someone somewhere who needed their hand shook and their retirement easy. After a few more drops, he had grown used to the feeling of his insides pulling upward and his body going nearly weightless before the sudden, if not actually stable, slam to the planet's surface. Only a few times did he feel the drop the next day, mostly when the terrain below had been more mountains vs flat plains as it made the landing more bouncy.

That's what Shepard called it: bouncy.

He didn't think the Turian language had a word to describe it so he decided on it being sufficient enough. He whispered the word as he glared in at the wires he had uncovered. One of the thrusters had lagged last time and he was determined to fix it. No use having thrusters if one made the lift off the grown unstable.

"Are you talking to yourself?" A voice interrupted his thoughts. He blinked, startled but otherwise was motionless before he grumbled outward. He didn't like being interrupted, but he didn't have a choice in the matter when it came to this crew. The majority of them, save a few that were still wary of his presence, were a talkative bunch.

Inquisitive. Familiar. Nice.

His mandibles pinched against the side of his head. He shifted from under the Mako and looked up to the woman who was standing cross armed above him. Her head was tilted to the side and a gentle expression rested on her features. Personal visit today, he decided. It was one thing about Shepard he had grown to respect. Even if he wasn't accustomed to it. She wanted to know her crew. She often times and openly sought out her crew members and spent time with them. She was familiar with their needs and respectful of them and their capabilities. Never pushing them past acceptable encouragement, but then again never allowing them to settle for less than what they were capable of.

"Far less intelligent people around to speak with," he would say as he stood before her, "Might as well talk to the smartest in the room."

She shook her head and relaxed down on a crate, looking at the mess he had left under the Mako and then up to him, "We have a few days before we are at the dig sight, I was hoping you would come with me on the drop." Like she had to ask. He nodded, bending over to pick up the screwdriver that had rolled its way under foot.

"Any idea what this information will bring to us?" He asked her before sitting on the chair she had ensured he had beside her. "Or is this T'Soni the only one that has any answers."

Shepard sighed, "She's the goose and the egg."

He blinked at her. The what and the what?

"Human saying, just means she has all the answers, and she knows the questions to ask as well." With a little shrug to her tiny shoulders, because really the woman was small in body. Then again, she looked strong and sturdy and compared the humans around her she was actually a bit larger than most of their women. But to a Turian? Pft. She was tiny.

"Hopefully, then," he didn't finish the statement.

"Any news on the Mako?" She asked him, motioning towards the machine. He shook his head and she chuckled, "You and this damned machine, Garrus, I swear…"

He grinned at her, his lips shifting and his mandibles slack, he wondered if she could tell if that's what he was doing. For all intents and purposes, his face did not move like hers. It was easy to see her expressions, her emotions, turians were not so expressive. Not to the eye.

"Shepard," he began, unsure if this was where he could speak his mind or if that was even possible, he chose to just speak freely, "In my opinion, Saren is too dangerous to be kept alive, so much could happen, he could escape, or the council might let him go. If we find him, when we find him, I say we make sure to stop him – permanently."

He hadn't realized how biting he would be, how dangerous he felt when he spoke. His body was tense, his talons aching to claw. When he blinked back to settle into her gaze she spoke, as if waiting for him to return to her from wherever he had drifted to, "If Saren won't listen to reason, if he forces my hand – I'll kill him in a heartbeat, but only if its absolutely necessary."

He frowned at the words she said, "But what's the point of keeping him alive? It just gives him an opportunity to escape or convince the council to listen to him! And what about the Geth? They might try to free him…"

Shepard seemed to weigh his words carefully, her lips parting and then closing before she answered him, a gentle tone against his harsh – almost strained – one, "We know more about Saren's plans than anyone, but what do we really know?" She leaned towards him, had she been standing he felt she would have come to grab his arm, "If we just kill him, we lose the chance to find out."

Garrus sighed and deflated slightly, "Yeah, I see your point." He hated that it was a point. Her words had reason behind them. Important reason. "Do you really think there is more to know? Other than the fact that he's a raving lunatic?" He questioned her, needing to know that she had resolve and belief in her words, not just platitudes and red tape.

She shook her head and sighed heavily, "Maybe, maybe not – but its not a chance I am willing to take."

Garrus looked at her after that and mulled her words over his tongue. He repeated them into the air at a soft whisper and she studied him as he did so. Maybe, maybe not. It was clear that there was too much riding on this to be hotheaded, but still – Saren was a menace. A damn traitor. Anything other than death was a disservice to the cause. Still, he deflated finally and nodded to her, she was right.

Killing information was just another way of setting up a kill shot for yourself.

Shepard reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder when she stood. The action brought her close to him and he could smell her scent, it was sweet and bold, but it didn't smell like one of those liquid perfumes that so many asari wore. It smelt differently. Clean? He sat up straight and she squeezed the muscle of his shoulder, "Don't worry, Garrus," she said, "Saren is going to go down – and you're a huge part of the reason why."

Nope. His initial diagnosis was back. Shepard – the Commander Shepard – was crazy.

Not that he could have done anything different to get the results that had come from finally finding Doctor T'Soni on Therum. Not only did they have to drive the Mako through lava damn near, but they had to tunnel their way down into some ancient dig sight because the doctor was said to still be there. Geth after Geth stood in their way and, luckily, they were able to get through them easily enough. Tali had joined them, and her specialty had come in handy – perhaps he would have to discuss a way for her to help improve his own tech expertise. Pft. He didn't have any. Nevermind, might as well just hope that she is always there if the Geth were involved.

This asari, Liara, had been trapped in a damned bubble. An impenetrable one. Her wide blue eyes had found the three of them easy when the jumped down from the broken elevator, Shepard had asked if he would be able to lift them all back up to level before they did so. Easy, he had told her. The trouble was if they would be able to pull him up. It was decided that with all three (he noticed here that Shepard was very firm in her belief that T'Soni would be accompanying them back to the surface) would be able to use their combined strength the lift him back up to the second left. He wasn't heavy - he was Turian. The average grown Turian could be close to four hundred pounds. He was on the lighter side, settling in at three hundred and sixty-four. Give or take a few pounds depending on his attire. In full armor – he didn't know, but his C-Sec armor wasn't all that heavy. Another fifty pounds? He had done all the calculations and had known Shepard's strength was heightened and decided, sure – they'd all manage it.

Getting to T'Soni had been a sheer act of crazy that Shepard attributed to 'no other way'. Pft. Shooting a beam through the damn structural support of an ancient ruin definitely didn't seem like the proper way. It had, however, worked. Originally. They were able to free the woman and were almost out of the tunnels by way of elevator (seriously, is there an elevator everywhere?) before they were interrupted by the actual mercenaries that had come for the blue form that had stepped behind them in an act of self-preservation. He didn't blame her. The Krogan in front of him was bigger than Wrex. Younger too – which usually meant angrier. Shepard denied him when he demanded they hand over T'Soni. He smirked at her comment and then had to push her at full force out of the way of a rocket that had come to land directly where she had been standing.

The battle that followed was both quick and dangerous. His goons went down easy, but with the Krogan not being anything tech, Tali was useless. She stood next to Liara, shotgun in hand and he knew that she would defend the doctor with her life. He liked Tali. He decided as she sent a little growl through her speakers. Quarians.

It was up to Shepard and him, so they played the field. He took left and she took right. He shot his shot, making the Krogan round on him and then she slammed him with a biotic field to deprive him of shields. Back and forth they danced – because it is a dance – around the room, carefully keeping his narrow minded anger focused on each of them in turn. In the end, it was both his concussion shot and her perfectly timed warp that sliced the Krogan in half. He fell to the ground heavy and, most importantly, dead.

He panted, she panted and the small whoop from Tali was all that was heard before the elevator beneath them shifted and a loud whine of metal and rock came from all around them. T'Soni's voice slapped them cold, "Its going to come down!" And all four of them quickly raced through the rest of the tunnel and up the scaffolding. He brought up the rear, making sure that no one tripped until the very end when Shepard sidestepped and ushered him ahead of her.

He frowned but didn't hesitate to follow the command, only turning to look back as he cleared the exit and found her leaping through the quickly closing opening. He reached out in time to grab her as the connecting platform disloged and collapsed from beneath her feet and pulled her harsh and safe into his body, twisting as one of the large pillar fell and scratched down the back of his armor - it snagged and caught, but thankfully did not crush. The wind was knocked out of him, a grunt fell from his lips and he shook it off as the two made their way to the Mako. When the got inside, her hands went to his neck, her attention stayed there as small gloved fingers felt, poked and proded to ensure he wasnt hurt. He grimanced as she did so - unfamiliar with touch on parts of him that were always off limits. He reached up to grab her wrist, "I'm fine, Shepard."

Gray-blue met green and he could see the worried panic in them. He squeezed her hand and repeated, "I'm fine."

A curt nod followed and she relaxed backward and situated herself into the driver seat once more. Behind them a small clearing of a throat was heard and Tali said with amusement, "I'm fine too – thanks for asking."

The four of them chuckled as they reached out on the comms to be picked up.

Back on the Normandy, the crew sat in a circle around the room. He was still battleworn and dirty, Tali had fixed a hole in her suit and Shepard had stipped herself of her armor, but was wet from sweat as they all talked about what happened. It was the first time he heard about some beacon that the human team had found, how had he not heard anything about this? He wracked his mind. When Liara spoke, it was almost in a dream. He had heard Asari speak before so this was unique to this one blue lady. Did she mean to do it? He wondered and the entire room listened on bated breath as she continued.

The Asari were beautiful. Every single one of them could turn heads when walked into a room. They were the oldest known space fairing species in their galaxy and had helped guide and educate the other races over the long spanse of their histories. There was no species that didnt find allies in the Asari. They were bold, wise and intelligent. Every Asari had some form of biotic power, the abilitiy to harness and use Dark Energy, and most were friendly with every race they came across. It was not uncommon to find an Asari mated or becoming bonded to someone of another species. As it was in their biology to mate and reporduce more asari that way. There wasnt a single 'male' asari. He had met many asari in his career, some young - some approaching a thousand years old - all with humbling stories to hear. They were a long living species, much like the Krogan.

"Im still trying to sort out what it all means," Shepard said to her.

"Visions," Liara's eyes widened, "Yes! The beacons were designed to transmit the message directly into the minds of the user. Finding on that still works is extremely rare. No wonder the Geth attacked Eden Prime! The chance to acquire a working beacon, even a badly damaged one – is worth almost any risk." Her brows pulled down slightly and she looked at Shepard with a strange expression. Garrus looked between the two, listening intently, "But the beacons were only programmed to interact with Prothean physiology…whatever information you received would have been confused…unclear. I am….amazed," he voice dipped, "You were able to make sense of it at all, a lesser mind would have been utterly destroyed by the process. You must be remarkably strong willed, Commander."

"This isn't helping us find Saren or the conduit!" Alenko interjected.

"Of course, you're right, I am sorry my scientific curiosity got the better of me. Unfortunately I do not have any information that can help you find the conduit. Or Saren." Liara said in lue of an apology.

"I don't know why Saren wanted you out of the picture, but I think we would be a lot better off if we bring you along," Shepard sighed and slowly walked across the room, he could tell she was thinking heavily on what the asari has said.

"Thank you, Commander, Saren might come after me again," She stood towards Shepard, "I cannot think of anywhere safer than here on your ship and my knowledge of the Protheans might be useful later on."

"And her biotics will come in handy when the fighting starts," Wrex added with a nod of approval from Garrus.

"Good to have you on the team, Liara," Shepard said to her.

"Thank you, Commander, I am very grateful…"

The doctor swayed on her feet and two of the seated humans stood. Williams and Alenko both reached for her, but Alenko's voice cut through the air, "When was the last time you ate or slept?" And that was the end of the meeting. Shepard dismissed them, ordering Alenko to take T'Soni to Dr. Chakwa and the rest of the team hurriedly left the room. He, however, waited patiently in his seat – eyeing Shepard with concern and annoyance.

"You never spoke to me about a beacon," he said to her back.

She stiffened and looked to him. She sagged slightly as she crossed her arms and leaned against a table. "I was told to keep it tight-lipped."

He frowned, his brow plated shifting, "Tight-lipped." He repeated and stood, making his way across the room towards her. "Order?"

Shepard nodded and he could no longer be annoyed or upset about her secrecy. Military protocols. He nodded in response. "I'm sorry," she would say, looking upwards at an angle to him. He looked down to her, "Its not a topic I like to talk about in any light."

"Why?"

Her hand reached up and she absent-mindedly pressed her fingertips onto the back of her neck, "Ever since…Eden Prime, I get headaches. Bad ones. Not as bad as Alenko with his migraines due to his L2 implants, but enough to make me want to punch people when they ask me stupid questions."

He chuckled, his hand coming up to rest at the back of her neck and he gave it a definite squeeze. It wasn't commonly known to most, but Turians necks were the source of most touch receptors in their bodies. Squeezing it just right was as if releasing pressure. It could immediately take pain away.

She froze at the touch, and he froze at her response.

His hand quickly released her, and he pulled away – she looked at him curiously before saying simply, "Can you do that again?"

Garrus' mandible twitched at the question before he raised his hand and found its perch, a strong squeeze and her eyes closed at the contact. "Alenko is an L2?" He picked a topic that was anything but her and his hand.

She hummed an affirmation, her chin dipping down as she let him massage her, "Any mission I take him on causes him pain, I…" she bites off the words, "I find it hard to ask him to go on any of them, but he insists. And he's damned good." She trailed off.

"Solider to the core, that one," Garrus nodded.

"A different kind than I am used to," Shepard went on to say, "Williams is the type that I have seen more often, Kaidan is – different."

His brow plates shifted in understanding. Kaidan is different. He grinned a little at the human in front of him. "Different, hm." He teased and watched as her eyes snapped open and she looked to him with mock annoyance, but the answer was as clear as her eyes were green. "Better?" He asked and watched as she stretched her neck and one shoulder. She smiled to him and nodded.

"Thanks, Garrus."

"Anytime, Shepard."

When the next time the crew gathered around the circle for a debrief, he had found himself sitting just beside Shepard. She had motioned for him to sit there. To her right. He beamed inwardly at the implication, though he doubted that the human knew what it meant. For Turian it was significant in chain of command. She was signaling that he was her advisor and successor. Right-hand man, so to speak. He actually had heard that from a human, so perhaps she did know the significance of it.

In this debrief, however, Liara and Shepard stood in the middle of the room, foreheads pressed together with the rest of them staring at them. It felt – intimate – as if they shouldn't be witnessing the exchange, but it was supposed to help Shepard understand the meaning behind the visions that plagued her. The Asari were fascinating creatures, he would have to ask Liara about how they were able to connect their mind with another and how it felt. He frowned, maybe not too many questions or she would want to try it with him, he just...it was such a magical thing to witness. Surreal.

They had gotten worse after Feros, the Thorian had affected not just her but a few of the crew members with the weight of the dangers that this galaxy held. He could only imagine having the mind of a 50,000 year old Thorian giving ones brain a jolt. The Thorian had been controlling the people of Zhu's Hope on Feros. The Cipher given to her by the asari commando they had freed curled inside the visions from before - but now it was as if they were causing pain. She groaned, her hand going to press thumb to temple and index finger to the opposite temple. She seemed impatient, tired.

Garrus allowed himself to look around the room, noting the crew around them. He looked to Tali first who stared unashamed at the two women in front of her. Waiting, patiently to hear if it helped. Wrex looked bored, unsure of what to do with himself in this quiet. He could see fire and war in his eyes and worried that this kind of life was doing horrid things to his psyche. Williams looked – disgusted. He sighed at the sight and shook his head, she had slowly stopped being outwardly against aliens, after explaining to him about her military past, her family's past. He understood her apprehension. Afterall, his people had slaughtered her people. That was a common tale, he hoped he could change her outlook on Turians. Not all, were against her kind.

Most weren't, in fact.

Alenko was …he couldn't understand the trained expression on the man's face. He wore it most of the time, calm and tight. But his eyes were dancing with something and that something didn't seem to come from any calm Garrus knew. He wondered what it meant, but if the conversations that he had with Shepard tied into – he would say it was jealousy? Distrust? He frowned, he had no right to ask and no business in knowing.

When the two women came apart, it was a slow movement of the red head that brought Garrus back up to witness the exchange.

"Anything?" Shepard had asked weakly, and Liara frowned – sprouting of something that made little sense before swaying and requesting to leave. He couldn't blame the asari for not having any of the answers yet, but he certainly blamed her for bringing hope to Shepard only to squash it down.

Dismissed.

The chairs all shifted, the bodies all stood, and Garrus lingered just long enough to see if she had meant him too. She swept past him on the way to her cabin, her hand reaching out to squeeze his forearm slightly as she did so, but her eyes never connected with his and he watched her disappear into the one place on the ship that only she was allowed to go.

The door shutting was louder than any grenade. And he didn't exactly know why.

I just wanted to say hello and to point out that - as canon as I am trying - there will be subtle differences. I also want to make sure that I get their kinship right. They are close in all three games, but it started somewhere. So I am trying to find that delicate balance and hope its coming off just as I intend. I hope all is well!

-CM