Chapter 2: Dead Men Can't Fight Wars
Shepard had gone straight to the galaxy map and input the coordinates for the Omega station the second Jacob and Miranda left her alone. They were already on their way. With Tali's absence on Freedom's Progress, Shepard was afraid to open her laptop to look over the dossiers. She was terrified the name 'Archangel' wouldn't be on the list. Shepard eased herself into the seat next to Joker. The co-pilot's chair wasn't as close to the pilot's seat as it was on the old Normandy. She had to admit, these seats were a lot more comfortable. Joker was on to something with that one.
Joker glanced over at Shepard. She knew he had to have a ton of questions but was keeping them to himself for the time being. She'd have to get him off the ship when they landed somewhere safe enough for him to walk around. She wasn't going to be able to answer his questions on the Normandy.
"EDI?" Shepard said glancing over at EDI's access node.
"Yes, Commander Shepard?" EDI's blue hologram sprang to life.
"EDI, how many bugs has Cerberus placed in the cockpit?" Shepard asked.
"I have a block that prevents me from answering that question," EDI said as the vertical iris turned red.
"Of course you do, EDI. What can you tell me?" Shepard asked.
There was a long moment of silence and Shepard turned in her seat to better look at the blue hologram.
"EDI?" Shepard asked.
Shepard's omni-tool beeped; when she opened it a message flashed across the screen briefly:
01010100 01101000 01100001 01101110 01101011 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101
Shepard smiled.
"Do you have a more specific question, Commander Shepard?" EDI asked.
"Not right now, EDI. Thank you," Shepard said.
"Logging you out, Shepard," EDI said before the hologram disappeared.
"What was that all about?" Joker asked.
"We'll talk about it later," Shepard said.
"Riiigght," Joker said.
"So, where is everybody, Joker? Were you able to keep in touch with anyone?" Shepard asked.
"And by anyone you mean your boy toy," Joker said glancing at her.
"I mean everyone," Shepard said.
A long minute passed in silence as Joker let her question hang in the air.
"Joker?" Shepard said the growing alarm evident in her voice.
"Are you sure you want to talk about this right now, Commander? Maybe somewhere with at least some semblance of privacy would be better?" Joker said.
Shepard's heart started to pound in her chest, "No, Joker. Tell me now. What happened? Did something happen to Garrus? Tali? Tali wasn't where I thought she'd be. What happened?"
"Garrus and Tali are both fine last I heard," Joker said.
"But?" Shepard demanded.
"There were… a few losses. One of the escape pods got hit with the beam on its way out," Joker watched Shepard closely as he chose his next words. "I'm sorry, Commander but Liara, Ashley, and Dr. Tulina were all in that pod along with some of the crew."
"Oh gods. No. No this wasn't supposed to happen," Shepard's voice started to rise. "You're wrong, you have to be wrong!"
"Commander Shepard, biometric scans indicate that your heart rate is reaching excessively high levels. I have orders to contact Operator Lawson and Dr. Chakwas in such an event," EDI said.
"Commander, you need to calm down," Joker said.
Shepard couldn't calm down though. Not with Jane's horror amplifying her own. She was trying to push it all down the way she had so many other times before Jane came into her life but she couldn't seem to get a hold on her emotions enough to lock them away. She couldn't breathe; she wasn't getting any air. She felt like she was lost in space, dying all over again. She wanted to shoot something, hit something, tear something apart – but there was no one to blame but herself. Miranda tore through the CIC and ran into the cockpit. Dr. Chakwas wasn't very far behind her.
"Commander? Commander can you hear me?" Miranda was in Shepard's face trying to get her attention.
Jane snarled and Shepard echoed the sentiment aloud.
Dr. Chakwas came in and with one look assessed the situation, "I wouldn't recommend touching her right now. Joker, what happened?"
"I – She asked about the Normandy team. I – I had to tell her," Joker said.
Miranda wheeled around to face Joker, "You idiot! How could you possibly think that it was a good idea to tell her that now? She's not even supposed to be out of that bed yet for God's sake!"
Shepard's hand flew out and clamped on to Miranda's wrist; her nails longer than she usually kept them dug into the leather of her jumpsuit hard enough to make Miranda flinch, "Don't you talk to him like that!"
Miranda turned back to Shepard and crouched in front of her, gently prying her fingers loose, "Commander, I understand you must be devastated. You are still in the healing process, however, and you are putting an excessive amount of stress on your heart. The implants aren't fully integrated yet, you are risking an overload. If you can't calm yourself down, I will have to sedate you."
"No! No more sedatives. No more cutting and drilling," Jane yelled inside Shepard's head.
"Yeah… you've got about four seconds before she breaks your nose," Joker said watching as Shepard's hand closed into a fist.
"Miranda, if you'll allow me? I believe that the Commander might respond best to a familiar face right now," Dr. Chakwas said nudging the younger woman out of her way.
Miranda stepped back to let Dr. Chakwas lean down in front of Shepard. Shepard's eyes locked on to the doctor's. Dr. Chakwas' eyes were so filled with sympathy and sorrow that it made Shepard feel a little worse for a moment.
"That's good, yes, look at me, Commander," Dr. Chakwas said. "Breathe with me, Commander."
Dr. Chakwas started taking slow deep breaths for Shepard to emulate. It took her a few seconds to latch on to the pattern and start to mimic it but before long Shepard's breathing had returned to normal and her heart rate was dropping. Her hands were shaking and jaw stayed clenched tight. Miranda was satisfied enough to turn and leave the cockpit, but not before glaring at Joker one last time.
"This wasn't supposed to happen," Shepard whispered to Dr. Chakwas. "They were supposed to live. Liara… so much depended on her."
"I know, Commander. We all feel their loss. Dr. Tulina was a very dear friend of mine and it breaks my heart every day to know that I will never see her face again. I know that you were close to Ashley and Liara, maybe even Dr. Tulina, too," Dr. Chakwas said.
Shepard nodded her head in agreement, "I'm so sorry, Dr. Chakwas. For Dr. Tulina, I mean. I know you two were more than friends."
Dr. Chakwas winced, "Yes, Commander, we were."
Shepard pulled Dr. Chakwas into an embrace and squeezed her tightly. When Dr. Chakwas pulled away she ran a motherly hand down the side of Shepard's head, smoothing down her hair. Tears glistened in the doctor's eyes as she turned to walk away.
Shepard sat quietly watching the stars before standing and putting a hand on Joker's shoulder, "Screw Miranda. Thanks for being honest with me, Joker."
"Sure, Commander. Anytime," Joker said.
Shepard delayed looking at the dossiers, now even more afraid of what she might find – or not find, for that matter. Instead she made her way around the ship introducing herself to the crew. She was finding it increasingly difficult to remember that she couldn't just address people like she had known them for years, even though all of those memories were there. It was also growing increasingly awkward for her to realize just how many people her past selves had slept with on this ship and the last.
"Commander Shepard, I understand that you just received some unpleasant news about the loss of some of your former crew. I want you to know that I am here if you decide you want to talk about it," Yeoman Kelly Chambers told Shepard.
Shepard ran a hand over her face in an attempt to vanish the images of Kelly dancing provocatively dressed in a skin tight, revealing outfit.
"I'm sorry, what was that? I guess I'm a little distracted right now," Shepard said.
Kelly smiled at Shepard, a smile Shepard remembered well. The woman was flirting with her. Another time, another place and Shepard would probably have led Kelly to her cabin. Right now there were more pressing concerns stomping down any thoughts of a fling with her Yeoman.
"I was just saying that I'm here if you ever need to talk. I have a degree in psychology, it's my secondary role here aboard the Normandy," Kelly said.
"Ah, well thanks, Kelly. I'll keep that in mind," Shepard said.
"Kelly? So informal! I like it," Kelly said with a grin.
"Right, yeah. I, uh, I tend to keep things more informal with my crew during down time. I should go. It was nice meeting you, Kelly," Shepard said backing away from the other woman.
"The pleasure was all mine, Shepard!" Kelly called after her.
Shepard retreated to the elevator and took it up to her cabin. She walked into the empty room and slowly eased into the desk chair. Tentatively running her hands over the closed laptop, she took a deep breath before opening the lid. The light blinked at her letting her know that she had new messages. She opened the dossiers and skimmed through the names until her eyes found 'Archangel'. Shepard released the breath she had been holding and ran a hand through her hair.
"EDI?" Shepard called out towards the AI node in her cabin.
The blue hologram sprung to life, "Yes, Shepard?"
"How long until we get to Omega?" Shepard asked.
"ETA to Omega one hour," EDI said.
"Thanks, EDI," said Shepard.
She opened her messages and ignoring the inbox she opened a new message and entered Kirrahe's old address. She didn't know if he was still using the same address or not, but it was worth a try. She made the message short and simple: Kirrahe, 'shadow team' here. I'm back in the game. Can't explain things here. I've got some business to take care of on Omega. After that I'll be headed to the Citadel. Meet me there if you can. Shepard.
Shepard opened another message: Tali, I'm back. I'll be on the Citadel soon. I would love to see you. This connection is not secure. Shepard.
Another message read: Wrex. I'm alive. Unsecured connection. Message me when you get this. Shepard.
The final message she sent said only: Garrus, she wasn't wrong. Dawn.
She didn't need to warn him that it was an unsecured connection, that Cerberus was probably reading everything she wrote. He would know. She wanted to tell him that she loved him and missed him, but she couldn't know how he felt about her after everything she'd put him through. Two years was a long time. Maybe this time he had found someone new. It would hurt, but she wouldn't deny him that. She'd give him whatever chance at happiness she could. Even if it was without her.
It crushed her that she wasn't sending out another message to Ashley and Liara. How had this happened? If Liara died, was the Alliance able to recover the plans for the Crucible? How the hell had Cerberus gotten their hands on her body? Every other time Liara had gone up against the Shadow Broker's men to get Shepard's body and take it to Cerberus. Had Cerberus sent someone else? Miranda maybe?
Shepard read through all of the dossiers that the Illusive Man had sent her so far. They all looked the same as far as she could remember. She went back to her inbox and opened the message from Anderson requesting that she meet him on the Citadel and explain herself to him. She'd go there right after Omega. Omega couldn't wait. Not if Garrus was there, and definitely not while he could be in trouble. She supposed getting Mordin as soon as possible was a pretty good idea, too. It might help to have Mordin with her if Kirrahe met her on the Citadel anyway. She remembered that the two of them knew each other.
Shepard knew that she was still being watched, even if EDI's hologram wasn't active. She wasn't sure how much EDI would tell the Illusive Man considering the familiarity and hopefully trust that she had established with the AI prior to her being taken in by Cerberus. She wasn't willing to risk it though. Instead of staring off into space to talk to Jane, Shepard opted to at least pretend to meditate. Whatever had happened when she was dying, things had changed and she could hear Jane now better than ever; she didn't need to meditate. Unfortunately all she was hearing from Jane now was ten shades of crazy.
Shepard went down the stairs to sit on the floor in front of her bed and closed her eyes. She took a few deep breaths for effect.
"Alright Jane, talk to me, what's going on?" Shepard thought.
"We don't understand what's happened," Jane said.
"What was it like before?" Shepard asked.
"Just quiet. Trapped inside with no one to hear us and it was just us. Not this time, this time we felt it all. We felt you die like we were dying and we felt them cut and drill and scrape and oh gods it hurt," Jane said.
"So, you're feeling things that I'm feeling now? Like physically, not just thoughts and emotions?" Shepard asked.
"Feel. Yes. I haven't felt anything in so long and then I felt death again. And pain; torture. They tortured us. They hear us screaming in agony and they just kept cutting," Jane said.
"Wait, who heard you screaming?" Shepard asked.
"Miranda, Wilson, the nurses. They just gave you more and more drugs, tried to quiet us. Laughed and joked. Recorded us screaming and begging them to stop," Jane said.
Shepard shifted, "Jane… you were screaming out loud, using my voice? They recorded it?"
"Yes, we couldn't see them but we heard them. Recordings and logs, saved it all in files and sent them away to the Illusive Man," Jane said.
"Did you speak too? Did you say anything?" Shepard asked.
"We… we don't know, it just hurt so bad. They cut us open all over, our head and our legs and our chest… they put things inside of us and screwed them in place and the pushed bones and organs aside. Cut broken ones out and put new ones in. It hurt so bad," Jane said.
"What about before Cerberus started to put me back together, what happened to you then? When I was… dead?" Shepard asked.
"I don't remember. Why can't I remember? We always remember?" Jane started to sound panicked again.
"Alright, hey, it's OK Jane. I don't know exactly why this time was so different, but everything has been different this time, right? I mean, I can hear you and we've been changing all kinds of things, right?" Shepard asked.
"Changing… yes everything is changing. We don't like the changes. Make them stop," Jane said.
"But Jane, you wanted things to change, remember? You said we needed to change things to stop the cycle. You still want the cycle to stop, right?" asked Shepard.
"We didn't know it would be like this," Jane said. "I don't want to feel, I just want to rest. I'm so tired."
"Jane, I don't have any way to fix what's already happened. We have to keep moving forward. We have to stop this cycle, not just for us but for whatever it is doing to the rest of the universe. We can't keep letting people die at the hands of the reapers," Shepard said.
"Ashley and Liara. Your Dr. Tulina, they are dead this time. That was at our hands, we made a choice, we changed things and they died. It's not making things better," Jane said.
Shepard broke her meditation ruse and rubbed her hands over her face. She took a deep breath and leaned back against the foot of her bed.
"I know. Gods, I know," Shepard thought.
Shepard knew they had to be coming up on Omega soon. She stood up from the floor and stretched before heading to her own private bathroom. That was one of her favorite things about the new Normandy. Shepard relieved herself and then went to the sink to wash her hands. She didn't look in the mirror. Jane's memories were enough to keep her from wanting to see the glowing, angry scars all over her face. It was bad enough seeing them on the rest of her body. She found a hairbrush and ran it through her hair before pulling it back with an elastic band. It had been so long since her hair had been this long that it took her three tries to get the hair tie securely in place. She paused to look at her nails debating on whether she should cut them before she left the ship. She spent five minutes looking around for a pair of nail clippers and not finding any; she brought her nails to her teeth and began tearing the nails off the old fashioned way.
Fully armored with guns ready, Shepard went back down to the CIC. She hovered around the cockpit watching as they docked with Omega. Miranda and Jacob showed up behind her just as the docking was finished. They headed to the airlock and stepped out onto Omega.
Shepard kept walking past the salarian when he walked up to greet her team and stopped in front of the batarian who was behind him instead. The salarian looked crestfallen as she passed but when he saw the batarian behind him he scurried away.
"Welcome to Omega… Shepard," the batarian said.
Normally, this would be where she engaged the batarian asking him how he knew who she was but she already knew and wasn't in the mood to play games.
"I'm not here to cause trouble for Omega, or Aria. I just need to see some people," Shepard said.
"Aria is cautious, especially when dead Spectres who like to blow things up show up on her door step. Get to Afterlife and speak with her. Now," the batarian said.
Shepard walked past the batarian without further comment. EDI's voice came in over the comm telling them what her scans had pulled up on Mordin. The area Mordin ran his clinic was under quarantine. It looked like the collector plague on Omega hadn't changed, at least. Shepard paused near the main entrance to Omega when EDI informed her of Archangel.
"There have been no new reports about Archangel in the last two standard weeks. The last reported location for Archangel was in the Tuhi District," EDI said.
"Tuhi?" Shepard repeated.
"Yes," EDI responded.
That wasn't right. That's not where he normally was, but could she really be surprised considering her warning? She hadn't given him many details, but it was enough to change his course of action. What was in the Tuhi district? Shepard had been all over Omega through Jane's memories but she never learned the district names, aside from the Kima District where she normally found Garrus.
"Is there a problem, Commander?" Miranda asked.
"I'm not familiar with the area," Shepard said.
"I'm sure we can find someone to point us in the right direction," Jacob said.
"Shepard, over there. I believe that is Zaeed Massani. His name was on the list of dossiers," Miranda said.
"Yeah, I see him," she said starting forward again.
Shepard watched as Zaeed beat on the batarian prisoner in front of him.
She cleared her throat, "Is that really necessary?"
"Please, help me," the batarian said rolling his four eyes up to look at her from the ground.
"Who goddamn asked you?" Zaeed said over his shoulder.
She raised an eyebrow and waited for the man to turn around. When he did, recognition pulled at the scared up features of his face. She didn't remember him recognizing her before. This was different.
"Well if it isn't the goddamn savior of the Citadel? Back from the dead as I hear it – and working for Cerberus. This ought to be interesting," Zaeed said.
Shepard's eyebrow twitched, "Do you have everything you need? The Normandy is docked just outside."
With Zaeed distracted, the batarian got up and started running towards the docks. Zaeed lifted his gun and shot him in the back.
"Damn. I was going to get my 'bring 'em in alive' rates. I better turn him in, I'll meet you back at your ship and we can discuss terms," Zaeed said.
"Alright. We might be here for a little while. I've got a couple more people to find and pick up here," Shepard said.
"I'm getting paid either way, sweetheart, take your time," Zaeed said.
"Don't call me sweetheart," Shepard said crossing her arms.
Zaeed chuckled and walked away to drag the dead batarian back to whoever hired him. Shepard made her way to the entrance and went straight across to the stairs of Afterlife. The loud music could be heard outside as one of the batarians manning the door ushered her inside. The door opened up to a dark hallway with a soft red lighting. Video screens lined the walls showing flames dancing and flickering around. Jane shifted around nervously in the back of Shepard's mind.
As she moved past, a batarian stood up from a couch to challenge Shepard, "What are you looking at?"
Shepard drew her pistol and pointed it at the man while his friends brought their rifles up to point at her and her team.
"A few more dead batarians if you don't sit the fuck back down, I don't have time for this," Shepard said.
Jacob had his pistol drawn behind her and so did Miranda. Miranda was already pulling up a blue biotic glow around her. The batarian held his hands out to signal his men to lower their weapons. Shepard started walking again. She could feel their eyes following her but they didn't make a move. Jacob and Miranda were slow to leave the confrontation, following her with glances thrown back over their shoulders.
She walked through another door and into the main part of the club. The lighting wasn't any better in this area, but the music was much louder. She followed the floor as it curved around the dancer's stage in the center of the room and headed for the stairs at the back. Shepard waited with a bored affect while all of Aria's goons pointed guns at her and her team pointed guns at the goons.
"Can we move this along, I have things to do," Shepard said.
They put their weapons away and the batarian in front of her opened his omni-tool for a scan. Shepard saw an opportunity to get an answer to a question and licked her lips.
"You're obviously not looking for weapons. So, what bugs?" Shepard asked.
"Bugs? Did they bug us? Are they listening to us? Can they hear me?" Jane asked frantically.
"Jane, how – no, they can't hear you," Shepard thought.
"Among other things," Aria replied over her shoulder.
"They're clear," the batarian said.
Good, so Cerberus hadn't bugged her armor or gear. That made her life easier. The asari still hadn't turned to actually look at Shepard. It would have ruined her aloof badass reputation to have shown interest. Aria T'Loak was kind of a badass, Shepard knew but she wasn't quite as rough around the edges as she liked people to think. Aria finally turned to face Shepard as Shepard climbed the last few steps to stand in front of her.
Aria eyed Shepard, sizing her up. Shepard already knew exactly what Aria was capable of; she'd seen her in action at least a thousand times. The asari was definitely ferocious and ruthless when her position was threatened, and a damn powerful biotic.
"I'm looking for a couple of people here on Omega. Maybe you can help me find them?" Shepard said.
"And why would I do that?" Aria asked.
Shepard shifted her weight, her hip cocked she crossed her arms over her chest and smirked, "Pretty please?"
Aria scoffed, "Please, Shepard, if that worked on me I would have lost Omega ages ago. Still, you are amusing if nothing else and I'm bored," Aria sat down in the middle of her couch and gestured for Shepard to have a seat. "Garka, go and get me a drink. Shepard, what will you have?"
"I'm alright, thanks," Shepard said.
"Bring Shepard some fruity human thing," Aria said to Garka.
The batarian that scanned Shepard left as she sat down. Miranda started to step forward to sit with Shepard and the turian who had a gun in Shepard's face a moment ago blocked her path and shook his head. Shepard suppressed a grin as Miranda's jaw clenched. She held up a hand towards Jacob and Miranda before they decided to do something stupid. Jacob nodded to Shepard and stood at parade rest. Miranda took a step back next to Jacob and stood with her arms crossed, glaring at the turian.
"Tell me what you want, Shepard, and if it amuses me enough I might answer," Aria said.
"I'm looking for a man that goes by the name Archangel; Omega is his last known location. A salarian, Dr. Mordin Solus, as well," Shepard said.
"What do you want with Archangel and Mordin?" Aria asked with a raised brow.
Garka retuned with a tray and held it down to Aria. Aria took her drink and sipped it, keeping her eyes on Shepard. Garka moved over to Shepard and bent to offer her the frozen blue drink complete with sliced fruit rimming the edges. Shepard smirked and took the drink. Garka walked a few feet away to resume his post. Aria watched Shepard expectantly until she brought the drink to her lips. It was sickeningly sweet and tasted like rainbow sherbet. Aria seemed satisfied so Shepard continued to hold the icy glass.
"I need their particular skill set for a mission," Shepard said.
"Would this be another of your 'the reapers are coming' missions, Shepard?" Aria all but rolled her eyes.
"The reapers are coming. The reapers are already here. The reapers are always here," Jane said.
"Yes," Shepard said simply.
"I see. Well, I tell you what Shepard, I don't give information out freely. Perhaps I'll be more inclined to answer your questions if you agree to do me a little favor," Aria said.
"What's the favor?" Shepard asked.
"You know that saying you humans have? 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me?' Well, I don't feel shame, Shepard. I have recently been given information that tells me one of my best men is stepping outside the lines – again," Aria said.
Shepard noticed that her guards shifted around nervously. She doubted the motion was lost on Aria.
"OK?" Shepard said.
"He's right over there, down those stairs," Aria said nodding her head. "I want you to go kill him." Aria said.
"You're serious?" Shepard gawked; she had not been expecting this.
"Quite," Aria said.
"And if I say no?" Shepard asked.
Aria laughed, "People who tell me 'no' tend not to live long enough to understand their mistake."
"I'm not a damned hit man, Aria," Shepard said.
Aria twirled her glass around in her hand, staring at the purple liquid inside, "Aren't you, though, Shepard? The Alliance, the Council they've both paid you to kill. How is this any different, really? Would you prefer credits to getting your questions answered?"
"Why me?" Shepard asked instead of rising to the bait.
"Why not you, Shepard? You're here, you're capable, and you want something from me in exchange," Aria said. "He's batarian, if that helps at all. I know you have history with batarians."
"What did he do?" Shepard asked.
"That's my concern not yours. Now, do we have a deal or not?" Aria raised an eyebrow.
"Fine," Shepard said.
"Can't just kill him. He's done nothing. Can we? We've never killed Anto, why are we killing Anto?" Jane said.
She did not need Aria as an enemy, not right now. Shepard knew who she was referring to, his name was Anto. He was one of Aria's most trusted people, Shepard had talked to him a time or two and he would normally take part in the charge to recover Omega from Cerberus later on.
"Good," Aria said with a wicked grin.
Shepard stood up and moved past the guards who hurried out of her way. Jacob and Miranda stepped aside. Jacob looked concerned, but Miranda only seemed to be evaluating Shepard's actions. She drew her pistol and stood at the top of the staircase. Anto turned to look at Shepard and she but a bullet between his eyes. It was a quick death, the only mercy she could afford to show the man. She holstered her weapon and went to sit back down. It was obvious that Shepard was pissed, and Aria seemed greatly amused by both displays.
"Mordin is in the quarantine area, there's a plague down there. You should be fine, though, it apparently doesn't affect humans. The turian, Archangel, was last seen in the Tuhi district," Aria said.
"That's it? I need more on Archangel, you didn't tell me anything I couldn't get anywhere else!" Shepard said.
Aria smirked, "Yet I did tell you where to find them. Do you have more questions, Shepard? I'm sure I could find something else for you to do around here in lieu of payment. I doubt you'd do well as a dancer with all of those scars; your pretty little friend over there maybe. I could use another guard, however, seeing as you just shot one of them."
Shepard grit her teeth. Aria had never been this big of a pain in her ass before. What the hell had happened to sour the asari's disposition so much? Miranda scoffed at the suggestion and turned her glare to Aria. She paid Miranda no mind.
Aria tutted, "Come on now, Shepard, don't look at me like that. I tell you what; I'll even have Terrel show you around so you can run your little errands."
Shepard stood up and clenched her fist. Aria watched her with smug amusement. Shepard turned without further comment and walked down the staircase opposite of Anto's corpse. The turian followed behind Miranda and Jacob.
"Garka, get rid of that mess," Aria ordered.
Terrel took point once they were out of Aria's office. Shepard let him lead her team to the quarantined slums even though she knew exactly where it was.
"She always that pleasant?" Shepard asked.
The barefaced Turian looked back at Shepard over his shoulder, "Only over the last few months or so."
Shepard grunted in response. Jacob had a deeply furrowed brow as she silently followed along. Shepard watched him watching her out of the corner of his eye.
"Is there a problem, Jacob?" she asked.
"No, ma'am. I'm sure you did what had to be done," Jacob said.
"Ah, you're upset that I killed for Aria," Shepard said.
"Aria put Shepard in a tight position, Jacob. This is Omega; it's the way things work here. If Shepard had refused, we would be fighting our way off of this station. We can't afford such distractions right now," Miranda said.
"Yeah. Maybe you're right," said Jacob.
"Of course I'm right," Miranda said and the subject was dropped.
Terrel stopped in front of the turian guarding the quarantine zone and told him Aria was sending Shepard in. The other turian nodded in understanding before he resumed an argument he was having with a human woman who wanted access to her home in the quarantine zone.
"I'll wait here for you, I'm not immune and Aria didn't say I had to follow you in," Terrel said.
Shepard nodded and left Terrel to enter the quarantine zone. They fought their way through Blue Suns and Blood Pack mercs. Shepard was not keen on the idea of dealing with charging krogan without a krogan of her own to throw into the fray, and the vorcha were far too fond of rocket launchers and flame throwers for her taste. Still, the fights were matching up to Jane's memories so, so far so good. The Cerberus upgrades she had been given where helping to keep her on her feet. She found the biotic Reave to be incredibly useful.
Shepard ignored the doors that she knew would lead to corpses, victims of the plague and pressed forward. When she stopped to talk to a sick batarian, Miranda crossed her arms and smirked.
"Feeling guilty, Commander?" Miranda asked.
"What, because he's batarian I can't stop to help him without it having to do with my earlier actions? How very Cerberus of you, Miranda," Shepard threw back over her shoulder.
The sick batarian tried weakly to shove Shepard away, ranting about humans being the cause of the plague. Jacob knelt down beside Shepard to help subdue the delirious batarian.
"Listen, I'm trying to help," Shepard said. "I know this won't fix the plague but it'll help ease your pain and take the fever down."
"Trying to help and it's all going wrong," Jane said.
The batarian finally gave up on fighting and Shepard dosed him with medi-gel. When he was a little more clear-headed she helped him to his feet. He thanked her and told her where to find Mordin's clinic when Miranda asked. Shepard promised to send someone to help him when she got to the doctor. She remembered that a couple had locked themselves in their home nearby, but didn't stop to help them this time. If she hurried, the cure would be disseminated throughout Omega and things would settle down. They'd be safe enough where they were for now. She hoped. Another apartment would have looters, she was being selfish, she knew but she wanted to get Mordin and find Garrus. She only stopped to help the batarian because without intervention he might not make it that long.
She followed the halls along until she found the staircase that led down to Mordin's clinic. When she caught sight of the first people in the clinic, they put their guns away. Shepard wove through the crowd of sick people and entered the back of the clinic. She could hear Mordin talking to an assistant before she could see him. The sound of the salarian's voice brought a smile to her lips. It was one thing to hear his rapid fire speech through Jane's memories but another to hear it for herself.
Shepard rounded a corner and walked up to the salarian working on a turian patient. She glanced at his human female assistant before speaking.
"Mordin?" Shepard said.
The older salarian examined Shepard with shrewd eyes before opening his omni-tool and pressing a few buttons.
"My name is Commander Shepard. Many of you might recognize me as the first human Spectre. I'm recording this video today in the hopes that my message won't fall on deaf ears. As we stand today, the galaxy is facing an approaching threat that we are not yet ready to defend against…," Shepard recognized her own voice before Mordin stopped the recording.
"Ah. Yes. Thought that was you. Not dead, I see," Mordin said as he ran his omni-tool in front of Shepard. "Cybernetic implants. Experimental technology. Fascinating."
"Sent by the Council? No, Spectre not needed for simple task. Alliance? No, Alliance unlikely to know where to find me. Companions wear Cerberus insignia. Could it be?" Mordin continued.
Shepard held up a hand to stop him, "Wait, were you expecting someone to come for you?"
"Seemed like plausible course of action. Collectors abducting human colonies. Since your video, have stayed apprised of developing situation. Plausibility someone would come eventually. Have many skills, much knowledge to aid in fight," Mordin paused to take in a deep breath through his nose. "Did not expect it to be you."
"So, if you know about the collectors and the abductions and thought you could help, why didn't you go to the Council or something?" Shepard asked.
"Sent message. Received automated response. Will likely take months before proper response. Work here very important. Couldn't just leave. Believe plague also caused by collectors. Needed to make cure," Mordin said.
"Is your cure ready? We could really use your help," Jacob said.
"Yes. Must be distributed through environmental control center. Vorcha –," Mordin was cut off by Shepard.
"We'll take care of it. Will you join us?" Shepard asked.
"Interesting, Cerberus seeking salarian aid. Ultimate threat not to humans alone. Will join you, stop collectors," Mordin said. "Cure plague first."
The lights in the clinic went dark and the sound of a generator powering down echoed through the now still ventilation system. Mordin looked up and around before opening his omni-tool.
"What the hell was that?" Jacob asked.
"Environmental systems," Shepard responded without thought. "Give us the cure, Mordin. We'll get things turned back on and the cure dispersed."
"Correct. Will meet heavy vorcha resistance. Will need to kill them," Mordin checked the thermal clip before handing her a gun and the cure.
Shepard paused expecting Mordin to ask her to also look for his assistant, Daniel, but he didn't say anything else. He didn't even explain that the M-6 Carnifex Hand Cannon was his sign of good faith or that he had taken it from the Blue Suns like he usually did. Mordin turned away and resumed working on the turian patient.
"No Daniel? Why is there no Daniel? There's always a Daniel," Jane said.
"Alright, let's get going," Shepard said turning towards the door, "Oh, there's a sick batarian not far from the clinic. I gave him some medi-gel but he could use some help getting back to the clinic."
"Will send assistant," Mordin said.
Shepard left the clinic through the side entrance and made her way to the environmental control center. They encountered Blood Pack vorcha and krogan almost immediately. Varren harried them, biting into their armored legs and arms when they got the chance. Shepard's Shockwave was handy at keeping the charging krogan and varren at bay. She was really starting to hate the vorcha pyromancers with their flame throwers and started to take great delight in shooting out their gas tanks to watch them explode.
Along the way she stopped to check the room where Jane always found Daniel, Mordin's missing assistant, before. The room was completely empty. She ignored the odd looks from Jacob and Miranda as she crossed through the next door and ducked behind the half-wall to fire on the vorcha across the way. They pushed forward down a flight of stairs and out onto a balcony. Vorcha with rocket launchers fired at them from the balcony across the way while others took shots from the ground below.
They fought through more Blood Pack as they followed the signs to the environmental control room. When they entered the room, Shepard shot the first vorcha in the head before it could start talking. She already knew what they were doing and why, she didn't have time to waste with the vorcha's mad ravings about how the collectors were going to make the vorcha stronger. Miranda and Jacob were using their biotics to Warp and Pull the vorcha furthest from Shepard. She ducked into cover and open fired.
Shepard was already heading towards the alcove at the back of the room when EDI's voice came over the comm to tell her that the central control system was located back there. She dropped the cure into the machine and turned to shoot the Blood Pack that were creeping in behind them. They had to fight their way through them to get to the fan controls located on either side of the main room. As soon as she got the first one turned back on, more Blood Pack flooded the area. Rockets shot down from the balconies towards her team. She wanted to find whoever it was that thought it was a good idea to give vorcha rocket launchers and shoot them in the face.
Finally they got the last fan going and the cure began filtering through the ventilation system. They guarded the central control system until the cure dispersal chamber was completely emptied before making their way back towards Mordin's clinic. Shepard didn't remember having to fight through so much resistance on the return trip before, but she did this time. In fact, she couldn't recall ever having to face so many of the Blood Pack on this mission.
Maybe it meant that they weren't split between here and taking down Archangel. Garrus wasn't where he normally was on Omega, maybe he wasn't in as much trouble either. She hoped that none survived to shut down the system again, even with the cure, without the ventilation running everyone would die. Shepard walked back into the clinic and found Mordin waiting for her with a knapsack slung over his shoulder.
"Shepard. Excellent work. Cure seems to be working. Many people already recovered. Assistant will take over clinic. Am ready to leave," Mordin said.
"I've got someone else that I have to find on Omega before I'm ready to head out, if you want you can wait for us on the Normandy or you can come with us," Shepard said.
"Will come with you. Might be able to assist," Mordin said.
"Excellent. One of Aria's men is waiting outside of the quarantine zone. He's been tasked to take us to the Tuhi District," Shepard said.
"Can send him away. Can take you there," Mordin said.
"Works for me," she said.
They made their way back through the quarantine area and Shepard was happy to see that the coast was clear. They stepped out next to a few apartments and as Shepard glanced at one of them she wondered if Morinth, the Ardat-Yakshi was already hunting on Omega.
"Terrel, you can go back to Aria. Mordin can show us the way to the Tuhi District," Shepard said to the turian.
"I don't know, Aria told me to take you around," Terrel said hesitantly.
"You can always tell her I threatened to shoot you, if it helps," Shepard said.
Terrel chuckled and it made her heart ache to hear Garrus' laugh again. He nodded and left the four of them to make their own way. Mordin lead them through the winding levels of Omega until they arrived at an area Shepard recognized. Jane had helped Aria fight off Cerberus in this area, as well as several others across Omega. It was a business district catering to everything from curio shops to scrap yards.
"Garrus isn't here. Why would he be here? He's never here, this is the wrong place," Jane said.
This was as far as her leads took her, so Shepard did the only thing she could. She watched, she listened, and she asked questions. Three hours and thirteen doors slammed in her face later, Shepard was at a loss. She was seconds away from pulling out her gun and demanding answers when an empty building caught her eye. It was three stories tall, non-descript and like many of the places in this area it looked run down and empty. She studied it with a tactical eye, noting its defensible location. Unlike many of the buildings in the area, it wasn't connected in any way to neighboring buildings, tall fences surrounded it, and there were no windows on the lower level but plenty of partially boarded up windows on the upper two floors. Perfect for a sniper. It was worth a shot.
"Something is happening. Street clearing. Businesses closing doors. Mercs coming? Gang? Suggest arming yourself," Mordin said drawing his pistol.
Shepard took her eyes off the building to look around and realized that Mordin was right. She drew the M-6 Mordin gave her earlier and loaded her incendiary ammo. She turned 360 watching the area. There were no good places of cover that didn't trap her in a building, and far too many dark alleys. Shepard gestured with her hand, pushing her team back against a wall of another empty building. Its windows had long since been shattered and if they needed too, they could climb through for a more defensible position. It would be a last resort, she didn't know if there was anyone in there, what kind of condition the interior was in, or even if there would be other exits if they needed to bolt.
"Ah. Must be Talons' territory," Mordin said as the first turian with red and white face paint stalked out of the shadows.
Shepard had her gun up as others soon followed him, pouring out of alleys and jumping down from low roof tops. They were surrounded by the armed gang members in seconds. None of their guns were pointed at her yet, so she watched and waited with her pistol raised. Shepard knew of the Talons through Jane's memories, but she had never dealt with them before they were under Nyreen's thumb. She recalled that prior to Nyreen taking control, the Talons were nothing more than highly organized street thugs.
A turian broke away from the others and walked casually towards Shepard stopping ten feet away. Shepard watched him but stayed silent. Around her, her team faced different directions with their weapons drawn waiting for any sign of attack. She did a quick scan and counted roughly twenty turians watching her.
"Derius wants to see you," the turian said.
Shepard licked her lips, "Who's Derius and why would I want to see him?"
"Oh, don't worry little lady, Derius just wants to talk," he said.
"Who said I'm worried? What does Derius want to talk about and why doesn't he come talk to me himself?" Shepard asked.
"Who is Derius? We don't know a Derius. This is bad, we shouldn't be here. Why are we here?" Jane rattled in Shepard's mind.
"Word is that you just took out a whole lot of the Blood Pack and some Blue Suns down in the slums of the Gozu District. Word is you helped cure the plague. Now you're down hear asking a lot of questions, making a lot of people uncomfortable. Maybe Derius has some answers for you," the turian said.
"Uh huh, and where is this Derius?" Shepard asked.
"Commander, you cannot seriously be considering this! We do not need Archangel this badly. Let's go, we can find someone else," Miranda said.
"Oh now, see I can't let you just go. Derius wants to talk to you, that would be awfully rude of you to just leave without at least saying hello to him," the turian said.
"Would recommend not going with Talons," Mordin said.
"I'm with the doctor on this one," Jacob said.
Shepard shrugged, "Sorry, mister. My friends here don't want to meet your Derius."
"No, don't want to meet Derius. We want to go, let's go," Jane said.
"Well, see that's going to be a problem," the turian raised his shotgun and pointed it at Shepard. "You see Derius –," the turian stopped talking when his head jerked to the side and a spray of blue blood painted the air before raining down on the street.
A heartbeat later Shepard heard the report of a gunshot. Chaos erupted around her as some of the Talons started searching for the source of the shot while others open fired on her and her team. Miranda threw up a biotic shield while Shepard bashed out the remaining shards of glass in the window next to them. She sent Jacob through the window to secure the location. A second later he reappeared and motioned everyone else in. Miranda was weakening so as soon as Mordin was through Shepard ordered Miranda to follow. Shepard took a few hits before she flung out a Shockwave, toppling several turians in its wake. She turned and dove through the window, tucking herself in to roll across the broken glass and scattered debris on the building's floor. Jacob and Mordin were firing out of the window and Miranda was rushing to Shepard's side.
Shepard's shields were already raising and she could feel her cybernetic implants working to patch up the hole in her thigh. She pulled herself to a crouching position and waved Miranda off before taking up station beneath the window sill. She peeked over the edge and saw another turian's head take a bullet. She used her Reave to help boost the healing of the cybernetics while simultaneously sucking the life out of another turian. Mordin moved to the next window to support Miranda and Shepard stood to take his place putting her back to the metal reinforced wall and glanced out the window. More Talons were moving in on her location from the surrounding alleys.
A couple of them were smart enough to climb in through a back window and tried to creep up on Shepard and her team. Shepard was prepared for that possibility, and saw them when they entered the room. She used a biotic Charge to boost herself before running forward to slam into the closest turian. He was knocked back and she started firing. The second turian turned his gun on her and she slammed her elbow into his face. A second later he was writhing on the ground caught up in a Warp thrown by Miranda. Shepard turned back to the first turian who was pulling himself back to his feet and put a final bullet in his head. She heard Miranda's gun bark twice and the turian she hit in the face was down for good.
She heard panicked screams from several turians outside when Mordin used his Incinerate tech to light a group of them on fire. Shepard motioned to Miranda, using hand signals to direct her to the back rooms. The two women crept through the rooms together, shooting turians in the middle of climbing through windows. She heard feet pounding on the floor above and searched out the staircase while switching to her shotgun. She motioned Miranda to stay at the foot of the stairs while she crept up them slowly her eyes up, darting from side to side. The first turian stepped into view and she blasted him on his ass with a shot to the midsection.
Another peaked around the corner and Shepard nearly took his face off with the next shot but he was too quick. His hand reached around the corner and he fired off several shots haphazardly hoping to hit his target. Shepard used her Charge to fly up the stairs and past him before spinning around with her shotgun up. His eyes were wide with shock as she pulled the trigger; the blast tore a hole through his chest. She waved Miranda up and together they cleared the top floor.
She could still hear gunfire coming from downstairs and out on the streets. Shepard tapped her comm and told Jacob to keep his eyes on potential targets coming from the back; Miranda and she were staying upstairs. They moved to the window and Shepard used the butt of her shotgun to break out the glass before switching back to her pistol. Most of the surviving talons had withdrawn to positions that didn't leave them out in the open. Still, any time one of them was stupid enough to poke their head out of cover a sniper bullet tore through their skulls.
Shepard and Miranda rained bullets and biotics down on the turians from their vantage point until the return fire lessened and she could see the survivors retreating. She waited a couple of minutes to make sure that it wasn't a ruse before heading back down to the first floor.
"We had sniper aid, ma'am. The dossier on Archangel said he was a sniper. You think it could be him" Jacob asked when Shepard appeared next to him.
"If we're lucky. Any movement out there?" Shepard asked.
"I don't see anything, I think the rest have retreated," he said.
Shepard grunted and motioned towards the door. It was stuck and Jacob had to help her pry it open. She peered through the cracked door looking for any signs of movement before moving out with her pistol up. Her eyes scanned over the area, from every rooftop to every dark alley before they landed on the most beautiful sight. Several blocks away a helmeted turian in blue armor with a sniper rifle dangling from his hand strolled purposefully down the street towards her. She did a quick count and saw fifteen men and women of various species spread out behind him.
"Garrus is here? His people aren't dead? Isn't his team supposed to die, betrayed by Sidonis? We help him kill Sidonis. We don't understand," Jane said.
Her team moved out of the building and to her side, their weapons raised. Miranda was pulling biotic energy around herself. Archangel's team raised their guns at the show of hostile intent but Archangel flicked a finger and they lowered them again. Shepard held a hand up, signaling her team to lower their weapons. She didn't know when her feet started moving but she was walking towards the new group, first slowly and hesitantly and then with more confidence. Thirty feet away and Archangel slung his sniper rifle over his shoulder, holstering it on his back. Twenty feet away and he was reaching up to take off his helmet. Fifteen feet away Shepard saw the only face she wanted to see more than any other in the world and she couldn't stop her legs from running, even with the pain that shot through her still healing thigh.
Shepard flung herself onto Garrus and it was like hitting a brick wall. He did not welcome her with open arms; his body did not curl around hers. She felt his hands lock on her waist before he lifted her off of him and set her feet back on the ground. She staggered back, her eyes filled with pain and confusion as they sought his out only to find that they were empty, cold, devoid of any sign of affection.
"Garrus… I – I'm sorry," Shepard stammered.
He chose to ignore her hurt and her weak apology. Instead he looked past her to the rest of her team who were making their way over. Shepard saw a female turian standing just a little behind and to the right of Garrus; she had a look of smug satisfaction on her face.
"I thought you guys could use a little help," Garrus said to Shepard's crew, his eyes barely flickering over her.
Shepard took a few steps back to stand in front of her team and locked her emotions away the best she could. She made herself stand at parade rest and slapped on her Commander face. She got it, she hurt him bad but she was damned if she was going to let him ignore her authority over her own crew. He would address her like the leader she was.
"Your assistance was appreciated," Shepard said. "Thank you. All of you."
Garrus watched Shepard with indifference. She blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill out of her eyes.
"So… uh, you two know each other?" Jacob asked.
"This is Garrus Vakarian. He helped me in the fight against Sovereign, Saren, and the geth. He was there with me on the Citadel when the attack happened," Shepard said keeping her eyes locked on Garrus.
"Why didn't you tell us you knew Archangel?" Miranda asked.
"It's a newly acquired moniker," Garrus answered for her.
At least he was still keeping her secret.
"I see," Miranda said crossing her arms.
"Suggest moving to secure location. Possible Talons could return," Mordin said.
"I suppose if you're here, there's trouble?" Garrus asked Shepard.
"Collectors are abducting entire colonies. We've reason to believe they are doing so by orders of the reapers," Shepard said feeding into the charade.
"We're set up over there for now, it will be secure enough for us to talk," Garrus said indicating the building Shepard had noted earlier.
She extended her hand as if to say 'after you'. Garrus turned and led the way back to the abandoned building. The lower floor was empty, nothing but dust, debris, and footprints. It had an open layout, allowing Shepard to see clear to the other side of the building. Once everyone was inside, two men barred the door behind them before taking up guard positions. Shepard was curious what kind of layout they had upstairs, but Garrus didn't offer to give them a tour.
"So, who is this, exactly?" the turian woman asked.
"Surely you recognize a legend when you see one, Sarat," Garrus said.
The turian woman looked at Shepard and narrowed her eyes in thought. Shepard returned the gaze calmly. She could tell the moment the turian placed Shepard's face because her mandibles snapped tight against her own.
"Ah. Commander Shepard. I thought you were dead," she said.
"I was," Shepard said simply.
"Dead and they took us and cut us open. The brought us back to life with torture," Jane said.
Sarat scoffed and whispers spread through Garrus' team. A human male stepped up to Garrus' other side.
"How's that, then?" he asked.
Shepard shrugged and opened her mouth to try and answer when more questions started to pour from the crowd.
"How could you have been dead, you're standing right here in front of us," a batarian asked.
"Don't be stupid, she couldn't have been. She was obviously sent on a deep cover mission by the Council, she's a Spectre, remember?" and asari said.
Shepard frowned.
"But her ship was torn apart and Archangel saw her get spaced," another turian said. "No way she survived that."
The group of men and women devolved into bickering amongst themselves and Shepard stopped paying attention. She turned her attention back to Garrus who was watching her with scrutiny. Shepard cleared her throat.
"I'm here because I have been tasked with putting together a team to deal with the collectors. The name 'Archangel' appeared on my list of dossiers. My team could use someone with your particular skill set," Shepard said standing at parade rest once more.
"You can't be serious?" Sarat spoke.
Shepard turned her head to glance at Sarat, "I assure you, I am."
"You disappear for two years, let him think you're dead and then just show up here and expect him to leave all of us behind to go fight your war?" Sarat asked derisively.
"Our war. It is always our war," Jane said.
"Sarat," Garrus said quietly but she ignored him.
"That is assuming that there is even a war to really be fought. The Council still denies your claims," Sarat continued.
"Sarat," Garrus said again.
"Even your Alliance has not spoken out in support of your claims," Sarat said.
"Sarat!" Garrus snarled.
"What? Tell me I'm wrong!" Sarat said.
"You're wrong. Now go find something useful to do before Shepard knocks you on your ass!" Garrus barked the order out.
Sarat's eyes bugged out as much as any turian's eyes can and her mouth hung slack. Shepard schooled her features before a smug smile could cross her lips but she heard a chuckle from Miranda. Sarat heard it too and she spun to look at Shepard and her team; her mandibles snapped tight against her jaw. Shepard raised an eyebrow. Sarat spun on her heel and stormed off.
Garrus returned his penetrating gaze to Shepard. The two watched each other in silence for long minutes. Members of Garrus' team slowly started to filter away to do their own thing. Jacob shifted beside Shepard. Still the two watched each other. Shepard was starting to worry that he might actually tell her no. Even if he was still hurt with her, angry at her, she really didn't know if she could do all of this without him.
"If he's not coming with us, I suggest we move on, Commander. There are more people we need to find, the collectors aren't going to wait for us," Miranda said.
Shepard raised a hand to silence the woman and heard Miranda's soft scoff in response but kept her eyes on Garrus. Finally, he shifted his weight and she knew she had won.
"Give me an hour with my team, to set things in order," Garrus said.
"You're actually going to go with her? You're going to leave m – us and go?" Sarat's raised voice carried across the room.
Shepard's jaw clenched, if she had any doubts before of what Garrus meant to Sarat they were now gone with the woman's almost slip of tongue. The only question that remained was what Sarat meant to him. Garrus' mandibles flared before snapping closed again. Shepard saw him grind his pointed teeth together.
"Excuse me," Garrus said turning away from Shepard. "Sarat. Upstairs. Now."
Garrus walked towards the back of the room and disappeared up a flight of stairs. Sarat followed after him. Within seconds, a few of Garrus' group had approached Shepard and started asking questions about the collectors and the reapers. Shepard answered what she could; telling them only what she could justify knowing.
"We believe the collectors to be working in collusion with the reapers. So far, there have only been reports of missing human colonies. It is likely that they will soon move on to other species. The reapers are a race of sentient machines, AI's, that have existed for at least before the times of the protheans," Shepard said.
A few minutes later, everyone in the room became uncomfortably aware of the sounds of a heated argument floating down from the next floor. Shepard shifted her weight and continued to talk about the reapers as more moved towards her to listen.
"We don't know how long, exactly, but evidence has been found indicating that they were responsible for the extinction of the protheans and many other advanced species before the protheans," she said. "Prothean data was found indicating that the reapers exist in a state of stasis in dark space until they return to complete another harvesting. The ship that attacked the Citadel, Sovereign, was a vanguard for the reapers tasked with opening the way for the others return. By defeating him, we have slowed their process but not stopped the threat. They are still coming."
"… irrelevant and none of your goddamn business, Sarat!" Garrus' voice rose.
"How is it irrelevant, Garrus?! You're running off to be with a human!" Sarat's voice rose to match his.
"This isn't about Shepard! Spirits! The threat is real, the reapers are coming," Garrus' words echoing those Shepard just spoke.
Shepard swallowed against the thick knot in her throat and stopped trying to talk over the sound of their argument. Everyone else shifted around her, now avoiding her eyes. A few of them looked sorry for her. She clenched her jaw tight. She hated pity.
"Oh, so you won't be bedding her then?" Sarat growled.
Things were silent upstairs for a few seconds then Shepard heard movement. She was just about to open her mouth to ask the others to tell Garrus to meet them at her ship when she heard him yell.
"We've got incoming!" Garrus warned as the sound of gunfire echoed down the stairs.
Shepard pushed past everyone in her way and rushed up the stairs. Sarat glared at Shepard from her crouched position beneath a window frame. Others were moving up the stairs behind her, spreading out through the upper two floors.
"How many?" Shepard asked checking her thermal clip.
"Thirty," Garrus had the barrel of his sniper rifle aimed between two planks of wood covering another window and pulled the trigger, "Make that twenty-nine."
Shepard touched her mic, "Mordin, with me. Jacob, Miranda watch the doors."
Shepard moved to a window and started firing. A minute later Mordin was at the other side of the same window setting the Talons below on fire. The salarian from Garrus' team moved to the window next to Sarat and used a Cryo Blast to freeze Talons while Sarat shot them, causing them to shatter. A bullet tore through the window and hit the salarian in the head. He took one stumbling step backwards before he collapsed. Sarat screamed and moved to his side, trying to rouse him but it was hopeless.
"Damn it," Shepard heard Garrus curse.
"This is all your fault," Sarat said quietly and something about the woman's voice made Shepard glance her way.
Sarat was pointing her gun at Shepard. Shepard spun, leveling her own pistol at Sarat. Mordin turned to take aim at the female turian as well.
"Sarat, you don't want to do this," Shepard warned.
"Sarat! Drop it, now!" Garrus asked catching on to what was taking place.
"This is her fault. If she hadn't shown up, neither would the Talons. You wouldn't have had to help her; you wouldn't have shown yourself on the streets. They wouldn't have followed us back here. Mierin's dead because of her!" Sarat yelled.
"Sarat, I am not your enemy. Those men out there, the ones who shot Mierin are," Shepard said.
Sarat's finger twitched towards the trigger. Garrus pulled his sniper rifle up and fired. The bullet passed cleanly through her head; Sarat was dead before she hit the floor. Garrus turned back to the window leaving Shepard to stare at him in stunned silence. Mordin began firing out the window again. Shepard pulled herself together and turned back to the window.
"Gods, he just… he just shot her. She was one of his and he just shot her!" Jane said.
When the streets were silent again, and the sounds of gunfire stopped echoing through the building Garrus spoke into his comm. Shepard and her crew weren't on his frequency, but she was standing right next to him.
"Sarat and Mierin are down. This location has been compromised. We leave in five," Garrus said.
Shepard followed Garrus back down the stairs to the main floor. He didn't even glance back at the dead members of his team. That wasn't at all like Garrus, not the Garrus she loved and not even like the Garrus of Jane's memories. The Garrus who would have blamed himself for Sidonis' betrayal and the death of his team. The Garrus that would have carved each of their names into his visor. The Garrus who would have shrouded the bodies of the dead with love and honor. The Garrus who would have hunted down the man responsible and made him pay with his own life. This was a new Garrus; a calloused Garrus too cold to even care that he had shot one of his own.
"What did you do?" Jane asked.
Shepard motioned Miranda and Jacob to her as Garrus' team swarmed in and out of rooms gathering up their belongings and regrouping by the door. When everyone was ready, the bar was removed and they moved cautiously from the building. The bodies of more than sixty Talons littered the streets between the original assault location to the front of the building Garrus' team had called home.
Shepard was impressed with the efficiency of Garrus' team and the ease at which he had taken to leading them. They followed his signals to spread out and move from building to building without question or hesitation. Everyone was alert and quiet as they moved out of the Talons' territory and through the Tuhi District. As they made their way through more densely populated areas, members of Garrus' team stopped to shake his hand and tell him goodbye before disappearing into the crowds. When they reached the entrance to the docks outside of Afterlife, four remained.
Garrus turned to speak with them and Shepard walked a few feet away with her team to give them some privacy. After a few minutes, the two turians and the human left Garrus alone with the batarian. Shepard saw Garrus shake his head and nod over his shoulder towards her. The batarian trained his eyes on her before walking over to her.
"I want to come with you," he said.
Garrus walked up to stand at his side. Shepard's eyes slid to Garrus in question and he lifted a shoulder before letting it fall again. She pursed her lips.
"You are aware or what will be expected of you?" Shepard asked.
The batarian checked the thermal clip on his pistol, "I believe in your cause, I believe the reapers are coming and I intend to fight them. Whether alone, or with a team. I'd much rather do it with a team," he said.
"And you would be comfortable on a Cerberus vessel?" Shepard asked.
"Can't say I know anything about Cerberus," he said.
Shepard scratched the side of her head and glanced towards Miranda and Jacob.
"We are a privately funded organization focused on the advancement of humanity," Miranda said stepping up to Shepard's side.
Garrus scoffed and Shepard's lip twitched up into a small smile.
"What she means to say is, they are a privately funded organization focused on the advancement of humanity above all other species, and at any cost no matter how sick and twisted," Garrus said.
Miranda glared at Garrus and crossed her arms. She opened her mouth to speak again and Shepard held up a hand before things got ugly.
"Right now, Cerberus is the only one taking this threat seriously so I have found myself temporarily allied with Cerberus. I do not agree with Cerberus' methods, and I don't necessarily support their ideals. That being said, I am in charge of this mission and you would be working for me, not Cerberus," Shepard said.
The batarian blinked his eyes at Shepard, "I can handle that."
Shepard reached out a hand, "Then welcome aboard… I'm sorry; I didn't catch your name?"
"He can't come with us, he's dead. He's dead and no one brought him back with cutting and scraping. Dead men can't fight wars," Jane said.
The batarian shook Shepard's hand, "Grundan Krul."
"Welcome aboard, Grundan Krul," Shepard said.