Chapter 5

Amelia
October 29th, 2189

'Home, sweet home,' I thought ironically, slightly perturbed by the unloading of our luggage from the aircar while corralling an excited puppy and two tired children, the latter of which were screaming their heads off. As we landed on Palaven, Garrus was called into an emergency meeting at his office, leaving me to drive home on my own.

Deciding to divide and conquer, I took Gaius, Octavia, and Bailey inside. "Shhhhhh…," I whispered to Octavia, picking her up from the carrier and placing her in her crib. "What's wrong, honey? Mama's here." Slowly, she quieted down and drifted off to sleep. Amelia lifted Gaius from his carrier, thankfully not waking him in the process, and deposited him into the adjacent crib. That boy could sleep through almost anything.

I slipped from the room, enjoying a short-lived moment of relief before Bailey ran over and jumped up my leg, shattering the peace. "Hey, girl," I said, scratching under the dog's chin, "I'm gonna unpack the car, but after that, we can play, okay?"

Bailey tilted her head at me, one ear flopping over as she did so. "Right… Okay, come on."

Garrus
October 29th, 2189

I sighed as I walked through the door, exhausted from the medley of briefings, meetings, crisis teams, and more meetings.

"Ruff,"

"What? Oh… Hey, Bailey," I said, bending over and scratching behind the puppy's ear. "Amelia?"

"I'm in the living room," Her voice came from around the corner. "Hey," She said as I walked into the room, standing up and kissing me. "Long day? What happened?"

"There was another attack," I shook my head, disappointed, "I thought Aria was responsible when the attacks stopped after she died… Now? I don't know what this means."

"Where was it this time?"

"Artemis Tau. It was two ships, an Alliance and a Hierarchy frigate. No survivors. Who could be doing this?"

"I don't know…," Amelia said, leading me over to the couch and sitting down, joined shortly after by our new dog. "I know it sounds crazy, but could it be the batarians?"

I shook my head, "It can't be. The Reapers hit Khar'shan first… There can't be many of them left, if any at all. No one has heard from the Hegemony since. The scouting parties were obliterated. I can't see the Batarians having enough firepower to do that."

"You're probably right. I dunno, maybe my bias is showing," She gave a remorseful smile. No matter how hard you try to be fair, a tragedy like Amelia faced changes a person. "I'm gonna take Bailey for a walk. Do you want to come?"

"Ruff."