Running Silent:

A Sour Song

…

An alternate ME3. Commander Shepard and her team are on the run from Cerberus and trying to make alliances before it's too late. In a galaxy with no reaper kill switch, how can they hope to defeat something so ancient and powerful? Their last hope is a desperate plan that may cost them everything. Shepard/Garrus, other side pairings.

…

Disclaimer: This author in no way profits from the writing of this story. All characters, dialogue, or other referenced material from the Mass Effect trilogy belong to Bioware.

…

Shepard felt a slight shake as the Normandy came into port. The disaster on Thessia necessitated a stop at the Citadel. Shepard needed to find some new armor for her team and a new shuttle.

And a new shuttle pilot, she knew, but she tried not to think too much about that. Liara promised her help finding someone before returning to the Shadow Broker base.

Working from the desk in her quarters, Shepard made a sound of surprise as she read the messages on her terminal. "Councilor Tevos wants to meet with me," she said, calling to Garrus across the room.

"I guess she found out what we were doing on Thessia," he said, fitting his armor together. "That should be interesting." After latching on the last piece, he went up the steps and over to Shepard, cupping her face in his hand and pressing his brow against hers.

She smiled sweetly at him as he released her. "Well if Tevos thinks she's going to throw blame for any of what happened on Thessia, she's not going to like the results."

Garrus shook his head before heading out through the door. "I have a feeling she's not going to like the results in any case."

Shepard turned back to her terminal, filtering through the rest of her messages. Yes, Tevos would be in for quite the surprise.

…

Shepard walked into the asari councilor's office with a practiced calm, only nodding at the councilor as she entered.

Tevos hardly seemed to notice as she stood from the desk. "Thank you for coming, Shepard. I'd hoped you could explain your actions on Thessia."

Shepard leaned casually on the councilor's desk. "Necessary for the war effort."

Tevos blinked at her, expression serene as always. "You accessed a protected asari heritage site, Commander. An ancient temple was destroyed."

Shepard shrugged. "By the reapers, if that makes any difference."

"Reapers that were there for you!" The councilor's body began to glow slightly with her biotics.

Shepard's expression hardened. "You know why I was there. Don't think for a moment I'm unaware of your people's selfishness and treachery. The asari were willing to doom the galaxy to keep their supposed superiority. Breaking laws that your people wrote!" she growled, watching the asari shrink back from her.

The blue glow disappeared. "What do you want?" Tevos asked, her legendary composure shaken. "I can offer you anything."

Shepard shook her head. "It isn't up to me. Do you know how I got access to your temple, Councilor?" She didn't wait for a response. "There are some on Thessia who still care about justice."

"Oh goddess," Tevos said as the realization dawned on her. Shepard watched the councilor in fascination. She'd never seen an asari go pale before.

"It's exactly as bad as you think," Shepard said firmly, thinking of Samara's reaction to learning this secret. "Fortunately, you have at least until this war is over. If I were you, I'd be making sure the other races felt some very deep gratitude to the asari before this information comes out." She took a step backwards. "Goodbye, Councilor."

As Shepard slipped out the door, Councilor Tevos dropped her face into her hands.

…

After her brief meeting with the councilor, Shepard stopped in to see Thane before doing her necessary shopping. He seemed to be doing as well as before, though still somewhat melancholy about being sidelined from the fight. Unfortunately there was little Shepard could offer but her sympathy.

She ordered new armor sent back to the Normandy for everyone, even those who weren't on the ground on Thessia. Something like this could happen again, and she didn't want to be in a position where they didn't have back-ups if needed.

Shepard also picked up a couple new model ships. Since she happened to be in the area. A person had to have a few hobbies that didn't involve violence!

On her way back to the shuttle bay, an asari stopped her. "Excuse me, Commander Shepard?"

Shepard turned to the asari, tall and elegant with white markings on her face. "Yes?"

"I need to speak with you privately. Will you step over here for a moment?" The asari carefully motioned to an alcove off the path as Shepard warily nodded her agreement.

"My name is Renva Alaris. I've been asked to contact you as an… ambassador of sorts," the asari said. "I have someone who needs to speak with you."

Then the asari's eyes rolled back in her head. Her voice took on an echoing quality. "In the darkness we have heard the sour note calling. We resist. We build our strength to fight."

Shepard took in a sharp breath, remembering another asari back on Illium with a message from a 'friend from Noveria.' Her heart pounded. Her mind raced. She could never forget the voice of the rachni queen. "You hear the reapers," she said. "Where are you?"

"Somewhere forgotten," she said. "Somewhere unwanted."

"Why have you come to me now?" she pressed.

"We once faced the end of our people, and you pulled us back from the abyss. Now you face your end. We wish to help."

Shepard blinked. "You're offering aid?"

"We are."

Shepard was silent a long moment before making a decision. "Will you join me aboard the Normandy? We can further discuss what this aid will entail."

"We will." And the asari's eyes returned to normal. She seemed no worse for the experience, but Shepard still felt a modicum of concern.

"Are you alright?" Shepard asked Renva. "It doesn't harm you to do that, does it?"

"I am perfectly well," she insisted. "Shall we go?"

…

Shepard popped her head into the information hub, her eyes seeking out her top intel officer. "T'Nara," she said and nodded towards the doorway. "Conference room."

Shepard didn't normally involve Hestia in planning discussions. Usually they only had the briefest conversations about the intel the asari had gathered for her. But for once Shepard thought Hestia might have something important to offer. This was a delicate subject, something an older asari might have some insight into.

When Hestia entered the room, she was greeted with the sight of Miranda, Garrus, Tali, and Kaidan around the conference table.

Shepard looked over them and waited for the door to shut. "Now that we're all here, I may as well come right out with it. The rachni have offered their aid." A burst of gasps and exclamations followed.

"How did they make the offer and why?" Miranda asked sharply.

"Why?" Shepard repeated, "Because I saved them from extinction and they want to return the favor. How is through the asari emissary who is currently waiting in the observation lounge."

While they all looked somewhat surprised at the mention of the asari, most of them seemed to be more focused on the rachni's motives. "All this just for a debt?" Garrus asked. "You weren't exactly risking your life to save the queen. You pressed a button. Easy."

"It would have been just as easy to kill her," Shepard said, and shrugged. "I believe the queen is being genuine. They're risking a lot to come out in the open. The real problem I see is whether anyone will be willing to accept their assistance."

Shepard looked at Hestia, the oldest in the room. There was no one left who remembered the rachni wars, but mothers and fathers had instilled that fear and knowledge in their children and grandchildren. For the asari, it hadn't been so many generations since the war.

"I fear you are correct," Hestia said. "Rachni were our horror stories. The monsters of our childhood nightmares. My mother never spoke of them without fear." She paused, a faraway look in her eye. "I cannot see the asari accepting rachni aid."

"Do you think the other species will follow?" Shepard asked the room.

Garrus shifted. "Palaven would consider it too great a risk. Most turians would refuse all outside help if we could. It's hard enough to accept the krogan. Rachni might be a step too far for my people."

"That's probably going to be the same everywhere, Shepard," Tali said. "If you could convince the council, that might work, but I doubt it. No one will accept the rachni."

"Earth might." All eyes turned to Kaidan as he spoke up for the first time. "The rachni are barely a story for us. It's not the same as other species who have the rachni war as part of their own history, or those who fought other wars because of it," he said, referencing the krogan rebellions. He turned to Shepard. "If you vouch for them, I think Hackett will agree."

There was silence for a long moment as they all considered his proposal.

Shepard eventually nodded. "It's worth a shot at least."

"I agree," Miranda said. "Additionally, if this plan works out well on Earth, that may convince others to give the rachni a chance."

"Good," Shepard said firmly. "Any dissent? Concerns?" Only silence followed. She clapped her hands together. "Alright! You're all dismissed. Alenko, with me."

"Commander?" he asked, looking startled.

"We're going down to visit the rachni emissary." At his questioning look, she added, "If you're going to help me convince Hackett, you'll need to meet her first."

Kaidan blinked, still in clear shock that he was being included. Most of his time on the Normandy, Shepard had avoided him. But he managed a bare smile before following Shepard to the elevator.

…

Kaidan was in shock after his meeting with the rachni emissary. This was all so strange. He could hardly believe he'd be trying to advocate for the rachni on his upcoming call with Hackett. But he'd do almost anything to save Earth.

"You okay?" Shepard asked as she followed him into the mess. "Seems like that shook you up a bit."

And there was another thing. Shepard was actually talking to him again. If his hopes hadn't already been crushed, it would be enough for him to think she might take him back. But she was with Garrus now. He was trying not to be bitter about it.

"It's just hard to believe," he said, pouring himself a coffee. "Rachni are strange bedfellows."

Shepard shrugged, grabbing a mug for herself. "I guess I'm used to that by now. I've had some strange allies over the years."

Kaidan, leaning against the counter, felt his gut clench as he watched her. "Like Cerberus?" he couldn't help but ask.

Shepard let out a long sigh, turning disappointed eyes on him. He hated that look. "Sit down?" she offered, motioning towards the mess hall table.

He sat down across from her, waiting. For an explanation? To be dressed down? He wasn't sure.

"I guess we better… clear the air a bit," she said finally. "I don't expect you to understand why I did what I did. But do you think you can listen to my explanation now without going off on me?" She raised her brows questioningly.

Kaidan rubbed the back of his neck in discomfort. "Yeah," he said, feeling the scold. "I can do that."

She settled in, taking a slow sip of her coffee. "I'm sure you remember we were scanning for geth when the Normandy went down. We'd just finished scanning Alchera. Empty, frozen planet. No geth, obviously. A total waste." She shook her head. "That's when the Collector ship showed up. You remember the chaos. How it cut right through the Normandy like she had no shields at all." Her fingers tightened on her mug.

"Shepard we really don't need to—"

"I think we do," she said, cutting him off. Her eyes were serious, striking in their intensity. He swallowed his words.

"I couldn't let Joker go down with the ship. At least I got him into the pod before the Collectors blasted me away. I don't know if anyone knows how I actually died," she continued, despite the horror rising in Kaidan's gut. "My air line was breached in the blast. I remember the burning in my chest as I stared up at the stars."

Kaidan was speechless, feeling too sick now to even think about the steaming mug of coffee in front of him.

"The next thing I remember," she said, "Is waking up in a lab with a woman yelling at me over the comm. Mechs were attacking. I didn't know where I was or how much time had passed. I was just trying to survive." She paused, sipping her coffee. "Within a few hours, I was speaking to the Illusive Man, trying to figure out where my old team was and what had happened over the last two years. Instead, he showed me evidence of the Collector abductions and told me what I could do to stop it."

"You trusted him?" Kaidan asked.

"No," she said with a brief smile. "But the abductions were human colonies. The logic was there. Despite his obsessive ambition, he does—or did, I guess—want humanity to succeed. I'm fairly certain he's indoctrinated now, but I don't think he was at that time. I knew he was serious about stopping the abductions. I still didn't want to work with him."

"So why did you?" he couldn't help but ask.

"I went to the Citadel not too long after waking up. I managed to get stonewalled by the council and the Alliance all in one day. No one was doing anything about the Collectors except Cerberus. So I felt I had no choice. And when I was done, I stole the ship and crew he gave me, and blew up the Collector base he wanted to keep. It was never going to be a long term alliance."

Kaidan sighed, his mind overwhelmed with all of this. "I guess I can see why you did it, but I just… I just feel like there must have been some better way."

She shrugged. "I didn't find it. I'm only human, no matter what people seem to think."

Kaidan tried to hide his doubtful look behind his coffee mug. He didn't quite succeed.

"After all this time you still doubt who or what I am?" she asked. "Do you really think that Anderson and Hackett would trust me if I wasn't me? What about the team? You're the only one who still doubts. And honestly… do you think I wouldn't have someone check?" Glassy blue eyes stared him down, blinking hard.

Kaidan winced. He could see now that he'd hurt her this time. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just…" He sighed. "This is hard."

Shepard snorted. "It's hard for me, too. Seems like it's easy for you to forget that." She stood, dropped her mug in the sink, and went straight into the main battery.

Kaidan leaned back in his chair and rubbed a hand across his face. That could have gone better.

Maybe he could make it up to her somehow. He checked the time and sighed. His call with Admiral Hackett was soon.

…

"Commander?" Kaidan stepped into the war room, where Shepard was busy on her terminal. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

She looked wary—it was only a couple hours since their last discussion, so he couldn't blame her. Things had gotten a bit heated, and he knew it was his fault. Even so, she followed him into the conference room hallway and waited for the door to close behind her. "What is it?"

"I spoke to Admiral Hackett. He's approved the rachni aid for Earth. He has a person on the Citadel who your emissary can coordinate with. And one other thing. I think I've found you a new shuttle and pilot."

She looked at him, surprised. "How?"

"I asked Hackett if he could spare someone. His name is Steve Cortez. He'd be on loan from the Alliance for as long as needed. He flies a Kodiak, similar to the shuttle you had before. The shuttle's already got a cloak and weapons installed. I thought it sounded perfect for the Normandy."

Shepard's lips turned up, just the hint of a smile. She had to know Hackett wouldn't have just given them a shuttle and pilot this easily, not even for the Normandy. Kaidan was sure she would know better than to ask him how he managed it, though.

"Thank you," was all she said. But her pat on his shoulder told him that she understood.

…

Shepard stood down in the cargo bay as the new shuttle pulled in. It was a nice looking shuttle, hadn't seen much action yet. The pilot landed it perfectly—not hard to do inside a cargo bay, but good to know he wasn't incompetent—and then the door slid open to reveal a man with cropped hair, caramel skin, and two footlockers at his feet.

"Lieutenant Steve Cortez, reporting for duty, ma'am," he said, saluting her. He was soft-spoken with kind eyes, something rare in a soldier.

"At ease," she said. "This isn't an Alliance vessel, Cortez. Things are a little more relaxed here."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, dropping the salute. "I'm honored to be here." He picked up a footlocker in each hand and followed her out into the cargo bay.

"Your main task will be flying and maintaining the shuttle. If you have ideas about improvements to the shuttle, let me know. Please also feel free to discuss things with my chief engineer, Tali'Zorah Vas Normandy."

"A quarian, ma'am?" he asked.

She looked at him sharply. "Is that a problem, Lieutenant?"

"Not at all, ma'am," he assured her. "I understand that most quarians have vast knowledge of ships and engineering. Just clarifying. Makes it easier to know who to look for."

She nodded. "While most of the crew is human, you do need to be comfortable working with different species aboard the Normandy. If you have questions, bring them to me. I have an open-door policy with my crew." She stepped into the elevator, motioning for him to follow. "I'm going to introduce you to my XO, Miranda Lawson, who will get you settled in. You came highly recommended from the Alliance, Lieutenant. I hope you'll find your place here."

"I hope so too," he said, giving her a small smile as the elevator doors opened.

…

After a long day, Garrus sat in bed in the captain's cabin, content with his mate asleep beside him—or more accurately, she was beside, on, and around him. His mandibles flared into a smile as he looked down at her, clinging to his lower half as she molded herself to every curve and angle. It was such a human thing, snuggling. Strange, but he'd begun to crave it.

Not that other species didn't appreciate casual or romantic touch. But turian bodies simply didn't mold together that way. A mandible nuzzling a neck, clasping each other's shoulders. Those were the turian ways. Humans seemed to like to press together as if they could meld their forms by getting close enough.

And spirits, he loved it.

Her warm little body squished against him had become one of his favorite feelings in the galaxy. Some would say they didn't fit together, a human and a turian. But Garrus could almost imagine that she was made for him. Her body seemed to contort and curve in the most unexpected ways to fit in his arms or wrapped around him, each breath pressing her deeper, closer.

He shut off his omni-tool and gently loosened Shepard's grip so he could lay down. She made a murmured sound of discontent in her sleep as he did so, but settled down easily once she could snuggle back in his arms. He knew she would protest if he called her cute to her face, so he never spoke of it. He simply treasured these little moments for himself to hold onto in his times of darkness.

…

Shepard was woken from sleep by EDI's voice. "Commander, wake up. You have an urgent call from Liara T'Soni."

Shepard sat straight up in bed, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. Garrus's eyes were open immediately, looking around the room as if seeking a threat.

"I'll go down to the QEC now," Shepard said, stumbling out of bed.

"This is an audio call only, Shepard. The QEC is not in use."

"What?" Shepard asked, fully awake now. Something must be wrong. "Patch her through."

"Shepard!" Liara's voice was strained. "My base is under attack! Feron is in there!"

"Who's attacking?" Shepard asked.

"Cerberus," Liara said. "They're trying to keep the structure intact. They want control of the Broker's resources!"

"How many?" Shepard questioned, already getting dressed.

"Several infiltration teams. Just one ship."

"We'll be on our way shortly, Liara. Don't do anything stupid until we get there."

"My father is here," Liara said wryly. "So I don't think she'll let me. Please hurry, Shepard." And the call disconnected.

"What's the plan?" Garrus asked, awake and putting on his armor.

Shepard gave him a grim smile. "Time to test out the new shuttle pilot."

…