A FEW MINUTES LATER, OMEGA, AFTERLIFE CLUB
Commander Shepard, with his teammates approached the Batarian mercenary who seemed to be recruiting people for the fight against Archangel. He stopped right at the front of the recruiter, while Miranda came and stood beside him, folding her arms under her breasts.
"I heard you're recruiting." John said to the recruiter. His words sounded more like a statement than a question.
"Hmm. Why don't you step inside?" The recruiter said, indicating a door behind him.
They stepped inside and there was another Batarian recruiter inside. He was tapping on a console continuously, entering the names of the people who were signing up their names for the mission. When John approached him, the recruiter asked his name and whether anyone else would be joining in the fight against Archangel. After John informed the recruiter that he himself, Miranda, Zaeed and Jacob will be joining the fight against Archangel, he registered their names in his computer.
"You four look like you could do some damage. Looking for a good fight?" The recruiter asked.
"Sure, if this is the place to go after Archangel." John answered.
"This is the place." The Batarian recruiter confirmed. "Standard fee is 500 credits each. You get paid when the job's done. If you die, your friends don't collect your share. You will need your own weapons and armor…. Looks like you've got that covered. And no, this does not make you a member of the Blue Suns, Eclipse or the Blood Pack. You are a freelancer. Period….. Any questions?" He added.
"Where's the attack taking place?" John asked for the information because they may find the need to bail Archangel out quickly from his hiding place. The mercenary groups are really desperate to take him down. John wondered what Archangel had done to piss off so many mercenary groups that they were teaming up to take him down.
"Archangel's base of operations. He's been hiding right under our noses. I can't tell you exactly where you're going, but we'll get you there." The Batarian mercenary answered.
"Why are the mercs working together to take Archangel down?" John asked.
The Blue Suns recruiter looked at John's face for a moment before answering, "Haven't been on Omega long, huh? He does everything he can to screw with us. Shipments go missing, operations are compromised, every month it gets worse. Tarak and other bosses are tired of losing credits and men."
"Is he a heavy hitter? How many merc bosses are involved in this attack?" Zaeed cut in.
"Yeah, Tarak runs the Blue Sons, but all three bosses are overseeing the operation. Jaroth's leading the Eclipse, and Gram's the head of the Blood Pack. Tarak's in charge, but the others would never say that. I'm surprised they're on this at all, but I guess getting rid of Archangel is worth it." The Blue Suns recruiter explained.
"What do we do once we're at Archangel's base of operations? How do we get to Archangel?" John asked again. He tried to gather as much information as he could. This whole thing could turn out to be ugly.
"The mercs will tell you when you get there. Last I heard they were putting the freelancers into scouting groups, they attack in waves to distract Archangel while we try to get past his defenses." The Batarian replied, without any emotion.
John looked at his teammates. Their expressions told him that this was a bad idea to get in but he had no other option. "So we're just fodder for his bullets?" John asked, slightly irritated.
"If you don't like it, don't sign up. But if you do your job right, it's easy credits. Besides, what are the odds he can kill all of you?" The Batarian smirked at John.
John ignored his smirk, "Seemed like a lot of trouble for just one guy?"
"He had a whole team, but we dealt with them. Now he's just one guy. But he's got the advantage. It's his base of operations, and he knows we are coming. He's planned for an attack like this. We've lost a lot of men trying to get to him already." The Batarian explained again.
John realized that this Archangel guy was one hell of a fighter. Even after losing his whole team, he is holding on his own and keeping three mercenary groups on their toes. Archangel would be really helpful in the fight against the collectors, provided he does not turn out to be hostile.
"It's gonna be tough to get to him." John stated to the Batarian.
He agreed with a nod. "Like chasing a vorcha out of the sewer pipes. But that's why we are recruiting. If we just keep throwing fighters at him, we'll get him eventually."
He glared back at the Batarian, "You are going to throw us in front of his bullets."
The Batarian leaned forward towards John menacingly and looked into his eyes. "My expectations are you won't last more than a few minutes at top. By the way…" His eyes lingered on John's and others' guns. "After you die, we will make sure to salvage the weapons from your dead bodies."
John smirked back, completely taking the Batarian off guard. "What if this happens the other way?"
The Batarians expression turned angry. He was about to explode in anger. "Get out! Before I shoot you myself!" He warned which all four of them ignored.
"Where do we go?" Jacob asked.
"Just head over to the transport depot outside the club. One of our boys will take you from there." The batarian answered, eyeing Jacob angrily.
The four of them were about to leave, but John stopped when he saw a boy, no older than nineteen, enter the recruitment area.
"Hey, is this where I sign up?" The boy asked the Blue Suns recruiter.
"You look a little young to be freelancing as a merc." John commented from behind.
"I'm old enough." The boy argued. "I grew up on Omega. I know how to use a gun." He added.
"Yeah. You know enough to get yourself killed." Zaeed pointed out.
The boy angrily turned around to face the four of them. "I can handle myself." He spat angrily. "I just spent 50 credits on this pistol, and I wanna use it!" He said looking towards the pistol in his hand.
John realized enough is enough. He grabbed the kid by his collar and pulled himself towards him. "Get your money back." He ordered coldly. Then he snatched the gun away from the kid's hand and jammed it after removing the thermal clip from it. Then he handed the gun back to the kid.
"Hey! What do you….." The boy asked in surprise.
"Trust me, kid. You'll thank me later." John said while leaving the area.
TRANSPORT DEPOT, OMEGA, A FEW MINUTES LATER
A Blue Sun trooper was waiting for them at the depot.
"I'm on the mission." John said, addressing the trooper.
"I hope you're ready. Archangel has been annihilating you freelancers." The Blue Sun trooper said.
"Ready when you are."
"Get in."
For the next few minutes they traveled in a sky-car and arrived at their destination.
"It's about time they sent me someone who looks like they can actually fight. They told you what we're up against?"
"Do tell." John urged the batarian trooper to explain.
"Archangel's holed up in a building at the end of the boulevard over there." The trooper said, indicating towards the far end of the area. "He's got a superior position and the only way in is over a very exposed bridge. It's a killing ground. But he's getting tired, making mistakes. We'll have him soon enough."
"Do you guys have a plan?" John asked.
"A small team is waiting to infiltrate his hideout, but we need to draw Archangel's fire so they can move in."
"And that's where we come in?"
"Exactly. You'll be on a distraction team. Head straight over the bridge and keep Archangel busy so the infiltration team can sneak in behind him."
"That's goddamn suicide." Zaeed protested.
"Pretty much. But you look like you can handle it. Head up to the boulevard and get to the third barricade. Talk to Sergeant Cathka. He'll tell you when to go in."
"Then, I better go and find Sergeant Cathka."
"Watch yourself on the boulevard. Archangel's killing dozens out there already."
"In's gonna be easy. Out's gonna be a bitch." Zaeed said.
"Let's find him first. Then we'll figure out how to get back." John said.
"The Commander is right. Archangel doesn't have much time left." Jacob said.
"Looks like the mercs are throwing everything they have. He really must have pissed them off." Miranda said.
"Then let's make sure we get to him first." John said.
"Yes, Commander." Miranda and Jacob replied in unison. Zaeed merely nodded.
As they walked towards the building, EDI's voice appeared in their comm, "Shepard, I've scanned the area, but I am unable to plot any other paths to Archangel."
"Guess we're going with the mercs." John said, looking at his team. They nodded in agreement.
"The heavy mechs and gunships possess considerable firepower. Weakening them before leaving will improve your chances." EDI suggested.
"Thank you, EDI." John said.
"No need, Commander. I am programmed to assist you in your mission." EDI replied.
John suddenly halted as his eyes fell on the figure of Archangel at the distance. He was shooting mercs after mercs from his vantage point and he had to admit that from his position, he really has more advantage. It was looking like he was still holding on.
"He probably saw us." John said to Miranda.
"Yes. We must let him know that we are here to get him out of here." Miranda said.
"True. But we have to wait for it. For now, let's go and find out what the mercenary groups are planning for our friend." John said.
They saw a doorway to their right and stepped inside. There were several members of the three mercenary groups resting there or making plans on how to take down Archangel. Among them a salarian mercenary drew John's attention. He seemed to be the leader of the Eclipse. John can tell that from the design of his armor.
"You lead the Eclipse?" John asked the salarian.
"You figure that out by yourself?" The salarian mocked. When he saw the human wasn't affected by his mocking, he cleared his throat and spoke seriously, "I'm Jaroth. I run Omega's Eclipse. What do you need, freelancer?"
"I heard the infiltration team is the main focus of the attack."
"Tarak's plan, not mine. He doesn't want to lose any more men, so he's throwing you freelancers at the problem. Archangel's not going anywhere, so I suppose there's no harm in trying. Who knows…. Maybe you'll get lucky." Jaroth explained.
"So you're just going to hide here while the freelancers get killed?" John asked.
"Precisely. You're paid to be a distraction. Nothing more. Whether you survive or not is up to you." Jaroth answered in such a tone that suggested that he is done talking and they should leave. The four of them kept on going forward, Jacob and Zaeed at the front talking about guns while John and Miranda were walking behind them silently. John wanted to get to Archangel as quickly as possible, so he wanted to see Sergeant Cathka and get permission to attack Archangel. But he stopped when he felt Miranda's hand in his. When he looked at her questioningly, she pointed him towards her left. To her left there was a store room and in there sat a Krogan with his two vorcha bodyguards. John nodded at her and slowly approached the krogan. Seeing John there, the krogan looked up towards him.
"You're in the wrong place, freelancer." The krogan said in a deep voice.
"You are the Blood Pack leader?" John asked.
"Name's Garm. That's all you need to know." The krogan said. "I'm stuck here till you freelancers are done playing war. Ask your questions and go."
"Why are the Blood Pack on Omega?"
"We're the muscle on this bloody station. You want protection or want someone removed, talk to us. The Blood Packs are everywhere on Omega. Everybody loves us, and everybody hates us."
"I'm guessing Archangel mostly just hates you."
"He's just an uptight asshole, I don't really care what he thinks. But he's costing me men and making me work for my money. I'll be the one to take him out today… you watch. I'm the only one who's fought him one-on-one." He answered. "Now you may go." He added.
Knowing it was their queue to leave, they left the krogan warlord alone and moved forward to find Sergeant Cathka. John saw a door to his left and it was unlocked luckily. Out of curiosity he opened the door. Inside he found some resources and a heavy-mech. Without a word, Miranda went past him and started to work on the console in front of the mech. No one said anything to her, but she felt the question coming towards her.
"I have switched the mech's target. If they turn it on, it will be hostile to themselves." She said as she turned back towards the others to leave.
"That's brilliant." John stared at Miranda with amazement in his eyes.
Miranda noticed how he was staring at her and she could feel that her face was getting hotter under his intense stare. She can't afford to blush like a teenage girl in front of them, since John is not alone. She has to maintain her ice-cold persona and she has a reputation to keep for goodness sake. For years she had trained herself not to get emotional in front of other people and she did that job perfectly which earned her the titles of 'Ice Queen', 'Heartless Bitch'. But it is damn impossible for her to keep her emotions in check, whenever he stares at her with those blue eyes of his, which are always filled with adoration, respect and most of all love for her, just for her alone. But now the situation was completely different because John couldn't even remember her. He couldn't even remember the person who he cherished above all else.
"We should move on, Archangel doesn't have much time left." She reminded him as he was still staring at her in awe.
When he reached there he saw Zaeed talking to a mercenary officer named Tarak, while Miranda and Jacob were talking among themselves. There were other freelancers there for the mission and all of them were staring at Miranda, lustfully. He gritted his teeth in anger, but didn't say anything. Zaeed seemed to know the mercenary officer and was asking the mercenary some questions about the mission, but he said that he was too busy to talk with them, so he directed one of his mercenaries to answer their questions.
"Jentha, talk to these guys. Answer whatever questions they have." Tarak ordered a female mercenary.
"Good thing you know him. Tarak hates having to hire freelancers – he doesn't trust anyone outside the Blue Suns. Anyways, what can I do for you?" Jentha said, while scanning John from head to toe with her eyes.
Miranda noticed it and immediately knew what the woman was thinking inside her head. She decided to intervene. She stepped beside John immediately and looked at Jentha.
"What's Tarak going to do if the infiltration team fails?" She asked Jentha.
"To start, he'll shoot any freelancers that are still alive but he may make some exceptions on my request." Jentha answered looking at John. "After that he'll let Eclipse and the Blood Pack take their shots. I suggested we work together, but he doesn't trust the other groups."
"What if Archangel survives all the attacks? Then you Suns are on your own." John asked.
"That's why Tarak wants that gunship fixed so badly. But it won't come to that. Archangel's good, but he can't hold out that long. He's already been there over a day." She said, indicating the damaged gunship to her left.
"What can you tell me about Archangel?"
"He's a turian vigilante who thinks killing mercs is a fun way to pass the time. Other than that, he's a mystery. He shows up, usually at the worst possible time, and screws with our work." She stopped briefly. "He can't die soon enough, if you ask me." She added bitterly.
"Why do you hate him so much?"
"He went after Tarak, at his home. Almost got him. Tarak's been on edge ever since, and he's making my life a living hell." She scowled. "Second guesses every damn thing I do. Getting the other merc bands to help us show you how desperate he is. They're as bad as Archangel."
"We should go and talk with Sergeant Cathka." John said.
"He is over there, trying to repair the gunship." Jentha indicated.
When the four of them approached Cathka, he turned around from the gunship to face them. "Ah… you must be the group Salkie mentioned. You're just in time."
"Were you waiting for us?"
"The infiltration team is about to give us the signal. Archangel won't know what hit him." Cathka said. "Got any questions? This may be your last chance."
"Are you leading the assault?"
"Ha! Tarak doesn't pay me to fight. I just plan the attacks and fix the damn gunship. You freelancers get the privilege of…" He paused as his radio came alive. "Target in sight. We're a go."
"Archangel's got quite a surprise waiting for him. But that means no more waiting for me." He then turned back towards the gunship and started to work. "Gotta get her back to a hundred percent before Tarak decides he needs her again. Now…. Where did I put that omni-tool?" He muttered to himself.
"Archangel doesn't have much time left." Miranda said.
"What the hell are we waiting for?" Zaeed muttered.
"Come on. We'll give these guys a surprise of our own." John said, flexing his fingers.
The freelancers had already started to move forward towards the building, so the four of them didn't waste any time and started firing on their back. They started to scream among themselves at the sudden attack from behind them.
"They're with Archangel!" One of them screamed. But his scream died immediately as a headshot from Zaeed dropped him on the ground. Rest of the freelancers also didn't stand a chance against the four of them and Archangel. They all lay dead within a minute. They went inside the building and climbed upstairs. John saw that the door of the room from where Archangel was shooting was left open for them.
"Archangel…" John called after they entered the room. The mercenary was busy aiming his sniper outside. He signaled John to wait. For a few seconds he didn't move, then suddenly he pulled the trigger of his gun. He pulled the sniper back and walked towards the sofa and sat down on its edge while taking off his helmet. John's eyes widened when he saw the face of the turian.
"Garrus?" John said in disbelief.
"John….. I thought you were dead." Garrus said.
John didn't waste any time. He took long steps and pulled Garrus in a brotherly hug. To everyone's surprise in the room, except Miranda, the turian also hugged him back.
"I have missed you Garrus." John said after pulling back.
"And I thought you were dead, my brother." Garrus said, his voice slightly cracking.
"I did die but Cerberus brought me back to life." John said.
John noticed that at his revelation Garrus didn't look surprised at all. "So you did it? Huh!? Had me doubting you for a while now."
John noticed with whom Garrus was talking to. "Wait. You know Miranda? How?" John couldn't help but ask.
A look passed between Garrus and Miranda, which went unnoticed by the others including John. "I helped her and Liara, to recover your body from the hand of the Collectors and the Shadow Broker."
John looked more surprised and confused now. "Liara?" John turned to Miranda. "You know Liara too?"
Miranda confirmed by nodding. "She did most of the work trying to find you, when you were, you know…. dead."
John's face turned grim. He didn't like not knowing things. But he understood that there will be time for answers later on. He looked at Garrus, "What are you doing here?"
"Just keeping my skills sharp. A little target practice."
"You okay?"
"Been better, but it sure is good to see a friendly face or may I say faces…." Garrus said, looking at Miranda. "Killing mercs is hard work. Especially on my own."
"What are you doing on Omega?"
"I got fed up with all the bureaucratic crap on the Citadel. Figured I could do more good on my own. At least it's not hard to find criminals here. All I have to do is point my gun and shoot. Besides after your death the Council completely ignored your reports about the Reapers. That made me mad. Even after what you did for them, they still ignored your warnings. They also had remains of Sovereign as the proof of the existence of the Reapers, but still they denied everything. It was an insult to you and I couldn't make myself stay at the Citadel after that." Garrus answered.
At Garrus' revelation John's heart warmed. Garrus is truly his brother even though they are not of the same flesh and blood and of different species. Miranda also let out a small smile. When she helped them on the mission against Saren, she realized that Garrus really cares for John and she was happy that someone besides her was there for him.
"That means a lot to me, Garrus." John said. "But how'd you manage to piss off every major merc organization in the Terminus Systems?"
"It wasn't easy. I really had to work at it. I am amazed that they teamed up to fight me. They must really hate me." Garrus shrugged.
"But why the name 'Archangel'?"
"It's just a name the locals gave me. For all my good deeds. I don't mind it, but please…. It's just 'Garrus' to you."
"Well, we got here, but I don't think getting out will be easy."
"No, it won't. That bridge has saved my life….. Funneling all those witless idiots into scope. But it works both ways. They will slaughter us if we try to get out that way." Garrus said.
"So we just sit here and wait for them to take us out?" Miranda asked.
"It's not all that bad. This place has held them off so far and with the four of you….. I suggest we hold this location, wait for a crack in their defenses, and take our chances. It's not a perfect plan, but it's a plan." Garrus suggested.
"If we fight as a team, we'll hold them off." John agreed.
"You're right. Their numbers won't help them here, anyway. And for that we need some supplies. I am almost out of ammo. The room at the other end of the corridor is full of supplies. We should get them." Garrus said.
"Jacob, Zaeed." John said. They nodded and left.
When the two of them left, Garrus looked at John. "So what is Cerberus' long term goal for bringing you back?"
"They brought me back for a purpose- Stop the Collectors." John said.
"Why the Collectors?"
"They are behind the disappearances of hundreds of human colonies. Only humans. We suspect they are working for the Reapers." John explained.
"Why only humans?"
"We don't know that. We didn't even encounter them. They have some tiny mechanical insects which insert toxins inside the veins causing everyone to freeze and no armor can hold them off. I am gathering a team to stop and would like you to help me as always."
"Of course, I would help you. But it seems we are all defenseless against them. How do you plan to stand against them?"
"Mordin is already working on it."
"Who's Mordin?"
"A brilliant salarian scientist. He is in Normandy now working on it."
"Normandy? Cerberus built Normandy?"
"Yes. They did."
"They seemed to have spent a lot of credits on you and for this mission." Garrus indicated.
"It is Cerberus' goal to protect humanity against all threats." Miranda said.
Garrus turned towards her and then looked at John. He sensed something was odd between John and Miranda. They both were acting ..off? He opened his mouth to speak but at that moment Zaeed and Jacob returned with ammunition. Garrus cleared his throat and decided he would talk later with John. He went back to the business of shooting mercs.
"Let's see what they are up to…. Hmm…. Looks like they know their infiltration team failed." He said looking through the scope of his sniper. "Take a look. Scouts. Eclipse, I think."
John took the sniper from him and saw several small mechs and mercs heading their way. "That looks like a lot more than scouts." Then he blasted the head of a mech with the sniper. "One less to worry about." He said, handing the sniper back to Garrus.
"Show off!" Garrus smirked. John smirked back. "We better get ready. I'll stay up here. I can do a lot of damage from this vantage point. You can do what you do best. Just like old times, John."
Garrus fired a shot and took down one of the mercs. Zaeed blasted another one with a concussive shot. Jacob used his biotics to pull two of the mercs in the air and Miranda just took them out with her SMG. Heavy firing started between the two sides. But it seemed the numbers of mercs were endless. Every time they took down one, two took his place but they weren't about to give up. They kept on killing mercs after mercs. Bullets, tech attacks, biotics flew straight at the mercs, overwhelming them. At one time they stopped their assault. But then a heavy mech got dropped in the middle of the bridge.
"Shit! This will be one tough son of a bitch to kill." Garrus said.
"Don't worry, Garrus. Just see what happens next." John said.
Keeping the heavy mech in front of them the mercs started to come again. Suddenly the mech turned back towards the mercs and started to fire on them, tearing them apart.
"Looks like someone tampered the mech." Garrus said.
"You should thank Miranda for that." John said while firing his revenant machine gun on the mercs.
Garrus showed a thumbs up to Miranda, at which she nodded and then turned away to fire on the mercs. Next a group of engineers appeared and they finally took the mech down. They had improved shield and tech powers which gave them advantage against the mech. Garrus and Miranda concentrated on taking down the shields of the engineers while the rest of them took the engineers down. With them, their leader Jaroth also got killed.
When they stopped coming for good the five of them sat down on the sofa. "I wonder where they got so many men." Garrus said.
"Freelancers, hired to distract you." John said.
"They didn't know what they got themselves into." Garrus said.
"Yeah. Too bad, they had to die. They were just hired. They weren't any criminals." John said. Suddenly, the whole building shook. "What the hell was that?" Miranda said.
"Damn it. They've breached the lower level." Garrus cursed while checking his omni-tool. "Well, they had to use their brains eventually. You'd better get down there, John. I'll keep the bridge clear."
"Let's split up. I will keep Miranda here with you." John said. He knew that Miranda's biotic and tech skills would help Garrus in fighting the mercs.
"You sure? Who knows what you'll find down there." Garrus protested.
"I am sure. Miranda, keep him alive." John ordered but when he looked at her eyes, she realized that it was not an order but a request. He is trusting her to keep Garrus alive and she will keep his trust. She nodded at him in confirmation while reloading her SMG.
"Thanks John. You better get going." Garrus said.
"How do we get to the basement?"
"Go down a level – the basement door is on the west side of the main room, behind the stairs. I'll radio directions if you need help….. but you've got to get down there quick."
Garrus saw them leave, and he turned to Miranda. "John seems to act odd around you. Is he upset or something about you being working for Cerberus?"
Miranda sighed. "No. He doesn't recognize me."
Garrus looked at her surprised. "That's odd. Even we recognized you easily."
"It's not odd. He has amnesia. After the Lazarus Project started, one of Shadow Broker's men infiltrated our base and tried to kill John. Luckily, he couldn't but he managed to fry his brains a bit." Miranda explained.
"I am sorry." Garrus said. He was genuinely sorry for the woman. He saw how much she cared for John. What she did for him. He turned his gaze towards the bridge.
Miranda let out a defeated sigh again, beside him, "Yeah. Me too."
Without waiting a moment longer John went down to the basement with Zaeed at his toes. They found the door's shutter in front of them which Garrus told them to close. John quickly pressed the button beside the door and took cover to hold the enemies back, who were trying to come through, until the shutter closed. The first door was no problem. They closed the shutter before the enemies could come through. Garrus instructed them over the radio that there were two more shutters which needed to be closed down as soon as possible. The second door caused the problem as the enemies were already inside there. They had to push them back behind the door and hold them off until the shutter closed down. The third door was also closed by them quickly as there were only vorchas out there trying to get in. They had flamethrowers in their hands. Zaeed, Jacob and John simply killed them by detonating the cylinders of their flamethrowers. When John pressed the switch to close the door of the last shutter, he saw a krogan was coming towards them with several vorchas. Luckily the shutter closed down before the enemies could come through and the three of them needn't face the krogan.
"Get back here, John. They're coming in through the doors." Garrus said on the radio.
"Hold them off, Garrus. We are coming." John responded and ran.
When they came back they saw several Blood Pack mercs were flooding the ground floor. Zaeed tossed a grenade, taking out several at once. John killed three vorchas in a row with headshots, not giving them any chance to regenerate. The rest of them were also taken down as they were useless against the skills of John, Jacob and Zaeed.
"Could use some help over here….." Garrus called them from above. Responding to his call the three of them hurriedly climbed the stairs only to find that Miranda and Garrus were trying to hold back two krogans at once. One of the krogans noticed John, Jacob and Zaeed and immediately charged at them. But the blasts from John's shotguns combined with Zaeed's concussive shots and Jacob's biotics brought the krogan down. But the other one was still up and was trying desperately to get hold of Garrus.
"Garm…." John recognized the krogan immediately.
Garm charged towards Garrus but he was halted by a warp attack from Miranda. He staggered back slightly. He turned towards her in anger and charged.
John saw it in slow motion. He saw that Garm was trying to kill Miranda and suddenly he felt a surge of power inside his body and next second he was gone from Zaeed's side.
"What the….." Zaeed exclaimed in surprise.
Garm saw the human woman who was preventing him for a long time to kill Archangel. He decided to take down the woman first and charged at full speed. He knew that it would take only a single blow to kill her. He saw her firing at him but his barrier held the bullets off. He was about to crush her to death but suddenly he stopped, or rather someone had stopped him forcefully. He looked down to see another human standing in front of him with his hand against his chest preventing him from moving an inch. Angrily he tried to grab the human but the human grabbed his hands and broke them with a loud crack. He immediately felt intense pain in his arms but he didn't have to feel the pain much longer as a powerful punch to his jaw snapped his head sideways and broke his neck. He fell on the ground dead.
Zaeed's and Jacob's eyes widened after seeing what John did to the krogan warlord.
"Thanks John. They hardly got through to me. And we took out Garm and his Blood Pack. This day just gets better and better. He was one tough son of a bitch." Garrus said.
"You've fought with him before?"
"Yeah, we tangled once. Caught him alone. None of his gang helped him. I still couldn't take him out. I've never seen a krogan regenerate that fast. He's a freak of nature. He just kept at it until his vorcha showed up. It was close, but I had to let him go. Not this time. Thanks to all of you." Garrus answered.
"Only the Blue Suns are left. I say we take our chances and fight our way out." John suggested.
"I think you're right. Tarak's got the toughest group but nothing we haven't faced before. Bsides he won't be expecting us to meet him head on…" Garrus had to stop as a gunship appeared near the window.
"Archangel….." Tarak's voice was heard. The gunship began to drop mercs inside the room. Immediately battle began among them again.
"They're rappelling down the sidewall. Ground floor!" Garrus warned. True to his words there were several mercs coming up through the stairs. The five of them killed them all but Garrus got injured when Tarak started to fire from his gunship inside the room. Garrus slowly crawled behind a crate to protect himself. But it wasn't enough. Tarak saw him there and fired a missile at him. Garrus wasn't hit directly but the blast threw him off against the wall. And then he didn't move.
"Garrus!" John yelled. John gritted his teeth in anger. He pulled out his grenade launcher and fired it at the gunship. It took three heavy blasts and started to smoke. Dropping the empty grenade launcher he sent a Warp attack towards the gunship. As soon as the biotic attack came in contact with the gunship it blasted apart in pieces. John immediately slid beside Garrus on the ground.
"Garrus! Garrus! Hold on!" He pleaded. Garrus merely looked at him with hazed eyes.
"His wounds are serious. We need to get him to Normandy immediately." Miranda said.
"Joker! Immediate evac at my location!" John said in comm. Then he looked at Garrus whose eyes were now closed. "Hold on, Garrus. We'll get you fixed." He murmured.
