The ride back to the Normandy was agonizing. Garrus had been more pissy than she'd ever seen him the whole time they were dealing with the cops at the precinct. There was a sinking in her gut that the two of them had been binary stars, spinning closer for months - the collision was nigh. And in this case it would be a lot less pretty, but just as volatile. His petulant bullshit on top of being detained for hours with the police had rubbed her every nerve raw. She played nice though, when she should have called Specter authority and left. Considering the Council's next move after hearing about Tela would be a complete wildcard in the rest of this journey, it was best to keep things as civil as possible. Shepard's skin was crawling, and standing still was proving difficult. Garrus must have felt similar, his sub-vocals were all over the place and even his bad mandible was working inside the bandage. Tali and Liara kept smartly to themselves. If they could all get off the shuttle in one piece it'd be fine, the punching bag wouldn't be far. The familiar sounds of the engine ramping down as they parked in the cargo bay made her bounce on the balls of her feet.
But if only he hadn't opened his maw. His stupid gaping maw. She had nearly been out of earshot of the damned shuttle, too. She stopped mid stride and closed her eyes, willing herself to find the last vestiges of patience buried deep inside her gut. Where was it? The footfalls of both Tali and Liara had paused. She spun and thundered back to him. Did she just charge with her biotics? Impossible to tell.
"You wanna run that by me again, Vakarian?" She stood as tall as she could, glaring daggers into the much higher face.
"I said, you don't even want to be here. Face it, Shepard. You can lie to yourself all you want, but you damn sure won't to me. You wish they'd left you dead. You don't give a single fuck about us or the Collectors. Your actions have made that very clear." He snapped vehemently and stepped forward, covering her in his shadow. Liara's quiet gasp was audible in the dead silence of the bay. Garrus noted Zaeed and Grunt halting their drills, the crewmen milling about, and Krios came over from the mats to stand behind her - a mirror of their fight in the mess. He knew it was coming. The twitch of her leg betrayed her, but he still wasn't fast enough. Shepard grabbed his collar and crashed an armored limb through his own - toppling him to the ground.
Garrus didn't even hit the floor before launching himself into a crouch with a feral growl. Behind her, Thane made a show of moving to her side. "Get the fuck out, Krios. Nothing here is of your concern."
The assassin opened his mouth to retort.
"Tali," the Commander barked. "Clear the cargo bay for me please." She started searching for seals and releasing pieces of armor off of her.
Liara stepped in between them. "Shepard, ple-"
"Tali!" The N7 motioned at the asari.
"Yes… Shepard." The quarian hesitated for a split second. "Okay, everyone out, you heard her." Tali put a hand on Liara's shoulder, guiding her out from between them before turning to herd crewmen to the lift. Surprisingly, Krios didn't protest, he just swiveled to regard them once before stepping into the elevator.
Garrus took the cue and began dropping armor pieces to the ground. Shepard moved over to the mats and peeled off her sweaty under layer. By the time she'd kicked the last leg off, he was already pacing at the edge of the mats sans the top of his own under suit.
Despite her anger, the thought that she'd never seen any turian's body plates before, pushed to the forefront of her mind as he moved. She didn't realize that their colony markings descended past their faces. He had similar blue slashes across his chest plates and bicep plates. Her under suit had the one zipper, his had straps. The top part looked like it had been buckled to the bottom portion. His pants ended in stirrups between the talons of his feet and had cut outs for the jutting spurs on his hips and calves. Without the armor it was glaringly obvious how built for speed turians were - and he had bulked up considerably since the last time she'd seen him in fatigues in the med bay. Well, that's okay. So had she. Shepard dropped into a ready stance. Garrus realized he had his visor on still. He unclipped it and set it on his discarded clothing before moving up to mirror her.
"Alright Vakarian, you've obviously got a bone to pick. So pick it!" She lunged at him, but he spun to the side and hooked his leg spur under her knee. She hit the mat hard, chin first. Shepard somersaulted back up before he pinned her.
He couldn't help gloating a bit. "Remember, I said top rated hand to hand in my unit, Shepard."
"Yeah yeah, out of everyone on this ship we are the only pair who went through military training focused on killing one another thanks to the First Contact War. So I wouldn't get too smug." She lunged again, but expected his spin this time - she used a hip spur to jump up his form and yank him off balance by his collared carapace. He flipped over her bent back, landing in a heap. Garrus stared up at her with a growl for a split second before scrambling up. That had made her point nicely.
"Why is it that sometimes we are back together, a perfect team, and other times you are dashing out of my range and straight into a situation you might not come back from Shepard?" His tone started off combative but ended much quieter. Imploring. He tried to grab her, but she danced away. "Do you realize how infuriating you are?" He swiped again, his gloved claws contacted her ribs. "I can't tell if you think you are invincible now, or," He ducked her fists. "Or, if you think this is some Armax combat sim you are going to wake up from."
Her eyes widened. Shit. That actually made some sense. Was that it? The truth of that statement burned through her body. He caught her as she hesitated, picked her up by the waist and threw her to the mats. He followed for the pin, one knee in her spine and a wrist held down in each hand. "I realize the biotics are new, and I've given you the benefit of the doubt… but… too many times now I've seen you try to get yourself killed."
She struggled to pull out of the hold for a minute, then turned her head to the side, breathing hard. "That's some accusation from someone who would, up until recently, rather spend his time unconscious in the battery than helping me out on a mission. If you dislike what I'm doing so much, why haven't you left!" She spat heatedly. Shepard raised off the floor and head butted him right in the jaw. He hissed and jerked back enough for her to wriggle out from under his mass. Once again they circled one another.
He bit back angrily, "I already admitted I fucked up. My guilt has gotten the better of me my entire life… but even for me, that was a new low. I let you down, and I'm sorry. But if I'd wanted to leave, I would have left by now." The constant thrumming his vocals had had up to that point changed pitch. and his brow plates raised a fraction. "Shepard, please."
She backed up a few steps. This change in tactic was dangerous.
"Please talk to me. You are the only friend I've got left in this whole damn galaxy. You've helped me so much, with C-Sec, with Saleon, with Specterdom… with… Omega. Let me help you too." He finished in a murmur.
The miserable tone of his voice and pleading kindness of his words tugged at the twisted, gross knot of unflattering emotions deep in her chest. Absolutely not something she wanted to get into again. It had been bad enough to release it on Thane, and he was a relative stranger to the situation. Releasing it on Garrus? Way worse.
He grabbed her forearm as she was trying to step back. "Shepard."
"I think they made me with Reaper tech." She clapped a hand over her own traitorous mouth. What the holy hell with this word vomit?! Just because he touched her!
His eyes widened. "How can you know that? Did Miranda fess up?"
"No. She would never, even if she knew. It's just a gut feeling. We know that salvage from Sovereign went missing… and it's just...right up their alley." He needed to know this anyway, she told herself. He'd experienced what Saren had become first hand, so he could be mentally prepared. The knot in her chest loosened a fraction.
"Garrus. I needed someone to know. Someone who saw… look. We already saw they can hack me, David Archer proved that. Best-case scenario, they can take me over at any point. Worst-case scenario…"
"You think you are going to become Saren?" He whispered it in disbelief.
"It's not that much of a stretch. Considering all the evil shit Cerberus has done, and factor in the fact I've already killed a fellow Specter now…"
"Shepard. That was different. Saren murdered Nihlus in cold blood."
She shrugged. "Not different enough."
Garrus decided that whatever tone that was, he didn't appreciate it. Flippant. Defeated? They spent all of their time on an unstable precipice. That was the nature of being a soldier. But for the first time, it seemed like she was looking over like she wanted to jump.
Shepard looked up at him with enormous eyes. "I meet him in the mirror, Garrus. I visit him every time I close my eyes. And the only thing I can think is - if I even suspect that will be my fate, why haven't I put a bullet in my brain before they can use me against everyone? Even standing here now, I'm being selfish." She laughed with no mirth. "Live long enough to see yourself become the villain." The Commander angrily wiped a tear that dared escape the corner of her eye. Her sniper captured her raised fist and brought it up to his mouth. A cobalt tongue snaked out and licked the teardrop from her knuckle. The action sent a wave a tightness through her chest and into her stomach. Suddenly, breathing was something she had to command herself to do in the silence that followed. Neither of them moved.
He stepped forward into her space and bent his head to hers, both taloned hands cradling her cheeks. "Shepard. You aren't alone. Let me worry about that. I wouldn't ever let that become your fate. Cerberus and the Reapers might have planned anything for you, sure, but I bet none of those plans included me as a factor," he rumbled. His stare was piercing, their noses touching.
"Garrus, do you understand what you are saying? You would have to kill me," she spoke shakily.
He nodded. "I said I'd walk into hell. I'll always be here for you. No Shepard without Vakarian, right?"
Her lips pulled up. "I couldn't do this without you, Garrus."
"Sure you could, but not as stylishly of course."
Shepard tipped her head forward and touched warm lips to the side of his jaw and draped her arms around his neck. His rumbling stuttered in response, dying out and coming back quieter and deeper.
Soft fingers slid past the exposed hide inside his cowl, and the expression on her face as she pulled back from him sucked all the air from the room for too many moments. Today was a day of firsts. He'd never seen that look on her face before. Just those small actions set a fire in his gut instantly. It burned so hot and fast it was alarming until it hit him - he had no idea what to do with a human. It had never even crossed his mind before Shepard. Humans had a fascination with mouthing things. That was about the only thing he remembered observing in C-Sec. But with his stiff mouth plates, that was out. He leaned into her again, and she tilted her head back to present a horribly inviting curve of neck to him. Spirits. Did she realize what baring your neck meant to a turian? Doubtful.
His mandible fluttered anxiously, and he moved slowly, but he buried his face into the crook of her collar. He inhaled like he had what was ages ago now - both of them drunk outside of Dark Star. A tongue tip snaked along her clavicle and up to the shell of her ear, and all rational thought leaked away.
"Garrus," she whispered.
Spirits, the way she gasped his name… he couldn't control the wavering of his sub-vocals in response. The fire flared, whipped by that unspoken, desperate plea. He knew nothing of their compatibility, but his body responded, nonetheless. Plates contracted uncomfortably in his tight under suit. Garrus tore the gloves from his hands, weaved one into the fine strands of her fringe, and wrapped the other around the slender waist that had so distracted him. So many new feelings all at once. Was all human hair and skin so silky and smooth? He'd never accurately imagined how delicate this translucent skin would feel. Cold trepidation washed over him. The damage a plated, taloned creature would do to an exposed human wasn't lost on him. Suddenly Shepard's jokes about the first contact meetings made even more sense. They must have been quite scary to these small, soft creatures. His finger and talon tips dimpled the surface as he moved along her midriff and up her back. Here, firm muscles played just under the pads of his fingers.
"Garrus, I'm not made of glass." In an impressive show of flexibility, she grabbed the hand at her spine and pressed his fingers into her flesh. She'd known what he was thinking. He fisted the hand in her fringe and gently pulled her head back, opening up more skin to his ministrations. She flinched slightly when his teeth tips dragged along her neck, but the needy noise she made in response tore through his conscious.
"Shepard, I don't know what to do here," he panted into her shoulder. She'd been inching soft, many fingered hands around his plates and across the exposed hide of his neck and cowl. The heady smell of her had taken on a muskier scent… arousal?
"Just do the things you're good at - careful exploration and an annoying amount of attention to the smallest of details. Do I ever leave you with no guidance?" She smirked.
"No. Not unless you are unconscious." He bent his head to hers again with a smirk.
"Why does that seem like a threat?"
He chuckled, the sound drove a pleasure stake straight through her. "I would never. It's just an observation. We've been through a lot together."
"Mmm yeah too true." Motion caught her eye, causing Shepard to glance up. There was Jack in the upper cargo bay windows - making lewd gestures with way too big of a grin on her face. "I hate to cut… whatever this is short here but, we've got an audience Big Guy."
Garrus straightened and turned. "Spirits. Does she have nothing better to do?" His sub vocals died out. "This is the first time in my entire life I wish I had five fingers," he sighed.
"Give me your hand," she grabbed it, pushed in his thumb and pinky, and held the remaining lone digit up at Jack. The biotic doubled over and grabbed her stomach. "Mmm yeah, it just doesn't have the same impact without a good middle finger," Shepard struggled to say around her laugh.
"Commander Shepard? You might need to check on Grunt. He came up to the mess and… um… seemed a bit disturbed. He's on his way back to port cargo now." Kelly Chamber's harried voice broke over the com.
Shepard groaned and extracted her arm from the turian's cowl. "Sorry Garrus, my child needs me."
Garrus's snort echoed through the shuttle bay.
Jack had disappeared from the hallway by the time she got up there. Hmph. Smart girl didn't want a beating. Shepard strode into the port cargo room, where her Krogan was pacing furiously.
"Grunt, buddy, what is going on with you?" She stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Something... is wrong, Shepard. I feel wrong. Tense. I want to kill something. With my hands." He stormed over to the window overlooking the bay. His tone dropped lower. "More than usual, like it's not my choice. I just want to…" He slammed his head into the glass, spidering it.
"Jesus! Grunt, please don't put holes in my ship!"
"Do you see?! Why did I do that?! What is wrong?" He growled out in frustration.
Shepard sighed. "I don't know."
"I want control of this. When we are moving, fighting, I can focus. But here, my blood screams, my plates itch, and even you are just… noise." He began pacing again, in great long strides.
She considered him for a moment. "You're right, this doesn't seem normal. Wrex was always calm outside battle, spent most of his time making fun of all of us or dead asleep. Hmm. He was 500 years old though, maybe it's something he just learned to control." She spoke more to herself than to him, one finger on her chin. "I'll go speak with Mordin, see if he's got anything to help you chill out. If he doesn't have anything, Wrex will. He's on Tuchanka, I'm sure he will help."
"I won't ask you to go there, Shepard. If he can control it, so can I. I will learn."
"Buddy, I don't doubt your learning abilities at all, you've picked up on every bit of training I've given you in record time. But on the off chance its something unusual I expect it's best we go see him." her lips stretched into a grin. "Besides, what better reason to go see an old friend than to show him my progeny is stronger than his?"
Grunt let loose a deep laugh. "I am better progeny than any Krogan has had!"
"Here here!"
He bent his wide face down to her. "Thank you, Shepard. I don't like this. Fury is my choice. Not a sickness."
She nodded. "We'll figure it out."
The door behind her whirred open.
"Shepard!"
She turned to see Chakwas standing with her arms folded and her brows drawn down tightly, causing a very familiar wrinkle in her forehead.
"Why must I find out you are concussed through one Tali' Zorah?! Don't make me pull rank, Commander." The doctor barked.
"Busted." The soldier sighed.
The door to the med bay opened in its quiet way to reveal anything but quiet. A raucous peel of laughter echoed out into the mess hall. Garrus set down the datapad he was holding as a string of curses followed the mirth. Through the windows he saw Shepard's head thrown back as she laughed. Jack was sitting on the other end of the Commander's cot looking displeased, while Legion stood next to her and Kasumi had one leg slung across the adjacent cot. Ah… it looked like the N7 was teaching the geth how to play cards with them. Dr. Chakwas strode up to the small party.
"Commander, I said bed rest!" Her accented voice filtered out to where he sat before the door cycled closed behind her.
Garrus sighed and leaned back in his chair. Light footfalls dragged his attention to the kitchen. There Liara stood, digging through a cabinet.
She glanced at him. "Whoever keeps Shepard stocked with teas has great taste. Some of these are from Thessia."
He snorted. "She wouldn't agree with you. Anytime Chakwas or Solus suggest tea to her, she does the eye thing."
"The eye thing?" The archeologist dispensed steaming water into a mug and strode through the tables to slide into a seat across from him.
"Yeah, where she rolls them. But I catch her out here with tea from the purple tin, late at night."
Liara stirred her drink. "Ah, yes. That is supposed to help with sleep." She turned to regard Shepard through the med bay's glass. "One glance at her face tells me it isn't working though."
He pulled his mandible in tightly and propped an ankle on his knee. Discussing the CO's private life…not his forte. Garrus picked up the datapad again to scroll through his calculations.
Crewmen milled about the mess, walking back and forth from the bathrooms to the crew quarters. At one point Krios came out and spent some time at the counters.
Liara fixed him with her gaze as the assassin disappeared to life support. "There is a drell onboard… I assume that was the Thane Krios she was looking for?"
The sniper nodded and continued scrolling through his pad.
She sighed. "There's a lot of activity for this time in the night cycle. Quite different from the SR1."
Finally he looked up. "They are checking on her."
"What?"
"Shepard. She doesn't run the Cerberus crew anywhere near as tightly as she did the Alliance crew." He shot a look towards the direction Krios had left. "And she certainly isn't following Alliance regs." He cleared his throat before looking back at her. "Anytime she is in the med bay, the crew worries, so they come out here to use the kitchens as an excuse to check on her."
That had been a telling glance. Liara set her mug down. "Is that not what you are doing right now?"
The glare he shifted to her said everything he didn't.
Her lips pulled up. Garrus's obvious reluctance in discussing their Commander pulled the two into a semi comfortable silence.
Liara turned to watch Shepard through the infirmary windows. "You were right in the cargo bay. That mission wasn't the Shepard I know - and considering how upset she was when she found out it was me that gave her to Cerberus…" She sighed heavily. "Did I make the wrong decision?" Her back was to him as she spoke, so he didn't see her face - but there was a waiver to her normally serene voice.
He set the datapad on the table. "I would have done the same thing you did."
"Wait, wait, slow down, Tali. Say that again?" Shepard steadied her friend with hands at her elbows. Chakwas shot them both a look from over her console, eyes narrowed.
"The Admiralty board has accused me of treason!" The quarian's eyes were wide behind her mask.
"Shit…" Shepard murmured. "It's Cerberus. I never should have dragged you with me Tali, I'm so sorry."
The engineer shook her helmeted head. "I don't believe so… I got leave to serve on the Normandy. I was clear that I was working for you, not for Cerberus." She hung her head. "But I don't know what else it could be. They didn't say anything, so I've no idea what they are accusing me of… I'd remember if I'd betrayed the fleet!" They looked at each other. "I'm scared, Shepard." Tali whispered.
The Commander put her palms on her friend's shoulders. "Tali, anyone who knows you knows you would never betray your people. There's no way charges would stick."
"I appreciate your faith in me... but I'm not so sure. The Admiralty board does not weigh charges lightly. Only when there is no doubt." She dropped her helmet into a hand.
"What happens next?"
"There will be a hearing, with Admiralty members acting as judges. My Father is an Admiral… he must recuse himself from the proceedings." She paused. "Oh… what is he thinking right now?"
"And if they convict?"
"Exile. I'll never be able to go home." Tali's misery seeped through her every word.
"How much time do we have to get you to the Flotilla?" Shepard stood off the infirmary cot.
"They will give me time to return. Not an indefinite amount but…"
"I get it. Give Joker the fleet coordinates and we will get there as soon as we stomp everything the Broker owns into paste on Hagalaz."
Tali nodded, her eyes downcast.
The Commander pulled her in, wrapping arms around the smaller woman. "Don't worry, I won't just stand by and let them do that to you, Tali. I'm on your side." She murmured.
Shepard whooped, raising her shotgun above her head with both hands. "Do it again, Liara!"
She did as the Commander asked. A salarian and krogan raised into the air in a blue haze. The N7 let out a gleeful battle-cry and tore into them in a streak of biotics, sending them into the turbulent air around the shielding of the massive ship whose hull they were traversing.
They both spun out of sight as fast as he blinked. Garrus's stomach twisted. Any one of their little team could careen off into the violent electrical storm around them. Just like that. "Shepard, that might have just as easily been you flying away." He called.
She paused for a moment to glance at him. "This is the most fun I can ever remember having, don't be a killjoy Garrus!" She turned and kicked a man into the capacitor behind her. He screamed loud enough to be heard over her helmet mic, despite the howling winds, as he convulsed. It was only seconds before he dropped to the ground, a charred hard suit husk. "This is going on our fun to fight through list. 'Secret-ship-hurtling-through-constant-electrical-storm-above the most hostile-planetary-weather-I've-ever-heard-of'. I'd even put it above antique stores."
"You've gone too far now, Shepard." He retorted dryly.
"Liara, is that gizmo even working?" The Commander motioned to the door the info broker had installed a complicated crack tool on.
"I've never broken into the Shadow Brokers base before, I don't know Shepard," Liara huffed.
"I should have brought Legion," she grumbled into her open mic.
He hated to think it, but he was wearing out. Garrus cursed in his native tongue between heavy breaths as Shepard pressed her face up against the glass of the control room. They'd taken out a Spirits damned private army, and they hadn't even found the Broker yet. And the agents weren't scared of hull breeches, judging by the rockets that had been fired at their little team. Liara's capability to contain the explosions with her biotics more times than he cared to admit had saved them.
"Liara, he's here!" Shepard's hushed voice washed over them.
The awe she spoke with drove him over to the windows to join both women. Behind the glass was another Drell, about the same height as Krios but emaciated - his scales were chipped and many missing. He was strapped into a huge… contraption - obviously being used to torture him.
"Feron!" Liara gasped and went to work hacking the control room console.
"My god, he's... Iridescent." The Commander mumbled.
Garrus tapped the side of his helmet. "I think my translator just glitched."
"No, it's a description of his color. See how many colors his scales are? He's beautiful. Earth storms will create colors in the sky like that."
"Mm. When I claim my well earned shore leave, maybe I should take it on Earth." He hummed, turning his visor towards her.
"Do it. I recommend somewhere in mid-west North America, in the mountains. A cabin in the deep woods near a lake."
"I can't figure out how to disable his restraints, or cut the power to the chair he is in." Liara wailed.
Shepard pulled her face and hands from the window. "And I can't risk bringing in Mordin or Chakwas the way we just came. We've got to end this and get him the help he needs. Now. Come on." She ejected a heat sink on her shotgun and strode back out into the hall.
He'd received one of the best educations the universe afforded. And yet, here he stood, absolutely baffled.
What the fuck is this thing?
He and Shepard had fought over and through every damned monster in the galaxy, including some that had never been seen before - like a sentient ancient… tree… thing that sent acidic goo filled victims shambling after them.
And yet again, here they were facing down the unknown. The unknown was a massive… creature, with many eyes and a razor toothed tri-split maw and two large spiraled horns coming off its cranium. It was hunkered over a desk as they came into the communication hub, and even sitting, its form towered over the three teammates. Titanic muscles on its chest and arms rippled as it tensed upon seeing them. Shepard must have been equally shocked - her usual witty commentary was replaced with a quiet intake of air. It was so cold in the room his suit heater whirred on with a low hum as they faced off with the beast. Icy fog spilled from the vents. This must have been the server room for his mammoth communication network.
It spoke. "Here for the drell? Reckless. Even for you, Commander." It glanced between the three of them, its eyes blinking separately before all orbs came to rest on Shepard. It's husky, booming voice rumbled across the hub, many vocal cords in tandem.
If its size intimidated her, her speech didn't waver at all. "Ha, with how you've been watching me, I doubt you believe that. Vasir made the mistake of underestimating me."
"Vasir was expendable. All her death has cost me is time. Specters are easily swayed." His breath hung visibly in the chilled air.
"Expendable like Feron?" Liara spat.
The being dragged its gaze to the asari. "T'soni. Your interference has become annoying. Feron's betrayal was not unseen, but it did cost me a handsome prize." It's vision fixed on the Commander again. "Though, the Collectors were not the only ones willing to pay. Pax Sindoni still holds quite a grudge. Tell me Shepard, was it you that gave him that scar?"
The N7s hands tightened on her shotgun grip.
He grunted. Perhaps that was a laugh? "If he'd had more coin, I would have left your body with him to desecrate however he pleased."
She stayed surprisingly silent. The cocking of her gun was the only response.
It turned back to Liara. "Feron is paying the price for his treachery. However the Normandy's Reaper IFF will allow me access to the Collector base. I might consider his debt repaid for bringing you here."
Garrus took a step forward. "Thats a lofty threat. Hard to take our ship, kill the Collectors and run this base with no crew."
It turned its great head. "They are easily replaceable. Your arrival is barely an interruption, Archangel."
The sniper balked.
The edges of its maw twitched. A grotesque smile. "Your bounty is still unclaimed. I stand to make a lot of money today."
"Over my dead body you piece of shit." Shepard stepped between him and the beast.
It stood, dwarfing them completely. Spirits. It must have been over three meters tall. "That's been my plan for years, Commander. I know your every secret, while you fumble in the dark."
Liara raised her voice over him. "You are confident for someone with nowhere left to run. I know what you are. You're a Yahg. A pre-spaceflight species quarantined to its homeworld for massacring all three of the Council's first contact emissary teams." Its many obsidian eyes glinted in the room's darkness. "This base is older than your planet's discovery, which means you killed the original Broker sixty cycles ago and took over. I'm guessing you were taken from your world as someone's trophy. Or a pet. How am I doing?"
Something in the room changed. Perhaps the beast twitched a muscle. Garrus wasn't even sure what it was, but he grabbed Shepard's arms and threw her away from him with all the force he could muster. The smooth mirrored surface of the desk was the last thing he saw.
"Garrus!" Shepard cried.
He wasn't moving, laying face down in the wreckage of the desk the Broker had just lobbed at her. From this angle she couldn't see his head, he was sprawled with his limbs lax. Her stomach clenched. She darted towards him but a meaty fist sent her skidding across the floor as Liara shouted. Shepard tried to glimpse her sniper's face even as she jumped back up, dodging more blows from the Broker.
"You son-of-a-bitch!" She grabbed his wrist as he lunged and spun him away with her biotics. His weight was immense, the force of her momentum and powers barely threw him five feet. The Broker trained an assault rifle on her and ripped an entire clip into her shields before she took cover behind a piece of the desk. Liara bathed the creature in a blast of energy that tore the weapon out of his hand as Shepard knelt next to Garrus and pulled his suit metrics up. Alive. Thank god. He was facing away from her but pieces of his helmet were scattered around where he lay.
"Shepard! He has a personal kinetic barrier!" The asari yelled.
She poked her head up over her cover to see he had activated a shimmering field of energy around his form. Shit. A kinetic barrier was a very expensive way to play dirty. She sheathed her shotgun and placed a foot on the tipped table. One last glance at Garrus and she launched herself across the room in a blaze of blue, crashing into the Broker.
"Then we just do this the hard way Liara!" She grabbed a horn before her momentum threw her back from him and spun around his form to land two sickening cracks of her right fist into the many eyes above his mouth. The creature bellowed and grabbed the back of her armor. He launched her into the floor with such power that even with her helmet her head bounced painfully, kicking up a spattering of stars in her vision and cracking the visor. Shit.
"Shepard!" Liara darted around the Broker's form dragging his huge taloned feet out from under him. He crashed down so hard the floor shook.
He rolled to his feet quickly though and flicked his omni-tool up. It expanded into a wide orange shield. Double shit.
Shepard wobbled to standing and charged him again, but he held the omni-shield between them. She scrabbled uselessly against its smooth surface, failing to reach around it with her blade.
He charged. The shield's surface area was too big to dodge, and he crushed her against one of the pillars holding up the ceiling. Shepard choked out a pained wail as they impacted. As he hunched over her smaller form, she was able to drag in ragged breaths and reach over the shield to stab him in the bicep with her blade. Black blood ran from the wound and he wrenched away from her, covering his arm. It was just the moment of hesitation she needed. His injured arm couldn't raise the shield high enough - she was airborne over him before either of them blinked.
Liara snagged him with her biotics, rooting his feet in place as Shepard came down with a desperate cry. Two bodies crashed into each other, the force of her charge pressing him into the metal plates below, sending them cratering out around him. His knees buckled and her knife plunged into the soft folds of his neck. Shepard tore her blade back out of him, launching a spray of arterial blood into the air. The Yahg threw her off and shrieked, the noise thundering off the surrounding walls, and clamped a palm down over the wound. He pulled himself across the floor gurgling and gasping. Shepard's armor clattered as she landed and laid, heaving in ragged breaths. The Broker dragged himself upright and stood despite the blood oozing from the hand around his neck. His kinetic armor was no longer outlining his form, likely overloaded from their collision.
"Shepard!" He choked out.
"Yeah, yeah. Just fucking die already." She pushed to her feet, lingering for a moment with her hands on her knees.
Liara stood at the ready, her fists glowing with energy. For a second they all looked at one another. Shepard's gaze darted between her foe and her friend still lying on the ground. The beast staggered a step towards her, a gargling growl sounding before he ripped his hand from his wound and frenzied steps carried his massive weight straight at her. It clawed desperately at her, soaking them both in hot blood. The asari managed to snatch his sagging body from falling on top of the Commander. He laid gasping and writhing for far too long, looking at her. Many eyes burning with hatred.
Shepard plunged her blade through his massive head, finally stilling him.
"Joker?"
"Here Commander."
"Get Karin and Mordin here as fast as you can." She and Liara locked eyes as she lurched back over to Garrus's still form.
"ASAP Commander."
Shepard turned on her helmet light and knelt over him. Spidered cracks ran across his visor and a small puddle of cobalt blood dredged up crystal clear memories of Omega. She hovered hands over him, afraid to touch or move him for fear of doing him more harm.
"How are his vitals?" Liara's voice was a whisper.
The soldier nodded. "He's stable. Go see what you can do for Feron."
Something stirred. Shepard raised her head, blinking groggily. When had she fallen asleep? Garrus's vital monitor beeped in the med bay's stillness, the room lit only by night cycle floor lights. She'd been slumped forward awkwardly on the sniper's cot. The soldier rubbed two fingers into her temple, groaning under her breath. The headache was still there. She needed to remember not to get cold cocked so soon after a concussion. Chakwas and Professor Solus were both gone, but there was a ruffling of sheets.
"Commander Shepard?" a dual toned voice murmured.
She started. Not Thane, she had to remind herself, but remarkably similar. A different tone with less gravel. "Feron?"
"Goddess… it is you. Cerberus really did it."
She turned to face him. Even in the low lighting his scales glinted as his chest rose and fell.
"I can't believe it," he whispered. "You were…" He hesitated.
"Just meat the last time you saw me?"
He cringed. "Well… yes. Liara was right. Are you… a clone?"
"I don't know. I don't think so, I feel like me anyway. Mostly. I hear I have you to thank that I'm not just some mud in a test tube on the Collector homeworld though."
His eyes darted over her. "Perhaps. I might argue that was more Liara than me… but she made me a believer. The way she looked at you. Her sorrow and awe. When the moment came, I couldn't betray her and give your body to the Broker. Not if there was even a chance that you were the hero she believes you are."
A roiling wave of guilt broke over her insides, flooding every crevice. Shepard turned back to Garrus's monitor. "I don't like that word."
"Hero?"
"Please don't. I'm just a being in a big galaxy, same as anyone else." She fixed him with a weary gaze. "And heroes don't die and get resurrected as puppets for a terrorist organization, Feron."
Silence fell over them. Garrus's steady breathing calmed her emotions increment by increment in the darkness.
"You rescued me."
It seemed more of a statement than a question. She swiveled. "We both have a lot to say to Liara. If it weren't for her, I'd have left you to rot."
He bobbed his head. "We are more alike than I imagined then."
Garrus let out a long groan that cut off the drell's next sentence. "Shepard?"
She shot to her feet and pushed his keel down as he tried to sit up. "No Big Guy, stay laying down. Chakwas still has you mending a fore plate."
He hissed in pain and rolled his shoulders. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm not the person who ate a desk for dinner. Didn't you already learn that lesson?" She patted his shoulder.
Garrus chuckled weakly, back to a single tone again. "It seemed better than the recently concussed taking a blow to the head."
"There's a lot I want to say to that but all of it makes me a huge hypocrite. So I'll just say thank you and try to stick within range of the Mantis. So you don't need to prove your point anymore. I get it." She sighed and sat down in her chair.
"Oh? Really? Pinky swear?" He held up a finger.
"Who the hell taught you that?" She pushed his hand away.
"Alenko." His mandible pulled back. "Well, Alenko and Joker."
"You should know better than to repeat anything that comes out of Joker's mouth." She gave him an admonishing look. "You don't even have a pinky."
"Oh, my head, please I really don't want to keep suffering objects to the plates to keep your habits in check." He moaned mockingly.
"Jesus Christ give me your damn hand."
His smile was wide as they clasped fingers. The med bay door cycled open, admitting a tired looking Liara into their presence.
"Feron, you're awake!" She walked to his bed and tapped through the vitals monitor.
"I'm alright Liara."
She gave him a skeptical eye and pulled a chair up next to his cot. An awkward silence descended the room as Liara and Feron did a bang-up job not wanting to look at each other in the low light.
Damn. Shepard could flee but Garrus would be trapped in whatever clumsy lovey-dovey reunion seemed likely to happen here.
She opted for distraction. "Did you get everything settled over at the station?"
Liara sighed. "Yes. The channels were alive with operatives, and I wasn't sure where to start. There was no encryption, no biometrics installed. I don't believe the Broker ever thought someone would get as far as we did."
Feron inhaled loudly. "You killed him… you actually did it."
Shepard grinned. "Sure as hell did. Beat him in bare fisticuffs. Well, then he pulled out a shield - so I opted for blade." She yanked her thumb across her neck.
Garrus groaned. "Please do not tell me you went head to head in melee with a three meter tall muscled beast."
"I did and I won. Liara helped! Besides what else are you supposed to do when someone has a personal kinetic shield?"
"I don't know, turn and run maybe?"
"With you laying on the ground?" She scowled at him.
Garrus sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing fingertips across his fore plates.
Shepard turned back to Liara. "So if he didn't have any security… what does that mean? Am I looking at the new Shadow Broker?"
The asari tipped her head down to regard her hands. "I… maybe so. I need time to figure out how many things he had his tentacles in but I sent out a message to all agents that there was a power outage while installing a hardware upgrade. And everyone who ever saw him, is now dead. I think it will work."
Feron blinked large obsidian eyes at her. "Liara, are you okay with that?"
She hesitated a moment but met his gaze. "Yes. A part of me wants this. The Broker's resources and network are far too valuable to just discard. I'll be more helpful in what's coming than I'd ever be on my own." She looked to Shepard. "I've already found some files you need to see."
The Commander inclined her chin. "Send me anything even pertinent. We can't linger here long though, We've got to get Tali back through The Veil."
"What?" Garrus intoned..
"The Admiralty Board has accused her of treason. That's why I need you well rested. So you can come yell at them with me." Her lips pulled up as she spoke.
His eyes darted to hers. There was a lot said in those azure depths before he glanced at the other two in the room. Like, 'Get me out of this awkward situation.' "Gladly. But first, help me up. I need something to eat."
"Chakwas is gonna kick my ass." She sighed as he swung his long legs over the edge of the bed and slid a wobbly arm across her shoulders. "Want me to get Gardner?"
"Spirits no. I need actual good food to mend a plate." He rumbled as they both stood and shuffled for the door.
