W.i.t.G
The votes have been tallied!
Thank you to those of you who voted. I say it a heck of a lot, but it was very much appreciated.
Hopefully now, I can live up to your expectations and deliver a good chapter.
After all, having more than 2 months away from writing isn't exactly great. Especially after I said I was going to update before the end of June.
Well, if it's any consolation, I'm here now. A day late and a dollar short as the saying goes, but at least I'm here.
I'd like to just mention, and subsequently extend my congratulations to Craig Mills, a dedicated and longtime fan of this story.
You see, Craig has recently become a father to a little girl by the name of Amelia.
Therefore! I would like to dedicate this chapter to Amelia, and her introduction into the world.
Congrats mate! Whenever little Amelia gets restless, as she will, just read her this chapter.
Obviously not the action parts though. I think she needs to be a bit older for that.
Anyway! Let's get going!
It's good to be back...
Chaos.
The decks of the Normandy were overrun with different service personnel rushing to their stations. Some navigators and their assistants rushed to their safety harnesses; other non-combat staff took up positions of defense behind their workstations, whereas a large group of marines made their way to the airlock, led by Gunny Williams and Wrex.
It was ordered in some respects; but in others, it was a mess.
The only element of certainty that the crew could rely on was the instructions and orders being relayed by Joker. But even then, only some of the crew took heed to his instructions.
Without the commander their to instruct his subordinates on what he wanted exactly, the crew was running somewhat amok. Some followed protocol by getting out of the way, whilst others took it upon themselves to do what they thought Shepard would want.
After all, this was the Normandy's first ship-to-ship boarding mission.
Boarding parties didn't usually walk away unscathed from their missions, and so, everyone was preparing their own individual ways for the inevitable.
The Normandy was already on high-alert, but Shepard had clearly stated to the ground team, and the senior members of staff that the crew should not be allowed to panic. Everyone knew what they were there to do, but in Shepard's words, they were merely 'cleaning house'.
In other words, the whole team wasn't needed for this mission.
Some of the ground team however, were itching to get back out into the field. They wouldn't dare disagree with their superior, but some thought that Shepard's plan could be tweaked and improved.
Ashley and Wrex, in a somewhat strange and reluctant alliance with each other, had agreed that the best course of action was to go in strong; a large party of marines would board and storm the ship, before taking Saleon prisoner; thus reducing the likely chances of injury or death.
As a superior to most, and an equal to the rest of the marines on board, the Gunny ordered for a fifteen man team to stand by at the airlock, whilst Wrex would lead the way when the time came.
Some of the marines questioned whether these orders had come from the commander, but when the Chief explained her reasoning, these doubts were put aside: due to the unknown nature of Saleon's tactics, and how they could have evolved, as well as a lack of current intel on his strengths and weaknesses, it would have been suicidal for a small team to go in alone.
It was one thing to seek revenge, but it was another to blindly leap into what most would consider an obvious trap.
As the marines took up position by the cockpit, Ashley stood by Joker's side, watching as the Normandy approached its target.
With a bump and jostle within the elevator, the commander was brought back to his senses.
His eyes began to re-adjust to the emergency lighting within the confined space; sickly rays of orange light surrounding every inch of his vision.
A sharp intake of breath afterwards merely indicated the man's anger. Rolling his shoulders with the motion, Shepard merely grunted in frustration.
The elevator was somehow finding new ways to piss him off.
After the alert had gone out for the crew to be on standby, the commander had ordered Kaidan to ensure that the crew would remain calm and focused on their tasks at hand. He wasn't expecting for any chaos to ensue; the crew had been handpicked by Alliance high command.
They were professionals.
'But even professionals can lose their nerves.'
The commander would journey to the cockpit as soon as he had equipped himself with the necessary equipment for the mission, joining Garrus for their eventual departure.
Shepard had hoped that he would have met with Garrus by now, and that they would be on board the Fedele already.
That hope had dissolved into frustration ten minutes ago.
'How long does it honestly take to go in one fucking direction?!'
Finally, the commander's anger boiled over.
He was short tempered at the best of times, but a situation that most would consider unfortunate yet necessary, caused a wild reaction.
With a sudden burst of fury, Shepard began pummeling the wall next to him; his fists unrelenting in their attack.
The spectacle only lasted for a few mere seconds, but by the time he had finished, there were multiple fist-sized craters embedded into the metal walls.
It was a good thing the commander was fully suited; without his gauntlets being there to protect his fists, he would have had no choice but to excuse himself from the mission, and let Chakwas bandage him up.
Split knuckles wouldn't help anybody.
After another thirty seconds of eery silence within the poorly lit elevator, a sudden beep from the console next to Shepard allowed an immense sense of relief to wash over him.
He'd finally reached his destination.
'Thank fuck for that...'
With a groan, the elevator doors began to shakily open, allowing a torrent of light to enter slowly.
All of a sudden, a repetitive, monotonous and blaring sound reached Shepard's ears, grating him to the core. His brief attack of the wall had helped relieve some of his rage, but the ship's VI was not helping to improve his explosive mood:
"Attention all hands, prepare for combat relay jump exit. This is not a drill. Please report to senior members of staff for allocation and placement. This is not a drill-"
'I'm losing the fucking will to live here! What the hell is going on?!'
Without waiting for the doors to open fully, the commander squeezed through what gap there was, before marching towards the closest set of stairs.
The only thought that ran through Shepard's mind, as he took two steps at a time, was the hope that Garrus was ready and waiting for him in the cockpit, and the crew were ready for the mission to commence.
He wanted this over and done with quickly.
After all, he wanted to talk some more with Tali.
Lately, he never felt right if he didn't spend a certain amount of time with her. He'd spent plenty with her already; more time than any other member of the ground team, but to Chris, that wasn't enough.
It would never be enough.
His hopes of finding an organised crew waiting for him, quickly dissolved into disbelief.
In the commander's fugue and rage-addled mind, the scene before him only served to antagonise the bad mood he was already in.
Without venturing too far onto the deck, the commander quickly took stock of what was happening:
He instinctively noticed that the VI continued to drone on, and yet none of the crew members paid any attention to it. Instead, most of them were focused on the 'main event' outside the cockpit.
Shepard immediately began to visually locate the key members of the crew:
Joker was turned around in his chair, facing out into space; whatever was happening behind him obviously did not interest him enough to distract him from his tasks.
Liara was stood off to the side, merely watching with what could only be described as childlike curiosity as the scene unfolded before her.
Doctor Chakwas was stood next to Liara, her face neutral as she watched on.
Tali was stood next to a pacing Garrus, seemingly trying to get him to calm down with a few reassuring pats on his shoulder. A technique that she had more than likely adopted from Chris and his treatment of her in times of stress.
After highlighting the ground team members who were on the sidelines, Shepard began to view the 'main event':
To the commander's eyes, it appeared that Gunny Williams and Wrex were quietly arguing with Kaidan and Navigator Pressly just outside the boundaries of the cockpit.
They were in a combat situation, one in which he had specifically stated that the crew not be panicked or distracted from their roles, and here his crew were; arguing and bickering like school children.
With his final glances revealing nothing new, Shepard began to plan how he would handle this situation.
That is, until his feet began to move forward on their own.
As the commander began to make his approach, crew members off to the sides were the first to notice. Whispers and nudges were passed along as Shepard made his way to the cockpit; some crew members remarked how angry the commander looked, whereas others merely looked the other way.
Although Shepard was close enough to the verbal sparring match, none of the ground team members seemed to have noticed.
That is, until the VI ceased its droning and recognised Shepard's authority on the bridge:
"Commander Shepard has the helm. XO Pressly stands relieved."
In one synchronous movement, all eyes turned to face Shepard.
Silence washed over the bridge
Shepard rolled his shoulders a final time, before clearing his throat:
"Would anyone care to tell me what's going on?"
Again, silence reigned upon the crew.
As the commander looked upon his subordinates, his hawk like eyes unnerving them all, he began to walk forward once more:
"What? Everyone's suddenly quiet now that the CO's back?"
A few muffled coughs could be heard, as well as the hum of the Normandy's engines, but nobody replied.
Once Shepard was stood in between the two opposing groups next to the cockpit, he quietly uttered his final question, hidden rage lacing every word:
"Is someone going to answer me?"
All of a sudden, voices broke out everywhere with people giving their explanations of what they'd seen and what was happening.
As everyone's voices began to merge together, the commander merely raised a hand in the air. After seeing this sign, every crew member immediately stopped talking, whether they were in the middle of a sentence or just beginning one.
Without uttering any words of his own, Shepard indicated towards Ashley to speak.
With a slight nod of his head, Ashley stood up straighter and spoke, "Skipper?"
"To start with," the commander pointed at the group of marines next to the cockpit door, "what are they doing up here on the bridge?"
"They're a boarding party." Ashley answered simply.
"A boarding party for what?"
"For the mission."
The commander didn't reply immediately; rather, he continued to stare down the Chief.
After a brief pause, Shepard began to speak again; but the next sentence out of his mouth surprised the Chief greatly:
"Do you know how to take orders Gunnery Chief Williams?"
Ashley didn't hesitate in her response, "Sir, yes sir!"
Shepard's rage was beginning to dissipate at this point, but even then rage was being replaced with genuine confusion, "So why then, is there a boarding party standing near my cockpit? I thought my orders were simple enough: this is a two-man mission, meaning that a boarding party will not be required. What am I supposed to think when my crew is in shambles and my ground team can't follow simple orders?"
Ashley instinctively interjected, "I hoped you would ask that question sir. I decided to use my own initiative Commander; to guarantee the success of this mission, as well as the safety of our crew, I personally thought that it would be prudent to utilise the resources we have at our disposal. A large number of the marines aboard agreed with this sentiment, and wished to personally assist you. We're not trying to undermine your authority sir; if anything, we're supporting your decisions and methods of practice. One element of combat that I've learnt from fighting alongside you Skipper is that we should never underestimate our enemies; if anything we should overestimate their abilities. In this respect, if we board with a strong party, we can be ready for anything that's thrown at us."
And with that final statement, Ashley stood back from her CO before moving to stand next to Wrex and the marine boarding party.
It was then, that Wrex decided to speak, "She's right Shepard. We just wanted to try and help. I'm not saying that your plan was bad, but the female and I collectively agreed that we could improve it in certain areas. Not to mention the fact that our target's a Salarian; those pyjak fucks always have a backup plan. That's just how they've evolved; always think twenty steps ahead of your enemy. I should know, I've killed my fair share of them."
Silence reigned
Simply put, Chris was taken aback.
Turning to face his combat XO, Shepard couldn't help the puzzled expression that was apparent on his face, "Kaidan, did you know about this?"
With a slight chuckle, the Lieutenant replied, "I had no idea this was going to happen Shepard. I know the marine detachment is my responsibility, but I didn't see this coming."
Chris nodded his head slightly in recognition of this statement, before turning to face the rest of the crew as a whole, "Did anyone else know this was happening?"
One by one, the members of the crew all shook their heads.
A thousand feelings and thoughts rushed through the commander's head at that moment in time, with only one thought and only one feeling remaining:
Ashley's intentions and beliefs were genuine. She was just trying to help.
There was no need for punishment.
Without letting anybody know his thoughts, Shepard turned about face to look upon his shambling crew.
No one made a move to return to their stations. They were waiting to see what punishment would be given to the rebellious Gunny. Like ravenous wolves, baying for blood.
As curious eyes watched his every move, the commander decided he'd had enough. The Chief wouldn't be punished, but his crew wouldn't run amok any more.
Clearing his throat, Shepard barked out his orders, "Well? Haven't you all got something better to do? Like prepare for a ship boarding?! Move it! Get to your stations! Anyone not following protocol will find themselves in the brig with Wrex as their guard! No more slacking off!"
As soon as the orders had been bellowed, the crew moved as one. Every member of the crew soon found themselves in their allotted placements; ready and waiting for the boarding to commence.
As Shepard watched his crew dissipate, and follow his orders, his anger began to slowly dissolve away even further.
Although this had been a slight hiccup in the plan, it had been easily corrected. He was in control.
And that's just how he liked it.
Turning with the motion, Chris made his way towards Joker, beckoning for his squad and Pressly to follow.
The commander didn't stop to ask his questions. It was a case of keep up and listen to orders:
The Gunny was up first.
"I understand what your intentions were Gunny, and I appreciate that you're just trying to help. But in the future, listen to my orders and exact them to the letter. I give them in a certain way for a specific reason. I've got experience when it comes to combat, and I know how I want things run. If I want advice, I'll come and find you. Got it?
As the group trailed behind, Ashley merely nodded her head and replied, "Aye aye Skipper."
"Good."
Once they had all neared the threshold to the inner cockpit, Shepard abruptly stopped and turned to face his subordinates, his eyes narrowing on the Lieutenant:
"I'm not gonna lie Kaidan," Chris began to scratch his head nonchalantly, "I'm shocked that you didn't know that this was going to happen."
"I know I messed up Shepard," Kaidan's eyes lowered to the floor as his face became flush with embarrassment, "I-I'm sorry."
Shepard was silent for a few seconds, as his mind processed the genuine sight before him.
"Apology accepted LT. Just make sure this doesn't happen again."
Kaidan's gaze rose from the floor, with his body beginning to relax. He'd just, narrowly, avoided the brig and the commanders ire. Things could have been worse...
Chris wasn't finished however:
"I also want two things to happen, effective immediately. Firstly, I want these goddamn marines off of my bridge, and away from my airlock. Garrus and I are going to board the Fedele, alone. If I want backup, I'll signal for it. Till then, I want the marines below deck and resting."
"And secondly," Chris looked towards Ashley, preventing her from stating her impending argument to the first order, before continuing, "I want the Gunny declared as XO for the marine detachment. After this little performance, I think you've earnt the right to move up Chief. Now you answer to the LT directly when it comes to marine related matters. You'll still keep your duties in the armory, but now you've got the added responsibilities that come with the position. Congratulations."
Before anyone could argue, Shepard merely nodded towards Kaidan, "Get it squared LT. Let the Alliance know. It's not a promotion in official rank, but while she's aboard, she's XO of the marine detachment with you being CO. I'll still remain CO of combat operations, but I think it's best if I relinquish a bit of the responsibility."
The Lieutenant's answer was quick and succinct, "Aye aye Commander."
Ashley stood still for a moment, her mind reeling from the implications. She hadn't been disciplined or thrown off the ship for what most would describe as insubordination; she'd been given a promotion.
Any arguments left in the Chief's mind were left behind as her heart swelled with happiness and pride.
"Thank you sir! I won't let you down!" Ashley chirped.
"I hope you don't. Now, get these marines out of here and explain the situation. Take Wrex with you as well. Keep him company." Chris replied, before winking at Wrex.
Ashley suddenly turned to face the marines near the airlock, with Wrex grumbling in near silent protest.
As Chris watched on in amusement, he couldn't help but feel his anger be replaced with a feeling of contentment; he'd just improved someone's life at least.
The new XO of the Normandy marine detachment began bellowing orders to the bewildered marines, eventually getting them to move back to their bunks; with Ashley and Wrex following close behind.
After that display, Kaidan and Pressly were the next members of the crew to be dismissed; Kaidan had paperwork to sort out as well as keeping an eye on the freshly inspired Chief, and Navigator Pressly had the non-combat staff to monitor as well as keeping the rest of the crew in line.
The crew weren't inexperienced, but no one could know how the Normandy would function during this specific scenario.
The only members left remaining near the commander were Liara, Chakwas, Garrus and Tali.
Shepard already had a specific task in mind that Liara could assist the good Doctor with, but the only member of the squad that had no allocation was Tali.
That would soon rectify itself, however.
"Liara do you have any medical training, or experience with injured military personnel?" Shepard asked, his features expressing genuine curiosity.
Liara meekly nodded, "I have some knowledge of Asari, Salarian and Turian anatomy, and general first aid, but nothing to specific."
"Excellent!" Chris exclaimed, a large grin splitting his lips, "Could you help Dr Chakwas prepare the med bay? Please?"
Liara couldn't help but blush and smile at Shepard's words, "Of course, Shepard."
And with a final nod of confirmation, Chakwas began escorting Liara down to the med bay, the two discussing the procedures that they'd need to begin with, and the knowledge that they'd need to share.
At this point in time, Tali hadn't said a single word.
Until now.
"Chris?"
Shepard instantly recognised the synthesised tinge to the voice. With another smile, the commander turned to face the Quarian princess:
"Yes Tal?"
"What would you like me to help with? I-I mean, you've given everybody else a role but me. I don't mean any disrespect or rebellion to your authority, I would just like to help is all."
The commander pondered for a moment, before a proverbial lightbulb idea struck him:
"Can you access my suits systems Tali? You know, like heart rate, and my helmet cam?"
Tali was taken aback at first, "Why? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. I'm just wondering if you can or not."
Tali was silent for a moment; an internal struggle was preventing her from answering immediately. She'd been able to access his suits systems since she'd come aboard, and at certain times on previous missions, she had checked to make sure he wasn't putting himself under too much stress.
Now, her secret route into his armor's systems would become known.
"Yes. I can access them if I wanted to."
Chris nodded his head, the answer already known to him.
With a smile, Chris began to explain his reasoning, "If you access my helmet cam Tal, while Garrus and I are aboard the Fedele, then that way you can do me a favour and relay my vitals back to Chakwas. She's been nagging me recently about putting too much stress on my leg, so maybe you can just show her that she doesn't need to worry as much. And maybe you can even learn a thing or two from my close quarters fighting. I did say I would teach you, so consider this our first lesson. Sound good?"
"That sounds good to me Chris." Tali chirped, an unconscious smile blossoming from underneath her helmet.
Chris didn't reply with any words; a simple nod being his only acknowledgement.
After this, the commander excused himself for a few moments, having moved towards Joker.
As Tali stood there, with her omni-tool activated and the links to Chris' armor came online, she couldn't help but feel like she had found a new purpose.
Garrus however, was getting tired of all the waiting. Instead of idling around any longer, Garrus made his way to the airlock doors, ready and waiting for Shepard.
The commander spent only a few minutes with Joker, before exiting the cockpit.
Tali looked up from some other work she had begun on her omni-tool, before noticing the expression on Chris' face.
Without any words being exchanged, Chris stood next to Tali before exhaling a large breath.
Now Tali was worried.
"What's wrong Chris?"
With a sigh, Shepard replied, "Joker's just informed me that Garrus and I only have one entry and exit point. I was hoping that we could board close to the cockpit and grab Saleon before he could run. Now, it looks like we're boarding near the back of the Fedele, and that we're going to have to work our way to him. The bastard's destroyed the inner mechanisms for the airlocks. On top of that, thermal readings indicate that there's at least twenty other lifeforms aboard the ship. Basically, this isn't going to be as easy as I thought."
Tali was stunned.
The two stood in silence for a moment, before Tali spoke up, "Should I go and get the Lieutenant? We can bring Wrex and the marines back up here, and then it won't be as dangerous."
Chris chuckled darkly, his left hand resting gently on Tali's shoulder, "There's no point Tal. The corridors are going to be too cramped for a squad of marines to move forward safely. It'd be a killbox. No... Garrus and I are still going to go aboard. It'll be better that way."
"You don't sound so sure..."
"I'm not." Chris muttered darkly, "But then again, most of my previous missions somehow became fucked. I think that I'm starting to get used to suicidal missions. Obviously, this one's no different."
Tali merely nodded her head, before Chris released his grip on Tali's shoulder. Her shoulder felt freezing as soon as Chris' hand had been lifted; his warmth had physically left her body.
The commander stood straighter for a final time, before giving Tali a small wink, "Same shit, different day. We'll be fine Tal, don't worry."
Boots clacked against the metal grating of the Normandy's airlock, and the hissing of air could be heard to those nearest. Garrus and Chris had donned their helmets, ready to board the Fedele.
Garrus was positioned behind Shepard, his assault rifle equipped. His left hand held onto a gap in the commander's armor; a position used for breaching. Chris was crouched below, with his shotgun resting in his hands.
Tali couldn't help but worry and panic.
She immediately re-routed what secondary power she had to reinforce her omni-tool. The more power she had, the more coverage she had over her Nehya and Garrus.
As Chris turned around one final time, his last words struck Tali the hardest:
"Wish your warrior luck Tal!"
As the airlock door closed, shutting the duo out, Tali couldn't help but whisper her reply.
"Good luck Nehya..."
"Room clear!" Garrus bellowed; his eagle-like eyes were unrelenting in their scanning of the initial room they'd entered. The Turian's movements were precise, and compact, leaving little room for error in precise acquisition of a sudden target.
Garrus' movements were simply textbook.
He definitely had a skill set that worked well with the commander's usual unconventional tactics of enemy engagement.
Apparently, the Alliance didn't accept 'running and gunning' as a satisfactory element of warfare when it came to ship boarding exercises.
But then again, Shepard didn't give a damn what they thought about his methods. As long as the job was done, who were they to criticise?
The room that the duo currently occupied was neither large nor small. It was of standard size with the usual fittings in place; the walls were a crisp white, with only one door leading in, and one door leading out.
'At least the lights are working. That's a good sign, I guess.'
The commander continued to keep his shotgun held aloft as he journeyed further into the depths of the room.
There were no points, or items of interest to delay their advance. After all, it was only an entrance into the ship.
When it was time to move onwards, the pair stacked up on both sides of the next door.
The two did not share any words; looks and hand signals were far more effective.
After the universal count of three, Garrus engaged the door lock, before wheeling around his corner of the door; his assault rifle aiming high.
Similarly, the commander wheeled around his corner of the door, but his final position ended in a crouch, with his shotgun aiming low.
"Clear!" The pair shouted simultaneously.
Once the entrance had been made, Garrus and Shepard hugged the walls closest to them as tightly as possible.
With no enemies present for the moment, the two relaxed slightly in their stances.
The first thing that the commander noticed, in his observations, was the lack of decent lighting in the hallway.
That, and the different coloured blood stains trailing down the once sleek and crisp white walls.
"Messy. Looks like someone didn't want to be harvested..." Garrus mused, his armored talons lightly scraping a sapphire blood trail.
"Eyes open Garrus," Chris barked, his body tensing at the sight of the different colours of dried blood, "I need your attention and focus on the task at hand, not at the colours on the wall."
"Aye aye boss." Garrus grunted, as his hand gently left its place on the wall.
Chris moved towards a console before he began to search the Fedele's systems.
It wasn't long before a virtual map was engaged. After a few moments of quick strategic pondering, Shepard called Garrus to him. Once there, the commander began his explanation:
"This is how we're going to do it: Saleon's near the cockpit, at the front of the ship. We're at the back. So, we've got to work our way to him. There are two doors here; one to the left and one to the right, with both of them leading in different directions. This map isn't showing which route leads to Saleon, or which is the fastest, or the safest, so we're left with no choice. Now, I wouldn't usually recommend we split up, but we've got some ground to cover. I want us to be in constant radio contact as we move up. I'm going to head left, and you head right. If the thermal scans are correct, then we're not going to be alone. From here on out, anything we meet is to be considered hostile. I'm giving the order to shoot on sight. I'm not taking any risks with this one; if you think you're in danger, then kill whatever it is. I'll meet up with you when we get close to Saleon, and then we can end this."
Garrus merely nodded his head in acknowledgement, before Shepard continued:
"Now, as we're working our way to Saleon I need you to plant some explosives on your route," At the mentioning of 'explosives', Garrus' eyes widened, but Chris quickly explained his reasoning, "We're going to blow this ship to kingdom come. Get rid of any trace of Saleon's filth, and be done with him. A well placed set of explosive charges always work. And I speak from past experience."
Garrus couldn't help the small chuckle that emanated from his mouth, as Chris grinned wickedly. They both knew that the mission was extremely dangerous, but a little bit of humour never hurt to lighten the deathly mood.
As soon as Shepard had finished, four small black discs were suddenly pulled out of a pocket in the commander's armor. Garrus took the explosives lightly, before storing them in his own ammunitions pocket.
"I had to go and fetch these from the armory before we could go. That's why I was late."
Garrus didn't reply immediately, but after a moment he couldn't help himself, "How are we going to detonate them?"
Shepard couldn't help the grin on his face as he brandished a small black box from another pocket, "With this! A remote detonator. As soon as we're done, and we're safely aboard the Normandy, I'll detonate the explosives. I'll leave there placement up to you, so make sure you pick the right spots."
Garrus nodded his head a final time, before he rested his assault rifle in his arms.
Chris chuckled darkly, before he rapped one of his fists against Garrus' helmet.
The Turian was shocked at first, but his response was cut short when the commander cut across him, "Let's get it done Garrus! I'm sure you want to get back to working on the Mako, so let's hurry this up!"
And with that, the human commander left him standing in the dark, dank and deathly hallway as he entered the left door.
Garrus chuckled a final time, before he rested his rifle in the crook of his shoulder and entered through the right door.
"You found anything yet, Garrus?"
"Negative. Have you?"
"Nah. I haven't found shit. Only a couple of death rooms full of rotting corpses. You'd think Saleon would at least have the decency to clean the place up a little..."
"If only boss, if only."
With that final sentence, their brief conversation ended.
It had been like that for the past five minutes; Shepard would ask the same question, and Garrus would give the same answer.
The Turian C-Sec officer had come across a couple of the 'death rooms' as well, but there wasn't much in the way of major intel to report.
That is, until a sudden burst of noise across the comms caused Garrus to stop in his tracks.
As the dextro equivalent of adrenaline began to surge through the Turian's bloodstream, and Garrus' heart rate increased, he couldn't help but grip the handle of his rifle a bit harder.
The smell of death was becoming stronger; deathly moans could be faintly heard.
"Boss? Boss are you there?" Garrus inquired, his mind reeling at the implications of radio silence.
A minute passed by, with static still ringing in his ears.
"Spirits, help me! Shepard, are you there?!"
A faint crackle could be heard, before the human's voice boomed in his ears, "CONTACT! FUCKING CONTACT!" Three bursts of shotgun fire could then be heard, with the sound of blood splattering following afterwards.
Then, followed silence.
Garrus suddenly adopted a crouched position, his rifle scanning the narrow hallway that he was currently in.
All of a sudden, a loud beeping resonated from the Turian's omni-tool. Confusion roamed wildly through Garrus' mind, as he deftly checked his notifications.
The source of the rapid beeping was suddenly known, with its meaning sending chills down Garrus' spine:
All the notification said, was:
LOOK UP.
Slowly, and nervously, Garrus peered his rifle upwards.
"Oh Spirits..."
The sight that met him knocked the remaining breath out of his lungs:
Above him, hanging from what appeared to be an extra appendage, was what could only be described as being the remains of a fellow Turian.
Blue blood dripped from the ends of the disfigured mandibles, and the deathly sounds heard earlier had now been given a body; Garrus' sub-harmonics began to trill, as his eyes widened.
It wasn't just a Turian above him.
It was a combination of sorts.
A makeshift monster; like the ones from the stories he had been told during his childhood.
On closer inspection, although a majority of the head was Turian, there were other features that caused Garrus' stomach to twist into a tight knot, sickening him to the core.
A horn was placed off to the side; a few pieces of black thread were hanging away, causing the horn to have slipped. The eyes of the creature were a striking blue; Asari in nature. The rest of the head had a pink tinge to it; like that of human skin... The torso of the beast was easily recognisable, but the legs were mismatched. The final appendage; the one keeping the monster secured to the roof of the hallway, was scaled and muscular. An arm was positioned in the small of the beast's back.
It was a monstrosity. Pure and simple.
Garrus could recognise where all of the features had come from: Krogan, Turian, Human, Salarian and Asari.
Without hesitating any further, Garrus scrambled from his crouched position, before retreating backwards.
The monster crashed down to the floor below, its features sagging as if it were in constant pain.
Before it could even so much as look upwards, Garrus shoved the barrel of his rifle to the creature's head, and fired.
Brain matter splattered against the walls; a thick grey sludge shot outwards, coating Garrus' armor.
The monster slumped forwards, it's shattered skull resting on Garrus' boot.
It took Garrus a few moments to compose himself, and bring his breathing back to a relatively normal rate. Once done, he activated his comms, hoping to contact Shepard:
"Boss... Tell me you're there. Shepard, please respond..."
Silence reigned for a minute, before a small crackle of contact could be heard.
"I'm here Garrus."
"Oh thank the Spirits!" Garrus said, exasperated; his hands resting on the wall closest to him.
A weak chuckle could be heard from Shepard's end, before the human spoke, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah... I am now. Had a bit of trouble, but I've sorted it. How are you?"
"I'm alright, I guess. I got ambushed by three of Frankenstein's fucking monsters, but apart from that I'm fine."
"You fought them as well? The one's that can climb on the walls?"
"Yeah... One pounced on me when I wasn't looking, but I quickly knocked it off. Then its friends decided to join in... It's safe to say, they're dead. Close range shotgun blasts are pretty evil if you're on the receiving end after all."
Now it was Garrus' turn to weakly chuckle.
After narrowly avoiding death, they still found the time to laugh.
Stepping over the creature's body, Garrus began to shakily continue on his path.
"Who's Frankenstein by the way?" Garrus inquired, his eyes constantly scanning in the dim light before him.
"He was a character in an old book on Earth. He constructed a creature out of dead body parts, and gave it life. A mad scientist."
"Fitting for Saleon then..."
"I guess so."
The two were silent for a moment, before Chris continued, "I didn't get to say thanks by the way. That message may have been a bit late, but I appreciate the effort of letting me know. How you could know though, is a bit strange, but I'm not complaining."
Garrus stopped dead in his tracks.
"What message?"
Chris chuckled once more, before he replied, "You know, the message telling me to 'look up'. You were a bit late, but hey? At least you tried."
Garrus' heart rate increased once more, with his breathing becoming heavier.
When their was no response, Chris posed the question, "What's the matter Garrus? Not used to taking thanks?"
"I didn't send that message." Garrus answered quietly, his rifle now scanning every element of the hallway he was in.
Chris' reply was jovial to begin with, "Of course you did! Just take the thanks Garrus."
"No, seriously Shepard. I didn't send that message. I got one too."
"What?" Chris' voice took on a tone of panic, as Garrus' eyes focused on a small, blinking device in the small crevices of one of the walls.
"So... If you didn't send me that message, then who did?" Chris asked, as Garrus placed his rifle gently on the ground.
Garrus didn't reply immediately at first, merely listening to the sounds of Shepard's footsteps clanking against the metal of the Fedele's floor.
"I know who sent those messages," Garrus muttered darkly, as his deft fingers removed the small blinking device, "We're being watched, Boss. He's got eyes on us."
The commander was relatively silent for a moment, with the only sounds being that of human curse words.
"Okay. Don't hesitate at all, Garrus. This has turned from being a mission of revenge to that of survival. Whoever reaches Saleon first, puts him down. No questions about it. That sick fuck's playing games with us, setting his sick creations on us so whoever has eyes on, takes the shot."
Garrus was about to argue that he was the only one to kill Saleon, when a deathly screech could be heard suddenly in the background.
With rapid speed, the C-Sec officer crushed the small device in the palm of his hand, before grasping the handle of his rifle once more.
The sounds of pounding footsteps could be heard in the distance; the sounds of bone scraping against metal rattled in Garrus' helmet.
Quickly raising his omni-tool, Garrus enabled a flashlight modification on his rifle, as well as an advanced thermal scanning system, his eyes not ceasing in trying to locate his targets.
Suddenly, the commander broke over the comms again, "I've got contact again Garrus! A whole fuckload of them are coming towards me!"
"I've got contacts advancing towards me as well!" Garrus couldn't help the panicked tone that laced his reply.
"Get out of there Vakarian! Don't be a hero! Retreat! Find somewhere to hide! Ash and the marines have been called for; reinforcements are on the way! I can hold out, but just get to safety!" Chris barked; the sounds of gunfire could be heard ringing loudly in Shepard's background, along with a resounding blast that could only have come from one the commander's many grenades.
His heart told him to stay and fight, but his mind agreed with the advice from his commander.
Turning around, Garrus began to sprint back the way he had come, leaping deftly over the corpse of his ambushing attacker, his pace only increasing as he continued to run for his life.
A few doors suddenly became visible, and without any hesitation, Garrus dived into the closest one near him.
The sounds of pattering feet were becoming ever closer, and the screams of pained and tortured abominations were getting louder.
Garrus laid prone on the floor he had dived in, his body refusing to move or create any sound; his focus and attention solely resting on his sense of sound.
It was only after a short amount of time, that Garrus recognised where he was.
He was in one of the 'death rooms'.
The stench of death invaded his system, and his stomach couldn't help but clench in terror; his mind was desperately fighting the urge to retch and generate sound.
As Garrus opened his eyes slowly, the sight before him nearly brought him to the peak of despair.
Two small, azure eyes stared out from underneath the mounds of heaped corpses in the room. Slowly, but surely, a small five-fingered, blue hand reached out towards Garrus.
The eyes begged for help.
Another set of eyes slowly opened, from a different corner of the room. Sharp emerald eyes cried out for help and attention, and once again, a small five-fingered pink hand reached out towards Garrus.
As the C-Sec officer realised what was happening, his heart became stuck in his throat.
Suddenly, Garrus began to scan the corpses, trying to find a pattern.
They were all female.
Garrus slowly sat up, and began to move some of the bodies from the tops of the piles. His desire to remain silent having been abandoned quickly. The Turian was as gentle as possible when moving the bodies, and sure enough he found a heartbreaking sight.
A small Asari child was lying down, huddled next to the corpse of another Asari. The older Asari's hand was nestled under the child's chin, and the way that the body was situated next to the little girl told Garrus everything he needed to know.
Saleon had somehow acquired new subjects.
His experiments had now evolved to include women and children.
Garrus felt hollow at the sight before him. The child had survived this whole time by hiding under the body of her dead mother.
Time seemed to slow down for the C-Sec officer as he began to free the children hiding underneath the corpse mounds. After a span of a few minutes, Garrus had freed six children of different species. Three Asari, two Human and one Turian.
Suddenly, Garrus was brought back to his nightmarish reality.
The monsters were still at the door.
A dull pounding could be heard on the metal plating near the room he was in.
This was it.
A final stand.
Garrus positioned the children behind him, with some of them crying for their mothers whereas others merely shut their eyes.
Waiting for the inevitable.
Garrus braced his rifle in his arms, and aimed straight for the door.
These children would not die alone.
That much was certain.
With a few more thuds resonating on the metal, Garrus tensed his arms. He was poised.
He was ready.
All of a sudden, the door began to slowly open.
Garrus' finger began to edge ever closer to his rifle's trigger...
A gruff voice however, stopped Garrus in his tracks, "Turian! You in there?!"
"W-Wrex?" Garrus mumbled, disbelief flooding his system. He was ready to die, to protect the children.
And yet the Spirits spared him.
"Yeah. I'm here." Suddenly, Wrex's scarred and battered face appeared in the doorway, grey sludge coating his features.
"I never thought I'd be so relieved to see a Krogan, Wrex." Garrus exclaimed, as he began to stand up.
"Don't go soft on me pyjak. Now get out of there! Shepard's still moving towards Saleon, and he needs help. The crazy human didn't need to hide... Unlike you."
Garrus ignored the intended insult, and stood up straight once more, his eyes meeting Wrex's.
It was only then, that the children began to stand.
Most had never seen a Krogan before, and so the already frightened children huddled behind Garrus, with only one Asari brave enough to stare at Wrex from behind Garrus' leg.
Wrex stopped for a moment, when he noticed Garrus look down towards his leg, with a sharp intake of breath indicating his surprise.
Garrus took one of the children's hands in his own, a comforting and warm gesture, "The sick fuck was going to experiment on them. He'd already killed their mothers, and their final acts as parents was to protect their young. These children hid underneath their corpses to survive."
Wrex was paralysed with shock.
When all of a sudden, a guttural growl emanated from his maw.
"That Salarian pyjak... He was going to kill young ones?"
Garrus merely nodded his head.
Wrex stood for a moment, before turning to face a smaller human marine.
"You! Human! How long does it take to activate the explosives?! Move it!"
The young marine engineer didn't flinch at the Krogan's harsh words. Rather, his response was calm, cool and collected.
"We'd finished setting up the explosives five minutes ago. We were just waiting for you to get the Turian and then we can go."
Wrex nodded his head, and laughed darkly, "I have another job for you."
The fearsome Krogan merc then beckoned for Garrus and the children to leave the room, before continuing, "I don't care what orders you have human, but you listen to me: these children need medical attention," At the mentioning of children, every human marine present stopped whatever they were doing, and turned to listen, "And you're going to make sure that these other rooms are checked for any more children. If there are any, then you take them straight to the med-bay. After that, we'll remove the bodies from these rooms and prepare them for a proper burial. No matter their species. Understood?"
The marine engineer merely nodded his head, and beckoned for a group of marines to come and collect the children.
The children didn't go quietly; some wanted to go and stay with their dead mothers, whereas others wanted to stay with Garrus.
It was only after a few minutes of calming the children down, and explaining that they weren't in any more danger that the situation could be finally resolved.
The small marine party accompanying Wrex left with the children in their care, leaving the Krogan and Turian left in the hallway.
The two didn't have anything to say to begin with, until Garrus finally spoke, "Where's Shepard?"
"With the other humans in the cockpit. We've secured the ship, so you can go back and get some rest if you need it." Wrex simply replied, as he began to walk in the opposite direction the marines had taken.
"Where's Saleon? Is he... You know." Garrus asked slowly, his muscles aching as he jogged to catch up to Wrex.
"He's not dead if that's what you mean. Shepard's still got him alive," Relief suddenly flooded Garrus' system at hearing these words, "But not for long. Or so I've heard. The other marines were joking that Shepard's going to kill him with his own fists. Now that would be a sight to see..."
Whatever relief Garrus had suddenly felt, suddenly turned into an ice-cold feeling of despair.
Without saying another word, Garrus suddenly took off at a sprint, his fatigue having been left behind as he lept over multiple corpses of deceased creatures.
"Stupid Turian..." Wrex quietly muttered, as he merely stood and shattered the skulls of his dead enemies.
Garrus ran as fast as he could, running straight through the cargo bay without so much as a second glance.
Some human marines spat a few choice words when Garrus nearly knocked them over in his mad dash, but apart from that, Garrus was free to run.
As his fist slammed into the holographic display in the middle of the door, Garrus finally made his entrance. Just in time to see his enemy...
With a resounding crack, Shepard launched another right hook into the side of Saleon's face, ignoring Garrus' entrance.
The Salarian merely cackled evilly, before spitting a glob of green blood at the commander's feet.
The marines posted around the room all grinned wickedly when they saw their commander backhand the defiant doctor, before smashing his elbow into the Salarian's horn.
As the good doctor began to wince in agony, it was only then that Garrus approached the commander.
"Boss?"
"Ah! Garrus! You're alive! That's good. It would have been a pain in the ass to fill out the paperwork if you'd died." Chris said with a chuckle, as he clasped his gauntleted hand on Garrus' shoulder.
Garrus didn't return the sentiment, his steely grey eyes focused on the Salarian being restrained by human marines.
"He was going to use children, boss." Garrus said dead pan, as he began to remove his eye piece.
"W-Wha?" Chris stuttered, as he wheeled around to look at Saleon.
The Salarian merely looked towards Garrus, defiance burning in his bloodshot eyes as he croaked, "Had to use children. Great source for genetic samples. More stem cells to use, means more breakthroughs in research. After all, if one is to become rich and famous, one must cut a few ethical corners so to speak. Childrens samples would help with breakthroughs between Dextro and Levo protein partnership. Maybe I could get live samples to finally mix together. Previous dextro and levo creations had to be created from dead tissue. Turian child and human child, however, would be a great source of information. If only I could have used them in time. Such tender, supple samples..."
Before Saleon could continue, Chris unsheathed his knife and slammed it through one of Saleon's hands, causing green blood to spurt outwards.
With a shriek of pain sounding in the background, the commander merely whispered hatefully, "Enough."
The marines began to shout in support of the Salarian's death.
Like gladiators being sentenced to their deaths by the public.
Garrus stepped up towards Saleon's position, and began to speak his mind:
"Do you remember me, you sick fuck?"
Saleon cackled once more before responding, green blood having begun to drip and pool on the floor below, "Yes! I remember you! You're that annoying C-Sec detective that ruined my business back on the Citadel. I remember your friend as well... Such a pretty specimen..."
Garrus raised a fist, before rocketing it into Saleon's nose.
Green blood spurted out once more, but the Salarian did not wince in pain. He merely grinned.
"She died for you, didn't she? I remember escaping and watching the building explode, and then I remember seeing the headlines: female C-Sec detective murdered, partner injured. You couldn't save her! HA! How pathetic!"
As Garrus began to reel up another punch, a large five-fingered hand prevented it from being launched.
The riled Turian turned around in surprise to see Chris' hand encapsulating his own.
"What are you doing?! Get off of me!" Garrus roared, as he tried with all of his might to escape from the human's iron-like grip.
It was to no avail.
"Don't do it Garrus. Don't go down that path." Shepard warned, as Saleon began to cackle once more:
"Yes! There's a good pet! Do as your human master tells you to do!"
Without a seconds hesitation, Chris lashed out with his free hand, and knocked Saleon on over in his chair.
"If I want your input, then I'll ask for it. Otherwise, shut the fuck up!" Chris grunted, as he turned to face Garrus once more.
Garrus' mind was reeling. With another renewed attempt, he tried to break free.
This time, he was successful.
The commander stood, and stared down his Turian squad member. Neither of the pair backed down, as Garrus began, "We agreed that I'd be the one to end his miserable existence. Don't go back on your promise now, Shepard!"
"Listen to me! You don't want to do this!" Shepard roared, "If you go down this path, there's no way you're going to come off of it."
"What are you talking about?!"
"I'm talking about murdering Saleon!"
The room had become silenced as soon as the two had begun to argue, but Saleon still continued to cackle madly on the floor.
The commander continued, "Revenge may seem like the sweetest thing that you can think of at the moment. Being able to rid yourself of that annoying buzz that rings in your ears, and that feeling that makes you feel sick to the core. But trust me, It doesn't go away. It gets worse."
Garrus stopped his protests as soon as Shepard had mentioned the buzzing. It was only then that Garrus' mind began to clear from its rage-addled state:
"A long time ago, I decided to venture down the path. I became immersed and engulfed by the notion of revenge. Whenever I kill a Batarian, emotion is taken out of the equation. I simply kill for the sake of killing. That's why I'm effective and good at what I do. I don't normally hold the same emotions that you still do. In certain situations, that may change, but for the most part I have no problem with ending a persons life. That's why I do, what I do. But I don't want to see you become like me; you've still got good qualities. There maybe some hope for me someday, but for now, I'm just like this piece of scum here."
To punctuate the statement made, Chris gave Saleon a quick kick between the ribs. Not powerful enough to break bone, but strong enough to cause a lot of pain.
The Salarian began to roll around on the floor, wheezing and cackling.
Garrus looked towards the Salarian, and then back to Shepard.
All the commander merely did was present Garrus with a choice: outstretched in one hand was the remote detonator for the explosives on the ship, and in the other was the handle of Shepard's blade.
"The choice has to be yours. You can kill him by your hand, or you can let him die by mine. The blood won't stain your hands, they'll only stain mine. No one will think less of you; if anything, they'll praise you. A merciful man is better regarded and held in higher esteem than a blood-crazed murderer. Trust me. If I could go back and change the things that happened, then I would in a heartbeat. But I can't, and I have to live with those consequences. Don't condemn yourself Garrus, but do what you need to do."
As soon as the commander had finished, he placed the knife and detonator in Garrus' hands, before beckoning for the marines to file out.
The room quickly emptied, leaving Saleon and Garrus alone.
The mad Salarian continued to cackle and cough green blood; his hands were bound and yet he continued to roll across the floor like a deranged animal.
Garrus looked between the elements in his hands.
The knife: a tool for revenge that would ultimately lead to a spiraling downfall.
The detonator: a means of staying righteous and good.
After a few moments, Garrus looked towards the Salarian on the floor, and raised his hand.
Getting close, the C-Sec officer could just hear the whispers being uttered from Saleon's mouth, "Do it! Kill me! Stab me, and end me!"
For a split second, the temptation became almost unbearable...
But his resolve held out.
Garrus placed the knife on Saleon's desk, before he began to scratch out Alexia's name on his eye piece.
Once he had finished, Garrus placed his eye piece in its rightful place, and turned to face the exit.
With his mind somewhat clearer, Garrus only had one last thing to say:
"I hope the Spirits torture you for the rest of eternity you sick fuck. I can't believe I'm saying this, but he's right. You're not worth my blade."
And with that final statement, Garrus began to leave.
Doctor Saleon stopped his incessant writhing, and merely laid on the floor.
Waiting.
There were only a few marines left to get aboard the Normandy.
Most had already left after the commander had ordered them to leave Saleon's quarters, but some were still hauling the corpses of Saleon's test subjects.
Luckily, there weren't many left.
As a pair of marines came lumbering up to the commander, a stretcher being carried between the pair with a white sheet covering the body, Shepard couldn't help but worry for Garrus.
The final set of marines came lumbering past, hauling their cargo.
Before Shepard could worry about Garrus any further, however, he had to first deal with logistics.
"Commander, sir." A bright, and young female marine saluted as she approached Shepard.
The commander quickly returned the salute, "What is it, Corporal?"
"We've finished loading the bodies aboard sir, but we have a problem."
"What kind of problem?"
"We don't have enough room for long term storage, sir. I think it would be best if we journeyed back to the Citadel, and then let the authorities there deal with the problem."
Shepard was silent for a moment, before he replied, "Good idea. I think a bit of rest and relaxation wouldn't go amiss among the crew, and we do need to make sure this problem's dealt with... But, what about the data we recovered, and the children?"
"The data's just reasoning behind a larger hypothesis, sir. I'm not a biologist, but from what I can quickly gather, there's evidence to suggest that Doctor Saleon was making inroads into mixing Dextro and Levo proteins. As for the children... Our final count has come to seventeen, sir."
"Make sure there's plenty of space for the children in the cargo bay. I don't care if we have to hot bunk, we're going to make sure those kids have beds to sleep in. Understood?"
"Aye aye Commander."
And with that, the corporal gave a quick salute before returning to the Normandy.
Shepard stood for a moment, on his own doing simply nothing.
That is, until Garrus suddenly appeared in the doorway.
Neither of them exchanged any words to begin with; their actions alone spoke volumes.
The commander remained where he was, and waited for Garrus to come to him.
Once the C-Sec officer was close enough, Shepard spoke, "And?"
Garrus merely handed Shepard his blade back; hilt first. After that, he handed the commander the detonator.
"I don't want to ever see this ship again."
And with that, Garrus left for the Normandy; crossing over the threshold from the Fedele for the final time.
Chris smiled gently, as he set the timer.
With 90 seconds set, Chris began the countdown.
As the Normandy began to fly off, towards the nearest mass relay, the MSV Fedele was nearing its destruction.
With ten seconds left till detonation, Doctor Saleon curled himself into a ball.
A single tear made its way down his bruised and battered cheek, while his mouth was split into a maniacal grin.
So...
There you go.
I have no idea when the next chapter's going to come out; hopefully sooner than this one.
Let me know if you enjoyed this chapter or not!
Thanks!