On a side note, my computer is down for the moment, but I am several chapters ahead, so it's shouldn't impact the release. And if it really comes down to it, I can use my tablet. Even if it's a pain in the ass. This writing is part of my ADD therapy, so sticking to it is important. Hmm...maybe a little TMI. '' (actual notes at end)

John, Afterlife, Omega

"It's done Aria," John said simply as he sat across from the Pirate Queen. "Plague is taken care of and Mordin's cure has been spread through the station. I also took care of the vorcha problem."

"Well, well, aren't you just a busy little one," Aria inclined her head towards John. "I also hear that Mordin's assistant is sticking around."

With a nod, John sat back and crossed his legs. "Yeah, the woman, the nurse, managed to bully her way onto my ship and is moving her, and Mordin's belongings."

"Mmm," Aria shrugged as she went back to staring ahead of herself. "Not surprised. She's devoted to the Professor. It's almost cute, if she wasn't a little psychopath."

"Wait, what?" John blinked as he leaned forward, almost getting up.

"Oh, sit down, Shepard, don't be such a baby," Aria smirked slightly. "I just mean she is exceptionally protective. She defended that little clinic against a variety off thugs. Set a krogan on fire at one point."

"I...huh," John grunted as he leaned back into the couch. "I'm not sure if that will go well, or poorly."

"Going to battle your way into the depths of the station to rescue the Archangel from certain death now?" Aria turned slightly to look at John directly. "The mercs still seem to be recruiting. It seems they are trying to get to Archangel with sheer numbers now."

"Well, then," John nodded as he stood. "I guess I should get moving then."

*boom*

Instinctively, John ducked his head as he heard the report of a sniper rifle echoing from the distance.

*boom*

This time John shook his head as he noticed the rest of his team had ducked behind the aircar that had brought them to the engagement zone.

"Either the shot isn't for us, or else Archangel is a terrible shot and we came this way for nothing," John chuckled. "Either way, let's go talk with our new 'bosses'."

"Yeah, right…." Zaeed snorted as he stood. "I'll just be here, about a meter behind you."

"Well…" a new voice cut in. "At least you look like you can fight."

Raising an eyebrow, John turned to look at the batarian dressed in blue suns armor. "Been in a thing or two."

"Ha!," the man laughed as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Work your way to the front. Sergeant Cathka is near the front. He'll get you in with the rest. If you get shot on the way...well...good luck."

John shared a glance with his team as the batarian turned on his heel and walked back into a small room to one side of the broad street that led toward the building that had caged their newest recruit-to-be.

"Well...that was short and sweet," Miranda sighed as she crossed her arms. "What now?"

A slow predatory grin crept across John's face. "Now? Now we leave some surprises for the mercs here."

Jacob Taylor, Blood Pack

"You leave now! Human!" the vorcha snarled as Jacob walked into the small staging area that the all Krogan and Vorcha mercenary group had claimed as their own. "Leave of we eat your entrails!"

"Whoa there, ugly," Jacob said casually as he held up his hands. "Just working up to the front of the fight."

"No! You ugly!" the vorcha jabbed a clawed finger at Jacob as he hissed.

"Pretty sure you're the ugly one, right?" Jacob smirked as he glanced over at Zaeed.

"Oh, I am not getting involved in your little spat here," Zaeed frowned as he pushed past the alien. "Besides, I think he is more stinky then ugly."

"Wow...that's just harsh, man," Jacob chuckled.

"Bood," a massive krogan sighed as he shoved the comparatively small vorcha out of his way. "How about you shut the hell up. And you," he narrowed his eyes at Jacob. "What do you want human?"

"Wow, uh, nothing!" Jacob swallowed as he looked up at the massive krogan. "Like I was saying me and my friend are just trying to get up to the front without having our heads blown off!"

"Huh," the krogan shook his head as he waved toward a door behind him "That way. Try not to let the varren get a bite on you. I want them hungry for when we feed Archangel to them."

"Uh...sure thing…" Jacob said shakily as she side stepped his way past the krogan. "I'll just do my best to not get eaten. Or shot."

"Yes! You go now!" Bood, the vorcha hissed from behind the krogan's back. "You ugly! Leave!"

"Not bad, Taylor," Zaeed said, slapping Jacob on the shoulder. Hard.

"Yeah, well, acting terrified of a krogan the size of a small tank isn't particularly difficult," Jacob smirked. "Get it done?"

"Oh yeah," Zaeed gleefully rubbed his hands together. "Put some explosives in some strategic places. Even put an interesting poison in the varren water. Going to be a grand time!"

"I...I am honestly a little sorry for the little monsters," Jacob laughed. "Let's go meet up with the others."

Miranda Lawson, Blue Suns

"Well, well, well," the human man sneered. "I thought we were just going to be talking out that Archangel bastard, didn't know they were already sending us party favors."

Sometimes being perfect is not a blessing, Miranda mentally sighed as she fought down the urge to roll her eyes.

Instead, Miranda walked up to the man, putting as much sway into her hips as she could, and crossing her arms under her breasts, giving them a touch more lift. Not that she needed it. She had her particular points of vanity.

"Oh, mister guard, sir," she purred. "This is my first mission, and…" As she approached the man, she leaned over slightly and looked up at him through half closed eyelids.

In a blur, Miranda's right hand snaked around the back of the guards neck as her forehead shot up, smashing the man's nose and stumbling him back. "And I would appreciate it if you crawled off and died somewhere."

"Humm… Good use of natural gifts and charm. Done work like that before. What is the human term? 'Honey Bowl'?" Mordin spoke from behind her, nearly startling her.

"Pot," Miranda answer as she turned to regard the salarian, one eyebrow raised. "The term is 'Honey Pot'. And not quite. I don't use sex as a weapon. Not any more than things like this. Maybe to keep somebody off balance for a short time. But who I sleep with is my choice."

" . Always felt that using mammal based lust brings too many unpredictable variables," Mordin nodded as he moved up to Miranda and glanced down the short hallway. "Also, it wears at the morality of the agent. Not worth the degradation."

"I…" Miranda stopped, blinking at Mordin for a moment before shaking her head slightly. "You are not quite what I expected from your dossier."

Hmm…" Mordin turned to regard her. "Allow me to guess. Eccentric, brilliant, driven and morally ambiguous. Willing to put greater good over smaller. Thinks 'outside the box' as humans put it, and chaffs under strict military procedure."

As Mordin spoke, Miranda's eyebrows grew a little higher until it felt like they had nearly reached her hairline. "More or less, except for some operations details, what we could get anyway."

"Expected. My records are mostly sealed. Member of STG, not easy to hide, so no point. Details can be made much more difficult. My specialty in biological weapons, and xenobiology in particular, also not able to be hidden," Mordin shrugged as he motioned for Miranda to follow as he headed down the hallway.

"Best use of resources used in protecting important details. Specific missions. Allow less vital intelligence be gatherable. Provides a spy with something that will satisfy," Mordin nodded slightly as he stopped in front of the door leading to thee main Blue Sons enclave then turned to Miranda. "Shall we?"

"No time like the present," Miranda let out a deep breath and stood up straighter before keying open the door.

The inside was, in a word, chaotic. It was a bit odd, really. The Blue Sons had a reputation for efficiency.

A batarian in heavy armor stood at a computer station and yelled orders at members off the crew. Sometimes they would acknowledge and head off to one chore or another, but other times they seemed caught up in another task.

After a moment the batarian glanced up and noticed the pair, standing only a couple meters away from him. "Can somebody get these bastards out of here?!" he grunted as he turned back to his panel. "I have important work to do!"

"You seem to be in a bit disturbed Tarak. Something going wrong?" Mordin spoke up as he stepped forward.

"Mordin?" Tarak blinked all four of his eyes. "What are you doing here? You don't do this kind of work?"

"And you aren't normally this much of a cloaca," Mordin countered as he crossed his arms.

"Ugh...it's Archangel…" Tarak seemed to shudder slightly. "He's gonna kill me! He's already come close a couple of times.. I gotta stop him here!"

"Why would Archangel be targeting you," Miranda raised an eyebrow.

"As if psychopaths need a reason!" Tarak growled, slamming his hands down on the panel of his terminal.

"Actually," Mordin chimed in. "Psychopaths usually do have reason. In fact, they tend to have very strict guidelines that they…"

"Mordin," Miranda interrupted the salarian with a hand on his arm. "I am fairly sure he was being rhetorical. The Blue Suns on Omega are known for moving Red Sand, and slaves through the Terminus with the station as their hub."

Mordin paused for a moment before nodding. "Indeed. That makes sense. Well. Good luck Tarak. I'll see what I can do for you. Come along Alicia."

Miranda blinked as the professor turned on his heel and walked away without looking back. Did he just….?

"Mordin," Miranda said darkly as she moved beside the alien. "What was that about? And we were supposed to find a way to sabotage the Blue Suns."

"Yes," Mordin nodded. "Successful. Gained both information, and released an airborne neurotoxin. Has a short gestation. When the time comes, they will not be much of a threat. Reminds me, here." Without breaking stride, he pressed a small hypo-injector to Miranda's neck. "Antidote. Being in the room you were exposed. Not an issue now."

"I...What?" Miranda said, caught off guard. She was never caught off guard. How had she missed the salarian releasing anything? How had he moved so fast with the hypo? He could have killed me…

"Learned several things of note," Mordin continued. "Tarak, paranoid, not without reason, of course, but stress getting to him. He is getting jumpy and desperate if he is working with the other merc groups. He is fairly well know as being insular. Also, security is lacking. Should not have been able to get that close. Even without your assets."

"I see," Miranda ground out. "And the Alicia bit?"

"Classic misdirection. Hallmark of good spy," Mordin turned slightly to her with a smirk.

John

"How did it go?" John asked. He didn't turn around,instead he stood behind the final barricade, watching as another group of rookies took a turn at charging across the bridge.

"We left them some surprises. Should gives us a leg up when it comes to it," Jacob answered as he stepped up next to John. "Man...these guys must be desperate to charge that."

John stood unblinking, his arms crossed over his chest, his feet squared. "They're just a distraction," he said evenly. "The whole point is to keep Archangel busy while a sapper team moves underground."

"Makes sense, I suppose," Zaeed grunted. "Throwing raw meat into the grinder leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'd like to wipe the floor with the goddamn fucks."

"Shepard," Miranda scowled. "Did you take care of the Eclipse mechs?"

Now John let the shadow of a smile cross his lips. "Oh yes, I left them an interesting surprise," he chuckled. "They even have a heavy mech back there."

"Spoke to Tarak," Mordin cut in. "He is terrified of Archangel. Intends to end it here. Probably has another trick hidden."

"Yeah," John's expression soured as he jerked a thumb to a room to his left. "Talked to Kathka. He's the one that let slip the sappers plan. He was working on Tarak's gunship. Didn't get to finish the repairs."

"Shepard?" Miranda stepped to the room and seemed to freeze as she saw his handiwork. "Did you…?"

"Yep," John confirmed as he turned away and moved toward the break in the wall. "Stabbed him in the back. Batarians have a nerve cluster where humans have the right kidney. Stick them with, say, an arc wrench, and they go down."

"Bit brutal, but effective. Location would also prevent the target from making much outward sound," Mordin nodded.

"Yes...well," John coughed into his hand quietly. "Tarak had been using the gunship to slip around the building Archangel is in and fire through the windows. Archangel was able to damage it enough that Tarak had to bring it back in. Kathka repaired most of the damage, but there is enough that we will have a lot of openings if Tarak brings it out."

"Hey! Shit piles!" a human in Blue Suns armor called to John's group. "Get over here! You're going out with the next batch of meat!"

"Huh," John sighed as he popped his neck and unfolded his submachine gun. "Game time."

Garrus 'Archangel' Vakarian

*Boom*

*Boom*

*Boom*

Three shots, three kills. Even Shepard would have been impressed. Both of them, probably. More the Commander though. He was always a bit more personal. His friend. His...best friend.

"Dammit," Garrus muttered as he sat back behind the low wall that he had been shooting from. "Getting sentimental in your age. Like and idiot."

It wasn't supposed to go this way. When he had gotten to Omega, Garrus was still high from the mission against Sarren. And the death of Shepard. His anger had gotten the better of him when they painted the Commander as a crazy man, even after everything he had done for...well...everybody.

A low growl escaped Garrus as he whirled around, barely sighting down his rifle.

*Boom*

Another merc's head exploded.

It didn't really help. Garrus had gotten so many good people killed. He tried to fight the dark. But for every cut he made, the darkness just oozed back into place as if nothing happened. Every enemy he killed, two more seemed to take their place. He destroyed red sand. More just flowed. He released slaves. They just got recaptured. Or straight out killed. He tried to strike off the heads of the serpents, but all it seemed to do is stir them enough to kill everybody he knew. Everybody he worked with.

"Well…" Garrus sighed. "At least I pissed them off enough that they all had to come for me at once."

Slowly, Garrus slid his scope over the barricades, but didn't see a single helmet. Huh...finally learning something…

Garrus sat back again and scanned the room he was sitting in. The second story of this building gave him a clear view of the bridge that was the only clear way in or out of the place. A good ninety meters of open line of fire. As the pile of bodies spread out before him attested.

Behind him, Garrus had several small crates of thermal clips. A couple boxes of grenades. Enough medigel to make a whole new turian.

When they finally threw enough bodies at him, he would take a hell of a lot of them with him. Maybe get one of the leaders. Probably Garm. The krogan was a moron. Tough. But a spirits be damned moron.

"Got a lull. No use putting it off any longer…" Garrus said, fully aware he was talking to himself too much.

Then, with a quiet sigh, the turian brought up his omnitool and made a call.

"Greetings, Mr. Vakarian. I am Denise, Captain Shepard's VI. I am sorry that the Captain is unable to take your call right now. But may I take a message?" Jane- Captain Shepard's VI was as annoyingly chipper as usual.

"Yeah, sure," Garrus sighed quietly. "Tell her I'm sorry I didn't listen when she told me to bail. But...when I see her again, I'll bee at the bar."

"Very well. Than-" Garrus cut the transmission as he brought up the next person he needed to call.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Dad," Garrus scowled as another group of desperate fools charged over the walls.

*Boom*

*Boom*

"What's that noise?" Garrus's father asked. Garrus could hear the scowl in the man's voice. It made him smile a little.

*Boom*

"Nothing Dad. Just a little target practise," Garrus told his father as another *Boom* and another man died.

"Then call me back later," his father snorted, more exasperation than irritation now.

"I...Don't think that will work out. Too many pests on the range," Garrus cleared his throat as he leaned back to replace his thermal clip.

'... I see," his father said, after a short pause.

"Just wanted to hear your voice. Was wondering how retired life was treating you." Popping back up, Garrus scoped another pair of targets.

*Boom*

*Boom*

"I'm fine. Forget about that."

"Listen," Garrus blinked away the emotion he didn't expect. "I don't have a lot of time now. I just wanted to tell you that you were right more than I wanted to admit. I'm sorry we butted heads so much."

"I told you to forget about that," Garrus's father said, flatly. "You're pests. Are they moving quickly?"

"Not fast enough," Garrus smirked slightly. "But they are learning."

*Boom*

"Clips?"

"Got that covered," Garrus outright grinned now. "Shepard always said to keep some for a rainy day."

"Huh...humans. What does that even mean?"

*Boom*

"No idea," Garrus chuckled.

"Well, work with what you have, son. You keep shooting until the trigger clicks." Garrus's father paused clearing his own throat. "As long as you have a bullet left, you still have a job to do. You can still get it done."

*Boom*

"When you finish up, you come home to Palavan. We have some things we should work out."

Closing his eyes for a moment, Garrus looked through his scope again. This time, however, he saw mercenary's turning on the ones around them. Biotics and gunfire erupted, cutting down the other mercs.

"What in the…" Garrus muttered as he zoomed in.

Human female and male moved on the right of the group. Cerberus logos. Odd…. Older human male covered the rear. Massani? Man's a professional. Turning on his employers would be ridiculous. On the left was even weirder. A Salarian. Mordin, the doctor that ran the clinic in Zone 45? Garrus was pretty sure the man was far more than he seemed, but now he was shooting targets and throwing tech weapons around with an unnerving skill. But the leader…. The black armor had clearing taken a hell of a beating, but it was still recognizable. And zooming in farther, he saw the N7 logo.

"Impossible…." Garrus whispered.

"Garrus?" His father's voice snapped him back to reality. Are you still there?"

"Yeah...yeah," Garrus grinned again. "I'll get home when I get the chance. My odds just got a hell of a lot better."

John

"So…" John said brightly as he walked around the corner. But before he could continue, the blue armored turian held up a finger without even turning around. Then, bringing his hand back to the sniper rifle, he exhaled slightly.

*Boom*

Then, as the body on the bridge fell, Archangel nodded once in satisfaction before moving away from the window and sitting on a crate of thermal clips. His helmeted head swiveled to regard John's team, one by one, before finally settling on John.

"So…" a familiar, two toned voice came. "Did you fake your death and join Cerberus? Like an ass?"

John's eyes widened as far as they could as he took a half step forward. No. No way. It was impossible! But…. "Garrus?"

After a moment, the blue turian reached up and unsealed his helmet, drawing it off. "You've looked better Shepard," Garrus tilted his head as he set the helmet on the crate next to him. "I mean, all humans are ugly, but you may have taken it a bit far."

John blinked as his hand reached up to lightly touch his cheek.

He had forgotten about the scars. Every time he saw his reflection, it always took him a moment to realize that it was his.

"Yes, well," John smirked. "I hear that chicks dig scars."

"Hah," Garrus nodded, barking out a short laugh. "Yeah, but not when the guy tries to kiss a varren. So...Why should I not shoot you?"

The question was so sudden that John was caught off guard. However, the pistol being pointed at him drove it home.

"Long story, short," John sighed as he leaned against a stone support column. "I died. Cerberus recovered my body, somehow, and spent almost three years and a few billion credits putting me back together so I can save humanity from the Collectors. Whom are probably working for the Reapers in preparation for their coming."

As John watched, Garrus's mandibles twitched slightly as the pause drew out. Then, suddenly, Garrus dropped the pistol next to his helmet and sighed. "Well, then, we should finish off these sterkre, and get to it."

"You know…." Miranda groaned as she rubbed her temples with a hand. "At this point I'm not even surprised. I've pretty much just resigned myself to insanity."

Garrus blinked slowly as he continued to look at John. "I suppose you are using the Cerberus resources for this mission?"

Now it was John's turn to be surprised. "Yeah...how did you know that?"

With a snort, Garrus stood and moved back to the window and sighted his rifle. "Well, the Council spent so much time and effort sweeping it away that there is pretty much no way they would support you. And from the rumors around here, the human colonies are in the Terminus."

"Huh," John shook his head as he knelt next to his friend. "Yeah, that is pretty much spot on."

"Well," Garrus sighed. "No more reunion time, Boss. Looks like your little show has motivated the Blood Pack. They are massing for a charge."

"That sounds lovely," John sighed. "Zaeed, you set up surprises?"

"Oh yeah," the old merc grinned evilly. "This will be good. Oh, here, by the way," Zaeed handed John a small detonator trigger. "This one is a bit short range, but it'll be impressive."

"Uh…" John raised an eyebrow. "Allright…."

"They're releasing the varren," Jacob chuckled as he looked out over the low wall.

Turning to look, John did a double take as the mass of varren, maybe twenty strong, stumbled up over the barricade and….attempted...a charge.

Five collapsed just after cresting the barricade walls, several more made it a dozen steps before falling over, a couple even falling off the edges of the bridge as they stumbled. None of the made it past the halfway mark.

"What was that?" Miranda asked, incredulous.

"Poison," Mordin nodded as he checked over his submachine gun. "Probably a blood thinner. Varren are able to purge most toxins quickly, so other methods are needed. Proper amount of blood thinner makes the varren's heart unable to move enough blood through their body. You can see result."

"Looks like they are pissed off….," Garrus chuckled. "They are gearing up for a charge...and...Yep, there is Garm."

"The Blood Pack leader?" Jacob asked, surprised.

"Oh, yeah," Garrus smirked. "Need to be careful of him. He is some sort of mutant. Regenerates faster than anything I have ever seen. I caught him alone and fought with him for over an hour before his people arrived to back him up. He's a damn monster."

"Here they come," Zaeed scowled grimly, and cracking his neck. "I'll take the princess and the Doc here," he said gesturing to the team members in question. "We'll go down under the tunnel and see about sealing them off before the sappers get through. You three should be able to hold off the funny boys, considering the little surprises."

Turning to look at the man, John nodded. "Good plan, I…"

A muffled explosion from beneath rocked the building for a moment as John ground his teeth. "No more time. Go!"

Moments Later

"I'll rip out your spine and feed it to you!" Garm snarled as he hurdled the small wall of furniture that attempted to block the top of the stairs. As his feet hit the floor, the krogan grabbed a vorcha, pulling the alien's body between himself and the oncoming fire from John's group.

As Garm moved forward, Jacob ducked back behind the pillar he was using for cover. "Shepard!" he called out. "A squad...looks like...three krogan and half a dozen vorcha are flanking us from the left!"

"Son of a…" John sighed as he popped a new thermal clip into the assault rifle he had picked up from among the stack of weapons Garrus had stockpiled. "How many of the anklebiters do they have?"

*Boom*

"One less," Garrus chuckled. "Ah...like old times! Fighting insurmountable odds! Cover being chewed to death! Bad jokes! Kinda makes me miss Tali."

"Hmph," John grunted scowling. He didn't need that particular reminder. "She'll come when she can."

"Ah, Shepard...Sorry about that," Garrus sighed as he switched from his sniper rifle to an assault one. "I know she will. She's part of the team after all."

"Yeah, I...HOLY SHIT!" John cursed as Garm howled in rage and charged forward, ignoring the hail of bullets that John and Garrus desperately fired down field.

Then, with a final roar, the krogan leader lowered his head and smashed into the cover John and Garrus had been using, sending the pair rolling across the floor.

"Archangel!" Garn snarled as his foot crashed down on the rifle Garrus had been reaching for, and crushing it flat. "I am going to kill you slowly. Just like I did to that little salarian bitch you ran with!"

John groaned as he shook his head. Strange images flickered in his vision. Something, almost like images. The outline of a..gun? Some numbers and maybe….a bar? It seemed to be slowly rising… But then, in a haze of static, it disappeared.

"Little help, Shepard!" Garrus cried as the krogan lifted him by the raised collar of Garrus's armor.

The, rolling,, John sprang to his feet and charged the krogan, ducking his head and thrusting his shoulder into Garm's side.

With a cry of surprise, Garm was shoved back, dropping Garrus as he struggled to keep his feet. And for a moment, John twisted and smashed the Garm into the wall with enough force to put cracks in the stone.

But that was not enough, as Garms knee came up, catching John in the center of his abdomen, both knocking the air out of him. As John was lifted into the air by the impact, a fist slammed down on his back, throwing him violently to the floor.

Dazed, and gasping for breath, John threw himself to one side, narrowly avoiding the foot that crashed down where he had been a moment before.

Blinking, John looked up, those odd images floating in his vision again. And past them, the cruel smile as the krogan aimed a heavy pistol at John's head. A carnifex, a corner of his mind told him. Much like the one Tali had given to John what seemed to a couple of weeks ago.

"Hey! Ugly!" Jacob's voice shouted, drawing the attention of both John and Garm. The Cerberus agent stood, grinning. In his hand was the detonator Zaeed had given to John. It must have been knocked free by the krogan leader's charge. Then, with a simple push of a button, Garm, the leader of the Blood Pack on Omega, one of the most ruthless of the krogan warlords, exploded.

"Oh...that's just nasty," Garrus groaned. "I think I got krogan brain in my mouth!"

"What...what the fuck?" John gasped, still trying to catch his breath as he stared at his teammate.

"Oh," Jacob grinned. "That was the other surprise Zaeed and I planted. A few compact high explosives attached to his armor was fairly easy. Could have put a 'kick me' sign while we were at it if we wanted, with the way he ignored us."

"That was kinda anticlimactic," Garrus sighed as he reached down and help John to his feet. "Still, glad to see the sadistic bastard go."

"You and me both," John wheezed as he blinked and rubbed at his eyes.

"You okay, Boss," Garrus asked, concerned.

"I..yeah...just something weird in my vision...I…" John started.

"Shepard!" Miranda called as she and her team came up the stairs. "We got the shutters closed. It will take them days to get through now. But it looks like the Eclipse are bringing out their mechs!"

"Ah, shit," Garrus cursed moving to the window. "There's even a Ymir….oh..look. Jaroth."

This time it was John's turn to laugh as he moved beside his friend. "Oh, don't you worry. This time it's my surprise."

"Archangel!" Jaroth's enhanced voice called out. "This will be your doom! I shall strike you down with the power of my mechs! You will be as grass before the blade! You shall...what the hell?!"

As Jaroth had been speaking, a YMIR mech had been placed next to the salarian and unfolded to its full height before turning around and unloading it heavy rotary barrel guns back into the barricades. Then, almost like an afterthought, it swung one heavy arm, crushing Jaroth into a green smear.

"I…" Garrus blinked before sighing. "You really take the fun out of last stands, Boss."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, we still have Blue Suns," John said, reassuringly, as he clapped a hand onto Garrus's armored shoulder.

"Not really," Mordin spoke up, a slight smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I took the liberty of giving them a little something. I doubt there are many still alive by this point."

"Seriously?" Garrus groaned slapping a hand across his face. "No heroic charge? No last minute chance to save the day?"

"Afraid not," John laughed.

"ARCHANGEL!" a voice bellowed as the whine of turbines roared outside the building. Almost as one, John's team ducked into cover as high powered cannons fired through the windows and walls of the structure.

"Looks like Tarak got his gunship flying," John said casually. "Anybody have ideas?"

"Tarak should be under the effects of the neurotoxin," Mordin answered. "His movements will be dulled. Surprised he has the ability to fly."

"Yeah, well," Zaeed snarled. "That with the damage the gunship has already taken may give us a chance to get out of this alive!"

"COME OUT ARCHANGEL!" Tarak screamed as he unleashed another barrage from his ship's cannons. "COME OUT!"

"Shepard!" Miranda yelled as she moved to the edge of the planter she had hidden behind. "I called in some back up! It should be here in a-"

"Look out!" Garrus cried as he dove forward and grabbed the Cerberus woman around the waist. Then, with a heave, he spun, throwing Miranda away as a rounds from the gunship struck the turian, ripping through his shields and chewing up his armor.

"NO!" John screamed as he threw a hand forward, blue energy rippled out and washing over Garrus, the last few rounds deflecting away as Garrus stumbled back.

"DIE!" Tarak roared, his voice lacked any semblance of sanity as rockets fired from the gunships wings, most impacting into the buildings walls.

Except for one.

A single rocket made it through, its warhead slamming into the pillar next to Garrus. The explosive blew stone apart, it's shockwave shattering the shield John had thrown over his best friend, and throwing the turian's body away like a ragdoll.

"AH HA HA HA!" Tarak cried, insanely. "DIE! DIE!"

"Garrus!" John stormed over the cover he had been using, and slid next to Garrus's prone form. As he reached Garrus, Miranda slid in next to them, a biotic shield springing up around them.

"Goddamn turian," Miranda snarled as heavy rounds impacting into her biotic barrier. "He didn't even know me! My barrier could take it!"

"Come on Garrus, hold on!" John's hands closed around the open wounds on Garrus's neck, desperately trying to staunch the blue blood that was pooling beneath the turian.

Then an explosion ripped through the room as Tarak's gunship blew apart, it's place being taken by a star ship.

"You're clear, Commander," Joker's voice came over the comms.

"Get a medical team in here!" John shouted. "Tell Chakwas that it's Garrus!"

"What?!" Joker said, shocked. "She's on her way!"

"Move," Mordin cut in as he shoved John aside. "Artery burst. Stone fragments in wound. Problematic. Trauma severe, but still alive. Need surgical suite."

"Over here!" Miranda called, waving, as the medical team rushed into the ruined building.

"You'll be okay, Garrus," John said quietly as he slid down the wall heavily. John couldn't tear his eyes away from the blood on his hands. More blood. His friend's blood. "You have to be."

Turian Lexicon

Sterkre- Turian for a piece of shit.

AN: This should be the last of the heavily scripted chapters. These (the non fluff ones) chapters were important in most of the minutia, but now that it is punched through, I can go more free style and skip over non important details. At least the stuff I don't change to keep it more fresh and interesting.

And I am pleased that Xera'Rann is so popular! I am even getting fan art of her already!