Preteril - A small, spiny ground burrowing marsupial analogue found in high meadow and forest lands on Palaven.

Netichik: Insect analogues native to Palven that have been exported to many colony worlds.

Soluvermus - A small (average size 8-12 cms/1-2 cms diameter), heavily armoured earthworm native to Palaven's most northern and southern regions. It is considered a delicacy.

Quiritus - Applies to both genders equally. Equivalent to addressing a group as 'people' or 'ladies and gentlemen'.

23.5 Days ASR

"General?"

Garrus cracked open a single eye to find Nyreen Kandros staring down at him. Alarm slithered through the foggy haze of interrupted sleep, pointed and scaled. Waging a battle akin to wrestling open a hydraulic door by hand, he managed to get both eyes all the way open. "How long have I been asleep? And please don't tell me we've been boarded again."

She shook her head and straightened, then turned and strode for the door. "No, sir. We haven't, but it's begun. Archangel is under attack. Everyone is checking in on the QEC." She took a long breath and glanced back. "And I think they gave you three full hours this time. See you up there."

Before she even stepped through the open portal, Garrus hit the light, threw back the blankets and swung straight out of bed, landing on his feet. Two, unsteady strides carried him to his armour. He snatched the underlayer off the top and shook it out.

Knuckles rapped at the door. "General?"

He didn't pause or glance up. "Get your ass in here, Weaver." When the door opened, he shot an impatient glance at the kid. "Any word from Omega other than that they're under attack?" He slipped the polymer suit up his legs and settled it over the points of his hips.

Martin shook his head. "They didn't hit Omega. It was the Zaherin weapon testing facility. Three large, unknown cruisers showed up and just annihilated the entire facility and the ships guarding it. Took them less than an hour. We only found out because the ship you ordered to stay hidden escaped."

Garrus's hands froze, going so completely numb that the underlayer slipped from his talons. "The entire facility? In under an hour?" Dear spirits, that meant more than a thousand dead, two years and almost all of the material salvaged from Sovereign … gone. How? How could they have been taken down so completely?

Martin stepped forward. "General?"

Garrus clenched his fists a couple of times, then finished shrugging into the suit. "How did they take out our most heavily defended base in under an hour?"

Martin paled, his entire manner slumping before Garrus's eyes. "The transmission from Nihlus said that the data shows the shields and defense systems were all deactivated from the inside." His shock quickly morphed into rage. "Looks like Kandros is right. Traitors."

"Nihlus is on the QEC?" Garrus stepped into one boot then the other and bent down, sealing the fasteners before he started locking himself into his second skin.

"Yeah, he will be by now." Martin paced to the door and back. "The Normandy arrived back at Omega about eight hours ago. He, Anderson, and a few others are going through the footage and data sent back. Sidonis and the Bacall Cliffs are headed back to base."

"What's their ETA?" Garrus paused, buttoning down his reactions before reaching down to grab his torso armour. He needed to be the solid, unshakeable center of a world being torn apart around his people's cowls.

"They should get back a couple hours before we do," the kid replied, keeping up a pacing circuit along the lower end of the cabin. "It shouldn't be possible to just knock us out of the sky like that. Nihlus said the cruisers were using particle beams." He paused and turned to give Garrus an expression so confused and pained that it showed plainly despite his implants. "If something already out here can do that … what are the Reapers going to do? We've got the most advanced ships in the galaxy."

"Apparently we don't," Garrus replied. He finished sealing his pauldrons in place then froze. If the traitors didn't die on that base … . "Martin, contact Chakwas. Encrypt the channel and make sure no one is listening." Brow plates raised, he waited for Martin to confirm before continuing. "When the Bacall Cliffs returns to base, the entire crew needs to be sequestered and scanned for signs of indoctrination. I want all logs locked down and that ship scoured for the black orbs. Need to know only. Got it?"

Martin nodded and headed for the door. "Roger that. See you up there."

Garrus pulled on his gauntlets, then ran a quick check to make sure he'd sealed everything up properly, before grabbing his helmet. "Now to find out what happened."

Crew packed the galley, gathered into small groups discussing the attack and the threat to home base in hushed, tight voices. When Garrus stepped into the space, they all fell silent, every eye in the room looking to him. He hefted his armour further up his shoulders and squared up, making himself as general-like as he could.

"All hands return to stations, or if you are rotated off, get some sleep. We'll be back on Omega tomorrow evening, and I need you all rested and ready to kick these bastards so hard that the last thing that goes through their minds are their asses." He nodded, staying stern at the nervous laugh that fluttered through. "Get moving. We've got a hell of a fight ahead of us, and this is just the beginning. Dismissed."

When they broke up, most heading for the crew quarters, he continued on to the elevator, just missing the doors as they closed on Martin. "Damn, be faster to climb through the ducts," he grumbled. He slapped the control then leaned against the bulkhead, letting his eyes sag shut. He'd spent the entire day with Victus and his father, going over the vids and other evidence collected during the months following Eden Prime. Despite being fairly sure that they'd managed to convince the turian general of the very real and looming threat, reliving all of that … listening to his father recount Shepard's words and concerns when she'd approached him … the fact she knew her time was short … talking about the day she died … he found it more draining than a day of battle.

Once he had everyone sorted over the base attacks, he could get some more sleep. When they reached Omega, he'd be lucky to get a couple of hours at a time, especially once the siege started. The elevator opened, and he pushed off the wall to step inside, hitting the control for the CIC.

Needing to sharpen up and focus on the problems at hand, he reached up, giving his face a brisk rub. Archangel's enemies thought him a soft target. They thought the same of everything he'd built. From that moment forward, he needed to be everything Shepard thought he was … and more. Closing his eyes, he slumped back against the railing.

I could really use your strength right now, Kahri. I was wrong … we were both wrong. I can't do this on my own. I'm so tired, and I miss you. When am I going to stop missing you? Am I ever going to stop missing you?

The elevator chimed, and he pushed off, straightening. He cracked his neck and took a deep breath, shoving his shoulders back. General Garrus Vakarian, reporting for duty. When the doors opened, he strode out, head held high, mandibles tight against his face, hopefully the very picture of determination and strength.

As Kandros had said, everyone who could check in via QEC had assembled, their holograms shimmering on the thirteen different emitters. Chairs circled the rest of the room. Just as he wondered if his father and Wrex were shuttling over, a message flashed on his omnitool. Herros: Did Garrus mind if Victus came along? He shook his head even as he typed his reply. No. If Victus intended to be be an ally, he might as well see all the cracks in Archangel's plates.

Garrus bypassed them, striding straight for the image of Lantar Sidonis. "What in the pits of buratrum happened out there?"

The turian deflated, a reed bowing before the storm. "Three heavy cruisers of an unknown configuration appeared at the relay." Sidonis straightened a little, but his face still hung slack. "The station tried to hail them, but the only reply they got was some sort of beam weapon that just cut right through the station's shields. Before the station's defenses could respond, someone shut everything down from inside." He paced a little, two steps in either direction. His hands wrung, agitated, almost panicked. Garrus frowned. The turian looked trapped, but he'd always been a little high strung and emotional. Sidonis stopped and looked into the imager after a few seconds. "Our ships attacked and fought hard, but they were just outclassed by several degrees. In under an hour, there wasn't enough left to fill a shuttle hold."

Garrus nodded, wishing he could get a better read than the hologram allowed for. Oh well, he needed to push ahead. "Any ID on the enemy vessels?" he asked.

"The particle beams suggest Collectors," Nihlus spoke up from where he shared a pad with Anderson. His voice slurred, betraying the head injury. He probably shouldn't even be out of medbay. "Merol couldn't ID the ships, but the particle beam appeared to be an advanced version on the weapons on Prothean vessels." He leaned against the console, his head listing to the side with the bandage. "The geth are taking apart the footage now. Hopefully what they learn can help us develop defenses and weapons to meet these bastards head to head, because from what I see … ."

Garrus frowned, waiting for his fratrin to continue, walking toward that emitter when he didn't. "Nihlus?"

Nihlus just shook his head. "We're preteril in the open, Garrus. The best we can do against these ships right now is get our people out of the way, salvage anything not nailed down, pull it all in."

Anderson activated his omnitool and the footage of the attack appeared in the space where he and Nihlus stood the moment before. Garrus watched as the three, massive vessels carved up Archangel's most valuable remote asset. He stepped toward the display, head cocking as he tried to discern the ships' design. They looked cylindrical, but huge portions of them were covered in something that looked like the nests that netichik built around tree trunks.

The entire thing made him uncomfortable. Not in the same way that Sovereign had terrified him, but uncomfortable nonetheless … like spiked soluvermus wriggling under his plates. The beam weapon … he hadn't seen anything that powerful since Sovereign. "Are you sure about these being Collectors?" he asked.

"As sure as I can be," Nihlus replied. "The ship design isn't Prothean, but the Reapers have had fifty thousand years to warp the Collectors and all their tech from the original."

"Then that confirms Reaper involvement in both the attacks against Archangel and the human disappearances." He watched his base and ships fall for another minute before he turned away. "All right, I've seen enough," he said, waving a dismissive hand at the vid. All they could do about those ships was get out of their way and develop ways to kick their asses the next time. "We need to evac the bases. The ones that can be pulled in, we'll tow to Omega. The larger ones we'll strip and pull off the staff."

Nihlus and Anderson reappeared, the Spectre standing unsupported. He chuckled. "I'm glad you agree, because I gave that order an hour ago."

Garrus nodded. "Good." Turning a slow circle, he looked over his people, trying to judge how they were dealing with the oncoming crisis. For the most part, what he saw reassured him. "Okay, we've got the wheels in motion for the outer facilities. Now for homebase."

Staring down the ex-Bloodpack battlemaster, Garrus said, "Grundan, I want you and Mieran to seal the tunnels in the sub-levels at their far ends. Set the explosives as far out as you can without endangering nearby buildings. Set cover every ten metres, and make sure it spans the entire tunnel. I want us to be able to perform an organized retreat, and I want them to be as exposed as possible while trying to follow us. Make sure the doors at the near ends of the tunnels can be sealed in seconds." Garrus paced across the main pad. He spun to greet the door opening, then nodded to his father, Wrex, and Victus. Martin slipped in behind them, taking a seat next to the door.

Garrus held a hand out to the turian general. "Everyone, this is General Adrien Victus, Turian External Forces. He assisted with the Urdnot evacuation." He gestured toward the empty chairs. "Please, sit."

"Garrus … ." Nihlus turned away from the imager and reached out, turning back a second later with a datapad in his hand. His mandibles spread and flicked, telling Garrus the nature of the news even before he spoke. "The Haestrom shipyard has been destroyed, and the entire structure where we were found has been bombarded from orbit. It's just a crater."

"What?" Martin asked. His voice rose and tightened as he continued, "We haven't reopened it yet. It's powered down." He braced his hands against the arms of his chair, his head and shoulders thrust forward.

Garrus walked over and pressed a heavy hand on the kid's shoulder, easing him back into the chair. He squeezed, staring down into the cybernetics over Martin's eyes until the kid gave him a nod, then returned it. "That attack was just clean up. Taking out any evidence that might have been left behind."

He turned back to his inner circle. "Seal up our dock and building two completely. No way in." When they acknowledged that order, he continued, "Melanis … Butler … get the civilians setting up the gymnasiums as shelters. Enough food and water to last six hundred people at least three weeks. Have the farmers in the basements bring in everything they can. Move their animals into the labs. Move the cars off site; see if Aria has somewhere we can store them. Leave as little behind to be destroyed as possible. Then get the civilians into the shelters."

"We've got a lot of that done already, Boss," Butler spoke up for the first time. "The geth are setting all the electronics to scrambled frequencies and storing backups on the twenty-first floor. Apparently the entire floor is a giant Faraday cage."

Garrus took a deep breath, his mandibles relaxing a little. Homebase would hold until he got there. What else? "With the order given to evacuate the outer facilities, we need to find those people somewhere to go until we get homebase secured and the third building open," he said. "How close are they to being on the move?"

"Some of the smaller facilities are already secured, their computer drives uploaded to base and wiped. They're loading as we speak. If the ships have propulsion, the geth are bringing them in. Aria is renting us the next docking bay over. For a premium, of course." Nihlus let out a long breath, his expression preoccupied, his mandibles giving away the speed at which his mind worked by their twitching.

"That's thousands of refugees. Where do we send them, General?" Vortash asked, drawing all eyes to his corner. "We can't bring them in here, and they don't have supplies on their ships for more than a couple of days."

Anderson cleared his throat. "Give me a few minutes. I'll see if I can find somewhere for them to take shelter for a couple of weeks if necessary."

Garrus stepped forward, gratitude settling the rolling in his gut. "Let the colonial authorities know that we'll pay fair market value for any supplies needed." Damn, the vault was going to be empty by the time the siege ended, and Martin had been right, it wouldn't end with the current attacks. The Reapers knew Archangel amounted to the only resistance they faced in the galaxy. They intended to obliterate it and scour the ground clean.

"Understood." Anderson stepped off the pad.

"General Vakarian." Victus stood and strode over to face Garrus. "I can't land troops on Omega. It would be the equivalent of the hierarchy declaring war on the Terminus, but I can extend shore leave to any of my people who want it. If they choose to stand guard over your civilians …" His mandibles flicked as he shrugged. "... well, what they do on their time off is none of the hierarchy's business."

Garrus extended his hand. "Thank you, General."

Victus clasped Garrus's wrist. "Just make sure they get back to me. I have a war to prepare them for."

Garrus gripped the other torin's wrist for an extra few seconds, conveying his gratitude silently before turning back to the rest of his people. "I'm assuming weapon maintenance stations are being set up, the blast shields are down over the windows, and Mordin is organizing medical stations?" When they answered to the affirmative, he nodded. "Lock down and seal all but the first, fifth, and tenth floors. We'll use their balconies as sniper perches to cover street access. Set up a hell of a barricade at the end of all three bridges. The more exposed the mercs are coming in, the better."

Running over the preparations again, he couldn't think of anything else he could do prior to strapping Ingrid on and setting up on one of those sniper perches. He gave them all his most bad ass, confident smile. "We will come through this, people, so let's try to minimize repairs and replacement."

He stepped up to face the QEC pads, meeting each set of eyes there. "Over the next few days, we're going to show the council, the Collectors, the Reapers … and any-bloody-one else who thinks they can tear Archangel down ... that we aren't a few buildings, or facilities, or ships. We aren't even soldiers. We're a force … a body formed around a belief that while the enemies set against us might be overwhelming, they can be defeated by courage, and honour, and plain old stubborn refusal to quit. They can knock us down, but when the dust settles, we'll have risen higher than we ever fell, and we'll have ended every, single one of them."

When they all saluted, his father and Wrex included, Garrues returned the gesture. "I'll expect reports by the hour unless there is word of another attack." He held Nihlus's gaze. "Stay connected?" When the Spectre nodded, Garrus turned to the rest. "Dismissed."

Garrus pulled his chair over, needing to sit while he talked to his fratrin. He'd actually managed five hours of sleep the night before, but then a nightmare slapped him awake. He couldn't recall it with any sort of clarity, as usual … and as usual, darkness wrapped him in a tight, frigid blanket of blindness while endless enemies climbed over each other, berserk with bloodlust.

"You look like crap." Nihlus's blunt remark knocked Garrus out of his thoughts.

He nodded. "Yeah, I know. Don't feel much better than I look, either." Eyes narrowing, he studied the Spectre, looking for cracks and chinks in the armour. "How about you? Heard you took a beating on Freedom's Progress."

The Spectre leaned against the console, as if Garrus acknowledging his injuries gave him permission to feel them. "Skull fracture and broken arm. Both of them because they were already weakened. Dr. Chakwas has me just about back to one hundred percent." He laughed, a bitter desert wind. "Do you ever feel like you should just be put in a body cast for a couple of months?"

"Oh yeah." He let out a long breath. "So, what did Anderson leave out of his report on Freedom's Progress?" Before Nihlus could blow him off, he added, "He kept pausing like there was something he didn't know how to tell me. What is it?"

Nihlus dropped his head, bowing like a branch overladen with snow. "Before we reached Freedom's Progress, Ashley Williams contacted me. She said the base where Cerberus had her stationed was attacked by the Collectors." He looked up, his eyes dull with exhaustion. "During the evacuation, she thought she saw Liara T'Soni. It looked like she was working for Cerberus."

Garrus sat up, a deep scowl pulling his plates down and his mandibles in. "Liara? Working for Cerberus? That doesn't make any sense."

Nihlus shrugged. "It doesn't, but on Freedom's Progress, an unusual assortment of soldiers saved my squad's ass … pulled us out when most of us were hurt and then shut down the mechs. Liara, and a turian were teamed up with a handful of humans. They seemed to be the same ones Chief Williams spoke of."

Garrus gnawed at the oddity for a moment. Were they scavengers? No, Liara wouldn't stoop to that. Anyway, guessing got him nowhere fast, so he looked up. "But they pulled you out?"

"Yeah, and at significant risk to themselves. And they arrived after we did, so my guess is that Cerberus is investigating the disappearances." He shrugged and then pushed off the console and straightened. "After I talked to the Chief, I spoke to Liara for a few seconds. She said she wasn't in friendly territory, but an old friend had needed her help and that she'd show up at the base within the week to explain herself. Hopefully, she'll do just that."

Garrus nodded, but his mind ran tallies, adding everything up to see if maybe Liara could be their leak, but … no. She just didn't have the inside information needed. "So, that was what Anderson was holding back? Liara?" That didn't really make sense. Why bother? She'd be an unfortunate asset to lose, but he wouldn't call her exactly vital.

Nihlus let out a long sigh. "You have enough to worry about right now. We can deal with what Anderson is or isn't holding back when you get here." The Spectre glanced behind him. "I think Anderson has some answers for you on somewhere for the refugees to go. I'll check in with you in six hours unless something else blows up. Try to get a little more sleep. Once you arrive back here, you won't be getting any."

Garrus stood. "And you ... back to medbay. Heal. You're no good to us like that."

Nihlus laughed, soft and genuine. "What was it Jane always said? That's the pot calling the kettle hot?"

"Black. It's the pot calling the kettle black," Anderson said, stepping up. "You both look like crap and need to rest until called upon to deliver bullets with great prejudice." He nodded toward the door. "The doctor is looking for you."

Nihlus lifted a hand to Garrus, then turned and walked out of range of the imager.

"Amaterasu has agreed to take your refugees," Anderson informed him, standing at parade rest, as shuttered as Garrus had ever seen him. Damn it, they were still holding something back. Oh well, he'd ferret it out once he set boots on Omega. The Normandy's captain settled to lean on one hip. "They're setting up shelters just outside the capital. I'll send the facility managers and ship captains the information as soon as I sign off here."

Garrus walked up to the main console and leaned his hip against it. "Excellent, thank you, Anderson. Can you continue to organize that? Just let me know what funds you need approved, and I'll get it done."

"I will. Get some rest." As Anderson moved to sign off, Garrus realized that he hadn't filled the captain in on what he discovered on the Citadel.

"Anderson, just a second." He straightened, then leaned forward, arms braced against the edge of the console. "I found Lucille Shepard." Greeting the man's surprise with a smile and a nod, he continued, "She was the art appraiser brought in to look over the items we put up for sale. She's a slave, but she managed to slip me the locations of where she and several other groups of slaves are housed."

"She's alive?" Anderson slumped a little, a slow smile creeping across his face. "I never imagined." The smile evaporated. "Does she know … ?"

"Yes." Garrus pushed off the console. "After we get this stupidity wrapped up, we'll go get her. I've got some people I trust in C-Sec's sapient trafficking squad researching the bases and her owner." He yawned, then chuckled. "I'd better get back to bed while I can. See you in a little less than a day, Anderson."

"Roger that. See you then."

When the captain's image disappeared, Garrus shut down the QEC and turned toward the door, jumping a little when he saw Adrien Victus standing at the threshold. "General. Sorry about that. Didn't know you were there."

Victus smiled and stepped forward. "Sorry for startling you." He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "They're holding the shuttle for me. I wanted to get a chance to talk to you." Nodding toward the chairs, he asked, "May I?"

Garrus held out a hand. "Please." Something about Victus calmed the heavy seas rolling through the general's gut. It didn't take much examination to see why the other torin inspired such loyalty and love from his people. A warmth radiated from him, an aura of concern and a focus when he spoke that made Garrus feel respected … as if what he had to say was important. Holding back a chuckle, he wallowed in the feeling of being a raw recruit, trying to impress his CO. He really needed to work on believing that he deserved his rank.

Victus sat and crossed one ankle over his opposite knee, slouching a little in the chair. "It's been a long few days."

Garrus swiveled his chair and sat. He braced his elbows on his knees, his hands hanging loose. "It has."

"What you've built here … ." Victus shrugged and shifted a little in his chair. "It's remarkable. I've never heard of anyone doing anything like it."

"Shepard laid the foundations before she died," Garrus replied, not trying to diminish his accomplishment, but only willing to take what credit he was due. "The whole time we were chasing Saren, she wove this web of resources and contacts that none of the rest of us even knew about." He chuckled. "And none of us would have guessed. Not even me."

"The two of you were together." It wasn't a question, and when Garrus stiffened, straightening in his seat, Victus just shrugged. "My bond-mate died nearly a decade ago. That look in your eyes has been staring back at me from mirrors for a long time." A long breath hissed between his teeth. "Torini in our position find ourselves in a world of expanding responsibilities and shrinking connection."

Victus dropped his foot to the floor then leaned forward, mirroring Garrus's posture. "I've been watching you since I answered your call for assistance." He chuckled, defusing some of the pressure of that declaration. "Your people love you, and more importantly, they respect and trust you, but with the exception of a few, you're isolated." Holding up a hand to forestall Garrus's reply, the general shrugged. "You have no government to fall back on. You're the leader of an army, but also a small city-state. It's a burden that few understand." Another shrug rippled across his shoulder as he ducked his head a little. "I can't even claim to understand completely."

Garrus cocked one brow plate, really hoping that Victus was working toward offering to be friends or allies. Everyone within Archangel, except maybe Melanis, just understood that he wasn't interested in anything personal. It had saved a great deal of social awkwardness over the cycles.

"Anyway, I'm tired, so I'm rambling," Victus continued, "but under all the words, I'm trying to say that I respect what you've built, and you have my support and friendship. My voice doesn't carry much weight with the hierarchy, but perhaps between your father and I, we can chip away at them." He pushed off his knees and stood, offering his hand. "Good night, General."

Garrus stood and gripped the other torin's elbow. "Garrus is fine, General," he said, his subvocals thrumming with gratitude.

Victus chuckled, a warm rumble. "Then I suppose you'd better call me Adrien." The general nodded and released Garrus's arm. "See you on Omega, Garrus."

"Goodnight." Garrus watched the smaller torin leave, then reached out to lean against the back of his chair. Exhaustion lowered a massive hand on the back of his cowl, threatening to push him down into the chair and force him to sleep right there. Instead, he pushed off and followed the turian general to the elevators. Time to get back into bed and hope for at least six straight hours.

§§§

25 Days ASR

Omega. As Garrus stepped off the shuttle and took a deep breath, he winced and then chuckled. Ah, the sweet, 'rotting corpse in the sewer under a machine bay' stench of home. It seemed like weeks since he'd left rather than just over a week. His mandibles added an ironic flick to his grin as he realized he truly had come to think of the reeking chunk of rock and metal as home. He looked up at the towering block of buildings. Home … probably because he felt closest to Shepard there. Maybe because those buildings had formed the beginning of the dream. Maybe because the grief had been so fresh when they moved in. Maybe because of the dreams.

Taking a deep breath, he shook his head and set out for the far end of the bridge. No time to worry over it right then, whatever the reason. Even though homebase had yet to come under attack, Kasumi Goto had managed to infiltrate all of the staging areas, planting bugs in the Blue Suns and Eclipse camps. The thief reported thousands of mercs and mechs had moved into Kima district, living in makeshift tent cities. They'd even set up recruiting areas in Afterlife and the markets, hiring civilians as bullet sponges. Luckily, with Archangel providing employment and safe harbour for so many over the years, the mercs' recruiting efforts mostly resulted in extra gun hands arriving at homebase.

"The shuttles with the ammo and supplies are leaving the ships now," Martin said, jogging up to walk at Garrus's side. "I let Nihlus know that they're on their way." The kid looked in the direction of Building One and whistled. "Holy crap, that's a lot of turians."

Just outside the main door, General Victus stood at the head of almost one hundred off-duty turian soldiers. Garrus headed that way, finding yet another reason to be grateful for Adrien's presence. Every single off duty soldier the turian ships could spare had reported to the shuttles. Garrus expected maybe a handful of volunteers. Guarding the civilian shelters could hardly be considered adventurous work, but apparently wherever Adrien Victus pointed, every last one of his people followed.

"Quiritus," Victus said, his voice a resonant boom that echoed off Omega's filth, "this is General Garrus Vakarian, commander of Archangel. He'll be your unofficial CO for the remainder of this little vacation." His mandibles flicked in response to the low chuckle that followed the word vacation. "If you have any interpersonal squabbles, bring them to me, so I can slap you in the back of the head and remind you that we're guests in these people's home. Get along, be polite and helpful. Learn your way around. Take care of each other and the civilians in your charge.

Garrus stepped up. "Thank you for volunteering. Although you can always approach myself or Spectre Kryik if you have issues, there are eleven instructors who will be stationed throughout the building." He gestured toward Martin, spying Nyreen walking up behind the kid. "Instructors Weaver and Kandros are two of them. You can tell who they are by the gold wings on their chests. The rest of Archangel staff and cadets wear the wings on their arms."

He waved Martin and Nyreen closer. "These two will give you the tour and set you up in your shelters. You'll each get a billet, and there will be clearly marked dextro food and beverages in every shelter. Make yourselves at home." He cleared his throat. "Archangel employs and trains people from all races, so yes, you will see hanar, volus, batarians, krogan, and even a drell, apparently." Garrus watched the young drell stride past, a set of Blue Suns armour painted over with the Archangel colours. That should prove an interesting story. He dragged himself back.

"We run under a policy of complete tolerance for racial differences and a complete intolerance of disrespect. If anyone gives you a hard time, or expresses disrespect in any form, take it to one of the instructors." He glanced toward Victus, who just nodded. Apparently, Garrus had command. "Thank you again. You're dismissed to get settled in."

"Hey!" Martin called. "Welcome to sunny Omega, and yes, it always stinks like this." He waved everyone forward and headed in the door. "Come on, Instructor Kandros and I will give you the tour and show you where to stow your gear."

Victus stepped up beside Garrus. "Think any of your people will report back to the hierarchy if I stick with you and fill some mercs full of bullets?"

Garrus chuckled and shook his head. Over the course of his life he could count the number of people he considered true friends on his talons, and most of those had been Shepard's people. Of all the places and situations he could've thought to find a friend … well, Omega would be down near the bottom of the list. "General who? No idea who or what you're talking about, Adrien." He tilted his head toward the door. "I need to make sure my base is buttoned up and locked down. Care for the tour?"

"Vakarian!" Wrex bellowed from the other end of the bridge. "Where do you want my krogan?" The behemoth laughed and pummelled his way through the disorganized mass of krogan warriors.

"Bring them along," Garrus called. "We'll put them where the fighting is bound to be thickest." He grinned at the celebratory chorus from the krogan ranks and waved for them to follow.

Just after Garrus passed through the door into the lobby, he felt a slight electrical tingle along his arm. "Miss Goto," he said, his voice low, "I trust you've been keeping busy?"

"You know," the young woman's voice said out of empty space, "this is almost as much fun as the time I spent a week casing the Museum of the Goddess on Thessia. Lived right under their noses … left candy wrappers everywhere. Drove them mad." She chuckled. "They're getting ready to make their move, General. The Eclipse plan to drop their YMIR mechs on the bridge outside of building one. The heavies will be backed up by LOKI and FENRIS mechs as well as Eclipse personnel."

"How many of each?" he asked, stopping at the top of the stairs. He held up a talon, asking her to wait before answering as he turned to look over the mass of krogan. "Wrex, I'm leaving you in charge of your men. They'll be stationed in the lowest sublevel. My people are already in position down there. Grundan and Mieran will make sure you have everything you need. Don't break my elevator by overloading it." He grinned and turned away without waiting for Wrex's inevitable retort.

"If you're calling us fat, Vakarian … ."

Garrus chuckled and headed for the elevator. Once the doors sealed and they were on their way down, he let out a long breath. "Okay, numbers, Miss Goto?" He reached out where he figured she was and thumped a hand down on her head. "You could make it easier for everyone if you deactivated the cloak."

She shimmered into existence. "Fine. The Blood Pack come in just over one thousand, but most of those are vorcha. Maybe three hundred krogan." Her mostly hidden face curled into a delicate sneer of distaste. "They brought in twenty or so shipping containers full of varren. I couldn't get a decent count on them because the varren picked up my scent and alerted the guards."

"Where are they coming at us? The tunnels?" Garrus leaned back against the railing, his talons gripping it just behind him, using the posture to hide the fact that the enemy numbers were quite literally staggering. If the Blood Pack wasn't even quite a third of the enemy numbers … .

"Yes. No one else wanted to be anywhere near the Blood Pack or the sewers." She took a long breath and opened her omnitool. "The Blood Pack staging grounds are outside the district sewers, so they'll be coming in along these routes." Lines of bright red appeared on the map.

"They have three choices to get in, all of which we have covered. So … next?" He straightened as the elevator chimed, and then led the way out into the surreal and pristine garden level.

"What in the … ," Victus whispered. "Spirits. You have a paradise in the sewers of Omega."

Garrus grinned and took a deep breath, the heady aroma of flowers and herbs killing the usual stench. "We got the idea from some vagrant sellers in the black market down by the docks and ran with it. Imported soil … put in a water reclamation and irrigation system … gold-halide lights. Quarians helped us lock down the details. Most of our produce is grown right here in our basement levels." He led the way toward the far end. "Next, Miss Goto?"

"Blue Suns. They're the biggest group because all the smaller merc organizations merged in with them. Guess they didn't trust the vorcha or the mechs. Anyway, the Suns have two dozen gunships. I spent the week stealing parts and sabotaging them, but they have a decent repair crew, so they get them back up within a day or two. I would've just planted a big bomb in their hangar, but I was afraid they'd attack before we—"

"How many Suns?" Garrus asked, cutting off the rest. Fear threw off sparks, incinerating his patience.

"Twenty-seven hundred give or take. They took over the abandoned buildings at the edge of the district." She bent down and picked a pea pod off a vine and split it open. "Oh, nice." She popped one into her mouth. "Anyway, the Suns are planning to let Eclipse soften you up and draw your forces to the front, then hit from the sides. They're going to use the gunships to take out the blast shields over the windows and drop troops on uncovered floors."

Thirty five hundred so far plus who knew how many varren. "Eclipse?" he demanded, tighter and gruffer than he intended as a vice closed.

"Fifty YMIR mechs, five hundred LOKI, another two hundred FENRIS give or take. Fifteen hundred personnel. They were prepping the mechs when I left their base two hours ago. We don't have much time." She vanished. "Orders?"

Garrus paused. The YMIR mechs and the gunships presented the greatest advantage. Even with all her technical prowess, he doubted that Kasumi could take care of very many of the mechs, but the gunships … . "Take Keiji, and blow the shit out of those gunships. They're attacking anyway, and the aerial advantage is too great. We need to control when and how they enter."

"Yes, sir, General, sir."

He heard her rustling through the plants and turned. "Be careful, Miss Goto."

She laughed, bright and cheery, sounding as if the entire thing amounted to one huge adventure. "Of course. I'm always careful." He envied her the seemingly endless well of optimism and self-confidence she possessed.

"General Vakarian!" a haughty, clipped voice called from a storage room along the right hand wall. "I believe I asked to speak with you a week ago."

Garrus looked over at the quarian contained behind the plexiglass door. "I've had other matters to attend to, Admiral Xen. I'll deal with you when I have time." He strode up to the cell and leaned forward. "And by deal, I mean send you to Purgatory where they will freeze you into a quarian-shaped ice cube and stick you on a shelf for … ever." Giving her his most condescending smile, he turned on his talons and strode off.

"Who is that?" Victus asked, glancing back as Xen pounded against the door.

"One of the quarian admiralty board,' Garrus explained. "One very sick, sadist piece of work."

"Rannoch is the quarians' by right of evolution," Xen called after them, her voice growling through her speaker. "And now we're supposed to accept it back from the hands of the geth in some grand act of charity? They are our tools, our creations, ones that should serve our will. We will take it back, and put the geth back in their rightful place as our servants."

Garrus just shook his head and blocked both her and the memories of Haestrom out of his head. He didn't need that mess rolling around in there along with the rest. By the time they reached the other end of the garden and stepped down into the staging area, he'd wrapped up all his emotions and packed them away. They'd just get in the way. He needed to stay in his head.

"We're ready here, General," Grundan called as soon as Garrus started down the stairs.

"So I see," he agreed, looking over the neat rows of cots, weapon racks, crates of food, and water packed in ice. His people sat around tables cleaning their weapons. "I've sent fifty krogan your way." Glancing behind him, he saw the first of those krogan making their way through the garden. More than one of them held flowers, sniffing at them with a mixture of wonder and suspicion.

"Thanks, boss. We can use them." The krogan hitched up his armour and nodded toward the open door on the right hand wall. "Only real weakness is the garage, but we have cover set up all over in there." Garrus walked over to look into the huge chamber. Another large squad sat with Mieran working on wiring explosive charges. "Looks like you have things well in hand here."

"With these reinforcements, we'll hold them." Grundan's face contorted into a vicious-looking smile.

"I know you will. Keep in touch. One hour check-ins until the enemy engages, then every thirty minutes." Garrus turned and headed back up.

They found Nihlus on the first floor, setting up racks of heat sinks along the balcony. Spare M-97 Vipers lay in open cases along the low wall in case of jams or other malfunctions.

The bandage and the regen cage were gone, and when he straightened to greet them, the Spectre's movements looked steady and strong. He strode over and grasped Garrus by the shoulders. "You look better. Get some sleep?"

Returning the embrace, Garrus nodded. "Yeah, a full seven hours. Kandros stood guard outside my door and threatened anyone who tried to wake me." He slapped Nihlus on the shoulder and stepped away. "You look better as well."

The Spectre answered that with a rueful grimace. "Chakwas. She stuck me in a regen field and stood over me with a syringe, threatening to tranq me if I moved." He looked past Garrus. "General Victus, welcome to Archangel. Thank you for the extra bodies. They're freeing up a lot of guns for the line, and we're going to need them." He looked back to Garrus. "Chakwas has distributed stims, but we're going to have a hell of a time rotating people out to rest."

Waving them over to the balcony, he pointed to movement on the other side of the barricade erected across the far end of the bridge. "They've got the numbers to keep us running even with the bottleneck."

Garrus stared out at the yellow uniforms hurrying around the other end. They didn't have long, and Nihlus was right. Once it started, they were in for a long, hard fight with very little rest. "I'm going to head up to the twenty fourth floor and check on things there."

"Chakwas and Mordin have taken over the whole floor and spent the last few days training medics. They upgraded the geth to act as triage medics." He chuckled. "Count on Chakwas to have even the inorganics running scared."

"And the civilians are in the gymnasiums on thirty to thirty-six?" Garrus confirmed, but held up a hand to forestall Nihlus's reply as a low whirring sound filled the room, rolling in through the open balcony. "They're sending in heavy mechs!" he bellowed as antigrav lifts flew over the barricade. He lifted Ingrid from his back and flicked off the safety. "Call general quarters. This is it, people. Archangel is at war."

(A-N: Don't want to jinx myself, but might actually be getting onto a semi-regular writing schedule. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed. Hugs)