MASS EFFECT WINTER EYES: CHAPTER 26
Locating Garrus Vakarian was not a daunting task for Macha. Throughout the years knowing him before Charon messed with her brain, she recalled two things that pumped his blue blood: calibrations and weapons. Grissom Academy had very minor defenses compared to a regular Alliance base. They never anticipated a full-blown attack. The system consisted of a defense kinetic barrier and an armory inside the facility itself. Nothing changed following the first Cerberus attack. A critical weakness. There was no way Garrus could improve their defenses with the resources that they had onsite so the security station was not an option. The next best thing would be the training simulator. It was located adjacent to the Atrium and one of the bigger rooms at the school. Inside, students would be able to test their biotic abilities for training purposes only with the safety protocols in place. A few random holo projections to launch singularities at in purely self-defense. Nothing outside the scope of the guidelines set by the founders of the program. Though, the Alliance brass was pressing for further advances. Biotics were crucial when it came to new recruits and well trained ahead was ideal. As anticipated, the room was occupied and locked to prevent harm to another student. Only a staff member or in Shepard's case, a Spectre could override the seal. Placing her thumb in the scanner, Macha waited a few seconds until the satisfying chirps indicated the simulation in progress to be abruptly terminated, then the doors opened. The entire room was covered in sterile white tile including the floor and ceiling. Garrus was standing in the center with his sniper rifle at his hip. "Guess I was easy to find, huh?" He tossed casually her way.
Macha smugly crossed her arms with a grin. "Yep. What was your kill count?"
"Ten on the highest level. The fake rounds tempted me. Couldn't help myself."
"Just ten?" Shepard tossed at him challengingly. "You getting slow, Vakarian?"
The turian chuckled at her remark. "The simulation didn't start until two minutes before you arrived. You interrupted me."
Macha uncrossed her arms and stared at her old lover. It pained her to see him without having the option to embrace him. An invisible barrier was between them. She knew she hurt him and he had every right to be angry with her. Even more so than he was letting on. The critical situation that they were in took precedence over her true intent of their meeting. "Kahlee, Jack, the students and the remainder of the staff are safe and under Alliance protection. I have ordered everyone else to leave here within an hour. Staying to go up against Charon would not be best."
"I agree. We don't know what kind of firepower they will throw at us."
"Just sitting ducks, waiting to be hit," Macha added.
"What? Sitting ducks?" Garrus tilted his head to look at her for further explanation. "That's a human statement isn't it?"
"Turians don't have any?" She countered.
"We do, but more so to our military history. What failed commanders did."
"Try me."
Garrus took a breath as he stared across at her, collapsing his sniper rifle into carry-on mode. "Shepard, I know you didn't come here to indulge more on turian culture. I always told you to find something closer to home and you did. I figured that your past feelings never left after Horizon…."
"Garrus, things were different when he went against the Collectors. Kaidan and I fell apart. He didn't trust me and he had every right not to. I was with Cerberus and believed the lies that the Illusive Man put in front of me."
"He blinded you with old friends. You can't blame him. Though, I'm grateful for the assist on Omega."
"That was rough." Macha smiled gently at him in reminiscence. "Why did you piss off every merc group again?" She took a few steps closer and her footsteps echoed among walls in the hollow room.
"Trying to clean up Omega. I couldn't let the exploitation of the weak continue. Aria definitely didn't care." His stance stiffened by her approach. "Shepard, don't- "
Macha stopped in mid-step by his command and blinked. "Don't what?" Her voice innocent and genuine.
"I…you know it's difficult to even deal with this…" He shook his head as he began to pace. "I believed we were crazy to even try it. My feelings got me in trouble on Omega and I let them blind me during our mission against the Collectors."
Without saying a word, Macha reached out with her left hand and let her fingers gingerly touch the scar on his face. "Garrus…we have been through some crazy things. Fighting a Thresher Maw on Tuchanka on foot was probably the top."
"Not toe to toe with Harbinger?" Garrus cracked a thin smile.
Macha held her hand on his face as her emerald green eyes captured his blue ones. "I have missed you…"
Garrus nuzzled her hand as he felt her warm skin touching his cybernetic implant. Her caress was captivating and tranquility spread through his body. It seemed like old times. Reality crept over the horizon like a sunrise and he held her wrist with his right talons. His face hardened. "Don't…" His voice cracked as he removed her hand from his face.
His sudden change startled Macha. "Please, don't push me away…"
The turian hung his head in defeat and shook it slowly from side to side. "I know you still have feelings for Kaidan." He exhaled and lifted his head to look upon her again. "I need to step aside. There's too much at stake now to have some silly triangle between the three of us. Kaidan is my comrade and you are my Commander."
The words hurt Macha and she took a step back from him. "Is that all I am to you?" She hissed. "You tracked me down on Omega. You told me yourself. You knew where to find me. Don't lie to me and yourself, Garrus. I know you better than this."
A wailing klaxon blared through the room's speakers and the same could be heard outside the facility's halls, dampening their private conversation. Macha expanded her omni tool to reach out to Liara within the academy. "Liara! What's going on?"
"There's a level one class transport heading to our location. Radio communications have been jammed!" The asari's voice was frantic on the other end. "Kaidan and Miranda went to make sure the landing pads are secured and bunkered down. Tali is working on getting the comms back online."
"Is the defense shield in place?" Macha gave a sideways glance to Vakarian before moving purposefully towards the security station where their friend was.
"Yes. However, the transport is armed. I don't know much the shields can take."
"Could be Charon." Kaidan came through the conversation from his location. "A transport of that class could hold twenty men."
"Twenty to six. Not too bad of odds." Garrus commented as he took Macha's side. "We've had worse."
"True, but could be just the first ship." Macha countered. "Who knows how many are waiting for the order to come through the relay." Her mind became whirlwind as she thought through a virtual combat simulation. If in fact this was Charon, then mostly this was only a scouting party. They would give a positive ID to Shepard and her team before the remaining ships jumped through. Most likely, the identification would not take place until they boarded. It would take another thirty minutes for the others to jump through the relay and be at their coordinates. That meant, Shepard and her team needed to nullify the first team and get their ass off Grissom within five minutes. Heading to the relay was out of the question and their only option would be Elysium. Charon would have the same idea but the port was large and Alliance friendly. With a small amount of luck, they could land and have backup. Civilian casualties may be high though. Especially if Charon's reach already breached the port and a team was awaiting their arrival. They were going to be pinned. She had to risk it. They couldn't sit and fight their way through everyone on Grissom. "Everyone, meet me down at the landing pad. We clear out the first ship and get the hell out of here!"
"Understood." Tali was the first to speak up.
"Loud and clear. Miranda and I will be standing by here," Kaidan replied.
Macha increased her pace as she navigated the large unfamiliar halls with the help of her omni tool. It displayed the school's layout that Sanders downloaded for her. Moments later, Liara's voice came through her ear piece. "Shepard, there's a problem." Her voice calm.
"Liara! Why are you not down with the others?!" Macha knew that her friend was still at the security room.
"I wanted to run more scans on the ship as it neared. That transport's origin is from Omega."
This new evidence made Macha stop in mid-stride and she looked at her turian companion quizzically. He looked just as puzzled as she did. "Omega? Are you sure?" He asked for her.
"Yes. No scrambler in place." Liara stated matter-of-factly.
"That doesn't make any sense." Macha gritted her teeth as she continued her pace. "Why would Charon have a base on Omega? Aria would be all over that."
"Doubt that Aria knew about it," Garrus muttered.
"Agreed. I have learned that not everything is filtered back to her. Cerberus did have control of the station years ago. If Charon is connected, it makes perfect sense. The ship's departure could be made to throw us off." Her heart rate increased as she saw the landing pad in her sights where Alenko, Miranda and Tali were waiting for her.
"I'm on my way! Someone is trying to hack into the facility's systems and take out the defense grid!" Liara radioed in. "It's an advanced algorithm! Very high tech! I'm having Glyph change the access codes now."
Macha looked upon the four that were with her. Each had their weapon drawn and their faces filled with duty and determination. "We can't count on that shield holding. Please plan on them boarding us."
"They will do a two by two formation." Alenko stated. "Won't pile out at one time. Would be too easy to pick off any other way. Guns blazing will be their MO. "
"Biotics could be in the back to launch attacks." Miranda brought up. "I can handle them."
"Shepard, the shields are down!" Liara raced in.
"Okay. Miranda, you take point with Liara. Kaidan, I want you to take the left flank and I'll take the right. Garrus, you find a good spot to snipe those bastards and Tali, you take the rear and use your combat drones for now." No one doubted her decision and each moved to their designated areas. Macha checked her rounds on her assault rifle and moved into position, glancing over to Alenko who gave her a worried look. He nodded his head at her attention and created a biotic barrier for an extra layer of protection beyond his armor's kinetic shields. Miranda did the same. A purple glowing orb floated past them to secure the front of the landing pad. Tali's combat drone.
"Incoming docking vessel," The facility's main computer spoke through the room's intercom speakers. "Welcoming staff, please go to your station for arrival. ETA five minutes."
Macha took a breath. Everything seemed to go in slow motion from that point on. Her mind ticking away the seconds. The longest five minutes in her life. When she got to the two-minute mark, she lifted her head only a little to take another stock of her team. All were in their places with their weapons drawn. "This is it!" She rallied them. "When they come through those doors, unleash hell!"
The transport's image came to view as it slowed down to dock with the magnetic holds. The area jolted a little from the connection. Seconds later, the docking tube set in place and then air could be heard from the seals as the ship's main door was being opened. The docking area pressurized to compensate and once clear, Macha's room's door opened to connect to the adjacent room. Shepard held her breath as she waited for Charon to come out into the charge with guns at the ready. However, her eyes seemed to deceive her. Instead, three krogan bounded through the doors, heavily armed. "Watch the charge!" Alenko warned his team.