Chapter 6 – No Vakarian Without Shepard

"Your message offered little insight into your situation. Care to elaborate, Garrus?" Aderia asked as she casually seated herself on the couch across from where James and Ashley were seated. James was focused on Aderia, but Ashley glanced up at Shepard with a curious look. Shepard reciprocated with a stern look of her own before crossing her arms and standing next to Garrus, facing their Turian informant. "A random group of mercenaries of unknown affiliation just showed up on the Citadel and attempted to take you out? To what end?"

"We're not sure. The group was aware of my identity as Archangel and they threatened people I'm close to." Garrus was trying to sound formal and composed, but Shepard could still sense he was anxious about Aderia. "There were ten of them. Well-armed and trained. Caught me, Shepard, Williams and Vega at a restaurant. We took them out, but there were injuries." Garrus glanced sheepishly at Shepard and Shepard returned a strained smile; that most certainly wasn't something Aderia needed to know about. "The surviving thugs didn't reveal much except that their contact met them on Omega. That plus the reference to Archangel told us Omega was the place to look for answers."

"And your little posse was shot at on the way into Omega as well." Aderia added, sounding nonchalant.

"We don't think that's related." Shepard said, choosing to keep her surprise regarding Aderia's knowledge to herself; Aderia was an informant after all, why wouldn't she know about what was going on here on Omega? "That incident seems to have something to do with Aria t'Loak. It's likely they were targeting her henchman Bray, whom Aria dispatched to recruit us on arrival."

The turian woman nodded slowly, "Perhaps. Bray is one of Aria's most trusted lieutenants. But then there was your little incident at the Black Hole lounge. That could have been an attempt on Archangel. Then again maybe they were targeting one of Aria's key allies… or possibly one of her would-be enemies." Aderia mused, her bright gold eyes scanning Shepard almost hungrily. "Everyone knows Aria would never have retaken Omega from Cerberus without your help, Commander. And considering the recent troubles she's been having retaining control of the station…"

Shepard bristled. Why the hell was everyone bringing that up? "I did what I had to during the Reaper War. As for what Aria has going on now…" Shepard shifted uncomfortably under Garrus' dark stare "Aria's troubles are not our concern. We're here to deal with Garrus' would-be assassins. Garrus seems to trust you and your intel." Shepard nodded toward Sidonis then. "But considering how you're testing his patience, I'm wondering if this little excursion was really worth the trouble."

Aderia chuckled as if she were listening to a child say something amusing. "Your little wife is a bold one, I'll give her that." She moved from her lounging position to clasp her taloned hands before her, motioning toward Sidonis at the door with a slight tilt of her head. "I didn't send Sidonis to meet with you, Garrus. He was supposed to be meeting up with another group of mercenaries I was hiring to deal with a group of Blood Pack thugs down in the Kima district. Things have gotten pretty messy here on Omega since Aria lost control of the Talons."

Shepard blinked in surprise, "Aria lost control of the Talons? How?"

"No one's sure. One minute Aria was commanding them in the efforts to restore her Omega, the next they were apparently taking orders from someone else. They just started attacking Aria's people. It's escalated into war in the streets, people get caught in the skirmishes everyday… Kandros would've flipped a mandible if she were still here." Aderia's mandibles set into the turian version of a grimace, "The Talons claim the Liberator will free Omega of Aria's tyranny. I have my people doing what they can for the civilians, but it's far from enough."

"The Liberator? Sounds like some disgruntled rebel who's not too fond of Aria's regime." Ashley stated, finally speaking up from her place on the sofa. "You know anything about them?"

"All anybody knows is that they wrested control of the Talons from Aria and they intend on putting an end to her once and for all." Aderia shook her head, a curious look of regret flashing in her golden eyes. "The Liberator killed Aria's Patriarch. It was a clear enough message to Omega's queen: she's next."

"The Patriarch? Shit…" Shepard swore, running a gloved hand through her hair as she recalled the aging Krogan Warlord she'd helped a few years back. "If there was anything anyone could do to get to Aria at this point, that was it. This is serious…"

"Aria's been in control for centuries, though. Does this Liberator really think they can take her out after everything she's done to keep her hold on Omega? She kicked Cerberus off the station for crying out loud…" Vega said.

"She's still weak following her war against Cerberus… she wasted a lot of lives and resources to take Omega back." Aderia pointed out. "People are pissed… she doesn't really have the numbers to hold the station. It's a golden opportunity for a revolution on Omega."

Garrus turned toward Shepard. "This is probably what Aria wanted to talk to you about."

Shepard sighed. "Undoubtedly. But that's not why we're here, Garrus." She looked at the turian woman seated on the sofa, "Do you have any intel about the people who attacked Garrus then?"

Aderia stared at Shepard unblinkingly. "I'm afraid not. My focus has been to protect the civilians here to the best of my ability. I've been out of the loop regarding anything beyond that." Before Shepard or Garrus could speak, Aderia stood. "But I can put out feelers. See if any of my own people and contacts have heard anything."

"That sounds like a maybe…" Shepard turned back to face her husband then, knowing he wasn't going to like what she was about to suggest. "Not to knock Aderia's information gathering skills or anything… there's no guarantee her people will turn up anything. Bray made it sound as if Aria actually had something, Garrus."

Garrus snorted. "Yeah, for what price though?" he asked sarcastically, reacting exactly as Shepard expected. "She'll ask you to complete some impossible task to help her in her civil war here on Omega and you know it! Aria's continued rule on Omega isn't something I want to get involved in!"

"At least we know we'll get something! Besides, it's not like Aderia's intel's gonna come cheap." Shepard countered, uncrossing her arms. What was this… the tenth argument they've had since the attack on the Citadel? "I'd rather pay for a sure thing than a maybe."

"Whatever Aderia's asking for will most definitely be a hell of a lot cheaper than whatever Aria will ask for!" Garrus snapped.

Glancing cautiously between the two before stepping forward, Aderia spoke up, "She's right… I'd have to ask for your help Garrus. And it's not cheap… but I'm pretty sure you all can handle it."

Garrus shifted his blue gaze from Shepard to Aderia. "What's your price?" he asked tersely.

"Nothing crazy like taking out Aria or something… but I need that Blood Pack group I mentioned earlier dealt with. I'm pretty confidant my people will have something about the thugs that attacked you by the time you get back." Aderia said, her golden eyes flitting between Garrus and Shepard.

"A whole Blood Pack group? And you're 'pretty confidant' your people can get us our intel?" Shepard scoffed, her gaze never leaving her husband. "I don't like it, Garrus."

"It's still a cheaper favor than whatever Aria would ask." Garrus pointed out.

"For a maybe." Shepard retorted.

Garrus groaned, "Look, Shepard I get that you had to help her during the Reaper War. Better Aria than Cerberus any day. But we don't have to play her games anymore… and it sounds like these civilians need our help. I'd rather deal with a maybe if it means helping someone over dealing with an absolute and hurting someone."

Shepard sighed and threw up her hands. "Fine. Your mission, your call. You've heard my opinion."

"Pretty sure the Keepers on the Citadel heard your opinion…" Garrus muttered, and Shepard gave him a don't-test-me stare. He let out a nervous cough, "We'll help you out, Aderia… just tell us what you need."

Aderia smiled. "Excellent."

"We're seriously going to help Garrus' ex?" Ashely asked Shepard from across the kitchen island as they checked over the gear they'd brought with them from the Normandy. The counter was covered with a variety of weapons and tools: pistols, rifles, shotguns, thermal clips, grenades, omni-gel packs, and a handful of mods. Shepard tried to focus on setting up her own pistol and assault rifle, but a quiet, innate rage regarding Garrus' comments was stewing quite nicely; add a pinch of Ashley query and simmer. "What happened to getting the mission done quickly and quietly and returning to the Citadel so you and Garrus could take off for your honeymoon?" Ashley asked again.

"Sounds like it's for a good cause. What's the problem?" Vega asked as he lovingly looked over his shotgun.

Ashley rolled her eyes at Vega, and Shepard couldn't help but wonder how her eyes hadn't rolled out of her head by now. "Sure, good cause… yeah. But implications!" She leaned forward against the table and tried to catch Shepard's eye. "It's still his ex we're talking about here. Anybody else think she seemed overly familiar as she was talking to Garrus? Plus, he was practically tripping over himself…"

Shepard felt her cheeks starting to burn as she listened to Ashley's observations. Was there still an attraction? She took a calming breath before trying reason, "They served together in the Turian military, Ash. You and I both know that tends to engender familiarity. I'm sure it's nothing…"

"Yeah… but they also slept together. And if they worked together during Garrus' Archangel days…" Ashley was cut off by Vega's obnoxious snort.

"Garrus and Shepard are married, Ash! He loves her, like a lot… got him drunk at his bachelor party and all he could go on about was how he was the luckiest Turian alive. I don't think a past fling is gonna get between what they've got." It was Vega's turn to roll his eyes. "You've really gotta stop watching that Asari drama crap…

"I'm not saying the fling will get in between them! But I guarantee there will be trouble…" Ashley trailed off as Garrus approached them from where he'd been talking to Aderia and Sidonis. She stared at him with a wide-eyed look for several seconds before averting her gaze and busying herself with her own weapons. "Vakarian."

Garrus gave Ashley a curious look. "You okay, Williams?"

Ashley let out a loud bark of a laugh, "Yep. Never better! I'm gonna… look out a window or something. Vega! You should come with!" she answered, her voice overly loud. "Vega?"

"Yeah, yeah… give me a minute. I'm restocking my grenades and there's a melee mod I want to- whoah!" James yelped as Ashley roughly grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the kitchen island. "Damn, woman!"

"Thanks for the pep talk, Ash!" Shepard called out after the two marines. "Real inspiring!" She turned back to her pistol, pointedly ignoring Garrus and focusing on maintaining the magazine upgrade. "Why I picked her for maid-of-honor is beyond me…"

"What the hell was that about?" Garrus asked, staring intently at Shepard. Shepard let out a nonchalant shrug and tightened a screw. "Okay… I know you're pissed…" Garrus started.

"Pissed? Why would I be pissed?" Shepard asked, expertly popping the heat sink from her weapon and aiming at one of the kitchen cabinets to check the sight. "You're in charge, right? Your mission your call…except I'm wondering when we'll be getting to the part where we actually complete the mission…"

"Shepard…"

"Garrus…"

Garrus leaned against the table with a sigh, eyeing the tech laid out on the table. A weighted silence settled between the two of them. Shepard caught James and Ashley glancing back at them from their window and felt a flush rise in her cheeks. Before the doubts that Ashley had planted could really take root, Garrus interceded, "You know I couldn't do this without you, right?"

Shepard's doubts dissipated then, and she felt the corner of her mouth lift slightly, "Sure you could. Not as stylishly of course." Garrus let out a hearty laugh that caught the attention of the others throughout the apartment. Aderia gave them a curious stare from where she was talking with Sidonis and Shepard felt herself grin. "Alright… but when this is over, and the honeymoon starts we are SOOO trying that thing I wanted to do in bed…"

"Yeah, pretty sure I owe you…" Garrus took his assault rifle from its holster on his back and looked it over. Shepard watched as his weariness from earlier quickly returned, "Never wanted to go back to Kima…" he said quietly, sounding haunted.

Shepard gently laid her hand on Garrus' arm and softly said, "That was another lifetime Garrus… you're not alone anymore…"

Garrus glanced back toward Sidonis. "I'm starting to wonder if I ever really left that life behind…" He took a breath and nodded at Shepard. "I'm good."

"Yes, you are. I can attest to that." Shepard smiled at Garrus and picked up her assault rifle to prop up on her shoulder. "Let's go deal with some Blood Pack mercenaries, shall we?"