Chapter 44: Blink of an Eye

Tali had actually kind of been enjoying the evening with Garrus. Even though they were just pretending to be a couple, she could tell he was actually this funny and charming when he wanted to be. Garrus was definitely easier to talk to than the Quarian men her father had arranged for her to meet on the Rayya. All military minded bosh'tets with absolutely no sense of humor. He may have been taking it personally when she called him a racist but, the amount of times he called her a thief made Tali feel like he was in on the joke. It was a shame he wasn't a Quarian, Tali would never tell him this but, he was the type of guy she'd bring home. She also had to remind herself that, as far as she knew, he was still with Chloe Michel. That wouldn't stop her from innocently teasing him over the nerdy things they had in common. Unfortunately, he quickly changed as soon as the Human's guest of honor appeared.

At first, Tali didn't understand why he had broken the glass of soda he was holding onto. Sure, the woman was pretty Tali guessed but, that was no reason for Garrus to react quite that way. Then she recognized the Turian she had with her as the nurse who took care of Kal after Virmire. If her memory served, he had also been friends with Garrus in CSEC prior to joining the Normandy. The revelation only made Tali confused, why would he get angry over seeing an old friend? That was until she heard the name of the woman he was with from Hock. Cassandra de Jongh had been experimenting on children, including Zero, to enhance their biotic abilities. The question became why would one of Garrus' old friends work for someone like her?

Kal didn't seem to be doing any better on her other side squeezing Zero's arm as they quietly argued. Did both of them not remember Jack telling them to keep calm and not start attacking? Cassandra was definitely spouting thinly veiled xenophobic propaganda but, that was nothing new for a Quarian to have to deal with. If she hadn't met Nihlus in the Zakea Ward, she would've died from no one thinking she was worth saving on the Citadel. Then she saw a Human on Kal's other side playing with handcuffs. She knew that look, he wanted to arrest Kal, or worse right now. Tali also started noticing several of the supposed party goers reaching for items up their sleeves. If she was on the Citadel, Tali would've been suspicious this was a CSEC setup to arrest her.

She was reaching for her omni tool to warn Shepard when she heard Kal say, "Jack, I want you to forget everything I told you earlier and do your thing."

In the blink of an eye, Zero warped in Cassandra's direction to start attacking her while Kal punched the Human next to him. Instantly the suspicious party goers stripped their fancy outfits off to reveal slim Alliance branded armor and started shooting at everyone in the crowd by the dance floor. She thought it was going to be an immediate bloodbath but, given the fact that all of Hock's guests were criminals and murderers themselves, they started returning fire and dashing for cover. Tali realized her omni communications were being jammed and so instead, pulled out her pistol and started shooting at the criminals. They were technically on the Alliance's side in this fight and she wanted to show them that. It was a surprise then when Garrus tackled her over the bar table to avoid gunfire.

Garrus yelled over the noise and stared at her, "What the hell do you think your doing?"

Tali wished he could see the glare she was giving him, "Helping the Alliance, because they're the good guys you know. What are you doing?"

Garrus pulled out his own pistol and fired at one of the Alliance troops over the table, "We're dressed up like criminals Tali. If mercs see us shooting at them they'll shoot back. The Alliance won't know we're good and shoot us anyways."

Tali yanked him back down into cover before he could shoot again, "Are you being serious right now?! We can't kill these soldiers. They're innocent just sweeping out a crime syndicate."

Garrus was about to reply when Cassandra came flying at the bar from one of Zero's biotic attacks. The Turian moved to shoot her in the head but, she was faster sending him flying backwards towards the door outside. A moment later Zero was on top of Cassandra and trying to strangle her to death. Despite being smaller and younger, Zero was staying on top of her with superior biotic ability. The problem was, that left them both exposed on top of the table and Alliance soldiers were turning to shoot at both of them. Tali regretfully killed them with her own pistol before they could take a shot. It felt wrong killing members of the Human military force but, they weren't giving her a lot of options.

Cassandra finally kicked Zero off and down to the ground before looking towards the front door, "Oh shit! Everyone get down!"

Tali assumed it was a ploy until the explosions started outside on the docks. Alliance fighters were strafing above the three docking pads of the estate trying to destroy any ship that would be an escape route, including the Normandy. Having just worked on the drive core, Tali knew the ship's shields could withstand a bombardment but, not forever. They needed to get out of here as soon as possible, the Alliance fighters could accidentally send the estate into the ocean with one missed shot. Cassandra ignored Tali running towards her ship with Zero warping after her. The two quickly tumbled down the stairs outside to the docks before disappearing behind one of the other ships.

She was about to start running back to the Normandy when suddenly, more Alliance forces were bursting through the ceiling and started shooting into the crowd. Did they not realize the person they should've been going after was outside and actively trying to escape? Tali felt a little hope when she saw Ashley Williams was the soldier leading the Alliance team. She had been a little racist back on the original Normandy but, she was still rational enough to work with them to defeat Saren. If Tali could get to her, she was sure she could explain to Williams what was going on here and they'd stop shooting at them. Her hopes were crushed instantly as Ashley made eye contact with her only to start shooting directly at her. Had she not recognized her? Regardless, Tali just started running in the other direction to avoid the shots.

Garrus grabbed her arm from the outside of the doorway for cover, "Are you alright?"

Tali glanced down at her dress suit looking for wounds, "This kriffing suit doesn't have diagnostics so I don't know but, I think I'm ok."

Garrus fired a few shots around the corner, seemingly forcing Ashley to retreat towards the art exhibit, "Get back to the Normandy, I have to go back inside and find Sidonis."

Tali shook her head aggressively, "This whole estate could come crashing down around our ears into the ocean, we need to find Kal, Zero, and Jack then go!"

Garrus gave her a cold look even though he was conflicted, "He helped get the rest of my team killed. You don't think he deserves to pay for that?"

Tali fired at a mercenary running towards his ship to get away, "I just think we have a lot of other things to worry about right now. You can go after Sidonis later, like when everyone else is safe."

Garrus shook his head while peaking around the corner, "Go look for them all you want, but it won't change my mind."

She was concerned from the cold harshness in his voice. Tali had definitely seen Saren this irrationally angry on the Citadel but, he had been under the effects of indoctrination at the time. Garrus was apparently willing to let his friends fend for themselves in the middle of a warzone just so he could have revenge. It was extremely petty for the CSEC officer she used to know but, it had been two years and a lot could change in that time. The fastest thing to do would've been to let him go and look for Kal, Zero, and Shepard on her own. However, she wanted the help since this 'dress' suit wouldn't notify her of a breach.

Tali pulled him back to the cover, "Garrus, are you listening to me? This building could collapse into the ocean any second now and Jack's still inside. We have to go! This isn't like you."

Garrus shoved her, albeit gently, away from his shoulder, "He deserves to die for the lives he's taken! Who's going to bring Sidonis to justice if I don't? Nobody else knows what he's done. Nobody else will! You go find the others, I have to end this, for me."

It was incredibly selfish and stupid, meaning Garrus rolled around the corner going back inside to find Sidonis. Tali wanted to smack him over the head with her shotgun but, that would have to wait. She had to find the others before it was too late, and she'd start with Zero since the two women had rolled out here to begin with. After sprinting across the open front doorway to the ship Cassandra and Zero rolled behind, she was stunned to see the younger teen clinging to her head and groaning. Her first assumption was that Cassandra had just hit her head hard, after a closer look though Tali realized there was more to it. A small circular device was attached to Zero's shoulder and zapping her whenever she tried to muster up any biotics. She tugged it off only to have to duck out of the way from a warp.

She turned her head towards the right to see Feron and Cassandra trading blows. Cassandra was surprisingly good at keeping up with the Drell, bouncing and weaving around his strikes only to deliver her own. Tali wanted to get involved and shoot at her but, the two of them were moving around each other with biotics so fast that she was afraid she'd hit Feron or herself. The sound of an Alliance fighter screamed across the sky just before the missile strike landed all around them. It caused the ground below Feron's feet to fall out from under him forcing Tali to leap to catch his arm.

A fire separated them from Cassandra and she blew them a kiss, "It was a good effort Feron. Cerberus thanks you for your service."

_o0o_

Kal had potentially underestimated just how good of a hand-to-hand fighter Vega was. Whenever Kal tried to swing low, Arnold would take a step back and go high. If he tried to protect his helmet, Vega would be free to send a powerful kick or punch to his gut. That wasn't to say he didn't get any hits in, unlike the Cerberus Phantoms, Vega was a lot sloppier. He gave plenty of openings for Kal to hit back with his fists as well as bottles from the bar. The problem was that Arnold took each hit a lot better than Kal. It was probably because the Human had armor on that injected him with medi gel, while Kal was wearing the Quarian equivalent of a tuxedo. Knowing the problem didn't exactly help Kal though in the middle of a fight.

Arnold threw a chair that Kal had to side step, "How could you even think about protecting him?! He's having people kidnapped by the Collectors! Innocent people."

He pulled his pistol out from it's holster hoping he could get enough distance to take a non lethal shot, "Because that's not what he's doing you bosh'tet! If you actually want to stop the Collectors, you should be attacking Cora Harper!"

Arnold used his larger size to charge forward and pin Kal against the bar, "We know all about Cora, but she's just an accessory. Jack was calling all the shots, we have evidence."

Kal grunted in pain from his back hitting the wall only to use the back of his pistol as a club to Arnold's head, "I go to the same bed as him every night. I think I'd know if he was-"

The Human interrupted him by picking him up and slamming him into the bar table. Saying they slept together had obviously hit a nerve, Arnold was jealous. Which was strange because their brief encounter on the Normandy had been fine. Some other reason for the anger had to be on top of the jealousy for this attack to make any sense. Kal didn't want to have to kill him, he was Jack's ex for one, and he was part of the Alliance military. Killing him would've gotten Jack in even more trouble. At the same time though, Arnold was clearly seeing red and wanted to kill him. He was going to have to take the gloves off soon if Arnold couldn't be reasoned with. It was a last resort kind of option but, that was coming on him fast.

Arnold's fist slammed into Kal's chest almost instantly after his back hit the table, he was trying to force Kal to have a heart attack, "Can't you see he's doing it for you?! How many people have to disappear for you to stop this?!"

Kal blocked the next fist and used his knee to kick Arnold's temple, "We are trying to stop this every damn day! We're the only ones actually investigating what's happening you bosh'tet!"

He rolled off the table to get some space only for Arnold to leap after him, "Tell that to my brother! The evidence shows Shepard helped the Collectors take the colony he was stationed at!"

A lightbulb went off in Kal's mind from that revelation. This wasn't about jealousy, it was fury over the Collectors taking Arnold's brother. Cora must've somehow created evidence showing Jack was involved with a Collector kidnapping that resulted in Arnold's brother disappearing. While he was sure the evidence was plausible enough for the Alliance to act on it, Kal knew it was a fake. Jack had been with him every night on the Normandy and was fighting the Collectors. Unfortunately, it was going to be hard for Kal to convince him otherwise when family was related. Kal felt terrible for him having been on the Collector dreadnought and seeing all the pods for Humans but, he had to get out of here.

He was about to say something when he heard and felt bullets from behind him clipping his shoulder. It was a risk to turn around and take his eyes off Arnold, he had to though if he didn't want a shot to the back of the head. Donovan Hock had picked up an assault rifle and started shooting at him realizing he wasn't Golo. Kal quickly killed him with a clean headshot only for Arnold to grab him by his oxygen tubing and tossed him outside the front door. This was why he should always wear a hood, Kal reminded himself, it was a lot harder to suffocate him when the tubes weren't in clear view. A missile strike barely missed him as he rolled down the stairs.

In the distance, Kal could see Tali, Feron, and Zero but they were all busy. He could also see Cora walking confidently back towards her ship knowing she was going to get away without a scratch. Before he could lift an arm to shoot at her, Arnold had jumped on top of his spine to keep him down. One hand grabbed and squeezed his oxygen tube while the other covered his mouthpiece to prevent it from opening. It was like breathing into a plastic bag, he was being suffocated quickly and he couldn't move his arm. He could see Zero looking back and forth between the two of them and Cora, she had to make a decision about who to go after. Cora, the woman who had tortured her for her entire life or, Kal. He fully expected she would go after Cora but, with one last glance she charged with a biotic pulse at Vega.

He took a gulp of real air again and Zero offered him her hand, "Come on, let's get off this damn rock asshole."

Kal grabbed her hand and got himself up with a smile, "Thank you Jack, I mean it." She didn't have to save him but, she did.

Zero didn't really smile but motioned to the Normandy, "I can't have you make it up to me if we don't get out of here."

Garrus came running from behind them, "We gotta move! Go, go, go!"

Kal looked behind him and then at Garrus, "What about Jack and Mand?"

EDI's voice filled his ears, "Shepard, Kasumi, and Nyx are waiting for the Normandy to get close enough to the vault for extraction. I suggest you hurry."

The three of them started running and Kal noticed Feron was with Tali at the airlock of the Normandy. It was unfortunate that Cora had gotten away but, they could go after her later. At least they were going to get Jack and get out of here. He only hoped that Jack and Vetra had been able to get Sidera in the small amount of time they had at the vault. He would feel rather crushed for her if they went to all this trouble only to be stopped because the Alliance interrupted them. Even though she had genuinely seemed surprised, Kal had to wonder if Cora had orchestrated this evening to be absolute chaos. She had been awfully smug with herself as she was leaving the scene.

They were mere inches from getting onto the Normandy when the bullets started flying. Arnold must've gotten back up and started shooting at them. Kal was going to ignore it since they were so close but, Zero stumbled and started to fall. The hail of bullets sprayed her ankles and legs making her trip and fall with a roll. Instinct took over and Kal whipped around to take a few shots, it was supposed to just give him enough cover time to drag her the rest of the way onto the ship. His gut twisted in knots when the bullet he fired went straight between Arnold's eyes. He hadn't been intentionally aiming when he whipped around and started shooting. However, it was clear from the wound and the way that Vega collapsed to the ground that he had killed him.

Kal picked up a whimpering Zero and carried her back in the Normandy, "I got you baby, I got you. Shhhh." His head snapped towards the cockpit, "Joker, get Jack and get us out of here!"