Some of you may have noticed that, in the last chapter, Shiala mentioned that Sovereign was three kilometers long instead of two. That wasn't a typo; since Sovereign and other Reapers like him will be going up against Sanheili ships, I decided to even the odds a little by scaling the Reapers up a bit. I don't think it'll break the story any. After all, what's another thousand meters? I mean, hey, if the author behind "In Pursuit of Freedom" could get away with it, I figure I could too. Shame that fic's not around anymore. I really liked it.
Then again, size might be irrelevant. I can easily imagine a bunch of Sovereign-Class Reapers ganging up on a Covenant supercarrier and just ripping it apart like a pack of wolves pouncing on some poor dumb moose.
But I digress.
...
1329 Hours, March 5th, 2683
SSV Normandy
Undisclosed Location in the Attican Beta Cluster
...
Councilor Tevos ended up being right. According to Pressly, the Normandy would arrive at Eletania within the next 15-20 hours. They would indeed be making landfall on the planet's surface the following morning. Which meant that the next 10 hours or so was going to be completely dedicated to preparation. This would be it. The mission where the Master Chief finally brings in Saren Arterius to answer for his crimes. Every precaution, initiative and counter-measure had to be taken.
The first step was to research the battlefield; the surface of Eletania. At first glance, Eletania seemed to be a typically picturesque garden world ripe for colonization. However, looks can be deceiving. While having a temperature, atmosphere, and level of gravity ideal for Human colonization, the planet's atmosphere was filled with microscopic life-forms that, if inhaled, would cause anaphylactic shock in most non-native life-forms. These microbes were difficult to filter from the air and since they were necessary for the planet's wildlife to thrive, removing them altogether would result in complete ecological collapse. Some colonial firms have suggested building colonies in high altitudes above the microbes' range, or in areas where favorable winds keep the air clear. However, such colony plans were considered risky at best and so most sensible firms had eliminated Eletania as a colony candidate altogether.
For this reason, Eletania was actually a perfect planet to serve as a base of operations for Saren and his armies. The Geth were synthetics, and so did not need to breathe air at all. An atmosphere dense with microbes would be of little hindrance to them. Everyone else could simply wear environmentally sealed suits, which came standard in most militaries, so it's not like it would have been hard for Saren to acquire a few hundred of those. And that was only if they had business on the surface. According to STG feelers, there were a large number of Geth ships in Eletania's low orbit. Those ships could easily have barracks for the organic members of Saren's army, especially the Sovereign, the largest ship in the fleet.
Not only would Eletania's surface be teeming with Geth, but the very air they'd breathe would be hostile to them. So it was imperative that every environment suit be up to code. It would be cruelly ironic for someone to die from a rip in their hard suit after all the team has been through in the last couple of weeks. Tali seemed to be the best choice for double-checking any and all suits for structural weaknesses, for obvious reasons. She was almost done with the task.
Almost.
"You know, this would be a bit easier if you just took off your suit." Tali lectured as she stood behind the Chief, tapping keys on her omni-tool.
"Is it really necessary?" Chief asked. The two of them were down in the garage of deck three. The Spartan was sitting on a crate while the Quarian stood behind him. Because of his extreme height, Tali's head was about level with the Chief's even though the latter was sitting down.
"Not really. Just a simple diagnostic."
"Then I'm fine, thanks." Chief replied.
Tali went back to work without a word after that. The Spartan imagined her rolling her eyes, which she probably did. "Done." Tali said as she deactivated her omni-tool. "Your suit doesn't have any rupture risks, so I think you'll be fine on Eletania."
"Thanks." Chief said as Tali walked over to the weapons lockers.
"Just doing my job, sir." Tali replied as she took a shotgun out of her locker. She brought up her omni-tool again and tapped a few keys. A holographic dummy appeared at the end of the garage. Tali walked back to the crate Chief was sitting on, which was of a suitable distance away from the target. She then took her firing stance and began pumping holographic rounds into the dummy.
The Master Chief accessed his omni-tool to spawn another dummy at the end of the garage, next to the first one, and walked over to his own weapon locker. He pulled out his shotgun and joined the Quarian in target practice.
Neither of them spoke a word for a few minutes after that.
"I downloaded a noise machine program, like you advised." Tali said, apparently hoping to break the awkward the silence with some small talk. "It's really been helping me sleep."
"Glad to hear it." Chief replied.
Another minute of silence went by, save for the ping of holographic rounds exiting their gun barrels and hitting their targets.
"Master Chief, can I ask you something?" Tali asked.
"Shoot." Chief said.
"Back on Feros, you said you hacked the Geth network, but you didn't really say how." Tali began. "I saw you pull some kind of chip out of a Geth computer shortly before you announced that. I take it that had something to do with it?"
The Spartan stiffened. "...I don't know what you're talking about." he managed.
"Come on, you can tell me." Tali said.
"I didn't pull out a chip." Chief adamantly said.
"Are you keeping something from us?" Tali bluntly asked, turning away from her target and towards the Spartan.
"No." Chief automatically answered as he launched another round at his dummy. "You're being paranoid."
The Quarian groaned. "That's what Garrus said on Feros."
"Garrus?"
"I brought it up to him while we were waiting for the Geth to board their ship in that break room." Tali explained. "He called me paranoid too, and then said I should just ask you about it. And don't just answer with 'I don't know what you're talking about.' I saved your life by shooting a Jiralhanae in the face. I think I deserve to know what's going on."
The Spartan made a mental note to have a chat with Garrus later. In the meantime though, Tali needed to be placated. He immediately began raking his mind for an explanation that was plausible yet won't compromise Cortana. He then remembered something a high-ranking ONI officer once told him.
Sometimes, the best lies are the ones that are closest to the truth.
"Alright." he said with what he hoped was a convincing sigh of defeat. He lowered his shotgun and turned to face the Quarian, visor to visor. "Once I was re-instated into the Alliance military, I was issued a highly experimental cyber warfare VI." the Spartan said.
"A VI? That's what was on that chip?" Tali asked.
"Yeah." Chief replied.
"Why didn't you tell us about it earlier?" Tali pressed.
"Because it's top-secret. I'm not supposed to reveal its existence to anyone." Chief explained.
"...I see." Tali replied. "So it was a VI that tricked the Geth into piling into that ship?" The Spartan nodded. "It must be incredibly advanced..."
"It is." Chief said. He silently exhaled in relief. Cortana would go undiscovered for another day.
"Sooo...can I take a look at it?"
Or not.
"No." Chief replied on instinct.
"Why not?" Tali pressed.
"Like I said; top secret. A prototype custom-built by ONI and easily the most advanced piece of software we currently have." Chief said. That last sentence, at least, was truth. "The only reason ONI gave it to me is because they were confidant that I'd become a Spectre and they could trust a Human Spectre with something this advanced."
"So, I can't look at it?" Tali asked.
"No. It's top secret and you're not authorized." the Spartan summarized. "Hell, I've already broken protocol just by revealing its existence to you."
"Why should you care? You're a Spectre. And Spectres don't have to follow the rules, right?" Tali questioned. "So you don't have to follow your ONI's rules if you don't want to."
"This isn't up for debate, Tali." Chief sternly said. "No one on this ship examines that VI. Are we clear on that?"
"...Yes sir." Tali quietly replied as her head tilted down. Chief felt bad about putting her down like that, but it had to be done. She was a technological genius, not only with hardware, but with software as well. If Garrus could figure out Cortana's true nature, Tali certainly would. He simply couldn't take the risk.
"It's just...a VI that advanced would be the perfect gift for my pilgrimage." Tali explained as she raised her head back to eye level with the Spartan. "I know Saren's our top priority, but I've been thinking about my pilgrimage a lot lately. With all the wolds we've gone to, I was hoping to find something to bring back to the flotilla."
"You'll find something eventually." Chief said with a shrug.
"Yes but...it can't be just some derelict ship my people can use for salvage or something like that." Tali replied. "It has to be more than that. There's a lot expected of me."
"Why?" the Spartan asked.
"It's my father." Tali explained. "He's the senior member of the admiralty board. He's one of only five people who can overrule the decisions of the conclave for the good of the migrant fleet."
"Your father's an admiral?" Chief asked.
"More than that." Tali said. "My father's responsible for the lives of seventeen million people. Our entire race is in his hands...And I'm his only child."
"So what does that make you? The Princess of the Quarians?" Chief asked half-jokingly. He was hoping that a light joke might brighten Tali up a bit after having her hopes dashed.
It worked. She chuckled. "No, it doesn't work that way." she warmly replied. "My father's position isn't hereditary. I'll probably never serve on the admiralty board myself. Officially, I'm just the same as any other citizen."
"And unofficially?" Chief asked.
"People have always treated me differently because of who my father is." Tali answered. "And not always in a good way. I mean, I probably had it easier than most growing up, but people like my father have enemies, and they're not above using me to get to him."
"Sounds like a lot of pressure." the Spartan noted.
"You have no idea." Tali replied. "My people place a high value on family and ancestry. There's an unspoken expectation that I'll live up to my father's example. Everyone's waiting for me to do something great on my pilgrimage, something that will forever change our lives for the better. If I don't, it's like I failed. And that reflects badly on me and my father."
"Well, you joined a SPARTAN-II super-soldier in his mission to bring in a rogue Spectre hell-bent on Human genocide at best and organic genocide at worst." Chief pointed out. "I think that qualifies as great."
"Yes, I think it does too. But you have to understand Quarian culture." Tali pointed out in turn. "We're a very insular society. The events beyond the flotilla don't much matter to the average citizen."
She paused, seeming to stare out into space for a minute. "Our greatest dream is that one day, we'll return to our homeworld and drive out the Geth." she said wistfully, as though speaking of religious scripture. She then shook her head with a sigh, focusing on the Chief again. "But even if we stop Saren, that's not going to happen." she added, her reverie broken. "There's still millions of Geth behind the veil. Until they're gone, our exile will continue."
Chief nodded in understanding. "You think my VI will help your people retake their homeworld."
"It hacked the Geth network. It would make a good gift. Not just for my adopted ship, but for my people." Tali said.
Once again, both the Quarian and the Spartan were silent for a minute.
"...Are you sure I can't look at it?" Tali shyly asked. "I won't steal it, I promise. I just want to examine its code layers. ONI would never hear a word of it from me."
"...No. Protocol." Chief quietly said. "I'm sorry."
"...I see. Well...That's alright, Master Chief." Tali quietly replied. "I'm sure what you said earlier is right. I'll find something eventually."
The two resumed target practice in silence, pumping rounds into their dummies. "I should go." Chief suddenly said after another few minutes. "There's still a lot I need to do. Thanks again for the suit diagnostic, Tali." Chief said.
"Just doing my job, sir." the Quarian replied.
...
"Hail, Spartan." the holographic image of the Arbiter greeted as he pressed a fist to his chest. The Master Chief simply nodded in turn. "What is the purpose of this call?"
The Spartan was currently in the Normandy's comms room, on request from Cortana. Apparently, while she was poking around in the Geth network, she came across an interesting nugget of data in one of ExoGeni's servers relating to Cerberus, the organization that the Arbiter had been investigating, and wanted the Spartan to pass the data along. Chief was willing to oblige; he owed the Arbiter for helping him with Dr. Saleon.
"I recently stumbled across some data that you may find interesting. It has something to do with Cerberus." Chief said. He pressed a few buttons on the control panel. "I'm sending it to you now. Looks like they're up to something in the Matano system."
Thel smiled with predatory delight as he looked offscreen, presumably to a computer terminal on his ship, which was displaying the data. "Indeed. I knew the filthy curs would rear their heads again eventually. I will begin preparations to embark immediately."
"What are you hoping to find exactly?" Chief asked.
"Something that will point the way to the beast's lair; Cerberus Headquarters." Thel answered. "It is my intention to find this beast's head...and cut it off." He growled with the all-too familiar Sangheili growl. The last time Chief heard such a sound escape the Arbiter's mandibles, he was talking about the Prophet of Truth.
"You really wanna take these guys down, huh?" Chief asked.
"They have killed many Sangheili. And not just the fleetmaster and his rangers." Thel explained. "You see, Binthu was my first encounter with Cerberus, but it would not be my last. I have done battle against their forces on several instances in the past few weeks. Sangheili warriors, brothers who fought alongside me when I humbly asked them to, died by their hands. I can not allow so many deaths to go unavenged."
The Chief nodded in understanding. After everything Saren did, Chief could respect the Arbiter for wanting to take down someone who did his species so much harm. "Good luck in your hunt Arbiter." he said.
"And you in yours, Spartan." The Arbiter replied with a nod. WIth that, his image faded away. Chief then heard the door to the comms room open. He turned around and saw Liara T'soni enter the room.
"Master Chief. I hope I am not interrupting." Liara apologetically said.
"Good timing, actually. Just finished my call." Chief replied. "What do you need?"
"I was simply thinking of you and the Cipher. Are you suffering any ill effects from it?" Liara asked.
"Like I said on Feros; I'm fine." Chief replied.
"Well, I was just thinking..." Liara said as her eyes suddenly dotted to the floor. "I might be able to help you, what with my knowledge of the Protheans. If I join my consciousness to yours, maybe we can make sense of your vision."
"Can you do that?" The Spartan asked.
"My mental powers may not be as proficient as Shiala's." Liara admitted. "But as I said, I am a Prothean expert. I may have the context she lacked."
The Spartan thought about it for a second. According to the codex, Eletania did have some Prothean ruins on it. Perhaps it was even the resting place of the Conduit itself. If that was true, he'd need all the help he could get in understanding his vision.
"Do it." he said to the Asari with a nod. Liara nodded back as she walked up to the Spartan. She gently gripped him by the shoulders, much like Shiala did on Feros. This time, he didn't feel the reflex to fight back.
"Relax, Master Chief." Liara quietly said as she closed her eyes. "Embrace eternity!"
She opened her eyes, which had become pools of black.
...
There were strange-looking people, aliens maybe, suffering.
Metal being welded to flesh.
Minds being tormented.
Blood splattering on the ground.
Screeching of the damned.
Eyes that spoke eons of malice.
"This is what you face."
...
As suddenly as it started, the vision ended. Liara released the Spartan's shoulders and staggered a bit. "That was...incredible." she said, sounding like she was out of breath. "All this time, all my research and yet I...I never dreamed..." She would've fallen to the floor if the Chief hadn't caught her by the wrist.
"Easy." he said as he helped the Asari get her footing back.
"I am sorry." Liara apologized as she rubbed her eyes and forehead, apparently trying to fight off a headache. "The images were so vivid. I never imagined the experience would be so...intense." she looked up to the Spartan. "You are...remarkably strong-willed, Master Chief. What you have been through...what you have seen...it would have destroyed a lesser mind."
"What did you see?" the Chief asked. All he saw was the same thing he saw last time and the time before that.
"The beacon on Eden Prime must have been badly damaged." the Asari scientist began. "Large parts of the vision are...are missing. The data transferred into your mind is incomplete."
"So, nothing new?" Chief asked.
Liara shook her head. "We need to find another beacon. It may have the missing piece to the puzzle. If we can find the missing data from your vision I can...I can..." the Asari began to lose her footing again before Chief caught her by the wrist again.
"What's wrong?" Chief asked as he pulled her back up.
"I am sorry." Liara apologized again. "The joining is...exhausting. I should go down to the medical bay and lie down for a moment.
"I want Dr. Chakwas to take a look at you." Chief said.
"That will not be necessary. I just nee-"
"No excuses." Chief interrupted. "Dr. Chakwas is going to take a look at you. I'm going to need you at 100% tomorrow morning and I'm not taking any unnecessary risks."
"Of...of course, Chief." Liara said.
"Come on." the Spartan said. "I'll walk you the med bay myself."
...
The rest of the day was, to say the least, frantic. Ashley, N'tho and even Wrex had been busy cleaning every last weapon in the Normandy's armory. Wrex had to be coaxed into doing it. He was surprisingly cooperative, though that may have been because he claimed to actually enjoy cleaning weapons. Said it made him anticipate the fight more.
Garrus, Tali and Kaidan had been given the task of running a full systems check on the mako, the team's only land assault vehicle. Suspensions, weapons, navigations, Chief told them to replace the tires if they had to. They needed it in absolute mint condition for the fight ahead.
Dr. Chakwas had given Liara a clean bill of health, but the Master Chief didn't want to take any chances. Except for her medical drills, he wanted the Asari to take it easy until morning. As the team's Prothean expert, the Chief will need her at her absolute best tomorrow.
The rest of the Normandy crew had also been making preparations. Deck one in particular had been buzzing with activity. Geth ship layouts had been reviewed endlessly by sensors and weapons specialists. Dozens of hypothetical scenarios had been tested via simulation programs. Jeff 'Joker' Moreau was excited. If the Geth fleet orbiting Eletania was as big as everyone was saying, it looked like he'd finally be able to put the Normandy to the ultimate test.
Likewise, engineering was also a center of great activity. The eezo-drive core was checked every hour on the hour. Calibrations and tweaking were constantly being made. There wasn't a thermal pipe out of place, and according to the Master Chief's orders, it needed to stay that way for at least forty-eight hours.
Excitement wasn't the only thing in the air though. There was fear too. Not only of the Geth fleet, but of its flagship, the Sovereign. It didn't take the crew long to start seeing it in a superstitious light. They spoke of it as though it were a monster more than a ship. It didn't surprise the Master Chief. He heard UNSC marines and servicemen swap similar 'ghost stories' about Covenant supercarriers during the war.
The prospect of engaging the flagship of Saren's Geth fleetmade the crew nervous, and Chief didn't blame them. At three kilometers long, the shipwas easily more than twice the size of most Covenant vessels, and no doubt had armaments to match. Even more intimidating than its size was its mystery. The Master Chief had no idea what kind of weapons, defenses, maneuvering capability, and most critical of all, weaknesses the Sovereign had. The Chief didn't even know if it was a dreadnaught like most flagships or just a carrier. Just to be on the safe side, Joker would be under strict orders to stay as far away from the massive ship as possible.
By 2100 hours, everyone knew what their role would be the next morning. The engines, sensors, weapons and stealth systems were all given the green light. The Normandy was as ready as she was going to be. All they had to do now was wait.
With preparations complete, that just left the Master Chief to do what he has recently taken to doing while waiting; target practice on deck three.
The holographic dummy had been configured from a Human to a Turian model. The Master Chief had found from this model that, while Turian skin was generally thicker and more resilient than Human skin, it was hardly bullet-proof. Neither was a Turian's skull, as Chief found out when he test-fired a sniper rifle. Good to know. If he can't bring him in alive, then killing Saren won't be anymore difficult than killing a regular Human. He heard the elevator door open behind him and heard a clawed footfall.
"Yikes." Garrus's voice said as its owner entered the garage. "A Turian dummy all of a sudden? Should I be going to sleep with a gun tonight?"
"I've been meaning to talk to you." Chief bluntly said.
"Guess that's a yes." Garrus replied as he walked up to the Spartan.
"I'm not in the mood." the Spartan said as he lined up a series of body shots. He squeezed the pistol's trigger three times, each striking the dummy right in the heart. "You and Tali had a chat in that break room in the ExoGeni building back on Feros, right?"
"Er, yes?" the Turian answered cautiously.
The Spartan stepped out of his firing stance and turned towards Garrus. "What did you two talk about?"
"Well...she saw you take out Cortana's chip from a computer on Feros and asked me about it. I told her she was just being paranoid but she wouldn't let it go, so-"
"You told her to ask me about it." Chief finished the Turian's sentence for him. "She actually did earlier today and I was able to give her a satisfactory answer."
Garrus raised one of his eyebrow plates. "You told her about Cortana?"
"No." Chief replied. "I told her that the chip had a top secret VI. My eyes only."
"Oh. Well, glad to hear everything worked out." Garrus cheerfully said.
"You told her to ask me about it. Why?" Chief said, cutting straight to the point.
Garrus was momentarily taken aback by the Spartan's bluntness. "Well, I couldn't come up with a good enough excuse, so I thought you could." Garrus explained. "I mean, I don't know if you know this, but in Turian culture, lying to someone's face is seriously looked down upon, more so than in other cultures, actually. As a consequence...most Turians kind of suck at lying."
"Yeah, I can tell." Chief replied. "What's the real reason you sent her to me?"
"...I was hoping that maybe you'd tell Tali about Cortana." Garrus confessed.
"You said you wouldn't tell the crew about Cortana." Chief said.
"I didn't." Garrus retorted. "I tried to give you an opportunity to do that yourself."
The Spartan just shook his head and resumed his firing stance, returning to his target practice. "Look, she can'tstay hidden forever." Garrus tried to point out. "Eventually, something will happen again, like Saleon on the Citadel, and people will find out. Confession is alwayspreferable to being caught, and sooner or later, you'll get caught."
"I won't have to worry about it much longer." Chief replied. "Once we bring in Saren, the mission will be complete and you can all go your separate ways."
"What about the Conduit?" Garrus pressed. "Once we deal with Saren, we'll still have that to worry about."
"The Conduit will no longer be relevant. Saren can't get to it, ergo, it is no longer a concern."
"But what if someone else tries to go after it?" Garrus asked. "Come on, Chief. Think back to your vision. You know there's something else besides a rogue Spectre with a Geth army lurking in the dark somewhere."
"What does any of this have to do with Cortana?" Chief asked, his patience beginning to run thin.
"Even after we take down Saren, our mission won't be over until we can make certain that the Conduit won't be a future threat. That means you're going to be stuck with us for a while, which means the rest of the crew will eventually find out about Cortana."
"I'm not stuck with anyone." Chief said. He scored another headshot on the Turian dummy. "If I recall correctly, you volunteered for this mission. If you don't like the way I run things, there's nothing stopping you from quitting and leaving the ship at the next port we visit."
"Well, what if I don't want to quit?" Garrus probed.
"Then I'll kick you off myself if you keep being this insubordinate." Chief countered. "In fact, as a Spectre, I am well within my rights to dismiss anyone under my command at anytime, and right now, the only reason I'm not dismissing you is because you might still be useful to me on Eletania."
"...So, you can just kick off anyone under your command any time you want. If they get suspicious, you can just kick them off the ship, just like that." Garrus summarized. The Turian shook his head. "Chief, this crew trusts you. They believe in you. The least you can do is tell them-"
"I don't need to tell them anything." The Spartan interrupted. "You were in the military, Garrus. You should know how this works. Everything is kept on a need-to-know basis. The reason I haven't told this crew about Cortana is because they don't need to know about her to do their jobs."
"No, but just because they don't need to know doesn't mean you shouldn't tell them." Garrus argued.
"Actually, it does now." Chief said. "As you said, the crew trusts me. If I reveal that I've been keeping Cortana a secret from them, that trust could be compromised. Can't risk a drop in morale now."
"...You know what your problem is, John?"
The Master Chief's head snapped in Garrus's direction. That certainly got his attention, Garrus thought to himself.
"Your problem is that you think of your crew and your team as assets more than people. You talk about them like they're assets, anyway." Garrus said. "I don't think you realize the kind of Spirit you've created here."
"Then explain it to me." Chief said. His tone was even, but Garrus could detect an underlying venom to it.
"Okay, here's another fun fact about Turian culture; our most prominent religion is Spirit-based." Garrus began. "We believe that groups and areas have Spirits that transcend the individual. For example, a city's Spirit reflects the accomplishments and industry of its residents. An ancient tree's Spirit reflects the beauty and tranquility around it."
The Turian gestured to the Chief. "Every Human on this ship looks up to you. Hell, half of them worship you. They are completely convinced that this mission will result in nothing less than complete victory simply because you're here. All that faith, hope, and determination has endowed the Normandy with its own Spirit. And a Spirit like that shouldn't be ignored. It should be nurtured. It just might be what guides us to victory."
"...Garrus, I dedicated almost thirty years of my life to fighting the Covenant. I've had my fill of hokey alien religions." Chief said. "There's no mysticism going on here. We're just a bunch of people doing what's expected of us. That's all."
With that, the Chief turned his head back to his target and resumed shooting. Garrus's mandibles flared in frustration.
"Damn it, Chief. These people deserve to know they've got a good AI, a hero like you at that, on their side. And I know that they'd never rat you out to the Council if that's what you're concerned about. So why keep Cortana a secret? Why can't you just tell them?"
"She's all I've got left!"
The Master Chief had broke his firing stance and was now facing Garrus. He stood slightly hunched in front of the Turian, looking like he might attack him at any minute. His pistol was down, for which Garrus was silently grateful. The Turian then realized that this was the only time he had ever heard the Master Chief raise his voice to a shout.
"...She's all I've got left." Chief said again, this time in the tame, even tone that Garrus had grown accustomed to. He also relaxed out of his combat stance and stood up straighter than he did a second ago. "Garrus, I've been frozen for over a hundred years. I'm the last Spartan. The very last one. The rest of them, my family, are all dead. My friends, my colleagues, dead. I lost them all, except Cortana. She's all I've got left, but if the Council ever finds out about her, I'll lose her too. Which is why they can't find out about her. I can't even take the slightest risk that they'd find out about her."
He paused. He then turned back to the dummy and found his firing stance again. "I've lost a lot of friends, Garrus. I can't risk losing the only one I've got left." he summarized his argument.
"...This crew trusts you, Chief." Garrus said. He turned around and walked back to the elevator. "Eventually, you'll have to return the favor."
With that, the elevator door shut, leaving the Spartan to resume his target practice.
He made a mental note to remove Garrus Vakarian from the combat team roster. Eletania would be his last mission on the team. After that, he'll be dropped off at the next port. The Turian was becoming more trouble than he was worth. Ashley can easily fill his role as designated marksman and the Chief himself can take on her old master-of-arms role in addition to team leader. However, he won't tell anyone about it until after Saren has been dealt with. The Master Chief can't risk destabilizing team cohesion and morale.
The Master Chief then questioned if he should be bringing Garrus with him to Eletania at all. His trust in the Spartan has clearly been compromised, and it may affect his performance. Still, this was by far the Chief's most important assignment yet. He needed everyone to pull their weight, and that meant Garrus too. Hopefully the discipline and professionalism Turian soldiers were so famous for will keep personal conflicts from clouding Garrus's judgement. He'll keep a close eye on him though, just to be safe.
Chief carried on his target for another hour before deciding to call it in. It would be wise to go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow was looking to be a long day.
...
Nice to see I was able to pump out this chapter fairly quick. However, I think it's safe to say that the next chapter is DEFINITELY going to take longer. So yeah. See ya in three weeks