"Sergeant Cathka?"
The man moves over and exposes what looks to me a mechanic.
"Ah…you must be the group Salkie mentioned. You're just in time."
"The infiltration team is about to give us the signal. Archangel won't know what hit him. Got any questions? This may be your last chance."
Putting down the tool he used on the gunship, Cathka takes out a cigarette and a lighter. A couple puffs seems to melt away the man's stress.
"Are you leading the assault?"
He blows smoke into Jane's face and begins to full on laugh at the question.
"Tarak doesn't pay me to fight. I just plan the attacks and fix the damn gunship. You freelancers get the privilege of—"
The console blinks violently, a target's insight.
"TARGET IN SIGHT. WE'RE A GO! BRAVO TEAM—GO, GO GO!"
A rush of people Jane didn't seem to notice before surround a wall and proceed to climb over. Gunfire is already heard, the sound of a rifle.
"Archangel's going to have quite the surprise. But that means no more waiting for me. Gotta get her back to 100% before Tarak decides he needs her again."
Jane takes a last look around and notices the tool emitting electricity near the console. Miranda nods, giving her 'ok' for what Shepard's thinking. Gripping it tightly and walking lightly, the batarian goes to his knees in pain.
"You work too hard."
Cathka is out cold, leaving the ship unfinished with repairs. With a slight pang of guilt, Shepard walks to the wall and surveys what carnage the bridge offers. Several dead mercenaries light the structure, more than what she expected. More climb over, guns of fallen strapped on their person. Shepard joins in, walking behind them. Before she knew where she stood, a concussive round hits her hard, ridding her shield. What was Archangel planning?
They take cover, surveying what mercs remain. There weren't many but enough to make their point across to the man on top.
"Miranda, I want you to overload their shields. It gives Jacob a chance to knock them off their feet. It gives me the perfect distraction to shoot more down. Got it?"
"Understood ma'am."
"Alright. Let's not have Archangel waiting too long."
Not too many of the mercs have their shields up, making the job a lot easier than expected. The biotics in back give Shepard a chance to shine in the element of surprise. Equipping incendiary ammo on her SMG, bullets begin spraying. Any armor remaining on the mercs are decimated as Jacob lifts one off their feet. Jane charges ahead, switching to her shotgun and plants direct hits on her targets. Across the bridge and entering the structure now, the group's biotics begin to really shine. Miranda's warp and Jacob's pull combo leave few fallen while Jane becomes up close and personal with many. With a final batarian hacking the door, the area is clear for the time being.
As the door opens, Jane holds her breath for a moment in hopes of not startling the vigilante too badly. He remains with his back turned to the group, eyes deeply in the scope. A ringing in Jane's ears appear from the silence then her body betrays the cool exterior she's trying to uphold as he shoots the target. Having his rifle assist him with standing, the turian turns to face the group and sits down. Resting his feet on a table, setting the rifle on his lap, he removes his helmet. His eyes open wide, almost in an attempt to readjust what he's seeing.
"Shepard…"
He gently chuckles, exhaustion lines his sigh heavily.
"I thought you were dead."
Jane's eye light up along with her heart as she runs over to her old friend. Wishing she did this with Tali but was too self-conscious with her group around, she embraces Garrus in a hug. He tensed up at first but after a slight moment began to melt into her. His drowsiness becoming even more noticeable.
"Garrus! What are you doing here?"
"Just playing housekeeping. Who knew it would double up as target practice?"
His mandibles twitch in a smile which Shepard replicates. She lets him go and sits in a chair in front of him. Garrus takes a long look at Shepard's armor, still the same after all these years. Her fringe, her smile, her eyes..everything. His heart begins to fill with gusto as she makes herself the slight bit comfortable.
"So, how did you end up on Omega?"
With a deep sigh he beings with "After you died, I tried returning to C-Sec but it just didn't feel quite right. Too much political red tape to really get things done like how they should be done. I wanted to get out somehow and heard the gossip surrounding this place and well…"
"It was everything and then some?"
"Pretty much. So many times I had to watch the helpless be beaten by those more powerful. So many people here suffer and I wanted to make a difference."
"So..Archangel, huh?
"That's the name they gave me for all of my…good deeds. But please..it's just Garrus to you."
"I don't know, the whole super hero persona makes you sound more impressive on my dossier."
She gives a gentle smack on his knee as she gets up and stretches. He straightens up his posture, not wanting to commit to full vertical orientation just yet. Not sleeping in days is taking a severe toll on his body, Shepard appearing when she did is beyond luck.
"Shepard…I..I can't believe you're here. Not only is your timing beyond impeccable but you're….you're alive. I don't know if it's a lack of sleep causing me to lose it or if it's actually you. Spirits…"
"I know it's a lot to take in, Garrus. It's the same for me, too. I lost two years of my life but Cerberus brought me back and th-"
His brow plates shift in a look of complete shock. He didn't even notice the other two until he actually made the effort to look past her. Both wearing Cerberus uniforms, a man and woman. Their lack of armor caught him off-guard.
"Cerberus, huh?...Well….That certainly is unexpected."
A twang of anger rests on his tongue as the words are spoken.
"I understand it's even more to take in but we need you, Garrus. It may not be the Alliance but they need all the help they can get right now. They needed me and I need you even more. You were one of the best squad-mates back when Saren was our issue but now it's the Collectors an-"
"Shepard, I may not trust Cerberus but you don't need to explain yourself to me. I trust your judgement enough to follow you no matter where you go and who you end up with. I'll join you once we take care of this little merc situation."