The Tracker of Goliath
Chapter 14
The Executor waited patiently in his office. Protected by thick layers of unholy materials, he did not need to listen the noise. The sounds of boots on the floor, people scattered from office to office, voices flooding the emergency calls, fire teams, investigators, and special agent lines. Ignorant to the sounds, Garrus still couldn't ignore the orders, because he gave them.
Even in her death, Shepard lingered in his mind. Not conveying words of unbounded love and affection, not the screams of his name during coition, or the pleas for his life in the worst of the war. All he could hear were her favorite words, a sentence that felt like a dagger contacting his bones.
"You need me."
The elevator buzzed, Garrus looked up.
Footsteps resounded, repeatedly, quickly.
Vakarian's three fingered hand leisured onto his carved Predator pistol. His thumb ran over Thane's name engraved on the back panel, when Theron came around the corner.
Puzzled, he realized the significance of Theron being alone. Devastation ruptured; thankful for Theron's silence, the Executor remained in his chair, his battle hardened grip could crush his weapon's handle. Panting, sweating, Theron stopped at long last. He waited in the elevator, but now, he truly has stopped. Seeing his employer's expression, Theron's news needed no words. Agonizing seconds ticked by, when Garrus looked into Theron's eyes.
"Are you okay?"
Slowing down his breaths, straightening his legs and posture, Theron nodded.
Garrus Vakarian felt lost, he did not know what the future held in store, not just for himself but for potentially millions around the galaxy. Omega would need a new leader. The Alliance would need to cover up or go on public record. The Council would no longer be able to calm the media. Goliath's wrath only grew with each passing day, and Garrus would be remembered as the man who let the Citadel die a slow death, if he did not end this.
"Did you see it?" asked Garrus.
Theron shook his head. "Declan was not emotionally compromised or lying, what he stated is true. No one has seen, Goliath."
"How did she die?"
"It used a blade, from my observation standing next to her, the same weapon that reflected Commander Shepard's wound."
"By the spirits, Theron," scorned the Executor. Leaving his desk with the heavy slam of his fist. "Your observation? Aria died in front of you!"
Theron didn't respond, unable to construct a sentence reliable enough to emotionally counter his employer's feelings.
Garrus appeared regretful of his tone, taking a deep breath and leaning against the wall, looking out at the city he protected.
The elevator buzzed, Garrus looked up.
Theron turned around, his heart sank. Peaking around the corner, the elevator doors opened to reveal emptiness, a vapid container of something he thought he escaped. Theron didn't know how he made this mistake, one he avoided for his entire lifetime here. His will to live, would now summon him to death.
"Garrus," he said. "We need t-"
The Executor's pistol fired a gunshot, sound waves rippled the air as Vakarian fell to his knees, his blue blood puddling the floor as he screamed in pain.
Theron rushed forward, leaping over the Executor's desk, aligning the floating weapon with Goliath's location. Mid-air, Theron's progress stopped with an unseen mechanical hand wrapped around his neck, chocking his windpipe. Skin changing color, he was thrown, the force around his collar vanished; relieved only for a second, his back collided with the very sharp corner of a shelf.
Theron couldn't echo Vakarian's screams as his breath was cut short by the impact. Sliding down with bones cracked, Theron's eyes watered upon landing on the hard floor. Struggling to look, the Tracker saw Garrus on the wall to his left, three meters away from the desk. Theron's eyes widened despite the pain. Without a sound, the cloak dissipated and the Tracker scanned his eight foot tall, mechanical target.
He saw Goliath.
It did not focus on Theron, it focused on the bleeding Turian.
"You…" sneered Vakarian.
"I."
It spoke to him.
Theron's perspective of logic visually crumbled into particles of dust. Understanding what Goliath executed arrived with a new question, that one being why he and Garrus were still alive? And why, would it speak to them?
Theron now saw, not to them, to him; Garrus Vakarian.
Goliath rested the pistol on Vakarian's forehead.
"Go fuck yourself," spat the Turian.
Goliath's claw rested on the trigger.
"You win!" roared Garrus. "Okay? I failed to stop you from the beginning! I'm the reason you're here! I could have stopped this and I didn't! Now just end it!"
Vakarian's heaving breath filled a room, otherwise, engulfed in dead air.
"My creator died by my hand without suffering. Economical, efficient, productive. A death that you witnessed and failed to prevent, not because you couldn't, but, because you didn't. You didn't think of me as capable of future plans, and allowed me to escape. You didn't come after me, you didn't search for me; you were too busy languishing in petty, organic fuelled publicity. This is the result of your actions."
Goliath stepped away from Garrus, leaving him to endure, crippled mentally and physically. To Theron's surprise, and horror, Goliath stood above him.
"Under my command, Declan was enlisted to create a device. One that would be able to connect to the Ions world without the need for a neural upload unit, it was also designed to disable any Ion that I see."
Perplexed by the behavior of his target, Theron glared at it.
"That's impossible."
"Evidence for that argument will need to be collected in order to affirm your statement."
Theron did not want to die, and continued to buy every second he had left.
"You do not need more evidence to confirm a fact. Ions are not able to leave their virtual world without a neural upload unit, and synthetics and organics are unable to enter without it."
Goliath held a device in his right palm, similar in design to the Trapper that Theron carried around for encasing a Synthetic unit's "mind". He was never able to develop one that could do the same thing to Ions, because of the impossibility.
Goliath held the device close to Theron.
"You will test that theory."
The device emitted a piercing noise.
Theron's mind became vacant, his body became a corpse and fell to the floor, leaving Garrus Vakarian in awe, and dread.
