Chapter 3
The line for the transport shuttles was long but moved at a steady pace. For the most part, Garrus could see over the crowd of shorter aliens—humans and asari mostly—though there were a scattering of tall turians and salarians as well.
"Transport to Mindoir is on schedule," he commented, peering at the screen above their heads.
Shepard adjusted her carry-on bag on her shoulder. Garrus still had to get used to seeing the Commander—rather, civilian Andie Shepard—out of uniform. He knew what she looked like beneath armor, of course; she didn't run around the Normandy in full battle gear after all, but there was still a subtle difference between the fatigues she wore on ship to the casual pants and jacket she wore now. She looked… well, how could he say "normal" when he'd spent his life among military types? Still, she looked different, and it wasn't just the lack of a shotgun.
"You're not coming with me, Garrus," she said in a calm voice, activating her omni-tool.
"What?"
"You're going to Palaven to spend some time with your sister and your mother while there's still time left. I've just wired the ticket to your omni-tool."
Garrus' mandibles folded tight against his jaw. "How… how did you know about that?"
Shepard looked embarrassed for a moment. "Liara forwarded me some information awhile back. I don't think she even read it all. I bet she just had that stupid VI scan the logs for anything relating to my squad and forward it to me."She paused. "It was an invasion of your privacy to read those documents, Garrus, and I apologize."
Garrus relaxed his mandibles. "I wasn't actively hiding it from you, Shepard. I just didn't want you to be distracted by mundane family matters on such an important mission."
"Garrus," she said, her large human eyes boring into him, "mundane family matters are exactly why we fought." The eyes became sad. "Don't lose this opportunity."
Garrus nodded, the name of their destination flashing through is mind. Mindoir. Shepard's whole family had been killed without warning. She'd probably never had a chance to say goodbye…
His mandibles twitched. "Are you sure you won't need me?"
Shepard smiled. "I'll always need a friend, Garrus. Keep in touch."
"I will, Shepard, and thanks." He clasped her hand, human-style, and edged out of the line to find his transport. He looked back once, but she was facing the front again and he almost had trouble picking her out. One lone human was nearly unrecognizable among so many.
For once Joker wasn't paying attention to his baby. Not that he needed to anyway. With EDI pretty much running the show, he'd all but become obsolete.
"You okay, Joker?"
The pilot jerked back to reality as Jacob sauntered up to the cockpit.
Joker snorted in reply. "Are you kidding me? The Reapers are gone, the Illusive Man is dead, and Shepard left us all a hefty bonus and a full bar in the Port Observation room. What's not to like? Everything's great. Just. Great."
The former Alliance man looked up through the open shutters at the passing stars. "Yeah, I miss her too."
A/N: I'm sorry this is so short, but this was the best place to end this chapter. I kept trying to add something later to make it longer, but it didn't feel like it fit, so yeah here it is. Thanks for the reviews!
