Legal Disclaimer: As always, Mass Effect, as well as all characters, locations, and dialogue borrowed from the game, are property of BioWare.
A little over two years ago:
When the commander approaches him, Garrus seems agitated. Concerned, she asks if something is bothering him.
"It's Saren. I'm starting to wonder whether we'll ever find him," his deep voice is full of uncertainty. "He's always one step ahead of us, and he's got those damn geth…"
She tries to reassure him, despite the fact that she's been thinking along the same lines. "We're getting close, Garrus. We'll find him."
"I wish I had your confidence," he confesses, ignorant of her inner uncertainty, "I just can't stand the thought of him getting away with everything he's done. I know you're doing everything you can. And if anyone can catch him, it's you, but…" he hesitates, "Well, if there's anything else I can do to help. Anything. Just tell me what you want me to do, and I'll do it."
"I understand your concern, but we will find him," she smiles encouragingly at the tall turian. "Just make sure you're ready to go when we do."
"Yes, ma'am. You can count on me." His tone conveys his trust and belief in her. "Thanks for hearing me out. I appreciate it." He hesitates before tilting his head to one side and asking, "Can I ask you something, Commander?"
"I always keep an open door policy."
Trying to phrase his concerns as delicately as possible, he asks, "Are you worried that the Council might be protecting Saren?" When her eyes narrow slightly, he hurriedly continues, "I mean, they were really dragging their heels before. What if we find him, bring him back to the Citadel, and they refuse to act?"
She looks at him thoughtfully, unconsciously tilting her head at him in the same way he had, her eyes boring into his, "I get the feeling this isn't a question. Speak your mind Garrus."
Slightly encouraged by the fact that she hadn't simply dismissed his concerns, he replies, "Well, maybe we shouldn't give them the chance, Commander. In my opinion, Saren's too dangerous to be kept alive. Too much could happen. He could escape, or the Council might let him go…" His eyes never leave hers as he speaks, "If we find him—when we find him. I say we make sure we stop him. Permanently."
She studies him, weighing his words, "If Saren won't listen to reason, if he forces my hand, I'll kill him in a heartbeat. But only if it's absolutely necessary."
"But what's the point in keeping him alive?" he asks in disbelief, "It just gives him an opportunity to escape, or convince the Council to listen to him. And what about the geth? They might try to free him!" He is shocked that she would consider taking the risk after seeing what Saren was capable of on Eden Prime.
"Think about it Garrus," the words are spoken calmly, though there is iron in her tone, "We know more about Saren's plans than anyone, but what do we really know? If we just kill him, we lose the chance to find out."
He starts to respond, only to stop and consider her reasoning. After a few moments he speaks, "Yeah, I see your point. Do you really think there's more to know? Other than the fact he's a raving lunatic?"
She reaches out and lays a hand on his shoulder, her eyes showing him that she understands, "Maybe, maybe not. But it's not a chance I'm willing to take."
As she moves away to speak to Wrex, he doesn't take his eyes off her. He spends the next several hours reviewing and contemplating their conversation.
On the Normandy: CIC Deck
As the Normandy nears the coordinates, the commander advances to stand behind the helmsman's seat; her eyes scanning the blackness for a sign of their target. Joker turns to glance over his shoulder at her, "We have a visual on the Collector ship, Commander." EDI confirms that the ship's systems appear to be offline.
The sheer size of the vessel is unnerving to the two humans; they are hard pressed to comprehend how a single turian ship could have disabled it. As they get nearer, it is horribly apparent that the Normandy is dwarfed by the hulk. "Rendezvous in 30 seconds, Commander." Joker announces formally, "Good luck." She inclines her head before turning on her heel and heading for the shuttle bay, where Garrus and Tali are already waiting for her.
On the Collector Ship
All is quiet as they exit the Kodiak. The three carefully make their way deeper into the passage on their way to the access node so that EDI can uplink with the Collector's databases, ready for an attack that never materializes. The ship shows no signs of occupation, until they come across a pair of pods set alongside one of the walls.
"The Collectors used these containers on Horizon," Garrus observes, "but these are empty."
Tali, who had yet to join them during their time on Horizon is horrified, "It must have been horrible. Trapped in these pods, helpless. Completely at the mercy of the Collectors." Both of her companions nod silently in agreement.
They move on, soon coming upon a large number of human corpses, they looked as if they'd been thrown into the pile, their limbs splayed in every direction. The sight sickens them, Garrus questioning the reasoning for leaving the bodies there.
"They must have been used for testing," Tali's voice is saturated with disgust, "If they were a control group, they would have been discarded at the end of the experiment." She shakes her head at the senselessness of discarding any sapient being in such a way.
Shepard's voice is steady as she says, "There are worse things than death – like being a test subject for twisted aliens." Garrus looks at her with concern. He can see that she has her Commander mask on. They move on.
The passage through the ship is eerily still, the only motion coming from their group.
After several long minutes, they come across another chamber, this one containing a pod next to a terminal. Shepard motions for Garrus and Tali to cover her and she approaches the pod cautiously. When she gets close enough to peer inside, she is surprised to see that the occupant is not a human, that it was a Collector. As she motions for her team to approach, she wonders why the Collectors would be experimenting on one of their own species. While Garrus and Tali keep watch over the area, she initiates an upload to the Normandy to transfer the data, ordering EDI to analyze into the information.
Nothing that has happened prepares them for the results. "My god, The Protheans didn't vanish. They're working for the Reapers now." Shepard exclaims, her eyes widening.
EDI breaks in to clarify, "These are no longer Protheans, Shepard. Their genes show distinct signs of extensive genetic rewrite. The Reapers have repurposed them to suit their needs."
"The Reapers didn't wipe out the Protheans. They turned them into monsters and enslaved them. Still, they're working for the Reapers now. And we have to stop them." Her gaze drops to the dead Collector, her words almost inaudible as she continues, "No species should have to suffer through that."
She seems to shake herself, "Let's find what we need before the Collectors come to salvage this vessel. Move out." As they move to the exit, her eyes light on a weapons rack. She moves toward it, her gaze coming to rest on an M-76 Revenant assault rifle. She picks it up, automatically testing the heft and balance of the weapon. It feels right, despite the fact that she hasn't used an assault rifle since her death, and it seems fitting that the Collectors are the ones to put her favorite weapon back into her hands. She quickly pops a fresh heat sink into the weapon and motions for her team to follow her deeper into the ship.
They move on, through the large chamber full of sealed pods. They don't stop, EDI's assurances that there are no signs of life inside of them spurring them onward. As they clamber upward, Joker's voice breaks into the silence, "Commander, you gotta hear this. On a hunch I asked EDI to run an analysis on this ship."
The news that the vessel is the same one that had destroyed the original Normandy, in addition to attacking Horizon, is too much of a coincidence. Joker seems to agree, "Something doesn't add up, Commander. Watch your back."
At the top of the long incline, they enter an enormous room, filled with empty pods. As they look around in wide-eyed shock, Garrus breaks the silence, "They could take every human in the Terminus Systems and still not have enough to fill these pods."
They all come to the same chilling realization, "They're going to target Earth." Tali breathes.
"Not if we stop them." The words are so forceful, the commander's face so carefully blank, as she moves purposefully into the chamber.
They finally come to the control panel for the access node. As they approach, Garrus voices the concern that they'd all had since entering the ship. "Where are the bodies of the Collector crew? Careful, Shepard. Something doesn't feel right about this." She knows he's right, that things are going too smoothly, but she also knows that they need the information that the node will provide them with. She moves to the control panel, and initiates the uplink.
Almost immediately, a bright flash causes their visors to darken to protect their vision, accompanied by the words, "Uh…that can't be good." from Joker and EDI informs them of an intruder in the system. The trio takes cover and watch as the tubes surrounding them fill with a viscous fluid. In the midst of hurried assurances that they are okay, the platform they are standing on jerks into motion, causing Tali to overbalance and the other two to stagger. When they come to a halt, Garrus leans to assist Tali to her feet as Shepard scans the immense room. EDI is able to reestablish her connection to the node and begins downloading.
Several platforms zero in on their position, carrying collectors and scions. The battle is brutal as Harbinger takes over one body after another. The time is measured by the arrival of each new platform, with EDI's calm voice providing periodic updates on the download's progress. Finally, as Shepard slaps her last spare heat sink into her assault rifle, she hears the AI's calm voice coming through her aural implant, "Shepard, you must manually reestablish my link to the command console."
Finally, the platform returns to the ground, the news of the download's success is welcome. What the AI tells them next is decidedly less welcome news. "I have found the turian distress call that served as the lure for this trap. The collectors were the source. It is unusual."
"It seems logical to me that they would send the initial message as bait."
"No, it is unusual because turian emergency channels have secondary encryption. It is corrupted in the message. It is not possible that the Illusive Man would believe the distress call was genuine."
With suspicion evident in her tone, "Why are you so sure?"
"I found the anomaly with Cerberus detection protocols. He wrote them."
Joker's outraged voice breaks in, "He knew it was a trap? Why would he send us into a trap?"
"That son of a bitch sent us right into Collector hands!" At the commander's snarled response, Garrus and Tali exchange a look behind Shepard's back.
"We should have known this would happen," Tali's voice is filled with loathing and vindication; "Cerberus can't be trusted!"
Garrus simply lets out a sigh, "And I thought I'd already had my betrayal and attempted murder for this year."
They are interrupted again by Joker, his urgent report breaking through their anger, "Commander. We've got another problem. The Collector ship is powering up! You need to get out before their weapons come online. I'm not losing another Normandy!"
"Come on. Let's move!"
The flight from the Collector ship is grueling. The passages are marked with ambushes, scrambling over barricades and through choke points as they hurry to reach the Kodiak. EDI's guidance proves invaluable as doors are opened ahead of them, only to close behind them, protecting them from being overtaken. They are within sight of the shuttle when a large group of husks block their way. With no time to waste, Shepard pours her energy into a biotic charge, slamming into the group and causing them to fly back in all directions. As Garrus and Tali jump into the shuttle, she provides covering fire, backing up until she feels Garrus' arms wrap around her waist, yanking her into the Kodiak just as the door slides shut.
* * *
On the Normandy:
As soon as the shuttle docks, Shepard and her team bolt toward the cockpit. Joker's voice sounds throughout the ship, "Strap in people – gonna make them work for it this time!" As Shepard slides to a stop, catching the back of the pilot's chair to steady herself, the Collector ship lets loose a blast of weapons fire. At Joker's panicked urging, EDI engages the mass effect core, and the Normandy enters FTL.
* * *
Commander Shepard is angry.
Garrus follows as she strides through the ship toward the comm. room. The crewmembers, who are normally so comfortable with approaching her with their concerns, back away after one look at her face. Her back is ramrod straight, her heels strike the deck so sharply with each step that it is a wonder that there are no sparks, and her fists are clenched so tightly that her knuckles are bone white. No, saying Shepard is angry would be an understatement. The commander is furious. Her jaw is set as she enters the comm. room and she motions to Garrus to wait outside, not saying a word, even to him. The silence as door slides shut behind her is as loud as the blast of a rifle.
* * *
As Commander Shepard marches into the room, the communication console begins its scan, opening the connection with the Illusive Man. He appears unconcerned by her anger, beginning to speak before she has the chance to lash out, "Shepard. Looks like EDI extracted some interesting data before the Collector ship came back online."
Not to be distracted, her first words are saturated with loathing and anger, "EDI told us the distress call originated from the Collectors. You betrayed us, just like I knew you would." Her stance is aggressive, completely at odds with her usual professional and diplomatic demeanor when not in combat.
The Illusive Man is unmoved. He dismisses her anger, his empty platitudes grating on her nerves, simply going on to tell her about the Identify Friend/Foe system that the Collectors use to pass through the Omega 4 relay. Shepard's ability to compartmentalize comes in handily, letting her set aside her rage to acquire the needed information when he tells her about the derelict Reaper.
Sure that he has her attention, the Illusive Man says, "The Reaper has a mass effect field that keeps it in orbit. Likely an automated response to the external threats. It's stable, but I won't call it safe."
Fairly sure that the man wouldn't be stupid enough to use the same trick again so soon, Shepard has him forward the coordinates to Joker. His response, while expected, does nothing to appease, "In the meantime… I suggest you tell your crew I didn't risk their lives unnecessarily. I will make things easier going forward." She swallows the wish to wipe the insincere smile from his face and walks out without another word.
* * *
The crew assembles quickly, all of them taking notice of the change in attitude, only a few recognizing it as the veneer it was. She quickly fills them in on the events of the past several hours. Jacob seems to breathe a sigh of relief as he speaks, "So the Illusive Man didn't sell us out. Could've fooled me."
Mordin's input is, as always, practical, "Lied to us. Used us. Needed access to the Collector data banks. Necessary risk."
With a curt shake of a head, the commander shows her disagreement of that sentiment. "He tries something like that again, and the Collectors will be the least of his problems," she growls. Those who had been part of her crew on the mission to take down Saren immediately recognized the tone, and knew that this was no empty threat. Cerberus had lost whatever small amount of goodwill the commander had allowed them.
At Shepard's request, EDI brings up a map of the galaxy, showing them the location of the Collector base according to the information that was acquired. "Joker, run a diagnostic. The AI seems to have a bug in the software."
EDI's synthesized voice seems to take on an affronted tone, "My calculations are correct. The Collector home world is located within the galactic core."
She shakes her head as her mind comes to terms with the revelation, "The Collectors are just servants of our real enemy. And we've all seen what their masters are capable of. They built the mass relays and the Citadel. Who's to say they can't build a space station surrounded by black holes. No wonder nobody's ever returned from a trip through the Omega 4 mass relay."
Upon further discussion, Shepard decides to make absolutely sure that the ship and crew are ready before heading to the derelict reaper, despite Miranda and Jacob urging otherwise. The meeting wraps up quickly and she dismisses the crew to attend to their duties.
* * *
Several hours later, Garrus is working diligently at his calibrations. Engineer Donnelly continuously attempts to regulate the power draw that his cannon upgrades have put on the Normandy's systems, and Garrus has begun habitually checking and recalibrating to bring it back in line. He'll have to have a word with the engineers at some point in the near future in order to avoid hiccups in the efficiency of the weapons. He's so focused on his work that for once he doesn't notice when the door behind him slides open.
Elissa stands in the doorway, just watching the turian as he enters information into the console. She'd sought him out as soon as she'd taken care of the duties that always piled up whenever she left this ship. Eventually she clears her throat, causing him to jump and spin around to face her. "Oh, Shepard…"
She grins at his discomfiture, moving into the room as she inquires hopefully, "Have a few minutes to talk?"
His mandibles flare, and his eyes light up as he replies, "Sure, just killing time anyway."
She takes her normal perch on the stack of crates, "You seemed to be thinking hard, anything you want to talk about?" she asks.
"Oh, just thinking about how strange it is going into a suicide mission on a human ship." He replies with a chuckle, "Your people don't prepare for high risk missions the way turians do."
Her interest is peaked, "How do turian crews get ready for high-risk missions?"
He gives a shrug, "With violence, usually. Turian ships have more operational discipline than your Alliance, but fewer personal restrictions. Our commanders run us tight, and they know we need to blow off steam. Turian ships have training rooms for exercise, combat sims, even full-contact sparring. Whatever lets people work off stress."
"You mean turian ships have crewmen fighting each other before a mission," she asks incredulously.
"It's supervised of course," Garrus explains, "no one's going to risk an injury that interferes with the mission. And it's a good way to settle grudges amicably. I remember right before one mission, we were about to hit a batarian pirate squad. Very risky. This recon scout and I had been at each other's throats. Nerves, mostly. She suggested we settle it in the ring."
"I assume you took her down gently?" Shepard comments, having been witness to the turian's skill.
He huffs a laugh, "Actually, she and I were the top-ranked hand-to-hand specialists on the ship. I had reach, but she had flexibility." Suddenly he remembers why he really doesn't want to be telling this story and he begins pacing, "It was brutal. After nine rounds the judge called it a draw. There were a lot of unhappy betters in the training room."
After a few moments of silence, Elissa asks the question he'd vainly been hoping she wouldn't, "So what happened next?"
With an inward groan, and futilely wishing for one of Joker's inconvenient interruptions, he continues, "We, ah, ended up holding a tiebreaker in her quarters. I had reach, but she had flexibility." He finally dares to look toward her, to try to gauge her reaction, "More than one way to work off stress, I guess."
A smile creeps across her face and she shakes her head, understanding now why he'd been reluctant to continue. As if coming to a decision, she stands and moves toward him, running a hand up his arm as she looks him directly in the eye. Her voice is husky as she speaks, "You know, working off stress seems like it might be a good idea…"
His heart starts pounding as he realizes just what she's suggesting. Despite their feelings, he'd been hesitant to push their relationship to a more physical level, unsure of the compatibility of their two races, and had resigned himself to the idea of a purely emotional tie. While attempting to collect his thoughts, he blurts out the first thing that comes to mind, "I didn't think you'd feel like sparring, Commander," his voice sounding rough to his own ears.
An understanding smile crosses her face as she wraps her arms around his shoulders, pulling him close and capturing his eyes as he unconsciously tilts his head to press his forehead against hers. "Sparring isn't exactly what I had in mind," she murmurs. "How about we test your reach, and my flexibility." His mandibles twitch in response to her words.
He has to ask; to make sure this is really what she wants, "Are you sure?" the words are so hard for him to say. As she nods slowly, her eyes never leaving his, his heart soars. "In that case, I'll start doing some research, to see how we can make this work."
The look she gives him when she heads out a few minutes later to chart a course for their next destination, spurs him to immediately open the terminal and start researching.
A/N: As always, I hope you enjoyed reading, hopefully the next chapter won't take me so long to get posted!