Finding his room on the vessel hadn't been as hard as Garrus had thought at first. The human crew seemed nice enough and the Procurement Specialist had shown him his locker and the bunk, which he could call his own for the duration of his stay. Well this will do, for now. He though, eyeing the soft pillow and blanket suspiciously. Shaking the thoughts about the strange alien bedding away, he headed back to the armory. As the elevator door opened, his eyes directly fell on the six-wheeled monstrosity towering at the far end of the hall. "Ah… the M35 Mako. Lovely!" He muttered. "It is, isn't it?" The Commander's voice sounded behind him. "If one is skilled enough to drive it… the thruster system is highly complicated and not to be toyed with!" he told her. Lecturing your new Commander… way to go Vakarian! You're still a long way from being a good Turian! He thought to himself. "Yeah…about that…. I think maybe I broke something the last time I used it." Shepard explained rubbing her neck. You did what?! He thought, but went with the more diplomatic reply: "I could take a look at it, if you'd like?" Her green eyes were actually gleaming as she looked at him incredulously "You could do that?! That would be terrific! Engineer Adams told me he couldn't do anything against my own stupidity and driving incapability… the nerve of it!" she exclaimed. Garrus took a good look at his new Commander. She was at least a head smaller than him, and only half as broad. Her fringe (what was it called on humans again?!) was a light-brown and seemed awfully soft and she had it pulled into a knot at the back of her head. Come to think of it everything about her seemed soft and fragile, but when she spoke there was nothing soft in her voice. It even let him forget he was being ordered around by a female human and not a Turian General. Seeing the change in the look she gave him made him notice that he was staring at her, unblinking. "Alright, I won't keep you Vakarian. Let's see how you can handle that thing." She broke the silence, already turning on her heels to head to the engine room. "Just call me Garrus. Vakarian is my father…" he told her. Turning back she nodded, a smile on her lips. After her slender figure had vanished behind the metal-doors, Garrus noticed that he had been staring at her back the whole time. A good thing he couldn't blush.
What the hell was that? Shepard asked herself as she left the armory. Has that Turian just been staring at me? No… she shook her head, banishing the thought. Must be some custom I am not yet familiar with. She told herself, approaching the Quarian smiling. "Hey Tali! How are you settling in?" she asked. The young girl had an air of happiness about her even though Shepard couldn't see her facial features behind her mask. "Yeah thank you Commander. I have a lovely time studying the engine. That Mass Effect core is an amazing piece of work! And everything is so silent…almost a bit spooky." She told her giggling. Shepard had heard about the Quarians and their ship-bound lifestyle. Almost like Space-nomads. Sadly this wasn't their own choice. They had to leave their homeworld behind as their self-made AI's rebelled, driving them off Rannoch. This had been hundreds of years ago and still they hadn't found a new suiting homeworld to settle on, which was largely due to their fragile immune-system, which was the reason why they were confined to a lifetime in their enviro-suits. "Silent is spooky?" Shepard asked laughing. "You're alright Tali… maybe you'd like to accompany me on the next ground mission on Therum? Shouldn't be that dangerous. We're just searching for an Asari scientist." she added. "Oh that would be nice! And I don't mind a little danger." The Quarian replied, stroking her old Pistol gently. "You know we have a whole armory over there. If you see something you like, just take it." Shepard said.
The massive shotgun in the Quarian's little hands had been a surprise at first, but seeing how proficient she held it made Shepard shut her mouth about it. She had just landed the Mako on Therum, a cloud of red dust filling the air as the vehicle touched the ground. "Nice planet! If you're into rivers of boiling lava and air reeking of Sulphur… What is an archeologist even digging for here? Her own grave?" Garrus asked. She had taken him with her as well, if there would arise any problems with the Mako. He had been the last one to lay a finger on it so she'd at least have someone to put the blame on this time. He had almost pleaded so he could see the vehicle in action. It was a long-shot guess, but Shepard thought that he really just wanted to see her driving the thing, to see if Adam's accusation were justified. What the hell, she might even give him a good show, Shepard thought as she steered it over a steep cliff, using the thrusters to avoid landing into a pool of hot lava. Seeing that the Turian was clinging to the handles on either side of his seat, letting out a low grumble was satisfaction enough. "Spirits!" he called out as she landed the vehicle hard but safely onto solid ground. Grinning from ear to ear Shepard tapped her omni-tool. "Joker, I need a direction A.S.A.P!" she spoke into it. "Sending you the coordinates now." The pilot stated, adding "And this time try not to get stuck somewhere. I'd hate to land the Normandy on an active volcano or anything." Rolling her eyes, Shepard hissed into the communicator: "It was one time. And it was a sinkhole… could have happened to anybody." "No, I think that sort of thing solely happens to you commander. Joker out!" Shaking her head at the communicator, she turned her attention to her ground team. "Alright we have an objective and it shouldn't be too hard reaching it. We'll just avoid the boiling lava and we'll be…" The following explosion made Shepard's ears ring and for a short time she became completely disoriented. "Geth!" Tali cried out. Another rocket hit the Mako, shaking them thoroughly. Finding her way back to the steering wheel, Shepard used the thrusters to avoid the next missile launched at them. "Damn it! Garrus get to the gun and start shooting! Tali keep an eye on our six!" she commanded steering them out of the firing line. "What the hell are they even doing here?" Shepard exclaimed infuriated.
The Geth seemed to be everywhere, trying to surround them, in vain. Garrus was a damned good shot, taking them out, one by one, while Shepard was driving the Mako through some crazy maneuvers, evading the incoming missiles. "That ought to be the last of them" Tali called though the Mako. "Great, then let's find us an archeologist! I hope the Geth haven't found her already." Shepard said through grinded teeth. All of a sudden a Geth dropship appeared out of thin air, dropping something rather heavy to the ground thirty feet in front of them. "The hell is that?" Shepard exclaimed, watching the thing unfold itself. It looked like a massive spider paired with a Geth and it was bloody huge. "Colossus! Don't let the shock-wave hit us!" Tali shouted, one second too late. The energy-wave wrought havoc on the Maco's electricity, igniting electrical fires all over the panels. "Tali get that fire out. God I hate that thing already!" Shepard cried out hitting the reverse gear and getting them to a safe distance. "Hit it with everything we got Garrus!" she yelled, her eyes fixed on the machine in front of them. "Our weapons are already overloaded Shepard. I can't do a thing!" he yelled back. There was only one way Shepard could think of that would get them past that thing. "Strap yourselves to your seats! And hang on tightly!" she shouted over her shoulder. Switching back into forward gear, she let the engine roar up. "Shepard, don't!" Garrus voice sounded from far away. "I know what I'm doing." She stated, accelerating the Mako to full speed. "You're going to kill us, that's what you're doing!" the Turian growled, his sub-vocals ringing. "Full power to forward shields." She commanded the vessel's VI. "Keelah!" Tali muttered, strapped into her seat and unable to move. The following impact was severe. The vehicle's shields were completely down and several metallic parts were loosened, flying around the interior like shrapnel. Through the front window, Shepard could see the thing up close through a cloud of dust and smoke, lying on its back. Driving the Mako over it she ignited the thrusters, roasting the last bit of life out of it.
"Is this sort of thing going to happen often?" Garrus asked, inspecting the badly damaged Mako from the outside. He had the feeling that this was just your everyday ground-mission to Shepard, for the woman didn't seem to be shaken at all by the previous events. Hopping onto an unknown space-robot firing electric blasts at them, no problem! She didn't even blink an eye as she drove head-on into the damned thing. It was a bloody miracle the Mako was still in one piece, more or less, as were they. "I might need more than a hammer and some screws to fix that, but that's just a wild guess." He murmured, shaking his head. "You'll get everything you need, but right now we need to get to Dr. T'Soni and I'm afraid the Geth are one step ahead of us." Shepard replied, readying her assault rifle. Letting out a heavy breath, Garrus readied his own rifle: "Right behind you, Shepard." He exclaimed, following her into the dig-site.
As Shepard had suspected the Geth were already there, in Force. Having chosen Tali and Garrus to accompany her seemed to have been an excellent idea. Both of them made short work of the Geth's shields and could skillfully overload their weapons using their omni-tools. After a views rounds, fighting alongside them came as natural as breathing to her. Using her biotics, she would flush them out of cover providing Garrus a clear shot with his sniper-rifle. As the last Geth feel victim to a head-shot fired by the Turian, he exclaimed triumphantly: "Geth:0, Vakarian:16 …". "You're really keeping count, Garrus? That's…. adorable!" Shepard replied smirking, leading them deeper into the dig-site. "If "adorable" means "badass" in your language then we're seeing eye to eye." Getting into cover behind a wall, Shepard reloaded her weapon still grinning "18…and counting." She told him in a low voice, winking. The Turian's eyes were gleaming as he let out a husky sound, Shepard didn't understand. This is much more fun than all the previous assignments combined. She thought to herself as Tali's voice brought her back to the task at hand. "My omni-tool is picking up some strange readings nearby; must be some sort of high-Energy field." She explained pointing into the direction. "Alright people let's investigate this. It could have something to do with our scientist." The commander stated.
"That definitely is a bloody huge barrier! No Wonder your omni-tool could pick up the energy-signatures." Shepard exclaimed, looking at the blue light in awe. Garrus had to admit that he himself hadn't seen something like that so far. The Asari doctor seemed to be trapped inside a massive barrier, being unable to lift a finger. The sounds coming out of her mouth were faint but understandable: "Thank the goddess you found me! When I heard the Geth were attacking the facility I have trapped myself in here so they couldn't get me. What I didn't think of was that the barrier can only be operated from the outside..." "A minor detail..." Shepard replied, a smirk on her lips Garrus knew well by now. "Just give us a sec and we'll have you out of there in no time Dr. T'Soni." She added, beginning her work on the console next to the trapped Asari. "It's not that easy. You first have to bypass…" the doctor started to explain as the barrier already began to dissolve around her. "So that's dealt with. Let's get you out of here before more Geth arrive." A loud booming voice behind them engaged their attention. "Too late for that, human!" the Krogan Battlemaster howled.
In about ten seconds they were overrun by Geth, with nowhere left to take cover, fighting in close quarters. Garrus immediately regretted that he had left his pistol on the Normandy, being now mostly unable to take a clear shot at their enemies. He settled with overloading their weapons and shields so Tali and Shepard could take them out easier, but still there were far too many of them. "Goddammit!" he heard Shepard cry out as several Geth had cornered the Asari, who still seemed to be too weak to use her biotics in defense. Swift as lighting the commander was at her side, pushing the AIs back with a massive biotic wave. The Krogan let out a horrific ear-piercing growl as he watched the Geth fly through the air like pieces of scrap-metal. "Watch your left, Shepard!" Garrus yelled out as the Battlemaster started charging, his heavy armor ringing loudly. As his massive body crashed against Shepard's fragile figure Garrus knew that the woman stood no chance in surviving this. He was unable to move as he watched the Krogan push her against the wall, pulling her up, howling. Geth were running up to him and he absentmindedly overloaded their systems, staring at the scene in front of him in terror. At that moment Shepard reopened her eyes, fumbling at her armor. Her helmet unfolded and with full strength she crashed her head against the Krogan's unarmored forehead. Crying out in agony he staggered back and got caught up in her biotic field, unable to move. She didn't even need to give him the command. Without thinking Garrus took the shot, aiming for the Krogan's bleeding head.
Running and gunning their way out of the dig-site the four of them made it back to the top. Garrus had been more or less carrying the weakened Asari the whole way, while Tali and Shepard had carved a free path through the lines of Geth. As they stood in broad daylight Garrus took a closer look at the Commander. She was still wearing her helmet, which was heavily dented where she had head-butted the Krogan. "Shepard to Normandy. Joker, come in. We need immediate extraction!" she spoke into her omni-tool, completely out of breath, her voice shaking. "Understood Commander. We just blew that Geth dropship out of the sky, so they won't be bothering you anymore." The pilot's voice sounded over the communicator. With a heavy sigh, Shepard pushed the button to fold her helmet back. A wide gashing wound was covering most of her forehead and blood was running down the side of her face. As her body swayed to the side, Garrus grabbed her by the arm supporting her. She tried objecting, in vain. "Commander… Shepard are you alright?" he asked concerned examining the wound. "Never been better. Although a soft bed would certainly make my day." She murmured weakly trying to stand on her own feet again, but he would have none of it. "You've got blood all over you face!" he stated. "A little blood won't kill me." She replied unimpressed, trying to gather her strength. "Not if most of it is inside you it won't!" Garrus growled. Why didn't she just let him help her? Too proud for her own good he thought, still fighting against her pointless and unlucky attempts to stand on her own. A weak smirk formed on her lips as she gave in to his support, saying: "You're alright Vakarian…although if you tell anybody about this, I might just have to kill you." The warm feeling spreading in his gut was completely new and strange to Garrus, although not unwanted.