Welcome back all and welcome to the third installment of my latest work, 'Fortuna Venatus'! If anything, I've been anticipating this more than any reader, since even I didn't know how it would turn out until it was over. Ah the spice of a writer's life. Such a sweet and wonderful scent ... that's thankfully proverbial and doesn't make me sneeze. Ugh. Boogers everywhere. Nasty. Anyway, let's get things started shall we? I don't own 'Mass Effect' but gods in heaven I'll fight every woman on the planet to the death over Garrus. I might not play dirty. Enjoy!
"Iii" = speech
"Iii" = radio speech
Iii = thought
Chapter 3: On the Job With You
It was official. Garrus hated trees. He'd be damned to the human's nine rings of Hell if he ever saw another damned tree again just as he almost bumped into yet another tree. The fog of the planet they were on was so thick even his alien eyes were having trouble seeing through the mist, despite his visor's constant display of information to help him. It was his first mission on Shepard's team and he couldn't help but feel this damn forest was out to make a fool out of him in front of his new teammates. That is until the other human woman on the team, Miranda Lawson, promptly walked right into a tree herself some few feet away. Her cry of pain and surprise came over the radio channel, making Garrus fight down howls of laughter at the woman's discomfort. When he'd first met her nearly three days ago after he woke up from his nearly day and a half nap, the turian couldn't help but feel uncomfortable around the odd sounding woman. Everything about her was off and he knew it. Hell he could even smell it whenever she was close enough or a draft sent her smell his way. And he knew just from looking at her that her body was a man's wet dream come to life. Her figure was just too perfect, she was almost way too smart and her personality was too snooty for his tastes. But they were crewmates now and he had no choice but to get used to her. Even if it meant dealing with her almost clinical smell mixed with a flowery scent he wasn't about to try and identify.
Their first meeting had been a little tense since he wasn't sure how to address her and she was just reeking of overconfidence. Just one of the many things, he was pretty damn sure, to be put on his steadily growing mental list on why Garrus was slowly growing to hate the woman who kept reminding him she outranked him. No matter what Shepard said. This sentence had confused him but he refused to show it as they broke off to their own duties, her to her office and him to the elevator to the armory. Just as soon as he'd exited the elevator did he meet, much to his surprise and annoyance, the very bubbly Kelly Chambers. Their one-sided conversation was mostly the redhead chatting her head off at him, making him stare and wonder if he could knock her out right then and there just to get her to shut up. Luckily he was saved by another human crewmember who happened upon his suffering. Once the female was distracted, Garrus slipped away before giving his unnamed savior an appreciative nod. Within moments he was through another door and into the armory, which was practically lined with weapons.
Standing at a desk was none other than Jacob Taylor, the dark skinned human he'd seen with Shepard and Tali when they picked him up. Their situation and his condition had done little in helping him get acquainted with the human, but now was a better time than any. Not really one to waste people's time, Garrus didn't hesitate to speak when the human didn't notice him come in, or pretended not to.
With a calm stance and a slightly smug air that he could muster, Garrus watched the dark-skinned, dark eyed human turned to face him as he spoke. "I hear you're the one holding my gear hostage. My hopes are it's not going to be an on-going thing or is it just because I just so happened to be the only one with holes in their armor?"
Seconds later the human's thick lips opened to reveal white teeth as he laughed with a voice he vaguely remembered. When he finished, the somewhat rough voice he knew belonged to the man before him filled the room. "Shepard warned me you were a wisecracker. I guess she wasn't kidding."
Yet another confusing human term he needed to ask Tali about later. That is until Jacob gave him his own explanation when he just stared. "It means you're a wise guy, a guy who makes jokes. Just a play on words that's all. No worries, your stuff's right over here. Tali even said you might be coming in today so I did some last minute work just in case."
Guiding the turian over to the main table, he lay out some of the weapons in question, including the cobalt blue and black armor that Garrus felt almost naked without. Backing away, Jacob leaned casually against the wall of the armory as he watched the turian inspect his work of he'd done on the man's gear. Looking it all over with an expert eye that only a turian of his standards could have, Garrus couldn't help but find himself relatively speechless.
Picking up the armor chest plate, he turned it in his three-fingered hands in awe of the flawless way the human had patched up the holes. "This is… this is good work. I'm surprised you know this much about turian armor plates. You saved me having to find someone more attuned to this kind of work to get it fixed." And almost under his breath and with a light chuckle he added. "And a helluva lot of credits."
Again Jacob chuckled at the turian's words, smiling a kind smile that unlike most of the humans he'd met didn't look plastered on. "You're welcome. And I gave your guns some tuning. That is until Shepard issues you some new ones for her mission tomorrow."
Garrus blinked, turning to face the human leaning against the wall. "New weapons? She's that well funded?"
The dark skinned man nearly threw his head back in amused laughter at the question, as if he'd heard it so often it brought him pleasure for some reason. "This whole mission is. She's just in control of what we do and how we do it. Not who pays us. At least for now."
"You make that seem like your employment is temporary. I'm guessing Cerberus isn't really running the show like everyone else in the galaxy thinks." Garrus mused as he put the gun back into its case, closing it up now that his inspection was complete.
"The galaxy needs Shepard to save it. And Shepard needs our help to do it. Who cares about Cerberus when the real problem is the Collectors? Once we solve that problem? Well… that's up to Shepard." The human's response surprised Garrus, making him turn and blink at said human with a questioning look.
"You won't stay with Cerberus if she isn't?" he inquired, truly curious.
Jacob nodded, coming to stand next to the table, a confident smile still on his lips. "You bet. She's a better commander than the ones I've had in the past and that's sayin' somethin'. Eden Prime? Ilos? The Citadel and Sovereign? Just warm up shots for the Collectors and whatever else that's comin' in her book if you think about it."
Somehow the turian couldn't help but chuckle in response. "Somehow I don't doubt that. I read about it all after it happened but even then the details were sketchy at best. But if someone like Shepard needs me for a mission like this, then I'm all in. it's been a while since I've been allowed to shoot something that isn't off-limits."
"Well restrain yourself for the actual targets, and not the wall of the armory. Besides, you're not the only one who got tired of the politics." Jacob said, his tone sobering as a look of annoyance flashed through his eyes at deep-set memories.
Garrus grunted at the man's words with a shrug. "I guess that answers a few of my questions. Only a military man could do this kind of work and get away with it. I guess that means I've got some more reading to do if I'm going to know damn near everything about everybody on this ship."
"You can always ask you know." The dark-skinned man said coolly, the smile returning to his face as the turian paused in picking up the sniper rifle case.
"This is… true. But knowing me I'm likely going to say something humorous and not know it. Get myself laughed at. I'd rather know what I'm walking into rather than jumping in and regretting it later." He grumbled, not meeting the human's gaze, even when the human just chuckled back at him again.
"Well thanks to us, Tali should be able to help you out with that."
"Somehow I don't doubt that." Garrus muttered half to himself, mandible flexing in a minor grin before turning to leave.
"Hold on. I'm almost done here. If you wait I can help you haul your stuff down to the crew deck before headin' to lunch. You up for it?"
"I don't see why not. It's... how do you humans say? 'Two birds with one stone'? That one always confused me."
"'Two issues with the same action'. That's what you're looking for."
Garrus nodded, his expression likely thoughtful despite his face being different from a human's. As promised, the tall turian waited the amount of time Jacob had specified before said male human finally picked up the container with his weapons in them and headed for the door. Within moments they were both in the elevator, the box of metal moving quickly enough for their intentions. When the doors opened and they both stepped out, Jacob turned to him.
"Where to big guy?" the dark skinned male inquired, the friendly smile still on his face, dark eyes casually watching the turian from direction.
"My quarters should be fine." Garrus stated calmly, though his mind was racing at just how strange it was that humans were being kind to him. He was so accustomed to them being cold and distant or loud and angry at him. This switch in attitude was a first for him. "And… just Garrus will be fine too."
"Then just call me Jacob and we'll be good. C'mon, my stomach's gonna eat my intestines." Jacob said chuckling, walking out of the armory to head for the elevator, both ignoring the various crew who turned to look at them.
Garrus couldn't help but chuckle in turn, finally letting some of his smugness show. "If that's true, I know of some good meds that'll kill the pain."
"Oh you would!" the human male said with a burst of laughter, barely even looking at the console as the elevator doors closed and it was moving downwards. Then for a moment, Jacob suddenly hesitated. "How are your injuries? I heard you were pretty bad."
The turian shrugged indifferently, hoping to ease the human's sudden tension. "A few holes here, some blood loss there. Something your doctor was well prepared for surprisingly enough. For a few moments I'd thought you'd all haul me to the nearest turian cruiser for help but your Dr. Chakwas knows what she's doing. Is everyone on this ship so impressive?"
"That's about right. We were handpicked to help Shepard. All the way down to the maintenance crew. Only the best for takin' down the Collectors." Suddenly Jacob was smiling again as if in amusement. "Hell even Joker got recruited for this mission, and he used to be Alliance like me."
"Joker?" Garrus asked, suddenly confused. So far he hadn't met anyone by such a name, if it was even a name.
The dark skinned male gave him a slight look before it came to him. "Oh right, you haven't met everybody. Joker's the pilot, though his real name's Jeff. His nickname's from his academy days but it's stuck with everybody who knows him ever since."
"I see. I guess that makes sense. He's that talented?" he asked, stepping forward as the elevator stopped to let them out, allowing him to lead the way toward his quarters.
"You bet. He flies this old girl like he can make it do a fancy dance, even though he can't exactly make any fancy moves himself."
"He can't? Or won't?" Garrus just had to ask. Sometimes he couldn't help but be sarcastic when people spoke to him.
Thankfully Jacob took it in stride, shrugging as he spoke. "Simply can't. The guy's got brittle bones and he practically breaks his fingers whenever he mutes EDI for getting technical with him."
Another wave of confusion hit Garrus like a brick wall. Just who exactly were these strange people aboard this ship? Did humans finally run out of names to name their children? Or was he just missing something. "EDI?"
As if by some kind of command, a blue orb of some sort appeared from a piece of equipment he'd until then ignored, the bright lights that were its face shimmered as it spoke in a truly synthesized voice. "Greetings Officer Vakarian. I trust you're acclimatizing well to the Normandy?"
Garrus was able to contain his surprise but it didn't stop his mandibles from twitching in astonishment. Either Jacob didn't notice this or decided not to comment as he shrugged again, watching Garrus calmly. "That's EDI, the ship's AI. Cerberus made sure we had that installed for this mission too. She helps Joker and the rest of the crew run the ship while Shepard focuses on other things that actually matter to her."
"You do realize that AI's are dangerous? Especially when they get egos?" Garrus growled dangerously, scowling at the blue ball of light.
Before Jacob could respond, EDI interjected in a tone that suggested she wasn't the least bit offended or concerned with his opinion. "Contrary to popular belief Officer Vakarian, Cerberus and the Illusive Man have taken precautions in my construction to where I do not have direct control of the ship. I do, however, control the cyber defense systems should anyone attempt to hack the ship's controls and our database. You and I will also be working on getting the ship's weapons online whenever you have had a chance to look at them. I look forward to working with you Officer Vakarian."
Without so much as another word, the blue orb vanished, leaving both men standing almost awkwardly in the hallway. Garrus could only stare at where it'd been before turning to the human next to him. "That was… odd."
Jacob chuckled at this. "Don't worry about it. Even I was a little on edge when I first met EDI but you'll get used to it." He turned to open the door to Garrus' quarters for them both, quickly dispensing of their load. "Now how about gettin' some lunch? I'm starvin'."
"Well you can help me kill Rupert if he tries to give me anything that may kill me." Garrus grumbled aloud, giving the man a turian smirk. Maybe this place wouldn't be so bad after all. Since it was out of his hands and whatnot.
Again Jacob was laughing as they walked down the corridor together, heading straight for the mess hall, some of the other crew quickly edging out of the turian's way. "I'm way ahead of ya. We can both kill him if he gives us both something too dangerous to eat."
"I like the way you think." Garrus chuckled, his smirk becoming a smile. Other than Tali, he couldn't help but think that he might've found a good friend to rely on.
Jacob had laughed, a deep sound he now knew he was going to be hearing a lot from the man next to him as they'd walked toward Rupert's miniature kitchen area. And that'd been yesterday afternoon. Now here he was on some random planet, in his newly repaired armor which fit him better than when he'd gotten it, with weapons fine-tuned practically to perfection, with two women surrounded by fog. He thought his luck couldn't get any worse until finally, amidst the white haze, someone started to shoot at them. As the report had said, Blood Pack gang members had set up shop on the planet for reasons that likely weren't good. From he remembered from the briefing not an hour earlier, they'd set up a post to try and attack supply vessels on their way to and fro the colonies near the Rim. With both krogan and vorcha soldiers on the attack, anyone not properly equipped was in for trouble. Thankfully the mist that covered their line of vision to the enemy was clearing up. And so it was for their opponents.
Flashes of blue, whirling energy told Garrus that his two female companions were sending their adversaries some gifts in the form of biotic attacks, accompanied by submachine gun fire. Species be damned these women could shoot. A warp attack came from Miranda with a pistol chaser while Shepard gave the enemy a few tastes of reave and push. Garrus, on the other hand, gave the enemy a good serving of overload for their shields as he cut them down easy with his assault rifle. Adrenaline that surged through his veins almost made him think that the moments they spent fighting took seconds as they moved ahead. Wave after wave of mercs attempted to hold them down but after a few close calls, they'd gotten into the mercenary base with no real issues. Shepard had made quick work of the door before they moved on to the people inside, Garrus finding himself barely in need of direction to take down the enemies before them. Yet, through it all, he couldn't help but feel his commanding officer's eyes on him. Almost like the whole thing was one big demonstration. A demonstration of his skills in the field for her to judge for herself.
Such thoughts were quickly abandoned when a few bullets whizzed by his head, scratching his shields enough to make them flicker from the impact. He rose from his position behind a fallen crate to fill another Blood Pack vorcha full of holes before ducking down again before overloading a krogan's shield. It was shot to death moments later by Shepard, who didn't stop until it was down, even when her shields flickered as she was shot at. Not even a few seconds after the krogan died, she was moving forward, sending a pull at a few vorcha and shot the closest ones when they landed. Miranda also moved forward, but only did so behind the various cover the large room they'd come to provided. Not wanting to be left behind, Garrus quickly did the same, sending a few shots toward the enemy before skillfully sliding behind a rather tall metal box. Quickly working his omni-tool, Garrus managed to overload a few of the vorcha shields in time for the two female humans to shoot them full of holes. Wasting no time, the turian was pulling out his sniper rifle, swiftly gazing down the scope to take down some more oncoming vorcha before switching back to his assault rifle.
Even as he took down the still oncoming vorcha cannon fodder, Garrus heard his comm. beep in his ear, forcing him to tap it before going back to shooting. He had to fight to keep from gasping into the radio. "Need something Commander? I'm kinda busy not getting you two shot up."
"Go left, I'm going right. We need to flank these idiots. Miranda, you're on center. Hit 'em with everything people!" he heard her practically bark over the loud gunfire, Miranda's response lost as a rocket screeched past him and slammed into a tree some few feet away from where he hid.
"Yes ma'am." Garrus muttered as the comm. went dead, leaving him to himself as he shot another vorcha through the chest. Looking around, the turian was darting between various bits of cover, a crate here, a tree or rock there. Even with the mist now a lot thinner than it'd been only moments earlier, it was still hard to see what was what. Dirt, rocks and trees had given way to metal crates and other foreign items clearly built within a few months. Despite the now thin mist, Garrus could barely make out the door to the facility, its panel glowing green in the mix of white and gray. Movement to his right caught his attention. It was Shepard, doing as she said she would, moving with a swiftness he'd only heard of in the terms of humans. Miranda appeared also only a few crates away, briefly glancing at him before nodding then looking away. As soon as she looked away, the door to the facility opened, letting vorcha and krogan come streaming out with guns echoing into the fog.
With pinpoint accuracy, Garrus and Miranda opened fire, taking down a few vorcha while the rest managed to get to cover. Taking the enemy head-on wasn't Garrus's style, as he would rather take them down one by one from afar, but he had orders. The mere thought of taking these ugly things on, getting right in their faces, bothered Garrus, but he swallowed his pride and moved forward. In moments he'd managed to get a good ways to the left of the facility's doorway, taking down vorcha when they dared come into sight. Miranda had the most of the enemy forces focused on her and to her right, Shepard popping in and out of cover with spurts of gunfire and biotic power. As if to add to the scene, a vorcha pyrotech's tank was somehow nicked by her spray of lead, another few rounds causing the thing to explode. Fire and guts spewed into the air, giving the place a very special stink of poorly cooked flesh. Not even pausing Shepard was already moving again, practically shooting another vorcha right in the face. Garrus turned his eyes back to his own opponents, knowing that Shepard was bound to be watching him somehow. No sooner did he look away from her, that he saw a very angry krogan come charging straight at him.
Instinct overcame training as Garrus found himself jumping and rolling out of the way, pulling his pistol out in the hopes of diminishing its armor. The krogan, a bulky and green eyed ugly thing, just roared at him as it handled his shotgun with ease. Garrus was moving again, the blast of metal pellets missing him by mere centimeters. To reiterate, his shields flickered as some of the extra ammunition bounced off, leaving a crate with a corner missing, and Garrus on his back. His pistol still very much in hand, Garrus busied himself with pulling the trigger as many times as his clip would allow, reloading as the krogan stumbled. After a few more shots, the large thing finally fell, its corpse twitching slightly as it lay on the ground. Garrus rolled back to his feet quickly, ignoring his latest kill in favor of seeing how his teammates were fairing. Eyes trained all too well, the turian saw Miranda was holding her own but Shepard was gone. Where had she gone? Had she spoken over the comm. and he'd missed it?
Crouching amidst the still standing crates, Garrus got back to his job: killing the mercenaries, making them once again split their attentions. Somehow like he knew she would, Miranda was suddenly on the radio, her oddly accented voice sounding quite annoyed with him over the gunfire. "Where have you been? I came damn close to being shot to hell because of you!"
Garrus bit down the angry curses he had for the woman, grounding out his excuse in anger instead. "Sorry about that. It's hard to do one's job when a krogan is trying to run you over. Where's Shepard? I don't see her."
"I thought she was with you!" Miranda practically yelled over the comm., sounding a little more irritated than she should've been.
Before Garrus could retort, Hayden's voice came between them. "Looking for me?"
Ducking into cover before firing a few rounds at the enemy, Garrus was the first to express surprise. "Shepard? Where are you? We're up to our ears in mercs here."
"Let's just say I'm about to give these bad boys a hell of a surprise. Get ready to get to some cover. We just might make it home in time for lunch." She said casually, almost as if in humor, her brown hair a bob of dark color on the other side of the cleared space.
If she could see him, she would've seen him with his mouth agape, mandibles shifting with amazement. "We're getting shot at from all sides, fighting for our lives, and all you can think about is food?"
"What? It's roast beef day. I like roast beef. I'd recommend it but I can't help but think you might be allergic." Shepard growled back, her amusement killing her indignity.
From amidst the gunfire, Miranda managed to put in her own two cents. "You could order roast beef rather than wait for a specific day."
"I would but then people get bored and say 'roast beef? Again?' Having the same thing every single day is boring, and annoyingly repetitive." Shepard defended, a smirk on her lips clearly heard over the radio.
Garrus had to shake his head in disbelief. Of all the conversations to have during a fire fight, he never knew just how strange humans were until now. Before either woman could respond, he had to ask. "Are all humans so easily bored?" spotting something with his sharp turian gaze, Garrus coolly switched weapons, speaking almost sweetly into his comm. "Oh, Commander? Get down."
"What?" he heard her ask before he took the shot with his sniper rifle, the sound of it thundering into the mist. Calmly he watched the human woman jump as a merc who'd gotten behind her fell lifeless. He almost laughed when her voice sounded off. "Whoa!"
"You all right?" Garrus inquired, his politeness almost mocking.
"I'm good." Shepard said, sounding a little off but unhurt. "Good eye. Thought I got them all."
"Obviously not. Where did you go?" he asked again, curiosity winning over his smugness for once in his life.
Again one could hear her smile over the radio as she spoke. "I told you. We might want to duck in a minute."
"What-?"
Garrus's words fell short as a loud boom shook the ground, knocking literally everyone off their feet. Everything shook as more explosions rocked them and their opponents. As if on some kind of cue, fire burst from the cracks in the building's outer shell, their sudden light clearing away some of the mist around them. No sooner did the explosions stop did Garrus notice that the krogan he'd dealt with earlier wasn't as dead as he'd hoped. Growling and understandably angry at being shot near to death, the bulky krogan was trying to get to his feet, a fierce look in his eyes as it stared at Garrus. Needless to say, Garrus wasn't prepared to fight off a half dead krogan, especially when it was about to go blood rage on him. There was no time to turn and fire, or even change weapons from sniper rifle to assault rifle by the time the krogan was on his feet, growling in his fury.
Just as the krogan was about to roar and start running at him, the sound of gunfire caught them both by surprise. Suddenly Shepard was next to him, with her pistol in hand, glaring at the now crumpling body of the krogan as it finally died. Somewhere off to the side, Miranda was no doubt picking off any mercs that'd evaded their initial sweep. Turning to the fallen turian, Hayden Shepard's silver grey eyes bore down on his surprised blue ones. "You alright there Vakarian? You look a little off."
Blinking away his surprise, Garrus quickly reestablished his usual smug look on his face, no matter how Shepard smiled knowingly at him. "I-I'm fine. I just didn't expect you over here so fast. And I thought I'd killed him. How did you get over here so fast?"
"Sprinted. C'mon, let's not have Miranda do all the work." She said, turning away with that amused smile still on her face.
"Yes ma'am." He muttered mostly to himself, and proceeded to follow his new commanding officer back towards where the fighting was.
They spent the next half hour taking down any remaining mercs that came their way, casually collecting heat sinks and what bits of supplies that were lying around. To Garrus, it was better than just blowing the place and running. From the way Shepard would grin at a find and her description of it, Garrus found it hard to call it 'treasure hunting'. Yet another thing he'd have to ask Tali about later. Come around noon, as Shepard had predicted, they were back aboard the Normandy in time for lunch and her precious 'roast beef'. Garrus had no choice but to stand with Tali in hoping whatever Gardner dished out wouldn't kill them. Though just by looking at it, Garrus wasn't sure that getting dextro-amino goop from a human was a very bright idea. Seeing as to how he had no choice, Garrus resolved to not just staring at his tray and hoping his tongue didn't fall out. What with today's goop being a ghastly shade of green, the grey and blue lumps more familiar than anything.
"Hey Garrus! How'd your mission go?" Tali said happily as she sat down across from him, her own tray filled with different things than his.
Smiling at the quarian, Garrus suddenly felt a little better about his day. "As good as one can go. Are all humans as crazy as her?"
"No but from my experience, she's more sane than most I met before her." Tali said with a giggled before her gaze fell to his tray. "Ooh that's what you got? I'm jealous now."
Perplexed, Garrus's smile became a little strained but he kept it firm on his face as he scoffed at the girl. "Jealous? What for? It's just some green slop Rupert gave me. Is there something special about it?"
"Taste it and find out." She said, her giggles clearly hard to contain. So much that even some of the human crew were starting to glance over.
Blue eyes narrowing at the quarian, Garrus felt the need to whisper. The last thing he wanted was to be a victim of some joke in front of the crew. "It's not something gross is it?"
"Of course not! Not unless you've got something against fruit." Tali practically exclaimed at him, as if appalled at the idea.
Fruit? Is that what this is? Garrus thought as he eyed the goop with a new sense of curiosity and a hint of suspicion. Taking his standard issue spoon in his clawed hand, he scooped a bit of it up, not too much but enough for a good taste, and brought it to his mouth. The turian almost hesitated, mostly from the way the quarian was staring anxiously, briefly pausing in his action of consuming the foul colored paste. What happened in his mouth was a tangy, sweet explosion of flavor, subtle but strong. Garrus almost didn't believe it until he let it spread through is mouth, his tongue practically bathing in it.
Somehow Garrus found himself lightly humming in satisfaction, Tali practically close to laughing from her seat across from his. Mandibles quivering with a reborn smile, the turian just had to ask. "What was that?"
"Shepard says it's 'green apple'. From what she tells me, apples come in different colors, so for some reason, they have slightly different flavors. I think she said that green apple's practically a candy." Tali said informatively, clearly something the quarian may've gotten a lecture over.
"I don't doubt that." Garrus muttered, astounded at Rupert's innovation of a human-born flavor. Clearly the man had done his homework. Shrugging off any questions or comments that were on his mind, Garrus found himself just enjoying the calm of the room and the sweet retreat the green slop provided. He and Tali talked for roughly an hour before they had to leave for their separate duties, her to deck 4, him to the main batteries.
Giving Rupert a nod as he left his tray where it was, Garrus was quickly down the walkway and inside his own little hideaway, EDI's blue orb of a 'face' appeared as soon as he activated his terminal. Not even looking at the AI watching him, Garrus began typing away, his mind already lost in the algorithms.
"Good afternoon Officer Vakarian. Fifty-six of the several thousand targeting algorithms are in need of adjustment. Do you require my assistance?" the AI asked politely with her synthesized voice.
"Not at the moment EDI. I'll let you know but for now, I've got this." He said calmly, somehow hiding his irritation, turian pride rearing its head over the quality of his work.
"Of course Officer Vakarian. I will be standing by." She said as calmly as before.
"Great…." He muttered, mostly to himself as EDI's holo-interface vanished into the wall in the rather unnerving way it did. Somehow Garrus knew he'd never get used to that. Before he knew it, Garrus was consumed in the hundreds of codes in front of him. Adjusting here, tweaking there, as well as a few rewriting before something went completely out of whack. Time wilted away from the turian, going from his holopad to his terminal with various algorithms and simulations of said codes at work. How long he spent at his station working he didn't know, but the sound of the door opening behind him broke his concentration, making him jump and turn. He relaxed, however, when he saw who it was. Straightening his posture a little, he nodded at the newcomer respectfully.
"Commander. Do you need something?" he asked politely, as he was sure she would like to be addressed.
Shepard smiled, her silver grey eyes watching him carefully. "Came to check in on you, see how you were doing. You doing okay after today's exercise?"
Somehow Garrus couldn't help but chuckle. "As well as one can be. It felt good after being cooped up for so long. But I'm guessing you're here for more than just my health status."
Much to his surprise, her expression sobered, the smile vanishing as the light in her eyes dimmed slightly. "I… I just got a message from the Turian Hierarchy."
Garrus felt himself stiffen, his face blank and his mind practically filling with questions, the two most important ones somehow coming out of his mouth. "My team? The mercs and their base?"
"Sit down Garrus." Shepard said calmly, clearly trying to school her expression but failing horribly. Her face should've told him everything.
"Can't you just-?" he began before she sharply cut him off.
"Sit down… before I order you to."
Taken aback by the sadness on her face and the cutting edge of her voice, Garrus knew he'd best do as he was told. "Yes ma'am."
Shepard waited until he'd seated himself on a small crate that sat against the wall near his terminal before speaking. This time, she spoke with forced confidence. "It took a few days but they managed to get a ship there. The base was abandoned by the time they got there but they destroyed it to be sure." He had no choice but to watch her, his heart already telling him what she'd say though his head kept denying it. "Y-your team… they were found throughout the woods. Their remains have already been recovered and sent to Palaven for proper examination and burial."
"Are they certain? Are they absolutely sure it's them?" Garrus found his voice weak and stammering in his ears, his blue eyes watching the woman intently.
All she did was shake her head, her expression sad. "The investigation's still underway. I already sent them a copy of your report to look over but they might contact us in a week or so if they need more." The frown she wore deepened. "I'm sorry Garrus."
Shocked into disbelief, Garrus's eyes found their way to the floor, barely registering his now shaking hands. "How could this have happened? They were my friends… they didn't deserve this…."
"No one does Garrus, but it still happens. It happens to all of us."
He looked up, a little shocked at her words, only to be taken aback even further at the look on her face. Of all the emotions she'd shown him, this one was one he didn't expect at all: pure, unbridled sadness. The look in her eyes of silver grey was that of true pain, pain only brought about from experience.
Like an epiphany, his brain brought forth the two words to explain that horrifyingly sad look on his new commander's face: the Skyllian Blitz. A time of true horror and bloodshed for Systems Alliance soldiers sent to defend the violent outbreak of fighting. From what he remembered about the event, Shepard had spearheaded the assault and took back the colony from the pirates that dared to cause such death and destruction. Anyone who saw such things for themselves likely came back changed. Upon seeing the look on his commanding officer's face, Garrus could tell she was no different than the other survivors of that horrible massacre.
For a while neither could speak, Garrus forcing himself to look away, down toward his now shaking hands. Quickly he clasped them together, but some of the shivers remained even then as he held back his anguish. If he heard her leave, his mind didn't register it in his memory as all he could see where his teammates' faces. Each memory flashed in his mind, each one as happy and vibrantly alive as the last, coming and going over and over again. He didn't know how long he sat there, or whether or not time actually passed him by. At the moment, he didn't really care. It wasn't until the door opened again and a familiar splash of dark purple spread across his vision. Almost immediately a pair of small hands forced his head up, making him look at the matching purple mask with glowing white eyes in front of him.
"Garrus?" Tali whispered hesitantly, watching the blue eyes staring back at her absently, as if she wasn't even there.
"They're gone. They're… they're all gone Tali." He told her absently, his voice a ghostly whisper of its usual rumble.
"I know. Oh keelah I know." She said, her voice cracking as she forced back tears, kneeling next to her friend as she held his head with tender hands. "Shepard told me to come see you. I don't think she knew what to do."
"Neither of us do Tali. We really don't." Garrus said a bit too calmly, his mind trapped in a never ending thought. A thought that would haunt him for days. They're gone.
Releasing his face to take his arm and hand into her grip, Tali gently tugged at the sorrow-struck turian. "Come with me. It's late and you need to get some sleep. You've been in here all day."
Garrus blinked at the information as he stood up, his voice still absent of any distinctive emotion to her words. "Have I? I didn't really notice."
Tali stared at him for a moment, why he wasn't sure, her words coming in a sad whisper as she led him to the door. "Let's go."
Garrus took little notice of his surroundings. He didn't even pay attention when they passed through the mess, down the corridor to crew quarters. Barely registered that his door was opened and they passed through to the room beyond. Movements purely mechanical when Tali helped him sit down on his bed, eyes staring forward unseeing. Somewhere in the midst of it he thought he saw Shepard appear again, the two women whispering in worried tones about what to do. After a while they left, obviously feeling it best to leave him alone. Once he heard the door close behind them, their footsteps fading away, the turian finally broke down. Not caring who heard, his howls echoed off the walls, his fist hitting anything and everything, sending the chair at his desk crashing across the room. Garrus didn't know how long he did this, he didn't know when his arms felt like he'd gotten them caught in a door. He almost didn't understand why blood was seeping from his knuckles from punching the walls so hard. All he knew was he suddenly felt very tired, pent up emotions, whirlwind thoughts and painfully happy memories forcing his mind to go blank. Without taking off his armor or even getting on the comm. for Dr. Chakwas to patch him up, Garrus numbly stumbled to his bed and lay upon the soft surface. He didn't care that his blood was staining the sheets or that he was still dressed. All he knew was that he suddenly felt like going to sleep after a horrible nightmare. Forcing himself to shut his eyes while facing the wall of his quarters, Garrus could only pray to the Spirits that he wouldn't dream.
Hayden felt like kicking herself. She shouldn't have told him that. Not after seeing him so happy in the mess with Tali. Sitting in her quarters at her private terminal, she felt like just banging her head on her desk for doing such a stupid thing. But her thoughts were interrupted when her door chimed, signaling someone wanted to enter, despite the hour.
"It's open!" she called, the tempting urge to bash her head against something hard still very overpowering.
"Shepard?" a familiar voice called, making her look up and see the only quarian on the ship poking her head around the corner.
Barely managing a smile, Hayden did her best to keep her walls from cracking. "Tali… to think you wouldn't want to see me again today."
"That's not…." Tali began to say, but Hayden cut her off, turning away as she slapped her palm against her forehead.
"Just another day in the life of the meddling human. Oh god I'm so stupid." A brief silence fell between them, the smile fading, tears threatening to fall. "I saw you two in the mess today too. I knew I couldn't keep it from him but… I didn't want to see him hurt either."
"You're not to blame Shepard! Understand? Don't regret your decision. You did the right thing, even if you were well aware of the consequences." Tali exclaimed walking up to where her friend and commander sat. Just how many people were confined to sadness today?
Silver grey eyes stared at her, tears threatening to fall once more, her voice almost cracking when she spoke. "I still had no right to do that to him! I barely know him but he's your friend and I… I had no right to do that."
"Is that what you think? You think I'd hate you for this? That he'd hate you for this? It's not your fault and it's not his fault either. There's no reason for you to think like that." Tali exclaimed suddenly, a spout of confidence feeling like a slap to the face.
Blinking away surprise, Hayden finally let out a sigh. "Thanks Tali." She said with a soft but sad smile. "You definitely made me feel less crappy than I did five minutes ago."
Tali nodded, seeing her job was done for now. After a moment the quarian finally turned to leave. "See you tomorrow Shepard."
"See ya Tali." Hayden muttered, half to herself than anything as she was left in the silence of her office/quarters. After sitting alone doing almost nothing for a few hours, she finally had the mind to quickly shower and go to bed.
Unlike Garrus, who'd fallen into sleep's embrace without a hint of dreams, Shepard saw dreams a plenty. Images of blood, death and horror were rampant in the dark corners of her mind, red rivers of life flowing endlessly, accompanied by screams. Gunfire rattled between the shrieks of terror, grief and pain. Friends and foes alike falling like some invisible power had struck them, though Hayden knew they fell from bullets, biotic powers and explosives. Civilians, wearing various kinds of clothing, ran through the nightmare that was the long past battlefield, screaming in terror and shouting names she couldn't remember. Some were shot, others were tossed aside while the rest ran around seeking cover. All of it was hell brought to the lands of the living. And now she was reliving it again. Only now instead of humans being slaughtered by pirates, it was batarians and turians in merc armor. Their weapons more up to date and their companions more diverse. Somehow her mind was showing her that planet where she and Tali had found Garrus, nothing but forest for miles. And instead of the pirates and their never-ending rampage, an image she feared, she saw the mercs move decisively through the trees.
Blood filled her senses, warm and dark before chilling to emit a foul stench no one could ever forget. Only this blood wasn't red, it was blue. A thick ink blue that slowly, ever so agonizingly slowly, was turning into a horrible shade of black. The turians whose blood created this new river of lost life had no faces, mostly since Hayden had never met them and now never would. All her mind could procure was their standard armor and weapons, all slightly similar to each others'. Despite the lack of details, Shepard's mind still found a way to make their deaths appear senseless and violent. Visions of pain and death that would haunt her mind well into the night. Like many nights before, Shepard awoke in a tumble of sheets, gasping breaths and sticky sweat as she let her eyes take in the darkness of her room illuminated by her empty fish tank. As memory and dream began to separate, Hayden knew she couldn't go back to sleep now, not after something like that. The only hope she had now was that tomorrow would be better. A desperate hope that like any other, would less than likely come true.
Well that took forever. So sorry guys for the wait. I'd been debating how I'd written this and whether or not to rewrite the bloody thing. Now I'm just fed up, said 'fuck it' and decided to post it anyway. The next chapter'll be better I promise. You could say I needed this one to kinda get the ball rolling with the original plot and what not. My only hope now is I won't take so damn long getting it done! If that were true I'd likely be halfway done by now right? Haha I'm so terrible… don't hurt me. Anywho, with 12 pages worth of fic to keep you kids busy, let's move on shall we? That said, here's what's next:
Up next:
Chapter 4: The Terminus Blues
After such a shock as losing his team, will Garrus rise above his sadness or fall victim to the emotional scars that come with it? With Shepard still putting her team together for the big fight, and time ticking further towards zero hour, how will it all end? Find out when 'Fortuna Venatus' returns in:
Chapter 4: The Terminus Blues!