IV

After the debriefing and talking with the Council, Elena went to the Galaxy Map and plotted a course for Virmire. It was going to take a few hours to get there, so she went to her quarters to kill time.

She sat down in the computer chair. Once she was settled in, she opened her journal to see if she had completed all of the side missions that seemed to pop up everywhere she went. As she went through the list, she fiddled with a dog tag that was around her neck. It had belonged to her sister Naomi. Her sister had died while she tried to defend the colonists on Midnoir. A single tear flowed down Elena's cheek. She took a deep breath, wiping another tear away.

She sighed as her fingers stoked the symbol that was indented in the middle of the metal oval. She brought the dog tag to her lips and kissed it.

"I love you, sis. Always and forever," she whispered.

Elena let go of her sister's dog tag as she continued to scan the contexts of her journal. She noticed she had all the missions completed, except one. Garrus' request to help him find Dr. Saleon. She wondered why she missed that one, especially after talking to him about it. The sound of the disappointment in his voice had made her heart sink. But her heart jumped right back up when he told her he had the transponder frequency for Saleon's ship. She smiled and giggled when she remembered his eyes light up when she told him she was going to check it out.

She memorized the coordinates. Then she stood up and walked out of her room. While on her way to the Galaxy Map, she ran into Ashley.

"Oh, Chief, I'm sorry," Elena said.

"It's all right. It was my fault," Williams said, "Actually, I'm sort of glad I ran into you. I wanted to talk to you."

"Uh, okay. What about?"

"Are you and Garrus..."

Elena raised an eyebrow at the Chief. "Are we what?"

"Are you two a 'thing?'"

Elena thought about the question. Part of her wanted to laugh at the Chief because she sounded like a nosy high school student or...a nosy sister. But another part of her wished she had a straight answer. She was unsure whether Garrus and her were a 'thing' at all. He seemed to have a thing for her, but maybe he was just curious about humans in general. She was unsure.

"No."

"My mistake then. It's just that I saw the way he acted strange around you and..."

"We're not a 'thing', Chief."

"Okay."

Elena smiled. "Dismissed, Chief."

Ashley smiled back. "Ma'am."

When Elena input the coordinates to Dr. Saleon's ship, she went down to Engineering. She saw Garrus by the Mako, as usual. This time, however, he wasn't under the Mako. He was working on the console near the vehicle. She sighed with relief.

At least, I don't have to worry about hurting him again, she thought.

She smiled as she walked over to him.

"Hey Garrus," she said.

He turned around to face her. "Commander, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing. I came down here to let you know we're on our way to Saleon's ship." She tried not to laugh when she saw him trying to suppress a smile. She cleared her throat to try and break the ice. "And you requested that I take you."

For a moment, Garrus could not believe that she was actually doing this for him. He waited for a long time after he told her about the salarian. When the waiting took longer than he had anticipated, he had thought that she had forgotten about his request. He wanted to kick himself for thinking such a thing. He looked at her and smiled.

"Thanks, Commander," he said.

She nodded. "Gear up then." She patted his arm when she walked over to Wrex.

Garrus' heart raced in his chest when he entered Saleon's ship. The reality of it all simply didn't seem real to him. He was knocked out of his thoughts when he heard Shepard speak.

"Stay alert," she said.

They all took out their weapons and walked forward. When the door to the main chamber of the ship opened, they slowly walked into the room. Many crates that were stacked on top of one another were scattered through most of the room, making good hiding places for enemies.

I don't like this, Elena thought.

Suddenly, she saw movement to the right. She turned in that direction. A humanoid creature that looked like a Thorian creeper attacked her. She pulled the trigger, putting a shotgun round into its stomach. When it fell, she shot its head to make sure it wouldn't get back up. Garrus and Wrex charged forward.

Lucky for them, they didn't have to fight in the crate maze for long. At the end, there weren't as many crates, only a few parts that were lying around the floor.

Elena heard Garrus making a comment about Saleon, saying that he was doing more than just cloning organs. She couldn't agree more.

When the fighting quieted down, they entered a small corridor with a door on the left and right side as well as at the end of it. The left door was locked, so they tried the right door. It was unlocked. Elena pressed the knob, which opened the door. In the middle of the room stood Dr. Saleon.

"Thank you," he said. "Thank you for saving me from those things."

Garrus glared at the salarian and tightened his grip on his assault rifle. "Commander, that's him. That's Dr. Saleon."

"What? My name is Heart, Dr. Heart, please get me out of here."

Elena's heart was split on this one. "Are you sure it's him?"

"Positive. There is no escape this time, doctor. I would harvest your organs first, but we don't have the time."

"You're crazy," Saleon said. "He's crazy. Please don't let him do this to me." He looked at the Commander for help. He saw a smile on her face, but it was dark.

"Put him out of his misery, so we can get going," she said.

"Gladly. You days of butchering are over, doctor."

"No. Please, please!"

When he ran in the other direction, Garrus aimed his assault rifle. When Saleon's head entered the scope, he pulled the trigger. Saleon's light body flew back into the back wall, painting an area of the wall with his blood.

"Nice shootin', Vakarian," Wrex said. "Not bad for a turian."

Elena looked at Garrus with a smile. He seemed much more relaxed and at ease.

"That was...satisfying," he said.

"Good," Elena said. "Remember that feeling. That's how it should be."

He looked at her. "I will, Commander. Well, I guess we're done here."

She nodded. "Let's go."

Author's note: Sorry, this chapter is short. I just wanted to do this side quest in story form because it is one of my favorites. Plus, it helps me build up Elena and Garrus' relationship. Anyway, this story is going to continue into Mass Effect 2. It'll be a bit different than the game, due to the fact that Elena and Garrus' relationship will be a bit serious (not too serious) by the time the story makes its transition. Remember to read and review. Thanks!