V

Elena couldn't be happier with herself. A feeling of euphoria washed through her when she returned to the Normandy. Even though Garrus hid his feelings well, she knew that he was extremely content to have finally taken care of Dr. Saleon. She was glad she was able to help him.

While walking to her quarters, she spotted Garrus making his way to the elevator that led down to engineering. Her gaze soon met his. They lingered for awhile until Wrex came up behind Garrus and said, "Get going, Vakarian."

He took one last glance at Shepard. She had her eyes closed and was shaking her head, a smile clear on her face. Then he walked into the elevator with a very irritated krogan behind him.

Once they were both in, Wrex looked at the turian. He shook his head while sighing. "I'm probably going to regret asking this, but are you and Shepard..."

Once Garrus realized where Wrex was going, his heart began to beat at a faster rate. He took a deep breath before speaking. "No. The relationship between the Commander and I is strictly professional."

"Sure it is," Wrex said as he nodded his head.

Garrus had a hard time concentrating on his work. Shepard's face kept popping up in his mind. He couldn't deny the fact that he really cared about Shepard. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and worked with. Every day he was thankful to fight at her side. She had awoken things in him that he never knew he had before.

But...he might already be too late. Shepard might be with Lt. Alenko right now. That thought made his heart sink while making his blood boil, but his anger didn't last long. If she decided she wanted to be with another human, he would not blame her. Besides if he truly cared about her, then he would have her back no matter what paths she chose in her life.

The hiss of the elevator's door brought his attention forward. All his depressed emotions and doubt dissolved when he saw Shepard. His heart beat fast when her eyes locked onto his. She smiled and nodded her head at him before walking over to the Alliance requisition officer. At that moment, Garrus' feelings overpowered his instincts. He took a deep breath and went over to her.

When he was close enough, he saw she had an assault rifle in her grip. She held it close to her face as she examined the scope and the range.

"Commander," he said to get her attention.

She put the rifle down to look at him. She smiled.

"Hey Garrus," she said. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"I do have something on my mind that I've been meaning to speak to you about."

"I'm listening."

"Uh, could we discuss this in private?"

She looked at him. Her smile was gone, but her expression was calm and serious. She altered her gaze to the requisition officer, making a gesture with her head to give them some privacy. The officer nodded. He saluted and then left to take care of some of his other duties. Once out of ear shot, she spoke.

"So what's on your mind?" she asked as she continued to look at the weapons.

"Lots of things..."

"Such as?" She picked up a sniper rifle.

The words caught in Garrus' throat when he tried to speak. The sight of Shepard gripping the sniper rifle made his thoughts race. To him, she looked like a deadly, yet elegant predator. Her right hand firmly secured on the sniper's trigger. Her other hand gently cradled the sniper's long barrel. He shook his head to clear it.

"Our mission, Saren, and...you." He wanted to kick himself for blurting out that last one.

Still holding onto the sniper, she lowered it and looked at him. She raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Me?"

"I..." He knew there was no hiding or turning back now, he had given himself away when he said he had been thinking about her. "Shepard, I think it's time I confess something to you."

She put down a pistol she had picked up. Then she put one arm on the table and leaned on it. "I'm listening."

"This is not easy for me to say, but over time I've come to care for...well...you. My feelings are more than just professional."

Elena couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her fast heart beat pumped blood to her cheeks, turning them into a cherry-red. "Garrus...I don't know what to say."

He lowered his head, believing he made a terrible mistake. He could clearly feel the thickest of the atmosphere building up around him and Shepard. He had the strong desire to take his words back. "I'm sorry. I'm being very unprofessional and foolish. I-"

"Don't be."

His head jerked up. When he saw her face, he saw her rose-colored cheeks and soft smile. He tried to fight back a smile, but he failed.

"Let's talk," she said, smiling and making a head gesture for her to follow her to the elevator. She walked back to the elevator with Garrus following her.

Ashley watched Shepard and Garrus walk into the elevator together. The last glance they gave each other stuck in her head.

They are so a thing, she thought. This can't be good. She went back to work, but kept looking back at the elevator. The look Commander had given Garrus kept bugging her. Then she finally decided to turn her attention away from her work and head to the upper deck. She pressed the elevator's call button to bring it down. Soon, the door opened.

Ashley stepped into the elevator and pressed a button to take her to the upper deck. When the door opened again, she turned the corner. She saw Kaidan working on a computer console near the sleeper pods. She made her way over to him.

Kaidan looked up from the console to see Ashley walking toward him.

"Ash?" he said surprised. "I didn't expect to see you up here. You seem to be always busy with-"

"Have you seen the Commander?" she asked.

"Uh, I think I saw the Commander walking to her quarters. Why?"

"Was Garrus with her?"

He nodded. "Yeah. How did you know?"

She shook her head. "This isn't good."

"What are you talking about?"

She looked around to make sure no one was listening. When she was reassured, she moved closer to Kaidan.

"Don't tell anyone I told you this, but I think the Commander and Garrus have the 'hots' for one another."

Kaidan cleared his throat to cover up a chuckle. "Ash, you worry too much about the aliens the Commander brought aboard. If you ask me, I'm glad she did. It has shown how far humanity has come since first contact. I assure you that the Commander and Garrus' relationship is professional."

Ashley lowered her head, thinking about what Kaidan said and, again, the look the Commander and Garrus gave one another before the elevator door closed. She knew that the two liked each other because she had seen the same thing with her sisters. Her thoughts were broken up when Kaidan spoke up.

"Are you okay?"

She simply nodded.

"Look, if you are worried so much, go talk to her. I'm sure she'll listen to anything you have to say."

"I'll...consider it." She smiled at him. "Thanks for listening, Kaidan."

He nodded. "No problem."

She began to walk to Shepard's quarters, but reconsidered and headed back to the elevator.

While working to take down the AA gun, Kaidan's attention was divided ever since Ashley came up to him and mentioned the Commander and Garrus. He was lucky that he wasn't put in charge of driving the Mako. If he had been, then the ending would not have been pretty. He silently cursed Ashley for enticing his curiosity, especially since all of his focus should be on the mission.

His attention was fiercely brought back due to a sudden jerk. He looked away from the Mako's cannon scope to see the Commander jerking the Mako's wheel.

"Damn these geth!" she cursed. "Tali, Kaidan, take them out!"

"I got one in my sights," Tali said.

"Saren's got to be here considering all the geth we've run into."

"Commander," Kaidan said, spotting the AA gun through the cannon's scope. "I think that's out target."

"It's about time," Tali said. "I think we've killed more geth than the geth on Therum, Feros, and Noveria combined."

Elena laughed. "Maybe."

Tali targeted the geth rocket troopers and fired. Elena stopped the Mako near a small flight of stairs. Then they got out, went up the stairs, and engaged the geth that were guarding the AA gun control console. Kaidan threw two geth troopers off the building by using his biotics. Elena tossed a grenade at a charging geth destroyer, and then activated it. Then Tali shot at it after the grenade detonated. Once all the geth were taken care of, Elena went through a small hallway that lead to the room, which contained the AA gun's controls.

Elena messed around with the console for a few seconds to shut the gun down. She knew she was successful when she heard Joker.

"I'm reading that the grind is down, Commander," he said. "On approach to the salarian base now."

"Roger that, Joker. We'll rendezvous with you there soon," Elena said. She moved onto another console to open the gates in order to continue onward.

"Ready to move, Commander," Kaidan said.

She nodded. "Move out."

The rest of drive was pretty much the same as the drive to AA gun building. They had to get past a number of geth and open another gate to get to the salarian base camp.

As Elena was driving, she heard the static of the comm. before being replaced by Joker's voice.

"Commander, Normandy's touched down at the base, but it looks like we're grounded. The salarian captain can explain it to you when you get here."

"Thanks for the update, Joker."

"Looks like we've hit a roadblock," Tali said.

"Nothing's ever simple. Is it?"

As Elena walked from the Mako to the salarian camp, she observed the scene. She spotted all of her teammates. They were all waiting either for her to give an order or to simply find out what's going to happen next. There were also a small number of salarians that were hard at work. Before focusing her attention on Ashley who was talking to the salarian captain, she took a glance at Garrus.

She scanned his full body, top to bottom. He stood tall and proud. From a distance, he looked relaxed, but she knew that he just as nervous and tense as anybody else on the beach. His gaze seemed to stare beyond the horizon. She giggled while shaking her head. Then she altered her focus to Ashley and the salarian captain.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" she asked.

"Stay put until we come up with a plan," the salarian captain replied.

"Are you in charge here?" Elena asked. "What's the situation?"

"I'm Captain Kirrahe, third infiltration regiment STG. You and your crew have just landed in the middle of a hot zone. Every AA gun within ten miles has been alerted to your presence."

"Well that's just great. What are we supposed to do now?"

"We stay put until the Council sends in the reinforcements we requested."

After Kirrahe said that, there was a moment of awkward silence between Kirrahe, Elena, Kaidan, and Ashley. Elena quietly cursed the Council for not having the decency to at least let the captain know Shepard and her crew were coming.

"We are the reinforcements," Kaidan said.

"What?" Kirrahe said. "You're all they sent? I told the Council to send a fleet."

"We couldn't understand your transmission," Elena said. "They sent me to investigate."

"That is a repetition of our task," Kirrahe snapped back. "I lost have my men investigating this place."

"So what have you found?" Kaidan asked.

"Saren's base of operations. He sent up a research facility here, it is crawling with geth and very well fortified."

To Elena, research and Saren in the same sentence did not bode well. "What's he researching?"

"He is using the facility to breed any army of krogan."

"How is that possible?" Wrex said as he walked up to the group.

"Apparently, Saren has found a cure to the genophage."

Elena didn't like that fact that Wrex was involved in the conversation. She knew from talking to Wrex on the Normandy that once it came talking about the krogan and the genophage, he was highly 'sensitive' about the topic.

"The geth are bad enough, but an army of krogan...he'd be almost unstoppable," Elena said.

"Exactly my thoughts," Kirrahe said. "We have to ensure that this facility and its secrets are destroyed."

"Destroyed?" Wrex shook his head. "I don't think so. Our people are dying. This cure can save them."

"If that cure leaves this planet, we risk the potential of the krogan becoming unstoppable" Kirrahe pointed out. "We can't make the same mistake again."

Uh oh, Elena thought. That was not a smart thing to say in front of Wrex. She became nervous and tense when she saw Wrex slowly approach Kirrahe.

Wrex stabbed his finger at the captain. "We are not a mistake!" Then he walked away.

"Wrex, come back," Elena said.

"Uh, he is he going to be a problem?" Kirrahe asked. "We already have enough angry krogan to deal with."

As much as she wanted to point out that it was Kirrahe's fault for making Wrex upset in the first place, she didn't. "He'll be all right. I'll talk to him."

"I'd appreciate that, Commander. My men and I need to rethink our plan of attack. Could you give us some time?"

She nodded. "Go ahead."

"We won't be long. In the meantime, if you need any supplies you can talk to Commander Rentola. He is in one of the tents nearby."

As Kirrahe walked into the biggest tent on the beach, which was used as the base's main headquarters, Elena turned around to face Kaidan and Ashley.

"Looks like things are in a bit of a mess," Kaidan commented.

"No kidding," Ashley said. "I wouldn't be so worried if it weren't for Wrex, it looks like he's going to blow a gasket."

"Don't worry so much, Ash" Elena said. "I'll speak to him and see if I can calm him down."

"Just be careful, Commander."

"Always, but be ready just in case."

"Got it."

Before she walked over to Wrex, she peeked at Garrus. Normally when they gazed at each other, Garrus had a bashful look on his face. This time, his face expression was serious and edgy. She knew that he wasn't mad at her; he was just worried about her dealing with Wrex. She nodded at him to give some kind of reassurance that everything was going to be fine. She took a deep breath as she made her way over to the upset krogan.

She approached him, but halted when Wrex lifted his shotgun and fired two shots into the air. Then she pushed herself to move forward.

Meanwhile, Garrus carefully watched her. As she moved closer to Wrex, he took his sniper out and held onto it with a tight, yet firm grip. He didn't care if Wrex was a fellow crew member, if he made any attempt to hurt the Commander, he would take him down.

"Wrex?" Elena said.

"This isn't right, Shepard," Wrex said. "If there is cure for the genophage then we can't destroy it."

"I understand you're upset, but we both know that Saren's the enemy here. He's the one you should be angry with."

Wrex walked over to her.

When Garrus saw Wrex approach her, he raised his sniper rifle. Ashley noticed Garrus lift his sniper rifle. She grabbed her pistol and began to lift it when Kaidan stopped her. He shook his head when she looked at him.

"Relax," he simply said.

Both turned their heads to see that Wrex had pointed his shotgun at the Commander.

"Wrex, these krogan are not your people," Elena said. "Their slaves of Saren. Tools. Is that what you want for them?"

Wrex hesitated. He stared her down as if trying to match her words with her intentions.

"Come on, Wrex. You know I wouldn't do this if I knew it wasn't right or there were any other options."

He sighed. "I know. We were tools for the Council once. To thank us for wiping out the rachni, they neutered us all. I doubt Saren will be as generous." He put his shotgun down. "All right, Shepard. You made your point. I don't like this, but trust you enough to follow your lead. Just one thing. When we find Saren, I want his head."

She smiled. "I appreciate what you're doing, Wrex."

"If we're going to do this, then let's go."

She nodded and walked away. She noticed that Garrus gripped his sniper rifle with one talon. She smiled and winked at him. Then she went up to the captain.

"Thank you for speaking with the krogan," he said. "The assault on Saren's base with difficult as it is."

"I assume that means you've come up with a plan," Elena said as Kaidan and Ashley came up behind her.

"Of sorts. We can convert our ship's drive system into a twenty-kiloton ordnance. Crude, but effective."

"Nice," Ashley said. "Drop that nuke from orbit and Saren can kiss his turian ass goodbye."

No way it's that simple, Elena thought.

Kirrahe's next statement confirmed her thought. "Unfortunately, the facility is too well-fortified for an orbital drop."

I knew it, she thought.

"We need to place the bomb at a precise location."

"Where? And how do we get there?"

"The nuke must be placed at the far side of the facility. Your ship can drop it off. But first we'll need to infiltrate the base, disable the AA guns, and pacify any ground forces."

"We want us to go in on foot?" Kaidan asked, urgency and apprehension in his voice. "We don't have enough troops."

"He's got a point," Elena said. "We won't be able to meet their forces head on."

"You're right," Kirrahe said. "However, I think we can find a way around that. What I'm going to do is divide my men into three teams and hit the front of the facility. While we got the enemy's attention, you can sneak your 'shadow' team in the back."

"It's a good idea, but your men are going to get slaughtered," Elena said, hoping the captain wouldn't take her statement the wrong way. She thought she saw a small, quick smile appear on the captain's face. If there was, then it was swiftly replaced by distress as the captain's broad shoulders slumped.

"We are tougher than we look, Commander. But it's true. I don't expect many of us to make it out alive. And that makes what I'm going to ask even more difficult."

Elena's heart jumped when his eyes met hers. He took a deep breath before speaking again.

"I need one of your men to accompany me. To help coordinate the team."

Elena didn't want to part with one of her teammates. She knew she would constantly worry about them, wondering if they would be okay or not. However, she thought about the sacrifices they all made by joining up with her. They were loyal, and no matter whose command they were under, they would always kick ass. She was proud of all of them and always will be.

She looked deep into the captain's eyes. Commanding officer to commanding officer. "All right. We'll need someone that knows Alliance communication protocols."

Kaidan instantly spoke up. "I volunteer, Commander."

"Hold on, Lt," Ashley said. "The Commander will need you to arm the nuke. I'll go with the salarians."

"With all due respect, Gunnery Chief, it's not your place to decide."

"Why is that whenever someone say "with all due respect" they really want to say "kick my ass?"

Elena really, really didn't want to make this decision, but she had no other choice. "Kaidan, you're with the captain. Keep it simple, understood?"

"Aye, aye, Commander," he replied.

"I will have the ordnance loaded onto the Normandy and brief your crew on its detonation sequencing. Do you have any questions before we go, Commander?"

"I'm ready whenever you are, Captain," Elena said.

"Excellent. If you'll excuse me, I need to prepare my men."

Elena turned to her troops.

"Well, this is it," Kaidan said. "Don't do anything foolish while I'm gone, Ash. That goes for you too, Commander."

Both smiled.

"We'll be fine, Lt," Ashley said.

"I know. I just...good luck."

Elena noticed how Kaidan began to trail off. She also noticed the hesitation in his voice and his body language. "Is there something you wanted to say, Kaidan?"

"It's just weird, you know, going under someone else's command. I've got so used to working with you...all of you."

"Don't worry so much. We'll see you on the other side."

"I know, I, ah...I just wanted to say it's been an honor serving with you, Commander."

Elena didn't like this kind of talk at all, but it was hard to avoid. She couldn't deny the danger and significant of this mission. But the way Kaidan and Ashley were talking, they made it sound like this was final. Strangely, that made her more determined to fight harder than she had before and give the both Saren and the geth hell.

"It doesn't matter if we are not in the same unit, we're still a team. Watch each other's backs, keep your eyes open, and fight like I know you can. We'll all come out of this in one piece," Elena said boldly.

He had to smile at how indomitable his commanding officer was. Plus, he had total confidence in the Commander. He didn't doubt her one bit. "You bet, Commander."

Elena listened to Kirrahe's speech to his men. She was moved with each word. Some it reminded her of how she felt about being a soldier and another parts reminded her of her duty as a commanding officer. His speech caused her to have a mix of emotions. Such feelings were the determination to get the job done right. Other feelings were worry and grief of knowing the consequences of the mission and what would happen if they didn't succeed. She absolutely refused to let this mission fail/

She brought her attention forward when Kirrahe turned to her.

"Good luck, Commander," he said. "I hope we will meet again."

"Same here, Captain," she said. Same here.