Chapter 2: Reinforcements

When Garrus got in the shuttle, Tali was already sitting down on one of the seats, the right foot put up, the ugly metal shard still sticking out of her calf. The pain had somewhat subsided for now, but that was temporary. Once Chakwas would pull it out, a whole deal of pain would be coming her way. A local would be for the best, she thought.

Hey, Garrus interrupted her. How are you feeling, Tali? he asked, then went to sit across from her in the shuttle.

I, Tali sniffled, think I'm infected already. It doesn't hurt as bad as it did a while ago, though.

Listen ... I'm sorry about what happened back there. Shepard was right to chew me out. I don't know what I was thinking, Garrus apologized to Tali.

You should be sorry, Tali snapped. You nearly got us all killed, she added, then remained solemn for a moment. Garrus found that he couldn't face her right now. She knew, though that the blame wasn't entirely on him. Oh, I'm sorry Garrus. I shouldn't be the one to judge. After all, what did I do instead of crouch in a corner and cry like a little baby.

I guess we both messed up bad this time, Garrus chorted.

What about Shepard, though. Think he'll be alright? Tali wondered.

Oh, he'll be fine. I've seen him take down a group of Ymir mechs with hardly a scratch. Sometimes I wonder why did he even want us in the Collector base mission in the first place, Garrus mused. Despite his words, Tali wasn't feeling relieved.

While the shuttle returned to the Normandy, Shepard pressed on alone. Going from corridor to corridor, the compound was mostly quiet. Still, Shepard moved cautiously, Tali's shotgun firm in hand. Exiting a large storage room and finding yet another corridor, he paused and peeked. A dozen mechs or so and two turrets. Gonna waste a lot of fire power for this one. There's an easier way though, he thought to himself. Bringing up his omni-tool he made a brief scan and found the control terminal for the turrets. After a few attempts at remote hacking, access to both machines was secured. Now, to set them against the droids and then themselves. Shepard heard the machines come to life and a barrage of firing. After a few minutes, the corridor was quiet again and he made his way across a sea of scrap metal.

A lone figure paced outside the infirmary, Garrus Vakarian, his head's fringes bobbing with every step. Tali had been in there for a while. The blinds were closed and the door locked to everyone, while Dr. Chakwas, assisted by Mordin Solus, worked on removing the metallic shard from Tali's calf. He heard the door open and Dr. Chakwas walked out. Doctor, Garrus interrupted her train of thought.

Oh, Garrus, she wheezed. You startled me. What can I do for you?

How is she, doctor? he asked concerned.

She's going to be fine, Chakwas reassured him. Tali's seen and been through much worse. She's got a little infection but I would expect that to subside in the next couple of days. Mordin is working on something for it right now. No need to worry. She patted him on the shoulder and started to leave.

Did she ... say anything about me? Garrus wondered.

She did ask if we knew what was concerning the dashing commander Vakarian lately, if that's what you're looking for, she replied.

Dashing? She really said dashing? he questioned her.

The doctor laughed. No, not really. Garrus' head sunk. However, the way she said it, didn't leave much in the way of interpretation.

And you're not just saying this to cheer me up? In spite of Chakwas' comforting words, he was still very reserved.

Garrus, she soothed him, pressing a hand against his cheek. I've been dressing wounds to young soldiers and relaying bad news to families and loved ones for the better part of my life. I can tell when one cares enough for another to put him above her own personal safety. My days of romantic excursions have been stigmatized by our mortality and the inevitability of loss. My advice to you; if you care for someone, show it to her, before it's too late.

And with that, Chakwas left Garrus behind to ponder.

On the surface below, Shepard was still making his way to his mission objective. He had gone through most of the giant warehouse compound. He found himself now in another storage room swarming with Loki mechs. Where the hell did all these mechs come from? he thought to himself. He couldn't afford all this tech with a simple dockworker salary. Not even smuggling would do it. What's going on?

He would have to get to the bottom of this, but for now, he would have to get through a room of patrolling droids. He prepped his shotgun and sneaked behind some cover, bid his time and as soon as the first droid came withing firing range, Shepard popped up and blasted it to bits. The other mechs quickly registered his presence and started closing in on him. He fired again and again reducing a large number of of them to scrap. Soon enough, however, he found himself on his last thermal clip. There's just too damn many. I've gotta take them out in a more decisive way. If I could lure them in a confined space, I'd be able to take them out all together ... with this, he thought as he pulled out the Cain. He agreed, though, that it was a rather extreme measure. He wondered what was taking Samara and Thane so long to find him.

As it stood, it was all of minor consequence. Shepard fired the last few shots he had left in his shotgun and retreated in one of the corridors that led him there in the first place. As the droids siphoned themselves in, he let out the one shot stored in the Cain from a safe distance and watched them blow up. He felt rather pleased with the result and basked a little in the glory of the destruction he caused, before moving on to the last room. Having spent all of his ammo just getting there, though, Shepard would have to rely heavily on his biotic abilities to settle the score with the man he was after.

The room he entered was dark. It felt like a trap. As the door behind him closed, the lights in the room turned on, revealing a giant mech, the likes of which Shepard had not seen before. It was even larger than an Ymir mech, though seemingly similar in shielding and firepower. It had glass panel in the center of it, that looked like a cockpit and at the seat of it was Fist, known crime lord and owner of Chora's Den. That is, until Shepard himself had put an end to it a few years back.

You should never have come after me, Shepard, Fist taunted.

It's over, Fist. Surrender now and I'll make sure they go easy on you. Nobody's been hurt so far, Shepard threatened.

Oh yeah? And you're gonna make me? I claim victory over superior firepower. What have you got? Fist continued to gloat.

You're not leaving me much of a choice here, he retorted.

I've been waiting for this for a long time now. The mech's guns started whirring. Shepard run for cover, behind a tall concrete pole. The bullets rained upon it, removing large chunks of it. It was crumbling fast. As the weapons overheated, Shepard run during the short reprisal, to a safer place.

You're a dead man, Shepard, Fist screamed, Shepard's name rolling of his tongue slowly. The mech, besides the standard accelerated cannons, also had a rocket launcher installed. It was common in the YMIR mech, which Shepard had fought before, but he wasn't familiar with this model. When he saw the concealed rocket launcher open up and ready to fire, he was overwhelmed with regret. Shepard had chosen to move towards a pair of crates to hide behind. He run behind the cover, as the missile blew them up. Shepard tried jumping out of the way, but one of the crates in the stack seemed to get propelled by the explosion, hitting him straight in the chest. The force of the hit slammed him against the wall and, while Shepard was still conscious, he wasn't going anywhere fast.

This makes the wait all that much sweeter. Say goodnight. Shepard raised a hand, but the merciless whirring of the mech's guns started again, as it moved closer to him. A huge blast seemed to hit the mech, shattering the glass away. Fist turned it around. In front of the room's entrance, Samara stood defiantly. Shepard tried to warn her, tell her to leave, run, anything. Samara gave him a short look, then turned back to the mech. Fist was ready to fire, but a dark silhouette fell, seemingly right out of the sky, landing on his head, knocking him hard against the bulkhead, leaving him uncoscious. The silhouette jumped backwards as the large mech toppled sideways.

Samara run towards Shepard, helping him up. Are you alright, Shepard, she asked worriedly. Do you require medical attention?

No, he answered. Just got the wind knocked out of me, that's all. Shepard moved close to the mech. Always a pleasure to watch your work, Thane. He took the Drell assassin's hand and shook it.

As always, Shepard, he replied, the pleasure is mine. Thane's now free hand reached into the cockpit and dug Fist out, throwing him at Shepard's feet. So, what do we do with him?

He was never the question. We hand him over to the alliance and let them handle him. What worries me the most is this mech. I've never seen it before.

There are no distinctive markings on it. Seems like an advanced prototype, based on the YMIR mech, Samara noted.

Shepard activated his headpiece. EDI, he called.

I hear you loud and clear, Shepard. What can I do for you? EDI's robotic voice chimed in his ear.

Contact Anderson asap. Tell him we need a team of cleaners on my location. Shepard paused for a minute. This is bigger than I thought.

I'm right on it, Shepard. Broadcasting your coordinates to C-Sec and councilor Anderson.

Thanks, EDI. He turned to his two comrades. What took you guys so long to find me?

We ... started off tracing the path of destruction you had laid ahead of us. But the compound was just too big, Samara started.

When we heard the Cain go off, it was a dead giveaway, though. Thane concluded.

I'll keep that in mind next time. Shepard looked around. Shrapnel and debris everywhere, a new type of mech to add to the list of things he's destroyed. Not bad, he thought to himself. Everything seems to be in order here. I guess it's time we should go.