The Captive

Disclaimer: Bioware owns all.

Chapter 8: Awkward

Shepard charged the escape pods. The adrenaline roared through her veins as she heard the stomping and screaming of the mad Krogan behind her.

The VI's voice struck through the air like a calm tree in a hurricane. "Nine. Eight. Seven..."

"Shit. Shit. Shit."

Shepard queued her omni-tool as she leapt out of the of the way of the charging Krogan. The Escape pod hatch opened and she dove inside. It began to shut as the Krogan ran at her one last time. His body made it through the opening and the hatch sealed over his leg, severing it from his body.

"Three. Two..."

The pod launched when the ship gave a terrible tremble, fire engulfing the insides and roaring out. The blast was deafening and Shepard was thrown against the wall. The Krogan was pouring blood from his wound, but he stormed towards her anyway on his useless nub.

She stared horrified as the blood pooled on the floor. The black glint in his eyes terrified her as he gave a roar and leapt forward.

She felt his body crushing hers as his teeth gnashed above her. The pod began to jerk and shake as they entered the planet's atmosphere. He snarled and grabbed at her throat. She held him off barely.

Sure, Shepard felt fear, but this was an all new terror. The Krogan's blood soaked her body from his amputation, he snarled and roared. His claws ripped at her armor, damaging the shields. She caught his arm just before he made contact with her face.

Her muscles screamed as she continued to push back, trying with all her might to combat the Krogan strength. The escape pod crashed into the planet roughly. The Krogan was flung forward as Shepard slammed against the wall and was tossed around as the pod rolled to it's stop.

The world spun as she attempted to stand. The Krogan made a groaning sound. Fear bit into her, she slammed her fist against the console, the hatch whirred open just as the Krogan began to stagger towards her.

Her breath was heavy and laden as she fell out of the pod. She crawled forward weakly. Shepard pulled the Mattock from her back and began to fire. One. Two. Three. The Krogan began to slow as he reached the opening.

She pulled the trigger one last time, the bullet struck the creatures eye and he promptly collapsed with a final groan. Shepard dropped the weapon, gasping in victory.

The exhausted woman pushed herself to her feet. Her eyes scanned the land around her for the other escape pod. She staggered forwards, Shepard didn't have any time. Trey had been wounded pretty seriously. She needed to find them now.

Nihlus approached the pod cautiously. The hatch slid open to reveal Jantor with Trey. He lowered his weapon, shock crossing his face.

"What the hell are you two doing here?"

Trey bit back a yelp, as he limped towards the Spectre. Jantor filled in the blanks, "The Batarian's overran the ship. General Victus sent us to clear out their reinforcements."

Nihlus gave a bark of disbelief. "You two, took out an entire ship of Batarian's and then blew it for good measure?"

Trey gave a sad look. "No. Not just us. Shepard halted the invasion when she escaped from her cell. She was the reason we didn't lose the ship. Victus sent her with us. And there wasn't any Batarian's on the ship. It was hell."

"You're going to have to brief Garrus and I later. I suppose Shepard is in the second pod?"

Trey stared at him. Jantor laughed gruffly, "I don't believe it. She got out!"

Nihlus gave him a curious look, "What do you mean she got out?"

"A Krogan attacked us, she made us leave while she held him off. We thought the ship blew with her on it."

The dark Turian felt a pang of fear in his chest. "She fought a Krogan? By herself?"

Jantor nodded his head weakly. Nihlus called one of his squad forward, "You take Treynnus back to the base. Make sure he gets the help he needs. Jantor you're with me."

"Yes, sir!"

He pointed the direction of the second pod, and called out on his radio, "Garrus, you're not going to believe who was in those pods."

"Surprise me."

"Jantor and Treynnus were in pod one. Shepard is in pod two. We're on our way to her position now."

"What? Why?" The worry was thick in his voice.

"I'll leave that to Treynnus to explain to you. I'm on my way out."

"Understood." Came Garrus' terse reply.

They moved in silence. A Turian towards the back muttered, "Didn't expect Shepard to help, much less that she'd take the entire ship out of Batarian hands."

Nihlus nodded his head, "I think there's more to Shepard than we expected."

The pod came into view. A large mass was at the entrance. Nihlus sucked in a worried breath. Jantor ran forward. He approached the body of the Krogan. "No!"

Nihlus looked down at him. "This was the Krogan?"

Jantor nodded his head.

"Looks like she did a number on him." The dark Turian spoke.

The Turian from earlier pointed out the blood trail. "Look!"

They followed the trail to a lump in the sand ahead of them. Nihlus broke into a sprint. Her hair blew softly around her face in the gentle breeze. Her breath was rapid and heavy. He laid a hand on her shoulder.

She screamed and jumped back. She flung her omni-sword out, ready to fight. Nihlus held his palms up, "Whoa! Shepard!"

Her eyes registered recognition. "Oh. God." She flung herself against him and pulled him into a tight hug. Her eyes were pinched in pain. "The Krogan-it-it was so-"

Nihlus looked at the other Turian's, he wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her back gently. "You killed him."

She pulled back and rubbed her face wearily. "I know. The crashing of the pod was the only reason I survived. He was on me, about to rip my head off."

Nihlus helped her to her feet. She saw Jantor and smiled weakly, "Are you and Trey okay?"

"Trey will be fine, Commander." The Turian bowed his head in the affirmative.

"Are you injured?"

Shepard shook her head and gestured to her body wearily "This is all the Krogan's."

Nihlus laughed and patted her on the shoulder. "Outstanding."

She gave a weak smile. Nihlus called up his radio, "Garrus, Shepard is secure. No injuries. We're en-route."

The Turian grinned at the sigh of relief from across the radio. "That's...good."

Trey shook his head, "I can't believe you made it out, Commander."

Shepard shrugged, "I'm still trying to figure out how I pulled it off."

The Turian grinned, "So, you fought a Krogan in that tiny cabin space?"

She grimaced, "If I never see a Krogan again, it'll be too soon."

Trey laughed when Garrus appeared at he doorway. "That's how most people feel about Krogan, and they haven't ever actually fought them in close quarters."

Shepard smiled, "Garrus." She approached him, repressing every urge to touch him, hug him. His blue eyes burned holes into her heart, his talon touched her hair gently. Electrocuting shocks went through her body as he mindlessly fingered it.

"I'm glad you're okay. A little surprised you stuck around to fight our battle." His mandibles quirked into a smile.

Shepard gave him a wry grin, "Yeah, well, I've grown too close to my captors, I guess you could say. I couldn't leave your ship, and be able to sleep at night."

He released her hair, "Well, I'm glad you decided to help, for what it's worth."

Vitani leaned against the doorway. "I had heard she decided to help. Unnecessary in my opinion. The Turian's can handle themselves."

Trey cleared his throat, "Operative, we would have lost the ship without Shepard's help."

She grunted. "I'm sure we would have been fine."

Trey glared at her, "Shepard just saved our ship, and made sure that Jantor and I survived, and you can't even be grateful?"

Vitani hissed, "Mind your place, trainee."

Trey shouted, "In my place, I almost got my leg gnawed off on a ship of psychotic people that you cleared."

Garrus stopped Vitani, "He's right.-"

"There was no one on that ship when I went through!"

Shepard leaned against the railing. "That's because they were trying to lure you ground side so the Batarian's could attack the ship. Whatever that place was, it was a trap. Garrus, can I speak with you alone?"

His eyes held surprise as she looked at him steadily. He nodded his head slowly, "Yeah. Vitani return to lookout."

The door slid open, and then closed behind Garrus. She paced the room wearily and ran an exhausted hand through her hair.

"You remember the Turian I told you about? The one that was murdered?"

He nodded his head.

"Yes, well the injuries on every single person inside the ship consisted with the Turian's restraint ligatures."

"So, you're saying that this ship and the Spectre's murder are connected?"

"Yes. I think the Batarian attack was led by a higher power to get rid of us. I think someone thinks we know too much, this would also explain the Batarian's organized assaults. Whatever was on that ship, we weren't supposed to see, let alone survive."

Garrus placed a talon against his mandible in thought as he paced the room, "But whoever it was hadn't counted on us using a prisoner to help us."

Shepard nodded her head, "Exactly. We're in a deep mess here, Garrus. We need to proceed carefully. This is larger than just Turian's. We saw people of every species. Humans, Turians, Asari, Drell, Krogan, Salarians..."

She gave a disgusted chuckle, "Not exactly how I pictured seeing those races for the first time."

Garrus placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. Shepard turned to him, her eyes searching his. "It sounds like things got pretty messy up there. I, uh, I'm glad you're alright."

Her visage appeared to crumple as she pressed her body against his. Garrus froze as his heart roared at the contact. He felt her warmth through his armor. He slowly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight. Reveling in the feeling of her body.

His stomach flip flopped, he pressed his mandibles to the top of her head. Shepard's mind whirled and she slowly backed away, her body screaming at the lack of warmth. Desperately, pleading to be back up against him.

His eyes watched her carefully. Shepard spoke softly, "Garrus..." Her hand brushed the side of his face. He pressed his head into her touch, his talons reaching up to touch her hand gently.

The door whirred open and they jumped away from each other, looking away in embarrassment.

Vitani narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Am I interrupting something?" Her voice was acidic as she directed her gaze at Shepard.

Shepard sent a glance at Garrus, he still looked away, "No. We were just about to leave."

Vitani's voice turned sickeningly sweet, she laid a hand on his shoulder. "Well, since the Batarian's have retreated, how would you like to, uh, relieve some of the extra tension?"

Garrus' mandibles fluttered, his eyes found Shepard's. She suddenly felt incredibly out of place, "I, uh, I got, uh.." Her voice trailed off as she exited the room quickly. She felt as if she had been punched in the gut. God.

Shepard needed to find Nihlus.

Y'all are too kind :) Thank you SO much for the encouragement and advice, I'm very glad y'all are enjoying the story, and I hope y'all enjoy the new chapter!