Chapter 24

Shepard rubbed his eyes as he caught the elevator down to the cargo bay, for what felt like the hundredth time in the last two weeks. God damn we need a break! Well, alright, maybe I'm the only one who wants a break, but still. I'm tired as fuck. We've been engaging hostiles practically every shittin' day! The elevator door opened, and he stepped out. He walked quietly over to where Garrus stood tinkering with the Mako. "Jeez, Garrus, are you ever not working on this thing?"

Garrus turned around and his mandibles twitched in amusement. "Not as it stands now. Maybe if you stopped trying to drive through obstacles and up and down sheer cliffs, I would have a little free time." I have never seen anyone abuse a vehicle the way Shepard abuses this Mako. I am constantly amazed that it still works.

"Blech. Where's the fun in that?" Shepard grinned briefly, but it was quickly overcome seriousness. "Suit up, Garrus."

"Okay." I wonder where we're going this time. I don't know how he continues to keep going, day after day. I feel worn out, and all I've done is fight when he tells me to. He must have had phenomenal training in the ICT program. Garrus stopped halfway to his locker when he realized that Shepard was following him. "Aren't you going to go get Tali?"

"Not for this one, Garrus." Shepard looked the turian square in the eyes. "From what you told me, this one's personal."

Recognition flashed across Garrus's face, before it froze into a look of pure rage. Saleon. I finally get a chance to finish what he started. Pray to whatever deity you honor, Saleon, because I will be sending you to meet them. "You're right, Commander. Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet." Shepard watched the turian lock his sniper rifle into its hardpoint and stand up. "You ready?"

"Yes." Garrus took two steps forward, then stopped and turned back to Shepard. "Which way?"

Shepard nodded towards the elevator. "We found the ship. It's not responding to our radio calls, and it doesn't look like it's made planetfall recently either. All escape pods are still in place, too."

"Good." Garrus strode over to the elevator, and then hit the button to take it upwards the second that Shepard crossed the threshold.

"So what's the plan?" Shepard asked, breaking the silence.

"Plan?" Garrus was suddenly confused. Why is he asking me for the plan? What's going on?

"Yeah. You know, are we just going in there guns blazing, killing everything that moves? Are we sneaking around 'til we find him? Are we just blowing up the ship?"

"You usually come up with the plan." The turian pointed out. You are the Commanding Officer. This is your job! Perhaps the stress is starting to get to him.

"I know. But it's your op, so it's your rules. How do you want to do it?"

"Oh." Garrus was quiet for a few seconds. I did not expect that. No turian commander would ever allow a subordinate to take charge of an operation like this. Yet another example of how being on the Normandy is like nothing I've ever experienced before. Regardless, I should show him that I am capable of the trust he's placing in me. "Rules of engagement are not to fire unless fired upon. Rescue patients if possible, but deactivate the escape pods as soon as we get onboard. Oh, and Shepard?"

"Yeah?"

"I take the shot." I will be the one to end his life. He escaped me once, and it will not happen again.

"Got it."

The elevator finally stopped, and the doors opened. The two men walked out and headed up to the bridge side-by-side. Garrus turned towards the airlock, but Shepard kept going.

"Joker."

"Yeah Commander?"

"Hold position here. If anybody asks, a friend of Garrus's needed to give him something, and as a favor to Garrus, we stopped en route to our next destination. If any escape pods try to leave, disable them if possible, destroy them if necessary. Understood?"

"Gotcha."

"Good." Shepard turned and walked back to Garrus. Together they waited for the airlock to cycle. "Garrus."

"Yes, Shepard?"

"Deactivate your helmet cam. I'm doing the same." Practically in unison, the two warriors disabled the cameras.

"Uh, Commander?" Joker's voice came over the shipboard intercom. "I just lost your helmet feed."

"I know. We're going dark on this one. Comms blackout. As soon as the airlock closes behind us, pull away from the Fedele. We'll re-establish communications when we're ready for pick-up."

"Aye aye."

The two men stepped over into the darkened freighter, and Shepard immediately turned towards an access panel. He worked in silence for a few minutes, before standing up and turning to Garrus. "Alright. Airlock is sealed, so nobody's getting out this way unless they're with me. Escape pods are also shutdown. Weapons out?"

Garrus nodded, and together they pulled out their preferred close-quarters weapons. Good. There's no escape for you now, Saleon. There's nowhere for you to run to this time! Garrus nestled the stock of his AR into his shoulder, and Shepard straightened his pistol out in front of him. "I'll take point." Garrus said over their private radio channel. Now it becomes a simple process. We clear each section individually until we find that son of a bitch. I think that idiom is something Shepard would say. And when we find him, I kill him.

Shepard nodded and followed the turian out into the hallway. They moved slowly through the back half of the ship, clearing each room but finding little of value. As soon as they entered the central cargo bay, their motion detectors exploded into a mess of activity. "I'm picking up lots of contacts, Garrus."

"I am too, Commander. Approximately twelve, by my count." If only there was a way to know if they were hostile from here. We could just toss a half-dozen grenades into the room and clear it without ever firing a shot. Unfortunately, these could be patients or hostages. We don't have a choice but to expose ourselves to fire.

"I agree. Wanna go find out if they're hostile?"

Garrus nodded as a grim smile slid across his face. I am lucky to have a commanding officer like Shepard. I'm given control of an operation, and I perform well enough that he can practically read my mind. "Yes. Yes I do."

They went to either side of a large stack of crates. The sight that greeted them was beyond the pale of Garrus's worst nightmares. Twisted, horrible-looking bipeds started shambling toward the two of them, moaning and waving their arms. The monstrous creatures' bodies were covered with weird, glowing growths of tissue, and many were missing fingers, hands, or arms. Several of them appeared to have had their skin replaced with some sort of cybernetic mesh, which crackled and sparked. The eyes were the worst part. As Garrus looked into those haunted, dead eyes, he knew one thing. That look, in the eyes of those test subjects (for that, he realized belatedly, was what they were), would torture his dreams for as long as he lived.

The turian and the human opened fire, putting the pitiable beasts out of their misery in short order. In what seemed like no time at all, corpses, many of which had been exploded or ripped open, surrounded them. Shepard poked one with the toe of his boot. "God. Look at that. It looks like it used to be human, but now it's as if all of its organs turned cancerous and started replicating. Fucking gross."

Garrus nodded mutely. I let this happen. I let him escape. All of these deaths. All of these innocent people died. And it's all my fault. I will never be able to atone for all of the death that now lies at my feet.

Shepard looked over at his friend, and recognized the look on his face. "Let's go kill this sick fuck, shall we?"

Garrus nodded again, more forcefully. There's nothing you can do for the dead. You can only avenge them. We just have to find Saleon, and then I can make it happen. He took the lead and together they started clearing the rest of the ship, finding nothing else with a pulse. Finally, there was only one room left. The two stacked up outside the door, and then Shepard slammed the haptic interface and moved in, dropping low to stay out of Garrus's firing lane. They decapitated the last two test subjects with a precise application of overwhelming force. That done, both men stood up and stared at the normal-looking salarian who cowered in front of them.

"Thank you. Thank-" The salarian started to speak, before Shepard cut across him.

"This him, Garrus?"

"Oh yeah." Garrus growled, low in his throat. Now I've got you, you bastard. "That's Dr. Saleon. Or should I say, Dr. Heart?"

"Real fucking funny with the name, asshole." Shepard ground at the salarian.

"What? No, I don't know any Dr. Saleon."

"Shove it, dickwad." Shepard said, pointing his pistol at the salarian. "What do you wanna do now, Garrus?"

"I want to end him." I want to inflict upon him the same tortures that he inflicted upon his victims. I don't know that Shepard will want to stay here for the several hours that will take, but Saleon needs to suffer.

Shepard nodded. "Not a bad idea. He fucking deserves it, that's for sure. But may I make another suggestion?" Garrus nodded. "We bring him in. I see a computer terminal in the back of the room; there's gotta be a shitton of evidence on there. We grab that, hogtie this fucking bastard, and drop him off at C-Sec the next time we're there."

"But why?" Garrus asked, astounded. "We could kill him right here, and be done with it." I could spend the next hour putting bullets into non-vital places, until he begged for mercy. Then, I could finish him. I could watch the life drain out of him and puddle up on the floor. I could watch the light leave his eyes. I want to watch that happen!

"We could. However, there are two reasons why we shouldn't. First, sometimes doing what is easy isn't always doing what's right, ya dig? But more importantly, if we do this, we can drop a line to that Wong chick, she'll do a story about catching the fucking 'salarian butcher' or some shit, and it'll be you that got him. You would have done it by the book, and everybody would know it. I think I'm correct that there's someone who would appreciate you doing it that way." He looked pointedly at Garrus.

Garrus was quiet for a long moment. I had forgotten about Father. I had forgotten that I used to work for C-Sec. All I cared about was killing Saleon. Was I really that blinded by anger? Then he looked back at Saleon. Yes. Yes, I was completely overcome by anger. I wanted this one salarian dead, at the cost of everything else. I can only imagine what Father would say if he ever found out that I murdered a man in cold blood, purely for "vengeance." Shepard's right. I am still a C-Sec officer. I should still uphold the rule of law. "You're right, Commander. You! Saleon! Turn around, get on your knees, and put your hands on the back of your head."

"What? No! I'm not Saleon, I'm Heart!" The salarian spluttered.

"Now!" Garrus roared, his voice echoing around the small room.

"No!" The salarian shrieked. "You'll never take me alive!" He pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Shepard. He managed to pull the trigger once, before a long burst from Garrus ripped through his body.

"Sorry." The turian was downcast.

"What for?" Shepard cocked an eyebrow at his friend.

"I should have been faster. If your shields weren't up, you would have been injured." Garrus was still staring down at Saleon's lifeless body.

"Bitch please." Garrus's eyes flicked over to Shepard, but then immediately returned to the dead salarian. "If that moron actually posed a threat to me, I woulda put two in his chest and one in his face before he could so much as wish to have a gun in his hand."

"As you say, Commander."

"Garrus, look at me." When the turian didn't move, Shepard tried again. "Garrus!" This time his voice carried that note of authority that compels soldiers to respond, no matter their state of mind.

The turian's head immediately snapped up. "Commander?" He said crisply.

"Why are you staring at him? He's dead. You made damn sure of that. So what's the deal?"

Garrus's eyes went back to the body. How can he ask what the problem is? Doesn't he understand that I killed him? I was supposed to bring him in for a trial and make him answer for his crimes. Instead, I let my anger get the better of me, and then I killed him. I wanted him to resist, because it would give me a second chance to exterminate him like the rodent he was. So why did Shepard speak up? What gain did we get from offering him a chance to surrender? Shepard let the turian think for a few minutes, and just as he was preparing to yell at him again, the turian looked back up.

"What was it all for, Commander?"

Shepard took a step closer and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "What do you mean, Garrus?"

"I mean, you gave him a chance to surrender. You spared his life. Yet we killed him anyway. So what was the point?"

"The point?" Shepard chuckled darkly. "The point is that you're not a cold-blooded killer. The point is that we gave him a choice, and he made it. The point is that we can control our own actions, but not the actions of others." He stopped speaking and stared hard at the turian. "Do you understand, Garrus?"

The turian stood stock still for what felt like ages. I think I understand, Shepard. How can you, a human, who hates turians according to rumor, possibly be showing me what it really means to be a turian? We are not defined by the actions of others; we define ourselves with our choices. What matters is what I decide to do. We are not murderers. We do what is necessary, what benefits us all. Taking Saleon into custody was the right decision. Nevertheless, when he threatened my commanding officer, my duty was clear. Shepard must survive. Finally, he spoke. "Yes, Shepard. Thank you." Thank you, more than I can ever communicate to you.

"You're welcome." Shepard smiled and punched the turian lightly in the arm. "Let's get back to the Normandy, shall we? I think there may be a hidden stash of some alcohol somewhere that we can get into."

Garrus let just a hint of a smile cross his face. "That's the best idea I've heard in a long time, Shepard." What would Father say? First it takes a human to remind me of how to be a turian, and now I'm going to go drink with that human until I can't stand up. I'm certain he would be incredibly disappointed. Right now, though, I don't care.

"Glad to oblige. Let's go." Together, they turned and made their way back to the Normandy.

A half-hour later, Garrus knocked on the door to Shepard's cabin.

"Enter!" Rang out the Commander's voice.

Garrus passed through the door, and pulled two glasses out from behind his back.

"Garrus! Coming through with the goods!" Shepard motioned to the door. "Hit the lock, would you?"

Garrus tapped the interface with an elbow, and the door locked itself behind him. "I brought the glasses, but where's the alcohol?" He looked around at the cabin, looking for some indication of a bottle. If you got my hopes up, only to dash them against the ground, we will be having a very loud, and likely very physical, argument.

"I was just waiting to make sure it was you. Didn't want Pressly or Williams coming in here and seeing me with booze. It's against regs."

"Hm. Maybe someday we can trade stories about shipboard regulations." Yes. Perhaps someday. But that day is not today. "Right now, however, I would very much like to see some turian whiskey."

"Ah. Well. About that." Shepard got up from his chair and moved over to his bed. "I don't really know what kind of turian liquor this is, so don't get too excited about gettin' some whiskey." He reached into his pillowcase and pulled out one bottle full of blue liquid and one full of amber liquid. He handed the blue bottle over to Garrus. "There you go. Whatever it is, the guy said it was highly alcoholic."

Garrus took the bottle and examined it. Ha ha ha ha ha. Trust Shepard to find the cheapest, most alcoholic liquor available outside of turian space. "It's a low grade alcohol called "Hwoon Danh." It is renowned for getting turians absolutely, what would you humans say?"

"Shit-faced?" Sheppard volunteered.

"Yes. Exactly." Garrus nodded and unscrewed the top of his bottle. And "shit-faced" is a state of mind I would like to see. As soon as possible.

"Hey Garrus?" Shepard asked.

"What?"

"Does 'hwoon danh' mean anything? Like maybe, 'prepare to puke your guts out?'"

Garrus thought for a minute. That's not a bad description, although why any company would name their product that is beyond me. Oh, he was being funny. I understand. There definitely isn't a direct translation though. "I think the best translation would be close to 'jerk?' Most likely, because whoever bought it for you probably is one."

Shepard plastered a fake grimace on his face. "You wound me, Garrus. But that makes a certain amount of sense. Alright, that's enough of the talking, let's drink!"

"Finally!" It still tastes just as bad as I remember. I hope Shepard doesn't have any plans for the rest of the night. I won't be leaving this chair until tomorrow morning, at the earliest. Together, they grabbed their bottles, tapped the tops together, and then took long, deep draughts.

Shepard smiled and licked his lips. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about." Garrus nodded his agreement, and then went back for more.