Dolphin-san: Hey all. I know that it's taken me ages to update and I'm sorry for making you all wait so long. The writing of this chapter just took me for ever to figure out. I've tried to write from Garrus' POV, so he may seem OOC, sorry about that. Well, hope you enjoy this one.
Chapter Three
Aargh, I wish they could come up with a new alarm sound already. I mean, who the hell wants to hear that when they first wake up? Sighing, I roll over and switch off my alarm. Six a.m. GST. I sit up, resting my arms on my knees and looking at my hands. Before I came to serve on the Normandy I never really dwelt on the severe differences of my physiology to that of a humans, but being practically surrounded by them makes it really obvious. Even Tali looks more like them than I do. When I look at humans I sometimes wonder how they managed to survive their own evolution, they seem so fragile. And soft. Wait, why am I thinking of Ahlenso?
I rub my face and start getting dressed. Sometimes I wish my clothes were a little less cumbersome than they are. Sure they provide a lot of protection, and I'll admit they can be pretty easy to move around in but they're so big. Oh well, I'm not exactly a fashion expert myself so I suppose I shouldn't complain. As I stand to leave my quarters, I glance at the mirror by the door. On impulse I raise my hand to touch the scar there, remembering how I got it. I smile a little and leave my room, heading to get breakfast.
Humming tunelessly to myself, I leave the lift and head to the mess hall. I've a good day ahead of me, fairly quiet. The main guns need re-calibrated and I'm going to try and see if I can't find a way to get some more power to our fore shields. I walk into the hall, moving quietly around the few crew members that are here, though they all still seem half asleep. Looking up I notice Ahlenso working already behind the counter with her back to the door. She must be getting something ready for lunch.
I'm not sure what to make of her at the moment. Ever since we talked about her family, she's seemed a little distant. She won't really look me in the eye anymore. Of course I can understand why. That was a few weeks ago now. Since then, we've not really talked at all, but then, we've both been busy. She and Tali really ran with the idea for the creation of a hydroponics bay for the growth of fresh fruits and vegetables, and since Shepard gave them the go ahead they've been working on setting it up. They've basically taken over one of the less used cargo bays on the lower decks, but so far they have nothing to actually grow there.
Choosing not to disturb Ahlenso, I go to the counter where she has set up various dishes of breakfast foods for those who want to get it themselves rather than wait. I take my plate back to my table and start eating. I must admit, I've never met a non-Turian who can cook Turian food as well as she can. I've even eaten at restaurants that had poorer quality food than she can prepare.
Finishing, I leave my plate at the counter and head over to the main battery. Halfway there, I receive a call from Shepard over the comms.
"Garrus, can you come to the main deck? I need to talk to you."
"Yes, Shepard, on my way."
Sighing I take a detour that takes me to the main deck. I spot Shepard talking to Joker at the helm. I come to a stop a little behind them and Shepard turns to me.
"Joker says that EDI has located a viable planet that can sustain life."
He smiles as he says this, and I can't help but wonder why he's telling me.
"A few weeks ago when Tali and Ahlenso came to me to ask about that hydro...thing bay they wanted to set up, Ahlenso told me that she would need growing plants to be able to make this work. Since then I've had EDI scanning nearby space for any planets that could sustain the types of plants that she needs. And she's just found one, fifty thousand miles and closing."
I look from Shepard to Joker, still confused.
"So why are you telling me this? Surely Ahlenso would prefer to know."
"I've already let her know. She's apparently getting a lunch ready so that she can go down to the planet's surface without worrying about feeding us. The reason I'm telling you about it is because I want you to go down with her. I don't know what's down there and I don't want anyone getting hurt."
I stare at him. He seriously wants me to...to...babysit?
"Shepard I understand you don't want anyone to be harmed, but I really don't see any need for me to have to go with her. I have my own work to get done on the ship; can't you send someone else down with her?"
Shepard looks at me, the smile dropping from his face. He takes my arm and leads me away from Joker a little. He lowers his voice when he speaks to next.
"To tell the truth, Ahlenso didn't seem to want an escort. I'm the one making her have one. I don't know if she can handle herself if she gets attacked. I know she's ex-military, but I would feel more confident about this if I knew you were with her. I know you, Garrus. You won't let any harm come to either of you. Now, it's not that I'm expecting an attack or anything, I just don't want something to go wrong."
I start to object, then close my mouth. I can't explain to Shepard that I feel a little awkward around Ahlenso right now. Not without going into the whole story, and I don't think she'd like her past talked about to people. I glance down and nod slightly.
"Alright then, you can meet her in the Kodiak Drop Shuttle bay at eleven hundred hours. That's when we'll arrive at the planet. I don't think you'll need full gear down there." Shepard grins. "Good luck."
/
At eleven hundred hours precisely I arrived at the bay, kitted out in my armour and armed with a few of my favourite guns. I'd just settled myself against the wall to wait when Ahlenso walked in. Immediately I start to feel a little uncomfortable, and I'm not even sure why. I mean alright, she shared some pretty unsettling parts of her life with me, and it was extremely disconcerting the way she simply stopped talking after she mentioned her brother, but since then she hasn't exactly been cold towards me or anything, she still makes conversation. It's just been slightly strained and I'm not looking forward to any prolonged time alone with her at the moment.
Pushing away from the wall, I take in her appearance. She's still wearing her usual jeans and a close T-shirt. Over it is a short sleeved denim shirt. I notice that she has a small bag strapped around her waist, with a larger back pack on her back, which she's secured with a strap around her chest. Her hair has been tied and pinned back from her face. I watch as she walks over and checks the contents of a few of the containers that are stacked near the shuttle.
"I know that you'd rather be somewhere else right now."
She speaks without turning around to face me. She closes the lid of the container, leaving her hands on the top of the box. I open my mouth to disagree but she cuts across me.
"Thank you for coming with me."
I close my mouth again and take a few steps forward.
"Well we should get going now." She turns towards me, suddenly all business. "I spent some of the morning studying the long range scans of the planet, and it seems like many of the other planets that I've been to that grow the specific plants I'm after. That means there should be a storm around about midday and I want to be on the ground before then. The plants will be at their best just after the rain."
We start to pack the equipment into the ship, and within five minutes we have departed.
/
As we land and start to head towards the mountain ridge that's of to our left, the storm Ahlenso predicted starts to form over our heads. I didn't believe it was coming since it was clear when we were descending through the atmosphere. I take point ahead of her, keeping my eyes peeled for any signs of danger.
"It's safe, Garrus. There were no signs of any dangerous animals or anything on the scans. Just a few small mammals and insects, some fish I think in the rivers as well."
I can hear her sniggering behind me.
"That's no reason for me to drop my guard," I say over my shoulder.
"Fair enough. But unless you want to get completely soaked then I suggest we get a move on. We need to find some kind of shelter to wait out the storm." As she speaks she sets off at a brisk pace, beginning to climb the low hills and climbing over a fallen tree that is in her path.
"If these plants are best gathered after this storm, then why did we leave so early? We could have just waited till the storm was passed then come down to the surface."
"Because," she's walking ahead of me now, keeping up her fast pace and looking around the cliffs ahead for something, "it would take too long to get down here if we waited till the storm passed. There's only a slim window of opportunity with these plants, maybe an hour or so after the rain." She came to a stop. "This way."
No sooner had we set off again than the heavens opened. There wasn't even a gentle fall first, just a sudden downpour. Ahlenso started to jog through the rain and I had to stow my rifle to follow. It wasn't long before I realised that we were heading for a crack in the cliff. Luckily, once we got past the entrance it widened into a small cave.
"This will be fine for now. It doesn't look like this cave is prone to floods so we should be able to wait it out in here."
It's really dark in here. I carefully search the rest of the cave, but it's not very big. Turning, I walk slowly back to where Ahlenso has sat herself next to the entrance and sit down. She keeps looking out of the cave, back towards where we landed.
Water drops from the rain are still clinging to her face and hair. The light coming through the opening is reflecting off of them. I stare at the colours; they seem almost electric, blue, green, and purple. Frowning, I lean forwards to look out at what should have been muted green and browns. I can't help but gasp. The trees, grass, even the bushes and rocks have lit up in the darkness from the clouds.
"It's called bioluminescence. A random mutation in the plants genetic make-up that makes it light up in the dark. Quite fascinating really. I was studying them for a while, but I've not found the exact strand that causes it."
While she spoke, I turned to look at her again. The lights are sparkling in her green eyes, making them even more vivid. Her skin shines like moonlight. She turns towards me and I quickly look away. She smiles at me.
"It's making your marks glow as well."
Without any warning, she reaches towards me and traces one of the marks across my forehead. I close my eyes and shiver at the touch. Luckily, I don't think she noticed. When I open them again she's already looking out of the cave again.
"It's beautiful isn't it?"
I'm still looking at her when I reply. "Yeah. Beautiful."
Dolphin-san: Well? What did you all think? Was Garrus just way OOC or was it OK? Review please. Oh and if the layout of my chapters confuse anyone for things like spacing and stuff, you can blame . It's all fine when I type it lol.