Ch. 28

Archangel buried his men in unmarked graves after the first wave. The first little band of mercenaries had been easy to pick off, charging across the bridge like a bunch of witless idiots. Running right into his scope.

The patch of earth out back had been a courtyard once. In a more civilized era, workers would come out here for lunch in the synthetic sunshine. Garrus stripped down to his trousers and went to work. Pulling out dead saplings and plants, using the back of a chair soldered to a pipe as a shovel. It was grueling work, but he had to finish. Ten man-shaped holes, five across and two down. He used sheets off the cots in the infirmary as burial shrouds. He needed some way to hold Melanis together. That, and he didn't want to see their faces anymore.

Covering them up didn't help, of course. He saw those faces every time he closed his eyes.

It was hours before he was done, and he knew the next attack would be soon.

Telling Nalah Butler that her husband was dead was difficult, to put it mildly. He didn't dare leave his location, and there was no way he was letting her come out to it. So he had to tell her over the phone.

She went silent. "Neil is dead?"

"I'm sorry, Nalah. I wasn't there."

The sound she made next tore a hole right through him. He could hear Ava calling to her in the background, frightened and confused by the wailing coming out of her mother.

He rubbed his face and told her to get off Omega. He apologized again. She wasn't able to form words. He apologized again and hung up and finished making the shovel.

Garrus completed his burials and stood in the shower long after the water ran cold. He stepped out when he heard shouts and taunts, pulled on his armor and went back to the balcony. He didn't leave it again for a long time.

He lost track of the days. Soon the waves of mercs crossing the bridge became a slow steady trickle that was just as easily mowed down under Archangel's rifle. Blue Sun, Eclipse, and Blood Pack armor disappeared, only to be replaced by freelancers. So that was progress.

Eclipse still had those mechs. And it was only a matter of time before Tarak repaired his gunship. He just needed to hold out longer than they could. That was all. Easy.

Garrus was on autopilot. He ate vacuum sealed quarian rations and took a stim whenever he felt his eyelids drooping. He found the frequency the mercs were using and listened in for awhile, and for a few hours his attacks were shamefully easy, flinging grenades into their hiding spots. They eventually caught on, changed the frequency, and he lost them. He took a handful of bullets to various places, upper torso mostly, and by now had gotten used to a dull, throbbing pain throughout his body.

He thought about Sidonis a lot. He hadn't heard back from Liara yet, but he knew that bastard was out there. Garrus shouldn't have been so hard-… no. Sidonis should have been stronger. He was always weak. How long had he been planning to sell them out? The idea that Sidonis would betray them never even entered his mind. And now he was out there somewhere. Walking around carefree while everyone else was dead.

Another trickle of freelancers appeared. Garrus hurriedly chewed and swallowed his tofu, then lined up his shot. Mostly humans. Cheap armor. Stereotypical freelancers. He looked them over casually with his scope, then paused his sights on the breastplate of a human in the back.

That wasn't cheap armor. That was high grade. Expensive, like what Cerberus agents wore.

And there was a symbol over the human's heart.

N7.

Garrus blinked, lowering the gun.

I have a friend who might be headed your way soon. A friend that can help.

Garrus somehow managed not to break out in hysterical laughter. He grinned behind the helmet and shook his head in disbelief. He lifted the scope to his eye again, studying the familiar face, only now it had a few new scars along the cheek. Of course Shepard was alive. Even death couldn't keep a soldier like that down.

A weight was suddenly lifted from him, and Garrus was filled with renewed energy. And hope. Jeez, when was the last time he felt anything remotely close to hope? Garrus was actually going to get out of this mess.

He took out the freelancers with his usual precision, and then took a few cheap shots at Shepard just for old time's sake. He chuckled when Shepard gave him an annoyed look from behind illuminated kinetic shields, and watched as his old friend quickly shot a few freelancers in the back.

Someone was taking too long. Someone was going to have a lot of explaining to do.

Garrus couldn't wait to hear the story.

That's the end. You know what comes next. Thanks again for sticking along for the wild ride, and I sure hope you enjoyed it. You are what keeps me writing, folks, all your comments and interests. If you haven't yet, check out my other ME Fanfic, "Same Old Story," and visit my profile page for updates on what I'm working on. "Thank you thank you thank you" can't even begin to express how much your support means to me.