Chapter 13: Remembrance

The thing about coming home that one always notices first is the air. When you go somewhere foreign, the taste or smell always seemed slightly off. This was true for any species, but Turians noticed it more than most. Unlike mammalian species, they were not always sweaty, and so the air smelled less of others and more of Palaven.

Here inside Copper Untinged, it was more noticeable. The various dishes people were ordering were subtle in their flavors, yet chewier than what was common galactic fare.

Nehria, the escort assigned by the Primarchs to accompany Garrus, complimented him on his choice of locations, "I had never been to this place before, but it really is excellent. Do you visit here often?"

Garrus smiled and said, "I heard a good rumor about the food here, and it was close. It has been a while since I visited Palaven. Too long, it would seem."

What distinguished the Turian homeworld from others is how regimented it seemed. Everything was in its proper place, not because of laws, regulation, or police walking around, but because there was pride in being part of a unit. Vakarian thought back to his military training and how he felt a part of it.

As they were sitting at the table, the waiter stopped and brought two meals for the Turians, and a bottle of wine for the Asari. While they didn't prepare food for foreigners, the restaurant had a fair selection of alcoholic beverages. Liquor might truly be the universal language.

The escort asked, "What is it like out there? I haven't had a chance to get offworld yet."

Garrus looked over at Samara, his Asari companion for this mission, who only folded her hands and smiled, content to listen to the explanation he would offer. How would one explain the universe who hasn't seen it?

"The universe is…surprising," began Garrus. "You go and try to make sense of it, but then everything changes. You figure out what is happening, but then it changes again. It's a Salarian one moment, and a Krogan the next."

"Sounds exciting," said the young woman. She looked upon Garrus with curiosity, and maybe more than that if his receptors were working right. How long had it been since he'd been with his own kind?

Samara chose this moment to offer her observations, "I think Palaven is a very orderly world, but the galaxy has many surprises. The challenge is finding a way to make it make sense for you." She stopped for a moment, taking a drink of wine before saying, "Otherwise, one could go crazy."

Nehria said, "I know that I will do my part, serving the Hierarchy, and look forward to diplomatic missions with other interesting people, such as yourself, Justicar."

"Indeed," said the Asari. "This wine is quite strong." After saying that, her head began to tilt slightly as she was dazed and affected.

"Samara, are you alright?" asked Garrus as Nehria rushed to her side.

Still shaking, she said, "I think so, but can we head back. I need to rest now."

Her partner said, "Of course. We'll have to take our food to go. Nehria, please inform the waiter."

Nehria went to the back and the justicar rested her head on the table as Garrus stopped to take a look at the bottle of wine. The label was a familiar one, and the Asari shouldn't be so affected.

Before he had a chance to do anything else, he heard shouting in the back that sounded like their minder. Other guests looked around, confused at what was happening, as Garrus rose. Not wanting to draw attention to him, he reached down into his suit to find the handgun he had brought.

Going into the back, he found Nehria having an argument with the waiter. He relaxed a bit and released his grip on the weapon as he could now hear their conversation.

"When the Hierarchy finds out you served bad wine to an honored guest, this place will be closed before you have a chance to collect your last paycheck."

She didn't realize Vakarian had entered the room behind her, as she watched the waiter wrap their food and offer his profuse apologies, begging ignorance. Garrus came to within inches of her before she realized his presence and then was startled.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"Practice" was his laconic reply. "Did you find out about the wine?"

"The waiter doesn't seem to know anything. A new shipment came in this evening."

"This evening?" he pondered. Looking back at the waiter who had now wrapped the food and was handing it to the Turians in the hopes they would leave as quickly as possible, Garrus asked "Is this normally when the wine is arrives?"

"I'm just a waiter, sir," he deflected. Obviously intimidated by the whole situation, he continued, "We get foreign wines at different times. It depends when the ships come in."

Garrus looked at him critically, as if assessing the truth of everything he stated, and said, "I will be back after we take my friend home."

"Of course, sir" said the stammering waiter, as the marksman turned with Nehria behind him.

"Do you think something is happening?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Garrus, "But neither does he. I know that much. Let's get back to the apartment."

As he walked out the door into the main room, he went to find Samara and saw no one was there. Looking around the room rapidly, he saw people eating as they normally did.

He rushed out the door to see if she was still there, but she had vanished, and in a panic, he went back into the room. Shouting, he called out, "Did anyone see what happened to the Asari?"

One man said, "Two of the men sitting at the back table helped her up so she could get back home."

Garrus looked at Nehria who looked dumbfounded. "I know nothing of this." In frustration, he slammed his hand on the table as he had allowed himself to be so easily distracted.

On the table, there was an engraved note.

Dear Archangel,

Unless you intend to sing for your friend in heaven, you will come to Warehouse #458 tonight.

Come alone. Tell no one.

Talak

After reading the note, Garrus crumpled it and tossed it into a garbage can. He ignored Nehria as she was asking questions about what this was about, and walked back into the kitchen.

Grabbing the waiter by the throat, he pinned him against the wall and growled, "Who's Talak?"

Choking, the man gasped, "I have no clue, sir."

Pulling his pistol on the Turian, he said, "You have one chance to get this right. Who's Talak?"

Nehria fell in behind Garrus, beyond her element as the waiter said, "I honestly don't…" as a bullet hit the wall less than an inch from his face.

"Don't kill me," he begged. "I don't know anything."

Many years as an investigator for C-Sec had honed his instincts such that Vakarian knew the server was telling the truth. Considering the situation, the possible motives, and who knew what, he left out the back door with Nehria in tow.

"Garrus, what happened?" she exclaimed, "Aren't you going to tell me anything?"

"Life just got interesting," he said, as he drew his pistol and pointed it squarely at his minder. "Wouldn't you say it was just a little too convenient for you to cause a distraction in that moment?"

She looked horrified, and cried out, "What? I've been assigned to watch you, not to see you kidnapped." Her response was more angry than defensive, and her eyes flared as her voice rose.

"I don't know what is going, who took your friend, or what you are thinking." She stared down the barrel of his gun and said, "Put that away."

He looked at her, gauging her carefully, and then withdrew his weapon. "You're right. You know nothing. Go back to the hotel." He started walking in the opposite direction and told her, "What follows next doesn't concern you. I will be there tomorrow."

Running behind him, Nehria said, "What's going on, Garrus? I can't do that."

He turned, grabbing her shoulders and said, "This isn't a game. Whoever kidnapped Samara knows way more about my past than they should, and they will not hesitate to kill her."

"You're a good soldier, but this isn't your fight." He said this with almost regret as he told her one last time, "Go home."

She wanted to follow, but Nehria stood still as the whisper on her lips was, "Who are you, Garrus Vakarian?" She watched him walk off and then ran away.

As he stalked through the streets, Garrus looked on Palaven differently now. He had allowed himself to feel at home, and it attacked him when he wasn't looking. Every face was a potential threat, a target, and he was at risk of losing the crew again. Never again would he allow that after Sidonis. He might die, but Samara would not.

He thought about what Shepard would do in such a situation. The Commander always found a way to save the day, no matter how impossible the odds, but Garrus wasn't the Commander. He had lost his squad. He didn't have the human's luck, but he had only one tool with which to negotiate: himself.

But he would drive a hard price. While he didn't have his trusty sniper rifle with him, it probably wouldn't help in this situation. He did have strong armor, a good shot, and an idea. Stopping in a small market, he bought a series of different supplies. An improvisational bomb, for when things went badly. If Samara didn't get out, nobody would.

All the while he was walking, Garrus felt as if eyes were resting upon him. He could never spot them amongst the many people walking through the late evening streets of the Turian capital. He hoped to lose sight of them in some public area, if there was indeed a trace, but there was no way to know. In the end, it didn't matter. They held the cards. And he could only roll the die.

As night declined further into darkness, Garrus began making his route toward the warehouse. It was in an area of the city that was quiet by night. He scoped the building as best he could from several angles. It was unremarkable from the outside, large and square, probably three stories in height, and with no windows, just sliding gates at several places.

Weapon drawn, he approached the building. When circling it, Vakarian noticed every door was locked save one. Holding his breath, he entered the room.

The building was completely dark, so Garrus switched to infrared to try to see. When he did that, a blinding flood light was shined down upon him and the door behind him slammed shut.

"Look how Archangel flies to the rescue, travelling into the depths of hell to rescue his friend," called a voice from nowhere.

"I came. Let Samara go."

"Your friend is safe for the moment," said the voice as a room above him and to the left was illuminated. He could see Samara was being held captive, and she appeared drugged. There were no guards in view, but he suspected they were there.

"I want you to know why you are here," said the mysterious voice.

Another monitor appeared, and before him was a Batarian who was wearing a Blue Suns uniform. "I am Talak." As he gazed down on Garrus with his four eyes, he said, "My brother was Tarak. Do you remember him?"

Vakarian knew his situation had just gone from bad to worse, as Tarak had been commander of the Blue Suns on Omega. This was before Archangel killed him with an assist from Shepard.

"If you're going to kill me, be done with it. I have more important things to do," responded the Turian fearlessly.

The Batarian laughed as he watched from the screen and said, "I will kill you, Garrus Vakarian, but you will suffer first." The monitor went black. Inside the room where Samara was being held, he now saw not only his friend but two varren primed to attack. Then, that light also was extinguished.

Garrus turned on his night vision to see more clearly once more and heard cries from the Asari. He didn't know what was happening, but tried working his way toward her. The room was filled with boxes and crates, but he didn't see any men or weapons waiting for him.

Her screams became more pronounced, as she was unable to defend herself, and Garrus rushed through the room without thought for himself. He would be a target now if anyone tried to shoot him, but his thoughts were only for protecting his friend. Archangel would never have taken such risks to save another, but Vakarian would, and it made the difference.

He climbed boxes with rapid speed, finding the room she was in, and launching to an attack on the beasts. He crashed into them with rapid speed, pushing away their claws, and bringing the justicar beneath him. She was bleeding in a few places but it did not seem they had landed a fatal wound.

Garrus shot both of the Varren, unloading every round he had into them to make sure they were dead. As they bled out, he leaned over Samara and tried speaking to her. She was fading in and out of consciousness.

At that moment, the room sealed itself, and the light turned on. Two Turians flanked the Batarian who said, "Very impressive, Archangel. You saved your friend."

A vacuum seal had formed locking the companions inside this room, and Garrus now saw how Samara was just being used as bait. It was a simple trap, and he had walked into it. Ignoring the taunting expression of his enemy, the marksman stayed by his companion and wrapped her wounds.

"It's so touching to see you preserve the body. Maybe I will have to let some of our boys play with her before we feed her to the dogs." The rancid suggestion brought a smile to the two thugs beside the mercenary leader.

"Don't you have anything to say, Archangel?" he asked.

Garrus simply said nothing, recognizing his situation for what it was. No ammunition left, no weapons in the room, and no way to escape. He looked over at the smiling mercenary, thinking what he wouldn't give for just one more chance.

It was obvious Talak had waited a very long time for this opportunity by how he gloated and grinned. "Garrus Vakarian, you have been a failure your whole life. When I learned Archangel killed my brother, I paid thousands of credits to learn everything about you. Kicked out from the Hierarchy, dropped out of C-Sec, beat out by the mercenaries, and unable to save your own crew. How someone like you managed to kill my brother is inconceivable, but it is an accident for which you will now pay," he said as he growled.

"I had been waiting for this opportunity, and when I heard you landed here on this world, as a hero and an emissary, it was too much. You are no hero," he said this as he looked at the sniper, staring him in the eyes. "You deserve to die, and you were nothing but a vigilante, a lucky amateur."

Talak seemed almost disappointed with how his chase had ended. "From the moment you landed, we tracked you. We picked the restaurant, and we set the table for you. No one messes with the Blue Suns and lives. No one messes with my family and lives."

"No bargaining. No pleading. Now you and your friend will die." The Batarian said this as the lights went out in the warehouse once more.

Garrus lay there in the silence as he heard pressurized gas be released into the chamber. In these final moments, he thought about the mission he had come to accomplish, and how he had failed Shepard, and how his past had finally caught up to him. The Turian who didn't play along would now finally pay for his own sins. Perhaps this was justice. His only regret was those he had failed, but he didn't dare dwell on it.

Consciousness became hazier, and as he considered taking his own life rather than allowing the Batarian the satisfaction, but it became too difficult to focus. Seeing Samara already fallen, Garrus could fight no more. Unable to take any action, his eyelids were falling, and the last thing Garrus Vakarian saw was a white light off in the distance before he collapsed.

Author's Note: Thanks for your many reviews. Over 1,000 people read this story last month, and it is extremely satisfying to me to see so many people enjoying my work. I'm seriously considering a full time career shift to writing, so your insights and support mean a ton to me.

This is an emotional chapter, but it wasn't planned as such. Yet, as characters, we play the roles we are assigned, and sometimes we don't have choices. Garrus didn't here, and I hope he would be remembered for his faith in his friends as his ultimate redemption.