Normandy-Deck 3
Captain Abigail Shepard walked by the memorial wall heading for the elevator, but Garrus whipped around the corner intercepting her.
"Garrus." She nodded.
"Captain." He sniffed.
"So…trying to get away from the infirmary?"
He gave her a lopsided smirk and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted, "Garrus!"
Chakwas came tearing around the corner after the wayward Turian general.
"Relax Doctor," Abigail held up a hand trying to head the elder woman off at the pass, "He's with me."
She frowned at the pronouncement.
"If he collapses in the war room it's just a couple of steps away." Abigail assured her.
Chakwas sniffed, "fine." She left.
Leaving the two friends together standing in front of the elevator, she entered in the destination code and they stepped through into it.
"Thanks for coming to get me." He muttered.
"Vakarian and Shepard." She said.
"True." He acknowledged.
"Besides, I figured I owed you for bailing our ass out over Tiptree."
"Fair enough." Garrus chuckled.
The elevator stopped and they walked out into the CIC as a group, the Galaxy Map was twinkling off in the background, Traynor was at her post.
"Ah, any word from Cynthia yet?" Shepard asked walking by.
"She just checked in and right now their position is secure." Traynor replied.
"Good," Shepard smiled relieved.
She turned, with Garrus, as they both continued to head for the War Room. She leading, since he is not officially apart of the crew.
"Speaking of which," She blurted out.
"Hmmm?"
"Your position on the armory is still there if you want it, as well as the squad."
"Yeah, why not, deposed Turian general, rogue agent of the law, you certainly seem to have a way of picking up strays." He chuckled.
"Welcome aboard Garrus Vakarian." Abigail nodded going through the barricade.
They walked into the War Room and the rest of the squad was already waiting for them, led by Ashley herself. A holographic representation of a building revolved around the top of the table quickly, a three story building.
"Status?" Abigail asked looking around the table.
"This is the family home of the Hudson's, Daniel's current residence. He has moved back there since his term as Prime Minister ended. Fortunately most people don't know that. He disappeared from the public consciousness almost as soon as he was defeated by Soren."
"Speaking of which has any attempt on his life been made?" Abigail asked.
Miranda glanced nervously at EDI, "None. In fact he has been making some odd pronouncements and internal memos that have been a bit…strange."
"Care to elaborate?" Abigail requested.
"Well he is moving a large number of military forces throughout Earth and the rest of the Alliance…including the hit squad that is going after Daniel Hudson."
"What?" Shepard asked.
"Just like the Primarch…Shepard what is going on here?" Garrus asked.
"On a planet in the Terminus systems we found a base that contained a satchel with a list of assassinations and a…Leviathan sphere. The satchel gave us the list we used to bail you out over Palaven."
"Damn." Garrus grunted.
"Yeah, this is loco." James whistled in the corner.
"So what are we going to do about it?" Ashley asked.
"Well," Abigail thought aloud, her mind racing to 'solve', the problem,
"unfortunately with how quickly Soren has established Government programs… if he has been indoctrinated…and then the Turian Primarch, that is two Council Governments they have in their pocket. And who knows about the Salarians and the Asari…so nothing much we can do….. We just have to keep ahead of the events as best we can and survive."
"Well that's…grim."
"Yeah the universe just keeps finding ways to get me." Abigail smirked.
As much as she considered what she said a joke the people in the room froze, each one of them, by the looks on their faces considering what she had just said. And Abby considered it too, always in the most desperate situations, the only one who can save the day…well maybe not this time.
"Alright, what else can you tell me about the house and the surrounding area?" She asked.
The building zoomed down the screen and adjusted to a more topographical view as rolling hills and trees started popping in around the display, no color, just the whitish blue as was the building. The Hudson homestead was now smaller in the grand scheme of things lost in the expanse of forest. Shepard studied this map for a second.
"His home is built on the outer edge of Vancouver. It is surrounded by a woodland area and thick cover stretching out at least five square kilometers, plenty of places to set up an ambush or an assault of some kind."
"Wonderful," Paul groused.
Abigail nodded to herself thinking pretty much the same thing, and also dissecting the tactical situation. "Two teams?" She asked semi-rhetorically.
"I don't see why not." Ashley agreed.
Abigail saw James stiffen out of the corner of her eye and winced internally.
"Alright Ash, you lead team two, take them hunting into the woods, whenever the assassination squad shows up I want to be there to intercept them, make sure we can do our best to establish the perimeter. Meanwhile me, James, and Garrus will secure the Prime Minister and get him and Cynthia out."
"Sounds like a plan, though you sure I am up to it?" Garrus asked.
"If you think you are Vakarian," She answered turning to him.
He shrugged, "Sure, should be fun."
"And I think I'll put Cameron on it we could use a Vanguard out there to charge around the swaths of battle field we are likely to be dealing with."
"You sure?" Abigail asked the newly minted Commander.
"Yeah, you vouch for him don't you?"
The Spectre nodded, "Yeah, I do, and he is a good soldier but you haven't had contact with him."
"Might as well get used to it."
"Who will that leave in command? Joker?" Garrus asked.
Abby chuckled, "You know he gets to be in command more at this rate than the rest of us."
Ashley snorted, "And he is only a Lieutenant."
The squad shared a moment smiling, kicking their heals at the floor before moving onto the next business.
"Alright, we are only an hour or so away from Earth. Get rest, and do whatever you need to do to get prepared. Pray to whatever gods or spirits you need to; make peace, I think this is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better." Captain Shepard, first human Spectre, and Alliance Special Forces, informed her crew.
"Back into the breach eh Skipper?" Ashley remarked ironically.
She nodded, "let's just do our jobs, and we'll get through the other side."
A lie, she knew, sometimes bad things happened to good people in war. But they had all the information they needed to get the job done, they had everything they needed to get the job done, the only thing they didn't have was control over the fates of the Universe. If it was their time to go, it was their time. But they could prepare and do everything in their power to make sure it was they, not their enemies, who came out the other side at the end.
Which, Abby swallowed dramatically, is other human…humans firing at humans…wonderful.
"Crew, dismissed." She ordered.
The squad nodded and began to fill out of the room.
Deck 3-Shepard's Office
Captain Abigail Shepard sat on the lap of her husband James Vega, hand wrapped around his shoulder, another one around his waist, and her head nestling against his. After checking in through the armory and getting the grenades she wanted out of storage she headed straight here, to join Vega. They had not really had much of a chance to talk, or more the will to talk since the mission where they revealed the sphere.
"It always has to happen, doesn't it? We get free, only to have the Galaxy explode on us, and we are caught right in the maelstrom."
"Don't remind me," She sighed, "though I can only imagine what would have happened had we been on Earth the last couple of weeks as this were breaking down, and Soren was seizing power, I wonder if we would have been caught flat footed."
"Have you tried to contact Admiral Jameson?" Vega asked.
Abigail bit her lip, "I just can't risk it…she has been on Earth these last several months, we are on our own until we know or have good reason to believe otherwise."
Vega stayed silent at the revelation and nestled into her holding her close.
They stayed like that for several moments, I'm sure neither one of us really want to talk about the dark, dank, depressing affairs of state and the recent whirlwind that we have been a part of. She smiled, I told Grunt it has to end one day, and it does, but God just keeps on finding ways of keeping my occupied.
She cast her eyes skyward, no offense.
"Abby?" James asked at the sudden shift of her weight.
"Hmm?" She murmured.
"Something the matter?" He asked turning to her.
"Just thinking."
"That is one of the most dangerous things a human being can do." Vega teased.
She smirked, "Yeah, how about you? You haven't exactly been a bubbling pile of joy recently."
"Yeah…my squad." Vega grunted.
"I'm sorry." Abby replied.
"Don't be, not your fault…just I wonder that has the record now on the most people who have died around them…" He blew his cheeks out. "Sometimes I think we're too alike Shepard, I mean its nuts, and we should just be reminders of all we have lost…"
"And all we've gained." Abigail nodded emphatically.
"Well yeah," He agreed, "but when is enough?"
"You'll know when you reach your limit Vega," She agreed, "and hell truth be told we have reached our limit a long time ago, the first time someone dies under your command and you realize you had a hand in sending them there. But you either give into the feelings of loss and rage, you quit, or you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and head back at it."
"Yeah…" Vega's voice drifted off, he snapped his head up, "Oh speaking of which I have been working on something the last several weeks…consider it an early birthday present."
"Oh?"
The Lieutenant disengaged himself and went over to the computer console. He began to work through it bringing up a holographic display. Curious she got up and joined him, looking as the image began to take shape.
"It's my Valkyrie." She said when it came clearer. "You are getting me a Valkyrie for my birthday? How nice."
"Just watch," He chuckled continuing to work.
The lower barrel highlighted and spun out of the weapon, a cylinder inserted smugly into it.
"I have always wondered what that second barrel was for on the Valkyrie, it just seemed to be sitting there… so I decided to take a leaf out of the Falcon's book, and a leaf out of old military doctrine, and make…a grenade launcher."
She grinned at the sudden thought.
"I mean, well you know modern weapons, even with the shavings of metal being ejected at high velocities, but that does not give them much of an ability for an AOE, and there are ways of limiting them. Why the Alliance developed and adopted the Falcon for heavy munitions…but…"
"If you combine the two effects," Abigail grinned nodding.
"Thank you James," she kissed him on the cheek.
Her stomach lurched painfully, "I'm going to grab me something to eat, what you want?"
"I'm not hungry," Vega replied.
"Alright, well…catch you later."
"See ya, don't have any Spaghetti or anything, we will be jumping off soon."
"Thanks dear," She said with a mock purr rolling her eyes, but leaned down to kiss him before getting up and dashing off into the mess hall proper.
The door opened and Cameron was there waiting for her with his arms folded across his chest.
"Cameron," Abigail nodded, "Want to join me for some light dinner? Vega is taking a rain check."
"Sure," He shrugged his shoulders falling into line with her, "why not?"
She nodded as they both fell in line at the counter. She took a couple pieces of bread and lathered a light layer of butter on them. Cameron took six pieces…and some sausage. She glanced at the food, he smirked at her.
"So how does it feel having to sit in the mess hall and eat now that you have been kicked out of your cabin?" Cameron asked as they sat down.
"I don't mind, in fact I was usually down here anyways mingling with the crew, having…eggs." Abigail smirked getting her coffee.
Cameron nodded eating his meal for a couple of bites before staring at her.
She ignored him for a couple of seconds, slowly chewing on her food, rolling it around, feeling self-conscious under the raptor's gaze.
"What?" She finally snapped.
"You tortured that Batarian."
"It wasn't the first time I have done something like that." She smirked.
"I know, I've started to read your file, and your bio. At least what I could…you certainly have a violent…reputation."
"And? I doubt you are completely clean." She rejoinded.
"Probably not, but I know when to stop."
"'When to stop?'" She mocked, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"I just think you are taking this whole thing a little personally."
"I beat up on Elias Kellham."
"Ah yes, but you didn't put a bullet through him did you?"
"True enough…" She shrugged.
"You just seem desperate. Rabid, over this whole thing."
"And it's a good thing I was or we never would have been able to save the Prime Minister…or Garrus Vakarian."
"Yeah, just be careful is all."
"Will do." She nodded.
She finished off her meal and sat there for a few seconds, they had the time before they hit Earth.
"There was one thing I couldn't find information on," Cameron said mopping up his mouth, "Torfan?"
Abby felt her face harden into a stony mask as she glared at Cameron over the brim of her coffee cup.