An unnatural quiet descended on the mountainside while the asari regrouped somewhere down the hillside. Saren took this opportunity in order to properly greet his brother and introduce him to Nihlus. A nod of his head to Nihlus and the younger turian fell in behind him as he stalked through the complex, looking for his brother. A small alcove had been set up to treat those injured and that is where he found him. Desolas looked up from where he sat in the makeshift infirmary at their entrance.
"Brother," Saren said and motioned for him to follow.
Desolas patted Sidonis's shoulder before getting to his feet. He followed the other two out into the hall. Saren kept walking until they had as much privacy as could be found in the complex.
Desolas grabbed Saren by the shoulders, even giving him a smile. "It's good to see you alive. We didn't get a chance to talk properly earlier."
"I know. This is why I wanted to do this now, in case we don't get another chance."
"It was weeks later when I finally got the news that you were gone. We all believed you to be dead."
Saren sighed and shook his head. "I nearly was. This is Nihlus Kryik. He was a captive with me."
Desolas gave the younger turian a nod and a smile. "Another one of Shepard's rescues. I hope the other humans are as honorable as she has proven herself to be."
"Des, Nihlus is more than just a fellow rescue," Saren said, letting go of the iron control over his sub-tones. He released everything, his hopes, his dreams, and his feelings for Nihlus.
Desolas pulled back and really looked at both of them. They stood shoulder to shoulder, watching him, waiting for some reaction from him.
"I'm surprised. I thought the military was your whole life."
"It is still important to me, but now I want something for myself besides that."
"And that would be Nihlus?
"Yes, and should I not make it out of this war and if anything is still left of what I owned before - I want it to go to him."
"I don't give a damn about your things," Nihlus growled out.
Saren placed a hand on Nihlus's shoulder. "I know, but I need to know that you will have whatever I might still possess."
"Understood," Desolas said.
He nodded to his brother and his partner and turned on his heel and left. Nihlus sighed as he watched him walk away.
"That could have gone better."
"He'll come around. I think he doubts what we have is real. After all, who would believe an old bachelor like me could find his match while being held as a slave?"
Desolas stalked off to where he had set up his personal space, all the while mulling over this development. He could hardly believe his much younger brother would attempt a relationship. After all, the Arterius family was better known for their service in the military than being able to maintain a personal relationship. Look at their parents, the huge age gap between the two brothers was because their parents rarely saw each other, could rarely stand to be in the same area with each other. What the two of them knew about maintaining personal relationships, well it was a damn short read. He'd keep an eye on this Nihlus, and Spirits save him if he hurt his brother.
Amala and Garrus sat on a ledge overlooking the path that wound up the side of the mountain just watching the sun descend below the trees. Below them, they could see the turians sending out small groups as patrols. Everyone was on edge now, as they waited for what their enemy would do next. The Generals had set up a rotation so that several squads were topside at a time while the rest tried to eat and get some sleep while they could.
As soon as the sun fell below the horizon, Amala stripped her helmet off. The light breeze ruffled her hair. She gazed skywards and looked for any sign of space combat, but so far she had spotted nothing. Sighing, she dropped her eyes down to look along the mountain once more.
"Bored?"
"No, just on edge. We know the asari are coming, but waiting for them to show up is hell."
Garrus nodded. "See, you should have taken me up on my offer while we had the chance. Then we both could have been more relaxed while we were sitting here."
Amala laughed. "Guess I should have. And here I was just thinking I should tell you that blue is my favorite color."
His mandibles fluttered a moment before settling into a wide smile. "Oh. OH. Hmm, really?"
"Yeah, and when we get back onto the Wildcat, I was wondering if you would join me in my cabin for a hands on demonstration of your personal gun. You know, if you're still interested." That last sentence was said such that it was softer, more hesitant than the rest of her words.
Garrus leaned closer to her before replying. "I'd be delighted to, uh, give you a personal introduction to uh, turian weaponry."
Amala could feel the heat climbing into her cheeks at his words. How he managed to make such common words sound so naughty - no, suggestive - was a mystery to her.
"But only if you want to," she said, her words rushed together.
Garrus laughed softly. "Trust me; this isn't a sacrifice for the good of society. This is something I want."
"Oh, uh, that's good to know. Although I still don't quite get that you would want me when there are a whole lot of other options running around here."
"That might be true, but they aren't you."
The distant whir of engines echoed across the night, slowly getting louder.
"Damn them! I don't need them interrupting me while I'm trying to flirt, dammit! I'm bad enough at this." Amala dropped her eyes down to look through her scope.
Garrus laughed as he got back into position. "Not to worry. Your technique works just fine on me."
The low light triggered the scope on her rifle to switch to night vision. She began to scan the area.
"Crap, I can't see anything," Garrus growled.
"There is a button on the right side of the scope. Hit it and it will turn on the night vision for it. It's an older model, but better than nothing."
In a few moments they spotted what that noise was. Skimming over the trees coming up the side of the mountain were two gunships running dark.
"Fuck. We are going to have to do this the hard way. We have to break through the canopies to hit the pilots."
"That doesn't sound so bad."
"Well, after we fire they will know where we are and they will be shooting at us. I'll shoot first. Target is the pilot of the ship on the right. Fire after me. With any luck, the Widow will break the canopy enough that your shot will take out the pilot. The second ship will be more of a problem."
The scrambling of boots on rocks had them both looking up. One of the squad leaders had joined them on their ledge.
"Two gunships heading our way; have everyone get into cover as best as they can," Garrus ordered.
The turian nodded and jumped back off the ledge, barking orders as he went. Amala peered down the scope, waiting for the ship to get a little closer.
"Ready?"
"Got the target."
The crack of her rifle was copied a moment later by Garrus's gun. The strategy worked as the ship lost control for a moment. That moment was enough for the ship to collide with a tree. The tree damaged one of its thrusters and caused it to spin wildly until it impacted with the mountain. All that remained of it was a smoking ruin; no one left the heap of metal it had become. Its sister ship managed to avoid being hit by it and the vessel turned its guns on where the muzzle fire had originated at. They only had a moment to revel in their victory as the second ship opened fire on their position, forcing them to hide among the rocks of their ledge. The ground squads hadn't been idle, though. They opened fire on the remaining ship, using any part of the terrain for cover. Whole trees were destroyed by the ship's guns when it turned on them, forcing the turians to flee to new positions.
"It's turned away from us; shoot it while we can!"
Garrus nodded and together they opened fire on any part of the ship they could target. The ship swung back their way once more and they flung themselves down to avoid being riddled with bullets.
One of the scouts ran into the command center, nearly running into Saren in his haste.
"Report!"
"Sir, two gunships. They managed to take one down, but the second one has us all pinned down. Orders?"
"By they, you mean Shepard and Vakarian?"
"Yes, sir."
"Do what you can to divert the ship so they have a chance at taking it down."
The scout saluted and returned topside. Nihlus stood near him.
"Go wake my brother and the Primarch. Tell them it has started."
Nihlus saluted him and left. He didn't have long to wait before they showed up.
"What's the situation, General?" Victus asked.
"Two gunships, Shepard and Vakarian took one out, but the second one is wreaking havoc on them all."
Even underground, they could hear the sounds of gunfire, muffled as it was by the earth.
"Your assessment?"
"They sent the ships to soften us up. More soldiers and anything else they can muster up will be coming as soon as they can make it happen. The longer we hold back the soldiers that are underground now, the stronger that force will be for the next push. I don't like it, but I see no other alternative."
Saren hung his head. He could only hope that Shepard could pull off another reprieve for them.
"Agreed. Leave the squads still underground in reserve for the next assault."
Victus stared at the map spread across the crate before glancing over at the QEC.
"Any word from the Alliance?" Victus nodded towards the machine that sat silent in the room.
"No."
All eyes shifted to the machine for a brief moment.
"Tell the troops top-side to keep the ship busy for Shepard and Vakarian to take it down. And to let us know if more enemies enter the field," Victus ordered.
"I'll stand with the troops above," Saren said. He raised a hand when his brother would say something. "They already see me as a symbol of our triumph over the asari; let me use it to our advantage."
"Do it. Desolas, you will lead the rest of our troops when the time comes."
Saren grabbed his weapons and Nihlus fell into step with him. He pulled his rifle out and checked it over. Saren gave him a look that Nihlus returned with a grin.
"You aren't leaving your personal assistant behind. Besides, I want to see firsthand how those two cause so much damage."
Saren shook his head. "She has a talent for destruction. I'm not sure whether to be afraid at what Vakarian is learning from her or be glad."
~And I'm back! A great big thanks to Mordinette, for all her help. And a big thank you to the readers for all your support! Updates might be a little more sporadic as I deal with some things in my life that interfere with the time I get to write. Don't worry, this story will be finished it just might take me a little longer than I had orginally planned. ~