Chapter 9: Illium

Shepard's groggy mind slowly broke out of the blissful peace she had slept in. The feeling of peace magnified a hundredfold when she became awe of her body and the one next to her. The heat emanating from behind her, the weight of a familiar arm resting over her waist all reminded her of the night before. The smell of pine and rain, the smell of Garrus, slowly reached her groggy mind and brought a smile to her lips.

Her smile faded when her omni-tool started chiming softly from the nightstand. She leaned over to grab it without disturbing her still sleeping friend. Friend, it was clear to both of them they were more than just friends now, what exactly they were she still wasn't sure. Shepard groaned slightly at seeing that Tali was the one calling her, had it been anyone else she would've been more than happy to ignore it.

"Yeah?" Shepard asked her voice as groggy as her body felt. She was careful to keep her voice low to try and not wake Garrus. An image of Tali's mask appeared over Shepard's hand.

"Shepard!" Tali's voice pierced the quiet that was in her cabin just moments before. "Are you just waking up?"

Shepard glanced that the time to see it was almost noon. Her eyes widened, for the first time since she was a kid she'd slept in. The slight soft purr behind her reminded her that it was well worth it. She wiped her hand over her face, trying to chase the last remnants of sleep from her body and hide the smile that threatened to come to her lips.

"Yeah, long night." She spoke Tali narrowed her eyes at her friend.

"Ok then." She said not buying it. "Anyways do you know where Garrus is? I need his help with something here in engineering."

A very audible, threatening growl came from deep in Garrus' chest at the mention of his name. Shepard's heart stilled and Tali's eyes widened. Her eyes took on a mischievous glint to them. Shepard felt Garrus' arm leave her waist and missed the contact already.

"Was that…" Tali begun but never got the chance to finish. A taloned hand pressed the button on her omni-tool to end the call.

Garrus' arm slowly made its way back to her waist, one of his talons lightly dragging across her skin. Jolts of electricity raced through her body at his touch and she leaned back into him. A growl of desire rumbled through his chest and her back, a fire lit in the pit of her stomach.

She twisted around in his grasp to face him and pressed her forehead to his. He turned it into a deep passionate kiss. When they parted she pressed her face into his neck and sighed contently. Garrus held her close and she felt a sense of home and peace that she had never felt before.

"If I could, I would never leave this." Shepard spoke in a soft tender voice she didn't know she had. She began tracing the edges of the plates on his chest and Garrus purred at her touch.

"I know what you mean Kate." His voice sent shivers down her spine. Him using her name sent a rush of desire through her.

They lay there, each content to bask in each others presence. Shepard began idally running her fingers over the clan markings that covered his body. She shivered when he began running his talons lightly over her back.

"I should probably go and find out what Tali wanted." Garrus spoke softly, his voice telling just as well as his body that he did not want to do anything of the sort.

"Yeah." She started to lightly bite on the hide covering his neck. "You probably should."

Garrus only moaned in response. She slowly slid her hand up to just under his fringe and started massaging the sensitive spot there.

"Maybe." She spoke in a sultry voice that caused him to rumble in his chest. "She did something to your cannon."

She started slowly dragging her other hand down his chest, making sure to drag her nails down the gaps between his plates. She started digging her nails into the spot below his fringe. Garrus moaned, his head fell back and a soft purr joined the rumble in his chest.

"Maybe she messed up all those calibrations you'd done." She spoke when her hand reached his waist. She had no idea where this sultry voice had come from, but the way it made Garrus melt in her arms was worth it.

Suddenly she broke away from him. His eyes snapped open and focused on her. His gaze held a pleading look to it, almost begging her to continue. Shepard smirked at him deviously.

"I'm going to go take a shower. If you're still here when I'm done…" Shepard let the threat hang in the air.

She made to raise from her bed but was stopped by a hand on her arm. Garrus pulled her back and pinned her under him, careful to keep his weight off her. He pressed his mouth to hers in a deep demanding kiss. When they broke Shepard was breathless, a fire lit deep in her stomach.

"When I come back," Garrus rested his forehead against hers. "you'd better be here."

Garrus dragged a talon down her body, starting from just below her neck and ending at her waist. The look in his eyes of barely controlled lust and love made her ache for him.

"When I come back, you'll pay for that." Garrus kissed her in another demanding kiss. Garrus taking control like this sent arcs of electricity down her body.

"I'll make you beg." Garrus whispered, his voice giving truth to the much awaited promise.

Just before it seemed he would lose his control, Garrus broke away from her. She watched, breathless and with raw desire burning in her, while he mechanically slapped his armor on. Once done, he turned back to her and smirked, no doubt basking in how he had turned the tables on her so easily. She continued to watch as he sauntered out of her cabin, still trying to catch her breath and calm her hammering heart.


"Took you long enough." Tali's smug voice greeted him when Garrus entered engineering.

"Sorry. I was finishing up lunch with a C-sec friend of mine." He lied, hoping she wouldn't guess the truth.

"You know what I meant Garrus." Tali's voice held disappointment mixed in her the smugness. "I know exactly where you were, I'm not an idiot."

Garrus sighed and hung his head in embarrassment. Tali walked up to him and pulled him into a warm hug. Garrus was still stunned when she pulled away from him. Though he couldn't see her face everything about her spoke happiness.

"I'm truly happy for the both of you, but still you didn't have to wait so long."

Garrus smiled at her, the smile faltered a bit however. "Wait what do you mean 'so long'? I didn't even…"

Tali covered her face mask with her hands."You are just as thick as her aren't you?" She interrupted him.

"Everyone on the Normandy could see there was something between you two, even back then. Well everyone but you two." Tali rolled her eyes.

Garrus groaned as he looked back at his time on the last Normandy. All the times they had "harmlessly" flirted could have been real. All the times that he'd seen a look in her eyes that he didn't know what it was he could now place what it had been. He could see that even back then she had cared for him, just as he had her.

"Anyways…" Tali spoke interrupting his train of thought. "I need your help with some power draw issues."

Garrus shook his head. "Yeah what is it?"

"The Thanix cannons are doing weird spikes and I don't know why. Mind taking a look at it when you get a chance?"

"Alright I'll take a look at it later today." Garrus began backing out of the room.

"Garrus?" Tali's voice stopped him. "Don't hurt her. She's been through too much already."

"Nothing in this world would give me reason to do so." Garrus spoke, his voice taking on a grimmer note. He turned around and left, heading back to the elevator.


"Is it just me, or is it kinda creepy that Liara knew we were coming here?" Shepard asked over her shoulder.

"Its not just you." Garrus spoke coolly. He had known that Liara had very deep feelings for Shepard and at the time thought that Shepard shared them with the Asari.

Tali shrugged. "You guys might not like it but I'd like to see Liara again."

"Well then that's decided. Tali you and Garrus can go check in with Liara. Miranda and I will go see her contact." Shepard gestured for the Cerberus operative, who had remained silent for the better part of the last few days, to lead the way.

Garrus watch Shepard walk away with Miranda and wished he could go with them. Sure Liara was nice, sweet and mostly innocent, but everything in him told him to eliminate any competition he had for Shepard. Garrus knew he had nothing to worry about, Shepard had even told him herself, but he couldn't push aside his protectiveness that easily.

It had been just two weeks since the first of many nights, and days, that he had shared with her. Garrus wished that they were still on leave. He would give anything to see Shepard care free and relaxed, be it in his arms or out for drinks with the crew. Alas it couldn't last and after the ship was refitted and the crew back aboard they had left to continue their mission.

Before heading to Nos Astra on Illium, the Asari trade world they were on now, they stopped at an uncharted planet to help Jacob put old ghosts to rest. He'd received a message about an Alliance ship's distress beacon being picked up. The ship in question was the MSV Hugo Gernsback, a ship lost ten years ago and Jacob's father had been the XO of the ship.

Needless to say, as all things around Shepard tended to go the was more to it than just a rescue mission. Jacob's father had killed the rest of the officers and hoarded all the food to himself. He forced the crew to eat the local flora and fauna which all caused memory loss. He had either killed or exiled the male crew and then took the women like property.

When they had finally reached Jacob's father, Shepard left the choice of what to do with him to Jacob. Jacob had decided to leave the shell that was his father to the hands of the Gernsback crew, but gave him a pistol with one bullet in it. He held no sympathy for the monster that his father had become. In the end they had signaled a nearby Alliance cruiser to retrieve the survivors and left before it could arrive.

Now they were on Illium with a laundry list of things to do. There were two people that The Illusive Man recommended to be apart of their team reportedly here. There was also an issue that Miranda had with a family member here, which Shepard had just gone to get more information about. Garrus and Tali had to get the information on the two possible recruits from none other than their old friend Liara T'soni.

In the last two years it seemed that Liara had become a very good and very powerful information broker. Not only had she heard of Shepard's revival but also of who had done it and sent the information on these two people to The Illusive Man. Now to make things worse, for Garrus at least, she knew that Shepard was here.

"Come on." Garrus sighed once Shepard and Miranda were out of sight. "We'd best not let Liara wait on us."

They walked in silence to Liara's office. They could see its massive window when they reached the main trade area of the district. Liara must have done very well for herself to land such a large space in the crowded district.

"Miss T'Soni is expecting you." A cheery Asari sitting at a desk outside Liara's door greeted them.

"Have you ever met an Asari Commando squad? No? Few humans have." Liara's voice reached Garrus' ears when the door to her office cycled open. Everything about the tone was wrong. Never before had he heard Liara talk harshly in anyway to anyone, ever. Now she sounded cold, calm and calculating as if she had aged several centuries in the last two years.

"Now if you don't give me the information I require then I will flay you alive… with my mind." The orange glow that had been in front of Liara faded and the room dimmed some what.

Garrus and Tali entered Liara's small back was to the door and she was standing on their side of the desk. Other than the desk, some chairs and a few plants the room was empty. Liara seemed to hear the door hiss shut behind them and she tensed, weather it was in preparation to fight or not Garrus couldn't quite tell.

"Shep…" The Asari turned around, joy on her face and words. She lost her voice however at seeing that it was only Garrus and Tali standing there.

"Oh, Garrus, Tali, I didn't expect it to be just you two." Liara's face dimmed a bit but was still bright at seeing two of her closest friends.

Tali closed the gap between herself and Liara, bringing her into a tight hug which Liara returned.

"Shepard will be here sooner or later. She had to take care of something with one of the other crew first. Family matters." Tali spoke when they parted.

"Just like her, always seeing to her crew before her own needs." Liara spoke, a tinge of sadness in her voice.

Well. Garrus thought smugly. Not always.

"Good to see you Liara." Garrus spoke, his voice friendly, and held out his hand.

Liara however stepped inside his reach and ignored his outstretched hand. She put her arms around his neck, catching him off guard, and pulled his face down to hers. She planted a kiss on his scarred mandible and then quickly stepped back. It may have been Liara's lips that had touched his mandible, but Garrus felt the light touch of another pair along the same side.

"You really need to take better care of yourself Garrus." Liara spoke, smirking up at him.

Garrus was stunned. He knew that Liara, just like Tali, considered him to be like an older brother, one that taught them how to fight and survive in the world they'd be thrust into. He never would have expected the greeting he had just received even back then.

"Yeah well." Garrus rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I did better than others might when against three armies on my own."

"I had heard that Archangel was dead, even with the help of a demon at his side." Liara smirked at him "I see that I was right about you being him and Shepard pulling you out of the fire. Again."

Garrus chuckled. "What can I say? Danger is like a clingy girlfriend, never wants to leave me alone."

"Wait? When did Garrus get a girlfriend period?" Shepard's voice spoke behind him and made him freeze. Somehow she had managed to enter the room without him hearing the hiss of the door opening.

"So who is it Garrus? I bet it's a krogan. Or…." Shepard glanced at Tali. "Did you two start going out and not tell me? I thought you two had something."

Garrus heard Tali giggle next to him. He met Shepard's gaze and narrowed his eyes at her, a silent promise to make up for this. She simply smirked back at him and walked up to Liara.

"It's good to see you again Liara." Shepard said and hugged their friend. Liara squeezed Shepard to her in spite of the armor she wore.

"Lawson is talking with her contact about her family. They're at the bar down the street, they'll fill you in on the plan. We move out in thirty" Shepard spoke to them once the two women parted.

"Alright." Tali nodded to Shepard. "See you later Liara."

Garrus nodded to Shepard and Liara before turning and following Tali out of the room.


Once the door hissed shut Shepard turned back to her friend. Liara wore a sad smile on her face.

"I thought as much." Liara spoke softly. She moved to the other side of her desk and sat down, facing Shepard.

"What do you mean? You knew he was dating someone and held that ammo back from me? I'm disappointed Liara." Shepard joked, and smirked when she saw the slight pulling at the edges of her friend's mouth.

"Shepard please. It doesn't take an idiot to see that you two finally got it through your thick skulls." Liara began typing something on the console on her desk.

"That obvious huh?" Shepard rubbed her neck awkwardly.

Liara nodded solemnly. "I can't say that I'm not jealous, but you two are my closest friends. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks Liara. That… means a lot." Shepard smiled weakly at her friend.

"You needed information on two individuals for your mission, yes?" Liara changed the topic to one that was much less awkward.

"Yeah. Thane Krios and Justicar Samara." Shepard spoke thankful for the distraction.

"Alright. I've sent you everything I have on them." Shepard's omni-tool pinged at her.

"The Justicar is currently investigating something with the Eclipse Sisters in Trade District Eight. And Krios has contacted a security consultant who works just down the street."

"Thanks Liara." Shepard spoke and Liara rose from her desk.

The Asari moved around her desk once more and the two women embraced. Liara kissed Shepard on the check, the same side as she had done with Garrus. When they parted Shepard raised her eyebrow at her friend.

"An Asari custom with family. You and the rest of the Normandy crew are like my family Kat, more than you can imagine."

"That means a lot Liara. Thank you." Shepard smiled to her friend.

"Don't you have a mission to get to?" Liara asked and smiled back. Shepard chuckled.

"When we get some free time we should take some time to catch up." Shepard spoke backing out of the room.

"I'd like that. Very much so." Liara replied.

The door opened, Shepard turned and left, heading to the bar down the street where her friends awaited. A sad pair of eyes followed her from the large window overlooking the trade floor, wondering what could have been if things had gone differently.


"Son of a bitch!" Shepard shouted when bullets started ricocheting off the clear plastic cover on their sky car. Shepard opened up the lone door to the car and released her helmet.

"Garrus set this thing down." She spoke over the team's comms.

"Shepard what are you…" Garrus began to speak but was cut off when Shepard dropped out of the car.

"Why do I never see that coming?" He muttered to himself with his comms open. He began dropping the car as quickly as he could without turning off its anti-grav unit.

"Does she do that a lot?" Miranda asked, her eyes wide at seeing Shepard drop into a soon to be hot combat zone.

"Every time she can yeah. Something about her N7 missions dropping her out of stealth craft most of the time." Garrus replied, as if it was as normal as breathing.

Garrus angled the car to give them cover when they exited the vehicle. The sounds of gunfire intensified the closer they got the the ground. As soon as they set down, Garrus, Tali, and Miranda sprung into action.

Garrus pulled his Mantis off his back and moved to the front of the car and towards the steady pops of Shepard firing her Locust SMGs. Garrus leaned over the hood of the car and sighted down his scope. A heartbeat later and an Eclipse merc dropped to the ground, a part of his face missing. The merc had somehow managed to get only a few meters away from Shepard, who didn't see him.

Shepard perked up at hearing the crack of Garrus rifle. She leaned around the crate she was using as cover, and quickly ducked back down. She turned to look at him and the look in her eyes sent sparks down his spine. Her eyes sparkled gratefully at him, he knew that if it wasn't for her helmet she would've been beaming at him. Garrus smirked at her before sighting down his scope once more. Another crack filled the air and another merc dropped, a large hole in his chest.

The mercs that had been left when they had landed were quickly mopped up under the combined fire of Garrus' rifle, Tali's shotgun and Shepard's and Miranda's biotics.

"Come on." Miranda's usually cold voice was now hurried and insistent. "If the Eclipse are already here we need to get to Niket. I can't let these mercs take my sister away."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Shepard spoke and took the lead, moving forward with both her Locusts raised.


"This is taking too long Niket." The voice of a rather annoyed and impatient Asari reached Shepard's ears through her helmet.

"Just give me a little more time!" A distressed sounding human replied. Shepard felt Miranda tense up next to her, the voice must have belonged to Niket.

Shepard and her team had made it's way through the Nos Astra space port cargo area to reach Niket. As they fought, the snippets of information they gained from open Eclipse comms were grim. Miranda had told her that her father, a ruthless man, had found her twin sister. Miranda had stolen her away as soon as she was able when her sister was still just a baby. Miranda and her sister, Orianna, were twins in that they both had the same genes and were both created to continue their father's legacy. Miranda had taken her sister away from the life she would have had with their cruel father and had joined up with Cerberus shortly after. Until now their father didn't know where Oriana was hidden.

Niket was a friend of Miranda and, supposedly, could be trusted. That trust dwindled away however the closer they got to reaching him. From what they had gathered from the Eclipse comm chatter Niket was working for Miranda's father and trying to bring Orianna to him.

"You're out of time!" The Asari growled back at Niket. "Markus! Get the…"

"No!" Nikets yelled at the Asari while Shepard, Miranda, and Tali crept closer. "You told me we would do this my way Enyala! I don't want the family put into more trouble than needed!"

"Garrus you ready?" Shepard asked into her comms, her helmet speakers off. A green light flashed next to Garrus' name on her visor.

"Good, this Asari try anything and you give her a new hole to breath through." The light flashed green again.

Shepard had sent Garrus to go find a perch to cover the area that Niket was to be in. Knowing him he had a full view of everything by now and was just waiting for the chance to fire.

"Niket!" Miranda yelled, fury in her voice and every muscle in her body. The three women stepped out into view of Niket and the Asari Enyala.

Shepard took in everything around her in seconds. She took in the unarmed and unarmored form of Niket. He was handsome, dark close cut hair, chiseled face, and and a muscular build hidden under well tailored clothes. A single Asari merc was sitting on a shipping crate next to him. Like all Asari she had a feminine grace to her and her face was near flawless. She was outfitted in the standard Eclipse armor and a massive shotgun lay across her lap. Behind the Asari was a human female in the same armor who looked bored out of her mind.

When Miranda spoke they were instantly the center of attention. Niket spun around, his eyes wide and locked squarely on Miranda. Enyala's and the other merc's heads instantly snapped to the three armed women, sizing them up as Shepard was doing them. The human brought her rifle to her shoulder but kept the barrel pointed down, ready to fire as soon as needed. The Asari, Enyala, simply sat there and smirked at the three. She didn't move anything other than her head and eyes.

"Miri! What are you doing here?" Niket asked fear filling his voice.

"I'm here to save my sister! Why are you working for my father!" Miranda demanded, yelling at the man that had been her friend.

"Because she has the right to know about her father! I never would have helped you escape from your father had I known you were stealing a baby from him!" Niket yelled back, anger mixing into the fear in his voice.

"Stole her?! I saved her!" Miranda's hand moved towards the pistol at her thigh.

"Saved her from what?! A life of happiness and luxury?" Niket seemed to be losing the fear from his voice.

"From our cruel father! I saved her from being a puppet to that man!" Miranda's hand was now resting on the grip of her pistol.

"You had a choice to leave! She didn't! I'm here to right that." Niket's voice calmed, Shepard saw unflinching resolve in his eyes.

Miranda's pistol was out and in her hand in a heartbeat, pointed at Niket's head. Shepard and Tali drew their own weapons, Shepard both her Locust, Tali her Scimitar. Shepard saw the human raise her own rifle and was pointed at her. Enyala gripped her shotgun in both hands but otherwise remained motionless.

Niket stepped closer towards Miranda, Shepard noticed the muscles in Miranda's arm tighten in preparation to pull the trigger of her pistol.

"I'm sorry Miri, but I have to do this." Niket's voice was full of sorrowful resolve.

Shepard glimpsed the muscles in Miranda's arm tighten even more. She couldn't let this happen. Shepard's biotics flared into life around her and spread to encase Miranda as well. Miranda's eyes widened at having been put into a stasis field.

"I'm not going to let you kill a friend Miranda." Shepard spoke and for just a moment took her eyes off Enyala to look at Miranda.

"Touching." Enyala spoke and her shotgun fired, filling the air with a resounding boom.

Shepard snapped her gaze back to the Asari. She had seen death in nearly every way possible but it never made it easier to look upon it. The merc stood up from her crate and on the ground in front of her was the corpse of Niket, a large hole in the center of his chest. Shepard let the stasis field around Miranda drop but kept her biotics powered.

"Now I have a job to…." Enyala spoke but was cut off. The air cracked with the familiar sound of Garrus rifle and Enyala's shields and biotic barriers flared and failed.

"Damn it!" Enyala turned and vaulted over the crate she'd been sitting on just moments before. "Jon Quin! Get us back up! Now!"

Shepard began firing into the Asari, but her shots only bounced off the merc's reestablished barriers. Shepard heard another crack and looked over to see the other merc had fallen to the ground, a round had gone clear through her heart.

Without back up it took only a matter of time for Shepard and her team to bring the merc leader down. When they finally had a minute to breathe, Enyala was laying on the ground, dead from a round from Garrus' rifle through her throat. Miranda spoke up.

"Come on! We need to make sure my sister is safe." Miranda's voice was filled with urgency.

Shepard nodded. "Garrus meet up with us a the passenger docks. And try to not catch a rocket with your face this time."

A snort came across her comm. "I thought you liked guys with scars."

Shepard could tell even without seeing him that he was smirking at her. Shepard shook her head and rolled her eyes even though she knew he wouldn't see it.

"Scars are hot don't get me wrong, but it'd suck if you didn't have half a face."

"Fine, but only because it's you asking." Garrus replied in mock resignation.


"I think we're clear. No sign of Eclipse anywhere." Miranda spoke and sighed with relief.

They had made it to the passenger docks without incident. Once there Shepard, Tali, and Miranda scouted out around the area, making sure that there wasn't an Eclipse in sight. Shepard had yet to hear anything from Garrus and was both worried and relieved. She was relieved that he hadn't gotten himself into any trouble, yet feared that he may have been caught and unable to radio for help.

"That them?" Shepard asked, nodding to a family of three. The daughter of them looked exactly like a younger version of Miranda.

"Yeah." Miranda's voice held a tinge of sadness to it.

"Come on. Let's go before they see us." Miranda spoke hurriedly which surprised Shepard.

"You don't want to talk to her?" Shepard asked and raised an eyebrow at the other woman.

She had retracted her helmet on the way back so as to avoid more attention than necessary. She should've known better though when Asari started staring at her. The looks that were sent her way were mostly ones that mentally undressed her, until she scowled at those she caught.

"No. It's better if I don't." Miranda spoke hesitantly. It was clear that she did want to talk with her sister, even if for just a few moments.

"It'd be easier on her if she didn't know about me." Miranda looked away from her sister, her entire body was tense.

"Miranda." Shepard laid a hand on her shoulder. "If I was her I'd want to know. Besides she's basically you I think she'd keep her head about the whole thing."

Miranda looked back to her sister, her muscles seemed to relax under Shepard's hand.

"Go on. Take as much time as you need. We'll be here for a couple more days at least." Shepard's voice inadvertently took on the motherly tone she used whenever she dealt with a tender subject with those under her command.

Miranda looked back at Shepard, a thankful light to her eyes. She nodded and started towards her sister, uncertainty finding its way into her stride. Shepard watched as Miranda awkwardly approached her sister's family.

"So, what'd I miss?" Garrus voice emanated from behind her and sounded like music to her ears.

"Shepard played the 'mom' card again." Tali spoke next to her, her voice teasing Shepard.

"Hey it worked didn't it?" Shepard chuckled.

She felt Garrus behind her and unconsciously leaned back into him. Even though they were separated by several inches of armor Shepard felt Garrus tense up she could pull away however, Garrus wrapped his arms around her almost hesitantly, as if asking if it was right if it was ok. Shepard leaned back into him more, letting him know that it was. She felt the corners of her mouth start to pull up in a smile.

Shepard heard a sigh next to her and looked at Tali, an eyebrow raised in a silent question. Tali shook her head.

"It'll take some getting used to seeing you to do things like that. I still think you're both too thick to see what everyone else can." Shepard chuckled at her friend's words, but was interrupted by a low growl coming from her stomach.

"Let's see if we can't get some grub. I'm starving." She had forgotten to eat more than a ration bar for breakfast that morning.

She pulled up her omni-tool and called Liara's number. While she waited for their friend to pick up, Shepard looked at the crowd around them. She was surprised to see many a dirty look sent in their group's direction and most of them came from Asari. She noticed however that all the looks were directed at Garrus and no one else. She chuckled.

"What?" Garrus asked, having felt her body shake in his arms.

Shepard was about to respond but Liara answered her call before she could.

'Shepard!" The Asari's cheery voice washed over the group of them. 'What can I do for you?"

"Garrus, Tali, and I are about to go get some lunch. You want to come with? Maybe show us a place with not terrible food?"

"I'd love to! I just need to finish up something first. Would you mind meeting me at my office?"

"Yeah sure. We'll see you in a few then." Shepard replied and the line was closed.

Shepard leaned away from Garrus and he dropped his arms. The trio started towards the nearest rapid transit station. Shepard couldn't help but feel a slight flutter in her stomach when Garrus walked next to her, their arms brushing occasionally. She also couldn't help but notice the smug look on Garrus face after catching even more dirty looks sent his way.


Shepard and Garrus sat at their table in the restaurant Liara had brought them to. It was a small quiet place that served foods for all races, both levo and dextro based. The two had decided to stay for a while longer after Liara and Tali left to relax a bit before their next mission.

Garrus watched Shepard as she leaned back into her seat contently. Much to the jabs of the others she had eaten almost enough to feed a small family, she took it in stride though and even returned some of the friendly punishment herself.

"So Garrus." Shepard spoke after she'd taken a sip of her drink. "You never finished telling me about Turian ships and high risk missions."

"It's nothing much. Just before missions like the one we're on stress levels get high and the officers let us blow of steam. Mostly full contact sparring matches." He shrugged his shoulders. To Turians it was normal to have teammates fight each other, it always got the bad blood out of their systems for when it mattered.

"Full contact sparring?" Shepard raised her eyebrows.

"It's supervised of course." Garrus added hastily. "No one is going to risk an injury that will keep them out of a fight."

Shepard chuckled. "I bet you've got some stories about that, don't you? I can't imagine you've always be an ok fighter like you are now." She smirked at him. He let the 'ok' part slide, they both knew that without her biotics they were equals in hand to hand combat.

He shrugged keeping his nonchalant pasture. "Not really. Most are pretty dull."

"Garrus please. For most of yesterday I spent the day talking with Tali and Kasumi about girl stuff. I need some violence to wash that out of my brain. " Shepard's eyes held a pleading look to them. He felt his plates begin to shift at remembering when the last time her eyes held that look for him.

"Alright best one I've got is from a few years before I joined C-sec." Garrus kept his cool demeanor despite the thoughts that raced through his brain. He cursed at himself for letting his mind wander when not in his bunk.

"I was on an op to take out a major Batarian slave ring. Tensions were high with everyone." Garrus took a drink of water before continuing.

"There was this one recon scout who'd been getting on my nerves the entire mission up til then." Garrus let his smugness into his face at seeing Shepard lean forward in her seat.

"So she and I decided to hash it out in the ring." Something that Garrus couldn't quite read made it's way to Shepard's face. This was something that Garrus had never seen on her before, but a slight pull at the back of his mind told him he'd seen it on other humans.

"Please tell me you kicked her ass into next week." Shepard voice gave it away. Somehow she had guessed where this was going, and she was jealous about it. Garrus started mentally cursing himself, he should've known better than to tell her this one.

"Um… Actually no. She and I were the best hand to hand specialists on the ship." Garrus started rubbing the back of his neck and refused to met her eyes. There was no turning back now however.

"After nine rounds the refs called it a draw. There were a lot of unhappy betters that day." Garrus met Shepard's eyes after a slight chuckle came from her. Her features and and body had relaxed somewhat, and he mentally sighed with relief.

"So what happened?" Shepard asked the one thing he hoped she wouldn't ask. He knew better than to lie to her, she could always see through it.

"We uhhh…. Had our own tiebreaker. In her quarters." Garrus closed his eyes and braced for the verbal and, or, physical onslaught that was sure to follow. He dared to crack an eye open at hearing Shepard's chair scrape across the floor.

"I'm disappointed Garrus." The way Shepard spoke his name, almost possessively, sent shivers down his spine.

"I seem to remember we had a tie of our own." She began talking slowly towards him, her voice taking on a sultry tone.

"And never once did you offer to." Shep spoke and stopped next to him. Garrus was dumbfounded, this was a side of Shepard he had never thought she had, and he wanted to see more of it.

"Break it." She bent down next to him and whispered into his ear.

If he wasn't completely frozen by the way this had turned out, Garrus had no doubts that he wouldn't have been able to control himself any longer. Garrus was frozen so still he couldn't even turn his head to look at Shepard. Garrus felt a deep, almost primal, lust begin to stir in him. His face went slack when he felt Shepard's lips lightly and briefly touch his scared mandible.

Even after she walked away and out the restaurant Garrus sat there, his mind still trying to fathom that this wasn't a dream. A chuckle and a loud clang brought his mind to reality. Garrus looked to the source of the noise and found a human boy standing next to his table.

The boy looked to be no more than seventeen. The apron covering his legs and the dirty rag slung over one shoulder marked him as the bus boy the place had on staff then. He had a stupid looking grin plastered all over his face. Garrus looked down at the chair the boy was leaning over to find a bin, already half full of dirty dishes and the likely cause of the noise.

"Your girlfriend's quite the woman sir." The boy spoke and began to clean off the table.

"She's not my girlfriend." Garrus spoke, still in a daze.

"Really?" The boy looked at him an eyebrow raised. "Could've fooled me. And if what you say is true you must be either insane or stupid. Maybe both."

"And why's that?" Garrus asked in a growl. The boy chuckled and seemed to ignore the growl.

"Well for one even without her reputation she's quite the catch." The boy looked at him, mirth in his young eyes.

"She's easily the most beautiful woman in the verse, and doesn't even need make-up. And she's got a fire in her that men would kill for in a partner."

"Not to mention that she's already head over heels for you. Any woman that I know would've had your balls for telling that story you did. Seemed like she just shrugged it off."

"You heard that?" Garrus asked and raised a brow plate. He was rewarded with a chuckle from the kid.

"Just the last bit. Take my advice, if you haven't already tell her yes or no." He straightened having put all the dishes from the table into his bin.

"And watch your back, especially around Asari. The more powerful a person's biotics the more Asari hunger for that person. And your girl there is almost on par with a matriarch in power."

"Well that explains Liara." Garrus muttered to himself.

"Liara? Liara T'Soni? Man you've got yourself some steep competition. Just remember what I said. I'm speaking from experience." The boy flared azure and his bin lifted off the chair.

Garrus stood up. Both he and the boy turned their heads when a shrill whistle filled the air of the empty place. An Asari, the owner if he remembered correctly from what Liara had told him, was standing at the door the the kitchens. The Asari had a lustful look in her eyes and looked only at the boy next to him. She raised a hand and motioned the boy to come to her with one finger.

Garrus turned back to the boy and for the first time noticed a slim metal collar around his neck. Garrus felt a pang of anger at the Asari. The boy nodded to the Asari and turned back to Garrus, his face and eyes visibly darker.

"Take what I said to heart sir." The boy said simply. and turned to leave, but Garrus stopped him with a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Thank you. I will." Garrus stretched out his hand. The boy smirked up at him and shook it.

"I'm sorry. If I could help I would." Illium had very strict and binding slavery laws. He knew that if he tried to free the boy, all hell would fall onto him.

"Don't be. It's enjoyable, but it got old a long time ago. Just a couple more years and I can leave this godforsaken planet."

"When that time comes look up Garrus Vakarian. I'm certain I could find something to get you started on a real life." Garrus replied and gripped the boy's hand tighter.

The boy nodded, a bit of the light returned to his eyes. They parted and left. Garrus headed for the door and the boy towards his mistress. It went against every fiber of his being but he forced himself to leave without looking back.


Shepard couldn't have been happier with herself if she tried. It was so beyond her usual zone with Garrus, but it felt so right. She couldn't help but be happy that she had so effectively stunned him with her suggestive hints and words.

She knew she should've been pissed as all hell that Garrus had told her about a past fling he had, but she knew better. On the old Normandy she had done her fair share of talking about her past lovers. He had looked so embarrassed and awkward towards the end that she couldn't help but tease him. She loved to see the usually confident and egotistical Turian when he was like that. Being able to see that had sent an unbearable heat throughout her body.

Shepard wanted to know what Garrus would do after her tease. More importantly she wanted to show him that she wasn't shallow like other woman would've been. She had left him sitting there in the restaurant, dumb struck and set off to burn some of the last hours of the day. Whether or not Garrus came after her would tell her all she needed to know.

Shepard had managed to find one of Liara's contacts about the two people she had hoped to recruit before Garrus caught up with her, much to her delight. Shepard had talked to an Asari named Seryna who had information on Thane Krios. Thane was a Drell assassin and expert infiltrator. He had contacted Seryna to get information about the security in Dantius towers.

Seryna had worked for the owner Nassana Dantius in her security department. Shepard knew Nassana already. Two years ago the Asari had tried to hire her to take out a band of mercs that were hurting her business. The leader of the mercs was Nassana's own sister. Shepard was glad to hear that Thane as going after someone as cruel and heartless as Nassana. Seryna had told her that Thane was planning on hitting Dantius towers the next night. She would even take Shepard there to help Thane get past the security.

When Garrus caught up with her they headed off to see the second contact. Liara had told her that the Justicar Samara had checked in with a Detective Anaya and was working on something in the detective's district.

They had to take a sky car to the detective's district, so Shepard let the VI take them there in place of driving herself. They sat in the backseat of the car and Shepard leaned into Garrus. A smile came to her lips when he place his arm around her. He seemed more sure of himself and not hesitant like he had been just earlier that day.

The car ride was over too soon for Shepard's tastes however. The sky car landed rather close to the detective's office. A few moments after leaving the car they were standing in front of the detective's desk.

"Detective Anaya?" Shepard asked.

'Yes? Who are you? What do you want?" The Asari snapped at her in a rather butch voice for an Asari. The Asari didn't look up from the data pad sitting on her desk.

"I'm Commander Shepard. I have a few questions about Justicar Samara." The Asari froze.

In less than the time it took for Shepard to blink the detective's head snapped up, her eyes wide in fear.


A/N:

So sorry that this chapter took this long and ended up being a tad shorter than the last one. I'm going to address this now, The "character" Jon Quin is a joke for a friend of mine (once she reads this). I told her a while ago that I like killing her in Rift and promised to kill her in here too. So that's what that is.

Sorry (kind of) for the cliff hanger (again), but I want to take all of the next chapter on Thane's and Samara's recruitment missions. So I touched on them in preparation for doing so.

And this needs to be said, thank you all so much for the reviews on the last chapter. Those are a big help in keeping me writing this along with seeing at least a few views on this each and every day.

As always thanks a billion for the reviews, follows, favorites and even just views.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Until next time! (or until i make another mistake that gets pointed out like the last one XD)