Chapter 39: Menae

"They're a bunch of self centered jackasses Shepard!" Udina fumed when she entered the councilor's office.

"You didn't already know this?" Shepard asked a smirk on her face. "Hell you damn right fit in with them."

Udine shot her an evil glare, but before he could respond, the door to the office hissed open.

"Commander." The Turian councilor spoke, his dual toned voice nothing but professional.

"Councilor." Shepard replied, while she and the Turian councilor had never seen eye to eye, Shepard still respected the man.

"I can't give you what you want, not now anyways, but I can tell you how to get it." The Turian told her. "Primarch Fedorian has called a war summit among the races. As I understand it, he's also extended the invitation to the general of your military."

Shepard felt a smile come to her lips. So that's what he meant.

"What's the catch?" Shepard asked. Nothing she did was ever easy, there were always strings attached.

"Fedorian requested an evac from your military. We know that a ship was sent to Menae to retrieve him, but we'd heard nothing since then. All we know is that they are still on the moon." The councilor sighed.

"I can get the Primarch out." Shepard nodded to the man.

"Thank you Commander." The councilor nodded to her. "The Hierarchy will be in your debt."

The Councilor turned to leave, but paused, as if remembering something. "The others have agreed to this, so I might as well tell you while I'm here. We're fully reinstating your Spectre status. Spirits know that you'll need it."

"Thank you sir." Shepard replied and gave the man a salute before he left.

"That was unexpected." Udina mussed.

"Quite." Shepard replied and left herself. She wouldn't stay in the same room as the snake that as Udina for longer than needed.


"Status!" Rah coughed out. "All units check in!"

Rah and his men had been holding a small base on Menae when the Reapers hit it. They had done the best they could, but the sheer numbers that the Reapers threw at them was too much. After ten hours of holding the base, Rah along with his men and the Turians that had been stationed there, retreated.

"Still kicking, only four fallen." Khaot groaned, weapon fire in his background. He and the squad of Turians he was in command of had been the last to leave.

Each Angel had been given command of a squad of Fedorian's men. The Turians didn't like it at first, but seeing the humans in action gave them all a new respect for the vicious fighters that humans could be.

"Five down here." Maggie replied with sorrow in her voice.

One by one, each Death Angel reported in, all of them had casualties and Klash's squad had been nearly wiped out.

"What about the Primarch sir?" Lommy asked him when they'd all check in.

"Primarch Fedorian is dead." Rah told them all, opening his comms to include the Turians as well. "A moment of silence for a great man and a great soldier."

All save Khaot was able to follow the order. He and his squad were still fighting, but the comm chatter in his squad completely died down.

"Let's make the Reapers pay boys and girls." Rah growled after the moment had passed.

All across the comms, every soldier agreed. Some of them gave battle cries, others roared, his marines replied with a solid 'hoorah'.

"Corinthus." Rah radioed the general over his comms to the man. "Fedorian is dead. I need a new Primarch."

"Copy that Carmine." Corinthus replied. "Commander Shepard is on the ground and just got our communications up again. I'll get you word of the next Primarch shortly."

"Copy." Rah replied to the general, only for another voice to come over his comms a moment later.

"General Carmine come in!" The voice of General Adrien Victus barked over his comms. "I need assistance! Reapers are overwhelming my position."

"On our way Victus." Rah replied before switching to his platoon comms.

"Alright people! Time to hit the Reapers back! We're heading to this location! Everyone meet up there!" Rah ordered. He threw up a marker on everyones HUDs to where Victus was. All of them knew who was there, most of the Turians under him were from Victus' squads at one point or another.

"HOORAH!" Everyone replied, even the Turians under him.

The ground around him began shaking. Rah looked around to see both the Angels and the Turians running towards the marker.

"Vakarian." Rah looked to the Turian that had been in charge of the troops until Rah showed up. "Any word on your son?"

"No." The elder Vakarian spoke. "I lost contact with him when the Reapers hit us."

"Fuck." Rah cursed. Last he'd known, Garrus was near Victus' outpost. Rah was damn sure that the Turian would want to know about Shepard being groundside. "Let's just get to him before the Reapers do. Your son owes me money."

The elder Vakarian gave Rah and odd look before Rah began running towards the marker himself. He and Garrus had a bet going on how long it would take Shepard to show up on the moon. The turian now owed him several hundred credits and his dirtiest picture of Shepard. While Rah didn't need the image, it always helped to have something to embarrass the woman that had become his sister.


"What have we got general?" Shepard asked when she and Vega returned to General Corinthus and his station.

"Primarch Fedorian is dead." Corinthus sighed. "I've got the name of the new Primarch however."

"I need to get to him then." Shepard replied to the turian, grinding her teeth.

This mission was going down the drain even faster than she could have expected. First, she found out by sight alone that her mate could very well have been killed by the Reapers if he was anywhere near his old home. Then, she found out that no one had heard from Fedorian in almost ten hours, only to find out he's dead. What else could go wrong?

"You're looking for General Adrien Victus. He's the new Primarch." Corinthus replied.

"Great." Shepard sighed out. "Where do I find him?"

"I'm trying to raise him now, but no luck." Corinthus replied with a frustrated shake of his head.

"Don't worry Shepard." A voice behind her spoke, making her freeze. "We'll find the Primarch."

Shepard spun around to be greeted by a confident Garrus striding towards them. As usual, a smirk was plastered all over his face. The look he gave her, one of want and desire and untold love, lit a fire in her stomach. She had to keep herself from pouncing on him then and there.

"Garrus!" Shepard exclaimed. Before anyone else knew what was going on, Shepard ran to her mate and pulled him into a backbreaking hug.

Shepard could feel curious eyes on her and Garrus. She had expected them, but they left the two of them quickly.

"I assume this is a normal human greeting?" Corinthus asked, more to Vega than to Shepard and Garrus, who was now returning the hug.

"For close friends and family." Vega shrugged.

"That explains the other one." Corinthus muttered.

"What other one?" Shepard asked, pulling away from Garrus.

"General Carmine greeted Advisor Vakarian in a similar way." Corinthus replied.

"Called it." Shepard chuckled. "Anyways, any luck on getting in touch with Victus?"

"No." Corinthus sighed and a massive roar shook the air.

"Harvester! At the airfields!" A Turian called from one wall.

"Damn it!" Garrus growled. "Corinthus, get Victus on the line. The Commander and I will take care of that thing."

"Yes sir!" The general replied with a salute.

"Salutes? From a general?" Shepard asked, throwing a raised eyebrow at her lover.

"I'll explain when we're off this rock." Garrus replied and lead them towards the airfield.

Just when the three reached the airfield, the creature called a harvester lifted off the ground, leaving behind a platoon of Reaper troops.

"Are those… Turians?" Vega asked before riddling one of the Turian husks with lead from his assault rifle.

"They are." Garrus growled, dropping one with a headshot. "We call them Marauders."

"I don't care what you call them, they die the same way." Shepard snarled before charging straight into a large clump of the Turian husks.

She detonated her barriers but only paused long enough to blow a Marauder away with her shotgun before charging again. Soon, the only sounds that filled the air around them, were her biotics going off, her shotgun, and the steady rhythm of Garrus' sniper.

"What's wrong Vega?" Shepard asked, smirking. "Can't breathe or something?"

"Adrenaline's better than oxygen anyday." Vega replied without a thought. "I just haven't seen anyone fight the way you do."

"Only a few do." Shepard shrugged, walking towards the marine and her mate. "All of them are people that don't exist."

"Damn Lola." Vega muttered. "I'll get used to it, it'll just be a while before I do."

"Lola?" Garrus asked, confusion on his face.

"He's like Rah." Shepard shrugged. Garrus understood and nodded, Vega however had no clue what was going on.

"General Corinthus, got anything?" Garrus asked when they returned to the Turian.

"Victus is still alive, but that could change soon." The man replied with a shake of his head. "Reaper forces are overwhelming his position now. I'm sending you his coordinates."

Shepard's omni-tool chirped, signaling the sent coordinates. "We've got no time to waste then. Garrus, you know where this is?"

"Yeah, I was in that area not that long ago." Garrus nodded and motioned for the two humans to follow him.

The way to Victus' outpost was relatively clear of any hostile forces. Only once did Shepard, Garrus, and Vega need to stop to help a group of Turians who were being overrun by Reapers. When they were on the other side of a ridge from the outpost, the three heard shooting and gunfire. They all exchanged a quick look before charging towards the outpost.

All three of them stopped dead in their tracks however when they reached the outpost. A massive corpse landed in front of them, The massive thing looked like a cross between two Krogan and a Turian, the only thing it was missing was it's head.

"C'mon an' slam!" A familiar voice yelled out from the other side of the Reaper corpse.

The voice broke Shepard out from her daze. She rushed around the massive corpse, her shotgun ready and her biotics powered up. She rounded the Reaper corpse just in time to see two large forms charging at each other. One of them was another of the large Reapers, and the other was a person in armor that resembled the armor that Rah had worn in her dream only days ago.

Just as with the dream, the armored person was holding a massive hammer of some sorts. Just before the two combatants reached each other, the armored person gripped his hammer in both hands. The soldier swung the hammer like a bat, which connected with the face of the Reaper. When the hammer connected, a massive boom rolled over the area and the Reaper was flung backwards, dead before it reached the ground.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!" Rah's voice exclaimed in excitement. Rah however, didn't see that another of the massive Reapers was charging at him from behind.

"Rah! Move!" Shepard yelled before throwing herself at the Reaper.

Shepard's charge very well saved Rah's life. Had she not slammed into the side of the Reaper, knocking it to the side before it could hit Rah, the thing would have taken him apart before he could react. After her charge, but before she could do anything else, Rah's hammer connected with the chest of the Reaper. A massive boom sounded around them again, with the Reaper being sent sprawling backwards, a massive dent in it's chest.

"C'mon an' slam!" Rah shouted out again before landing a killing blow on the Reaper.

"Bout time ya' got here Sarge!" Rah grinned to her. "Help my guys and I clean up, we got some shit to talk about."

Before Shepard could say anything back to her friend, he charged off, running towards another of the massive Reapers that was pinning down a couple of Turians. Rah completely ignored the other Husks that were in the area, instead, other marines in armor that was the same as his gunned them down.

Within minutes of her arrival, a heavy and exhaustive silence fell over the outpost. Shepard looked around at the troops that surrounded her. While most of them were Turians, there were some humans as well. Just like Rah, they were all in heavy armor of the likes that she had never seen before. Shepard found it interesting that all of them had the N7 symbol, yet none were commissioned officers.

"Vakarian!" Rah barked, looking deeper into the outpost. "Give me a sitrep!"

Out from the crowd of Turians, an older man walked out, his head held proudly and reporting to Rah as if they'd been in the same platoon for years. Shepard was awe struck, the Turian that was speaking to Rah, was exactly like an older version of Garrus. The only difference, was that this Vakarian didn't have Garrus' scared mandible, and was also missing his left eye.

Shepard couldn't hear what the two were saying, but after only a few moments, Rah clapped the Turian on the shoulder and the two separated.

Rah found Shepard and waved for her to follow him. Shepard, Garrus, and Vega followed Rah to another Turian who was also overseeing the state of the men and women around them.

"Carmine." The Turian greeted Rah with a respectful nod. "Commander." The Turian nodded to Shepard when his eyes met hers through her visor.

"Garrus." The Turian grinned when he spotted her mate. "There you are! Where've you been?"

"Heavy Reaper push on the right flank? I believe your exact words were 'get those things off my men'." Garrus replied and the two men clasped forearms.

"General, Advisor, Commander, I have you to thank for this. Without your aid, we wouldn't have lasted much longer." The Turian thanked them all.

"We did what we could." Rah replied, his head turning slightly to a row of fresh bodies. "All we can do."

"Tell me, there must be some reason that the Primarch sent you out here." The Turian asked Rah.

"General Victus." Rah sighed out and pulled off his helmet. Rah's sorrow filled eyes locked onto the Turian's, Victus, and Shepard could feel the weight of that gaze. "Fedorian was killed in action."

Victus and Garrus both tensed up and froze, but Rah continued. "You are the new Primarch sir."

"I'm the Primarch of the Turian Hierarchy?" Victus muttered, not believing it.

"It gets worse." Rah sighed out. "We need you off planet. We need you to chair a war summit between the other races."

"Just why would I do this General? Why would I leave my men? My brothers and sisters in arms?" Victus asked, his voice heavy.

"Adrien, you know just as well as I do, we can't win this alone. The only way we can stop the Reapers, it's by standing united, not shattered." Rah told the other man.

Victus seemed to search Rah's face for a few moments before letting out a sigh. "Just give me a few moments to say goodbye to my men."

"You have all the time you need." Rah replied with a nod.

"Khaot." Rah tapped his ear. "Round up the squad, we're leaving soon. Have Vakarian report to me again."

"Did you say-?" Garrus began but Rah cut him off with a nod.

"Yeah, you're father was put under me by Fedorian." Rah told Garrus. "He's got an even bigger pole up his ass than you do."

Garrus smirked at the marine, but it quickly disappeared when The elder Vakarian appeared in front of Rah.

"Dad!" Garrus exclaimed, his eyes wide. "What happened?"

"A Husk got too close, only got one side of me." Garrus' father replied, on taloned hand coming up to touch the side of his face. "But it's nothing compared to what others have lost."

"You needed me General?" Garrus' father asked Rah.

"Yeah, pick out a squad and a half of the best men you've got, you included." Rah ordered. "When you've got those names, tell them we're leaving."

Garrus' father stilled. Shepard noticed that his hands clenched as well. "Yes sir." The elder Turian replied before leaving.

"What was that about?" Shepard asked her friend.

"I need people up there that can turn the tide of battle." Rah replied and his eyes closed. "They'd just be wasted deaths here."

"You know that without the Primarch down here we will lose this moon, right?" Garrus asked Rah.

"Without him in the stars, we lose everything Garrus." Shepard told her mate, laying a calming hand on his arm.

"General, Commander." Victus spoke, walking towards them. "If I'm going to do this, I need one thing."

"Name it." Rah replied without a second thought.

"I need the Krogan. If I can get them here to relieve pressure from Palaven, I can give you my men and my ships."

"A tall order." Rah mussed. Shepard and Rah locked eyes and nodded, they knew just what to do.

"We can do it." Shepard told the Primarch. "I'm known for doing the impossible."

"Let's get off this moon then." Victus told them, his shoulders straightening.

"Sarge, get the Normandy here. I'll get my ship here too. You take the Primarch with you, I'll take the others." Rah told Shepard.

"Joker, I need a pick up." Shepard spoke into her comms.

"On it Shepard." Joker replied a second later.

"Liara and Taynor ever figure out what was going on with EDI?" Shepard asked, curious as to what had happened on her ship. Before they landed on Menae, the Ship had been doing odd things, Liara had stayed behind to help deal with the issues that were coming up.

"Not yet, but everything's stable for now." Joker replied.

"Let's hope it stays that way." Shepard muttered.

"You better pay up Scarface." Rah whispered to Garrus, his voice just quiet enough that she had to strain to hear him. "And pay up all of it."


A/N: And there we are folks! Hope you all enjoyed! Please let me know what you thought!

Thank you all so much for the continued support! You guys are awesome!

Until next time!