Five Seconds
Chapter 3: Surprise of the Day
Authors Note: This one is going to be a bit long just to warn you! This one took me a bit due to Finals in college and just the length of the chapter in itself. Thank you for reading this and please forgive grammatical errors, they are all my fault. Bioware and EA own the Mass Effect series; I have no claim to it and or them.
The Commander wasn't sure if she should have brought the Colonel to Omega. They had spent over two days teaching him everything he would need to know about the mission, aliens, and most importantly: How to fire their weapons.
To the Commanders relief they didn't need to go over too much, even with a hundred-seventy years of difference in weaponry there wasn't any need to change how they worked, point and pull the trigger. All they needed to show him was how to reload and eject thermal clips.
"It's a whole new galaxy out there Colonel, I hope I don't have to worry about you shooting an alien out of panic," She spoke as they stood near the airlock, waiting for the ship to dock.
He stood in a military camouflaged armor, the "Ranger" insignia painted on the side of his shoulder armor. Wearing armor was another thing they had to run him through. The Colonel could only be amazed that the armor had a built in shield to absorb bullets and (depending on the shields) could take the brunt of an explosion. The red headed Commander was worried the armor would have been too heavy for him; she hadn't realized that he had to carry far more than the weight of the armor and weapons combined a long time ago. After he got accustomed to the armor he had asked if they could paint it over, hence the military camouflage.
"I won't cause trouble Commander," He promised to her as he hefted an Avenger rifle in his hands, he preferred short accurate bursts over a 'spray-and-pray' weapon, but it was the only thing they had at the moment so he made do.
"I hope so…have you gotten a hand on the omni-tool?" She asked, almost as if she was going through a check list as if reassuring herself she was making the right decision.
He held up his right armored arm, the omni-tool appearing around his arm before a blade popped out from it before he lowered his arm, the orange blade slipping back in before he replied "I've gotten that down, along with communications Commander…" his green eyes looked at her for a long moment as if he guessed what she was thinking, "You don't have to bring me Ma'am if you don't think I can handle it."
She shook her head before she saw Miranda come up by them, armed and ready for action, the black haired woman and black haired man had come to terms after their little spat, and it was Miranda that informed him of the L5 implants that were put in.
"Commander," The Cerberus operative nodded at the red haired woman before she looked over at the Ranger before she asked, "Have you tried the practices I gave to you?" Refering to the practice of using biotics.
The Colonel shook his head, slipping the rifle over his shoulder, setting it in its holder before he responded, "With all due respect Miss Lawson…I'd rather not toy with something like that so soon, don't worry, I'll hold my weight."
The airlock hissed open before anyone else could say a word, Shepard nodded over to the door, walking towards the opening door as she said, "Welcome to a new world Colonel."
"This is a new world?" He thought to himself as he walked out onto the concrete looking ground, the floor was covered with trash and the walls were painted over with graffiti, it reminded him more of New York City, when someone goes down the wrong alley and gets jumped.
And it seemed like they were about to be jumped when he saw his first alien, a salarian from what he remembered from the holo he was shown. He rather thought their big eyes and antenna like things on their heads made them look rather harmless, if not a bit adorable, though that effect was killed with this salarian who shook like he had a drug issue.
"Y-You're new here aren't you, I can tell," He said in a shaky tone, if the Colonel wasn't aware of the translators put in his ears he would have been stunned at being able to understand the alien. The salarian moved closer offering his 'help', "Allow me to—" was all he got out before a different alien came up with four eyes, this one must have been a batarian.
"Leave Fargut…now" The four eyed alien growled, causing the salarian to high tail it out of there, seeming satisfied with himself the batarian looked over at the Commander. "Aria T'loak wants to see you Shepard, I suggest you get over to Afterlife," The man informed her, Daemon figured the growling bit was just how he talked, or he was still trying to be intimidating still.
Shepard didn't take kindly to it either way, she leaned back crossing her armored arms, "You can tell her to relax, I'm not here to cause trouble," She responded, Daemon noted how her eyes seemed to spark like storm clouds when she narrowed her eyes.
The batarian seemed a bit taken aback; he must have caught the spark in her eyes before he started to reason with her, "Things tend to explode around you Shepard. You can't blame Aria for being curious what brings a dead Spectre to Omega."
The Colonel watched as Shepard just shrugged as if saying 'Touché', "We'll head right over there then."
That seemed to satisfy the four eyed alien because he jerked his thumb over his shoulder, "Just go out and go straight, can't miss it," He directed them before turning, walking away.
"Sounds like this Aria is the one to talk to if we want to find Archangel and the Doctor," He noted, his green eyes glancing over at the Commander.
"Mr. Daemon may be correct Shepard, broadcasts show that the local mercenary groups have been forming together to take down Archangel, and the slums that the Doctor is located has been isolated due to a plague outbreak," EDI's voice chimed in through their communications "This Aria may be able to give more details.". Daemon didn't mistrust the AI like the others did, having no experience with them save if one counted playing "Portal", though when he thought about it that way he hoped EDI didn't go GLaDOS on them.
Daemon watched as Shepard took it all in before responding, "Thanks EDI." She seemed to have made up her mind because she started to walk forward, he couldn't help but not the smirk curling on her lips before she said, "Let's see what the Afterlife is like."
Apparently it was very loud, very dark, and very bright at the same time, not to mention crowded. It was hard for Daemon to comprehend what was going on around him, he brushed against aliens he had never seen yet, not like could he take the time to see who they were since Shepard was plowing ahead without stopping to look back. It wasn't long until they climbed up steps past a pair of what looked to be guards, once they reached the top he saw a mass of guards and a woman standing with their back to them. The Colonel watched as Shepard moved towards the woman.
"That's close enough," the blue woman spoke out before a mass of guns rose up, pointing at Shepard and at him and Miranda. He was tempted to draw his rifle, but he knew that if he did he'd be shot in the few five seconds it took to grab and raise the rifle. Miranda seemed to have not come to the same conclusion since she went to grab her pistol; he suddenly reached out, grabbing her wrist, shaking his head, the woman thankfully relaxed.
He watched as a batarian stepped in front of Shepard, holding what looked like a blue hologram of her body, a scan perhaps? Shepard seemed unsure either since she reached down, pulling out her pistol, wiggling it in his face saying, "If you're looking for weapons you're doing a terrible job."
"Can't be too careful with dead Spectres," Aria explained, glancing just slightly over her shoulder, "That could be anyone wearing your face."
"I was told you were the person to come to if I had questions," Shepard guessed. Daemon couldn't help but smile just a little when she tried to look tough while leaning to look around the batarian, standing on one foot to do it.
The batarian seemed satisfied with whatever the scans said because he lowered his arm announcing, "They're clean" the guards finally lowering their weapons. Daemon relaxed, he looked over at Miranda, she not so much, though she didn't have the advantage he had.
After the guard moved away from Shepard he was finally able to see Arias' face as she turned around to look at the Commander and finally recognized her as an asari. He admitted to himself that she was what his old team would call 'hot' if they knew about the alien race in the first place, but the look in her eyes told him that she'd sooner kill them then get friendly.
"Depends on the question," Aria stated as she crossed her arms, looking Shepard up and down.
Shepard seemed to have already known which question to ask first, "You run Omega?"
That got a laugh out of the asari, she turned around, held her arms out and proclaimed "I am Omega" her voice seemed to have been amplified.
"A bit over dramatic…" He murmured softly, only Miranda seemed to have heard from the tiny laugh that escaped her lips.
The blue woman turned around looking directly at Shepard, "But you need more," she guessed turning her body to the side, looking up "Everyone needs more something, and they come to me." She wasn't done with her little spiel it seemed since she continued, "I'm the boss, CEO, queen if you're feeling…dramatic." Daemon wondered if she had actually heard him when she fell onto the couch lightly, arms stretched out on the top edge as she crossed one leg over the other, "Omega has no titled ruler and only one rule…Don't. Fuck. With Aria," her lips curled into a wicked grin.
Shepard could have had a grin on her on lips, He couldn't tell from his angle, "I like it," The Commander stated, "easy to remember."
Aria didn't seem to care what the Commander thought because she got right to it, "What do you want Shepard."
The red haired Commander got down to it, sitting down on the sofa away from the asari, "I'm trying to track down Archangel."
"You and half of Omega, you want him dead too?" The asari looked over at Shepard with a perked brow.
"That's not good," Daemon thought, and Shepard must have agreed because she frowned at that point, leaning forward.
"Why's everyone after him?" She asked.
"He thinks he's fighting on the side of good," Aria scoffed at that, "there is no good side to Omega. Everything he does pisses someone off. It's catching up to him."
Daemon watched as a smile crept up onto the red haired womans' face, "Just exactly the kind of guy I'm looking for."
"Well aren't you interesting," The asari sounded amused, but hardly interested, "You're going to make a lot of enemies teaming up with Archangel. Assuming you can get to him, he's in a bit of trouble now."
Daemon watched as Shepards' grey eyes narrowed, "How much trouble?" She asked.
"Nothing can be easy can it?" Shepard thought to herself as she walked towards the recruitment room the mercs had set up in the club, the door opening to a batarian in Blue Suns armor behind a terminal, his four eyes looking up to look at them.
"You three look like you could do some damage," He observed before tapping at the terminal, "looking for a good fight?"
She grilled him for details first, not wanting to seem too eager. However, he couldn't give her much, or wouldn't, finally she said, "Sign us up."
Just when she and the group were about to leave to be taken to the drop off point, a kid that just barely looked eighteen walked in trying to sound tough when he asked, "Hey is this where I sign up?"
Before Shepard could say anything she saw Daemon step up to the kid, "You're a bit young for this kind of thing aren't you?"
"I'm old enough!" the kid said defensively, "I grew up on Omega; I know how to use a gun."
"And that automatically makes you a professional freelancer does it?" Daemon perked his black eyebrow up. Shepard stayed silent; she wanted to see how he would deal with this.
"I can handle myself," He sneered, pulling out his pistol, "besides I just spent fifty credits on this, and I wanna—" the kid yelped as Daemon suddenly grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, yanking him close.
"Get your money back…" Daemon said in almost a threatening tone, snatching the pistol from the kids hand, looking at it before he bashed it against the wall, the poorly crafted weapon breaking from the impact before he tossed it to the side, turning to walk away saying, "You'll thank me later."
"Good work Colonel," Shepard told the Ranger as they left Afterlife, "You probably just saved his life."
Her grey eyes met his green eyes as he looked at her before looking down, "I've seen too many kids sign up because they think a gun makes them a man, most of them end up in pine boxes."
Shepard could only nod her head in understanding, she had seen the same thing, "Kids don't belong in war," She agreed sympathetically, and she only got a nod of agreement from the Colonel.
"Did you have any kids Colonel?" the aussi accented voice of Miranda asked all of the sudden, before she and Shepard saw him freeze for a moment. Miranda looked ashamed, "I'm sorry Colonel…" She apologized, "I didn't mean-" she stopped when the man looked at her.
"No, I didn't", He said flatly, "I'd rather not think about the past with all due respect Miss. Lawson." Shepard watched as Miranda just looked down, nodding her head silently.
Shepard led the group in an awkward silence to the batarian in Blue Suns armor near the skycar, it seemed he was told ahead of time they were coming since the door opened wide. Shepard looked back at Miranda and then Daemon; they both just nodded their heads to say they were ready before they stepped in.
Daemon just stared out of the window as they 'drove' through the air, he would have been more amazed if he wasn't so deep in thought. "Did you have any kids Colonel?", Lawsons'question repeated over and over in his mind. No, he didn't have any kids, but his sisters, Hannah and Mariah, they could have had kids. "Please let them have been able to move on…" He prayed silently to himself, they had just lost their mother almost a year before, could they handle loosing another family member so soon? He had done well so far not thinking about the past, about everything he lost, but when it came to a lull in moving, in action, his mind couldn't help but wander. And that's when he started thinking of a bullet to the head, until he thought of the Ranger's Creed…the only thing he had to hold onto. "Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight on to the Ranger objective and complete the mission though I be the lone survivor…" He murmured out loud, though he didn't realize it.
"You said that before…on the ship when you woke up," He heard Shepard point out, he turned his head to look at her before she asked, "Where does that come from?"
He turned his head back to the window, seeing the reflection of the Commander looking at him intently before he answered, "It's the last part of the Ranger Creed," his hand rising up, brushing against the painted on "Rangers" on his shoulder. "All Rangers take that oath and we follow it to the letter," he finished, looking over at the two.
"What are the other parts?" Miranda asked next, she seemed curious to know.
He could only just smile a little, looking at them, he was about to answer before the vehicle descended towards their destination. He squared his shoulders, looking straight ahead; it was time to get down to business.
"If there is one thing predictable about you Shepard…Is your compassion for people you don't even know." Those words from the Illusive Man came to her mind as she picked up the electrical screwdriver, looking at the Blue Suns mechanic as he worked on the helicopter. She slowly walked over to him; standing by him she said four words:
"You're working too hard"
"What-" was the single word that escaped his lips before she slammed the screw driver into his back, the electricity coursing through his body before she jerked the bloody tool out, tossing it into the engine, hoping to mess something up in it before she walked away thinking grimly to herself, "Predict that ya whisky sipping prick…"
She looked over at Miranda and Daemon, if they had any disagreements on her methods they didn't show it. She walked past them, cracking her knuckles as she walked towards the bridge, pulling out her rifle. As she reached the bridge she smiled, "C'mon, we'll give these guys a surprise of our own." She burst into a sprint Avenger rifle in hand, she could hear the light breathing of Daemon on her left and the click of heels from Miranda on her right. She looked up and saw Archangel with his sniper rifle, she couldn't see his face due to the helmet, but she had a guess who the rifle was pointing at. It was confirmed when she heard Daemon grunt and then suddenly Miranda as their shields were taken out, and that confused her. "I'm the closest, why not shoot at me?" she thought, and then looked over to see her companions' shields regenerate which caused another thought to run through her mind, "He could have taken them out, why not?" Ever since she heard it was a turian sniper, she had the slightest hope it was her old friend, perhaps that hope just got a little bit brighter.
"Come on!" one of the free lancers shouted before he turned his back on them, bending down to set up one of the explosives.
"You heard the man," Shepard called out with a smile "Open fire!" her rifle firing off its rounds, Daemon and Mirandas' guns blazing next to her as they dropped the men in front of them.
One of the mercs was bright enough to connect the dots shouting out, "They're with Arch-!" He was interrupted with a shot to the throat, blood gushing out his neck as he hit the ground.
"Up the stairs!" Shepard shouted as she pushed forward, there weren't enough mercs to hold the three back. It wasn't long until she made it up stairs, only two mercenaries between them and Archangel; needless to say they did not last long. She thought she'd have to hack through the door, but it opened a few moments later, she came in weapons raised looking around the room before she looked over to the turian in blue armor, "Archangel?" she asked.
The turian raised a blue armored finger up as if saying 'one moment', his scope trained on one last mercenary on the bridge, a 'bang' resounding from the rifle before the target dropped a second later. He seemed to be scanning the bridge for a moment before he set the rifle down, leaning against the pillar near the ledge he slowly pulled off the helmet.
Shepard's lips let out a soft gasp, she had to keep herself from running over to hug her dearest friend: Garrus Vakarian. "Garrus!" She said in surprise, her small hopes shown true as she moved towards her old friend.
"Shepard…" He murmured, looking at her as if he was seeing a ghost, "I thought you were dead."
"I got better…", She laughed before she stopped to explain, "Cerberus rebuilt me Garrus, with strings attached, but what are you doing here?"
"A little target practice," He said in a tone that sounded so laid back she would have believed it if she didn't know better, "just keeping my skills sharp."
Her smile faded as her grey eyes looked at him concerned, "Are you okay Garrus?" She asked.
The turian looked down for a moment before he responded to her, "I've been better, but it sure is good to see a friendly face, killing mercs is hard work." That little bit of humor coming to him before he looked out the window before he added sadly, "Especially on my own."
The look on his face caused her chest to tighten; she had only seen that look when that insane doctor shot himself so long ago. She moved over to his side, her hand touching his shoulder, giving a small smile before she asked, "So when did you start calling yourself Archangel?" She wanted badly to get rid of the sadness on his face.
That did the trick; she imagined that if he could blush this would be one of those times. He coughed for a moment before he replied, "It's what the locals started to call me for my good deeds," an embarrassed laugh escaped him before he looked at her, "I don't mind it, but please it's just Garrus to you."
She couldn't help but laugh at the pleading look on his face before she looked out the window, "Well we got in here, getting out is going to be a whole different task."
"That's the truth of it," he sighed, she watched him square his shoulders, getting back down to business. "That bridge has saved my life," He pointed out to the bridge "funneling those morons into my scope…but it works both ways; they'll slaughter us if we try to cross."
"So we just sit here and wait for them to take us out?" Miranda asked, her tone sounding as if it was the dumbest thing she had heard in her life.
Shepard would have said something to the XO if Garrus hadn't spoke up first, "It's not all that bad, it's held them off so far…and with three of you…" She watched his mandibles twitch as his voice faded off into thought before he nodded his head. "I suggest we hold this location, wait for a crack in their defenses and take our chances," He said, looking over at Shepard, he must have wanted her opinion on the plan.
She liked it, looking out the window again as she said, "If we work as a team we'll hold them off."
"You're right," Garrus nodded before he picked up his Mantis rifle again, raising it as he looked through the scope murmuring, "Let's see what they're up to…looks like they know they're infiltration team failed, looks like Eclipse are sending in their mechs." He held out his sniper rifle to her to look through.
She took the rifle, looking through the scope, the arrows of the scope aimed straight for its head; she just smiled before she suddenly fired; the robotic head exploding before its body fell. "That's one less to worry about," she said as she handed it back to him.
She heard him chuckle as he took it back, "I'll stay up here, I can do some damage from this vantage point, and you?" She felt his eyes on her as she moved her eyes to meet him before he said, "You do what you do best Shepard."
She smiled at him again before she looked around the room, seeing an M-15 Vindicator Rifle just resting on the couch; she walked over to it, her omni-tool scanning it before sending its blueprints to the Normandy, figuring it would be best to get more of them. She picked up the rifle before she tossed it over to the Colonel, "Five round bursts, that's what you prefer over rapid fire right?" She had noticed that he preferred precision shots over sloppy spraying bullets, much like her.
Daemon caught the rifle with one hand before he set the Avenger rifle down. She watched as he hefted it in his hands, feeling its weight before she saw a smile creep on his lips before nodding his head, "Yes Ma'am," He replied, the spark in his green eyes let her know he was ready.
Garrus got into position with his Mantis rifle, looking over his shoulder at her before he gave her a slight wink, "Just like old times Shepard."
She just laughed before she gave an order, "Alright, let's line up and drop them before they reach the end of the bridge," She said, Miranda and Daemon joining her near Garrus as they raised their weapons up into firing position, waiting for when the mechs got closer before she shouted, "Open fire!"
The Vindicator rifle made it so much easier for him to pick his targets during the wave of walking robots and aliens in yellow armor. With that and the rest of the group they were able to keep the so called 'Eclipse' back; he even laughed when they pulled out the huge robot that they had tampered with before the infiltration began. All they had to do was lay back and let the huge piece of metal tear through its own people before they finally took it down, their victory short lived after he and Garrus sniped them from afar.
The leader of the Eclipse, Jaroth, he recalled, must have had enough because he finally joined in in the rush across the bridge, he saw a strange glow around his armor which must have been his shields. Daemon reached into a pouch on his belt, Shepard had given him a visor that hooked onto his ear like a hearing aid, he slipped it onto his left ear, the camouflage piece extended, a green colored lens appearing in front of his left eye, he could see the energy left in the enemies shield in a blue bar before he started to fire.
The shield bar started to drop as he kept the pressure on the salarians' shields, the blue bar finally fading away before a sniper round from Garrus finished the job, and then everything went silent afterwards.
"Looks like that's all of them," Garrus said after a pause, "We have some time before they regroup." He punched off a thermal clip from his rifle before putting in a fresh round "You're kicking ass Shepard," he said with what Daemon could only take as praise to the Commander, "they barely touched me, and we got Jaroth in the process." He caught Garrus looking at him and giving him a slight nod, that's when he realized that he was fighting side by side with an alien, and didn't even take note of it, he only saw him as another soldier. With that revelation in mind he nodded his head back in recognition.
"That just leaves the Blood Pack and Blue Suns," Shepard noted, Daemon looked over at her as she asked, "Think we can make a break for it?"
"Maybe…", Garrus responded thoughtfully before he turned back over to the window, picking up his sniper rifle, looking through the scope, "let's see what they're up to…they reinforced the other side heavily…but they aren't moving, what are they waiting for?"
That question answered itself when Daemon and no doubt the rest of them heard the resounding Boom the building shake and the alarms, "That does not sound good," he murmured, rather not wanting to point out the obvious, but couldn't keep it from escaping his lips.
"Damn it!" Garrus cursed, rising up his omni-tool to look at the screen before he reported, "They've breached the lower levels." Daemon could hear the sigh of 'oh well' coming from the turian before he said, "Well they had to use their brains eventually, you'd better get down there Shepard, I'll keep the bridge clear."
Shepard apparently didn't like that idea because she shook her head before she pointed at him, "I'm leaving the Colonel with you Garrus, we'll split up two and two, Miranda you're with me." She turned, walking to the door, Miranda right behind her.
"You sure Shepard?" Garrus asked, Daemon looked over at the turian curiously. If it was a human who said it in the tone that Garrus did, he'd wonder if there was something more going on between the blue armored sniper and the red headed Commander though perhaps human tones and alien tones were the same? Garrus' voice interrupted his thoughts, "You don't know what you'll find down there."
Shepard didn't seem to catch the tone because she just tossed her head back with a laugh before she looked at the turian with a smile saying, "I think I have to remind you who you're talking to Garrus, we'll be back in a moment!" She left, waving her hand before Miranda followed suit.
Daemon walked over towards Garrus, he had never talked to an alien before. "Just go with the basics…" He thought to himself before he held his hand out "Colonel Daemon Heraldson, Army Rangers," he introduced himself to the turian, he couldn't help but sound hesitant, not to mention with holding out his hand, did turians shake hands?
To his relief Garrus took his hand smoothly, shaking firmly before the turian replied, "Garrus Vakarian, Ex C-Sec and vigilante" he added with a slight chuckle. Daemon must have had a funny look on his face for Garrus to ask, "Never talked to a turian before?"
He sighed softly, this was going to come up sooner or later, he answered with, "This is my first time talking to an alien, I even saw my first alien today," if the first statement made Garrus perk up a proverbial brow, that second one would have sent it even higher.
"Where in the galaxy have you been?" Garrus asked with what he had to assume was with incredulousness as the turian set up his perch, holding his sniper rifle as he aimed it at the bridge.
"Frozen," Daemon replied simply, setting up near the turian, rifle in hand, pointing it at the bridge.
He could almost feel the turians eyes on him when he asked curiously, "How long?"
Daemon watched as enemies blipped on the screen of his visor, seeing them as they crossed the bridge he just shrugged, "A hundred-seventy years…give or take." He could only smile just a little as the priceless look on the turians face in his peripheral vision before he started to fire.
Between him and Garrus it was easy to keep the Blood Pack from getting across the bridge. He listened on his com as Shepard closed each door to keep the Blood Pack from getting in through the back, during the times the numbers were low on the bridge Garrus would keep pestering him about his comment.
"You're serious?" He asked again for the third time, blasting the head off of an ugly looking alien called a vorcha.
"I am, listen for a moment," Daemon said with a sigh, shooting down a strange dog like thing which he was told later was a varren, but right now he had to tell the turian something, "When I tell you to get down Vakarian," He called him Vakarian since he didn't feel comfortable calling him by his first name, not wanting to get close since he didn't plan on living long after defeating the Collecters. "You have less than three seconds to get down, understand? Doesn't matter where I am, you do it."
He said it with an intensity that caused Garrus to look at him, "Alright Colonel," he finally agreed, the turian looked down at his omni-tool before looking back to him, "Shepard's closed the last door."
That should have made Daemon relax, until he heard a hiss of sparks coming from behind them, he quickly got up, moving over to the other side "Dammit, that door," he cursed, pointing at the door that glowed yellow.
Garrus quickly joined him before he raised his hand up to his come "Get back quick Shepard, they're coming through the door." After he said it the door burst open wide.
Daemon watched as the krogan from before and vorcha burst in, the alien that looked like a frog fucked a camel growling, "Raaah! Rip 'em to shreds!" a vorchas' head bursting into guts and blood from a turian sniper rifle brought his attention to them. The frog-camel bred alien didn't seem to care, looking back at the vorcha he grumbled, "Watch my back, I'll deal with Archangel."
Daemon caught Shepard and Miranda coming back through the door, engaging the Blood Pack mercs that stayed down stairs. It was clear that they wouldn't be able to get through in time before Garm got to him and Archangel, but he and the turian should be able to handle it…or so he thought.
"Colonel, Blue Suns are coming across the bridge," The turian informed him, looking out over the otherside.
Daemon was already firing at the krogan climbing the stairs, a purple bar of a barrier slowly sliding down "Cover that side!" he ordered, "I'll keep this guy busy."
"If that krogan starts charging you get out of the way!" Garrus warned him as he started to fire at the bridge.
By the time the krogan got up the stairs his barriers were gone, Daemon had to move over to the door, standing in front of it, eyes meeting with the reptilian eyes before Garrus' warning became true. The krogan suddenly let out a battle cry before he started to charge, building up steam.
"If he gets in here we're screwed," He realized before he looked down at his omni-tool, an idea came to his mind, it was crazy, suicidal, but so was half the things he did back so long ago. He took a deep breath before he let out a roar of his own and did what probably everyone thought you shouldn't do. He charged the krogan.
Garrus had seen a lot of things today that shocked him, seeing Shepard alive he thought was the thing that took the surprised cake. That was until he heard a blood curdling cry, a tingle of fear rolling down his spine, the krogan was charging. "Colonel!" he shouted, turning before he looked over, seeing the man in camouflage armor standing in the door way, looking down at his arm. He wondered why the Colonel wasn't moving until he saw him taking a deep breath, suddenly roaring out and doing something that no sane man should do. "He's charging the krogan?" He thought, too stunned to think anything else as he ran over to the other window, hoping to get a shot at Garm, but it was too late. He cringed as he waited for the Colonel to run smack into the krogan, only to be run down or thrown off the level. Instead, just when they were about to meet the Ranger suddenly went into a baseball slide, his omni-tool glowing bright red as a blade slid out from it, suddenly lunging right into the on rushing krogan. Garm couldn't stop himself, running right into the blade, the blazing heat burning through his armor and into his flesh, dragging down as the Colonel slid between the krogans legs, blood spewing from the huge gash before Garm suddenly fell to the ground, unmoving. The Colonel slid on the ground on his back, covered in blood, the blade of the omni-tool sliding back into place. "Son of a bitch…" he murmured, now that took the surprise cake of the day.
His eyes so focused on what just happened he didn't hear the helicopter behind him, not until the Colonel suddenly shouted, "GET DOWN!"
Garrus slowly turned around, seeing the gun ship, seeing the rocket flying towards him, he dived for cover.
A ball of flames burst out through the window, and a female voice cried out, "GARRUS!"
And so ends the third chapter of this story! Please tell me what you think, remember that all grammar flubs are my fault. Please read and review!