I'll follow you down to where forever lies
Without a doubt, I'm on your side…
"I want the Normandy," Garrus repeated to a stunned Admiral Hackett.
"Umm... Vakarian... haven't you heard?" the Admiral said slowly, regaining his composure. "The Normandy's been decommissioned…"
"Excuse me?!" the turian said furiously.
Hannah Shepard stood, quickly wiping the away the tears, "What Steven says is true… The ship is in the first stages of disarmament. They dry docked it after it returned to the Sol System..."
"Then we get Alenko to release it under Spectre status," Garrus said.
"No… the Council is still in disarray. They have no power until the Citadel is rebuilt. Each species remains in control of its own space. So Alenko's Spectre status goes unrecognized until that time," Hackett said, shaking his head.
"Can't you release it?" Liara said desperately. Hackett calmly said, "My hands are tied. I signed off on the paperwork three weeks ago to begin proceedings."
"You're the head of the damn Alliance military!" roared Garrus. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Hackett had gathered them here to discuss a rescue mission but was barricading their only real chance of finding the Commander. The Normandy had to be the ship used for this operation. Its stealth system was second to none, and the defensive capabilities were top of the line. It was one of the fastest ships in Council space, not to mention its impressive armament which Garrus had calibrated himself, to perfection.
"Garrus... She's seen more than her fair share of battle...," said Admiral Shepard. "Isn't it time to let her rest?"
"This may be the perfect opportunity to take a leaf out of Captain Anderson's book, however," Hackett said, interrupting Garrus' thoughts.
At the same moment, Joker hobbled into the room and took a seat at the table, followed by Traynor and Cortez.
"What are you implying, sir," Traynor asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I think I like where this is going," the flight pilot said, rubbing his hands together excitedly.
Admiral Hackett folded his hands behind his back and walked over to the large window that over looked the hangar, "What I meant to say was that if the Normandy somehow was stolen under the tight security of this station, and managed to get past the Charon Relay, there would be nothing I could do about it… I have a number of other issues that are a bit more pressing than a stolen warship…"
"Are you suggesting we steal the Normandy? The fastest, most expensive, and heavily guarded ship in the Alliance fleet?" Tychus asked incredulously, frowning. Garrus' mandibles flared in alarm, while Wrex grunted his approval, and Tali giggled ever so slightly.
"Steven, I don't like this…," Hannah Shepard said, folding her arms across her chest and sinking into one hip in a very Shepard sort of way.
"With all due respect ma'am, taking the Normandy right from under the noses of the Alliance is a cake walk compared to what we've been through," Joker shrugged. "We've done it before..."
Admiral Shepard opened her mouth to argue, but quickly shut it, changing her mind.
Garrus was inclined to agree with him. This would be relatively simple in comparison to Reapers, thresher maws, a rocket to the face and a homicidal clone.
"I'll admit, when you do this, the alarms will sound. You'll have at least a dozen fighters and two, possibly three dreadnoughts on your ass trying to bring you down. As the head of the damn Alliance military, as Vakarian so eloquently put it, I will have to issue a command to scramble the warships," said Hackett.
Admiral Shepard sighed wearily, rubbing her eyes, "And what happens when they get back? Stealing an Alliance ship is treason, in the highest court."
"I'll see that it is not, especially when they find your daughter and bring her back," Hackett reassured.
"While I can't condone this in any way, I'm still coming with you," Hannah Shepard said defiantly, her blue eyes piercing Garrus to the core.
"Great! When do we leave?" Joker said enthusiastically. "I don't think I can stand around waiting much longer."
"Where exactly is the Normandy?" Liara said.
A fleeting smirk flashed across Admiral Hackett's face, "It's here, in a secured bunker on the lowest level. You'll need to hack your way in."
Tali snorted, "Easy enough."
"Garrus, do you have any ideas of where we should start?" Cortez asked.
"I have a few… But I think we should focus on getting past the Charon Relay first before we plot our course. And to answer Joker's question, we'll leave tomorrow night. Liara, I want you to send an encrypted message to every member of the crew… the old crew… stating our departure, if they want to help, great. If not, or they aren't here by 2300, we leave without them. We only get one shot at this," Garrus said turning to Cortez. "I want you in the cockpit with Joker. He-"
Joker interrupted, holding up a hand, "I can get us out of here myself. I don't need a co-pilot,"
"Joker, you're the best damn pilot I've ever seen, but for nearly two years, you had the help of an onboard AI," said Garrus.
"I got us off that damn jungle planet without EDI," the flight pilot said quietly. Garrus knew EDI was a sore spot for Joker to talk about, but once again, it was a reminder they had all lost someone over the course of the war.
So Garrus had to approach this tactfully, "We'll be pursued until we reach the relay. I just want two pairs of eyes to make sure we get out of the system in one piece, then she's all yours… Okay?"
Joker hung his head in defeat, "Yeah... Alright..."
"So it's settled. I want all updates and progress reports sent to my private terminal. With any luck, this will be quick and painless, and we'll have the Commander back where she belongs in no time," Hackett said.
"Doubtful. Nothing's ever quick and painless," Wrex grumbled.
"Seems the more trouble we have, the more successful we are," Tali said, shaking her helmet.
"An unfortunate sentiment, but also true," Liara said. There was a general mumble of agreement around the room.
"Good luck… to all of you," Hackett saluted and left the traffic room.
Thirty six hours later, Garrus found himself in a crowded corridor outside a large door that read "Hangar 18". Beside him, stood his father and Liara, with Tali crouched next to the door panel, ready for orders to hack it. Behind him, Joker, Cortez, Traynor, Wrex, Javik, Miranda, Alenko, James Vega, Dr. Chakwas, and Admiral Shepard huddled together quietly, along with a small group of engineers who had worked onboard the Normandy during the war. The engineers had been rounded up specifically by Traynor, as she knew who could be trusted.
"Bakara sends her regards… Doesn't like the fact that I'm going on a rescue mission, but I owe Shepard a personal favor for what she's done for my people. Also, Grunt says he wishes he could be here, but I told him to stay on Tuchanka," Wrex whispered.
"Sshh!" Garrus hissed, switching on his visor and syncing it with Tali's omni-tool. He could see the heat signatures of security and maintenance workers beyond the hangar door. There were at least three dozen personnel roaming lazily back and forth, in and around the ship. The ship itself, showed up as a black mass on his HUD. It was powered down and cold, meaning it would take several minutes for the core to heat up to a point where they could make a break for the relay. This was already turning into a bit more complicated than he had initially anticipated, and he let out a low, guttural growl to voice his frustration.
"Alright, I want everyone to switch to disruptor ammo and concussive shots only. I'd like to avoid any deaths, if possible," Garrus said, unfolding his Black Widow. Everyone followed suit, pulling pistols from holsters and disengaging magnetic locks on the back of their armor. He saw the orange tick on every gun light up as they switched their ammo, including the engineers.
"On the count of three, Tali hacks the lock, and we fan out, knocking out as many personnel as possible before they trigger the alarms. According to Hackett, once the alarms trip, we have between five and seven minutes before the fighters are scrabbled and launched," Garrus said scanning the faces of all those present. They all had the same resolute look of defiance, determined in their mindsets to get the job done.
"Joker, the second this door unlocks, you and Cortez take the engineers, Dr. Chakwas, and Traynor to the ship. We need the Normandy powered up as soon as you get on it. I'll toss out some smoke bombs to cover you, and the rest of us will be onboard after the hangar is cleared." Garrus ordered.
The flight lieutenant looked doubtful, "I don't know Garrus. She's been shut down for quite some time. It'll take at least eight minutes before we can get her in the air, and that's pushing it."
"No matter how we look at it, it's going to be a tight squeeze," breathed Cortez.
"Story of our lives," Garrus muttered. "Tali?"
"Ready as I'll ever be…" the quarian dipped her head.
"Three… Two… One!"
Tali's fingers were lithe and swift as they moved across her omni-tool, then to the door panel. In next to no time, the lock turned green.
Nodding to all present, Garrus punched the lock and it slid open. The moment he spotted the first of the security force, he chucked several smoke bombs in their direction. Shouts erupted and gunfire went off immediately. Garrus signaled for Joker and Cortez to take off toward the ship, through the smoke. As they disappeared from view, he motioned for the rest of them to spread out, taking down personnel one by one as they went.
Though he wasn't killing anyone or anything, Garrus still reveled in the firefight. His heart raced and adrenaline surged through him as he sent a concussive shot towards a burly, white haired man fumbling with a heat sink. Politicians and political agendas were definitely not his style, but this… this was where he belonged, on the battlefield. He tapped a button on his targeting visor, and the music thundered through his ears, taking hold of him. This was his dance, and he knew every step by heart. Every shot, every move and mistake the Alliance security made, he was able to compensate and knock them back.
On the fringes of his sight, Garrus was able to see his father locked in hand to hand with another guard. Wrex charged through four men before head butting a fifth. Biotics flared to life as Alenko, Miranda, Liara and Javik unleashed their powers and hurled men into the air and across the room. Garrus briefly observed as Hannah Shepard slid into cover and fired across the hangar, knocking out several others as she went. She handled her Avenger with all the dexterity of a born soldier.
A guard sped towards her from behind, brandishing his pistol. Garrus spotted him and sent a concussive shot his way, sending him into a crumbling heap on the floor.
"I got your six Shep-!" Garrus started to shout, before he realized he was losing himself in the heat of the moment. He quickly shook off the odd feeling it left him. Hannah Shepard was not his to protect, no matter how much she and her daughter looked alike.
"Garrus, finish up and get your asses to the Normandy now!" Joker yelled through his earpiece. He could hear the whine of the alarms going off in the hangar bay and the roar of the Normandy as it rumbled to life, over the music from his visor.
He watched Liara toss the last of the guards into the air with a biotic throw, and motioned for them to follow.
As one, they surged up a set of air-stairs on the back of a vehicle and stumbled through the airlock.
"Find somewhere to strap yourselves in!" Garrus barked at the crew. He clamored through them and raced to the cockpit to find Joker and Cortez already strapped into their safety harnesses, flicking through control holos. As soon as Joker noticed the turian behind him, he punched the airlocks shut and disengaged the anchors holding the ship in place.
"This is about to get a hell of a lot worse before it gets better," Cortez said over the intercom as Joker maneuvered the Normandy from the hangar and out of Aurora Station. Just as they dropped into space, a huge dreadnought came face to face with them.
"Oh shit, shit, shit," Joker stammered, firing a warning shot from the Javelin torpedoes. A voice came over the loud speakers saying, "This is Alliance Command. Surrender the Normandy, or we will be forced to fire upon you."
"Like hell you will," the flight pilot muttered. He killed the main thrusters and the ship dropped below the dreadnought's line of sight. Three fighters caught sight of them and surged ahead, but Joker was faster at the controls and had the superior ship. He outmaneuvered them with ease just as they fired upon the Normandy.
If Garrus hadn't seen Joker do it before, he would never guess that a ship as large as this could barrel roll and bank as quickly as it could. Before the dreadnought could haul itself around in their direction, they were already out beyond Saturn, with the Charon Relay in view.
"Where to first, big guy?" Joker said, looking quite pleased with himself.
"Set a course for Omega. Aria's about to learn a new mantra...," Garrus turned on heel and headed back toward the CIC. "Don't fuck with Archangel."
Updated 6/7/14