MASS EFFECT ANDROMEDA SERIES II: CHAPTER 13
"Shepard, we have a problem!" Kaidan's voice screamed through the comm as Shepard and his team was fighting off the barrage of Geth troopers that were closing in on Ashley's squad of Salarians.
Garrus paused as he looked up to see a Geth transport ship heading back to the previous landing site where Kaidan and the others were preparing the nuke to eradicate the breeding facility. "That's not good…" He worriedly glanced over to where Shepard was.
"Go ahead," Shepard's face froze up as he also eyed the vessel. Things were not going well. There was no way they could be at two places at one time.
"A ship just landed and Geth troopers are pouring out. We are outnumbered." Alenko spoke calmly as he could.
"We will be fine here, Shepard," Ashley's voice filled the comm as desperation and fear hit her. She waived to them across the zone where they were. "Get back to him."
"No way, LT!" Kaidan protested. "We are pinned down as it is. I have the nuke armed. Just get out of here!"
"Shepard, we can't leave him," Garrus urged his concern as he looked back the way they came. They were a team together to stop Saren. The idea of leaving one of them behind…"I'll go back."
"Don't move, Garrus," Shepard huffed a sigh in frustration as he paced back and forth. They were so close to Ashley but they were also half way back to where Kaidan was. They only had time to help one. The nuke was armed on a timer so time would be against them.
"Commander, I set the timer on lock so there's no way the Geth bastards could override it if they manage to get past me. This base has to be destroyed," Their biotic male squadmate added. "I knew the risks when I took on this mission."
"It should be me-"Williams started to argue.
"It has to be this way, LT, and you know it!" Kaidan fought the fear of death as best as he could. "Shepard, get Ash and get off of here. The timer is down to five minutes."
"I'm sorry, Ash, but Alenko's right." Shepard then addressed the doomed team member. "Fight hard, Kaidan."
"Understood, Commander. It was a good ride," The comm went silent.
"Let's get Ash! I am not losing two people here," Shepard yelled at Wrex and Garrus to follow him as he ran towards the Lieutenant's squad.
Trying to block the image of Kaidan being shot up by Geth or being left to be disintegrated by the nuke, Garrus charged ahead and open up a barrage of armor piercing rounds that ripped through two Geth troopers that were closing in on the Salarian team. Wrex growled as he head butted the one to the right. Suddenly a noise of an incoming craft made the squad look up and take cover as a barrage of biotic blasts rained down on them. "Son of a Maw, what is that?" Wrex angrily tried to look over the crate he ducked behind to see what was coming at them.
Garrus' eyes narrowed when he saw their foe, it was Saren himself. Though not the Saren he remembered in the news feed when the Turian first became a Spectre. He changed…It seemed that he was part machine as his icy blue eyes stared at them. "This has been an impressive diversion, Shepard," The Turian spoke as he stepped down to approach them. "My Geth were utterly convinced that the Salarians were the real threat." He motioned to the bodies of fallen Salarian soldiers nearby without pity. "You can't possibly understand what is at stake."
"So you will just kill your own kind?!" Garrus shot back in disgust, referring to Nihlus.
"I didn't anticipate Nihlus to be on Eden Prime. I couldn't let him interfere with this again. He already tried once to hold me back. He, like all of you, had no idea what the Reapers are capable of. They cannot be stopped."
"They can be stopped. We just have to work together," Shepard sidestepped around his cover just a little to address the fellow Spectre. "You haven't even tried."
"The Protheans tried and they failed. What if they bowed before the Reapers? Is submission not preferable to extinction?"
"Krogan don't bow," Wrex snorted.
"And look what has already been bestowed upon your kind? The genophage." Saren addressed the burly Krogan beside Garrus. "What if the Reapers were able to cure the genophage?" Wrex remained silent.
"Don't be an idiot!" Shepard yelled as he tried to block whatever thought Wrex was contemplating if any. He didn't want another showdown with the Krogan like he had before assaulting the base. "I'd rather die than live under the rule of those machines!"
"Sovereign has allowed me to keep my mind. I can convince him to do the same for you, Shepard. You and I are not different at all. I have studied the effects of indoctrination. This facility has given me more insight."
"By testing defenseless Salarians? Did you see what happened to them?!" Garrus spat in anger. "What did you want with Andromeda?"
"The human girl?" Saren lifted an eye ridge, perplexed by Garrus' question. "She had information that Nihlus stole from me. She was not harmed."
"Is she indoctrinated?" Shepard questioned as he gave a look over at Garrus, seeing the Turian member catch his eye and freeze up. He knew her fate if the answer came back against Garrus.
"My plan was to take her to the facility for testing, but my Geth were intercepted by the Salarians."
Garrus was able to breathe once more. "You're nothing more than a puppet. You can't leave here, Saren! Not for what you did." He moved in closer but still with caution. Saren was smart and more than likely he had a Geth ambush planned.
"Sovereign still needs me. I need to help him find the conduit. You three will not understand. I'm trying to help organics and the machines to work together."
"I'm done talking," Shepard stepped around fully and shot out but his rounds were blocked by a biotic barrier.
Growling in frustration and anger that Shepard would not listen to his reasoning; Saren stepped back onto his hovercraft and launched blasts at his foes. Wrex and Garrus pushed forward and moved to the sides to try to make Saren lose his focus. Seeing them nearing, he fired pulsing missies from the craft to pin them down. Shepard took the opportunity to aim at the craft and fire directly causing some structural damage. Narrowing his eyes, Saren increased the blast potential and shot two rounds at Shepard catching him off guard and blowing him back a few feet on the ground. Stunned, the male commander scrambled for his weapon. Jumping off the craft, Saren stormed over to his fallen prey and grabbed him by the neck. His talons squeezing tightly as the man gripped his wrists to be free of the deadly vice.
"Commander"! Garrus aimed his weapon and fired. The pounding of the barrier caught Saren's attention who turned back to see what was going on and that gave Shepard just enough time to break free and punch the Turian in the face. Stumbling back, Saren lost his grip. Suddenly a klaxon sounded near Kaidan's position. The countdown termination was drawing closer.
"I'm coming in hot! You guys better be ready!" Joker called in. The screeching of the Normandy's engines became loud as the ship appeared at their location.
Saren stepped back on his craft to vacate the area as well and gave Shepard and the others a troublesome look. This time instead of anger, he appeared stunned. Scrambling aboard the Normandy, Shepard punched the button to the ship's intercom speaker. "Get us the hell off this planet, Joker!" Garrus looked down at the facility as the ship's doors closed up. He felt the g-force hit him as the ship gave a hard turn and began its climb to get out of the atmosphere. He held on as much as he could without falling. Wrex was a few feet behind him and doing the same thing, but not struggling.
"You better not fall into me, Garrus," Wrex yelled over the Normandy's engines.
Garrus cracked a smile overhearing him and then relaxed as the ship began to crest. They were in the clear. A faint boom could be heard outside the ship and the craft shook a little. The Commander bowed his head for respect at the loss of one their own before his blue eyes looked over at Williams who was stripping off her armor. The brunette caught his glance and then slammed her locker as she stormed over to her workstation. "I'll go file the report," Shepard solemnly said as he walked towards the elevator.
"Too bad that bastard didn't blow up with the base," Wrex commented.
"Don't worry we will get him." Garrus called back as he made his way up to the next level to where the med bay was. He wanted to see how Andromeda was doing. It had awhile since he last seen her on the Citadel. What did Saren mean earlier about finding a conduit? Was she somehow linked to it? He paused as the med bay doors slid open and was bumped into by whoever was leaving. Trying to hold onto the person, Garrus looked down to see Andromeda's shocked face. Her face was filled with fear as she looked up at him with her wide blue eyes. "Andromeda, are you ok?!"