After visiting my disappointing shrine to honor my accomplishment and grieve my seemly death, Shepard gets a message. I do not know what as I was busy slowly and gently kicking my plaque, mumbling "this guy was so amazing. So full of love. He was taken away too soon. The galaxy could never repay him for his sacrifice" to the two asari visitors wondering what the hell is wrong with this guy. Shepard jerks me back and said "we're heading to c-sec." I reply with "ok."
along the way, I make several comments about my grave. "This guy did alot for the Normandy. Played a critical role. Do you think if we start a petition, we can get him a better monument? He liked fountains." I continue this the entire journey. My awareness pulls to strong into my imagination and they next thing I knew, I'm hanging back with Thane.
Garrus and Shepard are chatting with Captain Bailey about a forager named Fade. While they are discussing the case, I confront Thane.
"I sense you don't like me very much" I said. His second set of eyelids blink. How am I supposed to respond to that?
"I try to keep my relationships professional."
"That's no fun. Don't you want to be my pal? You should. I can do a lot of crap and get away with it."
"My intentions are not to be rude, but I shall pass on your persuasive offer."
"Did I do something to you? Made you mad? Is it because I wear this better? Do you want your coat back?"
"Not at all. It's not unusual for handsome individuals to wear that style of clothing."
"Oh ho ho, I see what you did there. Seriously, what did I do to offend you?"
"Your actions are not the issue. Your very being introduces a sense of stupefy. I do not know how to proceed forwards with an individual such as yourself"?
"Well thanks alot for the insult you frickin toad!"
Shepard and Garrus jump into our private conversation. "What is going on?" Shepard asks.
"I was trying to clear the air between us so we can have a positive experience moving forward and he insulted yours truly… I think"
Garrus is irritated "whatever it is I don't care. I'm this close to Sidonis and I won't let your bickering get in my way."
Shepard elbows Garrus "calm down. Whatever it is, I don't think there's going to be an issue, right you two?"
"No none from me" I step back.
"My words were ill-picked. My apologies *********. Have you found your former partner?" Thane asks.
"No but a step in the right direction. We have to head down to the shipping area. A volus specializing in forged identification cards is there now . C-sec couldn't do anything without a warrant, Mr. Spectre here can" Garrus looks at Shepard.
"You been distracting ********* for me so far. I'll return the favor" Shepard said.
I ask "what do you mean?"
"Just keeping you off my tail. Come on, we should go" Shepard said.
I replay the events silently in my mind. Analyzing his emotional reactions, mannerisms, indicators of mental status. *********'s insistence to apologize appears genuine. The stories the two aliens in front of me told myself makes me believe this rather… unique individual is a good soul. My investigation with other crew members provided confirmation. My selection of words should have been constructed more thoughtfully. Despite the evidence, my instincts forged from decades of study, training, and field experience tell me to be on guard.
********* is unusually confident. I've watched footage from missions he was on which I did not participate in. He never shows a hint of fear, hesitation, or indecisiveness. The angles from the body cam footage were not the best. I trailed the ground crew on multiple different occasions in order to observe ********* in person. My own examination provided credence to my thoughts on him. It's as if he's prescient.
I withdrew too long. I am in a small white metal room with many hard plastic boxes on shelves. In front of me is a volus in a dark brown suit and two fierce Krogan males near Grunt's height. They are zealous with the presence of *********. The young sounding Krogan on the fight repeatedly hits his associate's shoulder to get his attention.
"That's him! The human of Urdnot!"
"We are huge fans" he goes to shake his hand then retreats after Shepard blocks his way."
"We are so grateful for what you did for the Krogan. We're not from clan urdnot, but your heroic feats are starting to change how the galaxy sees us. Could we please get your autograph? We'll do anything" he begs.
Garrus comments "you have quite the fanclub."
"Will this be happening alot?" Shepard asks.
"It's better than having a Conrad Vernier" I comment.
"How do you know about him? I never told you about him and you weren't with me at the club" Shepard said.
"That's not important. The interesting thing is I found his social media profile and I may have told him all about your recent endeavors" ********* laughs. He dodged his question, his micro expressions suggest the first part is true and his claim about informing Mr. Vernier appears to be a tease.
Shepard's eyes grow large "YOU DIDN'T!"
********* ignores the frightened Spectre "do you know anything about who this guy works for?" He points to the volus. Without missing a beat, the Krogan guards give us the location and name of a corrupt human officer named Harkins. Their collective annoyed reactions lead me to believe they have a history with him. The volus is enraged that his hired helpers betrayed him so easily for a human asking how to autograph an omnitool. He has to be shown where the pen function is. Strange, his opinions on a wide range of matters indicates he is highly educated, more so than the average individual, but lacks the know-how of a common omnitool feature?
Garrus's experience as a C-sec officer proved invaluable as he directed us to an air shaft, we crawled through in order to give us the element of surprise. A closed case from long ago involved a group of volus using the air shafts to smuggle drugs into and out of the citadel using these very same vents. Shepard opens his omnitool and carefully cuts the barrier. ********* comments when he does it, he always fears someone will see the sparks or hear the sounds and give our position away. Shepard reassures him and explains the sounds cannot travel far enough to be heard given the ambient noise of moving crates. Nothing can be done for the light except to make sure the combatant's field of view is facing away. Shepard is careful and patient. Several different criminals would stop near the gate for several reasons, and we were forced to wait. When the last metal wire was cut, we collectively and silently celebrated our freedom from the cramped metal tube.
Engagement with the enemy is swift. I disabled the security mechs. Peculiar they are at the Citadel. The council loathes the thought of non-organics being in charge of safety due to fears of geth hijacking. Garrus eliminated the snipers, I used my drell strength, which is higher than the galactic average, if you exclude Krogan from the statistics, to propel very large containers to create multiple distractions which ********* capitalized on. After the engagement, Shepard and Garrus find and interrogate Harkin, alone in his makeshift shipping container office. ********* and I wait outside and speak no words. The silence affords an opportunity to pray to my gods. ********* contemplates on something while we wait. A gunshot is heard followed by Harkin's screaming. ********* stares at me then glances at the door. We both are concerned for Garrus. Shepard would never torture. A human and a turian walk out of the office and we can see Harkin alive grabbing his leg. C-sec will be arriving any minute to arrest survivors and Harkin.
Garrus has the current identity for Sidonis and can analyze his movements from the previous months. The turian is surprised Sidonis has been visiting bars frequently. He says Sidonis never drank. Not unusual for turians. Perhaps he is meeting someone? The data available suggests he will be at the bar closest to the shipyard, very close to where the Normandy is currently docked. A wise choice for a quick escape if need be. We arrive at the bar early and scope the location. I take mental notes of the exits, shadows I can hide in, locations combat will probably occur, and prepare traps. Above the club are maintenance walkways for Citadel utilities. Garrus will take a sniper position that gives him the best view. ********* and I will be with him. That man's preternatural attraction to ladies will be a liability in this case. Shepard will attempt to guide Sidonis into a location where Garrus can fire with minimal risk to party goers.
In the meantime, ********* asks about Sidonis and his time on Omega. Garrus explains he grew close with Sidonis, the only other turian in his group. He came to view him as a brother, something he lacked aboard the original Normandy. C-sec many regulations was seen as too restrictive for Garrus which is unusual as turians appreciate order. The lax rules working under a spectre gave Garrus a sense of freedom he longed for. Sidonis held similar beliefs. Garrus unknowingly spreads his mandibles and slightly parts his mouth revealing the sharp rows of teeth as he talks about his former ally.
********* asks why he betrayed the group. Garrus is unsure. He didn't think anyone in his group had the potential to kill or to blow up their friends. Garrus spots Sidonis and radios to Shepard to keep his distance but be in earshot. He might be meeting with someone. Sidonis orders a drink and chugs it the moment his talons take hold of the cold beverage. He hunches forward as a refill is awaited.
"Something feels off" Shepard radios. He slowly walks across the room and knowingly blocks Garrus's shot.
"Shepard, you're in the way. Move!" Garrus said.
"This guy made you pretty mad" ********* said.
"It's infuriating. That man killed everyone I knew, who I came to trust and rely on after I made a new life for myself after the Normandy blew up. And he's sitting there. It never made any sense" Garrus said. ********* Crosses his arms and tilts his head.
"What do you mean?" He asks.
"It's so confusing. Why Sidonis? I only survived because I was out in patrol. He knew that. I could have been burnt with everyone else. Why did we get to live" Garrus said.
Commander Shepard leaves his radio on and makes small talk with Sidonis. Garrus yells for Shepard to move. He refuses.
"You said it never made sense for Sidonis to rat you out. Is your gut telling you there is more going on?" ********* said, leaning against the safety rod. He seems to be guiding the turian but to what?
"Shepard I can take the shot if you just move" Garrus radios.
"Your rage is justified, but don't you think you owe it to yourself to find out why? Be patient for a moment" ********* said. Garrus growls. His talon shys away from the trigger.
Shepard informs Sidonis Garrus is watching him and ready to kill at a moment's notice. Sidonis confesses he was captured by a gang on omega and would have been killed if he didn't give up their location. The guilt of that moment has driven him to drinking which hardly alleviates his suffering. Shepard convinces Garrus it's not worth it and he's already in hell. Garrus reluctantly agrees and puts his rifle away. ********* attempts to comfort him.
"It's hard isn't it. You want him to suffer, and you want to be the one to deal the punishment and it doesn't feel satisfying leaving them to their own fate. Trust me this is the right choice. He'll live the rest of his life living with regret rather than you ending it instantly. It sucks. I know how you feel..." ********* reaches to comfort his friend.
"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M FEELING!" Garrus displays his carnivore teeth, accidentally getting too close to the human's forearm. ********* screams and falls down. His breathing is erratic and pupils dilated. He can feel fear. If he could, why didn't it display until now? Garrus profusely apologizes and moves closer to ********** who retreats.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" Garrus hits a metal pole and grunts in frustration. The turian will need time to accept what has happened. The fear in ********* is dissipating from his system. He gets up and looks away. I check on him. ********* Is shocked and doesn't know what he should do. I tell him to give it time. *********'s psychology profile indicates he hates seeing others in pain. He tries to help one of his only few close friends quietly confess that he thought Garrus was going to bite him. Turians sharp teeth are actually for chewing the naturally hard material on his home planets but elsewhere, are signs of meat eaters. It's only natural his survival defense mechanisms kicked it. I glance back at Garrus who feels ashamed for what he did.
Commander Shepard arrives, and I explain the ordeal that just occurred. At first, he didn't believe me. One look at Garrus convinced. ********* Said he is going to take a walk to decompress and head back to the Normandy. Shepard asks if he'll be alright and ********* replies he will be.
I had friends snap at me before. I only want to help. It has always been my nature to be compassionate. My emotions this time feel different. My mind knows Garrus would never hurt me, but my body instinctively retreated. The physical pain from falling on my back doesn't really bother me anymore. It's the emotional pain which lingers, and this time, it hurt more than the last ones.
