Retrofits

"Alright," Shepard said, taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, "give us the tour."

The scent of her trepidation wasn't lost on Garrus—or the other turian's present for that matter, though none dared say anything. Humming, he pressed his palm to the small of her back and gently rubbed the area spanning from one hip to the other. Thraviax, the turian engineer who oversaw the retrofits, glanced at Garrus with the slightest of quiver to his mandibles. Garrus jerked his head in a nod toward Shepard; Thraviax needed to get used to taking orders from a human since Fedorian assigned him to the Normandy crew.

Mandibles fluttering, Thraviax cleared his throat and removed his hands from behind his back, gesturing toward the armory. "Let's start with the war operations room."

Victus cleared his throat, drawing their attention before they started moving. His gaze locked on Shepard as he asked, "Where would you like for me to set up, ma'am?"

Garrus chuffed and fluttered his mandibles, letting his humor seep through his subvocals. "I don't recommend the formalities, General. Shepard doesn't like them, especially when we're not in the field or when she's not giving orders."

"I assume the same doesn't apply to you, sir?" Victus lifted his brow plates and flicked his mandibles, taking the bite out of his unspoken challenge.

Let the general test boundaries, what did it matter to Garrus? He knew his place aboard the Normandy and with Shepard, and it meant far more to him than his place in turian society. Humming, Garrus glanced at Shepard before turning his attention back to Victus and shrugged. "As long as you carry your weight in battle and follow orders, I don't care what you call me."

Shepard smiled, relaxing against Garrus' side and tipped her head toward the elevator. "Starboard observation, deck three. We just had the area partitioned into rooms, so they're unfurnished beyond simple cots, but you're welcome to take your pick and personalize the space."

"Thank you, Commander." Victus nodded and picked up his footlocker. "I'll be ready whenever you need me." Glancing at Garrus, he dipped his head in deference. "Sir."

"General," Garrus said, nodding and flicking his mandibles.

He should probably make a point to spend some time with the general. He'd met Victus once or twice in passing, but he'd never spent any real time around the older turian. Garrus' father wasn't very fond of the general, which meant Garrus would probably get along with the man just fine once Victus settled into his new routine. Jane and the others seemed approving of Victus and his presence aboard the Normandy, easing most of Garrus' concerns. It only left him wondering whether or not Shepard planned to tell Victus about Jane, and if so, how the general would handle the information.

She turned her attention back to Thraviax. "War operations room?"

"Yes, ma'am." Mandibles freezing for a beat, he corrected himself, "Commander. My apologies. We've moved the weapons lockers," he said, breezing past the slip as he walked toward the door, "and weapon benches down to the hangar." He stopped next to the entrance and tucked his hands behind his back. "You'll likely want to add more security features, but we've installed palm and retinal scanners. They aren't yet activated, but if you care to, we can enter your scans into the system now."

"Might as well." She jerked her head toward Garrus. "Let's get his entered, too, while we're at it."

He smiled at her, still amazed she trusted him with so much. When Jane declared him second in command, he thought it was just another way for her to try and make amends. Leading a small team on a mission was one thing. Strategizing and maybe even advising from time to time was understandable, but being in command over the entire ship and mission in her absence? No. Garrus wasn't cut out for that level of leadership. He figured Dawn would assign someone else to the position, someone with more military experience. But when he told her that he'd completely understand if she did, she looked at him as if he'd lost his mind and laughed. Then, she told him that he'd always really been her second in command.

Garrus watched as Thraviax typed in the default code and selected 'set primary administrative user' on the screen. He doubted he'd ever have the need to, but he decided he should study the system in case he ever needed to reset it or hack into it for some reason. Not that EDI couldn't do it far faster.

Thraviax entered Shepard's name when prompted and then stepped out of her way, gesturing at the retinal scanner. "Once your details are entered, you'll have administrative access. You'll need to set a new code, as well, because the default code will no longer work."

Moving closer, she bent a little, bringing her eye to the scanner as the red light passed over her eye. When it finished, she processed the other eye and blinked a few times before putting her palm on the scanner.

~69696969~

Shepard stood staring at Spike as he lazily slithered around the terrarium, nosing the substrate. The amalgamation took a little longer than anticipated wrapping their minds around the changes to the ship, but they'd finally settled. Thankfully, they didn't seem especially upset, only confused and mildly irritated, so she'd managed to keep herself together during the tour. It'd left her drained, though.

Shepard hadn't given them very long to work—a mere three days—but Thraviax managed to put their time to good use. He seemed like a good addition to the crew; he'd be taking over a lot of the ship's hardware maintenance. It was a position he was probably overqualified for, but he seemed pleased with the prospects. She wondered what, exactly, Fedorian told him to make the job appealing.

Functionality certainly trumped aesthetics in turian designs, but the retrofits weren't exactly an eyesore. The set up in the new war operations room was basic, and it lacked a sophisticated security checkpoint, but Shepard could build onto it over time. She was just happy to see they'd included holographic projectors above the table and a large vidscreen accessible to EDI. They'd removed the walls enclosing the comm room so the area expanded into the hall space. Terminals were set up around the room to facilitate conference calling, freeing up EDI's hologram to display images and data. Retinal scanners were added to both doors leading to the comm room, but the tech labs remained otherwise unaltered—Mordin insisted.

It was good having the armory in the hangar again; it just felt right. Thraviax made other changes to the hangar, too. The area sectioned off for sparring mats had been expanded out—the storage crates surrounding the mats consolidated with the rest on the opposite side of the hangar—and some exercise equipment added. She thought it was kind of odd they'd bother with making a more formalized fitness area, but Garrus and Thraviax both assured her it was a standard feature aboard turian vessels.

Shepard requested space be left for James and Kasumi even though they'd mostly cleared out their little love nest when Anderson committed her to The Pearson Sisters' Sanctuary. She didn't know for sure if Kasumi planned to rejoin the team, but James definitely would, and he seemed to like the hangar. The retrofit team did her one better and added a private room port side. It wasn't extravagant, but it'd be more than enough space for the couple. And, if they ended up elsewhere on the ship for some reason, the room could easily be repurposed.

She liked the idea of having more personal space for her team. The luxury Cerberus put into the SR-2 was great and all, but what good was a library or bar when members of her team were camped out in the same room? It made no sense. Still, it was nice for them to have a place to relax in between missions, so she had the retrofit team take everything from starboard observation and work it into port observation. Victus and Avalina already laid claim to two of the three private rooms starboard observation had been converted into.

"What's on your mind?" Garrus slid his arms around her waist and rested his chin atop her head.

She smiled at his reflection in Spike's tank and settled her hands on his forearms. "Just thinking about the retrofits and the extra rooms they added. I'm not really sure what our team is going to look like moving forward. I wonder if the new rooms will be enough? I suppose, if we have to, we can still stick someone in port observation. Hell, if push comes to shove, we can always convert it to private quarters, too. Life support and starboard cargo are empty now. I'd say we can put someone in the main battery, but …."

He rumbled. "As long as they don't touch anything and know that I'll need access for calibrations, I can make it work. What makes you think we'll need so much space?"

She shrugged. "Mordin, Victus, Grunt, Avalina, Jack … they're not normally with us. I guess there's a bit of a trade off since Liara, Kaidan, and Ashley … none of them will be joining us again. With Miranda in control of Cerberus, Grundan Krul won't need to leave Hagalaz, either."

"Who else will we be picking up?" He hummed and nuzzled the top of her head.

"Well, I'm not going to turn down any help we can get. I'll fill the Normandy to capacity if need be. But, James, Javik, and Gatatog Pamar for sure. Maybe Kasumi. Diana Allers, if she still wants to join us." She sucked in a deep breath and let it seep back out. "I need to figure out replacements for the Cerberus crew. Maybe Traynor and Cortez are available. Though it'd be really difficult to explain why I'd request Traynor in specific. Hmm. And, Kelly is still aboard. Cortez is easy, though, since James knows him. I suppose Cortez' husband is still alive, so maybe he'd come aboard, too. Adams. You remember Engineer Adams?"

"We'll find space for everyone and anyone you bring aboard," Jane said. "It won't kill anyone to double up if it becomes necessary."

"True," Shepard thought in response.

Humming, Garrus nodded. "He was on the SR-1."

"I should talk to Anderson, or maybe Hackett." Shifting, she tipped her head back to stare up at him and smiled. "I'm sure they have one or two they'd be willing to send my way."

"Probably more than one or two." He chuffed and flicked a mandible. "And, you are a Spectre. I'm sure we can lean on the asari and salarians, as well."

She gave him an indelicate snort. "Maybe we should ask Wrex to have a team convert some space into more crew quarters when we get to Tuchanka?"

"Things are still tense as we all wait for the first clutches to be born." Wrex shifted, rolling his head to stretch his neck. "No one wants to let themselves completely believe the genophage is cured until we see the proof. In the meantime, all of the tribes have finally united. The reapers aren't going to know what hit 'em."

"I'm glad to hear it, Wrex." Shepard smiled and reached up, patting his armored shoulder.

He grunted and turned to bring his head down to her level, giant eyes roaming over her features. "How are you, Shepard?"

Heart warmed by his concern, she fought back the flippant response waiting on the tip of her tongue. "Some days are easier than others, but I'm holding it together the best I can," she said instead. "How about you, old man? Are the stresses of leadership wearing you out, yet?"

"Nah, not Wrex." Jane smirked in the back of Shepard's mind. "He's got this."

Grunting again, he straightened. "Don't worry, I've still got plenty of fight left in me. Playing at diplomacy isn't my favorite pastime, but I think I'm getting pretty damn good at it." He shifted his weight, turning to look out over the ruins. "Councilor Anderson contacted me."

Attention locking fully onto Wrex, Jane said, "That sounds promising."

"He did?" Shepard arched an eyebrow, pivoting to face the krogan fully, but he kept his gaze on the horizon.

Sounds of varren fighting in the pits reached her ears and soured her stomach. She hated the brutish practice, but she knew better than to say anything to Wrex on the subject. Thinking about the animals brought memories to the surface of Urz—and the fact that some of the amalgamation actually entered the friendly varren into the fights, which didn't always end so well for the poor thing. Maybe she'd go see if he was around after she'd finished talking to Wrex.

"He said you told them it was time to open the Council to all the races, and he agrees." He snorted and shook his head before glancing at her. "Not everyone on the Council feels the same way, but Anderson let it 'slip' that with proof of the reapers on the way and the genophage cured, the Council might be more open to negotiations, thinking it'll help keep the peace with my people."

"It's a good point. Allowing the krogan to join the Council will—theoretically speaking—ensure peaceful cooperation in the war and beyond." Jane hummed. "Maybe they'll actually follow through. And if they let the krogan in, it'll be harder for them to keep anyone else out, even the geth."

Shepard didn't bother responding directly to Jane, but she thought about the other woman's words, and she agreed. Wrex was in a damn good position to push for a place on the Council, and once he had his foot in the door, the other races would be able to just kick the damn thing down completely. It was exactly what the galaxy needed to really come together.

"And what do you think?" she asked, studying his profile as he scanned the area again.

"The krogan don't like to have anything handed to us; history taught us to be wary of alien 'generosity.'" Hefting his armor, he sighed and met her gaze. "But now isn't the time to turn something like this away. I'll just have to make damn sure the krogan earn our place on the Council and there's no room for anyone to doubt it."

"Good." She nodded and patted his shoulder again. "I'm glad. You should know, however, the krogan do deserve a place on the Council. Not because of anything you did or didn't do, but because you're a part of the galactic community. It's why I'm pushing for all of the races to be represented on the Council. That being said, in my personal opinion, you already earned your people a place by helping to take Sovereign down and by uniting the krogan clans."

He stayed quiet for quite a while before he finally said, "Maybe you're right." Crossing his meaty arms he turned to face her again. "So, you're here to pick up Pamar?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "She wants to work with Mordin and study ways to help your people with elective forms of birth control. You passed the intel EDI gave you on to the female clans?"

"I have clan advisors reading through it, too, but who better to decide these matters than the females?" Wrex shrugged and turned back toward his throne.

"There are methods meant to be used by males, too," she said, following him over.

"So I've seen." He turned and sat down, wriggling a bit to get comfortable. "I can't believe humans mutilate themselves, voluntarily, to become permanently sterile. Males and females both." He huffed and shook his head. "You're not even able to have that many children to begin with. It's a wonder your species survived this long."

Snorting, she shifted her weight to one hip. "Don't be an ass, I'm trying to help your people."

"The krogan will never forget how much you've helped us, Shepard," he said, expression serious once more. "I'll make damn sure of it."

"Well, that's nice to hear, but—" Her omni-tool pinged, and she looked down at her wrist. Lifting her arm, she opened the screen and found an incoming call from Thane. She smiled and turned her attention back to Wrex. "Give me a few minutes, I should take this."

She made her way down the pile of rubble when he jerked his head at her in acknowledgement. Tucking herself back out of the way, she accepted the call. Smile returning to her face the moment she saw Thane, she let out a soft sigh. "Hey, you."

"Siha." He brought his fist to his mouth and coughed, the sound deep and phlegmy. Again, and again. His body heaved and shook with each hack and rattling gasp of air, and he splayed a hand out over his chest before turning away from the camera.

Her heart sank deep into the pit of their stomach, leaving a gaping, sucking wound in the center of their chest.

When he'd caught his breath again, he turned back to the call but didn't raise his gaze to the camera. "Siha, I …"

"Christ." Regret and dread seeped from Jane. "I'm so sorry."

Tears bit their eyes, burning as they welled up and spilled over their cheeks. She licked her lips and nodded. "I'm on my way."

~69696969~

Garrus held Shepard in his arms, her body curled in against his, making her seem even smaller. Vulnerable. Her tears stopped, and her breathing evened out as sleep took her, but she still keened from time to time. Fear had a vise grip on his heart. He knew she'd done her best to prepare herself for Thane's death, but the idea she might break again, slip away and be lost to him forever haunted Garrus.

Spirit's, don't let her leave me. I can't … I just can't. Not without her.