-Chapter 13-

The One You Never See

Author's Note: This is the first chapter in a while but I'm hoping to put more out soon. Unlucky 13 had me for a bit and I honestly think I just needed to get it out so I could continue on with the story. Not a great mindset to have but I have some ideas I want to do with the 14th chapter,so here's hoping that one turns out a little cleaner. Anyway, enjoy it and I'll see you guys next time.

Garrus stood before Jared with what could be a smug smirk, but he couldn't tell. His mouth was largely covered by the carapace that made up his face, reading facial expressions was all but impossible.

"Uh, no." Jared searched his mind for the proper words for the situation. "It's just that.."

Garrus threw up a hand. "No need to hurt yourself, Shepard sent a message earlier." He motioned to the compacted pistol on his hip. "You need to learn how to shoot right?"

The sight of the gun caused a cold sweat to break out across Jared's forehead. His mind flashed back to the shootout from earlier, though he wasn't present, the sound of the gunfire was enough to send him into a panic.

No. He thought. This is what you wanted, if you're going to save people, this is the first step you need to take.

He gave Garrus a nod, and Garrus returned the gesture as he turned to face the small monitor behind him. After a few small flicks of his wrist, a countdown was displayed on the hologram.

He eyed the monitor with what seemed like confusion. "It seems we still have a few hours before we take off. Guess they want to make sure the ship didn't get damaged by that mothership on Eden Prime." He turned back around. "Which means I get to show you the good firing range."

"Welcome Officer Vakarian." A feminine robotic voice spoke throughout the small entrance. Jared had found himself back in the Citadel once again, this time within the depths of the C-Sec academy. After being led through several security checkpoints code, it seems they had finally found their destination.

Garrus lifted his hand from a small scanner near the door. "Didn't think I'd be back here so soon. I suppose this clearance is still good for something."

As the door opened, gunshots began to ring throughout the hall they were in, causing Jared to jump.

Garrus looked back. "The soundproofing always catches rookies off guard." He laughed as he entered the room. It was a relatively large place that was packed to the gills with C-Sec officers of different races. Turian, Human, even the rare Asari and Krogan were among them. Jared shortly followed behind Garrus as they passed what seemed like hundreds of divisors, separating each of the lanes for target practice.

Jared couldn't help but notice some of the officers passing suspicious glances at him as they passed by. "Am I allowed to be here Garrus?" Jared had to slightly raise his voice over the sounds of firing guns.

"Technically, no." Garrus said. "But, as long as you act natural, it should be fine. Though that outfit isn't doing you any favors."

Jared looked down only to notice that he was still wearing the jumpsuit he was kidnapped in. Although Garrus was most likely trying to help him, he couldn't help but become more nervous.

After several minutes of walking, Garrus stopped in front of an empty lane. "Finally, must be a slow day if there's so many officers here." He stepped into the partitioned area and began to use a small panel attached to one of the walls. As he typed, holographic targets began to spring up down the lane, all of different sizes.

"Let me get this straight." He began to speak. "You've never shot a firearm before?" He didn't turn away from the panel.

Jared was mesmerized by the targets, the holograms were still the thing that amazed him the most. "Y-yeah, this will be my first time."

Garrus sighed and tapped a few more times on the panel before turning to Jared. "Then we'll start off with what every Turian recruit learns first, how to hit a stationary target."

Garrus gave way for Jared to enter the partition. Squeezing past the armored turian, he found himself staring down the firing range where all the targets stood before him. Some were closer to him than others, he was fairly certain he could hit those, the latter, which stretched to the back of the wall, he didn't want to think about.

Garrus cleared his throat. "You know, you can't hit anything if you don't have a weapon." Jared turned to see Garrus holding a pistol toward him, grip first. Jared glanced at it and knew what model it was immediately, the M-3 Predator. He grabbed it and felt the weight of the weapon in his hand. It was a lot heavier than what he expected, yet, as he aimed it down the range, he knew it wouldn't affect his performance.

"That's the M-3 Predator." Garrus said. "While it's not the most effective pistol, it's one of the most reliable. You could drag that thing through a thousand firefights and it'll still hit where you're aiming."

While Jared was admiring the weapon, he suddenly felt Garrus poking and prodding his upper body. "Elbows in." Harshly grabbing Jared's elbows, Garrus thrusted them into a position he thought was adequate. "Back straight." Giving a light chop to his lower back, Jared's back unconsciously shot straight up. "And finally, actually hit what you're aiming at." He gave a slight chuckle. "Old military saying."

As his body contorted in the way his instructor demanded, Jared could feel his aim steady slightly as the weapon would gently land on his target more often.

"Don't worry about protection, these lanes have sound dampening and shields once you're in them. Doesn't apply to anyone not in the lanes though." As he finished, Jared could feel his Hawk-like eyes peering at his back. "Now, let's see where you're at, hit the target that's closest to you."

Jared gave a nod and began to center his weapon on the target Garrus said. It was about 15 feet away from where he currently was.

I can make that.

He steadied himself, making sure his form was the same as before and his feet were planted. He took a deep breath and remembered a piece of advice he learned long ago.

Remember, always shoot on empty lungs.

He exhaled and, at the same time, pulled the trigger on the pistol. Although it was muffled, he could clearly hear the bullet fly through the air, and the sound of it stopping abruptly. The hologram fizzled slightly and a ding through the partition. He had hit his target. Although it was a relatively small feat, he couldn't help but feel happy, the first stepping stone on the road to being slightly competent.

"Congratulations." Garrus said as he gave a single clap. "Let's make it a bit harder, hit the one farthest from you."

The happiness from the successful hit quickly wore off. The farthest one from him was about 25 yards, a distance he had trouble wrapping his head around.

Is he serious? There's no way I can make that.

"Of course." Garrus spoke up. "I don't plan on you actually being able to make that shot, but how close you are will help be able to gauge where you're at."

Jared shook his head, attempting to clear his mind of negative thoughts.

If I could make this, I bet he'd be a little impressed.

This wasn't the first time Jared had fired a gun before. Back on his own Earth, he had shot guns with his friends before, Shotguns to Handguns, when growing up in what most people would consider a backwater area, it was a difficult task to avoid them. However, he was fairly certain his experience wouldn't be helpful with the weapons they had in this time, and he was right. The gun was nothing like what he had shot before, the weight was one thing, but the whole gun felt off. Recoil was no longer something he needed to account for, the weapon seemed to compensate it enough to where it did not affect his aim. The shape was completely different from every other handgun he had seen, it was almost a complete square, filling out the groove in his hand perfectly. It was odd to be sure, but not entirely unwelcome. Everything coalesced together to create a smooth firing experience, yet it was something he had to get used to.

Jared glared down the lane, moving between each target before landing on the one against the back wall. It seemed to taunt him, as if it knew he wasn't going to be able to hit it. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, opened them back up and took aim. He felt his sights lightly settle on the hologram, he held for a bit, waiting for the perfect moment to shoot. After several seconds, he exhaled, squeezing the trigger nervously. There was no ding this time as he saw the bullet impact against the wall, several feet off his target.

Garrus moved closer to him to get a better view of the impact zone. As he did, Jared couldn't help but feel a wave of embarrassment wash over him as his face began burning.

"You know, that's actually pretty good, for a rookie at least." Garrus gave him a slight congratulatory tap on the shoulder. His talon made Jared's skin crawl, it was something he'd have to get used to.

"But, there's actually another point to this exercise besides testing your accuracy." Garrus walked closer to the range, peering down at the different targets. "Do me a favor." He turned back and put his hands on either side of his eyes. "Shield your vision and focus on the farthest target."

Jared looked at Garrus oddly, but then compiled. He moved beside him and shielded his field of view.

"Perfect." Garrus quickly moved behind Jared. "Okay, so you see that target right? That's your target. The only one you care to see."

Jared could hear Garrus motioning behind him but he was more concerned with the bullet hole next to the target.

So close.

"Now unshield your vision." Jared could hear a level of excitement rise in Garrus's voice as he removed his hands. As he did, a multitude of other targets came into view. "I hope you can see the problem now. If not, we have a lot to work on."

"There's a bunch of people in between me and my actual target." Jared said plainly.

"Exactly." Garrus sighed with relief. "It's the ones you don't see that you need to worry about, that's the first lesson in the Turian Military." He tapped a few more times on the holographic screen and the targets all dissipated into the air. "Your accuracy is decent enough, just keep working on it and you should be fine." He began to leave from the partition before turning back once more. "Come on, the cafeteria here isn't actually too bad."

Jared followed Garrus for a few minutes before they found themselves in a large atrium area. The same stainless steel as the wards surrounded several tables of a myriad of sizes in the center. Different races were sitting at different ones, Krogans in the largest, Humans and Turians in the smallest. Garrus made his way to the back wall, where a surprisingly normal serving area was. Jared was genuinely shocked, there was nothing fancy about this, aside from a few holographic interfaces for selecting food, the rest looked almost exactly like he had in high school.

At the beginning of the line was one of the screens. Garrus tapped on it, seemingly selecting his food options. After he was finished, he motioned for Jared to select what he wanted. He looked at the screen, which was much easier to read than others, and saw a dizzying amount of food options, most he had never seen or heard before.

"What do you recommend?" Jared asked coyly, hand idling above the interface.

"Well, I would hope our future cook would know that we can't eat the same food." Garrus chuckled. "But the macaroni is pretty good."

Selecting his option, they both grabbed some trays and made their way down the line. Cooks stood ready to serve whoever was next, with a small interface telling them what each person wanted. After a couple minutes, they both got their food, found an empty table near the front, sat and began eating. As Jared took the first bite of his Mac and Cheese, he could tell something was wrong. It had almost no flavor, the cheese was a paste-like substance that covered his tongue, and the pasta was rubbery and slipped on his teeth as he chewed.

After some effort, he managed to swallow the first bite. "I'm sorry," He began as he wiped his mouth. "You actually think this is good?"

Garrus looked up from his meal and stared at Jared for a few seconds. His gaze still disturbed him slightly. "You get used to food not tasting good, it comes with the job." He looked around the cafeteria at the various off duty officers who were congregating around tables before looking back toward Jared. "But, maybe you could change that, who knows?"

Jared slowly pushed his tray away from himself, even the smell was getting to him now. He thought for a moment, even though he knew a lot about Garrus from before he felt it would still be polite to get to know him.

Now that he's real and everything.

He shifted awkwardly in his seat, although Garrus wasn't aware, this wasn't the most ideal situation for Jared. "So, you've been talking a lot about the military today. How was that?"

Garrus barely looked up from his food, still concentrating on completing the dish. "It's something that all Turians have to do, if that gives you any hint." He swallowed. "Bear in mind, not everyone is a soldier, but still, it's not a great time."

His posture suddenly became rigid. "It's supposed to instill a feeling of duty and responsibility" He puffed his chest out mockling before returning to his relaxed state. "You ask my dad though, he'll say that didn't happen with me."

Jared crossed his arms and sat back in the tough chair. "Not close with your father?"

"Not exactly." Garrus wiped the area around his mouth with a coarse napkin, Jared could hear the material rub against his outer shell. "A very by-the-books man, he was the one who actually taught me to shoot." He chuckled slightly. "And I'd be lying if I said I didn't use some of his lessons on you today."

Although it wasn't direct, Jared couldn't help but think that was a compliment, soon enough, a smile began to break out on his face.

"But enough of me." Garrus swiped his empty tray to the side. "I want to know something about you."

"What is it?" Jared asked plainly. Although he attempted to remain calm, he couldn't help but feel nervous from the question.

"Why did Shepard take you with us?" He gave Jared a curious glance. "I mean, it's just a little odd to take someone who doesn't have any combat experience with us." Garrus leaned closer to Jared, adding an uneasy tension to the air. "And he could have easily found a different cook, so, I'm just left wondering why it was you."

Jared could feel Garrus's eyes on him, watching for certain movements, waiting for certain words, seeing if he could catch him in a lie. While Jared was nervous, he knew he couldn't be found out. He kept the same expression on his face as he met Garrus's gaze. "If I'm being honest, I'm not sure, you'd have to ask him yourself."

The tension wasn't new, Jared had felt it since they'd been together, it had just been put away, until now. Garrus had a strong sense of justice, he knew that, but this lie was bigger than that, Jared had to keep it hidden. The two kept their eyes locked on eachother for several moments, one of the truthseeker and one of the liar, before the tension came to a breaking point.

Garrus leaned back, away from Jared. "I guess I will." He stood up from the table and grabbed both of their trays. "I'll take care of these and then we'll head back to the Normandy." He sauntered away from the table, and, as he did, Jared broke into a cold sweat. A battle of the minds took place there, and while it seemed like he won, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that Garrus was not convinced by his facade.