What can I say... Dani is a bit of a noob... Thank you, all of you, for reviewing, following, hell even just for reading the story. I'm glad you enjoy. Don't hate me for this one!
Gone with the snow
After long hours of slaying grueling hordes of Rachni, an indoctrinated Matriarch Benezia and Shepard freeing the frickin' Rachni queen, Garrus completely had it with this frozen hell hole of a planet. At least the mission had been fruitful. Liara's mother, Benezia, had sealed a part of her mind away, safe from indoctrination. Before she completely succumbed, she was able to give Shepard the valuable information they needed. Poor Liara. She kept a brave front, but it couldn't have been easy to help kill her own mother.
The drive in the Mako, heading back to the garage of Port Hanshan, was an awkward one. Garrus felt sad for Liara's loss, relieved they had found the information needed to thwart Saren, and exhilarated because Dani would be waiting and they could finally have that much needed talk! Hopefully to finally settle things between them. Spirits knew he wanted to! And if that delightful kiss was anything to go by, so did Dani. Those embarrassing and nearly stroke-inducing vids had payed off after all!
"Shepard, Garrus, I see the worry on your faces. But you need not bother. She brought it upon herself," Liara said, her voice serene as always.
"Don't pretend it doesn't bother you, Liara," Shepard protested. "She was your mother."
"She was," Liara conceded. "But she was not. I prefer to remember Benezia as she used to be, before she was corrupted by Sovereign's power.
"Liara," Garrus spoke softly. "The best of your mother lives on in you. Her determination, her intelligence, her strength."
Liara sighed. "That is kind of you to say, Garrus. I appreciate your concern, but I am fine. Benezia chose her path, just as I have chosen mine. I am with you until the end, Shepard,"
Wait, was that a faint blush he spied on Liara's cheeks?
"Thanks Liara, that means a lot."
"So, good thing we now have the location of the Mu Relay," Garrus mused. "We know he'll be heading for Ilos. I say we catch the bastard and bring him down!"
"My thoughts exactly! Just need to bring the crew and Council up to speed first. Saren's end is near!"
"Music to my ears, Shepard," Garrus agreed.
"You seem awfully good-humored today, Garrus," Liara smiled. "Something you want to tell us?"
"You were blushing very prettily just then, Liara. Something you want to tell me?"
Shepard chuckled.
"No need to be shy big guy. We've all seen you two dancing around each other for quite some time now. You can drop the innocence. Not working."
"So you've got it all figured out, have you?"
"Well, not all. But come on, three sleep overs? Pretty telling, Garrus."
"Oh absolutely. First time was after I had hurt her feelings. If I hadn't gone over, Liara would have flayed me alive – with her mind – and Tali would have overloaded my ass back to the First Contact War. Second time, we fell asleep to a movie that Tali and Liara wanted us to watch. Very telling indeed."
"Okay, what's your excuse for the third one?"
"Third? Oh ah, that – yeah, forget it – it's uh," Garrus' spluttering caused Shepard and Liara to erupt in laughter.
"Seems like third time was a charm."
"Does this mean we can finally be happy for you and your girlfriend?" Liara asked sounding too damn hopeful. If it was at all possible, he would probably blush. Luckily, turians don't blush.
"That would be a bit premature," Garrus finally gave in. And, figuring he was with friends after all – two sometimes very nosy friends – he decided to just go with it. "We agreed to talk things through when I get back. And, ah, we kissed, this morning. It was, ah, it felt nice. Really good in fact," he admitted.
Shepard grinned broadly and Liara squealed with joy in a way that was absurdly unlike her. Garrus couldn't help but flare his mandibles in a smirk.
"I'd better step on it then!" Shepard teased. "Gotta make sure Garrus has himself a girlfriend by the end of the day!"
"Laugh it up guys, just laugh it up," Garrus said with affection. "You just wait. When the time is right I'll – Wait, Shepard! There's something out there. To the right, you just passed it!"
Shepard swerved the Mako to a stop. When they got out, Garrus pointed in the direction where something had caught his eye. They took out their weapons, Shepard taking point. Keeping an eye on their surroundings they carefully approached what seemed to be a scene of accident.
An M29 Grizzly stood idly in a bank of snow. Not much to it, except for the dead bodies lying near it.
"Salarians," Garrus said, flipping over a body with his foot. Two eyes stared back at him, void of life, a perfect hole between them.
"What were they doing out here?" Liara wondered. "They appear to be scientists but they don't wear Binary Helix Uniforms."
"Who knows what they were up to and who cares," Garrus stated coldly. "They were on Noveria so whatever they were doing, I can assure you it was nothing good."
"What's the body count?" Shepard asked.
"There are two right next to the Grizzly, I found a third slightly to the east, there's the one you found and the one near Garrus. So, that makes five."
"I'll send a message to Gianna Parsini. If she's off world already with Anoleis, she can send someone to investigate. Either way, it's not our business. Let's go."
After that, it was just a few clicks back to the garage. Inside the Mako, Liara lightly nudged Garrus.
"Anxious to see her?" she asked nearly whispering. Garrus dipped his head. "Yeah," he admitted just as softly. "You know, I'm not going to pretend I've got a fetish for humans – but this isn't about that. This is about her and me. I've never met anyone brave enough to face and overcome their own demons. I've seen her fighting with herself Liara. To be able to get close to me. I respect the hell out of that and somewhere along the line – well, you know."
"I do. I really think you bring out the best in each other. Because of you, Dani strives to overcome her own inner demons. And she brings out a different side in you, makes you see the softer sides of life. Suddenly, everything is not just black or white anymore."
"Thank you, Liara. I may not always act it, but – you know. I'm glad we're friends."
Liara smiled and nudged his shoulder. Garrus chuckled lowly and gently nudged her back.
Shepard finally pulled up to the garage. The doors opened automatically and Shepard smoothly parked the Mako, ready to be transported back to the Normandy.
All three glad the mission was a success, banter between them flowing back and forth, they clamored from the Mako and were met with a frantic looking Tali.
"Is she with you?" she asked, her voice shrilly and tense. "Did she meet up with you? Have you seen her?"
"Tali," Shepard asked in surprise. "Slow down. What are you talking about?" He turned around to lock up the Mako.
"No no no!" Tali nearly shrieked. "She's not with you? Keelah! I never should have let her go!"
A cold feeling settled in his gizzard. Tali was near frantic and it sounded very much like someone was missing. No. He shook his head. He refused to acknowledge the horrific image that suddenly threatened to crush him.
"Tali," Shepard said tersely. "Take a deep breath and then tell me what's going on!"
Tali took a deep shuddering breath and hung her head. "It's – it's Dani," her small metallic thrumming voice nearly broke. "She was asked to meet Dr. Torque. I wanted to go with her but there was no room. And I – I let her go."
His ears were ringing with her name. Again he shook his head, refusing to belief the words, desperately searching for an explanation.
"Dr. Torque was here?" Shepard asked in surprise. "Why didn't he inform me he was leaving Earth? We could have set up a rendezvous."
"Keelah! I told her to wait! But she was so happy and excited. She promised me that she would ask the bodyguard to escort her back. She would message me as soon as she reached them, but she never did!"
"Calm down, Tali. Now, can you please explain me why you expected her to be with us ? There's nothing out there but Peak 15 and we just came from up there. So what the hell is going on?"
"They were supposed to bring her to Dr. Torque," Tali said in between sniffles. "He sent her a message to meet him. When we went to the garage, I couldn't go with her because there was no more room. And then they went. Out there."
"That's not possible, Tali. Like I said, there is nothing, I mean absolutely nothing, between here and Peak 15."
"Well then where is she?" Tali cried. "I saw her get into that Grizzly! You must have seen her. You must have! Please tell me you have!"
"Grizzly?" Even to Garrus, his voice sounded odd and empty.
"Yes, they picked her up in an M29 Grizzly."
"Oh Goddess!" Liara breathed.
"Fuck! Tali," Shepard rubbed furiously at his fore head. "Who exactly was here to pick her up?"
"Salarians," Tali hiccuped. "They were five salarians."
Liara let herself sink to her knees. "Oh no," she breathed in defeat. "By the Goddess. . . no!"
"We have to get back," Shepard said. "We have to get back there, right now! We may have missed her. She might still be –" He didn't finish the sentence.
"What, what do you mean?" Tali asked with a tiny voice.
"On our way back, we saw a M29 Grizzly out there," Garrus replied, his voice devoid of any emotion. "Near the Grizzly, we found five bodies.
Five salarians."
"Keelah! No, what have I done?" She moaned.
"Stay here. We'll turn the Mako round and go back. Let's hope we find her."
Garrus clung to that hope as if he would drown otherwise. He pushed back the thought that they had already searched the place. But not close enough, he argued to himself. His own cold words echoed through his mind. "Who knows what they were up to and who cares?"
The ride back was silent and tense. No one spoke a word.
When they reached the site, Shepard ordered them to be thorough. But Garrus noticed how the Mako computer found no life signs in the immediate vicinity. He then knew he would not find her. And even if he did, it meant he would not find her alive. Garrus used the scope of his rifle to scan the area but all he saw was snow and a fucking blizzard. He kept searching anyway. Kept hoping against the odds.
Suddenly he felt something crunch beneath his boot. When he crouched down he noticed something shimmering in the snow. When he picked it up, his heart crashed down and fell apart. It was a button of Dani's tunic.
"Shepard," he alerted the Commander, his voice hoarse and terribly empty. When Shepard approached him, Garrus found no words to say, he just opened his hand and showed him the tiny button. Shepard sighed in defeat. "Let's go. Dani –" He paused. "Dani is gone."
