"What is the complex for?" Victus questioned suddenly. The two of them had been looking at the numbers from Palaven for the last ten minutes without uttering a single word.

It felt helpless. He wished that there was some other way to think. He knew that he was a hypocrite. Standing in front of Shepard and giving her comforts, giving her advice when all he could do is see mounds of bodies piled atop one another in his mind. He needed to shift his thinking. Garrus knew that continuing to picture this was not going to help their cause. It was a way to infect one's brain. He needed to compartmentalize it out. But how?

"It's a school," Garrus forced himself to answer, perhaps this was how. Talking, keeping himself busy with other tasks. And as heartless as it felt to even think - perhaps he needed to turn off the screens with the totals. His eyes trailed upward to catch the tired gaze of the Primarch. Adrien looked as exhausted as he felt. Perhaps he, too, was feeling the weight of the hopelessness. Turians knew that to see the enemy outnumber you meant to fight harder. To fight with teeth and claws.

Garrus had been gone too long now.

He didn't see the benefit of throwing oneself at the enemy in an attempt to show his power. He didn't think overwhelming them with onslaught was the right call. He definitely didn't see the value in throwing oneself into the fray knowing that the only way out was death. Sacrificial brutality. No, that did no one any good. Instead, he saw angles. His drell had shown him how to see the shadows as entire alleyways and to always, always look up.

Victus's left mandible clicked, "Why are we going there?"

Garrus' shoulder raised slightly, "The new communication specialist picked up a fake distress signal that Shepard wants to check out."

"It would seem a bit of a waste; do you not agree?"

"No," his eyes found Adrien's, "Shepard said it was the same signal that lured us last time. If she thinks it's worth investigating, it is."

"A lot of faith in this human."

Garrus felt the skin on his neck heat at the words. With his shoulders tensed and his mandibles pinch together, his eyes narrowed he looked away from the other turian, "Commander Shepard," he corrected the term 'human', "Has shown herself worthy of being trusted time and time again, clearly – as you and I are both aware – our military is aware of her actions in the past two years, and before that. I read her file, as you have," Garrus growled low.

Victus reached out and placed his hand on Garrus' armor-clad shoulder, "It is dangerous, Garrus, to trust so deeply."

"I trust you," he countered, "I trust you to do what is needed to be done. It is with that faith that I do not question you unless you, yourself, need me to. Why is it so wrong for me to look at Shepard in the same manner?" Hadnt they had this discussion before?

He felt like it was a repeated debate. With Victus, his sister, his comrades. He was tired of having this discussion.

"It's not because she is human."

"Explain to me then, Adrien," he turned his body towards him, their whispered voices seemed loud in the war room. Garrus glanced to the backs of the few Alliance officers that were hard at work before shifting closer to the Primarch, "Break it down for me, your reservation."

There was a pause in the older turian. Almost as if he was frozen, his pale eyes shifted up to meet Garrus' and he could actually see them narrow predatorily at him. The talons of the hand on his shoulder seemed to unsheathe themselves before he tore his arm away and pointed at the monitors before them.

"That," he snapped, his subvocals shaking with resentment, disbelief, anger, pain, and loss. Garrus felt his shoulders drop as he followed the extended point, "…is where my reservations lie, Vakarian. And you love her!" He frowned deeply at his words. "That in and of itself causes me concern. Does it cloud your judgment?" He didn't speak, but watched as another update was loaded. The losses of their kind were astronomical. "The longer it takes us to get to this Summit, to speak to the Salarians and Asari. To practically beg the Krogan, the sooner we can get to our people. Our people are being evaporated."

"So are theirs," Garrus reminded, not gently.

"Yes," Victus spat, "And yet we are wasting precious time over a few children."

"A few children that are willing to fight," a voice cut in.

Both turians looked up to settle their gazes on the woman who had entered the room without them noticing. Garrus frowned at the deep furrow of Shepard's brows and then at her crossed arms. "Shepard," he heard Victus say besides him, "You must see my point."

"I do, Primarch," she gave one nod as she stepped up to the round war table, directly opposite of where they were. The lights of the displays distorting her. "I also know that if we let people who we can help...just die...then we will have no one left to fight. This fight is not so simple as one Summit."

"You think I don't know that?"

"I do think you know that," she countered, "I think you know it just as I do. I think you are scared, just as I am. What I also know is that we need numbers, we need valuable numbers," her gaze dropped towards the monitors before her. She sighed, "I..."

Garrus wanted to go to her then, to hold her, to pull her into his arms and let her hide form what was in front of her. His subvocals purred out comfort to her, even though he knew she wouldn't hear – couldn't hear – when her crossed arms dipped lower to her middle. Fuck. What was going through her head?

"Value is not the right word," she would say softly, "I can't say what's the right move…because I don't know what it is, Adrien." she all but whispered before looking back up, "What I do know is that there are powerful beings and advanced technology on that station and someone has faked a communication that cut off their distress signal. Someone that used a signature that is the same that the Normandy has encountered. We have another enemy out there and it's my job – our job – to know their face."

Garrus frowned, "Do you think it's Cerberus?"

"It feels like them, Traynor mentioned it could be."

"But why?" Victus asked.

"Why wouldn't they be involved? They have known about the Reapers longer than most. They have tried to fight against them, that didn't work – I can only speculate what The Illusive Man is planning."

"Why would he go after a facility of human biotics?" Garrus asked.

"He likes power," she shrugged. "You and I saw his experiments..."

Victus sighed and leaned forward, his hands coming to rest on the table as he shook his head, "We don't have time to fight another enemy."

"No," Shepard would say in such a way that both Garrus and Victus seem to feel it against their spines. "We do not have time for more enemies, Primarch, which is why we need to trust each other to make decisions, even if we do not understand them."

Garrus knew that in this moment, she could care less about him even being in the room. This was all about Victus. He looked around, noticing that the room had actually cleared itself. Had she dismissed the officers or were they so well trained to know when they should leave? Should he? What right did he have to even be here? Amongst leaders?

"The Summit has to be successful," he heard Victus say on a breath, "If it fails, my people will die."

"If it fails," Shepard frowned, "All of our people will die."

"And you think wasting time to go investigate this curiosity of yours will help us?"

"I think that we have the time to save who we can, Primarch, the Salarians will not be available for the meeting for three days. We will be at Grissom Academy in six hours. Perhaps if you need things to move quickly, you join us."

Garrus' mandibles shuddered outward, "No," he looked at Victus who seemed to damn near be considering it. "No, we have you here, Primarch, safe – we don't know who is next in line."

Victus smirked, turning his chin towards Garrus, "You are here as well..."

Garrus glared, "No."

"Just how far down the chain are you?" Shepard asked suddenly, her green eyes wide with curiosity. Garrus felt a blush heat the back of his neck as he shook his head and then frowned at Shepards small smile.

"It's not wise," he deterred, "And you know it, Primarch, you have to remain on the Normandy. It's the safest choice for our people. If anyone," he turned his gaze from Shepard and looked at Victus, "...if anyone will save our people during this – Adrien – it is you. You aren't blinded by the Turian needs for honor and glory; you will do what is necessary. You will do the smart thing, not the demanded one."

Victus sighed and raised a hand to stop him, "I won't leave the Normandy, Garrus, calm down."

Shepard raised a brow and put one hand on her hip, shifting her feet just slightly, "Well if you aren't going to come station side, Primarch, do you mind if I take your Reaper Advisor with me?"

Garrus snapped his mouth shut tightly, why was she asking permission? This was her ship...

"This is your ship, Commander," the Primarch mirrored his thoughts, "He is not here because of me, even if this was my own vessel."

He nodded at the words, "I will suit up."

All three of them looked at Garrus' armor-clad body and he chuckled slightly, "You know what I mean."

"Uh huh," Shepard would say and nudge her head to the left, "Go tell Liara to get ready. I just need a few more minutes with the Primarch," she added as he neared her, Shepard didn't look at him, her attention stayed locked on Victus.

"Yes Commander," he would say to her understanding he was being dismissed, briefly glancing back at Victus and then turning to leave them in the war room without a backwards glance.

The bullets connected with the two Cerberus operatives before either Shepard or Garrus had communicated to one another that they were taking a shot. The new Kodiak driver had guided them stealthily nearly on top of the distress communication location. He had to admit it was nice to have someone behind the wheel that seemed to be as smooth with the Kodiak as Joker was with the Normandy.

Liara walked between him and Shepard, her blue eyes playful as she caught his gaze before looking down as she stepped over the dead bodies when Shepard came to the nearly pried open door.

"Sanders, we're clear." Shepard voice cut into the corridor. "It's me."

The doors slid open and Garrus looks towards a blond woman snapping to attention with her rifle pointed directly at Shepard, she huffs out a relieved sigh and immediately drops her stance, "Commander Shepard, thank you," she walked towards them, "Admiral Anderson always said you were the best and with Cerberus coming for my students, I need the best."

"How many of you are there?" Shepard asked, glossing over the praise.

"Fewer than twenty."

"So few?" Liara asked, looked at Sanders with concern etched on her face.

Sanders nodded, turning her back and moving towards the computers on the far side of the room, "Most of them were sent home after we got word of the Reapers."

Garrus' attention flew to Shepard as she gave the signal to spread out for eagle eye. He moved to the door, standing with his back to the opened frame, a good view of the room and the corridor as Liara moved into the corridor fully and crouched low on the wall opposite the door.

"Some of them chose to stay," the woman was saying, "Some are testing prototypes for the Alliance. Others are biotics. They have been training for artillery strikes – working together as biotic artillery."

Shepard nodded, "You said something about Admiral Anderson?"

"Yes," Sanders looked up from the monitor and out into the room, "We met, what was it now? Twenty years ago, when he was a Spectre candidate?" Her gaze lifted to meet Shepard's. "I was there when Saren betrayed him." Garrus looked at the woman directly as her voice hardened with anger. He understood the anger towards the dead Spectre first hand. "David saved my life that day, he's a good man."

"He was on Earth when the Reapers hit," Shepard informed her, "He stayed behind when I got off world."

"I hadn't heard," Sanders frowned. "We've been cut off from most news, he's...he's alive?"

"Alive and fighting," Shepard smiled, and Garrus turned his attention back down the empty corridor. He hadn't known much more than Anderson was on Earth. He hadn't even thought to truly ask. "He's leading the Resistance movement."

"Good," Sanders interjected, "If we get out of here...well..." she trailed off gently before coming back to finish, "Just tell him to stay alive."

Garrus and Shepard caught each other's gazes for a brief instant, understanding Sanders meaning to their very bones. She gave him a small private smile before turning to watch the woman work on the computer for a moment.

"A few months of research can't have prepared your students for war."

"You're right," the blond nodded, "But the Alliance needs all the resources they can get and my students are..." she sighed, "Unique resources." At Shepards hard look, "They wanted to help! How could we say no when the entire galaxy is falling apart?"

Well, she had a point. He looked at Liara who seemed just as in agreeance with that statement as he was. Give them weapons, show them wear to point and hope for the best.

A high pitched, yet distorted noise interrupted their conversation and Sanders and Shepard leaned over the computer to listen. Garrus could only hear a few words, something about a Hall and students. He could see the atmosphere shift to worried urgency when the last part came out clear, "...rberus has us boxed in and they're closing fast."

"Damnit," Sanders slammed her hand on the desk.

Shepard cocked her gun, "Orion Hall?"

"Back out into the hall and down the hallway, I can get the door open."

Shepard nodded and came back towards Garrus, passing him to motion to Liara to get into form. "I'll get them back here and we will make a run for the shuttle."

"Thank you, Commander, I'll stay put – with some luck I can gain control of some of our systems."

He stepped into his position at Shepards six and asked, "Will she be okay here alone?"

"Until she isn't," Shepard answered.

The door opened for them after Sanders explained it would lead them to Orion Hall and they entered through it into a tight hallway only to hear what sounded like a genuine battle field. Garrus' grip tightens in anticipation as the three of them moved forward, their eyes locked on the scene in front of them.

A group of Cerberus agents were dragging what looked like a fourteen-year-old by his ankle down the hall, Shepard shot at them only to be stopped by what seemed like bullet and soundproof glass. Liara whimpered at the sight, "Shepard, they'll kill them all if they can't take them."

"We need to hurry," the Commander ordered after the Cerberus message warning the students to give up finished from the overhead speakers.

There was something to be said about being with a team that one was so familiar with. No matter how long he had worked with others, the truth was – Shepard and Liara were his balanced squad. The only other person that worked better with Shepard and himself was Thane. Even Kaidan was on par with Liara. Thane – Thane knew when to move, he read them both like brail without ever having to touch them.

Thane.

He shifted his thoughts away from his friend and focused on the filtered voices that they were slowly approaching.

"Dropped the barriers, we aren't going to hurt you – you're too valuable, but your sister? She's optional! You give us trouble and we'll find her..."

The singularity that Liara sent crashing into the scene of the three operatives pointing their weapons at the teenage boy whose barrier was the only thing keeping him safe was satisfying to witness. The enemy units flew upward into the sky and Garrus picked them off without even needing to use a scope.

"There may be more nearby," he heard Shepard bark at the kid, "Lay down and play dead and then get to Sanders in security."

The boy laid down immediately, "Okay, but my sister Seanne is still out there."

"...Earth has fallen...fighting only dishonors your family..."

"They are delusional," Liara whispered to no one as the three of them hurried through what looked to be a class room.

"Fear tactics work," Garrus offered.

"They're just children," Liara frowned hard as they took cover when another group of Cerberus came into view as they cleared the second classroom.

"Watch the headshots! We are to take the biotics ali..." the one talking was silenced by a headshot from Garrus' rifle. He ducked back down just as Shepard threw a heavy pull and Liara picked off two more with her pistol. Garrus twisted and tore down the one that had been cleared of its shield with Shepard's pull. If only the Reapers were so simple.

Four more Cerberus centurions and shields followed, but with the speakers spewing filth to one of the students about having their family safe and sound at a Cerberus facility heating their shots – the trio took care of the enemy swiftly without fanfare.

"It's a big facility," Garrus would comment as they made their way through a wide atrium style room. "Are all human kids sent to places like this if they have biotics?"

"No," Shepard answered, "Most of these students are probably rescues from illegal labs or camps, like the one Kaidan had been stationed."

"Do you think they are still subjected to the same treatments?"

Liara shook her head, "The Alliance treats them with a much higher regard, though still with a very far stick. Human biotics are still not natural – they aren't born with their powers; they get them by accident or by ...experiments."

"I didn't get experimented on."

Liara looked to Shepard and frowned, "We both know why you got your powers, Shepard."

"Yeah yeah, plants at the colony and survival instinct, sure..." Shepard cut herself off when they turned into a hallway and heard someone weakly tell them to stay back.

"Goddess, she's bleeding! Shepard!" Liara exclaimed as she ran over to help the girl by injecting medigel and guiding her to her feet.

"Seanne? Can you hear me?"

"How, how do you know my name?"

"I saved your brother, he's with Kaylee Sanders in security, can you get to her?"

"I... yeah," the girl slowly stood on her own, "Thanks," she whispered to Liara who gently let go of her. "I just need to rest for a minute."

"Follow the dead Cerberus bodies," Garrus would tell her, pointing back the way they came, "That way – if you hear anyone, play dead until they pass." The girl nodded up to him and he turned to follow Shepard again.

The three of them hurried through the corridors, noticing the lack of students and Cerberus alike as they did so. Where were they? Sanders came onto their comms, "Commander, I just got a message from Orion Hall, one of our teachers are with them, but the students can't hold out much longer."

"Copy that," she responded, "Double time," she ordered and they began running towards the end of the long hallway to the larger doors that sat at the end. Garrus noted the name above it a clear indication that they were, indeed, going in the right direction.

A direction that led them into a large room that felt as if it was one of the main branch locations of the complex. Stairwells led to upper floors and lower, dozens of long bench seats sat hugging walls and there were even some large basins with interior floral. It was pretty impressive, he had to admit.

"Eat this!"

Garrus' recognized that voice instantly and turned his attention to the woman who barked those words, watching as she slapped an enemy down with a quick warp.

"Jack!?"

"Shepard?"

A reunion that had Garrus and Shepard both smiling wide until, of course, one of the big Mechs came inching into the room from a lower hallway just to their left. Jack took off running towards the thing and he had a brief flashback of her on another mission with seeker swarms. She skidded to a slide and stood throwing up a barrier to protect one of her students as the mech sent out a rocket.

Fucking rockets.

"Everyone down!" Jack commanded, "This thing is out of your league, Shepard – keep it off us!"

Garrus moved quickly to get into cover. The trio working in quick succession as he threw out an overload, Liara a warp and Shepard clipped steadfast on the protective glass plated shield of the driver to obscure his vision.

He felt a hit on his upper shoulder and he hissed at the tinge before shifting into better cover, "Enemies to our four."

"I got them!" Liara's answer to him was to send a singularity that trapped the Cerberus troops. A firestorm of biotic power came from somewhere on the second floor and he knew it must be Jack helping keep the foot soldiers down so they could focus on the heavy gun in front of them.

"Thanks," he grunted.

"Big baby," Shepard chuckled in his comms.

"It hurt!"

"Yeah, your armor looks so scratched."

Liara grumbled and sent a warp out at the mech, "Focus guys."

"We are focused!" Shepard hit the mech with a pull, and as it stumbled forward, Garrus pelted a concussion round right at the back battery pack. The resulting high-pitched squeal and rattling of the giant body only proved her point as they heard the driver scream out a quick fearful yelp right before the machine exploded loudly and hotly.

"See?" Shepard said as she came out of cover, looking at Liara.

"You both are just..."

"Lovable? Fun? Perfect partners?" Garrus supplied.

Liara rolled her eyes while they walked back towards the upper floors where they heard Jack's deep laughter. They looked up to see her leaning against the banister, "Kaylee said she was putting out an SOS, I had no idea the Queen of the Girl Scouts would show up!"

Garrus looked to Shepard and then back up to watch Jack get onto her students with a heavy "mom" voice and biting banter, "...fields were weak, Cerberus ain't gonna lie down outta pity like that girl you took to prom!"

Some of the kids laughed at her and Garrus found himself openly confused at what he was hearing and witnessing. He looked at Liara who was still standing at attention, surveying the rest of the room before he looked at Shepard who was walking closer to the balcony, her attention skyward when Jack concluded her speech, "Grab juice and an energy bar, we move in five," and then leapt over the side of the balcony, landing with biotic grace on the bottom floor.

Her approach was quick and...

THWAK!

Her fist collided with the side of Shepard's jaw hard, her finger in the Commander's face, "Damnit! How many times did I tell you not to trust Cerberus!"

Shepard straightened, "You're not telling me anything I haven't told myself, Jack."

"Aw, you feel bad?" Jack cooed, stepping even closer so that her voice lowered, "I bet that's a comfort to all the people Cerberus has killed." Her hard, angry gaze was solely focused on Shepard and Garrus felt himself resenting her for it.

How dare she? All of them knew what Cerberus was capable of. It wasn't Shepards fault that they had resurrected her! It wasn't Shepard who commanded the operatives to attack the Academy. Garrus looked at the Commander, he could see the tensed height of her shoulders, the slight dip in her chin, no. That won't do. "Jack," he stepped forward, "Just as charming as ever."

"Bite me, Garrus!" the biotic snarled, stepping back out of Shepard's face and crossing her arms, "Better yet, bite her, probably how she likes it."

"Oh, it is," he smirked as Jack's eyes widen slightly at his quip, "Not the time or place for that, though."

Jack smiled wide, "Nice to see you again Garrus," her voice gentler, before she scoffed, "Face still looks like shit." Her brown eyes shifting back to Shepard, "Okay, right now? All I care about is getting my guys out of here."