Chapter Text
Shepard found it difficult to focus on the mission. Mars met the trio with a storm and proved to be a problematic planet. The presence of Cerberus irritated Jane, as did Kaiden"s endless questions about her work for the organization. The woman often simply didn"t notice the enemy soldiers, wondering what had happened the day before. The only reason she wasn"t injured was because her partners had to keep a double eye on Shepard and to pay off remarks to the commander (when else would they get the chance?).
Mars was bringing its own adjustments to the group"s plans. Shepard was overjoyed to meet Dr. T"Soni and take her back to the Normandy team without a move, and unhappy to meet an old acquaintance - Illusive man. His plans for gaining control of the Reapers and approval of their actions had stunned and horrified her. His strange answers to Jane"s reasonable questions made her wonder if the Illusive man was already drugged. Was he under the control of the Reapers? Though it had been only a short time and to take possession of such a man"s mind so quickly seemed to Shepard like madness, which she decided to give up. Commander was unhappy that almost all the data that could have helped build the Catalyst had been lost and felt a distant sense of joy that EDI had been there to recover it. Just as badly as possible, Kaiden had been seriously injured and Joker had flown at speed to the Citadel Medical Center to avoid losing the Major. She realized that she had a huge responsibility on her shoulders, but felt confident despite it. Her mission was more important than her own interests and emotions.
Climbing onto the bridge of the Normandy, Jane tried to crawl to her quarters. It was only a few meters, but it felt like several thousand kilometers. Heavy and tired legs barely dragging, her whole body in armor, exhausted look, and sweaty, hungry Shepard headed for the elevator, not paying attention to anyone. There was no hiding from the prying eyes of the crew the look and the state Shepard was going about with. Some were worried, while others decided to simply not touch the commander, too much shock was in every member of the crew regarding Alenko"s condition.
Jane"s joy when she finally flopped down on the bed would be hard as hell to describe. The woman closed her eyes with pleasure, stretched slowly and sweetly across the width of the bed, letting the sheet slip through her fingers, and with a hand under the pillow, Shepard closed her eyes, hoping to fall asleep. The lights automatically dimmed, creating a sleepy atmosphere, the porthole above Jane showing the beauty of the starry sky as she floated at cosmic speed past the commander, who was quietly snoring. A wave of fatigue came over Shepard and she fell asleep. Sleep was restless, full of nightmares and distorted images. She watched her team being attacked by the Reapers, civilians dying in battle, and herself in critical condition. But at one point the dream cleared and she heard Liara"s voice speaking: "You are not alone. We are with you."
Shepard woke up feeling a little better. She knew she had to keep hope and faith in her mission. And she knew she had a team on her side that was willing to go all the way together. She fell into sleep again, but she didn"t get much sleep. Joker"s loud voice sounded in the cabin, alerting Shepard to an urgent call from Bailey, he really wanted to talk to her in the hall.
- Fucking Jeff, could you let me sleep for an hour? What"s with the habit of waking me up at the most pleasant moment of sleep? Where"s your parenting?
The pilot decided to stay out of it, and he wasn"t too happy about being distracted from the flight. Shepard headed for the intercom, praying that this was really important. The sacrifice she was making could only justify one piece of news: the Reapers.
- Commander Shepard, good afternoon. I"m sorry to bother you at this late hour, but this case is very interesting and can"t be put in the back of a drawer. May I? - Bailey was nervous, and that was very uncharacteristic of him.
- Spit it out, - the woman yawned widely, covering her mouth with her hand and wiping away a couple of tears that came from her overly stretched mouth.
- We have a cad sitting behind the "bars of justice" and he claims to know you and is asking that we contact you to get his ass back to Normandy, says you promised to help him.
The look on Shepard"s face would be hard to describe with a few words.
- What the hell is he?
- Officer Garrus Vakarian, drunk off his ass and hardly thinking straight. But the only thing he remembers is you. An CSS officer caught drunk should automatically have to write a voluntary resignation, - Bailey winked.
- But if you recognize him as yours, so to speak, then I"ll just draw up a document that officially transfers him to the Normandy state, - the man scratched the back of his head and pointed the camera at the turian, - it"s all a matter of time. By morning the CSS guards will be here and they"ll have witnessed this unpleasant incident, and then it"ll be almost impossible to do anything about it, - Bailey looked at the turian with regret, - this is going to sound strange, but I feel sorry for him, Shepard. Seems like a nice guy, never been on the criminal radar until now, so to speak. What"s gotten into him, I don"t know. Take him under your wing, so to speak.
Jane listened to all this in silence, trying to make out something in Bailey"s words, but her brain was just melting, unable to make sense of anything.
- Bailey, get his ass to the ship. The medical bay will be happy to take him in, Dr. Chakwas will take care of him tomorrow. The turian has all the meds and food he needs, so he won"t be a burden. Write the paperwork you need and send him to us. He"ll be scrubbing floors. Is that all you wanted to discuss?
- Yes, Shepherd. Thanks for understanding, but I think you"re gonna need him. He might follow in his father"s footsteps, but you keep an eye on him. At least for now. He"s a..
- Bailey, if you"ll excuse me, I have to go, - the woman interrupted. Jane"s patience was wearing thin.
Her body, it was almost protesting everything and everyone. Commander nodded his head and passed out, giving Shepard a couple hours of restful sleep. The woman didn"t even make it to the exit door, she just sat on the floor and began to sob in a way she had never done since she was a child. It seemed to her that everything was going to be easier, Earth, Cerberus and the reapers, that it wasn"t as it turned out in reality. She didn"t have anyone around her who was an advisor or significant other, her mom wasn"t around, and she hadn"t been a girl for a long time. Shepard"s best friend was a shotgun, which served her better than any pillow. War helped the woman to not be alone with herself, and to constantly think and ponder strategy and missions, but eventually, it was going to happen. And she knew it would. No one, not even Shepard, could go this long without a break.
And the fact that she"d lasted this long was already unreal.
Almost no one slept that night on the Normandy, except for Shepard and a couple of responsible crewmen. Dr. Chakwas was fiddling with a newly arrived drunken officer who was fighting her off as best he could, and so it was decided to wake Vega, who was kind enough to lend his assistance. The man had been grumbling too often and too much lately, which was new fodder for Joker"s jokes, and James was trying to lighten up the last couple of hours while Alenko"s fate after being transferred to the Citadel Medical Center was unknown.
It was hard to tell if Garrus was making any sense while Vega held him and Chakwas administered the sedative. The procedure took about twenty minutes (excluding the Vakarian"s kicking), but it was very uncomfortable and painful for him. It felt as if the substance was burning his insides. Karin, tired of listening to the utter ravings and whining that poured forth in Garrus" stream of delirium, injected him with a dose of sleeping pills that made him immediately quiet. The woman sat back in her chair and propped her head up with her hand, trying to force herself to write a couple more articles on proper bone fusion in Azari. She turned back to her desk, turned on the nightlight, and continued her work.
***
His head ached from the liquor, as if someone had not only tapped it with a hammer, but also tap-danced a farewell. He remembered the events of the previous day only up to the moment he"d broken up with Shepard. Memory lapses were not a pleasant sensation. Trying to open his eyes was unsuccessful, so the turian first decided to turn his carcass over to fumble for the edge of the bed and stand up, or maybe even feel his way to the sink where he would wash up. With a grunt, he rolled over onto his left side, then the realization of what was happening came to him as he kissed the floor of Normandy full on. The rumbling sound was for the entire floor, so the doors to the medical bay opened immediately, letting the doctor in.
- Garrus, you"re awake already, I see, I see. Good morning. Do you have a headache? - The lovely woman held out her hand to the turian, who was nestled on the most famous floor in the galaxy.
Mumbling something, Vakarian jerked up and shook the doctor"s hand warmly.
- SSC Officer Garrus Vakarian. Doctor, you"re the doctor, aren"t you, am I right? How did I get here and where the hell am I anyway?
The woman smiled welcomingly. She remembered the first patients at the clinic, when they lost track of time or memory and acted like little children. She remembered one sickly baby krogan. His limbs had atrophied, and his memory at such a young age no longer recalled the events of the past day. For some reason, it was this cub that Chakwas was most attached to. At that time she was still a very young doctor and did not know that one should never get attached to patients. This painful truth was revealed to her later, on the day when that cub was gone. A sudden attack had cut short the life of the little krogan, who had been thrown to the warrens to be eaten, somewhere in a desolate area, far from home. Since then, the doctor has tried not to feel regret for her patients, but the one exception was Shepard, whom she raised with her parents.
- I know who you are, Garrus. You"re on the ship Normandy, which is currently docked at the Citadel. The ship"s commander is Jane Shepard, but I believe you"ve already met her. Nice to meet you, I"m Dr. Karin Chakwas, who received you into her command yesterday from the SSC. Captain Bailey was kind enough to bring you aboard. You are dismissed from the SSC due to your transfer, though you could have been due to your misconduct, but due to your merit - it was not a dishonorable ceremony, just a "farewell report from a turian". Welcome aboard.
To say that the turian"s already small eyes grew even smaller was an understatement.
- Now, Garrus, I need to write up a report on your condition and send it to Bailey. Shepard asked me to ask you to come to her quarters, but since she"s on a mission search and won"t be back for two or three hours, I suggest you do something to ease her anger, - the doctor winked. - For example, do or help the crew, especially pay attention to James Vega on Deck 5, if you remember him. He heroically withstood your, - she faltered, - kicking. That"s my advice to you as a woman, and I"ve known Commander all my life, - she sat down again at her perfectly cleaned workstation, where she spent most of her time, and began her report, - a pill for your head and water in the dining hall.
The turian thanked Chakwas for the advice and left the compartment. He was still in a kind of euphoria that was hard to feel. To think of it! He was on the Normandy, on a ship he had heard so much about, but had never been able to see it in person. That wasn"t the most entertaining part of the whole story though, he was most embarrassed in front of Captain Bailey, who was definitely disappointed with Garrus" behavior. Calling and finding out, for now, was neither the strength nor the vocabulary that instantly went away at that thought, nor the desire to.
Vakarian looked around the dining room, which was larger than his entire modest apartment: two large tables with many chairs, hard but comfortable, a small kitchen where a male chef stood, busily frying something, the smell was incredible, making the turian"s stomach twist painfully. The room was mostly in shades of gray, with touches of red. The time was around lunchtime and more and more people were arriving in the kitchen, which was why the turian decided to take Dr. Chakwas" advice and make it up to commander with something. "Commander Shepard!" sounded so unfamiliar in his head, and probably even stranger by ear.
Garrus nodded to himself, feeling awkward and a little stunned. He was prepared to be punished for his actions, but he didn"t expect his merits to be mentioned as well. He decided to take the doctor"s advice and went on deck to help the crew.
James Vega was a hardy and strong man, but after the altercation with Garrus, several deep abrasions flared on his body. He greeted Garrus discreetly as he approached.
- It"s good to see you here. I have to admit that yesterday, when everything happened, I thought nothing could save you.
- I was fired, James.
- Oh, I know what happened. But here on Normandy it"s different, we"re a team and we"re always at ease with each other. I don"t consider you my enemy, Garrus, and I hold no grudges. Just... try not to let things like this happen in the future, that"s all.
Garrus smiled, feeling a little better now. He had decided that cooperating with this crew was possible.
- I"ll do my best, James. And I apologize that the first impression wasn"t a fairy tale.
- That"s gone now. Just be careful, in these times you have to be prepared for anything.
It took about thirty minutes for the officer to find the ship"s main cabin, not even realizing that it could be so well hidden. In the time he had been looking, Garrus had gotten to know most of the crew: Greg Adams, the chief engineer and a great guy, who for some reason acted a little strange when he saw the turian; Samantha Traynor, a young and friendly girl, Shepard"s personal secretary; and pilot Jeff Moreau, the most friendly person Garrus had met on the ship. Garrus found common ground with almost everyone, even EDI, which Garrus was incredibly happy about. Acceptance of him as a member of the crew, he thought, had taken place.
The door to the commander"s quarters was surprisingly open and, like all the others, was accompanied by a quiet sound. Vakarian looked at the contents of the room with interest: a huge aquarium, built into the wall of the ship and filled with fish and jellyfish, next to a shelf with all sorts of clothes, armor and a large double bed, (Garrus caught himself thinking that it must be nice to sleep here) nightlight, tables, but the most interesting place - this is the working area of the commander: a glass partition, inside which there were many different ships, then a table where the armor was placed, next to the tools to fix it. The turian"s hands reached for an object on the table: Garrus"s favorite thing to do as a child was to improve his equipment, which was constantly breaking due to his father"s intense training. The turian"s evenings were taken up with work, which he admittedly loved to a tee.
Vakarian, thinking that Shepard would be here in a couple of hours and that he had nothing to lose, sat down at the table, turned on the lower light and began to look at the hole gaping on the thigh part of the armor - a very rare case, usually bullets are small and do not leave such a strong trace after the shot, but this was something else, most likely it was a burst cartridge, especially since the hole was not uniform. In his hindbrain, the turian knew that patching the commander"s armor without knowing what materials were used was suicide, especially after what had happened, but it was the only help he knew he could get. All the more so because he had experience, and not a little.
***
Shepard literally piled into the elevator, another mission to find Anne Bryson was complete, but not over. Anne Bryson was hiding in the Pilos Nebula and Jane was sure she was almost there, but her exploration of the planets had been unsuccessful so far. Reapers were everywhere and the constant skirmishes were wearing down not only her body but also her spending on ammo and biotics. At the same time, her headache was Alenko"s presence on the Citadel: the blow had hit her upper torso, damaging her ribs and other soft tissues but not her vital organs, which pleased commander. They hadn"t seen each other for only a couple hours, but the woman was already starting to get a little worried. And all this magnificent epic was completed by a new assignment on Palaven, which was not bad, but just catastrophically fucked up. The Reapers were mercilessly exterminating the Turian race, making it almost impossible to leave the battlefields alive, and though the Turians were more hostile than the humans, they needed help. Primarch Fedorian was still the best negotiator the Citadel Council had to offer, and Shepard was already plotting how to get him out of Palaven.
All she wanted to do was shower, eat and try to sleep, then get ready for the mission again. At least, that was what she hoped for the rest of the evening. The elevator doors slid open and the woman, dragging her feet, made her way to her favorite quarters where she could find peace and, at times, solace. Opening the cabin door, she didn"t immediately notice someone sitting at the table, rather she heard them. Her gut told her that it was definitely not an intruder, because the Normandy had a security clearance. It was later, she realized, and she stared at the back of the man sitting at the commander"s desk repairing Jane"s armor. She became an unwilling observer of the picture of the turian himself patching a hole in the thigh of the human armor. It pleasantly surprised her, but the woman still couldn"t admit it to herself. Jane would have stood there, watching the officer"s careful and very painstaking work, but when she felt someone standing behind her, he turned and, for the first couple of seconds, looked confused (Shepard had never seen a confused turian at all). The situation was more than strange, and no one could have predicted the further development of events.
- Officer Vakarian, - Shepard gave a pompous and serious look, - your presence around is certainly a pleasure to observe. - She walked to the interior of the cabin and sat down on the couch, amused by the reaction of the turian, who couldn"t figure out what to do next or how to get out of it. - Tell me, how did you get so drunk last night? Couldn"t you have waited until the Normandy was moored in another galaxy?
Trying not to spew out all the anger mixed with irony that Jane had left over from last night, she sighed loudly and exhaled. Vakarian, who had been sitting in Shepard"s chair all this time, stood up, carefully, as if he were a child, placed his tools on the table, put the commander"s armor back on, and looked at Shepard. His muscles tensed and the woman took note of his appearance. An attractive young Vakarian whose eyes were the color of the sea, his mandibles harmonious on his face, unlike the other Turians, the distinctive blue and white stripes were a little shabby but still bright.
- Commander Shepard, - he put his hands behind his back, - Officer Garrus Vakarian, transferred to the Normandy last night due to circumstances. Please assign me to my desk and contact me with any questions you may have. Please note that my technical skills have been ready to go since lunchtime, - the turian"s blue eyes played with a cheerful sparkle. - Dr. Chakwas and pilot Jeff Moreau advised me on the operating procedures, and Samantha Traynor gave me a tour of the ship. I"ll be happy to help in any way I can. And, - he stammered, - let"s forget that awful night you"re mad at me about.
Shepard was silent for a few seconds, staring at the turian. She noticed that he was trying to keep himself within the bounds of his official role, but he couldn"t hide his nervousness. At the same time, she was glad to have another capable officer on the ship.
- I"m not angry, Vakarian. I just don"t want it to happen again. You have to take care of your body, especially now. And as for the job, I"m glad we have another specialist. We can do this together, - Shepard smiled, showing that she forgave his past behavior.
Garrus nodded gratefully, picked up his tools and headed for the cabin door.
- I"m going to go continue my work, Commander. If you have any questions, I"m always ready to answer them, - he adjusted his new uniform and left the cabin.
Jane remained on the couch, pondering what had just happened. She always found it interesting to watch the new arrivals on the ship, especially if they were talented, as she thought Garrus Vakarian was. She smiled to herself and decided it was time to go to bed. Another day awaited her and her team, and she was ready for it.
Armored, sweaty and dirty, Jane sat down on the cold floor, or the couch threatened to break under such weight, at least she thought so. The unpleasant sound of metal against metal made the woman cringe.
Shepard had always been curious, and it itched to find out what was wrong with the armor the turian had been working on. The table was clearly visible from upstairs, and the woman stretched just a little, looking at Garrus"s hours of work: a perfectly patched hole, painted to match the color of the armor and the author"s "Archangel" in almost imperceptible dark blue. This liberty should probably have infuriated her, but now a wild interest flared up in her.
"Something new," - flashed through her mind.