Chapter Text
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The Six of Swords, Reversed: Developments that are unexpected, a need for continuing effort and strength. Once one obstacle is surmounted another presents itself.
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“What are you doing up here?” Joker asked as Garrus walked up into the cockpit. “Shouldn’t you be calibrating?”
Garrus’ mandibles closed in annoyance, and he wondered just what exactly he would have to sacrifice to the Spirits to make that damn joke end in a fiery and painful death. “Supposed to be meeting Shepard in the War Room, but she’s running late,” Garrus said as he stepped into the cockpit of the Normandy. “Figured I’d slum it for a bit.”
“Ha ha,” Joker drawled, as he pressed a couple of buttons on the interface. Once he finished, Joker leaned back and turned in his chair. “I can’t believe Leviathan put an artifact on Heshtok. The vorcha? Seriously?”
Garrus shrugged. “Heard a theory about them. You know they haven’t developed space flight themselves, right? Some think if they never got off their planet, the Reapers would leave them alone, let them keep developing.”
Joker let out a laugh, a real laugh, one Garrus was glad to hear. “Oh shit, are you saying the vorcha would have been next cycle’s Protheans? It might be worth being turned into paste just for that.”
“Guess we’ll never know,” Garrus said. He wondered if Joker knew him well enough to hear the humor in his subvocals. Funny to think how he and Joker didn’t get along all that well on the SR-1. Understandable, though, if Joker really did think Garrus had a pole up his ass during that time. Thankfully, things have changed since those days.
“Still, Heshtok is basically the seventh level of hell. Have fun when we get there,” Joker said.
Garrus nodded, even though Joker couldn’t see, and tried to figure out how to say what he wanted to say. Probably best to come right out at it and ask. “So to awkwardly change the subject, Joker, what’s this I hear about you visiting the Crucible scientists?”
Joker stilled, and Garrus wondered if he shouldn’t have just minded his own damn business, seeing the way the pilot’s knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists. But Shepard asked Garrus to do her this one favor, to make sure Joker was okay. At the time, it seemed easy enough. Now? He wasn’t so sure.
“I went to get an update on EDI in person,” Joker said, sounding far too casual. “And I got one.”
As Joker started going through the ship’s interface, Garrus simply crossed his arms over his chest. He had nowhere pressing to be. He could wait. “And?”
“Yippee,” Joker said, sarcasm dripping from each syllable. “My dead AI girlfriend has reverted back to being a VI. She’s awake, but doesn’t remember a damn thing before 2183.”
Garrus closed his eyes and pictured EDI sitting in the copilot’s seat, the way she used to be. “But that can’t be all bad, right?” Garrus asked. “Her memories might be in there somewhere.”
“Yeah, the scientists walked me through it. To get EDI back, all they need to do is replicate whatever happened to make her self-aware in the first place, which, might I mention, EDI didn’t even know,” Joker said with a bitter laugh. “And oh, yeah. Once she becomes self-aware, combine her with Reaper tech, which if you might remember, is all inert.”
“Crap,” Garrus said, running his hand over his fringe. Said like that, bringing EDI back felt impossible. But at the same time… The galaxy has seen the impossible before. “That’s rough, Joker. I’m sor-”
“Don’t,” Joker said quietly. The pilot kept working on his console, not looking away. “Don’t say you’re sorry. When the Normandy was stranded on Gliese, we were equals, Garrus. You lost Shepard, I lost EDI. But then you got Shepard back.”
Garrus thought of the late nights in the mess, when he, Tali, and Joker just sat, and drank in silence. At the time, all three of them thought they lost their partners. And look at them now. Tali getting married to Kal’Reegar in a week. Garrus and Shepard wanted to adopt a child.
And EDI was a VI. Life just wasn’t fucking fair sometimes.
“Don’t get me wrong, Garrus. I’m glad you’re happy. You two? Two of the good ones. You both deserve all the happiness in the fucking world. Especially Shepard. I just wanted a little happiness of my own,” Joker said, taking a deep breath and leaning his head back on the seat. “This sucks.”
“No argument from me,” Garrus said.
The pilot’s interfaced beeped. “The hell?” He looked up at Garrus, frustration clearly written on his face. “Why is she taking us to the Kepler Verge? I had my jumps all planned, Shepard!”
“I’ll pass along your disappointment,” Garrus said, turning to walk out of the cockpit. A sudden course change didn’t sit well with him. If they were changing destinations, he wanted to know why.
“You do that,” Joker called after him.
As he stepped into the CIC, Shepard exited the elevator. Garrus picked up the pace, seeing her there. “Change of plans,” Shepard said as they started walking to the War Room. “We’re going to get Liara on the QEC.”
“New facility?”
“That’s what she says,” Shepard said. “She’s going to give us specifics once we get her on the comm.”
Traynor already stood at the QEC, ready to go. “Whenever you’re ready, Commander,” she said. “The signal’s already established.”
“Thanks, Traynor,” Shepard said as Liara appeared in front of them. Traynor nodded and quietly left the War Room.
“Juncro,” Liara said.
Both Garrus and Shepard had their omni-tools up and out at the planet’s name. “It’s a gas giant,” Garrus said. “What do they mine?”
“Hydrogen,” Liara said, hands behind her back. “There’s an orbital platform around the planet. They take hydrogen directly from the atmosphere. The SR-1 made a stop there as well, I believe.”
“We did,” Shepard said. “They can’t have been under Leviathan’s control for long. We would have noticed if they were like those other facilities.” She looked at Garrus, and he could see a hint of doubt in her eyes. They were all so focused on stopping Saren back then. Maybe they missed something. “Wouldn’t we?”
“Maybe they weren’t,” Liara said. “The numbers I have are only from the last two years.”
“Better than nothing,” Garrus said, thinking of the briefing he read from the science team. “Didn’t Conrad say one of the materials needed for that Haestrom weapon was hydrogen?”
Shepard nodded quickly, her lips pursed tightly together. “We’ll check it out, Liara. Let us know if you find anything else.”
“Of course, Shepard,” Liara said. She took a breath and spoke again. “Miranda and I have been in touch. She’s provided data from Cerberus’ information broker. I’ll be able to cross-reference and see which leads and data streams no longer can be considered valid.”
Garrus wasn’t sure what to think about Miranda’s revelation. On one hand, it made just made so much damn sense. On the other, he really hated to think that they all missed something so obvious. What else might they have missed? Once they heard Cerberus had control of the old Shadow Broker’s ship, maybe they should have tried to go after it. But with what resources? They were barely above water at that point.
“Good to hear, Liara,” Shepard said. “Keep us updated. Shepard out.”
Once Liara disappeared, Garrus found himself with an armful of Shepard, feeling her breath against the hide of his neck. “Shepard? You okay?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her.
“Just need a minute,” Shepard said, her voice muffled. “This is better than a nap.”
“I’m not the most comfortable pillow, Shepard, you know that,” Garrus said with a laugh. Her shoulders rose then fell in a shrug as he tightened his arms around her.
Sooner than he liked, Shepard stepped away, with a look on her face that clearly said it was time to work. “How do we want to play this?”
“We’re going to have to dock with the facility to get on board. They’re going to see we’re an Alliance ship. No playacting businessmen this time,” Garrus said. “Fun as that was, the direct approach will be best here. We’ve docked there before. Let’s just use that.”
Shepard nodded and opened her omni-tool. “Joker? Got an ETA for me yet?”
You do realize that the Kepler Verge is on the other side of the galaxy from the Shrike Abyssal, right? Completely different jumps. Just gimme a couple more minutes for the calculations.
“Just let me know when you have an ETA,” Shepard said.
Will do.
“I’m thinking Kasumi again,” Garrus said as he went through the files known about the orbital platform. “Pretty damn helpful just to have her search the facility in stealth. Maybe Javik. He’s only had one mission off of the ship so far. Surprised he’s not stir-crazy.”
“I’ll have Cortez send the facility a message, letting them know we’re on the way,” Shepard said. “With any luck, hopefully this will go smoothly.”
#
It didn’t go smoothly.
“Did they just fire at us?” Shepard asked. Garrus heard the disbelief in her voice, and was sure his own face mirrored the sentiment.
“Ah, yeah, they did,” Joker said, his voice all business. Joker never seemed to get serious often, so Garrus learned to pay attention when he did. “And I’m reading their weapons hot. Shepard, they’re gonna fire again.”
“Evasive maneuvers,” Shepard snapped. “Don’t let us get hit, Joker.”
“No worries there,” Joker said, his hands moving over the controls.
“Explains why Cortez never got a response back to his message. Leviathan must be on to us. Damnit,” Shepard said, running her hand over her shaved head. “I wanted more time.” The ship lurched starboard and Garrus grabbed hold the back of the co-pilot’s seat to stay upright. Shepard gripped the doorway with both hands before bringing up her omni-tool. “All crew, strap yourselves in if you’re not needed at your station.”
Behind them, just standing outside of the cockpit were Javik and Kasumi. “The Leviathan have just declared war on the galaxy,” Javik said. While Kasumi settled herself in one of the jumpseats, Javik stood upright, arms crossed over his chest. “You should destroy the station and be done with it."
“Not happening,” Shepard said, practically growling. “Garrus, get to the battery and knock out those damn weapons.”
His heart started beating just a little bit faster, like it always did, when given permission to play with the guns. This wasn’t play, though. This was life or death for a whole hell of a lot of people. “On it, Shepard.”
Without a look back, Garrus ran to the elevator, hearing Shepard trying to get the station on the comm.
“This is Spectre Shepard, representing the Council. You’re shooting at a Council ship-”
The Normandy swerved violently as Garrus stood in front of the elevator. Made him wish for the SR-1, when he could just take the stairs down to the crew level. How in the galaxy could this be considered efficient?
Finally the elevator opened, and Garrus stepped inside, willing the thing to go as quickly as possible. Once the doors finally opened again, Garrus sprinted to the battery, ignoring the crew sitting in jump seats. The battery door opened at his approached, and there stood the console. A swipe of his talon brought it to life. He checked the readings, and tried to stay calm, even after he realized just how long it’d been since he did a fight like this without EDI’s assistance. “Crap,” Garrus muttered, opening up a channel to the cockpit.
“I’m at my station, Joker,” Garrus said, bringing up a visual of the station. Even though he’d hardly use it during the fight - the numbers were what mattered - Garrus still liked having it up to look at. As he talked, his talons flew over the controls, prepping the first shot. No Thanix today, that would cut through the station like a laser. “I’ve got the GUARDIAN locked on, ready to fire.”
There’s eight seconds between shots from them, Garrus. Soon as they take the next shot, I’m flying straight at them.
“Understood,” Garrus said, glancing at the visual. With the weapons built on top of the station, ideally there would be no collateral damage. All he needed was three little shots to take those bad boys out.
They’re firing.
Garrus gave Joker three seconds to straighten out the Normandy, then fired, then once again. Only one hit. “Damnit.” Garrus tried to calculate the numbers in his head, see where he went wrong. “Come on, you bastards,” Garrus muttered.
You gonna take another shot?
Ignoring Joker, Garrus concentrated on the numbers on his console. The station’s energy level spiked, another shot at the Normandy. Garrus targeted the orbital weapons and waited four seconds, then fired twice. Both hit. Clapping his hands together once, Garrus said, mandibles wide in a smile, “And down you go.”
Well, that was a short lived victory. Now they have shields. How you want to play this, Shepard?
Damnit. Can we knock out the shields from here?
To Garrus’ surprise, it was Cortez who spoke up next. They’re internal. From what it looks like, they’ve got two generators. One is for the shields, weapons, and most of their mining capabilities. The other is life support and powering their mass effect fields.
“We know which is which?” Garrus asked, looking at the vid screen. The generators were far enough apart he didn’t have to worry about destroying them both with one shot.
Cortez muttered some things under his breath, which Garrus couldn’t pick up. See the one closest to the main cargo bay entrance? That’s the one to take out.
Shepard chimed in next. You sure about that, Cortez?
Absolutely, ma’am.
You heard the man, Garrus. Take it out.
Garrus’ talons flew over the console, prepping the shot. Funny how an interface meant for ten fingers instead of six talons had became as comfortable to him as his omni-tool. Algorithm set, Garrus let the shot loose. He watched the visual and tried not to be too pleased with himself as it hit exactly where he intended. “And that is why I calibrate,” Garrus said, shifting his weight to one leg and crossing his arms over his chest.
He meant the words to be for himself, but of course the others heard. Yeah, yeah, Garrus. We’ll never get you to stop now.
That’s enough, Joker. Garrus, get back up here. I want you guys in there and finding the artifact as quickly as possible.
“On my way,” Garrus said, jogging out of the battery. This time, the elevator doors opened the moment Garrus pressed the interface. Once he stepped out of the CIC, Garrus saw not just Javik and Kasumi, but Samara and Vega, the latter wearing his hardsuit.
Shepard stood at the airlock. “Joker managed to land the ship in the cargo bay. Assume there’s no gravity or life support. Wiks is trying to get a more accurate map of where the artifact is. As soon as we have the location, we’ll tell you. Samara, Vega, and I will defend the ship if they try anything stupid. As soon as your team leaves, I’m grabbing my pistol.”
“Shepard,” Garrus said, thinking about her implants, if anything were to happen to her while he was out searching.
“You really think I’m going to let people onto my ship and not defend it, hearing implants or not?” Shepard said, her eyes meeting his and not backing down. Spirits, he loved this woman. “I’ll be fine, Garrus. If anyone actually makes it onto the ship, it’s Vega’s show. We’ll consider this part of his N1 training.”
“No one is setting a foot on this bird,” Vega said, slamming a fist into his palm.
Joker stood at the entrance of the cockpit, pistol in hand. “I should have let you guys take me to the firing range.”
“Enough talk,” Shepard said. “Get that artifact destroyed.”
Garrus grabbed his helmet from one of the jump seats and put it on, carefully checking the seals. Next to him, Kasumi had on a breathing mask covering her entire face. Javik’s mask, on the other hand, only covered his nose and mouth. “Might not be atmo out there, Javik.”
“I am geared sufficiently,” Javik said.
“Alright, then. Joker, put up the forcefield,” Garrus said, taking his assault rifle off his back. The Black Widow stayed strapped on for now. He stayed still while the forcefield went up, separating the trio from the rest of the ship. “We’ll be back before supper.”
Garrus opened the docking bay door. The moment he did, Kasumi went into stealth and Javik took out his Particle Rifle. A tiny barricade awaited them, with five beings of various races, standing firm. Javik fired first, and the people scattered. “They are not trained. Leviathan is making them do this.”
“Let’s try not to kill anyone today,” Garrus said as they started making their way down the stairs. “Concussive rounds, only, unless it’s you or them. Kasumi, you clear?”
Already out of the cargo bay. You people are slow.
“Joker, you can retract the stairs. Let’s make it a little harder for anyone who tries to get on board.”
Shepard left her drone and a turret at the entrance while she changes, Garrus. I think we’ll be okay. But even as Joker spoke, Garrus was relieved to hear the gentle whir of the stairs retracting.
From the files he read before they traveled here, Garrus knew that there were twenty-seven workers at this facility. Mostly miners, with some administration types thrown in. Regular people, just trying to make their way in the galaxy, and Leviathan took that chance away from them. He’d do his best to make sure they got their lives back. They deserved nothing less.
Wiks here. There seem to be two artifacts at this location. One on either side of the building.
“Thanks, Wiks. Hear that, Kasumi?”
Searching port side first. Not much resistance here. Bet they’re all hiding with the other artifact.
It didd’t take long before the resistance from the barricade was dealt with. These were clearly miners, probably rarely held a gun before. Now they were unconscious, lying in a heap on the ground. All Garrus could hope was that they hadn’t been injured too badly.
“Javik and I will start searching starboard,” Garrus said as he reloaded his rifle. As they exited the cargo bay, another four miners waited, including an elcor with a missile launcher on their back. “That is not what I wanted to see.”
A small rocket launched, and Garrus and Javik had to dive out of the way. Bringing himself up on one knee, Garrus shot the elcor in the right front leg. They screamed out in pain, and lowered their front legs. Thanks to that, the missile launch faced the ground, instead of the hallway. Much safer that way.
I could use a little help here!
Kasumi’s voice made both Garrus and Javik turn and start running to the port side. What sort of trouble could Kasumi get into that she couldn’t stealth out of? Thankfully, she didn’t sound hurt of panicked, just calm as she asked for assistance.
They turned down a hallway and Garrus saw two vorcha outside a room, banging the door and trying to get inside. If there was one sentient species Garrus hated fighting more than any of the others, it was the damn vorcha. Bastards were nearly impossible to kill. Even wounding them barely made a dent.
“Kill them and be done with it,” Javik said, his voice dismissive. “They are nothing more than vermin.”
Javik’s casual disdain for the two vorcha infuriated Garrus. “We’re not killing them,” Garrus snapped. No civilian casualties. It had been his hard, fast rule since he had taken the mantle of Archangel. He damn well wasn’t about to change that now. Didn’t matter that Javik was right, that as of today, the galaxy was unofficially at war with Leviathan. Didn’t matter that these vorcha would kill him without a second thought, thanks to Leviathan. They weren’t soldiers of mercenaries. They were civilians.
Garrus was not about to let them be killed.
“You’ve got your lift grenades, right?” Javik nodded, and Garrus could swear he was rolling his eyes. “That will give Kasumi four seconds to get out of there, then three seconds for us to move them into the room when they’re stunned. You get all that, Kasumi?”
I liked the part where I get out of this damn room. It’s cramped.
“Perfect for a couple of vorcha, then.” Garrus turned to Javik, who already had a grenade out. “On my mark. Three. Two. One. Mark.”
The moment Javik threw the grenade, Garrus sprinted down the corridor, just as Kasumi opened the door to the room. The lift wore off, slamming the vorcha to the ground. There was just enough time to push the vorcha into the room and slam the door shut. As the stun wore off, the vorcha started to scream. Garrus took advantage of the time and overloaded the door console. No vorcha was getting out of that room any time soon.
“Appreciate the assist,” she said with a laugh. “Didn’t think playing Duck Duck Vorcha was in my cards today. You do manage to keep things entertaining.”
“Any luck with the artifact?” Garrus asked.
“Artifact one is destroyed. Time to find number two.”
She quickly went back into stealth, leaving Garrus and Javik alone with the sound of the vorcha pounding on the door. They made their way back to the makeshift barricade. The elcor that Garrus shot in the leg now lay on their side, and Garrus’ stomach clenched, hoping he hadn’t killed them without meaning to. What did he know about elcor physiology?
“Shepard, tell Chakwas, she’s going to have some wounded when the artifacts are destroyed,” Garrus said through the comm.
Already on it. She’s here with two other crewmen. Just waiting for the all clear.
“How’s the ship?” Garrus asked, prepping to turn a corner.
No one’s tried anything. Vega’s bored.
“Let’s keep it that way,” Garrus said. “Kasumi, find anything yet?”
Looks like the rest of the crew is guarding the artifact. No way I can get to it. But…
“Talk to me, Kasumi.”
Sweet little sniper’s perch if you can get up to it. You should be able to destroy the thing. I’ll find you.
“Why aren’t they hiding it? Covering it?” Garrus asked.
“Perhaps if it is covered, Leviathan is not able to use the artifact,” Javik said. “It is a theory we should look into.”
Wiks spoke up next. I’m already sending the theory to the science team. We’ll look into this right away.
Kasumi appeared out of thin air. “Follow me,” she said.
She lead Garrus and Javik through a hallway to the edge of the mining production area. “The minute we go through these doors, they’re going to be on to us,” Kasumi said. “There’s scaffolding to the left of the doorway. Maybe Javik and I can distract them while you set up the shot?”
“Good a plan as any,” Garrus said, latching his assault rifle to his back. Hopefully the scaffolding would be able to support his weight. “Let’s finish this.”
“I’ll go left, you go right,” Kasumi said to Javik, who nodded.
Garrus cracked his neck as Javik and Kasumi went through the doors. He followed immediately, finding the scaffolding, and wishing for a stealth kit of his own. Climbing, much like swimming, was something no turian was good at. But that didn’t stop him from climbing as quickly as he could. Garrus ignored how he was breathing heavily by the time he made it to the top. Gunfire and shouts could be heard as he grabbed the Black Widow from his back, his eyes scanning the room, looking for the artifact.
It stood in the far corner, unceremoniously placed on a desk. The scaffolding wasn’t deep enough for Garrus to lay down, so he got down on one knee, and took his time prepping the shot. He’d been sniping long enough that everything was second nature. His body relaxed, even with the chaos around him.
Once the target was in sight, Garrus held his breath, wanting no mistakes which might cost someone their life. The last thing he needed was a bad shot. If he missed, the enemy would tear the scaffolding down in an instant.
As gently as he liked to touch Shepard sometimes, he pressed down on the trigger.
A second later, the artifact was destroyed. Even having destroyed a couple of these bastards now, Garrus could never get over the sudden shift of atmosphere. How one moment people were trying to kill each other, and then were standing around in confusion.
The tension in his shoulders eased as the workers dropped their weapons, everyone talking at once. Garrus climbed down the scaffolding, needing to see that Leviathan’s control had ceased for himself. Kasumi waited for him at the bottom. “These people aren’t a threat,” she said softly. “We need to help them.”
“Shepard, let Chakwas off the ship. I’d have Vega escort her, though,” Garrus said.
Understood. Chakwas said to bring anyone that can be moved into the cargo bay. We’ll set up a triage station while we wait for an Alliance ship to take over.
Garrus switched to his private channel with Shepard. “We at war, Shepard?”
The silence that passed felt like an eternity. I dunno, she finally said. But you really think the Council will let this slide?
Garrus had a feeling he knew far too well the answer.