Chapter 1: Flung
Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Translation Error
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~July 7th 2025~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A woman waited patiently in the bus to take her to Stonehenge. She brushed her copper hair from her face as she looked out the window. The bus stopped and she waited for people to filter off the bus. She needed to be inconspicuous. Waiting for the inpatient people was the way to do that. She was one of the last people off the bus. She paid for her ticket and went with the others to see the ancient structure from the fenced site..
Her objective was clear. She was to investigate the places on Earth that the humans here thought were supernatural or where strange occurences were for Prothean tech to hopefully provide important information on how to defeat the Reapers or at the very least gain knowledge on ways to improve the tech her species already had to defend themselves from them. After she was done investigating Stonehenge her next stop was the Bermuda Triangle. Stonehenge was a place she wasn’t expecting to find anything interesting but orders were orders, and even as a high-level operative she could not question mission perameters.
Once she got close enough she went off to the side, drifted off into the shadows and activated her cloaking device. Human technology was severely lacking so it was easy to hack into things, and hide without having the humans around her suspect a thing. With the history of Stonehenge if they saw a flicker from the cloak they would naturally assume it was the mystery of Stonehenge. She climbed over the fence as quietly as possible, avoiding the stewards attention as she did so. She had hours to spare, but once on the other side of the fence she crept cloer to the stone circle. Her investigation would begin at nightfall.
Once nightfall finally arrived she waited for the visitors to leave and then finally began her investigation. She used her tech on her arm to scan for abnormalities on the stone circle first. When nothing showed up she headed slowly to the center in a spiral pattern and once at one of the fallen stones her tech beeped in her inner ear letting her know something was there. She knelt to the ground and got a better scan of the object. Based on the scan it was an old skeletion, that wasn’t human in origin, and some old tech. She couldn’t garner any information from the tech so she slowly dug in the ground, making a small hole to avoid suspicion. The tech was under one of the fallen stones so she had to dig around it while trying not to make it looked like it was disturbed. She took her time with it, not in a hurry so she could get a better read on the tech below her. Once the hole was deep enough she scanned the tech for a better idea of what it was before she tried again to copy the information but little was copied. Frustrated she decided to dig the whole a touch wider. Doing so her fingers brushed the metal of the device..
She realized that touching it was the wrong thing to do immediately when she heard the tech rev to life, her tactical cloak glitched out, her surroundings going white and then her falling at an angle, in the sunlight, and landing on someone with red and black armor, hard. Her shields barely had enough time to flare to life once her tech processed she was in the air. She heard a gunshot during her impact before her vision darkened and she passed out.
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She awoke, dilerious, mind foggy, head in pain and her back throbbing in a dull pain. She groaned and she tried to move her hand to her head and then realized it was tied down. She tried to move her legs and realized they too were restrained. She pushed back the pain, leaning on her training to do so. She began to panic. Her vibrant green eyes widened and she took note of where she was. The lights were bright, there was a hum all around her, there was a small beep every couple of seconds that was quickening, the walls were metal and the shutters were down. She lifted her body up and realized that her imaging software had not glitched like her tactical cloak had. It was the one small mercy she had at a time like this. She had an IV on the back of her hand. She was in some sort of clinic.
She heard a hissing and her brain tried to figure out what that was. Four figures came to view from behind a small privacy divider, one was a human man in armor she had never seen a human wear before. The other human man, older, and in what she assumed was a military uniform that she did not recognize. The man in armor’s bright blue eyes captured her vibrant green before she laid her eyes on the two other… things. They were not human, they looked more like a raptor with feather like protrusions from their head. One of them, with mocha brown plating and white markings on his face, had incredibly sharp teeth that she could see from behind their… mandibles? They were some sort of bug-raptor-bird hybid.
Great.
The other had greyish blue plating and blue markings and a visor. The beeping from the machine quickened and the one with blue markings said something. She didn’t understand.
The beeping quickened.
The lack of control, being restrained, and lack of understanding caused her panic to heighten. The armored human had focused on the blue marked alien before looking at her.
“Who are you?”
That was something she wasn’t going to answer. Answering meant death. She kept quiet. The white marked alien said something. The human looked at him before looking at her expectantly. Her panic rose.
“I don’t understand” She said quickly and quietly. The white marked alien sighed and said something again. Her panic rose. The beeping quickened once more. The blue marked alien said something and the human looked concerned before turning to her
“Answer the question” He demanded
How could she answer something she didn’t understand?
“I don’t know what he is saying” She said, panic clearly lacing her voice at this point. Her training had not covered this type of situation and she hated feeling trapped. The human’s eyes widened a bit
“Don’t you have a translator?” He asked
What? A translator? Since when did humans have a damn transaltor? Since when did they feel so comfortable with aliens? Humans were cautious, paranoid creatures and could get very violent in their paranoid state. Their own movies with aliens showed how they expected aliens to attack them and how they would respond.
The human sighed and waved his right hand over his left and activated his tech which caused her to gasp and freak out more as he called someone in. Her breathing started to quicken before she was hyperventilating
She was no longer in 2025. That much was evident. When the fuck was she? She barely recognized the blue marked one saying something with a keening sound from him since her panic led her vision to tunnel.
She needed to calm down.
Her training kicked in as she tried to steady her breathing.
“When am I?” she asked between breaths, taking more deep breaths intermixed with ones that caused her breathing to flutter.
“Don’t you mean where are you?” The military man said
“No”
The two aliens began speaking and the humans focused on them. She took a deep breath to fix her breathing as best she could. The tunneling in her vision lessened. A hissing sound came out again, which must mean a door. She saw a woman peek in and the white marked alien said something which surprised the human woman in strange clothing. The military man nodded at the woman and she went to the other side of her and pulled out a syringe and at that point she was done.
Chapter 2: Cocktail Deployed
Summary:
The Vextran escapes the medbay and meets Wrex in the worst way possible.
Chapter Text
She needed to escape.
She let out a claw on each of her pointer fingers, unseen due to her imaging software and she began fighting against her restraints. She just needed to get her claw at the right angle to cut them. The blue marked one said something, the octave in his voice higher, and the human males then sighed, but looked concerned.
“You need to calm down, we are just giving you a translator” The armored man said
Nope. It could be anything, they could very well drug her and then do horrible things to her.
It wouldn’t be the first time.
She refused to let that happen to her again.
Her claws finally hit the restraints and with a simple flick she had cut through it. She ripped out the IV before she quickly sat up and cut through the restraints on her feet and launched herself over the two aliens that were between where she assumed the door and where she was. The aliens shouted, the humans were yelling but her brain was in overdrive and she couldn’t hear them as the panic and adrenaline rushed through her system as she rolled, sprung to her feet and sprinted to what she assumed was the door. It had some weird orange circle in the middle of it and an interface that she assumed opened the door. This gave her a moments pause. She brought her left hand to the interface and waved her right hand from her left wrist to the interface. Her tech activated, unseen to the aliens around her, a light blue with multiple bands formed from her elbow to her wrist and with her quick typing, claws slightly extended, had her tech hack into the mainframe in the interface and the door opened quickly as the human men and the two aliens advanced on her. The whole thing took 30 seconds but in her heightened state seemed like minutes. She rushed out of the door and looked around quickly. The yelling from behind her alerted the two humans, a man and a woman also in armor, who were sitting and eating at a table, to her presence. They stood and she fled down the hallway, bounding up the stairs.
Once at the top she realized she was on a spaceship, and was in some sort of strange looking command center.
She was in space.
When was she?!
Humans had not reached spaceflight to this level, they still used rockets!
Where was she?!
She looked around frantically and saw that she had made the wrong move. There were a bunch of people here and they were alerted to her presence by the yelling behind her. She noted another set of stairs going down and rushed that way.
The alien with the white markings bounded up the stairs and blocked the way. His hands out making a gesture for her to calm down saying something she couldn’t understand. But she was in fight or flight mode and she wasn’t going to get trapped again.
Never again.
She leaned down and typed something on her knee. The white marked alien rose an eyebrow plate. To him she was tapping her knee on her jeans, not activating slide on her armor under the imaging software. She took a deep breath and rushed at him, he readied himself to try and catch her, assuming she was going to vault over him again.
He wasn’t expecting her to slide between his now open legs and then rush down the stairs. The alien yelled something behind her.
She ran down the hallway, entering the mess from the opposite side she was on previously. The two humans tried to block her path on the bottom of the stairs but she quickly used her momentum to jump from the wall near the stairs to vault over them and tucked herself into a roll on impact and kept running down a different hallway near the stairs. She saw some sort of interface on the wall and when she got closer she realized it was probably an elevator.
Using her tech she hacked into it and took the elevator down. She didn’t know when she was, but obviously it was a long ways in the future since humans had tech that looked similar enough to her own. Perhaps she could get lucky and find some sort of shuttle to get her out of here and get answers.
The elevator opened and she rushed out. Taking a quick survey of her surroundings, she panicked more when there were no shuttles, just a big vehicle with 6 wheels. She saw a different alien, one that was red, huge, and had scar marks on over the right side of his face near his eye. He said something and the sound caused a ripple of fear to come over her. She frantically searched her surroundings for something to protect herself. The red alien came closer, slowly, and she felt that she was prey to the hulking alien. To her terror the elevator was no longer an escape option as it had gone up to the floor she was on previously.
Orders were orders, no matter when she was, her imaging software had to stay on and she couldn’t do anything that would convince those around her that she wasn’t human. Punishment was death.
Death was worse than being trapped.
She took a deep breath, the training once more kicking in, and noted the pipe near her. In a flash the alien lunged at her to grab her at the same time she lunged for the pipe. She barely escaped his grasp. She clutched the pipe and swung at his head, like a baseball player would hit a baseball. The vibrations from the impact hurt her hands and she dropped the pipe and gasped in terror as the red alien growled dangerously as he turned towards her fully.
She shouldn’t have done that.
That was a huge mistake.
Now she really was going to die by this alien.
The elevator doors opened showing the human man in armor from the clinic and the alien with white markings.
The red alien rushed her, bringing up his fist to punch her.
He was too close and there wasn’t a strategic place for her to dodge out of the way. She tapped at her tech quickly bringing up all her shielding since her escape options were blocked as he swung his fist at her.
The impact hitting her ribs on her right side and causing her to fly into the bulkhead of the ship a few meters behind her. She gasped a breath and groaned as she slid to the floor. She coughed and found blood on her hand when she pulled it. The blood looked red because of the imaging software. She knew it was a light blue though. The red alien growled and said something. The white marked alien yelled something at the red alien, which caused the the red alien to yell back and point at her. The two argued and the human looked pissed.
“Ardi, I need a cocktail” She groaned quietly the alien with white marking looked at her confused.
The raptor-bird-bug aliens have good hearing.
Amazing.
Her tech activated and she felt a mixture of stims, medication and various drugs hit her system all at once. Breathing still hurt, but it was better than before. She struggled to stand and groaned at the effort as her cocktail started to numb the pain. The red alien said something at her. The human rolled his eyes.
“Cocktail provided, 10 minutes before cocktail depleted” Ardi said through her comms in her inner ear.
“We need to get you to the med bay to get you some medigel and a translator” The human man said gently. She flicked a hand to her temple to activate her visor, once again unseen to the aliens due to her imaging software and scanned her environment. She got a blueprint of the area.
She needed to escape.
She noted an airduct opening to her left behind some crates and a room which was a dead-end that was also most likely locked. The human with armor slowly came towards her, arms out doing a calm down gesture and as the cocktail fully hit and as he got closer he saw her blown out pupils as she started darting her eyes from place to place. Her visor pointing out various information as she did so, and she formulated a plan. He took a step closer, nearly to the point where he could touch her and she quickly grabbed his arm, pulled him towards her and hit him hard where the armor of his leg connected to his groin. She had noted that the under armor was not as hard as the armor around it.
He groaned at the action and she easily escaped to the left as he fell to his knees. The red alien caught his fist in his other hand and growled and advanced on her.
The alien with white markings sighed but moved to block the elevator doors.
The elevator went up.
That escape option was out. Airduct it was.
The red alien charged towards her and she popped her neck quickly before diving out of the way, tucking and rolling causing her to cough blood at the action on the floor. She used her claws on her four fingers to get momentum and pull herself forward and launched herself over the crates near the corner. She used her claws and a bit of tech to get under the grate and pull it away from the opening forcibly, the screws getting stripped in the process.
More yelling behind her as the red alien threw the crates to the side. The alien with white marking dove at her but was a few seconds too slow as she dove into the airduct and crawled to safety.
“Fuck” she heard behind her from the human and the alien with white marking said something she assumed was a curse as well.
She got to an intersection of airducts and stopped. A chill went down her spine as she heard an announcement go ship-wide as it reverberated in the airducts, from the human man in armor.
“Attention all personnel. A human woman with orange hair”
“It’s copper idiot” she muttered
“Is in our airducts. All ground crew please report to the location on your omni-tool. She does not have a translator. Please proceed with caution.”
“Fucking damnit” She muttered. She tried to pull up her tactical cloak, it refused to come to life. A scan of it she realized whatever tech she had touched had damaged her tactical cloak and she growled in frustration.
What the fuck was that tech?!
“5 minutes until cocktail depleted.” She growled.
She scanned the area with her tech and visor. For lack of a better area she headed to the medbay. She had gathered enough information to figure out where she was and figured that would be the place where she hoped they wouldn’t expect her to go. She coughed again and slowly crawled, taking the airduct to the left being as quiet as possible.
“2 minutes until cocktail depleted” She groaned mentally before looking through the slats of the airduct opening. She quietly opened it and crawled out. Her breathing hitched as her lungs burned at the exertion and pain. Even the cocktail couldn’t rid the pain in her lungs. That was a very bad sign. She filed it away for later.
Safety, escape, then worry about her lungs and what was damaged.
Once out of the airduct she got her bearings, trying to get her breathing under control even as she struggled to get air in her lungs. She was in the storage closet of the med bay. She noted the open door to the medbay and quietly got to the doorway and was quickly grabbed and forced on the ground, landing in the storage area. She struggled but the alien with blue markings grabbed her hands and restrained them above her head and placed his weight on her so she couldn’t get away.
She began to panic
No one will hear you scream and no one will care
She forced the memory from her mind but struggled, panicking more. The alien above her sighed. Grabbed the syringe he had with him took the cap from the needle off with his sharp teeth and sunk the needle in her inner left wrist and sunk the plunger down. He removed the needle as she continued to struggle and continued to keep the horrible mental images and memories away.
Not again.
Not again.
He spit out the cap and put the syringe down.
Chapter 3: Classified
Summary:
No longer bound by a language barrier, but cocktail nearly depleted. The Operative must decide what information to provide without risking her life too much while wanting answers of her own.
Notes:
I'm still trying to figure out a good chapter length on Ao3. So to make up for the first 2 chapters being shorter than I wanted I'm giving you a nice chunky one.
I can't guarantee the chapters will remain this length. But we'll see.
Next chapter will hopefully be out next week.
Chapter Text
“Can you understand me now?” He asked gently after a moment, allowing the translator time to work. She calmed briefly and nodded in shock. He let out a sigh of relief. He activated his tech but didn’t let her go.
“1 minute until cocktail depletion”
“Commander, I got her.”
“Understood, on my way”
“I’m not going to hurt you” He looked at her, studying her. She looked at him incredulously before saying three words that sent cold shivers down her spine
“You’re not human”
She paled, eyes going wide and heartrate quickening. He marked it on his visor.
She was going to die.
She had royally fucked up the one rule in off-world missions, meaning death.
A very long torturous death.
“I believe you don’t want others to know right?” She nodded “I won‘t tell anyone if you cooperate” She nodded again.
“What are you?” She asked, gasping for breath. Some of the pain was coming through. Not a good sign. The cocktail was ending soon.
“I’m a Turian” He said. “What are you?”
“A Vextra” She groaned out
“I don’t know that species” He mumbled to himself.
“Cocktail depleted” The pain in her ribs came in a rush and she gasped before hissing in pain and he quickly took some weight off her right side.
“I will release your arms and get you some medi-gel if you don’t run or fight me. Do we have a deal?” She struggled a breath in and nodded, eyes shut tightly in pain. It hurt to breathe. He released her hands and rose slowly. They were in the med bay storage closet so he reached up to grab a packet of medi-gel nearby without releasing her leg that was between his knees. She slowly brought down her arms, wincing and groaning from the movement.
“What's medi-gel?” She asked, still struggling to breathe. His eyes widened a bit at the question.
“Lift up your shirt” He said. She looked at him with wide eyes before they narrowed at him.
She willed away the memories that flooded her mind with those words.
She would still be in armor.
Unseen armor.
Different situation.
“The medi-gel will give you pain relief and help you heal. I need to get to your injury” He explained gently and the fear lessened a little as she slowly lifted her plain black t-shirt and exposed the nasty looking bruise from the punch from the red alien. He grimaced. “You’re lucky you’re alive. Krogan punches can be quite perilous” He said softly as he applied the gel to the injury. In reality the gel was going on top of her armor but the medi-gel was seeping through the fabric a bit and gave her some relief.
“What's a Krogan?” He looked concerned.
“The red alien” He answered
“How did you figure out I wasn’t human?” She asked quietly
“The claws on the floor in the cargo bay and droplets of light blue blood near it. You used some sort of tech to bypass the lock on the door, but don’t have an omni-tool, or anything on your wrist meaning this is an illusion.” He answered calmly gesturing to her “Not to mention the claw marks near the airduct opening.
She was so very fucked. She was going to die.
“You had asked when you were. What year were you in?”
The Human men came into the closet right as the words left his mouth. They were followed by an alien, the other Turian, with white markings on his face and the woman who she assumed was a doctor.
“She has a translator” The Turian above her said “But she is badly hurt, struggling to breathe and her blood pressure is high and heartbeat is erratic.” He added looking at the woman.
She was a doctor then.
“Get her on the bed” The doctor ordered. The Turian with the blue markings got up and reached for her hand. She hesitantly gave it to him. He pulled her up gently causing a scream of pain to let loose from her lips since he used too much strength to do so. Vextrans were lighter than humans. He nearly flung her directly into his still armored chest, knocking the wind out of her.
“Sorry.” He said sheepishly and held her arm as she took as deep a breath in as she could, barely getting any breath in the process and let out a deep cough showing blood in her hand and causing her to wince in pain from the action. The Human man in armor and the Turian with blue markings helped her to the bed as gently as they could and once on the bed, she moved her hands and feet to be away from the restraints.
The doctor ran some scans. Reading them confused.
“Commander, lock the door” The armored Human man looked at the military man and nodded, going to do so.
He was in charge then.
The Turian with blue markings sighed and seeing the doctors concerned but confused face said “She isn’t human”
She glared at him. He fucking lied.
“What is she then?” The military man asked, arms crossing over his chest.
“She said she is a Vextra”
She now officially hated this Turian
“Spirits, what is that?” The white marked Turian asked. The blue marked Turian shrugged.
“She give you her name?” The Commander asked. The blue marked Turian shook his head. The doctor sighed.
“I don’t know what a Vextra is, but I do know your ribs are broken and if you keep moving, one may puncture your lung.” She grimaced. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t know how to help you without information on your biology.” She said concerned.
“Who are you” The white marked Turian asked
She pursed her lips, she was done giving information.
She now didn’t trust Turians.
“Not now, I need to figure out how to help her injuries first” The doctor reprimanded. The Turian gave her a harsh look in return, his mandibles ticking against his jaw.
“Damnit” The Vextran said as she sighed. Her breathing was getting worse, and she needed to address it. Without the cocktail, moving was difficult. Her muttering brought the attention on her. “Disable imaging software.” She muttered and, in a shimmer, the human illusion disappeared. The five aliens looked at her in shock as they looked at the woman, the Vextra, in front of them.
She had a flatter and wider face than a human that tapered to a pointed chin. She had a design on her face that was a very pale green. It looked like some sort of filigree. Her nose barely protruded and at the tip was a small feline-looking nose. She had pointed ears on top of her head. Her skin was a stormy sage green and because of the common piebald trait in Vextra, her face, neck, stomach and the inside her arms and legs were a pale sage green. Her hair was a light lavender-grey color, with pale light blue and purple streaks mixed in. It was in a high ponytail and tiny braids were made from the hair at her hairline, covering the rest of her hair on her head as they formed a delicate cable-like pattern on her head. The only part not in braids on her hairline was her bangs that were swept to the side. Her sclera was black and contrasted her large expressive green eyes that in the right light shone silver. Her eyes were easily twice the size of a humans. Her armor was a black catsuit, with decorative piping in a pale blue color forming a corset pattern and adding to her silhouette. The piping accented her tiny, toned waist and wide hips and thick thighs attached to long legs. There was some filigree on her collar in the same pale blue. Black mesh covered the outer part of her arms and legs. Her feet were really large paws covered in what could be considered a sock that went up to her hock, which was the same pale blue.
She had to make a choice and sighed in irritation because being touched had her running from horrible memories that she desperately wanted to forget.
“I need to be held down.” She gasped out. The men in front of her looked at her with wild eyes. “Please?” She groaned out and begged. The Commander and the white marked Turian complied, though thoroughly confused and applied pressure to her shins. She looked at the blue marked Turian, and sighed. She didn’t want to be touched again, especially by the lying Turian, but she knew she would be thrashing about and that would cause further damage, and she was growing more concerned about her lungs by the second. She took a shaky breath in, wincing at the action “I need you to hold down my arms” She said, and he looked concerned but complied. She took another shaky breath “Ardi, vocalize in English”
She figured speaking in Kajefka would come off as untrustworthy.
This was not the situation to have that happen.
“Acknowledged” Said a mechanical female voice as her tech came to life. The aliens looked at her tech in confusion.
It wasn’t like theirs.
“Run Program: Medi-scan”
“Acknowledged. Please stand by.” A few seconds went by as a thin horizontal light passed through the fabric of her catsuit, from the neck to her feet and back again. “Medi-scan complete. Warning: 4 ribs broken, puncture of lungs imminent. Internal bleeding and severe bruising. Warning: Previous injury detected. Bruising in upper back and shoulder blades. Error. Unable to scan head. Based off of scan head injury likely.”
Fuck, that sounded really bad.
She knew the next part was really going to hurt.
“Run Program: Mend” She gasped out
“Acknowledged. Please stand by.” The black fabric of her cat suit slowly turned white around her worst injuries, before turning red and the Vextra screamed in pain, trashing her limbs as her tech began mending her body in the quickest but equally most painful way possible. The men holding her arms and shins had to apply extra pressure to keep her still. The program only took a couple minutes before the fabric turned from red back to white, then back to black and a thin white light scanned the area again. She sank into the bed, gasping for breath. Sweat dripping down her face in exertion. Pain clearly evident on her face.
That was the worst mend she had ever gone through.
She needed to avoid that red alien.
“Project: Mend complete. Ribs back in place. Lung puncture no longer imminent. Warning: internal bleeding and bruising in upper back and shoulder blades unable to mend”
“Ardi, administer pain meds please” She groaned out, still trying to catch her breath. The aliens around her had wide eyes and concern on their different faces.
“Error. Cannot provide pain medicine due to the cocktail provided earlier”
“Mother fucking damnit” She cursed under her breath. The blue marked Turian let her arms go.
“Are you ok?” He asked gingerly
“No” She groaned out “Can you release my legs please” She asked weakly.
“I’m doing another scan” the doctor said
“I will release your legs after we get answers to our questions” The Commander said. The Vextra closed her eyes in annoyance. This was officially the worst day of her life.
“Fine”
“Wait” the doctor said. “Your VI said a cocktail? A cocktail of what?” The doctor asked
“Stimulants, pain medication, cocaine and various other drugs” The doctor sighed.
“If what your VI said is true we need to flush the cocktail from your system before providing pain medication” She nodded in understanding
“Ardi, how long before pain meds can be administered?”
“3 hours if the cocktail is flushed from your system. Otherwise, 7 hours. Based off of injuries recommended four days of bed rest for full recovery.”
“Ancestors” She looked up at the ceiling and glared at it “Why do you hate me so?” She muttered. The doctor went to the storage closet and grabbed the supplies she needed. She went back to the Vextra and when faced with a look of distrust the doctor sighed and explained what she was going to do.
“This is saline, I am going to flush your system with it. May I apply an IV?”
“Fine”
Once in place. she nodded to the Commander and military and gestured for him to go ahead.
“What is your name?”
She sighed. She was already fucked.
Maybe she would be in the clear.
Knowing her luck, she wasn’t.
“23”
“That isn’t a name” The blue marked Turian commented
“I was called 23” She said harshly as she glared at the blue marked Turian. The aliens looked at her in a mix of shock and confusion
“Her vitals say she is telling the truth” The blue marked Turian responded, confusion lacing his voice
“Why would they call you 23 instead of a name? Do all Vextra have numbers for names?” The white marked Turian asked. She sighed again.
“Classified” She said smugly. The white marked Turian growled.
If she was going to be in this situation with lying Turians she might as well have fun with it. She was living in her last days after all.
“Where is your homeworld?”
“Classified”
“You need to give us something” The white marked Turian said
She pursed her lips.
“Dr. Chakwas, can we safely administer a truth serum?” The military man asked
“No”
She growled, and her eyes found his.
“Do you want to die?” She asked
“Is that a threat?” The Commander asked, narrowing his eyes at the Vextra.
“Not from me. The consequences of me telling you anything is a fuck-ton of Operatives coming after you and then after killing everyone on the ship. Then killing me through torture, very, very slowly.” She said through the pain. “I’d like to avoid that fate, wouldn’t you” The military man sighed.
“Why is that?”
“The Vextra really like their secrets”
The blue marked Turian, the liar, flicked out one of his mandibles in what she assumed was a smirk.
“You’re one of these Operatives aren’t you?”
Fuck.
She really hated that one.
Way too preceptive.
Her silence, glare and slight growl was her answer.
“So, military?” the Commander said. She guffawed slightly before stopping quickly wincing at the action. Her ribs were very sore for the harsh mending program.
Military? Ha!
A level 5 Operative superseded all military personnel in emergencies and the military weren’t allowed off world. The idea of them thinking of her as one was equally insulting and funny. They acted more like human police rather than human military.
“No” She explained
“Why don’t you have a name?” the blue marked Turian commented. The Commander glanced at the Turian, raising an eyebrow at him
“Classified” She answered. She was getting annoyed. The Turian growled deeply at her reaction. She gave him a smirk in return.
She was getting him annoyed. Good.
This situation sucked but she was no longer going to be cooperative. These people couldn’t be trusted
“You said you would cooperate” The blue marked Turian said
“You said you wouldn’t tell anyone” She snapped back venomously. He stepped back and scratched the back of his neck. The three men looked at the Turian. The Commander lifted an eyebrow
“Really Garrus?”
“I-“ He stammered
“Let me go” She growled darkly to the two alien men holding her legs. She was tired of this situation.
The military man sighed.
“You can’t tell us about your species correct?” She nodded “Let’s make a deal. You answer questions not related to your species and we release your feet” The military man said carefully. She glared at him
“I’m not falling for that again” She said quickly, adding an ever-heated glare at the blue marked Turian “Release my feet first and I’ll answer the questions I can.” She responded, a sharp look at the military man.
“We want to avoid another situation like earlier” He said “I’d prefer to have you restrained”
“I can barely move as it is. I can’t have pain meds or another cocktail. I can barely take a full breath without pain and I don't want to try moving in my current state.” She listed off “Two of you had to help me get to the bed. I’m in no position to try to escape again”
“She is correct in that” The doctor piped in. The military man sighed.
“Another thing, keep him” She gave a heated glare at the blue marked lying Turian “Away from me. I’ll be much more cooperative then”
The white marked Turian laughed at the look the blue marked Turian had on his face.
“I-“ The blue marked Turian started
“I don’t care” She interrupted him venomously. “I don’t get fooled twice” She added darkly
“I like her more and more” The white marked Turian muttered, one of his mandibles flicked outwards. She assumed it was a smirk. The blue marked Turian glared at him.
She retracted her earlier assessment.
She didn’t trust one Turian. The other one was okay, especially if he irritated the one she had so much disdain for.
The military man sighed “Detective Vakarian, please stand in front of storage area. Release her feet” He commanded. She moved her feet away, trying to curl in a ball quickly. The motion caused her to gasp out a yelp of pain and stopped the action midway. Her once hidden tail attempted to curl around her feet but stopped midway, laying parallel to her legs. The Commander let out a small smile when he saw the tail.
“There was no record of you on Eden Prime, how did you get there?” The white marked Turian asked
“Where’s Eden Prime?” She snapped back. Pain made it difficult to keep the anger of the situation at bay and out of her voice
This situation sucked.
“You said you’d cooperate” The military man replied
“Can’t cooperate with things I don’t know” She snipped. Her tail began tapping the bed next to her showing her frustration.
“Eden Prime is located in the Utopia System” The Commander said eyes lowered
“Where the fuck is that?” She snapped back. The military man pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation
The white marked Turian activated his tech and tapped away at it, bringing up a projection of the Exodus Cluster.
“This is the Exodus Cluster” He said “This” He pointed with one of his long-clawed, armored talons “Is the Utopia system” He tapped it and brought up a close-up of the system and then pointed to the second planet in the system “This is Eden Prime” He finished.
Her eyes were wide, and jaw went slightly slack at the information. She straightened out and slowly got closer to the projection until her body protested and she winced.
How?
“How?” She vocalized her thought in shocked, confused awe.
“That’s what we’d like to know” The Commander said, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms. His eyes still lowered at pointedly looking at her.
That damn tech. She seethed internally
She was doubtful the tech was Prothean at this point. Protheans didn’t have the tech to do this, most of the time it was information stored in shards, not something that would send you across the galaxy and forward in time.
“Where’s Earth in comparison?” She squeaked out. The anger and frustration no longer in her voice.
The Turian zoomed out and then pointed to another cluster and she went pale.
How was this possible?
“You were on Earth before weren’t you?” The Detective asked. She instantly glared at him.
She refused to answer anything he asked.
Simply to spite him.
She was petty like that.
Fucking liar.
“There were no ship logs stating a ship arrived at Eden Prime from Earth recently. How did you get there?” The military man asked. Taking the glare as a yes.
“I don’t know how to explain it” She said.
“She flew out of the sky and crashed into me” The white marked Turian mentioned “There were no ships in the area she flew from”
She crashed into him?
“She wouldn’t have survived a fall from the stratosphere without a helmet on. Besides the fall from such a height would have killed her. I doubt she fell from a ship” The Doctor stated. Eyes came back to the Vextra looking at her expectantly for an explanation.
She recalled the things she could remember before waking up here. Fingers massaging her temple and her stormy sage green fluffy tail wrapping around her stomach slightly in comfort. Most of what she remembered was a blur, but she remembered hitting some black and red thing hard. Seeing the Turian in black and red armor, it made sense
Would giving information about the tech be considered a crime?
Her mission was to gain information useful for defending against or attacking the Reapers. But this information had nothing to do with that. Would it be safe to tell them?
The blue marked Turian sighed at her lack of response, and brought back a topic he wanted answers about.
“Her first question was not where she was, but when” He reminded
Ancestors she was really beginning to abhor him.
“Yeah, that was really weird” The Commander replied. “She freaked out when I used my omni-tool, almost like she had never seen one before.” He said and then looked at her “What year were you in?”
That wasn’t part of the mission, and she was terrified and curious as well what year she had been thrown into.
“2025” She said quietly. Afraid of the response. The human's eyes went wide. The Turians let out a little chirp and their mandibles went slack.
“What year is it?” She asked slowly, fear in her voice very evident. Their response had officially freaked her out
“2183” the military man responded.
She was stunned. Eyes wide and her mind blank
Everyone she knew was probably dead
Better yet he was dead… possibly…
Hopefully he was dead.
Her mission on earth would be considered a failure.
She was presumed dead.
No, she would be labeled as an MIA Operative which was much, much worse.
What the hell does she do now? Her training did not cover this at all and it made her feel out of sorts with the unprecedented situation she found herself in.
Mission parameters and laws still applied, grounding her slightly.
The four aliens turned to the blue marked Turian
“She’s telling the truth” He said still stunned.
“How-“ The Commander started still stunned “How did you get from Earth in 2025, to Eden Prime in 2183?” He asked
Would telling this information lead to an even more gruesome death?
She was already dead if she was found by another Vextra.
She needed to know though too. She doubted they would leave her alone to figure it out.
So fuck it.
She took a breath in, it strained her still sore rib area, and she winced at the action
“That’s something I’d like to know myself” She said, activating her tech, extracting her claws slightly to search for the last scan she did of the tech on Earth. “I was at Stonehenge” She said as wrote away in her tech
“Where?” The white marked Turian asked
“It’s in England, on Earth” The military man responded. Eyes flitted back to hers as she wrote away
“Why were you there?” The Commander asked
“Classified” She responded. He sighed at her answer “I found some tech. I thought it might be Prothean” The aliens perked at the word, she pretended not to notice their reaction. “I had to dig to get a better scan of it. I was unable to copy the data completely so I made a bigger hole and I accidentally touched it. Then everything went to shit”
“Define ‘went to shit’” The military man asked
“I felt like I was flung, everything went white. My tactical cloak malfunctioned. Then I was in sunlight, falling down fast, my tech recognized I was in the air and activated my shield suite, I saw red and black, hit the thing hard and heard a gunshot before everything went black and I was tied up here” She said
“Telling the truth” The lying Detective responded in shocked awe
“What tech did you touch? You said you ‘thought’ it was Prothean?” The Turian with white markings asked
She finished tapping at her tech and pulled up a projection of the tech she touched with the skeleton. She zoomed in and got a better look
“The skeleton is not Prothean” She said after a moment. The aliens looked at her
“You know this how?” The military man looked at her. She sighed gave him a pointed look and said the word that they now all hated hearing from her
“Classified”
“Of course” The Commander said in a huff, leaning back against the wall again, arms crossed.
She focused on the tech rather than the skeleton and studied it, zooming in on different aspects before looking at the skeleton again and seeing the remnants of tech that Protheans wouldn’t have and a skeletal structure they didn’t have either.
“What are you?” She muttered before tapping and writing frantically on her tech. The aliens stayed silent. They knew as much as she did at the moment and thought it best to let her figure out how she was flung to this time and across the galaxy.
She pulled up a few things for only her to see, comparing, growling, and muttering things under her breath that wasn’t in English so their translators couldn’t understand it.
After 30 minutes of them standing there silently, she gasped, her eyes wide.
“It’s Zha! Right before they turned into the Zha’til!” She exclaimed to herself. So engrossed in her search she forgot she wasn’t alone.
“What is a Zha?” The military man asked, his words causing her to make a gasped mew come out of her mouth in surprise. The Commander stifled a smile. That was awful cat-like and adorable.
“Uh” she gathered herself together and decided after a moment that the information wasn’t mission critical.
“They were one of the species that existed during the cycle of the Protheans.” She said.
Their reactions registered differing levels of not understanding.
“You’ve never heard of them” She stated, sighed and braced herself. “Okay, I know you’re obviously military of some sort, and the two of you,” She gestured to the armored human and the white marked Turian “seem like you had military training” She pointed to the blue marked Turian, glowering at him in the process “And the miliary dude” The Commander tried to stifle his guffaw with a cough as the military man glared at the armored man “said you were a detective” She paused “So I doubt any of you want the long version of history of the last cycle. So I’ll give you a quick summary” The military man nodded in thanks “There were many species that did not coexist peacefully in the last cycle, they were all fighting against each other but most, at some point, fought against the Protheans” She took a breath, wincing as she did so “The Protheans were not the biggest assholes of the galaxy at the time, but they were assholes and wanted an empire hence the fighting. But enough about them. The Zha were a species on a failing planet. Resources running scarce they turned to advanced technology and melded with it. Eventually they turned into a barely organic form and became the Zha’til. Unfortunately that was around the time of the Reapers and the fuckers ended up hacking into them and used them as thralls against the other species of the cycle” She stated with a flip of her wrist at the information before pointing at the projection. “This tech and the skeletal remains shows that although this Zha was on its way to become the Zha’til, the transformation was not complete. I need to study the scans and the brief amount of what I was able to copy before being thrown here more to come up with a further hypothesis” She took another deep breath and winced again at the action.
This injury was getting old.
“She’s telling the truth” The Detective said. She ignored him.
Now she wanted information.
“In 2025 the human technology was laughable. When did you get so advanced and how?” She asked the military man with a pointed look.
“We found a Prothean cache on Mars in 2148 that launched our species forward in technology 200 years” He said.
“Fucking Mars.” She said. As she leaned back
The Vextrans had her looking on the wrong planet for the information they wanted.
The Commander stood up straight and stared at her
“You mentioned Reapers and cycles” He said
“I did” He sighed
“What do you know about them?”
“The Reapers are mostly mechanical sentient beings that come every 50,000 year, hence cycles, to harvest and destroy all organic sentient life” She said factually
“Truthful” The Detective stated
“How do you know all this?” He said leaning forward.
“Class.i.fied” She said emphatically. He groaned and pushed away at the bed
“What do we do with her?” He asked the military man
“She has knowledge so she could be useful” He said quietly. Still considering the options.
“So do we detain her and get her off the ship?” He asked.
“She has no documentation and hasn’t done anything illegal to get detained” He replied, looking at the man in armor. “Taking her off the ship would cause too many questions I doubt anyone would believe, even with the Spectre’s first hand involvement.” He added
“So she’s staying onboard while we go search for Saren?” He asked “Do you think that’s safe? She already assaulted a member of my crew and tried escaping”
“She was panicking” The Detective countered. “Her blood pressure had heightened and her heartbeat erratic. If I saw Wrex for the first time, not knowing what a Krogan was, and couldn’t understand him, I would have assaulted him too” He added. The Commander sighed and looked at the Vextran. She stayed quiet.
“Are you going to be trouble?”
“Are you going to hurt me?” She replied to his question with her own with as much snark as possible.
“No!” He said offended
“Then you won’t have a problem” She replied coolly.
“We will eventually need to get her identification.” the white marked Turian muttered to himself as he made a note on what she assumed was an omni-tool. "I'll have to look into what I need to bypass most of the questions that will undoubtedly be raised for someone never in the system" he added talking to himself
“What can we call you?” The Commander said
“I already told you. 23” She said flippantly. The Detective groaned
“That isn’t a name” He said fervently.
“It’s what I’m called” She replied with venom, glaring at him again. The white marked Turian widened his mandibles in a grin.
He really liked this woman. She was quickly becoming his favorite person on the ship.
“Question, I can’t heal as fast if my energy is being sapped by having my imaging software up. Would it be ok to leave it deactivated?” The Vextran asked looking at the two humans in front of her
“We can leave her on this bed and keep the privacy divider up so she isn’t seen” The doctor said to the humans. “Besides Mr. Moreau, no one regularly comes to the med bay” She added
“That seems acceptable.” The Commander said. The Detective looked away lost in thought.
“Your energy sapped? Meaning your tech uses your energy?” The Detective asked. The Vextran paled.
She really had to start paying more attention to exactly what she was telling them.
He was way too perceptive and it was going to lead to a very painful long end for her.
“Classified” She said quickly and quietly. The aliens looked at each other.
“The scans showed tech mixed within her” The doctor mentioned
This really the worst day of her life.
She had fucked up really bad.
Her face showed how distraught she was. Her breathing quickening again.
If a Vextran found out she was alive she really was going to die a slow and torturously painful death. It might take a month before they would allow death yo take her.
“Once we deal with our problem” The Commander said, the aliens thankfully dropped the topic, but she knew it would come back later. “We can do what we can to help you return to 2025, if not we can return you to your people.” The Commander said.
“NO!!” The Vextran yelled, the reaction shocking those in the room. The Commander rose an eyebrow at her strange reaction
“You don’t want to return to your time?” The Commander asked
“I do”
“Why don’t you want to return back to your people” The Detective asked
“My mission back in 2025 would have been deemed a failure.” She began, seeing their faces that explanation would not be enough “That means my consequence is death”
The aliens looked at her horrified.
“Even if they knew the reason why you were flung here?” The Detective said
“Wouldn’t matter, we are not the kind to ask questions first. If a Vextran gets close enough for them to detect me with their tech the information shown will say ‘Mission failure: Operative MIA’.” She said. “Meaning an immediate and brutal attack to kill me”
The horror on their faces did not leave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the questions had ceased the men left, the Detective, to the Vextran’s disdain, stayed.
“You should eat” the Doctor said “We put you in a medically induced coma while you healed after we found no information about you” The Vextran glowered at the new information
“How long was I out?” She said, carefully trying to keep her emotions out of her voice.
She really needed to get her emotions straight. Letting them show went against over a decade of Operative training. Going off-world and staying under imaging software gave her bad habits she needed to break.
“A week” She said and the Vextran scowled at the information “What do you eat, levo or dextro?”
The Vextran stared at the woman like she had spouted another head and just blinked.
“What do humans eat?” She asked
“Levo”
“I know I can’t eat that.”
“So dextro?” The doctor asked. The Vextran shrugged
“Ardi, Disable search on Vextranet.”
Using Vextranet would be the same as letting the Vextra have a GPS location and a neon sign at the end saying 'come and kill me.' She needed to disable everything that could produce even a blip that she was alive. That would have to happen later.
“Acknowledged”
“Ardi, Search: Term: Dextro”
“Error: No results found”
“Ardi, Search: Term: Levo”
“Error: No results found”
The doctor sighed and went to the storage closet
“I had to tell them” The Detective said quietly “They were my superiors”
She glowered at him
“The doctor needed to know how to help you” He added, floundering.
She ignored him and refused to look at him
“I feel terrible for lying to you, but you need to know I was just trying to help. I don't even know why I said what I said” He pleaded. She scowled and growled in response.
The doctor returned with a thin long device the size of a pencil in her hand.
“This test will help us figure out what is safe for you to eat” The doctor explained. “The test requires a drop of blood from your finger and a swab of your saliva.” She explained further. The Vextran reluctantly gave her hand to the doctor and hissed in pain when the device stabbed her finger. The doctor placed the drop of blood on one end and then added a small amount of medi-gel on her finger. She took the swab out of its protective packaging and the Vextran opened her mouth and the doctor paused when she saw two sets of twin, razor sharp, and long canine teeth. Her tongue and the inside of her mouth were differing shades of teal. The doctor swabbed the inside of her cheek and inserted it into the other end of the device and pressed the only button. The device beeped after a minute “Looks like you are safe to eat dextro”
“I’ll go get her a ration pack” The Detective said and the Vextran rolled her eyes and ignored him.
Once he had left the doctor responded “He really was trying to do both his job as well as help you” She said softly.
The Vextran didn’t bother responding.
The Detective returned and offered her the ration pack. He noted that the look of absolute hatred she was giving was geared towards the ration and not him. The look she gave the ration was worse than any looks she had given him.
“Is there no fresh food?” She asked after a moment.
“Sadly no, there are not many dextro eaters onboard.” The doctor responded. Changing the bag of saline. She refused to touch the ration.
“If it helps, this one is from my personal supply. It’s one of the best rations money can buy” The Detective said “I hope this can be, what do humans call it? An olive branch?” She looked up at him incredulously before continuing to glower at the ration in his hands.
“No thank you” She responded.
“It tastes a lot better than a lot of rations out there” He responded gently. She looked up at him and gave him a look of disgust.
“Are your taste buds broken?” She asked. He guffawed at the question
“No, they aren’t. I have eaten a lot of rations in my life. Turians have mandatory service at 15. They gave the newbies the worst rations available. I keep the best ones for special occasions”
She still refused to touch it
“When can we get fresh food?”
“Why?”
“Because I will wait to eat until I have fresh food”
“You will not” The doctor said harshly from her computer terminal “You need the nutrients to heal”
She let out a groan mixed with a growl.
“Why don’t you like rations?”
Could she answer this?
Should she answer this?
“Vextrans view rations as ‘death is near.’ We eat and make fresh food otherwise” She explained. Realization dawned at him
“And eating rations is just a reminder of death being near if a Vextra detects you” She didn’t respond. She didn’t have to. Her face showed a mix of emotions. She had gotten use to people not seeing her face with her imaging software up. She would have to retrain herself to keep her emotions off of her face. “I’ll talk with the Commander about getting some fresh food before we leave the Citadel” He offered. “Please eat this in the meantime”
“Must I?”
“Yes” the doctor ordered
The Detective left.
The Vextran reluctantly ate the ration the Turian had offered her under the hawk-like watch of the doctor. She made the Vextra eat everything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Commander gave the Detective a couple of hours to get and rush orde the food delivery. If it made their new guest more comfortable and stay out of trouble it would be worth it. He offered the Turian to put the charge of the Normandy’s credit chit but he refused, hoping instead that the fresh food paid by him would help fix the mess he had made with the new alien onboard.
Once the food arrived came the next thing he needed to figure out. He didn’t know how to cook many dishes. Neither did the other Turian onboard. The humans were clueless about cooking dextro food. The Quarian knew how to make some things, but not with the ingredients the Detective had purchased. The Turians weren’t known for selling the Quarians their best tasting food. Most of what they purchased were things they could not grow themselves. The Quarian had assumed that the species was unable to taste much of anything and therefore didn’t bother trying to make their food taste better than bland.
This left the Detective at a complete loss on what to do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another hour later the Vextran finally had pain relievers coursing through her body and finally felt a little better.
The doctor and the Vextran, with the help of Ardi, decided against using her field meds as it would be difficult to replenish them. The doctor was able to find a pain reliever that was similar enough to her field meds to be mixed with the saline.
The Turian returned and whispered to the doctor. The doctor didn’t seem too happy.
The Turian took careful steps to her after the short discussion.
“I bought fresh food for you” He said. She let out a surprise mew and blinked at him. “The problem with it is that the dextro eaters onboard don’t know how to cook the food I bought” She continued staring at him in shock.
He bought her fresh food.
No one had done that for her before.
She guessed she could stand to be a little nicer to him, depending on what exactly he purchased of course.
“Can you cook?” He asked shuffling his feet
“Yes, I have since I was 4” She responded factually.
She wasn’t responding in anger, so that was a good sign. He let out a sigh of relief.
“Since you were 4?! Why? Wait, let me guess, classified?” She nodded. He sighed. “The doctor said you could walk to the mess and cook but you must return to the med bay after.”
“Do I need to enable my imaging software?”
“No, the Commander told the ground crew about you and told them the gravity of the situation. The rest of the crew we plan on keeping you away from for now.” She nodded. “Right now, the mess is empty and will be for the next hour or so. Are you ok to try to walk?” He asked. She nodded again. Fresh food sounded lovely. She was still hungry, even after eating the ration.
The doctor kept the IV in but removed the tube connecting the pain reliever and saline from the needle.
“In a couple hours you will start to feel pain again. I expect you in the med bay well before then” She explained, the Vextran nodded in understanding.
The Turian helped her up and she allowed him to, mainly because she was going to stubbornly force her body, if needed, to do what was needed to avoid eating another ration.
She had a slight limp since she couldn’t truly stand straight without using muscles that were badly bruised. Even without standing straight the Turian realized she was talked the Commander, but still shorter than him, but he wasn't sure by how much. They walked slowly to the small kitchen in the mess and she frowned. There wasn’t a lot of equipment she could use. He let her lean against the counter as she caught her breath and he brought out the ingredients he had bought.
This stuff was expensive and rare, at least it was in 2025.
She couldn’t remember a time when someone spent so much on her.
Ancestors, she couldn’t remember ever receiving a present before.
She didn’t even get paid for her work.
On earth she resorted to stealing and skimming money from credit cards to pay for the things she needed.
On her homeworld she was given the bare minimum to exist.
She still didn’t trust the Turian, but she decided she didn’t hate him as much as before.
She would try being nice and see if he would lie to her again. Then all bridges would be burnt to the ground.
Happy with her mental plan her brain focused on making food.
“Is it safe to use the utensils and pots and pans that levo food is made with?” She asked and he smiled
“I wasn’t sure myself so I bought some basic utensils and a pan.” He said pulling out the materials from the crate he purchased.
He purchased a crate of expensive food and supplies.
She could be nicer.
Much nicer.
What about a bowl to mix things in or a cutting board?” She asked as she looked over the ingredients and utensils in front of her and began testing the supplies to test the quality.
“Yes, I got them as well as a plate”
“Just one?” She asked as she turned fully to look at him leaning against the counter. He chirped in surprise.
He bought fancy food for her so she didn’t have to eat rations. The least she could do is make him food. It required barely a touch more effort than making one portion would.
“I bought a couple if you wanted to cook for the other dextro eaters onboard. I don’t want to aggravate your injury though or force you to.”
That was… considerate.
Someone was considerate of her?
This Turian was being considerate after breaking her trust after knowing her for 10 minutes? She felt like she had whiplash from the conflicting impressions on him.
“I know how expensive this stuff must have been.” She said before teasing “Let’s see if your taste buds are fried or not” He chortled but flitted his mandibles out in a smile.
She could be nice.
Let’s see where this goes.
“Can I help?”
“I don’t think I should bend down” She said and he nodded.
“Point to what you want and I’ll get them for you”
“Thank you” she said softly and cautiously
He wanted to help her.
This was all strange to her.
Asking for help as an Operative was a dangerous thing. It came with strings attached or with consequences down the line.
She did as he asked and got the cutting board and knife ready.
He wanted to help and didn’t seem to have any strings attached to it. Would it be strange to see how else he could help?
It was like it was in his nature to help.
How utterly strange.
“How’s your knife work?” She asked.
“I’m good at stabbing” He responded happily. She tittered, which caused the Turian to trill in response.
“Ah, too bad the meat is already dead” She joked and he chuckled. He was thrilled that his peace offering was accepted so well by the Vextra.
This was going better than he’d hoped.
She took the bundle of vegetables he got out of the crate and made quick work of finely dicing them. He watched in awe. Her skilled hand with the knife was impressive. She had him take out a cup used for water, since it wouldn’t be as likely to be contaminated, and put the quickly diced vegetable in it. She grabbed a bundle of a larger vegetable and paused. Normally she would have her VI scan and then determine how to best cook with an ingredient she didn’t know. But she had no access to the Vextranet. A lot of these ingredients she had not used before.
“Could you scan this and look up how best to cook it?” she asked.
“Sure” He said, a hum came from him and she tilted her head at it.
“You make lots of sounds” She blurted out. He laughed softly.
“Subharmonics”
“You trilled a couple times too” She added “And your voice is interesting”
“Dual tones” He said, flicking his mandibles out in a smile.
“Can you make music from your sounds”
“Not really, they convey how we feel without us having to speak”
“Huh, that’s interesting” She said biting back the real reason she was interested in it.
“Why are you so interested in the sounds I make?” He asked playfully, it was like he was reading her mind.
“I-“ She stuttered. The information was not mission critical but it was about her species. It was a strange grey area and she did not like grey.
Be nice
“I’m not sure I can answer that” She said softly. He nodded in understanding.
“Extranet says that you can roast it or boil it for best tasting results.”
“Thank you” It still felt strange to say those words.
How many times had she been thankful for something someone had done for her.
She could probably count it on one hand and half of them happened with the Turian in front of her.
She cut the vegetable, the kev as she learned it was called, into bite sized pieces and the Detective handed her a bowl when she asked. She washed the vegetable and oiled it. She began seasoning the vegetables
“Do I have to eat all these vegetables?” He asked. She stopped adding seasonings and just looked at him, silently asking why “Turians typically eat a mostly meat-based diet” He explained. She rolled her eyes
“I’m making you food, you are eating what’s on your plate” She said harshly as she went back to seasoning the vegetables and adding one of the previous finely diced vegetables. “I was taught to make healthy well-balanced meals.” She explained and looked up at him.
Maybe she was being too harsh.
He had bought her the food.
She sighed.
Be nice.
“My apologies, that was harsh.” He smiled softly at her apology
Apologizing was new too.
“I ask that you try it.” She added softly, looking at him as she tossed the vegetables in the bowl to mix everything together.
“I can do that” He nodded, impressed she didn’t have to look at what she was doing.
Before long the larger vegetables were oiled, seasoned, on parchment paper and in the meager excuse to an oven the mess had.
“Can you wash this?” She asked, paused for a moment
Be nice.
“Please?” she added and he nodded with a smile, taking the dirty bowl from her and putting it through the cleaning mechanism the ship had. She looked at it in shock. Washing dishes was the worst. Where was this invention in 2025? It was so much faster and easier to use than a dishwasher. She turned her attention on the meat. Soon it was cubed, and in the now clean and dried bowl. She assumed it was some bovine-like animal based off of the fiber layout of the meat. She grabbed one of the bands of what the Turian thought was made of some sort of leather from the attachment on her waist and rubbed it against a leather panel of her cat suit near her abdomen. A shimmer appeared from her hand and produced an old beat up leather satchel. She opened it and brought out a box that contained a variety of spices. She used some on the meat, and put a bit of oil in the pan on the stove to heat up.
“How?”
“Classi-” She began
“-fied” he sighed. “I’m not sure why I asked.” He admitted.
“Cooking is important, making things taste good is paramount in Vextran culture” She said and gestured to the multitude of spices she had “These are some of the most prized possessions I have”
The Turian looked stunned.
Spices as a prized possession?
Did she not have anything of real value?
“Turian Operatives are highly skilled and therefore highly paid. Is that not the same for Vextran Operatives?” He asked, he couldn’t stop from asking the question. His curiosity and attentive eye helped him greatly as a detective and it was hard to turn it off.
He kicked himself for asking. Especially when it came to a species whose culture could find a common thing to be offensive. He didn’t want to backtrack when he spent over 5,000 credits on food for her.
He admitted he had gone a little overboard. He did feel really guilty though. He still wasn’t sure why he promised what he had.
She looked at him in utter shock.
“Your Operatives get paid?”
“You don’t?” He asked slowly and she shook her head. They stared at each other blinking as they processed the information.
Now it made sense why her spices were so valuable to her. He also noted earlier how she seemed shocked when she saw the expensive food, like she didn’t know exactly how to respond to it.
The topic needed to change.
She sighed.
Be nice.
“What is your name?” She asked. He was stunned
“We never introduced ourselves” He realized and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I’m Garrus Vakarian. Prior C-Sec Detective” He explained sheepishly
“Nice to meet you Vakarian” She said. “How do Turians introduce themselves? With a handshake like Humans do?”
“No, we grasp each other’s forearms” he said, his mandibles flitting out in a wide grin as she extended her arm to introduce each other properly
“I’m 23.” She said, grasping his forearm. She preferred this over a handshake. His smile faltered as the number left her lips. “Why does the number aggravate you so much?” She asked
“People don’t have numbers for names”
“I’m not a person, I'm a tool.” She said like a mantra
Chapter 4: You're Mine
Summary:
23 makes food and officially is introduced to some of the people on the Normandy.
Notes:
I want to thank you for the kudos and the comments. Hearing how much you've enjoyed the story so far has been really encouraging.
Please excuse any typos and grammar mistakes. I am quite the perfectionist, and mistakes in my work irritate me greatly.
I live in Japan and the keyboards have a different layout than the US one I grew up with. It makes typing slow, and I have to reread the chapter multiple times to catch mistakes since Microsoft word doesn't catch as many mistakes since it's geared primarily for the Japanese language. The things I add last minute tend to be where the mistakes are.
Plus with me learning another language and not using my mother tongue I am not using more intelligent verbage as I would when I lived in the States. As an English teacher most of my English is basic so my students can understand. I don't have many native English speakers to talk to anymore so my vocabulary is going down the drain. I'm trying to remedy that by writing and reading as much as possible but I still see the decline and it frustrates me.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“I’m a tool not a person” She said like a mantra
The words exited her mouth before she thought about it.
That phrase had been beaten into her mind for as long as she could remember.
He stiffened and looked at her in what she guessed was pity and she didn’t know why. His look made her uncomfortable. She had never really been looked at like that before.
Looking for a distraction she glanced at the oven and noted the remaining time left for the kev inside. She needed to get started on the rest of the meal. He was still staring at her with that look and it was making her ever more uncomfortable.
She took the fry pan and put it on the stove, deciding on focusing on the food rather than the Turian beside her.
She put the meat in the fry pan and listened to the lovely sizzling sound it was making and asked the Turian for the red, yellow, and violet capped jars from her box of seasonings. He complied and stayed mostly silent as he contemplated her words.
He wanted to ask more questions. He was itching to.
He knew the answer to leave her lips would probably be classified.
He should be happy and content with the information he had gotten.
But he wasn’t.
It seemed the more things he learned about the woman in front of him the more intriguing she was. He craved to know more but was frustrated he couldn’t.
She tossed the meat in the pan and deftly caught it. Seasoning with her spices as she went. The smells coming from the food was making his mouth water. The smell wasn’t something he had smelled before, but it smelled delicious nonetheless.
“Can you get the red bottle from inside my satchel and open it please?” She asked.
She hadn’t looked at him since saying she wasn’t a person.
But she wasn’t angry at him, so he hadn’t backtracked too far.
He took the bottle out of the pack. It looked like a bottle of wine, just half the size. He removed the cork and took a whiff of the contents. It was wine, a decent quality red wine from the smell of it.
“Is this going to be paired with dinner?” He asked “I can get some glasses” She turned and tilted her head at him confused before taking the bottle. While keeping eye contact with him she dumped the entire bottle in the fry pan with the meat. His mandibles went slack, he hadn’t expected that.
“I’m not sure about ‘true Vextra’,” She started.
He wanted to know more about these 'true Vextra' now.
What makes a ‘true Vextra’ different than her?
He kept his mouth shut.
“But Operatives are not encouraged to drink alcohol” She began “I rarely drink, I’m a lightweight” She admitted, attempting a joke.
“I know you don’t weigh much” He said. Remembering how he flung her into his armor by accident earlier. She tittered at his misunderstanding.
“I am lightweight. But I meant the human term. Meaning it takes very little to get me drunk.”
“Oh” he replied.
“We use alcohol to make our food taste better or to make sauces from them like I’m making now.” She explained. He nodded in understanding.
The other Turian onboard rounded the corner near the med bay and headed towards the mess. His nose lead him to the two in the mess.
“That smells good. Please say it is dextro” He pleaded
“It is” She said, and the Turian flicked out his mandibles in a big grin
“Can I have some?” He asked, bright green eyes pleading. She faltered a moment
“I-” She stammered “I only made enough for 2 servings” She admitted. His grin fell “How many dextro eaters are onboard?” She asked Vakarian
“4 including you” Vakarian responded
“How long will the food last for 4 people before we need to resupply?”
“2-3 weeks”
“Can I have the other serving?” The other Turian asked, leaning against the counter next to the Vextra and purred.
Turians can purr and trill, she noted.
She wondered if Turians could purr as many different ways as Vextrans could.
The Turian leaned closer to her and she backed away. He was too close.
“Please” He purred, getting closer. Vakarian frowned
He was making her uncomfortable
“I made it for Vakarian”
“But why? You seemed to dislike him earlier”
“He bought the food” She deadpanned “Please take a step away from me. You’re too close” His mandibles ticked against his jaw but took a step away from her
She gave him a nod of thanks. She could not see the Detectives smug, triumphant grin on his face. The oven dinged and she turned to Vakarian, who dropped the smug grin to a small smile to her “Could you get those plates?”
“Of course,” He purred before doing so. He could hear the other Turian’s deep rumble from his subharmonics. The Vextra could as well but didn’t respond or react and she stirred the simmering meat in the wine sauce, waiting for it to thicken more. Using an oven mitt she found near the parchment paper earlier, she removed the kev from the oven. Vakarian handed her a spoon to use and she began plating the kev on the plates. Her stomach growled loudly. That ration really had done little to nothing to satisfy her body. She put more kev on her plate than Vacarian’s to be nice. She finished the veggies on the plate off by adding the finely diced vegetable.
Vakarian took the sheet pan and spoon from her, balancing the hot metal in his talons so they didn’t touch his fingers and put them through the cleaning mechanism. He handed her the spoon, once cleaned, to dish out the meat. His eyes tracking the movement of it like a predator with its prey. She chuckled softly when she realized both Turians were doing so. She put more meat on Vakarian’s plate and he grabbed a couple sets of silverware.
“There is a bit extra. You bought the food so it’s up to you if you want Mystery Turian here to have it”
The mystery Turian blinked at her. Vakarian laughed at him as he continued to blink in confusion and annoyance as he processed the rest of her statement.
“We never introduced ourselves” Vakarian said “He is Spectre Nihlus Kriyik” He said, she still looked at him to answer what he wanted to do with the extras. “There’s a plate over there” The Spectre nearly lunged towards the crate at his words and scrambled back with it in his hands, righting himself and gaining his composure as he handed her the plate with a satisfied smirk on his face. A high-pitched whine came from him when she put some of the vegetables from their plates on his. The Commander came down the stairs.
“That smells good” He commented to her when she saw her in the kitchen.
“I don’t want that” The Spectre spat like a child. With his tone she was mildly surprised he didn’t stomp a foot on the ground as well. She leveled him a glare.
“Stop acting like a toddler” She snapped back causing Vakarian and the Commander to bust out in laughter at the unexpected statement. She put more vegetables on his plate out of pettiness, ignoring the flitting of one mandible and the showing off of his teeth in a sneer of disgust. The high-pitched whine had deeper notes added to it. “Stop complaining.” She growled, assuming the rumbling was a complaint without words. He stopped but glared at her. She plated the remaining meat on his plate and added the diced vegetable before she handed him the plate “If you want me to make you an actual serving tomorrow I expect all the food on this plate to be eaten.” She ordered. The Commander and Detective were amused. She had no idea just how powerful the Turian in front of her was.
“Fine” He responded dejectedly, grumbling and low notes coming from him as well.
“This is Commander John Shepard” Vakarian introduced and the Commander’s eyes went wide in realization. He grinned remembering her term she used for his superior.
“The ‘military dude’ is my commanding officer, Captain Anderson” He said, his blues eyes shining with internal laughter. “He is still on the Citadel”
“What is the Citadel?”
“The center of the galactic government. It is headed by the Council who are my bosses” The Spectre said flippantly. She guessed it was common knowledge to everyone- except her.
“Ok” The Vextra said shrugging her shoulders, the information didn’t mean much to her and when the Spectre realized that he let out a soft growl and the ticking of his mandibles started again. “That doesn’t mean much to me,” She admitted. The Detective stifled his laugh as best as he could.
She was quickly becoming his favorite person on the ship.
“So, this other dextro eater, is it another Turian?” She asked
“No, it’s a Quarian” Vakarian corrected
“You say that like I know what that is” She quipped and he smiled, she let a small laugh fall from her lips.
Her laughter sounded like an unknown melody to the Turian.
“They are a species that don’t have a homeworld and instead live on a flotilla. They have suits that protect them from their environment. They can’t live outside of their suits.”
“Oh, how can I make this Quar-whatever food if they can’t take off their helmet?” She asked, tilted her head slightly as she thought of possible solutions to the problem.
Commander Shepard smiled at her cat-like behavior. He was sure Joker was going to come up with some witty nickname she probably wasn’t going to like.
“You said their suits protect them from their environment. How do they make their food safe to eat?” She continued her questions
The three men in front of her stilled, not sure of the answers to her questions either. Her stomach grumbled loudly
“I can ask her after you eat” Vakarian replied and offered her his arm to help stabilize her as she walked to the table.
She slowly and gently sat down. She winced and gasped in pain as she tried to find a comfortable position for her to sit in.
“Perhaps we should go to the med bay?” Vakarian offered. She growled out a stubborn no before hissing in pain. “I insist. You look like you are in a lot of pain” She grumbled in a different language that was not English but complied and he helped her up. The pain was not alleviated by her standing.
“I’ll help her, get her food Garrus” The Commander said and the Turian nodded.
Going back to the med bay took longer than coming from it. The Vextran racked her brain with how long making the food had taken since the pain meds were supposed to last 2 hours in her system.
The Spectre followed the two men stabbing a vegetable with malice and glaring at it in disgust.
The commander picked her up bridal style and surprise hit his face when he realized how light she was.
Once on the bed Vakarian gave her the plate with more vegetables and pulled the blanket over her until it was at her waist. He sat down at the foot of the bed so she didn’t have to eat alone. The Spectre smelled the vegetable he had stabbed carefully.
“Ancestors, it isn’t going to bite back” She mocked the Turian due to his reaction to kev. He glared at her.
Maybe she wasn't his favorite person on the ship after all.
“Vegetables are disgusting” He commented dryly. She rolled her eyes.
“I bet I could make you a vegetable that could pass as meat so well you wouldn’t know you were eating it”
“I’ll take that bet” He said grinning at her. “Let’s say 1,000”
“1,000 in dollars or pounds?” She countered with a cocky smirk
“What or what?” He responded
“Those are old monetary systems that are no longer used” He looked at the Spectre “On Earth” He clarified. “We use credits now. It is a galactic currency.” The Commander continued. He was ever the more amused by the Vextra and was happy she was getting along with the crew in front of him so far. She blinked a couple times, turned to Vakarian and gestured him closer. He stood and walked to the other side of the bed happily.
“Is 1,000 credits a lot?” She whispered. A shit eating grin hit his face as he glanced at the Spectre with glee
“No, I’d bet 10,000” She nodded
“Let’s make it 10,000 credits” She said smugly, crossing her arms. The Commander’s eyes went wide. The Spectre looked at Vakarian’s grin and glared darkly at him
“Fine” He said through his teeth, then looked at her. “If I can't tell if it's a vegetable, then you win. If I can, you lose” He reiterated the bet for clarification and she nodded. She grinned broadly, her four sharp canines catching the light. He finally put the kev in his mouth, face showing how unwilling he was to do so and once it hit his tongue he let out a shocked chirp, eyes going wide. Her broad grin turned to a shit eating one.
“Just realized you were losing 10,000 credits in the future, didn’t you?” She said teasingly, a light purr limiting from her which caused Vakarian to look at her in shock and the Commander to grin.
She really was very cat-like.
The Spectre growled and then left the med bay, mumbling as he did so.
She laughed to herself once the doors finally closed. "He does realize that even if he wins he still loses, right? I have no credits" She said, a mischievous grin on her face. Vakarian matched it and the Commander laughed softly and shook his head
Vakarian sat down at the foot of the bed again.
“I should go” The Commander said, she nodded and focused on eating as he left.
“This is really good” Vakarian noted, surprised “Spectre Kriyik’s reaction makes more sense now” He laughed, she joined in with a light chuckle which caused some light notes from his subharmonics to come out.
“You’re back early” The doctor commented as she entered the med bay.
“She had intense pain while sitting” Vakarian responded and the doctor looked concerned before putting the tubing back in the IV needle.
“Are you still in pain?”
“A little” She said softly “Nothing I can’t handle” The doctor frowned at her statement and made notes on her tech. Vakarian let out a short deep rumble from his subharmonics
He was unhappy that she was downplaying her pain. She was in more than 'just a little' pain mere moments ago. Walking had hurt, she was lying.
“You have a wide array of sounds,” She said. The doctor looked up thinking she was talking to her.
“What?” She asked confused. The Turian laughed at the Human’s response as the Vextra tilted her head.
“We do have a wide array of sounds. Humans don't have the range of hearing Turians do to hear most of it. I guess Vextrans have a hearing range similar to Turians” Vakarian commented, trilling. The doctor shrugged and left the med bay after receiving an alert on her tech.
“Thank you for making dinner, this is possibly the best food I have ever eaten, and if you eat like this regularly it makes sense why you don’t like rations” She laughed. He trilled at the song-like quality of her laughter as it hit his eardrums.
He loved that sound.
He wanted to hear more of it.
“I see your taste buds are not in fact fried from eating shit everyday” She teased. He grinned at her. They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes before the med bay doors opened again.
“Mr. Moreau, what have I told you about not overdoing it and taking your medication regularly” The doctor lamented as she entered the med bay again
“Yeah, yeah mom, I know”
“If you know then we wouldn't have to keep doing this” She muttered. The Vextra tilted her head in a silent question to the Turian.
“That would be Normandy’s pilot, Joker” He said, taking another bite of his food and sighing in joy at the flavors in his mouth.
“Is the Normandy the ship's name?”
“Yes”
“Joker Moreau is a strange name”
“Joker is my nickname” Said the pilot as he pushed away the privacy divider to look at the new alien on the ship. He looked at her wide-eyed for a moment before grinning in glee. “I know the Commander has been adding to his collections of aliens to the ship. I wasn’t aware he was adding a pet to his alien collection as well” He said with glee, teasing the Vextra. She frowned at him
“I’m not a pet”
“Could’ve fooled me” He said flippantly, gesturing to her, “You are quite clearly a cat. Cats are pets” She growled.
“Cats have fur asshat.” She countered bitterly, Vakarian stifled a laugh. He had not heard that term before. “The only fur I have on my body is on my ears and my tail, other than that I have a thick hide.” She said pointing at the objects on her as she said them
“You have a- god, you have a tail!” He said face aglow with mischief before meeting her eyes again “You are a kitty” he enunciated the word
“Don’t fucking call me that” She said with disdain.
“I’m lost, what’s a cat and a kitty and why is she getting so pissed off at being called that?” Vakarian asked.
Joker pulled up his tech and pulled up a projection of a cat, humming gleefully as he did so.
“I give you the cat, an animal from Earth” he said with a grand gesture to the projection. Vakarian’s eyes lit up with mirth as he studied it and compared the woman in front of him with it
“Don’t” she warned him
“You do have a lot of similarities with a cat” He teased with a shit eating grin on his face. She glared at him.
“Wait ‘til you see this big guy” Joker giddily added “This is a kitten, a baby cat, or commonly referred to as a kitty”
“Aw, it’s you” Vakarian teased with a purr
“Fuck you Raptor Bug” She seethed teasingly back. Joker guffawed. Vakarian blinked in confusion “Show him Pilot” She ordered.
Joker pulled up a projection of a raptor
“This is a raptor, a type of dinosaur from Earth.” The Vextra mocked the Pilot’s earlier statement with a mocking grand gesture thrown in. She ended by flipping the Pilot off. Joker grinned at her in response.
Vakarian grinned back. He could play this game.
“The difference between us is that this raptor looks scary. I believe a good number of humans are afraid of bugs.” He said with a flourished gesture of his face “Therefore I am scary” he said, she scoffed and rolled her eyes. “But with you” He leaned towards her, grin widening “I doubt anyone could say a kitty looks scary, in fact many, I could assume, would say are cute” He teased ending his statement with a purr. She glowered at him. “But,” he said, returning to his sitting position, his eyes twinkling in mischief. “There is one alien here that isn't cute or scary” He said with a grin
“You’re right” She purred, both predators turning to look at their prey, the Pilot, at the same time and the Pilot frowned at getting ganged up on.
“Hey”
“Shut it Monkey-man” She teased, making sure she grinned wide enough to show off all four of her canines
“Enough, all of you” The doctor ordered, hiding her amusement, handing Joker his medication and a glass of water “You had your fun Mr. Moreau, go rest, and I expect to see you in here tomorrow.”
“Will the Kitty be here?” He asked. The Doctor sighed.
“She is on bed rest for 3 more days Mr. Moreau” Joker blinked at her for a moment confused.
“You didn’t correct her name…” He turned to her “Which is what exactly?”
“23” He waited, expecting her to say she was joking. When she didn’t he gulped uncomfortably and looked back at the doctor.
“I’ll make sure to come by tomorrow. After all she is the ship’s pet” He teased.
“Whatever Monkey-man, go swing off a tree branch and fuck off will you?” She teased back. He let out a chuckle as he left.
“What’s a monkey?” Vacarian asked.
“An Earth animal, it’s what the Humans evolved from”
“How do you know so much about these Earth things?” She groaned
“It’s classified” she said with a touch of sadness.
They finished their dinner and Vacarian took her plate from her
“Thank you” She said sheepishly
“No, thank you for making dinner. I’m excited about breakfast”
“The other dextro eater, the Croissant?” The doctor barked a laugh "Did they respond?"
“The Quarian” he corrected “She answered back earlier. She said that the food needs to be in small pieces to fit through her food port in her helmet and she has a food sanitizing machine in Engineering in the Cargo Bay.” She shivered as she remembered her last experience in the Cargo Bay
“Does that red alien still want to kill me?”
“Wrex? He is a Krogan.” He reminded. She groaned. Too many species names to remember, plus actual people’s names. “No, he was impressed you didn't die from the punch he gave you. His words were ‘She has quite the quad for attacking me and surviving that punch’.”
“What did he mean by quad?” She asked
“Uh” he stammered “Krogan have, um, 4, uh, testicles” He explained awkwardly.
Her eyes went wide and let out a high pitched “Oh”
He nodded and the subject was dropped. Neither wanted to pick that up.
“I’ll let you rest. Shift change is at 6. Breakfast for the crew starts at 5. Did you want to make breakfast at 3:00 or 8?” He asked.
“Why those times?”
“Breakfast is made at 4:30-5, and served from 5:30-6:30”
“What time is it now?”
“It's 7” She groaned.
“3:00 it is.” She said, yawning.
“I’ll wake you up tomorrow, sleep well.” He said and nodded to her before leaving with both plates.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She was running in the ship.
Why is she doing this again?
She had nothing to run from.
She was safe here.
She could feel her heart thump faster against her chest.
A laughter echoed through the hallway and she shivered.
He’s here.
She began to panic.
He can’t touch her again.
She had to escape.
She went down the elevator.
The red alien lunged at her, his voice coming out of the alien but garbled, unknown to her.
She tumbled out of his grasp frantically punching, kicking, and wiggling until she got free.
She jumped over the crates as he pursued her. She opened up the airduct grate and dove inside hearing him cackling evilly behind her, unable to reach her.
That same cackle she heard too many times and made ice seep into her bones from fear. It reverberated in the airduct following her as she crawled away.
She crawled as fast as she could, exiting the med bay closet. Standing as she felt her heart race faster. She stepped to the doorway to the med bay as she was thrown to the ground. She fought back until she realized it was Vakarian, he had her hands encased in one of his. She let out a sigh of relief.
She was safe.
Vakarian was safe.
He looked down at her and opened his mouth.
She heard him speak in his voice.
“You’re mine”
Those words caused dread, adrenaline, and fear to course through her.
She resumed her efforts to escape but Vakarian was too strong. She pleaded for him to let her go.
Vakarian grinned down at her evilly as his face mouth began changing to his . Mandibles flitted out wide twisting up into his sadistic grin.
She let loose a blood wrenching scream as Vacarian’s icy blue eye color changed to a bright orange with yellow near his vertical slit-shaped pupil.
Hands shaking her she bolted upright still screaming eyes shut tightly. She stopped screaming to hiss in pain from the motion of bolting upright. She took in some shaky steadying breaths to help calm herself and her rapidly beating heart.
She felt talons on her shoulders and her eyes bolted open in fear before letting out another strangled scream as she saw Vakarian and scrambled backward as much as she could. He let go of her shoulders immediately.
He looked more concerned.
“Are you ok?”
His eyes were icy blue not orange
He had mandibles not that sadistic smile
His voice was not his.
She relaxed.
It was Vacarian, he was not here. He could not hurt her.
He is not here. He cannot hurt her.
“Nightmare” She croaked out. Her throat hurt.
“I was on my way to wake you up when you began screaming. I thought someone was trying to kill you” He said gently. Still very concerned
She wished that's all he wanted to do to her.
What he did was worse.
“Bad memories mixed with to-yesterday’s events” She said as her body shook violently. He sat down beside her. Concern still lacing his features.
“I’m assuming you don’t want to talk about it” Her eyes widened and she shook her head slightly and quickly. “If you ever do, I am always willing to listen. No one on this ship will hurt you and no one on this ship will stand by and allow someone to hurt you”
That was new.
No one would stand by as someone hurt her.
Why was she being treated so differently here?
“You don’t have to cook now if you don’t feel up to it. Do you want some time alone?”
“I don't want to be alone” She said quickly, emotion, fear, seeping through the words. He looked at her with genuine concern but understanding.
He had assumed she was abused due to her not wanting to be touched or restrained. This reaction to her nightmare proved those assumptions and he was angry it had happened to her. He was thankful for the training he got in C-Sec on how to navigate people who were abused. He still felt angry at how many times he had to use that training on the Citadel.
Her mind was a dangerous place at the moment.
She needed to be distracted.
Cooking and talking about anything else seemed like a good distraction.
“I can cook” she croaked out.
“Ok, let’s get you up then. Chakwas showed me how to remove this” He said as he disconnected the pain meds from the needle. “Are you in a lot of pain?”
“Nothing I can’t handle,” She said. Her voice felt and sounded raw. He went to pick her up bridal style. She couldn’t control the flinch when his hands came towards her. He paused, looked at her waiting for her permission to continue
“Sorry, reflex” she muttered. He picked her up when she was ready and put her gently on her feet. He offered her his arm, that way she had control of the touch, not him, and helped her to the mess. She was standing straighter now and he guessed she was roughly 6’5”, making her nose come to his shoulder. He stayed silent as they walked.
“I can get the lights”
“It’s ok. I can see perfectly fine” She muttered. She cleared her throat.
“Can I get you some water?” He asked
So considerate.
She was scared to look at him.
Scared her nightmare would become reality.
Logistically she knew it wasn’t possible but she couldn’t shake it.
“Yes please,” She said quietly.
She drank the water slowly and he went to pull the crate out of storage.
She cursed her mind for putting such an awful person’s voice and face on his.
Excluding the betrayal, he had been nothing but kind and considerate towards her.
He got her another glass of water without her asking when he returned and waited for her to point to what she wanted and got it for her.
Too considerate.
Why was he treating her this kindly?
No one did.
Notes:
So I don't dream. I'm kinda glad I don't since I assume my dreams may look like this.
To those that have been abused I hope the dream sequence wasn't triggering.
I want her abuse to feel realistic but I also don't want to cause suffering to the reader by being too detailed.
I hope I walked the line well enough here
Chapter 5: Making Friends
Summary:
23 meets Tali
She tells Garrus about her nightmare and gets doped up on medi-gel.
Garrus instructs her how to make friends and she awkwardly tries.
She realizes that Garrus can be trusted which scares her.
Notes:
Thanks to a commentor I realized that I have been spelling Garrus' last name incorrectly which was embarrassing to find out. I am pretty sure I edited them in the story thus far to be correct. I combed this chapter and the next chapter three times to check for spelling and errors so I hope I found them all.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 5: Making Friends
This felt strange to her. She wasn’t used to people treating her like this.
He prepared the cutting board and knife for her to use and got the cold food from the fridge that she requested.
He cleared his throat.
He noticed she wasn’t looking at him. The few times she did she would flinch when he met her eyes.
What did she dream about?
Some part of her dream had to be about him.
“What do you like to do?”
She was happy for the distraction
“Vextra like to dance, sing, and make music” She answered. She sounded devoid of emotion
“I didn’t ask what Vextra like to do” He said gently “I asked what you like to do”
She stalled.
What did she like to do?
She hadn’t ever thought about it
“I’m not sure” She said, staring off ahead of her lost in thought
“Well, if you are not on a mission, what do you do?” He asked.
“I train to get ready for the next mission” Looking down to avoid looking at him
“That’s it?”
“Yes”
What did she like to do?
“Do you like training?” He asked, tilting his head to the side.
She shrugged and looked at him, she flinched briefly when he met her eyes but kept eye contact
That damn dream and what her mind had come up with to torture her was not his fault. She needed to get over this. She noticed him sigh lightly in relief when she kept eye-contact.
She felt bad for making him feel bad
That was new too.
She had never felt bad for making someone feel bad before.
Usually those people ended up dead though, so… she guessed she never had the chance to.
“It’s okay” She drawled out, shrugging her shoulders.
“Well, you’ll have a lot of time on your hands while on the ship, what brings you joy?”
She stared over his shoulder lost in thought
What did she enjoy?
“I-I don’t know” She said very slowly. She looked at him
No one had ever asked these questions before.
Why was he?
“Why do you ask?”
“I wanted to get to know you better”
“But I’m a tool,” She said, confused. His eyebrow plates furrowed and he seemed to be biting back his comment.
This was not the time to ask these questions. She was in a fragile state, and he knew it.
He needed to drop it.
But like a varren going after a scrap of meat his brain wouldn’t let him drop it.
She was now uncomfortable.
“What about you?”
“I like the thrill of problem solving and making things work better. Calibrating guns and other things to work their best brings me a lot of joy” He said, leaning against the counter and looking at her now at eye level. “I also like dancing. I take classes when I can, do you dance?”
“I will occasionally dance when I am defragging my thoughts” She said after pondering his question
“Defragging?” He asked slowly, tilting his head
“Uh, classified,” She said apologetically “I was trained not to defrag to act as human-like as possible. Even though I don’t have the imaging software up it seems strange to act like I used to. Not being able to defrag is probably why I had my nightmare if I’m being honest” She admitted. She looked down at the ingredients gathered for breakfast “What time is it?” she said looking up at him again.
“3:30” He said
“Want to practice your knife skills?” She asked and he shrugged
“Sure” She gave him a smile and spun the knife in her fingers, and handed him the knife by the handle. She gave him a bigger smile, she finally stopped flinching when she looked at him in the eyes.
“Ok”, she said and moved away from the cutting board so he could stand in front of it. She took a moment to prepare herself for what she was about to do. She grabbed his left hand, stopping part way for a moment before touching him, and put it towards the tip of the knife “You want to hold the knife here to help it pivot when dicing. You want to do a rocking motion” She put her hands over his right and he emitted a high-pitched sound from his carapace. “Like so” She guided the knife to do the motion she expected from him and then pivoted the knife to the side as she rocked the knife back and forth. “Easy right?”
“Yes” He admitted softly. He was trying not to do anything that may startle her.
With her head so close to his nose he could smell her properly. She smelled of warm spices, spices he didn't know, and leather. He enjoyed that scent a lot. He didn’t want her to move away.
“Can you dice this?” She asked, holding up an asari type of long onion
“Of course,” She stepped aside and he barely stopped his subharmonics from whining as she moved away. She grabbed the counter behind him as she searched for flour.
“Can we use levo flour or does it need to be dextro?”
“Only the meat and animal byproducts matter” He said “So flour is safe”
“Good” She said and grabbed the rest of the ingredients she needed. “Bowl?”
He stopped dicing and handed her the bowl
“Thank you”
“What are you making?”
“When I was in England I saw these things called crepes. I wanted to try to make them. Can you get me a recipe?”
“Of course,” He purred
He spouted off the recipe as she weighed the ingredients and used the dextro safe options when needed.
She readied the pan and tried her first crepe, trying to do what she remembered seeing. She grumbled and tossed the first one in the receptacle.
“The recipe says the first one never comes out right” He offered optimistically. She smiled at him in thanks for trying to make her feel better.
The second one did come out better and by her fourth one she had gotten the hang of it. She made as many as she could and put them into the oven to keep warm. Vakarian took the pan to clean it while she inspected his knife work.
“Well done” She complimented proudly, she heard his trill before seeing his grin.
“I had an excellent teacher” He purred. She rolled her eyes but smiled.
She grabbed the eggs and cracked them into the pan with a bit of oil and a dextro safe milk and cheese and Vakarian’s diced veggie and did a quick scramble.
“Can you check for any jam or fruit?” She asked. He went to the fridge,
“No jam but there is 'maple syrup'? I don't know what that is…”
“I’ll take it. Anything that you bought that I can use?” She asked
“I got some frozen fruit” He offered and she nodded
“That’ll work, do you have a pot?”
“No”
“I can work with a pan” She said as she put the eggs onto a plate and handed him the pan again to get cleaned. She put the eggs into the oven to keep warm
“Here you are” She smiled at him in thanks as she took the items he handed her.
When had she smiled this much?
That sounded depressing
Was her life that miserable before?
Yes, yes it was.
Being off-world was better, but even then, she rarely smiled.
She put half of the bag of frozen fruit into the pan with some sugar and maple syrup and stirred, waiting until the fruit was thawed enough to smash.
“What is this stuff?” He asked looking at the bottle of maple syrup as he went to put it away after she used some.
“I believe it is tree sap from a tree on Earth. It is sweet, like honey," she explained. He hummed in understanding.
He grabbed the plates once she was happy with her syrup.
She put a crepe down, put some of the fruit from the syrup inside of it, rolled it up and did the same to the rest of the crepes. She poured the sauce on top and then spooned the eggs on the plate. She cut the crepe into small pieces and made sure there were no big chunks of eggs for the Quarian. As she did so he called up the dextro eaters.
“This better be worth getting up so early.” The Spectre muttered, rubbing an eye, annoyed before eyeing the four plates and then to the Vextra “Oh breakfast. Thank you. I did eat all the vegetables last night by the way,” he said.
“It’s true, I checked when I washed our dishes” The Spectre glared at him.
“Good” She responded “Crepes and some sort of safe to eat eggs” She explained. “Crepes are an Earth food from France.” She explained further based on the look on his face.
The elevator opened and a woman in a black suit with a white sash wrapped around her helmet and various other places on her body came around the corner. The white fabric had a unique and pretty design. The glowing eyes under the mask froze on hers and they stared at each other for a moment.
“I’m Tai’Zorah nar Rayya” She said, her hands finding each other in her middle in an anxiety driven nervousness. She had heard a bit about the Vextra and was unsure how to respond to her when she knew nothing of her species and barely anything about her. Wrex had told her about her attacking him and how she survived his punch.
“23” She said “Yes, it is my name, and yes it what I am actually called” She said answering the questions she had come to expect after.
“Oh, ok” The Quarian said awkwardly, he began wringing her hands in earnest
“I made breakfast” The Vextra said “I made crepes, an Earth thing from France, with fruit sauce and scrambled eggs with cheese and vegetables.” She gestured to the plates “I cut the crepe up for you” She said handing her the plate when she stepped forward nervously
“Thank you, it looks and smells amazing.”
“If it's anything like what I had for dinner it will be amazing” The Spectre said with a purr leaning close to the Vextra. She stepped backward and Vakarian growled.
“Get out of her personal space Kriyik” He growled. The Spectre glared as she stepped backwards again when the Spectre didn’t move and bumped into Vakarian “Sorry” She said softly in his direction
“No need to apologize” He whispered back, stepping back a bit to give her space.
He was annoyed the Spectre kept making her uncomfortable. Doubly so when he knew about her nightmare causing her to be even more triggered by closeness to anyone.
He was incredibly appreciative that she felt comfortable near him earlier to not only touch him but get close to him when teaching him knife skills.
It pointed to her trusting him.
It was a small step but it meant a lot to him.
“Extra protein for the Turians” She said pointing to two of the plates “Do Quar-shit, I forgot the name of your species” She said looking apologetically to the Quarian
“Quarians” Vakarian corrected softly.
“Thank you” she said, turning her head to give the man a small smile before turning back to the Quarian “Do Quarians have a meat-based diet like Turians?”
“No, we eat a mainly vegetable-based diet” The Vextran laughed to herself
“So, I won't have to order you to eat your vegetables like I did with them” She said jutting her thumbs out to her sides where both the Turians stood
“Hey” Vakarian said softly to her before speaking louder “I agreed to try it, Spectre Kriyik over here acted like a child and whined over eating them” The women laughed and Vakarian gave a smug look to the Spectre who scoffed at him. The Spectre did not like being the butt of the joke.
“Would you like more of the fruit from the sauce?” She asked the Quarian to stop the incoming infighting between the two Turians on either side of her. She didn’t want to be caught in the middle of that.
“Yes please” She said gleefully “I have never had this type of food before”
“It's Earth food but made safe for us to eat. Things I wanted to try when I was on Earth but couldn’t” She said as she spooned more on her plate. “What about you two, more fruit?”
“No thank you” The Spectre said grumbling, still annoyed at the joke at his expense, taking his plate to the table
“Sure” Vakarian purred. He got a bit closer, still giving her a space. “After your” he paused and dropped his voice down to a whisper, intentionally being vague for her privacy “pain reaction this morning I insist you eat in the med bay”
“I don't want to be alone” She said barely a whisper back, he noted the fear in her eyes when she looked at him.
“I’ll eat with you” He said softly
“Ok” She said
“Tali, I’m going to bring her back to the med bay, can you follow with my food”
“Sure”
He offered his arm and waited for her to take it and grabbed her food with his other hand.
Once in the med bay he placed her food on one of the other beds and picked her up bridal style, once she was ready to be touched that way, and covered her with the blanket. He gave her her plate and took his food from Tali with a nod of thanks to the Quarian and sat on the edge of her bed like the night before.
“Thank you for breakfast” Tali said “I’m going to go, I want to eat it before it gets cold and the sanitizing takes a bit of time” She said and nodded to the Vextra in thanks before running out of the room
“Thank you Vakarian” She said suddenly causing him to look at her
“For what?”
“For staying with me” She said awkwardly, her eyes looking down
“Anytime” He purred and dug in “Do you think crepes actually taste like this?” Vakarian pondered after trying a bite.
“Maybe” She said trying one “I know a lot of countries on Earth like eating them so I hope so”
“Earth food is pretty good” He concluded after trying the eggs.
“Where are these eggs from?” She asked as she studied the egg on her fork. They were a slight green color
“Palaven” He answered
“Do you have any plans today?”
“Other than making sure you are not alone until you are ready to be, no” She smiled at him
He was very considerate.
He had been consistently making sure that she was comfortable after that nightmare.
No questions asked
Even if that meant growling at another Turian to back off.
Then he backed off so she had space when the Spectre didn't.
He didn’t try to touch her until she was ready to be touched
That had never happened to her before.
All of these firsts for her should’ve made her feel uncomfortable and unsure of what could happen.
But she felt safe around him.
She had never felt this type of safety before.
Especially not around a person.
“Thank you”
He had no idea how many things she was thanking him for mentally.
She realized right then that he was her favorite person on the ship.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vakarian waited until the doctor entered the med bay before leaving with their plates to wash them. The Spectre and Tali had cleaned up the mess from her making breakfast before the cook began making the levo breakfast. He returned before the doctor left to eat her own breakfast.
He sat at the edge of her bed once more.
“What would you like to talk about?” He asked her, tilting his head.
“Uh. I don't know” She admitted “I’m not really used to this” She gestured between them
“Communication?” He asked
“Yeah, I am good at getting the information I need for a mission, or for manipulation, or being snarky to get people to leave me alone, but this is not something I’m used to” She said, wringing her hands together.
He paused for a moment.
It clicked.
“You don’t have friends.” He stated gently and quietly.
“No” She said softly, looking down
“Is that typical of Vextra?”
“‘True Vextra,’ no” He frowned at the term ‘true Vextra’ again, and bit his tongue to keep from saying his question, “Most Operatives, no” She continued “Sla-” She clamped her mouth shut as she realized she almost let important information slip. “Operatives from my family” She corrected “Are kept separate”
“Why?”
“Um” she paused again.
She wanted to tell him, but she had to use her words wisely.
“They make important things” She said, pondering her statement carefully “Other people, especially Operatives, want access to them. They would use Operatives from my family for access” She said, sighing in relief at maneuvering that minefield unscathed.
“Use the Operatives from your family?” He asked. She bit her lip slightly.
How to explain this?
“Yeah, they would pretend to be friends, or try to get close, until they got what they wanted” She said. “Operatives in my family are trained to be alone and stay alone for our, and my family's safety. As well as the safety of what my family makes.”
“So, no partners?” Vakarian slyly asked.
“All Operatives are not encouraged to get into relationships. We are forbidden to have a mate” She said before cringing, that may have been a bit too much to tell
He looked stunned.
He felt uncomfortable. He didn't like this information and wanted to say things that wouldn't go well for the relationship they were forming.
He felt the urge to protect her earlier.
That rarely happened in the past.
He felt compelled to.
He knew something terrible had happened to her but didn’t know what.
He wasn't sure he wanted to know the details of it based on her slight reactions thus far.
He still wanted to understand her reaction for earlier though.
“Can you tell me about your nightmare? If you are not ready you don't have to”
She looked into his eyes. He seemed concerned and his eyes were gentle.
It looked genuine.
When had anyone looked at her like that before?
If they had, she couldn’t recall
He was quickly becoming someone she could trust and depend on.
It scared her how quickly that had happened.
Her brain set off warning signs.
Feeling this safe this quickly shouldn’t be a good thing and should be treated with caution. Her training was screaming at her to be more cautious. To be ready to attack when the eventual betrayal came. To stop giving information.
For the first time in her life her training and her feelings wrestled with each other.
It was disorientating.
“I-I” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly “I dreamt I was running in the ship again” She said “I felt like someone from my past was chasing me.” She took a staggered breath in. “I took the elevator down to the Cargo Bay and the Krobar, or whatever he’s called, was there. It had his voice but was garbled.” She shivered. “He lunged at me and I got out his grasp and escaped through the airducts. His terrible laughter echoed through the airducts with me as I got away. I came out of the med bay closet and you tackled me and restrained my hands above my head” She took a deep breath. The next part still rattled her. “I calmed down when I realized it was you” She said, looking at him.
He looked shocked but pleased at that she felt comfortable around him even in a dream.
“When you spoke though, you had his voice. Your mandibles changed to his awful smile and your eyes changed to his and then I woke up” She said and realized she was shaking.
“Then when you saw me you tried to get away” He responded, understanding her earlier reaction.
“Yes” She said, her voice shaking.
“I understand if you don't want to be touched. But, would you like a hug?” She looked up at him in shock
A hug?
He was offering a hug?
Comfort?
Not ridicule?
This couldn't be real.
She looked uncomfortable and he took the answer as no.
The doctor came back in, relieving the tension
“How are you feeling?”
“Ok” She said.
“Garrus I’m going to need you to leave for a moment”
“Why” She asked the doctor reflexively. She didn't want him to leave
She equated feeling safe to him.
The alarms in her brain blared louder at that realization.
“I need you to remove your…suit so I can look at your bruising.” She responded.
The Vextra looked utterly confused
“But why does he need to leave?”
“Do you want him to watch you change?” She asked equally confused. He lifted his eyebrow plates and tilted his head as he looked at her in confusion as well.
She pondered before her eyes went wide and began softly laughing.
She took the leather band in the middle of her catsuit and with her index and thumb on both sides, she slid her fingers away from either side of a barely noticeable center mechanism to disconnect the magnetic closure on the leather band.
A shimmer of green covered her clothing and her catsuit was replaced with a black short sleeve crop top with the same light blue filigree near the boat neck opening and what he presumed were some sort of black sweatpants or joggers, based off of the elastic waistband he could see before it was hidden by the blanket.
They looked at her in shock and her soft laugh let loose to a louder laugh that sounded like a melody to the Turian.
“Is this better?” She asked, her words still laced with laughter and a smile on her face.
She looked happy.
He liked seeing her happy.
Especially after that nightmare.
His subharmonics sang without him noticing until she looked at him and cocked her head to the side in the silent question
“It’s nice to see you so happy” He said barely a whisper to answer her. The doctor didn’t hear it but he knew she did and she gave him a grin.
She was amused by the alien’s reaction to her tech. She had forgotten that it was not commonplace.
But why would it be?
They weren’t Operatives.
They weren’t Vextra.
She lifted the crop top up exposing the black sports bra underneath slightly. She didn’t have to lift it that far.
The bruise left from the Krogan was large, the size of a dinner plate, and covered most of her side. It was a nasty deep purple and black in some places and blue in others.
Vakarian winced when he saw it. It looked painful.
“I want to try something new after the pain you have had lately from trying to sit. Medi-gel should help the bruise heal faster and provide additional pain relief if you'd like to try it” The doctor offered.
The Vextra thought of Vakarian applying it on her the day before and the slight relief she got when it went through the fabric of her cat suit. She didn’t have any adverse reactions then and it seemed safe to try.
“I’ll try it”
It seemed harmless enough, and if it could help then why not?
The doctor applied a liberal amount of the medi-gel onto the bruise. She bit back the pain that wanted to release from her mouth as the doctor touched the sensitive injury. Her face showed it when it twisted her features and her eyes closed tightly.
“There we are. This much medi-gel may make you a little delirious and make you dizzy” The doctor warned. The relief from the medi-gel was settling in but she glared at the doctor.
“Would have been nice…” She stopped when her vision spun “to know earlier” she slurred out.
Medi-gel worked fast.
The doctor left them alone.
“Would you like to ask me a question?” Vakarian purred.
She looked adorable in this state. There was a smile of relief on her face. It really was nice to see her happy.
Happier when she was doped up on Medi-gel.
“How do you make friends?” She slurred out. Her blinking was slow and she seemed to have a problem keeping her eyes open.
“You ask them questions about who they are, and if you like their presence, and they like yours, then you become friends” He said softly.
“Like you have been doing to me.” She stated. She struggled to keep her eyes open to look at him “Are we friends?” She slurred
“I’d like to be” He answered honestly, tilting his head to the side as he studied her
“Me too” Her head lolled to the side.
He chuckled. He wondered if she acted this way when she was drunk too. He’d like to see that one day.
She struggled to keep her head up “Vakarian?”
“Yes”
“I don’t want to fall asleep” She drawled out.
“You won’t be alone” He comforted her and watched as her head lolled to the side once more
“I don’t want another nightmare” She whispered out and fell asleep.
He was concerned about her nightmares too. The mind can torture someone horribly. He didn’t want that to happen to her though and stood slowly to talk to the doctor quietly about it.
He settled back in at the foot of her bed and twiddled away on his omni-tool. He wasn’t planning on leaving her today until she wanted him too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She awoke groggily and the room spun when she opened her eyes.
The light hurt and she hissed
“You’ve been out for a couple hours,” Vacarian said softly.
“You stayed?”
“You said you didn’t want to be alone” He reminded her gently. “I wanted to make sure I was close by if you had another nightmare”
She struggled to sit up but ended up falling backward and looked at the bruise. It looked better. She prodded the area gently. It didn’t feel that sore.
“I’m not sure what to think about medi-gel” She admitted. “I’m not as sore but the room is still spinning” He chuckled softly as he looked at her.
He had kept his word
He stayed even while she slept.
He didn't do anything to her while she slept either.
He just watched over her.
He seemed dependable.
Almost trustworthy.
Trusting others seemed strange.
Trusting someone this quickly seemed dangerous and stupid.
She batted that thought away quickly.
She continued to ignore the blaring alarms of her training telling her she was in danger.
Thinking back to bits and pieces of their earlier conversation she remembered him asking if she had any questions for him.
Was this what friendship was like? Asking questions back and forth and enjoying each other’s company?
She liked it if it was.
“You said you were in the military. What did you do?”
“I was and am a sniper. I was the top sniper of my unit.” He grinned at her question.
“Oh” She said.
How do you respond to things like this?
“Um.” She floundered.
How do you do this?
“What else are you skilled at?” She asked unsure of herself the more she said. He chuckled at her.
He appreciated her effort.
“I was one of the top hand-to-hand specialists,” He said. Her eyes lit up.
“I was too” She said excitedly before she bit back her reaction. He grinned at her.
That was adorable.
He liked seeing her excited.
“Maybe one of these days we could spar, and teach each other some of our moves” He purred. She stared at him.
She liked the idea but it could get her into a lot of trouble.
Vextra really liked their secrets.
Vextran combat and war tactics were heavily guarded secrets.
“Maybe” she said, drawing out the word and sounding unsure. He tilted his head to the side. She seemed torn.
“What are you skilled at?”
She paused.
This was about her, not her species.
She was still unsure if she should answer.
“I excel at hand-to-hand and close-range combat and pistols, and I am proficient with assault rifles.” She listed off before she could talk herself out of it.
“That’s useful,” He commented. “What determines proficiency and excelling for the Vextra?” He asked
“To excel means you can use the weapon with both hands. Proficient means you favor one hand over the other. Decent means you favor one hand and you missed the target at least once and ok means you favor one side, and miss the target more than half the time”
He grimaced a bit. As with everything he had learned about her species, they seemed strict and ruthless.
"What makes someone excel in hand-to-hand combat?"
"You outperform everyone ten times or more" She said proudly.
Those sparring battles were set up for teams against teams. But since her family's Operatives didn't have teams they were battles 3 to 1.
The fact that she excelled at hand-to-hand proved to show how ruthless of a fighter she was.
Unfortunately that was classified so she couldn't tell Vakarian.
“How are you with sniper rifles?”
“On a good day I meet the ok standard” He chuckled a bit
“I can teach you if you’d like?”
“Maybe?” She said, again unsure. Her weapons used her tech for bullets and were incredibly light. She did not have a sniper rifle set up with her. She doubted the sniper rifle she had been trained on, and the one he would teach her with, would weigh the same.
Having a heavy weapon would be counter-productive when she didn’t weigh a lot as it was.
At the same time having him teach her seemed nice.
Notes:
Ending this chapter was hard. I wanted to get 23 and Garrus to an important point by next chapter so the ending feels off to me, but I'm at a loss at what to put in it to make it feel more finished.
Also, after a bit of research the meat and animal by-products being levo and dextro is accurate. It seems Bioware went a bit crazy with the two differences in the game but scientifically what I put in the story is accurate.
Still will make levo and dextro alcohol though in this story, even though there is no animal byproducts in alcohol.
Chapter 6: Breaking the Foundation
Summary:
Commander Shepard shows 23 to her room and allows some information about the Vextra to slip from her lips.
23 asks Garrus about something that has been bothering her and Garrus' anger causes the two to have a big fight.
Will their friendship continue?
Did Garrus mess up completely?
Notes:
I added more crew living spaces to the SR-1 layout similar to the SR-2 layout.
It isn't listed, but Nihlus has the room Shepard would have had in the SR-1, Shepard has his cabin on floor 1, and 23 has a small room where the observatory would have been in the SR-2.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Vextra took her time after lunch to carefully go over every ounce of line in her tech to disable anything that could give off her proximity.
After lunch the Commander came by to tell her they had set up a room for her.
With the Doctor’s ok she attempted to get out of bed herself. Vakarian hovered near her, still giving her space, in case she needed assistance.
The Commander observed the two’s dynamic and wondered what would blossom from it. He still was unsure how useful the Vextra could be as they went after Saren.
She still had a bit of pain from sitting but the medi-gel worked well to reduce the bruising.
The Vextra was impressed by how far technology had improved and found herself wondering if the Vextra had developed something similar to medi-gel in the last 150 years..
“You have tattoos?” Vakarian asked, looking at the filigree design that was in the same light green as the filigree design on her face.
A look Vakarian could not ascertain flashed on her face for a moment and Vakarian gulped. Had his observation offended her? Was this some unknown Vextran faux-pax he had stumbled onto?
“They are… not… tattoos” She mumbled as calmly as she could. She didn’t dislike the markings on her arms and legs, but they were there. They always had been.
“Classified?”
“I don’t want to talk about it” She muttered.
Vakarian took the hint and dropped it immediately.
The Commander led her to the hallway behind the med-bay and to the end of the hallway there, explaining that these rooms were all crew quarters. Vakarian walked next to her, arm closest to her crooked outward for her to grab if she felt she needed it.
The room the Commander showed her to was a small single person room. It had a bed that looked to be too short as well as pretty narrow for her and a small desk was tucked into the corner that doubled as her nightstand.
“It is a small room, we are running out of space. Captain Anderson wanted you to have your own room. There is a closet for your clothes there. You have space for armor and a footlocker in the closet as well.” the Commander explained, as he scratched the back of his neck. The bed in the room was too short for him and he realized in the med bay that she was taller than him.
She would need a bigger bed the next time they arrived at the Citadel.
“You can roam the ship from this floor downward. We are currently on the 3rd floor. I ask that you do not enter the CIC or the Engineering room on the Cargo Bay. I hope it goes without saying to not enter someone else’s room without permission.” He said, giving her a pointed look. She nodded. “The CIC is up the stairs, the elevator there goes directly to my cabin” He explained
They wanted to make sure that she was away from their crew.
She would not have to drain her own energy with the imaging software by being in her own room.
It was considerate and smart.
“This feels spacious” She said, tilting her head at the Commander, giving him a smile. “I don’t have to share and I have a desk?” She said happily. Vakarian frowned. She was not joking
She was genuinely happy with the set up. When she was off-world she often camped. Hotels were difficult to use since they required ID's and physical cards. It wouldn't work well since she survived off of skimming credit cards and stealing money. She was happy to have her own space and it really felt luxurious to have a desk in a room this large.
“What is the normal set up for Operative rooms?” Vakarian asked cautiously. He knew he wasn’t going to like the answer.
“Two sets of bunk beds to house 3-4 Operatives in a room this big” The two men looked uncomfortable. “My family had single rooms available but they were really a room large enough for a bed and that’s it. Maybe a third of this size”
“That doesn’t sound like there is a lot of space for everyone’s personal items” The commander commented
“Operatives carry their items on them at all times.” She said automatically before thinking what exactly she was saying. She was getting used to providing information and that was a dangerous thing.
She really needed to be more careful.
She hoped that this wouldn’t come back to bite her.
She tried to divert her caution. Vakarian had seen the bands anyway, he was intelligent and perceptive and probably figured out that the number of bands hanging from her side, plus the leather bracelets and rings on her fingers held different items. He probably hadn’t figured out what bands held what yet. She wondered if he had caught the faint differences between the different lengths and colors of the bands yet. She wasn’t going to ask. If he asked she was unsure if she could show him. “We only need the basics anyway” She said as she turned to the men and shrugged as if what she said was nothing.
To the Turian this sounded a level above slavery. He bit back the subharmonics of discomfort and annoyance he felt.
It sounded like she had lived in a closet.
Vakarian was finding it ever more difficult to keep the comments and questions at bay.
Maybe tomorrow, if she doesn’t have another nightmare, he could ask.
He didn’t think he could last longer than that.
She had nothing to move into the room which unnerved him further. He reminded himself that she didn’t have anything with her when she was flung from 2025. She also didn’t ask for anything.
She went to make dinner after being shown her room. She was in high spirits.
She really couldn’t think of another time in her life when she felt this free and happy.
After dinner she returned to the med bay and the doctor put another dose of medi-gel, less this time, to avoid the same reaction she had previously.
“I was not aware you weighed so little” The doctor said apologetically “I applied way too much last time, you shouldn’t have the same reaction this time” She explained and the Vextra allowed her to reapply the medi-gel, lifting the crop top slightly for the doctor.
She hadn’t felt the need to put back on her light armor. The workout clothes she wore were comfortable enough to sleep in. She was looking forward to sleeping in her own room so she could be in her pajamas. She felt uncomfortable with wearing them in the med bay around the aliens. She had discovered that the pajamas she wore were considered ‘sexy’ to humans in 2025, she assumed it would be the same now. She disliked people leering at her and thinking of her like that. It made her feel disgusting. The idea of anyone finding her beautiful unnerved her. She preferred fading into the background.
“I also wanted to talk to you about your nightmares” the Doctor said and the Vextra gave a look at Vacarian
“You did say you didn’t want to have another nightmare. I talked with Chakwas to see what options are available” He explained softly. She gave him a small smile. She did remember saying those words, but they were a bit hazy.
“I do have a medication that will allow you to have a dreamless sleep.” The doctor explained “Many of the soldiers and marines onboard need something to allow them to sleep after what they have witnessed. There is no shame for you to take it.” She said flawlessly. The Vextra assumed she had to spout that often to the military personnel onboard which made her statement ring truer.
The Vextra sighed as she thought about it.
She often had nightmares after something triggered a bad memory she fought to push down and repress.
Taking something so she didn’t have to see his face or hear his voice sounded like a gift.
“A dreamless sleep sounds really nice” She said softly. Vakarian let out a sigh of relief.
“I do have to warn you this medication is only meant to be used temporarily. It isn’t safe to be used continuously.” She warned and she nodded.
She just needed enough time without being reminded of him for her brain to relax so she could drift in largely unremembered dreams.
“I understand” She said and the Doctor smiled
“After you finish your dinner I will give it to you” She said and left the two to eat their dinner.
“Please don’t be mad at me” Vakarian said softly and cautiously
“I’m not.” She said, she didn’t feel betrayed in this. She felt taken care of. Which felt very strange. “Thank you for taking care of me and helping me” She whispered hoping he didn’t hear her.
He smiled broadly. She realized then he had heard her which made her feel something that she couldn’t describe.
“Anytime.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the Doctor had mentioned she had a dreamless sleep and when she awoke to Vakarian soft words she felt more refreshed than she could remember.
He hovered near her as she got up, barely wincing once she was in a sitting position and got up easily by herself. The last medi-gel application didn’t have the same effects on her. She had felt a little dizzy the night before but that was it. Her bruise had drastically recovered from the morning before.
She made breakfast with Vakarian. The two other dextro eaters onboard had requested their food stay in the oven so they could get more sleep.
Vakarian was scheduled to clean up breakfast out of the three.
They felt it was fair that since she made the food that the others would clean up. Since Vakarian insisted on being her shadow, especially with his abuse and PTSD training, he would clean up breakfast. He would be there to wake her up anyway. Tali would handle cleaning up after lunch, and the Spectre dinner.
With breakfast completed she grabbed her own plate and Vakarian followed a safe distance away with his plate to the table.
She sat down with minimal pain.
She was thrilled she could sit at the table and eat.
She ate quietly lost in her thoughts, thinking about the past few days before asking something that kept eating away at her
“Why are you so considerate of me?” She asked quietly, picking at her food.
“Huh?”
“You bought me expensive food, helped me make it, and have been treating me really nicely. Why?”
“Because that’s what people, and friends, do, we help each other” He said slowly, not sure why she was asking the question. She furrowed the area where her brows would be.
“I’m not a person though” She responded. “I’m a tool” she reminded him. Grabbing a piece of meat and putting it in her mouth, looking at the Turian expectant of an explanation.
His questions and comments from the past few days reared up in his mind and came out of his mouth before he could tamp it down
“But you are a person”
“I am a tool Vakarian” She corrected sternly
“But you aren’t a tool. You are a person”
“I’m not though” She said with a bit more bite to her words.
“You are. I see you as a person as does everyone that you have met so far.” He had more emotion in his voice than he meant to show.
“I am not a person” She muttered bitterly, she was clearly getting upset. He tried to tamp down his emotions.
To him she was brainwashed.
He wanted to break that brainwashing but he knew he needed to keep his emotions calm or it would backfire
“I, we,” He corrected “disagree”
“I am not a person!” She hissed with conviction, trying to keep her voice low for the people still sleeping nearby.
He really should stop. He couldn’t stop the floodgates of thoughts and assumptions he had made thus far came rushing out of his mouth.
“You are organic, therefore a person” He quipped. She scoffed darkly.
“I am definitely not a person. I am a tool”
He decided to try things a different way.
He needed her to see herself as a person.
“Why do people choose to be Operatives if they are not treated like people?”
“People don't choose to be Operatives, Detective” She bit back harshly
He noted previously that she referred to everyone, except him, by title.
Or she had.
Now she was calling him by his title.
He grimaced.
There goes all the work he had done the past few days.
All the time and money spent fixing the situation with the woman, gone.
Poof.
“I’m confused then” He said softly, trying to come off as non-confrontational as possible. He needed to mend this now before it got worse.
What would be worse than being referred to by title? Species perhaps?
He didn’t want to find out.
“When did you become an Operative?” He asked calmly
She let out an exaggerated sigh.
“I shouldn't be telling you this, but fine, to help you understand I’ll explain so you can drop this”
She was frustrated.
She was offended.
“It stays between us though, understand? If you betray my trust again I will claw your throat out” She growled out.
“Understood” He said nodding, he had no intention of betraying her trust again.
“When a fetus is at least 2 months old, a procedure is done on them to turn them into an Operative” She said. He let out a strangled gasp. He was finding it difficult to keep his emotions in check.
“What?!” He hissed, eyes wide, “What is this procedure?” His voice held a bite, a righteous anger, which spiked her own anger.
“Classified, but it is what separates ‘true Vextra’ from Operatives” She said, rubbing her temples with her fingertips in frustration.
That partially answered one of his burning questions.
“The child Operative stays with their parents until the age of 2, parents are refrained from giving the child a name, allowed to provide basic care. At 2 the child Operative is put into the training program, all documentation about their parents and about the child itself are destroyed, and, if the child Operative is lucky to remain alive, it graduates at 12.” She sighed angrily “No one chooses to be an Operative.” She concluded with venom.
She looked up at him, glaring. Silently daring him to continue.
She was ready to bite his head off in umbrage.
His mandibles went slack, jaw dropped slightly. Eyes unreadable. He stayed silent for a moment.
He was horrified.
She was essentially experimented on while she was in the womb. That went against so many galactic laws.
She was taken away from her parents and had no way to find out who they were. Documentation was destroyed.
Worst of all, if a child was lucky to be alive? What exactly went on during this Operative training program?
Each thought of what she had went through and what she was defending was causing his righteous anger to rise.
“Just because a procedure was done on you doesn't mean you are not a person” He said indignantly, voice rising, trying and failing to keep his righteous anger out of his voice.
This wasn’t going the way he had hoped.
“Yes, it does!” She snarled, articulating the words
“No, it doesn't!” He snarled back
“It fucking does!” She said venomously, giving him a warning growl to drop it.
He couldn’t stop. The floodgates had opened, and the words tumbled out before he could think about what he was saying.
“Then they are wrong, you are wrong, just like it was fucking wrong of them to do a procedure to you as a baby!” He retaliated, standing, and raising his voice more.
He was angry, not at her, but at what was done to her.
Subconsciously she knew that but the anger had sparked her own indignation.
She was proud of her accomplishments as an Operative and he was insulting the first multiple steps at becoming one in Vextran society.
Meaning she was being personally insulted.
Besides what did he know?
He didn't know why the Operatives existed.
Why it was so important for them to exist.
He didn't understand the reasons behind it all.
He couldn't either. It was classified.
The Vextra narrowed her eyes at the Turian and she picked up her plate.
He couldn’t know. It was classified. She couldn’t fault him on that.
She decided to follow her family training and remove herself from the situation
“I’m going to eat in the med bay. I want to be alone” There was still a bite in her voice.
“Thank you for breakfast,” He said, trying to shake off his anger. It was still in his voice though. She let loose a low quiet growl.
She still felt personally insulted and attacked. This was her foundation as an Operative and a tool he was attempting to chip at.
Really it felt like he was trying to bomb it.
Her anger refused to dissipate and instead festered.
Because he had essentially promised not to share what she had told him, her olive branch to him, he was at a loss. He couldn’t talk to anyone about the mixture of emotions building up inside.
His thoughts swirled as he paced.
Procedures that deem someone not a person? On a baby? What type of dark shit was that?
Children being taken away from their parents at 2, and lucky to be alive at 12 from Operative training? What happened during training?
Plus, his mind swam with what she had said before.
Operatives don't get paid.
Operatives are killed if a mission fails.
Operatives don't ask questions.
The more he heard about the Vextran and their Operatives the more it sounded like a mix between slave labor and brainwashing.
How could he get her to understand that she was brainwashed?
How could he do so without her hating him more?
Did she hate him?
He growled to himself as he paced, his food forgotten.
How could he get her to realize what he saw without her hating him?
He couldn’t.
Would he be ok with the consequences then?
If she forever hated him?
Would she eventually forgive him after she realized she was brainwashed into believing she was a tool?
He wasn’t sure, and he did not like the uncertainty.
It was too late to stop things now though. The ball had already begun rolling downhill.
He kicked himself for not shutting up earlier.
For not keeping his righteous anger at bay.
He wasn’t expecting such a strong reaction and her feeling offended.
He should have expected it though.
That is what irritated him most. He had gone in without a plan and now his favorite person on the ship didn’t want to be around him.
Would she want to be around him later?
Would she even talk to him again?
He sighed as he sat down, pushing his food away so he could put his face in his hands.
He was no longer hungry.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The moment he entered the med bay to get her plate all he heard was a warning growl. He paused briefly before passing the privacy screen.
“I am here to collect your plate” He said calmly. She refused to talk to him and pointed to the plate at the end of the bed.
It looked like she too had not been hungry after their fight too.
He had really fucked up.
He needed to fix this but wasn’t sure where to start.
He couldn’t apologize for his words, he meant them
“I am sorry for my anger earlier” He said.
She responded with another growl with a sneer.
There was something worse then being responded to by title it seemed. It was being ignored except a growl.
He had stepped fully back to square 1.
He closed his eyes in irritation at himself. He took the plate and left.
He hoped that some time away from him and alone would help with her anger.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was wrong. He went back to the med bay for lunch and she just growled, crossed her arms and looked away
“I’m here to help you make lunch”
“No” She said through her teeth.
“No, you don’t want my help, or no, you aren’t making lunch?”
“Both” she growled out. He took a step back.
He had fucked up really bad. His original olive branch was now rejected. She would rather not eat so she didn’t have to be around him.
He took a step backward and let out a dejected sigh.
“Understood”
He left the med bay and contacted Tali, the Commander, and the Nihlus.
“What did you do?” Nihlus seethed “I swear C-Sec, if we have to eat rations the rest of this mission I will filet you”
“I am pretty sure she is brainwashed from the Vextra and I was trying to break it”
The Commander watched and thought it over. He had come up with the same conclusion.
Tali stayed silent but her hands were wringing in front of her nervously
“Is she okay?” She asked
“She is, she is just angry”
“Fix it” Nihlus fumed getting in Garrus’ face before turning, grabbing a ration, and stormed away. They could hear him mutter bitterly to himself as he went to his room.
“Are you ok?” Tali asked. Garrus let out an exasperated sigh
“No, I don’t know what to do to fix this” He lamented
“Do what you can, Garrus.” The Commander said as he put a hand on his shoulder as he walked past
“Let me know if I can help.” Tali said as she walked off
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Garrus took a deep breath, grabbed one of his expensive rations and entered the med bay a little later.
She needed to eat no matter how angry she was.
Nihlus said he’d filet him, but in reality, he was sure she would if he pushed her too much.
He heard the warning growl the second he entered.
She must have a good sense of smell too. Or she was growling at everyone.
“I brought you a ration” He said, setting it down near her and backing away. She growled.
He took a deep breath.
He was going to dive off the deep end.
He hoped this worked out.
It had taken a long time to get his anger in check.
It had taken time to come up with a plan that Spirits willing would work.
“When did you become an Operative exactly”
“Weren’t you listening?” She said venomously “In the womb”
“That was the exact time you were considered an Operative, a tool?” He asked gently.
“Yes” She hissed through her teeth.
She wanted him gone. His presence was one she couldn’t stand. She hoped the Doctor would kick him out so she could go back to going through her tech, line by line of code at a time looking for anything that could alert other Vextra to her proximity.
“You were a fetus at the two-month mark when you had the operation?” He asked, her response was a pointed glare and a snarl.
What was he getting at? Why does this matter?
She had better things to do then talk to the Turian she now despised.
“Before that would you have been considered a person?” He asked. He really hoped this reasoning worked. The hatred left her eyes and the stormy green cleared up to a light teal blue.
“Yes?” She said unsure where he was going with this
“So, to clarify, you were a person and then it was taken away from you before you were even out of the womb. They forced you to be a tool.”
The shock went through her body quickly.
Her foundation, everything she thought she was, fell apart.
The things she had gone through, the loneliness, the experimentation, the abuse, the uncaring attitude from the non-Operatives, the situation with him flashed through her head quickly. All of it she endured because she had a mission and Operatives were trained not to dwell on their feelings.
But she was a person before the procedure.
What he said was logical and made sense.
She felt the foundation of what she thought she was break completely away. Two sides of her were battling each other. One seeing the logic, the other wanting to keep everything the way it was to keep her sanity.
She didn’t want to believe him.
Emotions she had been trained to lock away burst open and flooded over her adding with the anger she was already feeling.
Added with all the emotions she was going through that she had already pushed aside by being flung into this time period.
She had no outlet for her emotions since she couldn’t defrag in front of the others by Operative procedure.
It was coming back to bite her.
She felt completely overwhelmed.
“No” she said weakly, it was more to herself. She was trying to keep what she saw as who she was and believed intact, as well as these emotions she had never dealt with before in check. “I’m” she choked back the next wave of emotions “A tool” she said quietly, voice tinged in uncertainty. She stared ahead of her as she fully battled with herself internally.
The shock was still rushing over her and mixed with anger.
They took away her personhood.
Sadness and despair washed over her next.
She had been treated as an outsider. All because of the procedure that she did not ask for.
She hadn’t consented to any of it.
Only a person could consent.
She was a person.
She had not consented.
Anger washed over her again
She had never been allowed to have a choice.
She was ordered to do things and if not done perfectly she would be killed.
Failure is death. It was the Operative motto.
She was a person.
She did not eat. She did not move.
She sat frozen in place, blinking as the internal battle continued.
Vakarian stayed. He assumed she wouldn’t want to be alone and sat, gingerly on the edge of the bed. Waiting until she finished processing everything.
He felt bad.
He had essentially given her an existential breakdown of everything she thought was true.
He wanted to be there if she needed him.
He hoped their friendship would remain intact after all of this.
Really, he wished she would look at him.
He hoped she would talk to him.
Notes:
Yay existential crisis!
Let's face it 23 needed it. I feel bad for her, those types of realizations suck and take a lot out of you mentally and emotionally. Have had a couple myself, but not to the level 23 is having.
The next chapter will be up soon.
Garrus didn't break her permanently.
Chapter 7: Any Means Necessary
Summary:
Garrus tries to fix the broken Vextra's mind using any means necessary.
Wrex and Nihlus take bets on how Garrus takes care of it.
The two land in the med bay.
Notes:
This was a fun chapter to write.
I hope you enjoy it too!
It's a Japanese holiday today so enjoy two chapters instead of one!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Garrus, you need to fix this. However it needs to happen, just do it. Any means necessary” The Commander told him. They were in the mess. It was the only time Vakarian left the Vextra’s side after what he had done. “We land on Therum in 2 hours” He added
“Uh, I kinda want to fix the mess I made with her before-”
“I’m taking the marines, Garrus. I would really like to see her better before I return if possible. Having a crew member that most of the crew can’t see who is also having a mental break is too much while going after Saren. Stopping Saren needs to be the priority” Vakarian sighed.
“Yes Commander”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After a few hours of replaying everything that led up to this point of the day over and over again while pacing at the foot of her bed, Vakarian decided to try to snap the Vextra out of her internal crisis.
He just wasn’t sure how.
He tried gently speaking to her with no luck.
So, he tried something he wouldn’t normally do and gently, ever so softly, put his hand on her shin.
Her eyes jumped to him, her eyes were dark and angry, and she growled a deep warning growl.
He removed his hand immediately. She didn’t stop growling and glaring
“I’m sorry, you have been staring at the walls for hours and I was worried” He managed to stammer out quickly
She let out a deep breath
“I need to punch something.” She said “Too many emotions” she muttered
“Chakwas” Vakarian called out. When she came over he asked “Do you think she is healed enough for a light workout?” The Vextra looked like she was ready to destroy something as she tried to control her breathing to keep the flood of emotions from coming out in a less than controlled manner.
“Let me do a scan”
She had yet to get the anger out of her system. She had too many emotions building up. She felt like she was going to blow.
“Your bruise looks better, but your internal injuries have not healed up completely. I can clear you for light duty. No heavy lifting no extraneous activity” She said, looking at Vakarian to make sure she did only that.
“Turian, can you show me to something safe I can punch?”
“There is a punching bag in the Cargo Bay” He said dejectedly.
He was back at species. It was a start but it still stung. His subharmonics whined a bit before he bit it back.
“Great” She ground out. She got out of the bed with a huff and followed the Turian out of the med bay and to the elevator.
He exited the elevator first and once clear the Vextra kept herself from losing herself to her anger and extracting her claws on the Turian.
“~Keep your emotions in check 23. You don’t show them. You don’t act on them. Tools don’t have emotions. ~” She muttered to herself in Kajefka, reminding herself of her Operative training over and over again.
Without the option to defrag she was left with her only option being to punch the anger out of her system.
The Krogan noticed her by her smell and came forward. The Vextran noticed and although she was angry she wasn’t stupid and stepped behind the Turian.
Maybe the Krogan would rip his head off like she wanted to.
Vakarian growled at him to stay away from her.
“Wrex” He warned, a low hum coming from his subharmonics adding to his growl
“Vakarian” He greeted. “I wanted to see the Vextra” He said pushing the Turian aside as he sputtered his disproval as he struggled to stay on his feet. The Vextra grew small and let out a squeak of fear as her anger rushed out of her momentarily. It felt like it was receding to crash down on her later like a tsunami
“I’m sorry I hit you I thought you were going to kill me” She admitted quickly, voice an octave higher. He let out a low chuckle
“You’ve got quite the quad to hit me that hard. Even more of a quad to take that punch and survive” He said. She straightened. He wasn’t angry and she wasn’t going to die. He hit her on the shoulder as a friendly gesture with enough force to cause her to fly a few feet to the side and the Turian barely had enough time to steady her before she hit the bulkhead. She stared at the Krogan in disbelief. Her anger returned like a rocket to the face
“Fuck you, and stop fucking touching me Turian” She said to the Krogan and then to the Turian who stopped touching her and put his hands up in a show of meaning no harm.
The Krogan laughed darkly and nodded his approval of dislike toward the Turian in question before walking back into his corner.
Her eyes scanned the Cargo Bay and noted a weapons bay area where the Spectre stood readying his weapons. He was in his red and black armor and had paused his cleaning and inspection of his shotgun to look at the Krogan and Vextra interaction.
“The punching bag is over here” Vakarian said and guided her to it.
Once her eyes saw it she pounced into an attack position and punched it and kicked it a few times. Growling and muttering in a language that wasn’t translating.
Vakarian balked at her momentarily as she watched her punch and kick the punching bag in quick succession and seemingly getting more and more frustrated. Each punch and kick not seeming enough to release the emotions inside her. He sighed.
He left to get out of his casual clothes and into his workout clothes. He knew what he needed to do but knew the result wouldn’t be pretty.
He needed to fix it though, as the Commander had ordered, no matter how it needed to be handled.
Any means necessary.
She was worse for wear when he returned. Frustration and anger evident on her sage green face.
The Spectre and the Krogan were looking at her and watching her moves. She seemed to strike quickly and seemed very flexible.
Vakarian sighed. He didn’t really want an audience to what he planned on doing but he couldn’t see another way.
Whatever means necessary.
He readied a sparring mat behind her. She was lost in her anger that she didn’t really glance at him.
He took a deep breath and got nearer to her to get her attention.
“Hit me” He said. The words stalled the Vextra who looked at him like he had two heads. It got the attention of the Krogan who walked up and stood near the Spectre who had a cat who ate the canary grin on his face.
“What?” She growled back. She had given up trying to hold back the emotions. They felt like tsunami after tsunami hitting her.
“The punching bag isn’t doing it for you. You need to fight someone who punches back” She didn’t seem convinced but nodded. “I am not sure of rules for Vextran fights so we need some basic rules”
“I won’t use my tech assist attacks on you, or my claws” She said, raw emotion filtering through her words.
He pushed back the question of what exactly a tech assist attack was.
“We stop and regroup when one of us yields,” He said, making some general rules “No going off the mat and I won’t use my talons” He added and she nodded.
She backed away from the punching bag and nearly swayed when a tsunami wave of anger hit her head on. They both got in a fighting position. Her fluffy tail twitched from side to side in frustration. Her ears were tilted back and she snarled.
“I bet you 5,000 credits she wins” The Spectre said
“Make it 10,000” the Krogan replied
“Deal” He replied “This should be some good entertainment” The Krogan let out a low laugh in agreement
With a nod in understanding they flew at each other. She punched him hard in the stomach and he used how light she was against her as he picked her up and flung her, grappling her to the ground.
Her panic rose with her emotions as she was pinned down, and she elbowed him and kicked his knee allowing her just enough space to get free. She flitted to the side and to her feet quickly and kicked him hard in the jaw.
Pain felt good. It made her feel alive.
She was standing, she could deal with the pain later.
He got up quickly, showing how agile he was, grabbed her arm, and threw her over his shoulder. She hit the ground hard. All she felt was anger. She was tired of him using her weight to his advantage. She had yet to discover any weaknesses to the Turian.
She rolled over quickly before he could pin her down and got back up on her feet.
She lunged at him and landed a left hook to his chest hard, she heard something break. The punch hurt but she was unsure if the crack was from him or her hand. What she did know was she didn’t care.
She was still standing so whatever pain she would be in she could push to the side and deal with later.
Pain meant she was alive. Pain was good.
She ducked down before he could grab her again and attempted to sweep his legs. She growled when she realized he was too heavy to do that to before kicking the side of his knee in frustration which caused him to hiss to pain and he reached down to grab her.
She quickly rolled out of the way and got back on her feet. Hitting his chest again with a right hook and heard another crack. He growled in response and pinned her down again. She elbowed him in the head and bit his arm to squirm out his grip before jumping away from him.
He rushed at her and kicked her uninjured side before she could jump backwards out of the way. She heard a faint crack.
She was still standing.
Push away the pain.
Pain means you are alive.
They went on for another 10 minutes without yielding.
She had gotten out of another of his grappling moves as the anger rose again.
She couldn’t get him down.
This is what she was skilled at!
She couldn’t find a damn weakness on his body.
He kept using their weight difference to his advantage and it had steadily pissed her off even more.
She produced a low growl before diving between the wide stance he had put himself in and got up quickly behind him, taking her foot and slamming it down on the protrusion on his leg causing the Turian to howl and the Spectre to wince at the action. The action had the Turian on his knees instantly.
A weakness. She had a wicked grin on her face.
She finally found a weakness.
He turned swiftly and landed a hard right-hook to the right side of her face which landed with a crack. She spit out blood. Using all her strength she grabbed his shoulder, got behind him and flung herself, by her elbow to back of his head, arm around his fringe, causing the Turian who was kneeling to hit the hit the ground hard from the momentum and from most of her weight on his head. Which led to another crack to be heard.
She waited for him to yield, dropping her guard as she waited. He growled deeply before he grabbed her by her shoulder on her left side, flung her off him as he rolled over and pinned her to the ground, his body weight effectively pinning her so she couldn’t wiggle away. Since she had dropped her guard he easily pinned her arms above her. The waves stopped crashing over her as violently.
Between the physical exertion and the emotions running through her, exhaustion hit her hard. She took deep breaths and didn’t try to wiggle free out of his grasp.
His nose plate was broken and navy-blue blood flowed from it, landing on her. Light blue blood flowed from the side of her mouth. Blue and black bruising on the side of her face already showing up.
“Why are you so angry?” He asked after a beat to catch his breath
A wave of anger hit her and with her exhaustion she couldn’t try to keep it at bay
“If what you say is true then I went through all that pain and suffering for NOTHING! All my beliefs are a lie! Everything I am, who I believe myself to be is a LIE! How the fuck do I deal with that?!” She yelled in anger, tears forming in her eyes.
She wasn’t a child
She wasn’t going to cry
Operatives don’t cry
“How the fuck do I uphold the Vextran values if what you said is true?! I feel like my life is falling apart” She said, her voice cracking at the end as the emotion she was feeling shined through
“Fuck. The. Vextra.” Was the Turian’s reply. He spoke softly but anger laced his voice
“What?” She responded in shock
“Fuck the Vextra” He said louder still enunciating the words. “They treated you like shit. Took away your personhood and used you for their benefit. You were their slave. Fuck them” He snarled in anger
She was stunned
This was new.
The anger wasn’t directed at her.
The anger was for her.
That had never happened before.
She had never mattered enough to anyone to for anyone to fight or be angry for her.
“You don’t need them.” He added, his eyes softening as they met her shocked green eyes.
The waves of emotion within her softened and evened out
“So, fuck them by being a person and living a life you decide.” He paused.
She slowly nodded.
He was right.
Logically he was right.
“Are you going to yield?”
“I yield”
He sighed, exhaustion and pain showing in his body
“Pay up” The Krogan caught chuckling darkly. The Spectre muttered something her translator didn’t pick up.
He let go of her arms and carefully stood up. Wincing as he put weight on his probably sprained spur. She saw the pain and felt bad.
She felt bad.
That was also new.
He offered a hand up and she put her hand in his. He applied pressure and she barely stifled her scream of pain. He let go immediately and grabbed her forearm instead and carefully pulled her up.
The elevator opened showing the Commander and the two marines. He looked at the scene in front of him and let out an exasperated sigh.
“I told you to fix things Garrus, not beat the shit out of each other” He said to the Turian “Explain” The Commander demanded.
“I did what you asked-”
“How?” The Commander asked unconvinced.
“I was trying to get my anger out” She started before the Turian could speak “The punching bag wasn’t helping me do so. Vakar-” She paused, she didn’t feel right calling him by his last name anymore.
Especially after what had just occurred.
No one had willingly offered to help her.
Nor had willingly allowed her to beat the shit out of them for her benefit.
He wasn’t a stranger or an acquaintance.
What was he then?
Is that what a friend would do?
“Garrus” She corrected herself after the moment of reflection, a surprised chirp came from the Turian next to her. “saw that I was getting more frustrated and offered to be a living punching bag that punches back”
Garrus trilled at the surprise of hearing his name come out of her mouth for the first time. He enjoyed how she said it. She unknowingly purred over the r’s in his name and it caused his heart to flutter.
The Commander sighed, raking his face with his hands in frustration.
Kaiden was eyeing up the Vextra and she tried not to notice but was clearly uncomfortable. Garrus barred his teeth and glared. Realizing eyes were on him Kaiden looked at the Turian before backing away. He stopped barring his teeth but kept his heated glare on him. He made a mental note to talk to the marine because he was not going to stand by and let anyone make her uncomfortable on the ship. He looked down at her, noticing the injury to her face.
“You need to go to the med bay” Vakarian said softly as he studied at her jaw, the bruising getting worse. He took a tentative step forward the elevator and tried not to show the pain he was in.
She had attacked his spur and probably sprained it. He was limping because of it.
“So do you” She said softly. She ducked her head under his arm to support the side causing him pain to the surprise of those in the room, but specifically to him. Garrus let out another surprised chirp and a delightful harmony of light notes from his subharmonics and smiled at the woman.
“Did it help?” He asked
“Yes. I feel much better now” She said.
The Commander sighed and shook his head and motioned to the elevator.
“Go to the med bay. Chakwas is going to be thrilled” He turned to look at the marines “Let’s go, we have an archeologist to find” The ground team and the grumbling Spectre followed the Commander to the Mako.
The two hobbled over to the elevator slowly. The Turian was trying not to apply too much pressure to the Vextran since she was so light and didn’t want to topple the two over, meanwhile she was trying not to apply pressure to her hands.
She had attempted to balance his weight by putting her arm around his waist and he promptly moved her wrist gently upwards.
“The waist on Turians is… uh… it’s an…uh… erogenous zone... on Turians.” He explained flustered. She let out a small surprised mew but he noticed her light sage coloring growing a darker teal in embarrassment. She was close enough to smell that spicy warm scent mixed with leather and laced with sweat. It pulled dirty thoughts into his mind that he tried to keep at bay.
Garrus stopped her from calling the elevator by being faster. He didn’t want her to be in any more pain than he had already caused her, or she caused herself, today.
Once the elevator doors closed and she groaned
“You okay?” He asked
“I’m standing, I can handle it” She said through gritted teeth. “Operative way” His subharmonics rumbled in displeasure from her words.
“Operative way?”
“What we are taught in training: if you can’t handle the pain to continue standing, then you die” He grimaced and stayed silent in shock
“Did they really kill the children who can’t stay standing?”
“Of course,” She answered, before looking at his shocked and horrified face “Oh, that’s not normal is it?” she said slowly realizing that this was an atrocity done to her. Which caused the foundation of her being to crumble even further.
“No, it isn’t normal. It goes against many galactic laws.” She led out a hiss of pain when she put a tiny bit of pressure on her hand on his wrist that was on her shoulder “Maybe you should do a medi-scan”
“Medi-scans only work where there is fabric.”
“Oh”
“How angry is the doctor going to be?” she said, changing the subject
“Very. You were almost healed, now you’re returning worse than you left” She sighed. “On the bright-side she will be mad at me too”
“That doesn’t help Garrus”
His heart jolted at the sound of her saying his name again. He wanted to hear her say it over and over again.
He continued smelling her intoxicating scent even though it was becoming more arousing to him. She felt warm, but not as warm as another Turian. Her bare arms on his body felt lovely.
He wondered how she would say his name in the throughs of passion as he pumped into her?
And he stopped the thought immediately.
Was he attracted to the Vextra?
Yes, he would admit that.
His willingness to protect her showed that.
But he knew that it would be a long time and a lot of work to get to the point of his wonderful imagery of them tangled together in passion.
And that was if she wanted that.
It could be she wouldn’t.
Chakwas let out a long, irritated sigh and pointed to the beds once they entered the med bay.
“Beds. Now” Garrus was right, she was angry
The Vextra helped the Turian to the nearest bed and made sure he was supported when he sat down. She went to the bed next to him and laid down on it.
Chakwas let out another sigh and helped Garrus first. Doing a medical scan.
“You have 2 broken pectoral plates and your nose plate is broken. Your spur is sprained. Your abdomen and your knee is swollen” She said.
“Impressive” He purred looking over at the Vextran. She stifled a chuckle, groaning in pain from the action as she clutched her face, which caused a yelp of pain due to her hands.
Chakwas glared at them both. He removed his shirt and the Vextran looked away uncomfortably.
She applied medi-gel to the spur and bone regrowth serum to the plates while setting plates back as best she could
“It will take 2 weeks for the plates to heal properly” She said pointedly at the Turian. “The sprain will take 4 days to heal” Garrus nodded
“How long am I bedridden?” He asked.
“I don’t want you walking with the sprained spur. So, 4 days” He sighed. The Vextra bit her upper lip. She felt conflicted.
His pain was her fault. “You can return to active duty then”
Chakwas walked over to her bed and sighed.
“I have no idea what could be broken, I still don’t have a baseline” She chided the Vextra.
She pulled up her tech and extracted her claws slightly to write a command into the interface finding the file she needed. She did so slowly as not to aggravate her injury.
“I have a baseline as well as my medical history but I need you to keep it confidential” She said and the doctor nodded. She had her get close to her tech so she could send a copy to the doctor’s data pad.
She studied the information and input it into the scanning device before using it.
“You broke multiple bones in your hands, and your jaw is fractured. You have excessive bruising in your abdominal area and extremities.” She said, making notes in her omni-tool. She looked beyond annoyed “You have a fractured rib on your left side” She glared at Garrus who looked away quickly from the Doctor’s heated gaze
“He has a mean right hook” She joked, causing the Turian to let out a chuckle before stopping abruptly from the motherly look from Chakwas. “Will I be bedridden?” She asked
“No, but it will take 4 days to heal the bones in your hands, rib, and jaw.” She said “No using your hands until then”
“The Ancestors really hate me.” She muttered. The Doctor applied bone regrowth serum to her jaw, rib, and the multiple bones in her hands.
“When these injuries are healed” She gave a pointed look to the Vextra, “I expect you not to return on the same day you leave the med bay again, understood?” The Vextra nodded. “And you,” She turned on Vakarian who let out a barely audible whimper “When I say light workout no extraneous activity I mean do not come back with both of you injured from extraneous activity”
The doctor let out another frustrated sigh and left the area to her terminal. The Vextra sat up and swung her legs off the bed facing the Turian
“Thank you Garrus” She said, looking at him. He looked up at her surprised, letting out a chirp in the process.
It was cute.
What?
Where did that come from?
“For what?” He asked, groaning as he moved to his side to look at her. He was still shirtless, and she felt uncomfortable by it so focused on his face.
“For helping me even though the result is” She gestured to his injuries to finish the thought for her. He flicked his mandibles in a smile.
“It’s what friends do. They help each other. Like me allowing you to beat the shit out me” He laughed, she tried to laugh before groaning in pain due to her jaw. “Like you helping me to the med bay” He added.
“I really have no idea how to do any of this, this being a person shit, or being a friend” She responded
“That’s fine, I’m happy to help” He said happily. Her stomach rumbled. It was dinnertime and she had missed lunch. She realized he couldn’t get out of bed from the doctor’s orders. She hopped off the bed, before looking at her hands and groaned.
“I can’t make food” she said, looking close to crying when she realized she would have to eat rations for 4 days.
“Chakwas” Garrus called out
The doctor grumbled as she made her way back in
“If she helps me to the kitchen can I stand long enough to make food?” She glared at him before turning and looking at the pleading look on the Vextra’s face. She made her eyes big and pouted.
“You two are incorrigible.”
Notes:
Writing action sequences are very difficult for me.
I have the images in my head that I play like a movie, but turning the images into words that makes sense and brings the visual I have to life is daunting.
Hopefully I did a good job because there is more action in the future.
Chapter 8: A Comforting Touch
Summary:
With 23's hands broken and Garrus' spur sprained the two have to work together to make dinner.
Which is an issue because to support the Turian while he uses his hands 23 deals with feeling trapped between him and the counter and causes her to panic.Together they discover a way for him to touch her without triggering her and reminding her of her abuse and causes her to relax.
Until the emergency evac.23 has to allow Garrus have more control than she is originally comfortable with because of her injury.
23 is introduced to Liara and Garrus pushes her to make friends with the Asari and Tali.
The result is 23 beginning to trust the two alien women a bit more and some not so good news about the Zha tech that sent her there.
Notes:
I need your help, please refer to the note at the end.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The two hobbled over to the mess and got to their next problem.
“Can you get the crate out of storage?” She asked. Her satchel had long ago been stored in there since it was safe.
“Uh” Was his response before leaning on the counter and calling Tali for help.
The Quarian stated she was busy but could bring the crate up, but couldn’t help make dinner.
“What did you two do to each other?” The Quarian asked when she saw them.
Garrus looked away and scratched the back of his neck and the Vextra grinned before wincing from the action.
“What was necessary” She said. Garrus barked out a laugh. The Quarian tilted her head to the side but decided to back out of the weirdness that was going on. Backing away towards the elevator to make her exit as swiftly as possible.
The Quarian was still trying to decide what to think of the Operative.
Garrus bent down to get the items, the Vextra offering a steady arm for support.
Using both hands was difficult for Garrus while he stood and the Vextra realized she’d have to stand literally in front of him to support him. He chirped in surprise when she finally did so before she froze in fear. She felt trapped between the counter and the him and her breathing quickened as the panic began to build. He hobbled backward to provide space for her, sucking in a breath through his teeth when he put too much weight on his left foot with his sprained spur.
She took deep breaths trying to calm herself.
This was Garrus not him
Food needed to be prepared.
She didn’t want to eat a ration because she couldn’t do this.
They were running out of time to make food too.
She couldn’t cook but Garrus could, meaning she needed to come up with a way to make this work.
“Are you okay? We can wait a bit until you feel more comfortable”
He was being so kind and patient.
She kicked herself for thinking of him when she was with Garrus.
They were not the same.
“No, we don’t have time, I just- I don’t know” She said frustrated at herself
“What can I do?” He said, a comforting rumble coming from his subharmonics.
She could feel the sound through her body, vibrate in her bones faintly. It felt wonderful. She felt herself relaxing.
He couldn’t do that. This was uniquely Turian.
This was Garrus.
Maybe...?
“Maybe if you- um do that? If you did- maybe- it would- I don’t know?”
“I’m sorry I don’t follow”
She took a deep breath.
This was ridiculous! She was a high-level Operative.
Had a kill count of over a hundred working solo.
Excelled in hand-to-hand sparring in 3 to 1 with those of the same level.
Was always against horrible odds and survived. Time after time.
And she was afraid of this?!
“That sound” She began after her mental lashing
“My subharmonics?” she nodded
“He can’t make that sound. Maybe, if you make that while…” She looked down, and bit her lip anxiously as she bounced from foot to foot. This whole situation was unknown territory and terrifying to her.
“I can try when you are ready” He said calmly. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds as she steeled her nerves and prayed to the Ancestors that this would work. She wanted to this to work. She needed it to work. It wasn't fair to the Turian.
He continued the calming rumble of his subharmonics as she let out the breath. Moving closer and touching him, her back to his carapace the sound seemed to become a part of her, vibrating in her bones further and she completely relaxed against him. Sighing as she opened her eyes.
This was working.
Being this close and relaxed she took in his scent. He smelled vaguely metallic, but woodsy, like a recently burned wood based incense, mixed with an oil, maybe gun oil? It was a heady, masculine, but comforting scent. He also smelled of sweat. Neither of them had cleaned up after their spar.
They hadn't had time.
Garrus tried not to move, he hoped to the Spirits when she moved towards him and her scent engulfed him that this would work. If all he had to do was do the same calming sound that his mother would do when he was upset as a child to touch her…. Well he would happily do that sound constantly for the rest of his life. He felt her relax against him, leaning her back against his carapace and he stopped breathing for a moment. His visor showed a slow heartbeat. She was relaxed.
Maybe things could move forward?
Maybe they could be more than friends?
“Can you grab the long vegetable on the left and finely dice it?” She asked calmly.
Her voice sounded melodic.
How stressed out had she been?
Had she been stressed since she arrived here?
Was this her normal voice?
He grabbed the vegetable and chopped how she had taught him. Her gaze stayed on his knife skills and he felt a faint purr emit from her chest. It rumbled through him and he felt a jolt flow through him like electricity.
“You’ve improved a lot” She said, pride clear in her voice.
He hummed in dual tones. He desperately wanted to lean over and put his chin on her shoulder, but knew that would be going a step too far. She wan't doing this to further their relationship. She was doing this to support him so he could stand and they could eat. His subharmonics rumbled deeper notes at the thought and he pushed them aside. He needed the comforting note to continue, not his arousal mixed in with it.
After Garrus had prepped the vegetables and meat they hobbled around to the stove.
“We are doing a simple stir-fry tonight, we don’t have a lot of time and I don’t have the capability of showing you some more complex cooking techniques.” She said.
“Thank you for that. I don’t want people being disappointed at the food not coming out well” He purred. As the purr came through her she felt a jolt come through her and go directly to her core. She tampered down her gasp before it left her lips. She felt confused on what it was so she ignored it.
He meant what he said. He didn't want people to be disappointed with the food he was cooking, but really, he was more concerned about making sure she was not disappointed with the food they were making.
“Attention passengers: we are doing an emergency evac, I recommend on holding on to something” came the Pilot’s voice.
She felt the ship lurch and grabbed on to the counter before yelping in pain and letting go.
Then she felt warm, secure, and that wonderful comforting rumbling surrounding her completely, like as if she dived into a pool. She barely noticed her leg stabilizing herself. She relaxed into it, her tail wrapping around the thing on her waist and closed her eyes.
When she yelped in pain Garrus reflexively wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her directly in front of him and close and tucked her shoulder under his chin as he grabbed onto the counter. She had reflexively moved her left leg between his legs and behind the leg with the sprained spur to stabilize them. He felt her weight on his pectoral plates and the Turian pushed back the pain he was in.
When he realized where his arm was, where he had subconsciously grabbed her, he froze, he stopped breathing.
Then she fully relaxed against him and her tail snaked itself around the arm holding her around her middle.
She let out a contented purr and he finally let out the breath he was holding in.
“You’re warm” she said blissfully and melodically.
He chuckled against her shoulder
He wanted to lick her neck.
What was he thinking?
They were still friends, just starting their friendships and he is thinking of this?!
“On Palaven, my homeworld, we have a lower magnetic field. So we have higher radiation.”
“Meaning higher temperatures” She purred.
He took a breath in, only getting her scent when he did so, and tried to keep his mind clear of what exactly he wanted to do to her. Where he wished the relationship would go to.
“Yes. To offset the high temperatures Turians evolved to radiate the heat off our bodies” She hummed in understanding.
“Vextra do the opposite. We live underground” She stopped suddenly, eyes wide. That was a very fatal mistake “Please don’t tell anyone” She squeaked out, voice an octave higher than normal
“I promise” He said against her shoulder. He slowly let her go to finish dinner. She winced a bit when he did.
“Fractured rib” she answered when she heard the comforting rumble turned high pitch in what she assumed was concern. She must have assumed correctly because the notes went back down to the comforting rumble.
“Sorry” He said gently. He really didn’t want to let her go but he also didn’t want to cause her further pain. He was ignoring the pain that he was in.
“Don’t apologize, I probably would have fallen and hurt myself more”
After the stir-fry was done he plated the food on the four plates and topped them with the finely diced vegetable. He sent a message to Tali to let her know her food was in the oven with the Spectre’s.
The ship lurched again and the Vextra found herself going toward Garrus instinctively to secure her.
Their plates of food began sliding off the counter and she dove reflexively to grab them, leaving his grasp. She yelped and winced when she grabbed them and felt his arm snake around her waist again and pulling her close to him.
Once the ship was stabilized he took the plates from her instantly and she bit back the pain she felt from using her fingers. He set the plates down and went to grab her hands to look them over and stopped before touching them as he reminded himself she had not given permission.
She looked up at him, he was still doing the comforting rumble and moved her hands closer to him, silently giving him permission, to inspect her them.
The second he touched her the tone of his subharmonics engulfed her, relaxing her once more.
“We need to get you to the med bay” He said with concern
“But the food” She whined as she looked longingly towards the plate of food she wanted to eat.
Garrus looked up when he heard the ding from the elevator. The ground crew plus a new face exited the elevator.
“Do I need to…?” Garrus asked the Commander when he saw him, knowing a meeting was going to be happening soon. Her hands were still in his. He was leaning on the counter to take pressure off his leg.
The Vextra looked at the new alien species. She looked just as strange as all the aliens she had met so far. The blue skin and tentacles for hair was what made her look the most unique. She reminded the Vextra of an octopus version of Medusa, just with tamed tenacles instead of ever moving snakes.
The Commander waved off the ground team that was on the elevator to go to the room off the CIC.
“No, I’ll update you later. You need to rest” He turned to head up the stairs himself
“Commander, could you help us by bringing the food to the med bay before you go? I haven’t eaten since breakfast and I’m famished” The Vextra asked, giving the Commander a grin before wincing in pain from the action. She took her hands from the Turian. The Commander chuckled but shrugged and grabbed the plates. He needed to head that way anyway. She reconfigured her body to help Garrus get back to the med bay and the two headed over.
“I look forward to your regaling tale of Therum Commander” Garrus happily teased. The Commander sighed and rolled his eyes “I assume it was a wonderful time with the emergency evac and all” He teased further causing the Vextra to chuckle before groaning and clutching her face and then yelping in pain. The Commander gave the Turian a pointed look and opened the doors to the med bay.
“Chakwas. We are out of rooms; do you think it would be okay to convert the med bay closet for Dr. T’Soni to stay in?”
“Of course, Commander, I’ll start getting it ready for her” She responded.
“I should go” The Commander nodded in thanks and about-turned out of the room
“Chakwas, before you do that, she grabbed the counter and the plates when the ship lurched the last few times, could you look them over?”
“Garrus it’s fine, she can look them over later” Garrus let out a low growl that was undetectable to the human but she could feel it move through her as she helped him to the bed. She gave him a look showing she was not amused. He gave her a pointed look back. “I’m fine”
His pointed look and growl deepened and she let out a sigh of exasperation.
“Let me see” The Doctor ordered and she glared at Garrus playfully in response as the doctor put her hands under a scanner. He gave her a triumphant smile and could hear the tone of his subharmonics drift to higher octaves from her acquiescence.
The Doctor sighed in irritation causing both sets of eyes to land on the Doctor. “I need to reset a few of the bones” Garrus’ subharmonics went to the concerned tone and the Vextra grimaced. “Because of the bone regrowth serum being in your system this long, this will hurt.” The Vextra nodded and bit her lip. Sitting down beside the Turian as she readied herself for pain. The doctor corrected the first bone and she shrieked in pain and ripped her hand back reflexively. She felt the back of a talon stroking her arm, allowing Garrus’ comforting tone to resonate through her and she looked down at it.
He had no idea he had reached out to stroke her bare arm absentmindedly in comfort until she looked down at it. He withdrew it and watched as her ears tilt backward slightly and she looked at him in distress. He brought his talon back and stroked her arm again and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in and let it out. He watched through his visor as her heart-rate normalized.
He felt conflicted.
He was happy that this was going so well.
Thrilled that she was seeking a touch in comfort
Happy that she had gone towards him to help her the last time the ship lurched
Beyond thrilled that she had relaxed against him
Was okay with his arm around her waist and her shoulder tucked under his chin.
But the last thing he wanted to do was push her.
Doing so would destroy everything, destroy the trust he had built
He wanted to do more but had to allow her to do things at her pace.
With things going as they were he would be going crazy wanting and ready to blow off steam when she would maybe be comfortable to sit next to him while holding hands.
He had to get his feelings under control.
He wanted to lick her neck earlier?!
They have known each other for 3 days!
He needed to stop thinking these thoughts.
“I need you to stay still” The Doctor said, telling the woman off. She hissed a breath through her teeth in response. “Would you like to be restrained while I do this?” She asked.
The Vextra’s eyes widened and immediately said no.
“What if I held your wrists so you don’t move?” He asked gently, talon still stroking the arm not in the doctor’s grasp. She looked at him unsure. He motioned for her to stand up and he sat up when when did. He swung his legs off the edge of the bed, sat with his legs wide and scooted back as far as he could without touching his sprained spur and motioned for her to sit down.
She stared at him as if he was insane.
“The longer we wait the more this will hurt.” The Doctor reminded and the Vextra tilted her chin to the ceiling and muttered in a language the other two species didn’t understand before sitting in between his legs. She made sure she didn’t touch him. Her tail wrapped around her waist tightly showing her discomfort.
“I’m going to get closer okay?” He said softly and she nodded. He leaned forward, tucking her shoulder under his chin once more and lightly engulfed her wrists with his hands. The comforting rumble went through her at his proximity and once he touched her it heightened and she let out the breath of anxiety that she had been holding in.
The Doctor counted down and she closed her eyes and felt his hand tighten around her wrist to keep it still as the doctor corrected the bones. She bit back her scream.
4 more bone corrections later and she was letting out a whimper of pain as the doctor rescanned her hands.
“All done. Stop using your hands or it will take longer to heal” The doctor admonished
“Yes ma’am” she said softly. A mischievous grim crossed her face. “Can you check his chest plates?” She asked through the pain she was still in “He had held me pretty tightly during that evac and I heard him hiss in pain.”
She got out of his reach and gave him a look that said this was payback and he submitted to the scan of his plates from the Doctor.
“Doesn’t look like anything needs to be put back into place. You’re lucky Vakarian” She left to go to the storage closet as the Vextra’s face looked on with shock.
“Unfair” She muttered. She looked at the food at the foot of the bed and then realization struck.
How was she going to eat when she couldn’t use her hands?
He watched her look at the food in horror before looking at her hands and back to the food.
She couldn’t feed herself.
But he could.
He tampered down the gleeful tone he wanted to emit from his subharmonics. Doing so would be inappropriate and cruel. He leaned down and grabbed both plates. Her eyes followed her plate and then to his face. He motioned her to get closer which she slowly did. She was unsure what he wanted to do. He took a fork, grabbed some food and held it out for her to eat from.
She froze
She couldn’t do this, it was much too intimate and she did not feel comfortable with this level of control that he would have.
Garrus isn’t him. She reminded the part of herself that was screaming that she was in danger.
That side rang alarm bells. Give him an inch he will take a mile, just like he did.
Garrus wasn’t him.
Garrus didn’t enjoy seeing her in pain.
Garrus had consistently stopped what it he was doing to relieve her pain.
Going back to when she was on the floor in the med bay and her cocktail depleted. Garrus took weight off of her when he saw she was in pain.
Garrus didn’t like her being uncomfortable.
Garrus had consistently stopped touching her or given her space when she needed it.
He had never done that.
He relished seeing her in pain.
He got pleasure from it.
They are not the same.
Slowly she leaned down and put the fork in her mouth to take the food.
She heard the notes of what she assumed of relief, comfort and happiness when she did so.
He took a bite of his food while she chewed hers.
He tried his best to not make it awkward for her but his brain kept going to how wonderful it would be to feed her things in bed, limbs entangled together after lovemaking and watching the joy of the taste of the food in her mouth as she looked up at him.
He shook the thought away, admonishing himself again for the thoughts.
He had to take things at her pace.
Thinking these things would not help things speed up.
“How is it?” He asked nervously. He really didn’t want to disappoint her with the food.
“It’s very good” She said, and looked at him quizzically when he let out a sigh of relief.
She was unsure how to ask why he was acting the way he was. So, she dropped it hoping he would tell her himself later.
“Garrus” She began, his eyes met hers immediately “How do I?” She sighed. Pausing to figure out how to ask her question “Knowing I am a person is overwhelming.” He stroked the back of his talon against her arm to comfort her hearing her distressed tone “I don’t know what I like, who I am, nothing. I don’t know where to start”
“How about a name” She let out a chuckle before wincing
“You and my name”
“23 is a number not a name. It’s the same thing as a designation of an object or a slave. Not a person” He said. “Fuck the Vextra. Give yourself a name”
She stared at him in light shock before dropping her gaze. He got another bite ready for her to take and she chewed it contemplating his words.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Commander and the blue alien entered the med bay when the two were nearly finished eating. He cocked an eyebrow at the Turian feeding the Vextra but said nothing.
“Dr. Liara T’Soni, this is C-Sec Detective Garrus Vakarian, and Dr. Karin Chakwas,” He introduced, then looked at the Vextra and his words faltered as the Vextra looked over the blue alien. She looked mostly human with tentacles instead of hair and blue. The blue alien looked at the Vextra in shock.
“I’m… still thinking of a name. I’d shake your hand or however action you do to introduce yourself but I broke my hands” She said with a grin before wincing.
“What are- I mean how did you?”
“I’m a Vextra. As for how I broke my hands. He” She looked over to the Turian who grinned at her amused face “has hard plates” The Archeologist’s jaw dropped
“My plates have thulium in them” He hummed
“You keep saying things like I know what they are”
“It’s a metal, it is an evolved defense to the solar radiation on Palaven”
“Wait” She looked at him with a playful glare. “You mean to tell me that without armor you still have a natural armor?”
“Yes” He said amused
“Fucking cheater” He chuckled
“You broke 3 of my plates, most species can’t do that without armor” He purred
“Well…” she muttered silently to herself.
“Commander, do your crew often beat each other to the point they both end up in the med bay?” The Archeologist said in distress.
“Uh”
“Oh this was a rare occurrence” The Vextra piped up. “I remember hearing you were an archeologist” She said changing topics, slipping into her Operative training. Maybe she had found interesting information that would be useful.
“Yes, I am an expert on the Protheans. They were such an amazing race. Technologically brilliant. The Asari, my people, based our government on the Protheans in my opinion.” The Vextra's face fell “Even the Citadel and the Counsel are based on how the Protheans had united the different species all that time ago” The Vextra barked a laugh and stifled it as best as she could.
The Asari could not be more wrong.
The Asari looked at the Vextra raising one of her drawn on eyebrows.
“What?”
“What I know of the Protheans differs from your beliefs” She said with a small smile.
“How would you know?” The Asari bit back
“She is a type of Prothean and history expert on her own” The Commander explained and the Asari looked at her incredulously. The Vextra gave the blue woman her best innocent look. “Of course, she hasn’t given us that much information” He said giving her a pointed look. The Vextra turned up the charm, falling back into Operative training seamlessly as she made her eyes bigger, and tilting her head looking as innocent as possible.
“I see” the Archeologist said considered the Vextra. “Where exactly does your expertise lay?”
The Vextran small smile widened
“The species of the last cycle”
“When you say cycle, do you mean the 50,000-year extinction cycles? The ones where all civilization is destroyed leaving barely a trace?” The Vextran nodded
“Yes” The Vextra answered. The Asari began to get excited
“It was a theory I had that many tossed aside” The Vextra’s smile dropped as the Asari got closer and she froze, emitting a faint warning growl.
Garrus caught it and put his hand on her shoulder, causing the Commander to widen his eyes at the action since the Vextra didn’t flinch. She let out a breath to calm herself as Garrus’ calming sound flowed through her.
“You okay?” He asked quietly.
“I don’t do well with excitement from others, especially as they are coming towards me and I don’t know their intention” she admitted quietly to the Turian
“Dr. T’Soni, our Vextran friend here doesn’t appreciate people getting close to her or touching her. She would feel more comfortable if you took a step back” Garrus spoke for her. She mumbled her thanks to the Turian and he let out a cheerful chirp before allowing his hand to drop from his shoulder and back to absentmindedly stroking the back of her arm with his talon.
“I’m sorry” The blue woman said as she backed off “I’m not good at social interactions”
“Neither am I” The Vextra admitted quietly once she had backed off enough for her to relax.
She had no idea what to think of this new species, or rather the new person on the ship. Besides the Turian near her she hadn’t had much interaction with the others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Vextra did not have to stay in the med bay but instead found herself wanting to be there to be close to the Turian.
She sat on the foot of the bed as she looked over the projection and scan of the Zha tech that had sent her there.
“What language is that? It looks like art” Garrus asked. She chuckled a bit before wincing.
“It’s Kajefka. It’s kind of like a Vextran standard language. There are more than just Kajefka”
“How many more?”
“One for each of the founding families so… 7 including Kajefka”
“How many do you know?”
“I know how to read 2: Slaneska and Xajka. The founding family languages are kept pretty secret, kind of like a code between family members. My family was pretty paranoid so I was not allowed to use Slaneska outside the family residence, which was uncommon in Vextran culture. I can understand 4 of the founding family languages when spoken. Helped me a lot when I was in training.”
“What exactly are you looking at?” He asked as he watched her type slowly and carefully using a claw, trying not to move her fingers too much.
“I am looking at the Zha tech. I’m trying to figure out more information on it” She said
“Maybe you should ask the archeologist for help” He offered. She stopped her typing and turned fully to look at him in disdain.
“I don’t need help, I just need time to figure it out”
“We are a team. You need to be nice to the other team members even if you disagree with their ideology” He told her off ending with a teasing tone. She scoffed before dropping her voice to a whisper
“She is completely wrong about the Protheans!” She hissed. He bit back the smile that wanted to show on his face
“She is still an archeologist” He said “And this isn’t Prothean, so it gives you neutral ground. Avoid talking about Prothean stuff” She let out a long groan of irritation before pouting at him
“Do I have to?”
“Be nice and go, I’ll be right here if you need me” She rolled her eyes but complied as she let out another groan as she got off his bed showing her unwillingness to do so and headed over to the med bay closet door.
Using her elbow she pushed the icon on the console on the side of the door and waited to be let in.
“Doctor” She acknowledged as she entered the room.
“Hello” The Asari replied cautiously
“I assume the Commander told you of how I came here?” She asked and the Asari nodded
“Yes. It seems a bit… farfetched”
“That’s an accurate statement.” She admitted. “Garrus mentioned I should ask for your…” She sighed, she hated asking for help, especially from a stranger. Help was rarely given freely and hardly ever given out of kindness in her experience. “expertise in archeology on the Zha technology that got me here”
“Zha?”
“Do you know of the Zha’til?”
“No”
She let out an irritated sigh.
“How can you know about the Protheans but not the-” She muttered before forcibly stopping herself and sighing again.
Garrus said to be nice.
She trusted Garrus.
“I have some scans of the tech and the Zha. I’d like your help” She said forcefully through her teeth.
“Okay” The Asari said hesitantly and slowly stood and got closer so she could get a better look of the scans.
“What do you know of Stonehenge?” The Vextra asked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Vextra had been in the med bay closet for nearly two hours. Thirty minutes in Tali had been called up to the room as well. Garrus hoped that things were going well. He wanted her to have comradery with the rest of the ground team, wanted her to have friends. It wouldn’t be healthy for her to be his shadow, as much as he’d enjoy it.
“Hello Garrus” The Commander said as he and Chakwas entered the med bay. Chakwas did another scan of his spur and broken plates. “I got a distress beacon from an android and I wanted you to be on the team that goes in to investigate. We should be there in a few days.”
He felt conflicted. He joined the team to find and fight Saren, but his heart didn’t want to be away from the Vextra.
He was Turian though, he reminded himself.
His duty was part of being Turian.
His duty to the team and mission had to take priority.
“Can he join the ground team Dr. Chakwas?”
“I believe so. He is healing quite nicely”
“Sounds good Commander” Garrus responded.
“Where’s your shadow?” He teased. Garrus flicked his mandibles out slightly as a small smile form on his face before gesturing to the med bay closet. The Commander’s facial expression faltered
“Um, how is that going?”
“No yells or calls of distress yet sir” He responded, amused.
The med bay closet doors opened and the three women came out
“Commander Shepard, we were on the way to come look for you.” The blue woman admitted, surprise clear on her face for finding the man so quickly.
“Oh?” He asked curiously. He looked over the Asari and the Quarian, they both didn’t have a scratch on them and he mentally sighed in relief.
“We came up with some theories on the Zha tech” The Vextra said, going to sit next to Garrus once again. She began to relax once she was closer to him and fully relaxed when the back of his talon touched her arm.
She had discovered that she was a bundle of stress and nerves until she was around him and his calming rumble flowed through her.
The relaxation of her entire body was something she had never felt before until recently.
She began disliking it when he wasn’t touching her or near her to let that calming feeling flow through her.
She didn’t like the tense feeling her body had.
His touch, and his ability to calm her stress had become a magnetic pull towards him.
The fact she now craved his touch was a bit jarring to her still.
She felt safe when she was around her.
She was terrified of how quickly this was happening but the result was the same.
She sought him to feel at ease and safe.
She had never sought someone for comfort before and that unnerved her
“These theories are?” The Commander asked
“Based off what I know about the Zha and their technology I believe the tech I touched was a prototype. My assumption is that the prototype was made when their homeworld become uninhabitable, and as a last resort for this particular Zha, they used the prototype to escape the fate of their species”
“The Zha skeleton had many broken bones” T’Soni added
“The skeleton also shows the Zha was in the early stages of becoming a Zha’til. The skeleton had more tech than a normal Zha, but not as much as they would in their species’ future. Based off the way I entered Eden Prime I assume the Zha entered Earth the same way. The schematics I copied before coming here show there was no preference in what world they would go to.” The Vextra said
“It could have been a mistake in the protoype code to be flung to another system and another planet. It is more likely instead that it was originally intended to act as a time machine.” The Quarian told the men
“Meaning she was lucky to be flung to a garden world. The Zha was equally as lucky” T’Soni added
“Ardi had calculated the force in which I came in contact with the Spectre and if it weren’t for my shield suite coming to life at exactly the right time the impact would have killed me. I assume the impact was similar and unexpected to the Zha, and if they had a general shield it would not have helped much to keep them safe when the impact occurred.”
“Shield suite?” The Commander asked cautiously. He was sure he knew the answer was going to be ‘classified’.
“Some Operatives, most high-level Operatives, have a set of shields rather than just one that help protect from a variety of different oncoming objects. My shield suite has 4 layers, but since I had my imaging software on I only had access to 3.” She explained and the men balked at her actually explaining something to them. “The 3 layers of shielding was a small miracle that saved my life”
“Based on the time when Stonehenge was erected by the early humans, I theorize it was built in honor of the Zha” T’Soni started
“The Zha must have used a lot of energy to fling themselves some odd 45,000 years into the future. The Vextra theorized that the more energy needed to fling the Zha so far into the future could mean the impact would have also been greater, meaning death upon impact would have been more likely.” The Quarian added to T’Soni’s comment
“The energy in the tech would have been mostly depleted when he entered Earth and hit the ground hard” The Vextra mentioned
“I theorize the early humans in the area saw that area to be a sacred burial site after the Zha arrived and died on contact. The body was buried instead of cremated like the humans did around Stonehenge” T’Soni responded
“Ok, but how did you get here?” The Commander asked
“The Zha tech reacted to me”
“How?”
“Uh…” The Vextra stalled momentarily. Weighing telling the information or not. “I-I have technology that has melded with my DNA” She said quickly “I’m not going into more detail than that so don’t ask” She said quickly with a hand up to still the Commander’s question. Garrus’ talon stilled at the new information as his mind began piecing together information. “Anyway, it reacted to the tech within me and I theorize when I touched it, it took some of my energy to activate it and flung me across the galaxy and into the future. Because the Zha tech was already depleted it didn’t fling me as far into the future as it could have.”
“So, is there a way to get you back to your time?” The Commander asked and Garrus fought the keening whine he wanted to let out.
The idea of never seeing her again seemed like one of the worst nightmares his mind could up with and was not a life he wanted to live in.
“From the schematics and code I looked into I doubt the Zha who made the tech intended to use it to return to their time. Meaning it was always meant to be a one-way trip” The Quarian answered
“And I’m stuck here” The Vextran added.
Garrus felt like he could breathe again and his heart had begun beating again. He began the stroking of the back of his talon again to her hide, absentmindedly tracing the pattern of the not-tattoos on the exterior of her arms.
“Oh” The Commander said, he was unsure how to respond to this information. “But the three of you worked together to discover this?” He asked, and they nodded. He was impressed at the Vextra.
“Yes. T’Soni and I worked on the archeological angle until I realized Zorah could help me look at the code, especially since I can’t really use my hands at the moment” She mentioned. Garrus grinned. They had gained her trust enough to be upgraded to last name instead of title.
He was proud of the Vextra for trying to make friends, even if he had to give her a push to do so. The three women had seemed to respect each other’s fields and gain common ground in that manner. They all looked more comfortable in each other’s presence. She turned to the two women
“Thank you for your help” She said genuinely. Garrus let a happy tone mixed with his now ever-constant calming one.
Once the two were alone again he ran his talon up her arm and tapped on her shoulder to get her attention.
“That DNA melding, that is what happens during the Operative Procedure right?”
“Yes”
“There seems to be more to it than that” He said as he studied her body language and facial expressions. She grimaced but lowered her voice to a whisper.
“It nearly destroys the melanin in the body, making us appear paler than a Tru- than a regular Vextra. Making us forever an outsider, visually and at a cellular level, to the species.” She said “The tech burns these designs into our skin in the womb when the Procedure is done, they glow when I use my tech to assist with attacks” She admitted, gesturing to the not-tattoos on the exterior of her arms and her thighs legs where the design was unseen due to her joggers. He looked at her face, hand raising to it and letting a single talon touch the design there, light as a feather.
“Even here?” He dropped his talon after he spoke the words. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable
“No, those are burned into the face at 12, when the Operative graduates training. They are burned deep enough so they glow as well” She said without emotion. “We call the markings on the arms and legs ‘tech burns.’ The facial markings showcase which family you are from. Regular Vextra have them tattooed on, not burned on” She looked at his markings “Are your markings for your family or something else?”
“They are colony markings. They design is based off of where a Turian is born, the color for what clan you are from” He explained “They are tattooed on but some Turians prefer not to have markings. Those that don’t aren’t viewed in a very good light though.”
He decided to change the topic
“Why does excitement cause you to freeze?” She looked uncomfortable for a moment as she decided how to explain her discomfort.
“Excitement around me in the past resulted in two different scenarios: either someone was going to try to kill me or someone was going to try to hurt me” She explained quietly. Willing away the memories that accompanied the words. He put his hand over hers which caused his subharmonic comforting sound to flow through her with the touch. She looked up at him.
“I’m not saying that won’t happen in the future, but most people are excited about things they enjoy or fields of study.” He explained softly. “Like you were when you heard I was good at hand-to-hand combat” He added. She sighed.
“I’m trying, but sometimes I seem to get stuck… like… mentally” She said slowly
“I understand that” He said gently.
He wanted to desperately pull her to lay down next to him so he could snuggle against her.
“Are you okay with being stuck here in this time period?” He asked cautiously.
She looked at him in the eyes, intense emotion swirling through them.
“Garrus, I’d rather be dead than back in my own time and treated like a tool again. Touching that tech was the best thing to ever happen to me”
He let out a sigh of relief as quietly as he could, he trilled and gave her a big smile.
“I’m glad you are here too”
Notes:
I am a bit conflicted at this chapter. I think its cute and sweet but I feel like the relaxing feeling she gets from Garrus is causing them to move a bit too fast.
Offsetting that is a bit difficult.
I am also deciding on whether or not to add a bit of lore in both Vextran and Turian culture. A part of me wants to, whereas the other part of me wants to keep things a bit more realistic to the game.
Doing so means 23 gets something pleasant for once.
Let me know what you guys think.
There may be a delay in the next chapter until I figure it out.
Chapter 9: X57
Summary:
The Vextra find 23 and she must do what she can to keep her new friends safe.
Can she get to Garrus in time?
Will she survive the encounter?
Notes:
I decided to bite the bullet and allow something nice to happen in 23's future.
It does mean I have to divert from game-canon slightly.
I think it'll be interesting, and it is my story after all.
lmao
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
He dreamt of vibrant large eyes against a black sclera, and watched a glowing ring of purple glow from the ciliary margin that decreased in size before it remained against the slit-shaped pupil in the pupillary margin. This close he saw her eyes were not just green, but had shades of yellow in the fold of the iris near her pupil and blue in the outer border of the iris. The glowing ring of purple remained against her pupil and then disappeared.
Garrus woke up. He had not had the dream about those eyes in years. The purple glowing aspect was not new, that part of the dream started when he was 15. He shook the thought from his head and got suited up for his mission on X57.
“Have fun Garrus. Tell me how many headshots you get.” The Vextra said as he headed to the Cargo Bay causing him to laugh.
She had headed back to her room and was going through her tech’s codes, program by program to make sure there was no proximity beacon once more. The Doctor had said she could begin to use her hands but they should need another day to heal. Her fractured jaw and rib had finished healing, it was just her damn hands
There wasn’t much else to do for another hour when she would begin making lunch.
She decided to marinate some meat as a break from the monotony of code. As she was tossing the meat in the prepared marinade to sit while her tech on her arm began flashing with a warning that made her heart sink
‘Vextra Proximity Warning’ was what the tech was saying in her inner ear and flashing in Sleneska, her family’s language.
Her breath caught in her throat as her mind raced
How did they find her?
She went over her code at least 15 times by now looking for anything that could be used for them to detect her position.
Did they find her? Or was there a ship that was just in the area
Her heart beating hard she pulled up the data she could without Vextranet and her mind raced further. She couldn’t get a decent scan of the ship, but she could see that they had stopped. Without a decent scan she had no idea how many Operatives were in the area or what they would do. She watched the ship, breath hitched in her throat, for 5 minutes before realization that what the ship not leaving meant. When it did it fell down hard on her.
The ship wasn’t moving.
They found her.
How?
Didn’t matter.
They did.
Training took over. She could deal with the how later.
Now, people she knew and cared about were in trouble.
Procedure was clear for MIA Operatives.
It was a simple multi-step system.
Step 1: pause the current mission
Step 2: study and memorize the information on the MIA Operative that was available. She hoped that the information they had on her was as vague as possible. Only time would tell if that was the case.
Step 3: the Operative in charge will set up an information status sharing to their ship to be sent to the Vextran home-world set for every 5 minutes.
Step 4: dependent on the size of the spacecraft, all Operatives will search for the Operative
Step 4.5: If it is unclear or difficult to find the MIA Operative, the Operatives will kill everyone until the MIA Operative is found to apprehend and/or kill them
She wasn’t on the asteroid. They would kill everyone on it.
Garrus was there.
Adrenaline pumping through her veins she turned on her imaging software for the first time since her attempted escape and bounded up the stairs to the CIC and rushed to the front of the ship where the Pilot was.
She needed a better scan of the spacecraft to form a plan on how to get everyone out of there alive before things got ugly.
Before Garrus died.
Kaiden clocked her immediately, he had seen her during her initial escape with the imaging software on after all.
“You aren’t allowed to be up here” She ignored him and quickly got out and away from him when he attempted to block her.
She continued heading to the cockpit. He grabbed her
“You aren’t allowed here” He said forcefully, grabbing her arm. She growled and pushed him off her.
“Don’t touch me” she said through her teeth before making it to the Pilot.
Joker spun his chair and looked up at the commotion behind him.
“Who are… Kitty?” He said confused.
She nodded
“Scan for nearby ships” she said. He looked at her with wide eyes. Kaiden stalled momentarily.
“Wha-”
“Do it” She growled.
“Okay.” He said turning his seat around “Kitty’s angry today” He muttered. She ignored him.
She was in Operative mode.
She had a mission.
The mission was priority.
Garrus… everyone on that asteroid… would make it out alive, even if that meant her death.
“There’s nothing there” Joker said looking at the Vextra’s human image with a raised eyebrow. She let out an irritated sigh and muttered in Slaneska.
“Move over” She said and went towards the controls
“Hey” Joker retorted
“Absolutely not” Kaiden responded
She used her right hand to quickly swipe from her tech to the controls of the ship in a wide arch and began writing in Slaneska and Kajefka over the ship controls to add Vextran code to the ships code.
Kaiden grabbed her by her waist and began pulling her away
“Scan again” She demanded
“I already did”
“Joker, the Commander and Garrus are in trouble. I need that information to save them. Scan again” She said desperately. Kaiden was stronger than her and she had promised the Commander not to harm the crew.
Hearing the woman’s desperation Joker complied
“Fuck”
“Let me go” She ordered
Kaiden finally did as he stared in shock as the projection of an unknown ship
“It wasn’t there a moment ago!” Kaiden finally commented
“It’s Vextra” She said quietly so only the two men near her could hear. They looked at her with shock and fear on their faces. They were aware of what that meant. She looked at the image projection carefully.
It could be worse.
At most the ship that size would carry 9 Operatives.
Procedure would state all of them would be on that asteroid looking for her.
“Is there another vehicle on the Normandy?”
“No” Kaiden responded looking down and raking his fingers through his hair.
“Do we know the Commander’s last location?”
“They were headed to the main facility on the asteroid” Joker responded, panic setting into his voice. “He is radio silent at the moment”
“It isn’t safe to land with the Vextran ship there, how low can you get Monkey-Man?” She asked trying to relieve the fear the two had even by a touch with the nickname.
“Maybe 20 feet” He squeaked out, gripping his armrests. She looked up the asteroid’s information available from Joker's controls and did a quick calculation.
“I can make that jump. Get me as close as you can”
“I’m coming with you” Kaiden demanded
“No, you are not. You won’t make that jump. You’ll break your legs” She said. “Besides, I work best solo.” Kaiden looked unhappy but let it drop. “ETA?” she asked the Pilot
“2 minutes”
“I’m suiting up” She said and left the CIC. She didn’t need all that time to suit up, it would take mere seconds, but she couldn’t do so in front of the crew that didn’t know her while still using her human image.
She put on her heavy armor that doubled as space-worthy armor and reapplied the imaging software and bounded back up the stairs.
“Ready when you are” Joker said nervously when he saw her. He was putting on a brave face. She gave a nod and went into the airlock and waited for pressure to regulate.
She backed up to the door she had just exited and waited for the VI notification of all clear and open the doors before running and diving out the airlock. She righted herself and landed deftly on the ground, cat-like, as she was evolutionarily designed to do, and using her tech applied to one leg and then the other so she ran so she could run faster. Putting on her tactical cloak she dropped the imaging software so she could run even faster still.
The less things sapping her energy the more she could use to get to Commander Shepard, and Garrus.
She got to the door and it took a minute to unlock it and she slipped inside. She climbed the stairs and climbed the wall using her claws on her pawed feet and hands to get a higher vantage point of what was happening because it sounded chaotic.
4 eyed aliens she had not encountered yet were fighting against Commander Shepard, Garrus, the Spectre, and Wrex. She brought up her visor and tapped at the settings and looked around. She counted around 30 of the 4 eyed aliens and 9 Operatives. Using the zoom function briefly she looked at the color of the accents on the armor and the number on their collar notifying what level Operative they were.
1 yellow, a level 9, the leader of the Operation.
2 green, level 8, probably the team that the level 9 was in.
3 pink, level 7, most likely another team
3 light blue, level 5, probably being trained on off-world missions and another team.
All of them had imaging software to make them look human and had tactical cloaks up.
Procedure forbade them from disengaging imaging software.
It would be to their detriment.
They would have less energy to use on attacks.
Everyone in this area would die, so she did not have to do the same.
She assumed the Operatives would have a shield suite up of their own. Her family was stingy and paranoid, so hers might still be better, but over 150 years had passed. It could be her shield suite was worthy of a low-level Operative at this point.
That thought caused ice to flow through her body.
It would be a short fight if that were the case.
She deactivated her heavy armor band to use her lightweight armor. She assumed she would need to do hand-to-hand and she would be faster and more agile without the heavy armor. She would be able to run silently as well
After casing the area, she quietly landed on the floor below her floor and staying close to the railings she ran closer to her companions and, using her tech to assist, jumped over the Krogan and landed in between Garrus and the Commander and put her back to the cover they were using.
Garrus caught her scent first, turning his head where he could smell her.
“What are you doing here?” He growled quietly. The Commander looked at Garrus bewildered
“Vextra are here” She whispered, the Commander sputtered before gunfire had him putting his back to the cover next her
“Fuck”
“Who is good at stuff with your tech?”
“Omni-tool” Garrus corrected. He was not amused. He didn’t want her hurt and didn’t want her in this firefight. “I am”
“Great” She said, typing away at her tech and sending him a program “Send this to the team”
He grumbled but did so, she materialized next to him, a faint white glow formed around her as a tell-tale visual cue she still had her tactical cloak on. He could see the stern look on her face. She was also not amused.
“I watched you go through your tech multiple times; how did they find you?”
“I don’t know Garrus, and it isn’t something to focus on right now” She said, her voice was devoid of emotion. “I clocked 30 something 4 eyed fuckers and 9 Operatives. Commander, how do you wish to proceed?”
“Are the Operatives killing the Batarians?”
“The what?”
“The 4 eyed species”
“Yes”
“We focus on the Batarians then”
“Understood” She said and brushed the band that looked like a bracelet against her leather panel on the catsuit and her assault rifle materialized in her hand.
Unlike other things Garrus had seen materialize through those bands, her assault rifle was pure tech, like an omni-blade, but in blue, instead of vermillion. All of her weapons were tech based, and did not materialize in a physical sense making them lightweight and easier for the Operative to manage. She shot at the Batarians and Garrus’ internal need to protect her subsided a bit. He saw she handled herself well. Her shots rang true and accurately and any Batarian that entered her crosshairs went down efficiently.
Her eyes continued to sweep the area, clocking where the Operatives were as she fought with the group. She saw the man in the yellow accents say something to the one in green and watched in horror as he materialized a tech sniper rifle and aimed it at Garrus. She grabbed him and tackled him to the ground, her assault rifle dematerializing once it was no longer in her hands. If she was not touching her weapons they would dematerialize so not to continue using her energy. Garrus stuttered in confusion until the bullet landed in the wall.
Her heartrate had quickened and a growl let out of her throat.
“Commander, they have a sniper aimed towards us; we need another plan. I clocked about 15 4-eyed fuckers left. Can the 3 of you take care of them. I need to borrow Garrus’ sniper skills”
“Do it” The Commander ordered and with a nod she connected her comms to Garrus’ omni-tool
“Do you hear me?” She asked and he nodded. She rubbed the ring on her thumb against the panel to materialize her pistol. A couple taps on the side and the laser attachment was activated. “These fuckers have to use more energy to keep their cloaks and imaging up, which means less energy towards their shield suite. A sniper bullet should go through their shields if it is the same as mine. Without their cloaks, an armor piercing round can go through their shields and kill them. I’m going to go out there” She motioned out of cover and he let out a rumble of displeasure. She ignored him and continued “I will shoot my laser at his location briefly. Do you remember where he shot from?” He nodded “Good, I will shoot at him to get his attention off you and take down his shields so you can shoot him. Armor piercing rounds Garrus, got it?” He nodded and got them ready.
She took a breath and flitted out of cover.
If those Operatives had the same software she did in her visor this was going to end badly for her.
Garrus didn't need to know that. He was displeased as it was at the plan.
She aimed one bullet at the Operative once she was out of cover. It caused the sniper to focus away from her team. He trained his sniper rifle in her general direction but not at her. She breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Laser” She said quietly to Garrus through the comm and trained her laser on him
“Got it”
With that confirmation she shot at the Operative to take down their shields and Garrus’ shot rang true, in between the eyes.
The Operative could not pinpoint where she was as she shot at him.
He didn’t have access to her visor software.
She found that odd.
Her visor software was over 150 years old, why didn’t they have something better?
She pushed the thought aside.
She’d think about it later.
Mission first.
She needed everyone to make it out alive.
The Operatives stopped shooting. The Batarians and her team did not
“What happened?” The Commander asked
“They know I’m here. Procedure states to focus on me” She said as she got into cover, settling in next to the Commander and Garrus again.
“Tell me you have a plan”
“I do Commander. I am going to take out some of their shields. Do not kill the one accented in yellow, he is their leader”
“Why aren’t we killing that one first then?” Garrus asked
“Because he is a level 9, and will do things in a certain way that I can predict. If he dies the others will act more irrationally, especially since the next high-level Operatives are most likely part of his team and may act in revenge. That and it will most likely result to severe injury or death to you all. Something I’d like to avoid”
“Let’s hear your plan then” The Commander stated
“I am going to take out some of their shields for Garrus to pick off. I’ll be focusing on high to low-level Operatives excluding Mr. Yellow” She said. There are two level 8 Operatives. I’ll take the one Garrus will take the other down.
“You said I needed a sniper rifle. How are you taking the other one down” She grinned at him devilishly. Took the Vextran version of her pinky finger and rubbed the band on it on the leather panel. A knife appeared in her hand and she began twirling it before flicking her wrist to have the blade land in front of her of parallel to her wrist and back again with another flick of her wrist.
“Hand-to-hand”
“Absolutely not” Garrus growled out. She looked at him in annoyance. “You are still healing from our spar not even a week ago. You are not going out there in an 8 to one fight with a knife”
“Garrus!” She admonished. “I may not know much about making friends or even how to be a person. However, I have been trained since the age of two to be a weapon and how to fight and kill. It is what I am skilled at. Stop treating me as if I wasn’t brought up that way”
Garrus’ mandibles tightened against his jaw and lifted up at her admonishment.
She was right.
Nihlus grinned at her words as he brought down another Batarian that got too close with his shotgun.
“I am used to fighting with these kinds of odds” She continued “When I was being evaluated on my hand-to-hand skills I had no choice but to go up against teams by myself. So, 3 to 1. Teams who were the same level as I was.”
“What level are you?” The Commander asked
“Nine, out of ten” She said, gesturing to the filigree on her collar and answering the question she knew she was going to hear next. “There is one level 9, 2 level 8s, 2 level 7s now, and 3 level 5s. The colors have changed in the last 150 some odd years” She grinned maniacally “They will see the blue, probably not read the number on my collar, and think I am a level 5. Unless the beacon had information on my level. Underestimating me will lead to their death”
“I still don’t like it”
“That’s fine” she said, rolling her eyes “Easy way to fix it too” She fixed him with a hard look “Don’t miss” The others let out a barely stifled laugh.
Garrus grumbled under his breath.
“Ardi. Run Slanai Internal Program: Delphi Pythia” She whispered. She highly doubted this software program was shared outside of her family.
“Acknowledged.” Ardi commented in her 2nd comm in her inner ear. Her body, starting from her extremities, following the tech burns and headed towards her face glowed purple before reaching her eyes. Once at her eyes the glowing on her extremities faded.
Garrus watched her eyes as the purple glowing circle went from the outer rim of her iris to around the pupil and remained there from the program. His brain went momentarily blank.
The puzzle pieces seemed to sink in place.
He understood his emotions and thoughts now.
It all made sense.
He was brought out of his thoughts as she got up.
She left cover, materialized a pistol from her left thumb ring and shot both of the level 7 Operatives to drop their cloak and dropped her pistol so it dematerialized.
“I’m taking left” She said to Garrus through her comm
She ran silently to the level 7 Operative. Garrus took out his Operative quickly and watched her work through his sniper rifle to provide support.
She jumped, used her leg to wrap around the Operatives neck, her other leg bent and at their collarbone, and used the momentum to swing herself down towards the Operative’s crotch.
This caused the Operative to lose balance, their neck between her thighs as they began to fall forward.
Momentum still causing her to swing from the motion she used her hands to flip the Operative over her shoulder so they landed on their back as she landed on her knees facing the Operative’s feet, with their neck firmly between her legs.
It happened in one smooth motion. She materialized her other knife quickly and stabbed the Operative in the chest twice with each hand with quick, precise, practiced movements.
Leaning to the side she twisted her torso so she could stab under their chin, between the jawbone,
Then flicking her wrist so her blade was parallel to her arm again she stabbed their throat as she got up, leaving them gurgling on their blood.
Once on her feet she jumped backwards as the other still cloaked Operative’s began shooting at the area she was. Making the Operative’s death happen faster.
“Spirits” She heard Nihlus say through her comm
“Damn”
“That was one of the most beautifully brutal things I have ever seen” Garrus muttered in uncomfortable awe.
“I prefer shooting things, but that works too” Wrex said. She could hear a smile in his voice. She grinned. Having banter and commentary as she fought was new, it made things even more fun.
“And then there were 6” She added to the running commentary. She heard Garrus’ chuckle, before his breath stifled.
One of the level 7 Operatives heard her and laid down a shower of bullets in her direction, 3 bullets nicked her dropping her cloak
“Fuck” She muttered
She took a deep breath, took out her assault rifle and blasted the remaining Operatives to take down their cloaks too as they began firing on her.
With her cloak down and the only tech she was using being an assault rifle she had enough energy to have all 4 layers of her shield suite operating. She stopped firing once the cloaks of her opponents were down. Letting the assault rifle fall from her hands so she had more energy going to her shields.
“Get back into cover” Garrus frantically said as he shot one of the level 7 Operatives between the eyes.
She ignored him and brought out her knives again, flicking her wrists so the blade swung from one end of the handle to the other as she waited for the inevitable discovery. She got into a low crouch, her left leg extended in front of her as she rested on her right. Waiting on the order from the level 9
“+Stop shooting her, she has a shield suite. Attack together using hand-to-hand+” He commanded in Xajka. A shiver went down her spine.
Xajka was his family language.
“23” Garrus said in distress “Please” He begged, her heart felt for him
He never called her 23. He was clearly distressed.
“I got this Garrus. I’ll be ok” She said back confidently but sweetly. She knew it wouldn’t comfort the Turian, but she needed to do something to ease his distress.
The 5 attacked her as one and she fought and stabbed. Flexing her body out of the way from obvious attacks but feeling herself get stabbed a few times.
Pain meant she was alive.
She could still stand
She could still fight.
One of the Level 5 Operatives punched her shoulder with a tech assist and she heard a crack as the punch hit. She sucked in a breath and the momentum had her swing on her pawed foot and land face-to-face in front of the level 9 who grabbed her throat and lifted her off the ground before she had time to react.
“No” She heard Garrus’ voice through the comm and heard a shot crack and hit behind her. One of the level 7s were heading to stab her
“+Kill the sniper+” The level 9 ordered the last level 7 and she felt her heart leap to her throat at the words as she watched in horror as the man activated their cloak.
The Pythia Delphi software allowed her to calculate the movements of her opponents up to 1 second, almost seeing it as a hologram and she watched the Operative run towards Garrus. It didn't do much in combat against multiple enemies.
She growled, looked at the level nine and saw the hologram of herself doing what she thought might be possible and grinned evilly to the Operative as she dug her claws into his forearm and pulled her pawed feet to his shoulder connected to the hand on her throat, watched the tech burns glow blue up to her knees and kicked him away sharply.
The level 9 yowled in pain as his shoulder and arm disconnected from each other from the force of her attack spraying light blue blood everywhere.
She landed hard on her back
She used her claws to get the still flexed hand off her throat
Rolled over quickly
Used her claws for purchase
Activated her cloak verbally
And used her tech towards her legs to launch herself and run faster.
The Pythia Delphi hologram showed that she wasn’t going to make it
She watched in horror as the tech assisted punch from the level 7 caused Garrus’ face to cave in around it, his plates breaking to pieces and navy-blue blood spraying her companions as they turned to shriek in horror as his body hit the wall behind them. It seemed to be happening in slow motion.
Her heart felt like it was breaking to a million pieces at the image.
She couldn’t let that happen
She dropped her shields verbally to run faster.
The holograms showed that she would arrive right as the punch was happening to Garrus’ face.
Her breath hitched in her throat as she watched the beginning of the punch crack his facial plates as his face caved in.
Navy-blue blood spurted over her companions as they screamed. Garrus stopped breathing.
Her heart ached.
She wouldn’t let that happen.
She couldn't let that happen.
She wailed slightly and dropped her visor tech to move faster.
Her hologram showed it still wasn’t fast enough.
She would arrive just as the punch hit his nose and crest.
He was still going to die.
She dropped her cloak to run faster.
Dropped the Pythia Delphi program as well.
She hoped it would be enough
She had to make it on time.
She couldn’t live without Garrus
She couldn’t live
It wouldn’t be a life she wanted
She rose her right fist and put as much energy as possible into it, her tech burns glowing up to her shoulder and punched the Operative on the side of the face releasing the energy buildup from her tech.
The Operative’s cloak dropped on contact with her fist and his face smashed in, showering light blue blood over her and her team as the attack sent his body slamming into the wall 10 feet away hard enough to dent it.
She landed on her feet and her body began to shake.
That was close
Too close
She took deep breaths as an angry growl ripped through her chest and out her mouth.
She stood there as the images from the holograms replayed in her brain and barely felt the bullets fly into her.
Barely felt the sniper bullet hit her in her abdomen from one of the remaining Batarians on the floor above them
Barely heard the yells of the Commander and Garrus for her to get back into cover
Barely felt Garrus’ taloned hands grab her shoulders as he dragged her foreably into cover.
All she could see was Garrus’ head being smashed in by the Operative
His face plates cracking and blood spurting
Again and again
All she could hear was her heart beating in her ears.
A calming rumble flowed through her body and vibrated her bones, breaking her of her reverie and she chocked back the sob that formed in her body.
“23!” Garrus said, he was in front of her and looked incredibly distressed. She looked at him and felt tears running down her face “Are you ok?! You were shot”
She didn’t feel it.
She didn’t care.
He was alive.
She made it in time.
“I made it in time” She barely made out through another sob.
“What?” Garrus said as he put his back against cover again.
She turned her torso towards him, the pain not even reaching her consciousness.
She needed to know that he was real
Her hands went to his face, pulled him closer to him, and fought back the pain from using her damaged shoulder.
She inspected his face, checking this facial plates for cracks. Garrus looked at her bewildered
She had never touched his face before.
“The program I was running, uses sound waves to help me predict one second into the future. It produced a hologram of predicted movements. I watched you die twice as I raced to get over here” She said gravely, her fingers tracing cheekbones. She let out a staggered strangled breath and dropped her hands from his face and allowed her back to collapse against the cover.
“You were shot” He said looking her over. “Do a medi-scan and mend” He ordered, shaken at her actions and her words.
“I need my energy to kill the rest of them” She said “I can’t” He growled in response and pulled out a pack of medi-gel and handed it to her.
“Apply it” he said as he found and took out the sniper that had shot her earlier.
The pain came into her consciousness and hit her hard.
She sucked in a breath of pain as she moved her left arm to disengage the band of her light armor to go back to her active wear
“Will this work on my shoulder?” Garrus let out a strangled growl of frustration at her question
“It will help with pain and bruising, but Chakwas will have to fix any broken bones you have” The Commander answered her. She sighed, she was not looking forward to having the Doctor angry at her again.
“Apply it to the bullet wounds and stab wounds” Garrus growled out angrily. He was pissed she had not gotten back into cover earlier when he asked, pissed she got stabbed, and furious she got shot.
She didn’t bother arguing and applied it to her thighs and abdomen as Garrus took out another Operative. Leaving 2 left. He watched her lean forward in his peripherals trying to reach back to where the bullet wounds exited her body and took the medi-gel packet from her and gestured for her to move so he could apply it for her.
“Thank you” she said. She was still shaking.
Some of the anger left.
She was doing what he asked without arguing.
She had also saved his life.
She had thought dreaming of him were the worst nightmares her brain could imagine.
Dreaming of what she saw through those hologram projections would be far, far worse.
She would need to be on that sleeping medication for a while. Before those images could be shaken loose from her mind’s tight grip.
With the medi-gel applied she reactivated her light armor and rested a moment. The two remaining Operatives were keeping their distance and had taken cover so Garrus couldn’t pick them off. Neither seemed to have a sniper rifle either, and for that she thanked the Ancestors.
“Ardi, Activate: Shield Suite”
“Acknowledged”
With her mental state calmer, knowing Garrus was alive and unharmed, that she made it with milliseconds to spare, her anger flared up.
“I’m going to fucking kill them” She growled out in dual tones, sneer on her face and eyes dark and wild. Both Turians looked at her in shock before paying attention to the remaining enemies.
“You are not going over there again” Garrus ordered. His questions on how she could have dual tones could be asked later. He needed to keep her safe.
“I have to hack into the leader’s tech to dismantle the broadcast he is sending” She responded adamantly
“Let me kill him first then” Garrus retorted
“It can only be hacked while he is still alive” Garrus’ subharmonics let out a wave of varying sounds signaling his displeasure over the situation. “If I don’t dismantle it…” Her words trailed off and she closed her eyes
“It’s bad, got it” The Commander said. There were only a few Batarians left.
“I am assuming your tech works similarly to biotics” The Commander began and she shrugged.
“I have no idea”
“Do you have enough energy to kill them?”
“Enough for the level 9, maybe” Garrus let out a dangerous growl at her response and she sighed.
She let her head rest on the cover as she thought, eyes closed, her right-hand writing in filigree letters as she muttered a few different options before opening her eyes and a grin forming on her face.
“I don’t have to follow the Vextran laws or procedures at all” She said happily. She was met with looks of bewilderment. “It opens up more options.” She said gleefully, her grin turning wicked. “I think they think I’m a level 5” She admitted “So I can use some intimidation techniques to throw them off” She said mischievously.
“Intimidation techniques?” Nihlus asked.
“Chaos. It will create chaos, and chaos is a Slanai’s best friend. Vextra can create sounds to communicate and some Operatives can make enough sounds with other Operatives to make music. Some high-level Operatives, however, can make music by themselves and use it as intimidation” She said wickedly, eyes dark and stormy and grin maniacal.
“Sla-what?” The Commander asked
“My family” She said and turned to the still irritated Turian next to her “Garrus I am going to rush the level 9 after a bit of intimidation, I need you to tell me to duck and I will slide out of the way for you to shoot the level 9. I need you to shoot to maim, not kill, before killing the other Operative.” She said. “My sound should freak the lower-level Operative out enough to not be an immediate threat.”
“Fine” He said gruffly.
He wasn’t happy with the plan, he didn’t want her to rush the Operative, but at least she was allowing him to make the man less of a threat. It unnerved him that he couldn’t see past the imaging software to what the Vextra looked like and what threat he really was, even with only one arm.
“I still don’t like this”
“With a shot to his good shoulder, and his blood loss, he shouldn’t give me that much trouble. Better yet, take out a knee, it’ll be harder for the bastard to get up”
The Turian grumbled
“What about the rest of us” She reactivated her visor to look around.
“There are 3 Batarians left that I can see. I’d prefer you not to get out of cover if you can, The Krogan may be able to help provide a distraction, but the rest of you I don’t think you could handle a tech assisted attack”
“Why do you think that?” Nihlus asked incredulously. She gestured to the Operative with the punched in face.
“That was me using a lot of my energy, about 40 percent, when the Krogan punched me it felt like a tech assisted punch with about 15 percent power. Can you survive a punch from a Krogan?”
“A Krogan nearing blood rage” He added with a grin.
“Probably not”
“Then don’t leave cover”
“that was 40 percent power?” The Commander said shocked, looking at the headless Operative with the body crumpled up against the wall.
“Yeah, I don’t have enough energy to do another attack like that, at most I might be able to do an attack with 10 percent, but I’d prefer not to. I’d be dangerously close to technostress if I do”
“What happens then?” The Commander pressed. He needed to know this information about what exactly a crewmate could handle, especially on the battlefield
“I pass out”
“So similar to a biotic” He said. “Where are you at with energy now?”
“About 20 percent I’d say” She took a deep breath and looked at the annoyed Turian “I can’t use my shield and attack, the level 5 out there may use that to their advantage. I will be putting a lot of faith on you to keep me safe” He trilled at the words and looked at her with conviction.
She knew he would do his best to keep her safe.
She trusted him.
She was putting even more trust on him by having him be in more control of maiming the level 9.
She hoped it made him feel better.
It didn’t make her feel great.
She was much more comfortable to have complete control on the battlefield.
But she knew that they had probably seen her family markings.
Slanai Operatives always worked solo.
Having Garrus take the maiming shot would not be expected.
Added to the sound she was ready to emit from her in intimidation it would create a lot of chaos.
This should work.
Then she could disengage the stream to their ship.
Loot them for some more advanced weapons and maybe get lucky and get some Vextran food and supplies.
Maybe get some new clothes from the female Operatives already dead.
She tapped at her knee to activate the slide program in her catsuit.
She left cover and once fully out and away from her team she rolled back her shoulders, pushing back the pain from her left shoulder as she did so and with a wild grin on her face, her eyes going a stormy grey, she let her body produce music, deep rumbling, dangerous bass notes came from her body from her feet, beat in time with her steps toward the Operatives who were slightly out of cover watching.
She saw the look of absolute horror on the level 5s human imaged face.
“+A level 5 can’t do that!!!!+” She screamed, backing up from 23 as she stalked the two remaining Operatives.
“+She, fuck, she’s a level nine?!+” The level 9 stood in shock, stumbling as he did so.
23 continued stalking closer, like the predator she evolved from and was trained to be before crouching further and beginning to run. The beats to her dangerous music keeping in tune to her footfalls and causing the level 5 to scream in fear.
“Duck” She heard Garrus say in her comm and with that she slid, leaning backward until her back was to the ground to give Garrus more space to make his shot.
She felt the air around the bullet as it whizzed past her about 6 inches in front of her. Once clear she lifted her body more upright and put her left her foot out in front of her to stop the slide and used the momentum from the slide paired with her now bent knee to get up and pounce on the level 9. Garrus had taken out his knee, nearly taking the entire area where his knee used to be, and causing the Operative to fall, unable to keep his balance as he let out a yowl of pain.
23 wasted no time as she used her knees to pin him down by placing weight on his neck and good shoulder. With a swipe of her right hand she activated her tech and then quickly rotated her left wrist to signify to her tech that she would be using both hands.
“I don’t know what you’re planning on doing” The Level 9 croaked out
“Hacking into and dismantling the streaming broadcast” She deadpanned as she input the backdoor program to hack into his tech
“That’s impossible, no one can hack into the broadcasting software” The Operative ground out as she put more pressure on his neck. She rolled his eyes, looked down at him and gestured to her face.
“Slanai Operatives can hack into Slanai software. The broadcasting software is Slanai tech” She said, glaring at him. He blubbered on but she ignored him.
She drowned out the noise around her as she noted her team leaving cover with weapons drawn.
She pulled up the backdoor and a multifaceted and multilayered sphere made of rows and columns appeared above his tech. It was like a spherical rubix cube. She wasted no time using both hands to twist the different part of the sphere before twisting the entire sphere and twisting vertically again. She heard footsteps behind her, felt a calming rumble.
Garrus.
She continued breaking into the Slanai tech, twisting, readjusting the sphere again before the sphere turned blue and dematerialized bringing up a search screen and code. Using both hands she wrote in Slaneska the program she wanted and then tapped the button to dismantle the broadcast and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Ardi, Command: Copy tech” She said and waited for Ardi to finish the copy. Once completed she got up without using her arms and putting tech into her good arm and legs to balance her she grabbed onto the Operative’s hair and pulled him up so he was eye-level. She let her anger wash over her.
Anger at him ordering an Operative to kill Garrus
Twice
Anger that Garrus nearly died.
“No one harms my friends” She said in dual tones, the second voice deeper, more feral than her normal voice. She materialized her pistol and shot him between the eyes and let him drop. She leaned down and looted the bands on him and attached them to the looped catch on his side. She attached the catch to hers. She looked around and headed towards the female Operatives.
“You’re really looting the bodies?!” Garrus said, clearly unhappy with her actions
“Operatives don’t get paid and rarely get upgrades. If you want decent upgrades on your equipment you either trade it or you loot it” She said “Besides, my stuff is over 150 years old at this point. I need an upgrade” She said without looking at him as she took the bands off the fingers and wrist of the female she got close to taking the catch with the remaining bands on it and adding it to hers.
After getting the other female’s items she approached the arm she had disconnected from the level 9 and took off the bands on the wrist on fingers before straightening up, and heading towards the wall to lean on it.
She was beyond exhausted.
Garrus approached her and looked her over
“Any new injuries?”
“None” He breathed a sigh of relief
“Next time, if I ask you to get into cover I’d appreciate if you did”
“If I had, it would have been difficult to keep you safe” she retorted
“Do you-” He took a deep breath “Seeing him choke you and seeing someone about to stab you” He choked out. She reached out for his hand and he gave it to her. She tugged at it to bring him closer to her. She looked up at him. She understood what he was going through. She had gone through something similar. Her pressed his crest to her forehead and she let a sigh leave her lips.
"I watched you die twice Garrus. I understand"
Her ears tilted to the door and she cursed under her breath and pushed him back slightly.
“Ardi Activate: Imaging Software” She said with a sigh as she heard the doors open. The software sapped more of her energy and she felt it difficult to keep her eyes open as she swayed on her feet.
“Crap” She heard Garrus say as he stabilized her.
“Commander I’m getting her to the Mako” He said and the Commander nodded as he turned toward the human who had entered the building
“Where did she come from?” the human asked the Turian looking at the woman he was supporting
“Mako driver, they needed backup” She said softly as she walked past them. Before they got to the door she stopped Garrus. “I need my heavy armor on” she mumbled.
“We aren’t in view of the human, you can take off the imaging software” He said. She dropped it verbally and put more weight on Garrus.
Her energy was nearly sapped.
“I might pass out after this” she admitted
“I got you” He said
“I know you do.” She said
She got her heavy armor activated and with her energy nearly depleted she barely managed to keep herself from falling to the floor. Garrus repositioned her so she was draped over both his shoulders and checked the seals of his helmet before opening the door.
Once inside the Mako he got her as comfortable in the back seat as he could and they waited for the others
“How do you regain your energy?” He asked calmly, she was resting her head on his shoulder and trying not to pass out.
“Same way most people do, eating and rest.” She mumbled out
“You spoke in dual-tones earlier”
“Dual-tones?”
“Two voices, layered on top of each other”
“I was going feral” She explained softly, “it happens in times of heightened emotion” She yawned “Garrus” She whispered
“Yes,” he answered, leaning his head on hers
“I’m sorry for making you worried” She said barely above a whisper as her body succumbed to sleep
Notes:
I can only imagine the horror of seeing someone important die multiple times as a hologram as I am doing everything I can to fix it.
How did the Vextra find 23?
Stay tuned for the next chapter.
Chapter 10: Searching Code
Summary:
23 allows herself to cry for the first time since she was a child
She searches her code for how the Vextra found her.
In frustration she looks up something as a last resort.
She finds out how they found her and it pisses her off.She asks for help and the initial news of whether the help can be provided or not is... not good.
She then goes through another round of crisis and depression with Garrus left to pick up the pieces and try to bring life back to the Vextra.
Notes:
Be ready for some cuteness.
And a lot of emotional stress.23 can't catch a damn break.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“That whole mission was a shit show. Fucking Batarians hijacking the asteroid, taking hostages. The confrontation, the death of the hostages, the Vextra…”
“Hostages?” 23 asked, concerned. She had taken a tiny nap and had a tiny bit of energy, enough where she could at least stay awake and hold a conversation. She would not know it until later, but she had slept through commander Shepard's terrible driving to the location of where the Normandy landed. They were currently driving up the ramp of thee Normandy slowly.
“Yeah, we were in the process of letting the Batarian leader go in order to save the hostages when a bullet hit one of the Batarians and the leader blew the hostages up in retaliation”
The Vextra gasped as realization dawned on her.
“The Operatives probably-fuck, it’s my fault the hostages are dead” She said in distress
“No” Garrus said reassuringly, hand on her knee and letting his calming rumble flow through her. “It isn’t your fault, it was the Vextra’s”
“But it is my fault Garrus” She said as her head tilted to rest in her hands and she pushed her bangs out of her face, eyes wide as regret flowed through her. “They wouldn’t have done that if they hadn’t found me. Hadn’t found some piece of code that I fucked up and didn’t deactivate” She said verbally lashing herself.
“I watched you obsessively go through your code.” He reminded
“Then something happened in the last 150 years to make it easier to find MIA Operatives meaning there will be a higher chance of them finding me and killing everyone on the Normandy” She said as panic started to flow through her.
She just started making friends.
Actual friends.
Friends she could depend on to keep her safe and have her back in a life and death situation.
She didn’t want to be the reason they were killed.
“You copied the level 9’s tech though, you can find out how they found you from it right?”
“Maybe. I hope so” She said uncertain if she could.
Technologically speaking, a lot could happen in 150 years. She might be technologically out of her depth.
“You’ll figure it out. I can help if you want”
“No, you can’t, the code is in Kajefka and the proprietary code is in Slaneska” She said in defeat.
The Mako finished driving onto the Normandy’s Cargo bay ramp and to the parking area.
“What about the Vextran ship in orbit?” The Commander said, bringing the conversation to the present.
“With the broadcast disengaged it will automatically go back to Wejesu”
“Your… homeworld?” The Commander asked
“Yes”
“I thought that stuff was classified” Garrus stated in concern. She had been so careful to keep the information neutral for the crew’s safety.
“I just killed, with your help, 9 Operatives. Consequences for that are nearly the same as telling you classified information. At this point I also don’t fucking care” She let her short fingers rake her face in exasperation “After I figure out how they found me, consider everything I know declassified”
Garrus helped her out of the Mako and to the med bay and the Doctor looked ready to scream when she saw her patient who was once again almost healed, injured again.
“Chakwas, if it weren’t for her helping us on the asteroid we would have been killed” The Commander interjected before the Doctor could lay into the Vextra
She sighed in response and motioned to a bed and Garrus helped her to the bed for a scan.
“You shoulder blade is nearly shattered.” She said. “You were shot 6 times, once being from a sniper, and stabbed 15 times” She seethed. “The medi-gel helped with the bullet wounds and stab wounds, you were lucky the bullet wounds were through and throughs”
“Operatives don’t use bullets; sniper rifles don’t often leave bullets in victims” Garrus hummed in vexation and the Doctor glared. “I’ve been through worse.” She got some incredulous looks mixed with Garrus’ grumblings and subharmonics notes of displeasure “Like the Krogan’s punch” She added and Garrus rolled his eyes.
“You know the drill by now, bone regrowth serum” The Doctor said annoyance in her tone. With pain lacing her facial features she deactivated her heavy and lightweight armor to be in her workout gear so Chakwas could stick her with serum.
“Maybe we should give Liara your room and have your room be permanently in here. After all, it seems you are incapable of not being injured” The Doctor chastised and the Vextra scrunched her nose and face, dislike clear of the words the doctor had spoken. Garrus and the Commander laughed lightly.
“4 days?” she asked
“3 if you don’t move it”
Garrus needed to help her make food again since she was told sternly not to rotate or move her shoulder. After the resetting of her fingers she had no plans on needing her shoulder be reset.
Garrus was a bit shocked and confused when she pulled out at least 6 different meals worth of food
“Does losing the majority of your energy make you this hungry?” He asked as he gestured to the food accumulated on the counter. She chuckled. She was stressed out and thoroughly exhausted and had been after the business on the asteroid. Even his calming rumble wasn’t helping to relax her.
“I plan on going into a hyper-focus to figure out how they found me. I could be doing so for days. I don’t want you, Zorah, and the Spectre to eat rations while I’m doing so.” She sighed as she motioned for him to cut the vegetables. He did so but looked at her concerned
“I can bring you food in”
“I’d prefer not. I can’t have any distractions while hyper-focusing. I get… feral... when I hyper-focus” She admitted looking down ashamed. “I don’t need anyone getting hurt while I figure this out. I also am going to assume I am going to get more and more frustrated making me more prone to violence if interrupted”
“You need to eat” He said sternly, stopping his chopping to look at her with a pointed look.
“Part of training was surviving without food or water for 7 days. I have been on many missions where I have had to forego food for days. I’m used to it”
“You shouldn’t have to be” He said frustratedly back
“Be that as it may be Garrus. I was, I am, and it’s what I need to do before it eats away at me and I put everyone more and more at risk”
“Why are you so sure we are all at risk?”
“The Normandy wasn’t in stealth Garrus, meaning the Vextra had already known about the ship and would have sent that in the initial broadcasted message. When the cleanup crew for the Vextra arrive they will search incognito on the Asteroid, the nearby planet and then check the Normandy searching for me.”
“Crap”
“Exactly, they would have caught a glimpse of the team meaning it won’t take long for them to figure out I’m on the Normandy”
“I need to tell Shepard”
“I understand” She let out an exasperated sigh. “I plan on answering every question he has after I figure out how they found me so I can disable it. Until then I am a walking time bomb of issues and death” She grabbed the counter and leaned over it as panic welled up in her with an onslaught of emotions mixed with her exhaustion.
“You’ll figure it out” He cooed
“I really hope I can” She admitted quietly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Vextran man entered the room. He was a pale lavender color with an ice blue mane. Ruby eyes swept the room and once he found who he was looking for he headed over to another Vextran man. The man was seated at a desk and had his head deep into code. Unlike the other male the one sitting had deep garnet red skin, and a deep amethyst mane and one bright orange eye. A viscous scar ran down his face and over one of his eyes, a black orb was in that damaged socket.
“Sir” The Operative said to the seated male to present himself. He stood at attention once he got an acceptable distance away from the non-Operative. The seated male whipped his lion-like tail in frustration and growled menacingly, not turning to the Operative in the room.
“What is it?” The seated man was not happy being interrupted in the slightest.
“You had a long-standing order on any information on an Operative named ‘23’.” He said and the name caught the male’s attention as his head whipped to the Operative in the room
“What did you find?” He ordered in determination
“There was a sighting of her on an asteroid. She was working with aliens and killed 9 Operatives”
“Find her” He ordered
“Of course sir, we will find her and put her down in the most painful, torturous, and drawn out way possible” The Operative said with a bow of his head and made ready to turn
“No” the non-operative said, stopping the Operative in his tracks as he once more turned to face him
“Sir?” He asked in confusion
“Do not kill her” He ordered
“She killed 9 Operatives. Who knows what she told the aliens” The Operative sputtered
“Do not kill her, bring her to me”
“But sir, as a level 9 she will most likely kill multiple Operatives before we can overpower her enough to take her in”
“I don’t care” the non-Operative said cruelly an evil grin growing on his face. “Surprise her, ambush her, muzzle her if you need to.” The Operatives eyes widened as he blinked in confusion of the order. “Bring her to me, kill those who are with her”
“Yes sir” The Operative said and bowed his head before turning and exiting the room
“Where have you been hiding 23?” The non-Operative asked in a deep guttural growl to the ether once he was alone again “No matter, you’ll be home and mine again soon”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6 different meals cooked later, the Vextra, at his insistence, had Garrus help her make a very large plate of food and opened the door to her room for her.
“Is there really no way I can help further?” He asked in exasperation, not liking how stressed and distressed she was. She set the plate at her desk and turned to him
“Make sure we don’t go near any large ports or garden worlds until I figure this out. It is best if we stay in deep space. The chances of Vextra finding us is lower that way. Tell the Commander that I would be happy to exchange information for an ID afterwards, maybe the Spectre could do the same” She said raking her hand over her face before pushing her bangs out of her face.
“Why 2 IDs?”
“Makes it harder for them to figure out which is me,” He let out a sigh “They will assume the human one to be me, maybe, it would be the most likely. A Turian one would be less likely since I have no training on how to act like a Turian so that one would be useful”
“So, like a general crew member as a human and a crew mate as a Turian?” Garrus asked She nodded. He saw her heart rate was quickening. He put his hands on her upper arms and let his comforting sound flow through her “You are beginning to panic”
She looked up at him “I’m scared Garrus” she admitted before looking down and leaning her head on his keel. He let out a multitude of notes from his subharmonics that mixed with his ever present comforting one
“Can I hug you?” He asked. He felt her nod and he slowly and gently hugged her.
She felt engulfed in the comforting vibration with his arms around her and she choked back a sob and tears.
She was overwhelmed.
She knew this situation could happen.
But she had been so very careful.
Had religiously gone through her code, over and over again.
She knew she was in danger and at risk.
She was not expecting, however, to make friends.
To have people she actually would begin to trust and get close to.
People she could depend on.
People she could lose.
Her own possibility of death she was used to. That was, and had been, a part of her life for as long as she could remember. It didn’t scare her.
Knowing she could be the reason of losing someone so important to her or people she could trust to not shoot her in the back was what was so overwhelming.
So terrifying
Images of the hologram, seeing Garrus’ face crack and smash under another Operative's tech assisted punch caused another sob to rip through her.
“What are you scared of?” He asked softly, her good shoulder tucked under his chin.
“Losing you, seeing you die, knowing it was because of me. Being the reason everyone on the Normandy is dead” She said choking back another sob as he enclosed her tighter against him. “Ancestors, 23, adults don’t cry” she admonished herself harshly under her breath.
“People can cry, adults or not” He said tenderly, and even though her brain wanted to stop it, his words seemed to be her body’s verbal okay to do so and she let loose the floodgates of tears she had been holding back.
Tears for what she went through
How she was treated
What happened to her by him
Tears for what happened on the asteroid
For seeing Garrus die in the hologram projection
Over
And over.
Again
And again
How it felt like when she thought she wasn’t going to make it time
How her heart broke
How she didn’t want to live if he wasn’t there
How she would rather herself die to make sure he didn’t
At how overwhelming
At how dangerous
Her living and on the Normandy was for everyone onboard.
For Garrus…
But she couldn’t stand the idea of being away from him.
He began stroking her back, slowly, delicately as she cried, his other hand twisting her hair in his hands in curiosity, before pulling her ever closer to him.
His heart broke for her.
All that she had been through
All she was going through
He wished he could help her go through the code with her.
Could do more for her
He hoped his hug would be enough
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Vextra had spent over 3 hours going over the data copied from the Level 9 Operative’s tech. She leaned backwards in her chair and let her head drop backwards. She let out a irritated sigh.
She was baffled.
She assumed that the proximity beacon that she had missed was minor due to her diligence in searching her code, letting out a blip of information at most. Assumed they had gotten it when flying past the asteroid.
She could not have been more wrong.
She had missed something major to have such a strong, clear signal come from the other side of the damn system.
As she suspected, the team of level 5s were learning how to do off world missions. It was their first off-world mission… and their last.
They were in the Asgard System to mine ore on the non-garden world planets there when they got the proximity beacon when the Normandy entered the system.
Following the procedure, Wez, the leader’s code-fucking-name, stopped scanning for ore and began investigating until he got as close as he could before needing to do a physical search.
They had arrived around the same time Commander Shepard had reached the main facility and they began killing. They killed the Batarian next to the one in charge, Balak, Wez had overheard him saying, first. Doing so led for the detonation of the bombs that were housed near the hostages, thinking Commander Shepard had made his choice.
A shiver ran down her spine as she thought Garrus could have been the first killed. She pushed the errant thought aside. She cried enough today.
“Since when did Operatives get fucking codenames?” She said bitterly and angrily. She leaned back in her chair and let her head fall backwards again as she racked her brain.
The code she copied from the other Operative did not mention any new type of equipment and when she dug further the proximity readers were nearly identical to hers.
Meaning she missed something major.
Something on her, was emitting a strong proximity beacon and she couldn’t figure out what.
For the next day and a half, she went over her code, line by line, slowly.
Again
And
Again
Until she was seething from anger from the frustration of her mistake that she had yet to figure out.
Putting the bands she looted aside she went through each of her own bands, going over the code in her weapons multiple times as well.
She knew that even if a beacon was in the code of her weapons it could only emit the message when it was actively being used.
It ceased to exist otherwise.
Nevertheless, she checked and was not surprised to see nothing that could have produced the signal needed.
She checked her physical items encased in her bands, looking for a physical item to produce a signal
She knew that like her weapons, if a physical beacon was found that the item would need to be physically outside of the band.
She was going through the motions rather than looking for something logical
She had exhausted the logical ideas already.
She had spent three days in her room going through any and every possibility when she went through the code of her catsuit for the 10th time.
Nothing.
Letting out a small roar of the built-up aggravation she decided to look up the last thing she could think of.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Garrus was heating up the last of the food he set aside for himself. He was getting increasingly worried about the Vextra. It was going on 3 days exactly since he left her room so she could work.
He knew she said she could survive without food or water that long but he still found himself worrying, especially since she had not fully recovered from passing out from using as much energy on X52 as she had.
She had not fully recovered from her injuries from sparring with him
Nor had she recovered from her shoulder, or her numerous stab and gunshot wounds
He assumed she wasn’t sleeping either. Making her healing process even slower.
Which caused him to pace.
“Pacing isn’t going to cause her to get out her room faster Garrus” Shepard teased as he finished coming down the stairs.
Garrus had fixed the Mako of the minor repairs it needed the first day the Vextra had holed herself in her room. It was a welcome distraction to the Turian.
Since then every second he was awake was spent getting his nervousness out by pacing.
The Commander had managed to get the Turian away from Deck 3 by getting him to spar with him the day before, but he went right back to pacing afterwards.
“She hasn’t come out at all” He said, his subharmonics were nearly whining and in clear distress in his concern. “No food, no water, no bathroom breaks” he emphasized.
“We know very little of the Vextra-” The Commander began to try to comfort his Turian friend before he was interrupted from an angry roar that echoed down the hallway near the med bay.
The two men glanced at each other briefly before they ran toward the med bay. They slowed to a stop once she rounded the corner seething and scowling, claws extracting and retracting rapidly before slamming her fist on the console to open the door to the med bay
“DOCTOR!!!!” She roared in dual tones. The men followed her concerned.
Garrus had no idea what was going on.
He had seen her angry before, but now, this was different, and his concern had heightened drastically. A frantic buzzing coming from his subharmonics as his mandible ticked and fluttered near his jar.
Her tail flickered and then whipped from one side to the other before repeating the motion and her ears were pressed to her skull. Her eyees were a stormy grey.
He could feel a near constant bass note from his feet and every cell in her body seemed to be screaming that she was angry and dangerous
Chakwas exited the med bay closet with T’Soni laughing together before stopping immediately when they saw the Vextra and her yell.
“What happened?” Chakwas said concerned.
“I need help” She ground out, trying to keep her voice from yelling.
She wanted to yell and scream at the top of her lungs
Doing so would be dangerous to the aliens on the ship.
Those near her could lose their eardrums.
“With what? It is your shoulder?” The Doctor said with growing concern.
“No” She growled trying to breathe deep breaths. “Can you pull up the projection I gave you of a full body scan from my medical records” She asked through her teeth.
If she kept her mouth closed she could keep herself from screaming.
“Of course,” Chakwas said and grabbed the data pad it was on and used her omni-tool to bring up a projection of a body scan.
“This is a typical scan of an Operative” She said, eye twitching and seething. “Note the tech that is in the bones and the muscles” She said as the anger radiated off of her. She tapped away at her own tech “This is a scan of a fucking normal female Vextra” She said “No tech. I had about given up how they found me and was going to throw myself out the airlock to ensure everyone’s safety when I did this” Garrus' subharmonics flared at her statement and he growled in displeasure.
She put her full body projection on top of the Doctor’s
“I then found this piece of pewajkaFA” She raged, enunciating the last syllable and zoomed in on her spine near the base of the head and motioned the Chakwas to do the same “The vedthar fucking put a proximity beacon in my fucking spine, my fucking neck” Liara gasped in horror and the Commander and Chakwas grimaced. Garrus emitted a sound that complimented the bass not from her he could still feel in his feet.
He was tired of these horrid surprises that the Vextra did to her.
“Can you get it out, or break it so it stops emitting a signal?” Her voice held no more anger, but it cracked and sounded desperate “Please” She begged.
She felt violated.
Horrified
Angry
She wanted to scream
To punch something
She wanted to cry again
“I’d need to do surgery. I don’t know if it’s possible. I don’t have anyone to consult with if I have questions”
Exhaustion hit her along with the woman’s words
Might not be possible.
Everything seemed so overwhelming and she just wanted to break down
Give up
Her knees gave out and she felt two strong arms grabbing her own in an instant, turning her around and engulfing her in a hug as a comforting sound and vibration flowed through her instantaneously.
She let the tears fall and sobbed.
“What do you need Chakwas?” Shepard asked taking over the situation.
“I could only do so much here” she admitted “This med bay is not the most ideal place to perform surgery, I would need more specialized equipment”
“Make a list. I’ll talk to Captain Anderson and see what we can do” He looked over at the Vextra. He grimaced at having to call her a number, she needed a name “23, I talked to Captain Anderson about getting you an ID. He wanted to have a meeting with Spectre Kriyik to ask some questions. It’s about” He looked at his omni-tool “7:30p.m. on the Citadel currently. We can do that once you freshen up or tomorrow if you prefer. Once he has that information he would be more likely to help you with this surgery” He went to put a hand on her shoulder but a look from the Turian and his small shake of the head stopped him. “I will do everything I can to help you with this, ok?” He saw her nod her head and she slowly, gently pushed away from the Turian. Leaned her forehead on his keel to take a shuddering breath in to steady her breathing.
“Let Captain Anderson know I will be ready soon, maybe 30 minutes?” She said, forehead still on the Turian’s keel and the Commander nodded
“Take all the time you need” and he headed out of the med bay.
“Dr. Chakwas, have you done surgery before?” She asked shaking slightly
“Yes.” The Vextra let out a small sigh of relief and slowly lifted her head up and turned toward her.
“Can I see your om-tool and whatever you use to upload software?”
“Omni-tool and an OSD” Garrus whispered the correction gently
“Omni-tool” she corrected and the doctor complied. “I am going to let you borrow Ardi to consult with.” She sighed
“Ardi: Deativate: Safeguards in Regards to Other Species. Deactivate: Slanai regulations on Slanai specific software and equipment”
“Aknowledged”
“Ardi, Update: Software” she said and copied a portion of the Doctor’s information from her omni-tool, she leaned against Garrus for support.
“What do you wish to update?”
“Update User: Add user”
“User information required”
She tapped away at the controls on her own tech
“User: Dr. Karin Chakwas added. User profile created: Species: human. Preferred Language: English. Upload of internal Ardi memory core complete. Upload includes translation of: All medical history of Operative: 23 Slanai, Medical History of: typical female Vextra Operative, and Medical History of: female True Vextra.”
“Thank you Ardi. See you soon.” Her voice was filled with raw emotion and she whispered the goodbye. She took the OSD from Dr. Chakwas, put it on her tech to upload Ardi. And gave it to the doctor as another sob threatened to leave her body. Ardi could only be on one platform at a time. The software program was a gift to her upon graduation and was invaluable. Although a VI she viewed it as a friend, not having her on her tech felt made her feel stranded and alone. It felt like a physical blow added to her emotional beating she had had over the last few weeks.
“What do you mean see you soon?” Garrus asked gently
“Ardi can only be on one platform at a time” She explained, voice cracking. She felt his taloned hands on her biceps and his head rest on hers.
“I will keep her safe” Dr. Chakwas said as she uploaded the program to her omni-tool “I will get Ardi back to you as soon as possible” The Vextra nodded and turned to leave the room.
The Turian maneuvered her to the mess. She wasn’t looking up. She felt physically drained, emotionally raw, and exhausted.
He pulled out a chair and moved her to stand in front of it.
“Sit down” Garrus said gingerly and she did so. She stared at the table as he went to heat up his food again. It would be hers. He could care less about what he ate tonight. He knew she cared more than he did.
He placed the plate in front of her and sat down next to her along with a glass of water.
“You need to eat, you haven’t in 3 days” He could see the exhaustion on her face. His assumption was correct, she hadn’t slept recently. She took the fork in her hand began eating in an enervated state. He sat across from her and watched her. Making sure she ate everything and drank the water. He got her another glass once she finished it.
He hated feeling so helpless.
He wanted to do more to help her but there was nothing he could do.
He took the plate from her when she was done and took it to get cleaned.
He led her to the bathroom to get washed up. Waiting on the other side of the door.
He heard the shower turn on and he growled when any of the other women tried to enter.
She exited fully clothed with hair in her normal high ponytail, still dripping wet.
He sighed.
She was taking care of herself but just barely. He got a towel and led her back to her room.
He sat her down and he tried to figure out how to dry her hair.
He tried stroking her hair with the towel, to dry it like he would his own fringe, but it did next to nothing.
“I need your help” He said calmly and delicately. “I don’t want to hurt you or your fringe, but how do you dry it?” He heard her giggle softly and felt his heart leap at her life coming back to her. She lifted her right hand to take the towel.
“Help me on the other side, shoulder hurts” She said and he helped her wrap the towel around her head and then she squeezed the towel he gasped in concern
“Are you in pain?”
“Pain?” she asked, tilting her head in confusion
“Your fringe”
“Is my… hair in pain?” She asked quietly and tilted her head back to look at him. He nodded. She tittered and slowly the tittering turned into a convulsion of laughter “Hair” she said before laughter interrupted her “can’t be” more laughter “in pain” she gasped for breath before more laughter hit her
“Hair can’t be in pain?” He asked in disbelief. She nodded as she tried to catch her breath.
After a few moments of deep breathing interrupted with a giggle here or tittering there she tilted her head forward and went back to wringing her hair dry
“Help me” She said quietly and he brought his hands to help with her hand. “That should be good” She said “It’ll air dry the rest of the way, where am I meeting Captain Anderson?”
“Comm room. Shepard asked me to let him know when you’re on your way when you’re ready”
“Where?”
“I’ll show you, you’ll need your imaging software up” She nodded
“Ardi, activa-” she halted
Ardi wasn’t on her tech at the moment.
She hated this.
She grimaced and fought back tears as she stood up.
“Can I…” Garrus began asking pausing his question. She turned to him and tilted her head “Can I do a Turian act of trust and affection?” He asked.
“What does it entail”
“Touching crests, like we did on the asteroid”
“Touching what?” He tapped her forehead gently
“May I?” He asked nervously. She nodded and looked up while he tilted his crest down.
She felt that comforting vibration from him that had become a lifeline recently and she closed her eyes at the newness of this action.
She could feel his breath mix with hers as well as the smell him.
He seemed to deluge her senses with the essence of him.
She had no complaints about it either.
He reluctantly pulled away and stepped backwards.
She found herself wanting to step forwards so the space he had made between them would disappear but refrained from doing so.
She typed away at her tech and activated her imaging software as Garrus messaged Shepard that they were on their way and she followed Garrus up the stairs.
Notes:
I hoped you enjoyed the chapter. I'd love feedback. The comments do help keep my motivation to continue.
Hope you enjoyed thee bit of foreshadowing of HIM.
As well as some Slaneska curses.
vedthar- bastard or motherfucker (one of the most severe curses when geared towards a person)
pewajkafa- shit, absolute shit, ect.
Chapter 11
Summary:
23 has a meeting to discuss previously classified information.
Garrus comes to a realization when it comes to his feeling and emotions.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Inside the Comm room she instinctively swept her gaze around the room. She saw a hologram of Captain Anderson and felt her nerves spike. She felt her training tug at a need to stand at attention. She deactivated her imaging software and felt lightheaded. She swayed on her feet and Garrus steadied her in concern.
“Anderson, the Vextra has had a rough… couple weeks and should probably sit down” The Commander noted as he watched the woman sway. The Captain nodded and she collapsed in the nearest empty seat.
“Thank you.” She said. “Captain, I have a lot of information I now personally consider declassified. I think it would be best to answer any questions you have rather than me spout information off the cuff.” She looked at the Spectre. “Same for you Spectre. I hope to get both of your help in a sort of tit-for-tat for proper identification to be used in this time and help with the surgery” The two nodded.
“Off the cuff? Tit-for-tat?” Garrus asked
“Human idioms. off the cuff means doing something unprompted. Tit-for-tat means I give this for that” she explained. “I reserve the right to withhold information I do not wish to share about personal things,” She added.
“I can work with that” Captain Anderson said, glancing at her. She looked like a wreck in comparison to the last time he saw her. Like she was completely broken.
The Spectre nodded once in agreement as he leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
“What was your mission on Earth?” The Captain asked
“To answer that question, I need to provide more context.” She began, and let out a deep breath “The Operatives were created for one purpose, one primary mission in which all minor missions work towards. That would be the destruction of the Reapers. My mission on Earth was to find Prothean technology in order to help the Vextra create new, or update current, weapons being made to use against the Reapers or to help the Vextra in protecting themselves from the Reapers. My mission was to go to various places on Earth where strange phenomena were occurring, or where pseudo archeologists said important things were, to see if there was anything of use. I won’t go into this further but my mission was means of a punishment.”
The three looked confused at the last statement but left it alone.
“How do you know so much about the Protheans?” The Spectre asked
“The Vextra are a very old species. We set up monitoring stations throughout the galaxy to monitor the species of the cycle after our first encounter with the Reapers a very long time ago with the hope of gaining new technology or to help us in our goal of defeating the Reapers using their war tactics against them”
“How old are the Vextra?” The Captain asked
“Over 150,000 years. We are going into our 4th cycle” She answered exhaustion from the last few days clearly evident in her voice.
“You mentioned technology in your body, can you tell us more about that?” The Commander asked gently. She closed her eyes
“Do you want me to take over?” Garrus asked and she nodded. This subject was currently a sore spot for her. Shepard rose an eyebrow at the Turian.
“The Operatives have a procedure that happens when they are in the womb, around the two-month mark” The three men grimaced at the words but didn’t interrupt “The procedure melds technology with her DNA. The child is taken away from their parents at the age of two and put into training for 10 years.”
“Training has a 40% survival rate” She added and Garrus bristled at the information. “During training we are also subject to scientific experimentation” Garrus growled.
“I swear, every time I think I have heard the worst of what the Vextra have done, you prove me wrong” He said softly before putting a hand on her shoulder and stroking his thumb against it.
The Captain looked at the woman and studied her for a moment
“I think that is enough questions for today, don’t you agree Spectre Kryik?”
“I agree. We can pick this up later after she has some rest”
“I will get the ball rolling on getting you proper identification. I’ll send you a dossier of information once it’s settled.”
“She should choose her own name” Garrus insisted. The men stilled before agreeing.
“We will need a name soon, then. One for both the human and the turian identifications.” the Commander stated
“It was an excellent idea to have 2, with different species, to throw them off your scent” The Spectre added, nodding his approval of the idea
“I need to set up payment for both identifications as well.” Captain Anderson added “One for the Alliance worker and the other for the Turian contractor”
“She’ll get two salaries?” Garrus asked, slightly jealous
“We need to make it look legit.” The Commander explained “The alliance worker will have the stipend for dextro food” He added with a smile.
“That is smart” The Spectre commented as he hummed in approval “I will do research on outposts that would be more likely to have someone fall through the cracks to explain the lack of information. I’ll give you the dossier for it as well as the markings for your imaging software”
“I will work with the Tokyo to get the operating theater prepped for you as well as the equipment needed for your surgery.” Captain Anderson said and she felt some of the stress fall off her.
She had people who were supporting her
Helping her.
People she could rely on.
She wasn’t alone in this, and it was helping her nerves.
She let out a small sigh of relief.
Maybe she could get through this.
She wasn’t feeling as overwhelmed as when she entered the room.
With the meeting concluded she activated her imaging software and relied heavily on Garrus’ support to get back to her room. Once there she dropped the software and leaned back on him, allowing her full weight to be supported by him.
He picked her up bridal style and put her on the bed.
“No” She said grabbing his hand when he went to leave “Please don’t leave” She pleaded. “I feel like I’m at the edge of a breakdown… I… don’t want to be alone” Her eyes were glossy and pleading, the dark violet circles around her eyes showing her exhaustion
He sat down on the tiny bed
“How- where?” He asked as he tried to articulate where she wanted him to be while she slept. If she wanted him on the bed the only way that seemed comfortable to them both is if they were tangled together and he was certain she would not be comfortable with that. She sat up, rubbing her eyes as she did so.
“There?” She sounded unsure as she motioned him to sit, leaning up against the wall.
He did so and attempted to get himself comfortable but found himself unable to due to his fringe. She yawned and gave him the pillow to help with the issue and tried to get close to him, aiming to lay next to his chest, before panic set in and she backed off.
She let out a sigh of frustration at herself.
“Hey, no need for the frustration” He cooed
“I’m tired and I feel like my world is falling apart” She whined.
He had no idea how to react or comfort her.
He was at a complete loss on what to do or what to say.
“What if… would you be comfortable sitting like we did in the med bay when Chakwas reset your fingers?”
“I’ll try” She shrugged. He used the pillow to support his lower back a bit and allowed her time to sit between his legs and lean back so he could wrap his arms loosely around her.
“Why do you want me to stay?” he asked once she finally got comfortable and took the blanket to wrap around them both
“Your sound… you” She paused, her mind felt foggy from the exhaustion. She didn’t want to think. She wanted to sleep. “My mind… my world… everything feels out of my control. It feels like I am on a boat on the sea in an insane storm. The only thing keeping me from toppling over the edge is you” She admitted. He trilled at the words. She felt that comforting relaxing sound from his carapace that vibrated through her and her bones and sighed.
Between the relaxation the sound was providing, the physical comfort and warmth from Garrus mixed with her extreme exhaustion she all but passed out.
He wasn’t in the most comfortable of positions to sleep in but she was comfortable, she felt safe, and he eventually found a comfortable position for his head by tucking her shoulder under his chin.
He would probably be sore from sleeping like this tomorrow, but for now he didn’t care.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A young Turian with blue markings and ice blue eyes, the age of 4, went up to his mother and climbed up into her lap.
“Mommy, why did you choose dad to be your bond-mate? You two are very different”
She smiled at her son, her eyes glittered in the light
“You father and I have a soul-bond Garrus”
“Soul-bond?”
“Yes, my beautiful boy, we are bound together, destined by the Spirits to find each other.” She explained.
“Does everyone have a soul-bond?”
“I don’t think other species do, but some turians do”
“Not all though?” He asked, looking up at his mother with expectant eyes
“No, the Spirits do what they do, destine who they destine. It is not up to us to decipher what they decide”
“Will I have a soul-bond?”
“I hope so Garrus”
“How did you know dad was soul-bonded to you?”
“You dream of their eyes. Your body reacts before your mind does when you are around them. Usually you find yourself protective of them before you realize what you are doing. You get territorial of other people in their space. You understand their emotions quickly. Eventually you can feel when they are in danger and have an urge to go and protect them. Its why bond-mates are encouraged to be in the same fleet. Your father knew after a week of our first meeting that I was the one he dreamt about”
..........................................................
“Mom, I had the dream about someone’s eyes” An older turian told his mother excitedly, sitting next to her. He was around 8.
“I am so happy for you Garrus” His mother beamed down at her son.
“Is it possible to be soul-bonded with another species?” He asked unsure and not wanting to know the answer
“Why do you ask?”
“The eyes aren’t turian. They are larger, and a vibrant green against black. I don’t know what species she is.”
“So, it’s a girl?” His mother teased. The young turian gave his mother a look
“Yes mom, her eyes are too pretty to be a boy’s, besides.... I can just tell.” He said as he rolled his eyes. “Can you please answer my question”
“It is possible but…” His mother stalled “The soul-bond usually works one way with other species. More likely than not the other species won’t feel that same connection Garrus” She vacillated.
Garrus looked down disappointed.
............................................................
An older turian poured over books on other species known in Citadel space during his free time. Other turians in his fleet looked on curiously but left the turian alone.
Garrus let out an annoyed rumble from his subharmonics.
He had been researching the other species to find ones similar to ones he dreamt about. He threw the book he was looking out in frustration, before banging his head on the desk he was seated at. The other turians nearby looked away out of respect.
He had exhausted every book he could find about different species in the galaxy without finding a match to the eyes he had seen in his dreams.
It could be a quarian’s eyes, or a volus', but the eyes didn’t glow. He really hoped it wasn’t a volus.
A part of him knew it wasn’t though.
It was possible it was a species that had not yet become space worthy but the young turian was frustrated.
He felt the Spirits were playing a cruel joke on him.
“I give up” he said in defeat crest still on the desk, his subharmonics letting out a keening sound.
.............................................
Garrus woke up before the Vextra did, his muscles were sore from the now more uncomfortable way we had been sleeping. Being this close to her throughout the night was wonderful and she had been purring softly against him since she went to sleep.
Soul-bond. He was soul-bonded to the Vextra.
He had no idea how to bring it up to her.
If he did he had to be careful how he worded it.
‘You are mine we are destined to be together’ sounded possessive
Who knows what the bastard who hurt her had said to her.
Probably something close to those words.
He sighed and soaked in her scent.
He needed to keep still but his muscles were screaming at him to move to find a position more comfortable for him. He removed his head from her shoulder to stretch what he could and groaned softly from the movement. He had a crick in his neck and felt small spasms in his lower back.
She needed to sleep. So, he needed to keep still. He slowly tried to rotate his head and sucked in a breath in discomfort, his subharmonics letting out multiple notes of displeasure and pain.
She groaned lightly and he stilled his body as much as possible. His muscles spasmed again and he winced.
“Are you okay?” She asked, her throat was dry making her voice a bit raspy.
“Muscles are sore from sleeping strangely. Go back to sleep” He said softly.
“If you are in pain we can move”
“It’s fine”
“It isn’t”
She knew that he was stubborn, he was going to see she was just as stubborn
“Before last night, when was the last time you slept?” He asked, he had no plans on losing this little debate
“Before the asteroid. I feel refreshed now” She retorted, moving to get up. He wrapped his arms around her ribcage tighter against him
“You need sleep, so sleep” She rolled her eyes even though he couldn’t see it.
“So lets find a better position to sleep in” She said pushing his arms away and getting up. Signifying she won. The victory was short-lived. He made to get up and she could see the pain in his facial features from his neck and back. She studied him for a moment and once he got closer to the edge of bed and feet on the ground she crossed her arms and gave him her best ‘I’m not pleased look’ “You hurt your neck. Are the muscles similar to a humans?” She asked point blank
“I’m fine”
“Bullshit”
“What is a bull and why does its shit mean a lie to humans? Or is it a Vextran idiom?”
“Human, a bull is- don’t change the subject” She said, her tone laced in frustration and gave him a hard look, he had a small smile on his face and tried to look up at her before he hissed in pain.
She was adorable when she was annoyed.
Even more so since she was making a fuss about him.
“Look it up” He said teasingly, knowing she couldn’t
“I can’t, I don’t have access to the Vextranet” she said and glared at him “You know that too” She stomped her pawed foot on the ground and he bit back a grin. When he didn’t move to help her look up the information she growled before grabbing a medium length band from her keychain and rubbed it on a leather panel to release a small, old, beat up, leather bag. She lifted the flap and sifted through the contents before finding a small bottle with liquid it in and a tin of cotton pads. She sat down next to him and opened the bottle. The scent was strong and it irritated his nose. He watched as her nose scrunched up in dislike from the strong scent as well.
Absolutely adorable.
She applied some of the liquid on a cotton pad and stopped before touching him
“Can you do the thing with your subharmonics?” She asked quietly
He did so immediately and she applied the cotton pad to his neck. The liquid was cold and he flinched from the temperature. She rolled her eyes but kept applying it.
“Did I get all the places that were painful?” She asked in concern.
“I think so” He purred softly.
She put the bottle on the desk and took the band and wrapped it around the leather bag before taking an end and rubbing it on the leather panel
“How does that stuff work?”
“You apply it to your neck and massage it” She said, intentionally being a smart ass and not asking the question he actually asked.
He scoffed lightly before her fingers touched his neck and began to massage.
His hide felt a bit rough to the Vextra.
Her skin felt like velvet to the Turian.
Lower notes mixed with the calming ones. Her touching his neck was incredibly arousing and he wanted nothing more to pin her to the bed, remove her clothing and give her the most pleasure he could.
Aiming for the most pleasure she had ever had.
“Please stop” He said taking her hands gently in his
“You are in pain Garrus” She said stubbornly.
He sighed, turning towards her and touched his crest to her forehead.
“The neck is a very…um… sensitive place for turians. Another…. Uh….”
“Shit” She said in realization, he could feel heat coming from her face
“Thank you for the massage” he said and let her hands go, lifting his crest from her forehead “I can take it from here” and he began massaging the area “What is that stuff, it has such a strong scent” the liquid was thick on his fingers and it soaked into his hide quickly once it was massaged in. It began heating up once it was absorbed into the skin, providing pain relief quickly
“It is an herb medley from Wejesu. Operatives tend to sleep in strange positions on missions or on a ship. Having this medley helps relax the muscles when our muscles hurt” She said, still studying him. “How’s your back?”
“I’m fine” He said. His subharmonics betrayed him when he moved to stand
“Liar” she hissed.
“I’ll get some pain meds from Chakwas later for it” She gave him a look his mother had given him when he was in trouble and grimaced. She put more of the herbal medley on the cotton pad and handed it to him.
“Put it on while I use the bathroom” She said
“You don’t want to apply it for me?” He purred as he teased her, as he began taking off his tunic.
She froze as her breath caught in her thoughts and zoned out. As memory after memory of him taking off his shirt came to mind.
Panic hit her hard and fear was in her eyes. Her body remembering what happened afterwards.
He dropped the hem of his tunic and reprimanded himself for his actions and his words
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” He gave her space until he saw her begin to shake. He slowly moved towards her and engulfed her in a loose hug and his calming sound crashed on her like a tsunami.
She felt relief as tears welled up in her eyes and began falling
“I wasn’t thinking I’m so sorry” He murmured against her hair.
She tried to speak but instead she let out a choked sob, he held her a little tighter to himself.
“Crap, I’m an idiot. I didn’t mean to trigger you.” She clutched the fabric of his tunic and pushed her face against his shoulder. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the galaxy. His shoulder was sinewy and bony but the discomfort helped take her out of the memories.
She was safe in Garrus’ arms. She felt him take one of his hands and hold the back of her head gently. His other arm against the middle of her back.
“This is probably horrible timing” He asked, “If you don’t want to say it, it’s fine. But what…?”
“I was raped” She mumbled. Tears flowing harder from her eyes then before.
It was the first time she had admitted to it and it felt like she was making it reality by uttering the words. She felt his grip on her tighten and a growl of indignation ripped through him and her in extension.
“Is there a chance this bastard is still alive?” He asked darkly
“Maybe” She said “Vextra can live to 275 on average” She said against his shoulder
“I will rip his spine out” He growled out.
She was stunned.
He wanted to hurt him because he hurt her
She felt supported. Support in such a way she had never felt before.
Not even by her own species. She had never felt supported by them.
No, she found support, personhood, friendship, kindness and more
All in the turian who held her
He lightened his hold on the back of her head when she moved to lift it. Her tears had slowed.
She looked at him in the eyes
“If you do, can I watch?” She asked as a smile formed on her face, her eyes turning stormy.
He barked a laugh before he cupped her face in his hands and touched his crest against her forehead.
He had done so reflexively
“Of course, you can” He purred. His calming sound rumbled through her from his crest and hands
She made no reaction against him touching her face, made no move to remove his hands from her face either.
The warmth she could feel through his gloved hands and the talon’s curved-shape felt nice against her face. Especially as he moved his thumbs to wipe her tears away.
She wondered what his hands would feel like without the gloves against her face.
She wondered what it would feel like to nuzzle him.
He slowly removed his hands from her face and backed up. The space left from his movement felt cold.
She stepped forward and nuzzled the side of her face against the uninjured side of his neck without thinking.
He chirped in surprise, trilled and a cacophony of sounds came from his subharmonics from surprise. She backed away equally as surprised by her action and saw his mandibles hanging slack and jaw opened slightly.
“What- what?”
She began to blush teal.
“Vextran act of affection” She said quickly before heading to the door “I’m- bathroom” she said as she pointed to the door. “Apply the medley.” She ordered as she rushed out.
He stood in shock for a few more seconds before removing his tunic to apply the medley to his lower back. He wanted to make sure his tunic was back on before she came back.
His neck was already feeling better.
His mind reeled.
She seemed to feel the same way he felt for her based on her actions.
Unless he was mistaken and the snuggle she did was something done to close friends.
What if he was misconstruing her actions with what he wanted
He couldn’t be far off on the meaning though.
She practically ran out of the room after the snuggle.
Her reaction was precious
His heart soared.
The person he was soul-bonded to felt the same.
It wasn’t the Spirits making a galactic joke soul-bonding him to her.
His joy at the realization of her feelings overpowered any pain he was in.
He crashed down hard.
She was raped.
He assumed more than once.
That was going to make moving forward in their relationship ever more difficult.
She was likely to get triggered again.
He had to move very slowly, and carefully when making moves.
He didn’t want to hurt her.
Worse he didn’t want to do something that would not only remind her of the bastard who raped her, but have her see him as the same as the bastard because of an action or a phrase.
...........................
Inside the bathroom her mind spun.
She nuzzled Garrus.
The first time she nuzzled someone and it was Garrus.
She couldn’t be that surprised that out of everyone she had ever met she would nuzzle the turian.
She was surprised that the thought turned into an action though.
And the feeling she got when she did so...
She leaned against the wall and tried to stabilize her breathing.
It felt… right.
He made her feel so safe in his strong arms, so supported physically and mentally.
He sacrificed his comfort so she didn’t have to be alone when she slept.
She didn’t know anyone who would do that for her.
She didn’t know many Vextra who would willingly do that for their mate.
Mate.
Her hand reached up to her shoulder. The shoulder Garrus had rested his head and slept against last night and had a mix of feelings.
Once she washed her hands she went to the med bay. She rubbed her arms as she headed over. She hoped the doctor was in the med bay. It was still early in the morning.
“Dr. Chakwas?” She asked tentatively when she saw the Doctor at her computer terminal
“Yes?” She said as she turned and stood, studying the Vextra.
The woman was expecting the Vextra to be injured again. This was day 4 of her not needing to have medical attention in some way or another. A current record she was sure to break soon if her prior actions were any indicator.
“Can you remove scars?” She asked.
“It depends on how old they are” Hearing the Doctor’s words her ears perked up and twitched slightly and her eyes got a hopeful look in them
“Maybe 5 and a half years?”
“I won’t be able to remove them on the Normandy.” The Vextra’s face fell “But I believe the Tokyo has the equipment. I’m sure I can take care of them when we do your surgery” The Vextra let out a shaky sigh of relief and allowed a relieved smile to light up her face.
“Thank you”
“Of course, any new injuries I need to be aware of? You haven’t been by lately. It’s been hard getting Mr. Moreau in the med bay without you in it” The Doctor teased.
The Vextra laughed and shook her head
“No new injuries. No new surprises either. Just dealing from the fallout mentally and emotionally” She admitted
“I assume you are talking to Garrus about it?” The Vextra blushed and looked away “I don’t mean to pry. You seem to trust Garrus. I just want to make sure you are talking to someone. I’m here if you need to chat. Keeping it bottled up isn’t good.” The Vextra nodded
“Understood” She said and left the med bay.
Commander Shepard was getting a protein bar for an early breakfast when he saw the Vextra leave the med bay.
“Good morning. Everything alright?”
“Good morning Commander. Yes, I just needed a question answered” She responded back
“Good to hear, Captain Anderson asked that you take the evening to figure out a name” She nodded in understanding “I know you don’t have access to whatever the Vextra use to search so I wanted to give you this” He said and handed her an omni-tool “I got it from the human you passed on the asteroid, I have it connected to the extranet for you already”
She took the piece of technology in her hands and put it on her left wrist.
“Thank… you?” she said awkwardly. He cocked an eyebrow at her. “I- I’m not used to getting gifts.” She explained. He frowned slightly.
“You are a part of my team. We take care of each other” She nodded. “Anderson will be ready for another meeting in a few hours. Enough time for you to have breakfast. I’m sure the dextro eaters will enjoy that, I know Spectre Kryik will appreciate it, he has been… frustrating to deal with lately. You look like you need more rest too” She rubbed the back of her neck and nodded
“Thank you, Shepard,” She said. The man grinned.
“I should go” He said before heading up the stairs to the CIC
She was part of a team
She was being supported
People were helping her
It felt nice.
Things were actually going right.
Good things were happening to her.
When would that end?
When will the other shoe drop?
Notes:
I personally have never had a trigger where I zone out and relive trauma. I really hope I did that part justice and made it realistic.
All my triggers are more subconscious.
I decided poor 23 needed to have something nice happen to her.
Poor thing.
Luckily Garrus is realizing she has something similar to the same feelings he has.
Yay happy go lucky chapter... sort of.
Chapter 12: 23 Gets a Name
Summary:
23 has to deal with the fallout of nuzzling Garrus and him wanting to continue to fluster her, which makes her feral side come out to play.
23 has a follow-up meeting with Captain Anderson, Nihlus and Garrus about previously classified information.
Garrus helps 23 choose both the human and turian names.
23 has a dream about an old memory and realizes how much she is stresseed.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“That took a while” Garrus teased when she returned. Her face went teal “I was worried you got lost”
“I saw Shepard as I was leaving the med bay” She said
Garrus grinned broadly hearing the Vextra calling the Commander by his last name.
His grin fell quickly
“Why did you go to the med bay?” He asked concerned as he got closer to her
“I had a question” She said vaguely. He sighed in relief that she was uninjured but rose an eyebrow plate at her vague answer
“A question about what?” He asked, tilting his head. She began fidgeting and got very uncomfortable
“I don’t want to talk about it” She said quietly as she looked away.
“That’s ok” She said as he reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders and she looked at him. He had another question he wanted her answer from “This Vextran act of affection…” Her face grew more teal and her eyes wide “I’d appreciate more information about it” He purred
“Like what?” She said, her voice an octave higher than normal.
The way she was acting was endearing to the Turian and his subharmonics sang various notes showcasing his own emotions.
“Like who do Vextrans do that little act to?” He uttered, his dual toned voice causing the Vextra to feel like she was melting.
What was happening to her?
He was just talking.
They had been talking for weeks now
She had not reacted to him talking to her like this before
“To-To their most trusted friends, mates, and children” She squeaked and stuttered out.
She felt like he was the predator and she was the prey.
She was caught in his grasp
But it felt different.
Not the same when she felt that way with him.
It was Garrus
Garrus wouldn’t harm her
She was not afraid just nervous.
“Is that so?” He said as he leaned forward looking at her at eye-level.
“Shepard asked me to make breakfast, the meeting will continue afterwards” She said quickly as she scooted away, pushing his hands off of her, and headed out the door. He looked on with a grin on his face.
She was adorable when she was nervous and flustered.
He also felt a surge of confidence with the knowledge, that although she didn’t outright say it, she felt similar to how he felt about her.
He followed her out of her room and into the mess to help her with breakfast and see if he could fluster her further.
After all, she did like him being near her.
He helped her chop vegetables while she worked on cooking the meat, she tried to ignore him but he seemed to make it impossible for her to do so by being in her space constantly. Either by half a step behind her or beside her, leaning on the counter and staring at her.
“Do you consider me a close friend or a potential mate?” He asked teasingly and she nearly jumped out of her skin at the question
“What?” She hissed as she looked at him like he was insane
“You said that your Vextran act of affection was for close friends, mates and children. I’m obviously not your child…” He watched her face grow more teal and her eyes wide in shocked horror.
Why did she tell him what she did?
Why did she nuzzle him in the first place?
Her mind reeled as a part of her caught the look on his face.
He was enjoying himself.
She realized he was playing with her.
He was enjoying seeing her stutter and blush.
Enjoyed teasing her.
A part of her was baffled that he would enjoy seeing her like that
The other part of her, her more feral part of her, wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine.
She reached out and cupped his jaw, stroking his mandible and he leaned back a bit in shock. She leaned forward.
She showcased a playful glint in her stormy green eyes for him to see and delicately, lovingly caressed his mandible further.
His eyes went wide and took a step backward.
He sputtered and blinked in confusion.
She cocked her hip out and crossed her arms, the stormy green in her eyes remained and she gave him a mischievous grin
“Don’t mess with a Nixva if you want your life” The Vextra said flirtatiously in dual-tones.
Garrus stared at her.
She was speaking in dual tones
She was flirting with him in dual tones.
And with the smirk on her lips he was getting incredibly aroused.
Dual tones on her sounded more dangerous and infinitely sexier than it did on any Turian female.
He had to stop his thought process.
He wanted to pounce on her and he was sure that was something she was not ready for.
That was also not appropriate behavior in the mess hall.
Hearing her flirt with dual tones was going to make some incredibly good dreams when he was alone.
“What?” He managed to get out. She smirked further and the stormy green cleared up as she cleared her throat.
“Hmm?” She asked “What part?” She teased acting innocent, turning back to pay attention to the meat.
“All of it”
“Remember on the asteroid how I said I can go a bit feral?” He nodded slowly. “Let’s just say the feral side of me doesn’t like being teased” She said smirking as she looked him dead in the eye at his shocked and confused reaction.
“Wha-What was the…” He motioned to his mandible. She grinned
“I was curious” She admitted and shrugged. He stared at her wide-eyed.
The Vextra wasn’t comfortable with his shirt off.
Wasn’t comfortable snuggling on his chest while on the bed.
But would playfully caress his mandible?
All because he was teasing her and was enjoying her awkwardness and seeing her flustered?
“The saying you said?”
“A Nixva is a mythical creature on Wejesu. It is said when Vextra were more primitive, or feral, we didn’t have our underground cave system and would go from cave to cave. Nixva were believed to live in caves on mountains. They had stashes of precious metals and items from unsuspecting people who ventured into their cave or from the unprepared. Each family has a different rendition of what they look like. It was said no one saw a Nixva and lived to tell about it. They are extremely territorial and fight so viciously, mercilessly, and ferociously that the parts left of the victim are unrecognizable to those that knew them best.” She explained. “Vextra don’t have many idioms. That one has always been my favorite though. I like myths and mythological creatures”
“Look at that” He teased, nudging her gently “Already beginning to be like a person and liking something” He purred. “Is that an omni-tool?” He asked and she nodded
“Shepard gave it to me to help with my mission of finding a name” She said playfully. “Could you help me find a name later?”
“Absolutely” He said
They plated the food just as the Spectre rounded the corner.
“Spirits I was hoping to not eat a ration for breakfast” He said “How are you feeling? You look a bit better than yesterday”
“I’m ok” She admitted
“Good. You’re an important part of this ship”
“Yeah, because I make your food” She deadpanned. The Spectre grinned widely
“Exactly, glad you know your place” She guffawed at his audacity. Garrus didn’t seem amused.
She put Tali’s food in the oven to keep warm and followed the turians to a table to eat breakfast.
“I’m curious, for your tech, your weapons, that technology would be insanely useful-”
“I’m not going to pretend it isn’t useful. However, no, there isn’t a way to modify it for non-Operative use. You’d need to undergo the Procedure. Outside of the womb the survival rate is very, very low.” He growled.
“You said the Vextra have been making weapons to defeat the Reapers?”
“Yes”
“We should have this conversation with Captain Anderson and Shepard, Spectre” Garrus interjected, growling lightly and glaring at the Turian. The Vextra looked at him thoroughly confused at his behavior.
“Very well” The Spectre said, a mandible flicked outwards showing a turian smirk and glanced between he Vextran and the Detective. It was clear the turian in question had feelings, intensely deep feelings, for the Vextra. The Spectre wouldn’t lie. He found the Vextra beautiful but with her pushing him away both times he flirted with her she seemed too broken to pursue. That and C-Sec seemed incredibly territorial of the woman. If he didn’t know any better the Spectre would guess the turian had formed a soul-bond with the woman. Soul-bonds with other species were rare and complicated. They often ended badly for turians.
“Were you able to make some leeway about where my turian alter ego would be from”
“I have a couple options, just need to look at them closely to determine which would be the most believable.”
“Thank you Spectre”
They finished breakfast in an awkward silence and headed to the Comm room after Garrus cleaned up the breakfast mess and the Vextra successfully put up her imaging software.
“You look more rested” Captain Anderson said when she dropped her imaging software.
“A bit” She responded
“Could you answer that the question I asked earlier about the weapons the Vextra have been making against the Reapers?” The Spectre asked and she nodded.
“I honestly don’t know much about them. It wasn’t something Operatives had access too. I think it was deemed too dangerous to have Operatives access them until the war began in case they used them against normal Vextra. I know they have been in development for millennia.” She speculated.
“You mentioned Reaper war tactics?”
“Yes, from what we have monitored from the last 2 cycles, they hit hard from a central location and then use chaos to attack the strongest first before spreading out, world to world, to harvest, enslave, or destroy.”
The men in the room with her stilled and took a moment to take the information in.
“How did the Vextra survive?’
“Wejesu is a hot arid planet. The Vextra were a cave dwelling species to keep cool. We formed massive cave networks to live in. Evolving to jump, be agile and flexible, and climb as needed. We had issues with other species of our original cycle. They were very violent and wanted us to be part of their empire or die. The other species, thankfully never really knew where Wejesu was. We had encountered them in another system. After that we made a shield to protect against scanning software and limited who could be off-world at one time. We encountered a lone Reaper and they attacked our ship. They had just exited the mass relay and called for assistance to help them against the unknown enemy. Our entire flotilla joined the ship in the fight. The fight was bloody and brutal, we barely beat it. 98% of our flotilla was destroyed. The remaining ships barely functional and we picked up our living and went home. We hunkered down. No one was allowed off-world for 200 years as we rebuilt our flotilla. That was when the Operatives were born. My assumption was that our already formed shield technology and paranoia of leaving Wejesu saved us.”
“Damn” Commander Shepard remarked. “Do you have access to that shield technology?”
“Sadly no or I’d share it. I know it was created using Slanai technology, but it was not something a Slanai Operative could access”
“Could you tell us more about Slanai technology?”
“The majority of Vextran technology was created using Slanai proprietary technology. The other family that was decent in creating technology was the Xree family. My family and the Xree family had a partnership with their top scientists to co-create the Reaper weapons and technology to help protect against them.”
“The bands she uses is an Operative only thing.” The Spectre added. “It apparently cannot be altered to work for non-Operatives.”
“I want to show you something” The Commander said and brought up a projection of a still from Eden Prime’s beacon that was sent out before they had arrived there. “This is what landed on Eden Prime right before you arrived in 2183”
Her face went nearly white and her eyes wide as she looked at the still image in utter terror
“You know what that is?” The Commander asked slowly. She nodded
“It’s a Reaper” She said barely above a whisper.
The room went silent.
The Reapers were here.
She was flung to a time when the Reapers were arriving.
They were already here.
The Ancestors really liked their sick jokes when it came to her.
The Captain’s omni-tool dinged and lit up.
“I have another meeting I need to attend. Thank you for your cooperation. I expect to have your names of the Turian and Human aliases by 9PM Teran time”
“Understood Captain Anderson” She said, word hollow, still staring in horror at the Reaper. The Captain bowed his head and the hologram deactivated.
“You ok?” Shepard said to the woman still in a shocked terror.
“No. The Reapers are already here”
“I’d like your help then, so far you know the most about he Reapers compared to everyone I’ve met. It is believed that that is Saren’s ship” He said motioning to the Reaper “Do you have any idea how that is possible?”
“The Reapers are believed to be AI, mostly mechanical” She said, eyes still on the image of the Reaper “If anyone is on it I would consider them indoctrinated. Completely under the Reapers control” She felt her heart rate quicken and panic set in.
“Spirits” Nihlus cursed under his breath
“Spectre Kriyik was mentored by Saren”
“I’m sorry for your loss” She said dejectedly.
She felt overwhelmed.
“We should get you back to your room” Garrus said as he noticed the panic set in the woman next to him
“Good idea, let me know when names have been decided” Shepard said and left the room, the Spectre following afterwards.
“Breathe” Garrus said as he pushed her to sit in a chair behind her and kept his hands on her shoulders to have his calming rumble flow into her.
“I-I was flung to the time of the Reapers Garrus” She stuttered as panic surged through her. “If I hadn’t been flung here I wouldn’t”
“You said Vextra live on average to the age of 275” He retorted
“Regular Vextra. Operatives are lucky to live to 70, average is 50” She said as her head fell into her hands as she began to hyperventilate.
“Spirits, is that because of the operative procedure?”
“No” She said, taking a breath and pushing thoughts aside. “If your tool breaks and you try to fix it to no avail; do you get a new tool or continue using the now subpar tool?’
“Do you mean to say”
“Yes, if an Operative gets too injured to continue their work they are killed” She sighed “Failure is death”
He leaned against the wall heavily as her previous statement set in.
She stood shakily and turned on her imaging software.
She needed a distraction.
“Help me find a name” She said and he followed her out of the room still stunned.
“How’s your back?” She asked once they entered her room
“I’m fine” She gave him a look of disbelief
“Lay on the bed I’ll sit at the desk” She ordered. He smiled at her concern and did what she asked
“You should be laying down to sleep”
“Mission first, sleep next” She said. She poked the omni-tool, scrunching her nose when she realized it did nothing. She sighed in frustration as it was not as intuitive as her tech.
Her tech was literally a part of her though.
She sighed again
“Let me see it, I’ll set up some basic features for you” He said and she looked at him briefly
“Like take it off or get closer so you can do things while it’s still on me?” She teased
“Whichever one you prefer” He purred with a mischievous grin, teasing back. He knew she would just hand him her omni-tool and was not surprised when she did just that.
The teasing was a welcome distraction and helped her stay out of the deep pit of panic in the back of her mind
“Here you go”
He took his time putting on applications that could be useful to her including a shield and an omni-blade. He knew she had her own but his protectiveness of the Vextra wanted her to be more protected, especially if her normal fighting style was close to how she fought on the asteroid. He would rather her not get shot in front of him again. He also didn’t want to see her choked in front of him either. The idea of her rushing out into battle using knives made him greatly uncomfortable.
He gave her a brief description on how to use it and how to activate it and gave it back to her.
Her order to lay down and rest his back was needed by the Turian. The medley had helped ease some of the pain but his lower back was still sore for sleeping in such a bad position for a turian. He had to prop the pillow against his keel to make it comfortable to lay down and not cause damage or pain to his fringe.
“What name were you thinking of looking for first? Human or turian?”
“Turian” She responded. He pulled up his omni-tool to access the extranet “I plan on having the Turian alias be the one I leave the Normandy with whenever possible”
Garrus hummed in understanding. The idea of her having a turian image was pleasant. Especially as he thought of her voice in dual-tones that reverberated in his head, the thoughts were enough to make his seam open.
“Let me pull up some common turian names then” He said trying to push his thoughts aside.
He could bring them back when he was alone
Not now.
“How about Accalia?”
“No”
“Livia?”
“No”
“Antonna?”
“No”
They went on for 5 minutes before he sighed.
“I need you to give me more than just no. What don't you like about them?” Garrus teasingly said
“I don’t know, they don’t sound like… me. I want something... more? I don't know how to say it” She said trying to articulate her thoughts
“You want something that is meaningful, something that resonates with you?” She sighed and nodded
“Something more than a number”
She got up and began pacing
“Do Turian names have meaning?”
“Some do” He said “Most of the time we are named after someone though” She nodded in understanding. He watched her pace and her heartrate rise. There was not much space on the bed but some. He patted the bed for her to sit down on it. She sighed in vexation and sat at the foot of her bed, her feet still on the ground. Garrus moved closer to the wall in case she needed more space. She lay down, her head next to his carapace and relaxed as she felt the sound from him reverberate from the mattress and into her.
“Let’s try something human” She said. “A lot of human names have meaning”
“Do Vextran names have meanings”
“Yes. Deciding a name for a… child is a… big deal” She said, voice drifting away
Garrus kicked himself for asking. He playfully put his hand on her face causing her to flinch back and look up at him in surprise showcasing in her eyes as a light laughter escaped her lips
“Fuck the Vextra.” He said with a grin “You get to choose your own name with a meaning you decide. Much better than what those people would choose for you” She smiled widely at him before she looked at her omni-tool.
“I don’t like any of these” She said after scrolling for a few minutes of now modern names. “I want something more... unique” She explained.
“Well, what qualifies for unique so I can help?”
“Um… Good question” She said and thought.
“Maybe something… mythical?” He asked. Her ears twitched and she grinned,
“Yes” excitement rang in her voice and Garrus let out a melody of sounds from his subharmonics.
He loved it when she got excited
He loved it when she was happy
He loved…. Her
He was in love with her.
Last week he would have called himself crazy for admitting he was in love with her after barely knowing her.
He was soul-bonded to her
He felt lucky to be soul-bonded to her.
Felt even luckier that she felt the same but was still figuring out what that looked like for her.
“Ancient humans had a lot of different beliefs and had many different gods and mythical creatures.” She said excitedly, speaking fast.
“Where did you say you were at on earth before you came here?” Garrus asked
“England”
“I’ll look for Ancient mythical creatures and beings in England then”
“I’ll look for old Greek ones”
“Why Greek ones?” He asked. He had no idea what a Greek was
“I find their belief system fascinating. I named one of my programs after their oracle”
“You can change names of your software?”
“Some of it, like the beta tested ones or the Slanai family specific ones”
After a moment of looking she let out a soft purr along with a chuckle
“What is it?” Garrus asked curious
“Old Roman and Latin names sound like turian names” She said and he cocked an eyebrow plate
“Really?”
“Yep, like Agrippa”
“That does sound turian” he hummed. He began tapping “I’ll look for old Roman or Latin mythical beings and creatures” She hummed in agreement
After a few minutes of research, she sucked in an excited breath
“The Furies!” She said happily
“The Furies?”
“They were these mythical beings that brought about justice. But that was the Greek version. Romans were even older.” She said as she tapped away at the omni-tool.
He grinned. It seemed to fit her. He pulled up the Furies and found a name that he could see himself purring, or snarling, into her ear during lovemaking.
“Erinyes” He said (Pronounced: Eh-ren-yes)
She looked up.
“I like the sound of it. What does it mean?”
“They were the Goddess of Vengeance, also known as the ‘the Gracious Ones’”
“I like it” She said, rolling to her side, almost to the point of falling off the tiny bed and tilting her head up to look at him “I like that a lot” She paused “I need a last name”
“Are we staying with Roman or Greek names?”
“Old Roman names” She said as she looked at a list and let a soft mew slip passed her lips “Tisis, it means ‘retribution’. Who knows if we are pronouncing these correctly” (Pronounced Te-seas) She giggled
He chuckled. “Erinyes Tisis: Goddess of Vengeance and Retribution. Or Gracious One of Retribution. It fits you well” He purred. She smiled.
“Would that work for a turian name?” She asked concerned “It won’t work for human, it's too out there”
“I think it will” He purred, reaching up and gently pushing her bangs aside. She sighed, he found his tilting in a silent question on why she was sighing in such a way when they had found a name she liked.
“I’m going to need a boring human name” She said dejectedly. He chuckled.
“So, maybe change tactics and go completely based on meaning” He offered and she smiled up at him
“Good idea”
“Alectra?”
“Maybe” she frowned. Names meaning vengeance or retribution were slim. “Adla?” She asked, “it means ‘Justice’”
“You seem unsure about it” He said with a nudge to her side “How about Asani, it means ‘rebellious’.” (Pronounced: ah-saw-knee)
“I like that one” She said before chuckling. “I think it's weird all the human names we were looking at started with A”
“On to the last name” He said with a smile. She found a place to search by meaning after a while and found a name that had her laughing hard and gasping breath
“What did I miss?” He asked amused
“A name that will have a double meaning” She said with mirth “It’s a Hebrew surname that means ‘priest of justice’” She grinned like a cat that caught a canary “Thee name is Katz”
He burst out laughing
“Joker will love it” He said gleefully
“Vextra won’t think it’s me because it would be offensive” Her grin got wider. “Which makes it even more perfect! Especially with Joker's insistence on that horrid nickname for me.”
“Asani Katz and Erinyes Tisis” He said
She enjoyed how he said Erinyes.
It made her melt when he said it with his dual tones.
These feelings were new and she was not sure how to navigate them.
“Thank you Garrus for your help”
“Anytime” He purred. “I’ll let Shepard know the names you chose”
“I want to primarily be called Erinyes” She said. He purred and being so close to his carapace she felt and heard it.
Turians had a deeper purr than a Vextra did, but she found that she liked it, preferred it even.
Many things the Turian next to her did she liked
Was it something all Turians did, or just Garrus?
She’d have to do an experiment later
“Go to sleep” He ordered, she smiled. She guessed it was his turn to order her around.
Normally she fought back against people who ordered her around.
She found that for most people on the Normandy that she had interactions with, she wouldn’t mind getting or taking orders from them.
Maybe because they respected her? Or because she had come to respect them?
Or possibly because they treated her as a person?
Most of all she didn’t mind taking orders from Garrus.
He respected and cared about her.
His orders came from that headspace.
She liked that about him
She liked him.
Why did she have these feelings?
What did they mean?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
23 was in the Slanai residence and typing away at a standing Operative terminal. Nearby was a Slanai family member sitting at a desk and talking loudly to her friend through her tech, her friend showcased above her on a hologram projection. She was not an operative so her tech was physical and not part of her.
“I just find it so romantic. It’s so sad Vextra don’t have Quexca bonds anymore.” The woman gushed, her light blue eyes dancing as she spoke
“Can you imagine, feeling when they are in danger or when they have heightened emotions?” Her friend asked
“Didn’t old accounts say the sex is even better with a Quexca bond too?” The woman asked as the women giggled.
Another Slanai family member entered, completely ignoring 23 as he passed her, and went up to the woman siting at the desk and nuzzled her neck sensually
“Good evening” He took a look at her face “What are you two talking about?”
“Quexca bonds” The male rolled his eyes
“It’s a myth” He said bluntly, the woman frowned
“What if it isn’t and we evolved out of it?” She retorted
“Then you have to be feral to have it. I’d rather have intelligence” He deadpanned
“But it’s so romantic” The woman whined
“I heard some Operatives can go feral due to the Procedure damaging parts of their brain. They lose some of our evolved intellect” The friend said “I wonder if they can have Quexca bonds”
“Who cares, they aren’t allowed to mate anyway” He said, bringing the woman into his arms, his purple eyes looking down at her light blue ones “Even if Operatives can go feral, because that is also a myth, if they could have Quexca bonds, which I doubt, it wouldn’t be the same as when Vextra were feral, if it were real.”
“You’re no fun” The woman groaned
“I’m a scientist” He retorted giving the woman a look before nuzzling her again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She awoke to the Turian next to her letting an irritated huff.
“What’s wrong?” She asked groggily.
His subharmonics let out a variety of notes.
“I didn’t mean to wake you” He admitted apologetically
“You didn’t answer the question” She said tiredly and poked his carapace. He smiled.
“Spectre Kryik asked if you were making lunch”
“Yes” She said “I skipped dinner and breakfast?” She asked, eyes still closed and groaning. He chuckled at her antics
“I’m surprised you slept as long as you did. The way you slept looked uncomfortable”
She paused and took inventory of how she was laying. Most of her body was on the bed save for her legs. Her knees were at a 90-degree angle and her feet firmly on the ground. She wasn’t uncomfortable. She had slept in worse positions before.
“I am rather comfortable actually” She admitted and she could feel his chuckle from his carapace.
“If you are making lunch you’ll need to do so soon. Spectre Kryik’s message seemed like he was ready to break down your door ”
“Well, let’s not have that” She said getting up and stretching.
He studied her as she stretched, noticing how flexible she was.
His mind flashed to how fun it would be to test that flexibility while he made love to her.
He admonished himself again and busied his mind with letting the Spectre know what she had told him. He tried not to l up at her while she stretched.
“What time is it?” She asked
“Nearing 10” He said.
“Ancestors I was out for over 12 hours?!” She looked at him appalled at her actions
“You needed to sleep” She said maintained. She rolled her eyes.
“Were you asleep for the entire time?” She asked suspiciously
“No, I woke up hours ago, I tried not to move so you could get as much sleep as you could.”
She didn’t know how to feel about that. Normally she would assume they had done something to her while she slept.
But this was Garrus and he would not.
How did she have so much confidence in someone in such a short amount of time?
It greatly irked her.
Then the dream she had.
It was a memory
Quexca bonds were a myth
So was the idea of Operatives going feral and that had happened to her.
It was why she was sent off world in the first place.
Did she have a Quexca bond with the Turian?
How would she know?
Would it be different for Operatives than what was believed for the more primitive, less-evolved Vextra or the past?
Her mind reeled and with everything from yesterday and she felt overwhelmed
Garrus noticed immediately
“Sit” he commanded and she did, she hated feeling this way.
She missed the free feeling she had before of everything having a specific order and rules to follow and a mission to complete.
But she wasn’t a tool anymore. She wouldn’t dare think of going back to being treated in such a way again.
“Erinyes” Garrus purred sitting next to her “What are you thinking about? What is giving you so much stress?” He asked gently
“Everything” she grumbled as she fell backwards on the bed. “It’s all so overwhelming. I jumped forward in time when the Reapers are here, I’m a person, I have a damn proximity beacon in my damn neck, The Operatives nearly killed you… twice, and I don’t know how to feel about…” She let her words fall short quickly. Not ready to admit that she might have feelings for the Turian she was still trying to figure out.
Garrus lay backward on the bed and rolled over to his side to look at her. She followed his example.
“So, we take it in bits that you can handle. The proximity beacon is being taken care of by Chakwas. There’s nothing we can do about the Reapers at the moment. Being a person and figuring out who you are is something that will happen over time. The rest we can figure out” He explained and she found herself getting closer to him and resting her forehead on his keel and sighing.
“I… I want a hug” She said slowly and quietly. He immediately complied and pulled her towards him.
Notes:
I hope Erinyes choosing a name wasn't too frustrating to read, I tried to skim over it and not make it too detailed. Personally I enjoyed figuring out a name for her. I wrote the Katz last name section using literally how I found it in real life. I laughed hard for a couple minutes when I found it.
As always comments and kudos are appreciated!
Chapter 13: Surgery
Summary:
Erinyes creates her human alias image
Garrus and Tali help her create a device to help with her surgery
She has to be a mediator between the two
There is a movie night to help Erinyes relax before surgery
Notes:
Sorry I haven't posted as much.
I had Chapter 16 finished and went home to do my final edit of this chapter on Monday to discover the entire document had been corrupted.
To make up for it this chapter is very long.
My upload schedule will probably be delayed a bit since I need to rewrite over 200 pages again.
Hugely demoralizing and if not for the new kudos I might have stepped away from the story completelyThis has not been reread as often as I normally do to catch mistakes. I opted not to to just get it out for you all to read and enjoy. Please excuse the typos and grammatical mistakes. My keyboard likes to add duplicate letters for some off reason and I need a new one. I think I got all of them but there might be some I missed.
I do not own or claim to own Hazbin Hotel or Mass Effect.
Chapter Text
“Erinyes, thank you for stopping by” Chakwas said happily when she and Garrus entered the med bay. Shepard was waiting for them.
“I got word from Captain Anderson. The Tokyo is currently on its way to our location, it will take 5 days. The head medical practitioner of the Tokyo is under the understanding that Kaiden needs a surgery on his L2 implant. When we arrive, you will need to be under the cloak and have your human imaging up. We will meet with Captain Venderburg and there will conveniently be some mechanical issues with the ship-wide cameras as there was a few days ago when the Tokyo was docked on the Citadel. Captain Venderburg will help with the cameras making it look like you entered the Tokyo then. You will then head to the operating theater.” Shepard explained
“Garrus will push a gurney with Kaiden on it to the Operating theater. If anyone asks, Garrus, you can say you have experience as a Cabal medic” Garrus nodded and Erinyes looked confused but figured she could get the information later. “Kaiden and Garrus will be my extra hands during your surgery. It is too dangerous to remove the beacon because it has formed, essentially, another vertebra in your spine. With the proximity to your brain and your nervous system, removing it isn’t worth the risk. We will need to disable it.”
“Tali and I can help design a device to see if the beacon is emitting any information” Garrus added, putting his hand on Erinyes’ shoulder. She gave him a weak smile.
“After the surgery I will push the gurney with Kaiden back onto the Normandy and Garrus will help you back onto the Normandy after you can stand.” Chakwas continued
“How will that be explained?” Erinyes asked
“Part of your dossier is that you are an enlisted field medic” Shepard explained “But you are on the Normandy largely as an extra mechanic. Your dossier states that Captain Anderson handpicked you after a Batarian ship boarded an Alliance one and you fixed a machine needed to help an injured marine with scraps nearby while nearly simultaneously keeping the marine alive. Your skills of working well under pressure and using and fixing things with the tools around you is why you were chosen to be on the Normandy. Plus, going after Saren, Dr. Chakwas might need an extra hand every now and then”
“Because of that and the fact Kaiden needed surgery you were already going to be in the operating theater as my assistant with Garrus” Chakwas explained
“How would me coming out of the operating theater worse than going in going to be explained?” She asked the doctor
“Simple” She said, her hand going to her mouth as she gave the woman a small smile “Kaiden will wake up, see you, who he has never seen before, and send a biotic blast at you in his medicated stupor, knocking you into the wall and requiring you to be in a brace and medicated yourself.” Erinyes guffawed. It seemed plausible
“Here is your human dossier” Shepard said as he handed her a data pad.
“Thank you” She said looking at it “When I make the image I make for my alias’ the goal I have in mind is to have them fade in the background” She explained “I am assuming human fashion and hairstyles have changed in the last 150 some-odd years, could I get some help with that?” She asked the humans in the room
“Williams could help with that since she is a woman after all” Shepard said after a bit of contemplation “I’ll let her know to expect you. I do have a lot I need to do on my end to make sure this all goes smoothly. Any other questions for me?”
“No sir” She said and he gave her a curt nod and headed out of the med bay.
“I am going to go talk with Tali and see if we can make a blueprint for the device for you.” Garrus said giving her shoulder a small squeeze. She gave him a bigger smile and nodded as he left the room.
Once alone with the doctor she gave some more news
“I checked with the medical practitioner on the Tokyo and they do have the equipment to remove the scars you were wanting removed.” Erinyes let out a huge sigh of relief. It felt as a heavy boulder that had been on her chest for years was lifting and she had hope, finally, that everything was going to be alright. “I will work with Garrus on options for braces. I know your aversion to being restrained and I don’t think we can avoid you being in a brace while you return to the Normandy.”
Erinyes shivered at the idea of her head and neck being in a brace. “If it is only for a short time then I can make due.” She said clearly unhappy at it.
“Thank you, Erinyes, I will make sure it is on you for the shortest amount of time possible. I also need to let you know that I can’t put you under anesthesia if we are going through with this plan and making it believable. But I will make sure you will not be in pain while the surgery is being performed”
“Thank you”
With everything settled Erinyes headed to the Cargo Bay to get help with the more modern looks of female humans.
“Gunnery Chief Williams” Erinyes said to get the woman’s attention. “Is this a good time?”
“Yes,” She said as she set the rifle she was servicing to the side. “Shepard said you were coming but was pretty vague on why” The woman said as she leveled the Vextra with a hard stare.
“I need help with the modern looks of women in this time. Especially with women in military service.” She said politely. The woman in front of the Vextra had never talked to her, but to be fair, she had never sought the woman out either. The only times the woman had seen Erinyes was during her initial escape and right after Garrus and her had been the ever-loving shit out of each other. The woman was being standoffish and had every right to. Meaning Erinyes had to be careful with what she was saying and how she was acting.
“Oh” The woman said cautiously looking over the Vextra
“In 2025, most people had blond, brunette or black hair, red and other colors being rarer.” She began “I want to blend into the background, which hair color would be best to do so with?”
“Brunette or black hair are far more common than blond if your goal is to fade into the background” The Gunnery Chief said still keeping her guard up.
“Thank you” The Vextra said with a smile “I was hoping you could help me find hairstyles that are within military regs? I don’t even know if military regs for hair are the same”
“What were the regs before” Williams asked, her crossed arms falling to her sides
“Bangs couldn’t touch the eyebrows, and if you had short hair couldn’t touch the collar of the blouse. Long hair had to be kept in a bun. Medium length hair could be kept in a ponytail as long as hair didn’t touch the collar. No unnatural hair colors” She rattled off “I’m sure there are more but I don’t remember the rest. That was for the American military as well. Searched the U.S. for a year before heading to South America” She explained
Williams nodded as she listened
“The regs have gotten more relaxed. Colored hair, even brightly colored hair is fine. Bangs can touch your eyebrows, but can’t be long enough to obscure your face. Shoulder length hair can be worn down but any longer and it needs to be up in a ponytail or bun. Most military personnel in the field tend to keep their hair out of their face for safety reasons. But support personnel tend to have more elaborate hairstyles. Personally, putting my hair in a bun is the most elaborate hairstyle I have the patience to do”
Erinyes chuckled
“I understand that. I prefer easy hairstyles”
The woman cocked an eyebrow and pointedly looked at the intricate braided design on the Vextra’s head
“I would have never guessed” She said sarcastically and crossing her arms again. The Vextra sighed and gestured to her head
“This was not by choice. It is a status symbol. The higher your status the more intricate the design. Trust me, this isn’t as elaborate as they can go. If I had my way these tiny motherfucking braids would be taken out of my hair and never put back in again. Do you know how much time and how fucking painful these things are? Plus, you have to get them redone monthly. Such a fucking pain in the ass” The Vextra said with venom. The Gunnery Chief laughed
“It sounds awful”
“It is” The Vextra whined. “I haven’t bothered taking them out yet because I know it’ll take hours and I don’t have the time or patience for it” She sighed in frustration “I wish I had the freedom to just put my hair in a bun and be done with it and have my hair down when I want it to like you can. I’m honestly jealous. If I try to have my hair down with these things in my hair I look like a fucking lion” The woman guffawed at the Vextra’s words despite herself. Erinyes grinned “My dossier says Asani will be a mechanic, so she probably has no need for a fancy hairstyle. Would you recommend a simple ponytail?”
The Gunnery Chief nodded. Erinyes added the information into her imaging software, thankful she wouldn’t have to go line by line like she would for the turian alias since the human setup was already loaded into the software.
“Support staff typically wears the dress uniform.”
“Even mechanics?” Erinyes asked
“Well no, but you’d still need a set.”
“Could you pull a copy of the female uniform on your omni-tool so I can scan it I’ll need a medical assistant uniform too?” She asked and Williams did so, pulling up a basic enlisted uniform as well
“You’ll most likely be seen in this uniform” She said and Erinyes gave her a friendly smile
“I like to keep my eye color with my alias’ do you think that’ll be a problem or cause me to stand out too much?”
“I don’t think so” Williams replied and thought for a moment. “Pull up the human alias. With you being on the Tokyo I want to make sure your mannerisms match what people will expect” Erinyes nodded in agreement.
“Just in case, I will pull up my old human alias. Never know who might be watching” She said with a small shiver and she watched William’s face flinch slightly at the information.
Bringing the old human image up Williams corrected her posture, worked on her marching, salutes and parade rest. She practiced for an hour or so, before the Gunnery Chief was satisfied
“I was expecting that to take longer” She admitted
“Vextran Operatives do some things similarly to the Alliance, we just have slightly different ways of doing them” She said with a shrug. “Thank you. Would you be comfortable if I call you by your first name?” Erinyes asked
“Sure”
“Thanks Ashley. This was fun”
“It was. You remind me a bit of my sisters”
“You have sisters?”
“Yes, a bunch of them”
“Do you miss them?”
“Of course, I do” Williams said flabbergasted and slightly offended. Erinyes put her hands up defensively
“I’m sorry, I don’t have a family. I don’t know what it’s like” Williams calmed down and took a deep breath
“No, I’m sorry, I heard a bit about your past and I shouldn’t have jumped down your throat.” She said.
The engineering door opened and Garrus came out, seeing Erinyes with Williams and blinking a few times in surprise before heading over
“Vakarian” Williams greeted forcefully. Erinyes tilted her head at the woman at her cold attitude towards Garrus.
“Williams” He greeted back before looking at Erinyes, his gaze softening once his eyes found her “I’m sorry, Tali and I got so involved with the blueprint I wasn’t paying attention to the time. The window for you to make dinner is closing” Erinyes pulled up the time on thee omni-tool and cursed in Slaneska.
“Thank you Ashley, for your help today. I really appreciate it!”
“No problem Kitty” Ashley said with a glint in her eyes as Erinyes faltered at the name.
“Joker?” The woman nodded
“Who else did he tell?”
“The entire ground crew, and yes, it stuck” She said with a smile at the Vextra growing more and more annoyed
“Tell me, does he need his legs to fly?”
“I don’t believe so”
“Good, because he won’t have them for long” She muttered under her breath causing the woman and the turian to stifle their laughter.
…………………………..
Garrus, Tali, and Erinyes met in her room for the device creation the next day. Tali and Erinyes spent the morning combining the Slanai proprietary and Kajefka code that Erinyes had copied from the proximity beacon to the code Tali had started. The Quarian shooed her away so she could get lost in the code creation.
Erinyes sat near Garrus and helped him form the casing of the device, soldering piece by piece to temporarily hold things together until it could get welded properly later.
“So, this Saren guy sided with a Reaper?” Erinyes said, tired of the silence
“With the geth” Tali added
“And the geth are?”
“AI who are now endangering the entire galaxy since the Quarians let the geth break free. Hope you are contrite about that Tali” Garrus explained not looking up. Tali stopped what she was doing and even hidden by the helmet Erinyes could tell Tali was leveling Garrus with an intense glare
“We lost our homeworld to the geth” She said with a bite to her words
“How?”
“The Quarians built the geth to help us and when they turned on us we fled Rannoch, our homeworld. We have been living in a flotilla for centuries, bodies stuck in suits because living on the flotilla weakened our immune systems-”
“Yes, yes, but if your kind had not built the geth in the first place then you’d still have your homeworld and we wouldn’t be fighting to save the galaxy from them”
“Garrus” Erinyes said in slight shock. He was used to him speaking kindly to her, with the exception of him getting her to believe she was a person. He glanced at her, not seeing why she was shocked. She sighed.
Now she had to figure out how to be a mediator.
Great
“The turians can’t be perfect-” She said and Tali latched on to it in retaliation
“They aren’t, they released the genophage on the Krogan and when they first met the humans they started a war with them by firing first.”
“Why”
“You’re assuming sterilizing the Krogan was a mistake. The humans were trying to activate a mass relay, it was against the laws set for citadel space” Garrus said defensively
“But the humans were new to the citadel space, couldn’t speak your language and you decided to shoot first, Hope you’re contrite about that Garrus” Tali said viciously back.
Well this was backfiring
“And in an effort to end the war your people thought it best to take an asteroid and try to destroy the planet you thought the humans were from” Erinyes went wide-eyed, stunned
Backfiring horribly
This was going to end up as a brawl in her tiny room. Or Tali was going to take out her shotgun and give her wall some new holes
“The Council got involved before we did though” Garrus said, frustration reaching his voice.
How was she suppose do mediate this?
She had to do something.
Ironic that the one with the least amount of social skills was placed in this precarious situation.
She sighed as Garrus scowled at Tali
“And my people took a good portion of people and made them into willing slaves through brainwashing and experimentation for the sole purpose of fighting the Reapers. None of our species is perfect”
The animosity between the two faded little by little.
The silence became suffocating, the tension so tightly wound much like a bowstring pulled back ready to let loose an arrow.
She now had to figure out how to navigate this situation.
Out of one and into another.
Being alone was so much easier.
Lonely, but easy.
She sighed again.
“Tali, I’m sure a lot has changed in the last 150 whatever years, do you have any recommendations for movies”
“Movies? You mean vids?” She asked, Erinyes shrugged
“Sure”
“My friends and I would get together and watch Fight and Flotilla often”
“Flight and Flotilla? What’s it about?”
“It’s a musical” Tali said wistfully.
“It has many excellent songs” Garrus added quietly enough for only her to hear.
She smirked.
Checkmate
If they were forcing her into a mediator role, especially in her room, they would get along, or at least respect each other better.
“Oh?” She smiled devilishly as she tacked another piece of the casing together.
How was she going to play this?
At least this was going onto more into familiar territory.
Manipulation
“What is it about?”
“It-” Erinyes interrupted Tali before she could start.
“Garrus, why don’t you tell me? After all you like their songs” She said sweetly, her grin did not match her words and when he looked at her he was unsure how to respond. Tali looked at Garrus surprised.
“Uh… it… um” Garrus’ mouth went dry. “A turian”
“Bellicus” Tali added
“And a Quarian”
“Shalei”
“They… they fall in love”
“So, it is a romance movie” Erinyes said, her grin hadn’t left her face, she leaned towards him slowly, her eyes going a stormy green. “Tell me Garrus, why do you like this romance movie so much”
“It showcases turians in a positive light in a relationship” He said quietly
“It showcases turian-quarian relationships as a whole in a positive light” Tali added
“Why are turians and quarians not shown in a positive light in media?”
“You can’t see our faces and we live in suits” Tali said “Many species don’t seem to understand the danger we face for doing something more commonplace to other species. Even breathing in the same room can be dangerous and lead to us getting sick. Which is why it is viewed as an incredibly intimate thing done with people we trust” Tali explained and Erinyes nodded, the devilish grin wiped of her face.
She didn’t feel like being manipulating anymore. Not with the seriousness of what was being said.
“Turians have some pretty nasty stereotypes of being violent” Garrus said looking down “Our militant attitude and society doesn’t help either”
“Which comes from your military service” Erinyes added, remembering the past conversation, and he nodded. “Well, I would like to see this movie”
“Vid” Garrus corrected and she rolled her eyes. The ice had been broken between the two and common ground had been found. Erinyes felt a sense of accomplishment from it. “Do you like musicals?”
“I am a Vextra, we can create sound Garrus, of course I like musicals” She said in a sing-song manner and grinned at him “I didn’t watch many on Wejesu, didn’t have the money or the time. But on Earth I did”
“Do you have access to any from when you came from?” He asked
“I have one, it was a series, I only have the first season but it was my favorite” She said with a smile “It’s called Hazbin Hotel.”
“Is it romantic?” Tali asked hopefully
“…In a way…kind of… it is more… violent” She contemplated. “It has a number of great songs” She said with a grin.
“Why don’t we watch a few of the vids before your surgery?” Tali asked
Garrus could feel her excitement coming off the Vextra in waves.
“That would be awesome!” She said excitedly, before trying to calm herself down “I have never watched a movie or episodes with other people before” She admitted much more calmly as she once again focused on the casing. “I think it will be nice”
“We can invite the ground crew” Garrus added, he was smiling seeing her excitement. Erinyes looked up at him at his idea and nodded giving him a grin showing her glee.
Being able to watch her favorite series with people she considered her friends and people she was slowly beginning to trust more and more seemed like a fun way to spend an evening.
Especially the night before such a big event in her life.
………………..
For days the three were holed up in her room making the device. The only time they left the room was to make food, eat, sleep, or for their own general hygiene.
Eventually the casing was completed and Tali and Garrus were making and double checking the code and software. Garrus was calibrating it while Tali was checking the programs she had made within the program to make sure it was running smoothly.
They had her stand and hovered the device at the back of her neck and it beeped.
“I think that might be the best we can do” Tali said and Erinyes could feel her nerves rising
“I hope it’s enough” She said, her voice sounded small and far away.
“You’ll be fine” Garrus said, putting his hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze.
At this point she was so used to the small touches being from Garrus he hadn’t needed to do his calming rumble.
“We will disable it and it will be over soon” Garrus said, rubbing the backs of his talons up and down her bicep.
“It won’t be over” She whispered. He looked at her with a pointed look, not liking where her mind was headed. “This will just make it very difficult for them to find me without touching their tech to me to take a DNA sample” She said with a sigh “More likely they will be monitoring who gets on and off the Normandy and will attempt to find me that way”
“Can they really do that? Like find out who works onboard?” Tali asked wringing her hands together
“I am sure they already have. They probably already had a Slanai Operative hack into the ship, or even the Alliance, for the roster. I wouldn’t be surprised if they hacked into the cameras on the ship” She explained and the two aliens in front of her shuddered.
“How much danger are we in?” Tali asked
“We are going after Saren, who is allied and the puppet for Reapers, that is a much bigger threat than the Vextra. But if you are that worried about it, the Vextra won’t do anything until they figure out exactly who I am” She explained which didn’t help the Quarian calm down in the slightest.
……………………………………………
Erinyes helped Garrus get the port observatory ready for the movie night.
Most of the ground crew were coming, Wrex came because Erinyes had told him how violent it was, Shepard came because Tali had dragged him to when Liara had declined. Ashley said she would go and would bring Kaiden.
Erinyes was explaining Christianity to the aliens so they would understand the premise which made Ashley uncomfortable
“What exactly is this musical about?”
“It is about demons stuck in hell as angels come to exterminate as many as they can once a year. The demon princess, and daughter of Lucifer, is trying to find a way to save the demonic souls for them to go to heaven” She explained, seeing the marine’s face pucker. “You-You’re a Christian, aren’t you?”
“Yes, is that a problem??” The marine said argumentatively
“No, I don’t care what people believe as long as it doesn’t hurt others. Hazbin wasn’t received well when it aired by devout Christians. They saw it mocking their faith. I don’t see it that way. I see it as someone taking the source material, and showing things from a different angle.”
The marine did not look pleased
“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. If you don’t want to stay please don’t feel you need to” She added gently. The marine sighed
“I will give it a shot”
“No hard feelings if you feel the need to leave part way through” She added and the marine gave her a whisper of a smile and sat on the small couch next to Kaiden. Tali sat next to Shepard on one side of the long-curved couch and Garrus sat on the other, his arms splayed on the back of the couch and leg crossed on his knee looking very comfortable. He smiled up at her when she went to sit down, intentionally not leaning back. She had set up her omni-tool on a stool and connected it to her tech. The omni-tool was set to project on the spare sheet Tali found.
Wrex got the lights and leaned on the wall behind the long couch.
……………………………………
Well at least you’re not alone Vaggie said to Charlie
I just hope what I’m trying to do here will work Charlie admitted
It will. I have faith in you Vaggie said as she stood up
Erinyes felt her heart tighten in her chest as she watched with her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands.
She glanced at Garrus slightly before looking around the room.
She wasn’t alone anymore
This scene was one she didn’t think about the last time she watched it. But last time she didn’t have friends. She was lost in her thoughts when Angel Dust’s words brought her out of her reverie
Hey, I have a question. If freaky face over there is so powerful, then why can’t he just make people stay here?
Oh, trust me, Alastor said, as he smiled in a sadistic way. Erinyes squealed
Garrus glanced over and watched as her eyes began to get stormy when she looked over and whispered
“He’s my favorite character”
-I can Alastor finished
Why do you think I’m here? Husk asked behind the bar
“Hey” Garrus said, nudging her “It’s you as a male with wings and fur” He teased, smirking at her scowl. He nudged her again and she shoved him back causing him to chuckle.
What? You don’t love being here with me, Whiskers? Angel Dust asked
Faces turned towards the Vextra in glee at a new nickname
“I swear if anyone tells Joker that nickname suggestion I will use them as a scratching post” Erinyes growled out. The room filled with laughter
“Evermore like a cat” Shepard said laughing before stifling it when she leveled him with a glare.
Charlie began to sing and Erinyes swayed and hummed along, putting her fist to her mouth to keep from singing
……………………………………….
Ashley left when she saw how Adam was represented followed by Kaiden. The Vextra winced and mouthed sorry to the marine and she waved it off.
She hoped she hadn’t fucked that friendship by offending her religion. She leaned backward in a small huff as her thoughts swam. Garrus gave her shoulder a light squeeze.
“She’ll be fine”
“I hope she isn’t offended”
“I don’t think she is”
Charlie starts singing which brought her attention back to the screen and she sang softly under her breath.
The episode ended and Tali and Shepard excused themselves.
“I still have some reports to finish up” Shepard said “Thanks for the interesting vid Whiskers” She picked up a pillow and threw it at his head
“I meant what I said, it’s bad enough being called Kitty, Joker doesn’t need more ammunition” Shepard laughed
“Sure” He didn’t sound convincing
“It was an interesting vid, but not as romantic as I’d like” Tali admitted.
“No worries”
“Don’t stay up too late” She said and Shepard followed the Quarian out
“What about you Wrex, want to watch another episode?”
“Does it get more violent?”
“Yes, eventually”
He made a noncommittal sound in the back of his throat and sat on the small couch and Erinyes leaned back more so her shoulder blades touched Garrus’ arm
………………………………………………….
Vox yells at Valentino and Erinyes couldn’t help hopping excitedly in her seat for the song that was coming up. He poked her side lightly which had her eyes meet his immediately in a confused yet playful glare
“You’re excited”
“My favorite song is coming up”
She grinned and once the song began Erinyes sang softly to not disrupt the other two in the room. Garrus looked at the Vextra lovingly
She looked so happy and he wanted to do everything he could to continue seeing her so carefree like this.
…………………………………….
“This is an interesting vid series Kitty” Wrex said and the woman groaned at the nickname “Wasn’t as violent as I’d like”
“It does get pretty violent with cannibals and killing of angels as they kill demons” she said and Wrex shrugged before walking out.
Garrus and Erinyes took down the sheet and put the port observation lounge back to how it was before the movie night.
“What did you think of Hazbin?”
“I think it is strange and interesting. The songs are catchy. Especially that one you were singing” Garrus purred as they folded the sheet together. “Could you send it to me?” He asked in a purr as he leaned further then he needed to, to whisper the question in her ear causing a shiver to go down her spine
“S-sure” she stammered before getting her omni-tool back on her wrist and sending the song from her tech to the omni-tool to send to the turian.
“Thank you, Whiskers,” Garrus teased and she scowled before punching him the shoulder.
He was hoping the more feral part of her might want to come out to play again.
“Do you even know what whiskers are?” She asked irritated
“Kind of, I’m assuming they are on a cat?” She glared at him. He grinned widely “I’ll take that as a yes”
He was a bit disappointed that him riling her up wasn’t getting the desired effect but thought better off pushing her further. He didn’t want her stressing out the night before surgery after all
“How are you feeling about the surgery? Are you nervous at all?”
“A bit” She admitted quietly.
“Want a hug?” he asked and she nodded before stepping into his embrace. He let the calming sound flow and the sound had the desired effect as it reverberated in her bones and spread outward, relaxing her as she sunk into his embrace, her face sinking into his shoulder. “Everything will be fine tomorrow” He said softly. “I’ll be there every step of the way.”
“Thank you Garrus” She mumbled from his shoulder. He smiled, and when she pulled away she looked him dead in the eye with a serious look on her face “Don’t call me Whiskers again” She said. He nodded and she quickly nuzzled against his neck and side of his face before backing off again. “Thank you” He took her face in his hands gently and touched his crest to her forehead before dropping his hands.
By the time the two emerged from the Port Observatory Lounge Erinyes was completely relaxed. She went to the med bay to get some sleeping pills since she needed to be well rested. With the sleep aid she fell asleep quickly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Erinyes followed Shepard out of the ship with her cloak on and headed onto the Tokyo. The cruiser was considerably larger than the Normandy. Shepard greeted the Captain as Garrus and Chakwas wheeled an “asleep” Kaiden on the gurney after a sharp nod as a greeting. The Captain, Captain Venderburg, led Shepard to an officer’s lounge and once inside clicked on the lock and Shepard motioned for her to disable her tactical cloak.
She gave the Captain a salute and held it until he returned it.
“At ease”
She went to parade rest, hands resting behind her back, trying not to play with her hidden tail as her nerves hit her. If anyone could suspect her of not having human military training it would be a high-ranking officer.
“Sergeant Katz. Nice to finally meet your acquaintance.” He said offering his hand to shake. Erinyes took it earnestly and gave it a few shakes before pulling away and returning to parade rest. “I can’t say I understand the need for all this secrecy that Captain Anderson insisted, but it isn’t my place to ask.” He said. “We need the footage of you getting on the Tokyo for us to postdate and have you led to your room. From there the cameras will “magically” begin working properly and you can head to the operating theater to help with Staff Lieutenant Alenko’s surgery.” She nodded in agreement. “Shall we begin?”
She nodded and he led her to a shuttle area. Once there Shepard connected to her comms.
While Shepard returned to the lounge Erinyes got ready in the shuttle. She got herself harnessed in, ready to imitate the coupling onto the Tokyo. She had one chance to make this convincing.
“Ready?” Shepard asked
“Yes, sir” She responded
“Cameras are on”
She played around on her omni-tool for a bit
“Approaching The SSV Tokyo” The shuttle VI said on the intercom. She looked up and got herself settled in the shuttle, grabbing onto her harness “Coupling in 3, 2, 1” Erinyes made it seem like she lurched a bit as the shuttle “coupled” with the cruiser “Equalizing interior pressure with exterior atmosphere, please stand by” She unbuckled her harness and stood stretching her arms to show she had been sitting a long time “Equalizing complete. Logged Sergeant Katz is onboard SSV Tokyo” Erinyes fixed her dress blues and stood straight, waiting for the doors to open. The doors opened and showed Captain Venderburg waiting
She gave the Captain a salute and held it. Once he returned the salute she stood at attention.
“Sergeant Katz, reporting for duty sir” She said evenly and confidently
“Nice to meet you Sgt. Katz. I am Captain Venderburg. At ease” She went to parade rest immediately. “Let me show you to your quarters while you will stay on the Tokyo.” He motioned for her to walk with him. She grabbed the duffle bag in the shuttle nearby and followed the officer “I hope you will find the lodging comfortable. You came highly recommended by Captain Anderson. It is a pity you won’t be staying onboard for long”
“It is a pity sir. I have heard great things about the Tokyo from Cpt. Anderson” She responded politely
“He did Captain the cruiser well. He commanded great respect over the crew” He explained calmly as they walked together. “Here are your quarters for the short time you onboard. I will let you get settled. Let me know if you have any questions”
“Of course, sir. Thank you, sir,” She gave him another salute and he nodded and let her close the door. She set the duffle down and rolled her shoulders.
“Well done Kitty” Shepard said through her comm “You made that look real. The cameras are down again until Cpt. Venderburg returns to the lounge. Then you can head to the operating theater unencumbered” Shepard said
“Sounds good” She said and sat on the bed waiting patiently.
“You are good to go. I’ll give you directions to the operating theater. Good luck on the surgery” He said, intentionally making it vague so it could be construed that he meant the surgery with Kaiden not her own surgery.
Erinyes followed the instructions to the operating theater and passed a miffed looking doctor on her way.
“Ah, Sgt Katz, right on time” Chakwas said cheerfully and let her inside. Chakwas locked the door and Erinyes dropped the imaging software
Chakwas handed Garrus a set of all-species scrubs and another set to Kaiden who was getting up off the operating table.
“Put these on” Chakwas said to the Vextra handing her a hospital gown and surgical cap.
“Uh… how?” She said softly to thee woman. Garrus looked at her, hearing the words fall from her lips.
“Go over there and wait for me” Chakwas said after regaining her thoughts.
It had never crossed their minds that the Vextra had probably never physically put on clothes before.
Erinyes made her way to a small changing area and waited.
“Do I… Should I be naked?” Erinyes awkwardly asked
“Not fully naked, just the top half.” She said delicately
Erinyes let out a heavy breath and removed her band from her waist. Her workout clothes shimmered away leaving her in a pair of black silk shorts and a top made of one piece of long black silk that curved around her upper body, showcasing her curves and valleys.
Being in her pajamas left her in a very exposed situation. This was the only outfit the Vextra had that did not have leather panels. All of her items, weapons, and outfits were stored in the single band that held her workout outfit. She wrapped the band around her right arm and wrist for safe keeping. Being so exposed, figuratively and literally made the Vextra very uncomfortable.
With a bit of effort Chakwas helped the Vextra out of the long piece of fabric and into the itchy hospital gown. Erinyes did not like the feeling of the scratchy thick cotton material on her bare skin. She put her hair into the surgical cap. She put back on her imaging software, having it be in a medical assistant uniform and left the room. She handed Garrus the silk fabric of her pajama top and he put it in his pocket.
Garrus helped her lay down and made sure she was comfortable with her head in the small opening on the table.
“I have to restrain you, but once the surgery is over I will personally remove them” Garrus whispered to her and she meekly nodded. She felt fear nip at her heels, being even more at the mercy of those in the room.
She knew she was safe.
These people wanted to help her not hurt her, but the part of her mind telling her differently would not let up.
She was worried about her surgery.
She had to remind her that everything was meticulously thought out.
Ardi would make sure that the knife went where it needed to be, even with the imaging software up. Ardi would tell Chakwas how deep to cut and where to cut.
Her nerves still ate at her though. She struggled to keep from shaking
Chakwas took her hand gently “I have an IV with saline and some very heavy pain killers to make sure you are as pain free as possible through this. I’m going to insert the needle now” She felt the bite of the needle hit her skin and soon the fear started fading away and replaced by warmth as her vision swam and became less clear.
The voices around her were muddled and ran together.
She felt pressure at the base of her neck and a warm liquid followed by a scratchy object.
She heard a robotic voice, felt more pressure, and then a loud beep. The pattern repeated itself over and over again. Robotic voice, pressure, beep.
Until finally it was different. Robotic voice, pressure and silence. Robotic voice and silence.
She heard muddled voices above her and then a cold gelatinous glob was put on her spine followed by scratchy fabric.
More voices were around her and some faded.
Were they going away?
She felt coldness on her shoulders and a sharp hot pressure, it was followed buy more cold gelatinous globs and scratchy fabric before her shoulders didn’t feel cold anymore.
She felt like she was swimming in the colors around her before the restraints were taken off
She heard muffled voices but didn’t understand them. She felt a hand on her arm It had three fingers and long nails that were slowly tracing her arm. It felt nice
Even in her mind’s haze she knew it was Garrus
Finally, the words around her started to make more sense but seemed to crash into each other at off times.
“The sur-as-cess. You need to st-ere-ur for the med-to-eave-tem. Please re-and-ee-if-ou-an” The voice she assumed was Chakwas said. Her vision still mixed in colors and her mind so thick she could swim in it.
The hand on her arm remained, still softly making designs on her skin.
Slowly the fog in her mind began to lift and she could start to think clearly.
“Ugh” She said, trying to talk but finding her tongue unresponsive
Lovely
“Are you in pain?” Garrus asked concerned. She tried to move her head but Garrus immediately moved his hands to either side of her head “Don’t move your neck” He admonished her gently
“Nnnn” She tried to answer, but her tongue refused to move the way she needed to
“She might not be able to talk until the medication is out of her system more.” Chakwas explained “Ball up your left fist if you are in pain, your right fist if you are not” She ordered.
Erinyes struggled to remember left and right and slowly balled her right fist.
“Good. Lt. Alenko, help me get her up so we can get the brace on her, grab her by the upper arms please” She said and Garrus kept her head still as Kaiden took her biceps, ignoring the glare and light growl from Garrus as he did so and gently lift her up as Chakwas put the brace on the front of the woman. The three gently had her lay back down and the doctor applied the back portion of the neck brace.
Once secure the doctor let out a little sigh.
“Lt. Alenko, I am going to give you a mild sedative to mimic you still being under anesthesia. Please get on the gurney. Garrus, give her body another 15 minutes to expel the remnants of the medication in her system and get her to the Normandy. I’m sure she already wants that brace off”
Not too soon later she heard doors hissing open and closed
Garrus slowly helped her to a sitting position once she could manage to speak a bit better. He had to support her heavily since she still couldn’t sit by herself.
Once the allotted time had passed Garrus took out the IV and disposed of it and then helped the woman up, he held her close to him, supporting her physically and taking the weight off her feet, and walked slowly.
Crew members stared at the two, not used to a turian onboard and the sight of one helping a human woman even more strange.
The operating theater was not far from where the Normandy was docked and once near the docking bay two familiar faces were waiting.
She gave the best salute she could, her arm could barley make it to her face and it dropped quickly as if weighing twice as much as it should and she was unable to stand straight
“Sgt. Katz, I heard about the incident with Staff Lt. Alenko. I hope you alright” Captain Venderburg said seeing the state of the woman in front of him
“I’m fimm shure” She said, tongue still obstructing her from saying words properly
“She was heavily medicated after the biotic blast. She can’t speak very well yet sir” Garrus answered for her.
“Captain Venderburg, this is Garrus Vakarian” Shepard said with a gesture
“Commander Shepard, this lovely lady is Sgt. Katz. She has been an invaluable part of my team while she has been onboard and I am sad to relieve her of her duties here” Captain Venderburg explained. “I hope you get better soon Sgt. Katz, and a position is always open for you on the Tokyo if you want it” She attempted to salute again but failed and Commander Shepard led her onto the Normandy
“I will give you a proper tour once you are feeling better. I hope you don’t fault Kaiden”
“No Shhure, I domt”
Shepard smiled as they entered the airlock.
“Katz?!” Joker whispered once the VI announced her onboard “You named yourself Katz and didn’t tell me?!” He said offended.
She opened her mouth to retort but Garrus beat her to it
“Joker, she just finished surgery. Give her some time to rest and recuperate before berating her over her name choices” Garrus said softly through his teeth. His tone very serious and ready to rip into him if he didn’t drop it. Joker pouted slightly, crossing his arms in front of him like a spoiled child not getting his way but left it.
“Fine, but she isn’t getting off the hook” He said with a huff and turned his chair forward.
Garrus led her to the stair slowly before realizing it would be far too dangerous to have her try to walk down them and easily picked her up bridal style and walked sideways down the stairs with the agility he was evolved to have. He was in the med bay in four long strides once at thee base of the stairs to see Chakwas waiting somewhat impatiently.
He put her on the bed and the doctor gave a quick scan sighing in relief at the results and Garrus got her up as Chakwas and him took off the brace, the Vextra relaxing more once she no longer felt restrained. Kaiden leaned up against thee wall. He was stuck in the med bay “recuperating from surgery”
“You need to sleep on your stomach” He explained “We don’t have the right bed for that. Would you be comfortable laying on me so your head can be supported the way it needs to be?” He asked
“I domt knaw”
“Can we try”
“-ow?”
“While standing we can hug and then slowly lay down”
“-kay”
He hugged her gently, his arm coiling around her shoulder and supporting the back of her head with a gentle yet steady pressure once his shoulder was tucked under her chin. Chakwas rose the mattress so the head of the bed was no longer flat but risen slightly. He slowly and gently laid them on the bed and he made sure her forehead was against the mattress.
“Is this ok?” He asked softly, the calming sound permeating through her
“Hmm” She mumbled before falling asleep
“Will you be ok Garrus? She will need to stay like that for hours before it is safe for her to lay on her back again. You won’t be able to move”
“I’ll manage” He said, perfectly content as he drifted into a light sleep himself
Chapter 14: Smitten With the Kitten
Summary:
Erinyes is recovering from surgery.
As she is sleeping Garrus enlists Liara and Tali to help Erinyes to figure out her feelings.
Chapter Text
Erinyes groaned after sleeping for hours on top of the turian.
“Welcome to the land of the living” Joker teased, she groaned again attempting to move her head before Garrus hand put more pressure on the back of it to stop her movement.
“Don’t move your head” He admonished gently. “Do you want to sit up?”
“Yes” She groaned, throat feeling dry and scratchy. He sat up and stood before holding both of his hands to the sides of her head and letting her sit with him standing behind her.
She still had the medication in her system and felt very tired.
“Kitty, you didn’t tell me your new name, I’m offended.” Joker said, feigning hurt with a hand to his chest
“Sorry” She said totally missing his joke as she began blinking the sleep out of her eyes. She yawned.
“I thought it was offensive to be called a cat”
“It is” She groaned and Chakwas brought her a cup of water for her to sip on “Which is why is was the perfect name” She took another sip “They wouldn’t expect me to be okay with degrading myself by calling myself Katz. Plus, Monkey-man” Kaiden snorted at the nickname for the helmsman. “It gives you license to call me Kitty” She yawned again, setting the water down and feeling herself falling backwards towards the warmth emanating behind there. Between the feeling of warmth on her back and the sides of her face she felt herself falling asleep. Garrus gently got her to lie down, the okay being given for her to lie on her back before she woke up, and he watched her like a hawk to stop her from moving her head in her sleep. Liara stepped out of her room
“Is she asleep already?” She asked disappointed
“Yeah, she did” Kaiden answered, leaning against the wall.
“The raptor-bug is smitten with the kitten” Joker teased the turian.
"What's a raptor and a kitten?" Liara asked and Kaiden brought up a projection from the extranet.
“Shut up Joker” Garrus said, no venom in his tone
“I think it’s cute that you are” Liara said “Does she feel the same way?”
“I don’t know. I think so. I don’t think she understands her feelings”
“Tali and I can talk to her for you and see”
“Thank you” The turian responded without looking away from the sleeping Vextra
“Garrus and Kitty sitting in a tree-” Joker began to obnoxiously sing
“Enough” Chakwas said “Everyone who doesn’t have to be in here get out”
Liara went back to her room.
Joker stayed, she leveled the man with a glare
“I came here for my medication” He said indignantly and pouted from his seat on the bed
“Which you took an hour ago, leave. She needs to rest”
“She was asleep for hours" Her glare intensified "Yes mom” He said displeased and hobbled out
Garrus sat down on the bed next to the woman and watched her
“Joker is right, you are smitten” Kaiden muttered to himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Days had passed since the surgery and Shepard made a detour to a garden in a planet nearby system and while heading to it dragged Garrus to spar with him despite his protests.
The Commander agreed to let him get the food on the table so Erinyes didn’t have to move her neck so much before he all but dragged the turian away from the back of his cowl. It had greatly amused the Vextra
Erinyes was making lunch when Tali and Liara came up to entertain the woman with the turian busy
“Good afternoon Kitty” Tali said happily. She sighed at the name. It didn’t grate on her nerves anymore but it was still frustrating to be the butt of a joke with the people she considered friends. The one small mercy she had was that no one had told Joker of the new nickname idea of Whiskers.
“Tali, Liara” She greeted as she cut up some vegetables and prepped a marinade for the meat.
“So, Garrus really likes you” Tali said seeing if the Vextra would take the bait as she leaned on the counter
“He does? Why?” Erinyes said confused
The two women stuttered for a moment
“Kitty, Erinyes,” Liara corrected herself “You are gorgeous, why wouldn’t Garrus like you?” The Vextra looked at the asari in confusion and disgust. The asari looked confused herself at the woman’s reaction
“You… don’t want to be considered gorgeous?”
“No, all it does is lead to me being in pain. I would much rather be invisible. I don’t feel comfortable with people viewing me like that” She admitted as she looked down and stopped working on lunch.
Tali and Liara looked at each other
“Do you like Garrus?” Tali asked, leaning forward
“I…. don’t know” She said, looking deeply uncomfortable
“Do you find him attractive?” Liara asked
“Uh… I don’t find anyone attractive” She said wishing she could disappear within herself
“No one?” Tali asked incredulously
“No, I just see people as… people”
She was starting to feel interrogated
“How does Garrus make you feel?” Liara asked softly
“He… makes me feel safe and seen. Like I don’t have to explain myself to him” Her face flushed
“What do you like about him?” Tali asked as she rested her helmeted chin on her hands
“I like that he protects me?”
“Are you asking us or telling us?” Tali teased
“Uh”
“Go on, what else do you like?”
“I like that he… he tries to make me feel better.” Her face flushed more teal as she began wringing her hands together. The words were coming out easier now “That he will do what he needs to, even if it means sacrificing his own comfort, to help me”
“Erinyes, we heard that after you saved Garrus you kind of froze. What happened?” Liara asked
“I used this program that uses sound waves to let me predict what someone will do. I…” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as the images flooded back. Garrus’ plates chipping and cracking the blood spurting the look of horror on Shepard’s face. She shuddered “I saw a… hologram of Garrus dying multiple times as I rushed to get there on time” She gripped the counter. The images kept replaying as if on a loop.
“Keelah. I’m sorry Kitty”
“When you were running to save him what were you thinking? Were you thinking of Garrus?” Liara asked gently
She hoped it would be enough
She had to make it on time.
She couldn’t live without Garrus
She couldn’t live
It wouldn’t be a life she wanted
“I thought about how I… how I couldn’t live without him. How it wouldn’t be a life I wanted” She admitted quietly. She remembered how hopeless she felt as she rushed to him to try and save him
Tali laughed softly causing the Vextra to look up at her with hurt in her eyes
“That means you like him” She said happily.
“I… do?” She asked in light shock “I… don’t know what to do, or how to act-” she said as panic welled within her
“Garrus will go at your speed” Liara said softly “He doesn’t want to hurt you”
“I mean he nearly ripped Alenko’s head off after he was ogling you and made you feel uncomfortable” Tali added “If he is willing to do that he won’t want to make you uncomfortable”
“Oh” Erinyes said, contemplating things
“The two of you should go out on a date!” Liara said
“Yes! We still need watch Fleet and Flotilla!” Tali said joyously “It is really romantic and it’ll get you in the mood to try more with Garrus”
“You two would make a cute couple” Liara added
“So, Fleet and Flotilla tonight?” Tali asked
“… sure”
She felt strong-armed into this situation but at least she wouldn’t be alone watching a romantic movie with the turian. She still felt nervous
“Great” Tali said happily “Like Garrus said earlier, it shows relationships in a positive light so you can get an idea of what it would look like with him” She then muttered under her breath “As if Garrus could compete with Bellicus” Erinyes gulped
She felt a heavy weight on her shoulder from the two women in front of her, they were expecting her to do more than she had ever done with anyone without it being forced upon her. She felt terror build up in her.
She took a deep breath and wanted to change the topic
“Tali, I need to formulate a device to help me make dual-tones for my turian alias, could you help design it with me?”
“Sure, we can start on it tomorrow.” Tali said happily and with that the two turned and chatted ideas about dates.
She felt the two were living vicariously through her and it made her ever more uncomfortable with the situation and she felt the need to run and hide.
She pushed the thoughts aside and kept working on lunch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Erinyes settled into the couch as the vid started. Tali was bouncing up and down in her seat excitedly along with a vaguely amused Liara next to her. She noticed that Shepard was looking at the quarian with an amused smile on his face as well.
Erinyes found the majority of the musical’s plot overplayed but she did enjoy a number of the songs. She found the culture shown on screen more amusing than the plot though. Seeing how different quarian and turian culture was, while their duty to their people were just as strong as each other’s.
She heard Garrus humming along to the songs and she ducked closer to him to ask him a question
“Does this get more violent” He tittered, trying desperately not to laugh as he tried not to distract the others before whispering back once he could open his mouth without a laugh erupting from it
“No”
“Oh” Erinyes was a bit disappointed in that, and her tone reflected it. She was getting bored by the plot and was hoping for a war scene, or at least something violent, would pique her interest. The sappy romantic parts were difficult to watch as she just couldn’t wrap her head around them.
“I think you might like this next part though” He purred through a barely audible whisper and she looked at the screen in hope. She didn’t want to disappoint Garrus or Tali when she couldn’t hide that she wasn’t a big fan of the vid.
Shalei and Bellicus are on a balcony overlooking the view below
“But Shalei, we can never be together. I have my duty and you have your people.” Bellicus says as the two look over the balcony
“Not tonight. Tonight, I’m as free as the dust in the solar wind” Shalei says as the two turn to each other “I want you to see behind this mask. I want you to see who I truly am” She goes to take her helmet off
“I already have” Bellicus purred to the quarian
“She had an infection for three weeks after filming this scene” Tali whispered to Shepard.
She looked up at Garrus who happened to be looking down at her at the same time, the two quickly looked away from each other.
A song began singing but Erinyes was in her thoughts
She had been slowly putting down her own mask and discovering herself while on the Normandy. It was something she never would have done without Garrus’ consistent stubborn process of getting her to realize she was a person.
She was still in her thoughts when the movie ended
Tali bounded over dragging Liara, Shepard looking over, trying not to be oblivious at watching the quarian. Garrus walked over to him to engage in conversation to give the three some privacy.
“What did you think?”
“I liked the songs…” She said honestly. Tali sighed
“That’s it?” Tali sounded disappointed. Erinyes just blinked at her
“I enjoyed learning about turian and quarian cultures. I found that interesting” She added. Tali sighed
“And the romantic parts?” Liara asked
“I didn’t understand them” Erinyes deadpanned causing the two to stutter and flounder with their words.
“Hopeless” Tali muttered before bidding her goodnight
“What was that about?” Garrus asked quietly as people left the room
“Tali, I think wanted to awaken my romantic side” Erinyes said with an eyeroll “She, I hope, has decided that it is hopeless and will let it be” She sighed “She won’t will she?”
“Probably not” Garrus hummed. Erinyes made a series of guttural sounds from her throat in a variety of octaves to showcase her annoyance with the situation “What did you think of the vid though?”
“I agree with you; the songs are catchy”
“Just not violent enough for you”
“Exactly”
“Well if you want violent we could watch a bit more Hazbin Hotel” She jumped in front of him suddenly in excitement
“You want to?” Garrus laughed at her antics and nodded and she happily bounded over to set up her omni tool. Garrus sat down and spread out comfortably
He wanted to ask her what her thoughts on the balcony scene were, but didn’t want to dim her excitement. Getting to see her like this all by himself was a treat and he decided to ask her about it later.
………………………………
“Everyone is being too nice. Obviously, it must be a lie. I can sense that they are planning to kill me, but when? How? I must be prepared” Sir Pentious says to Charlie
…………………….
“… No one is trying to kill you. People are being nice because they want you to feel welcome” Vaggie tells Sir Pentious who looks unconvinced.
“Hmm, I have my doubts”
“Well, it’s true. You just have to trust us” Vaggie retorts
“But I don’t”
“I don’t miss the days when you thought that way” Garrus muttered to her and Erinyes chuckled
“Me either” Erinyes agreed “But to be fair Wrex was trying to kill me”
“You swung at his head with a pipe”
“I thought he was trying to kill me, and I still don’t regret it. Those instincts kept me alive for a very long time. Besides I had never been more scared from an alien before” she defended herself
“Really?” Garrus said clearly not believing her
“Have you ever heard a Krogan speak without a translator?” Erinyes asked and Garrus shook his head “My advice, don’t. I have faced death multiple times but I had never been terrified to that level before just from mere words” She shivered remembering the memory
…………………………….
Erinyes began humming to the song trying not to sing to it too loudly. When it finished Garrus nudged her.
“Erinyes” Garrus purred, she looked up at him “You can sing, you have a pretty voice from what I have heard and I want you to enjoy yourself”
She tilted her head at him.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to distract from the series-”
“What distracts me is you trying not to sing” He teased with a gentle nudge causing her to grin
“Ok”
……………………………………
The group is on top of a rooftop and a battlefield blazed in the background, with explosions, gunfire and screaming.
“This is how you learned to trust people?!!” Charlie yelled over the battlefield sounds below at Vaggie
“That’s how I did” He purred
“Me too” Erinyes said “Well… kind of” She added Garrus chuckled
Vaggie takes the role of a drill sergeant pacing back and forth in front of the group
“There is nothing stronger than the trust between comrades in arms. Buckle up, buttercups, because today you boys become men” Vaggie says like a drill sergeant as an explosion’s shockwaves causes her hair to sway as she smiles.
“I can’t agree with that more” Garrus agreed
Erinyes laughed as she threw Sir Pentious into the battlefield below. Garrus looked down at the happy Vextra with her tail flopping from side to side as she leaned forward with a huge grin on her face
He couldn’t deny the more he watched the series with her the more he was learning about her. How she viewed the world. It clicked earlier when she didn’t have the reaction he was hoping for in Fleet and Flotilla until she asked if there was more violence.
Now she was completely consumed in the series. The violence in it added to her satisfaction in what was happening meaning her life before Earth must have been more violent than he was originally thinking. He knew about training and the experimentation but he now thought it was probably worse.
And as he began to understand that seeing how romantic Fleet and Flotilla was without the violence probably made little to no sense to her. There was not much physical pain in the vid but a lot of emotions, which he knew she didn’t understand much about when it came to dealing with them. He was curious, but also didn’t want to know how emotionally starved she was on Wejesu. He watched as her tail stopped moving and started paying attention again to the vid.
“You didn’t fail me. Vaggie, you’re not-you’re not-” Charlie stuttered
“If I can’t help you, what’s the point of me?” Vaggie asked. Charlie gasped
“Vaggie, don’t say that! You do so much. It’s-”
“I’m sorry. I’d… I’d like to be alone for a minute”
Erinyes felt her heart tighten in her chest
Why was she feeling this way?
If I can’t help you, what’s the point of me?
Why did those words have so much weight to them? So much more than the last time she watched this?
Garrus
She wanted to help Garrus, yes, but if she couldn’t… would she feel the same way as Vaggie did?
The next song started as her thoughts kept going around and around in her mind
“I don’t know what we might face. But I know I can’t replace you. So I’ll do everything to save you
And I will try to make your dreams come true
Whatever we go through, I know
I’ll be your keeper
I’ll be your armor
Whatever it takes
I’ll make the mistakes
I’ll make the mistakes
Whatever it takes” Carmilla and Vaggie sang
Erinyes contemplated the lyrics.
She could see herself agreeing. She could make the mistakes and do whatever it would take to keep Garrus safe. To keep him alive
Her mind reeled
When had he become so important to her that she would do whatever it took to keep him safe and alive?
She had rushed to save him with reckless abandon on the asteroid. He was already important to her then.
These thoughts confused her
She had never thought them before about anyone else.
She had a duty as an Operative to die for the Slanai family if it came to it and to fight the Reapers to her own end if she lived to see the day.
But duty and a willingness to die was different.
“Another episode?” Garrus asked her shaking her out of her thoughts as she realized she was staring at a blank screen.
“Sure. Um, the next episode has a lot of scenes I’m not comfortable watching do you mind if we skip… them”
“Whatever makes you comfortable” Garrus said and she gave him a small smile and started the next episode
She skipped the first scene entirely.
“Kitten’s got claws” Angel Dust says to Husk
Erinyes groaned as Garrus chuckled
“I need to remember that one for later” He teased and she looked back at him and glared
…………………..
Erinyes skipped another scene and a song not too long later
The scene at a bar caused her to stiffen and she tried to control her breathing, she found herself leaning back into the couch and leaning in to Garrus slightly knowing what was coming up. She already felt emotionally raw, but she knew, whether or not she wanted to verbalize it, that Garrus would help her, he always had.
“You think I ask for it? I don’t ask for any of this shit! I didn’t ask to be this way. I didn’t ask for Charlie to save me. I didn’t ask for you to save me. I can handle myself” Angel Dust whined to Husk.
Angel Dust was her least favorite character mainly because his blatant sexualization of everything made her uncomfortable, but his thoughts on Val she understood more than she wanted to.
She felt tears forming in her eyes and she could feel herself shaking as Garrus dropped his arm from the back of the couch and wrapped it around her
And this…” Angel Dust gestured to the red-light district “This is my escape. Where I can forget it all! How much I hate… everything. A place where I can get high, and not have to think about how much it hurts. And maybe… If I can ruin myself enough in the process… if I end up broken, I won’t be his favorite toy anymore”
Erinyes sobbed and Garrus pulled her closer to him
“…and maybe he’ll let me go”
“I won’t let that happen to you again” Garrus whispered “I will rip out every person’s throat who tries” He growled as she put her face into his carapace as she let her tears fall.
“So things look bad, and your back's against the wall. Your whole existence seems fuckin’ hopeless. You’re feelin’ filthy as a dive bar bathroom stall.
Can’t face the world sober and dopeless.
You’ve lost your way, you think your life is wrecked.
Well let me just say you’re correct” Husk sang
“Wait” Angel Dust said
“What?” Garrus and Angel Dust said together causing the Vextra to smile and laugh softly
She couldn’t imagine living without Garrus anymore
Those thoughts terrified her
Where had they come from?
Where would they lead?
Did she really want something more?
She didn’t want to be hurt and she didn’t want Garrus to hurt her.
The thought of being… intimate… with him caused her blood to feel like ice and was more terrifying than Wrex speaking without a translator.
If it... ever… got to that would she want that?
She couldn’t imagine herself enjoying it
Why was she thinking these things now?
“You’re a loser baby
A loser and just maybe if we
Eat shit together, things will end up differently!
It’s time to lose your self-loathin’
Excuse yourself let hope in, baby
Play your card, be who you are
A loser, just like-” Husk and Angel Dust sang until interrupted as the bar’s doors open and they begin to get shot at
“Are you okay?” Garrus asked as he gently rubbed her back with his claws, she nodded into his carapace. She found the feeling of the plates under her head to be strangely nice and the feeling of his talons softly rubbing against her back to be wonderfully relaxing and calming.
“Thank you for being here with me” She mumbled, refusing to lift her head
“Of course,” he responded
“That episode is rough”
“I can understand why” Garrus said softly. “When you can, I would like that song”
“Why?” Erinyes said, lifting her head slightly to look up at him
“Um… uh…”
“Do you feel like a loser too?” She asked half-teasingly as she rested her chin on his carapace and continued looking up at him. He looked away from her. She dropped her smile.
She had messed up
“My father… we don’t…. we’ve never… seen things the same way” He began, she stayed silent and listened “He was this great C-Sec Detective and when I left the military he wanted me to follow after his footsteps. But I wanted something different. I wanted to be a Spectre”
“You wanted to be Spectre Kyrik?” She asked incredulously, he guffawed and looked down at her big green eyes
“No, I wanted to dispense justice and make a difference. My father disagreed. He dislikes the Spectres”
“Why?”
“They hold a lot of power with very little to no oversight. My father feels they have too much power, that they act above the law” She hummed “He was furious when I was accepted to Spectre training program, I was on my way to it when my mother…” His voice faltered and she got up more and put her hand on his shoulder, her face showing the worry of bad news on it. “She… got into a car accident and I missed my opportunity” He sighed at the memory. “My mom gave me this as a present” He gestured at his visor “…and my father forced me into C-Sec” He sighed
“Was C-Sec really that bad?” She asked leaning into his carapace again, he pulled her against him
“People expected me to be a mini version of my father instead of an entirely different person.” He sighed in frustration “I was often overlooked, rarely got complimented on my work, and I was refused promotions because I couldn’t do things the same way my father did. My father was worse, if he wasn’t disappointed in everything I did he outright ignored me. It seemed like nothing I did was good enough for him.” He sighed again
“That’s terrible Garrus” She murmured as she rubbed her head against his carapace.
She realized she was doing Vextra comforting acts she saw mothers doing to children.
Garrus may not see what she was trying to do though
How did turians get comforted?
She thought about what he would do when she needed comforting. He already was holding her close to him.
Then it came to her.
She pushed off his carapace gently causing the turian to stop enveloping her into an embrace, and got up more so they were looking eye-to-eye. He was looking at her curiously with a bit of hurt
Was he hurt because she had pulled away?
She leaned her forehead onto his crest and felt him exhale in relief and pull her body towards him again.
“Thank you” He said barely above a whisper in emotionally charged gratitude and she purred in response.
Chapter 15: Stirring the Pot
Summary:
Trouble occurs between Garrus and Nihlus.
Erinyes gets her Turian dossier and creates her Turian image for her software.
Nihlus decides to stir the pot and create drama and stress to test Erinyes.
Chapter Text
Erinyes woke up in her bed early the next day, she realized she had gotten the Turian dossier while she was sleeping and headed out the door. Heading down the hallway to the mess hall she found Garrus coming her way. He stopped in surprise. She rarely got out of bed before him
“Morning fellow loser” She teased. He smiled
“Good morning yourself. We have a problem we need to discuss”
“Great” She grumbled.
One step forward. Two steps back
She was wondering when the other shoe was going to drop and readied herself for the bad news
“We are about 5 days from the Citadel so we can restock food. Somehow, we have made the food last the last 3 weeks but if all 4 of us continue eating we will have enough food for today and today only."
She frowned.
“I already contacted Spectre Kryik and Tali and told them we won’t be having food today.”
“But…” He held a hand to stop her
“I bought the food for you. It is my decision what happens to it. You would probably starve instead of eating rations.” She shrugged, he wasn’t wrong “If you eat small meals, maybe skip a meal, you can make the food last us until we get to the Citadel”
“They won’t be happy about this. Especially the Spectre”
“I don’t care” He emphasized with a nonchalant tone and a shrug
And he didn’t
What he did care about was that she was eating.
She was his priority in this situation.
She was the one who really cared what she ate.
The others could eat rations. He could honestly not care less.
He walked with her to the mess and she looked at the severely diminished food stores they had. She grimaced. This was worse than she thought.
She grabbed a tiny amount of food, about half of what she would normally eat, and set to making herself breakfast.
As she went through the motions of making breakfast she did some quick math, if she skipped lunch and ate a meal this size the food would last. She wouldn’t suffer any issues either with her health, even if she would be eating a lot of grains. The fresh vegetables were eaten early to avoid spoilage. It wasn’t ideal but it was a short amount of time.
Breakfast made, she took a small plate and put a third of what she made on it and gave it Garrus.
He looked at her clearly not pleased.
“I’m not going to eat this in front of you while you eat that.” She gestured to the ration in his hands with a look of utter disgust on her face “That would be cruel”
He sighed, took the fork she got out for him and took most of what was on the plate off and back onto her plate save for a tiny bite of each item. She scrunched her nose at the gesture
“Knowing how stubborn you are I will compromise. A bite, a singular bite.” He appealed and ate it, groaning afterwards “Next time I need to eat it after the ration. It will be harder to eat it now”
Her ears drooped and she looked down
“Sorry” She apologized quietly and sheepishly. Garrus didn’t have a chance to respond.
She heard a growl from hallway opposite to the hallway that led to her room which had both Garrus and Erinyes stand up.
Garrus instinctively got in front of Erinyes as Spectre Kryik rounded the corner. His fringe was up and splayed out, similar to a peacock or a turkey, and he had his teeth bared and mandibles wide and snarled at Garrus. His subharmonics were buzzing dangerously
Garrus mirrored the Spectre as Erinyes looked on wide-eyed and not knowing if she should be scared or not.
“Rations for 5 days?” Nihlus snapped his dual tones seemed more pronounced and flared and sounded much more dangerous. He gave a low growl. He looked ready to pounce on and attack Garrus. The vibrations in the air caused the Vextra to feel unease and she felt a bit of terror run through her.
“I bought the food. I decide what happens to it” Garrus affirmed with a snarl, clenching and releasing his talons.
Erinyes realized that she needed to stop this from escalating.
She quietly sidestepped away from Garrus, who noticed out of his peripherals, but didn’t turn his head from the Spectre. She continued to do so until she was about a third of the way between the two Turians
“What can I do to alleviate the situation?” Erinyes asked and the Spectre’s gaze instantly was on hers before looking startled and tried to calm himself down. His fringe slowly came back together and fell behind his head.
“I want a private feast for a week” He ordered with a bite in his voice. Garrus growled in a warning at his tone. He was still in the aggressive stance, fringe splayed out.
She scoffed at the order
“A feast for everyone for a meal” She countered with her arms crossed in front of her
“A week” He rejoined, his dual-tones returning more to normal and his more arrogant stance coming out again. Garrus seemed to relax more now that he knew Erinyes wasn’t in as much immediate danger
“A day” She concluded
“Fine” He conceded and sighed “I didn’t think you were here yet. I apologize,” He added. He took a deep breath to finish getting his body to relax. “Did you get a chance to look at the dossier yet”
“Not yet, I got it when I was already sleeping”
“Please read it as soon as possible. I need you to memorize it quickly.”
He looked between Garrus and Erinyes and back again and smirked
“Later today can you stop by my quarters?” He inquired as he glared at Garrus “Alone” Garrus glared at the Spectre and growled low.
Erinyes rolled her eyes.
Why did she always find herself in these mediator roles?
“Sure” She replied and Garrus stopped growling to look at her like she sprouted another head. The Spectre looked smug and pleased with himself.
“Thank you, Kitty,” He responded before turning away and angrily grabbing a ration and heading back to his room
“You weren’t supposed to see that display” Garrus lamented remorsefully, purposely looking away from her.
He was brought back to the day after her nightmare when she was scared to look at him.
He didn’t want a repeat of that
“Why not?” She asked
“It’s why we have the bad stereotypes of being so violent. We are trained in the military, and when we are young, to only to do so when we know we are the only Turians there. We don’t want people to be scared of us more than they tend to be, or look down on us for being uncivilized.” He admitted
“I won’t lie. At first it was scary. It looked like you had gone feral.”
He looked at her slowly, expecting her to look away. She didn’t look away and kept her gaze on his.
“Are you scared now?”
“No”
“Why not?” He took a tentative step towards her, she did not flinch nor step away
“I… I need to provide context. When I was told of my mission to come to earth it was a punishment.” She admitted “Vextra thought Operatives going feral was a myth. I… proved that wrong, as you know. The theory is that Operatives that go feral had something go wrong with the procedure and they lost some of the Vextra’s higher intelligence” She fumed and he looked at her conflicted by her words. He was well aware of her feral side. He had discovered early on that when her eyes went to that stormy green or grey color her feral side was out “What I didn’t tell you was how it was discovered” She looked away.
Garrus thought she was doing so perhaps out of shame?
“I… Because of things I do not want to talk about, I snapped. Things got to be too… much with my… with him, and I went feral for the first time. I had no control over myself. I clawed at his face in retaliation.” She sighed and looked at him “Consequences of Operatives hurting a “true Vextra”” She rasped the words with disdain “… are death. But I was the first to show Operatives could go feral. It was clear I was not in control when I attacked. It took four men to get me off and to stay away from and stop trying to further maim him. I was locked away for days as the family decided what to do with me. It was an embarrassment. I was one of the highest-level Operatives the Slanai family had. If I had been in control I would not have attacked him. To make matters worse… well I don’t want to talk about that. The family couldn’t keep me on Wejesu, I was too much of a risk. So, I was trained for a bogus, unneeded solo mission. Usually when a Slanai Operative went off world, they would be solo but would have another family’s Operatives as back-up in some sort of space fairing craft. I was left on Earth alone. They made it clear that even if I wasn’t in control I would not be given another chance. I spent 13-hour days training to act like a human for 3 years before my mission on Earth began.” She looked at him hard in the eye, all seriousness “They were waiting for me to fuck up so they could kill me Garrus” She sighed and looked away “I wasn’t allowed to defrag, they were waiting for the ticking time bomb to go off, either on Wejesu or on Earth, so they had the excuse to kill me.”
“How did you… control it?”
“It took me awhile. Eventually I decided to accept it, let it guide me in certain situations rather than fight it and after practicing I figured out how to shift from feral nature to not. But that is why I wasn’t scared of your… display. You were in complete control, you weren’t like I was when I went feral for the first time.”
He sighed in relief, looked at her food and took it and heated it up and handed it back to her before attempting to eat his nutrient paste. He grimaced and she looked sympathetic before grabbing it quickly from him when he began eating the nutrient bar. She gave the paste a sniff before gagging and forced herself to lick it. He looked at her like she had gone insane.
“I’m sorry, I can’t think of a way to make that taste better”
He guffawed and patted her hand gently
“I appreciate you trying to” He smiled at her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tali, Garrus and Erinyes were once again in her room and building another device. Unlike last time Tali refused to let her help with the coding and insisted on her focusing on memorizing her dossier. Half her bed was littered with pieces of scrap metal and Garrus was bending and hammering the pieces to form something that wouldn’t feel uncomfortable around her neck.
He also refused to let her help.
The dossier was long, and to help her Garrus put it on a data pad.
Garrus was sitting on the middle of the bed parallel to the wall and perpendicular to the bed and Erinyes sat next to him.
She still wasn’t used to using the omni-tool and felt her tech was superior, but she had to remind herself repeatedly, she only felt that way because it was literally a part of her and what she was used to.
The dossier was 3 times longer than the human one. Mainly because it would be her primary alias, and also because it had a lot of background information on Turian culture, the planet and the outpost she would be from, as well as the culture there and how it was different from the culture on Palaven.
She was getting more and more irritated by the dossier. Spectre Kryik did put it in English for her but there were words she had never come across in English and without the Vextranet she had no way to translate them into Kajefka. She also found it frustrating because it was organized in a very strange way and she was not aware of how frustrated she was until Garrus spoke up
“Erinyes”
“Hmm?” She answered looking up
“You have been growling at the dossier for awhile now and in the past few minutes you have getting louder and louder. Take a break from it”
She looked away as her face flushed from embarrassment.
“I wasn’t aware, sorry” She said apologetically and switched to creating code for the Turian image for her software. She used both hands to write in the code in Slaneska quickly and the image above her tech was slowly showing a more Turian form. “Garrus”
“Yes?”
She took a breath.
She could do this
She wasn’t on Wejesu, he wouldn’t ridicule her or make her pay for asking
There were no strings attached.
She knew all of this.
Why was she still so nervous?
He watched her fidget and war with her thoughts and finally looked at him
“I need help”
He wanted to laugh
All of that mental anguish to ask for help
He managed to bite it back
He did wonder why she found it so difficult to ask.
He added that to the list of things to ask later.
“Of course, what do you need help with?” He asked with a smile
“I need to formulate an image for my Turian alias. I am at a loss at what is considered attractive in Turian society. My aim for my images is always to fade into the background by looking decent but not memorable.”
“I can help with that” He stated grinning and pulling up the extranet. She sat closer to him as he pulled up Turian women and what they looked like. “What outpost is Tisis from?” He asked
She scrolled through the pages of information before finding it
“Ottia Outpost”
“Hmm, I don’t know much about that outpost” She let out a soft laugh
“I think that’s the point Garrus.” She teased with a smile on her face, he softly laughed
“True enough.” He pulled up examples of what Turians looked like on Ottia Outpost
“It is part of Solregit if that helps.”
“Solregit?” He grimaced “Well, it makes sense why Tisis would be there then. It would be very easy to slip through the cracks there. There are a lot of unregistered citizens and many don’t do mandatory training”
“Do Turians look differently on different outposts?” Erinyes queried curiously
“Yes, especially at smaller outposts. After a few generations specific plate colorings and hide colorings become common” He explained and Erinyes nodded in understanding with a look amazement
“On Wejesu each family has different colorings with their hide, hair, and eye color. Interbreeding can change the hide but those that mate outside the family don’t usually hold positions with wide responsibility” She divulged
“That’s interesting” He said fascinated. She grinned “So the Slanai family is green and grey?”
“Those without the procedure are emerald or a deep amethyst purple. Either in hair, hide or eye color”
“But you are paler than that” Tali added now curious.
“The procedure messes up the melanin production so we are fairer than Vextra without the procedure”
Tali let out a surprised oh and went back to coding the device.
Garrus swiped through the different Turian colorings letting out a hum of disapproval in his subharmonics. The ones he was swiping past were a sand color hide and a greige coloring in the plates. Finally, he found one he liked
“This one” He opined pointing at it. It had a deep blue-grey hide and a lighter colored plate coloring. She dutifully scanned it from Garrus’ omni-tool and then asked her next question
“Why do Turian women have different pupils then Turian men?”
“Ancient Turians would hunt at different times of the day, men in the day and women at dusk and dawn” He discribed “That’s the running theory at least”
“That is fascinating. Are green eyes common with Turians?” She asked and Garrus shook his head. She looked disappointed
“Why?”
“I like to keep my eye color with my image aliases. I thought with Spectre Kryik’s eye color being similar it would be okay, but if it isn’t common-”
“Please do so. It isn’t common but it isn’t so rare that it would cause people to stare” She smiled
“Thank you Garrus” she beamed happily and went back to adding more code and instructions to her imaging software.
Once she was satisfied with the basic Turian image shown above her tech she went to add the facial markings. She sighed because she knew this was going to be a bit more difficult to add without a simple scan.
The shape of the facial marking was similar to an anchor. The uppermost tip came to a point in the middle of the crest and swung outwards onto the eyebrow plate in a single long strip that ended in a point. The marking followed down her nose plates and swung outward below the eyes at a more pronounced point and formed a wide v ending midway on the upper lip plates. Another swipe, not connect to the others ran in the middle of the long mandibles that female Turians had, starting wider near the lips and growing thinner ear the tip of the mandibles.
With the shape of the facial markings in the software she added the color that Spectre Kryik chose, a deep wine red.
With it finished she applied it to herself and stood in the basic civilian clothes she had scanned originally when Garrus showed her the plate coloring he liked.
“What do you think?” She asked the two as she spun with her arms out
“It looks good” Tali started, “It’s weird hearing a Turian speak without dual tones.” She added and Erinyes shrugged.
She looked at Garrus for his reaction and he looked her over critically.
“Do I look too memorable?”
“I don’t think so” Tali answered. She looked at Garrus
“I may not be the right person to answer that” He mumbled quietly.
Garrus really likes you
Tali’s words echoed in her head, and she felt herself blush and was thankful that the plates didn’t have blood flow in them so her blush didn’t show
She removed the alias and took the dossier in her hands and sighed as she remained standing
“I need to go see the Spectre”
“I’m coming with you” Garrus insisted as he set aside the piece he had been delicately creating to the side in an effort to get up
“He said he wanted to speak to me alone Garrus” He growled at her response, his subharmonics buzzing his displeasure. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to hurt me”
He sneered standing up in the process.
“I still would prefer to come with you”
She looked at the time, it was lunch time and the mess hall would be filled with the support staff
“Sgt. Katz and you don’t know each other well enough to have you escort me to the Spectre’s room” She retaliated “Besides, I can handle myself” She gave him a pointed look and he grumbled but sat down. She gave him a small smile “I will be back as soon as possible”
“Fine”
She brought up Sgt. Katz’s image and left the room
“You are awfully territorial of her” Tali commented. He grumbled in response. She glared at him through the helmet even though he couldn’t see her do so “Why is that Garrus?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about” He said refusing to look at her and playing dumb
“You know exactly what I’m talking about” She countered. He scoffed
“I’m not talking about this with you”
Tali sighed but dropped it
…………………………………………………
Sgt. Katz maneuvered her way past the support staff and smiled at the ones she made eye contact
“Hey Kitty, have you had lunch yet?” Commander Shepard asked next to Liara
“Yes, I had mine in my room earlier. Spectre Kryik sent me a message about something needing a repair in his room”
“Ah, don’t let me stop you then” He replied with a wink. She grinned in response as she continued to the Spectre’s room. She pushed the button on the interface to ask to be let in and waited.
Nihlus opened the door, looked at her and then looked past her
“Sgt. Katz, thank you for coming so quickly.” He remarked coolly “Your Turian shadow didn’t follow you here?”
“What Turian shadow?” She deflected as he stepped aside and gestured for her to come in. She stepped inside and looked around.
The room was twice the size of hers. He had a larger desk on one side of the room with a chair on either side. He also had a long, oval shaped bed that looked incredibly comfortable and long and wide enough for her to stretch out and not touch the edges of the bed.
She found herself incredibly jealous at that. The room was more cluttered than hers. It looked like someone lived in it. There were knickknacks on the desk and clothes thrown in a corner. He gestured for her sit down as the lock on the door turned orange so they wouldn’t be disturbed. She dropped her imaging software and sat down on the chair.
He sat down and let his elbows sit on the desk, his radial spurs hanging off the desk as he folded his hands and stared at her.
“How is the dossier memorization coming?”
“It’s slow. It is organized in a strange way and some of the language I can’t translate into my native tongue. I took a break and finished the basic image for the Turian alias with Garrus’ help. I still need to add the minute changes to stance, and facial movements when talking and with different emotions” She explained
“The dossier is organized strangely?” He asked tilting his head curiously “How so?”
“Standard Operative Dossier Layouts, or SODLs, are organized by topic after with a list of specific important information in chronological order made with bullet points. It is followed by things organized like Skill: A, B, C, D. Weapons of Choice: E, F, G, H. Things of note: I, J, K, L ect.” She said and the Spectre blinked at her in surprise
“That is interesting” He purred
The purring reminded her of something.
“Can I ask something?”
“Sure” He answered with a shrug
“Garrus makes this… calming rumble sort of sound with his subharmonics. I wanted to see if I got the same reaction with you as I did with him” She explained and he gave her a sly grin
He could use this as a way to get under C-Sec’s hide.
Erinyes looked at his grin as he put one of his hands on the desk in front of her for her to touch and let his calming sound out. She no longer thought it would be a good idea to do so. But she wanted to see what the results would be from this little experiment.
She took a breath and touched his hand. The sound entered her and reverberated through her bones like Garrus’. However, it felt different. Rather than the feeling of a soft blanket wrapping around her, the Spectre’s sound felt like ants were crawling in her body and coming out of her bones. She let go of his hand quickly and shook the sound off her and did a whole-body shiver.
Nihlus frowned.
Looked like that plan was out the window.
He still had his original plan.
As a Spectre Nihlus had gotten very good at determining people’s flaws and weaknesses alongside their strengths. Erinyes was a force to be reckon with on the battlefield. She flowed like water or air when she moved while fighting hand-to-hand. It was like a beautiful dance rather than fighting moves. A dance that ended in death. Her movements with a knife or her claws were quick and calculated. He had only seen her fight on the asteroid and when she sparred with C-Sec. Other than her lack of knowledge on alien biology and how to fight them, the only weakness he saw with her fighting is how she was not the most experienced with fighting in a team. That was something with practice could be fixed.
Her largest weakness had nothing to do with her fighting style but instead herself as a whole. From what he had seen so far, she was still dealing with maneuvering and understanding her emotions. With what had been happening to her, with discovering what she had been taught was a lie, her fighting against her own and then discovering the Reapers are here, she had been through a lot. He was concerned about her emotions while on the battlefield. He wanted to see how much of a handle she had on them. How disastrous they could be for the team and the mission.
“How much do you know about Turian culture?”
“Not much” She admitted. She had yet to get to the end of the dossier with that information. He smirked
Good. He wanted to see her reaction to this information himself
“Do you know anything about soul-bonds?”
“Soul-bonds? Are they the Turian version of human soulmates?” She asked, with a tilt to her head
“Possibly” He answered. He was not aware of human soulmates. He would need to look into that later. “Turian soul-bonds are the strongest bond a Turian can have with another person.” He explained. Erinyes felt herself focus on the Spectre with rapt attention “We believe the Spirits destine the two souls to be with each other and guide them to one another. The soul-bonded Turian will not be able to look at anyone as attractive once they find their soul-bond. Their priorities shift so that they can protect and make their soul-bonded partner happy” He stated
Erinyes was confused. Why was the Spectre explaining this to her?
“If the soul-bonded partner dies the Turian acts out one of two ways. They either kill themselves because they see life as pointless, or they will fight aggressively with everyone.”
“Fight?” She asked, making sure she understood.
He smirked. She was not aware he was cornering her with this information.
“Do you know how Turians manage their stress?” He asked, she shook her head no “One way is by sparring. The best way, however, is sex” She paled. “If a Turian’s soul-bond dies the thought of having sex with anyone else repulses them. Meaning the only route they have to relieve their stress is to. Unfortunately, this tends to lead to these Turians going to jail or more likely than not being killed in altercations.”
She blinked at him wide-eyed. That sounded horrifying.
She wondered if Quexca bonds were similar.
She was lost in her thoughts to the point she didn’t see the mischievous grin spread on the Turian’s face
“I say this because I believe you are Vakarian’s soul-bond”
She looked at him in horror
She felt like the floor had given way
“Wha-What?”
“It explains his behavior almost completely. Since you woke up he has been your shadow, after discovering your abuse he won’t let anyone touch you. He has threatened anyone who looks your way or shows interest in you. This morning he got in front of you to protect you and kept his eyes on your location. The only thing that I find different is he is overly territorial of you, more than a Turian with a soul-bond would be”
She sat there stunned at his words as she took in the information
“When a Turian has a soul-bond who is not a Turian it often ends disastrously. If both are Turian they have soul-bonds to each other. That obviously isn’t the case with other species. If their soul-bond rejects them then they act the same way as a Turian whose soul-bond dies.” He looked at her pointedly “I don’t much care for C-Sec but no Turian should have their soul-bond reject them.”
She gulped and stared like a prey animal caught in a trap with a predator.
“Do Vextra have something similar to a soul-bond?”
“We… Some… some believe that ancient Vextra had what we call Quexca bonds. But those that believe we had it believe we evolved out of them in favor of higher intelligence, that it was tied to our feral nature” She explained, she felt cornered.
“You can go feral” He threw at her, resting his chin on his folded hands, his leaf green eyes staring at her green eyes ordering her silently to continue
“I… I can”
“What are Quexca bonds like?” He inquired his tone demanding the answer. She fidgeted with her hands as her nerves flowed through her. The Spectre noticed and filed the information away.
When did this become an interrogation?
She felt like she was on trial
“Um… They can feel when their mate is in danger, and can figure out where they are to go help them. They know when their mate has heightened emotions as well” She refused to tell him the information about sex. That was the last topic she wanted to discuss with… well everyone. “But I don’t know if ancient Quexca-bonds would work the same with someone who had the procedure”
“Why?”
“Because it’s believed that an Operative goes feral because the procedure damages the higher intelligence Vextra have”
“Can you have a Quexca bond?”
“I… I don’t… I don’t know” she stuttered over her words as her mind reeled
“I hope you can.” He snarked as he stared at her with the utmost seriousness that matched his tone “For C-Sec’s sake” He maintained before leaning back
He was impressed, she had handled her emotions well even with everything she had been dealing with the last three weeks. Even with something as serious as this that affected her personally. He still thought she needed to do something to have a better handle on her emotions, but from what he saw just now, she would be useful on the battlefield. He would give Shepard his notes later on his recommendation.
“Let me see your image for Tisis” He ordered and she let out a small sigh of relief that the interrogation was over. Like in her room she held out her arms and spun when she pulled up the image.
“What do you think?” She queried and he cringed.
“It is strange hearing a Turian speak without dual-tones” He muttered before standing and getting a closer look, leaning closer to her face and she pulled it away from him in response “You did a good job on the colony markings” He praised moving away and walking around her. He activated his omni-tool “I need to do a scan for your ID” She nodded and stood still. “Interesting choice on the hide and plate colors” He commented.
Erinyes grew concerned
“It was Garrus’ choice. My goal was to blend into the background and not be memorable” He hummed his response
“The coloring is unusual, especially with the eye color and the color of the facial markings, it makes you look striking.” He explained. She looked away and sighed.
“Will… Will people hit on me?”
“Hit on…?”
“Ask me out?” She clarified the Spectre blinked at her. “Will I be approached by men wanting to ask me out on a date” She asked bluntly
“Turian men yes”
She was back at square one.
“Easy way to fix it” He deduced with his shit eating grin returning and his eyes sparkling in mirth “You and C-Sec can be dating”
Her eyes widened again and she felt like she stopped breathing
“With him at your side it will stop men who don’t have a death wish to leave you alone. It will essentially make you near invisible.” She took a breath.
He was still grinning at her like a cat that caught a canary.
“Unless there is anything else you’d like to discuss I do have reports I need to complete.”
“N-No” She sputtered as she walked towards the door
“Oh, have C-Sec teach you how to walk like a Turian, you look like you have no bones when you walk” He teased. She turned and glared at him, changing to her human image as he approached her to unlock the door
“Good to know Turians walk like they have a stick up their ass” She threw at him before leaving his room before he could respond.
As she walked back to her room the conversation they had just had swirled around and replayed.
Was she really Garrus’ soul-bond?
How would she deal with that?
If she was, she couldn’t reject him. He was too important to her to watch him spiral out of control if what the Spectre said was true.
But if that was the case she would be stuck.
Would she be okay with that?
She barely noticed she had gotten to the door to her room until the noise of it opening brought her out of her thoughts
Garrus took one look at her and jumped off the bed which startled Tali. In two long strides he was in front of her and pulled her inside the room and closed the door
“What did he say?” He asked with a growl
The only thing that I find different is he is overly territorial of you, more than a Turian with a soul-bond would be
The words reverberated in her head.
This was not the time to ask him about the soul-bond. It would need to be a discussion alone, not in front of Tali.
They both were too busy working on the device to have this discussion either.
She felt completely out of her depth.
She needed to find the words and more importantly the courage to ask.
“He said that we should date” She hesitated. Tali squealed, her hands clasping together and pulled to her chest. Garrus blinked
“What?” He faltered confused.
“The image is too unique and because I don’t want men approaching me he said that Tisis and you should date” She explained and Tali groaned before dropping her hands to her lap and continuing to create the code
“Oh, that’s… actually a good idea”
She dropped her imaging software and he saw how distressed she was
Tali saw it too and it clicked why.
“Turians don’t do public displays of affection” She explained and Garrus face-palmed himself after seeing her relax and breathe out a sigh of relief
“It’s true” He reassured
“So… how would people know?” She asked looking up at him with confused eyes begging for understanding.
“We stand close to those we are together with” He counciled, she still looked lost and moved to stand next to her, their arms only a couple inches apart “Like this” She fully relaxed
“That’s it? No kissing or handholding?”
“No” Tali answered
“Okay” She replied
“What else did he say?” Garrus asked
She couldn’t tell him about the soul-bond and she didn’t know much about Quexca bonds.
“He wanted me to ask you to help me walk more like a Turian. Apparently, I walk like a Turian with no bones. I guess I need help learning how to walk with a stick up my ass”
The room erupted at laughter as the image of a Turian with jello for legs trying to walk filled their minds.
Notes:
I wanted to showcase a reason for the fringe Turians. I thought it would be interesting since they evolved somewhat from birds that their fringe splayed out in an aggressive stance towards others of their kind.
I also wanted to showcase a different side of Nihlus than I have in this story. I hope it was interesting to read.
Chapter 16: Walk Like a Turian
Summary:
Erinyes works on acting more like a Turian for her imaging software. Garrus and Tali help her with it.
Erinyes decided to use a shortcut to memorize the very long dossier Spectre Kryik gave her.
Tali and Garrus form a plan to do something romantic for Erinyes.
Notes:
This and the next two chapters so far have been a blast to write.
This one is short but I plan on checking the next chapter and having it up by the end of the week.
Especially now that I have my new keyboard and can type much faster without having to spend almost the same amount of time correcting the double letters.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
After her small breakfast Garrus helped her practice walking in the mess hall. After having her walk towards him and away a few times he figured out the main problem
“Your knees need to go out more to the side rather than in front of you.” He watched her expressions on her face, still not Turian like but more her Vextra ones. The last thing he wanted to do was treat her like his father treated him. So, he did his best to explain things gently and then opted to record her before having her record him and played the two side by side.
“Oh” She said with a grimace.
She practiced for at the next 10 minutes before she stopped to rub her knees. They were screaming at the odd angle she was having them move and she still wasn’t walking like a Turian properly. She groaned and sat down bringing up the recording and scanning it into the software
“I fucking give up. My knees hurt” She grumbled as she added the code to her software. She would make it perfect later. She just needed the basics in place.
His father wouldn’t have allowed her to stop and take the easy way out. Seeing her in pain and grimacing as she rubbed her knees he had no desire to push her like that.
What he wanted to do was massage her knees until they no longer hurt for her. Before massaging up her thighs, spreading them wide and delving into her core with his tongue to hear her sigh in pleasure. He wanted to continue his tongue massage, hearing her sounds of pleasure until her legs began to shake. Refusing to stop tounging her core until he got the same reaction again or until she suffocated him between her thighs.
He was pulled from his thoughts when she stood up. He had not realized he was staring at her crotch and hoped he didn’t make her uncomfortable by doing so
“How is this?” She asked before walking towards him “I know it’s not perfect, I’ll finish the commands later”
“It is a lot better”
She sighed in relief.
“But something is still off” He admitted. She groaned
“With the legs?” She inquired with disdain,
The legs he wanted to wrap around him?
“No, something else”
He had her walk back and forth ten more times before he stood next to her and smiled when he realized what it was.
“Lean back more, shoulders back” Her posture matched his
He walked to his original position and motioned for her to walk towards him. He grinned and that was enough for her let out a deep breath and lean her head back
“Finally” She burst in exasperation
“Once you get the legs perfected in your software it’ll be nearly perfect”
“Nearly?” She huffed
He just grinned at her before she rolled her eyes and teasingly bumped into him
“The facial expressions are going to be the death of me” She admitted
“Why don’t you just scan mine when I do them?”
“Because Turian faces have mandibles and plates that Humans and Vextra don’t have. If I use scans my software will need to know what my facial expression is in comparison to the Turian version.”
“That’s easy enough.” He beckoned her to stand in front of him and put his head over her shoulder and set his omni-tool to record them, he set a projection to hover over his arm of the two of them so they could see what was being recorded “We are going to do the same emotions together” She snorted and grinned. He was already recording
“Ready?” She nodded “Happy, sad, angry, furious, confused, appalled,” He ordered “You see something you love” Garrus added, his eyes flitted to hers on the projection “Excited, you win the bet with Spectre Kryik” She made the face and both began laughing “You get hurt, uh… anything else you want to add?’
“You see something you want to kill, not amused, not amused with an eye roll, you see something you want to punch. Sarcasm. Pout. Normal face. I think that’s it” She said and he stopped the recording and put some space between the two of them while sending her the recording.
“Thank you. That was a great idea. It’ll save me a lot of time”
“I am known to have episodes of genius every now and then”
She rolled her eyes.
“I didn’t call you a genius” She teased. He held a hand to his heart and feigned being shot
“Oh, how you wound me with your harsh words” He teased back. She couldn’t hold back her laughter at his display. She was very amused but looking at the time on her omni-tool she needed to get out of the mess hall
Still laughing she headed to the table to clean her dish. He quickly yanked it from her. She gave him a look but didn’t try to get it back. She still hated washing dishes
“Shepard asked me about how to introduce you to the Normandy. Spectre Kryik and Shepard had some ideas but they all seemed really complicated. Shepard wants you onboard before we reach the Citadel”
“I say keep it simple” She said as she followed Garrus to the kitchen as he washed her dish. “You know, Occam’s razor and all that”
“What razor?”
“Oh” She laughed “It’s a human principle that the simplest solution is usually the best one. So, have something happen on Ottia Outpost. Go there to find out what it is. Tisis helps and Shepard or the Spectre adds her to the crew. It is simple, easy to explain as well as remember and therefore more believable” She dropped her imaging software.
“It does seem simple. I’ll tell Shepard. I need to talk to Tali about the device and blueprint. She is having difficulties with the subharmonics and we are running out of time”
“Ugh, you’re right. I think I’m going to do the easy way of memorizing the dossier.”
“That being?” Garrus asked as they walked to her room
“I have Ardi translate it and organize it into the Standard Operative Dossier Layout and then I run an internal program. The program doesn’t work perfectly, but it helps retain more than the slow way” She explained with a shrug and opened the door to her room. “I’ll leave the door unlocked. If I’m still running the program don’t interrupt me”
“Got it. Make sure to look at some armor for Tisis. She won’t be leaving the ship without it most of the time” Garrus said and she nodded and he turned to head towards the elevator.
She sat down on the bed and grabbed the data pad, holding it above her tech
“Ardi, copy ‘Erinyes Tisis dossier’”
“Acknowledged. Copy of ‘Erinyes Tisis Dossier’ Complete”
“Ardi, translate ‘Erinyes Tisis Dossier’ into Slaneska”
“Acknowledged. Please stand by. This may take a few minutes”
She pulled up the extranet and looked up armor for female Turians.
She bit back a gasp as she saw the choices available
It was overwhelming
The only choice she had in the past was which set of armor she wanted was from what she looted. Which one had thee best chance of keeping her safe and up her chances of survival.
But this?
She sorted by type. She needed a set of light armor to match her fighting style. Medium at best. Something that she could add a helmet to for when the mission required it.
Sorting did little to reduce the choices available. There were easily over 20 options per type of armor. It was incredibly unnecessary. She wasn’t used to aesthetic choices and quickly chose two that were simple and then was overwhelmed by the choice of colors.
Colors for the majority of the armor
Accent colors
Lighting colors.
Ancestors!
“Error: Unable to translate multiple words. Please connect to Vextranet to translate”
“Ardi, skip untranslatable words”
“Acknowledged. Please stand by. This may take a few minutes”
She never had a choice of colors with her armor and outfits. It was black and an accent color that matched your level. No fuss and easy.
Which reminded her, she still had to go through her looted bands from the asteroid. But that wasn’t as much as a priority as getting Tisis’ image perfect.
She chose black and a certain color caught her eye when she was looking at accent colors. It was a deep blue-violet, a perfect mix of deep purple and deep blue. It called to her. She couldn’t stop looking at it. She chose it and looked at the image shown on the site as the armor rotated. The accent color wasn’t flashy but it was a color she really liked.
“Translation of ‘Erinyes Tisis Dossier’ complete.”
“Ardi, organize ‘Erinyes Tisis Dossier’ into SODL please”
“Acknowledged, please stand by. This may take a few minutes.”
She focused on the extranet again. She chose as close to the same blue-violet color for the lighting for both armor options and scanned them both to see which one she would like better. She pulled up the image on herself and the first option, medium armor. It looked too bulky. She didn’t look like she could fight in it believably. The second option, the light armor, fit her fighting style better.
She inspected it. The armor hugged her carapace closer than Garrus’. She had opted for a shiny black on the carapace armor with the interior of the cowl armor being matte black with the blue-violet color accented on the hip spurs and on the thick leather piece that fanned out over the back of the thighs as a half skirt.
The thighs were a shiny black and the armor from the knee cap, spurs, and down to the taloned feet was matte black.
The armor on the pauldron was the blue-violet accent color before changing to matte black on her biceps. The radial spurs to her talons were blue-violet. The back of the carapace was shiny black with the blue-violet in the middle before it stopped at the cowl. With the helmet on the blue-violet went down the middle with blocks of matte black covering the jaw and mandibles and shiny black covering from under the fringe to the eyebrow plates. The classic t structure for the face shield that was on every single Turian helmet she saw so far.
She saved it to the imaging software and dropped it before sitting down and adding the vid Garrus recorded of their facial expressions. She smiled to herself as she re-watched the video. She saved the vid to her tech and began adding commands to the software.
“Organization of ‘Erinyes Tisis Dossier’ complete”
She sighed and stood up, rotated her shoulders and stretched. The dossier was over 100 pages long. She was going to be here awhile.
She activated her tech with her right hand and rotated her left wrist to signal she would be using both hands. She took the translated dossier and projected it in front of her. Using both hands she widened the projection to 4 feet wide and 3 feet high
“Ardi, Run Internal Program: Memorization”
“Acknowledged”
She felt her eyes unable to focus on anything but the projection in front of her. Her eyes scanned the information quickly, her fingers on both hands writing the information in the air before swiping to the next page.
………………………………………
Tali and Garrus finished their lunch and headed to Erinyes’ room. They opened the door and saw her standing in the middle of it, in a sort of trance, writing in the air some sort of filigree design before swiping to the next screen and continuing
“Um…?” Tali faltered quietly to Garrus
“Don’t disturb her” He whispered and they silently went to their normal spots, quietly working themselves and waiting for her to finish.
~~~~~~~~~~30 minutes later~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Erinyes blinked a few times and the room slowly came back into focus. Her head felt like it was split in two and she winced and sucked in a breath through her teeth
“You okay?’ Garrus asked. She jumped and let out a surprised mew as she spun herself around. Her tail got fluffier and she held her chest as she took deep breaths.
“When…?”
“30 minutes ago,” Tali answered and she looked at the two of them before her head began to pound again
“What was that?” Tali inquired
“It was an internal program for memorization”
“Internal… program?” Tali repeated slowly
“Yeah,” she gripped her head. “Procedure made brain more like computer. Can run some programs on it.” She said, quickly, not caring that she was no longer speaking in full sentences.
“Does it usually hurt this much?” Garrus asked more concerned than before
“No. Dossier really long.” She said. The pounding was getting worse and even with the pressure she was giving to the sides of her head she wasn’t getting any relief.
“I’m taking you to the med bay”
“It’s just headache”
“You are in more pain now than when you got out of the trance less than a minute ago from the… program thing” He said sternly, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her towards the door and opening it.
She hissed when the light hit her eyes and whimpered softly.
“I’ll lead you” He whispered and gently pushed her to get her moving forward.
She grimaced when the doors to the med bay opened since it was brighter in there than in the hallway. She whimpered louder
“I was wondering when your streak of not being injured would end” Chakwas teased before seeing her in extreme pain and holding her head
“Lights… off… please” She struggled to say through the pain, teeth clenched tightly. Chakwas lowered the lights but it was still to bright for the Vextra to open her eyes without the pain in her head getting worse.
Chakwas did a scan of her head and looked at the Vextra now curled in the fetal position and whimpering loudly
She grabbed some medication and went back to the Vextra.
“You have a migraine, this will help but it will take 30 minutes to activate” Erinyes held out her hand and once the pills were in it threw them in her mouth and swallowed them before using her hand to apply pressure once more.
The doctor gestured for Garrus to follow her out of the med bay. She turned off the lights before they left for Erinyes’ benefit as she waited for the medication to kick in.
“She is under extreme stress Garrus. She needs to find some way to relieve it, sooner rather than later. I don’t know how much more stress she can take.”
“I can spar-”
“You will not. I will not have both of you in the med bay because of a spar again. Understood?”
Garrus nodded while sheepishly scratching the back of his neck.
“When was the last time she ate?”
“This morning. We are running out of fresh food. She has been eating one meal a day, split in half and skipping lunch”
The doctor sighed while closing her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. She gave him a pointed look
“Her not eating well is not helping the situation. The scans showed her brain is swelling and is pushing against her skull. What was she doing before the migraine happened?”
“She said she was running an internal program. From what I understood the procedure reworked her brain so programs can run through it. She used one of those programs to memorize the dossier she was given”
“I need you to keep an eye on her. Help her reduce her stress without sparring. This is imperative at this point Garrus.”
They entered the med bay after they were sure the medication had started to work.
“You are under too much stress. You need to do something to relieve it, even just a little” Chakwas said quietly
“Garrus,” She called, she still looked like she was in pain, but not enough to be curled in a ball and whimpering. “Can you call Shepard here please”
Garrus tilted his head to the side but complied.
Shepard entered the med bay a few minutes later. Garrus had given him a summary and the importance of the situation
“You wanted to see me Kitty?”
“I need to defrag. I need a place where there is nothing around in a one-mile radius to do so.” She explained struggling to keep her eyes open. The dim light still hurt her eyes
“We will be at Solregit soon, maybe in a few days since it is a short detour from the Citadel. I can work with Spectre Kryik on a place there for you to dethaw”
“Defrag” She corrected halfheartedly. “Thank you”
“Why don’t you go to your room and rest.” Chakwas offered
“Okay”
Garrus helped her up off the bed. Her head hurt too much to argue. She kept her eyes closed and let Garrus guide her back to her room.
Once inside he led her to where she had been sitting normally and she laid down, her feet planted on the ground with only her knees upward on the bed at an angle.
“Blanket” She asked while holding her hand out in the general area Garrus was in, eyes still closed
Garrus handed her blanket that they would normally take off the bed to keep it clean and she threw it over her head and sighed in relief at the total darkness she was finally in. He watched her until her breath finally slowed down and his visor stated she was asleep.
Tali groaned “These subharmonics are impossible to complete in the time limit. A lot of the sounds I can’t even hear and the ones I can hear sound too robotic and fake with the program.”
“Then don’t add it, we can add it later. Naturally, we can tamp down our subharmonics. It might be a little odd to Turians but to other species they probably won’t notice.”
“Keelah that helps, thank you Garrus” She whispered as she slumped in the chair “I didn’t want to disappoint her” She said softly looking at the Vextra sleeping on the bed in her blanket cocoon and then to Garrus who was looking at the blanket lovingly.
“You love her” Tali commented quietly. He sputtered and looked at the Quarian in alarm. Tali smiled behind her face shield “When you are on the Citadel you should do something romantic with her”
“I don’t know anything about being romantic” He admitted quietly looking at the floor
“Well, lucky for you Liara and I do and we want to help.”
He knew better than to argue. The idea of taking her on a date made his heart flutter.
“Will she want that?” He asked looking down at her sleeping form
“We did talk with her you know” He looked up surprised. He was not told
“She’s pretty clueless about her feelings, I had to tell her that what she was describing meant that she liked you”
Garrus sat there stunned.
“What… uh… um… did she… say?” Garrus asked awkwardly
“She said she likes that you make her feel safe and seen” Tali said before adding “She also said on the asteroid her main thought as she was running to you to save your life was that she couldn’t live without you”.
Garrus felt his neck grow hot, shocked at the words from the Quarian had relayed. He looked back down at Erinyes’ sleeping form under the blanket.
“I want to take her on a date. I don’t know where to start though, or even what to do.” He looked back the Quarian with a look of helplessness and dread on his face. “I don’t want to mess anything up”
“Liara and I are happy to help. First, you should take her to dinner at a nice restaurant”
Notes:
I hope you enjoyed the cute chapter.
The date happens on the Citadel. (Chapter 18)
The next chapter Tisis is introduced to the Normandy properly.
Chapter 17: Solregit
Summary:
The Normandy goes to Solregit so their Vextran friend has a proper excuse to join the group. Erinyes has her first experience in the Mako awake while Shepard drives, and finally is able to release her stress with a defrag.
Erinyes gets to see Ottia Outpost and experiences one of the locals.
Garrus asks Erinyes on a date as the trip to the Citadel gets closer.
Chapter Text
“What the actual fuck Shepard!” Erinyes screamed as she scrambled in the back of the Mako for purchase as it flew through the air.
She grabbed the back of the seat and clenched her eyes shut as the Mako hit the ground. Shepard not letting off the gas
“Whoever gave you your license should be tortured and shot” She added as she caught her breath.
“I told you to put the harness o-” Spectre Kryik began before getting cut off as they were once more flying off a natural ramp outside the Solregit. The sudden lack of ground under the Mako causing the Spectre to stop talking as he gripped the harness and nearby handle for dear life.
She once more scrambled for purchase, ending up on the back headrests and mostly behind Garrus as she dug her claws into his pauldron. The Mako hit the ground hard and Erinyes bit back her scream of terror. Realizing she had dug her claws into Garrus’ armor she began profusely apologizing and he gently got her out from behind him and tucked her right against him, his arm securing her against himself.
“I’m so sorry” She said for the tenth time
“You didn’t break the seal, it’ll be fine” He said as he checked over the armor piece and shrugged. “We’ll be at the Citadel soon and I can buy a replacement”
“I’ll buy it, it’s my-” she faltered again from the sudden lack of ground underneath them
She glanced at Shepard as he flew the Mako off another cliff, Garrus holding her closer. She noticed the wild grin on Shepard’s face.
She growled low and kicked the back of his seat furiously with both feet repeatedly. Tali gripped her harness tightly, her eyes closed as they flew through the air again.
“You’re doing this on purpose you vedthar!”
Shepard let out a soft laugh as the Mako crashed to the ground.
“You could always drive” He offered, launching the Mako off another cliff and making her stomach drop
“Stop the car and I will” She snarled
“Oh, sorry Erinyes, licensed Alliance personnel are the only ones allowed to operate an Alliance vehicle” Shepard said smugly
“Then I’ll switch to Katz”
“She doesn’t have a license” He teased and pummeled through some wildlife, the thumping against the hood of the Mako making her grip the Turian grasping her. “She also didn’t come along for the mission today” He added smugly
She opened her mouth to curse his driving skills more when she watched in horror as they drove off a rather large cliff. Her breath caught in her throat.
She was going to die.
This was how she was going to die.
Not by the Reapers
Not by the Vextra
But by Shepard’s horrible driving.
She pressed into Garrus, gripping his arm around her tightly, teeth clenched just as tightly, when they hit the ground hard. She nearly fell out of his arms from the impact. She gasped and drew in ragged breaths to calm her nerves.
She glared at the human and kicked his seat again
“Chakwas said I needed to reduce my stress! Why are you adding to it?!” He didn’t look back but his grin told her enough to have her eyes go dark and snarl “I will make you pay for this Shepard” She said in dual-tones. She opened her mouth to add a thought when he slammed on the brakes with enough force she was nearly flung into the Spectre’s seat in front of her. Garrus barely had a hold of her to keep it from happening.
“Here we are. A 1-mile radius with nothing alive in it” Shepard said gleefully.
Erinyes hurriedly got out of the Mako, her legs feeling like jello and gripped the side of the vehicle as she dry-heaved. “I’m going to kill him” She muttered quietly when her nerves started to calm.
“What do we do Kitty?” Shepard asked with a huge grin on his face
“Go to the edge of the 1-mile radius”
“You are not staying here alone” Garrus retorted, unbuckling his harness and getting out
“Garrus,” She said stumbling a bit on her feet as she stood and steadied herself with a hand on his carapace. “I will be fine. You can shoot anything that comes in the circle” She said and looked up at him
“I can’t shoot from that distance” He growled. His subharmonics flared in his displeasure. She sighed.
“I haven’t defragged in years. Anything that is within this radius will be severely injured. I don’t want to hurt you.” She said softly. He sighed and pressed his crest to her forehead.
“Please be careful” He said quietly to her before reluctantly pulling away and getting back into the Mako.
“Shepard, get out of the radius and stay in the vehicle” She said and stumbled into the middle of the circle and watched them drive off. Her legs still felt unsteady from the death-defying drive over from the Ottia Outpost port. She looked around and her ears swiveled taking in her surroundings, listening for danger.
Ottia Outpost was a decently sized port city that occupied a small potion of the garden world it was on, Solregit. There were two main factions on Solregit, the north, filled with Hierarchy separatists, and the south, filled with Hierarchy loyalists. Ottia Outpost started a few generations prior as part of a cease-fire agreement with the Hierarchy as a place of refuge. It also was used to help assimilate the other species that were not Turian. The dossier stated many on Solregit viewed the cease-fire as a misstep and a trap. Those people viewed Ottia Outpost as the Hierarchy’s way of strong-arming the residents on Solregit to play by the rules and refused to go the outpost, no matter how lucrative it had become. Because of the distrust few Turians had the colony marking from Ottia.
Here in the wilderness of Solregit, she couldn’t hear anything but a slight breeze.
“We are in location” Shepard announced through the comms as he turned the Mako around so it faced her in case they needed to rush in to help her.
“Acknowledged” She replied. “Ardi, Run Internal Program: Defragmentation”
“Acknowledged” Ardi said through her second comm. Her tech burns began to glow white slowly from her extremities to her core before her eyes drifted out of focus.
She felt herself being pulled into her mind. The program taking each situation and emotion and ripping it into pieces to keep or discard. Many of the things she had seen the program keep were put in the compartments she visualized in her mind. Things labeled ‘Slanai family’, ‘Operative foundation’, ‘abuse’, had to be destroyed and the contents reorganized after what she had discovered since being in 2183. New compartments were made labeled ‘Vextran lies’ and ‘feral nature’. Each time the program ripped something apart a new sound would emit from her body. Softly at first, but growing louder and louder the longer the program ran.
Eventually her mind came to the situations and feelings surrounding Garrus. The program stalled for a moment, as if carefully considering what to do and how to proceed with such a new important item to compartmentalize. Eventually the program added a new compartment labeling it ‘Garrus’ and leaving much of the situations and feelings intact and putting them into the compartment. She barely felt her body move to the sound she was creating.
With the important things compartmentalized the program took the discarded information and forced it together. Compacting it tighter and tighter together. She felt herself fall to her knees, her back touching the ground as the program let the discarded emotions and unimportant things from situations expel from her body.
……………………………..
Garrus was on edge as he zoomed in on her through his visor. He felt the need to pace but couldn’t do so in the Mako. His subharmonics were going haywire as he scanned the area near her for anything dangerous for the thirteenth time.
“She’ll be fine Garrus” Shepard said trying to comfort the Turian who had maneuvered himself in between the two front seats. He lightly growled
“We shouldn’t have left her there alone” He growled out
“Is she… is she dancing?” Tali asked her head next to Shepard’s head and the door as she pointed.
Garrus looked back at her and watched her fluid movements. It did look like a dance; her tech burns were glowing white and even though he could barely see her eyes he could tell they were not green. They seemed to glow white as well. She threw her leg in the air, her head and upper body tilting downward as she did the splits with one foot planted on the ground and spun. He felt entranced with what he was seeing. She looked stunning. He watched as she spun around delicately before falling to her knees and leaning backwards until her back hit the ground
“She is so flexible” Tali said in amazement
Garrus couldn’t agree more.
Then she screamed.
He grew incredibly concerned urging Shepard to get closer when a sudden force hit the Mako enough to shake it.
“What was that?!” Tali asked in concern “Did that come from her?”
“It felt like a sonic boom.” Spectre Kryik perplexed in shock “I… I think it did come from her” His eyes were wide.
Garrus was focused on her. Her back was still on the ground and she was breathing hard from what he could see. He wished his visor had a better zoom feature. He did see the tech burns fading and eventually her upper body rose.
“The defrag is finished” Erinyes said breathlessly through the shared comms. Shepard pummeled to her in the Mako.
……………………………
Erinyes stood up slowly. Her body felt odd, she felt both heavy and light. Like she couldn’t quite tell where her body was. As she stood she did so very carefully. She had such a massive amount of emotions and situations she had to go through that her body had used a lot of her energy to process and expel it. She felt incredibly lightheaded. She felt a taloned hand at her bicep pulling her up gently
“Are you okay?”
“Yes,” She said leaning heavily on Garrus when he got her to her feet “I am close to technostress” She whispered as he helped her into the Mako.
“Was that sonic boom from you?” Nihlus asked the second she was strapped into her harness. She yawned
“Sonic boom? Maybe” She said as she shrugged. “I haven’t defragged in five and a half years. The buildup of emotions and unneeded shit that I expelled was pretty massive. It could’ve made a sonic boom” she yawned
“What exactly is a defrag?” Shepard asked
“It is an internal program-”
“Which is?” Shepard asked
“Because of the procedure I am like, 25-30 percent tech. As such, my brain was remolded to act more like a computer and can run some programs. Defragmentation, or defrag, is what Operatives do in order to keep them focused on their mission and stay out of their heads.” She explained “Defrags usually happen at least once a month”
“And your last one was 5 and a half years ago?” Garrus said concerned
“Yes,” She answered. She felt she could think more clearly without all the thoughts and worries she had had over the last several weeks. She felt the heavy load that had been on her shoulders lifted and she felt the best she had in a long time, even though she was exhausted.
“So, I need to give you a space to do this once a month?” Shepard asked as he began driving. Erinyes gripped the harness
“Yes, I won’t need as much space if I defrag often. The family residences had a room that was soundproofed for the Operatives to use.” She explained
“Where are you with your energy?” Garrus asked.
“Hmm” She calculated “About 20%” She said. “I can bring up Tisis’ image and as long as we don’t get shot I’ll be fine” she said. Garrus gave her a look
“Based off how you were out there you are not at 20%”
“That was right after coming out of the program Garrus” She said giving him a look as well “Defrags use a lot of energy, but they take a lot out of the body too. I’m always really weak directly after a defrag” She explained before realizing they were going directly up a cliff. She stiffened and gripped the harness tighter before feeling Garrus taking her hand in his and squeezing. Her breath quickened as they neared the top. Her eyes focused on the windshield of the vehicle as Shepard gave the Mako a hard push on the gas and they flew down a large distance. She bit back her scream as she squeezed Garrus’ hand tightly and closed her eyes, waiting for the lurch from the landing.
“I’m going to kill him” She whispered softly enough for the Turians to hear and it became her mantra as they headed back to the outpost until there were no more hills and cliffs for Shepard to try and kill them with.
Once on flat ground the Spectre turned to look at Erinyes. Turning away from the windshield while Shepard drove was normally a dangerous thing to do, so he glanced back out it often.
“We were on a mission finding a beacon, you helped us fight off some mercenaries. I was impressed by your fighting skill and I am taking you on the Normandy to be your mentor to see if you have what it takes to be a Spectre before I nominate you” He said quickly.
She nodded but glanced at Garrus. Being a Spectre was his dream and now her alias was being “mentored” by one. His expression was unreadable
“I need you and C-Sec to spar with each other before you go on missions that way you have a better idea of how Turians fight. Tisis did not do mandatory military training so her fighting style will be different but you still need to know some basics.”
“Understood” She responded and Garrus nodded. Nihlus faced the front and she could see his sigh of relief that they had not flown off another cliff.
She put on the dual-toned device and activated her imaging software right as Shepard decided to throw the Mako off another cliff. She grabbed Garrus’ hand like her life depended on it.
“The fucking goal of driving the damn vehicle is to get us there safely, not look for the best way to kill your crew fucktard!” Erinyes seethed
Shepard responded by laughing and she gritted her teeth and grimaced as the Mako landed hard.
“It could be worse” Garrus said somberly.
“Worse? It could be worse?! How?”
“He had us fly off a mountain” He said and she looked at Garrus in horror, blood draining rom her face and eyes wide.
“That was fun too” Shepard added reminiscing. She turned her head with the same horrified expression
“You are a fucking lunatic”
Shepard grinned and she muffled yet another scream as her stomach lurched.
………………………….
They stopped at the Outpost so Erinyes could buy a duffel bag and a footlocker.
Unfortunately, the outpost did not have a wide selection of food to be purchased in bulk for the few days it would take to get to the Citadel. She was given her credit chit and happily bought cooking supplies and spices.
She bought some food from some food stalls and scarfed it down with little care for decorum. After using so much energy she was starving. Garrus watched her eat her fourth fish wrap and she found herself still hungry.
“Defrags take a lot out of you don’t they” He asked curiously and she nodded as she unwrapped and scarfed down the fifth wrap in 3 bites. “Are you still hungry?” He asked and she nodded. He walked over to the stall, watching her out of her peripherals and bought her a few more.
A Turian man approached her
“Hello, haven’t seen you around much” He purred. She glared at him
“Probably because I’m usually really busy.” She said coldly hoping he’d get the hint.
He didn’t.
He sat down on the crumbling concrete wall next to her.
“Sounds stressful. I’d be happy to help you reduce that stress. Maybe we could go to my place and blow off some steam?” She blinked slowly at him, frowning.
He stopped smiling when he heard a growl come from in front of him along with a series of angry and displeased subharmonics.
“She has someone to blow off steam with” Garrus growled and the man jumped to his feet. Garrus glared at the man and he backed off
“My apologies” He stammered to both of them before turning and leaving quickly.
Erinyes was not amused.
Garrus sat down next to her until their thighs were nearly touching and handed her the wraps he bought her.
“Thank you” Her annoyance was still in her tone “Spectre Kryik said I might get approached by Turian men, I didn’t think they would when you were so close.” She gestured to the stall that was 100 feet away with a dejected sigh.
“You can share how displeased you are and tell Turians to leave you alone with your subharmonics. We just need to finish the program” He whispered softly. She groaned and dug into the wrap.
“You opted for a different meat?’ She asked and looked at him.
“After 5 fish wraps I thought you’d appreciate something different” He admitted with a smile.
“Well, thank you, I do appreciate it. I hope you weren’t too annoyed at the guy” she said with a gesture to the general area the man had scurried off to.
“I think I was just as annoyed as you were” He teased. She scoffed.
“Sure.” She teased back. He grinned
“You lovebirds finished shopping for necessities?” Shepard asked
“Yes” She said patting the full duffel.
“How’s your energy level now?” He asked
“I’d say around 40%” She responded and he nodded. “I’ll grab some hot food to go” She said, as she got up. Garrus swung the duffel over his shoulder before she had a chance to grab it and she rolled her eyes at him before giving him a small smile of thanks. She activated the mass effect field on the foot locker with her omni-tool and set it to follow her and continued eating the wraps Garrus bought her. She stopped at another stall and picked up some more hot food. Tali, Garrus and Nihlus doing something similar to avoid eating rations.
She had to admit, using mass effect fields to make things float and follow on command was something the Vextra should have done a long time ago. She was impressed by that technology. It was very convenient.
They got to the Mako and Erinyes groaned. That was the last place she wanted to be and she instantly regretted eating.
“Shepard if you make me throw up with your driving I will make sure to projectile vomit directly on you” The group laughed and Shepard mocked being offended
“I’ll have you know my driving is amazing”
“Yeah, and I’m the damn Primarch” She retorted dryly and the Turians laughed. Several nearby Turians glanced over with laughter in their eyes as they overheard the conversation. She reluctantly got into the vehicle, putting on her harness immediately.
When the doors closed to the Mako Spectre Kryik looked over at her and smiled
“Well done, you acted like a Turian in every aspect” He was impressed. He was expecting more of a shit show than what had occurred.
……………………………………..
Shepard drove the Mako onto the Normandy’s ramp and parked it. Erinyes left the Mako ecstatic that she would not have to suffer from Shepard’s driving in the near future.
She hoped that the missions she would be on would not require the use of the vehicle.
Shepard gave her a tour and introduced her to everyone.
“I’ll show you to your room next, it is a small room and unfortunately you do have a roommate. I believe Sgt. Katz, our mechanic, is inside resting. I hope that won’t be an issue” Shepard said playing the part for anyone who could overhear on the CIC as they took the stairs and walked to her room
“That’s not an issue at all” She responded
“Unfortunately, we don’t have a proper bed for you. When we reach the Citadel in a couple days and we will get you a proper bed at that time. We ask that you suffer on the tiny bed until then.”
“Understood.” She answered
“I’ll leave you to introduce yourself to Sgt. Katz when she wakes up then” He said with a wink and walked away.
Erinyes opened the door and led her foot locker into the closet. Garrus followed her inside and closed the door. He handed her the duffle bag and she dropped it on the floor in front of her desk.
“Uh… are you feeling better after the defrag?” He asked
“Yes, I feel a lot more relaxed” She smiled up at him when she said it. “Garrus” She said when he turned to leave. She dropped the imaging software and removed the device from her throat “How big is the Citadel?”
“Very big”
“So, there’s a lot of people?”
“Yes” he watched her stiffen at the information “You don’t like crowds” He deduced
“No”
“Why?”
“It’s too easy to hide in them. Easy to come up undetected and stab or kill someone and slink back into the crowd.” She said. He blinked at her stunned.
“Okay, so we make a plan then” He sat down on her bed. She sat next to him
“Like what?” She tilted her head curious what he had to say
“I keep you close to the wall and walk next to you”
“That’s it?”
“Other species tend to stay away from Turians, especially if they are growling” He joked and she softly laughed. She still didn’t feel comfortable knowing she would have to be in an area with a large amount of people around her “Lucky for you” He nudged her “You happen to know someone who knows all the best ways to go to avoid people on the Citadel” He nudged her again and she stifled her smile. “Being in C-Sec sometimes comes in handy” He joked.
Which then reminded her of earlier
“Garrus, are you ok with Tisis being mentored by a Spectre? I know it was your dream” His smile faltered
“I’m not going to lie, I’m jealous. I know that it is just an excuse to get you onto the team, but it still hurts” He said honestly and she turned to hug him. He gladly accepted the comfort and felt her nuzzle his neck.
“I didn’t know he was going to do that, I would’ve-”
“I know” He murmured into her shoulder.
After a bit of time he pulled away and looked at her.
“When we get to the Citadel I was hoping you’d… um…. let me take you out to a restaurant. You deserve a nice meal where you don’t have to cook. Would you… like to?” He asked awkwardly. She looked at him stunned
“Oh… uh… sure… uh… I have never been to a restaurant.” She admitted equally as awkward.
“The restaurant doesn’t allow armor. You’ll need to find something nice for Tisis to wear” He said and then added “I look forward to… taking you there” He pressed his crest to her forehead and hummed
Chapter 18: The First Date
Summary:
Erinyes discovers that what she is going on with Garrus is a date and freaks out.
Tali and Liara attempt to help her
Joker does a better job
Erinyes decides to start her plan to get back at Shepard for his intentionally bad driving skills.
Garrus can't catch a break as the date doesn't go as smoothly as Tali and Liara had planned it.
Chapter Text
“Kitty! I heard Garrus was taking you on a date!” Tali exclaimed excitedly, hopping up and down on the balls of her feet.
“He is taking me to a restaurant” She corrected, wary of the excitement she was seeing in the Quarian
“We need to find you something nice to wear” Liara mentioned and forced her into Erinyes' room.
Soon the two had brought up their omni-tools and were shoving them in the Vextra’s face
“What do you think of this?”
“No, this one!”
Erinyes didn’t have a chance to respond and was feeling awfully trapped and uncomfortable with the excitement coming from the two other women.
With little input from the Vextra the two started showing what they found to each other
“Can Turians wear dresses?”
“What color should she wear?”
Erinyes quietly brought up her tactical cloak and slunk out of the room, leaning on the wall outside her room as she caught her breath.
She brought up the Turian alias image on her software and dropped the cloak and crept up the stairs and into the cockpit.
“Help me” She whispered to the helmsman. Suddenly realizing in her haste to leave the room she forgot to grab the dual-tone device
He grinned up at her and gestured to the copilot’s chair
“Hello Whiskers, what brings you up here? You never come up here”
She stared at him stunned for a moment before growling. “Mother fuc- who?”
“Who do you think?” Joker responded
“Tell me”
“I will if you tell me why you are hiding”
“Deal” She shook hands with the helmsman and sighed “Tali and Liara are in my room gushing over what I should wear.”
“Why?”
“They think Garrus is taking me on a date”
“Is he?” Joker asked surprised
“No, he is taking me to a restaurant”
“…Is anyone else going?”
“…I don’t think so”
“They are looking for clothes for you? Why?”
“The restaurant doesn’t allow armor”
“Whiskers” He drawled with a smug smile “Dressing nice and going to a nice restaurant with just the two of you would be considered a date”
She scrunched up her nose in frustration and Joker stifled a laugh
“What?” She asked
“That looked very unturian” He responded and she sighed. He looked at her quizzically “Why is this bothering you so much?”
She sat back, looking displeased.
“I don’t know what to do on a date” She admitted quietly. He gasped, suddenly very excited and Erinyes looked at him with concern and caution
“This is your first date isn’t it?” He whispered and she looked at him like he was crazy and nodded “That’s so cute” He teased. She scoffed
“I’m clueless with this sort of thing and you are teasing me.” She deadpanned and he just kept grinning
“That’s my job Whiskers” She scoffed again and crossed her arms with a huff.
“Your job is to fly the Normandy Jackass” She sighed “I know what humans did for dates back in 2025. What does a date entail in this time?”
“Well they can differ, from what it sounds like it will go the more common route of go to dinner, enjoy each other’s company and if things go well you go to one of your rooms for some sexy time” He teased and stopped smiling when she looked terrified.
“What if I don’t want to?” She said quietly as she looked away. “Will he be angry at me? I know human men get angry sometimes when their date doesn’t want to” He took pity on her
“Whiskers,” He said softly, the teasing lilt gone. “Any guy worth their salt would never force or make a woman feel bad for not being ready. I can’t say I know Garrus well. But he doesn’t seem the type to be angry at you if you aren’t ready. I mean, he has a major stick up his ass” She barked a laugh, and he smiled triumphantly “But I don’t think he would want to make you uncomfortable”
She looked at the helmsman and gave him a small yet still strained smile.
“Tali and Liara are making a huge deal about what I will wear. Is it really that big a deal?”
Joker thought about it.
“I mean you could wear something sexy, but I think for you finding something that makes you comfortable would be better. For us guys we don’t much care as long as you are comfortable and feel pretty” She sighed in relief and slumped in the chair.
“If that’s the case can I stay here until I find something?”
“You don’t want Tali and Liara’s help?”
“They are far too excited about this. If I am going to wear something comfortable I would rather choose it myself” She explained.
“For” He leaned in to whisper “Vextra, do clothes not matter much?”
“Operatives don’t have a choice in clothing. We get one set and that’s it” She explained quietly
“Another question for you, this is all for Tisis, not you, so does it really matter what she wears?” She felt her face burn. He had a point
“I don’t want to stand out more than I do already.” She explained “I don’t like people looking at me. If I wear something too flashy that is what will happen.”
“Then be my guest, find your outfit”
She grinned at him as she searched the extranet for casual clothes for Tisis.
Like with the armor there were more choices than she had ever had as an Operative. Worse it was harder to narrow down her options.
She found some clothes that she would’ve liked to wear if they would fit her own body and opted for it being mostly the color she liked.
The tunic was close fitting and hugged the carapace and had multiple sets of sleeves. The cowl was covered with what looked like a scarf and would cover her neck and sit inside the cowl. She chose the main color as the blue-violet color she liked and for the piping and accents on the outfit she had it be the same blue as Garrus’ facial markings. The blue-violet color stopped at the short sleeve portion of the sleeves and the sleeves under it were black. Her radial spurs were covered in a thick blue-violet leather with decretive piping that went down to form finger gloves and on top of a pair of black gloves covering the talons and fingertips. The tunic ended at the waist.
The legs were covered in a matching blue-violet with decretive piping with the only break to it being the black covering the spurs on the legs and taloned feet. On top of the outfit was a cloak that covered her front and back on her left side, leaving the right side open. She opted for it to be black with blue-violet detailing. It had a small slit on the side for her to use her left hand easier and the cloak ended at spur length.
With her outfit chosen she looked at Joker
“We had a deal who told you?”
“Garrus” He said with a grin that rivaled the Cheshire cat
“I am going to beat the shit of him” He laughed
“If you do so, use the stick up his ass, maybe he could lighten up a little. Record it for me when you do, please” She laughed and then looked out the window and her jaw dropped
Why hadn’t she been paying attention to what was outside? It was stunning
“First time on the Citadel too?” He asked and she nodded, jaw still slack “Well I have docking procedures to do, so go get ready for your date” He teased and poked her. She rolled her eyes
“I have to get my room back” She groaned, before smiling “Wanna bet they haven’t realized I’m gone yet?”
“I’m not that stupid,” He replied with a look “If they had it wouldn’t be so quiet”
“You’re no fun” She pouted. He laughed
“You’re not as sly as you think you are” He poked her in the side again. “Go” He said with a smirk
She sighed again and retreated reluctantly to her room.
She opened the door and like she suspected they hadn’t realized she was gone.
“Hey” She said, trying to get their attention. It hadn’t worked. She was growing frustrated. She took a deep breath and barked out a little roar. It stopped the two in their tracks and looked at her in shock “I found the outfit I am wearing.” She said in a stern tone that said she would not be swayed to change her opinion.
“Can we see?” Tali asked excitement flowing back into her
“Sure,” the two got closer. She put up a hand to stop them. “I will show you after I make sure it is scanned properly into the software and that nothing is glitching. Please get out of my room” She said firmly. The two looked disappointed but left the room nonetheless. Erinyes quickly locked it and leaned against the wall and breathed for a moment, trying to calm her nerves. She then flopped herself on the bed and scanned the outfit she had liked and then added it to her software. The Turian illusion she still had up shimmered as she applied the update and she got up and checked it out in the mirror.
She liked how the dark blue-violet accented her eye color. She also really liked how the color of Garrus’ facial markings looked as an accent color. She found herself admiring the cloak and how it flowed.
She wanted a cloak for herself.
She wanted… clothing?
That was new
She had changed a lot in the month she had been on the Normandy.
She took a deep breath to ready herself at the onslaught she would get from Tali and Liara that was about to come. She steeled her nerves and opened the door.
The two women squealed loud enough for her to clutch her ears in pain, giving them a glare.
“You look so pretty!” Tali gushed as she hopped
“That color is so nice against the skin and plates” Liara commented.
Garrus headed down the hallway to investigate the noise the women had made and stopped when he saw Erinyes.
“That color looks nice on you” He managed to make out.
“I like this color a lot” She said with a smile
“Look at that you found something you like!” He teased and she chuckled. Tali and Liara looked confused as the inside joke went over their heads.
She looked at his casual outfit. It looked somewhat similar to hers but with larger panels of color. He opted for black with light blue accents.
He looked nice.
…
When did she start thinking people looked nice?
She was slightly confused at her thoughts
“Docking procedures will be done soon. Are you ready to head out?” He asked and she started to nod and stopped suddenly.
“Can I speak to you?” She asked quickly. He stopped and stared at her for a moment and nodded and she gestured to her room and followed her inside
“Everything okay?” He asked nervously.
“Yeah. Um… I was talking to Joker earlier” He let out a slight growl. She looked at him concerned and he stopped. “And I made a face that we didn’t account for” She explained and he calmed down more.
“What face?” He asked
She dropped the imaging software and remembered what did it. He stifled a smile.
He loved when she scrunched her face and how her nose looked when she did so.
“Joker said that the software made it look very unturian.” She explained further and he hovered over her shoulder and started the video
“What did he say to get that reaction” He asked softly
“He said going to a nice restaurant with just the two of us would be considered a date.” He stifled a laugh at how innocent and naïve she was in this area of her life. “He said that after he called me Whiskers” She glared at him and he stopped stifling the laughter. “He recommended I beat the shit out of you with the stick up your ass” She said as her eyes glittered in glee.
“I don’t think Chakwas will like that too much” He purred as he nudged her. She frowned at him “But I look forward to how you get back at me” He grinned. She gave him more of a glare before turning to the recording on the omni-tool.
“Spectre Kryik being himself” She said as the situation and she scrunched her face and he followed suit with his facial reaction. “Thank you” she said as he sent her the video and she sat on her bed to add it to her imaging software.
“Erinyes” He said to get her attention
“Yeah” she hadn’t looked up
“Is it possible-” He stalled thinking of the right words to ask his question. His floundering with his words caused her to look up at him curiously. He looked a bit more nervous than when he entered her room. “It’s your first time on the Citadel.” She stayed quiet. This seemed important to him, and she didn’t want to interrupt.
He sat down next to her and they turned their bodies to look at each other. “I know you need the imaging software up. I understand how important that is… but I want to see your reactions to what you see. Not the imaging’s reaction”
“You want to see underneath the imaging?” She reiterated the request and he nodded. She reached out her hand and motioned for him to hand her the arm with the omni-tool on it. She activated her tech and connected the imaging software to his omni-tool. “This will only work when you are in a 5-foot radius from me” She explained as she let his arm go.
“Thank you” He said with a sigh of relief. He was unsure how she would respond. Tali and Liara had put a lot of pressure on him with this date to make it perfect and he found his nerves skyrocketing the closer it came to starting the date. “Here is Katz’ credit chit” He said and she put it in her pocket. “Will you wear this under the imaging software?” He asked gesturing to her workout gear
“I was going to change to my lightweight armor”
“You don't have anything... nicer?"
"I have no need for that" She said as she began working on the software again, missing Garrus' disapointed look.
"Besides the light and heavy armor and this, what other outfits do you have?”
“I have my pajamas” She said as she began adding the new facial reaction to the software. “Could you grab my dual-tone device?” She asked while she worked. He complied and hid his disappointment in her lack of clothing choices as he grabbed the device from her desk
“Can I put it on you?” He asked and she nodded still engrossed in her work. He gently put it on her and secured the choker behind her. He breathed in her spicy scent and noticed her hair. “Your hair is different”
“I took the braids out yesterday” She explained “My hair feels so much better now that I can clean it properly
“Can I… touch it?”
“Go ahead” She said still working.
He touched her hair as if it were a fragile piece of art and marveled at the sight of the thick strands as they flowed in between his talons.
“It acts so different when its dry” he marveled to himself causing her to chuckle
“Hair takes a lot of water in the shower” She explained
“Will you put the design back in your hair again?” He asked as he stroked her hair. She groaned at the thought
“No, it would take hours. It was only in as a status symbol anyway” She explained
“A… status symbol?”
“Yeah, the more intricate the design the higher status you are. Within the regular Vextra they would have hair that would twist and be lifted from the scalp. Within Operatives we opt to keep the hair out of our face and have more practical designs that support that” She explained. He watched transfixed as he let her hair onto his hand and how it flowed like water through his fingers
“Do men have designs in their hair too?” He asked curiously
“Operatives yes, to a point, depends on how the family wants their hair to look. They have this mane on their head that covers their neck and half-way down their back. Some families opt for shaving down the sides and keeping it short. Others opt for cutting their hair to keep it out of their face in a fight, and others still opt for braids close to their head that flares out into a mane.”
“That is fascinating. Vextra put a lot of importance on status then?”
“Yes” She said finishing the last of the updates she needed to make “I would think it is similar to the Hierarchy, just a Hierarchy within each family”
“Who leads then?”
“The Overseer from each family meets together to decide important decisions. There are 6 families so a majority vote needs to be done for something to happen” She explained as she brought up her Turian illusion again. Garrus moved to stand up and offered her a hand. She took it “What’s the plan for today?” She asked
“First I want to show you the Presidium before going down to the wards to resupply the food. Then we have a bit of free time before the reservation at the restaurant” He explained. He had more on the docket that Tali and Liara had given him to make the night as romantic as possible but he felt nervous by it, and he didn’t want to make her nervous as well or worse overwhelmed when she didn’t even realize that this was a date until moments ago.
“Since we have free time I would like to see Captain Anderson. He is still on the Citadel, right?” He nodded
“Why?”
“Katz wants to get her license” She said with a wicked grin as her eyes went stormy briefly and Garrus laughed.
“We can do that; do you want to go with Shepard to meet him?”
“No, I want it to be a surprise” She said with a glint in her eye. “I have been planning how to get back at him, and I just need that license.” She said happily.
Garrus was suddenly uneasy with how she was going to get him back for telling Joker about the Whiskers nickname.
“Then we should meet him after resupplying” He said, gulping to get moisture back in his throat. He needed to keep her attention off how she was going to pay him back “Speaking of resupplying, you can get that vegetable to win your bet against Spectre Kyrik”
She grinned up at him mischievously
“That is a great idea.” She said, excitement lacing her words “I want to get one of these cloaks for myself” She said as she twisted her upper body to watch the image move. He stifled a smile at her amusement. She looked back up at him “I’ve never bought clothes for myself before” She said and his smile faltered briefly before heading to her empty closet gesturing to it
“Good, we can fill this then” She frowned
“Most clothes won’t support a tail” She reminded him and he closed his eyes and let out a huff at the realization. “The only place I can get clothes that will work for my body is on Wejesu and I have no plans on going back” She explained. “But I still want a cloak” She said
“We will get you a cloak then” He decided and gestured for her to open the door.
They headed through the CIC to the airlock
“Bye Monkey-man” Erinyes said with a wave
“Bye Whiskers” He said as he poked her when she walked past. She stuck her tongue out at him. Garrus growled at the display and Joker rose an eyebrow at the Turian confused at his reaction as Garrus went past. Erinyes frowned.
She needed to talk to him about the soul-bond thing.
And the extra territorial nature he had been portraying.
She didn’t mind it with strangers, but with her friends she did mind. She found she minded a lot.
She didn’t know how to bring it up and she had no idea how to even formulate what she wanted to say.
She was scared of how he would react.
The last thing she wanted was to have him feel like she was rejecting him.
The whole situation made her anxious.
…………………………….
“Wow” Erinyes said breathlessly as she looked at the wards from the bridge in the Presidium. “It’s beautiful”
“Hmm” Garrus agreed, looking directly at her lovingly. He was glad he asked her about the imaging software. Seeing her actual reactions under a faint shimmer of the illusion was worth it.
“Does the lake have fish in it?” She asked breathlessly. He chortled
“No, I don’t believe it does”
“Aww” She said disappointed
“Why?”
“I…” She blushed “I know it’s weird but I was feeling a bit nostalgic and wanted to catch my own fish to eat” She explained as she wrung her hands in front of her
“I don’t think that’s weird” He said gently, leaning on the handrail next to her “Maybe we can go to Palaven someday. You can fish in the river there”
“I’d like that” She said smiling up at him.
“Ready to go to the wards?” He asked and she nodded reluctantly “I’ll keep you by the wall” He reminded her and she still stiffened at the idea of all the people there. “The faster we get it done the faster we get away from the people” She gave a resigned sigh and followed him off the bridge.
He brought her to the rapid transit terminal and called for a sky car.
“A skycar?” She exclaimed excitedly and as quietly as possible. He tittered at the reaction and opened the door for her to get inside. He walked to the driver’s side and watched her buckle herself in and grab the door handle tightly.
He took off gently and as he drove a few more minutes Erinyes relaxed her death grip.
“Thank you for not driving like Shepard”
He laughed
“I wouldn’t dare. I don’t need my old coworkers pulling me over for such dangerous reckless driving” She joined him in a laugh. She stared out the window in awe
“Does Wejesu not have skycars?”
She shook her head no as she marveled at the sight below her.
“We live underground. The cave systems are massive but there isn’t enough space for skycars. We have to be very careful with our environment too. The slightest change can damage the cave ecosystem.”
“How do you get around then?”
“We have single car trains that use magnets or something similar to have them float on tracks.” She said as she gasped at something down below “Each family has their own section of the cave and the train will stop at the major points in those areas. Each founding family has a residence, markets, restaurants and facilities that family is renown for. In the middle is the conclave area for the Overseers and some main markets and restaurants. There is an area for public meetings as well so the Overseers can get the public’s reaction” She explained.
“Do the Operatives have an area too?”
“They do, but it doesn’t have as much. We have a building where training happens, another where the… experiments happen” She wiggled in her seat uncomfortably “There are barracks for teachers and young recruits to live and some facilities for all Operatives to use to train. Operatives who are not teachers have a small residence area near the family’s official residence. Those that are not high in the society structure of the family do not live in the official residence but in one of the outside houses”
“The Operative area doesn’t have markets or restaurants?” He asked
“No, we don’t get paid remember?” She said turning toward him with a sad smile. He frowned
“How do you get food then? Or clothes?”
“We are provided one set of each type of clothing, we have to loot or trade for replacements or upgrades from other Operatives. If we get promoted we do get a new set showcasing the new level on it. As for food, we fish and eat the moss that is on the side of the river if the family doesn’t want to provide food to their Operatives”
Garrus grumbled at the information.
“We have our basics taken care of Garrus. Anything else is excessive and unneeded”
“Having more than one outfit is not excessive Erinyes” He countered softly “Having choices is important”
“Having choices is exhausting” She bit back quickly causing him to laugh
“Yeah, yeah it is” He agreed with a smile. He set the skycar down and quickly got out. She opened the door and he offered his hand to help her get out.
“I thought public displays of affection are not allowed” She whispered to him. He smiled
“This is a friendly display” He teased and she grinned back. She felt her breathing quicken as she noticed the throng of people that seemed to flow like a river nearby. “Let’s get you near the wall” He said gently and she followed close by and watched as people flowed around them as the two walked. Her ears were focused primarily behind her listening to anyone who might attack her from behind as her eyes flitted from person to person who walked towards them, only leaving them once they moved away from the two.
She was tense by the time they made it to the stall selling dextro food. She realized her next problem.
She didn’t know how to read the Turian language. Plus, she was speaking English.
She would need to learn a Turian language quickly to make her alias more believable.
How had she not realized that before?!
She was thankful that, at least here, the terminal had each line item in multiple languages with a description of what it was. She assumed that wouldn’t be the case everywhere though.
“Excuse me sir” She said and the attendant came over “Do you happen to have a mushroom that tastes like meat?” She asked and the attendant nodded and pointed to the line item. She thanked him and added 5 to the cart. Garrus noticed that everything she put in the cart was a multiple of 5.
“Sweetheart” Garrus cooed.
She knew he was acting, but hearing him call her sweetheart made her heart flutter
“Yes love?” She responded as she looked up at him.
His heart pounded hearing the pet name for him.
“There are only 4 of us. Why are you getting servings of 5?”
“Well darling, where I… grew up, you always prepare one extra for something unexpected, whether that be on the battlefield or on the table. If nothing unexpected occurs that means you get more food” She said with a smile before going back to adding food to the order.
He watched her as his heart kept pounding. He wanted her to call her these pet names in real life, not as an act.
What he would give to have this be real life.
“How much food do I need to order?”
“Shepard said 1-2 months’ worth”
“Thank you”
She finished the order and looked up at the store clerk
“How much for a rush order?”
“It depends on the size of the order, for your order today… 1000 credits” She nodded
“Please add it.”
“Where are we delivering this to?” She looked expectantly at Garrus
“Dock 422” He answered for her.
“The soonest we can deliver it is in 4 hours, is that acceptable?”
“Yes. Your contact onboard will be the helmsman, Monkey-man” Erinyes said smoothly, trying to smother her grin and Garrus snorted. She handed him the credit chit before he could say the price. She didn’t need to know.
“Thank you for your order, we hope to see you again soon.”
“Thank you” She said with a nod and Garrus led her to an elevator nearby.
Being on the Presidium was a breath of fresh air to the Vextra. There was a bit more space and less people and she felt she could breathe. Garrus took them to the Embassies and she touched the console to announce her presence and waited for the doors to open.
Captain Anderson opened the door a bit confused until he saw Garrus.
“Detective Vakarian, Ms. Tisis” He greeted and gestured for them to come inside. “You came at a good time, the Human ambassador just left.” He responded and nodded at her to drop the software “What can I do for you today?”
“I would like a license to drive the Mako as Sgt. Katz”
“Sgt. Katz is a mechanic” Captain Anderson reiterated
“I am aware. I also don’t want to die on the way to a mission”
He rose an eyebrow at the statement, silently asking for her to continue. “Sir, the only time I was awake as a passenger while Shepard drove… I couldn’t count how many times I thought we were going to crash and die.”
“The Mako can withstand a lot” He countered
“He drove us off of multiple cliffs sir” She added
“A different time he drove up a mountain and had his foot to the floor so we jumped off the mountain face. He did so intentionally” Garrus added further, coming to her defense.
“I swear the man doesn’t know what a brake is. He plowed through wildlife” She noted. Anderson looked amused. “The mission we are on is important. The crew should be focused on the mission ahead of them instead of thinking they are going to die before the mission even begins. When I got out of the Mako it took me close to 3 minutes to be able to stand by myself. All because of his driving. That does not help with war readiness sir”
“And you agree with this assessment Detective Vakarian?”
“Wholeheartedly sir”
“The next time you have a couple days on the Citadel I will schedule the course and test for your license.”
“Thank you, sir. Oh, and please don’t tell Shepard”
“Why not?”
“He was driving badly on purpose and rubbed it in my face that I don’t have a license. I plan on rubbing it in his smug fucking face when I have it”
Anderson barked a laugh and shook his head
“That is doable. But that means Tisis won’t be available for the mission. Since Sgt. Katz is support staff you would be stuck in the Mako.”
“I’d rather do that and make sure everyone makes it to the mission alive than worry we are all going to die. Unless… can Tisis get a license?”
“Not for Alliance issued vehicles”
“Pity” She lamented with a sigh
“Anything else I can help you with?”
“No sir”
Anderson walked them out of the embassy and bid them farewell after she brought up her software.
With both of her mischievous deeds completed Garrus checked the time.
“The reservation is coming up. I hope you’re hungry” His voice was slightly higher than normal and she nodded.
She had skipped lunch since she ate the last of the food for breakfast. She had been looking forward to some good food. As they took the elevator down to the wards she found herself getting more and more nervous the closer they got to the restaurant.
Erinyes gasped when she saw the inside of the restaurant. Unseen to her Garrus grimaced.
How much was this going to cost?
Her eyes scanned the restaurant and she leaned over to him
“You asked for a table near the wall, right?”
He stood stunned
No… no he hadn’t
She looked at him worried when she saw his face
The maître d'hôtel found their reservation and Garrus noticed Erinyes stiffen when the man brought them to the table. It was in the middle of the room
“I’m sorry, is there a table near a wall perhaps?” She asked politely.
The maître d'hôtel blinked at her “My apologies madam, this is the only free table we have available at the moment”
She struggled to give him a smile and sat down, tensing when a guest and a waiter passed her.
“Could we wait for a table near the wall?” Garrus asked
The maître d'hôtel “Sir, if you had asked your request beforehand we would’ve been able to do so, unfortunately we cannot with such short notice”
Garrus watched her flinch as another waiter walked passed and watched her blood pressure rise.
“Do you offer takeout?” He asked and Erinyes looked up at him relieved
The maître d'hôtel looked offended and gasped
“Sir, we are a fine dining establishment. We do not do takeout.”
“Then you can cancel our reservation.” Garrus responded and pulled out Erinyes’ chair and offered her a hand to get up. He followed her out of the restaurant and took her to a small alcove for her to regain her composure and calm her nerves
So much for tonight being romantic
At this point he should throw out the entire plan for the night Tali and Liara had made
Go dancing? Too many people
Go to the movies? Dark and too many people
Walk around the Silversun strip at night? Too many people.
Get her some flowers and chocolates at the food stalls before they close? The wards would be filled with drunks and workers heading home.
He racked his mind on what to do until he heard her stomach growl.
She hadn’t had lunch.
She must be starving.
He thought of a restaurant that few people frequented and couldn’t think of anything unless it wasn't frequented because the food was terrible.
He groaned
“I’m sorry for ruining your plans” She lamented with her head down
Did she think he groaned because of her?
Fuck
“You have nothing to apologize for” He said gently “I promised you good food and I can’t think of a place that matches the caliber of cooking you make” He admitted before leaning his back on the wall next to her and resting his head on it looking at the ceiling in defeat
Their first date was a failure
His father wouldn’t be surprised.
“It doesn’t have to be fancy” She said leaning closer to him “As long as it isn’t as bad as a ration I’ll be fine”
“You deserve better than just ‘food that is fine’” He retorted as he mentally beat himself up.
“Where did you eat when you worked at C-Sec?” She asked. She was close enough now their arms were touching and the touch alone was enough for him to look down at her.
She wasn’t angry or disappointed.
Maybe this date wasn’t a failure.
“There was a food stall I frequented that sold stir-fry and fried food I enjoyed”
“Is it in the wards?”
“Yes”
She bit back a groan
“Do they do takeout?”
He laughed
“That’s all they do”
“Sounds good to me” She said and followed him to a rapid transit terminal.
Once off the ground she sighed taking in the sights of the Citadel at night.
With her distracted he thought of somewhere they could eat.
His apartment? No, she might think he expected more than just her company
It needed to be away from people
He grinned. He knew just the place
The skycar landed and he offered his hand and led her to the food stall while keeping her close to the wall.
“Vakarian! Haven’t seen you in a while” The attendant greeted joyously
“I’ve been off the Citadel.”
“That would explain it. Your usual?” He asked and Garrus laughed
“Yes please” He turned to Erinyes “What would you like, sweetheart?”
“What do you recommend?” She asked him. The attendant looked between the two and grinned
“Is this your girlfriend Vakarian?”
Garrus stiffened briefly
“Yes, I’m Erinyes” She answered after seeing his reaction from her peripherals.
“It’s about time someone snagged him” The attendant said offering his arm. The two clasped it and then let go. Garrus bit back a growl. “Do you know how many women pinned after him? He left a lot of broken hearts” the attendant joked as Garrus stiffened
“Did he now?” Erinyes asked with a teasing lilt, but even with her joking about the subject he watched her stiffen
“Oh yes. He would complain to me that none of them were his type” She relaxed. He quirked an eyebrow plate.
Interesting
“No one able to pique your interest love?” She teased
“Not until you darling” He purred and watched her blush under the software. He grinned
Interesting indeed
Why did he sound so genuine when he said that?
Why was she blushing?
It was an act she reminded herself
It wasn’t real!
“To answer your question” Garrus answered as he ducked his head closer to her ear, her real ear. “I recommend the fried fish. You were wanting fish earlier” His words were smooth and sultry and she felt her heart skip a few beats
What the fuck was happening to her body?
Why was she responding this way?
“I will take the fried fish then” She stammered trying to calm down her heart rate
He had talked.
That's it
He talked and her heart beat rose
“I do want some vegetables though, what do you recommend?” She asked the attendant. Asking Garrus would’ve been a moot point since he only recently discovered he liked them.
The attendant rose an eyebrow plate
“A Turian who like vegetables. Never thought I’d see the day”
“I converted him” She deadpanned
“I’ll only eat your vegetables sweetheart.”
The attendant laughed
“The Quarian stir-fry has a vegetable medley in a sweet and sour sauce”
“I’ll take that too. Thank you”
The attendant left to make the food and Garrus decided to tease her more
“You heart rate rose earlier. Everything okay?” He teased
“Maybe, I don’t know what’s going on with me” she muttered quietly.
He snorted softly
She had no idea.
He had watched her rip a man’s arm off and punch another’s face in with such force to slam their body into a wall.
Watched her effectively dance with knives.
For someone so deadly she still was so innocent.
It was a strange dichotomy
“Here you two are” The attendant said happily.
Garrus handed him his credit chit, the attendant refused it
“Consider it my gift for the happy couple”
Erinyes blinked before blushing again.
“Th-thank you” She stuttered out. Garrus grinned and nodded his thanks
“Invite me to the bonding ceremony” The attendant yelled after them as they walked off
Erinyes looked horrified and if Garrus hadn’t had food in his hands he would’ve facepalmed.
He now regretted taking her there
That was another step backwards
This whole date was one disaster made up of his tiny failures
Garrus took them to an elevator nearby and brought them up to the Presidium and they walked enjoying the night air and very few people still walking around.
Eventually he took her off the path and through a metal gate.
“These are the gardens of the Citadel Races. Each species has their own garden that showcases flora from their homeworld” He explained as they entered the first one. “This is the Asari garden with flora from Thessia” He described and she marveled at the trees filled with cherry blossoms “The trees bloom year-round”
“Wow” She responded looking up at the nearest tree in wonder.
He grinned
He might be able to salvage this date after all. He continued leading her on the path of the gardens
“This is the Salarian garden with flora from Sur’kesh” This garden was a lot more humid. She gasped when she saw the bioluminescent flora glowing in the night. She walked up to some and poked one of the bioluminescent flowers and watched as the flower closed and the flowers around it changed colors before closing as well.
“They remind me of home” She admitted quietly. “They act differently and glow in different colors though” She added as she turned towards him with a grin
Garrus waited patiently for her to come back to him to take her to the next area.
The next garden was hotter, but not as humid. This was where he wanted to sit and eat at
“This is the Turian gardens with flora from Palaven”
“You are from Palaven right?”
“Yes” He said, pleased she remembered. He sat the food on one of the benches and motioned for her to come closer to a plant “Palaven’s atmosphere is too harsh for many living things to be awake or open during the day, and that includes plant life. This is a plant from Cipritine, where I was born. It’s the colony flower. We call it Cipritine’s Breath” He said and checked the time.
For once on this date things were going perfectly.
The plant opened up its outer leaves and showed off a large bud that began to open up as the two watched with bated breath. The flower unfurled its massive petals and took Erinyes’ breath away. The main flower was bigger than a dinner plate but the same plant had smaller flowers. The petals ranged from orange on the largest exterior petals to white in the center. Garrus picked one of the small ones and held it for her to smell. It smelled sweet, like a mixture between champagne and jasmine. He then gently put it in her hair and watched it disappear under her software. He got the bags of food and gestured to sit on the ground. He gave her her food and a fork and the two began eating
“How long do the flowers on Cipritine’s breath last?”
“Only the night. The large flower attracts the insects needed to pollinate and the smaller flowers ensure the insects get enough pollen to do so.”
“They are so pretty, it’s such a pity they don’t last longer”
“My mother said that it’s a metaphor for life. Life is fleeting so enjoy the things you can while you can”
“What language do you speak in Cipritine? Or is based on family like on… my homeworld?”
“We speak Palaven Standard and for special occasions Catus Imperative.”
“Could you teach me? I realized in the wards how strange it is for a Turian to be speaking English” He laughed
“Technically you’d need to speak Aplis, being from Solregit” He said with a smile. “But I would be happy to teach you Palaven Standard” He sighed happily “What do you think of the food?”
“I didn’t tend to eat a lot of fried foods” She admitted “Oil was hard to come by for… people like me” She grinned at him though “It is really good though. The stir-fry is excellent. Do you want to try?” She asked as she held out the takeout container with the vegetable medley. He sighed with a mild look of disgust on his face but pushed it aside and took a vegetable chunk loaded with sauce from the container with his fork before trying it.
He was surprised.
He wasn’t sure why he was. Her palate was excellent.
“Guess you’ll be eating more than just my vegetables from now on” She teased and continued eating. He smiled back at her before holding out his own container
“This is a Palaven type of… bovine I believe you called it? It is hard to get outside of Palaven and my favorite meat.”
She took a piece and tried it. Her eyes going wide in shock before looking at him.
“That is divine” She marveled. She happily continued eating. “I think this was better than eating in that restaurant”
“It was Tali and Liara’s idea to go there” He admitted
“Why was it their idea and not yours?”
“You’re not the only one they deemed hopeless when it came to romance”
She snorted
“Was this their idea too? To come here?”
“No”
“Then your idea of a date was better.” She said casually
She said it so casually but it stopped the voices in his head telling him how much he failed today
His head was silent for a moment and he stared at her. Really looking at her
In the night sky with the Widow system behind her and the Cipritine’s breath night blooms around her and in her hair, she was easily the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
“Garrus” She said getting his attention. She sounded nervous
“Hmm”
“Spectre Kryik said something to me that I need confirmation on”
Garrus gulped
He swore that Spectre stuck his nose into everything and enjoyed causing drama. Especially when it came to him.
“What did he say?” He asked cautiously
“We talked about soul-bonds” She said and she watched him stiffen at the words. “He thinks you have a soul-bond with me” She said carefully. Watching him out of the corner of her eye.
She was only bringing this up now after the display with Joker.
She needed to get to the bottom of this.
He was so relaxed, and it seemed like the least likely time for him to blow up if he would
“Was he correct in that assumption?” She asked carefully, still watching him without her face turning to him
He stalled for a moment before sighing
“Yes”
Her mind reeled.
She had to be very careful then.
Normally she would feel appalled, or disgusted, that someone would have even a minor attraction to her. A soul-bond was so much more serious. It should make her sick to her stomach, or horrified.
Why did she feel…
So…
Euphoric?
Happy? No, she was more than happy
She felt almost a sense of honor that he had a soul-bond to her.
The silence bit at Garrus. He had no idea what she was feeling and felt his nerves increase.
What if she rejected him?
Felt horrified that he was tied to her?
The idea of her pushing him away made him want to stop breathing to stop the pain in his heart.
“Please talk to me” He pleaded
He desperately needed to know what she was thinking
Was this the end of their relationship? Their friendship he had carefully cultivated after lying to her initially?
“I… I feel confused” She said honestly and he sat closer to her so he could see her face. “Normally I would feel disgusted. The idea of anyone wanting me to be more than a friend disturbs me”
His heart dropped.
This was it. The end.
His heart clenched at her words
Of course, she wouldn’t want him
Why would anyone want him
Again, his father wouldn’t be surprised.
He wasn’t even sure his father wanted him as a son.
If he did, he never showed it
“I don’t understand why knowing you feel that way makes me feel different” She finished
He took a deep breath in. Air finally hitting his lungs after holding his breath
His breathing slowed. The voices swarming in his head stalled
“How… how do you feel?” He asked, heart beating hard in his chest. He felt it was trying to escape from his carapace
“It makes me… I don’t know how to describe the feeling” She said, her face scrunching up making her nose wiggle slightly
“Can you try?” He said taking her hand and putting it in between both of his. He needed to know her thoughts. Where they were.
“It’s similar to being happy I guess, but... more?” She said looking at him for help.
More than happy.
He grinned at her.
“Like… elated?”
“Maybe?” She answered. He let out a laugh before pulling her forehead to his crest
“You scared me, I thought you were going to end our friendship”
“I’m sorry, emotions are hard for me to explain. I’m not used to them” She said which caused him to snort. He wanted to snuggle against her neck, wrap his arms and legs around her. Do so much more than what they were doing.
But she needed to initialize it.
Not him
She pulled him away and gently touched his mandible. His subharmonics sang of his love and devotion to her
“We need to talk about something serious”
He nodded. He was happy she was touching him, but his nerves shot up as he wondered what she wanted to talk about “Spectre Kryik said you are uncharacteristically territorial of me. I have been monitoring it, and it concerns me”
Garrus gulped. His subharmonics faltered
“I am happy for you to keep strangers away from me, but when it comes to the men on the Normandy, the people we work with, the people you and I are friends with… that behavior is what concerns me most” She said before taking a breath “I have a feeling there is a reason you are doing it. Could you… uh… tell me why it is happening, please?” She had been rehearsing these words for a long period of time. She was relieved they came out so calm and even
Garrus looked down.
“I… How much do you know about Turian relationships?”
“Next to nothing”
“There are a couple different types of relationships. We have many casual relationships that exist mainly to maintain our stress.” He watched her grimace. He was glad he didn’t have to explain Turian stress relieving options. “I’m not expecting that out of you” he said as he touched his crest to her forehead again. “We have a more serious relationship, like boyfriend and girlfriend, and then an even more serious relationship, as bond-mates” He explained, still touching his crest to her forehead, eyes closed. His subharmonics quivered at what he was going to tell her “When we get into a serious relationship we can maintain our other casual relationships if our partner is comfortable with it. My last girlfriend knew I wasn’t comfortable with her casual relationships. She told me she wouldn’t have them anymore. But she… she lied.”
“You felt…” She began, struggling to find the right word for the emotion, and touched his mandible again, softly stroking it and his subharmonics once more told of his mixture of emotions for her that she probably wouldn’t understand.
“Betrayed? Yes. I-I’m afraid” He gulped. No good Turian would admit his fears. They would keep it down and live with it. “I am afraid… you will do the same” He forced himself to say, his voice quivering
“Garrus” She said pulling away so she could look him in the eye. “You are the first person I have ever felt this way to” She said “No one else. Just you” He choked back his sob. “Can you please try not to be so territorial with those on the Normandy?”
“I’ll try” He said and she nuzzled her face against his. His subharmonics exploded in different notes. He felt seen, heard and loved.
She kept her head on his shoulder.
“What else are we going to do on this date?” She asked. He pulled her close as he thought, before grinning.
Places with few people.
He knew the place.
It was even open all night long
………………………..
Garrus handed her the sniper rifle and she grumbled about how heavy it was. He chuckled before putting the rifle on a stand
“Better?”
“I still think this is ridiculous. I’m horrible at this.” She whined.
“Which is why we are practicing it” He said with a teasing lilt and a grin while correcting her form.
She took the shot and groaned at the recoil made her land on her ass.
“Fuck” She muttered as she rubbed her shoulder. He grimaced and helped her up
“You alright?”
“That hurt like a bitch” She muttered.
“We should try this with a lighter rifle.” He offered laughing softly and she sighed.
“I’m fine with my assault rifle and pistols thanks” She said indignantly
“Like you said earlier sweetheart” He watched her heart rate pick up and smiled “You are trained to be prepared” She scowled at him for using her own words against her.
“It’s too heavy and the fact it overheats is stupid. I told you how horrible I am sniper rifles and this thing is much too heavy and bulky and I hate it.” She continued to whine
He bit back a laugh but couldn’t hold back the smile of amusement for her acting like a whiny child. She looked adorable. She groaned at his reaction before looking to see if anyone was watching and materialized her assault rifle
“Let me show you” She said before handing him the shooting range’s assault rifle. “Shoot it” He did so, unleashing a few bullets each one of them hitting dead center “Show off” She muttered, and he barked out a laugh since he was sure she could do the same exact thing. Not as stylishly of course. “Now try mine” He took it in his hands and was stunned. It weighed next to nothing. It looked like a hologram but when he squeezed the sides it felt real. He aimed and fired, noticing the lack of recoil that was typical of assault rifles. He kept shooting, noticing it wasn’t overheating or running out of bullets.
“When does it run out of bullets?” He asked as he examined it further
“When I run out of energy” She said as he handed it back. “So, hotshot” The nickname made him grin “Want to have a friendly competition?”
“You’re on”
“Need to even out the score from our spar” She said as she stretched. They each got into the designated area and waited for the countdown.
“In your dreams darling”
………………..
“Fucking tie” She complained in disdain
“In the end I still win” He teased nudging her with his elbow. She rolled her eyes
“I will even the score.”
“Maybe”
“We were asked to spar with each other” She stated, her eyes darkening
“I doubt Spectre Kryik meant the beat-the-shit-out-of-each-other type of spar. Chakwas forbade those types of spars as well sweetheart.”
Her eyes lightened and she pouted.
“That’s no fun”
He chuckled at her reaction. “Garrus, the names you have been calling me… are you saying them as an act?” She asked nervously, shifting her feet slightly
He stepped closer to her, deciding in that moment to do an experiment
“Would you like me to continue calling you sweetheart and darling on the Normandy” He purred directly in her ear. He watched her shiver at his words.
After the experiments he had conducted over the course of the night he made a conclusion
She was affected by his voice.
He couldn’t wait to exploit that at the correct time in the future. Mainly when she was ready to make love to him.
“Uh… um… yes?” She said, her voice tiny and quiet. He had the urge to wrap her up in his arms, press her up against the wall and ravage her. He took a deep breath to quelch the urge. Hopefully one day he would be able to act on those urges when they appeared and she would happily accept and desire them.
But that day was not today
“Then I’m happy to oblige” He looked at her with adoration, his subharmonics singing his joy of her acceptance.
He couldn’t think of another day that could beat how happy he was at that moment.
Chapter 19: More than Friends
Chapter Text
“Whiskers! How dare you say my name was Monkey-man was the POC for the dextro food delivery” He glared playfully at her, lightly nudging her. She grinned and stuck out her tongue. Garrus did his best to bite back his growl “How was your date?” Joker teased
“It was nice”
“Was I right or was I right?” Joker asked. Erinyes coughed a laugh.
“You were right, thank you for the advice” Joker looked pleased with himself and Garrus scowled lightly.
“Tell me everything” Joker excitedly gushed, mockingly putting his hands together against his chest and making a sigh of wonder, fluttering his eyelashes at the Vextra.
“It was great, we went to see the gardens” She faltered shyly when she noticed Shepard leaning on the wall nearby
“Ki-Whiskers” Shepard corrected himself and she leveled a harsh glare at the Turian “There is a present in your room”
“Wha- you already gave me a present” She stuttered gesturing to the omni-tool “I don’t need another present”
“Remember what I said before? You are a part of the crew. Get used to it. Tomorrow evening we will be leaving the Citadel and heading to Feros. I want you both on the mission” He insisted with a grin. They nodded before Garrus escorted her to her room.
…………………………..
He looked past her and grinned
“I see Shepard got you a Turian bed.” He purred and she looked up stunned. She noticed it was a bed similar to Spectre Nihlus’ just a bit narrower so the bed didn’t take up the entirety of the small room. She had the sudden urge to fall face first onto the bed.
She indulged her curiosity and sat on the bed and flopped backwards. The bed sank to hold her shape and she purred in bliss.
She needed to thank Shepard. This was an amazing present, definitely one of the best presents she had ever been given.
“Erinyes” She opened her eyes “What… what are we?” He asked as he shuffled his feet again. He was nervous about her answer. “Your alias is in a relationship with me. It felt nice- natural even, being around you like that. You liked the pet names. So, I just wanted to know”
“I don’t know”
“Do you… want to try to be more… than friends?”
She sat up. She felt scared and he saw it on her face immediately. He kneeled in front of her and tilted his head. “Why…” He remembered Joker saying he had given her advice “Joker said he gave you advice. Why didn’t you come to me for it?” He asked hurt in his eyes.
“I…” She looked away “I didn’t know that we were even going on a date. I escaped Tali and Liara overwhelming excitement about what I should wear. Joker explained that you had asked me out on a date. When he saw how scared I was about the date-”
“Why were you scared?” He asked concerned
“On Earth, back in 2025, I don’t know about now, if a man has a date with a woman he often expects her to be… intimate... and if it doesn’t happen he can get angry or violent even”
His face fell.
Did she think he would?
“I didn’t know what to expect. Joker told me a good guy wouldn’t do that. That you wouldn’t. He helped me be ok with going on the date” She explained. He gently took her chin and forced her to face him.
“And the fear I saw just now about being more than friends?”
“Similar fear. I… I don’t know if I would ever b-be comfortable being intimate with someone. Relationships often expect it”
“If you aren't ready for it I’m not going to push you” he attested gently, rubbing the back of his talons against her cheek. “I don’t plan on pushing you to do anything you aren’t comfortable doing. I’m happy going your speed”
“I just…” She sighed, looking down “I don’t understand what you see in me”
He stayed silent for a moment to collect his thoughts.
“Erinyes, I” He took a breath. Sitting on the bed next to her “I’m not good with words. I’ll need time to formulate them to answer that. I can say that you are the most amazing person I have ever met and one of the most important people in my life”
She stared into his eyes trying to process what he just said. Head swimming. She nuzzled him before resting her head on his shoulder. He embraced her and he chirped when he felt her arms around him.
“I can’t say I understand. But I can try being more” She whispered towards his neck and felt him sigh in relief. “Thank you for trying to stifle your territorial behavior with Joker” He hummed into her hair. Contentedly breathing in her scent. “When you do know the words please tell me” He hummed in response and she felt herself relax in his arms.
They sat like that for a moment before he pulled away a little bit
“Do you want to sleep in more since Tisis can cook alongside the Levo cook?”
“I wouldn’t mind eating with the rest of the crew rather than hiding away like we have been” She confessed. Garrus looked a little disappointed. “But I would still like to wake up at the same time. We can use the quiet of the cargo bay to spar” She added and he brightened up and stood.
She either was starting to get very good at reading Turian emotions, or specifically Garrus’.
“I like that idea. Good night… sweetheart.” He grinned when she blushed and stammered
“G-goodnight” She managed to get out. He smiled at her before leaving her room.
Who knew being called pet names could be so enjoyable?
She took the Cipritine’s breath from her hair and put it on her nightstand
Her first date was wonderful.
Were all dates like that?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Harder jabs” He instructed. She breathed heavily and growled
“This feels so unnatural” She caterwauled
“But it is natural for Turians” he gave her a sympathetic smile and she sighed. “Let’s call it a day and start again tomorrow”
“Fine” she groaned with a dejected sigh.
“Shepard told us we will be on Feros in five days” He threw her a towel, she caught it and started wiping up the sweat “We need your alias perfect”
“Understood” She nodded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Erinyes exited the bathroom and was yanked to the side after exiting the hallway
“So, how did your date go?” Tali asked, Liara close by and rivaled the excitement Tali was oozing
“Uh… it was nice” The sudden jerk of being grabbed had her nerves on edge and she stammered out her barely formed thought
“Wasn’t the restaurant dreamy?”
“Um…”
“Did you have fun dancing?”
“What did you think of seeing the Silversun Strip at night?”
“Did you like the romantic movie we chose for you to watch at the theater?”
“We… didn’t do any of that” She mumbled. She hadn’t realized the two had planned more than just the restaurant.
The two were immediately stunned
“What do you mean you two didn’t do any of that?” Tali badgered dangerously
“We went to the restaurant but the constant flow of people around me made me too uncomfortable. They didn’t have a table near a wall so we left”
“What about the dancing?” Liara asked
“We didn’t do that either. I didn’t even know that was part of the plan”
“What did you two do?” Tali asked her tone showing her annoyance
“We… we went to a food stall Garrus frequented when he was in C-Sec. We took the food to go so I wouldn’t have to be uncomfortable with all the people. We went into the Citadel gardens and he showed me around them. We stopped at the Turian gardens right as the Cipritine’s breath started to bloom. We ate dinner and talked and then went to a shooting range”
“So, none of our hard word was appreciated?” Tali lashed out as Garrus headed over. He stopped when the angry Quarian turned on him. “All our research and planning and you didn’t do any of it?”
Garrus put his hands up in a defensive posture
“She gets anxious in crowds. Large amounts of people activates her fight or flight response. All your suggestions were with a large amount of people” He explained quickly.
Tali huffed but was satisfied with the response.
“Did you find the date romantic?” She asked turning towards Erinyes. She sighed.
“Tali, I couldn’t tell if something was romantic if it shot me in the head” She deadpanned.
Tali didn’t respond
Unless, of course, you considered her throwing her arms in the air with an irritated huff and muttering “They’re both hopeless” as a response
Liara forced a smile at the two before heading back to her room
“Um… I wanted to know if you wanted to go shopping to get one of those cloaks” Garrus asked and she brightened up immediately.
“Yes!” She cheered happily and leapt towards him and grasped his hand in both of hers. Seeing her reaction and excitement made his heart swell.
The two left the Normandy in their armor and Garrus took her to a ward that was well known as being a shopping and fashion district. He kept her close to a wall but with all the windows to the shops it was difficult to keep people away from her. To help ease her anxiety he opted for having her walk barely in front of him so she would have one less direction to worry about. It eased her distress but just barely.
The night before he had spent hours looking for a shop that sold cloaks like the one she had her illusion wear the night of their date and found one shop. This was the shop he took her to.
The shop was not very large and to his relief there were not a lot of people inside.
By the look of it the shop owner approached them and welcomed them inside.
“Welcome to House of Serdy. Can I help you find something today?” The Drell asked with a short bow. Erinyes tried to keep her reaction to this new species to a minimum.
“I was hoping to buy a cloak?” Erinyes quiried and the owner smiled and led them to the back section of the shop. She gazed at the unique fashion around her. It did not match the fashion she had seen on and around the Citadel. “You store sells very interesting clothing” She opined approvingly
“Here at House of Serdy we pride ourselves in fashion that stuns and amazes. We aim to be vastly different than common fashion seen around us to push the idea of fashion”
“It does seem like many people wear similar things” Erinyes commented as she glanced out the window at the throng of people passing and the similar dresses and clothing.
“I concur. Fashion here has been closely following Asari fashion for a long time. There is nothing wrong with that, of course, but because Asari live such long lives the fashion cycles change very slowly. So to other species like us, fashion of today seems stuffy and stagnant” Erinyes nodded but couldn’t really say much. The owner would not like the fashion for Operatives. The last time it was changed it caused an uproar. That was over 10,000 years ago, if not longer. In comparison, Vextra fashion moved like lightning. It was consistently changing. Status allowed intricate patterns and piping into the silk or messa, a fabric like tulle but as soft as silk. Overseers had outfits as outlandish as their hair to show off their status.
To Operatives that luxury seemed hugely wasteful and unnecessary.
Sure, the idea of fashion was wildly different than what she experienced on Earth. There really wasn’t a thing like old, outdated fashion on Wejesu. People bought fabric, or old unwanted clothing, and went to fashion designers for them to create something unique, that fit their own personal style.
Mass production could damage the temperamental cave environment and was outlawed and severely punished.
The owner showed off a few types of cloaks. Erinyes happily looked at her options and tried them on
“We do things differently here. These are samples. We make the clothing item to order by hand to your specifications. It can take a couple weeks”
“We don’t live on the Citadel. We are currently residing on a ship, the timing won’t be an issue as long as we don’t have to pick it up immediately after it is finished” Garrus explained
“No, we will keep the item in the back until your next visit to the Citadel. We do charge a fee if it takes longer than a month to pick up the item though” The Drell explained. Erinyes nodded
“That shouldn't be a problem” She grinned and held up a cloak she had just had on. “I like this one” The Drell smiled softly at her, took up all the cloaks and placed them in a bin to refold later and brought her to the register, setting the cloak she had liked aside. He brought out a data pad and went to the page he wanted.
“Here are your choices of fabric and colors.” He brought out a physical book filled with fabric and color swatches so she could view them in person. She matched options on the data pad to the book and made her decision on fabric quickly. She wanted a thicker fabric, based on how the thicker fabrics felt the decision was simple. She grinned when her favorite color was an option.
“This one” She pointed to the swatch
“Deep sapphire, excellent choice” The Drell remarked and went through her other options. She went without a lot of the bells and whistles since she really didn’t need them. She decided to get the cloak lined and had a hard time deciding on which color.
She sighed and looked at Garrus who was trying very had not to look bored. She motioned him over. She took the swatch book and held up a swatch to his face.
“Should I get this one, or this one?” She asked as she gestured to the black or the shade of blue that matched his colony markings. He grinned
“This one” He purred pointing to the blue option. She grinned.
“Cerulean blue. Lovely choice” The Drell commented tapping it into the order form. Please double check what I have entered. Once the order is in the order is final. Returns are not accepted unless a mistake is made on our end” He handed her the data pad and she scanned it.
“Everything looks good to me”
“Your total today is 3,070 credits” Garrus choked as he attempted to gasp and coughed briefly. She paid him no mind and handed the owner her credit chit. He sent her a copy of the order and verified contact information to let her know when the cloak would be completed.
She hummed happily as she headed out of the shop and her happiness waned when she saw the people.
“I’m right behind you” Garrus hummed as they stepped out.
…………………………………
“Lovely to see you two again” The shop owner of the food stall commented happily “Did you want the same thing you had yesterday?” Garrus tilted his head to Erinyes and she contemplated
“The fish was delicious, but I want what he had last night with the vegetable medley” She answered. Garrus’ subharmonics rose in glee
“Make both large enough to share” Garrus added. The shop keep stared wide eyed at Garrus and then to Erinyes.
“You, you are a miracle worker darling.” The shop keeper stated in awe Garrus’ eyes narrowed. “Do you know how hard it is get Turians to eat their vegetables?” She gave him a blank look, and in a grand gesture gestured to her face
“I have an idea”
The shop keeper laughed.
“I’m Brantus”
“Erinyes”
Brantus left to work on their food and Garrus decided to bring up the cloak price
“You do realize how expensive that cloak was”
“It’ll be one of a kind.” She rebutted dismissively
“Still, it is a lot of money.” Garrus noted, trying to get through to her
“Garrus darling” She purred smoothly making his heart flutter. “I have all these credits and have no need to buy anything. I’d rather support someone who makes nice quality and unique clothing than only use my credits to buy food” She explained “Besides, the cloak was amazing quality. It will last a long time” and he baulked at her. He hadn’t thought of it that way.
Brantus returned awhile later.
“Your meal, Erinyes, is on the house for performing the miracle of Garrus ordering vegetables” He chuckled as Erinyes smiled. He turned to Garrus and deadpanned “Yours is 30 credits” Garrus sputtered as Erinyes tried not to bust out laughing, her hand in front of her mouth in amusement. Before Garrus could react, Erinyes handed Brantus her credit chit and Garrus looked shocked.
“Sweetheart I got it”
“My treat”
“It really is alright” Garrus argued. She gave him a hard look
“You can buy dessert” Erinyes commented slyly and Garrus laughed and acquiesced. She smiled in response.
“You two are adorable” Brantus exclaimed and handed Garrus the food “In all seriousness, during your mating ceremony I would be honored to prepare the food” Erinyes blanched
“Brantus, we started dating yesterday” Garrus groaned. Brantus stayed silent for only a moment and blinked twice slowly.
“The offer stands for when you two are ready to have your mating ceremony” Brantus added not missing a beat. Garrus groaned
“Brantus”
“I ask that you remember it for later” Brantus pressed, enjoying pestering the detective. Garrus’ mandibles ticked against his jaw
“Thank you Brantus. If we have a mating ceremony we will keep it in mind” Erinyes responded seeing Garrus getting more irritated by the second. Brantus nodded to her in thanks.
“I swear, if he didn’t make such excellent food…” Garrus lamented as they walked away. Erinyes giggled in amusement as he kept her towards the wall. He sighed and looked at the Vextra “What did you want for dessert?”
“Surprise me” She bubbled with a grin
……………………………….
“Can we go back to the gardens?” Erinyes asked
“We could, but there will be quite a few people there.”
“Oh” Erinyes scowled dejectedly
“We can go back to the Normandy, or I have an apartment here.” He saw her stiffen “I’m not expecting anything sweetheart. It is just a place where we can be alone and away from people” He quavered before adding “Thought I could return the favor of constantly going to your room” he added and she snorted softly.
“You promise you won’t-”
“I promise” He attested firmly and confidently interrupting her, knowing what she was going to say. She felt nervous but nodded. She reminded herself of the words Joker had told her the day before and reminded herself that Garrus had never done anything untoward when they were alone in her room, the only difference was they were going to his apartment.
They took an elevator up and he used his omni-tool to open the door and let her enter first. The lights turned on automatically.
He closed the door and locked it. She could feel her anxiety bubble over slowly. She went further inside tentatively and Garrus walked past her to set the food on the counter in his kitchen. He gently took her left hand and began updating things with her omni-tool
“You have access to the lock now” He purred softly in her ear. She felt herself relaxing and gave him a relieved smile. He pressed his crest to her forehead briefly before pulling her into a hug. “You still seem nervous” He murmured ever so gently into her ear.
“I’m sorry”
“Why are you apologizing”
“I-I can’t stop myself” Garrus pulled away just enough to look her in the eyes and studied her before things clicked.
“Tell me if I’m mistaken.” She nodded at his words “He had a temper, and you apologized to him to stop him from lashing out at you” She grimaced and looked down in shame
“It-it didn’t always help”
“Why didn’t you protect yourself? Spirits seeing what you could do with your tech”
“He wasn’t an Operative.” She sighed and he closed his eyes and cringed.
“Anything you did to him would lead to you dying.” She nodded. He took a hand in each of his and looked at her seriously “I don’t plan on doing this. I’m saying this to make you more comfortable.” She nodded “If I lash out and hurt you in anger, you have my permission to strike me back with tech” He declared. She looked horrified and her jaw dropped
“Wha-no!”
“I say this because the only way I would do so is if I am not in my right mind” He rubbed his thumbs over the tops of her hands and she calmed. She hugged him tightly to herself
“I don’t think I could” She admitted softly. The idea of her intentionally using tech on him was not something she wanted to think about. He gently held the back of her head to him and hummed.
“Shall we eat?” He asked. She reluctantly pulled away.
Now calm she took a better look at his apartment. It was spacious and was very meticulously organized and put together.
“I know it isn’t a large apartment…” Garrus explained as he pulled out a couple plates when he noticed her eyes roaming. She turned to him in shock
“Not large? Garrus, an Operative would be lucky to have a room just the size of this space” She motioned to the living room “It’s huge. I wouldn’t know what to do with all the space” She exclaimed. He stammered before beginning to giggle
“It isn’t tiny, but really, it isn’t big”
She tilted her head and gave him a hard look.
“Garrus. If you had this “large” apartment you mentioned, though I doubt it exists,” He snorted before she continued “what would you do with the space?” She motioned to what she could see. A TV on the wall, a decent sized couch that looked incredibly comfortable, a coffee table, bookshelves organized perfectly with small mementos on top. Paintings and pictures adorned the wall stylishly. “To me it doesn’t look like you need more. It isn’t cluttered. You are using the space effectively without making it feel like you are trapped. A larger apartment would just be a waste and would make you feel like you’d need more stuff.”
Stunned by her words he stared at her as she passionately talked. His inner monologue silenced and he had the desire to wrap her up in her arms and nuzzle her before worshipping her body for making the voices constantly degrading himself be quiet.
He closed his mouth before chuckling.
“You really don’t like “stuff” do you?” He asked amused
“If it isn’t needed why bother with it. Everything here looks like it serves a purpose.” He wrapped her tightly in his arms and rested his crest against her forehead
“Thank you” He murmured.
Erinyes pulled back softly so she could look at him and tilt her head
“What are you thanking me for?” She asked thoroughly confused.
“Uh…” He took a deep breath. Last time he admitted his feelings she listened, and didn’t judge him. She comforted him when he needed it even though she was awkwardly trying to figure out how to. “The words my father would tell me when I was a child, it gave me an inner monologue that constantly tells me how bad I am at everything” He finished slowly. Looking away. She took his head in her hands and rubbed his mandibles.
“Love, you didn’t answer my question” She prodded gently. He looked at her
“You silenced the voices” His voice cracked. He had never admitted any of this to anyone. No good Turian would.
She looked up with eyes as gentle as petals floating in the breeze. She nuzzled his face against her own and rested her head on his shoulder. He pulled her closer. His subharmonics let loose a barrage of differing notes, showcasing his many emotions.
“Garrus. If you thought I’d judge you based on your apartment, you were mistaken. As an Operative I had next to nothing. You remember how pleased I was with my room and your kitchen is twice the size of it”
He snorted as he rested his head on hers.
It was irrational. He knew that now.
Her stomach rumbled as it smelled the food.
She moved her head slightly from his shoulder and looked at the window and then up at Garrus. He understood her thought process before she even opened her mouth.
He tapped away at his omni-tool and the shades began to cover the windows to give them some privacy, not wanting to let her go, but reluctantly doing so.
She dropped her imaging software and opened up the food containers. He handed her a spoon and she began dishing out the food onto the plates. He took both plates and brought her to the couch and placed the plates on the table before sitting down and getting comfortable. She sat down next to him and sank into the couch and let out a blissful sigh. She studied Garrus, he still looked like he needed more comfort. After grabbing her plate and fork she swung her legs over his lap and leaned up next to him so they could talk while facing each other.
He chirped in surprise and balancing her plate in one hand she reached out and took a mandible in the other and stroked it softly, a huge smile on her face
Liara’s voice echoed in her head
He can’t read your mind
“I love it when you do that” She whispered softly, blushing as she admitted her thought
“Do what?” He asked confused
“The chirp. I think it’s cute.” She admitted “I think that might have been the first thing that made me realize that I felt differently about you.” He looked at her in shock, her blush deepened “I had never thought anything anyone had done was cute, well, maybe kids. I remember the thought made me really confused. I’m glad I know now that it was the start of feelings forming” He grinned at her and cupped her cheek gently bringing her closer to his face and she took his hand from her face so she could nuzzle him. He took his fork and took a piece of the bovine meat and held it out for her. She blinked in surprise before taking the bite from his fork. He trilled in delight and she shrugged at herself and did the same thing earning her another chirp which made them both grin.
They continued to feed each other until they were full
“What should we do now?” Erinyes asked as she got comfortable leaning against his shoulder, her legs still draping over his lap
“How many episodes of Hazbin are left?”
“4”
He checked the time on his omni-tool
“We have time to watch a couple more episodes” She nuzzled against his face with adoration and got comfortable against him. He set his TV to connect to her omni-tool and the two settled into watching a few episodes
………………………………………………..
“I’m really enjoying this series. Lucifer and Alastor are hilarious” Garrus noted as he washed the dishes and Erinyes looked at him thrilled
“Me too, do you want me to send you the song with both of them singing?”
“Yes please, that and the one with Charlie and her dad” He added and she took the dishes from him and dried them, stacking them on the counter. He dried his hands off “I much preferred episode 5 to episode 6” She laughed and hopped up on the counter as he put the dishes away.
“Same.” Once Garrus was finished he stepped closer to her again. He tapped her knees.
“Um… do you trust me?” He asked awkwardly. She tilted her head slightly but nodded. He gently pulled her knees apart and stepped into the gap he made and took her head in his hands when he saw a flash of fear from the action. He hugged her close to his body. She slowly relaxed when she realized he wanted nothing more than to wrap her in his arms. “Thank you for comforting me today” He murmured into her shoulder. Hearing his words Erinyes tucked her arms under his armpits and pulled him towards her further. He let out another chirp of surprise causing her to let out a delighted little giggle. She nuzzled against his face.
“Your welcome darling” She softly breathed as she rested her head on his.
“Can we… stay… like this?” He asked cautiously.
“As long as you need” She whispered before correcting herself “Or until the last possible minute we have to leave” He hummed against her shoulder in thanks and she purred
……………………………………….
On the walk back to the Normandy they were mostly silent. The cool air and the lack of people relaxed the Vextra and she had a soft smile on her face as she enjoyed it.
Rustling caught her attention and she screamed and jumped a couple feet in the air at what she saw. Instincts raging she grabbed Garrus as she tried to get herself as far away from the creepy spider thing as possible as it walked past.
Garrus couldn’t help from doubling over in laughter completely losing it as Erinyes made all manner of noises in her attempt to keep it away from her. She fell off his back when he doubled over, and she scrambled backwards to put as much space as possible between the spider thing and her. He brought out his omni-tool to record the reaction.
When she realized it was not coming near her at all she focused on the Turian who was gasping for air and on his knees using his hands to keep from falling over further.
She growled before kicking his leg softly. With the exception of sparring she couldn’t bring herself to hurt him, even when angry. He met her eyes, the laughter still showing even as he tried his best to stifle his laughter
“What was that?!” She growled
“That” He tried to keep the laughter at bay so he could speak “Was a keeper” He cackled ending the recording
“And you thought laughing and recording me was the best course of action while I was trying to get away from it?” She snarled and he snorted trying to get the laughter under control and not start another laughing fit
“They are harmless.”
She glared at him
“Thanks for the fucking heads up” She growled before dumping the addition “darling” The word was dripping with sarcasm
“I wish I recorded it from the beginning” He mumbled to himself as he got up and offered a hand to her. She swatted it away and got up herself. Wiping the dirt off her
She growled darkly and about-faced, walking away from him and muttered Slaneska curses.
“This way darling” He teased gesturing a different path. She glared at him
…………………
She grumbled as she entered the Normandy and Garrus stifled his laughter as the incident with the keeper replayed in his mind again. Which garnered the attention of Joker who turned his chair around
“What happened?” Joker asked curiously looking between Garrus and Erinyes
“She saw her first keeper” Garrus explained, trying desperately to control his snickering. She glared at Garrus, hurt evident in her eyes. Joker looked like Christmas came early and he was being gifted two Normandys.
“Garrus, please tell me you recorded her reaction to the keeper” Joker pleaded
The Turian grinned broadly before her seething stalled it.
“I did, I don’t think it’s wise for me to share it” He muttered quickly clocking the hurt in her eyes.
Joker looked like Garrus sucker punched him in the gut
“Come on” He whined “Please”
He looked at Erinyes and how angry and hurt she was before turning back to the helmsman.
“No”
Joker sighed before turning his chair around grumbling as he did so.
…………………………..
“I want to apologize. I went too far with telling Joker about the keeper reaction” He apologized, his mandibles fluttered as she dropped the software and leveled him a harsh glare again “Could you tell me why you are so angry and hurt? You look like you are fighting the urge to punch me”
“I am.” She ground out
“I see.” He hesitated as he shuffled on his feet. “I thought I was just mildly teasing you. I didn’t mean for you to get upset from it” He explained and she let out a long breath.
“To be ridiculed for something I didn’t even know existed is cruel. Recording it is even worse” she blustered visibly hurt and voice strained.
He stared at her lost in thought, feeling horribly guilty
“I… I’m sorry”
Her eyes flashed her hurt again
He floundered as he attempted to think of a way to fix the situation
He wanted to pull her close but she didn’t seem to want to be touched.
“I… I’m sorry. How can I make it up to you?”
“I don’t know”
“I’m sorry I messed up” She sighed at his words. “If… how… how badly did I mess up? Can you look at me please?” She turned to face him but wouldn’t look at him in the eyes. “Can I touch you?” She nodded and, within a heartbeat, he enveloped her in a hug. His subharmonics buzzing and singing his apologies. “I promise not to do that again”. She moved her head so her chin was on his shoulder “Do... you forgive me?” He asked nervously
“Will you show anyone the recording?” She inquired
"No"
"Then fine, I forgive you" She growled out through clenched teeth
“I promise I won't” He quickly added.
…………………………………………………………….
“Vakarian” Ashley called to Garrus in one of the rare instances where he was away from his girlfriend’s side.
He turned, a little shocked the marine would call for him. They had a fairly simple relationship. They didn’t bother each other or cause issues with each other. For her to seek him out was strange. He walked over suspiciously.
“I overheard that you took Erinyes on a date.”
“How?”
“Joker” she bluntly responded. He grimaced. Rumors travel fast on a ship. “Knowing what I do about the…” Ashley saw support staff in the cargo bay and sighed. She would need to speak in code “Turian, I highly doubt any other date Liara and Tali plan for you two lovebirds would be that enjoyable for her”
Tali and Liara had been pestering him to help him plan a redo of a romantic date for Erinyes. He sighed.
“It sounds like from what she has been through she has some form of PTSD, and honestly it would be surprising if she didn’t” Ashley whispered quietly for the Vextra’s privacy. Garrus was now intrigued. “So I came up with some ideas that you can use that might be better for her.” She o[pined and sent over a list of things
He began reading the list and barked out a laugh. Top of the list was a shooting range
“We went to a shooting range on our first date” He exclaimed happily. She smiled
“She is a warrior, from what she shared of how she grew up the idea of someone romancing her might feel foreign and uncomfortable. I would steer clear of outright romancing her unless you two are alone in a room together. I doubt she would feel comfortable being romanced in public” She advised. “I’d also look into something nice to tell her if I were you. Make your feelings for her into a poem or something” She offered. Garrus looked shocked.
“I- Why are you doing this?”
“Erinyes and I have been teaching each other combat moves and chatting. I care about her like I care about my own sisters.”
He was not aware that she would do those things.
“Thank you” Garrus was a little stunned but appreciative
“And like I would to any guy dating my sisters.” She gave him a hard stare “If you hurt her I will hurt you” He stared at her a moment
“That is the last thing I would want to do”
“Good, keep it that way” Ashley retorted and turned away to continue servicing the crew’s weapons, effectively ending the conversation with the Turian
Garrus stood a moment longer staring at the marine before turning and heading to the Mako to repair it, flabbergasted.
Chapter 20: Coddling the Kitten
Chapter Text
“Equalizing interior pressure with exterior atmosphere. Logged: the Commanding Officer is ashore. XO Pressly has the deck”
Erinyes felt giddy as she was on her first official mission. She felt like she could actually be useful to the team in their hunt for Saren. More importantly for her she felt she could help in the fight against the Reapers.
Shepard, Nihlus, Erinyes and Garrus left the airlock on the Normandy and began walking the crumbling Prothean ruin that was on Feros. Erinyes had to bite back the urge to take the lead, following someone else was strange. But at this point she trusted the people she was with and would listen to what was asked of her.
Shepard took them to a man waiting for them a short distance away.
“We saw your ship. Fai Dan wants to speak with you immediately.”
Erinyes narrowed her eyes. The cadence of the human male struck her as odd. She intuition was saying something was off and she felt herself tense, muscles readying in case the unexpected happened.
“Who’s Fai Dan?” Shepard asked.
“He’s our leader. He needs your help to prepare for the geth. They’re making another push.” the strange man answered. “Please. Up the stairs past the freighter” Unfortunately, he didn’t get to say much else when the geth ambushed them and shot a missle directly in the back of the man’s back.
Erinyes took to cover and observed the geth. She used her visor to give her information about the new species and when she went to leave cover to get closer Garrus pulled her back.
“No” He growled. She snarled at him. With Garrus forcing her to stay where she was she was forced to pull out her assault rifle and begin shooting the geth. The warbled sounds of their mechanics pulsed in her ears alongside the gunshots. There weren’t many geth in their ambush. But that didn’t mean they were easy to kill. Erinyes had a new appreciation for Ashley for surviving on Eden Prime.
When the immediate threat in front of them taken care of Shepard motioned for them to move forward to the geth attacking them near the doorway.
With a quick glare at Garrus she hopped over the cover she was using and rushed forward. She wanted to showcase her skills, she craved it. Her muscles itched for the burn of attacking and the adrenaline that coursed through her veins. She missed the thrill of it all. Shepard took cover next to her and the two began shooting the geth coming in from the entrance. Erinyes assumed that doorway would take her to the colony the man had mentioned. She ducked as a bullet flew over her and Garrus pulled her backwards, using her weight against her and bringing her to cover near him.
“What the fuck Vakarian?” She snarled at him. She was too far away to use any of her weapons now.
“Those two are snipers.” He motioned as he lined up a shot and took one out. “Their bullets can kill you”
“As they can you. So what?” She bit back. She was furious at the way she was being treated by him. How he was treating her as a rag doll and not allowing her body to do what it craved. “I can’t do anything from here” She snarled glaring daggers at Vakarian.
Shepard listened to the two bickering.
“Erinyes, Garrus, later. Focus” Shepard barked the order without looking backwards and Erinyes growled but acquiesced.
“Yes sir” Garrus responded and lined up another shot with his sniper rifle. Erinyes just continued to glare at Vakarian. With nothing to do to help she updated her tech to let her know of any geth nearby, and to watch out for new kinds of geth she had not encountered yet.
Soon the path was cleared and Erinyes made to rush forward to the doorway.
Garrus was too quick though, and once again blocked her from doing so, using his body and weight against her.
She was reaching her breaking point with the Turian. Her tech chimed a warning and she tapped her visor to see in between the walls.
“Wait” She called out. Shepard stopped and took cover, turning to her expectantly. “There are some weird spider geth things hanging on the walls ahead. I count 2.” She shuddered. She hated spiders
“Fuck I hate those things” Shepard muttered. “Thank you, Erinyes,” He closed his eyes to form a plan
“If I may” She started, Shepard met her eyes “One is hanging off the wall next to a platform. I can climb the wall, make it to the platform and attack from above”
“Are you sure you could do it? The shots those things fire are dangerous.” He warned.
“I can do it” she offered confidently.
“No!” Garrus interrupted “Absolutely not. Those things can tear through your shields and kill you easily”
“Or I can kill one and be useful” She said emphatically and venomously, glaring at him in response.
Shepard pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.
“Enough! Erinyes, go” She nodded once, brought up her tactical cloak and quietly crept through the doorway and deftly climbed the wall using the claws on her hands and pawed feet. She made it to the platform quickly and checked her surroundings. No other spider geth were around to see her except the one waiting to ambush the group. She dropped her cloak so more energy could go towards her shields.
She looked at the distance. Measuring the distance and doing the math on how far she would have to jump and how much tech to put in her legs to do so. She studied the geth looking for weaknesses, and most seemed near the light fixture in its head.
“I’m ready Shepard” She whispered into the comm
“Do it”
She took a deep breath, ran from one edge of the platform to the other as quietly as possible and jumped. She materialized her knives in the air and stabbed the geth in the head, using the claws on her pawed feet to get purchase on its body. The spider geth fell from the wall from the sudden weight and she rotated her body so it wouldn’t land on her. She saw the light fixture on its head glow red
“Jump off of it” Garrus growled the order through the comm "NOW" she did as she was told. She pushed off of it, seconds later the light fixture exploded in front of her, killing the machine.
She flipped and landed deftly on her feet, claws scratching the floor to stop the slide. More geth came down the stairs and the other spider geth aimed red beams at her. She took cover and materialized her pistols and began firing in quick succession. The others got closer to her position and soon the last of the geth were taken care of.
“Good job” Shepard put a hand on her shoulder as he passed her. Garrus growled lightly.
She shot him a dirty look stopping his growl in its tracks.
They bounded up the flights of stairs and upon exiting the door jamb was met by humans. Although she wanted to find relief she felt her velvet-like hair rise on her arms. Something was off here. She couldn’t figure out what, but something was off.
“Head to the tunnels. Make sure they're secure” One of the colonists ordered to another
“But… What if I find geth there?” Another colonist asked.
The group went past their barricades, the colonists barely registering they were there, which caused a shiver to go down Erinyes’ back.
“Are you saying you won’t go?” The first colonist asked the other
The group made their way around the freighter and Erinyes was too on edge to really pay attention to the words the colonists were saying when Shepard approached them. Eventually the four made it to a man they could only assume was Fai Dan and a woman standing next to him.
“Oh, Commander. I’m glad they finally sent somebody to help us” Fai Dan exclaimed.
“You’re a bit late, aren’t you?” The woman scowled. Erinyes growled and the woman looked at Erinyes with blank eyes before looking at the Commander again. Erinyes’ mind was put on high alert.
Something was wrong, and it had to do with these people.
“Arcelia!” Fai Dan admonished “Sorry, Commander. Everyone’s on edge since-” Mechanic warbling echoed in the nearby tunnel
“Watch out!” Arcelia cried out “We’ve got geth in the tower”
“Protect the heart of the colony” Fai Dan ordered
The group jumped into action. Nonstop gunfire between the geth and the organic species volleyed.
After tense minutes the last geth fell. Without a word otherwise, Shepard led their group into the tunnels.
Going up the stairs they found more geth and Garrus pulled her back once again. She was getting sick and tired of the coddling.
“Fucking stop Vakarian” She seethed, her words dripping with malice. He glared at her. She snarled. They eventually found themselves in a circular room with no ceiling as a geth ship dropped geth from the skies, forcing the four to fight wave after wave of geth as more came from the geth ship above them.
Her tech flashed and she looked up
“Drones!” She warned ducking for cover. She used her assault rifle to take out the drones alongside the others as more geth dropped in from the geth ship above them “Motherfucking never-ending geth” She complained under her breath. She heard Spectre Kryik snort at her words.
After what felt like hours the ship left and she took a deep breath to calm her nerves and her rapid heartbeat.
“We should update Fai Dan on the situation before we move on to wherever the geth are bunkered. He’s the closest thing to proper channels” Garrus stated, Shepard nodded and the group followed Shepard back to Zhu’s Hope.
As they made their way back Erinyes and Garrus argued the entire way. Shepard stopped the group abruptly turning to face them before they headed into the colony,
“You two need to figure things out now!” Shepard ordered to the bickering pair. Erinyes nodded, activated her tech in her arms and legs and dragged Garrus by the cowl to a nearby hallway they had just cleared before rounding on him
“What the fuck is your problem Vakarian?” She snarled getting in his face, using her tech to push him without injuring him. He skidded and corrected his balance.
“My problem? Why are you intentionally trying to get yourself injured?” He snarled back. Her eyes went stormy and looked at him aggravated
“I am not trying to get myself injured, I am trying to injure and kill the fucking geth” She hissed, ears tilted back and her four canine teeth glinting as she scowled
“And you have to do that by getting close to them? You are aware of how powerful their weapons are right? Snipers can cut through your shields, who knows what else can” He snarled back
It was getting harder to keep their voices low, their anger kept fanning the flames of the other’s anger.
“I’m not a fucking sniper Vakarian. I excel in close combat. I’m fucking useless in battle unless I get close” she exploded. His face and subharmonics showed the mixture of displeasure at her words “You know this, I told you. So why are you not allowing me to help the team the best I can?”
He snarled glaring at her
“I don’t want you to get hurt or killed” He growled, emotionally charged
She sighed a long sigh of displeasure.
“I have been trained to be a fucking weapon since I was 2 Garrus” She was trying to calm herself down. Knowing where he was coming from helped, but she was offended he thought of her as some weak damsel to be protected. She looked at him harshly “I can handle myself on the battlefield. Any enemy close to me will die wishing they had stayed away.”
“These are geth… they are machines Erinyes” He started to calm himself down, taking her face in his hands. “I don’t think they can think in that way”
“They are AI Garrus, of course they can” She retorted before swatting his hands away and stepping away from him. She crossed her arms and glaring at him. He needed to see how pissed off she was. “What I think is severely offensive is you acting like I am some weak child who needs to be protected. I’m not. Stop coddling me and treating me like I am”
“I don’t want to see you hurt!” He exclaimed
“Then watch my 6!” She commanded
“Can’t you just use your assault rifle?” He whined, his subharmonics keening.
She muttered in Slaneska under her breath in her frustration as she massaged her temples
“I understand you are worried about me and I know why” She took a deep breath “You haven’t seen the variety of fighting skills I have though” She gave him a pointed look “Until you do, unless I am in immediate danger, do not tell me what to do” Her feral nature’s dual toned voice with the addition to the device gave her a quad-tones. He shivered before closing his eyes and sighing.
They were both stubborn, and neither wanted to give up the ground they had in their minds. They both had their reasons not too.
“Garrus,” Their eyes met, he saw the hurt in them and felt his heart squeeze knowing it was from his actions “I see this mission as an audition to be brought on more missions in the future. I want to help Shepard and stop the Reapers. If I don’t showcase my skills on this mission I’m scared they will keep me off all future missions. I don’t want to be dead weight and useless.” She slumped against the nearby crumbling wall and closed her eyes as she tilted her head up. “The other option I don’t like either. They might separate us on missions in the future. I don’t like the idea of you not watching out for me”
He winced. He hadn’t thought of that. The idea of her being on a mission without him watching and keeping her safe terrified him.
He took a couple steps to close the space between them. He gently took her hands in his
“Sweetie.” Her eyes met his instantly “Promise me you won’t do anything rash when you fight”
Compromise.
This was a compromise he could manage.
“I promise” She said, a small smile on her face. Happy that he wasn’t going to stop her any further.
“If you do anything rash I will drag you out of the battle and tie you into the Mako.” He added darkly, his voice dropped an octave and his subharmonics rumbling deep bass notes. The words and sounds made her shiver.
She wasn’t scared but…
Excited?
Why was she excited? What excited her?
Why was navigating through these new emotions and situations so difficult?
He touched her forehead to his crest and cupped her face in his hands. His talons delicately touching her cheeks.
Being against the wall and feeling the coldness at her back and the hardness of his armor press against her felt nice.
What on Wejesu was wrong with her?
Whenever he did this to her, she would feel terror.
But he wouldn’t hold her face so delicately and rub his thumb against her cheek as softly as Garrus was.
He would be looking at her in lust, wanting her to feel pain and terror. Garrus was looking at her in a way she couldn’t explain. She didn’t have words to explain what she saw there but she knew he meant no harm to her.
Garrus was so gentle and she found herself moving toward his touch and purring.
“Thank you, Garrus,” She pulled away to nuzzle him.
She wanted him to nuzzle her.
When did that happen?
“Could” She gulped hard.
What if she got triggered?
What if she thought of him?
But… what if she didn’t?
“Could…?” Garrus repeated, trying to get her to continue her question
She had to try.
“Could you… nuzzle me?” She asked, breath hitching in her throat. He looked at her before slowly and gently nuzzling her head against his.
It felt nice.
Wonderful really.
Thoughts of him forcing his head near her throat flooded her head and she froze, drawing in a gasp of terror before shaking. Garrus backed off to see what was happening to her and engulfed her in his arms
“You’re safe. I’m here. He isn’t” He whispered softly in her ear. She trembled, choking back a sob as he pulled her closer. He repeated his words over and over again.
“I’m sorry” She muttered against him
“Don’t you dare apologize. You are trying to fight against things your body remembers. It will take time and I am willing to wait as long as it takes”
“It doesn’t seem fair to you” She muttered
“My mother always said the best things in life are given to those willing to wait and work hard” He rubbed her back gently with his talons. His fathers words were similar, but like his father, more harsh and unforgiving.
She sighed. “It’s frustrating”
“We will work through it” He expressed as his subharmonics hummed. “I am proud of you for trying” He added softly, resting his head on hers.
When she calmed completely they headed back to Zhu’s Hope. By the time they arrived Shepard and Nihlus had already met with Fai Dan and were talking to a couple of the colonists.
Erinyes was half paying attention to the conversation Shepard had with the colonists and half focused on what was going on around her. Something here made her velvet skin stand on edge and she felt on edge. The way the colonists responded was strange too
“Something is off here” She muttered quietly enough so the Turians could hear. Garrus glanced at her and nodded. Nihlus hummed in agreement
They headed back through the tower to help the colonists. After finding pockets of geth and turning on the water successfully, Erinyes sighed and spoke up.
“Shepard I have a question” Shepard nodded at her to continue. The group stopped and Garrus and Nihlus took cover to watch the doorway they were about to enter. “Our mission is to stop the geth and find out what they are doing here, what they want. Why are we wasting time doing all this for the colonists?”
Shepard sighed. Normally he would be beside himself with annoyance, but she was brought up in a vastly different environment.
“I take it when you went on missions you wouldn’t do anything like this?”
She nodded. “Mission takes priority and there had to be a very good reason to sidetrack from it.”
“Well, as a Spectre and not an Operative, I like to help those that can’t help themselves. It doesn’t take a lot of time, and it isn’t out of my way but it makes a world of difference to those that I help. That’s why”
She tilted her head and contemplated his words.
“You help freely?”
“Of course”
She looked conflicted
“That doesn’t happen on Wejesu?” Shepard deduced
“No, if someone helps, the person needing help would be horribly mocked for not being able to do things themselves or some sort of payment or favor would be required. Help is not freely given there” Garrus eavesdropped on the conversation and smiled. She had asked for his help a couple times. It wasn’t easy for her to ask, he was glad to finally understand why. He felt proud that she felt safe enough to ask for his help.
“Well, you’re not on Wejesu. If you ever need help, please ask. There will never be a favor or mocking provided or required in return. It’s what friends do” Shepard placed a hand on her shoulder and gestured with his head to the door Nihlus and Garrus were using as cover. She nodded and followed.
After killing more geth and killing a pack of what the others called varren, and getting the cores someone else in Zhu’s Hope needed, they found a human man who seemed not quite right in the head at the end of the hallway.
“What are you doing so far away from Zhu’s Hope” Nihlus inquired
“Nothing I should be, and anything I shouldn’t” the man answered.
Garrus lifted an eyebrow plate
“He a sphynx or something?” Erinyes muttered. Garrus gave her a bewildered confused look and she waved him off
“NOOOOOOOO!” The man screamed suddenly, jarring the Vextra as her eyes went back to the pain clearly in pain, hands balled up into fists. “Oh. That was a good one. Very intense”
Erinyes was deeply freaked out and concerned and once again felt the velvet skin on her body stand up. Something was seriously wrong here. She had no idea what it was but it obviously was hurting the colonists and making them go insane.
“What’s the matter with you?” Shepard asked
“Just invoking the master’s whip. Helps remind me I’m still alive.”
Thoroughly freaked out Erinyes stepped closer to Garrus. Needing his presence to help calm her nerves. The man did not notice. Unlike some of the other colonists she had studied, his eyes didn’t seem as lifeless.
“You’re here for the geth, aren’t you? You’re not the only one interested in those… things” The man said
“Who else is looking for the geth?” Shepard asked. Erinyes didn’t care. She wanted to leave the crazy man alone. To get as far away from him as possible.
“Not looking for; looking to get rid of” The man corrected “They’re a thorn in the side of the- wlaaaagh! Agh!” The man howled. Erinyes grabbed Garrus’ arm, her eyes not leaving the man screaming in pain, completely freaked out and fighting against her fight or flight response to leave quickly. “Trying to get to the—aaaaaiieee!!” Erinyes fully stepped behind Garrus and felt herself tremble slightly.
Why was this so alarming to her?
“Gyahh-ha-ha-ha! Ahahahahaha!” The man screamed in pain before laughing.
“Can we go now?” Erinyes whispered
“I don’t think we can help him Commander” Garrus chimed in softly
“Help me? No. No one can help me now” The man said cryptically “I would rather die fighting”
“Fighting what?” Shepard asked, his tone showing how on edge this man was making him
“Not that kind of fight. It’s like running through a thorn bush. The more you struggle…” The man was struggling with his words. Almost like something was pulling him from being able to speak. He suddenly stood up straight, looked past them, no longer struggling with his words. Erinyes shuddered at the sudden change “Time’s up. Company’s coming” Suddenly struggling with his words again “Ask Fai Dan. Ask him about the- aaaagh!” the man was in so much pain he fell to the ground. Erinyes heard a chime and spun around
“Geth!” She warned and went to cover. Garrus doing the same, sighing in relief when she chose her assault rifle over getting closer.
…………………
The group once again made it back to Zhu’s Hope to update Fai Dan
“Commander? What can I do for you?” Fai Dan asked
“I destroyed a geth transmitter in the tunnels. They won’t be a problem any longer”
“Thank you, Commander. We’re in your debt. You’ve taken a great weight off my shoulders. I just wish I had such good news for every problem” Fai Dan resentfully muttered in his weird cadence.
“Some of the colonists are acting strange” Shepard began apprehensively.
“That’s an understatement” Erinyes barely whispered. Garrus brushed the back of his talons against the back of her hands letting her know that he heard her.
“We’re a close-knit group Commander. Most of us have lost loved ones, friends…”
“These aren’t trained soldiers. Nobody taught us how to deal with the horrors of war!” Arcelia interrupted. Erinyes scowled. That woman grated on her nerves badly.
Normally that wouldn’t happen but being so on edge for so long her patience was wearing thin quickly. She had to bite her tongue from saying anything else. She was not in charge. She needed to be okay staying in the background and being ready to fight.
“This is our home. We’ve watched the geth slowly destroy everything that is important to us. Don’t judge us too harshly” Fai Dan added.
Erinyes wasn’t convinced. Her instincts told her not to let her guard down.
“There’s a guy living in the tunnels. Is he one of of yours?” Shepard asked, unphased by Fai Dan’s attempt at manipulation.
“That would be Ian. He’s very sick” Fai Dan answered.
“He seems to be more than just sick” Shepard pressed
“He hasn’t been the same since the attack. We tried to help him, but he wouldn’t listen to us” Fai Dan explained “I can’t help my people if they won’t listen, Commander”
“I should go” and with the that the group turned.
Erinyes felt it very strange how Fai Dan responded. His words kept replaying in her head. This whole mission has just been strange.
Shepard delivered the cores to the colonist who needed it and talked to the colonists who needed the water to be turned on and the varren killed. The words the colonist were saying to thank Shepard grated on her. Especially after what Ian had said in the tunnels
With the colony more stable Shepard led them to the Prothean elevator to take them to a skyway. Erinyes grimaced as she stepped carefully in the elevator, scanning it with her eyes and her visor. Feeling very uncomfortable and making her way to the corner to brace herself. The others looked at her.
“It’s Prothean” She explained. Shepard rose an eyebrow
“And?”
“The elevator is old. I’m expecting this to crash. I’m bracing for impact. Also, the Protheans suck” Shepard sighed, but said nothing further. Garrus snorted and Nihlus rolled his eyes. Shepard activated the elevator to go up to the skyway and Erinyes pressed her back more into the corner she was in.
“Note to self: do not bring Erinyes and Liara to a Prothean ruin together” Shepard muttered
Erinyes snorted
Erinyes dashed out of the elevator once she had the chance, barely registering the chime from her tech
“Watch out” A colonist warned the other colonist returning fire
“Scouts. They’ll be here any minute now” The other colonist exclaimed.
Without missing a beat the group grabbed their weapons and made quick work of the drones in the room.
“Perimeter clear Commander” Garrus commented as he swept the room with his visor
Heading down the ramp she saw her worst nightmare.
“No” she barely uttered
“Fai Dan said it is too windy to go on foot” Shepard responded, a smile of glee on his face
“No” She repeated in horror, louder than before
Shepard laughed
“Wait, it isn’t alliance!” Erinyes exclaimed hopefully
“Nope, no license” He ribbed in a saccharine voice before heading to the waiting Mako. She cursed in Slaneska
“What about them?” She whined gesturing to the two Turians
“Nope” Shepard laughed joyfully as he got into the driver’s seat. She looked horrified and distraught
“Hopefully it isn’t a long drive” Garrus cooed and motioned for her to get in. She sighed in defeat and entered. She rushed to put on the harness before Shepard decided to barrel through the skyway
She let out a sound of despair slip through her lips as Shepard began driving much too close to the barrier for her liking that kept them on the skyway and away from their death. Watching wide-eyed and horrified as the Mako nearly toppled over the edge a couple times as he drove through the geth Nihlus couldn’t take out with the Mako’s gun.
“I hate this” She whispered over and over again as she clenched her eyes closed. Wishing the nightmare of Shepard’s intentional awful driving was over, whimpering quietly whenever the Mako bumped into things. She yelped as she felt the Mako get catapulted in the air and when one of the giant geth gun things shot at them.
She felt Garrus’ hands engulf her own that was white knuckling her harness in fear.
“It’s worse if you keep your eyes closed” He whispered gently. She whimpered and opened her eyes as a missile hit the Mako. She flinched as it collided. She watched Shepard drive over the offending geth as Nihlus kept on the giant white geth gun.
“Keep shooting the Colossus Nihlus” Shepard ordered as he continued driving
“On it Shepard” Nihlus responded coolly laying into the next one.
While they fought the geth a signal came through a couple of times. She felt overwhelmed at what was happening, not paying attention to what was said on the transmission when they finally entered a structure. Shepard stopped the Mako to investigate the transmission.
Erinyes let a sigh of relief escape her lips and she gingerly let go of the harness. Garrus engulfed the hand he kept on hers completely and gave it a gentle squeeze. She caught his eye and gave him a small smile in thanks.
Her feet felt wobbly when they hit solid ground and Garrus helped keep her upright as she gripped the Mako to help stabilize her. Shepard gave her a knowing grin that she wanted to rip off of his face violently. She caught her breath and stepped away from the Mako. Garrus held onto her elbow for a few moments before every one of them, except Shepard, stopped and tilted their heads to the sounds of talking nearby.
“What is it?” Shepard asked as he took a few steps forward noticing the other’s reactions.
“It might be the people who we heard earlier in that transmission” Nihlus offered
“Which direction?” Shepard asked. The three of them pointed in a different direction to the one Shepard was originally leading the group in.
Following the sounds, they met a group of humans who fled the ExoGeni facility when the geth took over. Shepard found some who needed help and talked to a mother hoping her daughter was still alive in the facility the others fled from. Erinyes wasn’t really paying attention. Her nerves shot from the many near-death experiences in the Mako.
Hearing Ethan Jeong talk about recouping losses had Erinyes level him a deathly glare and pay more attention though.
Who talks about recouping losses in a near-death experience?
“-we split up. Most of us live close to the headquarters. Zhu’s Hope was used as a port. When the geth hit we scattered. We assumed they were killed in the first wave.” The mother of the missing daughter explained.
“We cleared Zhu’s Hope of the geth. It is safe there. I recommend you head that way” Spectre Kryik told the two.
“No, no, no. I don’t think that’s a good idea” The company man drawled with an air of superiority in his tone. Erinyes looked at the man with suspicion. Something else was going on here. “We have no vehicles and the skyway offers little protection. Listen, our best hope is to sit tight and wait for company reinforcements. They’ll come eventually”
Erinyes scoffed.
“Yeah, when you are all dead. Ungrateful bastard” She muttered under her breath.
Shepard ordered them to bunker down and the four headed away from the bunkered area the humans were in to go the headquarters. Another crumbling Prothean ruin that Erinyes didn’t care to enter.
“A crumbling ruin repurposed to be headquarters filled with offices and R and D labs. Why not have headquarters closer to their “port”? I swear something is off” Erinyes muttered quietly as they went up the ramp
Erinyes’ eye twitched when she realized they would have to go back into the Mako.
“Can’t we just walk?”
“There are colossus out there sweetheart. It’s too dangerous” Garrus emphasized, nudging her towards the Mako and she let out a sound of discomfort
“But being in the Mako with Shepard driving is just as dangerous”
Garrus and Nihlus barked out a laugh and Shepard grinned broadly before hopping into the driver’s seat.
Erinyes put on her harness and gripped it as they drove until there was no more road they could drive on due to the ruins crumbling apart
“Never before have I been so ecstatic to be in a crumbling ruin made by those damn Protheans” She muttered to herself
The four hoofed it, Erinyes eying the ruins with disdain. There wasn’t much they could get to except one doorway that was locked.
“I could probably hack that” Erinyes offerd and Shepard motioned for her to do so. Using her own tech she was able to bypass the console’s firewalls and open the door.
She stepped aside for Shepard to go in first and realized the room was empty save for a few places to loot.
“Sure, when I loot, it was looked at badly but when you do it, it isn’t” She grumbled sarcastically
“You were looting bodies darling. Shepard is looting objects. Big difference” Garrus explained. She rolled her eyes and scoffed.
A colossus activated in the room frightening Erinyes and causing her to jump and her tail to floof up. Garrus grabbed her to get her behind him and began firing. Erinyes materialized her assault rifle and did the same, the group inched towards the exit for cover.
After a few harrowing minutes the colossus went down and the group took a short break.
Erinyes’ heart was still racing. Garrus looked at her and took notice of her vitals on his visor while scanning her for any injuries.
“I’m fine” She breathed “You?”
“I’m ok”
She nodded and breathed a sigh of relief as her breathing and heartrate returned to normal.
With nothing else on the level they were on they looked for a safe way to get to the lower level.
“I can jump down” She offered. Garrus’ growl shut down that idea
“You are not going to that level alone Kitty” Shepard commanded, agreeing with Garrus. Garrus looked pleased. She made a face and nodded.
“Over here” Nihlus called. They headed over to a part of the floor that had crumbled away leaving a pile of rubble to make the jump down not as dangerous. “It’s a one-way trip though” Nihlus noted
She bit back her comment. She could climb back out. But she wouldn’t have a reason to unless asked.
They hopped down and nearly got shot. The shot missing all four of them
Chapter 21: The Thorian
Summary:
Erinyes continues the mission on Feros and meets the Thorian
Notes:
Some dialogue was changed to make it more seamless and to add Erinyes' comments and thoughts.
Chapter Text
“I’m so sorry. I thought you were geth, or one of those varren” The young woman said after she exited the shadows she was in
“You’re safe now. But why were you here in the first place?” Shepard asked
“It’s my own fault. Everyone else was running and I stayed to back up data. Next thing I know the geth ship latched on and the power went out. I was trapped. I tried to get out, but the way out was blocked” She said. Pointing to a large entrance blocked by an energy field
“We’ll get you out as soon as we get what the geth are after Ms…?” Shepard asked
“Oh! I’m Lizbeth. It’s not the geth, it’s the energy field they put up. They don’t want anyone else getting access to…” Her voice trailed off
Erinyes looked at her suspiciously. ExoGeni was hiding something. A quick look at Garrus and he was thinking the same thing.
“We’re here for the geth. It’s very important that I find what they are after” Shepard pressed. His tone was serious and commanding. Erinyes looked at the young woman expectantly. Garrus and Nihlus were as well.
“I-I don’t know for certain. But… I’m guessing they are here for the Thorian”
“The what?” Erinyes asked
“It’s an indigenous life form. ExoGeni was studying it” Lizbeth sounded almost regretful about something about this Thorian.
“What else can you tell us? Do you know where we can find this Thorian?” Nihlus pressed. His arms were crossed and his tone was just as commanding as Commander Shepard’s.
“I… I might be able to, but not with those geth crawling around everywhere. Look, we need to get out of here past that field”
“Do you know how we can shut it down?” Shepard asked
“No, not exactly. I think the geth ship is powering it. I noticed the geth laying power cables everywhere. You could follow those cables. But there are geth all over the place”
“We can take care of those fuckers” Erinyes mentioned
“So, we follow the cables to see where we can remove whatever the geth ship is using to latch on to the ruins” Garrus deduced. Erinyes and Nihlus nodded in agreement. Erinyes wanted to go and get out of these ruins, but noticed Shepard wasn’t moving to the doorway nearby, neither was Nihlus.
“Your mother is with the others that were able to escape. They are near the skyway” Nihlus told the young woman. She gasped in gratitude.
“She’s safe for now” Shepard added
“She’s alive?! Oh thank God! I thought I was the only one left. Please Commander, just get that field down so I can see my mother again” Lizbeth begged. Erinyes’ eyes narrowed on the woman
“What else do you know about this Thorian?” Shepard asked
“I really don’t know much. I’m just a research assistant. I think it’s some kind of plant being. I know it’s very old. Thousands of years even”
Erinyes’ interest was peaked
“Why are the geth after a sentient plant?” Erinyes asked the others who looked just as lost.
“I-It’s just a plant. I don’t know why the geth even care. ExoGeni was studying it but I don’t think they found anything special”
Erinyes watched her body language and felt she was not telling the full truth. This whole planet, had something wrong with it.
Part of her was curious and wanted to discover what was going on.
The other part was itching to leave.
“You stay put, I’ll open some doors” Shepard ordered
“Oh! Here take my ID! This should get you past any locked doors. Good luck with that field”
The group turned and spotted a herd of varren rushing towards them. They hurriedly took out their weapons and took care of the problem.
They headed to the doorway and headed up the stairs. Nihlus motioned for Shepard to be quiet as they ascended since the others could hear a conversation above them.
“Stupid machine! Access encrypted files. No, I don’t want to review protocol” The male voice above them said incredibly frustrated with whoever he was talking to.
“I am unable to comply. Please contact your supervisor” The second voice was also male but sounded more robotic. Erinyes thought it might be a VI or an AI.
“Dammit. Tell me what I want to know or I’ll blast your virtual ass to actual dust!”
Yep, definitely not organic
Erinyes put a hand over her mouth to stop the snort she made from being too loud. As they crept closer the group took out their weapons and readied for a firefight.
Whoever was trying to access the ExoGeni files either was a low level ExoGeni employee or with the geth. Erinyes thought the latter would be more statistically probable.
“Please contact your supervisor for a level 4 exemption or make an appointment with-”
“Stupid machine!”
“If there is nothing else please step aside, there is a queue forming behind you for the use of this console.” Erinyes cursed her luck, the surprise attack they were about to do being thwarted by a machine
Erinyes backed up remembering Wrex’s punch and not wanting to repeat that. Garrus gave her a quick look of appreciation. The Krogan charged at them but fell with the combined firepower of the four rather quickly.
Erinyes sighed in relief. Krogan were the one species she refused to do close combat with again.
“ExoGeni Corporation reminds al staff that the discharging of weapons while on company property is strictly forbidden” The VI stated. Erinyes rolled her eyes at the words of the machine. “Welcome back Research Assistant Elizabeth Baynham. What can I do to assist you?” Erinyes snorted.
“What information was the last user attempting to access?” Shepard asked.
“Fetching data. The previous user was attempting to access details on the study of subject species 37, The Thorian.”
“What information did you tell the Krogan?” Nihlus demanded. The machine stayed silent. Nihlus seethed before gesturing to Shepard to ask the question.
“Tell me everything you told the Krogan” Shepard ordered
“I was unable to provide the previous user with any relevant data. Aside from lacking proper access, there has been no new data available on Species 37. All sensors monitoring the observation post at Zhu’s Hope have been inactive for several cycles”
“What does Zhu’s Hope have to do with the Thorian?” Shepard asked
“Species 37 is located within the substructure of the Zhu’s Hope outpost. The Thorian is a simple plant life-form that exhibits a sentient behavior uncommon with other flora. Through dispersion and the everyday inhalation of spores it can infect and control other organisms, including humans”
“Spirits!” Nihlus exclaimed
“Now we know why Jeong didn’t want to go to Zhu’s Hope. We also know Lizbeth lied.” Erinyes drawled, arms crossed. The idea of any sentient-being being experimented on left a sour taste in her mouth.
“The Zhu’s Hope control group has yielded interesting results. Species 37 was discovered several weeks ago when a small team was infected with spores while examining ruins near the Zhu’s Hope outpost. The outpost was quarantined immediately and study of the infected began. Within 21 days 58% of the colonists exhibited altered behavior. Within 28 days 85%.”the VI continued.
Erinyes was horrified. She felt sick to her stomach.
“Are you saying ExoGeni knew its people were getting infected?” Shepard asked the VI
“It was deemed necessary to assess the true potential of Species 37.”
“They were experimenting with their own people” Erinyes zoned out. Garrus put his hands on her shoulders and she clutched her arms closer to her own body while leaning backward into Garrus.
She hated this.
“The VI said it was a sentient plant. How do they know that?” Erinyes asked Shepard. He hummed and repeated the question to the VI when it didn’t immediately respond
“The Thorian appears to be a diffused creature. Its cognitive abilities are centered in large nerve bundles, but it receives data from kilometers of meandering tendrils. We have discovered bundles approximately 1 meter in diameter, but these seem inefficient to coordinate the massive sensory potential it possesses. It may simply process simulation slowly, or perhaps there is a nerve cluster of a greater magnitude we have not yet encountered.”
“The human is lost” Shepard muttered
“To put it simply, the plant is a brain. The bundles the VI mentioned act like neurons in our brains” Erinyes explained simplified. Shepard gave her a nod in thanks and turned towards the machine again
“Where is the center of this thing?”
“The Thorian is present as a weave of tendrils across much f the lower levels of Feros. Observation of enslaved subjects” Erinyes growled at the term. Garrus put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. “suggests there may be key clusters that are tended by thralls. Unfortunately, direct observation of Species 37 is limited or nonexistent.”
“You should contact Joker” Garrus recommended. Shepard nodded
“Joker. Come in, Joker. Damn it. That field’s blocking us” Shepard discovered with a huff.
“We’ve got to drop those shields and get to the outpost before Saren gets what he wants.” Nihlus growled.
“VI, what can you tell me about the geth ship and the field its generating?” Shepard asked
“I have limited data on the geth. They that effectively blocked all sensors within the facility. I have detected unusual power fluctuations, but am unable to determine the source.” The VI explained.
“We should go Shepard” Nihlus said impatiently, his mandibles clicking against his jaw in annoyance. Shepard nodded
“That’s all for now”
“Going to standby mode” The VI hologram flickered away and Erinyes turned to Shepard for guidance. It was getting easier to follow rather than lead. She found it to be less stressful.
The group headed out of the room, led by Shepard into a hallway and up the stairs.
The stairs led to a mezzanine of a long room. They crept to the railing and looked down.
“Looks like they are using the ship’s claws to anchor the ship to the ruins” Erinyes said quietly
Garrus and the others snorted at the term she used for the ship’s clamps, Garrus doing so the loudest. He was rewarded with a quick light shove from the Vextra causing him to grin wider.
“The geth don’t waste much finessing their landings. How do we cut the power if it’s coming from the ship?” Garrus asked, his tone showing how amused he still was.
“We need a way to detach the claws.” Nihlus teased with a shit-eating grin. Erinyes responded by a glare and an attempt at a rude gesture that didn’t quite work with the Turian illusion. Shepard understood and chuckled. Nihlus didn’t. Letting out a frustrated growl Erinyes flipped over to her Sgt. Katz illusion and flipped Nihlus off with both of her hands and then flipped back satisfied when she got the reaction she was expecting. She smiled and held her head up high, pleased with herself. “Let’s check the other ones. One must have an imperfection we can exploit”
Two geth were tending to the clamps where a white orb was. Using the element of surprise and the high ground to their advantage the group struck, quickly taking care of the geth. They headed to the clamps to examine what the geth were doing and what the group was working against.
“This place seems almost peaceful. Do you think the geth were using this room as some kind of religious temple?” Garrus asked no one in particular
“You really think a machine has some sort of deity C-Sec?” Nihlus said trying to goad the Turian to anger. Garrus growled lightly and glared
“They are AI, Spectre. They could be worshipping something. Most likely it is the Reapers, or the orb is an altar for them or some shit” She explained. Garrus looked smugly at the Spectre as he scowled and turned away. Garrus nodded to her in thanks and she grinned.
“We aren’t here to learn about their customs” Nihlus muttered as he walked off. As they headed through the room Garrus observed his surroundings.
“We aren’t going to find many survivors in this base.” He said somberly
“We were lucky to find Lizbeth alive” Erinyes added.
The headquarters ended up being a maze of hallways and small rooms. The group fell into a pattern. Follow the cables, shoot geth, loot objects, check claws for imperfections to exploit.
After shooting the last geth in the room Erinyes sighed. This mission was not as fun as her missions as an Operative were. This mission was tedious and getting old quickly.
She looked around “There’s no place else for us to go” She said dejectedly. The claws in the room still showed no imperfections.
Her first mission on the team and it was going to be a failure.
“Found a repair ticket” Nihlus said next to a series of levers. It caught everyone’s attention “The shuttle bay door is malfunctioning. If we get the PSI just right the door can cut through one of the claws” He teased. Erinyes groaned.
“Will disabling one claw be enough” Garrus asked, adding to the Vextra’s teasing. She playfully bumped her hip into him.
“Hopefully it will” Shepard said and pulled levers until it was just right.
The claw, no longer able to support the ship’s weight, caused the other clamps to buckle under the increased weight. The ship began to fall and take part of the ruins with it.
The floor shook hard.
Garrus grabbed Erinyes and pulled her tightly into his body and struggled to maintain standing up from the immense amount of shaking.
Erinyes’ mind was screaming at her to flee. She didn’t trust the Prothean ruin and felt it could fall away and take the group with it. Her wriggling in Garrus tight grasp did not help him in his fight to keep them both upright.
Fire and explosions from the broken claw, and pieces of the Prothean ruin fell from the holes created by where the clamps once were fell near them, increasing Erinyes’ desire to flee. Shepard called for them to go as the floor began shaking less. Erinyes did not need to be told twice. Tightly gripping Garrus’ hand, she ran away from the exterior wall and into the next room.
Erinyes clutched her side and let her head fall backwards as she took deep breaths trying to calm her adrenaline filled mind. She was still gripping Garrus’ hand as if it was the only lifeline she had to keep herself alive. Garrus settled in front of her and scanned for any sustained injuries she may have gotten. She rested her head on his shoulder and continued to take deep breaths. She was still in fight or flight mode, the adrenaline making her jittery.
Once Garrus was sure Erinyes was alright, and they were not in any immediate danger Garrus grinned at Shepard. “Exceptional Commander! The field will be down. We can go deal with this Thorian creature now”
“Thank the Ancestors” Erinyes muttered as the chaos of the moment finally lessened in her mind
“This was my kind of mission. Always fun to blast things to bits, especially geth” Nihlus smugly said patting his shotgun.
“Keep your guard up. There still might be a few geth inside the base” Shepard issued the reminder
“Lovely” Erinyes mumbled to herself and stretched. She could feel her body stiffening from the stress of nearly falling with the ship.
“I repeat. Normandy to shore party. Are you reading? Anyone there? Normandy to shore party. Come on Commander, talk to me.” Joker said through the comm. He sounded exceptionally worried
“Joker? What’s going on over there?” Shepard responded.
“We’re in lockdown here, Commander. Something happened to the colonists. They’re banging on the hull, trying to claw their way inside the ship. They’re freaking out!”
The Turians snorted at the word “claw” being used and Erinyes shot hem both a glare.
“They can’t do any real damage. We’re on our way back. Just hold your position” Shepard responded.
“Uh, yeah, okay. Well, we’ll just wait right here for you” Joker said unsurely, using sarcasm to mask his anxiety.
“We’re leaving, but let’s rid this place of those damn synthetics before we go” Shepard said to the team.
Shepard led them the way they came not finding any more geth on the way back. Erinyes felt on edge. Things were going to smoothly.
Eventually the group made it to the room where an energy field had blocked it before, and they came upon Lizbeth
“There you are!” The young woman said relieved. Erinyes frowned. “We should get out of here. I don’t think this place is safe.”
“You said you didn’t know about the Thorian. I don’t like being lied to” Shepard said as his eyes narrowed at the woman. She squirmed under his intense gaze. Erinyes grew a dangerous grin on her face. She did not like being lied to either.
Operatives who lied to other Operatives were liable to get torn apart when the lie is discovered. Vextran laws encourage that behavior.
“I-I was afraid. I wanted to stop the tests, but they threatened me, told me I’d be next” She stumbled over her words to defend herself. Erinyes studied her body language carefully “When the geth attacked, I stayed behind to send a message to Colonial Affairs. I tried to tell them where to find the Thorian, but the power cut off before I could send the message. I-I never meant for this to happen”
Shepard turned to Garrus for his assessment
“Based on her body language, I think she is telling the truth” Erinyes muttered to the Commander
“I concur” Garrus added as he monitored her vitals in his visor.
“How exactly can we get to the Thorian?” Shepard asked.
“The Thorian is underneath Zhu’s Hope, but the entrance is blocked. The colonists covered it with the freighter just before the geth attacked”
“But why are the geth after the Thorian?” What could Saren want with it?” Nihlus asked, arms crossed and scowling at the young woman
“Well, it does have unique mind-control capabilities” Lizbeth admitted
“And that was why you were experimenting on the Thorian right?” Erinyes asked
“…Yes”
“Normandy to shore party. Come in” Joker interrupted
“What is it Joker” Shepard responded
“We are getting a lot of geth comm chatter. Looks like they’re headed your way”
“Motherfucking hell. I hate this mission” Erinyes muttered softly. Garrus put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently, and offered her a small smile that she mirrored.
“Thanks for the heads up, Joker.” Shepard turned to face his team “You heard the man, let’s head out”
“I’m coming with you. I might be able to help. Undo the mess I helped create” Lizbeth’s words got quieter and quieter with her guilt
With that the team headed passed the rubble and back to the Mako. Erinyes’ eye twitched. Garrus stood behind her and squeezed her shoulders before gently pushing her to the door that she reluctantly walked towards, before a mischievous thought came into her head. She marched to the Mako without fear and headed inside, sitting next to Garrus and slowly putting on her harness like she wasn’t in the danger she really was in with Shepard behind the wheel. Lizbeth sat between Erinyes and the door. She didn’t put on her harness and Erinyes looked knowingly at Garrus in glee. To Erinyes this was karma playing her part for the young woman lying to the group. Garrus looked between his grinning girlfriend and the human woman next to her before noticing what she was grinning at and shook his head with a smile.
The Mako tore off and the human yelped in surprise. The Mako climbed over crumbling ruin like they were pebbles and Lizbeth found herself flying off her seat and screaming. Garrus put his arm protectively around Erinyes to further comfort her as the Vextra tensed up.
Nihlus aimed at the geth in their way, aiming for the colossuses in their way while Shepard mowed through the geth on foot. Lizbeth looked terrified. In the backseat there was nothing left to do but sit and watch the assault. Erinyes leaned closer to the Turian who was embracing her and tried to keep calm.
The Mako was peppered with bullets and missiles from the geth. The Mako would turn around and mow them over, a laugh of glee nearly coming from the man’s lips as he did so. Parts of the skyway were on fire.
Finally, they made it inside a building in between the skyways.
“…anybody. Is there anyone picking this up?” A rogue transmission came through the Mako
“Get away from that radio” A man said through the transmission
“What was that all about?” Lizbeth asked. Erinyes looked at her and lifted her shoulders saying silently she didn’t know. The Mako continued through the tunnel in the building
“…this is Juliana Baynham of Feros colony. Please help us…” The transmission cut off
“That’s my mom. Stop. Stop the rover” Lizbeth said and scrambled to open the door. Before the Mako had fully stopped the young woman stumbled out, legs shaking before running to a ramp the group had gone to previously where the ExoGeni employees were at.
“Are we going after her Commander?” Garrus asked. The Commander sighed and turned off the Mako.
Lizbeth kneeled before one of the lights on the ramp as Shepard and the team ran past her and ducked behind cover.
“You can’t do this Jeong” Juliana stated. Jeong clutched his head with his hand
“Everyone shut up! Let me think!” Jeong said. Lizbeth got closer
“What’s going on?” Lizbeth asked
“You won’t get away with this” Juliana exclaimed emotionally
“Get her out of here!” Jeong ordered and an ExoGeni security guard grabbed Juliana and tugged her away
“Get away from her, you son of a bitch!” Lizbeth exclaimed angrily as she rose from cover. Erinyes groaned and face palmed.
There went the element of surprise…again.
“Lizbeth” Juliana said surprised and tugged harder against the man restraining her, getting free and running to her daughter.
“Damn it! Come out where I can see you! All of you!” Jeong threatened and Erinyes growled. Slanai operatives usually used the element of surprise and chaos when fighting, losing it cut her deep, especially with so many potential enemies and possible hostages or civilians.
Shepard stood and sauntered over past the cover and Erinyes scowled but followed with the rest of the team
“Hold it right there, Commander. This is an ExoGeni project. I’m taking control”
Erinyes scoffed at Jeong’s order. His arrogance was frustrating
“What the hell are you talking about?” The Commander asked with a scowl
“Communications are back up. ExoGeni wants this place purged” Jeong explained
Erinyes felt sick.
Purged. They were going to kill their own people because the experiment was over.
What the actual fuck?!
“This is a Human colony, Jeong. You can’t just re-purpose us” Lizbeth said horrified at her supervisor’s words and ethics
Erinyes smiled at the young woman. She was glad the Human had gained a backbone
Maybe it was the death-defying drive over?
Erinyes laughed silently at the thought. Garrus looked at her and lifted an eyebrow plate at her reaction
“Later” She whispered quietly enough for the Turian to hear
“It’s not just you. There’s something here far more valuable than a few colonists” Jeong seethed at Lizbeth
“Nothing is more valuable than life” Erinyes growled menacingly. Garrus could see her eyes growing stormy.
“Sweetheart. Calm down” He whispered and gently squeezed her shoulders as he stood behind her.
“Are you going to tell them about the Thorian, or should I?” Shepard threatened. Erinyes calmed down, looking over her shoulder and nodded her thanks to Garrus and grinned at the asshole of an ExoGeni supervisor
“The what?” Juliana asked
“It’s a telepathic life-form living under Zhu’s Hope. It’s taking control of the colonists there. ExoGeni knew all along” Lizbeth explained and Jeong grew angrier and angrier
“You won’t get away with this, Jeong” Juliana seethed
“So you keep saying. But nobody’s going to miss a few colonists” Jeong argued
“Fuck you” Erinyes snarled.
“You’ve gone way too far. This ends now” Shepard lashed out
“If-If that’s the way it has to be, then come on. Come on!” Jeong said and lunged at Shepard. The group pulled their weapons out but before they could aim it at the man Erinyes lunged and grappled him to the ground, pinning his arms behind his back easily. The four looked on and aimed their weapons at the security guards next once the Jeong threat was nullified. They dropped their weapons and backed away, hands raised.
“Here” Shepard said, handing the Vextra some handcuffs. She roughly put them on and hoisted him up with her. “You’ll answer for your crimes, as will ExoGeni” Shepard threatened. Jeong whimpered.
“Spirits! You act all tough, lunge at the Commander and now you are whimpering like some wounded varren pup. Pathetic” Erinyes growled, her words dripping with venom and disgust in the man’s ears and roughly pushed him to the security guards.
She hoped she sounded Turian enough
“It’s my fault. I knew what was going on and I didn’t do anything.” Lizbeth wailed
“Don’t you start. You do good work and you know it” Her mother chided. “So what now, Commander?”
“I need to find out why the geth are after the Thorian” Shepard said as he stood at attention
“The colonists won’t let you near it. They are under its control” Lizbeth said quietly
“What else am I supposed to do?” Shepard retorted, crossing his arms in annoyance
“There’s gotta be another way” Juliana said
“I think there is. You could use the nerve agent” Lizbeth offered. Her mother gasped
“You could safely use a nerve agent to neutralize the colonists.” Juliana said, looking at her daughter with pride.
“Like a gas grenade” Lizbeth explained in simpler terms when she saw the Commander’s cocked eyebrow
“Releasing clouds of nerve gas doesn’t seem like a particularly good idea” Shepard said with a frown
“It’s not like it’s weapons-grade” Juliana explained “It is an insecticide. The insecticide we use in the grow-labs contains trace amounts of Tetraclopine, a neuromuscular degenerator. If the nervous systems are already weakened, it may act as a paralyzing agent”
“It would be useful in a concussive grenade” Nihlus quipped as he considered it
“Sounds good, I’ll do what I can”
“Excellent. Thank you so much Commander” Juliana said thankfully
“We will stay out of your way until you clear a path” Lizbeth added
“Aww, don’t want to come with and enjoy Shepard’s driving?” Erinyes teased. The young woman tensed and went white as a sheet and the Vextra laughed and turned, smile and laugh leaving her throat instantly. She wished she had the option to not be in the Mako
“Good luck” Lizbeth called as they headed into the Mako. Erinyes winced at the words.
She needed all the luck to survive Shepard’s driving.
…………………………
Erinyes clutched her harness until she breathed in relief as she saw the ruin that the Normandy had landed in. Happy that the geth were finally dealt with. They noted some weird bulb type protrusion near the elevator doors. She still felt relieved and almost giddy that this mission was nearing its closure.
No more Mako
No more Colossus,
Just people who were unknowingly experimented on and being controlled by a huge plant.
The four exited the vehicle and immediately regretted it when the bulb thing they had seen near the elevator door rose. It revealed a humanoid thing with talons instead of fingers. Their grey skin glowed silver in the sunlight. Its sunken in face reveled dark concaves where the eyes and mouth were. No hair on the body remained. It vaguely reminded Erinyes of the zombies she would see in movies when she was on Earth.
The group unloaded a torrential rain of bullets as the thing ran towards them until the zombie-like thing was dead and Erinyes crept closer to examine it.
“What was that creature? It certainly wasn’t human” Garrus asked
She looked up at the group
“Is this what will happen to the colonists if we don’t free them from the Thorian?” She asked, her voice an octave higher.
Shepard sighed
“No hitting the colonists, even if the Thorian makes them fire on us. That’s what the gas grenades are for” He said and the group nodded
“Very well Commander. Let’s go” Garrus responded
Erinyes sighed in relief. She didn’t think she could kill people being unwillingly controlled, even if ordered.
Knowing the Reapers were coming she would need to rethink that though.
They opened the door and more of the Thorian slaves were there waiting. Erinyes shivered, those things were creepy looking.
The group took them on delicately and methodically.
Going up the ramp a colonist was shooting at them and Shepard threw a gas grenade and the group waited until the gas took effect before heading into the elevator.
More of the Thorian’s thralls were waiting near in a room near a stairwell to ambush them but were no match for the four.
Erinyes clutched her teeth together hearing the zombie like sounds coming from them. This mission was getting on her last nerve and she desperately wanted to jump from the handrail and start slashing and dicing but would go against the compromise made with Garrus. Even if it would make the mission go faster.
“When will this mission end?” Erinyes muttered the whine through her clenched teeth as they finally made it into the colony.
Shepard used the grenades taking care of the colonists while the Turians and Vextra took care of the Thorian's thralls rushing at them “All in favor of never returning when we finish this stupid mission?” Erinyes said breathing hard, sweat going down her face in exertion
“Agreed” Nihlus said as he shot another Thorian thrall who rounded the corner.
One human was away from the others and Shepard had run out of bullets.
“I got it” Erinyes said not waiting for a reply as she rushed forward and knocked the last human out with a hit to the head. She breathed in relief. “Fuck this planet” She said exhausted. She saw Garrus’ look at disapproval
He sighed in annoyance
“There’s the crane, Commander. Can you make sense of the controls?” Garrus asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose, and Shepard rolled his shoulder and headed over. Garrus leveled Erinyes a glare
“What? I was fighting a human with my fist! It wasn’t a damn geth sniper” She defended herself with a bit more bite to her words than necessary
“I said don’t rush in”
“You said not to do anything rash. That wasn’t rash, it was me being exhausted and done with this damn never-ending mission and this damn Thorian” She seethed quietly to him as she corrected him. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves since they were making her anger rush in too much. “I wasn’t in danger. I knew what I was doing. I was fine” She said, much more calmly.
Following her example, he took a deep breath.
“You’re right. I rushed to judgement. I’m sorry”
“Shepard are all these missions so… tedious?” She asked with disdain
“No. God no” He said as he raked his hand down his face. “I share your desire to finish this”
“Can we see this Thorian and find out what Saren wanted now?” Nihlus demanded annoyed, mandibles ticking against his jaw. Shepard nodded and looked the controls.
Within minutes the crane lifted the freighter so the group descended to the Thorian’s lair.
Before they could do so Fai Dan approached him looking like he was in pain and struggling. Shepard pulled his pistol out and aimed it at Fai Dan. The group followed his example.
“I tried to fight it, but it gets in your head. You can’t imagine the pain. I was supposed to be a leader. These people trusted me” He lifted a pistol and aimed it at Shepard. Erinyes growled a warning. “It wants me to stop you… But I… won’t”
Fai Dan struggled within himself and struggled to raise it to his temple “I WON’T!” and shot himself.
Erinyes was shaking. She had of course heard of suicide but it was incredibly rare on Wejesu. Seeing it in person was harsh and shocking.
Noticing her shaking Garrus pulled her to himself.
Her mind reeled. The Thorian used mind controlling capabilities like the Reapers. How many others would she have to watch kill themselves when the war officially started.
“Breathe, sweetheart. Deep even breaths” Garrus instructed and she slowly began to do so.
Erinyes wasn’t the only one shaken. Shepard looked worse for wear too. Nihlus looked a bit shaken too
“How are you okay with this?” Erinyes asked Garrus shakily
“Not the first time I witnessed a suicide. C-Sec exposes you to a lot of the horrors no one should see” He whispered and leaned his head on hers waiting for her to regain her composure and calm her breathing and shaking.
“Ready?” Shepard asked her softly.
She nodded and untangled herself from Garrus. She had held onto him in such a way that if she hadn’t, she would cease to exist.
The four went down the stairs to the lower levels of Feros. The more flights of stairs they descended, the louder gurgling could be heard. Tendrils soon appeared on the wall, smaller at first and the getting wider.
The staircase the four were at the the top of opened to a large room before having the option to descend further. The gurgling was more prominent now and she assumed whatever was making the sound was in the room. Erinyes sighed in relief. Her thighs burned from all the stairs she was subjected to. She needed to focus on more cardio in the future to compensate.
“All right, we just need to find this creature-”
“Plant, Love, it is a plant.” Erinyes corrected. He gave her a look before rolling his eyes. He was as tired as she was and likely just as irritable.
“This… plant and determine what it…” They entered the room and Garrus stumbled over his words “What it…”
In the center of the room was a large blob held up by massive vines over a cavern made from the crumbling ruin disintegrating underneath it. The blob towered above them, at least 2-3 stories tall. Erinyes studied the bob and located where the gurgling noise was coming from. At the bottom of this gob-like plant creature was a mass of hanging tentacle-like tendrils dripping what she would guess saliva or sap. The area below the sap had been worn away from the constant dripping of moisture.
How long had it been here?
It must have moved here from somewhere.
How did it move with all those tendrils?
“This was not covered in my training manuals” Garrus muttered as he gazed in shock at what was in front of him.
“Do you know anything about this Kitty?” Nihlus asked.
“No. This plant is old. I have not heard about it. I doubt the Vextra knows it exists.”
“Nothing is ever simple is it?” Shepard groaned.
“I would kill for my old simple missions” Erinyes muttered to herself.
The Thorian stopped the conversation when it began grunting, the tentacles began moving up and dropping down before it vomited something from its mouth, dripping in the plant’s saliva sap. The thing it vomited stood up reveling a green Asari.
“Ew” Erinyes said as she recoiled in disgust.
“Invaders! Your every step is a transgression. A thousand feelers appraise you as meat, good only to dig and decompose. I speak for the Old Growth, as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It commands that you be in awe”
Erinyes growled. She already had reason to dislike the Thorian. Seeing how egotistical the thing was being was grating on her nerves.
Commanding to be in awe her ass.
“You gave something to Saren. Something we need” Shepard said to the Asari
“Saren sought knowledge of those who are gone. The Old Growth listened to flesh for the first time in the Long Cycle. Trades were made. Then the cold ones began killing the flesh that would tend to the next cycle. Flesh fairly given! The Old Growth sees the air you push is lies! It will listen no more!” The green Asari said.
“Give me what we need and we will strike back at the one who betrayed you” Shepard said
“We are enemies of Saren. We can work together” Nihlus added.
“No more will the Thorian listen to those that scurry. Your lives are short, but you have gone on too long. Your blood will feed the ground new growth” The Asari said before attacking.
In an instant the group had their weapons out and began firing. Biotics were something Erinyes had no experience fighting against and her inexperience showed rather quickly. She had heard of biotics and had been given materials on how to fight on with biotics briefly in training. But since the chances of fighting a biotic were so low, the training ended there. She adapted though, using the limited information she could remember to keep herself out of the Asari’s clutches. She had a newfound reverence for biotics and understood why Shepard compared her tech to biotics so often.
Thorian creepers attacked from their right as the Asari fought on their left.
Once the enemies were dead Erinyes scanned the room with her eyes and pointed at anchoring bundles on the tendrils.
“Those bundles! They are the Thorian’s nerve clusters! They double as its anchors!” She explained to the group.
“We need to destroy them. The Thorian will try to protect itself so watch out for those creepers.” Nihlus ordered. With that the group went to work.
……………………………………
“Why won’t this bitch stay dead” Erinyes growled through her teeth as she shot at the green Asari in hopes to take her down while keeping an eye on the creepers that were trying to rush the group. She ducked under cover to avoid her biotic attack. “Fighting against a biotic sucks” She growled
“No biotics on Wejesu?” Garrus asked as he shot at creepers next to her before ducking under cover to avoid another biotic attack.
“No, when they are discovered they are destroyed. I’m assuming the reason why is because they can’t be controlled like Operatives can” She said emotionlessly.
“Motherfucking hell” Shepard said as he looked at her in shock while in cover
She shrugged before Garrus and Erinyes finally took down the Asari again and focused fire on the nerve cluster while Nihlus and Shepard made quick work of the remaining creepers.
With the nerve cluster destroyed the Thorian could no longer hold its heavy body above the cavern. Tendrils buckled under its massive weight and flew off the walls or tore apart. The Thorian fell into the crumbling hole below it
Erinyes sighed in relief and leaned against the wall to catch her breath as one of the blobs opened up and the Asari returned, but this time blue. She brought up her rifle in defense through her exhaustion
“I’m free! I-I suppose I should thank you for releasing me. My name is Shiala.”
“How did you end up inside of that… thing?” Shepard asked and gestured to the blob on the wall.
“I serve-I served” She corrected “Matriarch Benezia. When she allied herself with Saren so did I. Benezia foresaw the influence Saren would have. She joined him to guide him down a gentler path but Saren is compelling, Benezia lost her way. He underestimated Saren. As did I. We came to believe his cause and his goals. The strength of his influence is troubling”
“Are you saying Saren can control minds?” Nihlus asked confused
“She tried to manipulate Saren, but in the end, her plan backfired.” Garrus commented quietly
“Asari matriarchs are among some of the most intelligent and powerful beings in the galaxy. How could one fall under Saren’s control?” Shepard asked incredulously
“Saren has a vessel. An enormous warship unlike anything I’ve ever seen. He calls it Sovereign. It can dominate the minds of his followers. They become indoctrinated to Saren’s will. The process is subtle. It can take days, weeks. But in the end, it is absolute”
“The Reaper” Erinyes muttered as she stood still as a board in shock, much like when she saw the visual of the Reaper in the Comm Room.
“I was a willing slave when Saren brought me to this world. He needed my biotics to communicate with the Thorian, to learn its secrets… Saren offered me in trade. I was sacrificed to secure an alliance between Saren and the Thorian.”
“Then why were the geth trying to destroy the Thorian?” Shepard asked
“So we couldn’t learn what Saren learned” Nihlus answered.
“The Thorian became a liability. Saren knows you are searching fr the conduit. He knows you are following his steps. He attacked you so you would not gain the cipher” Shiala explained
“What’s the cipher? Why did Saren need it?” Shepard asked intrigued
“The beacon on Eden Prime gave you visions. But the visions are unclear, confusing. They were meant for a Prothean mind” Shiala explained. Erinyes grimaced at the word Prothean. Garrus found it amusing how much she disliked the very species most aspired “To truly comprehend the visions you must think like a Prothean. You must understand their culture, their history, their very existence. The Thorian was here long before the Protheans built this city. It watched and studied them. When they died, it consumed them. They became part of it”
“Gross” Erinyes muttered. Garrus bit back a grin. An Asari’s hearing was not as good as a Turian or a Krogan. Shiala would not have heard her.
“So the Thorian taught Saren to think like a Prothean? How?” Shepard asked.
“The Cipher is the very essence of a Prothean. It cannot be described or explained. It would be like describing color to a creature without eyes. To understand you must have access to endemic ancestral memory. A viewpoint spanning thousands of Prothean generations. I sensed this when I melded with the Thorian. Out identity merged, our minds intertwined. Such knowledge cannot be taught, it simply exists” Shiala explained in reverence.
“If you gained this through a meld, could you share the information with Commander Shepard through a meld as well?” Nihlus asked curiously.
“Yes, of course. Try to relax Commander. Slow, deep breaths. Reach out to grasp the threads that bind us together…”
Erinyes was getting bored at the words Shiala was saying and turned to Garrus
“Are all Asari so… reverent when they meld with someone?” Erinyes asked. Garrus had no idea. He shrugged. She looked expectantly at Nihlus.
“It depends on the Asari” He said. Garrus cocked an eyebrow plate
“How many have you been with?” He asked. Nihlus said nothing but smirked.
“Embrace Eternity!” Shiala said gaining the group’s attention. Erinyes gasped as the Asari’s eyes were now black.
“Her eyes are black” She said in shock.
“That happens when an Asari melds” Nihlus said amused.
“How many melds have you had?” Erinyes asked
“Plenty” He responded. She scoffed at his answer and monitored Shepard. His eyes were fluttering, almost like he was in a REM cycle and dreaming.
The group waited. Erinyes was growing more and more impatient. This mission lasted longer than the others the ground crew was on previously and she was tired, felt disgusting from the pieces and liquid from the when the creepers exploded near her, and her legs hurt from all the stairs.
Finally the Asari’s eyes went to their normal color and Shepard groaned and gripped his head.
“I gave you what I gave Saren” Shiala said sounding exhausted herself from the meld.
“Are you alright? What happened during the melding?” Garrus asked the Commander.
“I saw… something. It still doesn’t make any sense” Shepard admitted, sounding weaker than normal.
“It will take time for your mind to process the information” Shiala explained. “I am sorry you have suffered. If you allow it, I would like to stay here with the colonists. They have suffered greatly and I played a role in their suffering. I would like to make amends”
“The colonists will need all the help they can get. They’ll be happy to have you on their side” Shepard said, losing his balance slightly
“We should get you back to the ship Commander. Medical needs to know about this” Garrus said
“Thank you Commander, may fortune smile upon you”
………………………………
“Decontamination in progress” The VI said as the ground crew waited for to be let into the Normandy. Erinyes was irritable. The group had set off before breakfast and it was nearing dinnertime. With all the running around the group had done she was ready to clean up, make a large meal and then sleep. She was heading to the stairs when Garrus took her hand in his and gave it a gentle tug to stop her. She looked at him confused and he gestured the opposite way
“We have a meeting darling” She sighed and followed him, mourning not being able to shower and relax her sore body. She left her hand in his and let him pull her so they could walk together.
She sighed as she collapsed in a chair.
Kaiden and Ashley entered the room and Ashley happily sat next to Erinyes.
“You look like shit” She commented
“I feel like shit. That mission was tedious. I want a long shower, a big meal, and sleep.” She said as she tilted her head back. She thought back on the mission “Ashley?” She said as she forced her head up to look at the marine “I fought my first biotic today and need practice. Could you give me some pointers?” She asked. The woman grinned and turned to Kaiden
“Would you help?”
“Yeah I could” Kaiden agreed. Erinyes gave him an exhausted smile and tilted her head back and focused on her breathing to help her body relax while she waited on the meeting brief to begin.
Garrus was absentmindedly tracing random patterns on the back of her hand while his other enjoyed her hand being encased in his. Erinyes could tell he felt tense. She remembered Tali telling her that he had confronted Kaiden about her in the past. She opened one of her eyes and looked at him. When he felt her eyes on him he looked up at her and she gave him a smile and squeezed his hand. He smiled back.
She was about to speak when Liara interrupted her thoughts
“Commander, you look… pale. Are you suffering any ill effects from the Cipher? Liara asked concerned
“I just need some time to let this Cipher do its thing” Shepard explained
“I might be able to help you. I am an expert on the Protheans. If I join my consciousness to yours maybe we can make some sense of it” Liara offered.
“Do it. Hurry. We don’t have much time” Shepard ordered. The two stood and went to the center of the room
“Relax Commander. Embrace eternity!” Liara said as she opened her eyes, now black.
“Nice to see Liara doesn’t want to regale us a bunch of word vomit like Shiala” Erinyes muttered. The Turians chuckled whereas Wrex tilted his head. The marines and Tali looked confused on why the Turians were snickering since it happened suddenly.
Erinyes leaned back and waited rather impatiently. She tapped her pawed foot insistently on the ground, which didn’t produce much noise to most of the species in the room. Wrex gave her a harsh stare.
“Stop” He growled. Erinyes gulped and stopped. Garrus growled a warning. Garrus usually had a lot of patience, but it was wearing thin that day. Like Erinyes he had not had much to eat, opting for a quickly inhaled nutrient paste once out of the Mako when they had headed towards the headquarters. Turians had a very high metabolism and the paste was not enough to sustain him.
Mixed with his need to protect his girlfriend Garrus was like a land mine waiting for something to drop on it. Which Wrex had just done by the threatening growl he had given Erinyes.
Before anything else could happen, the melding had finished.
“That was incredible! All this time. All my research. Yet I never dreamed… I’m sorry. The images were so vivid. I never imagined the experience would be so… intense” Liara prattled off before collecting herself. “You are remarkably strong-willed Commander. What you’ve been through, what you’ve seen, would have destroyed a lesser mind”
Liara’s words intrigued Erinyes, made her curious what this beacon had shared with Shepard
“Did you see anything?” Kaiden asked, sitting at attention
“The beacon on Eden Prime must have been badly damaged. Large parts of the vision are… are missing. The data transferred into the Commander’s mind is incomplete.” Liara explained
“You must have seen something” Shepard pressed
“I was able to interpret the data relayed through your vision. What was there, at least. But something was missing” Liara explained further “Saren must have the missing information. Maybe he found another beacon. If we can find the missing data from your vision I can- whoa” Liara said as she lost balance briefly and she clutched her head “I am sorry. The joining is… exhausting. I should go to the medical bay and lie down for a moment”
“Go ahead Liara” Liara began to leave the room. Shepard turned towards Erinyes “Do you know where another beacon could be Kitty?” Erinyes scrunched her face and shook her head. Liara paused to listen, leaning against the wall for support.
“The Protheans had a vast empire, they held countless places throughout the galaxy to monitor and mold other species they deemed ‘lesser’” She said the word with malice before continuing “I would not know where to begin looking for another beacon without having access to Vextran history and research” She said solemnly
“I understand. We are done here. Dismissed” Shepard said and the group stood.
“Commander, you should go to the med bay too” Erinyes said and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Two of those melds in such close succession must be a lot to handle”
“Thank you for your concern, Kitty. But I7ll be fine”
She rolled her eyes at his answer and bee-lined it to the bathroom and locked the door to take a long-for-her shower and left feeling more refreshed, but still exhausted.
She headed to the mess hall as Garrus was heading to the bathroom to shower
“When you are finished can you help me cook?” She asked
“Always” He said squeezing her hand as he past her, flashing her a wide smile which she mirrored before he continued on his way to the shower once more.
Chapter 22: Muzzling the Kitten
Summary:
Erinyes gets attacked by Operatives.
Will she escape?
Will her friends die trying to rescue her?
Chapter Text
“Everything okay?” Tali asked when she got to Erinyes’ room with Liara.
She motioned for them to enter her room
“I need…” She gulped hard.
Not on Wejesu
She’s not on Wejesu
If you ever need help, please ask. There will never be a favor or mocking provided in return. Its what friends do Shepard’s words rang in her head
“I need your help” She managed to get out
“Help with what?” Liara asked
Erinyes sighed before flopping on her new bed.
“I want to… do acts of affection to Garrus, or…rather… have him do them to me” She confided to them softly looking at the ceiling.
The two squealed in such a high pitch that she grabbed her ears and glared as the two jumping around clutching each other’s hands.
“Okay” Liara gained her composure. “What do you need our help with?” She asked and Erinyes sighed
“I was…” She closed her eyes not wanting to see their reaction. “raped. My…” she took a deep breath “rapist would force a lot of actions onto me. One being the Vextran act of affection”
She peeked at their reaction and they looked empathetic and heartbroken. The joy they had mere moments ago sucked out of the room like oxygen being exposed to space. She sat up
“On Feros I asked Garrus to nuzzle me. Nuzzling is our act of affection. But it made me remember all the horrible memories from… him” she looked down. “I don’t want to think about him when I’m with Garrus” her voice going softer and quieter the more she talked.
“The Turian act of affection is touching crests together” Tali mentioned
“We have done that for a while now. But I don’t see it as the same” She admitted with a sigh. The two stifled their glee over the information their friend had provided and the two each sat next to her on the bed. “What do you two do for affection?” Erinyes asked the two aliens
“We hug and pay compliments. The environmental suits make it difficult for physical affection” Tali explained
“Asari meld each other’s minds, as well as hug and kiss”
“Like humans kiss?” Erinyes asked and Liara nodded
“Kissing… did the bosh’tet kiss you?” Tali asked angrily. Erinyes shook her head.
“Have you ever been kissed before?” Liara asked. Erinyes shook her head “Do you find the idea of kissing affectionate?” Liara pressed
Erinyes thought about it
“I guess. I know humans find it very affectionate”
“Would you be comfortable in trying it?” Liara prodded
“I’d be willing to try”
Tali squealed and hugged the Vextra. Erinyes stiffened at the sudden touch
“If you ever need to talk about what happened to you, about the bosh’tet, we are willing to listen” Tali released her from the hug and had her hands on her shoulders.
“Thank… you” Erinyes said slowly, not used to this type of interaction.
“We would also like to help where we can when it comes to you and Garrus’ budding relationship” Liara added nudging the Vextra as she did so. Tali nodded enthusiastically.
“Absolutely” Tali enthused
“I feel like I’m flying blind with it” She admitted quietly, letting herself lean her elbows on her knees and let her head fall in her hands.
“How so?”
“On Wejesu, Operatives, especially from my family, were discouraged to date.”
“This is your first relationship?” Liara asked softly as it dawned on her. Erinyes nodded keeping her gaze in front of her.
“I feel out of my depth.”
“About?” Tali asked
“Everything.” She exclaimed within a sigh, flopping backwards again. “This is all new to me and strange. I don’t understand most of it”
“Does it scare you?” Liara asked
“Some of it”
“Are you scared of how he will act?” Tali inquired
“No, not really” She sighed “Yes”
“Okay” Tali said “Have you told him about it?”
“…No, not exactly”
“Kitty, he can’t read your mind, you need to talk to him” Liara stated gently
“How can I talk to him about things I don’t understand? Things I can’t put into words or don’t have words for?” She whined
“You are talking to us about it” Tali reminded her
Erinyes sighed. They were right.
“How will he act?” she asked as she got up on her elbows to look at the two women on either side of her. Her eyes begged for help and direction, trying despartely to show the things she couldn’t find words for.
“The same way he usually would” Tali replied, looking down at her through her helmet “With the utmost care for you. I heard how he was frustrating you on Feros”
“Ugh” She put her arm over her eyes as she remembered “He was so irritating” She whined “He kept shoving me into cover and not allowing me to fight.”
“Because he cares about you” Liara reminded her, she groaned
“I know that. But I was trained to be a weapon and being on a mission and not being allowed to fight made me feel… useless”
“And you told him about this?” Liara asked
“Yes, Shepard forced us to talk”
“What happened after?” Tali asked
“We made a compromise and hugged. We tried to be affectionate with each using acts of affection from our species” She replied
“So, wouldn’t it make sense the same thing would happen if you told him about your feelings about your relationship with each other?” Liara asked. Erinyes sighed
They were right
Again
“Yes” She got up fully. She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them. “Yeah, he probably would”
“No need to worry about it then” Tali soothed and nudged her. Erinyes smiled at her.
Tali and Liara gave each other a look and quickly engulfed her into a hug from both sides.
The Vextra sputtered her complaints at the sudden onslaught of touch and affection until they let go.
“When do you plan on kissing Garrus” Tali asked. Liara looked as excited as Tali sounded.
“Uh… I don’t know yet. I need to do research on how humans kiss first.”
“Let us know when you are ready to try” Liara's words were soft and soothing, as they normally were. The Asari pat the Vextra's shoulder. “After everything you have been through you deserve to be happy. You both do”
“Thank you” Erinyes said awkwardly as the three rose and headed to the door
“Anytime Kitty” Tali beamed happily.
The two left as Garrus headed towards her door. He lifted an eyebrow plate but she feigned ignorance and let him inside.
“So, what do I owe the pleasure of you gracing me with your presence” She teased.
“I need an excuse to see my girlfriend now?” Garrus teased back, enjoying the way her face blushed at their new title
“Uh”
He grinned at her and took her hand and pulled her towards him. He sighed happily when she hugged him back and rested his head on hers.
“Could we talk a bit?” She squeaked. He pushed back a bit and tilted his head to look at her face, she was actively trying to avoid his gaze.
His anxiety spiked.
“Sure” He responded. He tried to keep his worry out of his voice and wasunsure of how well he was able to do so. The two sat on her bed.
“I feel…” She growled in frustration “I don’t know the words to how I feel and it frustrates me” He smiled softly and rubbed her hand with his thumb.
“We should fix that then” He reassured and let go of her hand and wrapped it around her, using his other to wrap around her front as he searched on the extranet for a list of emotions and names for them. “Here we go” He projected it before tilting them both backwards so their backs were on the bed. “What do you feel?”
She looked over the different emotions and tried to figure out which one worked best to describe them.
“I feel apprehensive and nervous” She admitted
“About what?”
“About what you expect of me in our… relationship?”
“Oh” He blinked a few times “I want to…” He thought of which words would describe what he wanted and expected “Words are not my best characteristic” She chuckled
“Same” She began relaxing more against him.
“I guess, I expect you to… let me love you. To let me… pleasure you.” He paused for the briefest of moments before hurriedly adding “When you’re ready for that of course” He took a breath “I want to make you happy, to protect you, keep you safe.” He looked at her with adoration and his subharmonics added to what he admitting to her, secretly saying things he couldn’t put into words. He wished she understood the feelings his subharmonics were expressing. She turned partially so her body molded against him more and rested her head on his keel and purred. He let his hand slowly rest on her shoulder. “I am glad you are comfortable laying like this with me now.”
She nodded with her agreement. She felt safe and the warmth coming from him was relaxing. The vibrations from his subharmonics flowed through her and made her feel like her entire body was vibrating softly.
“I feel out of my depth in this” She whispered. He ran the backs of his talons gently down her arm and back up again. “I don’t like not knowing what to do in situations”
“Are you overwhelmed?”
“No, just… uncomfortable?” She paused trying to find the words.
He laughed softly
“Both of us are not good with words, are we?” She snorted rubbing her head against his keel. His subharmonics got louder
“I often feel like the Ancestors are playing a big practical joke on me” She mumbled into his carapace. He chortled
“I felt that way for a long time when I first dreamt about your eyes” He sighed as he leaned his head on hers and breathed in her scent before she moved to look at him in shock
“You dreamt about me?”
“Yes, the Spectre told you about soul-bonds but not about that?”
She shook her head no. He sighed in frustration.
“Turians know they have a soul-bond when they dream about their partner’s eyes.”
“When did you dream of mine?” She asked curiously, propping herself up on his carapace to look him in the eyes from above him. He smiled up at her.
“When I was 8. I was so excited to have a soul-bond. I wanted what my parents had. My excitement waned when I told my mother that the eyes I dreamt of were not Turian” He sighed. “I went a bit crazy trying to figure out what species you were” He confided to her and cupped her cheek, stroking it gently. She leaned into his touch causing him to trill. “I gave up looking when I was 16. I felt discouraged when I couldn’t find a match for your eyes in the books I had access to. People thought I was going insane” He chuckled at the once painful memory. She switched the hand propping her up and put her hand on his.
“I… I don’t know what to say” She whispered gently.
“You don’t have to say anything sweetheart” He cooed and watched her flush at the pet name. She lowered herself back down to rest her head on his carapace, making sure his hand stayed on her cheek and thought of her earlier conversation with Liara and Tali. She did want to try kissing but she wanted to look up some videos on how to do it. She wanted to give it her best shot. She really hoped it wouldn’t trigger her.
“I wish… I wish you could nuzzle me.” She intoned barely above a whisper. He played with her hair with his free hand
“I wish I could too. But, weeks ago we couldn’t lie like this and now you can with no issue. It will just take time.” He replied quietly.
The ground crew took up a table in the mess hall for lunch. Erinyes was happy to feel so included in the team and laughed at Kaiden’s joke.
The scratch of the intercom above them quieted the group down
“Shepard, I just got a weird transmission. Some sort of beacon coming from nearby. A bunch of mercs are attacking a small settlement”
“On my way” Shepard stated and left.
“Do we pick up a lot of beacons and transmissions when we fly by?” Erinyes asked.
“Yes, usually right after we arrive in a system, we help when we have the time” Kaiden answered as he took a bit of foodon his fork. Erinyes looked down in thought. Remembering Shepard’s explanation of why he helped.
“I’m glad he stops to help. It is very kind” She whispered, and Ashley nodded
“The strong should help protect the weak” She replied.
Erinyes felt conflicted.
That statement did not apply to Vextra very well.
They protected themselves.
Fiercely
She was learning and experiencing a lot that differed from her upbringing.
After helping the mother find her daughter on Feros and seeing how happy she was- it made Erinyes feel good.
She wished she could change the Vextra so they could see the appeal of helping others freely.
She sighed.
She probably would never be given the chance to do so.
Shepard headed back down the stairs.
“Garrus, Wrex suit up. A settlement is being attacked by mercs” He ordered and the two jumped up, Nihlus following. Garrus glanced at Erinyes briefly
“Be safe” She said to him and he nodded as he headed to the cargo bay to get his armor on.
She finished her lunch and washed the dishes of those that went onto the planet to help the settlement.
Her muscles felt stiff and she realized she had been neglecting her training. Going to her room she decided to change to Sgt. Katz so people could see her roaming around the ship. She tried to do so once a day.
She headed down to the cargo bay, her software still up, the ramp was open, waiting for Shepard to return on the Mako letting in a nice cool breeze. She stretched and began her grappling movement training. Closing her eyes to focus on the movements when she noticed Ashley watching curiously. She was servicing the ground crew’s weapons. A rifle left partially reassembled next to her.
“Kitty?” Ashley asked softly and Erinyes paused, currently doing the splits.
“Yeah”
“Could you show me some more of the Vextran fighting moves?” She asked rather timidly. Erinyes smiled, got up and beckoned her over.
They went through the moves slowly as Erinyes monitored to make sure she was doing the movements correctly. The two went through some more of the basic movements and then Erinyes decided to do a soft sparring lesson. She paused the spar multiple times to correct her form and had her repeat her movements. She was thankful for her early morning sparring lessons with Garrus. She was using how he taught her to teach Ashley. The way Vextran Operatives learned was much too ruthless.
“This is harder than it looks” Ashley exasperated panting
“What does it look like?” Erinyes wondered aloud curiously
“Like a dance. Almost like you are the wind, or water” Ashley replied. Her breath heavy.
She laughed softly until her ears rotated behind her when she heard a small ping.
She turned towards the noise and her eyes widened as she realized what it was. She took a deep breath in, readying herself to scream to Ashley what had just landed in the ship when it exploded. Plumes of gas flowed into the cargo bay, the shield keeping the gas inside. She held the breath she was going to use to scream with as she readied herself to fight. The marine rushed to the weapons bench to grab the one she was servicing. She paused and instead used her omni-tool to contact Joker
“Joker!” Ashley yelled into her comm as she hurriedly put the rifle back together “Let Shepard know we… are… being… att-” She collapsed. The rifle she had been attempting to reassemble toppled to the ground with her, parts and pieces scattering around her on the ground.
Erinyes fought off the people who entered the ship. Her eyes struggling to see where they were. She listened to the marine falling behind her. The rifle she was trying to finish reassembling clattering to the floor and the parts scattering around her
“Fuck” Erinyes grumbled as she let the breath she had been holding out, unable to hold her breath further. She cursed for having to take a breath in as she punched one of the attackers in front of her. Her eyes began to droop and she took another deep breath in from the effort she was using to fight.
She felt her brain slow down, her sight began to fizzle out to black before her body succumbed to the gas and she fell to the floor.
Garrus yelled at Shepard to go faster than the Mako already was as the group raced back to the Normandy.
Chakwas and Kaiden were helping Ashley in the Cargo Bay. Garrus burst through the Mako doors before Shepard had even parked.
“I’m sorry Garrus” Ashley wheezed in a whisper, coughing.
15 minutes.
15 minutes of knowing the Normandy was attacked before finding out Erinyes was abducted. And another 5 minutes of driving to get back to the Normandy. She was gone for 20 minutes
Garrus snarled and looked around for clues.
“How did they get onboard?” He asked harshly
“On foot” Ashley answered, her voice hoarse
“And you did what exactly? Let her get taken?” Garrus roared when he found no clues near him, rounding on the marine barely able to sit up by herself. He was furious.
“Fucking hell Garrus” Shepard chastised in offense, his eyes reprimanding the hotheaded Turian. The words from his commanding officer made the Turian check his anger and not have the full force of the emotion go to the wrong people. “Ash, can you tell me what happened? From the top please”
“I was servicing the group’s weapons, a rifle halfway assembled when I asked Kitty to show me some more of the Vextran combat moves.” Ashley defended herself weakly. Her voice quivered and wheezed. She was still unable to stand. “I was breathing hard from our spar when they attacked. They used some sort of sleeping gas. I didn’t know what type of gas it was and hurriedly called Joker and tried to assemble the rifle the rest of the way” She explained, she felt immense guilt over the situation. Over the spars and the combat lessons Ashley began seeing the Vextra as her sister.
Garrus tried to calm down.
But he was so worried for Erinyes. So angry that he wasn’t there to protect her. Furious that someone took her.
He felt useless and he fumed more as he stood and listened.
If his anger culd become a physical adaptation he would have exploded in flames.
“Could you see who attacked?” Shepard asked
“The gas was too thick to see. I know Erinyes attacked a couple of them before I was knocked out. I could hear it.” Ashley replied. Garrus saw the rifle and the parts on the floor. If the gas was as thick as she said it was, getting to and finding her locker would have been more difficult than putting the final parts of the weapon she was cleaning back together. Weapons would be useless if they couldn’t see.
“Was her imaging software up?” Garrus asked
“Yes” Kaiden responded.
He sighed in frustration.
He was glad she had it up but still angry.
“You won’t find her if you are so worked up Turian” Wrex grumbled behind him.
Wrex was right.
He hated he was right
He needed to find her with every fiber of her being.
His mind was telling him to hurry. His experience in C-Sec telling him the same
Nihlus looked at the other Turian with worry and sympathy.
“If they attacked on foot than there might be clues outside” Nihlus offered. Garrus was outside of the ship’s shield nearly a heartbeat later. The others followed him.
“We will find her Garrus” Shepard said, comforting his friend with a hand on his shoulder when Garrus’ visor picked up footprints. He growled.
“Footprints”
“Maybe we’ll get lucky” Nihlus offered “But we need a plan. We can’t go in half-cocked against who knows how many Operatives”
Garrus let out a long growl of displeasure, his subharmonics showcasing his anger and nerves as well. The three walked back up the ramp to make a plan-of-attack.
“I want to help” Ashley said determinedly as she stuggled getting up, falling after a brief moment and coughed
“Absolutely not. You are staying here until you can march yourself into the med bay” Chakwas chided, causing Ashley to look away
“I feel guilty. Like I should have been better prepared to help her” She mumbled quietly. Garrus looked at the marine.
“You did your best with what you had.” Shepard tried to calm the guilt of those around him “I know the words won’t help the hurt you feel, but we will get her back” The marine nodded. “And we will rain hell on those that took her and make an example of why they shouldn’t try this again” Wrex grinned and Nihlus nodded.
“About this plan” Garrus said to bring the focus back to the task at hand “What exactly are we going to do?”
Garrus kept his eyes on the ground, keeping the footprints on his visor in his sights. He kept a fast pace, Shepard followed slowly in the Mako with Wrex, Tali and Liara. Nihlus and Kaiden stayed on the Normandy to protect it while Joker did the procedures needed to get the ship off the ground to keep it safe in case the Operatives came back. Shepard didn’t want the Normandy to go up into orbit because none of them knew where the Vextran ship was.
Turians were known for their endurance, evolved to chase down prey for long periods of time and Garrus was using that evolutionary trait to his advantage. With his focus on the ground, Shepard focused on what was in front of them in the Mako. For once, not driving like a maniac. Tali manned the gun in the Mako if an ambush was set up.
Garrus knew that a sniper bullet could go through their shields if they had their imaging software up. A bullet from the Mako probably would take down their shields if they didn’t have their software up. Erinyes mentioned that it was a very serious Vextran law to keep their software up when off world. But going against so many Operatives they wanted to be as prepared as possible. They hoped the Mako would help them get an edge in the fight they were headed into.
Erinyes awoke groggily, she tried to lift her hand to her head but felt resistance. She opened her eyes suddenly at the realization and hissed. It was bright. Too bright.
She wasn’t on the Normandy.
Her mind sent alerts of the danger she must be in.
“~Nice of you to join us~” An arrogant male voice gibbed near her
Kajefka
He was speaking Kajefka
She was attacked by Vextra
Operatives
They were going to kill her.
She opened her eyes a tiny bit and looked down in front of her.
She was handcuffed.
Slanai handcuffs
She bit back her smirk
All Slanai Operatives were trained on how to get out of these types of handcuffs.
It was common knowledge amongst the Operatives to use Retav military style handcuffs on Slanai Operatives for that very reason
Then… why hadn’t they done that?
And they had handcuffed her hands in front of her?
What the actual fuck? What level were these assholes?
They must not have a fucking brain.
That confused her
They knew at this point that she was a level 9 Operative
Their actions didn’t make any sense.
Were they underestimating her?
When her eyes adjusted more to the light of being outside, and the throbbing lessened in intensity, she looked down to see they took her bands.
All of them, including the ones on her fingers and wrists.
They didn’t underestimate her that much then
They must have some semblance of thought in their brains
The only band they left on her was the one around her waist.
She was still wearing her workout gear
She internally cursed her luck.
She gets ambushed and she wasn’t wearing armor.
She looked up to see an Operative with the Xree facial markings and orange eyes looking straight at her. She felt a shiver of fear flow down her spine. He had his eyes, and his facial markings. His mane was a pale pink and his hide a pale orange.
Why was his imaging software not up? The other Operatives had theirs up.
“There is a cliff up ahead” Shepard said through the comms. The Mako slowed to a stop away from the cliff to keep the element of surprise on their side. While the Turian crouched and quickly made it to the edge quietly to peer down.
Garrus took out his sniper rifle and looked down at the valley below them. Finding a good place to keep in cover to use as a sniper’s nest. He got on the ground and used his rifle’s scope to look down in the valley below. He saw 10 Operatives in the valley, two were away from the group and away from a shuttle. Those two were with Erinyes. One in front of her had his imaging software down, the other Operative behind her had his software up. Erinyes was awake and beginning to panic, fear on her face as the one in front of her talked. He let out a deep growl
“Not yet buddy” Shepard grabbed the arm resting on the trigger finger, itching to put a bullet in the Operatives head. “Stay here while we get closer.” He motioned to Wrex, Tali and Liara. “Wrex, be careful in close range combat, Liara get closer, but keep yourself away from them. They use tech for physical attacks, the result is similar to biotic punches. Tali with me, I want you to man the guns of the Mako.” Shepard ordered.
Garrus waited, his teeth clenched tightly, his jaws throbbing in pain from the action, as he watched the Operative with a mane of pale pink hair grab Erinyes’ hair and then put some sort of gag in her mouth. Garrus felt his blood boil as he watched the absolute terror on her face. The two Operative manhandling his soul-bonded girlfriend. The Operative without their software up grabbed her chin before putting up his imaging software. He was going to kill that one first. The amount of fear in Erinyes’ eyes made him see red. No one would ever do that to her again.
No one would make her scared
He let out a continuous low growl from his mouth plates, his subharmonics producing low bass notes and buzzing, as he kept his gaze on the Operative in front of Erinyes.
He watched her glare at the Operative talking to her. If looks could kill, well, he would have been roasted alive over a pit of lava. She kicked him.
Garrus smiled
“That’s my girl” He whispered.
“+Keska sends his warmest regards. He wanted you to see who had abducted you before the fun began+” The man beamed in Xajka. Watching panic lace her facial features at the mention of the name alone making him smile.
Keska
She never wanted to hear his name again
Her blood ran cold
He was alive
He knew she was alive
He wanted her.
This was her worst nightmare come to life
“+I honestly don’t get it…+” He goaded, looking down at her smugly from the boulder he was sitting on before sliding off it. “+I don’t get his obsession with wanting you alive. We took you down so easily+” He bragged, grinning sadistically as he watched her glare and growl at his words “+He wants you to watch as your companions die. But first+” He took out a device. Seeing it she began struggling hard.
Fuck no
Not that
She backed up as much as she could while bound making the Xree Operative chuckle. He grabbed her by the ponytail and pulled hard causing her to yelp. An Operative came up behind her and used her yelp to kept her mouth open while the Operative in front of her pushed the gag inside of her mouth as she attempted to struggle.
A muzzle?
A fucking muzzle?!
How fucking barbaric!
Of course Keska would do this to her.
The bastard’s cruelty had no bounds.
With the piece in her mouth, he secured the leather straps around her and had the Operative behind her lock the muzzle in place with a series of pins and clicks of the lock behind her head. As the Operative behind her locked the muzzle, the Operative in front of her brought up his imaging software. Even his human illusion looked like a psychopath with black sunken eyes, sallow skin, greasy black hair and an evil grin on his face. She glared up at the Operative in front of her and he laughed evilly and grabbed her chin
“+Keska will be very happy to have you again. He probably will keep you muzzled though+” He jeered with a grin and a laugh at her expression “+Learned long ago, an angry Keska brings death, a happy Keska brings safety. Maybe he will give me a promotion after this+” He took pleasure at her wincing at his name each time he said it
She felt her energy drain and felt weaker than she had felt in her entire life. She growled through the gag. Her imaging software glitched before dropping completely. She felt exhausted.
“+Now it makes sense why he wants you so badly.+” He forcibly turned her head to the side before doing the same with the other side “+If he wasn’t so obsessed with you I’d have some fun with you myself+” She growled darkly, her eyes growing stormy as he dropped her chin
She wanted to scream or cry. Screaming was not possible and crying would give the Xree Operatives pleasure since Operatives don’t cry.
How was she going to get out of this?
She managed to keep her breathing steady and kicked the Operative in front of her as hard as she could in the knee.
The muzzle was doing its job by disabling her tech. The kick was weak. She hoped it caused enough pain and if she was very lucky would make it so he couldn’t walk.
He growled, the kick did cause him some pain but just annoyed him more than anything. He materialized a pistol before aiming it at Erinyes.
Erinyes glared, determined not to make this easy on her captors
“+Do you want to die girl?+” He growled out.
She responded in kind by repositioning her legs and tilting her head forward, towards the pistol, until it touched her forehead, glaring a dare up at the Operative to pull the trigger. She extracted her claws and began working them into the handcuffs to unlock them quietly.
The Operative looked conflicted. He was not expecting her to call his bluff.
Erinyes, on the other hand, would rather die than go anywhere near Keska again.
She would rather die than be his play thing again
To be his cock sleeve and entertainment again
Erinyes was brought out of her thoughts when the Xree Operative in front of her’s head found a bullet, judging by the size of the hole left behind, a sniper bullet.
Garrus
She wanted to scream in relief.
The Operative behind her materialized an assault rifle and was scanning the area for enemies.
She wasted no more time, using the chaos of the moment to unluck the handcuffs, no longer caring about how much sound she was making and crawled to the dead Operative to grab her bands and put them in their proper place on her person. She couldn’t use them with her own tech, but maybe?
She didn’t waste much time debating whether it would work or not and rubbed her band on the dead Operatives leather panel and nearly cried when her knife materialized before putting the band on her finger. She was not sure when it would dematerialize.
She turned to the Operative behind her who was aiming a gun at one of her friends not paying attention to the muzzled Erinyes.
He must have thought of her as not a threat.
She glared at him
He would see how wrong he was.
She rushed to her feet and rammed the knife in his throat before ripping it across when she pulled it out, showering herself with light blue blood in the process.
The Operative dropped his gun and Erinyes silently cursed as she watched it dematerialize. She grabbed his bands and materialized the items from the small bands on the catch frantically, following his body to the ground and ignoring the gurgling sounds he was making with his final moments. He clutched his throat in a pitiful attempt of keeping the blood in is body.
She kept her knife in her hands, her knuckles going white with the action, knowing that if she let it go she wouldn’t be able to materialize it again herself. She had no guarantee when or if she could materialize it again.
She materialized a small knife from the Operative’s bands and clutched it in her hand with her own knife.
Finally, she found what she was looking for and rushed away to put as much distance between the Operatives still alive and her.
It was hard to run with the muzzle in her mouth, she couldn’t suck in as much air as she needed. She vaulted over a boulder using it as cover and putting her back to it.
She reached behind her, the lock was circular, the keyhole on the side of the lock. The lock was made to be difficult to lock and unlock to help give Operatives time to find the muzzled escapee as they tried to free themselves. Finding the keyhole to the muzzle she put the key in it, twisting the shank, pulling the key down vertically until it was horizontal in the lock and spinning the entire lock itself using the finger hold of the key as she did so.
Once she heard the click and the latch unlock she ripped the gag portion of the muzzle out of her mouth and screamed her disdain for the thing before throwing it as far away from her as possible. She pulled her knees close to her and allowed herself to cry for a moment. She could hear the song of gunshots behind her from a variety of weapons.
She did not know how long it would take for her to use her own tech again, all she had was her knife and the small knife she got from the Operative that had the key. She rested the back of her head against the boulder behind her and looked up at the sky, letting the tears fall.
“Fuck you Ancestors” She whispered
Her friends were here to help her, but with knives and no shields she would die if she did close combat. Close combat was all she could do at the moment. She had no mid range weapons. She couldn’t help them.
Fighting Operatives was dangerous. Without shields and tech doing so would spell her death. She peeked over the boulder
The Operatives were near their own shuttle and were using it for cover from the Mako’s guns, all the while trying to get to her by jumping from cover to cover.
She had managed to get a decent distance away from the other Operatives. But that was for her own safety. She watched her own knife dematerialize and screamed as quietly as she could in frustration. In a minute or two the other knife would be gone too.
Weaponless and defenseless.
She was fucked.
Her ears heard movement near her and she gripped the remaining knife, panicking.
The last time she felt this level of fear was when she was afraid of losing Garrus.
She could not remember the last time she was this scared for her own life.
Garrus took cover next to her and dumped his rifle near him. She sighed in relief and tried to relax.
This situation didn’t feel as fucked anymore
Chapter 23: Technical Difficulties
Summary:
Erinyes comes up with a dangerous plan to kill the remaining Operatives and has questions about what she has noticed about the Vextran technology she has been seeing
Chapter Text
“Found her Commander” Garrus growled into his comm. Quick as lightening he turned towards her and took her face in his hands tilting her face looking for injuries. He tapped his comm for privacy “Why aren’t you fighting?” He asked, looking down at the tiny knife. It began dematerializing in her hand and she broke. She threw herself in his arms and he held her. He was stunned for a moment before pulling her close to him. “I can’t read your mind” He whispered softly. “What is going on?”
“They muzzled me” She quavered horrified “They fucking muzzled me Garrus” tears rolled down her face when she looked up at him. He looked at her bewildered
“The gag thing they put in your mouth?”
“Yes” She saw his confusion “It shuts down my tech, making it unusable”
“But… it’s off now”
“Yes, but it doesn’t come back on right away. It’s like turning on a computer after shutting it down incorrectly, it takes time to reboot” She wasn’t sure her analogy even worked in 2183 or not. She knew the the analogy wouldn’t work on Wejesu. She was panicking and couldn’t think of anything that would work to explain what was going on inside her body. “I am weaponless and defenseless Garrus. I’m in my fucking workout gear. I’m fucking useless right now. I can’t even do hand-to-hand combat! The tech adds strength to my bones. I am currently even more pathetic than a fucking normal Vextra” She was distraught
“Do you have your omni-tool still? Did they remove it?” He asked and she looked at her left forearm, lifting it to show that she still had it. He could see the relief on his face ripple over like a palm as his features relaxed slightly. He motioned for her to give him her hand and she did so without a second thought on the matter. He had a plan, and seeing that it helped her panic die down to a roar like that of an ever-present waterfall in the back of her mind. He began tinkering with with the omni-tool, thanking the Spirits for the foresight of installing shields onto the tool. “I made sure to add shield capabilities when I got this set up for you. You’re not defenseless” He assured calmly. He gave her arm a light massage, taking her face in his other hand and gently rubbing the tears away. That tiny little piece of knowledge helped her calm down before the panic attack fully set in.
“Thank you” She whispered. He handed her his assault rifle.
“The shields are probably not as strong as yours so be careful” She nodded. The rifle was heavy and felt off in her hands. She was unsure just how accurately she could shoot it. Remembering back to the shooting range, probably not well.
Her resolve hit her like a t-boned car accident she had witnessed when she was back on Earth. It hit her out of nowhere. Her emotions put aside she took a deep breath as muscle memory and the deep rutted channeled pathways in her brain that was her training took over like second nature.
She was not dying here today
She was not going to be Keska’s slave either.
She refused to watch her friends die
Garrus set up his sniper rifle next to her and scanned the area
“We took out 4 of the 10 I counted earlier. Do you know how many there are?”
“No, I woke up with only the two near me not too long ago. I killed one to get the key to the muzzle” She scanned the area with him.
“You woke up how long before the muzzle went on?”
“A few minutes”
“They must have drugged you. Ashley woke up 35 minutes ago”
That set of knowledge knocked her unsteady in her mind and she teetered as her emotions threated to pull themselves back in. She took a deep breath to steady herself.
She could break down later.
Focusing on what was in front of her she watched Garrus take a shot, hitting one between the eyes.
She took a breath. Her emotions and panic fizzled in the back of her mind. She knew she had to stay focused on the now. Focusing on anything else in the moment could have dire consequences. She listed what she had.
She had shields
She had a weapon.
She needed to help her friends kill these Operatives.
That was her mission.
Her training kicked in once more. She shoved her emotions aside and took a deep breath to focus further as her eyes examined what was happening in front of her.
She watched as Wrex barreled into one of the Operatives before blowing his head off with his shotgun when the Operative landed hard on the ground.
Another was floating in the air by Liara’s biotics before she used the Operative to knock down a few others, like a bowling ball hitting a strike, the Operative trapped by her biotics hit the Operatives hiding behind the shuttle from the Mako. They flew out of the cover into the Mako’s bullets.
Her heart squeezed
“You all came to help me” She whimpered softly. She was in shock
“Of course we did. You are a valuable part of our team and a friend to all of us. Ashley wanted to help but Chakwas wouldn’t let her. Nihlus and Kaiden stayed to protect the Normandy until we could get it up in the air.” A tear fell from her eyes at hearing what everyone was doing to keep her safe. “Sweetheart, how many Operatives can fit into the shuttle?”
“10 is the limit.”
Getting back at the task at hand something was niggling her. She focused on that as she put her back to the cover. She was too far away to do anything with the assault rifle. It did not seem wise to get close when:
- The Operatives were told to get her for Keska by Keska
- She could not guarantee how well she could shoot the rifle in her hands
- She had no idea when, or if, her tech would reboot. If it did, she didn’t know if it would come in all at once or trickle in.
There were simply too many unknown variables and she felt completely out of control over herself and what she knew of her own skills. She felt safe next to her boyfriend who seemed pleased when his bullet found another Operative
That niggling feeling bothered her.
Something was off.
It was like she was missing something.
She thought back to the attack. Closing her eyes and seeing it from an external point of view to stop her feeling flooding in. She needed to focus on the problem, what she had missed without distractions.
The attack came as a complete surprise to her.
It hit her suddenly
She had gotten no notification of a ship in orbit of Vextran make.
“The beacon” She whispered as everything came together in her mind “I bet the entire thing was a ploy to bring the Normandy here. When you got to the beacon what did you find?” She asked Garrus, looking at him.
“We didn’t make it to the beacon before Joker told us of the attack. We rushed back when we got word.” He ducked down to look her in the eye
She grabbed him and nuzzled him.
She didn’t have the words to tell him just how appreciative she was that he and the others had and were continuing to do. But she could show him.
Thoughts bounced in her mind as the Xree’s Operatives words replayed
They didn’t kill her.
Keska wanted her alive and brought to him. That went against Vextran laws and procedures
Only an Overseer could demand that type of treatment.
A shiver went down her spine at that.
She froze her head mid-nuzzle.
Her mind reeled
Was Keska the fucking Xree Overseer?
Her face blanched
Garrus pulled away slightly, seeing her pale face and rested his head on hers which took her out of the horrid thought spiral she was on.
It was overwhelming just how much she felt like she belonged with those who were not of her species.
How much she felt like she belonged in this Turian’s arms.
She may be part of the Slanai family but her Normandy family was her true family.
He adjusted her so she partially sat in front of him so he could continue sniping Operatives.
“We thought the beacon was a trap after your abduction too”
“I didn’t receive an alert from my tech of a nearby Vextran space vessel. It must have landed somewhere on the surface. I’m guessing nearby” she added
“Crap” Garrus tapped his comm “Erinyes said that she didn’t receive an alert about the Vextran ship and that their ship must have landed nearby”
“Can she find it?”
“Negative. They put a device on her that shut down her tech. She is waiting for it to come back”
“When will that be?” He looked at her and she looked up at him distraught once more
“Being muzzled is a rare, incredibly severe punishment. I know it depends how long it was on. I have heard stories of tech not coming back for years. Other stories I have heard is that the tech never fully came back, only a portion. I honestly have no idea. Some never got it back…” Her voice sounded far away to her ears. He put his crest on top off her forehead.
“Fuck” They heard Shepard say “Kitty, stay with Garrus. They are after you and we don’t want you getting hurt. Let us know when your tech comes back”
“Yes sir” She responded distraught and Garrus adjusted her again slightly and went back to sniping more of the Operatives.
Garrus turned off his comm and took her hand for a moment.
“We will get through this” He cooed before squeezing her close to him briefly and focusing on the remaining Operatives.
They heard something above them but saw nothing, the familiar quiet sound made her skin crawl
“Whatever ship they have is above us”
“Crap” He looked around. “No place for it to land though” He smirked smugly
“What is the gravity like on this planet in comparison to Earth?” He looked it up quickly
“Around the same”
“They won’t need to land the ship. They can survive a jump from 20 feet with no damage. At 30 feet they might have some pain but no permanent damage. Knowing the Operatives from the shuttle are being slaughtered they probably will attack with tactical cloaks on” She added miserably and pressed her forehead to his keel. Her heart rate rising again “And I can’t see them without my tech” She added while she was beginning to panic again.
Could this nightmare get any worse?
Losing even one of her friends right now would destroy her.
Garrus relayed the information pressing her tightly to him and Erinyes focused on her breathing
“I can’t see the ship they are using Garrus, I don’t know how many Operatives Keska sent after me”
“Who or what is a Keska?” Garrus asked
“Keska is the one who… raped me” She lamented softly, looking down. A violent growl ripped from Garrus’ throat, his subharmonics thrummed deep around and through her
“I will fucking tear his spine out” He growled darkly. She watched his fringe begin to rise and splay out.
“Garrus,” She whispered. He pulled the trigger, another growl exiting his throat “Love” She whispered. He looked at her. “I’m scared” She admitted and his fringe went back to normal
“I will not let them take you.” He enunciated taking her hand and squeezing it. “The only way they will, is over my dead body” A horrified sound exited her mouth out of its own volition
“No” She whispered while she shuddered at the thought “I’d rather die than live without you”
Wrex’s growl brought their attention back on the battlefield. Garrus saw a shiver of fear run down her spine at the sound, her body remembering the first time she heard Wrex make that sound
A knife was sticking out of his chest and Wrex punched the unseen Operative hard, his shield going down once the punch made contact, the tactical cloak flickering away on contact. The Operative slammed into a nearby boulder and let out a low groan from his lips.
“Oof” Erinyes winced, rubbing her own ribs from the ghost pain at the memory from that punch
Her mind reeled on what to do. This situation could not have gotten worse
“Operatives are on the ground and cloaked Commander” Garrus relayed the information
“Wrex, Liara, get to cover, we are going to spray the area with bullets from the Mako.” Shepard ordered and Wrex moved immediately. Garrus waited for any who could survive the onslaught to be shown so he could snipe a bullet between their eyes.
Erinyes closed her eyes and controlled her breathing. Her training kicked in like a second skin covering her. She hada semblance of an idea. A very stupid, dangerous idea that Garrus was going to hate but she needed to be sure her friends-her family, was safe.
“Garrus” He glanced at her briefly to let her know he was listening. “Open your comms for me. I’m going to teach you guys some Slaneska.”
“Why”
“Because I don’t think any of the Operatives here can speak it and I think I have a plan” She said deviously
“Ok…” Garrus was unsure but opened the comm for her anyway. He let out a controlled breath and downed another Operative explaining the situation to the others
“Keah is front or in front of”
“Keah” Garrus repeated quietly. She heard others doing the same
“Mesh is back or behind”
“Sev is right, or to the right of”
“Lir is left or to the left of”
She heard tapping and a message was sent to everyone from Tali with the words she had taught them. She smiled
“Thank you Tali”
He took another shot when the Mako’s bullet found an Operative’s leg dropping their cloak and making it impossible for the Operative to stand
“Why are you teaching us this love?” Garrus asked
“Because I have an idea. A stupid, dangerous one, but an idea nonetheless” She sighed, Garrus gave her a pointed look severely displeased. She ignored it, taking control of the situation like she had on Wejesu. It felt almost natural… except having to work with so many people. At most she would lead a team of 3 people. “Shepard,” Erinyes moved to plop herself behind Garrus, letting her arms rest on his shoulders and in front of his chest so he could continue sniping unencumbered. He trilled at this new touch she felt comfortable with. She also did so because she did not want to see his reaction to her idea.
“Go Kitty” Shepard commanded
“They want me. My… my rapist is dangerous and the one that ordered these Operatives to get me. They are not allowed to kill me. I can be bait”
“No, you are not” Garrus growled darkly.
“Garrus, what happens when the Mako overheats and has to wait for the guns to cooldown? The Operatives will go in for the kill and will not hesitate to slaughter you while cloaked. Liara, Wrex or you could die as the Operatives get close without you knowing. I taught you all the words in Slaneska so I can use my hearing to tell you when someone is near”
“It’s too dangerous” He growled, his subharmonics producing notes of panic. “I could shoot you if you are wrong.”
“Do you have a knife?” She asked and ignored him. She was tired of feeling useless in this situation and was going to do something about it. Even if it was horribly stupid and dangerous. She was too stubborn to be talked out of it. Garrus gave the knives he had on him to her, feeling angry and betrayed which sounded in his subharmonics and body language. Erinyes tried not too look at him. She didn’t want to be guilted out of the only thing she could think of to do. “I will stab them to bring down their cloak if I have to, so you guys can shoot them if they get too close to me.”
“No” Garrus sounded like Erinyes wounded him “I don’t want you to get hurt” His voice broke
“I don’t want any one of you to die” She whinged harshly and emotionally “They were ordered to kill you all in front of me” Her voice rose
“Jesus” Shepard muttered in horror. He paused for a moment “I have a better idea. We can focus fire to keep Kitty safe rather than blindly fire.” Garrus looked at her, his heart broken and mind torn. “We can position ourselves around her to take the operatives out. Liara I want you to focus fire in front of her, Wrex behind and I will take left and right. Garrus snipe any that get their cloaks nicked.”
“Shepard, no”
“Garrus let her do this.” Shepard ordered.
“Yes sir” He managed to get out. He respected Shepard too much to be insubordinate
She nuzzled him again and breathed in his scent deeply.
She hoped this wouldn’t be the last time she got to do this.
Garrus turned off his comm.
“Erinyes. I hate this.” He whined, his subharmonics going wild in worry and panic
“I do too” She sighed, breathing in his scent again. “But I can’t think of another way to ensure we all get out of this alive” She took a deep breath
What if this was the last time she saw him?
She couldn’t have any regrets.
“I love you” She whispered against his neck causing him to shiver from her breath.
He chirped and trilled from her words.
“I love you too” His voice broke as he gripped her arm to keep her close to him. He hated this idea. His subharmonics were growing louder. Every fiber of his being wanted to hold her close to him and not allow her to do this.
To run away with her and hide her away to keep her safe.
“Knowing you are here to keep me safe makes this less terrifying” She breathed and gently nuzzled his neck again
She watched as Wrex made his way to the shuttle and hopped inside of it to use it as cover. Liara had positioned herself closer to where Garrus was, using a biotic bubble as an extra shield as she moved in the open to get herself to cover.
Erinyes reluctantly pulled away from him. Garrus’ subharmonics got louder when she pulled away. She took a deep breath and stood up. Shepard stopped shooting as she ran into the clearing. Garrus’ knives were in her hands, blades angled towards her forearms to hide them as much as possible. She faced the cliff where the Mako was, closed her eyes and listened.
This is just another Slanai exercise she reminded herself
She had done this all the time.
She just had no tech, no armor, limited shields, and only the knives in her hands to defend herself this time
No big deal
Right?
She slowed her breathing, letting the familiar feel of training overlap her as she focused on her hearing. She heard rustling to her left
“Lir” She said quietly. She knew Wrex would hear her and she didn’t want the Operatives to pick up what she was doing for as long as possible.
She stayed as still as possible as the Mako shot the area to her left until she heard a cry when an Operative was hit.
A louder shot rang out and she heard a body fall to the ground
She kept her eyes closed as silence fell in the valley again. Her ears swiveled in two different directions as she heard rocks being ground into the soil
“Mesh and sev”
Wrex began shooting behind her as the Mako shot to her right
Her breath hitched in her throat. Her instincts were telling her to move with bullets getting so close to her, especially with her being in the precarious situation she was in.
She felt a sudden jolt within herself and she gasped, clutching her heart as she bent over in pain. Her body felt like it was on fire.
She fell to her knees in pain and struggled to focus on the sounds around her.
She clenched her teeth until her jaws hurt to keep from crying out in pain. She struggled to listen to what was around her when all she wanted to do was get in the fetal position and scream. Her eyes clenched shut.
This was such a bad idea.
What was she thinking?
“Keah” She croaked as she struggled to speak through the pain.
She tried to focus on her breathing.
Her lungs burned. She felt like her blood was water that a live wire dropped into. It felt like fire, lava even, flowing through her veins. Her muscles felt like they were on burning. Her bones ached. Her mind felt like bombs were exploding within it. She felt it difficult to breathe, swallow let alone think
She crumpled to the ground from the pain, dropping the knives in her hands. On her knees using her hands to support her she let out a keening sound as the pain increased sharply before ebbing
The pain started to diminish bit by bit and she took deep breaths. The pain being so much of a distraction she hadn’t heard the Operative creep close to her.
She felt a sharp pain as she was picked up by the base of her ponytail and lifted off the ground. She barely had enough time to grab one of the knives near her fingers as she blindly massaged the ground to find them as she was lifted into the air. The pain coursing through her scalp was nothing compared to the pain still coursing through her entire body.
Erinyes was tall, but this Operative was much taller than her.
“Which way?” Garrus yelled in panic, blowing his location
She struggled, opting to keep her eyes closed to figure it out.
She felt a familiar tug in her mind and let it loose. Anger flooded her body, numbing the pain slightly
The anger allowed her to think briefly as the pain went mild for the moment
“~Keska can go fuck himself~” She growled in Kajefka, goading the Operative
“~Listen, bitch- ~”
“Keah” She yelled once the words flowed from his mouth. Cursing the Operative moved to use her as a shield. Garrus growled as he watched her body sway as they moved. She opened her eyes, still feeling like electricity was flowing through her body. The light stung and she hissed from the searing pain
Did an Operative inject her with something?
What on Wejesu was happening?
The anger surged through her again and she let it take over.
“~You are a coward just like every person from the Xree family I have ever met~” She continued to goad venomously. She found ignoring the pain from her scalp was easy since it was incomparable to the pain everywhere else. She reached up with one of her arms and dug her claws into his hand. He yelped and dropped her ponytail. She kept her claws in his hand and hung from it, her toes barely touching the ground and figuring out his location, she opened her eyes and slashed at him with Garrus’ knife, aiming for his face “~Now you can have the scar I gave the vedthar~” She added when the blade met his face. Her eyes dark and and voice low and dual toned.
The Operative yowled. Out of habit she tried to build tech in her arm and grinned when it started, just barely, and a mere fraction of what she wanted to use. Not ideal but a start. She released her hold on his arm and stood, trying to ignore the muscles that burned upon contact or movement in her body. Standing in a wide stance for stability. Judging by the yowl still coming from his mouth she made quick calculations, grabbed where she thought his hair was and tugged harshly to keep his head still. She stabbed him directly in the eye she had slashed near moments prior. “~Now you can match him in this way too~” She badgered darkly. His cloak flicked and dropped
He screamed, still standing and grabbed his face with both hands. Not needing to be asked she dove to the ground quickly to lay flat against the ground as she heard bullets fly around all her milli-seconds after she did so.
The Operative dropped near her, looking more like Swiss cheese than anything else. Adrenaline still flowing through her aching limbs and her mind still throbbing in pain she attempted to bring up her visor. She breathed a sigh of relief and joy for being able to do the simple action again.
She had limited capabilities in her visor, but she was still beyond pleased she could be useful again.
Searching for any other Operatives in the area. She grabbed her bundle of bands and found the two containing her pistols and rubbed them awkwardly on the leather panel of her joggers to not waste time putting it on where it usually was on her person.
There was time to do that later.
One of her two pistols materialized which made her discouraged but it was good enough for now. She shot in the direction behind Wrex. Wrex swiveled around. She growled in frustration at herself as the pistol dematerialized after 2 shots and both of them missed. She was a fucking disaster today. Wrex unleashed a few shots from his shotgun in the direction she had fired. The Operative caught some of the attack and the cloak fell. Wrex charged at the woman and once fully incapacitated used his shotgun aiming at her head. Erinyes checked the rest of the area.
With the immediate threat neutralized she looked up, studying the space craft.
“It’s an S55. A destroyer that holds at most 25 Operatives.” She rattled off.
“Shepard wants to know if there are any more in the area” Liara was at her side and she connected her comms to the others
“Not that I can see. I don’t know about if there are any left on the destroyer though” She commented
“How do we find that out?” Shepard asked
“I think I can jump up and enter it that way and clear it” She offered
“Clear it?! You got a few shots from your pistol before it dematerialized sweetheart.” Garrus reminded her, in a mixture of concern and frustration at her insistence of continuing to put herself in dangerous life-threatening situations. Especially in this case, where she had no armor or weapons.
“If I remember correctly, you said on the the asteroid the ship will go back to Wejesu on autopilot” Shepard added
“It can, but The S lines use Slanai tech as their operating system, I should, well… I might, be able to hack into-”
“Should and might are two different things” Garrus chastised darkly. He was past annoyed and growing angry at the lack of self-preservation at the Vextra “Also, over 150 years have passed. Statistically speaking the chances of you hacking into it is very low.”
She sighed “You’re right, my family’s technology would be far more advanced than what I am used to, and what I was trained to hack into”
Garrus sighed in relief, their compromise from Feros was largely still intact, it just seemed to be spotty. Something he needed to fix sooner rather than later.
The discussion about how to board the destroyer came to a halt when she saw the light sequence that would be used to call the shuttle using auto pilot. The shuttle exterior was destroyed enough not to be flight worthy due to the Mako’s previous torrential firepower.
“It’s trying to call the shuttle back using autopilot procedures. It is going to takeoff soon” Erinyes explained to Shepard
“Shit” She heard Shepard’s reply before his comm turned off. Probably to warn Joker. The helmsman needed to know in case anyone was onboard the Vextran destroyer decided to try to attack the Normandy.
After a few moments the sequence stopped and it flew off quietly and slowly.
“I… I don’t think there is anyone onboard. Or at least… anyone onboard who is a high level Operative to know how to pilot it” She muttered.
The group waited with bated breath to see if the destroyer would fire on the Normandy. Erinyes grabbed Garrus’ hand once he got closer to her and squeezed tightly as her anxiety heightened as they waited for what was going on above them.
“Joker just reported the mass relay being activated.” Shepard provided. The breath she was holding left her body in a sudden huff.
Garrus was in front of her checking on her instantly.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m tired” She replied
“You were in pain earlier, where did you get hurt? How did you get hurt?”
“I think it was my tech returning? That or I was injected with something without my knowledge” She admitted and let her head rest against his keel “It felt like I was being electrocuted, being burned alive and my head is killing me” She admitted. Garrus rubbed her back.
“No injuries?”
“No, just hurt pride and tired, and a little numb and achy” She commented with a yawn.
“I’m glad you are ok” He sounded relieved
“Kitty” Shepard called as he climbed down the cliff. “How’s your energy?”
“Low”
“Percentage”
“Maybe 15” She estimated. “It’s hard to say, it’s like my body isn’t responding properly.”
“How so?” Garrus asked concerned
“When I tried to use my tech earlier, I got a fraction of the amount I was trying to build up, like 10% of the amount I was trying to use. I don’t know when everything will go back to normal… let alone if” The uncertainty was getting at her.
What if it never went back to normal?
She clutched at Garrus’ cowl when the thought entered her mind and pressed herself closer to him. He was her safe harbor when it came to her bouts of emotional turmoil. She nuzzled the side of his face and pulled away gently
“I need to collect the bands”
Garrus gave her a hard look that she blatantly ignored.
She started gathering the bands from the dead Operatives. Garrus watched her with a look of disdain
She sighed.
“On Feros, you and Shepard looted objects for what resources you can use. I’m doing pretty much the same thing, but because my resources can’t be found inside objects I have to get them from Operatives who’ve died” She gave him a light glare.
“I see nothing wrong with what she is doing” Wrex commented with a smirk at the Turian’s behavior as he began dragging the Operatives he could see to where she was so she could conserve her energy further.
“Thank you Wrex” Erinyes replied earnestly. Both for taking her side of the argument and for helping her so she didn’t have to work as hard to get what she needed. That only served to annoy Garrus more however.
The Operatives that had died with their cloaks on slowly became visable as their tech stopped working in their bodies.
That was Erinyes’ theory at least.
The tech took a bit longer than the body to realize the body was dead.
“Glad someone seems to understand” She muttered, giving Garrus a pointed glare. With a nod of thanks to the Krogan, he dropped the next batch of Operatives he was carrying.
Liara carried three more with her biotics.
“I’m not the biggest fan of this but I understand that you can’t get replacements for the things you have and use” Liara chided and gave Garrus a look that clearly showed that he should be helping his girlfriend. “The faster we get this done the faster we can go” She added sharply to Garrus
“Tch” He made the sound as he stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest briefly. He looked around and let out a sound of irritation from his subharmonics and began helping her collect the bands from the gathered Operatives near them. He couldn't be the only one out here not helping her. That would make him look like a bad boyfriend. That he couldn't help her when she needed it and couldn't be supportive of her.
With her friends helping she went over to the ones still under a tactical cloak. She collected the bands and let her mind wander.
Too many things confused her since being flung forward in time starting from the damn asteroid.
Every way she could ascertain what happened on the asteroid shouldn’t have happened the way it had.
Mainly in terms with the technology.
She was over 150 years in the future. Her tech should be horribly obsolete.
But it isn’t.
She had technology that by all means should have been shared with the other families because her family would have created something better.
But it wasn’t.
Remembering back to the asteroid and seeing the weapons the Operatives used today… the technology had barely changed
That alone thoroughly confused her.
Her own weapons should be like a child’s toy in comparison to the weapons used in 2183, yet they weren’t. If anything, their weapons were just a tiny bit better, but not worlds better as they should’ve been.
Then today, the Xree Operatives put her in Slanai handcuffs
Why?
Her hands were handcuffed in front of her.
That just made no sense.
And the destroyer! She had recognized it immediately. It looked old too.
Why were they using a model that was so ridiculously old? They should have something far better to replace it with.
Too many things didn’t add up and it was eating at her.
She should’ve died on the asteroid.
“What are you thinking about?” Garrus asked bringing her out of her reverie
“Hmm? What?” She had been so focused piecing things together in her mind she didn’t hear the question
“Your face is all scrunched up. That usually means something you are thinking about is bothering you. What are you thinking about?”
She took a deep breath and let it out
“I am confused about the stagnation of the technology that I am seeing in the Vextra. Going as far back as the asteroid. Things aren’t adding up”
“Like?”
She turned to him
“I should’ve died on the asteroid.” Garrus made a face of displeasure and opened his mouth to retort, she continued before he spoke “My technology should have been horribly obsolete. I should’ve been easy to kill from their better weapons and programs. But it… didn’t happen that way. My weapons are not as good as theirs but not as bad as they should be. Plus, their actions made no sense”
“How?”
“Every decent Operative knows not to use Slanai handcuffs on Slanai Operatives. No Operative in my time would be stupid enough to do that and then make it easier for the Slanai Operative to get out of them by securing their hands in front of them” She scrunched her nose as the confusion swirled in her head. “The destroyer looked old. Ancestors, I was able to tell the exact model. Why don’t they have a new model? It’s been over 150 years?”
Garrus blinked in stunned silence
“That is strange”
“Right?”
“Liara has the bands that she and Wrex brought over from that pile over there” He said pointing near the shuttle.
Her eye twitched
The shuttle.
The shuttle might have some of the answers she was looking for.
She headed to the shuttle right as Garrus was getting ready to open his mouth and hand her the bands he collected.
He ran to catch up now curious what her mind had gone to while he also had his mind wander as to what answer could be lurking to answer the technology stagnation she had mentioned.
She entered the shuttle and scanned the damage to the tech with her visor. The damage was bad, but the tech and inner workings of the shuttle could be accessed. The shuttle was beyond repair though.
She tapped at the controls in the cockpit and after a few taps that looked like random taps away from holo buttons on the glass before a hidden compartment opened and a sphere on a pole lifted up
“What is that?” Garrus asked. Wrex and Liara ducked into the shuttle to watch, curious as well
“It is like the Slanai version of a password” She explained as she cracked her knuckles and clenched and unclenched her fingers to stretch them. She had one shot at this before the shuttle programs locked her out.
She extracted her claws partially and drew on the sphere a pattern with both hands. With a flourish with both thumbs upward she let her hands rest showing the exact markings on her face on the sphere.
“You can use both hands at the same time?” Liara asked
“Yes, Operatives are required to be ambidextrous. It isn’t as common with regular Vextra unless it is for sensitive information.” She explained “The first round of the security protocol is to make sure that the person is Slanai, only people privileged enough to know this information know where to tap to access the next round of safety measures. The second round is to further make sure the person accessing the information is Slanai. The family is taught from childhood to draw the family markings a certain way.” A pane of glass lifted from another hidden compartment. “This round of safety measures looks up my name from the internal database to make sure I’m allowed to access the information as well as check the way I write it against the records.” She explained as her left hand wrote her family name and her right wrote 23 in Slaneska with a pained look on her face. Once written the sphere and pane of glass lowered.
“So far this seems something anyone could hack into” Garrus commented.
“You’d think” She began as another hidden compartment opened. She put her hand inside of it and extended her claws fully once inside “This is similar to scanning human fingerprints. The pads on the hide of Vextra fingertips are unique, but still something someone could bypass. However, every single one of a Vextra’s claws, when fully extended, give off a unique tone within them that the tech can look and compare to what is in the system. That is harder to bypass.” She explained as a white light scanned her hand. Once the light stopped she lifted her hand out and retracted her claws. The compartment closed
“It still seems like something someone could bypass with enough conviction and knowledge.” Garrus added. She barked a laugh. Garrus looked around “What’s next?”
“The Slanai family is incredibly paranoid.” She explained. “Here is where someone with ‘enough conviction and knowledge’ would get stuck.” She explained as she headed to the bulkhead to the right of the shuttle “Every Slanai family member is given a small disk inserted unknowingly when they get vaccinated at the age of 2. They become aware of it if they get enough responsibility to know the proprietary information or are privileged enough to make decisions for the family. That includes Operatives. Before I went feral I was high enough within the family hierarchy to know about the backdoors to gain information and to make changes to code as needed. When I went to Earth I am sure that privilege was revoked but I should be able to glean some information” She swiped the inside of her right wrist next to the edge of the windshield and swiped left and a new holographic screen appeared almost like a wall. She grinned at Garrus’ surprised face before writing commands to see the system information before her grin fell and her face went slack in complete shock.
“What is it?” Liara asked apprehensively.
“The system hasn’t been upgraded since 2042” She perplexed breathlessly and confused.
“That is a long time with no update” Garrus mentioned “Is that normal?”
“No,” She sputtered rereading the information again to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating “I watched someone get reamed by their supervisor for an update taking longer than a year to complete. My family prides themselves in technology and engineering. This” She sputtered “What-? What the fuck is going on?” She asked. She copied the information to her tech to look over later
“Pile in the Mako, let’s get back to the Normandy” Shepard ordered in the comms interrupting the group’s silence
“No, if you’re driving, I am not getting into that death trap.” Erinyes responded back
“There isn’t enough space here for Joker to land Kitty. The best place closest to us was close to where it was before. Joker checked” Shepard explained
She looked at all of the ground crew members near her and gave Garrus a confused look. There was no way for everyone to fit inside the Mako
“I ran here” Garrus explained
“I’ll join. I don’t think I am mentally prepared to continue feeling like I’m going to die. I need a break”
Garrus barked out a laugh before giving her a hard look
“Where is your energy at?”
“Like I told Shepard earlier, around 15%”
“You would waste too much energy running, love. You still need to put on your imaging software and I don’t want you passing out on our way back” He touched his crest to her forehead.
She groaned but didn’t argue because he was right
“How are we all fitting into the Mako?” Erinyes asked after activating the shared comm link
“You can sit on someone’s lap” Nihlus joked from the Normandy before hearing Joker admonish him for his statement. The look shared between Garrus and her showed their differing emotions on the matter. Erinyes didn’t want to be in that situation to begin with, Garrus looked like he would rip someone’s head off.
“You could run with Garrus” Liara offered
“She doesn’t have enough energy. I don’t want her to pass out” Garrus countered
“Carry her then. She is light enough” Shepard retorted with a teasing lilt. Garrus and Erinyes both blinked at the idea and Garrus grinned at her mischievously. She knew not to fight him on this and sighed. She could only imagine the mental turmoil he went through with this whole thing.
“Let me run a little bit” She compromised.
“You can run when we get closer to the Normandy” He looked pleased with the outcome when she acquiesced.
Liara and Wrex left the shuttle to head towards the Mako that had tumbled down the ravine. She muted the shared comm, Garrus did the same
They needed to have a chat.
Chapter 24: Intervention
Summary:
Garrus curbs his anger at Erinyes as they have a chat.
Erinyes has a reaction when entering the Normandy after her abduction. Because of this Garrus gets increasingly more territorial to make her comfortable.
Erinyes gets bad news about her tech.
Shepard sets up an intervention for both of them
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“We get need to have a chat” Garrus said in all seriousness. She shifted uncomfortably at the tone but nodded. He was tense. He looked to be holding back anger like a dam about to break from an exceeding amount of water. His subharmonics gave an odd sound. It reminded her of sand swirling from sound waves rather that particular notes that she was used to hearing. He kept his mandibles tight to his face.
It hit her like a freight train in that moment. He wasn’t angry. He was furious. Erinyes knew that most of the reason he was angry was due to her decisions.
Normally his anger would make her own anger well up and strike back at him as fast as a cobra would. But she was not normal currently. She felt uncomfortable in her own body without access to her tech; it left her in an emotionally fragile state. If she didn’t want that level of his anger to flow onto her she needed to walk on eggshells and be careful about what she said. So she stayed silent
They climbed the ravine and watched as Shephard haphazardly drove the Mako up.
He turned his back to her and motioned for her to climb on. She sighed before complying. She rested her arms around his cowl and her thighs over his hip spurs. Complaining would chip away at the dam of his fury. It was best if she just did what he was suggesting without speaking.
“Comfortable?” He asked softly. His voice was soft, but it lacked the gentle touch it normally did when he spoke to her. Instead, in its place his voice was hollow and strained like a wire about to break from being pulled too much stress.
“Yes” she stated and leaned her head against her upper arm to get more comfortable as Garrus and Shepard coordinated where to go. The Mako would lead but go slow enough to have Garrus run beside it.
He began running
They were silent for a few minutes. Erinyes waited for Garrus to say something. She was becoming more and more nervous as time stretched on in silence.
Garrus was lost in thought, working out exactly how to say what he wanted to and then trying to figure out what she would respond with to then retort. He didn’t want the full extent of his feelings over what had just occurred, especially the wrath that boiled under the surface, slamming against her. But he also wanted her to know what he felt.
“We made a compromise on Feros and you completely threw it aside” He was trying very hard to control his anger as he finally began speaking. He was not doing a good job.
“I’m sorry” She whispered softly. Hearing his tone and the emotion behind his words made her heart squeeze. She had hurt him with her need to be useful.
“Do you have any idea how I might have felt?!” He seethed, more anger poured out
“I may have a clue” She admitted softly as she thought back to the asteroid, shivering as she relived the holo version of his face splintering under an Operatives fist.
“Then why on Palaven did you do it?” He asked exasperated
“I didn’t want to watch people that mean something to me die. The lead Operative made it clear I wasn’t going to die.” She retorted
“What if he was lying?” Garrus was failing keeping the emotion out his voice. It was a losing battle at this point and he was to the point where he was losing the will to care about it.
“Then they wouldn’t have muzzled me. He would’ve killed me on the Normandy. Keska…” She cursed his name with venom “wants me back”
“Why?”
“He…” She sighed “Operatives are not allowed to have mates. Um. I don’t know how it works for Turians to explain in a way that would make sense.” She stalled for a moment. “In human society, at least in many parts in Human society back in the 2020s, one will pledge himself to someone he wants to be with for the rest of their life, they call it marriage. They propose the agreement with their partner with a ring. If their partner accepts there is a marriage ceremony. That will make the marriage official. Marriage is like bond-mates to Vextra.” She explained using her own experiences after learning about Human culture. “In Vextran culture a discussion is made between the pair and bond-marks are given. The mating must be approved by at least two Overseers and then a Bonding Ceremony is performed. Having someone make the bond-mark without consent is one the most heinous things that someone can do in Vextran society” She explained. “Keska…” She paused and grimaced. She had never admitted this aloud and she didn’t want to. But Garrus needed to know. Holding back tears she attempted to continue
Garrus let out a vicious growl which stopped the words that she struggled to release in their tracks “He gave you a bond-mark didn’t he?” He asked, figuring out quickly what she was going to say. She breathed a sigh of relief for not having to speak it before a sob racked her body and she pulled her body closer to his. “And he has the power to send Operatives after you now?”
She shivered against him. Garrus knew her answer at this point
“That’s the worst part. The only ones who have that power are Overseers”
He let out a long sigh to showcase his irritation. His anger at her was abated. Hearing part of the turmoil her mind was in gave him a better place to focus his anger. If he ever saw Keska he would rip his spine out, like he mentioned to Erinyes, and then continue causing him pain slowly so he suffered a long horrendous death for the pain and anguish he gave her.
“Don’t use yourself like bait again” He finally lashed after a moment of silence. His voice was decisive, clear and demanding. He was not going to take no as an answer.
“I will try my best”
“I’m not asking you to try Erinyes. I mean I don’t want to have my heart ripped out wondering if I would be watching my soul-bond’s death” He spat, his anger being redirected at her again
“I will do my best.” She repeated. He let out a mild muffled scream at her words that he tried to stifle “I’m not in the habit of making promises I know I can’t keep Garrus. Once the Reapers arrive I won’t be able to keep it. I may have to use myself as bait to keep people safe. I need to be useful” Her words soft and quiet as she explained
He let out a huff
“Until the Reapers arrive, can you promise me you won’t use yourself as bait?”
“Yes, I promise”
“From now on you will carry physical weapons and you will be trained on a sniper rifle. No complaining, no excuses.” He growled out.
“After what happened today, I agree with you” She replied, and he relaxed under her
He ran for a couple minutes in silence, lost in thought once more
“Thank you for not arguing with me” He replied softly, his bite from his serious tone gone. “I was expecting you to be more stubborn”
“I’m the reason you are angry Garrus. I hurt you.” She stammered as she sighed and clutched onto him tighter
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m not used to people caring about me, Garrus. I’m used be being used and thrown aside and forgotten. You didn’t do that. You came for me. If you hadn’t, I would be in his-” She choked back the name with a sob and nuzzled her head closer to him. Garrus’ subharmonics fluttered a variety of notes
He put his hand on hers that still clutched his keel tightly
“As long as I’m alive I will not allow that to happen” he declared evenly and calmly. His gentle tone of voice coming back to comfort her.
A tear slipped down her cheek; she moved her head closer to his and relaxed more.
“Why do you feel the need to be useful Erinyes?” He asked softly. She had mentioned it before. He assumed that was the main reason she used herself as bait in the first place since she had no access to her tech. He needed to understand her thinking in order to make sure that would not happen again.
“Garrus, if Operatives are not useful they are killed” She reminded him. Her voice was quiet and solemn. He felt his blood chill at the words. He had forgotten that. He assumed that because she had her tech disabled temporarily that threat would not be hovering over her.
Just one more thing that sickened him about her people.
“You don’t have to worry about that anymore” Garrus responded quietly
“I know but… it was beaten in me for so long I don’t think I can change it with a snap of the fingers. It is ingrained into me” She whispered. Her breath danced across his neck and made him shake in a breath of air. She was so close to him, so close to his neck. With his anger fading away he noticed how her body was situated on his, how she was cradled against his waist.
He tried to shake it from
“We have a long run back to the Normandy” He explained softly. “Rest, gain more energy, I’ll wake you up when we get close so you can put up your imaging software”
“I was Sgt. Katz” she faltered softly, and he cursed.
Sgt. Katz was not his girlfriend to anyone outside the ground crew. He couldn’t act like he wanted to around her. Which was going against what he wanted to do with every fiber of his being.
Going up the ramp to enter the Normandy, Erinyes felt a sense of dread blanket over her. The shadows seemed darker to her, more haunting. The sounds from inside the Normandy felt more sinister. Garrus was following but not closely which had her even more on high alert. She realized she no longer felt safe. Her home no longer felt safe, and a surge of anger flashed with the fear and panic in her at Keska destroying something else she cared about. The adrenaline had evaporated from her, and she felt drained, apprehensive and scared. The feelings increased the further she went up the ramp. Panic laid into her deep into her stomach, making her feel like she was going to throw up.
Her eyes darted the Cargo Bay looking for shadows that didn’t fit, for someone to come out and grab her while she was defenseless. Her mind still had sirens going off in it and her body was stiff with stress.
“Kitty!” Ashley exclaimed and ran to give her a hug. Erinyes flinched at the sudden loud voice and flinched again at the touch before her body seized up. She felt trapped and the urge to jump away and claw out of the marine’s arms reared up in her mind as she reminded that part of her that Ashley was not dangerous to her, she was her friend. But that panicked part of her mind still wanted out of the embrace, she felt further claustrophobia as the support staff gathered around her, clapping her on the back and shoulder, telling her how happy they were she was safe. To her their words jumbled together like in a blender. It was too difficult to focus on the words. There were too many voices and words, layering on top of each other and it was overwhelming. The room began to spin and her breath quickened.
“Are you okay?” Ashley asked as she held on to her shoulders.
“…yes” She quavered quietly. Kaiden sighed from relief hearing it. Ashley nodded but didn’t look convinced. The woman gave the Vextra an inquisitive look and cocked an eyebrow before letting it go. She couldn’t ask her the questions she wanted to with the support staff so close.
Erinyes felt the room close in on her and her face went pale and she began sweating profusely.
“Glad to see you safe and sound Sgt Katz” Nihlus responded genuinely but casually. The way he did made sense, the Spectre had limited interactions with Sgt. Katz.
Erinyes began hyperventilating. Shepard noticed it and took charge immediately. He had seen those signs before in soldiers after traumatic experiences and knew if it was not handled quickly things would go downhill fast.
“Alright, we are happy Sgt. Katz is safe and unharmed, please go back to work, Kitty needs some room to breathe. She has had quite the ordeal.” Commander Shepard stated after giving some time for the support staff could show how happy they were she was back. The support staff dispersed slowly. It did nothing as the panic rose within her. Erinyes didn’t know what she needed to do more, throw up or get more air into her body. She felt like she had a heavy weight on top of her chest that would not let her get enough air. Her breathing was quick and shallow.
Garrus noticed she was flinching while being touched and was nearly hyperventilating being so close to so many people. He had to stop his need to protect her since it would not make sense with the Katz illusion up. It was getting harder to continue the charade. He was eternally grateful that Shepard took charge but was still concerned when the lack of people around her was not helping her to calm down.
“Sgt. Katz.” Shepard said. She looked up at the Commander, fear written on her face, her breathing shallow “Why don’t you head over to the med bay to get checked out? Garrus, can you accompany her. I doubt she wants to be alone right now” she nodded her agreement. "Nihlus, Tali, Wrex, with me. I want to take a better look at that beacon"
Ashley and Garrus headed to the elevator with her.
“I want to apologize” Ashley began “I barely helped-”
“No need to apologize.” She retorted. She was doing so slowly, getting a few words in between strangled breaths.
“I still feel like shit that we barely helped before passing out” Ashley countered
“You did help. You called Joker for help” Erinyes explained. Ashley looked away. Erinyes leaned against the wall for support suddenly gaining the marine’s eyes on the Vextra once more, now in concern over her health. Erinyes hit the wall with her shoulder at the same time as when she felt the inability to use her hands. They felt like they were in concrete and it was causing her to panic further. The weight on her chest became unbearable. It was like a Krogan was sitting on top of her.
Panic spiked within Erinyes more when she felt the small walls of the elevator begin closing in and squeezing her. She began to cry, still struggling to catch her breath between the sobs.
“Ashley, she needs space. Please exit the elevator.” Garrus dictated tightly and urgently. Ashley nodded, leaving the elevator without arguing.
When the doors closed Garrus crouched in front of her. “Breathe. Sweetheart, breathe. Deep breaths. Like me” He modeled the deep breaths, and she struggled to follow his lead.
The elevator doors opened and Garrus scooped her into his arms and brought her into the med bay, no longer caring about the damn Katz illusion
“Is she ok?” Chakwas fretted looking concerned with Garrus carrying her and the Vextra’s quick shallow breathing and tear stained face.
“She is having one of those panic things. I forget the name. I saw Humans get them when I was in C-Sec”
“Panic attacks?” Chakwas asked and he nodded. She motioned for him to put her on the bed, as he continued to try to get her to take deep breaths.
Her breath staggered in as tears fell more rapidly from her eyes. Her hands still unable to move properly as she held them close to her body.
She had never felt like this before.
She felt pathetic
It was terrifying. She felt like she was getting less and less air and going to pass out and die from it which only spiked her fear more.
“Breathe, Love” Garrus soothed, his hand stroking her back.
She choked in a straggled breath as she attempted to follow Garrus’ prompts to breathe, hold, and release. She wasn’t doing the best job at it
Chakwas hovered nearby, giving comforting words of praise to Erinyes when she was able to take deeper breaths, even though the it devolved into staggered strained breaths afterwards. She didn’t feel the need to intervene since Garrus was doing what she would do. Given the close relationship between the two of them she would respond better to him than her.
After some time, her breathing normalized for the most part. Staggered breaths being drawn every now and then, but less then before.
“What… was that?” She asked, voice quivering
“A panic attack” Chakwas answered, “Severe physical reactions like you experienced happen when a sudden episode of intense fear triggers it” The doctor gathered basic medical data from her, like her blood pressure. “Do you know what triggered it?” She asked soothingly
“I don’t feel safe” she mumbled. Garrus froze.
“Do you not feel safe around certain people?” Garrus asked as he sat next to her. She moved to face him and he gently moved her bangs out of her eyes.
“I don’t feel safe here anymore” she admitted, tears threatening to spill over “I don’t understand why. The second I entered the ship I felt… panic”
“They took you from your home. It will take time for you to feel safe again” Dr. Chakwas explained. “Besides the panic attack, are you injured?”
The med bay doors swooshed before Erinyes could answer and Joker wobbled past the privacy screen to the other bed to sit down
Like a heavy blanket of snow falling over her all at once, Erinyes felt extreme exhaustion settle over her suddenly.
“Kitty!” Joker exclaimed as he came into the med bay. “Are you okay? We were so worried.” Joker exclaimed
“I’m… physically okay” She explained enervated, answering Dr. Chakwas’ previous question as well. Joker cocked an eyebrow at the strange answer. “My tech is not responding the way it normally does” She explained further
“Hopefully the scan will help explain that” Chakwas mentioned while making notes on her omni-tool “Anything else I should know?”
“No, they didn’t do anything besides shut down my tech while I was awake. I don’t know what they did to me while I was knocked out” she shivered at the thought
Chakwas looked at the scan readings. She took a few more body scans and went over to her console to input the information and compare it to her previous scans to hopefully glean some important information. Erinyes sat on the bed and looked at Joker who sat facing her on the other bed.
Erinyes began to shake. Garrus quickly spread her legs, stepped into the gap and pulled her into his arms. He let loose the calming rumble he hadn’t needed to use in weeks. She grabbed onto his keel and began to sob. She still felt so small and helpless. She had no idea how to fix the situation. Feeling out of control over her own body was oppressive agony. Garrus looked at Dr. Chakwas, hoping to have some good news from her.
“Do you know what is happening to her? Why hasn’t her tech come back?”
“I have a vague idea, but I want to rule other options out just in case. I’m going to need to run a blood panel to make sure nothing was injected into you while you were unconscious” Erinyes sighed but held out her arm for the doctor to take the blood required. She still hated needles. But her trust of the doctor outweighed her fear
“Can you please tell us what you found so far” Garrus pleaded. He was fatigued and just needed to know what was wrong with her so he could try and fix her. She seemed so broken in his arms. It broke his heart
Chakwas turned from the scan results on her console, her lips tightly pressed together. Garrus stood as still as a statue, barely brave enough to take a breath.
Something was wrong, very wrong
“Your scans show you are fine Erinyes; however, your scans also show your bones look very weak”
“What do you mean by that?” Joker asked
“It looks like it is similar to your Vrolik’s syndrome, Mr. Moreau. Not exactly the same, but similar. There is a noticeable difference between your last scan and this one” She explained
“It is part of the procedure that happens ion the womb. They make our bones more brittle to have the tech strengthen them more than a normal Vextra.”
“They make your bones brittle on purpose?!” Joker asked alarmed
“Yes” Her voice was emotionless at this point.
Garrus looked at the doctor. “You found something else. Something that corresponds to her limited use of her tech”
Dr. Chakwas closed her eyes and composed herself as Erinyes stiffened at her reaction, terrified of the answer “There was a break between the tech in your brain and your spinal cord. There is a strange blockage there. If your tech works like the nerve endings in humans, this disruption is why your tech is not working properly. Once I run the blood panel, I will be able to give a more definitive diagnosis”
Erinyes grabbed Garrus’ keel tighter. Her claws beginning to dig into the metal of his armor in despair as she shook and sobbed.
“It will come back, though, right?” Joker asked the doctor concerned over the Vextra
“It should, I just don’t know when” Dr. Chakwas admitted
Joker saw she needed to be pulled out of her mental torment.
“Can I give you some advice Kitty?” He started slowly, his grin widening when she sniffed and turned slowly to meet his eyes “Take a shower, you reek”
Garrus growled dangerously at the helmsman which made his smile rip off of his face as if Garrus had physically ripped it off even though it was just his growl. Garrus’ growl stopped when he heard her weak laughter, wiping at her tears and smiling at the human.
“Thank you, Joker” she said in a near whisper, her voice sounded hollow. Joker gave her a small smile and made a mental note not to tease the Vextra near the Turian again. He didn’t want to test his luck. He already had to be careful not to break his bones going about his everyday life. Tempting the Turian seemed like begging to be a heap of broken bones and pain. He wanted to avoid that.
Garrus escorted her back to her room. Erinyes was gripping Garrus’ arm like someone would a life preserver in an ocean during an angry storm.
A ping from her omni-tool came in as the doors to her room closed. Garrus scooped her in his arms, brought her to the bed and cuddled next to her.
6:34 A: I want to apologize again Kitty
6:34 E: Ash, you don’t need to. It isn’t your fault I was taken.
Erinyes, snuggled closer to Garrus who tightened his hold on her.
“Do you feel safe like this?” He asked quietly
“Yes, thank you, my Love” She replied. Another ping brought her attention to her omni-tool again
6:35 A: I was trying to finish putting together the rifle…
6:35 E: Ash, even if you were able to finish putting it together, you wouldn’t have been able to see through the gas. The gas was simply too thick. I didn’t even have time to warn you what the gas was
6:35 E: You wouldn’t have been able to tell where I was.
6:35 E: If you had not called Joker the time you had…
6:37 E: I might not be okay. I probably would be in a shuttle tied up. Because of your quick thinking, you not only helped me by getting the others to me at the right time, but you also didn’t give the Operatives enough time to plan how they were going to kill you all in front of me.
6:37 A: Thank you
6:37 A: What did Chakwas say? Are you really okay? You said before you were okay but you seemed unsure
6:37 E: My tech isn’t working properly. There is some sort of blockage. I really don’t want to talk about it
6:38 A: I understand. I am sorry this happened to you. I still feel horrible.
6:38 E: Don’t. I am here because of you. Thank you, Ash.
6:42 A: You’re welcome
A week later Shepard decided to help Wrex to get his family’s armor back, Wrex requested Garrus to go along.
Garrus was restless and did not want to leave Erinyes on a mission fearing what happened a little over a week ago would happen again.
Erinyes was in a similar state, nearly hyperventilating.
Shepard sighed and relented.
“Tali take Garrus’ place” He ordered. Erinyes struggled to steady her breaths in relief. Wrex looked at the Vextra concerned over her behavior. She was a night and day difference between the Vextra in front of him now and the Vextra he punched when they first met. The Vextra standing in front of him now looked like she would have died simply by him poking her and he couldn’t wrap his mind behind why she was acting so different.
Garrus was by her side in an instant, his hands against her cheeks, forcing her to look him in the eye as he whispered soft commands to breathe and hold her breath so her breathing could normalize. The past week she had been having regular panic attacks. Chakwas had to prescribe her medication to help with her panic from going around the ship and another to help her sleep.
It was too soon for the two to be separated.
Shepard looked at the two, studying them. They two had become incredibly close and after her kidnapping Garrus rarely left her side, and if he did, it was only a minute or two of a run to get back to her. He was neglecting his duties to try to piece the Vextra back together.
Erinyes on the other hand, seemed like she could only breathe if he was near her. If she was away from him too long she would become an emotional wreck. Shepard was hoping that with enough time she would lessen the magnetic need to be around Garrus to feel safe. So far that was not the case. Her tech had not returned more than it had after saving her. A paltry 5 percent of what she normally had from what Dr. Chakwas had described.
Worse though, even with her near him she flinched at noises and accidental touches. Garrus had become even more protective of her, opting for growling at anyone who would cause her to flinch, or shriek at anyone touching her. He was acting as her personal attack dog. Because of that Erinyes rarely was seen outside of her room
It was grating on Shepard’s nerves. Moreover, it was destroying the moral of the ship. The support staff didn’t understand why Erinyes was acting strange when it was Sgt. Katz who had the ordeal. It was becoming a mess to deal with.
After getting Wrex his armor he decided to deal with the problem head on. He asked the ground crew to meet him in the Comm room.
Erinyes sat in one of the chairs facing the door. Garrus stood right next to her instead of taking a seat to be closer to her in case she needed him. He stood still as a statue and his muscles tense as if he was ready to pounce and attack anyone who got too close. When people filed into the room they stayed away from her and stayed quiet. Once everyone arrived and the door was closed Shepard gestured to Erinyes to drop her software.
He grimaced when he saw her, and he wasn’t the only one. Multiple gasps were heard throughout the room and Shepard watched as Erinyes sunk deeper into the chair and her ears press tight against her head. Even her tail wrapped around her as a security blanket.
Her eyes that once made it look like she had smoky green eyeshadow around them, that made her vibrant green eyes glimmer with emotion and life, now sported darker and thicker circles from lack of sleep and stress against eyes devoid of emotion and life. It gave her a zombie-like appearance. Her hide, which would shimmer like glitter and looked like lush velvet in the light looked sallow and dull. It no longer looked soft to touch but almost mangled and unkempt. It was clear she wasn’t taking care of herself
Her posture, that was once proud and confident with her shoulders back and head held high, now was sunken in and hunched over, as if she was trying to hide by being as small as possible. It was strange behavior coming from the 3rd tallest person on the ship. Her face was tilted to look at the ground, her shoulders slumped.
It made Shepard more ever more worried.
“Kitty” Shepard addressed the Vextra as he moved closer and knelt in front of her, making sure not to touch her. Garrus snarled when Shepard got close until Erinyes touched his hand. “You have become more secluded. I understand why, but we want to help.” Shepard stood up and took a small step backward to stop the death glare Garrus was giving the Commander, opting to not push it any further with the Turian
“How?” Erinyes squeaked. Her voice was small, she sounded so hopeless. Shepard was not the only one in the room to feel heartbreak at the sound of her voice.
“Can you help us understand what is happening? You shut everyone out” Liara asked quietly and calmly. She looked at her friend with concern on her pretty face.
“She was attacked and taken from the first place she felt like home. The first place she felt safe to be herself. It no longer feels safe” Garrus growled as he crossed his arms, answering for her. His voice was stern and tough, having the same response as a cracking whip in the silent room, silently asking for someone to challenge him so he could attack and release his pent-up aggression on them.
“My… my tech hasn’t come back fully” Erinyes admitted, lip quivering. Shepard winced, he knew that, of course, but seeing how it made her feel so vulnerable and exposed he saw the information in a different light. “I’m scared… I’m scared that...” she took a deep breath, and a tear rolled down her cheek since she couldn’t hold the tears back anymore, her ears flattened tighter against her head “that it won’t” she whispered.
Tali stood to come next to her and slowly put her arms around her and gave her a soft, light hug. Garrus looked ready to rip the Quarian’s head off, baring his teeth at her. Wrex and Nihlus were poised to intervene if he tried.
“It will. I know it will” Tali comforted softly as she slowly and softly stroked her hair. Liara thought of losing her biotics.
“By the Goddess, you must feel so…” Liara didn’t finish her thought when Erinyes sobbed, her head falling into her hands. Garrus glared at the Asari darkly. From his eyes it seemed he was planning how to extract exactly how to make her pay for the words she chose. Liara knelt in front of her and pulled her into her arms, effectively sandwiching her between the Quarian and herself.
“How can we make you feel… less scared?” Shepard asked, choosing his words carefully.
“I don’t know” she doubted quietly, her voice hollow.
“Garrus, do you have any ideas on what we could do?” Shepard asked, as he leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
Garrus looked at his girlfriend.
“The two of us had talked about giving her physical weapons.” He looked down at the Vextra and his demeaner instantly softened and as did his voice “Sweetheart, you could save your tech for physical attacks by using the physical weapons” Garrus added as he slowly felt himself calm down when he watched Erinyes begin to calm
“That may help, but” Erinyes sighed “The weapons feel different than my own. Mine are lightweight and the recoil is softer, I don’t know if I could find weapons that would compare.” She stated, her despair setting in like a blanket of fog.
“That’s why there’s mods” Ashley resounded, attempting to give the Vextra some hope to hang onto. Shepard flashed her a thankful smile. She pulled out a data pad she had on her when she was not on mission and scanned through it. “What do prefer to use on missions?” She asked
“Assault rifles, pistols and knives” She responded, the walls of despair that continuously felt like they were closing in to suffocate her because barely let the sliver of hope from the marine’s positivity peek through. “I don’t think hand-to-hand or close combat is a good idea now though” She added sounding as if all hope was lost and that she was about ready to cry again
“Why?” Nihlus asked, his voice was gentle. It shocked Erinyes slightly since he usually had a smug, or direct and stern tone of voice when he talked to her.
“My tech adds strength to my bones…” Her voice softened and stopped. The context was there for the rest of the group to grasp
“Spirits” Nihlus grimaced looking away.
It now made sense to him why she was a mess.
She was taken from her home, which would mess anyone up.
Her tech had not fully come back making it difficult to defend herself since she was limited on what she could materialize and then very limited on how many bullets she could fire before they dematerialized in her hands.
Plus, to make it worse for the poor Vextra, she couldn’t fight in the way she was most confident in. Nihlus couldn’t imagine the blow to her confidence she must have taken. It made more sense why Garrus was acting like her guard and refused to leave her side
Adding all of that together he understood why she was the broken mess he saw in front of him
Ashley spent some time scanning what they had that wasn’t claimed by someone and looked at the mods available.
“Give me half a day to set things up. We can create a shooting range in the Cargo Bay and switch out mods and weapons until we find something that works for you”
Erinyes’ lip trembled. She was overwhelmed that they were so insistent that they find a way to make her feel comfortable and safe around them.
“Now that we got that settled…” Shepard turned to the Turian at her side “Garrus, you going a bit overboard. Understandably so, you went through as much of an ordeal as Kitty had. But you need to cool your jets.” Shepard imparted. Erinyes noticed the twitch in his mandibles
“Cool your jets means calm down.” She whispered. Garrus’ mandibles ticked against his jaw quickly in irritation. Erinyes observed this as well as the pleading look Shepard had given her.
She untangled herself from Liara and Tali and tugged at Garrus’ hand, silently asking him to move in front of her. Tali and Liara quickly moved away once Garrus moved closer. She stood up. She still looked like she was trying to make herself look small, hunching over and looking meek. She delicately touched his biceps with her hands.
“Love, Shepard’s right” she said softly, moving her hands up to his mandibles to stop the ticking. He looked down at her and opened his mouth to retort.
“You still don’t feel comf-”
She put a finger to his mouthplates and he paused.
“You wanted me to use physical weapons. Hopefully it will make me feel safer” she appealed and he took her hands in his and squeezed them and nodded. Silently studying her face and her resolve.
“I want to train you personally on sniper rifles then.” He turned to Ashley “Do you have anything lightweight, maybe a mantis?” Garrus asked, his voice no longer harsh. The woman in question scanned the data pad and frowned
“We have one, but it is the basic version,”
“We can practice with that one for now” Garrus conceded. Ashley got closer cautiously so he could look at the stats of the Mantis the Normandy had. She flinched as he took the data pad from her and jumped when he moved. Garrus internally grimaced at the cautious behavior Ashley was showing. She acted as if she were trying to approach a wild animal and trying not to get attacked or bit in the process.
If Ashley was acting this way…
He really had gone overboard.
He had just wanted Erinyes to feel comfortable.
He gave Ashley a small smile. That small action relieved the stress he saw in her shoulders.
“I’ll buy you one when we get to the Citadel” Garrus whispered directly in Erinyes’ ear
“I’ll chip in” Ashley added
“I can train you on how to use a shotgun. It’ll keep people from trying to get too close to you” Wrex added.
“I’ll get her some mods when we get to the Citadel” Liara added, and Tali nodded enthusiastically. The group hummed in agreement before chattering quietly about which mod would be best for her for each weapon type. Erinyes felt herself relax for the first time since her kidnapping. Her body felt stiff and foreign after being so stiff and ready to spring into action.
She was stunned though.
These people, who a little over a month ago had restrained her to a bed in the med bay, had become so important to her. More important than anyone else had in her entire life. Seeing that the feeling was mutual enough to buy a weapon for her as well as find mods to make her feel more comfortable until her tech returned…
It felt overwhelming.
Garrus nudged her gently with his hip to get her attention
“You alright?”
She looked at him with glossy eyes
“I… is this what having a family feels like?” She asked quietly to Garrus. He froze for a moment before nodding. She wiped her eyes before the tears fell. “It feels nice to be so cared for” She whispered
His breathing hitched at her question. He kept forgetting she grew up without a family. His heart gripped as he thought of what she had missed. He didn’t have the best family, but the love and support he had from his mother, and sometimes his sister, was something that had shaped him into what he was. The accident his mother was in only fueled his desire to protect those that couldn’t protect themselves multiply vastly. He wished she could have felt that type of love and support and let his mind wander on how different she would have been had she grown up in a world without Operatives.
Then he wasn’t sure how much better for her it would have been with how morally bankrupt the Vextra were.
The intercom scratched in “Hey Kitty, there has been a question that has been bothering me for a while now. I thought they were trying to kill you” Joker inquired, effectively ending the chatter. “Why did they take you?” She let a quiet growl, as did Garrus. He didn’t want her to have to share anything she didn’t want to.
“My… rapist is now powerful enough to order Operatives to capture me. He wants me back” She spit the words out with a quiet growl. She was beginning to feel angry about the situation. The room stilled as if the oxygen in the air was stolen from it
“By the Goddess” Liara whispered in horror.
“Your abuser has the ability to order Operatives to catch you and you don’t have your tech back. That is not ideal in the slightest” Nihlus rasped while wincing.
“Which is why we need her to feel as comfortable in her home as she was before the kidnapping. Which leads me to the next part of this meeting. How can we make sure they can’t enter the Normandy again so this situation never repeats itself?” Shepard asked, taking charge of the conversation before it shattered apart. He looked at Erinyes to wait for her insight
“I can add Vextran tech to the Normandy’s systems to warn Joker of Vextran ships nearby. I can also go through the bands I had collected and see if I can find some information on them that can help.”
Shepard nodded. He was happy to see the life slowly return in her eyes.
“Any other ideas?” Shepard asked. The group was silent, they really weren’t sure “Meetings over.” Looking at Erinyes to put on her illusion “Dismissed” The group filtered of the room.
“Liara, Tali” Erinyes said quietly and the two stayed. She gave Garrus’ a reassuring smile and he left the room to wait outside of it.
“I wasn’t aware how bad Garrus had been getting” she felt guilty of his territorial behavior increasing after her abduction. He was only doing so because of her.
“I heard him on the comms when he was in the Mako returning after your abduction. He was manic.” Liara explained
“He sounded ready to rip someone’s throat out. He nearly did so to Ashley when he got back to the Normandy” Tali continued
Erinyes remembered how he treated Joker after they had returned. A twinge of guilt flooded through her at the thought of Ashley waking up from the sleeping gas having the full extent of Garrus' fury that he had that day focused directly on her.
“How has he been treating you?” Liara asked the Vextra
“He was been….” She searched for the right word “helpful. I don’t think I could have done this without him”
“Good” Tali sighed and plopped down in the seat next to her. Erinyes flinched
“He hadn’t told me what he had gone through trying to get to me. He seems so stressed” Erinyes explained as she thought of how he was behaving. The two nodded.
“He won’t bother you about it because he doesn’t want to add to your stress at the moment” Liara explained softly.
She had suspected that.
“I want to help him, but I don’t know how”
“Turians can release stress in two ways” Tali reminded her
“And both I can’t partake in at the moment” She sighed.
“We had talked about kissing before” Liara reminded the Vextra. Erinyes looked uncomfortable. She hadn’t looked up videos on kissing since that discussion.
But Garrus was her boyfriend, and he needed to relax. She trusted him not to hurt her. She just hoped kissing her would release some of the stress he was under
She could deal with the discomfort for his benefit.
After all, he was doing that very thing for her for over a week now.
“When would be a good time to do so?” She asked the two. They perked up and looked delighted before calming down.
“The sooner the better. He is wound tight and looks close to exploding” Tali asserted
“He looked ready to rip your head off when you approached to hug her, so as soon a possible” Liara mentioned to Tali and Erinyes grimaced.
He did need to relax.
She could do this.
She could do this for him.
The Asari and Quarian grinned and gave her a quick hug and filtered out of the room leaving the Vextra alone momentarily
Notes:
I have had a couple panic attacks in the past and used those experiences to shape this chapter. I hope that it came through as pretty realistic.
I went to school for psychology and something that I learned was the fear that the victim can experience when returning to the place where the trauma occurred and I wanted to show that in this chapter.
I hope I showed it well.
Tell me what you think!
Chapter 25: First Kiss
Notes:
Yesterday had an awful scare with the tsunami since I live in Northern Japan. I had to evacuate and couldn't return home due to massive road closures until about mid-morning today. Was really weird returning home to see the big floodgate at the bottom of the hill I live at, that leads to the harbor, closed completely.
About 3 hours ago all advisories and warnings were lifted.
Yay!
In other news. This chapter has to be one of my favorites that I have written.
It is cute and funny and I love it. I hope you do too!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Garrus patiently waited outside, his teeth clenched hard. His mandibles ticking to an unknown beat as he waited for Erinyes to be in his line of sight again.
Why hadn’t she come out yet?
“Darling” Erinyes spoke quietly as she put her hand on his shoulder as she exited the room. He relaxed under her touch, his stern facial expressions softening as he looked at her. “I’m going to go to my room and get things set up to update the Normandy’s system. I know you must have your duties piling up that you have been ignoring to help me, you don’t have to stay” She squeezed his shoulder slightly.
“Are you sure sweetheart? I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable” He replied as he turned fully towards her.
“I’m sure.”
“I’ll be in the Cargo Bay helping Ashley if you need me” he replied and pressed his crest to her forehead
She hummed and nuzzled the side of his face before letting him go so they could walk down the stairs together, him right behind her.
At the bottom of the stairs they separated and as she walked down the hallway by herself in the first time in a week. She felt uneasy.
Was it from her anxiety of kissing him or being away from him?
She locked the shared bathroom and took, what felt like to the Vextra, a long shower. It took 10 minutes, but she relished scrubbing her body and feeling the release of the ordeal flow away from her mind, again, imagining it flow away from her body like the water was. At least her body was feeling relaxed and clean. She couldn’t say the same about the turmoil in her mind. As it reeled back like a tornado, spinning around her violently. Reminding her over and over again of how weak, scared, and useless she was.
She dried off and dressed with a band and pulled up her imaging software and headed to her room to form code for the Normandy. It felt good to do something again and she hesitantly left her room to head to the helm of the ship.
Her breathing hitched when she got to the CIC, nervous being alone with people around her. Her eyes darted around her as she subconsciously tried to make herself smaller.
“Kitty” Shepard softly said to get the Vextra's attention, she jumped at his voice. He smiled softly as an apology for scaring her. An eyebrow cocked on how she managed not to hear him. He didn't voice the thought though which she was grateful. She felt even more unlike herself for not hearing him get close to her.
Had the tech improved her hearing as well?
She pushed the thought aside. It was going to make her cry.
“Would you like me to come with you?” Shepard asked softly and calmly. He was acting as if she was a scared feral cat trapped in a small space that he was trying to coax out to help it.
In a way that was exactly what was happening.
The small space he was trying to get her out of was her own mind.
She nodded and he stood close to her and walked with her silently to the cockpit of the ship. Joker turned around and beamed at her. It slowly faded at seeing how scared she looked. He gestured her to sit next to him and Erinyes took a deep breath and began adding the code to the Normandy’s system. Once installed she prayed to her Ancestors that she would not need to test it to find out if the code she reworked would work in the Normandy's system or not.
“Kitty” Shepard got her attention again as he watched her hands begin to shake. She looked at him, eyes wide and scared. “You modified your visor to look out for geth, could you do the same for Vextra? If so, could that be added to the ship?” She looked ready to cry
“If my tech was working long enough for me to do so I could try, but just keeping the illusion up is a strain on my tech” She admitted quietly, her voice quivering.
Joker winced and patted her hands that were in her lap
“You’ll get your tech back. I know you will”
She didn’t respond.
She couldn’t.
She didn’t believe him.
With the Normany’s system upgraded Shepard escorted her to her room and she gave him a nod in thanks.
Once inside she found her nervous energy from going to the helm of the ship had not waned whatsoever
She went to sit down but her anxiety was getting too intense, so she began to pace.
She sent Tali a message before flopping down on her bed and stretching her limbs.
She sighed in irritation and pulled up some videos on how to kiss a human
Garrus was talking logistics with Ashley while he serviced his weapons on how to set up a shooting range in the cargo bay.
Tali was heading to the Engineering room when she got an incoming message and squealed.
The conversation between the marine and the Turian paused as they looked towards the Quarian. Tali acted embarrassed and ran off.
A message popped up on Garrus’ omni-tool
3:46: T: Garrus I found out something from Erinyes you should know
3:46: G: Is that why you squealed just now?
3:46: T: Do you want me to tell you or not? It’s about Kitty
3:46: G: Is Erinyes okay?
3:47: T: Yes, she’s fine but that isn’t what I need to tell you. She told Liara and me earlier that she wanted you to do some sort of act of affection that you could do to her and asked our advice since she couldn’t do the Vextran one. Liara recommended she try kissing you
3:47: G: Kissing?
3:47: T: It’s what Humans and Asari do
3:47: T: with their mouths.
3:47: G: You sure it’s not just talking?
3:47: T: Kee’lah Garrus, I’m trying to tell you something important since it pertains to your girlfriend and I have half a mind to stop
3:47: G: Sorry
3:47: T: She plans on kissing you today, right after you are finished with your duties
Garrus stared at the words on his omni-tool in shock
3:49: T: I recommend you look up some vids to get you prepared.
Garrus kept staring. Vids of kissing.
Erinyes wanted to kiss him
Spirits! He felt like the floor fell away and he was falling.
His omni-tool beeped again with another message request, this time from Joker.
“Someone’s popular” Ashley mumbled before getting a message request of her own.
3:52: J: Garrus, heard Kitty wants to kiss you! Congrats.
3:52: G: How did..?
3:53: J: Overheard it in the Comm Room. Thought you could use some vids on how to kiss and romance the kitten
3:53: G: That would… actually be quite helpful. Thanks Joker
3:53: J: No problem big guy
“I can take care of that for you” Ashley offered with a wink
Spirits! Did everyone know?
“Thanks” He mumbled and quickly serviced his armor before heading to take a shower.
He hated how fast rumors flew on the ship. Going as fast as a wildfire in a forest after a long drought.
3:55: J: attachment: big booty lesbians kissing during Elcor gangbang
3:55: J: attachment: 4 Krogan 2 girls 3 cups
3:56: J: attachment: Hanar choking woman on a big fat cock
4:15: G: What is this?!
4:15: J: The help you wanted
4:15: G: Is this the type of depraved crap that you watch?
4:15: J: Don’t diss my porn selection. I chose these to help you romance your girlfriend. Last time I help you.
4:15: J: Ungrateful Turian
Garrus stared at the message in a different kind of shock and shuddered. Was he being serious or was Joker being an ass and messing with him. Was this his odd way of getting back at him for his reaction in the med bay after he had gotten her back?
He hoped it was the latter. The snippets of the vids were enough to turn his stomach and he had seen a lot at C-Sec
He was also glad he opened the vids in the bathroom rather than in the Cargo Bay while he was servicing his weapons and armor with Ashley
He scrubbed his oily sweat from the grooves in his plates as well as the hide, in between his plates with a long-haired coarse brush as he stood under the shower. His hand supporting him against the shower wall as he watched a safer instructional vid on how to kiss a Human or an Asari. It was helpful but not by much.
He looked up one of the phrases he had heard in the vid to watch a couple “make out” and watched a little disgusted by it.
How was sticking a tongue in your partner’s mouth down their throat a sign of passion and affection?
Would Erinyes even want to do that?
He hoped not.
The idea was unsettling
He turned off the vid and added a coarse scrub to the brush and continued scrubbing his body. Washing the foam away that the scrub had created in its wake.
He towel-dried and used a powder to dry his body more thoroughly, focusing on the sections in between his plates. The powder also worked as a cologne. He was acting on auto-pilot, still doing more than his normal routine. If Erinyes wanted to kiss him then he would make sure he was as presentable as possible. He needed to make a good impression. His mind raced with the images of the vids and messages from Tali swimming in his head. He looked at his reflection in the mirror staring back. He looked like a ball of anxiety. He felt worse than he looked.
He sighed.
He could do this
Why was this so frightening? She hadn’t kissed anyone before either… right?
What if she didn’t like kissing him?
He sighed and let his hands run on top of his fringe as his anxiety grew
His girlfriend was stunning, dangerous, and innocent in her own way. He didn’t deserve her. He almost lost her to her fucking abuser.
He didn’t want to mess things up to the point where she discovered that she could have so much better than him.
Would failing at kissing, like he was bound to do, hasten that realization?
He tried to break away from the feelings of self-doubt. She had gone through so much. She didn’t need to deal with his insecurities and stress to top it all off today. He took a steady breath and dressed in a clean set of civies before throwing the dirty undersuit in a basket for him to take care of later.
He headed over to her room.
The closer he got to her room the more anxious he got.
Erinyes paced her room in a state of nervous energy.
She had never kissed anyone before.
What if he didn’t like it?
What if-
The chime to her door rang and she tried to even her breathing as quickly as she could as she unlocked the door.
Garrus looked ragged and near terrified.
She wondered if she also looked that way
She motioned for him to come into her room and he stiffly walked inside. She locked the door and they stared at each other for a moment.
“Why do you look so…” She struggled to think of the right word
“Nervous?” he offered, she nodded. “Because I am” he admitted as he raked his fingers over his face. His mandibles were fluttering near his jaw and his subharmonics buzzed.
“Why?”
She had no idea why he would be nervous. He wasn’t nervous when she had last seen him.
“Tali told me you planned on kissing me” He admitted bashfully and sat down. She looked at him with wide eyes.
“But I didn’t tell Tali to tell you tha-”
“She thought it would best if I knew.”
She blushed furiously
“Somehow Ashley found out, probably from Joker. I’m assuming most of the ground crew knows by now”
Her breathing shallowed in terror.
“That’s why your nervous?” She squeaked. He chuckled
“No, I… have never done a kiss before. Joker sent me some vids to help”
“I’ll have to thank him-”
“Don’t. They were not helpful. Those vids were just porn. Horrible, debaucherously disgusting porn. I wish I could scrub my brain to forget. Here I thought the stuff I saw at C-Sec was bad” he shuddered at the images burned into his retinas from the helmsman replayed in his mind briefly
She tried to stifle her laugh
“I haven’t kissed anyone either” She confessed quietly “I looked up some vids on the extranet and they seemed…”
“Unhelpful, right?” she nodded vigorously at his words “I watched some while I showered”
She began wringing her fingers together and he rubbed the back of his neck
“I… I still want to try” She squeaked out.
She could do this.
She needed to push past her discomfort to give Garrus an outlet to release some of his stress.
He took a shaky breath in and cupped her cheek delicately, mimicking the how-to video he had found. They looked each other in the eyes as they neared the other’s mouth. She closed her eyes a moment before their mouths touched.
Garrus’ mouthplates were more pliable and smoother than she expected, they still were harder than her own lips. They had a fine grit, like sandpaper, feel to them. She smooshed her lips against them as she had seen in the videos. They pulled away a moment later and immediately looked away from each other. Garrus took a breath in and turned his head towards her.
He studied her, watching to see if she would remember her rapist.
“I was expecting… more” She whispered her admission. He hummed his agreement. She looked at him. She was a bit disappointed.
“They do let their tongues into the other’s mouths” Garrus offered, still not sure why anyone would like that. Why had he mentioned it? He really didn’t want to try it. But if she wanted to try more he would try.
“Do you… want to?” She faltered quietly. She felt completely unsure if she would like this, but she wanted to do something that he could do that would be similar to nuzzling to her.
“Only if you want to” He answered, carefully making sure the idea of sticking his tongue in her mouth did not show through on his face or voice. It did not sound pleasant and was bordering on disgusting.
She leaned forward slightly, and he mirrored her movements. She closed her eyes as her lips touched his mouthplates again before she parted her lips and her tongue ventured out to touch and seek entrance to his mouth. He tasted vaguely metallic and woodsy. Not unpleasant at all. He opened his mouth in response and slowly inserted his tongue in her mouth.
She gagged when he stuck his long tongue down her throat, he pulled away quickly due to her reaction.
He looked horrified
The vids he watched didn’t have anyone gagging.
Except the vids Joker sent him, but that was not with their tongue but their cock.
What did he do wrong?
This was it, right?
She was going to start seeing how she could find someone better?
“I don’t think you are supposed to do that” she choked out once she caught her breath. “I think it’s more like… tongue sparring?” he hummed in understanding.
That sounded like it could be more enjoyable than sticking his tongue down her throat.
They leaned towards each other again and their tongues intertwined with each other. She gasped at the feeling. Her tongue was rougher than his. Hers had tiny barbs on it as a now unnecessary evolutionary trait, a vestigial structure, to remove fur back when her ancestors had long fur throughout their body unlike what they had now. Her tongue was wider and had a rounder tip. His was long, tapered to a point and felt like something similar to his mouthplates. The differences were not off-putting but enjoyable. She pulled away and looked at him with a happy smile on her face.
“I can’t read your mind you know” He teased gently as he pressed the pad of his finger on her forehead, pushing gently. She rolled her eyes at the action
Even though he said the words he knew it wasn’t entirely true. He could see on her face she enjoyed it.
He enjoyed it more than he thought he would.
“I really liked that” she admitted with a blush.
Admitting that she liked things or not had been trained out of her and having to do so in a more intimate fashion seemed unsettling. It left her blushing hard
He leaned in again and captured her lips and massaged her tongue with his. She pulled away gently.
“Where can I touch you?” she asked “I know not to touch your waist, where else should I avoid?” she was not sure where the need to touch him came from. She just needed to do something with her hands.
“Waist, neck, and back of the neck under the fringe, the mandibles and obviously the groin” He listed off. He wanted to dive in and kiss her again. She seemed to enjoy it as much as he did and he wanted to provide her with an insane amount of pleasure. He craved it.
“The… mandibles” she said the words horrified. He watched her pale. “Why didn’t you tell me before?” She hissed. He grinned
“To clarify, the mandibles if you touch them like you normally do... but with your tongue” He watched her pale face turn a deep teal at the his words as his grin grew more mischievous. He was teasing her. “For you?”
“Back of the ears, breasts, lower back, and obviously the groin” She tried to ignore the images in her mind of her tongue dancing over his mandibles, pulling one into her mouth and sucking on it.
Where was that coming from?
She shook her head to shake the image out of her mind in time to hear his answer
“The ears? Really?”
Was this her playing a trick on him his teasing?
“Yes” she said with an incredulous huff.
He grinned broadly at the adorable sight. He couldn’t stop himself from diving in and captured her lips against his mouthplates again, his tongue delving in her mouth when she gasped at the action. He was swift but still gentle. It was warm, and passionate and left her feeling like she was flowing in a river, out of control but allowing it. He held her to him and ran a hand down her spine stopping at the middle of her back. She clutched his cowl for support and the two wrestled their tongues together. Both were happy to have the battle last rather than one try and claim victory quickly.
They parted reluctantly for air; he rested his crest on her forehead in a passionate haze from their kissing.
“You were nervous when I walked in. Was it about the kiss too?”
She giggled and his heart soared at the melodious sound he hadn’t heard from her since before the abduction
“It’s funny now, but yes. I was worried you wouldn’t like it” she admitted and stroked his mandible gently. He purred at the action, a smirk on his face when she saw her blush “I wanted to do something to show you how much I appreciated you. More importantly, I wanted some sort of act of affection that you could do to me since you can’t nuzzle me”
“Yet” He reminded, pulling away from her forehead, tapping the pad of his finger on her nose. She smiled and closed her eyes. She was happy, still in his arms, recently kissed, warm and safe.
“Yet” she repeated. “Were you nervous only about the kiss?”
“I was worried that you…” He swallowed. “That you’d…” His mouth felt like a desert.
She looked at him, saw the fear in his eyes and took his face in her hands, gently rubbing her thumbs against his mandibles
“Tell me Garrus” She pleaded softly. She wanted him to feel safe to tell her what he was feeling. He had been keeping everything bottled inside and she assumed it was one of the reasons he had been even more territorial than he had previously. Other than the need to protect her and try to make things easy for her to bear.
“That you’d hate kissing me and see that I’m not worth your time.” He said in a rushed huff. He closed his eyes he was afraid to see the confirmation of his dark thought appear in her eyes. Before he word vomited the other dark thoughts he had “I almost lost you Erinyes. The thought of it and how you are still so scared…”
She was stunned for a moment.
“Garrus” She soothed softly, barely above a whisper “I…” She paused trying to think of the right words “I feel this… this magnetic… pull towards you” She admitted softly, his eyes opened. He still looked scared, but hope was beginning to blossom within him “I have never loved anyone before. You… you’re the only one I feel safe around. You have helped me so much this past week.”
“When? When did this magnetic pull begin?” He croaked.
“The asteroid, maybe before that. I know things started changing after our first spar.” she said “It still baffles me that feelings for you came so fast within me.” his subharmonics blossomed at her admission and she pulled away from his crest to capture his mouthplates against her lips again.
His efforts with his tongue heightened as the passion from the action grew and she let out a soft sigh of pleasure which frightened her. She backed off in horror.
“Maybe” he began as he gave her some space to calm down “Maybe we should stop for now?” she looked at him with gratitude and nodded once. “You look exhausted. Did you want me stay again?” she nodded quickly
He looked down at her, succumbed to his intrusive thoughts and kissed her forehead.
She made a noise he couldn’t decipher.
“Was that a good sound or…?”
“I… I liked that” she avowed slowly. Admitting it still feeling strange and foreign. He grinned like a cat that caught a canary and rolled over slightly to have better access to her face and began covering her forehead down her face with soft kisses. She giggled in response. The kisses were featherlight, slightly scratchy, and sweet. The feeling on her velvety hide felt slightly ticklish but luxuriously wonderful. Coming from Garrus it made the act even more special. He went down her neck and she moaned.
Garrus stopped.
Hearing her moan was nearly enough to make him come out of the seam of his groin plates. She looked mortified.
“What is happening to me?” She whispered to the ether in fear. She had never made that noise before.
“Nothing is wrong with you, sweetness. It’s perfectly normal, it means you enjoyed yourself. Found pleasure from it. It’s helpful for me, since it tells me that you enjoy it” Garrus explained, trying and failing to not replay her moaning again in his mind. He held on to her and she nuzzled against his carapace, before finding a comfortable spot next to his neck, inside of his cowl. Garrus trilled as she began to drift to sleep, the Vextra purring in contentment with her feeling so safe in her boyfriend’s arms.
She felt warm and safe. A faint tickling feeling near her eyes had her swat whatever it was away, trying to enjoy the feeling of safety and warmth so she could lazily continue slowly waking up to reality.
The hand collided into Garrus’ mandibles and he yelped in surprise. She opened her eyes quickly in alarm, jerking up to turn towards him and apologized profusely. He chuckled and kissed her forehead.
“I’ll need to remember not to play with your short hairs next time” he teased playfully. He seemed less stressed which made her so very relieved. He pulled her down next to him again and she curled up next to him. Seeking once more the safety and warmth he provided
“Short hairs? My bangs? But… I hit your mandibles…?” she asked confused as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She felt more rested than she had in awhile. He decided to show her what he had been doing. He moved his mandibles to move and play with her bangs. She giggled and nuzzled him. “Maybe don’t do that when I’m sleeping. It tickles”
He grinned devilishly
“Are you ticklish anywhere else?” He asked slyly and deviously
“No” She barked firmly and quickly, her body stiffening at his tone of voice
“I don’t believe you” He teased, shifting his body until he was over her. He had his hands resting on either side of her head and his legs were on one side of her body to reduce the feeling she might have of being trapped. With his legs to one side of her body she could easily duck under his arm to get off the bed. Her heart squeezed at his constant dedication to not trigger her. It was something she deeply appreciated and loved about him.
“Being ticklish is a weakness” she replied with a glare and a harumph
“That you still have” He teased with a kiss to her forehead
“Do not” She defended, crossing her arms over her chest and staring up at him.
“I’ll just have to find it” he teased further and grinning before kissing the tip of her nose and watched delightedly as she scrunched her nose.
“Good luck. It doesn’t exist” She huffed stubbornly
She rose slightly and kissed him in hopes that it would distract and silence him. It seemed to work as he gently touched the back of her neck to pull her closer to him. Rolling on his side as he did so. She grinned into the kiss and happily opened her mouth when his tongue asked for entrance. Not noticing as their legs entwined together while they feverishly kissed each other, mapping each other’s mouths and memorizing each nook and cranny
Their tongues danced before he began pulling away. She looked at him a bit confused
“Can I… run my fingers through your hair? With it…down?” He asked sheepishly. She was stunned by the request before sitting up, smiling softly at him before tugging her hair loose from the hair tie. Her lavender grey toned hair cascaded and tumbled around her, the small streaks of purple and blue barely noticeable against the lavender. He reached out and let the locks of hair tumble through his gloved hands in wonder.
“Garrus, if we are making requests, could you… remove your gloves?” she asked. He grinned and complied. She laid down next to him again and let her fingers examine and touch his ungloved hand while his other hand was free to play with her hair. “They aren’t sharp” she mused in wonder as she touched the tips of his talons.
He chuckled slightly
“I keep them blunted to help make working with electronics and everyday work easier.” She looked confused before she gained clarity
“Oh. Right, you can’t retract them” she muttered to herself
“What about your fingers, they are so…”
“Short? They are about 2/3 the length of a Human’s fingers”
“But why?”
“Ancient ancestor had paws. Evolving to jump and climb was important, so we needed to keep the claws.”
“Doesn’t having such squat fingers make day-to-day life difficult?” He asked. She scoffed at his wording
“Squat?!" She repeated slightly offended. He flicked out a mandible to smirk at her reaction. "Nonsense, if I need to grip something I extend my claws out to the proper length”
“Why not keep them all the way out all the time?” He asked She extended them fully to show why that was a bad idea. Her fingers doubled in size. The claws were not straight and curved naturally.
“They would get in the way”
“They are curved” Garrus pondered in wonder as he took one of her hands closer to his face. She was amused by this.
“They have to be, it makes gripping while climbing easier, acts as a natural anchor in stone so I don’t fall”
“Your feet can do the same?”
“Yes, my claws on my feet are thicker and just as long”
“Fascinating”
“What about your feet?”
“Taloned just like my hands”
“Just as long?”
“Yes, but not by much. Like yours they are thicker too”
“Do you have plates on your entire body?”
“No, there are places I don’t” He lifted his hand as an example, and she looked away embarrassed with a slight blush reaching her cheeks. “The places I don’t tend to be… er… erogenous zones”
She looked at the hand she was still enjoying examining and back at him in horror
“Besides our hands” he added quickly. She let out a sigh of relief as he laughed softly and kissed her forehead again.
“Why do you wear gloves?”
“Other species don’t have the best view of Turians” He began, and she remembered past conversations about the topic “We wear gloves so we don’t look as… menacing”
She frowned at that.
“Can you… not wear gloves when we are together?” she asked.
“I can. Can I touch your face?”
“You have before”
“Not without gloves.” He reminded her and she brought the hand entwined in the two of hers to the side of her face. She leaned into the touch and the warmth she felt from his bare hide on hers.
She let out a delighted purr.
Notes:
Joker.... His attachments still make me laugh. Hope they did the same to you
Chapter 26: The Turian Relaxes
Summary:
Garrus relaxes and becomes a big distraction to Erinyes while she tries to work. Garrus enjoys kissing Erinyes a bit too much...
Chapter Text
Later that day Garrus sat on her bed wedging himself comfortably in the corner of her room and splayed out as Erinyes leaned back against him and began to relax. She had the bands of all the dead Operatives in front of her and was looking at them attentively before deciding on whether or not it was worth using her very limited tech on releasing what was inside the band.
“Sweetheart” he ever so gently said in her ear. He watched as her ears twitched quickly against his breath. “What exactly are you looking at?”
She laughed softly
“I thought you’d have figured it out by now” she teased. He frowned.
“Sorry to disappoint” he murmured in her ear and observed her shiver, grinning to himself. “Enlighten me darling” She let out a soft delighted sigh and he had to hold back the desire to hold her closer to himself. She had become overly skittish after her abduction and he was the only one that made her feel safe as of late. He wasn’t going to destroy that.
She carefully chose a few of the bands and held up the bands against her arm, showcasing the differing sizes as they swayed with her movement as she nestled against his carapace and tilted her head back into his cowl
“Oh, Detective Vakarian, use your oh so amazing deductive skills and enlighten yourself” She ribbed with a smug smile.
He so wanted to rip her clothing off and pin her underneath him.
Show her exactly how good his deductive skills as he discovered what exactly gave her the most pleasure and push her into new heights of it that she was not aware even existed.
He took a deep breath to steady his thoughts and focused on the bands. As he focused on the near black bands swaying softly against her forearm he noticed a slight shine in them, when they hit the light just right the shine had a circuit design and Vextran filigree in different colors. The long in green, one ring and bracelet band in yellow and the other ring and bracelet band in red.
His mind raced as he remembered her using the bands.
“Clothing is green, weapons yellow, other things are red?” He deduced and she grinned in delight and nuzzled her head against his neck.
“Yes” she proudly stated.
“What are in the red bands?” he asked.
“It is difficult to get physical things into the bands.” she stated “Outside of clothing and weapons, a lot of the technology is lost. So, most of the items tied to the bands are bags or boxes that have been used and passed down for generations.”
“But you can put things in the boxes and bags, right?”
“Yes, our belongings must fit into them” she explained “Anything larger we don’t have the space for and is too difficult to bring with us”
“Can you tell what’s inside?”
“No” she said with an annoyed sigh “I think starting on the more recent Xree Operatives might be best.” she sighed again as she grew irritated with her past self “I was so focused on gathering the bands I hadn’t thought of keeping track of which ones came from who.” she admitted, clearly frustrated with herself. “I wish I had”
He kissed the top of her head.
“So, you’re starting with red?”
“Yes. It seems like the best course of action”
“Any word from Chakwas on how to get the block removed?” he whispered softly. She slumped. He instantly felt guilty for uttering the words. He pressed her closer to him. Circling his arms around her in hope of comforting her “She will find something” he cooed while bending down to kiss her cheek. The action made her smile.
To think the day before they were both so nervous to kiss and now they couldn’t stop. Really it was like he couldn’t stop.
He seemed so thrilled to be able to show his affection to her at last. Best of all she welcomed it. It helped further relax them both.
Talking about things helped as well. But physical acts always were far better for Turians to reduce their stress.
She reached behind her and stroked the top of his fringe. He let out a content sigh
He noticed the kissing had helped her relax. She looked more rested. She was on the way to returning to her normal self.
Seeing her relax so fully helped ease some of his stress.
“How are you feeling?” She asked, her breath on his neck making him shiver “Are you as stressed as before?”
He stilled for a moment.
It hit him suddenly that she decided to do this, to kiss him, to help him reduce stress because she couldn’t help with his stress the normal ways Turians did.
His heart swelled for the Vextra splayed out in front of him.
He wanted to flip them over and show her just how much he appreciated the action.
Fighting to keep his desire of sheathing himself into her was becoming harder and harder as of late.
He needed to keep it together.
“I am feeling better, you helped reduce the stress a bit” he purred gently and kissed her forehead indulging himself in the melodic song of her giggling.
“I wish I could do more” she said dejectedly. He swooped down and stole a kiss from her lips.
He was not going to let her go down the same path he was constantly fighting to get off of. She could not feel self-doubt.
Not his beautiful, wonderful, kind Vextra.
Not his Erinyes.
“You’ve done more than enough” he whispered against her lips before kissing her again.
She sighed happily and he seized the opportunity to wrestle with her tongue. She squealed happily at the intrusion, melting further in his arms.
She pulled away reluctantly.
“I do need to get this work done” She sounded conflicted.
All she wanted to do is get tangled up in Garrus’ body and enjoy the feeling of his skin against hers. These new ways of showing affection seemed addictive and she had no reason to not throw herself in the deep-end with that addiction.
“For lunch did you want to make your mushroom dish and win your bet against Nihlus?” His voice was sultry against her ear and made her shiver
“I don’t know” she breathed her reply
“It would be the perfect time, he wouldn’t suspect it” he whispered huskily. Her breathing picked up. She wasn’t sure why. All Garrus was doing was speaking.
Why was her body responding this way?
She cracked a smile and looked up at him.
“Would seeing him lose 10,000 credits help reduce your stress?” she asked breathily, capturing his eyes.
He grinned down at her
“Yes”
“Then I’ll make the mushrooms for lunch” she decided and he tilted her chin quickly to capture her lips once more, diving into her mouth to remap it.
A message on their omni-tools interrupted their impromptu conspiring turned make-out session
9:05: A: Shooting range has been set up in the Cargo Bay. I just need to get the weapons out
9:05: G: What weapon will she be testing out first?
9:06: A: What do you tend to pull out first Kitty?
9:06: E: I think it’s best if I stay away from enemies for now, so assault rifles would be best
9:06: A: Gotcha. I will gather assault rifles and some mods. I should be ready in 30 minutes
9:06: E: See you then. Thank you, Ash
9:07 G: Thank you for this Ashley. I really appreciate it
9:07 A: No problem
Erinyes looked up from her omni-tool a bit anxious.
“We’ll find you something sweetheart” Garrus cooed as he rubbed the backside of his talons against her cheek and kissed her. “You really should work though.” he teased with a mock pointed look
She scoffed playfully “Maybe if I didn’t have such a tantalizing distraction near me I’d be further along” she sassed and nudged his abdomen gently.
He playfully growled and lightly bit the middle of the side of her ear which made her moan and clamp her hands over her mouth in horror
She could feel him grin against her ear.
“The little kitten likes it when her ears are bitten?” Garrus sensually whispered in her ear.
“I… I wasn’t expecting it” she stuttered her retort
“No sassy remark about how you don’t want to be called kitten?” he teased as he leaned down and kissed her cheek. He could see and feel the heat as her face blushed a deep teal.
“Uhhh”
He grinned and kissed the top of her head. He could feel her face heat up even further
“You like being called kitten now? What happened to ‘It is insulting’?” he asked as he did a decent mocked impression of her
She let out an unsteady breath and looked down
“Um. Being called Kitty is… growing on me. I…” she gulped “I like you calling me kitten” she blurted out just above a whisper
“Really now?” he purred as a playful grin formed on his face. She could practically hear it forming.
“To be clear I like you calling me that. No one else” the words rushed out of her mouth quickly in an attempt to explain herself. She turned her upper body so they could see each other more face-to-face. Her eyes began pleading with him “Please don’t call me that in front of anyone else” she begged. His grin dropped. She was begging him, and with her big green expressive eyes glittering in the light and her lips forming a pout and begging to be kissed. He couldn’t deny her request. He cupped her chin and kissed the tip of her nose so he could watch her scrunching her face adorably.
“I promise”
She sighed in relief at his words before resting her upper body against his again.
“Work, Kitten. I’ll try not to be a distraction any further”
She could hear his smug grin in his husky voice.
“Yeah right” She muttered and was rewarded with another light chomp on her ear.
“I heard that” He whispered, voice deep and sultry and he watched her body nearly ripple and melt by his words and the ear he said his words in twitched.
Her heart was racing
Was he speaking like that on purpose?
Why was her body acting this way?
She tried to focus but found it difficult with his breath tickling her ears as a constant reminder that he was right behind her.
She still tried. Activating a red band and materializing a box with spices and a jar with some sort of hard material inside. When she saw it, she screamed in shocked joy, shocking Garrus as she forced his arms off her, ignoring the displeased sounds coming from him, and jumped off her bed and peering into the jar with her large green eyes going even wider, pupils dilating quickly in absolute wonder and focus.
Garrus let out an amused chuckle. His curiosity got the better of him
“What is it?” he asked
“You’ve seen how Humans are with coffee right?” she inquired, glancing up at him briefly before setting her sight back on the hard rock-like mineral in the jar.
“Yes…?”
“Do Turians have anything similar that compares?”
“We drink kava”
“Do you get like the Humans when you don’t have kava?”
“Could you explain further?”
“They get irritable, cranky and tired.”
“No”
“This is kinda like the Vextran version. I haven’t had it in nearly 6 years now” she expounded in reverence.
“Okay…”
“It’s called suvex. To Vextra it provides relaxation. But to Operatives…” she was salivating “It provides an extra dose of energy. It also adds more power to your tech and…” she paused suddenly as the thought entered her mind before she spoke it. Her eyes widening as thoughts raced in her mind, her face showing no emotion, a stark difference from the look of awe and glee she had a moment prior. She wordlessly pulled up her Turian illusion and walked out the door without competing her sentence leaving a stunned Garrus behind
Garrus blinked at her strange display and scrambled off her bed to follow her
They walked to the med bay
“Good afternoon Kitty, how are you… feeling? What is that?” Dr. Chakwas asked as she saw the Vextra holding a jar
“I found this in one of the Operative’s belongings. It is called suvex and it helps Operatives increase their tech for a short amount of time. Similar to caffeine to Humans. I wanted to see if maybe it could fix the block in my tech.”
Garrus looked just as surprised as Dr. Chakwas.
“I’d be happy to test it”
Erinyes grinned. She was hopeful that this might work but didn’t want to get her hopes up too high.
Erinyes sat down and pulled out one of the rocks in the jar out and used her claws to scratch off some of the mineral in a petri dish that Chakwas held out. She put the rock back in the jar and grinned.
“How do you usually ingest this?” Chakwas asked
“We use a mortar and pestle to grind a small amount into a powder and add water to it. If the Operative is lucky to be provided with milk, it is often added to give it a creamy texture and flavor.” Erinyes explained, cradling the jar close to her, settling it in between her breasts, inadvertently accenting her bosom, which caught Garrus’ eyes immediately.
“I will run some tests and let you know of the results.” Chakwas declared and got to work running tests on the mineral against her biology.
Erinyes left the med bay in high spirits.
If the suvex didn’t work, she could still enjoy her favorite drink.
“You seem in better spirits” Garrus commented happily
“I am. Suvex is my favorite drink. It was something provided by the family to high level Operatives for a job well done so it is considered to be incredibly valuable by Operatives”
“You won’t be drinking it constantly like humans do their coffee, will you?”
“Nope” she paused “Well… maybe a small amount daily”
Once in her room again and she had placed the jar on her desk, he hugged her from behind making her squeal happily and rested his head on her shoulder. She rested her head against his.
She sighed and allowed herself to sink backwards into him, relishing the warmth and comfort he provided.
“Garrus, do you want to talk about what you went through when I was abducted?” She asked slowly and cautiously. She traced the top of his arms holding her to him with her fingers with a featherweight touch. Going down his arms before going back up in hope that it would be comforting.
“I’d rather not” he murmured as he turned to kiss the side of her head.
“Chakwas told me keeping everything in is not good. Telling you things helped me” she struggled and fumbled over her words, wanting nothing more than to help her boyfriend relax more.
Garrus sighed against her temple
“What happened to not wanting me to distract you?” He teased, and when he saw the unhappy pointed look he acquiesced “I was scared and angry you were taken.” he whispered. Clutching her tighter to himself. “I wanted to rush in but was held back. I couldn’t control my anger” he explained thinking of how he yelled at everyone. “When I found you, I wanted to bite Shepard’s head off for not letting me snipe the Vextra making you terrified, especially when he muzzled you.” she shivered
“You saw that?” she whimpered. He turned her around and engulfed her.
“Yes. I watched them put that thing in your mouth and manhandle you but was told to stand down” he hissed, watching her face clench as she remembered the torture device that was still affecting her life and kissed her softly to distract her from her thoughts. He didn't want her to relive the trauma she had gone through. “I made sure to kill that bastard first.” he growled. “I won’t let anyone touch you or terrify you like that live”
She looked at him, studying him.
It may not have been the best idea to bring this up because the images still played in her head to torture her when she was alone. It was why she clung to Garrus and didn’t want to leave his side.
She could practically see the rippling anger flowing off of him as he explained what happened.
Without a second thought she pulled his head down and kissed him. The kiss turned passionate very quickly and soon she was against the wall with Garrus holding her up against it.
The cold of the metal wall and the heat of the Turian in front of her felt wonderful.
She wasn’t sure why though
Keska had done something similar and it had terrified her to be engulfed like a vice against the horrid Vextra and the wall. She felt trapped like a small prey animal against a predator meaning to harm her.
This felt different. Garrus’ hand tenderly explored up and down her arms to pull her closer to him, while the other held her face tenderly. Their tongues sparred playfully with each other.
She held his keel while the other snuck to his arm and squeezed
She didn’t feel trapped.
Garrus was always mindful of making sure she didn’t feel trapped.
She felt loved.
Garrus released her lips and kissed her cheeks and began down her neck.
All her thoughts had shut down, all that mattered was what was happening in that moment. Right then all that mattered was the feeling of bliss that she was feeling towards and from this amazing Turian. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes at the feeling of his mouthplates hit her neck and softly, ever so softly moaned his name.
Garrus stilled immediately.
Erinyes drifted out of her bliss from her boyfriend breathing heavily but statuesque.
He backed away slowly.
Erinyes felt her breathing hitch
What had she done wrong?
She looked at him wide eyed and scared.
“Did… did I do something wrong?” Her voice was small and an octave higher than normal. Terrified she had messed up terribly. He looked at her, saw her terror and tried to keep his breathing steady. He touched his crest to her forehead
“No. You did nothing wrong, my sweet. I just need a break. I got too… aroused. Give me a few minutes” She flushed a deep teal, and he quickly left the room to head over to the bathroom before she had the time to nod.
Erinyes calmed her breathing and flopped on her bed.
He was aroused?
By her?
Why?
How?
A part of her was scared, she couldn’t help but be scared.
She couldn’t put her fears aside.
Knowing he had gotten aroused by kissing her…
She felt her breathing quicken and she put her head between her knees and breathed deeply.
She knew it was an irrational fear.
Garrus wouldn’t harm her.
Garrus would never harm her… right?
Get angry and frustrated at her
Yes
But not harm her.
Maybe kissing him was a bad idea.
Erinyes cried out in pleasure as Garrus looked down and thrust into her.
“Garrus!” She blissfully screamed as her core squeezed on his hard cock. Wet squelching sounds could be heard as her juices coated her tunnel as he pumped into her like a piston.
Garrus sped up snarling as he screamed her name in his release
Garrus breathed hard as he pressed his crest on the cold metal wall and steadied his breathing. He opened his eyes, disappointed to find himself in the bathroom and not tangled with Erinyes in her bed like he had imagined.
“One day” he whispered to himself “… I hope. She did moan my name. Maybe?” he pressed his crest to the bathroom wall again as his self-doubt rose up in his head again.
He grabbed some toilet paper and cleaned himself off before stepping out of the shower and turning it on to wash away the blue tinged semen he sprayed on the wall and turned the water off. His seam closing after he softened enough and groin plates closing.
“She moaned my name” He whispered blissfully. Replaying how her voice sounded doing so again and again.
He fixed his clothing, unlocked the door and headed back into her room. Thinking of where else she would be comfortable being kissed that could produce a similar reaction.
Entering her room his good mood crashed. She was having another panic attack.
In two long strides he knelt at her feet and took her face in his hands
“Breathe, Love, breathe. In” He waited 10 seconds “Out”
Her breath was shaky and her hands were clenched, eyes wide and scared.
After around 5 minutes she calmed down enough to pull her onto the floor with him and engulf her into his arms.
“What happened?” he asked gently
“I… I don’t…. I don’t think” she took in another shaky breath and he patiently waited. “Kissing wasn’t a… good idea”
He felt like some large bird swooped in and dragged him in the air and squeezed his chest so hard he couldn’t breathe before dropping him into a lake to drown.
“Why, my love?”
She pressed her forehead against his keel and he noticed her body was shaking harder.
He thought back on what happened before he left the room.
“Was it because you were against the wall?”
She shook her head no
“Because I was… aroused?” he asked as things clicked in place. He inwardly cursed.
She nodded and he closed his eyes fighting back the despair he felt inside.
He didn’t want her to see it
He rubbed her back to calm her down.
“I’m sorry.” he apologized softly “I… I… um… I don’t how to say this” he admitted. “I am attracted to you Erinyes. I thought I had a good handle on how my body would react but…” he grimaced. “Hearing you say my name the way you did was too much. I left to not make you uncomfortable.” he explained as one of his hands stroked her hair
“I’m trying” she bewailed. She felt terrible. She had given Garrus an outlet to reduce his stress and now had to take it away.
“Trying what sweetheart?”
“I wanted you to be able to show me affection in a way that wouldn’t make me think of…” her voice trailed off but he didn’t need her to finish the thought. He kissed he forehead
“I appreciate that”
“I don’t think I was fully ready for it” she admitted sadly
“I shouldn’t have pushed as far as I did. I thought you were enjoying yourself. It sounded like you were. But I know that doing things in the moment and then thinking about what happened later can have different reactions”
She nuzzled his keel
“What exactly was too much?”
“Whatever it was that led you to be… to need a break” her voice showed her fear.
“Could we make a compromise?” he asked, inwardly hoping she would say yes. Being able to kiss her was something he realized he desperately needed and losing it would be a hard blow. She looked up at him finally. He wiped away the tears threatening to fall from her eyes gently. “Could I kiss you but refrain from the tongue sparring?”
A wave of relief hit Erinyes and she nodded. She enjoyed kissing him. She didn’t want to refrain from doing so, but at the same time she was not ready for Garrus to be aroused near her. He grinned at her before kissing her forehead
“I should probably avoid kissing your neck too” he murmured against her forehead.
She snorted softly.
It was a small step backward but Garrus could handle that.
He could still kiss her.
“You sounded scared. Why are you scared sweetheart?”
She squirmed against him and looked to be deep in thought, a look of discomfort on her face and he began regretting asking the question.
“I’ve only had…” she didn’t want to say his name, she didn’t even want to think about him “…one… person… be aroused…”
She didn’t need to say anything else. He pulled her closer and kissed the side of her head.
How was he going to make more small steps forward if she was afraid of him getting aroused?
Chapter 27: Suvex
Summary:
Erinyes teases Shepard before discovering why she shouldn't.
She ingests a larger amount of suvex than she is used to and Garrus sees some of the side-effects
Chapter Text
Erinyes and Garrus headed out to the mess hall so she could begin making lunch.
Using the mushroom in lieu of meat she formulated a stir-fry meal with a medley of other vegetables in a dark sauce. Cutting the mushrooms in just a way that they had a more meat-like shape.
By the time she was done with the cutting of the mushrooms she was grinning like her ancestors catching a prey animal, incredibly pleased with herself.
With the chopping and cutting out of the way she had realized she had more time than she thought before she needed to begin cooking. The levo cook hadn’t even arrived to begin his prep work yet.
Garrus took the initiative and played some music on his omni-tool and took her hand in his, grinning wildly.
“Why are you-?” She was tugged towards him suddenly causing a surprised yelp to leave her lips. His arm snuck around her mid back and he began dancing with her in his arms, her flopping and stumbling around on her feet. “Garrus! Wait” She blurted out and pushed him away slightly. “Ardi, Run Slanai Internal Program: Delphi Pythia” she muttered and hoped she had enough energy to keep it up. She looked up at Garrus and smiled at him. He grinned down at her knowing where she was going with this and began dancing with her in his arms once more, her no longer stumbling around as much since she was now able to determine the next steps through the hologram she was seeing. He spun her around with one hand before tugging her back and pulling her against his body once more. She grinned.
“I wasn’t expecting you to run a program” he whispered
“I wasn’t expecting you to spontaneously dance with me” she countered and let out a surprised giggle as he made her twirl
“You look like you are enjoying this” he murmured against her hair, pleased with himself.
She laughed at his words
“This is… fun. I’d like to do this again” she admitted slowly and cheerfully. Admitting things that she liked was still awkward for her.
“Good” he responded and they parted suddenly only keeping one hand clutched together before moving backwards “Because I definitely want to do this again with you.” She grinned up at him right as the song ended and he dipped her low causing her to squeak in surprise.
“I wasn’t expecting this” Shepard commented amused at the two as he leaned against the wall with a broad grin on his face
“Ardi, End Program” she muttered hearing her VI’s reply.
“Glad to see you both feeling better,” Shepard added.
“Do you dance Shepard?” Erinyes asked as the next song come on.
“No, not really”
“Would you-?”
“Nope, absolutely not” he replied quickly and Erinyes grinned, feeling playful in her cheerful mood
“What is this? Badass Commander Shepard doesn’t dance?” Erinyes teased.
“No, I do not” he retorted flatly.
She grinned wider.
“Come on, join us” Erinyes encouraged, gesturing him as Erinyes and Garrus swayed to the music, both facing the Commander and Garrus’ hand resting lightly on her hips
“Your dancing can’t be that bad Commander” Garrus goaded and Shepard frowned and sighed before standing and started dancing. Erinyes stopped to stare in shock
“Was I that bad earlier?” she whispered to Garrus and he barked out a laugh that he failed at trying to cover with a cough and shook his head vigorously no
“I heard that Kitty”
“I wanted you to hear it Commander” she teased back
“You, my love, didn’t know the steps but had rhythm. He… uh…”
“Lacks both” Erinyes finished with a teasing lilt in her voice
“I am making my own steps” Shepard defended himself
“Badly, you are doing so very badly” she retorted as she spun to dance facing her boyfriend and completed a few of the moves they had done together in the last song
“I don’t have a program” Shepard defended
“She isn’t using a program right now” Garrus grinned as he teased the man. Shepard huffed and stopped
“I should go”
“You should dance. Maybe if you practice more you could gain rhythm” Erinyes called out after him as he walked away and buck up the stairs to the CIC. She looked back at Garrus and the two bust out laughing and held each other.
The levo cook, David, found them like that moments later.
“Uh… do I want to know?” he asked the two. Garrus turned off the music and Erinyes grinned at the man
“If you ever get the opportunity to, make it a priority to see Shepard dance” she explained and headed back into the kitchen and washed her hands, Garrus following suit.
“It’s that bad?” David asked surprise in his voice
“He’s so bad at dancing it makes the experience of watching him worth it” Garrus added and pulled Erinyes close to him as he stood behind her at the stove.
“I need to see that” David chuckled as he chopped up vegetables for the levo lunch.
She made a quick sauce in a pot and the stir-fry in a wok and Garrus unlatched himself from her to grab plates for her to serve the food. She kissed his mandible in response to him grabbing the dirty dishes and washing them for her. He chirped in surprise leading her to grin happily.
She needed to remember to kiss his mandible again.
She hoped he would chirp at the action every time she did.
She placed the food for Nihlus and Tali in the oven and walked to the table to sit down next to Garrus. Tali grabbed her food and rushed down to engineering to sanitize it, wanting to eat with everyone.
Staff slowly trickled in to grab lunch and Nihlus was among them, sitting at the same table as Garrus and Erinyes. Shepard, Tali and Liara arriving later.
Garrus and Erinyes were talking quietly to each other when Ashley and Kaidan came over and pulled up a chair to the table after grabbing her food. Wrex grabbed his food and went to the Cargo Bay to eat
Erinyes noticed Nihlus begin eating and tried not to look his way to avoid him suspecting something was up.
“Ash, did you know Shepard is terrible at dancing?” she jested happily.
Ashley snorted. “Really skipper? Can’t dance?” Ashley’s eyes danced in laughter.
“That… is surprising to hear Commander” Kaidan commented, trying to fend off a smile.
Shepard glared playfully at the Vextra.
“You want to play this game?” Shepard asked. Garrus looked confused at the Commander’s response
“What game?” he asked bewildered.
“Bring it” Erinyes decided with a wide grin, ignoring Garrus’ confusion. She leaned forward towards the Commander and placed her hands on the edge of the table
Shepard leaned forward and put his elbows on the table, playfully narrowing his eyes “How was your first kiss last night?” he asked calmly, completely in control of the situation and knowing it.
Her grin fell as shock ran through her mind and facial features.
Garrus stiffened beside her
“It must have been really good for Garrus to be so much more relaxed today” Shepard goaded further, his eyes boring into hers
Ashley grimaced. Garrus glared
“That… might be taking it a bit too far skipper” Ashley chimed in defense of the Vextra
The table quieted down as Shepard and Erinyes eyed each other daring the other to continue to their next move.
Seeing from the corner of her eye that Nihlus had inhaled the last of his food to avoid leaving it if a fight broke out she grinned.
She decided that the match between Shepard and herself was over. She knew a losing battle when she saw it. He had won.
“How was the food Nihlus?” she asked. The group looked confused at the sudden change of topic
“What?” Nihlus asked, equally as confused, food still in his mouth
“How. Was. The food?” she repeated slower than before
“It was good… like usual” Nihlus faltered, thoroughly confused, his brow plates closing in and touching each other
“Nothing interesting about it?” Erinyes pressed
“No… why?” he asked bewildered, racking his brain until it dawned on him, his face falling “Fuck”
Erinyes now fully faced the Turian Spectre and grinned broadly at him.
“I believe you owe me 10,000 credits” She crowed in a mocked sing-song voice.
He growled. “What did I eat?” He was looking at his empty plate warily
“Vegetables and mushrooms” she explained gleefully.
“Can someone explain what is going on?” Liara asked
“When she first woke up on the Normandy, Nihlus bet her that that he could tell if a dish had a vegetable disguised as a meat” Garrus exulted while grinning
The group laughed
“You made a vegetable taste like meat?” Kaidan asked in wonder. “How on Earth did you do that?”
“There are many mushrooms in the galaxy that have a meaty taste and texture” Erinyes explained “The difficult part was cutting the mushrooms in a way to not look like mushrooms”
“That’s amazing” Liara exclaimed
“Yes, she is pretty spectacular” Garrus agreed and Erinyes blushed, thankful no one but Garrus could see. He pulled he into a side hug and kissed the top of her head tickling her ear with his mandible. The ear in question kept twitching. He looked like he just won the jackpot “Your ears are ticklish” he whispered low enough so only Nihlus could overhear
“Are not!” she exclaimed suddenly and pushed him away suddenly. The action did not have its desired effect since Garrus was too heavy to push away. Instead she essentially pushed herself off her chair. The group exploded in laughter “They are sensitive” she explained in a rush as she got up and sat back down, now embarrassed, scooting her chair away from Garrus.
“Ticklish” he smirked deviously
“Sensitive” she corrected bluntly
“Kit-Whiskers” Tali interrupted to get the Vextra’s attention “How was your first kiss?” Tali asked in hopes of not only getting the information but also changing the topic for the Vextra.
Erinyes blanched and squeaked
“I think it would be best to keep our private life private” Garrus explained for her, putting a hand on her shoulder, Erinyes nodding.
“We thank you for your interest in our relationship but it is getting too… um” Erinyes searched for the right word
“Suffocating” Garrus completed for her and she nodded in agreement
Tali huffed in her chair in frustration and Shepard let out a chuckle and nudged the Quarian with his elbow
“I found them dancing her in the mess earlier” he offered and Erinyes gave him a dirty look before rolling her eyes
“Aww, how romantic!” Tali squealed bouncing in her seat “There’s hope for you yet Garrus” Tali teased Garrus who was acting like he hadn’t heard her. Erinyes stifled her smiling, trying to keep her face blank as she continued to glare at Shepard. The bite from her gaze lessening
Erinyes received a message from Chakwas.
12:05: K: Erinyes, at your earliest convenience can you return to the med bay?
12:06: E: I’ll be there shortly
She looked at Garrus concerned as her anxiety spiked.
“I’m sure it is good news” he cooed and she looked down at the remainder of her food on her plate, no longer feeling hungry. “You need to eat sweetheart” he appealed nudging her. “Please” he added and she sighed and acquiesced. Taking a few more bites before pushing the rest of her food around on her plate, her ears drooping as she was lost in thought. After a few more minutes of her panic building on what Chakwas wanted to talk to her about she sighed and stood. Garrus made to stand but she put a hand on his shoulder.
“Finish your food darling.” she muttered halfheartedly before heading stiffly to the med bay, wringing her hands as she did so.
Chakwas looked up at her as the med bay doors hissed closed and gave her a smile. Her anxiety lessened.
If it was bad news she wouldn’t be smiling.
“I have been testing this mineral”
“Suvex” Erinyes corrected and Chakwas nodded
“I want to test something. How much is the normal amount you ingest?”
“A very small amount. Suvex is valuable and coveted, especially to Operatives, so at most we consume 3g a day. Personally, I consumed 1.5g because I wanted to make it last as long as possible.”
“That is a very small amount” Chakwas commented, her hand touching her chin as she was deep in thought. “Suvex seems to be perfectly harmless to your biology while being very beneficial. I wanted to see what a larger dose, maybe 3g to start off with would do to help you regain the use of your tech and remove the blockage.”
“What… what if it doesn’t work?”
“If it helps alleviate the blockage even a little bit I have another plan. Adding medi-gel to your nervous system and then having you ingest more suvex might fix the problem entirely.”
She stumbled backwards and used the nearby wall to stabilize her as her mind reeled in relief.
This nightmare of continuously feeling so weak was nearing its end.
She would murder Keska for doing this to her.
She paused.
She had never thought of doing that before. She had always wanted to disappear, not make him disappear.
A part of her knew, however, that the vedthar would not stop until either he was dead or she was in his grasp again.
She wasn’t going to be his plaything again. He was going to die
She grinned up at Chakwas.
“When should we start this experiment?”
“Whenever you would like. I’d prefer as soon as possible though. I don’t know what the side effects to the blockage in your system long-term would be. I would assume it would not be good. I don’t want to be proven correct”
“Understood. I’ll prepare it now” Erinyes commented
“Erinyes, come back after you begin to feel the effects”
Erinyes nodded and left the med bay to prepare the suvex.
Erinyes nodded and nearly skipped out of the room and ran to her room to get the jar of suvex and her old beat up messenger bag.
She dashed over to the kitchen in high spirits shocking the ground crew.
“Good news?” Garrus asked from his seat
“I think so, yes.” She vacillated as she took out one of the small chunks of the mineral and weighed it, breaking it in half and further into pieces until she had 3g, as Chakwas had suggested.
She put in in the mortar and pestle, excitement bubbling up to the surface as she worked the mineral into a fine powder.
She took a large cup and poured the suvex and hot water into the cup. Taking a whisk out of her bag she began trothing the suvex until it incorporated into the water and began to foam
“Garrus darling, do we have any milk?” she asked as he neared her curiously.
“I think so” he answered heading to the fridge as she kept whisking furiously.
The amount of suvex she normally made would take a minute of whisking. The amount she was ingesting was taking a lot longer to incorporate fully into the water.
“Here you are, my sweet” He replied putting the milk next to her and placing his hands on her shoulders as he peered over his shoulder to watch her work.
She worked up a sweat until she felt the suvex finally incorporate and then added the milk still whisking.
She sighed and took the mug in her hands and breathed in wistfully. Soft tendrils enveloped her senses as the unique scent wafted up through her nostrils.
She began salivating as her mind remembered the small joys of being able to drink it in the past. She sat down with the group again, mug in hand and smelled it one more time in blissful pleasure before taking a sip.
Her tongue exploded at the nostalgic taste, so much stronger than she was used to. She felt her body relaxing and melting into the seat behind her as she sighed in bliss
“Damn, she acts like me with coffee in the morning” Ashley muttered as Shepard and Kaidan chuckled.
Erinyes ignored them as she kept her eyes closed and enjoyed the creamy, slightly bitter, earthly tang of the suvex and milk mixed together.
She opened her eyes completely blissed out before she began drinking the suvex with more intent. Finishing it happily in under a minute.
She sighed happily with a soft smile on her face.
“When’s the last time you had that?” Ashley asked
Erinyes paused and thought. It was before she went feral for the first time and that was 5 and a half years ago.
It would’ve been after the completed mission where she had to update the hidden monitoring stations. That was over 6 years ago
“Maybe 6-7 years” she replied as she pondered to make sure she was right.
“What? I would kill someone if I didn’t have my coffee for that long!” Shepard mentioned in shock
“Suvex is a gift given to Operatives for a very successful mission completed with little complications.” she explained
“Couldn’t you just buy more?” Kaidan asked
“Operatives don’t get paid” Garrus griped bitterly. The ground crew grimaced. Erinyes barely noticed as she used a spoon to try and get every last drop
She rarely indulged having this much suvex at once. The flavor was more intense and mixed with the milk it was divine.
She felt herself sink into the back of her chair, tilted her head back and welcomed the embrace of calm and relaxation, closing her eyes and sighing in bliss.
“I missed this” she whispered happily.
Suvex did interesting things to an Operative. It would first relax the mind and easing tension in the body before it released energy, doing so when the body was in such a relaxed state allowed the Operative to receive more energy than if it were not relaxed.
“You ok there Kitty?” Shepard asked amused
“Perfectly fine Commander” She replied calmly and spaced out
“Damn, she’s making me want to try some.” Ashley joked.
She growled half-heartedly. Her relaxed state making it difficult to parse if the words she heard were joking or not.
“Sweetheart, it was a joke, relax” Garrus said soothingly as he rested a hand on her shoulder. She felt her body fall back into the warm soft arms of the relaxation the mineral provided and felt the anger slip away.
She sat up slowly and finished eating at a leisurely pace, barely noticing the conversation around her as she hummed an old Vextran lullaby to herself softly.
Once finished she stood slowly and walked back over to the med bay.
Chakwas looked at her as she dropped the illusion and allowed her to do her scans.
“It looks like the suvex is causing the parts of your brain that are responsible for your fight or flight response to momentarily shut down to help you relax fully. While providing your body with energy. How do you feel?”
“Fantastic” she hummed dreamily
“Some of the blockage has been dislodged due to the suvex. I think tomorrow we should try a higher dose mixed with an injection of medi-gel at the blockage site to see what happens”
“Ok” Erinyes responded. She felt like hardly anything could break her from her relaxed bliss.
Why did she always drink such a small dose of suvex?
She knew it was to prolong the suvex she had received.
But the relaxation she felt after drinking this increased amount … it felt like she was boneless.
Erinyes left the med bay once more and stretched. She felt her spine stretch and heard many pops as her vertebrae fell back in place easily with her muscles in her back relaxed. Her mind was in such a relaxed state she did not see Garrus leaning against the wall. His eyes twinkled as he watched her in such a satisfied state realizing how stressed out she had been for the majority of the time he had known her.
“So?”
“It seems to be working. Chakwas wants me to try a higher dose tomorrow mixed with medi-gel to see if it removes the blockage completely” she smiled gleefully at him.
“Glad to hear. Ashley wants to know if you are still up to checking out the weapons available and see if we can find something that will work for you”
“Sure” She replied simply and slowly walked to the elevator humming the same melody
“What song is that, darling?” he asked “You were humming it while you ate”
“It’s an old lullaby” she responded and leaned against the wall, closed her eyes and smiled.
“What is it about? Do you remember the words” he inquired as he snaked his arm around her shoulders and gently tugged her against his body
“I don’t know. The words are lost. We just have the melody”
“Did they hum the lullaby in training?”
“No, I knew it before then. I… Maybe” she pondered and leaned her head against Garrus’ cowl “I think my parents hummed it to me before I was taken from them. I have no idea why I still remember it” she said lethargically as the relaxation fog began to lift slowly as she felt the first surges of energy. She looked up at him suddenly and grinned. “Before we use the shooting range lets spar”
He looked down at her bewildered.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you” he answered. “You said your bones are more delicate without the tech”
“They are but I feel fantastic” she gushed, the words falling out of her mouth faster than normal. She pulled away from him as she stretched.
“Let’s wait until the blockage is completely gone.”
She pouted at his words before stopping suddenly, then shrugged as she bounced on her feet. Once the doors to the elevator opened, she bounded out
Chakwas had said that some of the blockage left her body and she wanted to see how much tech she could use. Testing her theory, she drew as much tech as she could and watched the tech burns glow further up her arm than they did previously and laughed happily. She still wasn’t back to normal, it was still a small percentage she was trying to focus into her limb, and the suvex added its own boost. She released the tech without using it to conserve it and headed to the mat on the floor she did some flips and cartwheels in quick succession
“What is going on?” Ashley asked Garrus as the two watched the Vextra release her energy.
“The suvex gives her energy” he explained
“So, it is like dextro coffee. Just… more powerful?” Ashley asked baffled a the behavior the Vextra was displaying
Erinyes took tech in her arms and pushed herself in her air after doing a handstand. She landed gracefully on her feet and laughed gleefully. Clenching and unclenching her hands as she felt the familiar power flow through her that she was used to. She felt nearly back to normal
She turned to Garrus and Ashley and began walking towards them.
“If she has this much energy today, what will it be like tomorrow?” Garrus muttered, making a mental note to talk to Shepard
“Let’s shoot shit” Erinyes beamed, her huge grin was infectious.
Chapter 28: "Zoom-Something-or-Other"
Summary:
Erinyes gets the zoomies and Shepard takes the crew to Novacrux to let Erinyes get the energy out of her system.
Garrus has to suffer the consequences.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“This one is too heavy” The words stumbled out of Erinyes’ mouth as she quickly handed the assault rifle to Ashley
Ashley changed out a mod and handed it back.
“Better,” she commented as she weighed it in her hands, aimed, and quickly let out a few shots, each hitting dead center. Garrus whistled in pride and grinned at her. “This’ll work” Erinyes said energetically grabbing a pistol, aiming and shooting. She snarled at it. “This one feels awkward in my hand” Ashley handed her a different model. She took aim and let a bullet fly “Can you make this more powerful and have less recoil?” She sounded as if her voice was twice the speed as it was normally.
“I can try” Ashley mentioned and looked at her available mods for pistols, contemplating which one to try. Frustration had her knit her brows together since that particular model only had one mod slot. Garrus was by Ashley’s side and added a few tweaks to the pistol as well, calibrating it to work with the mod she chose.
“Try this, love” he offered as his eyes glistened with love and admiration. She grinned up at him happily and took the pistol, aimed and shot the target.
“I can work with this” she eyed the pistol in her hand, rotating it. “How do I keep these on me? I don’t have what you guys have on your armor. I can’t just reach to my back and let the magnet-” her eyes widened in alarm as she had reached behind her to show what she meant. The pistol in her hand connected to her spine by magnetism. Erinyes shuddered “What the fuck?!” she whispered in alarm, eyes wide and breathing heavy “That is so fucked up” she took the assault rifle and did the same. Once it had contact with her spine it magnetized to it. She grew angry.
Garrus grimaced. He had no idea what to do.
Ashley stood next to him in complete shock, mouth open and let out a squeak before closing her mouth.
“Oh Kitty” She said and grabbed her hand, eyes glittering with concern and sadness “What did they do to you?”
“What didn’t they do?” She snarled in response and closed her eyes. She felt hurt, true, but more than that she felt… violated and confused
She took the pistol off her spine and looked confused. She put next to her femur. It didn’t magnetize to it. She tried other bones. Most did nothing, her hip bone had a very slight magnetic pull but nothing like her spine. Leaving her even more confused.
“I wasn’t aware my bones had magnetic qualities”
She paused and looked at the bulkhead she had slammed into when Wrex punched her. Her area where her brows would be furrowed in thought.
Why hadn’t she been magnetized to the bulkhead back then. Why hadn’t others figured out that their bones were more or less magnetized.
Erinyes began wishing she drank the suvex now to relax her. “I need a defrag”
“That is a good idea” Garrus mentioned before pausing “Can you do a proper defrag with the blockage?”
Erinyes let out a frustrated scream. Her feral side shifting for her to slide into before she took deep breaths before shifting out of it.
“I’m going to my room to see what else is in those bands before the suvex wears off” she said bitterly and stomped away. The pistol and assault rifle stuck to her spine still. Garrus followed after her, staying a step or two behind her and engulfed her into a hug once the elevator doors closed.
“Are you ok?”
“No. What other nasty surprises am I going to discover the Vextra did to me and the other Operatives Garrus?” She looked at him, her pupils a bit more dilated than normal and showcasing her hurt and anger “I mean really? My back is magnetized? What purpose does that serve? Why does it not magnetize to the bulkhead?”
“Our weapons use a special type of magnet in them. They wouldn’t stick to the wall either”
She sighed bitterly.
“I’m tired of these horrible surprises I learn Garrus” she pressed her forehead against his keel. He rubbed his talons against her back, avoiding her weapons
“I know sweetheart.” He sighed “I am too”
Once in her room she grabbed the bands and started releasing what was within them without care. She was frustrated and hurt. The mindless task was what she needed to be somewhat helpful. She put the boxes and bags to one side of the room and the other items and trinkets on the desk. She trembled when one had another muzzle in it, dropping it to the floor immediately once it materialized in her hand and she took a step back in terror, whimpering. Garrus picked it up and put it in her closet and shut the door. She didn’t need to see it. She still had around 50 of the red bands left to go through but felt a wave of exhaustion hit her. She slumped down in her chair and grabbed a bag and went through the contents. Separating spices from more suvex and bags of herbs and minerals to make quick poultices and remedies.
She sighed and leaned her head back. A surprised mew left her lips when the top of her head collided with Garrus abdomen. He stroked her face softly
“On the bright side, love, it looks like you have enough suvex supply to hopefully get your tech working as normal”
She smiled and leaned her head into his hand.
“Garrus?”
“Yes?”
“Kiss me”
He grabbed the chair and spun it around quickly so she faced him, grabbed her hands and pulled her up to stand. Grabbing the pistol and assault rifle from her back he set them on the desk and pulled her towards him and he captured her lips passionately.
She moaned from the treatment, and he didn’t let up. He pulled the tie from her hair and wove his fingers into her hair against her scalp and deepened the kiss as their tongues sparred.
He lightly applied pressure to his talons against her scalp and dragged them along it. Causing her to gasp and moan, her eyes rolled back in bliss.
He buried his face against her neck and breathed deeply. Her spicy scent was intoxicating.
He peppered her with kisses and leaned his crest to rest against her forehead
“What happened to no kissing?” he asked huskily. Trying to tamp down his lust and desire to rip off her clothes.
“I needed to feel that… feeling… I get when you kiss me”
“What feeling is that?” He asked playfully with a smirk, gazing into her eyes, curious but wanting to hear her own words of what he assumed she felt
“Love, comfort and safety” she whispered
He grinned, elated by her response and kissed her lips tenderly.
“I love you Erinyes”
“Vashtera Garrus”
“Vashtera? What does that mean?”
She contemplated a suitable translation
“There isn’t a true translation for it. Basically, it can mean ‘the one my heart desires’ or ‘the reason my heart beats.’”
He couldn’t stop the cacophony of sound that his subharmonics made at her words. Sounds of love, happiness that his feelings were reciprocated. He kissed her again, slowly coaxing her lips open and slowly, passionately, rolled his tongue with hers.
“Vashtera” Garrus whispered as he moved his lips away from hers. She smiled happily and hugged him.
The next day Erinyes began preparing another cup of suvex. Based off of Chakwas’ instructions she would be ingesting 6g today and then have an injection of med-gel to see if the blockage continues.
She took the prepared cup of luxury to the med bay since Chakwas wanted to observe since she would be having twice the amount Vextra normally enjoyed.
She sat on the bed and Garrus stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
Chakwas nodded and she began drinking. It was thicker than normal; the flavor was stronger and richer.
“Mmmm” she couldn’t help herself. It was delicious.
Garrus chuckled into her hair at her reaction.
She continued drinking it and Garrus took the empty mug away as she laid down for the scans.
She got up slowly when the rush of calm hit her. The fog in her mind was thick and difficult to maneuver or think through. She felt Garrus wrap his arms around her again and the feeling of him touching her released little ripples of pleasure in her mind. She melted against him blissfully and closed her eyes until she heard Chakwas speak
“Hmm?” She asked, not hearing the words the doctor had spoken.
“Lean… forward” the words were muffled but she leaned forward, her head flopped down.
She barely registered the needle inserting into her spine or the bandage being applied
“…Software… ling” she heard Garrus’ muffled voice. She could feel him behind her but he sounded oddly far away
“…Wha-?”
“…Software…” He repeated.
Lifting her arm was difficult, it felt strange, like it was no longer part of her body. It also felt heavy and unwieldy. Controlling her fingers was even more difficult. She couldn’t concentrate on the muffled conversation Garrus and Chakwas were having. It was all muffled and she was focused more on trying to get the Turian illusion back up, which was using more effort than it should have. Since getting her fingers to do what she was trying to do was difficult. Her body just felt so heavy. It was also difficult to get her eyes to focus on what she wanted to focus on which wasn’t helping and contributing to her missing when she went to tap something
Garrus stood behind Erinyes as he held her against his chest as she drank the suvex. Taking the mug from her once she was finished she laid down.
She got up slowly, like she was in a daze. Concern flickered across his face.
That was odd
He pulled her closer to him and felt her relax against his chest.
His subharmonics let out notes and pulsed with glee
Chakwas was engrossed with the results on the data pad.
“Scans look good, it is releasing some of the blockage already. The medi-gel should help it along more. Erinyes can you lean your head forward please?”
“Hmmm?” She managed to say. Garrus grew more concerned, his body growing tense.
This was not normal.
“Lean your head forward” Chakwas repeated, concern showing on her face.
Erinyes leaned her entire upper body forward, her head flopping in front of her as if she had no control over her head. Chakwas and Garrus gave each other a look of concern.
This was not normal at all.
Chakwas injected the medi-gel into her spine at the blockage site and applied a bandage to it.
“Apply your imaging software darling” Garrus purred in her ear
“Wha-”
Not normal, something was wrong
Garrus could feel panic starting to set in, feel it crawling up his skin
Had she had too much?
“Your software darling” he repeated, desperately trying to keep the panic out of his voice. She moved her arm strangely to her tech, looking like she had no control over her limbs “Dr. Chakwas, what is going on?”
“The amount she had is causing her to go into an intense state of relaxation”
“Is she ok?” The panic in his voice was beginning to show through.
He felt like he had no control over the situation
It was like the kidnapping all over again.
Not to her.
His stress continued to climb
“All the research I did and simulations I ran say she will be fine. This is a side-effect I was not expecting” Chakwas replied as she held her hand to her chin in contemplation.
“She had a burst of energy yesterday, when the relaxation wanes” Garrus noted
“She will be flooded with endorphins and energy”
Garrus stood still in shock. He had never seen her with as much unbounded energy as she had yesterday. With twice the amount of suvex in her system what would the energy output be? Double? Triple?
“What’s wrong with Kitty? She looks high” Joker commented on Erinyes' appearance as he rounded the privacy screen to see the Vextra. Concern on his face even though he was still making jokes.
Garrus ignored him
“If this doesn’t work today…” Garrus started before his voice faltered, unable to complete his thought aloud
“She would need an even larger dose tomorrow. The dose yesterday took care of 10 % of it. A larger amount should be released today, more so I hope with the medi-gel”
“So, Kitty’s high” Joker repeated “And tomorrow she will also be high, higher really, if the blockage isn’t removed?”
Chakwas nodded reluctantly
“She looks so relaxed. Lucky her” Joker commented. Garrus bit back the growl he wanted to release.
He had made a promise to her he intended to keep. The horrid porn he had sent still flitted through his mind and he wanted to strangle the helmsman because of it.
“The suvex gives her energy after the relaxation” Garrus explained to Joker
“The relaxation helps overload the system more efficiently for the amount of energy it provides” Chakwas explained
“If she is this high now, what will the amount of energy she will get look like?” Joker asked very concerned. He tapped at his omni-tool without waiting for an answer “Commander…um… Kitty needs a place to run. A large space to run. As soon as possible. We are already headed to Nodacrux. Could she run there?”
“Yes, she can probably run during the mission there. Will she be alright?”
Joker looked expectantly at the doctor, concern in his eyes. She nodded once, hesitantly so.
“…I think so.”
“Understood. What is our ETA?” Shepard asked
“Currently 30 minutes. The Normandy is currently on autopilot. With your okay, I can head back to the helm and use faster than light speed and get us there in about 10 minutes.” Joker offered the option
“Do it” Shepard ordered before disconnecting. Joker took his medication and as quickly as he could, limped back to the helm.
Garrus scooped the dazed Vextra that finally was able to bring up her illusion and walked her to the Mako to be dropped to the garden world.
Tali and Ashley insisted on going once they saw the state Erinyes was in.
Nihlus shrugged and left. Going to the planet was not something he needed to do, nor was it imperative to the overall mission against Saren. He was okay with letting the girls have their way.
Liara came too late
“No, I’m putting my foot down. No more people in the Mako” Shepard ordered.
Garrus got in and delicately put Erinyes in the seat next to him and put the harness on her
“I swear Shepard, if you drive recklessly…” Garrus threatened, panic and concern still laced in his tone.
“I’m not, I don’t want to give her whiplash” He explained as he looked back at the Vextra in question. She couldn’t keep her head up and drool was coming out of her open mouth when Garrus lifted it up. Her pupils, even with her illusion up were two different sizes.
His subharmonics whined as his concern rose, and buzzed in his panic.
“She’ll be ok Garrus” Shepard said calmly hoping to calm the stiff and nervous Turian
Tali sat next to Shepard and the man reached over and squeezed the Quarian’s hand, giving her a confident smile. Tali’s hands shook with worry.
The Cargo Bay opened and the loading ramp lowered. Shepard drove the Mako off the Normandy and into the garden world below them.
Sometime later Erinyes felt like everything around her was fuzzy and foggy at the same time. She could see the vibrations when noise came around and would disrupt the fog around her. She rose her head that felt heavy like steel, and reached out in front of her, her arm barely moving up where she wanted it, and flexed her fingers to watch the fog shift around her parted fingers as a dreamy lopsided smile graced her face. She was still drooling; her pupils were dilated to nearly a full circle and finally the same size and were threatening to cover her green irises completely
“Kitty?” Ashley asked sitting beside her, Shepard looked at her concerned through the rearview mirror
He noted her pupils more dilated and had a goofy smile on her face.
Garrus got Chakwas on his omni-tool
“I need you to answer some questions, Erinyes” Chakwas stated and she hummed in response “How are you feeling?”
“Relaxed” she answered slowly and drawled, zoned out. She was talking at a quarter of her normal speed. Talking was difficult, her tongue didn’t seem to want to cooperate. Chakwas furrowed her brow
“How many fingers am I holding up?” She asked and Erinyes watched the fog swirl and separate around her three fingers on the holo
“Three”
“Has this reaction ever happened to you before when you ingested suvex?”
“No… kinda? It makes me relax and feel happy” She slurred slowly, her eyes glazed over
“Have you heard of anyone using the amount of suvex you had?”
“No” she answered, closing her eyes and smiling.
“Has anyone become addicted to suvex?”
“No”
Chakwas turned to Garrus.
“I did research on suvex on a molecular level and it works well within her system. She ingested double the amount most people take in a day so the side effects are showing more severe” she explained and Shepard and Garrus nodded
“But she will be okay, right?” Ashley asked
“More than okay, I feel great” she explained suddenly, as the fog began to fade and a burst of energy hit her like a semi-truck, her tech burns began to glow and pulse and her pupils were still dilated; the eyes no longer glazed over. She wiped the drool with the back of her hand and seemed to be unable to sit still. Buzzing and trembling with energy.
Her limbs were no longer feeling as heavy as they had been, yet still heavier than normal.
She still felt the vibrations around her and with the fog clear she could see the particles that swirled around in the air in small currents around everyone. The particles glittered vibrant colors in the sunlight. Colors seemed more vibrant. Her body couldn’t keep still. She had too much energy and it needed to be released.
“When you return I need her back here for another scan” Chakwas ordered and Garrus nodded and the call was terminated.
Erinyes seemed to be a bundle of an insane amount energy and was jittery to the point she was shaking violently and unable to sit still.
Shepard drove to a clearing Joker had marked on the map and parked the vehicle. Tali looked around with the clearing with the Mako’s weapon for enemies. Erinyes was impatiently tapping her foot and hands against her thighs insistently.
Garrus eyed her more worried than before.
Once she was out of the Mako she hopped up and down on her pawed feet.
“Anyone want to race?” She asked quickly and excitedly. The speed she was talking at was as quick as lightning.
Garrus sighed.
He was sure he was going to be exhausted by this.
“I will” he didn’t share her excitement in the slightest.
Shepard relented and counted down. Tali and Ashley deciding that they should run to the boulder about a kilometer away and back.
Garrus rolled his shoulders as Erinyes stretched, doing low squats with a leg out before bouncing up and stretching her other leg.
“No tech” Garrus reminded her. He could see her grinning at the comment.
“Ready, set, GO” Shepard called out dropping his arm to start their impromptu race
Erinyes dashed ahead, arms pumping, enjoying the feeling of the air in her face. Garrus kept up, running alongside her. Both were not extending themselves too much. Both species had evolved for running long distances. Erinyes smirked as she got close to the boulder and skidded to a stop and then used the boulder and her claws to launch herself back. She could hear Garrus curse as he pushed himself hard to catch up.
Erinyes no longer held back, her legs and thighs relishing in the burn from the exercise.
Garrus was gaining on her and by the time they hit the “finish line” they were at a tie.
Erinyes wasn’t bothered. She could feel that she had worked up a bit of sweat but she was still buzzing with energy
“Again!” She exclaimed happily the words burring together in her quick speech and threw up her arms in the air.
She wasn’t paying attention, if she had, she would have seen the appalled look on Garrus’ face.
She was bouncing up and down again on her feet, finding standing still to be impossible.
Garrus could race again, but he was worse for wear than she was.
“Anyone want to go in my place?”
The others stayed silent
“She is your girlfriend” Ashley teased.
He sighed but nevertheless went to race again
“Thank you Garrus!” She exclaimed excitedly and waited for the countdown again.
That race she won.
Garrus refused to do another race. He had given both races his all and was exhausted. There was still a mission to do and he need to reserve his remaining energy for it.
“Please” Erinyes pleaded at him while pouting, eyes wide.
He doubted he could stay his ground.
“Kitty, how fast can you run with your tech?” Shepard asked coming to the Turian’s rescue.
“Let’s see!” She squealed, forgetting completely that she was begging Garrus to race her again, and got low, her tech burns glowing up the sides of her legs as she readied herself.
“GO” Shepard exclaimed and she ran. Shepard patted the Turian on the shoulder as he collapsed on a boulder, breathing hard.
“How can she have this much energy?” Ashley asked in awe “That suvex stuff is amazing. Do you think we can make it work in humans?”
“Did you see her reaction before the energy hit, she could barely keep her head up” Tali reminded the Gunnery Chief.
“How could I forget.” Ashley mumbled.
Erinyes was using the boulder as a bounding board once more and used so much tech the boulder cracked under her feet.
“Is she going to pass out after this?” Tali asked concerned.
Garrus sat up straight. With as much tech she was using she might.
“Whoo” Erinyes joyfully screamed. “What was my time?”
“2 minutes and 37 seconds” Shepard replied in awe.
“I can do better” Erinyes exclaimed, clearly still hyper and buzzing with energy.
Seeing it made Garrus even more exhausted.
“Let’s see then Kitty, GO”
She ran off, using even more tech in her strides.
“Is anyone else exhausted just watching her?” Ashley asked
“I am” Garrus commented, still trying to get his breathing regulated.
“Me too” Tali said and sat down on one of the boulders littering the area.
“Time! time! What’s my time?” Erinyes asked once she passed the finish line jumping up and down gleefully
“1 minute and 29 seconds” Shepard was stunned.
“Fuck yes!” She yelled, throwing her arms in the air. She was bouncing and alternating which pawed foot she landed on before she seemed to get bored. “I am… run” she blurted out quickly before taking off towards the boulder again, skidding and then launching herself back and doing the same thing once she got to the group again.
After her 4th lap Shepard spoke up
“You know on Earth when people’s pets get too much energy that they just run around manically?”
“Yeah” Ashley responded “What did they call it again?”
“Zoom-something-or-other”
“Zoomies?” Ashley asked
“Yeah.” Shepard paused “I know we like to tease that Kitty is a pet… but I think… I think she has the zoomies”
Ashley tried to cover her laugh with a cough while Tali snorted. Garrus was too concerned to care.
Erinyes skidded to a stop in front of them, using her claws on her feet and hands to aid in stopping.
“Yes, that felt good. What are we doing on this planet? I assume it isn’t just to let me run around” Her speech was still fast, but just a tad slower than the near lightning speed she had before, Garrus saw her huge grin on her face that matched her hyper, yet happy tone.
“We are here to investigate ExoGeni further” Shepard explained as he noticed she was still vibrating with the energy coursing through her. “There is an active distress beacon, it had no message though”
If this amount of suvex didn’t work Shepard was not sure if he could handle her with a higher dose.
“Thank you for letting me burn some of my energy” she was bouncing on her feet “Let’s find the shit”
Erinyes skipped to the Mako.
Garrus was stunned by that.
She skipped
To the Mako
Willingly
“Darling?” Garrus asked once he got to the door.
“Yes Vashtera” She answered quickly, clinging to his arm happily and staring up with him, her pupils still blown wide
“Why were you skipping?”
“I feel so… light and free… and jittery from the energy. It also uses more energy than walking.” She explained looking up at him with a huge happy grin on her face showing her 4 canines.
“I think you skipping was adorable” Tali commented and Ashley snorted.
“It was amusing” Shepard added
“Surprising really” Ashley added. “I can’t think of a time I saw a soldier skip”
Erinyes shrugged, clearly not bothered and leaned against Garrus, purring when he snaked his arm around her shoulder.
“You purr?” Shepard asked in surprise. Mirth glinted in his eyes
“Yes, what of it?” Erinyes responded as she played with Garrus hand not around her.
Garrus was watching her amused. Shepard was still not driving his normal manic ways, but he wasn’t driving as carefully as he was earlier. Erinyes was barely taking notice of the increased speed or flying off ramps as Shepard began driving faster. Her focus was more on how long his fingers were, how long his talons were, how her fingers felt against his armored gloves. She was fascinated by it; her pupils were dilated as she took in all the information.
“What’s so interesting about my hands?” He asked
“Everything” she whispered in reverence quickly “They are so different than my own but I like how they feel against mine” she said and ended her thought by holding his hand, not even being concerned about the fact they were falling several dozen feet at that moment.
The landing had everyone lurch forward. Erinyes still paid it no mind and was still playing with Garrus’ hand, one hand holding it, fingers laced, the other combing over his hand in awe.
They reached some ancient debris and the group got out and Tali helped decode the debris.
As Tali worked the group noticed that Erinyes had gone from a ball of hyperactive energy back to zoned out. Unlike the last time she would just stare and focus on one thing and touch it like it was the most marvelous thing in the world or stare at it.
After hacking into the debris and getting the Turian insignia inside of it they piled back into the Mako. Garrus had to pick her up and get her into the harness. He was concerned because she didn’t get relaxed a second time the day before
Nodacrux’s landscape was incredibly mountainous, and Shepard had to use the Mako’s boost ability in order to climb up the mountains. They made it to a crashed probe, getting out once more, but leaving Erinyes in the Mako, the group watched the perimeter as Tali hacked into the probe.
Heading to the ExoGeni facility, Shepard tried to climb the difficult terrain but realized if he didn’t boost the Mako forward at the right time the Mako couldn’t get traction and the vehicle would fall backwards as Shepard tried with all his might to continue forward. The group saw some weird animals native to the planet that resembled some sort of bovine with 6 limbs. 4 it used to walk with, the remaining two were smaller and reminded the humans of T-rex arms. Shepard ran a few over and Tali squeaked
“Why, Commander? They weren’t attacking us” Tali asked a bit miffed at the Commander’s actions. He shrugged in response. But avoided the animals from then on out.
Erinyes started to come down from her zoning out as Shepard boosted them up on uneven ground finally making it up the mountain. He boosted the Mako again, not wanting to fall back for the fourth time but misjudged the terrain, causing the Mako to boost off the mountain peak flying into the air, and the Mako began spinning and the vehicle crashed hard on its side into a valley.
Erinyes watched, focusing on the horrors of what was happening but things around her seemed to be going too fast for her to react to. She opened her mouth slowly to scream but nothing came out.
They needed to climb another mountain face. Like before Shepard boosted the Mako to make it to the mountain peak, gaining speed once going downhill to a cliff face. He slammed on the breaks, barely stopping before the Mako tipped over the edge. The group, all in their harnesses due to Shepard’s known driving abilities, lurched forward from the sudden braking. The harnesses bit into their bodies and Erinyes felt the air in her lungs being forcibly ejected from her body. Erinyes was still wide-eyed and stunned into silence.
“What was that for?” Ashley asked as she massaged her chest. Ashley was sure that everyone, maybe not Garrus, would have bruises from the sudden stop.
“Nearly flew by the facility” Shepard answered as he carefully turned the Mako towards the structure tucked into the mountain face they nearly flew by. “Damn” Shepard grimaced, causing Garrus’ focus to go to the windshield “Creepers”
“Outside of the compound?” Garrus asked stunned. Erinyes wasn’t paying attention to the words.
To her, the voices still mixed together, still too fast to pay attention too. She was too entranced by how the particles in the air, and the vibrations of sound flowed around the Mako and the view from outside.
Even Tali manning the gun to shoot at the Creepers did not fully pull Erinyes out of her trance. Her pupils so dilated the green was barely visible and her pupils nearly a full circle.
Shepard stopped the Mako and the group began leaving the Mako. Erinyes made no attempt to move. Mouth still open in abject horror
“Sweetheart. We need to leave the Mako. We have a mission to complete”
She hummed but didn’t move.
He sighed and disconnected her hand from his causing her to make a high-pitched whine than made his heart hurt.
“When we are done with this mission you can continue playing with and holding my hand” He cooed and unbuckled her harness as well as his own and helped her out of the Mako.
Erinyes had difficulty focusing on what was around her, instead finding strange things to focus on, like the tiny flowers in the grass or how the boulder was made up of multiple layers of different types of rock.
Garrus had to pull her away and lead her to the entrance of the facility. His mind on high alert. He needed to keep her safe, she still hadn’t even taken out her weapons yet.
“Kitty” Shepard was now highly concerned as he looked at the Vextra “Please get your weapon out”
She hummed but did nothing.
Garrus was wishing for the suvex to deposit more energy in her system so he wouldn’t be as concerned
“This didn’t happen yesterday” Garrus faltered. “She didn’t cycle from relaxed, to hyper, to zoned out”
“She is acting as if she is high” Ashley was incredibly concerned
Garrus looked at Shepard for direction. He wasn’t sure what to do.
“Garrus, you and Kitty stay behind us to cover our six. Keep her out of the way for now. Tali, Ashley, and I will sweep the facility, try to figure out what ExoGeni was doing here and what our next course of action will be.”
Garrus nodded, exchanging his assault rifle with his sniper rifle. He took Erinyes hand and followed Shepard, Tali and Ashley into the facility. Staying a few steps behind as he did so. The door led to a hallway. Garrus tensed as the door was opened, waiting for the attack he expected to happen. There was none.
After a quick sweep of the room Shepard motioned for Garrus and Erinyes to enter the room.
The room was large, larger than the Cargo bay on the Normandy. The lighting was dim and eerie, the air was thick and humid and smelled stale. There was a round support structure on the left side of the room. A bar with overhead lighting was directly in front of them against the wall. In front of the bar as a bench that had planters on either side. The right wall had more planters and chairs. The room was mostly empty but neat and decorated well. Garrus led Erinyes to the chairs and had her sit as the group looted the room, looking for cues on what ExoGeni was doing here and the connection with Feros. He stood next to her, being a quiet guard as he watched for movement.
Garrus never wanted Erinyes to have this much suvex again.
Garrus gazed over to the left wall and noticed the door that they would be heading through and his heart sank when he saw a familiar nodule split open like he had seen of Feros. He shivered at the memory.
When this mission was done he never wanted to see a Thorian creeper again.
The door opened to another hallway and the group filed in. Garrus noticed Erinyes not looking so dazed and her eyes not as glazed over. Her pupils were still dilated, but not as much.
“What’s happening?” She asked. Her tongue was stumbling over the words in her mouth
“We are in a secret ExoGeni facility.” Garrus answered. “We already saw some Thorian creepers. We suspect there are more in the next room.” She hummed and demagnetized the assault rifle along her spine. Her movements were slow.
He positioned Erinyes behind him and Shepard opened the door.
The room was just as large as the first one. Unlike the first room, however, it was not neat and tidy. There was a large support structure in the middle of the room. A strange design to say the last. Crates ranging in size littered the room and made the room feel more like a labyrinth. The crates provided a decent amount of cover. Some crates were so big Garrus didn’t need to crouch at all to stay hidden.
There was track lighting and piping on the ceiling and even with the lighting the room was dim.
They heard a mix between a groan and a scream that made Erinyes shiver as creepers rounded the corner. Shepard, Tali and Ashley shot at the creepers. They were stronger than the ones on Feros. When they got closer they vomited acid taking down their shields very quickly if they didn’t get out of the way quick enough. Garrus pushed Erinyes back as the group backed up as more creepers entered the hallway to attack the group. Erinyes aimed her assault rifle and fired alongside Garrus, who had switched out his sniper rifle to his assault rifle.
Although she was going at a slower pace than normal, her aim landed between the eyes, and for every bullet she fired, Garrus fired two.
Together they took down the vomit spitting creepers as the others focused on the ones rushing towards them.
After what felt like hours to her, the last creeper fell and didn’t get up again. Garrus kept Erinyes in the hallway as the others swept through the maze-like room for enemies and things to loot.
Once Shepard gave Garrus the all clear the group headed to the door. They tensed, weapons ready as the door opened
It led to another hallway.
This hallway was horizontal to the door, a door was on either end of the hallway, the door they were at in the middle of the hallway. Shepard led them to the door on the right.
That room had another support structure in the middle of the room. Multiple sleeper pods and storage lockers lined the walls. There was a nearly mummified body next to the support structure.
Thankfully there were no enemies.
Garrus led Erinyes into the room after the quick sweep of the room. She sat on one of the crates alongside of the wall and swung her legs slowly as she waited for the others to loot and search for information.
“How are you feeling?” Garrus asked
“I feel strange” She confessed. “I feel like… like I am heavy, things around me are going faster than I am, like I am able to go only a fraction of my normal speed.” She explained. Garrus grimaced before kissing her forehead. “I don’t like how this feels” she admitted “Everything is too vibrant and the particles in the air are beginning to irritate my eyes, especially when the vibrations from sound move them in the air. It’s distracting” she finished as she closed her eyes and gave a small sigh of relief.
“Garrus, Kitty. Let’s go. Let’s hope the next room has answers” Shepard ordered. Erinyes hopped down, and then swayed on her feet. Garrus caught her. Panic setting into him once again.
What now?
Garrus helped her up and followed the others back into the hallway.
After Tali hacked into the door console they were met with a group of 8 people. 5 were guards, 3 were scientists. Everyone was armed and jittery. They jumped when the door opened.
Of the three scientists, one was a woman.
She was the one who spoke for the group.
“Rescuers! Thank God! See? I told you somebody would come and investigate that signal.” She told to the scientists near. One was fidgeting a lot. “My name is Doctor Ross. Chief ExoGeni researcher at this facility. We’ve been trapped in this room for days. We’re almost out of food and water. You got here just in time!” She exclaimed in a relief. She didn’t sound sincere, it was clear they were hiding something, and attempting to manipulate the group by making them feel like heroes.
“Not so fast. First, you’re going to tell me why this place is overrun with Thorian creepers.” Shepard demanded, not amused by the manipulation attempt as he crossed his arms and leveled the woman a glare.
“How do you know about the Thorian” The doctor asked. Shock was on the face of the scientists. The guards had helmets on, but they gripped their weapons a bit tighter.
“I know what ExoGeni was up to. I saw what they let the Thorian do to those colonists. So I destroyed it.” Shepard spat
Dr. Ross scowled, her demeaner changing as did her tone. It was no longer light and happy, instead it dropped lower “Our secrets out then. No point in me lying. You already know the worst. The altered creepers here were created from samples of the specimen on Feros. We discovered a way to turn them into docile, obedient servants. Everything was going fine until not too long ago. Then all the creepers suddenly went berserk. Only a handful of us made it back into the safety of this room.” Dr. Ross explained, fixing a stray lock of hair that fell in her face.
“Why didn’t you send a clear message or help? All we had was a signal from the emergency beacon”
“This is a closed communication base. ExoGeni was worried about someone on the project selling secrets to a rival firm or reporting our work to the authorities. We have no direct communication with the outside. Only the emergency beacon. It sends a general distress signal to the ExoGeni site on Feros. They’re supposed to send a team to respond inside of 24 hours, but it sounds like they had problems of their own” Dr. Ross claimed as she rested her hand against her chin, partially covering her lips. Erinyes leaned against Garrus and glared at the woman.
“Any idea on why they turned on you?” Shepard asked
“Maybe there was still some kind of link between the creepers and the Thorian back on Feros. The Thorian was unlike any other life-form we’ve ever studied. I can’t explain how, but maybe when it died, it somehow set off the creepers here” Dr. Ross theorized. Straightening out her other hand to look at her manicured fingernails before glancing at Shepard once again.
“I’ve heard all I need to” Shepard scowled.
Dr. Ross sighed.
“Look… I know what we did here was wrong. I’ll admit that. But it is over now. There’s no sense reporting this to the authorities, right?” She asked, looking at him expecting him to side with her as she gave him a warm smile that faded with Shepard’s ever heated glare.
“Too many people died here. The blood is on your hands”
“Be reasonable” she scoffed “I didn’t mean for this to happen” anger began weaving within her tone. “Besides, how does it help anyone if I end up in jail?”
Erinyes was slowly beginning to feel more of herself and hearing the woman’s words she scowled.
“You took people, let them get turned into those things to use as your personal slaves you sick bastard!” Erinyes seethed.
“Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Ashley asked as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and leveled the woman with a glare that would make death itself want to retreat.
Dr. Ross sneered at the women “Normally ExoGeni would have my back, but it sounds like they’re going to have their hands full cleaning up the mess on Feros. But I have money. A nice little emergency fund I set up. It’s yours if you let us go” Dr. Ross smirked arrogantly. This woman was used to getting her way, and throwing money around if it was not happening the way she expected it.
Garrus growled “This isn’t about money. It’s about justice. Blood for blood” he growled.
Shepard nodded.
“Ah, that’s not going to happen” Dr. Ross’ face contorted with anger and drew her pistol “Open fire! Open FIRE!” She yelled the order
Garrus grabbed Erinyes and the two dove for cover as the security opened fire at the group.
Crouching behind a crate and Garrus drew his assault rifle and aimed for the head of one of the scientists.
Like all the rooms they had been in except the first room, crates littered the room. There was corner seating that had planters on either side of the seating. Besides that one part of the room, the rest of the room was a disaster. A bench was standing vertically to be used as cover by the security guards. Random shelves pushed to the middle of the room was being used as cover for Dr. Ross and another guard. Lab equipment and scanners were rammed against one of the walls
Why was she so focused on what the room looked like? Her friends were getting shot at!
Erinyes blinked and shook her head. Doing so caused her to wince as the particles in the air blended together with the vibrant background to create a kaleidoscope of color. She groaned as her head spiked in pain.
“Darling, I need you to help with cover fire” Garrus said. He was covering Shepard’s six. He needed help
Erinyes was considering using Ardi to administer some pain medication for her splitting headache when energy hit her system hard, she felt like Wrex punched her in the gut. It was about a quarter of the amount that hit her earlier.
The colors faded and her headache began to dull slightly. With a grin she popped out of cover and quickly helped take down one of the guards that was trying to creep behind Tali.
Tali blasted the last guard standing with her shotgun.
“Thank you, Kitty,” Tali thanked the Vextra appreciatively. “If he had shot me I would have to deal with pumping myself with antibiotics to keep from getting sick.”
“No problem” she grinned half-heartedly and she let the magnet attach the assault rifle to her spine to massage her head
“Are you ok?” Garrus asked. The large amount of suvex had been a rollercoaster of fear and panic.
“The vibrant colors gave me a headache, Vashtera, I’ll be okay” she said in an attempt to comfort the stressed Turian.
He didn’t believe her and hovered near her.
“I retract my earlier statement. Suvex should not be looked used in humans” Ashley mumbled. “Some idiot would take a huge dose and cause havoc” Erinyes gave her a small smile and decided to rest her head on Garrus’ shoulder.
She could hear his heat beat faster
“Nothing new has happened, darling. After everything that has happened today… being stubborn and asking you not to coddle me would be cruel. So, I’ll let you take care of me” she mumbled quietly. He breathed a sigh of relief and snaked his arm around her shoulders
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I feel weird. My body feels exhausted, but at the same time I feel like I have a ton of energy.” she explained as more eyes met hers.
“This whole mission was exhausting” Ashley commented after hearing her comment. “You ran close to 20 kilometers before we even started this mission, and still had energy”
“Watching it was exhausting” Tali commented as she stood close to Shepard who nodded in agreement.
“Helping you when you zoned out was exhausting” Garrus piled on, playfully nudging her.
“Glad to see you getting closer to normal.” He added with a grin “Let’s get you to Dr. Chakwas shall we?” She nodded.
“I never want to have that much suvex at once ever again” she admitted
“Spirits! I’m glad to hear that” Garrus approved as he ran his hand over his fringe still stressed out.
As everyone was headed out of the Mako there was a scratch from the intercom
“Uh… Commander, there is an urgent message for you coming from the Citadel” Joker said warily.
“Great” Shepard sighed. Shepard kept the door to the elevator open so Garrus and Erinyes could enter
“Thanks” Erinyes felt the energy from the suvex started to wane “Do you ever get a break Commander?” Erinyes asked
“Rarely, the closest I get is the time going from one place to another.” He explained with a shrug as the elevator door opened. The three left the elevator “I should go” he uttered once the door opened and about-turned and went up the stairs.
Once he was out of hearing range Erinyes whispered “Vashtera, why does Shepard say that so much?” She caught the happy trill of his subharmonics at the Kajefka term.
“Say what?” Garrus asked her
“He says ‘I should go’” she explained, doing her best impression of the Commander “He says it a lot too”
Garrus hummed before saying “I didn’t notice” Garrus contemplated his interactions with the man and headed to the med bay. Erinyes humming the lullaby next to him before instantly heading to a bed and laid down for the scan without being asked.
To think nearly a month ago this area of the ship freaked her out.
With all the time she spent with the doctor and getting patched up it felt like a second home.
Chakwas looked at the results at her console to get a better view as she magnified the area on the scans.
“Good news?” Erinyes asked
“Yes, actually” Chakwas beamed with a smile “The blockage is now mostly removed. About 30% remains.” Chakwas was a bit stunned by the results.
“She doesn’t need to take another big dose of suvex tomorrow right?” Garrus asked, dreading the answer was yes. He honestly did not think he could handle how her body handled a large amount of suvex again.
“No, I think dropping it to the amount she had yesterday would be better.” The doctor commented
Garrus sighed a sigh of relief and kissed the top of Erinyes’ head
“Chakwas, as much as I am pleased to hear that. After today… would doing a dose lower than yesterday be acceptable?”
The doctor thought before nodding.
“We can add some more medi-gel as an additional boost to remove more of the blockage. What amount were you thinking about?”
“Maybe 1.5g?” She offered “It is the amount I would drink when I was an Operative. It’s a manageable amount that won’t make people inconvenienced” She added and squeezed Garrus’ hand. He kissed the top of her head again. A happy sound coming from his subharmonics while he trilled. He was happy she was appreciative of the work everyone had done for her.
“That should work” Chakwas agreed with small nod, her hand resting on her chin as she thought it over once more. She gave her a once over with her eyes “Go rest” She added firmly
“Yes, ma’am” Erinyes responded and slid off the bed. The doctor shooed the two away.
Erinyes grabbed Garrus’ hand and pulled him towards her room.
Once the door closed she pushed him into the wall. He cocked an eyebrow plate.
“I stressed you out a lot today” she explained in a sultry tone before standing on her toes to kiss him deeply. She broke away and hovered near his lips. His subharmonics had a variety of notes and sounds that sounded like a chaotic symphony. “Let me” She pecked him on his mouthplates “make it” she kissed him again, feeling him grin “up to you” she finished before grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him closer to her.
He spun her around so she was against the wall and deepened the kiss. Their tongues danced and sparred with one another as his hands roamed, resting behind her neck and on her hip. Her hand remained behind his neck and the lip of his armor. She growled into his lips.
He pulled away looking amused
“Take the armor off,” she ordered before pausing “please” she quickly added, trying to make it sound like more of a suggestion.
“Are you sure you want me naked?” He teased. She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, cocking her hip as her tail flicked back and forth twitching every now and then in annoyance. Her ears splayed slightly outward. He gave her a devilish grin, tilting her head up to look at her, wanting to see her reaction “You are adorable when you are angry”
Her glare darkened and she scowled
Garrus’ mandible quivered as he tried to hold in his laughter.
It may not be the best course of action. But it was very amusing
She began tapping her fingers rhythmically on her elbows, her claws extending one by one as she did so.
As amused as he was she clearly wasn’t.
“I think that is your most dangerous trait” Garrus cooed as he traced lazy patterns with the back of his talons on her cheek.
She didn’t bother replying and instead lifted a nonexistent eyebrow at him.
“People underestimate the adorable” he trilled. She snarled at him
“Too bad my real self is hidden in an illusion the majority of the time” she countered bitterly
“Not to me” He retorted playfully and kissed the tip of her nose watching happily as her face scrunched up after contact.
Her annoyance subsided.
“Why must you always kiss me there? It feels weird” she asked
“I like how your face reacts when I do” he explained doing it once more “You look adorable when you scrunch your face like that”
She scowled again
“I don’t want to be adorable” she whined and he barked out a laugh, unable to stifle it in time. She sighed, looking at him cautiously “Are you really naked under your armor?”
He chuckled “No, I was teasing you. I have an undersuit that is covered in sweat though”
“I don’t care” she asserted and looked over his armor. “How do you get this off? Is there a latch that undoes everything?”
He stifled the amusement he had.
“I wish it was that easy. There are a bunch of latches and releases to keep it in place.” He explained while showing her some. She helped him take off his armor with hands shaking every now and then it hit her what exactly she was doing.
“Sweetheart your hands are shaking” Garrus whispered as he delicately pulled her hands into his “Is this because of the suvex?”
“No, I… I just realized what I’m doing”
He kissed her forehead.
“You aren’t undressing me.” He cooed against her forehead. She let out a shaky breath out and Garrus pulled away to undo the last latches keeping his upper armor on. He removed it and placed it on the ground gently.
Her nose twitched.
“I warned you about the sweat” he teased and she rolled her eyes. It wasn’t that he smelled bad, it was overwhelming, and seemed to flood her nostrils suddenly. He kissed her forehead “I can take a shower if it bothers you” he whispered in her ear, intentionally to watch her ear twitch from his breath.
“I could use a shower myself” She mumbled
“One of these days I wouldn’t mind showering together” he tilted his head seeing her stiffen “Too bad that day is not today” he added before gathering his armor and heading out the door. He looked back at her and gave her a smile before heading down the hallway.
She went to the bathroom and took a short shower. Scrubbing the sweat and grime from her body and using a natural conditioner in her hair. She wrung out the excess water and twisted it in a towel before dressing and heading back into her room.
While waiting for Garrus to return she began cataloging the items on her desk properly using her tech.
When Garrus entered he quickly closed the distance between them and scooped her into his arms from the chair she was sitting on.
She squeaked in surprise from the action before nuzzling against him and pulling his face close to him to kiss her.
“I am sorry I made you stressed out today” She whispered against his mouthplates. “From what I remember I can only imagine how much of a pain I was to babysit” he captured her lips, tongues dancing briefly
“I was stressed because I didn’t know what to expect. And during that firefight…” He sighed, resting his crest on her forehead “Your safety means everything to me” he kissed her passionately, her arms snaking around his cowl to pull him closer. “Promise me you will never have that much at once again”
“That is an easy thing to promise” she purred before tugging him closer.
Notes:
This chapter came about as a thought of what would happen if Erinyes got the zoomies. After laughing at the images in my mind I decided to formulate and write the chapter, letting it flow and change as needed.
Chapter 29: Have a Heart
Summary:
Erinyes learns some unfortunate things about Garrus' past and they have a fight.
Nihlus plays some nasty tricks.
Erinyes meets a Salarian doctor
Notes:
Please note that some of the dialog has been changed from in-game to be more concise as well as to allow Erinyes to integrate.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Erinyes was in a good mood. The block in her tech was completely removed but she still felt odd. It was like something within her was precariously uneven and causing her to mentally feel vertigo. Lost in her thoughts she staggered in her step when she realized Garrus wasn’t headed to her room with her after breakfast
“What are your plans today?” she asked curiously
“I need to fix up the Mako” he explained dejectedly and she grimaced. Erinyes could be cataloging her inventory further, or creating a program to see if Shepard’s idea was possible but needed a break from the monotonous work. Spending time with her boyfriend seemed like the best course of action
“Can I help?”
“You don’t have to” he responded “But I would love your company” he added quickly and enjoyed the look of her smile and eyes glistening in happiness.
“Okay” she replied and followed him the elevator.
She took over the maintenance in the engine bay of the Mako. Although technology had advanced greatly in the galactic sphere in comparison to where Humans were in 2025, engines were usually easy to understand and straightforward. She scanned the engine with her visor and it highlighted places that needed her attention, and things about to fail. At least the things that the Vextran technology had deemed important. With her technology over a century old and this program on her visor really intended to work on Vextran tech and mechanics she was sure there would be things that would be looked over. Garrus would need to look it over.
She began working on fixing the spark plugs, grumbling about the damage she was seeing on the Mako from the man driving moderately insane. Garrus had a smile trembling on his mandibles as he listened to her grumble. He had to agree with her, but his military training made it difficult to vocalize it like she was.
“Do you always fix the Mako?” Erinyes asked
“I help with it. There are some mechanics that also help if they are not busy” He explained
“So what happens when it gets really bad due to Shepard driving terribly?”
Garrus groaned at her question
“It becomes an all-hands on deck type of situation to fix it before the next mission. If needed we schedule periods of time that we fix it, or can fix it together.”
“If Shepard fucking drove normally…” Erinyes muttered and Garrus chuckled
Her ears twitched at sounds behind her and she turned to see Shepard heading over to them.
“Speak of the devil” Erinyes smiled at the Commander who cocked an eyebrow at her greeting.
“What?” Garrus asked confused by the idiom
“We were talking about Shepard and here he comes” she explained and handed Garrus the wrench he had just asked for, letting Garrus know of his arrival since Garrus was facing away from the elevator and under the Mako. Garrus rolled out from under the Mako and put the wrench on the hood once he finished
Taking the rag Erinyes handed him to wipe off the motor oil on his hands on, Garrus nodded his greeting at the Commander.
“Kitty, Garrus” Shepard greeted back. He had a look of dread on his face
“Everything all right Commander?” Erinyes asked concerned
“Got some… cryptic news. I was hoping to distract myself from it by chatting with the crew.” He answered nonchalantly
Erinyes nodded.
“We had talked about your time in C-Sec before, Garrus. I was hoping to continue that conversation if you have the time?” He asked.
Erinyes smiled and focused her attention on the engine bay once more. Taking the data pad Garrus had handed her before and made notes of part numbers and seeing if the Normandy had extras before searching for it.
She wanted to give the men some semblance of privacy even though her ears picked up everything they were saying. She knew Garrus knew that too
“I’m not that busy. Anything in particular you wanted to know?”
“Any interesting C-Sec stories?”
“I remember this Salarian geneticist I was sent to investigate. That case was a bit… disturbing”
“What happened? Why were you investigating him?”
“I was tasked with tracking black market trade on the Citadel. Most of it is harmless. Nothing I needed to pursue. But during the course of my investigation, I noticed an increase in the trade of body parts. Organs, mostly. We usually get a few of those, but not the numbers I was seeing. We weren’t sure if there was a new black-market lab or some freak was harvesting organs from citizens”
“You’ve seen this before on the Citadel?” Shepard asked mildly disgusted and surprised
“Is that… normal there?” Erinyes asked hesitantly, shoulders hunched as she walked back to the Mako with the parts she needed
She hoped it would be ok to enter the conversation. She was still quite awkward and inexperienced with situations like this.
Garrus gave her a smile and it calmed her nerves and she stood up straight and continued working on the Mako as she listened in.
“Every so often, some lab sells unwanted parts through the black market. But they’re not as bad as the psychos. I remember this one Elcor diplomat we caught my first year on the job. He was hacking people up and selling their organs. Had the station in a bit of a panic. But this case wasn’t that clear cut. Turns out there was more going on than we first realized”
Erinyes listened horrified as she removed the parts and used a rachet to install the replacement parts.
Vextra may do some horrible things, but hacking people up for someone’s organs was a line no one crossed.
“So how did you figure out what was happening?” Shepard asked, his curiosity spiked
“First, we got a hold of a sample and ran DNA tests. The weird thing was, the match led us to a Turian who was still alive and very convinced he’d never lost his liver. After a bit of digging, I discovered this Turian worked briefly for Dr. Saleon, a geneticist. So I went to his lab, hoping to find evidence of cloned organ development. But there was nothing. No Salarian hearts, no Turian livers, not one Krogan testicle”
“You’re kidding right? Why would anyone want Krogan testicles?” Shepard questioned appalled
“Some Krogan believe that testicle transplants can increase their virility. Counteract the effects of the genophage. It doesn’t work, but that doesn’t stop them from buying. They’ll pay up to 10,000 credits each. That’s 40,000 credits for a full set. Somebody’s making a killing out there.”
“What did you do about the geneticist?”
“I brought in some of his employees for interrogation. To see if I could get them to talk. While I was interviewing one of them, I came across something suspicious”
“You mean threatening. Was that really necessary?”
Shepard’s dislike for threatening in an interrogation was a bit shocking to Erinyes. That was how Operatives interrogated for information when it was needed.
How else did you do an interrogation?
“Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, it paid off. One of my detainees started bleeding profusely during the interview. We offered to patch him up and he got frantic. Freaked out. I ordered a full exam. Out medics found incisions all over his body. Some of them fresh. That was our big break. These people weren’t just Dr. Saleon’s employees. They were test tubes. Walking, living test tubes.”
Erinyes stopped ratcheting the last bolt in place and the bolt pinged and clattered through the engine bay to the ground and rolled in an arch under the Mako.
She felt her heartbeat race.
Someone had been using people as test subjects to harvest organs?
What was wrong with people?
“So he was growing spare parts in his own employees?”
“Exactly. He cloned their organs right inside their bodies. Then harvested them and sold them off. Most of the victims were poor. He’d pay them each a small percentage of the sales, but only if they were good. Sometimes an organ wouldn’t grow properly, so he’d just leave it in them. Most of them were a mess, but only on the inside--hidden so nobody could see it”
“I hope he got what he deserved”
“That’s the worst part. We never caught him”
Erinyes closed her eyes. This psychopath was still out there doing that to people? She felt sick. She bent down to get the bolt that fell
“Why not? What the hell happened?”
“He ran. Blew his lab, grabbed some employees, and headed for the nearest space dock. By the time I found out, his ship was already leaving. He threatened to kill his hostages if we tried to stop him”
“But you went after him anyway, right?”
“I ordered Citadel defense to shoot him down, but C-Sec headquarters countermanded my order. They were worried about the civilian casualties if the ship was destroyed so close to the Citadel. I told them those hostages were dead anyway. He’d just use them to make more organs. But they wouldn’t listen”
“It’s not worth the risk. You pursue the vessel and disable it. That’s the best choice.” Shepard rounded on him appalled by his past choices.
Erinyes felt her hands shaking.
Did she hear Garrus correctly?
She couldn’t have
Her Garrus would never do that
“They sent the military after him, but he got away just the same. I went to Pallin and told him what I thought of him and his policies. He said if I didn’t like it I could quit. I almost did. All they had to do was disable that ship. Maybe the hostages die, maybe they don’t. But at least we stop the bastard responsible for it all.” Garrus responded with a growl, as if he was replaying the memory
Erinyes gasped.
That was not something she thought would come out of Garrus’ mouth.
“Do… do you still believe that?” Erinyes asked shakily
“Yes” He huffed. She shook her head in disbelief.
She easily could put herself in the hostage’s shoes. She was one of those test subjects as a child.
This was a side of Garrus she did not wish to know more of.
How much else did she not know about Garrus?
“If you don’t care about the fate of those hostages, then you’re no better than he is. You’re just a terrorist with a badge.” Shepard passionately retorted. Garrus stayed silent for a moment before something dawned on him and glanced at Erinyes who looked disgusted at him. She dropped the tools in the toolbox and left. He cringed. She didn’t even bother saying goodbye.
He thought about what Shepard said, and Erinyes’ reaction before sighing.
“Yeah. Maybe you’re right. It doesn’t make it any easier, but I see your point. I just wish I could have stopped him” Garrus was itching to go after Erinyes. But Shepard’s next question stopped him in his tracks. He watched the elevator leave in despair.
“Do you have any idea what happened to Dr. Saleon?”
“I sent out feelers from time to time, hoping to find something. I thought I found him awhile back. He changed ships and changed his name to Dr. Heart-- his idea of a joke, I guess. I told the military, but they weren’t convinced it was him. I got the transponder frequency for his new ship, but I just can’t find anyone to check it out”
“I’ll check out the coordinates when I have the chance”
“I was hoping you’d say that. But, Commander, take me with you when you go. If it is Saleon, I want to be there when I find him”
Shepard nodded and headed over to Wrex.
Garrus sighed, annoyed at himself. He kicked the tire of the Mako and tossed the wrench in the toolbox before going towards the elevator.
Heading to her room he cringed at the red x on her door.
He sighed and used the chime to ask admittance into her room
“Erinyes? Can we talk”
“I want to be alone” she growled bitterly. He winced at the venom in her words
“Please.” He heard her growl on the other side of the door before the red x flickered off and the door opened. She met him at the door. She glared at him, her illusion off, with dark stormy eyes and a scowl on her pretty face. Her arms were crossed, her ears flat against her head and her tail flicked dangerously back and forth behind her. “I’m sorry” he lamented
“Why?” She barked back. He looked down with shame
“Please don’t be angry at me” he pleaded, she laughed bitterly. The sound made his skin crawl and his ears itch
“You made such a big deal about ‘Normal Vextra’ treating Operatives as less than, just to treat those test subjects the same way” she seethed. “Their lives were meaningless to you.” Her voice betrayed her internal battle of feelings welling up inside her. Her eyes threatened to have the tears forming in them overflow.
“I was young-”
“You said you still thought that way” she bit back venomously, a tear escaping and falling down her cheek. “You said that I matter to you. So which is it? Do I mean nothing or something Garrus?” She accused and he stepped back at the accusation.
His heart felt like it was being squeezed within his carapace at her words. He had messed up severely this time. He had no idea how to respond
“Erinyes” he whispered pain in his voice, his hand reaching for her. She stepped back as if his hand was a dangerous animal.
“Don’t touch me” she warned. “Please leave me alone” she concluded before the door closed and the red x reappeared on it.
Garrus stared at the door for a minute and felt as if his world was falling apart.
Was she rejecting him?
Why was he surprised?
He felt his heart shatter into a thousand pieces and couldn’t get enough air into is lungs. He slunk down the hallway away from her room full of dismay.
What had he done?
Erinyes had refused to leave her room for over a day.
Garrus shouldn’t have been surprised when Nihlus grabbed and dragged him into his room where Tali waited, arms crossed, foot tapping in irritation. Ashley was also there which surprised him. She looked like she was going to murder him
Nihlus growled
“What did you do?” Tali asked dangerously.
“With Erinyes?” Garrus asked
“No shit Sherlock” Ashley bit
“Wha-?”
“Answer the question C-Sec” Nihlus demanded.
“I said the wrong thing” he surmised dejectedly. He was past caring. He had been walking around like a zombie. Internally fighting with himself accusing himself of being the worst Turian in the galaxy and undeserving of love.
“How so?” Tali asked curtly.
“I had an old investigation I was telling Shepard about.” He started. Voice devoid of emotion. “Hostages were taken by this horrible person and treating them like test subjects. I wasn’t thinking” he voice broke.
Nihlus sighed.
Things were worse than he feared.
“Ashley, Tali, get Erinyes and bring her here” Nihlus ordered words devoid of his normal sternness
“You can’t be serious” Ashley rounded on him
“Yes, I am. They need to mend things now, before this gets worse” he countered voice stern once more as he looked at Garrus. The Turian was disintegrating emotionally and mentally.
“Fine” Ashley grumbled as the women left
“How bad is it?” Nihlus asked calmly and softly.
“She doesn’t think I think of her as anything. That I think she…” his voice faded. His gaze was no where in particular, past Nihlus on the wall, staring at nothing.
“This is just a fight Vakarian. She isn’t rejecting you” Nihlus pointed out just as softly as before.
“That isn’t what this feels like” Garrus’ voice was broken and fragile and Nihlus reeled before leaving his room. Garrus crumpled to the floor and didn’t bother moving
“Kitty please” Tali pleaded
“Move” Nihlus demanded, ready to push the two women aside as he got to the door “Erinyes open this door now. It is important” He delivered urgently
He received no answer.
Nihlus growled out his frustration at the situation before tapping at the console.
When she had arrived on the Normandy Shepard had given him the override protocol on her room in case she became a threat. He didn’t want to use it, but this situation was becoming more and more likely to become volatile and dangerous.
“Don’t enter” Nihlus ordered the women who tried to step in with the Spectre. He closed and locked the door in their faces not caring that the marine looked ready to shoot him in the face.
“Go away” Erinyes cried, muffled as her face was face down in her pillow, her body swallowed by a tangled blanket.
Nihlus sighed
“Erinyes. Do you remember what I told you about soul-bonds?” he asked delicately. He saw her head move in the affirmative. “Garrus believes you are rejecting him and is beginning to break down. I believe he is beginning to spiral out of control” he continued. She made no sound or movement “This is serious, do you want him to die? To attack everyone?” He growled out, annoyed by her behavior
“No” she answered quietly, still muffled.
“Then please get up and go talk to him”
“I don’t want to right now” even to herself she sounded like an intitled child.
He let out a sound of frustration before grabbing her and throwing her over his shoulder.
She screamed in response and growled at him to let her go but Nihlus did nothing except walk to the door, past the gaping females waiting on the other side and walked back to his room, locking the door after entering, and deposited her next to Garrus.
Garrus looked up at her pleadingly and she curled up in the blanket so her head was covered and didn’t have to see him which made Garrus sigh in defeat
“You stubborn assholes are making my life difficult” Nihlus fumed. Ignoring the chime from his door.
“Don’t call her that” Garrus growled out.
“I can do what I want.” He bit back.
“I want to go back to my room” Erinyes stated grimly, muffled slightly by the blanket
“No, you are not leaving”
“She wants to leave” Garrus got up, hands forming fists and then releasing it. Erinyes heard the anger in his tone and peeked out of the blanket in shock.
Garrus really was getting bad.
She felt guilty.
He really did think she was rejecting him.
She just needed time to be alone and think!
She sighed
She watched Nihlus get in his face and blanched as she watched the two
“Make me” Nihlus growled out, mirroring the threatening tone in Garrus tone. He took a step back, looking pleased at himself as he worked the Turian up. “She doesn’t want you. Why do you care?” Nihlus goaded, a smirk gracing his face
Erinyes looked at him stupefied.
Garrus growled and lunged at the Spectre, quick as lightning Erinyes grabbed his fist before it collided on the Spectre’s face. Forced to use tech to keep Garrus’ fist from hitting the Spectre
“Garrus, no!” She pleaded, pain seeping in her facial features since she had stopped his armored fist.
“He won’t let you leave, called you an asshole and said you didn’t want me” he raged looking at her with wild eyes. She kept his gaze. “Why are you protecting him?”
“And he is an asshole for it, but that doesn’t mean you hit him for it”
She watched him calm down now that she was talking and looking at him again. She released his arm so it fell to his side. She felt woozy, like using the amount of tech that she had had drained her. It confused her but she pushed it aside for later.
Smugly, Nihlus looked on before backing up quietly and leaving his room, locking it again on the way out. Erinyes noticed he had left when the doors whooshed and the door dinged signaling it had been locked. They were locked inside. Internally she was screaming at the insolence that was the Spectre’s behavior.
“Do you think that?” Garrus asked, looking at her with pleading eyes, hoping it was a lie
“No! I… I just needed time to think. Time to be alone. Your words were shocking”
“He planned that didn’t he?” Garrus realized as he came to himself, calming down now that he knew Erinyes hadn’t rejected him and that he had been overreacting. Relief rushed through him
“Yes, I think he did.” She shrugged. “But we are talking again” she added, refusing to look at him
“Erinyes” Garrus whispered as he gently took her chin in his hand and tugged at it so she would look at him. She did so reluctantly “You mean the world to me. I’m sorry I didn’t realize I was being a hypocrite until you and Shepard knocked some sense into me” he apologized.
“I’m sorry I made you feel like you were rejected. I was… stunned. Stunned that you would think those things while saying I was different”
“I still feel awful” Garrus lamented as he gently rested his crest on her forehead. “Are we… okay?”
She sighed
“To be clear Garrus, I just needed some time alone to think. I… I like being your girlfriend but this is a lot. I’m not used to you being a hypocrite.”
“When Shepard finds Saleon will you come with me? Make sure I don’t become a hypocrite again?” He asked, nearly pleading as he pulled away to look into her eyes. She nodded and he sighed in relief.
“I will make this up to you Erinyes” he vowed, leaning in to kiss her. She pulled away
“I… I am not ready to kiss you yet” she admitted quietly.
Garrus grimaced.
He had messed up grandly.
He would be a fool to think everything would go back to the way it was just because he apologized.
At least she was looking and talking to him again.
She was allowing him to touch her as well.
She was still his girlfriend and he was not rejected
He could live with this
“Damnit Nihlus! Seriously, what the fuck?” Shepard lamented as he opened the door “Trapping two of my crew in your room?” Shepard pinched the bridge of his nose looking at the couple. “Are you okay? Because so help me, if you are not I will throttle him” Shepard threatened. Nihlus said nothing, just smugly leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Pleased with himself when he saw the two.
“I think they are fine, Commander” Nihlus’ smug attitude leaked into his words
Shepard raked his fingers over his face in exasperation before looking at the two before raising an eyebrow for an answer
“We are fine Shepard” Erinyes answered as she untangled herself from Garrus.
“Good” he gestured that the two of them could leave. Garrus left before Erinyes did. On her way out, Erinyes paused and looked at the Spectre.
“I don’t appreciate being tossed around Spectre” she chastised with loathing “Don’t expect me to make you food for the next week” she threatened with a deadly glare.
Nihlus held her glare without a care in the world and smirked
“No matter, I saved the ship from C-Sec spiraling down to husk version of himself that wanted nothing more than to fight everyone to feel something again. He already was at that point wasn’t he, Kitty?” Nihlus grinned knowingly
Erinyes sneered and left his room.
She refused to let him know he was right
That Spectre had enough of a big head as it was.
“Nihlus, inside. Now” Shepard ordered the Spectre. He gave her a smug smile and sauntered inside, the door whooshing closed and the door flickering from green to orange. She could hear Shepard yelling but his words were muffled.
Ashley grabbed her shoulders and looked her over once she exited the room
“Are you okay?”
“Yes”
“Kee’lah. I didn’t expect Spectre Kryik to be such a boshtet!”
Ashley readily agreed.
“Do we have any ice cream you can eat?” Ashley wondered to herself
“I doubt it” Erinyes muttered. “But I think we have the ingredients to make some.”
She saw Garrus still looking depressed. “Garrus” she called out and he looked back with a hopeful look on his face “You wanted to make things up for me, I will need you to shack the ice cream mixture.” She dictated and he grinned
“Consider it done” he walked over with a pep in his step but gave the Vextra her space. He was happy to be included. Ashley still wasn’t happy with him though. Neither was Tali
“I overheard your conversation Vakarian. To say those things in front of her….” she paused, anger in her tone. “You are lucky she forgave you, because if she hadn’t…” She let the silence fill the threat he knew was there
“I am aware I was an idiot Ashley” he lamented, looking down. “I don’t plan on repeating it”
“Good” she answered before helping Erinyes find the ingredients for dextro ice cream..
Garrus had underestimated how much shaking was involved with making ice cream without a machine. He had to continuously move and shake the mixture to make it. By the look on Erinyes’ face the action was not going to be enough to fix the mess he made.
Liara was invited to the ice cream party, sharing the small pint Ashley found of already prepared ice cream with the Asari.
Erinyes whipped up a chocolate sauce and tried her best to make a levo version but was unsure how it came out since she couldn’t eat it. Ashley and Liara told her it tasted amazing but she still felt unsure about it as the five sat and ate their ice cream. Garrus was pleased to be able to sit and join the group even though the women would shoot him dirty looks when Erinyes wasn’t paying attention.
He would need to mend more than his relationship with the Vextra he discovered.
When the Spectre came out after Shepard’s verbal lashing she made sure to lean in and over-exaggerate how amazing the ice cream was while glaring at the Turian. He shrugged and went on his way. Which only had the Vextra fuming in her seat.
“Stupid fucking Spectre” she mumbled venomously as she stabbed the ice cream with her spoon
“The boshtet needs to be taught a lesson”
Ashley hummed her agreement, taking another bite of the frozen treat.
“I will make extravagant meals for the next week” Erinyes tempted with malice, her eyes growing dark
“Based off of how he acted about the ice cream I don’t think that will be enough”
Erinyes growled her reply
“When you make food for him again you can make a portion that has no spices” Garrus offered. She looked up at him.
“That might work” she hummed. “Especially if I do that for a month” A mischievous grin grew on her face.
“Would that be enough though?” Ashley countered. “The smug bastard needs more than his food tampered with”
“I could make his meals into smoothies” Erinyes offered, eyes growing darker. Her grin growing more wicked
Garrus had a chill go down his spine before grinning.
Conspiring against the Spectre was enjoyable.
He had intentionally acted as a common enemy between the two.
“Having that for a month… That would would make his life miserable” Garrus agreed.
“Good, because if you are a hypocrite again that is what I am doing to you” Erinyes uttered nonchalantly, without glancing at him, taking another bite of her ice cream. He froze and sat up straight
“Understood” he mumbled and continued eating his ice cream quietly. The women seemed happy about Garrus not getting off scotch free, they stopped giving the Turian dirty looks. “Any updates on your tech?” Garrus asked, hoping to change the topic.
“The block is nearly gone. Only 10% remains. Dr. Chakwas is hopeful it will be completely gone before our next mission. Do you know what that will be?”
The group was interrupted.
“What do you mean we aren’t going to Vermire right away? Why are we stopping at this ship?” Nihlus fumed. A grin showed up on Erinyes’ face in a flash. Happy to hear the Spectre unhappy.
“Garrus gave me the coordinates, and we are going there first”
“The council gave you the information though. Stopping Saren is more important than stopping this doctor.”
“That doctor is why Garrus and I had our fight” Erinyes rebutted, her glare shutting the Turian up
“How long will the delay be?” Nihlus asked, keeping eye contact with the Vextra
“A couple of days at most” Shepard replied. “I think it is the best course of action. From what Garrus has said this doctor needs to be stopped and who knows when we will get this close to his ship again if we wait. How many lives he will ruin if we don’t do this now?”
Nihlus fumed, before sneering and about-facing and returning to his room
“Vedthar” Erinyes muttered quietly. Garrus smirked.
If they could agree on one thing, it was Nihlus was a nightmare to deal with.
Still pissed off at the Spectre, Erinyes went to the airlock in heavy armor and refused to look at the Turian Spectre.
Things between Garrus and her were still rocky and Garrus agreed to give her more space to think, using the time to finish fixing up the Mako.
He missed the amount of time they used to spend with each other, but was happy she was still giving him a chance.
“You are clear to go aboard the MSV Fedele, Commander” Joker announced with a grin as the Normandy fully attached itself to the ship.
“Have we received any word from them?” Shepard asked
“None Commander” Joker answered with a concerned look.
Shepard sighed, checked the seals on his helmet and gestured for the group to enter the airlock
Erinyes ignored the VI and voiced her concern
“What will we find when we enter the ship?” Erinyes asked nervously. Garrus itched to put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her but resisted the urge.
“Probably a lot of dead bodies and test subjects struggling to survive.” Garrus replied solemnly
The airlock doors opened and the group entered with Shepard taking point into a hallway.
The dim blue lighting of horizontal lights formed stripes on the paneled walls. The lights providing an eerie glow. The silence other than the faint hum of the engine only enhanced the creepy factor of the ship.
The group entered into the door directly in front of them- which led into another hallway
The hallway they entered was “T” shaped, with a door on the right only
“What is up with structures with useless hallways?” Erinyes muttered.
“I don’t know, sweetheart” Garrus answered softly.
They entered a large room with a large support structure directly in front of them. More of the horizontal dim blue lights lit panels of the hull with stripes. Interspersed with the lighting panels were cables woven into nets for storage, which was not being utilized at all. Crates littered the large room. Other support structures were scattered near the walls.
Worse yet, the silence of the ship was no longer as shrill screams added to the creepy ambience the ship had.
“Heads up” Garrus commented as the shrill screeching came closer. Erinyes shivered. She preferred the Thorian creepers groaning to the screeching.
They rounded the corner of the structure directly in front of them. The ship had dimly lit panels lit on the floor to add light but failed to do so properly.
Thankfully, with Erinyes slitted eyes she could see perfectly in the dim lighting, a useful evolutionary trait in this situation.
Prior test subjects rushed towards the four. Their bodies mangled. Cuts and major surgery laced their bodies. All color was drained from their forms, leaving them a dull grey. Their extremities were blackened, their feet webbed, and their fingers replaced with 4 long claws. Their genitals were removed, and loose skin fell over where they would have been. Worse yet were their faces. Their lips were cut away, leaving teeth, old tear stains dyed the skin under their eyes black, and their eyes were completely black and sunken in. Their hair was gone.
Erinyes felt her stomach turn in discomfort. She hesitated getting her weapon ready. The test subjects were weaker than the Thorian creepers, but as she shot the running test subject down she felt guilt.
It was the first time she felt guilty while shooting at something.
She felt like she was aiming and shooting at herself.
“Looks like Saleon is doing more than coning organs” Garrus commented bitterly. Erinyes stared at the last test subject she shot.
How close to being this was she?
Her hands began to shake as she was lost in thought.
“Rooms clear” Nihlus called and the group went to the door on the far end of the room before realizing that Erinyes wasn’t with them.
“Kitty? You coming?” Shepard called before going around the support structure she was near. He got a clear look at her face and cursed under his breath. “Garrus” he called to the Turian quietly and gestured with his head to the Vextra. Garrus looked over Shepard’s shoulder and then headed over to Erinyes’ side.
“Sweetheart. What’s wrong?”
“Did we have to kill them?” She asked hoarsely, her voice cracking.
Garrus paused before saying the response he was about to say.
The last thing he wanted to do was fuck up their relationship even more.
“There were attacking us, Love”
She looked up at him
“I attacked Wrex. How am I different?” She asked, looking up at him in despair
Garrus froze. Shepard grimaced at her question before coming closer.
“Kitty, these people… they are no longer themselves.”
She sighed
“Wouldn’t you say death is better than them continuing to suffer with what that bastard of a doctor did to them?” Garrus asked carefully.
She closed her eyes.
“You are not them, my Love. You can still think for yourself. You are not as far gone as these poor people” Garrus added, guessing her train of thought and doing his best to dispel them
Erinyes had a single tear fall before she got a hold of herself and steeled her nerves. She looked up at Shepard
“We are killing this bastard, right? To avenge all these people’s lives he destroyed?”
Shepard stalled a moment
“Wouldn’t it be better for him to pay for his crime? To serve time?”
Erinyes growled.
“No, these people are all dead. He deserves to be slowly tortured until he is dead too” She countered.
Shepard sighed.
“We are not judge, jury, and executioner Kitty.” He explained calmly. “Let’s find him first and see what he has to say before deciding what to do”
She stared at him, studying his facial features and body language for any clues to what he was thinking and planning. Shepard hid them well. She let out a frustrated sigh and allowed Garrus to lead her to the next door by her shoulder.
“He will pay for he has done, Darling” Garrus cooed, rubbing her back in what he hoped was a soothing manner.
The door led to another hallway with a door directly in front of the one they had just exited and another door to the left.
“Why is the layout of this ship so strange? It makes no sense. Having this many hallways and support structures directly in front of doors. Having that layout would be counterproductive to defending your position while helping an enemy entering the room. Why can’t the layout look more like the Normandy?” Erinyes asked, irritation lacing her tone.
Garrus felt incredible pride.
“The Normandy was collaboratively designed by Humans and Turians. The layout of the Normandy’s CIC is a purely Turian design”
“Is this ship a Human design?” She asked skeptically at Shepard.
“Maybe,” Shepard commented with a shrug. He led the group to the door on the left.
Erinyes tensed, readying herself.
The door swooshed open
Erinyes felt her adrenaline pumping, her nerves on fire as she clutched her assault rifle.
Inside was a cockpit and it was completely empty.
How anti-climactic.
The group backtracked to the only door left to go through and inside was a new alien to Erinyes. She had seen them briefly on the Citadel but did not get to see one up close.
Like all the rooms on this dreaded ship, the room was dim. That didn’t bother the Vextra since she saw better in dim light. The alien in front of her had a narrow long face that bulged out near the eyes and had two horn-like appendages that curved inward, the tips slightly overlapping.
The iris of his eyes were a steel grey color and had tiny dots in black reminding Erinyes of a starry night sky if stars were black. The hide of the Salarian was a muddy brown and he had red markings from the corners of his large eyes to where the cupids bow would be on a human. His lips sat very low on his face and she assumed he was very old by what she assumed were wrinkles that made the hide on his face reminiscent of tree bark.
The stature of the Salarian looked odd to the Vextra, the way he stood looked wrong to her eyes with how his spine curved back, looking like he may topple backward or lose his balance with his long limbs and weirdly shaped legs.
The doctor wore a high collared purple outfit with color blocking of a bright lavender against a dusty purple. On his chest was a grey color blocked design with subtle yellow piping on it.
She thought his clothing was the least strange thing on that alien.
“Thank you! Thank you for saving me from those things” The Salarian cried out.
Erinyes bit back a growl.
“Commander. That’s him. That’s Dr. Saleon.” Garrus glared at the doctor as he spoke.
“What?” The Salarian sounded alarmed “My name is Heart. Dr. Heart. Please get me out of here” The Salarian pleaded
Shepard gave Garrus a look and Garrus nodded
“I’m positive that is him.” He turned his attention to the doctor “There’s no escape this time, Doctor. I’d harvest your organs first, but we don’t have the time” Garrus’ words and tone reminded Erinyes of a snake striking and inflicting deadly venom into their prey.
“You’re crazy.” He looked at Shepard “He’s crazy.” He looked at the hardened faces of the four in front of him
“We’ll take him in. Drop him off with the military” Shepard decided, voice firm
“But… we have him. We can’t let him get away. Not again!” Garrus objected
“He deserves to die Shepard. You saw what he did to those poor people out there!” Erinyes added, her voice quivering in her desperation for justice
Shepard sighed. He expected Erinyes to object to his order, but having both Erinyes and Garrus do so was disappointing. Erinyes came from a background very different from his own. He had more patience to help her see different perspectives. But he expected more from the prior C-Sec detective.
“If he dies, we’ll never know what he’s been up to, or how he did it. We’ll take him in, interrogate him, and he’ll serve his time”
That left a sour taste in Erinyes’ mouth. Shepard’s idea of interrogation did not include threatening and she assumed it didn’t include torture either. How could they get adequate information without doing either of those tactics?
“I’ve…” Garrus sighed “Okay, you’re right.” Garrus acquiesced. He turned his attention to the Salarian and glared at him, wishing he could strangle him instead of what was going to happen to him. “You are a very lucky Salarian. You owe the Commander your life”
The Doctor looked like he was doing the Salarian equivalent of rolling his eyes before he responded “Oh. Thank you so very much” his words dripped with sarcasm and Erinyes wanted to drown his words out with knifes in his throat. He ran and drew his weapon, a small rifle.
The group rained bullets on him before he had the chance to aim. Erinyes got closer to the doctor and kicked him in the concaved area where one would assume ribs were. The doctor didn’t move. She grinned.
Justice served
“And so he dies anyway. What was the point of that?” Garrus asked, incredibly irritated
“You can’t predict how people will act, Garrus. But you can control how you’ll react. In the end, that’s what really matters” Shepard responded, clapping the Turian on the back.
Erinyes pondered his words.
“Yeah. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like you, Commander.”
Erinyes looked around the room. Medical equipment and lockers lined the room, all having some stains of different species blood. Erinyes felt sick, and left the room. Garrus followed her, leaving the Spectres to loot the area.
“Are you okay?”
Erinyes pulled Garrus into a hug, needing the warmth and safety he provided. She rested her forehead on his keel.
“You were right. Death is better than the horrible life that doctor forced them to endure” She let out an unsteady breath. Garrus held her tighter to his body. He saw how much seeing others who had undergone experimentation was weighing on her. “If the Citadel had allowed the death of his hostages all of these people could have been saved” She shuddered. Garrus began rubbing her back hoping it would soothe her.
“Shepard was right though, it wasn’t the right call.” He murmured against her hair. She sighed against him, her breath still unsteady from her warring emotional mental battle raging within her.
Notes:
Nihlus can be such a dick.
Chapter 30: Hold the Line
Summary:
The crew head to Vermire, not knowing what is waiting for them there. Before they arrive Erinyes talks to Ashley and Shepard.
Notes:
I'm not going to lie. Writing the Vermire mission was a pain in the ass. I tried to condense it as much as possible but still had to split it up into multiple chapters. I have it in 2 parts. They are long.
As always some dialogue was changed, but the majority of it was left the same.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Ashley, I was hoping I could get your help with something” Erinyes asked
“Of course, what do you need” Ashley answered. They had just finished their Vextran/Human sparring session and headed to the weapons bench to have a break. The marine turned towards the Vextra, leaning on the bench and gave the woman her full attention.
“I wanted to get some date ideas.” She admited nervously, looking down and kicking her foot softly
“Oh! Glad to hear things are better between you and him.” She reponded, her tone betraying her thoughts. Erinyes may have forgiven Garrus but Ashley had not.
“We are headed to the Citadel after Virmire to resupply before going to Noveria. But I don’t know what there is to do there” her voice slowly got quieter
After her abduction the idea of being around a lot of people filled her with even more anxiety. She would rather not go on the Citadel if she had the choice.
Keska was still out there after all.
“You know, you don’t have to leave the Normandy to go on a date. You can do something on the ship”
Erinyes looked up surprised. She had not thought about that. Ashley smiled. “You like cooking, you can make the two of you a special meal and then get some candles and go to one of the observatory decks and enjoy each other’s company.”
“That’s a great idea! Thank you so much Ash” Erinyes said gleefully. “Can I… can I hug you?” She asked awkwardly. Ashley laughed and opened her arms to have the Vextra throw her entire weight into the marine’s waiting arms. Ashley laughed at her behavior. Even with her entire weight thrown at the marine it wasn’t enough for her to lose her balance.
She was growing into her own person slowly and Ashley was happy to see it.
The two bid each other their farewells and Erinyes headed to her room to start planning.
After the Saleon mission and seeing the changes in her own eyes that Garrus had made. She wanted to make a step forward to where they had been before the fight occurred.
She went over the list of the food supplies they still had and grinned. She would make an extravagant meal and give Tali some of the excess.
She still had not touched the reswi, the bovine meat she had enjoyed on one of their first dates, yet.
Plus, with no spices blended in with the roasted vegetables, it would be thick and disgusting for the Spectre to drink.
Added bonuses all around.
She made a list on her tech on what she wanted to do and ransacked the emergency supply closet for some candles. She would need to add them to the list when they resupplied and pay for them herself.
Grinning with her plan in motion she started thinking of the right time. It would have to be after Vermire.
She wanted to keep the date a surprise.
She still had to ask Shepard for help on a completely different matter. With a deep breath she headed to the CIC in search of the illusive Commander.
“Looking for me Kitty?” Shepard asked as she nearly passed him.
“Yes. Do you have a minute to speak?” she looked around at the support staff “Alone?” she added and Shepard followed her to her room. She dropped the Sgt. Katz illusion and took a deep breath.
“What going on?” Shepard probed.
“Keska, my rapist, will not stop attempting to attack until he captures me.” She began looking down. Fear had seeped through her bones and could easily be deciphered through her tone at the admission being spoken aloud. She took another deep breath to calm her nerves and emotions. “Could you help me?”
Shepard grinned at her. Happy she asked for help
“How can I help?”
“If he will not stop I want your help to go to Wejesu and stop him myself” she explained, more conviction in her tone.
Shepard sighed. “You know I don’t agree with going around and assassinating people”
“I know him well enough to know he won’t stop. He thrives off of watching others suffer” she shivered as images entered her mind
“Even still, going to a world where he is one of the leaders… it’s a suicide mission”
She sighed.
“I have an idea of a plan, using Slanai tech we can get to the Xree residence undetected and take care of him, or for your sake, try to talk with him” she added with an eye roll. “He deserves death” she ended with her voice going dual-toned
“I know he does.”
“He deserves to be killed in the slowest, most painful way possible.”
“Even still, you change when you kill for revenge”
“I have killed people for other’s revenge, Shepard. At least this way it is my own decision.”
“This would be a very dangerous mission”
“I am aware. Going in alone would certainly lead to my death. It’s why I am asking for help.”
“You said they lived underground. How would we even get there?”
“Each family has a secret entrance. They’re rarely used. I can get us in through the Slanai entrance” She explained.
Shepard looked at her body language. She was determined to do this. He sighed.
“I can’t do a suicide mission while we are currently doing one” He began
“I completely understand. I was hoping to do this after Saren was dealt with. Stopping the Reapers has to be a priority.” She interrupted. Shepard sighed once more.
“I will let you plan this out. After Saren is dealt with, if we are still alive, and if your plan seems like it isn’t a guaranteed suicide, we can go.” He paused for a moment in thought “I’m sure Garrus will insist on going.” She nodded “But besides the three of us… well, I’m not comfortable risking anyone else’s lives”
“I understand Commander. Thank you” Erinyes felt so appreciated and hugged the Commander suddenly. He patted her back awkwardly a few times before letting go and stepping back. “Thank you for making me feel like I belong. I feel like I have an actual family.” She had tears in her eyes.
Shepard gave her a soft smile.
“I’m glad. After everything you’ve been through that is the least you deserve” At his words a rogue tear escaped her eye and rolled down the cheek.
The ground crew met in the meeting room to talk about the upcoming mission as they got closer to Vermire.
A scratch in the intercom alerted everyone that Joker was joining the mission
“I’m reading a signal. Must be our Salarian infiltration team.”
The group looked at the holo projection of the planet below them
“Look at those defense towers” Kaiden commented with a grimace
“We’ll need to drop the Mako. We’ll go in hot and take them out” Shepard ordered, he looked at Erinyes
“Oh hell no, I outright refuse to get in the Mako with you driving, not with a firefight guaranteed.” She growled out and crossed her arms in front of her chest. The group let out a slight chuckle.
Shepard sighed “Fine, Tali I will need your tech expertise taking down those towers and Wrex, I could use your muscle”
Both nodded in understanding. Shepard glowered at Erinyes who looked like she was a kitten who figured out how to open the container of her food.
“I’ll get you underneath their radar Commander” Joker commented
“Let’s head out” Shepard commanded and the four left the Comm room to the Cargo Bay.
Erinyes gave Garrus a quick look and he gave her a smile.
They filed out of the room of their own accord.
“Attention passengers, I will be implementing my amazing skills as we use evasive maneuvers until the Commander and Co bring down the AA guns. Be ready for sudden movements and turbulence people. Joker out”
Erinyes sighed and shook her head, a soft chuckle coming out of her mouth from Joker’s antics as Garrus followed her to her room. Once inside she grabbed Garrus and kissed him hard. He returned to passionately return the kiss. Thrilled that things had gone back to where they once were.
The ship moved harshly to the right and Erinyes squealed as Garrus grabbed her in his arms, not allowing his mouthplates to leave her lips as he steadied them both against the wall. The ship moved harshly again and Garrus responded in kind. Keeping them both up and using the sudden movements to deepen the kiss further as Erinyes was held in his arms.
Erinyes giggled as he peppered her face in soft kisses, the ship lurching once again.
“This is more enjoyable than the last time Joker had to do evasive maneuvers” she hummed against the hide of his neck before placing a line of kisses alongside his mandible.
“Attention passengers of the Normandy. My skills using evasive maneuvers has now been completed. Commander Shepard brought down the AA guns. We are now on our way to meet the Commander at the Salarian base camp. Thank you so much for choosing to fly with the Normandy.”
Erinyes chuckled before gasping as Garrus bit her ear, she slapped him on the shoulder
“Joker out.”
Garrus brought her to the bed, covering her face in kisses before diving into her mouth again for their tongues to dance together again. Their hands traced the other’s body as they felt the Normandy slow and come to a final stop.
Garrus sighed against her shoulder. Not wanting for their make-out session to be over.
“Come on, Vashtera.” She breathed as she stroked his mandible gently. Garrus leaned into the touch as he looked down at her. “Let’s get this sorted and then we can resume” Erinyes offered. Garrus held back a growl of irritation before quickly swooping down and planting a soft kiss on the tip of her nose to watch her face scrunch up. She playfully glared at him as he got up and pulled her into his arms. He rested his head on hers and breathed her scent in deeply. “Garrus…” Erinyes warned
“I know, give me one more minute. I missed this.” He pleaded quietly and she leaned into him causing the Turian to trill.
The two left her room and headed down to the Cargo Bay. A commotion could be heard from the elevator. Erinyes tilted her head curious why everyone was so worked up
“What’s going on?” Erinyes asked
“We’ve been grounded” Ashley replied. The marine’s frustration rolled off of her in waves.
“What do we do now?” Garrus asked
“We wait for the Commander” Kaiden answered.
The group left the Normandy and she looked over the camp with tents sparsely taking over the beach. Erinyes mumbled her displeasure of having to walk in the shallow water in her light armor. With the mesh like panels the water seeped into her armor before receding when she lifted her leg out of the water.
Unfortunately, there was no other place for Joker to land other than the shallow water.
If Erinyes instead focused her attention away from the camp the planet looked like a paradise. Clear turquoise ocean water broke over rocks covering the beach in a blanket of sea foam. Craggy cliffs created a maze for the ocean water to fill. The sound of the lapping waves calmed her body from the stress of the unknown of this mission. A calm blue sky overhead with fluffy white clouds was above them. The place was purely idyllic. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sound of the waves and the salty sea breeze.
She frowned when she heard the Mako.
Ashley walked over to the Mako as it stopped in the shallow water. Erinyes stood away from the water.
“You don’t want to get in?”
“Vextra don’t mess with the ocean.” She commented. “What about you?”
“Turians tend to avoid water. Between our cowls capturing water and our weight making us a sinking hazard… well, we avoid it”
Erinyes nodded
“Why do Vextra not mess with the ocean?”
“We are too light and ocean waves can easily suck us into the sea, throwing us around until we drown.” She described quietly. Garrus hummed before smiling.
Commander Shepard, Nihlus, Tali, Wrex and Ashley walked in the ocean water to the shore to the Salarian Captain. Erinyes and Garrus followed suit, as did Kaiden and Liara. Once closer to the Captain, Erinyes could make comparisons to the other Salarian she had met.
The Captain had armor, whereas the doctor did not. The armor seemed to highlight the strange Salarian stance they had more than the civilian clothes the doctor wore did. He also looked completely different than the sadistic doctor.
The Captain’s eyes were darker, a red almond shaped outline adding depth to them. His hide was almost dual-toned and went from a lime green and shifted to a vibrant red. Unlike the doctor, the Captain’s face didn’t have the tree like skin structure. She could only assume that the doctor was much older than the Captain. The Captain had raised spots that formed a mosaic on the upper part of his head and in between the horn-like appendages was a line of vibrant red that was recessed from his green hide. Above his eyes cool-toned brown stripes curved inward to land in between his eyes. He looked striking, especially against his white armor that had red striped accents in the same red color as his skin.
“So what are we supposed to do now?” Ashley asked annoyed to the Salarian Captain when the two walked up to the Salarian.
“Stay put until we come up with a plan” The Salarian replied curtly. His voice was optimistic yet had a commanding atmosphere.
“I assume you are the one in charge here?” Shepard asked. The Salarian nodded “What’s the situation?”
“I’m Captain Kirrahe, 3rd Infiltration Regiment STG. You and your crew just landed in the middle of a hot zone. Every AA gun within miles has been alerted to your presence”
Erinyes froze.
“What are we supposed to do in the meantime?” Shepard asked.
“We stay put until the Council send us the reinforcements we requested”
Ashley glared at the Salarian, barely keeping her tongue in check since she asked basically the same question but gave Shepard information that she had requested.
“Uh… We are the reinforcements” Kaiden answered awkwardly
“What? You’re all they sent? I told the Council to send a fleet!” Kirrahe’s voice rose in his frustration
“We couldn’t understand your transmission.” Shepard explained “They sent me to investigate”
Captain Kirrahe let out a long arduous sigh
“That is a repetition of our task. I lost half my men investigating this place.”
“So what have you found?” Kaiden asked
“Saren’s base of operation. He’s set up a research facility here, but it is crawling with geth and very well fortified.” The Captain explained
“Is he here? Have you seen him?” Nihlus asked
“No. But his geth are everywhere and we have intercepted some comms referring to Saren. This is his facility, no doubt about that.”
“What’s Saren researching?” Erinyes asked
“He is using the facility to breed an army of Krogan”
“How is that possible?” Wrex asked
“Apparently Saren has discovered a cure for the genophage”
Erinyes glanced at Wrex. After one of her sparring lessons with Kaiden, her and Wrex had a long discussion of the genophage. She gave him a look he caught how sorry she was and he nodded briefly in response before looking at the Salarian for more answers
“What’s so important about curing the genophage?” Kaiden asked
Erinyes grimaced as Kaiden’s words.
“It was the solution to the Krogan problem” Wrex answered dryly
“We introduced the genophage to the Krogan population after the uprising. To quell their numbers. Without it, the Krogan will quickly overrun the galaxy. And these Krogan follow Saren.”
“The geth are bad enough. But a Krogan army… he’d be almost unstoppable” Shepard responded eyes closed in thought.
“Exactly my thoughts. We must ensure this facility and its secrets are destroyed.”
“Destroyed?! I don’t think so. Our people are dying. This cure can save them” Wrex growled out
“If that cure leaves this planet the Krogan will become unstoppable. We can’t make the same mistake again” The Salarian explained.
Wrex got in the Captain’s face, poking his finger roughly in the chest plate that hovered over the Salarian’s body as he let out a low growl
“We are not a mistake!” Wrex bellowed
Captain Kirrahe leaned back as Wrex yelled. Furious, Wrex stomped off to make sure his anger did not come out physically.
The sunlight bounced off of Captain Kirrahe’s eyes, and Erinyes watched the black shift to red.
He turned to Shepard after watching the Krogan stalk off.
“Is he going to be a problem? We already have enough angry Krogan to deal with”
Erinyes bit back her growl and her eyes drifted over to the Krogan’s retreating back.
“He’ll be fine. I’ll talk with him” Shepard responded
“I’d appreciate that, Commander. My men and I need to rethink-”
Frustrated, Erinyes snuck away silently and walked over to Wrex. He had brought out his shotgun and was firing shots into the water, growling as he did so. His bright red eyes more expressive than she was used to seeing.
She slowly slunk up to him
“What do you want Kitty?”
She wasn’t surprised that she was caught sneaking up to him. Although she was silent, she couldn’t hide her scent, and Krogans had the best nose of the known species of the galaxy. Or at least that was what Wrex had bragged about one time.
“After what the Salarian said I thought you’d want some company”
“I don’t”
Erinyes shrugged
“Too bad”
Wrex growled, and Erinyes did her best to stifle the shudder her body wanted to do as the memory of her meeting Wrex in the Cargo Bay months ago replayed in her mind. She took a shaky breath in to settle her nerves and picked up a rock.
“Bet you can’t hit this” she goaded with a smirk. Wrex glowered at her but nodded at the Vextra to throw it.
She added a bit of tech to throw the rock further and faster. She knew Wrex was skilled and would hit the rock with no problem. But she also had been in his shoes needing an outlet for the anger.
Unlike Garrus, she was not going to risk going to the med bay to help him do that.
She had been there and done that when she awoke on the Normandy the first time. And that was one punch from the Krogan. Wrex looked like he needed way more than that. The end result of their spar would probably kill her.
She let the rock fly and immediately the rock exploded as the shotgun blast.
She grinned at the Krogan
“Impressive” she encouraged. She snickered as she thought of how much she sounded like Garrus “Another?” She asked and Wrex barely nodded his head. Erinyes grabbed another rock and readied her body, gathering more tech to make it more difficult for him
She let it fly and Wrex once again blasted the rock to smithereens.
She grinned up at the Krogan. His eyes were still expressive but he was no longer glowering at her.
“I don’t agree with destroying the cure.” She said softly. She was not sure how far Salarians could hear. “If it were up to me we wouldn’t. I know how much that cure means to your people. But we also know Saren is manipulating people and treating them like tools. He is most likely doing the same with the Krogan. As a prior tool and slave, it isn’t a life worth living” She added, and patted him on the arm.
Erinyes saw Shepard and Garrus walking towards them. Both looking apprehensive, Garrus more so because she was so close to Wrex and had her hand on him. Worry radiated off of him like the gentle waves she was next to.
“Think about it. Your people deserve more than being treated as less than, like tools, for someone else’s agenda”
She patted him on the shoulder and walked towards Garrus who led her away from the Krogan. Once she was out of the immediate attacking distance Garrus’ worry dropped slightly, she caught his shoulders relaxing when she got into arms distance from him.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to speak to him” Garrus muttered quietly
“I didn’t realize you were in charge of my actions” she teased before sighing and getting serious “He needed to hear from someone who was” she paused seeing all the nearby Salarians “In a similar position to those Krogan, to hear it isn’t worth it.” She replied “I just hope he was in the right head space to hear it” she added. Garrus stopped so she could overhear Wrex and Shepard’s conversation
“This isn’t right Shepard. If there’s a cure for the genophage, we can’t destroy it.” Wrex growled, his anger spiking up.
“I understand you’re upset. But we both know Saren’s the enemy here. He’s the one you should be angry with”
“Really?! Saren created a cure for my people. You want to destroy it. Help me out here Shepard. The lines between friend and foe are getting a little blurry from where I stand.”
Erinyes grimaced. She really didn’t want this to get worse than it was.
“This isn’t a cure, it’s a weapon! And if Saren is allowed to use it, you won’t be around to reap the benefits. None of us will!” Shepard’s anger was spiking and Erinyes closed her eyes and took a breath in.
“That’s a chance we should be willing to take. This is the fate of my entire people we’re talking about.” Wrex got in Shepard’s face and Erinyes froze. Things were getting worse and she didn’t want to know what the outcome would be. “If you can’t give me a better reason than this to destroy the hopes of my people, then I’m done with you.” He aimed a gun at Shepard who returned the gesture. Erinyes gasped.
“I can’t let you jeopardize the mission” Shepard growled out
“So that’s it. All this time, and that’s all I get from you? How can you not see what this means to the Krogan? This base can’t be destroyed. I won’t allow it!” Wrex was more passionately angry than he was before. With a look in Wrex’s eyes and a long pause, Shepard lowered his pistol and stood normally. Shepard looked to be calming himself down
“These Krogan are slaves of Saren. Puppets, tools to be used and discarded. Is that what you want for your people?” Shepard asked.
Wrex contemplated and for a brief moment his eyes glanced over to Erinyes and met her pleading eyes
“No, we were tools for the Council once. To thank us for wiping out the Rachni, they neutered us all. I doubt Saren will be as generous.” He sighed “All right Shepard.” He lowered his gun “You made your point. I don’t like this, but I trust you enough to follow your lead. Just one thing. When we find Saren I want his head. If we are doing this, then let’s go” Wrex walked off headed towards Erinyes.
She gave him a soft smile
He stopped in front of her and Garrus momentary was unsure what to do.
“You were right Kitty. No one deserves to live like you did” he chose his words carefully. Erinyes smiled and nodded
“No one” she agreed leaving the conversation as cryptic as possible.
Wrex walked off to be alone.
A soldier walked up to her
“I’m surprised you were able to reason with a Krogan” he said offhandedly as a compliment.
Erinyes scowled
“You act like they are some idiotic species that don’t think things through” She growled
The Salarian paused for a moment
“But they are”
Erinyes glared at him before walking away. She had the urge to punch him but didn’t need the Commander to have any more problems than they had already
“I don’t like I like Salarians” Erinyes whispered quietly in Garrus ear pore.
Garrus let out a snort and led her to a tent close to where the Captain was previously.
She asked one of the Salarians, Commander Rentola as he introduced himself, to see what things she could buy. The wares were picked over unsurprisingly. Garrus contemplated buying a few things and Erinyes waited patiently for him to finish his last-minute shopping when she would get his full attention
“What is the plan here?” She asked Garrus. She assumed some semblance of a plan was discussed while she snuck off to talk to Wrex
“Don’t know yet” he responded, looking at her adoringly “The Salarians need time to come up with a plan”
Ashley beckoned the two over
“Guess we’ll find out now” Erinyes muttered
“…convert our ship’s drive into a twenty-kiloton ordinance. Crude, but effective.” Captain Kirrahe continued. The two had missed some of what he said, but still got the gist of it.
“Nice. Drop that nuke from orbit and Saren can kiss his Turian ass goodbye” Ashley retorted, a mixture of glee and anger in her tone.
Erinyes barked out a laugh at Ashley’s word. The marine looked at her and nudged her with her elbow. Erinyes smiled and returned the favor.
“Unfortunately, the facility is too well fortified for that. We’ll need to place the bomb at a precise location” Captain Kirrahe explained. Ashley’s smile dropped.
“Where do we take the ordinance? And how do we get it there?” Nihlus asked, smug smirk and arrogant atmosphere still there even though he had nothing to lean against.
“The bomb must be taken to the far side of the facility. Your ship can drop it off, but we’ll need to infiltrate the base, disable the AA guns, and pacify any ground forces first”
“You want us to go in on foot? We don’t have enough men” Kaiden responded concerned
“It does sound a bit risky. Is there no other way?” Shepard commented
“A distraction. If we use a distraction a small team could sneak in and take care of the AA guns” Erinyes quipped. The group looked at her “What? It is something my family would implement often. Chaos is a great weapon to utilize” she added nonchalantly and shrugged
“I… was thinking something similar” The Salarian was looking over Erinyes trying to think of what to make of her. “I’m going to divide my men into three teams and hit the front of the facility. While we got their attention, you can sneak your ‘shadow’ team in the back” Captain Kirrahe explained
“It’s a good idea, but your people are going to get slaughtered” Shepard responded.
Erinyes agreed. She had never been in a war. As an Operative even one death in their team would render the mission a failure, even if their objective was achieved.
Hearing that people would essentially be sacrificed for the mission to succeed sounded to her like a massive failure.
“Is there no other way to create a distraction?” Erinyes asked.
Captain Kirrahe again looked at the Vextra with her Turian illusion up and contemplated her words, taken aback from them
“Turians understand the need to sacrifice lives for the success of the mission” Captain Kirrahe mentioned and Erinyes blanched. Garrus stiffened next to her. The Salarian tilted his head as he observed the reactions of the group his statement had caused before continuing glancing at Shepard once more. “We are tougher than we look, Commander. But it is true, I don’t expect many of us to make it out alive. And that is why what I’m going to ask more difficult. I need one of your men to accompany me. To coordinate the teams.”
It was Erinyes’ turn to stiffen
“We’ll need someone who knows Alliance communication protocols” Shepard thought out loud
“I volunteer, Commander” Kaiden pipped up.
“Not so fast LT. Commander Shepard will need you to arm the nuke. I’ll go with the Salarians.” Ashley argued
“With all due respect, Gunnery Chief, it’s not your place to decide” Kaiden retorted
“Why is it whenever someone says ‘With all due respect’ they really mean ‘Kiss my ass?’” Ashley countered brutally. Erinyes and Garrus tried to stifle their laughter.
Shepard composed himself “Williams, you’ll accompany the Captain. No heroics, understood?”
“Aye, aye, Commander” Ashley responded standing at attention.
Shepard turned to the Salarian
“I’ll have the ordinance loaded onto the Normandy and brief your crew on its detonation sequencing. Do you have any questions?” Kirrahe continued
“The Normandy’s picking me up. How will your teams escape the blast?”
“We will engage the geth as long as possible. Once the bomb is in place, we will fall back to try and escape the blast radius. If we move quickly, we should be able to escape with acceptable casualties…”
Erinyes shuddered at the term “acceptable casualties.” She wasn’t paying attention to the rest of the Salarian’s words. The entire idea was foreign to her. But with the war with the Reapers approaching she had a horrible feeling it was an idea she was going to be forced to get used to. Making it through the war with no casualties was unrealistic. There would be mass casualties. She needed to get used to this concept of acceptable casualties.
“What if we have members of the ground crew help with the teams?” Erinyes asked “We could make rendezvous points for the Normandy to pick people up so the acceptable casualties are lower” Erinyes offered. Shepard smiled at her.
“That is a great idea Kitty. We will discuss rendezvous points with Joker later if that is alright with you Captain Kirrahe?”
“That seems acceptable” he answered, as he once again regarded the Vextra. “Besides Shadow, the other teams are Aegohr, Minnoval, and Jaeto. They were the initial settlements on our first three colony worlds. They are at the heart of Salarian territory to this day.” He paused for a moment. “These names will remind my men what they are fighting for. They must have a personal stake in the fight if we are to have a chance of success.” Captain Kirrahe explained. “I’ll let you discuss with your people who will be on which team. If you’ll excuse me, I need to prepare my plan and look at the map” He added, looking over Erinyes one last time in intrigue and curiosity, before pouring over a map to think of the best places to rendezvous.
The group left the tent to give the Captain his space.
Erinyes turned to Ashley and gave her a long hug. Ashley chuckled and patted the Vextra awkwardly on the head. Making the scene even more awkward since the Vextra was so much taller than the marine
“You will be safe, right?” Erinyes asked emotionally as she pulled away
“Of course,” Ashley responded “Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.” She ordered playfully before turning to the others “Same goes for you lot too, especially you LT”
“We’ll be fine. You’ll see” Kaiden added, his calmness something Erinyes needed. It made her feel like this seemingly dire situation was under control
“Yeah, I just… good luck.” Ashley added.
“Is there something you want to say Chief?” Shepard asked
“I don’t know. It’s just weird. Going under someone else’s command. I’ve got used to working with you… all of you”
“Don’t worry. We’ll see you on the other side” Kadien added, putting a hand on her shoulder.
“I know… it’s been an honor serving with you Commander”
“It is not the end Ash. We will all get through this” Erinyes added, grinning at the marine. Ashley mirrored it.
Shepard gathered the ground crew around him.
“We will all be helping with this mission. Ashley will be helping with coordinating the Salarian teams. Kaiden and Tali, I want you both working on the nuke. Wrex and Liara I want you to help with the Salarian teams. Garrus, I will need your sniper skills. Erinyes your Operative skills will be useful infiltrating the base. I want both of you with me.” The group nodded understanding their place and what was expected of them.
Shepard took a deep breath and looked at his ground crew
“It doesn’t matter if we are not in the same unit. We’re still a team. Watch each other’s backs, keep your eyes open, and fight like I know you can. We’ll all come out of this in one piece”
The group nodded and and airing forms of approval sounded in the air.
Shepard motioned for Ashley, Liara and Wrex to follow him as the four talked to Kirrahe about what team they would be paced on as well as liaison with Joker on here best to pick up the teams after the bomb was in place.
Erinyes sat on a boulder watching the waves as Garrus walked up behind her
“Have you ever fought in a war, Love?”
“No. I’ve only done solo, or mostly solo missions”
Garrus sat next to Erinyes and she leaned her head on his shoulder. He snaked his arm around her shoulders.
“It is an entirely different animal. There is a big possibility one of our fiends will die”
“No. Don’t say that” Erinyes blurted out suddenly and turned her body to look up at him franticly “None of them can die. They mean too much to me. They are my family” Erinyes pleaded.
Garrus looked sympathetic. Reaching out he moved her bangs out of her eyes.
“Everyone dies Erinyes.” He soothed calmly.
“I know that”
“So why is this so hard for you to grasp, my Love?”
“Our missions were deemed a failure if one of our own died” She responded. Garrus’ eyes got wide in realization. He pressed his crest to her forehead, before leaning in to give her lips a quick kiss
“Missions and war are different.” He calmly explained. She sighed
“I know that” She conceded
“I don’t know what will happen. But I love you Erinyes.” He announced quietly as he cupped her cheeks with his hands.
“I love you too Vashtera”
They saw the Commander and the Captain leave the tent and the Salarian soldiers line up. The couple walked up to hear what was going on.
“You know this mission and what is at stake. I have come to trust each of you with my life, but I have also heard murmurs of discontent. I share your concerns.” the Captain stepped closer to his troops and began pacing in front of them. “We are trained in espionage. We would be legends, but the records are sealed. Glory in battle is not our way. Think of our heroes; the Silent Step, who defeated a nation with a single shot. Or the Ever Alert, who kept armies at bay with hidden facts. These giants do not seem to give us solace here, but they are not all that we are. Before the network, there was the fleet. Before diplomacy, there were soldiers. Our influence stopped the Rachni, but before that we held the line. Our influence stopped the Krogan, but before that we held the line”
Erinyes glanced at Wrex and saw him scowl. He turned to look at him and she offered him a small smile and a nod. He returned it.
“Our influence will stop Saren! In the battle today, we will hold the line” Captain Kirrahe finished raising his arm in the air.
The Salarian soldiers roared their approval.
Kirrahe tuned toward Shepard “Good luck, Commander. I hope we will meet again”
Everyone separated into groups and with a nod Garrus, Erinyes, Shepard and Nihlus headed away from the others and went through a hidden alcove to a railing and jumped over it into the fine white sand and towards the water lined with dark craggy cliffs. After a short walk and keeping towards the cliff to stay hidden a crackle on their comm came through
“Comm check. Do you read me Commander?” Captain Kirrahe asked
“Loud and Clear” Shepard responded.
“Good. We’ll start our push. We’ll try to make it to the AA guns, but it might be up to you to finish the job.” Kirrahe explained “And Commander? If you see any way to undermine their defenses, we could definitely use the help”
With that said the group pushed forward.
“Shadow is on the ground. Repeat: Shadow is on the ground” Kirrahe voice carried into their comms as they pushed forward. “Chief Williams. With Aegohr team! Mannoval, Jaeto teams move! Time to get some attention”
Erinyes got Shepard’s attention, her tech pinging nearby geth as the group paused at a large boulder to use as cover. A shield came up and Garrus took it out as Shepard, Nihlus and Erinyes used assault rifles to help Garrus take care of the geth.
With the group focusing on the nearby geth Garrus looked at the outpost’s railings and began taking the large shields that connected together as a honeycomb structure to help the group when they moved forward.
Shepard took lead and led the group closer to the outpost before pausing as oncoming fire began showering towards them. Now located closer to the outpost, the geth firing at the group were behind the shields still up along the second story balcony. Garrus slowly picked away at the shields and once clear Erinyes crept closer with her tactical cloak on and finding cover closer to the geth began returning fire.
Garrus kept glancing over at Erinyes to make sure she wasn’t doing anything reckless. Thankfully she wasn’t, and it kept his stress and anxiety down. That was until he saw the laser of a sniper. He cursed under his breath seeing the sniper behind the group of shields he had not taken out yet. The sniper kept trying to shoot at Erinyes since she was the closest threat to them and his anger began boiling.
Erinyes, however, was calm and determined. This wasn’t the first time she had been in a position where a sniper was focused on killing her specifically. She waited for the shot, her hearing picking up the general location of where the sniper was and then opened fire in that direction. The shots peppering the shield, but not penetrating, merely weakening the shield the geth hid behind before she ducked into cover again.
Watching this Garrus calmed slightly but nonetheless took down more of the shields, starting at the one Erinyes had been focusing on first to help her out. When she noticed she found his eyes and gave him a smile and a small nod and saw the sniper focusing instead on where Garrus was. She growled and popped out of cover to lay fire on the sniper and getting a few hits in before she ducked under the cover.
She was fine if the sniper wanted to shoot at her. But the sniper sure as hell would not be firing on Garrus. With the sniper focusing on Erinyes once more Garrus aimed and shot the sniper in the optical lens, watching the white fluid pour from his shot as the geth fell to the ground before focusing on the remaining shields.
Nihlus and Shepard crept closer to the ramp into the outpost took out some more geth. The group waited as Garrus scanned the area for any more enemies while Erinyes did the same with her visor. When both of them told Shepard there was no danger the group followed Shepard up the ramp.
Shepard motioned for Erinyes to take down the geth communications and after a few minutes of her working through firewalls and systems designed to keep others out she was able to hack into the console and disable it. Garrus looked on with pride when she completed her task with a huge grin on her face.
She didn’t feel useless, she felt valuable.
They returned to the ramp and descended it and headed to towards the craggy cliffs.
“Something scrambled their targeting. We’ve got a shot! Chief Williams, take the heat off of Mannoval!” Captain Kirrahe’s voice cut through the silence the ground team had slipped into like a knife. Erinyes tensed. She was glad Ashley was okay but she was worried for Liara which had gone to help Mannoval. She kept her concerns private as they crept into the shallow water in between two cliffs and stayed towards the edges to stay hidden in case there were enemies above them. The cliffs opened to a small alcove with some boulders near the center of it. Her tech pinged and the group wordlessly got into cover as geth began opening fire.
Garrus quickly took out the shield the geth brought up as Erinyes crept closer and began picking the geth off with her assault rifle. Shepard and Nihlus joining her in the center of the alcove. Going in the direction the geth had appeared the group followed Shepard. Hoping the direction chosen would bring them to another outpost or to the facility that was their end goal. One of the cliff faces faded into the ocean with large boulders on that side and a ping from her tech had the group running for the limited cover the area had as a drone flew up and began firing at the group. The drone was fast and even with all four of them firing it took a few minutes for the drone to go down. Once it did go down the group didn’t have a chance to rest and recover as another drone flew in to take its place. The group paused to take a breath and for their shields to recover. Without proper cover they had to hope their shields would withstand the drones bullets. Thankfully they had.
When the groups shields recovered Shepard took lead and followed the sandy trail
“They’re calling sat-strikes! Jaeto, watch for comm stations! Williams, can you see anything?” Kirrahe’s voice cut through the silence again and the tension around Erinyes got thicker. Now she was worried for Wrex who was with Jaeto. She hoped the Salarians were not treating him terribly.
“Clear” Ashley’s voice responded. Erinyes let out a deep breath. The voice of her friend helped ease her tension.
The sandy path wove away from the ocean and in between two cliffs once more. Another outpost could be seen in the distance.
Luck was not on their side. Hearing the gunfire on the drones the enemies at the outpost were ready. There was little cover between where they had fought the last drone and the cover ahead of them. The geth were not firing. Garrus was, so the geth did not have a sniper. Which meant if they group rushed to cover there would be a few precious seconds where they were vulnerable.
With a nod from Shepard, Erinyes put up her tactical cloak and crept forward silently. The geth fired at her when she was in range. Peppering a few of her shields down, including the cloak Erinyes cursed and dove to the nearby cover hearing a dangerous growl behind her.
“It looks like the geth learned of my tactical cloak trick earlier and updated their optical software” Erinyes commented in her comm. She could still hear the low rumble of Garrus growl as he took out another of the geth’s shields and Erinyes peeked out of cover to shoot the geth who was now vulnerable. She couldn’t get many shots before the geth returned fire.
Erinyes could feel her energy drain as her body fought to keep her shields at full strength. She had regained all of her tech, and even with the ability to access it, she found the tech she used would drain her energy faster than before she was muzzled.
It was an uncomfortable and frustrating thing to learn while in the heat of battle.
Erinyes was forced to stay in cover with the geth’s seemingly endless tirade of bullets that chipped away at the boulder she was behind. A loud crack was heard emanating from the group she had left and a thump behind her with the added bonus of the bullets stopping had Erinyes sigh in relief.
“It’s clear on my end. There is something else I’m getting but it isn’t geth. Maybe the Krogan Captain Kirrahe mentioned?” Erinyes provided as she looked at her tech. Putting the assault rifle gingerly on the ground, feeling awkward since she knew it wouldn’t dematerialize since it wasn’t her Vextran rifle. Doing so felt weird.
“I don’t see anything in the immediate proximity Commander. I think it is safe for us to proceed, at least to the ramp” Garrus added. Shepard gave a nod to both of them and crept closer to where Erinyes was still crouched. Erinyes kept an eye on her tech for the enemy to get closer. It didn’t. “Are you okay?” Garrus asked concerned when he got closer
“Yeah… I… uh… my tech is draining my energy faster than what I’m used to. Having my shields up and waiting for them to return to full strength is wearing me down”
“I’m glad you are using the physical weapons then” Garrus uttered softly. He was trying to be optimistic but under the words and tone Erinyes could tell he was worried.
“Erinyes, where is your energy level at?”
“Around 70%, Commander. It should be closer to 90” She replied. The undertone of her worry seeped out
“I don’t want you using your tactical cloak anymore this mission. Same with you monitoring the area. I need you to reserve your energy. We don’t know how long this mission will take or what is in store for us.” Shepard ordered. Erinyes took a shaky breath in and shut down her monitoring software on her tech and stood up.
“Understood Commander”
“You will not be going ahead of the group again” Garrus growled quietly in her ear. The suddenness and his gravelly tone made her shiver and her knees weak.
Why was she so affected by how he talked?
It was never that way with anyone else.
Shepard led them up the ramp and Garrus switched to his assault rifle. Once he saw the charging Krogan he immediately pulled Erinyes back and she did not complain. Standing behind him she crouched and took fire, seeing a plasma containment shell she fired at it before returning her aim to the charging Krogan. He went down quickly.
With the Krogan down Shepard turned to a nearby console to take care of it while motioning to the others to check around the corner to check for enemies. Garrus turned to Erinyes when she matched Garrus’ strides. Putting an arm out to stop her.
“Stay here” He growled.
“Garrus” She said exasperated. She really thought the two were past this codling bullshit. She was getting more annoyed at the discussion they were going to need to have, again, and was not looking forward to him keeping her out of harms way and preventing her from fighting
“Vakarian” Nihlus hissed in annoyance when he noticed the two had stopped
“Please” he pleaded. She glared at him before rolling her eyes, sighing, and raising her hands up in acquiescence. He looked relieved and gave her a chaste kiss to her forehead before turning and readying his rifle and following Nihlus.
“Kitty” Shepard fired and destroyed the console “He cares about you. With you still not 100 percent he is going to worry about you more. Please don’t make him feel guilty about it” he added and put a hand on her shoulder. She gave him a look that clearly stated ‘I don’t want to talk about this now and mind your damn business.’ He chuckled softly before growing serious suddenly and giving her a hard pointed look that reminded her of when she got in severe trouble, like right after she went feral for the first time. She cowered a bit from the look and the memories associated with it. “If you two start arguing like you both did on Feros I will leave you here with the damn bomb” he threatened just above a whisper. She heard it loud and clear and her ears flattened more towards her head
“Yes, Commander” she responded quickly
“Good, now that that’s-” Shepard stopped when the two Turians returned, weapons down and relaxed. Erinyes tilted her head curiously.
“There is a passage up ahead Commander. It is clear for the moment” Garrus explained as he sauntered over to Erinyes and grabbed her chin to have her look up at her and kiss her quickly on her lips “Thank you” Garrus thanked her gratefully. He got very close to her ear and barely formed the word so only she would hear it “Kitten” she felt a shiver go down her spine and he nipped at her ear before smirking and sauntering off.
She wanted to get angry, to yell at his back and force him to return to where she was but Shepard’s threat lingered in her mind.
Was she really angry though?
Frustrated about how he was treating her on this mission yes? But what he had just said and done?
They had not kissed in public before. It was always in private. Then to intentionally nip at her ear and call her Kitten? She couldn’t say she was annoyed about it.
Notes:
The next chapter is almost twice as long as this one. I'm working on cutting it down. I didn't want to make Vermire 3 chapters long.
Writing these scenes was difficult and boring. It took me so long to write them.
The chapters after Vermire will not be as heavy as this one.
Chapter 31: Saren
Summary:
Erinyes continues with Shepard, Nihlus and Garrus on the Vermire mission and makes some horrible decisions in regards to Sovereign and Saren.
Will she make it out alive?
Notes:
Forgive any typos.
I didn't want to alter my posting schedule for this chapter so only read through it once.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“We’re getting pounded! Bunker up before the aircraft return!” Ashley’s voice ripped the idea from her mind momentarily. Was the marine going to be okay? That sounded serious
Down a ramp in between a gap between the tall craggy cliffs Krogan spotted the group and began firing. The group spread out since the narrow passageway meant limited cover. Garrus pulled Erinyes behind him to be her cover and she sighed sadly as her lack of her ability still ate at her. She hated not feeling like herself. She felt like she was in a different body that reacted slightly different.
If she survived this overall mission against Saren and returned to Wejesu, she would make it her personal mission to destroy all those damn muzzles.
She heard faint foot falls behind her and spun around and crept to where the group had come from and took care of the sneaky geth that was flanking them. Her eyes widened as another geth came out of hiding and fired a rocket at her. She dove back into cover as the rocket exploded behind her. The heat grabbed at her like large hands grasping her from all angles and the shrapnel from the rocket glittered in the sunlight as it rained down around her.
She hated geth.
The rocket got the group’s attention as they had taken care of the two Krogan firing and backtracked to help her take care of the geth.
Garrus looked at her with a small snarl and opened his mouth to comment until she shook her head slightly and motioned with her head to Shepard.
So the two had a silent conversation
‘I don’t want you in risky situations’ his look clearly said. She rolled her eyes and glared back
‘I wasn’t in danger’
He sighed before focusing fire on the geth who popped out of hiding finally and fired directly into the optical lens multiple times before the geth could fire another rocket giving the Vextra another pointed look
‘Don’t do it again’
She scoffed and gave him a look ‘Really?!’
‘I mean it’ his look showed
‘You’re frustrating’ He kept the look on his face looking at her expectantly. ‘Fine’ she looked defeated and looked away and a small sigh escaped her mouth. He moved her head towards his touching her forehead to his crest.
“I know this is frustrating. Please don’t be reckless until your tech is back to normal” there was an undertone of pleading for her to play things safer, his subharmonics softly buzzed anxiously around her.
“Fine”
He cupped her cheeks and gave her a look of love and gratitude before dropping a hand into hers and squeezing it.
The two caught up with Shepard who skipped over the platform that overlooked the gap between the cliffs the group was in moments prior and headed to another platform further down with shields already up. Erinyes tensed as they got closer to the shields. But the tensing was for nothing as there were no enemies on the platform. Her breath of relief was short-lived
“Captain Kirrahe’s been injured! Aegohr, form up temporarily with Jaeto. Hold that line!” Ashley could be heard voicing the order through their comms. Her heart squeezed. What kind of hell were they fighting? Was everyone alright?
There were no enemies on the platform but when the group got to the platform they were in the line of fire for the snipers.
Erinyes in her thoughts barely had time to notice the laser on her person before Garrus pulled her back as a sniper bullet cut through the air and sliced through her cheek.
Her gasp and critique of his man-handling cut on her tongue as a hiss of pain escaped it. The pain helped her focus and Garrus dumped her behind one of the shields for cover before diving to another one and picking the snipers off. The shield she was behind grew red as a bullet found it and her mind raced with what it could do at this distance. She couldn’t do anything against the snipers, but she was within range of a Krogan. She peeked slightly out of cover and fired unrelenting bullets on the Krogan until it went down and a few more to make sure it didn’t get back up. She let out a frazzled noise out of her mouth when a sniper took out her shield and she dove and tucked herself behind a nearby shield. She felt a bit of panic sink down being away from the rest of the crew but stuffed it down quickly.
“Snipers are taken care of Commander” Garrus yelled over the comm and she allowed herself a breath to calm her frazzled nerves. The rest that she could see were Krogan. Still a pain to take care of but not as dangerous to her as snipers. She crept closer to the group and helped Garrus fire on a Krogan while Shepard and Nihlus took care of the other one still alive. Once the threat was taken care of Garrus sighed and looked down. Noticing light blue blood droplets on the ground. He instantly rounded on Erinyes to see her cheek bleeding. He took out a packet of medi-gel and put a dot on his finger and swiped in at the cut. “Are you hurt anywhere else?” He asked as his eyes made a visually sweep over her for further injuries. She shook her head “Verbal answer” he ordered with a bite to his words clearly stating he was not going to tolerate any talkback
“No” she responded. He sealed the remaining medi-gel and put it away and wiped the blood rushing to drip off her chin. He held her gaze expecting an answer to his unvoiced question “It was from the sniper” she relented
“Why-?”
“Later, Garrus. Not now. I won’t be distracted again” she placed her hand on his arm still holding her cheek and walked past him.
“You okay Kitty?”
“Yes, Shepard. Sniper nicked me. It’s all patched up now”
“Good. Let’s head out”
The elevated path led to a T-junction. Shepard chose left which ended up being a dead-end with one lone crate to loot from.
Heading back the way they came, a door came into view. Shepard nodded at Erinyes to hack into the door control while he went and looted the storage locker.
“Holding ground. Jaeto around me. Shadow must be getting close. Wrex, take Captain Kirrahe to Mannoval” Ashley stated calmly in the comms. Erinyes felt some relief at the calm resonance in her voice.
Trying to remain focused as Garrus and Nihlus covered the two’s six, Erinyes broke into the door’s internal system and with a little bit of finagling with her Vextran override system, she overrode the door’s protocols. She stepped to the side to allow Shepard to lead once more and Garrus gave her a nod in thanks. On the other side of the door the dreary lights fell softly on the elevated walkway. Large structures came from below to help stabilize the walkway and could be used as decent cover. Turning onto a long pathway between two tall walls of concrete. Erinyes tensed. Nothing could be used as cover on this path. She felt exposed. She didn’t say a word and noiselessly stopped and let Garrus pass her and walked behind him.
“Thank you” he whispered.
“Kitty” Shepard called and motioned her to come closer and the three males surrounded her to cover her as she hacked into the security console. Keeping focused she activated her Vextran override system and hacked into the code they used for security and brute forced her way through the code as she created a back door and imagined herself digitally walking through it
“We now have access to base security. We can cut through the alarms from here. Maybe even trigger alarms on the far side of the base. What would you like me to do Shepard?” She asked and cocked her head to the side as she waited for the answer, fingertips at the ready, claws slightly extended as she waited for the order.
“What will happen if we trigger the alarm?” Nihlus asked
“I can make it so it will clear out the guards for us, but it may overwhelm the Salarian teams and be too much to handle” She explained. Silently pleading to Shepard not to do so.
“Just disable the alarms Kitty. We can handle any guards inside” Shepard ordered and she gave a curt nod as her fingers danced on the holo keyboard as she implemented the order. She silently let out the worried breath she had been holding in. Thankful that her friends wouldn’t have more trouble coming their way. It just meant she would have to do her best to help, despite her body not responding like it should.
“I was able to disable all the doors that this console is in charge of, including the two nearby. Though most of those doors are not inside the building…” Erinyes commented as she finished her tapping and retracted her claws. Shepard went to the far door and opened it, the rest of the crew close on his heels.
The door opened to a large concrete room with crates filling the space haphazardly. Almost like Saren was expecting trouble and making places to use as cover and ambush them. The air seemed thick in anticipation and it made Erinyes uneasy. The uneasiness added with not feeling like she could act normally on the battlefield. It left her feeling inadequate and frustrated.
Leaving cover with the others she let that frustration turn into anger as some of Saren’s minions and a geth destroyer rushed towards them. She ducked behind Garrus and fired insistently on the geth since the minions went down quickly. With the geth down the group crept closer and Erinyes activated her visor and scanned the minion. The information she was getting made her ill.
The minion was just a civilian, no armor, a weapon they probably didn’t know how to use. Their mind had black tendrils going through the neurons and pathways. The civilian’s own neurons and pathways were dimmed, the black vines were taking over and were in the process of changing and controlling the civilian’s mind by hijacking the electrochemical systems in the brain. It made her stomach churn
Shepard realized she was not following. They had cleared the room without her and when he noticed her staring at the civilian with her visor activated he began growing concerned.
“Kitty?”
“He was indoctrinated” she mumbled. “I know I mentioned it before. It was a theory we assumed had to be accurate. But to see it in person and what it was doing to this poor person-” her voice drifted off. Garrus could see she was visibly shaken and upset about the information her visor was showing her. He put his hand on her shoulder.
“Later, Darling. We have work to do” Garrus soothed and forced her to turn away from the indoctrinated civilian. She nodded an inwardly admonished herself. Turning off her visor so she could focus on the task at hand.
She was on the battlefield and getting distracted… again.
Why couldn’t she act like herself?
She knew the answer. She didn’t feel like herself.
She missed feeling like herself. Feeling confident in her abilities instead of wondering if she could accomplish what she would have done without her tech using more energy than it should have. Without feeling the anxiety of if she were in the process of fighting and then her tech shorting out or worse, passing out from being drained more quickly than she was used to.
She caught up with Shepard and Nihlus and headed to the stairs to the upper level of the room where a geth juggernaut was waiting. Garrus pushed her into cover to keep her safe. She barely had time to use her hands to soften her landing. Erinyes knew she was too far away to help and the familiar tentacles of feeling useless grabbed her and crushed her spirit.
Would she ever be back to normal? She hated feeling like this
The juggernaut went down and Garrus offered her his hand to help her up
“Sorry” he whispered and she nodded sadly and kept up with the others this time. Garrus noticed the difference in her actions and how she was feeling more depressed. Her ears were flattened on her head, tail drooped. Unfortunately there was nothing in the moment that he could do other than make sure she was safe.
Making it to the door Shepard attempted to open it but was denied entry. Erinyes sulked her way to the door and easily brute forced her way into the system to open it.
“Thank you, Kitty”
“Glad I can do something useful” Erinyes muttered bitterly at herself.
“You are useful, Love” Garrus replied, squeezing her shoulder
“I don’t feel like it” she countered and grabbed her weapon from her spine and walked through the door after Shepard. The next door opened without any difficulty
“Huh? Hello? Is someone out there?” A voice called out dazed and confused as the group walked down the hallway to the next door.
The next room had a few indoctrinated people who rushed at them.
“Okay… can we hold them here? Damn it, fill those holes! Come on, Shepard. Hurry it up!” Ashley could barely be heard over the gunfire behind her and in the room as the group shot at the indoctrinated people. Erinyes felt her blood grow cold. Ash was in trouble and her making the group drag their feet and wait for her was causing her to be in even more danger. She admonished herself and threw herself into the familiar mental ruts of her training. Hoping by doing so she could feel more like herself but more importantly keep Ashley safe.
The group went into the elevator and took it down. Erinyes felt like her body was on autopilot. The room opened up to some indoctrinated held in status with state-of-the-art lab equipment in massive qualities spaced out throughout the room in between the stasis indoctrinated husks.
A scientist saw them and yelled to alert the guards. She was taken down quickly as a Krogan rushed at Shepard. Erinyes backed up as she fired at him. “What is going on here? Where are those guards? Where is Saren?” He yelled.
“Saren” Nihlus seethed and attacked the Krogan with more gusto.
The Krogan doctor unleashed the indoctrinated turned husks in stasis and Erinyes put her back to Garrus and began focusing on the indoctrinated that surrounded them, taking them down as quickly as possible so the others could focus on the Krogan.
She could practically feel the subharmonics coming from Nihlus as his anger rose.
Erinyes kept firing, cursing when her assault rifle overheated and dropped it to activate her Vextran assault rifle and kept firing. When the Krogan went down the others helped take out the husks and Erinyes dropped to her knees, letting her assault rifle dematerialize as she caught herself before she fell to the floor.
“Erinyes!” Garrus yelled frantically in panic.
“Shit!” Shepard yelled in response as he was able to take inventory at the weak Vextra in front of them.
She wanted to cry. One fight, one stupid firefight had drained so much of her energy.
This wasn’t fair! How was she supposed to live like this?
“Kitty, energy level?”
“20” she muttered as she caught her breath, her vision blurring
Garrus helped her up carefully and helped her sit on one of the medical beds as Shepard looted the area of its valuables. She rested her head against his keel feeling incredibly weak. She looked at the ring on her middle finger, watching the red circuit pattern and allowed the box to materialize.
“Erinyes!” Garrus admonished her before she took out a shaker bottle with the familiar blue-grey colored liquid within it. She shook the liquid and then chugged it before putting the empty shaker bottle in the box and dematerialized it.
“Suvex?”
“I need energy Garrus, suvex will help me have the energy I need for this mission”
“How much?”
“2 grams. Less than the maximum and far less than the amount that led me to… well you know” she sighed “I hate feeling like this” she whined
“I know. We will find a way to fix you” Garrus promised, seeing that Shepard was finished he helped Erinyes off the medical bed and went back to the elevator, taking the nearest door that Erinyes had not noticed before. She had gotten to used to not paying full attention to what was around her and allowing Shepard to make all of the decisions.
That was a dangerous thing to do and she vowed to pay more attention to her surroundings. She pushed the thought as well as any other errant thought out of her mind to focus solely on the mission. She disconnected her emotions, which was getting more difficult to do and focused on separating her mind and body. Her body was a tool in this state, it was easier to ignore injuries and emotions in this state. Moreover, it was easier to focus on the immediate here and now, especially as the calming nature of the suvex began hitting her system.
Even if she wasn’t her normal self she would do the best she could.
They double timed it up the stairs. The dreary grey concrete blurred together as they wound themselves up the stairs. At the top, the room opened up on their left to show off the large cells and a dreary concrete wall on the other. The cells were lined up and the large panes of glass allowed the group to peer inside. It made Erinyes’ skin crawl and momentarily combined her body and mind she had worked hard to disconnect.
This room was set up almost like a zoo.
She struggled to untangle her emotions and push them aside to remain impartial and focused.
Shepard headed to the first cell to investigate what or who was inside. With how depraved Saren was she couldn’t be sure what she would see on the other side, animal or sentient being. Both were the same to Reapers, she assumed the same was true for Saren after months or more under a Reaper’s influence.
Inside was an indoctrinated Salarian writhing on the floor. Seeing the Salarian as a lost cause, at least at the moment, he headed to the next cell. The Salarian in this cell was more coherent.
“What do you want? I told you everything! I-” He stopped short when he saw the face of Shepard peering into his cell instead of a scientist. The Salarian became more frantic as he stayed hidden mostly in the shadow of the cell. “Who are you? Alliance? I knew someone would come. It tried to break me, but it couldn’t! I shut it out!” The Salarian rushed to get out. He was acting as if his very air was limited and needed to get the information out before he had no more access to air.
Erinyes wondered briefly what he was talking about.
“Slow down, I need to know where you came from” Shepard said firmly but calmly.
“Private Menos Avot of the Third Infiltration Regiment STG sir! Captured while on reconnaissance six days ago. Glad to answer sir!” the Salarian responded. He had listened to the request and had slowed his speech down. Something about him made Erinyes uneasy. But everything in this building had made her feel that way. Her mind went again to what her visor had shown her and she wondered what this Salarian’s mind looked like. She didn’t have the energy, even with the suvex to use her visor to scan for it. She leaned back against Garrus as the calming power of suvex held onto her a bit more. The Salarian was swaying back and forth lost in his own beat in his head. “Never any questions from these bastards. Just whispers and poking and cutting. I’d have said anything to get out and get some payback. That’s not too much to ask, is it? A little payback?”
Shepard ignored the question to ask one of his own “What did they do to you, soldier?”
“Experiments, but I don’t know what for. The effect of incessant whispering on my shortening temper? Who knows? I just need out” he answered, his fists clenching and unclenching, the swaying was growing more violent, as if the waves were getting larger and rushing to hit the shore, as his desire to leave the cell mounted
Erinyes looked at the other cells, Garrus’ talons tracing up and down her arms soothingly. She saw the Salarians trapped inside at different stages of mental anguish. She looked back at the first cell and then it clicked. A horrible theory she hoped wasn’t true
“Shepard, something isn’t right here” she voiced her concern
“If we don’t let him out, he’s as good as dead. We have to do something”
“Yes, leaving me here would be bad. Very bad. It’s too small and the noise just won’t go away. Whispering is loud, you know”
Erinyes gave Shepard a worrying look, her suspicions were now confirmed.
“I think he is indoctrinated” she whispered softly
“I need to get out. Let me out” The Salarian pleaded, his swaying stopping as his voice got more emotional and needy
“Set him free. He could help us”
“Shepard no” Erinyes pleaded
“If Kitty is right…” Nihlus narrowed his eyes highly suspicious of the Salarian, especially after hearing Erinyes’ thoughts.
“Yes sir! You’ll find I am very good at following orders!” The Salarian pleaded the words poured like running water from his mouth made Erinyes whine. “I should be. I hear them over and over. Why are they repeated when they are so simple?” Erinyes looked at Shepard with distress. Every fiber of her being was saying that unlocking that door was a horrible idea. Shepard motioned for her to open the door and she bit her lip from saying anything further. It was his call not hers.
She brute forced the door open. In her mind, alarm bells ringing clashed with the suvex calming fog, she had overlooked a critical line of code, not realizing until too late that the line of code she missed opened all the cell doors if one was opened.
“So damn simple!” The Salarian screamed before leaping and grabbing her by the throat. His eyes were wild and Erinyes clawed at his arms to get him to release her before a rifle shot rang in her ears and she was dropped to the ground as she struggled to breathe. More shots rang out as Erinyes fought to disperse the fog to think clearly.
“Spirits Shepard” Garrus snarled “She warned you and you put her life in danger, knowing she was low on energy” Garrus was trying very hard not to jump and strangle the Commander. His subharmonics pulsed wildly in his anger and worry
“Really Shepard, that was a horrible idea.” Nihlus looked unimpressed and crossed his arms in front of his carapace
Shepard leveled a harsh glare at the furious Turian, ignoring the Spectre, and kneeled in front of Erinyes who was massaging her sore throat.
“Are you okay?”
“Sure” she croaked out.
Garrus was pacing to get his fury out as he mumbled to himself so not to be insubordinate.
“Garrus is right, I should have listened to you” Shepard looked remorseful as he helped Erinyes up. “Next time, if there is one, please make sure you raise your voice to make sure my thick head listens” he spoke softly.
She nodded, still rubbing the stinging flesh. Garrus spat under his breath before heading over to Erinyes before gently taking her wrist in one hand, taking it away from her throat and her chin delicately in the other so he could get a good look at the damage. He snarled and glared at Shepard before taking some medi-gel and ever so gently applying a thin layer to the injury.
Erinyes sucked air through her teeth before she pushed her body and mind apart. The pain numbed when she did so, especially added with the cooling sensation of the medi-gel.
“Garrus, I am okay. Everyone makes mistakes,” she began. Garrus leveled Shepard with a death glare “Stop glaring at Shepard” she ordered, the change in her tone of voice jarring him and he focused on her again. “We have a mission to do. Our friends are counting on us and the more time we deal with this” she gestured to the four of them “the more danger we put them in” Garrus opened his mouth to retort. Erinyes cut him off immediately “Ancestors help me Garrus, not. fucking. now. We will have plenty of time after this mission. And if we don’t make it then it really didn’t fucking matter.” she turned towards a stunned Shepard and Nihlus. Her eyes noticed a computer console on the far wall and she headed over, breaking through the security measures and then quickly downloaded the information on her omni-tool “Can we go now?”
Shepard nodded and the men headed towards her and then down the flight of stairs.
Garrus grabbed her wrist and she leveled him with a pointed look and he let go and nodded.
“After” he repeated and she hummed her agreement and jogged down the stairs with Garrus.
Shepard opened the door and the few indoctrinated Salarians began running towards them firing their weapon at the group. Erinyes kneeled next to Garrus and fired. The room was laid out strange. Directly in front of them was another flight of stairs as if being the main focal point of the room. Going down the stairs led to a door at the foot of the stairs and a hallway that went behind the stairs and Shepard looted the crates there. Erinyes found these alien layouts for rooms and building so peculiar. The group backtracked to the door. Unfortunately the door was locked. Erinyes tried multiple times to hack in to or brute force her way in to disable the security protocol but with no luck. There was another console that was set to unlock it. The message she kept seeing was to see a specific doctor to get permission. She hissed in frustration before admitting defeat. She didn’t want to waste more time when getting to the other console would be easier.
The group had to backtrack all the way back to the room with the stasis pods to head through a door that led them outside to a pathway on an upper floor and right into the waiting geth who began firing. Erinyes growled, still frustrated over the console thing and fired relentlessly on the geth while grinding her teeth. She found trying to separate her mind and body was a constant thing she had to do and that too was frustrating her. Even the calming of the suvex wasn’t helping her frustration
Unlocking the door the geth was guarding was simple and took little to no time. The room they entered was large and had a desk where an Asari hunched over trying to hide. She was doing so very poorly, the blue of the tentacles showing above the desk.
“Don’t shoot! Please, I just want to get out of here before it’s too late” the Asari started as she stood, her hands held up non-threateningly, the dark of the scientist’s uniform contrasted against the gold stripe against her bosom.
“We’re not going to hurt you. Who are you?” Shepard responded, his voice was firm and the layers of calm the man seemed to have was impressive.
“Rana Thanoptis, neurospecialist. But this job isn’t worth dying over. Or worse”
“Or worse?” Erinyes muttered sarcastically to herself, having a good idea what she implied
“You think the indoctrination only affects prisoners? Sooner or later, Saren will want to dissect my brain, too!” Rana rambled panic stricken.
Nihlus made a noise. Months earlier she would not have understood what that noise meant. She would have assumed it was some weird Turian thing. But months of being near one in particular, and around both the Turians on the ship occasionally, she understood that noise well to mean something akin to Turian sarcasm without words meaning ‘color me surprised’ or ‘no shit’
“I thought this was a breeding facility” Shepard stated and Erinyes opened her mouth to retort before getting a knowing side-eye from the Commander.
She shut her mouth and let her Operative mask slip on.
He was playing her. Toying with her to provide him with the information instead of interrogating her.
It was a useful skill. One she would need to remember for later.
The Asari shook her head. “Not this level. We’re studying Sovereign’s effect on organic minds. At least, that’s what I assumed. Saren kept us in the dark as much as possible.”
Nihlus made the noise again, louder this time. His mandibles ticked against his jaw and his subharmonics were buzzing in irritation.
“You helped him and you didn’t even know why?” Garrus seethed.
“I didn’t have the option of negotiating. This position is a little more… permanent than I’d expected” Rana explained emotionally. “But I can help you. This elevator behind me goes to Saren’s private lab. I can get you in”
Nihlus’ eyes glowed darkly with the information and his desire but Erinyes beat him to speaking
“How can we trust you? How can we be sure you are not indoctrinated and not leading us to a trap?” She crossed her arms over her chest and glowered a the Asari.
The Asari shuffled on her feet before going to the desk and pressed some keys on the holo keyboard.
“See? Full access. All of Saren’s private files. Are we good? Can I go?”
Erinyes growled. She had not answered one of her questions.
It seemed Shepard was not happy either for he ignored her question and instead asked on of his own.
“What exactly were you studying here?” Shepard asked
“You mentioned experimenting organic minds with Sovereign. Elaborate” Erinyes expanded, barking the order at the end. They couldn’t afford to have the Asari spill everything. She just needed the basics. Shepard gave her a nod of thanks, thinking the same thing
The Asari eyed the Vextra up in down before explaining
“It’s that ship, Sovereign. It emits some kind of… signal. Undetectable, but it’s there. I’ve seen the effects. Saren uses it to influence his followers, to control them” Rana explained “It’s called indoctrination. Direct exposure to the signal turns you into a mindless slave, like the Salarians test subjects. But there is collateral damage, too.”
Erinyes glanced at Shepard asking silent permission to lead the interrogation. He held out his arm as ‘be my guest.’ Erinyes cracked her neck. It had been many years since she interrogated. The only difference this time was she wasn’t going to be allowed to use any torture.
She looked at it like a challenge. No touching. Words only
“Explain the collateral damage” Erinyes ordered, her voice was firm, direct and emotionless.
“Sovereign’s signal is too strong. Spend too much time near the ship and you feel it. Like a tingle at the back of the skull. It’s like a whisper you can’t quite hear. You’re compelled to do things but you don’t know why. You must obey. Eventually, you stop thinking for yourself. It happens to everyone at the facility. My first test subject was the man I replaced. Now I just want to get out of here before it happens to me” Rana word vomited.
“Why is Saren researching this if he is the one controlling it?” Erinyes asked harshly, using the incorrect information intentionally
“The signal comes from the ship. It makes us obey Saren, but I don’t think he controls it. Not exactly. I think… he’s scared it might be affecting him. Indoctrination is subtle. By the time the effects become noticeable, it’s usually too late”
“Explain the signal you mentioned” she ground out. The Asari talked too much
“Signal’s not exactly the right word. There’s some kind of energy field emanating from the ship. It changes thought patterns. Over time… days, maybe a week… it weakens your will. You become easier to manipulate and control. But it’s a degenerative condition. There’s a balance between control and usefulness. The less freedom a subject maintains, the less capable it becomes.” Erinyes snarled at the Asari
She stalked closer to the Asari scientist, her footfalls silent, controlled and graceful. The Asari looked startled over the predatory movement, especially at her silent footfalls in what looked like metal feet coverings, stumbling over her feet in an effort to put distance between the two of them. Erinyes was faster with longer limbs and easily closed the distance. She got her face close to Asari’s ear and snarled out quietly “I ask again, what makes you think you are not indoctrinated?”
Garrus could feel the malice rippling from the Vextra and her words. The Asari trembled and sputtered. Erinyes backed off, watching the Asari carefully as the scientist struggled to form a thought to defend herself. Satisfied Erinyes scowled at her and walked back to her original place. Done with her interrogation and intimidation. Also making her thoughts loud and clear for the Commander.
It was impossible to know if she was indoctrinated or not.
“I’m going to blow this place to hell and gone. If you want to make it out alive, you’d better start running” He responded. Erinyes smirked.
The Asari scientist’s mouth dropped in shock. Her nervous sputtering turning more panicked. “What? You can’t… but I’ll never… ahh!” She ran out of the office quickly
“I like the way you think Shepard” Nihlus chuckled as he watched the Asari run past him. Erinyes nodded her agreement “Kitty, that intimidation tactic was well done” Nihlus praise barely reached her ears. Erinyes was more focused on the console and had no problems finding and downloading the information on it since the scientist failed to lock it after unlocking the door next to it.
“Sweetheart, are you okay?” Garrus asked
“No, I don’t like people being used as test subjects” She stated, trying to keep her mind and body separate. “We can talk about it later, we need to finish this quickly”
The door led to another elevated hallway outside and directly to another door. The door held a small room attached to an elevator. The group filed into it.
“Garrus, is this building an example of Turian architecture?” She asked. A stunned silence came over the group
“No. Why?”
“Thank the Ancestors. Whose architecture is this building modeled after? The incessant and unnecessary wastes of space to make a stupid maze is mindbogglingly infuriating” she responded which got barks of laughter out of the men.
“I agree. I don’t know who designed this place” Garrus replied
“It’s not just this place. So many of the facilities and even ships that we have visited have weird layouts that don’t make sense” She followed up on her original thought.
Nihlus hummed in thought.
“I don’t think I really paid a lot of attention to the ship’s layouts I have been on. Probably because they are so small.” Nihlus pondered. “I believe a lot of facilities are modeled after Asari buildings”
“I will need to ask Liara then” Erinyes commented to herself.
The elevator doors opened to another door
“Seriously what the fuck?” Erinyes asked, throwing her arms out to prove her case to the others who let out attempts to stifle their laughter to keep focused.
She was glad to give the guys a bit of a reprieve from the high stress of the mission
The next door led to a more industrialized room, the floors were made of steel composite she would have seen on construction sites on Earth. The room opened to two ramps down to a lower level on either side of a lone elevated pathway.
As Shepard moved towards the center hallway Nihlus growled “Shepard, there’s another beacon, like on Eden Prime”
Shepard backtracked and then went down the nearest ramp down to the beacon. Erinyes noticed the Prothean design and grumbled her displeasure of the species. Garrus attempted to stifle the snicker from her reaction
“What?” She whispered harshly
“Everyone in the galaxy has a deep respect for the Protheans… except you”
“Consider that all Vextra” she commented dryly and got closer to the beacon and Shepard
Shepard got closer to it, reaching out to touch the glowing green mist that surrounded it. The beacon reacted to his touch and retracted, the beacon began glowing the same green color and branches of green encased around Shepard briefly before the beacon pulsed and light extended towards him like a push of a field, causing his body to stiffen and float.
Erinyes bit back her scream of horror as she saw the pain the Commander must have been in. His mouth open in a silent scream, and she ground her teeth in anger, hatred towards Protheans increasing two fold. The pain the Human was in did not last, he slowly closed his mouth, opened one eye, then the other and stopped arching his back as the pain lessened. She watched his eyes quiver, pupils dancing side to side as if reading something invisible in front of him. It seemed thoughts in his mind raced before he was cruelly dropped.
“Are you okay?” She whispered out in terror as Shepard slowly got up from the kneeled position he had dropped into. He grunted his answer.
Erinyes felt her whole-body tense and fear soak into it.
She gulped and followed Shepard back up the ramp. The middle-elevated hallway had a large holo console at the end of it and Erinyes stepped forward to start going past security measures to get the information held within. “I feel like something really bad is going to happen” she whispered as she worked, looking up and shrieking as the form of a Reaper loomed above her. She jumped backwards
“You are not Saren” The voice was deep, malicious and mechanical.
“Reaper” she stammered out, the suvex unleashed energy at that exact moment
The worst possible moment. She felt jittery and stress mixing with the cold rush of fear
“The name, the label, given by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they choose to call us is irrelevant. We simply are” the Reaper commented. She hissed her displeasure of calling the fuckers the same thing as the dreaded species she disliked “Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding”
Erinyes felt ill. It wasn’t a console but the Reaper’s mind she was going through
“There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign.” Speaking directly to Erinyes the Reaper added “You are not the image you show”
Erinyes was wrong, now she felt ill. She felt as if she had been dumped into glacial waters and held down. She couldn’t breathe.
She wasn’t aware of what was said near her. Only the Reapers continuous words bore through her terror filled mind “Life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in years and decades. You wither and die”
She felt a hand grab hers a squeeze. She felt air rapidly fill her lungs as if she managed to make it to the surface and her lungs burned from lack of breath
“We are eternal. The pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything”
“There is an entire galaxy of races united and ready to face you” Shepard growled
“Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken. The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fathom. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory, they are extinguished. The Protheans were not the first. They did not create the Citadel. They did not forge the mass relays. They merely found them, the legacy of my kind”
“Why would you construct the mass relays and leave them for someone else to find?” Nihlus asked, she could hear the ticking of his mandibles hitting his jaw, as she could Garrus’
“Your civilization is based on the technology of the mass relays, our technology. By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire. We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution. You exist now because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it”
She wasn’t even aware the fact she was laughing until eyes were focusing on her.
Where did her fear go? Now she only felt rage.
Her life was forfeit to the Vextra because of the Reapers. She was considered a tool because of them to destroy them.
“You are nothing. You hiding your image from me shows that” The Reaper responded and she snarled.
She was beginning to get lost in the rage. She desperately tried to dislodge her body and mind again with no luck as the righteous anger flowed through her. Vextran fear of these narcissistic assholes created the Operatives. She wanted to shake the Reaper up, show the machine that he was incorrect, cause his calm to slip and the true nature underneath to show through. A plan formed ceaselessly in her mind and without thinking of the consequences she dropped her imaging software.
Her species would never forgive her.
She was beyond caring what they cared about.
“A Vextra!” The Reaper seethed. She grinned maliciously.
“You have tried to destroy my species for so long” she goaded, anger lacing through to give it a bite. “But maybe the Human saying is correct. ‘Third times the charm’” She waited a moment before laughing bitterly, eyes dancing in malice “Oh wait that was last cycle. Oh well. Do you have any idea where we even live? What system?” She waited a moment and grinned wickedly “You considered the Vextra at the ‘Apex of their glory’ over 150,000 years ago. You failed to find us and have since. We escaped your culling, you demanded our end but we skirted around it. You are not as almighty as you claim to be.”
“Our numbers will darken the sky of every world, including yours Vextra. You cannot escape your doom”
“Fucking newsflash, dumbass, we have, and continue to, when we live into each new motherfucking cycle” she spat
“You’re not even alive. Not really. You’re just a machine. And machines can be broken” Shepard goaded with Erinyes
“Your words are as empty as your future, Human. I am the vanguard of your destruction. I will make your body a thrall, Vextra, and wrench your home planet from your rotting corpse. This exchange is over”
The glass broke and the hallway shook hard from the blast.
“Erinyes! Did you have to goad the Reaper?!” Garrus seethed as he grabbed her and shook her by the shoulders, fighting his body from shaking the Vextra senseless.
“I wanted to break through his mask and irritate him” she replied and got out of his clutches and looked over at the console. Wondering if it was safe to continue fishing about in what was essentially a Reaper’s brain. She decided against it, hoping what she had copied so far was enough. She didn’t want to risk a backdoor for the Reaper to infect anything later.
“Commander? We got trouble” Joker called in
Erinyes’ eyes scanned the room and found a console tucked into the far corner. Deciding it was much less likely to be a Reaper brain she hurried over and brute forced her way through as quickly as possible. She didn’t need to be told that if Joker was calling in saying trouble things were dire.
“Hit me, Joker”
She saw the size of the documents “Anyone have an OSD thing?” Erinyes asked. Garrus handed her one, still pissed off at her earlier behavior “Thanks.” She downloaded everything as Joker replied
“That ship, Sovereign? It’s moving. I don’t know what you did down there, but that thing just pulled a turn that would shear any of our ships in half” Garrus gave her a pointed look as his subharmonics pulsed in his fury. Erinyes sheepishly looked away.
Maybe goading the giant death machine wasn’t the brightest idea
“It’s coming your way, and it’s coming hard! You need to wrap things up in there—fast!” Shepard looked at Erinyes expectantly
“Done” she yelled and grabbed the OSD from the console and handed it back to Garrus who slid it into a pocket for safekeeping.
“Let’s head to the breeding facility. Joker can begin picking up everyone after we set the nuke. Kitty” He motioned at her body. She flushed forgetting she had dropped the imaging software and reapplied it.
Erinyes barely focused on where they were headed. The computer that the scientist had used to open Saren’s office also unlocked most of the doors inside the facility. All she could pay attention was the stress in Garrus’ body language, his incessant growl through clenched teeth and his pulsing angry subharmonics.
Opening a door to go outside was a geth waiting to ambush them that charged at Shepard and Nihlus who quickly took care of before Erinyes even exited the door. She took out her weapon in preparation to fight the geth or Krogan they would come across.
“The geth are turning! Shepard must be getting close. Jaeto, circle around! Keep them here! Keep them…” Ashley’s transmission was cut short when the group went into the next room. Erinyes tried to focus but she found it difficult to disconnect her mind and body to go into the focused mode her training had drilled into her. It frustrated her as much as Garrus seemed frustrated by her. The room had nothing in it so they went to the door on the far side of the room and went outside again. A bridge came down to connect the pathway and the group got their weapons ready for the enemies on the other side of the bridge.
Erinyes held back behind Nihlus and Shepard as Garrus held back to watch their six. The group shooting at the charging Krogan. She took cover as Nihlus and Shepard kept moving forward as she exited cover to shoot off short bursts of fire at the Krogan that were charging at the two men in front of her. Garrus’ sniper rifle blared behind her, helping injure the Krogan charging after the one the three were firing at so not to overwhelm them. Erinyes jumped to the next cover that she saw to get closer and continued her short bursts of firing before crouching in cover. After the five Krogan finally went down, she looked over at Garrus who gave her a curt nod to silently tell her the coast was clear. She breathed a sigh of relief. She respected Wrex but hated fighting against Krogan. They were formidable enemies. She shivered at thinking that the Reapers wanted Krogan as their slaves and how devastating it would be. The door at the far end of the elevated open hallway lead to an indoor hallway made of concrete and bland colors that reminded Erinyes of sewers on Earth, without the water and the stench. The curved hallway led to yet another door.
She wanted to make another comment on the stupid architecture of the facility but one look at Garrus’ body language had he keeping her mouth shut. The door led to an outdoor staircase that started abruptly at the door. “This is stupidly dangerous. Stupid architecture” she grumbled her displeasure as she went down the stairs. They continued up a ramp that curved around the facility and overlooked the craggy cliffs and ocean. It would have been a beautiful place to take a walk and relax on a break had the place not been doing such horrible things.
“You were right” she whispered, Garrus looked at her “I shouldn’t have done what I did to the Reaper, I should have stayed silent. I was just so… angry. Everything the Vextra had done to me was because of the Reapers. I should have kept my cool. I’m sorry” the buzzing of his subharmonics calmed slightly.
“I hope we don’t pay the price from your words” he told her as softly as he could, it still came out harshly. She winced
“We need to take down that turret. It could punch some nasty holes in the Normandy” Nihlus ordered as he ducked into cover the railing could provide and began firing at the Krogan waiting on the roof of the facility the ramp was leading them too. Erinyes took cover and began firing too, not happy part of her body could still be shot at even when crouching. She could only take so many shots before her energy waned and her shields failed..
“Stay in cover” Garrus ordered her. She looked at him confused and he said her least favorite word combination "Spider geth" and she nodded. One shot from that thing and her shields would fail and she would get hurt badly. She shivered in fear. Hating how weak she felt even with the suvex boost and how annoyed she was with her body. The three men left her in cover to try and to get the geth to focus on them and not her and fired at it while it jumped around. Erinyes felt miserable for not being able to help.
“Kitty” Shepard yelled and motioned to the crates and she dashed over to it and got herself as close to the wall as the others used themselves as bait, moving around so the geth could not take a decent shot at them while they continued to fire at it.
Garrus fired at it when it landed on the far wall on the building and watched it fell to the ground
“Finally” he growled out. He looked over at Erinyes and the anger on his face ebbed away. She looked miserable and scared. She had already apologized he needed to be kinder to her. Not being able to trust your own body must be incredibly frustrating. “Are you okay?” he asked gently. She shrugged her reply and gripped the assault rifle in her hands tightly.
“Drones” Nihlus cautioned and the three left to take care of them. Erinyes slid to the ground dejectedly as she waited to follow until the bullets stopped firing and ran to catch up. They went up a flight of stairs and she immediately went to the turret console and hacked into it easily now that she understood the systems everything on Vermire tended to use. She disconnected and crashed the turret system to make sure it stayed down. She still was miserable, but happy she could at least do something helpful.
“Kitty down” Shepard ordered as more drones swooped down along with geth, She flattened in cover and sighed. “Drones are down” and with that she peeked out of cover and helped with the geth, not daring to stay out of cover for too long. The elevator dinged and the doors opened.
“Shepard!” Erinyes yelled her warning as Garrus pulled her behind him. The four fired at the geth in the elevator and her breathing quickened. She did not like being this close to enemies right now.
The transmission crackled in and Ashley could be heard once more “Nice work on that gun, Commander. We’ve got the other one in our sights.” The group entered the elevator and took it to where Erinyes hoped was the heart of the breeding facility. She wanted off this planet and back on the Normandy.
The elevator opened to a dim concrete hallway with a sharp corner that led to another door. Erinyes groaned at the stupid architecture showing its ugly face again.
“There’s the gun. Clear those geth and get those charges set” Ashley ordered over the comms.
The door opened and immediately the group was fired upon by geth and the spider geth stalkers. Garrus unceremoniously pushed her to the corner to keep her safe and took cover on the other side taking aim at the stalkers while Nihlus and Shepard exited the door outside and took cover out there to pay attention to the other geth. Erinyes waited impatiently, her anxiety riding higher and she focused on her breathing. She hated feeling this out of control of herself. She was still beating herself up for what she had said to the Reaper. She felt so stupid to let her anger take over her like that.
She was trained better than to do so.
“Coast is clear” Garrus stated after checking the area a fourth time. Erinyes exited to a shaded area with metal support structures on either side, and the ground moist. Erinyes felt exposed with the building looming over her. The group rushed to the other side and once there they got an update from Ashley
“Charges are set. Everyone get low. Now!” A distant boom could be heard. Erinyes felt elated. Good news. She needed that. The door opened to a similar set up, massive support clamps on either side loomed above the group as they connected to the building beside them and a waterfall spread water that covered their feet. Erinyes scowled as her feet got wet, the water seeping through the mesh fabric of her catsuit. The water smelled of muck and dirt.
“All right! Nice work! That’s one less thing to worry about!” Joker said elatedly. “Commander, I’m bringing us in. It’s as close to the site as I can”
The Normandy landed, some support staff exited the aircraft with Kaidan and another soldier carrying the bomb. Tali was not far behind, fiddling on her omni-tool double checking their work.
They got closer to a column where the water swirled and drained next to it and set the bomb there.
With the bomb set in place Kaiden reported to Shepard, Tali standing next to him
“Bomb is in position. We’re all set here”
“Commander, can you read me?” Ashley asked worriedly. Erinyes’ stomach dropped
“The nuke is almost ready. Get to the rendezvous point, Williams” Shepard ordered
“Negative, Commander. The geth have us pinned down on the AA tower. We’ve taken heavy casualties. We’ll never make it to the rendezvous point in time”
Erenyes couldn’t seem to breathe, her breath hitching in her throat.
“Get them out of there, Joker. Now!” Shepard commanded
“Negative. It’s too hot! Can’t risk it. We’ll hold them off as long as we--” The transmission crashed.
“It’s okay, Commander. I need a couple of minutes to finish arming the bomb. Go get them and meet me back here” Kaidan commented
“Kitty, stay here and help Kaidan, Tali with me. Up to the AA tower. Move!” Shepard ordered. Erinyes opened her mouth to retort but closed it quickly. She had been a burden to the team the entire mission. Of course he was going to replace her the second he could. Knowing the logic of it didn’t help much though.
“Yes, Commander” she uttered ashamed that she was such a letdown. Her face downcast, her tail drooping low and her ears lay flat against her head. She dared to look up at Garrus who was eyeing her warily, seemingly lost in thought on what to say. He gave her a quick chaste kiss and touched her forehead to her crest briefly “Stay safe” she whispered and he nodded and left to double time it catch up to the others.
The Normandy took off to pick up Mannoval at their respective rendezvous point.
She turned and got to work helping with the bomb. Arming it was pretty straight forward and within no time the bomb was set up and ready to go. She tried to not have the panic of the situation overwhelm her.
“Heads up LT, we just spotted a troop ship headed to your location” She heard Ashley on her comm. Erinyes paled. A troop ship was coming here. She looked around. There were two soldiers, Kaidan and herself. She felt the panic bubble and focused on her breathing. The geth jumped down from the ship that swooped in with a roar. Taking out her assault rifle she began firing, allowing Kaidan enough time to use his comm to update the others.
“It’s already here. There’s geth pouring all over the bomb site”
“Can you hold them off?” Shepard asked
Garrus felt his heart stop. He was okay leaving Erinyes at the bomb site because he was expecting to go into a dangerous situation and thought the bomb site would be safer.
He couldn’t have been more wrong.
Now he felt like he couldn’t breathe and was helpless. His mind going haywire. His mind and military training telling him to be a good Turian, that one life was not enough to be insubordinate for. His heart telling him he was better off dead if she died.
“There’s too many. I don’t think we can survive until you get here” Kaidan responded, using the bomb for cover as he attempted to make the few final adjustments needed to set it while Erinyes covered him. “I’m activating the bomb” at those words she looked over at him in shocked horror.
Was she going to die?
She hissed as a bullet tore through her shields and into her left shoulder. She took cover and calmed her breathing. She did a silent prayer to her Ancestors to get through this.
There was still so many things she wanted to do. So many things with Garrus that she was regretting not doing because of her fears. She wanted to cry but pushed it aside and kept firing at the geth that were trying to surround and overpower them.
She needed to keep firing.
Time seemed to slow down as she waited for the reply of her Commander. She didn’t want Ashley to die, but she realized in that moment that someone was. Either her and Kaidan, or Ashley. She grit her teeth in frustration. She didn’t want any of her friends-her family, to die. She needed all of them.
It wasn’t fair!
“Alenko! What are you doing?” Shepard replied. She breathed a sigh of relief as a volley of bullets flew over her. Maybe there was a chance she would survive this.
Garrus wanted to rip Alenko’s head off. He was signing not only his death certificate but Erinyes’ as well. He looked at Shepard in emotional turmoil and loss. Nihlus caught his gaze and gave him a look of sympathy. His subharmonics shrieking in a high pitch tone only Nihlus could hear.
“I’m just making sure the bomb goes off. No matter what” Kaidan replied “It’s done, Commander. Go get Williams and get the hell out of here” She felt her breath hitch and tears threatening to spill as she continued fighting.
Keep firing
Don’t stop firing
She was going to miss feeling Garrus touch on her body
the taste of his lips
the feel of his talons on her scalp and him playing with her hair.
She let out a shaky breath and took down another geth as anger flowed through her and she blinked away her tears.
“Screw that! We can handle ourselves. Go back and get Alenko and Kitty” Ashley retorted bitterly
Garrus could not think of another time he agreed with Ashley at such a deep personal level. He held extra respect for her knowing she was asking Shepard to sacrifice herself for two others of the ground crew. She may be human but she was acting like a proper Turian.
He did not envy Shepard at this moment having to essentially decide who was going to die.
He decided though that if Shepard decided to help Ashley he was going back to help Erinyes. He couldn’t live without her. Imagining a life without her lips on his mouthplates and her body against his was not a life, it was a physical and mental prison he would never escape from.
“Alenko, radio Joker and tell him to meet us at the bomb site” Shepard ordered. Erinyes felt the weight on her shoulders lift.
She was getting another chance. She was not dying on this dreaded planet.
But Ashley was. She felt long fingers grip her heart and squeeze it. Rage filled her and she snarled as she fired and took down another geth, the angry beeping of her rifle telling her it was overheated. She let out a frustrated scream and grabbed the pistol from her spine and continued firing. She was not close enough to be as accurate as she was with the rifle which made her growl in angry frustration.
“Yes, Commander, I…” Kaidan answered
“You know it’s the right choice, LT” Ashley interrupted him, her voice emotional which made those long fingers squeeze her heart tighter. She choked back a sob that threatened to come out of her mouth. The anger she felt over this situation heightening and bringing out her more feral side, her growling growing more dangerous as she fired and switched back to her rifle to continue taking down geth one by one.
“I’m sorry Ash. I had to make a choice” Shepard said regretfully. Erinyes’ growl deepened and she saw blue, firing with abandon
“I understand, Commander. I don’t regret a thing” Ashley replied, her voice forlorn, knowing her fate was sealed. She heard her comm beep and she touched the lower earring on her right ear to activate her comm “Kitty?” Ashley asked, her voice soft and emotional. Erinyes paused and put her back against the cover she was using.
“Yeah”
“I want you to know that I see you as one of my sisters. And as my sister I want to give you one last piece of advice because I’m-” her voice cracked
“Ash-”
“Kitty, don’t” she admonished the Vextra and Erinyes stayed silent “I know you had a rough past but I want you to take one thing to heart. Live with no regrets. I don’t regret getting to know you or our times sparring and teaching each other. Don’t let your past make you regret not doing things with Garrus. He can be an ass, sure, but he loves you as much as you love him.” Erinyes heard gunshots behind her and tears flooded blurred her eyesight
“Ashley…” she couldn’t keep the emotion out of her voice
“Kitty. Live with no regrets, remember that. I love you little sister” The transmission cut off and Erinyes struggled to get ahold of herself so she could continue fighting the geth. She heard a grunt and saw one of the soldiers go down. Wiping the tears that continued blurring her sight she forced herself to steel her emotions and shove them aside to focus on the here and now.
“Ashley may not die, she could still make it.” she found herself mumbling to keep her emotions in check
With Shepard’s decision made Garrus did not waste time and ran as fast as he could back to the elevator, tapping the console and growling at frustration as he waited for it. He felt a huge weight on his chest, anxiety riding high and licking at his heels as he thought of the danger he had unknowingly left her in. Anxiety growing further, now gnawing on him as he thought of the mission as a whole and how her tech couldn’t keep up with her and what she was trying to do and hoped and prayed to the Spirits that she was still alive. He flexed his talons thinking of shredding the geth with his own fingers if he had to if she was injured
Erinyes dropped to the floor, barely escaping the geth stalker’s shot that was aimed at her. She growled furiously, her eyes growing darker, pupils dilating as she took in the information quickly around her. She took her omni-tool and activated the shields on it to give her a boost and left cover shooting at the stalker to give the soldier she forgot the name of some reprieve, diving into cover nearby before the shot it aimed at her found its mark. She breathed deeply. Emotions, mind and body separated. She nearly felt normal in her feral state. Her mouth at a constant snarl, showing off her double fangs on one side as she clenched her teeth in focus. She left cover as it jumped, following its movement and firing continuously as she dove into cover again. Kaidan took out another geth before she heard the swooshing of a door behind her, she swiveled around, weapon ready and breathed out in relief seeing Garrus run in with the others on his heels. He fired at a stalker before going into cover near her and popping out to kill a geth before switching to his sniper rifle.
“You are injured” he mentioned
“A scrape” she replied curtly. Her dilated pupils caught movement as the stalker jumped and she fired at it quickly, watching it finally fall to the ground and snarled maliciously in triumph.
He looked her over seeing her dark, stormy eyes that seemed to be swirling in rage.
“You are feral”
“Yes” she answered nonchalantly, crouching out past him to take down a large geth that began charging “Garrus” she warned emotionlessly and Garrus looked and switched weapons again as they took down the large geth together before it reached them. She went back into cover as her assault rifle overheated again. Anger flaring up at the weapon to the point she wanted to throw it. A missile flew past her and she growled in annoyance. Knowing in her weak state that if she got hit with that she would die. She heard a grunt and looked over as Kaidan went down from a bullet. Her eyes grew darker, her growl growing louder and deadlier and her snarl getting more intense.
She crouched beside Garrus out of cover again and helped fire at the two remaining geth. She hated this planet and couldn’t wait to see it blow up, or at least this dreaded facility blow up. Garrus took out his sniper rifle and shot the geth sniper in the optical lens, dropping it immediately.
“Commander, set that nuke and get out! We can’t hold them… Damn it” Ashley yelled over the gunshots. Frustration and fear in her voice. The fingers squeezed her heart more and rage flowed through Erinyes’ veins unencumbered in her feral state. “Suppressing fire. Cover your flank! Cover your--” The transmission cut off again. Biotic blasts hit near Kaidan and Shepard’s feet and Garrus grabbed her and nearly threw her behind the column that was swallowing the water around it. She turned enough to see a strange looking Turian on a flying platform. He threw another biotic blast at Shepard’s feet causing the man to fly and fall in the shallow water hard.
“Erinyes, stay” Garrus ordered. She snarled at him. He gestured to the Turian “Saren”
Shepard rolled into cover as Saren sauntered closer, his platform landing near him. Shepard took out his pistol and aimed it a the Turian, shooting at him. Saren’s biotics formed an invisible shield around him and only showed up in a flash of blue light to stop Shepard’s bullets from piecing through it.
“I applaud you Shepard. My geth were utterly convinced the Salarians were the real threat. An impressive diversion.” Saren’s voice was cocky, full of himself. An air of danger flowed around him. He knew he was a threat. He turned to his former pupil “Nihlus” he greeted coolly as an addition. Nihlus growled in response. “Of course, it was all for nothing. I can’t let you disrupt what I have accomplished here. You can’t possibly understand what’s really at stake” Erinyes scoffed. Saren was a narcissistic asshole.
“Why are you doing this?” Shepard asked, staying in cover
“You’ve seen the vision from the beacons, Shepard. You, of all people, should understand what the Reapers are capable of. They cannot be stopped” Saren arrogantly attempted to reason with the Human “Do not mire yourself in pointless revolt. Do not sacrifice everything for the sake of petty freedoms. The Protheans tried to fight, and they were utterly destroyed” Saren continued his monologue.
Erinyes sighed and took a breath in to cut in before seeing Garrus’ pointed look. She let out the breath and slumped in a pout.
“Trillions dead. But what if they bowed before the invaders? Would the Protheans still exist? Is submission not preferable to extinction” Saren continued. Erinyes growled and rolled her eyes. Garrus mirrored her growl and gave her a look that clearly told her ‘do not do it.’
Her feral state was not thinking of her regret for speaking to the Reaper.
She was just angry
Her feral state fed off of her anger
Her face scrunched as she curled her lip, her eyes still dark and she looked up at the sky hoping to bite her tongue and that something would drown out the delusional idiots words.
The Ancestors were not going to be so kind.
She was not that lucky.
“Do you really believe the Reapers will let us live?” Shepard goaded.
Erinyes frustratedly brought out her arms while looking Garrus in the eye clearly arguing with him with body language. ‘Why can he do it but not me?’ Her face and body asked him.
Garrus rolled his eyes and jerked his head to the Commander. ‘He is the Commander’ he gave her a pointed glare ‘you are not.’
She gave him a haughty huff of frustration
“Now you see why I never came forward with this to the Council.”
It was Garrus’ turn to scoff at the Turian’s words
“We organics are driven by emotion instead of logic. We will fight even when we know we cannot win. But if we work with the Reapers-- if we make ourselves useful—think how many lives could be spared!”
Erinyes had to bite her lip and clench her fist to keep from speaking her mind and giving the haughty idiot a history lesson. The Reapers will use and discard any that attempt to side with them. Not fighting is asking for a slower more tortuous death as your own identity is wiped away from you.
“Once I understood this, I joined Sovereign, though I knew of the… dangers. I had hoped this facility could protect me”
“You’re afraid Sovereign is influencing you. You’re afraid he’s controlling your thoughts” Shepard barked out his challenge. Erinyes nodded her agreement. The Turian was obviously in some stage of indoctrination.
“I’ve studied the effects of indoctrination. The more control Sovereign exerts, the less capable the subject becomes. That is my saving grace. Sovereign needs me to find the Conduit. My mind is still my own… for now. But the transformation from ally to servant can be subtle. I will not let it happen to me”
Erinyes couldn’t help but roll her eyes. The former Spectre was fooling himself for thinking he had any control.
“Why are the geth following Sovereign?” Shepard asked. Erinyes’ ears picked up. She was curious about this too although she suspected the answer.
“They believe Sovereign to be some sort of god. The pinnacle of their own evolution. But the reaction of their deity is most telling, it is insulted. Sovereign does not desire the pitiful devotions the geth hurl at it. They are just tools, and no amount of belief on their part will change that”
Erinyes couldn’t help the boiling lava of her rage bubbling up inside her. Of course the Reaper was using the geth as tools. Using them as the Reapers use everything else. She wanted to scream.
The realization that the Vextra were doing the exact same thing to the Operatives as the Reaper was doing to the geth but under different circumstances made Erinyes’ stomach churn and bile rise up in her throat. She felt disgusted.
Garrus squeezed her shoulder, eyes glimmering in concern and she gave him a nod to tell him she was okay.
“But as tools, they are useful. They will survive this coming invasion. If organic life is to survive, we must also prove we are useful. We must work with the Reapers” Saren continued his arrogant speech.
Erinyes bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood. Her resolve to kill the Reapers, destroy them all solidified in her mind. She also wanted to destroy the Operative structure on Wejesu and make sure no other child had the dreaded procedure and had to go through scientific experimentation again.
She just needed to survive.
“Sovereign’s manipulating you and you don’t even know it! You’re already under its power” Shepard provoked through gritted teeth.
“No! Sovereign needs me. If I find the Conduit I’ve been promised a reprieve from the inevitable. This is my only hope”
“And you believe it?! You are too far gone Saren” Nihlus spat, his assault rifle aimed at Saren and ready.
Saren glared at his old pupil
“Together we can stop Sovereign. We don’t have to submit to the Reapers. We can beat them!”
Erinyes admired Shepard’s confidence. But she knew other species in previous cycles were just as confident and all that remained of them now was dust. She hoped that this cycle would be different.
Saren shook his head at Shepard’s words, as if shaking the words away so he would not have to hear them. “I no longer believe that, Shepard. The visions cannot be denied. The Reapers are too powerful. The only hope of survival is to join them. Sovereign is a machine. It thinks like a machine. If I can prove my value, I become a resource worth maintaining. There is no other logical conclusion!”
Erinyes shook her head. She almost felt pity for the Turian
“You were a Spectre. You were sworn to defend the galaxy. Then you broke that vow to save yourself! You went against everything you taught me and then tried to kill me in the most cowardly way possible” Nihlus snarled, his subharmonics pulsing angrily and mandibles pitter-pattering on his jaw to his internal war drum beat.
“I’m not doing this for myself! Don’t you see? Sovereign will succeed. It is inevitable. My way is the only way any of us will survive”
Erinyes let out a frustrated high-pitched groan.
“I’m forging an alliance between us and the Reapers. Between organics and machines. And in doing so, I will save more lives than have ever existed”
“Tell that to the Zha-til” Erinyes yelled from behind the column. Garrus glowered at Erinyes for speaking “They were a blend of mechanics and organics. The Reapers used them as thralls and then disposed of them, using them as foot soldiers to destroy the other species after completely taking over their minds. But they were not the only ones. The Densorin tried to appease the Reapers and then discovered quickly why the Reapers cannot be trusted. Their attempt to appease them ended up allowing the Reapers to destroy them faster. What makes you so fucking special when others have tried and the Reapers had used them only to throw them away when they were no longer a useful tool?” Erinyes gibed darkly, throwing out the Turian’s own words
“You must be the Vextra, Sovereign told me to torture you to unconsciousness.” Saren drawled. Ignoring her question he returned his focus on Shepard and Nihlus “You would doom our entire civilization to complete annihilation. And for that, you must die”
Erinyes muttered a curse and Garrus’ fury reached new heights. She could both hear and feel the thrumming from him. He was breathing hard and held his rifle against his chest ready hard enough that his knuckles were white under his gloves.
She immediately felt like an idiot for speaking.
The dark spiraling whirlpool of her eyes lightened at her mistake due to her rage
Why did she have to make things so much more difficult for him when Garrus only wanted to make sure she was safe?
Saren got back on his platform and had it hover above the rushing water. The group volleyed bullets at the Turian who used the platform to dodge them, while sending biotic blasts their way. He seemed to be particularly focused on Erinyes, Shepard and Nihlus. Focusing his anger of Erinyes’ goading dangerous individuals on the dangerous individual himself. Garrus gave a continuous growl as he used his sniper rifle to slowly increase the prior Spectre’s injuries, hoping to chip at his biotic shield to really harm him. He wanted to wring his neck until his spine cracked for threatening Erinyes.
Sighing in frustration Erinyes dropped her imaging software.
“What are you doing?!” Garrus chastised angrily
“He already knows I’m a Vextra. With the software down I have more energy to focus on my shields.” She responded matter-of-factly. Garrus lined up another shot and growled when it hit his shield.
Saren moved to the far end of the fighting area forcing everyone, save for Garrus, to move closer.
“Don’t” Garrus warned as he grabbed Erinyes’ arm before she moved out of cover behind the massive column. Her head swiveled to his, her eyes growing darker again.
“I swear Vakarian, if you tell me to stay put while more of our friends are in danger you will regret it” her words were dipped in malice and challenged him in a deep four-toned ominous voice that had the Turian shiver. He carefully considered his reaction as he gazed into her unblinking dark swirling eyes set with determination, her chin jutted out in defiance, her teeth clenched, waiting for him to challenge her. He took a deep breath and calmly asked
“Energy percentage?”
“Enough” She replied curtly. He let go of her arm showing how unwilling he wanted to do the action by his own eyes and whining subharmonics.
“Be careful please” he whispered, she nodded and bounded out of cover to get closer.
His heart thumped wildly in his carapace and kept firing on Saren, hoping for a window to do real damage while his visor monitored Erinyes. He muttered another prayer to the Spirits to keep her safe. They did so once and he hoped his luck with them had not run out.
When she approached, Saren’s platform came closer. She did not hesitate to lay fire on the Turian, who looked a bit shocked to see the new alien species. His shock did not last long and her pupils dilated enough to dodge out of the way of his biotic attack before it struck her.
She wished she could get closer to stab the motherfucker. With her sparring lessons with Kaidan she had learned quickly that doing hand-to-hand combat with a biotic was just as risky, if not riskier, than doing so with a hand-to-hand specialist Operative. A huge explosion came from Saren and the ground crew, aside from Garrus, flew backwards. Erinyes hit the ground hard, hissing in pain that illuminated from her head. For a moment all she could see was bright white and her hearing rang for a moment.
Saren briskly walked to Shepard who was struggling to get up, in his haze seeing an unconscious Kaidan next to the bomb before Saren grabbed him. Lifting him up by one hand that circled around his neck. Shepard wheezed as he struggled to dislodge the Turian’s grasp.
Erinyes struggled to get up, her hair sopping wet from the water and stuck to the fine velvet hide on her face, blocking her vision. She brushed it aside and winced in pain. Her vision was blurry and she fell backwards as the pain from her head radiated downward. She was still so angry and when she saw Kaidan, Tali and Nihlus sprawled out and unconscious, or winded, from the explosion Erinyes let loose a deep, feral growl from her throat, which got Saren’s attention enough to have him whip his head in her direction as alarms began to blare. Returning his focus on Shepard the Human sucker punched the Turian hard and dislodged his hand from his throat. Shepard fell hard to the ground. Saren came up to Erinyes and grabbed her by her hair and dragged her to his platform, determined to follow through with his task from the Reaper. She gasped in pain, her head sensitive and bleeding. Her vision still blurry and the motion making her nauseous. She gripped his wrist and with a feral scream ripped her claws deep into his wrist, aiming where there were no plates so the claws went through his hide. Saren growled in anger, his plans thwarted but refused to let the Vextra go. He needed her to come with him.
A sniper shot rang through the air and directly into the bone of the wrist holding Erinyes, dislodging his limb completely. The Turian roared in anger, Saren wanted to turn and fight those he saw as inferior but the alarms still screaming their warning had him retreat. He glared at the Vextra who was scooting away as fast as she could while trying to stop herself from succumbing into the darkness that was wafting into her vision. Garrus ran forward and continued to fire, the old Spectre, no longer distracted, kept most of the bullets at bay with his biotic shield. Shepard and Tali rushed to help Kaidan as Garrus picked up Erinyes and helped Nihlus to his feet. The Normandy swooped in and Shepard lifted Kaidan in a fireman's carry over his shoulders, the group rushing to the Normandy before it had fully lowered the loading dock and landed.
“Love, software now” Garrus insisted and she barely muttered the words to Ardi before letting the darkness claim her.
…………………………
Garrus cursed when he felt her body slack completely, a few moments believing she was dead as terror gripped his heart. He pulled her close, panic subsiding when he heard her shallow heartbeat and ran as fast as he could to the med bay, feeling his hand holding her neck coated in her blood.
He reached the med bay right as the intercom scratched above him
“Everybody hang on” Joker warned. Garrus widened his stance, Erinyes still in his arms as he braced for the impact.
“Put her down” Dr. Chakwas ordered urgently as she saw the Vextra’s blood running down Garrus’ hand and dripping to the floor. Her face contorted with concern.
Garrus did as ordered, breathing coming quick and shallow as he looked down at the sheen of light blue blood-her blood- that coated his gloved fingers.
“Garrus!” Chakwas yelled. Garrus blinked and looked up, not knowing he had zoned out. “Wash your hands and help me. NOW!” She ordered. Garrus rushed to do so, feeling the urgency from the doctor.
Hours later he was kicked out of the med bay to let Erinyes rest and he had no choice but to drudge up to the meeting in the comm room. The room felt empty without her.
“I…I can’t believe Ash didn’t make it. How could we just leave her down there?” Kaidan asked.
He had forgotten about Ashley. He groaned inwardly as grief and shame surrounded him.
“Williams knew the risks going in. She gave her life to save the rest of us” Shepard replied.
“She had the spirit of a Turian and died honorably. Her sacrifice will not be forgotten and her memory will be remembered in glory” Nihlus commented as he looked solemn yet emotionally withdrawn. Garrus agreed. Kaidan seemed a bit taken aback by the words, not well informed on Turian culture involving death and honor.
“But why me? Why not her?” Kaidan asked
“It wasn’t your call Alenko. I had to choose, I chose you”
Garrus could see Kaidan was troubled by what he had heard termed ‘survivor’s guilt,’ it was especially strong when you knew the one who died well.
“But if I had done my job, you wouldn’t have had to make that call” Kaidan responded distraught.
“It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t my fault. The only one to blame here is Saren.” Shepard redirected the marine’s focus
“Yes, sir. I’m… We’ll get it done” Kaidan stumbled over his words.
“Garrus, is Kitty alright?” Tali asked nervously, bringing the group’s attention to the high strung Turian.
“She is… resting”
“You were in there for hours” Tali commented emotionally, wringing her hands in her lap. Shepard placed his hand gently over hers. Garrus struggled to breathe. He had washed her blood off his armor multiple times but could still smell it on him. He sat at attention, back impossibly straight, hands in fists over his thighs and clenched his teeth. Talking about Ashley had his mind distracted. Thinking of Erinyes and the state she was in had him reeling.
Seeing the Turian in distress Liara opted to change the topic.
“Commander, excuse me for interrupting. But I have an idea. I think the beacon you found in Saren’s base was similar to the one you found on Eden Prime. It may have filled in the missing pieces of your vision. I might be able to help you put all those pieces together.”
“You want to join our minds again, don’t you? Okay. Go ahead” Shepard asked.
Garrus stopped paying attention. He felt his fear grip him, strangle him in a choke hold. He didn’t want to be here, he wanted to be beside Erinyes, to know she was still breathing, still alive. Nihlus and Wrex looked over to him and he realized his subharmonics were pulsing in quick high-pitched sounds of distress. Similar to the alarms blaring of the bomb, but for his emotional state. He stifled them as best as he could and tried to take deeper breaths to calm himself. But it seemed impossible. Like one person trying to calm the waves of a tsunami that raged inward, he felt like he was being swept away.
“Incredible. I… I never thought the images would be so… intense. I need a moment to collect myself.” Liara said wistfully after the melding had completed
“Did the vision make any sense to you?” Nihlus asked, still glancing at Garrus apprehensively, almost expecting him to lose it.
“It’s a distress call, a message sent out across the Prothean Empire. A warning against the Reapers, but the warning came too late” Liara explained
“What about the Conduit?” Shepard asked
“There were other images. Locations. Places I recognized from my research… Ilos! The Conduit is on Ilos!” Liara exclaimed happily. The mood lifted a bit by the good news but Garrus’ still felt oppressive and sour.
“I’ve never heard that name before” Garrus found himself uttering
“I’m not surprised. Ilos is in a region of space accessible only through the Mu Relay. But the Mu Relay was lost thousands of years ago. Nobody knows where it is” Liara explained. Garrus found it difficult to continue focusing and dumbly nodded.
“If nobody’s ever been there, how did you recognize Ilos from my vision?” Shepard asked
“I recognized some of the landmarks from photos and vids I’d seen from my research. I know of Ilos. I just don’t know where it is” Liara explained
“How do you lose a mass relay” Nihlus asked amused. The thought of something so massive being lost was laughable
“Its original coordinates would place it deep inside the Terminus Systems. Unfortunately, a star in one of the nearby systems went nova four thousand years ago. The shockwave sent the relay trillions of kilometers off course. Then the dust and radiation from the exploding star engulfed that entire region in a dense nebula cloud. Finding any object in space is difficult. Finding the Mu Relay inside a nebula cloud is virtually impossible. It would take decades”
“Are you saying it’s hopeless” Kaidan asked, not wanting more bad news.
“I’m afraid so. Unless you somehow find the coordinates for the Mu Relay. Then it may be possible to—oh!” Liara teetered on her feet unsteadily as her hand went to her forehead. Once the spell had lessened she looked exhaustedly at Shepard “I am sorry. The joining is… exhausting, especially after fighting all day. I should go to the medical bay and lie down for a moment”
“Dr. Chakwas should take a look at you” Shepard mused. He glanced over at Garrus “Go see Kitty Garrus” he offered. Garrus didn’t need to be told twice and left before Liara had a chance to move.
Tali scoffed at Garrus leaving behind Liara without offering to help her. “Do you need assistance?” Tali asked.
“No, I’m fine. Seeing Dr. Chakwas does not seem necessary. I just need some rest. Somewhere quiet” Liara said with a small shake of her head as she left.
“We’re done here. Dismissed” Shepard concluded.
Notes:
Vermire is done!
Thank God!
Chapter 32: Live with No Regrets
Summary:
Erinyes goes through survivor's guilt and extreme grief. Garrus tries his best to help her.
Remembering Ashley's last words to her "Live with no regrets," Erinyes decided to do something that she is incredibly nervous to do. Because if she dies in the next missions, she would regret not doing it.
Garrus gives her an out.
Will she follow through or will she chicken out?
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Erinyes was still in shock.
She had stayed in the med bay overnight curled in the fetal position racked with sobs hearing for certain that Ashley was gone. Chakwas let her leave in the morning, concerned over her lack of sleep after becoming conscious
She had found herself in the Cargo Bay on the sparring mat waiting for Ashley to appear.
She glanced over to the weapons bench, expecting to see the black-haired marine working at it.
The realization hit her like Wrex hitting her in the gut.
She was gone
She would never see Ashley again
She felt her heart tighten as grief washed over her like an ice-cold blanket. It felt suffocating.
Her friend, someone who had thought of her as her sister, was gone and she would never see her again.
Strong arms wound themselves around her and she was engulfed in the woodsy, metallic scent of Garrus.
“Let’s go somewhere more private” he whispered in her ear. He had gone searching for her when he woke up alone
He noticed the Salarians in the Cargo Bay area, out of which Captain Kirrahe had been observing her since she exited the elevator, saying nothing and just watching.
He didn’t need the Captain to think anything more of the Vextra to keep her identity secret.
He was thankful that she had her software up, if she hadn’t the situation would be dire.
He couldn’t wait for the Salarians to leave when they reached the Citadel.
Her steps felt like lead, her mind blank as Garrus led her to her room.
He took off his armor and let it fall to the floor of her room and sat on her bed, the weight of the grief of losing one of their one own resting heavy on him. He couldn’t find it in him to care about the mess he was leaving in Erinyes’ barely lived in look of the room. Even in his own space he would never do this. It was seen as disrespectful to his people. Disrespecting his armor was the same as disrespecting the Hierarchy.
She continued standing in shock as tears silently flowed down her cheeks.
It felt like part of her should had been ripped out.
Garrus looked up after a while to see her beginning to go in shock
“Erinyes” he softly called to her. Her eyes met his. He gestured her to come towards him. She did. Her body felt so heavy and foreign to her. She collapsed in his arms.
“Our mission was a failure” she whimpered against him, not caring that his oily sweat was permeating her armor.
“It wasn’t, it was a success”
“Ash died. It was not a success”
“She died for us to succeed”
Erinyes sobbed. Garrus held her closer to his body. Her heartbeat flooding his ears and helping ground the grief he felt
“She didn’t deserve to die” her voice cracked
“No, she didn’t”
He released her hair from her tie and took his gloves off to stroke her hair. He gently applied pressure to her scalp with his blunt talons and heard her sigh from pleasure. Being very careful to avoid her injury. Chakwas would clip his fringe if he brought her back to the med bay for reopening her wounds.
“I miss her” she croaked. Both his hands massaged her scalp and he felt her heartrate slow as she calmed down.
“I do too” he whispered. “She was a great marine”
“She was my sister” Erinyes whispered before falling asleep in Garrus arms, exhaustion finally allowing her brain to stop tormenting itself.
She felt worse the next day.
Why was it ok for her to survive when Ashley hadn’t?
She thought of all her friends and how they could be used against her to hurt her.
She admonished herself for opening up as she had.
She had given herself weaknesses.
The Vextra would not hesitate to use that weakness to their advantage to put her under their heel again.
She curled up in a tight ball and cried.
She was an idiot for giving herself weaknesses to be exploited.
Garrus stirred when he heard her quiet sobs.
He opened his eyes and mentally sighed.
She was acting as if she had never lost anyone close to her before.
He paused.
She had to have… right?
This couldn’t be her first
He gently grabbed her at her ribcage and pulled her back towards him until her back was flush against his carapace and curled himself in a ball around her, following the curves of her body with his own.
“Talk to me, Love. What are you thinking?”
“I gave myself weaknesses” she croaked being unwillingly cryptic.
“What?” He asked confused. That was not something he expected to hear her say in this situation
“I willingly gave myself weaknesses. Why did I do that? I’m so stupid” she groaned as she admonished herself verbally as tears fell from her eyes. Grief washed over her and lapped at her relentlessly like ocean waves against the shore.
Garrus was confused by her words. Slowly he began to understand
“Having friends is not a weakness, Erinyes. It is a strength. They can help you when you are not strong enough. They can work with you, doing things you can’t. Doing this all alone would be suicide”
“But I wouldn’t feel like this” she whined.
Be pressed his carapace further into her back, wanting to get closer.
He wanted desperately to take these feeling away from her.
“Everyone dies” he remined her softly and calmly. “Some people die sooner than others” he whispered into her hair. A waft of her warm spicy scent went into his nose and he stifled the groan he wanted to utter from his lips.
“I know people die” she retorted harshly, her tears stalling “But why did it have to be her?” She asked.
“It is not our place to ask why the Spirits do the things they do. That’s what my mother would say.” His words drifted over her skin like soft rain
Her tears stopped, but she still felt horrible
“Is this the first time losing someone close to you?” He asked cautiously. He already knew the answer. Her actions were the proof he needed to come to that conclusion. Yet he still uttered the words
“Yes” she whispered. She sighed before turning towards him and wrapping her limbs around his, needing his comfort. He pulled her closer, his head resting on top of hers after giving her head a quick kiss. “Does it go away?” She asked weakly
“No” he answered honestly “It just gets easier.”
“How do you make it not hurt so much?” She asked as she gripped his cowl as if letting go meant she would fall into the abyss of the dark recesses of her mind.
“You honor their memory. Live in a way they would be proud of”
Live with no regrets
Erinyes pondered Ashley’s words as she took solace in the comfort Garrus provided.
The lesson she learned from Ashley’s untimely death was how quickly life could end. This mission was getting exceedingly more dangerous. If her life ended tomorrow would she regret anything?
She glanced up at Garrus.
Yes, she would.
She would regret not going further with Garrus.
The smell of Garrus’ and her sweat that had intermixed and dried on each other’s bodies began assaulting her nose as she moved.
She needed a shower
Live with no regrets
She moved to stand, Garrus letting her go reluctantly.
“I need a shower” she stated. Her nerves wrought from grief.
He let her go. She grabbed his hand
“Join me?”
He stared at her in shock, eyes wide, jaw slack, mandibles wide
He heard her correctly, right?
There was no way she said those words in that order.
“Garrus” she prodded “Do you want to?” She asked again, her confidence waning further
“I… did I hear you correctly?” He asked confused
“Yes. Do you want to join me in taking a shower?” She asked
He dumbly nodded and stood, allowing her to lead him to the bathroom locking the door when they were both in the same small shower room.
She felt increasingly nervous.
What was she doing?
This was reckless
Live with no regrets
She deactivated the band around her waist showing off her pajamas to Garrus for the first time. She moved her eyes to the ground. Her anxiety rising, not wanting to see his face and his reaction
What if he got aroused again?
In the shower? Where his clothes wouldn’t hide it?
She really had not thought this through.
Her breathing quickened
His eyes roamed the black silky mesh that made up the pajamas she wore. They fluttered in her movements as they hung off her and flattered the curves on her body.
He hadn’t realized he had stopped breathing.
He slowly extended his arm out to touch her bare skin with his ungloved hands. Whispering his touch on her body.
He watched her shiver by the action and he stepped closer to her and kissed her neck softly.
“You look beautiful” he whispered reverently against her skin. He slowly allowed his hands to skim across her bare waist, shivering at the naughty touch of doing so for his species, and then downwards to her hips. Her shorts were small, barely hiding her from him.
He felt her breathing quicken.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Love?” He asked, giving her a way out.
She took a shaky breath in. She had been greatly enjoying the touch of his hands on her bare skin.
“No” she answered shakily but honestly. “But I don’t want to regret anything” she added trying to have confidence in her words but was unsuccessful.
“We don’t have to. We have time”
“Do we though? This mission is getting more dangerous. Time is not guaranteed” she responded. She turned away from Garrus, grabbing the band on her wrist and after a breath to steel her nerves, deactivated it. Her clothes shimmered before fading off her body, revealing her naked form in front of Garrus.
His breathing hitched again.
He had not expected this and had to carefully control his breathing to refrain from getting aroused.
He removed his hands from her and stepped backwards to remove his own clothing. His undersuit stuck to his plates in some places from where Erinyes was pressed into his body the night before.
He let the undersuit fall and turned the water on, reaching past her to do so.
He wanted to make this as comfortable as possible for her. This was a huge step forward for her. If she felt comfortable not facing him in the shower then he would be content.
More than content really. He was thrilled.
“Do you want to face me as we shower?” He asked. She shook her head no, head still facing down. His fingers touched her ribcage gently and pulled her closer to the shower.
He wasn’t going to press his good fortune.
Deciding in that moment not to press his naked form against hers as much as he wanted to
The warm water flowed down on him but most of the water spray hit Erinyes. She gasped softly as the droplets of water came into contact with her skin. She sighed from the feeling of the water falling on her.
Her fright of how Garrus would respond was slowly fading.
Keska would have pressed his body against hers and pressed her painfully against the wall spread her legs forcefully and speared into her as she screamed in pain in this situation.
Garrus was barely touching her, giving her space to relax and seemed happy to enjoy the moment. He was near enough to where she could feel his residual heat but her left a wall of air to exist between their two bodies to make her more comfortable. She was incredibly thankful of his consideration.
“Can I wash you?” He asked softly
“Um” She answered as her anxiety rose.
“Please?” He pleaded, whispering the word. He needed to touch her, make sure he wasn’t hallucinating or dreaming. He watched her nod slowly and she leaned out of the shower to grab her shower supplies from her cubby in the bathroom that sunk into the wall. She averted her eyes when she reentered the shower. Garrus took the basket from her once she was back in the shower in front of him.
“Where is your brush?” He asked, searching in the basket for it
“My hairbrush is in there” she answered and she took the moment to drench her body under the spray of the water
“The brush to wash your body with?” He asked. She paused
“I use a sponge” she replied. “The green sponge in the basket. The jar with the red lid is soap. The jar with the yellow lid is for my hair” She explained.
He gathered the three items and leaned over her to put them on the shelf in front of her, putting the basket outside of the shower area. His breath spread over the skin on her neck and shoulder when he moved closer and made her shiver in anticipation. She took the sponge and let it collect some of the water in front of her and then poured a tiny bit of soap onto to before lifting it for Garrus to take. She still seemed apprehensive.
He took it gingerly from her and softly let the sponge dance against her skin on her shoulders and neck. She moved her hair to move on one side to give him better access.
He got a brief look at one of her breasts, the pale sage green color on the swell of her breast stopped with the smoky green areola and nipple, the portion of the swell of her breast away from her center gradually darkened into the smoky green color that wrapped around her sides and back. He wanted to touch them. To massage them. To lick them
But not now.
He let the sponge dance along her back, his fingers tracing scars that acted like graffiti on her skin. He lifted her arm out to the side and brought the sponge down her arms, in between her fingers before going back up to her armpit, before going down the waist to her hips. He knelt in front of her, staring at the globes of her ass next to her tail that was quivering in between her legs. He wanted to move her tail and stuff his face in between her legs so badly but tampered down his desire, letting the sponge grace her legs and pawed feet before heading back up. He heard her breathing hitch in her throat as he neared her core. Her tail quivered more. He averted directions and let the sponge rub against her firm ample ass before going to her other leg, skipping her tail over and back up her waist and to her other arm.
He handed her the sponge so she could wash the front of her body.
Her breathing was still fast but by the blush he felt on her face when he passed her the sponge he was pretty sure she was getting aroused.
“Can I wash your hair?” he asked. Needing another reason to touch her, to give her pleasure.
“Yes” she said less hesitant and held her hand out in front of her for him to place his hand in hers.
She poured a small amount of natural conditioner in his hand. The smell of warm spices filled the small room
“How do I do this?” He asked
“Rub it into my scalp and throughout my hair to clean it of dirt and sweat” she explained gently as she washed her upper body with the sponge
Doing as he as was told he rubbed the conditioner into his hands and began coating the locks with the conditioner. Erinyes tilted her head back to give him more access. Getting to her scalp he began massaging like he had the night before. Carefully avoiding her injury
“Oh” she responded, closing her eyes as she purred, washing herself momentarily forgotten. Garrus grinned. He knew she loved it when he massaged her scalp with his talons and played with her hair. Touching her hair was one of his favorite things too. It was so foreign to him and it felt like silky water between his fingers when wet. Coated with conditioner he watched as it foamed up slightly from his ministrations. Happy that her hair was fully coated and that she was more relaxed she took over and tied her hair up. bending down slightly to finish washing her lower extremities and the front of her body.
Garrus took the time to get his shower supplies from one of the small cubbies in the bathroom and began scrubbing the dried sweat quickly off his body while she washed herself.
“Can I wash you?” She asked timidly.
Garrus felt his heart leap into his throat.
This day was too good to be true.
“Of course,” he answered and put some of the scrub on the brush. He handed it to her and faced away from her.
Her breathing shallowed as she turned to face his bare body.
Her eyes scanned the sinewy muscles pulled tight under his hide of his arms. Protrusions, his plates, came out of his body leaving valleys in between to help with movement to keep his species agile. His carapace was a series of layered plates jutting out and came to a wide point that followed his spine.
Taking a deep breath, she took the brush
“How…?”
“Scrub the plates and the hide in-between until the paste turns into a foam” he explained gently. His body itched to turn around and be face to face. He kept his breathing even and waited. He pressed his hands against the wall to keep them still. To help keep himself in the moment and more importantly, to keep him grounded so he had the best chance possible to not get aroused.
She touched the bristles
“Won’t this harm you? The bristles are coarse” she asked
He chuckled “No, the plates have metal mixed within it, and my hide is thick” he said with a smile and his face, breathing hitched as he felt the brush on his back.
She scrubbed gently, not wishing to hurt him. He heard him hum as he enjoyed the feeling of the bristles on his body.
She did as she was told, scrubbing until the paste began to foam before going to the next area. She balanced herself with a hand on his back as she scrubbed with her other hand, not realizing her doing so caused him to intake air sharply. She marveled at the feel of his plates and his carapace against her fingertips and how they moved as he breathed against her bare hand.
Her initial fear was dissipating and giving way to awe at the man in front of her.
She continued downward before pausing at his ass. His hip spurs jutted out but his ass was well defined and pure muscle.
“You don’t have to go lower if you don’t want to” he said calmly.
“I… I want to return the favor… but I… I am not ready to see” she gulped nervously
“Sweetheart, you won’t. Turians have our reproductive parts inside of us until we are aroused. Is that not the same with Vextra?”
“No” she uttered in confusion. “So if I kneel in front of you to scrub your legs I won’t see your…”
“No, you will not” he confirmed softly
She took a breath to steady her rapid heart and knelt down to scrub his legs. She tried not to look but was curious if he was telling the truth. As she scrubbed his upper thighs she glanced in-between his legs and let out a sigh of relief. He heard her and smiled
Feeling more confident she continued scrubbing his legs, curiously studying his spur before standing and scrubbing his arms.
She handed him the brush
“Thank you, Kitten” he whispered in a husky voice.
It took everything in him to not come out of his seam of his groin plates with her so close to him, knowing she was as naked as he was.
Fighting back his arousal was difficult.
“You’re welcome” she responded quietly as she once again examined his body from behind.
“I need to turn around to wash the scrub off.” He explained “May I?” he asked and taking a shallow breath in she wanted to say no
Live with no regrets
“Yes” she managed out barely above a whisper. She watched his muscles tighten under his hide. He was not expecting that answer
Neither was she
Why did she say it?
She almost immediately regretted saying the simple word.
He turned slowly, she covered herself with her hands and looked down. He touched her chin so she would look at him. Slowly taking her hips at a distance they spun so his back was to the water. He kept his eyes on hers as he put more of the scrub on his brush and brushed his body. He was using all his self control to not let his eyes wander down her body like they wanted to.
She felt like she couldn’t get enough breath in her lungs. His gaze was intense and passionate.
This was the most intimate thing they had done and she wasn’t afraid anymore. At least not of this.
“When do you need to rinse your hair?” He asked as he tilted his head.
She had completely forgotten she needed to rinse out her hair. Her face grew teal at the realization that she wouldn’t be able to cover herself and rinse her hair of the conditioner.
She didn’t want to have to ask him to turn and stare at the wall while she did so
Her inner emotions showed on her face
“Can I help you rinse the stuff out of your hair?” He offered.
“Uh…” her voice sounded small. “How?” She asked
He stepped forward, closing the distance between the two of them, keeping his eyes on her face. Before taking her head in one of his hands and tilting it backwards.
“Like this” he answered before removing his hand and stepping back after showing her his idea rather than telling her. He brought his hand to the water behind him to rinse the conditioner from it.
“Ok” she breathed out. He grinned before turning quickly to rinse the scrub off of the front of his body and then moved in front of her and positioned her in front of the stream of water.
She took the clip out once he closed the distance between them and her locks tumbled behind her like water falling off a cliff.
She tilted her head back and Garrus tossed his brush in the sink as if it were the least important thing in the world because in that moment it was. He wanted to touch and caress her, and doing so in this vulnerable and intimate way was something she was affording him and he wanted to dive face first into it. He let his fingers and talons weave with themselves in her hair to massage her scalp again since she enjoyed it so much. He was determined to make this as pleasant of a situation so they could do it again in the future and have her be open to doing even more than she was affording him now.
She let out a small moan fall quietly from her lips from the pleasure and relaxation she received from the massage.
She closed her eyes and found her hands reaching up and helping him rinse her hair out.
Her nipples touched the coarseness of his carapace and caused her to gasp at how close Garrus had gotten to her body. He tensed briefly. Trying to keep his breathing steady and not focus on the action
His fingers teased themselves against the back of her hands before weaving themselves between her locks to continue their massage on her scalp
Garrus looked down snuck a peek of her perky breasts right as her ripples danced across his carapace again.
He sucked in a quiet breath to calm himself.
He couldn’t get aroused. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing and the feeling of her hands against his as he massaged her scalp.
Once she was sure her hair was thoroughly rinsed she rested her hands on his bare carapace and opened her eyes, to look down at it.
Water was collecting in his cowl she marveled over the magnificence of his anatomy that she could see and touch so close to him. Not daring to let her eyes and hands travel lower.
For some unknown reason she began to press her upper body up against him before his hands flew to her shoulder to stop her.
“I need you to stop” Garrus said breathily. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable” he explained his breathing coming in puffs near her ears. She blushed hard at the realization that he was getting aroused and trying not to.
She felt foolish.
This was a dangerous game she was playing
Complete torture to her boyfriend and dangerous for her in case she couldn’t take it.
Having a panic attack while they are both naked while he was aroused would be awful and would lead her to go in a downward spiral of triggers. While he would want to comfort her but couldn’t because he was naked, and aroused
She backed away quickly, hiding herself half-heartedly as she was lost in thought. He leaned past her to shut the water off and grabbed some towels.
He turned away for her privacy as he dried off.
She dried off and wrapped the towel around her to cover herself as Garrus turned towards her
She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
The carapace in his front gave way to plates as large as a book and becoming smaller at the abdomen layering on top of the others like abs on a human. His body spiked out at the hips and his legs had some plates on his outer thighs before they gave way to toned muscle under his thick hide. His shoulders had plates, but like his legs, phased out for the strong taut muscles under his hide on his arms. Water caught in his cowl flowed in front of his keel and streamed down his body.
She felt mesmerized by the way his body moved and looked while the water moved over his plates and in between them, so different than any other species body she had seen before. He dried off his body meticulously, taking his time to do his best to dry in between his plates.
She watched curiously as he applied a powder to help dry his body and realized it was part of his scent that she loved so much.
She grabbed her pajamas band and put it on. Unlike the other band this one attached to where her tech was directly to activate it.
Taking the towel, she twisted her hair into it and continued watching Garrus finish his routine
“I don’t think it’s fair you get to stare at me but I can’t stare at you” he teased her
“Would you like me to stop?” She asked meekly
“No, you may look if you want” he replied with a small smirk “I am a little curious what is going on in your mind though” he teased lightly
“Your anatomy is… I can’t think of the right word” She realized
“Frightening? Scary?” Garrus offered apprehensively, his tone wary of her answer
“No! More like…” she paused as she thought “Marvelous?”
Garrus stood stunned at her.
“Marvelous?” he repeated. She had stunned him many times today. He was not used to it. “Are you sure that is the word you are looking for?”
“…yes. Watching your body move with your plates and carapace is… fascinating” she replied
“Do I need to get you to Dr. Chakwas to check your head, something is obviously wrong?” He asked incredulously. She glared at him
“I am serious”
“You think I am marvelous and fascinating?” He goaded playfully. His ego rising
“I was talking about your body” she teased back “But you are pretty spectacular too” She finished quickly with a light push of his shoulder. He barked a laugh and grabbed a fresh set of civies from his cubby.
“Glad to hear.” He replied. His eyes roamed over her body “Why don’t you wear this to bed?”
“Humans think it’s sexy and that whole thought makes me uncomfortable” she admitted quietly
“It is, but it also looks much more comfortable to wear than your workout clothes to fall asleep in”
She shrugged
“I have fallen asleep in my heavy armor with no issue while sitting.” She said offhandedly.
He shook his head as he dressed.
She looked unimpressed
“Dressing looks like a pain in the ass”
“Yeah, well, not all of us are blessed enough to have bands to use.” He countered
“You mean cursed” she corrected teasingly
He shook his head, a smile gracing his features with a quiet chuckle, and handed her the other band.
“I am assuming based off of your prior comment that you don’t want the others to see you in your pajamas?” He reminded her gently as his eyes roamed her body before it was hidden, committing every crease and curve to memory. She shook her head no and took the band from him, grabbing his hand and kissing his cheekbone when she got closer to him. “Kitten, do you need to wash your clothes? Putting on dirty clothes makes no sense”
“It is complicated to explain, and I don’t know the technology behind it exactly, but the band holds the original copy. It resets back to the original when the band is deactivated”
“So your clothes are always clean? Lucky” Garrus grunted jealously. She laughed softly. The melodic sound making his heart soar at the sound. He loved that sound as much as the sounds of pleasure that tumbled past her lips.
“Thank you for making me feel comfortable doing this” her breath danced over the plates on his face and he grabbed her and pulled her closer against him. Happy he could do so again now that they were clothed.
“I would very much enjoy doing this again” he explained as he captured her lips and wrestled her tongue briefly with his.
“I think I’d like that too” her voice breathy after their tongue sparring. She managed to put the band on again as he playfully kept trying to find a way to kiss her while she playfully dodged the action. This paused in the hallway, but both Garrus and Erinyes’ grins were still plastered on their faces.
Entering her room she found herself tightly wrapped in Garrus’ arms before being spun quickly and his tongue in her mouth once more the second the door closed.
Hot passion ran through her as his hand tugged at the towel on her head to once more tangle itself within it. His other hand dragged itself down her spine until it hit mid back. Still making sure to avoid areas on her that she mentioned before.
“Take the band off” he ordered huskily in her ear. She involuntarily did a full body shiver before stepping away slightly to comply. Garrus hummed before tilting her head up, grabbing her band from her hand once she deactivated it, and tossed it unceremoniously over his shoulder. She made a displeased squeak as her eyes widened following the path the band took before her lips were colliding with Garrus’ and her mind melted in bliss, no longer caring that if she could not find that band she wouldn’t have access to her weapons or armor.
That would be a tomorrow problem. He pulled her towards the bed and collapsed upon it still in the throughs of passion, their legs entangling, hands roaming and being in the moment.
The only thought that briefly entered her mind that did not include her amazing passionate boyfriend was this:
Thank you, Ashley.
Notes:
Kirrahe is exiting this part of the story but will return much later.
Hope you all enjoyed the shower scene and the two exploring each other's bodies. I wanted to write it in more innocent fashion.
With her feeling more comfortable with Garrus, and following Ashley's advice, things will be progressing really quickly in their relationship and I would like to know what you think about it!
:) Duzzie
Chapter 33: Nightmare Reappearing
Summary:
Erinyes finds a way to fix her tech.
Erinyes wants to touch Garrus in away to make him feel good.
Shepard and Erinyes have a talk about Ashley.
Chapter Text
Soft tender touches up her thigh and up her spine made her sigh in pleasant surrender as she slowly woke up in a tangle of limbs on her bed. Garrus burrowed his face in her hair blissfully as he breathed in the warm spice that made up her unique scent as he pressed her closer to him, relishing in touching her bare skin that no one else had seen.
It was a secret that only he knew and had the privilege of touching and it made him feel so insanely special. Words could not describe how right it felt for her to be tangled with him and pressed up beside him. It felt like he found where he belonged it was not a place but beside a person. His soul-bond.
“Good morning to you too” she whispered sleepily as she nuzzled her face against his carapace and against his neck. A soft, happy purr resonated within her chest and his subharmonics buzzed happily that she felt the same that he did.
“A very good morning” he mumbled against her scalp. The air from his words and movement of his mandibles twitched and caressed the lower part of her ears and caused a very pleasant tingle to go down her spine and she gently moaned against his neck.
“Do that again” she whispered
“Do what?” he asked. The movement of his mandibles twitched more towards her left ear and she arched her back as a current of raw pleasure flowed down her body and a soft gasp washed over his neck from her mouth.
Slightly confused Garrus rose his head slightly to deduce what had happened. He could smell the beginnings of her arousal and whatever he did gave her pleasure but he couldn’t figure out what.
She whined at the lack of his touch and pressed herself closer to him.
He stared at the top of her head before it hit him.
Guiding his hand with pressure between her shoulders and up her neck he hoped that what she wanted was what he was about to do. He gently rubbed the base of one of her ears and she nuzzled against him before pressing her head into his hand. She moaned, threw her head back in ecstasy of the foreign feeling flowing through her that he was providing her.
She often saw her body as a vessel, separate from her mind. She did not seek out to pleasure her body. Even though she knew she was not a tool the idea had been beaten in her head and how she viewed herself. But the pleasure she was feeling had caused her body and mind to connect in the most luxurious way. She chased the feeling. It was being freely given by Garrus, someone she trusted with her life even if he irritated her on occasion. She trusted him not to hurt her and take care of her.
Garrus felt pride and anticipation by the way she was reacting to the simple touch she was feeling. Having her arch her body to get more pressure from the gentle rubbing to silently tell him he needed to apply more pressure was groundbreaking for their relationship. Having her breasts pop out in display, the mesh fabric doing little to hide them from the motion, as her lower body pressed against his groin deliciously, their legs still entangled anchoring her to him.
Chasing the ability to touch her in this way he brought up his other hand and scratched behind her other ear. She groaned as her eyes rolled behind her head as the pleasure she was feeling mounted more for her. Not realizing where she was grabbing, but needing something to hold onto she gripped his waist and he hissed from the touch as he struggled to remain composed as he also felt the tendrils of pleasure flow through himself. He dragged his talons down her scalp until his hands rested on her cheeks and kissed her hard before forcing himself to pull away.
She fought to catch her breath as she continued to lavish herself in the waters of bliss she found herself in and whined at not being able to continue floating in it.
“I’m sorry, my Sweet. If we continue I will need more than what you are willing to give at the moment.”
She opened her eyes to watch him forcibly untangle himself from her and stand up. Trying to even his breathing and not touch her. She rested on the bed delirious from the passion she just felt before her mind began separating from her body again.
Garrus had touched the base of her ears.
An erogenous zone for her.
It felt good
Better than good, it felt excellent.
She wanted and craved more of that feeling.
But she knew where it would lead, which is why Garrus had stopped.
She wasn’t ready for that yet.
Feelings of anger that she should have felt by him touching her in an area that were off limits were easily thrown aside by curiosity.
If him touching her ears felt that amazing, what would it feel like if he touched the other areas that were erogenous?
She wanted Garrus to feel good too. Should she try to touch him in his pleasurable areas of his body? Or would it be too much?
“You are thinking too loud” he commented as he watched her
“What?” she asked as she was brought out of her thought and confused by the statement
“Your emotions are flowing on your face quickly but I don’t know what you are thinking”
“Um…” She admitted slightly embarrassed “I want to touch you in the areas you told me that give Turians pleasure but I don’t know if that would be too difficult for you to deal with” She meekly mumbled her confession
He was once again stunned by the Vextra in front of him
She was getting more and more confident in herself and their relationship if she was asking this.
He considered the proposal carefully. He really did want her to. But doing so would lead him to getting aroused.
It was her turn to watch the Turian she was in love with as he contemplated the offer and what to do
“I want you to” he began “But doing too much will lead to issues. So small amounts?” he offered the compromise and watched her brilliant grin at the acceptance of her offer. She leapt up into his arms and kissed him hard and passionately. “Not right now though” he managed to get out in the brief breaks for air he was allowed.
Garrus was in the Cargo Bay fixing the Mako yet again.
Erinyes was alone in her room cataloging the items from the bands to keep her mind busy. She intentionally kept herself away from the multiple muzzles she had found and really didn’t want to be in the same room as them.
As her mind flowed she wondered why, with the block gone, her tech was still not working properly. Frustrated she pulled up her desk chair and reached in the closet to grab a muzzle, hesitating multiple times when doing so. Taking a deep breath her fingers touched the smooth surface of the leather straps and pulled it closer to her to inspect. The leather molded itself into the intricate lock at the back of the muzzle and the front had that dreaded gag, slightly smaller than a ball gag and cone shaped. Looking closer at the interior of the muzzle near the gag she found that familiar gleam of circuitry glowing slightly under the metal. She turned the muzzle around, fingers tracing the smooth metal on the exterior of the gag portion of the torture device.
Steeling her nerves she scanned and downloaded the program the muzzle had within it and promptly threw it back into her closet and shut the door with a shiver. She still hated touching or looking at the dreaded object.
Maybe, if she was lucky, the program within the muzzle would shed light on why her tech wasn’t working properly. She sat in her chair again and dove into the code and program prompts
…………………
Garrus wiped his oily sweat from his forehead and sighed at how much work still needed to be done on the Mako. The group was headed to the Citadel and as much as he wanted to plan a trip away from the Normandy with Erinyes he didn’t think it was wise. With the increased risk from the Vextra they had to be ultra-diligent. With as many people the Citadel housed and held, and the Vextra having their imaging software, it was much too dangerous. It gave him a tremendous amount of anxiety. Leaving the Normandy without her provided the same amount of discomfort, fearing for a repeat abduction. Someone else would need to do the dextro resupply. He gazed over to the weapons bench and his eyes dropped. The Cargo Bay seemed a lot emptier here now. Especially since Erinyes refused to come down without nearly bursting to tears or depression. The space held too many memories of laughter, teaching, sparring and conversing with the marine who was forever lost. He saw, although she tried to hide it, that she was still deeply effected with the guilt of surviving when Ashley did not. How could she not be?
Garrus went back to work and told himself that when he decided to take a break that he would talk to Tali about resupplying so Erinyes would not have to.
He sighed.
He really wanted to take her to the gardens again and spend time alone in the evening with her again. She had really enjoyed it and he wanted to experience kissing her there.
There would be other times.
We wiped the oily sweat from his brow again and then smirked.
Maybe he could get her to shower with him again. If he could would she feel comfortable with him playing with her ears in the shower? His grin turned devious as the thoughts played in his mind as he mindlessly continued the long task of fixing the Mako whenever Shepard so much as breathed near the vehicle.
Erinyes looked at the code, rereading the same thing over and over again.
She had fucked up.
She had thought she had taken the damn thing off correctly.
She hadn’t. There was an extra step.
A fucking extra step
That she had not known about. The extra step caused the fleeing Operative with the muzzle the inability to use their tech at full strength, to block it, and if the block was removed the tech would deplete rapidly if used. This was to help with recapture.
She let loose a muffled roar in frustration.
Garrus was on his way to Erinyes room to propose a shower together, rounding the corridor when he heard the roar. Although muffled to not disturb the Human crew, his ears picked it up and he found his feet leaping to her room and gaining entry.
She was huddled in the corner, snarling, teeth clenched tight to where he could see her jaw lightening from the pressure and the muscles pulled taut. She was glaring such a foul look at the Vextran tech on her wrist he was expecting it to combust in flames to leave this plane of existence so Erinyes didn’t bleep it out violently.
He had not seen her this angry in a long time, not since finding out that she had the tracking mechanism in her spine.
Which meant that her frustration revolved around the Vextra.
He stifled his sigh and calmly walked towards her and sat on the bed. She seemed startled that he was there for a split second before relieved and threw herself in his arms.
“The fucking bastards” she fumed, answering the question before Garrus even asked “They made a hidden panel on the muzzle that needed to be lifted in tandem with the fucking key bullshit. That’s why my tech has been so fucking off” she growled. Getting more and more enraged.
Garrus seemed to agree with her assessment, joining in with her growl.
“What can be done to fix it?” He asked, suspecting by her roar the options were not good.
“I can put the muzzle on again and then take it off properly” she started venomously. His mandibles ticked against his jaw and his subharmonics pulsed in his fury at that idea. He knew how traumatized the muzzle had made her. That wasn’t going to happen “Or” she added nearly laughing bitterly “I can have a program added within me which would make it possible for the Vextra to know my location while it scrubs the offending issue within my body away”
Both options were not ideal. Frustrated beyond measure she let loose some tears which he wiped away quickly and held her close.
“How long would you need to have the… thing… on?” He asked intentionally not saying the offending word since they both knew it was the better option.
“I don’t know” she admitted and began trembling. She knew the muzzle was the easiest choice that would not inconvenience the crew not to mention put everyone in danger. But that didn’t make things easier.
Chakwas, Tali, and Garrus surrounded Erinyes on the bed in the medical bay. She was trembling but was tired of not feeling like herself. Between that and the grief she still felt it was too much.
Tali went over the steps on how to apply and remove the muzzle one more time. Not wanting to retraumatize her by needing to put it on more than necessary.
She was trembling and Garrus held her, hoping that by being close it would not be as bad.
Tali had the code to the muzzle up and had formulated a way to see if and when the muzzle could be removed that way she didn’t need to have it on more than it needed to be. It amazed Erinyes how talented Tali was with tech.
“Okay, my program is working.”
“I have the sensors needed. Ready when you Tali” Chakwas responded.
Erinyes felt tears fall from her eyes from her terror of the situation.
“Shh, Love, you are with friends and Tali, you and I have all checked the code and the muzzle program. Once removed correctly your tech should come back shortly”
“It hurt so bad last time” she whispered out. Garrus pulled her closer to him, kissing her tears away.
“I have pain medication on standby to make it less painful” Chakwas reminded her, gesturing to a small wheeled table filled with medi-gel and pain medication.
She whimpered but nodded her head to begin. She opened her mouth and Garrus let his calming rumble flow through her as he helped Tali put the gag portion in her mouth before pulling her close, engulfing her with his nearness and warmth and the calming rumble. Her whimpering grew louder as she heard the click of the lock behind her. Garrus soothed her with light touches along her back as Tali focused on her omni-tool. Waiting for the exact moment to get the dreaded thing off.
Garrus wiped her tears away and kissed her cheeks tenderly. Providing a physical reminder that she was safe and not in danger. She jumped when a beep sounded behind her.
“Keelah, finally” Tali responded and began unlocking the extravagantly complicated lock, pulling the secret panel and fully unlocking the muzzle. Garrus wasted no time in getting the gag out and pulling her into his carapace.
“It’s over” he whispered repeatedly and softly as he cradled the back of her head. Slowly drawing designs on her back with his talons. When her breathing finally became regulated she pushed her head away.
“Do you remember how long it took before the beginnings of my tech returned?” She asked hoarsely. Her eyes were puffy and her face was flushed. Garrus felt his heartstrings pull and wanted desperately to take away her pain. He wiped her tears away that still fell.
“I’m not sure, maybe ten minutes”
He watched her grimace and collapse back in his arms, curling herself into a ball in his lap and whined pitifully.
She felt so unlike herself. She didn’t have the fear she had before but she felt helpless again. She felt completely separate from herself and weak. She hated this feeling.
Waiting for the beginnings of her tech to return was agonizing. Tali was rubbing her back soothingly and holding one of her hands and Garrus held her tightly to himself as Chakwas was at the ready to deploy pain medication.
Her breathing shallowed in preparation. Shocks of electricity flew through her and she clenched her teeth together and hissed. Chakwas plunged a needle into her bicep right as a huge wave of pain hit her and she clenched her teeth more to stop her from screaming.
It felt like tiny needle pricks were stabbing her in her bloodstream, her bones, her muscles, her mind, everywhere and then getting electrocuted. It was agony. The pain medication dulled the pain but did not remove it.
Garrus was glad that he listened to her when she told him to wear the armor for this in case she used her claws. She hissed and clutched Garrus cowl tightly, barely registering her claws digging into his armor. He looked at the doctor expectantly as she got another dose of medication ready, and then plunging that too into the Vextra’s bloodstream. Erinyes pressed her head against his keel hard as her knuckles grew white with exertion and then finally the first wave of pain left her and she struggled to gain air into her lungs. She sobbed and gasped when the feinter pulses of pain flashed through her body, the pain reducing further and further until it stopped.
She breathed deeply and shakily before realizing her claws were fully extended and retracted them quickly.
Her head felt like it had split into tiny pieces and when she grabbed it and groaned Chakwas rushed to hand her headache medication which she took dry, not waiting for the cup of water. Garrus refused to let go of her until Chakwas needed a scan.
Erinyes got up shakily, staggering on her feet a bit before collapsing and rolling over on the next bed. Stretching out and groaning from the stiffness of her body from clenching in pain for so long.
She held her breath waiting for the results and expected the worse until she heard a sigh of relief release from the doctor’s lips and she turned with a smile.
Erinyes felt tears of joy and relief flow down her as a huge weight released from her shoulders.
She held out her hand and clenched it, watching the tech burns light up all the way to her elbow, exactly how much she wanted and released it. She felt relieved but was still worried that her tech may not work properly and she needed to test it, but not wanting to do so in the Cargo Bay.
A thought occurred to her and she used her illusion software and then pulled out her visor followed quickly with her tactical cloak and waited. She put her shields on full strength and then started releasing some of her weapons and items.
Everything was working properly. The amount of energy being expended was within the normal ranges and she released everything quickly and laid on the bed exhausted.
The three looked at her expectantly. Garrus had a glimmer of a smile on his lips. He could feel her relief.
She felt normal aside from the slight tingle in different parts of her body.
“Thank the Ancestors that is over” her voice showed how much stress the whole situation had caused her. She got up on her elbows and smiled tiredly at the three others in the room. “Thank you for helping me” She glanced at the muzzle in the hand of the Quarian still and a spiteful grin formed on her face. “You think Shepard would allow me to space that?”
Erinyes yelped and then began giggling and Garrus lifted her up. He felt elated that she was feeling better and added with the sound of her laughter, which sounded similar to chiming bells, he couldn’t help himself when he spun her around in her room which only increased the sound of her laughter. He pulled her into his lap as he kissed her deeply and passionately, she moved to straddle him while keeping their lips locked.
“I cannot tell you how worried I have been about your tech.” Garrus admitted, staring deeply into her eyes.
“I’m just glad I won’t have to feel like dead weight anymore” she mumbled. Garrus pulled her forward and captured her lips again, keeping the pace of their tongues dancing together slow and sensual.
“You were never deadweight Kitten.” He whispered, watching her shiver from the pet name.
“Garrus” she began “Could I touch you to make you feel good?” She asked awkwardly. He gazed at her in awe. She had things going back to normal and yet she was still focused on him and his happiness.
How did he get so lucky?
“Sure” he purred and removed his gloves and tossed them aside before taking her hand and moving it behind his head under his fringe. “Apply pressure here” he breathed his explanation. And closed his eyes and tried to stifle his moan when she added pressure and moved the pads of her fingers down the ridged plates that protected his spine.
She watched him and a frown formed on her face. She abruptly stopped. Dazed Garrus opened his eyes, confusion clearly read on his facial features. His pupils beginning to dilate.
“Why are you making things hard for me?” She asked. Garrus was now more confused “You want me to moan so you know what feels good to me but you don’t do the same” she whined and he kissed her deeply when he saw the frustration
“I’m sorry” he murmured on her lips before kissing her again, moaning in her mouth when she applied pressure and dragged her fingers down. He pulled away from her mouth and breathed deeply. She pulled her fingers to his fringe and stroked them to give Garrus a break and he huffed with his eyes closed.
She studied him. Noting exactly what she was doing and how he was reacting. He was constantly being considerate to her and treated her so kindly and she felt a twinge of guilt for not doing more. He watched him huff again before moving her other hand under his fringe and applying pressure.
He groaned and leaned his head back, exposing his neck to her. She leaned forward and giving in to her intrusive thought licked up the side of his neck. Garrus’ eyes opened wide at the action and picked her up and put her beside her and took her hands off of her. Putting his hand on his face and breathing deeply as he leaned forward to rest on his knees.
Erinyes felt guilty. She had done too much.
This must be torturous to Garrus since she was not ready to do more.
“I’m sorry” she whispered as she lowered her gaze, her tail wrapping around her and her ears drooped.
She tortured her boyfriend. She was such a horrible girlfriend.
“What? Why?” Garrus asked as he continued to breathe deeply. He was trying to think of anything else other than what had occurred and her apologizing was helping him greatly.
“I basically tortured you” he admitted regretfully, wringing her hands in her lap.
Garrus looked at her dumbstruck, the arousal fading away.
He could see how horrible she felt by her body language. He could read her like an open book. She was bullying herself and he would not have it.
Erinyes’ head popped up quickly at the sound of his growl before he was on her, towering over her and kissing her deeply and passionately.
“Never” he kissed her forehead, adorably “apologize” he kissed her nose, watching her face scrunch up “for giving me pleasure” he said quickly and recaptured her mouth. She moaned as his tongue wrestled with hers, and his hand wove themselves into her hair and began scratching behind her eyes deliciously. She pulled his face closer and kneaded the back of his neck under his fringe. She felt him growl into her mouth before pulling away abruptly. He enjoyed the look of her swollen lips, her body sprawled out and dazed from his sudden onslaught. He kissed her quickly again and got up, “I will be back shortly” he whispered
Erinyes stared at the ceiling in her room.
That was the most passionate and intense make out session they had had yet and she wanted it again.
Garrus replayed what had just occurred in his head adding to it.
Erinyes was writhing in pleasure from his touch and kisses before he gently and slowly pulled down her shorts and underwear, tossing them over his shoulder carelessly. He gently spread her thighs and dove between her legs. Using his long tongue to dive into her slick core and she gasped and moaned his name before suffocating him as she gripped his head in between her thighs and he happily continued diving into her, driving her pleasure to new heights. Hearing her scream as another burst of pure bliss erupted in her and flooded his face with the aftereffects of his attentions.
She struggled to catch her breath, limp and boneless on the bed as he climbed her body to get near her face. Erinyes gripped his head, intentionally gripping so her fingertips applied pressure under his fringe and pulled him forward, capturing his mouthplates on her lips before whispering
“Take me Garrus”
He burst against the wall, groaning at the image his mind created for him.
As he cleaned himself and the shower off he realized he was instinctively giving Erinyes Turian anatomy in his daydreams.
How different was Vextran anatomy to Turian?
If they got to the point where Erinyes was ready would he be able to give her pleasure? Would their parts even work together?
He felt winded coming down from the release he had felt as the tornado of questions and the unknown swirled around in his mind.
He slid down the wall staring at the wall in front of him, gaze unfocused as he was lost in thought.
What was he going to do?
Who could he ask about this?
Erinyes was lost in thought. With Garrus busy and not distracting her mind she felt herself fall into depressive thoughts and she felt lost and uneasy. She felt she was in this deep pit that no matter what she did to try and climb out of it she either fell back in or the walls kept getting taller. It seemed inescapable and overwhelming. She was wondering around the ship when she was brought out of her reverie by Shepard calling her name
“You okay there Kitty?” He asked, concern laced his facial features and voice. Garrus had told him that Ashley’s death was the first death she experienced that was close to her. Seeing her aimlessly wonder the ship was deeply concerning to him
“Honestly… no” she took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes “Have you lost people close to you Shepard?” She asked, her voice hollow and scratchy.
“Yes. Many people” he admitted, voice soft and full of sorrow. “I was headed down to the mess to grab some water, care to join me?” He asked, he in fact did not need water, but for this discussion the mess would be less crowded than the CIC, that and he could make sure she was taking care of herself by drinking something. She shrugged and followed him down the stairs. “Water okay?”
“…yeah” her voice was quiet and downcast. Shepard was glad he had caught her outside of her room, he wanted to talk to her about Ashley’s death but didn’t want to corner her in her room.
He poured her and himself a glass of water and sat at one of the small tables, gesturing for her to join him.
“How can I help?” Shepard asked. She took a sip of water as she thought how to phrase what she wanted to ask
“How… I feel like I’m in this deep pit that I can’t get out of. I feel… guilty I am alive and she isn’t”
“Survivor’s guilt” Shepard explained the term to the Vextra.
“How do I get past this? I don’t want to feel this way, but I feel like I deserve to” She asked, tears forming in her eyes
“You talk about it, like you are doing right now” He took a sip of water to coax her to follow his example, she did and felt pleased.
“How can you be so… normal after Ash’s death? Wasn’t she close to you?” She asked. There was no accusation or anger in her voice, just curiosity, albeit hollow.
“Of course she was close to me. She was a damn good marine and she is sorely missed.” He explained “But I learned a long time ago that if I focused on the fact that the people I cared about were not her and what they were missing the depression was suffocating. Instead thinking about the good times, remembering her, in a way, keeps her alive”
She froze for a moment and then her eyes stared at the table, once more lost in thought
“That sounds like something Vextra believe. The ones who do great things have their stories and lives commemorated. Past down from generation to generation. But those that don’t are forgotten”
Shepard gave her a smile and nodded
“She is not here physically, but as long as she remains in your memory you can ensure she doesn’t die a second time” He took another sip of water and she followed his example. “What is one of your favorite memories of Ashley?”
She let out a dismal chuckle and attempted to smile. It was difficult thinking of Ashley, knowing she was gone forever, and trying to smile at the same time. It was painful. She felt tears prickle at the corners of her eyes, eyes that were still angry and sensitive from all the tears that she had shed.
“Ash and I have been sparring and teaching each other different fighting moves. I had recently taught her the blend of Vextra and Turian moves that I had created from the moves Garrus had taught me.” She sighed, tears falling down her cheeks. She would never do that again. Knowing that made that realization strike harder. She struggled to keep going “Ash was still pissed off at Garrus about the things he said about Saleon and thought I let him off too easy. So she challenged him to a spar.” She forced out a laugh at the memory “Garrus didn’t think much of it and sauntered over, confident he would win. I wasn’t so sure. To me they were around equal. She was glaring at him with such ferocity, Garrus wasn’t affected by it at all. I called the start of the spar and within 2 minutes a confused Garrus was on his back.” She began laughing, at first with pain but the more she thought of the memory the less painful it became. She began gasping for air. “The look on his face!” She mimicked the wide-eyed, mouth open, sprawled out way Garrus had been and Shepard began laughing too. She wiped the tears from her face, the mournful tears mixed with the joyful reminiscent tears. She sniffed. “Ashley was looking down at him smug, and I could tell she felt like she had… defended… me” she slowly chewed on the last few words, the smile on her face fading as she neared the end of her thought.
“She cared deeply about you” Shepard commented.
“How can I live when she isn’t here though?” She asked, voice cracking
“I know you feel guilty but there was nothing you could have done. I was the one who decided to save you and Kaidan” Shepard reminded her
“But why?” She asked, unknowingly mimicking Shepard by taking another swig of the water.
“I had multiple reasons. It was by no means an easy decision though. The success of the mission was a big factor. But there were two of my ground crew with the bomb instead of one that remained with Jaeto. Plus there was the issue of what would have happened to Garrus if I chose to save Ashley.” He gave her a pointed look and watched her open and close her mouth like a fish “Nihlus had told me about the soul-bonds after he locked you two in his room to fix things before the Saleon mission. If I had let you die he would have gone violent, leaving three of my ground crew gone not just one. I miss Ashley. A lot. She was a fantastic marine and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind.”
Erinyes looked at the Commander and saw how the logic of his choice hurt him emotionally. It made sense why he chose what he did but he was clearly still affected by it.
“I miss the conversations Ash and I would have. After sparring she taught me how to disassemble the weapons and how to clean them and we would spend at least an hour just talking” She looked down. “I love Tali and Liara but I found Ash understood my point of view better. She didn’t give me advice that was overly romantic and explained things to me that were really easy to understand”
She found it was getting easier to talk about Ashley without the weight of the guilt and grief weighing down on her. She wasn’t better by a long shot. But she was feeling less depressed than she had been when Garrus and her split up that morning.
Shepard gave her a smile. “She definitely saw you as her sister” He sighed woefully “It is my responsibility to tell her family about her death” Erinyes sucked in a breath through her teeth and grimaced
“Ancestors that is rough”
“I’d love it if you could join” Shepard offered, knowing the answer was no
“I… I don’t think I could” she explained, thinking of the amount of grief from knowing Ashley briefly in comparison to her family’s grief. Shepard nodded
“I don’t blame you for not wanting to.” She gave her a small smile “Did anyone ever tell you how Ashley ended up on this ship?” He asked. She shook her head no “That was quite a day. It was the same day you fell from the sky and knocked into Nihlus” He chuckled as she groaned. “Anyway,” he began and Erinyes got comfortable and listened “We were on Eden Prime looking for a Prothean beacon…”
Chapter 34: Her Pleasure is His Responsibility
Chapter Text
The Normandy was still a day out from landing on at the Citadel. Erinyes wasn’t thinking about that. Instead she was focused on getting things ready for her date. After talking with Shepard she had thought back on the conversation and advice Ashley had given her about making a date on the ship.
She was getting that ready.
She had been preparing on an off for hours. She broke down and asked Shepard for help keeping Garrus busy. Shepard had given him a lot of busy work. Whatever it was the sly grin on his face told her that whatever it was would be mind-numbingly horrible for Garrus.
“He should be busy for a couple hours at least Kitty” He told her deviously “Let me know if you need more help” he added with a wink. She felt bad she had possibly made Garrus’ day not so great but pushed it aside since she still had quite a bit to do.
She had two dinners, three if you added the nasty shake for Nihlus. Plus she needed to finish getting the Observation Deck ready. She had no time to spare thinking of what exactly Shepard had asked Garrus to do.
Not now at least.
She took the bread dough she had begun preparing, and left to proof earlier, punching it down to release the air bubbles, pinching off pieces of dough and molding them into knots and placing them on a cookie sheet and covered them under a damp towel to proof once more.
With that finished, she hurriedly chopped vegetables and meat, using two pans to cook them and had another set of vegetables for Garrus and her in the oven roasting. She got the fish ready for Tali and Nihlus’ meal ready, chosen specifically because it would make the shake more disgusting for the Spectre out of sheer spite. Once the vegetables were finished and put aside she quickly finished the fish in the pan. Making a sauce for the fish in a pot.
Giving the knots of bread a wash of dextro butter and garlic she put it in the oven to bake.
She began getting the reswi ready to cook. She had been contemplating how best to cook it for the last day. Looking up different recipes and finally landing on one that she wanted to try. She seasoned the meat after patting it dry and letting it rest a bit while she got the pan ready on a high heat, adding a knob of dextro butter and letting the reswi sear in it with a sprig of some herbs. She ladled the butter on the top of the reswi to coat and marinate the meat while slightly cooking it. She flipped it over and repeated the process and once finished put all the food on plates and into the oven to keep warm as she raced to the Observation Deck to finish getting the room ready for the date.
She had placed candles around the room for ambience. Pushing the chairs and couches against the wall, she placed a blanket on the floor with some pillows. She added a few more details before running back to the mess to finish dinner.
She blended Nihlus’ meal right as he sauntered around the corner. She poured the meal into a cup and handed it to him
“Here you are”
He hesitated, confused
“Did you forget about locking Garrus and me in your room?” She asked slyly. His eyebrow plate rose in recollection “I didn’t. Enjoy your meal. I made it easy for you by blending everything together.” She added with a saccharine sweetness edged with spite. Nihlus looked between the cup and her face, disgust clear on his face, before scoffing and taking the cup. Mumbling as he took a seat at the table. She took the moment to covertly finish recording him take the first sip and his reaction of abhorrent disgust.
Perfect
Tali came by next and Erinyes fixed her meal and handed it over to her.
“Thank you, Kitty” Tali exclaimed before rushing off to the Cargo Bay to sanitize it.
Erinyes packed the remainder of the food in a basket she had found in one of the red bands. Carefully stacking things together and then dematerializing it before cleaning everything up and then heading down to the Cargo Bay.
Garrus looked miserable. He was counting the number of bolts in the engine to make sure he had all the ones the Mako's manual had listed. Shepard had told him about a knocking in the engine while they were on Vermire and then handed him a small handful of bolts and parts he had said maintenance had found under the Mako when he had departed. He had gone over the engine bay again and again and could not find a single place the various parts were supposed to go. He even went under the Mako but couldn’t find where these parts were from. He was baffled and miserable. He had gone over the maintenance logs and looked over every place that had been fixed or replaced recently without luck.
“Garrus” Erinyes called to get his attention. He looked exhausted and tense. “Come eat dinner”
He sighed, looking at the number of bolts, nuts, seals, gaskets, and bearings. He was going to be up all night trying to find the mysterious places these parts came from. He was at the point of possibly disassembling everything to find out where they came from.
“… I really can’t. I need to get this done.” He gestured to the small pile on a rag on top of the toolbox. He seemed so downcast and she bit her lip in guilt.
“Are you sure they are from the Mako?” She asked deviously. His eyes flashed.
“What do you know?” He asked calculatedly. She smiled slyly
“Maybe I’ll tell you after dinner” she teased playfully as she rocked on the balls of her pawed feet, innocently holding her hands behind her back with a small smile. Garrus sneered. Now feeling like he got royally played “Shall we?” She asked innocently as she stuck out her hand for Garrus to hold. He narrowed his eyes, suspicious of the Vextra
“How about I get answers before dinner?” He proposed.
“How about some answers now?” she countered with a grin. “I asked Shepard to keep you busy for a while. Although I’m not 100% certain, I doubt those are from the Mako”
He growled and snarled
“Do you know how much stress I have been under with that?! I have spent who knows how long and it was a waste of my time?!” He seethed before taking a breath to calm himself “Why did you want me to be kept busy?” He asked apprehensively
She held out her hand again. “Come with me and I’ll show you.” She answered cryptically but joyfully. He hesitated before taking her hand and allowed her to lead him to the elevator, not caring at all that he was sputtering at the fact he was leaving the area near the Mako a mess and still had tools strewn about that needed to be put away. Once on the upper floor, she led him to the bathroom. Now knowing the destination, Garrus stopped fighting and grew excited, hoping to have another shower with her again. His hopes were dashed when she told him to change and wash his hands. He grumbled but complied.
When he exited the bathroom she took his hand in hers and led him away from her room and away from the mess hall, thoroughly confusing him. She told him to close his eyes and he let out a huff in annoyance and bit his tongue while complying. She led him carefully down the hall and he heard the whooshing of a door opening and closing behind him
“Wait here” she excitedly ordered, and she let go of his hand to finish up the last of the details.
She materialized the basket and put it in the middle of the blanket, the plates, silverware and napkins ready from earlier. She then headed back to the door and dimed the lights and lit the candles before flitting away to the other side of the room near the controls for the shutters and asked Garrus to open his eyes. Once he did, she pushed the buttons for the shutters to open and nearly leapt to where the blanket was and grinned proudly at the Turian who looked dumb-founded.
This was not what he expected. He felt a bit guilty for snapping at her earlier. She clearly put a lot of effort into whatever this was and she was proud of it.
Immensely proud. Like a child showing off a picture they spent hours making for their parents.
“I thought we could have another date.” She explained as she sat on the blanket before looking up at Garrus to watch his expression.
He went through many emotions almost at once before settling with admiration. He smiled fondly at Erinyes and sat down on the blanket. His annoyance and stress forgotten immediately.
“I… How?… Thank you” he settled with, watching her grin widen
“I planned this whole date up very carefully” she answered his question
“I can see that.” He gestured to the dim lights, the candles flickering warmly around the room that matched the flickering of the stars on the other side of the glass. He was not expecting her to do something like this at all. He was impressed.
“I thought we could start with dinner” she began and hummed as she opened the basket and the smell of the food wafted over his nostrils and had his mouth watering.
“Is that bread?” He asked in shock. She gave him a delighted smile and nodded
“I have been making it for hours!” She explained and pulled out the garlic knots followed by the roasted vegetables, a fillet of fish and the reswi.
When his eyes focused on the reswi he was taken aback by the amount of care and detail she put into this date.
She had mentioned this was the start of it
How did he get this lucky?
She dutifully cut up the reswi and fish. Giving Garrus the larger portion of reswi and herself a larger portion of fish and both a good portion of vegetables. After piling the plates with food she cuddled up next to Garrus and leaned on him as she began eating, sighing as she finally allowed herself to relax
“You said it took hours to make the bread?”
“Yes, I made two meals. One for us and one for Tali and Nihlus” She explained before motioning to the fish “They had fish and a couple types of vegetables and a sauce.” She grinned up at him before bringing up her omni-tool, pulling up the hidden recording she made of Nihlus getting his food she had set up.
Garrus bust out laughing before pulling her closer and nuzzling the top of her head.
“I love you” he murmured in her hair. She tilted her head up and captured his mouthplates against her lips, the kiss growing hot and passionate quickly. She pulled away reluctantly
“I love you too” she pulled his head down with a hand to the back of his neck and placed her forehead on his crest and could feel the buzzing of his subharmonics flow into her body and sighed blissfully at the feeling.
She watched him hum in appreciation and enjoyment of the reswi. Pleased that something that came so easily to her provided so much delight to her Turian. She ate slowly, relishing in the taste of the food and her watchful eye catching every detail and committing it to memory of her boyfriend enjoying the meal, just the two of them. She piled more food on his plate and encouraged him to eat more, herself full and content watching him enjoy himself with the food she made.
“I feel like you are fattening me up on purpose” he ribbed playfully. She laughed, thinking of the old book she had stolen of old fairytales the Humans had told their children. His eyes sparkled in glee as he heard her laugh, the melody of the sound that came from her lips a song that warmed his soul. He tilted his head asking his silent question
“There is this old story that humans would tell their children back when I came from. It was about this witch that lived in a house made of cookies that would entice children to come and eat it”
“A house made of cookies sounds like an awful idea. It wouldn’t continue standing in the rain”
She laughed again
“The old lady was a witch, she had magic or something. Anyways, two children got lost in the woods or something and found her cookie house and began eating it. The witch let them inside her home and encouraged them to keep eating. Fattening them up to eat them”
“And this was a children’s story?” He asked incredulously, lifting an eyebrow plate. She chuckled and nodded
“The children ended up pushing the witch into the furnace before she could do the same to them and the fire killed the witch” she further explained.
“So are you fattening me up to eat me?” Garrus asked jocosely as he finished the helping she had given him, images of the the woman in the elcor porn ‘eating’ flashing in his mind from the porn that Joker sent. Turians didn’t do those things, sharp teeth made the act too dangerous. But Garrus couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel if his Vextra took his cock in her mouth, gobbling it down her throat.
She snorted, bringing him out of his thoughts. “I think it would be too difficult to eat you with the metal in your plates. Your meat would be too tough with how muscular you are” she commented, the ideas in his mind completely going over her head. He wasn’t going to explain his thoughts. It wasn’t the right time.
He decided to change the topic so he could shake the images of her with his cock in her mouth out of his mind before his groin plates opened and he released himself out of his seam.
“What is next on the docket my fair lady?” Garrus asked suavely with a mandible flicking outward in a smirk. He watched her flush at the sound of his voice and grinned mischievously. He loved seeing her react to his voice.
“I did make dessert”
He watched his flustered Vextra as she pulled out two small cakes and handed him one. It was still warm. He was stunned. The only dessert she had made before was the ice cream, which he had to shake.
Yet here she not only made a special dinner for the two of them but added a dessert.
He used his fork to cut into the cake, noting it looked fairly simple. There was no frosting or fruit on it. But as his fork cut a piece out of the small cake he watched in shock as a sauce flowed outward from the cake.
At first he was concerned that the cake was not finished eating before realizing the sauce inside was a different color, it was red.
Putting it in his mouth the creamy taste of the cake mixed with the tartness from the berry sauce. It was a perfect balance of sweet and tart. It wasn’t too heavy feeling either, instead rather refreshing.
Once finished, she gathered the plates and put them in the basket along with the blanket, making sure the room was clear and stood feeling suddenly awkward. She turned on some music and glanced up at him
“Care to dance?” She asked nervously. He felt warmth radiate from him and pulled her towards him, his fingers lacing in one of hers as his other hand landed on her hip before she rose it to her waist causing him to lubberly stumble before catching himself, breath hitching in his throat.
She looked up at him smugly, quite aware what she was doing
He took a deep breath, inadvertently breathing in her warm, spicy scent and then did a simple box step with her pressed tightly against his body to the music. When he got himself under control again the next song began to play. It was not a song he knew, it was in the same language that Shepard spoke, so he knew it was not Vextran. The beat had picked up and he began doing a chassé, the two began gliding in the Observation Deck, the two flowing seamlessly like water before he switched up to a cross-body lead. Spinning her into a quarter-left turn, still grasping her hand before she came back into his body and his hand went from her waist to her lower back, a soft gasp escaping from her lips. Their legs intermingled with each other, not once getting entangled, when Garrus realized the song was nearing completion he had her do a double reverse spin and dipped her low. Listening to her breath hitch in her throat before she softly giggled at the action.
“Wow” she whispered, her eyes glancing up at his in awe.
“I couldn’t agree more” Garrus huskily purred staring deep into her eyes with want and love. He could feel the shiver run down her spine when he uttered the words and internally grinned, the two not untangling themselves from each other.
“Nuzzle me,” she whispered and with no further warning he nuzzled her neck, hoping she wouldn’t be triggered like the last time he tried. She moaned at the touch of his face and nose rubbing against her neck and shoulders before gasping lightly and purring.
“I told you I would be able to nuzzle you eventually” Garrus muttered against the skin of her neck. She moaned softly, and he felt her skin heat up as she blushed.
He stood her upright and pulled her tightly into his arms. The depth of love he felt for the Vextra could not be put into words, they simply didn’t exist.
“Is it bad that I want to end the date and go back to our room?” She breathed against his neck
“Our room?” He asked
“Yeah, you are in that room just as much as I am, and you sleep there most nights too.” She explained. He chuckled against her hair, his fingers weaving themselves in the locks that fell from her ponytail.
“Does that mean I can move in?” Garrus asked playfully
“I don’t think Sgt. Katz would approve” she added sadly. Garrus sighed. He couldn’t think of a way around that little detail either.
What a pity.
“I think moving the date to our room sounds like an amazing idea. Unless, of course, you’d like to move it into the shower first?” he teased flirtatiously. She rolled her eyes
“One time and now you want it every time” she ribbed and playfully pushed his shoulder as he grinned deviously
“Why wouldn’t I want that every time?” He jested before capturing her lips with his mouthplates. Their tongues danced sensuously, and she moaned into the kiss, melting against him.
He could never get enough of his Vextra.
It seemed impossible.
Erinyes stiffened as she applied her tactical cloak and could feel Garrus’ hand on her hip as she walked in front of him off the Normandy. He took them directly into his apartment and then kissed her gently and chastely before leaving to go get them food from their favorite food stall
“Garrus! Where is your lovely mate?” Brantus asked
“She is waiting in my apartment. She is still my girlfriend” He retorted the correction, voice showing a bit of his annoyance.
“I don’t know why you are dragging your feet with her. She won’t wait forever you know” Brantus teased before seeing the stiffness in the Turian’s body language
“Maybe you should stop” Garrus warned darkly, his eyes narrowing and flashing dangerously. Brantus monitored Garrus, watching his mandibles ticking softly on his jaw before sighing.
“She was hurt before she met you, wasn’t she?” He asked softly
“What?”
“Erinyes. She was hurt” Brantus repeated. Garrus stared at the food stall owner, unsure how to respond. Garrus didn’t need to. “I don’t mean to pry. It is easy to see she likes you as much as you like her. I hope she is doing well” Brantus’ teasing lilt was absent in his voice, instead he was more genuine.
Garrus was taken aback. The entire time he had known Brantus the Turian was joking around. Hearing him be more serious and concerned was off-putting.
“She… she has gone through some awful times recently. One right after the other. She is pulling out of them slowly.” Garrus admitted quietly, carefully making sure not to provide any details. Brantus nodded somberly.
“It’s easy to see you are each other’s soul-bond. Going through those hard times together will make it easier on her.” He provided gracefully, before turning and making the food order Garrus had not even given him.
Brantus came back not long after with a couple bags towering with food. Garrus blinked at it.
“Uh…” he managed to utter before Brantus interrupted him
“Consider this my apology to you as well as my well wishes to Erinyes that things get easier.” He handed the bags to Garrus before waving him off “Now go to you future mate. I have other customers”
Garrus sputtered in confusion, he hadn’t paid yet and Brantus was already shooing him off.
That Turian confounded him.
Garrus headed back into his apartment and found Erinyes cuddled up on his couch, the blanket from his bed wrapped around her and napping. His mandibles tugged outward at the sight and he sat the bags down as quietly as possible on the kitchen counter and crept closer to her to take a picture on his omni-tool and visor for good measure. Even asleep she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He watched her nose twitch and she slowly opened her eyes and yawned, stretching her body as she did so and he admired her curves that were exposed when the blanket fell away, just then realizing she was in her pajamas. The silky mesh fabric accentuated her breasts as they were thrust outwards as she stretched. He felt his groin plates separating. And tried to even out his breathing.
Before her, breasts were not something he found arousing. The idea of being with an Asari or a Human had never crossed his mind. Even now they paled in comparison to the Vextra in front of him.
“Something smells amazing” she murmured sensuously and he inwardly groaned. That tone she was using should only be used in the bedroom.
“Brantus went a bit overboard.” He admitted. She chuckled.
“How is he?” She asked.
“He seems good, annoying as usual. He asked about you.” He admitted as they headed to the kitchen. Her eyes bulged at he the amount of food he had brought home
“Did he give you one of everything on the menu?” She blurted out in shock. Garrus barked out a laugh
“Maybe. I told him you had been going through some hard times and he didn’t even take my order. He told me he gives you well wishes and that he hopes things get easier.” Garrus dictated. She stared at him briefly.
“What did you tell him exactly” she asked warily
“I gave him no details, and was as vague as possible” he explained and watched her visibly relax.
They dug through the bag and began opening up the containers.
“There is enough food here for a couple of days” she exclaimed in shock. Garrus hummed to himself as thoughts of being locked in the apartment and making love with her for days played in his mind. He pushed the thoughts aside. He had hope one day he would be able to. For now he needed to be satisfied with what she was comfortable with.
“Should we watch the last few episodes of Hazbin while we eat?” Garrus offered and watched as a broad grin graced her features.
“Yes!” She pulled out another container of food and gasped as the smell of it wafted into her nostrils. “What is this?” She asked herself as she drooled a bit from the smell.
“Looks like it's dessert” Garrus commented. Not knowing what it is called
“It smells delectable” she commented as she licked her lips before forcing herself to put it down.
Garrus reached over her for two plates and they began piling food onto their plates. Garrus took her omni-tool to set up the projector and Erinyes grabbed the silverware and then headed to the couch to get comfortable. Moving the blanket back into his room for later. She didn't want to irritate him by things being out of place.
She cuddled up next to him as they watched.
Erinyes told him that one of her favorite songs was about to play and Garrus set both their plates down and tugged her to her feet to dance while ‘Out for Love’ played.
“I want this song later” he whispered to her as he spun her away and tugged her back into him kissing her passionately when she reached him.
The song ended rather quickly and Garrus gathered her into his arms and continued having their tongue dance as he made his way back to the couch and sitting down. She sat on his lap for the rest of the episode. Her purring happily as she nuzzled against him.
Things were going so well.
She missed Ashley, but things between Garrus and her had been growing and was the best it had been yet. They understood each other so well and she was excited to go further yet apprehensive and still a little scared.
Tali rang Erinyes and she excused herself from Garrus with a chaste kiss before leaving his lap. Erinyes tied the call to her Vextran tech
“Hey Tali” Erinyes greeted happily as she moved to the kitchen so it wasn’t that loud. She noticed Garrus had paused the episode. “Garrus, you don’t need to pause it, I’ll be right back over” he hummed and began playing it but lowered the volume. “What’s up?” She asked Tali
“What’s up is such a strange human phrase” she commented. Erinyes shrugged.
“I had the phrases and idioms beat into me.” She rubbed her shoulder and winced at the ghost pain “Sometimes literally”
Tali dropped the subject. Erinyes activated her software and requested the call to turn to a holo call. Tali accepted immediately.
“I’m resupplying and wanted to know exactly what you wanted. Keelah the choices are overwhelming”
Erinyes chuckled softly and went over the list she had given her and went over the exact things she wanted.
Garrus listened in smiling. He was so happy she was feeling back to normal. Things had finally become less tumultuous and he felt he could breathe. Sure the mission with Saren was still yet to be resolved but seeing how much Erinyes had grown from when he first met her made him so proud of her. He wasn’t really paying that much attention to the episode when Erinyes finished the call, dropped the software and quite literally jumped to land in his lap, surprising him further by kissing him.
“You haven’t been paying attention to the show” she whispered against his mouthplates. He was splayed out on the couch, his hands now rested on her hips as she moved to straddle him, her elbows resting against his carapace as she played with his mandibles.
He grimaced. He was caught and had no excuse.
Well except one
“How can I focus on anything but you when you are near me?” He asked huskily and was rewarded by her pulling his face towards hers and the two had a heated tongue battle, remapping each other’s mouths and enjoying the heat and desire they had for one another.
“If I’m so distracting we should watch the last episode later” she offered seductively. Garrus didn’t need any more convincing and stood up, her legs still wrapped around him, got her omni-tool and turned off the episode and kissed her briefly as she put her omni-tool back on as he walked to his bedroom.
“May I try something?” Garrus asked awkwardly. Erinyes tilted her head, curious what he was suggesting, legs wrapped around his waist, hands supporting her on his cowl.
“Depends what it is” she deflected.
“May I touch your…” his mouth got dry.
Why couldn’t he say the words? He knew what they were called
Mentally he yelled at himself but managed to gesture at her chest.
She stared at him a moment in thought.
She had been curious at what those once off-limit areas would feel like if touched in a loving way instead in the cruel way Keska would touch them. She took a shaky breath in and nodded once.
Garrus felt winded. He wasn’t expecting her to say yes. And gently laid her on his bed, hovering over her as he followed her movement. She seemed a bit apprehensive.
“If you don’t like it we can stop” he explained and watched as her apprehension slipped away slightly. Resting his weight on an elbow he used his other hand to slowly touch up her stomach, watching her shiver in anticipation or nerves. He couldn’t tell which one she was feeling, it could possibly be both. Opting to touch her at first over her pajama top, he softly palmed the breast in his hand and squeezed ever so softly. Watching her face carefully as he did so. She gasped nearly as softly as his touch was. She didn’t look like she was triggered and watched her until she looked at him and nodded to continue.
It was interesting how soft the breast was. It was pillowy but had some give. He had never felt anything like it. He squeezed a bit more firmly and she hummed.
A good sign.
His fingers traced over her nipple over the fabric and watched as she drew in a breath at the sensation. He rolled his finger around the nipple and her body arched into his hand
A very good sign.
He beamed at her.
His eyes glanced over to the bathroom.
He desperately wanted to shower with her again
Erinyes was shocked at how nice the soft touches felt, he touched her so differently than Keska did and was relieved she was not getting triggered back to relive those awful memories with the vedthar.
She arched her back when he played with her nipple.
Who knew that could feel so amazing.
Her eyes closed from the feeling and opened to see him glancing away from her. She looked in the direction he was looking and noticed the bathroom.
Internally she laughed.
But then her curiosity came over her. What he was doing felt good with her clothes on, what would it feel like with her clothes off?
Maybe another shower was a good idea.
Plus they didn’t have to worry about how much time they took.
“Love” she breathed, getting his attention.
Crap
She caught him again.
Their eyes met and she didn’t look mad or annoyed
She looked amused
“Want to take a shower?” She asked coyly as she reached up to stroke one of his mandibles. His face was attracted to her touch like a magnet. His eyes searched hers.
This had to be a dream, right?
His breath caught in his throat and he did not feel like his voice wouldn’t betray him.
He nodded, trying to stop himself from looking too eager.
She giggled.
So he failed in that.
His mind went to berate him until she moved to stand and deactivated the band on her wrist. Her pajamas shimmering away from her.
Then his mind went blank.
She was still facing away from him. He decreased the distance and whispered in her ear the only question on his mind
“Can I still touch you?”
She nodded slowly and he wrapped her in his arms before nuzzling her neck. Thrilled he could do so now.
She moaned when he got the courage to touch her bare breasts and kiss her neck.
They felt perfect in his hands.
They were not large, Ashley had larger ones. Hers may have been slightly larger than Tali’s though.
He paused his train of thought.
When had he been comparing other women’s breasts to his Vextra?
Why did their bodies matter? They were not her.
She leaned her head back to rest on his shoulder and sighed blissfully.
“I’ll turn on the water while you undress.” She told him breathily
He hummed his agreement, letting her make space between them. He began frantically taking off his clothes and paused taking off his pants when he watched her suddenly stop when she reached the doorway
“Everything okay?” He asked cautiously
He needed everything to be okay.
“I don’t have my shower supplies” She whispered.
Mentally he was cursing.
“So what if we forego the shower and stay in the bedroom?” He asked, trying very hard to keep his tone neutral. He didn’t want to scare her.
He watched her tense
Crap
Too late on that front.
“And do what?” she asked, her voice an octave higher than normal.
“Nothing you don’t want to do” he responded calmly. He watched her relax slightly
“What if I don’t know what I want to do?” She asked in a scared whisper, her voice still higher than normal but not an octave higher.
“I would like to explore what we had just done” he explained. Grabbing her pajama band and handing it to her before backing away to give her space
She put it on and relaxed more, turning towards him. She looked apprehensive still
“And that’s it?”
“That’s it unless you decide you want something else.” He explained. She looked over at the bed and back at him nodding. “Do you want me to put back on my shirt?” She shook her head no
Spirits!
He felt like he had narrowly dodged a sniper bullet aimed at his head. It wasn’t over yet either. He needed to make sure that she only felt pleasure from his touch.
Her pleasure was his responsibility
It would be easier if he knew what he was doing.
Genesis Calvin (Guest) on Chapter 1 Thu 21 Aug 2025 08:29PM UTC
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Genesis Calvin (Guest) on Chapter 1 Thu 21 Aug 2025 09:06PM UTC
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Dummy_love7 on Chapter 5 Fri 25 Apr 2025 12:31PM UTC
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Dummy_love7 on Chapter 6 Tue 29 Apr 2025 07:10AM UTC
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FoxyDuzzie on Chapter 6 Tue 29 Apr 2025 07:17AM UTC
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Dummy_love7 on Chapter 7 Tue 29 Apr 2025 07:53AM UTC
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FoxyDuzzie on Chapter 7 Tue 29 Apr 2025 08:11AM UTC
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violette_writes_things on Chapter 18 Mon 16 Jun 2025 01:23PM UTC
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FoxyDuzzie on Chapter 18 Mon 16 Jun 2025 01:33PM UTC
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DelayedInspiration (Guest) on Chapter 31 Fri 22 Aug 2025 06:14PM UTC
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FoxyDuzzie on Chapter 31 Fri 22 Aug 2025 11:15PM UTC
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violette_writes_things on Chapter 31 Thu 28 Aug 2025 02:18PM UTC
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FoxyDuzzie on Chapter 31 Fri 29 Aug 2025 09:56PM UTC
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