Honor's Boundary Chapter 7: Man Down

Honor's Boundary -
A Garrus Vakarian Tale
By: Kellieqd
Game: Mass Effect
Pairing: Shepard...eventually
Disclaimer:  The Mass Effect universe and it's characters are the sole intellectual property of Bioware and EA. This is simply my interpretation of their story.

Chapter 7:  Man Down

"Out of the way!!"  Kaidan shouted, Shepard laying limp in his arms as he sprinted toward the Normandy. "Stay with me."

"Kaidan, there is a Doctor here in the settlement, I'm sure he could take a lo.."

"NO! She's seeing Chakwas," he replied, cutting him off.

"Kaidan," the Commander whimpered, "I...I'm fi..fi..fine. Rea... really... the colonists." She drifted back out. The neuro-toxin was wreaking havoc on her internal systems.

"It's ok, everyone please just step aside, we have a man down," Garrus said as he parted the sea of newly conscious colonists that had formed around them. "We need to get her to a Doctor!"

They moved past the crowds and as they neared the ship Garrus turned to Kaidan and said, "I should really stay, make sure they're ok, they're disoriented, confused. I'll join you as soon as I can!"

He wanted to make sure she was ok, but they needed someone right now.

"Right! Thank you Garrus," Kaidan replied and boarded the ship.
___________________________________________

Until the last 10 minutes the mission had been a great success. They had discovered the reason the Geth had been targeting Feros. It was a sentient plant that had existed there for countless ages. It possessed telepathic abilities that allowed it to turn the minds of it's  unsuspecting victims into defenseless servants of it's will. It turned some into dangerous "creepers," who could spray a potentially lethal toxin that completely bypasses shields. It had insidiously taken control of the human colony there, some resisted, but eventually the pain became too much, even for the strong-willed to resist.  All of this had been allowed to go on by the Exo-Geni Corp, whose initial interest had been limited to the Prothean ruins around the settlement.  But soon they began using the colonists as a control group to study the abilities of the creature there. They watched everything from their headquarters across the skyway until the Geth showed up.

The Thorian had existed in the time of the Protheans, it had absorbed their consciousness just as it was doing with the current inhabitants. The knowledge it had gained from them could be used as a cipher to understand what had been seen by Saren and Shepard through the beacon on Eden Prime. The cipher was shared with Shepard through a mind link with an asari that Saren had offered up as a sacrifice to the Thorian in exchange for the knowledge he sought. Saren had betrayed the Thorian after getting what he needed, leaving the creature hostile toward the Normandy's squad that followed.  It launched wave after wave of formerly dormant creeper's against them, as well as clones of the asari he had been given... not to mention there were still lingering Geth scattered through the area.  They had been left no choice but to destroy the Thorian, releasing the asari slave and the colonists from it's control.

They had miraculously been able to do all of this while preserving all of the colonists unharmed, despite how violent they had become defending their captor. It was almost time to celebrate when it happened... all it took was one. After all of the dozens they had already fought off, it was just one.

"Commander!!" Garrus had tried to warn her, but it was too late. None of them had seen it in time.

A single creeper, the lone survivor showered Shepard's helmet with toxic sludge, it breached her armor and she began to aspirate in her suit. She hit the ground as he and Kaidan simultaneously launched their attacks, utterly destroying the assailant.

Quinn! It was more difficult to see her so helpless than he would have anticipated.

In a flash Kaidan had collapsed at her side placing his ear on her chest.  "Quinn! Quinn, can you hear me?? Please, please be ok!" he pleaded.

"Is she breathing?" Garrus demanded.

"Yes, her vitals are there, but they're weak."

They both watched as she spasmed, writhing in pain.

That damn Thorian!!! Controlling their minds isn't enough??! He had to do this??

"It must be a neuro-toxin, it's attacking her nervous system. She can probably hear us, but it would explain why she can't answer," Garrus growled.

"I can't see her like this! I'm getting her back to the ship," Kaidan scooped the Commander into his arms and started heading off toward the landing point.

"Right behind you!"

____________________________________

The colonists had many questions for Garrus. They couldn't remember the events of the past few hours.  He worked his hardest to address their concerns, he even helped them get their utilities back online which had been damaged in the Geth onslaught. They were in need of leadership. Fai Dan, their previous leader had become a casualty of the conflict, taking his own life when he defied the Thorian, refusing to shoot at the ground squad.  Shiala, the asari they had rescued from the Thorians's control volunteered her services. Exo-Geni also offered funding as if to make up for the crimes they had committed against the people there.  It was going to be a rough road but Garrus was confident they would be able to rebuild now.

"Thank you Shiala," Garrus said, " they'll be much better off with you here to help."

"It's the least I can do. When I was joined with the Thorian I could feel these people's pain, I even attacked you. I need to atone for what I can," her voice was filled with sorrow from what she couldn't take back, but hope for what she could contribute to the future.

"It's not your fault what Saren did to you."

"I had allied myself with him, I let myself be fooled by his charisma. I thought I was on the right side. Never again will I be so blind..."

"I respect how you can keep your perspective after what's happened to you.  If someone betrayed me..." he trailed off. "We're going to make Saren pay!" he slammed his fist into his palm.

"I wish you luck Garrus. I hope you and your team can return one day."

"As do I," Garrus replied. "I know the Commander will be eager to hear about your progress."

The onlooking colonists joined together asking him to please thank the Commander and their team for saving them.  

"I will..."

Overcome by their gratitude he waved goodbye and boarded the ship.
___________________________________________

"Have you heard anything Joker? Is she going to recover?"

"I haven't heard anything since Kaidan brought her on board, but she's one tough son of a bitch, I do know that much," he replied.

I know, that's why this mission needs her.
_____________________________________________

He made his way down to the Med Bay and was met at the door by Liara.

"Oh Garrus, I'm so sorry! It must have been stressful down there. I hear you stayed to help the colonists, that's very noble of you. If there is anything you need, or you want to talk, I am always free," she offered and came in for a hug.

He had't been expecting that and awkwardly fumbled, struggling with where to put his hands.

"Thanks Liara, overall the mission was a great success. Just wait until you hear the report, what we found! I just want to make sure Shepard is ok," he said.

"Of course, how rude! I am delaying you, apologies," she excused herself and left Garrus standing in front of the door.

Garrus took a deep breath, preparing for the worst. He needed her to be ok...  he needed her to stop Saren! The Normandy needed her.

The doors swished open. Doctor Chakwas was at her desk reviewing scans while Kaidan sat in a chair by the bedside, with his hand resting atop Shepard's.

"Garrus!" he stood up and ran over, pulling him into his embrace.

Are turians the only ones in the galaxy who don't hug??

"Thank you for staying behind. I know I kind of lost my head back there, I was just so worried. It should be me on that bed, I should have stopped that thing," Kaidan said.

"We did what we could Kaidan. Sometimes it just comes down to chance. We thought we'd got them all."

"Still... this will never happen again!" he said determinedly.

Garrus turned his attention to the Doctor, "How is she Doc?"

"She got lucky. She arrived just in time, the acid was unable to make contact with her skin so she won't have any permanent scarring. The toxin aspirated and spread quickly through her body. I gave her a neuro suppressant to stop the spasms and sedatives to allow her to rest.  Her body should be able to work out the rest. Without prolonged exposure to the toxin the symptoms will disappear.  She should awake no worse for the wear."

"Thank the Spirits!" he exclaimed with a relieved sigh.

"She's lucky to have you two," said Chakwas.

"Lucky would be if this never happened," Garrus replied.

He walked over to Shepard's side. He wanted to stay, to make sure she was really ok. But it was obvious Kaidan had it covered.

"Don't get any ideas Alenko, she may be unconscious but she's still Shepard. Prepare for one hell of a punch if your hands start to wander."

"I may not be the brightest, but I'm not crazy Garrus," he replied, blushing slightly.

"We'll see..." muttered Garrus under his breath.
___________________________________________

It was quiet below deck, too quiet. He needed a distraction and he got one, from an unexpected source.

"Hey bird bra... hey Garrus," she self-corrected.

"Hey Ash!"

Ashley flinched.  He loved making her uncomfortable.

"I hear things got crazy down there."

Now she's going to rant on about how if she'd been there none of this would have happened and how he couldn't be trusted, blah blah blah, like this day wasn't tiresome enough. But to his surprise she didn't.

"You did a good thing helping all of those colonists. You were able to protect them in a way I had failed on Eden Prime," she was obviously pained by what she was recalling to mind.

Great, now I feel like a dick.

"You were taken by surprise, we knew what we were headed into, prepared," he replied.

"I guess... doesn't make it any easier. I'm so glad you and Alenko are ok.  I hear Shepard wasn't so lucky..." she trailed off and began shifting her weight, fidgeting. "He's really worried about her isn't he?"

She's really asking me about this??

"You mean Kaidan? Well, I mean,  we both were of course. It was really hard to tell how bad the damage was. I think his instincts just took over. It would have been the same with anyone else.  Besides, she's fine," he tried to downplay how upset Kaidan had been.

"Maybe you're right. It's never easy to see a teammate down. He took Jenkins death really hard!"

"Exactly. It's a natural human response, anyone else would have reacted the same."

"I'm surprised to see you down here, seems like you and the Skipper have been becoming good friends. I mean you've been on every away mission," she said.

"Well, I was up there... but she needs to rest. Wouldn't want to risk making her cranky."

He had never really thought of the Commander, of Quinn, as a friend before.  But reflecting over the past few weeks, maybe Ashley was right.

"You're telling me, learned that the hard way... well I should really get back. I'll see you around I guess."

Could the ice queen really be melting?

Joker's voice came on over the Comm. "Alright people, just cause the Commander was laid up doesn't mean you all get to slack off.  By the way, she's awake, so vacation's over! She wants all Senior Officers and Auxiliary Ops in the debriefing room in 30 minutes. Joker out!"

Damn, she really is one tough son of a bitch!