To Survive: Terminus Coalition

Chapter 51: Smiles

Tali ascended the staircase, following the curve leftward as she climbed. The next floor seemed to be the kitchen, so she continued up the stairwell to the third floor. A door that she could continue past blocked the third floor. Undoubtedly these were the bedrooms, and the door allowed for some privacy.

She was convinced that Garrus' sister would want someone to vent to, only because she knew that she had been alone for so long. If she has been angry with Garrus all this time, there's no reason she would be madder now. Right? Maybe she doesn't even know why she's mad? She continued to rationalize to herself to calm her nerves. Keelah, why'd I even come up here? She doesn't even know me… but I do know Garrus.

Tali knocked hesitantly on the old door that appeared to be made of some solid vegetative substance from native trees. The house must have been old to not have some sort of automated door system in place. When she knocked, the door slid open on its hinges –it must not have been shut properly.

Tali caught a glimpse of Sol and she was staring back, "You're Tali'Zorah right? Unless you changed your name when you mated," the turian supposed. Her plates were paler and tighter than Garrus' and her snout protruded further. It made her look sleeker and agile, as if the female turians tended to be the hunters in their ancestry. Tali found her to be gorgeous. She had never gotten a proper look at a female turian. For whatever reason, they didn't seem to be on the Citadel or in the mercenary gangs.

"Yes, my name changed when I bonded. My name is Tali'Shepard now, but you can just call me Tali." Tali pushed herself further into the bright room against her inner resistance. The sun was pouring in through the many large windows and onto the white floor and walls. Quit being awkward. I won't mess up if I just be direct. I should ask how she's feeling.

Before Tali could open her mouth to speak, Sol beat her to it. "What is Garrus like?"

The question caught Tali off guard. It made sense to her after a brief thought; especially since they had an age gap over ten years and Garrus made it clear he hadn't been home in a long time. It genuinely saddened Tali to hear the woman admit her simple question.

Tali wanted desperately to come up with an answer that would… work. Sol sat on her bedside looking expectantly at Tali, but she didn't know what to say. What could she?

"He's passionate, I guess… and he's loyal… and a good friend." Tali began to spit out different character traits.

"What's he passionate about?" She pursued.

"About his friends and family, mostly. He's loyal, like I said, and he's very protective of the people he cares about."

"That doesn't sound like the Garrus I know." Sol replied softly and disheartened.

Tali moved a little closer, "I don't think he's ever been too good at communicating how much he cares."

"Maybe…. How long has he been with you?"

"He's been a part of the Normandy SR2's crew for about eight months, but I've only been a part of it for six. When Shepard came back, he needed a team and I imagine that Garrus was one of the first he sought out." Tali explained, a little fuzzy on the details of their encounter.

"I don't know him at all." Sol confessed just above a whisper. "He didn't tell me anything." She looked into Tali's eyes with desperate fire. Whether it was anger or passionate regret, Tali couldn't say. Sol turned her gaze down again.

"You know what Garrus is good at?" Tali got Sol to look back up at her. "Caring. He cares about how you're feeling; he's just too stupid and stubborn to show it."

Sol remained silent for a moment, giving Tali a window to find a seat to pull out from under a desk. "I don't want to talk about Garrus anymore." She decided. "Did you just call your mate Shepard? Isn't that kind of weird?"

"I didn't think you'd know who I was talking about if I called him John." Tali replied honestly.

"After the Battle of the Citadel, when everyone was talking about Commander Shepard and his amazing crew, I just had to read all I could about each of you. My brother was a real hero…. And yeah, I know Captain Shepard's first name is John." She followed the new conversation.

Tali smirked. She felt terrible that the young girl was so distant from her brother. Garrus was really blowing it at home.

"Your suit is very pretty. It looks a lot like clothing, not like other spacesuits. You must feel so exposed in a fight."

"I've got strong shields."

"You must be a really good soldier to have gotten a spot on Shepard's crew." Sol assumed.

Tali bobbed her to both sides, weighing the words, "Not really. I first joined up with Shepard when I wasn't very long into my pilgrimage; barely an adult. When I joined, he said that I'd really need train on my weapons of choice if I was going to be able to help on the field. I'm a ship engineer by trade, but when it was clear that I was going to be in combat a lot, I began studying weapons and shielding tech. I tend to be better at the defensive part: boosting shields, modding weapons and the like. A trained combat engineer would focus just as much on sabotaging techniques. Over the years I won't deny that I've gotten a lot better at whatever John needs me to do."

"I can't imagine being in combat so much, especially with the stakes so high."

Sol stated.

"Do you have a job in the city, or do you live further away from your father?" Tali asked in turn.

"During the week I work and live in the Paravian Hunting Grounds as a park ranger. On the weekends I come home and spend time with Dad. I think he'd get lonely without me."

"What do you do at your job?"

"I walk specific patrols mostly, and look out for signs of poaching or malpractice. It's such a large uncivilized area that Paravia tends to attract practicing criminals on Palaven."

"How big is it?" Tali asked a little confused. A couple drones could easily survey most hunting grounds. Crime must be a persistent problem if hiring a full team to deal with it was the best option.

"It's actually really cool. During the War of Fire, the smallest continent on Palaven called Paravia was at the heart of the conflict. During the war, the continent was carpeted with nuclear warheads that decimated the landscape. When the war ended, it was agreed that nuclear armaments shouldn't be used on Palaven so frivolously ever again. To come to true peace, both sides agreed to declare Paravia a neutral ground after it was evacuated, and to promote the health of the planet they decided that no turian would be allowed to live there permanently. Instead the place was developed into a large hunting ground, famous for its shathas, which attract hunters from across the galaxy."

"That's amazing…" Tali wondered back to all that her people could do on Rannoch. She had never heard of anything so unique about a planet, and she was overwhelmed with a sense of possibility. There was so much opportunity and so much history to make and tell on a planet of one's own.

"It's fascinating. I don't do much hunting myself, but the landscape's beautiful and the people I meet can be very nice. You must like to shoot." She grinned.

"I wouldn't say it's my favourite pastime. Like I mentioned before, John said I had to get to know my weapons of choice really well. At longer ranges, I depend almost entirely on my omni-tool to keep the crew's shields up and perform sabotage. I keep a shotgun handy to deal lots of damage quickly if an enemy gets too close. It doesn't require finesse." Tali admitted.

"Being able to use your omni-tool as a weapon has to be one of the coolest things ever."

Tali immediately thought of an idea, "Do you want to see something amazing?"

"Yeah!" Sol said brightly.

Tali activated her omni-tool and held it out away from herself. With a simple trigger she extended the prototype omni-blade from the device. "It's a weapon for close quarters. It can be modded with incendiaries, electrical currents, explosives…"

"Very awesome." Sol nodded. "Hey, I saw that newscast on the Citadel where Captain Shepard took you out on stage and showed you off to the galaxy." Sol prodded intentionally provoking Tali's blush. "That was pretty sweet, yeah?"

Tali didn't really know how to reply. "It was." She answered simply. The sound of rifle shots could be heard from the backyard.

"He must really love you."

Tali smiled, "He does."

"Dad I… I'm sorry. Maybe that is what I was doing: giving up." Garrus said from the back door. Shepard and Garrus' father had been talking in the living room while waiting for Garrus to finish his shooting.

"You don't need to apologize to me. It's your life; I just don't think you should regret it." The investigator said seriously.

"Thanks." Garrus replied without knowing what else he should say. "How is Mom doing?"

Mr. Vakarian shook his head, "There isn't anything any of us can do. There isn't any sense in letting her misfortune distract you, son."

"Damn…" Garrus breathed softly.

"If you have a day to spare, Sol can get us to Paravia for a hunt. Perhaps it'll give you some time to clear yourself of distractions." Mr. Vakarian suggested. "I'm sure with a party the likes of ours we could track and kill a shatha before sundown."

Shepard looked at his friend and Garrus replied before he could answer, "We can't keep the batarians waiting much longer, right Shepard?"

Shepard locked eyes with Garrus. They had the time to spare, but it was clear that Garrus didn't want to stay any longer. "Garrus is right." Shepard obliged, "We can't stay much longer. It was hard enough to find the time to come by."

"I should talk with Sol before we go." Garrus stated.

Shepard responded, "I'll notify Tali," and sent a page quick message through his omni-tool.

It wasn't long before the joyful chatter of two women could be heard echoing down the stairway. Shepard couldn't help but smile, though the two turians were too shocked at hearing Sol laugh to do anything but stare at one another in concern.

The three men stood when the ladies came into view. Sol walked closer with confidence, looking Garrus in the eye unwaveringly. Tali moved to stand by her bondmate and watch.

"Sol…"

"I don't know anything about you, Garrus." Sol said with a lightly shaking voice. "I hope one day I'll know a little more about the man you've become. I was angry at you, but I never really stopped to think if you deserved it." She said with heartfelt conviction. "Just… please don't cut me out anymore."

Garrus stood a little bewildered. He suddenly found himself completely unprepared, "I did deserve it…. You never knew the truth, but you'd be just as upset if you did," he admitted.

"Do you care about me? And Mom and Dad? Do you care about us?"

"More than anything."

"Then I don't give a damn about what you were doing. You're screwed up, but you're my brother and you're here now." She swallowed back her urge to cry, "We all do stupid things, but I'm not going to be the one to abandon you. So you do what you've got to do. Help Captain Shepard and Tali save the galaxy one more time, then get the hell back home…. I love you Garrus."

Garrus stepped forward and embraced his younger sister. "I'll be fighting for you, sis…" he began to choke up, "And I'm not going to give up this time."

Shepard took Tali's hand and watched gladly as he saw his most loyal friend change for the better. He knew that Garrus wasn't going to let this moment go, but he'd fixate on it, and it would drive him forward.

They separated and stood at arms length, "You've grown up, Sol."

"Hm," she smiled as only a turian can. "Keep your friends safe. They're good people."

"I'd take more than one bullet for them." Garrus assured with a grin.

Shepard imposed when he caught a lull, "Sounds like you girls had a good talk."

"Captain Shepard, I apologize for being so rude when you arrived. I guess I was just… overwhelmed." Sol quickly replied.

"Garrus has a way of infuriating people; so don't mention it. I feel the same way when I see his ugly face after a relaxing day." Shepard smirked, catching the steady eye of Mr. Vakarian and his uncanny resemblance. "I don't know where he could have gotten his looks from." He awkwardly stroked his neck.

"I saw that newscast where you brought Tali on camera. It was a really sweet gesture." Sol smiled.

"A lot of people in this galaxy are idiots. What were they saying again? Some question about me letting quarians onto my crew? I don't think I'll be able to expect the public to understand what I do anymore than the Council did, not with the way reporters are." Shepard reacted.

"Tali is the first quarian I've ever met. I'm on your side Shepard, she's nicer than most of the girls I grew up with."

Tali smiled tenderly behind her mask, "There are lots of different people in every race."

"I know. I just think what most people think about your people is a gross injustice."

"Tali's changing that," Shepard smiled.

"Stick close. We'll be leading a force into the most cramped place in their camp. A large amount of their living quarters are built around the foundation of the mountain. All the walls are stone brick, so don't expect the buildings to remain standing when the fighting begins." Urgen instructed Grunt and Jack as they jogged together. Wrex instructed them to follow Urgen's lead during the fight earlier. Together they would lead Urgen's men, which numbered over a hundred.

Grunt was fully equipped and excited to finally fight a battle on this scale. He knew the fight was relatively small in comparison with most wars between clans, but if he managed to kill more krogan than the others he'd be satisfied.

"We march!" Urgen shouted and began to lead his men at a quick pace around the massing krogan behind Wrex and over to get a flanking position on the settlement that provided quick access to the clan's living spaces. It seemed as though the clan wasn't only using the leftover structures from before the last nuclear war or the spaces carved into the mountainside. Instead, the colony had outgrown whatever old colony they had built on top of, and was now made largely of poorly built stone structures.

By the time they had worked their way around the colony the battle was clearly underway as the battlecries and of countless krogan and the roar of shotguns and artillery could be heard in the direction of Wrex's force. There wasn't any waiting to be done once they moved into position; the objective was simple: clear and control the most defensible part of the enemy encampment: the living spaces.

Grunt breathed with deep snorts as they picked up the pace and began to sprint toward the colony wall. Jack struggled to keep up with his sprint as he pulled ahead of the group.

Eager to get into the fight, they all reached the wall at full speed. Instead of letting Grunt and Urgen bash into the wall to break it down with the other krogan, Jack launched them both over the wall and proceeded to lift herself over with a powerful biotic jump.

They landed firmly on the other side, in view of plenty of shanty buildings that left only small corridors to move through. "Start clearing rooms. When the others break through, it'll be good if have some space to spread out." Urgen commanded gruffly.

Grunt nodded and kicked down the closest iron door and ran in; Jack telekinetically ripped the door off another building and charged in. Split up, the three of them continued to push through the compound in search of a last stand resistance.

Jack burst into the room, but there wasn't anyone there. She sighed in frustration and continued to run and tear into the next building. No one again, it was clear that if they were using this place as their last line of defense, they were concentrated somewhere. Impatiently, she ran into the alley and jumped to the rooftops.

Jack ran across the sheet metal patched roofs, ripping off sheets to see inside as she passed. Before she got too aggravated, she heard gunfire from the direction of where Urgen had ran and it wasn't far off. She drew her shotgun and ran towards the noise that grew increasingly distinct from the surrounding echoes of war.

A sudden crash drew her attention down and to her right when a krogan hurtled through a wall and into the alley. The building he was formerly in proceeded to collapse without the support of the wall. Jack grinned menacingly and jumped down onto the rubble.

Urgen dug himself out of the wreckage as three krogan exited the adjacent home and were immediately lifted into the air and slammed to the ground by Jack dealing heavy wallop. She likely broke their legs, and so she effortlessly walked up to and blasted each of them with her shotgun.

The ground shook when the wall they had jumped was knocked to the ground and the other Urdnots flooded into the narrow streets. "There are more in the room," Urgen said as he stood and picked up his kukshock.

"Good," Jack replied. She levitated a large boulder from the rubble and tossed it powerfully into the side of the home, from which it collapsed instantly. "Let's keep moving. They won't get out before the wave of meat gets here."

Thud

A krogan tackled Grunt from the side and into a wall; several of the soft stones crumbled and fell in small shards. Together they staggered, but Grunt kept his footing as his assailant fell to his knees. Grunt turned and swiftly kicked him in the face, flipping him onto his back. From that position he was easily dispatched with a full swing of his kukshock aimed at the neck.

Dislodging his weapon from the corpse, he looked around. He was caught off guard only because he had been running towards the sounds of battle in his impatience looking through the buildings.

Now he could hear the scrambling of several foot soldiers responding to the skirmish. Restless for battle, he picked himself up and ripped the iron hatch to the adjoining room off its hinges.

The heads of four-dozen krogan quickly turned to see him standing in the threshold. Grunt found himself in front of an entire platoon. "Hah! Ahahaha!" Grunt laughed in adrenaline-induced hysteria at the sight of the entire platoon's surprised glare. The large krogan he had faced the other day pushed his way to the front and roared with his gun held high over his head. The ground shook, and Grunt stopped laughing to smile menacingly.

The enemy charged headlong towards him. In response, Grunt tore a cluster of high explosive grenades from his belt and tossed them into the room as he turned and ran. The grenades would only slow them down, and if lucky they'd collapse the building. Unable to check, he ran far enough to loop around the far side of his pursuers. He knew full well that Urgen's forces would soon engage, and he'd be able to flank effectively.

Sooner than he prepared, he heard the roars of weapons fire as the two forces collided in the complex of buildings and tight streets. Seeing his opportunity for some fun, Grunt climbed onto the roof of the closest building. With a running lead he bounded off the roof and landed with his blade piercing right through the plate of an enemy krogan's skull at the center of the skirmish.

He quickly twisted his blade out of his victim's brain, and bent down to swipe the knees of the enemy that surrounded him on all sides. They faltered as intended, and it gave Urgen's men enough of an advantage to push through the gap and overwhelm the hole in the Gurge defensive line. Grunt bent down and dispatched one of the many that fell.

He kicked another krogan over just to have it trampled by its compatriots as if dead already. But the crowding was difficult to deal with. His allies pushed through the narrow streets, and Grunt viciously stabbed whichever krogan managed to find itself unfortunately in front of him, but he needed to escape the close combat before anything more than a glancing blow struck him.

He took another grenade, and shoved it into a Gurge's mouth. The surprised krogan was then violently punched and thrown back. Grunt turned and cracked his kukshock's hilt over the enemy diagonally adjacent to him, and ducked underneath him as a meaty shield while the unlucky krogan exploded and temporarily knocked several others off balance. Seizing the moment, Grunt pushed his way free of the mosh to the more fluid combat happening inside the buildings.

An ally in blood rage charged past Grunt howling in severe pain. He laughed as he saw two krogan from Gurge get in his way. The raging Urdnot tackled one and buried his face into his victim's neck and bit down ferociously. Grunt intervened before the witness could shoot his weapon, by drawing his own shotgun and blasting his hands off. Grunt lunged ahead and jammed his bayonetted weapon into the krogan's mouth before any blood rage of his own could spark. The bayonet protruded through the other side before Grunt fired. The body slumped down, though Grunt shot his eye point blank once more to ensure he was dead. The raging krogan was still feasting on the other, who squirmed helplessly beneath.

Grunt looked back on the alley, and saw that Jack had intervened and was making short work of the enemy. Her power to knock the Gurge down to get mauled by bloodthirsty Urdnot troops was impressively effective. She may not have been claiming the kills, but she was the one turning the tide. Grunt decided to push back to the warehouse that housed the platoon where he could find more satisfying kills.

He moved another room forward to witness an Urdnot's face blown in. Grunt bounded forwarded with his blade drawn, and the return fire only reflected off his shields. The opponent quickly dropped his weapon and used both hands to focus a biotic force on Grunt. Realizing how much he was slowed, Grunt purposefully grounded himself by going on all fours and digging his claws into the dirt. He had learned a few things about training with Jack on the Normandy, and this krogan was much less powerful than her.

Grunt continued to push forward slowly as the biotic krogan began shouting "Vreck!" over his shoulder. Grunt could see the strain in his opponent's face. He struggled to keep Grunt back as he continued to push with might.

"Rah!" Grunt shouted to startle the opponent just enough to take full advantage of his weakening power. Grunt stood and heaved his blade forward through the air. The distracted and tiring biotic couldn't respond before the blade punctured his lower abdomen. The sudden shock caused him to release Grunt, who charged at full strength into him. Grunt grabbed his hilt and carved the blade through both hearts of his victim. "Hah ha!" he shouted with vigour.

A moment to catch his breath, Grunt looked out a window to the alleyway where he saw his clansmen had pushed with Urgen at their head to secure the entire alley. They were now moving the other direction to check buildings and secure what ground was certainly taken. Grunt still had to make it to the unconquered warehouse, which was only a door away.

With his shotgun drawn to match the more open space of the warehouse. Grunt stepped into the large room, and his blue eyes narrowed at the sight of a seemingly worthy foe.

"I am Gurge Vreck!" The same large krogan from the negotiations bellowed. "I will avenge my fallen brothers! Your brain will roll exposed in the dust before I am through." Vreck threatened with his grip tight around a large war hammer held in both hands. "Urdnot is full of the weak!"

Grunt dropped his gun and drew his kukshock. He displayed his signature smile, "This'll be fun."

Vreck charged headlong with his hammer held high above his head. Grunt stood his ground until Vreck came within striking distance. He swept under Vreck's evident offhand, and slashed his ankle, spilling some blood. The hammer crashed down and left a small crater in the rocky foundation.

Quick on his feet, Grunt lunged to tackle Vreck to the ground from behind, but the back of Vreck's hand swiped across Grunt's face, knocking him aside. He had committed too much into the lunge, and due to his imbalance, Vreck successfully swung his hammer upward and hit Grunt forcefully in the gut. The power behind the swing launched Grunt four feet backward and onto his back, still holding his blade tightly.

Following up with another overhead swing, Grunt rolled out of the way of a heavy blow. He stepped down on the large handle of the hammer, knocking it out of Vreck's hands. Immediately his knee was stepped on from an angle with all the weight Vreck could muster. Predictably, Grunt's joint broke and he crashed down to the ground with his hands bracing him up on his healthy knee.

Vreck picked up his hammer and heaved another forceful blow down onto Grunt. He raised his kukshock to block with one hand on the hilt and another on the blade. The jolt from the block pushed his broken bone to rip through more flesh in his leg. Another swing and another block had Grunt roaring in pain as blood rage filled him.

He shifted the weight of the hammer to crash down beside him, and leapt up to tackle Vreck onto his back. With unbelievable strength Grunt braced his left hand against Vreck's jaw and his knee on Vreck's left arm to leverage his weight and tear off his right shoulder guard and chestplate.

Vreck brought his uncovered left arm up to push Grunt off. His bare chest heaved, and his face quaked in unbound fury as he stood up.

Grunt smiled back in controlled rage. Together, they walked around keeping their distance until they could reach for their respective weapons once again. Grunt was limping on his broken knee, but his blood rage kept it from taking his focus.

The fight had taken Grunt to the edge of the room. Vreck charged again, arcing his blunt weapon over his head to crash through the wall behind Grunt, who had rolled aside. Grunt swiftly and weightily tackled Vreck onto his back straight through the weak stone and into the alley behind. Together they skid across the dust, and Vreck fumbled the hammer such that it fell beside them.

Grunt plunged his blade down hard into Vreck's upper heart, smoothly slicing through the unprotected flesh. Vreck brought both his hands up to grip the blade and prevent Grunt from twisting and carving through his exposed chest.

With one hand, Grunt kept the blade submerged and occupied Vreck as he desperately tried to pull the blade straight out of his gushing wound. Grunt reached with his free hand to grab the hammer. When in hand, he used his weight to push the blade down until he could feel Vreck's spine stopping further progress.

Grunt stood up with the hammer in hand and his foot on Vreck's abdomen. Vreck desperately tried to pull the blade out quickly, but as he agonizingly yanked it out Grunt brought the hammer above his head. With a powerful force, the hammer came down and slammed the hilt of the kukshock. Whatever progress Vreck made was for naught. The blade severed his spine and nailed him into the hard soil beneath the dusty surface; only the hilt remained above. Vreck wailed in terrorized agony.

Grunt straddled his victim's neck and with the same smile he began with, he chuckled and vigorously clawed out Vreck's eyes. A crowd of Urdnot warriors began to encircle and watch as Grunt buried his arm wrist deep into Vreck's eye socket and personally claw his brain as life escaped him.

Grunt emerged and slowly stood as he gripped and wrenched his red and orange soaked kukshock out of the corpse's neck in order to claim his head. Urgen approached him.

"We've taken the this defensive position. There's still more blood to shed."

Grunt's smile did not let up.

Author's Note

Yeah, so I'm back! haha! Sorry for the wait. My brother got married and I was best man, and my other brother broke his clavicle just before he started his first year of university. Suffice it to say, life's been hectic. One thing I need to clear up: I flubbed at keeping track of Wrex's companion's names at times. That Yrsht guy in chapter 43, he was supposed to be Urgen so I went back and fixed it. I messed up big time, I know. I read through my story and I was freaking out.