N7 Flight of the Normandy: Elorwin & Kolyat

Sheppard, Jacob and Miranda all walked out of the docking area and into Omega itself, she had been made aware that if she wanted to know anything about Omega she had to go see Aria T'Loak so they headed directly to Afterlife, bypassing the complaining queue. The club was hot and noisy, it pressed against her head like the grip of a Krogan making it very difficult to think. Glancing around Aiya spotted the area leading to the private booths and quickly made her way over to it.

Her interaction with Aria was … interesting to say the least, she was clearly a powerful Asari and was ruler of her own little world on Omega. Aiya found to her surprise that she had a begrudging respect for her. Aria had been of a mind to help Shepard, mainly as it helped Aria but she had the information she needed and that was all she cared about. Apparently whoever this Archangel was he was stirring up trouble, big time, so big that all three rival gangs had come to a temporary truce in order to bring him down. Moving away from Aria Shepard sought the back room she had been told about where she could join up as a temporary merc recruit.

Walking in she approached that Batarian recruiter who glanced up then returned to his file saying dismissively.

“Stripper auditions are down the hall.” Aiya had to control the quick flush of anger that rose inside her before with an internal giggle she wondered if he had also though Jacob would be trying to make it as a stripper. She quickly set the Batarian straight and they were joined up to be part of the temporary merc group. Turning to make their way to the transport that would take them to the fight Aiya walked into a young human who had just bounded in like they had announced there were free cookies. Raising an eyebrow at him and the crummy looking gun he held she saw him quail under her glare.

“I’m here to join up.” He spoke around her as she had not yet moved out his way. Quick as a flash Aiya moved forward and with a few simple moves she had disarmed the young man and now had his own gun pointing at him. Before he could even start to moan she spoke sternly. “Go home, this is not the life someone chooses. If you go out there you will just end up getting yourself killed.”

“She is right kid.” Jacob contributed as he looked like he was about to argue further. Then with a defeated look he nodded at them and walked out. Aiya smiled and nodded to Jacob then they made their way to the transport which took them to Archangel’s base. She saw why the mercs were having such trouble, Archangel was holed up in a strong hold with seemingly only one route of direct access which was a long, very exposed bridge.

Moving from room to room before they began Shepard took stock of what they would be facing when they and the mercs would no longer be on friendly terms. She even had a few chances to sabotage some of their equipment which she wasted no time in doing. Then reporting to Sergeant Cathka they were told they were to be leading the charge over the bridge. They nodded and readied their weapons but as his back was turned to continue repairing the gunship to be used against Archangel Aiya happened to ‘bump’ him, incapacitating Cathka and hopefully damaging the gunship.

Ayia, Jacob, Miranda and the other 5 or so mercs they were assigned with crouched at the entrance to the bridge. She had no real plan here apart from run like hell and hope they could reach Archangel before he decided to put a bullet in her skull too. Motioning them forward their team began their charge, Jacob and Miranda keeping close. Two loud shots were fired and two of the mercs fell. Turing her pistol round Aiya took out another two as they continued to sprint.

Surprisingly they made it safely to the house; the same could not be said of the mercs in their team she thought with a wan smile. Making their way up the stairs they quickly disposed of guys on the stairs and the one trying to break through the door. Making their way through Aiya saw Archangel he was lining up his next shot. With her gun still raised she called to him.

“Archangel?”

To lay eyes upon the familiar human through the circular scope must be a ruthless trick orchestrated by the spirits themselves. The medi-gel swimming around his rushing system surely sparked the healing chemicals pretty good, making its way to his sweet head only to toy with the most sensitive strings attached to him and his pounding heart. Through the scope, between the straight crosshairs and just above the distance bar she looked as stunning as his distant memories had kept clear. Yet the merchs fall for her power and what in the very beginning seems too abstract; so invalid suddenly transforms into an unbelievable reality that he must grasp and seize in the short matter of a few crucial seconds. Perhaps the spirits didn’t taunt him after all, but how? Two years had passed; two long years of mourning a dear friend and a depression left without proper treatment – how could she be alive? No one in this universe had either the authority or power to reclaim someone from the misty shores of the unexplored afterlife.

The ghost is left without a bullet between the eyes though and Archangel could see the trio make their way over the exposed bridge. Leaving him to finish off the last remaining merch hiding behind a broad concrete pillar, but he’s unfocused and allows the guy to peek around the edge more than once while he listens to the few shots of gunfire before he can finally hear the swooshing sound from the door at the far side of the room opening. By now his heart is chased by the monster of uncertainty, but he doesn’t flinch from his crouched position from where he was lining up the shot, taking aim and letting his finger rest uneasy on the trigger. The call of his infamous pseudonym causes his life pump to almost stop with its crucial work for a couple of moments; it was really her, Aiya Shepard. Even though it was years since he heard her familiar voice he still recognized it.

Slowly he raises his left hand, giving the trio a simple gesture that they had to wait since he still had the shot to finish. Luckily the merch take his opportunity to peek around the corner again, this time exposing more of his upper body and giving the turian the chance to squeeze the warm trigger and by that end a life. The shot went right through the thin layers of armor and collided with the hot flesh, tearing everything to a point where death only waited in the coming moments.

With the help of his rifle he slowly stands up once more, feeling the stiffness in his joints and the ache in his tired muscles before turning to face the small group. Now up close it looked like Aiya more than ever – she had the same light hair color with the familiar deep blue eyes. Spirits, she was still beautiful even though harsh scars marred her peach like skin.

Unhurried he takes a few step towards the black, rigid sofa as he raises one hand to pull of the blue helmet, revealing the true identity behind the moniker. His watchful eyes place the Commander in the very center of his perspective as he sits down on the edge of the furniture, allowing the sniper rifle to rest against his thigh while his armored hand rested upon the butt of the weapon. The massive heat worked up from its usage could be felt even through the thick, synthetic layers of his glove covering his palm.

“Shepard. I thought you were dead.” If it weren’t for the stains of tiredness freckling his voice then he would surely have sounded more cheerful, yet the long forty eight hours of fighting had demanded its promised portion of energy. Hell, he was glad to see her, he really was, but he couldn’t be helped but to be poked with the question how – how could she be alive? He had read the reports, heard the rumors and even spoke with a few survivors from the Normandy. Perhaps he’d made a costly mistake and that death had embrace him in such short notice that he hadn’t even noticed the transgression from living to dead.

It took all her formal military training to keep Aiya from taking a shocked step backwards when Archangel took off his helmet. She didn’t know what she had been expecting but this had not been it. Her friend, one of her best friends, the one who had said he would follow her to hell and back again and who had lived up to this promise time and time again.

“Garrus! What are you doing here?” The question was blunt but her smile was warm and sincere as she took a step towards him, she had not felt this happy in a long time.

“Just keeping my skills sharp. A little target practice.” Aiya watched him, he looked as weary as he sounded it but as usual he was trying his best to mask it. Looking at him properly Aiya saw how tired beat up and utterly careworn he looked and she could not help feel worried for him.

“You ok?” Was all she allowed herself to say, knowing he would not appreciate any fuss.

“Been better, but it sure is good to see a friendly face. Killing mercs is hard work, especially on my own.” Aiya nodded and crossed her arms, flicking a stray strand of her blonde hair from her face while her mind was buzzing with strategies.

“Well we got here, but I don’t think getting out will be so easy.” She said with a small, confident smile. Easy wasn’t in her vocabulary and that was how she liked it.

“No it won’t. That bridge has saved my life, funnelling all those witless idiots into scope. But it works both ways, they’ll slaughter us if we try and go out that way. But now with the three of you, I suggest we hold this location, wait for a crack in their defences and take our chances. It’s not a perfect plan but it’s a plan.”

“If we fight as a team we can hold them off.” Aiya said her small smile still resting on her lips, she wanted to show Garrus they could win this. Looking at the weary Turian Aiya was happy to see a faint smile come to his face as he looked at her.

“Your right. Their numbers won’t help them in here anyway. Let’s see what their up to.” Together they made their way over the balcony and Garrus looked down the scope of his sniper. “Looks like they know their infiltration team failed. Take a look, scouts, Eclipse I think.” He passed her the rifle and she looked down the scope to see several merc bots making their way towards the strong hold, guns in hand. Aiya lined up the cross hairs to hover over one of the bots heads, then with a small smile she squeezed the trigger. The unit’s whole head was blown clean off with the shot as she handed the gun back to Garrus.

“One less now.” She said airily.

“I’ll stay up here; I can do a lot of damage from this vantage point.” He took a moment to look at her, almost in an appraising way. “You, you can do what you do best. Just like old times Shepard. Let’s give these bastards everything!”

Aiya nodded in approval and quickly made her way downstairs so she was closer to the action. She pulled out her heavy pistol, set her ammo and leaned out firing into the mass of oncoming mercs.

Every word she said, every sentence they exchanged was like a weak force hauling the turian over to the side of the believers – it was, even though the impossible odds, Aiya Shepard standing right in front of his worn out form; alive, breathing, almost smiling a little. The positive, almost cocky energy that radiated from her armored silhouette almost touched the deepest corners of his beating heart, warming him from the inside out in this cold, yet hopeful situation. Perhaps the spirits would see him live to the coming day with a little help from her and the two unnamed friends that she’d brought along for the bumpy ride.

When they stand beside each other on the balcony there is a calmness lingering in the humid atmosphere. In the distant there is the faint buzzing from hovering skycars, inaudible shouting from the other side of the bloody killzone and a few notes of gunfire can be heard from far away; the usual and unchangeable orchestra of Omega. While she takes aim with his old sniper rifle he gazes at her, even studies her for a few short moments. How the artificial wind, the steady flow of oxygen, sweeps by them and plays with her blonde hair as it passes. Then there was the weak light emerging from the multiple light sources around them; one of them falling from the side, allowing the ray of light pierce through her blue irises, making them seem lighter than they really were. Now up close she resembled more and more the distant, yet strong memory he had of her. By now he was fairly sure that it was the real Shepard that stood beside him and just had pulled the trigger to end another robotic life. He was almost impressed by her skills in handling a long distant rifle, but who wouldn’t be impressed by one that had conquered death?

When Shepard moves away to secure the lower level of the building he glances after her, before finding focus in the mission he had left – to survive. The vantage point gave him a superior overlook at the battle scared bridge, allowing him to pick off the flooding waves of arriving targets. Mostly mechs that were easy to kill as fast as their shields went down, but not even his skilled marksmanship can take down the heavy mech that they made sure to deploy in one hard effort to make it past the exposed bridge. Luckily that big problem seemed to take care of itself as the heavy machine attack everything on sight during the first couple of seconds after its activation, leaving torn robotic pieces scattered around its huge construction. Hell, the sight almost brought a smile to his face, feeling the relief of arriving victory. It almost felt like the old times with Aiya; when they had the intimidating odds against them and yet managed to survive and take home the winnings.

As the hostiles were to be wiped out and even when the heavy machine self-detonate after some firing the coast seem to be clear. The silence takes place once more in the atmosphere, giving calm and quiet a chance to settle in.

“Shepard. Come find me, I think we got them all.” He contacts her through the radio since screaming from the second floor wasn’t really the option since he was still pretty sure that a few mercenaries still stayed on the other side of the bridge, monitoring them with the best effort they could afford without losing any more men, but still with their assault going wrong this could be the chance they were waiting for; the moment where they could escape.

Aiya aimed along her heavy pistol at the oncoming mercs following a pattern of shoot, warp and duck back into cover all the while keeping an eye on her omni-tool which had a real time update on Garrus’ vital signs. She watched with a smile as they deployed the heavy mech, the very same one she had sabotaged before the assault on the base. Ducking her head out of cover she watched it power on and look towards the stronghold, she watched as her hacked programming took effect as it analysed them as friendly. Then turning around it began firing bullets into the unprepared merc line. Aiya smiled and together with Garrus, Miranda, Jacob and the mech they defeated the eclipse squad. When finally there were no more to be seen she heard Garrus’ voice over their com line.

“Shepard. Come find me, I think we got them all.” Aiya nodded and quickly made her way back upstairs and with a tiny swagger in her walk went to stand next to Garrus.

“You’re kicking ass Shepard, they barely touched me. And we got Jaroth in the process. I have been hunting that little bastard for months.” Garrus looked like he was about to continue when the floor suddenly gave an unnerving shake and a loud warning siren echoed off the bare walls. Aiya looked up in alarm.

“What the hell was that?” Miranda asked looking around. Garrus accessed his omni-tool and grimaced at what it was telling him.
“Damn it they breached the lower level, well they had to use their brains eventually.” Aiya stepped forward her eyes bright as she gazed over Garrus’s shoulder to the bridge.

“I will go and secure the lower levels; it looks like you have some more company coming over the bridge. It will be best if we split into two teams.” She glanced quickly between Miranda and Jacob and made her decision. “Jacob you stay with Garrus, keep him alive.” The look she gave Garrus was warm almost tender for a second before it disappeared as Aiya went into battle mode. She nodded to Garrus and Jacob before turning and making her way quickly down the stairs with Miranda hot on her heels.

Sprinting as fast as she could Aiya practically flew down the stairs, as she reached a hallway with three corridors coming off it she heard Garrus on their com line.

“Get to the console and close that shutter before they can get through.” Aiya saw the glowing switch just ahead of her and pushed harder to reach it. Punching it with her fist she was just in time and a Krogan flanked by a couple of Vorcha made their way along the corridor their bullets taking out her shields before she could make it to cover. Throwing out a quick singularity which slowed them Aiya took cover against the wall. There was still five seconds till the shutters closed and as her shield stabilized Aiya leant out of cover and began shooting.

Crash, the shutter had closed, finally. Aiya panted wondering how five seconds could seem like such a long time when you were being shot at. Taking the left corridor Aiya and Miranda jumped their way across the large creates that blocked their path. A hiss and click were all the warning they got.

“Get down!” Aiya called and she and Miranda ducked behind a crate just in time as the Vorcher started up his flamethrower, sending a blazing line of fire at the spot where they had just been. It was so hot Aiya could feel the uncomfortable trickle of sweat run down her neck but she had to be patient. Waiting until the gun had run out of gas Aiya leapt out and slammed the Vorcha down with a powerful warp which caused the gas canisters on its back to explode. Ears ringing from the explosion Aiya charged forward leaving Miranda to cover her as she charged at the shutter control.

Again they met heavy resistance as they waited for the shutter to finish closing but soon another door was safe and Aiya heard Garrus on their com.

“Well done Shepard, just one door left.” Aiya smirked as they made their way quickly towards the last door. “You just keep your head down … Archangel.”

The last fight was the toughest, the battle was already in full swing before they could even reach the switch and to make matters worse they had brought Varren with them. Aiya ducked and rolled all the while shooting the oncoming hoard, her shield literally saving her life when she didn’t see a Krogan coming down the corridor. Slamming her fist against the button Aiya started the countdown on the shutter.

The next ten seconds were exactly the kind of chaos Aiya was used too, powers and bullets were thick in the air and the screams and shouts of dying Vorcher and Varren echoed around the room. Finally the shutter thudded closed and a ringing silence descended into the room where moments before it had been brimming with sound. Panting for a moment Aiya allowed herself a second to lean back against a wall. She watched as Miranda searched around for fallen thermal clips as she engaged her omni-tool and used it activate her suits medi-gel response. The last Krogan had been quite a good shot and in the last few seconds before the shutters fell he had managed to get her in the shoulder while she had no shield.

Aiya sighed in relief as the cooling numbness swept into her injured shoulder, allowing her full use of the limb. Suddenly her com lit up and Garrus’ anxious voice spoke to her.

“Get back here Shepard, they’re coming in through the doors.” Aiya looked up in alarm and saw that Miranda had also heard the message. As one they both sprinted back the way they had come, hoping they would make it in time.

(OOC – feel free to control Aiya for a little bit as I want us to move forward with this. That's why I did such a long post ^^)

In an odd way it was comforting – like cold, chilling balm on a burning wound caused by immense heat – to see Aiya again after the first wave of stupid mechs and idiotic soldiers that had fallen for their skilled combat, but she was after all a persistent survivor and had always been very hard to kill. Something that the blonde undeniably had proved by returning from the unexplored afterlife and to host any concern for her was only to worry unduly, yet it was hard not to. He had already lost her once two years ago and as a former C-sec officer and now failed vigilante of a doomed space station then he knew that tiny seconds, eye blinking moments and petit fractions of time was all stupid units of a unspecified while that could change everything; there was no guarantees in this life; nothing to take for granted as long as a heated rifle rested in one’s hands.

The breach on the lower levels wasn’t a complete surprise and certainly not the most pleasant one. An attack from both fronts forced their small team to divide in order to protect the exposed objectives and even if he didn’t fancy the fact to let Shepard out of his sight again the Turian had to shove his concern – his worrying feelings – aside for the crucial moment in order for them all to actually maintain the spark of life until a breach in the enemies’ defensive opened up and allowed their secure escape. To be left with one companion to fight away the newly arrived troops on the bridge is much welcomed and over loud gunfire, swishing and rattling bullets they exchange a couple of kind words as a nice introduction to each other. Jacob, the biotic proves his skill in both aim and power as they try to fight off the waves of mechs which wasn’t the easiest task to handle, especially not when Garrus at the same time have to check upon Shepard’s progress down on the lower levels by activating his omni-tool with a couple of minutes interval. How he has to guide her after every sealed door and at the same time avoiding to get shot by the constant flood of eager men wanting to get killed, something that almost gets impossible when Garm and his minions break through the door on the entrance level, causing more calamity and disaster in the already strained situation.

“Get back here Shepard, they’re coming in through the doors.” The leader of the Blood Pack is fierce and quick to battle the sniper alone in utter rage as he stomp up to the second level. The rampaging freak comes through the door like a raging beast, eyes burning in blood rage and nostrils enlarged by the heavy breathing. Taking on the insane krogan with only sniper rifle wasn’t a setup that enhanced his odds coming out from this alive and he’s just barely through the freak’s barriers by the time rescue arrives. Shepard is exactly on time and with some delicate teamwork they manage to take down the ferocious monster.

“Thanks Shepard, they hardly got through to me and we took out Garm and his blood pack. This day just keep getting better and better. He was one though son of a bitch.” Garrys says as the thick dust from the battle finally began to settle and at the end he of his words almost sounds a bit bitter, but the last hour of harsh fighting had strained more on him than the last forty-eight hours collected.

“You fought with him before?” The Commander’s question is genuine and simple to leave a reply to.

“Yeah, we tangled once. Caught him alone and without his gang to help him, still couldn’t take him out. I’ve never seen a krogan regen that fast; he’s a freak of nature. He just kept added until his vorcha showed up. It was close but… I had to let him go but not this time.” Garrus tells with a sighs while feeling the tiniest bit of irritation grow beneath his firm scales. If it weren’t for the compact and complex moment then he surely would have enjoyed the victory more than now, but they still had to fight to see another day.

“Only the Blue Suns are left, I say we take our chances and fight our way out.” Aiya suggests and the Turian can’t help but to agree. Finally they could see the light at the end of this hellhole to a tunnel.

“I think you are right. Tarak got the toughest group but nothing we haven’t faced before. He won’t be expecting us to meet him head on.” Garrus says but is interrupted by the sudden change in the situation.

“Heads up!” Miranda shouts in warning at the incoming gunship and urges everyone to take cover.

“Damnit, I thought I took that thing out already!” The sniper cusses as he swiftly takes cover behind the metal wall in order to get out from its wide range of deadly fire. “They are offloading troops, watch your back Shepard!” Dropping in from the repaired ship and through the broken windows is a large amount of ruthless legionnaires and among them are the Tarak’s superhero Jentha, but she too is quick to fall against their gathered teamwork and united effort. Not even the final troops infiltrating them from the entrance level stir up any a real trouble – they are tough but so are them, but the real problem doesn’t silently emerge until the gunship once more decides to show up; this time from an uncovered flank and the outcome is devastating.

“Archangel!” The shout causes the Turian to quickly turn around only to be met by a rainfall of burning bullets that knocks him off his feet. His shields are quickly discarded by the brute force during his hastened crawl to cover and by the short time he has reached shelter behind the black, rigid couch his blue armor had taken the worst punch. In a strategic effort to move into a better position from the crumbling position he ends up making the greatest mistake of all time; timing his rushed move poorly and ends up be the one to greet the launched missile with his face. The fire eats through scales and rough skin all the way down to his very bones and his study armor even melts to the tiniest extent by the hit’s immense heat around his collar. The mighty knockout sends him a couple of meters away, tumbling a couple of times before finally laying down limp like a lifeless ragdoll with his butchered face down the cold, dirty floor. Lucky for him his conscious has escape in a grateful hurry; leaving him without having to deal with the immense pain that otherwise would slap him into wishing to be brought to the afterlife.

Miranda’s shout was the only warning they got as the gun ship whirled into view in front of the house. Aiya cursed as they all quickly took cover, she thought she had managed to take out that one piece of blue suns tech but apparently I had been repaired enough to still function. She was about to pull out the large grenade launcher that was currently strapped to her back when she heard Garrus’ call above the sound of bullets.

“They are offloading troops, watch your back Shepard!”

Not after all they had worked for to clear a path; she would not have them taken out by a pathetic attempt at an ambush. Signalling to Jacob and Miranda to keep a front and back facing position each so they wouldn’t be caught off guard Aiya moved off back towards the stairs. Sprinting quickly down the hallway through the hail of bullets she slid into cover at the top of the stairs. Sticking her head quickly out of cover she peppered the oncoming force with her own warp covered bullets. Dipping back into to cover when her shields became unstable she gulped a breath, there were more than she had been anticipating, she smiled, just another day at the office.

However she had not anticipated Tarak’s complete obsession with taking out Archangel, she figured he would try and take them out as a whole but it seemed the Batarian was determined to walk away with Archangel’s head, if not the battle. The enraged scream of “Archangel!” echoed around the house with deadly intent. Following it Aiya heard a maelstrom of bullets enter the room behind her as the gunship began fire. Cursing under her breath Aiya leant out from behind her shelter and quickly finished the last of the troops attempting to access the stairs.

With the last of them dead Aiya sprinted back to Garrus running the short distance as fast as she could but it felt like she was running through mud. She arrived in the door way just in time to feel the blistering heat of an explosion across her face and through squinted eyes she saw Garrus take the force of the explosion. He was thrown backwards like a rag doll; he rolled a few times with the momentum then came to a shuddering halt and lay still on the smoking ground.

For a second Aiya felt fear flood her heart and she felt rooted to the spot unable to move her legs as she gazed at Garrus lying on the floor. However it was not in her nature to remain immobile and with her eyes mainly focused on the Turian’s prone form she skidded into cover behind the couch.

“Garrus!” She called to him, the sound of concern verging on panic clear in her voice but he was still and unmoving.

The cold, hard furry had started pumping through her veins, the first time she had felt it was during the Skyllian Blitz when she had held off the Batarian forced to save her troops. Grabbing the large grenade launcher she carried on her back she felt its weight in her hands and felt her lips purse into a hard line, she was going to end this.

Standing up Aiya allowed the gunships bullets to pepper the room and her shield as she determinedly lined up her shot, she only had one chance. Her omni-tool beeped at her the inform her that she had no shields left but she didn’t care, she had her shot. Clicking the trigger Aiya fired the grenade straight into the front windscreen of the gunship. For a second the gunship stopped firing as Tarak was probably just surprised at the sudden appearance of the small bundle of death before it exploded in a bright flame.

It seemed Aiya had done more damage than she had initially thought as this was enough to bring the entire gunship down. It span away to hit into the pavement in a flaming ball but Aiya had no more concern for it as she flung herself down besides the Turian. His blue blood was splattered across the floor and as she gently turned him over his eyes fluttered open and taking a gasping breath he rejoined them in the land of the living. Meeting his sharp gaze but unsure if he could actually hear her Aiya spoke to him, the hint of desperation still clinging to her voice.

“Garrus! We’re getting you out of here Garrus. Just hold on!” Out of the corner of her eye she saw Miranda run him over with her omni-tool, as head of the Lazarus project she knew her way around a damaged body. “Radio Joker! Make sure they are ready for us.” Aiya said watching closely as Garrus eyes slipped out of focus once more and began to close slowly.

“We better hurry, he looks bad.” Jacob informed her and Aiya had to agree. Motioning for Jacob to pick up the injured Turian they made their way back to the Normandy. How they actually got back Aiya could never remember the specifics but it was more nerve wracking that facing a hoard of Krogan and several times she thought they had lost Garrus to the blackness. For a few nerve jangling minutes they would stand as Miranda inspected him, pumping him full of medigel and antibiotics until he was stable enough for them to continue on. However he was stubborn Turian and they managed to make it back onto the Normandy without further incident.

Together with the help of several other crew members they managed to Garrus down to the infirmary and into Dr Chakwas’ capable hands. Aiya could not help herself, even after everyone had gone she still hung around nervously, knowing she was unable to help yet unable to leave. Finally Chakwas had finished patching him up as best she could and she nodded to Aiya, letting her know it was ok to approach the bed.

“I have done the best I can. It is up to him now to pull through. I will leave him with you to get some rest.” She paused for a moment looking at the commander and said almost to herself. “Don’t forget to get some rest too, commander.” Aiya smiled but made no comment as she walked forward and seated herself beside Garrus. She studied him for a moment or two, trying to see the toll the years had taken on her friends face. He looked so vulnerable at this moment, a state she was unaccustomed to seeing him in and she was bemused to find it endearing. Glancing around to make sure they were alone Aiya surreptitiously reached forward and took Garrus’ rough scaled hand in her own soft one. She was surprised to find the touch of his skin was pleasant to her, she thought it would feel unnatural but instead she found it comforting.

Sighing she decided to ignore any questions this raised. She was too tired to deal with it right now, the near loss of her friend being to greater toll on her strength than all the fighting combined. For now she would just wait to see him wake, to reassure herself that his eyes would open once more.

(OOC – I wanted to add a little bit of behind the scenes stuff here. So I thought I would add a little bit of Garrus waking up in hospital. Maybe finding Shepard asleep at his bedside? Anyway you fancy running with it. Also sorry it took me so long to post but this is my most important RP at the moment, and I really don’t want it to die!)

It is a wet, shaky gasp of breath that Garrus draws in the valuable search of precious air. The warm blood is tickling; running slowly yet vehemently down the narrow windpipe due to the severe damage caused by the unforeseen hit. A chaotic blend of an intense and high-pitched beeping; following the rhythmic of his failing heart and a whole lot of crunching sough pound unto his eardrums without any mercy; distressing the sense of hearing and cut him off from what was said. He had regained consciousness with the first light touch and he could see her, he had his electric eyes wide open and her pinkish lips was moving, yet not sound fell from them. His eyes travel over her worried features that was displayed on her familiar face and he can simply let one, single thought buzz along its confused orbit – did we beat them, Shepard?

The many nerves running along his face like a tight web had luckily been severed in the attack, leaving him without the pain circulating around a specific area and the overweening pounding, almost blistering agony that tortured him was more distributed to his entire head and upper body; a tough struggle he almost failed to see the end of. Yet only to maintain vision would become a skirmish, how the haunting blackness slowly ate away pieces of his field of view that already became more and more blurry until the final moment where darkness eventually wins it all and the gentle unconscious wraps him up in its cotton handling; a bliss in the tormenting moment, but also a giant leap into the deep uncertainty. Perhaps he had died and if that was the tragic case then it hadn’t been too bad since it all had happened so quickly, but where was the guiding spirits?

The darkness excludes the sense of passing minutes and hours; it was just like sleeping in the terms of how it was prevised. In one moment you would close your eyes and in the next you would wake up without really remembering the very first nor last picture that the eyes snapped before closing down the show for the long day. Slowly, very slowly the moment after he has once more opened his eyes he finds himself blinking a couple of times carefully, only to sweep away the rough gravel that remained on his eyeballs from the anything but comfortable sleep. The first thing that meets his newly opened eye is the interior of a room that he’s not familiar with. The matte, metallic walls reminds him of a clean, professional hospital ward and the dimmed lighting falling down from the ceiling is a kind one; the ones that were careful with newly awoken eyes. Although he finds himself in a new, unfamiliar location there isn’t a bit of worry or anxiety storming his kettle of emotions. Instead he cannot help but to feel nothing, like as if numbness had put a thick blanket over everything he felt.

His eyes trace along the metallic wall on the other side of the unknown room before he decides to carefully turn his head slightly to change his field of view. This gave him the opportunity to glance at the source of warmth that heated his hand and to see who it was really brought a smile to his face. Sadly this is too a painful reminder of the ordeal that had struck him right before passing out and he cannot help but to sigh heavily while working his way through the shooting pain. Eventually though it calms down and grants him the possibility to speak out without looking like he was about to die.

“Shepard?” It’s a gentle, almost whispering calling since he really didn’t want to wake her up from where she was peacefully napping by the edge of the bed. Her soft hand that overlapped his rough, scaled one radiated a comforting heat and the numbing blanket that hid his feeling was slowly being dragged off him, exposing a sheltered feeling of being safe. That it didn’t really matter where he was since the Commander was here with him and it brought him peace to see her so… relaxed. The sight was unusual and rare, but he didn’t mind it. He was simply glad that he had a calm, peaceful moment to look at her without bullets flying over their heads and a hectic situation tensing them both to be ready for anything an enemy could possibly throw at them.

“Shepard.” He repeats with a louder, yet gentle tone in order to get her attention while he slowly moves his hand from hers; how the small, heating link between them is broken but not for long. His hand return to hers, only to gently pat her over the boney back of her small hand. “Wake up, Shepard.”

Aiya had felt herself slipping into sleep after sitting with Garrus for a few hours; she had only meant to put her head down for a moment, angling herself so she continued to maintain contact with him. However it seemed that the lure of the soft mattress and the warm link to Garrus had closed her bright, blue eyes and she slipped into a peaceful sleep. She hardly ever slept well, too many memories, too many ghosts haunted the times of darkness and inaction but this was different maybe it was exhaustion or the comforting touch but Aiya slept deeply.

It was sometime later that Aiya felt something dragging on the edge of her consciousness, seeking to bring her back from the warm depth of sleep. Then there is movement, the solid, calming connection she had was taken away from her. Still mostly asleep Aiya let out a small groan at the loss and even when the connection was established again she heard as if from very far away someone calling her name.

“Wake up, Shepard.”

Blinking her eyes a few times Aiya reluctantly woke up, her vision was hazy and her silky hair had drifted over her face. Moving her free hand she brushed it from her eyes and took a few more moments just to come fully awake. Lifting herself back into a sitting position Aiya looked over to see who had spoke and was happy to see Garrus was awake, propped up in his bed, eyes clear but still with a look of pain in them. A warm smile spread over her face as she surveyed Garrus as a small blush crept up her cheeks.

“Well this isn’t exactly how I planned on seeing you once you woke up … with you waking me up.” She shifted herself into a more upright and acceptable position. She had noticed her and Garrus’ hand had still been touching and although she disliked pulling away from him she did it unobtrusively. Aiya quickly glanced over to the multitude of machines that Garrus was hooked up too, most of which were making some kind of noise. She didn’t know much about these things but she could tell that he was currently in no immediate danger. Losing the awkwardness and the blush Aiya looked Garrus right in the eyes and gave him her warmest smile. For a moment she could have sworn she heard a quick jump in his heart rate but as she glanced towards the machine she saw nothing out of the ordinary and turned to look back at him.

“Well Garrus glad to see you decided not to leave us. Not thinking of taking the easy way out huh? Who else would be there to follow me on suicide missions with no hope of return?” She beamed cheekily at him.

The injured individual watches as her long eyelashes flutter slightly with every blink. Amused by the first words that fell from her lips it is hard not to tense the repaired muscles around the severe wound and form a carefully facial expression that resembled the weak emotion that had him embraced for a tiny instant. Pain wasn’t allowed into the calming picture for a brief moment and he manages to direct his worn façade to shut out the agony teasing nastily along the restored axons.

“Nothing really ever goes according to plan, does it Shepard?” It’s a gentle pointing out and perhaps a bit teasingly too. They were soldiers since many years back; taught by different leaders in galaxies positioned so far away from each other, but both of them had experienced the same, repeating detail that connected every battlefield; every battle situation – not a single plan ever lasted more than a few minutes in close contact with the adversary. A sticky situation where panic easily gave birth to chaos and bedlam, something that forced improvisation and creativity from the commanding leaders to co-join in order to save valuable lives and finish the missions, but this – all that was really pointless because right now there weren’t any enemies – only friends who brought comforting safety.

“Spirits Shepard, don’t make me laugh. My face is barely holding together as it is.” Her humorous words had dragged a weak chuckle from him and the joyful expression simply reminded him of the bodily limitations set by his wounded condition. His eyes travel over her young, yet scarred face before getting caught in her eyes. How a couple of seconds binds them together in an intense eye contact before she gives in and he cannot help but to follow her gaze and glance slightly at the active heart rate monitor. What did she see?

“Where are we?” It’s a simple and short question. His expression that radiated joy has been swept away and replaced with the typical face that spoke of seriousness and importance. Even though he recently woken up just like she, he strongly believed that she sat with a few answers he desired. “And did you take down Tarak?” In quick retrospect he realizes that it might not be the smartest question he has ever asked. He knew her – the Commander never left a job unfinished.