-Normandy-

It wasn't the end of the world. Life goes on. Things change. From that point on position's shifted, but life on the Normandy still proceeded smoothly. I saw Garrus from time to time, however not like I used to. Like two planets orbiting the same sun or in this case a commander. Occasionally our paths would coincide as we went about our business, passing silently as it were.

I occupied my time same as I usually did. Helping Mordin in the Technology lab, meditating with Samara, bullshitting with Jack, watching vids with Kasumi, and more recently learning card games from Zaeed, being reluctantly enlisted on one of Jacobs extrusions or using my new found freedom to just sit co-pilot to Joker's right on the bridge. I tried to learn all I could to be a better more productive member of the crew.

Even thought my time was filled and I was seldom alone, I felt more abandoned than when I was lost after abandoning the Cerberus station where I was created. I had tried on one account to make contact with Vakarian.

As per his usual pattern his extra hours were spent in the main battery. I had found the courage to walk the elongated hallway to the door, but not the resolve to knock. I couldn't figure out what I was going to say. I had gone over the scenario in my head possibly a hundred times.

"Hey Garrus, you got a minute."

"Can it wait? I really need to get back to the calibrations."

Then what am I supposed to say? "All right I let you get back to work."

It's not like I could simply walk in and tell him I missed my best friend. So once again I resorted to going over Zaeed's security system on the starboard cargo hold while he was away, thinking of some other plan that might yield better fruit.

"So how long are you going to stare at the screen this time?"

I was started by my friend, Kasumi.

"Oh. I was just checking out…"

"Stop! You don't need to come up with some lame excuse. I already know what you're up to."

"That obvious?"

"Pretty obvious. But it's time to quit playing stalker. Jacob sent me to round you up. He wants us ready to go. We're checking out a planet that's having some strange weather patterns."

-Echo-

The shuttle dropped us planet side and returned to the Normandy.

The atmosphere on the planet was at one time breathable. Now it was a questionable matter. The air appeared foggy with a thick haze of red clouds almost impossible to see through. If it weren't for the gravity I would have thought it possible to have been dropped in murky red waters. With the assistance of our communication link Jacob's voice cut through ozone without difficulty.

"It's possible this is the work of a geth weather device. I've seen this type of reaction before. Stay on guard."

Kasumi added her voice slightly showing her uneasiness about our surroundings. "I like being able to disappear into my surroundings but this is a little extreme. Let's go ahead and disable that device so we can go home."

EDI suggested we head for a large structure near our location that was emitting a large power out put. I almost couldn't believe there was an unseen tower in the distance. After marking the objective on our Omni-tools we pushed forward. Or team performed impeccably, maintained formation even with our reduced visibility as per or reputation and highly sought after skills would indicate.

As the situation progressed the mood became more than a little eerie. The electricity in the air set my nerves on end. And at the same time the reduced visibility heightened my other senses. The vibe I was getting from the situation seemed wrong.

"Jacob, you said you encountered this type of scenario before, right?"

"Yes. On Dirada."

"You said it was geth technology. But then again the geth work for the Reapers. Either way you came to this conclusion how?"

"Well… there were geth guarding the beacon."

It was then that Kasumi caught on to my thought process. "We haven't run in to any geth."

"Exactly."

Jacob was in charge of the mission and must have felt our apprehension. Sensing the need to calm our nerves, we paused for a momentary pep talk.

"The geth may have abandoned this outpost. Shepard re-wrote the heretics. After having there opinion's altered on the subject of the Old Machines they may have just given up on it."

"That is a logical assumption especially if the weather beacon is reaper tech given to them, but how certain are you?"

"I think if we were going to run into trouble we would have already seen the signs. I don't expect to find anything, but some old abandoned technology."

Kasumi seemed relieved to hear Jacob's assurance. "I hope you're right. Guard's up just incase."

I could only mutter my last defiant statement under my breath as our team began to move again. "Just doesn't feel right."

Sure the geth could have abandoned it. However, if the technology was important to the reapers wouldn't they send some other lackey to defend it? Moreover, from reading mission reports on the subject the heretic geth weren't rewritten that long ago. Yes many of them would have already received the virus, but small isolated outposts may not have system linked with ones who had. Eventually the problem would correct it's self, but I'm not convinced that there aren't small pockets of heretic geth in existence.

I hated to question Jacob's leadership further. He was a great solider. Confident and brave. A real man's man, leads by example. But he was never going to be the detective that Garrus is.

When we arrived at the beacon I was impressed by it's sheer size. A tower of glowing blue light penetrated through the stratosphere. Jacob's voice permeated my awe and pilled my head from the clouds.

"Kasumi, there is a console panel over there. Initiate an upload with the Normandy so we can get the hell of this planet."

"I'll cover you."

I followed Kasumi to the panel of displaying lights while Jacob hung back from our position.

Kasumi had barely begun to tinker with the controls before the gunfire started. I impulsively pulled her away for the beacon as we scrambled to take cover. Jacob's called for a retreat yelling, "It's a trap!"

I quickly subdued the reflex to want to take out one of my own team. His ability to state the obvious was the least of our problems. The foremost of our problems was the damnable fog. Located the source of the shooters was difficultly and it appeared that Kasumi and I were caught in crossfire as we slumped low behind the barricades near the entrance and exit. It was obvious now that they had been laid out to the beacon's controls to funnel us into position and prevent a speedy retreat.

I scanned the area with my sniper rifle unable to see what was right in front of me. On a clear day I was able to shatter a liquor bottle at three hundred meters now I couldn't even spot Jacob's position.

With in moments I could hear the geth approaching our location. It was after that I saw my first glowing orb through the scope.

"Spirit's their right on top of us."

The geth were able to get in close or at least closer than I was comfortable with. As a sniper I like to see them before they see me. I switched to my Locust SMG and looked at Kasumi who had done the same. She asked, "I wonder if geth like Disruptor rounds?"

I answered with, "Just aim for the optics."

I may not have been able to see Taylor's position, but I could hear his gun fire. The three of us made good work of the synthesized targets. Even though they held the advantage by being able to target us using thermal scans instead of visual cues. Once a dent was made in the geth population Jacob issued his next order.

"Try and make a break for it before they send in the next wave."

Kasumi glanced at me, "Are you ready to try and make a break for it."

One more geth fell from my SMG and exploded from an overloaded system. I ducked back behind the wall that had been protecting us from the onslaught before answering.

"My shields are only at half power and we can't see what's out there."

"We may not get another chance."

"You're right. Go ahead I'll be right behind you."

I rose once more from cover. Kasumi vaulted the wall. I took out the geth trooper to my left exhausting the rest of my thermal clip, but before the enemy fell it lowered my shields a fraction more. I watched Kasumi raise her hand to her right and overload another trooper before she disappeared into the mist.

I wanted to reload before advancing any further. No use in running into an unknown assailant with an empty weapon. The action would only take a second and give my shields a brief rest to recharge.

I vaulted the wall towards my comrades and popped the heat sink. As I reached for another I almost bumped right in to a geth prime. The seven foot tall geth decloaked right in front of me and was wielding M-76 Revenant machine gun.

Adrenaline pumped through my system creating the illusion of slowing down time, but it wasn't enough. I checked my shields on the inside my helmet display and saw I was barely at one-fourth power. My SMG was empty my next thermal clip in my alternate hand. It would have been quicker to drop them both and grab my side arm. The geth on the other hand was at the ready. Maybe retreat was preferable. I could dive back over the barricade behind me.

In the end it didn't matter how fast my brain worked to find a suitable plan for survival. My last thought was; this is going to hurt.

I dropped both my weapon and new thermal clip. I also proceeded to back away from the geth prime as I reached for an already loaded weapon. Meanwhile my body prepared for a full frontal attack. Just in time for receive the barrage of bullets zipping my way and an explosion.

As a result I ended up on the ground on my left side in a partial fetal position. I don't know what exploded. I never fired a shot. I hadn't even been able to reach my secondary firearm. The explosion had been near enough to cause my ears to ring.

For a moment I thought I might be dead, but my pain told me otherwise. I opened my eyes to check my helmet display. It was cracked and broken. I tried to raise myself and remove my helmet. My right arm wouldn't move. I ended up shaking the helmet off one handed. Coarse rust colored sand stuck to my face where I laid my left cheek on the ground on. The dirt also smelled of iron. The whole planet was red that may have been normal or it could be mixed with my blood to create a viscous paste.

I needed to find my omi-tool and activate the medi-gel function. Cerberus armor was equipped to dose a person with stimulants, narcotics, and medi-gel in combat situations. With my left arm I was able to reach my omni-tool and stop the bleeding at least externally. I wouldn't lose anymore blood, but I would need a doctor to check for internal bleeding.

As the cool sensation of medi-gel coated my skin I allowed myself to relax. I laid my head back down and closed my eyes. I realized that was a mistake. I shook my head and fought against the wave of narcotic that engulfed my brain. I was no longer in pain, although I needed to stay conscious. I needed to figure out what was going on now.

The ringing sensation had stopped and I opened my eyes. The geth prime was in several chunks all around me. That must have been the explosion. The head was still mostly intact and the optics exhibited a single hole. I felt a soft smile curl on to my lips. I only know one person with that much skill. A perfect shot even in low almost non existent visibility. Garrus had come to my rescue. He was here. I just know it.

However, I never saw him. The first face I saw emerge from the clouds was Ms. Lawson. She looked worried and quickly came to my side. I could no longer fight the effects of my chemicals in my system and the borders of my vision were going dark. Right before I let my self drift off I heard Mordin's voice indistinctly and knew everything was going to be alright.

-Normandy Shuttle Bay-

John Shepard entered the cargo bay area to meet the two returning teams from the last mission. As he approached the group he ran into Jacob Taylor first as he exited the shuttle.

"What's going on here?"

"We ran in to situation. The planet had geth on it and they were ready for us. We walked into a trap."

Garrus entered the conversation walking up behind Taylor. His voice was abrasive and seemed judgmental as he spoke, "Poor judgment caused one of his team to be injured. Echo's down."

Shepard turned and watched Ms. Lawson and Kasumi carry Echo's body out of the shuttle on a stretcher. He scanned Miranda's face and knew the situation wasn't serious or her face would have told him. As Mordin exited the shuttle he answered Shepard's unasked question.

"Injuries are non life threatening. No injury to major organs. No internal bleeding. She should be able to make a full recovery quickly."

Shepard nodded and let them proceed on to the medical bay. The then turned back to his two team leaders, "I want to debrief both of you in the Communication room."

The elevator stopped on the Crew deck first and then proceeded to the CIC deck. But as soon as the three men were alone the elevator the bickering started.

Garrus could no longer hold his hot headed temper. "You should have turned back at the first sign of trouble. When you're in command you have to be more cautious because you aren't just responsible for your own life, but the lives of your team."

"I understand that. It all changed so quickly. There were no immediate signs of danger. It wasn't supposed to go down that way."

"But it did. You should have been more aware of the situation."

"With all due respect, like you did with your first team on Omega. At least my first failure didn't end in disaster. I called for back up when I saw that we needed help. Echo will be okay. Besides how can you real judge the situation when you weren't there?"

The doors of the elevator opened as the conversation became explosive.

"But I should have been there! I should have never left her with anyone else."

Shepard tried to step in to calm Garrus down once he realized things were now getting out of hand. The Cerberus crew of the CIC deck didn't need to be hearing this and were easily within ear shot of Vakarian's raised voice.

Shepard's words were soothing and calming, "Garrus it's alright lets continue this in a more private location."

Garrus was still to explosive for even his best friend to disarm. He continued speaking, "No, I wasn't there. I wasn't there for my team and I wasn't there for her today. But if I had been I wouldn't have let my personal feelings get in the way of my decisions. Don't think I didn't notice Ms. Goto made it out without a scratch."

Shepard finally had to raise is voice. "Officer Vakarian that's enough!"

The deck went quite. Not one sound could be heard on the deck in that moment. No one punching buttons on control terminals or whispering a word or even the preverbal pin dropping. Although no one seemed like they heard everyone was acting oddly, trying not to look at the commotion. Even Ms. Chambers lowered her chin and tried to hide in her work station.

Shepard pulled the gentlemen through Mordin's empty lab to the communication room leaving Vakarian at the door.

"I'll finish the debriefing with Mr. Taylor." He then placed a reassuring hand on Garrus's shoulder, "But don't go anywhere we'll talk later."

-Briefing Room-

"Alright Jacob, start at the beginning and tell me what happened."

"Shepard, there was nothing there. I would have assumed that if the presents of active geth were anywhere near are location EDI would have been able to give us a heads up from her initial planet scan. They came from out of nowhere which wasn't hard to do on that planet. It seemed like as soon as Kasumi touched the device all hell broke loose."

EDI interjected her observations into the debriefing at that moment with more information. "Operative Taylor is correct. Kasumi was able to set up a system link even in the brief moment before the battle. He is right in thinking it was a trap."

Jacob shook his head and added sarcastically, "Thanks EDI, I don't believe I would have figured that out on my own."

EDI not sensing his criticism continued, "Operative Taylor would have been unable to avoid this trap. It was set for you Shepard. The geth that attacked were not normal geth. They seemed more like empty shells hacked to carry out a specific function and not acting on there own."

Shepard started questioning the AI, "You said the trap was set for me why did it spring?"

"Echo's presents was the trigger to the trap. The geth were programmed to attack biased on your biological profile. Echo shares most of your DNA and therefore met the criteria of an attack."

"Who would set that type of trap and how?"

"It is possible that the weather beacon was merely a decoy to gain your attention. Only the best hacker could have set up a trap like this. A hacker that knowledgeable about geth technology and synthetic life. It would figure that perhaps the trap was set by a reaper and had to reprogram the geth to cooperate after they no longer would willingly serve them."

"Makes some sense. The reapers aren't really happy with me because I represent the biggest threat to them. And there defiantly willing to create mindless slaves to get the job done. The collectors, husks, why not hollow geth."

After thinking things through Jacob was able to add to the conversation again, "And here I thought they ignored my presents because they were fixated on protecting the beacon. Kasumi would have just been collateral to them. Echo didn't stand a chance."

The monotone voice of the ships AI chimed, "Precisely."

"That's enough for now Mr. Taylor. Send Vakarian in on your way out."

When the door opened Gunnery Officer Vakarian was still standing there. Shepard waved him in while Jacob left.

EDI then prompted a message from the Medical bay, "Commander Shepard, Dr. Chakwas wanted me to inform you Subject Echo is stable and all wounds have been taken care of. She is still sleeping off the affects of the drugs in her system. When she awakes you may talk to her."

Shepard saw the torment in his friend's face. "Not so fast Garrus, we still need to have that talk."

Garrus, who had been torn between speaking with Shepard and checking up on Echo, walked into the room. The door's closed behind him.

Shepard started to speak first. He filled Garrus in on all that had been discussed between Jacob and himself. Ending with, "Just wanted to verify with you that Jacob's personal feelings weren't a factor in Kasumi's escape from danger."

"I'm sorry, Shepard. I overreacted."

"I'm not so sure your overreaction isn't something personal. It's alright. I know you've been through a lot. You were betrayed and lost your team. And even thought you've picked yourself back up those demons can sometimes come back to haunt you. That's hard on anyone. I'm your friend if you need someone to talk to."

"No, Shepard. It's okay. It wont happen again."

"That's good to hear. Now tell me what's going on between you and Echo."

Without missing a beat Garrus gave the answer he always told himself, "There's noting going on."

"You better be glad I know you. Anyone else wouldn't believe you, especially after your performance today."

Shepard fought back a smile before continuing, "You know a lie of omission is still a lie."

"There is nothing going on." Garrus stated again more defiantly.

"But?"

Shepard paused waiting on something more from Garrus. When he didn't answer Shepard filled in the blanks as best as he assumed.

"But, that doesn't mean you wouldn't like something more."

Garrus remained speechless.

Shepard started speaking aloud as he mused to himself, "It makes perfect sense really. I've gone over the mission reports of the crew and several of them make comparisons to me. If were that much alike it's no wonder you two get along so well. Kind of makes you wonder how things would have been different if I had been female."

"Wow. Thank you for that Shepard. Only you could have made this embarrassing conversation infinitely more awkward."

"All I'm saying is that you should go and talk to her. I need you focused on the mission and I don't want this disrupting the crew more than it already has."

"That's why I haven't spoken to her. I can't help but feel that it could turn out a horrible inter-species awkwardness thing and then I would lose her."

"Or it could be something to treasure."

"Shepard, I get the feeling that you're giving me your blessing on this?"

"No… No. Don't think of it as permission to date my daughter. Think of it more as advice from your friend. Besides, I've never considered her mine and that is an almost ancient Earth custom no one practices anymore. I doesn't really matter what I say in the end the decision is going to be hers. She is going to do whatever she wants to."

"Thank you Shepard. It's defiantly given me something to think about."