ME2 Andromeda Series: Chap 11

Chapter 11
Garrus kept his head down as he slowly made his way over to the window.  He had to be careful not to disturb any of the boxes: Many of them were empty but some held supplies, nothing illegal.  Luckily he didn't have any trouble breaking into the warehouse, the Suns didn't care about it, but to Garrus it was the perfect place for his next target.

The supply warehouse was directly across from the residence of Tarak, the Blue Suns leader.  It was a much larger accommodation than the apartments that many folk on Omega had to be accustomed to, so it stood out. However, the location was far away from prying eyes, but never out of the reach of Aria T'Loak.   There were two Batarian Suns outside guarding the main entrance, but their appearance was more of a formality, they didn't appear to have their guard up. With the merc bands now working together against a common enemy, they were not too afraid of surprise hits for territory.   At least Tarak wasn't that concern…but Garrus was sure to make him regret that mistake.

Ever since the attack on his base and the brutal slayings of his men, Garrus was determined to have revenge.  The blue blood that pumped in his veins was still boiling and even hotter now that Tarak was in his sights.  News travels fast on Omega and after the ambush; Garrus soon learned that the Blue Suns were behind it all. It didn't take him long to tail one of the mercs back to their boss' location.

Tarak had moved up to the upper level to a room that appeared to be his bedroom and he was sitting on his bed, wearing a dark blue silk robe.   The Batarian barked some inaudible orders to someone inside the facility and then continued to rub his head in frustration.  The shot was too perfect and Garrus eagerly pulled around his sniper rifle to get into position.  He crouched down a little lower, keeping the end of the barrel right on the window sill to make sure that the guards below didn't look up to see the barrel's protrusion.   He looked into the scope to Tarak's bulbous head right in the crosshairs.  His finger slowly moving around to the trigger….

Just as he was about to shoot, another figure came into view, blocking his shot.  It was an Asari…normal bluish skin tone.  She was dressed in a white silk robe that flowed angelically around her body.   Garrus couldn't hear what was being said, but she appeared to be worried for the Batarian's wellbeing.  "Damnit….move…." Garrus muttered under his breath as his finger twitched on the trigger.  He just needed her to get out of the way for one second…

"The other one is gone, Kiara!"  The Batarian raised his voice loudly at the Asari. Clearly his words could be heard in the quiet sector of the station.

"Other one?" Garrus looked out of the scope towards the two in curiosity. He heard a soft murmur from the Asari in response to the merc leader.

"He's off this station! Archangel is finished. "Tarak snapped back still, but then the aggression died down.

"Sidonis…" Garrus' tightened his mandible as he peered back into the scope.  Tarak seemed to motion the Asari over towards of a glass of Batarian ale on the nearby table.  As he saw the Asari begin to move away as ordered, Garrus pressed down on the trigger.

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Tarak rubbed the sides of his head with his fingertips.  Just a few days ago, they made a brutal strike against Archangel, killing off his entire squadron but him. However, there were no signs of the vigilante.   Nobody had seen Archangel on Omega, not even the Blood Pack or Eclipse.  At first he began to think that Archangel fled the station, but now he began to worry that Archangel was planning his next hit.  He didn't want to make any deals just yet….he was losing profits and many of the mercs were becoming disgruntled on not taking in creds.   What if tomorrow they processed a huge shipment of Red Sand to Ilium and Archangel strikes? Where the hell was he?

Kiara, an ex-merchant from Ilium, gracefully walked into the room with a glass filled with Batarian Ale.  She was pretty young for an Asari, but still much older than he was, but you couldn't tell by the way she looked.   He didn't mind robbing the cradle…her natural blue skin was enchanting and she was more attractive than the dancers that were in the Afterlife.  He picked her up a few years ago on Ilium when he smuggled some Red Sand to an unlicensed vendor.  Kiara, on the other hand, was selling mods, some of them were illegal.  When the mods were some of the best ones he seen, Tarak made a deal with her to purchase more for his team on Omega, and personally  made the trips himself to Ilium.  She willfully accompanied him back to Omega  after one transaction and after a few drinks at the Afterlife, one thing led to another.   Luckily for him, she decided to stay on Omega with him and hired another Asari to run her store on Ilium.   Kiara delicately brushed her fingertips up his arm as she stood beside him with concern on her face.  "Tarak, are you sure that the one that sold Archangel  out isn't lurking around?"

"The other one is gone, Kiara!" Tarak growled in annoyance as he jerked his body away.  Normally he enjoyed her sensual caresses that sent a tingling sensation throughout his body like a jolt of electricity,  but the presence of the Asari frustrated him even more.

"Are sure?  Tarak,  you need to get rid of Archangel and quit screwing around with him." Kiara replied back softly with a bit more firmness.

"He's off this station! Archangel is finished." Tarak snapped back. He sighed as all four eyes set upon the glass of Batarian ale across the room on the table. "Just get me my drink….maybe the booze will help me sleep."

"I could help you sleep…" Kiara cooed as her fingertips lingered on his arm.

"No," Tarak grunted and motioned to the drink again with his hand.

As Kiara stepped to retrieve the glass, something caught Tarak's eye.  He glanced towards the right to see what it was and saw the horrific sight of a blue blur across at the empty warehouse.   As his eyes settled upon the blue form, he could make the shape of a helmet and a gun….his heart stopped.

Seeing that her lover's color was draining from his body,  Kiara followed Tarak's gaze and saw the same horrendous sight.   Time seemed to stop as the figure's gun moved just an inch and fired.  Kiara stepped forward…

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Panic struck Garrus as he saw the Batarian look straight at him.  Squeezing the trigger rapidly, the bullet bolted down the shaft of the rifle on its trajectory.  Garrus kept his eye in the scope…he had to make sure that the bullet struck…just as he did, a flash of white filled the scope.

Alarmed, Garrus quickly looked out of the scope to see that the Asari stepped into the path of the oncoming bullet.  Just as she did, the bullet struck, but instead of hitting the true target of the Batarian's skull,  it struck the Asari straight in the chest, piercing her heart. Garrus watched on in disbelief…

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A soft moan escaped the Asari's mouth as her body slumped over backwards in an awkward position.   Moving quickly to catch her, Tarak held onto the Asari in his arms. She looked up at him with the fear of death in her eyes.  The shot was fatal, blood trickled down the corner of her mouth as the natural blue tone of her body was becoming lighter.  "Kiara?!" Tarak shouted in desperation as he clutched her body tighter.

The two Batarian guards below, oblivious to what just happened, overheard their boss' cry and ran quickly inside. "What's wrong, boss?" One of them asked as they made their way up the stairs.


"Crap…." Garrus watched on.  He cursed inwardly for the Asari taking the deadly shot. A part of him inside wanted to rejoice knowing that Tarak lost someone dear to him so he could feel his pain, but for the most part, Garrus hated to know that an innocent died.  

"He's up there!" A voice shouted snapping Garrus' out of his internal debate and he ducked just in time to miss being struck by a barrage from an assault rifle.  

Even though he was outnumbered, the odds were three to one,  and he had been in tougher situations than that before.  He wasn't going to let this opportunity pass him by. He had to make Tarak pay, even if he died in the process.  Taking a chance on his kinetic shields,  Garrus rose back up to take a position once again on the house.  The two Batarians pinned themselves up against the walls and Tarak was desperately trying to get out of sight as he still clutched Kiara. "I need back up! Archangel is at Tarak's!"  One of the mercs desperately ordered into his radio.  Catching him off guard,  Garrus took the shot, nailing the Batarian straight in the top right eye. The bullet lodged inside his skull and brain, killing him instantly. Blood spurted out as he fell over dead.

Seeing that Tarak was trying to make his way to the stairwell, Garrus aimed for the walls above and fired off three rounds to suppress him in that location.  Just as he did, he felt one of the merc's bullets striking his barrier.  Scowling,  Garrus repositioned his rifle and shot the firing merc in the forehead.  Two down…one more to go.  

"You will not kill me, Archangel, you bastard!" Tarak screamed out in outrage as he fired aimlessly in Garrus' direction.

"Damnit, Tarak, you coward…" Garrus hissed under his breath as he tried to get the merc boss in his sights, but Tarak was keeping low... Seeing that the standoff was at a stalemate, Garrus slung the sniper rifle strap over his shoulder and took out his M-6.  He was going to make this up close and personal.  

Swiftly moving down the steps of the warehouse, he stopped in midstride when he heard several voices nearby.  Pressing against the wall, he kept in the shadows and peered out the warehouse entrance to see at least ten mercs running into Tarak's house, heavily armed.  Garrus watched on….wondering on just how good his chance of survival now was.  "Where is he, Tarak?" A female woman called out to the merc boss.

"He's in the warehouse across the street, Jentha! Go in and kill him! I want Archangel's head!" Tarak screamed.

Garrus tensed up and looked around him.  The warehouse was pretty dark, but not much room to maneuver effectively in a firefight.  He clenched his teeth…he had to give up this battle.  Stuffing the pistol in his side holster, he set foot back up the stairwell to make his escape out of the top floor side windows facing away from the Suns.  


Andromeda frowned as she worriedly looked at the entrance to the lower part of the club.   There were not many patrons lately, not many mercs and no word from Garrus or his friend Sidonis.  Ever since that one day in the market when she heard that scream, a pit formed in her stomach.    She tried to keep her ears open to conversations…normally someone would talk about how Archangel  had another sting operation, but nothing.  

"Awe, what's with the sad face?" A human male called out to her from the other end of the bar. Even though the male was obviously drunk, there was some true concern in his voice.  He and his male friend had been sitting at the bar for about an hour.  They seemed to be pretty new in town and luckily for them, Forvan did not come in yet.

"Jake!"  The other male scolded his friend.  "You're going to make a scene."

"It's ok…I'm sorry to be a terrible host…" Andromeda walked over to the two.  "Did you guys need anything?"

"Nah…I think three is my limit."  Jake's friend shook his head.  "This stuff is much stronger than where I come from."

Hoping they were working with Garrus, Andromeda perked up a little.  "So uh where are you guys from?"  Remembering her first conversation with Sidonis in Afterlife. Though she didn't why they were being so secretive…it wasn't like anyone was watching her this time.

"Here and there…" Jake hiccupped.  "We have a sturdy rig for supply sales.   Just came from Horizon. Nice colony there."

"Andromeda!" A familiar voice beckoned harshly. Andromeda pivoted around to see Forvan standing there with an unhappy look on his face.  

"Sorry, Forvan. I'll go wipe the tables now." Andromeda grabbed a cloth to escape any confrontation right now with the Batarian bartender.  It was pretty obvious that the humans were not part of Garrus' crew.  

Forvan leered over Andromeda's shoulder to the two she was just talking to. "They pay yet?"

Andromeda shook her head. "No..three drinks a piece though.  I think they are just stopping by…not locals." She cringed saying the latter.

"Stopping by, eh?" Forvan sadistically smiled.   "Go on."

Andromeda walked over to the nearest table to clean, but kept her blue eyes on Forvan and the two humans who were now in some sort of conversation. Forvan seemed to be very polite and poured one of them another drink.   Then he turned to walk off, and she thought she saw him chuckling a bit. Why was he so happy?

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Hours later, after the two humans left,  the entire lower section of the club seemed to be deserted except for one regular Batarian customer.  Forvan and he were in a private chat and Forvan kept pointing down to the empty chairs that the two humans were at and laughing.  

Curiously, Andromeda decided to check some of the private rooms to see if anyone was in there and needed help. She really hoped to engage in some sort of conversation.  Sliding her pass card into the scanner, she waited for the door to whish open and stepped inside.

The private room contained two tables and black couches.  Sitting at one of the tables was surprisingly two human Blue Suns mercs and beside them stood a fairly old Krogan.  At least five empty glasses were on the mercs' table, amazingly the two were not passed out yet.  The male appeared to be half awake and was slumped backwards in his chair.  The woman kept her focus on the old Krogan.

Stopping his conversation with the two mercs, the Krogan turned his head to Andromeda.  "Well..well…what do we have here?"

Andromeda flushed a little in embarrassment for invading their privacy. "Uh, sorry…did you guys need anything?"

"Ya, something to drown this bothersome Krogan out…" The woman slurred.

"Shut up, Trina. At least it's better than being out there.  I'm not getting my ass shot by Archangel…I don't care what the hell Tarak says."  The male merc argued with his eyes still closed.

The old Krogan shook his head. "You'd rather sit here and drink than go out and fight? The time I fought Aria…now that was a fight."

Trina pounded her fist on the table. "Will you fuckin shut up already?! Damnit, Patriarch! We don't care about your stories! "

"So what's that bastard Archangel doing to you guys now?" Andromeda focused her attention on what the Blue Suns were talking about as she picked up their empty glasses.  Patriarch walked over to the side, pretty upset that she was more interested in what the mercs had to say than him.

"What has he not done you mean?" The male laughed as he placed his head heavily on the table, barely conscious now.

"Well we hit the bastard pretty hard a week ago.  Took out his entire squad. Could have taken him out too but  Tarak wanted him to live and suffer.  Then a few nights ago, Archangel attacked Tarak's house and killed his Asari in cold blood! Tarak hasn't been right since…we have him cornered at the Gozu district but the coward has all the entrances sealed and the only way to get across is the bridge. Damn attacks are suicide."

Andromeda's heart sunk as she listened on. No wonder Garrus and his team didn't get to her…the Suns got to them first.  Now Garrus was pinned…and he couldn't last much longer trying to fight the mercs.   Knowing that she couldn't stand around anymore and do nothing…she knew she had to get out of the club and to the Gozu district.  Seeing that the woman wasn't really focusing on her as she talked, Andromeda set the glasses down on the empty table then walked back over to pretend to wipe their table.

She noticed that Patriarch was watching her, but more out of curiosity on what was going through her mind.  Deciding to take the risk as Trina continued to babble on about their impossible mission,  Andromeda used the side of her hand and struck hard as she could to the side of the women's neck, using enough force to temporarily cutting off circulation.  The woman slumped over unconscious.  

Alert to see his comrade fall over,  the male merc stumbled out of his chair and looked at Andromeda in fear.  "What the hell?" He grasped desperately for his gun to the side, but his drunken stupor was making the simple task more difficult.  As she watched on, Andromeda quickly glanced around, trying to figure out how to overtake her opponent. The element of surprise was no more and she mistakenly believed he was passed out from booze.

Suddenly the elderly Krogan roared to life and he charged right towards the merc, head butting him hard.  The male merc flew across the room, with the sickening cracking sound of his back impacting against the wall. His body slid down into a motionless position.  Looking over in disbelief, Andromeda saw the Krogan grin big as he pounded his fist into his palm.  "That sure brings back memories." He chortled.

"T-thank you…" Andromeda stammered.

"No, thank you, for giving this old Krogan some excitement…" Patriarch let his reptilian eyes linger on the merc he just took out.

Racing over to the unconscious female,  Andromeda began to undo the armor, knowing her only ticket out of this place was in a disguise.  As she placed the last piece of armor on,   she worriedly glanced back at Patriarch who watched on.  "Please…don't tell anyone… I have to help Archangel…"

"You think I would never let anything be taken away from Aria?" Patriarch smiled.  "If you want a quick way out…follow me."  He motioned with his head.