Unseen: Mass Effect FanFiction

Chapter 34

The next morning Garrus woke up feeling refreshed and in a good mood. He laid in bed looking in at the ceiling feeling relaxed without a stress in the world, then out of nowhere he remembered what all had happened and he jolted up in bed no longer feeling rested.

How could he have forgotten! Garrus got up from the bed as quickly as he could and went to get ready. There was still too much for him to take care of for him to be laying in bed relaxing. After a quick breakfast, Garrus went around his apartment picking up anything that had been moved since C-Sec had raided his home.

Then his mind began to wonder, Garrus wasn't sure if it had anything to do with guilt or if his mind was finally able to comprehend everything that had happened since Mina/Aster had shown up. Solana had no problem in introducing them and asking for his help in investigating a way to help Aster. He had been so ready to clear her name that he never thought that she would be hiding in plain sight.

Even though he never admitted it, he truly cared for her. Garrus had decided to keep his distance after she had lost her arm because he felt responsible. He had broken his promise of getting her out. Sure she had gone undercover as Dr. Lang and no one was supposed to know who she was but Garrus had found out and had been devastated. When he had gone to see her at Huerta Memorial, the reality of the incident and his broken promise were shoved in his face and he just couldn't face her.

He thought it best to stop whatever relationship they had going on and just make some space between them. He needed time to process everything and get over his guilt of what had happened. But getting over something like that was harder than he could have imagined.

Now, knowing that she had asked for help and he had refused her just added to the guilt that had slowly been dealt with. Man, had he made a terrible mistake and now Aster was paying for it again. Garrus tried to remember if Nihlus had been surprised that Mina had turned out to be Aster but as hard as he tried to remember he couldn't.

'I should have trusted my sister,' Garrus thought as he cleaned up the rest of the apartment. 'Even if I didn't trust Mina I should have trusted her and her instincts. She wouldn't have led me astray.'

After everything was picked up, Garrus gave Solana a call and even tried Nihlus but neither of them answered.

'They must still be mad at me,' Garrus concluded. 'I'll give them a call later.'

Garrus was deep in thought as to what to do next when a ping on his omni-tool told him he had a call incoming. Garrus was surprised to see that it was Councilor Sparatus on the other side of the line.

"Councilor Sparatus," Garrus greeted.

"Garrus, I'm glad I caught you," the Councilor responded. "I need you to come by my office, there's something I need to discuss with you."

"I'll be there shortly," Garrus replied ending the call before cursing out loud.

He had better things to do than be the Councilor's personal errand boy. However, he knew that regardless of his personal feelings for the Councilor he had to show up. Garrus made his way out of his apartment and hurried over to the Presidium. Whatever the Councilor had to tell him must be important since he had called him directly.

When he arrived, the Councilor's assistant rushed him inside the private office.

"Garrus Vakarian," the Councilor greeted.

Garrus was quick to notice the Councilor's subvocal were different than before.

"Thanks for coming in such a short time," the Councilor continued. "You did some great work closing that last case. I've also noticed you been completing a lot of the cases that we've been handing you."

Although Garrus was listening to the Councilor's words, he was also hearing his subvocals and they were warming him of unknown danger.

"I try my best at completing what was given to me," Garrus replied unsure if his sentence even made sense given the circumstances but he made sure his subvocals voiced his concern for the Councilor.

Garrus wasn't sure what had the Councilor so worried but it had to be something important if he need to see him.

"There's a special mission I need you to go to," Councilor Sparatus continued. "It's top-secret so discretion is necessary."

"I understand," Garrus replied. "I'll take care of it."

The Councilor thanked him before dismissing him. Garrus wasn't sure what exactly was going on with the Councilor, but he did know that the Councilor thought he was in danger. As Garrus left the Presidium, he made his way toward his apartment before activating the secure network on his omni-tool. He checked the assignments on his omni-tool and saw that not only had Councilor Sparatus sent him an assignment but also Councilor Valern had sent him an assignment.

'This is odd,' Garrus thought. 'Why would both Councilors send me priority missions at the same time?'

Garrus sent a quick message to Nihlus asking him if he had also gotten multiple assignments. Although he waited, Garrus didn't get a reply back from him. Not sure what else to do instead of accepting either of the assignments Garrus headed to Councilor Valern's private office to speak to him.

'This must be a mistake,' Garrus thought taking the elevator back to the embassies. 'No Councilor has ever assigned top priority missions to one Spectre.'

"Spectre Vakarian," the assistant said as Garrus entered the office. "What brings you here?"

"I've received an assignment from the Councilor and like to speak to him about it," Garrus replied.

"I'm sorry but the Councilor is in a meeting at the moment," the assistant replied. "I can tell him you stopped by."

Garrus thanked him and headed back to his apartment. He couldn't choose between the two missions, the system wouldn't allow him to accept either of them since both were marked priority. He had to get one of the Councilors to change the priority of the assignments. Garrus knew that Councilor Sparatus wouldn't consider so his only chance was to speak to Councilor Valern.

After arriving at his apartment, Garrus started packing his bag just in case he needed to get ready to leave at a moment's notice. He wasn't sure how long he would be gone but Garrus liked to be prepared. Once he was packed, Garrus tried calling Councilor Valern but didn't get through. He checked his assignments and noticed that the assignment from Councilor Valern was gone.

Without hesitation, Garrus took a look at the assignment from Councilor Sparatus and found the assignment rather odd. There were no references as to who he needed investigating but the Councilor wanted Garrus to follow some money transfers from the Citadel to other accounts outside of the system. There was nothing suspicious about the transfers but Garrus did find it odd that the Councilor wanted these accounts to be followed.

But Garrus was never one to question any assignment he was given so he accepted it anyway. Garrus sent a message to his pilot asking him to get ready to launch in an hour. He recalled his crew who were on standby and had them ready the ship for takeoff.

'An hour should be plenty of time,' Garrus thought. 'Most of them have been staying on the ship since we've docked after returning from Omega. The ship has already been refueled since we've arrived.'

There was a chime coming from his omni-tool indicating a call was coming in. It was from his pilot.

"Spectre," Serus, his pilot said. "The last of the crew members have checked in and are on board. We are ready to depart upon your arrival."

"Be there in 20 minutes," Garrus replied.

Garrus grabbed his bag and made a quick walk around his apartment making sure he didn't forget anything. After his apartment was locked up, he headed toward the docking bay where his ship, THS Talek'ahr, a heavy cruiser was waiting for him.

"All set," Garrus said as he boarded and headed to the bridge with his bag. "Serus, I've sent coordinates."

"We'll be there in a couple of hours," Serus replied. "I'll send a ping when we're close."

Garrus headed up to his room and got settled in. He wasn't sure what he would find but whatever it was he needed to be ready.