Out of Time

Chapter Seven

Riley saw what happened to the Normandy on the Galactic news channels as she had lunch with Anderson on the Citadel. They both stared at the screen in shock, even though Riley knew it was coming. It was still hard to believe, and the loss was still felt. It had been only a month since the attack on the Citadel, and rumors were that all of this was just Saren's doing.

The reapers weren't coming, and that would eventually bite them in the ass. Anderson watched her eyes carefully. She could see the destruction with her own eyes, remembering what it looked like when she'd done the playthrough. She still hadn't spoken a word about it, to anyone. Even if she had given advanced warning about the collector ship, nothing would have changed. Shepard would still have died.

Standing, she cut their meeting short. It would be time to move soon. She had already placed an olive branch for someone to take. It would take a few weeks for Garrus to reach out to her at the very least. In the meantime there were things to get ready. Flight plans to be made, packing to be done.

There was also armor and Civilian clothes to be gathered. Credits she had saved up would get her through the first year of being on Omega. The rest of it was keeping her apartment on the Citadel. She had paid for the next three years in advance. Anderson helped her a little with a temporary arrangement. She stayed with him over the last month and had given her some odd jobs that paid well. Something she had been grateful for.

The rest of the money was what she got from the Military Stipend and her work with Shepard. It took several days to get things in order when a knock came from her front door. Walking over to it, she opened it to find Garrus. He looked rough. "Can I come in?"

Nodding, she took a step to the side. "Yeah, you doing alright?"

He looked broken. "There's too much chaos here for me to help. When Shepard told me about your last conversation, I thought about it for a little while. I think now is the time to head there. After all, there are a lot of Criminals no one can touch. With no red tape, I thought it would be a good start."

She gave a half smile, getting a dextro drink from her fridge. "So, you decided to come let me know?"

Garrus caught the bottle she tossed his way, popping the cap. "Well, you did say to let you know when I was heading there. Figured I'd give you that courtesy."

Taking a seat in a chair, she watched him pace back and forth. "Deciding whether or not you want to ask me to come? Even if you don't ask, I'll be joining you. I've got everything already packed and a few tickets ready for the first flight out of here in a few days. I'll always be your first ally Garrus. Or one of them anyway."

At first, he didn't say anything. "You're coming with me? What about your military-"

She cut him off. "I already told Anderson that I had planned on going with you when you left. I really did have everything planned out. Do you not want me to come?"

Hesitant, Garrus stared at her. "It's not that. I would love to have you with me. It's just.. I wasn't expecting it. Since you just got everything back. Why would you put that all on hold for something like this?"

Riley hadn't even thought about the reasons to leave the military behind. She never thought he would ask her, or that she would need a reason. In the end, all she could say was a partial truth. "Someone's gotta have your back. If not me, who else can I trust to watch you? Keep you alive when I'm not there."

Garrus seemed to relax a bit at that. "And you think I'm going to be the one who needs their back watched? What about you? I'd say you got a death wish with some of the things you do."

Spending a few more hours going over the smaller details, Garrus eventually left. As promised Riley met Garrus at the designated flight to Omega. At first, they did small odd jobs. Slowly, Garrus found people to work with. They started fighting the Blue Suns, Eclipse, and Blood Pact.