Survivor

Chapter Three

Garrus
  "Try it now," Garrus called over the comm, looking over the controls to watch the humans try to power up their defense cannon, flipping switches and cursing as they adjusted the fuel startup on the generator for it.
  The cannon fired up when they hit the startup switch and the repairmen lit up with cheers and shouts of victory. Some  shot him thumbs ups and shouted thanks, but he could only bring himself to raise a hand in acknowledgement.
  He couldn't help thinking she should be here, seeing her people repairing their planet so quickly. The aliens helping them, and no hate between them.
  Garrus knew that as they worked here on Earth, there were engineers working on the remaining Mass Effect relays. At the pace they were working, they should all be repaired within an Earth month.
  He looked down at his work, set some calibrations and watched them upload into the system.
  He remembered Samantha as she teased him about his obsession with his calibrations, nudging him with her shoulder as she did so. He remembered the way her face lit up as she smiled. His throat tightened and he closed his eyes.
  Their last moments haunted him. Her helping him to the ship as much as he wanted to fight her. Standing next to Kaidan as he held him up. Shepard telling him goodbye.
  He regretted not telling her he loved her until then. He had hoped telling her to come back alive would make her remember what to live for. Unfortunately, it changed nothing.
  The comm on his console chimed and Garrus accepted the call.
  "Vakarian," he answered.
  "Officer Vakarian, this is Admiral Hackett. We've got some news I think you'll be interested in."
  Garrus sighed, rubbing his face. "What is it?"
  "We've got Shepard."
  Garrus closed his eyes, the pain of her loss stabbing him anew.
  "She's alive."
  His eyes shot open. "What? How?"
  "The how doesn't matter at the moment. What's important is we've got her back. She's at Huerta if you would like to visit her. I'll be there too, watching over her."
  Garrus nodded vigorously before he realized that Hackett couldn't see him. "Thank you. I'll be visiting as soon as possible."
  "Hackett out."
  Garrus ended the call and gathered his things before he quickly made his way to the repair team's commander.
  "I need to get out of here, there's a personal emergency, sir. Do you have someone who can take over?"
  The commander waved him away, looking up from his datapad. "Of course, Vakarian. You've been a big help here. I can't express enough our gratitude to you. Get outta here. Go take care of whatever it is you need."
  Garrus nodded and thanked the man before he turned and high tailed it to the Citadel transportation ship, a million scenarios running through his mind.