Scoped and Dropped

"Crashed a weapons dealer's party and blew up his house."


"Mostly true, Shepard and Kasumi infiltrated Donovan Hock's party to retrieve something he'd stolen from Kasumi. When Hock realized who they were, he tried to take them down in a gunship. They blew it up."


James leaned back in his chair, resting his feet on the workbench in front of him. Garrus had come down into the hangar to pick up the new scope he'd asked Cortez to procure for him and James, deciding that he and Garrus hadn't talked much lately, invited the turian to use his workspace to assemble and install the scope. They'd chatted idly at first, about guns and ammo mods and the best way to decimate a group of husks. That had put them on the topic of Shepard's rather unique way of dealing with husks (it usually involved beating them to death with their own limbs) and from there it had evolved into Vega asking Garrus about Shepard's numerous adventures.


James frowned thoughtfully, mulling over all the rumors he'd heard over the years, "Killed a Thresher Maw on foot with a shotgun."


"Again, mostly true. Zaeed and Grunt were there helping out with their Mattocks. Shepard did get the kill shot though, with that Claymore she loves so much." Garrus squinted at the tiny pieces he was assembling. "That was the day Connie got her name, actually. Zaeed said that you can't make a great kill like that and not name the gun that did it."


"Arm wrestled Aria."


The turian laughed, his mandibles flaring out. "No truth to that one."


James chuckled and folded his arms across his chest. "Too bad, I'd hoped there was at least a little truth to that one." He scratched his chin, "Saved some sorry turian ass from every merc band on Omega."


Garrus's mandibles twitched again as he chuckled, "True."


"She ever lose her cool?"


The turian paused in his work and glanced up at Vega, "I think so, once. I wasn't there to see it. Zaeed and I were trapped in a server room."


"Where was this?"


"Aite." He mounted the assembled scope on his rifle. "Cerberus scientists there were trying to control the Geth by interfacing a VI with a human mind."


"Guess that didn't go well."


"No, it didn't." Garrus peered down the sight, lining up an invisible target. "Archer linked his brother to the Geth neural network without his consent-"


"Archer?" James interrupted. "As in Gavin Archer, that guy we rescued from Arrae?"


"The very same," Garrus said, laying his rifle on the workbench so he could make a few more adjustments.


"No wonder he nearly shit himself when he saw the Commander…"


Garrus nodded, "I guess it was a pretty gruesome sight, David all… plugged in. By the time EDI was able to let us out, Shepard had released David and we found Archer unconscious on the floor." He picked the rifle up and targeted an imaginary foe again, "Broken nose, jaw, cheekbone, and eye socket. I think Shepard must have hit him in the face with her shotgun."


"Damn."


"Making Shepard angry is never a good idea."


"No kidding."


Garrus glanced up at James, suddenly looking a bit sly. "Why are you asking me about Shepard anyway?" he asked.


"Why not," Vega said, clearing his throat nervously. "Curious about the woman behind the legend. You know how it is, Scars."


"Yeah, I know." Garrus said, definitely looking sly now. "You like her."


"'Course I like her. She's Commander Shepard-"


"No," The turian leaned forward, grinning as he rested his chin in one hand. "You like her."


James' mouth worked soundlessly, looking very much like a fish out of water, as he tried to think of a retort.

Chuckling, Garrus rose to his feet and holstered his rifle. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." The turian walked off, raising one hand in a wave. "And good luck, Jimmy. You're going to need a whole hell of a lot of it."