** Garrus POV**
Garrus woke up alone. His mandibles twitched in an involuntary frown.
Mina wasn't there.
He grumbled, a low, guttural sound that vibrated in his chest. His sleep had been restless. The apartment felt too big, too silent.
Garrus growled again. He definitely had woken up in a foul mood. Not having Mina around had made it difficult for him to sleep. Who would have thought he had gotten used to having her around?
The events from yesterday were still clear in his mind, only souring his mood further. To think Councilor Sparatus would raid their apartment, along with Solana's and Nihlus! Then he was detained for going on a mission that the Councilor had personally given him?!
Had it not been for Nihlus and the Councilors stepping in, he would have been kept at C-Sec. No doubt about it.
Did Councilor Sparatus really think he would get away with it?
After speaking with Mina and coming up with a plan, he spent most of the afternoon cleaning and picking up whatever Citadel Security had made a mess of. The pastries he had wanted to give her were thrown away after knowing that Mina wasn't going to be returning any time soon.
Before he went to bed, he sent the information over to Nihlus. He agreed to meet him at the apartment the following day.
Reluctantly, Garrus got out of bed and got ready for the day. He would be heading out on the mission from Councilor Valern as soon as Nihlus showed up, which would be any minute. He sent a quick message to Serus asking him to prep the ship for departure.
Garrus grabbed a quick breakfast and quickly packed his bag. By the time he was finishing up, a knock came from the door. He grabbed his bag and went to open the door.
"Nihlus," Harrus greeted, stepping aside for him to enter.
Nihlus walked in and looked around. "Is your wife safe?"
"Yes," Garrus replied, closing the door. "I spoke to her yesterday."
"Any idea what's going on with the Councilor?" Nihlus asked, setting his bag down.
Garrus growled. "No idea. Something must have happened. Did you find anything out?"
"No," Nihlus replied. "Councilor Sparatus has been keeping his activities private. None of my contacts have heard anything."
"Something is going on," Garrus assumed. "Before the fiasco yesterday, Councilor Sparatus was sending me warning messages, but after I verified that the video had been altered, he acted like there wasn't anything wrong."
"Mina said that a drell approached her. The drell said that she needed to be wary of the human Ambassador. I'm starting to think all of this is connected somehow."
A chime from his Omni-Tool alerted Garrus to an incoming call. It was from his pilot.
"Spectre," Serus, his pilot, greeted. "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.
"Let's go," Nihlus said, grabbing his bag.
Garrus grabbed his bag and made a quick walk around his apartment, making sure he didn't forget anything. He sent a quick message to Mina letting her know that he was leaving and to stay safe.
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.
"Any news from Wrex?" Garrus asked as they headed inside.
"No word from him yet," Nihlus answered.
"Ping me when we arrive," Nihlus called out as he headed to find a room to stay in.
"Will do," Garrus said as he entered the main area and headed to the elevator with his bag. "Serus, I've sent coordinates."
"It'll take a few hours to arrive," Serus replied. "I'll notify you when we arrive."
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.
While he waited, Garrus attempted to call Mina, only to find that the call wouldn't go through. Garrus frowned. He tried several more times with the same result.
I hope nothing happened...
"ETA 20 minutes," Serus announced over the intercom.
Garrus looked up from his omni-toll surprise. He checked the coordinates and called Serus.
"Are you sure?" Garrus asked.
"Yes," came Serus's reply. "I'm sure."
"I checked the coordinates several times," he continued. "We're approaching the origin of the signal."
Garrus checked the coordinates one more time. Something wasn't adding up. The coordinates that Councilor Valern had given him seemed further away.
"Alright," Garrus replied. "Send a message to Chellick, Vaia, and Nihlus. Tell them to be ready."
Garrus headed toward the shuttle bay where Chellick and Vaia had everything already ready for the mission. He quickly put on his armor.
"I don't know what we'll find," Garrus said, also gathering his weapons. "Make sure you're ready for whatever is out there."
"Yes, sir," Chellick and Vaia said in unison.
"I'll go scout around," Nihlus said as the bay doors opened. "I'll keep in touch."
Once the cruise was low enough, Nihlus jumped out of the ship.
"Approaching landing vector," Serus announced. "Docking in 3, 2, 1."
Garrus checked his equipment one last time before the ship landed.
"Move out," Garrus ordered as the docking bay door opened.
Garrus activated his helmet and input the coordinates he was given. He hoped it would lead them to the source of the accounts. The three of them made their way toward the direction of the signal.
"The source is about 5 kilometers in the direction we are heading," Garrus said, taking a look around them.
"My scans indicate the source is on the surface," Chellick commented. "Well, whatever is making the signal at least."
"Sir, there's no other life form in sight," Vaia said. "This planet is dead except for us."
"Stay alert," Garrus replied. "We don't know what we could be up against."
The three of them continued toward their destination. As they got closer, the trio started noticing the changes in the landscape. The ground was leveling out, and the dirt around them was becoming sturdier.
The closer they got to the signal, the more apparent the changes were. The ground was littered with open crates, spilling out what looked like salvaged electronics, damaged weapon components, and hastily discarded biotic amps. It was a site of frantic, messy activity, recently abandoned or still very much in use. In the center of all the mess was a solitary building.
Beside him, Chellick activated his comm. "Serus, we're at the signal source. The building appears abandoned."
"Acknowledged," came Serus' reply from the comms. "Proceed with caution. The signal has been turned off."
"Looks like someone was in a hurry," Chellick observed, kicking at a fallen crate that rattled with empty omni-gel containers.
Garrus's mandibles tightened. "Too much of a hurry. This isn't just a salvage operation."
Then, Vaia gasped, pointing. On the dented, reinforced door of the building, half-obscured by dust and scorch marks, was a symbol Garrus knew all too well, one that always preceded trouble. The stark, black and white logo of Cerberus.
A cold knot tightened in Garrus's gut. "Cerberus?" His voice was a low growl. "What in the blazes are they doing all the way out here? This close to Council space, on an uncharted world? This isn't right." His Mantis clicked off safety. "They're up to something, and it won't be good."
"Agreed," Chellick said, drawing his pistol, his calm demeanor now edged with steely resolve. "No one messes with Council space on my watch."
"Vaia, biotic barrier. Chellick, take point. Let's see what these 'patriots' are hiding," Garrus said, covering the rear.
The trio slowly walked toward the building. Garrus gave Chellick the go-ahead. Chellick kicked open the door, and they rushed inside.
It was empty.
"Everyone back to the ship!" Garrus ordered, realizing that this might be a trap. "Serus, prepare for take-off."
"Roger that, Spectre," Serus replied.
"What's Cerberus doing here so close to the Citadel?" Vaia asked as they headed back toward the ship.
The three of them hurried back and barely made it on before Serus took off.
"Sir," Serus said as Garrus joined him on the bridge. "What's going on?"
"Can't be certain, but Cerberus is involved," Garrus replied. "Head back to the Citadel."
"We'll be there shortly," Serus replied.
"Entering the mass relay in 3, 2, 1."
Garrus felt the ship lurch forward and waited for the THS Talek'ahr to come out near the Citadel.
"Is there any chatter on the comms?" Garrus asked.
"Nothing so far," Serus replied as the ship went out of hyperspace. "I'll try the Citadel Tower."
"Citadel Tower, this THS Talek'ahr, requesting permission to dock."
"No answer," Serus said after a few minutes of silence.
"Try the other channels," Garrus instructed. "There might be someone listening on the emergency channels."
"This is the THS Talek'ahr," Serus said into his headset. "Is anyone receiving me?"
"This is Wrex," a krogan voice over the headset.
"Do you know what's going on?" Serus asked. "No one is answering at the Citadel Tower."
"Cerberus is attacking the Citadel," Wrex replied. "There's a group of us making our way through, but we're pinned at the C-Sec headquarters."
Garrus growled. Of course they were.