Rebirth The Mass Effect is old

"My name is Rex. The Shadow Broker transferred me a decent amount to get rid of the Fist. But you beat me to it."

The Krogans basically used the word "You" solely as a plural indicator.

"And?" I asked with interest.

"When I get paid for a job, I do it." Rex came almost right up to me, looming over me with his whole mass. "Alone."

Garrus tensed. Tali got nervous and took a step back.

"Your problem is that you were so slow." I purred, and a flat disc of a grenade flashed between my fingers.

The Krogan noticed it.

"Your people are becoming very... nimble, if properly stimulated." I tossed the grenade in the palm of my hand.

And Rex suddenly burst out laughing.

"So it really was you."

"Where?" I asked naively, blinking my eyes. The grenade, as if by magic, evaporated.

Rex chuckled and stretched his lips into a crooked grin. Apparently, my unhealthy tendencies and craving for grenades found a lively response in his soul.

"You did my job." Rex returned to the unfinished conversation. "So you should get the money, too."

"Rex, are you going to pay for a Fist?" I raised an eyebrow and looked at the Krogan with genuine interest. "For me?"

"I won't take money for someone else's work! I transferred them to your account."

He did it! Shaking my head, I stared at the strange face of the powerful Krogan with some confusion. I didn't believe that this mercenary really took such things so seriously...

"I liked the way you handled the Fist." The heavy gaze shifted to Garrus. "I hear you're hunting Saren."

"Rumors spread quickly." Garrus rasped faintly.

Rex ignored him.

"I want to go with you." The Krogan slapped me, staring intently into my eyes.

And that's what to do with it? Does he really think that a military officer would take a mercenary with a dubious reputation with him?

"Rex, you're a mercenary. What's the benefit to you in chasing Saren?"

The Krogan was silent for several long, agonizing minutes, staring intently into my eyes. And I couldn't read his emotions. Complete phlegm.

"I'm not doing this for the money." The rumbling bass only emphasized the seriousness of his intentions, literally hammering every word. "I want to be somewhere hot. A storm is coming, and you and Saren are in the middle of it."

Great job. An adrenaline junkie in a particularly neglected form with a code of honor that I don't understand. Although... Whoever's talking. I looked at the Krogan thoughtfully:

"You do realize that there are a lot of Krogan working for Saren."

"These are not Krogan!" Rex growled, waving his hand in exasperation. "These are servants and slaves! They lick Saren's heels for the promise of power and wealth!"

Oh, so Rex is really good.

"My people were a proud race! Some of us still remember it."

"Okay. Consider yourself accepted into the team. On probation."

The Krogan nodded.

"Write a report." my words have already flown in the back. "Anyway, where are you going?"

Rex stopped, turned slowly, and stared at my contented face with genuine surprise.

"Since you've signed up for a place in the squad, you can get to work. Come with us."

Rex grunted rumblingly, and I caught the uncomprehending look in his blue eyes and explained in a whisper:

"Garrus, are you going to put all the weapons and armor on your hump? Won't anything fall off?"

The Turian gasped and coughed, and Tali giggled softly.

"First to Pallin, let's make him happy about your transfer, and then gut the arsenals!"

* * *

Pallin didn't say anything. He just read the report and silently confirmed it. He just stared at the nervous Garrus for a long time with a hard gaze. I believe he was aware of my current status and the role Garrus played in my investigation and subsequent appointment. And he wasn't at all surprised to see such a strange international company barging into his office. For a split second, I thought I saw a flicker of regret in his eyes.

As we were leaving, a quiet sound flew at our backs:

"Good luck, Vakarian. I hope you know what you're doing."

Garrus flinched, but gave no sign that he had heard anything. But I didn't focus on it.

We walked to the quartermaster in heavy silence. Garrus walked thoughtfully through the corridors of the C-Sec, responding incongruously to the greetings of former colleagues. Tali was tactfully silent, but Rex didn't really care. He woke up when we stopped in front of the quartermaster, a tall Turian with bright yellow eyes.

"Commander Shepard. The armed forces of the Alliance. For the first time at the Citadel. Right?"

The quartermaster's low, hoarse voice brought Garrus back to reality.

"Right."

Despite my appointment as a Spectr, my dear superiors were not going to let me out of their hands. There's nothing I can do about it right now, and I don't need to. But after the key point... Then we'll see how I get off the hook.

"Will you take anything today, Commander Shepard?"

The Turian leaned on the table and looked at me with interest, waiting for an answer. The military of all races could stock up on new weapons and armor in the arsenals of the C-Sec. For the money. But I am a Spectrum, and there are special arsenals and vaults for them. Free of charge.

"I will."

The quartermaster nodded and tapped on the keyboard.

"Good. Let's check yours now..." The Turian stammered, staring at the screen in amazement. "wow... You have access to the arsenals of the Special Corps. Are you Ma'am a Spectr?"

I nodded.

"Oh! I've heard about the appointment of a human Spectre, but I didn't know it was you. Congratulations."

"Thank you. This appointment is an honor for me."

"The Turian nodded understandingly, typing the access code into the terminal."

"I beg." A three-fingered palm pointed at the door that had opened. "Do you know the rules?"

"I know." I put my ID card on the table. "I need armor kits not only for me, but also for my colleague."

"Name?"

"Nihlus Kraik."

The quartermaster choked on his breath.

"I heard he's dead!"

"The rumors are exaggerated. He's seriously injured, but he's still alive. His old armor is beyond repair, and since I'm here, I'll bring a set for him."

"I will note that some of the uniforms were taken for another operative."

"Sure."

The Turian read the data from the ID card and returned it to me. Only Garrus was allowed inside with me, and that was after my fair comment that I was alone, and I needed to take a lot of stuff. I rejected the idea of robbing the arsenal with high quality, but I took the armor on myself, Nihlus and Garrus. Two sets each. It took longer to choose a weapon. I remembered roughly what Nihlus had before disembarking, and the armor boxes were joined by boxes with assault rifles, pistols, three shotguns, and all sorts of small things like grenades and first-aid kits. Garrus silently carried the heavy boxes and unloaded them at Rex's feet. As I was about to leave, I noticed IT: the Harpoon sniper system.

I came out of the arsenal with a happy face, hugging two long boxes with sniper rifles. Saying goodbye to the puzzled quartermaster, I silently pointed to the pile of boxes and stomped to the elevator.

How we got to Normandy is a separate song! Swearing. Garrus and Rex carried their honestly looted possessions, hissing and swearing softly as Tali tried to hold back a mountain of small boxes. And I was carrying a pyramid of five weapon boxes. They watched us go with SUCH looks that if it hadn't been for such a burden, I would have been ashamed... probably. And yes, I had to do it manually! The armories of the Special Corps did not provide trolleys, loaders or home delivery. Except for a pre-arranged request to board the ship.

As soon as we fell into the airlock, the deadly cargo ended up on the floor, and we, swearing, straightened up and rubbed our crushed arms and stretched backs.

"Damn it! Shopping in the SPECTR arsenals is an extremely exciting business... but shopping is hard..." I muttered while the disinfection was going on.

"Why so much?" Garrus pointed at the armor boxes.

"Medium armor is for you. It's too much for Nihlus."

"For me?" Garrus blinked in confusion. "But I'm not a Spectr!"

The airlock doors parted. Picking up the boxes, I stumbled into the corridor, kicking the unstable pyramid out of the airlock.

"So what? You don't have any proper armor or weapons. What they gave you at the C-Sec..."

"I've already passed." The guy spread his hands.

"That's exactly what passed! And when did you get there? What you're wearing right now won't even protect you from a light assault rifle! We'll take them to the armory, where we'll divide them up."

That's what I like about the Normandy, it's the convenient distribution of the interior space and the elevator right at the airlock. So all we had to do was move the cargo through a narrow corridor, and a little later, bring it into the arsenal, the entrance to which was also located near the elevator.

I laid out the boxes and picked up one of them.

"Rex."

The Krogan growled questioningly.

"This is your compensation for the confiscated shotgun."

Krogan took the box and examined it with pleasure.

"Good! Thank you, Shepherd!"

"Irene." I smiled at the pleased Krogan, who was unpacking a new toy.

"Tali, you're not supposed to be a fighter, but you have to have a weapon." A box with a powerful pistol slid across the metal table.

"Oh!" the girl caught the box with both hands.

And now the most interesting part!

Making Garrus blush is probably my favorite thing to do in the last twenty-four hours! It's worth doing something for him, as the guy immediately gets lost and stands, blinking his eyes in confusion. It feels like the very idea that someone could do something for him JUST like that doesn't fit in his head! He is so sincerely grateful and so sensitive to ANY expressions of care and banal human warmth, which only strengthens the desire to do some small thing for him and feel this storm of bright and pure emotions again. And this is already happening, even though my empathy has just started to work. But what will happen when I get my mentalism back in full and start feeling even the slightest fluctuations of emotions?

Even now, he stands there, hesitating, squinting at the Harpoon. And he can't believe that it was really taken for him. Although outwardly he is a calm, confident fighter. Emotions are shown by small, almost imperceptible gestures: uncertain shifting from one foot to the other, twitching fingers, mandibles tightly pressed to cheeks and, most importantly, eyes. Truly — a mirror of the soul!

"Garrus, don't look at the Harpoon like that. It's really yours."

The box of beacons, which he had just been twirling in his hands, fell out of his fingers with a crash.

"Yours is yours." The long box slid across the table and skidded to a stop next to the barely perceptibly quivering claws. "You're a sniper from God. I can only give you a decent weapon. Of all the things in the arsenal, the Harpoon is the most worthy."

Silence, and a quiet purring voice:

"Thank you."

* * *

In the late afternoon, I went to the infirmary. Nihlus was lying on his bunk and was frankly bored, and he was pleased to see me. After telling him everything that happened after that ill-fated shot, I pleased him with my appointment to the Spectr's and let him listen to the conversation with the Council...

And then we just sat and chatted about all sorts of nonsense. A little later, a satisfied Garrus pulled himself into the infirmary, already wearing a new armor. We just sat there, exchanging life stories, until Karin came and kicked Garrus and me out, commanding Niallus not to move or touch his healing wound.

The binding worked as it should, and the regeneration accelerated by drugs and an excess of vital energy gave hope that by the time Nilus arrived on Artemis's Tau, he would already be able to stand up.

The crew would return from their leave only in the morning, but for now, the ship's decks, immersed in a pleasant twilight, remained mysteriously quiet and calm. The tedious day is over.I was sitting on the couch in the lounge area, sipping a soft drink. Much has been done and more needs to be done. But now, in the silence and darkness, I could calmly think about what was happening and somehow prepare for the coming events.

Tomorrow morning we will fly to Tau Artemis for Liara T"Sony.