"You gave me this mark," Mina finally replied, pouring herself more coffee. "Solana said you must have been affected by some pheremones, otherwise you would have never done it."
"When?" Garrus asked in a tight voice.
Garrus's mandibles twitched, a sign of deep unease she'd come to recognize intimately.
"The night you broke into my apartment," Mina continued, not meeting his gaze. "I found it when I was treating the marks you left on my body. I didn't think much of it at the time."
Mina shifted uncomfortably, the silence stretching thin. She hadn't meant to say anything, but they couldn't afford for him to be suspicious of her.
"It was you, Garrus," she repeated the words hanging in the air. "
Garrus stood rigid in the kitchen. He looked utterly stunned. Mina could tell his brain was trying to process everything. "What? That's... impossible. I've only been with Aster, and I wouldn't have..."
"The diagnostics don't lie, Garrus. It's faint, but it's there. A turian male, and the profile matches you. Solana confirmed it."
The usually unflappable turian just stared. He ran a hand over his faceplates, the rasp of his chitinous fingers the only sound in the room. He looked genuinely horrified. "Mina - Aster, I... I don't understand. I have absolutely no memory of that. None."
"It was never my intention," he continued. "We were strangers at that time and - I'm sorry, Aster. It was a mistake."
"I know it was," Mina said. "I don't expect anything from you. I need your help to clear my name."
The words were barely out of her mouth before Garrus was moving. He closed the distance between them in two strides, enveloping her in a cautious, careful hug. She could feel the tremor that ran through him as his mandibles brushed against her hair.
Mina stiffened, unsure how to react. His hug was comforting, familiar, but the information she'd just delivered turned it all sideways. Was this the embrace of a friend, a comrade, or something... else? A shudder ran through her, and she wasn't sure if it was from fear or something closer to… anticipation?
"I would never do anything to hurt you, Aster," he whispered, his voice rough. "You have to believe me. I... I don't know how this happened."
She leaned back slightly, breaking the hug. "I do believe you, Garrus. You're not the type. But... that doesn't change the fact that it's there. And I don't know… I don't know what to think about it."
"Solana thinks it's a pheromone that affected you," she added softly. "The clinic is trying to figure out its origins. This is not the first case they've encountered."
"That doesn't matter anymore," Garrus said, shaking his head. "I'll do whatever I can to help you clear your name.
If it's alright with you, we can decide what to do afterwards."
Mina nodded, "I can work with that."
"Tell me," Garrus hesitantly began. "On Omega, you were Vicki, and you were also Dr Lang"
Mina chuckled and nodded, "I was posing as Vicki when you and Nihlus showed up. I kept my identity hidden until I knew you weren't going to kill me. Even now, no one can know my real identity.
The conspiracy behind this, the whole A.I thing it's bigger than anything I've ever seen."
"What have you found?" Garrus asked ouring himself some coffee as well.
Mina grabbed her cup and went to sit on the couch. Garrus followed behind her.
"After I left the Citadel, I found that there was another hidden player behind the creation of the A.I., one that was supporting Alec from the shadows.
With their support, Dr Susan and Alec wanted to use my biotic implant to help house the A.I. The mission to Junhix was just a cover, the A.I was already created by the time I arrived."
'Careful with what you tell him,' SAM cautioned. Mina was surprised to hear him speak up since he's been awfully quiet all this time.
"Some time after my arrival on Omega, I learned that Dr Susan had other plans for the A.I. She wanted to use it for military purposes. All Alec wanted was to treat his sick wife," Mina continued. "Based on the information gathered, I learned of a group called Cerberus."
"I've heard rumors about that group," Garrus was thoughtful. "An anti-alien group."
Mina nodded, "Yes. I believe that Dr Susan could have been working for Cerberus. Dr. Susan's research could give humanity an edge over the other races on the Citadel. You add an A.I into the mix, and the possibilities are endless. A human stronger and better than any of the alien races, imagine the implications."
Garrus was silent. He took a sip of his cooling coffee.
"Why go after you?" Garrus questioned. "How are you involved in all of this?"
'Careful.'
"They are after me because I have the A.I in my brain," Mina admitted. "I didn't know it was there until I woke up at Huerta Memorial."
"You what?" Garrus asked in disbelief. His mandibles twitching. "Are you sure?"
Mina nodded, "I'm sure. I know about the video that Sparatus showed you."
"How?"
Mina smiled, "I don't think I need to explain."
Garrus nodded in understanding. "What's our next step?"
"Do you know who gave the video to the Councilor?" Mina asked. "Do you know how he got it?"
"No," Garrus replied. "I was summoned and was shown the video. Councilor Sparatus is absolutely sure that you are involved. He has no doubts."
"We need to know the origins of the video," Mina began. "We need to know if Cerberus is involved in any way. Do you know what became of Dr Susan?"
Garrus shook his head, "After the explosion, there has been no news of her."
"We should try to find her," Mina said. "We may be able to get more information from her."
"I'll reach out to my contacts," Garrus said in agreement. "For now, I must speak to Councilor Sparatus and give him some news. Otherwise, we run the risk of the contract being passed on to other mercenaries."
"Alright," Mina said. "I'll speak to Solana when she returns. Can Nihlus be trusted?"
"He can," Garrus vouched for him.
"Then it's settled."
*
"I'm back," Solana announced as she entered the apartment.
"Welcome back. How was your day?" Mina greeted.
"Hectic," Solana replied, falling onto the couch. "The Turian New Year celebration has started early in some districts on the Citadel."
Mina nodded, the human New Year was also like this.
"I saw a glimpse of the krogan around the apartment," Solana stated, rubbing her face. "When are we going to take care of him?"
"I'm looking into it," Mina assured her. "You were right about the mark."
Solana turned to look at her, "What?"
"Garrus figured it out," Mina explained. "He stopped by this morning; we talked."
"How did it go?" Solana asked hesitantly.
"He doesn't remember how or why he marked me, but he's willing to help us."
Solana nodded, "I'm going to hop in the shower, then we can discuss how to deal with the krogan."
'SAM,' Mina called out.
'Yes?' He answered.
'Is the krogan still outside?' Mina asked as her omni tool scanned the perimeter for listening devices.
'He's still there,' SAM confirmed. 'He doesn't follow us around when we leave the apartment.'
'That's odd,' Mina thought to herself.
'I've only tracked him to the apartment and nowhere else,' SAM continued. 'It's as though he only watches when you or Solana is in the apartment, but I can't be sure.'
'Keep an eye out for him,' Mina instructed. 'I would like to know what this Krogan game is. It's obviously outside their normal behavior.'
'I will let you know if anything changes,' SAM replied.
'Thanks, SAM.'
While Solana was in the shower, Mina looked through all the data SAM had collected on the spying krogan. It wasn't much since the krogan had no reason or rhyme as to why he was spying in the place. What was most surprising was that SAM couldn't even find the identity of the krogan.
'Isn't there anything on him?' Mina asked once more. 'A name?'
'There is nothing on the omni-tool, SAM replied. 'I can tell that it's new. Doesn't have the usual wear and tear of a constantly used omni-tool.'
'So the krogan just bought an omni-tool just for the purpose of spying on us?'
'Seems that way,' SAM replied.
'Can you put a tracer on it?' Mina asked, hoping that whoever it was would reveal themselves sooner rather than later.
'The krogan turns off the omni-tool as soon as he's out of sight of the apartment,' SAM replied.
'We can try and follow him instead,' SAM offered.
'We'll have to plan it,' Mina was thoughtful. 'I'll have to tell Solana about it; her cooperation would help us greatly.'
Mina headed toward the kitchen and began making dinner.
"What's the plan?" Solana asked, helping Mina cut up some vegetables.
"Tomorrow is the weekend," Mina began. "We will change our routine. Instead of waking at the normal time, we will keep the lights off. We must force him to come to us."
As morning came, Mina and Solana executed their plan. They quietly got up from bed and got ready for the day. They made sure not to alert the krogran.
'Keep me updated on his movement,' Mina said to SAM.
Mina and Solana were having a cold breakfast of Blast Os. Sure enough, as SAM continued to monitor the krogan, his behavior changed. This time, he didn't look like he was leaving; he looked concerned.
'This is different,' SAM was saying. 'I wonder what he's going to do.'
It didn't take long for the krogan to leave his post and head toward the apartment. Mina never thought that the krogan would actually come and take a look inside.
'There's no doubt about it,' SAM continued. 'The krogan is on his way up here.'
'Tell Solana that we are about to have company. We've got to make sure he doesn't leave,' Mina said as she put her bowl of cereal on the counter, grabbed her weapon, and headed toward the door.
She set up behind the couch and waited. It wasn't long before Mina heard heavy footsteps coming down the hall. Sometimes it seemed like the apartment wall had paper-thin walls, and you could hear everything.
Mina wasn't 100% confident that the two of them could take out a krogan without a fight, but they might just surprise him enough to get the jump on him. Mina just wanted to figure out who the krogan was and what he wanted. He had to have a reason for watching the apartment.
As soon as the door opened, Mina fired at the intruder. She jumped over the couch and was able to attach the krogran when he spoke up.
"Aster, it's me!"
Mina froze for a moment. She recognized the voice from somewhere. Just then, Solana also rushed out of her room, a pistol between her two hands, ready to shoot.
"Who are you?" Mina asked, weapon still pointed at him.
"Aster, it's Wrex," the krogan replied.