Unseen: Mass Effect FanFiction

Chapter 29

The nerve of that woman! Garrus thought as he grabbed yet another beer from the fridge. How dare she come in here thinking she could stay here!

Garrus couldn't remember the last time he was so upset. He still couldn't believe the women would show up at his house just like that. What Garrus was more surprise about, was that Nyreen had also shown up as soon as the woman had left.

He was a bit worried that Nyreen had seen Mina exiting his door. If she had seen her, then Nyreen hadn't said anything to him about it. Thus hoping she didn't say anything to his father about it.

"Is this a bad time?" Nyreen asked as she entered his apartment.

"No," Garrus replied. "I'm just surprised you're here at this hour."

"I wanted to stop by to talk to you about something," Nyreen replied. "May I sit?"

Garrus pointed to his couch and joined her. He couldn't only guess what she wanted to speak to him about.

"As you know," Nyreen began. "The Annual Council Ball is coming up soon and I wanted to ask if you would accompany me."

"I won't be available," Garrus replied.

"I see," Nyreen said. "Have you always been this busy or are you just avoiding me?"

"I'm working on an important assignment," Garrus replied. "This takes precedence over the ball."

"But I'm guessing my father put you to it didn't he?" Garrus asked. "Otherwise, why would you continue to pursue me after I have turned you down several times now."

"I'm glad you know what you're doing," Nyreen replied. "By rejecting me, your family might lose points with the Hierarchy on Paladin."

"I'm not worried about the Hierarchy," Garrus said. "If I was, I wouldn't have joined the Spectres."

"So the rumors are true," Nyreen commented.

"What rumors would that be?" Garrus asked.

"For one that you're not considered to be a good turian," Nyreen replied, not holding back. "There were even rumors that you were fraternizing with a human."

Garrus stayed silent. She wasn't wrong, he thought the same.

"If you're not going to say anything?" Nyreen asked as Garrus continued to stay silent.

"There's nothing for me to say," Garrus replied. "Everyone will always have their opinions of me no matter what I say. It's best not to say anything."

"Thanks for seeing me so late," Nyreen said standing up. "Have a good night."

Once she was gone, Garrus was back to fuming about Mina. He wasn't sure why he was so upset about her. Was it her personality? Was it her attitude? Garrus wasn't sure. Mina was nothing like Aster. He was surprised that Aster would befriend someone like Mina.

But he had other things he needed to worry about. While his sister, Solana, and Nihlus were entertaining everyone at the ball he and Mina would attempt to access the files from the private server in the Council room which was located in the Citadel Tower.

From what he knew about the security at the Citadel Tower, it was the most heavily guarded area of the Citadel. Garrus knew that trying to gain access to the servers themselves was going to be the tougher part. He only hoped that Mina knew what she was doing and didn't ruin it.

Garrus wasn't sure how she was going to pull it off but it was all riding on her gaining access without being caught.

I should head to bed, Garrus thought as he took a look at the time. There's a lot that has to be done.

The next morning, Garrus woke up later than he normally would. A quick look at his omni-toll told him that his father had called several times. Garrus could only assume what he wanted to speak to him about; no doubt about Nyreen's visit last night.

Garrus sent a quick message to his father, promising to give him a call later. After a quick shower and breakfast, Garrus set to researching the Citadel Tower without raising too much suspicion with Citadel Security.

There were several sections in the Citadel Tower's defense that needed to be bypassed. However, it was something that Garrus wasn't too worried about. He was most worried about the cameras. He had to find a way to replace the camera's footage so that when Mina and himself go past, the camera sensors won't pick them up.

He thought about sending a message to Mina but thought twice about it. She knew what was a stake so he didn't feel the need to remind her to be ready for anything that may happen. Several hours went by before Garrus decided to give his father a call. Fortunately, his mother received the call.

"Your father isn't home at the moment," his mother was saying. "He's visiting Nyreen's family."

"Yeah," Garrus replied. "She came to see me the other day."

"The annual ball?" his mother asked, already knowing the answer to the question.

"The annual ball," Garrus replied. "I turned her down."

"I have a high priority assignment," Garrus continued hurriedly. "Councilor Sparatus wants this done as soon as possible."

"It would be a shame if you didn't complete that assignment for him," his mother replied smartly. "I'm sure your father would approve of your decision to help the Councilor."

"Tell father I called," Garrus said. "I'm sure he has plenty to say about turning down Nyreen."

"I'll let him know," his mother replied. "Be safe out there."

Garrus continued his research into the security system. He wasn't worried about accessing the servers themselves since Mina was responsible for accessing those. But he hated the fact that it was all up to her. Against his better judgment, Garrus sent a message to Mina.

From: Gvakarian

To: MinaSA

I don't think I need to remind you but don't mess this up. We are counting on you to access those files from the private servers. Aster's career is at stake. You better be ready for anything that may come up. We only have this one chance to prove her innocence, without this Aster will go into hiding and never show her face again.

Do your research!

Garrus read through the message twice before sending it to her. He waited a few minutes to see if she would reply but didn't receive a notification alert. Trying not to think about it, he sent a message to Nihlus asking him how the trip was going. Again, he didn't receive a notification alert.

He was beginning to wonder if his messages were going out at all or if he was just being ignored. With nothing better to do, Garrus ordered some food from the nearest turian restaurant and continued his research.