Mass Effect: Element of Kindness

by CommanderApplejack


Medical

Chapter 56

Medical

[Let him live. Try to get information from him.] 70%

Fluttershy quivered as she slowly lowered the rifle, tears flowing from her eyes as she started sobbing. Even though Hock was sitting there on his knees as an easy target, she couldn’t do it. She could rationalize, even though she still found it revolting, shooting at another being that was threatening her or her friends. Flat out executing one that was most definitely no longer a threat…

The pegasus shivered at the fact that she’d even considered the option.

“He did WHAT!” Garrus roared and focussed his eyes on the human, the group that surrounded Hock also taking notice of the three new arrivals. Garrus picked up the rifle that Fluttershy had dropped and, despite the pain from the two pins still embedded in his legs, found the energy to rapidly stumble forward.

The moment Liara and Tali noticed Garrus’ state, they recoiled in horror while Wrex, Kaiden, and Shepard looked in awe of the fact that the turian was able to walk at all, although Hock was the most surprised. He had not expected the turian to be out at all.

Thud

The butt of the sniper rifle smashed into the side of Hocks head, sending him sprawling on the floor. Garrus felt his legs finally give out and collapsed to his knees next to the dazed human. Not that this did anything to stop the rage-filled turian who kept driving the butt of the rifle into Hock.

“YOU!”
“DISGUSTING!”
“MOTHER-”
-FUCKER!”

Garrus was tackled to the ground by Shepard, the turian’s strength simply not enough to get the commander off of him anymore. “Stop it, Garrus! The information he can give on the criminal organizations he’s associated with will save hundreds of lives!”

“I DON’T GIVE A DAMN! HE RAPED FLUTTERSHY! I’M GOING TO FUCKING KILL HIM!” the turian shouted at Shepard, struggling to get loose from his grip but failing to do so.

“Justice will be served, Garrus, but not here. If you kill him now, it’ll be a quick way out for him!” Shepard tried to argue but the turian just continued staring daggers at the downed human. “Garrus look behind you. There’s someone that needs you right now more than you need to beat the life out of him.”

This got Garrus to cool down a bit as he looked back at the sobbing form of Fluttershy. Kasumi was awkwardly crouched beside the pegasus as every time she tried getting close Fluttershy would shy away from her. Shepard noticed that Garrus wasn’t struggling against him anymore and slowly let the turian go, careful that he wouldn’t turn and nail Hock in a more permanent manner.

“Just so you know, she makes the most adorable noises when you screw her,” Hock said as he coughed up some blood, nullifying every bit of progress Shepard had made in calming Garrus down. But before the turian could jump at the crime boss again, Hock was picked up by a very angry looking krogan.

THUD

For the second time that day something crashed into Hock’s head. Only where as Garrus didn’t have the strength left to do serious harm to him, Wrex’s near bone-crushing headbutt knocked him out instantly.

“For the record, the only reason I didn’t kill him is because Shepard wants him alive,” Wrex huffed as he dragged the limp man out of the building. This was also when Garrus collapsed for the second time, his legs giving out as he reached the crying pegasus. Fluttershy immediately latched on to her boyfriend and would remain in that state the entire ride back to the Normandy.

“Commander.” Shepard looked up at Chakwas as the doctor approached him. “I just got done with the two of them, and I must say that they’re doing as well as expected.”

Shepard groaned in frustration. This day was most definitely not going as planned. “How bad?”

Chakwas took a seat across from the commander and pushed a file filled with pictures towards him. “Garrus got off the best. His heart was under strain due to the electricity and he broke a few ribs, but the worst that happened to him was the flesh around the two pins in his legs burning, though that can be treated when we’re on the Citadel.”

“And Fluttershy?” Shepard asked. Chakwas grimaced at what she had found on the pegasus.

“Her injuries are more mental than physical, though her wings are a major concern to me. She was flinching every time I touched her, and she seems to be afraid of all humans due to Hock’s actions,” Chakwas explained while Shepard went through the pictures in front of him.

“How are the physical ones?” he asked.

“She has lashes across her body, but the needles that had been stuck in her wings most likely did the most damage. Unlike most biotics, the Eezo in her body is more integrated than even a species like the asari. The needles were pushed into and scratched over the top layer of bone which is covered in Eezo, but that’s not what did the most damage.” Chakwas gave her datapad to Shepard, showing a molecule with some information typed next to it. “I found traces of a neurotoxin around those scratches which has damaged the nerves in the joint. This might be the cause of her inability to use her biotics. I already neutralized the traces of the toxin, but the nerve treatment seems to have little effect on her healing rate. Not that I expected it to do so”

“Well… Shit. Is there any good news?” Shepard asked as he hoped this wasn’t all.

“Luckily there is. It seems like her body is repairing the damage by itself, but I’m not sure how long that’s going to take. She might be up and running in a week or it might take months. I simply don’t know enough about that aspect of her body to make an accurate prediction,” Chakwas informed the commander who had closed the file again.

“Thank you, doctor. I’ll make sure they’ll get help at the Citadel when we get back there.” Shepard stood up from the table, leaving the mess behind him and making the short trip to his personal chambers before opening a ship-wide channel.

“Miss Goto, report to the captain’s quarters.”

He was going to have a very serious conversation with the master thief.

Fluttershy lay on the bed next to Garrus. The turian had already gone out like a light due to the drugs the doctor had applied. The two pins had also been removed and the wounds treated. She had offered to help Chakwas with the removal and treatment but the doctor turned down the offer, saying that Fluttershy should rest…

…Something that wasn’t as easy as every time she dozed off slightly, memories of herself being strapped down flashed through her mind, making her shoot up in a panic.

At some point Fluttershy had resigned to the fact that she probably wasn’t going to get any good rest tonight and just stared at the ceiling above, listening to the Garrus’ calm breathing. She remained like that until the intercom crackled to life and Shepard could be heard speaking.

“Miss Goto, report to the captain’s quarters.”

Fluttershy’s ears perked up as she heard the name spoken. Her name.

She’s what got all of this started. If it weren’t for her, then we wouldn’t have gotten into this situation in the first place...

...but that was never her intention either. Does she really deserve my anger? Nothing really went as we had planned and Garrus being recognized threw another major wrench into the plan. And what if Garrus wakes up? Should I leave him alone in here?

1. [Go to Kasumi to see how she’s holding up.]

2. [Stay with Garrus. Kasumi isn’t important.]

3. [Go give Kasumi a piece of my mind!]

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