"You know him?" Solana echoed. "What do you mean you know him? How?"
Aster hesitated.
'You should come clean,' SAM advised her.
"Garrus… broke into my apartment a long time ago," Aster began. "I offered him a place to stay since his friend was busy with some esc-"
"I remember," Solana exclaimed. "It was you at the dinner party!"
Aster smiled and nodded, "Garrus and I met the day before. We didn't have anyone chance to talk much afterwards."
"No wonder he turned down Nyreen," Solana continued. "He must have fallen in love at first light."
"Sight," Aster corrected.
"What?" Solana asked. "Is that how it goes?"
"Love at first sight," Aster replied. "And I highly doubt it. That was the first time Garrus and I have ever seen each other.
At that time I didnt k ow he was a Spectre and he disnt know that I'm John's sister."
Solana laughed, "Aster, I'm telling you. If my brother didn't like you, he wouldn't have turned down Nyreen's advances the way he has, over the last few months."
"Solana, I'm sure Garrus just respects me," Aster said, not believe a work she was saying. "Saying that he likes me is too far fetched."
"I know my brother," Solana countered. "He probably doesn't realize he has feeling for you."
"By the way, who is Nyreen?" Aster asked curiously. "Nihlus mentioned her way too many times for her to be a nobody."
"Jealous?" Solana laughed.
"I'm not!" Aster replied, feeling her ears grow hot.
"Nyreen is the daughter of a family friend," Solana explained. "Dad is forcing him to see her. He even made Garrus invite her over for dinner. It was a disaster!
After Dad retired, he's been obsessed with tier leveling. Garrus' position as a Spectre hasn't really helped much either. Dad thinks that once Garrus settles down, things will go better for the family.
You should have seen Nyreen's face when Garrus told her that he's not interested in her!"
Solana laughed and continued, "He told her that he has no romantic intentions toward her, regardless of what Dad's been saying. She almost burst into tears! It was EPIC!!"
"Then why did he-" Aster began, then stopped.
"Never mind," she mumbled, picking up her fork to eat.
Solana looked at her intensely. Aster pretended not to notice and continued eating.
"Did something happen between you both?" Solana questioned.
Instead of a relaxing dinner with her friend, Aster could feel the tension rising in the air.
"What do you mean?" Aster hesitantly asked.
Solana stared for a long time until she finally broke the silence.
"I need to ask you something, Aster," Solana said, her voice low. "And I need you to be honest."
Aster swallowed her food. "Of course, Solana. Anything." The lie tasted like ash.
Solana leaned forward, her mandibles twitching subtly. " Garrus... he's been... different lately. He won't talk about it. But I can see it in his eyes. Did you... were you and Garrus... together?"
The question hit her like a pulse rifle blast. Memories flooded her: the first time at the apartment, the electric thrill of his touch. It had been a brief but intense affair.
Aster took a deep breath. "Solana, I…"
"Please," Solana interrupted, holding up a hand. "Just tell me the truth. It won't change how I feel about you. I just need to know."
Aster looked into Solana's eyes and saw not accusation, but something closer to pleading. Honesty was always her policy, right?
"Yes," she finally confessed, the word barely audible. "We were. But it was... a long time ago. It was before my mission, before I lost my arm. Before everything. It didn't mean..."
Solana cut her off again, a flicker of pain crossing her face. "So it's true."
She took a long draught of her drink. "Did he… did he mark you?"
Aster's breath hitched. She vaguely remembered treating the wounds with medigel and noticing a mark... It was a subtle, almost imperceptible scratch Garrus had left behind her ear, a Turian sign of... affection?
She had almost forgotten it was there, hidden by her hair.
"Mark me?" she repeated, feigning confusion. A pathetic attempt, she knew.
Solana's eyes narrowed, knowing the pretense was foolish. "Turian ritual. Bonding. Leaving a mark. You know." Her voice was tight.
Aster closed her eyes briefly, the image of Garrus's gentle mandibles brushing against her skin flashing through her mind. She opened them, meeting Solana's gaze with a mixture of guilt and defiance.
"Maybe...yes," she said again, the word heavier this time. She really couldn't remember. "I dont know. It's been so long..."
Solana sighed. "Okay. You need to understand something, Aster. Amongst Turians, a 'mark' is a very… serious thing. It's not just a casual gesture. It's a declaration. He wouldn't be going to such lengths if it didnt mean anything."
Aster's brows furrowed. "A declaration of what?"
"Of intention. Of commitment. It means he sees you as…more than a friend, or a casual lover. It signifies a desire for a future, a bond that goes beyond just physical attraction.
It's not legally binding, obviously, but socially, it's a powerful statement." Solana's tone softened. "Garrus is a good man, Aster, fiercely loyal and incredibly honorable. He wouldn't do something like that lightly."
'SAM, did you know about the turian mark?!' Aster asked.
'I deny knowing,' SAM immediately replied.
Aster felt a wave of emotions crash over her: disbelief, fear, and anger.
Aster looked at Solana, her face etched with concern. "Solana, I vaguely remeber a small mark. I didnt think anything of it at the time and Garrus didnt mention it either.
I doubt he even remembers. There was no feeling between us, it was the first time we met each other.
Something like that shouldnt have happened."
Solana leaned over the table and put a hand on Aster's shoulder. "Then you need to talk to him, Aster. Because if he marked you without explaining what it meant, he's either a complete idiot, or he was under the influence of some pheromones.
Marking someone isn't something to be taken lightly. You said he only stayed at your place after going to see his friend?"
"Yes," Aster replied. "He said that he had opened the door and then saw a sock on the handle? Hmm, maybe he saw the sock first?"
"He could have been exposed to something if his friend touched the handle. Whatever the friend was exposed to could have transferred over to Garrus."
"Is it that big of a deal?" Aster asked.
"We've been seeing similar effects at the clinic," Solana answered, leaning back. "Nothing alarming or significant but it's causing a stir. We thought it only worked on humans but maybe it works on turians as well.
Either way, you both need to be on the same page before things get more complicated than they already are." Solana paused, a hint of a smile playing on her lips again.
"Solana," Aster began. "He's been given my kill order. How much more complicated can it get?"
Solana chuckled. "Ordered? Aster, Garrus chafes under any authority. You think a Council mandate ever stopped him from pursuing a lead he believed in?"
Aster managed a small smile. "Point taken."
But the worry remained, and so did the anger. Garrus has a lot of explaining to do.
Solana set down her fork, turning to face Aster fully. Her mandibles twitched with a hint of annoyance.
"Aster, listen to me. I know my brother. Better than anyone. Garrus values justice above all else. And you, Aster, embody justice. He wouldn't harm you, mark or no mark, not if our father himself commanded it. He'd find a way. He always does."
Solana leaned closer, her gaze intense. "We Vakarians… we have a bond. And Garrus... he also values his own sense of justice above everything else. It's what drove him away from C-Sec and toward being a Spectre."
Aster smiled, the weight on her shoulders lightening. Solana's confidence was infectious. "Thanks, Solana. I needed to hear that."
Solana smiled. "Don't worry, Aster. You're practically family now. And Vakarians protect their own. Besides, if he thinks he can get away with hurting you, he's got another thing coming for him. I won't let him harm my sister-in-law."
Sister-in-law, where is she getting this from?!
Aster chuckled, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Even my mother likes you," Solana teased.
"Solana!" Aster exclaimed. "You've been watching too many Fleet and Flotilla remakes."
Solana chirped at her, "When this is over, talk to him. Actually no talk to him as soon as you can."
"I'm in hiding," Aster reminded her. "I'll speak to him when its become appropriate. I dont even know if we should tell him my identity."
"You dont need to tell him anything," Solana interjected. "The mark will give you away. Once he sees you, he'll know who you are."
"You're kidding me," Aster grimaced. "I thought we decided to wait to tell him."
"That was before I knew you had a mark," Solana replied, shrugging.
"Great."
Solana smiled, "He'll know. No words necessary."
Damn, so much for being hidden...
"How about we finish dinner before it gets too cold, huh? Then we can deal with the krogan outside," Aster said, changing the subject.
"Fine," Solana conceded. "But just be ready."