Author's Note: Thank you to everyone that has continued to be supportive of my writing, even in my absence! And, as always, thank you to my beta-reader who helps turn my ramblings into content that's worthy of public consumption. This can be considered a filler chapter for my story, Voiceless Whispers, though it's not necessary to the plot which is why it's been added as a side one-shot.
There were times that called for action and those that called for patience. Almost always, waiting patiently was infinitely harder, especially for soldiers.
There had been no word from Admiral Hackett since his team had picked up Toombs and the Cerberus scientist from the bunker on Ontarom. After a shower to clean the grime and sweat from her body, Shepard parked herself in one of the hard seats in the comm room, waiting for a report or anything to confirm that the scientist, and by extension Cerberus, would be held accountable for their atrocities. The door hissed quietly, announcing Kaidan's arrival, but Shepard didn't glance up as he entered the room. The muscle in her jaw ticked as she poured over extranet articles. Kaidan's eyes flicked to the headline; of course she was looking for information on Cerberus.
"Find anything?" he asked quietly.
Her head jerked to him, her eyes blazing with fury. She said nothing though and just stared at him until he pressed his lips together and excused himself from the room.
Ashley leaned against his work station a few minutes later, the rest of the team gathered haphazardly around the two of them. The mission to Ontarom hadn't been off books, but the details were just private enough that he and Ash had glossed over Shepard's personal connection, only sharing that things had gone sideways and Shepard wasn't doing well with it.
"If you cannot get through to her, what gives the rest of us hope?" Liara directed her question at Kaidan. "You two have a…special connection. It would seem you should be best suited for comforting her."
"We have to try," Kaidan insisted, ignoring the heat that rushed to his cheeks. This wasn't about him or whatever feelings he had for his commander. This was about Shepard.
The six of them came to a consensus, agreeing to each try to get through to her. One by one, they marched up the stairs and into the comm room to try to talk Shepard out of her rage. Ashley fared no better than Kaidan, her boots clunking back down the stairs less than five minutes after she'd gone up. Liara's face when she returned was tight and her eyes were tinged purple, as if Shepard had made her cry. Garrus marched into the room, intent on telling her that they needed to focus on Saren, but immediately marched back out with his eyes narrowed and his mandibles set in a line that Kaidan had learned to recognize as tense and somber.
"Did the tiny human intimidate you?" Ashley teased him with a smile as she nudged her shoulder into his.
Garrus folded his arms over his chest, a mannerism he must have picked up from Shepard. "She pulled her gun on me. Told me if anyone else bothered her, she'd shoot first and then send them to Chakwas for patch up."
"I'm not scared of any human. Let me through," Wrex pushed his way between them and strode confidently up the stairs. Seconds later, a shot rang out and Wrex hobbled back down, orange blood oozing from his lower leg. "Just a graze," he grunted in their direction while prodding the elevator button.
"Ugh, bosh'tets. All of you." Tali sighed irritably. "Come with me. Talking is obviously not going to work."
"Commander, you're needed in the cargo hold," Joker's voice interrupted Shepard's focus on the article in front of her. She ignored him and continued reading, just as she had ignored or chased away all the others. So far, she had found nothing on Cerberus. If everyone could just leave her alone, maybe she'd be able to dig deeper. There had to be something more substantial than whispers and conspiracy theories.
"Uh, Commander? Do you copy?"
Shepard's eyes rolled back as she grit her teeth in irritation. "I copy. I'm just choosing to ignore you."
"C'mon, Commander. Don't make me get out of my chair." The exasperation in her pilot's voice echoed through the empty space.
Alone in the room, she let one corner of her lips turn up in a smirk. "What're you going to do, hobble down here and glare at me?"
"What'll the brass say when I snap my leg trying to get down to the cargo bay because you wouldn't go?"
"Send Alenko. He's head of the Marine detail. Better yet, send Pressly. I'm sure our XO can cover whatever the issue is."
"No good, Commander," Joker answered. "They're both already down there. Whatever it is, they need you."
With a sigh, Shepard rose from her chair. Despite her thirst for vengeance against Cerberus, she couldn't let herself forget her duty to her team, not to mention the rest of the galaxy. The fight against Saren was more important than her personal vendetta against the organization no matter how loathsome it was.
Other than a few techs monitoring the systems on the bridge, the CIC was silent and empty. No sounds greeted her ears as she made her way down the stairwell to the mess. Shepard glanced at her omni-tool, only to notice it was on the fritz; the screen was scrambled and stuttered even when she tried to reboot it. Shit. All capable hands were probably down in Engineering working to get the systems back online. Whatever it was, it had leaked into her personal omni-tool so it wasn't contained to the onboard system. Double shit.
Immediately, her mind flew to Cerberus. Had their files somehow been encrypted with a virus, something with a delayed activation that was only now kicking in? Was her entire ship now vulnerable because of one of the many data logs her team had tracked down on the organization?
She stepped off the elevator and immediately turned towards the Engineering deck as her mind turned over the potential causes and catastrophes an unchecked virus could wreak on the ship, the mission, and possibly even the Alliance. So caught up in her thoughts, she barely heard the shout of her name coming from behind her.
"Shepard!" Wrex's loud voice boomed again, finally causing her to turn.
Crates and boxes littered the cargo bay. Lockers had been dragged around, some overturned like barricades. In opposite corners, holographic projections each glittered with the image of a billowing flag.
She frowned as she surveyed the disarray. "What the hell is this?" She spotted Kaidan and Tali standing off to the side. "Why the hell aren't you two helping in Engineering? This could be serious and you're in here rearranging the furniture?" She snapped as the anger that she had been slowly leaching exploded.
"Oh, you mean your omni-tool? Don't worry, that was me." The tone of Tali's voice insinuated that she was grinning behind her mask. Shepard had to fight the urge to stalk across the room and rip off the protective gear, just so she could slap the smile from the smug Quarian's face.
She glared at them, hands balled into fists tight enough that her blunt nails dug into the skin of her palms. "I don't know what the fuck is going on, but Joker said I was needed. That it was important."
"Oh, hi Commander," Joker two finger saluted her from an odd seat on top of the Mako. "I kinda exaggerated the truth, a little."
"If somebody doesn't tell me what the fuck is going on—"
"Relax, Skipper," Ashley interrupted before Shepard could finish her threat. "We all need a little stress relief and we don't have the time for shore leave. So, we rigged this up instead." Her hand swept out, drawing Shepard's eyes back the mess they'd made in the hold. The barricades and strategic covers, the opposite cornered projections; it all made more sense now. "Now it's time to pick teams," the chief answered with a grin.
"We don't have time for playing around. Clean this up and get back to your posts," Shparde ordered, making sure her command left no room for negotiation. She turned and as she jammed her finger into the button to open the elevator doors, the floor rocked beneath her as the sound of a gunshot reverberated in the open space.
Mouth gaping open, she whirled around, noting the smoking barrel Garrus clutched in his hands. "Did you just shoot me?"
"Concussive round, modified to be extra mild, even to humans," he answered with a clack of his mandibles. Before she could say another word, she was "shot" again, this time by Wrex. Her omni-tool flashed acid green light for a couple of seconds before going dark again.
"Bang, you're dead," Wrex laughed loudly.
"Better pick your team commander, or they're all against you," Joker hooted from his perch. "Even you can't guard your flag and capture theirs, not against them all."
Shepard was tempted to try, just to prove them wrong. She'd at least get to shoot more of them that way, solely for the crime of being such pains in the asses. Still, Joker was right. Tactically, she had no chance of winning if she played solo. And Shepard always played to win.
"Fine." She fixed a hard, green stare on the tall turian in front of her. "You are not on my team."
He nodded and tossed her a pouch that contained the modified rounds. "Guess that makes me the other team captain."
"And I'm taking you down," she added with a feral grin.
Kaidan and the rest of the team formed a loose semi-circle in front of Shepard and Garrus while they waited for one of the captains to make the first choice. Shepard surveyed the group, her eyes lighting briefly when they landed on Adams and Pressly, who had both helped rig up the game. Dr. Chakwas climbed up on the Mako next to Joker as she declared herself referee.
Shepard smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. "Go on, Garrus. I'll even let you pick first."
"Don't do me any favors, Shepard," Garrus answered. Shepard arched her brow and waited silently. "Fine," Garrus relented. "Kaidan."
A little surprised that Garrus hadn't chosen Ashley, Kaidan strode across the room and joined the turian's side. Wrex was Shepard's first pick. His close combat fighting style would be well suited for the small space. Liara was the second pick for team Garrus, while Ashley went to Shepard's. Third round brought Tali to their side while Pressly joined Shepard, leaving Adams as the extra.
Kaidan narrowed his eyes and turned towards Shepard. She'd surely seen that there would be an extra on one team, but she'd still insisted on Garrus picking first.
"One final rule; no biotics!" Chakwas called from her seat. Her declaration earned an outraged protest from Garrus, but their doc didn't budge.
"Wait a second," Ashley shouted from Shepard's side. "Garrus has the LT, Liara, Tali and Adams! We've only got four."
Kaidan smirked at her from across the room. "But you have Wrex. He counts as two; his biology practically dictates it."
Chakwas shook her head at him. "Lieutenant Alenko, I am quite confident you are aware that biology does not work like that at all."
"Only two?" Wrex shouted in mock outrage.
"Whatever! That'll just make it more embarrassing when we wipe the floor with you," Ashley retorted before Shepard pulled them into a tight huddle to discuss strategy.
Chaos ensued when the game started. Once the overhead lights had been flipped off, the holographic flag displays were the only thing keeping the room from being plunged into utter darkness. Small dots of color bloomed around the room as everyone's omni-tool powered up, the faint colored glow illuminating their faces and giving them each an eerie, otherworldly look.
Liara went down quickly, her reliance on her biotics proving to be a hindrance when she couldn't use them even for defense. Wrex whooped in triumph as she hurried to her own team's corner opposite their flag and waited for the cooldown to pass before she could jump back in the game.
"And T'Soni is down for the count!" Joker commentated from the sidelines. "Ouch, that's gotta sting!"
A concussive round rang out on their side of the room, eliciting a muttered curse from Garrus. "The overgrown chicken almost goes down; a little to the left, Shepard!"
"Jeff!" Chakwas reprimanded.
"Sorry Doc."
Another concussive round sent Wrex to his knees and, seconds later, his omni-tool strobed green, signaling that someone had taken him out of play for the time being. Suddenly, Ash and Pressly rushed up the center aisle before splitting and ducking behind barriers on either side amidst a barrage of gunfire. The glow from their omni-tools stayed steady, keeping them safe.
Kaidan swallowed his groan to keep his position hidden. Ashley was between him and his team's flag. He could take her down, but not without opening himself up to Pressly on the side and whatever perch Shepard must have found. Positive that she'd set up a sniping nest somewhere, just like Garrus had on their side, Kaidan couldn't risk revealing his position. A pillar stood between where Garrus was hidden in shadows and Ash and Liara was still down, which left Adams and Tali to take on the approaching enemies if Kaidan was to continue to press forward to claim the other flag.
First one, then a second overload attempt missed Pressly. Ash spun quickly, firing blindly towards the direction the second came from. "Got me," Adams sighed, holding his arms above his head as he joined Liara in the corner.
Kaidan took advantage of the distraction and crept further into enemy territory. Another shot rang out, close this time. Shepard. He moved slowly across the floor in a low crawl as he tried to keep the light from his omni-tool shielded by his body. More shots rang out, in close succession this time.
"Williams and Tali exchanging shot for shot! I hope you two shoot better than that in combat!" Joker continued his banter from his safety zone. The mild concussive rounds could still break his bones, leaving him protected against retaliation.
Kaidan gasped for breath as a solid body slammed into him from above. "You didn't really think you could slip past an N7 sniper, did you?" Shepard's warm breath tickled against his ear before she flipped him over, making sure to relinquish little control as she did. Keeping him pinned to floor beneath her weight, his commander rocked back until she straddled his waist and shot him point blank.
As the strobing blue light from Kaidan's omni-tool spilled over them, indicating that he was out of play, Tali's triumphant shout rang out around the room when the holographic flag from Shepard's corner exploded into color.
"Nope," Kaidan answered, grinning up at his commander.
Shepard's mouth dropped. "You…were a decoy?"
"Aw shit, Skipper. We didn't ban tech!" Ashley shouted in dismay over the excited clamor of Kaidan's team as the chief realized she'd been locked in a shooting match with Tali's drone.
Shepard's mouth twitched, in annoyance or amusement, Kaidan couldn't quite be sure. An uncomfortable cough pulled his eyes away from hers and he looked up to see everyone standing around the two of them. Shepard stayed put for another minute—likely out of sheer stubbornness— before she unfolded herself from him and then reached out a hand to help him to his feet.
"Best two out of three," she ordered and gathered her team around her again.
Garrus and his team did not win a second time. Kaidan didn't care. He knew the games mattered little in the grand scheme of things; they didn't fix anything or stop Saren or get justice for the unit that had been lured to their deaths on Akuze. But, even for a moment, they'd made Shepard smile and reminded her that her team now was there for her, in whatever way she needed them. And that was enough.