Whoo, first fanfiction ever. This chapter is set during ME2, specifically during the Horizon mission. Basically what I wish would have happened in the game.
First person, John's POV
Horizon. Iera System. Shadow Sea.
"Mordin," my sister, the great Adrianne Shepard, began, looking to the salarian scientist currently modding my armor to accept his 'upgrades'. "Are you sure these armor upgrades will protect us from the seeker swarms?"
Addy, Zaeed, and I were sitting in the armory, running through the pre-mission equipment checks and getting our armor suits 'upgraded'. I don't trust anything that someone other than me puts into my suit, just on principle, but that was still the million-credit question. One I'd been worried about ever since Mordin put his hands on my armor, along with idly hoping that he didn't screw up the settings too much. Judging by the subtle shift in the posture of the mercenary across the table, Zaeed was just as interested in Mordin's answer as me.
"Certainty impossible," Mordin replied, looking up from his omnitool and facing the three of us. "But in limited numbers, should confuse detection, make us invisible to swarms." He paused for a moment, switching his attention back to his 'tool. "In theory."
"In theory?" Zaeed asked, lifting his eyebrows. The old merc was at least as paranoid about his equipment as me; I think he wanted equipment that only worked 'in theory' about as much as me, too.
"Experimental technology. Only test is contact with seeker swarms." The salarian smiled brightly, looking up again. "Looking forward to seeing if you survive!"
Right then, I really didn't share the salarian's optimism.
I took a deep breath, sagging against the stack of tires I was using as cover. The four-legged walking nightmare with lasers and a belly full of husk heads was finally dead. Well, disintegrating itself in midair. Whatever. We could come up with a clever name for it, along with one for the weird cannon-wielding monstrosity, later. Had to give it to the Collectors, though, they're pretty good at making nightmare fuel.
I managed to straighten up and walk back over to Zaeed and Addy, ignoring the familiar hunger pangs that set in after a good fight. I looked up toward the Collector ship just in time to see the engines fire up. The ground quaked, and the pressure wave from the ship almost toppled me over. They were getting the hell out of Dodge. Fast. Still, my stupid mouth couldn't help but point out the obvious.
"They're pulling out!" I said, looking up toward the ship rocketing toward space. "No reason to stay. Most of the colonists are on board. They got what they came for." Yeah, well, not like you'd mistake me for an optimist. The mechanic we'd seen earlier, locked up in the garage, came running out just in time to see the ship leave the atmosphere. His name was Dylan or something, I think. At least the guy had grown a pair and come outside.
My sister tried calming him down, telling him she did all that she could. Pretty sure Zaeed said something, but I tuned their conversation out. Addy was always better with people. 'Hero of Humanity' and all that. Me, I'm just John, the asshole Sentinel with the scars and the scary reputation.
A fourth voice turns my attention back to them, though.
"Commander Shepard. Captain of the Normandy. First human Spectre. Savior of the Citadel." No way, my mind vainly protested. "You're in the presence of a legend, Delan. And a ghost."
Kaidan Alenko. I didn't particularly like the guy back on the SR-1, but I don't particularly like most people. I had some respect for him, though. All the crap he's dealt with, as an L2? Plus the whole BAat fiasco. Making the transformation from a kid to a killer isn't an easy one, and it's a change I'm pretty damn intimate with. Him and Addy hit it off really well, honestly, but I pretty much ignored that; Addy had long since convinced me to let her deal with her relationships. In exchange, she did the same with mine.
So, I ignored the flash of anger when he called her a traitor. Ignored the growing urge to throw the other Sentinel against the nearest hard surface with my biotics as the man spoke. For the sake of that promise.
"I could use someone like you on my crew, Kaidan. It'll be just like old times," Addy said, taking a hesitant step toward Alenko, a hint of hope in her voice.
"No, it won't. I'll never work for Cerberus," he replied, shaking his head and turning around. He looked over his shoulder, adding, "Goodbye, Shepard. And be careful." Then he turned and started to walk away.
'Be careful'? After claiming he loved her, then calling her a traitor? The words struck a chord within me, something deep and hidden and shaped a lot like the woman he'd just insulted. An overwhelming surge of protectiveness busted through all the mental filters that usually prevented me from doing stupid, usually violent things. Promise be damned, nobody talks to my sister like that.
"Oh-ho-ho-ho, that is not okay." I didn't know what I was going to do. Didn't know what I was going to say. I just stepped towards Alenko, hell-bent on doing something. "You don't get to just walk after saying all that, Alenko." I quickly take a few more steps, and grab his shoulder once he's within arm's reach.
When he throws a punch at my face, I'm ready for it. Years of combat experience, from the slums of London to the Alliance to mercenary work, kick in and I grab his fist. Speed, rather than power or control, has always been my biggest weapon, and I land a solid punch to the stomach before Alenko can even think about avoiding it.
Not enough of a blow to do major damage, not with the armor he's wearing, but it is enough to knock him on his ass. So I crouch down to his level, meeting his eyes. He's glaring daggers, and I know I'm doing the same.
He opens his mouth to speak, but I wave my hand and cut him off before he can get the words out.
"No, you've said plenty already. So just shut up and listen for a damn minute." I pause, considering my words for once. I'm not good with them. Never really have been. Although, there's not much 'action' I can do in a situation like this that won't end in bloodshed, so they're all I've got.
"You aren't the only one who got torn up by my sister's death, you know. Hardest two years of my life." I chuckle, but it's humorless. "What really pissed me off about the whole damn thing was the Alliance bending over backwards for the Council. We put months of work into finding Saren, into discovering the Reapers, and it was all blown away. Turned out that the geth attacked the Citadel, and Sovereign was just a really nice piece of their tech. Colonies, ships in the Terminus start disappearing, and, hell, that's just mercs and pirates. Oh, the freaky ship that blew up the Normandy? The ship that killed the only family I had? Geth. Again. Even though that's impossible. And the great Commander Shepard? They slap her face on a few posters while throwing away everything she did for them."
I take a deep breath, raking a hand across my buzzed scalp.
"I don't know how that shit made you feel, Alenko. Hell, I don't really care. Giving a damn about your mental health is my sister's problem. But it pissed me off. And when she came back? Strolling through the entrance of Afterlife like nothing had happened? I can't even," I didn't have words for my feelings at that second. It was like all the pain from the last two years slapped me in the face, but there was some desperate hope, too. Hell, I didn't know. Still don't. "Don't even have words for that moment. But we talked, you know? I asked things. Things only me and her know, no matter how good of research those Cerberus bastards might have done." I stopped talking again, trying to figure out how to get my point across. "So, that's Adrianne. Without a doubt in my mind, that's the girl I've been looking after since we were tiny kids."
Kaidan hadn't expected that. He'd probably expected that phrase or something like it, maybe, but not the confidence in my voice. Not the certainty in my eyes.
"I sure as hell wouldn't be here is she was anyone but my little sister. You remember Ontarom, Alenko?" I ask, unable to help the hitch in my voice. That mission was nasty. Seeing Toombs again? Watching him kill a scientist, then blowing his own head off? Those memories were still raw. All the memories this speech was bringing back were. "If anyone's got a reason to hate Cerberus for what they've done, it's me. So yeah, I can tell you that Adrianne isn't Cerberus. And I'm working for her, not for them." I take another breath, soften my tone. If there's one thing I've learned from all of my sister's big ole speeches and watching her charm the pants off people, it's that anger is pretty inspirational. But softness is compelling. "Between the two of us, Kaidan, you're the better man. No doubt about that. So if I can work through my issues for somebody that I love and respect, then you can do the same. Might take some time, sure. Might take a ton of talking, sure. And hey, you two might not even get back together. But you can try, right?"
"Still as optimistic as ever, John," Kaidan replies sarcastically. It wasn't much, but it was enough. Not a rejection, at least, and that's a good sign. I helped him to his feet with a soft chuckle. He rubbed the back of his neck, eyes meeting Addy's. She'd been sitting. Watching, I guess. "I'll need some time," he begins, tone more serious. "But I'd like to talk more sometime, if that's okay?"
"Yeah, I think I could manage that," Addy replies, smiling softly. She was quiet for a second, but brightened a bit more when an idea popped into her head. "You could catch a ride back to the Citadel with us, if you'd like."
The SR-2 had been docked at the Citadel for a couple of hours, and I was sitting in the lounge having a nice, quiet drink. Processing, for the most part. Dealing with the feelings my grand little speech had dragged back into the light. Although I was definitely waiting for news, too. It would be great to know that I hadn't royally screwed it all up.
The door slides open with a hiss, and my attention instantly snaps to it. Addy's standing in the doorway, looking tired but…Satisfied, would be the word, I think. She slides into the seat next to me, and I hand her one of the beers I'd dug out of Kasumi's little stash.
"So?" I ask, after she'd taken a long drink.
"Well, it won't be easy," she replied, looking at me. She smiles fondly, and I can't help but return the expression. "But anything worth having is worth working for, I guess. Next time, though, keep your nose out of my business." The second sentence is said seriously, but the smile still lingering on her face says otherwise.
"Aye, aye, ma'am," I reply, grinning widely and giving her a mock salute.