Introduction: Rolling with the Punches
Shepard accepted the call in her cabin, wondering what would make Admiral Hackett desperate enough to reach out to her. But as he briefed her on the situation, it became more obvious. Trying to break an Alliance official out of a Batarian prison would put a political strain on Human-Batarian relations. But Dr. Kenson could provide the evidence Shepard needed to regain her credibility amongst the Alliance and the Council. She was the perfect person to send after the doctor.
"I wish I could send you with one of your own people, but Cerberus isn't on friendly territory with the Alliance," Hackett stated.
"I understand that. Thank you for trusting me with this, but I would prefer to have someone else on the ground team as well." The best laid plans never make it past first contact. Shepard wanted backup in case something went wrong.
"Which is why I'm sending someone I can trust, and someone I hope you can trust as well. I'm sending you an experienced spec ops operative. He's had some time to hone his skills, and he should prove useful to you. I'm sending over his basic files. Unfortunately, I can't give any confidential data about him." She saw Hackett reach over to his computer, and her omni-tool gave a ping less than a minute later. She pulled up the file to see …
"Kaidan Alenko?" It took her a moment to pull the shock off of her face, though she was careful not to let any other emotions slip through. "He should be professional enough to avoid a personal conflict, and I do trust him to have my six." Hopefully, Hackett would read into her statement. He knew that she had been using Kaidan as a deep-cover contact. Hackett had probably been one of the first to see the intel she passed. But she carefully turned her attention back to the bare-bones file. Kaidan had indeed done plenty of missions before Horizon, but the six month gap after her death did not go unnoticed. She nodded briskly before closing the file.
"You'll rendezvous with him on Omega. He'll be waiting for you alone. Take care of him while you're out there. I'll debrief both of you once you have Dr. Kenson and have confirmed her information about the Reapers. Hackett out."
"Joker, set a course for Omega. EDI, get a room ready for a guest. He's an Alliance spec op, so go easy on the yellow. Also, be sure to inform Dr. Chakwas, Gardner, Kelly, and the ground team. Make a point of letting them know that our guest will be treated with respect, regardless of their personal thoughts and opinions." Even though it was pointless, she shot a firm look at the ceiling to make her point clear. Kaidan would not be harassed for Horizon. She then forwarded the file to Dr. Chakwas, adding a note that the rest of the crew didn't know who he was yet, and she wanted to keep it that way. She then walked to Kasumi's quarters. She would need the thief's help blending in on Omega.
AN: Hello again everyone! I really just couldn't wait to publish this. I didn't want to confuse everyone by publishing this before anything else in the series, so I published 'Growing Up' to introduce some of the cannon for this series. As always, this deals with AU territory. I always like to see the heart of the story from a different perspective. And some time ago, I was talking with Shenko friends on Tumblr, when I believe Maddy introduced the idea of letting the VS join Shepard on Aratoht. I thought that made a lot of sense. While Liara wasn't able to join Shepard in the Collector hunt, she was part of a pivotal DLC. So why not show the VS some love and include him or her on Arrival. It made sense to me that Hackett wouldn't be able to fully trust Shepard to work alone, so he sent in someone who knows Shepard's character. In my series, Annalisa Shepard has been in secret contact with the Alliance, forwarding them information through Garrus, Tali, and Kaidan. So Hackett sends Kaidan for additional reasons. He and Anna have already been working together, and it's a good way to put official Alliance eyes on an independent vessel. This mission does take place after the Collector base.
As always, my most heartfelt thanks go to my beta Jules Hawk, who is spectacular and keeps me from doing crazy stuff. Everything Mass Effect belongs to Bioware, and the heart of this idea once again goes out to the Shenko fandom on Tumblr. You guys are all so awesome and crazy and keep me on my toes.