Surrender By eternalshiva
Disclaimer - Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 is not my property, but is the property of Bioware and the writers who created them. It is not the intention of this fan fiction author to participate in financial gain through this story. No copyright infringement is intended.
AN - Prompt fill from Anon on Tumblr - What if Kaidan couldn't tell it was Shepard and they met on hostile ground?
This isn't beta'd. Suffer as I do.
Edit - Reviewer brought up some valid points, edited a little.
Her gloved fingers trailed against the white wall as she carefully stepped down the dark hallway of the abandoned space station. Shepard squinted her eyes, trying to see through the visor - it was difficult with the thin film of blood that stuck to it when she ran through the substance in zero gravity. She rubbed at her visor again, trying to clear it but it was useless.
She couldn't see.
Shepard pressed her back against the smooth wall, she peeked around the corner. Objects floated about, bodies mixed with the day to day reports humoured her for a moment, but not the ha-ha kind. She narrowed her eyes, an image became blurry and undefined in the shadows.
Was that someone searching through the rubble?
Shit.
Shepard reached for her assault rifle out of habit but found nothing on her back. She cursed - Right, the whole captured thing, why would I have my weapons? Didn't even have my gear when I woke up in that containment cell she snarked to herself.
Her heart sped up, adrenaline coursing through her veins as she watched the blurry figure move silently around the desk, shuffling through abandoned data pads.
What was she going to do? She was a soldier, not a biotic - she had to get up close. She squinted her eyes - Hmm, well armed.
This was a bad time to conclude that she was vulnerable.
Shepard snorted in disgust, this wasn't the first time she was up shit creek without a paddle. She needed to find her gear but... she had no fucking idea where she was inside the station or where her crew had up and disappeared to. This was the last time she was helping Hackett with his problems - the last time!
Well, at least I didn't kill 300,000 Bartarians this time... just woke up to a spaced facility. She wasn't sure if that was an improvement.
She peeked around the corner, gauging her options.
The hard tip of a pistol met her visor with hard and unquestionable accuracy.
She gasped, her hands immediately rising up to show she had no weapons but the pistol kept kissing her helmet. Her head pushed back harshly from pistol owner's pressure, she took a step backwards, steadying herself against the passive assault.
"Where's Shepard?"
She blinked.
"I'm Shepard." She spoke quietly. She frowned, wondering why the man's voice in the speaker inside her helm was thick with static.
The pistol thunked against her helmet again, the hollow sound unnerving her.
"Where is she?" Another thunk, the voice was somewhat familiar but it was laced with so much interference, she couldn't pin point it. Her hands remained idle in the air - never occurring to her to point at herself.
"I'm... I'm Shep-" then it occurred to her, maybe a moment too late that her communicator inside this borrowed suit wasn't working and the man before her couldn't understand her.
She focused on the soldier's visor.
Kaidan.
She was stunned into complete stillness, her words failing her - her cowardice on answering him after Horizon had personified itself in front of her. Great, just the man I've been running away from.
What was he doing here? She wondered. Maybe he came looking for an answer from his foot-in-mouth e-mail... or why you didn't call when you came back from your suicide mission.
She snorted.
His eyes were searching the dirty visor she wore, his lips pressed together in a thin line. There was a strange emotion she couldn't figure out quick enough clouding his eyes. She heard him sigh, the pistol pressed against her visor again - he's deciding what to do.
Always over-thinking, she smirked.
Her hands moved, wanting to clear the blood from her face again so he could see her, cursing her luck. These Cerberus uniforms were badly designed - couldn't clear blood off the damned visors.
Her captor stiffened, narrowed his eyes dangerously and for the first time in her life, she felt panic rise from the pit of her belly.
"Kaidan, don-" she shouted, her voice rang inside her helmet at a deafening decibel. Her right hand cut across between them, she struck his pistol but she wasn't fast enough, his finger squeezed the trigger.
The pistol went off.
For a brief moment, their eyes met and she saw his eyes open wide with panicked realisation.
The explosion against her shoulder threw her backwards, her balance following the momentum of the shot. Pain blinded her - cursing loudly, she felt her back hit the wall behind her. Kaidan dropped his pistol, reaching for her.
Oh good, looks like he came to his senses, she thought bitterly.
He was mouthing something, she couldn't hear anything, not even her own thoughts. The suit alarms were blaring because the air was seeping out of her suit. Fuck - there's no shields on this piece of shit gear. She felt hot thick blood seep down her chest - she couldn't catch her breath and she clung to his arms, her fingers tightening with every second wasted.
Fuck my life, I'm going to die like this again?
Desperately, he shifted her in his arms, one hand digging through the packs on his suit. He threw on a pack of medi-gel, covering the hole in an effort to stop the leak but the world darkened around the edges of her sight and she fell limply into Kaidan.
Her com kicked in sporadically, her name was broken on his lips - his anguish tore through the veil of consciousness. She lightly punched him on the chest, smirked and hoped he understood her.
Kaidan picked her up, Shepard stopped moving - unsure if it was because she was surrendering to him or if she was lost to him - but he took the opportunity of her stillness and ran towards his shuttle.
TBC