**Did a small update, fixed a few errors and Kaidan's name (I could have sworn it was Kaiden, my bad :D)

Chapter 1

Kaidan had been summoned to meet with the Citadel Councilors, it wasn't the first time going there. The first time had been with Shepard…

That was over three years ago, now. Right after Eden Prime. He had already started to care about her then, she had saved him from experiencing whatever that beacon held. After all the difficulty she had the visions he never let that mistake go. He never envied her that burden she carried.

They had eventually grown to love each other, and the night before Ilos still sent tingles down his spine when he thought of it. He thought of it a lot. They had completely opened themselves to each other, mind, body and heart. He had never been that vulnerable before, and he had a feeling that she hadn't, either.

When she died a few months after that…it broke his heart. It took him a while to even register that she was really gone, gone for good. And just when he felt like he was healing, beginning to remember their moments together with fondness instead of lonely regret, she was alive again.

He had a second chance, but she was working with Cerberus. He had screwed it up. He turned a deaf ear to his heart, and let his mind rip her a new one. How could she betray the Alliance and the Council? He had regretted it the moment he was too far away to change it. Sending her a message and practically begging her forgiveness.

And he was granted a third chance. She had survived destroying the Collectors and come to find him. She was still the same woman she had been before, but at the same time she had changed. The Council betraying her had hurt her. They spent a few weeks together at his apartment on the Citadel…before the Council sent the order to have her arrested for working with a terrorist organization. They grounded her and her ship before she had, somehow, outsmarted them and got away with her crew and her ship. Sending him a message that when her work was over, if he could wait, they could start back up where they had left off. If the Council still wanted to arrest her after she brought back evidence of destroying the Reaper threat she'd worry about it then.

He hadn't heard anything from her since then, and not much about Cerberus, either. He could imagine her working tirelessly, doing good deeds in between her planning to save the galaxy.

"Commander Alenko, thank you for agreeing to meet with us," Councilor Anderson said. "We have an urgent mission that we need your help with."

"I'll do what I can, Councilor, but I'm Alliance," Alenko said.

"That will be changing," the asari Councilor said gently. "Commander Alenko, we wish to invite you to join the Spectres."

He nearly laughed, but after a quick thought it wasn't that humorous. "Councilor, I've never been evaluated as a Spectre candidate. Why would you offer me this?"

"Never officially," the turian said. "But for several months you worked very closely with Commander Shepard. We have her reports, her reviews on the crew. She thought very highly of you, recommended you for promotion within the Alliance. Stated that your biotics and technical skills were highly effective in multiple situations. Able to command respect of a team."

"Shepard proved herself to be the best of the best, at one time," the salarian said.

"Alenko, you worked closely with Shepard. You learned from her. We need that kind of talents on this mission," the turian said.

"What is the mission?" Alenko asked.

"We need you to find Kate Shepard, and neutralize the threat she represents to the Council," the asari said.

"I'm sorry…did you just ask me to kill Commander Shepard?"

"No," Anderson said quickly. "We hope that your relationship with her…you can talk her into coming back peacefully. There are disturbing reports from our infiltration teams that Cerberus plans an attack on the Citadel, Shepard is possibly behind the attack."

"Shepard wouldn't attack the Citadel, sir," Alenko argued.

"Even if Shepard wouldn't, she has been a fugitive from justice for over a year," the asari said. "As a Spectre we trust your judgment to use whatever you deem necessary to complete the mission…though we would prefer Shepard to come back alive. With your history and experience, we believe you the only one alive capable of doing so."

Kaidan thought about it, and answered. "I'm going to need a good ship."