A/N: I have mad love for Mass Effect and thought I would share my vision with the world. Reviews will be greatly appreciated.
Doctor Nora Song went through her apartment carefully, mindful not to leave behind anything important. While the unit was still going to remain in her name, she had already shut off all of the utilities and packed the essentials for her journey. It had been made clear to her in no uncertain terms that she was going to be away for a long time and that the entire building could be rubble if she ever returned.
The young woman's life had taken an expected turn several months ago when she was discharged from the Alliance for her unorthodox practices. She had done a lot of good work and her record spoke for itself, but that had not been enough for her superiors. It had taken no time to get back into the field on Earth, but a much longer time recover from the bitterness.
Even more surprising were the events of the past week. Delving into the mind of Admiral Hackett had been an intimidating task, but her apprehension was unfounded. He came to her of his own accord, followed her instruction respectfully, and divulged secrets far above what her security clearance had ever been. She knew now his reasons for doing so. What began as sessions between a guilt-ridden man and his therapist became meetings between an Alliance Admiral and a potential recruit.
Once satisfied with the state of her affairs, Nora strode out of building, leaving behind her apartment and her old life. As she sat in the skycab, she thought eagerly of what awaited her inside of her new home. She had no illusions that glory would be routine, but there was certainly excitement to be had on the Normandy. Of course, such excitement denoted she would be more involved on the battle against ancient sentient machines, but she pushed that thought from her mind as the vehicle stilled outside of the transit hub.
After paying for her fare and collecting her luggage, the doctor entered the establishment and followed the instructions that the Admiral had given her the day before yesterday. It took approximately six minutes for her arrive at the transit station from Seoul to Vancouver and six hours to make it to her destination. It was a long time to her, but she understood it would have taken a full day of flying a century ago.
The next step was to meet with an Alliance representative and be escorted to her hotel. Supposedly, she had already met her escort, but upon inquiry the Admiral had merely offered a small, but clever smile. When she exited the shuttle, she immediately recognized the dashing Major Alenko in the crowd. Despite being relatively soft-spoken, he had a quiet flame that she had come to admire in their short time together, as she had with many of her patients in the Alliance.
Alenko approached the second they made eye contact and insisted on carrying her bags. After a brief debate, she relinquished the two large suitcases into his care and kept the bags for herself, despite his assurance that he could handle them all. She was tempted to take him up on that offer, just to see if he really could and if he would keep the discomfort to himself. However, that would be rude and she was capable of handling her own things.
Moments later, the warm night air greeted the duo as they exited the hub. They could have taken a skycab to the hotel, but it was fairly close and Nora loved being out at night. Something about the city lights made her feel especially serene.
"Are you sure you're alright walking," the Major inquired politely before they were far from readily available transportation. She wondered briefly if he was asking for his own benefit, but decided he was not. Her suitcases had wheels for convenience, as was the standard.
"I'm quite sure, Major," Nora stated, offering a playful smile. "Are you worried some ruffians may challenge my honor on the way there?" She gripped her bags more tightly and tried to remember where she had stored her sidearm, in case that was to happen.
"And if I am," he asked with a chuckle, then continued, "I can handle a couple of thugs on my own, but with you to protect..." He trailed off so that doctor could finish the sentence on her own. It was clear what he was trying to say. What was not clear was whether or not he was serious. She decided to find out.
"I went through the same combat training you did," she reminded him, careful to stick to a humorous approach. If she assumed he was serious and responded in kind, there was the potential to sully the good atmosphere between them.
"Many years ago," he reminded her gently, giving her the impression that he was at least somewhat serious. "Have you ever even been in a firefight?"
"Would it surprise you if I had," she asked, sending a sly look his way. His raised eyebrows and startled gaze indicated that he would be. "Well, I haven't. But I still have the training!"
The shock gave way to a pleasant grin as he devised his retort. "Alright, you win," he conceded, gesturing for her to start walking. "But if I have to use biotics and get a nosebleed, you're buying me dinner."
Unsure if he was being flirtatious or not, Nora glided past him and assumed the latter to be safe. He had been nothing but professional and friendly in their previous encounters all those years ago. "Deal," she agreed, returning his smile.
They walked in silence for a long moment, admiring the beautiful view around them. Kaidan had a lot of love for his hometown and was always glad to see when someone else did too. Skyscrapers towered above them from all sides, mostly dark with smatterings of light from those working late. It was a quarter past ten and he had to get up early, but his migraines kept him up anyway. The (somewhat) fresh air relieved a bit of the pressure that constantly plagued him and the company was pleasant for more reasons than one.
The Major had found Doctor Song to be a charming woman the moment he met her, but he carried guilt over his part in her discharge from the Alliance. Hackett had ordered him to meet with her and get her settled in, despite the assignment being better suited for someone of a lesser station. He suspected the older man had done so to give him an opportunity to clear his conscience and he intended to. It was difficult to decide how to begin, but he figured it would be good start with, "I'm sorry."
Nora met his stare and wondered if she had heard correctly. What did he have to apologize over? She had read his files and suspected him to have a habit of taking unnecessary blame. Still, she didn't have enough data to make that call just yet. "Why are you sorry?"
The Major looked moderately uncomfortable and couldn't maintain eye contact with her, choosing instead to stare ahead of them at the vacant sidewalk. "It was my fault you were discharged from the Alliance," he stated, risking a glance at her before elaborating. "After our sessions, the Board approached me, asking all sort of questions. Were you professional? What perspectives did you apply during our talks? The next thing I knew I was rescheduled to speak with another shrink and discouraged from asking about my old one."
The dame nodded, acknowledging that she had heard him. Her discharge made more sense. She had suspected something like that had happened, but did not have the details until now. The Board asked questions that seemed innocent and then twisted them to suit their needs. That was awfully bureaucratic for a military organization. "And you answered those questions honestly?"
"Yes, but I-"
"Then there's nothing more that I need to hear," she stated gently, but firmly. She could see the hotel at the end of the block and picked up the pace a bit. She was tired of moving around, by shuttle or by her own two feet. She longed to get into a pair of pajamas and on a proper bed. Nerves had kept her up later than usual the night before.
"It's not that simple," the Major persisted, allowing himself to appear as troubled as he felt.
"It really is, Major," she argued without looking at him. "You were asked a question by your superiors and you answered it honestly. What they did with the information you gave them is not your responsibility."
"But if I had been more clear when I answered, things might have turned out differently."
Nora was no fool. He was determined to keep the blame to protect his belief in the Alliance, so there was no sense in continuing to try and dissuade him. Doing so could cause a substantial disagreement between them. "We can spend the rest of our lives talking about 'what if's or we can live."
The doctor met his gaze and could see he didn't want to let it go, but didn't want to invoke her anger. When he sighed and looked away, she took that as a sign that he was going to drop it. It was only a matter of time before he brought it up later as he had clearly not taken her words to heart. For now, she was grateful that he let it rest.
The pair looked up at the hotel that she would staying at. It was a modest establishment, but she expected as much from the Alliance. She held the door open for him as his hands were full and took note of the simple interior. Not luxurious, but definitely sanitary. As long as the guestrooms were as well, she wasn't going to call the Alliance and demand a penthouse suite somewhere else.
After checking in at the front desk and a lengthy trip in an elevator, Nora finally got to see her lodgings. It was a standard room decorated much warmer than the lobby, but just as clean. She set her things in the corner and called a cab for the Major, who followed her example and set her luggage down.
Several moments later, they found themselves back outside, waiting for his transportation. A companionable silence passed between them as they each searched for something to say. Alenko was the first to speak. "Have you ever been to Vancouver before?"
"Once or twice," Nora answered politely with a nod. "Though, I had little time to myself then. Have you? Oh, that's right. You're from the area." It had been a long time, but she could vaguely recall reading as much in his dossier.
"Born and raised," he replied with a short nod. "At least until brain camp. You should take in the sights while you're waiting for the Normandy. There's plenty to see."
"I'll be sure to," she stated "Do you know anyone else I'll be serving with?"
A shadow passed over his face before he responded, "There are a couple that you could be consulting with. The ship's VI only responds to Joker, so he'll be your pilot. Doctor Chakwas was always in charge of the medbay, but I hear she's on the Citadel now. Past that, I'm not sure. Shepard was the XO after Anderson stepped down, but it's unlikely he'll be reinstated any time soon. Not after Arahoht. Other than that, I canonly guess that I might be reassigned to serve with you."
"And what gives you that feeling," she asked curiously, adjusting the sleeve of her blazer to be even with the other.
"The Admirals don't like to talk about what's coming," the Major admitted to her. "But Hackett, he knows and he's encouraging everyone to get closure: take care of any unsettled business just in case." There were a thousand words that didn't need to be said. "I had a falling out with Joker and Shepard. What better way to reconcile than to be forced onto the same ship?"
"I see." And she truly did. She could see the Admiral reassigning him with that same clever smile he had given her when she asked about her escort. "Is that why had me escorted by a major instead of a private?"
Alenko chuckled as she put the pieces together. "Yeah," he clarified "Not sure he'd ever admit it, though. I think he likes to pretend we're all his kids and it's time to stop fighting."
"I doubt he'd admit that either," was her facetious reply, earning her a chuckle from her companion. "He's right. We know what's coming and there are no guarantees. Nothing should be left unsaid or undone."
"That reminds me," he began, allowing the mood to turn more somber. "I know this really isn't a good place, but how are you holding up? You haven't known very long and it wasn't easy for me. It didn't feel real until I was stuck underneath one of them."
"It's still sinking in," the doctor conceded "I was on the Citadel when it was attacked, but that was dismissed as a geth attack. The truth makes more sense, but it's hard to accept. I know what's going to happen, but it just doesn't feel like it. It feels like everything is going to be okay."
"Hold on to that feeling," Alenko advised "You're going to be on the front lines and it's going to fade fast. The second you realize what we're up against, it's like you're struggling to get to the surface and you didn't even know you were underwater."
Doctor Song graced him with a quiet, humorless chuckle. "I must admit I am becoming less and less excited to be consulting on the Normandy." She pulled her blazer closer to fight the sudden chill.
The Major took note and decided she had heard enough. "No one serving on the Normandy has ever been less than the best. I'm sure somehow Shepard will get his title back. If he does and if he's half the man I remember, there isn't a safer place in the whole galaxy than on that ship."
Nora smiled gratefully at his attempt to comfort her, but took note of the subtle irritation in his eyes when he spoke of his former commander. The skycab chose that moment to arrive, bringing an end to their conversation. She found herself slightly impressed by the prompt service. The traffic in Seoul was always so hectic that she had expected to be waiting a good while longer.
"I'll be in Vancouver for a couple of days before I get back to mobilizing the fleets," Alenko informed her matter-of-factly, before raising his right arm to hers. She mirrored his gesture and waited for him to finish transferring data to her omnitool. "If I ever get a moment to myself, I'll let you know. Give you a grand tour of the city. Unless, of course, you have other plans."
The doctor dropped her arm back to her side once their contact information had been successfully traded. "I do not," she admitted "Some company would be greatly appreciated if you can manage to find the time." She was a social creature by design and always preferred to have some sort of company when it was available, though she lost a lot of her colleagues when she left the Alliance. She wasn't about to tell him that.
"I'll do what I can," he promised with a smile that made her wonder if she had just unknowingly agreed to some kind of date.
The dark-haired man seemed to hesitate before they parted with a respectful handshake. Nora waited until the cab departed to return to her room, just in case he changed his mind. Nothing left unsaid or undone. It made her wonder about a couple of things. Were the Major's intentions more than friendly? How would she feel if they were? Distractions were both dangerous and necessary with the weight of the universe on their shoulders.
Nothing left unsaid or undone. As the doctor settled down for the night, her demeanor was calm and her thoughts were racing. She had accomplished much in her time. What was there left to say before she joined the fight? What was the left to do? Her mind flickered briefly to a sterile room, unfamiliar faces crowding around her and asking who she was. She pushed that thought away and finished applying the moisturizer to her face.
After throwing her hair in a quick braid, Nora laid down and tried not to think of anything important. Not the war that was coming, not the opportunities she had passed up along the way, and definitely not that crowded room and what might have come before it. Her attempts were unsuccessful and the Reapers descended upon her brain like they would upon Vancouver in less than twenty four hours.