Vega wasn't sure who he'd expected to drop out of that vent when they heard the clear noise of a pursuit and Cerberus radio chatter; a lone Alliance survivor of the attack perhaps, or a doddering researcher. He certainly hadn't expected an Asari- it was a human facility after all. He'd been around the galaxy enough to be long past any shoots of xenophobia he may have had when he first enlisted. Aliens, as far as he could tell, had the same spectrum of dicks to angels as humans. And if anything, he had a particular… fondness for the Asari- but he wasn't an idiot. Today of all days, he wasn't going to trust a stranger straight off the bat unless they were in an Alliance uniform- so he followed Shepard out of cover with his gun raised but was promptly made to feel like an idiot by the Commander.
"Easy Lieutenant, she's with us."
He lowered his weapon as the stranger turned from the soldiers she had expertly dispatched moments earlier.
"Liara," A smile flickered briefly across Shepard's tense visage.
"Shepard," Relief flooded into those startlingly blue eyes as the Commander approached and was swiftly pulled into a tight hug. James caught her gaze over Shepard's shoulder for a fraction of second.
Was this the Liara? The renowned Prothean scholar from Shepard's SR1 crew? Vega had read more about Shepard than he cared to admit during the course of the hero worship that had earned him merciless teasing from his peers. So naturally he'd stumbled upon the doctor's name and even some of her papers. Of course he hadn't really bothered with those; his talents lay in combat, not academia, and he knew it. Nothing that he had read had suggested that she'd be so capable, or so… striking. If this was how highbrow academics looked, maybe he should have gone to college after all.
So not appropriate right now Vega. He told himself.
"Thank the Goddess you're alive." She and Shepard separated. "Earth… I'm so sorry,"
"It was difficult to leave like that." Said Alenko with a grimace as he moved forward.
"Kaidan," Dr T'Soni wrapped the Major in hug. He looked a little taken aback, but gave a smile- awkward, but genuine.
"It's good to see you Liara."
James felt a little uncomfortable, intruding on this reunion between the old comrades, but hell, there wasn't really a lot he could do about it. So he hung back, checking his gun for non-existent faults. Minutes later, he was well and truly feeling like the proverbial third wheel as he headed back to the shuttle, replaced, it seemed, by the Doctor. He knew that, by all accounts, she was more or less a genius and could clearly handle herself in a fight, but he found himself feeling a little irritated by his dismissal all the same. Shamefully, he also caught his mind lingering on T'Soni's smile- fleeting though it had been- as well as her eyes, the freckles across her high cheekbones and the hints of a killer body beneath that labcoat.
Oh shit. Seriously Vega? Could you try to be less of a perv and more of a marine? Remember that war that just broke out?
Not to worry. He was brought firmly back to the reality of the situation when he found three Cerberus troopers poking around the shuttle.
That'll teach you. He thought as the final soldier's last shot whistled past his ear.
He didn't exactly remember deciding to knock the Cerberus shuttle out of the sky. James just sort of… found himself bracing for impact as the collision sent both vehicles screaming to the ground. Dazed from the crash, the chaos sharpened at Shepard's shout.
"Kaidan!"
Qué chingados…
The- what was it? A mech?- let the Major fall without even turning to look back at him, as if he were trash into a garbage can. Shepard snarled as it sprinted towards her and had taken it out before half the distance was covered.
"Dios…" he muttered as the Commander took on Alenko's, not insignificant, weight with apparent ease. Vega came forward to assist regardless, but Shepard strode straight past him.
"Get us to the Normandy Lieutenant."
"Aye aye,"
She was already crouched over the Major's unconscious form on the shuttle floor. Doctor T'Soni knelt beside her, scanning Alenko with her omni—tool. Shaking her head, she looked up at him.
"Hurry."
—
It wasn't looking good.
Still unconscious, Alenko's vitals flickered weakly on the monitors. For a second, James had fully expected Shepard to refuse to leave the medical bay when the call came, such was the visible intensity of her concern. Now it was just him and the Doc, who was doing the best she could without any real medical training or supplies.
"I don't know what else to do," she said, more to herself than to him. Her omni-tool began to flash insistently until she yielded and brought up the display. "The Crucible plans… I need to… But-"
"I can watch him Doc," Liara stared at him for a couple of seconds, then bit her lip, looking back to Kaidan anxiously. "It's okay," he continued. "If there's any change…"
"Okay," she nodded. "Yes… okay." One final glance at the Major and then she turned to him. "Thank you Lieutenant." She said and hurried out of the medical bay.
"Hang in there Major," he grimaced. "We're gonna need every soldier in this fight."