Chapter Two
The crew had gathered in the mess later that morning. Kaidan had completed his paperwork and assignments had been made. They ship was headed to the human colony, Eden Prime, to test her stealth mode. Kaidan was in the process of finishing his lunch as he made small talk with the ship's Navigator, Charles Pressly. He was distracted from the Navigator when he heard Shepard's name come up in a conversation taking place over his shoulder. He glanced that way, and found the young Corporal Richard Jenkins speaking excitedly about their XO. "No! She's a colony kid! She was on Mindoir when the slavers hit. Most of the colony was taken or killed," He was arguing with another crewman, Emerson, Kaidan thought his name was.
"You sure? I thought she was born on Earth," Emerson answered back. This continued for a minute and Kaidan turned his attention back to the Navigator when the Corporal started listing her commendations. It was not unusual to appreciate another soldier's history, especially one as distinguished as Shepard's, but there was a time and a place – and a volume – at which it should happen. "And she's an N7. Girls don't usually complete the training!" It was hard to miss the tone in Jenkins' voice when he said "girls," like her gender was something she had to overcome. "Most men find it difficult," He said, an honest tone of wonder in his voice. He was green; inexperienced. He would learn that these honors were often hard earned and paid for in blood.
"Akuze!" The Corporal said loudly, drawing a few people's attention back to his conversation. Emerson had the decency to look abashed. Kaidan thought he heard something in the stairwell and looked around for Shepard, hoping she wasn't here to witness this. Jenkins was reaching the point of impropriety. He glared at the back of the Corporal's head as he continued. "She was the only one from her unit to survive the Thresher Maw attack! Thresher Maws! That's amazing! Can you imagine?" He gushed over her service record. "And she's a biotic. I've never worked with a Biotic before. I hope she doesn't have one of those L2 implants, they drive people nuts."
Kaidan excused himself quietly from Pressly and stood. There was no way for the Corporal to know there was an L2 sitting just behind him. Kaidan was well past the point in his life where an offhand comment would upset him. "I can't wait to see some action! Maybe I'll get a recommendation to the Ns," He said and Kaidan found himself unable to stay silent another second. His anger flared and he felt the hum of his biotics igniting. His jaw clenched and with just a simple release of the irritation he'd felt he sent the Corporal flying into the wall of lockers outside the med bay with a well-controlled biotic throw. He fell to the floor, and Doctor Chakwas came running out of the bay.
Corporal Jenkins popped up to his feet and threw his arms over his head shouting, "That was awesome!" The doctor retreated to the med bay, shaking her head, as Kaidan stalked over to Jenkins. When Jenkins saw him coming, a look of surprised fear spread over his face and he snapped to attention finally falling silent.
Kaidan stood directly in front of him, his brow creased and lips in a thin line. The blue biotic energy cloaked him like a second skin. He was close enough that the hair on Jenkins arms was standing on end as he started his reprimand. "You've got a lot to learn, Corporal," Kaidan said. Jenkins kept his eyes forward, staring past Kaidan as he should; his face flushed with embarrassment. "There is nothing amazing about a Thresher Maw attack, and you certainly wouldn't want to imagine it. Giant monsters, tangles of tentacles and teeth, crawling out of the ground at your feet to spit acid at you. You scream, but it's not going to help because the dirt fills your lungs as they pull you underground where, hopefully, you suffocate before they devour you," Kaidan let the image sink in while he took a breath. The Corporal's face blanched. "Your goal is a recommendation to the Ns? There is not one soldier with that honor who hasn't had to sacrifice themselves or their crew for the mission. This display over the last few minutes proves how far away from that you are. Learn some restraint, Corporal, some respect," Kaidan finished and turned on his heel heading towards the stairs.
"Yes, Sir," Corporal Jenkins answered, still at attention as he waited for Kaidan to dismiss him.
Kaidan took a deep breath as he headed towards the stairs. The mess hall smelled of eezo and his body thrummed with unspent energy. It was about time he went and checked in with Joker. He paused to look over his shoulder, "Oh, and Commander Shepard is an L3," He couldn't help but notice the sense of relief that washed over the whole room until he added, "I'm the only L2 you have to worry about on this ship."
He heard the soft hum of conversation fill the room behind him and felt the stare of more than one set of eyes on his back as he continued to the stairwell. Commander Shepard emerged around the corner as he neared it. There was a soft pause in his step as they made eye contact. With a barely perceptible lift at the corners of her mouth she simply nodded as she passed him. "Lieutenant," was the only greeting she offered.
He returned the nod as she moved out of his periphery, "Commander."
He took the stairs two at a time and reached the CIC. He nodded to the crew still at their stations as he made his way to the Bridge to speak with the Pilot. He'd been introduced at the preflight debriefing but still hadn't had the chance to ask him how he'd gotten the posting as Anderson had recommended. "Moreau," Kaidan greeted as he entered the cockpit.
"Do me a favor. I can't get that console to sync up with mine." Joker pointed at the station to his right. "Hop on over there and help me get the kinks out."
"Sure thing," Kaidan answered as he sat in the co-pilot's seat. "So, Joker, Anderson says you've got quite the story on how you scored this assignment." Kaidan prodded as he ran diagnostics on the monitor while glancing over at the pilot and watching him grin.
"I bet he did. Still can't believe it worked," He said with a chuckle. Kaidan stayed silent waiting for him to continue, "I was ordered to a different ship, but wanted this one. So, I stole it and refused to give it back until they changed my assignment," He answered as his hands flew over the displays.
"Now I know why they call you Joker," Kaidan said, "Seriously, what happened?" Joker looked at Kaidan from under the brim of his hat with a grin on his face. "Bull shit!" Kaidan exclaimed and Joker shrugged his eyebrows, still grinning, as he returned to the ship's controls.
"No, some ass of a Turian said he wouldn't give someone with my condition a posting on this ship. I wanted to show him, Vrolick syndrome or not, I was born to fly this girl. So, I locked the assigned pilot in a shuttle on the station and hijacked the ship. Risky? Sure. But I must have impressed the right people, cause I got the ship instead of a court martial," Joker answered. Kaidan had read his dossier and remembered the pilot's health issues. Vrolick Syndrome, or Brittle Bone Disease, meant that he was vulnerable and his bones would break easily and he had most likely been considered inferior his whole life. Kaidan could tell it hadn't made him weak-willed or lazy. Kaidan was impressed with the man, and glad for the opportunity to work with him.
"Joker," Anderson's voice rang out over the comm, halting any response Kaidan would have given.
"Yes, Captain?" He answered.
"We have to make a diversion; set a course for Omega," Anderson replied.
"Aye, aye, Captain," He answered and Kaidan and Joker exchanged a surprised look at the order as Anderson disconnected from the comm. "Omega? What could we possibly be doing at Omega?" Joker asked rhetorically.
"Picking up Nihlus Kryik," Commander Shepard answered startling both men, neither had heard her enter the cockpit.
"The spectre?" Kaidan asked, his voice raised in question.
"That's the request from the council," Shepard replied her tone gave away her annoyance at the pit-stop, "Joker where does that put our arrival at Eden Prime?" She asked, and nodded when Joker informed her it would be adding a full day to their travel time. Kaidan watched her out of the corner of his eye as she stared ahead at the passing stars for a full moment before continuing. "Carry on," She said as she left the cockpit. The only sound then was the low whistle Joker let out as he changed course. With the addition of a Spectre to the crew, Kaidan couldn't help but wonder if the mission had just changed course as well.
The Council, an executive committee composed of one representative each from the member species, has no official power over the governments of other species. However, their decisions carry considerable weight. No single Council race is strong enough to defy the others, and all have valid reasons to work together. The Council is the ultimate authority in Citadel space, setting laws and passing judgment for violations, settling disputes between governments, and maintaining law and order; often through the use of its own covert intelligence service: the Spectres.
Special Tactics and Reconnaissance agents are entrusted with extraordinary authority granted to them by the Council. This includes the power to decide life or death over galactic citizens. They are an elite group selected from a number of different species, and their main goal is to preserve galactic stability by whatever means necessary. They are generally considered as being above the law and have complete discretion as to the methods used to complete their mission; a fact that made many in the Alliance uncomfortable
Kaidan and Joker remained silent as they processed the new information. Kaidan spoke first, "You should be all set with this console," He offered as he powered down his omni-tool. Joker thanked him without moving his eyes from his own board. "I'm going to head down to the mess, do you need anything?" Kaidan offered.
"Nah, I'm good. Later," Joker responded absently and Kaidan headed towards the stairs.
Kaidan couldn't shake the tension that filled the CIC as he moved through it. It seemed like the addition of the Spectre, the Turian Spectre, had changed the attitude of the crew. He'd had his own history with Turians, and he had learned a long time ago that you couldn't judge a race, human or alien, by the actions of an individual.
When humanity first discovered that one of Pluto's moons was actually an ancient mass relay there was division on how to handle the new technology. Some thought it should be destroyed to protect the Sol system; to keep whatever was on the other side, on the other side. Others fought for exploration and the explorers won. When the humans started activating every mass relay they could find in their desperation to know, to learn, it was the Turians who first took notice of the activity coming from the once quiet area of space. Unknowingly, humanity had broken one of the Council's laws by activating the dormant relays and instead of attempting diplomacy, the Turians opened fire.
There were losses on both sides, and thankfully the Council intervened and brought about a tense peace. Unfortunately, after the war the humans were viewed as aggressors by the other Council races and twenty-six years later some of the animosity still held on. It wasn't one sided though, humanity never proved to be a forgiving race and there were still humans alive who had fought, or had family who had fought, in the First Contact War and they still felt uncomfortable around Turians. They believed the Turians couldn't be trusted. Yet, the Normandy herself was a product of Turian and Human design. Based on what Kaidan had seen so far, he was sure both races could learn from the other; if only they could set aside the past and look forward.
Kaidan wandered down to the mess and then hit the button for the elevator. He wanted to take some time to work with the weapons he'd been issued. As he stepped off the elevator, he noticed Jenkins there doing the same. He made his way over to his locker and pulled out the rifle and pistol before heading to the weapons station to check out the modifications available. When Jenkins noticed him he moved to stand and salute and Kaidan waved him off. He pulled up a stool and sat across from the Corporal as he start to disassemble his Avenger assault rifle.
"You're from Eden Prime, is that right?" Kaidan asked him without looking up from his weapon.
"That's right, Sir," Jenkins replied.
"What should we expect?" Kaidan asked as his hands moved over the pieces of his weapon that were now laid out in front of him.
"It's very peaceful. They've been real careful with development, so you don't have any city noise or pollution. My parents live on the outskirts of the colony. At night, I used to climb this big hill and stare across the fields back at the lights from the main settlement. It was gorgeous. But when I got older, I realized it was a little too calm and quiet for me. That's why I joined the Alliance. Even paradise gets boring after a while. I'm actually surprised we're headed that way, and with a Spectre." Jenkins finished and Kaidan gave him a questioning glance.
"It is just a shakedown, it's not like we're expecting any trouble," Kaidan reminded the young man as he snapped the rifle back together. He pulled out some of the available weapon modifications.
Jenkins was working with his rifle as well, and Kaidan was impressed with his dexterity. He was familiar with the weapon and Kaidan could tell he felt confident with it as he worked with the parts. "I don't know, Sir. Eden Prime's one of our most stable colonies. It is a good place to take the Normandy for her shakedown run, I guess. No real danger there, but there's got to be something else going on. It's not the type of place Spectres visit. It seems there's something the Captain isn't telling us about this mission. The whole crew feels it."
Kaidan thought on this for a moment. It was a valid point. This was supposed to be a test run for all intents and purposes. Yet, they had a full crew; Captain Anderson, an N7 agent, is one of the most highly decorated officers in the Alliance, Commander Shepard, also an N7 agent, as the XO, and now a Spectre? Kaidan didn't like being left in the dark, but he knew if there was something he needed to know, he would be filled in. It still left him with an uneasy feeling, but the Corporal didn't need to know that. "You're young Jenkins, you've got a long career ahead of you. Treat this like every other assignment you've had and you'll do fine."
"Yes, Sir. It's just, I've never been on an assignment like this before, not with a Spectre on board. It's why I'm still so wound up," Jenkins admitted as he set his rifle down. Kaidan felt a nostalgic smile pull at his face. He'd been where the Corporal was before, however, Kaidan was never quite as enthusiastic about enlisting – it was more of a convenience than a real desire.
"Just don't do anything stupid to screw this up," Kaidan answered him as he moved on to his pistol.
"Of course, Sir. Don't worry, I'm not going to screw this up. It's an honor to serve with this crew and I hope to learn all I can. Between Captain Anderson and Commander Shepard, I mean, if you melted down their medals you could make a life size statue of them!" Kaidan chuckled a little and Jenkins seemed to relax. "Plus, I've never worked with a biotic before. If I'm being honest, Sir, I've heard stories of your abilities as well. What you can do, it's impressive." Kaidan was surprised to know he had a reputation. Maybe he shouldn't have been so stunned by his assignment to this vessel. "Earlier, in the mess, the fact that you could throw me across the room with your mind is-"
"We don't use our minds, not really," Kaidan interrupted him. If Jenkins had never worked with someone with Biotics before he had quite a bit to learn. "Biotic ability in humans stems from an exposure to Element Zero while in utero. If it didn't cause cancer and kill you as a baby, you formed eezo nodules throughout your nervous system. These nodules allow us to…" He paused as he thought of the best way to describe it, "… affect the mass of things around us. We can control dark energy or gravity I guess you could say," Kaidan explained and the Corporal nodded. "So it's not like I'm using brain power," He finished.
"So you could move anything with mass. You can use the dark energy defensively as well, right?" Jenkins asked.
Kaidan nodded, "Exactly. I use my biotics more defensively with barriers and shields, whereas Commander Shepard uses hers more offensively."
"But you can use them offensively? You just choose to use them defensively?"
"Right," Kaidan answered. "I threw you across the room earlier, didn't I?" He asked him and Jenkins grinned.
"So, how does one protect themselves from that?"
"Increasing your mass; the more mass an object has the more energy and control it takes to have the desired effect. Heavy armor or certain mods add protection to hardsuits," Kaidan answered. "Most human biotics are not as powerful or controlled as other species, like the Asari or even the Krogan. Commander Shepard is the exception to that rule."
"Good thing she's on your side," Kaidan and Jenkins both jumped at the voice coming from the elevator. Commander Shepard offered them a crooked smirk as she headed towards the Mako; Kaidan's eyes followed her.
"Yes, ma'am," Jenkins answered as she passed their station. Kaidan returned his attention to the Corporal but not before watching Shepard climb into the infantry fighting vehicle. Jenkins's curiosity seemed sated for the moment, and conversation moved to his previous assignments and experience. Kaidan was glad for the down time to get to know the Corporal, maybe he wasn't a lost cause after all.