Storm Rising, by potionsmaster

Rating: T for language

A/N: Well, they found a bar...and something else, too.

Summary: New squadmates have to be found first before they can be put through their paces.


Chapter 7: A Commander, a Staff Louie, and a Gunnery Chief Walk Into a Bar...

The music throbbed around them while they paused in the doorway, waiting for their eyes to adjust to the dimness. Shepard cast a worried glance over his shoulder at his staff lieutenant. Kaidan had said it was only pressure, but the pinched look around his eyes hadn't gone away when they got to the darker corridors of the wards. He heard Ash scoff as they ventured further into the bar.

"A million light years away from where humanity began and we walk into a bar filled with men drooling over half-naked women shaking their asses on a stage. I can't decide if that's funny or sad."

"What, you don't think they're here because of the food?"

A heavy thwack sounded; Shepard could only imagine it was the gunnery chief punching Kaidan on his shoulder piece. The lieutenant chuckled, then said:

"I can see why it's popular. It has quite the, ah...view..."

"Hey LT? Put your tongue back in your mouth before you trip over it."

Shepard quickly looked back at Kaidan again. He had expected to see the lieutenant watching the asari dancers but he was shaking his head at Ashley, an amused look on his face.

"Whatever you say, Chief. You're one to talk."

Another thwack sounded as she hit him again and Kaidan simply laughed. The commander quirked an eyebrow at that. He led them to the bar, scanning the crowd. The set up was a little jarring: the right side of the room was bathed in red light while the left side was done in a cool blue. He wondered again if it was going to adversely affect the lieutenant. Shepard leaned against the bar, looking over the menu posted.

"What'll you have, Williams?"

Ash's cheeks flushed a bit as she looked at him. Kaidan stifled an eye-roll while he leaned against the bar next to Shepard and looked away; the commander wondered what that was about.

"We're still on the clock, sir. Shouldn't we wait?"

"One drink won't kill you. Besides, it'll help with recon. We need to scope out our targets. I have a feeling you're just the type to flush them out. Take your drink, mingle, find out what you can, then report back. Something tells me Harkin'll be more likely to out himself to you than me; you're prettier than I am."

Kaidan covered his snort with a cough as Ash's cheeks turned pink again. She ducked her head, looking pleased.

"In that case, how about sex on the beach?"

Shepard raised his eyebrows. She had the grace to be embarrassed.

"I–I meant the drink!" The pink had turned to red and spread all over her face. Kaidan coughed again, leaning harder on his elbows against the bar. Shepard caught the smile playing around his lips, though, as he ordered the drink from the kiosk.

"How about you, LT? Anything strike your fancy?"

"Uh, I'll skip what she's having...I don't like all the places sand can get stuck–Ow! Hey!"

Ash had soundly thumped Kaidan on the shoulder again, eyes bright.

"Would you knock it off?" Kaidan was scowling at her again. Shepard broke in, stepping between them.

"Am I going to have to separate you two? Seriously now..."

"No, sir..." came the two sullen replies. A drink that gradated from red to yellow was slid towards them. Shepard put it in Ash's hand and pointed to the blue side of the room.

"Put that sass to work and find Harkin. Then we'll find the general."

She rolled her shoulders and walked into the crowd. Kaidan watched her leave, chewing on his bottom lip.

"So how 'bout it, LT? What'll you have?"

"Uh, water's fine for the moment."

"Ok, if you're sure..." Shepard keyed an order for water and an unfiltered red ale in the kiosk, then turned towards the crowd. He eyed a couple of turians: one was watching an asari dancer, the other was sitting alone at a table, staring balefully at his drink.

"How's your head?"

"Doing ok, Shepard."

"Yeah? That's good...I wanted to talk to you about something. Might help you out on missions when we're on the ground. Totally up to you, of course."

Kaidan gave him a dubious look as their drinks were delivered. He took a sip.

"Oh? What's that?"

"I heard rumors floating around requisitions before I was assigned to the Normandy about a new prototype they're testing for certain classes of soldiers. A special face plate, I mean; it has an almost fully blocked facial shield and it would probably reduce the amount of lights flashing in your face. If we can prevent a trigger, I think that would be better for you. We can talk to requisitions and get one ordered, if you're interested."

Kaidan blinked, stunned at the information. Shepard turned back towards the bar and took a swallow of his beer. He inspected the label and furrowed his brows, waiting for a response.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I wasn't kidding earlier when I said I needed you. I didn't get a chance to comment on it before, either, but I really liked the fact that you asked about civilians before we dropped on Eden Prime. Showed me the kind of man you are. Only solidifies why I want you at my back."

Shepard took another drink and placed the bottle on the bar, looking over his shoulder. Ash was still working the crowd. Kaidan was pleasantly surprised at the commander's words. He peered at the bottle, trying to see what kind of beer Shepard chose.

"Thanks, Shepard. I appreciate it. Normally my superior officers don't take such an interest in having me around for every mission...probably consider me somewhat of a liability, what with the migraines and all."

The commander snorted and shoved the bottle towards him. Kaidan rotated it so he could read the label: Red Rose Ale.

"You're sharp. I need you to help me sift through all the details I might have missed. You can try it, if you want. The beer, I mean...I don't mind." He gestured towards the bottle, pensive look on his face.

"You sure?" the biotic asked. Shepard nodded, then looked down briefly. He was struck by a thought.

"Yeah, go ahead. I think I just figured something out."

"Oh?" Kaidan took a sip and slid it back towards the commander, "That's not bad. I'll have to remember it." Shepard nodded with an almost sad smile, not acknowledging the bottle. He leaned heavily on the bar again, still not meeting the lieutenant's eyes.

"Ever since I came aboard, I've felt 'comfortable' around you, more than I usually feel on a new posting. I just realized why..." Lines furrowed Shepard's forehead and his shoulders slumped a bit. The lieutenant waited patiently, gazing at him. "You, uh...remind me of someone. I should have seen it sooner, but there you have it. Better late than never."

Kaidan raised his eyebrows at that. Shepard schooled his face back into a neutral look while he pulled himself back together; he didn't want to think about him right now...couldn't afford the distraction. It was his own damn fault for ordering Asher's – his – favorite beer...He didn't taste it while he took another swig. Williams waved at him to catch his eye, coming back over to them. He shoved the bottle back towards Kaidan, not really wanting it anymore.

"Finish it if you want. What did you find, Chief?"

She shook her head. Kaidan took another sip after a moment of deliberation, then placed the bottle back in front of the commander.

"That guy over there? Leering from the table? That's Harkin. And there's a turian on the other side from him that's pounding the drinks pretty hard, complaining about women to anybody who will listen. Mostly to those who aren't."

Shepard smirked at that, finishing the beer and shoving the bottle towards the back of the bar, label facing away from him. Kaidan followed suit with his water glass.

"Good work, Chief," he said, rolling his neck. "Let's go find us a C-Sec detective."


Kaidan really shouldn't have been shocked at the crassness of Udina's contact, but he still was. Or rather, he was shocked at himself for being shocked at it. Harkin had known immediately they were from Anderson's crew when they had asked about Garrus and his investigation into Saren. The greasy little man had also insinuated that Anderson had been a Spectre himself and had been kicked out of the program due to a failed mission; he claimed that the captain blamed the arrogant Spectre. He willed himself to concentrate on the conversation and immediately wished he hadn't.

"Secrets are like herpes. If you got 'em, you might as well spread 'em around," the balding man sneered up at them. Shepard scowled.

"You're a pig!"

Harkin's beady eyes glittered in dark humor.

"Just noticed that now, did you?" came his unctuous reply. The commander made a disgusted noise, rolling his eyes. Ash had an expression that made her look as if someone had placed a rotting carcass in front of her and she was trying not to react to it. Shepard sighed, exasperated.

"Just tell me where Garrus went."

"Garrus was sniffing around Dr Michel's office. She runs the med clinic on the other side of the wards. Last I heard, he was going back there. Damn hot head, is what he is. Still figures he can save the world. Always bucking heads with the executor. He'll pay for it soon enough. The executor loves to put us lowly field agents in our place. Just look at what happened to me!"

Kaidan wasn't surprised when Shepard told the other man to stop blaming others and to sober up. Ash was torn between giving Harkin the hairy eyeball and looking at their XO with bright eyes. He decided it was the blue lights being extra reflective.

After grilling him a bit more on C-Sec and where Harkin got his misinformation about Captain Anderson, Shepard turned back towards them with an exasperated sigh. He still looked disgusted.

"I think Oraka's the turian at the table. He's not dressed like the other turians in here and –"

"Yeah! That's the one I was telling you about earlier!' Ash interrupted. Shepard pursed his lips, then continued.

" – and thanks to Ash's surveillance, he seems the likeliest one. Let's get this over with."

They made their way over to the table and the turian glared at them.

"Commander...hmph. What do you want?"

"I'm here on Sha'ira's behalf. Your lies are hurting her."

Kaidan could already tell Shepard's patience was strained from Harkin. He really didn't expect the commander's diplomacy to hold much longer. He broke in with a few questions of his own to try and take the pressure off of his XO, but sure enough, the commander told the cranky turian to shape up before long; moping in a bar never won any wars, after all.

"You're a damn general! Act like it."

"So you think it's that easy?" the turian thumped his glass on the table, peering at them blearily. "Just straighten up and 'act like a general'?"

"I don't think it could hurt," Kaidan said under his breath. Shepard shot him an amused look over his shoulder, then turned back to the general. Oraka polished off the last of his drink and plunked the empty glass down on the table again.

"It's hard to imagine a general like that getting so upset over a woman," Kaidan speculated quietly to Ashley. She gave him an amused look.

"That's because you don't understand women, Kaidan."

"Perhaps you're right about that..." he shook his head, chuckling at himself. She elbowed him gently in the side.

"You just need practice."

"Naw, I think I'm good. Besides, Chief, where would I get it from?"

"I'm sure there's some cute little ensign back on board who's dying to flirt with you," she said playfully, leaning on his arm. "You're not exactly hard to look at, LT." He smiled and shook his head again, feeling his cheeks grow warm. Maybe she wasn't so bad to be around. She was like someone's kid sister, he decided: naive, young, annoying as shit, but the potential to have a lot of fun was there. Shepard turned back towards them, brow furrowed as he stared at a datapad in his hand.

"Mixing business and pleasure seldom works out the way you want it, Williams...keep it to when you're off the clock, please. Let's move."

She caught Kaidan's eye, rolling her own. He winked at her as they made their way towards the entrance, pushing past a small crowd.

"...says the commander who bought his crew a drink while still on duty."

"Ah, see, that was a business expense. Recon. Totally different." Shepard shot her a half grin that didn't reach his eyes. Kaidan apologized to a couple he jostled by accident, but he didn't think they even noticed; the two men were rather engaged with each other at the moment. Ash gave them a dirty look as she grumbled to herself.

"Get a room, huh? Nobody wants to see that in public."

"The strippers falling out of their clothes and hanging all over their clients don't bother you, but public displays of affection do?" Kaidan asked skeptically as they left the bar.

"That kind of – GET DOWN! Assassins!"

She cut herself off as a bullet slammed into the wall behind them. Shepard pulled them down and shoved them against the half wall, brow furrowed. He pulled his sniper and started trying to line up a shot. The lieutenant heard his XO exhale and hold his breath, focus honing in on the targets. He remembered noticing it back on Eden Prime; he did something similar himself, but not nearly as deliberate.

"Those are Saren's men," Kaidan said tightly, pistol out and firing at the two turians garbed in black. Ash had her assault rifle spraying the hallway with bullets, trying to keep them back. The sharp crack of Shepard's rifle sent one sprawling backwards. The lieutenant saw the other merc's knee jutting out from cover and immediately unloaded a few bullets into it. Shepard's shot echoed in the hallway; the assassin gave him the perfect head shot while he checked the knee Kaidan had obliterated. It was the last mistake the turian ever made.

The silence was almost as deafening as the gunfire moments before. Kaidan blew out a slow breath, trying to control his racing heartbeat. He hadn't been expecting it, but it didn't exactly surprise him, either. It seemed like the type of underhanded thing Saren would do. After all, he shot his own friend and colleague point blank. Who knew what lengths he'd be willing to go? Shepard was doing something on his omni-tool; probably logging the encounter with C-Sec.

"Speaking of Spectres, why didn't Captain Anderson tell us he used to be one?" Ash complained, popping her assault rifle back on her mag-lock harness. Shepard was still absorbed in his omni-tool while they started walking to the lower markets.

"Maybe it's not true. Don't you think being the first human Spectre would be all over the news? Harkin's an ass. I bet he's just messing with our heads," Kaidan said matter-of-factly. Ash scuffed her boots against the walkway.

"You're probably right. Still, I'd like to hear what the captain has to say about all this."

"Alright, lock it down...enough talk about Spectres and who is or isn't one. It's not important right now," Shepard said. Kaidan noticed a slightly uncomfortable look on his face and remembered their conversation before they dropped on Eden Prime. Shepard hadn't seemed very enthusiastic when he told Kaidan he'd been nominated, come to think of it.

He was distracted from his thoughts as they made their way up the stairs again to the markets on the upper level and saw a blond man leaning against the wall, nervously playing with his hands. His face lit up when then reached the top step.

"Is that really...wooooow! It's you!"

The three of them stopped in front of the blond man, slightly uncertain of what was about to happen. Shepard took a step forward.

"I'm sorry...?" Kaidan asked from behind him, perplexed. The man completely ignored him as he focused on the commander. He eyed the N7 logo respectfully.

"You're Commander Shepard, the hero of Eden Prime! I'm so honored to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you. And you are...?" His XO shook the man's hand, unfailingly polite but guarded. Kaidan saw Shepard shake off whatever mental cobwebs had been plaguing him and focus on the person in front of him. It was interesting to note the small changes in the commander's demeanor. The man beamed at the attention.

"My name is Conrad. Conrad Verner. They say you killed more than a hundred geth on Eden Prime!"

"I just tried to help...I spent most of the time trying to stay alive and help the colonists..." Shepard rolled his shoulders slightly, trying not to let his discomfort show. Kaidan wondered what the point of all this was as he shifted restlessly. He heard Ash snort next to him.

"Hey, I know you're probably busy, but do you have time for a quick autograph?"

The man had taken a few steps closer, childlike wonder on his face. Shepard furrowed his brow but stood his ground. Kaidan raised an eyebrow at the whole exchange, sharing a look with Ash. She was chewing on her lower lip, trying not to laugh.

"No problem. Anything for a fan, I guess. Here."

His commander quickly scribbled something on the card that Conrad thrust at him with shaking hands.

"Thanks. I really appreciate it. My wife is going to be so impressed! I'll let you get back to work, but next time you're on Earth, I'd love to buy you a drink! Thanks again!"

"Never been a real fan of crowds," Kaidan said, watching the blond man scamper off, holding the autograph reverently. Ash dissolved into giggles, unable to hold back any longer. Shepard scoffed, shaking his head at Conrad's retreating form.

"Me either, LT."


Shepard leaned his elbows on the half wall, watching the traffic from the air shuttles through the wall of windows facing the ward arms. Williams was on his left, then the lieutenant. It was a stunning view with the lights from all the buildings sparkling against the infinite darkness of the galaxy behind it. The ward arms themselves seemed to stretch on for miles. He could almost pretend he was in a megatropolis back on Earth.

"Big place..." he heard the lieutenant say softly.

"That your professional opinion, sir?"

Ashley raised a critical eyebrow at the lieutenant. Kaidan either didn't notice or he was ignoring her comment. Shepard felt a spike of annoyance at her.

"He's right, Chief. This isn't a station; it's a city."

"There must be millions here. It can't be possible to track everyone coming and going." Kaidan shifted on the wall, getting a pensive look on his face. The commander wondered if he was processing his observations with their current mission. It was going to be very easy for Saren to hide what he was doing in relation to the galaxy at large. They were going to have to throw everything they had at the situation to track him down. He was dragged out of his thoughts by Ash again.

"This makes Jump Zero look like a porta-john. And it's the largest deep space station the Alliance has."

"Jump Zero was big. But this is a whole 'nother scale. Look at the ward arms! How do they keep all that mass from flying apart?"

Kaidan shifted on the wall again. Shepard noted his dark eyes taking in all of the scenery, almost like he was mapping it out...so much like him in certain regards. The lieutenant turned and caught him looking at him. He turned back to the view and focused on the tips of the ward arms, thoroughly mystified with himself why he didn't see it sooner. They didn't look a thing alike; maybe that was it. He sighed.

"We have our work cut out for us if we want to measure up. The council represents more races than I thought. No wonder they're careful with newcomers."

"They probably just want to keep everything running. It has to be hard keeping all these cultures working together."

"Or maybe they just don't like humans," Ash said darkly. Shepard glanced at her.

"What's not to like, Chief? We've got oceans, beautiful women...this emotion called 'love'...according to the old vids, we have everything they want."

She blushed at the 'beautiful women' comment, flustered words tumbling out of her mouth.

"If you expect to get me in a tinfoil miniskirt and thigh-high boots, I want dinner first. Sir!"

"That'll be enough, Chief..."

Shepard moved off the wall at that point, putting Kaidan between himself and the gunnery chief. He thought he heard a slight edge to the lieutenant's joking tone. Kaidan did have a tendency to be polite to a fault; almost too prim and proper for the amount of time he had been a marine. He also seemed to have a penchant for sticking to rank and the roles associated with them. Almost like he was afraid to get close to anybody. 'Probably for the best," Shepard thought dully; he had meant what he told Williams earlier about mixing business and pleasure. There were reasons for the 'no fraternization' regs in the Alliance.

A wash of sadness went through him at the idea. Kaidan seemed like he'd be a good friend to have, but now he couldn't tell if it was because he genuinely liked the man or if it was displaced affection from – 'Stop thinking about him,' he reprimanded himself, 'They are not the same.'

"All right, enough chatter. Move out, people."

"Yes, sir..." Ash seemed a little dejected as she responded.

"Ready to move out, Commander."

Shepard checked his map on his omni-tool and they moved towards the clinic without speaking. He really needed to shake his melancholy. It would be easier for him if he could stop likening the lieutenant to Asher. There were just a few personality traits they shared, nothing more. The familiarity with tech. The quiet observations. The keen intelligence hiding behind the sharp gaze. The desire to save as many civilians as they could...

Asher.

He hadn't thought of him in a few years. Seemed a shame to start now. He had told Ted a little bit of it when they were training at ICT together and that had helped him tuck the memories away, but now that he had pinpointed why he was so comfortable around Kaidan, he had unwittingly dredged it up again. He sighed as he glanced out the window. The Serpent Nebula twinkled in the distance to the right, providing him with a small distraction. He welcomed it as they walked.

"Uh, Shepard? I think we just passed the clinic..." Ashley said, tapping him on his pauldron. He turned to look at her, then glanced at the sign she was pointing to over her shoulder.

"You would be right, Chief...lost in my thoughts a bit."

Kaidan shot him a worried glance but said nothing as they paused in front of the sliding doors. Shepard ignored the small stab of nerves in his guts at the look. 'Completely different people,' he reminded himself as the doors slid open.

He blinked at the unfolding scenario in front of him. Vakarian had his pistol out and was hunkered down, sneaking to a better position of cover. A woman who could only be the doctor was cringing in front of an angry man, surrounded by a bunch of other men. They were flexing their hands threateningly.

"Oh shit..." he muttered, snatching at his own pistol.


A/N: Ok, so I realized I broke canon again...the assassins happen before Chora's Den, not after, but I always think Saren needs a liiiittle more time to deploy them than that. Especially since I always go to Chora's Den first. I am such a creature of habit...