A/N - as requested, here's some psychotic biotic :-) oh, and Kaidan is stealing Shepard's 'dance' with Vega... anyone mind? no? XD
Thanks for your reviews, Angsty Shenko, Gabe97, Meggo929, Lyv, and AirForceBrat. Apparently many of you approved of Shepard being there for Kaidan's induction... just a tiny little fix that needed to be made, don't you think? After all, he was there for mine (cause he's always in my squad in ME1)... Lyv: There won't be a separate outtakes fic for TTK, everything smut is going right in here :-) That being said, I promise to give you plenty XD
Thanks to everyone else reading, following, favoriting! Your time means a lot to me :-)
Bioware deserves all credit and my eternal thanks for everything ME. StoneburntHeart deserves all credit and my eternal thanks for being awesome! oops ETA, I also owe her for figuring out how to make this chapter work right... you'll see XD
Kaidan eyed the muscle-bound marine during pull-ups on the bar near his workstation warily before he approached to get his attention. Personally, he felt that he had said all he'd needed to say to the man before Mars. It had been a simple matter of an officer putting a subordinate back in their place when they stepped out of line. He certainly didn't hold any grudges – especially not after the harsh reminder he'd been given of what was truly important and what was only a pissing contest. But Shepard wanted him to make nice with Vega so that when they took him on the squad for the Grissom Academy mission later today, she wouldn't be swimming in testosterone. Her words, not his. So once they had showered, dressed, and eaten Shepard had headed to the cockpit to check in with Joker and EDI and sent Kaidan to the shuttle bay with the directive 'fix it'. But now he just wasn't sure how to begin. Vega noticed him standing there and gave him his opening.
"You down here for a reason?" Vega asked Kaidan as he continued his exercise.
"Just came down to talk," Kaidan replied neutrally.
"Great," Vega responded, equally careful. "Not sure what there is to talk about though. I'm sure Shepard went over my record with you."
"Actually, she didn't have much on your background," Kaidan reminded him.
"Right," Vega said with a grunt, "Forgot about that. Guess she wouldn't have had access to personnel records when we met." Vega jumped down from his bar and cracked his neck. "Well, think you can dance and talk at the same time?" he asked pointing to the open space in the middle of the bay.
Kaidan raised a brow and smiled mentally. Clearly, Shepard was right – as usual – the boy thought he still had something to prove... and that Kaidan would make an easy target. If that's how he wanted it, Kaidan wasn't about to deny him. After all, he was here on Shepard's orders...
"I think I can handle it," Kaidan replied casually, walked to the center of the bay, and took up fighting stance with loosely raised fists.
"Ok, Loco," Vega said with a tight smile as he joined him and raised his beefy fists. "Let's dance."
They circled each other for a half turn, in the traditional dance of fighters sizing up their opponent. "Don't push your luck, Vega," Kaidan said with an arched brow as they moved. "With age comes wisdom – and rank." He moved quickly then, taking the first shot – a strong right jab to the side of Vega's face which the other man partially blocked with a raised forearm.
They backed up and circled again. "Hah," Vega taunted, "You sound like my old CO," and he threw a right cross. Kaidan threw his head back and narrowly avoided the blow.
"Oh yeah?" Kaidan replied as he pressed forward with a series of body blows, "And who was that?"
"Captain Toni," Vega replied as they danced another half circle, looking for an opening. "He was a hard ass son of a bitch but a good leader."
Kaidan saw an opening and took advantage of the distraction to land a punch solidly on Vega's chin. The other man's head snapped back with the blow. When he straightened, he wiped blood from his mouth. He shook his head and grunted. "Nice," he said.
Vega advanced on Kaidan, throwing several jabs to the midsection which Kaidan deflected easily. "What do you mean, was?" he asked.
"Died," Vega replied shortly. He lowered his head and circled. "With most of my squad. Protecting a civilian colony from a Collector attack." He stabbed his fist out and landing a glancing blow to Kaidan's chin.
"And the colony?" Kaidan asked as he regained his balance and circled.
"It was either them," Vega bit out and threw another punch – easily blocked, "Or the intel we had on the Collectors." He threw a flurry of punches to emphasize each word, but as his anger grew, his accuracy fell. "Intel we could have used to destroy 'em. I chose the intel."
Kaidan took a hard blow to the chest then sprang back out of range on the balls of his feet. "Sorry," he said tightly to Vega, "That's a tough call."
They circled again, twice, but this time the circle was tight and fast. "The best part was, we didn't even really need the intel in the end," Vega growled angrily, "Cause you and Shepard were out saving the galaxy by taking down the entire Collector homeworld." He threw a series of blows to the face which Kaidan had to duck behind raised forearms to block.
"You didn't know," he reminded Vega. "You can't blame yourself." He stepped back warily and watched for an opening.
"Who says I'm blaming myself?" Vega asked defensively, lowering his guard. Kaidan stepped forward and swept his ankle to throw him off balance then hit him with a jab to the cheek.
"I do," Kaidan told him as he stepped back and watched the other man shake his head to clear the effects of the blow.
"You a shrink, too?" Vega asked defiantly.
"No," Kaidan replied as he pressed forward again with quick jabs, "But I can see you're angry, and that stunt back on Mars was reckless. You're lucky to be alive."
"So?" Vega retorted, throwing jabs of his own now.
"So, maybe you don't care if you live or die," Kaidan gritted between punches.
"Or maybe..." Vega grunted as he threw another good punch. "I'm just willing to do whatever the fuck it takes to end this goddamn war!"
Kaidan used his distraction to sweep in and throw him over his shoulder. When he stood over him, fists still raised, he said, "Maybe you are. But if you're half as good as I think you are, we need you alive."
Vega stood, beaten but not broken. He wandered back to his station before he turned back to Kaidan and called, "Thanks for the pep talk, Loco."
"Loco huh?" Kaidan replied with a grin and a shake of his head.
"I can think of worse things to call you," Vega replied with a grin of his own.
"Long as you remember who's in charge, you can call me whatever you want," Kaidan replied in dismissal as he turned away. He only nodded when he saw Shepard behind him, watching him with a huge grin. He walked past her and Cortez and headed to the elevator.
"I'm not sure which one of us enjoyed that show more, Cortez," Shepard mumbled to her companion.
She saw him blush even as he grinned at her. "I'm not sure which one you were watching more closely, ma'am," he bantered back.
"Ah, but that's the best part, Steve," she sallied back with a good-natured jab to his chin, which she pulled at the last second. "A girl doesn't have to choose down here."
He was still laughing as she headed to the weapons locker for final checks. She hated to ruin Kaidan's grand exit, so she'd give him ten minutes before she called him back down to gear up, too.
#-#-#
Once armored and armed, Shepard headed to the cockpit to watch the Normandy approach the station that housed Grissom Academy. As they drew in range, they spotted another ship hovering in orbit.
"And there's the folks that answered the distress call," Joker announced grimly. "Cerberus cruiser – with at least a dozen fighters on blockade duty. Too many for us in a straight-up fight," he reported. "They must want this place bad."
"Receiving incoming transmission," EDI added from the copilot's chair.
"Let's hear it," Shepard ordered.
"SSV Normandy, this is Kahlee Sanders, director of Grissom Academy. We need immediate assistance. Cerberus is attacking the facility. They're after my students," a woman's voice reported over the com.
"This is Commander Shepard, we're blocked on a direct approach," she told the other woman.
"I know, they've taken control of our docking bays," Sanders responded.
"Any alternatives?" Shepard questioned.
"There's an auxiliary cargo port I can probably open," Sanders offered.
"Alright," Shepard replied. "We'll come in by shuttle and get your students out of there." She closed the com and turned to her pilot. "Joker, can you get me a diversion?" she asked.
"Oh boy can I!" he cried enthusiastically to her retreating back.
She smiled to herself as she headed to the shuttle. Better not to encourage him.
#-#-#
Once Joker drew off the fighters with some very fancy maneuvers, Cortez piloted the shuttle to the docking bay Sanders had opened and they entered Grissom Academy.
"Commander, I'm locked in the server room around the corner," Sanders reported over coms. "Cerberus troops are trying to get in."
Shepard led the squad through the first door and right into said Cerberus troops. Fortunately, the enemies had their backs turned and were not expecting them. She charged the group and quickly dispatched the first two while Kaidan and James handled the rest. She searched the hallway and found a partially open door in the middle. She pried it open and stepped through.
Shepard heard the click of a rifle safety being removed and quickly raised her hands in the traditional gesture of surrender.
"Sanders, it's me," she called, "it's safe to come out."
A slight woman in Alliance dress blues bearing the insignia of Lieutenant stood and lowered her rifle. Shepard judged her to be in her mid- to late-forties, though she carried the age well, and she had blonde hair and light blue eyes. She was an average looking woman, but her unusual coloring made her remarkable. She carried the rifle with some ease. Shepard noted that her current role might be administrative but she had the bearing of someone familiar with combat. Sanders gave them a tight relieved smile.
"Commander, thank you," she said in greeting as she approached the squad. "Admiral Anderson always said you were the best. And with Cerberus coming for my students, I need the best."
"How many of you are there?" Shepard asked.
"Fewer than twenty... Most of us were set home when word of the Reaper invasion spread," Sanders explained. "But a few volunteered to stay. Some are prototyping tech for the Alliance. Others are biotics," she added with a smile that seemed to indicate those students were of special concern to her. "They've been training for military operations, working together as biotic artillery."
"You mentioned Admiral Anderson?" Shepard asked. She didn't want to pry, but the way this woman had said Anderson's name reminded her of a conversation they had long ago, where he shared that he had once fallen for a fellow officer. She had often wondered who the woman had been – Anderson hadn't shared that information, and she guessed that she may be looking into her ice blue eyes now.
"Yes, we met... Ah, what's it been... twenty years ago when he was a Spectre candidate," Sanders answered. "I was there when Saren betrayed him. David saved my life that day," she added with a soft look that did more to confirm Shepard's suspicions than Sanders' words had. "He's a good man."
"He was on Earth when the Reapers hit; he stayed behind when I got off world," Shepard shared, then rushed to soften the blow. "He was alive and fighting - leading the resistance movement - there last I heard."
"Good..." Sanders replied with a smile then her thoughts seemed to turn inward and her face sobered, "If we get out of here... well, just tell him to stay alive."
"I will," Shepard said with a smile, though her eyes turned to find Kaidan. She understood exactly how Sanders felt and was infinitely grateful that she and Kaidan were here together.
A frantic beep sounded from the console nearby. Sanders rushed to it and explained, "Hang on, I've been trying to get communications working," as her hands flew over the controls. She pressed a button and another voice flooded the server room.
"This is Froberg. There are students trapped in Orion Hall. Cerberus has us boxed in. They're closing fast."
"Orion Hall?" Shepard asked pointedly as the squad checked their weapons.
"Back out the door and down the hallway," Sanders directed. "I can get the door open."
"I'll bring them back here and we'll make a run for the shuttle," Shepard told her on the way out.
"Thank you, Commander, I'll stay put," Sanders called to her retreating back. "With luck, I can regain control of some of our systems."
Just outside the door, Kaidan halted her with a hand on her arm. "Shepard, these students aren't ready for combat, no matter how much time they've spent with practice dummies," he warned her grimly. "I spent six months training my students, and most of them already had combat experience."
"Yeah, we need to keep them out of the line of fire," she agreed. "But lets get to them before Cerberus does," she added with a motion of her hand to indicate direction.
He nodded and released her arm and fell back into formation.
#-#-#
They fought through several pockets of Cerberus resistance and rescued two of the students before they finally approached Orion Hall. Shepard motioned James and Kaidan to the other side of the double doors and cautiously opened them before she flattened herself back against the wall.
"Eat this," they heard a female voice cry inside the hall and then the familiar sound of a shockwave unleashed immediately after.
Shepard stepped out of cover and around the door to confirm visually what her ears had warned her. "Jack?" she called in surprise when she saw the familiar figure standing in the middle of the room. She glanced over and saw Kaidan grin and shrug at her. Apparently he wasn't as surprised as she.
"Shepard?" Jack called back, equally surprised before a new arrival distracted her when it entered from the far doorway. Jack slid across the floor and poised to attack the Atlas mech with another showy display of biotics. Shepard motioned the squad into cover and they raised their rifles to attack. Jack saw the movement, and retreated, ushering the students to safety.
"Keep that thing off us, Shepard," she growled as she headed up to the overlook.
Shepard nodded and moved the squad forward to attack. As usual, the Atlas mech provided a challenge to their biotics but having James on the squad tipped the scales easily. He threw two grenades and weakened the mech's armor enough that they finished it off easily with assault rifles. When it exploded in an impressive flourish of shrapnel, Shepard assessed her squad and saw that everyone was alive and well. They moved out of cover and motioned to Jack. She met them at the bottom of the stairs.
"Kahlee said she was putting out an S.O.S.," Jack greeted with a small laugh. She was still covered in tattoos and Shepard thought she detected a new one or two, although she really hadn't made a study of the other woman's body. She had grown her hair out into a mohawk ponytail and was clothed in more than leather straps on her upper body. Overall, it was an improvement – even if her shirt appeared to be fashioned from white gauze and Jack was clearly not wearing a bra. "I had no idea the king of the Boyscouts and his crazy bitch girlfriend would show up."
"King of the Boyscouts now, eh?" Shepard said with a laugh to Kaidan. "Apparently Jack promoted you, too."
"What can I say?" Kaidan replied with a modest shrug. "I'm a popular guy."
"That you are, Commander," Shepard confirmed with a flirtatious smile.
"If you two are done flirting," Jack said in mock irritation with a grin that totally ruined the effect, "We have children to rescue."
"Yeah, and how is it that you're here teaching them?" Shepard asked with a raised brow.
"If you hadn't been so busy playing martyr for six months," Jack said with a jab to Shepard's shoulder and a real scowl on her face, "Maybe you'd know these things. Boyscout talked me into to it."
"You knew she was here?" Shepard turned to Kaidan and asked accusingly.
"I knew she was teaching here, I didn't know she'd ignore the warnings to evacuate. And she's right - we really haven't had time to catch up," he reminded her but there was no censure to the words, only truth.
"Ok, fair enough," Shepard relented with a sigh. "I can't imagine anyone who could be better equipped for the job, Jack."
"Yeah well Alliance brass jumped at the opportunity once Boyscout gave me a glowing recommendation," Jack explained. "And apparently, the students responded well to my teaching style," she added in a voice raised enough to carry to the students above them.
"Yeah, the psychotic biotic," one young man called down.
"I will destroy you!" a girl added, mimicking Jack's battle cry perfectly.
"Drink your juice, Rodriguez," Jack called back, "You couldn't destroy wet tissue paper."
"Cortez to extraction team," the pilot broke in over the com, "The Cerberus cruiser is coming back."
"How long have we got?" Shepard asked.
"Two minutes tops, Commander," Cortez replied. "After that, there's no way we'll get past them."
Shepard glanced up at the students above them. They were still munching on energy bars and drinking juice, and clearly not rested enough to be taxed again.
"Get out of here and back to the Normandy," she ordered Cortez, "We'll find another way off the station."
"Roger that, good luck, ma'am," was Cortez's response.
"Shepard to Sanders," she called. "The students are safe, but the shuttle's a no-go."
"Understood," Sanders replied. "I might know another way off the station, but I need station-wide camera access. Can you disable the Cerberus security override? It's routed through Orion Hall, so it should be nearby."
Shepard nodded to Kaidan to begin the search. He was best equipped to comply with Sander's request. In the meantime, she questioned the woman, "How does camera access get us off the station?"
"We need to reach the Cerberus shuttles," Sanders explained. "The cruiser won't auto-target friendly ships – which gives us a fighting chance to escape. Get me back the cameras and I'll find a path to the shuttles and keep Cerberus from boxing you in."
"Found it, Commander," Kaidan called from the far corner of the room. Shepard turned and saw he was standing over a laptop Cerberus had stashed there.
"Good work, Commander," she called back to him and he leaned over to start the hack.
"Do you two call each other that..." James broke off with a strangled cough as she glared at him. "Just sayin', Lola," he rushed to add with an easy grin, "it gets a little confusing."
"Don't worry, James," she replied deadpan, "I have no trouble remembering who's in bed with me."
She noted his blush and grinned. Kaidan gave her a thumbs up and she notified Sanders that she was in.
"The fastest way is through the atrium, but Cerberus has sealed the doors," Sanders reported after a moment, "You'll need to disable the magnetic locks. The override should be above the door."
Shepard saw Kaidan nod and head back up to the overlook. She wandered over to where Jack had stationed herself, leaning against a railing just before the atrium exit.
"So biotic artillery unit, huh?" Shepard said to Jack. "Good idea... but are they ready?"
"What do you think?" Jack scoffed. "They're good kids, lots of talent, but they're still a bunch of teenagers. Before the Reapers attacked, their biggest concern was getting laid."
"Not that you're about to tell them that," Shepard replied.
"Hell, no, they need to think I believe in them... I did learn a thing or two from all those speeches of yours," Jack confirmed. "But honestly, they'd be better off in support – strengthening barriers, modding ammo, shit like that."
"They have one thing going for them," Shepard pointed out. "Badass biotic teacher. It looks good on you, Jack." She noted that Jack nearly blushed under the compliment but turned it into a glare instead.
"Yeah, well if anyone messes with them, I'll tear them apart," Jack growled. "They may be a bunch of misfits, but they're my misfits."
"I know the feeling," Shepard replied with a grin.
Kaidan interrupted any reply Jack would have given as he approached and let them know that the Atrium access was open. Shepard led the squad to the doors and turned back before prying them open.
"Everyone be ready," she called. "We'll go first and draw their fire."
"We'll shadow you from the second level and hit those fu-," Jack narrowly cut off the curse and substituted 'those guys', "from above."
"They should be safe up there," Kaidan replied approvingly. "Out of direct fire anyway."
"Just time your shots and stay safe," Shepard called back.
"Alright," Jack instructed her students, "I didn't bust my ass training you so you could die now. Keep low, pick your targets." As she spoke the last word, all of the students omni-tools began to glow and a voice spoke from all of their wrists.
"Students of Grissom Academy, the station is sealed. The Alliance soldiers cannot save you. All they can do is get you killed. Surrender peacefully and you won't be harmed."
Though Jack scoffed, "Asshole," dismissively, Shepard saw many of the students look at each other in alarm and rising panic.
"Damn it, they're messaging everyone," Sanders reported over the com, having heard the announcement herself. "Students, switch your omni-tools to privacy mode so they can't track you," she ordered.
"What if... what if they're not lying?" the female student – Rodriguez – asked even as the students accessed their tools to comply with Sanders' instructions.
"You've already held your own against Cerberus," Shepard told them. "You've been trained for this by one of the best."
"Come on, Rodriguez," Jack added. "They're only asking nicely cause you scared them in that last fight. So take your balls out of your purse and kick some ass."
"Yes, ma'am," Rodriguez replied with a relieved smile.
"Let's go," Shepard called to her squad.
"Who is that?" James asked with obvious interest as they walked through the doors.
"Someone who would 'dance' circles around you, Vega," Kaidan warned with a grin.
#-#-#
The path through the atrium was filled with heavy Cerberus resistance, and Shepard was glad of the students' support from above. They were swarmed with enemies in every direction and it took all of their considerable skill to make their way safely through it. The squad and the students made it through unharmed – despite a close call with Rodriguez; for which she was duly chastised by her teacher for dropping her barrier. As they exited the atrium, they received a report from Sanders.
"Commander, I've reached the Cerberus shuttles without being detected," she reported. "They know what we're doing though – you need to hurry."
Shepard moved the squad forward into the next hallway and quickly ducked behind cover as she saw Cerberus troops taunting a group of students crouching behind an energy field.
"That's an impressive barrier, Octavia," the Cerberus trooper said. He began to speak again but Shepard cut him off with an impressive charge. A nova took care of his nearby companion and she turned to the group of students. Shock rippled through her as her eyes met a familiar gaze and memory swept over her.
Shepard had reluctantly directed the Normandy to the planet Aite in the Typhon system at the request of the Illusive Man. Apparently a Cerberus base there had gone dark and was causing him concern. Shepard frankly hadn't seen the concern in that – the less Cerberus bases the better, to her mind – but she needed the Illusive Man to provide her the information on the IFF and the key to reaching the Collector homeworld, so she decided to play nice.
After learning that a rogue VI wasn't the real culprit as she had been told, or at least, that 'rogue VI' wasn't the full story, Shepard and her squad listened in horror as the true depths of Dr. Gavin Archer's depravity were revealed. He had hooked his autistic-savant brother up to a VI in a vain attempt to establish control of the geth by exploiting the same religious tendency that Saren had once used. Of course, he had defended his action, saying that the brother had 'volunteered', but they hadn't believed it. The VI had quickly overwhelmed David Archer and the resulting hybrid essentially became a virus, attempting to spread its poison throughout the galaxy.
They had fought through the base and its hordes of geth defenders and to the main laboratory. Once there, Shepard was separated from Kaidan and Garrus and thrown into a virtual construct developed by the VI to delay or kill her. She navigated the maze to finally confront the VI itself. She ended up in a serious struggle, having to block the VI's attempts to upload its virus to the nearby Normandy while defending herself from its direct attacks. She finally succeeded in destroying the VI's core and the virtual world faded and revealed the tortured man within.
Kaidan and Garrus joined her as she approached the naked man suspended in a freakish harness of tubes and wires, his brown eyes cruelly pried wide open by multiple probes. She found she had to fight off wave after wave of nausea even as she tried to convince his brother of the barbaric truth of his actions. Finally, she had given up on Gavin Archer and instead directed her team to carefully extricate David. In the most humane act she could think of at the time, she had followed Kaidan's advice and dropped the rescued man at the nearest Alliance outpost with instructions that he should be taken to Grissom Academy.
That brown gaze had haunted her dreams for many nights to come and it stared back at her calmly now. He looked so much healthier, she noted with satisfaction, and she heard the other student – Octavia speaking suspiciously at their intervention, but all her attention was on David.
"The square root of 906.01 equals..." David said slowly.
"30.1," Shepard completed the equation easily from her memory of his recitation in the construct.
"Hello, Commander Shepard," David greeted her.
"David, you know her?" another student in the barrier asked in amazement.
"Yes, she rescued me from Cerberus," David replied. "Sent me here. She made it quiet."
Octavia took David at his word and dropped their barrier. Kaidan placed a hand on Shepard's shoulder, knowing the effect seeing David was having on her. As she continued to have eyes only for David, Kaidan spoke to the other students.
"You did a great job keeping yourselves safe," he praised. "The biotic students are up there," he added, pointing to the overlook. "Stay close, they'll get you out of here."
"Ok, uh, thanks," Octavia replied as they walked away.
"Has Grissom Academy been alright?" Shepard asked David before he departed.
"Yes," David replied with a small nod. "I've been counting."
"Anything in particular?" Shepard asked with a smile. Of course he'd been counting.
"The number of days you lengthened my life," he answered with his brown gaze lucid and held on hers. "The security office. I hacked the lock. Guns, lots of guns. Goodbye," David told her and wandered off.
"You did good, there," Kaidan reminded her quietly once he was gone.
"Yeah, that was one in our column, not Cerberus'," she affirmed with conviction. They searched the bounty David had provided them and then moved forward to the shuttle bay.
#-#-#
They held off another Cerberus attack long enough for the students to evacuate in the shuttles. Once they were clear, Shepard ushered her squad into the shuttle bay and met up with Jack and Sanders. Just before they boarded, Jack craned her neck to look around and counted heads.
"Wait, where the hell's Rodriguez?" she barked as her count came up one short.
They turned back and looked to see Rodriguez straggling behind them with a fresh wave of Cerberus troops hot on her tail.
"She needs covering fire," James cried as he smashed the butt of his rifle into the glass barrier that stood between them and Rodriguez – and the Cerberus forces.
"She needs more than that," Jack growled as she flared her biotics. She glanced to Shepard and Kaidan and nodded in satisfaction to see that they were equally prepared. She nodded and the three of them released a simultaneous wave of mass effect energy, smashing the glass and knocking the Cerberus troops back. Kaidan threw a pull and yanked Rodriguez to safety and they ran for the shuttles.
Once aboard, Shepard opened a channel to the Normandy.
"Joker, we flew out on a Cerberus shuttle," she informed him. "Watch your fire."
"Alright I've got you on sensors, should just be a minute," was his reply.
"Thank you, Commander," Sanders said with relief. "We never would have gotten off that station if you hadn't come."
"Fu- Forget that," Jack said, correcting herself just in time again. "We kicked some ass. Next place we dock, you're all getting inked. My treat," she added, speaking to her students. "What do you guys want? Ascension Project logo? Glowing fist? Maybe a unicorn for Rodriguez?"
"Screw you, ma'am," Rodriguez responded with a laugh.
"I can't believe we got them out alive," Sanders said. "I was going to suggest they stick to support roles, but perhaps they're ready after all."
"They're definitely ready," Shepard confirmed, sharing a glance first with Kaidan then with Jack, "but the Alliance needs them in a support role."
"What? We trained for artillery strikes," one of the students protested.
"We don't need another artillery unit," Shepard told him firmly. "We need stronger barriers for our front line squads."
"This is bullshit!" Rodriguez cried.
"Hey, if that's where they need us, that's where we go," Jack stepped in to confirm. "Besides," she consoled, "I'm sure we'll get some shots in."
"Commander, we've got a visual on you now," Joker reported. "Preparing to dock." He paused and then added, "Hey, Jack, now that you're military, you gonna wear a uniform or are you just getting the officer's bars tattooed on?"
"Screw you, fu- Flight Lieutenant," Jack retorted – another near miss.
"Uh, what the hell was that?" Joker replied with a laugh.
"Jack promised to watch her language in order to maintain the necessary professionalism we need from our teachers," Sanders answered with a smile.
"What does she have a swear jar or something?" Joker asked. "Cause I bet if we empty that thing, we could afford another cruiser."
"Cover your ears kids," Jack instructed laconically. "Hey, Joker, fuck you," she replied once she was safe.
Everyone on the shuttle shook their heads and grinned.
"That's another 50 credits in the kitty," Joker shot back.
#-#-#
Once aboard the Normandy, EDI informed Shepard that Admiral Hackett was waiting to speak with her via QEC, and that he requested Kaidan's presence as well. Shepard changed direction, shrugged to Kaidan, and they walked to the com room together.
"Commander, you can debrief me later," Hackett greeted them. "For now, there's someone that would like to speak with you... Patching you through now, Hackett out."
Hackett's holo winked out and he was replaced by another admiral a moment later. Kaidan and Shepard held their breath as Anderson's image formed before them.
"Shepard, Kaidan... Damned if you aren't a sight for sore eyes," Anderson greeted them.
"Anderson," Shepard greeted him simply, too afraid to ask the question on the tip of her tongue. Kaidan gripped her hand at her side.
"He's safe," Anderson reported, knowing exactly what they wanted to hear. "I sent a squad to the orchard, they're with them now. And from what I understand, your father has combat experience as well, Kaidan?"
"Yes, Sir," Kaidan replied, shaking with relief and not at all surprised to note that Shepard was equally affected. "He's retired Alliance."
"Good," Anderson said with a nod. "They'll remain at the orchard, and my men will watch over them. The Reapers are concentrating on metropolitan centers for now, so I think its safest. I'll keep you updated as much as I can."
"Thank you, Anderson," Shepard replied in quiet relief. She was exerting every ounce of control to keep her tangled emotions in check for now. "And you?" she questioned with concern.
"Doing the best I can to keep my head down and keep the resistance going at the same time," Anderson replied grimly. "It's not pretty."
"There's someone else on board you may want to speak with," Shepard told him with a smile.
"Oh?" Anderson asked.
"We just rescued Kahlee Sanders from Grissom Academy. She and her students are safely on board the Normandy until we can drop them at the Citadel," Kaidan filled in.
"Thanks... When I heard about the attack," Anderson said, obviously affected, "Well, I've already lost enough friends."
"We'll send her in ASAP," Shepard told him. "I'm sure she'd like to speak with you, too."
"And thanks again, Anderson," Kaidan added as they prepared to go.
Once outside the com room, Shepard paused to ask EDI to send Sanders up, then turned to Kaidan. Finally, she let her mask fall and all the relief and worry showed on her face.
"He's alive, he's safe," she breathed to Kaidan.
He drew her close into his embrace and held her until they stopped shaking. Neither thought once about the setting, they were too wrapped in the dual edge of joy and sorrow to notice.
