Disclaimer: Bioware owns all.
A/N: My muse disappeared and I struggled with this chapter. I hope I did it justice. As always, please feel free to post your thoughts.
Chapter 9: Meetings
Shepard stalked out of Miranda's office and headed straight to the coffee maker. Miranda knew more than she was letting on, as was usual, but the commander was in no mood today for any more surprises. She sipped on the coffee imitation, contemplating the information at her disposal and processing the likely theories for an Alliance presence in the Terminus; observation, infiltration, and recon in all likelihood. It would be at least a bit interesting to see what absurd cover story they had cooked up for this meeting.
The commander tossed her cup in the waste bin on her way to the med bay. The door hissed open and a miserable Dr. Chakwas raised her head from her hands. A pained look crossed her face as she regarded Shepard.
"You all right, Doc?"
Chakwas shot her a weak smile. "I'll be fine. I just haven't indulged that much in a while, not since you and I split that bottle of brandy."
"Don't you have anything to dampen the pain?" Shepard rifled through the medicine cabinets and the doctor tossed her a bottle. The commander looked suspiciously at Dr. Chakwas and examined it. The label had been torn off.
"It's good old-fashion acetaminophen. Nothing nearly as fancy what you took last night."
Shepard snorted in response and popped two pills in her mouth. "Aren't you going to take some?"
Dr. Chakwas shook her head, and then quickly regretted it. "I already did. I like my liver, Commander. I don't want to damage it anymore than I already have."
Shepard excused herself, and the doctor returned to contemplating her misery. She was intent on avoiding the crew as much as possible, made difficult by her command status. Shepard was bombarded by progress reports and various quips about the previous night's outfit, the latter mostly from Joker. The commander ignored as much as she could, but felt her ire rise. She briefly contemplated throwing Joker into the escape pod again.
Upon returning to the CIC, Shepard scanned her messages once more. Miranda had worked fast.
Commander,
The meeting is scheduled for sixteen hundred hours in the debriefing room. Commander Alenko will be accompanied by Lt. Johnson. I will join you forthwith.
Miranda
Shepard smiled despite her pounding head and the growing anticipation in her gut. The potential for disaster was alarming. Thankfully, she wouldn't be alone at this meeting.
"Kelly, are you –" The commander glanced over at her Yeoman, the question falling from her lips. Kelly was slouched over her station, snoring softly on the metal plating.
"Yeoman Chambers." Shepard's voice was stern, commanding an air of attention. Kelly stirred and looked up from her rest, a look of surprise crossing her face as she realized her error.
"Sorry, Commander," she sputtered, wiping the sleep from her eyes an attempting to regain her composure.
Shepard shook her head in mild annoyance. "Take the day off and recover. You're no use to me half dead."
Kelly nodded slowly, regrettably making her way toward the elevator. Shepard keyed off her station, the lights flickering briefly and then going black. She would have to review ship procedures on her own now, and possibly make up a few along the way.
O o O o O o O
How word had spread throughout the Normandy about the upcoming meeting, Shepard would never know. She briefly entertained implementing stricter security measures to control the scuttlebutt, but quickly dismissed the idea. As much as the crew had been through, they were allowed to gossip so long as it didn't interfere with their duties. And they performed their duties admirably.
The commander leaned against the table in the briefing room, scanning the information packet before her. While she attempted to focus her mind on work, it kept drifting off in other directions. A hiss from the door drew her from her wanderings.
"Shouldn't you be armed?" Garrus strode in nonchalantly, his mandibles twitching with humor.
Shepard patted her right hip. "You should know by now that I'm always packing, Garrus."
"I was thinking about your Widow, although that might be too obvious."
Shepard snorted in response. "What's on your mind?"
He crossed the room and joined her against the table, looking off aimlessly as he pondered how to form his next question. Shepard waited in comfortable silence. She had been with Garrus for a long time now, as far as military operations go, and was comfortable with his input. He would have even made a great Chief Operations Officer if Miranda hadn't proven to be so useful.
"How is this going to work, Commander, collaborating with Alliance officials? Look at what happened the last time we worked with them."
Shepard nodded in response, her mind working to block out the memories of her "death." She had pondered this question herself. In some ways, the Alliance was very similar to Cerberus, both working toward the advancement of humanity in the galaxy; both with equal amounts of zest and ruthlessness. At least with Cerberus Shepard knew they were likely to betray her. With the Alliance, however, she didn't expect to be abandoned, floating off into space like a fart in the wind, and then her actions covered up with some lame excuse.
"And then there's Alenko." Garrus held his tongue momentarily, mulling over his thoughts. "You really should bring a bigger gun."
Shepard smiled in response. "I've got Miranda with me. Her tongue packs more of a punch than any gun."
His mandibles twitched again. "I'm not sure how to respond to that, Commander."
The commander cuffed him playfully on his shoulder as the comm. system beeped. EDI's round avatar blinked into existence at the far end of the table. "Alliance officials Staff Commander Alenko and Lt. J.G. Johnson have arrived, Commander. They are requesting permission to board."
"You want me to hide under the table and take pot shots at 'em?"
"Tempting, but I think that might cause a diplomatic incident," Shepard snickered as she shoved him gently out of the room. "I'll brief you later. Go do something productive."
Garrus nodded in acquiescence and Shepard switched off her data pad. "EDI, have our Alliance contacts been cleared by security?"
"Yes, Commander. They meet the specified requirements."
"And where is Miranda?" Shepard began to pace restlessly.
"Operative Lawson is waiting at the airlock entrance for you approval."
Shepard took a deep breath to calm her mind, a tangle of worry and frustration built up over the past few months. "Permission granted. Have Miranda escort them to the briefing room."
Shepard continued her pacing, processing thoughts and replaying scenarios repeatedly in her head. She had very little idea of what to expect from this meeting. An earlier message from Admiral Hackett upon their arrival at Illium had only indicated that an agent would be in contact. There had been no more information forthcoming, and Shepard had stupidly dismissed her concerns. She had thought her luck couldn't possibly be that bad. She was wrong.
Another hiss from the door and Miranda sauntered through, followed by two men in civilian dress. Shepard's breathing hitched. She had never seen Kaiden in civvies before and it was a disturbingly delightful sight. The commander regained her senses, however, and leaned casually against the back wall, observing both men.
His lieutenant was a young man of slim build with an angular face. Dressed in his civvies, he looked more the part of a sexually confused teenager than an officer. Shepard smiled inwardly at the thought, doing her best to avoid eye contact with her own former lieutenant.
Miranda cleared her throat and gestured to the men. "Commander, this is Lieutenant John G. Johnson and you already know Staff Commander Alenko. Both are here on behalf of the Systems Alliance."
Wait, his name's John Johnson? Shepard bit her tongue and silencing the multitude of comments she could have made.
"Gentlemen, this is Commander Shepard, formerly of Cerberus, formerly of the Alliance. I am Miranda Lawson, her second in command."
Both men nodded in greeting, Alenko looking curiously at Shepard.
"What is it that the Alliance wants from us, exactly, that they sent you all the way out to the Terminus?" Shepard bit back a sharp comment, choosing instead to get directly to the point.
"I'm sure you're aware that we've had agents in the Terminus systems for some time." Alenko glanced at Miranda pointedly, but her face was stone. "I was tasked with contacting your team regarding progress made on your investigation into the disappearance of human colonies."
'Contacting your team'? Good, let's keep it impersonal. "And you just happened to be on Illium?"
Commander Alenko nodded. "My team was stationed here because of my previous contact with Liara, although she has since disappeared off the grid." He shot her another curious look.
"The situation with the Collectors has been resolved." The commander said curtly.
"And your contact with Cerberus?"
"Problematic," Miranda answered.
"You already know we came back through the Omega 4 relay." Shepard interrupted. "What do you want?"
Commander Alenko gestured to his lieutenant who handed a data pad to Miranda. She scanned it briefly before passing it to Shepard.
"Those are the terms of your reinstatement into the Systems Alliance military," stated Johnson.
Shepard scrolled down through the data, annoyed laughter bubbling up inside her. "You've got to be kidding me. The Corsair program?"
"Yes, Commander." The lieutenant nodded uncomfortably. "If you choose to accept these terms, Admiral Hackett requests that you put in at Arcturus Station for needed repairs and crew reassignment."
Shepard shook her head and tossed the data pad onto the table, the loud rattle sharp amidst the silence. "No. I keep the crew I have."
"But Commander – " Shepard cut off the lieutenant's protest with a wave.
"This crew knows this ship inside and out. Their performance thus far has been exemplary. I will not cast them aside after what they've accomplished. The admiral accepts my crew as is, or not at all."
A ghost of a smile crossed Commander Alenko's face. "He thought you might say that."
Shepard met his eyes reluctantly. "What's his contingency plan?"
Alenko retrieved the discarded data pad, punched up a list of names, and handed it back to the other commander. "This is a secondary option."
Shepard reviewed the new data, then handed it off to Miranda, the irritation plain on her face. "You want to supplement my crew with your own people?"
Miranda tapped her fingers against her lips in thought. "We have a full compliment already on board, Commander Alenko. Unless they want to bunk in the cargo hold, we don't have room for more."
"The Corsair program requires that Alliance officers are on board…Captain Shepard."
Shepard started at that last bit, a flicker of surprise upon a usually unreadable face. "The Alliance is promoting me?"
Lieutenant Johnson shook his head, shifting nervously under Shepard's gaze. "You would remain the Normandy's CO with all a captain's privileges, but officially, you would not be part of the Alliance."
"Plausible deniability," Shepard said flatly.
"But you'd have an Alliance XO on your staff," Miranda interjected helpfully.
Shepard snorted. "What idiot got that job?"
"I did." Alenko's face split into a half-smile.
