A/N: Introducing our next star couple who isn't Shenko . . . I hope everyone else can agree that it would be pretty adorable and awesome, it's just a matter of pushing the duo together . . .
I'm also just hoping I can do it justice.
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Chapter 11: Battling for control
Kaidan rested his head in his palms, closing his eyes. Someday, he was going to work up enough courage to commit insubordination and yell at Hackett for sending him into this situation.
The first time he'd seen Shepard, it had been the day before the Normandy was scheduled for shakedown. As the highest-ranking officer on board he'd been in the cockpit with Joker, admitting crewmen onto the ship. Shepard had been coming from a meeting with Hackett, dressed in the now-uncommon skirted dress uniform, giving him an unprecedented view of her legs.
And then Kasumi had produced that damn dress for her to wear to Hock's party, and Kaidan was reminded just how amazing those legs were.
He exhaled in a steady stream of breath, eyeing the coffee ahead of him.
"Commander."
Kaidan glanced up as Chakwas slid into the seat across from him. "Hello, Doctor Chakwas."
There was a brief silence as they both nursed their coffees. "How has everything been, Kaidan? I hadn't heard from you in a few months, and our initial discussion when you came aboard was brief."
"I . . ." Kaidan skimmed his hand through his hair. "Doctor Chakwas, I need you to be honest with me."
"I always am."
"Why are you working for Cerberus?"
"I'm not," she protested. "I told you before. I'm working for Shepard."
"Then you believe it's her?"
Chakwas eyed him for a second, as if she was trying to determine what she should say. "They showed me the Lazarus files to convince me, Kaidan. I didn't want to believe it either – we both watched the ship break with her on board. No one should have survived that. But the files . . . the reconstruction is very complete."
"How does she feel about it?"
"I don't know. You know Shepard – she doesn't talk to people. I don't believe she's comfortable with it – I have heard her refer to herself as a zombie."
Kaidan stared down at his coffee again. "What convinced you?"
"Genetic testing. Mental evaluation. Her genes are identical to those of Marrakech Shepard, and she mostly acts the same." She chuckled. "I heard her yelling about omni-gel over one of the groundside comms once."
"Omni-gel? But we haven't used that for . . ." Kaidan pressed his hand to his forehead. "A year and a half."
"Apparently learning about security upgrades really set her off. And it isn't surprising." She glanced back up. "Did you speak to Liara about it while you were on Ilium?"
He shook his head. "She didn't seem comfortable with me. Or Shepard, for that matter. Why?"
"It isn't my place to tell you, then." Chakwas stood. "Kaidan, sort this out. You'll kill both of you at this rate."
More muffled steps announced someone else's presence, and Tali slipped into Chakwas' abandoned seat. "Kaidan, I have a question." She seemed more nervous than usual, especially since the last time he'd talked to her. Since she was the only person who didn't seem to still hate him about the Horizon incident, he'd been spending a bit of time in engineering with her.
"Yeah?" he mumbled, pressing his palms into his forehead.
"What happened to you and Shepard? The last time I saw you –"
"Was two years ago at her memorial service. I know." He glanced up. "Tali, how do you know it's her?"
"Remember when we hacked through those geth in the Armstrong Nebula?" Kaidan nodded. It'd taken a few days, and they'd hit them just before getting the distress call from Virmire. "She remembered it and asked me if it helped me with my pilgrimage. I never talked about that to anyone but Shepard. No one else would have known." Kaidan sighed. "Why is it so hard for you to accept?"
"I don't know, Tali!" He snapped. "Maybe it's because it's Cerberus who brought her back, or maybe it's because I love Shepard too damn much to let someone else assume her identity and blacken her name by making her work for them!"
Tali swallowed. "It's her, Kaidan. You need to recognize that. Right now, you're being stubborn."
"Are you sure –"
"For someone who says he loves her, you're doing a really good job showing it," Tali retorted. "Maybe it's just quarians, but we have to actually tell people our feelings. You should try it."
Kaidan was about to retort when Miranda slid into the seat next to Tali. "Miss Tali'Zorah, I appreciate the talk you're having with Commander Alenko, but I must speak with him in private."
"Anything you want to say to him can happen in front of me," Tali said coldly.
"Fine." Miranda turned her gaze to Kaidan, folding her hands on the table. "The fact of the matter is, Commander, that your presence here is causing more harm than good. We'll be reaching the Citadel next. I suggest you take your leave there."
He saw what she was trying to do. The Illusive Man (Cerberus) was worried that he would either uncover their fake – although the idea that this wasn't Shepard was becoming less and less appealing – or that he'd influence her to leave them and do things her own way without Cerberus restraint. Miranda was the Illusive Man's operative on the ship. She would be the one to try and remove him.
That also explained why the crew had suddenly gotten so hostile.
Kaidan and Miranda stared at each other. "No."
"There is no reason for you to be here. Unless the Alliance expressly gave you orders to board a Cerberus vessel, you are committing treason or deserting right now. Both carry equally harsh penalties." Miranda delicately folded her hands on the table. "I am offering you an out, Commander. If you leave, we can . . . forget . . . you were ever on board."
"I said no. If Shepard asked me to leave, I would. However, I can't help but think you have ulterior motives. Did your boss ask you to get rid of me?"
"That is none of your concern."
"If it's placing Shepard in danger, then yes, it is my concern."
"I believe you've made your opinions on Shepard's safety quite clear."
"I don't believe I've made them clear enough."
"Can't we just –" Tali started to interrupt as blue energy began to dance lightly down Miranda's arms. The mess had gone even quieter than it usually was when Kaidan was present, the crewmen present trying to pretend that they weren't eavesdropping.
"Commander, I don't believe you're considering –"
"I don't believe I'm comfortable leaving Shepard under your authority."
"She isn't under my authority."
"Isn't she?"
"No. I wanted to put a control chip in, but the Illusive Man refused. She is acting of her own free will."
"I'm with Kaidan on this one," Tali interjected. "Shepard's spoken with me enough for me to know that you are controlling her, even if it's just by keeping her off balance."
Miranda glared at the quarian. "This is why I asked you to leave."
"And this is why I refused. I don't trust you or your motivations either."
"Then perhaps the Illusive Man acquiescing to your presence was a mistake as well."
Kaidan started to bristle slightly. "Leave Tali out of this. This is between us."
"Indeed it is, Commander."
"I don't follow your orders, Lawson. And I don't plan on starting anytime soon."
"Which is why you are a liability."
"And what is your plan if I refuse?"
She shrugged. "I can't do anything to you. Shepard would quite probably kill me. But I have ways of ensuring you leave this ship – her orders or not."
"Then you'd try to remove me yourself?"
"I have ways, Commander."
"And what ways would those be?"
Miranda had opened her mouth to answer when a hand clapped down on her shoulder. They turned – Shepard stood, glowering, at the entire table.
"Miranda." A slight green flicker along her hand belied the lightness in her voice. "The Illusive Man needs to talk to you in your office."
Miranda stood, glared at the trio, and headed into her office. The mess fell back into its regular rhythm of speech and bustle as she disappeared, and Shepard sank down into her vacated chair.
"I'm sorry about that," Shepard said quietly. "But you're right. Cerberus is manipulating me. By bringing you on board I gained a small advantage over the Illusive Man. I regret having to place you in such an uncomfortable position but any advantage I can gain is beneficial."
"What did he want to talk to you about?" Tali asked.
Shepard paused, her eyes flickering to Kaidan briefly. "We've got the ship that attacked Horizon."
#
"How'd it go?" Joker asked as steps sounded behind him.
"How'd what go, cripple?"
The pilot's eyes shot open as he spun his chair around, confronted by a tattooed and fairly bare female chest. And connected to said chest –
Joker would be one of the first to admit that Shepard was, at least, hot. She wasn't drop-dead make-every-man-who-sees-her-collapse-drooling, per say, but was attractive, had the amazing body that her training had given her, and possessed an air that threatened to castrate anyone who tried to flirt with her. Including asari, which he wasn't sure was possible. Either way, that combination usually had the same effect on men and asari alike.
But this – and not just because of the state of undress said female was in – yeah. Throw some hair on there, and he wouldn't need his extranet bookmarks anymore. Or hell, leave off the hair. He wasn't picky, and she already looked damn good.
Okay, maybe only some of the extranet sites. A few of them were just too good to –
"Oy. I was talking to you."
Joker snapped upright. "Sorry. Wasn't expecting a violent biotic psychopath to visit the cripple. What's up?"
Not one of his best, but it'd work. She seemed amused, at least. "Kasumi said if we were workin' on this 'Get Shepard Laid' plan, I oughta see who the fuck you were. Name's Jack."
"I know who you are. You're on my baby, after all." Joker moved his arms. "Name's Joker."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I like to spread my charm around. Can't you tell?"
Jack looked like she was about to retort when a light on the console caught her eye. "What's that do?"
"What's what –" Joker glanced over at the panel. "That's the port stabilizer. It's green, so it's good."
"What about that one?" Jack perched herself on one of the navigator chairs, pointing to a second light.
Joker paused, then shrugged. Hey, why not.
#
"How'd the heist go?"
Kasumi switched off the graybox and looked up at Chambers as the observation deck door closed. "Well enough. We got Keiji's graybox, which is what we went for. Shepard got a shiny new gun, which made her happy."
"And with her and Alenko?"
Kasumi grinned. "Poor man could hardly keep his eyes off her while she was in that getup. And she kept looking at him like she was ready to drag him off behind a statue for a few hours."
"Think it's working?" Chambers sat down on the couch near her.
Kasumi shrugged. "They're giving us enough to work with. She's already crazy about him, and he's just conflicted about whether or not she's the same woman he's madly in love with. So it's easier than usual."
"You've done this before?"
"Nope. But I read a lot. Why? You've got a different observation?"
Chambers shook her head. "No. I've been almost expressly forbidden from talking to the Commander, and Shepard doesn't really trust me, so she doesn't really talk to me."
"Well. I think it's all going well. I don't know when it's going to resolve, but I'm sure it's a 'when,' not an 'if.'" Kasumi glanced at the window, then back. "Any news on our other star couple?"
