It seemed like forever since Kaidan had enjoyed the tranquility that the Citadel offered; Shepard saw the quiet of the Presidium as denial of the war - bewildered as to why everyone seemed to be calm, even after the attempted coup. The commons seemed as they usually did: uninteresting and full of ambassadors and other diplomats who had just left the Embassy after another stressful day of representing their species. Kaidan noted that the scorch marks and bullet holes still had not be repaired from the hallways that led to the apartments; realising that the tenants who walked through the halls daily had become painfully aware of this as well - the ones who he had watched walk through the halls had eyed up the bullet holes nervously before continuing on with their day.
The Citadel had that effect on people - appearing timeless until the night cycle would kick in and an eery quiet would fall over the entire station. Kaidan had always felt slightly more tense being in the Presidium ever since Shepard had discovered the Conduit - the smaller, one way Mass Relay that had been mistaken as a statue for hundreds of years until Saren had activated it. He supposed that a massive alien station had to have some flaws.
Standing by the entrance of the two sets of stairs that led both left and right towards the apartments, he took another look at his omni-tool and the tracker that it was displaying. He admitted to himself that placing the temporary tracker on Avalon when she went in for surgery wasn't such a bad idea now that it had led him to her. When the Normandy had arrived a few hours ago, he had checked in with the hospital only to be met by Doctor Michel and informed that Avalon had been discharged already. With that in mind, he was led back to the one place he could think of that she would be after being cooped up in a hospital bed for two weeks - Purgatory Nightclub. It was there he had scoped out the bar and even asked the asari behind the bar if she had seen the redheaded doctor recently.
"Sure she was here," she said, not looking at him, "She got absolutely wasted and some batarian offered to carry her out for me."
"And you just let him?" he had asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
"If she wants to get hammered and act the fool in my club then I don't give a damn what happens to her!" And then she had turned to another customer, ignoring him until he had left and in despair, tried to activate the tracker from his omni-tool - only to find that it was already working. Michel had installed the tracker specifically for the purpose of observing the biotic activity of Avalon; making it so that if the young Shepard attempted to use her biotics before she was ready, anyone who had access to the program inside of the tracker would be able to see. He had assumed that Michel had not checked on it yet or if she had, didn't think it was worth mentioning now that her patient had been discharged.
His path took him to the set of stairs on his right and he damn near jumped up them as he neared the door that Avalon was apparently behind. The orange code on the door warned him to stay away but he had begun to bypass it before he could think of the consequences should he have chosen the wrong door. Why was Avalon here? And what the hell was a batarian doing with her? He remembered the stories of what the Mindoir gang had done to her after she had been taken and his stomach lurched. Heart pounding as his bypass finished up and the lock glowed green, Kaidan drew his pistol and went in. His gasp echoed down the hallway behind him.
"Urgh!" she grunted as her bruised head took another blow from her opponent - who had pinned her down on the floor and was now straddled over her body, allowing his weight to steal her ability to move away. For the past ten minutes she had worked on getting one of her arms free from his hold while enduring the wrath of batarian fists, which had already given her a split lip and a swollen eye. A steady flow of blood was seeping from a cut on the right side of her forehead and down her bruised cheek. A sense of dizziness had kicked in now - although it might have also been from when he had thrust his knee into her stomach in order to get her into the mess she was in now. Physically, there was no way she'd be able to escape - especially with all of his focus on her, but perhaps with a distraction…
Her left arm - which had been pinned to her side - was almost free and hastily she tried to put together a plan between blows. She tried wiggling her numb fingers and managed to get the blood moving around her hand again, regaining some feeling in her fingertips. Her plan wasn't exactly complicated, it would just require good-timing and impeccable good luck, which given the circumstances, didn't seem to be possible. Yep, Avalon grimaced, she was fucked.
How she was still conscious, she had no idea; she hadn't been able to block the punches that he threw at her but for some reason she'd been able to stay alert. Desperately praying to anyone who would listen to her, Avalon shut her one good eye and felt the mass effect around them form into a sphere of energy that hovered on her open palm.
"Trying to play dead won't work!" the batarian snarled, slapping Avalon's face and causing her eye to snap open again. She almost lost her grip on the energy in her hand but miraculously, she managed to keep it from fading. She would need a few seconds after she threw it to recover and regain feeling in the rest of her body; mentally preparing herself for what would come next - she let it go.
His body was jerked upwards by the singularity and he was left drifting a metre above her, where she did her best to crawl away with her partially numb body. Her legs were completely dead and her right arm hadn't been spared from having its blood circulation cut off either. Behind her was the familiar sound of a bypass and realising that someone was about to come in - whether it be friend or foe - she reached for the silver knife that the batarian had dropped and hid underneath a table that was conveniently placed next to the door.
The bypass finished and the door opened, letting light from outside pour into the room. Avalon could hear a gasp as the stranger caught sight of a random batarian being held in a singularity field. She tested her legs again and found that despite being riddled with pins and needles, movement was now a lot easier. The stranger took a few steps forward, past her table - somewhat hesitantly - which caused the door behind them to close again, only this time it glowed green and illuminated the once again dark room. She squinted towards the unknown figure, noting the pistol that they carried and wondering frantically to herself if they were her friend or foe; unable to decipher anything obvious in their appearance that would answer her question, she slid out from the table so that she was now behind them.
Her singularity field was failing - Avalon could feel the energy waver and she knew that the batarian would feel it too. Knife in hand, she rose to her feet - wobbling slightly - and crept towards the other figure in the room who was facing away from her. She raised her arm as if she was about to hack into the neck of stranger but then the doctor side of her surged and she lowered her arm. She didn't want to do anything rash, especially when she had no idea who it was she was about to attack. Instead she drew a weak biotic field around her fist and sent the figure sprawling on the floor, groaning.
She made a break for it, hitting the green button behind her and getting ready to run.
The cascade of light that found her eyes confirmed her suspicions that she was still on the Citadel and further observation of her surroundings while she ran down the hallway told her that she had been held in the apartments in the Presidium Commons. Nearing the end of the hall, she cut around the corner that came up on her left and headed out into the commons, intent on reaching the elevator before she was caught.
She could already hear the sound of her pursuer behind her, and she gave another short burst of energy to try and get ahead. Then she heard his voice and it made her stop dead in her tracks.
"Avalon! It's… me!" Kaidan had no idea she could run so fast and the sudden sprint down the corridor had taken him by surprise.
Her arms were around his neck in a tight embrace and he hugged her back, laughing while taking in her appearance. Her hair had begun to grow back from where it had been shaved which made her tomboyish features stand out even more and then he realised that she was still wearing one of her clubbing outfits. He chuckled to himself - it was the same dress from when they'd first met. Figures.
She drew away from him and took a deep breath of air, "Everyone thought that you'd gone missing or that the Normandy had been destroyed… no one knew… and the way we left things at the hospital…"
"It's okay." he told her, "You don't need to apologi-"
"Good." She said abruptly, "Because I wasn't going to."
Kaidan looked at her quizzically, not daring to speak - not when he so clearly recognised her tone of voice. It was the 'don't you dare fuck with me' attitude that she usually reserved for people who were either pissing her off majorly or trying to kill her.
"Not one bloody message." she said quietly, and he swallowed, his throat dry.
"Shepard didn't think it was a goo-"
"TO HELL WITH WHAT SHEPARD THINKS!" Avalon didn't mean to yell but she'd made the mistake of letting her emotions burst forth from her mouth. She closed her eyes and counted to ten, checking her breathing; slowly getting control of her temper again for whatever good it would do her.
She tried again, "A-all I needed was one message. One sign. Anything that would have reassured me that you and my sister hadn't been blown to pieces by a Reaper in the middle of nowhere. One. Message. Would that really have been so hard?"
"I wanted to," he began, "But the message might have interfered with-"
"Stop it."
"Stop what?"
"Stop coming up with cliche excuses that literally everyone uses."
He frowned, "I don't understand."
She scoffed and began to walk back to the apartments.
"Where are you going?" he called out, following her.
"Someone has to deal with that bloody batarian."
"I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to come back here, Brooks." Shepard muttered, gritting her teeth. The commander had all but given up on figuring out why the Alliance analyst had bailed on them during the clone mess and with her head in the wrong place after being ordered back to the Citadel, Maya Brooks was the last person she wanted to see.
She didn't even care enough about the situation to ask how the hell the other woman had even managed to get into the Spectre HQ; just that she was intruding.
"And yet you haven't killed me yet." Brooks remarked dryly in a crisp British accent.
"You're not worth the energy." Shepard returned her attention back to the terminal in front of her.
"Don't you want to know where I've been?." The dark-haired woman took a few steps forward and began fiddling with her omni-tool; a few seconds later, Shepard's terminal shut off. The commander growled and then thought of a better idea. Plastering her face with amusement, the commander turned to face Brooks.
"By all means, Maya" she gestured for her to continue.
"That's not my real name - I never keep the same one for more than a few weeks."
"Then what should I call you?" Shepard narrowed her eyes.
Brooks thought about it for a moment, "Rasa."
"So where did you go after we killed the clone, Rasa?"
"Back to the Illusive Man; I had a few things to discuss with him."
Shepard tried to conceal her disbelief, "So you just waltzed into the Illusive Man's base and demanded to talk to him?" She crossed her arms and stared accusingly at the woman before her.
"I had information and he pays well."
"Then why not go to the Shadow Broker?"
"I think we both know the answer to that." Fuck. Liara needed to watch who she discussed her business around from now on.
"So did you sell your information? Did he hire you to spy on me?"
Brooks laughed, "He knows better than to trust me after I left."
"You left Cerberus?" Shepard doubted that the Illusive Man would allow one of his former operatives to leave with their life.
Brooks shook her head, "My past with Cerberus doesn't matter, I just wanted to make sure you knew about it."
"Why?"
"Because I'm going to help you kill the Illusive Man."
"You can't kill me, human!" the batarian snarled as Avalon stood above him and watched as he tried to escape his wrist restraints.
"I don't want to kill you, batarian." she quipped, paying close attention to his silver knife which she still had in her hands. Kaidan was by the door behind her; determined to make sure that if their batarian friend suddenly tried anything, that he would fail.
She kneeled down and cut the bindings with the knife; smirking as the batarian struggled to regain his composure after her unexpected act.
"You're lucky that we need your fleet." Avalon told him, stepping away from him while he got back on his feet. It was irritating that she had to let him go but she couldn't risk doing something rash when the alliance between Shepard and the batarians was at stake.
"And you're lucky that I didn't kill you when I had the chance." He barked, tilting his head to the right. For a batarian; tilting his head to the right was one of the most insulting gestures you could perform although the other species seldom realised this. Avalon, however, had taken it upon herself when she had been training as a doctor to study the other species and how they behaved. It was on occasions such as this that she was grateful she had bothered.
"Maybe next time you won't prey on women who are alone in a club." she scolded, half mockingly. He grunted and tried to push past her but she stopped him, "I wish to know what your name is."
"I'm not telling you anything, human. Move!"
"Let me rephrase that: I want to know what my opponent's name is. Despite the circumstances, you fought well."
He looked confused at the compliment but didn't respond to it - instead he scoffed and pushed past her. Kaidan put his arm out to stop him but Avalon gestured for him to let the batarian be.
Just before he left the batarian called over his shoulder, "Everyone in the Hegemony will be talking about how Nuht defeated and disgraced Commander Shepard's sister."
Avalon was still scowling after her and Kaidan had loaded into the elevator.
"Typical!" she huffed, "That asshat didn't disgrace me!"
Kaidan raised his eyebrow, "Asshat?" Her face reddened, "I heard it on an old TV show."
He laughed but she just glared at him, "I'm not done with you yet, so don't think that you're out of the shit."
The elevator door opened up to the familiar sight of Docking Bay D24, where they could just get a glimpse of the Normandy. Avalon could see James and Cortez on the other side of the scanner watching the ships come and go and the sight of them calmed her down. Soon she would be back on the Normandy and best of all, back in the fight.
A voice crept up behind them, "Oh look commander - it's your little sister. She's got a new haircut as well, although I think I preferred her old style." Avalon spun around and almost barrelled into Brooks, who smirked.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Avalon wanted to know. She hadn't expected to see the imposter ever since the clone incident. Then she noticed Shepard standing beside the other woman, looking suspicious but helpless, as if she wanted Brooks to be gone as much as the next person but was unable to do anything.
The commander explained, "Brooks has offered to help us get to the Illusive Man." Beside her, Avalon heard Kaidan snort.
"We already know how to get to the Illusive Man, Shepard." he reminded her, "We don't need someone like her to get in the way. We obviously can't trust her after what happened."
"This is on my terms, Kaidan." Shepard said curtly, ignoring his concerns. What the fuck was wrong with her? Avalon thought, bewildered about her sister's behaviour. Did she doubt the capability of her crew so much that she would accept aid from someone as unreliable as Brooks?
But she said nothing. The mood Shepard was in, Avalon didn't want to say anything that would make her privilege to serve on the Normandy be revoked.
"What's going on?" she whispered to Kaidan as Brooks stalked past them with Shepard following suit.
"I don't know," he replied, "But we'd better keep an eye on her. I don't care what Shepard says - Brooks is most definitely not working with us out of the goodness of her heart."
"Finally," Shepard declared as soon as she took her place at the Galaxy Map, "Take us into the Horse Head Nebula, Joker."
"Aye aye, ma'am."
Brooks stood behind the commander, eyes scanning over her private message terminal; delicately imprinting the information she read in the back of her mind.
"What are you doing?" Avalon had been shadowing Brooks ever since they had boarded the Normandy; not even allowing herself to catch up with the crew before she began to keep tabs on their new 'ally'.
Brooks took it all in her stride, "Information is power. And if we're going to beat the Illusive Man then we need a lot of it."
"Keep your eyes away from matters that don't concern you," Avalon warned, eyes boring into the other woman's head.
"The matter of the entire galaxy's existence concerns everyone."
"The galaxy can't be saved from a few petty terminal messages."
Brooks opened her mouth to form a snarky reply but Shepard cut in first, stepping down from the Galaxy Map platform to join the conversation; and then she did it - the dreaded look.
"You need to get past whatever grudge you have with Brooks. If we're going to stop the Illusive Man then we all need to work together, Avalon. Surely you all of people, understand."
Avalon swore under her breath but didn't say anything else. What was the point? Her sister had her mind set on destroying Cerberus and as far as she was concerned, anyone who wanted to help was welcome.
"I don't like this," she confessed to Kaidan on the observation deck after Brooks had retired to the crew quarters, "But what can we do? Shepard isn't going to listen to us. I don't know why - maybe she just doesn't want to."
"Maybe Brooks knows something," he offered, gazing out of the huge window.
She frowned, "Maybe. In a few hours I suppose we'll find out."
He looked at her and smiled reassuringly, reaching for her hand and squeezing it, "Hey, if she's up to anything then we'll stop her."
Her eyes remained unconvinced, "I hope that's true."