"For every action there is an equal or opposite reaction." –Isaac Newton
"Thane!" Shepard screamed, a jolt of panic jabbing straight into her gut. Shooting at her unknown assailant, she ran down the staircase in the middle of the room and onto the balcony after him. He didn't slow as he reached the edge – instead, he jumped off the edge recklessly. She stopped at the edge, looking down and cursing as a hovercraft rushed upwards, the attacker safely on top of it.
Shooting at the man as the hovercraft continued to elevate, the assailant stood and crossed his arms. The hovercraft moved forward and away, and though she was shooting at it in vain, another gun was being fired from behind her. Turning to see Thane propped against a wall with gun in hand, she ran to him as he slid down the wall helplessly.
Kneeling down in front of him, her hands hovered helplessly over his body. "How bad is it?" she asked, and she knew they could both hear the panic in her voice.
"I have time," he coughed. "Catch him," he said, his eyes catching hers as he nodded.
"Shepard?" Bailey said through the comm link in her ear. "What's going on up there?"
"Thane needs medical help fast, and I need to take care of an assassin," she explained to him, standing and smiling reassuringly at Thane.
"He must be going after the rest of the Council," Bailey said, frustrated.
"Get the word out," Shepard began, "Udina's trying to seize power." Glancing at the faint outline of the assassin's getaway craft, she continued, "I've got to get to the Councilors."
As she reassembled with Liara and Garrus, Bailey said, "They're being taken to a shuttle pad on the Presidium." Seeing an unattended hovercraft waiting on the balcony, she moved towards it. "Start driving. I'll try to raise them on the comm."
Getting in the car as the comm link between her and Bailey cut off, she sat in the driver's seat and started the vehicle. Liara sat beside her as Garrus piled into the backseat, and Shepard set a course to the Presidium.
The ride was short and relatively quiet before Bailey interjected. "I've got a fix on the Council's position. I'm sending it to your car."
"Good work, Bailey," she answered, glancing at her coordinates. "We're almost there."
A few moments later, the entire car shook as the previous dark assassin landed on it, unsheathing his sword. Shooting at the hood of the car as the assailant jumped towards the trunk, she opened the car door as Liara took the wheel.
Continuing to shoot in the general direction of the assassin as he moved, he raised a force field that deflected all of her bullets. He then stabbed the engine of the car as another positioned right above theirs. The assassin jumped into the other car as Shepard's began to lose altitude.
Shepard shifted back inside of the car, retaking the wheel. Steering as best as she could, she crash-landed the car in front of a sporting goods store, the rest of her crew making disgruntled noises. Getting out of the car and rushing into the Presidium, she watched as the assassin and a few Cerberus operatives stepped into an elevator. He simpered at her as she ran towards the elevator, but the doors closed before she could reach him.
Looking over at her crew members, Garrus had gotten the door to another elevator open, revealing the shaft inside. Turning on her flashlight and jumping down onto the elevator below, Bailey made it move upwards, towards the assailants and the Councilors.
Sabotaging the assassin's elevator and fighting the Cerberus operatives that jet up to meet them, Bailey finally indicated that she was approaching the Councilor's elevator. Leaping across the gap and onto the other elevator, she rolled out of the way of gunfire through the ceiling.
The elevator slowed to a stop, and she began to undo the latches on the emergency hatch. Jumping down through it, she let her crew members through as they chased after the Councilors.
"Cerberus took out the shuttle," a familiar voice called out. "Everyone back to the elevator! Move!"
Entering the open shuttle dock, Shepard turned and sealed the door behind her and her crew before turning to look at Kaidan, who was pointing a gun at the group of them. She immediately raised her own weapon at Udina, who looked angrier than ever at her.
"Shepard?" he asked, confused and slightly alarmed, his weapon lowering slightly. "What's going on?"
"Shepard's blocking our escape!" Udina yelled out quickly. "She's with Cerberus!"
Shit.
"Just, hang on – I got this," Kaidan said, straightening his weapon again as he circled her and her crew. "Everyone calm down," he ordered.
"I can expain this, Kaidan," she said slowly, hoping to reason with him before they did something they'd regret.
"Come on, Shepard," he said. "Gun drawn on a Councilor… kinda looks bad."
Sighing and lowering her weapon, she gestured for her crewmembers to do the same. "We don't have time to negotiate. You've been fooled," she began to clarify, "all of you." Stepping a bit closer to the armed and dangerous Major, she continued, "Udina's behind this attack. The salarian Councilor confirmed it."
"Please," Udina said agitatedly, stepping forward. "You have no proof. You never do."
"There are Cerberus soldiers in the elevator shaft behind us. If you open that door, they'll kill you all," she explained harshly, pointing toward the sealed door.
Udina glared at her as the asari Councilor began to speak, "We've mistrusted Shepard before… and it did not help us."
"We don't have time to debate this," Udina hissed, moving towards a console. "We're dead if we stay out here. I'm overriding the lock."
Raising her weapon again, she sent a pleading look to Kaidan, who sighed dejectedly. "I better not regret this," he warned.
"You won't," she assured him as he turned to aim his weapon at Udina.
"Udina, step away from the console," he ordered.
"To hell with this!" Udina growled, beginning to override the console. The lock behind her began to beep as the override processed. The asari Councilor stepped towards Udina, grabbing his arm and stilling his motions. He pushed her away furiously, his eyes manic and his teeth bared. He pulled out a gun and aimed it at the asari, making everyone tense.
"He's got a gun!" Kaidan yelled.
Come on, Kaidan, she thought.
And then he shot.
Sighing inwardly with relief, she stepped forward and ordered, "Get the Council back and cover that door!"
"The door!" the turian Councilor yelled as a cauterizing device cut through the lock.
Aiming her assault rifle at the door as it opened, Bailey stood there, his stance mirroring her own. "Bailey?" Shepard asked, lowering her weapon.
"Made it as fast as we could, Shepard. Looks like you, ah…" he said, glancing at Udina's body, "…took care of things."
"Something's not right," the asari Councilor interrupted. "You said Cerberus was targeting us – where did their soldiers go?"
"Cerberus was right here," Bailey clarified, "but they beat feet into the keeper tunnels when they figured we were coming." He stopped for a moment and crossed his arms, his mouth curving slightly. "Sorry, Councilor. I'll say it plain – Shepard just saved the lot of you."
"Then you have saved my life twice now, Shepard," the turian Councilor said plainly. "I owe you both a personal debt and one on behalf of Palaven."
"You don't owe me anything, Councilor," she said sincerely. "Times like this, we all stand together."
"Commander, do you have any idea why the Illusive Man would do this?" he asked.
Exhaling, she shook her head. "No, I don't." The turian Councilor nodded his head slowly in acknowledgement, his face solemn. "But," she continued, "I plan to find out."
Without another word, she walked towards the elevator as Bailey issued orders to the Council. Catching Kaidan's eye, she knew they were both thinking the same thing.
What… just happened between us?
He awoke that morning to a wandering hand tracing patterns on his bare chest. Opening his eyes to the smiling vision in front of him, his lips curved into a tired grin that rivalled her own. "Hey," he murmured as her hand travelled up to his cheek, her thumb running along his cheekbone.
"Hey, babe," she crooned, her eyes widening as he laughed heartily. "What?"
"'Babe?'" he asked, slightly breathless from laughter. "Where did that come from?"
He watched as her cheeks flushed faintly, her mouth pursing with distaste. "I don't know. Don't make fun of me," she warned.
"I like it," he laughed again, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead. "It's endearing."
"It better be," she mumbled, slightly put off from his teasing. Shifting her head slightly as the console on her desk beeped, she scooted off of the bed and walked to the console.
Shamelessly appreciating her scantily-clad body, she glanced at him briefly with a teasing expression on her face before looking down at the screen. He watched as her eyes scanned the screen, her demeanor changing from her previous playfulness to a subdued uneasiness.
"Everything alright?" he asked after a few moments, but her eyes didn't meet his own as she held up a hand to quiet him.
He observed as her eyes widened before she immediately pulled on her casuals from the night before. "I got to go," she said coldly as she grabbed her pistol, walking out of the bedroom and toward the front door.
"Hey!" he called out, pushing himself out of bed and rushing after her. "What's wrong? Where do you have to go?" he asked worriedly.
She glanced back at him for a moment, murmuring, "Don't worry." She then pulled open the door, walking out of the apartment and leaving him alone.
Walking into the docking area of the Normandy, Shepard was unsurprised to see Kaidan leaning against the window, a somber expression on his face. "Hey," she murmured. "I wondered where you went. What's up?" she said nonchalantly, trying to avoid the inevitable explosion between the two of them.
"I'm trying to wrap my head around what just happened," he said, his face contorting slightly with frustration.
"You… sound angry," Shepard muttered, shifting on her hips feet and crossing her arms. Surprise, surprise.
"Not… angry," he said, tiptoeing around the word. "It's just not every day you have an armed standoff with someone…" he trailed off, and she was unsure of where he was going, "with someone like you. How it all went down, it's got me… I don't know."
Sighing slightly, she unfolded her arms and watched him as he started a slow pace. "Okay," she said, "let's talk about it. Really talk about it."
"If I hadn't backed down first, I feel like you would've taken me out," he said honestly, his eyes searching hers for… what, exactly?
"I would never," was all she said, but he shook his head.
"I don't know if I believe you, Shepard." She scoffed, and he raised his eyebrows questioningly. "What?"
"You don't believe anything I say anymore," she growled, trying to keep a lid on her temper. "You don't trust me. The last time you saw me, you told me you wished I had stayed dead. I just… I don't know why I put so much faith in you when you have none in me."
"I'm sorry for saying… what I said," he choked out, averting his eyes from hers. "And believe me when I say I want to have faith in you."
"Then why don't you?" she asked, taking a small step towards him.
"Because..." he began to say, "I don't know."
"I think you do," she said, crossing her arms stubbornly.
"Shepard," he sighed, "don't."
"Don't what, Kaidan? Aren't you sick of this? Aren't you sick of fighting?" she said hurriedly, her voice higher than normal.
"Of course I am!" he yelled back.
"Then just tell me what's wrong so we can move past this!" she shouted, her tone pleading.
His spine straightened and his brow furrowed. "I don't know if we can," he said coldly, and she could tell he was retreating back inside himself. She knew because she did it, too.
"Don't be like that, Kaidan. Tell me what's wrong. Please," she begged, and she cheered inwardly when she saw compassion flicker behind his eyes.
"I don't know, Shepard…" he muttered, looking away from her prying eyes. "We just pointed guns at each other. We would have never done that… before."
"What's really bothering you about what happened?"
"I shot a Councilor," he hissed, closing his eyes.
"You saved a lot of lives in the process," she told him. "That's all that matters."
"Sometimes, the way a thing goes down does matter," he said, his eyes opening just to narrow slightly in anger.
She watched his reaction with astonishment, barely resisting the urge to punch him in the face. "I'm guessing you're not talking about Udina anymore," she all but growled. "You're talking about me and how I died."
The silence seemed to push them apart even further, widening the void that continued to grow between them. He opened his mouth to retort, but faltered as the truth of her words choked whatever he was going to say.
"I can't believe that's still an issue for you, Kaidan," she hissed. "Dying is usually an involuntary thing, you know."
"I know!" he yelled, frustration radiating off of him in waves. "I know. But let's face it, Shepard. We can't just pretend those two years didn't happen. We can't just pretend that you didn't work with Cerberus. And… we can't just pretend I didn't walk away from you on Horizon."
"What do you want me to say?" she asked. "That we should just forget about trusting each other and never speak again? Is that what you want?"
"No!" he hissed. "No, listen…" he trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck. "Hackett offered me a position."
"And?" she inquired as he paused.
"And I would turn it down if I could serve on the Normandy again," he explained, his confession taking her off guard. "I don't know if we'll ever be okay," he said, making her heart break, "but it wouldn't feel right ending this war without the crew by my side."
"I… understand," she said, trying to keep the disappointment from showing in her voice. She looked him over for a moment, as if deliberating, before saying, "In that case, gather your gear, Major." She called out as she pushed past him, "We leave at 0600 tomorrow."