Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect
A/N – This was a tough chapter to write and it took a lot longer than I thought it would so my sincerest apologies for that. There is a lot of character building that sets up things to come, unfortunately I didn't get up to the date on the Citadel...sorry! On the plus side it does mean that the next chapter is starting with the date and going fun places from there.
A big thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and a special thank you to Jules Hawk for your advice on editing this chapter down to a reasonable size!
As soon as Shepard saw Joker's face she knew that something was wrong; he was on an emergency com channel and was speaking quickly with that tense look on his face that usually meant trouble. The Normandy had been holding her position in the Citadel docking bay for several minutes now while they waited for a response to their hails, and while the Citadel was frequently busy, waiting this long for a simple reply to a request to dock wasn't just unusual; it was suspicious.
Joker finished his call and turned to face her with a grim look on his face, "Bad news, Commander."
"Is there any other kind?" She tried not to look exasperated, but it was hard when it felt like lately everything that could go wrong, had gone wrong. All she wanted to do was drop Jack off for reassignment, see the Salarian Councillor about Udina and have dinner with James, but obviously none of those things were happening anytime soon. "I'm guessing the problem at the Citadel is something more than a downed transponder?"
"Yeah, much more. I managed to get in contact with Thane on an emergency band and our ol' pals at Cerberus have launched a full scale invasion on the Citadel. Thane's on the presidium level hiding out and he says that C-Sec has been completely overrun."
"Cerberus? Great." Rennah ran a hand through her dark hair and felt the all-too familiar surge of hate blossom in her chest. "Get us as close to C-Sec headquarters are you can. We'll land in the shuttle and try to help them."
Joker turned back to the controls, the grim look staying on his face as he manoeuvred the Normandy out of the docking bay and towards C-Sec, "Sure thing, Commander."
Rennah left Joker to it and quickly sent off messages to James and Garrus to gear up and meet her in the shuttle bay, and to Cortez to prep the shuttle for a combat drop. She had no idea why Cerberus would attack the Citadel or what they were after, but whatever the reason it wasn't going to be good. Cerberus had exactly never been an altruistic group, but the Illusive Man's recent obsession with indoctrination had pushed them into the 'evil organisation' category.
Their plans to capture her for their Phantom Initiative made her nervous, angry and anxious all at once. The information they'd pulled from the Cerberus data pads and laptops, although limited, hadn't filled her with love and joy for her former employers. Cerberus was using indoctrination to brainwash and control their soldiers, and were upgrading them with Reaper tech to make them deadlier on the battlefield. The Phantoms, whatever they were, appeared to be surgically altered biotics with implants that made them faster, stronger and more agile than the average soldier.
It had taken Shepard all of a microsecond to decide that if Cerberus did manage to get their hands on her, she'd kill herself before allowing them to indoctrinate and experiment on her; she wasn't going to be anyone's puppet ever again.
The Citadel was almost unrecognisable, and C-Sec had clearly taken the brunt of Cerberus' attack; fires were still smouldering, scorch marks from explosions blackened the walls and every few metres they found the bodies of more C-Sec officers. Most of them had been executed with a bullet to the back of the head, but a few of them had obviously been killed in the ensuring fight. James couldn't help but find the lack of Cerberus bodies disturbing; it was painfully clear that the C-Sec officers hadn't stood a chance against Cerberus' tactical strikes.
The initial push to clear out the C-Sec docking bay had been successful, and they'd left Commander Bailey back at the main desk after they'd helped drive Cerberus out of the immediate area. For the last quarter of an hour they'd been working their way through corridors and security offices as they tried to find the missing Salarian councillor. It was tough work and very slow going, but they were slowly making headway through the building.
Ahead of him, Shepard pulled up outside of the Executors office and took cover on one side of the door, listening carefully before she gestured silently for Garrus to take cover on the other side, and for James to open it. He moved forward lightly on the balls of his feet and hit the door control, pulling back and raising his assault rifle as the door opened and Garrus and Shepard swung around and entered with their weapons raised.
"Shit." Shepard swore quietly as she took in the scene behind the door; the Executor and some salarian bodyguards had been executed and their blood was splattered all over the walls and floor.
James frowned at the bodies strewn around the executor's office and then turned to watch Shepard as she walked towards the windows, "There's no sign of a struggle, Commander. I'd say the councillor can't be far away."
Shepard glanced back at him and nodded, but he could see the frustration in her face and her back was rigid as she turned to gaze out of the plate glass window. James tightened his hand on his gun and fought the urge to go to Rennah and soothe her, and to let her know that she didn't have to hold everything inside. He could understand why she was so upset; it was almost as if Cerberus was deliberately making things difficult for humanity in the war against the Reapers.
Shepard abruptly raised her gun as something black and vaguely human shaped dropped past the window, "Dammit! We have movement downstairs!"
He wasn't sure what she had seen, but before he could blink she'd shot the glass out of the window and leaped out, her biotics flaring as she vanished down the two story drop. James wheeled around and ran for the door, Garrus hot on his heels as they moved as fast as they could to catch up with Shepard. He could hear the high pitched voice of the salarian councillor, shrill with fear, and the Shepard's voice, filled with a calm anger that sent shivers down his spine, but it was the third voice, gruff and low that made him hurry. As he and Garrus rounded the corner with their guns raised, he saw what Shepard had seen; a Cerberus assassin.
He and Shepard were slowly circling around each other, the assassin carefully keeping the salarian councillor between them as a living shield. Like Shepard, the assassin had jet black hair, pale skin and moved with a cat-like grace that made James suspect that the man had a martial arts background. He was clearly a biotic, but it was the sword he was gripping in one hand that gave James the shivers; a sword was very brutal and personal way to kill.
"Shepard! Udina is trying to take over the Citadel!" The Salarian councillor was talking even faster than normal, his eyes darting nervously from the assassin and back to Shepard as they circled around him, "He's working with Cerberus and he's going to kill the other councillors."
"Then he's just earned himself a bullet in the head." Shepard's voice was perfectly calm, but there was a rage in her eyes that alarmed James.
Every now and again, although he loved her and wanted to be with her, she scared him. Her dark side was very dark indeed, and when she went to that shadowy place inside of her that let her kill and hurt people, he sometimes wondered how hard it was for her to come back. He knew she was a Spectre and an N7 and that meant she had to be willing to do whatever it took, but the anger and hate inside of her was unsettling.
The assassin laughed, a low chuckling sound that made James want to shoot him, "You'll have to get through me first."
"Not a problem, ninja boy." Shepard smiled and held her gun steady as they moved, matching him other step for step. "Why not come closer and try your luck with that blade?"
"Why not indeed?" He chuckled again, "But first I need to tidy up this loose end…"
The assassin made as if to move towards the salarian councillor, and that was when James saw Shepard's friend Thane jump over a low table right behind him with his gun out. How the drell had managed to get so close without any of them seeing him was a mystery, but for a sick man his movements were quick and controlled. He moved up close in a movement that was fluid and graceful, and brought the barrel of his gun within inches of the assassin's head.
"Not today." Thane's voice was low and dangerous, and as he squeezed the trigger all hell broke loose.
The assassin moved in a blur to knock the gun aside and slashed at Thane with his sword; the drell only just avoiding the blade as they moved around each other like liquid shadows. Shepard, dodging the lightning fast combatants, pulled the councillor out of the way and signalled for Garrus to guard him. The two men moved so quickly that James knew he didn't have a hope of getting a clear shot, but he followed the fight with his gun anyway, his adrenaline running high as they fought.
The fight was over as fast as it had begun; one moment it looked as though Thane had the upper hand and the next the assassin had moved under and up in a move that James wouldn't have thought possible. He thrust the blade of his sword through the drell's chest and for a moment Thane hung suspended, impaled on the sword. Then his gun dropped from his hand and he slid to the ground, collapsing onto the floor as the assassin pulled his blade free.
"Thane!" Shepard's gasp of disbelief was barely audible, but it was enough to pull the assassin's attention back to her, and whatever he saw on her face must have been bad as the assassin abruptly turned and ran. She went after the Cerberus operative with an audible growl of fury, and James hesitated for a split second, torn between wanting to help her chase down the assassin and wanting to help Thane.
Garrus made the decision for him as he knelt and helped his friend up, his eyes flashing angrily at James, "Dammit Vega! Help her get that bastard!"
Shots echoed from down the hall where the Shepard had vanished, and James launched himself after them as he left Garrus to tend to Thane, his own fury at Cerberus starting to reach boiling point. Whoever this guy was, he was going to pay for what he'd done…
The elevator doors closed behind them and Shepard clenched her teeth as they began to move upwards, furious that the assassin had eluded her despite them chasing him all over the Citadel. Her head was aching fiercely where a goddamned Cerberus solider, who she suspected was a Phantom, had slammed it into the wall before attempting to run her through with a sword. Luckily, although the woman had been fast, she had been faster and she'd managed to shatter the blade with a biotic blast before she'd taken the broken knife and shoved it into the woman's helmet, cracking the faceplate and revealing the pale, vein covered face beneath.
She'd only had a glimpse of that twisted face, but it had been enough to see that the woman under the armour had been extensively altered with implants and surgery. There hadn't been time for a close inspection, so Shepard had tossed her body to the floor as soon as she'd seen that the blade had gone straight through one eye and deep into her skull. If that was what Cerberus had in store for her, than she was going to fight even harder not to let herself end up like that thing; it had looked more Reaper than human.
"Shepard, are you alright?" James was beside her, his eyes scanning the elevator shaft as they hurtled upwards, "You're bleeding pretty badly."
She could feel the blood trickling down her face but there was no time for medigel so she ignored it, "It's nothing."
More than anything she was feeling physically and mentally tired, but she wasn't going to tell James that. Her new L5n implant was a lot more powerful than her old one had been, and the downside to being able to use such strong powers with such a short cooldown period was exhaustion. Jack had warned her about it and recommended that Shepard start carrying some sort of high energy snack, but she hadn't had to do something like that since she was a teenager, so she'd ignored what she though was condescending advice.
She was starting to wish that she hadn't.
"I've stopped the elevator that has the assassin in it, and I'm slowing the elevator down that has the council in it. You'll have to make a jump for it, Commander." Bailey's voice crackled out from Shepard's omni-tool and she nodded, momentarily forgetting that he couldn't see her.
"Understood." She moved to the edge of the elevator with Garrus and James, all three of them waiting for the council elevator to come level with theirs before they jumped across.
As she made the leap, Shepard felt a wave of dizziness wash over her, and her vision spun briefly as she landed, disorientating her enough that she stumbled and fell to her knees. There was the sound of voices from below her as the elevator slowed, and she found her feet quickly enough as someone below fired up at them; clearly under the impression that they were Cerberus soldiers. As the elevator stopped completely, Shepard heard the doors open and the people inside rush out, registering with surprise that she could hear Udina and Kaidan's voice from below, along with the other councillors.
"Sounds like Kaidan's with the council." Garrus muttered as he bent down and wrenched an access panel off, checking inside the elevator before gesturing for Shepard and James to precede him down, "Do you think he's the one that almost shot you just then?"
"Probably." Shepard grumbled as she lowered herself through the panel. James followed her down and landed lightly and far more gracefully than she had, and he reached up and took Garrus' sniper rifle for him as the Turian awkwardly came down through the hole; his armour scraping the sides with metallic shrieks.
Shepard moved off without waiting for them; she knew that the two men would be behind her within moments. They were a good team and she was relieved that Vega had continued to follow her orders professionally, despite their relationship becoming more intimate than Alliance regulations allowed. They hadn't slept together yet, but they were seeing each other romantically and they both knew it was only a matter of time before they did.
James and Garrus fell in beside her as she left the building; the councillors and Kaidan standing only a few metres away with a smoking shuttle behind them. Instantly she aimed her gun at Udina and Garrus sealed and locked the door behind them to stall Cerberus. She and James came to a stop and kept their weapons raised, a small flicker of annoyance springing to life inside of her as Kaidan instantly raised his own gun at her, confusion and doubt on his face.
So much for trusting me!
"What's going on, Shepard?" Kaidan's voice was low and his eyes, normally so warm, were troubled as he watched her over the handgun.
She ignored the hurt that welled up as Kaidan continued to aim his gun at her, and instead concentrated on keeping her gun trained on Udina, "Udina's staging a coup." She briefly flicked her gaze at Kaidan and met his eyes as she tried to make him see sense, "He's trying to seize power from the council."
She heard Udina scoff and she moved her attention back to him, letting him see the fury and hate in her eyes; he was the reason that so many innocent men and women had lost their lives today. Udina's thirst for power meant that helpless people were losing their homes, livelihoods and families, and for what? So he could have a little more power? Udina had never been a friend to her, but to do something like this lowered him even further in her estimation. He was the worst kind of scum! He was less like a politician and more like the deskmen who had run the Reds back on Earth - men who were too clever to get their hands dirty doing any of the grunt work, but who were still responsible for every single life that had been taken and ruined by the gang members and the drugs they'd trafficked.
She'd hated those men and she hated Udina.
Even though she kept her gaze focused on the corrupt Earth councillor, Shepard was perfectly aware that both Garrus and James were now aiming at Kaidan, and she could only imagine what would happen if he didn't put his gun down. Garrus had no love for Kaidan after witnessing the incident on Horizon, and James was more than a little protective of her, so he wouldn't be pleased to see someone from their side pointing a gun at her. It was a bad situation, but she wasn't going to let Kaidan screw things up with his mistrust.
"Shepard's blocking our escape!" Udina gave her a sly smile and it was all she could do not to pull the trigger and shoot him straight in his smug little face, but she knew if she did there was a chance that Kaidan might fire on her too, "She must be working with Cerberus again! Shoot her, Major!"
Kaidan flinched visibly at Udina's words and she turned her focus on him as he stepped forward with his gun still pointed at her. Without thinking, she moved her gun ever so slightly so that he was in her sights and tightened her finger on the trigger, ignoring the voice in her head that was screaming for her to lower her weapon. Despite her exhaustion, she was riding high on adrenaline and she couldn't risk backing down and letting Udina win. If Kaidan didn't lower his gun she'd do what had to be done; it would kill part of her to put him down, but she'd do it if he gave her no choice.
Don't make me do it...
Kaidan eyes narrowed as she aimed at him and, even though she could see he was torn by the situation, he took another step forward and didn't back down, "Shepard, put your gun down! Please!"
He won't shoot me, Shepard realised as he aimed at her, he's trying to be the brave Alliance soldier but he doesn't have the ability to shoot someone he loves.
"Kaidan, you know me." She watched him struggle as he fought against whatever prejudices he was still carrying, but pressed her advantage when she saw him falter. "You said you'd trust me."
"I want to trust you, but you're pointing a gun at a councillor and that doesn't inspire trust!"
She shook her head in denial and softened her expression just enough to show Kaidan that she wasn't enjoying this standoff any more than he was; "I just saved the salarian councillor's life! Udina tried to have him killed because he has evidence against him – I can't risk Udina hurting anyone else."
"She's lying! Shoot her, Major!" Udina had started moving behind Kaidan, using him as a shield as he slowly made his way over to the control panel for the door, "We have to get those doors open before Cerberus gets us!"
"You open those doors and your dead!" Garrus growled angrily and adjusted his aim so it was pointed at Udina. "There's a Cerberus assassin back there and you know it!"
The tension was so thick in the air that Shepard was sure that one of them was going to pull the trigger at any moment. She'd never thought it would come to this; even when Kaidan had hurt her on Horizon and she'd hated him with every fibre of her being, she'd never thought they'd ever actually draw on each other. It hurt. It hurt more than she'd thought it would to see him watching her over his pistol, his face tight as he struggled between trusting her and trusting Udina.
This is why I can't be with you, Shepard thought at Kaidan as she waited for him to make his move, this is why I have to move on and be with someone who trusts me.
"Shepard," Kaidan's eyes were pleading, and she felt a wave of sadness move through her as she met his eyes over their guns and saw just how hard he found it to believe her, "put your gun up before someone gets hurt."
"I can't! Udina is the bad guy, not me! You know I've always stayed true to the Alliance and to the Council!" A thread of emotion crept into her voice against her will, but it was enough and she saw Kaidan hesitate, "You know me."
He swallowed and a moment later nodded and lowered his gun with a sigh as his eyes softened, "I'd better not regret this."
"You won't."
Shepard was almost dizzy with relief and the tension drained out of her as Kaidan turned to face Udina, all four of them now aiming at the Councillor. He glared at them with his narrow beady eyes, his weasel like face twisted into a hateful expression as he scowled at her and then at Kaidan. In that moment Shepard realised why Udina had made Kaidan a Spectre; it wasn't just because of his service record and because he was a brilliant soldier, it was because Udina had thought Kaidan hated her. He'd expected that his cries of 'Shepard is working for Cerberus' would provoke her ex-lover into defending the council and shooting her, and if she and Kaidan hadn't patched things up after Mars, it may well have.
"I always hated you, Shepard." He reached into a coat and pulled a gun, clumsily aiming it at her with that same hateful look on his face.
What Udina thought he was going to do against four trained assault specialists was anyone's guess, but before he could even steady his aim or squeeze the trigger, a shot rang out and Udina fell forward. His beady eyes widened with surprise as blood blossomed across his normally pristine clothing, then he slumped to the ground and was still. Shepard blinked in surprise and lowered her gun as Kaidan ejected his thermal clip and turned to look at her, his face pale as he swallowed hard and met her eyes.
When she'd heard the gun go off, she'd thought that Garrus or James had taken the shot, hell, she'd even half expected that maybe she'd pulled the trigger without knowing it; she hadn't expected Kaidan to be the one to shoot Udina. After all the shit Udina had put her through over the years, she almost felt cheated.
"Someone's coming through the elevator door." James touched her shoulder lightly and she broke eye contact with Kaidan as he moved back to protect the other councillors. Shepard turned to face the door with James and Garrus flanking her, readying herself for yet another Cerberus onslaught.
The door opened and Shepard steeled herself to squeeze the trigger, her hands almost trembling with exhaustion as she waited for the inevitable. The fight at C-Sec and with the assassin had tired her out, and the shuttle crash and the charge along the presidium had taken the last of her strength. In retrospect, she should have held back a little or relied on her gun instead of on her biotics, but she was used to being able to push herself hard without any repercussions.
Live and learn, Shepard.
"Get ready." She steadied her hand as best she could as the door opened, and gaped in surprise as Bailey and three C-Sec officers came through the doorway instead of the Cerberus assassin she'd expected.
"Bailey!" Garrus sounded almost as shocked as she felt, and Shepard lowered her gun and shook her head with a wry smile for the Commander's sneakiness.
"We got here as fast as we could, Commander." Bailey holstered his weapon and grinned at her, apparently pleased to have surprised them, "Lucky for you we chased away the Cerberus assassin and his friends; they high tailed it down the keeper tunnels." He gestured for two of his officers to escort the councillors down to the elevator and pointed for the third one to guard Udina's body.
"What about Thane?" Shepard caught Bailey's arm as he started to move past her, guilt welling up as she remembered that the Cerberus assassin had stabbed him through the chest.
Bailey's expression sobered, "He's in Huerta undergoing emergency surgery, but it doesn't look good. If you like I can message you when he's out of surgery."
"Thank you." Shepard nodded her thanks as Bailey moved past her with the councillors and C-Sec officers. She waited for them to take the first elevator down before she moved into the alcove with Kaidan, Garrus and James, and took a second elevator.
Shepard stumbled as she walked into the elevator and felt someone catch her arm when she almost fell, her vision blurring in front of her eyes. She straightened and leaned against the wall as she opened her eyes and saw that James was the one who'd caught her arm, although both Garrus and Kaidan were watching her with concern. James knew better than to ask her if she was okay when he'd already asked her earlier, but she could sense his concern for her.
"When was the last time you ate?" Kaidan moved closer to her, a slight frown on his face as he looked at her eyes and took in her pale skin. "You look like you're about to pass out."
"I may have pushed myself a little hard." She confessed, shifting uncomfortably when Kaidan gave her a 'you should know better' look. "I'm still getting used to the new implant." She didn't mention that she'd forgotten to eat breakfast and hadn't eaten a big dinner the night before.
"Right, have two of these now." He opened a pocket on his BDU and took out three energy gels, passing the small packets over her, "Take the last one in half an hour or so and you should bounce back in time for the exciting debriefings we no doubt have waiting."
Shepard took the gels and felt an embarrassing red flush creep up her face, "I know how to take care of myself, Kaidan."
"Then eat them."
There was an awkward silence and she realised that both Garrus and James were watching her now with matching looks of concern, and Kaidan raised his eyebrows and looked pointedly at the gels, waiting patiently until she'd eaten two of them and then plucking the empty packets from her hands and tucking them back into his pocket. Both were lime flavour; Kaidan's favourite. She didn't instantly feel better, but the high levels of sugar and carbohydrates in the gel would kick in soon enough and she knew she'd feel better until she could eat something more substantial.
It had been stupid of her not to eat something this morning, but the incident on the Citadel had taken her by surprise and she hadn't had time to stop and think about food as she'd organised the shuttle drop. Kaidan probably thought she was out of her mind; keeping up your energy levels was extremely important for biotics. Everyone knew that biotics ate more often and more in general than regular people did.
The elevator came to a stop at the embassy level and the doors opened to reveal the eerily empty reception room, Kaidan strode out and waited for her a few metres away, giving her some privacy while she spoke to Garrus and James. She felt James straighten beside her as he realised that he wasn't coming with her and she pressed her hand against his briefly before she pulled away and turned to face them.
"Head back to the Normandy and write up statements about what happened today – I'm sure C-Sec will want them. I'm going to go with Kaidan and see Bailey." She nodded at them both and tried not to see the look of disappointment on James face.
"Sure thing, Commander." James nodded at her without enthusiasm, and Shepard wished that Kaidan wasn't standing a few metres away so she could have reassured him that they'd still get their dinner date.
Because they were going to have their date one way or another.
A/N – I know there wasn't a lot of obvious relationship stuff, but this chapter had a lot of important stuff in it! I hope you all enjoyed it! The next chapter will be out soon and it's kicking off with that date!