Bill Here! Been a while since my last update, been wrapped up in summer school. My final is this Monday, so I've been writing this to avoid studying. Recently finished The Last Of Us, and managed to get over the sadness. Pretty good game, but a perfect story line. *Sigh* I guess I'll have to go back to real life now. Anyway, this chapter was kind thrown together, tell me if something doesn't make sense. Leave me a review about what you thought, and as always, Enjoy!
Chapter 21
Kaidan ran, his breath erratic and unstable. His feet were blur, going over rocks and gravel in a flash as he sprinted like mad. He dared not look back.
"Alenko! Get back here this instant!" boomed a voice, angry and omnificent.
Kaidan ran faster, trying to escape the voice, yet his speed did not increase. He willed his feet forward, but his body moved slower over the terrain, until his feet moved uselessly over the ground as he stood in one place. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he lunged, trying to break free from whatever barrier prevented him from moving.
"I will have your head!" the voice roared. Kaidan turned back to view in horror at the sight of Commander Vyrnnus, the Turian in charge of BAaT, now ten meters tall. His long legs strode up to Kaidan quickly, each step making a deafening stomp that shook the earth around Kaidan.
"You're coming with me, human!" shouted Vyrnnus, scooping Kaidan up in a giant hand. He squeezed Kaidan in his sharp talons, forcing the out breath of his lungs.
Kaidan looked around desperately, finding Vyrnnus' other hand holding a human girl. He pulled an arm out of Vyrnnus' inhuman grip, reaching over her in vain.
"Rahna!" Kaidan shouted, his arm outstretched, but too far to reach her.
Vyrnnus chuckled, as he held Rahna's small body between two pointy fingers by her legs, dangling her like a fish.
"Let her go, you bastard!" Kaidan shouted, tears welling up in the side of his eyes.
Vyrnnus smiled, his mouth a mix of sadism and malice.
"Alright," he answered, his mandibles spreading apart as he opened his mouth.
Kaidan screamed right before Vyrnnus released his talons, letting Rahna drop into Vyrnnus' mouth and down his throat. She screamed, muffled but still audible even in Vyrnnus' throat.
Kaidan clenched everything, his arms, his legs, his teeth. His entire body clenched together, the rage in his soul lighting a fire in his belly. Kaidan exploded, his body ripping Vyrnnus' giant grip open. Vyrnnus stumbled back in shock.
Kaidan felt the energy surge through him, the fear, the hate, the rage he felt in his body. He flew, entering through Vyrnnus' chest and out the other side in an explosion of gore.
Kaidan turned to look back at Vyrnnus, a feeling of smug superiority filling his psyche. It was quickly quenched, as Kaidan's eyes welled up once more at the sight before him.
Where Vyrnnus had fallen back, his abdomen ruptured, Rahna now laid. She struggled to speak, her hand reaching out frailly as it trembled. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused, a line of blood dripping from the side of her open mouth, letting out a weak moan. A large amount of flesh was removed from her stomach, revealing her organs.
Kaidan's eyes bulged at the horror.
Inside her cavity, Kaidan could see Rahna's organs. His eyes moved directly to the only visible moving organ: her lungs.
He watched Rahna's lungs expand and contract, working tirelessly as the rest of her body gave up. He watched as Rahna died, her eyes rolling in the back of her head, her outstretched arm receding back to the ground, but her lungs continued to breath. Her body decomposed, the flesh falling off and rotting away, leaving only brittle skeleton, but her lungs beat so heavily that Kaidan could hear them. As the remains of Rahna became nothing but dust, the lungs beat heavily, each new breath like the beat of a drum.
Kaidan's vision warped, his eyes losing their ability to make sense of anything in front of them, the surrounding terrain splitting apart like the rapture. Kaidan's vision stayed fixed on the lungs, now the only thing left of Rahna, and of Vyrnnus as well, beating angrily at Kaidan, defying him.
The lungs grew, with each beat they expanded exponentially, quickly getting bigger than Kaidan. They grew and grew and grew, until Kaidan could no longer comprehend their size and turned to run, finding his once plentiful energy completely drained.
The last thing Kaidan saw was the tracheal tube of the lungs, now large enough for him to fit through, as the lungs inhaled a long and large breath, sucking Kaidan in with it.
Kaidan woke up with a jump. The first thing he noticed that he was in a cold sweat, the sheets around him all slightly moist. The second thing he noticed as that he was, for once, alone in bed. That never happens, he thought.
Kaidan rolled off of his bunk, his body groaning with soreness as he willed it to move to the bathroom. He grabbed the handle of the facet clumsily, letting loose a torrent of cold water into his hands. He quickly splashed the cold, sobering water into his face, rubbing it into his eyes and through his hair.
What the hell was that? Kaidan asked himself, trying to sober himself up to anchor him to reality.
Kaidan wiped the water off his face, giving the mirror a long hard stare. What looked back at him was a tired eyed man, experienced with trials, but not years, bearing neither wisdom, nor innocence. He rubbed cold water once more on his face before leaving to dawn his combat gear.
"Kaidan, you look like you got used as a tire iron in an interrogation," Shepard stated.
"Are humans supposed to be that pale?" asked Garrus.
Kaidan only groaned in response. Ashley walked closer to assess him.
"Seriously, Jedi, you look like green around the gills," Ashley said, her tone dripping with concern.
Garrus perked up. "Humans have gills?" he asked.
Shepard waved his hand dismissively.
"That's not important right now. What is important is this," Shepard said, opening up a hologram of a planet. The view zoomed in to the surface of the planet, to a colony settlement.
Shepard pointed a finger at the building in the very middle. "This settlement here on Presrop is what's important. We got a transmission from Admiral Hackett, a request to check this out for him. Alliance intelligence shows that this is the base of operations of a former Alliance officer, Major Kyle."
The hologram brought up a picture of man in uniform, a dark skinned human with a short military cut hair, his salute stern.
"He looks fierce," Garrus mused.
"More than that. He served during the battle of Torfan," Shepard answered.
"Oh, wow," Ashley said in amazement.
"Something I should know?" Garrus asked. Ashley turned to explain.
"The battle of Torfan was a response to the Skylian Blitz. It was a brutal massacre with heavy casualties on both sides," Ashley explained.
Shepard nodded. "Which is why this is such a sensitive topic. Major Kyle's service was phenomenal, but he couldn't cope with the loss of so many of his men. He was honorably discharged after a psychiatric evaluation determined he was no longer fit for duty. Recently, he resurfaced, leading a cult of biotics."
"Biotics?" Kaidan's attention perked up at the word.
"Oh, now you're awake?" Shepard chuckled. "Yeah, biotics. They refer to him as 'Father Kyle', and while he's not a biotic himself, he's taken a stance against the Alliance, labeling them as the cause of all the biotics' problems. So far, two men sent in to calm Kyle down have gone missing. Hackett suspects foil play, and I agree with him."
"Does this have anything to do with Saren?" Ashley asked.
"Probably not," Shepard answered.
"Sooo, then why are we doing it?" Ashley asked.
"I'm not going to lie to you; we're on zero leads at this point. Whether we find anything about Saren there or not is up to pure luck. One mission is as good as another, so we just keep fishing for clues," Shepard answered.
"Sometimes an investigation goes dry. All we can do is keep our eyes open," Garrus commented with a shrug.
"Good enough for me," Kaidan answered, taking a closer look at the holographic map.
"Right, so we'll descend to the planet's surface, attempt to talk Major Kyle down from further violence and try to get him the help he needs," Shepard explained.
"And if that doesn't work?" Ashley asked.
Shepard sighed. "In the event that Major Kyle doesn't agree to come with us, we will be forced to take him into custody."
"So, business as usual."
Shepard sat on the bench of the shuttle, Kaidan and Ashley sitting across from him. Garrus flew the shuttle down to the Presrop's surface, the dark grey outcrop coated with a rocky terrain.
"When we get to the planet's surface, I want you two flanking me. Garrus, if you don't mind, I'd rather have you stay with the shuttle," Shepard spoke over the sound of the shuttle's engines.
"What's a matter, my looks rubbing off or something?" Garrus asked jokingly.
"Actually it's your good looks I'm worried about. Some of these guys aren't exactly stable, if you know what I mean. Some could be from Torfan, some from the First contact war, others from who knows where. They might have extenuating bias towards any alien kind. I don't want them to get the wrong idea about our intentions," Shepard explained.
"And what exactly are our intentions?" Kaidan asked.
"Just to talk. If we can solve this with words, I wouldn't mind that at all," Shepard answered.
"What if they don't want to talk? We'll be stuck in the middle of a bunch of biotic cultists with our pants down," complained Ashley.
"Well, I guess we'll have to be, extremely persuasive," Shepard said with a boyish grin.
Kaidan saw a familiar look on Shepard's face. He's got something up his sleeve, Kaidan thought.
The shuttle landed on the planet's surface, the doors opening to let out the human trio.
Kaidan jumped out of the shuttle, his combat boots landing on the surface with a heavy thud. This ground is weak, he thought to himself, feeling the displacement in the ground where his foot put pressure.
Ashley followed, almost losing her footing with her landing. Kaidan grabbed her shoulder, stabilizing her.
"Thanks," Ashley regarded.
Kaidan nodded in response.
"Let's move, people," Shepard ordered. They made their way to the settlement, sure to compensate for the soft terrain underneath.
They reached what seemed to be the entrance of the main structure. Before Shepard could knock or otherwise, a voice blared from a speaker next to the door.
"Why have you come to our community?" the speaker beckoned.
Shepard looked back at Kaidan and Ashley in amusement before addressing the speaker.
"I've come to talk to Major Kyle," Shepard stated.
"Father Kyle is not to be disturbed by common ilk such as yourself," the speaker said condescendingly.
"Even by an old war buddy from Torfan?" Shepard asked with a smirk.
The voice was quiet for a moment. Then the door opened, letting Shepard and company to enter the facility. A young boy with a shaved head stood in the doorway, beckoning them respectfully.
"Please excuse my rudeness, I was not aware Father Kyle would be expecting, guests," the boy said, bowing his head. He gestured inside with an outstretched arm. "If you would follow me."
The boy lead them through the facility, which looked more and more like a make shift throne room. Shepard was instantly reminded of his former home in the slums. A false king leading a group of naïve children, sounds familiar, Shepard thought. He stifled a grimace as they reached what seemed to be where Kyle was.
"Who are these, people, you've brought before me, Ralph?" asked the figure seated in an over ordained chair.
"They said that they were former comrades of yours, father," the young boy said with a bow.
The man leaned forward, squinting. He was a dark skinned man, looked only fifty years old, but his worn, haggard face showed that it was an eventful half of a century. Shepard had seen that face before, worn by men he had seen in medical tents with only light wounds, men who went back home to their families while their comrades were left behind, men honorably discharged from duty because they could no longer cope. Shepard had seen that look in the mirror before, but nowhere near this level.
Never as bad as this.
"Ah yes, I remember your face, comrade. Come, let us reacquaint ourselves over a drink," the man said, his mouth attempting to feign warm hospitality, but his words saturated with a cold tone.
"Don't mind if I do," answered Shepard.
Major Kyle nodded to door nearby, the three comrades joining him in a private room as he closed the door behind them.
The private room was just that. The small room was only occupied by a table in the center, some chairs around the sides, and a small cabinet in the corner.
Shepard sat at the center of the table, leaning back in a relaxed position, Ashley and Kaidan following suit.
Kyle walked over to cabinet, grabbed a bottle out, and unscrewed it, the action accompanied with the squelching sound of a metal lid on a glass bottle. He carefully filled each of the four glasses with the clear liquid. He finally turned back from the cabinet, bearing drinks. He set each glass down on the table in front of their respective drinker before sitting down across from Shepard.
Kaidan sniffed the edge of the glass, suspicious, but was distracted by Shepard as he took a large gulp of the drink.
"Mmm, what is that, wood alcohol?" Shepard inquired in appreciation.
Kyle grunted in confirmation. "We had a store of the stuff here, just lying around. As if we had any wood to use it with," he mused, taking a sip from his glass.
Kaidan took a sip cautiously, finally letting the liquid reach his lips. The taste wasn't the distilled alcohol he was used to; it was an acidic, trashy drink, that Kaidan was sure would kill him provided he drank enough of it. He stifled a cough, the drink almost going down the wrong pipe just from the shock of the taste.
Shepard and Kyle ignored him. They sat across from each other, casually yet perceptively observing each other. They eyed one another in silence, until it was finally broken.
"I know who you are. You're that young upstart that had the Alliance Brass in such a ruckus years ago. That boy from Elysium, Black something or other," Kyle said.
"Black Dog," Shepard added, keeping his posture unperturbed. Ashley and Kaidan sat anxiously, feeling the tension in the air grow.
"Aren't you Anderson's pet? What are you doing off the leash, 'Black Dog'?"
Shepard smirked at the insult. "I'm not under Anderson anymore. I got promoted."
"Oh? Is the young'n getting all high and mighty now that you went up a rank? Get that officer's rank sewn to your uniform and you think you're bulletproof? Tell me, what measly title did the brass give you?" Kyle mocked, spitting out the word 'title' like a piece of rotten fruit.
"Spectre," Shepard answered casually.
Kyle was silent, and Shepard matched the silence. For a moment, neither man spoke.
"I don't have any quarrel with you, Spectre," Kyle said, losing his tone condescending.
"Neither did the men sent in before me. Now tell me, Father, where are they? Or where is most of them? Did they at least have a chance to reason with you before you had them ripped apart?" Shepard asked sarcastically.
"They were spouting lies to my children, speaking blasphemies and weakening their resolve. I couldn't have those men saying such things, not when so many depend on me." Kyle answered.
"Depend on you? Yes, I'm sure they depend on you plenty; after all, they need someone to rule over them, complete with a throne room. Where's your crown? Getting buffed?" Shepard asked condescendingly.
"You don't know what these kids went through! What the Alliance put them through!" shouted Kyle.
"What about what the men and women that serve in the Alliance go through? What they've done to keep innocent people alive? What they do just to keep society going?" Shepard asked.
"I've seen the Alliance before. I've seen its true nature. The Alliance is an ugly beast, bent on exploiting the galaxy and its inhabitants for their own twisted reasons! I've seen it!" Kyle shouted, slamming his hand on the table.
"I've seen it too. Corruption, bureaucracy, cowardice, I've seen it all. Humanity isn't perfect, and neither is the Alliance, that's something I know full well, but it sure as hell is better than the shit you're pulling, I know that for sure," Shepard stated boldly.
"You weren't there on Torfan! You didn't see what I saw! You're just a punk with a scar, a stray bullet that caught your eye! What do you know about death?!" Kyle sneered.
Shepard reached over the table, grabbing Kyle in a deathly choke hold around his collar. Before Kyle could react, Shepard pulled him closer, off his feet, shoving him flat against the table. He shoved his hand deeper into the grip as his right hand reached down to pull out a photo.
"This is Carl Atwood, age 25, son of Jacob and Martha Atwood, KIA." Shepard moved his finger just above the head of the young soldier in the photo. Kyle grunted in confusion.
"This is Simon Merchant, age 32, KIA." Shepard pointed to the wiry man bearing a smirk, tightening the grip around Kyle's neck.
"Argo Strovenaut, age 35, oldest of five, worked as a demolition specialist to provide for his crippled mother and four younger siblings, KIA." Shepard moved his finger over to the broad shouldered giant of a man.
Shepard pointed to the figure of the woman, standing strongly at the center of the photo. "And this, this is Sandra Archer, age 34, married to man named Thomas Archer, father of their two children, Sebastian and Mary Archer, now ages 12 and 10 respectively. They will never see their mother again, if they even remember what she looks like."
Shepard threw Kyle back, out of his grip, across and over the table into his chair, the glasses shattering as he fell to the ground. Shepard walked around the table, his eyes stuck on Major Kyle, glowing like red coals. His voice was hushed, but forceful as he spoke.
"Three days. For three days I experienced hell. For three days I fought with my comrades against impossible odds. We were gonna die, without question, every one of us; I knew that to be true. And you know what? I was fine with that! I was fine, knowing that I would die doing something right with my life, despite all the wrong I've caused! I was fine knowing that I would die with my comrades, the people who accepted me, faults and all. But I didn't. I stayed alive, even after watching every one of them die, I remained. Even though my crew was gone, I was still here, with this scar serving as a memory." Shepard traced his finger methodically across the scarred tissue, going down his brow, lightly over his eyelid and down his cheek to its end.
"Every day I see this scar, and I can't help but to think how much better it would've been to die that day. So don't tell me I don't know what death is."
Kyle sat up from the floor, slightly dazed. He stared at the floor, his vision fixed on the pieces of broken glass.
"What am I supposed to do?" he asked miserably, looking up at Shepard. "All my friends are dead. I watched every one of them fall before my very eyes, and each time it happened, a little piece of myself went with them. I, I don't know if I can do anything else."
Shepard sighed. He stepped closer, pulling Kyle upright to his feet.
"What I did on that day wasn't for me, it was for the people I defended. The same goes for you. You and your men fought for something, peace, justice, law, order, salvation, whatever it was, your men died fighting for it, believing in it. Don't do something like this. Don't tarnish their memory."
Kyle looked up at Shepard, tears welling at the side of his eyes, snot audible in his throat.
"Ok."
The trio walked away from the settlement back to the shuttle where Garrus was waiting.
"Everything go ok in there? I didn't hear any explosions, so it must have," Garrus asked.
"Yeah, everything's a-ok," Shepard answered.
"Where's Kyle?" asked Garrus.
"He asked for some time to talk to his followers. I didn't see the harm in it," Shepard said.
"Do you think that was wise?" asked Garrus.
Shepard shrugged his shoulders. "He's got to explain to his followers that he is leaving. Say his goodbyes, maybe tell them that he lied about the religion, maybe give them advice on how to survive, who knows? It's better than just taking off without a word."
"I don't trust him," Ashley stated, crossing her arms.
"Why not?" Shepard asked.
"Just look at him. He lies to a group of kids, filling their heads with all sorts of nonsense, getting them to fight the Alliance, pretending he's some sort of prophet. It's sick."
"He is sick. That's what PTSD does to you," answered Shepard.
"Kids like that have already gone through enough. Taking advantage of that naivety by giving some lie to believe in, it's just wrong," Kaidan stated solemnly.
The group was silent for a moment.
A loud boom from the direction of the settlement broke the silence. All four soldiers turned in the direction of the explosion.
What had recently been a haphazard but stable settlement for a group of cultist drifters now looked like a broken eggshell with a black mushroom growing out of it. Part of the roof had either collapsed or been blown out, leaving a gaping hole from which thick, black smoke poured out. Through the clouds of smoke, Shepard could see streaks of electric blue light flashing laterally at the base of the smoke cloud.
"What happened?!" Ashley shouted.
"Someone couldn't say goodbye. Come on!" Shepard ordered.
The four rushed into the building.
Through the smoke and the sound of fighting, Kaidan struggled to see what was happening. From what he could manage to observe, the group of cultist were fighting each other.
He crouched lower to the ground, running over to the side of the room and kneeling down behind a large supply box for cover. He gripped the side of it firmly, trying to get a clear view of what was happening exactly, when something brushed against his hand.
Kaidan jumped, turning to see a young girl laying against the box next to him. Her dirty brown hair contrasted her pale white skin. She had vacant look in her eyes, a tired but pleading look, which confused Kaidan, before he saw the blood dripping off her outstretched hand.
"What happened?" Kaidan asked desperately, gripping her weak hand firmly between both of his.
She said nothing, save for one word.
"…Kyle…" she whispered.
"Kyle? Kyle what? What did he do? What's going on, please tell me!" Kaidan asked expectantly, shaking her shoulders.
The girl's hand went limp, dropping down to the ground. Kaidan reached down to pick it up, when he saw the girl's legs.
Kaidan grimaced at the sight of a pair of legs, clearly the girl's, detached about two meters away. There was a wide trail of blood, which made clear that this girl had crawled over to the box to lean on while she died. He let go of the girl's hand and stood up.
That stupid son of a bitch, Kaidan thought as he stomped across the room.
All around the room, cultist fought, throwing up mass effect fields to protect from balls of energy thrown by their opponents. Through the calamity, Kaidan looked like just another opposing cultist.
I don't have time for these small fries, Kaidan thought, gritting his teeth. The first cultist he threw across the room didn't even see it coming. The second only had a split second to make peace with his god before his body was rapidly accelerated so suddenly, that it killed him.
"I will destroy you!" shouted a cultist, throwing a bolt of biotic energy at Kaidan.
He swatted it away, his mass effect field bouncing it off at an offset angle. In a blink of an eye, Kaidan flew forward, his hand around the cultist's throat, his grip undeniably firm with malice.
"Where is Kyle?" Kaidan asked through clenched teeth, holding back the urge to squeeze harder.
"Ugh…Observatory…" the cultist answered while fighting for air.
Kaidan turned, squeezing his hand into a fist with a wet crunch, dropping the cultist to the ground. He pulled up the map on his omni tool, finding the layout of the building in the computer system set up by the cultists. Finding a room labeled 'Observatory' he made his way through the building, blood dripping from his fingers.
"Where the hell is Kaidan?!" Shepard asked as he fired his gun from behind cover.
"I don't know!" Ashley shrugged.
"He's not a little kid, you can't just lose him!" Shepard shouted, throwing a grenade over to a group of cultists.
"He can take care of himself for now! Let's find Kyle and get out of here!" Ashley shouted, ducking to avoid the biotic bolts of energy.
All of the sudden there was a loud boom, the sound of a big amount of biotic energy exploding over the clearing. The trio popped their heads up from cover to see what happened when they laid eyes on one lone figure in blue armor.
"Kaidan!" Ashley exclaimed.
Kaidan didn't turn towards them, nor did he acknowledge their presence. He simply looked up at the high ceiling.
One second he was there, like a spirit roaming a graveyard, the next he was gone.
"Kaidan!" Ashley shouted once more.
"Where the hell did he go?" Garrus asked.
"Up maybe?" answered Shepard as they made their way where Kaidan was standing. Shepard turned to look at the high ceiling of the dome like room, seeing a number of balconies belonging to other floors.
"He could've gone to anyone of those!" Ashley complained.
Another large burst of biotic energy, throwing two cultists off the side of a balcony. One hit the wall of the opposite side with a splat, sliding down and smearing blood in a long crude line like the brush stroke of a preschooler, the other made an arc as he fell, still alive and screaming, hitting the ground with cringe worthy squash.
Shepard grimaced.
"Jesus Christ!" Ashley said, nudging the gory remains of the cultist.
"We'll follow the explosions. Let's move people!" Shepard ordered.
"I have a feeling this going to be messy," Garrus mused.
Kaidan made his way to the observatory at the top of the building. That must have been where the roof cracked open.
He jumped with each step, his biotics powering his stride, lengthening it tenfold. As he rushed down hallways and through rooms, cultist turned to attack him.
They fired their biotic shockwaves, foam built up at the side of their mouths, eyes wild with fury.
Naïve children, Kaidan thought. He spun mid jump, making a corkscrew of biotic shielding. It bounced the shockwaves off at wild angles, leaving Kaidan unharmed.
He landed to the ground once more, both hands full of fury. He swung both hands together in a wide arc, meeting in front of him with a loud clap. With it, the entirety of the room, the cultists, supply boxes, corpses and bodies of the dying, came together into one crunch.
Kaidan released his hands, letting the group of objects fall back to the ground. None of the cultists moved from where they fell.
Kaidan turned, satisfied, bringing up his map once more. Almost there. Almost to him, Kaidan thought.
He leapt with his feet ablaze with biotic power.
"What the hell happened in here?!" Shepard asked.
The sight before them was one of chaos and gore. Bodies, objects, even pieces of the walls torn off from their fixtures were gathered together in one pile.
"This is worse than Saleon's ship," mentioned Garrus.
"At least we found survivors there. This place is just a slaughter house," Shepard said morbidly.
"What happened on that ship, anyway? You guys didn't bring me along," Ashley asked.
Shepard looked at one of the corpse's faces. It was frozen in an expression of pure terror. Shepard sighed.
"It was full of test tube born humans, probably cloned. Saleon was a geneticist, so he was most likely tapering with their DNA. His specialty was humans, something about their genetic material being more diverse," Garrus explained.
"Sounds messed up," Ashley commented.
"It was. We fought through an entire army of these cloned things; they looked like a cross between a human and a bat like in appearance, they were so hideous and animalistic. They came at us like monsters, no fear, no hesitation. I just kept shooting until there weren't any more sets of their glowing feral eyes, but, even when you brought one down, the others, they didn't take notice."
"Hmm," Ashley answered solemnly.
The trio was silent for a moment, the memory of such terror was left in the air.
"We need to move. Kaidan shouldn't be running around on his own. I don't know what he's doing, but the sooner we find him, the sooner we can wrap this up before the building burns down." Shepard said.
"Right."
Finally, Kaidan thought. He reached a door which was the entrance to the observatory, as indicated by his omni tool's map. He opened the door.
"Get out of the way!" shouted a harsh voice.
"No! I will not let you kill him!" answered a less harsh, but hostile voice.
Kaidan looked up to see two teenage boys standing across from each other, one older than other by two or three years. The other, he recognized as the doorman from their visit before. From the looks of the room, the have been fighting using their biotics, and from the condition of each boy, Kaidan could tell they had been fighting for a while.
"I will kill you, even if you are my brother," warned the older boy, a line of blood dripping from the side of his brow down his cheek.
"Don't you see? Kyle helped us! He gathered us together, taught us to believe in ourselves! We can take down the Alliance together!" answered the younger boy desperately. His left sleeve was torn open, revealing a deep gash starting from his forearm to his bicep.
"He lied to us, used us for his own goals. He's not in it for us! He's in it for himself! He told us all that so that he use us like pawns!" the older boy shouted.
"Blasphemy!" shouted the younger boy. He threw his arm at the older one, hitting him with a biotic push.
The older one guarded, absorbing the energy of the blow with his barrier.
"Don't be stupid! Only an idiot would believe that crap!" the older one shouted back, returning the blow.
The younger boy met the beam of energy head on.
It was clear to Kaidan that young boy was weaker, and eventually he would lose. Just as he predicted, the young boy fell to his knee as the older boy put more power into his biotics.
The young boy desperately tried to keep back the opposing force, but he felt his power slipping. He looked around, finding a shard of broken metal, and in last ditch effort, he lifted it with his biotics. Using the remainder of his strength, he slung the shard of metal into the older boy, piercing the side of his neck. It went quickly through his flesh and out the other side.
The older boy stopped, shocked. The look on his face was one of disbelief, as blood dripped out his mouth. His final words came out as a whisper.
"…But I, I was trying to protect you…"
The older boy fell to his knee, clutching the shard through his neck tenderly.
The young boy stood up, his strength recovered. He threw a final push, sending the older boy across the room.
"I don't need protection," the young boy answered.
Kaidan watched as the young regaled his victory to a figure that lay prone against the wall behind him.
"We're safe now!" the boy cheered as the figure stood up.
"Good, good, come now my young disciple, we must leave this place at once," the figure said, standing up and dusting himself off.
"Of course, Father Kyle, your wish is my command," the young boy answered with a bow.
Kaidan watched the events proceed in shock. Finally, his fingers curled into an angry fist, his eyes bulging with hatred. He felt his skin crawl, his blood began to boil, and his bones screamed in wrath. He stepped forward, having to hold back his anger just to speak.
"Father Kyle," Kaidan whispered, his voice a hiss of fury.
Kyle turned, a shiver racing down his spine, his eyes meeting Kaidan's glare of fury. He froze where he stood.
"What do you want with Father Kyle?! I won't let you take him away!" shouted the boy.
Kaidan waved his arm, throwing the boy against the wall behind him without taking his eyes off of Kyle. He leapt, appearing in front of Kyle in an instant, his left hand in strong grip around Kyle's neck.
"S-spare me!" Kyle begged, as Kaidan raised his fist.
"No," Kaidan answered.
The first blow smashed Kyle's face in, leaving it completely unrecognizable. The second knocked his teeth and jaw out of place. The third, fourth, and fifth blow killed Major Kyle, but Kaidan didn't stop.
He kept at it, each blow beating Kyle's body into mush. The skin on Kaidan's knuckles broke, the bones in his fist were popped in and out of place, but he didn't notice. All he had eyes on was the decrepit body that formerly Major Kyle, and his fist that kept pounding the cavity where his face was deeper and deeper. It wasn't until he heard a familiar voice that he stopped.
"Kaidan!"
From behind Kaidan came a warm voice, two warm arms wrapping around him. He stopped what he was doing, his attention now shifting to the new comfort.
"Rahna," Kaidan answered lucidly.
He turned to find Ashley clinging to his waist. Shepard and Garrus ran up as well, checking the surroundings of the room. Kaidan looked at them, and then back down at the small body of a woman.
"We finally found you! You had me worried, you jerk," Ashley said angrily.
"Worried? About what?" Kaidan asked, bewildered.
"What did you do, Kaidan?" asked Shepard.
Kaidan turned to look at Shepard, who had his eyes on a corpse. Kaidan looked at the corpse strangely; it seemed vaguely familiar to him.
What happened to his head? Kaidan wondered.
"What did you do to Major Kyle?" Shepard asked, looking up at Kaidan.
Kaidan was confused. He looked at Shepard, then the corpse, and then finally shrugged. As he did, he caught sight of his hands, and looking down at them; he could see that they were soaked in blood. Kaidan rotated his hands, the blood shined evilly. He moved his fingers, finding that his right hand was almost completely immovable. He looked up in panic.
"I, I don't know," Kaidan answered.
"Well, whatever happened in here, it was a goddamn blood bath. Without his head, we can't be sure, but judging by the clothing of that corpse over there, that must be Major Kyle. Maybe we can take a DNA test or something," Shepard mused.
"No, that was, that was Major Kyle. I, I was here before, well before this happened," Kaidan said, gesturing to the room around him.
Shepard looked at Kaidan strangely. Finally, he nodded his head.
"I guess I'll take your word for it. Let's get out of here. Mission complete."
"If you can call it that," Garrus grimaced.
Kaidan sat in the infirmary as Chakwas bandaged his hands. He was deep in thought, when Shepard walked into the Medical Bay.
"Kaidan, mind if I talk to you for a second?" he asked.
Kaidan nodded.
"Dr. Chakwas, do you mind giving us some space?" Shepard asked. His tone was grave, devoid of his usual, carefree attitude.
"I was just about to take my lunch break," Chakwas said. She nodded and left the room, leaving Shepard and Kaidan alone.
Shepard looked at the floor for a moment, breathing in, and then finally spoke.
"Kaidan, what happened down there, it, it happens to a lot of people," Shepard began. "It's something that soldiers get, especially after something harsh."
"I, I don't know what happened. I just, I just had to do it," Kaidan struggled to explain.
"I know. I'm here for you if you need me; I just need to know if you're ok." Shepard put a hand on Kaidan's shoulders.
Kaidan looked at his hands, clenching them as best as he could.
"Commander, was it true what you said about your comrades from Elysium? Do you really regret not dying there?"
Shepard nodded.
"How do you still keep it together?"
"It's hard being the one that survived. Sometimes you feel like you don't deserve to be alive. Every pleasure you get from life makes you feel guilty. It took me a while to enjoy food again, even longer for sleep. Other times you just feel left behind, like your comrades abandoned you. You feel lost, empty, like a rock drifting in space. But one day, you find a purpose, a cause, another reason to fight. And when you do, you feel like you understand why you were left alive. You start fighting for what you believed in, what they believed in. You remember why you were doing those things in the first place, and you realize that you have to keep going, no matter what. You remember that it's not about you; it's about the ones that need your help. That's what keeps me going."
Kaidan nodded thoughtfully. Shepard sniffed, satisfied. He stood up.
"In interest of your health, I'm giving you and Chief Williams the night off. Maybe you won't be so damn grumpy if you get laid," Shepard chuckled.
Kaidan looked at Shepard incredulously.
"You knew!?" Kaidan asked in surprise.
Shepard gave him a strange look.
"Of course I did. Why? Was it a secret?" Shepard asked.
"I thought it was," Kaidan stated.
"Well, you guys were really bad at hiding it. I bet Garrus even caught on."
"He did. Man, Ashley is gonna flip when she hears about this."
"Why?"
Kaidan shook his head. "She's worried about Alliance regs, thinks you'll kick her off the ship if you found out."
"Ha! This isn't an Alliance ship, this is my ship. If miss marine wants to sleep with my pouty lieutenant, that's her problem," Shepard laughed, slapping Kaidan on the back.
Kaidan smiled. He took a deep breath, letting his shoulders drop.
"Thanks, Shepard; For everything."
"Don't thank me yet. We still got a lot of people that want us dead out there, and I intend to fly straight towards 'em," Shepard stated.
"Yes sir," Kaidan answered, giving him a warm salute.
Shepard left the Med Bay, leaving Kaidan to contemplate his wounds.
To Airam, the message to you is hidden in the first letters of the first word of every paragraph.