Hello, Time Bomb
Chapter 27
Men Are From Tuchanka, Women Are From Thessia
Three
Shepard held Hello Bear in both hands, ready to engage hostiles.
This gun was the most reliable thing in her life, but it had been a few years since she was asked to use it as her only means of defence.
The Alliance had confiscated her mod chips, including the lotus rounds. Kaidan had forbidden her from accessing the extended armoury. As much as she loved Bear, without mods he might as well have been shooting spitballs. If she didn't have Vega at her back she might have refused to go groundside, citing her insufficient weaponry and claiming reckless endangerment. The regs were on her side.
She hadn't made a fuss. Partly because she had larger concerns, partly because she suspected that Kaidan would simply mute her again. He wasn't leaving her on the Normandy without his supervision, and he wasn't arming her.
Things had changed.
The flight to Mars had been short, just enough time for her to find a hardsuit, not enough time to conduct a full assessment of her ship, but she had noticed things. Her armoury had been stripped. Her Widow, Cain and all other heavy weapons were gone. Her Kestrel suit was there, refurbished and back to factory standard settings, all of her improvements gone. Her ship was strewn with loose wiring, unstowed cables and unfinished interior panels.
The biggest change was the crew. EDI was the only familiar fixture and they hadn't had time to exchange words. She had wanted her crew gone, too many of them had criminal charges pending, she wouldn't risk them in Alliance hands. But Kaidan was the worst change, some gross imitation of himself, his endless patience ended, a wreck of barely concealed hostility and numb shock.
Part of her was hurt, which she supposed was natural. The only person who had ever loved her was now ready to spit in her face. A bigger part of her was viciously proud of him. He was obeying orders, but he wasn't buying what Cerberus was selling. He wanted the Shepard in his memory to be respected, and she had the time and patience to convince him that they were one in the same.
So she went down to the surface of Mars armed only with a forty-year-old pistol, right in the path of an oncoming and extremely beautiful dust storm. Kaidan had been patient with her before, now she would be patient with him.
On the bright side of all of this, at least people finally believed her about the Reapers.
"Holy shit, they're executing them."
She couldn't see past Vega from her drag position, but she stepped out wide, momentarily leaving their rear unguarded.
Cerberus. Eight shock troops. Two hostages. They were too far away, those men were dead. Even with her Widow she couldn't have taken out all eight before they killed the Alliance men. Without it she was next to helpless when Kaidan and Vega sprung into action.
Doing the only thing she could, she cloaked and ran. Even Hello Bear could kill at point blank range.
Her contribution to the scuffle was small. A single man down with a shot to the base of the skull, another distracted enough to be caught in Kaidan's biotics. As expected, the hostages did not survive.
As expected, as soon as they were out of the storm, Kaidan wanted an explanation.
"Straight answer, Laz- Shepard. What are Cerberus doing here?" he asked.
"I don't know," she said.
"You worked for them, for gods sake, you have to know something."
Patience.
"I've had no contact with Cerberus."
Vega stepped in on her behalf. "Commander Shepard has been under constant surveillance since coming back to Earth. No way they've communicated since."
Kaidan turned to him. "Not constant. How do you know it didn't contact them when it was out of your hands?"
"Her omnitool kept records. She made one outgoing call, and it wasn't to Cerberus."
She refused to be sorry for breaking out for one afternoon. It didn't help her case, not on the human or terrorist front, but she was so sick of being treated like a piece of furniture that she knew she wouldn't have lasted in captivity. The consequences had been severe, but she had no regrets.
"How do you know? Ceberus has sleeper agents everywhere, anyone it contacted could have been compromised."
Vega rubbed the back of his neck. Technically the contents of her call were classified pending trial. He wasn't allowed to tell anyone, including a major. Shepard decided to let him off the hook. "I called the Salarian STG."
Kaidan was silent. Even behind his helmet she could see him trying to fit that in with what he knew, maybe being biased enough to try to frame it as some terrorist action. He'd find no way, the salarians were a council race, a friend to humanity and the Alliance, probably their most reliable ally.
Finally, he asked. "Why would you call them? Who's your contact?"
"Dr. Mordin Solus. It was a social call."
"AIs don't usually make social calls," Kaidan said, his tone saying so much more. He didn't believe her.
Patience.
"I'm not an AI," she said firmly, although she knew the argument wouldn't land. "You can confirm that the call was social and unencrypted. Kirrahe is on security, he monitored the call. He's a major, now."
She didn't get to see his reaction as their airlock depressurised, letting them out into the loading bay of the complex. The day break she didn't regret, but the call to Mordin had been inadvisable. Kirrahe was not impressed that she had managed to get a direct line to a top secret facility, but had done her the favour of connecting her to Mordin, for the sake of lost friends.
Shepard deactivated the mass effect field that sealed her helmet, letting her breathe in the relatively fresh air of the archives base.
For the first time since the world started burning, Kaidan was in full view of her. She hadn't taken notice, but it was hard not to, now that he was just a few feet away. She could see the stubble that permanently shadowed his face, the white scar under his lip, she was starting to get a feel for how much bigger he had become, his new duties had built up his muscle mass. She was just close enough to catch his scent, kevlar, engine grease, aftershave, and sweat, a smell she associated with warm kisses and safety.
His hair was dusted with silver at his temples and she knew it was from stress instead of age. The crease between his eyebrows had deepened with worry. There were just the shades of dark circles under his eyes. Life had been hard for him since she'd died. She swallowed thickly.
A thump from the vents had her drawing her weapon again. Kaidan and Vega were also backing up, their weapons drawn. They took cover, but she lingered a moment, staring at the vent. Whoever was in there was terrible at navigating tight spaces. She heard the continual knock of knees, elbows, and armour against the sides, even some gunfire.
She took up cover but peered around the corner. Whoever came out of there was going to be disoriented, rushed, and half-deaf. Easy pickings if they were hostile, in need of immediate assistance if they were friendly.
To her surprise, it was Liara that tumbled out of the vent, landing gracelessly on the ground, followed by badly aimed shots.
Liara was situated safely on Hagalaz the last time Shepard had seen her. Her brokerage was an invaluable war asset, if she had compromised it they would be in trouble. Shepard was moving forward to help when Liara regained her bearings and fired a singularity at the open grate. A few shots with her pistol later and they were alone.
Vega was still gearing up to attack, but Shepard waved him down. "Easy, Lieutenant."
"Lazarus," Liara said, relieved. "Thank the goddess you're alive."
"It's Shepard now," she replied.
"That's good to hear. Kaidan," Liara turned to him. "I was worried when the reports came in. They hit Earth hard?"
He nodded. "Yeah, they did. Hackett has me escorting 'Shepard'. He ordered us here, said you'd know what was going on."
"I do."
Vega leaned closer to Shepard. "Hallelujah. Some answers, finally."
Liara fell into step with Kaidan, seeming to realise the shift in power intuitively. Shepard walked drag with Vega, it felt easy, like when she was a commander walking behind Anderson. It had been a while since she let someone else take charge, and she trusted Kaidan with this.
Liara didn't have answers. Not really. Shepard listened to them talk, and learned they were after a prothean superweapon of indeterminate capabilities. Given her own choice Shepard would have appropriated the resources to work on their fleet, improve the thannix cannons that were their best offence against the Reapers. But after a full year of actively disobeying authority she had to remind herself sternly that Hackett was calling the shots. She trusted Hackett, as well.
"Hackett got me access to the archives and kept me updated on Lazarus' status," Liara said. She paused, turning to address Shepard. "I meant to come see you, but..."
Unfinished sentences were still not one of Shepard's favourite things. If Liara had come to see her it would have been a waste of time. She had nothing to report from custody.
The asari seemed to want a response. Shepard took a moment to come up with something. "It's fine."
They kept walking. The decision had already been made. This prothean device was their aim, and it was on the other side of the facility. If she had been better armed she might have requested a vent run, but Kaidan would not allow that even if she was properly equipped. The sooner they were done here, the sooner she could get to the Citadel and start arranging a tangible military defence.
So she followed. She remembered how to follow.
She tried to remember how to follow.
It wasn't until Cerberus started to break through the doors and Kaidan ordered Vega away that she remembered why she had broken away from following.
"No," she said, already falling into defensive stance, preparing for the assault.
"If Cerberus beats us to the archives we need someone covering the exits," Kaidan said.
The four of them were gradually falling back, weapons at the ready.
"I'll go," Shepard said.
"Like hell you will. Get to the shuttle, lieutenant."
Vega hesitated, looking between them. She realised that she didn't trust Kaidan, not enough for this. Bringing her down here unarmed was one thing, but sending away her bodyguard was something else. Was he trying to make her death look like an accident? He'd made no secret of his desire to shut her down.
"If you're trying to kill me, there's a button on your omnitool."
Kaidan grabbed her spaulder, forcibly turning her toward him. In his eyes was all the anger and hurt that she had been afraid to see. "Earth is what I care about, not you. As long as you help us against the Reapers, you're under my protection."
He let her go and Vega took the hint.
"Stay safe, niñata."
"I know what that means," she called after him as he made for the shuttle.
"I hope so!" he yelled back.
Just as the elevator disappeared from sight, the doors burst open. Cerberus heavies.
Shepard took a few shots at them, darting out from behind her crate. Each did nothing to the men on the top balcony. Her omnitool still had its locks in place, so helping to take down shields wasn't an option.
With a heavy sigh she leaned against the crate and let the two biotics handle them.
Patience.
Once they were back aboard the Normandy and she had a successful, uneventful mission under her belt, she would petition Kaidan to give her something useful to do in combat. EDI was far beyond her hacking capabilities – or at least, would claim to be – he could at least give her back her omnitool without worrying she would hijack the ship. Not that the thought didn't amuse her. She'd stolen two of three Normandys, getting the hat trick would be a decent story.
Liara looked over to her and she shrugged helplessly, holding up Hello Bear.
With a singularity and the resultant biotic explosion, Liara stepped forward. "Why isn't Lazarus armed?"
"It's Shepard," Shepard interjected.
Kaidan ignored her. "It's still Cerberus tech. I don't like the idea of a loaded terrorist gun at my back."
"So the Alliance hasn't reinstated her."
"They have."
"No, they haven't," Shepard said.
Kaidan shot her a pointed glare. "But I'm the commanding officer aboard the Normandy. The admirals put it in my custody."
Damn him. She should have been frustrated and angry with him. It was more frustrating that she couldn't work up any real ire. For all his precautions and her uselessness in battle, she was with him. A compromised agent could not be allowed free access to the Normandy, she would have done exactly the same thing. And to compound the problem she missed him. Being this close all she wanted to do was fling her arms around him and tell him she was so glad he was there.
"An understandable precaution," Liara said.
"But you don't agree."
"I suppose you haven't been as close to her as the rest of us, recently. You haven't seen her recovering, Kaidan."
"If it's with us, it'll prove it soon enough. Until then its utility is at my discretion, I'm not going to let an unknown head up the war effort without supervision."
Shepard smiled. Regaining Kaidan's trust would be painful and difficult, she had no doubt. But at least he was back. A Kaidan that she didn't know was better than none, and she'd been without him for too long.
Liara nodded. "I have faith in Shepard, and you, Kaidan. I'm sure you'll see her for what she is soon enough."
Shepard stared flatly. A nice sentiment, but they were still talking as if she wasn't standing next to them. This was going to be trying in more ways than she'd expected.
"I really hope you're right, Liara," he said. "Because I could use a few solid answers on that front. Come on, let's find a way up."
Kaidan cast a look back at her, and she met his eye, even though he couldn't see her face. He was hurting, he was scared, so was she, but she was going to find a way through this. A way back to a crew that trusted her, a way back to Kaidan, and a way to defeat the Reapers.
Because she was Commander Shepard, and she had patience.
