Sorry this chapter took so long. Had to write it in 200 word sections over the past two or three weeks in my spare time... which was practically nonexistent. Anyway, I hope y'all like it. This is more of a Kaidan and Mallory chapter even though it starts with Luke. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated and always brighten up my day. Looking forward to finding out how everyone is enjoying the story. Enjoy!
000000000000000
Luke woke slowly to the low buzzing of machines and the delicate hum of the medbay lights. The light overwhelmed his vision as he tried to open his eyes taking a quick breath and quickly regretting the sudden motion. Pain shot through his torso as his rib cage expanded. He started taking very shallow breaths to keep his ribs from moving but it was no use. No matter what he did, his ribs sent stabbing pain through him. Instinctively, he reached for his leg pocket and realized he was not in his armor anymore. Not only that, but he was restrained with medical straps around his wrists and ankles.
"It's not there," Dr. Chawkwas said stepping to his side with an injection of medigel.
"What?" Luke asked innocently though his mind was screaming at him for letting himself get caught. He pulled at the restraints trying to loosen them but they would not budge.
"The serum you are addicted to. The captain found it on you after you passed out on Horizon," Chawkwas explained.
Luke sighed and winced as the doctor injected the medi-gel into his ribs to aid the healing process. The pain from the ribs, however, was nothing compared to his embarrassment of being caught with the drug.
"What's Claire mood on this?" Luke asked.
"Claire is pissed at you Luke, and rightfully so. You know what this serum did to you as a teen. She wants you off of it immediately," the doctor informed him. Luke's eyes went wide.
"Karen, I'm not as strong biotically without it. I'll be a liability in combat. Please, I can't just stop cold turkey. It'll kill me," Luke pleaded. He hoped appealing to her personally by using her first name would help sway her.
"Unless I see fit to give you a limited dose to ease you off the serum, those are the orders," Chawkwas answered.
"Where's Claire? Let me talk to her," Luke pleaded again.
"I'm sorry, the Captain is on a mission to recover some kind of land vehicle. Apparently it's connected to a research team that went missing," Chawkwas responded.
"She's gone again. How long have I been out?" Luke asked pulling at his restraints.
"About nine hours," Chawkwas answered. "You've been ordered to stay on bed rest until you are clean of the serum and your ribs have healed."
Luke groaned and lay back closing his eyes. What had he done? Claire might have lost all trust in him, and strapped to the damn bed he couldn't send off his reports to Anderson and Hackett. Not only was he screwing up his mission with Claire and Cerberus, but his assignment with AEIS was crashing too. He took a slow breath and tried to clear his mind but he was already feeling the craving for the serum. It was all he could think about. Flushing his system with that clear, blue liquid he had grown so fond of drowned out every other thought in his head. He hated himself for loving that feeling so much but it was what made him feel powerful and strong.
This is not going to be easy. What if I say something about my real mission while I'm detoxing? I need to figure out a way that no one will be around me for next bit until this is over.
"Doc, can I ask a favor?" Luke asked. Chawkwas looked down at him and crossed her arms.
"Depends on the favor, Luke," she answered.
"I need to be quarantined. Only you and Claire should have access and even Claire should be limited. I don't know what this detox is going to do to me. I might not be able to control my biotics and I could hurt someone, so…please?" Luke asked. He was not sure if he was telling the truth about his biotics, but showing true worry was the only way to convince the doctor to oblige him. He had to protect his secrets… even from Claire.
"You want me to quarantine you?" Karen exclaimed nearly dropping her data pad.
"Full quarantine. No sound, no biotics, nothing gets out," Luke replied. Hopefully he could hold his tongue while the doctor and Claire were in the room, but once they left it wouldn't matter what he said, no one would be able to hear him. He could howl at the moon and scream his darkest secrets and no one would be the wiser.
"I'll see what I can do," Chawkwas answered. She eyed him with a curiosity that made him a little nervous. Hopefully she would help him before he started losing his mind… if he lost his mind. The not knowing what was ahead scared him even more the possibility of exposing his secrets.
000
The SSV Europa pulled into dock at Arcturus station as Kaidan watched from the window. He sighed and adjusted his uniform. He had been forbidden to speak about the attack on Horizon until a full report was given to the Defense Committee and Admiral Hackett.
"Commander Alenko, your presence has been requested in the board room on level six once we dock," an orderly reported. Kaidan turned to face him and raised an eyebrow.
"I was suppose to report directly to the proceedings. Who changed the orders?" Kaidan asked crossing his arms.
"The order came directly from Admiral Hackett, sir," the orderly reported. Kaidan nodded and dismissed the man with a wave. Turning back to the window, he spotted an amazing sight. The Athens was docked only a few bays down. Mallory would be on the station somewhere. Maybe after his debriefing with Hackett and the Committee, he might be able to see her, tell her about Claire and Luke… Although, telling her that her brother and sister had joined forces with one of their most hated enemies was probably not a great dinner conversation.
As he stepped out of the docking tube and on to the station, Kaidan was immediately tackled by someone. He had not even seen her coming, but that red hair and the tight grip around him told him all he needed to know.
"Hey Mal, I told you we'd see each other again soon," Kaidan stated. Mallory leaned back just long enough to turn her head so she could plant a kiss on his lips that nearly knocked him off his feet.
When their lips parted, they held each other for a moment longer before stepping away from each other. Kaidan quickly noticed several marines giving him a thumbs up or big grin. Typical soldiers, whenever a buddy got a girl, they immediately tossed in their approval or disapproval, whether it was wanted or not.
"I've got so much to tell you," Mallory said as they started walking.
"So do I, but I have to report to Admiral Hackett first. I have orders to immediately see him upon arrival," Kaidan explained. He had so much he needed to tell her and a ton more he wanted to tell her but as she always said, duty first.
"Mind company?" Mallory asked looping her arm into the crook of his elbow.
"Not at all," Kaidan responded smiling. They only had a limited time together and he wanted to spend every second he could with her.
As soon as they were out of ear shot of the others, Mallory immediately turned to him. Her expression mixed between excitement, confusion, and fear as she opened her mouth to speak.
"I found out something that's huge, but I'm having a hard time making sense of it," Mallory said as they continued to walk.
"What is it?" Kaidan could feel a lump forming in his throat. Could she already know about Claire and Luke? Could she know that he knew and didn't tell her?
"My captain showed me some raw intelligence from Omega and…well… I saw Claire and Luke," Mallory said wringing her hands. "But, it couldn't be them right? Claire's dead and Luke's…I mean…He wouldn't be running around with Cerberus."
Kaidan took a slow breath and looked around for any sign of security or superior officers before sighing and rubbing the back of his head. "Look, I don't know how much I can tell you but you already know the big things."
"How much you can tell me?" Mallory asked taking a step back. Kaidan bit his lip before letting out a slow breathe and looking up at the woman he loved. He knew that anything he said was going to hurt her, especially since his most recent assignment was seeing if Cerberus was behind the colonial abductions and he bumped into Claire.
"All this has gotten twisted up with my AEIS assignments. I'm headed to Hackett to make my report. I'm sorry Mal, but all I can tell you is they're both alive," Kaidan said trying and to comfort her.
"Then, let me come with you. They're my family. I deserve to know what's going on," Mallory said looking up at him. Damn those bright green eyes, why could he never say no to her?
"Okay, come on, but you'll have to ask Hackett to be read in," Kaidan answered taking her hand and leading her toward the admiral's office.
Kaidan had theories screaming through his head on what might have been going on with Claire and Luke. Luke being with Cerberus made no sense unless they were blackmailing him, but why would Claire be there other than feeling like she owed them for bringing her back or maybe wanting to look out for her brother? Or could it really be like they said, could Cerberus really only be interested in stopping the collectors?
As the door to the admiral's office hissed open, Kaidan spotted the man behind his desk reading through some reports and signing a few accommodation notices. Most of those medals were awarded just for years of service, but every so often there was someone like Claire Shepard who got the Star of Terra for their actions. He had heard of a marine about a year and a half earlier taking command when his squad leader was wounded and saving a colony. The guy had even been wearing a 'Remember the Normandy' badge on his armor as he did. What would finding out Claire was working with Cerberus do to guys like that?
"Commander Alenko, Commander Shepard, come on in. I was just finishing up," Hackett said neatly assembling his data pads and papers and pushing them aside.
"Sir, I was told you wanted me to report to you before the defense committee," Kaidan said saluting crisply. Mallory snapped to attention and saluted as well.
"At ease, relax and have a seat. There's a lot we need to discuss, and I'm glad you brought Shepard with you," Hackett said saluting and walking around his desk, shaking Kaidan's hand. The commander had gotten a little to use to the familiar way the brass talked to him since he started working for AEIS. Mallory must have picked up on it because she turned at looked at him a little confused.
"Sir, I would like to read in Commander Mallory Shepard into my overall mission. Personally, sir, I think she deserves to know," Kaidan stated as Hackett shook Mallory's hand.
"To be honest, I'm surprise you didn't tell her already. Permission granted. Then you can make your report," Hackett replied returning to his desk.
"Thank you sir," Kaidan said bowing his head slightly. He then turned to Mallory and smiled. "For the past two years, my job has been to scout, locate, and survey possible threats to the Alliance. Cerberus, Geth, Reapers, and mercenaries are all on the list, although reapers were not there until a item was found in batarian space."
"Leave the Project out of it," Hackett jumped in. Kaidan nodded and cleared his throat. Why would he want to leave out the Project? It was the only proof they had that the reapers were real.
"Well, the main focus shifted to trying to find the missing colonists, which is why your marines got pulled in so much. We always planned on reading you into the operation and using you as tactical support, but they dragged their feet. We started bumping into more and more Cerberus agents and teams, including our favorite, the Wolf Pack. We've put together a list of everything they stole and attacked trying to figure out what they were after but all of it was advance scientific equipment that not even I can figure out what they'd use it for," Kaidan explained. He could see Mal was hanging on every word. She was mulling everything over in her mind and trying to put the puzzle together to find the truth.
"We believe we've found the reason for the attacks and thefts," Hackett added.
"What? That's news to me," Kaidan exclaimed.
"Judging from the intelligence and lab research, everything they stole along with other purchases that can be traced to Cerberus suggest a massive medical operation involving billions of credits. We believe they used that equipment to bring Captain Claire Shepard back from the dead. As I am sure that you are both aware, it looks like they succeeded," Hackett stated.
"I can confirm that. The captain told me herself on Horizon," Kaidan answered. Mallory whirled around so fast, Kaidan was almost knocked over.
"You talked to her!?" Mallory exclaimed.
"I've spent the last three weeks on Horizon in the Terminus, officially helping build defenses for the colony. Unofficially, I was there because intel received a tip that Horizon might have been next to disappear." Kaidan turned to face Hackett. "Sir, whatever source told you it was Collectors, they were right. Damn things hit us faster than anything I've seen." He paused again. It was hard to admit the next part, but if Cerberus and Claire had not intervened, he would have been taken just like the colonists.
"Go on," Hackett urged.
"Sir, if Cerberus had not intervened, the Collectors would have taken the whole colony. But on a negative not, those other reports were right. Claire and Luke are both with Cerberus. I heard some of their radio chatter and it appears they have rounded up some old friends too. Joker, is piloting their new Normandy, and Garrus Vakarian is part of the ground team," Kaidan continued. "I wrote out a more detailed report. It should have been delivered as soon as we arrived."
"Yes, I got it. I also sent it to Councilor Anderson. He sends his best by the way," Hackett said tapping a data pad on his desk.
"It's not like Cerberus to work with turians," Mallory stated crossing her arms and pursing her lips, obviously thinking.
"It wasn't just Garrus. They had a salarian and a krogan with them too, and the Wolf Pack. I've got to admit, they could handle themselves," Kaidan said rubbing his chin.
"According to our source, Cerberus is supplying the funding and allowing the captain to pick her team. They used Luke to recruit people that She would trust to crew the ship as well. They've built a perfect mask to hide the real Cerberus behind," Hackett stated.
"Sir, your source inside Cerberus, who is it? How are they getting so much intel on the organization?" Mallory asked. Kaidan smiled and glanced over at Mallory. He had asked Hackett that himself months earlier, and Hackett had just laughed at him and told him that he had a lot to learn about the intelligence branch of the military. He also said that in order to keep a secret between more than one person the others would have to be dead.
"The source is a member of Cerberus with access. That is all that can or will be said," Hackett stated firmly. Kaidan smirked. That was even less than Hackett had said to him. Though, he had found out more about the source. Hackett slipped up and called the source 'he' once instead of a gender neutral term. Kaidan couldn't help but admire the nameless agent. The man had buried himself so deep in Cerberus he was able to dig out massive scores of information on spies, accounts, cells hiding within the Alliance, and even warned against a few raids. It was admirable.
"So, how can we defend against the Collectors?" Mallory asked.
"We've gotten samples of the venom used to paralyze the colonists and we are working on an antidote at the Fehl Prime AEIS facilty under the main colony. We have our Cerberus source to thank for those too," Hackett stated.
"I saw the Cerberus team wearing these weird devices on their belts, wired into their armor's power core. They were able to move through the colony without those swarms attacking them. I think it's some kind of repellant sir," Kaidan stated. He had gotten a fairly close look at the device when Luke got close. Close enough that Kaidan was able to feel the amount of biotic power coming off of him. Should he report Luke's new biotic strength? If so, should it be in front of Mallory? Hackett did need to know as much as possible.
"We'll have to wait for our source to get us the schematics, but I hope you included your mission logs and scans in your report," Hackett asked.
"Yes sir, but there's something else I think you need to know," Kaidan started. "Luke has gotten extremely strong biotically. Compared to two years ago, I don't even recognize him. There's no way he got that powerful with just training and new amps or implants. I think Cerberus might have done something to boost his power," Kaidan reported. He could feel Mallory's eyes glued to his back as he spoke. Considering the trauma Luke had experience early in life coupled with the trauma of loosing Claire, it was not hard to think he had relapsed.
"I see. What do you think Commander? Could Cerberus be using whatever this biotic enhancement is to manipulate your brother?" Hackett asked.
"If it's what I think it is, then yes. It's very possible," Mallory answered.
"Alright… Alenko, go and make your report to the defense committee. Shepard, understand this is a level 6 classified operation. You were only read in because it involved your family. Do not mention this or the source to anyone," Hackett ordered.
The pair saluted before turning to leave. Kaidan glanced back at the admiral sat down behind his desk again and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was stressed. There was something about the idea of Luke being manipulated that made him extremely uneasy. But what scared Kaidan more than that thought was if Luke could be controlled by Cerberus, could they be using that influence to manipulate Claire too? It made a bit of sense, but Claire was too smart for that. She would see through any kind of manipulation tactic. Kaidan sighed. He couldn't abandon his post, but he knew that Claire was still loyal and was using Cerberus to fight the Collectors, just like she said she was. He would need to send a message apologizing for his behavior and wish her, Garrus, and Luke luck. It was the least he could do.
