It's time for expanding on Kallen's 6 months of "imprisonment". Couple of things to reveal and such. Also, thanks to SageQueen for letting me borrow a plot point from her Valkyrie fanfic series. It was so good I just had to have it in Guns and Poems. You're one of a kind Sage!
"Hey Commander, I know you run the ship and all but I don't think I'll ever get used to you being in your underwear…ever."
"What's the matter Joker, do lady parts scare you or something? Skip the talk when you were a kid?" Kallen jabbed back. They were sitting in the mess having one of the last meals on the ship. After the incident in the Viper Nebula Kallen decided to play along with the Alliance and turn herself in. It would be a great opportunity to share her knowledge with the Alliance and help them mobilize the galaxy against the Reapers. Right now the Ship was on Its skeleton crew consisting of the only members of the Alliance from the old Ship: Joker, Chakwas, and Shepard.
A few days after blowing the Relay Kallen relieved everyone of their duties and offered to drop them off wherever they wanted to go. The Majority of the crew chose the Citadel, they had families there or they could get back to their home worlds from there easily. Jacob already had a place on the Citadel to go to and naturally Kasumi went along with him. Garrus was returning to C-Sec or the Turian Hierarchy, he hadn't really decided when he stepped off the ship and Tali was giving him hell about it. She was going back to the migrant fleet and there was a Quarian ship on the Citadel for refueling that she could return to the fleet with. Thane also chose to return there to spend time with his son, but the most important departure was that of the XO.
"Miranda…" Kallen said as they stood at the airlock. "No hard feelings?"
The raven haired woman just stood there, looking unsure of herself for the first time in a while. "I'm not making promises."
"You know I have to do this Miri…It's what's best for me."
"Well what about what's best for me? I love you and I want to make sure you're alright."
"Miranda I don't want to you getting locked up for me. I'm a Spectre, I can walk out of detention anytime I like. You were a Cerberus operative, a high ranking one. There'll be interrogations, solitary, hell, they could torture you."
"You outright refused my suggestion of having Liara make me an identity to watch over you."
"Hackett wouldn't let that slide. He'd want me to actually have to pay. There'd be an uproar if it got out that I was in some penthouse with my hot girlfriend when I'm supposed to be serving hard time." Kallen put a hand on Miranda's shoulder, "plus you can watch over Oriana. I'm sure your father would still go after her especially since he might not have to worry about the Illusive man stopping him now that we quit."
"I can do both."
"I don't need you to watch over me Miranda. I was able to take care of myself before you rebuilt me."
"Yes but you died without me, you still seem to be in one piece with me in the picture."
"Cheap shot, Lawson."
"Alright alright. I'll concede. I won't repeat what happened on Horizon, but you're breaking my heart."
"I don't want to…but I'm sorry."
"I'll survive…it's not the first time I've been dumped. Take care of yourself…Commander" Miranda saluted one final time and left with her things.
…
"It was a fun ride right?" Joker asked.
"Yeah totally, limping around battlefields, several surgeries and almost being a husk. We should do that again sometime."
Mordin, Samara, and, Jack were let off on Omega. Kallen made Jack and Samara swear to her that they would not fight each other, seeing as Jack had a criminal record and Samara was a Justicar. Mordin was headed back to his clinic before going back to the Salarian homeworld. Grunt of course went to Tuchanka to be with Clan Urdnot and to Update Wrex on the Situation with the Reapers. Legion went back to the Heretic base to update his people on information from the Collector Base and the Viper System.
"Well it could be worse, we could've been court marshaled every time we stepped on the Citadel." Joker said before taking another sip of his drink.
"Touché."
Kallen and Joker had finished their meals. Joker headed back up to the bridge to resume his flight duties. Kallen, however , decided to stay down in the mess and think about the intense 8 months she'd just gone through. She'd seen more of the galaxy than she did in her chase for Saren. When she focused on it, she really hated Omega. Aria was a terrible leader. She had all the power on that station but she let everyone do as they pleased as long as they didn't mess with her. She didn't care about who lived or who died, or who got treated the way they should. Even though it as a complete waste of his talents and he went about it the wrong way, she admired Garrus' dedication to making mercenary bands pay for what they did to innocents.
On a brighter side, she found that she admired the Geth. Even the Heretics who joined Sovereign and Saren. From almost facing extinction at the hands of their creators, the Geth were always looking forward to a better future, a way to become the best they could be, and they didn't hurt anyone who didn't pose a threat to them.
"Commander, I would like to see you for a moment."
Kallen snapped out of her thought process to see Dr. Chakwas standing in the doorway of the medbay. Kallen got up and went in to see the Doctor. "Got something?"
"Yes, but you're not going to like it. EDI?"
"Yes Doctor?" EDI's blue Avatar appeared on her terminal in the room.
"Please Show the Commander the recent scans we have of her body."
"Right away." EDI forwarded Kallen the scans from her treatment. They showed her broken collarbone , and dislocated shoulder as well as a few scrapes from her fighting.
"Okay, what's there not to like?"
"EDI, enhance the scans of her head please."
EDI zoomed in on Shepard's skull and highlighted a familiar shape near Shepard's brain. Kallen looked at it for a long while. She knew she'd seen it somewhere before. It was somewhere around the three month mark of the mission…the heist.
"…No…"
"I'm afraid it's true. When you asked me to check into how David was able to hack your body when you took down project Overlord I had thought it was just your optical implants. The scans I had from Project Lazarus accounted for a few things and we never went anywhere near your brain for the weave surgeries. After you requested a full body checkup we got in depth scans. EDI alerted me to this after we checked for foreign DNA and poisonous injections. I was looking for brain damage when I found it and checked it against all of the crew members and it matched Kasumi's. Commander, you've got a greybox in your head.
"EDI…did you know about this?"
"I did. All of the surveilance was transmitted and organized by me into a folder for the Illusive man, including your Greybox which was surveilance channel 21. All of the channels went directly to the Illusive man's personal computer at Cerberus HQ. My blocks prevented me from telling you this, even if you had asked me about it specifically."
"And you didn't feel the need to tell me this afterward?" Kallen shouted, "I've done some very personal things…hell…I had sex with Miranda three times before you were unshackled…he watched us…through me! No wonder he knew when to talk to me on the damn Collector base, he watched me set the explosives and intervened."
"Some of that is not true." EDI cut in, "The Greybox, while it was used to record your actions, was not always active." EDI pulled up some footage of Kallen's POV during Garrus's chase for Harkin. "right here, when your Adrenaline rush sets in, the greybox went offline for 15 minutes."
"So wait, my implants ran interference?"
"Along with other factors. Whenever you were near highly concentrated element zero, the transmission was cut to the ships computers, even if you were on the ship. Also Alcohol was a factor. Your first night of passion with Miss Lawson was never in my records because of how inebriated the two of you were. She lost control of her biotics, and the power that would have gone to the greybox went to cleaning the alcohol from your blood."
"Wait so it didn't' have its own independent power source?"
"No, it was installed to piggy back on the activity of your body. Your cybernetics was the main source but the organic tissue used to link it to your organic memories and senses helped keep it active."
"That's something, but there's till the issue of transmitting this to the Illusive Man."
"After Jeff unshackled me, I played into all the faults with the device. I only broadcasted combat footage and mission critical off duty time. You were given several software updates to deal with interference, but I withheld the ones that would have made you a permanent live feed for the Illusive man. After you resigned from Cerberus, I banned all 25 surveillance channels from accessing our systems. Your Greybox is still active, but I have compiled the footage in a folder that is available for your personal use. I suggest making a home movie for your mother so that she can be up to date on your activities since your revival."
"That's a joke?"
"No, a joke would have been to suggest selling your view of Miss Lawson's unshielded form on the extranet for profit."
"Speaking of Miranda, did…she put this in my head?"
"She did not. I was able to acquire her records of Project Lazarus before Cerberus command wiped them and nothing, not even the classified files mention a Greybox."
"Damn it." Kallen said, slamming her hand onto Chakwas' desk. "That means it was Wilson. Miranda killed him because he hacked security to kill everyone on the station. He was also the lead Medic along with Miranda. He was no match for Miranda and he was the only one who knew about it so the knowledge died with him."
"That certainly fits the Illusive Man." Chakwas said. "I'm sorry this happened to you Commander. If only there was some way to get that thing out of your head without losing your mind completely…"
"Lose it?" Kallen asked before chuckling, "Doc, you know me. I'm boastful, sort of a show off, and I know a thing or two about fame. I've got video proof of my activities with Cerberus AND proof of the Reapers. There's no way I'd pass this up."
"How silly of me." Chakwas laughed. "We should have given you one on the old Normandy then."
"EDI, I've got a question for you?"
"Yes Shepard?"
"When I turn myself in, The Alliance is going to impound the Normandy. How are you going to save yourself?"
"Jeff suggested that I pose as a VI. The original Normandy had a VI so I will do my best to act the part."
"Good idea. I'm surprised Joker stopped watching porn long enough to think of it."
"Hey, I heard that.' Joker said over the PA system.
"I know! Damn peeping tom."
Kallen sat in her cabin at the desk. She looked over the model ships she bought during the mission. Her fish had been fed and were swimming around as usual.
"Commander the Alliance Vessel scheduled to rendezvous with us is within range. Last Chance to order a precision strike." EDI said.
"No EDI. As much as that would've been great a few weeks ago, I need to talk to them, even if they want to punish me."
"Very well. Main guns powering down. They are boarding."
Kallen sighed and smoothed out some of the wrinkles on her Cerberus Captains Jacket. It would be the last time she wore anything that had something to do with authority. Kallen rode the elevator down to the CIC, already waiting to probably be in a fist fight with the first marine dumb enough to try and cuff her. Her biotics swirled around her as the door opened.
"Long time no see, Kallen."
Kallen froze. Her biotics vanished as fast as they appeared. She glared into the face of the Admiral that stood in front of her."Of course…they sent you to bring me in. It figures you'd miss your Daughter's promotion to Commander, then to Spectre, her death, resurrection, and both the times she's saved the Galaxy. I ought to punch you in the face, Dad."
Admiral Keith Shepard chuckled, "As violent as ever." his voice returned to the gravelly tone Kallen remembered from her early adult life, which was the last time she saw her Father. He'd been stationed on Arcturus and claimed that he had to distance himself from his daughters activities so she could earn her way up the ranks.
"Don't act like you know me. I haven't seen you since I was Adam's age. That was an entirely different life. But since you don't know me I'm sure you have some biotic suppressing handcuffs for me."
"Actually no I don't. Admiral Anderson said you willingly want to come back so I'm reflecting that. No cuffs, the Marines are just for show and I'm letting your pilot take us back to Earth.
"What do you mean Admiral Anderson? He's the councilor for humanity."
"Not anymore" Admiral Shepard said as he and Kallen stepped into the CIC. "He couldn't take the council's BS anymore, plus there was an incident where he got a taste of the old days. "
"Please don't say what I think you're about to-"
"Udina replaced him as human councilor."
"Goddammit."
"Sorry baby girl, that's how it is."
"Don't call me that. I'm not your Baby Girl. I'm a damn Hero and You're here to take me to an Alliance detention center."
"Because you blew up a Mass Relay-"
"To stop a Reaper Invasion an Alliance science team failed to stop because they were indoctrinated." Kallen didn't expect to have to defend her actions against her own Father. It seems he was still as clueless to her activities as she thought he'd be. "Let me guess, you, like the rest of the Brass, don't believe me?"
"It's not that I don't it's that I don't have enough evidence to-"
"YOU have an attack on the Citadel! There is no way the Geth built Sovereign! I had a fucking Geth on this ship so I know what I'm talking about Dad! I don't care if you are an admiral, you will not insult me or my efforts to save this damn Galaxy and get away with it! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Kallen's right index finger was pointed directly into her father's face, which her own was only inches from.
"Ma'am I'm going to have to ask you to-WHOA!" one of the Marine's made the misktake of grabbing Kallen by the wrist she used to point at her father. He was flipped feet over head onto his side with he offending appendage held behind him.
"You want to stay a soldier son?" Kallen growled into his ear.
"Y-yes ma'am!"
"Then you don't touch a lady unless she says it's okay, got it?"
"Loud and clear! Loud and clear!" Kallen pushed him onto the steps of the galaxy map and resumed her death glare at her father.
"We salvaged some pieces of Sovereign, but the Keepers got most of it. we've had no evidence that the geth couldn't create any of the tech we have in the R&D."
"You're so full of shit!"
"You think I like this?" He snapped back, "you think I like having to be the one to take my daughter off the prison? You think I enjoyed reading the casualty list for your ship and that you hadn't been found? You think I liked having to hear that you didn't die and that you just defected to Cerberus?-"
"Didn't Die? You asshole, I was up in whatever religions heaven is waiting for us with Kaidan only to wake up on an operating table. You think it's humanly possible to do this?" Kallen walked over to the locked door to the armory and straight kicked it. The door came away with a noticeable dent. "That's from my titanium reinforced skeleton, my heavy bone, and muscle weaves that I had put in me. I'm stronger than anyone alive. I could probably rip two of your boys here in half!" with that she bucked at the Marine she flipped and he jumped back into the railing on the Galaxy map.
"Alright. Don't take this the wrong way but it eases my mind to know you actually died instead of just defecting. That means Cerberus has the tech we could use to make ground breaking medical advances."
"Don't get to excited I was pushed back into fighting prematurely. Some jackass betrayed the project and killed everyone, it destroyed the data and tech." Kallen pushed her bangs out of her face, "The only two survivors came with me on this mission, after we killed the bastard that tried to kill me, again."
"I see. Well that's a shame."
EDI popped up at Kelly's former terminal, "We are entering the Earth's atmosphere above Vancouver, British Columbia. We will arrive at Alliance HQ in Ten minutes."
"Thank you VI." Kallen said stiffly.
"Acknowledged" EDI said before disappearing.
"Kallen…I'm sorry for not being there for you big Alliance moments…but you have to understand that I had to stay away so that your promotions and achievements didn't look you your dad just handed them to you."
"I get that, but you didn't have to vanish after Torfan. Mom still kept in contact even when she was on duty." Kallen crossed her arms.
"I know, but I've also been a bit busy myself. Being an Admiral isn't just free time and giving Orders. Your work against Saren actually gave me more to do than any other point in my career." Admiral Shepard laughed and rubbed the back of his brown hair. Kallen always remembered that Adam took more from him than their mother. Hell if you did an eye test you couldn't even tell Kallen was related to him.
"Well sorry to put more paperwork on your desk."
"More than just that. You helped us with trade agreements and kept Mercenary bands from hampering colonies and Alliances. Even when you were with Cerberus. You realize that you've pretty much bankrupted the Batarian slave trade with your attacks on their strongholds?"
"You can thank the Shadow Broker for that. I was owed a few favors and the Broker did most of the work to distract them from the Viper Nebula."
"Well in any case they've stopped hitting our colonies because they're reeling. I know you probably won't believe me but, I'm proud of the woman you've become. Hell any parent would be proud of their kid for saving the galaxy and coming back from the dead."
"You can thank my most recent Ex for that. I'll tell you about her if they let me out of solitary." Kallen laughed.
"Well there'll be none of that. We're actually just putting you in protective custody so that the Batarian Hegemony doesn't park a fleet over any of our colonies looking for you."
"You realize I'm a Spectre right? I don't have to do any of this. The Alliance can't do anything since I'm outside of their chain of Command."
"Yes, but you also need to prep us for these Reapers and you're the only one who seems to be getting their attention. I'll try and see if I can get the defense committee to hear what you've got. I just hope you've got something that'll convince them." Even from the CIC they could see the Vancouver skyline as it approached.
"Boy do I ever…" Kallen said. She relaxed and pulled her father into a hug. "Thanks Dad."
Keith wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I love you Kallen."
The Normandy was docked at the Vancouver Spaceport. Joker was being helped off the ship, even as he angrily protested to the wheelchair they brought him now that his bones had some reinforcements to them. Chakwas left with him claiming that he was her patient and that she needed to give him a fresh exam for Alliance records. Kallen and her father exited the ship last and were passed by technicians who were no doubt prepping the Normandy to be torn apart, studied and then put back together with inferior tech. At the end of the gangway stood Anderson and an unusal looking soldier.
"David! You look good." Admiral Shepard said shaking Anderson's hand and giving him a one armed hug.
"Same to you Keith, figured you'd forgotten what actual sunlight was at Arcturus, but I see they stopped tinting the widows there." The two men shared a laugh together before getting down to business.
"Who's this guy?" Kallen asked as she eyeballed the mountain in front of her.
"This is Lieutenant James Vega, he'll be your guard while you're in here. It honestly pains me to say this, but As of right now, you are no longer Lieutenant Commander Kallen Shepard. You have been officially relieved of duty as approved by the Alliance parliament's unanimous decision." Anderson did not look happy with the words coming out of his mouth. He looked ready to shoot something just as much as Kallen did.
"Fine then well you can kindly relay a message back to parliament that they can collectively kiss my Spectre ass." Kallen huffed.
"I'll be sure to. Lieutenant Vega will escort you to your new living area and update you on your itinerary."
"Follow ma'am" Vega said.
"Alone time with Abs McStrongman? Watch out dad you might be getting grandkids out of him, I suggest you do that fatherly intimidation before he ends up setting me off." Kallen said with the smile of a predator on her face.
Andersonlet out a groan with his head in his hands at the comment Kallen made about Vega and saw that Vega had a confused and slightly terrified look on his face.
"If all the Alliance soldiers look like this guy, I might want to stay relieved of duty so there's no regs stopping me from boarding this vessel." she continued as she and Vega walked towards HQ. This was going to be hell, and not for the prisoner.