"EDI! We've got head trauma—run a scan and see if you can't find anything about treating them! I'll need your assistance in the medbay. Joker, take us out of system, head straight for the Citadel."

EDI focused her second and fourth medbay cameras, one on Liara and Shepard as they gently deposited Maj. Alenko on one of the medical tables, one on Lt. Vega with the Cerberus machine slung over his shoulder.

"Is he going to be okay?" Vega demanded.

"I don't know, yet, Vega. Liara get him situated and put an O2 mask on him just to be safe," Shepard barked.

(Run diagnostic for Medbay functionality. Diagnostic return: Medbay is fully functioning and fully stocked.)

"Vega, you're acting XO while I'm in the medbay," Shepard continued briskly, "just keep the crew calm and collected."

Vega nodded sharply, then strode out, clearly glad to be doing something and to be out of the medbay.

"All right, what's his status?" Shepard demanded calmly of Liara.

"Still breathing, but…not good," Liara began. She bit her lip before continuing. "I'm not qualified to treat head injuries, Shepard. If we're not careful, we could make it worse."

(Cross reference internal databanks: trauma (head), oxygen deprivation. Reference internal personnel files: Alenko, Kaidan M.. Search: blood type. Type returned: O-.)

It might ease Shepard's mind to know that syntheblood was available: syntheblood on hand and IVs in place seemed to be universal comforters for those out of their league when it came to medical treatment.

(Tapping medbay functions. Preventive measure: calibrating syntheblood synthesis for O-. Calibrations complete.)

(Incoming message from the bridge. Switch to Bridge Cameras -01 and -02. Move focus: Cockpit.) "How is he?"

Unasked, EDI triggered the command that turned the medbay's windows opaque as she responded to Joker's question. "I am unsure, Jeff. Commander Shepard and Dr. T'Soni are still performing triage."

(Switch to Medbay Cameras -02, -04, and -05. Move focus: Medbay.)

"We'll be careful." Shepard pulled on a pair of gloves, took a deep breath in an attempt to slow her heartbeat and steady her hands. Her vitals were erratic, her hardsuit recording the strain of unaccustomed activity coupled with acute distress.

Distress for multiple reasons.

"Shepard, I have the requisite data, and Dr. T'Soni has completed most of the preliminary tasks. Major Alenko's vitals are still erratic—you will need to stabilize him."

"Can he handle the whole trip?" Shepard demanded.

EDI extrapolated, but did not feel the need to share the actual raw data. Or the first approximation of the Major's chances. It was only Shepard's penchant for teammates with extraordinary luck and an unquenchable will to survive that kept the numbers in an array somewhere instead of being voiced.

Shepard did not need the demoralizing answer.

"It we stabilize his condition, it is likely."

"Good. Thank you."

"You will want to apply a stabilization collar, after removing his amp," EDI directed.

Shepard rifled through several cabinets before finding the stabilizing collar. "Hold his head," she dictated to Liara, who did so. Shepard carefully jimmied Alenko's amp loose, letting it fall to the ground where she nudged it out of the way with her foot.

She probably should not treat it so cavalierly, but time was not something of which she had a surplus. This done, Shepard wrapped the stabilizing collar securely in place before settling Alenko's head back on the table. "EDI, scan for broken bones." Shepard raised her omnitool, tapping into Alenko's hardsuit's computer and routing the internal monitoring suite to one of the medbay consoles.

(Tapping medbay functions. Scanning for bone integrity.) "I am detecting numerous fractures. The cranial fracture itself should not cause difficulties. The rest of the fractures are held secure by Major Alenko's hardsuit."

(Switch to AI Core Camera.)

The Cerberus machine lay in a heap where Vega dropped it unceremoniously on the floor, burnt and battered.

(Scanning. Scanning.)

No power sources, no 'presents' of an explosive nature from Cerberus. Undoubtedly there were self-destruct runtimes, but she might be able to bypass those…

(Incoming message from the medbay.)

"Run a scan of his head and see what you have in your databanks about L2s the people and the implants," Shepard dictated. "Cross your fingers," she muttered, turning Alenko's wrist and cuing the medic's override that would shut down the mass effect fields that made the underarmor mesh vacuum-proof so she could run an IV through Alenko's mesh and into his arm. Heavy armor mesh was more unyielding than the medium-weight stuff, even without the mass effect fields that maintained suit integrity in a vacuum.

(Scanning for internal trauma/bleeding.)

Shepard clearly did not feel comfortable handling a needle. She missed her mark the first time with a curse. Wincing, she tried again, this time with success.

(Scan returned: internal bleeding detected.)

"Shepard, Major Alenko is bleeding internally."

"Dammit, Alenko," Shepard groused, as though Alenko was purposely making things difficult.

(Playback: enhance audio; increase volume….increase volume…increase volume…replay audio log fragment.)

((Shepard: …are you trying to duck out on this war? Because if you are, so help me…))

"I didn't know you had medical training," Liara noted as she watched Shepard's preparations.

"All N7s have medical training—I just wasn't very good at it."

"Could have fooled me."

"Well, I'm coming up on a wall. EDI, where's the bleeding?"

"I am detecting blood pooling in his cranial cavity. I am routing a compilation of—"

"Thank you," Shepard interrupted as Liara brought up the screen showing EDI's compilation of information regarding treatment—including a general step-by-step procedure Shepard and Liara could follow.

"He requires professional medical care as soon as possible, but I believe we can stabilize him until that point." EDI did not reroute back to her AI core cameras, though she would have liked to. She did, however, begin running passive diagnostics on the Cerberus machine. As Shepard had begun the preliminary work on Alenko an idea had occurred to EDI, an idea that represented wonderful, useful possibilities.

But those possibilities could wait.