Betrayal

Kathryn Shepard stood before the Normandy's memorial wall, a plaque engraved with Mordin Solus's name in her hands. She ran her fingers over the lettering, polished the plaque, and stepped forward to slide it into its space on the wall.

"He was the very model of a scientist salarian," she said as she ran the polishing rag over the plaque again.

She smiled sadly at the memory of Mordin singing the Gilbert and Sullivan inspired song in his lab so many months ago. Wiping tears from her cheeks, she turned to face the crew who had gathered to pay their respects to Mordin.

"Mordin was a good friend and a brilliant scientist. He helped me bring down the collectors, he risked a great deal to help the krogans, and he was able to cure the genophage. He sacrificed himself to bring us to where we are today. The turians and the krogans are allies, fighting side by side against a common enemy, and I'm sure none of us imagined we'd live to see that day come. Mordin's bravery and his commitment to what he believed was the right course of action is an inspiration. I will never forget him or what he has done for us."

James held out a glass of wine and she took it. "To Mordin." As one, the crew raised their glasses and replied, "To Mordin!"

"I want to thank you all for your support today, and for all you do for me. I couldn't do this without you. On that note, I think we're due some downtime, and since we have to go to the Citadel anyway, that's where we're headed. Make sure you all make some time to get away, okay? We'll be docking in two days."

The group began to break up, everyone heading back to their assigned duties or quarters, and Shepard found herself standing in the hallway with Garrus.

"Shepard, you must be exhausted. You should get some shut eye."

She shrugged. "I'll sleep when I'm dead."

Garrus sighed, his mandibles twitching. "Come on, Shep, you know you need a clear head if we're going to win this thing. Go to bed. If anything happens, someone will come get you. It's not like we don't know where you live." He reached out and squeezed her shoulder. "As the senior Spectre agent, I'm ordering you to bed."

"You aren't a-"

"Really? You're going to argue with me about this? Go to bed."

"Okay, okay. I'm going to bed."

When she stepped into her dimly lit cabin, she sagged against the wall, uncertain what to do next. The white expanse of her bed looked quite inviting, but she dreaded the idea of actually sleeping. Sleep brought nightmares. Her private terminal's green light was flashing and she sat down to check her messages. There was only one, from Kaidan, dated the day before.

Kate,

I hope this finds you well. Training is keeping me busy, but it's going well so far. Nothing too exciting, mostly working with Udina.

You're always in my thoughts. If you can make it to the Citadel, I've got a small apartment near the Commons and I'd like to have you over for dinner. Take care of yourself, Kate.

Love,
Kaidan

It hardly seemed right, trying to plan a romantic getaway in the middle of a war, but they were going to the Citadel anyway and she needed to see him.

Kaidan,

We should be arriving at the Citadel early the day after tomorrow. I'll find you. The past few days have been pretty rough and I sure could use a timeout. Dinner would be great.

Love,
Kate

Knowing she would see Kaidan soon lifted her spirits and eased her mind somewhat. She eyed her bed again and recalled a moment from her childhood. If you go to sleep now, Santa Claus will arrive that much faster, her father used to tell her. Go to sleep and you'll see Kaidan that much sooner.

x ~ X ~ x

"It had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong."

Mordin's voice whispered through the trees and Shepard felt an intense sadness. The little boy was running away again and she followed him. This time, however, he ran to a version of herself and threw his arms around her. Shepard stared as her doppelganger hugged the boy and smiled back at her. Seconds later, the two figures burst into flame and Shepard's eyes opened wide.

"Damn it." She groaned and sat up, rubbing her face. It was later than usual, close to six hundred hours. She climbed out of bed, grabbed a uniform, and went to the washroom to splash some water on her face. Her thoughts were wandering through memories of Mordin, Ashley, and others, when someone knocked on the door.

She quickly pulled her pants and shirt on, and called out, "It's open."

Liara stepped into the room. "Is this a bad time?" Shepard shrugged, buttoning up her shirt. "Are you all right, Kate?"

"Not really. Just thinking of the people we've lost to this damn war." She shook her head. "I can't dwell on it, though. What's up?"

"The salarian councilor, Esheel, has an urgent matter."

"Let me guess. She called the comm room."

Liara nodded. "The council must be taking the crucible seriously."

"I hope so. I just need a few minutes to finish getting ready."

"I'll meet you downstairs," her friend replied with a smile as she left.

Shepard quickly applied some makeup and ran wet fingers through her hair to smooth it out. Satisfied with her efforts, she headed to the communications room. The salarian councilor's image appeared at the touch of a button and she smiled.

"Good morning. What can I do for you, Councilor Esheel?"

"There is something we should discuss, Commander Shepard. I have concerns about humanity's representative, Councilor Udina."

She looked over her shoulder, a casual movement that might not have caught Shepard's attention otherwise. Combined with what she had just said and Shepard's own feelings about Udina, however, and Shepard was instantly uneasy.

"What is it, Councilor?"

"My agents have discovered that he is using his power to move vast sums of money. For what purpose, we aren't certain."

Shepard's mind raced, something pulling at the edge of her consciousness, and she recalled something Kaidan had written to her a few days ago. He had been assigned to the Council's security detail, working primarily with Udina. "If Udina's dirty, we'd better get to the bottom of this as soon as possible."

"Agreed. Come to the Citadel and we'll discuss this in private."

"We were planning to arrive there tomorrow, but we can head out right away."

"Thank you. Esheel out."

Shepard turned on her heels and headed to the galaxy map. "Good morning, Traynor."

"Commander."

"Change of plans, Joker. We're leaving for the Citadel now." She activated the map and checked their location. "How soon can we be there?"

"We can be there for a late lunch, Commander. Wrex, Eve, and the primarch have all disembarked, so there's nothing holding us back now."

"Good, make it happen."

Stepping down to her private terminal, she opened it to see if Kaidan had responded to her message. There were several new messages, but nothing from him. A message from Dalatrass Linron caught her eye and she opened it.

From: Dalatrass Linron

Commander, I am deeply disappointed by your actions on Tuchanka. As I thought I made clear, curing the genophage will have long-term consequences. Once the Reaper threat has passed, our combined forces will be so depleted that no race in the galaxy will be capable of stopping a resurgent krogan. Moreover, the krogan will undoubtedly seek revenge for the genophage, and the Salarian Union will be among their first targets. When that day comes, Commander, the blood of my people will be on your hands.

I am ashamed to also learn that our own scientist sacrificed his life carrying out your orders.

This is a dark day not only for my people, but all of galactic civilization.

Dalatrass Linron, Salarian Union

"Jesus Chr-" she cut herself off with a strangled noise of frustration and logged off the extranet.

"Are you all right, Commander?" Specialist Traynor asked.

"Sorry, Traynor, I'm fine. I think I'm going to get something to eat, do my rounds, and check in on Donnelly and Daniels to see how they're doing. Let me know when we reach the Citadel."

x ~ X ~ x

Several hours later, Shepard sat in her cabin, checking her messages again for any word from Kaidan. The nagging feeling that something bad was about to happen, and that he might get caught in the middle of it, would not go away. She was distracted and anxious, to say the least. He still hadn't responded, but she knew she couldn't attach any significance to that fact. There could be any number of reason why he hadn't replied yet. All the same, she typed out a quick 'are you there?' note and sent it. She was about to get up to leave when her computer beeped.

"That was fast," she mumbled to herself as she turned back to the monitor. To her surprise, her message had come back undeliverable. "Extranet connection error? What the hell?"

Traynor's voice sounded through her commlink. "Commander, Lieutenant Moreau would like to see you asap."

"On my way," she responded.

When Shepard entered bridge, Joker was hailing the Citadel. "Alliance Control, this is the SSV Normandy. Are we cleared to descend?" She stood at his side and leaned against his chair. He looked up at her and shrugged.

"Alliance Control, this the SSV Normandy. We're headed to Docking Bay one four, Zakera Ward. Are we clear to descend?" His repeated request was met with silence.

"What the hell's going on down there?" he asked, looking up at Shepard. "Even if there were a station malfunction they'd have back ups online. I got a bad feeling here."

"I tried to send Kaidan a message and got an extranet connection error back."

Joker's eyes widened in surprise. "Okay, that's not good. Checking emergency channels." His fingers flew over the control panel and he sat up suddenly. "Hey, yeah. Yeah, this is Joker. Uh huh...yeah, no kidding.

"Commander, there's a communication from Thane. He says it's important. I think you'll want to hear this."

"Put him through."

"Shepard, the Citadel is under attack," Thane announced when the channel was opened. "Cerberus troops are everywhere and they are in control of the docks."

Her stomach lurched and she balled her hands into fists. "Are you safe?"

"I had to evade their commandos at the hospital. I'm in a Presidium storefront."

"What about Kaidan?" She knew he had been discharged days ago, but Dr. Michel was periodically checking his biotic implants to ensure they were functioning properly.

"He was there to see his doctor, but we got separated. He said he had to protect the council. I'm going to C-Sec headquarters."

"Why C-Sec?"

"It's been compromised and C-Sec's response depends on it. As long as Cerberus is holding the headquarters, they have the station."

Shepard quickly considered her options. Call for help or go in? Go in, no question. There's no time to wait for backup. Who do I have with me? Her mind raced to recall how many crew members she had. Fifteen? Sixteen? Shit, most of them haven't seen active combat. Has Allers ever even held a gun? I can't afford to lose anyone, or the Normandy, and sure as hell not to Cerberus. She made the decision to keep the Normandy and her crew back, while she took Liara and Garrus onto the Citadel. She had Thane on the inside, and even though his health was poor, he was skilled and capable enough to overcome his physical limitations if he had to. She had to assume others were alive; she could gather help along the way. She thumped the back of Joker's chair with her fists.

"Okay, we're on our way. Joker, get us away from the docks and closer to C-Sec HQ. We'll deploy in the shuttle."

She headed for the elevator, stopping to talk to Specialist Traynor. "Samantha, please ask Garrus and Liara to get armed and armored and meet me in the shuttle bay. I want everyone else at their stations, ready to defend the Normandy and her crew if Cerberus tries to board. I'm going to get suited up and then I'm taking a shuttle to the Citadel."

"Yes, ma'am," Traynor responded with a sharp salute, wheeling around to alert Shepard's squad.

How did this happen? Shepard asked herself as she got ready. This attack by Cerberus coming so close on the heels of Councilor Esheel's call could be a coincidence, but what if it isn't? Joker didn't see Cerberus ships around the Citadel, or he would have said so, so they must have docked. But they couldn't have done that without inside help. Her gut was telling her Udina was the inside man, even though she knew it could be anyone. If Udina's dirty, and working with Cerberus, and they want control of the Citadel, they'll imprison or kill the council members, and they will definitely kill anyone who gets in their way.

Knowing Kaidan as she did, she knew that if he set out to find and protect the councilors, he would do it, and he would carry out his duties to the best of his abilities for as long as he could. That put him in harm's way not only from Cerberus's troops, but also from a man he was sworn to protect and may have grown to trust.

That betrayal, above all else, was what upset her the most, the idea that Udina could have done this when they had all placed their trust in him. Kaidan deserved better than that, and so did the rest of humanity.


A/N: My thanks to Bioware and you lovely readers. Thank you for your continued interest. A shout out to Zute and Zevgirl, and happy weekend to you all. Cheers, Biff