Guests: Well, yeah, he is sleeping with her (also dating her as well). Look at it from his perspective - after two years of mourning the woman he loved he finally starts living again. He doesn't know Maya is alive (or will be, becuase when John arranged the little meeting with Rahna, Maya was still in coma). Which leads me to one thought as well...you really, really, really scared me :D I thought I had Rahna's name spelled wrong the whole time for a minute before I checked :D Anyway, thanks for your support. I'm glad you follow the story.
Anyway, when I have already started with my rambling, I hope you will enjoy the update and thank you all for reading.
Disclaimer: I don't own ME.
The pull was stronger every passing second. The whirling epicentre of the singularity kept sucking in everything close by, starting with the smoke. It wrapped itself around the bright centre, orbiting it in incredible speed. Even the crate that May was pressed against started sliding towards it inch by inch.
"The mech!" Someone shouted and Maya dared a look over the top of her cover. She gasped at the sight of the gigantic mech lifted in the air like it weighted absolutely nothing. Loud cracks indicated just how massive the gravity near the singularity's centre was as even the bulky robot started losing its humanoid shape. Its arms twisted, its body crumpled as if an enormous invisible hand squeezed it with deadly force. The blue shield around it was rippling wildly and when it disappeared, a shower of bullets targeted the helpless mech.
"Destroy it! Now is our chance!"
Knowing they all had a very limited time before half of the square, including them, would be orbiting the singularity as well, Maya quickly collapsed the pistol and reached for the rifle on her back. She joined the battle again, her Mattock adding to the cacophony of sounds, sending burst after burst at the mech.
"It's going to blow!" she heard Miranda's pained voice and she quickly hid behind her moving cover and instinctively covered her head with one arm, holding the Mattock in the other. The crate suddenly stopped moving and she realized she could no longer feel the biotic energy crackling in the air either. The only noise she could hear were the thuds and clunks as the mech fell on the ground. The explosion that followed drowned everything around and Maya screamed in pain. Unwittingly she let go of her Mattock and pressed both her hands against her ears tightly. She could feel the hot air washing around her, bringing dirt and dust along that made her cough uncontrollably. Her kinetic barrier materialized and kept visible for a longer moment as it was absorbing the heat that would have otherwise blistered May's exposed skin. She had the irritant feeling in her lungs and throat and could hear soft ringing in her ears when it was finally all over.
"Fuck it..." she rasped out. She had yet another reason to beat her panic attacks. She needed her helmet. She drew a breath to swear again, but something else rolled off her tongue. "Miranda..." she gasped and jumped to her feet. "Lawson! Jacob!" she called and an arm waved at her from behind one of the crates as a response. From the side of the explosion it had been charred and heavily dented, some larger parts of the mech were even sticking out of the crate. She galloped to the two Cerberus agents and she could see Tobias was doing the same. Quarians started rising to their feet as well and Tali was busy surveying their conditions...and counting the casualties.
Maya slid to stop next to Miranda, crouching and scanning her with her omnitool. She sighed with relief to find out the shot didn't hit anything important as it flew right through her body. Also the exit would was small...simply it was nothing a careful dose of medigel couldn't fix. "You'll be fine, Miranda," she smiled at the blanched Cerberus agent. "We'll patch you up in a few minutes, but you'll probably feel the world whirling under your feet," she warned her she was about to use larger amount of medigel.
"Do you know how to do it?" Tobias asked, kneeling next to Miranda. His voice was strangely quiet as the ringing drowned it out.
"You doubt me?" Maya asked with a smile, already changing the setting on her omnitool to help her apply the medigel. "Why, I feel slightly offended," she added and then started focusing her attention on Miranda.
From the corner of her eye she noticed a figure stopping behind her. But she was grateful that Tali didn't interrupt her as she was working.
"You'll still need a doctor to take a closer look at the wound, but for now it should be fine," she instructed Miranda carefully. Jacob and Tobias were helping the Cerberus agent to stand up when Maya turned to face Tali. "Are your people okay?"
She held her gaze for a second, and then shook her head slowly. "I lost a few. Prazza among them," she added and her voice lost the sadness. She didn't seem to be sorry he died.
"He had it coming," Maya agreed. "Opening a door without waiting for the rest of your people to get ready...and if he charged the mech with the same intelligence he'd displayed when we met him, no wonder he didn't survive. Anyway, let's find your Veetor and our answers."
Tali nodded and they both simultaneously bent their heads to their omnitools as they searched for any signs of other living creatures nearby.
"Over there," they both said, pointing to the same corner of the square. Maya lifted her eyebrows, while Tali's light blinked twice.
"Seriously?" Tobias mumbled, still holding Miranda's hand from when he'd helped her up. Or he could have say it out loud, but Maya still heard the intrusive ringing.
"Shut up," Maya said sweetly as a response, and then looked at Miranda. "Can we move on?" she asked and after Lawson nodded she activated her omnitool again. Soon a purple drone materialized next to her head and she frowned at it. "I wanted a blue one..." she mumbled, sounding sad. Then she cleared her throat. "Guard the area. If you spot mechs, give us a heads-up and attack," she ordered.
She felt both excited and afraid when she reached the container. Before she moved to open the door, she collapsed her Mattock and put it onto its slot. She suspected the quarian was stressed enough without a bunch of people armed to teeth storming in. "No guns," she said towards the Cerberus operatives in a warning tone.
The container lacked windows so its inside was drowned in dark. On the far side of it the wall was covered with several monitors. And in a chair in front of them was a lone figure, staring up at the screens as if they were the most fascinating sight ever. "Monsters coming back," he was mumbling when Maya stepped in slowly. She could hear a few more steps behind her before the door slid close again. "Mechs will protect. Safe from swarms. Have to hide. No monsters. No swarms. No, no, no..." he was chanting, his eyes fixed on the screens.
...
Sounds of gunfire were louder and louder as his team glided through the colony. He followed the pull of the singularity as if it was right in front of him. He was curious, and maybe even slightly worried, who exactly it was and why they were here. His mind settled on pirates, but there were more possibilities.
And then, when they were almost right at the place, the biotic energy crackling in the air dissipated. Their destination, however, still let them know how close they were when a massive explosion flashed above the colony like a creepy firework.
"The square. It must be on the square!" one of his marines reflected, pointing to the sky where the explosion had been.
Kaidan turned to the tech of his shore party. "What is the quickest way to the square?" he asked. He knew they had been given the schematics of the area. He had failed to see the reason why back then, since they were supposed to search the entire colony, but now he was grateful.
A few seconds of silence, and then he had his answer. "We can either walk around the area, or we can access the place from above. The containers are close to each other there and if we managed to get on their roofs it shouldn't be a problem."
Kaidan nodded, his mind racing. If it really were pirates it would be good to surprise them somehow, probably catch them in crossfire. And he had just enough people to be able to divide them into two groups, one of which would walk and the other climb. As a biotic, he was more comfortable attacking from a certain distance, but he was also more helpful if present right in the hot zone. On the other hand their sniper and tech definitely would be better off. So he sent them to find a ladder, while he led the rest of the team – three more marines with rifles – on foot.
As if on cue, all the mechs stopped attacking altogether. They stood, slightly bent in their waist as someone had turned them offline. The pirates had probably found a way to control the colony's security forces and disabled them. It was the only logical explanation.
Not that he minded. The lack of any resistance in their path had eased their progress, just like the two small shuttles that landed on the square had pinpointed the location as they neared.
"We're in position, sir," his sniper reported. "The square is clear, it's demolished, with a large crater in a middle, and we've spotted splashes violet blood. There are quarian bodies scattered around and some of it isn't nice sight. No sight of anyone else."
"Understood," Kaidan replied, frowning. So the pirates were quarians. Or maybe they weren't pirates per se, but scavengers. They had stumbled across an abandoned colony and took their chances looting it.
Not that that was a reason to let their guards down. His sniper had reported bodies, but also no sight of anyone else. It could mean two things. Either the quarians had no weapons and the mechs butchered them all, or they were armed, destroyed the mechs – hence the explosion - and were still somewhere on the square. If the former was true, his sniper would have spotted whatever mech had killed them. So the latter was more likely.
His musings filled the rest of the journey and soon he had the gate at visual. He stopped his team, narrowing his eyes at a single bright colourful point hovering in the air in the middle of the opened gate.
"A drone," he immediately recognized the purple energetic sphere. Maya had been very fond of her blue one and used it very often as well.
"Should we attack, sir?" one of his marines whispered. "Before it notices us?"
Kaidan smiled softly. "It already knows about us, Private," he informed him. He knew May's drone was capable of scanning quite a large area around and the amount of information the little blue ball could relay to her never ceased to amaze him. Whoever had summoned the drone was aware about their number and position at the moment and they also knew they came with more or less hostile intentions.
He'd once asked Maya how the drone could tell that. She had smiled at him and explained that was scanning every person's brain activity and hormones' levels which could predict anyone's intentions with almost 100 % accuracy. Devilish, clever and practical.
"Then why isn't it attacking?" another of his men asked.
"It has been given different orders apparently. Wait for my signal," he said and checked the condition of his kinetic barrier. Just to be sure he erected the biotic barrier as well and rose to his feet, making himself completely visible for the drone.
He made the first step towards the sphere and it kept on whirling all those energetic layers, otherwise unmoving. His eyes kept jumping between the drone and his omnitool. He needed to get within a certain distance to be able to hack it, Tali had told him once. The hacking itself was quite easy, getting to the enemy was usually the problem. But since this one didn't seem dangerous...
"Yes..." he mumbled when his omnitool vibrated silently on his hand. It took him just two seconds to despawn the drone while he had it under control.
"I've got a movement! A group of quarians, five of them, heading to the ships, three people in white and black uniform and a chick in black armour – probably the leader, sir. Orders?"
"Don't shoot until we do. We're almost there," Kaidan ordered, gesturing his team to catch up on him.
"The quarians are in the ship and...Shit! The humans are Cerberus!"
Which made the quarians probably their hostages. "Five quarians and four Cerberus operatives. Shoot at Cerberus at visual, don't hit the quarians!" Kaidan ordered as they stormed in the square.
He was ready to shot the first burst at the closest person, but his heart stopped beating when he stood face to face with the presumable leader of the Cerberus operatives. He was sure it couldn't be more than a split second before his man started shooting, but it seemed like an eternity to him when she held his eyes.
She didn't have a helmet on and her brightly red hair tied into a ponytail whipped around her when she spun to face them. Her hands had already moved to catch a hold of her rifle, an instinct not unknown to Kaidan. But now his own instincts failed him. His rifle clanked as it hit the ground and he gasped as his knees gave out.
The image of her, running up the stairs for the last time, flashed in front of his eyes. He saw the picture of her perched on top of her coffin. He remembered the pain when he saw her wedding dress for the first time. His breakdown when he was sorting her things.
Her rifle was ready in her hands – and he didn't fail to notice it was her trademark Mattock – but she didn't shoot. She crouched when his people on the roof started shooting as well and it felt to Kaidan like the time slowed down. He could see her head snapping to the other direction. A blue aura crackled around her fingers, licking up her arms and shoulders until her whole body was covered in the shimmering biotic barrier. It was rippling like a water surface as bullets kept hitting her as she stood in the middle of the square with no cover to hide behind whatsoever. Kaidan's eyes widened.
Bullets!
They were shooting at her!
"Cease fire!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. She was doing the same. Screaming to the three people around her. And though he couldn't catch a word of what she was saying, he understood anyway.
She was good at assessing situations. She could see two groups firing at them and couldn't know if more were coming. She knew they were desperately outnumbered, standing in a middle of the square. The quarian ship had left when Kaidan's team burst into the square, so they couldn't count on their help either, provided they were allies which Kaidan found highly unlikely. Their only chance was to get lost as quickly as possible. And true to his conclusion, one of the Cerberus sprung to his feet, helping the second woman in the process and hurried to the ship, while the other man and the leader kept on firing like crazy to keep Kaidan's team behind their covers.
She screamed again and even the second man headed to the ship and then...then she flared the most powerful biotic energy he'd ever felt from her. It tickled his skin, goose prickles were all over him as the dark energy crackled in the air ominously. The hair on the back of his neck rose when she slashed her hands towards his team. He could see the blue energy rushing towards them in a wave. His man were scattered like skittles when it hit them, even the two soldiers on the roof were forced to hastily retreat before the biotics hit them and knocked them off the roof violently. It threw away the rifle he'd dropped, but it just washed around him harmlessly.
The firing stopped and for a heartbeat she just studied her hands, a mix of shock and surprise on her face, and then she frowned. "Start the ship!" he heard her scream, the rich, velvet voice that he used to love, as she turned and sprinted towards the shuttle. She jumped inside when it was half-way in the air and the people inside caught her before she fell.
Finally, his senses returned and the pain hit him in full force. He doubled over and closed his eyes tightly. He could hear his man groan, making assumptions about broken bones or twisted joints, but he couldn't find it in him to stand up and check up on them. Unlike theirs, his pain wasn't local. It paralyzed his whole body like cramp, made it difficult to breathe like someone was holding his throat in a tight grip and his temples were throbbing as his migraines announced: Here I come, let me in... He was shaking all over, his throat dry. "May..." he rasped out.
"She dislocated my shoulder, bitch! Fucking biotics! Eh...no offence, sir..."
"Was it just me? Or did she really look like Commander Shepard?"
"Hold still, I'll fix it."
"Shepard is dead, you moron. And she wouldn't...hey! Careful with the...Aaaah! Shit!"
"And she'd never work for Cerberus."
"But it did look like her! You all saw it!"
"Any shot wounds?"
"May..."
...
"Anyone hurt?" Maya asked after she sat on the seat, strapping herself in.
Jacob and Tobias shook their heads. Miranda was pressing her hand against the wound she'd got from the big mech. Obviously it hurt, but a quick look told Maya the wound hadn't reopened. She also noticed Miranda was watching her intently and when she met the large blue orbs, Miranda took a breath. "Shepard..." she started saying, but Maya cut her off. "No discussions, Lawson," she snapped. "I don't give a damn about TIM's wants or needs. Veetor is a traumatized kid and I'd never let him get his hands on him. Return him without harm," she mimicked Jacob's voice. "Bullshit!" She tried to hide it, but there still was a pained undertone in her angry voice. She hadn't let them see it, but Tali rejecting her offer to join hurt her.
The quarian had hesitated when Shepard asked her and then the slightest of movements betrayed her thoughts – the way her head inched towards Miranda. She was bothered by Cerberus. "I am not sure I could," she had said and the hesitation in her words turned May's features into steel. "I mean I want to. But I have my own mission and it's too important for me to abandon it," Tali had hurried to add. Even though her words were true, they only managed to twist the blade she'd stabbed Shepard with some more.
"I was about to ask if you're alright," Miranda said nonetheless, watching Shepard's face.
The redhead held her intensive gaze for a few more seconds, then turned to the floor when it became suddenly very interesting. "Why wouldn't I be?" she asked. Then a cold fury touched her face and a biotic energy sparkled in her eyes. "Why do you care anyway?" she hissed in low and dangerous voice, turning her head away from the three of them.
The temperature in the small shuttle seemed to decrease significantly for a moment. The Cerberus agents exchanged a few hesitant glances, daring the others to say something, to ease the atmosphere a little. Finally Tobias cleared his throat, knowing he was the less likely to get the full blast of May's anger if she decided to tak it out on them. "Who were those soldiers, anyway?"
"Dunno," Jacob replied quickly. "Shepard ordered retreat so quickly I didn't even manage to aim, let alone take a look at them. Maybe scavengers or pirates."
"Probably. Hey, and did you see the way Maya took them down?" Tobias laughed at the memory. "Priceless!"
"Safe for one," Miranda mumbled, remembering the scene. She could feel Shepard channelling the dark energy around her a few seconds before she actually unleashed it. Miranda managed to steal a glance or two over her shoulder to watch her piece of work in action as Jacob dragged her to the ship. "One of them was untouched by the biotic shockwave," she added. Her tone was soft when she spoke Shepard's name questioningly to make the marine look at her.
She refused to turn her head to them again, but she shrugged. "He wasn't shooting," Maya said quietly, her voice hoarse. "I didn't want to hurt him groundlessly."
Tobias blinked. "Wow! I had no idea you could exclude anyone from the effects of your biotic powers."
"But of course you can," Jacob replied matter-of-factly.
And Miranda elaborated. "It's quite easy to do as well. The dark energy is formed to your volition," she started saying. "Think of it as an extra limb. Just like you can move your arms or legs just like you want, biotics can focus the dark energy to do their bidding as well."
"If you can't hurt someone unless you want to, why have I heard many stories about biotics getting out of hand or losing control over their abilities?" he asked, sounding genuinely interested.
Miranda narrowed her eyes slightly. "It depends on your self-control and experience. The amount of eezo in your body is important as well," she kept on listing. "Major role is also played by the implants. For example, usually an L2 biotic is weaker than L3, but with enough practice or with higher levels of eezo they can sweep floor with any L3. But beating L4 would be very challenging for them, but not impossible if the L4 is young and inexperienced. And likewise L3 could beat L4, but would have a problem with L5."
That wasn't exactly the truth. Maya knew there was at least one L2 who could easily challenge...well...L3. May's eyes widened at the realization. The last time she remembered there were only the L3 models of biotic implants. Now two years had passed and two more generation of biotic implants were on the market. Two years and completely new models of weapons. Two years and new cooling system of weapons. Two years and a new helmet-free way to protect your head in a fight.
Two years and Tali was leading her own mission.
Two years and she was dead the whole time to everyone she knew and loved.
Kaidan...she thought, closing her eyes.
...
"It's about Commander Shepard." That was a sentence that opened quite a few doors to you. Even those leading to the commander of the entire Fifth fleet. Well, the sentence and the tiny detail that Hackett was a very good friend with Kaidan's father. And so despite his Captain's doubts Kaidan found himself on one of the largest ships the Alliance had in its disposal. The SSV Orizaba, the flagship of the Fifth fleet. The Kilimanjaro-class dreadnought was a kilometre long vessel and so it took quite some time before Kaidan was escorted to the Admiral's quarters.
It was much larger than the room Maya had and way more luxurious. It was also more homely furnished with personal belongings to give the room more cosy atmosphere. There were pictures of Hackett's family or friends on his desk, together with a few of his medals. His double bed was covered with a purple bedspread with a few pillows of the same colour to decorate it. In the corner of the room stood a couple of comfortable-looking leather-wrapped seats. Shelves on the walls were decorated with flowers, only a handful of which Kaidan recognized as terrestrial. There were a few colourful pictures obviously painted by a child's hand. And, which really surprised Kaidan, there was a cage with a small crow.
"Corvus capensis," Hackett's voice said from behind his desk when he followed the young marine's curious look. He was wearing his dress blue, but his cap was left on the table. "Cape crow," he explained and approached the cage. The bird turned its head and jump along its perch to get closer to the man. "My granddaughter named him Bird," he added, putting his hands behind his back.
"Bird!" the crow repeated loudly. "Bird!" It flapped its wings when Hackett turned his attention to Kaidan. "I've read your report," he cut to the chase, pointing to the seats. "Cerberus on Freedom's Progress so early after its abduction..." he broke off for a moment as they both sat down. "That's disturbing news," he added, making a steeple of his hands.
Kaidan bobbed his head once. "It is, sir. But I don't think they had anything to do with the abduction itself. They were there to investigate, like us."
Hackett nodded. This conclusion Kaidan had included in the report as well. "But I don't think you came to discuss the mission with me."
Kaidan hesitated. "Well, in a way I did. There's something I haven't mentioned in the report, but... With all due respect, sir, I think I deserve to know the truth about...about Maya."
Steven just narrowed his eyes at him. "The truth about Shepard?" he asked. "I am not sure I know what you mean," he said slowly, leaning back.
"I saw her, Admiral. I saw her on Freedom's Progress. Why...why hasn't anyone told me she was alive? Working undercover for Cerberus? How did you do it anyway? How did you get her...to..." he trailed off at the sight of Hackett's face. The old man looked sincerely surprised. "But you really have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?" he asked, his heart sinking.
Hackett leaned forward and rested his hand on his shoulder briefly. "Start over, son," he said quietly.
And so he did. He told him about the encounter on Freedom's Progress, about the way his team ambushed her and the Cerberus, how she used her powers to buy them some time to escape.
"So...she just let the biotic attack around you because you were...you?" Hackett asked.
Kaidan shook his head. "I don't think she recognized me. I had my helmet on...unlike her," he whispered. "Which is weird," he hurried to add. "She was always against it. She never left the Normandy without a helmet and never allowed anyone else – safe for Wrex maybe – to do so either. And it wasn't the only thing that didn't add up, sir. She...she never was a very strong biotic. But what she performed...she created a singularity, sir, and I could feel it on the other side of the colony like it was hovering right above me."
Though not a biotic himself, Hackett knew very well what a singularity was. He frowned as he contemplated his words for a moment. "Listen, Kaidan. If it's something the Alliance is responsible for I have no knowledge of it. I can ask at the right places, but honestly – I don't think the woman you saw was your Maya. Like you said, there are things that don't make sense."
"Then who was it?" Kaidan asked with raised voice. He felt almost cheated by this. It was her! He saw her face! He heard her voice!
Steven understood his anxiety and anger, so he decided to disregard his sudden outburst. "I don't know," he said calmly, shaking his head. "Maybe they recruited just someone similar to her to inspire loyalty in their followers and sow fear in their enemies. Think about it, Kaidan. Would Maya keep you in the dark for two years? Would she leave you to suffer for such a long time?"
"If she joined Cerberus, she wouldn't hurry back to tell me..." Kaidan whispered.
"You don't believe she'd do that," Hackett frowned at the marine disapprovingly. "Not after what they had done to her when she was a girl," he reminded him.
"Maybe they brainwashed her," Kaidan tried, realizing he was clutching at straws now. He desperately wanted her to be alive. He wanted it to be her, but Hackett's reaction was crushing his hopes more and more. "Maybe they're blackmailing her, threatening her." He started shaking his head. "No...she'd never let anyone treat her this way," he mumbled. He winced as his migraine suddenly worsened. He rested his elbows against his knees and bent to rub his face with his hands. He then pressed his fingers into his temples as if it could stop the blinding pain. "I know I'm acting like a fool now, but I can't help it..." he added, his voice weak.
"Like I said. I can ask the right people, people who should know about it. But I don't think it was Maya. I actually think she didn't even have to look exactly like her. Maybe it was the hair that confused you. And your desperate mind created the rest of the illusion. It happens that we can see the faces of our departed everywhere around us."
Kaidan hung his head. Right after her death, every woman or girl he met on the street looked like Maya from the corner of his eye, especially if they had red hair. When he focused on them however, he saw his head was just playing cruel tricks on him. "Maybe you're right..." he mumbled. He needed to get somewhere quiet and dark and quickly.
"Grandpa!" the Bird in his cage screamed, sending another bolt of pain through Kaidan. "Trapped! Trapped!"
Hackett smiled softly and stood up, answering Bird's request to be let free from his cage.
"That's a clever fellow, this one," Kaidan mumbled and watched him hop on the edge of the opened door of his cage. He stood up under Bird's scrutiny. Trapped. That was how Kaidan felt at the moment as well. Trapped between lies and truths, between pain and hope, between reality and dreams... "Thank you for listening to me, Admiral. I should take my leave, now."
"I am sorry, Kaidan," Steven said to him when he headed to the door. "I wish I wasn't right this time. I really do," he said quietly, gently touching Bird's feathers.
