Mass Effect: Chasm
Chapter 6
Lieutenant Major Kaidan Alenko walked in a daze on Arcturus station. The past forty-eight hours following the Normandy attack were a complete blur. The dark circles under his eyes were precise that he was sleep-deprived, and despite regs, he never bothered to shave. Hair stubbles poked through the skin around his chin and cheeks. He was a complete mess. What did the hell happen? Where was Shepard?
The helmsman, Joker, was the last person to see her before the unknown antagonistic vessel's laser beam sliced through Normandy's hull like butter. The once cocky pilot shook to his core. Zalena made sure that he got to his escape pod, and then the laser struck, separating them! The ship tore apart. The pressure sucked Shepard out into the coldness of space and quickly! Joker could do nothing inside his pod as it jettisoned from the ship to its predetermined designation. A tracking beacon would alert search and rescue. He was alone, with no account for the crew. At first, Alenko didn't want to believe what Jeff blurted out. Due to the high threat of the vicinity, the Alliance gathered the escaped crewmembers and took them to Arcturus. No plans to salvage the Normandy at the time due to the harsh environment of the planet that the pieces fell to, including Shepard's body. Most likely, frozen from exposure to space.
Immediately, Alenko was dragged before high command on the station and grilled about the details. They wouldn't wait for any reports. One of them was Admiral Hackett. The gray-haired man sat there in shock as Kaidan testified to what transpired hours ago. He guarded his composure and was one of the ones that were quiet until the very end. Whenever Fifth Fleet needed assistance, Zalena was there. She was the one he could count on to get the job done. His placement on the board following the attack was not a coincidence. He wanted to do her the honor. The other three admirals shot out probing questions during Kaidan's deposition. He felt like he was on trial. He could feel the natural urge to clench his fists in anger. If they were going to blame the destruction of the Normandy SR-1 on Shepard, then he would be damned not to fight to the bitter end against it. His heart crushed as if some krogan ripped through his rib cage and strangled the pumping organ with its bare hand. He spat out quick answers regarding the logistics. Admiral Perez's question finally pushed Alenko over his breaking point. "Lieutenant, do you firmly believe that Commander Shepard is negligent in any way that would lead to the destruction of the Normandy?" The woman's hardened eyes stared down at him as if she was drilling through his skull by an invisible force to hit his brain's memory banks. The tone of her voice skeptic and brash.
"With all due respect, mam," Alenko gritted his teeth. "But, what the hell?"
All the admirals, except for Hackett, scoffed at his unprofessional response. Perez stood up from her chair, fuming at him. "Lieutenant Alenko!"
To hell with them! Alenko was not backing down. "You sent us finding Geth. We found Geth. Then we were maliciously attacked by an unknown vessel that no one is looking for! The majority of the Normandy's crew are gone! Shepard is gone! She did everything damn right! Hell, even better than I would have!" He couldn't take the charade any longer.
"I will not sit here and-"Perez's rebuttal was cut short by Admiral Hackett finally breaking the silence in the room.
"Thank you, Lieutenant Major, for your testimony. You will be reassigned in the upcoming days. All of us lost great men and women from this tragedy, and rest assured, the Alliance will not let this go. Dismissed." Two of the admirals, including Perez, gawked at how Hackett played off Alenko's outburst.
"Sir," Kaidan snapped to attention before spinning on his heel to leave. It would be best for him to leave it at that and not linger a second longer. He wondered if Joker and the other survivors went through the same whitewash that he did. Taking a deep breath in the hallway, he stared out at the starry sky through the pedway's windows. "Shepard…..are you dead?" His voice quaked as his emotions rocked him. How could this be happening? When would he finally wake up?
With purposeful strides, he navigated the corridor until he reached the elevator at the end to take it to the level that housed his bunk. Since he was not high-ranking, he did not have a private cabin. Fortunately, his bunkmates were out on their shifts, so he had time to himself. Clambering to his top bunk, he propped his head up with his right arm as he stretched out. Unguarded, he allowed the tears to come to the surface of his eyes. As his gaze focused on the metal ceiling, all he could see was Zalena's beautiful face. He longed for her delicate touch on his face. He wanted to feel her warmth. The frozen determined look on her face reflected at him. She was out of reach. Forever. "I never got to tell her….how special she was to me." The rocky emotions tamed his voice. "Why didn't I?" A few tears trickled down his face until exhaustion overtook him, and he succumbed to deep sleep.
A few hours later, two chirps from his docked omni tool flagged him to incoming messages that he received. Seeing two of his bunkmates asleep nearby, he quietly swung his legs over the bed's edge and hopped down. He walked down to the end of his section bunk area to find the shared public terminal. Accessing his account, he swiped screens until he got to his messages. Two were waiting for him, and both marked as high priority. The first one advised of a change in his upcoming assignment, and the other from Captain Anderson. Choosing his old CO's first, the contents were very short. Anderson told him that his assignment was "TBD," He would get the full details once he met with him at the Citadel. The last sentence was a poke to tell him to straighten up and meet him ASAP. The captain knew the relationship between Shepard and Alenko. It wasn't like they were on the down-low. They did keep it professional. Losing a love was never easy. Since then, David Anderson went thorugh a nasty divorce at a young age and his social relationships were under lock and key. As far as Kaidan knew, his former captain never really dated since then and never remarried. Anderson never liked to talk about it and preferred not to. There was a time and place for that, and to him, it wasn't in the military. It would cause a soldier to lose his focus, and sometimes that would lead to death. The prospect of an undisclosed assignment detail was very alluring to Alenko. It wouldn't be boring if Anderson had a hand in it. What was he hiding?
An elegantly dressed asari operating the embassy receptionist desk flashed Kaidan a smile after she checked him in that afternoon. He arrived at the station three days later from his immediate departure from Arcturus and adorned his dress blues attire. "Councilor Anderson will see you now." Her voice was soft and tranquil as she waved him along with her slender blue fingertips. It still felt out of sorts to hear Anderson's new title. He never would expect his old CO to be a politician. Then again, it was better for him in that role than for Udina. Something about the human ambassador rubbed Alenko the wrong way, and Zalena must have felt the same way when she pitched in her nomination for David Anderson as well. The polished steps led the way up to the human embassy offices. The Presidium was so pristine. Alenko was amazed at how well kept up it was!
The newly added councilor was behind his desk when the door to his office opened at Alenko's arrival. The once stern-faced captain morphed into a withdrawn and stunned man. He stood up from his desk to greet him with a handshake. "It is good to see you, Lieutenant Major. How are you holding up?"
"Fair," Alenko admitted. "I don't think the shock has worn off."
"I don't think it ever will," Anderson admitted solemnly.
"Any news from the council on their investigation?"
Anderson shook his head as he sat back down. "That's the frustrating part. Not a damn thing. I thought she was a Spectre, one of theirs, and yet, no plans."
Kaidan blinked at him in disbelief. "You have to be kidding me? You're on the council now, sir. That has to stand for something."
"I'm only one person, and I'm one against three, Lieutenant," His voice rose as if he was hurt by Alenko's unspoken suggestion that he wasn't doing enough. "You think I haven't tried? Every meeting, I bring that up first thing, and sometimes I bring it up after the sessions. Yesterday, Sparatus finally gave in and said he would ask the Turian Hierarchy to develop a special task group within their military to find the vessel. So far, that's the best I can do. I'm not done yet."
"So, she's just gone?" Kaidan's mouth felt dry as he uttered his words. "Swept under the rug like a piece of dirt."
"You know that's not true!" Anderson finally snapped back. "I won't give up." He took a breath to compose himself after catching the abnormal outburst. "Shake it off, soldier, for now. That's an order."
Kaidan snapped to attention with a dutiful salute. "Yes, sir."
Anderson sighed heavily once more as he rose from his desk. "Take a two-day shore leave here. I'll transmit the details of your guest room. Relax and get yourself together. I want to see you here at 0800 then for your assignment. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir." Alenko remained transfixed in his salute. "Details on the assignment from command?"
"My discretion, not theirs, and no. Not yet. You're dismissed, Lieutenant."
Defeated, Kaidan rang out, "Sir," before he turned to exit the office. He was bewildered about the unspoken assignment that was about to occur to him. Why the secrecy? Did Anderson know more about Shepard's untimely death than he was letting on? It wasn't like him if he was. It would be a long two days.
As he exited the human embassy, he noticed Emily Wong standing out near the water pedway with her hover cam near her. She was prepping to go live. Diverting his eyes away, he didn't want to get her attention. If she saw him, she may flag him down to do an interview. Like he needed the media right now. Mixing in with the traffic of commuters, he went the opposite direction to take the long way to the lower wards' elevator. All of this scenery was too familiar, too much for him to take right now.
Emily Wong's smiling face flashed across the monitor in the salarian diplomat Ustall Vilus' room. "Greetings everyone, I'm Emily Wong. It has been days since the tragic destruction of the Normandy and the deaths of many Alliance crew members. The biggest impact was the death of the first human Spectre, Commander Zalena Shepard. An inspiration to us all. Vigils will continue throughout the weekend. All requests for comments by the Council and the Human Embassy have been declined. The council's calendar is full daily, with petitions and hearings. It looks like business, as usual. What does this mean for us? Who will be the next human Spectre? Join me tomorrow night for a special look at Zalena's military life and who she was. There are big shoes to fill. Ambassador Udina is already pushing for her replacement. More to come."
Ustall turned off the monitor screen with a look of satisfaction on his lips. The news delighted him. His large oval amphibian eyes shifted their glance from the screen to the glowing orb that rested on a pedestal next to his couch. He resided on the wards' level as T'Zemi, so when the news came about her death on the Presidium, he snuck inside while the keepers went to work to collect her belongings. His presence did not disturb them. Curiosity brought him there. T'Zemi was bizarre compared to his colleagues. She hardly left her apartment, and when she did, she had very little to say. It was as if her attention was driven elsewhere. He wondered what her apartment looked like and what was so grand about it. The sphere was the first object to catch his eye. He drooled over its wonder and touched it delicately with his fingertips. He needed it. He wanted it. It would not be missed. He was sure of it. Picking up the pedestal and the ball, he glanced nervously at the keepers, who didn't look his way. Thankfully, the orb was much lighter than it looked. "Great job. Thank you. She will be missed…" He gave a few feign sniffles before retreating quickly to the apartment's door. He had to get home soon with his prize! A few glances down the hall to make sure no one was around, he shuffled towards his apartment that was three doors down scurried inside like a cockroach to light.
Now, his acquired possession was safe and sound inside his apartment. He felt so tranquil around it and hardly left his apartment except to go to work or if he felt the desire to go elsewhere. It was as if, sometimes, the orb told him where to go and what to do. The news of Shepard's death was delightful, and the ball glowed brighter. "The Reapers will not find us now. Shepard is no more."