Story: A Touch of the Past
Chapter: 6/18
Chapter Summary: Facing the unknown…
Chapter 6: Separated
Shepard couldn't focus. Commander John Shepard, N7 soldier, survivor of Akuze, first human Spectre, and the one who defeated Saren, Sovereign, and the Collectors couldn't focus on a fight. Sure, he was holding his own and was actually gaining ground, but he was making mistakes. It was only his kinetic shields, EDI, and his turrets which kept him from getting hurt.
But how could he not be distracted when he knew one of his teammates had gotten thrown out the window and had no way of even knowing if they were okay or not? Even worse, it was Kaidan that had been thrown.
"Negative enemy contacts, Commander," EDI's voice cut through the haze of his concern and Shepard stood and ran toward the window.
He activated his transmitter and called out "Kaidan!" hoping as much that Kaidan wouldn't even need the transmitter to hear him as he was to be able to hear his voice right in his ear telling him he was alright. As the interference rang through his ear, he reached the sill and leaned out to be faced with nothing but a forty story drop and not enough clearance to get a good view of the ground below. "EDI, get communications up and running at once. We need Cortez on this side of the facility and Joker scanning for Kaidan."
"Yes, Commander," EDI replied as she left the room toward their initial destination. He leaned his hands against the ledge and waited for the sound of interference to pass.
He had just gotten Kaidan back. He wasn't going to lose him now.
Seemingly endless moments passed before EDI's voice sounded through his receiver. "All communication online, Commander."
"Cortez, get to the west side of the facility. Search the landing docks for Kaidan. We lost him out the window during the fight."
"You got it Commander," the Lieutenant replied.
"Kaidan, can you hear me?" Nothing. "Kaidan, come in." The silence continued as EDI walked up next to him.
"Joker, do you read?" EDI asked through the comms even though she didn't need to, likely to make sure Shepard knew she was already talking with the Normandy.
"Loud and clear," Joker responded immediately.
"What readings do you have on Major Alenko?"
There was a short pause as Joker would have to switch to the correct display. "I'm picking him up right outside the facility, ground level."
Shepard turned toward the elevator and took off, EDI following behind. As they descended to ground level, Cortez's voice sounded over their comms. "Commander, I have no visual on the Major. I'll make another pass, but there's no sign of him."
Shepard knew it was unlikely, but he had to ask, "We may have gotten turned around in there. Have you checked other sides of the facility?"
"You didn't get turned around. I saw the broken window and where it all ended up on the landing pad. But Alenko isn't there."
Shepard tried to figure out if Kaidan was alright or not. There was no body but Joker was picking up readings from where he had to have landed. The doors of the elevator opened and Shepard ran out with EDI and moved through the halls to the exit on that side of the facility. They emerged, seeing the spray of shattered glass on the concrete. But there were no signs of blood or a hard impact.
So what had happened?
"Kaidan's signal is coming from about thirty yards to your left," Joker instructed. Shepard turned that direction and moved quickly across the short clearing, approaching a crate. He looked around the object to see nothing.
"There's nothing here, Joker," he said, somewhat harshly.
"Well, then look for why I'm picking up his omnitool there if that's not where he is," Joker snapped right back. Shepard used his friend's harsh tone to focus him in and remind him that he wasn't helping anything by being an ass.
He walked closer to the crate, glancing over his shoulder when he heard the hum of the shuttle approach and land nearby. He looked around for anything and was about to give up and head for the shuttle when his eyes caught sight of something wedged between two of the crates. He approached and recognized Kaidan's omnitool. He shot forward and worked the object free turning it over in his hands, checking for damage. It didn't appear to have taken any impact and when he activated the display, everything came up clear and in perfect working order, though Kaidan's security protocols were activated.
"Commander, you better get back to the Normandy," Joker suddenly said.
"What is it Joker?" he responded as he turned toward the shuttle and slid the omnitool into one of his supply packs.
"Just get up here. You should see it for yourself."
It had to be about Kaidan; Joker wouldn't call him away like this if it wasn't. Shepard stepped aboard the shuttle and strapped in with EDI right behind him. "You heard him, Cortez. Get us back to the Normandy."
"Yes, sir."
"Commander, did you discover why Major Alenko's signal was indicating his location to be in the landing field?" EDI asked as they took off and headed for the low orbit the Normandy was in.
"His omnitool was between some of those crates." Shepard answered, fighting the urge to pull it out and check it over again, to just make sure that it was Kaidan's. But he knew better, knew the model had always been Kaidan's preference and he'd had the same one since before Mars and Shepard had seen it too many nights on his bedside table to mistake it now.
"Can you access its records to see if it holds any data of what has happened to the Major?"
Shepard let out a wry laugh, to which EDI appeared as though she was going to ask him to clarify what he meant. "He has it pretty well encrypted and activated his security. Claims habits from being an Intel officer never quite passed."
"I am certain I would be capable of breaking his encryption."
"I'm sure you could break his encryptions, but probably not the extra security. The last layer of both fries the processor and data stores. He updated his security on it with countering you in mind. Once he tested it he was going to see if you would apply it to our systems and files." The whole clone fiasco had planted the idea.
"Docking with the Normandy now, Commander," Cortez reported and they stood as the shuttle touched down and the three departed from the shuttle as soon as the doors were open, heading at once for the elevator.
"Joker, we're heading to the bridge," Shepard reported.
"Ready for you. I already called the rest of the crew up."
The rest of the ride was made in tense silence. Once they reached the CIC, they all filed out and made their way to where Joker was waiting with his chair turned around, with Garrus, Tali, Liara, Javik, and Vega gathered around off to the sides. The air between them all was tense, nearly palpable.
"What do you have for me, Joker?" Shepard asked, making sure he didn't take on a harsh tone with someone who didn't deserve it.
"I received a message from Kaidan shortly after comms were up. He had to have sent it right after he went out the window and set it to retry until it delivered." Joker handed over a datapad and Shepard took it, then looked over the brief message.
I'm alright. Mission was a trap set for Spectres. I'm looking deeper into the BAaT reports. Give me 36 hours then track me. John will know how.
Shepard read over it once, then read it aloud to the rest of the crew.
They were all silent for a few moments before Garrus spoke, "What does he mean by BAaT?"
Shepard hesitated to answer: it wasn't his right to talk about this without Kaidan. But this wasn't just about him now because the crew of the Normandy looked after their own.
"It was the Biotic Acclimation and Temperance training program, pretty much the first we had for human biotics. It was set up before we really knew what to do with them though. Kaidan's first training was there."
"I have heard that those programs were not well organized," Liara commented, having been curious enough about biotic training facilities after the mission to Grissom Academy to research them further.
"No, they weren't. The Alliance didn't want to turn to the Council for help and seem weak so they went freelance on instructors. Had a Turian come in who didn't really approve of humans. Something happened and Kaidan killed him, got the program shut down."
A few of his friends appeared surprised at the claim and Shepard didn't really blame them: without knowing more details, it seemed really out of character for Kaidan. But Garrus then nodded in acceptance and crossed his arms over his chest. "And the reports that he's talking about?"
"A few months ago, someone hacked and stole the Alliance reports of the investigation into what happened with the program. Admiral Hackett brought Kaidan into the investigation of the theft because of his time as an Intel officer. Kaidan worked out that whoever did it was after the students."
"Then he has been captured by someone targeting those who attended BAaT training?" Liara confirmed what was being said.
"Looks like it," Shepard replied, crossing his arms stiffly.
"It appears as though he knew what he was doing," Tali commented, her voice heavy with concern.
"They had to have a transport nearby to secure and get him out of there between the time he was thrown out that window and when you got comms up again," Joker commented, seeming to just be speaking his thoughts.
"Ghost seems to know what he's doing," Vega threw out. While Shepard didn't usually mind the nicknames James decided to place on people, he didn't need to hear that name right now. It didn't even matter that James had explained his reasoning behind it as a combination of how Kaidan looked when using his biotics, kind of ethereal – James' term – and his position heading a Spec Ops division. He just didn't want to think of why things would be called "ghosts" when he didn't know what had happened to his lover. "He asked for time and even gave us something on the mission. He obviously knows more than we do, proved that by giving us the reason for the colony being cut off."
"He said that it was a trap for Spectres," Garrus said thoughtfully. "Did he mean they were targeting you as well, Shepard?"
"There were Batarians in the facility calling me out. They must have offered the Batarians me if they could get Kaidan out of the deal." Shepard felt his chest constrict at his own words. "They must have figured out what sort of missions the Council would send to us and set one up to draw us out. We took out the Batarians and the other guys got what they wanted." He ran a hand over his scalp in his frustration.
"So did Kaidan by the looks of it," Vega commented.
Just as Shepard turned to rip into the Lieutenant, Liara stepped toward him and placed her hand on his arm.
"Shepard, Vega is not wrong. I understand that you are concerned for Kaidan, as we all are, but we must look at the situation as it stands. Kaidan knew what he was doing. That he was able to send the message through to Joker is proof enough of that. He is good at what he does and will accomplish what he has set out to do. We must do our part and ensure we are prepared to offer him aid when he needs it. He said you would know how to track him without his omnitool."
Shepard's mind raced, trying to figure out what Kaidan had meant. They all used their omnitools to track each other as EDI and Tali had worked together to make transmitters calibrated specifically to each teammate uniquely and the Normandy's systems. They all relied on that to keep track of each other and hadn't needed anything else. He looked down at the datapad still in his grasp and read through the last sentence one more time.
John will know how.
That Kaidan had called him "John" in a message to someone else was strange. He had always reserved using Shepard's first name to moments of affection or high emotion when he wanted Shepard to really pay attention to him. So what did he want him to pay attention to in this? Unless he was calling attention to something Shepard had done in affection.
Wait, of course.
"My dog tag. The N7 tags have a low tech tracking device in them." And how Kaidan had known about that was beyond Shepard. It wasn't like it was announced that the tracker was there and Shepard hadn't mentioned it as far as he could remember.
"And Kaidan has them?" Tali asked.
"He has one of them, yes. And I have one of his."
Shepard had switched them out on a whim shortly after they had gotten together again, taking advantage of how Kaidan slept somewhat deeper when he was with Shepard. Not really thinking about what he was doing and what it meant to Kaidan, only knowing what it meant for him, he had worked the chain from around Kaidan's neck and switched out one of his tags for Kaidan's and returned it to the sleeping man. He had stayed awake for a long time afterwards just turning over the tag in his hands, looking between the Alliance insignia on one side and the engraving of "Major Alenko, Kaidan" along with his military ID number on the other.
He hadn't told Kaidan that he had done it the next morning, but the biotic had walked out of the bathroom after showering with a serene expression and had kissed Shepard deeply. Then he had proceeded to mention how lucky Shepard was that he hadn't tried that three years ago.
"Wouldn't have been such a good thing?" Shepard had responded, somewhat concerned though he tried to hide it with a humored tone.
"No, it would have been a good thing then. Except I used to keep my amp on the chain for my tags. Nothing makes for one hell of a migraine like pulling on the line to the port."
And that was when Shepard had learned how Kaidan positioned his amps and leads to his implant's port. He hadn't put much thought into it before, not really ever putting much thought into how Kaidan being a biotic made him different. Instead of keeping his amp exposed, and his port for that matter, Kaidan had asked for them to be placed under his skin to reduce the risk of damage and infection while in combat. It allowed him to not have to worry as much about the port site either and he could focus all his attention on whatever he was doing.
Shepard pulled himself from his thoughts and reached under his armor and thermal suit to pull the chain holding his dog tags over his head and handed it over to EDI. "Get the signal from that one and find him."
EDI took the chain from him and walked over to the co-pilot seat and started working through screens.
"And the 36 hours he asked for?" Joker asked, though it sounded more like a challenge.
"Just get a location on him. I'll give orders then."
Without waiting for anybody else to speak, Shepard turned and left the bridge, moving past everyone with no intention of engaging in conversation. He would just snap at them anyway and nobody needed that.
He walked past the galaxy map and was heading toward the elevator when Traynor called out to him. "Commander, you received a message on your personal terminal. It came in just before you returned to the ship."
He hesitated in going to his terminal. Honestly, it didn't matter who it was from: he had one priority right now and nothing would distract him from it. But he also knew that there was too much riding on him to not acknowledge any communications sent to him, especially if it came in through his personal contact.
Turning toward his personal terminal, he activated the screen and accessed his messages. His breath caught in his throat as he saw who the sender of the unread message was.
Kaidan Alenko.
It wasn't the same message as he had seen already, knowing that Joker had been the only recipient of that communication. He selected the message and felt his chest tighten beyond the ability to breathe as he read the short message.
This is what I need to do. Be there when I get back.
Shepard wished he had waited until he was in his cabin before reading the message. He felt his control slipping further away from him as he read over the line over and over again. He set his hands on either side of his terminal and relaxed his weight forward, his mind rushing in memory of what Kaidan had told him those weeks ago about how Shepard could just be there and give him everything he needed, remembered what his lover had told him the night before Ilos about how he made Kaidan feel human.
Thinking over the other message Kaidan had sent to Joker, he looked at it in the light that the others were trying to get him to see: as a fellow crewmate who knew what Kaidan was capable of.
He started by letting them know he was alright. If it was just the day-to-day with the crew, Shepard would dismiss that since Kaidan had at numerous times told everyone – including Chakwas – that he was alright when he was moments away from passing out from the pain of a migraine because to Kaidan the pain was a part of his life and it wasn't a big deal. But while on missions, Kaidan didn't do anything to risk the mission like lying about injuries would. Sure, he'd still lie about pain from his implant but not an injury.
Then he had passed on the intel that would matter to what they had just done as well as what he was about to do. He gave Shepard the knowledge he had somehow acquired which would be conveyed to the Council as a mission completed, along with the knowledge that it had all been to get to the Spectres the Council had assigned to the investigation. He had done his job to the last possible moment, which is what made him a damn good Spectre and Major.
Only then had he allowed it to become more personal, outright saying that it was whoever was involved with the BAaT report thefts. He could have put it differently and Shepard would have still understood what he had meant, familiar as they were with each other. Instead, he had put things as bluntly as possible, opening the door for the others to really know what was going on. Shepard nearly cussed himself out for missing that the first time: by mentioning BAaT outright like he had, Kaidan had given Shepard permission to reveal anything he had to for the sake of what he was asking of them.
And asking for a 36 hour time window…Kaidan could get a lot done in that amount of time. He could take in a massive amount of information and retain it for use later. If he was looking for answers, he would get them and so much more in the time he had requested of them. Knowing Kaidan's resourcefulness, he probably wouldn't even need them to really interfere, just be ready to pick him up. And he had given them exactly what they needed to do just that. Reminded him that Shepard had given him a secondary means of tracking him down because his captors would have taken his omnitool from him and probably wouldn't have taken it with them.
Shit, how could Kaidan convey so much – at least to Shepard - with just a few sentences? And while he had sent the message to Joker, it was obvious that he had intended for Shepard to be there to interpret all this as well. He'd probably only sent it to Joker as a way to make sure Shepard was able to make the right choices in any rescue mission by having to run it through at least two other people: Joker and EDI.
"I promised every time," he whispered before raising his voice. "Joker, EDI, once you have a lock on Kaidan, get us as much intel as you can and keep us in position to get in there the minute 36 hours are up. We have to trust that Kaidan knows what he's asking for and that he'll be ready for us to pick him up."
"You got it, Commander," Joker responded. "Should I contact the Council?" Shepard should give his report of what had happened on the planet and what was going on with one of the Spectres.
"Not now, Joker. I need some time before I talk to the Council," his voice sounded more tired than he would normally allow.
"Understood. We've got it for now, Shepard. Do what you need to do."
That was unusually kind of the helmsman and Shepard looked toward the bridge, realizing that his friends were gathered across the room, looking at him with soothing expressions. They all understood why he was acting the way he was and they didn't blame him. These were his friends, just like they were Kaidan's friends and they would be there to help get him back safely.
The Commander straightened his posture and looked toward his crew. "Kaidan knew he was in danger from these guys. When Hackett approached him with the risk he was in with BAaT trainees being targeted, Kaidan told him something I think I only just really understood. Go after a Spectre, you deal with the Council. Go after a Major of the Alliance and you get to deal with the Alliance. Go after someone serving on the Normandy, you get Shepard and his crew coming after your ass." He paused briefly before a smirk lifted the corners of his lips. "I'll make the report to Hackett and the Council, but they won't need to get involved. The Alliance and the Council would just get in the way with this one. We're all that's needed to make this point: you don't screw with one of us and get out of it alive."
The grins he received in response were enough to make him want to amend his previous statement ever so slightly: it was Shepard and his crazy ass crew they had to worry about now.
And Kaidan was part of that crew and would be returned in just under 36 hours.
