This was the second time he'd received orders that were unmarked. Though this time once opened there was secondary encryption, and it was marked as classified. He had to actually sit down at his desk and put in credentials before it would unlock which took a whole fifteen minutes longer than he'd have liked it to. And once it did, up popped several documents, photos, and a few videos. It was overwhelming, and Kaidan had to sift through everything to find the actual reason he'd been handed this. Once everything had been shut down, and the general file opened to display all the contents, he started from the top, and planned to work his way down.
PROJECT: PROJECT
PROJECT LEAD: AMANDA KENSON
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: RESEARCH ON STRANGE ARTIFACTS LOCATED ON [ENCRYPTED DATA] IN THE BAHAK SYSTEM. [ENCRYPTED DATA] ALL REPORTS ARE TO BE FORWARDED TO [CLASSIFIED].
EDIT: DR. KENSON HAS BEEN ARRESTED BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES. NO LINK TO ALLIANCE HAS BEEN FOUND.
EDIT: SHEPARD HAS BEEN NOTIFIED AND WILL ENGAGE AT EARLIEST CONVENIENCE FOR SEARCH AND RESCUE.
Kaidan looked down, confused at what he was reading. He began sifting through the rest of the information available to him. There was a recording of the conversation between her and Hackett, who was apparently close friends with Amanda. Catherine didn't seem too keen on going, but because it was personal, she said she'd go. But only after the Collectors were taken care of.
There was then a note that had been added recently - just a few hours ago recently - from Hackett.
I need you to accompany me on a classified mission. You will be given a debrief upon your arrival. We leave tomorrow, from dock 284. Your team has been notified of your absence and will await your return. There will be only two others accompanying you on this mission, but I trust that I will only need you for what I have in mind.
All I can inform you of is that you will primarily be put in place as a backup in case our alpha plan doesn't pan out.
Immediately, Kaidan was up and packing his essentials. He thought briefly about packing a few personal items, but decided against it. He'd be back soon. Though hopefully he wouldn't be needing all of the gear he was taking. In just thirteen minutes, he was heading out towards the dock, knowing the sooner he got there, the sooner he would find out what the hell Catherine was doing.
Naturally when he arrived, Hackett wasn't there. He wouldn't be there for another hour, so Kaidan set his things down on one of the empty bunks, and went to wait in the debriefing room with the other two soldiers. The moment he walked in the room, both of them paused their conversation and their heads snapped up. They seemed surprised, even shocked, by him being there, and didn't say another word that Kaidan couldn't hear beyond a faint whisper.
"Hadley, Bornova, cut the chatter." Hackett's voice boomed in the small space not too much longer after Kaidan had started counting the scratches on the glass table. "Alenko, glad to see you got here early, we're moving ahead of schedule and we'll be departing in an hour." he said as he pulled out one of the chairs, the three others pulling up their chairs to sit as well.
"This mission is classified because technically this is outside Alliance jurisdiction. We're heading just outside the relay to the Bahak system, to meet up with the Normandy SR-2-"
"That's the Cerberus ship Shepard's been flying on." The woman spoke up. "Why are we meeting with Cerberus."
Hackett offered a small smile, and passed over a data pad.
"As of 0700 this morning, Shepard has surrendered the Normandy, along with herself and its crew, to the Alliance. We are going to ensure that she makes it back to headquarters, for questioning and you are not to tell anyone about anything I say after this." he paused and looked each of them in the eye. "We're only going to board the Normandy once we have a guarantee of Shepard's status onboard."
"Status, sir?" Kaidan spoke up.
"She may not make it back." he said. "I've asked her, as a personal favor, to go in and retrieve Dr. Kenson from a Batarian prison. The cause of her arrest is unknown, and Shepard has been sent alone to ensure that-"
"Alone?"
"-to ensure that Dr. Kenson is brought back to give a report of her project." Hackett nearly glared but Kaidan didn't back down from it. "Yes, I sent her in alone. A team would be too risky in such a small prison and Shepard is more than capable of handling the situation."
"Understood." Kaidan sunk back into his chair, mentally kicking himself. His concern was, in part, understandable. He'd known Catherine before all of this had happened, he'd grown fond of her. It was natural for him to be concerned. To a degree. Kaidan was certain he'd just stepped over the line.
"Sir, if we're going to secure the Normandy, why aren't we heading through the relay?" the woman spoke up again.
"To pass through the relay would require cooperation from the Batarian government. We don't have time for that, and we don't want to start a war. So we are going to wait outside the relay. If we don't hear back in four days, we will establish contact with the Normandy and move in."
"Why is Shepard after Dr. Kenson?" Kaidan asked. "You contacted Shepard about this nearly a month ago, why is this so important?"
"Dr. Kenson is the lead director for a project that has been researching strange artifacts that resemble that of the flagship Saren used three years ago. We need to study it to understand its power."
That was enough for him to realize why this was so important. Reaper artifacts. That was what was at stake. If the Batarians found out, they would try to claim them as their own, and that was a dangerous move for the rest of the galaxy. Hell, the fact that they were Reaper artifacts was dangerous enough. But now he understood. Now he knew why Hackett had sent Catherine. Without outright saying it, he did believe in the threat, and was doing all he could to investigate it.
"That, and she is a very close friend of mine. She's been taken off the project and hasn't listened to anyone."
"Informal arrest."
"Yes."
"I see." Kaidan nodded and lowered his head. All four stood up a moment later.
"Hadley, Bornova. You two will be monitoring the traffic at the relay once we get there. Alenko... Follow me."
He fell into step with the man as they left the other two behind, the silence familiar and tense for Kaidan.
"You're being promoted to Major. Congratulations." Hackett said as they waited for an elevator. "Your task in all this is to be my liason with the Normandy. You're more familiar with them, and I know that everyone trusts you to an extent - moreso than the rest of us."
"I can tell you right now most of them won't cause any trouble."
"I need to know who will, then." he looked over his shoulder. "I'll also have you accompany me aboard to detain Shepard if she comes back."
"When." Kaidan couldn't help but mutter.
"... When... Shepard comes back." Hackett sighed. "It's getting harder for me to turn a blind eye. And that's all I'm going to say about that."
"Understood, sir." Kaidan took a step back. The elevator arrived and Hackett went his own way. Kaidan turned to head back to the bunk, more nervous than ever, now. Hackett knew what had happened before and looked away because the galaxy had been saved. If it happened again... Well, there might not even be a chance for a court hearing on it. But that didn't mean he was going to throw away his career, no matter how much he loved Catherine. He needed to keep a clear head this time around. He shook his head once he got to the bunk, glad that he was alone with his thoughts.
Kaidan understood the real goal here - the Reapers had to be his focus. He had to work on stopping them, on preventing them from getting through, whatever he could muster. And with the promotion, it might be a little easier to do that. Not to mention Anderson was back with the Alliance - apparently all the bureaucrats had finally pushed him out of the Council seat, and right behind him, already getting comfortable in his new position, was Udina. Either way, Anderson had significant influence with the Alliance, and believed Shepard in the beginning about the Reapers. So if anyone was going to help him, Kaidan knew Anderson was the man to go to.
Logging in to his terminal, Kaidan saw his credentials had already been updated. A few messages of congratulations had been sent from some higher ups, but Kaidan honestly couldn't have cared less. The first message he sent out was to Anderson, curious if he knew anything about what Hackett was doing, and if he could be of any help back at HQ. He was an Admiral, now. In contention with Hackett for influence, but respectful enough to back down when necessary or appropriate. After that message was sent off, of course, he sent another message to his parents, letting them know he'd been promoted, would be away for some time, and that the two of them might want to start thinking about getting a plan in place if things went south soon.
In the time it took to get to their destination, Kaidan had gone through, with great detail, the rest of the mission report he'd been given. Dr. Kenson was an amazing scientist, in fact she and some of the others assigned to this project had been the ones to suggest that the relays had pre-dated even the Protheans. That must have drawn attention to her, because most of that team was now working on this project, studying something. Kaidan desperately wanted to know what it was they were doing, and he did try to see if he had clearance. Unfortunately, it didn't seem that he did, and so he tossed the data pad gently onto the table, sighing as he leaned back in his chair.
"Major Alenko, your presence is requested on the bridge." the pilot called out, her voice too soft to be pleasing.
"Thank you." he called out, pushing himself up and collecting the data pad to stow it away.
It was just a couple minutes later when he walked out to the open space, heading across the room to where Hackett was standing near a screen, analyzing something. He happened to look up when Kaidan was half way, and to be honest, he thought he saw some relief on the Admiral's face.
"I need you to send a message to the Normandy, tell them we have some... disturbing information regarding Shepard and Dr. Kenson." he said.
"What details am I supplying?"
"Shepard has successfully retrieved the doctor, but communications were cut short upon arrival at the facility where the project base is. We can't risk sending anyone in, but we need to find out what's going on."
He nodded, immediately pulling open his omni-tool, and establishing a connection before sending the message. He got one back fairly quick, stating that the Normandy would welcome a party being sent aboard, so that everyone could collectively monitor the situation, and combine any resources.
"What resources could they possibly have?" Hackett nearly grumbled, not looking too trusting.
"If I"m not mistaken, the Normandy has an impressive drive core, along with high-end communication relays. It's got a broader range of capabilities for searching than this ship does." He shrugged and pausing for a moment. "Additionally, if we go aboard, some of the crew could start processing the transfer of the ship and whatever members are there."
Kaidan watched as Hackett thought for a moment before nodding. "We'll head over. I want you to gear up, I have a feeling I may need to send you in, despite what I said earlier."
"Hadley and Bornova, as well?"
"They can be my guard." Hackett turned around, leaving Kaidan to send a message as he made his way back, simultaneously relaying the message to the other two that they would be needed shortly to provide Hackett with a guard while aboard the Normandy. He didn't like playing messenger like this, but he knew his place, and he knew that this was what part of being the ambassador between ships was. At least both parties were relatively friendly to one another.
As he pulled his armor on, Kaidan got a feeling in his gut that was one similar to Virmire. Something was going to go wrong. He'd learned to trust this feeling since then, and now that he had this feeling when it involved Catherine, he was determined to make sure he did everything right. Even if that meant cutting a few corners - he wasn't going to lose her again.
He walked briskly to the air lock, standing beside Hackett, the other two soldiers behind them. Kaidan looked down at his armor, feeling a bit bad that he'd polished it the day before receiving this assignment. He looked too pristine - too much like the poster boy the Alliance wanted. But, he couldn't change what had happened, only what could happen from here on out. The air lock opened a moment later, and Kaidan couldn't help but smile when he saw a couple familiar faces. Dr. Chakwas and Garrus were standing there to greet them. After they were all pushed into the debriefing room - walking through the Normandy had shown just how tough their fight with the Collectors had been - Garrus was the one to share the information they had on where Shepard was, and what she'd done last.
"Last we heard, she was getting off the shuttle, and was expecting to head back within a few hours."
"How long ago was this?" Hackett asked Garrus, none too happy.
"Almost a full day ago. We did get a brief call, only about thirty seconds. There was some serious gunfire, and she didn't sound too good." Garrus' eyes fixed on Kaidan. "I wanted to go in and help, but she specifically told us all to stay put. I don't doubt she can do this, but she may need more help than she realizes."
"Always stubborn." Kaidan mumbled, glancing to Hackett before raising his voice to a more normal volume. "Would you like to send me in, sir?"
"Let's try making contact with Shepard, and the project team first. If there was a malfunction, or if the Batarians found them, I'd rather not go in assuming the worst."
"Admiral," Chakwas spoke up, having been silent this whole time, "I've been reading Shepard's armor. She was placed under extreme stress, and there were several ruptures in her suit before she went into a comatose state." her voice was motherly, and very concerned. "I think sending Alenko in would be best for this situation. I can provide a tracker for her suit to cut down on search time. Perhaps the project team would be accepting of an actual Alliance soldier, and allow him to extract her. Especially with the pretense of an arrest."
"Admiral, if I may?" Bornova spoke up, her voice firm.
"Go ahead."
"I've been listening to the recording of Shepard's last call. It doesn't sound like a Batarian attack. The weapons don't sound modified, and in an earlier message, Shepard and Kenson reported that they weren't followed."
"You're suggesting the project team turned on her?"
"Yes, sir."
"Admiral, if they were studying what I think they were, it's not far off to suggest that they might have turned." Kaidan said in a hushed tone. "As much as you don't want to admit it, you know what's going on. Send me in, I can get both of them out safely."
"No." he shook his head with a sigh. "No, I think getting both of them out is too much to hope for at this point." He looked up and his grey eyes looked sunken. "Focus on extracting Shepard. She's more important."
"Yes, sir. I'll head out now."
"Good luck, Alenko."
Kaidan turned to leave the room, nervous about what he was doing. He'd been alone on missions before, but on those missions he knew what he was doing and what he was up against. This time he was going in blind, and hoping that Catherine would still be alive and able to help him. He decided to spend a few minutes searching for blueprints, codes, anything that might make his mission easier. He was lucky to come across an escape plan, detailing where escape shuttles were, how many there were, and how many people they could hold. Maybe he could start there and work his way back.
"Let's go, Kaidan." Garrus said not far away. Kaidan looked up and shut down his omni-tool.
"Are you coming with me?"
"Of course I am." he said, his mandibles seeming to quirk into a smile. "I'm not officially aligned with anyone, so my death will be my own if it comes to that."
"It won't come to that. But thank you." Kaidan smiled, following him to the shuttle and hopping in with him. He felt a little better about his odds with Garrus beside him.