Chapter 1: Keep Calm & Headbutt a Krogan
Illuminated words glared at Shepard from the datapad. She fell on her bed with a sigh and bent her knees to prop her PDA against her thighs. Though the datapad weighed next to nothing, it somehow made breathing impossible. The content contained within the classified reports sat heavily on her mind. She was desensitized to death and violence over her career, but the decision she was forced to make had made her feel like a murderer, an inevitable sensation regardless of whatever her call would be.
{I gave you a chance to save them and you threw it away!}
Guttural coughs echoed in the back of her mind. She poured her focus into memorizing the dossier of Kate Bowman, the engineer who was forced to sacrifice her brother and risked her life in order to remain in contact with Shepard, to provide intelligence and assistance to shut off the fusion torches on Asteroid X57. Reading Kate's biography was the only way Shepard could honour the sacrifice she thrust upon the engineer without her knowledge, in order to prevent the batarian terrorist from escaping and claiming many more lives than he already had.
{Who's the real terrorist here…?}
A cold numbness washed over her, and she flicked the datapad off upon reaching the end of Kate's life. Balak's jingoism touched a nerve that Shepard still had yet to settle, eight hours after the conclusion of that mission.
Tension tightened in her organic shoulder and pulled on the muscles of her neck. She itched to move, so she rolled off the bed and head for the heavy bag in the corner of her quarters. She worked on it until a fog draped over her mind and emptied her of thought, exhausting her body to the point it surpassed burnt-out emotions. Something seemed to be calling out to her regardless, and it was only thanks to the pain shooting up the wrist from a sloppy punch that brought her back to the present, where she realized Joker was the one calling out to her on the comms.
≤Commander?≥
"Got a status update for me, Joker?"
≤Yeah. ETA to Therum in two hours.≥
"Understood." She raked her sweat-slicked hair out of her face and turned with a sigh, gaze snapping to the PDA abandoned on her bed.
Should she study the next dossier ahead of time, of Dr. Liara T'Soni?
≤Everything alright, Commander? Sounded like you were trying to murder your bag.≥
That would have been preferable to Kate Bowman and the other engineers trapped with her. The memory refused to release Shepard and her tongue tasted acidic - she wouldn't thrust her issues on Lieutenant Moreau, however. He needed to retain a clear mind and heart in order to safely pilot them all to their next destination and continue their duties. She rubbed her temples to try and ward off the beginnings of a headache, where ill-timed visions of the Protheans decided to return with their grim warnings and feelings of hopeless desperation.
"I'm fine," she replied tersely. "Return to your duties, Joker."
≤Roger that ma'am.≥ A brief silence, barring the slight static of the intercom. It shut off shortly after quick decisive words. ≤Sorry, Commander.≥
There was more to that apology, she knew. It hit her like everything else, and slid off her like everything else. She couldn't afford to let it distract her. When would this cycle end, this cycle she had condemned herself to? She embarked on these missions to distract her, and ironically enough, the missions only fed more into what she was trying to forget.
Shepard rubbed her temples again, hopelessly succumbing to the inevitable headache the visions wrought. She retrieved her datapad and brought up the intel reports forwarded to her regarding Dr. Liara T'Soni. There was nothing noteworthy that may reveal where the archaeologist's allegiance was, and her investigating Prothean ruins only propped up another red flag in her file. Saren somehow discovered a working Prothean beacon, and knew how to use that to his advantage. Benezia was working alongside him. Dr. T'Soni's current position was just a little too coincidental for the soldier's liking.
Instinct warned Shepard that this mission wasn't going to be black-and-white. Still, she retained hopes for a simple extraction, or a simple execution.
"But that isn't going to happen," she thought with a sigh. "Is it?"
It most definitely was not going to happen.
There was a mechanical rhythm to the gunfire as if the geth were following steps from an instruction manual. What tactical advantage they had with logical processing and no fear of death was overshadowed by tempered experience, trained reaction and a very stubborn will to survive. With stealth, patience and a couple calculated shots, the small patrol of geth were eliminated.
Shepard engaged her radio. "I have visual on the target. Ground team, standby for extraction."
Kaidan reported back. ≤Roger that Commander. Exercise caution, the topography scanner has flagged that the structure may be unstable.≥
"Understood. Shepard out."
She holstered her HMW rifle and took out her pistol as she navigated the ramps down, glancing down in skepticism over structural integrity when metal grates groaned from her weight. She readied herself for an uncleared sector. A firm foot planted just outside the corner and she moved swiftly, scanning the sector for threats while ever advancing forward. The economy of motion propelled her and her body settled into it's own mechanical rhythm to efficiently clear the many crevices these Prothean ruins possessed.
As a lone operative, she made meticulous mental notes over plausible ambush points as well as advantages she could spin in her favour. She took cover as preemptive caution before consulting her omni-tool to study the mako's uploaded map of these ruins, then checked over the ramp railing to maintain visual on her target.
Dr. Liara T'Soni.
The asari was motionless, eluding the nature of the barrier surrounding her.
"Maybe it's a deadly cocktail of concentration and powerful biotics?" Shepard thought. "If so, then that barrier won't remain forever."
She spotted geth at the floor of the mine and shifted her position to count them. Her pistol was put back away in favour of her rifle and she stalked to the mine elevator, ascertaining that her gun wasn't jammed before she descended to the asari's level. Sometimes she forgot her Spectre-issued gear wasn't subject to the occasional problem that standard issue weapons ran into. Habits died as hard as ghostly limbs.
Debris blocked safe passage to the floor and the elevator screeched to a halt. As soon as the shutters opened, she hopped down and knelt to take cover behind a crate. The tell-tale sounds of geth beeping and chittering alarmed her, but maybe they didn't know she was there. Logical reasoning could chalk it up to the elevator simply malfunctioning.
"H-hello?" Dr. T'Soni asked nervously. "Who are you? Are you with the geth?"
More geth beeping, and then pulse rifles revved. They knew there was another intruder now. Shepard took out a couple smoke grenades and laid them beside her in preparation, then closed her eyes to suck in a slow steadying breath. She tried to listen, until she remembered that geth excel at stealth - no breathing, no footsteps. At least there were glaring flashlight heads that functioned as a convenient bullseye for her. She braced the rifle against her synthetic shoulder and twisted out of cover with as little exposure as necessary, laying down suppressive fire to draw them out as she memorized where they were.
The rifle warmed against her arm and she waited for the heat sink to vent its built up energy, lobbing a smoke grenade down at the mine floor to obscure their vision of each other. So long as the geth did not move too far too quickly, her barrage of gunfire through the smoke should tag every single one. She waited until the rifle warmed her forearm before she threw her last prepared grenade, shouting over her shoulder as she did.
"I'm Commander Shepard, with the Alliance military! I'm here to extract you!"
A slice of her cheek. She dropped back into cover and touched the biting sting of flesh, gauging the severity of her wound by how much blood laced her fingers. A graze. She'd live. She took a moment to collect herself and steady her breathing again, making eye contact with the asari.
"You need to conserve your energy and release your barrier. I'll provide cover fire for you while you run."
"Barrier? This is not a biotic barrier."
Dr. T'Soni barely seemed to be able to move, suspended in air. Her explanation elicited choice words trapped inside Shepard's mind.
"I was running away from the geth and a krogan just before you arrived here," T'Soni said. "I activated what I presumed were the tower's defences and must have triggered some sort of Prothean stasis field. It is too strong for me to break free, and the geth have not been able to find a way to disable it."
"Do you have any clue how to?"
"If you can access the terminal behind me, you should be able to, but there's no way for you to get on the other side."
"I'm guessing shooting at it is a tried and failed method?" Shepard sighed when the asari nodded. "Alright. I'll figure something out in a minute." She smiled a little, somehow, somewhere. "Sit tight."
Creaks shot out as metal feet echoed against the ramps leading up to her position. She holstered her rifle and slid in through the bottom of the railing to drop on the floor of the mine, retreating to the shadows beneath the ramp while she observed the geth come to where she was. Two units were left. She took out her pistol and whistled loudly at the same time to draw them to look at her, firing through the ramp until she was no longer blinded by flashlights. She ventured further out on the mine's floor, clearing sector by sector while she brainstormed ideas.
"I could throw grenades at the barrier, but then that'll put Dr. T'Soni into a hazardous situation if it ends up working. It might just have to come to a few burns for the price of freedom."
She glanced all the way up, eyes tracing the ramps she had taken on the way down. The elevator was broken. There was no risk of geth reinforcements dropping in, with her team situated outside in the mako.
"But if they find another way in... I'm not equipped to bunker down and hold position. I have to find a way through to Dr. T'Soni before they do." She sighed and holstered her pistol when she affirmed that every sector was devoid of threats, radioing the ground team. "Alenko, just how unstable is this structure?"
≤I don't have the answer to that ma'am, but I would guess enough explosives might stir something in there.≥
"Roger that, LT. Continue on standby. Shepard out."
≤Aye aye Commander.≥
She didn't want to be trapped if she triggered something to collapse. She looked at the mining laser nearby and immediately ruled it out. That was just asking to turn her and Dr. T'Soni into more artifacts to be dug up in these ruins, once the ceiling caved. Shepard headed back up to the asari, placing her hands on the barrier. There was a subdued energy pulsing and pushing against her.
"You will not get in this way," T'Soni said, softly scowling with worry.
"I know. I'm still thinking." Shepard took a step back to examine the structure surrounding the barrier. "My team reports these ruins are unstable. Do you know by how much?"
"No, not particularly. I have taken great care to preserve this site to the best of my abilities."
There was almost a sense of pride in her voice. It brought so much comfort to Shepard to find out just how skewed the asari's priorities were.
"The University of Serrice has sponsored this expedition for me, so I cannot disturb anything. Well, I can, as it is expected of my profession, but-"
Shepard restrained impatience from stealing the reins and remained as calm as one could with this particular setback. "Dr. T'Soni, I hate to burst your bubble, but I'm asking because I might have to destroy some things to get you out."
"Oh." Crestfallen, T'Soni nodded. "Can you try to preserve as much as you can?"
"You can stay in there, if you want."
"That does not really sound like a yes..."
Somehow, somewhere, that small smile grew. "It's not. No guarantees, but I'll see what I can do, alright? And with luck, your university won't sponsor another archaeologist to dig our corpses out."
"At least they will preserve us."
Yeah, there was something just a wee bit off with this asari. Maybe Saren should have her. Shepard can appreciate a little humour every now and then, but humour usually had some way of revealing intention as a joke. The archaeologist did not seem to harbour any such intentions with the gravity and concern in all the wrong things. Well, the wrong things in a soldier's perspective.
"I'd prefer to preserve our lives, Dr. T'Soni. Do you know if this cavern is part of the structure?"
"No, not at all. The cavern has formed itself around the tower after it was built. Some of the artifacts I have discovered in here even predate the Prothean era. It is remarkable!"
They were running out of time and their lives were on the line. How she still managed to find some enthusiasm to sneak tidbits of archaeology in was beyond comprehension.
"Doc..."
Shepard stopped herself and decided to look around again, climbing up to the broken elevator she jumped down from before. She surveyed pressure cracks where the cavern weighed on the wall of the ruins and wondered if a grenade would make a dent. Protheans wouldn't have been able to build to withstand demolitions with technology 50,000 years in advance.
"I hope," she thought.
It was worth a shot.
She stuffed a single grenade in the crevice to start, then hopped back down to the archaeologist's position, taking cover a safe distance away.
"Dr. T'Soni, brace yourself. I'm going to detonate explosives." She pressed the button before there was any chance of protest.
Rumbling thunder reverberated the air, with a crescendo of collapsing metal parts. The smoke and dust obscured her view for a few seconds before settling. She inwardly cheered.
"What did you do?" Dr. T'Soni sounded incredibly nervous, only able to move her head so far to look back. "Do you think you have made a way through?"
"Yeah. Definitely."
"That certainty is not very reassuring for my profession, Commander."
Shepard chuckled and worked her way back up, sifting carefully through the rubble until she approached the crater. A hole just big enough to squeeze through. She could lay down another grenade to expand the hole, but structural integrity and the integrity of her half-assed promise dissuaded that line of thinking. She took off her weapons and checked for enemies through the hole before she dropped them on the other side, along with the shoulders of her armour so she wouldn't get stuck. She wormed her way through and quickly geared herself, watching for any threats watching her.
"Why aren't there any more geth?" Shepard wondered. "Didn't Dr. T'Soni say there's a krogan too?"
Cautious, she stalked forward and looked for a way down on the archaeologist's level. There was a huge space in the center and she walked to the edge to peer over. It wasn't a far drop down. She sat and allowed her legs to hang off, then twisted as she slipped down to catch and grab hold of the edge. She let go as soon as the swing lost its momentum, the hydraulics taking the brunt of the impact when she landed on her lone synthetic leg. She strode to the motionless asari who seemed as though she was trying her damnnest just to turn her head to see what was going on behind her.
"Alright Dr. T'Soni, I'm here. Can you walk me through with what I need to do with this terminal?"
"Er... Not really. Things were moving so fast when I was trying to escape the geth, so I did not quite pay attention to what buttons I was pressing."
"When Anderson said this mission just got a lot more complicated, he really wasn't kidding," Shepard inwardly grumbled.
Green symbols lit up the interface, and this was just about the most alien thing she'd ever seen. Some of the letters spoke to her somehow though. Her gut guided her hands and she was certain she was just pressing random buttons, waiting for the moment she was going to be sucked up in a bubble beside Dr. T'Soni, until the archaeologist dropped in the corner of her eyes with a grunt.
With haste, Shepard went to her target, waiting to see if Dr. T'Soni would prove herself to be one now that she was free. Like mother, like daughter, perhaps, but the archaeologist seemed too exhausted to try anything. Or maybe, just maybe, she had no intentions of trying anything to begin with. She was pulled up into standing with a firm grip on her forearm to steady her.
"Thank you," T'Soni breathed coolly. "I thought I would be trapped in there forever."
"Easy for your colleagues to preserve you then," Shepard teased, "And you'd already be on display for a museum."
The asari casted a look that seemed to be lost somewhere between concern, inquisitiveness, and deadpan. She didn't bite though. Her eyes lost the focus they held a few minutes earlier, and her body sagged. Shepard kept wary of their surroundings while she fished out her flask of water and helped guide the archaeologist to the wall for support.
"It's going to be smooth sailing from here, Dr. T'Soni," Shepard reassured. "I just need you to hold on a few minutes longer. My team is waiting outside to extract us, and then you'll have a nice hot meal."
T'Soni smiled weakly. "I would like that very much." She returned the flask and pushed off from the wall. "I am afraid I will not be of much use to you if we get into a fight right now, as I've exerted myself from biotics from my attempt to escape earlier. I promise I will stay out of the way if we get in trouble."
Shepard gave another look around while she secured her flask back to her belt and took out her rifle. "You mentioned a krogan earlier. Any idea where he is?"
"No, but I do not doubt that he is still around somewhere." The archaeologist pointed deeper into the ruins. "That there functions as an elevator. We can take it to return to the surface."
"Understood." Shepard engaged her radio. "I've secured Dr. T'Soni and we are on our way back up now. Are we clear for extraction?"
≤Affirmative, Commander.≥ Kaidan replied. ≤Exercise caution, Chief Williams tagged a geth sniper hiding near the entrance. There may be more waiting.≥
"Roger that, LT. Shepard out."
With a renewed grip on her rifle, she took point. The majestic chamber grew in size when they approached the elevator, but before they took it, the archaeologist stopped her with a gentle tap on the shoulder.
"Commander, are you feeling okay?"
"Hm?" She glanced over to gauge T'Soni's expression, then trained her eyes and rifle back on their surroundings. "Yeah. Why?"
"You're limping a little. I think you're injured, we should take off your armour to treat your leg. If it is shrapnel from the explosion then it needs immediate care."
"Ah," Shepard thought, smiling inside her mind. Temptation to tease was too good to pass up and sucked her in. She jerked her head toward the elevator controls. "It's just a flesh wound," she lied. "Our priority now is to make it out of here in one piece."
Figuratively speaking.
"I have not heard the geth here," Dr. T'Soni pressed, "Or else they would have disabled the barrier and have me by now. We really should examine your wound before we ride up, or-"
"I promise it's just a scratch." Shepard was struggling not to let it show on her face. Rarely did she encounter these moods and temptations, and though she knew it was cruel, there was something amusing in how earnest Dr. T'Soni seemed to come off as. Shepard couldn't wait to see what kind of face the archaeologist would make once she found out that her leg's been pulled too. "Come on. Do you know how to operate this elevator or should I start laying grenades down now?"
"N-no! That will not be necessary. I learned how to operate it when I begun my expedition in here."
Scared that her precious ruins were going to be utterly destroyed, T'Soni made haste for the controls. The elevator revved up and began it's slow ascent.
A small pain throbbed at Shepard's leg. She took care not to massage it in front of the archaeologist so that there wouldn't be any more focus wasted, or any more pain pulled from memory. She distracted herself by checking her rifle, then did the same with her pistol.
"Can this elevator go any slower?" Shepard thought.
A battle cry alerted them and their heads snapped up. The soldier knelt on her synthetic knee, steeled herself with a breath, aimed and fired at the red body rapidly descending upon them. T'Soni stumbled onto her rear from the heavy impact of the krogan's crash-landing on the elevator, grinning with pride over his dramatic entrance. His biotic barrier repelled Shepard's barrage and she didn't react in time when he flicked his wrist, throwing her back. Her rifle was ripped out of her hands and tossed over the elevator's edge.
"Commander!"
"Save your energy and take cover!" Shepard looked over at the archaeologist, chastising herself. "Yeah where wise ass? There's just one terminal and we'll probably be screwed if that gets destroyed."
She scrambled up on her feet when the laughing krogan charged towards her, sliding her last gun towards T'Soni. The archaeologist picked up the pistol and took aim. Shakily.
"Not my finest idea," Shepard realized. "Check your fire! Don't tag me, T'Soni!"
The soldier braced herself and pivoted the last second before she was rammed, but the krogan caught on to her plan and stayed far away from the elevator edge. Whenever he was far away from her, it was safe for T'Soni to shoot, but his biotics naturally repelled every shot. A biotic krogan, a battlemaster, notorious for being the strongest and smartest. They were going to need more force to break through his barrier. Grenades were out of the question unless they came across more stable ground and less mysterious technology. Shepard glanced up to see how far away they were from the next floor, and she cussed under her breath when she spotted a line of geth getting ready to fire.
"Surrender," the krogan ordered. "Or don't. That'll be more fun. I just want the asari, human."
"What does Saren want with her?"
"I don't get paid to ask questions, human. So what will it be?"
"Commander," T'Soni whispered with worry.
"I need more time." Shepard looked up again as her hand twitched to reach behind her hip, readying her mind for close-quarters combat. "I can pierce through his barrier with the tip of my knife, and if I'm quick enough then I can pop his headplate off, expose him for a headshot." She stole a glance at the archaeologist. "Will she know to shoot there? Has she fought krogan before? I can't just say what I'm going to do to them in front of them."
"Surrender, human. Better yet, join Saren. Or don't. Still more fun."
The elevator was up and the geth were right there. Any move towards the krogan would endanger T'Soni. Shepard sighed and conceded, taking out her second flask of juice.
"Alright, I surrender." Shepard kept a stern look, a contrast to the archaeologist's panicked one. She approached T'Soni as she took a swig from her flask. "It's not worth throwing my life away over some traitor's daughter who is just going to stab me in the back anyways."
"C-Commander, I'm not..."
"Smart kid," the krogan laughed. "I like you, kid, not often I fight a human that knows how to fight smart too."
"Commander, please..."
Shepard took another drink then offered the flask to the archaeologist, murmuring so the others wouldn't hear. "Drink all of it. It's juice. You're gonna need all the energy you can get."
Confused, T'Soni accepted, and Shepard watched the krogan go to order the geth around to collect their target. She utilized the few precious seconds they had to whisper strategy.
"Get this elevator back down." She grabbed T'Soni's wrist, the one still shaking with the pistol. She pressed the barrel into her cybernetic thigh. "Shoot me."
"What? I-I can't!"
"I'll be fine, don't worry. Get this elevator going as soon as I fall to the floor." Shepard jammed her thumb in over the archaeologist's and forced her to pull the trigger, discharging the pistol with a pathetic dramatic yell. "Augh!"
Agony she almost wished she could feel was completely made up as she feigned falling down on her good knee. She clutched her thigh with her hands and covered the bullet hole to hide how there was no blood pouring out. The krogan and geth were alerted, but none the wiser to her true allegiance, and they flooded the elevator to subdue T'Soni while the asari rushed for the controls. As soon as the elevator moved and there was enough of a gap of space, Shepard composed herself with a deep breath and swung her arm outward to push away the geth that were closest to the archaeologist. Shepard didn't have enough time to prepare herself for a more forceful wave that would knock them over the edge, but thankfully T'Soni clicked in to the plan and was able to employ more powerful biotics with ease, sweeping all the geth off to fall and smash below.
"And here I thought you were a smart one," the krogan grinned as he took out his shotgun.
"I still am, unlike you." Enrage him. Hurt his pride. Make him make mistakes. "I thought krogan battlemasters were the best of the best, and yet you fell for a simple play. Even a child could have seen through that, dumbass."
"Hah! We'll see who's still got the smart mouth when I tear your spine out through your throat, human!"
Biotics ripped his shotgun out of his hand when he aimed, and he growled in annoyance at the asari responsible. T'Soni took pot shots at his barrier again, trying what the soldier had earlier into provoking the krogan to charge over the edge. The same tactic from a different person wasn't going to happen, but the distraction allowed Shepard to close in quickly. She sprinted for him as she took out her knife, targeting what she assumed would be the weakest protected point. She feigned a slash for his core to draw his guard there, and she infused her biotics with the force of her thrust as she stabbed right into his knee. The narrow point of the knife punctured the resistance of his barrier and slipped through the gap until it sunk into him. The krogan wailed his arm to knock her away and he fell to his knee, a pained roar shaking the air.
Shepard didn't relent, and neither did T'Soni. The asari exerted herself by attempting to throw the krogan over the edge with her biotics, but even wounded, he barely budged. He tried to stand. Shepard kicked at the hilt of the knife to drive it deeper, to make him fall back over, before she unsheathed another knife from her boot. She lodged it at the tip of his frontal plate, but before she could pop it up and rip if off, the krogan smashed his hand into the side of her knee and forced her to cave on his level. She cried out in white-hot blinding pain when he headbutted her. Even with her helmet, it felt like he'd gotten straight through to her skull.
White noise buzzed loud in her ears and, disoriented, the world spun frantically. She grasped at air, desperate, until she found the hilt of the knife in the krogan's knee. And twisted it. His loud cry antagonized and hurt her, and she squinted, trying to see the world through a hazy headache that was making itself clearer with time. It slammed her as if her head was being repeatedly crushed into the ground. The cracks in her visor made it hard to make out anything and she tore off her helmet.
Shepard stumbled over the krogan when he fell, clutching his knee as he tried to take the knife out himself. She crawled and grabbed hold of the knife lodged in the frontal plate, where a growl tore deep through her throat when she used her biotics to make it sink a few more inches, inflating the hammering and drilling going on in her brain. She vaguely registered something leaking out of her nose and ears, but her priority now was to remove the frontal plate.
With each pump of the knife like a floor jack, the frontal plate peeled away like sinew and the krogan shrieked an ungodly monstrous sound. She wedged her fingers in under the plate and wrapped her legs around as much of the krogan as she could before she was thrown off, holding the frontal plate up just enough to get a clear view. She ripped out her knife, and in one last merciful thrust, she slid the tip into his exposed brain. She fell as limp as he did, rolling off of him and on her back the second he stilled.
Consciousness rolled in and out. She was barely aware of the hands cradling her head, the voice drifting as if it was far away at sea. With a final effort, she engaged her radio.
"Need a band-aid and dust-off. All threats eliminated. Sh-Shepard out."
Darkness swallowed her.
"Dr. Chakwas, I think she's waking up."
Shepard groaned hoarsely. "Against my will..."
There was a righteously violent headache pounding behind her eyes, far worse than the ones she got due to the Prothean visions. She slung her forearm over to block out the stale-white lights. A sigh of relief exhaled when they dimmed, and her forearm fell.
"Thanks," she said while she pushed herself up into sitting. "Can I have some water?"
"Of course, Commander," Chakwas replied. "Whenever you're ready, we'll have to run a concussion assessment." She came with a cup of water, and there was almost amusement behind her words. "It's just a formality for my report. I already know you've sustained one."
Shepard accepted the cup, watching the doctor with squinted eyes as her brow arched. "How?"
"You got headbutt by a krogan, Commander."
"Yeah. Yeah I guess that'll do it." Shepard wryly thought.
"The Alliance has yet to design helmets that completely negate the force of a 800 pound concrete wall slamming into your skull. I'd say you're lucky you aren't disabled."
"We'll know for sure when I visit the gun range and see if my aim is challenged," she sighed.
Shepard moved the sheets aside and checked the damage done to her synthetic leg, which was already repaired and parts replaced, courtesy of Engineer Adams. He must be sick of fixing this for her. She needed to be more careful. At least she didn't have to wait for it to heal, like her damn brain now. Not that she wanted that to be synthetic too. There were enough geth running around.
She felt another presence in the room, and then remembered that there was another voice when she was waking up. She cautiously turned her sore and tight neck, cringing when even simple movements like these were enough to antagonize her headache. The other person instead moved to the end of her bed. Alenko.
"How's Dr. T'Soni, LT?"
"She's fine. All she sustained were minor injuries and an empty stomach. She's working on that in the mess now, under Chief Williams' supervision."
"Did she do anything suspicious on the ride back? Something that might reveal if she's working with her mother or not?"
"No ma'am. I questioned her and so has XO Pressly. Dr. T'Soni was very confused about the entire situation and seemed genuine in her offer of assistance. She also requested safe harbour on the Normandy to stay out of Saren's hands for whatever purpose he has for her. XO Pressly decided to wait and defer to your judgment on this case."
Dr. Chakwas monitored the soldier and gave her medication, which she readily popped in a silent prayer that it was for the growing headache. The lights were further dimmed and the room was nearly completely dark, offering a little more relief. She disengaged her optic interface's night vision mode before it automatically turned on to torment her. She massaged her temples and wiggled her stiff jaw left and right, slowly digesting Alenko's information and the decision that left her.
"I conversed with Dr. T'Soni a little when I was treating her injuries," Chakwas said. "If I may suggest, with her education and experience, she may be helpful with all this Prothean business, Commander. We don't know much about them and her insight will prove to be invaluable, especially if you ever come across more Prothean technology."
"Does she know about the beacon and the visions?"
"No, Commander," Alenko answered. "Nobody has given her any information beyond what Saren is doing."
Shepard mused, then nodded. She carefully swung her legs over the bed's edge. "Alright. Administer the test, Dr. Chakwas. Then I'll go speak to her."
Chakwas headed over to the desk to collect something first, then returned and handed over a pair of sunglasses. "You'll need these after you leave here. The crew needs lights to operate."
"Great..." Shepard took the sunglasses, frowning. "I'm going to look like an absolute idiot."
"Everybody understands. They know you have a concussion, Commander." Chakwas helped herself to a seat and pressed the plinth's pedals to lower it until the soldier's feet touched the ground.
"You told them?"
"I didn't have to."
Kaidan chuckled humbly. "Chief Williams may have gotten a little excited in the mess, telling everyone you headbutt a krogan."
Shepard may be concussed, but she wasn't so far gone to not remember a point contradicting Williams' story. "I was headbutt. I didn't do the headbutting."
"Dr. T'Soni told the truth of what happened down there, ma'am. Scuttlebutt just prefers the Chief's version."
Shepard sighed.