Chapter 7: Silent Darkness
"Commander, Comman…" Shepard's hearing and vision slowly reappeared, and then would fade back into the darkness. She was gradually awakening from being unconscious. She would catch glimpses of more than one person standing in front of her, but before she could recognize anyone the image would get blurry and then turn dark. Finally doctor Chakwas stabbed her shoulder muscle with a shot of adrenaline which initially would counteract the symptoms she was having, and wake her up instantly.
"Commander, Shepard, can you hear me? Do you know who I am?" Chakwas was hovering over Shepard's weak body. She tried to nod her head to let her know she understood, but as hard as she would try nothing came about. Her eyes began to water as she realized she was not even able to speak a word either.
The lack of response frightened the doctor. She could see in Shepard's eyes that she wanted so badly to move a finger, nod her head in response but nothing abided. "Alright, let's try something simpler. If you can understand me, move your eyes up and down." She complied.
"Good, now I am going to slowly help you get up. If anything hurts, just move your eyes up and down." She motioned Jacob over; he quickly came to Shepard's side and knelt down. "Easy Jacob, we don't know if she has any broken bones just yet, and we can't risk her getting paralyzed."
"I understand Doctor, just give the count and I'll slowly lift."
She nodded to his statement and began counting to three. The both of them slowly lifted up Shepard's weak body. Her limbs fell to her side as they lifted her completely off the ground. It was as if she had no control, like she lost basic motor movement capability. Inside her mind there were a million questions circling. And none of them could be answered, not until she could talk. But her lack of movement frightened her the most. She tried lifting her arms, legs, head, finger, anything really but nothing would obey her mental orders. She felt her eyes become overwhelmed with tears.
"What can you tell us about her condition, Chakwas is there anything we can get her?" Miranda's voice was filled with concern, this surprised Shepard.
"Until I get more information from Shepard, I'm afraid at this moment I don't know anything. I'll have to examine her body more closely, and without knowing if she's in pain whenever we lift her up is initially setting us back. I need to get her down to my office where all of my equipment is stationed, and that poses as a challenge."
"I'm sure the ship has a gurney somewhere. Jacob come help me search for one!"
"No! We have already moved her enough; I am not taking the chance of placing her in a situation that can pose possible injury."
"Then what exactly do you suggest we do?" Garrus was slumped against the wall by Shepard's desk. His voice barely filled the room; it was low and hoarse plastered with pain and regret. If he just, was with her the whole night, she wouldn't have been in this situation. She would have been safe, talking, and moving. He couldn't help but feel guilty.
"I-I'm not sure. Jacob, will you please watch over her while I get supplies from my office, if she so much as grunts in pain come get me first thing!" He nodded to the doctor as she swiftly exited Shepard's cabin.
"EDI, have you, Tali, or Legion come up with anything from the camera feeds?" Miranda stood by the fish tank facing the now glowing blue hologram.
"We have begun to decrypt some of the video files that were blocked from the Normandy's system, but nothing important has yet to show up. So far we have gotten a few segments of Shepard showing the ship to Kaidan."
"Good, keep working at it. I'm just glad Legion could salvage you back to pieces, without you I think we'd be stuck at square one."
"Yes, I am very thankful for Legions commodity. Logging you out Miranda."
After the blue hologram disappeared the sound of the elevator slowly creaked up and Jack came rushing into the room. Everyone quickly turned to face her, hoping to receive some good news. Her face was flushed red from what seemed like a result from sprinting, along with using some biotic assisted powers. She held her hand up before anyone could speak and pressure some answers out of her. She leaned up against the wall to try and catch her breath. Once she slowed her breathing enough to be comprehended, she shared her information.
"I searched everywhere, asked Anderson, even asked the Council, but nothing. No one has seen him for the past 12 hours. He's gone, completely vanished, without so much as leaving behind a trail." She paused for a moment took in a sharp breath, and continued. "But there is one person who I think we can turn to for some viable information."
"The only problem, she's not on the Citadel." Garrus knew exactly who Jack was talking about.
"Liara." Miranda voiced her name just barely above a whisper, loud enough for the people close to her to hear.
During all of this locomotion, the crew failed to notice the movement that was coming from Shepard's fingers and toes. The adrenaline finally began to kick in and counteract whatever was in her system. She slowly wiggled her fingers and toes up and down, her symptoms reminded her of being placed under staisis, but rather an invisible more advanced one. Something more contorted to focus all of its energy in blocking all functions besides thought. It wasn't until Shepard let a noise slip out of her lips that everyone rushed over to make sure she was okay.
"Shepard, it's me Jacob. Can you hear me? Do you understand what I am saying?" He hovered over her like a protective brother, pushing aside everyone reminding them that she needed her space. She didn't reply at first, which made everyone nervous.
"Wh… wh-aaah….. waat..ehrr." She tried so hard to pronounce the word with excellence, but her throat ached with un-denying pain, one that she could not force to abide. Instead the pain struck her core and emanated. She desperately needed a glass of water. Her body was aching for one, and every minute spent awake was focused around the thought of the cool liquid flowing down her throat, soothing every dry and burning tissue.
Doctor Chakwas entered the room carrying her equipment. She noticed that Shepard was sitting up and quickly dropped her stuff and rushed over to her side. She promptly grabbed a glass of water located on the bedside table and aided the poor child in drinking. It was hard for her to watch Shepard in such a poor state. It was almost as if she was a physical therapist re-teaching someone how to walk again, but instead she was re-teaching everything. The thought frightened her as she pushed it aside.
"Sweetey, Shepard, how are you feeling?"
"I… ehrm…" She paused to clear her throat. Taking a big gulp of the water seemed to help improve her voice. She could muster words out more steadily. "I am, aching. Everywhere. I-I… I don't know… huh, I don't, know…" She began to tear up. Shepard realized that she could not recall what exactly had happened aboard the Normandy. One tear after the other began to rush down her cheeks. The mere thought of not knowing what could have happened to Kaidan made her sick to her stomach, sick enough to…
"Oh god!" Chakwas jumped back right in time to avoid the vomit shooting out of Shepard's mouth. She quickly grabbed a bucket that was placed aside and set it resting on her chest.
"This can only be a good sign. Your body's beginning to reject whatever was injected or placed into your system. Without most of it in you, we'll be able to begin deciphering what could have happened with you and Kaidan's disappearance." She placed a caring hand upon Shepard's and squeezed it gently. "You should drink up on water. In the mean time I need to begin to set up the equipment. Will someone please clean up this vomit from the ground?"
Miranda stood aside carefully analyzing Shepard's condition, while thinking about what could have happened to Staff Commander Alenko. As much as she despised the Cerberus hating Alliance soldier, she needed to find him in order to get Shepard back into a viable condition for the upcoming threat. A threat that would not wait until Shepard was 100 percent okay. She decided that maybe resorting to the Illusive Man's help would be of some use. She made her way out of the cabin and down to her private quarters.
Garrus on the other hand was already by the commander's side. He sat there holding her hand gently whispering his apologies. She simply nodded and explained that it wasn't his fault; no one could have known that she would have been drugged. He accepted this lightly, and got up to leave her side. He figured that he would head over to his contact from C-Sec and see if he could dish out some information regarding Kaidan. He asked Jack if she wanted to come along, she obliged willingly. Jack hated seeing the commander in her current state, so weak and fragile.
As everyone intently focused at their objectives at hand, they did not notice that Mordin had yet to come back from his shore leave. Everyone was so caught up in trying to figure out what happened to both Shepard and Kaidan that the one person who could pose as immense help was neglected. It was only until he wandered in sheepishly that Chakwas realized what she had forgotten, Mordin Solus. He was her most viable key, one that could be used to begin deciphering the puzzle.
"Oh, Mordin! Where have you been? I could really use your help, come give me a hand?" The doctor looked toward Mordin, and realized that he did not know what had happened to the commander. As soon as he took in the scene confusion quickly masked his features. It looked as though he immediately began to analyze possible scenarios that could have caused the ruckus. Before he could get into deep analysis the doctor rushed over towards him and explained everything that she knew.
"It could be a protist, fungi. No. Bacterium, has to be Bacterium. Endospore? Possibly…"
"Mordin, please don't stress yourself right away. If you could take a look at Shepard, maybe there are some specific symptoms that stand out to you, something strange, or is only associated with a certain contagion."
"Yes, that is a viable start. Where is the commander?"
"Just over here, this way." Doctor Chakwas led Mordin to Shepard. She hoped that Mordin's experience with the genophage and countless other biological experiments could pose as some help in discovering what exactly was injected or given to Shepard that could cause such strange symptoms. This was mind boggling for the Doctor. She was fairly excited to work with the scientist, but not for this reason. She'd hope that she would be working with him for something less, personal, but rather more for research purposes.
Garrus pushed his way through two Krogan that were inconveniently in his way. He ignored the loud grumbles that came out of their mouths; he was in a rush to get to C-Sec head quarters. Jack fell behind and diverted to a different path as soon as they got out of the docking bay elevator. She claimed that she knew a few people who might know some valuable information and that these people don't fuck around. Garrus didn't mind her diverting off; he knew that she could fend for herself just fine. He had a great deal of respect for Jack, whether he wanted to admit to it or not. Something about her intrigued Garrus.
He finally made it to the C-Sec headquarters. He made his way through the doors past the lady in the front desk.
"Oh great." Garrus let out an exasperated sigh; he forgot about the untimely wait before being allowed into the actual office.
"Moring sir, please if you could wait here while we do a scan." The Turian officer politely asked. "Sorry for the inconvenience. Our system seems to be running slow this morning."
Garrus just gave him an awkward Turian smile. A few moments of quiet silence pass.
"Oh, a former C-Sec officer, Garrus Vakarian, great to see you coming back for a visit; Officer Bailey is to the right of the door, if you have any questions. Thanks again for your visit!"
Garrus grumbled to himself, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. He entered through the door and went straight to Bailey for some answers.
"Garrus. What brings you to this side of the Citadel?"
Garrus stood squared in front of Baileys desk, eyeing him suspiciously before approaching with his question. "I have a certain situation, one that needs to be kept private. Is that clear? No one is to be alarmed that doesn't need alarming."
Baileys face brightened up a bit, before resuming to his gloom. "Yeah, I getcha. What is it that you're looking for?"
"I am looking for someone, or some information leading to their recovery. He's been missing for about, 15 hours. And no one seems to have any viable information." He paused a bit before continuing. "It's not like him to just disappear. I need to check all security cameras stationed around the citadel…"
"Wait, wait, wait. Before you jump into this, I need to know who you are searching for, maybe we have been looking for this person as well."
Garrus stood there, facial expression tough, blank, and empty. He then finally responded. "Kaidan Alenko. Last I knew he was on the Normandy with Commander Shepard."
Baileys face darkened as soon as he heard who he was looking for. This made Garrus fairly nervous. He didn't like seeing a former soldier face darken at the mentioning of a name.
"I want you to take a look at this footage."
Garrus stepped forward towards the Officer and leaned over his shoulder looking at his screen.
"What the hell?" His face went instantly cold as he watched the video.
"Counselor Anderson, informed me of the situation and we were all told to immediately check the Camera footage for any leads or evidence. We have four different camera angles, all of which show exactly the same thing. I didn't believe it when I saw it either Garrus. I-I don't know what to tell you…"
"Did you show this footage to Anderson?"
"Yes, we sent it just before you arrived here. I think it'd be best if you went there and had a chat with him."
"Yea, I think I agree. Thanks Bailey, make sure to send the Normandy a copy."
"Will do."
With that Garrus sprinted with his life to Anderson's office.
"Anderson, we found something interesting in the footages we were analyzing. It may explain the disappearance." Bailey addressed Counselor Anderson through a comm link. "I am sending the files your way."
Anderson paced nervously back and forth in front of his screen. Losing his best soldier and quite possibly the next Spectre was not going to look good on his part.
"I've got it, now what am I looking for?"
"Oh, I think you won't be able to miss it, Sir."
Distant noise came through the comm, and Bailey knew he was watching the footage. The noise that filled the room in Anderson's office made chills run up and down his spine. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. How could this happen on the citadel, of all places. This was serious, huge, and if it leaked out, then there would be some serious implications.
"What, what is that? They look like… I don't know what they look like… And that noise." The footage ended, and Anderson stood there, frozen in shock. "Does anyone else have a copy of this footage?"
"No Si… Garrus Vakarian…" The comm link was shut closed. Anderson knew that Garrus would be coming down here as soon as he'd see the footage, which gave him a few minutes to compose himself. The utter disbelief from seeing what he saw left him shaken up a bit.
Gradually he began to grasp some composure as he walked towards the coffee pot. He had been awake far too long since the news of Kaidan's disappearance. Now this just sent his exhaustion overboard. He couldn't help but wonder how Kaidan was at this moment. He knew he was a tough soldier, but would that be enough?
He quickly shook the thought away before he completely succumbed to exhaustion. He gradually took a sip of his coffee as he made his way over to the ledge facing the Presidium. He glanced into the beauty of the Citadel; he couldn't help but think back to the memory of this place burning. Seeing pieces of Sovereign scattered across the area, diminishing its beauty. But now, seeing how pristine the placed looked, no one would have ever been able to guess something like that happened. He couldn't believe that the threat of Sovereign and the collectors has been flushed underneath a rug by the council. Seeing the footage just confirmed what Shepard has been brought back to life to fight against. Surely if he showed the footage to the Council they'd have to believe her now, but he would dare do that without the consent of Shepard. He had too much respect for her.
His thought was cut short when he heard the door swish open from behind. He glanced behind him and saw a panting Turian leaned over his legs trying to catch his breath. Garrus looked into Anderson's eyes and saw his exact emotions mirrored within. Terror, disbelief, regret, mostly because they did not know what could be happening to Kaidan at this very moment.
"Anderson, what are we going to do? He's been gone for almost 20 hours, and we have no clue where he could be by now," he paused taking in a breath, "How could this have happened? How could they slip by our security unnoticed Anderson? I thought this placed got rewired with tighter security?"
Anderson stood there speechless, feeling the full wrath of Garrus's frustration, and feeling the same within. "I-I don't know Garrus. C-Sec is working on figuring out what happened. I've held off telling the Council until Shepard comes around. How is she feeling? Any better?"
"Having C-Sec on it is not enough Anderson. You and I both know that…." Anderson shuffled on his feet and nodded his head in agreement. "As of Shepard, she's doing better, last I saw her, she was moving and talking."
"Does she remember anything?"
"I don't know, I didn't stick around long enough to ask her questions. I couldn't stand the sight of her that way. I had to leave."
"I understand. I need to meet with her in person, show her the footage. Maybe it will help bring her memory back."
Garrus nodded and turn around opening the door and waited until Anderson walked through. They walked bristly side by side until they reached the Normandy. The walk felt like forever, there was a noticeably awkward tension between the two. They both wanted to start running, but they knew people around them would see this as odd and considering the stature Anderson carried they both settled on the brisk walking.