April 17, 2174. "Private 1st Class Alenko?" a gruff voice said from inside the captain's quarters. "You may come in."
Kaidan took a confident-looking stride into Captain William Krzynski's, his commanding officer, presence. "Yes, sir. You asked to see me?"
"Indeed, Private. Welcome aboard. We have been most fortunate in your arrival here. I'm looking over your record and it's highly impressive. Only the second biotic to be awarded the Honor Graduate in basic. And your outstanding performance thwarting the attack on Elysium in December…could you explain that to me?"
Kaidan felt slightly embarrassed. He had gone over this numerous times with many officers. The fact that he had just been transferred to Krzynski's command meant just another rehashing.
"Well, sir, I was working on the comm station on the SSV Hong Kong and the moment I had repaired it, there was a comm intercept…"
x-X-x
December 14, 2173. "Commander!" Kaidan said. "There is something wrong with this comm."
Commander Jeremiah Upton walked over to the console Kaidan had been repairing. He eyed the message, squinting hard. "What seems to be the problem, Private?" Upton's tone sounded doubtful. "This looks like routine interstellar traffic reports."
"Yes, sir," Kaidan replied. "But there's something about the wording that just looks off. I don't believe this to be authentic, sir."
"I think you are sending yourself on a wild goose chase, so I'm giving you two hours, no more. If you happen to find anything, report to me. If not, you've had your two hours.
Kaidan started checking the code inside the message. At regular intervals he found lines that looked like just junk code, but he decided to see if that was actually the case. Loading those lines into his omni-tool, a secondary message appeared. Batarian attack plans.
Quickly making his way to the cockpit where the commander was, Kaidan got Upton's attention and showed him the message on his omni-tool. "They are planning a nighttime attack on Elysium's capital, sir. They are gathering forces in the home system. It says the attack is planned in 72 hours."
Upton's face went pale, then stiffening his back he looked directly at Kaidan. "We will intercept them. They must not get past the Exodus Cluster relay. Nice work, Alenko. We'll be needing your biotics when we make our move. Dismissed."
The next day the Hong Kong was lying in wait, with numerous other Alliance ships, at the Exodus Cluster relay. Commander Upton and the other commanding officers knew the batarians had to go through that relay to get to the Vetus system. They stayed up late into the night laying out battle plans and making flight attack patterns. All Alliance and regular traffic in the cluster was halted, ships in the Vetus system were on the ready, and the citizens of Elysium were taking precautions.
Kaidan stood, in full armor in the cargo bay, waiting anxiously with everyone else. Upton paced back and forth nervously. He was a good commanding officer, but he was the type who was more suited to commanding a guard ship rather than a battle ship. It was something Kaidan well understood. He'd only been in the service for a short time, but he didn't want to be caught in lethal combat. He would have much rather stayed on Earth in tech research and requested to do so, but Alliance brass said all biotics belong closer to the front lines, so here he was.
Upton's eyes met Kaidan's and he stopped and leaned in, whispering. "Private, no matter what happens today, I want you to know that I've put it on record your discovery of this plan. You're a hero, Alenko, even if this all goes to hell. There's no telling how many lives you saved."
Kaidan nodded silently in appreciation. Upton marched away and started his pacing circuit again. After a few rounds, he was interrupted by the pilot. "Commander! Incoming traffic from the relay!"
"Identify!" Upton barked sharply.
"It's batarian, sir, but it is heading away from the relay. Looks like its course is laid in for Eden Prime!"
"Shit," the commander swore. "Tell the rest of the fleet we'll take the pursuit. Follow that ship. They won't get any of our colonies!" Upton turned toward the group standing, including Kaidan. "Soldiers, we're going in to Eden Prime. Be on the ready for ground combat." The troops gave a firm "Sir, yes sir!" in affirmation. Kaidan closed his eyes, hoping the pursuit would end with the batarians being shot out in space.
"There's been a drop from the batarian ship, sir," the pilot reported. "There's a colony settlement about 3 kilometers from their troops. We'll need to drop in hot."
"Agreed," Upton sighed. He looked back at Kaidan, ordering, "Now's the time. Protect the colonists at all costs. Alenko, use what you can to protect the others."
"Yes, sir." Kaidan wished he was as confident as his voice sounded.
Kaidan was in a group of 10 soldiers dropped in closest to where the batarians had been sighted. Most of them were fresh recruits like he was, and they all were skittish. Kaidan had to take the scouting position because of his biotics and moved ahead of the rest. He watched the radar on his omni-tool and saw that batarians were moving in fast through a forested area. "Take cover!" he yelled and brought up his barrier.
As the shots began ringing out from the woods, Kaidan saw a gap in the soldiers' barrier and ran to fill it. As he stood there, his head began to pound. He felt sick and wanted to vomit, but his eyes were too busy watching for the batarian assault troops to let his stomach have its way. From the midst of the trees ahead of them, a lone batarian came running straight for their location, a pack strapped to his chest. He's got a bomb. Kaidan heart moved to his throat. He couldn't let this single coward wipe them all out. He hesitated for a moment and his barrier dropped. The batarian's eyes glared directly at him. As Kaidan's biotic power manifested again on his skin, four black eyes went from determined to fearful. Kaidan saw the batarian's thumb press a button, and instantly he unleashed a throw he knew was just enough to get him away from his small platoon.
The batarian's pack exploded as he was in midair. Kaidan was somewhat relieved that he was dead, but that he hadn't been the one to kill him. After the explosion, the troops made quick work of the remaining handful of batarians on Eden Prime. As they waited for pickup by the Hong Kong, the other troops were patting Kaidan on the back and thanking him for his quick action, saving them all. Robert Jenkins was the most enthusiastic.
"Alenko! I don't think you have any idea what this means to me. My family's farm is just over that ridge. I know they commed the entire colony with a warning, but if those fuckers would 've gotten any closer..." Jenkins grew quiet, then stiffened in respect. He gave Kaidan a salute. "Thank you, sir. My family owes you."
Upton looked worn but pleased when Kaidan and the rest boarded. "We got 'em, Private. Sent them back whimpering to their hole, dirty bastards. They'll think twice about messing with the Alliance again."
Kaidan smiled weakly and made his way quickly to the showers. He wanted to forget this day ever happened.
x-X-x
"Sharp eyes and a team player. Yes, Private Alenko, you deserved that promotion and the commendation. I'm glad to have you aboard the Hyderabad. Looks like you are a man of action and here you'll find plenty of that. We never shy away from a fight." Krzynski smiled broadly, stood and held out his hand to Kaidan, who took it and gave it a firm shake.
"Thank you, sir. I'm glad to be here. I've heard many good things about this crew and I'm proud to be a part of it," Kaidan smiled. "You are dismissed," Krzynski said. "Find yourself a pod and get settled in."
Kaidan left the captain and took the short walk to where the sleeping pods were located. He was not where he wanted to be. Every time he wanted to get away from combat, life would find new ways of pushing him back in. Why couldn't he just be a normal person living a normal life, one with no blood on his hands?
A/N: The Kaidan-only chapter, as promised. Please let me know what you think! Some exciting times are on the way! Thank you again for reading!