Spoilers: obviously content from the games including the Ending.
For the most part this will follow ME lore, just adding and adapting.
Rated M since i don't want to limit what i can and can't do as the story progresses.
Pegasus
Pegasus
Hands dragged him back, someone held him while he struggled to get free.
"Kaidan you have to go!"
"Not going to happen"
"I mean it Kaidan, you have to leave!"
He looked straight in to Shepards face, no this time he won't be forced to go. He struggled harder he would stay.
Shepard smiled at him "Kaidan you really need to go" Shepards bright blue eyes looked at him. No they weren't blue they started to change, more yellow, bright, burning. A light burned right through Shepards face until all he could see was a bright pulsating light.
He awoke suddenly, it was just a dream. Rubbing his eyes he looked around he was in Shepards room the sun flooded the whole place with a bright light. Well that's the draw back from a ceiling window, way to much light in the morning.
Someone knocked on the door, "Kaidan are you in there?" Damn, Liara now he had to explain why he fell asleep in Shepards room.
"Yes is there something you want Liara?"
The door slid open and Liara and Tali came in. " Kaidan we need to talk in private about something." She stated matter of factly.
Well at least she pretended not to notice that he slept here. "Well here's as good as anyplace i was just checking on the Fish."
"It's about EDI we wanted to speak to you first before Joker finds out." Liara's voice couldn't hide the fact that she was worried.
"Okay, so I guess it's bad and you don't know how to tell him?"
"Edi is gone the AI core is broken. We even lost most systems that she had partially integrated in herself." Tali just blurted out what he feared. But before he could ask anything she just continued. "Even worse some programs that weren't directly interfaced with EDI are gone as if they never existed. We even lost some non software systems. That reaper IFF we had installed gone, broken, won't work anymore. Everything points to a simple fact if it was reaper related it's gone."
Kaidan couldn't hide the horror in his eyes. "Wait everything? What about the relays?"
Liara shot a slightly irritated look towards Tali. "I wouldn't have put it like that. But yes possibly it's all gone. Now Kaidan I would prefer if we don't tell Joker just yet."
" Liara don't you think he should know if the women he loved is dead?" Kaidan almost screamed unbelieving that she wouldn't a friend morn his loved one.
"Kaidan don't get me wrong, i would tell him if we didn't have a backup plan."
"Wait what backup plan?" Now he started to really wonder.
"Well we might have made a copy of EDI before the battle. That copy might still be in the Sol system. She is a program after all, so we thought in case the Normandy get's destroyed it would be worth a shot to copy her." Liara was a bit unsure how he might react to that. But Kaidans smile directly eased her down.
"That's great but wouldn't a copy also be lost? Kaidan hated himself for always thinking of the worst case scenario first.
"Not necessary, see we didn't use a digital copy it's a physical copy." Liara didn't know how to explain it. She looked a bit helpless at Tali.
Tali started explaining in a soft voice. "See programs are code, that code could be written down in a rock. If you put the code back in a computer you would have a copy of the program. Well we wrote out the code that makes EDI EDI we just used a laser and a big polished glass cube."
Now Kaidan was startled "Wait that would even work? And wouldn't that be a enormous amount of code?"
"The Geth came up with that idea. So we just made a backup of EDI just in case. While yes it's an incredible amount of data that's why we used a laser and a glass cube it can hold really big amounts of data. If you write small enough and use three dimensions." The Quarian spoke as if he should know all this.
"Kaidan the storing technique actually stems from your earth. Back in your early 21 first century you made hand sized disks containing a book in over a thousand languages. Well we sort of did the same with our backup just we dropped it on Pluto before the battle. Together with one of my reaper warnings and a Geth backup. It should be still there." Liara hopped it would all be clear now.
He pondered a bit, copy an AI and hope for the best. Well he couldn't let his friend down and Shepard would do it without a doubt. "Okay but we have to tell Joker something. Maybe not the complete truth just, tell him you can't figure out what's wrong with her until we get back to a space port or something." Okay that's not even a full lie just a bit of bending the truth.
"Okay Kaidan that's probably for the best. Also Traynor is back, she didn't look happy. I'll see if Glyph can make something out of the holos they made." Liara looked at the fish tank a sadness in her eyes.
Wen Kaidan finally joined everyone in the mess hall for their status update Traynor and Joker where almost tearing each other apart.
"You find a solution if you know everything better!"
"Oh but you're the one forgetting that space travel involves 4 dimensions."
"See that's just not helpful. You really want us to be stuck here don't you."
Kaidan took a deep breath whatever this was it was about he really didn't want to know.
"Silence!" Kaidan yelled on the top of his lungs.
All eyes turned towards him. Well i have their attention at least something. "Now please calm down and tell me what the problem is."
Traynor was the first who spoke. "We have nothing, the few stars we can see don't really show us anything we can identify for certain. There is a large debris field on the outer orbit that blocks a large portion of our view. We probably need to move out of the system and just pick a star that's familiar."
Joker snorted. "Which is a stupid idea since we can't just pick a star and fly towards it. By the time we get there the star would be somewhere else. Actually it wouldn't even be where we see it. Even if we knew what star we are flying towards we don't know where we are so that star could be thousands of light-years away."
Kaidan thought for a moment what to do they where both right to some degree. "Okay people if we can't find anything on the holos by nightfall I want Cortez joker and Glyph outside. And Tali any chance we could get a telescope? Maybe we can find something if we look closer."
Tali pondered a while before she spoke "I saw some parts we could reuse and build a makeshift telescope of, we just need a lens and some..." She spoke to herself while she already wandered of to the cargo bay.
"People anything else I should know about?" Kaidan hopped there weren't any new problems.
"Only one thing, don't go outside it's early in the morning and already the light is extremely bright. Probably will only get worse during the day. Might just be that Turians are more light sensitive but it's really not pleasant out there." And whit that everyone went on to help repairs along however they could.
By the time it got dark again a few of the crew set out with Tali's makeshift telescope. The ship was pretty empty but Kaidan wanted some quiet a migraine started plaguing him. Dr. Chakwas had told him to rest but he couldn't, he had to get Shepards crew home. He heard Shepard in the back of his head "Really Kaidan two days of command and already stressed? It took my death to slow me down." No Shepard wouldn't be so mean but the headache was making Kaidan grumpy. Reading his reports he sat down on Shepards bed again. Now for the first time noticed a letter on the night stand.
John honey,
I know you have a lot on your plate. But please call from time to time. Seems I heard more from you wen you where under lock down then now. It's okay you rather write then talk but still.
Look son I'm sorry i tried to talk you in to confessing your love. But really forget the regulations for once. It won't always end as bad as it did on Elysium. Or do you really think both of your parents could have been alliance officers if we didn't bend the regulations at one point. You should finally have some happiness with someone you love. Life isn't just about duty and work.
Okay I'm doing it again. Son I just need to say, I love you please call if you can.
Mom
PS.: Some kids over here at the project wanted to thank you and made some drawing of their hero.
So Shepard was in love with someone. Kaidan felt jealous. But it would explain why Shepard turned him down back at Appolo's. It had hurt then but to now know there had been someone else and he just didn't tell anyone hurt even more.
Kaidan lay on his back looking at the dark sky above him.
"Shepard why didn't you just tell me."
Kaidan finally fell asleep. His thoughts still with Shepard.
Hands dragged him back, someone held him while he struggled to get free.
"Kaidan you have to go!"
"Not going to happen"
"I mean it Kaidan, you have to leave!"
"No I won't!"
"Kaidan look at me please take a close look. I'm not kidding you have to go Kaidan."
"I can't Shepard, I can't do it."
"Like it or not you have to, tell him Vega."
"No Shephard I won't not this time."
"Kaidan LOOK at me! I mean it."
He looked in Shepards deep blue eyes they weren't blue they became yellow almost white the light piercing him rippling through the image of Shepard. Until that tremendous bright pulsing light was all he could see.
Kaidan awoke the room was flooded with the bright light. Damn that dream again. He looked at the floor his eyes slowly adjusting to the light. Then it hit him, why would Shepard talk to James in his dream. James wasn't there Garrus had been the one to pull him on the Normandy. But he hadn't said James he had said Vega. Like Vega, look at me take a close look. The sun was the answer!
Kaidan ran towards the mess hall. He had to see if it could be that simple.
Everyone was already discussing multiple theories wen he ran in. Immediately Joker reported no success, nothing new. Maybe they should really just fly in one direction and hope to get lucky.
Kaidan was a bit out of breath and dizzy from jumping up so fast after waking up. "Anyone have a Bright star Catalogue handy?"
Cortez handed him one. " Here but I don't see how that could help."
"Have to look at something." Vega like star, pulsating light which means it's a Gamma Doradus variable. "Anyone made a scan of that sun out there?"
"Yes but why would that be important?"
"Just show me the data Liara." There it was right in front of him. The surface layers are depleted in iron peak elements which means it's a Lambda Boötis star, add in the debris disk they mentioned and he found it.
"Okay everyone just one question. How many stars in the Galaxy are simultaneously a Gamma Doradus variable, a Lambda Boötis type, and a Vega-like star that also have a debris disk? Anyone?" He smiled he found it.
"Sorry Kaidan but did you get hit on the head or something? That's just to much weird for one morning."
"No only some strange dreams Joker, and before you ask they led me to a simple answer. There is only one such star known in the galaxy 'HR 8799, It's part of the Pegasus constellation and actually we are standing on one of the very first planets Humanity confirmed existed. But that's the good news. The bad news is the reason why no one ever bothered to give it a name, the closest Relay is the Arcturus relay somewhat more then a hundred light-years away."
"Wait Kaidan, you dreamt the solution? DR. Chackwas Kaidan has hit his head really bad." Joker said in a whinny tone.
Liara grabbed the data. "Wait joker he is right it's the only possible match. Now I want to know what kind of dream that was."
Kaidans face went a shade towards red. "ehm, something about Shepard back on earth. Not important I believe it was more the sunlight in the morning that gave it away. Just some subconsciousness thingy probably."
James voice rumbled through the room "Know what we should name the star Shepard then. Only one true Shepard in the Galaxy."
"That is actually a great idea James." Liara smiled and made a note to change the name of the star the second they got in communications range.
"Everyone I want a coarse to Arcturus plotted, Joker find the best route and give me an estimate how long we would need. I want this ship on her way home ASAP."
Shepard we are coming home!
The star system mentioned is real, sadly it doesn't have a pretty name.
Navigation in space would be terrible without a good navigation system. Or in this case a really unique star system. Just think about it everything moves all the time and it can take thousands of years for the light of a star to reach us.