The beam of light from his omni tool was his only guiding beacon. The emergency lights and alarms had long since gone out. Even so, Hades protocol had automatically gone in to effect. Life support had been still functioning, as did the mechs and the locks. The prison had been sealed like a vault. Hades was meant to make sure that the prisoners were still contained even in the event of a mass power outage or some other calamity. But Kaidan doubted that a planet wide invasion had ever been considered.
It had been three days since the Reapers had arrived. Forty hours had gone since he had last had any backup against the onslaught. It had been sixty nine hours of losing ground, losing positions, losing people, just losing...
Crazy...I must be crazy. His mind screamed as he carefully continued to walk down the night corridor. But what else do I have left?
If anyone from the Alliance had been there, he would have been shot for breaking in to a military super max. Specter or not. But he had struck a deal with Lucifer. He could still hear the conversation replaying in his mind that he had just five hours ago as he continued forward.
The call had come to him while he and the rest of his unit were in a makeshift tent trying to get something that resembled rest and refit. The call had come over a secure Alliance frequency. Old, but still reserved for use by the Alliance.
A frequency he had used in the past.
"Commander Alenko. I appreciate your time at this moment." A calm soothing male voice rang in to his ear.
"What's this about. I don't have the time for cordial conversation." Kaidan growled as he looked out of the tent across the staging ground. Battered Alliance soldiers and vehicles staggered in for rest, and barely rested and patched up units rushed out to try to face the Reaper onslaught again. The camp had been set up just barely five hours ago and it was already under the threat of being overwhelmed if it didn't move again.
"Oh course not Commander. I'm contacting you because I represent an interested party that needs your help in...acquiring something." The dealer came back.
"I don't make deals, and if you didn't realize I'm fighting an invasion!" Kaidan barked back into the comm.
"I understand that, as does the buyer. But they are willing to 'pay' you handsomely if you do the job." The dealer offered.
"Oh really." Kaidan scoffed angrily."Just what could your 'boss' give me?"
"The buyer knows that you have been trying to reach your Mother and Father ever since the Reapers landed. The buyer I represent wants to let you know that they are safe...for now." The dealer responded. Kaidan could tell that he was smiling.
Kaidan's eyes went wide with elation as he sat on the cot. For hours had been trying for the past two days to reach them, but every time the communications channels had either been jammed, or over burdened. They are alive. He breathed in relief...but... Anger burned inside him again. "Who are you working for? Cerberus? Let go of my family! If you even so lay a finger of them I will fucking make you pay!"He screamed.
It had been deathly quiet as he pushed forward down the black hallway of the prison. Every so often a flash of lighting would briefly light up the corridor in front of him. The deafening sound of thunder would remind him that he wasn't having a dream, that it wasn't just a simple nightmare that he was 'living' through. Though when he heard the thunder this time, it was followed by the unnerving howls of husks that were behind him. He had gotten in and disabled the locks and mechs as he made his way deeper in to the most secure area of the prison. But in a fit of perfect irony, he couldn't shut the doors behind him.
Again Hades protocol. The prison cells were sealed tight, but the main doors once opened could not be close so that if any prisoner did manage to get out, they could turn the prison in to a fortress by simply locking the gate. The open doors would allow Alliance soldiers to pour in and subdue anyone, and make sure the locked prisoners were secured.
Kaidan knew it was only a matter of time before the Reaper's 'undead' thralls found their way in, and started to trail him. I have to hurry! His mind screamed as he picked up his pace.
"Now Commander, just calm down." The memory of the dealer's voice again rang in Kaidan's mind. "Your family has not been harmed and the Buyer has no interest or intention of harming them. As far as who the Buyer is, I don't know, and I really don't care. I do know that the Buyer is willing to secure your family and get them off Earth to safety, but you have to agree to acquire what the buyer wants first." The dealer sounded honestly.
Kaidan remembered just sitting on the cot as he trudged forward crawling over and around debris in the hall ways.. His mind had been racing at the speed of light. Here had been the first piece of good news he had heard in days... really it felt like a life time. But it was wrapped up in a price...Will it be worth it? His mind asked as he crept ever more in the dark.
The unreal bellow of a Reaper caught Kaidan's ear and he threw himself against a near by wall, pressing himself against it. His heart hammered in his chest as he looked up in to the night's sky as the flashes of lighting silhouetted the giant machine as it strode over the building. He could tell it was intently looking for something. Someone.
"Commander. Specter. Time running short." The dealer's voice called out from Kaidan's memory. "Your family is safe for the moment, but that will change. I suggest you take the deal." The dealer responded in hurried earnest.
Rows upon rows of empty cells passed by him as he stole deeper in to oblivion. Once. Only once had he ever agreed to break regulations. When Shepard had stolen the first Normandy to follow Saren to Illos.
But that hadn't been his call. All he had to do then was follow. It was easy to follow. She had been his Commander. I couldn't have made that call...I couldn't have made any of the calls she did. Why did she have to come back? His mind yelled.
Yet this time though, things were different. He could break the Regs. He was a Specter. But more than that, the pay for the job was just too good. And he still held questions in his mind. Questions that could only be answered by going Crazy. An enigma that could only be unraveled by not being a Good Son to the Alliance. But by being a Specter.
Kaidan remembered sitting on the cot for god who knows how long. Thinking. But his mind was blank. He had made up his mind long before he responded to the dealer. It had just taken as long for his mouth to find his voice. "I'll do it. What's the job?" Kaidan had responded.
He came to a wheeling stop at one of the last of the cells in the entire incarceration block. His lungs burned for oxygen as his mind raced. He heard more howls behind him, and knew they were getting close. Too close. He quickly brought up his Omni tool and started keying in commands to break the lock.
"C'mon, C'mon." He hissed as he tried one combination after another. Each one failing after the other. Kaidan could heard the sound of foot steps rushing his way. They were still a fair distance away from where he was, but they were coming quickly.
"Just get to the merchandise. The buyer will take care of the pickup." The dealer had responded. And just as quickly the call ended. The frequency went dead, and his Omnitool lit up like a Christmas tree with more information. Schematics, times, and the location. That had been five hours ago.
"C'mon!" Kaidan yelled as he tried another combination. This time the code worked as the lock disengaged and the heavy sealed door opened. The door groaned as he hauled it opened. Only darkness and silence greeted him. By reflex he took out his side arm. Shit...maybe the Alliance moved her...He thought.
"Shepard?" He called out in to the dark cell. "Are...are you there?" He asked with unease.
Then his eyes caught the flash of lights. They were both searing red. They 'peered' back at him as if they could look in to his very soul. The sight nearly made him jump out of skin as they floated closer, and he raised his pistol in turn in an infantile attempt to make the halt. Fine thin lines of red followed the glowing ruby gems until the glint of his flash light caught the face he had been searching for.
"Alenko." Shepard responded in a sterile and neutral tone. Her face emotionless.
"Captain Alenko..."
He could hear her voice in his head.
"Captain Alenko?"
The voice had changed. Everything had changed...
"Is everything alright Captain Alenko? Do you need medical Attention?" The green VI asked.
He wasn't on Earth. No. He was in the last place he wanted to be right now as his conscious rushed forward. He was now sitting in the witness stand. The entire Tribunal, the entire Galaxy had just witnessed him lost in a daydream. A memory.
"Ah...yeah. I'm fine." He responded. Not the way this should start out...
The VI looked unfazed by his response. "I understand." It responded in an unnervingly neutral voice. "Captain Alenko, will you testify to the fullest extent of truth and honesty in front of this court?"
"I do." Kaidan responded solidly.
The VI turned to face the front of the chamber. "Prosecution. Your witness." It resounded evenly.
Kaidan saw Cassandra stand up and walk towards him. The hunger of an emaciated wolf gleamed in her eyes. But what is it that she really wants? He thought. He had seen her tear through the witnesses so far. Nothing seemed to stop her. She's hunting for something else...
"A moment. Please." A Siren's voice rang through the Tribunal chamber. It was Councilor Tevos who was holding her hand ordering Cassandra to stop. Udina shot her a rebuking glance, but the other Councilors stood by in defense of Tevos' action. Like an obedient servant Cassandra turned her attention to the Councilor's podium.
"Prosecutor. I believe it is necessary to remind you of why you are here. Why this trial is being held. It is not to review the life history of the Defendant, and to cast judgment on that. Though it has had been...interesting, to say the least. You are here to prove your case in the Defendant's charges of High Crimes against the Galactic Community, and Genocide of the Human race." Tevos said calmly but with a hint of ice.
"I understand Councilor. I was only laying a foundation." Cassandra responded with respect.
"Of that I understand. But Prosecutor, we are not here to lay foundations. We are here to move forward. If you fail to properly support your case, then you leave this Council with no choice other than to call a miscarriage of Justice and let the Defendant go." Tevos responded airily.
"I understand. Fully, Councilor." Cassandra responded with a respectful bow.
Kaidan continued to watch her approach him. A polite smile held in place on her face.
"Captain Alenko. It is such a pleasure to finally meet you in person and work with you." Cassandra said sweetly.
Kaidan couldn't help but return a sour look.
"Oh come now Captain. No need for that." Cassandra smiled at him. "Please stop thinking of me as a Prosecutor and more as a party who is interesting in getting to the truth of things. And I need your help in finding that truth."
Kaidan looked squarely back at her. "Are we going to continue mincing words or can we get down to business. Most of the day has already been wasted." He responded tersely.
Cassandra's eye lit up slightly in indignation, but her demeanor changed not at all. "Of course...Captain." She began to pace back and forth. "So far we have gone over the Defendant's past and I think her character has been firmly established. But now the focus turns to the...charges, or rather the subtleties of the charges." Cassandra turned to focus on Kaidan. "Captain Alenko, you first served with the Defendant during the Eden Prime War didn't you."
Kaidan's scowl only continued to grow. "Prosecutor, have you seen any News articles or extranet documentaries in the past 10 years? Or have you been living under a rock the whole time."
Laughter ensued from the spectators.
"Yes or No...Captain." Cassandra snapped doing her best to hide the blush that was rising on her face.
"Yes." Kaidan growled.
"What was your impression of her during that time?" Cassandra asked.
Kaidan absorbed the question for a moment. He turned and looked at El'Jaid. For the first time, she broke her reserved stance and looked back at him. She said nothing, held no telling expression, but her green eyes were alive. Her left held a mournful frosty blue, and her right contained a wrathful red. In the blink of a moment, Kaidan retraced every adventure they had, and every argument they are crossed. He remembered their greatest victories, and felt the deepest of betrayals.
All I have is my truth. His mind thought. He wanted to blurt the statement out, but his mouth couldn't shape the words.
"Captain. Your under oath." Valern broke in.
"And you have no patients." Kaidan retorted giving the Councilor a remanding look.
Valern growled at Kaidan's indignant response. But it was Councilor Daice who stepped in.
"I see no harm in giving Captain Alenko the time he needs."
Kaidan breathed in deeply. He appreciated the rapport he had developed with the Salarian Councilor during his time with the Specters. Out of all of the Councilor's, even Anderson, Kaidan and Daice had a mutual understanding to hear each other out.
"My opinion of Shepard is the same now as it was when I first served with her." Kaidan stated. The Tribunal was silent. Everyone was intently listening to him. He started again, though this time his voice was much quieter. "She is driven, resourceful. Shepard gets the mission done, however she sees fit. There is no failure for her."
Cassandra opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by Kaidan who's voice only sounded out stronger.
"But I'm mincing words, and wasting time. If Shepard wasn't everything I have said she is, she would never have been chosen by this Council to be a Specter. She would have never garnered the combined strength and unity of this Galaxy needed to defeat the Reapers."
"I see." Cassandra quipped in an unimpressed tone. "Tell me Captain, what is or maybe, was, your opinion of her judgment. Her leadership skills."
Kaidan's face hardened. "The Major's opinion wasn't enough?" He growled.
"Major Kyle was the Defendant's superior. I want to get a subordinate's opinion." Cassandra responded in a hard manner.
Kaidan's face burned at the verbal slap. "Shepard always put the mission first. She always put the crew first before herself." Kaidan responded firmly.
"Is that really true?" Cassandra asked with a small devilish grin. But she gave Kaidan no time to respond as she launched another volley at him. "By your words you would say that the Defendant's leadership was excellent. Would you say it was, 'precision planned'?"
"I..." Kaidan's throat had begun to dry out. "I don't know how to take that question." Kaidan said lightly as he carefully regarded the woman in front of him.
"From what I have come to glean about the Defendant; she strikes me as the type of ...leader...who commands an insatiable desire and will to subjugate her target. To master. Her tactics; devastating, demoralizing, and awe-inspiring. Wouldn't you agree?" Cassandra stated alluringly.
Kaidan thought for a moment. Cassandra had pegged Shepard almost to a tee. Not only from when he had served with her during the Eden Prime war, but when he saw her two years later on Horizon. Kaidan shivered in his seat as he remembered being paralyzed on the ground and watching Shepard simply, 'work'. Husks, Collectors, even a Praetorian. It didn't matter, she simple tore through them all. If that hadn't been a sight to remember; how she 'worked' when he was running after her as they broke out of the prison could only be paralleled with art. It was alien. Not one round wasted, not one movement ill spent. Every action thought out. That time she had moved even faster then before, reacted faster. It was like she was spectral incarnate. She simply dominated.
"Yes." He breathed.
"As such Captain, did you ever question any of her choices?" Cassandra asked lightly.
"I..." He coughed. "I don't make it a habit of playing arm chair quarterback, if you understand the meaning Prosecutor."
"I understand Captain...but you didn't answer the question." Cassandra shot back as she walked away from the witness stand and in to the floor of the Tribunal.
"And your not responding to any of mine." Kaidan gritted. "Look. One does not simply question a Specter. Regardless of their choice."
"Captain Alenko I should not have to remind you that 'following orders' is not a defense. I thought that all Alliance soldiers had learned this from history..." Cassandra gleaned.
Kaidan gave out a sigh in frustration. "It's tantamount to questioning the Council and I don't see anyone doing that here."
The court room burst in to quiet talk over Kaidan's words. The fervor only ever increasing as time swelled on. Councilor Tevos finally was able to wrestle quiet from the crowd as she sounded the gong as loud that Kaidan could feel his ears ring.
She looked over to him. He could tell that her vast reserve of patients was waning, and quickly. "Captain, please try to be more mindful of your responses. I want to try to have this trial proceed in somewhat of a civil manner."
Kaidan gripped the hand rail in front of him. "If the Council did not want to have to deal with a Specter's decisions, then they should not give that kind of power to anyone. I should know. I was one!"
"As such Captain, then you understand that there are...certain situations...which need to be discussed with the Council before even a Specter makes a decision." Cassandra responded.
Maybe...but then there are times when you have to make a choice. I failed on that... He screamed in his mind. "Are you referring to something in particular Prosecutor?"
Cassandra just turned to him and smiled. It was a smile that perhaps a thief would give you as they walked away with your every possession. A smile the victor would give you as they pounded the winning blow in to your chest. A smile that said, many.
It was then that Kaidan knew he had played right in to her hand. What the Hell have I done...
"The defendant went to Noveria. She was following a lead that Matriarch Benezia T'Soni, who happened to be Agent Saren's Executor, was there." Cassandra said clearly.
The court room suddenly grew icily quiet. Noveria was the site of more then one 'experiment gone horribly wrong' tale. And the names of Agent Seran Arterius and Matriarch Benezia T'Soni were still enough to quiet both Turians and Asari alike..
"If I understand the report correctly." Cassandra shot him a gleaming look. "The defendant killed Matriarch T'Soni."
"No...that is not how it happened at all..." Kaidan responded hurriedly.
"But there is more to than that isn't there Captain." Cassandra finished. "Matriarch T'Soni's daughter was also with the Defendant at the time. Tragic wouldn't you say? Or, rather, more of the Defendant's true character showing?"
"I am curious Prosecutor as to how your came up with your...point of view. What would you have done if you would have been in my place? Matriarch Benezia was not herself." Shepard warmed. "I was there when she died. I didn't fight her. I fought one of Sovereign's thralls." She breathed as silence encased the Tribunal. "You see, Benezia was a trapped person. Just as Seran was. Sovereign, a Reaper, twisted and broke Benezia. It entombed her inside her very mind." Shepard's features softened slightly to sadness as her pupils dimmed to blue. "There were short instances when she would break free of the Indoctrination. It was during those times that she gave me information that led to me stopping Seran and Sovereign. As I have said countless times. I tried every way to subdue her without killing her." She said, her voice barely above breaking down into a sob. "But I didn't understand Indoctrination. I didn't know what kind of grip it can hold a person in. I was there when she took her own life, because death was the only way she could ever be free again."
Kaidan couldn't help but simply close his eyes. "I...I wasn't there when Shepard confronted Benezia."
"Oh? And where were you?"
"I was aboard the Normandy SR1. Shepard felt that it was best to take Garrus Vakarian and Dr. T'Soni in to Port Hanshan." Kaidan responded.
"And why would she not take you along Captain? You were an experienced Soldier and possess a keen understanding of Diplomacy." Cassandra purred.
Kaidan's face was still stern. "I appreciate the compliment, but that is exactly why Shepard chose to have Vakarian, and Dr. T'Soni accompany her. Diplomacy. Dr. T'Soni was the Matriarch's daughter, and Garrus was a well respected C-Sec Agent. Shepard felt that they gave her status as the First Human Specter more legitimacy, rather then filling her ground squad will Alliance personnel."
"It's interesting that you say that. Would you agree, Captain, that the Defendant holds a personal, dislike, for the Alliance?" Cassandra asked airily.
Kaidan let out a snort. "Does Polly want a cracker?"
The humans in the chamber laughed, along with a few of the other Council Species who understood the meaning. Cassandra on the other hand, was not amused.
"Prosecutor, as you said pertaining to her character, I think we have already established that fact that El'Jaid Shepard has a personal, dislike, for any authority figure." Kaidan quipped as he turned to face the Council standing to his feet. "I mean, how many times has she and this very Council locked horns over various matters? I won't even mention the countless times that she warned this Council, the Alliance; hell the entire Galaxy about the Reapers. Was she ever taken seriously once before they came?" He slammed back in to his seat. "No."
"Now Captain." Councilor Daice spoke evenly. "Even you understand that just one person can't be taken literately for their every word without any proof. This Council has acknowledged that Shepard did warn us about the Reaper threat. We have acknowledged that long ago."
"Glad to hear it Councilor, and thank you for using my name." Shepard quipped.
Daice narrowed his eyes at Shepard. "But time and time again, until the Reapers were already within our Galaxy's boarders, you could provide no hard evidence of their existence, other then tales of the images in your head."
Shepard remained silent.
"Speaking of a lack of proof. The Defendant also found the last Rachni Queen that Binary Helix Corporation had hatched from a 2000 year old egg. The only Rachni Queen in existence, and she decided to let the Queen go; before she let the Council know." Cassandra finished.
Silence still hung in the air of the Tribunal. No one spoke.
Cassandra turned to face Kaidan. "That kind of choice should not be done by just one woman. The Rachni waged a bloody war of conquest, not paralleled till the Six Year War, against the Council long before the Defendant ever 'met' one. Regardless of the Rachni's contributions in the Six Year War. That type of decision making is reckless."
"So is your determination of the Rachni." Shepard's voice resounded in the Tribunal. "Please remember Prosecutor Jadghund, that the Reapers systematically wiped out the Rachni, as they had dismantled the Batarians, even before the Reapers invaded Earth. Only the remaining Rachni survivors came to Earth's aid, and to the aid of the Combined Fleet at Hasterom. They came when it was our darkest hours. When our need was most dire. They still fought, even though they knew that their people were dead."
"And it wouldn't have been Earth's darkest hour if you had come sooner. It was your choices that doomed Earth. Your choices that doomed your people." Shomon hissed.
"Enough!" Councilor Valern roared. His voice filled with rage and anger." Executor, I would recommend that you bite your tongue." He spat, and Shomon fell silent. "And I would advise that it is in the Defendant's best interest to keep quiet."
"I have no representative here to defend me Councilor." Shepard replied evenly. "How else can I expect to defend myself if I don't do it myself?" She retorted as she settled back in her seat. "Now let us continue. I am...interested...to listen to what Captain Alenko has to say."
Kaidan couldn't help feel the shiver of cold that ran through his body at the silken sound of her voice. His chest tighten. He wanted to escape, but he was trapped. Trapped by the damnable presences that resided in the room which goaded him; dared him to speak.
He shut his eyes.
"I'd be lying if I said I agreed with everything that Shepard did. Different points of view I guess. The Rachni was one of those decisions." Kaidan breathed out slowly. "Shepard ended up being right. I...I get her point of view on it. The fact that the Council allowed the Rachni to be annihilated by the Krogan doesn't sit right with me either."
The Court room started to become unruly again, and Kaidan could tell that the Krogan at the Jury table were listening...intently...to his words.
"But hind sight is twenty-twenty. If put in the same position as Shepard was at the time, I honestly wouldn't have let the Queen go. History had shown that the Rachni were a threat on a Galactic Scale. Perhaps, if they had survived the war, that would have still been the case. But I don't know that. No one does. They're gone."
"That is...a fair response Captain Alenko." Cassandra offered. "Now how about we talk about another...choice...of the Defendant's. One that I know is close to you."
He only swallowed, unsure which direction Cassandra was going. But he knew the woman loved all things chronological, so the next way station made sense. A zugzwang.
"Virmire, Captain. On Virmire Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams was left to die in a nuclear explosion..." Cassandra started.
"Saren's facility had to be destroyed. Ashley Williams gave her life to save ours." Kaidan responded tersely.
"Now Captain. I am not casting any doubt on whether or not the facility need to be destroyed, nor Gunnery Chief William's heroic sacrifice. The Council had already sent a team for that task, and the Defendant was brought in to...support...the operation." Cassandra sang.
"Ok. Fine, then we agree." Kaidan hissed.
"Oh but I didn't finished." Cassandra said lightly, here eyes gleaming with the thought of the kill. "I was wondering...did you ever question why the Defendant saved you instead of going after Williams."
The thought, the question, still haunted him after so many years. So many battles. It fed on him like a parasite. Why? Why me? His mind whispered. "I was taking care of setting up the bomb that destroyed Saren's facility. That bomb needed to go off, and even though I armed it, Shepard came back. I know Shepard wanted to make sure the bomb would go off. But by the time the Normandy had the clearance needed to come in and pick us up..." He stopped briefly and opened his eyes. "There was no time...no time to pick up Gunnery Chief Williams, or what remained of her Salarian team. She knew it, and Shepard knew it." He finished strongly.
But his eyes held the hint of disbelief.
"I understand that Captain..." Cassandra stated evenly, but still held a smile to her face. "But did the Defendant ever tell you why she chose you?"
No...Kaidan's mind rang with a sickly echo. "We didn't had the luxury of time for such an...in-depth debriefing.
"The defendant obviously cared for you. She made sure your life was saved again years later." Cassandra said lightly as she lazily gated to and fro. "But, that wasn't the first time the Defendant let personal feelings effect her. Was it."
"Would you care to explain that statement?" Kaidan responded sternly.
"Oh come now Captain Alenko." Cassandra said coyly. "Even you can't make me believe you turned a totally blind eye towards the Defendant's...exotic...interests."
"Now just one minuet!" Kaidan shouted be he was cut off.
"Their history reads as if it came out of a story book, or a mediocre read for teenagers." Cassandra continued unabated. "The Hero dashes in to rescue the trapped Maiden. They fall in love, and together they save the Galaxy and live happily ever after." Cassandra mocked. "Well, maybe not the last part..." She chortled with a smile.
"If your referring to Shepard's relationship with Dr. T'Soni; excuse me if I fail to see the connection your trying to draw." Kaidan growled.
She continued to pace back and forth. "Captain, don't tell me that you simply turned a blind eye to the advances that Defendant...allowed...when Dr. T'Soni served on the first Normandy during the Eden Prime war..."
"That is completely unfair..." Kaidan shouted.
"Prosecutor!" Tevos yelled from her podium. Her voice filling the Tribunal's Sanctum like a flood. "Be mindful of your words. Not only is Dr. T'Soni a Galactic Hero, who is fully accomplished in her own right. She is also an Asari." Tevos' face slightly twisted in disgust. "As one as well, I do not appreciate being referred to as...exotic. Please explain your reasoning and words." Tevos said sharply.
"I apologize for my careless choice of words Councilor." Cassandra said eloquently with a small bow towards the Councilors. "The Defendant was the Commanding officer of the Normandy SR1 on which Dr. T'Soni served with her. My comment had nothing to do with her being an Asari. It was based purely from a regulatory aspect. I don't care how tight or lose the Defendant ran her ship. I don't care that she was a Specter." Cassandra turned to look at Kaidan again. "But, Captain, you know the reasons why the Alliance has regulations against Superiors fraternizing with Subordinates."
"Dr. T'Soni was not, and is not, apart of the Alliance Military." Kaidan responded.
"Of that I fully understand Captain, but Dr. T'Soni did not play the part of a civilian either. She fully participated in combat during the Eden Prime war, as such by extension she was a subordinate to the Defendant." Cassandra said icily.
"Dr. T'Soni was invaluable to stopping Saren. Without her help we wouldn't be here right now Prosecutor." Kaidan heated.
"Dr. T'Soni could have been taken to an Alliance base and put in to protective custody after she had given the information that was needed to stop Saren. She could have even been kept on the Normandy and treated as a civilian. That is to say no interaction whatsoever with military operations. But that did not happen, did it."
Kaidan just gritted his teeth.
Cassandra turned to face Tevos. "I hope that supports my claim and rectifies my words Councilor."
Tevos still bore her a hard look, but returned with a sharp nod.
Cassandra turned to Kaidan. "Now Captain Alenko, if I am wrong about Dr. T'Soni's...advances. If I am wrong that the Defendant knowingly broke Alliance regulations by interacting with the Doctor on a more...personal...level, just tell me I am wrong." She said acidly.
Kaidan just glared at her in turn. I won't answer that! He mentally screamed.
"Say it Alenko..." Kaidan heard a sharp voice called filling the silence.
Kaidan turned and looked directly at El'Jaid. Her eyes were alight with fire and ice. Her hands clinched. Her bracelet calling out like a beacon.
Kaidan swallowed hard. He licked his parched lips and looked out towards the Crowd. I'll burn for this...
"Say it..." El'Jaid called menacingly again.
Kaidan didn't want to say it, he didn't want to share his view with others who wouldn't understand or know Shepard. But something kept pressing in on him like a lead weight that was squarely on his chest. The more he struggled against it, the heavier it became. It was either speak or die.
"I agree..." He said ghostly. "There were many instances where I could tell that Shepard was giving Dr.T'Soni preferential treatment. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if the choice would have been three ways on Virmire." Kaidan unconsciously shifted his eyes back to El'Jaid. "I don't know what would have happened if Shepard would have had to decide between Chief Williams, myself, and Dr. T'Soni."
Again the court room bustled with quiet commentary. Kaidan could only feel more of the oppressive presence surrounding him like a coffin. He could tell it was angry. Hungry.
Cassandra was enjoying it. She was having a field day.
"Thank you Captain. Thank you. Now I want to go to another place, if you will allow me." Cassandra said.
"To where?" Kaidan asked.
"Horizon." Cassandra responded simply.
A cold chill formed in Kaidan's gut. And so my words come back to haunt me... He thought as the memory of Horizon rushed through his mind. That wrenched plain of a world.
"Captain. You were sent by the Alliance to the colony on Horizon as a part of a outreach program to improve relations at the Colony. Isn't that correct?" Cassandra asked softly.
"Yes." He replied.
"While you were there, the Colony fell under attack didn't it?"
"It did." Kaidan responded again.
"And you saw the Defendant was also there as well?"
"Yes. She was fighting off the Collectors. She drove them away saving half the colony. The Collector's attacked the Colony, not Shepard." He responded quickly.
"I also understand that Captain." Cassandra soothed knowingly. "And after the Collectors were gone, you met with the Defendant didn't you?"
"Ah...yeah. We exchanged words..." Kaidan responded carefully.
"Now I am curious about something Captain. In the words you shared, you called her something. What was it?" Cassandra asked. Her voice like soft velvet.
Kaidan's heart jumped in to his throat. Don't ask me that. Ask me anything else, just not that...
"What did you call her?" Cassandra asked softly again.
"That was ten years ago..." Kaidan eeked out a response.
"Captain, What did you call her?" Cassandra asked louder.
"I hadn't seen her in two years!" Kaidan roared defiantly.
She turned coldly from him and walked away in to the middle of the Tribunal floor. "I have the report you filed with the full voice readout that was captured. I can read it to the court for you, or you can answer my question. Your choice."
Zugzwang. His mind caught. Kaidan could feel the weight of every person in the court room bearing oppressively down on him. Boring in to his very soul. But all that paled in comparison to the domineering presence that whispered in his ear. It's voice was seductive, but he couldn't hear it. It called to him, but he couldn't tell where it was coming from. It begged for him to speak; gently prying his mouth open, and finding his voice for him.
"Traitor." He breathed. "I called Shepard...a Traitor."
Cassandra then turned back to him, her face stating that the words he had said were exactly what she was looking for. "Why would you call a comrade in arms a Traitor?"
"I saw her...with Cerberus on Horizon. I saw her working with Cerberus." Kaidan responded, bile climbing up his throat. He reached over and drank headily from the glass of water at his stand. He looked over and saw that El'Jaid was keenly watching him, her expression was as if she was weighting his worth.
"Cerberus, a known pro-Human terrorist group. Oddly, didn't you and the Defendant uncover several Cerberus led projects during the Eden prime war?"
"We did." Kaidan responded somberly.
"Then I am sure it was a surprise to see the Defendant working with Cerberus two years later." Cassandra stated.
"Yes...it was a shock. Not one I was prepared for at the time or had even considered serious thought of. I had heard rumors. Things. But I thought I knew Shepard at the time." Kaidan responded.
"You thought you knew her." Cassandra quipped lackadaisically. "By the way...wasn't you wife associated with Cerberus?" Cassandra piqued and eye brow up.
A fire rose in Kaidan. If he had to fight anything, He had to fight this. It was one thing if he would burn here. But I won't lose Miranda to this Bitch. He thought. "I'd appreciate it if my wife was left out of these proceedings. If you want to know more about my wife's affiliations, and non affiliations; take it up with SAI. For the record, my wife has helped the Alliance immeasurably, not only in the War, but also in dealing with the remaining traces of Cerberus. Don't associate my wife with that bygone terrorist group." Kaidan hissed.
"Of course...Captain." Cassandra said backing off. "Yet I am curious. How did you and your wife meet?"
Kaidan's scowl didn't dissipate, but only intensified. "Didn't I ask to have her left out of this? What does that have to do with this trial?"
"Just, a minor curiosity Captain. I know your wife served with the Defendant for most of the Six Year War. Yet, your interaction with the Defendant during the war can only really be called...sporadic at best."
"The war just didn't revolve around Shepard, Prosecutor. The Alliance, the Council and to a greater degree, the Combined Galactic Forces needed leadership. I was, and am, proud to have served as part of the Leadership during that time." He turned to face the crowd, picking out his raven haired beauty. "I had, the opportunity, to meet Miranda several times during the war. Since she was Shepard's XO on the Normandy, as such she was a main point of contact for anything Shepard was...and wasn't...involved in."
"I doubt that your wife was just a simple secretary. Are you telling me that she didn't care for you? That there is no possibility that she could have swayed the Defendant's choices? What about what happened on Calesten? The Defendant ignored every command and every order on a hastily planned and executed mission to rescue you and your squad. Do you have any idea why she would have risked so many lives for just you and your people?" Cassandra asked pointedly.
Bile churned up in his throat again, and Kaidan took another swig of water. The presence had not abated over him at all. His eyes were locked again on Miranda. "Prosecutor, I can't tell you why Shepard came for me then any more then I can tell you why she chose me at Virmire. But what about the I know for a fact is that Calesten was Reaper Faint."
"Alenko!" Udina yelled. "You can't talk about the details of your mission there. That mission is still classified!"
"But it's true!" Kaidan fired back. "No sooner then did my squad and myself touch down on Calesten then did the reality of things set it. That wee had been fooled. Shepard knew it was a faint. The Combined fleet was reacting to reports that Calesten was a Reaper processing planet. Yet the Combined Fleet was right. But the problem was that everyone, except Shepard, felt that if we hit them there, that would cripple the Reapers. But we didn't understand the Reapers, and we never will. the Reapers didn't care about Calesten. They didn't care about anything that we thought was important, and that is why we nearly failed. How we nearly lost Palavan."
Kaidan turned back towards Cassandra. "And Prosecutor your wrong. My Wife saved my life. Not Shepard..."
Author's Note: What? You though I had given up on this? That I had gone away? Sorry but you can't be rid of me that easy. ;)
Real life has reared it's ugly head, and I have also been working on Preparation and Parting trying to finish that up, before Tuesday.
I'd also be lying if I didn't admit that this installment wasn't a complete pain in the neck to develop. I like Kaidan's character, but I have to tread a fine live with him right now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And as always I love constructive criticism.
Mass 3 comes out on Tuesday, and as far as 'Shepard's canon' story that will be the end. But that will not be the end of El'Jaid's story. I look forward to having her kick the Reaper's collective tail and complementing this work. Because she has a promise to keep.