Recovery
Shepard squinted against the light. She blinked away the sleep and the dream, and was met with an intense pain in her skull. She tried to sit up but the pain in her head forced it down.
Water. She wanted water.
She glanced over to her left and noticed a glass of water. She reached over with her right hand for it, twisting her body knew it was there. She could see it. She knew it was there. Her hand itched for it. Her body ached for water.
The glass slid across the table, trailing condensation, and into her hand, with the slightest of glows.
She paused as she brought the glass of water to her lips, and drank from it. Slowly her aching head began to soothe. Then it was gone. She breathed heavily and placed the glass down on the table again.
"Dr. Chakwas! I think she's awake!" a voice came from behind. It was Kaidan's.
Shepard sat up in bed. She rubbed her head. The ache was still there, but smaller now.
She heard footsteps and looked up to see Dr. Chakwas walking towards her, a small smile on her face. What was she smiling about?
"You had us worried there," she told her. "How are you feeling?"
"Like the morning after shore leave- ugh" Shepard stated. The good doctor smiled at her. "How long was I out?"
"About 15 hours," she answered and sighed. "Something happened with the beacon, I think."
"It's my fault," Kaidan told her, hanging his head. "I must have activated some security mechanism when I approached it. You had to push me out of the way."
"Don't blame yourself," Shepard muttered. "You didn't know what would happen. No one would have known what would happen."
Kaidan smiled.
"Actually, we didn't know if that's what set it off. Unfortunately, we'll never get the chance to find out," Chakwas said.
"The beacon exploded," Kaidan moved to stand next to Dr. Chakwas. "A system overload, maybe. The blast knocked you cold. The Chief and I carried you back to the ship." Shepard groaned and brought her hand to her head.
"Thanks," replied Shepard softly. Kaidan blinked. "Thanks for bringing me back to the ship. I appreciate it."
Chakwas saw this exchange and noted this. From what she noticed, Shepard seemed to take to the Lieutenant very well. Normally, Shepard would have berated any other soldier for being careless, but for some reason, Shepard was actually being comforting to him. Maybe the Commander trusted him. But why though? "So," Shepard's voice brought the doctor out her thoughts. "What's the damage, doc?"
"Well," Chakwas began. "six broken ribs, a bruised trachea, a fractured ankle, multiple deep tissue cuts on back, and chest."
"Fun times?" Shepard shrugged. Kaidan chuckled. "Besides, what do you care, doc? We're the ones that do the heavy lifting; you just patch us up when we're done."
"I know what the job entails, Calista," Chakwas put a rather heavy emphasis on her name. Along with your other…injuries, I detected some unusual brain activities. Abnormal beta waves," Shepard didn't really know what the hell beta waves were, but she was too tired to care. She put her legs on the ground and stood up, leaning against the bed. Her legs almost gave out, but she forced herself to stand. Good to be back on her feet.
"I also noticed an increase in your Rapid Eye Movement," Chakwas continued. "Signs typically associated with intense dreaming." Shepard looked away. She crossed her arms in front of her.
"I'm not sure what I saw," Shepard shook her head. "Death. Destruction. Nothing's really clear."
"Oh," Chakwas started. "Captain Anderson."
"How's our XO holding up?" the Captain asked.
"Despite her injuries, I'd say the Commander is going to be just fine," Chakwas answered.
"Good. Commander, I need to speak with you," he glanced at the Lieutenant. "In private."
"Aye, Captain. I'll be in the mess if you need me," Kaidan saluted smartly and walked past them. He made sure he didn't make eye contact with the Commander.
"I see you have invited both Lieutenant Sykes, and Gunney Williams to remain aboard the Normandy, that's good, they are both very competent individuals " Shepard stated.
"Lieutenant Alenko agrees with you," Anderson replied. He knew that this wasn't what Shepard wanted to talk about. He was merely delaying.
Shepard threw the glass against the wall, shattering it instantly. She punched the spot where the glass broke, a slight blackish glow surrounding her hand. Hard, but she didn't feel it. Couldn't feel it. Too angry.
Anderson watched, not saying anything. He knew that Shepard needed to let loose. To get rid of her anger and frustration. So he let Shepard rage while he watched quietly.
"Intel dropped the ball, Sir!" Shepard shouted as she faced Anderson. "We had no idea what the fuck we were walking into down there. That's why things went to hell!" She caught her breath; fists clenched so hard her knuckles popped. Breathing heavily, her head faced the floor.
"Since when are you a biotic?" asked Anderson, with a confused expression on his face.
"I didn't know I was a biotic either sir, I'm just so angry!"
Shepard slowly calmed down and unclenched her fists. She raised her head and Anderson sighed. There was nothing but anger. Anderson recognized that pain all too well.
"I don't like soldiers dying under my command." was all Shepard said. Anderson nodded.
"Jenkins wasn't your fault, Commander," Anderson said softly. Anderson knew that it didn't help much, but it helped a little. Shepard didn't really believe that, but it helped. She looked up. The pain in her eyes was gone. Just like that, it was gone.
"You said you wanted to talk to me, Captain?" Shepard asked.
"I won't lie to you, Shepard," Anderson sighed. "Things looked bad. Nihlus is dead, the beacon is destroyed, and geth are invading Citadel Space. The council is going to want answers."
"I did nothing wrong, Captain. Hopefully the Council will see that," Shepard replied. She didn't really care about the council, but she respected the power that they held.
"I'll stand behind you and your report, Commander. You're a damned hero in my books," Anderson leaned against the nearby bed, a faraway look in his gaze. "That's not why I'm here." Shepard sat back down on the bed, waiting for the Captain.
"It's Saren," he said the word filled with contempt. "That other turian. Saren's a Spectre, one of the best. A living legend. But if he is working with the geth, it means he's gone rogue. A rogue Spectres' trouble. Saren is dangerous, and he hates humans."
Shepard nodded. A lot of aliens did think that humanity was growing too fast, taking over the galaxy. They didn't like it. Maybe they were jealous of the power they held or that they were given special privileges, whatever the reason.
"He didn't attack Eden Prime because he hated humans," Shepard said. "That may have been part of it, but it wasn't the full reason. He attacked Eden Prime because of the beacon. How he knew of it, is beyond me. I thought the mission was classified; only Nihlus, Alliance Parliament, you, and I knew about that artifact, so who the hell leaked that info?"
"You're forgetting about Udina, but I agree with you, there has to be a mole in the Alliance Parliament." Anderson said. "Saren has allied himself with the geth, somehow. Normally, the geth kill any organics who come near them, but for some reason they didn't kill Saren. Whatever the reason, it had something to do with that beacon. You were there before the beacon self-destructed. Did you see anything? Any clue that might tell us what Saren was after?"
"Just before I lost consciousness, I had some kind of vision," Shepard began slowly. Anderson stood up and faced Shepard.
"A vision of what?" he asked.
"I saw synthetics of some kind," Shepard continued, recalling the memory. "Slaughtering people. Butchering them." Anderson paused to let this soak in.
"We need to report this to the council," Anderson said finally.
"We don't know what kind of information was stored in that beacon," Anderson plowed through his sarcasm. "A weapon of some kind, whatever it was. Saren took it. But I know Saren." He paused.
Shepard guessed that he had a history with this turian, though he wouldn't admit it.
"I know his reputation, his politics," Anderson continued. "He believes that humans are a blight on the galaxy and this was his declaration of war. He has the secrets from the beacon, an army of geth at his command and he won't stop until we are wiped from the face of the galaxy."
"He was willing to kill another turian," Shepard said. "Nihlus. If Saren hates humans, then he must love his own race. But he was willing to kill a fellow turian to achieve his goal. I think this is bigger than humanity, Captain, with all due respect." Anderson could see the logic behind that. Shepard waved his hand away. "Regardless, I'll take him down with my own hands if I have to." He clenched his fists.
"It's not that simple," Anderson sighed. "He's a Spectre. He can go anywhere, do almost anything. That's why we need the council on our side."
"If we prove he's allied himself with the geth, maybe the council will revoke his Spectre status," Shepard thought aloud. Anderson agreed.
"I'll contact the ambassador, and see if he can get us an audience with the council. He'll also want to see us as soon as we reach the Citadel. We should be close. Head up to the bridge and tell Joker to bring us into dock," and with that he turned sharply away.
Shepard paused and cracked her neck. She wasn't willing to believe that it would be that simple.
But she had to try.
Kaidan stared as Shepard walked out of the med bay. Chakwas had gone off to finish up her report, leaving Kaidan to his own thoughts. He had thought about how different Shepard was from other people, and how human she was at the same time. He was curious about her. He had never met anyone like her before. So bold and strong, and yet so…indifferent, as if it didn't matter. And yet so tortured from what He could see. He wanted to know why.
Shepard approached him, still rubbing her head. She had to try to wrap her head around everything that happened today. It was mind-boggling. This morning she was just going on a normal shakedown run and now, she's trying to prove that a Spectre had gone rogue.
"I'm glad you're okay, commander," Kaidan's voice knocked her out of her daze. "The crew could use some good news after what happened to Jenkins."
"Jenkins was a valuable part of this crew," she muttered. She didn't really mean it; she had hardly spoken to the man. She wasn't even entirely sure what his job was except being a private. But she wasn't going to tell him that. She wasn't that blunt. Well, not all the time.
"You're a good soldier, Kaidan," Shepard told him instead. "Thanks commander. I appreciate that," he smiled and Shepard's heart almost began to race. Why? He was just another soldier. What made him special? Why was Shepard caring if Kaidan liked her? Wait, liked her? Where did that come from?
"Things were pretty rough down there," Shepard looked at him straight in the eye. "Are you okay?" It was his eyes. His take-charge personality. So like hers…
"We couldn't have done it without you, Kaidan," Shepard touched his shoulder briefly. He smiled at her. Shepard found herself smiling. Odd.
"Thanks, commander. I have to admit, I was a little nervous when I was assigned to the Normandy. It's nice when people make you feel welcome." He paused. "I also have to admit, I've never worked with someone who was awarded the Star of Terra before."
Shepard almost sighed. She was so tired of hearing that kind of thing. Awe and wonder as if she were some God.
"I spent most of the time trying to stay alive," Shepard muttered, crossing his arms. Kaidan scoffed.
"Holding off an entire platoon of slavers single-handed? Fighting on until reinforcements arrived? And then wiping the slavers off torfan, after losing most of your squad, if you don't mind me saying, Ma'am, but I think you've got someone watching over you!" Kaidan exclaimed. Shepard merely shook her head, smiling.
"I'll see you around, Kaidan," He smiled back and watched her walk away. She couldn't help but look forward to the next time they talked.
She felt as if there would be plenty of opportunities for them to talk in the future.
Joker expertly piloted the vessel from the massive Relay Station with Shepard gazing out the window nearby, approximately 18 hours after leaving Eden Prime. Joker knew the Commander well, having served with her before. Joker also knew about the Commander's impressive record, which only increased his respect for the woman. Still, he didn't really care to know more about her. He had a job to do, which was to pilot the Normandy wherever the Captain told him; a job that Joker intended to do with vigor.
"Good timing, Commander," Joker said as he heard her walk up behind him. "I was just about to take us into the Citadel. See all that taxpayer money at work."
Calista was looking out the window, which was completely covered in a soft glow of blue and purple. She wasn't dressed in her armor, instead wearing the formal Alliance military suit, the blue coat buttoned up the left side of her torso and her blue dress pants coming down to her black dress shoes. A gleaming black 7-pointed metal star hung on the left side of her chest, among other medals and awards she had received. It was the Star of Terra that shone out the most above all the others.
"And there it is," she heard Shepard say. Kaidan approached the same window, standing next to the Commander. What he saw took his breath away.
Then slowly, a cloud of dust moved away and she saw it: the Citadel, the cultural, political, and financial heart of Citadel Space. The massive space station revolved around a large ring shaped structure called the Presidium. More for the political and financial elites, the Presidium housed the Embassies and representatives of all races of Citadel Space. Out of all of the races in Citadel Space, only the Asari Republic, the Salarian Union and the Turian Hierarchy were members of the Citadel Council.
Kaidan squinted against the somewhat bright light and could see the Citadel Tower. In the center of the Presidium was a long, erect pillar that spanned the radius of the Presidium ring. He knew that it was there that the Council made their decisions on interstellar policy and law.
But the most magnificent sight the citadel had was the Ward Arms. All five arms were massive, larger than even the largest human Alliance dreadnaught or space station. While the Presidium was more for the political and financial background, the Wards were almost entirely cultural as all members of all races did business in the Arms.
"Citadel control, this is SSV Normandy, requesting permission to land," Joker said through the comm. channel.
"Stand by for clearance, Normandy," came the reply and a short pause. "Clearance granted. You may begin your approach. Transferring you to an Alliance operator."
Shepard moved away from the window and stood beside Joker, who looked up and smirked. Shepard gave a small smile back.
"We have berth 422 available, you are cleared for approach."
"Roger, Alliance tower. Normandy out," Joker replied. And with that, Joker maneuvered the Normandy into the docking bay.
"Williams, Alenko," Shepard said sharply. "You are on leave for a couple of hours. Don't get in trouble and stay close, I might need you."
"Ma'am!" Both Williams and Alenko saluted sharply and went towards their quarters to change. Shepard watched them as they walked away, unconsciously fingering the annoying black chunk of metal hanging from her chest. She was not looking forward to meeting the Ambassador.
Not one bit.
~end of chapter 7~