The Cryonic Man
Shepard Interlude 1: Horizon
A bit of foreword
This is my first story so please no flames
I do not claim ownership to the rights or the characters of Mass Effect
I do however claim the characters created by me, gale1243 (hey, I made a rhyme, and in such little time)
Italics stand for thoughts and voices over a loudspeaker
As previously stated in a previous chapter, I will be switching the perspective to Shepard for certain chapters in order to advance the plot of the game. This is the first interlude which will follow the events of the Horizon mission. Grunt's and Jack's recruitment will be mentioned but will not play a large role in the chapter.
Two weeks. Two weeks of banging my head against the wall after having to deal with those stubborn Councilors, well the asari and turian councilors anyway. I found evidence that the Collectors are behind the abductions, with the possibilities of the Reapers working with them and they do nothing since the Terminus Systems are "outside of their jurisdiction". More like they still can't get over the fact that the new kids on the block had to be the ones to save the day. Sometimes I wonder how Anderson can handle it, I would hate that job. Yet, I would rather be him, still working with the Alliance and not being a slave to the Illusive Man. At least I have people I can trust still keeping me in the loop, Garrus, Tali, Anderson, Joker, Doctor Chakwas. Though I still have some new people at least that I trust.
Mordin may talk my ear off at times, but he can be trusted. John, our resident cryonic engineer, hasn't been involved with Cerberus, or knows what Cerberus is, so he has my trust. Lia'Vael, our most recent recruit, I don't know how to think. The quarian woman who John defended, apparently the apple of his eye, not that she doesn't feel the same way. If she knows this is a Cerberus ship, she certainly doesn't show it, or maybe she just loves John so much that she doesn't care. I don't know if she can be trusted, but John trusts her, so I'll try to trust her.
Jacob is Cerberus, but from the way he talks, he doesn't trust the Illusive Man any more than I do, but he's still Cerberus, so I don't trust him yet. Kelly, Kenneth, Gabby, all good people, but I'm still not sure if they can be trusted. Zaeed is a merc, here for the money, and I'm sure that if someone paid him enough, he would easily stab me in the back. I'll trust him for now, but if he goes behind my back he's going to find I'm not one to be crossed. Kasumi…I've found no reason to distrust her, then again she is a master thief, so who knows. Miranda is the Illusive Man's right hand girl, and from what John told me about her little conversation with him I don't trust her at all.
The rest of the week was spent recruiting two more people from my dossiers. One was supposed to be a krogan warlord, until some Blue Suns commander tried to kill us, and ended up killing Okeer with poison gas. Now we have his life's work in our possession, a tank bred krogan who Okeer designed to be perfect, a krogan unaffected by the genophage. He took on the name Grunt and joined my squad, apparently eager to serve under a battlemaster.
The next went even worse. I was supposed to go to a prison called Purgatory, pick up a prisoner called Subject Zero who Cerberus, with their unlimited resources, bought from a warden who apparently is selling prisoners and forcing the prisoner's home planets to pay for protection. Completely made me sick, but if the dossier was telling the truth about this person's biotic potential, it would be worth it. Only the warden double-crossed us, tried to take us prisoner to get a huge reward. However, when I unleashed Subject Zero from cryo, things went badly for him, with the Purgatory getting destroyed by a bald woman who had more biotic power than any asari I'd ever seen. Like I said, don't cross me. The girl, Jack, hates Cerberus with a passion, which means putting her on a Cerberus vessel might not be the best idea. She certainly has had some serious disputes with John about his maintenance duties in the underbelly of the ship, especially after John accidentally walked into her "room" while she was changing. Luckily, Kenneth, Gabby, and Lia explained everything, saving John from becoming a mess on the walls, thank god.
I've been messaging Tali ever since meeting her on Freedom's Progress, keeping her up to date on the going ons of the new Normandy, including the recruitment of Garrus, the finding and unfreezing of John, John meeting Lia on the Citadel and those two's romantic weekend and her joining us, to which she replied that she couldn't wait to join us and meet Lia. I told her about everything else that happened the rest of these two weeks. God I miss her, as much as I love having Garrus, Joker, and Doctor Chakwas here, I wish she was here.
I don't have very much left to say, so I guess I'm done.
Shepard closed his video log and sat down, thinking about what to do now, when he heard the loudspeaker call.
"Commander, the Illusive Man is calling us," said Joker.
"Can't it wait," replied Shepard.
"No can do, the head-dog said he has urgent information about a possible Collector attack as well as something else. Commander, the planet that is about to be attacked, Alenko is there," said Joker, tone turning serious.
"Kaidan, has anyone warned him," Shepard said, with a mixture of surprise and fear for his friend.
"We've tried, but no one can get a message out, and the Illusive Man didn't tell us where Kaidan is," said Joker over the loudspeaker.
Shepard mentally cursed at the Illusive Man.
"Tell him I'm on my way," said Shepard angrily, and headed towards the elevator.
"How dare you not tell me my friend might be in danger," yelled Shepard.
"I needed a reason to get you to come down here and talk to me," said the Illusive Man on the holoconference.
"My friend is in danger from being abducted by the Collectors, along with all the colonists on the planet and you withhold information that could allow me to warn them and possibly save their lives. I thought we were supposed to be on the same side," said Shepard.
"We have to act on this, the Collectors haven't started their attack but we need to act fast, you need to get to Horizon now," said the Illusive Man.
"Fine, but be warned, if we're working together, you need to be straight with me. If I have to work with Cerberus, you tell me the truth, especially when it involves my friends, understand," said Shepard with a very pointed stare.
"Duly noted, I don't want to destroy any trust here," said the Illusive Man, and the signal cut out.
Shepard walked away, letting a small smile come to his face. He was glad he recruited Garrus and Kasumi to help find all to find all the bugs on Deck 1, plus he had started keeping his video logs in a special encrypted flash drive made by Tali. He didn't trust the Illusive Man any farther than he could throw him, but he needed to keep up the act since Cerberus is the one with the resources to take down the Collectors.
"EDI," said Shepard.
"Yes Commander," said EDI.
"Call up Joker, we're heading to Horizon to save some colonists," said Shepard, and he headed into the tech lab.
The door opened and Shepard walked into the lab, looking at Mordin, working hard on various things.
"Tell me the counter-measure is ready," said Shepard.
Mordin turned to Shepard and smiled, "Indeed it is, take a look," and demonstrated its effectiveness.
"Will not work in large swarms though, but will help cloak from good amount," said Mordin.
"Good thing we're going to have a perfect place to field test it," said Shepard.
"Must insist on coming with you, counter-measure is fully ready but in case things go wrong, I developed a vaccine for paralysis caused by seeker swarms which will last until counter-measure comes back online in case of failure. Only three doses synthesized, too busy perfecting counter-measure to create more," said Mordin.
"Good, I could use your tech skills; Garrus will be joining us as well on this mission. We'll be arriving in just a few minutes, so have everything ready," said Shepard.
Meanwhile on Horizon
"Lilith, we got a problem," said Kaidan.
"Still can't calibrate the targeting matrix," Lilith replied.
"And those defense towers won't work until we fix it," said Kaidan.
"Sorry Commander, but repairing our comm. systems takes priority," said Lilith.
"I'm surprised that the colonists haven't blamed me for that as well," said Kaidan.
"People out here don't trust the Alliance, don't take it personally," replied Lilith.
"What's that," said one of the colonists, pointing towards something in the sky.
Kaidan turned towards where the man was pointing, and pulled out his rifle, looking through the scope at the thing in the sky.
His eyes widened and he said, "Get everyone to the safe-house. GO!"
Kaidan saw a bunch of bugs heading towards him and the colonists and then started to open fire.
"Run," he yelled to the colonists.
He saw Lilith fall to the ground and helped her up telling her to run. He felt one of the bugs land on him and bite him. He flicked it off and reached for his gun again, only for him to become frozen.
Lilith and the rest of the colonists continued to run, only to be stopped by the rest of the swarm.
Sometime later
The Kodiak entered the atmosphere of Horizon and landed on the surface. Shepard, Mordin, and Garrus all stepped out and took a look around. Shepard pulled out his M-96 Matlock and surveyed the area.
"Mordin, are you absolutely sure the counter-measure will work," said Shepard.
"Probably, in theory," answered Mordin.
"Well, that's real reassuring," joked Garrus.
"We'll be fine," said Shepard, and the group headed out.
They found a group of Collectors along the way, but quickly dispatched them. They continued on their warpath until they came across a dead husk.
"Former humans, Collectors must have turned colonists into husks," said Mordin.
"Not possible, the geth impaled their victims on giant spikes to turn them into husks, and we haven't come across any. The husks were most likely premade by the Collectors; the colonists were most likely taken alive by them for another purpose," said Garrus.
"The Collectors aren't getting away with more victims. Let's move out," said Shepard.
The trio continued and ran into more Collectors.
"We got hostiles incoming," said Shepard.
Garrus pulled out his sniper rifle and Mordin pulled out his Phalanx Heavy Pistol to get ready for anything.
"Take cover," yelled Shepard, and a hail of fire from Collector assault rifles rained down on them.
Shepard switched to cryo ammo and opened fire, freezing the Collectors and causing them to shatter, Garrus popped of a couple concussion shots and Mordin hit them with Incinerate, making the rest of the group as easy as taking pot shots at tin cans on a fence (heh, Southern proverbs).
"All clear," said Garrus.
"Fan out, look for any of the colonists," said Shepard.
"Found one, stasis field paralysis, movement impaired but senses still active, fascinating," said Mordin.
"Can we give him the vaccine," said Shepard.
"Not good idea, only 3 doses, should save for future conflict," said Mordin.
"These people need help," said Shepard.
"Shepard, I want to save these people as much as you do, but keeping these vaccines might keep us alive," said Garrus.
(Paragon Interrupt)
"These people need to be saved. John said so himself, what these people might suffer might be a fate worse than death if we just leave them," said Shepard.
"Are you sure," said Mordin.
"Give me a dose," said Shepard, holding out his hand.
Mordin sighed and handed Shepard one of the doses of vaccine.
"How does it work," said Shepard.
"Just inject victim, cure is instantaneous but will only last an hour or two however," said Mordin.
Shepard unfastened the syringe and stuck it into the man's neck.
The man stopped glowing with a weird aura, fell to the ground, and gasped.
"Are you alright," asked Shepard.
"What the hell happened to me," said the man.
"We were hoping you could tell us," said Garrus.
"All I remember was that swarm, getting bitten, and then I couldn't move. Then I watched those giant insects start taking away the others," said the man, "Oh god, the others, you have to save them."
"We'll do everything we can, but right now you need to find a place to hide. That stuff we injected you with will only last for an hour or so and we need to get you somewhere safe," said Garrus.
"Well, there's an old safehouse just a little ways away from where we are, we get there I'm sure we'll be safe," said the man.
"Alright let's go," said Garrus.
"Wait," said Shepard, and he turned to the man, "I'm looking for someone, an Alliance military officer named Kaidan Alenko, have you seen him."
The man thought for a second and said, "I heard that there was an Alliance Officer here but I don't know where he is, sorry I can't be more help."
Shepard frowned but said, "It's alright; let's get you to that safehouse. What's your name by the way?"
"Dillinger, Jacob Dillinger," said the man.
"Alright Jacob, lead the way," said Shepard.
The group headed out and headed into a small quarry.
"All clear," said Shepard.
They then came to a large door, locked with some sort of code lock.
"Hang on, I can hack this," said Shepard, bringing up his omni-tool.
"Don't bother, I got the password," said Jacob, turning on his omni-tool.
The door opened after a small wait and the group headed inside.
"Okay, lock the door and don't come out of here until we call…," Shepard started, before seeing movement behind a small container.
He pulled out his pistol and said, "Come on out, hands where I can see em."
The man hiding behind the crate came out and said, "You're-You're human. What are you doing here, you'll lead those things out there right to us."
"Tom, you're alive," said Jacob.
"Jacob, I thought those things got you," said Tom.
"I was attacked by this giant swarm of insects, I was bitten and frozen in place, along with everyone else. Then, I saw a bunch of weird looking aliens take everyone up to a giant ship," said Jacob.
"The aliens you're talking about are the Collectors, you two are lucky you're not in their ship hold right now," said Shepard.
"The Collectors a real? I thought that was just Alliance propaganda to keep us in Citadel space. Wait, those things have Lilith, and Sten too, you have to save them," said Tom.
"Calm down, we'll do the best we can, but I need to know if you've seen an Alliance Commander named Kaidan Alenko," said Shepard.
"Oh yeah him," Tom said with disdain, "Ever since he came here, things have been terrible. He said he was here for an outreach program but he made us build those defense towers out there that can't even fire at a target because the damn targeting matrix doesn't even work. Almost all the planet's power goes towards powering those goddamned paperweights, and now a bunch of aliens that I thought were urban myths are attacking us and abducting everyone and we can't do anything to stop it. We were just fine until the Alliance came and mucked everything up."
"The Alliance aren't the people to blame here, but we need to get those towers online," said Shepard.
"Well, like I said, the targeting matrix is shot, it won't work," said Tom.
"If we got the matrix going, could we take out the ship," said Garrus.
"I suppose, but no one can get it online, no matter what we've tried," said Tom.
"Shepard, have an idea. If we can get communications online I know someone who may be able to calibrate the matrix from the Normandy," said Mordin.
Shepard immediately knew what Mordin's idea, and knew that, while risky, it was the only shot they had.
"Is there any way to get communication systems online," asked Shepard.
"Well, there's an old transmitter near the targeting matrix consoles, if you can get it online you should be able to send a message," said Jacob.
"Okay, I'm unlocking the doors, but I'm relocking them behind you, I'm not taking any chances," said Tom.
"That's a good idea, but if someone else tries to get in, hide, unless they give you a password. The password will be Jenkins (anyone who played ME 1 knows who he is), now good luck and stay hidden," said Shepard.
"Good luck to you too, you're gonna need it," said Tom, bringing up his Omni-tool to unlock the opposite door.
"As if we didn't know that already," joked Garrus.
The door opened and the 3 Musketeers readied their weapons and headed out into the swarms yet again, hearing the door close and lock behind them.
They continued to walk down the pathway until they heard a distinct, "Assuming direct control."
"Find cover, NOW," yelled Shepard.
A large amount of Collector rifle fire rained down on the group and a large pulse of energy came towards them from a Scion. Shepard switched on incendiary ammo and opened fire, taking out swarms of husks and the Scion, then switched back to cryo ammo and froze the Collectors and turned his fire onto the one controlled by whatever it was that was controlling them.
"Mordin, hit it with Incinerate," yelled Shepard.
"On it," said Mordin, and hit them with it with a fiery blast.
The three then unleashed hell on the last few Collectors and after it was done they took a small breath and Mordin went to scout out the next area.
"Whew, and I thought this was going to be hard," said Garrus.
"This seems oddly easy, almost too easy," said Shepard.
"Shepard, found soldier, Alliance military from the looks of his armor," yelled Mordin from up ahead.
Shepard and Garrus rushed towards Mordin and sure enough they found the frozen body of Kaidan Alenko. Frozen in stasis, reaching for his assault rifle, Garrus and Shepard were very surprised.
"I need another dose of the vaccine," said Shepard, and when Mordin handed him the syringe, he injected it into Kaidan's neck.
The stasis field faded and Kaidan fell to the ground, gasping for air.
"Wh-What happened," said Kaidan, and when he looked up, "Shepard, is that you?"
"You were expecting someone else," said Shepard.
"I thought you were dead," said Kaidan.
"Alenko, you should know by now that not even death himself can keep Shepard from fighting the Reapers," joked Garrus.
"Garrus, you're here too," said Kaidan.
"Can you stand," said Shepard.
"Y-Yeah," said Kaidan.
"Alright, you need to get to safety. There's a safe house just down that way, to get in just say Jenkins," said Shepard.
"No, I'm not going to sit around and wait. Those things, whatever they are, are taking these colonists and those colonists are my responsibility," said Kaidan.
"Those things are the Collectors, and the thing we just injected you with only protects you from these swarms for an hour Alenko. You need to run," said Garrus.
"Then how are you three out here, protected," said Kaidan.
"Mordin, can you give Kaidan's armor the counter-measure," said Shepard.
"No, would take too long, plus Lieutenant's armor isn't properly calibrated so even if we had time, I still couldn't," said Mordin.
"Well, that's just dandy," said Kaidan.
"Kaidan, I'm begging you, we'll do the best we can but you need to get to that safe house," said Shepard.
"Fine, but after these things leave, you and I need to have a chat Shepard," said Kaidan.
"We will, but please go, and remember the password is Jenkins," said Shepard.
Kaidan headed off towards the safe house and Shepard and his group headed back on the path towards the transmitter.
A short while later, the group made it to the terminals, looking for the communications relay.
"I think I got something," said Garrus.
"This is definitely it, Mordin see if you can connect to the Normandy," said Shepard.
Mordin brought up his Omni-tool and sure enough, a signal managed to pierce through.
"Normandy, this is Shepard, do you read," said Shepard.
"Thank god Commander, we were all getting worried," Joker said over the intercom.
"EDI, we have a couple defense towers here with a faulty targeting matrix, is there anything we can do to get it online," said Shepard.
"It is entirely possible that the error can be corrected, however, fully powering the towers will take some time," said EDI over the intercom.
"We don't have much, but start the process and get those towers operational," said Shepard.
"Corrections commencing. Alert, there are a large amount of Collectors heading towards your position. You will need to keep this transmitter active if you wish to keep the process going," said EDI.
"I told you it was too easy," said Garrus.
"I was the one who said that," said Shepard, "We need to find a place to hunker down and fast."
The group headed towards a small wall surrounded by a couple stairs, waiting for anything that the Collectors could throw at them.
Garrus pulled out his sniper rifle and searched for anything through his scope.
"I don't see anything yet," said Garrus, "Wait, hang on, WE GOT LARGE AMOUNTS OF HOSTILES COMING RIGHT AT US!"
"Get ready, Garrus, you take out anyone you can with your sniper rifle, Mordin, get out your pistol and keep any husks that come near us away from us, I'll take out anything I can with my assault rifle," said Shepard.
"Got it," said Garrus.
"Affirmative," said Mordin.
"3, 2, 1 fire," yelled Shepard.
A large fight broke out between the group of 3 and a large swarm of Collectors and Husks.
"Scoped and dropped," said Garrus, as he took out another Collector with a headshot.
"This is great," said Shepard.
"Yes, quite invigorating," said Mordin, taking out another husk.
"Scions," yelled Shepard and he saw 3 pulses of simultaneous energy heading towards them. He and Mordin crouched down in time but Garrus wasn't as lucky. The turian was blasted off his feet and knocked out.
"Garrus, GARRUS," said Shepard, shaking his friend's body.
"Mr. Vakarian is down but, as you humans say, definitely not out," said Mordin after doing an examination, "A quick application of medi-gel should get him back on his feet."
Shepard brought up his Omni-tool and activated the Unity function. Garrus' shields came back online and he stood back up, rubbing his shoulder.
"Get back down," said Shepard to the group.
Shepard switched on the incendiary ammo and unloaded the last of his clips into the Scions. The three of them went down hard and the group took a momentary breather.
"EDI, where are we on those towers," said Shepard.
"Progress is almost complete. Alert, hostile reinforcements inbound," said EDI.
"And just as run out of thermal clips for my assault rifle, perfect," said Shepard.
"Find cover," asked Garrus in a joking tone.
"Yeah," said Shepard.
Another group came but was quickly dispatched by the 3, leaving them with no hostiles in sight.
"Progress almost complete," said EDI.
Shepard searched nearby areas for any thermal clips he could find for his assault rifle when he heard a loud noise coming from the direction of the Collector ship. He saw a large metallic thing coming towards him and the others. He saw it had lots of faces ingrained into its bottom, they looked like multiple husks. Shepard didn't know what it was, but whatever it was, it had a large amount of barriers and armor if the scans on his heads up display could tell him anything.
He yelled to the others to run but it was too late. Two beams were fired at him from the creature's eyes and his kinetic shields barely held up. He found a piece of cover while his shields recharged and the others opened fire against the creature.
Garrus' concussive shot and Mordin's Incinerate took out the things barrier, but their weapon fire was doing nothing to the thing's armor.
"It's like firing BBs at a tank," Shepard said under his breath.
Luckily he had a backup plan, his new missile launcher.
He ran towards the others and pulled out the launcher and aimed it at the creature.
"Is that the missile launcher, that modification that cryo boy made hasn't been tested," said Garrus.
"Then this is a great time to do so," said Shepard.
He aimed the target light at the creature and pressed the button, only for the button to not go down.
"It's not working," said Garrus.
"You think I don't notice that. Joker, get John on the line," said Shepard.
"On it Commander," said Joker.
"This is Desmond," John said over the comlink after a few minutes.
"John, the modification isn't working; the button seems to be jammed," said Shepard.
"I tried to warn you guys when I found out you guys took the launcher, but I couldn't get a message through. During a routine maintenance, Jacob and I decided to fully test it in the holding bay. The modification has a delay, you need to keep it on the target for a few seconds, when the light starts blinking the target lock mechanism is ready and all you have to do is press the button for the locking mechanism to lock on the target," said John.
"Anything else we need to know," said Shepard.
"Yes, if you break the connection for even a second, the locking mechanism resets and you'll have to create the connection again," said John.
"Good to know," said Garrus.
"Me and Garrus will draw creature's attention while you get lock," said Mordin.
"Alright let's do it," said Shepard.
"Of course I get to be on the suicidal team of the plan," said Garrus, before hopping out of cover, pulling out his assault rifle, and yelled, "Hey ugly, over here."
"Go Shepard, and I would firmly suggest you hurry," said Mordin, pulling out his SMG.
He popped out of cover and started firing, with Shepard aiming the target light at the creature.
"Come on Come on," said Shepard.
"Hurry it up Shepard," said Garrus.
"Few more seconds," yelled Shepard.
Luck was on their side and the target light started blinking.
"Got it," said Shepard.
He pressed the button and the lock was made.
"Get out of the way," said Shepard, and Garrus and Mordin ran.
Shepard fired 4 rockets from the launcher, all going to the creature. The scans showed that the rockets were doing damage to the things armor. That was when the creature started glowing.
"Look out," yelled Shepard, and the creature slammed into the ground knocking everyone on their backs.
Shepard looked at the scans and saw that the barriers were back up on that thing.
"Garrus, Mordin, take out those barriers," said Shepard.
"On it," yelled Garrus, and he and Mordin once again opened fire, taking out the barrier again.
The creature fired the beams out of its eyes again towards Shepard and he took cover, firing missiles up into the air which arced towards the creature. It slammed into the ground, reactivated its barriers, and Mordin and Garrus took them out again. Shepard fired more missiles and the cycle continued, at least until the creature turned its attention towards Garrus and Mordin.
Mordin saw what it was about to do and pushed Garrus out of the way, taking the full force of the blast from the creature's eyes, which knocked him down and destroyed his shields. Mordin then falls to the ground, unconscious.
"Solus," yelled Garrus, and he rushed to Mordin's side.
"Shepard, he's barely breathing," yelled Garrus.
Shepard continued firing rockets at the creature while Garrus moved Mordin safely into cover. The creature's armor was continually worn down until it let out a large roar and disintegrated in a large blue light.
"I should really talk to John about getting rid of this things delay," said Shepard.
"Shepard, I need medi-gel here," said Garrus.
Shepard moved towards the two and started prepping a dose of medi-gel. He quickly applied it and Mordin woke up, but found he was having a hard time getting up. Garrus offered his hand, and helped Mordin up, with him clutching his side.
"Don't worry about me. Blast knocked me down and maybe broke ribs, but otherwise injuries superficial," said Mordin, weakly smiling.
"Towers are fully powered and online," said EDI.
"Fire them, take out that ship now," yelled Shepard.
The towers turned towards the ship and opened fire on it, blowing small chunks of it off it. The ship began to take off heading away from the planet. The 3 saw the ship leave the planet's atmosphere and then it was gone.
"No, you have to stop that ship," said Tom, running towards them.
"There was nothing we could do, I'm sorry," said Shepard.
"Half the colony is in there, they got Eagan and Sten and Lilith, you can't just let them get away," yelled Tom.
"Tom please, calm down," said Jacob, appearing behind the group.
"If it wasn't for Shepard, you and Jacob would be on that ship, as well as the other half of this colony's population," said Garrus.
"Shepard. I know that name, you were some big Alliance hero, I knew they had something to do with this," said Tom.
"The Alliance had nothing to do with this," said Shepard.
"Tom, if it wasn't for this man, I would be in that ship," said Jacob, hoping to calm his friend down.
"And also if it wasn't for this man, the galaxy would have been destroyed by now. This is Commander Shepard, Lion of Elysium and Savior of the Citadel. You're in the presence of a legend, and a ghost," said Kaidan, finding everyone.
"Pfft, figures that with all the good people in this colony, you're one of the people left behind. Come on Jacob, let's go see who's left," said Tom, making an abrupt exit.
"I'm sorry about him, not a whole lot of people trust the Alliance, and with this happening…I'm sorry," said Jacob, running after his friend.
"Well now I've got about 3000 reports to file to the Council about this incident. But, Commander…it's good to see you, I thought you were dead, we all did," said Kaidan, holding his hand out.
"It's great to finally see you again Kaidan," said Shepard, shaking his hand.
"That's it, after two years, two years, that's all I get out of you," said Kaidan angrily.
"Where have you been, why didn't you tell me you were alive this entire time," said Kaidan.
"Don't blame me, I really was dead, and Cerberus spent the last two years rebuilding me," said Shepard.
"So, it really was true, you're with Cerberus, Garrus too," said Kaidan.
"What do you mean, it was true," said Garrus.
"There were rumors that you two were working with Cerberus, and I didn't believe it until now. How can you work with them, especially after everything they've done, you've seen it with your own eyes," said Kaidan.
Shepard shut off his comm. link, and the others did the same.
"I'm not working for them Kaidan, the only reasons why me and Garrus are working with them is because they are the only ones with the resources to stop the Collectors, who are working with the Reapers," said Shepard.
"How do you know that, maybe they're just using that to keep you at bay. Maybe they're the ones who are working with the Collectors, did you ever consider that? I would've followed you through hell Shepard, but this. This is a huge betrayal," said Kaidan.
"You want to talk about betrayal," said Shepard angrily, "I saw the video of my funeral and Garrus told me what you said," causing Kaidan to pale.
""The Reapers were a manifestation of his stress", "He worked too hard and the Reapers were a convenient excuse". You made my warnings sound like crazy babble. Garrus defended me, Tali defended me, Wrex defended me, Liara defended me, Anderson defended me, Joker and Doctor Chakwas defended me, and you didn't. You were my friend, and you went behind my back and made me sound like I was crazy. DO you actually the Reapers are coming, that they even exist," yelled Shepard.
"I wanted to punch you after what you did and you remember what Tali tried to do to you," said Garrus, "I don't trust Cerberus any more than most people, but I trust Shepard and so do Joker and Chakwas, which is why they, and myself, joined him. Even Tali has agreed to join us after she finishes her mission and her people hate Cerberus with a freaking passion, but she trusts Shepard and so do I."
"Come on guys, let's get out of here, Mordin needs medical attention anyway," said Shepard and the group walked off, leaving Kaidan behind.
Shepard reactivated his comm. link and called Joker to send down the Kodiak. The group walked over to the landing platform and waited for the shuttle.
"Wait," came a voice from behind them.
Shepard turned and saw Kaidan standing behind them, "Shepard, I'm sorry for what I've done, but you have to know that I didn't do it by choice."
"Really, than why did you do it," said Shepard.
"Like I said, I had no choice," said Kaidan.
Flashback 2 years ago
"I was there, I was one of the last people who saw him," said Kaidan, "He saved Joker's life but he killed himself in the process."
"I know it's hard Kaidan, but we have to accept he's gone," said Liara.
"How could you say that, I just have to accept my Commanding Officers death with a smile," said Kaidan.
"Calm down Alenko, Joker is upset enough; he was the last one to see Shepard alive, do you think this is easier for him," said Garrus.
"Yeah and if he hadn't been so stubborn, and just left the ship, Shepard would still be alive," said Kaidan.
"How can you say that Kaidan, I know you still feel guilty about Chief Williams' death on Virmire, but that's no reason for taking it out on Joker," said Tali.
"Ashley's death has nothing to do with this," said Kaidan.
"We all know you had a crush on her, no way you can deny it," said Wrex.
"T-That's not true," said Kaidan.
"Kaidan, I saw the way you looked at her," said Tali, putting her hand on his shoulder, "Please, I know you cared about her a great deal, please understand that, and I know hers and Shepard's death are weighing on you. You and Shepard were great friends, and I'm sure you confided in him a lot, but please don't take this out on Joker."
Kaidan began to cry, and Liara, Garrus, and Tali embraced him, Wrex staying out of it so he wouldn't look like a sissy.
"I loved her, and Shepard was my best friend, how can I still continue," said Kaidan.
The group hug broke up and Liara looked at him, "You can honor their memories."
Just after that, Kaidan's Omni-tool rang and he brought it up.
"It's the Council, they want to talk to me," said Kaidan.
"Bye guys," said Kaidan, and the others waved goodbye.
A short time later
"It was good of you to come Lieutenant Alenko," said the asari councilor.
"Why am I here, and where is the salarian councilor, and Anderson and Udina," said Kaidan.
"Anderson wanted to get to know the people he will be working with, he asked Leonidas to meet him for a little one on one," said the turian councilor.
"He and Anderson have nothing to do with this right now," said the asari councilor.
"We called you here to discuss Shepard, and his "warnings"," said the turian councilor.
"He perpetuated the tales of these "machines from dark space" till the very end didn't he," said the turian councilor.
"We're concerned that his…beliefs, will cause hysteria, especially with his recent death," said the asari councilor.
"What are you talking about," said Kaidan.
"His tales about the "Reapers" have appeared in numerous news articles and reports. People are becoming scared," said the turian councilor.
"And why shouldn't they, the Reapers are coming and we need to prepare," said Kaidan.
"So, he's brainwashed you too," said the turian councilor.
"Brainwashed me, I saw the beacon on Ilos with my own eyes, and another thing, if you hadn't sent us to root out "geth rebels" that didn't exist, Shepard would still be alive right now," said Kaidan angrily.
"No matter how much we tell the public nothing is wrong, they still follow Shepard's ideals. They don't believe us, but they would believe one of Shepard's squadron," said the asari councilor.
"What are you saying," said Kaidan.
"Shepard's funeral is coming up, and if you tell the world that the Reapers aren't real, they'll stop believing in these fairy tales," said the turian councilor.
"You're asking me to discredit everything that Shepard warned us about. Forget it, I would never betray him like that," said Kaidan.
"He's dead, he doesn't care," said the turian councilor.
"You obviously never had friends growing up Councilor," said Kaidan.
"Jalik, please calm down," said the asari councilor to the turian councilor.
"Lieutenant, we're not asking you to betray your commanding officer, we just want you to ease the public's mind," said the asari councilor.
"Forget it, we're done here," said Kaidan, and he got up to leave.
"Lieutenant, I wouldn't advise that, since we have something else to say," said the turian councilor.
"What else," said Kaidan.
"Your friend Tali'Zorah has sensitive military information; legally we can charge her with espionage. Your friend Liara T'Soni; her mother Benezia betrayed the Council just like Saren, we have the right to incarcerate her to make sure she doesn't betray us either. C-Sec Officer Garrus Vakarian continued an investigation even after direct orders from Executor Palin to cease it so his badge is on the line," said the turian councilor.
"You can't do this, Shepard gave that data about the geth to Tali to help her people, which is more than I can say for what you've done for the quarians, Liara would never betray the Alliance, and Garrus' investigation got us the information on Saren. They are heroes, and Shepard saved your lives and the Destiny Ascension, how can you be so underhanded," said Kaidan.
"The public's minds needs to be soothed after the fire your Commander started, and your fellow members refuse to help. You can either tell everyone that your Commander's tales were a bunch of crap, or you can watch as 3 of your fellow team members rot in C-Sec Penitentiary. Shepard really cared about that quarian girl didn't he, do you know what would happen to a quarian in a C-Sec prison," said the turian councilor.
"Please no! I-I'll do it, I'll tell the world that the Reapers were a figment of his stress-induced mind, but please, just leave Liara, Garrus, and Tali out of this," said Kaidan, shouting the first sentence and finished the second sentence quietly.
"Good, by the way, you're being reassigned after this," said the turian councilor.
"You're doing a good thing Lieutenant," said the asari councilor.
Kaidan wasn't listening as he sat there, not believing what he was about to do to Shepard.
"I'm so sorry, Shepard," thought Kaidan.
A few days later
"Shepard was an amazing soldier, we must never forget the sacrifices he made to save the Citadel and the galaxy from the Reaper threat, he will always be remembered as an amazing man, a man who out of anyone, chose me to represent humanity in the Galactic Council, I will always remember the young man who came on to the Normandy on the mission to Virmire, I'm glad to have met an amazing officer such as him. We must never forget his warnings, the Reapers are coming, and we must prepare. I'd like to thank you all for your time, and thank you all for coming here to honor Shepard," finished Anderson.
Admiral Hackett took the stand and said, "Thank you Councilor for your words, and thank you Miss Zorah, Miss T'Soni, Mr. Vakarian, Mr. Moreau, Doctor Chakwas, and Urdnot Wrex for your words as well. And now, another very good friend of Commander Shepard would like to say a few words. Please welcome, Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko."
Kaidan took the stand and said morosely, "Thank you Admiral for your introduction, and thank you all for honoring the Commander. I was a close friend of Commander Shepard; I was one of the first people to join his team, I was there with him on Eden Prime, I was there with him on Ilos, I was with him every step of the way. He was my friend, and that friendship grew stronger when he helped me deal with the grief of the loss of Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, a woman that I loved, on the shores of Virmire. And as his friend I saw how the stress he dealt with everyday. The Reapers were a manifestation of that stress. He worked really hard and when it became too much the Reapers were just an excuse. I begged him on multiple occasions to see a counselor to deal with his stress, but he refused to listen, saying that the Reapers needed to be stopped at any costs. He made everyone believed they existed, so he woMy friend died as an overworked man who needed help, died believing that the Reapers existed, I wish I could've helped him before it was too late."
The crowd looked at him with shock, while the two councilors sat in the audience smiling, and Kaidan stepped down from the podium.
The funeral had ended a short time later, and as Kaidan walked out, he was assaulted by reporters.
"Lieutenant Alenko, is it true that Commander Shepard, Savior of the Citadel, concocted the Reaper threat?"
"Mr. Alenko, is it true that Commander Shepard lied to the galactic public as a whole?"
"Mr. Alenko, why didn't Commander Shepard get the help he desperately needed?"
"Commander Shepard was my friend, but he was a stubborn man. I tried to save him, but he refused any help I tried to give, now he dies before I can save him, how I wish I had," said Kaidan.
"YOU BASTARD," said a voice from behind him.
Kaidan turned and saw Tali with what he suspected was an angry look on his face.
"How could you do this, he was your friend, he trusted you, and you betray him like this! I hate you you bosh'tet, how could you do this," yelled Tali.
"How could you do this Alenko, Shepard trusted you better than anyone," said Garrus.
"How could you tarnish his memory, after everything he did for you," said Liara.
"If there weren't people watching, I would kill you myself," said Wrex.
"You son of a bitch," said Joker.
"I'm sorry," said Kaidan quietly and he left.
"I had no choice, if I didn't say those things, they would've put Liara, Tali, and Garrus in jail. My father served as a C-Sec warden and when I was little, he took me to his job for Take Your Child To Work Day. I was bored out of my mind so I explored, and walked into the prison infirmary. There was a quarian woman there, dying from a mortal wound and an infection because she was stabbed in the prison yard. She begged for someone to hold her hand and I was the only one there, so I held it. She asked for my name and I gave to her, she said it was an amazing name, and that she was glad someone was kind to her before she died. She died shortly afterwards, and I was forced from the room. She was serving a 1 month sentence for vagrancy, and her life was taken and no one gave a damn. I couldn't let that happen to Tali, or Garrus or Liara, I had no choice," said Kaidan, finishing the story.
"And you truly believed that the salarian councilor had nothing to do with it," asked Shepard.
"Yes, the turian and the asari councilors were the only ones involved. Anderson and the salarian councilor had nothing to do with it. I'm sorry Shepard, but I had to do it, please believe me," said Kaidan.
"After what you did, I'm not sure I can fully trust your story. But I still have some trust for the man who I saved on Virmire, who I helped when he was grieving the loss of a woman he loved, and I know that he would never do what I saw without good reason," said Shepard, and he turned off his comm again, "You're my friend Kaidan, and please understand that I would never work with Cerberus without good reason. I hate Cerberus, much more than most people, but surely you can understand I need to stop the Collectors. I trust you, and I need you to trust me," said Shepard.
"You're right Shepard, I know you would never do this without good reason. I should've trusted your judgment from the beginning , especially after what I've done. Garrus, could you ever forgive me," said Kaidan.
"After what you did, I'm not so sure. But I should've guessed the Council was dirty, especially after I was demoted in C-Sec. What you did however, will be hard to forgive, lord knows Tali will find it impossible, but I understand that you were forced to. I'll forgive you, but only if you agree to help Hackett and Anderson nail those two for blackmailing you into silence. Do you promise," said Garrus.
"It will be hard, the Council has been monitoring me for a while to make sure I wouldn't tell anyone. Plus, we would be going up against two members of the Citadel Council, which will make us a lot of enemies with the asaris and the turians when the day of the final battle comes. But, I will promise to agree to help Anderson, Leonidas, and Hackett take them down. Those two forced me to ruin your legacy, and I want revenge. The only reason why I'm staying with the Alliance is because I still believe in them, but the Council will lose two of its prominent members even it costs me my tags," said Kaidan.
"There's the Kaidan Alenko I know," said Garrus, smiling.
"Thanks Shepard, for everything," said Kaidan, holding out his hand again.
"It was great seeing you again Kaidan, hope you can stay in touch," said Shepard, shaking his hand.
"Not for a while, I have to fill out a lot of reports about what happened here, and I need to make amends with Wrex, Liara, Chakwas, Joker, and Tali especially," said Kaidan.
"We'll help you with Tali, Joker, and Chakwas, but Wrex and Liara however will be your problem because I haven't seen them in two years," said Shepard.
"It's alright, it's better if I do this myself," said Kaidan.
The Kodiak landed and Garrus, Shepard, and Mordin stepped into the shuttle.
"Take care Commander, and good luck," said Kaidan, smiling.
"You too Lieutenant, you too," said Shepard, smiling back.
The shuttle then took off and headed back towards the Normandy.
Kaidan then walked off to find Jacob, he was sure his own Omni-tool was bugged and he had a message to send to Anderson.
Back on the Normandy
"I knew Kaidan would never do what he did willingly," said Chakwas.
"Are you sure he can be trusted Commander," said Joker.
"I'm sure, he would never betray me willingly, and what I just learned about two of our resident Councilors is big. This needs to go public, but right now we need to focus on the mission, and I need to get into contact with Tali and tell her the true story about Kaidan, Garrus can you come with me," said Shepard.
"Of course Commander," said Garrus.
"Can you believe this," said Shepard as the two walked, "First the Collectors are monitoring humanity before the Mass relays and now this."
"Shepard you should know by now that uncovering conspiracies for us is, as you humans say, just another day at the office," joked Garrus as they walked into the elevator, "But you are right, who knows what else we'll uncover if we keep going. I guess the question is, who can we trust?"
(Author's Note)
After weeks of working, I'm finally done, thank god. For the reasons I gave the councilors names is because honestly I'm sick of referring to them as just councilors. The conspiracy story will either be expanded upon in this story, or maybe I might do a small spin-off story after this fic is done. The fic is currently going on hiatus while I write the next chapter for my story, LH: All In The Family, so don't expect an update for a while. Rest assured however, I am not abandoning this fic by any stretch of the imagination.
So Review please, peace in the Middle East, Stephen Colbert for President, and all that from gale1243