Strange Behavior

A week after docking, Liara had compiled a list of transmitting former Cerberus bases. The Normandy set off from the Citadel, heading out towards the closest one.

They reached it within a day, hovering over the planet that night. The marines, Kaidan, and Shepard prepared to drop on the planet at 300 the next morning, but as Kaidan prepared his armor in the shuttle bay he realized that Shepard hadn't followed him down.

He was just about to ask EDI where she was when the missing Spectre exited the elevator, heading for the armor lockers lining the open area beside Vega's old post. She looked pale, and he thought he may have seen her hands trembling when she opened her locker. He attached his chestplate.

"Shepard, you all right?"

"Yeah," she said quietly, letting her uniform fall to the floor and beginning to latch on the ceramic plates. He studied her seriously. "I'm fine. Just . . . feeling a bit sick. It's all right. Promise."

"Maybe you should stay off the mission," he said gently.

"No! No, Kaidan. I'm fine."

"You're sure."

"I'm sure." She pulled on her weapons, settling the sniper rifle on her back before jamming her beloved shotgun under it across her hips. After a couple bounces to settle the weapons, she nods. "Let's just get underway."

He nodded, still worried, and she followed Kebelsen into the shuttle. Kaidan settled across from her. "We're ready, Steve."

"Taking off, sir," Steve replied from the shuttle's cockpit. Shepard leaned her head back on the seat.

Truth be told, she had woken up feeling awful. After Kaidan had left she'd ended up in her bathroom, struck with another bout of nausea and the things that came with it. She still felt a little queasy, if she was honest, but it was no worse than anything she'd gone on missions with before. She knew Kaidan was worried, and he had every right to be even if she insisted she was fine. It still made her irritated that he kept shooting her worried looks.

The shuttle swept through the atmosphere and landed just outside the small collection of prefab structures that marked a former Cerberus base. Kaidan popped open the shuttle and dropped out, and Shepard carefully followed him. The shuttle moved off to a safe distance, and Shepard readied her shotgun. "I'll take Kebelsen, Lewis, and Jolinski," she said quietly. "You want Griner, Wickham and Tripp?"

Kaidan nodded, and motioned to the three marines. Shepard jerked her head at her own, and headed for the other side of the compound.

The four marines prepared to enter one of the structures, lining up as Shepard prepared to hit the latch. After checking that they were ready she did, and the trio ran through to clear the entryway. Shepard followed them more slowly, trigger-finger tensed on her Graal.

So when what formerly would have been called a Cerberus phantom jumped off a crate next to her and body-checked her, she was ready enough to send a bolt that accidentally slammed into a wall over Kebelsen's head before being rolled several feet, the phantom pinning her as gunfire rang out.

Shepard snapped the woman's knife in half, jamming her free elbow into her wrist so she dropped the jagged hilt. She swung it back into the side of her masked face, hearing a satisfying yelp from her opponent. Shepard rolled her, struggling to draw her knife.

The phantom slammed her fist into Shepard's jaw, and she winced, another bout of nausea striking her without warning. Fortunately, nothing happened, except that she was struck with a sudden swing towards righteously pissed-off. She stopped worrying about the knife, a biotic corona flaring around her arms. With some struggle she managed to bring one hand behind the woman's head, fingers clenching into the back of her helmet. She used her elbow again to repeat the phantom's strike to her face, slamming it into the side of her head and pulling with her other hand. Her neck snapped, the crack sounding through the sound of gunfire.

Shepard quickly rolled behind a crate, grabbing her dropped shotgun as she did.

"You okay, major?" Kebelsen shouted, slamming her hand into the side of her gun. The thermal clip clattered on the floor, and she smoothly replaced it.

"Fine," Shepard replied, pulling on the Graal's trigger. It racheted back, and when the weapon beeped - her own addition - she swung out, aimed, and fired. The spike slammed through a thin barrier wall, striking a man using it for cover.

Her hands were shaking again.

"How many?" she shouted back.

"Ten?" Kebelsen answered. Shepard nodded.

"How many left?"

"Four?"

"Three," Lewis said, replacing the clip in his sniper rifle. She shot him a small smile, fighting against her nausea.

They finished off the last three people, unable to take a survivor for questioning. Shepard braced herself against the wall, pressing the back of her hand into her mouth.

No, she hadn't puked on a mission since Aratoht and she wasn't going to let this get the better of her now. Steadying herself, she straightened and replaced the clip in her gun. "Right," she said. "We'll clear the rest of the building and the next one over, then meet up with Alenko.

They managed to clear the building, Shepard's nausea continuing to plague her. An inventive string of language continued to run through her head.

The next building contained the central mainframe, which Kebelsen downloaded before Shepard called back the shuttle. They climbed on, and Shepard stood in the doorway as she radioed Kaidan.

::Almost finished with this one,:: he reported. ::Just checking. Did you find any civilians?::

"No, did you?"

::No. You don't think we're missing anything, do you?::

Shepard shook her head, but stepped back out onto the ground. "I don't think so. This type of base . . . everything should have been here, unless there's a mine. Steve, do a scan?"

::Aye aye, ma'am.::

She leaned against the shuttle, closing her eyes. God, her stomach was churning again, and this time it was accompanied by tiredness. She could probably have laid down and slept there, if she had a mind to. She leaned her head against the steel.

::Nothing, Major.::

Shepard jumped when Steve's voice came over her comm. "Thanks, Cortez," she replied, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Maybe this was just a training facility? We knew Cerberus originally had military cells. I . . ."

This time, she wasn't able to stop herself and quickly turned off her comm and retreated back to the rear of the shuttle, out of sight and sound from the shuttle interior.

#

"Where'd Shepard get to?"

Kaidan was worried when she wasn't waiting by the shuttle. He stepped away just before she rounded the corner of the shuttle, a weak smile on her face.

"I think we're done," she said calmly. "Twenty-four bad guys down. It's a good day."

Kaidan cupped her jaw in one hand, studying her. "You're feeling sick again, aren't you?"

She considered lying for a moment, then nodded glumly. "Yeah. I'm coming down with a flu or something. Have been."

"All right." He sighed. "We'll head back, and you can head up and sleep. Do you want Chakwas to take a look at you?"

She shook her head. "No. I just . . . just think it's a flu."

"I'll get Gardner to bring you some soup, all right?" He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her back to the shuttle. "All right, Cortez, we're all here."

"Heading back to the ship, then." Kaidan nodded, and he and Shepard settled on one of the seats as the shuttle pulled back towards the atmosphere.

"This is gonna be the worst report," Griner complained, checking over his gun. "Not like anything happened."

"Not every mission is exciting," Shepard chided. He saluted.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Sometimes you take out some bad guys, sometimes you go and save a cat in a tree. We never know," she continued. "Complaining about it doesn't change that fact."

"Straight from a Spectre," Kebelsen said. "Gotta know it's true, Griner."

He made a face at her, and Shepard managed a small laugh as the shuttle pulled back into the Normandy. Kaidan half-grinned.

"All right, ungear and get me your reports in an hour," Kaidan said as the shuttle stopped moving. "We should be hitting the next base in two days."

With a chorus of 'yes, sirs' the marines headed off. Kaidan walked Shepard towards the elevator.

"You're sure you don't want Chakwas to check on you."

"Yeah, I'll be fine, Kai." She kissed his cheek. "Promise I'll call her if I feel worse, okay?"

"Okay," he replied. "I'll send Gardner up with something."

"That'd be lovely." She backed into the elevator with a small smile at him, then keyed in the button for the Loft.

It took nearly all she could to strip her armor and shower, collapsing into bed with a groan. She was so exhausted - it was like the mere act of thinking was exhausting her.

She didn't know how much time had passed before EDI's voice suddenly woke her up. ::Shepard, Sergeant Gardner is requesting entry to the Loft.::

"Let him in," she grumbled, rolling onto her back. Gardner stepped in, holding a tray.

"Heard you ain't feeling great," he said, by way of greeting. Shepard grumbled in reply. Whatever he was carrying somehow managed to be delicious and disgusting smelling at the same time.

"What is that?" she hissed as he set the tray down on the bed.

"Soup. What's it look like?" He gave her a look. "Brought some ginger tea too. Might help with the nausea. My wife swore by it when she was pregnant."

". . . I'm not pregnant, Gardner."

"Sure you aren't, Major."

Shepard glared at him, then pulled herself up and stared at her food.

"I'll bring the tray back down," she said finally. Gardner nodded.

"I'll be waitin'," he replied.

She stared at it again, then blinked a couple times and swallowed.

Maybe she should head down to Chakwas.