Bioware's toys, I'm just sneaking in to play with them.

Chapter 25

He Said

Of course, leaving the base wouldn't be that easy. We'd made it to the roof, the stiff wind at this altitude bring us the smells of a city just going to sleep. The wind would make firing at the mercs were between us and our car difficult, we would have to adjust our aim. At a word from their leader, who seemed to be wearing the cleanest and least used armor I've seen so far, the Blue Suns opened fire and we scattered for cover.

Shepard and I ended up crouched behind a ventilation duct, nearly on top of each other. There really wasn't room for both of us behind the metal shaft, but the mercs seemed to concentrate their fire on our position, probably because they recognized Shepard.

"Shepard!" The batarian that seemed to be the leader shouted. I hate it when I'm right, sometimes.

Leaning on me and her face set in one of the angriest expressions I'd ever seen her wear, she shouted, "What the hell do you want?"

"You and that Cerberus bitch come quietly and we'll let your friends go!"

Shepard glanced at me, shaking her head, then shouted, "I don't negotiate with terrorists!"

The batarian laughed, "I'm no terrorist, I'm a businessman! Your bounty will increase my profit margin a great deal!"

"Like we give a shit about your profit margin!" Jack shouted.

The mercs' answer to that was to open fire again. Jack's and Massani's shouted curses were audible from our position as they fired back. Vakarian kept up a rapid rate of fire with his sniper rifle. Lawson did her best to cover the turian while he stood out from cover to get a few of the more difficult mercs. Shepard and I simply kept our biotics in constant, rapid use, barely waiting for our amps to cool down in between. We were both low on heatsinks, and I'm not sure the others had too many left either. My conclusion was confirmed when Jack shouted, "Son of a bitch!" and holstered her weapon. All we had were our biotics, whatever tech Vakarian, Lawson and I could cook up, and Zaeed's assault rifle.

It was apparently all we really needed. The Blue Suns, despite their leader being among them and shouting orders, had no coherence in their attack and didn't manage to coordinate anything. We advanced as they fell back and we managed to collect enough fallen heatsinks that our guns were useful again.

Shepard cornered the batarian captain whose shields and armor were down to nothing, according to my HUD. She held her pistol out and advanced on him. He scrambled backward, hunting for more cover, but the grizzled merc Massani was suddenly behind him, his assault rifle's muzzle pressing into the back of the alien's head. The batarian's eyes, all four of them, glanced up at me and then behind me to Vakarian, "Turian! What are you doing with this human scum!"

Vakarian's voice sounded amused, "You're human, Alenko? I hadn't noticed! Why didn't you tell me?" I checked my HUD quickly and realized he was behind me, facing outward, and Jack and Miranda were doing the same, all covering us in case of another ambush. Shepard never even ordered them to do it.

"I don't know… I didn't even realize you were a turian! Why didn't you tell me?" I demanded, my gun still trained on the merc leader.

Shepard hit him with the butt of her pistol and shouted, "Enough! Where's the bounty coming from!"

"Go to hell, bitch." The alien's four eyes were narrowed at Shepard. She hit him again and he spat blood onto the concrete.

"Wrong answer," Shepard growled. This time, Massani hit him in the back of his bulbous head. "You going to cooperate or am I going to have ask a lot less nicely?" She demanded.

The batarian spat more blood onto the concrete. "Do your worst."

Shepard rolled her eyes in my direction, "Do all batarians automatically sound like B-vid villains?"

I had to laugh at that, "Only those we seem to meet."

She holstered her pistol. "Grab him. Let's go."

We stowed the batarian in the floor of the passenger cabin of the shuttle where we could all keep an eye on him. Massani kept his rifle trained on him constantly. I sat next to Shepard on the way back to the Concord. I took off my gloves and hooked them through my belt and her small hand slid down until her slender fingers laced through mine and our palms touched. Our hands were between us on the bench, but I doubt we fooled anyone. Lawson sat across from us with Massani and Jack. Vakarian was on Shepard's other side. She scooted closer to me and I caught her smile at me out of the corner of my eye. I had to smile back.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, you two are nauseating." Jack snarled, her arms crossed under her breasts.

Shepard leaned her head on my shoulder. "What's your point?" I chuckled.

"Get a room." The convict made a gagging noise.

"Oh, we will. Believe me." I told her and laughed again. She rolled her eyes. Still smiling, I looked down at Shepard and with my free hand, plucked at the sleeve of the blue faux-leather coat. "Why are you still wearing this?"

She shrugged. "Because I'm still cold?"

"Oh, you weren't wearing it to blend in?"

She raised her head and gave me a level look, "Did I honestly blend in even with this on?"

I shook my head, "No, I guess not."

She snorted and leaned back against the shuttle's bulkhead, "All I have on underneath is my bodysuit for under my armor. I know we found it back in that base, but there wasn't time to change. I'm not stripping down and running the hookups in here, if I don't have to." She lifted an eyebrow at me, catching my appraising look. She laughed and shook her head, "Alenko, you're incorrigible."

"I try."

Leaning her head back, she turned to look at Jack, "Don't suppose you have any ration bars in your pockets. Miranda and I are running on empty."

Jack glared at her, her full lips twisting in irritation, "Fine, Shepard." She wriggled around and her hands disappeared into a pair of pockets and pulled out four bars. She handed one to Shepard, then Miranda. I was surprised to see her hold one out to me, too. My surprise must have shown since the tiny vanguard shrugged and told me acerbically, "Don't get used to it. You kicked ass back there, boyscout."

I felt Shepard's shoulders shake against me in amusement. "That he did, Jack. But then, he always does." She turned her head to look at me and I felt my face heat at her frank regard. I ducked my head and looked away, slightly embarrassed by how much I just wanted to be alone with her. Unabashedly, she leaned her head on my shoulder, again, and we rode the rest of the way to the Concord, letting the banter of the team wash over us as we sat quietly, relieved to be together again.

I was still in my armor and headed to change out of it when my lieutenant stopped me to give me a report. Taylor was nonchalantly standing at a console, looking at something. But his posture was rigid and his eyes roamed over my crew without seeming to, giving the lie to his actions at the console. Harrington jerked his head in the former-Cerberus Lieutenant's direction. "He's been up here since Cardones released him. I feel like he's . . . babysitting me." Taylor peeled off the wall to follow when Shepard passed him, nodding vaguely in my direction, his arm still crossed over his stomach as if he were still in pain. Which he probably was. They all entered the elevator, the batarian prisoner in tow, and Shepard met my eyes and winked. I shook my head slightly at her, trying not to grin.

I turned my attention back to my XO. "I doubt he was babysitting you, Harrington. He was probably just worried about his commander."

"If you say so, sir." The younger man cleared his throat. "Admiral Hackett would like to speak with you as soon as possible."

Inwardly, I groaned. Unless Shepard hadn't shared something with me, which, to be honest there hadn't been time to share information, we had no leads on the Normandy at all. I nodded at Harrington, "Please send Ensign Wheaton to ask the Spectre to join me in the comm. room at her earliest possible convenience." I knew that particular phrase would get her moving sooner. Nothing good ever came from hearing that phrase.

The lieutenant nodded sharply and we separated. I headed for the comm. room, opting to wait to change out of my armor. If Hackett contacted me this far out of Citadel Space, he really needed to speak with me. I just hoped he wouldn't order us to turn back. I was, however, afraid he would. I debated on waiting for Shepard to join me, but just in case Hackett wouldn't want her to hear what he had to say at first, I decided to go ahead and talk to him first. I told the pilot, Villareal, to set up the comm.

As I waited, I stood in the middle of the round room at parade rest, thinking. About Shepard. I knew there were things we hadn't yet resolved between us, but I had faith we would, eventually. The two years I'd been without her seemed to have melted away. The attempts to get over her had been futile. I hadn't been lying, or exaggerating, when I'd told her she made me feel human. For an L2 biotic, reviled, shunned, suspected of instability, she had made me feel human for the first time since I'd been hauled off to Brain Camp. Villareal's soprano voice interrupted my thoughts, "Admiral Hackett for you, sir."

"Admiral Hackett? Staff Commander Kaidan Alenko. You wanted me to contact you?"

The admiral's rasping voice came through the speakers above the view screen, "Yes, Commander, I did. I have new orders for you." My heart sank somewhere in my stomach. "We're recalling all Alliance ships, Commander. We have intel that something big is on the horizon and we need all ships back with Fifth Fleet."

I rubbed my forehead, "Can you tell me what's going on?"

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to say, Commander. Just bring your ship and her people back home."

"What about Shepard's mission?"

"The Alliance regrets the loss of the technology aboard the Normandy, but the Spectre's mission will have to be carried out some other way. While we appreciate everything Commander Shepard has done for the Alliance and in the line of duty, she is no longer an Alliance soldier. She is a Council Spectre. She's required to be resourceful and independent. She'll have to complete her mission on her own. Fifth Fleet out."

"That goddamned son of a bitch!" Shepard swore behind me and I spun around. She had taken the time to change out of the body suit and put on a tight black t-shirt and black cargo pants tucked into her boots. She started pacing. "He wouldn't tell you what he was recalling you for, did he?"

"He said he wasn't at liberty to say."

"Which meant you weren't at liberty to know, or he thought I would somehow find out what he told you and he didn't want me to know."

Part of me told me she was right, but I couldn't give in to paranoia and supposition in regards to the Alliance. "I doubt that. He may have suspected the security of the channel we were communicating on."

She gave me a frustrated look, "Give me a break, Alenko. The Alliance's encryption has yet to be broken. I wouldn't be surprised if they were still using Navajo as the base. He could have told you the President's underwear size and been confident Al-Jilani would never find it out!"

"Shepard, we'll figure this out. I'll help you find another way to get the Normandy back."

She stopped pacing and stared at me. An odd light entered her eyes, "That ship is key, Alenko, to keeping the Reapers out of the Milky Way! I need it!"

I crossed over to her and gently grasped her upper arms, "I promise you, I'll find a way out of this. Maybe I can comm. Anderson. Or talk to him when we get back to the Citadel."

She stepped away from me, her blue eyes hard, the odd light still shining from within them. "You do that. In the mean time, my people and I will figure this out, too. After all, anything you do to help us would be treason at this point."

Alarm bells went off in my head, "Shepard, don't do anything you'll regret."

"I won't. Sleep well, Kaidan."

I frowned at her, "You're not . . . ."

She shook her head, slightly. "No, I'll be in meetings with my team most of the night. We need to discuss if we'll get off here on Illium and take our chances with finding new transportation, or if we're better off going back to the Citadel with you."

"All right." I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice. "I'll see you in the morning then?"

She smiled at me, "Of course. And thank you for everything, Alenko."

She turned and left. I felt deafened by the alarm bells ringing in my ears. She was planning something, but I didn't know what. I regretted she didn't trust me enough to let me in on what she was thinking. But the trust Cerberus had broken for us would take a long time to heal.

It had taken forever for me to fall asleep, and when I did, I dreamed of the fanatic light in Shepard's eyes. It had scared me more than I cared to admit. The intercom crackled to life and emitted Shepard's contralto voice. I sat bolt upright in bed, my heart beginning to pound at what I was hearing. "Attention, remaining crew of the Concord. By the power vested in me by the Citadel Council, a governing body the Alliance agreed to abide by with various treaties, I am commandeering this ship for the purposes of my mission. If you can hear my voice, we've decided you're necessary to the running of this ship. You will be released to fly the Concord back to Citadel Space upon the completion of my mission. Spectre Commander Shepard out."

I flung back the sheets and not caring that I was in only my boxer shorts, I ran to my door and attempted to open it. Nothing. I grabbed my Omni-Tool and tried every trick I knew to break the lock down.

The door stood locked and silent, mocking me.