Author's Note: I am going to start as I usually do and thank those who took the time to leave their thoughts at the end of the last chapter: Jewels 941, RBurger, xXVioletscriptXx, Vorcha Girl, riehull, Kateriel79, Kris B, PillarofNormandy, Elissa Theirin, spacecats, gogogeisha, Jules Hawk, eme-mac-tir, and the guest. I know I have said it before but I'm going to say it again. It surprises me with every chapter that you choose to spend your time with my characters, and then to let me know what you think. It warms this author's heart. :)
Let me just say that, no, Sloan has not lost her biotics. Though, with her being rebuilt, Cerberus did change her implant. They act, and feel, a bit differently now. I think I mentioned that more in Then, She Woke Up than I did here.
These next few chapters cover a lot of material, and are important. That being said, I certainly hope you enjoy! - TLC
Chapter Forty-One
"Major Alenko, Sir?"
Kaidan was sitting at the desk in the room he was using as an office for the time being. He was fully engrossed in the report he was writing regarding his unit's most recent mission. He had taken his division out on a sort of live action training exercise against a local group of mercenaries. He was still trying to get them to work together. He was lucky, in that the group had a mix of tech and biotic skills so his own experience helped immensely; or maybe they were lucky that their teacher and leader had the same skill set; or maybe it wasn't luck at all and was simply Anderson's plan from the beginning.
"Excuse me, Major Alenko, Sir?" The Corporal spoke again and Kaidan lifted his eyes to meet the young man's nervous gaze.
The promotion was new and, giving truth to the old adage, whenever anyone called him Major Alenko he quite literally thought they were speaking to his father. He knew he was glaring unnecessarily but he was anxious to complete the report so he could get home. "What did you need, Watkins?" He asked quickly. His student seemed to relax once Kaidan actually responded to him.
"This came in for you. It was marked urgent," He answered and Kaidan accepted the data pads with a nod. He asked if there was anything else, and the young man said no. Kaidan nodded and the Corporal saluted before turning and leaving the room. Kaidan turned his eyes down to the pad delivered and opened the document. It was a summons, and he cursed. He had been expecting and dreading this in equal measures.
Sloan Shepard was being tried as a war criminal and he was being ordered to the Citadel to testify on his experience with the Reapers. His heart thundered in his chest as he read over the order. She had reappeared on the scene about a year ago, and rumor had it she was working for Cerberus. At first, Kaidan hadn't believed it. She had died and people didn't come back from the dead. He dropped the pad to his desk and leaned back on his chair as he scrubbed his hands over his face. He could feel the beginnings of a migraine approaching and he had suddenly lost his desire to get his work done. He packed up his bag, and slung it over his shoulder before leaving and heading to his Alliance supplied apartment.
As he walked the streets of the crowded city, his mind wandered. Three years ago, at this time, Sloan and he had been wrapped up in each other in a hotel room in Vancouver. Even now, when he thought back on their time together, he remembered all of it like it was yesterday. The way she smelled, the way her skin felt in his hands, they way she sounded when she said his name. He forced the memories from his head as he felt the anger start to burn in his chest again.
He had done a lot of things to try to forget her. He had spent two years trying to move on after she had died. He took every high risk, self-proclaimed suicide mission, every sure-fire failure had his name on it. Somehow, none of them had failed. He had survived and each mission had succeeded. Anderson had come to him after about two years and called him out on his irresponsible behavior. The Councilor had insisted it was in Kaidan's best interest to take some time away from the Alliance proper and try to get the relationship between Horizon and the Alliance back where it needed to be. It had been clear to Kaidan that Anderson suspected Kaidan was being reckless intentionally. That wasn't entirely true, he needed the challenge the missions provided. In a strange way, with the bullets flying, his biotics buzzing, and his omni-tool heating from overuse, he could almost feel Shepard with him.
Anderson could be pretty persuasive when he wanted to be, and he really wanted Kaidan on Horizon. Later events on the colony led him to believe Anderson had known Shepard was alive. Kaidan believed Anderson had known Shepard was working with Cerberus, and that her work would bring her to Horizon. Horizon had been the site of their reunion. He used the term reunion lightly. It had been a disaster. He hadn't seen her since then. Though, they had exchanged one message each. He still had the message from her saved in his files. He also had every word memorized.
He reached the apartment and let himself inside. He dropped his bag to the floor and went to the kitchen area to reheat some left over take out. Once it was warm, he went to the couch. He left the curtains closed and toed off his boots before sitting. Along with the summons, he'd received copies of all Shepard's reports from her time with Cerberus. He had about a year's worth of reading to do, and he figured now was a good time to start.
The first document was a description of when she woke on the Cerberus station, written with military precision. No emotional reactions to the events, no personal touches. It was cold, calculated. It was Commander Shepard. The station's security mechs had been hijacked and were attacking the station. It was with the help of the genetically engineered scientist Miranda Lawson, and the ex-Alliance soldier turned mercenary Jacob Taylor, that she had been able to escape. He didn't have any of her medical records, he wasn't even sure she had access to them. He didn't know if he wanted to see them. According to her report, Cerberus had brought her back to deal with the human colonies that were disappearing. Kaidan had to agree that the Alliance hadn't done as much as they should have to deal with them, and the Council had flat out ignored the issue. However, that was par for the course.
The next report detailed their search of the colony Freedom's Progress. They had arrived before the Alliance ships. They found nothing different than the other colonies. It was as if the people vanished without warning. In the middle of dinner, from their beds, from their living rooms in front of their vid screens. There was no sign of a struggle. They had simply disappeared. It was on Freedom's Progress that Shepard had run into Tali. The Quarian was there to pick up one of her own who had been there on his pilgrimage. She had offered Tali a spot on her crew, which she had to turn down. This was when they had finally been able to name the attackers: The Collectors. The Collectors are a race of aliens that live beyond the Omega 4 Relay. The Relay itself was too dangerous to use. Any ships that attempted, never returned. The report ended with her having agreed to work with Cerberus until the colonies were safe again, but then she was cutting ties. Kaidan wondered how free she would have been to leave after Cerberus spent four billion credits to bring her back.
Then, she spoke of the new ship – The Normandy SR-2. Meeting Joker, and reuniting with Dr. Chakwas. Kaidan had known that shortly after the Alliance had grounded Jeff, he had fallen off the grid. Rumor had been that he was with Cerberus, but Kaidan didn't want to believe it. Dr. Chakwas, on the other hand, had taken a proper leave of absence from the Alliance, so technically, she had done nothing wrong. Which was now a pain for the Alliance; they didn't know what to do with her. Kaidan was glad she had been there for Shepard.
The next report gave a very professional description of a meeting with Anderson, and explained that her Spectre status had been reinstated. He paused in his reading and wondered how that meeting had actually gone. The timing of this meeting confirmed his suspicions: that Anderson had known Shepard was alive when he sent him to Horizon. He wondered how Anderson had handled the reappearance of his protégé, the girl he had loved like a sister. He bet the Councilor had handled it better than he had. During his time on the first Normandy, Shepard would seek him out to go over the missions and he had learned a lot about her through those conversations. Kaidan felt himself missing the personal aspects of her reports. He sighed and continued.
While on the Citadel, she had recruited the notorious thief Kasumi Goto, her dossier followed: "Goto is an expert on sabotage, infiltration, extraction, property acquisition, stealth, and agile combat." Kaidan had heard of her, very few people with authority in Citadel space hadn't heard of her. She was a well known thief, though no one could give a description. Shepard did not give a description of the thief, but did comment on her tech, and infiltration skills, stating the only soldier she knew who was near her caliber was Kaidan Alenko. He paused at her statement, and felt himself flush.
He moved on to the next report. It took her to Omega. She recruited the mercenary Zaeed Massani. The fact that she was desperate enough to work with that ruthless of a bounty hunter made his skin crawl. How hopeless had she deemed this mission? He swallowed hard as she briefly detailed their meeting, simply a pick up, before she headed deeper into the station. Kasumi and Jacob at her side. Their next stop was a brief meeting with Aria T'Loak, the de facto ruler of Omega. Also known as the "Pirate Queen" of Omega, Aria is fiercely possessive of the space station and will do anything to protect it and maintain her dominance. The report didn't speak too much about their meeting, just that it was an exchanging of names and Aria had provided her some information on those Shepard was looking for on the station: A Salarian scientist named Mordin Solus, and a mercenary commander named Archangel.
The report continued to describe the steps she had taken further into the station to find the scientist. There had been a plague running rampant through Omega, and the scientist was working to create a cure. The report detailed her activity in helping the doctor eradicate the plague in order to secure his assistance on her mission. He was wanted for the mission because it was believed that his work would help them in countering the Collector attacks, when Kaidan thought back to Horizon, he had the feeling Mordin had been successful.
Once they had cemented the support of the scientist, they had moved on to finding Archangel. Kaidan had heard of Archangel. The vigilante was responsible for cleaning up some of Omega's more ruthless bad guys. It was one of those situations where, sure, he was committing a crime, but would anyone miss those he was taking out? He was helping the situation more than anything else. So, the law looked the other way – not that there was a prominent law presence on Omega anyway.
According to Shepard's report, three of the largest, toughest gangs on Omega were all gunning for Archangel and had him cornered in a building as they attempted to wait him out. There was a bridge that served as the only access to the high rise he was trapped in. He was slowly picking off their troops from his spot near the roof as they tried to get closer to him. In order to get in close enough, Shepard, Jacob, and Kasumi had gone under cover as guns for hire with the gangs. She had managed to sabotage some of the gang's offensive plans. She played with the programming on one of their larger mechs so it wouldn't recognize friend from foe. She also took out the mechanic working on one of their airships so it wasn't repaired in time. Kaidan chuckled and continued to read as he shifted on the couch.
He was surprised when she reported that Archangel was none other than Garrus Vakarian. He could almost sense the relief, even in her report, at having someone else with her she could trust. Someone to stand by her side, Kaidan swallowed the guilt that rose up when he thought of the way Garrus had looked at him on Horizon. He sighed and continued reading. They had managed to get Garrus out of the building he was holed up in, but he had sustained severe injuries which left him with massive scarring on one side of his face. Kaidan remembered seeing the scars and wondering what had happened when he saw them on Horizon.
He found himself wishing he could just call her, and talk to her about all of this. He had never responded to the message she had sent him. She was currently meeting with Hackett to turn over the new Normandy to the Alliance. He had no idea how she would respond to a message from him. He sighed deeply and stretched. He dropped the data pad to the couch next to him and cleaned up his meal. He hadn't realized how much time had gone by as he read over her words, feeling somehow closer to her than he had in years, just knowing it was her who put the words down. He took the pad into the bedroom and stripped to his boxers before climbing into his bed.
He flipped to the next report, unable to stop himself from following along on her journey. The next dossier she was scheduled to pick up was simply titled: The Convict. Kaidan shifted nervously as he read over the document: "Jack is rumored to be the most powerful human biotic ever encountered. Very little additional data regarding Jack is available, except that the subject has a history of violence and should be approached carefully. Currently, Jack is being held on the Turian prison ship Purgatory. Cerberus has negotiated for the prisoner's release."
Jack didn't sound like the type of person one would choose to work with if give the opportunity. He continued on to Shepard's report. Kaidan knew Purgatory was no longer operational, and he had a feeling it had something to do with Jack. Shepard's report explained the warden ran the ship with a severe hand and charged the inmates home planet with the financial upkeep for the prisoner. If the planet didn't pay, the prisoner would be released back on the planet at an unknown time and location. He also disclosed that in order to keep the peace, sometimes he would shoot one of the prisoners off the ship in his pod, never to be retrieved. As they made their way through the ship to collect Jack, they came across some security guards savagely beating an inmate. Shepard was able to talk him into stopping, at least for now.
When they reached the area they were directed to, it was revealed to be a trap. The Warden had intended to capture Shepard and sell her. Kaidan chuckled as he read her report. The Warden had no idea what he was getting himself into. As he read over the description of the ensuing battle, it was apparent that hell had broke loose. In order to release Jack, Shepard had to release every inmate. Shepard, Kasumi, and Garrus fought their way through the station, eventually killing the Warden and meeting up with Jack near the airlock where the Normandy was docked. Jack had expressed a disinterest in coming with Cerberus until Shepard reminded her – Kaidan took note of the pronoun – the prison was failing and if she stayed she would die. Still, Jack argued, insisting that if she came with she wanted access to Cerberus's files on her. Shepard had agreed without a second thought, and Jack agreed to leave with them.
There was a note attached to this report, and Kaidan read it repeatedly. It was the first time he had a sense of Sloan in the reporting, and he clung to it. It was simple, "Note: Dossier describes Jack as dangerous and violent. I believe she is greatly misunderstood, and there is a devastating pain in her past. She has a lot of potential as a leader, or teacher, if she could get passed her anger. I feel I will be able to earn her trust and her loyalty beyond this mission. – Shep" Kaidan chuckled to himself, of course she would. She had that ability to make even the craziest mentalities follow her. He sighed and shook his head moving on.
The next dossier referenced a well known Krogan, Okeer. Kaidan read on and was surprised to learn that Okeer had been cloning full grown Krogan in an attempt to cure the genophage. He was holed up with the Blue Suns Mercenary group, though they weren't sure why. They landed on the planet, and had attempted to sneak in and speak to Okeer without being detected, but the Blue Suns spotted them before that was an option. It was a full out battle. Apparently, the tank bred Krogan were being used as live target practice for the Blue Suns. Once they learned that, Shepard made it her mission to end this cell.
She led her team further into the facility, taking out all the Blue Suns operatives while searching for Okeer and the leader of the merc group. From the sound of the report, it was a grueling battle that seemed to last forever. They finally found Okeer. He explained that he has been growing Krogan in trying to create the perfect Krogan. His rejects became an army for the Blue Suns but they were going wild because the leader of the Suns lacks the ability to command them. Okeer declared the one Krogan in the room with him, still in its tank, the perfect Krogan and his legacy.
As Shepard spoke with Okeer, the leader of the Blue Suns announced over the PA that Okeer released the Krogan, and she began to destroy them. According to the report, Okeer gave the ultimatum, that if Shepard wanted his help, and his knowledge about the Collectors, then she had to kill the leader of the merc group. So she left Okeer with his perfect specimen and chased down the Blue Suns leader. There was another battle, but Shepard and her crew had the benefit of elevation and good cover. They were able to clear the area out, eliminate the leader of the Blue Suns. On their way back to Okeer, alarms sounded that the room with Okeer was filling up with toxins. By the time they returned to the room, it was too late.
Okeer had left a message for Shepard that had started playing on his computer console when he returned. It stated he didn't know what the Collectors had planned for the human colonists. His final request was for Shepard to protect his legacy, the perfect Krogan soldier. Shepard ordered the Normandy to pick up the tank with the Krogan, leaving Okeer behind. There was another note attached to this report.
"Note: I opened the tank, much to the dismay of Lawson and EDI. 'Grunt' is much more intelligent than I would have expected from a tank bred Krogan. He is fully aware, and functional. He responds well to those he respects and a show of force is not beyond him. I have to admit, I'm glad I had experience with Wrex before meeting Grunt. He seemed impressed when I offered him my hand in a truce with my pistol aimed at his abdomen. He has agreed to fight with me, so long as my enemies continue to prove worthy of his attention. I think between the Collectors, and the Reapers, we should be just fine. – Shep"
Kaidan shook his head, even these notes from her seemed distant and he hated it. He glanced at the time and realized he had read the reports well into the evening and had only covered about two of the eight months she had worked with Cerberus. She had managed to do a lot within a short amount of time. Now, more than ever, he wished he could talk to her. Sit down face to face and really talk to her about everything she had been through. Regardless of the outcome of her trial, he didn't know if he would ever have the opportunity for that kind of conversation again. With a frustrated sigh, he looked at the next report and cringed. This next report would detail exactly why he may never have the opportunity again.
He'd reached Horizon.
He still felt the sting of defeat when he thought back to that day. He had been sent there to save the colony, and he had failed and would have been taken, too, if Shepard had not shown up. They had lost a lot of good people. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know what the Collectors ended up doing with the humans they had taken. Whatever it was, it couldn't have been pleasant. He read over her report. Mordin had concocted an antidote to the paralyzing agent the collectors used which allowed Shepard and her crew to move through the colony. The colony had been overrun with Collectors and husks, and the Collectors were harvesting the colonists, packing them in cocoon like caskets and taking them to their ship.
About a third of the way through the colony, Shepard described the moment when one of the lead Collectors would glow, and then speak to her. It disclosed its name: Harbinger. Apparently, Harbinger is a Reaper who resides in dark space with the rest of the Reaper fleet. It is the overseer of the Collectors' operations, frequently possessing individual Collectors to fight battles personally. It knew Shepard by name, and Shepard described the possession as similar to Sovereign's possession of Saren at the end of the Battle of the Citadel. Kaidan shuddered at the memory.
Shepard and her team cleared out the area and proceeded on. They met up with Delan in his bunker, and it was then that Delan informed her that there was an Alliance Commander on site, and that they were working on the towers. As Kaidan read, he wondered what she would have written about their encounter. She stocked up with weapons and ammo at the bunker and left Delan there to head to the towers. She had reached out to EDI – written like that in the report: EDI - to see if she could hack into the towers to make the necessary corrections to bring them online and put them to use. EDI informed her she would be able to, but she needed Shepard to hack though some of the security to allow her in, and then to guard the towers while she worked.
Shepard led her team to the towers, and fought off a seemingly unending stream of collectors and husks. Near the end of her report, she describes a new enemy. A Praetorian, a slow-moving flying Collector construction that consists of deformed Husks fused together and armed with dominant particle beams, and protected by a strong barrier and powerful armor. Its attention seemed focused on Shepard, and she turned her acquired Collector weapon against it. Eventually, with the combination of Garrus's tech, Jack's biotics, and Shepard's particle beam, the Praetorian disintegrated and the Collector ship retreated.
Kaidan dropped the data pad to his lap and closed his eyes with a sigh. That had to be the moment he'd been released from the stasis. He sighed, and tried not to think about the relief, hope, and finally anger that had flashed over her face as they had spoken. Why couldn't he have just believed her? He still wasn't sure he understood exactly what had happened to her. It was too much to try to process. He looked back to the report, expecting to see something about her encounter with him. There was nothing. She just stated they left the colony after the Collector ship pulled away. He wasn't sure what to make of that. After they had left, he had called the Alliance who sent a full outfit to investigate and protect the colony and Kaidan had gone back to the Citadel.
He sighed and shut down the data pad as he lay back in his bed. He tucked one hand behind his head as his mind wandered. He had gone to the Citadel and went right to Anderson's office. Kaidan waited while Anderson's secretary called into the Councilor's office before allowing him in. He found the Councilor at his desk, and he stood and waited for him to acknowledge his presence. With a deep sigh, Anderson looked up and locked his intense gaze on him. "Alenko, I'm surprised to see you here," Anderson said and gestured to the seats in front of him.
The statement had caught him off guard, "Sir?"
He nearly squirmed under Anderson's stare, "What are you doing here, Kaidan?" He asked, and the Councilor's use of his first name gave him pause. The only time he'd heard him use someone's first name was with Shepard, and it was when he was speaking to her as David, as her brother, and not as her Superior Officer. Kaidan stuttered, and Anderson sighed. "Forget it, I got your report. The colonists have been transported to temporary housing while we complete our investigation. Was there anything else?"
"Did you know?" Kaidan asked simply, and Anderson's eyes narrowed.
"Of course," Anderson snapped bitterly. "I saw her days after Cerberus woke her. She came to me and asked me to save her from them and there was nothing I could do."
"What do you mean there was nothing you could do? You're a Councilor that had to be something," Kaidan snapped his insistence and anger flashed in Anderson's eyes. In another time, Kaidan would have back down, apologized and promised it wouldn't happen again. These last few years had changed him.
Anderson glared at him for a long, silent moment before he answered. His face and tone softening, "With Cerberus she has the means to do what we can't. I can't force the rest of the Council o agree with me about the threat. We did reinstate her Spectre status, but that was all we could do. If she went to the Alliance, she'd be arrested. She needs them," He answered and sighed, scrubbing his hands over his face. "It killed me to send her back to them," He admitted quietly.
"You sent me to Horizon because you knew she was going there," Kaidan accused, as his stomach churned. He couldn't even begin to comprehend the thoughts racing through his mind.
"Yes. I had a suspicion she would be heading there, eventually," Anderson admitted, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest. "I must have misunderstood, never mind," He said shaking his head and waving his hand. "Your reports are sound and complete, is there anything else you needed before your next assignment?"
"What did you misunderstand?" Kaidan urged, his brow creased.
Anderson glared at him for a few heated seconds, before dropping his attention to the data on his desk. He's tone was short and dismissive, "You. Her. I thought…" Anderson's disappointment was clear in his indifference. "At this point, it doesn't matter. Was there anything else, Commander?" He asked Kaidan, the informality gone from their meeting.
"No, Sir," Kaidan answered, his voice thick as he stood and left the office. He grabbed a seat on a bench overlooking the docks. He sent out a few messages; to Garrus, Joker, and Liara. Rumor had it the Asari was working for the Shadow Broker, and he hoped their shared experience would warm her to him enough to get him some answers. He turned his gaze back out to the ships coming and going. He thought about Shepard, the way she was before and he closed his eyes as he felt the heat rise in his chest and he struggled to quiet the buzzing in his ears. Slowly, she morphed before his mind's eye. Her scars melted away and her eyes turned cold. He was distracted when he heard the alert from his 'tool.
Liara had responded. She was working on Ilium for the Shadow Broker, she confirmed, but she was currently on the Citadel. She asked him to meet her in person and he agreed. They had set a meeting for the next day. In hindsight, Kaidan wished he'd kept in touch with her since the Normandy went down. Horizon would have gone much differently if he had.