Author's Note: I'm still here; I'm still writing... just... very, very slowly. Thank you for sticking with me, and with Kaidan and Sloan. It means more than I can say.
You've waited long enough... Enjoy. - TLC
Chapter Ninety-Two
Kaidan felt her hands at his waist and he glanced over his shoulder, watching as she checked his armor. Her fingers moved quickly and efficiently over the seals as her eyes followed. When she checked his shoulder guards her eyes met his and an anxious smile tugged at her lips. He turned to face her but before he could speak to reassure her, she'd turned her back to him, allowing him to perform his own check. His gaze darted around the cargo bay. They were relatively alone in this corner; everyone's attention was elsewhere. He finished his check and instead of tapping her shoulder, he gripped her hand and she turned towards him.
She weaved her fingers through his and met his eyes. "EDI's coming with us. I have Vega, Garrus, and Tali ready as a second team if we need them." He took a step closer to her, and was glad she didn't step back, allowing him near.
"EDI?" It wasn't that he minded EDI's inclusion, but Shepard had never brought the AI's mobile platform on a groundside mission.
"Yeah, she believes her knowledge of Cerberus will help us. I can't see any reason not to bring her. Any advantage we have is good at this point," she dropped her eyes from his and he took her other hand, holding them both tight. She chewed her lip.
"Hey," he whispered, and she looked at him through her lashes. "I've got your six." She smiled, then; it was fleeting, but he would take it. He glanced around the room quickly before leaning forward and kissing her soundly. She squeaked when his lips met hers and he smirked against her kiss. He pulled back and she was grinning now, and she kept her eyes closed. His gaze traveled over her face, enjoying the way the bay's light danced on her cheeks. Her eyes opened slowly, and the smile slid off her face. He squeezed her hands before releasing them. He watched as she squared her shoulders and stood straight before walking towards the shuttle.
The Fifth Fleet was escorting them in, so there was no real element of surprise. What was surprising, was the lack of a Cerberus presence. Cortez took the shuttle in with expert precision, and Shepard, EDI, and he were able to clear the handful of Cerberus operatives from the shuttle bay while sustaining minimal damage. Cortez was ordered to evacuate back to the Normandy and await the call for pick up. As he left, EDI shouted, "Shepard, Cerberus is attempting to vent the hangar!"
"What?" Shepard snapped, eyes wide and Kaidan's heart leapt to his throat.
"I can stop the attempt by rerouting power but I need a console," EDI explained quickly, and Kaidan spotted one a few steps away. He called her over and she followed. Her metallic fingers flying over the board as her eyes went blank. Kaidan met Shepard's gaze through their visors as they waited. Seconds dragged with their eyes locked as they waited to see if EDI would succeed, or if they'd end up suffocating in the vastness of space; at least their last few moments would be spent together. "Complete. Venting aborted." EDI confirmed, interrupting Kaidan's morbid train of thought and he felt the relief like ice water running down his spine.
"Can you get the hangar doors open?" Shepard asked turning her attention to the room and their need to keep moving forward.
"Negative. However," as EDI's hands continued to move, a Cerberus fighter jet lifted from beneath the hangar floor. She turned the ship inwards. "I have overridden the controls of the fighter jet. We can use it to gain access to the rest of the station."
"How are we supposed to-?" Kaidan asked as EDI activated the flight controls on the fighter. Seconds before it shot forward into the station, Kaidan turned, blocking Shepard with his body. The scent of eezo filled the area as a biotic shield flared around them. The explosion rocked the hangar bay. Debris bounched off his sheilded back. He felt Shepard tense, even through her armor, and wrapped an arm around her waist as the dust settled.
"Area's secure. Sealed. We can move when you're ready," EDI announced, checking her firearm and taking point as Kaidan lowered his shield.
"Nicely done, EDI," Shepard complimented, locking eyes briefly with Kaidan before moving to lead them through the hangar.
"The central lab was located behind this hangar. I suggest we follow the fighter's path," EDI explained, a sense of accomplishment and pride tinting her voice. With a simple hand motion, Shepard ordered them to move forward and they fell into step behind her. Togther, they climbed over smouldering debris to make it out of the hangar, leaving the wreckage behind them.
As they continued their way through the station, EDI absolutely proved her value. She was able to bypass security doors and sense when Cerberus was on to their positioning and sending more troops their way. It gave them the foresight to prepare and helped limit the risk of them being overrun. They were able to take the right positions, to flank enemies or avoid corridors when needed.
They came to the end of a long corridor, their way blocked by a heavily encrypted door. EDI moved to begin the hack as Shepard and Kaidan covered her. "Shepard, that terminal to your right has not been fully scrubbed. There is information that may interest you."
"What information?" Shepard asked, her voice tense.
"Information on Project Lazarus," EDI answered and Kaidan dropped his weapon momentarily, looking to Shepard. She was standing in front of the terminal, her weapon already stowed and her hands fisted at her sides. EDI continued, "Information on your resurrection." EDI never turned away from the door she was hacking. Kaidan reached out with his free hand and placed it on Shepard's shoulder. She covered his hand, glancing back at him briefly, before she reached out and activated the terminal.
The screen before them filled with images of Shepard's body post Alchera - charred flesh, broken bones, armor melted to muscle. Her grip on his fingers tightened. They listened as the Illusive Man argued with one of his agents on whether or not this project was possible. Whether or not Shepard, who was – by all accounts – clinically dead, could be revived. Kaidan had seen some images, and read the reports from Miranda, but the detail included in this file was more than he had seen. He had known she was dead, and brought back, but he also knew she never read the reports.
The video ended, cutting to static. There were more video files, but Shepard didn't start them. Instead, she released his hand and lifted her omni'tool. She copied the data as EDI finished the hack. "Shepard—" Kaidan started.
"Later," she answered, taking point and continuing through the station. Kaidan clenched his jaw and followed. Shepard's step falteread the cavernous room opened before them; the space filled with an eerie glow. "No fuckin' way," Shepard muttered as she continued forward. Looking up, Kaidan saw what could only be the remains of the human reaper Shepard's team had defeated on the Collector's homeworld. "Cerberus must have gone back and collected it."
It hung, suspended like a man in the stocks; its ghastly head bowed below its shoulders. Even non-functional, it sent a chill down Kaidan's spine. The sheer size of the abomination would rival a skyscraper in Vancouver or New York. Kaidan knew it was one of the images that would haunt him for the rest of his days. It loomed over them, supported by reaper tech wires and scaffolding. Kaidan swallowed hard. He could only imagine what it had been like to fight this – nightmare. To watch the remains of the collected humans churn through the piping and power this monstrosity. Not for the first time, he wished he had been there with her, with them. He said as much.
She turned, briefly looking at him over her shoulder. "You're here now," she stated the obvious, her voice firm and confident. It was the reminder he needed in that moment. A reminder that the past had been forgiven.
"Until the end," he answered in a whisper as they left the room, and the human reaper remains, behind them – as much as they would be able to. The words echoed in the small area and Kaidan ignored the chill that traced his spine.
They moved through the corridors, eliminating small pockets of Cerberus operatives left behind with a practiced efficiency, expending minimal energy and ammunition. They continued until EDI spoke through their helmet comms. "The station's control room is behind this door. I am not reading any lifeforms inside. It appears they have abandoned the station. Hopefully, the information we need is still here."
Shepard and Kaidan flanked the door as EDI hacked the locks. Kaidan met her eyes across the space, and he could tell the weight of the information she'd seen was already heavy on her mind. He knew how badly she needed this mission to be a success. They all did. He watched her quick inhale as the door opened and Shepard moved cautiously forward.
Calling the room expansive would be an understatement. The walls were windows overlooking the stars. There was a singular chair in the center of the room that faced a wall of monitors with a singular console. The nearby sun and stars lit the room in an orange hue and cast long shadows over the trio as the walked forward. EDI moved to the terminal, her hands ghosting over the keys as Shepard unhooked her helmet and clipped it to her hip. Kaidan copied her and kept walking when she stopped next to the seat.
"It appears as if Cerberus has vacated the station. There's no one left here," EDI spoke from the terminal without turning towards them.
Shepard let out a derisive snort. Kaidan turned to watch her; she stowed her rifle as her gloved hand ran over the seatback. "This was his seat. This is where he sat when he lied to me, when he sent me to a live Reaper, when he told me the Collectors were after you," she looked up and met his gaze from across the room. She tore her eyes away from him, and he felt it in his chest. "EDI, did you find the information on the catalyst so we can get the fuck out of here?"
"Shepard, there's –" EDI was cut off by the sound of boots hitting the floor. Kaidan turned, lining up his shot wihtout a second thought. Staring down the barrel at Kai Leng. Anger surged from his core, bubbling up his chest, and down to his hands. His finger twitched on the trigger.
"Did you really think he'd leave it here for you to find?" Leng's gravel voice broke through the silence and echoed around them, mocking, taunting them. He drew his blade and it spun before him. He was a predator, and his eyes were locked on Shepard. Kaidan glanced at her, her eyes narrow and lips tight. She stepped forward, pulling her pistol from her hip.
"He left you behind," Shepard replied, steadying the gun in front of her.
"Oh, no, dear, dear Lazarus," Leng replied, and Shepard visibly tensed. "I asked to stay. The Illusive Man left the moment you entered the system. He took the information on the Catalyst that I retrieved for him, and he's on his way to intercept the Crucible you built for him. See, my blade has tasted your flesh, your blood, and it aches for more." The light glinted off the silver as it spun in his hand. Kaidan tasted the bile at the back of his throat as Leng dragged the violent memory to the surface. "We stayed to finish the job."
There was no cerulean flash. There was no draw of power. There was no warning. There was simply Shepard, driving through the air in a biotic charge and connecting with Leng. She screamed when she hit him, and he stumbled back, but stayed on his feet. His cybernetic enhancements were stronger than even Shepard's and gave him the advantage. Kaidan fired, round after round. Adding the cryo element to his ammo, and it barely slowed him down. The shots rebounded off Leng's sheilds.
EDI added her skills to the battle, but Leng was just too fast, too strong even for the AI. They would send off an attack and Leng would simply not be there to receive it. Kaidan took cover behind the wall of monitors with EDI, and Shepard tucked herself in next to The Illusive Man's chair. Leng stalked them, his lips spread in a grin and teeth gleaming in the glow from the windows. Shepard looked around the room, and paused. Kaidan watched as she evaluated and seconds before she acted, he realized what she was going to do.
She shot out the floor beneath Leng's feet. It gave way, and beneath the broken glass was the hull of the station. Leng yelped as he fell the few feet to the metal beneath. The obstacle of uneven flooring would slow him down; it had to work, it was their only chance. Kaidan's amp was burning at the back of his skull and his skin tingled with spent energy. He darted out from cover and continued to break up the floor as Shepard and EDI focused on Leng.
It was the first time Kaidan glimpsed fear in the operative, and it gave him a surge of momentum. They could do this. They could win this. Sure, he'd told Shepard they would before but they'd both known it was talk. Now, as the operative faltered, tripping over loose wires and broken glass as Shepard moved on him like the lioness she was, it finally felt like the battle had turned. It finally seemed like they could win.
Leng dropped to his knee in cover, and Shepard took a second to breathe. EDI and Kaidan stayed at her flank with their weapons ready. He felt her drawing on her power reserves; he could smell the singed hair at her implant site from the sheer heat of the amp. His own biotics responded to hers, singing beneath his skin. Bright blue energy raced over her form. Loose hair danced around her head; Medusa reborn and seeking vengeance. When Leng stood and started to charge towards her, eyes cold, mouth open in a battle cry, and bleeding from a cut at his hairline, she screamed and charged forward with every ounce of power she could muster.
They met in an explosion of biotics so bright Kaidan was forced to turn away. His heart skipped a beat in his chest as the silence fell around them. He was almost, almost, afraid to look back, to see who was left standing. The room smelled of eezo, burnt flesh, and a hint of iron. Relief slid down his spine when he turned to find Shepard standing over Leng's prone form, snarling. Her chest heaving as she glared down at the broken man. She spat on him and stepped away. She didn't look at either Kaidan or EDI, but she moved to the chair at the center of the room. She stepped in front of the chair, and slowly lowered herself into it. Her hands ran along the arms. Fingers gripped the edge. She looked up at the monitors.
"EDI, there's really nothing here, is there?" She asked, her voice firm but disappointment and anger dripped from her tone. Kaidan stowed his gun and stepped towards Shepard.
"I am sorry, Commander; they wiped everything," EDI confirmed as she moved back to the console.
Shepard nodded. "Can you trace their path? Find out where they're going?"
"I can," EDI logged back onto the console as Shepard radioed Cortez for an extraction.
Kaidan almost didn't hear it. It was a simple faint scratch and a rustle of fabric over his shoulder. He turned as Leng pushed himself to his feet. Stumbling, the assassin started to raise his pistol at Shepard. Suddenly, Kaidan wasn't on the station, he was back at Sanctuary and Leng was standing over Shepard in the doorway. Blood pooling around her at his feet. Leng was sneering.
He'd tried to kill Shepard; no, he tried to kill Sloan. He had killed her; her heart had stopped beating. The woman he loved, the woman he planned on spending the rest of his days with, his best friend, his lover – this man had almost taken her from him.
Rage blinded him, and he felt his bellow more than heard it. He never made the conscious decision to move. He was just suddenly moving towards the agent. By the time he reached Leng, he'd managed to scoop the assassin's dropped blade from the floor. Within a matter of heartbeats, he felt the blade cut through his flesh, slip between his ribs, and sinking hilt deep. Leng's breath brushed over Kaidan's cheek as his wide eyes filled with tears.
Kaidan felt his face split into a grin as the assassin's hands covered his own, still on the sword. A primal satisfaction filled every available space in his chest as Leng feebly attempted to push, as if somehow, Leng thought he would survive. Kaidan could feel Shepard's eyes on his back, and his chest swelled with masculine pride as he defended his mate. He grunted as he jerked his wrist, twisting the blade. Leng's eyes grew impossibly larger; if not for the context, it would have been comical. Kaidan could feel the warmth of the blood through his glove as it spilled from the wound, pulsing with each of the man's last few heartbeats. Kaidan watched as the life left the operative. Blood oozed from the corner of Leng's mouth, and his eyes went blank and cold.
Kaidan felt what he could only describe as pure joy at the death of the man before him. It was unadulterated – and a quiet laugh bubbled from his gut and slipped from his lips in a triumphant chuckle. He released his hold on the grip of the weapon, and the body fell to the floor before him with a wet thud. The blade scraped against the floor, glistening as it protruded from Leng's back. Kaidan turned on his heel. His boots squelched as he strode away.
He stopped at Shepard's side, chest out and shoulders squared. Shepard was still seated in The Illusive Man's chair, she hadn't moved an inch in the time it had taken Leng to die. She reached up to take his hand. Leng's blood made their grip slick, but he laced their fingers anyway. "I've got their destination," EDI declared. Shepard looked at the AI. "They're heading to the Sol system. More specifically, to Earth."
"We suspected Earth would be where we made out final stand," Kaidan offered, looking down to find Shepard watching him, a tenderness in her eyes that warmed him in the midst of this failure of a mission.
"It's time to go home," Shepard answered, standing and, much to Kaidan's surprise, not releasing his hand as they made their way to the extraction point. EDI fell into step behind them. "Anderson's been waiting for us, and I promised him a fleet. It's time we deliver."