A/N: Thank you VorchaGirl for your review! This chapter turned out a little...different (and much longer) than I had expected. I hope you enjoy it!
Bioware owns Mass Effect.
Chapter 12. X57
Kaidan headed back to the Normandy slowly. It was only 1700 and the others were still at Flux but he had excused himself, saying he had some work to do yet, namely finish the duty roster for the next day. While it wasn't a lie it also wasn't the main reason for his early retreat either. He needed a little bit of time to himself to think about what exactly was happening between Shepard and him. Or rather about how to deal with it. He never before fallen in love with someone serving on the same ship as he was, much less with a commanding officer. And the last thing he wanted was to jeopardize the mission or her career. Or his career.
He stopped at a vendor and bought two bottles of beer yet that he would drink together with Joker who was still aboard. Ashley had tried to convince Joker to come along but he hadn't budged. Shepard had watched for a short time and then told the chief to leave the pilot be. Then she had turned to Joker with the words, "Next time, Joker, you're not hiding in the cockpit. I don't care if we have to push you in a wheelchair or not, you will be coming along." Her tone had left no room for argument. Joker's usual snarkiness had been blown away and he had answered with a sullen, "Yes, ma'am."
Kaidan smiled at the thought. It was hard to turn down Shepard. Joker sometimes had the tendency to be almost glued to his pilot seat. Sure, Kaidan could understand why but he also knew that Joker actually enjoyed going out for a couple of beers with his friends.
He shook his head when he saw Khalisa al-Jilani still waiting in front of the elevator to the Alliance docking bay. She had of course recognized him as one of Shepard's crew immediately and tried getting his attention. One thing was certain, that woman was persistent. She was out of luck, though. First of all, he was not going to answer any questions to someone who wrote slanderous things about Shepard. He'd probably forget his upbringing and punch her. And secondly, he was almost as fond of the press as Shepard was. Emily Wong hadn't seemed that bad, as far as reporters go but most of them were more like al-Jilani.
"Lieutenant Alenko is aboard," the ethereal voice of the Normandy VI chimed as soon as he stepped out of the decontamination chamber.
He went straight to the helm where Joker was already running flight preparations.
"Hey," Kaidan sat down in the co-pilot seat without waiting for Joker's reply. "I brought you a beer."
Joker cast him a funny look from the side as he took the offered bottle.
"What?" Kaidan furrowed his brow in confusion.
"Why aren't you still out with the others? You're the first one back from liberty and you're an hour early. I would've thought you'd spend every possible minute with our Commander." He waggled his eyebrows.
"Have to finish the duty rosters for tomorrow yet," Kaidan shrugged nonchalantly.
"Uh-huh. And what's the real reason?" Joker wasn't fooled by his friends' answer and Kaidan knew it.
Kaidan sighed. "I have to think about...things."
"You mean your feelings for our CO," Joker clarified, pulling a bottle opener out of his pocket and opening his bottle before handing the opener to Kaidan.
"No, not my feelings. I am perfectly aware of my feelings," Kaidan answered, taking a swig of his beer. "I have to think about how to deal with my feelings. That is the problem," he fell silent for a moment, "or maybe those are the problems. Plural. My feelings and the fact that this is our CO we're talking about."
"Okay, bud, I know you've got it bad but how bad are we talking exactly?" Joker inquired before taking a big swallow from his bottle. Kaidan groaned and let his head fall forward onto the work station, earning a raised eyebrow from the pilot.
"Bad," Kaidan admitted when he raised his head again.
"Damn, Kaidan. That's a rough spot you've gotten yourself into." Joker was unusually serious.
"You don't say," came the muttered reply.
"Have you considered just giving it a shot?" Joker asked. "I'm pretty sure Shepard feels the same."
Kaidan was astounded. Was his best friend telling him he should seriously consider breaking regs with their commander? And did she really feel the same? Sure, she liked to flirt with him. "Maybe she does, I don't know. She seems to enjoy my company, I suppose." He ignored the pointed glare Joker was giving him. "But, are you serious? I don't want to jeopardize anything. Not the mission, not her career. Not my career," he added quietly.
"There's your answer then," Joker said pragmatically. "Look, Kaidan, either you're willing to take the risk or you're not. Easy as pie."
"No, there's my dilemma. I know I shouldn't pursue anything but I want to. Hell, do I ever." Kaidan finished off his beer, throwing a regretful glance at the empty bottle. "I should've bought a six-pack."
"Yeah, you should have. This is not a conversation to have sober."
"Asshole." Kaidan rolled his eyes.
"You're welcome."
They fell silent and Kaidan powered up his console. It was almost 1800 and the rest of the crew should be returning soon. He called up the duty roster and began working. Joker was right, of course. It all boiled down to one question. Do I think it's worth the risk? Deep down he already knew the answer.
Shepard felt the pleasant buzz of a couple of beers as she walked back to the Normandy together with the others. She couldn't help but smile as she watched Ashley and Wrex talk about the newest weapon mods. Apparently Ashley wasn't quite as a xenophobic as she gave herself. True, she still seemed uncomfortable around Garrus, but Wrex and her seemed to get along just fine. And she was friendly enough to Tali and Liara. But, Nick thought, I'll get behind the whole story yet.
Garrus and Tali were walking right behind her, still talking about tech. It made her wonder if they ever talked about anything else. Which left Liara to walk with her. Liara, who was sweet and friendly. A little too friendly, perhaps. Shepard would have preferred Kaidan's company but he had to be a model officer and had left Flux an hour before everybody else in order to finish up some work. She cringed thinking about the paperwork on her desk. She glanced at Liara and found her staring at her. Okay, this was starting to get a little disconcerting.
"I wanted to talk to Garrus yet. Excuse me please." She smiled at Liara, and let herself drop back next to Garrus.
"Can we talk for a moment?" she asked him. She nodded to Tali, who took her place walking with Liara.
"Sure."
"I was wondering, why did you join C-Sec?"
Garrus clicked his mandibles before answering. "Several reasons, I guess. Wanting to fight crime and injustice, wanting to help people. And my father probably had something to do with it. He was C-Sec. One of the best. I grew up hearing about his accomplishments and seeing his picture on the vids after a big arrest." he paused, "He is taking my resignation pretty hard."
"Huh. I understand your father having an influence on your career choice. Guess it's the same with me. Who knows what I would have done if my parents weren't both Alliance soldiers," Shepard remarked. "But you'd think he'd be proud that you're going after Saren."
Garrus shook his head. "My father is C-Sec to the bone. Do things right or don't do them at all, that's what he says. He thinks I'm being too rash, too impatient. He's afraid I might go down the same path as Saren did." Another pause. "Actually he talked me out of becoming a Spectre when I was younger."
"You were asked to be a Spectre?" Shepard was surprised.
"I was targeted as a possible Spectre candidate together with a thousand other turian military recruits," Garrus explained. "My father was against it. He despises the Spectres and hates the idea of someone having unlimited power. He wouldn't like you. No offense."
"None taken. I guess I can understand his concerns. Unlimited power can get to people's heads. But I am not Saren. And neither are you."
"Saren won't play by our rules, by C-Sec's rules, Commander! You won't be able to nail Saren if you are restricted by policies and endless procedures," Garrus insisted.
Shepard shook her head. "No, Garrus. Just because you can break the rules doesn't mean you have to. I don't need to stoop to Saren's level to stop him and neither you or me or anyone else on are team are going to. Haven't I told you something similar already? And before you ask me about scanning the keepers and C-Sec's rules concerning that subject, I'd say there is a significant difference between the rules I bend and the rules he breaks, right?"
Garrus laughed. "So you just interpret the rules loosely, is that what you mean?"
"Exactly." Shepard grinned at him.
"Speaking of bending rules. You and Alenko like each other, don't you?"
"Oh, for the love of - ." Nick closed her eyes and groaned inwardly. So much for keeping her feelings hidden and appearing professional. "Why do you ask, Garrus?"
"I heard Ashley saying something about it to Kaidan the other day and he brushed her off, asking if the word 'regs' told her anything. So I figure the Alliance has rules concerning relationships between its soldiers."
"I am going to kill her," Shepard muttered under her breath. She inhaled sharply. "Yes, there are regs concerning fraternization."
"And you are spending a lot of time thinking about those regs, aren't you?" the turian asked shrewdly.
She threw him an alarmed look. "Is it that obvious?"
"No, but working for C-Sec you learn to read the body language of different species. And you learn to watch for little tell-tales. You hide it better than Kaidan. His biotics give him away when he is… flustered."
"Oh. The elevator." Shepard looked away. Garrus inclined his head in agreement.
"Don't worry," Garrus assured her. "I'm not going to rat you out. Why should I? I like you both and turians are obviously more laid back when it comes to fraternization anyway. Apart from that, look at it this way: You're a Spectre." he gave her the turian equivalent of a smug grin and hopped to the side when she tried to swat him.
"Damn smart-ass turian," Shepard grumbled. She had to change the subject. This was too embarrassing. Ah, of course. "Well, Garrus, looking forward to trying out that new sniper rifle?"
"Hell, yes! I can't believe I'll be using a HMWSR VII. You never told any of us what we owe you for all those new toys." He sounded enthusiastic.
Shepard could understand why. Those Spectre Gear weapons were beasts. The shear power of her HMWSR X sniper rifle had nearly knocked her on her ass when she had used it the first time on Therum. But, hell, she loved weapons that packed a punch.
"Maybe next time we're here I'll try to get us all some time at the shooting range," she mused aloud. "And you don't owe me anything. Just always give your best and we're even."
"Sure thing, Shepard."
They had reached the elevator up to the Alliance Docking Bay, Shepard registered. And al-Jilani was still there. Blasted reporter. Nick walked briskly past her, straight onto the elevator. Wrex, Ashley and Tali had already left, while Liara was standing next to the elevator waiting for Shepard and Garrus. Nick couldn't shake the feeling that Liara wanted to talk to her about something. Well, she would have to wait because right now Shepard did not feel like dealing with the young asari again. Nick felt very grateful when Garrus engaged Liara into some light banter during the elevator ride.
Two minutes later they walked into Normandy's airlock. After the decontamination process was finished Shepard went straight to the helm.
"Joker, are we all set? Is everyone aboard?" she asked before even reaching the cockpit.
"Aye, ma'am. You, Garrus and Liara were the last ones to get back."
"Good, take us to Feros then." She paused. "Always assuming we don't stumble over anything interesting, that is." Shepard let her gaze linger on Kaidan for a moment, studying his profile as he continued working before turning back to Joker. "What's our ETA?"
Joker's hands flew over the display. "ETA 49 hours. But only if we don't scan for any resources."
Shepard considered the options shortly. "We need the resources. Change of plans then. First, get us to the Exodus cluster and into the Asgard system. We survey the planets in that system and then head for the Attican Beta cluster."
Joker made the adjustments. "Our ETA in the Asgard system is 21 hours."
"Good. Get us there." Again, she gazed at Kaidan and this time caught his eye. He offered her that almost irresistible lop-sided smile and she smiled back warmly before she realized what she was doing. No wonder everybody seems to know you've got the hots for your head of marine detail, Shep. She quickly turned and walked towards the galaxy map.
"See?" she heard Joker say, sounding smug, "I told you." Told him what, exactly?
She stopped to talk to XO Pressley, hoping that Kaidan would leave the work station in the helm and go to his work station down on the crew deck. Unfortunately he didn't seem to have any intentions of leaving the helm for now. Maybe it was better like this. The remaining alcohol in her blood was making her feel bold. It would be better to be sober again before talking to Kaidan, otherwise she just might kiss him. With a frustrated sigh she went to her cabin. With some luck at least doing the damn paperwork might be more fun as long as she was still pleasantly buzzed.
Roughly twenty hours later the Normandy entered the Asgard system. Shepard wasn't quite sure how she had done it but she had managed not to kiss her lieutenant at dinner the night before. It probably helped that he was sitting at the other end of the table, as Liara had occupied his preferred seat. It might have proved rather embarrassing otherwise and needed a lot of explaining. She couldn't forget his reaction to her accidental touch on the elevator, though. It must have affected him quite a bit for him to lose control over his biotics like that, no matter how briefly.
It affected her as well. Her dreams had been...vivid. And luckily not about Eden Prime or Akuze or the Blitz. Now, she wasn't sure if fantasizing about the head of her marine detail was much better. When she woke up she could practically feel the sensation of his hands running over her body, his tongue exploring her. It had left her feeling sexually frustrated like seldom before. A quick glance at her clock told her it was just past 0300. She debated whether she should get up to see if a certain dark-haired lieutenant was just as sleepless as she was and decided against it. Who knows what that would lead to? She groaned. Worse than a horny teenager, she thought while she pleasured herself with her hand, her body still tense from her dream. Her breath became ragged as she neared her climax. No more alcohol for you.
Little did she know that Kaidan had just as tantalizing dreams a she had.
Visions of undressing her slowly, cupping her breasts, rolling her nipples between thumb and finger before flicking over one nipple with his tongue and then the other, hearing her moan lustily when she spreads her thighs so he can pleasure her sensitive nub…
He woke up with a start, smacking his forehead on the lid of his sleeper pod as he sat up quickly.
"Shit," he groaned rubbing his head. He laid back down. Okay, what to do about the erection? Jerk off? It sounded tempting. Kaidan powered up his omnitool to check the time. 0349. He breathed in deeply. No, while that would bring a certain release he had too much other tension in him. He would take a shower instead. A very cold shower. And then do some work out.
By the beginning of forenoon watch they both had regained enough composure to talk to each other in a professional manner without XO Pressley suspecting any inappropriate thoughts from her about the lieutenant or vice versa at the morning debrief, either of them oblivious to how deeply they affected each other. It was as though the brief touch in the elevator and it's following emotional turmoil had never happened.
Now, after both having focused on their duty, they found themselves in the comm room together waiting for the others to join them. Normandy's sensors had picked up an asteroid on collision course with Terra Nova.
Kaidan took his seat next to her.
"This asteroid, X57, is moving faster than it should?" he asked.
"So it appears. We have a little more than four hours to figure out how we can change its trajectory." She rubbed her hands over her face.
"Damn," he muttered.
"Well put, Alenko. Now we just wait for the rest of the team to show up and then decide what to do."
Just then Ashley and Wrex entered the comm room, followed closely by Garrus, Tali and Liara. As soon as everyone had taken a seat Shepard began the rundown.
"Good, here's the situation: Asteroid X57 is on collision course with Terra Nova, the second human extrasolar colony with a population of over 4 million. At the current rate X57 is expected to impact within the next four hours. The strange thing is the asteroid is traveling faster than it should. Our plan is to drop on X57 in the Mako and find out what is propelling it towards Terra Nova and see if there is any way we can change its trajectory. Would it be possible to bring X57 into a stable orbit?" She looked at Kaidan first, then at the others.
"I guess so. If we are quick enough and don't screw up the math. It won't be easy, though," he admitted.
"Okay. Alenko, Vakarian, gear up. We meet at the Mako in ten. Everybody else, dismissed."
They filed out and Shepard went to her cabin to change into her armor. Carrying her fatigues tossed over her arm she headed for the shuttle bay. As she stepped out of the elevator she saw that both Kaidan and Garrus were almost finished. She walked over and laid her uniform across a bench. Then she came to a halt in front of Kaidan, her back turned to him. She glanced over her shoulder.
"Lieutenant?"
"Right away, Commander," he answered as he fastened the last piece of his armor. Then he began checking every strap and closure of her armor. For a moment she had the feeling as if his hands had been trembling, but she wasn't sure as he fulfilled the job quickly and efficiently. He gave her shoulder a quick double-pat to indicate she was good to go.
"My thanks," she said as she turned around, gesturing for him to turn around so she could check his armor. Her hands were definitely trembling and she hoped he didn't notice it. She gave him the customary double-pat as well. She pretended not to see Garrus' smirk as she went to the weapon bench and began assembling her weapons. Sniper rifle, shotgun. She hesitated and then holstered her pistol as well.
She turned just in time to see Kaidan insert his biotic amp into his amp jack.
"Wait up, Lieutenant," she said, rummaging through a stack of mods until she pulled out a small flat box and tossed it to him. Kaidan caught it and glanced down in wonder. Then his eyes caught the emblem on the box. Serrice Council. It couldn't be… He opened the box to find a Savant within.
"Commander, I - ."
Shepard took the box out of his hands again. "Turn around, Alenko."
She unplugged his Solaris V amp and replaced it with the Savant. Kaidan shivered slightly as he felt the sensation of the new amp as well as Shepard's fingers touching his implant site. God, is it powerful. It would take some getting used to.
"Let's get going. Alenko, you're on the scanners. Keep me updated. Vakarian, weapons. I - ."
"Drive," the other two said in unison.
"Exactly!" Shepard grinned as she jumped into the driver's seat. She opened the comm. "Joker, we're ready for the drop."
A short while later they found themselves on the surface of X57. They had hardly touched down when they were hailed over radio by a frightened-sounding woman.
"Hello? Hello? Can anybody hear me? If someone is receiving this message, please shut down the fusion torches! Please, they are attacking the facility. Shut down the fusion torches!"
The radio went silent again.
Shepard accelerated the Mako towards the clearly visible fusion torch.
"Turrets!" Kaidan suddenly called out. "One at nine o'clock, four more between ten and eleven o'clock and one at one o'clock."
"Shit!" Shepard slammed the Mako in reverse. Six turrets all at once? What the fuck? "Alenko, I am going to inch this baby forward slowly. You tell me exactly which turret shows up on the display first. We have to take these out one by one."
"Aye-aye, Commander."
They took out the turrets at nine o'clock and one o'clock in the Mako. Then Shepard decided to change things up. She sped up to full speed past the remaining four turrets and began climbing a rather sharp incline. Driving back along a ridge towards the fusion torch she then parked the Mako. Kaidan knew instantly what she planned on doing. That crazy woman was going to take out four heavy turrets on foot. They disembarked the Mako.
"Garrus, you start with the turret at twelve o'clock. I'll take the one a t nine o'clock," she ordered. "Alenko, you're with me."
Kaidan felt useless for a moment. He didn't have a sniper rifle. And even if he did, he was a lousy shot with it. Long range was not his forte. For a brief second he wondered how he was supposed to help her. Of course, he could Overload the shields. He went into cover next to Shepard and readied a tech attack. He peaked over his cover to see the muzzle flash of the turret and dropped back down quickly. As the rocket flew over them he tossed an Oveload at the turret, stripping down a large amount of its shields. While his Omni-tool cooled down Shepard fired her rifle at the heavy turret and he warped it to strip away the remaining shields. They both ducked low again as a rocket whizzed overhead. Kaidan checked his omnitool. He frowned slightly. Maybe he shouldn't have insisted on the Logic Arrest after all. As soon as was possible he sent a Sabotage at the turret.
When the first turret exploded Shepard turned her head, grinning at him with bright eyes. "Good job with those tech attacks, Alenko."
They took out the next turret in the same fashion and then joined Garrus on the last one, making short work of it. They returned to the Mako and drove to the building at the foot of the fusion torch. Shepard readied her shotgun as soon as she climbed out of the Mako. They entered the building warily.
The entrance room was empty but the next door opened to reveal a pair of varren and some batarians.
"Shit!" both Shepard and Garrus cursed as their weapons had been sabotaged. They leapt into cover, while Kaidan Threw the varren and both batarians back forcefully before also seeking cover. Meanwhile Shepard had spotted the sniper responsible for the Sabotage.
"Can one of you Overload that fuel tank back there? The sniper is holed up there."
Garrus nodded and Overloaded the fuel tank causing it to explode while Kaidan Lifted the two remaining varren and another batarian. Shepard took care of the last one.
They searched the facility and found the controls for the torch on the second level. Shepard swiftly deactivated the torch and was almost instantly hailed via radio by the unknown woman. She informed them that the asteroid had been attacked by batarian extremists.
"I don't know why they're here, but they've killed a lot of personnel. I can't talk much longer! They might find me."
Shepard just managed to find out the young woman's name before there was radio silence again.
"Okay," she said turning to Kaidan and Garrus, "one down, two to go."
They went back to the ground level. Nick stepped through the door into the entrance room when a single shot rang out. Her shields deflected the shot and she suddenly felt a cool breeze sweep over her from behind. Her skin tingled at the sensation. Kaidan had instinctively fired up a Barrier, pushing it outward, enveloping her within it as well. Her eyes fell on a man holding a pistol at her. She narrowed her eyes.
"What's wrong with you? You can't just go shooting at people!" Shepard snapped, more because she was annoyed with herself. She had let her guard down and become careless. There could have been more batarians waiting here instead.
"I...I am sorry," the man with the pistol stuttered. "I thought you were just more batarians. I didn't hurt you did I?"
"The difference is easy to spot. Humans – two eyes, batarians – four eyes!"
"Yes, yes of course." The poor man was shaking. Nick closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
After a short conversation they learned that his name was Simon Atwell, leading scientist on X57. He gave them a short overview of the catastrophic impact the collision of the asteroid with Terra Nova would have. He sounded relieved when he heard Kate Bowman was yet alive.
"I hope she doesn't do anything stupid. She's one of the best engineers I've worked with. Signed up together with her brother, Aaron," the scientist sighed.
"Do you have any idea what those batarians want?" Garrus inquired.
Atwell shook his head. "No. And it doesn't make any sense. Batarians are pirates and slavers, not planet killers. Not even the hegemony would sanction something like this."
"Probably not," Shepard agreed slowly. "That doesn't mean they don't have their share of madmen."
"True. I guess the leader of the batarians could qualify as one. His name, I believe, is Balak. And one more thing," the scientist looked a little awkward, "eh, when you get to the second torch you will have to proceed very carefully. It is surrounded by live blasting caps."
"Live blasting ... sonofabitch, that is just great." Shepard paused, looking at him intently. "Can't you disarm them from here?"
"Unfortunately not." He shook his head.
"Fuck. Okay, Simon, you stay hidden. We have work to do," she said, stomping off without another word.
"I have a request yet, please." Simon called out before she exited the building. "Three of my engineers were sent to different survey stations this morning. Is there any chance you could see if you find any trace of them."
"If there is time, yes."
"Thank you."
They approached the second torch slowly. Shepard waited for Kaidan to let her know when they reached the danger zone.
"I think I'd park here, Commander," he said eventually. "I have three, no four, turrets on-screen and a shitload of smaller explosives, probably the live blasting caps."
Shepard stopped the Mako and climbed out of her seat. She leaned over his shoulder to look at the display, memorizing the positions of the turrets. He was very aware of her, the scent of her shampoo filling his nose. He kept his eyes glued on the display in front of him.
They took out the turrets as they had the ones by the first fusion torch facility. Then they carefully inched their way through the minefield. It wasn't made any easier thanks to the presence of two Batarian Troopers as well as two Batarian Rocket Soldiers. Once they were taken care of Kaidan quickly disabled the blasting caps. After a quick nod from Shepard they entered the second facility.
Inside more troopers awaited them, along with a truly pesky engineer. And Rocket Drones.
"I hate drones!" Shepard muttered angrily, scrambling for cover as a shot barely missed her. "Kaidan, Garrus – Overload those bastards!"
While Kaidan and Garrus followed her wish and sent Overload after Overload at the drones Shepard whittled down the troopers. Then they focused on the engineer. Kaidan Sabotaged his weapons while Garrus used his Damping talent, rendering the Batarian Engineer almost helpless. Shepard used that short moment for a perfect head shot.
Once he was down they went to the second level in search of the fusion torch controls. Shepard shut down the torch.
"Two down," Garrus commented.
"Commander, the batarians know somebody is shutting down the torches." Kate Bowman's voice came in. "And now they intend to blow up the main facility. You have to hurry!"
"Get away from the radio!" a second voice snarled. "Who is shutting down the torches? Tell me now or your companion here won't live to see another day!"
Silence. Then, they heard a single shot ring out. The second voice spoke up again. "Take her away. Charn, find this problem and deal with it!"
Shepard punched the wall with a strangled cry of frustration. She let her head hang low for a second before gesturing for them to move out.
"We'll get them, Commander," Kaidan said firmly, locking his eyes with hers before they left the building. She held his gaze, giving him a small smile and nodded curtly.
The last fusion torch building was surrounded by six more heavy turrets. As before Shepard came over to Kaidan's station and had a close look at the display. Then she told them how she planned on destroying the turrets. Garrus just nodded while Kaidan answered, "Aye-aye."
After the last turret was nothing more than a smoking ruin they entered the final torch building. They took care of the batarians and their varren with a combination of biotics, tech attacks and arms before seeking the console to shut down the last fusion torch.
"And that's done," Shepard said with grim satisfaction. "Now for the main facility and that batarian bastard Balak."
As they rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairwell they saw a group of batarians standing in their way. The leader of the group extended his hand palm outward.
"Maybe we can find a way to solve this peacefully," the batarian began. "I signed up for a simple slave grab..."
"Simple slave grab?! This is no simple slave grab," Shepard snarled, clutching her shotgun.
"You think I don't know that? I am getting pretty tired of following Balak's personal crusade. But I can't just walk away and leave."
"And why's that?" Shepard watched the batarian through narrowed eyes.
"Because," Charn continued unperturbed, "Balak ordered me to find and execute you. And Balak always gets what he wants."
"That so?" Shepard sneered. Kaidan was certain they wouldn't get away without a fight. Mainly because Shepard wanted a fight. She was pissed. And, he had figured that out some time ago, when she got pissed she was undiplomatic. To put it mildly. Actually he was almost surprised she hadn't put a bullet between the batarian's four eyes yet.
"Let me tell you something. You tell me where the main facility is, how to get in and then you get off this rock. And if I ever see you again I will feed you with every round of ammo I have on me."
The batarian hesitated, clearly contemplating the offer, then shook his head. "Balak will skin me alive."
"The hard way then." Shepard brought up her shotgun in a swift, fluent movement and shot the shock trooper to Charn's right.
"Damn it!" the batarian yelled.
It was quite the fight. Between Batarian War Beasts, Shock Troopers, regular Troopers, a Sniper, an Engineer and finally Balak's second-in-command, Charn they had their work cut out for them. Kaidan sent a Sabotage followed by a Warp at the engineer at the same time as Garrus Overloaded his shields. The resulting explosion was impressive. Then Kaidan quickly Lifted two war beasts. Garrus had pulled his assault rifle and fired at will. Meanwhile Shepard was sneaking around the crates, taking out batarians at close-range with her shotgun. Eventually the last batarian had fallen.
Kaidan was out of breath, his implant burned with the amount of biotics he had released during the fight. That's another migraine in the making. He grimaced slightly. His new amp was powerful and he would need some practice before he would be able to use it to his best abilities. Today he seemed to have overtaxed it.
Shepard went to Charn's body and began searching for something. When she stood up she held something that looked much like an entrance pass.
Some time later Shepard stopped the Mako just outside of the range of the heavy turrets surrounding the main facility. She sighed.
"You know the drill," was all she said before they set to work.
Finally, the turrets were down and they drove to the entrance of the main facility. They disembarked and Shepard gained access to the facility with the card she had retrieved from Charn's body.
Inside they fought their way through more batarian troops. Suddenly a voice rang out from behind them.
"You humans think you can have everything. You claim our territory and our resources and whine when we retaliate. It is quite the coincidence that you are here, Commander Shepard."
"Retaliate? We didn't attack your colonies! You attacked Elysium." If Shepard was surprised at Balak knowing her name she didn't show it. The more Kaidan thought about it it made sense. The fact that she was the Hero of Elysium was common fact and there were surely more than enough batarians that seeked revenge for the failed Blitz. Failed, in large part, because of her.
"Elysium!" he hissed. "It is your fault the Blitz failed. Well, I am not failing today." he smiled menacingly. "The hostages are over there somewhere. If you manage to disable all detonation charges throughout the building you can save them. You have five minutes, Commander. I, of course, will be gone by then."
"God-fucking-damnit," Shepard snarled. Bloody bastard! "Next time I see you, Balak, you are dead meat. Alenko, you know what to do!"
Kaidan took of at full speed to find the detonation charges and disarm them while Garrus and Shepard fought off the rocket drones and troopers trying to hinder them. A drone appeared in front of him and he unleashed a Throw powerful enough to smash it against wall where it exploded. The only good thing was that the bombs were rigged in a really simple way. After disarming the last bomb he wiped the perspiration off his brow and looked up to see Shepard and Garrus jogging toward him.
"Good work, Lieutenant."
"Thanks, Commander."
"You let him go?" the voice of Simon Atwell interrupted them. Shepard spun around.
"Pretty sure I told you to stay hidden."
"I couldn't," the man admitted. "But why did you let him go?"
"Was I supposed to let the hostages die instead?" Shepard asked with a growl. "That's not how I work."
The scientist took two steps back. "No, of course not! That's not what I meant. But couldn't he attack somewhere else now?"
"Yes, he could. I don't think he will, though. Once I file my report the Alliance will have his description and he will be hunted. Have you ever hunted, Simon? You wait for your prey to pop up its head and take it out. And that is exactly what will happen to Balak!" The poor man looked flustered, Kaidan felt sorry for him. Shepard could be scary when she was angry.
Atwell exhaled slowly. "Well, I am sure glad you aren't hunting me Commander. Thank you for saving my family and so many others."
"I'm just doing my job."
"Ah, right. Of course. Have you found any signs of my engineers?" he asked almost timidly.
She shook her head. "Not yet. But now that the greatest danger is taken care of we can still do that."
He thanked them again and left.
They found the hostages locked up in a small room. Kate Bowman was among them. Shepard talked to the young woman and learned that the hostage that had been shot had been Kate's brother, Aaron.
"I am truly sorry, Kate. Sorry that we weren't fast enough. Sorry that you lost your brother."
Kate Bowman shook her head. "You don't have to be sorry, Commander. If not for you, we would all be dead along with four million others. But now I would like to be alone for a bit."
"Of course." Shepard nodded at the other hostages and turned to her ground team. "Okay, let's see if we can find Atwell's engineers and then we get off this rock!"
A/N: Sorry if the fighting seems rushed but I didn't want to split it in into two chapters. Hope it's not too bad.