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Chapter Text

22 September 2186

Milky Way / Attican Traverse / Mindoir System / Mindoir

The plantation settlement of Maybeline Faire

In all his six years working as an intelligence specialist, Kaidan honestly could not remember the last time he had to escape through the window.

He pushed the window open and froze when the window hinges squeaked. Hastily, he checked his surroundings. It was very dark out here at the fringe of the settlement, but he could not see any suspicious movements. Taking the lack of alarm as a good sign, Kaidan proceeded to make his escape. He nimbly clambered out of the window and then, just as carefully, closed it behind him.

Leave no trace behind, his mentor had drilled into him when he was just a rookie. You are not a spy in a movie; this is real life. A successful intelligence specialist is a ghost. An intelligence specialist who gets away is a ghost. A living, breathing intelligence specialist is a ghost. Be a ghost.

It was the simplest and yet the hardest lesson he had to learn. And learned it he did, and now covering his tracks was second nature. Enemies tend not to treat escaped prisoners nicely and he doubted the farmers would be any different once they discover his escape. Better to delay being discovered for as long as he could.

Soundlessly, he melted into the darkness of the night. He ghosted past the backs of several prefab blocks, making sure to keep away from lighted areas and where the farmers gathered.

By all appearances, Maybeline Faire was a typical farming settlement, nearly identical to the other countless farming settlements on the colony world of Mindoir. It was small, filled with plain and utilitarian prefab housing blocks in drab grey, all arranged in small clusters next to the sprawling plantations. Nothing was outstanding about the settlement. Maybe that was why it had a grandiose name, he thought - to make it stand out from the other similarly drab and featureless settlements on Mindoir.

In short, Maybeline Faire was so mundane and unremarkable that there should not be anything wrong with it.

But there was.

It had not taken Kaidan long to discover the wrongness. No farming settlement would deliberately cease all communications with the outside world. No colony would voluntarily blanket itself in a signal dead zone for no reason. And certainly, no farming settlements would immediately imprison visitors the moment they arrived.

This was the first time in three days that Kaidan had been left unguarded in the settlement’s only guest lodgings and he immediately seized the opportunity to escape. He had a missing colleague to find, a mission to discover why this ordinary settlement had gone radio silent and became somewhat of a black hole for missing people.

Carefully skulking about the various housing blocks, Kaidan easily found the missing Mindoir officials and crew members of the SSV Hyderabad. They were still wearing the clothes they arrived in, which helped to differentiate them from Maybeline Faire’s farmers, but what Kaidan couldn’t understand was their behaviour. They weren’t being held prisoners like he was, they mingled freely with the farmers as though they were members of the community. Kaidan didn’t know what to make of their behaviour.

Then Kaidan spotted his missing colleague, and he was walking about freely and deep in conversation with a farmer. The whole scene surprised him so much that he nearly forgot to hide.

There was something very wrong here.

He stared at his missing colleague and the farmer strolling down the dirt road together and felt his skin crawl. What was his colleague up to? Was he playing along to carry out his mission or was there something more sinister occurring in the settlement?

Unnerved and a little spooked, Kaidan instinctively fell back to his modus operandi - solo reconnaissance - and silently retreated into the shadows and pressed on. He wouldn’t contact his colleague until he knew more.

Kaidan took shelter behind a wagon to consider his next move. Deep in his gut, he realised his situation had turned dangerous. He had been warned he would not be getting any backup or support on this mission, and that the Alliance would not take any further actions until they hear back from him.

The smart thing to do would be to hightail it out of Maybeline Faire and report back to Anderson, but that would mean delivering a vague report at best. Impossible for the Alliance to decide what to do next. He had no proof, no evidence that would explain the strange happenings in the settlement other than ‘something was wrong', no proof to back up his claim that it - whatever it was - had also taken over his missing colleague. More than anything, he needed to find evidence to back up the dread he was feeling. But where could he find his evidence? In a small settlement like Maybeline Faire, it was nearly impossible to hide anything.

Then he saw them: two farmers emerging from the darkness beyond the edge of the settlement. Between themselves, they were carrying a large fishing net strung through with a pole. It swung heavily between them as though there was a heavy object wrapped in its folds. He watched the farmers carry their burden to a warehouse. Minutes later, the farmers exited the warehouse - with one of them carrying the pole and the other with a bundle of empty fishing net slung over a shoulder.

His curiosity piqued, Kaidan made his stealthy approach to the warehouse.

He remembered driving past a big lake bordering Maybeline Faire three days ago. It was the only body of water for miles around, so any fishing the farmers had to do would be at the lake. But why were they fishing so late at night and why were they bringing their catch to the settlement’s warehouse? Maybeline Faire was a plantation settlement, and its warehouses were built for the sole purpose of processing and storing their harvests for transport to the nearest export centre. He did not think the lake was rich enough to generate a secondary income stream from fishing.

Getting to the warehouse was easy, entering it was even easier - the double doors were thrown wide open. The interior of the warehouse was dark and quiet, and empty.

Kaidan simply walked in, and he saw crates upon crates of produce stacked up in the warehouse. He opened a crate closest to him and the sickly stench of rot immediately hit him full in the face.

Gagging, he slammed shut the lid.

The produce was rotting inside the crate. He looked at the crates all around him with a newfound comprehension - he was surrounded by the harvest of an entire farming season rotting away in the warehouse. 

Just what the hell was going on? Harvests were farmers’ income. No farmer worth their lands would treat their harvests so neglectfully or let it spoil before export.

Kaidan walked deeper into the warehouse.

Even though he had no idea what he was looking for, he immediately knew he had found it when he located the object the two farmers brought in. Better yet, he located a group of identical objects piled neatly on the ground inside an alcove formed by the stacked crates. The farmers did not even attempt to hide the strange objects; they simply left the pile of objects out in the open surrounded by crates of rotting produce. 

The objects were orbs and he counted seven orbs in total: all of them seemingly made of dark opaque glass and each one roughly the size of an old-fashioned Earth globe. He cautiously touched the surface of the nearest glass orb - it was cold and smooth to the touch - and did a quick scan of it with his omni-tool. Other than the fact that it was perfectly round and smooth, his omni-tool did not pick up anything else.

He eyed the orbs suspiciously.

As far as he knew, the current level of technology in the galaxy - human or otherwise - was not advanced enough to produce glass orbs of such perfect mathematical precision. The orbs had unknown alien tech written all over them. Switching on his omni-tool’s camera function, he quickly recorded his surroundings and the orbs. 

“You’re trespassing.”

Surprised, Kaidan whirled around. He had been so distracted by his discovery that he failed to detect the group of farmers entering the warehouse.

Cursing silently at his lapse of vigilance, he watched warily as the farmers spread out into a loose semi-circle around him, cutting off his escape routes. “The doors were open. If you want to keep people out, you should have closed it.”

To his surprise, his colleague stepped forward from the crowd. “You’re still yourself, Major Alenko. Why is that?”

Kaidan tensed. What the hell? His colleague had just so very casually blown his cover.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied calmly even though he was scrambling mentally. “And my name is Johnson, not Alenko.”

“Don’t bother to deny further, Major.” His colleague answered. “We have gotten all we need to know from this man, Chang. He recognised you the moment he saw you.”

What? Kaidan stared at Chang. Why was Chang referring to himself in the third person? Unless…the very idea sounded preposterous, but it seemed like someone else was controlling Chang.

“No matter, we’ll find out why you’re still yourself soon enough.”

Too late, he sensed the men behind him. Before he could react, they have grabbed and pinioned him, forcing him to his knees. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t break free. Another farmer carried one of the dark orbs towards him and gently placed it on the ground before him.

Without any visible triggers, the orb suddenly glowed.

Kaidan stared wide-eyed as streamers of light in shades of green began to swirl inside the orb. The orb’s beautiful light show vaguely resembled the Northern Lights back on Earth and it was at once beautiful and hypnotic. With a start, he realised two things: he was staring at the source behind Maybeline Faire’s wrongness and he had underestimated the danger he was in.

The farmers restraining him dragged him forward to the orb and forced his head down against the orb’s surface.

Suddenly, beneath him, the orb flared, blinding him with its brilliance. He squeezed his eyes shut but the orb’s light still burned through his eyelids. His eyes were closed, he knew his eyes were closed and yet Kaidan thought he saw something in the blinding light – a gigantic dark vague shape towering over him.

And then the pain struck.

Kaidan was used to pain. He was an L2 biotic and lucky enough to get away with just crippling migraines caused by his faulty implant. The worst migraine he had ever experienced laid him flat for a week. He endured the agony of non-existing piano strings in his brain tightening and tightening to the point he prayed for them to just snap, of pins being hammered into his eyes, the crushing pressure of a non-existing steel band constricting about his head, all of them crippling him to the point he couldn’t see or hear or move or even think.

But this…he had never felt pain like this before. It was far, far worse than the worst migraine he had ever experienced. If he had to describe it, it was akin to someone pushing a red-hot sharpened poker into his head, down his spine and right into his body.

The next thing he knew, he was on his feet. Still half-blinded and burning with the agony that threatened to send him collapsing back to the ground, he staggered for where he thought the exit was. He briefly glimpsed through teary eyes scattered bodies sprawled on the ground, he thought he saw the orb in shattered pieces, and then the metallic smell of ozone reached his nose. That smell, more than anything else, brought a measure of clarity back to his mind. He became dimly aware of the heat in his biotic amp and the tearing burn in his throat. Did he use his biotics? Did he scream? He could not remember.

Dazed and half-panicked, Kaidan stumbled and ran for the exit.

The brush of the cool outdoor air against his sweating face was like a splash of cold water to the face. Soon able to think clearly, he knew what he must do.

He sprinted through the eerily quiet settlement, praying hard that no one would give chase. His rented groundcar was still parked where he had left it. He skidded to a halt beside its open door - shit, they took out the control panel.

Immediately, he changed tracks: throwing open the truck and yanking open the hidden compartment. Much to his relief, the small emergency bag he had stashed in it was still there. He did not know if his emergency bag had been tampered with, and there was no time to check. Already, farmers were running out of the warehouse.

Grabbing the bag, he recklessly plunged into the darkness of the night beyond the settlement.

Chapter Text

1 October 2186

Milky Way / Serpent Nebula / Widow System / The Citadel

Kaidan jerked awake when the boatswain’s call whistled through the air. Sitting upright, his heart pounding hard enough to burst from his chest, he darted hurried looks about himself.

Dimmed lights, comfortable furnishing, and a small green plant in the corner. He was all alone in the observation lounge on board the SSV Perugia, had been since he sought its quietness an hour ago. No one was here with him, no one was bothering him, and he sagged back against the couch in relief.

Kaidan breathed in deeply and breathed out again. He took another deep breath and another, holding each breath for a moment before releasing it. Slowly, with each deep breath, the adrenaline and the tension left his body.

He was safe.

And two days far away from Mindoir.

All Kaidan wanted to do now was to take time off from work and go home, but the mission came first, especially a mission like his. Didn’t matter how much of a beating he had already taken from it. The stakes were high enough that he couldn’t afford to take time off.

Keeping a firm grip on his emotions, he rose to his feet, made sure his left arm was properly secured in its sling and lifted his duffel onto his right shoulder. He took one last deep breath to centre himself and headed for the lounge cabin’s door.

Time to disembark and get on with his mission.

The hustle and bustle on the Perugia’s decks greeted him when he stepped out of the observation lounge. Alliance Navy soldiers were a disciplined lot and the Perugia’s crew was no different, but there was a palpable excitement in the air, a restrained eagerness among the soldiers that he could feel. He couldn’t fault them: shore leave was always welcomed diversion.

“Major Alenko.”

Kaidan turned to see the captain of the Perugia walking down the passageway towards him. He dredged up a polite smile even though making social niceties was the last thing on his mind. He barely noticed how the captain’s steps faltered but quickly recovered. “Captain. I take it we’ve arrived at the Citadel?”

“Yes. We’ll be disembarking shortly.”

“We made good time. Thank you for getting me to the Citadel so quickly.”

Despite his age, the tips of the captain’s ears turned pink, and he cleared his throat in a poor attempt to hide his fluster. “Not at all. It is my pleasure to show you what the Perugia can do. Have you been to the Citadel before?”

“Not when it wasn’t under attack.”

The captain’s expression turned understanding. “You were here when Saren and his geth tried to seize the Citadel.”

Kaidan nodded but did not say anything. It has been three years since then, and he really didn’t want to revisit that experience in any form.

“Not the most ideal introduction to the Citadel, I grant you,” the captain commented. “It’ll be different this time around. The Citadel is generally a peaceful place.”

“I’m sure it’ll be an eye-opener.” Kaidan offered diplomatically.

There was an awkward pause, Kaidan waiting patiently to be dismissed.

But the captain gestured towards his shoulder instead. “How’s your shoulder, Major?”

“Stiff, but I’ll live.”

“You look better than you did when we picked you up from Mindoir.”

Kaidan recalled his reflection in the mirror when he had washed up just that morning: drawn and tired, with an unhealthy pallor and darkening circles under puffy eyes. If that was what the captain considered as better, then he really needed a break - which wasn’t an option right now. No matter how loud his instincts urge him to just return to Earth. He promised himself that he would do so the moment the mission was over. He just needed to last till then.

“I did spend most of the journey resting,” he said instead to the captain. “It helped.”

“I hope my crew haven’t bothered you too much.”

“No, they hadn’t.” They couldn’t have when he made sure to keep to himself.

“Good.” The captain looked expectedly at Kaidan but when the Major continued to regard him with the same distant politeness, his shoulders sagged a little in disappointment. “Well, I hope to meet you again, Major Alenko.”

“Likewise, captain.”

They saluted each other and Kaidan made his way to the Perugia’s main airlock.

The bustling hum of the Citadel became audible when he exited the frigate’s main airlock. It grew louder as he walked down the gangway until it turned into a cacophony of sounds and noises of a huge city the moment he cleared it.

Confronted with a bustling crowd, he had to pause to get his bearings. What he saw now was remarkably different from the last time he was on the Citadel.

Back then, the Citadel had been under siege: there were fires and explosions everywhere, people screaming and fleeing from the geth gunning them down. Back then, he had been too busy evacuating and protecting civilians from Saren’s geth that had found their way into the Citadel. So many had fallen, so many he could not save despite his best efforts. Fortunately – or was it a calculated move, he could never decide – the then-Captain Anderson had been around to rally the Alliance soldiers already on the Citadel and a big portion of C-Sec force. He was sure the death toll would have been far higher if it hadn’t been for the man’s calm and decisive leadership under fire.

Now though, the Citadel was completely different. It looked and felt as it should be in peacetime: a living and thriving deep-space habitat.

The city never sleeps.

Although the human adage was true for the mega-cities of the Milky Way, it was especially so for the Citadel. The colossal deep-space station was the galactic-political and economic heart of Council space in the galaxy, and it was a hive of constant activities. There were close to nineteen million permanent Citadel residents and at any one time, another seven million transient residents and visitors. People were always on the move, coming and going at all hours of the day.

The Citadel docks were a microcosm of the deep-space station itself: they never sleep, and people constantly streamed through them, making their way from one immigration checkpoint to another. The docks were the gateways for the citizens of Council and non-Council races to travel to and from other parts of the galaxy. However, for the Council member races who possessed substantial military might, permanent docks were allocated to them.

In the docks designated for the Systems Alliance Military, Kaidan checked the closest flight information board and docks map. Once he had oriented himself, he set off for his destination. The bustling crowd of Alliance soldiers and personnel ebbing and flowing around him reminded him of the busy Singapore International Spaceport and sent a pang of homesickness through him.

Soon, he told himself. He just needs to wrap up this mission first.

Many of the docking bays he walked past were occupied. Along this short stretch of the docks, Kaidan spotted the Hong Kong and the Trafalgar docked in their bays, and just beyond them, the distinctive blue-white-and-black shape of the Normandy.

Arguably the most well-known human ship in the galaxy, the SSV Normandy SR-2 was the second iteration of her class. If her now-destroyed predecessor was the fruit of combined human and turians’ talents and cooperation, then she was the larger and enhanced younger sister. It was still a ‘deep scout’ frigate designed for stealth and solo reconnaissance missions in unstable regions. But unlike the SR-1, the SR-2 was heavily armoured and carried firepower far beyond what a frigate her size should carry.

Kaidan had often wondered in the past why Cerberus had designed the SR-2 with so much bite, but after it was surrendered to the Alliance Military, he stopped concerning himself with it.

Now, after six months of retrofit, the Normandy was the mobile base of operations for humanity’s first Council Spectre.

A fitting, if ironic, honour.

A ship built by a xenophobic racist terrorist organisation to advance humanity’s interests in the galaxy and now it’s in the service of the galactic Council. Kaidan supposed it was the best possible outcome of a hateful origin: turning a tool built by racism and xenophobia into a representation of what humanity can offer and contribute to the galaxy.

Despite knowing what he did about the famous ship, Kaidan was in no hurry to see it with his own eyes for the first time. He had more important things to do. Upon reaching the crossroad junction, he turned left for the docks’ exit instead of heading straight for the Normandy’s dock.

Only, he didn’t get far.

“Major Alenko!”

Kaidan stopped mid-step and looked back. He was a head taller than most humans and he easily spotted the equally tall form of Commander John Shepard striding towards him.

What he did not expect was how his breath seemed to catch at his first sight of the approaching Commander, or the way his heart seemed to skip a beat and then sped up.

The sudden surge of desire caught him totally by surprise.

Before today, he had never seen Commander John Shepard in person, but he knew what he looked like. Hell, everyone knew how the famous first human Spectre looked like.

Shepard was the Alliance Military PR department’s favourite poster boy for their campaigns and propaganda, even more so after he had successfully thwarted Saren’s Citadel coup. So Kaidan had known for many years that Shepard was the kind of good-looking man he would take a second, even a third admiring once-over - with rugged chiselled features and despite the unattractive military buzz cut. If they have met in a club or bar, he would have bought Shepard a drink and chatted him up.

But now Kaidan discovered much to his surprise that Shepard in person was quite different from the Shepard in vids. Looking at the Commander with his own eyes for the first time, he was abruptly confronted with the realisation that Shepard was solidly real – and very large.

What a surprise.

All the vids and photos in the galaxy could not convey the sheer largeness of the Commander’s form and presence. Shepard towered over most everyone else and stride through the docks as though he owned the place. Even though he was dressed in civvies – an N7 leather jacket, tee, jeans and worn boots – everyone around him automatically gave way and straightened to attention as he walked past them.

Shepard stopped before Kaidan and stretched out a hand. Sharp eyes, startlingly blue like the Earth’s oceans and sky, focused on him. “Welcome to the Citadel, Major Alenko. Commander John Shepard of the Normandy.”

Still mentally scrambling, Kaidan tried to return the handshake, but his duffel was in the way. He quickly set it down. “Nice to meet you, Commander.”

They shook hands and Kaidan fought to keep his composure.

He was a little, okay, very flustered by Shepard’s presence and his physical reaction to him. Shepard possessed the muscled bulk of a Soldier-class and standing this close to him, Kaidan felt the difference in their sizes keenly. And oh boy, wasn’t that just the icing on the cake.

So far, Shepard was ticking all the right boxes for him. It was disconcerting. He couldn’t remember the last time – no, he could remember the last time someone ‘ticked all the right boxes’ and what happened after. He needs to ditch the Commander.

“I had expected you to arrive later today.”

Automatically, Kaidan smiled at Shepard the way he would at his targets and was pleased when Shepard seemed to pause and take a double-take. Good.

“The Perugia made better time than expected.” He didn’t tell Shepard that he had gently ‘persuaded’ the captain of the Perugia to ‘step on it’.

Then, much to Kaidan’s surprise, Shepard seemed to mentally rally himself.

“Good thing I was nearby when the Perugia’s arrival notification came in. Let me help you with your bag.” Shepard lifted Kaidan’s duffel and swung it over his shoulder before he could stop him. “I chartered a skycar for our use. We should go.”

Without waiting for an answer, Shepard headed for the exit, leaving Kaidan to stare at his back.

That was – strange. It didn’t work. Bemused, he followed, wondering why it hadn’t happened. Then another thought struck him. “Were you lying in wait for me? Did Anderson put you up to it?”   

“Anderson warned me that you have a reputation of insisting on working solo and will bail on me at the first chance you get. Told me not to let that happen.” Shepard had the gall to smirk at him. “I have to thank him for his advice.”

Anderson needs to stop meddling, Kaidan thought uncharitably. He hadn’t wanted to work with anyone, including Shepard, and had intended to ignore such orders, but his boss knew him too well and had pre-empted him.

“I’ve known Anderson for a long time,” Shepard continued to say. “While he cares for all his men, there aren’t many he pays close attention to. You seem to be one of the few.”

Like Shepard himself. It was common knowledge that he was Anderson’s protégé. “I’m not one of his protégés, Commander. And he knows that I find it easier and faster getting things done on my own.”

“We have our orders, Major.”

“Is the first human Spectre even still operating within the Alliance’s chain of command?”

“Why don’t you hang around and find out for yourself?”

He walked right into that one, Kaidan realised, and judging from how Shepard’s blue eyes were laughing at him, he knew it too.

Huffing mentally, he gave up and decided to just play along - for now.

Chapter Text

The skycar was parked just outside the Alliance docks’ security checkpoint.

Shepard kept an eye on his latest and, if he guessed right, reluctant partner as he stowed the Major’s duffel into the back of the skycar.

When Hackett ordered him to meet Major Kaidan Alenko at the Citadel, he had done a brief background check on the man.

Thirty-five, not much older than he was, Earth-born, L2 biotic, Sentinel-class. Intelligence Specialist, Covert Ops. Enlisted later than he did and as an Alliance Marine. Completed one tour of duty and requested for transfer to Covert Ops midway through his second. One of the few field specialists who worked and reported directly to Admiral Anderson, Head of Special and Covert Operations. Much of the Major’s service record was redacted, but what was left was exemplary and spotlessly clean, surprising considering his vocation.

However, nothing in the Major’s personnel file and service record prepared Shepard for their first meeting.

Tall, raven-haired, and devastatingly handsome, Alenko had caught Shepard’s attention the moment he exited the Perugia’s gangway. In the sea of identical Alliance-blue BDUs, the Major easily stood out.

Shepard knew well enough what he liked, and he liked Alenko’s looks – a lot. The Major had been too far away for Shepard to get his attention, so he followed him through the busy Alliance docks. He wasn’t ashamed to admit to himself – or to anyone else for that matter – that he spent much of the walk checking out Major Alenko’s lean muscled form from behind. The Alliance BDU was close-fitting enough to be either flattering or put an expanding waistline on display. On Major Alenko, it showcased his well-built physique perfectly.

Intelligence specialists were required to blend into the crowds, to be a forgettable face in the sea of countless forgettable faces, so how could someone as distinctively good-looking as Major Alenko ever hope to be forgettable? Yet, Anderson had told him that Alenko was one of their best Intelligence specialists in the field. The stoic-faced admiral had even warned Shepard to “be mindful around Alenko. He has a way of persuading people even when he doesn’t talk to them.”

Shepard had puzzled over the cryptic advice until Alenko smiled at him, and only then did it become clear to him what Anderson had meant.

Alenko didn’t need to blend in. He knew he was good-looking and charming, and he used these traits to his advantage. Shepard had nearly forgotten what he was supposed to do when Alenko smiled at him. Thank God he recovered in time, preventing him from embarrassing himself in front of Alenko. All in all, the Major was shaping up to be a handsome, charming, and possibly dangerous attraction.

It was right up his alley.

He waited until Alenko had boarded the skycar before getting in himself. He keyed in their destination and activated the autopilot. Soon the skycar rose into the air to join the nearest stream of traffic.

Beside him, Alenko awkwardly activated his omni-tool and Shepard got his first clear listen of his voice in the enclosed space of the skycar.

“I’m going to call Dr Bryson. Let him know we’re on our way.”

Low and velvety, with just the right amount of rasp to it, Alenko’s voice reminded him of smooth fine whiskey. He instantly wanted to hear more. Oh, he was definitely in trouble.

Shepard unobtrusively cleared his throat and asked, “Should you be working that arm?”

“The wound is a through and through. I’ll be healed up in another week.”

“How was your ride from Mindoir?”

“Uneventful. Feels better to be on my feet though.”

Shepard looked closely at Alenko. His pale, ill countenance and injury did absolutely nothing to detract from his good looks, and his lovely, if oddly familiar, amber-brown eyes were clear despite the dark circles beneath them. He still didn’t like how ill Alenko looked though. “No offence, but you look like you could use more downtime.”

“No rest for the wicked, Commander. I guess that means no rest for the good guys too.”

True.

“I read your report on what happened on Mindoir. I find it rather hard to believe that there’s a tech out there that can brainwash people so quickly. Even the Reapers’ indoctrination fields require weeks before they show results.”

“Well, there is now.” Alenko frowned down at his omni-tool and ended the call.

“No luck?”

“He’s not picking up.”

“He could be busy. I’m curious, how did the Alliance get alerted to the situation on Mindoir?”

“About a month ago, Mindoir Prime lost contact with one of their smaller plantation settlements named Maybeline Faire. They sent officials to investigate but none of them returned, so they contacted Alliance Military for help.”

“How many teams did they send?”

“Two teams of two. That makes four missing officials. At first, the Alliance sent their closest available ship, the Hyderabad, to investigate. Captain Jośeco despatched a recon team to Maybeline Faire, and they found Mindoir Prime’s missing officials mingling among the farmers as though they were residents themselves. The strangest part was their behaviours. Officials and farmers alike behaved oddly when the recon team spoke to them.”

Shepard watched as Alenko pulled a datapad from a hip pocket and quickly called up a vid.

“The darkness is lifting,” the man in the video said.

That was weird. The cadence in the man’s speech: it was at once detached and monotonous. Very unnatural. His expression, though, was strangely lax.

“Mr Stephenson, your wife and daughter are very worried,” the interviewer replied off-screen. “Surely you must miss them too.”

“The darkness is lifting,” Mr Stephenson repeated in that strangely detached cadence. “We are returning, and you will serve us.”

The vid ended.

“He doesn’t sound like he’s making a threat, more like stating a fact,” Shepard observed.

“That’s what I thought too. A day later, the recon team stopped checking in with the Hyderabad. Captain Jośeco despatched a drone to do a fly-pass and found the recon team had joined the rest of the farmers and missing officials.”

Alenko played another vid from the datapad.

It was an aerial video of Maybeline Faire. Humans were moving about in the settlement. Many of them wore the typical colonist clothes, but Shepard saw a handful dressed differently and moving through the settlement as though they belonged there. The recon team stood out immediately in their uniforms and armours. The footage ended in static.

“Did they shoot the drone down?” Shepard asked.

“The Hyderabad detected an EMP pulse going off in the settlement. Captain Jośeco suspected that was what took out the camera drone. They were never able to retrieve the drone to confirm their findings.”

“A small non-military settlement firing an EMP? Where did they get the resources?”

“We don’t know. As far as Mindoir Prime knew, Maybeline Faire did not have any defensive installation. Captain Jośeco prudently withdrew and flagged the problem to Alliance Intelligence. My colleague, Sonny Chang, was assigned to investigate. After sending one report after he arrived, he ceased all communications too. It was escalated to Admiral Anderson’s attention, and he immediately recognised the seriousness of the problem. He alerted Fleet Admiral Hackett and they decided to give the covert approach one last shot.”

“So, they sent you? Isn’t that a risk?”

“I’m the best at solo undercover missions.”

Shepard raised an eyebrow at Alenko’s matter-of-fact tone. Confident indeed.

“I posed as an investor and went to Mindoir but flying down to Maybeline Faire from Mindoir Prime was impossible. The capital space-station had quietly quarantined the settlement and the authorities refused to let me enter. I think they were afraid that if word got out, people’s confidence in Mindoir being a stable and peaceful colony planet would erode. So, I flew to the settlement closest to Maybeline Faire, hired a ground vehicle and drove there instead. And you know the rest from my report.”

“They immediately imprisoned you and you broke out three days later. You’re very certain someone was using the orb to mind-control people?”

“Yes. You were right when you said the orb was hardware. When it tried to control my mind, I got a brief impression of something large and alien manipulating the orb.”

“Any idea why the orb failed to mind-control you?”

Alenko seemed to hesitate before shrugging, “No, but it’s an advantage I have over it. Probably the only advantage I have.”

“Despite the injury it caused you?”

Alenko shrugged again.

“That’s quite the story, Major. But it doesn’t explain why Hackett ordered us both to meet an archaeologist.”

“I’m as puzzled as you are, Commander. I guess we’ll find out when we arrive.”

~

Dr Garrett Bryson’s home-cum-lab was situated in a rather quiet district of the Presidium. The high-ceiling loft apartment’s architectural style was modern minimalistic in a neutral colour palette, and its terrace lawn was big enough for the skycar to land.

“Nice place,” Shepard remarked as he got out of the skycar.

“Yeah.” Kaidan glanced around, taking in the peaceful surroundings as he led the way across the lawn to the front door. This district was one of the nicer and safer ones. “The Presidium seems to have recovered completely from Saren’s attack.”

Shepard looked at him, surprised.

“Stopped over while returning home from a mission. Barely got off the gangway when Saren and his geth invaded. Next thing I know, Anderson was calling all Alliance soldiers on the Citadel to arms. I answered.” Kaidan rang the doorbell and waited.

And then, he rang it again.

And again.

“Maybe he can’t hear the doorbell,” Shepard suggested even as he began walking the length of the apartment.

Kaidan had a bad feeling about the situation, the kind of sinking dread that he learned early on in his career not to ignore. Something was wrong here, and he itched for the comforting weight of his pistol in his hand. He saw Shepard discreetly reaching into his jacket. Seemed like he was not the only one who felt the need to hold a weapon.

Alert for any sign of disturbance, he followed Shepard.

The front of the apartment was a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. Peering in, Kaidan saw a cluttered studio space filled with artefacts and research materials and completely devoid of people. Several workstations filled what was supposed to be a comfortable living space and -

“He has a plesiosaur fossil.” Kaidan stared at the full set of a skeletal dinosaur hanging from the ceiling.

“You mean Loch Ness monster.”

“That’s a plesiosaur.”

“Loch Ness monster sounds cooler though.” Shepard continued walking along the windows and then he paused and stared hard into the residence. “Shit.”

“What is it?” Kaidan demanded immediately and moved quickly to his side. Shepard didn’t have to answer because he soon saw for himself.

Inside the lab crammed with workstations and research materials, a galaxy map, and a huge floor-to-ceiling display cabinet, he spotted a large smear of dark red liquid on the floor.

“Shit,” he swore.

Chapter Text

Yanking his arm from his sling and activating his omni-tool, Kaidan hurried over to the front door and hacked the lock. Behind him, he heard Shepard alerting C-Sec to the potential crime scene.

The moment he had the front door unlocked, Shepard brushed past him to enter first, his pistol drawn. Frowning a little at Shepard’s action but letting it slide, Kaidan drew his own pistol and followed Shepard, taking care to guard their backs.

Quickly, they cased the apartment as they made their way to where they had seen the large smear of dark red liquid. Despite the clutter and mess, there didn’t seem to be anyone else around.

“Let me check.” Suiting actions to words, Kaidan stepped around Shepard, knelt by the large ominous-looking smear, and got to work.

It was thick, tacky in places, and smelled heavily of rust. Kaidan had smelled enough spilt blood in his career to know immediately what he was looking at, but he still nevertheless scanned his omni-tool over the smear.

“Well?” Shepard asked as he stood close by, pistol still in hand.

Kaidan rose to his feet. “Definitely blood. Without a sample to compare against, I can’t confirm if it belonged to Dr Bryson or not. Judging from the texture of it, whatever injuries the victim sustained should be recent. And judging from the amount spilt, very serious.”

He examined the smearing stain and the fading end. “I think it leads this way.”

They tracked the end of the smearing stain to its incongruent end at a wall and, as far as Kaidan could tell, seemed to go beyond it. He frowned at the wall. “This doesn’t make sense.”

“It does if the Keepers have been through this area. They would’ve already disposed of the body.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Keepers maintain every aspect of the Citadel’s structure,” Shepard explained, “including removing any dead bodies found on it. That’s why there’s a Citadel law that says if someone sees a dead person or somebody dying, they are obliged to stay with it until C-Sec arrives to take custody. If nobody keeps an eye on the body, the Keepers will take it away for disposal.”

Kaidan stared at Shepard. “So, there’s no morgue on the Citadel?”

“There is, but it’s guarded and constantly monitored around the clock to stop the Keepers from taking away the bodies.” 

“Where would the Keepers dispose the bodies?”

“Their protein vats.”

Kaidan grimaced. “That’s gross.”

“They’re obsessed with maintenance,” Shepard agreed.

A thought occurred to Kaidan. “Wait, the vats aren’t food sources for the people living on Citadel, are they?”

“Nope.” Shepard hesitated. “At least I don’t think so.”

They stared at each other and then simultaneously cringed.

“That’s…,” Kaidan shook his head. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

“Neither do I,” Shepard quickly agreed. “Let’s move on.”

“Oh yes.” Kaidan turned his attention back to the bloody smear on the floor. What seemed like a simple mission of getting information from an archaeologist had suddenly turned into a much more serious case of murder - as if he didn’t have enough on his plate.

He sighed, “Hackett isn’t going to like this.”

“No, he’s not.”

Together, in silence, they headed back to the front door where a C-Sec skycar was landing on the lawn.

Kaidan took a deep breath as he gazed up at the artificial sky. “I hope his death hasn’t got anything to do with what happened on Mindoir.”

“The timing is suspicious,” Shepard agreed, “but let’s not get ahead of ourselves first.” He motioned to the approaching C-Sec officers. “Best thing we can do now is to find out what actually happened.”

“Yeah.” Kaidan retreated to their skycar while Shepard met the C-Sec officers.

Despite himself, Kaidan could not look away from the sight of Shepard at work. He was curious, he was honest with himself to admit it.

The vids, be it Alliance propaganda or newsreels, were predominantly of Shepard in action on the battlefield. There were interview and public appearance vids too, but the news and media outlets much preferred the action-filled heroic side of the first human Spectre saving whichever day it was. Those were far more glamorous and helped to boost ratings.

Kaidan doubted the public ever saw the side of Shepard he was seeing now: calm and attentive, equally at ease dealing with the bureaucracy and the day-to-day with C-Sec on a Citadel crime as he was on the battlefield taking down dangerous elements. Despite himself, Shepard’s professional attitude kept drawing his attention. Somehow, watching Shepard at work made time pass by much faster - at least until the forensic arrived and everyone else had to clear out of the murder scene.

Waiting for the forensic to finish processing the murder scene was a lesson in patience. Kaidan dozed off before he knew it and woke up with a violent start, one hand reaching for his pistol, when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

“Easy, Major, it’s just me.” Shepard soothed as he stepped back with his hands held up before him.

Kaidan blinked, then flushed in embarrassment when he realised not only was he reaching for his pistol, but he had also instinctively powered up his amp too. “Sorry.”

“Not a problem. Come on, C-Sec is done with the place. We can go back in.”

“Right.” Kaidan rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously as he got out of the skycar. He had never been so jumpy before the Mindoir mission. He walked past Shepard, too embarrassed to look at him. If he had, he would have seen the thoughtful expression on the Commander’s face. “What have they found out so far?”

“They’ve confirmed the blood on the floor to be Dr Bryson’s. Which means he’s dead. No sign of break-in which implied Dr Bryson knew his murderer.”

“Why would anyone murder a harmless old Earth archaeologist?”

“Maybe it’s not so much about him but what he had.”

“Had? What do you mean?”

“Come with me.”

Kaidan followed Shepard back into the apartment, through the cluttered mess to the farthest wall in the lab where Dr Bryson’s servers stood. He slowed down when he saw a stranger standing by the server examining something in her hand.

“Major Alenko, meet EDI, a member of my crew. EDI, this is Major Kaidan Alenko.” Shepard introduced.

The new person looked up at them and Kaidan’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

EDI was a synthetic mobile platform built in the shape of a human woman. Her proportions were perfect, and the design of her silvery-grey chassis gave the illusion that she wore a figure-hugging one-piece catsuit. She wore a visor and a pistol and even had the requisite pupils in her eyes and a neat hair bob.

“Greetings, Major Alenko. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Belatedly, Kaidan realised he was gaping at the synthetic and quickly schooled his expression. “Likewise, EDI.” He hesitated and then ventured to ask tentatively, “if you don’t mind me asking, what are you?”

“I am E.D.I., short for Enhanced Defence Intelligence. I was created to be the Normandy’s electronic warfare defence system.”

Kaidan stared at her, comprehension dawning upon him. “You’re an A.I.”

“That is correct.”

“Is this going to be a problem, Major?” Shepard questioned.

Kaidan shook his head. “No! Not at all. Just surprised. I’ve heard rumours of an A.I. on your ship, but I didn’t think it’s true.”

“EDI arrived about an hour ago to help out with the investigation. She was the one who discovered the data drives are missing.”

“Missing?” Kaidan asked sharply.

“Yes. Dr Bryson possessed five data drives, all of which are missing. They were replaced with these dummy data drives.” EDI handed a slim black oblong-shaped drive to Kaidan.

“Five dummy data drives?”

“Yes. They are operational to a certain degree, namely, they are readable and are encrypted, thus giving the illusion that they hold data. I decrypted them only to discover that they are fakes.”

Kaidan frowned down at the dummy data drive he was holding. “Why go to that extent to fake the drives? To hide the fact the real data drives are missing?”

“I hypothesize that Dr Bryson knew the data he possessed was worth a great deal, and he wished to keep it hidden.”

“Which means on top of his murderer, we need to find his data drives as well.”

“That is correct.”

Kaidan looked around at the lab. “I spotted about three surveillance cameras on my way in. Standard civilian security practice is to keep the security system on a separate server and drive from the main. Is that intact?”

“It is, Major. It is also encrypted. I have only just hacked it.” EDI led the way to a nearby terminal.

Kaidan watched, admiring EDI’s deftness with the terminal as she quickly located and opened the correct footage clip. “This is the footage recorded about ten to eleven hours ago. Dr Bryson’s murder took place within that hour.”

Dr Bryson was a tall thin man in his late sixties or early seventies with very handsome if austere features and a receding hairline. He acted normally in the first few minutes of the footage: mostly stationed at an examination table, hunched over a microscope. What immediately jumped out to them was the fact he was not alone. A young black human man was working in the lab too.

“Who is that?” Shepard muttered.

“Most likely a lab assistant,” Kaidan replied absently.

“Determining his identity will take some time if Dr Bryson is the type to store all his data on his server,” EDI noted.

They watched as the young lab assistant straightened up and walked over to the server. He stared at it for a heartbeat too long and then calmly walked across the lab and out of the camera’s view.

EDI called up another screen for another camera and they watched as the lab assistant came into view of that camera, unlocked, opened a weapons locker, took out a pistol, and went back the way he came from.

Back on the screen of the first camera, Dr Bryson was slowly retreating across the lab from the advancing lab assistant aiming the pistol at him. He was holding his hands up, palms open, in a clearly placating gesture even as he spoke frantically to the lab assistant. It was impossible to know what was said - there was no audio feed - but moments later, the lab assistant opened fire twice.

Dr Bryson stumbled and fell, twisting and landing heavily on his front. The pool of dark red grew alarmingly beneath his body. With a shaking hand, he reached for his omni-tool, presumably to call for help, but he was bleeding too much too quickly. His movement slowed and then stilled, with blood pooling underneath him.

“I believe we have our murderer,” EDI stated plainly. “And this is what happened five hours after his murder.”

She fast-forwarded the footage.

A Keeper emerged from the wall and into the lab.

It was a fascinatingly odd-looking creature, insectoid in appearance with four insect-looking legs that ended in claws and four arms, each possessing three fingers. It didn’t seem to have a mouth and its large beady eyes are a uniform black. There was an antenna-receiver type of hardware strapped to its back.

The Keeper approached the dead body of Dr Bryson and checked it with its finger-like digits. Seemingly assured that Dr Bryson was deceased, it picked up the dead archaeologist and dragged it back the way it came from and into the wall, leaving behind the long smear of blood on the floor.

“Do they intrude into properties all the time? And what’s behind that wall?” Kaidan asked.

“Most likely a Keeper tunnel,” EDI explained. “As for your first question, the Keepers do not know the concepts of possession or territory. Their purpose is to maintain the entirety of the Citadel and they are serious about their responsibilities. There are stories of residents who were locked out of their homes or lost it because the Keepers have rearranged their dwellings without warning.”

“So, it’s impossible to retrieve Dr Bryson’s body?”

“The Keepers would have destroyed Dr Bryson’s body in their protein vats by now. We can search for his body, but it will be dangerous. The Keepers regard anyone or anything in their tunnels as trash to be disposed of. It is a well-known fact that they had seized some of the first explorers exploring their tunnels and took them to their protein vats.”

Kaidan winced. “Say no more. I get the picture.”

“See if you can screen-capture the assistant’s face, EDI. I’ll alert C-Sec to search for him.” Shepard paused as he saw Kaidan rewinding the footage to the immediate aftermath of the murder. “Major?”

Kaidan did not answer as he continued to watch the aftermath of the murder intently.

The lab assistant placidly stood over the dead scientist for a long moment, still and unmoving like a statue, and then suddenly he jerked and looked around himself as though in confusion. He stumbled backwards when he saw the dead archaeologist on the floor, then stared at the pistol in his hand. Finally, he hurled it away from himself. For several minutes, he paced up and down, hands clutching his head. His entire body language radiated distress, confusion, and fear. Then he bolted from the camera’s view.

Kaidan called up vids from the other cameras and they tracked the lab assistant’s dash out of the front door, through the lawn and vanishing into the vast expanse of the Citadel.

“He fled,” EDI stated.

“The Citadel is a big place. There’s plenty of places he can hide,” Kaidan pointed out absently as he rewound the footage and re-watched it again.

“We have tracked down seasoned criminals on the Citadel before. A mere lab assistant should be far easier to locate.”

Shepard eyed the Major shrewdly. “What are you searching for, Major?”

“I’m not sure,” Kaidan muttered as he re-watched the murder and the aftermath one more time. “Something about the lab assistant’s behaviour…it’s odd. Commander, does his behaviour strike you like someone who deliberately killed a person in cold blood?”

Shepard watched the footage again with a considering eye. “While he was committing the deed, yes. His intent to kill was clear, but it doesn’t gel with his behaviour after he had killed Dr Bryson. He genuinely seemed shocked at his own actions.”

“Like he just woke up and found out that he had killed someone in his sleep,” Kaidan stated flatly. He ran an anxious hand through his hair. “I think he was mind-controlled.”

Shepard’s sharp eyes turned to him. “Are you sure?”

“It’s a hunch, but I don’t think I’m wrong.”

“I take it you have an idea on what might have mind-controlled the lab assistant,” EDI stated.

“Yeah.” On his omni-tool, he quickly located the photos of the orb he had taken on Mindoir and sent it to EDI. “That’s all I have to go on. We’ll need to check Dr Bryson’s inventory. He should have maintained records on all the artefacts - shit, I forgot his data drives are gone.”

“There is another way,” EDI said. “Dr Bryson seemed to be someone who liked displaying his artefacts and he had surveillance cameras covering the important parts of his apartment and lab. I recall seeing this object in the background while searching for footage of his murder.”

Shepard asked, “can you retrieve the footage?”

“I can do so at once.”

While EDI set to work retrieving the said security footage, Kaidan wandered among the various workstations, trying to make sense of the materials and artefacts Dr Bryson had accumulated over long years of research. The data in the lab was not just confined to digital files. There was a huge amount of physical data cluttering the lab and the studio. He was sure some of the physical data would give him an idea of what Dr Bryson was researching on and died for.

He was not a tidy man, Kaidan realised quickly, but there was a certain organisational strategy to his untidiness. Each workstation was focused on a different task: there was one dedicated to the physical examination of artefacts, another that focused on…murders?

Curious.

Kaidan quickly skimmed through the notes on the table and quickly saw the murders all had something in common. He called Shepard over. “What do you think?”

Shepard frowned. “An archaeologist investigating murders? Wait…all these accused lack motives and claimed memory loss.”

“Like the people I freed in Maybelline Faire.”

“It seems like he’s onto something about these orbs.”

Kaidan scrutinised the board hanging over the workstation. “He’s built a timeline of these crimes. My God, it stretched all the way back to a year ago.”

“It is confirmed,” EDI interrupted. “Dr Bryson had the orb in his possession.”

“Had?” Kaidan echoed.

EDI stepped away from the terminal and walked across the lab to the huge floor-to-ceiling display cabinet. “According to the security footage, he used to keep it in this cabinet. On that pedestal, to be precise.”

Kaidan looked in the direction EDI pointed, and his blood ran cold when he saw that the pedestal in mention was empty. His heart suddenly thudded loudly in his ear as a wave of pure fear surged through him, made his breath shortened and his mouth went dry. He looked back at the terminal screen, irrationally hoping that EDI was wrong. But the footage did not lie; he could see a glowing orb seated on the pedestal in the security footage.

And it’s gone now.

Chapter Text

A mind-control device loose on the Citadel…millions of unsuspecting people exposed to it…

Kaidan’s mind went blank with terror. What was he going to do?

A firm hand suddenly grasping his good shoulder jerked him out of his spiralling thoughts. Kaidan looked at Shepard and knew his fear was plain to see because the Commander’s features were full of understanding and determination.

“EDI is reviewing the security footage. She’ll find out what happened to it.”

“Right.” Kaidan took a deep breath to push down his fear and get a grip on his nerves. “Right. I guess what happened on Mindoir still bothers me. The thought that it can happen here…”

“It won’t,” Shepard said firmly. “I won’t let it. Neither will you.”

“We should-we should search the place. Maybe we can find out where he found the orb and what he knew about it.”

“Well, we can start upstairs first.” Shepard jabbed a thumb in a skyward motion.

“As good as any other place, I suppose.” Still feeling rather rattled, Kaidan led the way to the loft of the apartment.

The loft was a bedroom and surprisingly neat and uncluttered. Kaidan sighed. Of course, the bedroom had to be a contrast to Dr Bryson’s working space. While Shepard rifled through the doctor’s chest of drawers, he searched the lounge area. Now that he had a goal in mind and his hands were kept busy, Kaidan calmed down.

Shepard’s confidence was catching. It was embarrassing he needed the assurance in the first place. He was a full-grown man, damn it, and a veteran intelligence specialist. Getting spooked by potentially bad news was a rookie’s mistake. But no one else had gone through what you had, his traitorous mind supplied. Kaidan bit his lip. Still not an excuse, he told himself firmly. Focus, Alenko!

“Find anything?” he asked Shepard, trying to divert his mind from its musing.

“Nope, unless you consider these drawings as artefacts.”

Kaidan glanced in Shepard’s direction and had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. “I doubt it, Commander.”

There were several pieces of a child’s crayon drawings prominently taped to the wall. On some of the drawings, the words ‘by Ann Bryson, aged nine’ were scrawled in big childish handwriting. Clearly, Dr Bryson loved his daughter very much.

They finished searching the bedroom and went back down to the ground level. Searching the ground level was painfully slow and Kaidan’s mood got darker as the search wore on him. There was so much physical data, all seemingly unrelated to the orb, as far as he could tell.

“Commander,” EDI approached them, “we have a problem.”

“What is it, EDI?”

“I am not able to determine how and where Dr Bryson had moved the orb to. There is roughly about three hours’ worth of time missing from the security footage recorded two days ago.”

“Was it deleted?”

“It was never recorded. As best as I can determine, the security cameras simply stopped recording for three hours. When the cameras resumed recording, the orb had already vanished from its pedestal in the display cabinet. No one, including Dr Bryson and his assistant, was recorded being near the orb in the minutes before and after the missing time. However, neither of them was recorded expressing undue alarm at its missing presence after the cameras resumed recording. I can only surmise they were the ones who changed its location.”

“He’s hidden it,” Shepard realised.

Kaidan had come to the same conclusion as well, and it brought a wave of relief so profound that his legs felt like jelly. Determinedly, he locked his knees and ruthlessly tucked the emotion away. The orb wasn’t loose and out in the open as he feared, but they still need to find it. “He wouldn’t want it far from where he can keep an eye on it. I think it’s still here, somewhere in this lab.”

“This is a prefabricated housing identical to the rest in this district. Schematic-wise, it is nearly impossible to ‘dig out’ space for concealment within its structure.” EDI pointed out. “The Keepers likely do not stand for such modifications to the integral structure of the Citadel. Dr Bryson would run the risk of the Keepers taking the orb away for disposal.”

“I suppose the question would be ‘how would I hide something like the orb in a place like this?’” Kaidan cast an irritated look at the cluttered environment. It would be akin to searching for a needle in a haystack. Even without considering the integral structure of the apartment, there were still too many places to hide the bloody artefact.

“I propose we start with the storage spaces,” EDI suggested.

Shepard shrugged. “It’s as good a place as any.”

“I guess.” Choosing a cupboard at random, Kaidan moved towards it.

If it wasn’t for the clutter, the apartment was a nice piece of property, he thought absently as his gaze roamed over the apartment’s finishing and the enclosed skywell with a planter – wait. He stopped to study the plant growing in the planter thoughtfully. There was something about the plant… “Can a plant grow crooked?”

Shepard turned from his search and stared at him, perplexed. “Run that by me again?”

“That plant in the planter.” Kaidan went over to the skywell and entered it. He looked closely at the multi-tiered planter and straightaway, he knew he had found it. “Oh, I think I know where he hid the orb.” He said excitedly.

“In there?”

“I think so. See? The leaves are turning yellow, but the soil is still moist, which means the plant was damaged, probably in its roots or stem. And look, the soil has been disturbed.”

Kaidan looked expectedly at Shepard who examined the plant and soil carefully before giving him an uncomprehending look. Somehow, he found that expression inexplicably charming and he couldn’t help smiling at Shepard. “You don’t see it, do you, Commander?”

“I’m a spacer, Major, not a gardener.”

“If I may, Commander, that is not an excuse for not having a green thumb.” EDI’s voice drifted out from somewhere inside the apartment.

Shepard threw a flat look in her direction. “Nobody asked you, EDI.”

“And yet you find my comments valuable.”

Kaidan started chuckling. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m not good with plants either.”

“But you know what you’re talking about,” Shepard pointed out.

“My family owns an orchard,” Kaidan explained. “I spent a lot of time planting seedlings in our orchard’s nursery when growing up. I’m not an expert but I can recognise signs of ill health and soil disturbance. The soil in this planter was recently disturbed, but why would it be? Because the shrub had to be replanted or replaced. And if an inexperienced person did the replanting, chances are he unwittingly damaged its roots, thus the yellowing of the leaves.”

“Say no more.” Shepard re-entered the lab and called, “EDI! Can you bring the shovels? We got some digging to do.” 

“I can help dig too.” Kaidan offered.

“With one working arm? Nope, you’re sitting this one out.”

“May I point out that you have sustained an injury not too long ago, Shepard?” EDI said when she carried the shovels over.

“I’m fine. That was just a graze.” Shepard took off his jacket and grabbed a shovel. “Come on, let’s get digging.”

Although the planter was big and deep, the soil in it wasn’t packed too tightly. As Kaidan watched impatiently, Shepard easily removed the shrub and then both he and EDI continued emptying the planter. It did not take them long before they hit pay dirt.

They stared down into the planter at the unburied transparent box.

Inside was the missing orb and it was active.

Chapter Text

“How the hell did he manage to bury this in the planter?” Shepard grunted as he and EDI deposited the boxed orb on the floor in the studio.

Kaidan would very much like to know the answer to that question too.

Freeing the orb from its soil prison had been a hassle. The box it was contained in was almost the size of the planter, leaving them with little room to manoeuvre. In the end, Kaidan had to use his biotics to lift the heavy containment box out of the planter before Shepard and EDI could carry it back into the studio. He hadn’t fully recovered from his ordeal on Mindoir, and the small expending of effort had caused a twinge of pain to run up his neck and through his head. He ignored it in favour of scanning the box with his omni-tool.

The box containing the orb was made of shatter-proof plexi-aluminium panels laced through with circuitries and its edges reinforced with duranium-alloy. It was transparent all around except for its bottom which appeared to be some sort of heavy-duty power base. The complicated lock on the top of it was dark and inert – an ominous sign.

“It’s a self-powered container,” he said after examining the box for long minutes. “The power source is in the bottom of the box. When powered, this box was supposed to become a secure shielded container. Possibly to contain the orb’s influence.”

Shepard frowned down at the box. “Looks like Dr Bryson definitely knew what the orb could do and took steps to counter it.”

“But his measures failed, and he paid the price.” Kaidan stood up. “I’m going to destroy the orb.”

“That may not be the best course of action, Major Alenko. The orb is a complete unknown. By destroying it, we will not be able to find out how it works and thus prevent further mind-controlling incidents in the future.” EDI pointed out.

“We can’t leave it here on the Citadel,” Kaidan argued. “It’s too dangerous.”

“He’s right, EDI. The orb is a danger no matter where it is and this,” Shepard tapped the side of the containment box with a foot, “is proof that containment isn’t an answer. We’ll destroy it.”

“Help me take it outside.” Kaidan requested. “I don’t want to damage any of the things in here.”

“Sure.”

And Kaidan watched wide-eyed as Shepard simply upended the box and kick-rolled one of the most insidious weapons he had ever come across the lab floor to the lawn outside. “Commander!”

“What?”

“That is not a football!”

“It’s not going to explode, is it?”

“I don’t think so?”

“Then I don’t see why I can’t roll it,” Shepard shrugged and returned to kick-rolling it to the lawn.

Kaidan barely kept himself from facepalming. “Not the point.”

Shepard just ignored him.

Once he had kick-rolled it to an empty spot on the lawn, Kaidan took over. “Step back, both of you.”

While Shepard and EDI moved back to a safe distance, Kaidan slipped his arm from his sling and approached the orb warily. His last two encounters with similar orbs had been nothing but pain-filled ordeals, and he sincerely wished he didn’t have to do it again. But both Shepard and EDI were lightly armed, and he didn’t think Dr Bryson owed a substantial armoury, so it boiled down to only his biotics having enough power to destroy it.

Kaidan steeled himself and began.

Biotics got better and stronger with use and experience and as a very seasoned biotic, he didn’t even have to consciously think about activating his biotics or executing the mnemonics for a biotic punch. It all came to him as natural as breathing. From the subtle shading of dark blue tinting his vision, he knew his biotic corona had swirled into existence; he was absently aware of the prickling across his scalp as the static built. Flames of dark energy quickly coalesced, and he channelled it into the clenched fist of his uninjured arm and held it in place by nothing more than the force of his will. When he judged the glowing ball of dark energy to be dense enough, he took a quick step forward and smashed the glowing ball of dark energy right into the orb.

The orb cracked.

Then, it suddenly blazed with a cold cruel light.

Kaidan gasped involuntarily, stumbling as the pain hit once again. His biotic corona flared in reaction with the familiar searing burn of the pain. Beneath the pain, nearly overlooked, Kaidan felt as though he was being watched by something large and old. But this time, though, he was expecting this, had braced himself for it. Surging past the pain, he summoned up another ball of dark energy and slammed it hard into the cracked orb.

The orb shattered.

And the pain stopped at once.

Breathing hard, Kaidan grinned with fierce satisfaction at the sight of the orb in pieces on the ground. Whoever those bastards were, he was sure they didn’t know what hit them.

Dizziness swamped him and he forwent feeling victorious to ride it out. His chest felt tight, and his hands shook. On top of that, his wounded shoulder and arm throbbed fiercely from executing the mnemonics. He bent over, his good hand braced against his knee, breathing hard as his stomach roiled and he fought to keep the bile down.

Then there was a hand on his back, firm and steady; he could feel its warmth through the sturdy material of his uniform and somehow it seemed to chase away the dizziness and nausea, lessen the pain.

“Steady, Major.” Shepard’s calm voice sounded close to his ear.

Kaidan took several breaths to push down his nausea. “I’m all right,” he managed to rasp out.

Shepard gave him a look. “You’re white as a sheet.”

“I’ll be okay,” Kaidan amended. After a few more moments, he gingerly straightened up and was pleased to find that the world was no longer swimming, and his nausea had passed.

“Your heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure have risen very abruptly and quickly, Major,” EDI noted as she scanned him with her omni-tool. “I recommend a visit to the nearest medical facility as soon as possible. You are exhibiting the signs of someone who have suffered a sudden shock to the brain.”

“It’ll pass. There’s really nothing the doctors can do anyway.” Kaidan licked his dry lips. “Can you get me a glass of water? My mouth feels like cotton.”

“Of course.”

“Was this what you experienced on Mindoir?” Shepard demanded. “One moment that orb lit up like a floodlight and the next you were hurting, but I couldn’t see what was hurting you.”

“Yes, something was trying to stop me from destroying the orb.”

“Something?”

Kaidan hesitated. “It felt different from the…presence I encountered on Mindoir. I don’t think it’s the same entity controlling this orb.”

“Anything else?”

Kaidan shook his head. “That’s all I got. The contact was too short for me to discover much.”

He accepted the glass of water from EDI with a grateful smile and drained it greedily. “Did you feel or sense anything when I was being attacked? Like being somewhere else?”

“No, nothing at all.”

Kaidan looked questioningly at EDI.

“It seems that the orbs are attuned to organics’ brain waves. As a synthetic, I doubt I will be able to… ‘feel’ such invasive assault.”

“Well, it still can’t control me, so that’s a plus. At least the Citadel is safe now.”

His expression serious and unreadable, Shepard studied him for so long that Kaidan could not help but fidget. He had no idea what the Commander was thinking but those sharp blue eyes stared so intently at him that he felt extremely self-conscious.

“What?” he asked at last.

But Shepard did not say anything. He turned away instead to speak to EDI. “EDI, gather up the pieces of the orb and put them away. It’s time to call it a day.”

“But we still have a lot to investigate.” Kaidan protested.

Belatedly, he realised Shepard’s warm hand was still on his back and that he was leaning into it. Self-conscious, he stepped away from the Commander’s steady support and missed it instantly. He quickly shoved the feeling away.

“You look like a breeze will knock you over,” Shepard said bluntly. “We’ll come back with a plan, reinforcement and after some rest. And we still need to report back to Hackett. I prefer to do that on the Normandy.”

Kaidan opened his mouth to argue but Shepard cut him off with a stern, “Spectre’s authority, Major.”

“…Aye, sir.” He said mulishly. Honestly, he could still soldier on, but Shepard clearly wasn’t in the mood to hear it.

Sealing off Dr Bryson’s apartment didn’t take long. Shepard left strict instructions with C-Sec to make sure the public and nosy busybodies keep away from Dr Bryson’s apartment before they left.

Only when he sat down in the skycar for the flight back to the docks did Kaidan finally become aware of his exhaustion and the strain of his exertion. The beginning of a headache was also starting to bother him. Despite his exhaustion, his mind could not rest.

There were so many questions that needed answering, chief of which: what did Dr Bryson know that cost him his life?

Chapter Text

“Dr Bryson is – was an old friend. I was not expecting news of his murder, Major Alenko.”

Once back onboard the Normandy, EDI set up the Q.E.C. for a conference between themselves, Admiral Hackett, and Admiral Anderson, both of whom were currently on Arcturus Station.

“I’m sorry, Admiral Hackett,” Kaidan said sincerely.

The holographic image of Fleet Admiral Steven Hackett sighed heavily. “I’m not looking forward to breaking the news to his daughter. She’ll be devastated.”

“You can tell her that we know his murderer is his lab assistant and that we’re currently searching for him,” Shepard offered. “We just need to nail down his identity to make the search easier.”

“Is the lab assistant a young black human male?”

“Aye, sir.”

“He should be Derek Hadley. I first spoke to him briefly some months ago when I called Dr Bryson. He had hired Hadley a few days before that call, joked that Hadley had a case of hero-worship which made him feel so old. From what I can recall, Hadley was a fresh graduate from Harvard, seemed to be a diligent and earnest man, eager to work and learn.”

“Doesn’t sound like a murderer,” Anderson commented.

“I don’t think he murdered Dr Bryson, sirs,” Kaidan interjected. “Dr Bryson had an active orb in his possession. We think Hadley was being mind-controlled by the orb.”

He cocked his head thoughtfully, “something tells me you already knew Dr Bryson had an orb, Admiral Hackett.”  

“Indeed, Major,” Hackett admitted. “Dr Bryson and I kept in touch all these years despite our different careers. He has devoted his life to researching an ancient alien race that once dominated the galaxy. He named the race ‘Leviathan’ for their apparent gigantic size and suspected that they might have been the first apex race. His research took him all over the galaxy until he got too old for fieldwork. Only then did he relent to station himself in his lab and hire younger researchers to do fieldwork in his stead. About a month ago, he confided in me about an orb his field team had discovered at a dig site. He was convinced that it was a Leviathan artefact, and he was very troubled by its apparent active state. I tried asking him, but he refused to tell me why.”

Leviathan. How biblical, Kaidan thought. But at least they now have a name to go with the gigantic presence he had felt when the orbs tried to control him.

“He thought the orb is somehow connected to this Leviathan?” Shepard asked.

“I’m sure he was convinced of it, but he never spoke about the orb or Leviathan to me again. It wasn’t until Major Alenko’s debriefing after Mindoir and I recognised the orbs in the photos he took that I realised there may be a reason for his refusal to talk about it.”

“That’s why you told me to liaise with him,” Kaidan said.

“I’d hoped you would be able to help each other, find out what’s going on and perhaps determine if there are connections between Mindoir, the orb artefacts and Leviathan. Now we have added murder to the case. Do we know the cause of death, Major?”

“Death from massive blood loss. Hadley had shot him twice in the chest. He bled out quickly. We found surveillance footage of the murder itself. The way Hadley behaved immediately after the shooting convinced me that he had fallen under the orb’s influence.”

“Dr Bryson might have some idea what the orb could do, and he tried to prevent it by building a containment box for it,” Shepard added. “It didn’t seem to have worked.”

Anderson looked thoughtful. “Alenko, do you think Dr Bryson’s murder might be related to what happened on Mindoir?”

“It’s hard to say at this junction. I’m leaning towards another possibility: he discovered the orb’s secret and the person or presence behind it decided to kill him.”

“What makes you think that?” Anderson questioned.

“Dr Bryson’s data drives are missing. He disguised their absence well; the dummy drives looked no different from the real data drives, and they were all heavily encrypted, making them appear to be the genuine article. Clearly, he wanted to hide the actual drives, but why? The only reason I could think of is that he knew there’s valuable data in those drives, important enough that the presence controlling Hadley was willing to kill for it and silence Dr Bryson in the process.”

“You think someone was after Dr Bryson for his data on Leviathan?”

“Perhaps.”

Hackett mulled it over and came to a decision. “Make this investigation your only priority, Major. Dr Bryson’s death, the orbs, the myths of Leviathan and the incident on Mindoir, I have a feeling they are all connected somehow. Find out how all these pieces are connected. Whoever these people are, you need to determine if they are a credible threat to the Alliance and galactic peace. If they are, I want to know how to neutralise them.”

“Yes, sir.”

“We’re still searching Mindoir,” Anderson spoke up, “discreetly, of course, to make sure the planet is free of these orbs. My worry is whoever they are, they are using Mindoir as a springboard to distribute their orbs throughout the galaxy.”

“Mindoir may not be their only springboard,” Shepard pointed out darkly.

“I have Chang heading a task force to determine that. You and Alenko focus on Dr Bryson and his research. Right now, he seemed to be the only one who knew what was going on.”

“Admiral Anderson, I like to request permission to undertake this mission on my own.” Kaidan cut in.

“Request denied,” Anderson answered without hesitation.

“Sir, the orbs are insidious and dangerous, and there’s no defence against its influence. It can take over a person’s mind without him being even aware of the process. There’s no telling how many more are hidden and are actively controlling people out there in the galaxy. We may encounter an orb without even realising it. Shepard is a Council Spectre and his crew the best in the Alliance. If they fall under the influence of the orbs, the…puppet-master will gain access and knowledge to the most crucial political and military institutes in this galaxy. I don’t think that’s a risk worth taking. Since it can’t control me, it’s best for everyone that I undertake this investigation on my own.”

“Major, from all indications, Dr Bryson attempted to tackle the problem alone and he died for it. Singlehandedly resolving the situation in Maybeline Faire nearly killed you. These incidents should tell you something.”

“The situation in Maybeline Faire caught me by surprise. Now that I know what to look out for, it won’t happen again,” Kaidan argued.

Hackett cut in, “Major, I appreciate your dedication to your task and concern for your fellow soldiers, but I agree with Anderson: working with Shepard and his crew is your best bet now. You’re right when you said Shepard and his crew run the risk of being mind-controlled, but they are already exposed to the danger regardless of you working alone or not. Under these circumstances, it’s better to work together. Pool your resources and you’ll stand a better chance of solving this investigation.”

“…Yes, sir.”

“Shepard, as of this moment, I’m assigning Major Alenko to the Normandy,” Anderson instructed. “You are to work with him on this investigation.”

“Aye, sir.” Shepard saluted.

Hackett gave the two men a stern look. “Get to the bottom of this, gentlemen, and keep us posted. Hackett out.”

The holographic image of Hackett exited the Q.E.C., leaving only that of Anderson peering sombrely at them. “I don’t have to tell you to be on your guard and watch each other’s back, gentlemen.”

“No, sir.” Shepard acknowledged. “We’ll all sleep easier knowing who the enemy is.”

“That’s God’s own truth. Alenko, do not go haring off alone. Stick with Shepard, do you hear? He’s got contacts and resources which you’ll be a fool not to utilise.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And Alenko?”

“Sir?”

“You still look like you’ve been hit by a truck. Make sure you’re healed up before you go charging into another fight, son.”

He didn’t look that bad, did he? But all he said was, “Yes, Admiral.”

“Anderson out.”

The light of the Q.E.C. holographic projector blinked out, leaving both men standing in the room.

In the quietness that ensued, Kaidan studiously avoided looking at Shepard, still smarting a little from the admirals’ indirect rebuke. He understood their reasoning, but he knew he was right too. Putting him right in the middle of potential mind-controlled puppets…just the thought alone made his skin crawl.

“Well,” Shepard moving towards the exit distracted him from his thoughts, “looks like we got our marching orders. Come on, let me show you where you’ll be bunking on the Normandy. And if you’re not too tired, I’d like you to join my friends and me for dinner later in my cabin.”

“Dinner?”

“We have already agreed to meet for dinner,” Shepard explained. “Adding one more person isn’t too much trouble. You are part of Normandy’s crew now for however long this investigation is. No time like the present to meet some of them.”

It sounded like a social invitation. “I don’t want to intrude-”

“You won’t be. Eventually, they are going to be involved in our investigation. Might as well start now.”

Not exactly a social gathering then. Kaidan hesitated and then nodded. Right now, they should be safe, he should be safe. If the situation changes, he could always bail. “What time?”

“Six-thirty. There’ll be five of us, you included.”

Chapter Text

Five minutes to six-thirty, Kaidan arrived outside the Captain’s Cabin located on Deck 1 of the Normandy. He had showered in the brief downtime he had, and it was enough to give him a fresh burst of energy. Running a hand through his slightly damp hair, he eyed the closed doors with its glowing green lock pensively.

It had only occurred to him during his shower that he couldn’t remember the last time he accepted a dinner invitation just for the sake of socialising. Sure, there was a work element to Shepard’s dinner invitation, but it was still different from the invitations he had accepted or extended in the past. Or rather, during his career as an intelligence specialist, he had socialised with the deliberate intent to gather intelligence. This time, it was not to gather intelligence but to share it instead.

It was a disconcerting discovery. He hadn’t realised how…work-oriented he had become. 

Kaidan took a deep breath and rang the door chime.

And when the doors slid open, he was

not at all

prepared

for the sight.

Because Shepard stood before him, barefooted and wearing only his jeans. He was briskly rubbing a towel over his head, and his broad hard chest shone damply under the light right in front of Kaidan.

Unbidden, Kaidan stared at Shepard’s very bare and very masculine chest, lightly marred by scars, and then his gaze dipped lower to the Commander’s equally bare and muscular abdomen...the tensing and relaxing of very well-defined hard pecs with each move Shepard made…and then lower, where he could see Shepard’s narrow hips dipping teasingly into the jeans…

His mouth went dry, and he felt his cheeks burn. Oh boy…

Shepard turned away in the next moment, presenting his equally muscled back to Kaidan. His dog tags jingled softly as he rubbed the back of his neck with his towel. “Come on in and make yourself at home. The food should be here soon.”

Kaidan swallowed thickly and slowly entered. Trying in vain to stop sneaking peeks at Shepard who was pulling on a tee shirt and an N7 hoodie, he prayed desperately that his face wasn’t as red as he thought it was.

“Nice place,” he remarked inanely, trying to distract himself. “It’s, ah, really private.”

And it was.

Though Deck 1 was smaller than the other decks, it was devoted entirely to Shepard’s cabin, giving him real privacy on a ship the size of a shoebox. It was large and spacious for a frigate captain’s cabin: the step-down living quarters behind his office space and the model ship display partition was neatly demarcated into seating and sleeping areas. The sleeping area easily accommodated a king-sized bed and a lounge chair, and the seating area had a private armour locker. Shepard even had his own private bathroom and there was a skylight in the ceiling bulkhead.

Then Kaidan saw the aquarium and a wave of yearning suddenly crashed over him.

It wasn’t a small modest fish tank, but a huge aquarium spanning two bulkhead panels. It came complete with the requisite ribbons of plants usually found in aquariums and an array of colourful fishes swimming lazily in it.

Kaidan stared at the aquarium for long moments, nearly breathless with the yearning for home that caught him off guard.

But what on earth was an aquarium doing on a battleship? He wondered distractedly. The aquarium, more than anything else, confirmed his long-held suspicions of the second Normandy’s origins. No way would the Alliance or the Turian Hierarchy approve the installation of a feature so impractical and resource-consuming on a prototype reconnaissance stealth ship.

“Does my aquarium meet your approval?”

Kaidan was startled when Shepard spoke up next to him. He had been so preoccupied with the aquarium and grappling with his homesickness that he failed to hear the Commander approaching. As casually as he could make it, he put some distance between himself and the aquarium. “It’s, um, not every day I see an aquarium on a military starship. Why did Cerberus install such an extravagant feature on the Normandy?”

The second the words left him, Kaidan knew immediately he had misstepped. And judging from Shepard’s raised eyebrow, the Commander knew it too. He mentally kicked himself, knowing if he hadn’t been so thrown, first by Shepard’s half-nude appearance, then by his aquarium, he would never have let his knowledge of the Normandy’s origins slip.

“My involvement in bringing down Cerberus and Normandy SR-2’s origins are classified at the highest level, Major. I doubt you have access to those reports.”

“I don’t,” Kaidan admitted, deciding coming clean was his only option now, “but I have my sources. Your re-emergence six months ago after faking your death two years prior, not to mention the persistent rumours of you working for Cerberus during those two years. The Normandy SR-2’s unveiling and the collapse of Cerberus. The timings of all these events were a little too coincidental for me to swallow, so I checked. If it helps, I didn’t know about EDI, but I guess her origins should be the same as Normandy’s.”

For a moment, Kaidan wondered if he had said too much. Shepard’s expression was unreadable as he pinned Kaidan with sharp eyes about as fathomable as the depths of Earth’s oceans.  

Then the human Spectre huffed, “worst two years of my life but it was worth it.”

It was an evasive and tacit confirmation of his suspicions. Shepard sat down in his chair to pull on his boots. His casualness and ease broke the tension and Kaidan relaxed somewhat, though he felt like he had just dodged a bullet. He leaned against Shepard’s desk; arms folded across his chest.

“So why did they install the aquarium?” he couldn’t resist pressing. “It’s so…hazardous.”

“It was the Illusive Man’s bribe and threat.”

“What do you mean?”

Rising to his feet, Shepard walked back to the aquarium. “My mom took us to Earth for a vacation when I was five or six. That was the first time I saw the Earth’s oceans, and I fell in love with them. I remember pestering my mom for a pet fish when we returned home, but she never gave in. Keeping pets isn’t a spacer thing, especially on military vessels.”

He lightly tapped the glass of the aquarium. “I’ve nearly forgotten about that vacation and how I pestered my mom for a pet fish. This was the Illusive Man’s way of telling me without saying anything that he had my number.”

“Or so he thought.”

Shepard smirked, “or so he thought.” He cocked his head and regarded Kaidan thoughtfully. “I’ve been meaning to ask - have we met before?”

Kaidan blinked at the abrupt change in topic. “No, I don’t think so. I’d remember if we have met before. You’re a hard man to forget, Shepard.”

“I could say the same about you.”

“My targets would disagree with you.”

Shepard huffed a snort of disbelief.

“You don’t believe me?”

“No.” Shepard headed to his private fridge under his desk and took out two bottles of beer and offered one to Kaidan. “Someone with your looks is rather difficult to forget.”

Kaidan accepted the beer and, with a tiny burst of biotic energy, popped the cap.

“You’ll be surprised,” he replied cryptically.

He sipped his beer and then saw something on a shelf above Shepard’s desk. “Commander, is that…a hamster cage?”

“Yep.” Shepard set down his beer before gently scooping his little pet from its cage. He brought it over to Kaidan, his big hands cupping the little rodent carefully. “This is Boo.”

Kaidan peered down at the tiny furry Earth creature with its twitching nose and curious beady eyes. “Does he bite?”

“Nope. He’s used to human contact.”

Kaidan cautiously reached out with a finger to stroke Boo’s tiny head. Quicker than he could react, Boo suddenly squeaked and lunged for his finger. “Ow!”

Shepard hurriedly pulled Boo away. “Bad hamster!”

Quickly but gently, he plopped his little pet back into its cage.

“I’m fine. It was just a warning nip. He didn’t even break the skin,” Kaidan quickly assured the man.

“Sorry,” Shepard apologised, “he usually doesn’t bite.”

“No harm done, Commander.”

“Shepard.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Call me Shepard. Normandy is a small ship with a lean crew. Formality gets tedious real fast.”

“Okay. Then you can call me Kaidan, I guess.”

Shepard quirked an eyebrow. “You guess?”

Kaidan flushed in embarrassment. “That’s not what I meant. You, um, caught me by surprise. ‘Kaidan’ is fine, more than fine. Just call me ‘Kaidan’.”

He forced himself to shut up but judging from Shepard’s look of amusement, it was too late. Now he remembered why he had gotten so work-oriented about socialising. Without a goal in mind, his naturally awkward nature always reared its head.

“All right, Kaidan. I promise not to wear out your name.”

“You won’t,” he replied without thinking. Then he froze as his mind caught up with his mouth. What had possessed him to say that?

He hastily took another drink of his beer. Beer was good right now.

He didn’t want to know how Shepard reacted to his faux pas. He cautiously peeked at the Commander and was mortified to see the Commander grinning at him.

“Socialising isn’t your thing, is it? How did you survive being an intelligence specialist for so long?”

Kaidan was sure this time his face was as red as a tomato. “Shut up.”

Chuckling, Shepard took a swig of his beer as he leaned against the wall. “You said you grew up on an orchard. What was that like?”

Relieved that he was off the hook, Kaidan replied readily, “we owe an apple orchard in the B.C. interior - you know, British Columbia in Canada. Been in my dad’s family for generations. It’s not particularly large, but it’s enough for the Alenko family to build and run a thriving micro-brewery business. It’s quiet and idyllic; a world away from the rest of the world. But the best part of the property is the waterfront.”

“Waterfront?”

“Our land borders an inlet. And my family home leads down to the shoreline of that inlet. That’s my favourite place. I think I spent more time swimming than playing in the orchard when I was a kid.”

“You must be quite the swimmer.”

“I’m a natural,” Kaidan said baldly. A fond smile curved his lips as he gazed down at his beer bottle, lost in memories. “I love it there. It’s just…home, you know. Even when my parents moved us to Vancouver so we could be closer to the doctors, I’ve never really considered the city home. To me, home will always be the apple orchard and its waterfront.”

“It’s a place of safety for you.”

“Yeah.”

“Any pets?”

Kaidan shook his head. “We couldn’t keep any. When my biotics started manifesting in earnest, managing it consumed our lives quickly. Then I got fitted with the L2 implant and our lives turned upside down.”

“Wasn’t there some kind of biotic program around that time?”

“The B.A.A.T program. I didn’t join it,” Kaidan replied. “The Alliance did try to pressure my parents into volunteering me, but they refused. My parents had their ideas on how I should learn control over my biotics, and they preferred I do so while we have personal control over my situation. If I had gone to B.A.A.T, we would be ceding that control away.”

“But you would be learning how to control your biotics,” Shepard pointed out.

“In theory, yes. Do you know why the program was shut down?”

Shepard shook his head.

“After I became an intelligence specialist, I discreetly looked into the B.A.A.T records. Out of curiosity, you know. The program was supposed to teach biotic kids how to control and use their biotics. Turned out they were being abused by a turian mercenary who hated humans because of the First Contact War. It was shut down when one of the students accidentally killed the turian in self-defence.”

“Lucky you.”

“Lucky me,” Kaidan agreed. “I often wonder what would happen to me if I had joined the program. Would I have cracked from all that abuse? Maybe I would be the one to kill the turian mercenary, who knows. At any rate, my parents found and hired an asari willing to teach me how to control my biotics.”

He ran a finger about the rim of his beer bottle pensively. “I’ve always thought the Alliance should have engaged the asari instead. At least then, none of the kids in the program would have died.”

“There’s the politics to think of,” Shepard pointed out. “We didn’t want to appear out of our depths. Have you ever thought about retrofitting to an L3 implant?”

“I don’t see the point undergoing such a high-risk surgery. I’m fortunate. All I get are just migraines and I spike higher than L3s. If I go under the knife, I could end up getting brain damage and becoming a drooling idiot for life.”

“But you’ll be a handsome drooling idiot though.”

“…Are you…flirting with me, Commander?”

“If you have to ask, you’re either out of practice or I am.”

Kaidan snorted. “That’ll be you then. I flirt with my targets all the time, Shepard.”

“Thank you for not treating me like your targets then.”

“You’re welcomed,” Kaidan answered automatically, then he paused and frowned. “Wait, are you implying something?”

Blue eyes dancing with mischief and laughter, Shepard just grinned at him before moving to the door when the door chime sounded.

Kaidan frowned at his retreating back, feeling distinctively bewildered.

Was Shepard teasing him?

Chapter Text

EDI entered, together with a turian and an asari. Both non-humans were carrying bags and the smell of hot cooked food wafted towards Kaidan, making his stomach growl. Abruptly, he realised it had been a long time since breakfast and he hadn’t eaten much for lunch.

“Sorry we’re late,” the asari said. “Traffic was horrendous.”

“No harm done. We were just chatting.” Shepard took the bags from her and led the way in. “Kaidan, this is Liara T’Soni and the turian is Garrus Vakarian. Guys, Major Kaidan Alenko.”

“Evening, Major Alenko.” Liara greeted and offered a hand. “Welcome on board the Normandy.”

“Thank you.” Kaidan shook her hand.

Familiar with human customs, he thought. Young in appearance, but is she young in age? It was always hard to tell with asari. But judging from the way she carried herself and the way she assessed him, he was suddenly certain she had plenty of experience, combat or otherwise, under her belt regardless of her age.

“Greetings, Major. You don’t seem surprised to find non-humans serving on an Alliance ship,” Garrus observed.

“The Normandy is well-known for her non-human crew members,” Kaidan answered diplomatically. He cocked his head in curiosity. “Did the Hierarchy assign you to the Normandy?”

It made sense in a way.

The first Normandy had been a joint project between the human and turian military forces and the second Normandy had retained nearly all its original design. Having a turian on board to represent their interests seemed like something the Hierarchy would do.

Garrus chuckled. “Oh no, it was Shepard who formally requested the Hierarchy to have me permanently assume the position as the first officer. He seems to think a human-turian partnership is good publicity.”

Shrewd move to get a win-win situation, Kaidan thought. “He’s not wrong. A show of good relationship between turians and humans can go a long way.”

“True. But personally? It’s because Shepard can’t get anything done without me,” Garrus said sotto voce.

“Keep telling yourself that, Vakarian.” Shepard retorted good-humouredly.

“Why should I? It’s a fact.”

Kaidan got the impression that both were close friends. Amused at their friendly bickering, he turned to Liara. He was curious to know how an asari wound up being stationed on the Normandy, but she had moved past him and into the sitting area.

“I hope sushi and beef bowls are all right with you, Major,” Liara said as she helped Shepard and EDI to set the coffee table.

Kaidan was sure she had deliberately sidestepped the topic. “I’m fine with them.”

“And this is yours, Garrus. Dextro, of course.” Liara passed a bright-red food container to the turian.

“Thanks. You know, Shepard, I still don’t understand humans’ fascination with eating raw fish.”

“It’s a delicacy and delicious when done right,” Shepard said as he dug into his rice bowl topped with generous slices of colourful raw fish with gusto.

“I’m not sure your fishes agree with you. For all you know, you could be eating their relatives.” Garrus’s mandibles twitched. In an overly innocent tone, he asked, “Do humans eat their pets?”

“When turians swim,” Shepard shot back with a smirk.

Kaidan could feel a smile emerging, and he quickly ducked his gaze, hoping no one would see. It had been years since he was among people so comfortable with each other, and he missed the sense of closeness such camaraderie generated. He longed to have this kind of closeness once more, but he dismissed the feeling quickly. He had nearly burned himself once a long time ago; best not to repeat the mistake.

The sound of a datapad clattering as Shepard put it in the centre of the coffee table pulled him from his wistful thoughts. “This isn’t just a social dinner. Read this. Nothing we talk about here leaves this room.”

Both Liara and Garrus connected their omni-tools to the datapad and accessed the data on it. Kaidan did the same and recognised the data as his filed report on his Mindoir mission and Shepard’s draft notes on Dr Bryson’s murder. For a moment, he wanted to object to sharing his report and notes with the others but dismissed the urge just as swiftly. Shepard had said he was bringing in members of his crew whom he think could help in their investigation. Clearly, he had Garrus and Liara in mind.

The rest of dinner was a quiet affair as Garrus and Liara read through the datapad. Kaidan concentrated on his food, especially the sushi. It had been a long time since he had seafood from Earth. Ryuusei’s sushi was particularly good, considering the Citadel was located far from Earth. He peeled the slices of fish and other types of seafood from the neatly rolled lumps of rice and ate them, savouring each mouthful of fresh seafood.

“I see that you’re enjoying the seafood more than the beef and rice, Major,” EDI noted softly as she waited patiently in her seat. Being synthetic, she didn’t have to eat.

Kaidan blinked and looked down at his bowl. Much to his alarm and embarrassment, he saw how much rice and beef he had pushed aside in favour of the seafood. Hurriedly, he scooped out a spoonful of the beef and rice. “Ah, been some time since I have had such excellent seafood.”  

“I am glad you are enjoying your dinner. Is your bunk to your liking?”

“Yes, thank you. I’m impressed how quickly Lieutenant Cortez and Specialist Traynor were able to assign a bunk to me at such short notice.”

“One of our crewmates was recently reassigned to Earth. If you need to requisite anything, Cortez is the person to approach.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”

When they finished, Kaidan helped EDI to clean up the empty used containers while Shepard poured drinks for everybody from his private stash.

“Questions?” he asked.

“Quite a mystery on our hands,” Garrus commented as he accepted the glass of turian brandy.

“I’ve heard of Dr Bryson and his research on Leviathan,” Liara said. “It’s a niche field of study. I can count on one hand the number of archaeologists specialising in it.”

“Would that be asari hand or turian hand?” Garrus quipped.

Liara gave him an amused look. “Asari, of course. You turians don’t have enough fingers.”

“You’re an archaeologist, Dr T’Soni?” Kaidan asked, his interest piqued.

“Call me Liara. I was an archaeologist. I retired from academia a few years ago and I now work as an information broker.”

An archaeologist retiring from the discipline while still in her youth? Kaidan sensed a story there. He didn’t know much about the world of academia, but he doubted they retire in their prime.  

Liara continued, “I still keep track of current events in the field of archaeology. The discovery of these orbs is an important breakthrough in the study of Leviathan and yet I have heard nothing about it. If I have made a similar important discovery in my Prothean study, I would be announcing my findings as soon as I can just to keep the credit to myself.”

“Could it be Dr Bryson discovered the danger they pose and decided not to?” Garrus asked.

“That would be unethical. When an archaeologist determines an artefact to be dangerous, he must report and turn it over to the Council authorities for containment. Ancient artefacts can be dangerous. Just look at the quarantine zones the Council imposed on Reaper artefacts.”

“Perhaps Dr Bryson is an unethical archaeologist?” EDI suggested.

“He doesn’t seem like that type,” Kaidan said.

“And Hackett wouldn’t associate with someone like that so closely in his personal life either,” Shepard agreed. “No, I suspect he was caught between a rock and a hard place. He knew he had to relinquish it to the Council authorities but that means exposing more people to its danger.”

“So, he decided to tackle the danger alone and was killed.” Garrus hummed thoughtfully. “Which leaves us with the task of finding and arresting his murderer, locating his missing data drives, making the connections between his research, the orbs and Major Alenko’s Mindoir mission. Well, just another day in the office, really.”

“What’s the plan?” Liara asked.

“We need to approach this investigation from all possible angles,” Kaidan spoke up. “I’m planning to return to Dr Bryson’s home and lab tomorrow, dig into the security footage logs and whatever else I can find. I should be able to piece together a rough picture of his activities just before he was murdered.”

“I’ll help you with it. Two pairs of eyes are better than one. EDI, Liara, I like both of you to join us tomorrow,” Shepard said. “Even though the data drives are missing, there’s still a lot of physical data in the lab. Between Liara’s familiarity with archaeological research and EDI’s processing power, you both should be able to find out what Dr Bryson knew about Leviathan and the orbs.”

Liara pursed her lips thoughtfully. “I’ll reach out to some of my ex-colleagues as well, find out what they know about Dr Bryson and his research.”

“I’ll lead the search for Derek Hadley,” Garrus volunteered. “Finding people is my speciality. I’m sure we can find him fast.”

“Do we need to involve anyone else, Shepard?” EDI queried.

“No, I want to keep this quiet and discreet for now.” He gave the A.I. a stern look. “Which means you do not say anything to Joker, not even by implying.”

“Understood.”

Shepard thought for a moment. “Where are we in our repairs and re-supply, Garrus?”

“The repairs should be completed in another ten hours. Cortez and Vega are expecting the last shipments of ammunition and dextro-food at oh-eight-hundred hours tomorrow, which means the Normandy should be flight-ready by oh-ten-hundred hours.”

“Put the crew on standby. I don’t know how long we will remain on the Citadel, but we need to be ready to fly at a moment’s notice.”

“Noted.”

“There is one other thing we need to resolve,” Kaidan cut in. “The orbs are dangerous and insidious mind-control devices. They can influence and mind-control people without their knowledge. We need to put in some safeguards just in case Normandy’s crew falls victim to it.”

“I think you’re underestimating us, Major.” Garrus rumbled. “We’re not so easily taken in.”

“This ship and its crew are important and sensitive Alliance assets,” Kaidan replied calmly. “The last thing we need is the puppet-master gaining control over the best crew in the Alliance.”

“Major Alenko is correct. We do require safeguards to prevent the Normandy and her crew from falling into the enemy’s hands,” EDI spoke up. “It does seem that organics are particularly vulnerable to the orbs’ influence.”

“Maybe not turians and asari,” Garrus pointed out.

“We don’t know for sure,” Liara countered. “Until we are sure, I think it’s safe to assume that all organics are at risk of being mind-controlled.”

“Except for Major Alenko.” Garrus’ mandibles flexed in what Kaidan somehow recognised as a thoughtful gesture. “Do you have any idea why it doesn’t work on you, Major?”

“Just ‘Kaidan’ will do. And no, I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it, and I still haven’t had a clue.”

It wasn’t entirely true. Kaidan did have his suspicions, but he wasn’t about to air them.

“EDI, in the worst-case scenario, you’ll be the only member of this crew who will remain free from the orbs’ influence,” Shepard said. “If that situation ever come to pass, do whatever it takes to protect yourself, this ship, the Alliance and the galaxy.”

“Even if it means harming the crew?” 

“If we are mind-controlled, we will be finding ways to shut you down permanently. You’ll be the last obstacle between the puppet master and giving them access to the Alliance and the Council.”

“Your reasoning is sound. I will devise safeguards for such a scenario.”

Kaidan relaxed. At least Shepard and his crew took his concerns seriously.

“There is one other thing I don’t understand,” Garrus said. “Why did Dr Bryson seek to contain the orb instead of destroying it? He clearly had some idea of the danger it presented.”

“I dare say he was reluctant to destroy it, especially if he thought it’s the only one left,” Liara answered. “He’s an archaeologist and the orb were a relic. Archaeologists are not in the habit of destroying relics. It’s anathema.”

A new thought struck Kaidan. “The box is custom-made.”

A look of comprehension dawned on Shepard’s face. “Someone built the box for him, which meant he had given data to that someone.”

“And that someone may have kept the data,” Kaidan finished. “It wouldn’t be much. Dr Bryson would’ve only given him what he needed to know, but it’s still data concerning the orb.”

“Which may prove useful if we encounter any orb in our investigation,” EDI said.

“Chances are he commissioned someone to build the box for him. Hopefully, the money trail will lead us to the person.”

“There may be a positive upside to finding the person who built the box,” EDI added. “If they can find out why the box failed to do its task and improve on the design, we may have an effective containment unit for any future orb we may come across in our investigation.”

“I’d rather we destroy any orb we find,” Kaidan interjected.

“It may be prudent to keep one for research, Major. We know so little about the technology used.”

“Maybe, but I won’t be holding my breath. The science behind its technology is so different.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Shepard said in a firm tone that put an end to the debate.

They discussed a few more avenues of possible investigations, tossing ideas and speculations about the identity and nature of Leviathan, but it was soon clear that without more information, they had done whatever they could for now.

Gradually, their conversation turned to more leisurely subjects.

Kaidan found out that Garrus was former C-Sec, and he met Shepard while investigating Saren’s activities. Hampered by red tape, he joined Shepard’s crew on the first Normandy instead to hunt the rogue Spectre down. After the War of the Citadel, Garrus quitted C-Sec and accepted Shepard’s invitation to join his crew as second-in-command with the Turian Hierarchy’s blessings.

Liara met Shepard pretty much around the same time as Garrus did. She was still working as an archaeologist and for reasons she did not elaborate, Saren was searching for her. Thankfully, Shepard got to her first and put her under his protection. After that, her account grew a bit vague, and Kaidan couldn’t help but take notice. He didn’t comment though, sensing it was somehow a delicate topic with her.

Dinner was…a refreshing change of pace; it had been many years since Kaidan hung out with people just for the harmless sake of it. He didn’t think it was possible, but he actually relaxed. And of course, when he was finally relaxed and started enjoying himself, his exhaustion caught up with him.

“Are we boring you, Kaidan?” Liara asked when he stifled a yawn for the third time. Her smile though indicated she was not offended by his rude behaviour.

“Sorry,” Kaidan apologised, nevertheless. He rose to his feet. “This mission has been difficult from day one. I better call it a day before I fall asleep right here.”

Bidding goodnight to the others, Kaidan headed back to the crew quarters. According to Citadel time, the night was still early but he had been up for close to eighteen hours at this point. Quickly going through his ablutions and changing in a loose tee-shirt and shorts, he tumbled into the bunk and was asleep the moment his head hit his pillow.

Chapter Text

25 September 2186

Milky Way / Attican Traverse / Mindoir System / Mindoir

The plantation settlement of Maybeline Faire

A gunshot shattered the night air and Kaiden instinctively flinched. The bullet had whizzed dangerously close past his head and smashed into a nearby tree trunk.

That was too close for comfort.

His heart pounding loudly in his chest, Kaidan ran for his life. He mustn’t slow down; he couldn’t afford to. To falter at this stage was to die, and if he dies without completing his mission successfully, the Alliance Military would have no choice but to eradicate the entire settlement and everyone living in it. Kaidan knew he could never live with himself if that happens.

Out here in the plantations, far from the artificial lights of the settlement and with the trees’ thick canopy obscuring the moonlight, it was pitch black. It was impossible to see the light of the burning warehouses setting the night sky aglow.

Kaidan refused to feel guilty about it. He hadn’t been able to find the pile of orbs where he last saw them, and he didn’t have the time to search for them. The only solution had been to bomb and set fire to every warehouse in Maybeline Faire. Fingers crossed, he prayed he had destroyed the orbs. Thank goodness the settlement had only three warehouses, but it still took him more time than he liked to destroy them.  

Despite his speed, he kept a careful watch of the ground. He did not know the terrain and he could injure himself with one wrong step. He really couldn’t afford to be injured either. It was not egoistical for him to say the freedom of the mind-controlled people in the settlement and exposing the insidious and invisible enemy depended on him. Not for the first time, Kaidan gave thanks to his visor. The night-vision and dynamic mini-map in his visor were all that kept him free so far.

The situation was utterly stacked against him: he was the lone, independent-thinking person left in the settlement. He couldn’t use his biotics – the light show would give his position away – and he refused to fire upon innocent civilians even though they did not share his restraint. Mind-controlled or not, they were still citizens of the Systems Alliance and needed help. But he must put an end to this bizarre situation before he could call for reinforcement or otherwise, he’d just be feeding the insidious nature of the invisible enemy.

Kaidan hoped the darkness was hindering his pursuers’ progress more than it did him. As far as he knew, no one else in the settlement possessed night vision and other military-grade tracking equipment.

He needed to get to the lake fast.

The key to putting an end to this mess was there, in the lake, and he prayed hard none of his mind-controlled pursuers realised he had figured it out.

He swerved sharply to his left when he spotted two fast-approaching dots on his mini-map. Okay, maybe they had some sort of tracking equipment. Two more gunshots rang out, close enough to force him to change direction again.

“Shit!”

They were trying to herd him, he swiftly realised, trying to force him into a pincer where he would be surrounded and trapped.

Well, he was not going to cooperate.

He corrected his direction and ploughed straight on, ignoring the bullets that bit the ground close to him.

His pursuers were eerily quiet; they did not shout or call out to each other. He couldn't determine how many were chasing him. Those he could detect on his mini-map were slowing down and falling behind, and Kaidan thought he knew why. They believed he did not know about the cliff up ahead and so thought they had him cornered.

Kaidan slowed to a stop when he reached the treeline. Squatting down and taking cover behind a tree trunk, he checked his surroundings. The short distance between the treeline and the edge of the cliff was out in the open and he could not detect anyone else nearby.

This was it. Pursuers or not, he had to take the next step now.

Kaidan took off his visor and tucked it into a pocket. The cliff was high enough to make diving dangerous. A part of him wished he wasn’t doing this in the dark, but it was the quickest way to shake off his pursuers and get the job done.

He took a deep breath.

Steeling his nerves, Kaidan sprinted for the cliff’s edge and dove off – just as another gunshot rang out.

Heat and pain suddenly bloomed in his back.

Chapter Text

2 October 2186

Milky Way / Serpent Nebula / Widow System / The Citadel

Kaidan jolted awake.

Panting hard, he stared unseeingly up at the underside of the bunk above him, his mind racing to catch up with his body. The disorientation passed quickly, and he soon became aware of his surrounding: he was in his bunk in the Normandy’s near-empty crew quarters.

“Fuck.”

Nightmare.

Again.

At least this time around, he hadn’t lost control of his biotics while caught in the grip of a nightmare. He doubted Shepard would be pleased to find his crew quarters trashed. The same could not be said for the hospital ward on Mindoir Prime. That incident had almost benched him.

In the quiet dark of the night cycle, he sat up in his bunk and wiped a hand over his sweaty face. It had been more than a week since the Mindoir mission, and he still couldn’t get a good night’s sleep. He was either plagued by insomnia or nightmares in equal measures.

Why did Mindoir still haunt him so? He had been an intelligence specialist long enough to experience his fair share of the underbelly of the galactic civilisations. Maybeline Faire was not the worst, so why?

Because the mission had turned personal, because Leviathan now knew his secret, a voice in his heart whispered to him. And worse still, he did not know how Leviathan would use his secret against him.

His parents had drilled into him since he was a young child to be constantly cautious and vigilant. He did not always listen at first but as he grew older and matured, he took their words to heart and diligently kept his secret, well, secret. Other than his parents, no one else knew his secret.

Until now.

The fear of what Leviathan could do with his secret and the fact he knew next to nothing about them…all these put him on the edge. He had never been in this situation before, and it rattled him.

Kaidan took a shuddering breath and glanced at his chronometer. It was barely three in the morning – another night of fewer than four hours of sleep. He sighed and quietly got out of his bunk.

Sleep was out of the question now. Might as well get to work.

~

Like any soldiers on active duty, Shepard’s day started early. By six, he had already gone through his daily workout, showered, and readied himself for another day of work.

The Normandy’s galley was mostly empty when Shepard arrived, which was odd since he expected to see Kaidan up and about too. He set the coffee machine to brew and prepped his breakfast MRE. Absently, he wondered why the newest and temporary addition to his crew was not up yet. Kaidan didn’t strike him as the type to be late for anything.

He looked up when Liara emerged from her cabin and made her way towards him. She was dressed for the day in her casual white armour.

“Morning, Shepard.”

“Morning. Breakfast?”

“Unlike you, I prefer to get actual food when we are docked at the Citadel.”

“What’s wrong with MREs? It’s well-balanced and filling. I don’t have to think too much about nutrition.”

“Whatever you say, Shepard,” Liara said indulgently. “Is Kaidan awake yet?”

“Kaidan is not on board the Normandy, Liara.” EDI’s voice spoke over the intercom. “He is currently in Dr Bryson’s lab, analysing the security videos.”

Shepard paused in mid-bite. “What time did he get there?”

“Three fifty-seven this morning.”

Shepard’s brows rose. “He nearly fell asleep during dinner last night.”

“He slept for approximately three-point-thirty-two hours before waking. Twenty-point-three minutes later, he left the Normandy. As I am monitoring the perimeter barricade set up around Dr Bryson’s home, I detected his arrival and decided to join him. We have been working since.”

“For someone who claimed to be exhausted, he slept very little.”

“I do not think it is by choice, Shepard. His bio-signs, while he slept, were not…restful.”

The Major had nightmares, that much was clear.

Shepard turned to Liara. “What do you think?”

“About?”

“Come on, Liara.”

“Really, Shepard. That would be rude.”

Shepard simply looked at her expectedly.

“Fine, I did do a background check,” she admitted, “for the safety of the crew.”

“And what did you find out, oh great Shadow Broker?”

Liara rolled her eyes at his gentle jab. “I found out that I did not even hear of Major Kaidan Alenko until you told me about him.”

“You can’t possibly keep track of every governmental intelligence agent in the field.”

“No,” she conceded, “but a very good-looking agent like him should be impossible to overlook. There ought to have been rumours and whispers at the very least, but I did not get even that. I spoke to one of my agents who is a recent ex-Alliance Intelligence. He told me that Major Alenko is one of the Alliance Intelligence’s best. He’s a ghost despite being a - what do you call them? – looker.”

“Are you sure your agent wasn’t talking about a different person?”

“He wasn’t. It’s intriguing, to be certain,” Liara agreed. “Judging from what little I’ve seen of his behaviour last night, I’m sure he knows how to use his good looks to his advantage. But this is where it gets odd. People should at least remember his face; they don’t.”

“That’s interesting. Kaidan said something similar last night.”

“Really?”

“We got to know each other better before you and Garrus showed up,” Shepard explained.

“Do I have to remind you to be careful?”

“About?”

Liara gave him a knowing look. “I saw how you looked at him last night.”

“The only one who wasn’t looking was EDI.”

“We only looked,” Liara said primly. “You, on the other hand…” she let her words trail off suggestively.

“You think he’s dangerous?”

“We’re all dangerous, Shepard. But you’re the type who likes to invite attractive danger into your bed.”

“Touché. I’ll be mindful,” he promised. “Did your agent tell you anything else about him?”

“Here’s the other interesting bit. The Major likes to work alone and tends to ditch his mission partner as soon as he can. Out of curiosity, did he try to ditch you?”

“Yep, twice. The first time was even before we met.” Shepard smirked. “It’s a good thing Anderson warned me. The second time, he formally made the request to Anderson. His request was denied. He didn’t take it well.”

“It is curious that Kaidan insists on working alone,” EDI interjected.

“A lack of trust, perhaps?” Liara suggested. “Or something to hide?”

Shepard shrugged. “He claims to work alone is easier and faster, but who knows?”

“Shepard, I do not believe working alone for this mission is to his benefit,” EDI said. “I am currently monitoring his bio-signs, discreetly of course, and they are elevated. Appearance-wise, he does not look well.”

“Well, he was shot on Mindoir and according to the hospital records I accessed, he checked himself out of the hospital the moment he was strong enough to walk and went straight back to work.” Liara pointed out. “But I suspect it’s his internal injury plaguing him. He mentioned in his report that he was assaulted by pain when the two orbs on Mindoir tried to take control of his mind?”

“It would be three orbs now,” EDI corrected. “The third attempt was by Dr Bryson’s orb.”

Liara frowned. “That is terrible.”

“How so?” Shepard asked.

“It’s an injury of the neural and nervous systems, exacerbated by multiple exposures in his case. We asari have a field in our medicines dedicated to the detection and healing of the body’s injured neural and nervous systems. But as I understand it, he didn’t remain hospitalised long enough for the asari doctors to examine him.”

“Any idea how this type of injury would affect him?”

Liara tapped a graceful finger against her cheek pensively. “I’m no doctor. I don’t know.”

“Perhaps, for the time being, we should keep an eye on him,” EDI suggested.

“Perhaps. If he is going to stay with us for long, we need to inform Dr Chakwas as well.”

Thoughtful, Shepard cleaned his meal tray before grabbing his leather jacket. With Liara falling into step with him, he headed for the airlock exit.

When he had first read Kaidan’s service record, he thought he knew what to expect. All that changed when he met Kaidan in person; the Major was nothing like he expected from an Alliance soldier, even for an intelligence specialist. He was paradoxically open and secretive. How did that combination even work? Shepard wondered. Yet somehow it did.

A sudden thought occurred to him. “Liara, don’t tell Kaidan that you’re the Shadow Broker. In fact, conceal it from him.”

“Do you have misgivings about him?”

“No. He’s just exceptionally good at his job. He found out that Cerberus built this Normandy and EDI without even accessing Alliance files. Until I have a better understanding of him, I don’t want him to know about Normandy’s secrets.” Shepard paused and said to EDI, “make sure Joker knows to keep his mouth shut, EDI.”

“Understood, Shepard,” EDI replied.

“I’ll be mindful around him,” Liara assured him.

Satisfied, Shepard led the way to the parked skycar.

“There is one thing in the Major’s report I found interesting,” Liara said after the skycar took flight.

“Which is?”

“His description on how he destroyed the orb in the lake. Deliberately executing biotics underwater and while in a tremendous amount of pain at the same time is impossible even for an asari. He must either be an extraordinarily strong and skilled biotic or he had help which he failed to mention.”

“You noticed that, huh?”

“It’s a very well-written report, said everything that is needed to be said. Someone unfamiliar with what biotics can do will probably accept it at face value. I’m inclined to think he had help which he did not want to disclose.”

Shepard smirked. He leaned back against his seat, crossing his arms across his chest. “He’s an L2 who spikes higher than L3s. Wouldn’t that have given him an edge?”

“Possibly, but the level of discipline and power involved…no, he definitely had help, I’m sure of it.”

“Human biotics with L5n implants were the first non-asari to execute the biotic charge.” Shepard pointed out, playing the devil’s advocate. “From what I know of that mnemonic, it requires a high level of power, skill and discipline.”

“But can an L5n biotic still execute the biotic charge while in so much pain?” Liara countered. She looked hard at him and then sighed. “You’ve already thought of that.”

Shepard’s smile broadened. “Always good to have confirmation.”

Arriving at Dr Bryson’s lab, Shepard quickly found Kaidan and EDI’s mobile platform. While EDI was working at the galaxy map’s controls, Kaidan sat at the workstation near the enclosed sky-well. The Major was wearing civvies today - like his own civvies, but plainer - and his expression was intent and focused on the workstation screen.

“Are you always so industrious?” Kaidan startled at his approach and looked up, and Shepard found himself frowning at his haggard appearance. “Did you even sleep at all?” 

“I can say the same to you. It’s late.”

“It’s past seven am.”

“Wha-?” Kaidan’s gaze darted to his chronometer and then to the brightening daylight pouring through the windows. “Oh.”

“What have you found out?” Shepard queried.

“We have reviewed the security footage of Dr Bryson’s last forty-eight hours and pieced together a broad timeline of events leading up to his murder,” EDI volunteered the information as she walked over to them.

Kaidan picked up the narration. “About twelve hours before he was murdered, Dr Bryson drugged Hadley into unconsciousness before swapping the drives. We still do not know what he did with the actual drives. He was careful to keep out of sight of most of the cameras when he left. The front entrance registered his return sometime around the four-point-twenty-nine-hour mark. Hadley woke up sometime after that, returned to work and discovered the drives were missing. He then confronted Dr Bryson and murdered him. I’ll even go out on a limb and say Dr Bryson did not tell him what he did with the drives.”

“And his research?”

“I am currently taking inventory of Dr Bryson’s research,” EDI reported. “There is a massive amount of physical data, and I am barely scratching the surface of it. So far, I have categorised broad areas of research: meteoroids with eezo element, Prothean artefacts, Rachni activities during the Rachni War, blackout murders, the Thorian, sightings of unexplained creatures and an unmarked flight trajectory. He seems to be studying everything but Leviathan and the orb.” 

“It makes me think he wasn’t really researching to prove Leviathan’s existence,” Kaidan commented.

“Not necessary. He might be trying to prove their existence through extrapolation,” Liara said thoughtfully.

“Meaning?”

“I did a bit of reading last night. The Leviathan did not leave anything of themselves behind. There are no ruins, no texts, nothing physical that can be definitively attributed to them. All we have are scattered bits of legends and myths alluding to their existence from other primitive civilizations, and even these have been heavily distorted by several thousand years of storytelling. These bits of legends and all the areas he’s looking into are probably the only sources Dr Bryson could study to determine their existence.”

“And then all of a sudden, he discovered an orb – concrete proof that Leviathan had existed once upon a time,” Shepard said.

“It would have galvanised his research,” Liara concluded.

“If he can prove the link between the orb and Leviathan,” EDI pointed out.

Shepard folded his arms. “Looks like we have our work cut out for us. Liara, EDI, why don’t you two determine if Dr Bryson was trying to prove Leviathan’s existence? Kaidan and I will take care of the investigation into his murder.”

As the women moved away to begin their tasks, Kaidan looked expectedly at Shepard. “You want to take the money trail or the security footage?”

“Money trail. Spectre authority will allow me to track it faster. You seem to have an eye for out-of-the-ordinary details; I’ll leave the security footage to you.”

“You forgot to mention it’s also boring.”

“Is it?” Shepard’s expression was guileless.

Kaidan rolled his eyes.

The next few hours passed in near silence as they concentrated on their self-assigned tasks.

Kaidan gamely sloughed through weeks of surveillance footage, working backwards. When he reached the time mark of six weeks ago, a time frame roughly before the time Hackett said he had talked to Dr Bryson about the orb, he hit pay dirt.

“Shepard,” he called, “come take a look at this.”

Shepard moved to stand next to him. “What did you find?”

“Someone delivering the orb to him.” Kaidan played the vid.

In the vid, Dr Bryson welcomed a human man, tanned, and dressed in travel-worn flight-suit and armour, and ushered him in. A hover-crate followed the stranger into Dr Bryson’s office. Both men were talking animatedly as they pried open the crate to reveal the sinister orb Kaidan had destroyed yesterday. Worse still, it was already glowing.

“Any idea who that is?” Shepard asked.

“No. Without his omni-tool and data drives, there’s no way of identifying the stranger. I’m going to ask my contacts. From the way they interacted, they clearly knew each other. He may just lead us to the source of the orb.”

Shepard hummed thoughtfully. “Send a freeze-frame of this person to me. I’ll ask my contacts too.” A beep from his omni-tool diverted his attention. “Looks like the money trail panned out. Dr Bryson made a transaction to Saronis Applications in Zakara Ward about eleven days ago. No description of what it is for, but I’m familiar with the company. They specialise in custom-build hardware and software.”

“Sounds like a place where he would commission a containment box from.”

“Let’s go pay them a visit,” Shepard suggested.

“Now?”

“Why not? I think we can safely say this footage marks the beginning of the events leading to his death. I doubt we will find any more useful footage before it.”

Chapter Text

Saronis Applications was located on the twenty-sixth floor of a building in Zakara Ward’s Mid-Wards District. It was a small unassuming shop with a discreet - for Zakara Ward - neon signboard advertising its presence.

They were about to enter when Shepard got a comm message from his turian friend. “Garrus has found Hadley,” he told Kaidan.

“That’s fast.”

“When it comes to a manhunt, Garrus is the person for the job.”

Inside Saronis Applications, the retail space was plain and nondescript. It mostly comprised of a long counter manned by a salarian who perked up immediately at their entrance, or rather at Shepard’s entrance.

“Commander Shepard! How good to see you again!” he greeted exuberantly.

“Hi, Marab. How’s business?”

“Very good. What can I do for you, Commander? Oh, I know! A new multicore amplifier for your omni-tool! It can overclock your omni-tool to match a geth’s response time.”

“Not today,” Shepard declined. “Does the name Dr Garret Bryson ring any bell?”

“I remember him. Most unusual request. First time we get a request to build a box.”

“The box is supposed to be self-powered, right?”

“Yes. One of his requirements. Building the power source was easy, the shielding not so. One of our finest works, if I do say so myself. Is he happy with the product?”

“The containment box didn’t work.”

The salarian’s big dark eyes blinked rapidly in his surprise. “Come again?”

“The power supply failed.”

“That’s impossible! I expect teething issues with the shielding, not the power source. It’s a reliable type.”

“And yet it did.”

The salarian was clearly distressed. “Is Dr Bryson angry with us? Is that why he sent you instead of talking to me directly?”

“He’s dead,” Shepard said bluntly.

“What?”

“I’m investigating his death and the box came up in my search. Did Dr Bryson tell you why he needed it built?”

“No. He just wanted it built asap.” The salarian paused to think. “Perhaps that’s why it failed - we rushed the job. No, no, our work is top-notch. It cannot be an organic error. If we can examine the box, maybe we can diagnose the problem.”

“I’ll have it sent to you,” Shepard promised. “Did Dr Bryson give you notes on his requirements?”

“Yes. He was very particular on the type of shielding the box should have.”

“Send me his notes and any you might have made in the process of building it.”

“Of course, Commander. Anything to help.”

The transfer of Dr Bryson’s notes was quick and very soon, they were back in their skycar. As the vehicle navigated the traffic, Kaidan scanned through the datapad Marab had given them.

“This is extremely detailed and complicated,” he mumbled absently. “I’m going have to forward it to Chang’s task force. He’ll have someone from R&D to figure it out.”

“Give a copy to EDI too,” Shepard suggested. “She’s no slouch in that department.”

The nav-point Garrus gave them was not too far away from the Mid-Ward District, in the Lower Markets. After parking their skycar, Shepard led the way through the crowds.

The Lower Wards were completely different from the Upper Wards and the Presidium.

The Presidium had wide-open areas - big enough to simulate blue sky, and cultivated green spaces and clean waterways, all to give the illusion of a planet-side city. And the Upper Wards gave the impression of living and working inside a posh building – all clean and spacious residential apartments and enclosed common areas with viewing galleries boasting sprawling views of the other arms of the Citadel and the nebula.

But the Lower Wards were different: they were claustrophobic, resembled street markets more than posh malls, and did nothing to disguise the fact they were in the lower bellies of a space station.

Shepard noticed Kaidan looking around and had to ask, “never been here before?”

“No,” the Major admitted. “It’s very different from the Upper Markets.”

Unlike the genteel, staid Upper Markets, the Lower Markets were chaotic, more visceral and filled with frenetic energy. Everything was louder, noisier, more colourful in terms of lighting and aromas. If the Upper Markets catered to the gentrified and well-off population of the Citadel, then the Lower Markets provided for the middle and working classes and the poor.

“Most of the average galactic citizens tend to gather here. Lodging is cheap, food is cheap and there are all kinds of entertainment.” Shepard looked at Kaidan meaningfully. “And I mean all kinds. It’s a hotchpotch of cultures.”

Kaidan nodded distractedly. “I can see why Hadley would come here to disappear. It’s so diverse, it makes hiding in plain sight relatively easy.”

Shepard led the way to a bar. Kaidan spotted Garrus lounging at a window bar seat; his silver-and-blue armour appearing washed out in the orange-tinted light of the Lower Markets.

“So where is he?” Shepard asked without preamble.

“See that motel there?” Garrus nodded in the direction of a low-budget motel not too far from the bar. “Tracked him to it.”

“And you’re out here because…?”

Shepard knew his friend well enough to interpret that particular way his mandibles twitched as irritation.

“The receptionist refused to tell me anything. Said that ‘the establishment values its guests’ privacy’.”

“You couldn’t persuade the receptionist of a low-budget motel to give up information?”

“She was obnoxiously stubborn.”

Kaidan tilted his head curiously. “Then how did you know he’s staying there?”

Garrus cocked a thumb over his shoulder - a distinctly human gesture he picked up from Shepard. “The barkeeper here told me that, said Hadley came here to buy meals for the last two days.”

Shepard eyed the low-budget motel critically. It wasn’t exactly seedy but neither did it seem very reputable.

“Sounds like the receptionist is the queen of her own particular hill,” Kaidan mused aloud.

“How would you handle someone like that?” Shepard asked curiously.

Kaidan didn’t say another word, just simply headed straight for the motel.

Shepard and Garrus looked at each other.

With a shrug, Garrus gestured in Kaidan’s direction. “Guess we should follow.”

The receptionist was a young woman with a haughty, officious air Shepard could spot a mile away. She reminded him of the obnoxious Bel Anoleis he encountered on Noveria during his hunt for Saren three years ago. 

Curious, he hung back to observe how Kaidan would handle her.

Kaidan, who he thought was a strait-laced person, seamlessly morphed into a very charming man right before his eyes. His sure steps didn’t falter, his confident posture didn’t change, but somehow – Shepard could not explain how – he was suddenly more attractive and more charming. And all Shepard could look at was Kaidan.

“Wait here,” Kaidan whispered to him.

And Shepard obeyed without thinking. His gaze was glued on Kaidan as he sauntered up to the receptionist, a faint smile curving his well-formed lips.

The receptionist froze and unbelievably, blushed to the roots of her hair and smiled back coyly. She straightened and checked her appearance surreptitiously even as Kaidan greeted her.

“Hello.”

“H-hi…I mean, good afternoon. Is there anything I can help you with?” she simpered.

Shepard gaped, astonished by how easily and quickly the handsome Major had hooked the receptionist.

Kaidan’s smile deepened charmingly. “I hope so…” he made a brief show of reading her name tag, “Kate. Maybe you can spare me a little of your time?”

Kate the receptionist blushed even redder, and Shepard was distracted by the sudden urge to pull Kaidan away from the counter and kiss him right there in front of her. Mine!

The fierceness of the possessive urge drew him up short. It wasn’t like him to get so jealous and possessive over a person - worse, a person he had not established a romantic relationship with yet.

Gritting his teeth, Shepard tore his gaze away from the sight of Kaidan chatting up the receptionist and focused on the hustle-bustle outside the motel.

Looking away was physically painful and took a lot of effort. It felt like he was tearing out a piece of himself. His head throbbed and he became conscious of his heavy breathing as though he had just run a marathon. The yearning to turn his gaze back to Kaidan was strong and kept getting stronger. Forcing himself to keep his gaze on the moving crowds outside the motel, he concentrated on calming his racing heart.

Behind him, he heard Kaidan ask Kate the receptionist, “do you recognise this man?”

“Yes, his name is Derek Hadley. He checked in here two days ago. Paid for a week upfront,” she answered readily.

Shepard could not believe his ears. Whatever Kaidan was doing was working like a charm.

“Has anyone come looking for him these two days?”

“Just a turian, an hour or so ago. I hardly see Hadley myself. He doesn’t seem to get out much.”

“Do you mind telling me which room he’s staying in?”

“No, not at all. Room 34. I can give you the keys if you like.”

Shepard’s jaws hit the ground. Kate the receptionist voluntarily offering them access to Hadley’s room? Just like that?

The temptation became too hard to resist. He had to turn back and watch and was instantly captivated once more by Kaidan’s bewitchingly charming attitude.

“That won’t be necessary.” Kaidan’s smile turned warm and gentle. “Thank you, Kate. You’ve been very helpful.”

Kate the receptionist was so red in the face that Shepard was certain she would burst a blood vessel. The expression on her face was dreamy, she smiled bashfully back at Kaidan. “Y-you’re welcomed.”

Kaidan smiled at her one last time and Kate’s eyes glazed over and her lovestruck expression turned slack. He headed for the stairs leading up to the motel rooms, silently beckoning for Shepard and Garrus to follow.

The moment they were out of Kate’s sight, Kaidan’s smile faded away and his expression turned solemn again. Just like that, he was the strait-laced, serious Major Shepard had come to know. The change was so drastic that it made his head swim.

“What the hell?” he muttered under his breath. He inexplicably felt as though he had been physically released from bondage. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. “What did you do, Kaidan?”

Kaidan did not answer. He climbed up the stairs, determinedly not looking back at Shepard.

“He charmed the receptionist,” Garrus murmured.

Shepard’s confused gaze darted to Garrus. His friend sounded equally dazed and blindsided too. Garrus’s neck was darker than usual - flushed, Shepard recognised with another bolt of surprise. Garrus - the straightest guy he knew and did not understand human aesthetics and committed to Tali, was completely flustered too.

Paradoxically, witnessing Garrus’ fluster brought Shepard back to his senses, like someone dumping cold water over his head. His head cleared rapidly.

“How did you do it?” he wondered aloud. “Is it the smile or something?”

“Must be the smile,” Garrus decided. “Is it the smile, Kaidan?”

Kaidan briefly glanced over his shoulder back at them.

Shepard missed a step.

Behind him, Garrus swore as he stumbled into his back.

Shepard stared at Kaidan’s back in distracted bemusement, torn between admiring the Major’s extremely attractive derriere and wondering what the hell happened.

Kaidan’s over-the-should glance was, really, just a normal human gesture, but something about the way he did it made the gesture inexplicably sensual and beguiling.

And it effortlessly caught Shepard, leaving him bemused and startled. He liked guys, was experienced too, but he had never, never met any man who possessed charms even remotely like Kaidan Alenko’s. 

Reaching the third floor, Shepard slowed to a halt when Kaidan paused. He watched the Major warily as he turned around to face them. The expression on his handsome face was closed-off and he did not quite meet their eyes.

“Sorry,” Kaidan said stiffly. “I didn’t intend to…,” he gestured vaguely in the air, “do that to you. It won’t happen again, I promise you, Commander. You and your crew are safe from me.”

Shepard blinked, not sure how to respond to Kaidan’s vague and odd apology. In fact, why was he even apologising?

Surprisingly, it was Garrus who replied before he could. “So, you’re very charming, like how Shepard is a natural take-charge guy. I don’t see why you need to apologise for just being you. All you did was to make me realise I’m not as straight as I thought.”

Kaidan stared at him in silence for a long moment, then looked askance at Shepard.

He shrugged and simply added, “what he said.”

Kaidan didn’t seem to know how to react. He gave them one last searching look as though he couldn’t quite understand their ready acceptance and, without another word, resumed his search for Hadley’s room.

That was telling.

Shepard couldn’t help but wonder how often Kaidan’s good looks and charm had been held against him.

Chapter Text

The corridor leading to Hadley’s room was dimly lit, but it could not hide the scattered bits of litter on the dirty floor and the stains on the walls. While Garrus stood guard at the only exit in the corridor, Shepard and Kaidan flanked the door of Hadley’s room.

My turn, Shepard mouthed to Kaidan before rapping firmly on the door.

“Who-who’s there?” a hesitant voice called out tentatively.

“Housekeeping.” Shepard saw Kaidan raising a brow questioningly at him and he shrugged. Who else would knock on a hotel door out of the blue except for housekeeping?

“Oh, er, come back another time!”

“No can do. My boss will have my ass if I skip your room.” Kaidan appeared to be impressed by his rather convincing impersonation of a bored insolent housekeeper. He grinned at the Major, feeling proud of himself.

“Just go-go away!”

Hadley sounded panicked and ready to bolt, and they mustn’t allow that to happen.

Kaidan impatiently nudged him aside and quickly and deftly hacked the door’s lock. It was laughably easy and in a blink of an eye, he had unlocked the door and Shepard pushed his way in.

Inside, Derek Hadley stood in the middle of the hotel room, gaping at their entrance. He looked awful: unshaven, slovenly and his clothes – unchanged from the day he ran from Dr Bryson’s lodging – were rumpled and stained. He stared at them, too terrified to even speak.

“Derek Hadley? I’m Commander Shepard. We’re-”

Before Shepard could finish, Hadley immediately babbled hysterically. “I didn’t do it! I didn’t do it! It wasn’t me who pulled the trigger!”

“Calm down, Hadley.”

“Calm down? Calm down? My finger pulled the trigger, but I didn’t pull the trigger! But who will believe me?! You’re just going to arrest and throw me into jail! I don’t want to go to jail. I’m innocent! I didn’t do it!” Hadley was overwrought, stressed beyond rational conversation and clearly about to break.

Shepard opened his mouth to attempt calming the agitated man when Kaidan cut him off. “We believe you.”

The Commander watched closely as Kaidan slowly and carefully approached Hadley.

The Major effortlessly caught the lab assistant’s wild hysterical gaze and said calmly, soothingly, “We know you are innocent. That’s why Commander Shepard and I are here. We want to help you.”

Chest still heaving with agitation, Hadley stared at the Major with terrified and red-rimmed eyes.

Shepard watched, fascinated, as Kaidan spoke to Hadley like he was a spooked animal.

And in a sense, he was.

At least he was listening to Kaidan.

Shepard realised with a start that he was listening closely to Kaidan too, to the low soothing cadence of his soft husky voice, the gentle lilt to his coaxing words. It was almost lulling and hypnotic, relaxing him to the extent that he nearly forgot why he was there.

It worked on Hadley. The lab assistant visibly calmed down and he sank onto the bed, shoulders sagging. He never took his tired, despairing gaze off Kaidan, staring at the Major as though he was the only other person in the room.

“How can you help me?” he whispered brokenly. “I’m a murderer in people’s eyes.”

“Not in our eyes, Derek. We know it wasn’t you who pulled the trigger.” Kaidan smiled comfortingly at him. “I’m Major Kaidan Alenko and this is Commander John Shepard. We know that you had been mind-controlled by someone who wanted to kill Dr Bryson.”

“You-you know who did it?”

“We have an idea, and we want to prove your innocence. But we can’t do it without your help. Can you help us, Derek?”

“Yeah-yeah, I guess so.”

“Can I sit down, Derek?”

“S-sure.”

Kaidan perched himself on the edge of the bed next to Hadley. “How long have you been working for Dr Bryson?”

“About six months.”

“Can you tell me what kind of man he was?”

“He’s a good man, tough but fair. He’s given me the opportunities I couldn’t get on Earth. He’s also a workaholic, completely focused on his research, but that’s par for the course in our line of work.”

“Sounds like a good boss,” Kaidan remarked sympathetically.

Derek nodded, tears in his eyes.

“Can you tell me anything about that day he was killed?”

“I remember compiling a report in the studio. Then suddenly I was somewhere else. When I came to, I was standing over Dr Bryson’s body with the gun in my hand and two days had somehow passed without my knowing. I panicked and ran.” Hadley clawed at his head with a sob. “What am I going to do?!”

“Hey, calm yourself,” Kaidan soothed. “It’s not your fault, okay? Not your fault.”

It took Hadley a couple more minutes to recompose himself.

“You said you were suddenly somewhere else. Can you explain?” Kaidan asked.

“It’s hard to describe. I just felt as though I was somewhere else, somewhere dark and cold and wet.”

Shepard and Kaidan exchanged a look. It was similar to the description the Maybeline Faire victims gave of their experiences. Without a doubt, Hadley was also a victim of the orb.

“What else did you feel?” Kaidan asked.

“I was alone…but not really? There was something else…in the cold, wet dark, something…huge and old. It wasn’t watching me or ignoring me… Have you ever noticed ants?”

Kaidan shook his head.

“They’re there, all around you, but you don’t notice them because they’re just too small to register in your awareness. That’s how I felt – like an ant.” 

“Was that the only time you felt like that?”

“No,” Hadley confessed. “I don’t know when it started, but there were many times before that day I felt like that. At first, I dismissed it, thought it was just me needing a break. Then it became more frequent and each time, it got longer. I got scared, but I didn’t know who to turn to. I didn’t want to be called crazy.”

“Did you ever tell Dr Bryson what you were going through?”

“Once, when it started to spook me. But he didn’t believe me, said I was just buckling under the stress of my workload.”

Kaidan exchanged a look with Shepard. That was odd. Dr Bryson knew what was happening to Hadley, so why did he lie to him?

“Do you know what might have caused your periods of blackouts?” Kaidan asked.

Hadley shook his head. “No. I thought maybe there was some kind of gas leak in the lab, or maybe there was something in the water from the tap, but I screened those. There was nothing. I even screened my apartment but nothing.”

“Derek, I’d like to show you this photo.” Kaidan tapped his omni-tool and called up the screenshot of the travel-stained man delivering the orb to Dr Bryson. “Do you recognise this man?”

“That’s Alex Garneau. He’s a treasure-hunter and a good friend of Dr Bryson. Never fails to come through for him.”

“He delivered an orb to Dr Bryson some time ago. What do you know about it?”

“Not much, except for what Dr Bryson told me. He’s convinced that it’s a Leviathan artefact. He also suspects that the Leviathan possesses communication and travel technology that operated on physics principles completely different from what we use. He was sure the orb was proof of that technology and their existence, and he hypothesized it could be used to locate Leviathan itself.”

“He wanted to find Leviathan? Not just to prove their existence?”

Hadley nodded.

“How could Leviathan still be alive after so many galactic cycles?”

“I asked Dr Bryson the same question too, and all he said was he’s sure they are still alive. He’s utterly convinced that some members of the race still live.”

“Is Garneau helping him to find Leviathan?”

“I guess so. Dr Bryson told me he’s one of the few people who did not ridicule him for his research but encouraged and support him, so maybe he helped?”

“What can you tell us about Leviathan?”

“Not much. Despite his decades of research and investigation, Dr Bryson only ever found scraps of second-hand and third-hand information from ancient primitive civilizations about them. It’s quite frustrating. All material traces of their existence had been wiped out by time. By analysing the narratives in those second-hand accounts, Dr Bryson theorised that they might once have been the apex race of the galaxy and were worshipped as gods by said primitive races. Then something happened and their reign collapsed. He hypothesised their fell was due to the Reapers’ arrival and that they superseded them.”

Hadley paused and then said slowly, “the orb worried him.”

“What do you mean?"

“Several times I found him just staring or frowning at the orb, or he’d paced the lab muttering to himself. But he wouldn’t say anything when I asked.”

“Did Dr Bryson behave oddly before his murder? Like he was experiencing his own blackout periods?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember seeing him behaving oddly. Why are you asking me these questions? Does the orb have something to do with my blackouts?”

“We don’t know yet,” Kaidan answered truthfully. “Right now, we are just trying to make sense of Dr Bryson’s murder.”

“And you think his work has something to do with his murder?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Kaidan hedged diplomatically. “We can’t confirm anything at this point.”

Hadley’s entire posture was one of tired resignation and hopelessness. “What’s going to happen to me now?”

“Now, we put you in protective custody with C-Sec,” Shepard spoke up. Kaidan glanced over as the Commander stepped forward. “Until we catch whoever controlled you, we think you may still be in danger.”

Hadley looked hesitant.

“Don’t worry, Derek.” Kaidan clapped a reassuring hand on Hadley’s shoulder. “We’ll get to the bottom of this and exonerate you. I promise.”

Transferring Hadley to C-Sec’s custody did not take long. They escorted the subdued lab assistant to the nearest C-Sec station where Shepard invoked Spectre’s authority to arrange protective custody with the officers. He also placed a call to someone named Bailey to ensure Hadley’s safety, and to deliver the containment box to Saronis Applications.

“So, Dr Bryson was indeed searching for Leviathan itself,” Shepard said as they left the station. “That’s one question solved.”

“Yeah. I can’t quite wrap my head around the idea that they’re still alive after so many millennia,” Kaidan replied. “And what did Dr Bryson meant by the Reapers superseding the Leviathan? And how?”

“A war?” Garrus suggested. “Maybe the Reapers’ tech was superior to the Leviathan’s?”

“Perhaps, but if the Reapers’ tech was so advanced, then how did the Protheans manage to eradicate them?”

“A question for another day. There are two things still bothering me,” Shepard said. “We know Dr Bryson was aware of the orb’s influence and control over Hadley. Why did he lie to Hadley? And why didn’t Hadley notice any aberration in Dr Bryson’s behaviour?”

“Logically speaking, Dr Bryson should’ve been even more strongly affected since he was living and working near the orb twenty-four-seven,” Garrus mused.

“You know,” Kaidan chewed absently on his thumb, “I can’t help but suspect that Dr Bryson was actually afraid of Hadley or Leviathan that was controlling Hadley during the last few days of his life.”

“How long does it take to fall completely under an orb’s influence?” Garrus asked.

“I don’t know, I guess it depends on the person’s strength of will. Chang fell under its influence in three days. Hyderabad’s ground team was compromised in a day. Hadley’s could be more gradual; I think his focus on his job helped to slow the process.”

“Do you think it could have controlled Dr Bryson too?”

“I don’t see why he should be an exception. From what I’ve seen so far, the orbs can control anyone.”

“Except for you,” Shepard pointed out.

“I don’t know why,” Kaidan deftly avoided mentioning his suspicions about his apparent immunity, “but I doubt there’s a second person besides myself who is immune to the orb’s influence. I certainly won’t place any bets on it.”

They had just settled into their skycar when Shepard’s omni-tool let out a beep. “Yes, Liara?”

“Shepard,” Liara began excitedly, “someone just commed Dr Bryson.”

They looked at each other.

“Who is it from?” Kaidan asked.

“Someone named A. Garneau. I’m sending the message to your omni-tool, Shepard.”

Moments later, Shepard’s omni-tool let out another beep and he opened the comm message.

“Hey Bryson,” a man’s voice said, “hope you found the orb I’ve brought you interesting ‘cos I may have located another one. You won’t believe where. Hint: it’s on a rock. On my way to retrieve it now. Once I get there, I’ll send you the nav-point.”

A thrill of fear shot through Kaidan when he heard the message. There was another orb out there, and an unsuspecting Garneau had found it.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. “We need to find Garneau and that orb fast.”

“EDI has tracked the message’s origin to somewhere near the Caleston Rift,” Liara replied. “I’ve sent a message back to Garneau using Dr Bryson’s comm channel, and it has a tracking code embedded in it. The moment Garneau opens the message, we’ll have his exact location.”

“Excellent. The both of you return to the Normandy.” Shepard ordered. “I’m recalling the crew.”

“Understood.”

Shepard quickly switched frequency. “Normandy crew, this is Commander Shepard. Report back to the Normandy immediately and prep to launch in an hour. Shepard out.”

“Can’t wait to fly again,” Garrus said with relish. “We’ve been grounded for way too long.”

“I hope we can get to Garneau in time,” Kaidan fretted. “I have a feeling he has no idea what he got himself into.”

Chapter Text

5 October 2186

Milky Way / Attican Traverse / Caleston Rift / Aysur System / Nahata Belt / Mahavid

On route …

For the last two days since departing from the Citadel, Kaidan kept himself busy. He needed to make sure he was as ready as he could be for deployment. Armour? Check. Pistol? Check. Biotics? Check. Rest? Well, he could rest afterwards.

He hated to go into a situation blind, so there was a lot of homework to do. EDI had pinpointed the origin of Garneau’s comm message to Mahavid, an asteroid in the Nahata Belt located in the Attican Traverse. He had never been there before. Didn’t even know there was an asteroid named Mahavid currently being mined. He thought it was odd discovering an archaeological find in an asteroid mine, but Liara had assured him such occurrences were far more common than not: asteroid mining wasn’t an activity unique to the current space-faring species after all.

Kaidan stared down at his datapad. After three days of research, he had dug up quite a bit of information on T-GES and their mining operations on Mahavid, and he didn’t like the picture he had pieced together. What was happening there could have a serious impact on their upcoming ground mission.

Leaving the Starboard Observation Lounge, he headed up to the command deck or the C.I.C. to look for Shepard. Despite Shepard’s claim of maintaining a lean crew, the C.I.C. was fully manned. He took a moment to appreciate the blending of turian and human aesthetics before walking over to Communications Specialist Samantha Traynor who was busy at her station. To her left, on the other side of the galaxy map, Shepard’s personal terminal was empty.

Traynor straightened to attention, her British accent crisp and professional. “Major Alenko, how may I help you?”

“I think I’ve said before just ‘Alenko’ will do?”

“Ah, yes. Yes, you did. My apologies.”

“It’s fine. Do you know where Shepard is?”

“I believe he’s in the War Room.”

“Thanks.” Kaidan was about to leave when another thought occurred to him. “Traynor, were we able to get in touch with the Mahavid mining facility?”

“No, sir. I’ve been monitoring the communications channels since we arrived in the Caleston Rift. The facility isn’t broadcasting or receiving any comm. signals. They’re radio-silent.”

Kaidan frowned. That was not good. “What about Garneau? Have you been able to reach him?”

“I’m afraid not. He hasn’t responded to any of our comm hails since opening Liara’s tracker message. He could be ignoring us.” 

Maybe, but Kaidan wouldn’t bet any credit on it. “Thanks, Traynor.”

“You’re welcomed.”

Kaidan made his way to the Normandy’s War Room, worry growing in the back of his mind. Radio silence was never a good thing, especially out here in the remote backwaters of the galaxy. Sure, there could be many reasons for it, but he would bet his rank that Leviathan was behind the mining facility’s radio silence. As for Garneau, he hoped the treasure hunter hadn’t walked into something he couldn’t get -

- He collided with Shepard when the door to the War Room slid open.

Startled, he stumbled back a step, and his datapad clattered to the deck as he instinctively reached out with his good hand for the nearest support.

Quick hands grabbed him by his arms to steady him and Shepard’s voice said very close to him, “careful.”

“Sorry,” he apologised.

“You seem to be in a rush,” Shepard noted with an amused quirk of his lips.

Kaidan became acutely aware of the warmth of Shepard’s hands still encircling his forearms and his free hand clasping the front of the Commander’s leather jacket. This close to Shepard, he caught the briefest whiff of the Commander’s scent - a surprisingly attractive blend of aftershave, military soap and ammo, and just pure Shepard - and a quiver of desire thrummed through him.

Flustered, he pulled away. Seriously, what was he? Hormonal teenager?

Spotting his fallen datapad, he practically lunged for it with a hastiness that made him winced inwardly. How much more obvious could he be?

“I need to talk to you,” he said quickly, hoping that Shepard didn’t notice his fluster.

“So do I. Guess we saved each other a trip then.” Shepard re-entered the War Room.

Kaidan followed Shepard in, trying his best to ignore how his arms still seemed to tingle from Shepard’s touch.

The War Room was currently empty and running at minimum power. During wartime, this room would be indispensable. But the galaxy was at peace and the War Room sat mostly idle. Kaidan could see a holographic display in the centre of the room, and he recognised the schematics of Mahavid and the mining facility displayed on it.

“You work here?” he asked, seeing the multiple datapads and an empty bottle of coffee resting on a nearby station.

Shepard casually leaned against one of the empty stations. “It serves my purpose. My office is a deck too far away. Here, I can do my work in private a stone’s throw away from the C.I.C.”

Kaidan walked closer to the holographic projections to study the schematics. “Are you planning a ground assault? I thought we’re just going to talk to them.”

“Never hurts to be prepared. This far out at the edge, reinforcement is hard to come by. So, what do you want to talk about?”

“Mahavid and T-GES Minerals Works.” Kaidan handed the datapad to Shepard. “I’ve been digging into the company for the last two days. We need to be vigilant when we go in.”

“What did you find out?”

“T-GES is a small to mid-level mining company. Their mining operation on Mahavid isn’t large-scale, but beginning ten years ago, their production output has been declining steadily until it stopped altogether five years later.”

Shepard scrolled through the datapad. “Odd. They should be able to mine productively for another hundred years or so.”

“No ores, no income. Unless the mine is depleted, no mining company would decrease or cease mining activity for no reason. Traynor just told me that the Mahavid mining facility is radio-silent, and she still can’t get in touch with Garneau.” Kaidan shifted uneasily. “It feels like Maybeline Faire all over again.”

“It may also be nothing. But we’ll take necessary precautions.”

“I’m not sure what kind of precautions we can take.” Kaidan thought about it. “Is EDI’s mobile platform EMP-shielded?”

“She is.”

“Then she should be on the ground team. She should be able to avoid the same fate as the Hyderabad’s drone. And she may be the only one of your crew who isn’t susceptible to the orb’s influence. We should shuttle in the ground team. I don’t know the reach of the orb’s influence so the Normandy should keep her distance.” Kaidan caught sight of Shepard’s amused expression and abruptly realised what he was doing. He flushed in embarrassment. “Sorry. I, ah, didn’t mean to overstep, Commander.”

“No harm done. I do need to talk to you about this ground mission. If I order you to sit it out, you’re not going to listen, right?”

“Of course not. Why do you even ask?”

“Because Dr Chakwas told me that she is keeping you on medical status after your check-up with her.”

“I appreciate her concern, but I can take care of myself.”

“She said your shoulder has to be immobilised for a couple of days more, which means you can’t wear armour and you can’t go into a fight just yet.”

“Are you sure you’re not launching an assault?” Kaidan countered. “Last I checked, this is an investigative mission.”

Shepard continued as though he hadn’t been interrupted, “she’s also concerned about the high levels of stress and anxiety you’re exhibiting, and that you haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep since joining the Normandy.” 

Kaidan frowned. “How does she know about that?”

“EDI monitors the crew’s bio-signs on the Normandy. She’s required to alert Dr Chakwas if any of the crew shows signs of ill health. According to her, your bio-signs at night regularly exhibited signs of stress and agitation while sleeping.”

“Well, Dr Chakwas has nothing to worry about.” It wasn’t as though he didn’t know how to recuperate, it was just…returning to Earth at this point in time wasn’t an option.

“Bullshit,” Shepard said bluntly. “We’ve been travelling non-stop for two days, which means you should have time to rest. Yet you still look as bad as you did on the first day we met. It doesn’t take a genius to see that you haven’t been sleeping well.”

No, he hadn’t been, not ever since he woke up in the hospital on Mindoir Prime. But Kaidan really, really didn’t want to talk about that.

Instead, he said, “I’m managing, Shepard. Really. There’s nothing to worry about. Fully functioning human here.”

“I know you are, Kaidan. I also know you are a very capable soldier. However, you’re on my ship, working with my crew, which means I’m involved in your well-being too. There’s only one reason why you would keep waking up violently during the sleep cycle. Do I need to spell it out for you?”

Shepard didn’t have to. The hints were obvious enough for Kaidan to know the Commander was aware of his nightmares.

He huffed exasperatedly as he stepped away, raking his good hand through his hair. He didn’t quite know how to respond. He had been on his own for so long that both Shepard and Dr Chakwas’s frank and genuine concern was making him feel a bit off-balanced.

“You know, if you want to talk about it, I’m ready to listen.” Shepard offered.

Kaidan eyed Shepard pensively.

He was very tempted to take Shepard up on his offer, but a lifetime’s wariness of people, in general, wasn’t so easily dismissed. He wasn’t in the habit of confiding in others about his problems, hadn’t been in the habit since understanding at a young age that he was different from every other human out there, and he couldn’t ever share his secret with anyone. Already as a human biotic, he was no stranger to people’s fear and prejudice towards him and those like him; exposing his secret would just make it even worse. The lesser of people’s prejudices he had to deal with, the better.

Keeping his distance made keeping his secret easier, but it also meant growing up reluctant and wary of forming connections with other people. The one time he had formed a connection with someone…

Could he take the risk of connecting with someone again? Trusting them? Kaidan wasn’t sure. His last experience had been harrowing. Too harrowing. Better to keep his distance, it was just safer.

“I really don’t want to talk about it.” He met Shepard’s gaze evenly. “You don’t have to worry about me. I won’t jeopardise the mission or the safety of your crew.”

He turned away, tried to leave, and put an end to the conversation that had turned uncomfortably personal, but Shepard caught his forearm, stopping him in mid-motion. His gaze, serious and blue like the Earth’s oceans and sky, pinned Kaidan to the spot.

“Do you think that’s all I’m concerned about?” Shepard demanded quietly.

Somehow, once again, Kaidan found himself standing very close to Shepard, so much so he could feel the man’s even breathing on his face. He stilled, his heartbeat sounding like thunder in his ears as he forced himself to meet Shepard’s steady calm gaze.

“You’re a smart man, Kaidan.” Shepard continued in that same quiet voice, “I should think by now you would’ve figured out the kind of person I am.”

Kaidan swallowed hard.

Shepard was right. He did have the Commander pegged fairly quickly: he was trustworthy and reliable, if somewhat childish, demanding, and presumptuous. And he was strongly drawn to Shepard - and that scared Kaidan.

The last time he had felt this way about someone…everything almost ended in disaster. 

It was an untenable place to be in, caught between the fear and wariness and his attraction to Shepard, and he didn’t quite know what to do.

He licked his suddenly dry lips, saw how Shepard’s gaze drifted down in response, opened his mouth to say something but his voice refused to work. He cleared his throat and licked his lips again, shivering a little when Shepard’s gaze – still fixed on his mouth - intensified.

“I’m really all right,” he finally told the Commander in a hushed voice.

“I’m just offering a listening ear, Kaidan.”

“…” Kaidan averted his gaze. “I think we should…just focus on the mission.”

Clearly disappointed, Shepard nevertheless took the hint and graciously backed off, and it made Kaidan feel bad which was absurd. How could asking for focus on the important thing ever be absurd?

He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Like I was saying, I need to be on the ground team.”

Shepard crossed his arms. His entire posture screamed that he was not going to budge. “Not without obtaining a clean bill of health from Dr Chakwas.”

And that was never going to happen, Kaidan knew. He huffed out a sigh of frustration. “This is my investigation, my mission. I have to be there.”

“Our investigation, our mission.” Shepard countered. “Remember what Hackett and Anderson said?”

Kaidan gave him the stink eye for reminding him that he had been forced into working with others by their superiors. “Are we really going to argue about this? You should know I’ve never entrusted my missions to anyone before. I’m not going to start now.”

The resolute expression on Shepard’s face did not change.

“How about a compromise?” Kaidan asked abruptly.

Shepard arched a brow.

“Instead of joining your ground team, I come along as an investigator or an observer.”

“Oh?”

Feeling surer of himself, Kaidan’s voice grew firmer. “You need me on the ground. If there’s an orb on Mahavid, I’m the only chance you got to destroy it.”

“Other than EDI.”

“Other than EDI,” Kaidan conceded.

Shepard looked long and hard at him. “All right, but if I feel that it’s getting too much for you, I’ll pull you off the mission.”

Kaidan frowned.

“My ship, my call.”

“…Fine.”

Chapter Text

25 September 2186

Milky Way / Attican Traverse / Mindoir System / Mindoir

The plantation settlement of Maybeline Faire

Kaidan cried out at the sudden impact and pain searing through his shoulder. His focus broken, he tumbled through the air and crashed into the water in a messy dive. The impact drove the air from his lungs, and he took in water instead.

Panic set in and his instincts took over.

He wouldn’t remember how he did it, he just knew the Shift had been incredibly painful.

When his mind finally cleared, he found himself lying on his side at the bottom of the lake, one hand clutching his wounded shoulder in a death grip and his gills flaring rhythmically as he panted.

Slowly, he uncurled and turned onto his back. He gingerly moved his arm and a distressed trill left him when his wounded shoulder protested the movement. Gritting his sharp teeth against the pain, Kaidan awkwardly scanned his wounded shoulder with his omni-tool and found the bullet still in his flesh. A quick check found his entire right side deeply bruised as well; he had hit the water wrong, and it showed.

Medi-gel wouldn’t work in water. For now, he would just have to work around his injuries. At least he could still swim, albeit painfully.

Pushing himself off the bed of the lake, Kaidan looked around. Though it was night, his eyesight was preternaturally good in his true form. His clothes had been completely shredded by the biotic blast he had unconsciously released to free himself from them, his visor was broken, but his pistol seemed to have survived his Shift.

Scooping his pistol from the muddy bottom of the lake, Kaidan cautiously swam up to the surface of the lake and scanned the cliff. No one seemed to be up there - which was good news. It meant he had shaken off his pursuers for now.

With a quick flip of his tail, Kaidan oriented himself and headed for the deeper depths of the lake. Guided only by starlight and the rough calculations on his omni-tool, he swam unerringly in what he thought was the right direction. Unencumbered and with the stealthy grace and speed of a predator, he cut through the water like a sharp blade slicing through the air, and it wasn’t long before he glimpsed a faint glimmer of light up ahead.

The light grew brighter as he drew closer, and he soon found what he was looking for: an active orb resting on the muddy bottom of the lake.

The bottom of a lake was a hell of an effective hiding place. Who would think to look here? Or if they did, dredging the large lake to search for it would be a mammoth task. No one would be able to find it, at least not without expending a herculean amount of time and effort.

Unless you’re a merman, a creature from fairy tales. And who expects a fairy tale to show up? he thought with grim humour.

Suddenly, the glowing orb flared and like before, something struck his mind with all the force and pain of white-hot nails being hammered into steel.

Screeching in agony, Kaidan clutched at his head and thrashed about madly in an instinctive, futile attempt to escape the pain. It was the same kind of pain he experienced briefly in the warehouse - searing and burning like acid - but more intense and prolonged. It felt like he was being flayed alive by a burning knife.

And like before, he dimly sensed the presence of something infernally titanic and ancient. It was implacable, relentless, and unmoving. There were no emotions he could discern in that enigmatic presence, no fury, no surprise, just clinical curiosity as it inflicted the full power of the orb onto him. He got the impression of multiple eyes looking down at him, into him, and he felt small.

Obey us.

Kaidan screamed again as the command burned through his mind, arrogant and demanding. And with it, he thought the multiple eyes loomed closer over him. He couldn’t move. He was blind and deaf to everything else but the paralyzing pain and the overbearing presence pressing into his mind, and he limply sank to the bottom of the lake.

Obey us.

Through the pain, Kaidan slowly, very slowly, realised that he felt no compulsion to comply with the presence’s order. Grabbing onto that thought with all the strength of a drowning man, Kaidan forced himself to move.

Swimming was nigh impossible, so he dragged himself across the muddy bottom of the lake, one excruciating arm’s length at a time. It took every ounce of willpower and strength he had to cover the ridiculously short distance.

Obey us!

Impossibly, the agony burned fiercer and Kaidan buckled again with another tortured screech. But despite the torment, he still felt no compulsion to obey.

Terrified and furious, Kaidan activated his biotics and lunged for the orb with a final desperate burst of strength. He drove two biotic punches – as powerful as he could make them – into the orb, shattering it.

The searing acid-burning agony in his brain disappeared at once, so abruptly and completely that the absence left him reeling.

Propping himself up on the bottom of the lake, Kaidan stared uncomprehendingly at the shattered pieces of the orb scattered before him.

Then it hit him.

He did it. He did it!

Kaidan sagged, nearly sobbing in his relief. He had done it; somehow, he had done it and accomplished his mission.

Shaking so hard he could barely swim properly, Kaidan headed for the shore. His gills worked overtime as he panted, every flip of his tail felt completely leaden. There were spots in his vision and a familiar dull throb in his head. It felt forever before he reached the shallows.

Gritting his teeth against what he knew to be a painful process, he forced the Shift. It was too slow and the snail’s pace of it magnified every moment of the searing hurt until he could no longer hold back the scream. His wounded shoulder was on fire, leaking blood, and he felt the bone grinding around the bullet. But finally, finally, he succeeded. Throat raw from screaming, He forced himself to stand on legs that wobbled like jelly and staggered back to the shore. 

The first thing he did was to collapse onto all fours and retch onto the rocky shore. Then he crumpled face-down, unheeding of the vomit next to him and the blood he could taste in his mouth.

Gasping for each breath and his vision dimming rapidly, he struggled to activate his omni-tool with shaking fingers and send the pre-set SOS signal before giving in to the darkness at last.

Chapter Text

6 October 2186

Milky Way / Attican Traverse / Caleston Rift / Aysur System / Nahata Belt / Mahavid

Thirteen hours later, Kaidan emerged from the elevator into a very busy Shuttle Bay.

Shepard was already there, briefing EDI and the head of his marine detail, Lieutenant Ashley Williams.

Kaidan had met Ash, as she preferred to be called, once many years ago. He had been a year ahead of her cohort in boot camp. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t have crossed paths, but an incident with some fellow recruits, who thought they were easy targets because of their backgrounds, brought them into contact with each other. He still didn’t know much about her as a person, but he remembered her as fearless and very strong-willed. Kaidan suspected that was why Shepard picked her for this mission.  

Except for EDI, Shepard’s ground team was clad in their hard-shell heavy armour and far more visibly armed than he was. Kaidan hoped they wouldn’t spook the civilians at the mining facility. It wasn’t every day a group of fully geared and armed Alliance soldiers showed up on civilians’ doorsteps.

In the background, one of the Kodiaks was being prepped for flight - Lieutenant Steve Cortez was all over it, running last-minute checks on its systems. Liara and the Normandy’s arms master, Lieutenant James Vega, stood by the weapon modification bench, watching the proceedings.

“Hey,” Kaidan greeted as he stopped beside Liara.

“Hello, Kaidan.” Liara frowned a little at him in his get-up. “Are you sure you should be on this mission?”

“I’m sure.” He watched Shepard’s briefing or rather admired the sight of Shepard in his N7 Onyx Armour. All N7 armours were made-to-measure, and Shepard’s was no different. He cut a very striking and commanding figure in it. In his opinion, the view was more than excellent. Especially the way the Onyx Armour framed Shepard’s hips and butt. 

By comparison, he felt rather under-dressed and a little ridiculous in the drab nondescript hard-shell light armour Vega had scrounged up from the Normandy’s armoury, and with his wounded arm still prominently immobilised in its sling.

“Stay close to the Commander, Ghost,” Vega told him from Liara’s other side. “Don’t worry too much about enemy’s fire. Loco will look out for you.”

Kaidan looked at him oddly. “We’re not on a combat mission.”

The giant of a man just shrugged. “You’ll see.”

Somewhat puzzled, Kaidan walked over to Shepard and the others, just in time to hear Ash ask, “What else do we know about this mining facility, skipper?”

“T-GES quietly removed Mahavid from their portfolio of mining facilities about seventeen months ago, which indicated they knew something was wrong, but they swept it under the rug. Make sure your rounds are non-lethal. If Major Alenko’s conjecture is correct, we may be facing a group of mind-controlled civilians who could be ordered to hinder our investigation.”

“How would we know if they are mind-controlled?”

“Oh, you’ll know.” Kaidan cut in. “There’s no way you won’t be able to tell.”

“Load up, people,” Shepard ordered. “Liara, you and Garrus have the ship.”

“Acknowledged, Shepard. We’ll be keeping track of your progress.”

Kaidan fell into step beside Shepard. “Did Liara dig up that information on the mining facility?”

“What makes you think it’s her?”

“Because this is the Normandy and not a single member of your crew can be considered average? My informant network is extensive, but even I can’t get classified corporate information like that in three days.”

“Then you should know I can neither say aye nor nay. Steve, we ready?”

“Aye, sir. Everyone, strap in.”

There was no more time to talk.

Kaidan clambered on board and took his seat next to Ash while Shepard palmed the Kodiak’s hatch controls to close it. The Major listened to the conversation between Cortez and Joker as they synchronised both spaceships to launch the Kodiak into space. Once in flight, he leaned back against his seat, his mind focused on the upcoming mission.

“Kaidan?” Ash nudged him in his side. “Once we are down there, stay close to Shepard. In a firefight, he’ll look out for you.”

His brows furrowed. “Am I missing something? You’re the second person to tell me that.”

“Who’s the first?”

“Vega.” He looked at her knowing expression. “Seriously, what am I missing?”

“Situations have a way of escalating around the Commander,” EDI explained. “We find it prudent to always be prepared for a firefight.”

“We’re not on a combat mission.”

Ash shrugged and said the same words Vega did, “you’ll see.”

Kaidan stared in consternation at Shepard who just smirked and shrugged. He couldn’t possibly be so trigger-happy, right?

“We’re five minutes out, Commander,” Cortez announced from the cockpit.

“Take us in.”

~

T-GES’s mining facility on Mahavid was small, which gave the initial impression that the asteroid was small as well. But that was not the case as Kaidan found out when he got his first real look at it. Mahavid was huge - he supposed it could be considered small by asteroid standards - and it dwarfed the mining facility built into one of its flat areas several times over. 

Cortez set the shuttle down on a landing pad within the facility’s pressurised environment and Shepard took the lead. “Don’t go anywhere, Steve. We’ll grab this guy and be right out.”

“Yes, Commander,” came Cortez’s voice over their earpieces.

Kaidan awkwardly hopped off the shuttle, right behind Shepard who was looking around with a frown. “What is it?”

“Where’s Garneau’s ship?”

Everyone looked around and as far as they could see, their Kodiak shuttle was the only one in their immediate surroundings.

“Maybe he didn’t have his own ship?” Ash suggested.

“He’s a treasure-hunter. I doubt he travels the galaxy without owing a ship, especially if he has to haul artefacts.” Kaidan looked at EDI. “We did get the nav-point ping from this location, right?”

“That is correct.”

Shepard tapped his earpiece. “Steve, do an aerial survey of this asteroid. See if you can find another ship or shuttle on this rock.”

“Understood.”

“Normandy, do you read?”

“Loud and clear, Shepard,” Garrus answered.

“Search the vicinity of this rock for signs of another ship. Don’t engage. Just let me know.”

“Acknowledged, Shepard.”

Shepard turned back to Kaidan. “If his ship is here, they’ll find it. Let’s get moving.”

The others fell in step behind Kaidan with Ash taking up rearguard and Shepard leading them across the long metal walkway to the entrance of the shielded habitat containers.

Kaidan took in the complex layout of pipelines and storage tanks. “The power’s running,” he observed, hearing the hum in the air.

“That is a good indication that this facility is still operational,” EDI said.

“So why did they stop mining?” Ash asked.

That was the million credits question, wasn’t it? Kaidan was sure they would find out very soon.

They arrived at the front door of the facility without meeting anyone. There were three airlock entrances, two of which were out of commission and sealed tight. The last one had a glowing haptic door control panel, indicating that the door was operational, but its orange glow told them it was locked.

While Shepard hacked the door lock, Kaidan looked around uneasily. As a rule, areas outside airlocks must be kept clear of clutter to prevent blocking of people traffic, especially in an emergency. But he saw storage crates stacked in haphazard piles right next to the airlocks and loose cablings scattered all over the walkway - clearly obstructions and danger hazards.

What was worse was the grime on the storage crates. He swiped a finger across the surface of a crate nearest to him; his finger came away with a thick layer of dust. He silently showed it to Ash who was standing beside him, and she frowned too. The only way the storage crate could get so dusty as if it had been left there untouched for a long time. Question was, how long?

When they finally stepped into the decontamination area of the airlock, Kaidan felt his unease grow. Decon areas were always clean for obvious reasons, and yet all around him, he saw the same signs of neglect: loose cabling strewn across the floor, dirt and bits of rubbles staining the walls and floor, and stacks of barrels and crates which should not be in a decon area. 

“I don’t like this,” Ash murmured.

Kaidan didn’t like it either. He sneaked a peek at Shepard, but the Commander’s face was expressionless, his posture at ease but alert. He could not tell if he was bothered by the visible signs of neglect.

The inner airlock’s door control panel was green. Shepard palmed it and it slid open easily.

“Welcome to T-GES Mineral Works,” a male voice announced over the intercom. It was clearly a recorded greeting. “All guests need to sign in at the reception.”

They entered and Kaidan looked around.

There were people in the common area of the facility, all dressed in either scientists’ or miners’ garb. They seemed to behave normally, walking, and talking to each other like it was a normal day in the office - except it wasn’t.

The common area showed the same signs of neglect: it was messy and filthy, cluttered with storage boxes and cabling, there was a lot of fused lights and far off, he could see the sparking from a faulty power conduit. In some parts, papers and datapads were scattered on the floor, and Kaidan stared as a pair of civilians just trampled across the papers, unmindful of what they were stepping on.

As they moved deeper into the facility, a trio of the facility’s personnel, who was in an animated discussion, noticed them. They stopped talking and stared. Their faces were completely blank; they showed no curiosity and gave no greetings. They just stared. It was creepy.

Shepard approached the reception booth. Behind the plexi-glass, two facility personnel were bent over a terminal.

“I’m Commander Shepard of the Alliance,” he introduced himself and was ignored. He frowned at the personnel who did not even look up from their work. “Hello?”

“Perhaps this will help.” EDI stepped forward and pressed a button labelled ‘Assistance’.

It chimed and as though triggered, one of the personnel finally looked up at them. “Yes, welcome to T-GES Mineral Works. How can we help you?”

“Yes, for the tour. Please sign in.” The second personnel added even though Shepard had not even asked them about the tour.

Kaidan’s heart sank.

It was the same as Maybeline Faire. That blankness of face and in the eyes, the distant robotic monotony of the voice, it all reminded him of the mind-controlled settlers back on Mindoir. He tensed and discreetly checked his surroundings while Shepard attempted to hold a conversation with the mind-controlled personnel.

“We’re not here for the tour. We’re looking for a treas - researcher by the name of Alex Garneau. He would’ve arrived here a few days ago. If he’s still here, I need to speak to him.”

“We have no Alex Garneau,” said the first personnel.

Shepard raised a brow sceptically. “How about I just go in and look around?”

“No,” the second personnel replied. “The access elevator is broken.”

“And now,” said the first, “we’re done. Step away.”

“Step away,” echoed the second personnel. “You don’t belong here.”

“Look-”

Kaidan quickly stepped in and placed a hand on Shepard’s shoulder. “Come on. This is getting us nowhere.”

“You.”

Kaidan stilled as both personnel stared directly at him. Calmly, though he was feeling anything but calm, he met their stares. “Yes?”

But the personnel did not speak further. They just stared at him, and the focus in their stares made his skin crawl. This time, it was Shepard who gently tugged him away.

“You were right, Kaidan. It is easy to tell that they are mind-controlled.” EDI commented in a low voice.

Ash glowered at the reception booth. “They’re still staring at you.”

Kaidan peeked over his shoulder and true enough, the two personnel were motionless and still staring at him.

“It’s not just them,” Shepard murmured, discreetly tipping his head in the direction of the trio of personnel they had passed by earlier.

Kaidan peered in that direction too; they were still staring at them. No, at him, he realised with a jolt. They were staring at him. Had been from the start but he mistook it as staring at their group.

“Do we head back?” EDI asked.

Kaidan shook his head even as Shepard said, “Let’s have a look around. If Garneau is here, he should be deeper in the facility. See if you can find a repair drone. We need to repair the access elevator.”

Chapter Text

The crowd of mind-controlled personnel did not stop staring at Kaidan and his friends as they searched for a repair drone to repair the access lift. They were all eerily silent and still, never moving, never talking, they just stared.

When Shepard and his ground team finally managed to get the access lift operational again, they couldn’t hide their eagerness to leave as they quickly filed in, and Ash hit the button for the second level. They breathed a sigh of relief when the elevator doors closed on the crowd of silent, staring personnel.

“If I was organic, that would be a nerve-wracking experience,” EDI commented nonplussed.

Ash was blunter. “They made my trigger finger itch.”

“Are their behaviour similar to that of the settlers from Maybeline Faire, Major?”

Kaidan nodded. “Identical - except for the staring. That’s new.”

“They recognised you,” Shepard pointed out.

“Not them. Leviathan.”

“I believe you’re a person of interest to them,” EDI told Kaidan. “That may prove dangerous to you.”

The elevator came to a stop.

“Not much we can do about it now. Just stay alert and stay close,” Shepard advised.

Cautiously, they filed out onto the second level. They relaxed minutely when they saw the corridor was empty of people.

“Do we have any confirmation that Garneau was even here?” Ash asked.

“The security logs said Garneau took this elevator three days ago,” EDI answered.

“Good enough.”  

They stopped outside one of the three doors which was labelled ‘Mineral Labs’.

“I have a suggestion,” Kaidan said suddenly. “I’ll go ahead through here while you guys find Garneau.”

“Is that wise, Major?” EDI asked.

“There’s over a hundred personnel living in this facility, and we only saw less than a handful. They’re now focused on me, so I’ll distract them. That way, you’ll have the freedom to move about.”

EDI and Ash looked at Shepard who, in turn, frowned at Kaidan. It was clear he did not like Kaidan’s suggestion.

Kaidan simply stared back calmly. He knew he was right. It was the best solution to complete their mission.

“Keep your comm. open,” Shepard finally ordered.

That was as much assent as Kaidan was going to get. He turned to face the door while Shepard led his squad away to another entrance.

Once they disappeared from his sight, he took a deep breath, tapped the door’s haptic controls, and entered. He was immediately confronted by a small group of about seven personnel staring right at him.

His intuitive guess paid off.

But he didn’t like how quickly Leviathan had mobilised its mind-controlled victims to confront him.

An asari dressed in the garb of a scientist stepped forward from the crowd. “Major Alenko.”

Kaidan quickly made a decision. Against Shepard’s order, he switched off his comm. He had an idea he wanted to test out and now that he was alone for the first time in this investigation, it was the perfect opportunity to do so.

For his entire life, Kaidan had always regarded his Mer’s innate charm to be a boon and a burden, just like his biotics. He could consciously wield his charm, direct it to affect only those he wanted to affect, but if his control slip, like it did back in the motel… Kaidan was still very relieved that both Shepard and Garrus got away unscathed.  

Here, alone in this Minerals Lab, and assured that Shepard and the others were far from him, Kaidan fearlessly met the asari’s gaze and just…let go.

The effect was instantaneous.

The asari froze and behind her, the mind-controlled crowd’s focus wavered.

He smiled.

The asari twitched in response.

“You seemed to know me.” His voice rolled through the crowd like warm and seductively soft velvet.

The asari hesitated a beat before replying, “As you seem to know me.”

The Leviathan was speaking through the asari and Kaidan swiftly focused on her. “I think you’re the same one I met on Mindoir. Am I right?”

The asari began to tremble. She spoke with some difficulty, struggling to get the words out. “Who I am is not relevant.”

“Are you and your kind called Leviathan?”

“That is not our name, only what your Doctor Bryson called us.”

Kaidan cast his gaze across the mind-controlled crowd. A ripple seemed to go through them, their expressions turned befuddled, confused - the asari jerked - and his smile broadened.

It was working.

“You…are not required…to know who we are,” the asari forced the words out. She blinked and her expression turned pleading. “Where - you are required to stay here…and tell us what you are.”

He smiled encouragingly at the asari. “I hear you, madam. I know you’re in there. Listen to my voice and come back.”

“There is no asari here but us, Major Alenko.” But it was not the asari who spoke. It was the human man standing to her right.

He ignored the man. “See? They can’t hold you forever. Follow my voice and come home.”

“The Enthralling does not fail,” the man stated.

The Enthralling. Is that what Leviathan call the process of controlling peoples’ minds? Is it similar to the Reapers’ indoctrination fields? Kaidan mentally tucked the information away. Another question to be answered another day.

“Don’t listen to them,” he urged the asari. “Listen to me. Only me. I’m here.”

“The Enthralling is adaptable,” the man continued to say. “We have time on our side.”

“They have no right to control you, madam. Any of…you…” Kaidan faltered when he glimpsed something that made his blood run cold.

Far behind the enthralled crowd, lurking at the open doorway furthest from him and the crowd stood Shepard. He had braced himself against the open doorway and an expression of pained confusion twisted his face. He was struggling with himself.

Oh, no…

Why was he here?

Horrified, Kaidan hastily, unthinkingly reined in his Mer charm.

And that was a mistake.

The asari’s struggling expression swiftly smoothed out into blankness, the crowd’s attention stopped wavering, and they refocused on him with a fierce intensity despite their lack of expression.

Kaidan cursed inwardly and stepped back from the crowd. He hadn’t expected Shepard to show up and now, whatever grounds he had gained was lost.

“Interesting. You can disrupt the Enthralling,” the asari noted in a detached cadence that did not match her words.  “You are an intriguing life form. One we shall study.”

The crowd began to advance towards Kaidan.

He instinctively powered up his biotic amp and reached for his pistol.

“Stay back,” he warned but they did not stop their threatening approach.

At the edge of his vision, Kaidan spied Shepard vigorously pointing to his left which was to his immediate right. He took a quick peek and saw there was another exit, closer. If he could get there quick enough, he could get out of this situation.

“One way or the other, we will know what you are,” the asari was saying. “And we will rule you and those like you. All species in the galaxy exist to serve us.”

A thought suddenly occurred to Kaidan, an intuitive jump of logic that he was suddenly certain was correct. “Except for the Reapers.”

The asari immediately halted in her tracks. Behind her, the enthralled crowd stopped advancing as well.

Encouraged, he pressed on, trying to buy Shepard more time. “The Reapers got the best of you, didn’t they? Supplanted you as the dominant race in the galaxy.”

“They were abominations.” Despite the blankness in her face and the detachment in her voice, the asari’s words were harsh. “Their deaths at the hands of the Protheans were too merciful.”

Kaidan smiled thinly. “It must’ve been humiliating – lesser beings like the Protheans doing what you, the apex race, couldn’t do - kill the Reapers. How did the Reapers overthrow your rule? Did they give you a taste of your own medicine by indoctrinating your people?”

“What happened to us is none of your -”

“Move, Kaidan!” Shepard suddenly shouted to distract the crowd.

Immediately, Kaidan lunged for the nearest exit just as Shepard tossed a stun grenade through the open doorway and right into the middle of the crowd. The Major slammed his shoulder against the control panel of his door, and it slid shut, muffling the sound of the stun grenade exploding inside the lab.

He quickly smashed the haptic control panel to jam the door close.

At his own exit, Shepard did the same, effectively putting up a barricade between themselves and the crowd of enthralled - and now stunned - people in the lab.

“This way.” He led the way away from the lab.

Kaidan wasted no time pouncing onto the Commander. “Are you alright?” he demanded.

“I’m fine. A little woozy, but fine otherwise.”

He grabbed Shepard’s arm, forcing him to a stop. “Are you sure?” He searched the Commander’s face anxiously.

“I’m fine.” Shepard impatiently tugged from his grip and resumed his jog.

“What the hell were you doing there?” Kaidan pressed as they jogged through the quiet and, so far, empty facility.

Shepard gave him a stern look. “You disobeyed orders to keep your comm open, so I came after you. Good thing too. You were in trouble back there.”

“I had things under control.”

“Then why did that crowd look ready to jump you?” Shepard retorted.

Kaidan gritted his teeth and swallowed back the harsh words that were on the tip of his tongue. There was no way he could tell Shepard what he did with the enthralled crowd and why the Commander shouldn’t have been there, not without spilling his secret.

“Nothing to say? Good. Next time, obey orders meant to keep you safe.” Shepard stopped in front of a security terminal and immediately began hacking it. “Ash and EDI are searching for the orb. No point finding Garneau if everyone on this rock is now Leviathan’s puppet. You and I are going to be the diversion.”

That made sense, Kaidan grudgingly admitted. The chances of Garneau being held captive by the orb was high. It was better to channel their efforts to destroy the orb first before searching for him.

“I’ve hacked into the facility’s security network. The cameras are disabled, and we’ll be able to keep track of every personnel’s location. Ready to draw their attention?”

Kaidan removed his sling. With how things were turning out, he was going to need his mobility. “Getting the attention of enthralled people hell-bent on capturing us and whom we can’t hurt? Sure, why not?”

Chapter Text

Drawing attention was easy.

Too easy.

Kaidan and Shepard were vastly outnumbered, and it took every bit of skill they possessed to stay ahead of Leviathan’s thralls. Luckily for them, being enthralled didn’t translate into challenging opponents. And that was a very good thing because both men kept running into them.

Kaidan dove his fist into an enthralled human man’s stomach. Without missing a beat, he aimed his pistol and fired an electroshock bolt at another. Both thralls dropped like stones - the electro-shocked man twitching violently as he collapsed. To his right, Shepard easily dropped three more. Behind him, he could hear footsteps running towards them.

Shepard motioned to another door. “This way.”

Gripping his throbbing shoulder, Kaidan followed him out of the room and together, they sprinted down the corridor.

“You all right?” Shepard asked.

“Yeah, wasn’t expecting to punch someone with this arm.” He remembered something Shepard had told him back on the Normandy. “Hn, guess you can’t pull me off the mission now.”

“Guess not,” Shepard acknowledged.

They barrelled into another lab. While Kaidan quickly sealed the door and broke its lock, Shepard went ahead to check the corridor outside the lab’s other exit. “Coast’s clear. Let’s go.”

“How long can we keep this up?” Kaidan was worried. The mining facility wasn’t big and every part of it was connected to somewhere else. He was sure Leviathan had sent all one hundred and fifty-odd enthralled souls living on Mahavid after them. It was just a matter of time before they were caught.

“As long as we can. We need to buy EDI and Ash as much time as possible.” Shepard suddenly signalled for Kaidan to stop.

Kaidan immediately flattened himself against the wall. “How many?” he whispered.

Shepard held up two fingers. “I go low and take the one on the left,” he whispered back.

“Got it.” Kaidan readied his pistol. “Anytime you’re ready.”

“…Now.”

Shepard ducked out, keeping low to the ground, with Kaidan right on his heels. They nailed both thralls with their first shots. The electroshock bolts worked like a charm, instantly incapacitating the thralls.

Shepard took point once more. “Come on, let’s keep moving.”

Kaidan eyed him closely as he ran alongside Shepard. “Are you having fun, Commander?”

“Having fun? Oh no, I’m taking this seriously.” Shepard’s half-smile gave him away.

“Bullshit.” There was no heat to his words though. He was beginning to understand Vega and Ash’s advice. “No wonder your crew is constantly ready for a firefight. You enjoy causing mayhem.”

Shepard just laughed.

They ran deeper into the facility, passing through two more blocks and detouring once to avoid a particularly large search group. Another time, they had to use a stun grenade when they ran headlong into another search group.

When they reached a T-junction, Shepard slowed and quickly peered around the corner. He silently motioned Kaidan to stay where he was and, as the Major watched with eagle eyes, darted across the open passageway to the other side. Kaidan peered around the corner to see what Shepard had spotted - two more of the facility’s enthralled personnel standing guard at the far end of the T-junction.

Instead of dashing across the open passageway, he caught Shepard’s gaze meaningfully before stepping out into the open. The thralls immediately spotted him, and they ran towards him, guns pointing straight at him. The moment they came within range, Shepard opened fire from his concealed position and knocked them out with electroshock bolts.

Together, they dashed off.

“Risky move, Major. I approve.”

“You approved this risky move, but not what I did back in that Minerals Lab?”

“That was different. You were alone and unable to defend yourself.”

“So that’s what set you off,” Kaidan muttered under his breath.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Kaidan rounded a corner and glimpsed a door opening in the distance. Turning tail, he hastily shoved Shepard backwards.

Without further prompting, Shepard retraced their steps and yanked open a nearby door. He quickly pulled Kaidan into the room with him and shut the door as quickly and quietly as he could.

The room Shepard had dragged them into wasn’t a room but one of those small utility spaces designed to house a power distribution node. It was tiny and cramped, especially with two tall well-built men wearing armour and carrying bulky weapons. In the tight confined space, they were pressed up together, practically breathing each other’s air.

Ignoring how Shepard’s breath tickled the side of his neck, Kaidan kept watching the door from over the Commander’s shoulder. He had to snake his good arm about Shepard’s waist in order to get a clear shot at the door. There was simply no room for either of them to move, much less use their weapons. If they were discovered, he would just have to be really quick about shoot -

- “Shepard,” he hissed suddenly, “is your hand on my butt?”

Shepard’s expression was so guileless Kaidan didn’t believe him at all when he answered, “It’s too cramped in here.”

Scowling, he firmly pushed Shepard’s distracting hand up higher onto the small of his back and shifted his attention back to their situation.

Whoever the footsteps belonged to was taking his time to walk past their hiding location. But finally, finally, the footsteps crossed past their hiding place and faded into the distance. Both men didn’t move for long moments, straining their ears to listen for any other suspicious sounds outside the door.

Kaidan cautiously relaxed. The coast seemed to be clear.

He drew back his head to speak to Shepard properly, and promptly forgot what he was going to say when he discovered there was barely a breath of space between them. The focused intent look in Shepard’s eyes as he gazed at him…

He felt his cheeks heating under Shepard’s scrutiny as he abruptly became keenly aware of their positions. They were practically standing in each other’s arms, pressed together from chest to thighs. All he had to do was to incline his head ever so slightly and he would be kissing Shepard.

“What are you staring at?” he asked self-consciously. He was sure Shepard could hear his heart pounding away with nervousness.

“You.”

Shepard’s frank answer made his cheeks burn even hotter. How was it this man could make him blush like a teenager experiencing his first crush? “This really isn’t the time and place for it.”

“I know.” But Shepard did not move.

Kaidan opened his mouth but closed it again; he did not know what to say. Despite his self-consciousness, he actually liked being in Shepard’s arms. The Commander’s hand on the small of his back was a warm and comforting weight. His other hand resting on Kaidan’s hip, with a thumb idly stroking the shallow indent of his waist, felt solidly assuring.

He cleared his throat and tried again. “Your hand, Shepard.”

Shepard had the audacity to ask, “Which one?”

He pressed a hand over Shepard’s on his hip, stopping his thumb in mid-stroke, and pulled it away from his body. He missed the assuring weight of Shepard’s hand immediately.

How ridiculous.

Without another word, he reluctantly stepped out from their enforced embrace and edged around Shepard to reach the door. He opened it a crack. Seeing that the coast was clear, he pushed it open and emerged from their hiding place.

“Mind on the mission,” he told Shepard.

“And when we get back to Normandy?”

“We can talk about this then.”

“Just talk?” Shepard asked innocuously.

“…,” Kaidan didn’t quite know how to reply. “…Just try not to distract me until this is over?”

Shepard smirked.

They went down the corridor, heading for the door the enthralled personnel had come from. Stepping through it, Kaidan found himself in the medical wing of the facility.

The walls of the prefab housing block were a uniform white, and there was the recognizable smell of antiseptic in the air. They moved past the empty nurse station, through another set of doors and into the ward.

Kaidan paused when he spotted the rows of body bags in one of the quarantine rooms, all of them filled.

“That’s a lot of body bags,” Shepard commented.

“Yeah.” Kaidan stared at the body bags for a long moment. Something about the sheer number of them filled him with unease. Why were there so many of them? The mining facility had a good safety record before it went radio silent. Could the facility be faking those records?

“We should go. We can look into this after we free these people.”

“All right.” Kaidan gave the body bags one last wary look and continued, following Shepard as he headed deeper into the wards. 

Their earpieces crackled. “EDI to Shepard.”

“I read you, EDI.”

“Commander, I believe we may have located the orb’s location.”

“How?”

“A group of personnel left the facility a few minutes ago and we have followed them to the mine. Since you are in the facility attracting their attention, it is illogical for Leviathan to deploy its minions to the mine itself unless it intends to protect its sole mean of control over these people.”

“That makes sense,” Kaidan mused aloud. “The orb had to be buried inside the asteroid itself for aeons, and its influence doesn’t seem dependable on proximity. If it enthralled the people here quick enough, Leviathan would never bother to have them unearth and bring it up to the facility. It just wouldn’t be necessary.”

“I am sending you the nav-point of the mine entrance before Ash and I enter it. Once we locate the orb, we will ping you again.”

Their omni-tools beeped, and Kaidan quickly accessed his for the nav-point. “We’ll need to cross the pipes. There’s an emergency hatch nearby. We can go out from there.”

“Ash, EDI, proceed with caution,” Shepard ordered. “When you find them, do not engage. Stay hidden until Kaidan and I arrive.”

“Understood, skipper.” Ash acknowledged.

“I think Leviathan is beginning to see us as threats,” Kaidan whispered to Shepard as he followed the Commander to the emergency hatch.

“Or they’re seeing you as a threat.” Shepard peeked around a corner before rounding it, muttering under his breath, “wonder who claims the pot this time.”

“What?”

“Running bet on the Normandy. Ask Joker.” Shepard stopped in front of an emergency exit hatch. “The mine entrance is just a few hundred meters beyond this hatch. The moment I unlock it, it’s going to trigger the alarm, and everyone will know where we are.”

“If you want, I’ll race you.” Kaidan offered.

Shepard grinned right back at him. “You’re on.”

He threw open the emergency hatch. As he predicted, the alarm klaxon immediately sounded, blaring its warning through the facility even as red siren light washed across the corridor. He leapt out into the open, closely followed by Kaidan, and both men immediately set off at a dead run for the mine entrance.

Chapter Text

With the advancement in technology, mining had become a mostly automated process. But some stages of the process still required an organic touch, namely building the infrastructure for automation.

The magnetic tracks to convey anti-grav mining carts had been bolted into the rock of the asteroid by hand; the lamps hanging at roughly regular intervals were also clearly fixed into position by hand. Both sets of equipment were hardy and durable, designed to work and last under the most extreme of environmental conditions. Yet, right now, the magnetic tracks were failing and many of the lamps had gone dark.

A telling testimony to their state of extreme neglect.

Kaidan had never been inside a mine before, much less a mine tunnelling into the heart of an asteroid. He found he didn’t like the experience very much. There was just too much rock surrounding him, closing in and pressing upon him. While his mind knew Mahavid was a stable asteroid, the baser part of him - his instincts - were urging him to get out of there, that he had no business hanging around in an environment completely devoid of water.

He told that part of him to shut up.

In contrast, Shepard didn’t seem at all fazed by their claustrophobic surroundings. He traversed the terrain with consummate ease, scanning the way ahead with his rifle raised.

Staying close behind Shepard, Kaidan kept an eye on the map on his omni-tool and navigated their way through the tunnels. Good thing the map of the facility Shepard downloaded from the security terminal also included a map of the mine itself. They had left the main tunnel a while back and ventured into a series of secondary tunnels that had turned him around completely. He hadn’t realised how complex the tunnel network was.

“How far ahead are they now?” Shepard whispered to him.

“We’re close,” Kaidan whispered back. “We take the right tunnel just up ahead. They should be in the first left-branching tunnel.”  

Shepard followed his directions and true enough, they found Ash and EDI hunkered down at the far end of the said tunnel, seemingly guarding the entry of another tunnel.

Upon reaching them, Shepard asked in a hushed voice, “Sitrep.”

“Not good,” Ash whispered. “Been searching for a way to move in without getting shot, but every strategy I could think of require Major Alenko’s biotics.”

Shepard edged past Ash to peek around the corner and assess the situation. Once he had gotten a good look, he stepped back and Kaidan took his place to do the same.

The tunnel was long, straight, and narrow, about two-person abreast, and did not have a single shred of cover in it. It opened into a cave, according to the map, and several enthralled personnel were currently in the cave, forming a defensive wall at the tunnel exit. They were all decked out in full environmental suits, and they aimed their rifles steadily into the tunnel.

Shepard thought he saw a glow of light behind them in the cave.

Ash was right.

Kaidan’s biotics was the only thing capable of getting them through the tunnel without much injury to either party.

It was obvious Leviathan didn’t care much about the safety and well-being of its thralls - they were using them as organic shields to protect the orb. At the same time, Shepard had no doubt Leviathan would use them to kill anyone the moment they step into the tunnel.

Leviathan had the advantage here, Shepard conceded. They knew he and his squad wouldn’t harm captive civilians.

Electro-shock rounds were off the table - the stubby prongs were too short and too blunt to breach the thick layer of the thralls’ environmental suits. That left stun grenades as their sole tools of attack. But without a grenade launcher, throwing stun grenades by hand from their current position was impossible.

The tunnel was the problem: it was too long, too narrow, and too exposed. They couldn’t spread out which meant the second they enter it; Leviathan would have no problem pinning them down or killing them. No amount of kinetic shield would help them in this scenario. It was a ‘shooting fish in a barrel’ scenario that even amateur shooters would do very well in.

But a biotic barrier could help them - if Kaidan could prevent his barrier from detonating.

“I strongly recommend deciding our next course of action quickly, Commander,” EDI said. “I am monitoring the facility security system. A significantly large group of personnel is heading towards us. I estimate they will be here in two to three minutes. If they block off the mine entrance, we will be caught in a vice.”

“How many of them are in the cave?” Shepard asked Ash.

“Ten. If it wasn’t for the tunnel, we can take them.”

Kaidan spoke up, “Ash’s right. You need a biotic for this situation. Let me take the lead. I’ll raise my barrier and get us close enough so you can use stun grenades.”

“Can you stop your barrier from detonating?”

The Major nodded confidently.

It was the best plan they could make under the circumstances. “All right. Once you get your barrier up, make a run for it. I’ll be right beside you. EDI, bring up the rear and watch for that reinforcement.”

They rose to their feet and got into formation.

There was no specific mnemonics for raising a biotic barrier, but Shepard could feel it coalescing. Standing this close to Kaidan, he felt his skin tingled from the static electricity building in the air around them, even as dark blue energy swirled into existence and curled around the Major.

Soon, Kaidan had wrapped himself in an aura of glowing blue and he stepped forward, arms stretched out before him with palms open as he pushed the energy outward and held it in a barrier in front of them.

“Let’s move,” Kaidan barked. He broke into a run and immediately bullets started pinging off his biotic barrier. He didn’t flinch, simply continued advancing rapidly.

Shepard and his squad easily kept pace with him, holding their fire. Though he had seen biotic barriers in action before, he couldn’t help but marvel at just how much damage it could absorb on the battlefield. Not a single bullet reached them - they impacted against the barrier and dropped harmlessly to the ground; their kinetic energy absorbed by the mass effect field.

It seemed like this makeshift plan of theirs was working.

Or so Shepard thought when behind the thralls, the glow of light in the cave abruptly blazed brighter and a high-pitched staticky squeal suddenly pierced their ears and set their teeth on the edge.

Shepard flinched and his free hand instinctively flew up in a vain attempt to cover his ears. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Ash did the same.

It was useless. The squeal was so shrill and intense that it still stabbed into their heads anyway.

But Kaidan did not react the same.

The Major screamed in agony, his hands flying up to his head, and crumpled to the ground, and his biotic barrier disappeared without warning.

Bullets immediately whizzed and ricocheted around them, and Ash and EDI threw themselves onto the ground to avoid getting hit.

Shepard didn’t think twice.

Recklessly, he charged the thralls instead. He swiftly covered the last few required feet, pulled a stun grenade from his belt, and lobbed it right into their midst, a scarce moment after his kinetic shield gave out. 

The stun grenade exploded and knocked the thralls off their feet. In the enclosed confines of the cave, its effects were magnified.

The shooting stopped immediately, and a dead silence fell.

Shepard sprinted back to where Kaidan was, curled into a ball of agony on the ground. His screams had died down into gasping moans even as he continued to claw at his head. EDI was attempting to help him while Ash kept a lookout.

“What the hell is wrong with him?” Ash demanded.

“He’s under attack,” was the only way Shepard could think of to explain.

“There is nothing I can do to alleviate his pain, Shepard,” EDI added.

“Destroy the orb. That’s the only way. Go!” Shepard grabbed one of Kaidan’s hands and pried it away from its death grip on his head. Immediately, Kaidan’s hand clamped around his with a crushing strength he felt even through his gauntlet.

Sudden, rapid gunshots rang out and bullets smashed into the ground around them.

Instinctively, they threw themselves back down onto the ground, Shepard draping himself over Kaidan’s prone form.

“On our six!” Ash yelled.

Leviathan’s reinforcement had arrived.

“Switch to ammo!” Shepard ordered without hesitation.

“Gladly.” Ash swiftly did as she was told and returned fire.

“Don’t kill them.” Shepard pulled Kaidan to a crouching stand and hauled him the rest of the way through the tunnel with Ash covering them.

“They’re trying to kill us!”

“It’s non-negotiable.”

“What if we leave the Major behind? It will buy us time!”

“Out of line, Lieutenant. - What are you doing, Kaidan?”

Kaidan had lifted a shaking arm.

Dark energy swirled once more into existence and the Major’s biotic barrier wavered back into view - as a bubble enclosing them. This time, erecting the barrier took longer - it flickered and shimmered until it finally solidified into an erratically glowing barrier of dark energy, dimmer and less solid than before. It wasn’t as effective as his previous barrier - most bullets smashed harmlessly into it, but a few got through.

Ash promptly stopped firing and swiftly propped up Kaidan on his other side. “Not bad, Major.”

Shepard didn’t think so.

Liara had once told him that a bubble barrier was the second most basic form and every biotic had it drilled into them as a child until it was ‘muscle memory’. Forming it should never require conscious manipulation.

Kaidan was clearly struggling.

They hauled ass through the tunnel. It was a tight squeeze, but they made good time.

Emerging into the cave, Shepard finally saw the orb nestled in a shallow indent on the ground and still blazing brightly like a miniature sun, much to his annoyance. All around it was the prone bodies of the enthralled personnel of its organic shield, mostly cuffed and unmoving.

He spotted EDI cuffing groggy enthralled personnel and yelled, “EDI! Why is that thing still intact?!”

“The cave is too small, Shepard. If I use one or multiple grenades, the explosion will severely injure everyone in here. I decided to curb their freedom of movements instead or otherwise, we will be fighting on two fronts.”

Shepard looked around quickly.

EDI’s assessment was correct. The cave was just too damn small for a grenade blast. Looks like it was back to using Kaidan’s biotic punch.

He looked closely at Kaidan, at the strain and agony twisting his handsome features. His eyes were nearly squinted shut with tears streaming down his cheeks. Blood was dripping freely from his nose as he forced himself to focus despite the tremendous pain he was in. Shepard could feel how violently Kaidan’s entire body was shaking. With him all but propping the Major on his feet, Shepard wondered if Kaidan could even do it.

Suddenly, Kaidan’s arm dropped like a stone and his barrier winked out of existence.

“Ash!”

“I’m on it!” Ash scrambled back to the entrance and fired a few rounds into the tunnel. 

“Guard the entrance and keep those people back. EDI, once you’re done, back her up. Buy us as much time as you can.” Shepard ordered as he hauled Kaidan over to the orb.

There was no time to wonder if Kaidan could destroy the orb. He must destroy it, there was no other choice.

“Major, you need to do your biotic punch thingy and destroy the orb. Can you hear me? Kaidan?!”

Not liking the glazed look in Kaidan’s eyes, Shepard sharply slapped his sweaty cheek. “Kaidan! Destroy the orb!”

He waited tensely to see if his words had reached Kaidan. Much to his relief, dark blue wisps of energy gradually appeared and gathered about the Major’s body once more.

Shepard watched with anxious eyes as he lowered Kaidan to the ground right before the fiercely glowing orb. The Major was biting his lip hard, clearly fighting past the agony to execute the mnemonics for a biotic punch - slowly and painfully.

“Fire in the hole!” EDI suddenly called out. Suiting actions to words, she lobbed a real grenade right into the tunnel and ducked for cover.

The explosion was beyond loud and shook the ground beneath their feet.

“You better not have killed anyone,” Shepard warned.

“My judgment is accurate, Shepard. They are outside of its blast range. A show of force should buy us some -”

A spray of bullets suddenly spewed from the tunnel, cutting her off.

“You were saying?” Ash yelled over the din. Pressed up on the other side of the tunnel, she pointed her rifle into the tunnel and fired blindly.

There was a pause, and then the sharp staccato of rifle fire answered them.

“How many are there?” Shepard asked.

“Twenty before I threw the grenade,” EDI replied.

A pained grunt from Kaidan drew Shepard’s attention. He turned back just in time to see the Major hammering a fist thickly wreathed in glowing dark energy into the orb.

Shepard staggered backwards from the backwash of the exploding dark energy. Over the thunder of the punch, he heard a sound not dissimilar to glass cracking. When he looked again, there was a spidery network of cracks feathering through the orb, but it was still whole and glowing.

Panting hard, Kaidan summoned up dark energy once more and smashed it into the orb again.

Shepard’s heart sank when he saw the cracks in the orb widen but did not give way. Was this orb different from the one at Dr Bryson’s lab?

A sob of desperate fury escaped Kaidan.

Rearing up on his knees, he clasped his hands together and raised them over his head. Dark energy swirled furiously around his two-handed fist as he pulled it in as fast as he could, and much more than his previous last two attempts. So much more Shepard could hear it crackling in the air and Kaidan’s hair stood on ends from the sheer amount of static electricity being generated.

Bloody lips pulled back in a snarl of defiance, Kaidan slammed the oversized ball of dark energy into the orb.

It exploded in a burst of blinding light and thunder, and the shock wave flung them backwards.

Chapter Text

4 October 2186

Milky Way / Arcturus Stream / Arcturus / Arcturus Station

Hackett ’s Office

Resting his chin on his steepled hands, Hackett brooded darkly at the multiple reports on his desk. By themselves, the reports were innocuous, but Anderson’s team had managed to put them together in some semblance of a picture. Even partial and vague, Hackett didn’t like the picture one bit.

There was an enemy out there, that much was clear, and it was poised to invade and conquer the whole galaxy any time. The only problem was he didn’t know the enemy’s face and how they would invade and conquer the galaxy. There were no whispers in the shady parts of the galaxy, no suspicious diverting of resources needed to build an armada, no recruitment of any kind. 

Pensive, he picked up a report.

No, there was recruitment, he corrected silently, but not by using conventional methods. Mentally enslaving people seemed to be the only requirement Leviathan need to carry out to advance their invasion. They didn’t need to procure ships or supplies; all they needed was to control the people already living in the targeted society, and they would have immediate access to everything in there.

It reminded him of something Garret once told him a long time ago: the Protheans had left behind records on the Reapers’ ability to mind-control their victims - an unexplainable ability the Protheans called ‘indoctrination’. No one in the current cycle knew much about this strange Reaper technology or how it worked, but the experts agreed that it was insidious and didn’t seem to have a cure.

The effects of the Reapers’ indoctrination were also very similar to what happened in Maybeline Faire. How does a person protect themselves from being mind-controlled? The Alliance and everyone else would not know what hit them - literally.

The chiming of his door roused him from his troubled thoughts.

“Enter.”

His secretary entered, carrying a parcel in her hands. “This just came for you, Admiral.”

Hackett straightened up. He hardly ever received physical mail and such at his office. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcomed, sir.”

Hackett examined the parcel. It wasn’t big, but it was heavy. He tapped the postage tag to activate it and stiffened when he saw it was from the Citadel. There was only one person he could think of who could have sent him this.

Half-dreading, half-knowing what he would find, Hackett broke the seal on the parcel’s lid and tipped out the contents.

Five data drives clattered onto his desk.

A sealed honest-to-God paper envelope slid out as well. His name was written on it in a handwriting he recognised immediately.

Hackett picked up the envelope. You always did like writing on paper, he thought sadly.

With great care, he tore open the envelope and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.

Dear Steven,

By the time you receive this letter, I will be dead.

Well, I hope not, but I ’m certain what I’m about to do will provoke Leviathan once they find out, so I think my life is forfeit.

Leviathan still lives and they aim to re-assert their dominance over the galaxy. They have been secretly working to this end for years. They ’re now poised to invade and conquer the galaxy, but they won’t do it through a war. Waging war on us is not to their benefit and frankly, they don’t need to.

They have a tool, a weapon. It looks like a big glass orb, but it’s not. When they use it, it glows from within like the sky rivers in the night sky. They use it to communicate with each other over vast distances, and they use it to spy on other races. If I’m right, the orbs also act as nav-point beacons too. But most crucially, they use it as a weapon. They use it to enthral organics, to enslave us into becoming their thralls.

It ’s like the Reapers’ indoctrination tech.

All the King ’s horses and men are useless in the face of this weapon. The peoples of the galaxy simply don’t have any defences against it. 

I ’ve tried to make sense of this piece of technology, but it is so advanced, so alien, it’s incomprehensible. I can only contain it. I hope I have contained it.

They have gotten their claws into Hadley, and he or rather they have been using him to search my work.

I know what they are looking for: it ’s the one thing that will stop them, but I couldn’t free Hadley from their influence, so I continue to play the ignorant.

I don ’t think I can keep up the act any longer. I think I’m running out of time.

That ’s why I’m sending you my data drives - they mustn’t have it. You know I have the habit of encoding my journal and the important parts of my research. What they want is in those encoded parts. Hadley doesn’t know my code. That bought me - us - precious time.  

Please find Ann and protect her. I fear for her safety. I ’ve wiped all traces of her current location from my lab to protect her, but I’m afraid it isn’t enough.

I wish I can tell you everything in this letter, but I fear it may fall into the wrong hands, so I dare not.

But you are a resourceful man, Steven, and you know me. Please do whatever you can to stop Leviathan. No one will be safe if they succeed in their ambition, not you, not Ann, not our peoples.

Yours truly,

Garret

P.S.:        Tell Ann I love her very much and I ’m so proud of her. I’m so sorry we quarrelled.

              Steven, have I told you that being your friend was one of the best things ever to happen to me? You ’re always there for me and I count myself blessed to have known you. My only regret is that I can’t tell you how much you mean to me in person. Take care of yourself, old friend, and stay safe.

For a long while, Hackett sat motionlessly as fresh grief coursed through him.

Garret once told him he admired his strength of character, determination, and tenacity. Hackett had rebutted him, claiming he was the inspiration for him to succeed. He might have pulled himself out of poverty and carved a successful career for himself, but Garrett was the courageous one who had sacrificed everything he knew and possessed to fulfil a dream.

After everything he had done and sacrificed, only to die such an undeserving, ignoble death…

It was hard to accept.

Hackett closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He re-read the letter and then in measured moves, carefully re-folded and returned it to its envelope. He placed the precious item securely into his breast pocket.

His mouth set in a grim line, Hackett gathered up the data drives and left his office. Instructing his secretary to cancel all his appointments for the day, he headed straight for Anderson’s office.

There was a friend’s daughter to find and an invasion to stop.

Chapter Text

Twenty-One Hours Later …

Milky Way / Attican Traverse / Caleston Rift / Aysur System / Nahata Belt / Mahavid

T-GES mining facility

The twenty-odd hours after Shepard and his ground team had successfully freed the people on the mining facility of Mahavid was a whirlwind of rescue work and damage control.

Kaidan had collapsed unconscious immediately after he destroyed the orb, and his body twitched and trembled for long minutes while Shepard tried unsuccessfully to rouse him. He dearly wanted to immediately whisk Kaidan back to the Normandy for medical attention, but the freed facility personnel who had formed Leviathan’s reinforcement cautiously entered the cave at that moment - confused and befuddled - and duty called. He had to entrust Kaidan’s well-being to Ash’s care while he took charge of the situation.

Once he was certain they had completely eradicated the effects of Leviathan’s Enthralling, Shepard sent a high-priority emergency call for aid to Hackett. Until help arrived, he would have to make do with just his ship’s resources to look after the traumatized victims and temporarily run the facility. He did make sure Kaidan was sent back to the Normandy on the very first shuttle run. The fact the Major did not wake at all despite their best attempts made something in his chest tighten with worry. 

But there was no time to spend worrying about Kaidan’s state of health. Taking care of the released thralls took priority. He oversaw and coordinated his crew members who volunteered to care for the freed civilians and worked with Gabrielle Daniels’ team on assessing the structural integrity of the mining facility. He lost all track of time until Garrus - who had come down to Mahavid to assist - told him point-blank that he needed to rest and then frog-marched him to Cortez’s waiting shuttle. 

“You’ve been on duty for more than twenty-four hours. Their trauma isn’t going away soon. It will still be here for you to soak in after you are rested,” Garrus told him bluntly.

Shepard gave his best friend a flat look, then flapped a hand in ungracious acquiescence. “Fine. You’re in charge now. And find Garneau and the rest. There’s supposed to be over a hundred and fifty people living on this rock. I don’t recall coming across so many.”

“I’ll let you know when I find them,” Garrus promised.

Alone in the Kodiak’s cargo area and away from public view, Shepard sat down with a tired sigh and finally allowed himself to feel his fatigue.

“Is everything all right, Commander?” Cortez called from the pilot’s seat.

“More or less.”

“I heard from Ash that things got a little dicey a while back. Kaidan looked like he bore the brunt of it when I brought him back to Normandy,” Cortez commented.

“He did,” Shepard confirmed. “And yet he broke the orb’s control over the civilians. It was incredible to witness. Did Ash tell you how he did it?”

“No, she was too busy trying to keep him stabilised. He had a seizure on the way back to Normandy.”

“He what?”

At his sharp tone, Cortez half-turned and looked at him in surprise. “You didn’t know?”

“Clearly not,” Shepard grumbled. “Never mind. I’ll get the full update from Dr Chakwas. Any luck on finding Garneau’s ship?”

“It was on the far side of Mahavid. Somebody crashed it into a crater there.”

Which meant Garneau did come to Mahavid, but he never left. Shepard had a sinking feeling that the treasure-hunter was dead and if that was true, they were right back at square one.

“Can you retrieve his ship?”

“As long as its engine still works, salvage shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Take James with you. He needs more experience working with non-Alliance transports if he wants that recommendation for the villa.”

“Understood.”

When the Kodiak docked in the Normandy’s shuttle-bay, Shepard hopped off, kit down and headed straight to the Med-Bay, still clad in his under-armour.

There were patients in the Med-Bay - he remembered sending three injured civilians to Dr Karin Chakwas because the mining facility’s medical wing did not have the right equipment to treat them.

The dignified no-nonsense doctor was attending to one of them when he entered. She immediately put a finger to her lips when she spotted his entry and tipped her head in the direction of the medical bed hidden behind a privacy screen.

Shepard nodded his thanks as he moved towards the closed-off medical bed. Glancing at a pale and lost-looking asari as he walked past her, he was once again thankful that there were no casualties and all injuries the facility personnel had sustained were relatively minor.

The same could not be said for Kaidan though.

Sliding open a panel of the privacy screen, Shepard quietly slipped into the enclosed area and got his first clear look of Kaidan since the conclusion of their battle.

If he thought the Major had looked ill when they first met, he looked positively battered now. His bitten lips were still mottled an angry red, the dark circles under his eyes were practically bruises by this point and though his face had been cleaned, Shepard remembered his nose had been bleeding rather freely during their battle. He was sleeping deeply, but Shepard could still see his exhaustion.

Kaidan laid completely still in the medical bed, his lean bare torso covered by a thermal blanket, his healing shoulder heavily bandaged and the arm rested across his chest, securely immobilised in a sling. There was an IV drip in his other arm and multiple sensors taped to various parts of his body, especially on his forehead and temples. An array of medical equipment monitored his vitals, none of which Shepard understood. All he knew was their readings were in green and in rhythmic patterns which he supposed meant Kaidan was in a stable condition.

Seeing Kaidan so banged up made that familiar something tightened in Shepard’s chest again. Getting injured in the line of duty was part and parcel of the job and there were plenty of times he had seen his people injured or killed. He himself had been laid out in the Med-Bay a few times in the past. But somehow seeing Kaidan injured felt different. Despite the short time he had known Kaidan, Shepard discovered he hated seeing the Major incapacitated.

He gazed upon Kaidan’s bruised face and mentally ran through the events of their ground mission. It had thrown up a lot of questions, questions which he suspected only Kaidan could answer but right now, his mind kept returning to the cramped power distribution room they had hidden in.

Shepard was no stranger to battlefield flirting, but that was the first time he had pushed the limit of what was appropriate while on the field. He had liked having Kaidan in his arms. Despite the bulk of their armours, the Major had fitted so well against him, and he failed to resist the temptation of copping a feel.

He smiled at the memory of Kaidan’s huffy glare: he was charming. The Major hadn’t rejected his advances despite telling him otherwise in the War Room, which was good. He was aware of Kaidan’s attraction to him since day one, and it appeared there was hope for their mutual interest.

Kaidan’s eyes were now closed, but Shepard remembered gazing upon his very lovely amber-brown eyes up close in that small, cramped space. Again, a feeling of déjà vu came over him. Brown was a common colour but not that particular shade of brown. Where had he seen eyes like Kaidan’s before?  

He looked up from his visual inspection when the privacy screen slid open again and Dr Chakwas entered. “How is he?” he whispered.

“Out of danger. He finally transited to true sleep an hour ago.”

“His injuries?”

“His visible physical injuries were numerous but minor - nose bleed, alleviated blood pressure, extreme fatigue, the usual scratches and bruises from ground missions. The bruising on his face will take some time to fade. As for his shoulder injury, there was some muscle tearing and strain. I’ve re-bound it and completely restricted his arm from moving. He won’t be able to use it until I say he can, and I’d appreciate it if you can enforce my order.”

“Of course.”

“I’m more concerned about the injuries I can’t treat. I’ve compared his brainwaves with his baseline and his hospital records from Mindoir - he’s showing the same abnormal patterns as he did back then.”

“Cortez told me he went into a seizure.”

“He did,” Chakwas acknowledged. “Ash was a great help in preventing him from hurting himself during his seizure. She also told me what happened down there. This is the third time he was assaulted in such a manner?”

Shepard did a quick count. “Fourth. The third time was very brief, probably not more than a minute.”

“It’s worrying. His hospital records showed that the pain he experienced for the first two times were in the range of 9-10 on the pain scale and for prolonged periods. Pain is the body’s way of telling us something is wrong. I surmise Kaidan, unlike other people, reacts badly to the orb’s influence. Instead of enthralling him, it attacks his neurological system instead.”

“Like a near-lethal allergy reaction?” Shepard guessed.

“It’s a close enough analogy. The seizure was one of the after-effects of the attack but there may be more injuries inflicted on his neurological system.”

“Can you do anything for him?”

“Other than making him comfortable and giving him supplements to boost his nerve health, no. I’ll feel more at ease if I can get him to Huerta Memorial Hospital for a full check-up.”

“What about his implant?”

“It’s undamaged as far as I can tell. But I like to get a second opinion from his specialist doctor at HQ before clearing him for active duty. Until then, I’d prefer if he keeps it off-line.”

Dr Chakwas activated her omni-tool and scanned Shepard with it. “And what about you, Commander?”

“I’m fine. Just tired.”

“For once, you’re not hiding anything from me,” Chakwas said approvingly. “Go rest and have a hot meal.”

“I will. Just need to settle some matters first. Keep me updated on Kaidan’s condition.”

“Of course.”

Shepard exited the Med-Bay and went up to the command deck. At his personal terminal, he quickly scanned through the messages in his mailbox. “Anything important I should know, Traynor?”

“Admiral Hackett has acknowledged your call for aid. The Cairo will be rendezvousing with us here in six hours. They will be bringing Commander Sonny Chang and his task force from Mindoir. I think he’s Alliance Intelligence.”

Shepard remembered the name from Kaidan’s Mindoir report. “Yes, he is. Set up a secure channel with the Cairo and Commander Chang. We need to start talking to each other asap.”

“Yes, sir. EDI has established a data link to the facility’s servers. She and Liara are mining their data right now.”

“Good. EDI, let me know if you find anything useful.”

“Noted, Commander.”

Returning to his cabin, Shepard continued reading and sending off several messages, including one to Ash, before cleaning up. He had finished showering and changed into a fresh set of uniform pants and tee-shirt when his door chime sounded.

“Come in.”

The door slid open, and Ash entered.

The tight and close-off expression on her face told Shepard that she was bracing for a dressing-down. She stood before him at parade rest. “You want to see me, Commander?”

So, Ash was taking the formal route.

That was fine by Shepard. The matter was important enough that the formality should drive home any message he needed to emphasise. “I think you know why, Lieutenant.”

“I do, sir.” Shame crossed her face. “My behaviour during the fight on Mahavid was unacceptable. What I said about the Major was out of line.”

“And what did you say?” Shepard crossed his arms and waited expectantly.

“I said,” Ash took a deep bracing breath, “I said we should leave him behind.”

“Marines leave no one behind,” Shepard rebuked flatly.

“It won’t happen again, sir. The thought shouldn’t even have crossed my mind.”

“Make sure it doesn’t.” Softening his tone, Shepard continued, “Frankly, I’m surprised. I never thought you would say something like that.”

“Me neither,” Ash admitted morosely. “I don’t know why it seemed like a good idea.”

“It seemed like a good idea?” Shepard echoed.

Ash nodded.

He frowned thoughtfully. “Is it possible? For that orb to have put that thought in your head?”

“You mean the orb the Major destroyed in the cave? Can it do that?”

Shepard shrugged. “We know so little about the technology behind it, so maybe it can? But I know you, Ash. You’re a good soldier, one of the best I’ve ever worked with, and a good friend. When you suggested leaving Kaidan behind…that was so unlike you. Maybe it was a thought put in your head.”

“I don’t need an excuse for my behaviour in the cave,” Ash declared.

“I’m not giving you one,” Shepard said easily. “I’m just saying. Most of the victims described being unaware that they were being mind-controlled by the orb until it was too late. Perhaps expressing thoughts that aren’t your own is just one of the more subtle early signs. They were intent on capturing Kaidan, so maybe they tried to influence you to do their bidding.”

“And he couldn’t defend himself during the firefight. Us leaving him behind would be the quickest way for them to get their hands on him.” Ash was horrified. “We won’t even realise we have been manipulated until it’s too late. That’s some insidious shit, skipper.”

“But it didn’t happen,” Shepard said firmly.

“Why do they want him? How can we stop them from putting thoughts in our heads?”

“I think they want to know why he wasn’t affected by their orbs.”

“Really?”

“It’s what I would do. As for preventing them from putting thoughts in our heads, I’m working on it.”

“You know, I have a feeling this mission may turn out to be bigger than we anticipated, like Saren and his geth.”

Shepard didn’t think Ash was wrong in her assessment. “We’ll deal with it if it happens. You did good helping Kaidan when he had a seizure, but you still owe him an apology.”

“As soon as he wakes,” Ash promised. “I’ll even keep an eye on him, you know, so he won’t get nabbed.”

“He’s going to hate your hovering,” Shepard predicted.

“Oh?” A sly smirk crossed Ash’s face. “Maybe he won’t hate it if you are keeping an eye on him instead. I think I should tell Joker to set up another pot.”

“Out, Lieutenant.”

“Aye, sir.” Still smirking, Ash saluted and left, but not before adding, “I’ll get that pot started.”

Shepard rolled his eyes but didn’t stop her. He wasn’t that transparent, was he?

Nah, he dismissed the thought just as quick, he wasn’t that transparent.

Chapter Text

8 October 2186

Dusk was falling when Kaidan ’s dad finally called it a day for fishing.

Kaidan wasn ’t really disappointed.

His dad had taken them out on the Alenko family yacht for an overnight fishing trip. Anchored in a small, sheltered cove, far away from any prying eyes, his dad had spent the day trying unsuccessfully to teach him how to fish, much to his mom ’s amusement.

Kaidan just wasn ’t interested though.

His dad ’s way of fishing was tedious and cumbersome; he didn’t see why he had to learn when he already knew a far easier and more efficient method.

What he really wanted to do was to swim across to the other boat anchored in the cove and explore. He had never seen it before, and its registry number was unfamiliar. His dad had said it most likely sailed up from Sea-at-tile. Kaidan did not know where Sea-at-tile was, but it sounded like it was somewhere very far away. There was a family on that boat and Kaidan was curious about them too.

“Mom, can we go over and say hi?” he asked.

His mom looked up from her task of cleaning the fish his dad had caught. “By going over, you mean swim over?”

Kaidan shrugged.

His mom sighed. “We talked about this. What did I say about swimming with other people?”

“Never swim with other people. It’s not safe,” Kaidan recited dutifully.

“And do you know why it’s not safe?”

“Because people fear that which they don’t understand.” Kaidan scuffed the toe of his deck shoe against the polished wooden deck. “That’s stupid.”

“Yes, it is, but that’s the way peoples are. They’re fearful and stupid when it comes to things they don’t know.” His mom dumped the entrails into a pail before handing it to Kaidan. “Now pour this back into the sea. It shouldn’t go to waste.”

Glumly, Kaidan did as he was told.

His dad was still packing his fishing gear at the yacht ’s aft, so Kaidan headed to the bow to dump the pail’s contents. He glanced over at the other boat and froze in horror.

Then he was running for the edge of their yacht, shouting for his parents and his pail clattered to the deck forgotten. Hastily shedding his clothes and shoes, he dived into the water and Shifted -

- Kaidan woke with a gasp when familiar pain shooting down his legs violently yanked him from his sleep. Bolting upright, he frantically flung the blanket back and panicked when he saw the skin of his legs rippling.

No no no no no …

He forcibly willed the Shift to reverse. Stay human, stay human, stay human… Over and over again, he repeated the mantra as he concentrated on reversing the Shift. Stay human…

Over the roaring in his ears, he dimly heard the Med-Bay’s doors opening and footsteps approaching his medical bed.

“Kaidan? Are you all right?” He heard Dr Chakwas called from somewhere outside the privacy screen surrounding his medical bed.

“I’m fine,” he replied tightly. “Nothing to worry about!”

Come on, come on, he silently urged, calm the hell down. Stay human!

“Your heart rate has increased.” He heard footsteps approaching him.

Please don’t come in, he begged silently. “Really, I’m fine, Dr Chakwas.”

Even to his own ears, he didn’t sound convincing.

He brutally reversed the Shift as quickly as he could withstand the pain until his legs had mostly regained their human colour and skin texture. Right before the privacy screen dropped, Kaidan hurriedly flipped the blanket back over his legs and torso, hiding the ebbing Shift from view.

Kaidan was breathing hard, covered in sweat and he felt flushed, but he nevertheless gifted Dr Chakwas with as innocent a smile as he could manage. “See? I’m all right.”

The dignified doctor didn’t look impressed with his attempt at assurance. “Who’s the doctor here, Major?”

“You are.”

“That’s right. Now sit still.”

Kaidan didn’t protest. He quietly submitted to her check and concentrated on stabilising his human form. By the time Dr Chakwas finished, he was feeling steadier and surer of himself than he had been a few minutes ago.    

“Well, you do seem all right, but you need more rest.”

“How long was I out?”

“Over a day.”

“That long?” Kaidan was alarmed.

“Your body needed the rest.”

“That’s more than enough rest,” Kaidan decided. “I have to get back to work.”

“I can always bench you.”

Kaidan started peeling the sensors off his body. “This mission is important, Dr Chakwas. I don’t have time to rest.”

“Your health is important too, Major.”

“I’ll rest after the job is done.”

“At least let me set up an appointment with Huerta Memorial Hospital for a full check-up. I’m concerned about what these prolonged exposures to pain are doing to your nerve health. I fear you may be more injured than you realise.”

“There’s no need for a hospital visit, Dr Chakwas. There’s nothing they can do.” The only thing that would help was to go home, but he couldn’t tell her that.

Dr Chakwas frowned disapprovingly. “Let the doctors be the judges of that, Major.”

“I’m fine, Dr Chakwas. Really.” Kaidan pulled out the IV needle and slid off the medical bed. He cringed at the feel of the cold deck under his bare feet. “Can you loosen the binding on my arm?”

“No,” came the flat reply.

“Dr Chakwas-” Kaidan’s protests died really quick when he was confronted with her steely-eyed disapproval. “Fine, I’ll keep the binding on.”

“Good. Now stay here while I get you a fresh set of uniform and some food.”

“Yes, madam.”

~

Shepard returned to Mahavid after several hours of conferring with Commander Chang over the comms and a quick meal and power nap. Midway on the shuttle trip, he received a call from Garrus.

“Are you coming back to Mahavid?” his turian friend asked without preamble.

“ETA: one minute. Why?”

“There’s something here you need to see,” Garrus said tersely.

Shepard immediately went on the alert. Garrus rarely sounded like that, and it rang all kinds of alarm bells.  “I’ll be there soon.”

“Good.” Garrus cut the comm link without another word, a clear indication of his provoked mood.

“That might be the first time I hear him sound truly angry,” Cortez commented.

“He rarely loses his temper,” Shepard agreed. “By the way, I saw James in Garneau’s ship back on the Normandy. Is he hacking the ship’s computer?”

“Yes. Mr. Vega volunteered for the job. He’s taking your advice seriously.”

“He’d better if he wants to make N1.”

“N7,” Cortez corrected. “His goal is to make N7. I worry he may push himself too much though.”

“James is a smart boy. Trust him to know his limits.”

Garrus was waiting for Shepard in the facility’s common area. Turians’ body language was generally difficult for humans to decipher, but he had known Garrus for so long that he could tell at a glance that his best friend was agitated, upset and angry.

“What’s wrong?” he asked immediately.

Both soldiers fell into step.

“I found the missing personnel.” Garrus’ clipped tone spoke volumes.

It was that bad.

Silently, he followed Garrus to the medical wing.

At the nurse station, Shepard was surprised to see Kaidan talking softly to a visibly distraught turian, a nurse judging from the uniform he wore. Looking at the earnest expression on his face, the Major was completely focused on soothing the turian. He didn’t even look up when Shepard entered.

That alone clued him in on the severity of the issue, whatever it was.

Ash, her expression uncharacteristically grim and angry, approached Shepard from where she was keeping watch over the duo.

“Why is Kaidan here?” he quietly asked her.

“He checked himself out of Med-Bay, much to Dr Chakwas’s displeasure,” Ash answered just as softly. “But it’s a good thing he did. If he hadn’t been here, we might have lost the asari doctor to suicide.”

Shepard looked at her sharply.

“He talked her out of it. I don’t know how he did it.” Ash glanced back at Kaidan. “Took him a while though. He had to sedate her in the end; the shock was too great. The turian nurse is only a little less worse off.”

“This way,” Garrus nodded in the direction of the quarantine rooms.

In a flash, Shepard remembered the body bags he and Kaidan had found while playing the cat-and-mouse game with the enthralled personnel, and dread ran down his spine.

True enough, Garrus and Ash led him to the quarantine room completely filled with body bags. One of them was on an operating table and Garrus unzipped it to reveal its contents.

Shepard inhaled sharply, stunned.

The body he was looking at was so emaciated that it was literally just skin and bones. Not just that, its torso had been cut open in the classic Y-incision opening used in autopsy. But unlike in an autopsy, the torso hadn’t been sewn back up; he could still see the insides of the torso and it was missing all its organs.

“What the fuck?” he turned his shocked gaze to Garrus.

“It was the asari doctor and her nurse who found them while taking inventory of the medical ward: one hundred and two dead bodies, all of them with different causes of death. Some of them are like this, some have been mutilated, some bore signs of abuse and torture, and there are others I can’t even tell what they died of. The doctor and the nurse ID-ed each and every one of their missing co-workers and friends.”

Garrus handed a datapad to Shepard. “EDI found a shit-load of these vids in the medical ward’s servers. Be warned, they are hard to watch.”

“Wait, wait,” Ash interrupted, her face pale. “Let me get out of here first before you play that. I don’t want to watch it again.”

Ash, one of the toughest and seasoned Marines Shepard had ever known, pleading to excuse herself from watching a vid? This can’t be good.

Bracing himself, Shepard hit ‘play’

and immediately regretted his decision.

Agonising screams rent the air, so tortured that they barely sounded human. In the vid, the naked human victim was writhing on the operating table despite the straps holding him down. The entirety of his body was a wet pulpy red and bleeding, and Shepard jolted in shock when he realised it was because the victim was missing his skin. Yet somehow, he was still alive and conscious. Worst of all, Shepard recognised the turian nurse standing beside the tortured victim, checking the various sensors hooked to him.

An asari doctor stood at the foot of the operating table. She was dictating into her omni-tool, describing the victim’s state and reactions. The distant robotic monotony of her voice was enough to tell Shepard that she was enthralled.

He stopped the vid as soon as he could, unable to continue watching. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath to steady his nerves. “Fuck.”

Turians’ faces have fewer facial muscles than humans which meant their faces couldn’t express emotions the way humans do. But Garrus’ mandibles were twitching overtime and his body language stiff and abrupt, indicating his fury and agitation.

“Turians, humans, asari, salarians, there’s vids on all of them.” Garrus paused to take a steadying breath. “EDI found the vids because she’s the only one who could watch them without getting a meltdown. I had to pull Copeland from the search; he couldn’t make it through the first vid he found.”

“Leviathan used the doctor and the nurse to experiment on the personnel here,” Kaidan said from the doorway. He walked over to them, his pale bruised face a mask of tightly leashed anger and grief. “There’s one other thing about the surviving victims. None of them could remember the past ten years. The doctor and the nurse refused to believe that they inflicted these cruelties on their friends until they watched some of the vids. It pushed the doctor over the edge and the nurse…well, he isn’t faring much better.”

“Is he stable?” Garrus asked.

“I sedated him. Couldn’t do much for him either.”

They stood there in silence, absorbing the impact of their gruesome discovery.

“Why?” Ash asked softly, having quietly re-entered the quarantine room after Shepard had stopped viewing the vid. “Why would Leviathan go to this extent?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Garrus said.

“Maybe we’ll never know why,” Shepard sighed. He felt exhausted even though his day had just started. “Did you find Garneau?”

Garrus tipped his head towards another door. “His body is this way.”

“He’s dead then,” Shepard stated as they followed Garrus out of the gruesome room.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t because he was tortured.”

“Gunshot wound to the stomach, and he bled out,” Ash elaborated. “We didn’t move the body because we need a doctor to carry out a coroner’s duties, and the only doctor in this facility isn’t in any condition to perform it.”

“I’ll get Dr Chakwas to handle it,” Shepard replied.

The room Garrus led Shepard and his friends to was an operating theatre.

Shepard shivered when he entered and looked around.

It was the same room that he saw in the vid. There was no operating table or equipment in the room though; everything had been cleared out. Much of the room was now occupied by a gigantic transparent tank of water fitted with a lid and an air hose to aerate the water.

He barely spared the tank of water a glance though. His attention was held by the slumped body he saw in the far corner of the room. There was a long smear of dried red on the floor that led to the body. When he got closer, Shepard recognised the dead human man.

It was Garneau, without a doubt.

“Damn,” he swore.

“Yeah,” Garrus agreed. “As far as I could tell, he died alone, slowly and painfully.” He crossed his arms. “No Garneau, no orb. We’ve got nothing to show for.”

Shepard hunkered down to a squat; linked hands braced on his thighs as he examined the dead body of Garneau pensively.

“Not quite,” he said at last. “We’ve freed the survivors here, uncovered and put a stop to the cruelties Leviathan had carried out in this place. We’ve found Garneau’s ship and it’s now in our hands. It may not be much, but it’s a wrench in their plans. What do you think, Kaidan?”

He didn’t get a reply.

Frowning, Shepard turned to look for the Major - and found him standing a distance away from them.

And he was staring at the water tank with a strange expression of…longing? And horror? Fear?

“What’s up with him?” Ash asked.

Concerned, Shepard stood up and walked over to where Kaidan was. He glanced at the water tank as he covered the short distance. It really was a very ordinary-looking water tank, if very large, he thought. He could see nothing special about it.

“Kaidan?” he called softly.

Still no response.

Curiosity piqued, he lightly touched Kaidan’s arm. Much to his surprise, Kaidan startled violently. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Kaidan answered quickly, a little too quickly.

Shepard looked at the water tank, then back at him. “You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Nothing to worry about.” Kaidan dismissed Shepard’s concerns with a hasty wave, stepped around him and made his way over to Garneau’s body.

Shepard gazed thoughtfully after Kaidan and then once more at the water tank.

Was there something about the water tank he wasn’t aware of?

Chapter Text

9 October 2186

On route to Omega …

Kaidan let out a sigh of relief as water poured down his naked body.

Eyes closed, his face lifted to the shower head, he just stood and savoured the comforting feel of water on his bare skin. The dead sterile recycled water wasn’t the same as the living oceans of Earth, but after being away for so long, any kind of water was enough to calm the itch under his skin and smother the increasingly strident call of the ocean. It wasn’t foolproof, but it was the best he could do under the circumstances. 

All too soon, the shower head let out a beeping sound.

Kaidan ignored the sound and just concentrated on feeling the water on his skin until the shower head let out one last warning beep and the water flow cut off.

Sighing, he dipped his face towel into the full crate and began sloshing water over his body. The one drawback of serving on ships was the daily shower ration allocated to each crew member. Shower time was short, but by collecting the water in a crate, he was able to stretch the time he spent calming his true nature.

When was the last time he had used this method? He mused. Boot camp? No, it was during his first tour of duty. The call of the ocean hadn’t been so insistent, like now, but he had erred on the side of caution and did this every night with a religious fervour.

Later, after he transferred to Intelligence and deliberately carved out a reputation for being a lone wolf, managing his need to return to the ocean became easier. His reputation alone ensured he had greater freedom and control over his time and privacy.

Kaidan thought he might have grown too used to being on his own. It had been hard adapting to working on a ship, especially one with a small crew. His options and freedom to do as he wished had been severely curtailed, especially now when he needed his privacy the most. He had to resort to this method of smothering the ocean’s call in the dead of the night, when most of the crew were asleep, to avoid attracting attention.

He blamed it on that tank of water on Mahavid.

Its presence had caught him off guard. He wasn’t prepared for the sight of it. Seeing that much water in one place had caused the ocean’s call to erupt suddenly, and the temptation to just go straight to it and plunge himself into it crashed over him. Yet, at the same time, he had immediately understood Leviathan’s intention for him, and he was at once horrified and scared.

The clash of conflicting emotions had paralysed him, and he was sure it had caught Shepard’s attention. The man was sharp and observant; he would have to watch himself.

Kaidan exhaled tiredly, exhausted by the mere thought of constant vigilance.

One step at a time, he told himself. Just focus on getting through the day first.

When the water in the crate was gone and Kaidan felt stable again, he dried off and got dressed, fumbling a little as he strapped his arm into its sling.

He would have to do this every night and he hoped it would be enough to tide him over.

The Normandy’s night cycle would be over in an hour but for now, the crew deck was empty and silent. He secreted the crate in its hidey-hole, made himself a cup of coffee and went up to the Q.E.C. room.

Shepard was not there yet, and the War Room was empty, so Kaidan parked himself at the holographic display and sipped his coffee while he waited.

Would they be able to stop Leviathan in time? he wondered. They seemed to be losing the race. They had very few leads, to begin with, and they all petered out at Mahavid.

Garneau was dead and the mining facility’s servers contained no other information other than the records and data from Leviathan’s so-called ‘experiments’. Do they have to go back to Dr Bryson’s lab again? But what would be the point of doing so? The archaeologist’s data drives were gone; Kaidan was sure if there had been anything important, it would be in those drives. But how are they supposed to track them down when they don’t even know how and where Dr Bryson had disposed of them?

He looked up when the door to the War Room slid open and Shepard entered, cracking a yawn and carrying a mug of coffee.

“Morning. Been waiting long?” the Commander asked.

“No.”

Shepard perched himself on a chair and both men settled into a comfortable silence as they sipped their hot beverage.

It didn’t take too long before Kaidan became aware of the Commander’s unwavering blue stare on him. He shifted self-consciously. “What?”

“I can’t decide if you genuinely loathe doctors or you’re hiding something.”

“What do you mean?”

“Dr Chakwas has logged a complaint about your discharge.”

Kaidan grimaced.

“You were injured. You went down like a rock in that cave. I don’t know how damaging Leviathan’s assault was, but I don’t believe you could recover so quickly from it either. Yet this is the second time you discharged yourself from a medical facility against the doctor’s advice. Why are you so averse to listening to them?”

Kaidan levelled a look at him. “I think I’m not the only one in this room who will give doctors a hard time.”

Shepard flapped a dismissive hand. “That’s beside the point. The well-being and safety of my crew are paramount. When a crew member gives Dr Chakwas a hard time, she makes sure I get a hard time. You are giving me a hard time.”

“I can’t afford the time to rest,” Kaidan replied. “We have no idea when Leviathan will invade the galaxy. We have no time to lose.”

“That’s true, but somehow I get the impression there’s more to your refusal than that.”

Kaidan went on the alert. He put on an affronted expression. “What are you trying to say?”

“You tell me,” Shepard replied calmly.

Kaidan huffed but did not reply. Shepard was just too damn sharp. Anything he said would just give the Commander more ammunition against him.

“Are you still having nightmares?”

“No. The nightmares have stopped.” And Kaidan was very thankful for it. The nightmares were something he really could do without.

Shepard arched a sceptical brow.

“They have,” Kaidan said firmly.

The fact that he now knew Leviathan wanted to experiment on him because of his secret had put a stop to the nightmares. It was ironic, but Kaidan would take every little bit of respite he could get.

“That’s one good thing, at least.”

Kaidan eyed Shepard warily. “What are you going to do about Dr Chakwas’s complaint?”

“I’ll think of something.” Shepard drained his mug and rose to his feet. “Come on, it’s almost time.”

Kaidan followed him to the Q.E.C. room. “I’m not going to like whatever you come up with, am I?”

“You’re on my ship, and I take care of my crew.” There was a tone of finality in Shepard’s voice that told Kaidan the Commander had indeed made a decision.

Just what his decision was, Kaidan supposed he would find out sooner rather than later.

He straightened to attention when the Q.E.C. call swiftly connected, and the holograms of Hackett and Anderson came online.

The Q.E.C. made talking to just about anyone in the galaxy in real time efficient and convenient as long as they are linked into the Q.E.C. network. The sole drawback was scheduling the call. In a war situation, all parties would literally be on standby twenty-four/seven. During peacetime, scheduling a call was a give-and-take situation. In this case, the call was arranged to accommodate the admirals’ schedules.

Fortunately, both admirals were not the type to stand on ceremony. After the usual round of greetings, Shepard immediately launched into his report.

Having fully transferred the Mahavid investigation and rescue work to the Cairo and Commander Chang’s task force, the only task Shepard had left to do was to update Hackett and Anderson on their progress. He gave the admirals a concise rundown of what had happened on Mahavid, taking care to gloss over Kaidan’s confrontation with Leviathan in the lab. He found it difficult to explain when he did not fully understand what happened.

Both admirals listened intently to his report. Their expressions became extremely grim when he described finding the dead bodies and the experiment vids they had found.

“Do we know why Leviathan experimented on the people living on Mahavid?” Hackett questioned.

“I have a theory,” Kaidan spoke up, having been silent for most of Shepard’s report. “I think Leviathan wants to know what makes us tick.”

Shepard arched an eyebrow. “Like in those old alien abduction stories where the abductees were experimented on?”

“Think about it. We know what we can do and what we are capable of. But Leviathan doesn’t know anything about us.”

“Ants,” Shepard said, suddenly recalling what Hadley had told them back in that cheap motel room on the Citadel.

“From a zoological perspective, we’re completely alien to Leviathan, just like ants and other animal species were once alien to us. Each species knows full well what they are capable of, but there was a time we humans didn’t know a single thing about them. So, we studied the animals, we researched and conducted experiments to gather data and make determinations. A lot of animals were hurt and killed during those researches. But that’s how we formed the basis of our knowledge on animals.”

“You think that’s Leviathan’s intention too,” Anderson stated.

“It makes sense. Leviathan need to understand us and they need to do it in secret. Also, they would want to test their technology on us before putting them in play. What better way to do that than to experiment on a captive population isolated in the backwaters of the galaxy? Mahavid met every one of their requirements - it’s an ideal laboratory. Maybe the orb on the Mahavid was their very first experiment on us.”

“So, to them, we’re the ants that they need to learn about and control,” Shepard grimaced in revulsion. “That’s illuminating. Chilling but illuminating.”

“Do you think there are more such ‘labs’?” Anderson asked.

Kaidan spread his hand in an ‘I don’t know’ gesture. “I’m sure there’s more that have slipped through the cracks for just as long or even longer, but I don’t know where to start looking. They successfully kept this Mahavid ‘lab’ a secret until we uncovered it by accident. And, as heartless as it sounds, finding these so-called labs shouldn’t be our priority right now.”

“Agreed. I don’t believe it will do us any good now to try and locate these labs either.”

“What we need to do now is to neutralise Leviathan,” Hackett said grimly. “If there are more of these so-called labs, they will surface once we do so. I don’t believe the survivors won’t reach out for help in the aftermath. To that end, I have some updates.”

Both Kaidan and Shepard perked up. That was good news.

“Before he was murdered, Dr Bryson sent me his data drives.”

“Finally, a break for us,” Shepard remarked.

“I agree. He also sent me a letter along with the drives. In the letter, he confirmed that Leviathan is determined to conquer the galaxy and his data drives contain information that can stop them.”

“Do we know what it is?” Shepard asked.

“No. He didn’t say so in his letter for fear of it falling into the wrong hands. Much of his data drives are encrypted and he hinted that the information is in those parts.”

“Our best cryptographers are working hard to break the code but so far, no success,” Anderson added.

“Breaking the code will take the time we don’t have. You need to find Ann Bryson,” Hackett ordered. “I know for a fact Dr Bryson had taught her his code. She’s not very good at it but we are desperate. I haven’t been able to contact Ann since our last conversation and that worries me. Find her and bring her to Arcturus. She may be the key to stopping them.”

“Do we know where she is?” Shepard asked.

“Dr Bryson concealed her location to protect her. Talk to Garneau. He may know where she - what is it?”

“Garneau is dead, sir.”

“Shot in the stomach and bled out,” Kaidan added.

There was a moment of dead silence in the Q.E.C. room as the admirals stared at them in consternation.

“Your mission remains unchanged, gentlemen,” Hackett said at last. “Find Ann Bryson and bring her to Arcturus asap.”

“Aye, sir. We’ll get it done.”

“We look forward to your good news. Arcturus out.”

In the quiet dark of the Q.E.C. room, Shepard and Kaidan looked at each other once more.

Then Shepard shrugged, “no pressure.”

“No, none at all.” Kaidan agreed dryly. He headed for the exit. “Good thing we have Garneau’s ship. If he had given her a lift to her destination, his flight logs should be able to tell us.”

“Wait, Kaidan. There’s another thing I want to talk about.”

Kaidan paused mid-step and looked back at Shepard.

“What happened in that Minerals Lab?”

Dread began to pool in Kaidan’s gut. “I’m sorry?”

“For some odd reason, I can’t quite remember what happened in that Minerals Lab. I know I was there; I know you were in trouble, but I can’t remember the specifics. It’s like there’s a fog in my mind. No matter how hard I tried, I just can’t remember. The only thing I do remember was feeling an intense need to do whatever you want of me. Which is very odd.”

Kaidan thought fast. He needed to tread carefully now, make Shepard think that it was Leviathan’s fault. “That sounds like Leviathan was influencing you.”

“Were they?” Shepard ran a hand over his head in a rare display of unease. “Then why did I feel that intense need to do your bidding? I didn’t care about anything else but obeying you. Doesn’t sound like something Leviathan would do.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Kaidan acknowledged. “But what do we know about their orb technology? Or how do they even think? Nothing. Maybe they had a different motive in mind for you.” 

Shepard didn’t look convinced. “That’s a bit of a stretch.”

“It’s all I can think of. Until we have a better understanding of them and their orb technology, I won’t take that possibility off the table.” He hesitated and then ventured to ask tentatively, “what else do you remember?”

“Just one other thing. I remember overhearing Leviathan saying they want to capture you and find out why you’re immune to their orb’s influence.”

“Do you feel the need to imprison me now?”

“No.”

“What about obeying me?”

“No.”

“I guess you’re fine then.”

“I hope so. To be honest, I’m not surprised at their interest in you.”

“Oh?”

“Because I’m curious too. If I’m in their shoes, I’d want to know why you’re more or less immune to my greatest weapon.”

Kaidan lifted his chin challengingly. “And what are you going to do about it?”

“Nothing,” Shepard replied honestly. “I suspect you know exactly why you’re immune. I can order you to tell me, but I’d rather you choose to.”

“You will give me that choice? Why?”

“You’re not a selfish man. When the chips are down, I think you will rather disclose your secret than put everyone’s lives in danger.”

Kaidan stared at Shepard, taken aback by his conviction. “You think too highly of me,” he said at last.

“I don’t think so.”

“You-” Kaidan didn’t quite know how to react. Shepard’s high regard for him was unnerving. “What are you going to do about your memory?” he asked instead.

Shepard shrugged fatalistically. “There’s nothing I can do. Either the memory will come back, or it won’t.”

It took every bit of self-control Kaidan had to keep the guilt at bay. He had done a piss-poor job of charming people in the Minerals Lab, and he was witnessing the aftereffects of it. If he had done it properly, Shepard wouldn’t even realise his memory had been affected.

“Why don’t we go get some breakfast?” Shepard suggested. “I’m starved.”

The C.I.C. was rapidly filling up with the first day shift when they exited the War Room.

Traynor and Private Westmoreland, who were talking in low voices at Traynor’s station, straightened to attention and saluted when they came near.

“Morning, Commander, Major.” Traynor greeted.

Westmoreland echoed her greeting.

“Morning. As you were, soldiers.” Shepard replied. “I’ll be in the galley, Traynor, if anyone needs me.”

“Noted, sir.” Traynor shifted her attention to Kaidan. “Good to see you’re back on your feet, Major.”

“Yeah,” Westmoreland chimed in. “Heard you had a tough fight on Mahavid. Glad to see you’re all right, sir.”

“Er, thank you,” Kaidan replied somewhat awkwardly.

“Whoever those bastards were, I know you’ll get them.”

Kaidan didn’t know what to say. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

Several more crew members greeted and saluted them as they made their way to the elevator, several of them even directly inquiring after Kaidan’s health. That had never happened to him when he had hitched rides on Alliance ships in the past. Pondering over the differences in attitudes, Kaidan failed to notice Shepard’s pleased surprise at his crew’s behaviours.

The sizeable crowd in the galley drew Kaidan out of his thoughts. In fact, he and Shepard had walked into a rather lively scene.

Joker and Garrus were holding court, and between them was an actual old-fashioned whiteboard standee with scribblings on it. Where on earth did they find the antique? Joker seemed to be writing names and timings and credit amounts on it, while Garrus seemed to be collecting credits on his omni-tool.

“What on earth is going on?” Kaidan muttered.

Shepard leaned over and whispered into his ear, “place a bet on zero minutes.”

Kaidan looked askance at the Commander, but Joker’s call distracted him.

“Hey, Kaidan! Over here!” Flight Lieutenant Jeff ‘Joker’ Moreau eagerly beckoned him to approach. “Wanna place a bet?”

“On?”

Garrus gestured to the whiteboard. This close, Kaidan could read what was written on it - barely. Whoever’s handwriting it was, it was atrocious. “We have an ongoing pot on this ship: how long it takes before someone shoots at Shepard after he disembarks the Normandy.”

“Seriously?” Kaidan couldn’t help but look over to where Shepard was. The Commander just good-naturedly toasted him with his breakfast tray before chucking it into the microwave oven. “How long has this pot been going on?”

“Since the day the first Normandy launched,” Joker explained. “The pot’s been claimed more than twenty times. I lost count.”

More than twenty times? That’s all the proof Kaidan needed to be convinced Shepard was a bullet magnet.

“So, are you in?”

Mentally shrugging, Kaidan decided to just go with the flow. “All right. What are the conditions? Wait, was there one for Mahavid?” He remembered Shepard having said something about someone claiming the pot back on Mahavid.

An air of insufferable smugness surrounded Garrus as he crossed his arms. “There was and I won it.”

“Half of your winning is mine!” Shepard called from where he was.

“Did you hear someone squawking?” Garrus asked Joker.

“Nope. All right, Kaidan, you pick a destination from the list on the board, put down a length of time and your credit amount for that destination. If your timing is the closest to the actual time taken, you win double the amount of your bet. If you hit the nail on the head, you win the entire pot.”

Kaidan studied the scribbled list thoughtfully. “I don’t see the Citadel on the list.”

“We decided to keep it out of the pot,” Joker explained, “you know, us visiting the Citadel ever so often and it being the Spectres’ home turf and all that. Wouldn’t be fair to put it on the list.”

“There’s a very long list of bets for Omega Station.”

“It’s an all-time favourite. He never fails to get shot there.”

“I’m right here, you know,” Shepard said.

“Did you hear anything?” Joker asked Garrus.

“Not at all.”

Place a bet on zero minutes. Kaidan suddenly understood what Shepard had meant by that. Activating his omni-tool, he transferred twenty credits to the pot. “Omega Station, zero minutes. Twenty credits.”

Silence fell as everyone stared at him.

“Ah, Major, is that zero minutes because someone will shoot at the Commander the moment he steps onto Omega, or no one shoots at him when he’s on Omega?” Copeland asked carefully.

“The second one, I suppose.” Shepard couldn’t be that much of a bullet magnet, right?

“You sure?” Garrus asked.

“I’m sure.”

“This ought to be good.” Gleefully, Joker stiffly bent over to write on the whiteboard. “One bet for no one shooting at Shepard while on Omega Station.”

“You can still change your bet before we arrive at Omega,” Garrus told Kaidan.

“Nah, it’s fine.”

Garrus shrugged. “It’s your credits.”

“Noted.” Kaidan extracted himself from the crowd to get his breakfast tray and a second cup of coffee.

“Have a seat, Ghost. I’ll bring your breakfast to you,” Vega offered as he loaded the dishwasher next to the sink.

“Thanks.” Carrying his re-filled coffee mug, Kaidan went to where Shepard was seated and sat down across from him. “You do enjoy causing mayhem.”

Shepard grinned. “It’s harmless fun. And it gives them something to look forward to each time we go ashore for a mission.”

“I’m sure,” Kaidan replied dryly. “Is that the only pot on board?”

Vega placed Kaidan’s breakfast tray before him. “Hell no. There’s a couple more, but it’s the most active pot. Joker keeps track of all betting pots, and Garrus is the banker.” His smile turned sly. “They just created a new pot two days ago and it involves you and Loco.”

Kaidan stared quizzically at him. “Us?”

“Ask Ash about that pot. She started it.”

“How’s your data analysis of Garneau’s ship computer, James?” Shepard hastily cut in.

“I’ve hacked its security. From what I can tell, the computer core is intact.”

“Good. Search the flight logs. I want to know if Garneau gave Ann Bryson a lift to anywhere in the galaxy. Time frame -” Shepard did a quick calculation, “- should be any time before the first of October.”

“You got it, Loco.”

Chapter Text

That night, Kaidan negotiated a six-pack of Earth beer off Ash with a promise to gift her with a crate of his own family’s hard ciders and craft beers. It might not seem like a fair barter, but then again, she wasn’t the one whose family own a brewery.

Beer in hand, he headed up to Shepard’s cabin.

When the Commander answered his door, he lifted the six-pack. “You have five minutes for a quick drink?”

He was taking a risk, he knew. The call of the ocean was rapidly growing louder, and he should be doing all he could to suppress it. But when he entered the Starboard Observation Lounge intending to meditate, he had taken one look at the cold empty room and walked right out again, repelled.

He didn’t want to be alone. After an entire day of cautiously soaking in the camaraderie the Normandy crew had extended to him, the cold emptiness of that room came as a distasteful shock. He was tired of being alone, of not having the pleasure of spending time with people just because he wants to. He wanted Shepard’s company and so far, the Commander seemed to want his company too. Inviting the Commander to a quick drink seemed like the best way to get it.

Shepard, changed into a set of N7 sweats that looked really comfortable, accepted the six-pack with a smile and gestured for him to enter. “With you? I’ll make the time. You got this from Ash?”

“How do you know?” Kaidan studiously avoided looking at the aquarium as he walked past it.

“She likes that label.” Shepard took two cans from the pack and put the rest in his private fridge. “She always makes sure to replenish her private stash every time we dock on Earth. What I can’t figure out is how she keeps her stash chilled on board. I know she doesn’t keep them in the bar.”

They settled down on the couch, popped the cans and toasted each other.

“This is good,” Kaidan commented after he took a long drink of his beer. “It’s not Canadian lager, of course, but it’s got its charm.”

“Is that national pride talking, or do you really love Canadian lager?” Shepard teased.

“My family has been brewing ciders and craft beers for generations. And there are others like us. Trust me, our beers are better,” Kaidan replied with firm conviction.

“What about my European craft beers?”

Kaidan thought back to the first time he had them while in Shepard’s cabin. “Those were good too,” he admitted grudgingly.

Shepard chuckled. “So, beer is your poison of choice?”

“When I can’t get whisky,” Kaidan sighed longingly. “Whisky - now that is a drink.”

“Taste like burnt rubber to me.”

“It does not!”

They stared at each other for a moment and broke down into laughter.

And it felt good, once again, to be able to chat and laugh, sit down, and have a drink with someone he liked. It was certainly much better than sitting alone in a cold dark room by himself.

Kaidan took another swig of his beer. “To be frank, I didn’t come up here for just a quick drink. I want to thank you.”

“For?”

“Back on Mahavid. In the cave. You helped me to destroy the orb. I don’t think I could’ve done it on my own.”

“I don’t believe that. You destroyed two by yourself on Mindoir, remember?”

“One was by sheer luck and the other…” Kaidan thought back to that moment in the lake, “I think they underestimated me. They learned.”

“Still no need to thank me. You were the only one who could have done it.”

“Only with you and your team’s help,” he insisted earnestly. “I don’t remember much of what happened in the cave. Ash told me that you were by my side every second during the firefight, shouting encouragements to me and carrying me to the orb when I couldn’t even stand on my own. Anderson and Hackett were right. I couldn’t have succeeded on my own. I was so sure I could, but as it turned out…so thank you.”

“In that case, you’re welcomed. But we do need to do something about Leviathan’s interest in you.”

“You’re not going to bench me from future ground missions, are you?”

“Last thing we need is you falling into Leviathan’s hands. Do you want to end up like those poor dead people on Mahavid?”

Unbidden, Kaidan thought back to the water tank they had discovered on Mahavid and shuddered. “No, but I have a job to do. I can’t do it if I have to worry about the potential dangers to me. Besides, you and Ash are strong-willed enough to remain mostly unaffected and protect me.”

“‘Mostly.’ Ash has apologised to you?”

“Yeah, and she also told me about your theory.”

“It’s the only explanation that fits. I’ve known her for a long time. What she suggested under fire was completely out of her character.”

“If your theory is true, then it doesn’t matter whether I’m on ground missions or not. Except for EDI, no one in your crew is immune and I can be captured anytime.”

“That isn’t going to happen,” Shepard said firmly.

“You seem so sure.”

“I’ve taken steps. We’re going to pick up someone from Omega Station. Hopefully, she would have accomplished what I’ve asked of her.”

The morning scene in the galley suddenly became clear to Kaidan. “That’s why you told me to bet on zero minutes.”

“Yep.”

“Hmm…if I win, I’ll split the winnings with you.”

“Then I best make sure you win.”

They toasted again to seal the deal.

“Your crew doesn’t seem to care I’m Intelligence,” Kaidan said.

“Meaning?”

Kaidan looked down at his can of beer, idly tracing the rim of it. “Most Alliance soldiers tend to keep us, Intelligence Specialists, at arm’s length. They think we’re not trustworthy and that we just make use of people.”

“Do they have a reason to think so?”

Kaidan thought back to the Perugia’s captain.

“I suppose there is,” he admitted. “I mean I, ah, persuaded the captain of the Perugia to get me to the Citadel asap and I gave him the cold shoulder after we reached our destination.”

“What did you mean by ‘persuaded’?”

Kaidan gave him a wry look. “You’re not blind, Shepard.”

“I admit you are good at charming people,” Shepard acknowledged.

“That I am,” Kaidan agreed without the slightest trace of boast. “I know his crew will not welcome me back if I board his ship again, and I’m okay with that. I don’t mind the distance Alliance soldiers keep me at. But your crew…they don’t seem to care. They treat me like I’m one of them.”

“You are a member of my crew,” Shepard pointed out.

“Only temporarily. When this mission is over, I have to leave.”

“Isn’t being treated as a fellow crew member a good thing?”

“Well, yes, it is, but-”

“You don’t understand why,” Shepard finished for him.

Kaidan nodded silently.

Shepard leaned forward and said seriously, “My crew accepted you because you’ve proved yourself to them.”

“How so?”

“You’re not the first Intelligence specialist we’ve worked with. The specialists I encountered in the past were generally condescending, disingenuous or manipulative. You’re the first who treat my crew with respect and does not play mind games with them. Word also gets around on how you worked with my fire squad on Mahavid and saved the day. And a few of them saw you talking the asari doctor and turian nurse down from suicide. That’s enough to convince them that you’re not an asshole operative.”

“I didn’t know our reputation is that bad among Alliance soldiers.”

Shepard shrugged. “It’s not in the toilet exactly, but it could be better.”

For a few moments, Kaidan pondered on the revelations as he absently played with his empty beer can. He had spent so many years working on his own, he hadn’t known his fellow Intelligence colleagues generally behaved like assholes towards other Alliance soldiers. No wonder the other Alliance soldiers, people who should treat them as comrades, kept them at arm’s length. 

Shepard drained his can. “One more round?”

“Sure.” Pushing the depressing revelation aside, Kaidan followed Shepard to the step-up level. “When this mission is over, we should visit my family’s brewery.”

“We?”

Kaidan blinked when he realised what he had said. “Ah, I assume you’ll be interested in visiting.”

“Well, you assume correctly. I’m curious to find out how your beers and ciders compare to my European craft beers.” Turning back to Kaidan, he couldn’t help but chuckle, “Do you have a thing for my aquarium?”

Kaidan gave him a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”

“It’s the way you’re touching the glass.”

Kaidan looked down at his hand. Much to his embarrassment and dismay, he discovered he had unconsciously gravitated to the aquarium and was stroking the glass as though it was his lover. 

That was not good.

Quickly, he pulled his hand away. “Guess I’m still curious about this unusual fixture on a military ship.” He hoped Shepard would accept his explanation.

Shepard handed a fresh can of beer to him. “That would be convincing if I didn’t know you were unaware of your actions.”

Caught. He should’ve known Shepard was more observant than most people.

“So, what is it about my aquarium that fascinates you?”

The water, Kaidan thought immediately.

“The fishes, I guess.” He said aloud instead. He turned his back to Shepard on the pretext of watching the colourful fishes lazily swimming in the aquarium. “I don’t think I’ve seen these species before.”

“Then let me introduce them to you.”

In the reflection of the aquarium’s glass, Kaidan saw Shepard draw near. The Commander stood so close that he could feel the warmth of the man against his back. And his heart skipped a beat when Shepard rumbled softly just behind his ear, “You see that group of flat turquoise fish in that corner?”

Just like that, Kaidan’s simmering attraction for the Commander that never really went away flared into life once more. He glanced at Shepard’s reflection and swallowed hard when he saw the Commander’s bright blue gaze staring right back at him. Shepard’s gaze was intense, so focused on him that he felt pinned in place even though it was a reflection.

“You mean those with the funny way of swimming?” He was completely unaware how his own voice had lowered into a husky whisper, or how Shepard seemed to inhale sharply upon hearing him.

“Prejek Paddle Fish. I got them because I like the quirky way they swim.”

Kaidan’s breath hitched when Shepard’s arm brushed past his to tap a finger gently against the aquarium glass. “And that group of small bright blue fish?”

“Yeah?”

“Illuim Skald Fish.” Shepard’s voice was an intimate whisper. “They remind me of betta fish.”

“What about the eel?” Kaidan asked in a hushed, unsteady voice.

“Khar’shan Snapping Eel. Bought it without knowing it eats fish larger than itself when hungry.”

“And how did you find out?”

Kaidan quivered when Shepard’s breath brushed against his ear. “It attacked and killed my larger fishes within a week. That was an absolute mess.”

“Then I better make sure I’m not anywhere near it.” Kaidan turned around to face Shepard, his heartbeat quickening when he discovered there was barely any space between them.

“Are we picking up where we left off on Mahavid?” he couldn’t help but whisper the question.

“Do you want to?” The desire in Shepard’s gaze burned him even though the Commander’s voice remained calm.

And he really, really wanted to, Kaidan realised over the pounding of his heart. And that suddenly terrified him, terrified him in a way he had never felt before, not even when he discovered he could not count on his squadmates to have his back years ago. It was terrifying because Kaidan had the sudden feeling he was making the most important decision in his life, one more important than his decision to leave the Marines for Intelligence, one that would set in stone the state of his life. 

He could step backward, retreat to known safety - no one able to hurt him, but he would remain alone for the rest of his life, unable to rely on anyone except himself. He flashed back to the cold, empty Starboard Observation Lounge - his life would be like that lounge: alone and lonely. He would remain distrustful of everyone for as long as he lived.

Stepping forward into the unknown though…it was terrifying. He didn’t know if it would be a mistake, but he couldn’t deny the hope that it might lead to something better for him. Yes, he ran the risk of Shepard finding out what he really was, and he didn’t know how the Commander would react, what the repercussions were. But the hope! …

Kaidan didn’t know how long he stood there, warring with himself. But when he saw Shepard stepping away from him, saw his disappointed but accepting expression, he made his decision.

Moving before he could change his mind, he dropped his unopened can of beer to grab Shepard by the front of his hoodie and yanked him close for a kiss.

It was a clumsy kiss. Their noses banged awkwardly together for a moment before Kaidan tilted his head ever so slightly, and then just like that, their lips fitted perfectly against each other. Shepard tasted of the beer he had, his minty toothpaste and below it a taste Kaidan instinctively labelled as ‘Shepard.’ It was elusive, it tasted good, and he wanted more.

Kaidan nipped at Shepard’s lower lip, asking for entry, and the Commander gave it. He dived in, wanting and greedy.

The kiss had triggered the desire to surge up within him, to push him up close to Shepard and to keep slanting his mouth over Shepard’s over and over again. It’s been so long since he kissed someone because he wanted to, not because of a mission, and he was helplessly drowning in the flood.

Kissing Shepard was addictive, and he couldn’t help the small sounds of pleasure escaping him when Shepard returned his attention just as eagerly. One of the Commander’s muscled arms wrapped about his narrow waist to keep him close, and the solid weight of it made him hum appreciatively. But when Shepard’s other hand cupped the back of his head, his breath caught.

Too close.

He pulled back from their kiss, lips burning, and gasped nearly voicelessly, “careful of my implant.”

In response, Shepard shifted his hand higher. “Better?”

“Much.” Kaidan relaxed. “My implant site is, um, very sensitive.”

Shepard smiled reassuringly at him. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

They kissed again, and then Kaidan made a sound of protest when Shepard pulled away once more.

“You haven’t answered my question,” Shepard reminded him.

“I kissed you.”

“Yes, you did,” Shepard’s smile was smug before it was replaced by seriousness. “You still need to tell me. Do you want to continue where we left off on Mahavid?”

Kaidan wet his lips and admitted in a hushed whisper, “Yes.”

Shepard’s blue gaze darkened with passion, and Kaidan could not look away from the heat in those eyes. The Commander took a step forward and he automatically stepped back - and his breath left him in a whoosh when his back pressed against the cool glass of the aquarium. Shepard’s chest was pressed against his and the air between them was electric.

Kaidan quivered when Shepard slid his hand forward to cup the side of his head, his thumb grazing the corner of his lips, the line of his jaw. In one smooth, powerful move, the Commander pressed against his jaw to open his mouth and tilt his head back and then Shepard’s mouth was on his, his tongue sweeping in to map and taste. Trapped between the comforting feel of water at his back and Shepard’s solid bulk pressed against his front, Kaidan just melted into the kiss.

He pulled Shepard even closer as he kissed back just as greedily. He arched his torso, moaning when the Commander slid his big hands up and down his sides. Even through the fabric of his uniform, he could feel the heat of those hands burning him. Those big hands caressed his hips and then they were on his butt, groping and lifting him even as Shepard broke the kiss to slide his open mouth down his neck.

Kaidan gasped when the Commander pushed in, forcing his legs to spread wider so their growing hardness could press against each other. Shepard’s biting kisses sent shivers of pleasure down his spine and pool in his groin and made him want to wrap his legs around him. So, he did it and wrapped his good arm around Shepard’s neck for good measure. He flexed his hips and ground his hardening length against Shepard’s, moaning at the pleasurable pressure.

When Shepard swiped his tongue against his lips, demanding entry again, he let him in without hesitation. He was not in the mood to assert himself and frankly, letting Shepard take charge was making him hornier.

This was exactly what he wanted.

The feel of the Commander’s muscular bulk against his body was exciting him in ways he hadn’t felt for a long time. It was an aphrodisiac - the sharp contrast in their sizes, and Kaidan suddenly had a flash of mental picture of Shepard pressing him down on his ridiculously large bed with nothing in between them, his heavy arousal pushing deep into him. He shivered and groaned deeply at that imagery; he wanted that to happen.

Their tongues stroked and tangled together in a frenzied dance of passion, and Kaidan whimpered into Shepard’s mouth when the Commander’s hands stroked and caressed his bare torso. When had he undone his uniform top? Kaidan didn’t care, as long as Shepard continued to touch him, as long as they could continue grinding their hardening lengths against each other.

But soon it wasn’t enough.

Kaidan wanted more, he wanted to feel Shepard’s bare skin against his. Pulling back, he impatiently yanked at the zipper of Shepard’s hoodie.

“Off,” he demanded breathlessly.

Smirking, Shepard set him back on his feet and obliged. Kaidan watched hungrily as he pulled off his hoodie, his tee-shirt, and he wasted no time exploring that hard muscled torso with his good hand. And when Shepard closed his eyes and let out a groan of pleasure as he tweaked a nipple and licked the other, Kaidan felt himself pulse and he knew distantly he was leaking in his pants.

Wanting more, he dived lower, pushing a hand into Shepard’s sweatpants to wrap his hand around his bulge.

Oh …

His breath stuttered.

Oh, Shepard was large.

Kaidan eagerly pushed down the elastic band of Shepard’s sweatpants until he was fully exposed. He looked down to confirm what he felt was true and saw the head of his length peeking above the waistband of his underwear.

His mouth went dry.

Oh, how would Shepard feel inside of him? Licking his lips in anticipation, he burrowed his hand into Shepard’s boxer shorts and began to trace his hard length.

Shepard groaned appreciatively, his hips bucking in response. He wrapped an arm around Kaidan’s back, hugging him close while he braced his other arm against the aquarium, and Kaidan loved how he was surrounded by Shepard. He was sure this would feel even better when they are lying on the bed.

They kissed hungrily, their tongues duelling frenziedly even as Shepard thrust heavily into Kaidan’s hand. Kaidan dusted off long-neglected skill and stroked Shepard’s length awkwardly. He remembered how to give another man a hand job, but he was rusty.

Shepard broke their kiss and breathed against his lips, “How long has it been for you?”

It was hard for Kaidan to think, especially when Shepard started nibbling on his neck and his big hands remained busy inside his pants, caressing and groping his ass, his fingers ghosting ever so tantalisingly along his crack. “…Long enough.”

“How long is long enough?” Shepard took an earlobe in his mouth and gently tugged.

“Ah…,” Kaidan angled his head away to give Shepard better access. “Six…years, give or take.”

Shepard stopped what he was doing, lifted his head and stared.

“I rarely sleep with my targets,” Kaidan found himself explaining further. “And I haven’t found anyone I want to do this with since transferring to Intelligence.”

Shepard opened his mouth, but Kaidan cut him off, “Don’t ask. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You’re giving me a heck of an ego boost, being the one to end your drought,” Shepard said instead, rather seriously.

“Because I’m sure you won’t betray my trust.” Kaidan blinked. The words had spilt from him without conscious thought, and he realised it was the truth straight from his heart. He trusted Shepard, and from everything he had seen of the man, he couldn’t help but be persuaded that this man would hold his trust in safe hands.

And it seemed Shepard realised it too. He brushed the back of his fingers against Kaidan’s cheek.  

“I’m honoured. I’ll make sure this is one night you’ll never forget,” Shepard promised. He followed up with another kiss while reaching down into the front of Kaidan’s uniform pants.

And Kaidan whimpered when he felt hands easing him from his pants. He had forgotten how it felt to have another person’s touch on himself.

His thoughts scattered again, and he cried out when Shepard finally pressed their hard lengths together, skin against skin, his large hands wrapped around their rigid shafts. His first stroke made Kaidan shuddered hard, and he blindly reached out to cling to Shepard’s shoulders once more.

He frantically gulped in air. “Oh god…”

Shepard nipped the corner of Kaidan’s jaw. “Feels good?” 

“Uh…” Kaidan’s hips pushed helplessly into Shepard’s stroking hands. “I won’t…last…”

“That’s all right,” Shepard rumbled. His blue eyes, hot and dilated with passion, never moved from Kaidan’s flushed face contorted with pleasure. “Let me take you there.”

Kaidan moaned.

His world rapidly shrunk down to Shepard’s hands wrapped about their rigid lengths, his up-and-down motions ramping their pleasure higher and higher. Every time Shepard’s hand slid against the head of his shaft, it pulled a gasping whimper from him.

He pressed his face against Shepard’s shoulder. The Commander was equally aroused and bothered. He could hear Shepard’s breathing, harsh and heavy against his ear, could feel the vibration of his low groaning against his chest as they chased the end together.

Almost there…he could feel it coming…almost…

Almost -

- The pain of the Shift suddenly tore through him.

Eyes flying open in shock and dismay, Kaidan frantically shoved Shepard away. He caught a glimpse of Shepard’s startled expression and then he was crashing to the deck, his legs suddenly losing all strength to hold him up as the Shift rushed through him.

His good hand clutching at a thigh, Kaidan gritted his teeth as he slammed a lid down on the Shift and brutally forced it to reverse. Mercilessly, he beat back the urge to assume his true form. In the shielded cover of his pants and boots, he felt his skin and muscles pulling and tearing, an ache developing deep in his bones, his toes clenching together.

“…Kaidan! Kaidan!”

Belatedly, he realised Shepard had been calling his name repeatedly.

“EDI! Get Dr Chakwas up here right now!”

“No,” he choked out. “Shower…”

To his relief, Shepard understood his request. The Commander swiftly scooped him up into his arms and rushed to his private bathroom.

The shower came on and Kaidan involuntarily let out a moan of relief as water poured over him immediately and the Shift lessened in its intensity. He concentrated on wrestling the urge to Shift into submission. He was still dressed, and the fabric of his uniform absorbed the water, inadvertently creating a waterlogged cocoon about his body that effectively placated the call of the ocean.

Panting heavily, Kaidan slumped onto the deck and simply focused on stabilising his human form. He did not know how long he laid curled on the floor of Shepard’s shower, but when he came back to himself, he found himself looking at two pairs of feet.

Tiredly, he looked up to see Dr Chakwas hovering over him, scanning him with her omni-tool while, closer to the door, Shepard peered at him worriedly.

“How do you feel?” Dr Chakwas asked gently.

“I’m all right now,” he rasped out hoarsely. His brows furrowed as he racked his brain for a plausible excuse. There was no way he could tell them the truth.

“Commander, can you get some water and a towel?”

As Shepard went to get the requested items, Kaidan turned his attention inward. His human form seemed to have stabilised and the Shift dormant once again.

Dr Chakwas turned off the shower and taking the towel from Shepard, casually draped it across Kaidan’s lap.

Belatedly, he realised his clothes were in disarray and he had been indecently exposed to Dr Chakwas’ sight for God knew how long. Despite his exhaustion, he blushed hard. “Sorry.”

“You’re not the first naked man I’ve seen,” Dr Chakwas said blandly. “Can you sit up?”

“Yeah.” Keeping his movements slow, he pushed himself upright.

His thoughts raced.

He could only see one way to get himself out of this fix and keep his secret. He accepted the bottle of water from Shepard and took a sip.

“I’m going to ask you a series of questions, all right?” Dr Chakwas asked as she examined him closely.

“Yeah, sure.”

“What’s your name, rank and status?”

“Kaidan Alenko. Human biotic. Major, Sentinel-class, Intelligence Specialist, Alliance Intelligence. I’m all right now.”

Dr Chakwas ignored his reassurance. “Do you know where you are?”

“On the floor in Shepard’s bathroom, drenched.”

“Do you remember how you got here?”

“Yes. I told him to bring me here.”

“Can you tell me what happened?”

Kaidan purposefully hesitated.

“Major?” Dr Chakwas coaxed.

“Shepard and I were having drinks and chatting. And then we, ah,” Kaidan averted his gaze, allowing himself to show the genuine embarrassment he felt. “We, um, got intimate.”

“How intimate?”

“Um…”

“We were having sex,” Shepard offered helpfully.

Kaidan closed his eyes, wishing he could sink into the deck. There was no way he could fake the burn in his cheeks.

Unperturbed, Dr Chakwas continued with her questioning. “What happened when you were having sex?”

“My legs suddenly started to hurt,” Kaidan answered. “It was unexpected.”

“On a scale of one to ten, how intense was the pain?”

He made a show of thinking through the question. The Shift was a familiar pain and did not compare to what he experienced when exposed to the orbs. But he needed to lead her to a certain conclusion and so he said meekly, “nine?”

There was silence for a long moment as Dr Chakwas studied the readouts on her omni-tool. “When did these episodes start?”

“What do you mean?” Kaidan pretended to feign ignorance.

Dr Chakwas gave him a stern look. “I think you know exactly what I’m talking about. I strongly suggest you come clean, or I will bench you indefinitely until we get to a hospital.”

“Doctor -”

“The truth, Major Alenko.” Dr Chakwas cut him off in a voice of steel.

Kaidan shifted and allowed his body language to display defeat. “Fine. Ever since my first exposure to the orbs,” he said with a deliberate show of ill grace. “It comes and goes. I don’t know when it will occur. Water seems to be the only thing that helps to calm the pain. I didn’t expect it to flare up when we -” he gestured vaguely, “you know.”

Dr Chakwas took one last look at her readouts and deactivated her omni-tool. “I still maintain that your multiple exposures to the orbs have injured your nerve system. I need to get you to a hospital to make an informed diagnosis.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“I’ll decide what is necessary. Commander, please escort our recalcitrant Major to the Med-Bay. I’m keeping him there for observation.”

“There’s nothing wrong with me,” Kaidan protested. Inwardly, he heaved a mental sigh of relief that Dr Chakwas had drawn the conclusion he had wanted her to make.

“I beg to differ.”

“Can I at least get a change of clothes first?”

“Of course. I shall wait outside while Shepard gives you a hand.”

Then it was just him and Shepard in the bathroom.

The silence between them was extremely awkward, and Kaidan honestly could not bring himself to meet Shepard’s gaze as the Commander helped him to his feet. He changed out of his wet uniform, dried off before putting on a set of Shepard’s tee-shirt and sweats.

“Sorry,” he said at last, genuinely contrite. “I spoiled our evening.”

“You gave me quite the scare.”

“I gave me quite the scare,” he replied honestly. He looked hopefully at Shepard. “Maybe we can try again?”

Shepard’s smile was soft and fond. “Definitely.”

Chapter Text

10 October 2186

Milky Way / Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega

As quietly as he could, John sneaked onto the deck of their chartered yacht. He could hear his mother ’s voice as she chatted with the yacht’s captain below deck, but up here, it was quiet and all he could hear was the gentle lapping of waves.

Night was falling and he was supposed to be in the galley having dinner with his mom and the yacht ’s two-man crew, not sneaking about on his own. But he had forgotten his toy - a brand-new model of an ocean-faring ship which his mom had bought for him before they set out for this sailing adventure. And he grew worried when he discovered he had left it on the deck.

Be quick about it , he told himself. Just pop out, grab his toy ship, and pop back down. The yacht wasn’t that big, and he was sure he remembered where he left it.

John shivered when he emerged into the waning daylight. They were anchored in a sheltered cove for the night, sharing the calm waters with another yacht. The outside temperature had dropped drastically, and he wasn ’t wearing a jacket. The spring shower had passed a long time ago, but the open deck was still damp and slick.

John paid no heed to the other yacht anchored in the same cove; he was solely focused on retrieving his toy. He scampered over to the two lounge chairs, his flip-flops skidding a little on the wet deck. His toy was not on either of them.

He lifted the cushions. No toy.

He peered under the chairs. Still no toy.

Frowning, John looked around. Where could his toy be?

Then he saw it - the gleam of red, white, and black plastic resting almost at the edge of the deck, under the railing. Somehow, it had been unwittingly displaced to its precarious position.

Gleefully, John raced across the deck towards it. He was almost to it when he tripped over his flip-flops and fell. He scrambled up and reached for his toy, but his flip-flops found no purchase on the slick wet deck, and he fell again. The tips of his outstretched fingers nudged his toy over the edge of the yacht and John watched with horror as it tumbled off and down to the sea.

Frantically, he lunged forward to rescue it, but his hand only grasped empty air and his forward momentum pitched him right under the railing and off the yacht -

 - Shepard’s eyes snapped open.

For a long moment, he stared hazily up at the skylight above his bed.

What an odd dream. Nothing interesting had happened during that yacht outing.

Dismissing the dream, Shepard turned onto his side and went back to sleep.

~

Kaidan was tired, bored out of his mind and feeling rather restless.

He hadn’t slept well during the night. Despite being the only patient in the Med-Bay, he couldn’t relax enough to get a proper night’s sleep. He had erected his medical bed’s privacy screen, but the fear that he could Shift while asleep meant he kept jolting awake throughout the night. When the Normandy’s day cycle began, he was more exhausted than he had been the day before.

Liara had brought breakfast and stayed for a while to keep him company, which Kaidan was very thankful for. Her companionship kept him distracted from his predicament. They chatted about many things, but their conversation kept returning to Leviathan as they speculated on the still-mysterious race. After all their efforts, they still knew so little about Leviathan and it was worrying.

“Did any of your ex-colleagues answer your queries?” he asked her.

“Not many, unfortunately. Those who answered claim ignorance of Dr Bryson’s work. Except for one, I’m not sure how truthful they were.”

Kaidan studied her.

Her beautiful face remained serene, but he sensed an undercurrent of sadness beneath that serenity.

“You’re disappointed in them,” he said.

Liara sighed. “I didn’t retire from academia because I want to. But I had hoped they would still be willing to talk to me.”

“Well, it’s their loss. Forget about them.”

“Thank you.” She patted him on his thigh. “Well, I got to get back to work. Get well soon, Kaidan.”

“Thanks.”

After Liara left, Kaidan channelled his energy into convincing Dr Chakwas to release him from Med-Bay. He was itching to get out of there, but the good doctor was made of sterner stuff than those he had met in the past and she steadfastly rejected him. He was so tempted to ‘persuade’ her, but he remembered the promise he made to Shepard and gave up on the idea.

In the end, he resorted to working furtively behind the shield of his privacy screen and for a time, he was able to lose himself in his work. But Dr Chakwas caught him red-handed and confiscated his datapad and threatened to disable his omni-tool if he didn’t rest.

That was pretty much the last straw.

His temper snapped and he launched into an angry tirade that Dr Chakwas would later describe as spectacular. She didn’t react to his loss of temper, though. She remained unflappable throughout his rant until he ran out of steam before asking calmly, “Feel better?”

He did.

It was cathartic.  

“Sorry,” he apologised sheepishly. “I took it out on you.”

“To be honest, I was expecting it.” Dr Chakwas smiled sympathetically. “You’re under a lot of stress. It was just a matter of time.”

“There’s a lot at stake,” Kaidan admitted. “I can’t rest easy until we stop Leviathan.”

“And we will stop them,” Dr Chakwas said confidently. “This isn’t the first time Shepard and the Normandy had to save the galaxy.” 

“You’re very confident, Doctor.”

“Doubting me, Major?”

Kaidan turned around in surprise. Shepard stood by the Med-Bay’s doors, dressed in full armour. How long he had stood there listening, the Major did not know. He hadn’t heard the doors open.

“I’m not, Shepard. I’m just…”

“Being a worrywart.” Shepard strode over to them. Ignoring’s Kaidan’s squawk of outraged protest, he asked Dr Chakwas, “How is he?”

“Stable for the time being. Have you come to spring him?”

“We’re docking right now. I want Mordin to give Kaidan a check-up.”

The name caught Kaidan’s interest and distracted him from his indignation. “Mordin Solus?”

Shepard was surprised. “You know him?”

“He’s the only doctor on Omega Station.” He didn’t mention his suspicions about Mordin being more than just a doctor.

“He is a genius and the best choice when we are so far away from a proper hospital,” Dr Chakwas said approvingly. “I’m sure he’ll be able to give us a diagnosis on Kaidan’s injuries.”

“Stop right there,” Kaidan interrupted. “I can’t be seen in your company on Omega, Shepard.”

“Why not?”

“My cover identity on Omega Station is anti-Council.”

Shepard understood immediately. “And I’m a Council Spectre.”

“Exactly.”

“What if you march him to Mordin’s in cuffs? Make it look as though you caught him?” Dr Chakwas suggested. “I could make Kaidan appear more injured than he is.”

“No,” Kaidan immediately rejected the suggestion. “I’ll lose whatever street cred I’ve built up over the years. Nobody will talk to a person caught by Commander Shepard.”

“Maybe Mordin can pay us a visit?” Dr Chakwas asked.

“Shepard, I can’t be seen in your company by anyone from Omega,” Kaidan repeated.

Shepard turned to leave. “I’ll persuade him. He doesn’t like it when I drag him away from his clinic without advance notice.”

Kaidan frowned at Shepard’s retreating form. “He ignored me.”

“Mordin is a friend of ours,” Dr Chakwas explained. “Shepard trusts him to keep secrets.”

“I hope so,” Kaidan muttered under his breath, his mind awhirl with revelations.

Shepard was on friendly terms with a shady salarian he had long suspected to be more than just an unlicensed doctor.

Look like the rumours he’d heard years ago about an apparently dead Shepard showing up at Omega to persuade the eccentric doctor to leave the space station for a spell were true. If only he hadn’t been on Horizon when that happened; he’d loved to have been a fly on that particular wall.

Not for the last time, he wondered how Shepard managed to cause Cerberus to implode so thoroughly that there was no hope of reviv —

The shrill whistle of general quarters suddenly sounded through Med-Bay and Kaidan was on his feet before he knew it. He hadn’t heard the alert in many years, but he still recognised the sound of it. Outside the Med-Bay’s windows, he saw the Normandy’s crew in the galley immediately dropping whatever they were doing and locking down things and running for their stations.

Hastily, he got dressed and ran for the doors.

“Stay where you are, Major.” Dr Chakwas ordered as she immediately began locking down the Med-Bay.

Kaidan’s footsteps didn’t falter. “I’ll be right back,” he promised.

The elevator was in use, so he joined the crew members sprinting up the ladder to the C.I.C. The bridge was a hive of frenzied activities as the crew got their stations battle-ready. Despite the strident alert of general quarters, they remained professionally calm and collected under fire.

Admirable.

Kaidan could tell at once that this was a very seasoned crew Shepard commanded. Liara, who stood out from the bridge crew in her white armour, caught his gaze and gestured for him to follow her to the bow of the ship.

“Why are we beating to quarters?” he asked as he fell into step with her.

“We’re preparing to leave the docks hot. Shepard’s orders.”

Kaidan’s brows shot upwards.

That was unexpected and dangerous. Ships were forbidden to leave docks at full throttle for good reasons. It was akin to a skycar tearing out of a parking lot and into heavy traffic at breakneck speed. But why would Shepard-?

Oh.

He saw the connection now.

“Someone is shooting at him.”

Liara nodded; her expression full of resigned humour despite the seriousness of the situation.

“Hence, the pot. People seem to shoot at him pretty often.”

“I’ve lost count,” she confessed.

Up ahead, Kaidan saw Vega and Ash positioning themselves at the airlock entrance with rifles in hand. And beyond them, in the cockpit up ahead, Joker and EDI were speedily readying the ship for launch.

“Loco’s coming in hot,” Vega informed Liara when she stepped up to his side. “He’s got Garrus and Tali with him.”

“How long since he disembarked?” Ash asked.

“Shepard left the Normandy nine-point-three minutes ago,” EDI answered from the cockpit.

Kaidan eyed the airlock in wonderment. “How did he manage to start a firefight in under ten minutes?”

“It’s Loco,” Vega shrugged as though it was the only explanation needed. Then again, when it came to Shepard, it probably was.

“This has got to be a new record though,” Ash commented. “Hey, Joker! What’s the closest bet?”

“Ten minutes. Hey Kaidan, you can say goodbye to your bet.” Kaidan could hear the gloat in Joker’s voice.

“Here they come,” Ash warned. “Joker, shut your door. You ladies ready? Go!”

Vega slapped the manual override and the airlock door slid open.

Immediately, the cacophony of a firefight in full swing thundered into the Normandy.

In a synchronised move that betrayed their years of working together, the two Marines and Liara rushed out, the asari behind them. Dark blue fire was already swirling around Liara’s lithe form and Kaidan felt the pull in the gravity well when she erected a biotic barrier and pushed it outwards.

Moments later, Garrus and a female quarian ran into view. They were hauling a large carry case between themselves. Behind them, Shepard brought up the rear, his rifle aimed in the opposite direction.

“Get in!” Shepard ordered at the same time Ash shouted, “Grenade launcher!”

Kaidan didn’t even hesitate. He dashed out into the fray, hastily erecting the strongest biotic barrier he could manage and blended it with Liara’s.

And just in the nick of time.

The grenade hurtling towards them exploded with fiery concussive force against their enforced barrier. Without the two biotics’ combined strength, the blast would have smashed through Liara’s barrier and torn apart this section of the dock and possibly kill all of them. As it was, though their combined biotic barrier had shattered upon impact, it was strong enough to absorb most of the concussive energy of the exploding grenade, leaving them and their surroundings mostly intact. 

Kaidan staggered from the backlash, blinded and ears ringing. A throbbing pain immediately took up place in his head.

Then Shepard was yanking him back into the Normandy.

The airlock door slammed shut, shutting out the noise of the chaos outside. He dimly heard Shepard yelling, “Launch!”

And he felt more than heard the low pitch thrumming of the drive core as the Normandy pulled out of its berth at a speed more suited to a fighter launching from a carrier than a frigate leaving dock.

Stumbling, Kaidan frantically grabbed hold of the nearest support - which turned out to be Shepard. The Commander was gripping a handlebar tightly and he hauled Kaidan into a vice-like hug, pressing him against the bulkhead. Together, they clung on for dear life as Joker piloted the Normandy out of the danger zone.

“We’re clear!” Joker finally called out, much to Kaidan’s relief.

Relieved that the deck was stable once more under his feet, Kaidan straightened up and waited for his stomach to return to its place in his body before he released his death-grip on Shepard.

“Everyone all right?” Shepard asked.

A chorus of affirmative answered him.

“And you, Kaidan?”

“There’s never a dull moment with you, is there?” Kaidan said dryly.

Shepard smirked. “Nope. But you haven’t answered my question. You were supposed to keep your biotics off-line, remember?”

Kaidan took assessment of his own body. Other than his amp being a little warm and the throbbing in his head that signalled the onset of a migraine, he couldn’t feel anything else wrong with his body. “I just need some painkiller for my head, that’s all.”

Shepard examined his face closely for a moment. Seemingly satisfied with his answer, the Commander turned to Liara. “What about you, Liara?”

Peering over Shepard’s shoulder, Kaidan saw the asari had a pinched expression on her face, and he remembered he wasn’t the only one to suffer from the backlash of their biotic barriers being violently destroyed.

“I’m fine as well,” she replied.

“Good. Joker, set course for Namakli.”

“Aye, aye, sir. You know, we didn’t get a chance to refuel at Omega.”

Shepard grimaced. “I’ll re-plot our flight path to the nearest fuel depot. Just get us out of Omega territory. The rest of you, briefing in the War Room in thirty minutes. EDI, Ash, James, join us as well.”

“Good, that will give me time to take Tali to the Med-Bay,” Garrus said. “She has a tear in her enviro-suit.”

“Don’t hover, Garrus. This isn’t the first time I’ve been shot at.” The quarian Tali replied.

“What happened, Shepard?” Kaidan demanded to know. “How the hell did you manage to get shot at the moment you stepped off the Normandy?”

“It’s not my fault,” Shepard protested immediately.

Kaidan arched an eyebrow sceptically.

“Bullets just love him,” Garrus explained with a straight face.

“I forgot about his bullet attraction,” Tali sighed. “I really shouldn’t have.”

Shepard glared at her. “It’s Garrus who stepped in to stop those lowlifes from harassing you. How is this my fault?”

“They thought you were insulting them,” Garrus explained in an exaggerated reasonable voice.

“I just said they should use their four eyes to look before picking a fight! How is that an insult?”

“It’s Omega, Shepard.” Tali pointed out. “It’s full of sensitive and insecure bosh’tets who think everyone is out to insult them.”

“I guess that’s a hard lesson learned. Never bet on the contrary,” Kaidan said dryly. “I suppose you didn’t get a chance to speak to Mordin.”

“I didn’t even get a chance to step onto Omega proper,” Shepard complained.

“That’s one good thing to come out of this.” Kaidan arched a brow at Shepard’s offended look. “What? I told you I can’t be seen in your presence by anyone on Omega. You didn’t listen.”

Then he remembered their deal and he hit Shepard in the arm. “And you owe me twenty credits.”

Shepard winced. “I forgot about that.”

~

The quarian’s full name was Tali’Zorah vas Normandy, and she was the youngest admiral ever to be appointed to the Admiralty Board of the quarians’ Migrant Fleet.

Kaidan hadn’t met many quarians in the past, but he knew enough of their culture to understand the significance of her title. Tali was probably the only quarian to have been adopted into a human’s ship. Whether that was done as a punishment or as an honour, he didn’t know.

“You’re cute,” was the first thing Tali said to him after they were properly introduced.

It wasn’t the first time he had been told that to his face, but Kaidan wasn’t expecting to hear it from a quarian, of all peoples. Not sure why, he simply said “thank you” politely.

Garrus eyed her suspiciously. “Should I be worried?”

“Relax, Garrus.” Tali walked over to Kaidan; her head cocked inquisitively. “Hmm…you may be all bruised and sickly-looking, but I can see why the girls are gossiping about you.”

Kaidan stared at her. There’s gossip about him?

“It’s just girls’ talk, Major. All very harmless,” Ash glibly assured him. A little too glibly, in Kaidan’s opinion.

“Is he in the ranking?” Tali asked.

Ranking? For what?

Liara didn’t even blink an eye. “Oh yes.”

“He knocked Shepard off first place,” Ash added enthusiastically.

Kaidan had no idea what they were talking about. “What first place?”

“It’s a girls’ thing,” Vega told him. “They rank the human guys on board in order of who’s the sexiest. Shepard has been topping that list since he took command of the Normandy, of course. Esteban has consistently ranked second since he transferred to the Normandy. I rank fifth, and I don’t know why.”

“You pushed everyone down a position the moment you came on board,” Ash added gleefully.

Kaidan opened and closed his mouth. He looked from Ash to Tali and Liara and back to Ash again, at a loss for words. Finally, he asked, “can I not be on that list?”

“Nope,” Ash smirked. “Membership is automatic. Get used to it.”

“I’m jealous,” Garrus groused. “Why am I not on that list?”

“It wouldn’t be fair now, would it? You have no competition.” Tali pointed out reasonably.

“No competition?”

“That’s right. You’re the most handsome turian on board.”

Garrus levelled a look at her. “I’m the only turian on board.”

“See? No competition.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

Kaidan had to agree with Garrus.

“Of course it does. You’re the most handsome turian and the only one on board,” Tali explained patiently. “It makes perfect sense.”

Kaidan thought he was starting to get it, but judging from the look on Garrus’ face, he was still lost.

Shepard entering the War Room with EDI at his side stopped whatever Garrus was about to say. The Commander had a rather glum look on his face. 

“You look like you had a difficult conversation with Aria,” Liara observed.

Shepard grimaced.

“I’d say she wasn’t pleased with our stunt on the docks,” Kaidan remarked.

“‘Wasn’t pleased’ is an understatement. I now owe her a big favour.”

“It’s not our fault the opposing party brought a grenade launcher to the party,” Ash glowered. “She should be happy the docks are still mostly in one piece.”

“We got off lightly. You should’ve seen what she did to the other party.”

“Did she say anything about me?” Kaidan was anxious to know if his little stunt on Omega’s docks had exposed him as an Alliance agent.

Shepard shook his head. “She won’t tell me even if she does know something about you. Just watch yourself the next time you’re on Omega.”

Kaidan supposed that was the best he could ask for.

“Tali, I’m glad you could join us.” Shepard smiled at the quarian. “We missed you.”

“It’s good to be back, Shepard. I missed being on the Normandy with you people too. Whatever you’re up to must be serious. This is the first time I’ve seen the War Room operating at full power.”

“It is. Major Alenko and I had wanted to keep this mission quiet, but from what we’ve experienced on Mahavid, secrecy is no longer an advantage. Kaidan, you want to start?”

Kaidan was surprised at Shepard’s decision, but he didn’t object to it. He briefed everyone on his mission to Mindoir, followed by their investigation into Dr Bryson’s death and Hadley’s interview.

Shepard picked up the narration for Mahavid, though he glossed over Kaidan’s confrontation with Leviathan in the Minerals Lab. “We’ve been talking with Commander Chang constantly over the last few days. Before they departed Mindoir, his task force had found ten more orbs on the planet. Thankfully, they weren’t active, and Chang had them destroyed. Hopefully, they can find out more about Leviathan on Mahavid than we did.”

“I have my doubts, Shepard,” EDI spoke up. “Liara and I have sifted through the facility’s servers. Sixty-point-nine-seven percent of the data are corporate information on the running of the mining activities on Mahavid. The balance was information on Leviathan’s torture experiments.”

“Maybe. But we didn’t stay very long to investigate. Chang will be the one to conduct a full-scale investigation into Mahavid. We’ll see what his report will say. What concerns me more are Leviathan’s orbs. They’re insidious. Both Ash and I showed signs of being influenced when we were on Mahavid.”

“Which is where I come in, I suppose,” Tali said.

“How so?” Kaidan asked curiously.

“Tali is an engineering genius,” Shepard explained. “I sent Dr Bryson’s data on the containment box to her right after we left the Citadel. Asked her if she could improve on it.”

“And I think I succeeded.” Tali, with Garrus’s help, lifted the case she had brought with her onto a table. “I must thank the person who gathered the data. They knew what they were doing.”

“So the containment box should have worked. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes. I think the issue is in the building process, but I’ve figured it out. I’ve made it simpler.” She lifted a small round device from the case. “A personal anti-Enthralling device to be affixed to body armour. The kinetic-barrier generator powers it to give the wearer full protection.”

Ash was beyond pleased. “You’re a lifesaver, Tali!”

“Thank you. There’s a drawback though. When your kinetic barrier goes down, so does it. If I have more time to refine the design, I’m sure I can find a way to keep its power source independent from the kinetic-barrier generator.”

“How many did you make?” Shepard asked.

“Six. And I built this for the Normandy.” Tali lifted a much bigger device from the case, one that took up three-quarters of the space. “I figured it’s useless to have personal anti-Enthralling devices if we can’t protect the ship.”

“So, what’s our next move?” Garrus wanted to know. “All our leads ran into dead ends on Mahavid.”

“We got a new lead from Hackett,” Shepard told them of the latest developments. “He thinks Dr Bryson’s daughter, Dr Ann Bryson, will be able to help us to decode his data drives. We’re currently heading to Namakli where she’s heading an archaeological excavation. Our task is to retrieve her from that planet and escort her to Arcturus. Hackett told me he hadn’t been able to get in contact with her, so it’s likely she has run into trouble.”

“With whom?” Vega questioned. “I mean, the planet is really far out, ain’t it?”

“Most likely vorchas,” Liara replied. Everyone grimaced in response. “Namakli is a wasteland. There are packs of feral vorchas roaming the deserts which makes it a dangerous environment.”

“I’ll lead the ground mission,” Shepard said. “EDI, James, you are with me. Garrus, Liara, Ash, I want you three to remain on standby as backup squad.” He checked his chronometer. “We’ll be reaching Namakli in one-point-five hours. Tali, think you can install the anti-Enthralling device into the Normandy by then?

“It’ll be tight. I’ll need Adams and his people’s help.”

“You have it. James, Ash, make sure our armours are fitted with the anti-Enthralling devices and we have enough firepower to repel the vorchas.”

“You got it, Commander.”

“Ann Bryson is our only lead left to stop Leviathan. At all costs, we must recover and bring her to Arcturus. Failure is not an option. Understood?”

A chorus of ‘yes’ answered him.

“Dismissed.”

Carefully keeping his calm, Kaidan waited until he was alone with Shepard in the War Room before saying, “you didn’t assign me to the ground mission.”

“No, I didn’t.”

Kaidan’s eyes narrowed as he came to a realisation. “This is what you meant when you said, ‘you take care of your crew’ yesterday.”

“It is,” Shepard admitted calmly.

“What happened last night -”

“Won’t occur again?”

“I have to be on the ground mission.”    

“The last time you said that, you wound up further injuring yourself.”

“The last time I said that, we wound up saving everyone.” Kaidan countered, emphasising the ‘we’. “I don’t see that changing.”

“I do. Every time you went up against Leviathan, you get hurt and you don’t get enough downtime to recover. When the time comes to put an end to their invasion, you need, no, I need you to be at your best.”

Kaidan glowered at him, his temper fraying rapidly. “I may be assigned to the Normandy, but I’m not really a member of your crew. And we’re a team on this mission. You can’t make that kind of decision without consulting me first.”

“I apologise, but I won’t change my mind.” Shepard clasped Kaidan by his shoulders. “You need to rest.”

“Shepard-”

“Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? Do you know how many times you’ve claimed to be fine even though you’re not? I didn’t peg you to be bull-headed like that. I distinctly remember telling you that if I feel this mission is getting too much for you, I’ll pull you off it.”

“That was about the ground mission to Mahavid!”

“I said ‘mission’. And we’re still on the same mission.”

“Shepard -”

“Don’t ‘Shepard’ me, Kaidan. You’re sitting this one out.”

There was an absolute finality in Shepard’s tone that told Kaidan it was useless to argue any further. Skewering the Commander one last frustrated glare, he spun around and stormed out of the War Room.

Alone once more, Shepard leaned back against the holographic display and sighed. He knew he had made the right decision: Kaidan’s health was visibly poor. What happened in his cabin last night was more than ample proof.

It had been terrifying: one minute, they had been fully engrossed in a heavy make-out session and then suddenly, he was watching Kaidan collapsing and convulsing on the deck in a great deal of pain.

To put him on a ground mission now would just be irresponsible.

Despite Kaidan’s anger, Shepard knew he would understand - once he calms down, that is.

Chapter Text

10 October 2186

Milky Way / Pylos Nebula / Zaherin System / Second planet - Namakli

The Normandy’s Shuttle Bay was a hive of activity for the next hour and a half. They fitted Tali’s anti-Enthralling devices to the squads’ armours, looked over the weapons and loaded additional firepower onto the Kodiaks Cortez and the other shuttle pilot were prepping.

Nobody liked vorchas: they were an overly aggressive and savage race, which made them extremely dangerous, and due to their unique biology, exceedingly difficult to deal with. Add ferality, the ability to breed like rabbits and a hostile environment where they reign supreme, and everyone knew what they have on hand was a recipe for FUBAR missions. Only superior firepower would keep the vorchas at bay - if that were even possible.

Fifteen minutes out from Namakli, an unexpected problem presented itself to Shepard.

“How many distress beacons?”

“Two.” Traynor worked the controls on her console. Close-up vids of a region on Namakli appeared on the galaxy map. Two red dots blinked rhythmically on it. “They are both in the canyon and not too far apart. I’ve been trying to hail them, but neither site is responding.”

Shepard hit a comm button. “Joker, bring us just within the long-range cameras’ furthest limit. I want vids of the beacons’ sites.”

“You got it, Commander.”

Standing beside Shepard, Kaidan leaned closer and murmured, “Vorchas?”

“Possibly,” he replied. “Could be space pirates or slavers. We are in the Terminus Systems, after all.”

“Or it could be Leviathan.”

“What would they be doing out here?” Liara asked.

“Dr Bryson died because of his data drives. They may be after Ann Bryson for the same reason we’re here.”

Minutes later, vids from the Normandy’s long-range cameras popped up in the holographic display in the C.I.C. and together, they presented a dismal picture.

Several vids showed a small cluster of environmentally shielded habitat containers at the base of a canyon cliff and anchored to the cliff wall mostly reduced to smoking ruins. One container was hanging on for dear life, anchored to the cliff wall by only two thick cable wires.

The second site was on the ground and nestled in a narrower canyon branch. It was a much smaller site and completely razed. There was nothing left of the sole habitat container, only its charred skeletal frame indicated that it once existed. Scorch marks blackened the ground and debris from destroyed crates and equipment strewn everywhere.

Both sites were empty of life.

“Oh goddess,” Liara breathed, appalled.

“We will have to send both squads,” Garrus said.

“Yeah,” Shepard agreed. He activated his comm. as he turned to leave C.I.C.. “Ground squads, shuttle pilots, report to the Shuttle Bay.” He tapped his comm to switch channels. “Dr Chakwas, please prep the Med-Bay for possible wounded civilians.”

“Understood, Shepard.”

Tap.

“Tali, how’s Normandy’s anti-Enthralling shield coming along?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than I anticipated. I need another thirty minutes.”

“Understood.”

Tap again.

“Joker, keep your distance from the planet until the anti-Enthralling shield comes online. Then I want you in an orbital position closest for fast extraction.”

“Aye, aye, Commander.”

Entering the Shuttle Bay, Shepard raised his voice. “Gather around, people. There’s been a change in plans.”

Silence descended in the Shuttle Bay as everyone gathered close to the Commander.

Activating his omni-tool, Shepard called up the vids of the destroyed sites for display. “We have received distress signals from two archaeological sites on Namakli. Both sites are close to each other, and both have been attacked. A preliminary long-range visual survey did not spot any survivors. We do not know who had attacked them. Most likely it’s the vorchas, though slavers and space pirates are also likely perpetrators.”

Shepard paused.

“This is now a search-and-rescue mission. We will be deploying both squads. Garneau’s flight logs indicated that he had brought twelve researchers, including Ann Bryson, to Namakli. We are going to rescue every single one of them, if possible. However, Ann Bryson is still our VIP. No matter the cost, we must retrieve her. Understood?”

Everyone nodded, their faces serious.

“I will lead squad alpha to canvas the cliff site while Garrus will lead squad bravo to canvas the ground site. Both squads are to keep in constant communication with each other and the Normandy. Shuttle pilots, I want you to stay at the Kármán line after dropping us. Do not re-enter the planet until your designated squad calls for you. When you get the call, go in fast, retrieve, and get out fast. Is that clear?”

“Aye, sir.”

“Ground squads, we have zero intel on what happened on the ground, so be smart and proceed with caution. Do not pick fights with the locals. Go in, grab the survivors, and get out. Got it?”

“Aye, sir!”

“We deploy in ten. Dismissed.”

The Shuttle Bay exploded once more into a frenzy of activity.

Shepard scanned over his people until he finally spotted Kaidan standing alone by the procurement terminal, his expression brooding and terse. He made his way to the Major. “What’s on your mind?”

“I feel like I should be on the ground mission.”

“Kaidan-”

“I know what you said earlier,” Kaidan interrupted, “and you’re right, as much as I hate to admit it. I’m still not going to forgive you for unilaterally deciding for me.”

“Then don’t give me an opportunity to make that decision again.”

Kaidan glowered at him. “You’re presumptuous, you know that?”

“Yep,” Shepard agreed unapologetically. “And we need you in better shape than you’re currently in.”

“Still doesn’t give you the-”

Shepard leaned in and kissed Kaidan, cutting him off in mid-sentence. It wasn’t a quick peck but a long deep kiss that involved plenty of tongues. Sensing Kaidan trying to pull away, he quickly cupped the Major’s face and placed his other hand on his waist. He didn’t let up the kiss until he felt Kaidan’s bristling dying down and the stiffness in his body melting away and he willingly reciprocated his attention.

When he pulled back, he grinned at Kaidan’s mollified expression. His lovely amber-brown eyes were no longer flashing with anger; they were soft and hazy, and his well-kissed lips swollen and oh so very tempting.

Wishing he didn’t have to go on the mission, Shepard stroked a thumb across the flushed plumpness of Kaidan’s lower lip. “I’ll see you when I’m back.”

~

“That is one ugly-ass planet,” Vega commented from his seat next to Cortez in the pilot’s cockpit.

“It’s very brown, but I wouldn’t call it ugly, Mr Vega,” Cortez replied. Rising his voice, he announced, “Commencing entry.”

No one spoke during the Kodiaks’ entry into Namakli’s atmosphere. It was nearly impossible to when the shuttles shook and vibrated as strong winds buffeted the transport vehicles.

Cortez very quickly smoothed out the flight of his Kodiak. “Normandy, this is Shuttle One. We have entered the atmosphere. Heading for drop point one now. Estimated arrival: three minutes.”

“Acknowledged, Shuttle One,” Traynor replied.

“How did vorchas get here anyway?” Vega wondered aloud.

“That would be my people’s fault, I’m afraid.” Liara’s voice came over the squads’ comm. link. “One of our corporations tried to colonize this planet about a century ago, and they brought with them socialised vorchas to be their labour force. At first, things went well, but there was an economic downturn and many asari left Namakli without bothering taking their vorcha labourers along with them.”

From the Normandy, Kaidan chimed in over the squads’ comm. link. “And since vorchas breed like rabbits, their population grew faster than they could be educated, and so they turned feral and violent, uncontrollable.”

“And what’s left of the asari’s colonies self-destructed.” Liara finished. “I’ve never liked how we discarded the vorchas and washed our hands off this planet.”

Vega shrugged and said philosophically, “Well, nobody’s hands are clean in this galaxy.”

“We’re coming up to drop point one in one minute, Commander,” Cortez reported.

“Roger that.” Shepard rose from his seat and headed for the door, with Vega and EDI joining him quickly.

“Commander, the landing platform is wrecked,” Cortez reported. “I need to find another platform.”

Shepard cycled down the top of the shuttle’s dutch hatch and looked out.

The landing platform was indeed a smoking crumpled mass of twisted and broken metal grates. Overlooking it was a habitat container, presumably the control room, and a thick cloud of black heavy smoke poured out from its gaping window.

“I can see another platform not too far away, but it’s a level lower,” Cortez said.

“That’s good enough. We’ll get off there.”

Minutes later, Cortez brought his Kodiak as close to the platform as he dared, and Shepard’s squad leapt across the gap to it. The platform creaked and shifted ominously under the buffeting wind from the shuttle and the impact of their landing. Upon hearing the stressed sounds, they swiftly dashed for more stable ground.

“This is Shepard. Squad alpha is on the ground.”

“Acknowledged, Commander,” Traynor responded.

“This is Vakarian,” Garrus spoke over the squads’ comm.. “Squad bravo is approaching drop point two in less than one minute.”

“Acknowledged, Vakarian.”

“Stay alert and stay out of trouble, Garrus.” Shepard reminded.

“Of course. I have to get back to collect my winnings, you know.” Garrus drawled.

“Again? Which pot is this?”

“The one you very thoughtfully helped me to win before we deployed.”

Shepard knew immediately which pot Garrus was referring to. “That doesn’t count. We’re still getting together.”

“No offence, skipper, but that kiss looked very ‘together’.” He could hear the smirk in Ash’s voice. “You moved fast. I’m impressed.”

“I agree.” And Liara proceeded to add fuel to the fire. “I saw Kaidan wearing your clothes when he went to the Med-Bay last night.”

“There was an accident!” Shepard said defensively.

“I’m sure.” Liara’s deadpan was clear even over the comms.

“I can’t believe you guys are taking bets on my love life,” he groused.

“Your love life, as you put it, is currently the hottest topic on board,” EDI informed him.

“Is it so obvious?”

A chorus of affirmatives answered him over the squads’ comm. link.

Then he heard someone clearing his throat, followed by Kaidan’s smoky voice that sounded distinctly embarrassed. “Ground squads, can we please focus?”

Shepard winced inwardly. He had forgotten the Normandy, and therefore Kaidan was also on the comms. He could just picture the look of mortification on the reserved Major’s face.

Pushing aside the knowledge that his entire crew not only knew about him and Kaidan, but were actively “invested” in it, Shepard took point. “EDI, find us a route to that distress beacon.”

“At once, Shepard.”

The habitat containers anchored to the cliff wall were arranged in a relatively linear layout, linked by bridges and walkways. Under normal circumstances, traversing from one habitat to another would be like moving through a train. But the attack had inflicted a massive amount of damage to the site: many of the habitat containers were either missing or simply no longer passable. Traversing across the site in straight lines was no longer possible.

They came across their first casualties in mere minutes.

This particular habitat container seemed to have been a lab of some sort, but it had been blasted open and mangled bodies laid scattered amongst the broken equipment.

Shepard knelt to check one of the bodies. “Normandy, this is squad alpha. We found our first victim.” Activating his omni-tool, he took photos of the body, especially the face.

“Acknowledged, squad alpha,” Kaidan answered.

“There are three more victims over here, Shepard,” EDI reported.

“Normandy, this is squad bravo. We found two victims,” Garrus’s voice came over the comm. link.

That was six out of twelve civilians accounted for.

“Acknowledged, squad bravo.”

“This is squad alpha. I think it’s clear from the damage that it’s the vorchas that attacked them. What about you, squad beta?”

“I concur with you, Shepard,” Garrus replied. “All signs point to them.”

“We are going to continue our search. Squad alpha out.” Shepard turned to EDI. “Which way?”

“The walkway linking to the next habitat container has been destroyed.” She pointed to a ladder. “I suggest we go up and make our way to the cliff ledge over there. There appears to be a viable path.”

Shepard clambered up the ladder and cautiously checked for hidden hostiles. So far, their surroundings were quiet and still, and he hoped it would remain as such throughout their mission. Jumping across the narrow gap to the ledge, he led the way along it to the other side where it ended abruptly in a large gap between the cliff ledge and another walkway.

A collapsible bridge hung folded against the cliff.

“EDI, see if that bridge can be erected.”

“I am on it.”

While waiting for EDI to activate the folded bridge, Shepard walked over to Vega who was staring up at the cliff wall with a look of amazement.

“Is that…a Reaper?” Vega muttered.

What Vega was staring at was an exceptionally large rock drawing reminiscent of the prehistoric cave paintings back on Earth.

The geometrical shapes and lines of the painting were primitive and simplistic, the red and black colours faded and quite worn away due to the long length of time that had passed, but its depiction of a Reaper was unmistakable.

“What do you see, squad alpha?” Kaidan asked over the comm.

Shepard activated his omni-tool and streamed a vid of the cave painting to the Normandy and the other squad.

“Huh, that does resemble a Reaper,” Kaidan remarked.

“Why would this place have a rock painting of a Reaper?” Vega wondered aloud to no one in particular.

“Shepard,” Liara spoke over the comms, “can you photograph this rock painting and any other you may come across? And maybe get a few samples of the paint and the rocks too?”

“You think there’s meaning to this rock painting?”

“Possibly. I won’t know until I examine them.”

“You’ll have photos and samples to examine,” Shepard promised.

“Thank you.” Deactivating her omni-tool, Liara turned her attention back to the destroyed ground of the second campsite.

“Well, no cave drawings here,” Ash said aloud.

“I doubt we’ll find any. These cliff walls are too exposed to the elements.”

Liara stood in the centre of what was once a campsite nestled in a narrow gap between two canyon cliffs. Besides the burned-out, skeletal remains of the habitat container, there was also torn remnants of tents and broken debris of supply crates and equipment scattered about. Scorched marks marred the ground and walls of the cliffs, and the stench of burned debris and eezo was heavy in the air.

To her far left, Garrus knelt to examine scorched debris. “The attack was recent,” he commented. “Many areas are still warm.”

“This place is a box canyon,” Ash said grimly.

A natural kill zone, Liara heard the unspoken words. She was no soldier, but she had experienced enough firefights to know what Ash meant. This place made a great place for an ambush, especially from high up on the cliffs.

Ann Bryson’s people wouldn’t have stood a chance.

“Squad bravo, any idea why Ann Bryson is interested in this location?” Kaidan asked over the comm.

“Not really. I can’t see any dig sites, and nearly all their equipment has been destroyed. I think - hold on,” Liara thoughtfully eyed the back cliff wall some distance away. “Garrus, do you see that crevice?”

Garrus looked in the direction she was pointing. With the help of his visor, he immediately spotted what had caught her attention. “That crevice has two stone markers on either side of it. It’s a cave entrance.”

“You think they might have hidden in there?” Ash asked.

“It’s possible,” Liara said.

“This is squad bravo,” Garrus hefted his rifle. “We’ve found a nearby cave that could provide refuge for the survivors. We’re going to check it out.”

“Acknowledged, squad bravo,” Kaidan replied.

The two stone markers turned out to be the bas-reliefs of obelisks as tall as Liara. Once, their reliefs and outlines would be sharp and clear, but now severely eroded by wind and its details lost forever.

“Stone obelisks were generally used to denote the importance of a place in ancient civilizations,” Liara commented. “These appear to mark the entrance to one such place, which even the vorchas are wary of, maybe even respect.”

“What makes you say that?” Ash asked curiously.

Liara pointed back at the ground site. “The ground site has been completely destroyed, but these two stone obelisks are still intact and undamaged. If the vorchas had wanted to destroy everything in this place, why leave these markers untouched? I think they know about this place, and they were careful to leave it alone.”

“Which makes it a good hiding place for a bunch of archaeologists.”

“Exactly.”

They pressed against the cliff on both sides of the cave entrance and listened intently. Other than the sound of a breeze escaping from within, they could not hear anything else.

Garrus nodded to Ash.

“Hello, is anyone in there?” she called. “I’m Lieutenant Commander Williams of the Alliance Navy. We’re here to rescue you.”

They waited.

Then a timid, hesitant voice called out from within the cave, “You-you’re the Alliance Navy?”

“That’s right. Can you come out?”

“Please don’t shoot.”

“We won’t,” Williams assured.

“I-I’m coming out now.”

They heard footsteps, sounds of pebbles bouncing off the ground and moments later, a human man in torn and bloodied clothes, covered liberally in dust and with dried blood on his face emerged from the cave. He kept his hands raised as he squinted in the bright daylight.

“Don’t shoot,” he cried in a croaking voice. “Please don’t shoot.”

Ash lowered her rifle and smiled reassuringly at the man. “Hey, we’re not going to shoot. We’re here to get you out.”

Pure relief crossed the man’s face. “Thank God. I thought we’re all going to die here. My friend is badly hurt. Please, he needs medical attention fast.”

While Garrus stayed to guard the entrance, Liara and Ash followed the man back into the cave entrance and into a narrow, gently downward-sloping tunnel. Loose gravel covered the path and forced them to pick their way through carefully. One small misstep could result in a twisted ankle.

“What’s your name?” Liara asked.

“I’m Miles Hopkins, research assistant to Dr Ann Bryson. There’s three of us in here: me, Boyles and Kirkwood.”

“Who attacked you?”

“The vorchas. They took us by surprise.”

“You’re excavating on a planet filled with feral vorchas. How could you not expect them to attack?” Ash questioned.

“The vorchas are afraid of this region,” Hopkins explained. “They stay far away from here, so we thought our expedition would be safe from them. Boyles and I - we were already in here when they attacked. Kirkwood was outside and closest to the opening, and when we saw him take a bullet, we dragged him in here too. I don’t know what happened to the others.”

“We found two dead bodies outside. I’m sorry,” Liara replied apologetically.

Hopkins looked stricken. “They’re dead? Wha-what about the main site? By the canyon cliffs? The rest of my team is there.”

“It was hit too. Commander Shepard is currently canvassing the site for survivors.”

“Commander Shepard? The Commander Shepard?”

“Yeah,” Ash said.

“You're from the Normandy? Then maybe you can help us rescue Ann.”

Liara and Ash exchanged a look. That didn’t sound good.

The narrow tunnel suddenly opened out into a huge cavern.

Right in front of them loomed two obelisks three times the height of a man, intricately carved and far less eroded than the stone markers outside. They stood on either side of a smooth platform carved from stone that overlooked a deep wide pool of exceptionally clear water. A shaft of sunlight shone down from a gap high up in the cavern ceiling and into the pool, setting off dizzying refraction of sparkling light that bounced off glittering stalagmites and stalactites.

“Whoa,” Ash muttered. “I didn’t think this planet has water.”

“It can’t be a complete desert or the vorchas wouldn’t have survived at all,” Liara reasoned.

“This way,” Hopkins urged and clambered hastily across the rocky, uneven ground.

In the distance, Liara saw two other human males. One of them looked just as bedraggled as Hopkins and the other was lying unconscious on the ground. Behind them was a makeshift supply station. A small lamp was the survivors’ only light source, and empty water bottles and food wrappers were scattered about. In the weak light of the lamp, the face of the unconscious man was colourless and his lips grey.

The man sitting up looked at them hopefully. “Are you here to get us out?”

“Yes. I’m Lieutenant Commander Williams and this is Liara T’Soni.”

“I’m Boyles, and this is Kirkwood.” Boyles squeezed the shoulder of the unconscious man lying on the ground. “He’s got a bullet in his torso. We’ve used up our med-kit trying to staunch the bleeding, but it hasn’t stopped.”

“Has he woken up at all?”

“No.”

Liara scanned the severely wounded man with her omni-tool and didn’t like the results it gave her. “His vitals are very weak. Garrus, can you hear me?

“Loud and clear, Liara.”

“Call in the shuttle. We’ve found three survivors but one of them is bleeding out. We need to get him to Dr Chakwas as quickly as possible.”

“Roger that.”

With their medical supplies, Liara and Ash tried to staunch Kirkwood’s wound as best as they could. When Garrus arrived with the emergency stretcher, they quickly transferred Kirkwood to it, and Ash and Hopkins lifted the wounded man for the trip to the shuttle, while Garrus took point and Liara brought up the rear.

“Normandy to ground squads,” Kaidan’s voice came over the comm.. “You have multiple bogeys approaching.”

“How far away?” Garrus asked.

“About five minutes out.”

“We better hoof it,” Ash said.

“We can’t leave yet!” Hopkins protested. “Ann is still in here!”

Liara looked around quickly. “I don’t see her.”

Hopkins stabbed a finger in the direction of the pool. “This cave is connected to other caves through a system of underwater tunnels. Ann was determining our next excavation site when we lost all communication with her. We were trying to rescue her when the vorchas attacked.”

“Do you know which cave she’s in?”

“Here,” Hopkins activated his omni-tool. “This is our map of the cave system. I’ve marked Ann’s position on it.”

Liara checked her omni-tool. “I got it. We’ll get her out, but you need to leave first.”

“Let’s go,” Garrus ordered. They immediately headed for the exit. “Normandy, how far away are the bogeys?”

“Four minutes,” Kaidan replied tersely. “We’ve identified the bogeys as vorchas. They’re ignoring squad alpha and heading straight for you, squad bravo.”

“This is Shepard. Squad bravo, get into the air and lead the vorchas away from the cave before returning to the Normandy. Cortez is en route to my position. We’ll go in and rescue Ann Bryson while the vorchas are distracted with you.”

“Acknowledg -”

Up on the Normandy, in the C.I.C., Kaidan and Traynor and other crew members flinched when a loud squeal of static burst from the comms..

When he could hear again, Kaidan tried contacting the ground squads. “Ground squads, this is the Normandy. Can you hear me?”

The comms. was silent.

Tense, Kaidan tried again. “Ground squads, this is the Normandy. Can you hear me?”

There was no reply.

At the other end of the C.I.C., he saw Traynor and Tali - who had finished her task - frantically checking their consoles. Then Traynor looked at him and shook her head. The ground squads’ comms. was dead.

“Do we know what happened?” Kaidan asked.

“There was some kind of EM pulse in their locations,” Tali said, and his blood ran cold. “I think it knocked out their comms.”

“Major,” EDI spoke up, “I am afraid the EM pulse has disrupted the Normandy’s tight beam control. I am no longer in communication with my mobile platform.”

Kaidan took a deep breath. The situation was turning bad fast. “Do we still have eyes in the sky?”

“Yes.” Traynor quickly brought up the camera footage.

Joker had parked the Normandy as close as he could to the planet after Tali finished installing the anti-Enthralling shield. This close, the frigate’s cameras easily picked up movements on the planet surface.

In the holographic display, screens popped up and in them, Kaidan saw a large group of vorchas moving rapidly into the box canyon, towards squad bravo’s position. There was a tiny stationary speck at the dead-end of the box canyon and a long, thin black thread ascended ominously from it. There was another tiny stationary speck near the cliff site. Thankfully, there was no ominous black trail ascending from it.

Kaidan felt relieved.

Shepard’s way out was still intact if grounded.

But Garrus’s position was more precarious, and he had civilians with him.

There was no other choice.

“EDI, you have temporary command of the Normandy. Prep Garneau’s ship. I’m going down. Keep the ship’s cameras on the sites. If you see us in trouble, don’t come after us. Call Hackett for help. The last thing we need is for the Normandy to get stranded too.”

“Understood, Major.”

“I’m coming with you,” Tali volunteered.

Kaidan was already shaking his head before she finished. “You need to stay here. You don’t have an anti-Enthralling device.”

“I have the prototype.” She tapped the front of her enviro-suit. “It’s already attached to my suit.”

“All right. You’re in charge of flying.”

Shepard’s crew was very efficient.

His on-loan light armour and weaponry were waiting for him when he got to the Shuttle Bay, and they were manoeuvring Garneau’s ship into position for launch. Kaidan hastily stripped off his sling, kit up and then he was hopping on board while Tali ran the pre-flight checks.

“Which location?” she asked once they had launched from the ship.

“Garrus’,” Kaidan replied as he slid into the co-pilot seat. As tempted as he was to head straight for Shepard’s position, Ann Bryson’s rescue was paramount. “I’ll man the guns.”

Tali launched Garneau’s ship from the Normandy and charted a course straight for the box canyon. They had almost arrived when their communication with the Normandy suddenly died.

Kaidan quickly ran a check on his controls and scanners. “There’s a jamming field in place,” he concluded at last. “No wonder we couldn’t reach them.”

“An EM pulse knocked all electronics and engine cores off-line, followed by a jamming field to block communications. Do we know where it’s coming from?” Tali asked.

“Hard to tell. It seems to be coming from everywhere at once. Let’s just get in and get them out fast.”

When they reached the box canyon, Kaidan quickly assessed the situation.

Shuttle Two was on the ground with smoke trailing thinly from its aft. The pilot was hunched in its cover, his upper torso was deep in the Kodiak’s guts while Garrus and Ash stood guard behind the shuttle, their rifles aimed at the packs of vorchas standing menacingly a safe distance away.

When Tali flew low, Kaidan opened fire on the vorchas. 

The vorchas’ handheld weapons were no match to even a small ship’s firepower and Tali and Kaidan easily drove them further back. The vorchas hissed and shrieked but did not dare to advance.

“Can you land behind the Kodiak?” he asked Tali.

“I’ll try. There’s not much room to manoeuvre.”

Slowly, carefully, Tali guided Garneau’s ship to the ground behind the smaller Kodiak and in front of the cave entrance. It was a tight fit, but she managed to land the craft without a scratch.

Kaidan hastily threw open the hatch. “Come on!” he bellowed.

From the cave, Liara emerged, followed by the survivors, both men carrying the stretcher containing their critically wounded friend. They sprinted to Garneau’s ship as fast as they could.

“Thank the Goddess you’re here,” Liara said when she arrived.

“Did you get Ann Bryson out?” Kaidan asked Liara as they hoisted the injured man on board.

“No. There was no time, and we don’t have the proper equipment.”

“Fire in the hole!” Ash shouted as she, Garrus and the shuttle pilot ran for Garneau’s ship.

Everyone threw themselves to the ground as the downed Kodiak exploded in a fearsome fireball, spewing fire and debris everywhere.

Kaidan looked out of the porthole to see the vorchas on the other side of the burning Kodiak, howling in outrage as the searing heat kept them at bay. Thinking fast, he clambered to his feet and grabbed a survival pack and as much ammunition as he could carry. “I’ll get Bryson. The rest of you, get out of here.”

“It’s too dangerous out there!” Tali protested from her pilot seat.

“I’ll collapse the cave entrance to keep the vorchas out. Tell Shepard to come after me.” Then he was jumping off Garneau’s ship and running for the cave.

Seconds later, a gale wind rose and whipped about him as Garneau’s ship lifted off with its precious cargo.

It wasn’t until he reached the cave that he realised he wasn’t alone. Ash was keeping pace with him, and she was carrying her survival and ammunition packs.

“What? You think we’re going to let you go alone?” Ash replied in response to his surprised look.

Above them, Garneau’s ship did another low fly-pass, furiously peppering the charging vorchas with gunfire before flying off.

“That should thin out their numbers,” Ash remarked as they skidded to a halt just inside the cave entrance.

“As long as they don’t call for reinforcement from elsewhere,” Kaidan couldn’t help but add.

Ash scanned the box canyon, squinting to make out the vorchas beyond the thick black smoke. “The fire is keeping them away. We should be safe for now.” She examined the cave opening. “I’ll rig the entrance to collapse, just in case. How many explosives do you have?”

“Not much,” Kaidan confessed. He handed them over to Ash.

“Ought to be enough. I’ll keep watch here.” Ash activated her omni-tool and forwarded Hopkins’ map to him. “Liara sent this to me before she left. It’s a map of the underwater tunnels linking this cave to Bryson’s position. You get our VIP. The archaeologists have a small equipment station inside. Maybe you can find something that will help.”

While Ash set down to her task, Kaidan made his way into the cave. His eyebrows rose when he saw the tall obelisks and stone platform at the edge of the pool, but he did not stop to admire the scenery.

He pulled up Hopkins’ map on his omni-tool and studied it.

Ann Bryson was in another cave about twenty minutes’ swim away. The route seemed straightforward, and he wondered why Ann Bryson’s team had so much trouble rescuing her. He got his answer soon enough when he searched through the equipment the archaeologists left behind.

There wasn’t a single diving apparatus amongst it.

Since Ann Bryson had successfully made her way into the other cave, then she must have taken the only diving apparatus her team possessed. Cut off from Shepard and the Normandy, with hostiles just outside, it meant there was only one way to rescue her.

“Fuck.” Kaidan sat back on his hunches, swearing under his breath. If he were alone, he would have the freedom to do what was needed and he wouldn’t have to worry about risking his secret. But Ash was with him, and that complicated matters.

There was no helping it.

They have to rescue Ann at all costs.

He would just have to be quick and pray that his luck holds.

Swiftly, he emptied his survival kit and stuffed it with items he thought would be useful to him. Then he checked in one more time with Ash. “I’m going to swim to her location,” he told her.

Ash spared him a concerned look. “Cave diving is dangerous, Major.”

“I’ll be fine. She should have set out a guideline to her location. I follow that, I won’t get lost.” Kaidan nodded to the vorchas lingering outside. “How’s the situation?”

“They know we’re in here, but they don’t dare to approach. Liara’s right. This location must mean something to them.”

“Hopefully, that will buy us more time till Shepard extracts us.” Kaidan clapped her shoulder. “Stay sharp, Lieutenant. Our safety depends on you now.”

“You can count on me, Major.” She tossed him a sly smirk. “I’ll make sure you get back to Normandy for sexy time with our Commander.”

Grumbling under his breath about the nosy crew and betting pots, Kaidan went back to the pool. He furtively checked to make sure Ash was out of his line of sight before quickly stripping off his armour and clothes.

He dived in.

The song of the water was different here: it was still and extremely quiet, unlike the wild mercurial song of Earth’s oceans that call to him. He had always found it difficult to consciously Shift to his true form and for a moment, he worried it wouldn’t happen.

Then the Shift kicked in.

It always starts with pain - when the muscles and tendons in his legs stretched and tore apart, and his bones cracked and reform. When his legs clamped together and flesh, muscles and skin fused and meld into a silvery scaled tail. When fin spines pushed out from his spine and his dorsal fin unfurled down his back and tail. When his skin itched as it hardened and cracked into tiny shimmering scales.

His fingers throbbed as they lengthened and his nails morphed into claws, and thin fleshy webbings grew between the digits; his jaws ached when his teeth lengthened and sharpened. Thick transparent membranes grew over his eyes. When the flesh over his ribcage split open on either side to let his gills emerge, the pain became too much - it always did at this stage - and he involuntarily opened his mouth to cry out.

Air escaped his lungs in a long stream of bubbles, and he took in water. His first breath underwater never failed to make him feel as though he was drowning. But before the very human instinct to struggle could set in, his gills automatically started flexing, completing his non-human respiratory system.

Fully Shifted, Kaidan floated in the water for a moment to catch his breath.

He stretched luxuriously in a moment of pure selfish indulgence. It had been too long since he assumed his true form - it was like wearing shoes a size too small and he had finally taken them off - and the relief he felt now was euphoric.

But he was on the clock, and he quickly, sternly tamped down the exhilaration and pulled his mind back to his task.

He swam up to the edge of the pool, peering furtively to make sure Ash was still focused on her task, and pulled his sealed bag of equipment into the water, slinging it across a shoulder. Then he grabbed the torch and a reel of guideline and dived back into the depths of the pool.

His plan was simple - and depended mostly on luck.

He would quickly find Ann Bryson and swim back out with her - hopefully before Ash finds a reason to shift her attention to his rescue attempt. Speed was essential to keeping his secret safe since he had promised Shepard that his crew would be safe from him. He could make Ann Bryson forget, but not Ash.

The pool was deep, but the water was exceptionally clear. With the sunlight filtering into the water, visibility was excellent, and he quickly spotted the starting end of the existing guideline. It was bright pink and tied securely around a peg hammered into the stone wall and led into an underwater tunnel that was completely dark.

Kaidan tied the free end of his guideline to the same peg. Plying out his guideline and with his torch lighting the way, he cautiously swam into the tunnel. The existing bright pink guideline marked his route, and he kept close to it as he swam as quickly as he dared through the tunnel.

Just because he was a Mer didn’t make cave diving any less dangerous. It was nothing like swimming in the open ocean. He was keenly aware that he was deep underground, and there was a massive plateau of land on top of him. It might be his imagination, but he thought he could feel the land pressing down upon him. He supposed he was lucky that the tunnel was wide enough for him to swim freely, but the water was fresh and oddly old to the taste and too still. There was no current he could use to speed up his journey.

Then there was the sand on the tunnel ground. Every move he makes churned up the water and the sand with it, drastically reducing his visibility. He had to be careful with his every stroke, making sure he generated as little current as possible.

Overall, it was a claustrophobic, nerve-racking and unpleasant swim. And he hated every minute of it.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he spotted a glow of light up ahead and it grew brighter and brighter until he emerged into another pool of clear water.

Relieved, he quickly tied off his guideline and swam up.

When he broke the surface, he found himself in another cave, smaller, but no less bright. From somewhere above, a narrow beam of sunlight penetrated the darkness, but it was not the only light source.

A natural stone plinth right next to the pool cradled another of those accursed orbs.

It was glowing brightly.

And kneeling next to it, still in her wet suit and staring straight into the orb, was Ann Bryson.

Chapter Text

“How is it, Steve?” Despite his calm demeanour, Shepard was anxious for good news.

Cortez sat back on his hunches and gave Shepard a shake of his head. “The Kodiak needs time to reboot. That EM pulse overloaded the circuits and killed the engine and the server. We’re sitting ducks till then.”

“Fuck.” Shepard swore. He turned when he heard Vega’s heavy tread and EDI’s mechanical gait approaching him.

“All transports on this site are either trashed or gone, Commander,” Vega reported. “The vorchas were thorough.”

“EDI?”

“There is a jamming field in play. The site’s communication array will not work,” EDI replied. “I myself am still unable to reconnect to the Normandy.”

Shepard’s gaze narrowed as he peered in the direction of the other site. He couldn’t see the other site from his position, but he had seen Garneau’s ship heading for it, heard the explosion and saw the same ship leaving again soon after.

Just the sight of Garneau’s ship flying clued him in that whatever had generated the EM pulse had ceased, but it didn’t mean the EM pulse generator wouldn’t be triggered again.

“This situation is similar to what happened to the Hyderabad’s camera drone,” EDI commented.

“So now what?” Vega questioned. “We can’t sit here and wait for rescue.”

“We look for orbs,” Shepard decided. “Steve, stay here with the shuttle. Once it reboots, come after us.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You think there’s an orb here?” Vega asked.

“There is,” Shepard replied surely, “and I’m betting our comms will come back on-line once we destroy it.”

In the distance, they heard the boom of a second explosion. Automatically, they all turned to look in the direction of the other archaeological site.

The explosion had echoed through the air, followed by silence.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Vega remarked.

No, it doesn’t, Shepard agreed silently. Aloud, he simply said, “move out.”

~

Ash threw the last of her grenades into the crowd of raving, vengeful vorchas, and scrambled deeper into the cave. Her jury-rigged explosives at the entrance finished its countdown and exploded with a loud bang that brought the entrance collapsing.

Coughing from the resulting dust cloud, Ash got up from where she had flung herself and squinted at the entrance. The blast had caused a rockslide that completely blocked the entrance and kept the vorchas out, but it also effectively sealed them inside the cave.

“That’ll buy us some time,” she muttered to herself. “You better come after us, skipper.”

Holstering her rifle onto her back, Ash looked around for Kaidan and wasn’t surprised to find herself alone. Chances were he was already in the underwater tunnel, swimming towards Ann’s location. There was nothing she could do now but wait.

Walking to the pool, she spotted something that made her freeze.

It was a pile of discarded armour that she immediately recognised as one of the spare sets from the Normandy’s armoury. More importantly, she recognised it as the armour Kaidan wore just a few minutes ago.

She hastily examined the pile. It wasn’t just the armour that had been discarded, there were the under armour and boots and most importantly, the sole piece of personal garment that led her to one conclusion.

Ash stared at the pool incredulously.

Was Kaidan conducting the rescue naked?!

~

Warily, Kaidan glided across the pool to where Ann Bryson was.

Ann Bryson was a slim woman in her mid-thirties and with dirty-blond hair cut in a short bob. She wasn’t beautiful and didn’t look anything like her austerely handsome father, but her features were soft and pleasant to look at. She remained frozen in the pose of someone who had knelt to examine the orb and her expression was blank, seemingly unaware of Kaidan’s presence.

“Doctor Ann Bryson?” he called cautiously.

She did not react.

“Doctor Ann Bryson, can you hear me?”

No response.

Kaidan studied the scene with a frown.

There was something very peculiar with this scene. Ann didn’t act like she had been Enthralled, but she was fixated by the glowing orb.

And the orb…

Even from his position, he could see the spider-web of large cracks covering the entirety of the orb. The cracks were long and deep, the streamers of light within the orb had a different colour from the aurora-like light he had seen in the past. They didn’t seem as green and didn’t behave like the others. In fact, Kaidan thought the light’s twisting movements seemed…erratic. What was most surprising, the orb didn’t seem to detect his presence.

It was odd, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He honestly could do without an orb hurting him.

He snapped a quick vid of the damaged orb.

“Doctor Bryson!” He tried again, louder. “Your father sent me.”

Still no reaction from her.

Keenly aware that time was slipping through his fingers, he decided he need to bring out the big guns.

Kaidan closed his eyes, turned his focus inward, and listened.

A long time ago, when he was a child, he had pestered his mother to teach him how Mer hunted humans. His mother reluctantly agreed, after making him swear to only use it when he was in dire straits.

He supposed this situation counted as dire straits.

His mother called it their hunting form. From waist-down, the Mer retained their true form, but from waist-up, they looked completely human - and supernaturally beautiful…

“The trick,” she had explained, “is to find the perfect balance between our true self and our human guise. We will never stop hearing the ocean’s song calling us home, but we also possess the desire to walk on land. When you achieve the perfect balance between these two opposing yearnings, you will attain the hunting form. But be careful, my son. When we are in our hunting form, the intensity of our beauty and charm is amplified, and we can cause grave injuries and even kill thoughtlessly.”  

It was a difficult skill to learn, and Kaidan had never quite mastered it. Under any other circumstances, he wouldn’t use it at all. But Ann Bryson was Enthralled and from his experience with Enthralled people, he figured he could use the ‘extra boost’ to free them.

Concentrating as hard as he could, he found the sweet spot after a long struggle. Breathing hard from the exertion, he glanced down at himself: his torso now looked completely human, but his fish-half remained.

Wasting no time, he swam up to the edge of the pool and hauled himself out of the water to sit on the edge next to Ann. He breathed in deeply and called, “Dr Bryson? Ann? Can you hear me?”

He received an immediate response.

A shudder went through Ann’s body, and she blinked and her mouth opened in a silent gasp, but she did not move.

There was no time to reel Ann in like he normally would. He needs to pry Ann’s attention from the orb and bind it to him as quickly as possible.

He reached out with one hand and gently grasped her chin; he carefully turned her head so she was looking at him instead. Meeting her blank gaze, he smiled at her the way he would with his targets, unleashing the full impact of his Mer charm on her even as he mentally cringed at his complete lack of finesse. His mother would be so disappointed.

“Ann? Can you hear me?”

Awareness bled into her eyes and her expression became animated. “Y-yes. Who-?”

He picked up one of her hands in his and said, “It’s time to go, Ann.”

“G-go?”

“Yes. You’ve been here too long.” He gently rubbed his thumb in assuring circles on the back of her hand. “You aren’t meant to stay here. Don’t you want to see the sun?”

“Of course…I want to. But this artefact -”

“Is not worth spending days in this cave for,” he cut her off gently.

“But it’s rare…”

Kaidan laughed - a low musical sound that caused Ann’s face to turn red and her breathing to hitch. “It’s not. There’s more of them outside, and this one isn’t going anywhere.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Come back with me, Ann. Your team is worried about you.”

“My team?” Ann blinked, her gaze clearing even more rapidly. “My team…”

“You’ve been gone too long.” Kaidan smiled charmingly at her. “I’ll make it worth your while. Besides, you can always come back here later.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Dazedly, Ann moved to jump into the pool, but Kaidan stopped her.

“Put on your diving gear, Ann.” He gently ordered.

Her movements slow, her gaze still locked with Kaidan’s as though she was afraid he would disappear if she look away, Ann clumsily put on her diving apparatus. All the while, Kaidan never broke their gazes and kept up a litany of praises to keep her attention.

He felt sweat breaking out on his forehead. Maintaining his hunting form was more tiring than he expected, and he felt his control slipping a little. His torso started to throb painfully. Thinking fast and still holding Ann’s gaze, he lowered himself back into the water just as his gills emerged once again.

“Ready to go?” he asked, bracing his arms on the edge.

“Yes.” A fully geared Ann walked to the edge of the pool.

Kaidan smoothly backed away to give her room to slide into the water. He waited until she had donned her goggles and regulator, then swam forward again to take her hand. “Follow me.”

Together, they doved into the depths of the pool.

~

In their search for a Leviathan orb, Shepard’s squad found two more severely burned bodies.

With these two bodies, Ann Bryson’s entire team was accounted for. Out of a group of twelve researchers, only three - hopefully, four - survived the feral vorchas’ attacks. He supposed their fates could be worse: being MIA - permanently.

“Shepard!”

He looked up to see Vega beckoning to him. With EDI in tow, he trotted over to Vega’s position.

“This what we are looking for?” Vega pointed to a glowing orb nestled in a small nook on the ledge they were on, right beneath another huge rock painting of a Reaper.

“Intriguing,” EDI remarked.

“What is?” Shepard questioned.

“The position of the orb beneath this fresco of a Reaper.” EDI activated her omni-tool to record it. “This entire set-up appeared to be a worship altar, as though the primitives had offered the orb to their god.”

Shepard hazily recalled the snippets of conversation he had overheard in the Mineral Labs on Mahavid about Leviathan’s apparent hatred for the Reapers. “Maybe it was.”

He palmed a grenade from his belt. “James, grenade.”

“You got it, Loco.”

Both Soldiers primed their grenades and chucked them next to the glowing orb. Then they ran for cover.

Moments later, the resulting explosion flung shattered pieces of the orb and dirt in all directions. Their comms suddenly screeching with static immediately followed on the heels of the explosion.

“Fuck!” Vega cursed, flinching in pain from the high-pitched noise.

“I believe we have succeeded in destroying the orb, Shepard,” EDI announced. She sounded pleased and relieved. “I am now reconnected to the Normandy.”

At last, something was finally going their way. Shepard wasted no time contacting his ship. “Shepard to the Normandy. Do you read me?”

“Loud and clear, Shepard. Finally.” Garrus’ voice answered.

“Garrus! You’re back on board?”

“Yes. We lost our shuttle when the EM pulse caused it to crash.” Garrus proceeded to give Shepard a quick summary of what had happened on his end, and the Commander’s brows arched up when he heard what Kaidan did.

“Why am I not surprised?” Shepard grumbled to no one in particular. “What the hell was he thinking?”

“The mission, of course,” Garrus answered. “Liara and Tali are currently flying back to their location to attempt a rescue.”

“Acknowledged, Garrus. Steve, what’s your status?”

“I’m in the air, Commander. Also, whatever you did is drawing vorchas from the ground site to our location.”

“Come pick us up.” Shepard looked around. “There’s a landing platform near our nav-point. Meet us there.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Liara, Tali, do you read me?”

“It’s good to hear your voice, Shepard,” Tali answered.

“Likewise, Tali. What’s your position?”

“A few minutes out from the ground site.”

“Stay airborne. Do not land. I’m on my way.” Shepard swiftly boarded Cortez’s shuttle with his squad on his heels. “Steve, head for the ground site.”

The flight to the ground site was quick and Cortez did a loop about the area, allowing Shepard to study the ground site.

Below them was the ground site in a box canyon. He saw the other Kodiak still burning merrily on the ground (he winced at the thought of explaining its loss to Alliance Military). Considering it was deployed with a full tank of fuel, it would continue to burn for quite some time.

The heat alone should have been an effective blockade to the large pack of vorchas lurking a short distance away from the destroyed ground site. But he saw vorchas circumvent the blockade by climbing the canyon walls to high ground and running past the burning wreck before rappelling back down into the box canyon, this time with the fire behind them. Some of them were already on the ground, grabbing and flinging away rocks from a rockslide.

“Liara, is that the rockslide blocking the cave entrance?”

“Yes.”

“Tali, get ready to land. James, show me your marksmanship. I want that area cleared for Tali’s landing.”

“You got it, Loco.”

Cortez skilfully guided the Kodiak into position and Vega and Shepard took up positions at the hatch. When EDI cycled down the top of the dutch hatch, they immediately began spraying the vorchas with bullets.

The vorchas in the landing area shrieked in fury and fired futilely up at the Kodiak before they were cut down in a hail of gunfire. Those who were at the top of the canyon walls scrambled madly to find cover or retreat to the other side of the fire.

“Coast’s clear,” Vega announced, holstering his Revenant.

“Acknowledged,” Tali said. “Proceeding to land.”

“Steve, James, I want both of you up here keeping an eye on the vorchas," Shepard ordered. "Make sure they don’t get the drop on us.”

“Yes, sir.”

“We’ll make them stay on their side,” Vega added.

“EDI, try to get Kaidan and Ash back on the comms.” Shepard released the hoist line from the ceiling of the Kodiak and clipped himself to it before lowering himself to the ground.

Upon reaching the ground, he unclipped himself from the hoist line and headed over to where Liara was, studying the rockslide. “Well?”

“I can clear the rocks with my biotics, but it’ll take some time. I don’t want to make it worse than it is.”

“Work as fast as you can, Liara. Steve has our backs.”

Liara summoned up her biotics and began the onerous task of moving the rockslide.

“Shepard,” EDI called over the comms, “I have Ash online.”

“Good work. Ash, do you read me?”

Ash’s response was staticky. “Barely, Commander.”

“I will attempt to boost the signal’s strength, Shepard,” EDI said.

“What’s your situation, Ash?”

“Safe for now… Kaidan… diving… rescue… Bryson… network… underwater tunnels linking… caves.”

Liara paused. “Kaidan went cave diving?”

“Yes.”

“That’s impossible.”

“What do you mean?” Shepard asked.

“I got more details from Hopkins before we flew back here. They only brought three sets of diving gear on this expedition. Ann Bryson had one set while the other set was brought back to the main site for a refill. The third set was also kept at the main site because it needed repair.”

“That’s why we brought our own,” Tali added.

“Are you sure, Liara?” Ash questioned. This time, everyone could hear her clearly over their comms. “Kaidan didn’t mention anything about the lack of diving equipment.”

“Perhaps Hopkins is mistaken,” EDI suggested.

Liara looked doubtful. “I don’t see how he could be mistaken about a detail like this. The main reason why they couldn’t rescue Ann is that they didn’t have a working set of diving gear.”

“We’ll know when we find Kaidan,” Shepard decided. “How much longer, Liara?”

“Just a few more minutes.”

“Steve, the vorchas?”

“Still keeping a safe distance away, Commander.”

“There!” With a mighty heave, Liara biotically flung the last few rocks away and created an opening that led into the cave. She hurried forward and peered in. Then she straightened. “Ash, step back. I’m going to push the rocks into the cave to clear the passageway.”

“Give me a second…. Okay, I’m set.”

Liara powered up her biotics, pushed the mass effect field into the opening and kept pushing. The strain was evident on her beautiful face as she kept up the shoving until Shepard heard a muffled rumble and felt the vibration through the ground as rocks tumbled inside the cave.

“We can go in now,” Liara said breathlessly.

“Take a breather. I’ll take point.” Switching on his body torch and the torch component of his rifle sight, Shepard stepped into the cave. Dust was still in the air, and he couldn’t help but started coughing. He covered his nose and mouth with one hand and moved quickly until he entered the cave itself.

He gave a cursory glance over the magnificent ancient platform altar and obelisks, more interested in making sure the people trapped inside were safe. He quickly found Ash: she was standing a safe distance away from the tumbled rocks. Behind her, he saw the archaeologists’ makeshift station.

“That was some push,” Ash remarked. “Glad I’m standing here and not there. Otherwise, I’d be thrown into the pool by those rocks.”

“Where’s Kaidan?”

Ash nodded towards the pool. “In there.”

“Are you sure he went diving? Did you see him do so?” Liara questioned.

“I don’t have to.” Ash patted the pile of Alliance armour next to her on a crate. “These are his.”

Shepard picked up the uniform top, raising an eyebrow when he saw the articles of personal clothes beneath it.

“Yeah, he’s skinny-dipping,” Ash said with a straight face.

“Doesn’t he know all Alliance hard-shell armours are dive-friendly?”

She just shrugged.

A splashing sound behind them caught their attention. Immediately, all three spun around, rifles raised and aimed at the pool.

A human figure, fully geared and wearing a diving suit, was hauling themselves out of the pool. Finally, they tore off the goggles and spat out the regulator.

Shepard had no doubt who this person was.

It was Ann Bryson.

~

Kaidan was tiring rapidly.

With Ann in tow, and he unable to Shift completely to his Mer form because he still needed to counter the orb’s influence and keep Ann’s attention bound to him, the return journey was slow and took way too long. He never had to maintain his hunting form for so long and the exertion was starting to take its toll on him. He had discarded his survival bag a while back to lighten his load and still, he was flagging fast.

He was so engrossed in maintaining his hunting form and guiding Ann to safety that he failed to notice when they reached the end of the tunnel. Blinking in surprise when he saw the sunlit pool just an arm’s length away, he cautiously peeked out and up - and hastily ducked back into the darkness of the tunnel when he spied Ash peering into the pool at the far end.

That was too close.

Why was Ash here and not keeping a lookout at the entrance? What was he going to do now? He can’t Shift to his human form underwater; he would drown.

Turning to look at Ann, he was startled to see her staring at him, her body language telegraphing horror instead. A glance at his webbed and clawed hands told him why. Distracted by his predicament, his concentration had slipped, and he had unconsciously reverted to his Mer form.

This was usually the point the Mer’s human prey realise too late they’ve been had and died.

But Ann was no prey and Kaidan was not just another Mer.

Working quickly, he caught Ann’s gaze and brought the full brunt of his charm onto her, forcibly calming her. Then he led the docile and unresisting archaeologist to the tunnel’s exit and folded her fingers about his reel of guideline.

He cautiously peered out of the tunnel again. Much to his relief, no one was at the edge of the pool. Seizing the chance, he emerged and swam for the surface, intentionally leaving Ann at the tunnel’s exit.

If he makes a break for the surface and Shifts when no one is around, he could claim to Ash that he was unable to find Ann. He knew once the effect of his charm wears off, Ann would swim for the pool’s surface as well. And since they couldn’t leave without her, they would be around to extract her. He would act surprised, and they would question Ann, but she would have no answers for them because she wouldn’t be able to remember anything about her rescue. When Charmed properly, his targets never did.

He paused in mid-swim when he felt, rather than heard the rumbling, and it grew louder and louder. He looked around, searching for the source of the noise.

Too late, he realised it was coming from above him, and he looked up to see rocks tumbling into the pool. He twisted and ducked, but the pool wasn’t large enough for him to manoeuvre and there were too many falling rocks.

A boulder struck him across the shoulders, knocking the breath out of him. Several more rocks crashed directly onto him and he cried out in pain as he was pinned to the bottom of the pool. He struggled to free himself but to no avail.

And then something slammed into his head, and everything went black.

~

Holstering his rifle, Shepard hurried over to the pool and helped pull Ann out of the water.

“Thanks,” she gasped.

“Are you Ann Bryson?” Shepard asked.

“Yes. Who are-?” Ann blinked in recognition. “Commander Shepard?”

“In person. We’re here to rescue you.”

“Rescue me?” Ann looked puzzled. “I’m not in any danger.”

“Miles Hopkins told us that they have lost contact with you,” Liara told her.

“Lost contact? I was never out of contact. I was just…” Her puzzled expression changed to bewilderment, “…just….”

“Just what, Dr Bryson?”

“…I don’t…I don’t remember.”

Shepard didn’t like the sound of that. Could there be another orb in the vicinity? “What do you remember?”

“I had dived into this pool and swam through a tunnel and…and somehow…I’m back here again.” Ann looked around. She paused when she saw the fall of rocks in the cave. “That wasn’t here when I dived.”

“It’s a recent addition,” Ash explained.

“Dr Bryson, do you remember seeing anyone else down there with you?” Shepard asked. “A rather good-looking human man.”

“Naked too,” Ash added helpfully.

Ann shook her head, her bewilderment giving way to distress. “No, I don’t remember anything after I got into the pool.”

“It’s fine.” Shepard quickly soothed Ann, seeing how agitated she was becoming, though his heart sank at her answer. “Let’s get you out of here.” He helped Ann to divest her diving apparatus. “Liara, get her to Garneau’s ship. I want her on the Normandy asap.”

“Garneau is here? Alex Garneau?” Ann asked, surprised.

“It’s a long story.” Liara gently took the confused Ann by her elbow and guided her to the cave’s entrance. “I’ll try to explain once we’re safe.”

Shepard tapped his comm. “EDI, how’s the vorchas doing?”

“They are up to something, Commander. They are not moving about as much as before. They appear to be waiting for something.”

In other words, they were running out of time.

“Acknowledged, EDI. Steve, get ready to land in a jiffy.” Shepard began sealing his armour.

“Here,” Ash trotted towards him with a set of Alliance-issued diving gear. She had taken the opportunity to run to Garneau’s ship and fetched one of their diving gears.

With Ash’s help, Shepard geared up for his dive into the pool. Once he was ready, he clipped his rifle to his chest plate and pulled on his helmet.

Ash patted him on the shoulder. “Go get him, skipper.”

They didn’t say anything that, in all likelihood, he could be retrieving a dead body.

Shepard dove feet first into the pool and immediately swam for the bottom of the pool. The water was exceptionally clear, and he saw rocks on the bottom, rocks that he recognised were from the rockslide that Liara had biotically moved. If Kaidan were somehow hit by falling rocks, he would be at the bottom of the pool.

And probably dead.

Shepard immediately pushed the thought away. Kaidan was strong and tough, there was no doubt about it. He had to be to do what he did despite being ill and injured. And he had to be alive, so they could continue where they were interrupted last night. It would be ludicrous if a rockfall cut short their blossoming relationship.

In the crystal-clear water, Shepard easily spotted a thin reddish cloud rising from one pile of fallen rocks and he made a beeline for it. As he got nearer, he spotted a man’s arm protruding from behind the pile. It was lax and floated motionlessly in the water, though its appearance seemed off.

Cold dread dropped into Shepard’s gut like a leaden weight.

Oh god, please do not let it be what it appears to be.

Hoping against hope, even though he knew no one could remain unconscious in water without drowning, Shepard swam as fast as he could around the pile of rocks for a better view and his thoughts came to a screeching halt

when instead of a human man,

he found a mermaid.

Chapter Text

At first, Shepard refused to believe what his eyes were telling him.

Mermaids don’t exist!

The fishtail was just that - a tail belonging to a large native fish accidentally crushed together with a man under the pile of rocks. It was just a pareidolic illusion to make him think he saw a mermaid.

But the closer he swam, the harder it became for him to deny the proof before his eyes.

It was a mermaid.

A real-life, honest-to-God mermaid.

And Shepard could only stare and stare, completely lost for words and action.

He had seen a lot of crazy shit since joining the Alliance Military and even more when he became a Council Spectre. Admittedly, the galaxy was vast, but he had seen and experienced so much he was quite confident in his ability to stay unfazed even amid the most outrageous of situations.

But this…!

This, he did not expect. Right before his eyes was a fairy-tale from his own backyard - made real.

He might be a spacer, but Earth had always loomed large in his upbringing, especially its oceans. Devouring texts on Earth’s oceans was his favourite pastime when he was a boy. Everything he knew about Earth’s oceans was the fruits of countless researchers’ work conducted over centuries past. While there were still places in the deep that remained unexplored, the consensus was mermaids were the products of uneducated sailors’ imagination who mistook marine animals for human-like otherworldly creatures during the Age of Sail.

But in one fell moment, his entire reality flipped upside-down.

Did the vorchas manage to get the drop on him and he’s now hallucinating? Or was this an elaborate Leviathan scheme?

Cautiously, with trepidation, Shepard approached the mermaid lying face-down, pinned to the bottom of the pool by fallen rocks. It wasn’t moving, wasn’t doing anything except to lie there, arms and hair floating in the water.

The longer he stared at the fairy-tale creature, the more he found it familiar.

Surely it couldn’t be…

Feeling as though he was in some surreal dream, Shepard slowly reached out with a tentative hand to lift the mermaid’s head and peered at its face.

The mermaid’s face was distinctly not quite human and yet, Shepard recognised him immediately. It was unmistakably Kaidan, but his features had become more angular, sharper, less human.

Shepard just gaped.

Many puzzling pieces were falling into place: Kaidan’s insistence on working alone, his ability to get people to talk with just a smile and a few words, how he had managed to destroy the orb in that Mindoir lake, his lack of diving gear, his seeming attraction to his aquarium, his seizure in his cabin last night…the list went on.

In a distant part of his mind, Shepard wondered why he wasn’t freaking out even more. It was not every day one finds their love interest to be not quite human.

“Shepard? Shepard?!”

He heard Ash calling him from somewhere far away.

Abruptly, he slapped his hand against a rock. The pain he felt through his gauntlet shocked him back to his senses.

Now was not the time to indulge in his disbelief. Now, more than anything else, he needed to keep his wits together.

“I hear you, Ash.”

“Did you find Kaidan?”

“One second.”

Carefully, he felt Kaidan’s neck for a pulse and watched his chest for movements. Or should he be watching the gills instead? He felt the goosebumps rising on his skin as he watched the gills on Kaidan’s torso flared in time with every breath he took. A human torso was not supposed to possess gills and do that.

Shepard shoved the thought away.

He interacted with aliens every day, he told himself firmly. This was nothing.

He concentrated on Kaidan’s pulse. It was steady if a little slow. And that was good enough for him. “Yeah, I found him. He’s unconscious.”

There was a long pause over the comms.

“You mean he drowned,” Ash said grimly.

“No, unconscious. It’s hard to explain. Get the emergency stretcher and the thermal blankets from the shuttle.”

“You got it, skipper.” Doubt was clear in Ash’s voice, but Shepard didn’t have time to deal with her scepticism. He was firmly in his ‘mission’ mode and that meant he had to get every member of his squad back to safety - even if one of them was something different.

The water around Kaidan’s head was tinted a reddish colour. It was blood and it was coming from his head wound. Looking down the length of Kaidan’s body, Shepard discovered that much of his tail (Kaidan had a fishtail!) was pinned under rocks.

Refusing to think about how extraordinarily life-like Kaidan’s fishtail was, Shepard pushed and shoved the rocks away until he reached the last boulder which was too heavy for him to move. He unstrapped his rifle and pressed its muzzle against the rock and opened fire. The impact of the bullets created enough momentum to move the boulder and he quickly pressed his advantage and shoved it off Kaidan’s body. Holstering his rifle, he quickly grabbed Kaidan under his arms and began hauling him to the surface of the pool.

When he broke the surface, he was confronted by Ash’s stunned expression. The water was so clear that she had immediately seen Kaidan the moment Shepard had freed him.

“Give me a hand,” he grunted as he backstroked to the pool’s edge with Kaidan cradled against his front.

Together, they dragged Kaidan’s heavy limp form onto dry land.

“Set up the stretcher,” Shepard ordered as he pulled himself out of the pool and removed his helmet.

Ash scrambled to do as she was ordered, her wide-eyed gaze frequently darting back to Kaidan. “Are you sure this is Kaidan?”

“It’s him, and he’s hurt. Steve, we’re coming out with a wounded. Get ready to land.”

“Aye, sir, but make it fast. The vorchas are definitely up to something.”

Working in unison, Shepard and Ash hastily covered Kaidan in the thermal blankets and, taking up positions at both ends of the stretcher, carried him to the cave entrance.

“Steve, we’re in position,” Shepard said.

“Touching down now.”

Peering out, Shepard saw the Kodiak making a swift but controlled descent into the space vacated by Garneau’s ship. As though the Kodiak’s descent was a signal, the vorchas surrounding them up high and in front immediately went on the attack, opening fire at the Kodiak.

The hatches opened and Vega and EDI returned fire from the hatches’ doorways. Soon, the distinct booms of the Kodiak’s cannon added to the sounds of their Revenants furiously hammering the air as hard as their suppressing fire did to the vorchas. Shepard’s people were fierce, and they made sure not to give the feral aliens chances to return fire.

“Move!” Shepard shouted.

Carrying the stretcher between them, both Soldiers dashed for the Kodiak. Awkwardly, they scrambled on board with Kaidan, quickly followed by EDI and Vega who yelled to Cortez to lift off while EDI cycled the lower half of the dutch hatches close. They continued to fire at the vorchas until they couldn’t see them anymore before ceasing fire and fully closing the hatches.

The lift-off wasn’t the smoothest Shepard had ever experienced as the Kodiak surged out of the canyon at a speed that flattened them to the deck.

Automatically, Shepard and Ash threw themselves onto the unconscious Kaidan to prevent him from sliding across the deck.

Finally, Cortez smoothed out the flight and cycled the speed down a notch. “Everyone all right back there?”

“Just peachy,” Ash replied as she sat up.

“Sorry for the rough ride. I saw the vorchas hauling a land-to-air launcher into the canyon. Had to get us out of their range as fast as possible.”

“Nothing to apologise for, Steve,” Shepard said.

“The Major’s hurt bad?” Vega asked.

“He’s unconscious.”

“I am not sure we have the Major, Shepard,” EDI said as she scanned the unconscious and covered form in the stretcher with her omni-tool.

“What do you mean?” Shepard asked sharply.

“My scans indicate that this is not a human life form.”

Ash looked askance at Shepard. “How are we going to manage this?”

Shepard didn’t hesitate. “Like all top-secret missions we have taken.” He levelled a measured steady look at his crew. “No one talk about this. Ever. Not even if you’re ordered to.”

“Marine’s honour,” Ash replied promptly.

“My lips are sealed, Loco.”

“I can’t talk about it if I can’t see or hear it,” Cortez said.

“I will encrypt the related memories immediately.”

Assured of his crew’s loyalty, Shepard pushed back the thermal blanket covering Kaidan.

Vega’s jaws dropped. “Dios mío!”

“EDI, I need to know how injured he is,” Shepard said.

“Of course, Shepard.” Non-plussed, EDI knelt to run her omni-tool over Kaidan’s unconscious form. “I am not aware that he is a shapeshifter.”

“A what?” Cortez turned to look, but he couldn’t see anything from his angle.

“La sirena,” Vega murmured in awe as he squatted down to get a closer look.

EDI studied the readouts on her omni-tool. “I do not have a baseline for his new bio-signs, but I believe he needs medical attention immediately. Some of his injuries are familiar and obvious. He has a contusion on his head and severe bruising across his shoulders and back. There is a large area on his tail where the scales have been broken. Fortunately, his…dorsal fins are intact. He appeared to have encountered with multiple falling objects.”

“The rockslide,” Ash muttered in sudden comprehension. “When Liara cleared the rockslide, a lot of the rocks tumbled into the pool.”

There was silence in the Kodiak as everyone absorbed the news and discovery that the handsome Major wasn’t entirely human.

“Now what?” Vega asked. “We can’t let people know about him, Commander. In the stories I grew up with, sirenas always end up with the short end of the sticks when they interact with humans.”

“Secrecy aside, I hazard a guess that the Major needs to be submerged in water. May I suggest we set up a temporary tank in the port cargo hold, Shepard?” EDI suggested. “It is currently only twenty percent full, and your aquarium is not big enough to contain him.”

EDI’s matter-of-fact tone of voice was a godsend right now. It helped to anchor Shepard further in the reality of the situation: one of his crew was injured and needed help. That was something he could do.

He contacted Garrus over their private comm. line. “Garrus.”

“I read you, Shepard. We’re tracking your flight path to the Normandy.”

“I need you to listen carefully, and to keep this to yourself.”

“Of course.”

“Clear the Shuttle Bay.”

“Come again?”

“Clear the Shuttle Bay, the port cargo hold and the public areas on Deck 4. No one else is to be in these areas when we arrive. Do you understand?”

“Crystal clear, Shepard,” Garrus replied, though the puzzlement was clear in his voice.

“Set up a tank of water in the port cargo hold.” Shepard glanced at Kaidan, visually estimating his size. “It has to be larger than you. The water’s salinity should be at thirty-five ppt, the temperature at around fifteen Celsius, and it also needs to be aerated.”

“Understood. But I’ll need help with the set-up.”

“Be selective with the help. I need utmost secrecy in this.”

“And you shall have it, Shepard.”

“Thanks.” Shepard tapped his comm to switch channels. “Joker, once we’re on board, set course for Arcturus. Get us there as fast as you can.”

“You got it, Commander.”

With a sigh, Shepard sat down on the deck of the Kodiak, finally taking a moment to just breathe. This day was turning out to be extraordinary and keeping up with it was just draining.

Vega’s face was filled with awe and fascination as he hunkered down across from Shepard. “They actually exist.”

“You’re taking this rather well,” Ash observed.

“I grew up on a beach. My uncle used to tell me tales of sea monsters when I was a kid. La sirena was one of those tales.”

“And you believed the stories.”

“Why not? Once upon a time, people used to think aliens are fictional and look at where we are now. So why can’t the creatures of our myths and fairy tales be real?”

Why not indeed?

None of them spoke for the rest of the short tense flight back to the Normandy.

When Cortez had finished docking the Kodiak, Vega hopped out and did a quick circuit around the Shuttle Bay before jogging back to the Kodiak. “All clear!”

Shepard heaved himself onto his feet. “EDI, go to the port cargo hold. I need that tank set up properly.”

“At once, Shepard.”

“Ash, you and I will carry Kaidan there. Steve, James…” Shepard’s voice trailed off. He wasn’t sure how to phrase his order.

Luckily, Cortez and Vega knew him well enough to know what he wanted.

“Don’t worry, Commander,” Cortez spoke up. “We’ll cover everyone’s tracks.”

“Thanks. Let’s go, Ash.”

Extra hands made manoeuvring the stretcher containing Kaidan quick and easy work. With Shepard in the lead, he and Ash carried Kaidan to the elevator.

EDI must have quietly taken control of the elevator. Its doors were open, waiting for their entry, and did not need any prompting to close once they were in, and it swiftly took them to Deck 4.

Despite the short notice, Garrus came through for Shepard. The turian had managed to find a crate - transparent even - and converted it into a make-shift tank. A portable control console was set up next to it and EDI was checking the readouts on it while Tali monitored the power flow. Garrus was hooking an air pump set to the tank and Liara was scanning the water with her omni-tool.

They all looked up when Shepard and Ash entered with their burden.

“What is going on, Shepard?” Liara asked. “Why do we need to…” Her voice trailed off in astonishment when Shepard and Ash set down their burden on the deck.

The cargo hold went deadly silent, and the non-humans stared when they got their first look at the chimeric form of the supposedly human Kaidan.

Garrus’s mandibles flared as he sniffed the air. “Is that…Kaidan?”

“Yes. I’ll explain later. EDI, report.”

“The tank is set up according to aquarium standards for Earth-based marine life. Without any pertinent data, I can only make an educated guess as to its suitability for Kaidan.”

“We would just have to keep an eye on it.” Hooking Kaidan’s arm over his shoulder and with Ash supporting his tail, Shepard swiftly carried him to the tank and carefully deposited him into the water.

The moment he placed Kaidan into the water-filled tank, the unconscious mermaid inhaled deeply and began to breathe easily. The lines of strain etched in Kaidan’s face smoothed out and his body relaxed. Unconsciously, he turned in the water and rested on his side.

Shepard breathed out a sigh of relief.

So far so good.

Turning around, he was confronted by the questioning looks on his non-human friends’ faces. Unlike his human friends, they were more curious than shocked.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but humans can’t shapeshift, can they?” Garrus asked.

“What is he, Shepard?” Fascinated, Tali peered curiously at the tank. “I’ve never seen anyone like him before. Have you, Liara?”

“Not at all.”

“He’s a mermaid. You can look that up on the extranet. Any questions, ask only me. My order on secrecy stands. Nobody talks about him to anyone. Period. If word gets out that he is a mermaid, he will be hunted for the rest of his life. Do you understand?”

His friends nodded.

“Commander,” EDI spoke up, “it may be wise to have Dr Chakwas examine him. It is unusual and concerning for anyone to be unconscious for so long.”

Shepard grimaced. “If she examines him, there will be records.”

“Dr Chakwas is understanding. She will be helpful in the fabrication of a good cover story for Major Alenko’s current predicament.”

“EDI’s right,” Garrus said. “Kaidan’s getting comfortable with the crew. If he doesn’t show up and mingle with them after this ground mission, they will start asking questions. It’ll be impossible to keep his condition a secret then.”

EDI and Garrus had a point, Shepard admitted to himself. It was clear Kaidan didn’t want anyone to know about his secret, and Shepard was empathetic enough to understand why and decent enough to help him to keep it. On a ship the size of a shoebox, having the Chief Medical Officer’s cooperation would be essential. But he was sure Kaidan wouldn’t be happy about it.

Mentally apologising to Kaidan, he asked Dr Chakwas to join them after swearing her to secrecy as well.

Dr Chakwas was a seasoned military doctor, having seen a lot of craziness in her extensive career as a military doctor in the field. Her decades of field experience had tempered her into a collected, no-nonsense and dignified doctor, but even she could not disguise her shock and awe when she saw Kaidan.

“How is this possible?” she asked, automatically approaching Kaidan to examine him.

“I don’t know.” Shepard was rapidly getting very tired of people’s reactions. “He’s hurt. Can you treat him?”

Dr Chakwas mulled over the question for a long while. “I’m not a vet, Shepard. This is out of my field. His bio-signs are completely different from what’s in his file. I don’t even know if human medicine will work on him or injure him further.”

“Including medi-gel?”

“Medi-gel doesn’t work in water. I will have to wait for him to wake before I can proceed with any treatment. He’ll be the best person to advise me on what will work on him.” She turned to face him, her expression grave. “I take it you’re keeping this under wraps?”

Shepard nodded.

“Best way to go about it is to put him in quarantine.”

“Is his condition contagious?” Tali asked.

“It’s not a condition or contagious, Tali. He’s born a mermaid. The quarantine is to help Kaidan keep his secret. I’m sure he wouldn’t appreciate this getting out. I’ll log it as a medical precaution. Since the Major has swum in alien water, standard decontamination procedure may not be enough. That should be good enough for a reason.”

“That is a good idea,” Liara said.

It was the best idea ever and Shepard embraced it wholeheartedly. “Let’s get it done. Except for Dr Chakwas and myself, no one else should have access to this room.”

Chapter Text

The day was old by the time Shepard finished quarantining the port cargo hold, but it was not over by a long shot.

He quickly refreshed himself, pulled on his civvies and N7 jacket, and grabbed a hot meal before heading to the Med-Bay to get an update on his newest guests.

“How are Ann Bryson and her colleagues doing?” he asked Dr Chakwas.

“Save for a brief memory loss, Dr Bryson is otherwise uninjured and can be discharged. Hopkins and Boyles have minor injuries and are rather traumatised. I like to keep them for overnight observation, just to give them time and privacy to recover. But Kirkwood needs a hospital. He’s extremely critical. His bullet wound had turned septic. I’ve given him antibodies and put him on an IV drip, but the next forty-eight hours are crucial. If he pulls through, he may live to tell the tale.”

“We’re flying to Arcturus as fast as we can, Dr Chakwas, but it will take four days. Do your best.”

“Of course, Shepard.”

Shepard moved over to where Ann Bryson was sitting, gazing worriedly at Kirkwood through the ICU screens that partitioned his medical bed from the rest of Med-Bay. “Dr Bryson?”

Ann rose from her seat. “Please, just call me Ann. ‘Dr Bryson’ is my father.”

“Dr Chakwas said you can be discharged from Med-Bay. I’m sure you have questions.”

“Hopkins and Boyles have told me what happened to our dig sites and the rest of my team. I’m still trying to come to terms with it.”

“My crew has set up temporary bunks for you and your colleagues in the Starboard Observation Lounge. How about we grab some coffee and adjourn there and I try to answer your questions?”

Ann hesitated. Her worried gaze darted back to Kirkwood.

“Dr Chawkas is keeping a close watch on him,” Shepard pointed out gently. “If there are any changes, she’ll let you know.”

“All right,” she agreed reluctantly. “Lead the way, Commander.”

When they were settled in the Starboard Observation Lounge, Ann said to Shepard, “thank you for rescuing us. I never expected the vorchas to attack.”

“Hopkins said they usually avoid the area you were excavating in?”

“Yes. The Namakli vorchas believe that area to be cursed. They say something ancient and powerful sleeps there and must never be awakened. They didn’t bother my dad when he excavated there about twenty years ago, so I thought they would leave us alone. I was so wrong.”

“Is it common for archaeologists to revisit excavation sites?”

“Yes. Especially if there’s new information that will give us a new perspective on the research.” Ann shook her head ruefully. “I didn’t think the vorchas would be so intimidated by the place that they were willing to venture into it to kill the intruders and pacify the curse. If you hadn’t shown up, I think all of us would be dead.”

“The Normandy didn’t come across your distress beacons by chance,” Shepard said.

“What do you mean?”

“We came looking for you.”

“Me? Why?”

Here comes the part Shepard hated the most and it never got easier. “Ann, before I proceed any further, I have some bad news for you. I’m afraid your father is dead. I’m sorry.”

She stared at him blankly. “He’s…what? Dead? He can’t be dead.”

“Admiral Hackett sent me and a colleague to meet your father on the Citadel. We’d hoped to find out more from him about an orb we discovered. But when we got there, he had been murdered and his data drives missing.”

“Who did it?” Ann asked numbly. “Who killed my father?”

“It was Leviathan.”

“What? How?”

In careful detail, Shepard told Ann how her father had died and why he was killed. It was a long telling and when he was done, their forgotten coffee have gone cold and Ann looked stricken and overwhelmed.

“I can’t believe this.” She stood up and began pacing agitatedly. “I can’t…You’re saying - telling me that a mysterious ancient alien from the past controlled Hadley and used him to murder my father? For his data drives? And that it controlled a whole bunch of miners and had them killed Garneau too? But they are extinct!”

“Your father believed they still live.”

“My father has believed that since his Namakli excavation even though he has no proof.”

“Your father might be right in this instance,” Shepard said. “Are you aware of the Leviathan’s orb he had in his possession?”

“Yes. We found another one just like it at the cliff site. Quite exciting actually. It wasn’t there during my father’s excavation.”

“Just that one? Is there anywhere else on Namakli that you might’ve stumbled across another orb?”

“No, the orb at the cliff site was the only one we found. Why?”

“This is just a theory right now, but your lack of memory about your cave dive is one of the hallmarks of an orb being actively used by Leviathan. I suspect you found another orb and it enthralled you. What do you remember about your dive?”

Ann frowned. “Nothing. Just being alone somewhere cold and dark and wet.”

“Did you feel as though there was something huge and ancient there with you?”

She shook her head. “It was just me. I’m sure of it.”

That was odd. Ann’s experience was different from the others he had come across. Shepard filed it away; he would have to ask Kaidan if he knew anything about what happened to Ann.

On her part, Ann raked a hand through her hand, completely distressed. “I-I can’t deal with this now. I want to go to my father’s home.”

“I’m sorry, but that’s not possible at the moment.”

“What? Why?”

“Do you know your father’s encryption code?”

“I’m not well-versed in it. It’s complex and I haven’t used it in years. How did you know about it?”

“In his last message to Admiral Hackett, your father told him that he knew how to stop Leviathan but the information is encoded in his data drives,” Shepard explained. “We need you to decode them and find that piece of information.”

“So where are you taking me?” she demanded upset.

“To Arcturus, to meet with Admiral Hackett.”

“But what about my father? His research? His home? I need to see to them!”

“I know. I understand. But until we neutralise Leviathan, we need to keep you safe. And we need your help to stop them.” Shepard got up and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I promise you: when this is over and you are safe, I’ll personally escort you to your father’s home.”

Ann fell silent. It was clear from her expression that she didn’t like the situation.

“Look at it this way, the quicker we can stop Leviathan, the sooner I can escort you to your father’s home.”

“All right. I’ll hold you to that promise.” Ann’s voice began to wobble. “I’m sorry, but I like to be alone now, please.”

Solemnly, Shepard left the Starboard Observation Lounge. Just before the door slid close, he heard Ann start sobbing.

~

That night, Shepard let out a groan of relief as he slumped down on his couch and shut his eyes. What a day it had been and he was so done with it.

Then his door chime sounded and he groaned out loud again. Seems like the day wasn’t quite done with him.

“Who is it, EDI?”

“Liara, Garrus and Tali are requesting entrance, Shepard. They come bearing alcohol.”

He could use some of that right now.

“Let them in.”

The door slid open.

“Shepard?” Liara called.

“Down here,” he said tiredly.

His friends came down the steps.

Tali took one look at his tired countenance and said, “See, Garrus? I was right. Shepard needs a drink.”

“I would have turned you away if you’re here for other reasons.” Without opening his eyes, Shepard flapped a hand aimlessly in the air. “Sit wherever you want. Just pour me a shot of whatever you’re drinking, Liara. I’m too tired to be picky.”

“It’s asari honey mead,” she replied as she poured out a finger of the liquor into each shot glass. “It’s all I have at the moment.”

Mustering up the energy, Shepard sat up and picked up his shot glass of mead. They toasted each other and he threw back his drink. For a long moment, they sat there in companionable silence, unwinding from the day’s stress.

“Today almost turned into a clusterfuck,” Shepard said suddenly.

“But it didn’t,” Garrus countered promptly. “You were on top of things.”

“We were on top of things,” he corrected. “But we got lucky too. We might have been prepared for the feral vorchas’ hostility, but not a single one of us anticipated the EM pulse - and we already knew about that. That’s inexcusable. It’s just sheer luck that the orb emitted only one pulse before we destroyed it.”

He groaned again. “Oh god, the paperwork for a new Kodiak. Did you really have to trash it, Garrus?”

“It was either that or let a military vessel fall into enemies’ hands.”

“Well, you handle the paperwork and it better be good. I’m not looking forward to tussling with Requisition.”

“Ash told me what happened. I feel responsible for what happened to Kaidan,” Liara said quietly.

“It’s not your fault,” Tali said firmly. “It was an accident.”

“Kaidan won’t blame you,” Shepard added, “so don’t dwell too much on it.”

“I hope so,” Liara sighed. “Did Ann Bryson tell you anything, Shepard?”

Shepard gave them a quick rundown of his conversation with her.

Liara listened quietly, her lips pursed thoughtfully. “So she was investigating Leviathan, just like her father. I thought so as much.”

“What do you mean?” Tali asked.

“I’ve briefly looked through the vids Shepard and EDI took of the rock paintings. Something about those paintings struck me as odd. They are too recent.”

“Too recent?” Shepard repeated. “They look pretty ancient to me.”

“They are - by our standard. But the Protheans eradicated the Reapers fifty thousand years ago at the end of their cycle. No rock painting exposed to the elements could have weathered the long length of time and remained relatively whole. At the very most, I put the rock paintings at around three thousand years old.”

“Old by our standard, but not on the galactic time scale.” Shepard mused. “Namakli’s primitives couldn’t have worshipped the Reapers. They must have worshipped Leviathan instead.”

“Which means Leviathan was on Namakli, after all,” Garrus added.

“It seems Dr Bryson’s theory that they are still alive is correct,” Liara said.

“Wait a minute. If we mistook that cave drawing as a Reaper, doesn’t it also mean that the Reapers had processed some of the Leviathan into cyborg husks at some point?” Tali pointed out.

Liara looked thoughtful. “They would most likely be the very first true Reapers. Those ships are older than any other Reapers archaeologists have found.”

“But that doesn’t make sense. If those Leviathan-shaped Reapers are the oldest, then it couldn’t be the Reapers who processed them,” Garrus pointed out. “Something else must have made the Reapers.”

“Does it matter?” Shepard asked with a touch of impatience. “We’re not dealing with the Reapers. It’s Leviathan we’re fighting against. I think we should be more concerned as to why they’re on Namakli and if they are still there.

Ann said she couldn’t remember her cave dive. She only remembered being alone in a dark, cold and wet place, which is very different from the other accounts we knew of. Kaidan needs to wake soon; I need him to confirm if she had been Enthralled by an orb.”

Liara poured herself another shot of mead. “Maybe. But there’s another possibility. Remember what I told you about Kaidan’s ability to remain invisible despite being a looker?”

Shepard remembered the conversation, though it felt like it happened a lifetime ago. “You think he has something to do with Ann’s loss of memory?”

“Glyph found a lot of information on the extranet about mermaids. It’s a very human myth, and there’s a great deal of varied and contradictory details about them. However, it is generally agreed that mermaids are usually female, very beautiful and they can bewitch human males with their looks and voices. Put together with his track records, I think he could’ve bewitched Ann and made her forget.”

“To what purpose?” Garrus asked.

“To keep his secret? To get information from her? Could be either or both.”

Immediately, Shepard flashed back to the Minerals Lab and the motel on the Citadel and he swore briefly. “So that was what he was doing.”

Liara gave him a quizzical look.

“At the motel on the Citadel,” he explained without missing a beat. He decided not to mention the Mineral Labs to anyone. That was between him and Kaidan.

Garrus caught on immediately. “Oh.”

“Mind filling me in?” Tali asked.

Shepard obliged. “We tracked down a person of interest to a motel on the Citadel. We needed to know which room he was staying in but the receptionist was uncooperative. Kaidan charmed the information out of her, and Garrus and I were affected as well.”

Tali turned to her turian boyfriend. Despite the opaqueness of her helmet, Shepard could sense the unimpressed stare she gave Garrus. “You fell for a human man’s charm?”

“He wasn’t charming me. He was charming the receptionist. I just got caught by accident,” Garrus explained reasonably.

And that was the wrong thing to say, Shepard thought. He silently wished Garrus all the best.

“You fell for a human man’s charm by accident?” Tali repeated flatly.

“That’s not what I mean,” Garrus replied hastily. “He’s just really good at what he does.”

Liara looked archly at him. “Really, Garrus? You’re blaming Kaidan now?”

“I’m not, Liara. He is who he is and I’m fine with that. But what he did was…Tali, believe me, it was really accidental. You have to experience it for yourself to understand how it felt.”

Tali gave him a long measuring look. “We’ll talk about this later.”

Garrus let out a silent exhale of relief.

“Let’s not talk about the mission,” Liara changed the subject. “How are you feeling, Shepard?”

“Honestly? I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.” Shepard toyed with his glass pensively. “A fairy-tale made real? The very idea sounds like a fairy-tale.”

“It sheds light on his reputation for working solo missions.”

“It’s not hard to understand he chose to be alone to protect his secret,” Shepard said glumly. “Which makes me wonder if a fling is all he’s after.”

“He seems genuinely interested in you,” Tali said. “You should have seen his expression when we teased you about the kiss over the comms. He was completely red in the face, yet smiling.”

Shepard perked up. “Yeah?”

Tali nodded solemnly.

“Shepard, why is Kaidan being a mermaid such a big deal among humans?” Garrus asked.

“Because they’re myths and fairy-tales. Creatures that aren’t supposed to exist, are made up by sailors who were just beginning to explore the Earth’s oceans many centuries ago. Or so our science claims.”

“What will happen if they proved to be real?”

“I can think of many consequences, none good for him and those like him. We humans aren’t good at sharing our planet with another race as intelligent as us. While there will be those who will advocate mutually beneficial co-existence, the unscrupulous will try to hunt and capture them.”

“To what purposes?” Tali asked.

“To traffics them as exotic pets, or as snake-oil remedies, or to sell them for experiments. Or to simply kill them outright.”

“That’s awful.”

“It is,” Shepard agreed. “It’s not difficult to guess why he keeps his origins a secret.”

“I must say he does a very good job of hiding in plain sight,” Garrus said. “But if you humans have possessed a keener sense of smell, he may not escape notice so easily and for so long.”

“What do you mean?”

“His scent has an…additional dimension to it. It’s subtle. I only noticed it during our first dinner because there was only a handful of us and I knew everyone else. When you brought him back from Namakli, I could smell he was still Kaidan but the…human-ness of his scent had completely vanished, and that underlying dimension became the only scent note I can smell.”

That was news to Shepard. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t think much of it. You humans are so diverse and varied, I thought it’s just another quirk in human biology.”

“Well, I hope he will continue to trust us,” Tali said. “I’d hate for him to distance himself because he can’t trust us to keep his secret.”

“I hope so too,” Shepard said.

That night, when he took to his bed, he turned and tossed for a long time, unable to get to sleep.

The thought of Kaidan sleeping all alone in quarantine plagued him. They needed to maintain the farce to help Kaidan keep his secret, but Shepard didn’t like the idea of him waking up all alone in a cold, empty cargo hold. He was bound to be scared when he realises his secret was out, and there was nothing in that room to convince him that he wasn’t being imprisoned.

Well, fuck it.     

Tossing back the blanket, Shepard got up.

A glance at the clock showed that the ship was deep in its night cycle. Which meant minimal crew was up and about.

He donned his hoodie and sweatpants, fished out his rarely used sleeping bag and left his cabin.

Entering the cargo hold, Shepard spread out his sleeping bag on the deck next to the tank and laid down. The deck was hard and the cargo hold colder than his cabin. But as long as he kept himself zipped up in his sleeping bag, he should be fine.

He turned to look at Kaidan who was sleeping on his side facing him, his head resting on his folded arm. This close, he could study Kaidan’s sleeping form at his leisure.

Shepard marvelled at the oddly harmonious blend of human and alien influences in Kaidan’s features. Despite his not-quite-human appearance, he was still instantly recognisable as Kaidan and was just as handsome as he was in his human form. 

Guess the legends about mermaids’ beauty were true.

Curious, his gaze drifted down Kaidan’s body.

In this form, the Major was silvery-pale and the human part of him seemed to shimmer subtly under the lights. Shepard could make out the sheen of tiny scales covering Kaidan’s human torso, and how the scales blended smoothly into the silver-grey fish part of him.

Upon closer inspection of Kaidan’s fins, Shepard discovered another interesting trait.

Mermaid Kaidan was a predator.

There were no frills to his fins - dorsal and tail - and his form was streamlined. He remembered seeing Kaidan’s dorsal fin lying flat against his back, but Shepard was sure it could be raised like a sail. And if he needed further evidence of Kaidan’s predatory nature, he had claws and Shepard could see the tips of sharp teeth poking out from behind his lips.

A predatory mermaid. Who would have expected it?

Clearly, the fairy tales he grew up with had been sanitised to an inch of their lives.

With a sigh, Shepard made himself comfortable, shut his eyes and relaxed.

And sleep came quickly and easily.

Chapter Text

11 - 12 October 2186

On route to Arcturus Station

Kaidan woke up stiff, sore, and aching. He winced when he turned his head and the movement sent sharp spikes of pain shooting through his head. Groggily, he reached up to feel the side of his head –

- and his elbow hit against a hard solid barrier.

He snapped awake right away.

Kaidan twisted about, his gaze darting everywhere frantically as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. What he saw made his heart rate speed up.

He was in a tank! Filled with water!

Panicked, he groped wildly for the surface of the water.

Why was he in a water tank?! Where the hell was he?!

His hands finally finding purchase at the top of the tank, Kaidan hastily hauled himself up into a half-sitting, half-floating position. Water sloshed out of his tank and onto the deck, but he ignored the mess as he looked around wildly.

Metal deck and bulkheads of a ship surrounded him. He was all alone in a windowless room he didn’t recognise. But he could hear the hum of the Normandy’s drive core, felt the ship’s distinctive mass effect field in play, which meant he was on board the Normandy. But where in the ship was he? He didn’t know this part of the ship. He had never seen it before.

How had he gotten on board? How did he get here?

When his eyes fell onto the door with its glowing red haptic lock - the red lock a sign that the door could not be open without authorisation - the terror became a real beast that seized him by the throat.

Shit, they knew. They knew! What was he going to do now?!

Charm them, he thought desperately. Get out of here and charm them. Break his promise to Shepard and make them forget. All of them.

Wait. EDI is a synthetic, immune to his charm. She would know what he had done. She would stop him.

Shit, shit, shitshitshit...

Kaidan trembled, the terror tearing through him like a tsunami. This was his nightmare made real. His secret was out, and he was now imprisoned because of it. And he didn’t know what to do.

The door slid open.

His wide terrified gaze snapped to it instantly.

It was Shepard.

They stared at each other for a long while.

“You’re awake,” Shepard said at last.

He took a step forward and Kaidan unthinkingly recoiled, snarling, teeth bared and clawed hands raised defensively.

Shepard froze.

Kaidan hissed at him in warning even as his thoughts raced frantically.

Has Shepard hidden him? What was he planning to do to him? Surely, Shepard wouldn’t betray his trust, right? He couldn’t be like Johann, right? He couldn’t have been so wrong in his judgment again; he couldn’t have been.

“Easy, Kaidan, easy.” Slowly, very slowly, Shepard squatted down a respectful distance away, making sure to keep his hands in plain view. “I know you are scared now. But you don’t have to be. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just going to stay here and talk to you. Is that all right with you?”

Kaidan pressed up against the far side of the tank as much as he could, never taking his eyes off Shepard. How would he know Shepard wouldn’t hurt him? Especially now when Shepard knew what he was.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Shepard repeated gently. He raised his hands, palms open. “I know you’re thinking ‘what am I going to do with this leverage over you?’ Well, I’m not going to use it. I know you probably find that hard to believe but trust me. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Why-“ Kaidan swallowed hard and tried again, “why should I believe you?”

“Do you remember what you told me that night we made out? You said you’re sure I wouldn’t betray your trust.” Shepard looked at him full in the eye. “And I won’t. You have my word.”

“What do you want from me in return?”

“Nothing,” Shepard replied immediately. “I want to help you. Let me help you?”

Kaidan searched Shepard’s face for any signs that he was lying, but the Commander’s expression was open and sincere. Shepard was convincing, yet at the same time, Kaidan was keenly aware he had little choice but to trust the Commander to honour his word, and he hated that.

Still shaky and tense, he asked instead, “What happened?”

“You were hurt rescuing Ann Bryson, do you remember that? Back in that cave pool on Namakli?”

Hesitatingly, Kaidan dipped his chin slightly in a nod.

“Ash collapsed the cave’s entrance to keep the vorchas out. When we arrived, Liara had to use her biotics to clear the way. Some of the rocks tumbled into that pool and one of them must have hit you on the head. You were unconscious and pinned under those rocks. I had to dive in, get you out and bring you back to the Normandy.”

Shepard gestured to the room. “This is Normandy’s port cargo hold. It’s the only place empty enough to set up a tank of water and give you the privacy you need while you heal. Dr Chakwas enacted the ship’s quarantine protocols, so no one will barge in on you unannounced.”

He smiled wryly at Kaidan. “I don’t think you want everyone on board to know about you, and my aquarium isn’t big enough for you.”

Kaidan stared warily at Shepard.

He didn’t know what to make of Shepard’s unfazed attitude. It wasn’t what he expected. Hell, he didn’t know what to expect, but Shepard’s calm, easy acceptance wasn’t it. But it did what he couldn’t manage to do: push back the near-overwhelming terror just a little bit and return a precious smidge of clarity to him.

All his instincts screamed at him to get out of this tank. He didn’t want to spend another minute longer in it. He badly wanted, no, needed to be on his feet. He had to protect himself, nip this crisis in the bud and put himself in a position to do something if things backfire on him.

“Turn around,” he said, feeling too exposed and vulnerable to Shift in front of Shepard’s eyes.

Obligingly, Shepard turned his back on Kaidan.

And Kaidan closed his eyes and focused inward. He had always found conscious Shifting to his human form easier; his yearning to walk was always accessible and within reach. So, he reached within himself and -

Nothing happened.

His brows furrowed. He concentrated harder.

Still nothing.

He tried again. And again.

The yearning was there, but he couldn’t touch it. His body refused to Shift.

Kaidan stared down at his body in renewed terror and disbelief.

“Can I turn around now?” 

His terrified gaze snapped up to Shepard. That’s it. It must be him. Shepard must have done something to him. “What did you do to me?”

Shepard did turn back to look at him, his expression puzzled. “What?”

“What did you do to me?!” His voice rose hysterically with every word.

Shepard took a step towards him, concerned. “What? What’s wrong?”

“I can’t Shift!” He all but screamed.

Shepard must have done something to him while he was unconscious. He must have, he must have. And he was trapped, trapped, trapped, and surrounded at all sides by people he realised he shouldn’t have trusted (again).

Suddenly, it became all too much.

This damn mission had been a personal trial right from the beginning. His fights with Leviathan, the stress from trying to counter their moves while fearing their plans for him, the constant vigilance he had to maintain around the crew while interacting with them, the worry that he would slip up badly enough just once and everything he had worked so hard to achieve would be flushed down the drain.

And now that he had slipped - oh God, oh GodohGodohGod-

Everything just became all too much to bear.

His biotic aura snapped into existence, blazing a fierce blue. Rearing up as tall as he could manage, Kaidan snarled at Shepard, “What did you do?! I can’t Shift!”

“Calm down, Kaidan. You need to cal -”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Blinded by terror and fury, he unleashed the full strength of his Mer charm. “What did you do?!”

Shepard’s knees buckled and slammed onto the deck.

“Stop!” Shepard managed to force the word out through gritted teeth. His body swayed forward but he managed to push himself upright with an arm.

“Tell me!”

“I-Nothing! I did nothing! Argh - stop!”

Suddenly, the air vents in the ceiling hissed and spewed a white gas into the cargo hold.

Kaidan caught sight of the invasive gas and went ballistic. He screamed in pure animalistic fury and lunged for Shepard, clawed hands outstretched.

The door slid open and EDI and Garrus rushed in. While EDI kept her tranq gun aimed at Kaidan, Garrus bodily hauled Shepard upright and dragged him from the cargo hold.

The door slammed shut, cutting off the horrible sounds of Kaidan’s screaming.

Outside in the corridor, Dr Chakwas was waiting.

“Sit him down,” she ordered and immediately began to examine the nearly insensate Commander.

“Shepard, can you hear me?” Garrus gently smacked his best friend’s face. “Come on, answer me or I’ll slap you around for the entire day.”

Shepard stirred. He groaned and pushed away Garrus’ hand. “Your bedside manners suck. Wha-?”

“Dr Chakwas and I have been monitoring Kaidan’s condition remotely,” EDI explained calmly. “The monitors alerted us to his agitation, and we intervened accordingly. The sedative gas should render him unconscious momentarily.”

Dr Chakwas pulled a wet wipe from her kit and handed it to Shepard. “For your nose.”

It was only then Shepard became aware that he could taste blood. He began wiping the blood from his nose.

“Your brainwaves, blood pressure and stress hormones are extremely elevated,” the doctor announced with concern. “I need to get you to the Med-Bay.”

“What happened in there?” Garrus demanded.

“He said he can’t shift.” Suddenly drained, Shepard leaned his head back against the bulkhead. “I think he found out he can’t transform, and it set him off.”

“Not difficult to see why he panicked,” Dr Chakwas said. “That half-fish form is his prison in space. He’s completely dependent and at the mercy of everyone else.”

“‘Panicked’ is an understatement. Try ‘full meltdown’.” Shepard got up with Garrus’ help, stumbling a little as his head swam. “How long has it been?”

“Five point one minutes,” EDI answered. “His bio-signs have dropped to ranges akin to sleeping. I am currently cleansing the air.”       

Soon, EDI declared it was safe to enter.

The cargo hold was a mess: shattered pieces of crates strewn everywhere - results of Kaidan having used his biotics - and puddles of water on the deck. Kaidan himself laid sprawled on the deck in an unconscious heap, still in his mermaid form.

Fearlessly, Shepard hurried over to his side and gently rolled him over. To his relief, Kaidan appeared unharmed. He was out cold, though his gills still flared rapidly. His complexion was colourless, and his lips tinged grey.

Shepard quickly and carefully picked up Kaidan from the deck and returned him to the tank. He didn’t take his eyes off Kaidan, closely watching his breathing to make sure it was easy and free.

Dr Chakwas joined Shepard at the tank and scanned Kaidan with her omni-tool. “Breathing is elevated, so is his heart rate - most likely from adrenaline. I don’t think the knock-out gas has affected him adversely, but I will keep monitoring his condition. As for his blood sugar level…it’s hard to gauge without a baseline, but it’s low for a human biotic. I’ll set up an IV line for glucose. I don’t know if it’s safe but right now, I think he’s in danger of crashing. As for you, Commander, go wait for me in the Med-Bay.”

“I will after we settle him.”

“Don’t be stubborn, Shepard.” Garrus chided. “You don’t know what Kaidan did to you. The last thing we need is you being unable to perform your duty. I’ll get Vega and Ash to help clean up this mess.”

Shepard hesitated.

“He will be fine, Commander.” Dr Chakwas assured him. “Go wait for me in the Med-Bay. If you collapse because you’re being stubborn, Kaidan will probably feel guilty too.”

Finally giving in, Shepard stepped away from the tank. “Only people who know, Garrus.” He reminded his best friend.

“Of course, Shepard.”

Much later, in the Med-Bay, Shepard sat as still as he could while Dr Chakwas examined him.

“Do you know what he did to you?” she asked. “On my monitor screen, I didn’t see him touching you, but you went down anyway.”

Shepard thought about it. “I can’t remember clearly, but I think there was something in his voice. He demanded to know what I did to him, and I felt a compulsion to answer him.”

“Did you give in to that compulsion?”

“I think I did,” Shepard answered honestly. “It was hell resisting it.”

“How did it feel?”

“It felt - excessive like I was being physically bludgeoned on the head.”

Dr Chakwas was quiet as she mulled over the information. “I’ve been doing some reading on mermaids. It appears the myths about their siren charm are true.”

“So, he used his charm to whammy me?”

“Not quite how I’ll describe it, but yes.” Dr Chakwas stepped back. “Well, your scans came back negative, but I want to schedule you for regular check-ups until I can be sure there are no lasting effects from being whammied.”

“Understood, doc.” Shepard got up. “Let me know when he wakes. I want to be there.”

“Perhaps EDI should be there instead.”

“No,” he said immediately. “This is between him and me.”

“All right, but we will be watching.”

“Of course.”

~

When Kaidan woke again, he felt exhausted, weak and nauseated, and his head throbbed painfully.

It took a while for him to remember where he was and what happened the last time he was awake, and he couldn’t help but cringe at the memory.

Christ, he had reacted so badly.

And Shepard, oh god, what has he done to him? Is he all right?

Looking up through the water, he saw his right hand had been strapped to the side of the tank, keeping it above the water line. There was an IV catheter taped to the back of his hand and it was hooked up to an IV stand.

Awkwardly, he struggled to pull himself upright in the tank and looked around.

He was alone.

Which didn’t surprise him - not after the full-blown panic-induced hysterics he threw. He activated his omni-tool but hesitated. Should he call Shepard? Will he answer? Will he want to answer?

Kaidan looked up when the door slid open and the man himself entered.

Again, they stared at each other for a long moment.

The guilt and mortification grew too much to bear, and Kaidan had to blurt out, “Sorry!”

“You’re not going to freak out again, are you?” Shepard asked warily.

“No.” Kaidan hesitated and then asked meekly, “How badly…did I hurt you?”

“Nothing permanent. It passed very quickly, whatever you did to me.” Shepard calmly approached him.

Kaidan couldn’t help himself. He shied away from Shepard’s approach - or as much as he could in the narrow tank. “Don’t come near me.”

Shepard stopped.

“Keep your distance.”

“Kaidan, I’m not going to hurt you,” Shepard said gently. He closed the distance very slowly and knelt before the skittish mermaid. “I’ll say this as many times as you need me to - I won’t betray your trust in me.”

“Trust is an unreliable commodity,” Kaidan whispered. Why had he forgotten that?

“And yet you trust me enough to make out with me.” Shepard extended an open hand to Kaidan. “Can you trust me to help you?”

Kaidan stared at him for a long while, torn between wanting to believe Shepard and his instincts telling him otherwise. His gaze dropped to the open hand Shepard held out so patiently.

Could he do it? Could he take that leap of faith?

Tentatively, he reached out. His hand shook as he clasped Shepard’s open hand.

If this backfire on him, he knew with a gut-deep surety that it would change him irrevocably into someone he would not recognise.

They remained where they were, the Commander waiting patiently while Kaidan struggled to master his fear.

“Can you shift?” Shepard asked softly.

Kaidan turned his focus inward and tried. After a while, he shook his head, discouraged.

“Was it due to anything I did?”

“No!” Kaidan said immediately. “It’s me. I’ve stayed in my human form too long. It’s not natural for Mer to stay in human form for an extended period; it takes a toll on the body.”

That raised so many questions, but Shepard decided on the most harmless one. “Mer? Is that what you’re called?”

“It’s the closest word in English.”

“You blindsided me, you know,” Shepard said lightly. “Wasn’t expecting you to be a mermaid.”

Kaidan hesitated and then said, “Merman.”

“Merman. Right. Because you’re a guy.”

He nodded.

“This is why you insisted on working alone.”

He nodded again. “How-how long was I out?”

“We brought you back to the Normandy yesterday.”

Kaidan stared at him, alarmed. “Ash knows?”

“And a few others.”

“Who?”

Shepard told him and Kaidan was at once horrified and dismayed. So many!

“They’re all sworn to secrecy. They understand the danger.” Shepard was quick to tell him.

It wasn’t comforting at all. “You trust them to keep someone like me a secret?”

Shepard levelled a serious look at him. “Let me make this clear, Kaidan. A Council Spectre’s work is seldom black-and-white and mostly secretive. To do my work, I require three things from my crew: they must be the best at what they do, they must know how to keep secrets and they must be loyal to me.”

Kaidan stared at him, unsure.

“Everyone on board this ship has gone through enough shit with me to understand why secrets have to stay secret, and their loyalty to me is absolute. They won’t say a word,” Shepard said confidently.

“What about Hackett and Anderson?”

“They won’t know unless you tell them.” Shepard emphasised the ‘you’.

“They can’t know,” Kaidan said immediately. “They’re career military officers. They can’t know about me. Ever.”

“And they won’t. I won’t tell them.” Shepard smiled assuring at him. “How are you feeling? EDI had to knock you out with a sedative gas.”

Mollified somewhat, Kaidan answered, “Not too bad. Just a little nauseated and having a headache. It will pass.”

“I’d rather you discuss your health with Dr Chakwas when she comes by later. I have to say though, I didn’t expect you to freak out so badly.”

“This is my worst nightmare,” Kaidan confessed reluctantly.

“I’m sorry you’re put in this position.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Are you hungry? You must be, you haven’t eaten in more than a day.”

“I can eat.”

“I’ll grab a meal tray from the galley.” Shepard tried to stand up but paused when he felt a tug at his hand. He looked down and said amusedly, “you have to let me go, Kaidan.”

Startled, Kaidan glanced down and saw that he had been unconsciously clutching Shepard’s hand. Flushing, he quickly released it.

“I’ll be back soon,” Shepard promised.

Only half-convinced, Kaidan sank back into the water to wait.

He studied his surrounding through the transparent plexi-aluminium side of the tank. The cargo hold seemed emptier; he vaguely remembered seeing more crates in it earlier but they were now mostly gone, leaving the room empty and looking more like a holding cell than before.

Kaidan shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut.

Don’t go there, he told himself. He wasn’t a prisoner, so just don’t go there.

Shepard returned soon enough, carrying a tray loaded with meal supplements and rations. He placed that on the deck first before arranging a couple of the remaining crates into a make-shift table and seat right next to the tank.

“I don’t know what sort of food you’ll be able to eat, so I got a bit of everything.” Shepard elaborated as he placed the tray of food on the makeshift table.

Kaidan resurfaced and pulled himself into a comfortable half-sitting, half-floating position. “That sleeping bag with your name on it. Did you sleep here?”

“I didn’t want you to wake up alone or to think you’re a prisoner.” Shepard snorted ruefully. “Still failed in the end. I thought I could grab breakfast and be back before you wake.”

“Why are you so calm about this? About me?” Kaidan abruptly questioned. “You found out I’m a Mer, I hurt you. Why are you helping me?”

“I’m helping you because you’re in trouble. I’d like to think I’m decent enough a person to help you even if you’re not a member of my crew.”

“You expect me to believe that?” Kaidan whispered.

“I’m offended that you’re so ready to think the worst of me.”

“I don’t think you’re a bad person. It’s just…,” Kaidan looked away, “people haven’t given me a lot of reasons to believe they’re decent.”

“Then I’ll prove it to you that at least I don’t mean you any harm,” Shepard said seriously, “so we can get past this and move on.”

Kaidan stared at him incredulously. “You’re very calm about the fact that I’m a real-life Mer.”

“I have time to wrap my head around the idea that mermaids, er, Mer exist.”

“You’re not angry or scared of me.”

“Should I be?”

“I’d promised you that you and your crew would be safe from me and I still hurt you.”

“I’ll admit to being rather shaken. Never felt anything like that before, but to fear you because of what you are and what you can do? You should know by now I’m not easily intimidated.”

That was true, Kaidan conceded.

“Besides, you were terrified. That doesn’t count as breaking your promise. Now, you need to make a decision.” Shepard gestured at the tray of food. “What do you want? Don’t ask for raw fish. I’m not sacrificing my fishes.”

It was obvious to Kaidan that Shepard was trying to keep the mood light. He searched Shepard’s open expression and unable to find any trace of deception, cautiously decided to accept Shepard’s offer of assistance.

“Your fishes are safe. Non-Earth fishes are either a hit or a miss. Not worth risking food poisoning.”

“I remember you enjoyed eating the sushi during our first dinner on board,” Shepard said. “At that time, I thought you have expensive taste.”

“If you say so, but Ryuusei’s Earth seafood is always delicious.” He examined the variety of food rations on the makeshift table. Tucked among the silver foil packets and trays was a white bottle with a bright yellow lid and a picture of a fish pasted on it. “Is that…aquarium fish food?”

“I’m working in the dark here. Help me out.”

Kaidan relented. “The meal trays and cooked food will only make me sick when I’m in this form. But the protein shakes and jellies are harmless.”

Shepard shuffled the food options around, placing the protein jelly and shake packs closer to Kaidan. “Do they taste better?”

“Worse. The only food that’s tasty to me right now is Earth seafood.” Kaidan poked the straw into the jelly pack and began to suck from it.

“Like I said, expensive taste.” Shepard teased gently.

Kaidan curiously reached for the bottle of fish food. He popped open the lid and sniffed. Then he read the label. “You feed Earth fish food to your fishes?”

“They like it. And it’s fully organic,” Shepard explained helpfully. “No preservatives and artificial food colouring.”

“Nothing but the best for your pets.”

“Yup.”

An idea occurred to Kaidan. “Pass me a bowl.”

Kaidan sliced open the foil pack of protein jelly with a claw and dumped the contents into a bowl. Then he proceeded to shake fish food flakes into the jelly and with a spork, combined them into a gross-looking gooey mush which he proceeded to eat.

“Better,” Kaidan announced, pleasantly surprised by the combination.

Shepard’s expression was one of mixed fascination and revulsion. “I’ll take your word for it.”

Both men settled down to eat, Shepard from his meal tray and Kaidan practically inhaling three packs of protein jelly, all seasoned liberally with fish food.

“You said something earlier about staying in human form takes a toll on you,” Shepard said midway through their meal. “How long can you usually stay in your human form before having to revert?”

“Eight to eleven months.”

“What about this time?”

“Eight and a half months.”

“So you should still have a time buffer before you hit your limit.”

“Technically, yes. I was on my way home to recuperate when Anderson assigned this mission to me. It was unusual but seemed isolated and straightforward. I thought I could complete it before I hit my time limit. I didn’t expect to uncover an invasion threat by a hostile alien race. I think Leviathan’s Enthralling have a detrimental effect on my endurance to stay in my human form. I was losing control over my Shift earlier than expected.”

A few incidents in the past were starting to make sense to Shepard.

“Your fascination with my aquarium is not because of the fishes or why I have it, right?”

“It’s the water.”

“The water?”

“We never stop hearing the call of the ocean. Most of the time, it’s just part of the background noise and I can ignore it. But when I stay in my human form for months on end, the call gets louder and louder. And when the yearning for water manifested itself, I know I have to rush home.”

Yearning for water…

“You reacted the same way to that tank of water on Mahavid,” Shepard said suddenly.

“Yeah.”

Shepard put down his spork, his appetite suddenly lost, when the significance of that tank of water on Mahavid dawned on him. “When you destroyed that orb in the Mindoir lake, you did it in your Mer form and Leviathan found out. That’s why they want to capture you. They want to experiment on you, to find out if being a Mer is why you’re immune to their Enthralling.”

Kaidan nodded tightly.

“Shit.”

“That’s not all of it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Remember what I told you about the Minerals Lab? It’s not true.”

Shepard blinked. “I was fighting your influence?”

“It’s our Charm.” Shepard could practically hear the capital ‘C’ in that word. “I was trying to find out if I could free their thralls when I use it on them.”

“And?”

“It worked, and that interest them too. I’m pretty sure if they get their hands on me, they will want to find out how I did that.”

“But it wasn’t that effective.”

“That’s because you were there.”

Even though his memories of what happened in that Minerals Lab was still foggy, one thing became clear to Shepard now. “I got in your way, didn’t I?”

Kaidan scowled briefly at him.

“I’m not going to apologise for getting in your way though,” Shepard said matter-of-factly. “I don’t see how you could’ve freed them successfully with that orb still in play.”

“I was testing a theory. At least now we know we have a tool that can be used against them.”

They fell quiet, eating their breakfast.

Swallowing his last mouthful of egg, Shepard asked, “That night - when we were making out, you weren’t suddenly afflicted with a seizure, were you?”

“No. I almost lost control,” Kaidan confessed softly. “Nearly Shifted right there in front of you. Luckily, you brought me to your shower. The water helped to calm the Shift.”

“How much of what you told Dr Chakwas that night was true?”

“Every bit of it. None of it started after I encountered Leviathan and their orbs.”

Shepard shook his head in admiration. “You misled her with the truth, the same way you misled me after our briefing with Hackett.”

“In my defence, she already had a preconceived notion of what ailed me. I just didn’t correct her.”

“And here I am, wondering how someone like you managed to become so successful at intelligence-gathering.”

Kaidan frowned, puzzled. “I’m good at what I do.”

“Exactly, and I’m starting to see why.” Shepard changed track, “Why did you refuse to listen to medical advice or go for further check-ups?”

“There’s nothing the doctors can do for me. I know how to heal myself. I was just waiting for the mission to conclude, so I can get to it.”

“You can heal yourself?”

Kaidan hesitated, but he saw the uselessness of hiding things from Shepard when he needed his help. “All Mers can. We are generally robust and resilient, but when we get sick or injured, we can self-heal. But we need to be in the waters of our birth to do that.”

“Earth.”

Kaidan nodded solemnly. “I need to go home.”

Chapter Text

Summer, 2160

John gasped when he hit the icy water. He had never felt anything so cold! It was like a punch to the gut, and he swallowed water when he instinctively tried to catch his breath.

He swam to the surface of the water and looked up. From where he was, treading water, the yacht suddenly looked overwhelmingly big and forbidding. His teeth were starting to chatter, but he gamely swam for the aft of the yacht where he remembered seeing a small landing platform and a ladder for divers. The yacht didn ’t seem so big when he was on it, but now he was in the water, the length of it felt immeasurably long.

He gasped again when his left leg suddenly seized up in a cramp and he immediately sank like a stone.

Panicked, he began to thrash about in the water, struggling to stay afloat. Once, he managed to break the surface, but he swiftly went under again. His cramping leg just refused to work, and his lungs were screaming for air.

Then he felt someone grab him from behind and pulled him to the surface. He started gasping loudly for air and didn ’t resist when his rescuer towed him to the aft of the yacht and shoved him up onto the landing platform.

John limply laid where he collapsed, panting like a bellow and shivering too violently to do anything. He thought he felt hands pushing at his body. Then he was staring dazedly up at the emerging stars. Finally, with a huge effort, he turned his head

and saw a boy staring at him.

The boy ’s hair was black as night and his skin was - glinting? in the dying twilight. His eyes were bright amber and wide with worry, and so mesmerizing.

Dimly, John heard his mom calling him, but he could not look away from the strange-looking boy.

The strange boy darted a nervous glance to the deck of the yacht, but bravely and cautiously swam closer to John until they were face-to-face. So close that it became impossible for John to mistake him for a human boy even in his befuddled state. He was humanoid and not entirely human.

John thought he was kinda cute, in an odd way.

Then, behind the amber-eyed boy, a much larger …someone rose from the water. It was an adult, a female, just as strange-looking as the oddly cute boy. Her amber eyes were identical to his. Her expression was forbidding.

The boy jerked around to face her. He reminded John of when his mom caught him eating cookies under his blanket.        

In the distance, John heard his mom call again.

With a sharp clicking sound, the adult sent the amber-eyed boy away before swimming closer to him. Her features changed, becoming human and so pretty that John couldn ’t help but gape despite his dazed and half-drowned condition.

And then she began to sing -

- Shepard woke with a start and stared up at the bulkhead in bewilderment.

Did that really happen?

He turned to look disbelievingly at Kaidan sleeping in his tank.

Was he that humanoid boy?!

~

14 October 2186

Milky Way / Arcturus Stream / Arcturus / Arcturus Station

 If the Citadel was the epitome of galactic civilisations co-existing together in relative peace, then Arcturus Station was humanity’s equivalent of that ideal.            

It represented the ability of humanity’s countless nationalities to function as one race, as the Systems Alliance, in the vastness of the galaxy. Not only did Arcturus Station stand guard over the mass relay that led to the Sol System, but it was also where the Systems Alliance housed their parliament and military nerve centre.

In short, though it was but a fraction of the Citadel’s size, the Arcturus Station never slept too.

Even when the Normandy arrived in the dead of the night - according to the station’s cycle - the station remained bustling.

From his position behind the helmsman chair, Shepard glanced at Joker when the pilot mused, “Been ages since my last visit.”

“Is your mom still stationed here?” Shepard queried.

“Nope, she retired a couple of months ago. Went back to Tiptree to enjoy her retirement with dad and Hilary. Hilly has been pestering me to take her to Arcturus for a visit though. She wants to be a pilot like me.”

Now that Shepard thought about it, he couldn’t remember the last time Joker had put in a leave request. “If you like, we can swing by Tiptree after this mission. Pick her up and you two can spend some time together on Arcturus,” he offered.

“I don’t know, man. I’m not very keen about my baby sister becoming an Alliance pilot.”

“Why not?”

“’Cos it’s dangerous. Just the thought of her in danger makes me nervous.”

“It’s her life, Joker. If she’s anything like you, your objections will make her even more determined. Wouldn’t it be better if you’re supporting her instead?”

“I know that. I guess I’m just not used to the idea of my baby sister growing up.”

“You’ll get there.” Shepard paused and then added, “But better get there sooner rather than later. She’ll be eighteen in three more years, eligible for enlistment.”

“You make it sound like I’m in denial,” Joker groused. “By the way, is Kaidan all right? I haven’t seen him since we left Namakli.”

“He’s fine,” Shepard said shortly. “Dr Chakwas is still keeping him in quarantine as a precaution.”

“The quarantine didn’t seem to stop you from visiting him all the time.” Joker’s sceptical tone clearly indicated he didn’t buy the story. “Is he the reason why we planned that unorthodox return to Earth?”

“Joker,” Shepard said in a warning tone.

“Yea, yea, keep my mouth shut. Doesn’t mean I can’t smell something’s up.”

Under Joker’s skilled and deft handling, the Normandy coasted into its berth and anchored with a barely discernible bump minutes later.

Shepard - gently! - clapped Joker on his shoulder and headed for the Shuttle Bay.

Ann Bryson and the surviving members of her expedition team were waiting to disembark at the ramp entrance. They carried small bags of essential that the crew had provided them and were accompanied by the grimmest of cargoes - a hover-cart carrying a body bag.

Kirkwood had not made it.

Ann’s face was haggard with exhaustion and grief and there were dark circles under her reddened eyes. Neither Hopkins nor Boyles looked well-rested. But all three were calm and determined to pick up the pieces of their lives, and that was the most important thing they could do now.

“Commander Shepard,” Ann greeted when he approached, “I just want to thank you and your crew for all you’ve done for us.”

“No thanks are needed, Ann. I’m just glad we can help.”

“Who will meet us on Arcturus?”

“Admiral Anderson. I know him well. He’ll take good care of you and your people.” Shepard gestured to the lowered ramp. “Shall we?”

Ann nodded.

As Shepard and Ann walked down the ramp, Hopkins and Boyles fell into step behind them, unwittingly joining the small escort Ash had put together to usher Kirkwood off the Normandy.

Anderson was already waiting for them at the end of the gangway, carrying something in his hand. The stoic admiral had a small group of two to three soldiers with him and two of them stepped forward to receive the civilians.

“Admiral, this is Ann Bryson. Ann, Admiral David Anderson,” Shepard introduced.

“Welcome to Arcturus, Dr Bryson.” Anderson greeted. “I’m sorry for your loss. The Hong Kong is on its way to Namakli to retrieve your colleagues’ bodies and salvage whatever is left of your expedition.”

“Thank you, Admiral.” Ann looked around. “Where’s Uncle Stev - I mean, Admiral Hackett?”

“Hackett wants me to convey his apologies for not being here to greet you. He’s currently in a Q.E.C. meeting with the President. But he will see you directly after that.” Anderson gestured to a soldier waiting patiently nearby. “This is Staff Lieutenant Kimura from the Orizaba. He will be assisting you during your stay here.”

“If you don’t mind, Admiral, I like to get started decoding my father’s data drives. I don’t have a good grasp of his encryption code, but I’ll do my best.”

“Of course. Kimura will bring you to our cryptographers’ lab.”

Shepard had known Anderson for a very long time, and he knew, from the way the stoic admiral’s gaze had briefly darted to the Normandy’s open Shuttle Bay earlier, that he was looking for a particular person.

He wasn’t disappointed.

After Ann and her colleagues left the docks, Anderson turned to him and asked bluntly, “did Alenko bail on you?”

“No, sir. He’s currently chasing down another lead in the Zaherin System,” Shepard answered smoothly. “We think Leviathan may be present there.”

Anderson did not look convinced. “Is that what he told you? Mind you, that boy has a way of upping and leaving his partner behind.”

“Kaidan isn’t bailing on me, sir.”

Anderson arched a brow. “‘Kaidan’, eh? Sounds like you both are getting along pretty well, son.”

“It’s surprising how easily we click,” Shepard admitted. “Why did you never select him to join the first Normandy?”

“Of course I did. He’s the best Sentinel-class soldier and one of the strongest biotics we have. But he turned down my request. Said he was already doing good work in Intelligence, and he operates better on his own. Sounds familiar?”

“Very.” Now that Shepard knew Kaidan’s secret, he understood why the Major had to turn down the assignment. And he also knew with the crisis that was Saren and his coup developing at breakneck speed, Kaidan would probably have had a much harder time keeping his secret.

“I’m glad both of you get along well. I had a feeling you might. You’re going to Mars next?”

“Yes. Liara thinks the Prothean archives there may contain information about the Leviathan.”

“I hope she’s right. The more we can find out about them, the better off we are.” Anderson handed the item he was carrying to Shepard. It turned out to be a data drive. “My tech guy cloned a copy of Dr Bryson’s encrypted data. I want EDI to have a crack at that damn code as well. Maybe she can find the decryption key that has eluded the cryptographers so far.”

“You have Ann working on it too.”

“And she has already confessed to being unfamiliar with the encryption code. I want to increase our chances of success.”

Shepard took the data drive. “I’ll put EDI right to it.” 

“Keep this data off-line,” Anderson advised. “Right now, it’s better to assume that Leviathan has ways of hacking into our nets without us knowing. Keep us updated, son.”

Anderson wasn’t a man of casual conversation and with that, he dismissed Shepard.

Once safely back on board the Normandy and far from Arcturus, Shepard breathed out a sigh of relief. Anderson was sharp and observant and with a face made of stone; he had no idea if the seasoned admiral saw through his lie. Since he hadn’t said anything though, Shepard would take it as a good thing.  

With the first hurdle cleared, it was time for the next stage.       

~

Milky Way / Local Cluster / Sol System / Fourth planet - Mars

“Sure you won’t need any help?” Shepard asked Liara while the Normandy executed a vertical landing outside the research facility built around and over the Prothean archives. “At least take Tali with you.”

Liara laughed, “Garrus will be very unhappy with me if I do that.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Shepard conceded. “I don’t want to hear him whining about it either. Kaidan says to thank you.”

The plan was simple.

They needed a cover story to return to Earth after dropping off Ann Bryson on Arcturus, and Liara had volunteered without hesitation to provide it.

As a trained archaeologist, even retired, who specialised in Prothean history and culture and as a member of Shepard’s crew, it wasn’t too much of a stretch of credibility for Liara to determine if the Prothean archives contained information on Leviathan. And since the Normandy needed to refuel and resupply, doing so on nearby Earth while waiting for her was believable.

“He doesn’t need to thank me,” she said seriously. “This is my apology for dumping those rocks and hurting him.”

“And again, he wants me to tell you it’s not your fault. You didn’t know.”

Liara sighed. “I still feel bad about it. You have my Vancouver agent’s details?”

“Yep. Gotten in touch with him already.”

“Good. I’ll check in with you in a week.”

“Enjoy yourself and don’t dwell on the accident,” Shepard encouraged. “Who knows, maybe you will find something useful.”

Liara donned on her breathing apparatus and picked up her carry-on. Giving Shepard one last wave, she exited the hovering Normandy via the airlock and onto the waiting mobile gangway.

Minutes later, after she was safely on her way into the research facility, the Normandy rose back into the atmosphere.

Next stop: Earth.

Shepard made a brief detour to the Shuttle Bay to check on Cortez and Tali’s progress. Satisfied that everything was going well, he headed for the port cargo hold.

They had to implement the next part of the plan within the next hour, and he wanted to have a bit of alone time with Kaidan before that happened.

Kaidan had regained much of his usual calm over the last few days, but it was still painfully obvious to Shepard that he hated his current circumstances. He had been skittish and paranoid in turn and, except for Shepard and Dr Chakwas, refused to see anyone.

Shepard couldn’t blame him. He’d hate it too if he loses complete control of his situation.

Garrus and Vega were waiting outside the port cargo hold with two hover-carts when he arrived.

“Dr Chakwas is inside,” Garrus told him, “Giving Kaidan a check-up.”

Shepard nodded. He turned to Vega, “Remember what I said?”

Vega straightened to full attention. “Yes, sir. Don’t gawk at him. Don’t fawn over him. Just treat him like a normal person.”

“Keep that in mind. Wait here. I need a moment with him,” Shepard said before entering.

Inside, Kaidan and Dr Chakwas looked up at his entrance. Dr Chakwas had her omni-tool activated and she was scanning Kaidan with it.

“Ready?” Shepard asked.

“As far as I can tell, he’s good to go.” Dr Chakwas stepped back.

Kaidan just looked tense.

“Give us a minute,” Shepard told Dr Chakwas.

When it was just him and Kaidan, Shepard hunkered down before the quietly brooding Major and took one of his webbed and clawed hands into his. “Nervous?”

Kaidan nodded tersely. “Vega and Garrus are outside, right? I’m not-I don’t really want to be gawked at, Shepard.”

“They’re not going to gawk at you.” Shepard paused and then amended, “Well, James may, but that’s because he believes in mermaids.”

“Oh God.”

“Don’t worry. He promised to do his best not to gawk at you.”

Kaidan let out a bark of nervous laughter. “That will be nice.”

Silence fell, and Shepard noticed that Kaidan appeared far more at ease. “Can I visit you?”

“I’d like that, yes,” Kaidan said with a tremulous smile.

Shepard returned his smile and squeezed his hand encouragingly. “Don’t worry. We got this.”

“Yeah, we got this.” Kaidan’s expression resolved into determination. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Shepard stood up and called the others into the port cargo hold.

There was an awkward moment when Vega, despite his promise, did gawk at Kaidan. A quickly pointed cough from Shepard put an immediate stop to it.

“Ah, sorry, Major,” Vega mumbled.

Shepard shook his head in exasperation. “Come on, time’s a-ticking, gentlemen.”

Kaidan slid back into the water and Shepard and Garrus fitted a cover over his tank.

Like the tank, they had hastily converted a crate to a lid fitted with latches. With the lid in place, they did not have to worry about spilling water during transport.

The three men carefully lifted and manoeuvred the entire tank and control console onto the two hover-carts before slowly and carefully exiting the cargo hold with the entire setup.

Once again, the public areas on Deck 4 and the Shuttle Bay were cleared of people. It was still a slow process and by the time they loaded Kaidan and the tank setup onto the waiting Kodiak, a full twenty minutes had passed.

They quickly bolted the tank down to the Kodiak’s deck and Tali nimbly hopped on to check the tank’s controls and equipment. “All right, everything is working properly.”

“Time to move. Garrus, you have the ship.” Shepard said.

“Acknowledged, Shepard.”

“Everyone, buckle down,” Cortez announced from the cockpit of the Kodiak. “This may be a bumpy ride.”

To conceal Kaidan’s return to Earth, Shepard, with Joker and Cortez, had planned the trip as though they were inserting covert ops forces behind enemy lines.

The Kodiak departed the Normandy for Earth soon after they left Mar’s Territorial Zone, far from any monitoring satellites. With its array of stealth technology running at full power and Cortez employing a very judicious piloting skill, the Kodiak discreetly avoided the busy streams of space traffic during its approach to Earth. At the same time, Cortez ensured that the Kodiak stayed well within Earth’s shadow while angling for a rather high orbital inclination entry.

“Entering Earth’s atmosphere in ten seconds,” Cortez reported calmly. “Killing all lights. ETA: three minutes.”

This was when the danger of collision increased exponentially. Going dark visually and on scanners in busy traffic meant no one could detect them before it was late. It would take all of Cortez’s skills as a pilot to make the trip safely.

In the back of the Kodiak, now awash in red light, Shepard gave an assuring smile to Kaidan who had spread out his arms to brace himself in the tank.

“Entering atmosphere - now.”

The hum of the Kodiak’s engine core did not grow louder, but they all felt the steep angle and increase of g-force as Cortez guided the Kodiak into a rapid descent.

Their window of opportunity was small, and Cortez’s timing had to be perfect.

They needed the cover of night to return Kaidan to his home and leave Earth unseen. To minimize their chances of detection, Cortez calculated he needed a window of opportunity of about four minutes. That meant a high-velocity, steep-angle entry from a high orbital inclination and leaving Earth the same way.

Soon, they felt the Kodiak sharply levelling out.

“Cruising below radar level,” Cortez announced. “ETA: one minute.”

That was their cue.

Shepard and Tali sprang into action, quickly unbuckling themselves from their seats and removing the lid from Kaidan’s tank.

“Almost there, Kaidan,” Shepard said.

“No talking when the hatch opens,” Kaidan reminded as he slung an arm around Shepard’s neck as the Commander lifted him from the tank in an awkward bridal carry. “Sound carries well over calm water.”

Cradling Kaidan in his arms, Shepard made his way to the closed hatch. “You sure we can’t set you down somewhere closer to home?”

“It’s close enough. I know the waters here.”

“We’re here,” Cortez called.

Tali hit the controls and the hatch slid open.

Cortez lowered the Kodiak as close to the sea’s surface as he dared and now it was Shepard’s turn to deliver Kaidan to its embrace. With Tali firmly grasping the back of his armour, he knelt at the open hatch and loosened his grip on Kaidan.

The merman twisted out of his arms in an awkward dive that still somehow look graceful. Kaidan splashed down into the water and then rose back up to the surface to give Shepard a thumbs-up.

Then he was gone.

Shepard rose back to his feet as Tali shut the hatch. “Get us out of here, Steve.”

Chapter Text

15 - 18 October 2186

The Alenko ’s, British Columbia, Canada

It was early afternoon when Shepard visited the Alenko’s family orchard for the first time.

The Normandy was currently docked at the Vancouver Alliance base. He had spent the morning pressuring Requisition into expediting the delivery of a new Kodiak, and finally with that out of his way, Shepard gave his crew a few days’ worth of shore leave and set out for his private trip.

Liara’s Vancouver agent had chartered a rental skycar for him under a different identity, saving him time and the hassle of covering his tracks. All he had to do now was to change into nondescript civvies and a plain black leather jacket before leaving for the public parking garage.

Sitting in the rental skycar, Shepard suffered a sudden bout of indecision. Should he drive or let the car do the driving?

He thought back to how he had helped Kaidan to return home under the cover of darkness. Better be on his best behaviour for this first visit, he decided. The last thing Kaidan needed was him to draw attention with his driving style.

He set the skycar to ‘auto’ and punched in the address.

Smoothly, the skycar rose from its parking lot and inserted itself into the traffic stream.

The trip from the Alliance Vancouver base to Kaidan’s family home took an hour or so. The view of the cityscape and ocean quickly gave way to the wilderness which then melted into vast farmlands and orchards. As far as he could see, rows and rows of neatly planted vegetation and trees contoured the gentle rise and fall of the land.

Inside the farmland district, the skycar lowered itself to ground level and drove along the road leading to the Alenko’s land. The edge of their land was fenced off from the public road and a weathered sign bearing the Alenko’s family and company names marked the entrance to it.

Entering the land, Shepard was immediately greeted by neat rows of apple trees on either side of the road, all of them dotted with red fruits. He rolled down the window and the scent of apple quickly filled the interior of the skycar.

It was harvest season.

He saw small groups of people and robots plucking the red fruits from the trees. Many gave his passing skycar cursory looks before returning to their jobs. 

Soon, he reached a split in the road. Checking the signposts, he commanded the skycar to take the left branch. Minutes later, the road opened out into a spacious flat land bordering an inlet. A moss-covered white wooden fence delineated the open space from the orchard and within it sat a charming farmhouse.

Shepard had not known what to expect, but he liked the farmhouse instantly.

Against the backdrop of the inlet and mountains, Kaidan’s three-storied family farmhouse was built in the classic Victorian style, painted in a soothing soft brown, trimmed in white, and had a grey-blue slated roof. There was a separate garage next to it and through a gap between the two structures, Shepard glimpsed a flat-roofed building behind the garage. All these buildings shared the same colour scheme as the farmhouse.

Parking his skycar in the driveway before the farmhouse, Shepard got out of it just as two dogs - a Labrador and a German Shepherd - came running from around the back of the farmhouse, barking loudly. While the Lab trotted forward to greet him, the German Shepherd remained at a safe distance, alert and wary.

Grinning, Shepard hunkered down to greet the Lab, stroking it over its head and letting it sniff his hand. Kaidan had failed to mention these dogs.

The farmhouse’s front door opened and a distinguished-looking man in his sixties and with salt-and-pepper hair stepped out. The man held a pistol in one hand and his expression was closed-off.

The man’s wary attitude didn’t surprise Shepard at all, considering the manner of Kaidan’s return.

“Afternoon,” he called out to the man. He rose back to his feet, making sure to keep his body language relaxed and non-aggressive. He kept his hands open and visible. “Are you Kaidan’s father?”

“I am.”

“I’m Commander Shepard of the Alliance Navy.”

“I know who you are,” came the curt reply. “What do you want?”

“I’m here to check on Kaidan, make sure he’s all right.”

Mr Alenko squinted suspiciously at him. “Do commanding officers personally make house visits to their convalescing soldiers these days?”

“I’m not here in my official capacity as an Alliance officer or Council Spectre,” Shepard replied mildly. “I’m here as his friend. I just want to know if he’s all right.”

“You could just message him.”

“After what we’ve been through, that feels a little impersonal. Can I come in, Mr Alenko? I don’t think you want to have this conversation out here in the open.”

“I don’t want to have any conversation with you at all,” Mr Alenko replied brusquely. “Please leave.”

“Mr Alenko, I saved your son. Brought him home to you.”

“And I thank you for it. It’s the only reason why I’m politely asking you to leave. Now.”

There was no getting through him, Shepard realised quickly. Kaidan’s father was just too suspicious, almost hostile. Far from being receptive to listening to him, Kaidan’s father was more inclined to shoot him instead.

“All right, I’ll leave. Can you at least tell me how he is doing?”

“That’s none of your business.”

Wisely, Shepard got back into his skycar and left.

But he was stubborn and fearless. He didn’t make it to where he was in life by being accommodating.

Shepard returned to Kaidan’s home the next day. Again, Kaidan’s father met him and turned him away.

He was unsuccessful on his third visit too.

But on his fourth try, Kaidan’s father did not emerge from the farmhouse to accost him. There was no one around - not even the dogs were around - as he crossed the front garden and made his way right up to the front door.

Shepard pressed the antiquated doorbell and waited. He soon heard light footsteps from inside the farmhouse before the front door opened.

Despite himself, he stared.

It wasn’t Kaidan’s father who had opened the front door; it was his mother.

Kaidan’s mother looked younger than her sixty-odd years. Despite her age, she was still remarkably stunning. On anyone else, the pale hair and skin would look odd, but on her, it was just exotic. Shepard could see Kaidan in her beautiful features - he didn’t just have her amber eyes; he was practically a male version of her.

And knowing what he did now, it was obvious to Shepard which of Kaidan’s parents was the Mer.  

“Yes?” she queried.

“Um, afternoon, madam,” he greeted hurriedly, mentally scrambling to refocus. “I’m Commander Shepard of the Alliance Navy.”

“I know who you are,” she replied. Her voice was smooth and youthful for her age, her accent unidentifiable, but musical and lilting. If Shepard hadn’t known she was a Mer, he would’ve thought she was from the French-speaking part of Canada.

She regarded him with calm eyes. “This is your fourth visit, Commander.”

“I’ll keep coming back until I can see him, Mrs Alenko.”

“You are persistent.”

“I’m worried about him. I haven’t heard from him since dropping him off three nights ago.”

“And?”

Since she appeared far more receptive than her husband, Shepard decided to press his luck. “Can I come in? Just to talk. I promise not a single word of our conversation will go back to the military and the Council.”

Mrs Alenko did not say anything, but her gaze was shrewd.

Shepard held his breath and kept his expression open and friendly under her scrutiny. And when she finally stepped back to allow him entry, he heaved a silent sigh of relief. Finally!

Mrs Alenko showed him to the living room. “Coffee or tea?”

“Coffee, please.”

While Mrs Alenko disappeared to the kitchen, Shepard took the time to look around.

The interior of the house was cosy and comfortable, painted in a homely colour scheme and filled with well-loved vintage furniture. Bright sunlight poured in through the generous windows framed by tasteful curtains. Everything was well-maintained despite the visible signs of age.

Shepard’s gaze went to the brown-bricked fireplace in the living room. The mantelpiece above it had numerous framed photos arranged on it.

Curious, he wandered over for a closer look.

They were family photos, offering glimpses into the lives of the Alenkos.

There was a wedding photo of Kaidan’s parents. In it, his mother was breathtakingly radiant, but his father was no slouch in the looks department either. He was good-looking, distinguished even in his Alliance Military dress blues. Though Kaidan looked remarkably like his mother, he had inherited his father’s black hair, the shape of his brows and that cleft in his chin.

There was a generous scattering of photos involving Kaidan as well. Looking through these photos, Shepard could roughly piece together the chronicle of Kaidan’s life as he grew up.

He grinned when he spotted Kaidan’s baby photos. The Major was a cute baby with his black hair standing on ends and he was a chubby toddler surrounded by a haze of glowing blue light. Next to them was a photo of a young boy Kaidan looking rather uncomfortable in a small suit but wearing a gap-toothed cheerful grin as he posed with his parents. And then he was a teenager in his graduation gown and cap and with the same broad grin as he stood between his proud parents. Finally, Shepard saw a photo of an adult Kaidan proudly wearing his Alliance Military BDU on his boot camp pass-out day, but his eyes were solemn, and his smile reserved and no longer carefree.

That smile was such a marked difference from his younger self that Shepard couldn’t resist picking up the photo for a closer look.

He remembered his own boot camp pass-out day well: he and his squadmates had made a celebration of it; their selfies were of them grinning like loons. His photos with his mom were just as celebratory, and he added to that number when he and his squadmates went out and painted the town red.

Somehow, Shepard got the feeling Kaidan didn’t have the same experience he did.

He quickly put back the photo when he heard footsteps approaching the living room.

Mrs Alenko entered the living room with a tray containing two mugs of coffee, a sugar pot, and a pitcher of milk. Closely following her was Kaidan’s father - he had the appearance of someone who had spent the better part of the day working outside - and the two dogs. They flopped down in places where they have an unobstructed view of the people in the living room.

Accepting one of the mugs, Shepard took a seat in an armchair while the Alenkos sat down together on the couch. He was highly conscious of the Alenkos’ wary appraisal of him as he drank his coffee. Kaidan’s father didn’t look happy at all that he was in their house. His mother, on the other hand, was calm, though her amber-brown eyes were sharp.

“Why are you really here, Commander?” Mr Alenko asked.

“As I’ve said, I’m here to visit Kaidan as a friend, nothing more, nothing less.”

“That’s hard to believe,” Kaidan’s mother said. “You’ve known our son for less than a month.”

“We hit it off surprisingly well,” Shepard admitted. “I feel like we’ve known each other for a long time. How is he?”

Kaidan’s mother ignored his question. “What do you mean when you said not a single word of this conversation will go back to the military and the Council?”

“It means I’ll keep his secret, and I’ll make sure it doesn’t leak out to his superiors.”

“And why would you go to such lengths to help a person you’ve only just come to know?”

And that was the crux of the matter, it quickly dawned on Shepard. Kaidan’s parents couldn’t believe a newly made friend would take the extra trouble to help their son to conceal his true nature. 

“Mr and Mrs Alenko, I understand your concerns. I know you’re suspicious and sceptical. Yes, I’ve known him for less than a month. Doesn’t change the fact that I want to help him conceal his true nature,” Shepard made sure to emphasise the last bit. “I’m intimately aware of the darker side of humanity. I don’t want someone I lik-regard as a friend to experience it.”

“He’s an intelligence specialist,” Mr Alenko snorted. “He’d experienced his share of life’s underbelly.”

“I know. Doesn’t mean he couldn’t do with some backup in his corner.”

“What about your crew?”

“They are loyal to me,” Shepard answered instantly. “Only my closest associates know, and they are willing to help keep his secret. They understand the dangers posed to him.”

Mr Alenko didn’t look convinced. “How did you find out?”

“By accident.”

“Kaidan is too careful to let accidents happen,” Mr Alenko snapped.

“He was rescuing someone.” Shepard went on to describe Kaidan’s rescue of Ann Bryson as he was told while debriefing the Major. He took care to emphasise that Ann did not remember anything about her rescue. “Unfortunately, there was an accident, and he was knocked unconscious underwater. We went in to rescue him and found him in his…ah…birthday suit. He panicked when he found out I knew, but I assured him that he doesn’t have anything to worry about.”

“How much did he tell you about himself?” Kaidan’s mother questioned.

“Not much. Only that staying in his human form takes a toil and that he really needed to come home to heal.”

“What else?” Her voice turned soothing, almost a purr.

Shepard met her gaze

and couldn’t look away.

Because her amber gaze was warm and alluring. It drew him in, promising him he could have anything he wanted if he did her bidding…

Was this how that motel receptionist had felt?

“Only Earth’s seafood taste good when he’s in his birthday suit,” he answered carefully, “but he didn’t seem to mind the protein jellies seasoned with my fish food.”

“Anything else?”

“Well, he’s able to charm people with a look and his voice, get them to do whatever he wants. Much like what you’re doing now, Mrs Alenko.” 

She pursed her lips in consternation. “You should not have been aware of it.”

Shepard just shrugged. “I’ve always been aware every time Kaidan did that around me.”

“You’re not concerned about him Charming your crew?”

“He promised me he wouldn’t. I believe him,” Shepard said simply.

“You do know I broke that promise, right?”

Brightening at the sound of that sexy husky voice, Shepard turned around quickly.

His jaws dropped.

Kaidan stood at the hallway with the thumb of his once-injured arm casually hooked into the pocket of his jeans. His warm smile lit up his handsome face and he looked extremely, extremely good. 

Gone was the pallor and dark circles under the eyes. Gone was the cloud of fatigue and held-back pain that had draped over him like a heavy invisible blanket. There was a healthy colour to his complexion, his eyes clear and bright, and he stood tall and relaxed. His hair was damp and tousled, and he wore a red flannel shirt.

“I Charmed you twice, you know,” Kaidan pointed out with an amused smile.

Realising he was gawking at Kaidan in front of his parents, Shepard snapped his mouth shut. He hastily stood up and crossed the living room to the Major.

“By accident, so those times didn’t count,” he managed to reply in a normal-sounding voice. “And I wasn’t fully compliant, so still didn’t count.”

He stopped before Kaidan, grinning broadly. “Hey, Kaidan.”

Kaidan’s smile widened. “Hey, Shepard.”

“How are you feeling? Are you alright?” He gave Kaidan a once over, admiring what he saw. “You look good.”

“I feel good.” Kaidan’s smile softened affectionately. “Thanks to you.”

“You’re welcomed.”

They stood there, smiling stupidly at each other, just soaking in each other’s presence.

Behind them, Kaidan’s mother pointedly cleared her throat.

As one, both men turned to look.

Mrs Alenko was frowning a little while her husband just looked resigned.

Kaidan protectively took a step to Shepard’s side. “Mom, you aren’t going to make him forget, are you?”

She just sighed.

“Are you sure about him, son?” Mr Alenko asked.

“I am,” Kaidan replied firmly. “I trust him.”

Shepard noticed that neither of Kaidan’s parents looked happy with their son’s declaration, and he made a split-second decision. “Consider this as me repaying a debt.”

Mr Alenko frowned. “What debt?”

Shepard looked directly at Kaidan’s mother. “When I was six, Kaidan saved my life.”

Kaidan’s gaze snapped to him in surprise, completely missing how his parents went stock still.

“It was at night.” Shepard began to elaborate. “I fell off the side of a yacht anchored in a cove not far from here and Kaidan saved me from drowning. That’s when I saw him in his birthday suit. He was a child himself and yet he was strong enough to save me from drowning. You, madam, came a few moments later to make sure I was all right. The last thing I remember was you taking your human form and singing.”

Kaidan’s brows furrowed. “I don’t remember saving anyone - wait, that dream…I had a very vivid dream when I was laid up in the Med-Bay. I dreamt that we were on our family yacht, on one of our fishing trips.”

“The Singing Blues.”

Kaidan blinked, startled. “We sold that yacht just before I enlisted.”

“I remember seeing it when we dropped anchor.”

“‘The White Doggo,” Kaidan said suddenly. “There was a yacht with that name anchored in the same cove.”

“That was the name of the yacht my mom chartered,” Shepard confirmed.

“And I saw a boy fell overboard from that yacht.” Kaidan’s gaze turned inward. “I didn’t think. I dove into the water to save him, but he could swim, so I kept my distance. I thought he would be able to save himself, that I wouldn’t have to intervene. Then he started struggling in the water; he couldn’t stay afloat.”

“My leg cramped,” Shepard explained.

Kaidan looked at Shepard in dawning comprehension.  “I saved you. Towed you to the aft of your yacht-”

“-and pushed me onto the diving platform.”

“You were face down, so I got you to turn onto your back.”

“And then I saw you.”

“That was you,” they said in unison.

They laughed, oblivious to Kaidan’s parents exchanging terse looks.

“So, it wasn’t a dream after all,” Kaidan marvelled.

“I spoke to my mom a few days ago. She doesn’t remember,” Shepard added. “And I bet if I were to speak to the crew of our chartered yacht, they wouldn’t remember too.”

“Mom,” Kaidan turned to his parents, “I understand why you made Shepard and those with him forget. But why me?” 

Mrs Alenko sighed. “You were only nine. I wanted to protect you from our people’s curse.”

“It’s just superstition.”

She gave him an arched look. “Oh? That’s not what I’m seeing now.”

Kaidan flushed. “Doesn’t prove the curse is real.”

Shepard looked at Kaidan, then at his parents, and back at him. “I’m a little lost here.”

“We forbid our children to rescue humans,” Mrs Alenko explained. “If a child rescues a human, he or she is cursed to fall in love with that human and one day, leave us forever to follow the human. Regardless the human returns his or her love, the child’s life will be filled with hardship and tragedy. I didn’t want that for my son.”

“Superstition,” Kaidan insisted. “Something to tell the kids in order to keep them away from humans.”

“The fact you still managed to meet each other after all these years tells me otherwise.”

“Mom, stop.” Kaidan’s tone was firm. “The curse isn’t real, and I will be just fine.”

An uncomfortable silence ensued as Kaidan and his mother stared at each other, neither willing to yield.

Mr Alenko rose to his feet, his expression neutral. “It’s late. We can continue this discussion over dinner. Why don’t you join us and stay overnight, Commander?”

“Thank you. That’s very kind of you,” Shepard said graciously.

“Don’t thank me yet. We want to know why our son got hurt so bad. I’ll show you to our guest room.”

“He’s staying with me, dad.” Kaidan cut in hurriedly. He grabbed Shepard’s hand and pulled him along as he headed for the back door. Shepard followed willingly, all too eager to get out of an increasingly tense situation. “See you at dinner!”

With Shepard in tow, Kaidan rushed out of the farmhouse and down the gravel path leading to the shore. He didn’t slow down until they were a fair distance from the farmhouse and only then he released Shepard’s hand.

“Are you alright?” he asked Shepard anxiously. “My mom didn’t Charm you too much, did she?”

“She didn’t,” Shepard assured Kaidan. “I was aware what she was doing. I have to say though, her…touch is far lighter than yours.”

“In my defence, I wasn’t at my best when we met. Wait till we hit the road again. I may surprise you.”

“Looking forward to it.” Shepard hesitated and then said cautiously, “Your parents don’t seem to like me very much.”

“It’s not you per se.” Kaidan paused and amended, “Maybe for Mom, it is you. But mostly though, it’s what you represent to them: the Alliance. They’ve always been a little paranoid when it comes to me and the Alliance. They’re terrified that people will find out and then disappear me into some lab for experiments.”

“Do they have a reason to believe that will happen?”

“I’m one of the first human biotics,” Kaidan replied simply. “The military keeps tabs on us.”

That was an open secret in the military. Nobody spoke about it openly, but everyone knew it happened and was still happening.

“It was hard keeping our secret while growing up, but we managed. My parents never approved of my decision to enlist, even to this day. They want me to be as far away as possible from the military’s attention.”

“So why did you enlist?” Shepard asked curiously. “It seems rather risky for you to join the military.”

“I’m the only L2 who is stable and relatively healthy, and spikes higher than a L3. The Alliance’s never going to let me out of their sight completely.” Kaidan shrugged. “I may as well get a pay cheque out of them.”

Shepard was taken aback by Kaidan’s casually delivered pragmatism. It highlighted the differences in their upbringings, differences that he never thought about before.

People had always accused him of being an ‘Alliance brat’ and though the label was derogative, Shepard had never denied it.

Because it was true, in a way.

He had been raised Alliance, be it the environment or the people he grew up surrounded by. His mother was an Alliance admiral and according to her, his father was an Alliance soldier, though he had never met him. Sure, there were the occasional children of civilian contractors, but mostly he grew up amongst career soldiers and their families. If he ever had to choose a career and a life outside of the Alliance, he wouldn’t know what to do.         

But Kaidan, though…

Kaidan was born to civilian parents, grew up in a civilian home. Under normal circumstances, he should have grown up freely, able to choose a life of his choice. But because he was born a biotic, he grew up under Alliance surveillance, even if it was at a distance. That two factors alone would shape whatever choice he makes. It was truly a miracle the Alliance hadn’t uncovered his most important secret yet.

“Why are you looking at me like that for?” Kaidan asked.

“Nothing,” Shepard said hurriedly. “Where are we going?”

Kaidan’s expression was sceptical, but he played along, willing to let it rest for now. He pointed to a separate building - the same flat-roofed building Shepard had glimpsed on his first visit - at the end of the backyard. “There.”  

The flat-roof house was a long oblong with the front door on one end facing the garage and a floating patio on the water attached to the other end. It was much smaller and clearly a much newer structure than the farmhouse.

“That’s where I stay when I come home,” Kaidan explained. “It used to be a storage barn we never use, so I convinced my dad to let me have the plot. I tore down the barn and built this small house instead. Come on in.”

Unlike the farmhouse, Kaidan’s small house was fitted with modern features and amenities, from the glowing haptic-sensor lock on the front door to the motion-sensor switches that triggered the lights and the utilities. The windows were generously large which allowed plenty of sunlight into the house, and they were framed with curtains in a tasteful neutral colour.

Inside, the furnishing was modern and minimalistic, but cosy and inviting. Standing at the open front door, Shepard could see all the way to the other end where the back door was. He was in the living room, and it shared the same open area with the kitchen-cum-dining area, with a pot-bellied cast-iron fireplace dividing the space from the living room. To his immediate left was a door leading to the house’s sole bedroom.

“Nice,” he remarked.

Kaidan gestured to the bedroom. “You can bunk here tonight."

Shepard poked his head through the doorway and saw a simply furnished bedroom with a king-sized bed, a wardrobe and a dresser. “I’m not going to put you out of your bed. I can sleep on the couch.”

“You’re not putting me out. I’ll sleep in my other bedroom.”

“Your other bedroom?”

“Let me show you.”

They moved through the living room, past the bathroom and then through the kitchen-cum-dining area towards the back of the house. Kaidan led him out of the back door and onto the floating patio. There was another door immediately to their left and Kaidan slid it open and went in.

The lights came on and Shepard found himself standing in a small shed. This shed had a hole in the centre of its decking that exposed the watery depths of the inlet.

“This is your private entrance to the inlet,” Shepard said.

“Yeah, but it’s also a little more.”

Peering into the clear watery depth, Shepard saw that one side of the hole had an underwater wooden ledge fastened to it. It appeared to be waist-deep and wide enough for a grown man to lay on it and be fully submerged.

“Oh, this is your other bedroom where you sleep in your birthday suit.”

“Birthday suit,” Kaidan snorted in amusement. “First Ash said I skinny-dip, now you call it my birthday suit. I’m never going to hear the end of the euphemisms, am I?”

“Technically, you were in your birthday suit when I fished you out,” Shepard smirked when Kaidan groaned and rolled his eyes at his pun. “Aren’t you worried about strangers sneaking up on you from the inlet?”

Kaidan laughed. “Give me some credit, Shepard. I wouldn’t build a place without security features.” He knelt and dipped a hand in the water. “I built this place with healing in mind. We’re most vulnerable when we are in our healing sleep. When we wake to eat, we stay in a fugue state, completely unaware of our surroundings.”

“You need a place where you’ll be absolutely safe,” Shepard finished for him.

Kaidan nodded. “And a trusted person to watch over us while we heal.”

That explained why Shepard did not meet Kaidan’s mother before today.

“I only woke up completely this morning. Hunted and ate my fill before coming home.”

“How are you feeling, really?” Shepard asked concerned.

“Almost to my old self. The ocean’s call is still a little loud; I must sleep here tonight. Once this mission is over, I’m taking my well-deserved vacation.” Kaidan glanced up coyly at Shepard. “I’ll love it if you can join me.”

“That sounds like a good idea. I have a ton of vacation time unused. Spending them with you sounds like a perfect way to use them.”

Kaidan smiled broadly. “It’s a deal then.”

“Absolutely.”

They shook hands on it.

“Come on, let’s get out of here.” Kaidan rose to his feet. “As thanks for getting me home, I’ll treat you to some of our famous cider.”

Outside, on the patio, Shepard waited until Kaidan finished locking the shed before tugging him into an embrace. He wrapped his arms around Kaidan, pressed his nose into the soft mess of his hair and took a deep breath, filling his nose with the other’s man scent.

He felt a puff of warm air against his neck as Kaidan exhaled, felt his arms reached up to encircle his shoulders, felt him relax into their embrace. Everything seemed to suddenly fall perfectly into place.

Shepard closed his eyes to savour this moment.

The tightness in his chest had gone away. In this place, surrounded by quiet peace, with Kaidan’s scent in his nose and his lean solid form in his arms, Shepard’s worries vanished, and a sense of contentment washed over him. 

He could stay like this forever, the thought suddenly struck him. And it brought a contented smile to his face.

Shepard felt the warmth of Kaidan’s lips pressing lightly against the side of his neck in a light kiss. Tracing the line of Kaidan’s smooth jawline with his nose, he pulled back slightly to kiss him. Unlike their previous kisses, this kiss was slow and unhurried and all about connection and intimacy.

Kaidan’s amber-brown eyes glowed warm and soft when they parted. “I heard from my parents that you tried repeatedly to see me?”

“Yeah.”

“What will you do if you fail today?”

Shepard hummed thoughtfully and dropped another kiss onto Kaidan’s lips. “Switch tactic and do something drastic.”

“That will bring my parents’ wrath down on you.”

“It’ll be worth it. It’s a little late but thank you for rescuing me.”

Kaidan chuckled softly. “You’re welcomed.”

Shepard brushed his nose against Kaidan’s in an Eskimo kiss. “What are the chances two virtual strangers will meet again after so many years?”

“Near miraculous.” Kaidan reached up to brush his fingers across Shepard’s stubbly cheek. “Your eyes haven’t change. The way you look at me now is the same as when I rescued you, even though you were a half-drowned kid back then. Frank, direct, intense…when you look at me, I feel like you see me.”

“I do see you,” Shepard turned his head slightly to kiss the tips of Kaidan’s fingers. “I see your strength of will, your intelligence and bravery, your kindness…and I want to see more.”

Kaidan’s cheeks reddened. “And I thought I’m supposed to be the charming one.”

“You are,” Shepard said with a grin and kissed him again. “You’ve charmed me completely.”

Chapter Text

18 October 2186

Shepard’s first dinner with the Alenkos was a rather uncomfortable affair.

It was a simple dinner of lasagna, salad, and wine, and it was good, but he couldn’t appreciate it fully because Mr Alenko badgered him for even the littlest detail of how his son wound up getting injured. Shepard did his best to relate the story in full, but the mission was classified, so he had to gloss over many details or simply told Mr Alenko outright ‘it’s classified’.

“This adversary…their ability to enthral sounds similar to the Mer’s ability to charm,” Mr Alenko mused thoughtfully.

“It’s not an ability,” Kaidan’s mother insisted. Her expression was full of repugnance. “They merely found an artificial way to replicate what we do naturally.”

“But the effects seem rather similar.”

Kaidan paused in mid-bite as a thought struck him. “Maybe that’s it.”

“What’s it?” Shepard asked curiously.

“Mom, when a Mer uses his charm on a person that had already been charmed by another Mer, can he, I don’t know, cancel out the effects of the first Mer’s charm?”

“Yes, but it’s rare. I’ve only seen it happened once before.”

Kaidan turned to Shepard. “I think that explains why you remember me saving you. The times I accidentally used my Charm on you were enough to cancel out my mother’s influence. But I couldn’t figure out why I would regain that memory. There was no other Mers working with us.”

Shepard caught on quickly. “The Leviathan’s orbs exert similar effects, and you have clashed with them many times.”

“It makes sense, doesn’t it? If I can free a thrall with my Charm, there’s no reason why it can’t cancel my mom’s influence on me.”

“Too bad we can’t bottle up your Charm and mass-produce it,” Shepard commented.

“And put Tali’s anti-Enthralling devices out of business? She will be annoyed with you.” Kaidan chewed his food thoughtfully. “If only we can hack one of those orbs.”

“They’re better off destroyed.”

“I won’t argue with you on that. But I can’t help thinking that they form a network. If we can safely hack into that network without getting affected, then maybe we can use their own tools against them.”

“Is that even possible?” Mrs Alenko asked.

“I don’t know. They may be incredibly ancient, but their science is so advanced it will take us another couple of thousands of years before we catch up.”

“When will you be leaving?” Kaidan’s dad asked.

“Tomorrow?” Kaidan looked askance at Shepard.

“Tomorrow sounds good.”

Kaidan’s dad looked dismayed. “So soon? Your mother and I barely have a chance to catch up with you.”

“We have to,” Kaidan replied apologetically. “Once we stop Leviathan, I’ll come back for a proper vacation.”

“I guess that’s the best we can ask for.”

“Kaidan, could you help me with the dessert?” Mrs Alenko rose from her seat.

“Sure, Mom.”

Both mother and son headed for the kitchen, leaving Shepard alone with Kaidan’s father to eat their dinner in awkward silence. Though Shepard sat on Mr Alenko’s left, the short gap between them felt like a yawning gulf.

Searching for a way to bridge the distance, Shepard asked mildly, “You were an Alliance officer, Mr Alenko?”

“Early retirement. We wanted to raise our son as far away from Alliance’s attention as possible. Fat lot of good that did for us.”

Mr Alenko fell silent after that, and the awkwardness resumed.

Shepard wasn’t sure where Kaidan’s father stood when it came to him. At first, Kaidan’s father had been openly hostile, but now he seemed…neutral was the best word Shepard could think of. Mrs Alenko, on the other hand, was far easier to read - she didn’t approve of him at all.

Then, out of the blue, Mr Alenko surprised him by saying, “You should know, Kaidan hasn’t had the easiest time growing up.”

“I don’t think he did,” Shepard replied politely.

“He has endured a lot in his life, and yet he managed to grow up into a fine man, one I’m so proud to call my son.” Mr Alenko pinned Shepard to his seat with a steely-eyed stare. “I hope you mean what you said this afternoon, Commander, that you will help protect his secret.”

“I do, Mr Alenko.” Shepard said seriously. “And I will.”

“May God forgive you if you break that promise because we won’t.”

“Understood.”

The awkward silence resumed.

“Do you mind checking on them, Commander?” Mr Alenko asked abruptly. “They seem to be taking their time.”

Shepard’s brows furrowed slightly in puzzlement. That was a weird request from his host. Curious, he decided to play along.

The kitchen was a short distance down the hallway and separated from the dining room by a swing door. He slowed down when he heard voices speaking in hushed whispers behind the door.

“…. you have no guarantees he won’t tell on you, no leverage to stop him if he does.” That was Kaidan’s mother and she sounded at once tense and worried.

“He gave his word.”

“That is not good enough.”

“Mom…” On his part, Shepard thought Kaidan sounded like he was so done with the conversation.

“You like him, don’t you?” Shepard’s heart stuttered and sped up when he heard Mrs Alenko’s question. He did not hear Kaidan’s reply - he wondered what expression the Major had on right now - but his mother continued, “I wish you wouldn’t keep falling for Alliance people.”

Warmth suffused his chest. Despite the seriousness of the moment, Shepard did a little dance in his head. Kaidan liked him!

“He isn’t Johann, Mom.”

“I know he’s not, but he’s still Alliance. You liked Johann back then and look at how he let you down.”

What?

“Mom, stop. Shepard isn’t Johann, the Normandy crew isn’t that squad. He said he won’t betray my trust. I believe him.”

“I just don’t want to see you betrayed and heartbroken again.”

“Don’t worry about me, Mom. I can handle myself.”

So, this was why Kaidan’s father asked him to check on them, Shepard understood in a flash. Kaidan’s father knew what his wife would do, and he wanted him to listen to her in person.

Sneaky but effective, Shepard had to admit. He now had a better idea of why Kaidan’s mother didn’t approve of him. Despite his front of reservation, it seemed Mr Alenko didn’t share his wife’s biased disapproval and was subtly giving him a helping hand.

The conversation between Kaidan and his mom clearly hinted at old hurt for him. If Shepard want to convince Mrs Alenko that he means no harm to her son, he’d need to take the bull by its horns.

His mind made up, Shepard pushed open the swing door and entered the kitchen. He saw Kaidan hugging his fretting mom, clearly comforting her.

They looked up, startled, at his entrance.

“Mrs Alenko,” Shepard began without preamble, “I mean it when I promised Kaidan my protection and help.”

Mrs Alenko’s eyes narrowed. “You overheard us.”

“Yes, I did, and I apologise for it. But this has something to do with me, so I’d rather you address your misgivings to me directly.”

Disengaging from her son’s hug, she took a step towards Shepard. “All right, then I’ll speak plainly: I don’t care how sincere you claim to be, Commander.” The soft tone of her voice did not hide the hardness of her words. “People’s promises mean very little to me when it comes to my son’s well-being.”

“That’s understandable. So why don’t you Charm me and ask your questions?”

“No,” Kaidan objected immediately.

“You are asking me to Charm you so that I can interrogate you?” Mrs Alenko asked sceptically.

Kaidan came to Shepard’s side. “Shepard, you don’t have to do this.”

“It’s all right. Your parents won’t trust me until I can convince them I don’t have ill intentions towards you.”

“I’m a grown-ass man, Shepard. They don’t get to meddle in my affairs.”

“We’re not meddling, Kaidan.” His mother replied evenly. “We’re just concerned. Since Commander Shepard offered, I intend to accept.”

Kaidan’s lips pressed into a thin line; he was clearly unhappy and irritated at the turn of events.

“I’ll be fine.” Shepard gently squeezed his hand in assurance and turned to look at Mrs Alenko. “Shall we, madam?”

“Let’s take this to the living room.”

Dinner and dessert forgotten, Shepard and the Alenko family adjoined to the living room. They took their seats, though this time it was Shepard and Kaidan who sat side by side on the couch while Mrs Alenko sat in the armchair. His expression neutral, Kaidan’s father stood by the fireplace.

Shepard said to Mrs Alenko, “Any time you’re ready.”

She caught his gaze effortlessly and her lips curved into a captivating smile that immediately reminded Shepard of Kaidan’s. Her tone turned seductive, the lilt in her accent became more pronounced. “Will you tell me your full name?”

Shepard couldn’t help himself. “No.” He grimaced. “Sorry.”

“Relax, Commander.”

Shepard took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s try again.”

“Will you tell me your full name?”

“No.” Once more, the refusal came out of him unbidden. “Again.”

“All right.”

Another deep breath and Shepard nodded at Mrs Alenko, “Ready.”

Tell me your full name.”

And again, Shepard refused automatically. “No.”

From where he was watching, Kaidan’s father snorted. “This is going nowhere.”

“I can’t help it,” Shepard said. “It’s like a knee-jerk reflex.”

“Your will is very strong, Commander. For this to work, you must relinquish control and cooperate with me,” Mrs Alenko explained.

“Easier said than done,” Shepard muttered under his breath. He was a career military officer, a Spectre, not a mindless drone. Being in charge was as natural as breathing to him, and he certainly wasn’t used to ceding control to people.

“Shepard.”

He turned at the sound of Kaidan’s quiet voice. The Major’s expression was calm and supportive and when he took his hand in his, his grip was reassuring.

Kaidan lifted his other hand to show him the camera on his activated omni-tool. “I won’t let this get out of hand.”

Shepard took a couple of deep breaths and deliberately forced himself to relax. He kept his gaze on Kaidan’s mother. “Again.”

“We’re done,” she announced.

Shepard stared at her in confusion. What did she mean they were done?

“How do you feel?” Kaidan asked worriedly.

Shepard glanced at him bewilderedly and then back at Mrs Alenko. She remained seated where she was, calm but brooding. “We hadn’t even started.”

“It’s over. She had you for under a minute.”

Shepard stared at him in surprise. Under a minute? It didn’t feel that way - wait.

Abruptly, he became aware that he was hot and flushed, his tee-shirt damp with sweat. What the hell? His heart was beating fast, and his breathing was deep and heavy. And when did the two dogs join them? They weren’t lying next to the couch a moment ago.

“Show me?” he asked Kaidan.

Silently, the Major called up a vid on his omni-tool.

Shepard watched closely.

Kaidan had pointed his omni-tool’s camera at him from an awkward angle, but it was enough for him to watch the expression on his own face while Mrs Alenko asked him questions.

“Again.”

“What is your full name?”

“…”

“Oblige me, Commander. This won’t take long, and I won’t ask questions you’re not authorised to answer.”

“…All right.”

“What is your full name?”

“John Shepard, no middle name.”

A shiver ran down Shepard’s spine as he watched the vid. He had sounded normal in the recording. Unlike Leviathan’s thralls, there was nothing in his tone of voice or in his expression to indicate that he was being Charmed.

“What are your intentions towards my son?”

“I like him,” was his immediate reply, “very much. I don’t intend to hurt him.”

“Will you keep his secret?”

“Yes.”

“Will you prevent his secret from getting out?”

“Yes.”

“If someone with ill intentions knows about him, will you kill that person?”

“Mom!” Kaidan protested at the same time he replied, “Yes.”

A shudder ran through Shepard ’s body, and he grimaced, strain visible on his face.

“Please try to cooperate with me, Commander.” Mrs Alenko said. “It’ll hurt less.”

“…Stop….”

“I still have questions.”

“That’s enough, Mom,” Kaidan said firmly. “Let him go now.”

Mrs Alenko relented reluctantly. “We’re done.”           

The vid came to an end.

Shepard sat back on the couch, rather unsettled by what he had just watched. He didn’t remember a single thing of what he said. The transition was so seamless that if Shepard hadn’t known beforehand that he was subjecting himself to a Mer’s Charm, he wouldn’t even realise he had a missing gap in his memory.

Kaidan turned off his omni-tool and levelled a dark look at his mother. “Are you satisfied now?”

She nodded, though it was clear she still had her reservations.

“I have a question, Mrs Alenko.” Shepard said suddenly. “Why didn’t you raise Kaidan among your own people?”

She stiffened.

“Wouldn’t it be easier?”

“How I raise my son isn’t your concern,” Mrs Alenko replied tightly.

“He shouldn’t have to hide who he is,” Shepard pointed out reasonably, ignoring Kaidan’s attempts to stop him.

“You think I want my son to hide who he is?” she all but growl at him.

“You should tell him,” Kaidan’s father spoke up suddenly. He crossed the living room and perched himself on the armrest of his wife’s armchair, placing a hand on her back.

She frowned up at him.

“I know you don’t like talking about it, but it’ll help him to understand why.”

Mrs Alenko was silent for a long while, then she shook her head. “No.”

“You sure?”

“He is still an outsider.”

“It’s okay if you don’t want to answer,” Shepard quickly cut in. “Sorry I asked. I didn’t know it’s such a sensitive topic for you.”

The rest of dinner passed in an uncomfortable silence, which Shepard bore with practised equanimity. It wasn’t the first uncomfortable dinner he had to sit through, but he was still quietly relieved when it was over. He helped Kaidan to wash up the dishes before they retired to his house for the night.

In his house, Kaidan took two bottles of beer from his fridge, uncapped them, and brought them over to the couch. Plopping down next to Shepard, he passed one of the bottles to him. “I can’t believe you let my mom Charm you.”

“It seems like the fastest way to put her worries to rest,” Shepard explained. “Besides, it wouldn’t have worked if I didn’t trust you to stop her from veering off course.”

Kaidan studied him thoughtfully over the mouth of his beer bottle. “Do you mean it?” he asked bluntly.

Shepard knew exactly what he was asking about. “Until she asked, I hadn’t known I will go that far.”

“I don’t want you to,” Kaidan replied immediately. “I don’t want you to kill to protect my secret.”

“Just because I have the thought doesn’t mean I’ll act on it. Trust me, Kaidan. I know myself.” Shepard took a drink of his beer. “I think I finally understand why you’re considered a ghost in the intelligence community. I didn’t even notice when she Charmed me.”

“Told you I’m good.”

“Yes, you did.”

They sat in companionable silence, drinking their beer, and enjoying the closeness between them.

Gradually, Kaidan became aware that Shepard seemed to be having an internal debate with himself. “What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing.”

“Doesn’t look like nothing.”

Shepard debated internally for a moment longer and then finally asked, “Who’s Johann?”

Kaidan went still. “I was hoping you forgot about that.”

“You don’t have to tell me -”

“No, no. I guess you should know. He’s part of the reason why I left the Marines and why I always insist on working alone.”

Kaidan took another sip of his beer to bolster his courage. “Johann was my first serious boyfriend. I first saw him during our first week in bootcamp. It was difficult not to. By then, I knew my taste and he was cute. Even though we were in different squads, he frequently looked at me and I looked back.”

“You didn’t do anything about it?”

“No. I was more interested in getting through boot camp in one piece. Besides, all he did was look, even when a couple of jerks tried to bully Ash and I on that one occasion.

When we graduated from boot camp, Johann and I were assigned to the same squad for our first tour of duty. That’s when we really got to know each other. I’ve always been wary of people, but he was easy-going and affable. Most importantly, he didn’t treat me like I was a freak because of my biotics. It was easy to form a friendship with him and it didn’t take long before our friendship became romantic.

Our first squad was made up of good decent people. They didn’t care that I’m a biotic and I’m sure they noticed the mutual attraction between Johann and me. As long as we keep our relationship strictly platonic and remain professional in our work, they let us be. After we finished our tour of duty, Johann and I started dating.”

Kaidan idly thumbed at the sticker label on his beer bottle as he recalled those long-ago days.

“I loved him,” he admitted quietly, “and I believed at that time he loved me. He was caring and kind, and he made me happy. I thought he was it for me, you know? The one I’ll spend the rest of my life with.”

“It was a serious relationship for you,” Shepard stated.

“Yeah. I even thought about telling him what I really am. But Mom and Dad didn’t like him though. They kept reminding me that I mustn’t tell Johann my secret. Looking back now, I think they saw something in him that I couldn’t see.”

“Did you ever ask them?”

Kaidan shook his head. “No. After what happened later, I didn’t have to. Anyway, after our first tour, I was head-hunted for Intelligence. I wanted to accept but Johann persuaded me to sign up for another tour of duty with him. I didn’t really resist because I wasn’t keen on the idea of a long-distance relationship. I mean, we’d have to put our relationship on hold if we are assigned to the same squad but at least we’ll still be together. This time, we were assigned to the garrison on Benning. One of the squads stationed there had lost two Marines, so we were their replacements.

Up to that point, I guess I had been a little naive; I assumed this second squad would be the same as our first squad. Didn’t turned out that way. The squad’s Gunnery Chief was one of those people who didn’t know enough about human biotics and didn’t care to know more. He saw me as nothing more than a self-maintaining weaponised freak and his attitude trickled down to the squad he led. Most of the times, they made me feel like an outsider. The only times I was ‘part of the team’ was during battlefield trainings and firefights.

Johann, on the other hand, thrived. They quickly welcomed him as one of their own. He enjoyed every minute of it, and I was happy for him. I tried to be positive and professional about my situation, but it was difficult. When it got a bit too much, I confided in him.”

“What did he say?” Shepard prompted gently when Kaidan didn’t speak for a long moment.

“He told me I was imagining things. I don’t know how he came to that conclusion. I got upset and we had a huge fight over it.” Kaidan shook his head in sad disbelief. “I didn’t understand how he couldn’t see their treatment of me.

We apologised and made up, but the damage was done. Our relationship started to fray. Johann started to pull away from me. He became more and more involved with the squad whereas I was always kept at the fringe. I saw him changed under their influence. He became close-minded, more judgemental, more willing to use force to get his way. I didn’t like what he was turning into. I didn’t want to lose him, but I didn’t know what to do or how to get him back. I tried to reach out to him, talk to him, but he wasn’t listening anymore.”

Kaidan abruptly put down his beer bottle, stood up and headed for the kitchen. “Whisky, Shepard?”

Surprised, Shepard glanced at their bottles of beer. Both were still half-full.

Without waiting for an answer, Kaidan pulled out a bottle of Seagram’s from a cupboard and two lowball glasses from another. “Any mixer?”

It was clear to Shepard that Kaidan was delaying telling his story. “Soda water, if you have it.”

Kaidan took a bottle of soda water from the fridge and brought everything to the coffee table. He quickly mixed the drink for Shepard and poured a finger of whisky, neat, into his own glass and took a long swallow.

Shepard took a sip of his whisky, making sure to hide his grimace at the taste of it. But he kept his gaze on Kaidan, trying to ignore the ball of dread growing in his stomach. The way his story was unfolding, well, Shepard didn’t like where it was heading.

Feeling somewhat fortified, Kaidan continued, “I was prepared to put up with the squad. It was just two years, after all. I convinced myself we didn’t have to be friends to watch each other’s backs. We were Marines and Marines stick together, no matter what. I thought my squad would do that even though they thought of me as a freak. I was so wrong.

In our third month with the squad, we were given shore leave over a long weekend. Benning have nice beaches and the squad planned an overnight barbecue party on a beach not too far from the garrison. Johann asked me to come along. I thought there was something odd with the invitation because I had never been invited to one of the squad’s social outings before. But he persuaded me to go, said he wanted me at the barbecue, that it was a good opportunity for them to get to know me better. I didn’t quite believe him, but I let myself be persuaded and I joined them.”

Kaidan stared down into the golden-brown depths of his whisky; his voice unnaturally calm as he related the night that changed his life.

“The beach was secluded despite being near the garrison. There was no one else around. The party got underway. There was a lot of booze going around. The alcohol flowed; the party got wilder. Then the squad’s attention turned to me. Someone, I don’t remember who, announced it was time to haze me and that’s when I knew why they had organised the party.”

Shepard went still.

“I told them hazing is illegal, but they said,” Kaidan took a deep breath to steel his nerves, “they said I was to give them all blowjobs ‘since I have such a nice-looking mouth’. If I refuse, they will make me give it anyway.”

“That isn’t even hazing. It’s rape,” Shepard growled.

“Yeah. You have no idea how terrified I was. It was me against seven of them on a secluded beach far from any help. I knew if I give in, things will turn really bad, and they will never stop. If I resist, they will gang up on me and things would still go bad. At that time, Regulation Forty-One-B hadn’t been revised yet. It forbade me using my biotics against fellow soldiers. If I defend myself with my biotics, there would be an inquiry and I knew they would twist the story into such that I would become the perpetrator and aggressor instead. Even if I didn’t use my biotics and report them, they would still make sure to paint me as a disrupting influence, not fit to work with other Marines. Either way, I would be on the losing end of the inquiry.”

“Did Johann take part?” Shepard asked gently.

“He didn’t, but he didn’t even try to help me either.” Kaidan replied bitterly. “I kept looking to him for help, but he just watched from the sidelines. He knew what they were doing was wrong - I could see it on his face - but he didn’t do anything to stop them.”

“Did they-?”

“No. They didn’t touch me because I Charmed them.” Kaidan’s smile was one of grim satisfaction. “I’ve never been so thankful that no one knew my secret. They thought I was a defenceless human biotic, easy prey for whatever they wanted to do to me. Well, I wasn’t. I Charmed them, made them forget I was ever there and wiped all traces of my presence from the party, made them sleep on that beach. Then I ran back to the garrison.”

His smile faded. “The whole incident shook me to the core. I couldn’t believe what had nearly happened to me. I was so terrified and angry that Johann had lured me there, and that to my squad, I wasn’t a Marine simply because I was biotic.

A few days later, I overheard Johan talking to some of them. They chatted about how great the party must’ve been since they passed out in the end. They didn’t mention anything about hazing me, so I thought I was safe.

But they proceeded to speculate how much better the party would be if I had been there. They started to describe what they would do to me, and I was terrified all over again. And then one of them asked Johann if I was a good lay. And he told them. And the words he used…,” Kaidan’s voice cracked a little. “I’m a private person, Shepard. All those times we made love; they were special to me…but it didn’t seem to mean anything to him anymore. He even said that maybe one day he would share me with them.”

Kaidan took another swallow of his whisky. “I couldn’t stay. I knew I was in danger, but worse than that, the person I loved betrayed me in the most horrible way ever. I packed up my stuff and applied for an urgent leave of absence, citing family emergency. I’ve established connections with other people in the garrison, and I managed to get them to expedite my leave application and put me onto the earliest flight out of Benning.

On my way back to Earth, I had time to sort out my emotions and think. That squad’s attitude towards me was the exception to the rule. But all of them, Johann included, taught me one very important lesson: trust is an unreliable commodity. Even if I transfer to another squad, what guarantee do I have that the new squad will have my back? I encountered the worst just because I’m biotic. What if the new squad find out about my secret? How far will acceptance go? I realised I couldn’t take the risk anymore; I can’t work in a team and expect to keep my secret forever.”

“Why didn’t you leave the Alliance?”

“I thought about it,” Kaidan admitted. “But the thought of leaving left a bad taste in my mouth; it’d feel like conceding they’ve won. I wasn’t prepared to throw in the towel. So, when I reached Earth, I immediately contacted the major who headhunted me for Intelligence and accepted his offer.

That was one of my better decisions. I discovered that if I get really good at what I do, I can stay in the field on my own with no need for partners or teams. So that’s what I did. Even Anderson recognised my skills when he took over and he allowed me to continue as I am. His only condition is that I now report directly to him.”

“Did you report your squad?” Shepard asked.

“How could I? I erased all proof of that incident.”

“I mean their daily treatment of you.”

Kaidan was silent for a long moment.

“I didn’t dare to,” he finally said. “They would know who talked and I was afraid it would make things worse for me.” He averted his gaze. “I should’ve, though. I kept quiet and my silence made things worse for others.”

“What do you mean?” Shepard asked carefully.

Kaidan asked in a hushed voice, “Do you remember the McCoy Squad trial?”

It took Shepard a moment, but he finally remembered the military trial. He had been deeply immersed in his N7 training at that time, but the trial had been big news because it had sparked a mass petition by Alliance biotic soldiers demanding a revision of Regulation Forty-One-B. Their demand had been simple but impactful: they wanted biotic soldiers to be allowed to use their biotics for self-defence against bullying.

“McCoy was the name of the Gunnery Chief of the squad that had harassed and eventually caused the death of a biotic corporal in their squad…,” Shepard’s voice trailed off as the pieces fell into place. “That was your squad?”

Kaidan nodded. “I was six months into my Intelligence training when an investigator from the Alliance NCIS came to interview me. He wanted to know all about my time with the squad and why I left so abruptly. I couldn’t tell him about the beach incident, of course, but I told him the rest. That’s when I got to know about Corporal Liu’s death.”

“His death wasn’t your fault,” Shepard said sharply, immediately.

He met Shepard’s gaze steadily. “If I had been braver and reported them instead of running away, he wouldn’t have borne the brunt of their derision like I did and died from it.”

Putting down his drink, Shepard shifted close to Kaidan and carefully wrapped an arm around his hunched shoulders.

“Listen to me. You were scared for your safety,” he told Kaidan in a quiet firm voice, “just like anyone else in your position would be. You did the only thing you could in that situation. You’re not to blame for what happened to Corporal Liu. Only McCoy and his squad are at fault.”

Kaidan slumped tiredly against Shepard’s solid frame, burying his face in his neck. “I know that, but I also know he was my replacement. His parents once lamented in a news interview that if the squad’s previous victims had spoken up and done something, their son would still be alive.”

“Was it your predecessor’s fault the squad bullied and harassed you?”

Kaidan shook his head silently.

“Neither is it your fault that Corporal Liu died. His parents were grief-stricken when they said that. The squad is the only one to blame for his death.” 

“I keep telling myself that, but it’s difficult to convince myself sometimes.”

Shepard hugged him tightly. “If you ever feel that way again, tell me and I’ll remind you why you shouldn’t.”

They fell silent and Shepard let Kaidan nestled quietly in his arms, giving him time to recover from his emotionally exhausting story.

Finally, Kaidan sighed soundlessly, and his body relaxed further into Shepard’s. It didn’t take long before they were stretched out on the couch, their bodies entwined intimately together.

“Feel better now?” Shepard murmured.

“Much.”

“Did you break off with Johann?”

“Yeah. I’ve not spoken to him since. Last I heard, he was dishonourably discharged after the trial. Don’t know where he is now.”

“Good.” Shepard pressed a soft kiss against Kaidan’s temple. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”

“Me too.” Kaidan buried his face against Shepard’s neck. “Can we lie here for a little while longer?”

“We can lie here for as long as you want.”

Quietly, they cuddled on the couch. Kaidan’s eyes drifted close as he savoured the feel of Shepard running his fingers through his messy hair in slow comforting strokes. 

“You’re the first person I’ve told the entire story to,” he confessed quietly. “Not even my parents knew the full extent of what happened. I couldn’t bring myself to tell them everything. They only knew Johann broke my heart and he and the squad betrayed my trust.”

There was only one thing Shepard could say to that. “Thank you for trusting me. I promise your secrets are safe with me.”

Kaidan burrowed deeper into Shepard’s arms. “I know they are.”

Chapter Text

19 October 2186

Kaidan’s house and its surroundings were extremely quiet during the night, Shepard found out much to his great discomfort.

The air was chilly, and from the window, he could see the Milky Way splashed across the night sky high above the black outline of the trees. Everything was still and quiet, so quiet that he could hear it. For a spacer used to sleeping to the constant hum of a ship’s engine core, the quiet stillness was deafening, and it kept him awake half the night. He had never been so eager to get up in the morning - not that he would tell anyone. Wouldn’t do much for his image if word got out that an extra-quiet night defeated the first human Spectre.

He was particularly glad Kaidan wasn’t around to witness his discomfort. They had gone to bed late last night, neither of them willing to break the intimate comfort of the moment. But in the end, they parted – reluctantly – for bed. Kaidan still needed to spend the night in the inlet and that was something Shepard couldn’t do with him.

Still, remembering the few hours they had spent cuddling together while exchanging intimate talk was enough to make Shepard’s mood soar, and he started his day with a spring in his steps and a sappy smile on his face. He’d loved having Kaidan in his arms, loved the feel of his lean body pressed up against his own bulk, his strong wiry arms hugging him back. When they return to the Normandy, he hoped to persuade Kaidan to bunk with him permanently. 

Shepard donned the grey hoodie and sweatpants Kaidan had loaned to him. The hoodie pulled taut across his shoulders and over his bare chest, and the sweatpants fitted a little too close to his groin and thighs and ended above his ankles. They might be of the same height, but the difference in their masses made borrowing clothes from Kaidan a little uncomfortable for Shepard. But they were Kaidan’s, and under the freshly laundered fragrance was an underlying scent he immediately identified as his and it was wonderful.

Activating his omni-tool, Shepard checked his work account. Already, there was a long string of mail and messages waiting for his attention. Unwilling to start working so early in the morning, he switched over to his private account instead. The list of unread mail and messages in his private account was much shorter but no less important and far more interesting.

The latest message was from Kaidan; he opened it: Gone swimming. Make yourself at home. There’s food in the fridge and cupboards.

Happy that Kaidan gave him free reins in his own house, Shepard messaged back: Want breakfast? I’ll cook.

He headed to the bathroom and got a reply halfway through his ablutions.

Thanks, but I ’m having raw salmon for breakfast. I can use some coffee though.

Raw salmon for breakfast.

Shepard guessed being a Mer meant having a slightly different diet and taste palate.

Clean, groomed and dressed for the day, he hung up the towel on the rack set aside for him and headed into the kitchen. There was milk and juice, eggs, sausages and one whole side of filleted raw salmon in the fridge, and bread and fruit on the counter. He left the salmon alone but took out some eggs and sausages. It took him a while to figure out the coffee machine, but soon he had a pan of eggs and sausages sizzling away on the stove, bread in the toaster, and the fragrant aroma of coffee filling the air.

While he cooked, his mind drifted back to their conversation of last night and his happy mood sobered somewhat.

Shepard hadn’t expected Kaidan’s story. Sadly enough, it wasn’t unusual, though it was one of the rarer more extreme cases. Despite the increased education and safeguards, discriminatory attitudes still existed in the Alliance Military. The real fear of being further harassed still prevented many victims from speaking up.

Kaidan shouldn’t regret not reporting McCoy’s squad, and Shepard promised to himself to always remind him of that. He had no idea if the now-deceased Corporal Liu had previously reported them for abuse and bullying, but even if he hadn’t, his would-be lover still wasn’t to blame for his death. That squad was.             

“Morning,” said a husky voice behind him.

“Morning.” Shepard glanced up from his pan and took a double-take, all thoughts vanishing from his mind.

He stared at Kaidan making his way to the coffee machine, wearing nothing more than a towel wrapped around his waist. He was damp and bare-footed, and Shepard couldn’t look away from all that smooth and flawless bare skin on display.

This was the first time Shepard saw Kaidan half-naked without the veneer of ill health, exhaustion, and emotional burden.

And the difference was striking.

Not that those factors had undermined Kaidan’s handsomeness, but a healthy and well-rested Kaidan was even more magnetic and sexy.

Shepard had already known Kaidan was leaner than he was, but that didn’t mean he was skinny. He was sleek and compact, yet strongly muscled; Shepard could see the power in those biceps and shoulders. Kaidan’s chest was hard and well-defined and led down to equally hard and well-defined pecs and a belly button he found inexplicably cute.

“Like what you see?” Kaidan leaned against the counter, cocking a hip. His raised coffee mug hid his mouth from view, but his amber-brown eyes were warm with affection and amusement. 

Shepard tried to speak, couldn’t find his voice, coughed to clear his throat and mentally groped for something to say. Finally, he managed to ask without sounding flustered, “You want breakfast?”

Wait, hadn’t he already asked that?

Kaidan didn’t say anything, just watched him with those mesmerising amber-brown eyes. Then he closed the distance between them.

Shepard gulped as all that bare skin came close to him, so close that their bodies nearly touched, and he could smell the brine of seawater on Kaidan.

A drop of water dripped from Kaidan’s hairline and Shepard watched spellbound as it slid down the strong smooth column of his neck, the indent in his chest, his washboard stomach to be absorbed by the towel concealing his most intimate parts from the Commander’s eyes. He remembered caressing that torso; he could still vividly recall the soft smoothness of Kaidan’s skin against his palms. He itched to feel Kaidan’s skin again; he hungered to feel his sweet uninhabited response to his touch.

Shepard swallowed hard and dragged his gaze upwards to Kaidan’s face.

Kaidan was smirking broadly now. He leaned forward and whispered into Shepard’s ear, “Your eggs are burning.”

Shepard stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment, then he whipped back to the stove, cursing out loud when he saw the smoking pan. He frantically yanked the pan from the fire.

Behind him, Kaidan - the little shit - laughed a low throaty chuckle that sent shivers down his spine. The mostly naked Major sauntered to the bathroom. “The trash bin is to your left.” 

Scraping the burned egg into the trash, Shepard started up a new batch. This time, he made sure to pay full attention to his cooking and nothing else.

Much later, Shepard sat down at the dining table with a successfully cooked breakfast of eggs, sausages and toast and a large mug of coffee. He began to eat his breakfast and checked his mail and messages. Just when one of the messages caught his eyes, the bathroom door opened.

Kaidan stepped out, wrapped in a bathrobe, and rubbing a towel over his head, effectively distracting Shepard from his task and breakfast. He stopped chewing and watched the Major disappear into his bedroom.

If he follows him right now, he could very well catch a glimpse of Kaidan naked before he could dress, a small devilish voice whispered in Shepard’s head.

Tempting, but so wrong.

Kaidan wouldn’t mind.

Nope, he shouldn’t be perving on the man.

Even though he had already felt him up? Twice?

Kaidan emerging from his bedroom fully dressed in his civvies, ended his internal argument. Shepard couldn’t help but be disappointed by the sight of the handsome Major in clothes.

But he perked up again when Kaidan walked past him on his way to the fridge. Kaidan’s jeans fitted him snugly and with his shirt tucked in, Shepard had a nice view of his pert derriere as he moved about in the kitchen, preparing his own breakfast of raw salmon.

The Major’s ass had felt so good in his palms. How would it feel to have those taut glutes welcome him? Shepard’s thoughts began to wander…

Kaidan interrupted his daydream when he sat down opposite him with a plate of sliced raw salmon and his refilled mug of coffee. There was a flush of colour on his cheeks when he said, “Stop ogling my butt and eat your breakfast.”

“But it’s so nice to look at,” Shepard protested even as he discreetly shifted to ease the tightening in his jeans.

“Horn dog,” Kaidan scolded but there was no heat in his tone.

“What can I say? You got under my skin.”

Kaidan rolled his eyes, but his smile was at once self-conscious and flattered.

Pulling his mind out of the gutter took a herculean effort, but Shepard finally did it and went back to the message that had caught his eye. It was from the last person he expected to hear from.

Curious, he opened it.

His brows began to furrow as he scrutinised its contents. “Hey, Kaidan? Did we ever tell Hadley that we destroyed Dr Bryson’s orb?”

Kaidan slowly chewed his salmon as he searched his memories. “No, we didn’t. Why?”

“I’ve just got a message from him. He’s begging me to get him off the Citadel. He claims the C-Sec officers guarding him are showing signs of being Enthralled.”

“When did that happen?”

“He didn’t say.” Shepard stretched out his arm, so Kaidan could read the message on his omni-tool screen.

Commander Shepard,

This is Derek Hadley. You know, the guy who didn ’t murder Dr Bryson?

I need your help. I need you to get me off the Citadel and somewhere safe. There ’s something not right here. Those C-Sec officers guarding me? They’re starting to act strangely like there’s someone else speaking through them, and they know things that they shouldn’t know. Just the other day, one of them questioned me about Major Alenko. They wanted to know what we spoke about. They’ve never met him, so how did they even know we spoke?

I think Leviathan has gotten to them. I ’m scared they’re coming after me next.

Please, please come and get me out of here. I don ’t want to be controlled by them again.

Derek Hadley

“If this is true, it means there’s another orb on the Citadel,” Kaidan said with growing alarm. “There are over nineteen million people exposed to it.”

“Yeah.” Shepard closed the message. “But we need a plan and leverage before I take the Normandy to the Citadel. I won’t risk its capture while docked.”

And that meant finding the secret object Dr Bryson had mentioned in his letter to Hackett, which in turn meant all their hopes were now pinned on the cryptographers, Ann Bryson, and EDI on deciphering Dr Bryson’s code.

“You think they have any luck breaking Dr Bryson’s code?” Kaidan asked.

“I hope so.” Shepard opened another message, this time from Hackett. “Looks like we need to stop by Arcturus after we leave Earth. Hackett wants to see us.”

“Any reason why?”

“He didn’t say.”

They quickly finished their breakfast and prepared to leave. Soon, they were making their way to Shepard’s parked skycar.

Kaidan’s parents were waiting for them on their front porch with two crates. Shepard thanked them for their hospitality and said his goodbyes and loaded the crates into the skycar while Kaidan lingered with his parents. He couldn’t hear their conversation, but their body language - the worry in Kaidan’s parents and the earnestness in Kaidan as he reassured his parents - told him plenty.

It was obvious they were a close-knit family. Being the only human-Mer family unit living among humans, they had bonded together not only as a typical family, but also because of the hardships they had to overcome due to their uniqueness.

Climbing into the skycar, Kaidan gave a final wave to his parents, and they were off, returning to base and the Normandy.

“They’re very worried,” Shepard observed.

“This is the first time I’ve come home unable to Shift and with the help of strangers. And I’m leaving with the same helpful stranger. The change worries them.”

There was nothing Shepard could say in response to that. By contrast, his mom’s style of raising him had been vastly different - probably because she didn’t have to fear for her son’s safety from the very people who were supposed to protect him.

He reached out to Kaidan and pulled him in for a quick kiss. “Well, you should be able to spend more time with them when you go on vacation. That should help.”

Kaidan’s tone was wry. “Shepard, unless I quit the Alliance Military and spend the rest of my life living unobtrusively on Earth, I doubt they will stop worrying.”

“Is that something you want?”

He shrugged. “Maybe after I get my fill of traveling between the stars. Right now, the thought of living on Earth just feels a little confining.”

Returning to the Alliance Vancouver base, they headed for the hanger where the Normandy was parked. They had to weave their way through a near-continuous stream of cargo trolleys loaded with supply crates trundling up the frigate’s ramp for Shepard’s crew to unload before leaving.

Shepard took in the busy Shuttle Bay and called out to Cortez, “I don’t see my new Kodiak, Steve.”

Cortez looked up from his discussion with Ash and did a double-take. He didn’t reply, merely stared at Shepard, mouth hanging open.

No, not at him. He was staring at Kaidan, Shepard quickly realised.

Ash, on the other hand, was blatantly checking Kaidan out, her expression admiring and lusty - much to Shepard’s displeasure. “Looking good, Major.”

“Thanks.” Kaidan handed his crate to her. “As promised, a crate of my family’s finest brew.”

“Sweet!” Ash accepted the crate eagerly.

“Steve?” Shepard nudged the distracted pilot.

Cortez hastily recovered his composure, though his gaze kept drifting to Kaidan. “Sorry, Commander. Um…there was a severe storm off the upper coast of California last night, so the San Francisco base delayed the delivery. It should be arriving soon.”

“Let me know when it’s here.” Shepard handed his crate to Cortez. “This goes to the bar in the Port Observation Lounge. There’s turian brandy in there, so be careful.”

“It’s a gift for the crew,” Kaidan added. “My way of saying ‘thanks’ for everything.”

Cortez smiled warmly at him - a little too warmly, Shepard thought. “You’re one of us, Kaidan. We look out for each other.”      

“We’ll be in the War Room, if anyone needs us,” Shepard said.

When Kaidan turned to leave, the Commander’s good-humoured expression promptly morphed into a scowl. Mine, he emphatically mouthed the word to Ash and Cortez while jabbing his thumb at himself.

Ash raised her hands in acknowledgement. Cortez reluctantly looked away from Kaidan.

Satisfied, Shepard hurried after Kaidan and put an arm proprietarily around the Major’s waist as they headed to the elevator.

It wasn’t until the elevator doors closed that Cortez let out a wistful sigh.

Ash nudged him in the side and whispered conspiratorially, “Kaidan’s gorgeous, ain’t he?”

“Uh-huh,” Cortez agreed distractedly.

“Do you think they have sex yet?”

Cortez gave the question serious consideration before shaking his head decisively. “No.”

“You sure? I have credit riding on it.”

“I’m sure.”

Ash's hopeful expression fell. “Dang it, I thought this whole downtime would have given them the space and time to do the deed.”

The elevator’s doors slid open on Deck 3 and Kaidan stepped out, saying to Shepard, “I’ll meet you in the War Room in a bit. Just got to drop this off first.” 

“Make it fast, Kay.”

“K?” Kaidan echoed. “Nuh-uh, you’re not calling me that!”

The elevator doors closed on Shepard’s shit-eating grin.

Rolling his eyes at the childishness of the grown man, Kaidan made his way to the Med-Bay. He found Doctor Chakwas inside at her desk clearing paperwork. She looked up at his entrance, one brow arching.

“Hello, Major.”

“Hi, doc.”

“Since you look too healthy to warrant my attention, I’m guessing this is a social call.”

“You guess right.” Kaidan reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle. “Something from my family’s brewery, just to say thanks. I really appreciated your care and I’m sorry for being such a difficult patient.”

A warm genuine smile crossed Doctor Chakwas’s stern face as she accepted the gift. “You’re very welcome, Major. To be honest, you’re not the most difficult patient I’ve had. You should see Shepard when he had a common cold.”

“That bad, huh?” Kaidan grinned.

“He was a baby. Now can I give you a check-up? Just to clear you for duty.”

“Of course.” He stood very still as Dr Chakwas scanned him with her omni-tool.

“Hmm, your bio-signs are back to normal, which is good. How is your shoulder?”

“Good as new.

“Can you unbutton your shirt so that I can check the wound?”

Kaidan obliged and waited patiently while Dr Chakwas examined his once-wounded shoulder.

“Remarkable,” she marvelled. “The scarring is nearly invisible. Not even constant application of medi-gel can achieve this degree of healing. Is this due to your Mer biology?”

“Yeah, we tend to heal fast and very well.”

“You may button up now. Have you seen your implant doctor?”

“I’ll schedule an appointment soon,” Kaidan promised.

“Please do. Although the scans indicate there’s nothing wrong with it, I’d feel better if a specialist doctor clears you for biotic use.”

“Got it, doc.”

“Other than that, I don’t see any reason why I can’t clear you for active duty. I’ll update your file and let Shepard know. Just one last question: do you need to replenish condoms or lube?”

Kaidan blushed bright red. “No! He didn’t-we haven’t-I was busy healing, Doctor Chakwas.”

“Sensible,” The good doctor deadpanned.

“Yes, yes, we are.” He began a hasty retreat. “Excuse me, I’m needed elsewhere.”

“If you ever need to replenish your supplies, you know who to ask,” Dr Chakwas said with a straight face.

“Of course. Thanks!”

Once in the safety of the passageway and away from Doctor Chakwas’s sharp eyes, Kaidan waited until he had recovered his composure before stepping into the elevator. It wouldn’t do to show up in the War Room with a flushed face. Shepard would ask and well, the conversation was too embarrassing to bear repeating.

Arriving at the War Room, he found Shepard alone and deep in conversation with EDI. There were several windows open in the holographic display and Shepard was studying these screens intently while EDI briefed him.

“-Commander Chang’s task force has completed their investigations on Mahavid, and I was able to obtain the full set of analysis and reports from him,” she was saying through the speakers as Kaidan made his way to Shepard’s side. “Hello, Kaidan. Welcome back to the Normandy.”

“Thanks, EDI. What are we looking at here?”

“I am currently briefing Shepard on my findings on the Leviathan orbs. As I was saying, Mahavid’s environmental controls recorded the presence of an unusual energy emission radiating from the orb during the ten years it held the facility in thrall. This energy emission was not present prior to the ten years, and it ceased immediately right after you destroyed the orb. I deduce Leviathan only send out this energy emission when they want to actively take control of people. Otherwise, the orb remains inactive.”

“Why didn’t you and Liara discover this earlier?” Shepard wondered.

“The environmental controls on Mahavid are located on a separate and stand-alone server for safety reasons. Liara and I were focused on the facility’s main servers, not this separate server.”

“So, what made you look into it?” Kaidan asked.

“I find it intriguing that Leviathan can manipulate their thralls without any visible remote or physical controls other than the orbs. Therefore, I theorise the existence of an energy emission that can alter the victims’ minds and enable Leviathan to take control. Mahavid presents the best chance for me to find this energy emission. I am confident that if we return to Dr Bryson’s lab and examine the logs in his lab’s environmental controls, we will find the same energy emission signature as well.”  

“Keep that in mind, EDI. We may be returning to the Citadel, and you can test your hypothesis then,” Shepard said. “What else?”

“I am also looking into Dr Bryson’s encrypted data.”

“You’ve been busy,” Kaidan said admiringly.

“Thank you, Kaidan. Multi-tasking does come naturally to me,” EDI said baldly. “I have only made a preliminary analysis of his encrypted data. Based on the pattern of repetitions of the glyphs, arrangements, and sequences, I conclude that it is not an encryption code, but rather a language.”

“Show us,” Shepard said.

Three new screens popped up in the holographic displays, filled with an alien script in a grid formation.

Kaidan froze in shock as his world suddenly came to a screeching halt.

What the -?

Mouth agape in disbelief, he lunged towards the holographic display and scanned line after line of the alien script. 

“Kaidan? What is it?”

He looked at the Commander, but his gaze was immediately drawn back to the alien script as though it was a magnet. “Are you sure this is Dr Bryson’s encrypted data?” he asked faintly.

“Yes, it is,” EDI answered. “I am currently attempting to identify the language. However, as there is an estimated one hundred million registered languages with a written alphabet, the going is slow.”

“You won’t find it in any database,” he said abruptly.

“That is a…surprising conclusion you have arrived at, Major.”

“Kaidan, how do you know that?” Shepard asked carefully.

Shaken to his core, he turned to face Shepard. “This is the language of my mother’s people.”

Chapter Text

“I can’t believe he’s a Mer!” Kaidan exclaimed while agitatedly pacing the deck. “How is that possible? How could he have lived so long in space without ever having to return to Earth’s oceans? It’s impossible!”

“Is it really?” Shepard asked.

“Yes! We hear the ocean’s song all the time. All the time! It’s our siren song; we can’t escape it.”

“Maybe he’d found a way to manage it,” Shepard suggested. “You did, after all.”

“My limit is eleven months max. He hadn’t gone home in years! It’s impossible!” 

“It does explain why the cryptographers and me are unable to decipher the language,” EDI said. “Your mother’s language is completely unknown to the galaxy at large and does not have any known cousin languages. It will be impossible for anyone else to read what he wrote, except for himself and the people he taught the language to. It is the perfect encryption code as it hides the knowledge in plain sight.”

“Ann Bryson knows it though,” Shepard pointed out.

“From what you told me, her grasp of the language is probably at pre-schooler level,” Kaidan replied. He ran a hand through his hair. “Hold on, it still doesn’t make sense.”

“What doesn’t?”

“The most likely reason why I’m immune to Leviathan’s Enthralling is that I’m a Mer. Mers always breed true, even when they mate with humans. So not only Dr Bryson should’ve been immune to the Enthralling, but his offspring should also be as well. But I found Ann Bryson in that cave Enthralled by that orb.”

“I believe your theory is still intact, Major. There is an explanation for the apparent discrepancy,” EDI said. “Ann Bryson is not Dr Bryson’s biological offspring.”

That pulled Kaidan up short. “Really?”

“Dr Bryson married Ann’s mother when she was three and he adopted her thereafter.”

“In other words, she’s one hundred percent human.”

“Precisely. I believe the question we should be asking: does Ann Bryson know about her stepfather’s origins?”

“Hard to say and frankly not my biggest concern right now,” Shepard said. He gestured to the holographic screens. “Can you translate that, Kaidan?”

Kaidan stepped up to the display. A holographic screen blinked into existence before him, and he scrolled through it slowly. “No, I’m too rusty.”

“You’re not fluent?”

“It’s been too long,” Kaidan said defensively. “Look, Mom might have taught me how to read and write it but reading material in their language is non-existent and I hardly ever use it. And we had our hands full managing my biotics and the Alliance’s attention when I was growing up. Mastering a language no one else knows wasn’t exactly a priority. We need my mom’s help.”

Shepard didn’t hesitate. “EDI, grab a portable console and meet us in the Shuttle Bay pronto. We’ll need your processing power.”

“Right away, Commander.”

“Shepard to Cortez. Has the new Kodiak arrived?”

“Yes, sir. We’re just going to dock it.”

“Belay that. I’m commandeering it.”

“Aye, sir.”

Shepard popped the data drive from the reader and headed for the door. “Will your mom be all right around an A.I.?”

“She will have to be,” Kaidan said as he fell into step with Shepard.

EDI was checking the Kodiak’s controls when they arrived, and they quickly clambered on board.

“Put the Kodiak in full stealth, EDI,” Shepard ordered, “and do not log this flight.”

“Acknowledged, Shepard.”

Kaidan gave her the nav-point for his home and soon, they left the base.

The Kodiak was much faster than a skycar. Even so, Kaidan found the trip unbearably long. He impatiently drummed his fingers against his thigh, tapped his foot and paced inside the confines of the Kodiak during the journey. And once they had arrived, he jumped out of the Kodiak before it lands fully on the front lawn and ran for the farmhouse.

“Mom!” he called as he burst through the front door. “Are you here?”

Mrs Alenko emerged from the kitchen, startled. “Kaidan? What’s wrong? Why are you back so soon?”

“Mom,” Kaidan strode up to her and clasped her hands, “we need your help.”

His mom was, understandably, confused and puzzled. “My help? With what?”

“With this, Mrs Alenko.” Shepard slotted the data drive into the portable console and flipped it around to show her the screen filled with Mer script.

She gasped and recoiled in shock. “Where did you get that?!”

“We need your help to translate this for us,” Kaidan explained urgently. “It’s a matter of galactic safety.”

She stared at the screen, then at her son who gave her a pleading look. To her credit, she didn’t ask any unnecessary questions. “Let’s take this to the dining room. Kaidan, call your dad. Let him know what’s going on-”

She stopped short at the sight of EDI entering her home.

“Good morning, Mrs Alenko.” EDI greeted politely. “I am EDI, the Normandy’s Enhanced Defence Intelligence. I will be assisting you with your translation.”

Mrs Alenko shook her head and decided to just go with the flow. “Very well. Join us in the dining room.”

They quickly set up shop at the dining table.

Kaidan watched anxiously as his mom read through the data, stopping frequently at several places.

“This is a journal belonging to a Banished,” she said at last, astounded.

“He’s a Banished?” He craned his head to peer at what his mom was reading. “Where does it say that?”

His mom pointed to a block of glyphs. “Here. He was Banished when he was fifteen and had been living among humans since then. How had he survived for so long?”

Shepard looked askance at Kaidan. “What do you mean by ‘Banished’?”

“Banishment is a permanent punishment for the most severe crimes in Mer society,” Kaidan explained, “like treason, heresy, breaking the taboos etc. The Mer consider it worse than execution. In Dr Bryson’s case…” he read the entry over his mother’s shoulder, “I think he was Banished for ‘consorting with humans and possessing knowledge of the gods’ realm’. Did I read that correctly?”

“Yes, you did. Well done.” Mrs Alenko went on to explain, “You need to understand, Commander, our society is xenophobic, isolationist and socially rigid. Traditions are everything to us and we rarely change our ways. It is forbidden for us to interact with humans. As humans venture deeper into the oceans, we retreat further to avoid contact.

Over time, our increasing isolation caused our tribes to fragment into pods. We were never populous, but the fragmenting of our tribes and our inability to adapt mean our numbers keep dwindling and our gene diversity keeps decreasing.

About forty, fifty years ago, to increase our numbers, the Elders allowed us females to come ashore and seduce the men of your people for the sole purpose of conceiving and introducing fresh blood into our race. But the law remains in place for the males. This Mer-”

“Dr Bryson,” Shepard corrected.

“This Dr Bryson was a child when he started interacting in secret with three humans. They taught him about the human world, space, and the worlds beyond, all of which are forbidden and heretical knowledge. He was fifteen when his pod discovered his illicit friendship and heretical knowledge, and they Banished him to the human world.”

“But he was just a kid.”

“Not by Mer standards. Our children are considered adults when they turn sixteen. Dr Bryson was one year shy of adulthood, and they deemed him old enough to understand the gravity of his actions.”

“He can’t be the only Mer living in Banishment. I mean, you are one, right?”

“I’m not Banished,” Mrs Alenko explained succinctly. “This English word ‘Banishment’ is the closest approximation of our word for it. The contextual meaning of our word for Banishment means the expunction of one’s life and spirit for eternity.”

“Please explain.”

“The Banished Mer will have their name and all their deeds erased from our records. They will be escorted to the nearest land under heavy guard. On land, they will assume their human form and, watched by their guards and the tribe’s shaman, they will drink the Draught of Severing - a specific poison made for the occasion.

The Draught destroys the Mer’s ability to Shift, severing their physical connection to the oceans. They will never be able to revert to their original form and return home.”

It honestly didn’t sound so bad to Shepard, and he said so. “They will be forced to adapt, right? There could be humans with Mer heritage living on land.”

Mrs Alenko shook her head. “There is no such future for the Banished. The Draught also destroys the Mer’s ability to procreate - that is the severing of their physical connection to the Mer. Without offspring, their bloodline dies out.”

“And what about when they still live?” Shepard asked curiously.

“They’ll welcome death. Without the ability to Shift, the Banished are permanently imprisoned in their human form because the Draught cannot destroy their inborn instincts and traits of a Mer.

They will continue to hear the call of the oceans and feel the longing to return. As they can no longer answer the call and Shift, the call will only get louder, the longing stronger until it drives them mad. They will attempt to return to the oceans, but since the human form isn’t made for aquatic life, they drown instead. To us, drowning while in our human form is repulsive and profane. We believe our souls are destroyed when we drown, and thus they are Banished for eternity.”

Kaidan stared at his mom, pale and his expression horrified. “That’s cruel, mom.”

Shepard wordlessly nodded his head in agreement.

“The oceans are harsh and uncompromising, and so we are too. The only mercy the Banished gets is that the madness descends quickly, usually within the first month of Banishment, and it’s followed closely by death.” Mrs Alenko scanned through the journal entries. “Was he insane?”

“No. By all accounts, he was a working professor in archaeology, and he had a family,” Kaidan explained. “He died from a gunshot wound.”

“He shouldn’t be able to live for so long,” Mrs Alenko muttered.   

“Perhaps he had help from his human friends,” EDI suggested.

Mrs Alenko didn’t respond. An entry had caught her eyes and Kaidan watched his mom closely as she read, her brows rising.

Curious, he peered at the screen of the console. “What did you find?”

“He fought the ocean’s call for three years.” Mrs Alenko pointed to another block of glyphs. “Your artificial friend is correct. His human friends helped him fight to keep his sanity.”

Immediately, Kaidan thought of Hackett. “They must be really close friends.”

“He had three very close friends,” Mrs Alenko confirmed, “and one of them became his wife. Here’s the interesting thing: the ocean’s call faded after three years, and he could no longer hear it. Also, he lost his ability to Charm.”

Kaidan stared at her, his skin crawling at the revelation. “Is that possible? Do you know?”

“I don’t know. I doubt any Mer knows. Banishment is designed to work with our instincts to torture and kill the Mer quickly. To keep his instincts from killing him…” Mrs Alenko shook her head in admiration and pity, “he had to be very strong.”

“As interesting as this is, may I suggest we revisit the topic another day?” EDI interjected politely. “I believe we are on a time limit here.”

“Very well.” Mrs Alenko gave the entry one last longing look and flicked it away. “What are you looking for in his journal, Commander?”

“A weapon,” Shepard answered promptly. “Something that will stop Leviathan’s invasion. We need to know what it is and where he had hidden it.”

“Where do I start looking? There’re too many entries.”

Shepard folded his arms as he thought about it. “How about twenty years ago, give or take? His daughter said he first excavated on Namakli around that time.”

EDI connected her omni-tool to the portable console and scanned through the journal entries. “That is still too broad a time frame, with over five hundred entries. We need a keyword that will narrow down our search.” 

“Namakli,” Kaidan said suddenly. “If we can determine the glyphs for Namakli, we can use it to flag journal entries containing it. Since we know from Garneau’s flight logs the exact date Ann Bryson arrived on Namakli -”

“- EDI will be able to flag the journal entries Dr Bryson made around that time,” Shepard finished for him. “That will narrow down the number of entries. No way he wouldn’t talk about her expedition. We can use those entries to find the glyphs for Namakli.”

“An excellent suggestion.” EDI was already typing commands into her omni-tool. “Based on Garneau’s flight logs, it took them five days to travel from the Citadel to Namakli. I will proceed to flag the journal entries Dr Bryson made in that time frame.”

It didn’t take her long.

“I have finished flagging the entries. You may start with this entry Dr Bryson made just before Anne’s departure time, Mrs Alenko.”

The journal entry appeared on the portable console’s screen and Mrs Alenko began to read.

At the same time, Kaidan leaned over to Shepard to ask softly, “You suspect Dr Bryson found something on Namakli?”

“Everything we saw on that planet points to that possibility.”

Kaidan hummed thoughtfully. “Ann said she felt she was trapped all alone in a cold, dark and wet place.”

“That’s what caught my attention. Her sense of being alone whereas the others all claimed there were huge beings in that place with them.”

“The orb was heavily cracked,” Kaidan murmured. “Maybe it’s damaged, malfunctioning, which can explain why her experience was different.”

“And maybe the one who made the weapon cracked the orb so he could hide from his people.”

“You think the weapon’s creator is a Leviathan.”

Shepard folded his arms across his chest. “It makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah. Dr Bryson said they were the apex race. Only the Reapers were able to supersede them, which means any other viable threat to them would have to come from within their ranks.”

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Shepard said.

“Provided it’s still alive,” Kaidan pointed out grimly.

“One step at a time.”

While they conversed, Mrs Alenko wrote four glyphs in a vertical line on a notepad and showed it to EDI. “Can you flag entries that contain these glyphs in this order?”

“One moment.”

Kaidan peered at the glyphs. “Does that say…‘Namakli’?”

Mrs Alenko nodded.

“It’s fairly accurate.”

“I have flagged sixty-three entries made between nineteen to twenty-one years ago,” EDI announced after a short pause. “I shall bring them up, starting with the oldest entry. Mrs Alenko, I will be recording your translations as you speak.”

A new window popped up on the portable console’s screen. Shifting closer to his mom’s side, Kaidan peered at the console screen as she read the journal entry.

“This entry was written on his way to Namakli,” she said at last. She scanned through a few more entries rapidly. “Hmm…nothing relevant in the following entries.”

She started reading the tenth entry. “This looks promising. ‘2 May 2165, Day Two. Chandra discovered a series of rock paintings on a cliff ledge thirty meters above base camp that stunned us. These rock paintings are clearly of the Reaper ships, which begs the question: why did the Reapers come to this planet? Namakli has never supported a space-faring civilisation. It shouldn’t have drawn the Reapers’ attention.’”

Kaidan looked up when he heard the front door open and close and moments later, his father came into the dining room.

Mr Alenko took in the scene before him, his eyebrows raised high in surprise. “You weren’t kidding when you said you need your mom’s help, son.”

“I didn’t disrupt your work with the harvest, did I?”

“It’s fine. Emile is supervising.”

“Another interesting entry.” Kaidan turned his attention back to his mom when she spoke again. “‘9 May 2165. Day Ten. We have been here for over a week and I’m noticing odd behaviour in my expedition team. All of them are experiencing memory losses, gaps where they can’t remember what they did or where they were. I find myself frequently filling in the blanks for them, so to speak. I don’t know when it started exactly, but this curious abnormal behaviour is worrying.’”

She flicked to another entry. “‘My team’s odd behaviour and strange memory losses are getting worse. I don’t know what is going on, or why I’m the only one not affected. It can’t be the environment or our water and food; I’ve checked. If this gets any worse, I’ll have no choice but to pull everyone out of Namakli.’”

“There was an active orb nearby,” Shepard muttered.

Mrs Alenko read another entry. “‘11 May 2165. Day Fifteen. Today was the strangest day of my life and I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve somehow saved my entire team.

Choi woke me in the early hours. He and my entire expedition team had gathered in my tent without my knowing. They weren’t themselves. I don’t know how to explain it, but their behaviour reminded me of the puppets on that children’s show Ann loved so much when she was little, except they were much less animated than those puppets.

Choi asked me why I ’m not Enthralled. I didn’t know what he was talking about. I asked him what was going on, and that’s when I found out Choi was no longer in control of his mind and body.

An alien had somehow taken control of him, who introduced himself as a member of the ancient apex race I had dubbed Leviathan. I asked this Leviathan for his name, and he told me to call him The Traitor. Privately, I think ‘The Mad Leviathan’ suits him better.

The Mad Leviathan proceeded to tell me a story: his people were the first apex race of the galaxy. They spread through the galaxy and asserted their dominance by Enthralling the lesser races to serve them. In return, they protected and cared for these lesser races. It was how they had maintained their reign of the galaxy for aeons.

The Leviathan was a long-lived race, and they quickly noticed a pattern in the lesser races: every time they succeeded in creating synthetic technology, their synthetic creations would consistently revolt and wipe out their creator race. So many species and races were lost to this seemingly inevitable organic-synthetic conflict that the Leviathan felt compelled to create an Intelligence specifically to solve this problem and preserve life at all costs.

That was their mistake.

The Intelligence somehow concluded that Leviathan was part of the problem and betrayed them. It slaughtered them in droves and used their genetic material to create the very first Reapers. The surviving Leviathan went into hiding and the Reapers became the new apex race and initiated the notorious fifty-thousand-year cyclical harvest of the galaxy ’s species.

The Mad Leviathan was born in the twilight years of the Leviathan ’s reign. He was a child when he witnessed the Intelligence slaughter his parents and family and watched his kin and friends be turned into Reapers. He had hidden with others, and he had silently watched the Reapers, wearing the form of his people, harvested the space-faring species of the galaxy again and again, and his fury and hatred grew with every cycle.

His wrath led him to an epiphany: it was his people ’s hubris that had given birth to this nightmare, their arrogance that had caused him to lose everyone dear to him. I suspect this was when the Mad Leviathan began hating his own people as well. He hatched a plan that would, in his opinion, exact vengeance on those he deems culpable.

His plan was two-fold.

He first secretly began helping the lesser races to fight the immediate threat: the Reapers. It took many cycles. He had to be careful. The Reapers must remain ignorant of his existence, or they would hunt him and every one of his people down. He patiently, discreetly guided the lesser races, interfering without their knowing, and eventually, his plan came to fruition with the Prothean.

The Prothean ’s last stand is well-known in our history books: they successfully built and used the Crucible to stop the Reapers once and for all. What the Prothean did not know was the Mad Leviathan had interfered in the building of the Crucible and ensured that its energy blast sent his people into a long hibernation sleep while he avoided the same fate.

While his people slumbered and the Reapers were no longer a threat, he began work on the second stage of his plan - to punish his people for their arrogance. In his opinion, they did not deserve to live either. To this end, in the early centuries of the current cycle, he enslaved the surviving Prothean and used them to rebuild the Citadel and mass effect relays and devoted himself to creating a weapon that would stop his people ’s ascension when they wake.’”

“Well?” Kaidan urged when his mom fell silent for a long while. “What is this weapon he created?”

“Commander, how are you going to present this translated journal to your superiors?” Mrs Alenko asked abruptly.

Kaidan blinked. He had been so focused on uncovering the key to defeating Leviathan that he hadn’t thought that far ahead.

“This journal has fallen into the hands of the Alliance,” his mom went on. “They can’t read it, or you wouldn’t seek my help. When you bring a translation back to your superiors, they will know Dr Bryson is a Mer and they will want to know how you got it translated. What are you going to tell them?”

His mom was right, Kaidan realised.

By bringing back a translated copy of the journal entries, they would be outing himself and his mother to the Alliance, and that was unacceptable.

“I don’t have to tell them anything,” Shepard answered confidently.

Mrs Alenko didn’t look convinced.

Kaidan looked from his mom to Shepard and back to her. He had no idea if Shepard have a plan, but unlike his mom, he was willing to trust him to know what he was doing. “Mom, let us worry about the Alliance,” he said softly. “I’m sure Shepard and I can keep us a secret.”

“Kaidan,” his mom sighed, “this is too big a risk. I won’t take the chance of you being taken away from us.”

“I can take care of myself.” Kaidan grasped her hands. “Mom, please. This is more important than any of us. Leviathan already knows what I am, it isn’t difficult for them to find you too. If they succeed in taking over the galaxy, there’s nowhere we can hide.”

“Please trust us, Mrs Alenko,” Shepard said. “The Alliance won’t know about the Mer.”

Mrs Alenko’s scepticism wavered but still, she hesitated.

“Honey, I know you’re afraid.” Kaidan’s dad said gently. He sat down beside his wife and put an arm around her. “So am I. I don’t want to see them take Kaidan away too, but the boys are right. Right now, Leviathan is the bigger threat. Help them to defeat Leviathan; they will make sure none of this can be traced back to you and Kaidan.”

Mrs Alenko gave her husband a weak glare, which he met with an encouraging smile. Then she sighed again. “Fine, I will help.”

Her glare sharpened when she directed it at Shepard. “You better know what you’re doing, Commander.”

“I do, madam,” Shepard said solemnly.

Unhappily, Kaidan’s mom returned to her reading.

“‘Thousands of years passed. By the time our paths crossed here on Namakli, the Mad Leviathan was ancient and dying. His people are waking and somehow those who are awake have gotten wind of his plans and seek to stop him. It’s only a matter of time before they find him on Namakli, and he wanted me to take away the weapon he had created before they come.

I refused to help. I didn ’t know if he was telling the truth and I didn’t want to have anything to do with his corrosive hatred of his own people, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He threatened to kill my team and strand me on Namakli forever if I didn’t help him. I had no choice but to agree.

Through Choi and two others in my team, the Mad Leviathan took me to a cave located in a nearby canyon. When we were inside the cave, Choi told me the weapon was hidden in a smaller cave accessible only via an underwater cavern system. He and I geared up and he led me to the cave. In there, I found a glass orb the size of an old Earth globe with streamers of green light twisting in its core. Right next to it was a much smaller glass orb no bigger than a tennis ball and it was dark and contained no light.

I asked the Mad Leviathan what the orbs do, but he only told me to take the small orb away to safety first. He didn ’t need to say anything, though. I had a hunch that the big orb has something to do with his control over my team.

I asked him why he chose me and not any of my teammates to help him. Wouldn ’t it be easier since he was already controlling them? Much to my surprise, he said they fell under his control too easily, making them a liability if others of his people were to control them in the future. His contempt for us ‘lesser races’ was as clear as day.

Unable to find any way out of the situation I was in, I took the small orb and returned to the cave with Choi. We had barely left the cave when my teammates suddenly staggered. I didn ’t know what happened; they looked dazed and confused. Finally, Choi asked what they are doing there, and I knew at that moment that they were free, and I was relieved to have them back.

But questions plagued me. What am I to do with the small orb? According to the Mad Leviathan, it is a weapon to counter his people ’s ascension. What did that mean? How would the small orb achieve that? How do I use it? In the worst-case scenario, I imagine it meant genocide and the possibility terrified me. I’m not a murderer, I don’t want to be responsible for the genocide of a race even if they seek dominance over the other galactic races.

That night, I slipped back to the cave while everyone else was asleep and I made my way back to the underwater cave. It was a dangerous dive even though I did not remove the guideline, but I desperately needed answers and I refused to expose my teammates to the Mad Leviathan again.

There were no answers to be gained.

The big orb in the cave had gone completely dark and I had no idea how to activate it. Looking back now, I get the feeling that I wouldn ’t be able to communicate with the Mad Leviathan ever again. I think he died. If he is dead, then the explosive I used to destroy the orb in the cave was completely unnecessary. Not that I care to check; I had hightailed it out of the cave once I set the timer and I refused to go back.

 I need help to figure this mess out, but the Mad Leviathan’s story is so fantastic that I know no one will ever believe me - except maybe for Steven. He’ll help me, but without any solid proof, he’ll have trouble marshalling his resources. I’ll need more proof - the solid, irrefutable kind - before I can go to him.’”

Mrs Alenko stopped. She wrote three more glyphs on the notepad, which Kaidan recognised as ‘weapon’, and showed it to EDI. “Can you flag entries with these glyphs?”

“One moment.”

They didn’t have long to wait.

“There is one such entry after Dr Bryson’s expedition. I shall bring it up.”

Mrs Alenko read through the entry. “He hid the weapon on Benning,” she announced.

“Did he say where on Benning?” Kaidan asked anxiously.

“He wrote briefly on it. ‘Right now I can only think of hiding the weapon in my home on Benning. I’ll probably have to leave clues behind. If something happens to me, someone else can still retrieve it, but I’m terrible at puzzles and treasure hunts. My dear deceased wife wasn’t, and I can only take a leaf from her favourite book. Hopefully, it will be enough.’”             

“That’s cryptic,” Shepard muttered.

Mrs Alenko scribbled a nav-point and an address on her notepad and pushed it to Kaidan. “Here.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Kaidan tore off the slip of paper and kissed his mom on her cheek. “You’re the best.”

“Be careful.”

“I will.”

Kaidan’s mom watched anxiously as her son and his friends gathered up their equipment. The Commander was already striding to the front door as he barked orders into his comm.

She and her husband followed them out of the farmhouse and watched their departure from the front porch. Her worried gaze fixed on the rapidly shrinking shape of the Kodiak. “Will he be all right?”

“He’ll be fine,” Mr Alenko answered comfortingly. “He’s smart, strong, and resourceful, and he has Commander Shepard by his side. They’ll keep the Mer’s existence a secret.”

She sighed and leaned against her husband who wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Honestly, I think they’re better at dealing with the Alliance than you and I together,” he admitted.

“…I hope you’re right.”

Chapter Text

Finally.

A real solid breakthrough in an otherwise frustrating mission.

Kaidan couldn’t wait to get right to it. “We should go to Benning first,” he told Shepard as they flew back to base.

“Agreed. Hackett can wait for a bit. Priority now is to get our hands on the weapon.”

“How are we going to explain our discovery to Hackett and Anderson?”

“We don’t,” Shepard answered simply.

Kaidan looked at him quizzically as Shepard sat down beside him.

“No one else needs to know we have deciphered Dr Bryson’s journal,” Shepard explained. “If Hackett and Anderson ask, our story is simple: Benning is strategically close and vital to Arcturus Station, the seat of the Systems Alliance government. It’s a prime target for Leviathan, which is why I investigate it. You meet me there and we get lucky and stumble across the anti-Leviathan weapon.”

Kaidan considered it. “That may work.”

“It will work,” Shepard corrected. Kaidan watched as he leaned forward in his seat. “EDI, knowledge of this trip is classified between the three of us. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

Shepard turned back to Kaidan, arching a brow. “What’s with that look?”

“You’re not even going to tell Garrus and the others about this discovery?”

“Do you want them to know that Dr Bryson is a Mer?”

Kaidan looked away, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “Not really. As it is, I’ve never had so many people who knew about me. It’s all very daunting.”

“Garrus and the others understand why secrets are kept,” Shepard said calmly. “You don’t have to tell them if you’re not comfortable with the idea. It’s certainly easier to protect the Mer if we restrict the truth to just the three of us. Frankly, I’m more concerned about how to use the weapon. Can we figure it out in time to stop Leviathan?”

“Perhaps it works similarly to its larger counterparts,” EDI suggested.

“So only a Leviathan can activate it?”

“That is a possibility, but I doubt it. I believe only a suitable…lesser being can activate it. The Mad Leviathan did not choose Dr Bryson’s teammates because they were susceptible to the Enthralling. Like Kaidan, Dr Bryson is immune to the Enthralling and so perhaps this made him an ideal candidate. After all, what is the point of giving the weapon to an organic if said organic is easily controlled by other Leviathans?”

EDI’s theory was sound, but there was a point Kaidan couldn’t ignore. “But the Mad Leviathan didn’t teach Dr Bryson how to use the weapon.”

“Perhaps he was unable to,” EDI suggested. “From his account, I hazard a guess that the Mad Leviathan died soon after giving the weapon to Dr Bryson. Even if that is false, he did damage the Enthralling orb in the cave. He could have unknowingly prevented the Mad Leviathan from teaching him.”

Perhaps.

Right now, they only knew in broad strokes how Dr Bryson got his hands on the weapon, not the specifics. There were still plenty of unknowns, none of which could be answered through speculation.

In the end, there was no point in speculating what they did not know, Kaidan reflected. “Let’s just get the weapon first. We’ll figure it out after that.”

The Normandy’s hanger was filled with commotion when they arrived. From the moment Shepard issued the recall, the ground crew had only an hour to get the Normandy ready for launch. The frigate’s crew members were racing back to the ship while the ground crew scrambled to finish up their maintenance and delivery of supplies. Through the Kodiak’s cockpit window, Kaidan could see Ash and Vega outside the Normandy conducting a roll call of the frigate’s returning crew.

Once in the Normandy’s Shuttle Bay, EDI finished securing the Kodiak in its hanger bay while Shepard and Kaidan headed up to the C.I.C.

Most of the C.I.C. crew was present and already busy prepping the frigate. Garrus was standing at Shepard’s terminal, overseeing the pre-flight preparations.

“Sorry to cut your date short,” Shepard clapped his armoured shoulder as he hopped up to the galaxy map. “Where are we at?”

“Propulsion and power systems are all green; weaponry system is green, and the cannon has been fully calibrated. Cargo holds and armoury are almost full. Our fuel and water tanks are one hundred percent full. Nearly all crew members have reported back to duty, except for a negligible number of stragglers. Their absence won’t affect the crew’s performance if we launch without them.”

“Let us give them as much time as possible to report back. If they don’t make it in time, tell them to rendezvous with us on the Citadel. What about our Marine detail?”

“At full strength.”

“Good. Kaidan, the nav-point?”

Kaidan passed him the slip of paper.

“You look better,” Garrus noted.

“Thanks. I feel better. Just out of curiosity, where did you take Tali on your date?”

“Granville Island.”

“That’s a very popular shopping and dining spot. You guys must’ve enjoyed yourselves.” Kaidan had no idea if the location served any dextro cuisine, but he wasn’t going to point that out.

To his surprise, Garrus looked pained. “She did, not me. It’s right next to the water. I’ve never been so close to water.”

“You’ve been on boats before,” Shepard pointed out.

“On missions, yes. Never on my own time. But Tali wanted to visit Granville Island, so we went. And she made me promise to take her to this Kit-something beach the next time we’re here.”

“Kitsilano Beach,” Kaidan said. “That’s a nice spot to relax.”

“It’s a beach,” Garrus’s voice was unimpressed.

“It’s gorgeous.”

“It can’t be that bad. Stay on the beach and you’ll be just fine,” Shepard said. He pressed the comm. button. “Joker, I’ve logged our course.”

“Aye, Commander. First to Mars, then to Benning. Got it.”

“Have you ever seen turians swim?” Garrus asked flatly.

“Nope,” Shepard answered.

Kaidan shook his head.

“That’s because we can’t swim. We just thrash around in the water and then we sink. A beach is too close to the water for comfort.”

“But you’ll still take her there, anyway, won’t you?” Shepard smirked. “Because you want to make Tali happy.”

Garrus deflated. “I hate it when you’re right.”

Forty-five minutes later, the base’s flight traffic control tower cleared the Normandy for take-off. Joker sounded the ship-wide departure call and everyone who was still on their feet scrambled to find an empty seat and belt in.

No one in the C.I.C. could see it: the hanger roof doors rumbled open and under Joker’s skilful hands, the Normandy steadily rose into the sky. Once in the clear, her main thrusters fired, and the g-force pushed everyone deeper into their seats as the frigate shot towards the stars at escape velocity. It didn’t take long before they cleared Earth’s atmosphere.

“We’ve crossed Earth’s Kármán line,” Joker reported from the cockpit. “Earth orbital traffic control has cleared us for flight towards Mars. We will be there in forty minutes, Commander.”

“Acknowledged, Joker,” Shepard unbuckled himself from his seat and stood up. “Garrus, call for a mission briefing thirty minutes after we pick up Liara in the War Room. Same personnel as our last mission.”

“Understood, Shepard.”

“Traynor, scan Benning’s communication network. I want to know if there are any whispers of places going comm-dark or being put into quarantine on that planet.”

“Aye, sir.”

Shepard tipped his head in Kaidan’s direction.

Getting the hint, Kaidan followed Shepard out of the C.I.C. and to the War Room. “What is it?” he asked when they were alone.

“Bunk with me,” Shepard said abruptly.

Kaidan blinked. He wasn’t expecting Shepard to ask him that.

“I know it’s sudden but after last night, I realise I want to bunk with you.”

Kaidan opened his mouth and then closed it, a little lost for words. Finally, he managed to say, “It’s one thing to flirt and make out on a military ship, but to live together on it? You’re not worried about the fraternisation regs?”     

“Doesn’t bother me.”

Of course it didn’t, Kaidan wasn’t surprised to know. Shepard was in the enviable position of answering to nearly no one about his conduct; he had probably forgotten military regs held more influence over other soldiers’ conduct than it did him.

Shepard’s hopeful expression turned hesitant. “I’m not moving too fast, am I?”

“No! It’s just…” Kaidan racked his brain for the right words. How should he put it? “You remember what I said that night we made out in your cabin? That I haven’t found anyone I want to have sex with for a long time? The same goes for bunking with people I like.”

Shepard understood immediately. “Johann was the last person you lived with.”

“Yeah.” Falling silent, Kaidan examined the emotions coursing through him. It had been so long since his last relationship that Shepard’s invitation felt new and exciting all over again, and he very much liked how it made him feel.

He smiled at Shepard. “Yeah, I’ll bunk with you.”

Shepard’s face lit up.

“You did promise me a night I’ll never forget.”

“And I intend to fulfil it.” Shepard’s gaze dipped to his lips and Kaidan was equally amused and self-conscious when the Commander stared so intently at him. “That smile of yours makes me want to kiss you, do you know that?”

Kaidan gave him a bashful smile and grasped his hand. “Come on, let’s move my things to your cabin. You can kiss me all you want then.”

Shepard brightened. “That’s the best suggestion ever.”

~

Milky Way / Arcturus Stream / Euler System / Second planet - Benning

Benning was a garden world, the nearest to Arcturus Station, and vital not just to the station but also to the Alliance fleets. It was the primary source of food supply for the fifty-thousand odd residents living and working on Arcturus Station and an important staging area for starship maintenance and repair. Because of its importance, Benning was a thriving human settlement world with roughly two and a half million citizens, and a healthy economy stemming from a mix of agricultural, heavy industry and military presence.

It was also the planet where Kaidan’s life changed drastically so many years ago. This would be his first visit back to the planet since his hasty departure, and he was vaguely surprised to find himself relatively unperturbed by the knowledge. It gladdened him. At least, it proved that he was mostly over the poor treatment he had endured.

The nav-point Kaidan’s mom had gleaned from Dr Bryson’s journal was the location of a suburbs not too far from the capital city Joughin. While the capital city was a claustrophobic hub of densely packed homes stacked upon each other, the land outside it was a mix of farmlands and wilderness. It was far more pleasant than the industrialised sardine tin that was Jourghin.

Kaidan insisted on timing their arrival to coincide with the mid-morning of a weekday when most of the residents would be at work. He knew from experience that it was easier to keep a low profile during this period - especially when they were dealing with an alien who could look through someone’s eyes. 

Shepard humoured him but baulked when Kaidan told him to leave his armour and heavy artillery at home. “The mission can get dangerous,” he pointed out.

“It’s a civilian residential district; nobody is going to shoot at you. We need to attract as little attention as possible,” Kaidan countered reasonably, “and that includes not scaring the residents. Which reminds me, we need to rent a local skycar. The Kodiak’s Alliance colours will give us away immediately.”

To no one’s surprise, Liara had an agent embedded on Benning and her agent quietly arranged for a skycar to pick them up when Cortez dropped both men off in an empty field a few miles outside the suburbs.

Kaidan watched with barely concealed amusement as Shepard smoothed down the front of his N7 leather jacket uncomfortably. “Nerves?”

“This is the first time I’m doing a ground mission in civvies,” Shepard confessed.

The Commander was being adorable and with his nerves still tingling from their brief make-out session, Kaidan just had to kiss him.

“I do it all the time,” he smiled at the Commander. “There’s nothing to it. Relax, Shepard. We still have our pistols, our anti-Enthralling shields and kinetic barriers, and Cortez is waiting for us nearby if we need him.”

Kaidan turned back to the skycar’s console to key in the nav-point.

“I’m still feeling nervous,” Shepard insisted ostensibly. He tapped a finger meaningfully against his lips. “Maybe you should kiss me again.”

Obligingly, Kaidan gave him a quick peck - on his cheek instead. “Mind on the mission, Commander.”

Shepard pouted.

The nav-point in Dr Bryson’s journal was that of a house tucked away in a secluded patch of woods a few miles outside the suburbs. It stood out immediately from the other houses in the neighbourhood despite being half-hidden from view in a forested cluster. It was far larger and much better maintained.

Kaidan studied the house as the skycar drove up the driveway. “I’m beginning to think archaeology is a very lucrative career.”

“It’s possible,” Shepard acknowledged. “But Liara also said Dr Bryson’s specialisation is extremely niche. I doubt he can afford a place like this in his academic career.”

“Do you think he dabbled in treasure-hunting?”

Shepard hesitated. “I don’t know. Hackett would’ve cut off all ties with him if he was involved in anything illegal. We’ll just have to wait for Liara to finish digging into his background.”

"You know, I’m positive Hackett knows he’s a Mer.”

“They are old friends,” Shepard agreed. “I think we should err on the side of caution and assume Hackett does know. Which means treading carefully so that he won’t suspect you.”

When they arrived at the house, Kaidan looked around at the property as they walked up to the front door. The house was well-maintained, and the garden had an extravagant gathering of flowering bushes and shrubs, but he could see the subtle signs of recent neglect.

The bushes and shrubs were beginning to look unkempt; dead leaves were scattered across grass that was just a little bit taller and wilder. The external facade of the house could use a good cleaning too and every window he could see was closed and shuttered. He could also see dead leaves accumulated in the corners of the front porch they walked up to. When Shepard pressed the doorbell on the haptic lock, only its echoing chime answered them.

“Looks like no one’s home,” Kaidan observed. He stepped past Shepard and activated his omni-tool and like before, he hacked the lock on the door.

Pistol in hand, Shepard took the lead and entered the house.

The mermaid statue prominently displayed on a table in the foyer was the first thing that greeted them.

Kaidan took one look at it and chuckled, “If I didn’t know he was a Mer, I would’ve considered this an idealised representation of his people.”

The statue was an idealised depiction of a mermaid: it was a nubile fully human girl with a fish tail - beautiful, innocent, and ethereal, her long hair in a strategic swirl to cover her naked human torso.

“What makes you say that?” Shepard asked curiously.

“Mer only looks like this when they hunt humans in the water.”

“Really?” Intrigued, Shepard examined the statue closely.

“Really.”

“Maybe you can show me one of these days.”

“No way,” Kaidan rejected immediately. “It’s too deadly and I don’t have a good control over it.”

Taking the lead, he walked past the statue and ventured into the silent house.

Inside, the house was dark and dust motes danced in the air where light streamed in through the gaps in the window shutters. There was a stillness to the silence that immediately told them the house was empty of people and had been so for quite some time.

Quietly and slowly, both men carefully explored the house.

The interior of the house was a tasteful blend of modern amenities, archaeological displays and surprisingly numerous statues of idealised-looking mermaids displayed throughout. Kaidan wondered if the mermaid statues were part of Dr Bryson’s coping mechanism at being Banished, though he had no clue how these sanitised reminders would help.

The study room held more than modern amenities and archaeological and mermaid displays.

A massive bookcase lined the entire length of a wall, floor to ceiling, and it was crammed full of physical books and archaeological knick-knacks. A huge office desk and chair were positioned next to the window and there was a long side cabinet against another wall. Framed photos of Dr Bryson and his family or him on archaeological digs were arranged on top of this side cabinet.

“Well, I say we have come to the right place.” Kaidan picked up one of the photos for a closer look. In it, a much younger Dr Bryson posed smiling with his wife and a young girl who could only be Ann Bryson.

Now that he knew Dr Bryson was a Mer, Kaidan could see the traits in the archaeologist’s face. Pale-haired and with light-coloured eyes, Dr Bryson had austere yet very handsome features. And his smile was brilliant and devastatingly attractive.

“His smile reminds me of yours,” Shepard remarked as he peered at the photo from behind him.

“We don’t look anything alike.”

“I’m not talking about the physical resemblance. I mean there’s something about his smile that reminds me of your smile. Your mother’s smile has the same quality too.” Shepard glanced at Kaidan. “What are you thinking?”

“That it’s shame we never knew of each other’s existence, that he probably died thinking he was the only one of his kind living among humans.” Kaidan stared at the photo with mixed feelings. “I’m wondering how different Dr Bryson might’ve been from the rest of the Mer and if he would’ve accepted me.”

“The Mer rejected you?”

“…Remember when you asked my mom why I wasn’t raised among her people?”

“She got angry with me.”

“It’s a bit of a sensitive subject for her. Mom’s task was to seduce Dad and be impregnated by him. Instead, they fell in love. That wasn’t supposed to happen. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with Dad, but when she became pregnant with me, Dad persuaded her to return to her people. He didn’t want me to grow up hiding my heritage, though it would mean he’d never see us again. They didn’t change their minds even after she and I were exposed to eezo. So, she returned to her people.”

“What happened?” Shepard prompted when he remained silent for too long.  

“Mom didn’t know that a serious accident had occurred while she was away; there was a transport accident and a massive amount of eezo had spilt into the ocean’s currents. Her home was down current and right in the path of the contaminated water. Every pregnant Mer was exposed to the eezo and the same thing that happened to pregnant human women happened to them too: many of the babies were stillborn, some were born with physical complications or mutations so grave they didn’t survive birth and a small percentage that did were biotic. And just like humans, they feared these biotic babies. They consider them profane and blasphemous. Others who had opposed sending mermaids to copulate with humans saw it as divine punishment.”

“What did the Mer do?” Shepard asked quietly.

“The Elders held a council, and a law was passed to cull all biotic Mer, no exception. Anyone found harbouring a biotic Mer will be Banished.”

“Surely there’s parents who objected to the law?”

Kaidan sighed. “Maybe, I don’t know. All I know is that Mom hid the fact I had been exposed to eezo from them and at the first chance she got, she faked her death and fled back to my dad while still pregnant with me. And the rest is history.”

“They could’ve changed their minds. It’s been a long time,” Shepard pointed out.

“Not for them; they are slow to change. No, I’m sure if I meet any of them now, they will kill me on sight.” Looking back at Shepard, he saw the frown on the Commander’s face. “It’s not a loss. I’ve long accepted that I was raised to be more human than Mer and that they would never accept me.”

“It sucks though,” Shepard remarked.

“It doesn’t bother me. Frankly, I’ve experienced enough prejudice from humans just because I’m biotic. I’m not interested in receiving more of the same prejudice from the Mer. I’m just ruing the fact I never got to know Dr Bryson. He was Banished because of his interest in the human world, so I’m certain he couldn’t have thought the same as the other Mer.”

Sighing, he put the photo back. “How are we going to find that weapon? This house is so - what?”

There was a soft look in Shepard’s eyes that had caught his attention. “He would’ve accepted you.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.” Shepard crossed his arms and turned to survey the study room. “If you are a Mer and an archaeologist in possession of something that could save the galaxy one day, where would you hide it?”

“Not the safe,” Kaidan said immediately. “It’s too obvious. Not in the ground either. Wild animals can dig it up by accident.”

“Basement? Attic?”

“Possibly.” Kaidan thought back to the planter in Dr Bryson’s lab on the Citadel that had hidden an orb. “Or I can hide it in plain sight. No one will suspect and I can watch over it without drawing attraction.

He looked around the study, “he said he took a leaf from his wife’s favourite book. Did he mean that literally or figuratively?”

“And this is where Liara comes in.” Shepard tapped his comm. “Shepard to Liara.”

“I read you, Shepard.”

“Liara, did you come across any information on Dr Bryson’s wife while digging into his background?”

“Plenty. Her name was Ada Eisenberg. She was the daughter of Karl Eisenberg, a highly successful businessman on Benning, and she passed away when Ann was nineteen.” There was a pregnant pause and then Liara said in a voice as dry as a desert, “how coincidental. You’re currently standing in her family home.”

“Really?” Shepard feigned surprise.

“It seems like you’ve left out some details during the mission briefing.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he replied solemnly.

“I’m sure,” Liara deadpanned. “Ada Eisenberg worked as a rare book conservator and was friends with Dr Bryson for many years before marrying him. In her youth, she married someone else, but they divorced barely three years later when Ann was still a baby. Later, Dr Bryson married her and adopted Ann. From all accounts, she and Dr Bryson were very much in love and their marriage was a happy one.”

“What about her interests?” Kaidan asked. “Hobbies? Favourite literature?”

“I’m not sure how this is relevant to our mission, but I did find out that Ada Eisenberg was a lifelong Sherlock Holmes fan.”

Both men stared uncomprehendingly at each other in silence for a long moment.

Then Kaidan logged into the extranet through his omni-tool and furiously searched the name while at the same time, Shepard asked Liara rather sheepishly, “Er, who’s Sherlock Holmes?”

“I have no idea.” They could hear the shrug in her voice. “A celebrity, maybe?”

Kaidan found the answer very quickly, but it wasn’t what he was expecting. He stared at his search results in bewilderment. “He’s a fictional private investigator from the late nineteen-hundredth London? Why would anyone be a fan of a fictional character?”

“Why not? I like Blasto,” Shepard pointed out.

“Oh my god,” Kaidan said unthinkingly.

Shepard narrowed his eyes at him. “Do you have something against Blasto?”

“Ada Eisenberg was one of the few thousand Holmesian fans,” Liara cut in smoothly before the conversation could derail even further. “When she was alive, she devoted a lot of her time to reviving interest in him.”

“So as a fan, she would have collected his novels, right?” Kaidan questioned.

“Yes, and most likely in physical book form.”

Kaidan stepped over to the bookshelves, scanning over the titles of the books on them. Ada Eisenberg’s collection wasn’t hard to find; it occupied an entire floor-to-ceiling section - all kept inside climate-controlled shelves.

His eyebrows shot up as he studied the collection. “She has multiple editions of the same titles,” he marvelled, impressed. Physical books were uncommon these days and from the look of her collection, it was worth a small fortune. “Did she ever mention which of these is her favourite?”

“I don’t believe so,” Liara sounded puzzled over the comm. “Aren’t we getting a little off topic?”

“Just thinking out loud.”

“Thanks, Liara.” Shepard cut in. “We’ll let you know if we need anything else.”

“You’re welcomed, boys.”

“So, you think he meant it literally,” Shepard said to Kaidan.

He nodded. “It can’t be anything else. Dr Bryson had already admitted in his journal that he’s bad at puzzles and treasure hunts. And it just so happens that his wife was a fan of a fictional detective who was extremely good at solving crimes, and he took a leaf from her favourite book? That’s too much of a coincidence.”

He folded his arms across his chest as he examined the book collection. “The question now is which one of these books was her favourite? There are so many versions.”

“I guess we have to search the old-fashioned way.” Opening the shelves, Shepard carefully pulled out a volume. “Maybe check the books for anything that doesn’t seem to belong or out of the ordinary like scribbling in the margins, pieces of paper tucked between the pages, you know, things like that.”

Kaidan grimaced. “This is going to take a while.”

For the next hour or so, both men methodically searched through the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ collection on the shelves.

Kaidan quickly established that the collection held many old and rare volumes. It meant he could safely eliminate the possibilities of graffiti and scribbling on the pages. As a collector, Dr Bryson’s wife would have been obsessive about preserving the books’ integrity.

Without any substantial clues to follow, it was a literal needle-in-a-haystack search. Several times, Kaidan thought he had found the favourite book, but it turned out to be just another collector’s edition in near-mint condition.

“Crap.”

Kaidan looked up from his search when he heard Shepard cursing under his breath. “What’s wrong?”

“I tore a page.”

“How did you do that?”

“It had a bookmark clipped to it. I didn’t know that. Aren’t bookmarks supposed to be just slips of decorative paper?”

“They can be clip-on as well,” Kaidan answered absentmindedly as he went back to his search.

“This is the first bookmark I’ve come across while searching. You’d think these books being so valuable, she wouldn’t use a clip-on bookmark at all.”

“Each to their own, I guess. I haven’t encountered a bookmark-” Kaidan suddenly paused. “Wait, did you say this is the first bookmark you came across?”

“Yeah.”

“So why did she place a bookmark in this book?” Kaidan wondered. “They’re rare editions not meant for casual reading but displays.”

“Or maybe it wasn’t her but Dr Bryson who bookmarked the page.”

“Let’s check the rest of the books for bookmarks.”

Now that they knew what they were looking for, the search went on faster. After searching the whole collection, they discovered that only one book contained a bookmark, and it was the one Shepard had accidentally damaged.

Kaidan examined the book Shepard was holding. It was a two-hundredth anniversary edition and to his relief, the tear in the page was small, almost negligible. Otherwise, the page was in pristine condition.

“‘The Adventure of the Six Napoleons’,” he read aloud the title printed at the top of the bookmarked page. “That sounds like click-bait. Everyone knows there’s only one Napoleon in Earth history.”

“So, what do you think it’s about?” Shepard asked. “The Battle of Trafalgar? Napoleon’s Exile? But that’s before this detective supposedly lived.”

“Yeah.” Kaidan searched the extranet again. “Oh. It’s about a vandal going around London seeking and destroying replicated busts of Napoleon. Holmes deduced that he was not a vandal but rather a thief searching for a priceless treasure he had stolen and hidden in one of these bust copies. Since they all look alike-”

“Hence, his vandalism spree,” Shepard concluded. “But I don’t recall seeing any busts of Napoleon in here.”

Kaidan’s gaze fell upon a mermaid statue, and he stilled. Could the answer be so simple?  “There’s a lot of mermaid statues in this house,” he replied slowly, thoughtfully.

Shepard looked at the statue Kaidan was staring at. “I haven’t seen two identical statues of a mermaid.”

“Maybe that isn’t the point. Dr Bryson isn’t above using his Mer heritage to keep his secrets. He coded his journals in the Mer language because he knows no one, including A.I.s, would be able to crack it. Why wouldn’t he use statues of his people to hide the weapon? His collection of these statues would appear to be just a whimsical quirk that everyone would dismiss.”

“But the story provides a clue to the initiated as to why he displayed so many mermaid statues in his home. He’s hidden it in one of these statues.” Shepard returned the book to the shelf. “We’ll need to examine every one of them. I’ll take upstairs.”

Which left Kaidan with the ground floor. He decided to start his search in the study room. Activating the deep-scan function on his omni-tool, he combed the study for mermaid statues and scanned them. Once satisfied it wasn’t hidden in the study room, he moved out to the living room and foyer, then to the dining room, kitchen and pantry, and then to the sunroom and the sitting room. He even checked the statues on the front and back porches, but still came up empty.

Frustrated, Kaidan re-entered the house and met Shepard coming back down the stairs. The look on the Commander’s face told him the story: Shepard did not have any success too.

“Did we get it wrong?” Kaidan wondered aloud. “Is the whole bookmark thing a red herring?”

“I still think we’re on the right track,” Shepard replied. “There must be something we missed.”

Kaidan began pacing. “We’ve established that Dr Bryson’s use of the phrase ‘a leaf from his wife’s favourite book’ is literal, which led us to the Six Napoleon story. But there aren’t any Napoleon busts in this house, only numerous statues of mermaids.”

“Which makes the reference not completely literal.” Shepard suddenly face-palmed. “Of course!” He immediately turned around and bounded up the stairs again, taking two steps at a time.

“What?” Kaidan quickly followed.

“Dr Bryson used that idiom literally and figuratively,” Shepard explained. “Literally - to direct us to the bookmarked page in his wife’s favourite book. Figuratively because it points us to the mermaid statues instead of Napoleon bust copies. But that is too on the nose regarding the hiding place.”

Kaidan caught on quickly. “He took it a step further.”

By now, Shepard had led him to a large ornamental vase displayed in the master bedroom and to Kaidan’s excitement, it had a painting of a mermaid twined around it.

“As long as it’s a mermaid, it doesn’t have to be a statue.” Shepard picked up the vase and gently shook it.

Other than the sound of water sloshing inside, they also heard the rattle of something hard rolling about inside the vase.

Giving each other excited looks, Kaidan hurriedly removed the bouquet from the vase and Shepard tipped it over to pour out its contents. As the water splashed down onto the floor, they heard the object rolling through the vase and dropping out of the opening.

It was a small glass orb, no bigger than a tennis ball, completely dark and opaque.

Without thinking, Kaidan reached out to grab it in mid-air. And the moment the small orb touched his hand, it burst into light. Once more, the familiar stabbing burning pain of being assaulted by a Leviathan’s orb tore through his head.

Kaidan cried out in shock and stumbled. He was dimly aware of Shepard shouting and catching him before he could collapse to his knees.

Then the pain ceased so abruptly that it left him light-headed.

Breathing hard, he instinctively looked to Shepard and to his horror, he found the Commander writhing on the floor, the small brightly shining orb clutched tightly in his fist.

“Shepard!” Kaidan scrambled to his side and frantically tried to pry the glowing orb from his death grip. What the hell was happening?!  How did this orb manage to penetrate their anti-Enthralling shields?!

The Commander’s face was twisted into a rictus of pain, his teeth clenched, and his eyes rolled back until all Kaidan could see was white.

“Let go of the orb!” He shouted. “Let go, Shepard!”

And then, as suddenly as it had burst into light, the orb’s bright glow blinked out. After images danced in Kaidan’s vision and he blinked furiously to clear his sight.

When he could see again, Shepard had gone limp and unconscious. The small orb was dark once more and rested on the floor next to his open hand.

“Shepard?” Kaidan leaned over the Commander and urgently patted his cheek. “Can you hear me?”

Activating his omni-tool, he scanned Shepard’s vital signs and his heart leapt into his throat when he saw the readouts. He hastily tapped his comm. “Normandy, this is Major Alenko. Shepard’s down. I repeat, Shepard’s down. We need an emergency extraction right now!”

Chapter Text

Kaidan didn’t have any regret blowing their cover as he rushed Shepard back to the Normandy. He remembered slinging the unconscious Commander over his shoulders and rushing out of Dr Bryson’s house to Cortez’s Kodiak waiting on the lawn. As they flew back to the ship, he had opened a live stream to Dr Chakwas to keep her updated on Shepard’s condition while administering first-aid as she instructed. Though it had been years since he last took on the role of a field medic, he had never been so glad that he had trained as one while in boot camp.

Crew members were anxiously waiting for their arrival in the Shuttle Bay.

The moment Cortez docked the Kodiak and opened the hatch door, Vega and Ash rushed forward with the stretcher, while Cortez and two other Marine helped Kaidan to carefully off-load Shepard onto the stretcher. Once they secured him onto the stretcher, Ash and Vega hurried him off to the Medical Bay where Dr Chakwas was prepping to receive her patient.

Kaidan wanted to follow, but there were tasks he needed to do to salvage their ground mission. “Cortez, keep the engine running. EDI, where’s your mobile platform? I need your help.”

“I am on my way.”

He turned to re-enter the Kodiak but both Liara and Tali accosted him.

“What happened?” Liara asked urgently.

“We found an orb,” he answered distractedly as he clambered into the Kodiak to fetch the weapon. He had wrapped his jacket around it to prevent his bare hands from touching it, and he now carefully unwrapped it to show to Liara and Tali. “Don’t touch it.”

“You brought it back?” Tali was aghast.

“This orb is different. I don’t know what it did to Shepard, but it doesn’t Enthrall.”

“It’s still dangerous.”

“I know, which is why I need EDI.”

“I am here.” EDI’s mobile platform emerged from the elevator. “What can I do to help?”

“I need you to take this,” Kaidan rewrapped the orb and handed the bundle to her, “and the Kodiak and keep it at a distance from the Normandy. I don’t know how far you need to go to make sure it can’t influence the crew, so use your best judgment.”

“I can build a shielded box for it,” Tali offered.

“We were wearing your anti-Enthralling shields when it activated. And whatever it did, it went through your shields like they weren’t even there. Until we figure out why it’s so different, I want to keep this orb at a safe distance from us.”

“I understand.” Taking the dangerous orb from Kaidan, EDI immediately headed for the Kodiak.

They retreated to safety and watched as EDI piloted the Kodiak out of the Shuttle Bay.

“I’ll keep a close watch on her,” Cortez volunteered. “I don’t doubt her piloting skills, but the Kodiak isn’t as heavily armoured as the Normandy.”

“Thanks, Cortez.” Kaidan headed for the elevator with Liara and Tali at his heels. “Liara, I have a favour to ask.”

“What is it?”

“I need your help to reset Dr Bryson’s home.”

“Leave it to me. My agent is good at erasing tracks.”

They arrived at the Medical Bay only to find Dr Chakwas had barred all admittance into it while she worked on Shepard. Vega and Ash were outside, waiting in the galley, and they joined the two silent Marines.

Garrus joined them much later. “Your return to Normandy riled up Benning’s orbital traffic control,” he told Kaidan without preamble.

“Sorry.”

“I’m not. Better they riled up than delaying getting Shepard to safety. I can handle them. Still, if you need to go back to Benning, my advice to you is don’t. They are keeping an eye on us now. And I’d prefer if we don’t stir them up any further until Shepard is awake to deal with them.”

Kaidan frowned. “EDI is out there right now. Are they watching her too?”

“She told me of your request. I’ve ordered her to stay inside our shadow and at the first sign of danger, come straight back in. Dangerous orb or not, I’d rather her mobile platform safe than to listen to Joker’s complaints.” Garrus turned to look at the Medical Bay. “How is he?”

Kaidan opened his mouth to answer when he saw the ‘No Admittance’ light switched off. Immediately, he brushed past Garrus and made a beeline for the Medical Bay and to Shepard’s medical bed.

The Commander lay in the medical bed, still unconscious and motionless. Doctor Chakwas had hooked him up to an IV line and stuck sensors to his temples. All in all, he appeared to be just in a deep sleep - except his eyes were moving rapidly under his eyelids.

“Is he in REM sleep?” Kaidan asked worriedly.

“Not quite,” Dr Chakwas answered. “He’s in a state very similar to it. His brain activity is elevated. Other than that, he’s uninjured.” She paused and studied the sleeping Commander thoughtfully. “I’ve only seen him like this once before.”

Ash knew what she was referring to immediately. “Don’t tell me another long-dead alien had messed with his brain.”

Kaidan looked at her and then at Dr Chakwas and everyone else. Except for Vega, all of them wore grim, knowing expressions. He didn’t like that expression or being in the dark. “Will someone fill me in?”

“It happened during the first Normandy’s shakedown run,” Ash began. “At that time, I wasn’t assigned to her. I was part of the Marine unit 212 stationed on Eden Prime. It was supposed to be a low-danger tour of duty but one day, Saren and his geth launched a surprise attack on the colony.”

Kaidan listened wide-eyed as he finally learned the truth behind Saren’s attempted Citadel coup and how Shepard had led the crew of the first Normandy in their fight to stop him. The Commander’s report was classified way above his rank, so he had discreetly probed less legitimate channels for information. There was surprisingly little to find and nowhere in those meagre whispers said anything about a Prothean beacon ‘downloading’ a cryptic message into Shepard’s brain.

"Did he previously suffer any ill effects from that Prothean beacon?” he asked Dr Chakwas.

“No,” Dr Chakwas answered, “and that’s why I think he’ll get away unscathed this time too. Now I suggest all of you return to your duties. There’s nothing you can do for him right now and I’m sure he won’t be pleased to know you’ve neglected your duties while he’s out.”

Garrus began motioning to the others to leave. “We’ll get out of your carapace.”

The rest of the day passed very slowly for Kaidan. He helped to monitor EDI’s situation, worked with Liara’s agent to reset Dr Bryson’s home and assisted Garrus to soothe ruffled feathers in Benning’s authorities. They had to remain in orbit around Benning while waiting for their commanding officer to wake, and the Normandy’s presence was making the planet’s orbital traffic control nervous.

At the end of his duty shift, Kaidan washed up and changed into his Alliance sweats, and headed back to the Medical Bay.

Dr Chakwas looked up when he entered.

“No change?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Be patient. He will wake up.”

“I know. I’m just…”

“Worried,” she finished for him.

“Am I so obvious?”

“Quite.” She smiled kindly at him. “Your feelings for him are plain to see.”

“Yeah, well,” Kaidan’s gaze lingered on Shepard, “it’s been a long time since I feel this way about someone.”

“Will you ask Anderson to make your assignment to the Normandy permanent?”

Kaidan was silent for a long moment as he thought it over. “I want to stay,” he admitted, “but I don’t think he’ll agree to relinquish one of his best field agents to a ship. I’ll need a very good reason.”

“You’ll find one,” Dr Chakwas said encouragingly. “Now, are you planning to sleep here tonight?”

“If it’s all right with you.”

“Of course it is. You can take the bed next to his.”

“Thanks, Doctor Chakwas. I’ll sit by him for now.”

Settling into the chair next to Shepard’s medical bed, Kaidan scrutinised the Commander’s face closely. He wasn’t sure but it seemed like Shepard’s REM had slowed down somewhat. Was it all right for someone to have such prolonged REM sleep? he wondered. Well, Dr Chakwas didn’t seem too worried about it, so he supposed it should be safe.

He reached out and gently clasped Shepard’s unresponsive hand.

The Commander’s hand was like the rest of him: large and warm, and filled with a strength Kaidan could feel even though Shepard was unconscious. A strength born of will and confidence that he had grown to rely on and trust.

He hadn’t expected Shepard to fall prey to one of Leviathan’s devices. He thought back to the moment the weapon attacked his mind; it felt the same as the Enthralling orbs. So, what was it that caused Shepard to react to it?

Then it hit him like a bolt out of the blue.

Or was there something about Shepard that made the orb latch onto him?

~

20 October 2186

Milky Way / Arcturus Stream / Euler System / Second planet - Benning

Kaidan jerked awake when he heard Shepard stirring. He hastily rubbed the sleep from his eyes before getting out of the medical bed he had been sleeping in and hurried to Shepard’s side. “Shepard? You awake?”

Much louder, he called to Dr Chakwas. “Dr Chakwas! I think he’s waking up!”

Shepard groaned a little and sluggishly lifted a hand to cover his eyes. “Kaidan?” he muttered in a slurred voice.

“Yeah, I’m here,” Kaidan replied quickly in relief. “Take your time, Shepard. We’re back on the Normandy.”

“Too bright…”

Without another word, Kaidan quickly adjusted the brightness of the medical bed’s overhead light to its lowest setting. “Better?”

“Yeah.”

Kaidan carefully helped Shepard to sit up just as Dr Chakwas arrived. He stepped back to give the doctor room to examine the conscious Commander.

“Welcome back, Shepard. How do you feel?” Dr Chakwas asked.

“My head hurts,” Shepard complained. Squinting, he looked around. “How long was I out?”

“Almost a full day,” Dr Chakwas answered.

“Tali’s anti-Enthralling shield didn’t work. You went down like a tree in Dr Bryson’s house,” Kaidan explained tersely. “We couldn’t wake you at all.”

Dr Chakwas studied the readouts on her omni-tool. “Your brain activity was elevated when Kaidan brought you back yesterday, but everything is back to normal now. What happened to you was similar to your encounter with the Prothean beacon on Eden Prime three years ago. Can you tell me what happened?”

Kaidan watched anxiously while Shepard sat silently on his medical bed for a long while. He was deep in thought and Kaidan wondered what was going through his head.

He stiffened when Shepard’s blue eyes suddenly fixed upon him. His scrutiny was sharp and knowing - yet searching and questioning.

Kaidan didn’t quite know what to make of it. “Shepard?” he cautiously prompted.

Shepard’s expression turned resolute. He seemed to have come to a decision. What decision though, Kaidan didn’t know.

The Commander finally answered the doctor, “We found what we were looking for. When Kaidan held it, it lit up like a light bulb. It was hurting him, so I grabbed it from him and it…turned its focus to me.” He made a face. “You weren’t wrong about comparing it to that Prothean beacon, Doctor. Why do all ancient races love to put things in people’s heads?”

“What do you mean by that?” Kaidan cut in sharply. “What did it put inside your head?”

Shepard squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. “It’s nothing dangerous.”

“Nothing dangerous?” Kaidan couldn’t stop his voice from rising. “It messed with your head!”

“I’ll be fine,” Shepard soothed. “I just need coffee and food, that’s all.”

“Major, do you mind getting a meal tray from the galley for the Commander,” Dr Chakwas cut in smoothly, “while I finish my examination?”

Kaidan recognised a dismissal when he heard one and he deflated immediately. “Of course.”

Inwardly scolding himself for losing his cool, he headed for the galley. He brooded the whole time he prepped Shepard’s meal tray. What did that weapon put inside Shepard’s head? Why was it similar to a Prothean beacon?

His thoughts turned to the look Shepard had given him and the ball of unease in his stomach grew heavier. Why had Shepard looked at him like that? He couldn’t shake the feeling that Shepard had made a very important decision and that he was somehow integral to that decision. 

His mind awhirl with questions, Kaidan returned to the Medical Bay with the meal tray and a mug of coffee. Dr Chakwas had finished her examination and Shepard was now sitting cross-legged on his medical bed busy talking on the comm.

He paused by Dr Chakwas’ desk where the doctor sat to give the Commander a modicum of privacy. “Is he alright?”

“All his vitals are normal. I can’t detect any ill effects from being - how do I put it? - attacked by the Leviathan’s orb.”

Kaidan relaxed marginally. “That’s good to know.”

Together, they went back to Shepard. Dr Chakwas propped up the foldable table-top on Shepard’s medical bed and Kaidan placed the meal tray and coffee on it.

“Now I want you to finish everything on this tray before I release you,” said Dr Chakwas.

“Got it, Doctor.” Shepard immediately dug into his food ravenously. “Can you give us some privacy, Doctor?”

“Of course.”

Dr Chakwas retreated, and Shepard raised his medical bed’s privacy screens. “Nice work getting EDI to guard the weapon’s casing outside the Normandy.”

“Thanks.” Weapon’s casing? That was an odd way of describing the small orb.

“I’ve ordered her to return,” Shepard told him. “The casing is empty now, so it’s harmless and we don’t need it anymore.”

Kaidan’s brows furrowed as he worked through Shepard’s cryptic reply. “It’s empty because it’d put whatever it contained into your head,” he said slowly. “What did it put in your head, Shepard?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Shepard’s tone was dismissive, and it immediately irked Kaidan.

He glowered sternly at the Commander. “Don’t dismiss my concerns. Or did you forget we’re working on this mission together?”

“Sorry, I just don’t want you to worry.” Shepard sat back and just looked at Kaidan. His expression was - Kaidan couldn’t put a finger on it, but it made his uneasiness grow even more.

“I know how to stop Leviathan,” Shepard stated at last.

“All right. How do we stop them?”

Shepard’s expression turned serious. “From now on, can you trust me to handle the mission as I see fit?”

“Without telling me anything?” Kaidan asked cautiously.

“Yeah. And I don’t want you to tell the others that the small orb is just a casing.”

Kaidan’s frown deepened. “Why?”

“Can you do that for me?”

Shepard’s expression was apologetic but determined. He was sorry for being cryptic, Kaidan realised, but he was still going to forge ahead with his decision, with or without Kaidan’s cooperation.

He glared at Shepard helplessly.

There was nothing he could do to change the Commander’s mind and it irritated him because he already knew he would still help Shepard to stop the Leviathan, no matter how much he disliked being kept in the dark.

“Fine, you do as you see fit.” He gave in with ill grace.

“Thank you,” Shepard replied sincerely.

“Doesn’t mean I won’t stop bugging you about it.”

“I know.”          

“And mind you, I can figure things out on my own.”

Shepard just smiled placidly at him.

Soon, Kaidan felt a tug in the Normandy’s mass effect field and heard the engine’s hum rev up a pitch. “We’re leaving Benning?”

Shepard nodded. “Told Garrus to set course for Arcturus Station. We’ve stayed too long here. Hackett is bound to get suspicious. After Arcturus, we’ll head for the Citadel.”

Kaidan frowned. “I thought you said you didn’t want to risk Normandy’s capture.”

“Normandy will keep her distance from the Citadel. But we need to help Hadley, so he can help us.”

~

Milky Way / Arcturus Stream / Arcturus / Arcturus Station

Kaidan accompanied Shepard through the busy space station until they reached Hackett’s office.

The Admiral’s secretary greeted them with a welcoming smile. “Commander Shepard, Major Alenko, it’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too, Sandra,” Shepard replied. “Is the Admiral in?”

“He’s expecting you. Just go right in.”

“Thanks.”

A quick press of the door chime and the door slid open to admit them into Hackett’s office.

Hackett’s office was large and spacious, framed by a long row of windows that provided them with a panoramic view of space and the Arcturus Stream. His office even had a sitting area and Kaidan was surprised to find Ann Bryson seated on the couch. The Admiral himself was seated behind his desk covered by numerous datapads and two portable consoles.

They saluted the Admiral.

“Admiral,” Shepard greeted, “you wanted to see us, sir?”

“At ease, gentlemen.”

Automatically, both men assumed parade-rest positions.

“I’ll get straight to the point,” Hackett said without preamble. “I called you here because Ann has a request. I am not in favour of her request, and I want you to talk her out of it.”

“Couldn’t we talk over the Q.E.C?” Shepard asked, puzzled.

“I don’t think the Q.E.C. is safe from Leviathan’s hacking,” Ann rose from the couch and approached them. Her face was pale, and her eyes were red-rimmed and lined with dark circles. She looked like she hadn’t slept well but she was alert and determined. “Talking face to face is safer.”

“What makes you think Leviathan can hack the Q.E.C.?” Kaidan asked curiously.

Ann looked at him quizzically. “You are?”

“Major Kaidan Alenko. I’m Commander Shepard’s partner in this mission.”

“Nice to meet you, Major. What I have is just a theory. I think Leviathan’s orbs are a kind of organic quantum entanglement communicator or device. I don’t know how they work exactly, but I think they emit some kind of energy to establish a connection with nearby organic brains. Whenever Leviathan needs to control these nearby organics, they will use the orbs to entangle particles to stimulate their neural activity, thus Enthralling them.”

Kaidan was impressed. Ann’s theory was almost identical to EDI’s. “That’s quite the theory,” he commented instead. “How did you arrive at it?”

“I did my dissertation on rachni communication. When I read the reports on Leviathan’s Enthralling, I was struck by its similarity to the rachni queen’s ability to communicate long-distance with her drones.”

“Doesn’t the rachni queen control her drones through telepathy?”

Ann shook her head. “Telepathy doesn’t exist. At short range, she communicates using pheromones. Over long distances, she uses an organic form of Q.E.C and communicates directly to their brains.” 

“You think Leviathan has an organic Q.E.C. and they can use it to hack into our Q.E.C,” Shepard said.

“Yes. Which is why I asked Uncl - I mean, Admiral Hackett to call you in for an in-person meeting.”

“What’s your request?”

“I want you to take me to my father’s lab on the Citadel,” Ann said.

“I promised I’ll do so once this mission is over,” Shepard replied without missing a beat. “It’s not over.”

But Ann was already shaking her head. “It’s not about settling his affairs. It’s about his encryption code.”

Kaidan mentally sat up.

“What do you mean?” Shepard asked her.

“I don’t think I’ve said this before: my father’s encryption code is not an encryption code,” Ann confessed. “It’s a language he created. A constructed language.”

Shepard arched a brow at that. “A constructed language?”

“One he has been using for as long as I can remember. He said he created it because he wants to keep his work private. Said it works better than an actual encryption code, and he’s right. Not a single cryptographer or decrypting V.I. in the cryptography lab could crack it, and they’re supposedly the best.”

“And what about you?” Shepard questioned.

“Does a six-year-old understand Jane Austen? My father tried teaching me, but I couldn’t grasp it. Neither could my mother, for that matter.” Ann suddenly chuckled. “I remember throwing my exercise book at my bedroom wall in frustration when I was a kid. I never understood why he created such a complex and difficult language. My mother just indulged him. She didn’t mind she couldn’t learn it. She always told me to be proud of my father’s constructed language because it’s part of who he is.”

It was hard but Kaidan managed to hide the huge wave of relief he felt when he realised Ann didn’t know her stepfather was a Mer. Instead, he commented, “It sounds like the best kind of encryption code there is.”

“Yeah,” Ann agreed, “but if there’s no one who knows how to read it, all the information he wrote in that language will be lost.” She folded her arms. “I didn’t see it at first, but later I realised it didn’t make sense when you said he wanted me to translate his data drives. He knows I can’t.”

“I told you it was my idea to get you involved in the translation,” Hackett pointed out. “I’d hoped you could translate it even though you’re not very good at it. All Garrett told me was to find and keep you safe.”

“I’m positive my father was counting on you getting me involved,” Ann disagreed. “He knows you too well, Uncle Steven. He knows there’s no way you wouldn’t hesitate to involve me. He can find a way to ensure we can translate his data drives.”

“You think he hid a solution?” Shepard questioned.

“Yes. It’s obvious once you put the pieces together: he made a translation key and hid it in a place only he and I would know.”

Kaidan’s blood went cold.

Ann’s expression grew more animated and excited as she explained further, “He didn’t send the translation key together with the data drives because that would defeat the purpose of the encryption. He hid it instead and hoped that I would figure out what he had done.”

Kaidan exchanged a look with Shepard.

This was definitely not good. If Ann’s deduction were correct, then somewhere in Dr Bryson’s lab was a translation key that would expose the Mer’s existence to the whole galaxy.

“You have a point,” Shepard agreed. “Why don’t you tell me where the translation key is? I’ll go get it for you.”

“No,” Ann replied immediately, “I need to be there in person.”

Shepard turned back to Hackett. “And this is why you want me to talk her out of it.”

Hackett nodded. “I’m not comfortable in letting her leave this station. Anderson has been sweeping Arcturus regularly and to the best of our knowledge, we know it’s not compromised. But I can’t say the same for the Citadel.”

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Uncle Steven,” Ann cut in. “There’s a lot of people on the Citadel. It’ll take a lot of effort and time to Enthrall all of them.”

“Leviathan doesn’t have to Enthrall everybody. It isn’t practical anyway.” Kaidan pointed out. “They only need to Enthrall the right people and the whole station can be brought to its knees.”

“We’ve received indications that they’re starting to infiltrate the Citadel,” Shepard added. “My informant told me that some of the people around him are displaying signs of being Enthralled. I’m sorry, Ann, but I can’t take you into a potentially compromised situation where you may get captured.”

“But I have to go,” Ann argued. “The lock is keyed to my biometrics and passwords.”

“How about I bring the whole thing to you?”

Ann shook her head. “You won’t be able to. It’s bolted to the floor.”

Kaidan looked at her pensively. What now? He couldn’t think of any other reasons to dissuade her from leaving Arcturus. In fact, he could think of more reasons why they needed her to retrieve the translation key.

He looked at Shepard. The Commander’s face was expressionless, but it was clear he didn’t like the idea any more than he did. He turned to Hackett next. “You didn’t try very hard to change her mind, did you, Admiral?”

“No,” Hackett admitted. “Short of putting her under house arrest, I couldn’t think of a single reason to stop her from going. What is your risk assessment of the Citadel, Shepard?”

“Uncertain,” Shepard admitted. “All I have right now is my informant’s word. I need to get a better feel of the situation.” He turned to Ann. “I don’t have a good reason to refuse your request. But I don’t think the potential danger on the Citadel will stop you from going.”

“If you don’t help me, I’ll still find my way there,” Ann confirmed.

“Better you come with us then. At least I can ensure your protection.”

Ann brightened. She turned to Hackett expectantly.

Hackett gave her a long measuring look. “All right,” he said at last. “But you stay close to Commander Shepard and do as he tells you to. No heroics or taking off on your own, understand?”

“Yes, Uncle Steven and thanks so much. I’ll go pack my bag right now.” Excitedly, Ann rushed for the door.

“Might as well bring along the data drives,” Kaidan advised. “You can decode them on the Normandy once we get the translation key.”

“Got it. I’ll meet you at the Normandy.”

“What do you think, gentlemen?” Hackett asked after she had exited.

Kaidan shrugged even though his insides were churning with unease. “It’s worth a shot if we ever hope to decode Dr Bryson’s journal.”

“I suppose we can’t stop her if we want to quietly foil an invasion.”

“Won’t be the first time Intelligence saves the galaxy in this manner,” Kaidan answered frankly.

A thought suddenly struck him: does Hackett already know that Dr Bryson’s encryption code was actually a language?

It was a worrying thought. If Hackett did already know, the probability that he also knew Dr Bryson was a Mer just went up.

Kaidan debated if he should ask but, in the end, decided not to. He feared once he asked, it would draw attention to him and – maybe - open himself to the shrewd admiral’s questioning.

Shepard pulled a datapad out of his thigh pocket. “Admiral, I have a favour to ask.”

“What is it?” He took the datapad from Shepard and read it, one brow rising high in surprise. “Eight tugboats?”

“With slave function. I need the Cairo’s assistance as well. I don’t have any nav-points now, but I hope to change the situation soon.”

Hackett fixed him with a shrewd stare, then nodded. “Consider it done.”

“Thank you, Admiral.”

“What was the Normandy doing at Benning, Commander?”

“Making sure the planet isn’t compromised, sir,” Shepard answered without blinking an eye. “Benning is vital to Arcturus’s well-being. It makes sense for Leviathan to target it.”

“Did you find any signs?”

“None, sir.”

Hackett’s expression was impassive as he studied them; it took everything Kaidan had not to look away from that sharp, penetrating gaze. Finally, the Admiral said, “You will look after Ann, Commander.”

It wasn’t a request.

“Aye, sir,” Shepard promised.

“Dismissed, gentlemen.”

Walking back to the docks, Kaidan asked Shepard in a low voice, “Do you think he bought our official story?”

“I hope so,” Shepard murmured back. “He and Anderson are the only two people I can’t beat at poker.”

Minutes later, they were back on board the Normandy, this time with Ann Bryson in tow.

“We’ll be at the Citadel soon,” Shepard told her. “I need you to stay on board while Major Alenko and I suss out the problem.”

“Will you take long?” Ann asked anxiously.

“We’ll let you know when we’re done. Just make yourself comfortable in our lounge. One of us will get you when I give the all-clear.”

“All right and thank you, Commander.”

“Not a problem.”

Kaidan did not say anything until he and Shepard were in the War Room. Once he knew they were alone and safe from prying ears, he told the Commander, “I need to destroy that translation key.”

Shepard searched his face intently. “Are you sure you want to do that? It’s Ann’s only link left to her father.”

“I don’t want to,” Kaidan confessed, “but I can’t let her find out about the Mer.”

“Will it hurt if she knows? I mean, no one will believe her. And no one, not even her, will link it to you.”

“She will, once she discovers the weapon is no longer in their family home and yet we’ve somehow defeated Leviathan. It won’t take much for her to realise we’ve taken it before coming to Arcturus. She’s not an idiot; she’ll know it means one of us is fluent in the language and she’ll connect the dots. She won’t suspect you; your history is much too well-known, but not mine.” Kaidan rubbed a hand worriedly across his forehead. “I have to nip this in the bud.”

“Can’t you Charm her to forget what she may discover?”

He hesitated before shaking his head. “No, it’s too risky. She has seen me in my true form back on Namakli. It’s only due to the orb’s influence that she can’t remember. I don’t want to jeopardise that.”

“Your mom did say cancelling influence rarely happens.”

“Yeah, but it’s still a risk I refuse to take.”

Shepard squeezed Kaidan’s bicep comfortingly. “We’ll think of something.”

“Like what?”

Shepard raised his voice. “EDI, are you listening?”

“Yes, Shepard. I believe I may have a solution.”

~

Milky Way / Serpent Nebula / Widow System / The Citadel

For the first time ever, the Normandy did not head for the docks on the Citadel but remained parked in orbit around it.

Shrugging his shoulders to settle his borrowed hard-shelled armour into place, Kaidan strode across the Shuttle Bay to the waiting Kodiak with Vega matching his pace. Behind him, Shepard was talking to his friends and colleagues.

The ground squad was in full armour and packing. Kaidan hoped they wouldn’t get accosted by C-Sec on the Citadel.

“Keep your distance from the Citadel,” Shepard told Garrus. “Don’t dock until you get the all-clear from me. I don’t want my ship anywhere near a potentially compromised location.”

“Understood. We’ll be vigilant.”

“Liara, once the Normandy has docked, you and EDI escort Ann to her father’s lab. Do not let her out of your sight.”

“We’ll stay close to her.”

“Tali, make sure you prep Garneau’s ship with everything you and Garrus need for your part of the mission. I’ll give you the details later.”

“Don’t worry, Shepard. I have it under control.”

“Garrus, Liara, you have the ship.”

“Acknowledged, Shepard.”

Kaidan waited until Shepard had hopped on board the Kodiak before cycling the hatch close. Then he made his way to his seat.

“I can’t remember the last time I went to the Citadel in full armour,” he commented to no one in particular.

“Not even during Saren’s coup?” Shepard asked.

“There wasn’t time and spare armours.”

Shepard stooped to press a quick kiss to his lips. “Hang out with me long enough and visiting the Citadel in armour will become a regular thing.”

“That doesn’t sound reassuring.”

“Depends how you see it,” Vega replied. He leaned back in his seat, cradling his rifle in his arms. “Wearing armour saved my ass in Chora’s Den.”

“Shootout?”

“Yup.”

“Shepard’s fault, I guess.”

“Yup.”

“Why is it every time there’s a shootout, it’s my fault?” Shepard griped. “Why can’t it be your fault, James?”

“What can I say, Loco? Bullets love you, not me. Besides, when we go in fully armed, what else can we expect besides a shootout?” Vega paused and then asked, “are we expecting a shootout?”

“Better to be prepared,” Shepard replied instead.

As far as Kaidan was concerned, that was a resounding ‘yes’.

Vega nudged Kaidan in his side. “Good to see you up and about. I don’t think I’ve seen you so…lively before.”

“I was injured and feeling rather run-down when I first came on board,” Kaidan pointed out dryly.

“Yeah. You should know, I’ve, um, upgraded your tank.”

“Upgraded my tank?”

Vega nodded eagerly. “Instead of a supply crate, I’ve modified Grunt’s tank for your use. That is if you ever need it again.”

“I hope I won’t, but thanks for being thoughtful,” Kaidan said sincerely, wondering who or what was Grunt.

“You’re welcomed,” Vega answered bashfully. “Uhm, Major?”

“Didn’t I say before to call me by name, Vega?”

“Sorry, force of habit. So, er, Alenko, if you got time after this ground mission, do you mind answering some questions for me?”

Kaidan was fairly sure he knew what questions Vega wanted to ask him. “Not at all. But you’ll have to keep the answers to yourself.”

“Of course. My lips are sealed, Major.”

“Kaidan.”

“Call me James, Kaidan.”

“We’re in the Citadel, Commander,” Cortez announced from the cockpit, putting an end to their conversation. “Where to now?”

“Saronis Applications, Zakara Ward’s Mid-Wards District. Think you can get there?”

“It’ll be a squeeze. This Kodiak is larger than a skycar.”

Kaidan leaned forward. “We’re picking up the containment box? It’s fixed?”

“Marab told me they’ve fixed it.” Shepard got up from his seat and made his way to the comm. console to make a call. “We’ll know for sure when we contain that orb.”

“That is if there is an orb on the Citadel,” Vega pointed out. “All we got is a distress message from someone who thinks there’s one. And why do you want to contain it? Shouldn’t we destroy it?”

“I have use for it.” Shepard turned to face the comm. station when his call got through.

From where he was seated, Kaidan could see a live transmission of a dour, craggy-faced human male with close-cropped dirty blond hair on the screen.

“Ah, Shepard, what can I do for you?” the man asked without preamble.

“Hi to you too, Bailey. I need to speak to Hadley. Which safe house are you holding him in?”

“In the warehouse district, Lower Wards. Funny you should call. I was about to send people to go check on them.”

“Why?”

“They didn’t check in this morning.”

“And yesterday?”

“The two C-Sec officers assigned to Hadley followed procedure until this morning. I know those two and this isn’t like them.”

Shepard folded his arms across his chest. “I’ll check on them.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m going in anyway, so may as well save you the time and effort.”

Bailey gave him a shrewd look. “Right. I’ll send you the nav-point.”

“Thanks. Oh, if you do manage to reconnect with them, don’t tell them we’re heading to their location.”

“No problem, Shepard. Just let me know what you find.”

Shepard ended the call. “Thoughts?”

“I think Hadley’s guards have been compromised,” Kaidan said at once. “We need to proceed with caution.”

“Why does C-Sec have a safe house in a warehouse district anyway?” Vega wondered.

“Hadley became paranoid after being Enthralled,” Shepard explained. “He insisted to be guarded somewhere far away from people because he didn’t want to be surrounded by potential thralls.”

“Didn’t seem to work out for him.”

“On the bright side, the lack of people should work to our advantage,” Kaidan pointed out. “If this Leviathan has thralls, we should be able to see them coming. How do you want to do this, Shepard?”

“Quietly and quickly. If we can neutralise the orb without alerting them to our presence, that will be for the best.”

“Let’s hope your perchance of getting shot at doesn’t jinx us,” Kaidan muttered.

Shepard gave him a flat stare.

At Saronis Applications, they wasted no time quickly retrieving the now-repaired containment box from Marab. Then they were in the air, heading for the warehouse district in the Lower Wards.

The warehouse district closely resembled apartment blocks except each unit was far bigger. Only automated machines, drones, and V.I.s carried out the work of moving cargo within the district, and they did so with very little organic oversight and mostly by remote. There was scarcely any organic around, which made it ideal to shelter a paranoid witness in protective custody.

At the entrance, the ground squad disembarked the Kodiak, followed by one of the Normandy’s drones carrying the containment box.

Kaidan scanned the map of the warehouse district. “We need to take out the thralls first.”     

“I agree,” Shepard concurred. “They will keep the orb close at hand, which means it most likely will be in the same storage unit as they are in.”

Vega scratched his head. “How do you live in such a place?”

“It’s entirely doable,” Kaidan replied. “All they need is ventilation, power and water lines and they have space to set up living quarters and stock up enough essential supplies to last for months.” He reached up to tap a section on a storage unit’s schematic. “Each unit even has an emergency exit.”

“Kaidan, can you draw their attention?” Shepard asked.

“Sure.”

“You take the front door. James and I will enter via the emergency exit while you distract them. We’ll locate and contain the orb. Our Anti-Enthralling shields should keep us safe from its’ influence but move fast before it draws in passer-by.” Shepard unholstered his rifle and flipped off the safety. “Ready?”

Kaidan checked his pistol to make sure it was loaded with non-lethal rounds. “Ready.”

“Then let’s go.”

With Vega bringing up the rear, Kaidan followed Shepard into the warehouse district. The disguised C-Sec safe house was a third of the way into the district and three storeys up - too much distance to cover on foot, so they commandeered three hover-carts. Kaidan took one while Shepard, Vega and the drone boarded the other two and they split off to approach their destination from two different directions.

Kaidan arrived at the front entrance of the storage unit in very little time. He had barely hopped off his hover-cart when Shepard’s voice came over his earpiece. “We’re in position, Kaidan.”

“Acknowledged, Shepard. Wait for my signal.”

Kaidan could think of many ways to gain entry but sometimes, the simplest and most direct method worked best.

He walked right up to the closed human-sized door and rang the door chime.

He didn’t have to wait long.

The haptic lock beeped once and the door slid open, revealing a human man, heavily stubbled and wearing a civilian flight suit. Hn, he wasn’t expecting to see a civilian.

Kaidan smiled disarmingly at the thrall. “Hi.”

The man froze.

He opened fire.

The electroshock bolt slammed into its target. At point-blank range, the thrall’s flight suit was no defence against the powerful kinetic force of the electroshock bolt, and it threw the thrall backwards. The thrall didn’t even get the chance to grunt as the bolt discharged its massive electric load into him.

Kaidan was already moving even before the electroshock bolt finished discharging. One quick tap on the control panel shut the door, a biotic punch broke it, and then he darted deeper into the storage unit. He didn’t bother to check his handiwork; it was clear the thrall was out for the count.

“I’m in,” he announced calmly over his comm. just as the familiar sounds of rifle firing and bullets smashing into the crates shielding him filled the air. He poked his head out for a quick glimpse.

Three more human men were cautiously advancing towards his position, all of them brandishing rifles. Two of them were in C-Sec armours but not the third.   

“Watch your back, Shepard,” Kaidan warned as he swapped out his non-lethal rounds for bullets. “I count four instead of two thralls. They’re bearing arms. One is down but there could be more.”

“Acknowledged. Do you need help?”

“I got this,” Kaidan replied crisply. He waited until there was a lapse in the rifle shots, and he darted out of cover to hurl an Area Reave in the thralls’ direction.

Forked lightning of dark blue splintered the air surrounding his targets. The thrall on the far left managed to tear away in time, but the other two were not so fortunate. Kaidan’s Reave had caught them fully in its pronged web. They collapsed, convulsing violently, as biotic energy ripped through their nervous systems.

Kaidan ducked back into cover, narrowly avoiding the gunfire from the last remaining thrall. He fired back but the thrall had already vanished from view.

Unfazed, he soundlessly circled the stack of crates. He peered out and saw the thrall looking in the other direction. Without hesitation, he fired a cryo-blast at the thrall.

The thrall’s movements stuttered to a halt as ice swiftly encased him.

Swinging his pistol back to the thralls he had Reaved, Kaidan cautiously approached the groaning thralls even as he checked his surroundings.

It was all quiet and still.

Satisfied, he tapped his earpiece. “Threat neutralised, Shepard.”

“Good job,” came the slightly hoarse reply.

Kaidan efficiently cuffed the wrists of the two thralls he had Reaved behind their backs. “Did you find the orb?”

“Yep, it’s contained. We found Hadley too.”

“For once, something is going smoothly for us,” he remarked. “Are you all right, though?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Shepard’s reply had the double-layered reverberating quality of coming from his earpiece and out in the open.

Kaidan looked up to see Shepard and Vega walking toward him. Vega was helping Hadley to walk - the poor man looked close to a breakdown - while their drone obediently trailed behind them, carrying the containment box. He could see the glowing orb securely contained in it.

“You sure you’re fine?” he asked Shepard. “You sound a little hoarse.”

Shepard didn’t say anything, but his gait was purposeful. There was a familiar look in his blue eyes - intense, focused and so full of heat that it made Kaidan’s heartbeat quicken.

Before he could wonder why Shepard was so worked up, the Commander walked right up to him, cupped the back of his head in one hand and kissed him hard and deep.

Surprised, Kaidan blindly reached up to grasp the gorget of Shepard’s chest plate and held on for dear life as Shepard’s tongue swept in and laid possessive claim to him.

No one had ever kissed him like this before.

It was hungry and scorching. It made his toes curl in his boots as Shepard steamrolled over whatever resistance he might have, wordlessly demanding that he submit and oh boy, did he find that arousing. All he could do was just hang on and let Shepard plunder and devour him.

When Shepard finally released him, he stared stunned at the Commander, his chest heaving like a bellow. His lips felt bruised, hot, and sensitive, and his codpiece felt uncomfortably tight.

Absently, he licked his lips and felt Shepard’s grip on his waist tighten in response.

The kiss had affected Shepard just as severely, his face flushed and his bright blue eyes dark and burning. “You’re so hot when you kick ass,” he complimented hoarsely.

“Huh?” Kaidan said intelligibly.

The sound of someone deliberately and loudly clearing his throat broke the moment.

Kaidan automatically turned to look, and he saw Vega standing at a respectful distance, his gaze politely averted but there was a wide smirk on his face.

“Much as I hate to break things up, we’re on the clock, Loco.”

“What clock?” Kaidan asked blankly.

Vega gestured vaguely at their surroundings.

Kaidan looked around and reality finally made its presence known once more. He quickly stepped away from Shepard even as he felt his face burst into flames. Really, why did he always allow Shepard to kiss the stuffing out of him in public?

“Work first,” he told Shepard, too mortified to meet his gaze. “Kiss later.”

Shepard pouted.

“Is the containment box working?” Still too embarrassed to meet anyone’s gaze, Kaidan took stock of their situation.

While he and Shepard had been busy swapping saliva, Vega had rounded up the thralls.

All four were bound and cuffed. The thrall Kaidan had cryo-blasted was starting to thaw out: he was shivering, and his teeth chattered audibly. The one whom Kaidan had shot point blank was still out cold. The two he Reaved looked no worse for wear, though they were still twitching. One of these two was gaping open-mouthed at him.

“Yeah.” Smirking, Vega nudged the gaping thrall’s feet. “The surprise in this one ain’t an act.”

Kaidan turned his attention to the bound thrall. Like the thrall he had shot, he was wearing a civilian flight suit that had seen better days and needed a good wash. His blond hair was long and stringy, and his face mostly obscured by a beard that was epic hobo’s proportions.

“I’m sure you’re confused right now but don’t worry, we’re here to help,” Kaidan said kindly and without engaging his Charm.

“C-Sec is on its way. We’ll get you sorted out in no time,” Shepard added. “Can you tell us your name and how you got here?”

The once-Enthralled human opened and closed his mouth, swallowed and then in a shaky voice, he croaked, “Kay?”

Kaidan startled.

The person who had given him that diminutive was -

Wide-eyed, he took a closer look at the former thrall. The long straggly hair and massive beard had thrown him off but now that he was examining the man, he recognised him.

“Johann?”

Chapter Text

Bailey and his C-Sec reinforcement descended upon the compromised safe house impressively quick after Shepard alerted him to their altercation.

In the short space of time before they arrived, Kaidan struggled to decide how he felt about discovering that his ex-boyfriend was a Leviathan thrall. He had - deliberately - lost touch with the man all those years ago, and he just showed up now as a thrall?

Shepard silently came up to his side. “Liara and EDI are escorting Ann to her father’s lab. Is everything all right?”

“I don’t know yet,” he answered truthfully. He stared at Johann who sat quietly with the other confused freed thralls under Vega’s watchful eyes. “This is too much of a coincidence.”

“You think Leviathan deliberately seek him out?”

“Maybe. I really don’t know.”

“Bailey’s here,” Shepard patted him encouragingly on his lower back. “Focus on the mission. Maybe we can find out how he got here.”

It was sound and pragmatic advice, and they did need to determine the extent of Leviathan’s reach. Didn’t mean Kaidan was looking forward to it though. Though the hurt had lessened, looking at Johann brought back memories he preferred to leave behind.

“What the hell happened, Shepard?” Bailey demanded, striding towards them. “I got reports of a shootout. Next thing I know, you messaged me to bring reinforcement asap. Well, I’m here and I see my men tied up, presumably by you.”

“I got an anonymous tip that Hadley was in danger,” Shepard explained smoothly. “Since he’s my witness, I came to check on him. We have no idea your people were compromised and that they brought in outside help. We walked into a firefight.”

Bailey was frowning deeply by the time he finished his half-truthful explanation. “That’s troubling. Let’s find out what went wrong on their end.”

They walked over to the tied-up victims. The fourth victim - the one Kaidan had shot with an electroshock bolt - was finally stirring, but it would take more time for him to fully recover his mental faculties.

The two in C-Sec armours perked up when they saw Bailey.

“Commander Bailey,” one of them called out. “What the hell is going on? Why are we tied up?”

“You tell me,” Bailey said flatly.

Shepard stepped in. “I’m Commander Shepard, Council Spectre. None of you are being arrested. We tied you up for your and our safety. What’s your name, Lieutenant?”

“Pete Miller,” replied the C-Sec officer who had called out to Bailey. “And the thawing human is my partner, Ali Faizal. I don’t know the other two.”

Bailey lifted a brow sceptically. “You were working with them in a firefight against Commander Shepard.”

“That’s impossible. I don’t know them,” Miller insisted. “You got to believe me, Commander. I’ve never seen them before now!”

“What’s the last thing you remember, Miller?” Shepard cut in.

“My partner and I have been guarding Hadley for two days. There was a knock on our door. I remember checking to see who it was, and the next thing I know…,” Miller’s voice trailed off and a look of troubled puzzlement crossed his face, “I was somewhere else, dark and cold, and there was something big, no, huge in there with me. And then I’m back here, tied up, with your man standing over me with rifle in his hands. My nerves burn and my limbs still can’t stop twitching.”

“I Reaved you,” Kaidan answered. “Don’t worry, the effects are not permanent.”

“What is today’s date?” Shepard questioned.

“19 October 2186, of course.”

Kaidan watched with interest as Johann startled and his surprised gaze jerked to the C-Sec officer.

“That’s not right,” Johann spoke up. “It’s 3 January 2183.”

This time, everyone else stared at him.

“3 January 2183 was three years ago,” Vega said.

“Today is 20 October 2186,” Shepard added.

All three conscious victims of Leviathan stared at him in astonishment and confusion.

Bailey frowned thoughtfully. “My people lost a day, and this civilian lost three years. What’s your name, son?”

“Johann Street.”

“What’s the last thing you remember doing?” Shepard asked.

“I was contracted by a colony on Arvuna to do a series of supply runs to the Mahavid mining facility. Just another mundane job.” Johann frowned. “The people on Arvuna and Mahavid were odd though, gave me the creeps. I did two runs before what happened to that C-Sec officer happened to me. I was somewhere else, it was dark and cold, and there was something incredibly huge in that space with me. When I snapped back, I’m here, tied up and you telling me that three years have passed.”

It was an all-too-familiar story by now, but it eased Kaidan’s worries somewhat. Leviathan hadn’t deliberately gone after Johann because of him; he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and became one of their thralls.

Next to him, Bailey beckoned for the paramedics. “It sounds like we have a lot to talk about. Let’s get you lot medical care first before the interviews.”

He turned to Shepard. “You’re embroiled in something serious, aren’t you? Is it anything like Saren’s coup?”

“I can’t talk about it,” Shepard said apologetically.

Bailey sighed. “Never mind. But it looks like you must take custody of Hadley. Until I sort this mess out, I can’t guarantee his safety.”

“That’s fine, Bailey. Keep me updated?”

“Sure thing, Shepard.”

Kaidan turned to leave, but a plaintive call stopped him in his tracks.

“Kay?”

Reluctantly, Kaidan looked back, and he met Johann’s hopeful gaze. “Get your bearing first,” he advised civilly. “We can talk after that.”

He strode out of the warehouse.

Cortez’s Kodiak was waiting where he had dropped them off, and they bundled Hadley and the drone carrying the contained orb on board before he took off.

“Where to next, Commander?” Cortez asked.

“Dr Bryson’s lab.”

“Got it.”

Kaidan sat down beside Hadley.

The poor man’s well-being had visibly worsened since last they met. He had lost weight, his face was ashen-pale, and he looked extremely run down with exhaustion and stress, really, on the verge of a breakdown. Yet, he was close to tears with gratitude.

“You came,” Hadley said in a tremulous voice. “When I didn’t hear back from you, I thought you wouldn’t come for me.”

“I’m sorry we’re late,” Kaidan said gently. “Do you mind if I run a med-scan on you?”

“Go ahead. You can’t do any worse than what those Leviathan-controlled people did.”

“They tortured you?”

“They don’t have to. They just put the orb near me and waited. Does that count as torture?” Hadley slumped down in his seat. “I resisted, you know. As hard and long as I could. I don’t know if I succeeded in keeping myself out of their reach. I tried to stay awake but…”

“You did very well, Derek. You were brave and far stronger than you think you are. You didn’t give in without a fight and that’s what counts.” Kaidan peered at the results of his bio-scan. “Well, I’m reading fatigue, dehydration, and low blood sugar. James, can you break out the protein jelly and water?”

Vega obliged and passed them to Hadley. “Here. You’ll feel better after you have something in your stomach.”

“Thanks.”

“Eat it slowly,” Kaidan advised. “Too fast and it’ll be a shock to your system.”

After a few swallows of the protein jelly, Hadley nodded in the direction of the resting drone with the contained orb. “That containment case. It works?”

“It does.”

“Are we leaving the Citadel now?”

“Not yet. We’re going to Dr Bryson’s lab first,” Shepard replied before Kaidan could.

Hadley looked stricken. “I don’t want to go back there.”

“It’s the only other place that has a galaxy map I can use undisturbed. I need you to log me into it.”

It was only through long years of experience that Kaidan managed to conceal his surprise. What was Shepard up to?

“After that, we can go, right?” Hadley asked exhaustedly.

“Yeah.”

“All right, I’ll do it. I trust you.” Hadley leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. “God, I’m tired.”

“Derek, do you know why Leviathan is after you?” Kaidan asked.

“No. I asked but their thralls refused to tell me anything. Can we not talk about them anymore? I just want to get out of here.”

“All right,” Kaidan acquiesced. “You concentrate on eating. Don’t sleep now. It’ll be impossible for us to wake you once you do.”

He turned to speak to Shepard, but the Commander had already stepped away, fully engrossed in issuing orders on his omni-tool. He would just have to wait to see what Shepard has up his sleeve.

The flight soon came to an end.

EDI was waiting on the lawn for them. While Vega escorted Hadley into the lab, she went up to Shepard. “Ann has retrieved the translation key,” she informed them quietly.

“Excellent. Is she on her way back to the Normandy now?”

“Yes. As per your orders, Liara is with her. She will keep an eye on Ann while helping her to install the translation key.”

“I want you to monitor Ann too.”

“Of course. You can count on me.”

“What’s the plan now, Shepard?” Kaidan wanted to know.

“Hadley will give us access to the galaxy map. EDI, take the orb into the lab. I also need you to configure the galaxy map. I want to use the energy emission you found to track down Leviathan.”

“For the tracking to work, we need Leviathan to Enthrall someone first,” EDI replied. “I assume that is why you brought Hadley?”

“Yeah. Don’t tell him though. I don’t want him or Leviathan to know we’re using him as bait.”

“Hadley does not look well,” EDI commented. “Perhaps we should ask Ann to return. She will be a better choice.”

“No,” Shepard quickly shot down the suggestion. “Leviathan seems to have a way of peering into their thralls’ memories. I don’t want them to know about the translation key or that we have the data drives.”

“We need to make sure Leviathan doesn’t drag in innocent bystanders,” Kaidan pointed out.

“The floor-to-ceiling cabinet where Dr Bryson used to keep his orb has an energy barrier. I can reconfigure the energy barrier into a makeshift anti-Enthralling shield and isolate this orb and Hadley behind it,” EDI suggested.

“Do it,” Shepard ordered.

“Aye, Shepard.”

Once alone with the Commander, Kaidan sighed heavily. “The things we must do to ensure our survival. Hadley may wind up hurt or dead from this, you know that, right?”

“Yeah.”

“We should explain it to Hadley, get his consent to work with us. He’s trusting us to get him out of this situation alive and we’re asking him to be the cheese in a mouse trap.”

“We’ll get him through this safe and sound,” Shepard replied confidently.

“Sometimes, despite our best intentions, things may not go our way,” Kaidan warned gently. He squeezed Shepard’s hand. “I’ll go talk to him, make sure he doesn’t flip out on us.”

Hadley didn’t flip out on them, much to Kaidan’s relief, but his reaction wasn’t very encouraging either.

“Why me?” he asked plaintively. “Why not one of you guys?”

“We want to find out what Leviathan is doing on the Citadel,” Kaidan carefully explained. “We want to talk directly to them, and they seem to prefer you.”

“That isn’t a good thing,” the unlucky Hadley groaned.

“Sorry.”

“I’m so tired of this shit.”

“So are we,” Kaidan said sympathetically. “But we have to stop them, and we need your help.”

Hadley tiredly rubbed a hand over his face. “All right, I’ll help. But you and the Commander better keep your end of the deal. Get me out of here when we’re done.”

“Of course.”

“So how are we going to do this?”

“We just need you to sit in that chair.” Kaidan pointed to the office armchair that had been set up inside the huge cabinet.

Vega and Shepard had emptied the cabinet of most of its artefacts. It was quite spacious, leaving more than enough room to easily hold the drone and the contained orb, and Hadley.

The poor man looked at the setup doubtfully. “Are you going to lock me in there with it?”

“We need to make sure the orb doesn’t Enthrall anyone else,” Kaidan explained. “Don’t worry. When it gets too much for you, we’ll shut it back in the box.”

“This won’t take long, right?”

“No, it won’t. All of us are here for you.”

Hadley sat down in the chair and drew in a deep breath to steel his nerves. “You better start before I change my mind.”

Kaidan stepped out of the cabinet and Vega pressed the button to activate the energy barrier.

EDI scanned the barrier with her omni-tool. “The barrier’s energy signature is identical to Tali’s anti-Enthralling devices. It is working.”

“Good. Take your positions, people.” Shepard stepped closer to the cabinet. “Major, please step back.”

Kaidan wanted to object but seeing the serious expression on Shepard’s face, he wisely held his tongue. He stepped back, but only a step.

Vega maintained his position next to the cabinet’s energy barrier while behind them, EDI stood next to the galaxy map’s controls.

Shepard activated his omni-tool. “I’m opening the box.”

Obeying the Commander’s signal, the drone slowly placed the containment box on the floor and with a haptic arm, opened the lid.

The Enthralling was instantaneous.

There was no delay, no gradual takeovers. In a blink of an eye, the tired, dispirited man sitting on the chair suddenly and immediately straightened in his chair. Hadley’s hopeless, resigned expression morphed into one of arrogance and he eyed them with a derisive curl to his lips.

Kaidan stared, startled. Leviathan had taken over Hadley’s mind so swiftly and completely that it caught him off guard.

Shepard met Leviathan/Hadley’s stare calmly. “To whom am I speaking?”

Leviathan/Hadley deliberately turned his derisive gaze to Kaidan. “So, you are the chimeric abomination.”

This was a different Leviathan from the one he encountered on Mindoir and later, on Mahavid, Kaidan realised immediately. Could even be the one who previously used Hadley to kill Dr Bryson.

“No more of an abomination than you are,” he replied evenly.

“Only a lesser being aware of his own inadequacies will accuse those above him as abominations.” Leviathan/Hadley’s condescending tone made Kaidan’s hackles rise. “We know what you are. We know your kind live on Earth for many thousands of years but are now doomed to die. Pity, your people would have made our domination of Earth interesting. Now it will be just swift.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint,” Kaidan said frostily even as his mind raced frantically. How did Leviathan find out so much about the Mer? He himself hadn’t even known they were a dying race until his mom told him.

“You haven’t answered my question,” Shepard cut in. “To whom are we speaking to?”

Finally, Leviathan/Hadley deigned to give Shepard his attention. “Thralls do not need to know the names of their masters.”

Kaidan’s skin crawled. This particular Leviathan was unlike those he clashed with previously. It was emoting through Hadley so naturally that if he hadn’t dealt with Leviathan’s thralls before, he would’ve thought it was Hadley speaking.

“As you can see, we’re not Enthralled,” Shepard replied without missing a beat. “Are you the one who murdered Dr Bryson?”

“Murder is such a strong word to use, thrall.”

“Why did you murder him?”

“He cannot be Enthralled, and he refused to bow to us and give us what we want. Useless fool.”

Kaidan was glad Ann wasn’t here to listen to Leviathan’s contemptuous regard for her stepfather. It was making his blood boil.

“You appeared unconcerned with our presence,” Leviathan/Hadley noted.

“That’s because I’m not.” Shepard met Leviathan/Hadley’s stare fearlessly. “I know you. I won’t allow you to rule this galaxy again.”

“Bold words from someone so small. You can resist us with all your might, and we will still rule you all. The Enthralling never fails.”

Shepard’s expression turned bored. “I already know that to be a lie.”

Leviathan/Hadley cocked his head in Kaidan’s direction. “Is this chimeric abomination the reason for your confidence?”

It was Shepard’s turn to be condescending. “For all your experiments on us so-called lesser races, you still don’t know much about us, do you? So much for being the apex race. Maybe that’s why the Reapers were able to usurp you: you’re not as great as you think you are.”

“You dare mention those abominations in my presence?” Leviathan/Hadley glared at Shepard.

Reapers, it seemed, was a very sore point for Leviathan.

Shepard seemed to realise it too and he seized the chance to pour salt on the wound. “Those abominations did the one thing you never thought anyone in the galaxy could do. They overthrew your rule, slaughtered your people, and harvested them like they were meat. And you could do nothing to stop them. You could only hide and hope they wouldn’t find you. It must gall you to be reduced to worms in the dirt.”

Kaidan watched tersely as Leviathan/Hadley’s expression turned thunderous. Shepard had chosen his words well; his insults were riling Leviathan up.

“I’ve been wondering about it. How did the Reapers usurp your people as the apex race?” Shepard mused. “You were so advanced and mighty that the rest of the galaxy worshipped you as gods. You had no challengers, no competition, and no rivals. So how did the Reapers succeed?”

Leviathan/Hadley glowered at Shepard but did not say anything.

“No answer? That’s all right. I figured it out. Your people were annoyed by constantly having to intervene in the organic-synthetic conflicts in your thrall races. You considered these conflicts petty, beneath you, but they were disrupting your network of servants and supplies. You needed the conflict resolved once and for all, but you were too lazy and too impatient to think of a solution yourselves. Instead, you took a shortcut: you created an A.I. to find a solution. But you failed to foresee it deeming you as part of the problem. Thus, the Reapers.”

Shepard crossed his arms as he shook his head in mock amazement. “Your arrogance is astounding. You thought yourselves so far above us that you failed to see you were committing the same mistake your thrall races made.”

“It betrayed us!” Leviathan/Hadley snarled.

“It did exactly what you instructed it to do. Can’t blame anyone else for your mistake but yourselves. And to top it off, it was the so-called lesser races who killed them while you hide.” Shepard stepped closer to the energy barrier. “If we could take down the Reapers, we can certainly stop you too.”

Leviathan/Hadley rose to his feet and stepped so close to the energy barrier that Kaidan could see his hair rising from the static.

“Hide, Commander John Shepard, first human Spectre, Saviour of the Citadel, Hero of the Skyllian Blitz. When you are my thrall, I will personally use you to deliver the galaxy into our hands. And the people you serve and protect will call you Traitor of the Galaxy.”

The absolute certainty in Hadley’s voice sent shivers down Kaidan’s spine, but Shepard remained unimpressed. “Threatening me already?”

“We do not threaten,” Leviathan/Hadley smiled thinly. “I know what you are doing. You will not succeed.”

The orb suddenly glowed brighter and brighter rapidly until it was nothing more than a ball of pure white light. Hadley staggered and Kaidan abruptly realised what was happening.

“Close the box!” He shouted in alarm. “Shut it now!”

Shepard was ahead of him. He hit another button and the drone slammed the lid of the containment box shut, but it was too late.

Hadley let out a groan of pain; his eyes rolled up until all they could see was white and he collapsed unconscious.

“Shit!” Vega swore.

He slammed his fist on the barrier switch, and Kaidan was immediately inside the cabinet once the barrier went down. He quickly scanned Hadley with his omni-tool and stiffened when he saw the readings. “Call the paramedics now!” 

“How is he?” Shepard asked.

“He doesn’t have any brain activity. He needs to be in a hospital asap.”

“The paramedics are on their way,” Vega reported.

Shepard looked over to EDI. “Did we get what we need?”

“My tracking was cut short when Leviathan attacked Hadley,” EDI reported. “However, I was able to narrow the field to three planetary systems in the Sigurd’s Cradle. I am uploading the nav-points into the Normandy’s galaxy map right now.”

“Better than nothing, I guess.” Shepard stood up. “We’re done here. Kaidan and I will accompany Hadley to the hospital. James, you and EDI are to return to the Normandy once we leave. EDI, start analysing those planetary systems. I want to know everything there is to know on them by the time we leave the Citadel.”

~

Huerta Memorial Hospital was the closest hospital to Dr Bryson’s home and lab.

Still, Kaidan was able to use the short time spent waiting for the ambulance to smash the orb into pieces with his biotics.

He immediately felt better about it.

The Leviathan they had confronted seemed to be far different from the others: it actually seemed to have a better understanding of the other races, and that made him uneasy. He hoped they wouldn’t meet it again, but he had a sinking feeling it had taken a personal interest in them, or rather Shepard.

At the hospital, Shepard pulled rank and quickly completed Hadley’s admission and contacted his next-of-kin. They were just about to leave when a C-Sec officer came up to them bearing a message that Johann wanted to talk to Kaidan.

Shepard looked at the Major while he hesitated. “Do you want to talk to him?”

“Not really,” Kaidan admitted, “but I promised him I will. Why don’t you go ahead first? This shouldn’t take long.”

“I can wait for you,” Shepard offered.

“Thanks, but I have a feeling it’s going to be an awkward conversation. I’ll return to the Normandy when I’m done.”

Shepard squeezed his hand reassuringly. “Just remember, you don’t owe him anything.”

“Yeah, I know.” Turning back, Kaidan followed the C-Sec officer to Johann’s hospital room.

In the glass-walled hospital room, Johann wasn’t in bed. He was sitting by the glass window, staring gloomily out at the Presidium, dressed in nothing more than a hospital gown. He looked much better and no longer like a homeless person, with his long straggly hair tied back and his epic hedge of a beard shaved off.

His ex looked up when he entered.

“Hi,” Johann said awkwardly. “I, uh, I didn’t think you would come.”

“I did say we would talk once you get your bearing, didn’t I?” Kaidan said neutrally. He leaned against the glass window; arms crossed over his chest.

“Yeah…still, I wasn’t sure. Thanks for coming.”

For a long tense moment, neither of them speaks. 

Kaidan took in his ex’s appearance.

Once upon a time, Johann Street had ticked all the right boxes for him. He had been similar to Shepard in physical build and appearance but was blond instead of dark-haired and his eyes were not as blue.

But that was more than six years ago; a lifetime ago, Kaidan felt.

This Johann sitting before him was a mere shadow of the handsome soldier in his memories: he was gaunt and thin, his cheekbones sunken and his eyes tired and lost, and his left foot tapped out a staccato beat against the floor - a nervous tic Kaidan didn’t recall him having. It was clear life hadn’t been good to him since being dishonourably discharged. Being a thrall to a Leviathan that didn’t care much for his well-being probably didn’t help.

“I can’t believe I lost three years,” Johann said quietly. “If it hadn’t been for my flight logs, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

“Did your flight logs record where you’ve been?”

“Everywhere in the galaxy. Apparently, I’ve been very busy, and I can’t remember a single moment of it.”

“What about your cargo manifests?”

“I stopped updating my cargo manifests at around the same time. If I was delivering goods during the three years, I don’t recall any of it either.”

Kaidan had his suspicions, but he wasn’t going to tell Johann. Instead, he asked, “Can you transfer a copy of your flight logs to me?”

“Why?”

“I need to know where you’ve been.”

“All right.”

They fell silent again.

“When were you promoted to Major?” Johann asked.

“About a year ago.”

“Wow, congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

“So, uh, you and Commander Shepard?” Johann asked tentatively.

Despite his best efforts, Kaidan blushed when he remembered Johann had witnessed their very public and very passionate kiss.

“How long have you two been together?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Right. I guess you’ve moved on.” Johann winced. “I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised you’ve moved on. It’s been, what, six years? I shouldn’t expect you not to move on-”

“Just spit it out,” Kaidan interrupted. “I don’t have the patience to wait for you to get to the point.”

“Why did you break up with me?”

Kaidan raised an incredulous eyebrow. “I've told you a long time.”

Johann actually looked confounded. “You mean you broke up with me over some locker-room trash talk?”

“What I overheard wasn’t locker-room trash talk,” Kaidan shot back. “You once told me you don’t kiss and tell. Yet you had no trouble telling the entire squad about-about…”

“Us fucking?”

Distantly, Kaidan marvelled at the hurt those two words could still inflict after so many years. “I wouldn’t have moved in with you if all I wanted was a fuck buddy,” he replied coldly.

Johann had the grace to look contrite. “Sorry, Kay.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Yeah. I guess I no longer have the right to call you that.”

“No, you don’t. As for your question, I’ve told you before: I broke up with you because you reduced me to nothing more than a sex object that you were happy to pass around.”

“Aren’t you being a little sensitive? It’s just trash talking. We didn’t mean any of it,” Johann said defensively.

“You all but told them that I was fair game to everyone in the squad,” Kaidan snapped. “Do you know how scared and hurt I was?”

“But we weren’t going do anything bad to you,” Johann protested. “It’s just us being stupid with our talk.”

Kaidan snorted in disbelief. If only that was true. For a moment, he wished he hadn’t Charmed Johann into forgetting that night on the beach. Perhaps that would make him understand why he had to break off their relationship.

“I really didn’t mean any of what I said,” Johann insisted. “I mean, come on, you knew what they were like.”

“So now you admit I wasn’t imagining it?” Kaidan’s eyes narrowed as a thought occurred. “Back then, you knew I wasn’t imagining their treatment, but you didn’t want to admit it. And I thought you were just in denial.”

“What good would it have done for us to admit it?” Johann pointed out. “Every squad is different. We just had to figure out how to handle each one by ourselves. They made life hell for me in the beginning too, but once I started giving as good as I got, they backed off. In fact, they accepted me.”

“Are you saying it was my fault they harassed me?”

Johann rose to his feet and approached him. “Look, McCoy’s squad liked to pick on people. In that kind of situation, joining them was just easier.”

“Easier,” Kaidan repeated flatly.

“Yeah.”

Kaidan looked at his ex, really looked at him. It felt like he was seeing the real Johann for the very first time and he finally understood why his parents had never liked him.

“You’re a chameleon,” he stated as calmly as he could. “A self-serving, piece-of-shit chameleon. You adopted their attitude because it was easier on you.”

“Kaidan -”

“They saw biotics as freaks, they treated me like one, and you joined them. All because it would make your life easier.”

Johann reached out to him. “Kaidan, I didn’t-”

“Don’t touch me.” 

Reluctantly, Johann lowered his arm.

“You left me to fight their prejudice on my own.” His voice was hard and unforgiving. “I’m a biotic; they were never going to accept me. In the first place, we never needed to pass whatever immature frat-boy initiation rite they had to be one of them. We were Marines. That should be the only reason that matter.”

“I know, Kaidan! But I-I-”

“Chose to protect yourself at my expense,” Kaidan flatly finished for him.

Johan was quiet for a long, strained moment and then he said just as quietly, “I’m sorry, Kaidan.”

“Your apology is too late.” Suddenly, Kaidan was just tired, tired of this conversation, of ruing the day he had met Johann. 

He turned, ready to leave this conversation and this man behind when he saw something through the glass wall that effectively defused his resentment and made the tight knot of anger in his chest loosen.

Shepard was leaning against the wall in the corridor outside, arms crossed and back facing him. His body language clearly broadcast that he was waiting for someone.

It didn’t take a genius to know who Shepard was waiting for and the realisation was enough to clear Kaidan’s head. Why was he wasting time with someone who didn’t deserve him?

“I’m leaving,” he told Johann. “Before I go, just answer this: if it had been me and not Corporal Liu in that situation, would you have stopped them? Be honest with me.”

Johann squarely met his gaze and declared, “I would never put you in that situation. Never.”

Kaidan searched Johann’s face.

His ex’s expression was full of earnest conviction and Kaidan didn’t doubt he was telling the truth. But no matter how much Johann was convinced of his own surety at this moment, Kaidan knew it to be a lie - because Johann had purposely put him in that situation, even if he didn’t remember doing it.

The realisation just made him sad.

“Goodbye, Johann. I hope we don’t meet again,” was all he could bring himself to say.

He marched out of the ward without looking back and went straight to Shepard. The Commander straightened at his approach. “You waited for me.”

“Didn’t feel right to leave you to meet him alone,” Shepard replied seriously.

Touched, Kaidan chuffed out a breath through his nose. “Thank you.”

“No problem. Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah,” Kaidan slipped his hand into Shepard’s, “more than ready.”

Chapter Text

The skycar ride back to the Normandy’s dock was long enough to give Kaidan time to clear his mind, and he recalled something Johann had told him.

“I think I know how Leviathan distributes their orbs through the galaxy,” he said to Shepard. “They probably Enthralled and hijacked small-time and independent delivery services.”

“Like Johann.”

“Yes. Hardly anyone will notice if their behaviour turns strange and erratic, and yet they will still have access to most places in the galaxy.” Kaidan absently brushed the back of his hand across his forehead. “It’s going to be impossible to track down all of them.”

“Not to say a waste of time too,” Shepard agreed. “They’re going to be the kind of problem we can only clean up after we free them.”

“The best way to help them right now is to concentrate on defeating Leviathan,” Kaidan concluded.

“Exactly.” Shepard glanced at him. “You feel all right?”

Kaidan sighed gustily and told Shepard the gist of his conversation with Johann. “All these years, I thought it was blind loyalty and denial that made him go along with whatever they did, but I thought wrong. He’s a chameleon. How the hell did I not see that?”

Shepard squeezed his hand sympathetically.

Kaidan squeezed back. “Let’s not talk about him anymore. He’s in the past and I’m here with you now.”

“I hope I’m a better choice,” Shepard said lightly. 

Kaidan chuckled. “Yes, you are, but tell anyone I said that, and I’ll deny it. Your ego doesn’t need any more inflating.”

Arriving at the Normandy’s dock, both men embarked the ship only to find EDI waiting for them beyond the decontamination area of the airlock. “Commander, we have a…small situation in the War Room.”

“Explain.”

EDI lowered the volume of her voice. “Our plan went off without a hitch. However, it had sent Ann Bryson into a…severe crying fit. The corruption of her father’s data drives has devastated her.”

Guilt stabbed Kaidan when he heard the news. Despite knowing better, he had foolishly hoped Ann wouldn’t be too affected by their sabotage. So much for wishful thinking.

“Is anyone with her?” he asked, subdued.

“Liara is currently trying to console her without much success.”

“I’ll go-”

“I’ll speak to her,” Shepard cut in.

“Shepard-”

“I’ve established some rapport with her. You haven’t,” Shepard pointed out gently.

That was true, Kaidan realised. As far as Ann Bryson knew, she hadn’t met him before today, which technically made him a stranger to her. Shepard would have better luck consoling her.

Feeling like the crap someone would scrape off from the soles of their shoes, Kaidan quietly followed Shepard and EDI to the War Room.

Entering the War Room, Kaidan’s gaze was immediately drawn to the curled-up form of Ann Bryson collapsed on the deck, her shoulders shaking with the force of her gut-wrenching sobs. Liara sat beside her; her arms wrapped tightly about Ann’s shoulders as though to physically hold her together.

Liara looked up when Shepard approached, her beautiful face pale and soft with sadness and compassion. “It didn’t work,” she said softly.

Shepard hunkered down to the deck next to the weeping archaeologist. “What happened?”

“There was a virus in the data drives,” Liara said. “When Ann installed the translation key, it triggered the virus. Quite a fair bit of the data drives were corrupted before we managed to put a stop to it.”

Shepard squeezed Ann’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

So was Kaidan, despite the virus accomplishing his goal. He quietly and discreetly moved as far away from the scene as he could, trying to give Ann some privacy. Seeing her cry made the twisting feeling in his gut worsen.

He spotted the portable console on the table above Ann and Liara’s curled-up forms. It was the same portable console EDI had uploaded her custom-tailored virus into for this very purpose. All the data drives and a datapad were slotted into it. Edging as close as he could without drawing attention, he peered at the portable console’s screen while keeping an ear on the heartbroken conversation happening below the table.

Ann peered up at Shepard tearfully. “Who would do such a thing? This is the last link I have to my father.”

“Any clue as to who did it?” Shepard asked.

Liara hesitated.

“Say it, Liara.”

“The data drives have been through a few hands, most of it on Arcturus Station.”

The implications were clear. There was no reason for anyone on Arcturus Station to sabotage the data drives unless they were Enthralled.

It was a logical conclusion and the wrong one, Kaidan knew. Wrong because neither woman knew he – or rather, his mom – knew the language and translated the important data. Despite how bad it made him feel, he kept his silence.

Gloomily, he scrolled through the corrupted data drives. What he saw made him pause. Wanting to be sure of his findings, he went to the entries his mom had translated and read through them carefully. It was then he knew what EDI had done. “Not everything has been corrupted, Ann.”

Everyone looked up at him. Shepard, in particular, gave him a warning look.

He ignored the Commander. Lifting the portable console, he brought it over to Ann and showed her the screen. “Look.”

On the screen was a partially translated entry. It was the same journal entry that had led Kaidan and Shepard to the Brysons’ family home. The important parts - where and how Dr Bryson had hidden the weapon - had been completely deleted, but the rest of the entry was intact and translated.

Ann sniffled and wiped at her eyes as she stared at the console screen. A look of relief crossed her face. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right.”

“Why don’t we take a break?” Liara suggested kindly. “Maybe get a cup of coffee in the galley?”

“I-I think I like to be alone.”

“Of course. Let me show you to the Starboard Observation Lounge.”

Ann slowly stood up, tightly hugging the awkwardly shaped portable console to her chest. With Liara by her side, she left the War Room, her posture slumped and vulnerable.

Kaidan waited until the door had slid closed behind the two women before saying softly, “Thanks, EDI. For not making us into completely heartless people.”

“You are welcomed, Kaidan,” EDI replied serenely.

“How did you do it?” Shepard asked.

“I programmed the virus to selectively delete only mentions of the Mer, words and phrases pertaining to them and uploaded it into the portable console I’ve set aside for Ann’s use. When she slotted the data drives in, the virus was automatically loaded into them. Once she installed the translation key and use it, it triggered the virus as well, and it deleted said information immediately after it was translated.”

“I never thought viruses could do that. Is it thorough?”

“Yes, Shepard.”

“That takes a lot of processing power,” Kaidan mused. 

“I upgraded the portable console,” EDI replied innocuously.

“Very smart.”

“I am an A.I. Being smart is our thing,” EDI replied without batting an eye. “Though I am confident my virus accomplished our goal, it is still not a fool-proof solution. But I estimate the possibility of Ann finding out about the Mer’s existence with the translated remnants at five-point-zero-zero-one percent. It is a very acceptable risk.”

“Why didn’t you program the virus to blanket-delete everything?” Kaidan wanted to know.

EDI was silent for a long moment as she contemplated the question. “It did not…feel right to do so.”

“Partial sabotage isn’t right too.”

“Perhaps, but it preserves Ann’s last link to her father while accomplishing our goal. I believe this is what humans call a win-win solution.”

Shepard was grinning like a proud father by this point. “That’s my girl all grown up.”

“Thank you, Shepard.”

Shepard hit the comm button. “Garrus, take us out. Set a course for Arcturus.”

“Acknowledged, Shepard.”

Returning his attention to EDI, the Commander said, “Brief us what you’ve found out about those three planetary systems in the Sigurd’s Cradle.”

EDI’s tracking had narrowed their search field to the Lenal, Mil and Psi Tophet Systems in the Sigurd’s Cradle, but her research hadn’t been fruitful. Other than the fact that they were located deep in the barely explored recesses of the cluster, which itself was in the centre of the Terminus Systems, not much is known about them.

“Small colonies and mining set-ups have been established on some of the planets or their moons, but recent news from these places are scarce. So far, the only planetary system that I am not able to find information on beyond the initial survey is Psi Tophet,” EDI reported.

“Could members of Leviathan survive on any of these planets?” Shepard wondered.

“That is unknown as we know nothing about their biology.”

“And we have only encountered them via their orbs, not face-to-face. So how do we find them? Planet-to-planet search will take too much time.”

“I think we can shortlist the planets,” Kaidan said. “Remember how the victims of the orbs described feeling they were somewhere else? Somewhere cold, dark and wet? Leviathan has demonstrated to be able to somehow peer into their thralls’ minds, so the link must go both ways.”

Shepard caught on immediately. “Or the thralls wouldn’t have gotten the impression of being somewhere else.”

“I shall research on the planets immediately for the most likely candidates,” EDI said.

“I’ll give you a hand,” Kaidan offered.

“Garrus to Shepard,” Garrus spoke over the intercom. “We’ll be reaching Arcturus Station in ten minutes.”

“Thanks, Garrus. Has the Cairo arrived?”

“Yes, it has. And get this, a small group of tugboats have gathered around it.”

“Copy that. Traynor, send a message to the Cairo. Tell them I’m requesting Captain Castillo and Commander Chang for a Q.E.C. meeting.”

“Aye, sir.”

“I’m attending the Q.E.C. meeting,” Kaidan announced. The business tone of his voice dared Shepard to object.

But the Commander knew better than to do that. He kissed Kaidan lightly on his lips. “Sure. Now you two have fun while I go see Ann.”

Before that, Shepard briefly detoured to the Shuttle Bay to find Tali. With an anti-Enthralling device and a kinetic shield generator in hand, he headed for the Starboard Observation Lounge.

Ann looked up when he entered. She had calmed down, but her face was still blotchy red, and she looked drained and dispirited.

“Feeling calmer?” Shepard asked gently.

She nodded. “Why are we back at Arcturus?”

Shepard sat down on the seat next to her. “I’m dropping you off here.”

“What? Why?”

“I have good reason to believe I have found Leviathan’s hideout or one of them at any rate.”

Ann straightened up with a hopeful look.

“I’m not taking civilians into a potential battlefield,” Shepard said sternly. “It’s better for you to stay here on Arcturus.”

“No, it’s not. Arcturus isn’t going to be safe for me.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I’m not stupid or blind,” Ann snapped. “I know full well what T’Soni didn’t say just now. She suspects Leviathan has thralls on Arcturus, or otherwise who will have access to sabotage my father’s data drives?”

“At this point, I don’t think there’s anywhere Leviathan isn’t capable of infiltrating,” Shepard admitted candidly. “But I’m not accustomed to bringing civilians into battles.”

“That’s ridiculous. You have a civilian asari as a member of your crew,” she argued. “Are you going to leave her behind?”

“Liara isn’t just a civilian and unlike you, I won’t be risking the Fleet Admiral’s wrath when I take her into a firefight with me.”

“Hackett isn’t my father,” Ann said mulishly.

“No, but he ordered me to take care of you. Taking you into danger isn’t that and I want to stay in his good book.”

Ann glared at him. “I’m going to be in danger on Arcturus, Commander.”

“Which is why I want you to wear this.” Shepard held out the anti-Enthralling shield generator to her. “It’s an anti-Enthralling device attached to a kinetic shield generator. It will keep you safe and immune to their orbs’ Enthralling influence.”

It wasn’t needed, Shepard knew, but it did help to support the belief of Leviathan having thralls on Arcturus.

Ann transferred her glare to the device, her lips set in a sullen rebellious line.

“Please stay on Arcturus, for the Admiral’s peace of mind and for my well-being.”

Shepard waited patiently as Ann glared at him stubbornly. Finally, with great reluctance, she snatched the device from his hand.

“Fine,” she gave in with ill grace. “Just give me a few minutes to pack.”

In short order, they emerged from the Starboard Observation Lounge with Ann carrying her carry-on and another bag holding the portable console and data drives.

“This feels like a wasted trip,” Ann confessed, subdued, as Shepard accompanied her to the ship’s airlock.

“It’s not,” he was quick to point out. “We have made progress in our mission.”

“Have we? What if the virus deleted information on the one thing that can help us win the fight?”

“Then we’ll find another way to stop Leviathan,” Shepard said simply. “Let me worry about stopping Leviathan. You just do what you can. I believe that’s all your father wanted from you.”

At the airlock, Ann lifted a hand for a handshake. “Stay safe, Commander.”

“You too, Ann.”

Once Ann had disembarked and the airlock closed behind her, Shepard walked back the way he came.

“Commander, I have the Cairo on standby in the Q.E.C. room,” Traynor called from her station.

“I’m on my way.” Shepard briskly made his way to the Q.E.C. Room, picking up Kaidan as well. “Come on. We’re going to talk to the Cairo.”

Kaidan smoothly fell into step beside him. “You mean you are going to talk to the Cairo,” he pointed out drolly. “I still have no idea what you’re up to.”

Shepard squeezed his hand reassuringly. “Don’t worry. I have things under control.”

Inside the Q.E.C. Room, Shepard pressed a button to activate the Q.E.C. The holographic images of Chang and Castillo blinked into existence.

“Commander Shepard,” Captain Castillo of the Cairo greeted.

“Captain Castillo, Commander Chang, it’s good to see you again.”

“Likewise, Commander,” Castillo replied. “I’m curious about the tugboats. Why do we need them?”

“How is your crew’s morale?” Shepard asked instead.

“High. I won’t deny it: this mission has fueled many gossip sessions in the galley, but my crew is confident and trusts me to lead them. I hope whatever you have in mind won’t lead me to undermine that trust,” Castillo said pointedly.

“I won’t lie, Captain. We think Leviathan has a way of spying on us which we do not know yet, so I can’t tell you the whole plan.”

“Isn’t that a little paranoid? Both of our ships have been fitted with anti-Enthralling shield generators. It should be safe to talk.”

“True. But Ann Bryson had informed me not too long ago that she thinks Leviathan possesses an organic form of Q.E.C. and may be able to hack into ours without us knowing.”         

“Hence, Hackett’s cryptic orders.”

“Yes.” Shepard sent the nav-point over to Captain Castillo and Commander Chang on an encrypted channel. “The Cairo and the Normandy will escort the tugboats to this nav-point. Once we arrive, two of my crew will assume command of the operation there and the tugboats. I need the Cairo to be their escort and support ship. Your task is to make sure my crew and our insurance arrive in the Sigurd’s Cradle unmolested.”

“And what will you be doing?” Chang asked.

“I’ll be determining the nav-point of their destination in the Sigurd’s Cradle. I hope to get it before you arrive with them.”

“And what will happen at their destination?” Chang persisted.

“My crew have their orders. Captain Castillo, it is important that the Cairo does not interfere in the Normandy’s mission when in the Siguard’s Cradle. No matter what happens. Any intervention on your part must only occur at my crew’s request.”

Chang looked at Shepard with narrowed eyes. “You’re asking the Cairo and me to follow your lead in the dark, Commander.”

“Yes, I am,” Shepard admitted readily, “and to have a little faith in me. I have no doubt both you and Captain Castillo are up to the job.”

Chang looked at Kaidan. “Do you know his full plan?”

“He won’t tell me.”

“And you’re okay with it?”

Kaidan replied without hesitation, “I trust him.”

An odd expression crossed Chang’s face. “All right. If someone like you says that with confidence, then who am I to object? You have my support, Commander.”

“Thanks,” Shepard said dryly. “Captain?”

Castillo was looking at Chang curiously. “What do you mean by ‘someone like Major Alenko’?”

“Major Alenko doesn’t trust people,” Chang replied bluntly.

“Occupation hazard, Chang. I could say the same for you,” Kaidan admonished.

“Unlike you, I don’t have a lone wolf reputation, Alenko. Yet here you are, willingly staying on and working with Commander Shepard.” Chang turned to Castillo. “Since Major Alenko trusts Commander Shepard without knowing his full plan, then I think we can trust his lead too.”

Castillo folded his arms across his chest contemplatively. “Very well. The Cairo will follow your lead, Shepard. We’ll do our part to the best of our abilities.”

“And the Normandy’s crew will do their part to the best of their abilities too,” Shepard added. “Thank you, Captain, Commander.”

“When are we setting out?” Castillo asked.

“Are the tugboats ready to leave?”

“Yes, any time.”

“Then we leave in ten. I’ll send the flight path over to you shortly.”

“Acknowledged. We’ll shadow you with the tugboats to the nav-point. Cairo out.”

The Q.E.C. went dark.

“Let’s get this show on the road.” Turning to Kaidan, Shepard saw a frown marring the handsome Major’s face. “What is it?”

“I think I’m beginning to have an idea of what you’re up to,” Kaidan said slowly, “and it’s not sitting well with me.”

“It’ll be fine, Kaidan.”

Kaidan looked him squarely in the eye. “Is the Council aware of what you planned to do?”

“Let me worry about the Council.”

“Stop that, Shepard,” he said, frustration seeping into his voice. “Why won’t you tell me your plan? We’re in this together.”

“I know what-”

“-‘I’m doing',” he finished resignedly.

“Exactly. So, trust me.” Shepard gently grasped his chin and angled his face for a quick but affectionate kiss.

“I do, Shepard,” Kaidan said when they parted. “But that’s not-”

Shepard kissed him again.

“-the point. And stop-”

Shepard kissed him one more time, longer and deeper.

“-distracting me,” he scolded, but the breathless tone of his voice stole the heat from his words. 

Shepard grinned at him. “I like distracting you.”

Kaidan sighed. “Seriously, Shepard, what are you not telling me?” he asked quietly.

“Let’s get back to work,” Shepard said instead. “I need to get this show on the road, and you need to hammer out that list of potential planets.”

~

Chapter Text

On route to the classified location

It didn’t take long for Kaidan to finish shortlisting the potential planets with EDI. There weren’t many habitable planets in the three solar systems and only three of those met Leviathan’s former thralls’ description. But they couldn’t be sure until they recon the planets.

Kaidan emerged from the War Room, idly wondering where Shepard was. He hadn’t seen the Commander since they departed Arcturus. EDI had told him the Commander was in a meeting with Garrus and Tali, but the meeting room was currently empty, and he wasn’t in the C.IC. either.

“Kaidan,” Garrus’s distinctive flanging voice stopped him in his tracks.

He turned to see the turian approaching him.

“May I have a word with you in private?” Garrus asked stiffly.

Puzzled by the turian’s sudden formality, Kaidan nodded. “Sure.”

“Follow me.”

Now highly curious, Kaidan followed Garrus to Liara’s cabin which he was told was off limit to everyone unless they were invited. Not even Shepard could enter freely. Looks like he was about to get to see the inside of the cabin.

When he entered, the first thing he noticed was the impressive bank of monitor screens lining the entire length of a bulkhead. Right to the back of the cabin, he could see a small bedroom. A V.I. near the door introduced itself as Glyph and greeted them and sitting around some monitors in the middle of the cabin were Liara and Tali. 

The two women looked worried; Kaidan had sensed the same tension in Garrus. He looked at them and said without preamble, “this is about Shepard, isn’t it?”

Tali nodded. “We are hoping you can change his mind.”

“Change his mind about what?”

“You know where we are heading for now, right?”

“Yes.”

“Shepard had entrusted a task to Tali and me to carry out when we get there,” Garrus said. “We are ambivalent about it.”

“What does he want you to do?” Kaidan asked warily.

Garrus told him.

He stared at Garrus wide-eyed and speechless. “I didn’t know,” he finally managed to say.

“He hasn’t told you anything?” Tali asked hesitatingly.

Kaidan shook his head in frustration. “He refused to tell me anything.”

“Can you talk him out of it? I couldn’t,” Garrus said. “I’d rather not sacrifice my best friend if I can help it.”

“What about either of you?” Kaidan asked both women.

“We tried but to no avail,” Liara replied tiredly.

“So now it’s my turn, eh?”

“We’re hoping you being his lover will be more persuasive,” Tali explained.

Kaidan rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. “We haven’t, you know, done that.”

All of them looked surprised.

“Really? But both of you look so comfortable together,” Tali said.

“The timing was never right. I’ll talk to him. But don’t expect too much.”

“Maybe you can use your Charm on him?” Garrus asked.

Kaidan gave him a flat look. “You forgot I promised this crew they would be safe from me. And it doesn’t work like that. Look, I’ll try my best to dissuade him, but he’s stubborn and presumptuous.”

Liara made a face. “Don’t we know it. Just do your best.”

When Kaidan left Liara’s cabin a short while later, he thought briefly of what he had to do.

Checking with EDI gave him Shepard’s location, and since he knew Shepard and himself had been snacking on protein bars throughout the day, he heated up two meal trays and brought everything up to Shepard’s cabin.

“EDI, mind letting me in?” he asked when he arrived.

“Not at all.”

The cabin door slid open, and Kaidan stepped in. He saw Shepard immediately.

The Commander sat at his desk, back facing him. He was toying with the small orb they had retrieved from Benning, tossing it from one hand to the other, and there was something brooding in his body language which Kaidan noticed immediately.

“Hey,” he called gently.

Shepard gave a start and turned towards him. “Hey.”

Kaidan warily eyed the small dark orb in Shepard’s hands. “Is it safe to handle that unprotected?”

“It’s empty now. Nothing more than a mysterious bauble made of unknown material.”

“Well, I’ll still feel better if you keep it under lock and key instead of playing with it. Why don’t you put it away and join me for dinner? EDI, privacy mode please.”

“Certainly, Major. Do enjoy your dinner with the Commander.”

“Thanks.”

Kaidan brought the dinner trays to the sitting area and busied himself setting the coffee table for dinner. “We still have another twenty hours before we reach the nav-point, and you haven’t had anything substantial since breakfast. Whatever’s on your mind can wait until you have eaten something.”

He looked up to see Shepard standing by his aquarium just looking at him with a pensive half-smile that made his unease grow.

He shoved down his worry and frustration. He’d need patience, lots of it if he wanted Shepard to tell him the truth. So, he smiled invitingly at Shepard. “Come have dinner with me.”

His gaze soft with affection, Shepard joined him without another word. Together, they began eating in companionable silence.

Kaidan waited until he was certain Shepard had eaten a substantial amount and seemed to be more relaxed before saying casually, “I had a chat with Garrus.”

To his credit, Shepard’s movements did not falter. “Oh?”

“And with Liara and Tali.”

Shepard paused in mid-bite and then he sighed, “he told you. And them.”

“Yeah, and it worried them. You’re asking a lot from Garrus,” Kaidan pointed out.

“I assigned that task to him because he’s a turian,” Shepard grumbled. “I need his turian discipline.”

“I get it,” Kaidan replied soothingly. “But they are your closest friends, and they are uneasy about the whole thing.”

Shepard looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Did they ask you to try and talk me out of it?”

Kaidan nodded.

“Well, you can tell them you failed. I’m not changing my mind.”

“I haven’t even started.”

Shepard huffed. “So much for promising to let me handle this mission my way.”

“I don’t understand,” Kaidan said carefully. “We already have the weapon. Why do we still need to take this extra step?”

“It’s not an extra step. It’s the key to our victory. And that’s all I’m saying on the matter.”

“Why are you refusing to tell me…” Kaidan’s exasperated voice trailed off as at that moment, he intuitively and suddenly understood why Shepard kept him in the dark. “You don’t intend to bring me along on the ground mission.”

Shepard kept on eating and did not answer, nor did he look at Kaidan.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” Kaidan put down his spork, more convinced than ever of Shepard’s intention. “You planned on leaving me behind. Why?”

“Every time you go near a Leviathan’s orb, it hurt you,” Shepard answered stiffly. “I can’t afford that distraction when I confront them.”

“I don’t believe you.”     

Shepard huffed again, irritably, but he still did not look at Kaidan.

“Tell me the truth. I deserve to know.”

Shepard sighed again. He leaned back against the cushions and only then did he meet Kaidan’s gaze. His face was expressionless and his eyes grave. “Did you know I panicked when the orb assaulted you in Dr Bryson’s home?”

Kaidan stilled.

“It’s odd. It wasn’t the first time I witnessed what they do to you and yet in that moment, for the first time, I panicked. When I took the orb from you, I didn’t think. I just want to protect you from it. Now that we’re bringing the fight to Leviathan, the thought of you being so close to them…”

Shepard shut his eyes and took a deep shuddering breath. “I mean it, Kaidan. I really don’t want you anywhere near Leviathan. I don’t want to see you hurt again.”

Kaidan’s heart swelled with happiness at Shepard’s indirect confession. Yet at the same time, he wanted to smack the man over his head for trying to cosset him. Pushing aside his dinner, he slid over to the Commander’s side and clasped one of his hands.

“Thank you for telling me,” he said simply, “but you’re letting your feelings for me cloud your judgment. Making me stay behind so that you can keep a clear head in battle is just avoiding the issue.”

“There’s no issue.”

“Yes, there is if you can’t let me accompany you into danger for fear of losing your professionalism. We’re soldiers; we know the odds. We do what we must and if we get hurt or killed in the line of duty - well, we accepted these risks when we joined the Alliance Military. We can’t allow our feelings for each other to compromise our duties. If we can’t stay professional, then-” Kaidan swallowed hard, “then maybe we shouldn’t be together.”

Shepard’s grip on his hand tightened. “You don’t mean that.”

“You tell me,” Kaidan answered reluctantly. He didn’t want it either. “If you think our feelings for each other will compromise us in battle, then I don’t see how we can have a relationship.”

Shepard looked torn. “I just want you to be safe.”

“The feeling is mutual. I don’t want to lose you when I’ve just found you,” Kaidan admitted. “I also know I can’t keep you from doing your job. The only way I can make sure you come back to me is by fighting with you and watching your six. We’re partners on this mission. We stand a better chance of surviving this mission together than apart.”

“Do we?”

“They can’t Enthral me,” Kaidan pointed out, “and with Tali’s anti-Enthralling shield, they can’t hurt me and affect you. But I can affect them. That gives us an edge. So, we are going to confront them together and come back together. And when the Council summons you for an inquiry, we will answer it together too.”

“I can’t ask that of you.”

“You’re not. You’ll need someone in your corner when you face the Council. I plan to be that someone.”

“That is if we come back.”

“Whatever the outcome, it’s going to be what it is,” Kaidan replied matter-of-factly. “It doesn’t change my mind. I want to see this through with you.”

Uncertain blue eyes searched his face.

“Don’t be a presumptuous ass and leave me behind.”

Shepard relented with a gusty exhale. “When you put it that way, fine, I won’t.”

Kaidan smiled, relieved, and he leaned forward to kiss him. Their kiss was tender and gentle; their tongues met and began a slow and intimate dance, exploring and languid.

Deciding it was high time to take their relationship to another level, Kaidan moved to straddle Shepard’s lap. Cupping the Commander’s stubbled face in his hands, he deepened their kiss. When big hands stroked down his back to grasp his butt and pulled him even closer, he let out a pleased hum into Shepard’s mouth. He stroked against Shepard’s tongue and retreated, and the Commander gave chase, and it was now his turn to be devoured.

Kaidan had always thought himself to be a switch. Certainly, he was during his relationship with Johann, and he made sure he was in control during the meagre number of times he had sex with his targets. But when it came to Shepard, the thought of taking control didn’t even cross his mind. He found it all too easy to just submit and let Shepard do whatever he wanted with him.

When Shepard’s hands groped at the fastenings of his uniform top, he reached up to help. Together, they pushed the heavy fabric off his shoulders, and he shivered when the cold air hit his rapidly warming skin. He shivered harder when Shepard’s bare hands ran greedily up his naked torso, leaving behind burning tendrils of heat and pleasure.

Sighing, he sat up and placed his hands over Shepard’s, lightly holding on as the Commander explored his torso at length. Shepard’s warm, callused palms stroked down his chest and stomach and back up and his eyes fluttered close. In the darkness behind his eyelids, he could feel every delicious sensation sparked off by the friction of Shepard’s rough palms caressing his flesh.

“So good,” he breathed appreciatively.

He didn’t care that they were halfway through dinner, or he hadn’t done what Garrus had asked him to do. At this moment, those things weren’t important; they were. He had no idea if Shepard’s gambit would work and if it didn’t, well, at least they both have this night for succour.

“Are we doing this now?” Shepard asked half-teasingly. “I got the impression you were waiting until our mission is over.”

Kaidan opened his eyes to look at him and he announced very seriously, “You made me two promises.”

“Did I? Refresh my memory.”

Kaidan’s breath hitched a little when Shepard sneakily brushed his rough-padded fingers across his nipples, igniting little sparks of pleasure. That felt really good.

His voice dropped an octave. “You promised to end my drought and to give me a night to remember.”

Shepard pretended to think about it; his blue eyes never moved from Kaidan’s. His fingers never stopped playing with Kaidan’s nipples either, tweaking and pinching the twin sensitive nubs of flesh, eliciting soft and embarrassing sounds from him.

Kaidan bit his lower lip, trying to stop the sounds from escaping, but his voice seemed to be connected directly to his nipples. Every time Shepard pinched them, his nerves quivered so pleasurably that his breath stuttered, and little gasping noises involuntarily left him. His pants grew tight and uncomfortable. He was still lightly holding onto Shepard’s hands, but it seemed as though his hands did not want to do anything to stop the pleasurable sensations.

Shepard’s blue eyes were intent and turning smoky as he watched Kaidan squirm on his lap. “Yes, I did,” he answered at last.

Kaidan shuddered when Shepard suddenly pinched one of his sensitive nipples hard, but before he could recover, his other nipple was encased in wet warmth without warning.

He let out a startled cry of surprised pleasure that melted into helpless mewls when Shepard held the tiny erect nub of flesh between his teeth and began flicking his tongue against it. He whined and quivered. Oh god…the sharp spikes of pain-pleasure were so delicious.

Overwhelmed, he wrapped his arms about Shepard’s shoulders and clung on. He had forgotten he liked having his nipples played with, had forgotten how every thrum of the shivery pleasure sap the strength from his limbs, kindle a fire deep in his groin, urging his hips to undulate against Shepard’s pelvis without any conscious control from him.

Warmth suddenly covered his cheek, and he felt a callused finger tracing his lips. His eyes still closed, Kaidan blindly reached up with one hand and guided the finger into his mouth. Shepard’s callused finger was thick and hot, a lurid appetiser for the hard bulge he was grinding his hips against. He sucked his finger greedily even as Shepard turned to lavish attention on his other nipple.

He moaned around Shepard’s finger. His hips jerked again helplessly when he suddenly remembered how big his lover was. Their joining would be deep, he was sure he would be stretched to his limit, and oh god, the thought alone was enough to make him fully hard and wet in his pants.

Shepard’s warm wet mouth pulled away with a final tug. Kaidan whined in disappointment but gasped when the Commander’s other hand took over to play with his nipples.

“God, you’re so gorgeous.” He distantly heard Shepard say.

Opening his eyes, he felt his burning cheeks burn even hotter when he saw Shepard’s bright blue eyes fixed on him, enraptured and awed. He released Shepard’s finger from his mouth with a wet ‘pop’.

“I’m a Mer,” he said breathlessly. He gasped again when Shepard leaned forward to scrape his teeth against his collarbone. “I don’t think ugly Mer exist.”

Shepard murmured against his skin, “It’s more than that. It’s you.” He rained nipping kisses across his chest and up his neck. “It’s everything about you that I find gorgeous, and perfect for me.” Reaching the junction of Kaidan’s neck and shoulder, Shepard nuzzled the soft skin there. “And I want it all.”

He bit down.

Kaidan jerked and cried out again as the sudden burst of pain-pleasure electrified his nerves. “Shepard!”

“John,” Shepard stopped sucking his bite mark long enough to say. “Use my name, Kaidan.”

“J-John,” Kaidan stuttered breathlessly. He fumbled and tugged at the collar of Shepard’s uniform top. “Take that off, John. I want all of you too.”

In quick moves, they took off Shepard’s uniform top and the tee-shirt he wore underneath it. Then Kaidan impatiently pushed him back against the couch. Shepard obliged, stroking his hands up and down Kaidan’s folded thighs as he let his Mer lover look his fill.

Greedily, Kaidan took in Shepard’s broad chest of defined muscles tapering down to narrow hips and the thick muscular thighs he was straddling. There was no doubt about it: the Commander packed some serious muscles on his big frame.

He licked his lips unconsciously. Christ, Shepard was seriously hot.

“Like what you see?”

His aroused gaze darted back up to Shepard’s face. The man was smirking, preening under his lustful study.

He licked his lips again. “Yeah, very much.”

The first time they had done this, Kaidan had only one good hand available to explore that delectable chest. This time, he has both and he wasted no time in mapping that magnificent expanse of skin and muscles with them, and then with his lips and tongue. Above him, Shepard groaned and shuddered, and Kaidan loved every noise he made.

He travelled downward, his hands blazing the path for his mouth and tongue to follow. He greedily stroked and tasted every inch of that impressive chest and further down, his equally impressive six pecs. Sliding off Shepard’s lap to kneel on the deck, he nibbled at the defined vee in Shepard’s narrow hips and licked his belly button as his hands fumbled and groped at his belt and pants’ fastenings. Finally undoing the fastenings, he tugged at Shepard’s pants and the Commander obligingly raised his hips so that he could pull his pants down to his thighs.

Kaidan lifted his head to stare, mesmerised.

Shepard was thick and long, and the tip of his shaft peeked out from above the waistband of his boxer briefs. It was already hard, wet, and weeping.

He carefully freed Shepard from his boxer briefs. Just having it in his hands made his mouth go dry with anticipation.

“Picking up when we left off?” Shepard asked in a voice made hoarse with passion.

Kaidan looked up at him. He was sure his eagerness was plain to see. “You have no idea how much I’ve been wanting to get my hands on this.”

He slowly and carefully wrapped his hands around Shepard’s hard length. He fisted it from base to head and back; Shepard’s hips lifted in response and a wordless groan left him. When he reached the sensitive tip again, he gently rubbed under the head and was immensely gratified when Shepard responded with another uncontrolled hip jerk and a deep guttural groan.

Encouraged, he poured his full attention into the task of giving Shepard as much pleasure as he could take.

Shepard’s very vocal appreciation was music to his ears, and he couldn’t take his eyes off Shepard enjoying his ministration. A red flush had taken over Shepard’s face and spread down to his chest. He was breathing heavily, and his brilliant blue eyes were almost completely dark and dilated with arousal.

It was a heady sight and Kaidan wanted to take things a step further. He wanted to taste him.

His gaze dropped to Shepard’s erect length. Could he still do it?

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

He looked back up at Shepard.

Somehow, his lover still retained enough presence of mind to notice his hesitation and figure out why.

Conversely, it helped Kaidan to make up his mind. “I want to,” he admitted almost bashfully. “I’m just really out of practice.”

“Take as long as you need.” Shepard lifted his arms and rested them on the top of his couch. “I won’t push.”

With that last bit of encouragement, Kaidan dropped his gaze to the magnificent hardness in his hands. A beat later, he lowered his head and tentatively licked the entire underside of Shepard’s length from root to tip.

Above him, Shepard shuddered.

Kaidan’s eyes fluttered close to half-mast as a small sound of want escaped him. God, Shepard tasted so good.

All reservations gone, he rose onto his knees and began lavishing attention on Shepard’s erect shaft. He was rusty, there was no doubt about it. It had been years since he last went down on another man, but Shepard didn’t seem to mind if his groans of pleasure were anything to go by.

Shepard’s shaft soon began leaking more pre-cum and he felt absurdly pleased and encouraged to go further. Carefully, he slid the Commander’s warm leaking tip into his mouth, moaning a little at the absolutely wonderful taste of it. Above him, he heard his lover’s breath stuttered and a loud dull thud.

He looked up from under his lashes.

Shepard’s head was thrown back in pleasure, his chest flushed and heaving for breath. His arms were still stretched out along the top of the couch, but his hands clutched at the cushion in a death grip.

The Commander lifted his head. Their gazes met and Kaidan couldn’t help but quiver as that blazing, hungry gaze devoured him.

Never breaking their gaze, he took more of Shepard’s length into his mouth.

Shepard trembled.

Backing off slightly, Kaidan took a breath and went back down on his shaft, and he repeated the movement again and again eagerly. Deepthroating was out of the question for now, but he could use his hands to fondle the part of Shepard his mouth could not cover.

He did not know long he knelt on the deck, pleasuring Shepard with his hands and mouth. All he knew was an odd sense of freedom and power born from the knowledge that the Commander Shepard was coming undone because of him. It was exhilarating, and arousing, and it made him leak into his pants in a good way.

When Shepard reached down and pulled him off with urgent hands, he was almost reluctant to stop.

A big hand cupped his face and tilted his head upwards. “Kaidan, Kaidan,” Shepard murmured his name shakily, “God, the things you do to me.”

Panting through his mouth, Kaidan looked up at his lover through eyes blown wide with arousal.

Shepard was in a similar unravelled mess and wasted no time taking his mouth in a deep bruising kiss. Kaidan whimpered; he felt more than heard his lover’s rumble when Shepard tasted himself in his mouth.

“I got to have you,” Shepard rasped hoarsely against his mouth in between kisses. “Tell me I can have you.”

“Yes,” Kaidan hissed. He was wholeheartedly on board with Shepard’s desire.

Together, they stumbled across the short distance to Shepard’s bed, simultaneously kissing and undressing each other. Kaidan didn’t know how they made it without tripping over the coffee table or themselves, but they managed it without mishap.

Soon, he was completely bare and sprawled across Shepard’s ridiculously big bed and Shepard, gloriously nude too, was kissing his way up his body. The tip of his hard length rubbed across his skin and left behind a trail of precum, making Kaidan’s breath hitch with arousal. Finally, Shepard laid fully on him, twining their fingers together and pressing his hands into the pillow above his head, and it pulled a low moan from him.

Being pinned down onto the bed by nothing more than Shepard’s naked weight, of being physically held in place by his large, heavy bulk…it felt even better than he had imagined. He could get addicted to this feeling. 

His legs fell open and Shepard immediately slotted himself between his spread thighs. He felt Shepard’s heavy length slip down between their pelvis to nestle against his perineum, and when Shepard began rocking against him, he felt every bolt of the undulating pleasure his movements set off.

“Oh god,” he moaned breathlessly and bent his knees so that he could cradle his lover closer. “John…” He let his head fall back and bared his throat to Shepard’s skilful lips and tongue.

“You taste wonderful,” Shepard rumbled against his skin.

Kaidan groaned again, wordlessly, and writhed against Shepard as he sucked and nipped kisses into his burning skin. He was leaking copiously, he dimly realised somewhere in his pleasure-addled mind. It had been too long since he had sex because he wanted to, and everything felt so new and raw that all he could do was cling to Shepard while he swept him away with his passion and lust.

Distantly he felt Shepard pulling away. Then his hips were raised and something big and soft was pushed under his lower back, propping his hips upwards.

“Comfy?” he heard Shepard’s query.

It took a moment for his position to register.

He was spread out under Shepard, his legs sprawled open on either side of the kneeling Commander.

Kaidan immediately flushed a brilliant red.

In this position, his most intimate parts were put on display for Shepard’s greedy gaze. There was no way to hide; he was completely exposed to whatever Shepard would do to him. Oh god, being manhandled into displaying himself to be this open and vulnerable made his blood burn even hotter. A whimper left him as he felt his erect length pulse even more and he flung an arm over his face in an attempt to hide his embarrassment and arousal.

“I take that as a yes.”

Even with his eyes covered, Kaidan could still feel Shepard’s hot gaze on him. He could definitely hear the hunger in his voice, feel his big warm hands slowly caressing down his stomach and up his inner thighs.

For several heartbeats, that was all he could feel. And all he could hear was his own gasping whines as Shepard’s touches moved closer and closer with every stroke to his sensitive place that tingled with anticipation.

“John…” he finally moaned.

“Yes, Kaidan?”

He peeked out at his lover and saw Shepard intently watching him squirm and twitch under his hands. Shepard’s burning blue eyes met his gaze and then deliberately trailed down his hot, flushed body to linger at his hard leaking length and, finally, on his clenching hole.

Kaidan whimpered again, unconsciously hitching his hips and knees upwards even as he leaked even more and his hole involuntarily spasmed. How was it he could get even more aroused under that look?

“Don’t just look,” he managed to get the words out. “Do something.”

Shepard met his gaze again, his smouldering eyes full of knowing. “Oh, I think you like me looking,” he said at last, his voice low and intimate.

Another pleading whine left Kaidan. Squeezing his eyes shut, he fled back to the safe darkness his arm provided, too embarrassed, and aroused to deny Shepard’s words.

A long nerve-wracking moment later, he felt the cold wet slickness of lube smear his entrance.

His breath caught at the sudden contrast in temperature.

Shepard, his fingers cold and generously covered in lube, began fondling his hole. Gasping, Kaidan clutched at his pillow as those hot fingers rubbed circles around the sensitive rim of his entrance. He had forgotten how it felt when someone else touched him so intimately - it was an intoxicating mix of shivery pleasure stroking his nerves and vulnerability of being completely exposed and at his lover’s mercy. It made his head spin, and his heart pound so hard he could hear it.

For long minutes, Shepard did nothing but caress and stroke his entrance, coaxing the tight ring of muscles to loosen. Kaidan whimpered and shook and canted his hips upwards, begging for more, but Shepard maintained his steady maddeningly slow caresses.

It drove him nuts.

“John, please…” he whined.

There was a pause and then the feel of more lube being applied, followed by a small stab of pain and dull pressure when Shepard finally pushed a finger in.

His discomfort must’ve shown on his face because Shepard stopped immediately.

“Relax,” he said gently. “You need to relax.”

Kaidan inhaled shakily and tried to relax. “It’s been a long time,” he admitted hoarsely. 

“Work with me.” Shepard retreated and poured more lube onto his finger. “Breathe in.”

Kaidan obeyed and his breath left him in a whoosh when he felt Shepard’s finger pushed in. He flung out one hand to blindly clench the sheets. The transfer of tension to his clenching fist helped him to relax further and it enabled Shepard’s finger to push in even deeper.

Shepard paused and then pulled back a little before pressing inwards again, causing Kaidan to whimper anew.

The pain quickly disappeared under the sensation of Shepard’s finger sliding in and out of his channel. It came back when Shepard pushed two fingers, and then three, into him but dissipated swiftly and he was burning again, his hips rocking mindlessly with each stroke of Shepard’s fingers stretching him open.

Shepard crooked his fingers

and Kaidan shouted as a bolt of pure electricity exploded from the base of his spine. He clutched at Shepard’s wrist, shouting again as another bolt of the same electrifying pleasure washed over him.

“Found it,” Shepard’s voice was smug.

Before he could respond, Shepard stroked his prostate again. Massaged it again.

An endless stream of nonsensical words and incoherent cries fell from Kaidan’s lips as he writhed under his lover. There was no escape; he was held in place by nothing more than Shepard’s fingers playing with his prostate and the blinding jolts of pleasure rendered him helpless. Not that he minded. He could happily spend eternity like this - drowning in the mind-blowing pleasure - and he actually whined in protest when Shepard pulled out his fingers.

“John, John-” he moaned.

He canted his hips sharply upwards, his own hard shaft weeping copiously and his stretched hole clenching hard on nothing. He was open, he was empty, and he didn’t like the feeling at all. He wanted Shepard to fill him; he needed him to fill him.

Suddenly, Shepard was looming above him, propped up on one arm while guiding the tip of his slicked-up shaft to his relaxed entrance. In response, Kaidan eagerly raised his legs even further until he was nearly folded in halves and waited with breathless anticipation as Shepard pushed against him.      

“Breathe and relax,” Shepard said again. “Just look at me.”

Kaidan nodded and tightened his grip on Shepard’s shoulders as he pushed in. He kept his breathing steady and focused on keeping himself relaxed. Shepard was bigger than his three fingers, longer too, and it hurt somewhat even though Shepard had prepped him for his girth.

But looking at Shepard helped. Those brilliant blue eyes, that reminded him of Earth’s sky and seas, were focused solely on him. Shepard always sees him - Kaidan - and he sees Shepard for the man he was. It was this connection between them that made him forget the pain and savour the feeling of Shepard steadily filling him, stretching him.

Until at last, Shepard was seated to the hilt in him, and they both groaned in pleasure.

Shepard laid down on Kaidan and buried his face against his neck. Pressed flushed together, Kaidan could feel Shepard’s tense muscles trembling with the effort to keep still.

“Fuck, you’re tight,” Shepard gritted out.

Kaidan couldn’t help it. He clenched his muscles around Shepard’s length and above him, his lover went rigid.

“Do that again and I won’t be blamed for my actions,” Shepard warned roughly.

In reply, he wrapped his legs around his lover’s waist. “Move, John. I won’t break.”

Breathing in deeply, Shepard braced himself on his arms above Kaidan and began to move. He shuddered when he withdrew and pushed in again. Kaidan surrounded him, tight and hot, yet so pliant; he yielded so beautifully to his advances.

He kept his thrusts slow and gentle at first, savouring Kaidan’s yielding warmth that welcomed his length with nary any resistance. Soon, that was not enough; he wanted more, he needed to see Kaidan coming undone underneath him. He wanted to come undone with his love, and it pushed him to increase the speed and strength of his thrusts.

And Kaidan met him every step of the way, undulating with every thrust he made. He cried out when Shepard shifted and began striking directly against the spot that made him see stars and his body quaked.

Shepard’s thrusts were driving Kaidan wild, his passion pushing his own higher and higher. There was no way Kaidan could last and he didn’t want to. He gave himself over to the pleasure of their dance, soaring higher and higher until one last hard thrust against his pleasure spot caused the dam to break and blinding pleasure swamped him under.

Letting out a keening cry, Kaidan convulsed hard as he came and spilt all over himself. He clawed at Shepard’s back, his mind gone blank with pleasure. Dimly, he felt Shepard moving quick and urgent, his breathing rapid and loud in his ears. Then Shepard tensed and his hips jerked erratically as he let out a long low groan.

Still riding high on his orgasm, Kaidan felt wet heat filling him and he moaned. He knew what the wet heat meant and the knowledge that Shepard had spilt his seed within him wrung another shuddering spasm from him.

Shepard slumped down on top of him, plastering their sweaty chests together as he gulped in air.

Panting equally hard, Kaidan hugged him close. Moments later, he slowly lowered his legs to the bed. His bottom was starting to feel sore, and his legs were going numb from being held in an unfamiliar position, but he felt incredibly good, alive in a way he hadn’t felt for a very long time.

For long minutes, they lay entwined in a panting, sweaty embrace.

Then Shepard breathlessly declared into his ears, “First promise fulfilled: I’ve officially broken your drought.”

“Yeah…I guess you did.”

Shepard lifted his head to look down at him with mock affront. “I damn well did.”

Kaidan let out a huff of laughter. “Yes, yes, you did.”

Grinning smugly, Shepard laid back down on him.

Kaidan wrapped his arms securely about Shepard and whispered to him, “You’re mine now, John. I’m not letting you go.”

There were many meanings to Kaidan’s statement, all true and heartfelt, and Shepard heard them all.

And there was no other way he could respond but to kiss Kaidan slow and sweet. “Yeah, you have me.”

Chapter Text

21 October 2186

Thirteen hours out from classified location

Like all mealtimes, breakfast was typically noisy as most of the crew gathered in the galley to eat and catch up on gossip. On a ship as small as the Normandy, privacy was nearly non-existent, and everyone noticed Shepard was absent during breakfast.

It didn’t mean anything, of course.

As their commanding officer and a Council Spectre, Shepard was busier than his crew. His responsibilities did frequently lead him to miss breakfast.

But this morning, everyone also noticed that their latest addition also known as one Major Alenko was absent too - and he had a more predictable schedule. Of course, since they already knew the Major had moved his belongings to Shepard’s cabin and kept him company while he recuperated in the Medical Bay, well, saying that the ship’s gossip mill was in full swing was an understatement.

Everyone heard the whistling first.

The crew quickly hushed.

The jaunty whistling grew closer and louder, and then Shepard sauntered into the galley.

Shepard arriving late for breakfast was not unusual. It happened. He was dressed casually in his N7 sweats - again, not unusual. He had done so in the past. The two empty meal trays he brought back for disposal were explainable too: Shepard did often eat his meals alone while working on classified matters.

What was unusual was his swagger and the whistling.

In their seats, Ash and Joker and Shepard’s non-human friends exchanged looks of surprise. They had been with Shepard since the first Normandy, and they had never heard him whistle a tune before. Hell, they didn’t even know he could whistle.

Ash was the first one to connect the dots and she began to giggle - uncharacteristically for her - into her coffee mug.

Everyone else watched covertly as Shepard, still whistling, disposed of his empty meal trays, and put - three! - fresh ones into the oven and poured two mugs of coffee. While waiting for the meal trays to heat up, he turned around to look at his crew.

They stared back.

It wasn’t as though they had never seen Shepard in a good mood before. But wearing a grin that stretched from ear to ear? And exuding the self-satisfied air of the cat that got the cream and a whole vat of it?

This was their first time.

“Morning,” Shepard greeted them.

A chorus of ‘morning’ greeted him back.

“What’s so funny, Ash?”

“Nothing, sir. You look like you had a good night,” Ash commented suggestively.

“Is that so?” It didn’t seem possible, but Shepard’s grin grew wider. He didn’t say anything else though, just took out the hot meal trays, stacked them and the mugs of coffee and made his way to the Medical Bay, of all places.

Everyone craned their necks.

Good thing the front of the Medical Bay was a glass partition. They watched avidly as Shepard exchanged a few words with Dr Chakwas who then passed him a small package. Tucking it into his pocket, Shepard exited the Medical Bay.

“As you were,” he tossed back over his shoulder as he sauntered back to the elevator.

Everyone waited with bated breath and listened hard for the sounds of the elevator taking their commander away.

“EDI, where is he now?” Copeland asked finally.

“Commander Shepard has returned to his cabin.”

A ripple of excitement and anticipation ran through the crew. As one, they turned to look expectantly at Medical Bay. Dr Chakwas, who was now standing outside its doors, raised an eyebrow.

“Come on, doc. Put us out of our misery,” Copeland begged.

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, they got together last night.”

Immediately, the crew exploded into cheers and groans, well, mostly groans and one very loud whoop of triumph from Traynor who punched the air with both fists.

“I won the pot!” she crowed triumphantly.

~

Shepard entered his cabin, still whistling happily. His grin broadened as he surveyed his messy cabin.

Clothes remained strewn all over the deck; the sheets on his bed were rucked up messily and his pillows were scattered everywhere. In his bed, Kaidan lay sprawled on his stomach and fast asleep. The blanket was pulled carelessly up to his waist and his face half-buried in the pillow he hugged.

Even from a distance, Shepard could see the dusky-red love bites scattered across Kaidan’s lean muscled back.

He sighed with satisfaction.

He had thoroughly enjoyed marking his lover, and the whole experience was made even more enjoyable because Kaidan had allowed him to, even took pleasure from it. Not a single one of his exes had liked his biting kisses. He made a mental note to persuade Kaidan to leave his love bites alone. He really liked the look of them.

He deposited their breakfast on the coffee table and brought one mug of coffee over to his sleeping lover.

Ash had no idea how right she was.

He and Kaidan had a very, very good night.

Their journey leading up to their first night together had been unconventional - at least for him. He had always been the type to fuck first and then form a relationship later, and only if he wanted to. But with Kaidan, he had found himself instinctively reversing the order. On one hand, they were both professional and the mission had to take priority. On the other hand, he realised right from the start Kaidan had layers and that had roused his curiosity even more than his attraction to Kaidan. For the first time ever, he wanted to get to know his lover and find out what made him tick before taking him to bed.

And it had made the sex surprisingly gratifying.

So much so, that making love once hadn’t been enough to sate their mutual hunger. He had a healthy appetite for sex and Kaidan had matched it, much to his delight. Their lovemaking had been enthusiastic and so vigorous that he knew from experience his lover would have a problem getting out of bed this morning.

He brought the steaming mug of coffee to the bed and waved it under Kaidan’s nose. “Wakey, wakey, Kay.”

Kaidan twitched. Beneath his wild messy mop of bed hair, his brows wrinkled - cutely, in Shepard’s opinion. Seconds later, amber-brown eyes peered sleepily at him from under thick lashes.

“I brought coffee,” Shepard offered.

Kaidan grunted a little and slowly propped himself up on his arms. Yawning, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair. And then he gifted Shepard with a lazy, beautiful smile.

“Hey, John.” His husky voice made even huskier by sleep caused desire to stir anew in Shepard.

“Hey, Kaidan.” He marvelled at the sheer loveliness of an unguarded and relaxed Kaidan sprawled lazily in his bed - his bed! - and it made him giddy with joy that he had a hand in creating this moment.

Unable to help himself, he leaned forward to kiss his lover who welcomed him so sweetly that it made him melt.

“What time is it?” Kaidan murmured against his lips.

“A little past six hundred thirty.”

“You let me sleep in.” Kaidan accepted the mug of coffee and took a sip.

“Didn’t have the heart to wake you. How do you feel?”

Kaidan tentatively shifted and winced.

“I bet you’re sore,” Shepard leered.

“Four consecutive rounds of sex would do that to anyone,” Kaidan mumbled into his mug, turning red as the memories of their first night together came rushing back.

Shepard was a very passionate lover and he himself had been equally eager too. His final climax for the night had been more than explosive. He had ridden Shepard for as long as he could, greedily wringing every last drop of pleasure until he collapsed onto his lover, insensate with pleasure and utterly spent.

“Don’t worry.” Shepard pulled the package Dr Chakwas had given him out of his pocket and unwrapped it. “Dr Chakwas gave me something that will help.”

Kaidan eyed the medication sceptically. “Ointment for muscle strain and anti-inflammation cream?”

“One of my exes swears by them. Shall I apply it?”

“Later. I need the bathroom first.”

Despite his words, Kaidan made no move to get out of bed. He took another sip of his coffee before putting the mug aside and laying back down.

“Not getting up?” Unable to resist the temptation anymore, Shepard sneaked a hand under the blanket to lightly rub circles into his lover’s perfectly shaped butt.

Kaidan shivered and sighed, lazily lifting his hips, and pushing his butt into Shepard’s hand. “In a bit.”

“I brought breakfast: double portions for you.” Shepard pushed aside the blanket so he could admire Kaidan’s muscular glutes. “I’m sure you could use the extra calories after last night.”

“Taking care of my needs. You’re very considerate,” Kaidan praised.

“I have a motive,” Shepard confessed as he pressed a series of kisses into the fleshy smoothness of Kaidan’s derriere.

“Oh?”

Shepard moved up Kaidan’s body to lightly nip the back of his shoulder. “I don’t want this to be a one-time fling.”

Kaidan’s lips curved into a pleased smile. “Neither do I.” He lifted his head for a kiss. “So, work in progress?”

“Work in progress,” Shepard confirmed.

“Good. Can we keep it quiet for now though? We haven’t had a proper date, and I don’t really like people gawking over our shoulders while we work on our relationship.”

“That might be difficult.” Shepard returned to his worship of Kaidan’s bottom.

“What? Dating?”

“No, keeping it quiet.”

Kaidan let out a questioning grunt.

“Well, if I know my crew - and I do know them - they’re worse than a bunch of gossipy housewives. And I just know there’s credit exchanging hands right now.”

Feeling too comfortable and lazy, it took a moment for the implication to sink in. When it did, Kaidan lifted his head to stare at Shepard incredulously. “They have a betting pot on us having sex?”

“Our first time having sex, most likely.”

“How did they find out?”

“I was in a very good mood - that caught their attention - and I didn’t exactly hide from Dr Chakwas the reason why I needed the medication. Chances are they asked her.”

“Is there anything in your life they don’t bet on?”

Shepard actually paused in mid-worship to give the question some serious thought. “My mom.”

Kaidan had to agree. “Make sense. Not wise to bet on people’s moms, especially the mother of the Commander Shepard. So, who won the pot?”

“Privacy mode off,” Shepard commanded aloud. “EDI, any idea who won the pot?”

“Good morning, gentlemen. As for your query, Shepard, it was Traynor who won the pot.”

“Huh. And here I thought it would be Garrus again.”

“Oh shit!” Kaidan suddenly exclaimed, pushing himself up with his arms and inadvertently dislodging Shepard’s hands from his body. “I totally forgot about Garrus!”

Briefly disappointed that he could no longer worship his lover’s delectable bottom, Shepard sat back. “About him asking you to change my mind about his task?” 

“Yeah. I got too focused on your intention to leave me behind and then…” Kaidan’s voice trailed off in embarrassment.

“And then we had sex,” Shepard announced with satisfaction.

“You’re not going to change your mind, are you?”

“Nope. I’ll talk to him.”

“Please do.” Kaidan stiffly sat up. “Give me a hand?”

Shepard solicitously helped Kaidan to his feet. His hands lingered on Kaidan’s trim waist as he waited patiently for his lover to steady himself on his shaky legs. All the while, he admired his handiwork scattered across the front of Kaidan’s body. He frowned when he spotted a bare patch of skin on the side of Kaidan’s neck and deciding to remedy it, lowered his head to nuzzle and suck a kiss into the tender flesh.

Despite his soreness, Kaidan tipped his head to give Shepard more room. A breathless sigh left him.

“Was it a night you’ll remember?” Shepard whispered against his ear.

To Shepard’s delight, Kaidan’s blush returned in full force.

“Yeah, it was very memorable.” Kaidan smiled contentedly, though he was still red as a tomato. He wrapped his arms around Shepard’s waist. “Let’s go back to my place for our vacation.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Kaidan kissed him lingeringly. “Then we can spend all our time together in bed.” He gently disengaged himself from Shepard’s hands and began to stiffly shuffle to the bathroom.

Feeling extremely proud of himself, Shepard swiftly tidied up his cabin, whistling all the while.

Discarded clothes were picked up and sniffed at. Deeming them still clean and wearable, he placed them aside on one end of the couch. He swapped out dirty sheets for fresh ones, tucked in the corners and folded his blanket and then proceeded to fluff out his pillows before placing them back onto his bed.

He paused when an idea occurred to him. He looked at his pillows thoughtfully. They were very big, very cushiony, and completely suitable, so he took one and plopped it onto the couch instead.

Kaidan’s gait was a lot smoother when he emerged from the bathroom wearing Shepard’s bathrobe. A hot shower had done wonders for his muscles, but some stiffness still lingered as he negotiated the steps. He shambled over to the lounging area and paused when he saw the pillow occupying his usual spot on the couch.

He looked askance at Shepard who patted the pillow helpfully. “This will help.”

Kaidan gingerly sat down and sighed with relief.

The fluffy pillow did help to cushion his tender bottom.

Still, he rolled his eyes when Shepard beamed, looking both pleased and puffed up like a peacock. It was endearing but he wasn’t going to let Shepard know that. His ego was big enough as it was.

Later, after breakfast, Shepard made Kaidan disrobe and lay back down on his bed and began to rub the ointment into his lover’s aching thighs in long soothing strokes. He smiled when Kaidan sighed in soundless relief and sprawled bonelessly under his ministrations, relaxed and pliant.

“Turn over,” he gently prompted.

Smiling lazily, Kaidan turned onto his stomach. Knowing that Shepard was watching him, he spread his legs.

Immediately, Shepard’s gaze zoomed straight to the tantalising glimpse of his lover’s entrance. It was still relaxed, but red and puffy from their vigorous sex, and oh, so tempting.

He swallowed hard.

“You are going to put the anti-inflammatory cream there, right?”

“Huh?” Shepard tore his gaze away with a mighty effort.

Kaidan’s amber-brown eyes peered at him from within the nest of his folded arms, hooded and suggestive. He flexed his hips meaningfully, spreading his thighs apart just a little wider. “Thought I should make it easier for you to reach.”

“Don’t tempt me,” Shepard warned hoarsely.

Kaidan’s lips curved into a mischievous smirk. “Who? Me?”

In response, Shepard gently, lightly brushed once across his entrance. Despite his playful overture, Kaidan flinched ever so slightly.  

“See? You’re still too sore for another round,” Shepard chided gently.

Kaidan chuckled and relented. “You’re right, it won’t be fun at all. Just couldn’t help myself.”

“I know.” As a reward, Shepard bent down to plant a generous kiss on his derriere before applying the anti-inflammatory cream to his sore entrance. 

When he was done, Shepard put aside the medication, covered Kaidan with his robe and laid down next to him, curling an arm under his head as he rested on his side. Kaidan mirrored his position, heedless of the fact that he was still naked.

Lying face to face, they gazed at each other.

Shepard was sure he had a sappy smile pasted on his face, his heart almost bursting with affection for the man beside him. He reached out to brush his fingers across Kaidan’s cheek and traced his beautiful, soft smile. His heart melted when Kaidan caught his hand to press kisses into his palm, never breaking their gazes. 

The silence between them was intimate, peaceful, and joyful, and Shepard was loathed to break it. But break it he must.

“I have a favour to ask of you,” he said.

~

Nine and three-quarter hours out from classified location

The first thing Kaidan did after leaving Shepard’s cabin was to seek out Garrus.

The turian and Tali were down in the Shuttle Bay where they were busy fitting out Garneau’s ship. Despite Garrus’s ambivalence about his task, they had been prepping the ship for over a day now for whatever situation they thought they might encounter.

“Permission to come on board?” Kaidan asked as he poked his head into the open hatch.

Tali was running checks on the ship’s computer and the three additional servers she had hooked up to it and she waved him in. “Come on in,” she said. “We have questions for you.”

“I’m sure you do.” He pulled himself into the ship, internally wincing as little twinges of pain thrummed down his lower back.

Garrus wiggled out from the utility space beneath the decking. “At last, you emerged from Shepard’s cave,” he drolled.

“Yeah, well…” Kaidan rubbed the back of his head self-consciously.

Tali cocked her head. “Why are you walking so stiffly?”

At the same time, Garrus leaned forward and made a show of sniffing him. “Hmm…you smell of Shepard. What did you two get up to last night?”

They were teasing him, Kaidan just knew. He rolled his eyes and said, “I didn’t just sleep with John, you know. I did spend quite a bit of time talking to him too.”

“Ooh, someone is on a first-name basis with our Shepard.” Tali was delighted. She took Kaidan’s hands into hers and squeezed. “I’m happy for you both, truly.”

“Thank you.” Kaidan’s lips curved into a dazzling smile that made Garrus’s breath stutter and Tali blush.

Shepard was one lucky man!

Garrus coughed to hide his momentary distracted state. “So am I, but right now though, you’ll understand if I’m more concerned about the conclusion of your talk with him.”

“I’m sorry, Garrus. He’s not changing his mind.”

Garrus folded his arms across his broad chest and stared at Kaidan with the turian’s equivalent of a frown.

“On the bright side, I’ve persuaded him to put me in the ground squad. I’ll make sure he comes back.”           

“You have to persuade him to bring you along on the mission?” Tali asked curiously.

“He didn’t want me on it initially.”

“Why?”

Kaidan shrugged, unwilling to tell her the truth behind Shepard’s reluctance. It seemed insensitive, considering what Shepard had burdened Garrus with.

“I suppose you being there is a good thing,” Garrus said reluctantly.

“It is.” Kaidan hesitated and then decided he had to tell them about Shepard’s plan. “He asked me for a favour.”

They listened as he explained Shepard’s plan.

“That is a rabbit-brained idea,” Garrus said flatly. “Leviathan isn’t going to buy it.”

“Hare-brained,” Kaidan corrected. “He’s betting on them being so arrogant that they just might.”

“What do you think?” Tali questioned.

Kaidan shrugged. “He’s not wrong. Leviathan has underestimated us.”

“But you’re not comfortable about it,” Garrus stated. “Well, neither are us. It’s too much risk.”

Kaidan just shrugged again. “All we can do now is to help him as much as we can and make sure he comes back.”

Tali pondered on it. “The problem with our insurance is the time limit it gives us. We don’t know how long that is until we locate Leviathan’s home.”

“I don’t think John wants to know about the time limitation either.”

“He doesn’t have to know, but I can inform you once we determine the period. It’ll be up to you to make sure he works within the time limit.”

Kaidan folded his arms across his chest. “As long as I’m with him, I can make sure we get out in time.”

“If we go along with his plan, you being there is definitely a good thing,” Garrus commented.

“Good thing for what?” Shepard said from the open hatch. He hopped on board. “Is this about your task, Garrus? If it is, I’m not changing my mind.”

“Kaidan just informed us.”

“Good. I don’t want to have to replace you.”

“You won’t,” Garrus said flatly. “In fact, don’t you dare pull Tali and me off it. We’ll make sure your orders are carried out.”

Shepard grinned at his best friend. “Thanks, Garrus. I know I can trust you.”

“Just make sure the Cairo stays off my back.”

“That will be my job,” spoke a new voice at the open hatch.

Kaidan turned to see Liara standing there with a tray containing two bottles of liquor and some empty glasses.

“Isn’t it a bit early for drinks?” Shepard asked.

“We have a hard mission ahead of us in less than ten hours. I think we can all use a drink beforehand. Don’t worry, Garrus.” Liara told the turian. “I’ll make sure the Cairo won’t interfere with your part of the mission.”

“Since it’s you who says that, then I have nothing to worry about.”

Kaidan helped Liara to distribute the glasses. One of the bottles was turian brandy - he passed that to Tali - and he poured a modest measure of hard cider for the others.

“You broke out the expensive stuff,” he noted.

“I think this occasion calls for it,” Liara replied serenely. “A toast, Shepard?”

Shepard thought about it. “To a successful mission and that we all come back alive and well. Cheers.”

Everyone else murmured agreement; they clicked their glasses and downed their drinks, each praying in their hearts that this wouldn’t be their last drink together.

Chapter Text

24 October 2186

Milky Way / Siguard ’s Cradle / Psi Tophet System / First planet - Despoina

"You’re very sure they’re on this planet?” Kaidan asked Shepard in a low voice as they stood by his terminal in the C.I.C.

“You saw the size of our insurance, right?” Shepard muttered right back. “It’s the largest Reaper ship known. If the cave paintings on Namakli are correct, that Reaper ship was formerly a Leviathan and the closest approximate we have to their actual size. It indicates that they need plenty of space - not just to hide, but to live.” He tipped his chin in the direction of the holographic display. “This is the only planet on the shortlist that meets their needs.”

Kaidan studied the holographic display of Despoina and its geo-data displayed on the galaxy map.

Despoina was remarkably Earth-like with a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere, Earth-like surface gravity and an approximately twenty-two Earth hours’ planetary rotation. But unlike Earth, liquid water covered its entire surface. Its total absence of landmass could be the only reason the planet was never designated as a garden world.

Most importantly, the watery planet fit the thralls’ collective descriptions of their whereabouts perfectly: the depths of Despoina’s ocean would be cold, dark, and wet. The lack of landmass also meant Leviathan could freely inhabit the entire world without fear of discovery.

Adding everything Shepard said to the mix, Despoina did seem to be their surest bet, Kaidan privately admitted to himself.

Beside him, Shepard spoke into his comm., “Joker, do an equatorial fly-by of the planet. Surveillance, I want all sensors scanning its surface and below it.”

“Aye, sir.”

There was a noticeable uptick in the crew’s activity as Joker flew around the planet and the Normandy’s sensors went to work. Soon, screens began popping up on the galaxy map, displaying streams of real-time data and vids of the planet’s surface.

One detail immediately jumped out to Kaidan. “That ocean is rough.”

“Without any continental landmass to break the ocean and wind currents, Despoina’s ocean is perpetually rough,” EDI explained through the speaker. “Shepard, sensors have detected a large structure floating on the ocean.”

A red dot appeared on the holographic map of Despoina. Next to it, vids of the structure popped up.

Kaidan didn’t know what to expect, but the sight of a distinctly human-made exploration rig was not it. “I thought there was no further exploration after the initial surveys?”

“That is correct,” EDI answered. “I cannot find any records of governments or private companies sponsoring missions to Despoina that would account for the presence of this exploration rig.”

Liara studied the vids closely. “I think Leviathan hijacked it,” she said. “See that number code painted on the side of its control tower? It was meant for a planet somewhere in the Attican Traverse.”

“Why would Leviathan hijack it?” Traynor wondered.

“Because the current galactic races aren’t marine lifeforms,” Shepard answered flatly. “Leviathan needs a platform above water to hold them.”

Traynor looked at the Commander. Both he and the Major wore similarly grim expressions on their faces. “They are holding people captive down there?”

“I won’t put it past them. Surveillance, launch a probe to investigate the area around the rig for captives and to locate Leviathan’s signal. Calibrate it to do a fly-by over the rig before splash-down.”

“Aye, Commander.”

“I hope Leviathan doesn’t have captives on that rig.” Kaidan glanced at Shepard as he muttered under his breath. The Commander was bracing his hands on his terminal, a dark frown on his face. “Of all the scenarios I anticipated, this is the one I dread the most.”

Kaidan squeezed his hand comfortingly.

“Probe is launched,” one of the crew members in Surveillance announced. A few minutes later, she said, “We are now receiving data from the probe.”

A new set of screens displaying scrolling data and a series of vids popped up on the galaxy map.

“The probe’s sensors did not pick up any signs of life on the rig, Shepard,” EDI reported. “They may be hiding inside the shielded parts of the rig, or they may have abandoned the rig.”

“Either scenario means we have no real way of knowing until we get down there,” Shepard concluded. “What about the ocean? Any sign of Leviathan?”

“The probe has confirmed that Leviathan’s signal originates from this planet,” Traynor answered. “It’s below the exploration rig, like way below.”

Kaidan frowned. “How below are we talking about?”

“Over three thousand metres deep.”

On Earth, such depth would put the signal’s point of origin firmly in the Midnight Zone of the ocean. Since Despoina was so Earth-like, there was a good chance the conditions of its ocean would be similar too. With the correct type of equipment, it would be a doable dive if they had to - risky but still doable. Kaidan had never swum so deep before and he hoped he wouldn’t have to in order to find Leviathan.

“Traynor, send the probe’s nav-point to Garrus and Tali. EDI, how long do we have before they arrive?” Shepard asked.

“Provided they maintain their current speed, they will arrive in this system in fifty-seven-point-thirty-three Earth minutes,” EDI replied.

Shepard straightened decisively.  “Traynor, open a ship-wide comm channel.”

“Aye, Commander.”

A whistling signal sounded through the air.

“This is Shepard speaking. By now, all of you would know we are on a mission to stop the most insidious threat to the galaxy,” he said crisply.

“What you may not know is this: the threat confronting us is called the Leviathan. They are an ancient race, older than even the Reapers. And, similar to the Reapers, they possess the technology to mind-control people. They used to rule this galaxy a long time ago, and they want to do so again by Enthralling our peoples.”

The C.IC. was dead silent as everyone listened solemnly to Shepard.

“Our mission is to stop them. To that effect, we have tracked them to their hideout on the planet below: Despoina. From this point forward, we have two goals: one - to stop Leviathan from conquering the galaxy and two - to determine if Leviathan has taken captives and to rescue them if possible. I will be leading a ground squad to the planet’s surface. If there are captives, we will extract as many of them as we can before Garrus arrives.

In Garrus and my absence, Liara is in command of the Normandy. EDI will remain on board as well to assist in coordinating the mission from the Normandy. We are on a time limit here. If I am unable to complete my mission before time runs out, I have ordered Garrus and Liara to leave without me and my ground squad.”

The crew stirred in alarm.

“This is not our first galaxy-saving mission,” Shepard said sternly. “Make no mistake, Leviathan must be stopped at any cost and that goal takes precedence even over prisoner rescue. We are the Normandy, and we are the best at what we do: defending the galaxy and keeping the peace. Let us make Leviathan regret their decision to invade our homes. Shepard out.”

Kaidan took a quick look around.

Shepard was one hell of a speechmaker, he marvelled. In one succinct speech, the Commander had not only prepared his crew for the change in command and what to expect but also bolstered their morale and determination.

The effect was plain to see.

Everywhere he looked, he saw the crew in the C.I.C going about their duties with renewed vigour and determination.

Shepard motioned Liara away from the crew and said in a hushed voice, “If neither Kaidan nor I make it back, you must complete the mission.”

“You will come back,” Liara whispered back with absolute conviction. “Both of you.”

“Your confidence in us is reassuring, but things can go FUBAR,” Shepard replied seriously. “You’ll be the only one left who can marshal the resources to stop Leviathan.”

“I’m well aware, Shepard, but I pray to the Goddess that I won’t have to continue the fight.” She clasped one of Shepard and Kaidan’s hands in hers. “The galaxy will be a poorer place without the both of you.”

“Thank you,” Kaidan replied solemnly. “I’ll make sure we come back.”

“I look forward to welcoming you back.”

They shook hands.

Stepping away from Liara, Shepard muttered, “It’s now or never.”

Kaidan turned to Shepard who gave him a meaningful look. He took a deep breath to brace himself and nodded to Shepard, “Come with me.”

Leaving the C.I.C., he led the way to the port cargo hold where he had prepped the tank Vega had modified for his use.

“What are we doing here?” Shepard asked curiously.

“So, I can suppress certain memories of yours as you requested.”

“I thought you will want to do it in our cabin.”

“If you’re like any other people I’ve used my Charm on, yes. But you’re an incredibly stubborn ass, so I need to bring out the big guns. Wait there,” Kaidan instructed as he made his way to the tank.

Shepard frowned. “Why do you keep calling your commanding officer an ass?”

Kaidan arched an eyebrow. “Since when you’re my commanding officer? I’m calling my lover an ass. Now turn around.”

Obligingly, Shepard did as he was told. “I still think you are calling your commanding officer an ass.”

“You’re dreaming,” Kaidan retorted primly. “I never call my commanding officer names.”

Shepard cocked his head, listening intently to the telltale sounds of clothes rustling behind him. “Are you taking off your clothes? I’ve already seen you naked, you know.”

“Not the point. I don’t like to Shift when there are people around me.”

“Because that’s when you are vulnerable?” Shepard guessed.

Kaidan thought about it. “Well, yes. Also, it’s quite horrifying to look at and I’d rather spare people the sight. It’s nothing against you. Even my parents stopped witnessing my Shifts once I got the hang of it. Now don’t talk to me and regardless of what you hear, don’t turn around.”

“Okay.” Shepard waited patiently, letting his hearing track Kaidan’s movements behind him.

There were the sounds of water splashing - Kaidan should be stepping into the tank, he surmised. More sounds of water splashing, followed by silence for a long while and then -

Shepard stiffened in alarm when he heard Kaidan cry out in pain. “Kaidan?!” He was sorely tempted to turn around, but Kaidan’s instructions were firm and clear. “Kaidan? You all right?”

He waited impatiently for a reply and finally, he got one amidst the sounds of more splashing.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

He immediately noticed the hint of breathlessness in Kaidan’s voice. “What happened?” he asked.

“Shifting hurts, that’s all.”

“So can I turn around now?”

“For a bit.”

Shepard did more than just turn around. Before Kaidan had finished speaking, he was crossing the distance between them to kneel beside the tank of water and examine his Mer lover with anxious eyes.

Kaidan was now in his Mer form, tail swishing languidly in the water as he propped himself up on the edge of the tank. He was watching him with calm golden eyes.

“Did I ever tell you your Mer form is beautiful?” he blurted out without thinking.

Kaidan stared at him in surprise. “No.”

“You are, you know.”

Kaidan smiled affectionately at him, showing off a hint of sharp teeth. “Mind on the mission, John. Are you ready?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Now turn around, be quiet and don’t distract me. I need to Shift to my hunting form.”

Hunting form? Curious, Shepard turned his back on Kaidan and sat on the deck close to the tank.

He waited and listened.

It was strangely quiet behind him; he could not even hear any splashing.

Then he felt a touch on his shoulder.

Kaidan’s already low whiskey-velvet voice now seemed to stroke viscerally over his nerves as he purred, “John.”

Shuddering, his groin stirring in response, Shepard turned around.

In that brief moment, before he drowned in the tsunami of sensations, he glimpsed Kaidan looking fully human from the waist up but somehow, his already handsome visage was even more compellingly alluring, bewitching even. He vaguely remembered a sensation of being caught, of being helplessly pulled to beckoning golden eyes, half-lidded and coy, the allure in Kaidan’s tiny mysterious smile, the way he tilted his head just so and

and - and -

“John! John!”

Shepard startled, blinking when he found himself straddling Kaidan’s lap in his tank. He was completely drenched, and he was cupping Kaidan’s face in his hands.

Bewildered and confused, he released his lover who had assumed his human form. When had he gotten into the tank? His lips tingled, telling him he had just kissed Kaidan - very passionately from the feel of it - but he had no memory of that either.

Kaidan rubbed a soothing hand up and down his forearm. “How do you feel?” he asked worriedly.

“I feel…,” Shepard’s voice trailed off as he racked his memories, “I feel…my God, you were overwhelming. It’s like…like you’ve amplified everything that makes you attractive. I was craving you; I would’ve done anything you asked just so I can have you. Nothing else matters.”

He straightened up and looked around himself. “What the hell are we doing here, Kaidan?”

“Do you remember the favour you asked of me?”

He stared at his Mer lover blankly. “What favour?”

Kaidan relaxed with relief. “It works.”

“What works?”

“Never mind. I’ll tell you when the time is right. We need to get back to work.”

When they emerged from the cargo hold, Shepard, dressed in a fresh dry set of uniform, eyed Kaidan with a thoughtful and speculative expression as his lover briskly dried his hair with a towel. “You’re still not going to tell me what we did in there, are you?”

“Not now,” Kaidan answered in a clipped tone, “no.”

“When this is over, you’re going to tell me exactly what we’ve done.” Shepard’s tone was stern.

“You have no argument from me,” Kaidan muttered under his breath.

Shepard tapped his comm. “Marines and shuttle pilots, report to the Shuttle Bay.”

The Normandy’s Marine detail and shuttle pilots had gathered in the Shuttle Bay when they arrived.

Shepard wasted no time in issuing orders. “Ashley, you are in charge of the second Kodiak. Your task is to rescue survivors from Despoina. Wait in the Normandy for our signal to proceed. However, if Leviathan knocks out our communication and grounds our shuttle, do not attempt to come after us. Understood?”

“Aye, sir,” Ash replied crisply.

“Vega, Cortez, you are with me. I want lethal rounds in our rifles and non-lethal in our pistols.”

“Commander,” Cortez spoke up. “I have been buffing up the physical shielding on the Kodiaks’ circuitries. The Kodiaks should be able to withstand the Leviathan’s EMP pulses.”

“Well done, Cortez. We deploy in ten. Dismiss.”

Everyone sprang into action.

At his locker, Kaidan quickly changed into his borrowed armour. Half-hidden by his locker door, he called up the message Tali had sent to him a few minutes ago. He swiftly read it and then installed the timer program she had enclosed in her message in his omni-tool.

Immediately, it began to count down.

Next to his locker, Shepard was kitting up. He saw Kaidan’s thoughtful expression and asked, “Everything all right?”

Kaidan quickly closed the screen and set the timer into background running. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

He strapped on his ammunition and utility belts and ran a check through his weapons. Satisfied with their condition, he holstered his pistol and clipped his rifle to his back before checking his medic kit. He had a feeling they were going to need it.

Satisfied, he turned his attention to Shepard who was checking his own rifles. Watching the Commander, he sent a message package to Shepard’s omni-tool.

“Don’t open it,” he said when Shepard glanced at his omni-tool when it let out a notification beep.

“Why not?”

“It’s a safeguard.” Kaidan closed the distance between them. He clasped Shepard’s hand in his, covering his omni-tool with his other hand. “I’m hoping you’ll never have to open it during the mission, but if we are separated and you find yourself terribly stuck and need a way out, well, hopefully, the information in that message will help point the way for you.”

“A little insurance?” Shepard teased lightly.

To his surprise, Kaidan’s expression tightened. “It may just save your life, John.”

“I know, I know,” he hastily soothed. He reached into his locker. “Since we’re giving pre-mission presents, I have something for you too.”

Pulling his arm out of Kaidan’s grasp, he cupped his lover’s hand and placed the object in his palm.

Kaidan raised an eyebrow when he saw it was an omni-blade module. “I already have one.”

“Turn it on.”

Curious, Kaidan affixed it to his other gauntlet and after some minor adjustments, turned on the module.

Immediately, a glowing blade snapped into existence.

He was startled to find that the omni-blade was a Rank-X build. Omni-blades were so commonplace and easy to build that hardly anyone build it higher than a Rank-V; it just wasn’t necessary or economical.

“I made it myself.”

Kaidan looked up at Shepard in surprise.

“I’ve built many omni-blades but this one is my best,” Shepard explained. “It had accompanied me through my ICT training and everything else that came after. Protected me when I needed protection the most.”

“And you’re giving it to me?”

“Yeah.”

“And what about yourself?”

“I have my guns and other omni-blades.” Careful to avoid the sharp edges of the omni-blade, Shepard held Kaidan’s fist in his hand. “I’ll feel better that you have this if you need to protect yourself and I’m not there.”

Kaidan huffed out a rueful chuckle. “We’re quite the pair. I give you a safeguard and you give me your omni-blade.”

“I want you to come back safely.”

“So do I.” Kaidan extinguished the omni-blade. Closing the distance between them, he cupped Shepard’s face in his hands and kissed him long and sweet, heedless of the fact that they were in full view of everyone in the Shuttle Bay.

When they parted, he rested his forehead against Shepard’s. At that moment, the rest of the galaxy did not exist. It was just them and they savoured the intimacy of just being together.

But duty called, the moment passed, and it was time to face the last leg of their mission.

Together.

~

The atmosphere in the Kodiak was calm but alert as Cortez guided it out of the Normandy and set off for their destination: the exploration rig.

“Commencing atmosphere entry in one minute,” Cortez called. “Everyone, buckle down. This is going to be a rough ride.”

Kaidan double-checked that he was strapped into his seat while beside him and across from him, Shepard and Vega respectively settled even further into theirs, hugging their rifles to their chests.

Soon, the Kodiak began to vibrate all around him as winds buffet it. Instinctively, he braced himself in his seat as the shuttle’s vibration picked up in intensity and rolled through him. Moments later, the vibration eased as Cortez flew the Kodiak into somewhat calmer weather - somewhat because he could hear the constant patter of rain hitting the Kodiak’s hull.

“Normandy, this is Shuttle One,” Cortez reported. “We have entered the atmosphere. Heading for drop-point solo-one. Estimated arrival: seven minutes.”

“Acknowledged, Shuttle One,” Traynor replied.

“So far so good,” Vega commented as he moved to the front to peer through the cockpit window.

The others joined him, curious to see a world that has no landmass.

Outside the cockpit window, a never-ending black mass of roiling water and grey sky spread out to the horizon. There were no distinctive landmarks, nothing to indicate their positions. If they were to land in the ocean, they would be immediately caught by the perpetual currents and never remain in one place even for a moment.

Kaidan cocked his head, frowning a little.

“What is it?” Shepard asked, noticing his odd behaviour.

“The ocean’s quiet.”

Vega stared at him blankly, but Shepard understood at once what he was referring to. “You can’t hear it?”

“It’s faint.” Kaidan scanned the oceanic scenery. For a planet that had nothing but an immense and constantly roiling ocean, its song was unusually subdued - like it hadn’t fully woken yet. “I’m guessing there’s not much life in there. Doesn’t matter. This is still a bad place for anyone to get stranded.”

“We’re not going to get stranded here,” Vega said confidently.

“Don’t jinx us, Mr Vega,” Cortez warned. “This mission is spooky enough as it is.”

“Spooky?” Kaidan echoed. “Really?”

“I can see where Steve is coming from,” Shepard mused, “an incredibly ancient alien race that ought to be extinct staging a comeback with mind-control tech that borders on unexplainable. Yeah, spooky.”

“But we have Kaidan,” Vega added helpfully. “A real-life version of a mermaid on a ship’s bow. You know, our very own good luck charm. So, I’m not worried.”

Kaidan gave him a flat look. “I’m a Mer, not a ship’s mascot.”

Vega flapped his hand. “Small details,” he dismissed cavalierly.

A cut-off snort from Shepard caught Kaidan’s attention. The Commander had one hand covering his mouth and dared not look at him.

“Did you just laugh?” he asked suspiciously.

“Nope.” To his credit, Shepard managed to retain a solemn expression, but his blue eyes gave him away - they were positively alight with laughter.

Kaidan gave him one last dirty look before turning back to the cockpit window. “At least Steve doesn’t find it amusing.”

“No, sir, I wouldn’t dare to find it amusing,” Cortez said with a straight face.

A beat later.

“Even if it is amusing. Sir.”

Kaidan frowned at him.

A flash of white iridescent light suddenly pulsed through the Kodiak, putting an end to their chatter. The shuttle dropped, causing everyone to stumble.

Kaidan caught the nearest hold-bar just in time to prevent himself from being thrown off his feet. He glimpsed the cockpit console light flickered alarmingly before the shuttle’s power automatically restored and the Kodiak resumed its flight.

Next to him, Shepard and Vega clung tightly to their own ‘oh shit’ bars.

“Steve, report!” Shepard barked.

“It was some kind of pulse.” Cortez was swiftly but calmly checking the readouts on his control console. “Disrupted the Kodiak’s power flow for a moment. It’s different from the EMP we experienced on Namakli.”

Shepard tapped his comm. “Normandy, this is Shepard. Do you read us?”

“Yes, Shepard,” Liara responded though her voice was static filled. “We saw a wave of unidentified energy engulfing the Kodiak. Are you all right?”

“For now,” Cortez said tersely. “The added shielding worked. I suggest you gentlemen sit down and strap up. I’m speeding up, get us to the rig as fast as I can.”

Everyone scrambled back to their seats.

Kaidan had barely refastened his seatbelt when a series of staccato flashes of white iridescent light, each pulse brighter than the previous, washed through the Kodiak.

The Kodiak actually shuddered. It whined aloud, ominously, and then

everything just stopped.

At that moment Kaidan and Shepard’s horrified gazes locked, and the Kodiak dropped.

“Hang on!” Cortez shouted from the cockpit.

And there was no more time for talk.

Kaidan held on as best as he could. He was securely buckled into his seat, but the g-force of the drop was tremendous, and he felt like he would be torn out of his seat at any moment.

All around them, the Kodiak shook and screamed as Cortez fought to exert control and patch in the backup power. Equipment broke loose and hurtled about in the confines of the shuttle, threatening to bash someone’s head in until a burst of dark blue light enveloped the Kodiak’s passengers. Rogue items bounced harmlessly off the bubble of dark blue light to crash elsewhere in the interior.

Kaidan gritted his teeth as he fought to hold his biotic bubble stable in the storm of chaos, trying to make sure no one gets hurt.

Then he heard Cortez shouting the words no passengers ever wanted to hear, “Brace for impact!”

Kaidan barely tucked his chin in and wrapped his arms around his head before a series of terrific and thunderous jolts slammed through the Kodiak and set him bouncing around in his safety harness like a rag doll.

The Kodiak screeched in agony as it skidded across the surface platform of the exploratory rig until it came to a stop right at the end of it.

In the ringing silence that ensued, everyone sat wide-eyed in their seats, gasping for breath as they absorbed the fact they had crashed and, miraculously, were still alive – and not in the ocean.

Someone coughed.

“Everyone all right?” Shepard asked.

Kaidan looked around himself. Unbelievably, despite their violent landing, the interior of the Kodiak looked relatively intact and undamaged. “I’m okay.”

“James? Steve?”

In his seat, Vega was an awful shade of green, but he gamely said, “Just peachy.”

He tried to get up but couldn’t, still held in place by Kaidan’s biotic bubble.

Kaidan released his control. His biotic bubble dissipated, and he went over to check on Vega. He might be the only one with field medic training, but it didn’t take a practised eye to see Vega was lying through his teeth.

He pulled out a bottle from a medic pouch and shook out a pill. “Here, anti-nausea pills.”

“Thanks,” Vega croaked.

“Inter-ship comms is out, as expected,” Shepard announced. “On your feet, soldier. I need a lookout at six o’clock.” He clapped Vega’s shoulder encouragingly and then made his way through the mess littering the deck to the cockpit. “Steve? You alive?”

“Yeah,” Cortez coughed again. “I do not want to do that again.”

“Any landing we can walk away from is a good one.”

“In this place, walking away will just put you in the ocean,” Cortez said dryly, “but thanks.”

Kaidan pushed his way past Shepard into the cockpit. “You’re hurt. Let me look.”

There was a nasty-looking gash on Cortez’s forehead but otherwise, he was all right. “No concussion, no other internal and external injuries that I can find. Do you feel pain anywhere?”

“Just here,” Cortez gestured to his gash.

Kaidan began to clean and dress his wound. “This won’t take long. I’ll give you some painkillers too.”

“Thanks.”

“What about you, Shepard? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Nope,” the Commander answered as he kept an eye on their surroundings through the cockpit window. “Steve, what’s the Kodiak’s viability?”

“Definitely wasn’t an EMP that hit us. The Kodiak still have power, it’s just gone…inert is the closest word I can think of. Squad comms are working but that’s about it,” Cortez reported. “Sorry, Commander. Whatever that energy was, it overwhelmed my buffed-up shielding.”

“None of us anticipated it. Right now, our priorities are to secure our landing site and make sure the Kodiak can fly again.”

“Aye, sir.”

“James, any signs of life out there?”

Looking less green, Vega shook his head. “No, Commander. The platform’s all quiet and empty.”

“Let’s get to work. Steve, get the Kodiak up and running. Kaidan, you’re with me. James, you bring up our rear. Lethal rounds, gentlemen.”

Vega manoeuvred to stand beside the hatch’s manual controls. He looked at both men. “Ready?”

With their rifles in hand, Kaidan positioned himself on the other side of the batch with Shepard next to him. “Ready.”

Vega manually cycled the hatch doors open.

Kaidan looked out, aiming his rifle’s scope at the rainy outdoors as he scanned for suspicious threats. Vega joined him a moment later.

“Clear,” he announced with Vega echoing the same a heartbeat later.

“Move out.” Hunkering down to make himself a smaller target, his rifle raised and at ready, Shepard slipped past Kaidan and stepped out into the open. He swiftly made for the closest stack of supply crates for cover, casing their surroundings as he waited for Kaidan and Vega to take their positions.

 “Any signs of hostiles?” he called.

“Negative,” Kaidan replied. Neither did Vega spot any too.

“Spread out and secure landing site.”

“Aye, sir.”

Despite not having done any ground manoeuvres since leaving the Marines, Kaidan fell easily into the formation as the three soldiers established a perimeter around the downed Kodiak while Cortez started reviving the Kodiak.

Years later, when asked, Kaidan would say his most vivid memories of Despoina were of it being extremely wet and cold and empty. The sky was overcast, and the rain fell just heavy enough to be impossible to ignore. Sometimes a gust of wind would slap the cold raindrops into his face and that was just plain annoying.

But what worried him the most was the sheer stillness and emptiness surrounding them. Other than the motion of the ocean, there was a distinct lack of human or organic activity. No sea bird, no creatures of any sort. Despite the commotion the Kodiak had made crashing onto the rig, no one came to investigate.

Supply crates and equipment secured to the platform by nettings surrounded them, a crane lift perched on a shaft a short distance away. All of them were looking rather battered from prolonged exposure to the elements and long neglect. With the constant sound of oceanic waves all around him, accompanied by the platform’s creaking, the rig smacked of desolation and abandonment to Kaidan.

“Are you sure Leviathan hijacked this rig from elsewhere?” Vega muttered doubtfully.

Kaidan glanced at him. Clearly, the younger man had the same thoughts as him. “Most likely,” he answered.

“Then where’s everybody? The rig didn’t assemble itself.”

It was a good question which needed solving as quickly as possible.

“Good news, Commander,” Cortez said over their comms. “The Kodiak’s systems aren’t fried, just massively scrambled. Guess the added shielding did work. I should be able to get the Kodiak flight-worthy again.”

“Are you able to get the proximity alert up and running first?” Shepard asked.

“Already did. I should be fine on my own.”

“I dunno, Esteban,” James said worriedly. “This place ain’t Namakli. They’ll have plenty of covers to sneak up on you.”

“I agree with James,” Shepard added. “Best to have someone on the lookout while you concentrate on the repairs. James, stay with Steve.”

“Aye, sir.”

“Kaidan and I will go to the rig’s control room, and see what we can find.”

The rig’s control room was on the opposite end of the platform.

Sharp eyes never ceasing to case their surroundings, both men swiftly moved from cover to cover across the rig’s platform, heading directly for the control room. The perpetual rain helped to muffle any noise they might make, which was a good thing, but in the same vein, neither could they hear anyone else approaching them.

The door to the control room slid open easily. Concerning, since it was an obvious sign that there was power keeping the rig up and running, which meant there ought to be people maintaining it.

They ghosted into the control room, alert and on guard.

It was empty, of course.

“The console’s all yours, Major.”

“Give me a moment.” Kaidan quickly and easily hacked into the computer servers. He swiftly pulled up the relevant information. “This rig was set up here about three months ago. Liara was right; it was meant for the colony on Yamm. The delivery ship abruptly changed course and came to Despoina instead.”

“What about captives?”

Kaidan quickly found and accessed the biosensors. What he found, or didn’t find, surprised him. “There doesn’t seem to be any.”

“None at all?”

“Yeah. We’re the only life signs the rig’s biosensors are picking up. Either they all died or after they have set up the rig, Leviathan sent them off or the biosensors have been programmed to ignore them. Do we search the rig?”

Shepard shook his head decisively. “We don’t have the manpower or the time. Can you locate anything on this rig that I can use for diving?”

Kaidan’s typing faltered. But he swiftly swallowed down his apprehension and called up the rig’s inventory. “They have four Triton submersibles. It’s in garage two on the platform.” He peered out of the window, orienting himself to the map he had found, and pointed somewhere to his left. “There, at ten o’clock.”

“Perfect.” Shepard tapped his comm. “Shepard to Shuttle One, we can’t find any sign of captives on this rig. We’re heading to garage two located at your eleven o’clock. It contains Triton submersibles. I’m going to use one of them to dive into the ocean.”

“Copy that, Commander,” Vega responded.

Leaving the control room behind, both men made their way to garage two. Halfway there, Shepard suddenly ducked down and Kaidan immediately followed suit.

“What is it?” he asked, immediately scanning their surroundings.

Shepard didn’t answer. A beat later, he gave the signal to move on. “Not sure. Thought I saw movement at our four o’clock. Let’s get to the garage. The sooner I’m in the water the better.”

The garage wasn’t locked, and Kaidan easily cycled the shutter door open. Inside, four Tritons clad in bright yellow shells stood parked on their charging docks.

“Shepard to Shuttle One, we have arrived at garage two. Proceeding to suit up,” Shepard said into his comm.

Needing no further prompting, Kaidan moved to the closest Triton and powered it up. He began to run a system check on it.

“Copy that,” Vega replied again. “Do you need help with the Triton?”

Shepard looked over at Kaidan who shook his head. “Negative, Shuttle One. Kaidan has it under control.”

“Acknowledged. Let us kno - bogeys at nine o’clock!”

What?! Kaidan’s head jerked up in surprise. From outside the garage, over the constant pitter-patter of rain, he heard gunshots.

Shepard immediately ran for the open door. Pressing himself against the side of the door, he peered out. “Shuttle One, I see ten bogeys coming at you from nine, twelve and two o’clock!” he barked into the comm.

“We see them, Shepard!” It was Cortez who replied. He was calm but terse. “Where the hell did they come from?”

“Hold them off as long as you can. I’m sending Kaidan to back you up.” Shepard hurried back to the Triton. “Kaidan -”

“I’ll go once you dive,” Kaidan snapped back. “Now get your ass in!”

Shepard didn’t waste time arguing and climbed into the mech’s cockpit. He strapped himself into the seat and started up the mech.

Kaidan began to rapidly brief Shepard, “Fuel cells and oxygen tanks are full. Seals are intact. You should be good to go. You only have two hours’ worth of oxygen time, so don’t dive too deep. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“The Triton doesn’t have guns, but it has a limited supply of flares. Use them wisely. I’m tracking your comm signal and the Triton’s locator on my omni-tool, but the range is limited. Do not stray too far from the rig.”

“Understood.”

Kaidan hauled himself up to the Triton’s cockpit and grabbing Shepard by his gorget, pulled him close. “Shepard, listen to me carefully now. This is very important,” he said firmly. “If Leviathan ignores you, tell them we have a Reaper ship with us.”

Shepard stared at him in shock.

“Don’t ask why. Just tell them about the Reaper ship if they refuse to communicate with you. If they need proof, they can scan the system. Do you understand?”

Recovering fast, Shepard nodded. “Yeah, I got it.”

Kaidan pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “For luck. I’ll cover you to the dive point.”

He hopped off the Triton and stepped back, eyeing the Triton anxiously as Shepard closed its cockpit hatch and turned his attention to operating the mech.

“Engaging systems,” Shepard’s voice came over his earpiece. “Testing comm link. Do you read me, Kaidan?”

“Loud and clear, John.”

“System’s green. I’m moving out.”

“Copy that.” Kaidan ran to the side of the door and looked out. So far, the thralls were still focused on Vegas and Cortez, but he knew once they spotted the moving mech, they would turn their attention to Shepard.

Kaidan took a deep breath to steady himself. Stepping to the left and ahead of the Triton, he activated his biotics and raised a biotic barrier as big as he could manage in front of himself and therefore, Shepard and the Triton.

Bullets began ricocheting off his barrier the moment they emerged from the garage.

For a mech that looked perpetually on the verge of falling over onto its nose, the Triton was surprisingly limber and fast.

But the thralls were faster. In the short minutes it took for Shepard to guide it to the diving edge of the platform, the thralls had advanced alarmingly close to them. Kaidan was starting to feel the twinges in his bones as the impact of the bullets hitting his barrier increased exponentially.

“Commencing dive in three…two…one,” he heard Shepard announce in his ear.

Kaidan didn’t turn to look. In the din of the firefight and the crashing waves, he didn’t hear the splash either. Trusting Shepard’s countdown, he released his biotic barrier a heartbeat later. The resulting explosion threw the thralls off their feet, and he seized the moment to make a run for the Kodiak.   

He dove for safety and rolled to a stop beside Cortez bare moments before the thralls resumed their attack.

“Glad you could join us, Major,” Cortez said in between shooting back at the advancing thralls. 

“Wasn’t going to let you have all the action. Sit rep, James!”

“No holes in me or Esteban,” Vega hollered back. “The Kodiak is unscratched too. So far, we seem to be keeping them at bay.”

“I managed to raise the Kodiak’s kinetic barrier before they launched their attack,” Cortez explained. “No offence, Major, but we need to take them out fast.”

Kaidan checked Tali’s timer again.

Two hours.

They had exactly two hours to subdue the thralls and get the Kodiak ready for flight. Shepard had two hours to stop Leviathan.

“Alenko to Shepard. Do you read me?”

“Loud and clear, Kaidan.”

“Is the Triton holding up?”

“Board is still green.”

“Copy that. Keep us updated, Commander.”

“Copy that, Major.”

Kaidan turned his attention back to the firefight at hand.

It was a testimony to Vega and Cortez’s superior skills and experience that their position hadn’t been overwhelmed by now. There was very little he could do to help Shepard, but he could certainly put an end to this standoff.

And there was only one way he could think of to do it. Problem was Vega and Cortez were too close to him. No matter how he’d try, they would still be affected by him.

Guess there was no avoiding it now.

“Listen, whatever happens, don’t focus on me,” he instructed. “Even if you feel like it’s one thing you must do, don’t. Stay in cover and keep your attention on the thralls.”

“What are you going to do?” Cortez asked worriedly.

“Stopping this fight.” Taking a deep breath, Kaidan shouted, “stop shooting!”

Cortez’s jaws dropped.

Vega stared at him. “What the hell, Major?”

Kaidan ignored them.

Raising his arms, he slowly stood up from his cover. “Stop shooting!” he called loudly again, letting his Charm seep through. “I’m not armed!”

Gradually, the sounds of bullets being fired died down.

He couldn’t see any of the thralls, but that was all right. He just needed them to see him. Stepping forward and away from his cover, Kaidan let go.

“Let’s not fight among ourselves,” he said, projecting his voice to carry clear across the open expanse. His body language was relaxed and non-threatening; he kept his expression open and friendly, inviting. “We should talk it out. I’m sure we have things to discuss.”

He advanced towards the hidden thralls, slowly and cautiously. “Can you show yourselves?” he asked, broadcasting his Charm as strongly as he could with every word he said and every move he made. “I’d like it if I can see who I’m talking to.”

Complete silence greeted him as he waited tersely.

Then slowly, the thralls rose to their feet from various hiding places surrounding the Kodiak’s landing site. All of them were still holding onto their weapons, and some of them pointed straight at Kaidan.

“Can you put down your guns?” Kaidan asked mildly. “There’s no need for us to continue shooting at each other, is there?”

Some of the thralls’ movements were jerky, and uncoordinated, as they tried to obey him. The others did not move; they stood frozen, trembling as they stared at him.

Catching their gazes, Kaidan smiled encouragingly at them. He lowered his arms, stretching out a hand towards the thralls. “Drop your weapons and come closer, please? Weapons aren’t necessary between us.”

Slowly, inch by excruciating inch, the thralls stumbled towards him, drawn by his Charm. Their once-expressionless faces turned befuddled. It was an odd look with their blank-eyed stares, but they were listening to him, nevertheless.

“That’s it,” Kaidan let his smile widen. “You’re doing very well. I know you must be missing your homes, your families, people you love. But I can bring you home. You just need to follow my voice from the darkness you are in and come closer to me.”

Some of the thralls began to shudder and tremble.

“Help…,” one of them gasped out.

“I am,” Kaidan responded compassionately. “We are doing what we can to free you, but you need to keep listening to my voice. Stay with me, don’t let the darkness pull you back.”

Now all the thralls were shuddering and trembling, some of them even reaching up to clutch at their heads as though in agony.

Something wasn’t right.

These thralls’ reactions were more adverse than what he had seen before on Mahavid. Were they reacting to his Charm or Leviathan? Had Leviathan become aware of what he was doing? 

“Just stay with me.” Kaidan pushed forth his Charm stronger than he had ever consciously done so before. “Fight that alien that wants you to stay in the darkness. You don’t have to listen to him. You don’t have to stay there any longer. Just listen to my voice. That’s all you need to do: listen-”

A high-pitched staticky squeal pierced through the air.

Kaidan flinched, his hands instinctively flying up to cover his ears. But unlike before, there was no familiar pain following it, thanks to Tali’s anti-Enthralling device.

But the thralls spread out around him reacted differently. They let out screams of agony, clutching at their heads. Some staggered about and some collapsed onto the platform, writhing in agony.

One of these prone thralls lifted his head and looked straight at him in the eye.

In that split second, Kaidan immediately understood two things: Leviathan was looking right at him, and he caught the tell-tale glimmer of a barrel hidden beneath the thrall’s chest.

Instincts took over.

Kaidan threw himself to a side just as a shot rang out. Twisting onto his feet, he threw a stun grenade right at the thrall shooting at him and dove back into cover as bullets bit his heels.

“You all right?” Cortez asked anxiously.

“Yeah.” Kaidan quickly took stock of his armour. There was a shallow groove running across the armour covering his bicep and another long scratch across his plackart above his ribcage. “That was close. How many did I get?”

Vega peered over the top of his crate and did a quick count. “Four, including the one that shot at you.”

“Damn it,” Kaidan muttered. “I was trying to gather them close together to use that.”

“Four is better than nothing.”

“What the hell happened?” Cortez asked. “What was that horrid squeal?”

“I think it’s Leviathan increasing the strength of their Enthralling,” Kaidan replied. “I had them, but Leviathan wrested control back.”

They ducked back down as another volley of bullets came flying their way.

“How long will they stay unconscious?” Cortez asked.

“Long enough for us to put an end to this fight.” Vega popped up and quickly returned fire before ducking back down again. “Do you think you can try that trick again, Major?”

Kaidan opened his mouth to answer when he heard doors slamming open mingled with the tell-tale sounds of a Triton on the move.

“Shit!” Vega swore. “We got more incoming!”

True to his words, a second large group of thralls swarmed out from within the rig. Their added number greatly swung the odds to Leviathan’s favour.

“Where the hell did they come from?” Cortez exclaimed as he fired back at them.

But Kaidan spotted something even more alarming: the three remaining Tritons were lumbering to the dive point of the platform.

Oh no. 

There were no questions about who was piloting the three Tritons and what their intentions were.

It was too late for them to do anything to stop the Tritons. They could only watch in helpless horror as the three mechs jumped into the ocean.

“Fuck!” Kaidan immediately tried to raise Shepard on the comm. “Shepard! You got enemy mechs coming after you! Do you copy?!”

A burst of static answered him instead.

With his heart in his throat, Kaidan turned to Vega. “James-”

“Go!” Vega cut him off with a firm reply. “We got this!”

 Kaidan didn’t dither. He gave them his rifle and ammunition belt. “Don’t wait for us.”

“Good luck,” Cortez said.

“Thanks. I’ll need it.” Scurrying back to the Kodiak, Kaidan hastily grabbed a couple of flares and emergency glow sticks from the survival kit and stuffed them into his utility belt pouches. He took off his kinetic barrier and anti-Enthralling shield generator from his armour and clipped them to the same belt before stripping off his armour and clothes as fast as he could. Finally nude, he grabbed his utility belt pouches and sprinted for the edge of the platform and dived off.

Free from the confines of his clothes and armour, he Shifted. The song of Despoina’s ocean was clearly different, alien, and half-awake, but there was no time to worry he couldn’t Shift, no room to mentally brace himself for the pain.

Saving Shepard was paramount. Losing this battle was one thing. But if the thralls succeed in stopping Shepard, they will lose the war and that was unacceptable. 

Shifted to his true form, Kaidan slung his utility belt-pouch across his torso before calling up Shepard’s Triton’s locator on his omni-tool. It was way down in the ocean, faint, but still within range. He didn’t know where the enemy mechs were, but if he could get to Shepard first, he could repel them.

His silver tail swaying with each powerful stroke he made, Kaidan glided down into the dark watery depths of Despoina.

Chapter Text

T-minus one hour and fifty-five minutes

Shepard’s Triton hit the ocean with a huge splash and immediately began descending.       

Even this close to the surface, the ocean was dimly lit due to the overcast sky, and he had to switch on the Triton’s headlight sooner than he expected to light his descent.

He leaned forward to wipe the condensation from his cockpit hatch and peered out. All around him was nothing but clear water - light blue above him rapidly darkening into total black below him. There was no fish, no marine snow, nothing that would hint at the existence of life.

He glanced at his environmental controls. The exterior temperature was dropping rapidly. He knew from experience that a Triton’s onboard environmental controls automatically adjust the cockpit temperature in response to exterior temperature changes. He might have to decide soon about turning those controls off to save power.

“Alenko to Shepard. Do you read me?” Kaidan’s voice came over his earpiece, tinny but clear.

“Loud and clear, Kaidan.”

“Is the Triton holding up?”

He glanced at his console one more time. “Board is still green.”

“Copy that. Keep us updated, Commander.”

“Copy that, Major.”

Shepard wiped the condensation off his cockpit hatch again.

There was nothing to see, but an ever-thickening black void that enveloped him. He pointed his Triton’s headlight downward, but even the strong beam of light could not penetrate the darkness beyond a few feet.

It was peaceful down here, but Shepard knew it was an illusion. The Triton’s navigational controls told him it was having to constantly compensate quite a bit for the strong currents to stay on course. Right now, with the Triton’s onboard computer taking care of his descent, he had nothing to do but ponder on Kaidan’s strange instructions.

He could hardly believe his ears when Kaidan claimed they had brought a Reaper with them. In hindsight, it made sense - Reapers seemed to be Leviathan’s trigger point. But how did they commandeer a Reaper for their mission? Or rather, how had he? Because despite having no memories of doing so, Shepard knew himself well enough to know he would have the audacity to carry it out.

His gaze fell upon his omni-tool, and he remembered the message package Kaidan had sent him. Without thinking, he activated his omni-tool but hesitated before he could call up the message package.

Open it when you’re terribly stuck and need a way out.

Well, he wasn’t stuck yet, but he couldn’t deny the temptation and curiosity eating at him. His hand hovered indecisively over his omni-tool before deactivating it. Fine, he would listen to his lover for now.

Suddenly a gigantic rock face came into view.

Shepard hastily nudged the Triton away from it. Belatedly, he checked his sensor readings. He was approaching the peak of an underwater mountain and right at its foot was the continental shelf.

His Triton’s headlight suddenly extinguished. A red light lit up on his console.

He had ventured beyond the limit of what the headlight could withstand, and it had crumpled under the intense pressure of the ocean. He was now descending in total darkness, and he still hadn’t reached the continental shelf.

Finally, what seemed like an eternity later, his sensor controls let out a warning beep. Shepard quickly aimed his Triton’s right arm downward and fired a flare; it landed quickly, and he used the burning red light to gauge the distance for a safe landing on the rocky surface of the continental shelf.

“Shepard to Alenko, do you read me?”

A burst of static came over his comm.

He tried again. “Kaidan, do you read me?”

Static answered him.

What was happening up there? The Triton’s comm. system should be powerful enough to reach the surface even from this depth.

Frowning, he glanced skyward for a worrying moment before reluctantly focusing on his task. Going back up was not an option now. Kaidan was capable; he could take care of himself and the others.

Shepard turned on the recording device in his omni-tool. “Comms are down for some reason. Unable to reach anyone on the exploration rig. Don’t know if they can hear me but are just unable to respond. I’ve finished my major descent. I’m at-” he checked the gauge, “-a depth of three thousand and eighty-four metres. The Triton is holding up, though I’ve lost my headlight. I’ve routed power from non-essential systems to the suit’s integrity controls. This should buy me more time to look for Leviathan.”

Manoeuvring his Triton, Shepard slowly and carefully guided its lumbering form across the rocky ground of the continental shelf. He could see the blinking dot on the Triton’s tracker denoting the probe’s location, but it was quite a distance away and he couldn’t see beyond his Triton’s arm.

He fired another flare in the direction he was travelling. In the dim red light, he saw the continental shelf stretching into the darkness and what appeared to be cliff steppes all around him. The currents were mild here; the rock formations must’ve broken the swirling strength of the currents’ motion. 

A proximity alarm suddenly went off, just as he saw another blinking dot appear on his Triton’s tracker. Automatically, he feinted his Triton to the right, lifting its left arm just in time to block a downward blow from another Triton.

A loud metallic screech pierced through the water as the two mechanical arms collided and slid off each other.

Shepard stepped back. He couldn’t see the pilot of the other Triton, but he didn’t need to: a Triton attacking him out of the blue could only mean Leviathan had sent their thralls after him.

He fired another flare and in the bright ruby light, spotted the enemy Triton. Unfazed by the fact that he was more than three thousand metres deep in an ocean, Shepard braced himself for combat.

The two machines clashed with a terrific sound and began to swing their arms at each other.

Using a Triton in a close-quarter fight was counter-intuitive to actual fighting. Physical strength and expansive movements were of no use here; lightning-fast reflexes and muscle twitch were the key. Gritting his teeth, Shepard manipulated his controls with deft light touches even though his instincts screamed at him to mash the controls instead. 

He grappled with the enemy Triton, trying to get the upper hand. Finally, he managed to throw it off its feet when the proximity alert sounded again. Surprised, he instinctively jerked his Triton backward, narrowly avoiding a downward blow from his right.

There was a second enemy Triton, and it was close enough to aim another blow at him.

Shepard hastily raised his Triton’s right arm to block the blow, but his angle was wrong, and he was a heartbeat too late. The second enemy Triton caught his Triton’s arm and twisted.

All kinds of alarm started screaming at him, the ear-piercing cacophony threatening to deafen him as he struggled to free himself. But the second enemy Triton had a good grip on his Triton’s right arm, and it was doing a good job of wrenching it free from its body.

Desperately, Shepard fired a flare right at it.

The sudden brilliance of the flare caused the thrall in the enemy Triton to instinctively recoil, and Shepard seized the chance to stagger free, his Triton’s right arm now dangling uselessly in the water. Sparks spewed from its broken joint, and he hastily cut power to the damaged arm and seal off the gaps in the joint.

His proximity alarm sounded again, and Shepard cursed out loud when a third enemy Triton charged toward him, this time too close for him to react.

From out of the darkness and into the dying red light of the flare, a streamlined shape came hurtling towards the third enemy Triton and body-slammed it away from him.

It was Kaidan and Shepard watched in amazement as he fluidly twisted about and tail-slapped the teetering Triton. The Triton might have dwarfed him, but it was off-balance, and Kaidan had the strength of dense muscles and the kinetic force from his momentum. In the last few seconds, before the flare died, Shepard saw Kaidan easily knocking the enemy Triton onto its ass.

Darkness surrounded him for a moment as he tried repeatedly to get his flare gun working but to no avail; his Triton’s right arm was too damaged. Then a red light flooded his cockpit from outside.

And he saw Kaidan in his full Mer form for the very first time.

He stared, mouth agape in wonder.

It wasn’t as though he had never seen Kaidan in his Mer form before, but his lover had been skittish and injured back then.

This time was different.

Kaidan might have claimed he was raised to be more human, but right here, right now, Shepard had no doubt he was looking at the real Kaidan - unrestrained by secrecy, unfettered by fears, at home in his skin and in his element.

In the light of the burning flare he held aloft, there was no hiding the streamlined predatory beauty of his form. Strong and sleek, his scaled body glittered under the red light. He floated easily in the water, proud and fierce, completely at ease even at this depth, his black hair a halo about his head and his golden eyes were bright and canny.

He was glorious.

As Shepard watched, Kaidan dropped the flare to the ground and swam forward. He took out an emergency glow stick from the pouch slung across his torso, activated it and jammed it into a socket on his Triton’s right arm.

Floating back, Kaidan made a very recognisable gesture. Go.

Understanding at once what Kaidan intended to do, Shepard simply nodded and guided his Triton in the direction of the probe just as Kaidan turned away to confront the advancing enemy Tritons.

The probe was on another ledge below Shepard. As he made the jump, he looked back.

In that split-second glimpse, he saw Kaidan drop another burning flare to the ground. He defiantly stood his ground in its light, his dorsal fin bristling in a belligerent challenge. His biotic aura, coloured purple in the red light, glowed brilliantly in the darkness.

Suddenly, Kaidan darted to the side, hurling a Throw at the same time, and he could see no more of the ensuing battle.

~

Kaidan slashed with the omni-blade Shepard had given him and cut the power lines to a Triton’s arm, disabling its grappling arm. He swam away quickly, back into the darkness, swiftly manoeuvring to target another Triton from behind.

Tritons might be limber and fast on land but down here, in the depths of the ocean, they were clumsy and awkward. He could run circles around them all day - but his Mer nature kept getting in the way.

He had never fought underwater before and certainly not while in his true form, and he was discovering that his Mer nature and his Kaidan ‘sensibilities’ warring with each other distracted him from the fight. His opponents were thralls, victims, and he needed to neutralise them without injuring them, but his Mer instincts were screaming at him to kill.

It was a struggle trying to restrain himself from going homicidal, and it cost him when a Triton suddenly loomed out from the darkness and took a swipe at him. He managed to twist most of his body out of its reach, but he wasn’t fast enough, and its grappling hand clamped onto his tail.

It yanked.

Kaidan screeched out in pain as he felt the heavy unforgiving grip tightening around his tail and pulling him backwards.

He bent nearly in double and reached down for the Triton’s grappling hand. Shepard’s omni-blade snapped into existence again and he furiously stabbed into the mechanical joint of the Triton’s arm again and again until he had cut through the power lines and the joint. He yanked free from the Triton and swam away but not before throwing another Throw at the Triton. Immediately, the mech was lifted off its feet and fell backwards.

But Kaidan didn’t wait to see the results of his Throw; he had already turned his attention to the other two Tritons.

Teeth bared in an animalistic snarl of challenge; he charged right back into the fight.

~

Shepard don’t know how much time he had got left, but he had a strong feeling that it was flowing through his fingers like water.

He could not see the probe despite being right on top of its location. Forcing himself to stay calm, he searched the vicinity until he found it wedged in a crevice, nearly hidden from sight.

Immediately he connected the Triton’s onboard computer to the probe’s processing unit. Its tracker, programmed to track Leviathan’s signal, was pointing to his eleven o’clock. He wasted no time travelling in that direction. 

Soon, he found himself walking carefully up a ledge that loomed over a gigantic black chasm in the ground. The light from his emergency glow stick could not penetrate the darkness very far, so he stopped after cautiously moving forward a few steps.

This was as close as he was going to get.

Now it was time to make contact.

Taking a deep breath to steel his nerves, Shepard reached up and unplugged the anti-Enthralling device from his kinetic-barrier generator.

“I know you are there, Leviathan,” he said aloud. “I know you can see me. Let us talk.”

He waited for a few seconds. Nothing but silence answered him.

Kaidan was right. They were ignoring him.

“Don’t ignore me. We have a Reaper ship with us, and we won’t hesitate to use it.”  How would they use it? He didn’t know, but that was beside the point - for now. “If you don’t believe me, scan the stars.”

The next few minutes trudged by painfully as he waited tensely for a response. It felt like an eternity but was, in fact, less than a minute before he became aware of a change in the darkness around him.

The solid blackness became less and less oppressive until he could finally discern that his vicinity was lit by soft bio-luminescent light. A thunderous rumble rattled his teeth, the ground shook under his Triton. As he watched, a gigantic shape floated up from the huge black chasm in front of him.

It rose and rose.

And rose.

Until it filled his entire cockpit view and covered him in its shadow.

Until he was craning his head back and yet he could see nothing but its humongous shape.

And yet, it continued to rise.

It looked vaguely squid-like, Shepard thought, with its tapered tail pointing to the sky and tentacle-like limbs protruding from its armoured body close to its head below. Leviathan didn’t have a face like any other race in the galaxy. In the area where he thought might be its face, its sole pair of eyes stared down at him unblinkingly. Its round eyes had no pupils and glowed an eerie bluish white like headlights. Despite its lack of facial details and unblinking eyes, he got the impression that it was extremely angry.

Shepard stared right back, undaunted by its wrath, the sheer size and the absolute alienness of the ancient being confronting him. “Let’s talk.”

~

Liara stood at Shepard’s terminal in the C.I.C., a serene expression on her face and her body language neutral. Inwardly though, she was worried.

She had one of the Normandy’s long-range cameras pointing at the exploration rig on Despoina’s surface ever since Shepard’s Kodiak crash-landed on it. It enabled her to watch the events unfolding on the rig and it was a blessing and a curse.

On one hand, she knew they had landed safely and uninjured, but on the other hand, she could only watch helplessly when a large group of thralls emerged from within the rig and started attacking them. Shepard had dived into the ocean, and it was up to his ground squad to hold the thralls back.

“What is he doing?” Traynor asked, mystified when Kaidan rose from his cover with his hands in the air. Somehow, miraculously, the thralls ceased shooting as well.

Liara didn’t answer her. She didn’t know for sure either, but considering what she knew about Kaidan’s heritage, she could make a guess. She could only hope he succeed and for a moment there, it seemed as though he would. But he suddenly ducked to a side and the firefight was back on.

“Liara, Garrus is on the line.” Traynor said.

Liara sent the screen to Shepard’s terminal. “Traynor, please keep an eye on the events on the rig. Surveillance, direct a camera at Garrus and the Reaper ship’s approach.”

She tapped the comm. “Garrus, this is the Normandy.”

“Liara? Where’s Shepard?”

“Down on the planet with his ground squad and Kaidan. What’s your status?”

“On route to Despoina. Our insurance will reach the point of no return in T-minus one hour and fifteen minutes.”

Liara checked the countdown timer Tali had sent to her. Yes, they were right on schedule.

“We have eyes on Garrus,” Traynor reported and opened a screen on the C.I.C’s galaxy map.

A moment of hushed silence descended over the crew as they gawked at the screen: a group of tugboats propelling and guiding a Reaper ship along a prescribed route into the Psi Tophet system.

The Reaper ship was officially a dead ship. Despite knowing that and the incongruent and somewhat comedic sight of tiny tugboats acting as its engines and navigation, a sinister and deadly aura still shrouded the mysterious ancient vessel. It loomed like a hulking spectre of approaching death - a dark, silent, and soulless alien harbinger of doom designed to strike terror and despair into souls.

Garneau’s ship, commandeered by Tali and Garrus, trailed the Reaper ship at a safe distance. The Reaper ship might be dead, but its decaying indoctrination field was still strong enough to influence and corrupt organic minds.

Liara narrowed her eyes at the readings she got. “Garrus, the Reaper ship isn’t moving fast enough.”

“We know, Liara,” Tali replied instead. “The tugboats are completely maxed out. We managed to gain more velocity when we came through the relay but it wasn’t enough. We’re going to slingshot the Reaper ship around Arion to gain more acceleration.”

“Liara,” Traynor interrupted, “the Cairo is urgently hailing us.”

“Garrus, stay on course. We’ll be monitoring your progress. Normandy out.” Liara switched comm channel. “Normandy responding, Cairo.”

A comm screen popped into existence on Shepard’s terminal and a heartbeat after, the grim face of Captain Castillo appeared on it.

“Where is Shepard?” he demanded without preamble.

“He’s on Despoina confronting Leviathan, Captain Castillo” Liara said calmly. “I’m Liara T’Soni. Shepard has put me in command of the Normandy.”

“That is highly irregular,” Castillo said disapprovingly. “Never mind. Tell me this, T’Soni: does Shepard plan to throw the Reaper ship at the planet?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny it.”

“Don’t play coy with me. My crew isn’t as dumb as Shepard thinks and we certainly don’t follow orders blindly. We’ve calculated the Reaper ship’s route and velocity. Everything points to it making hard landfall on Despoina in little over an hour. So answer me: what the hell does Shepard think he is doing?”

~

“Remove that abomination from our domain!” a deep echoing voice thundered.

Shepard winced.

It was and wasn’t a voice; it spoke directly into his mind, and it hurt.

He pushed past the pain and replied coolly, “Not until we talk, and you listen to what I have to say.”

Leviathan rumbled angrily.

Sharp pain spiked through Shepard’s head and abruptly, he found himself somewhere else - somewhere dark and cold and wet. He had a vague idea this would happen, but the transition was still an unpleasant jarring experience.

He collapsed to his knees, or it felt like he did. He was acutely conscious that his physical body was slumped over in the Triton’s cockpit seat, yet at the same time, his senses told him he was curled up on a cold flat floor in a cold and expansive dark void. The conflicting sensations were enough to send his mind reeling and his breathing erratic.

When he finally managed to get himself under control, he stood back up. At that moment, he became aware of two things: Ann Bryson was standing before him, hands on her hips, cold fury writ clear across her face and somehow, he intuitively knew what he needed to do.

“Ann?” The name left him before he realised his mistake. It was not Ann standing before him, it was Leviathan. “Leviathan. Nice to see you in person at last.”

“You have our attention, Shepard. What do you want?” Leviathan growled.

“I want you to cease your incursions into the galaxy.”

“You overstep your boundaries, little thrall.”

Shepard walked towards Leviathan. “Times have changed, Leviathan. This is no longer the Milky Way you once ruled over so many eons ago. We won’t tolerate your infiltrations into our homes, and we won’t submit to your rule. All you are accomplishing is uniting us to stop you.”

“We rule this galaxy before any of you are born. We are merely reclaiming what is rightfully ours.”

“You abdicated your rule when your people fled into hiding and you abandoned your thralls to the Reapers,” Shepard countered.

“A mistake on our part. We concede the truth of your accusation: we had become lazy and allowed an A.I. to think for us. We chose convenience over duty and that shall never happen again. We will make sure of it.”

“The future of this galaxy is not yours to mandate,” Shepard retorted. “The races you once Enthralled are long dead. The races living now belong to themselves and no one else. You have no claim over us.”

He closed the distance between them. “We are, however, willing to open dialogue with you to find the best way for the peoples of the galaxy and your race to co-exist. The Milky Way is a big place, after all.”

“Are you attempting to negotiate our surrender, thrall?” Leviathan asked in a condescending tone.

“Consider it a peace offering.”

Leviathan laughed mockingly. “You think yourself equal to us.” 

“I got your attention, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did, an admirable feat. Clearly, you have the potential to be an excellent thrall. It is amusing to watch your attempts at negotiating our surrender. Now remove that offensive abomination from our domain.”

“No,” Shepard replied, steel in his voice, “not until you call back your incursions and remain in your current home systems.”

“You are in no position to demand our retreat,” Leviathan sneered. “We have watched the races living in our galaxy for a very long time. They evolved, the Reapers harvested them, and new races grew in their absence. In time, the Reapers harvested them too. Over and over again, the cycle repeats itself.

In every race we observed, the same behavioural pattern emerged again and again. No matter when, no matter the species, these races have been, are and will always be the same as those we once ruled over - small-minded, divided, unruly. Wasteful individuals arguing among themselves over useless ideologies; they’d rather destroy themselves than compromise and unite.” 

Shepard stepped even closer. “If we choose to be useless, wasteful little people, that is our prerogative,” he said evenly. “It isn’t your decision to make.”

“Choice is a pretence you gave yourselves to explain your seeming lack of purpose in life.”

“So, you know what is our purpose in life?”

“Yes.”

“And what is that? To be your slaves?”

“Indeed. Our purpose is to be the masters of this galaxy and yours is to be our thralls and serve us. Only then will the galaxy truly be at peace and prosper.”

It was like arguing with a condescending brick wall, Shepard concluded. Leviathan did not deem anyone else other than themselves worthy of listening. They were so sure of their beliefs and so convinced that they were right, that Shepard was beginning to suspect they regarded the lesser races of the galaxy as only slightly more intelligent than beasts.

“I have your mind, Commander Shepard. You shall usher in our ascension-” Leviathan suddenly paused and looked up sharply. A moment later, it glared at Shepard. “The Reaper is not slowing down.”

Shepard coolly met its gaze. Inwardly, though, he was racking his brain to figure out what exactly he did. “I wonder why.”

“It is accelerating even as it draws close to this world.” Comprehension crossed Leviathan’s face. “It is going to crash into this world.”

“I see?”

Leviathan studied him with probing eyes, its scowl growing darker by the second. “Clever little thrall. You had that chimeric abomination wipe all knowledge of the Reaper from your mind to stop us from knowing.”

Shepard pondered about it for a moment and then shrugged, “Yeah, that sounds like something I would do.”

“You will call it off,” Leviathan demanded.

“No,” Shepard said without thinking and in that moment right after it, he instinctively knew this was the opening he needed.

“Call it off, thrall.”

“And I said no. You want to stop the Reaper ship from crashing, do it yourself.”

Leviathan glared at him, coldly furious.

Shepard matched him glare for glare, undaunted even when the horizon of the void he was in rippled like the surface of the water. Lightning flashed and in those brief bursts of light, he glimpsed huge hulking shadows lurking on the horizon. Soon he began to hear them too - a harmony of low, bassy rumbling that set his teeth on edge.

The Leviathan wearing Ann’s guise closed its eyes.

Somehow, Shepard instinctively knew it was joining its brethren to stop the Reaper ship from crashing into Despoina.

And instinctively, he knew he needed them to do more.

“You can’t stop the Reaper ship from crashing,” he said aloud. “I’d made sure of it.”

Leviathan ignored him, as he expected.

Shepard watched it closely.

One of his greatest strengths was knowing himself, and it helped him to figure out what he did even though he couldn’t remember any of it.

He had commandeered the largest Reaper ship in Council’s possession. He knew he would’ve arranged for it to be hurled at Despoina with such velocity that it would probably take an asteroid much bigger than Mahavid colliding with it just to nudge it off its course.

It would require a lot of resources to generate that massive amount of counterforce, more resources than the Leviathan on Despoina had available. How he knew that he had no idea, but he knew he was right - and he instinctively knew what the Leviathan on Despoina would do in that situation.

The opaque misty horizon paled rapidly and cleared aside like a curtain, and Shepard saw gigantic shadowy shapes of Leviathan appearing at the horizon in all directions. They were from elsewhere, not just those on Despoina.

It was an intimidating and awe-inspiring spectacle, but Shepard didn’t pause to gawk. He didn’t think it was the entire populace of Leviathan revealing itself, but the number present was enough.

The moment he had been patiently bidding his time for was here.

Lunging forward, he grabbed hold of Leviathan wearing Ann’s guise.

Its eyes flew open, startled.

But it was too late.

Gripping it by its head, Shepard slammed their foreheads together and poured the Mad Leviathan’s weapon into it.

~

“Spectre Shepard,” Liara replied, making sure to stress her friend’s Spectre title, “is doing what he has sworn to do: protecting the galaxy.”

“By crashing a Reaper ship into a planet?” Castillo said frostily. “May I remind you the action breaches the Council Intergalactic Code of Conduct for Military Forces? Not to say the devastation the crash will inflict on the planet's environment. That Reaper ship may be dead, but it still carries over a hundred megaton yield of nuclear power. When it explodes, it’ll wipe out everything living on Despoina.”

At this moment, Liara saw an opportunity to protect her friends from the fallout of their actions and she seized it without hesitation.

“We’re not exploding the Reaper ship on impact,” she replied calmly, thinking fast. “Captain Castillo, the aggressor’s technology is so advanced that we don’t have any defence against it, except for the Reaper’s indoctrination field. We need a permanent solution to ensure our freedom and that Leviathan will never invade us again.”

Castillo scowled darkly at her. “Pretty words, T’Soni. However, I don’t quite believe you. There is a line we mustn’t cross, or it will make us no better than our enemies. I don’t think-”

Liara muted her mic and called Ash on a different channel. “Ash, get into orbit around Despoina right now.”

“I’m on it,” Ash replied crisply. “Any reason for the rush?”

“The Cairo is about to poke their nose into our business.”        

“Got it. I’ll be out of the Normandy in thirty seconds.”

“Thank you. Joker, EDI, are you listening?”

“Yes, we are, Liara,” Joker said. “That captain sounds pissed.”

“Once Ash leaves, put us between the Cairo and the Reaper ship. If the Cairo makes a threatening move onto the Reaper ship or Garrus, block them. They mustn’t stop the Reaper ship from advancing.”

“Understood. EDI and I have this.”

Liara switched channels. “Garrus, Tali, do you copy?”

“We do,” Tali answered. “We heard everything. Don’t worry. We’ll make sure we aren’t sitting targets.”

“Lieutenant Williams’ Kodiak has left the Normandy,” Traynor reported in a soft voice.

Liara nodded in acknowledgement. “Continue to hail Shuttle One, Traynor.”

“Yes, madam.”

“Liara, don’t fire the first shot, just stay on the defensive,” Garrus advised. “Let the Cairo be the aggressor.”

“What is likely to happen if they engage us?”

“Their first shot will most likely be a warning shot across the Normandy’s bow before they fire for real. Even if they continue to fire on the Normandy, don’t fire back. Stay on the defensive. Returning fire should be your last resort.”

“Understood.” Liara didn’t quite understand Garrus’ logic, but she took it to heart, knowing that Garrus was better-trained and more experienced at space warfare.

She un-muted her mic. “I hear you, Captain Castillo,” she cut him off in mid-lecture, “but may I remind you, you agreed to follow Spectre Shepard’s orders for this mission.”

“I changed my mind,” Castillo said coldly. “Since Commander Shepard is absent, I shall take over this mission. I order you to stand down and relinquish control of the Reaper ship to us.”

Back straight and chin lifted defiantly, Liara channelled every bit of the Shadow Broker into her voice. “Spectre Shepard’s authority supersedes yours, Captain. The Normandy will not stand down nor relinquish control of the mission. Normandy out.”

Cutting the comm, Liara did not hesitate to give the order, “Sound general quarters. All hands to battle stations.”

~