After the Fall prt 6

Part 6
Biotics

The young soldier led the way to a waiting Mako, where other members of his unit proceeded to stare in awe at the woman he had brought with him.  Shepard did her best to keep up a commanding, stern expression, but it was difficult not to bust out laughing at all the eager, thrilled faces.  Like they were all meeting their favorite rock star.  Their eyes just got bigger and bigger as they took in her companions.  The famous Normandy crew.

Shepard looked the Mako over with a slight air of distrust, but her team seemed even less thrilled by the idea of climbing inside.  Wrex walked up beside her, small eyes peering into the Mako's open personnel/storage area.  “You won't be driving, right Shepard?”

“No, Wrex, I will not,” she said.

“Good.”  The krogan climbed easily into the vehicle.  Shepard watched as the humans inside scuttled to accommodate his bulk.  Alarm and excitement mingled on their dirty, battle worn faces.

Shepard studied the step up she would need to take to board the vehicle, trying to chose the most dignified way to achieve the height without undermining her strong, leaderly stature.  Garrus solved her problem by not caring.  One sweep off his arms and she was off her feet and being lifted into the Mako.  She would have protested but he took her completely by surprise.  She was just grateful, as he set her in the fold-out bucket seat, that she hadn't yelped aloud.  At least some of her dignity was intact.  Luckily neither the soldiers, nor the watching crowd outside, seemed to take notice or care.

Soon they were rattling along over rubble and debris.  Shepard, even though she was well strapped down, winced at the worst jostles.  There was no such thing as a comfortable Mako ride, she thought wryly.  She tried to focus on what the young LT was telling her.  “The Cerberus biotic just walked right out of the rubble where we were searching for survivors.  He put up a barrier and demanded to talk to you.”

“Don't you have any biotics on your team?” Kaiden questioned

“I am,” a female solider spoke up, looking slightly insulted.  “I tried to bring his barrier down.  It's very powerful.  I've never seen anything like it.”

Shepard glanced at Kaiden and knew the look of concern in his dark eyes.  Cerberus was always on the lookout for ways to create a better human.  The person they were going to meet could easily have been genetically modified.  Unstable and dangerous, but most of all, tortured.  Cerberus was not famous for its care and concern for your personal well being.  If it served his ends, TIM didn't give two shits what kind of terrible agony he put people through.  Shepard tried to give Kaiden a reassuring half-nod, when the Mako pitched over a particularly large hurdle and she had to spend several moments chomping down on her bottom lip and squeezing Garrus' hand to keep her cool.

“We've reached the sight,” called the driver, as the crew eagerly unbuckled their safety harnesses and fled the vehicle.

Shepard allowed Garrus to help her down, but when he offered her her canes, she waved them off.  Joker gave her a stern look, and she countered it with a snarky winkling of her crooked nose.  He rolled his eyes and fell in with the group.  Though Joker was never allowed to come planet-side on any of their missions, because of his disease and the need for him to stay with the ship, he looked right at home in the midst of the hardened soldiers he walked with.  Smaller, certainly.  A head shorter than almost everyone there, and certainly not as built, but he didn't falter in taking his place amongst them.  Shepard smiled, adjusting the rifle she still carried.  By the thrilled look on the young LT's face she suspected he was going to ask her to autograph the weapon when she was finished with it.

They rounded a mound of rubble which might have been a skyscraper at one time, and sure enough, the glowing blue dome of a bioltic field rose up before them like a bubble on choppy waters.  Shepard herself was not biotically gifted at all.  She self-identified as a meat-head soldier, though in reality she was more technically minded than most, and tended to prefer the sniper position.  She looked towards Kaiden and Liara, who moved forward, arms raised, their own biotics reaching out to investigate the semi-sphere.

The Alliance soldiers who had remained to monitor the situation, took their turn to gape at Shepard and her famed crew.  Shepard also noticed a few salarians standing around.  Some waved omitools over the rubble, but they too stopped and stared at the famous personage in their midst.

Shepard approached the bubble, painfully aware that she was wearing dress blues, not her armor.  For a moment her mind cast back to an image of herself, laying on her back in a puddle, armor seared off by the Reaper beam-weapon that had glanced past her.  If it had struck her head on she would have been dead.  She had struggled to her feet, fumbling in her own blood and the brackish muck.  Her hand had found its way to her neck, touching the thin, silvery chain there.  Her N7 tags.  They were still attached.  Good, she had thought hazily as she headed towards the beam of light guiding the way to the Citadel.  Without her tags, how would they identify her body?  She's expected death.  She'd been fully prepared.  Perhaps she should have died, but by god she was glad she hadn't.

The soldiers cleared a path for Shepard, nodding and saying “Ma'am” so many times she almost laughed again.  She squinted into the biotic bubble towards the figure inside.  He was small, compared to the barrier he had created.  Shepard had seen Samara make one this big, but she was the only one.  She didn't Kaiden to reaffirm that this was a very powerful field.

The man was crouched, arms wrapped around his knees, head down.  She could tell he was wearing the sciences uniform that Cerberus favored.  What was hell was he doing on earth?  “I'm Commander Shepard,” she addressed the man, loudly and authoritatively.

At first the man didn't raise his head.  Shepard was about to say something more, when she saw him move.  He stood, though he staggered to the side and looked ready to collapse.  Having steadied himself he finally raised his head.  He was older, with greying dark-brown hair that fell a little beyond his shoulders, and a trim bearded, also streaked with grey.  He squinted, then his eyes got very wide.  “You...you are Commander Shepard!” his voice was husky and dry.

“You told these fine soldiers that you wanted to talk to me?” she asked, shifting her weight from leg to leg as gently as she could, trying to relieve her pain.

“I let myself hope.  I kept hearing that you had lived and...well, I suppose I believe it now.  My name is Cadel Johnson.  It is an honor to finally meet you, Shepard.”

“Do you have a point you plan to reach, Mr. Johnson?” Shepard asked.

“Cadel, please,” the man smiled thinly.  “I have an offer for you.  I fully admit to being a scientist working for Cerberus and the Illusive Man, right up until the end.  However, I can see which way the wind blows now,” he paused and gave Wrex a disgusted glance.  “I have valuable information for you, Shepard.  About you.  I offer it, in return for my own safety, and the ability to continue my research.”

“Your research?” Shepard raised an eyebrow.

“I assure you, it is quite vital.”

“I'll bet,” scoffed Garrus.

“Do we have an arrangement?” Cadel asked.

“What is your research?” Shepard demanded, the stock of the rifle settling against her shoulder.  She didn't even realize she had raised it until she was looking at the scientist through the sights.

“If you want to know, you'll have to agree to my deal,” the corner of the man's mouth curled into a challenging smile.

“Liara, Kaiden, I want that barrier down,” Shepard snapped.

“On it,” Liara answered, and Kaiden fell in beside her.

Cadel laughed, eyes flashing.  “It'll take a lot more than two ordinary biotics to take down my shield.”

Kaiden smiled, “what if one of us isn't so ordinary?  No offense, Liara.”

“None taken,” the asari said, her eyes squinted with concentration.

“Permission to fuck him up, ma'am?” Kaiden shot a quick glance over his shoulder at Shepard.

“Are you sure?” Shepard asked.  She knew that Kaiden had a lot of power, but he could also cause himself harm.

“Oh, I've got this,” he gritted his teeth in a fierce smile.  For a moment Shepard remembered why she had been attracted to him when they had first met.  Garrus was her mate, no question, but there was certainly something in Kaiden that drew her towards him as well.

“You have my permission to fuck him up.”

Kaiden stepped forward, almost touching the other biotic's barrier.  Arms raised, little surges of biotic power jumping between his spread fingers.  His muscled tensed and Shepard felt all her hair stand up, as though she was statically charged.  There was a rushing surge, as if an invisible wave had struck them all, and a few of the soldiers let out surprised noises.  Cadel's biotic bubble burst like glass.

Kaiden straightened, lowering his arms.  Then he swayed, hand to his temple.  “Catch him!” Shepard shouted to Liara, who responded quickly.  The asari managed to get her arms around Kaiden as he fell backward, crumpling to earth.  Cadel didn't look much better.  He remained standing for a moment, blood trickling from his nose and an ear, before he went down like a sack of grain.  There was a solid 'thump' and his body hit the ground.

Shepard limped over to Kaiden, where he lay in Liara's arms, head against her shoulder.  His eyes were open, though his nose too was bleeding.  “You alright?” she asked.

He winced, then smiled, “Hell of a migraine, but yeah.  I'll be fine.”

She reached down and patted him firmly on the shoulder, “good man.  Now,” she raised her voice to address the soldiers, who had already moved to gather up the fallen scientist.  “I want him secured and delivered to the Normandy.  I think it's time we head back to my ship.”

~~~~~

It did take some convincing to get the Alliance soldiers, as well was the watching STG salarians, to allow her to transport their new prisoner to a shuttle and then to the Normandy.  In the end, Shepard pulled rank, and no one overruled her.  None of her crew minded.  They too were eager to get back on board their beloved ship and home.

Kaiden was transported by stretcher, though the biotic soldier they had met shared some her own medication with him, which lessened his migraine significantly.  Shepard still insisted he stay off his feet for the moment.  It was a tough argument to win, considering that she was making her way with only leg braces, refusing to use the canes.  It was true, the pain in her legs was getting intense, and she finally settled for sitting beside Kaiden on his stretcher, ostensibly to be supportive, though they all knew the real reason.

Garrus shot Shepard a stern glance as well, knowing she was going to regret setting her recovery back so far just to put on the show of being the invincible commander. She tried to keep her posture as straight as possible as she sat to make up for it.

Steve brought the shuttle around and soon the group was headed for the Normandy.  Headed home.

Boarding her ship again, Shepard expected to feel the need to fondly touch the bulkheads, or at least stand and listen to the hum of the sleeping engines.  Instead it felt as though she had walked in her own door.  She had never had a proper home in her life.  The Red's moved around, and then in the Alliance it was one barracks or another.  As her feet hit the floor of her own ship, she knew that this was truly her place of belonging. Earth may have been her birthplace, but the Normandy was her soul's place.

Her crew.  All still there.  She was sure some had headed to earth.  Perhaps to look for loved ones, or join in the search for the missing, but many had remained on board to keep the ship up and running.  As she walked onto the bridge proper, every face turned and then they all stood.  “Officer on deck!” Joker called.

The crew stood as one, snapping her a smart salute.  She returned the gesture fondly, unable to shake the sudden, alarming feeling that she was getting credit for something she hadn't achieved.  The nagging notion that this wasn't over yet.  She had been able to ignore it on earth, with all those faces she didn't know.  Now, looking at her people, so damn trusting.  What if she had failed?  What if she had doomed them instead of saved them?  She swallowed, then nodded to them each in turn.  When she had finished she barked, “as you were, people!”  They shot smiles at one another and got back to work.

“I'll take the helm,” said Joker, limping away from the group towards the cockpit.  Shepard knew she was the only one who detected the tiny hitch in his voice.  It was going to hurt him to sit on the bridge without EDI.

“Was Chakwas informed?” Shepard asked, all business once more, as her ensemble headed for the elevator.  She assumed the ship's medic would be on earth, helping in one of the field hospitals.  It occurred to Shepard that it would take two trips to get this group down to the medbay.  Wrex seemed to gather this as well, because he held Grunt back.  The young krogan shot his 'mother' a questioning glance.  Shepard gave him a quick nod and the krogan relaxed.

To Shepard's surprise, a familiar voice answered her question.  “Chakwas is already aboard.”

“Trainor?” Shepard turned, her muscles twinging with the sharp motion.

“Yes, ma'am.  Javik is also aboard, ma'am.” Trainor may have sounded military, but she was not even trying to conceal the big, goofy grin on her face.

“As you were,” Shepard chuckled, throwing an extra salute at the young woman.  Shepard had always liked Trainor.  She knew her business, did her job.  Shepard had to respect that.  “Alert Chakwas that we have two biotics coming her way.  One of them is in pretty bad shape.”

Trainor took in both stretchers.  Kaiden gave her a weak wave as her eyes passed him and moved to the other person, taking special note of the fact that the stranger was handcuffed.  She looked slightly alarmed, but then collected herself, nodding at Shepard.  “Right away.”

One elevator ride later they were headed for the medbay. Tali stayed in the elevator, unable to hide her glee at being back on the Normandy, nor her eagerness as she announced that she was heading for engineering.

“I'm going to my quarters,” Liara said quietly in Shepard's ear.  “I know I won't be able to communicate with my connections outside Sol, but I have a few contacts within the system.”

“Won't that be dangerous?  Give away your position.”

“I have some friends who already know I am the Shadow Broker.  They can at least keep my name fresh in people's minds.  Until I can get the long range comms back up.  I'd like to see what I can do with the quantum entanglement comm system.”

Shepard chuckled, “you're like Santa Clause.  If people don't believe in you, you don't exist.”

“I'm like who?”

“Never mind.  Say hello to Glyph for me.”

“Will do,” Liara strode away.

In the Medbay Chakwas insisted that Shepard lay down, and Chakwas might have been the only person Shepard would have obeyed in that front.  Of course the good doctor had upped the anti of the threat by reaching for her drawer of sedatives.  She also ushered Kaiden to the bed beside Shepard and gave him a stronger pain killer, which seemed to help him a great deal.  At least he stopped looking so pale.  Finally Chakwas turned to her new patient.

“Details,” Chakwas said, her tone clipped and she frowned at the man.

Garrus summed up the situation as Wrex and Grunt stalked into the medbay.  “Boys,” Shepard addressed the krogan.  “Would you be willing to leave us alone for a little while?  Grunt, someone else has taken up residence in your usual quarters.”

“I'll set him up in my old ones,” Wrex growled amiably.  “I'll head back planet-side as soon as he is set up.  I don't like leaving my men alone for long.  Not with so many salarians running around down there.”

“Good news,” Chakwas interrupted as the krogan departed.  “I don't think you caused him brain damage.”  Chakwas shot Kaiden a dangerous look.  “You're lucky you didn't cause yourself brain damage.  What have I told you about overdoing it with your powers.”

“Sorry, mom,” Kaiden snarked, raising himself up on his elbows.

“Can you wake him?” asked Shepard, pulling at a clasp on her leg braces.  They were uncomfortable as hell.  How did Joker function all his life wearing things like this?

“I can, but it might be dangerous for him.”

Shepard extended a hand towards Garrus, who helped her down from the bed.  She limped slowly across the room to stand over their prisoner.  “Do it.”

“Alright,” Chakwas didn't look pleased, but she obeyed, sliding a needle into his vein and out again in two practiced motions.

The man, Cadel, stirred.  His eyes fluttered open and he raised a hand towards his head, bringing his other hand with it, as he was still cuffed.  Confusion and pain registered on his face before he seemed able to focus.  He blinked, then squinted at Shepard.  “Please,” he whispered.  “Please lower the lights.  They burn my eyes.”

Chakwas dimmed the medbay lighting and Cadel seemed to relax slightly.  “Alright,” Shepard snapped.  He winced at the volume of her voice.  “You said you had information for us.”

“In...in exchange for my safety.” Cadel said.  His voice was raspy, but firm.  He rubbed his temple.  “You didn't need to sick your pet biotic on me.”

“Focus,” Shepard snapped, and Cadel cringed.  It was good to see that she could still have that effect on people.  “Tell me what you know and maybe, maybe I'll offer you amnesty.”

“You know that the Illusive Man brought you back from the dead to fight the Reapers.  He spent a great deal of money and resources on you, and ensured that you had your ship, and some very special crew members around you.  Why do you think that was?”

“Because I was the best.  Because I had faced Reapers before.  He helped me build a team that was the best to fight them.”

“Really?  A drell assassin on death's door?  An asari Justicar?  A crazed prisoner?  You think these were the best people to attack a Reaper?”

“They were” Shepard's voice was dangerous.  She her mind started to flash back to the Collector base.  The suicide mission.  Putting her people in such danger.  She had vowed never to did it again, and of course, she had not been able to keep that promise to herself.

“No.  They were chosen, and you were revived, for one reason,” said Cadel, smiling crookedly.  “Your DNA.”