Still Here
He first met Shepard a few days before the Normandy’s launch. He’d seen her several times in the weeks leading up that, scoping out the ship or engaged in walk-and-talks with Captain Anderson, but Kaidan didn't have the luxury of time to stop and chat. Deadlines were looming, and what the turians handed over was a ship that was not nearly as finished as anticipated. He had plenty to keep him occupied, and so Kaidan left it to the commander to decide when they would get introductions out of the way. After the shakedown he would serve beneath Shepard in the ground team as field medic and engineer, but until then he was simply another technician crawling in the ducts.
That was why Alenko was surprised, though somewhat relieved also, when Joker radioed that Shepard wanted to see him in the comm room. By then Kaidan favored putting the sit-down off until after leaving Arcturus, provided he and most of the engineers were working twenty hour shifts. Shepard's timing could not be any more inopportune. Alenko was rushing through the debugging process of a glitchy data mainframe and trying to ignore his stomach’s vehement protests of his decision to skip eating in favor of work, but he sensed the meeting wasn’t optional.
Kaidan made his way to the comm room and found it satisfyingly complete. The uppermost deck was done aside from some issues regarding heat monitoring, and it was uplifting to see at least one part of the ship wasn’t littered with tools and stray cables. Commander Shepard was there and reading from a datapad, her casual blues clean, pressed, and far removed from Kaidan’s filth-caked uniform.
“You’re Lieutenant Alenko? Good.” she said by way of a greeting, and they exchanged salutes. His was sharp and curt. Hers was an apathetic flick that barely resembled the gesture.
Speaking with a distinct lack of interest, Shepard began to wave the datapad carelessly as she spoke. “At ease. Sorry to pull you from your work, but I needed an excuse to get away from Pressly. His son is married to my ex-husband’s cousin, so there’s this weird family-but-not-family thing going on, and it’s turning awkward.”
“Well, whatever it takes, Commander. I’m glad we finally have a chance to talk.”
Shepard raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? We’ll see if you still feel that way at the end of this. Have a seat.”
Not sure what to make of the remark, Kaidan selected one of the chairs and tried to gauge the commander. He saw the signs of a coming standoff but held his ground, making sure to keep his defensiveness off his face as she spoke.
“Here’s the lay of the land, Lieutenant. Brass has me sitting in on every inane human-alien relations seminar being held on this station. I have no idea why. Might have something to do with the turian we’re expecting. I should probably be taking notes, but instead I used today’s lesson on elcor table etiquette to do some research. Got yours and Jenkins’ files from Personnel,” The commander shifted her weight to one leg and again twiddled the datapad, which Kaidan realized was his record.
“Is there something you need clarified?”
“No, it’s all quite straightforward,” she said, tone dismissive, and toggled through the datapad with deft fingers. “Your life is an interesting read, by the way. Dropped into the front lines in the Langra conflict. Led troops in two campaigns against the Hra’Gurlan pirate bases with no serious casualties. Says here while serving on Oranthine you ordered your men to fall back while you stayed behind pull a drop shuttle pilot out of his wreck. Now that is very impressive; You should have received the Medal of Honor for that operation.”
“I was only doing my duty, ma'am. I wasn’t thinking about the glory of it at the time.”
“Respectable. Still, it’s a very prestigious medal, and Captain Sommers nominated you.”
“Nothing ever came of it.” Doing his best to be noncommittal, Kaidan shrugged off the compliment. Too many warning bells going off at once. He didn’t know what Shepard’s angle was, but he knew this wasn’t going to be the cordial greeting he’d been hoping for.
Shepard stared at him. “That's because two days after the assault on Oranthine a biotic walked into the Cairo Trade Convergence Spaceport and killed nine people.”
And there it was.
Kaidan did his best to hold back the bristle of anger he felt. “I’m not sure what that has to do with me or the discussion we’re having, Commander. It was four years ago, and I was several million light-years away at the time.”
“We’re both professionals, Lieutenant, so I’ll be up front with you. I don’t like your kind.”
Obviously, thought Kaidan. Shepard was hardly the first superior officer corner him over his biotics. Hell, he’d had a few brass-balled NCO’s do it.
“Since we’re getting this all aired out, may I ask if this bias is based on personal experience, or just a compilation of sensationalized extranet reports?”
“Personal experience,” Shepard barked. “My flight had just touched ground in Egypt when that woman flipped out. I missed my connection to Mexico City.”
“Hope they at least bumped you up to first class for the inconvenience.”
“Don’t get cute with me, Alenko. An eight-year-old died because some unhinged biotic thought he was part of a conspiracy to inject her with the DNA of asari commandos. Do you know how many L2’s have snapped with civilian casualties in the past five years?”
“I’m sure you bring this up knowing that I am also an L2, so let’s cut to the chase,” Kaidan interjected. “In response to your concern that I am mentally unfit for duty, I point out that in the decade I have been a soldier I have passed each of my psyche exams, which I’m sure you know all biotics are required to undergo annually. Not only am I a capable biotic, but I graduated Tech Academy in the top ten percentile of my class with emphasis on tactical engineering and security infiltration. What’s more, I have completed four rotations in battlefield triage and am a certified combat medic. You want me in your team, Commander.”
“That so?” Shepard replied, eyes mean. “Does that mean you’re going to give me a heads up before you lose it and go on a rampage?”
All Kaidan could do was keep his voice from betraying his frustration, and he retorted as calmly as he could: “Should the voices suddenly start telling me to rip out and eat the hearts of all living things nearby, I promise you’ll be the first to know, ma’am.”
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If you like Lana Shepard here, just wait until you see what she says to Jacob Taylor, Cerberus Biotic.