FILL: To Break A Hero (F!Shep/Kaidan) 19/?
anonymous
March 17 2014, 02:07:36 UTC
There didn’t seem to be anything else they could say, anything that could possibly encompass the magnitude of the betrayal the Illusive Man was perpetrating on the public. On people who had already lost everything to the Reapers.
“This didn’t have to happen,” Shepard said. “The Illusive Man didn’t have to do this.”
“No,” Liara said. “He didn’t.”
“As if we needed another reason to put a bullet in his brain,” Tali said.
“My bullet,” Shepard said firmly.
“No arguments, Shepard,” Tali said quickly. It almost made Shepard feel bad about the tone she’d used. Almost.
“Let’s move,” Shepard said, keeping an eye on their surroundings as she lead them towards the next door. Deeper into the atrocities.
“ - shutting down the power -“ Shepard heard Miranda’s voice again, and bolted for the terminal that was the source of the sound. She unscrambled and restarted the message.
“Reaper forces have made a mess of the facility,” Miranda said on the screen. “I’m shutting down the power to the processing plant to lock them down. Should keep them out of the entrance as well.”
That was the end of Miranda’s message - but the video kept going. Shepard felt the all-too-familiar dread and disgust forming in her stomach as she saw the figure that stalked into view after Miranda had left.
Kaidan.
“She doesn’t know he’s here,” Liara said slowly.
“At least she knows to be wary of him,” Shepard said. That damned Cerberus uniform was a complete giveaway. She hadn’t mentioned Kaidan at all in her chats with Miranda. She hadn’t wanted to. Miranda clearly had enough going on, and Shepard hadn’t wanted to admit the weakness.
“Miranda Lawson has arrived sooner than we expected,” Kaidan said, and Shepard almost jumped, to hear his voice again. It almost sounded normal. Almost. “Do you want me to deal with her?” That had more of a menacing tone to it. Shepard’s hands clenched into fists.
“Only if she gets in your way,” the Illusive Man replied over his voice link. “Stay focused on the research data. Find it, and get out.”
“Yes, sir,” Kaidan replied.
“Fuck,” Shepard said. “We have to get to her.”
--
Shepard didn’t know how many of the husks she killed had been from Sanctuary, and how many had come in with the other Reapers. It would boil her blood, she knew, if she thought about it too much. And she needed to keep that fury under control.
Hearing the communication between Henry Lawson and the Illusive Man, courtesy of Miranda’s hack, hadn’t helped. The Illusive Man had been on about controlling the Reapers for so long, it was extremely disturbing to hear that he was actually within striking distance of doing it - the ability to control Reaper troops was bad enough. As Tali had said earlier, they didn’t really need more reasons to want the Illusive Man dead. And yet, he kept providing them.
The transmission had cut off on that ominous note, and they had to fight their way through multiple batches of Reapers before they finally made it up to the tower.
As they exited the elevator, guns drawn, they were met by Miranda, whose gun was pointed at them. “Shepard!” she said, quickly dropping her arm. “I’m glad to see you.”
“Miranda,” Shepard replied, dropping her own arm. “Your messages along the way were very helpful. Have you found your father yet?”
Miranda shook her head. “I was just about to enter his office to look for him when I heard the elevator arrive. I thought it might be him, or …”
“There’s a Cerberus operative here,” Shepard said. “Coming to clean up the mess. Take the data and destroy the facility.”
“Who?” Miranda asked. “If you know, that is. I shouldn’t expect you to-“
“It’s Kaidan,” Shepard said, her voice low and firm. “Cerberus turned him. Right after the Omega-4 relay.” She swallowed. “I’ve been chasing him since the Citadel coup.”
“Shepard,” Miranda said softly. “Why didn’t you - no. Never mind. I don’t have any right to take you to task for keeping secrets. He’ll be coming here soon. Or - wait. Shouldn’t he be here already, if you saw him on the monitors?”
Shepard heard the tell-tale sign of a cloak switching off and, her heart pounding, turned to see Kaidan behind her. He smirked.
“This didn’t have to happen,” Shepard said. “The Illusive Man didn’t have to do this.”
“No,” Liara said. “He didn’t.”
“As if we needed another reason to put a bullet in his brain,” Tali said.
“My bullet,” Shepard said firmly.
“No arguments, Shepard,” Tali said quickly. It almost made Shepard feel bad about the tone she’d used. Almost.
“Let’s move,” Shepard said, keeping an eye on their surroundings as she lead them towards the next door. Deeper into the atrocities.
“ - shutting down the power -“ Shepard heard Miranda’s voice again, and bolted for the terminal that was the source of the sound. She unscrambled and restarted the message.
“Reaper forces have made a mess of the facility,” Miranda said on the screen. “I’m shutting down the power to the processing plant to lock them down. Should keep them out of the entrance as well.”
That was the end of Miranda’s message - but the video kept going. Shepard felt the all-too-familiar dread and disgust forming in her stomach as she saw the figure that stalked into view after Miranda had left.
Kaidan.
“She doesn’t know he’s here,” Liara said slowly.
“At least she knows to be wary of him,” Shepard said. That damned Cerberus uniform was a complete giveaway. She hadn’t mentioned Kaidan at all in her chats with Miranda. She hadn’t wanted to. Miranda clearly had enough going on, and Shepard hadn’t wanted to admit the weakness.
“Miranda Lawson has arrived sooner than we expected,” Kaidan said, and Shepard almost jumped, to hear his voice again. It almost sounded normal. Almost. “Do you want me to deal with her?” That had more of a menacing tone to it. Shepard’s hands clenched into fists.
“Only if she gets in your way,” the Illusive Man replied over his voice link. “Stay focused on the research data. Find it, and get out.”
“Yes, sir,” Kaidan replied.
“Fuck,” Shepard said. “We have to get to her.”
--
Shepard didn’t know how many of the husks she killed had been from Sanctuary, and how many had come in with the other Reapers. It would boil her blood, she knew, if she thought about it too much. And she needed to keep that fury under control.
Hearing the communication between Henry Lawson and the Illusive Man, courtesy of Miranda’s hack, hadn’t helped. The Illusive Man had been on about controlling the Reapers for so long, it was extremely disturbing to hear that he was actually within striking distance of doing it - the ability to control Reaper troops was bad enough. As Tali had said earlier, they didn’t really need more reasons to want the Illusive Man dead. And yet, he kept providing them.
The transmission had cut off on that ominous note, and they had to fight their way through multiple batches of Reapers before they finally made it up to the tower.
As they exited the elevator, guns drawn, they were met by Miranda, whose gun was pointed at them. “Shepard!” she said, quickly dropping her arm. “I’m glad to see you.”
“Miranda,” Shepard replied, dropping her own arm. “Your messages along the way were very helpful. Have you found your father yet?”
Miranda shook her head. “I was just about to enter his office to look for him when I heard the elevator arrive. I thought it might be him, or …”
“There’s a Cerberus operative here,” Shepard said. “Coming to clean up the mess. Take the data and destroy the facility.”
“Who?” Miranda asked. “If you know, that is. I shouldn’t expect you to-“
“It’s Kaidan,” Shepard said, her voice low and firm. “Cerberus turned him. Right after the Omega-4 relay.” She swallowed. “I’ve been chasing him since the Citadel coup.”
“Shepard,” Miranda said softly. “Why didn’t you - no. Never mind. I don’t have any right to take you to task for keeping secrets. He’ll be coming here soon. Or - wait. Shouldn’t he be here already, if you saw him on the monitors?”
Shepard heard the tell-tale sign of a cloak switching off and, her heart pounding, turned to see Kaidan behind her. He smirked.
“Hello, Shepard.”
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