Mountain Climbing: a Mass Effect fanfic 2/3

[xenzen]

"Kaidan, Garrus, get your gear," Shepard's voice said over the intercom, startling Kaidan out of his thoughts.

He put aside the pad he'd been reading, though he hadn't really taken in a word on the screen, thinking as he was about something - someone - else entirely.

Shepard had closeted herself in the war room after her sparring session with James, never giving him a real chance to talk to her in private. Her expression was closed whenever he tried to strike up a conversation, trying to catch her as she stepped out into the CIC or the bridge, but she always brushed him off with one excuse or another; they'd all been plausible reasons, so he couldn't make a big deal in front of the crew members present. And, at the end of the day cycle, EDI wouldn't let him into her cabin - it was the first time that had ever happened.

Kaidan vented a sigh as he stepped out of starboard observation. All in all, it had made for a frustrating day, especially since he still didn't know what was bothering Shepard. He had the feeling all the pieces of the puzzle were right there in front of him, waiting to be solved - if only he knew how.

Shepard was already in her armor, weapons holstered on her back, by the time he and Garrus arrived in the hangar bay; she hadn't put her helmet on yet, but her expression was still unreadable when Kaidan glanced up from pulling on his undersuit. Garrus glanced back and forth between them, mandibles clamped close to his face, as if he sensed the tension, too. The turian said nothing, though, to Kaidan's secret relief.

"Hey, good luck down there!" James called from his workbench, turning to give them all a cheery wave, as if his defeat at Shepard's hands never happened. "Wish I was going with ya."

Kaidan smiled as he tightened the straps on his armor; he had to give James credit for not being a bad sport, and his lighthearted words had broken the tension a little. "Thanks, James. Maybe we'll bring you back a souvenir."

"What, like snow?" James scoffed. "I'll pass."

"Your loss," Kaidan said with a shrug that also settled his gear.

"But if you find some dancing girls down in that Cerberus base, I won't say no!" James replied with a laugh.

"Well, you never know," Garrus said, speaking for the first time. "They did put a fish tank in the captain's cabin of a warship, and they put the armory on the CIC deck instead of the hangar, so I really wouldn't be surprised at anything we find down there."

Kaidan snorted. "I'll see what I can do."

Shepard said nothing, just jerked her head at the open shuttle doors, but Kaidan was encouraged when he saw the tiny quirk of her lips; could it be the first crack in the stone wall she'd put up? He noticed Cortez was already in the cockpit when he stepped in after her and took a seat; the commander must've been waiting for them for a while, but she didn't seem angry at the delay, yet she lost her temper over James's remarks the previous day.

Garrus caught his eye, giving him an odd look, but shrugged when Kaidan just gave him a tiny shake of his head in return. As the pilot started up the engines, Kaidan stifled a sigh, bemoaning his ignorance of women in general and Shepard in particular. Women can be so mysterious!

His hands, resting on his thighs, curled into fists as Kaidan resolved to take Shepard aside after the mission and pester her until she talked about just what was bothering her. He wasn't going to go away until he had some answers.

He was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't look up until the shuttle began to shake as it entered Noveria's atmosphere, and saw the view on the screens. The planet looked as frigid as ever, but they weren't going to deal with the hassle of going through Port Hanshan Customs this time, at least; Kaidan remembered the first time, when it seemed like there'd be a firefight the moment Shepard stepped foot onto the docks to establish her bona fides. Talk about a cold reception!

"Wish I'd brought a sweater," Kaidan muttered as he watched the white peaks of the mountains flying past on the monitor, breaking the silence that had lasted since the shuttle left the Normandy's hangar bay.

It was a magnificent view, in some ways, if you could find beauty in a clean, barren wasteland that was full of ice and flying snow. It reminded him of the mountains surrounding Vancouver, and wished he hadn't thought of that.

Garrus looked up as Shepard came out of the cockpit to join them; as usual, she had to keep her head down a little to clear the low ceiling. "Have I told you that turians hate the cold?"

"Five or six times." Shepard's lips quirked as she grasped a handhold; Kaidan tried not to stare as her slim hips swayed with the motion of the shuttle, so close to his face. Why did Alliance armor have to be so form-fitting?

"Chin up, Garrus - things could always be worse. Like fighting Cerberus troops through a howling blizzard," Kaidan suggested as he braced himself in his seat, hoping the conversation would distract him; the winds this high up were causing enough turbulence to rock the shuttle.

The turian clamped his mandibles against his face in distaste. "Tell me there isn't actually a blizzard."

The commander shook her head. "Weather's clear. Visibility is excellent."

Garrus patted the jet black sniper rifle at his side. "Sounds like perfect weather for hunting."

Kaidan was less optimistic. "That base has gotta be swarming with Cerberus troops - they won't give it up without a fight."

Shepard nodded. "Agreed."

"Just think of it as a target-rich environment. But how're we going to get past their fighters?" Garrus asked. "This shuttle isn't designed for combat - no offense, Steve," he called towards the cockpit.

"None taken," the pilot called back. "If I had my Trident, I could give Cerberus - and you - a real show." His sigh was audible even above the noise of the engines. "But I don't."

"Don't worry," Kaidan assured the turian. "The Normandy and Hackett's forces will engage their air defenses, while we slip in through the back. The Kodiak's stealth system should be a big help there."

"Until someone looks up, anyway," Garrus pointed out.

Shrugging, Kaidan said, "Yeah, but their fighters can't do a damn thing about us once we're on the ground."

Kaidan glanced at the commander, who was looking abstracted. Come to think of it, she'd been looking preoccupied for the past day, and her terse speech reflected it. He wondered if it was due to the progress of the war, but that seemed unlikely; he got the same reports she did, and while things were looking grim, there hadn't been anything in them that wasn't unexpected.

They were still about ten or fifteen minutes out from the target, but Shepard shouldn't begin a mission with a crick in her neck from slouching down to clear the low ceiling, so he reached out and tugged on her hand. Her dark brown eyes sharpened, focusing on him instead of whatever inward thoughts she was having; her lips twitched into a brief smile when she saw his silent invitation to sit beside him. She squeezed her large bulk in beside him, the ceramic plates of their armor clanking together; this close, Kaidan could discern her scent, even over the smells of the plastic seats and the musty inside of the shuttle. Across the short aisle, Garrus's mandibles flared in a turian grin.

"We're in sight of the target," Cortez called from the cockpit about ten minutes later. "It looks like they saw us coming, so I'm dropping you off on that small landing above the pad."

Shepard reached out to grab onto a handhold, pulling herself up and out of her seat. "Just drop us off and get the hell out of here, Cortez. Don't engage the enemy unless you have to. We'll handle the rest."

"Aye aye, ma'am," the pilot acknowledged. "I'll be waiting for your all-clear."

The commander pulled down her helmet and sealed it; Kaidan and Garrus did the same, and readied their weapons. With the ease of long practice, Kaidan braced his feet on the floor as the shuttle slewed around, then he grimaced as a blast of cold air hit him in the face when the doors opened before his armor could compensate.

"Cerberus troopers, flying down from the second story," Garrus called as he scuttled into the shadow of a large cargo container. "I'll pick 'em off as they land."

A boom sounded as the turian's sniper rifle found its mark; the head of a trooper exploded just as his feet touched down on the floor.

"Sniper, catwalk," Shepard said, already aiming her Widow up at the black-clad Cerberus assassin. "I'll take care of her. Kaidan, watch our backs."

"On it," Kaidan replied, propping his assault rifle on the edge of the railing overlooking the landing pad. A red laser dot crawled over his arm for a second, then there was the distinctive, thunderous crack of the commander's Widow ringing in his hears, and it was gone.

Daunted by the pitiless fire from Shepard's and Garrus's sniper rifles, a stream of troopers came up from the second level on the far side of the landing pad, keeping cargo containers between them and those lethal guns. Centurions threw out smoke grenades to try to screen their comrades, but the cold Noveria wind dispersed the effects and exposed them. More dangerous were the explosive grenades they also threw at them; Kaidan was able to use his biotics to throw them back, but Garrus and the commander had to leave cover in order to avoid them. When that happened, Kaidan did his best to support them with suppressing fire.

"Two engineers," Kaidan warned, recognizing the bulky, black-clad men that were weighed down by the machines on their backs. "They've got guardians covering them."

"You take care of the engineers, I've got the rest," Shepard said.

The commander left off covering the approach to the main doors, moving to help him. Clumped up as they were behind cover, the Cerberus foot soldiers were excellent targets for the frag grenades she lobbed at them; screams rang out in the clear, cold air as explosions ripped them to shreds. The shields the guardians used couldn't protect them from the blasts hitting them from behind, and they fell.

Kaidan waited until the engineers were in position, and began to set down their turrets; the moment they kneeled down, he used his omni-tool to overload the circuitry of one of the devices, while it was still vulnerable before its activation. That machine exploded, knocking the man back, then Kaidan used his assault rifle to blow up the other. Before they could recover and regroup, he used his biotics to snuff the life out of them, throwing them into the walls.

"Phantom! Coming around on our left flank from the landing pad," Garrus snapped into the comm.

"Got her in my sights," was Shepard's laconic reply. "Kaidan."

"I'm on it," Kaidan said, a nasty smile stretching his lips under his helmet.

The eezo nodules in his system flared as he extended a hand and executed a mnemonic; a dark energy field formed around the nimble, sword-wielding assassin, eating away at her barrier. Realizing her danger, the woman tried to take cover, but it was too late; a loud boom rang out right next to him; the phantom's head exploded into gory chunks, leaving her body to slump to the bloodstained floor.

A flash of light in the corner of his eye caught Kaidan's attention; his head swung around, seeking the source, and his eyes widened. "Phantom behind you, Garrus!"

The turian wheeled around, seeking the elusive assassin, who must have snuck up from the main entrance while they were distracted. His hands frantically reloaded his sniper rifle, but the phantom was already right on top of him. There was no time for him to switch to his assault rifle, or bring the weapon he already had to bear - and it wasn't suited to close quarters combat, anyway. Kaidan's biotics flared as he formed a mnemonic with desperate speed; he caught the woman and she staggered mid-swing, but he wasn't going to be fast enough to stop her second stroke.

Shepard charged forward, swinging her Widow up high, then brought it down on the phantom like a hammer. There was a crunch as bones broke, then a scream that was cut off when she brought her rifle down a second time. Under his helmet, Kaidan gaped; not only had Shepard been fast enough to stop the assassin, but she was strong enough to break her enhanced bones. His mouth snapped shut when he realized he ought to be watching the perimeter, not the commander.

"Thanks, Shepard," Garrus said, reaching out to take the hand she held out to him, and pulled himself to his feet. "I owe you one." He laughed when Kaidan coughed, though it sounded a little shaky. "You, too."

"I think that's the last of them," Kaidan said. "For now."

"Let's move in," Shepard ordered, collapsing her Widow and pulling her shotgun out. The butt of her rifle was dark with blood, but it was already freezing in the cold. "We need to find the control room."

"Good - I sure hope it's warmer in there," Garrus said as he switched to his assault rifle.

The temperature was definitely above freezing inside the base, even if there was nothing resembling a control center in the first room they entered; Kaidan and Garrus set their data retrieval programs to work on the consoles anyway, because who knew what information Cerberus had stored down here? The second area down below was larger and much more interesting, containing more computers - including the one that controlled the defenses.

All it took was a glance at the screen for Kaidan to determine that someone would have to break through the myriad firewalls and protections placed on that computer, and he said as much to Shepard.

The commander nodded. "I expected something like this." She stepped out the nearby door and looked around, then she pointed at the middle entrance. "Kaidan, get to work on that computer. Garrus, set yourself up out there; I'll stay inside and cover Kaidan while he works."

"Acknowledged," the turian replied. "We don't have the high ground, but at least I've got clear lines of sight."

"Shit," Kaidan said a moment later.

The sounds of Shepard making her preparations ceased. "What?"

"They trapped the computer," he answered as his fingers flew over the holographic keyboard, not looking up from the console. "Any attempts to hack through the defenses will trigger an alarm, alerting any other troops stationed at this base."

"So we've got reinforcements on the way." Shepard sounded calm at the news.

Kaidan cursed under his breath as data streams scrolled past on the screen. "Not only that - they've cut off our communications to the outside, and since that jamming tower is on a separate network, I can't turn it off. At least, not from here."

"So we can't call Cortez in to get him to destroy that tower, like we did on Rannoch."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Short range comms like our helmets wouldn't be affected, but since you told Cortez to steer clear -"

"Right."

"I can use the AA guns here to take out that tower, though, but I'll need time to hack through the system's defenses," Kaidan said. "It'll take a while."

"We'll give you that time," Shepard assured him, and even without looking, he knew he'd see her giving him a decisive nod.

"We've got incoming!" Garrus called over the comm.

Kaidan did his best to put the sounds of battle raging right behind him out of his mind as he battled through the firewalls surrounding the computer system's core, even as sweat poured down his brow before his helmet's ventilators dried it, and the spot between his shoulder blades itched like mad. He took absentminded sips from his suit's food tube as his mind raced; the liquid was bland, but it was full of nutrients that would let him recover the energy he'd expended on his biotics.

At first, he only heard the more distant booms of Garrus's sniper rifle, but then he nearly jumped right out of his skin as Shepard's shotgun went off what sounded like a centimeter away from his ear. Clickety-boom! Clickety-boom! The blasts were deafening in the enclosed space, but also oddly comforting; it meant Shepard was watching his back.

During a lull in the battle, Garrus's voice suddenly sounded in his ear on a private channel. "What did you do, Kaidan?"

Distracted by a particularly recalcitrant program attempting to hijack his omni-tool and hardsuit computer, Kaidan snapped, "I didn't do anything!"

"All right, what didn't you do?"

"Garrus!"

The turian paused. "You know, there are drugs that can help, and they have no side effects at all -"

Under his helmet, Kaidan's face burned. "T-that's not it!" he sputtered.

"Well, something's bothering the commander..." Garrus's voice trailed off, leaving an expectant silence in its wake.

Kaidan stifled the No shit, Sherlock! retort that wanted to escape his mouth; Garrus wouldn't get it, anyway.

The only thing Kaidan could think of was that he'd invited Shepard out for dinner again, this time to a small restaurant in the Wards, but surely that couldn't be the cause of her broodiness; she'd seemed happy, her usually unfathomable dark eyes radiant with surprise and pleasure. He was saved from answering when he finally penetrated through the computer's defenses.

"Got it!" Kaidan cried in triumph as his hands danced over the green-lit board. Windows and yet more windows opened like flowers as the computer disgorged its secrets.

"Try to point those guns at the right target, Kaidan," Garrus's dry voice said over the comm, this time on the regular frequency. "I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want a reprise of what happened on that geth dreadnought."

"You're just jealous 'cause my guns are bigger than yours, Garrus," Kaidan retorted, only part of his mind on their banter as he targeted that pesky jamming tower. There were pulsing booming noises in the distance as the guns fired.

"Hah!" Garrus scoffed. "Sounds like someone's overcompensating -"

"He's not," Shepard said, her voice loud in the quiet that had descended when the guns stopped firing.

Only two simple words, but it made Kaidan's face grow hot under his helmet. At least it shut the turian up for the moment.

Garrus coughed, breaking the awkward silence. "I'll just... just go and, uh, I'll just go and keep watch, okay?"

"I've got Cortez on the comm," Shepard said, as if she hadn't just embarrassed both of her teammates into silence. "There's bad static on the line, but he's coming in to pick us up."

Kaidan's eyes were caught by new data streaming by on the screen; now that he'd successfully hacked the defenses, Cerberus troops were showing up as red icons, though there weren't many of them left by now. "We've got movement on the landing pad, Commander - we'll have to mop up whatever's left before Cortez can land."

"You heard the man, Garrus," the commander said. "Form up with us - we're heading out."

"Coming in, Shepard."

Kaidan turned to see blood and corpses of Cerberus troopers everywhere; they were missing their heads, or shredded to pieces - he vaguely remembered hearing the sounds of grenades exploding - or had huge holes blasted into the middle of their bodies. It was obvious they'd come in force to stop him from succeeding at hacking the computer, but none of them had gotten past Shepard.

With their numbers decimated and all of their specialists dead in the initial defense, the Cerberus troops still alive stood no chance against them. They still had one more trick hidden up their sleeve, though: an Atlas mech dropped down out of the sky and onto the landing pad, blocking their escape.

"Spread out!" Shepard ordered. "Keep your heads down, and don't let it get a bead on you."

Kaidan ran around to the left, to the ledge overlooking the landing pad, where he'd taken up a firing position before; Shepard took point in the middle, and Garrus went back down to the right. The pilot of the Atlas set his sights solely on the commander, aiming its missile launcher and cannons at her position, pinning her down, but he also left Kaidan and Garrus free to focus on destroying the mech's protections; they worked in tandem to overload the Atlas's shield emitters, while the commander threw the last of her grenades at it, then took shots with her Widow whenever the Atlas had to pause to reload. With its shields gone, the Atlas's armor was shredded by his biotics, and melted under the bullets shot from the powerful sniper rifles in Garrus's and Shepard's hands.

"Everyone all right?" the commander asked, once the mech was nothing more than a blackened, smoking shell.

"Fine here," Kaidan said. "Garrus?"

"I'm okay, too."

"Cortez," Shepard said, "the landing pad is secure, you're clear to come in."

As Kaidan caught up to the commander, he gave a discreet hand signal to Garrus, who nodded and ambled over to examine the remains of the Atlas, leaving them alone. He opened a private channel to speak to her before they had to take off their helmets once the shuttle arrived. "Shepard, we need to talk."

Shepard said nothing, and he couldn't really see her eyes through the visor, but her body stiffened, and it wasn't just due to the cold. At least she wasn't injured.

"Just... come see me in starboard observation when we get back. Please?"

"Is that an order?" the commander said through gritted teeth.

Kaidan sighed. "No, but I've gotten used to talking with you - being with you - and... well, I know it's only been a day, but I miss it." He reached out to grasp her hand. "I miss you."

After a long moment, there was a noisy exhalation, and her fingers closed around his; Kaidan tried not to feel too elated. "Fine."