not_a_whiner | Aboard the MSV Ontario, Farinata System, Hades Gamma Cluster, Thursday (to 33 Apocalypse Ave)

"Move move move!"

There were biotics everywhere. And most of Kaidan's squad-- well, they were soldiers, not biotics. But he didn't have time to stand around the cargo hold waiting for his men to get back up on their feet after a throw or a pull knocked them off their feet.

Chairman Burns was in here somewhere, and if Kaidan knew terrorists... well, his clock must've started ticking the moment they burst into the ship.

So screw it.

He grabbed the soldier closest to him (Kootra, his name was. He thought.) and dragged him through the chaos, ducking his head as pistol shots blew past him.

He spotted the door a second later. "There," he snapped, tossing one biotic out of the way with a quick throw before rushing the door. The man landed somewhere against a bunch of containers-- Kaidan wasn't looking.

Kootra slammed the door button and it slid open in front of him. Kaidan raised his M-8 and pushed on through-- to come face to face with a couple of really surprised-looking biotics, and Chairman Burns's panicked expression.

For a moment, time stood still. Their panicked but determined eyes. Burns's face. The lone gun one of the biotics was holding.

Kaidan waited for Shepard to say something.

And then realized it wasn't gonna happen.

"Put down the gun," he said.

"How about not," the man with his gun to Burns's head said. "Force is the only way to get something done in this universe-- so how about I kill Chairman Burns and finish this charade?"

"Please! I was trying to help you people!" That was Burns. Kaidan tried not to flinch at the phrasing-- you people?

"Look," Kaidan said, groping desperately for... something. What would Shepard have said? Except he wasn't Shepard. "I'm a biotic. I know how important this is, and I know it's not gonna help anyone if you do this."

"Why not?" the man spat back. "Since the chairman here decided we weren't going to get reparations, we've got nothing left to live for!"

"Are you hearing yourself?" Kaidan replied, trying really hard to keep his voice calm. "I'm an L2. But I'm not about to give up just because of the side-effects. And this is giving up."

"I've changed my mind!" Burns's voice was starting to do something funny there. "Seeing you all here--"

"You had your chance," the biotic snapped, but Kaidan could tell by the darting of his eyes that he was thinking. Thinking was good. "You know some of us are crippled by the side-effects?" He glanced up at Kaidan. "You're one of the functional ones."

Kaidan took a deep breath. "You need Burns," he said, "If you shoot him now, he can't push through the reparations bill. And I can tell you that whoever replaces him isn't going to be happy with how this ended."

"Please."

"And we're supposed to trust you?" the man snarled at Burns. He glanced back up at Kaidan. "You promise us freedom and you'll tell us everything will be fine, and as soon as we surrender, you'll double-cross us..."

"I'm not saying the Alliance isn't going to book you when we're done here," Kaidan said. "But Burns... I don't know, he sounds like he might want to take another look."

"I had no idea the L2 biotics were this desperate," Burns said, staring at the floor. "Reparations will come. For whatever it's worth, I promise that."

There was a long silence.

The biotic lowered his gun.

Kaidan breathed.

"You're right," the biotic said. "I don't want to die. I surrender."

Burns got up to his feet. His knees were scuffed, but otherwise, he seemed okay. "I promise," he said again, "I'll see that the reparations discussion is reopened."

"And I'll see that he keeps to it," Kaidan said, lowering his own gun. "We'll be sending a cruiser by to pick up the prisoners, too."

Well. That could have gone worse.

---

Debriefings took a long time, and by the time Kaidan finally got to his portal and made the long trek back onto the island, he was exhausted. He pushed open the door and took a beeline for the couch, on which he collapsed.

He was just gonna lay here and read a book for a while. Once the residual adrenaline finally left him, he'd crash out.

[[ la la la. some dialogue taken from the mission UNC: Hostage from the original Mass Effect. Can be open. ]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

bitten_notshy

Jack paused at the foot of the stairs. It wasn't that he had any objection to Kaidan reading in the living room, or anyplace else that he felt like it, but it was still slightly unusual to see the man lying down in the middle of the day.

"I was going to make myself a sandwich," he offered. "Did you want anything?"

From:

not_a_whiner

Kaidan glanced up from over his book, though the reaction was delayed by at least a few seconds. "Oh, hey. No, thanks. I'm good."

He'd had... lunch? Dinner? One of the two in the past few hours. "Sorry, didn't mean to claim the living room."

From:

bitten_notshy

Jack shook his head. "Don't worry about it. It's your house as much as mine." Well, technically it wasn't either of theirs, but never mind that now. "Just noticed you down here and figured I'd be social."

From:

not_a_whiner

Kaidan held a hand to his mouth to stifle a yawn. "Well, feel free," he said, casting his book at the coffee table. "I, uh. Can't say this is the best thing I've ever read."

He'd mostly been rereading the same line over and over.

From:

bitten_notshy

"I can see it's not exactly keeping you on the edge of your seat," Jack noted. "Long day already?"

From:

not_a_whiner

"Got called in yesterday by one of the admirals," Kaidan said. "Turns out they still have a use for me after all, even if I'm grounded for the most part."

From:

bitten_notshy

"That's a good sign," Jack guessed, then sounded less certain. "Right? How did it go?"

From:

not_a_whiner

"I just spent some time getting shot at," Kaidan said dryly. "But I think it worked out okay. No idea if it means anything for the future. Admiral Hackett's... unpredictable."

From:

bitten_notshy

"I suppose as long as you don't get hit, it counts as working out okay," Jack said dryly; he never loved stories that included getting shot at. "But I see what you're saying. Better not to get your hopes up too high just yet."

From:

not_a_whiner

"It ended well enough, though," he said conversationally. "Hostage crisis, couple of L2 biotics who were angry that the L2 reparations bill didn't make law. We talked them down in the end."

Well, he had, but that felt odd to say. It'd always been Shepard who managed those feats of conviction.

From:

bitten_notshy

"So that's something," Jack noted. "Sorry I keep asking these questions, but why was there a reparations bill under discussion?"

From:

not_a_whiner

Kaidan cast him a glance. "My migraines are considered fortunate among L2 biotics," he said lightly. "In that it could be a whole lot worse. The L2 implant wasn't built so well. A lot of biotics lost their minds, or at least their ability to function."

From:

bitten_notshy

"And the government doesn't help them at all?" Jack was outraged, if that was the case.

From:

not_a_whiner

Kaidan sighed. "They were studying whether or not reparations were in order," he said. "Burns... voted against it, so the bill got shelved."

From:

bitten_notshy

"But if people can't function --" Jack said, and sighed, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I should be used to this by now."

From:

not_a_whiner

Kaidan watched him for a moment. "I think Burns is going to flip his vote after this," he said. "They'll get reparations."

From:

bitten_notshy

Jack finally flashed a slight smile. "Good. Even if it took a few acts of terrorism to get them there."

From:

not_a_whiner

"I could've done without the acts of terrorism," Kaidan said, repressing another yawn. He was tired, but still entirely too wired for that to mean anything. "We injured some people on our way in. Maybe even killed."

From:

bitten_notshy

"It's not that I think the ends justify the means," Jack said slowly. "But I do sympathize with extreme steps, sometimes. Preferably ones that don't get anyone killed."

From:

not_a_whiner

"Extreme steps usually get people killed," Kaidan said. He sat up. "And this isn't really going to make anyone feel better about human biotics."

From:

bitten_notshy

"Probably not," Jack agreed. "It might make a few people frightened into leaving you alone, but..."

He sighed, sat down. "This is why I want to do supernatural rights law," he said. "There have to be some worlds where everyone just gets along, but I haven't found any of them yet. It's all -- hiding and fear."

From:

not_a_whiner

"There are probably a lot of supernaturals that are worse off than the biotics are," Kaidan said. "People fear it, they don't understand it... but they're not openly hostile. But it's been a heavy thirty years-- I mean. Thirty years. Even in the span of human history, that's not much."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Is there such a thing as supernatural rights law where you're from?" he said.

From:

bitten_notshy

"In a way?" Jack said, shrugging a little. "There are vampires and magic, and we've always known about those. But there aren't a lot of lawyers who take them on as clients, let alone who specialize in it. Most regular people try to stay away from the entire mess."

But of course, Jack had never been regular.

"Do you have anybody working for Biotic rights?"

From:

not_a_whiner

"Sure, a couple of people," Kaidan said. "But it takes time to change the perception of billions of human beings. Doesn't mean I don't hope that by the time I'm through it'll be done, but..."