We're going to need a bigger boot.

The further they made it into the Eden Prime settlement, fighting Cerberus all the way, the less empty it became. And not in the good way. Bodies were everywhere out here, colonists with their snacks still on the table, the screen turned to a sports channel-- all dead. They were picking up the data they needed along the way; Shepard's knowledge of the Protheans, the cipher he'd gotten burned into his brain years ago, was invaluable. He could parse Prothean language like no one else.

Still. Kaidan hoped this would be over soon. He'd rather be out in a real battlefield than fighting his way through someone's home.

Finding the room that held the actual stasis deactivation signal was a blessing. Even if it meant watching the cipher spook through Shepard's eyes again, an unnatural green supplanting his usual baby blues.

"You understood that one, too?" Liara asked as the green faded.

Shepard shook his head for a second. "...Yeah," he said. "Let's get back to the pod."

Kaidan pressed his shoulder against the edge of the doorway and peered out. "Cerberus backup forces are here." He drew his rifle. Yeah. Time to end this.

---

( Cerberus had cut off the bridge, so they'd had to take the long way around... )

[[ and this mission is over! nfi, taken from mass effect 3. ]]

Eden Prime.

It was the colony where all of this had started, years ago now: Kaidan, a young lieutenant, had gone down to shore for a routine mission with Shepard, and then it had all gotten outrageously out of hand. It was weird to be back there. So much history... Saren. The geth. The Prothean beacon that had lodged itself in Shepard's head-- damn.

And Ashley, of course. The memory was a jarring one. Kaidan found himself thinking of her as the shuttle descended.

( The significance wasn't lost on Shepard and Liara, either. )

[[ let's see if i can actually finish one of these in a few days' time this go around. nfi, taken from Mass Effect 3. ]]

It had been literally almost a year because transcribing from this canon is hell at least a day since they'd landed on Utukku; the ensuing jaunt through Rachni-infested caves had been... something. Kaidan had a lot of nostalgia for the old days on the Normandy, but Rachni? Fighting Rachni had not been something he'd missed. At all.

He held on to one of the handles in the back of the shuttle, watching Shepard's face as the man sagged back on the bench. It hadn't been an easy decision. They'd had to sacrifice most of Aralakh company to the Rachni to pull off what they'd done, and... there were going to be questions. A lot of questions.

He looked from Shepard to the blood-drenched krogan sitting in the corner of the shuttle, munching down loudly on a chunk of field rations. "I can evaluate you now, Grunt," he offered. "I am a licensed field medic--"

"I'll be fine," Grunt said. He made a loud smacking noise as he bit down on the rations again. "Just some. Scratches." His eyes nearly rolled back into his head, and Kaidan jolted forward. "No, I'm fine, I'm fine, 'm just gonna... nap... time..."

Kaidan looked from the giant krogan now curling up on the bench like a six-year-old kid back to Shepard, and raised his eyebrows.

"That's my Grunt," Shepard said fondly, if tiredly.

Kaidan sighed. "You really think releasing the Rachni queen again was a good idea--?" he asked.

"At some point we have to show some trust," Shepard said. "And we can really use her forces."

"If she's not just going to get indoctrinated again," Kaidan pointed out. "I mean, how much longer are we going to keep giving Rachni the benefit of the doubt--?"

"We need friends, Kaidan."

"I know. But still. The Rachni..."

They stared at each other, in silent impasse.

"I gotta... I wanna hanar blankie," mumbled the bloody krogan warrior cuddled up in the corner.

Shepard sighed. "Let's table this for later."

[[ look who's finally gotten her 360 hooked up again. establishy. will try and finally get this canon catchup DONE while i still have free time. ]]

Looking at the Council chamber, it was hard to imagine that it hadn't been more than a couple of years since Shepard and Saren fought in this very room. Hadn't... been more than a couple of years since Shepard had stood here, going through the exact same thing Kaidan was right now.

Well, more or less. A lot of circumstances had changed. Nobody could deny the Reapers were real now, for one thing, and there were four councilors, not three, and his new position wasn't up for much debate. He sucked in a breath and cast a quick look towards the balcony where Allie was. Stupid nerves.

Councilor Udina practically glowed with pride as he spoke, drawing Kaidan's attention back to him. "Major Alenko, step forward," he said.

Kaidan stepped forward. No more time to be nervous. Now it was time to face the music.

"It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel," said the asari councilor. She looked worried, not proud; the rest of them all did. Understandable, considering the circumstances. Kaidan wasn't exactly jubilant either.

( Of course nothing goes as planned. )

[[ FINALLY, DONE. with much thanks to allie_vamp for having the patience to deal with me as i went through this at a snail's pace. taken from mass effect 3, priority: citadel. let the actual canon catchup begin. ]]

It hadn't exactly been the most... enervating time lately. Kaidan'd been here, on a hospital bed, letting doctors poke and prod at him. He was using the time to try and keep tabs on his old students - if he could find them at all - and writing letters to whoever was willing to read and respond to them.

He didn't exactly expect the guy who came marching in the door. Not that was a bad thing, considering he was busy fending off one of Udina's latest attempts to rush his answer on the Spectre thing.

Predictably, the expression on Udina's face turned to something... curdled... as he saw Shepard. "Shepard," the man muttered as he marched out the door.

"Udina," Shepard echoed, raising an eyebrow at him.

Kaidan smiled wryly at him. "Shepard, hey," he said. "You just missed snack time-- actually, that's probably a good thing. ( Thanks for coming. )

[[ nfb, nfi, ooc-okay! taken from mass effect 3 with some narrative added in for spice. ]]

Kaidan shook his head, echoing wry smile still on his face. "Allie? Watch those big doors down there. Dean? You think you can convince the guys on the other side of the com-- walkie talkie that we're some of theirs, the evil Alliance types are dead and we want across?"

( Playing with walkie-talkies... )

[[ nfb, nfi, ooc-okay, continued from here; violence to a PC under the cut. taken from the mass effect 3 mission 'Priority: Mars'. ]]