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Into the Breach Ch. 9

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Title: Into the Breach
Author: Brialyn
Game: Mass Effect
Characaters/Pairings: F!Shepard (Raine) and Kaidan Alenko
Disclaimer: If you haven't played ME1 and ME2 then you are in for some spoilers. The continuing tale of Raine Shepard. Spacer, Vanguard, and War Hero.

"So we heading for the Mu relay?" Ashley asked as they gathered in the Comm room.

"Not so fast Chief. The Mu relay could connect to dozens of systems, we need to figure out where he's going or else it's just a wild goose chase."

"I'll look through my notes and see if I can figure anything out based on this location of this relay." Liara said.

"Good, dismissed."

"Do you want me to patch you through to the council?" Joker asked over the comm.

"Might as well get this out of the way."

The council holographs materialized in the comm room and the Turian wasted no time. "Is it true you released the Rachni on the galaxy once more?!"

"Yes, and you should know that this queen is different and understands why her kind was wiped out before."

"Well, our children will pay the price if you're wrong!" The salarian stated haughtily.

"An argument for another time!" Counselor Tevos interjected, "What did you discover about Saren?"

Definitely the brains of the council. "He sent Benezia to extract the location of the Mu Relay from the Rachni.  It has something to do with the conduit but without more information we can't say more."

"I see...well get into contact with us as soon as you have more information." Tevos said before cutting the call.

Raine was turning to leave the Comm room when Joker interrupted her. "Commander...guess what the Alliance needs you again.  Hackett is on the comm."

Raine sighed, "Of course."

***

Kaidan, Ashley, and Raine stood outside an abandoned mine shaft on Agebinium.  Hackett deployed Raine and her crew to find and defuse a nuke embedded on an outdated espionage probe from the First Contact War. The location of the probe pointed to the fact that this wasn't an accidental crash.  

"I don't like this skipper." Ashley muttered.

"I agree, I smell an ambush." Kaidan seconded.

Raine nodded, "You're probably right, but they may not know what they have...so we get to go spring the trap."

Raine descended into the mine with Alenko on her heels.  Ashley just shook her head, "How in hell does that make any sense?"

They inched their way to the back of the mine and entered a secondary mining room.  Suddenly the ground shook and the unmistakable sound of a cave in sounded behind them.  Raine didn't have time to panic all she could hear was the sound of maniacal laughter.

"I was hoping they'd send you...Commander Shepard."

Raine zeroed in on the vid of some human male, his head was clean shaven, and he sported a visor over one eye.  His nose was broad but the loathing in his eyes was his single defining characteristic.  The sneer on his visage only added to the hatred radiating from this man.

"Do I know you?!" Raine asked while her brain worked on an escape plan of some sort.

"Oh I hope you do.  Three years ago, I was the strongest pirate in the terminus.  I stole the most ships, I pillaged the most colonies, and that strength earned me enough respect to gather an fleet under my command to drive you Alliance types out of the Verge!"

"The Blitz....." Raine growled.  Kaidan couldn't help but hear the menace in her voice. This mission just became personal.

"Yes, I was the instigator.  I promised untold wealth and riches by sacking the largest human colony in the cluster.  The one who was blamed when it all went wrong."

"Yeah, I guess I should thank you for my Star of Terra." Raine said through clenched teeth.

"You won't get a chance to mock me again....before you die know that when your ship comes in to rescue you I'll take it as my consolation prize.  Goodbye Shepard."

As his vid disappeared the tell tale sound of a bomb arming itself began.  Kaidan descended on it without hesitation.  Raine would have helped if she had a clue what to do so she stayed out of the way.  If anyone could save them it was her Lieutenant.  He didn't even seem to break a sweat, instead he stayed focus on his task and worked on the wires as the timer counted down.  None of them said anything, the only sounds were their shallow breaths as they awaited their fate.

"It's disabled Commander." Kaidan said with a slight hitch in his voice.

"Damn fine work Lieutenant. Now, lets find another way out of this hole." Raine said as a determined look set in.

***
The trio laid prone on a mesa overlooking Elanos and his pirate crew going over the Mako with their grubby hands.  Raine already enraged needed nothing more to goad her into killing the bastard.  She wanted him dead and his corpse delivered to Elysium to be used as a reminder to any pirates who thought about attacking any human colony.  

"Commander, we can take him alive and deliver him to the 5th fleet." Kaidan argued.

"The hell I'm letting this pirate filth live!" Raine roared and a storm raged  in her normally peaceful eyes.

"I have to agree with the Skipper L-T, this trash doesn't deserve a trial." Ashley argued.

"It isn't our call to make Chief we have protocol to follow!"

Raine wasn't listening, she let the power gather in her amp and spread throughout her.  A tell tale biotic blue glow began to swarm around her.  She saw nothing other than the bastard who ruined countless lives all to stroke his ego.  She was going to end him, for all the victims on Elysium, for every person who lost a loved on that day. Her finger itched on the trigger of her shotgun and her mind imagined his name carved on every bullet she had.

The hair on Kaidan's arm and neck stood on end and he smelled the Ozone gathering beside him.  The power she was accumulating was immense and he worried for her.  He turned to attempt to calm her down but then suddenly she vanished. Kaidan was completely confused and all his eyes could do was follow the blue streak she left as she crossed the battlefield like a bolt of lightening.  She was on Elanos in a moment and her shotgun fired.  Kaidan knew there was no way the thug lived through that shot even with shields, the proximity was too close.

Elanos's crew didn't stand a chance to save him, not when she was on him so quickly.  They were caught so surprised by her arrival.  After all, they thought this hero and her crew were killed when the nuke went off in the cave.  

"Holy shit! What just happened?!" Ashley gaped.

"I have no idea, I've never seen someone use biotics to charge like that." Kaidan stuttered in awe at the power she just displayed.

"Well don't just stand there staring we need to get down there!" Ashley bellowed and ran into the fray with her assault rifle blasting.

Kaidan unleashed his biotics to lift three thugs and then quickly place a bullet to each one's chest.  Their bodies created a loud thud when they crashed to the ground.  The trio picked off the last of the goons quickly.  It wasn't enough for Raine though, the rage still raced through her blood, she turned on the dead body of Elanos and unleashed round after round from her shotgun.

Ashley was at a loss of what to do.  She'd never seen Raine come unglued before.  She just stood there watching as their commander unloaded on the dead body of Elanos.  What she couldn't see through the breather helmet were the tears slowly cascading down Raine's face.

Kaidan pushed past Ashley and wrapped his arms around Raines, trapping her arms against her side.  The firing ceased but Raine's biotics flared and threw Kaidan back.  She was lifting her shotgun on the corpse of Elanos once more but Kaidan was back up and pinning her arms and this time he used a small stasis field around the commander.  

"Commander, listen to me! You have to calm down."  Kaidan pleaded as he carefully lowered the stasis field around her.

It was then that Kaidan could feel her shoulders shaking ever so slightly.  She was crying but trying to hold it in.  "It's over Shepard, he can't harm anyone again." Kaidan whispered.

Raine's body relaxed and she lowered her head.  "Let's get back to the Normandy."  She choked out in a broken whisper.

***

Ashley pushed anyone who attempted to get near Raine out of the way and cleared her a path to her quarters.  Kaidan stood at the elevator door and shook his head. Joker was on his crutches and staring after Ashley and Raine until the door shut behind them.

"What the hell happened down there? I tried hailing you guys but I got nothing."

"The Commander had some demons to face..." Kaidan whispered.

"Come again?" Joker lifted an eyebrow.

Kaidan sighed and explained it all to Joker. How they'd been lured into a trap and it was laid by the man behind Elysium. How Shepard channeled her biotics to charge across the field and then proceeded to turn Elanos's body to hamburger meat.

"Damn...glad the bastards dead but I'm sure that was hard on Shepard."  Joker said as he shook his head in disbelief.

"It wasn't her Joker, it was like watching some...thing take over her...it wasn't right." Kaidan said as he hung his head.

Dr. Chakwas came running by and entered Raine's cabin and Ashley exited shaking her head in disbelief. Ashley couldn't believe how the skipper snapped out there.  Ashley didn't blame her, heck she was sure she would have done the same in the Skippers shoes.  It was easy to forget just how large a burden was placed on their Commanders shoulders.  She handled it with such grace and poise usually.  Ashley never knew another commanding officer who took on so much without any complaints.

Even now, their skipper was in their talking about how it had to be done, not complaining that she had to be the one to do it. Undoubtedly the skipper would later be apologizing for her behavior.  Ashley wished there was some way to let the skipper know that no one expected her to be superhuman.

Ashley stood in front of Kaidan and Joker.  She couldn't help but think it was interesting that somewhere in the middle of all this mess this rag-tag band became friends. They were all concerned for their stoic Commander.  While Ashley considered herself a friend of the Commander it was clear that Raine opened up to no one else like she did with Kaidan.  Honestly, she thought that the two of them dancing around each other was ridiculous.  It was obvious to everyone on board that they cared for each other.  The odds they were facing in this fight meant they might not have another shore leave.  Ashley felt like the two of them needed to just give in, at this point it might actually make things easier.

"L-T...you should go to her." Ashley whispered.

"What? No, she probably needs to be alone." He argued, clearly fighting his desire to go to her and the protocol he knew he should be following.

"L-T, I know you can see how hurt she was down there. She needs someone to talk to about it."

"You're just as qualified to talk to her as I am Chief."

Both Joker and Ashley laughed, "You can be so dense L-T!  You're the one she wants to talk to so go."

"I need to go wash up." He snapped and stormed off towards the communal showers.

Joker shook his head, "For two intelligent people they are so stupid..."

"I hear that."

Chakwas left Raines quarters and made her way back to the medbay.  She nearly gasped when she saw both Kaidan and the Asari waiting in the room.  They were busy staring daggers at each other and you could cut the tension in the air with a knife.  The both of them leapt forward upon Chakwas entrance.

"How is she?!" They both demanded.

Chakwas sighed, "I thought she damaged her amp with the reads I was getting on my scanner but I checked it and it's fine.  The change in her energy was keeping her on edge so I gave her a sedative.  Maybe with the biotics offline while she sleeps it will give a chance for her body to adjust to the new electrical surges."

"The power she unleashed down there was incredible Doctor.  I had no idea anyone could do that."  Kaidan shook his head in disbelief.

"Upload your suit footage.  I'll send it to be analyzed."

"Are you two serious?!" Liara raged and her biotics flared a bit.

Chakwas and Kaidan looked at the asari in confusion.  "Shepard just faced the man behind the Blitz! The confrontation that changed her entire career, it has defined her life, and you're talking about her biotic ability?!"

***

Kaidan wasn't sure how long he'd been standing in front of her door.  He didn't plan on coming here, in fact, he knew it was the last place he should be.  Despite knowing how wrong it was to be here it felt right to at least check in on her.  Chakwas informed him earlier that she had given Raine a sedative to calm her. Kaidan knocked softly as he didn't want to wake her if she still slept.  

"Come in." The lack of emotion in her tone concerned him slightly.

He walked in and saw her sitting at the small table in the middle of her quarters.  She had her head in her hands.  She looked like hell and Kaidan's heart broke slightly just looking at her.

"How are you feeling Commander?"

She lifted her head and met his eyes, "Guilty."

"About taking out Elanos?" Kaidan was almost shocked.

"Hell no.  That pirate deserved so much worse then the end he received. I'm guilty that I let my emotions take over and that my crew had to see me...like that. It wasn't right."

"Commander...you're not super human and we're all well aware of that.  It's ok to show emotion from time to time.  I think in this case... some emotion was warranted."

She gave a half smile, Kaidan knew that was progress. "Maybe, but it still doesn't excuse it. Please accept my apologies Lieutenant."

"Accepted but I think it's alright that the bad ass Commander Shepard has chinks in her armor. It just proves you're human like the rest of us."

She gave him a full smile followed by a large sigh of relief.  

***
Hackett reviewed the footage of Raine Shepard's biotic charge for the twentieth time.  He knew that she was a powerful biotic but the ability she showed with the charge were mind boggling.  The mental effect it had on her enemies were to be noted as well. He was concerned with the build up to the biotic display.  Somehow this suit footage lacked audio, the Sentinel on her crew had substantial tech abilities and Hackett didn't doubt he was protecting her by taking out the audio.

Hackett turned as the door to the comm room opened and a Sirta foundation rep entered the room.  She watched the footage with wide eyed shock.

"Do you think we could replicate this ability in other L3's?"

"I honestly doubt it. I don't see how she did it. However, we can begin R & D for new implants...."

  
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