Chapter Text
SSV Orizaba—Admiral Hackett
“Both Parliament and the Chiefs of Staff have approved yours and David’s request, Steven. In fact, I think they were ecstatic when they received his offer to resign the Councillorship, and we’re only too happy for him to come back.”
Nodding his head knowingly at the holographic image of a female Alliance admiral, Hackett replied, “Udina and his supporters have been trying to get David removed ever since he got the position. And to be honest David’s been looking for an excuse to resign.” Taking a deep breath and exhaling, the admiral admitted, “While he’s done an excellent job as our representative to the Citadel Council, he hasn’t been very happy. He wants to come back to us and frankly speaking we need him back wearing Alliance blue. Especially now.”
“You’re preaching to the choir here, Steven.” The Alliance admiral chuckled. “This does seem to be an ideal position for him. It’s looking like this is going to be a win-win for everyone: for you…him…the Navy…Parliament…and even Udina. Everyone gets what they want. How often does that happen?”
“Not very.” Hackett laughed. “But yes, you’re right, Leora. Parliament gets the man they wanted as Councilor in the first place. Udina gets what he’s been itching for from day one. And we get back a good man who happens to be ideal for the task we’re going to give him.”
“And don’t think we’ve forgotten you, Steven.” The staff admiral declared, “I have your new orders too. I think you’ll like them.”
Citadel: Anderson’s Office
David Anderson smiled as he rose from his desk and walked over to greet the two humans who had just entered his office. “Ms. Afia…Admiral Kovac…welcome.”
“Councilor.” Ms. Dorothy Afia, Member of the Alliance Parliament from the African Confederation and chair of the Committee on Council Relations, inclined her head respectfully at the distinguished man standing before her as she handed him a sealed envelope. “Open it, please. Your request has been approved by both Parliament and the Alliance Navy. Congratulations, Admiral.”
Breaking the seal, Anderson took the letter out of its envelope and began reading. A smile appearing on his face, he exclaimed to his two guests, “Thank you.”
“Welcome back to the Navy, Admiral Anderson.” Admiral Kovac, a burly Slovak who had served at the Battle for the Citadel grinned, “It will be good to see you back in an Alliance uniform once more.” Activating his omnitool, he pressed a button. “Your new orders have been downloaded into your tool. Read them now, please.”
Reading the orders as they appeared on his display, Anderson’s smile grew even wider. “When do I go?”
“The Gallena is in route to the Citadel.” Kovac replied. “If we can get the Citadel Council on board, she will take you to the Farinata System where you will relieve Admiral Hackett. The Admiral has already received and acknowledged his orders. He will resume command of Fifth Fleet and will coordinate future operations.”
“Congratulations again, Admiral.” Afia said with a smile, “While I will miss you as Councilor, I and the others on the Committee realize that you would be far more effective as the leader of our taskforce to go into the other universe.”
“May you enjoy success on your mission.” Kovac grinned, “Now, I’m afraid we must go. You have much to do and the Gallena will be here soon.”
RRW Gallena
“Congratulations, Admiral Anderson?” V’lana said to the former Council representative, now wearing the uniform of an Alliance admiral.
“Thank you, Subcommander.” David replied with a big grin on his face. The grin fading, he assured the youthful Romulan officer, “I’m very happy with my new job and I hope you will be as well because we’ll be seeing a lot of each other in the coming weeks.”
“Yes.” V’lana replied with a grin, “Admiral Hackett informed me this morning. I look forward to you joining us.”
RRW Gallena—Sickbay
“We’ll be at the Citadel soon and have arranged for you to stay at the Federation legation until we can find you a safe place to live.” V’lana informed Oriana and her guardians and then asked, “Has Miranda explained everything to you?”
“She has.” Kenneth, Oriana’s adoptive father, replied.
“It’s a lot to take in…you understand.” Josie, the mother chimed in, “That we might have to make a new home in a whole new universe.”
“That’s assuming we succeed.” V’lana qualified, further cautioning, “There are no guarantees of that. This could well be what you humans call a ‘wild duck chase.”
Chuckling, Oriana corrected, “You mean ‘wild goose chase’.”
V’lana laughed, “That.”
“We understand, Subcommander.” Kenneth acknowledged, “And we still thank you.”
Oriana echoed, “Thank you for everything you’ve done.”
“You’re welcome.” V’lana smiled back. Then her attention drawn by Doctor Chakwas’s gesture for her to come over, the subcommander politely excused herself, “If there’s anything you need or that we can do for you…”
“We’ll be fine.” Oriana answered back with a smile, “Miri’s taking us to dinner at the…what did she call your lounge?’
“The Raptor’s Nest.” Josie interjected, adding “And then she said something about going on the holodeck.”
“Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine, Ma’am.” Kenneth assured.
Grinning, V’lana replied, “Enjoy yourselves and again…if you need anything…”
“We’ll let you know.”
“How are…” V’lana stammered slightly as she gazed down at the two humans enclosed in their stasis tubes.
“I’m sorry but there’s no change in either Staff Commander Alenko’s or Shepard’s status.” Dr. Chakwas ruefully responded. “As you probably already know from your basic biology…” the physician explained as she called up a picture of the human brain on her computer monitor, “the hippocampus is the part of the brain responsible for the retention of memory. There’s only the most minimal activity in the hippocampi of either Kaidan or the clone.”
“What are you saying?” V’lana choked out in response. “Are they?”
“No.” Dr. Aven declared with a shake of his head, “Neither one is clinically dead. They’re both still exhibiting brain activity. It’s just that it’s been for lack of a better word, suppressed.”
“In other words…” Dr. Chakwas interjected, “We have no idea how much of their memories they have retained.”
“So they might remember everything…” V’lana drawled only to be interrupted by the Alliance doctor.
“Or nothing.” Dr. Chakwas cautioned, “They could completely recover or…”
“They might just retain memories of basic functions such as speech and language and have limited or no memories of their past experiences.” Dr. Aven chimed in, also projecting an air of warning.
“So…” V’lana sighed, “Where do we go from here?”
“A skilled telepath might be able to bring back some of their memories.” Dr. Aven averred with his colleague nodding her head in agreement, “but it’s doubtful even the most adept telepath could restore them all. They will not be the same as they were before their injuries. I’m sorry.”
“Once they’re fully conscious again…” Dr. Chakwas opined, “They could be retrained and reeducated. While their old memories might be gone, their capacity for learning should still be intact.”
“Making them essentially entirely different people.” V’lana somberly declared as the two doctors nodded their heads.
Her eyes filled with sympathy for the young Romulan woman standing before her, Dr. Chakwas consoled, “I’m sorry, V’lana…truly…but you can take some solace in the fact that Kaidan will still be alive. As for Shepard…” the doctor finished on an optimistic note, “she’ll have a chance for a new life. They both will.”
“And where there’s life, there’s hope.” The subcommander responded, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I know. And I am grateful for all you both have done for him…for both of them.” As she turned to walk away, Dr. Chakwas called out to her.
“If there’s anything we can do…”
Her lips turning up in a sad smile, the subcommander replied, “I’ll let you know. Thank you.”
RRW Gallena—Kelly Chambers’ Office
Seated behind her desk, Kelly flashed a warm smile to her guest as he entered the office, escorted by a Starfleet security officer. “Good afternoon, Rupert.” The redheaded counselor called out in greeting, “Come in and have a seat.”
“Not like I have any choice in the matter.” The Cerberus mess sergeant groused as he glanced at his guard.
“Of course, you do, Rupert.” Kelly responded, deliberately repeating his name as she kept the smile on her face. “I thought that you might like to stretch your legs and maybe chat for a while. It’s been a while since we’ve talked.”
“What about the others?” Gardner asked, still refusing to budge from the entranceway. “Do they get a chance to stretch their legs too?”
“You bet they do.” Kelly responded. “In fact, I’ll be seeing both Hadley and Matthews after we finish talking.” Her smile now replaced by a look of concern, she implored, “No one’s going to hurt either you or anyone else, Rupert. You have my promise.”
“What about Hawthorne and Markham and Jackson?” The grizzled former miner challenged as he sat down, “Did you make them the same promise?”
Shifting uncomfortably in her chair as she remembered Markham and Jackson’s interrogations at the hands of Neilana, Kelly responded in a soft voice, “All three of them are safe in Alliance custody and they’re all going to receive a fair trial. But you have to remember that Markham and Jackson are looking at both treason and war crimes charges. They hurt and killed a lot of Alliance soldiers and civilians on Ferris Fields and Fehl Prime and in a few other places. They have a lot to answer for. Surely you understand that.”
“They didn’t kill those people!” The old man protested, “It was the Collectors that did it!”
Shaking her head, Kelly let out a dejected sigh, “I’m sorry, Rupert, but it’s true. Besides our interrogation records, we’ve got physical evidence that it was them with Shepard and Kai Leng leading them. I know you don’t want to hear this—but it’s the truth.”
“So…what’s going to happen to them?” Gardner pressed, “Are they just going to be stood up against a wall and shot?”
Kelly replied with a shake of her head. “Both the Federation and the Romulan Republic are filing pleas for mercy, and Hawthorne’s only facing conspiracy and collaborating with a hostile organization charges. I’ve got a feeling that he’s looking at a light prison term at most. As the other two…I’m sorry, Rupert, but at best they’re looking at life terms. Those two are accused of some serious crimes.”
“And what about Shepard?” Gardner demanded, “She saved us all from Sovereign. Are they going to thank her with a firing squad or a life term too?”
Heaving a sigh, the ginger-haired counselor responded, “You’re right. It’s a hard call. I can’t go into details partly because I don’t know much myself yet, but I do know that there is a lot going on and the situation is constantly changing. I hope that answers your question.”
Shaking his head, Gardner murmured, “Not really. I don’t know what to think, Kelly. Cerberus was there when I lost my family to those batarian slavers. The Alliance didn’t do squat.”
Kelly responded sympathetically. “You were alone and drowning and someone offered you a hand. You had no way of knowing what was going on behind the scenes. Neither did I when I joined. I thought I was doing something to help humanity—not hurt anyone else. Then…I found out different.”
“I need time.” The old man sobbed, “I have to think.”
“Of course, Rupert.” Kelly replied with a warm smile, “I’m here whenever you want to talk to me.”
Nodding his head, the old janitor requested in a tired voice, “I better get back to my cell now before the others miss me.”
“Don’t forget what I said, Rupert.” Kelly called out as her old friend rose from his seat and turned to walk away. “Anytime you want to come up and see me, just let the guards know and I’ll make the time. Same thing goes for Hadley, Matthews, and anyone else. My door is always open.”
The Raptor’s Nest—later
“Rough day at the office?” V’lana asked the redheaded ship’s councilor sitting at a corner table nursing her drink.
“Oh! Subcommander!” Kelly exclaimed as she began to rise to her feet only to be halted by a gesture.
“Please don’t get up on my account.” V’lana smiled as she inclined her head at an empty chair, “Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all.” Kelly responded with a wan smile.
“Wanna talk about it?” V’lana gently prompted as the Bolian waitress handed her a Romulan ale. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”
Heaving a sigh, Kelly sipped her drink. “Without violating confidentiality…” she shook her head, “it’s the prisoners.”
“Your session didn’t go well, I take it?”
“Better than I thought it was going to go, but not as well as I’d hoped for.” Kelly let out an ironic chuckle, “It’s the Cerberus indoctrination. It’s so insidious and difficult to break through. So far the only ones I’ve heard of who more or less succeeded are Hawthorne and the one who defected—Doris…I believe was her name…Doris Whaley. An engineer on Shepard’s ground team.”
“What about yourself?” V’lana inquired, “Didn’t you go through their training too?”
“No.” Kelly shook her head, “At least not the complete program. I went to a few new recruit orientation sessions where we got fed a little of the bull, but they hold off on the heavy stuff until training school—I found out that’s when they cram the hardcore crap at you. I was slated to go to their training school when it looked like I was going to the Normandy 2, but when that got cancelled, I was given the option to continue or resign. I chose to resign.” Her lips turning up in a slight smile, she remarked, “I think I made the right decision.”
“I think you did too.” V’lana smiled back, “So…what are you going to do?”
“Keep trying.” Kelly shrugged her shoulders, “It’s all I can do. Rupert and the others aren’t bad people. They’re not the same as Kai Leng and the hardcores. I think they can be reached—I think I made a start with Rupert. At least I got him thinking about it”
“Well, that’s something.” V’lana nodded.
Heaving a sigh, the counselor lamented, ending on a positive note. “It’s still going to take some work to break through that conditioning. But it’s worth it. They’re worth it.” The waitress bringing both women fresh drinks, Kelly smiled at the Romulan woman seated across from her, “Okay…your turn. What’s bothering you? Kaidan—right.”
Inclining her head, V’lana replied with a sigh. “Assuming we can get him to a telepath who knows what they’re doing, we don’t know whether he’ll come back or not or what memories…if any…he’ll retain. There’s a chance he could lose everything: his memories of Shepard…me…everything. All gone.”
“So…” Kelly inquired, “What are you going to do?”
“What else can I do?” V’lana sighed, “Let him go. If…when…” she quickly corrected herself, “he recovers, he might be an entirely different person. Possibly a blank slate. Regardless, he deserves a chance to choose his own path in his new life. As does Shepard should she recover as well. If she has few or no memories of what she did, then should she punished for it?”
“A moral dilemma.” Kelly opined sympathetically.
“Tell me about it.” The subcommander shook her head. “Shepard was such a symbol for your people. To see her put on trial for war crimes and murder…”
“It would damage morale.” Kelly agreed, “And probably rally more people to movements like Terra Firma.”
“Which is probably what the Illusive Man is counting on.” V’lana stated, wryly commenting, “If that man isn’t Romulan, he should be.” Taking a deep breath and exhaling, the subcommander concluded, her tone still ironic, “I guess all we can do is let the future take care of itself and worry about the now—right?”
“Right.” Kelly acknowledged as she held up her glass and offered a toast, “To a brighter future.”
“I’ll drink to that.” A voice answered back with a chuckle.
“Anaya.” V’lana exclaimed as she looked up at the asari ex-detective, giving her a welcoming smile, “Ready for dinner?”
“Famished.” Anaya answered back with a grin of her own.
“Join us.” V’lana declared as the waitress approached to take their orders. “We’re just about to order. You’ve met Kelly?”
“Thanks.” Anaya replied with a smile, inclining her head at the redheaded counselor. “We’ve met, but there are just so many people on this ship. I’m still trying to get to know everyone.”
“It takes a little time.” Kelly responded sympathetically, “But everyone here is very helpful.”
Nodding her head in agreement, the former police detective answered back, “Yeah, it’s just that there’s so much to take in.”
With a smile on her face, V’lana responded, “Don’t worry, Anaya. You’ll get used to things pretty quickly. So...what’s everyone having? I’m for the chicken cordon bleu myself.”