In The End: A Mass Effect Story

By Who Is Caligula (2008)

Dedicated to the Bioware Community

"All's well that ends well, Lieutenant. That's all you need to tell yourself. Something my grandfather constantly drilled into my head".

"Yeah", agreed the lieutenant, his eyes softening as they steadied on the wrinkles of Navigator Pressley's rounded face. Pressley always had a strange, childlike quality that Alenko found amusing. He was probably the oldest member of the Normandy's crew; at least, until the recent addition of that asari archaeologist. Pressley had attempted to address the lieutenant's concerns regarding his involvement in a recent conflict resolution. Kaidan got the feeling he wasn't getting through to the aging officer, though.

"I'll be heading down to mess in a few minutes. Look like you could use a drink, yourself", Pressley stretched and rubbed the back of his neck, which Alenko correctly assumed to be sore from staring at holopanels and data monitors for hours on end.

"Yeah", echoed the weary lieutenant. "I'll meet you down there in a second", he added, swallowing what little saliva he was able to produce. Alenko's head throbbed slightly and his lips felt parched, but he had one more thing to take care of before joining his fellow officer in the Normandy's mess hall.

"Things could have gone much worse", came the gravelly tones of Admiral Hackett's empty compliments. He sometimes contacted Shepard for some minor assignment if she was already within a nearby system or cluster. "You got the job done quickly, and the Alliance is grateful for your contributions, Shepard."

He wasn't sure, but it looked like she had flinched on quickly.

At the start of their journey, the lieutenant and his commanding officer had agreed that stopping by to complete a brief mission was perfectly acceptable. Commander Shepard was, after all, the first human Spectre. As one of the Citadel Council's finest operatives, her abilities were rarely called into question. Her methods were another story, though. This was further complicated by the pressures of media, and cameras were often more brutal than guns.

Alenko knew too well the frustrations Shepard faced when working with the council. Political and military objectives often went together like potassium and chlorine. Despite the usefulness and necessity of their marriage, they bumped elbows even under the best of circumstances.

And, like the aforementioned chemical union, the result was often deadly.

"I hope the chairman learned his lesson", Shepard replied to the Admiral's disembodied voice. "I can't be there every time some politician gets sloppy".

"I'll be speaking to Burns myself, Commander. Those biotics will be getting their reparations, thanks to your efforts. Fifth fleet out".

Pressley yawned and tapped a series of keys before leaving his station. There were only two other officers on the Normandy's command deck, and they appeared to be intensely focused on one of the orange panels of flickering light that hovered over their console.

Commander Shepard was not so deeply concentrated on narrow pursuits. Piercing gaze wandered tirelessly as she descended the turianesque platform, lowering herself to the eye level of her crew. The lieutenant knew his commander would have plenty to worry about already, but he would rather disrupt her train of thought now than force to her pay him a visit later, which would use up even more of her valuable time.

"Commander?" he called to her from a respectful distance that he hoped would not be misconstrued as too near or far to be professional. Her face snapped up to meet his gaze, and Kaidan Alenko's heart jumped as he instantly recalled the sour heat of varren breath. Feros had been hard on everyone, though.

"What's the matter, Lieutenant?"

"You wanted to speak with me, Commander", he spoke gingerly to his commanding officer. She was not quick to anger, but Alenko would not have been promoted to staff lieutenant without giving special attention to the chain of command. Then again, he wasn't expecting any promotion in the near future.

"I did? When?"

Lieutenant Alenko paused thoughtfully, his expression neutral.

"Back on the freighter, ma'am. Right after the-"

Kaidan cut himself off, searching for the right word to conceal his error.

"Negotiations".

The lieutenant monitored his CO's reaction once the words registered in her busy brain.

"Oh. Don't worry about that", she waved a dismissive hand.

"Ma'am?" Alenko was taken aback. He'd expected her to chew right through him for insubordination.

"Things worked out fine, just like the admiral said. In fact, I'd say it was good thing you were on hand to help diffuse the tension. Who'd have thought the biotics would have been so quick to warm up to an L2?"

Shepard did not make jokes very often, and her tone seemed much lighter than what the lieutenant had grown accustomed to. He was confounded.

"Well, I'm glad I could be of service. Ma'am".

Before he could leave for the mess, the commander stopped him with one lean, deceptively strong hand.

"Kaidan."

"Ma'am?"

"The mission is done. Speak freely".

The commander rarely called him by his first name. Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko had always tried to maintain positive relations with other people, but he knew some folks just had to be avoided. Perhaps he'd been too hasty when he'd thrown Commander Shepard in the "Look, Don't Touch" category.

Still, he felt awkward. It had been several days since he'd even shared a personable exchange with the commander, and even then, it had not been a relaxed conversation. What could he say to her?

"I'm glad things worked out, ma'am. I mean, I had hoped for a diplomatic solution, but I would follow your orders, even if they-"

He cut himself off again, coating each word in a thick cushion of tact before sending it into sizzling air that surrounded Commander Shepard.

"Even if what, Lieutenant?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

"If they gave me pause, Commander. I'm still human, so I can't promise you that I can keep objective-minded and detached in every mission".

"The objective was important, Kaidan. Do you know why?"

Kaidan considered his CO's query with great care, pushing past the mental images of silvery varren leaping through air like four-legged piranha. Something told him he would remember this conversation for a long time.

"It was a dangerous situation, ma'am. Lives were at stake, and I just wanted to explore every option".

"The mission objective", Shepard explained, "was important because many lives were at stake. Human lives, at that. In this instance, your humanity made you a fine instrument of diplomacy".

"Thank you, Commander" Kaiden accepted the half-compliment before things got any more heated. He knew he should have kept quiet about the whole mess.

"If the biotics had been asari, would you have been able to see their side of things just as easily?"

"I guess not", Kaidan admitted. "But I think I read you. I'll be careful, Commander".

He thanked her again, although she seemed to sense the true depth of his gratitude and let out a gentle sigh, shifting her weight onto the other foot. What kind of tactical approach was the commander going to use on him now?

"Speaking of asari, I should check up on our newest crewmate".

"She's alright?" Kaidan asked, suspecting that Shepard's use of the word "our" was part of some plan to win him over with a sense of generic camaraderie. It wouldn't work on him, but at least she was trying.

"Chakwas says she's fine, just a little worn out. Can't say I blame her, poor gal".

"Yeah", Alenko agreed openly. "She could probably use the debriefing".

Kaidan recognized his error too late, and clenched his jaw when his commander took aim at him with that omniscient laser gaze she normally reserved for confrontations with selfish politicians.

Kaidan was not a selfish man. He risked meeting her gaze directly.

"You don't like me, do you, Lieutenant?"

Kaiden remained silent for a full three seconds before Shepard continued.

"I like to keep tabs on my crew. I put my duty above everything else, but I'm not the stern badass everyone seems to think I am. The Alliance has to keep their hands in the media's pocket, but that agenda falls far below the work we're trying to accomplish here".

The lieutenant listened cautiously. A brilliant woman could topple any empire she wanted, and Kaidan was not about to lose his footing. Not yet, anyway.

"Keeping the galaxy safe is more important than keeping the galaxy happy. That doesn't make them mutually exclusive, though. Do you understand?"

Her voice seemed to mellow. If she was trying to use the overburdened-overachiever card on him, that wouldn't work either.

"I think so, Commander", was his only response. He waited, sensing there was more to come.

"If you don't want to trust me, that's your decision. You don't have to like me, either. I know you better than any officer under my command, but if you want to play it cool", she exhaled gently, and her eyes dropped to his neck, "that's fine with me".

Kaiden blinked, stupefied.

His commander was right. She did know him better than any other officer, and he did make a considerable effort to "play it cool", as she put it. Professionalism and diplomacy meant nothing if he couldn't openly express himself to his commander. Maybe she wasn't the only one he'd been holding out on.

"You're right, Commander" he spoke aloud. "Sorry if I seem a little… stuffy. I guess I'm not used to building personal relationships with superiors. Force of habit".

"It's okay, Lieutenant", she reassured him before turning toward the corridor. "I've got a few things to do, but I'll be in the mess later if you want to chat". The door hissed shut behind her before Kaidan could muster a decent response.

Weird. She must have known him even better than he thought. Kaidan Alenko considered himself a thoughtful and dedicated human being, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to sniff the flowers every now and then. He sighed heavily before trotting downstairs to the mess hall, where he made small talk with Pressley for nearly twenty minutes before taking his final sip of water and departing for a well-deserved rest. He knew Shepard had her hands full with more important business.

Alenko's dreams were full of exotic flora, thorny and twisting like snakes in a steaming bed of sand.