~MASS EFFECT: BOOK 2 of 3~
*Book 1 is English Bay Blues
*Continues in: Lazarus Project
Ranked #5 in Mass Effect
Promoted to Staff Lieutenant and reassigned to the prototype ship, the SSV Normandy, Kaidan can't wait for the next chapter in his caree...
Callie got to her feet, stretching her arms above her head as she worked the kinks out of her neck and spine. She'd been sitting at her console for several hours now, reviewing everything she had on Ilos. It wasn't much. Over the years, many research groups had planned expeditions to investigate the ancient Prothean planet, but had never made it past the cost of the amount of resources required to get there.
Frustrated, she'd turned her attention to the Reapers. She was reluctant to compile what little she knew to be fact, unable to avoid recording the vision she'd received from the Prothean beacons. The more she wrote down what she knew about the Reapers, the more worried she became.
With every piece of information she collected, the less certain she was that she'd be able to stop them. From what information she had from all her sources including Sovereign, they were for all intents and purposes an unstoppable force of destruction.
They'd existed for millennia, brought into existence so long ago, she had a hard time believing they were real. How was it possible something so formidable had managed to keep their existence hidden for so long? There must be thousands of ships like Sovereign to be so thorough at removing all evidence of their existence from the galaxy.
The more she thought about Sovereign, the more the icy trickle of fear increased along her spine. She shivered in spite of herself, reminded suddenly of the first time she'd felt that chill since boarding the Normandy. Putting away her datapad, she moved to her bed.
It was after a conversation she'd had with Kaidan, she remembered. She had just made the conscious decision to become involved with him. But she'd brushed off the tingle, assuming it was fear over consequences she might face for breaking regulations.
Now, she wasn't so sure. If she thought about it too much, it felt more like a forewarning that something really bad was going to happen. But she shook it off. It was probably just nerves, worry they wouldn't reach Ilos in time to stop Saren.
A knock sounded at her door and she got to her feet, wondering who it might be.
"Commander." Kaidan said as the door swished closed behind him.
"I'm not sure you should be calling me that." She said, stepping toward him. "In fact, I'm not sure of anything right now. I keep telling myself I'm doing the right thing... I don't believe me yet."
"If I didn't think you weren't doing the right thing, I wouldn't be here Commander." He said, closing the distance between them.
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Callie's breath caught in her throat. He was so close, the smell of pine reached her senses, making her think things unbecoming of a commanding officer.
"Kaidan." She said, her voice sounding breathless to her ears. "You stopped being a subordinate a long time ago. Please don't call me that."
"You're right Shepard. I..." He said, breaking eye contact.
