The Unknown: Book 1

Don't F*ck with Aria!

The Normandy had docked at a fueling station on the outskirts of the Widow system. The ship had nothing to do but wait it out until Shepard got back. She left in the shuttle without saying a word to anyone, other than ordering Joker to wait for her return.

Kaidan had woken early that morning, needing to take the ship over when Shepard left. Gemma was sound asleep until the ship jumped through the relay, its jolting woke her up. She rolled off the bed, stretching her tight muscles. The night before with Kaidan was exhausting. They didn't fall asleep until the early hours of the morning, her body ached, but it was worth it.

She strolled to the drawers, Kaidan had taken the liberty to unpack her clothes from her bunk into their new room. She grabbed her uniform and laid it out on the bed, first taking the time to fully look around the room, she missed some parts of it before. The main one is the waste disposal behind their bed, luckily Edi could deal with that herself meaning no one will be walking into their room.

The window to the right side of the bed had its shutters open, Gemma looked out, seeing the beautiful, glistening stars. She could see the ship was stopped, the fueling station could be seen slightly to her left. The room had minimal hologram pictures, some of Kaidan's family and a few of Horizon, Gemma had family photos on her omni-tool but never got them framed on a hologram board. She looked closer at Kaidan's family, there was one with who she guessed was his parents, Kaidan's mum was spitting images of him.

There was another photo of a group of kids. Kaidan was one of the tallest, standing off to the side next to a girl. It was Rhana, Gemma looked closer at the image, she could faintly see them both holding hands behind their back, the pain of trying to console each other during a difficult time. The other kids looked just as miserable, they seemed beaten and bruised in the picture and none of them smiled. It was the most depressing class photo Gemma had ever seen.

She moved her attention back to her clothes, getting ready for the day. She had her rounds to make, checking on the crew and following her morning's safety procedures. It was still odd to Gemma to be a Second Lieutenant, but it was nice to have some responsibility. It was all training to her, but Edi had offered her help anytime she needed it.

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Kaidan was standing at the helm with Joker, worried about where Shepard had gone off to. She should have told someone where she went, but instead, said to wait for her and left with the shuttle, she refused Cortez's offer to take her. Joker had already contacted the Citadel which was in the heart of the Widow system, but their border controllers declined seeing Shepard or to have a past sign-in for her being on the station.

Edi was sitting in the co-pilot seat, being suspiciously quieter than usual. Kaidan turned his attention to her. She didn't seem to be doing anything with the control panel in front of her, just staring into space at it.

"Edi," Kaidan said loud enough to get her sitting up straighter. "Do you know where Shepard is?" he asked in a calm demeanour.

"I am afraid I cannot share that information with you at this time, Major," she replied professionally. Kaidan crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his shoe lightly on the metal floor. Joker looked at them both.

"Edi, please can you remind me who is in charge of the ship whilst Shepard is away?" Edi seemed to realise she was caught in the loop Kaidan just threw her into. She stood up, looking at him with her arms firmly behind her back.

"You are, Major." Edi didn't break eye contact. She knew where Shepard had gone as she had constant eyes on Shepards location and her emails will go through Edi. Most fan mail or junk mail, Edi will reply to herself.

"Then, please can you inform me where Shepard is at this current moment." Kaidan didn't like using his rank on the crew, he felt it was a dirty move, somewhat like used in poker. But they needed to know where Shepard was, this war couldn't lose the one who was at the front of the assault.