Damned from the Get-Go
Short little drabble in response to me_challenge, prompt #6. Sacrificed eating supper so I would have time to churn it out.
Summary: It was just luck the beacon got a hold of the one of those three whom people would believe.
"Everything is in my report, sir."
Kaidan was learning quickly that Captain Anderson was not a man to be bullshitted. Not that Alenko had relished in the idea of being dodgy with his commanding officer, the veteran of legends and renowned war hero. The key to a happy existence was to play it straight with your superiors, slide nothing past them because when you get caught (and you most assuredly would get caught), they don't think you're trying to play them for a sucker. That was more or less what Kaidan was going through with his new captain, and it wasn't the best foot to start an eight-month tour on.
Anderson had a few inches' height on Kaidan, and under his persistent stare the biotic felt himself shrinking out of existence. "Everything aside from the answer to the question I just asked you. That's why we're here," he stated. "I do not like repeating myself, Lieutenant-Or-Should-I-Say-Mess-Sergeant-Alenko."
I wouldn't eat my cooking, Kaidan thought, but he got the point.
"I'm not an expert on the the subject, sir," he offered. He sounded spineless even to himself, and Kaidan knew evasiveness would not be acceptable to the increasingly irate captain. "Trauma can induce vivid images. The brain is scrambling to piece together sensory information, and it can all be hard to interpret. Who knows what direct exposure to Prothean tech can do to a person? I'm pretty sure nothing like this has ever happened before."
"And what do you think about her claim? That she saw some warning of machine monsters?"
Kaidan bit his lip. Williams seemed like the okay sort. A little brash, but she was quick on her feet and on the draw. He didn't want to say anything to discredit her, but... The officer persona of Kaidan kicked into gear, and he had to evaluate the situation as a professional would. He knew more about brains than your average medic, and was beyond familiar with all the wonky things that one could see when neural impulses were going haywire. And on top of all that, the poor woman had just survived the massacre of her entire unit by uncaring synthetic lifeforms. She had to be emotionally reeling right now.
He felt bad for the gunnery chief, but their next course of action couldn't be based on his sympathies.
"I believe that she believes it." Kaidan shifted uncomfortably. "Can't say that I do, though."
Anderson nodded as though he'd been expecting that answer. He didn't look happy when he revealed, "Shepard doesn't either. Even if he did, I'm not sure anything would happen if we pushed it. Exhausted, psychologically damaged soldier sees flashes of fighting between organics and synthetics? Right after fighting her way through an army of geth? The brass will write it off without a second thought."
"We don't know what information the beacon held," the lieutenant pointed out in a last-ditch effort on Williams' behalf. Okay, so buying into the idea of inorganic devils was difficult, but he did think the Prothean data could still be important. Maybe the 'vision' Williams got from the artifact could point to something worthwhile?
"For all we know that beacon could have been an ancient rental kiosk for kink porn. Our luck that she caught a glimpse of some robotic skin flick." Rubbing his eyes with his fingers, Anderson's voice turned level. "We can't go on a goose chase right now. Bad enough that Nihilus is dead, and Shepard's on the verge of losing his Spectre candidacy. If we go in backing some scrapper who says she has foreseen our extinction by synthetics, we lose all credibility."
Kaidan nodded. "Stopping Saren Arterius has to be our priority."
"No one would believe Williams anyway."
"Because she's a junior officer?"
Alenko realized it was a dumb question as soon as he'd asked. There was that, yes. But there was also a more glaring reason. Sort of how like his reliability was often questioned even as a staff officer because of a certain little device buried under the flesh and bone of his skull. Prejudices.
"She's a Williams, Lieutenant. Nobody carries that name into the Alliance Navy unless they've got an agenda."
"Right," Kaidan said, trying to recover from the careless slip. Didn't need the captain thinking he was daft too. "Is there a way you would prefer to handle this, sir?"
Anderson took a long, deep breath. "Chief Williams deserves the chance to avenge her comrades, but if she rocks the boat it could be disastrous for our relationship with the Council. Talk her down from this idea she's got some kind of vision. If she's too stubborn to let it go, we'll have to transfer her out to a different operation."
"Aye, Captain. I'll see what I can do." Kaidan snapped off a salute, and was dismissed by the reciprocating gesture.
But how do you tell a woman who's convinced apocalypse is coming to just 'let it go'?
Kaidan really did feel bad for Williams. All this crazy talk wasn't even her fault: Under duress even the most grounded people could see strange things.
Summary: It was just luck the beacon got a hold of the one of those three whom people would believe.
"Everything is in my report, sir."
Kaidan was learning quickly that Captain Anderson was not a man to be bullshitted. Not that Alenko had relished in the idea of being dodgy with his commanding officer, the veteran of legends and renowned war hero. The key to a happy existence was to play it straight with your superiors, slide nothing past them because when you get caught (and you most assuredly would get caught), they don't think you're trying to play them for a sucker. That was more or less what Kaidan was going through with his new captain, and it wasn't the best foot to start an eight-month tour on.
Anderson had a few inches' height on Kaidan, and under his persistent stare the biotic felt himself shrinking out of existence. "Everything aside from the answer to the question I just asked you. That's why we're here," he stated. "I do not like repeating myself, Lieutenant-Or-Should-I-Say-Mess-Sergeant-Alenko."
I wouldn't eat my cooking, Kaidan thought, but he got the point.
"I'm not an expert on the the subject, sir," he offered. He sounded spineless even to himself, and Kaidan knew evasiveness would not be acceptable to the increasingly irate captain. "Trauma can induce vivid images. The brain is scrambling to piece together sensory information, and it can all be hard to interpret. Who knows what direct exposure to Prothean tech can do to a person? I'm pretty sure nothing like this has ever happened before."
"And what do you think about her claim? That she saw some warning of machine monsters?"
Kaidan bit his lip. Williams seemed like the okay sort. A little brash, but she was quick on her feet and on the draw. He didn't want to say anything to discredit her, but... The officer persona of Kaidan kicked into gear, and he had to evaluate the situation as a professional would. He knew more about brains than your average medic, and was beyond familiar with all the wonky things that one could see when neural impulses were going haywire. And on top of all that, the poor woman had just survived the massacre of her entire unit by uncaring synthetic lifeforms. She had to be emotionally reeling right now.
He felt bad for the gunnery chief, but their next course of action couldn't be based on his sympathies.
"I believe that she believes it." Kaidan shifted uncomfortably. "Can't say that I do, though."
Anderson nodded as though he'd been expecting that answer. He didn't look happy when he revealed, "Shepard doesn't either. Even if he did, I'm not sure anything would happen if we pushed it. Exhausted, psychologically damaged soldier sees flashes of fighting between organics and synthetics? Right after fighting her way through an army of geth? The brass will write it off without a second thought."
"We don't know what information the beacon held," the lieutenant pointed out in a last-ditch effort on Williams' behalf. Okay, so buying into the idea of inorganic devils was difficult, but he did think the Prothean data could still be important. Maybe the 'vision' Williams got from the artifact could point to something worthwhile?
"For all we know that beacon could have been an ancient rental kiosk for kink porn. Our luck that she caught a glimpse of some robotic skin flick." Rubbing his eyes with his fingers, Anderson's voice turned level. "We can't go on a goose chase right now. Bad enough that Nihilus is dead, and Shepard's on the verge of losing his Spectre candidacy. If we go in backing some scrapper who says she has foreseen our extinction by synthetics, we lose all credibility."
Kaidan nodded. "Stopping Saren Arterius has to be our priority."
"No one would believe Williams anyway."
"Because she's a junior officer?"
Alenko realized it was a dumb question as soon as he'd asked. There was that, yes. But there was also a more glaring reason. Sort of how like his reliability was often questioned even as a staff officer because of a certain little device buried under the flesh and bone of his skull. Prejudices.
"She's a Williams, Lieutenant. Nobody carries that name into the Alliance Navy unless they've got an agenda."
"Right," Kaidan said, trying to recover from the careless slip. Didn't need the captain thinking he was daft too. "Is there a way you would prefer to handle this, sir?"
Anderson took a long, deep breath. "Chief Williams deserves the chance to avenge her comrades, but if she rocks the boat it could be disastrous for our relationship with the Council. Talk her down from this idea she's got some kind of vision. If she's too stubborn to let it go, we'll have to transfer her out to a different operation."
"Aye, Captain. I'll see what I can do." Kaidan snapped off a salute, and was dismissed by the reciprocating gesture.
But how do you tell a woman who's convinced apocalypse is coming to just 'let it go'?
Kaidan really did feel bad for Williams. All this crazy talk wasn't even her fault: Under duress even the most grounded people could see strange things.