Conrad Verner felt like he did not belong here, and not just because he was in the Presidium.
The whole Commons appeared to be designed with one sole purpose though; looking comfortable. A magnificent blue sky dotted with a few white clouds seemed to stretch on forever high above him, making the ceilings he was used to in the Wards look stifling. A pleasurably low gravity made any move almost effortless. The wind carried the soft perfume of Earth flowers throughout the whole ring.
The Presidium exuded peace.
Or at least it used to.
For the second time in a short few years, survivors were left to mourn and pray among the remains of what they thought to be the last safe place in the galaxy. Bullet holes, shattered glass, explosion impacts and more still littered the Commons in spite of the repairers' best efforts, though the bodies had thankfully been removed. All of it because of Cerberus, an organization he had been preaching for not long ago, completely oblivious to reality, as happened more often than he liked.
"Conrad."
His head snapped back toward the person in front of him. "Sorry."
"It's alright," Shepard replied from across the table, her ankles resting lazily on the edge as she leaned back on her chair. "The Presidium can be distracting. Especially when you're used to the Wards."
To Conrad, sharing a drink with his idol, the famous Commander Shepard, was a dream come true. But no elation came from the situation; he knew too well he had repeatedly made a fool of himself and created much trouble. The mere fact that she still deigned to talk to him, let alone invited him to the Commons to discuss still surprised him more than anything he could remember.
He started wringing his hands. "You must think I'm an idiot..."
Shepard nodded as she continued to stare at the sky. "You're an idiot," she agreed, "one of the biggest I've ever met."
Conrad scratched the back of his neck nervously and looked down.
He looked back up when a sudden shifting indicated Shepard had decided to remove her legs to sit properly. "But that's nothing compared to another trait of yours," she said with finality as she leaned over the table and her eyes bore into his.
He couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat and back away slightly.
"You're actually trying to help."
He spoke before he could even think. "I'm sorry, really, truly sor-" He then stared at her in utter disbelief as her words finally registered. "What?"
"You're actually trying to help," Shepard repeated before leaning back against her chair. "That's more than I can tell for many, many people. Council included." She sniffed in distaste. "And that's since the beginning." She gave him a little time to resettle himself. "Remind me Conrad, what did you do after we met on Illium?"
Conrad was still too shocked for a suitable answer. "I, err..."
"You used your funds to help refugees, ex-slaves and orphans," she stated. "I've counted how many of these are around, you know. On Illium? I can count them on one hand." She shook her head in what Conrad suspected to be disgust. "That's the kind of help the galaxy needs.
"And you nearly bankrupted yourself to evacuate them before the Reapers hit the planet. Do you know how many people would have left them rotting there?" Her eyes hardened and something close to hatred seeped into her voice. "Far too many.
"I'll be the first one to admit you're a damn idiot, Conrad," she said truthfully before her gaze softened. "But you're a damn kind one."
Conrad blinked back tears. "Thank you, Commander Shepard."
She grabbed her glass and he imitated her. "Thank you, Conrad Verner."
They toasted.