The Debacle Formerly Known as Horizon
"Commander Shepard. Captain of the Normandy. The first human Spectre. Savior of the Citadel. You're in the presence of a legend, Delan. And a ghost."
Shepard froze. She really did not have time for this, but it was something she knew she would have to deal with sooner or later. She would have preferred to do this when the clock was not ticking down until the end of humanity, but it seemed that whenever the universe needed to be saved was when she had to take care of all the trifle little things that people thought were so important. Might as well add this to the list of bullshit to go through before she saved all life in the universe... again. She turned and smiled.
"Hi Kaidan." Simple, effective. If she was lucky she would be able to wrap this little chat up in the next five minutes.
"I thought you were dead, Shepard. We all did."
"Uh, that's because I was dead. It's kind of a long story." She rubbed the back of her neck anxiously, wanting to extract herself from this painfully uncomfortable situation as soon as possible.
"No it's not." Garrus spoke up next to her. She shot him a glare until he raised a hand placatingly and backed off.
"Okay, so it's not. I was dead. Cerberus spent the past two years rebuilding me, and here I am."
Kaidan's brow furrowed in a petulant frown as his arms crossed his chest.
"I spent the past two years believing you were dead!" he spat.
"That's because I was. I literally woke up four days ago."
He continued as if he had not heard her.
"I thought we had something, Shepard. Something real. I... I loved you. Thinking you were dead tore me apart. How could you put me through that? Why didn't you try to contact me? Why didn't you let me know you were alive?"
She stared incredulously at the man before her.
"Seriously? You are seriously asking me why I didn't contact you? Let me make this as clear as I can," She moved forward, speaking loudly and slowly "I. WAS. DEAD."
He stared at her, arms folded.
"You know, dead? The opposite of alive? I was dead, dead as dead can be. Moved on. Passed beyond the veil. Corpsified. Pushing up daisies and taking a dirt nap. Cadaverous. Snuffed out, checked out and cashed out. I bought it, was terminated, wacked, executed and put down." She took a breath, but Kaidan's expression had not changed. "I met my maker. I was fragged, flatlined, departed, demised, extinct, and expired. I was dead meat, had kicked the bucket and bought the pine condo." She had run out of ways to explain to Kaidan her state of being for the previous two years. She rolled her shoulders before adding,
"And as to how could I put you through that? Well, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize that living your life was so much worse that dying and suffering through the two year reanimation and reconstruction of your corpse only so that you could be thrown into another suicide mission to save life as we know it. My bad. I thought you had continued to move on with your life!"
"Well I'm glad you don't have any baggage Shepard." Garrus muttered, sarcasm dripping off of every word. She shot him another glare, this one only leading to he and Jack having to suppress their laughter.
"I did move on." Kaidan was talking again. "At least I thought I did. But now we've got reports about you and Cerberus."
This conversation had spun out of the scope of her comprehension. Her mouth hung open for a second before she realized that Kaidan was serious.
"The Collectors just abducted your ENTIRE COLONY! This is what you're worried about? Cerberus? Are you serious?" She looked at Garrus and Jack just to make sure she was not losing her mind. "Is this some kind of joke?" Jack shrugged, only mildly interested in the conversation. Garrus gave the turian equivalent of a frown. Shepard turned back to Kaidan, astounded at what she was hearing come out of his mouth.
"Your entire colony was just taken by the Collectors. They're working for the Reapers to-"
"Do you really believe that?" Kaidan cut her off. "Or is that just what Cerberus wants you to think? I wanted to believe the rumors that you were alive, but I never expected anything like this. You turned your back on everything we believed in. You betrayed the Alliance. You betrayed me."
"Do you want me to shoot him Commander? I don't have to kill him, unless you want me to of course, and I can make it look like an accident." Garrus suggested, sliding a round into the chamber of his sniper rifle.
Shepard thoroughly considered his offer.
"Nah," She finally answered. "Then we'd have to listen to how that was my fault too."
"Well, technically it would be Commander." The turian responded, nonchalantly.
"Not the point Garrus."
"I want to believe you Shepard." Inwardly the Commander groaned. Kaidan was continuing his little holier-than-thou speech and it was getting old... fast. "I want to believe you, but I don't trust Cerberus. They could be using the threat of a Reaper to manipulate you. What if they're behind it? What if they're working with the Collectors?"
"Dammit Kaidan! You're so focused on Cerberus that you're ignoring the real threat!" Garrus growled.
"When did you get so stupid Kaidan?" Shepard yelled, now irritated. "What reason could there possibly be for a pro-human group abducting humans?"
"You show up after two years and you're telling me you're working with Cerberus. Where does reason figure into any of this?"
"I guess reason has nothing to do with this when Cerberus has to swoop in and do the Alliance's job for it! How many colonists has the Alliance allowed to simply be swept away? If you and your chain of command want to play twenty questions with Cerberus I am not going to help. I have a galaxy to save," she paused, then growled, "and you are standing between me and my mission."
She spun on her heel and began to march off to the shuttle. Kaidan continued to speak at the back of her retreating form.
"You've changed. But I still know where my loyalties lie. I'm an Alliance soldier. Always will be. I've got to report back to the Citadel. They can decide if they believe your story or not."
"Let me know how that works out for you." Shepard said, turning and flipping him off. It was childish, but it seemed that Kaidan had regressed to the level of child and should be treated accordingly.
"Goodbye Shepard. And be careful." Kaidan had usually been straightforward, so this sudden shift from obtuse and angry to concerned only infuriated the Commander even more as she power walked back to the shuttle. Garrus and Jack had to jog lightly to keep up.
"So Shepard, I take it you and him have a history?" Jack asked, straining to keep from bursting into laughter. Garrus took it upon himself to answer since Shepard was still fuming silently.
"You have no idea."