Chapter 7
Shepard was ecstatic. It was almost as if everything was slowly falling into its place. She watched Udina stumble excitedly out of the embassy offices, elated to set up an emergency meeting with the Council to present them with the evidence against Saren.
She watched her newly recruited team mates try to make themselves comfortable in the office room. Wrex was leaning against a wall, watching the door with a cautious eye. Tali'zorah was sitting in one of the sofa chairs, using her omni-tool to send a message back to the quarian fleet about her whereabouts. Garrus was on the balcony, pacing back and forth, anxious to get on with their plans.
Shepard joined Garrus and gave him a friendly slap on his back. "How are you doing, Officer Vakarian?"
Garrus stopped his restless pacing. "I can't wait to shove this evidence into the Council's self-righteous faces. Saren's finally going to get what's coming to him."
"Yeah, but knowing Saren, just having the Council's help isn't going to stop him."
"I know. But it's a step in the right direction. His Spectre rights are going to be revoked and every patrol in Council space is going to be looking out for him. It'll help us hunt him down."
Shepard leaned against the railing, looking out over the presidium. "Are you sure you want to join me, Garrus?"
Garrus snorted. "And let you have all the fun? I don't think so."
Shepard turned to him. "What about C-Sec?"
"I've been wanting a change in my career for a while now." Garrus placed his hands on the railing with her. "I hear that joining a Spectre team can get me some pretty good benefits."
"Top notch medical plan and all the booze you can handle when you're on shore leave. But I can't compete with C-Sec's pension program." Shepard smiled.
Garrus chuckled. "I'll be fine, Shepard. I was getting sick of all the bullshit on the Citadel. At least with you I don't have to seek approval from three different superior officers before I can even draw my weapon."
"I'm glad to have you all join up. You can help us with the Normandy's armaments, Tali will be perfect for our engineering team, and Wrex…I'm just glad to have him on my side."
"Does the big bad krogan scare you, Shepard?" Garrus asked jokingly.
"Terrifies me." Shepard answered dryly. "Remember when we first met?"
"Oh yeah…I was hunting down that krogan mercenary that was wanted for running a rackeering operation on the Shin Akiba district. I was chasing him down the wards…damn, I didn't know someone so big could run so fast. And when I finally caught up to him, there you were with an unconscious krogan at your feet."
"I saw him shove a little old lady to the ground while he was running away. It would've ruined my shore leave if I let him get away with that."
"You never told me how you did it." Garrus said pointedly.
"Let's hope I never have to show you. If Wrex ever came at me like a shuttle ship, he'd flatten me like a pancake. I'd way rather go against Saren than to make that guy angry."
Garrus laughed. "Don't worry, Shepard. It's just Saren, an asari matriarch, and their army of geth that we'll have to face."
"And we're going to kick ass." Shepard grinned.
The office doors opened and everyone turned to see Ashley stride in. Wrex reached for his gun and Shepard quickly waved him off. "Relax, she's with us."
"Just got your message. Did you meet with the Council yet?" Ashley asked.
"Not yet. We're waiting for them right now."
Ashley carefully stared at Wrex. "Interesting group of people you have here, Shepard."
"They're new additions to the Normandy's crew, Chief. We'll have our orientation meeting later." Shepard joked and looked behind Ashley. "Where's Alenko?"
"Oh." Ashley rubbed at her neck. "LT ran into an old friend and they're out having drinks..."
"Good for him. I'll call if we need him."
"Are you sure?" Ashley pressed.
Shepard gave Ashley a quizzical look. "Of course. Why? Is there something wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong…" Ashley slowly replied. "Just thought if you wanted LT to be here, he'd drop what he's doing and join us."
Shepard patted Ashley on the arm. "It's not a big deal. We don't need him to be here when we meet with the Council. Let him enjoy his drinks with his friend."
Ashley frowned. "If you say so, Commander."
Kaidan nervously rubbed his thumb against the glass of water he held in his hand. He couldn't believe who was sitting with him in a presidium café. Rahna was sitting across from him, smiling softly as she stirred sugar into her tea. She was just as beautiful as he remembered, with her silken black curls cascading down her back and bright eyes the color of caramel.
He could barely lift his eyes to look at her.
When Rahna dove into his arms earlier, he found himself petrified. The sight of her took his breath away like a strong kick to the stomach. And it hurt just as badly as well.
Rahna was speaking deliriously while she was embracing him. "It's been so long! Years! How have you been? I can't believe you're here…"
He had no decipherable reply. All he could stutter out was, "R-Rahna…?"
He couldn't even respond when Ashley backed away saying, "I guess I'll leave you two to catch up…"
Kaidan fervently wished that he stopped Ashley from leaving. She would have been a good buffer to have in such an unanticipated reunion.
How the hell was he supposed to act with the woman he loved and lost so long ago?
"Is there something wrong, Kaidan?"
Her question snapped him back to the present and he saw her gazing at him from across the table with a puzzled expression. He fervently shook his head. "No. Not at all. I just…Um…"
Rahna laughed beautifully. "I know…it's so sudden. I thought I'd never see you again. It must be fate."
"Yeah…fate…" He chuckled uneasily.
Rahna leaned forward, linking her delicate hands together in front of her chin. "So what have you been up to in the past couple years?"
"Uh…Joined the Alliance military. Still with them. I'm currently stationed on the Normandy under Commander Shepard, you know, the new Spectre."
"Yes, I heard about her. She seems…sensible."
Kaidan grinned. "She's more than just sensible. She's an incredible soldier and an amazing leader. I mean, just a few moments earlier ago we were…"
"I'm glad you're happy with the Alliance." Rahna interjected with a contented smile, ending his story in mid-sentence.
"Oh…uh, thanks." Kaidan replied awkwardly.
A minute of uncomfortable silence passed between them. Kaidan struggled to find something to say to fill the void between them. "So…what have you been doing since we saw each other last?"
She gracefully shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing much. I spend most of my time doing volunteer work on the Citadel. My parents are still back on Earth. They visit every few months."
Kaidan nodded. "That's good. Is your dad still with the embassies back on Earth?"
"Yes, he is. How's your mother? Is your father still with the Alliance?"
"Mom's fine. Dad is supposed to be retired but they still call him here and there for an occasional odd job."
Rahna tilted her head thoughtfully. "That's good to hear. Tell your parents I said hello the next time you see them."
"I will. Same for your parents."
Rahna smiled lightly. "Have you spoken to anyone from back in our BAaT days?"
The question caught him by surprise. He didn't expect Rahna to ask about the old days so easily. "Yeah…Some of the guys send me messages every few months. What about you?"
She shyly lowered her eyes. "Not really. You're the first person from BAaT I've seen since they were disbanded…"
"Ah…" Kaidan felt the familiar shame creep over him again.
It was now or never. It was finally a chance to rid himself of the cloud he had hanging over his conscience for the past several years. He took a deep breath and looked her steadily in the eye. "Rahna…I never got the chance to say I was sorry for what I did."
She shook her head. "It's okay."
"No, it's not okay." Kaidan said softly. "When Vyrnnus broke your arm…I just snapped. I didn't mean to traumatize you like that. I didn't…"
Rahna placed her hands over Kaidan's clenched fist. "I understand. Please don't worry about it."
Kaidan closed his eyes. "But you were so terrified of me after that. You couldn't even talk to me. I'm so sorry."
"It's fine. We're speaking right now, aren't we?"
"Yeah. We are." Kaidan opened his eyes and saw her gentle expression. He felt a surge of reprieve. "Thanks, Rahna. I've been keeping that in for years. You have no idea how relieved I am."
Rahna nodded and moved her hands away. "So let's change the subject. Tell me, Kaidan…who was that lovely woman you were with?"
Kaidan blinked. The sudden question caught him off-guard. "Lovely woman…? Shepard?"
"The woman you were with was Commander Shepard?" Rahna asked, surprised.
"Oh. You mean Ash...Ashley." Kaidan laughed. "She's the gunnery chief back on the Normandy."
"Is she your…" Rahna trailed off.
Kaidan caught her insinuation and laughed it off. "No, no. Ash is just a friend. We're not involved."
"I see…" She paused for a moment. "You think Commander Shepard is a lovely woman?"
"Ah…Shepard and I aren't…she's my Commander…I mean she is lovely…but she's not…" Kaidan stumbled.
Rahna narrowed her eyes. "So you and Commander Shepard are together?"
Kaidan frowned. "No…not really. It's…complicated."
Before Rahna could reply, Kaidan heard a sharp beep in his commlink. He mouthed, "One second." to Rahna before accepting the call.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Lieutenant." Shepard's voice crackled over the link.
"Commander…is there something going on?" Kaidan turned to the side. Rahna listened intently as she took a slow sip of tea.
"We just met with the Council."
Kaidan slapped his forehead. "The Council meeting. I missed it! I'm sorry, Commander."
"Don't get too twisted about it. They finally did what we wanted them to do. They revoked Saren's Spectre status and he's now officially on the run."
"That's great. Now we just have to catch the bastard."
"You got it. The Council gave us a lead on where he might be. We're leaving within the hour, so get to the Normandy asap."
"Aye, aye." Kaidan responded and closed the commlink. He quickly turned back to Rahna. "I'm sorry that I have to go, Rahna. The Normandy is shipping out in a few minutes."
"That's okay. You have my mailing address now. Send me a message the next time you're back on the Citadel." She smiled pleasantly.
He got up from the table. "Sure. We'll talk again later. It was really good seeing you again."
"Same. Be careful, Kaidan. I'll be waiting for you." She said softly.
Her words made him falter a bit. He awkwardly lifted his hand. "O…okay. Goodbye, Rahna."
Kaidan ran off without looking back. As he disappeared, Rahna's delicate expression changed into one of malice.
