To say Kaidan was nervous would be an understatement. He'd been restless since he received his assignment a week ago, but now actually seeing the Normandy in person, the jitters he'd been feeling where all forming together into his stomach. He was nauseous with the anxiety of it all. The Normandy was like nothing he'd ever seen before, it was incredible. He paused for a few moments and just stared at his temporary home before finally heading towards the air lock. The ship wasn't the only thing causing the anxiety, it was also the people he was serving with. Kaidan considered himself to be a pretty good soldier, so when he had been hand picked by Captain Anderson he felt proud of himself, but he was no where near the league of the "Great Commander Shepard". So when he found out he would be apart of the mission with her he was very confused. He made his way through the Command center and headed down the stairs to find a bunk. There was a couple of younger soldiers near the elevator talking about their preferred Omni tool models. They both greeted him as he walked by and he smiled and nodded at them as he walked past. He finally made it to the bunks and after picking the bunk that had the least amount of light on it, he began placing his things into the footlocker underneath the bunk. There was a woman standing on the other side of the bunks facing away from him. She was smoothing her long blonde hair into a sleek bun. He could feel the very faint hum of her biotics, she no doubt could also feel his and she turned to look at him. When she turned around there was nothing he could do but stare at her. She was breathtaking. Her eyes had no doubt been carved from emeralds. She had pale skin and a cute button nose covered in freckles and full lips that had a slight hint of a red to them. She was wearing makeup. When she saw him her eyes lit up and she smiled warmly at him.

"Hello" she said. Her voice was as warm as her smile had been.

"Hello, I'm Kaidan, eh, Kaidan Alenko."

It was then he realized he was still staring at her. He looked away from her and tried to find anything else to look at. Unfortunately for him, there was nothing but empty bunks. He finally settled on his shoes. He was hoping that she couldn't see the flush of his from the embarrassment, but based on the heat he felt in his cheeks her eyes would have to be closed to miss it. She walked over to him as she finished her hair.

"Oh! You're the lieutenant? It's good to finally meet you, I skimmed over your service record earlier, I'm glad you'll be on the ground team with me. Your technical and biotic skills will be incredibly useful. We're lucky to have you." She reached her hand out to him to shake he took her hand in his. The low vibration of her biotics caused his to flare slightly. A blue glow danced around their arms. He let go of her hand as he began to speak.

"Eh, thanks. Im glad to be here, a little nervous but I'm sure the jitters will wear off soon enough. So you're also apart of the ground team huh? What's you're name?"

She smiled again and then it was her turn to look around for something to look at that wasn't him. When she found her feet she finally spoke,

"Jane. Jane Shepard"

Kaidan had seen vids of her before, but he hadn't recognized her. In the vids she always looked so powerful and fierce in the midst of some battle, glowing in blue he imagined she would be taller than him. She didn't look anything like that right now though, now she was at least a foot shorter than he was, and she seemed incredibly warm and kind. He felt silly being nervous to work with her now. He must've made a face because she laughed at him.

He laughed with her.

"Sorry ma'am. I hadn't recognized you."

She smiled at that. Then she looked down at her feet again.

"Well Alenko, I do have to go debrief with the captain and make sure everything goes smoothly for take off, it was good to finally meet you".

She walked out of the bunks and Kaidan just stood there for a little longer. He'd never felt like more of an idiot in his life.

He continued putting his things into his foot locker and then went down to the cargo hold. After inspecting his pistol and his armor and talking to the engineers about Omni tools for the rest of the day it was finally time to turn in for the night. He crawled into his bunk and looked over at the bunk she had been standing at earlier, it was still empty. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep, and he was met with her eyes when he closed his.