Chapter 5

The Normandy returned to the Citadel after the events on Sur'Kesh to gather supplies and make preparations for curing the genophage. While he was walking through the markets on the presidium, Shepard saw Kaidan talking to a woman in Alliance fatigues. Curious, he started to walk over to them.

"… helped, but it didn't make up for the lack of experience and training," Shepard heard the woman say with a slight accent.

"I know," Kaidan said morosely. "We can't afford to ease them into things either. I'll think of something. I just… oh. Hey, Shepard." Kaidan waved as he saw Shepard coming.

"Hey, Kaidan. Everything okay?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah. We were just talking about the war effort." Kaidan gestured to the woman.

"It's an honor to meet you, Commander. Rahna Sadik," she introduced herself as she shook Shepard's hand.

"Right, Kaidan's mentioned you a few times."

"Everything he says about me is a filthy lie, I assure you," Rahna said playfully.

"Of course," Shepard said, smiling. "So, what were you talking about?"

"Biotic troop deployments," Kaidan explained. "After you were arrested, we were all looking for ways to prepare before the Reapers showed up. I don't have to tell you how even one biotic can influence a battle, so I tried to rally the ones that weren't already in the military."

"That's how we first met each other again," Rahna added. "I'm on the board of the Radiant Foundation."

"Why is it named that?" Shepard asked.

"The Radiant was the transport that blew up over Singapore about thirty-six years ago," Kaidan explained. "Can't say I like that they named themselves after the incident that exposed me, but with its connections and the number of residents, it seemed like a good place to go and try to get the word out to biotics and convince them to enlist."

"Residents?" Shepard said, concerned. "That sounds like…"

"It's nothing like the cult we raided three years ago," Kaidan said emphatically. "It's an advocacy group. It only really became prominent while you were… gone. That's probably why you're not familiar with it."

"With so many biotics rejected by their families, and with so few job opportunities outside of the military," Rahna added, "shelter is a top priority with any biotic advocacy organization. I'm sure you're familiar with all of that."

"Not really," Shepard admitted awkwardly. "I've run into a few idiots over the years, but my biotics didn't appear until I inhaled eezo dust when I was a teenager, and they weren't detected until after I enlisted a year later, so I never really had to worry about that kind of thing."

"Lucky you," Rahna replied darkly.

"Anyway," Kaidan interrupted, "the chairman of the Radiance Foundation is Carl Juarez; another friend of ours from BAat. I went to him and laid out everything we knew about the Reapers and what it would take to defeat them. Not everyone on the board believed me, but enough did that they let me talk to the residents and got me in touch with similar groups."

"Before that, I had no idea he was so eloquent," Rahna said, amused. "The Alliance experienced a massive leap in recruiting rates among biotics, as did several private military contractors. Not as much as we had been hoping, but that fixed itself once the invasion started."

"That's what we were talking about when you arrived. The ones that didn't enlist until the invasion started don't have the training or the experience everyone else does, and I'm sure I don't have to tell you that we can't afford to ease people into things. I've been sending them strategies I already know work against Reaper forces, but that only goes so far," Kaidan explained.

"There's nothing else people can do?" Shepard asked.

"Biotic leaders have been brainstorming, and we've been getting in as much training in as little time as possible, but we are running out of time," Rahna added.

"Yeah. All I can think of is hoping enough people survive and build up experience that way," Shepard responded sadly.

"There are some other ideas, but…" Suddenly, Rahna's omni-tool started beeping. She looked slightly alarmed as she read the message. "I'm so sorry. Something happened and my unit has to deploy earlier than we thought."

"What's wrong," Kaidan asked, concerned.

"It's classified; even we won't know until we get there."

"Okay. Be careful out there," Kaidan said.

"You know that might not be possible, but I'll try," Rahna replied sadly, before turning to Shepard. "I'm glad I had the chance to meet you, Commander."

"It was a pleasure," Shepard said, shaking her hand. "Good luck out there."

"To all of us," she declared, then walked away.

Shepard waited until Rahna was out of ear-shot before asking Kaidan, "are you okay with how things ended up between the two of you?"

"I think so," Kaidan said with a shrug. "You know, I didn't even know she was on the board of the Radiant Foundation when I went to talk to Carl. It was a bit of a shock to both of us."

"How did it go?" Shepard asked.

Kaidan chuckled. "It was about as awkward as you would expect. After I talked to the board, she asked to talk to me privately. We talked for hours; about Brain Camp, how things ended between us last time, what we've both done since then. I mean, it's been eighteen years. I knew I had changed, but for some reason I wasn't expecting her to. I think it was for the better, though."

"So you two are okay?"

"Yeah. She even introduced me to her family. Her husband's a good guy from what I saw. He's not a biotic, but he enlisted just the same once he was convinced that the Reapers are real. Meeting their children, though…"

"What?" Shepard asked, raising an eyebrow.

"They're nice kids," Kaidan insisted. "It's just that meeting someone who could have been my daughter if things had gone differently was a bit surreal."

"I would imagine," Shepard replied, chuckling. "So, no regrets?"

"There's always going to be that sense of 'what could have been,' but we were apart for a long time. I care enough to just be happy for her. She deserves to move on and be happy."

"What about you?" Shepard asked coyly. "Have you moved on to anyone?"

Kaidan gave a small laugh. "Well, there's been a few people over the years, but I'm still figuring out if there's anyone now."

"Let me know once you've got it sorted out," Shepard said, smirking.

"Will do," Kaidan replied, giving a mock salute. "Anyway, I've got a few other things to take care of, then I'll see you back on the Normandy."

"Right. See you there, Kaidan."

A/N

I did my best to make it possible to remove the references to Shepard's biotics without it being noticeable. Just assume that's the case if Shepard is a non-biotic class.

Also, if anyone is wondering, the bit about Shepard not having biotics until inhaling eezo dust at the age of seventeen, then being detected after enlisting is from Word of God. It's the canonical explanation for why Shepard wasn't at BAaT and why he's older than other L3s.