CHAPTER 29: CEREMONY
Commander Shepard sighed as she did last minute tweaks to her hair. It was deciding to be slightly difficult, and her biotic flares hadn't helped matters. When she finished and emerged from the interview prep room, there were several people already waiting for her. The reception was about to start, which was just another way of providing additional alcohol to the attendees. Fortunately, she was heading over there with Alliance personnel, including Captain Anderson and Admiral Hackett.
"Ready, Commander?" the captain asked.
She shook her head emphatically. "No, sir."
"Good. Let's go," the captain replied.
She sighed, resigning herself to her fate. The three of them took Alliance transport to the event, a larger skycar that could carry all three of them comfortably, and it was only a couple minutes to the ballroom. The doors opened and Shepard waited for the two men to walk ahead of her. Neither man moved, and she let her shoulders sagged. "So much for hiding behind you both," she said quietly.
Anderson chuckled. "I know you hate these ceremonies, but this is a celebration of all of your accomplishments to this point." He held up his hands, continuing before she could respond. "Yes, I know you're about to say that many people helped you get to where you're at today, but the fact of the matter is you're ultimately here because of the things you've done and the choices you've made. Enjoy yourself a bit tonight. It is a celebration for you."
Yeah, choices I made...including the rachni. She sighed. "I know. It's just…it doesn't feel right without the rest of the crew. And everyone else who helped me get to where I am."
"There will be a chance for that," he reassured her, then paused for a second, a small grin appearing on his face. "Now, go get 'em…Kid," Anderson said.
Shepard crossed her arms and glared up at Anderson indignantly. "I'm not a kid anymore…Gramps."
Anderson snorted and gave her a quick pat on the shoulder.
She took a deep breath and entered the ballroom, glancing around at the extravagance of the event. Clearly the embassy had spared no expense, and the commander couldn't help but be in a bit of awe at the beauty of the decorations and the room. She felt both a little humbled and ashamed that they had done all of this for her. Well, not really just for her, she knew, as the senior leaders in governments and industry liked to throw parties to show their importance to themselves and each other.
Politicians and diplomats from all of the Council-affiliated species were already here and already drinking, mostly various asari champagnes. Shepard found it amusing that each species came up with similar ideas for alcohol, with the exception of the krogan, who seemed to apparently prefer actual poison in their liquors. She recognized some of the faces, and was able to spot Councilor Sparatus in the crowd. She had known the Council would be present tonight, but that fact put her on edge.
There were nearly two hundred people here, by her quick estimate, and perhaps fifty of them were talking at any one time. This, combined with the fact they were in a forty by fifty meter room tiled with metal and ceramic, mean that the din of conversation came in as more of a loud roar.
Despite the noise and conversation, one person noticed that Lieutenant Commander Layla Shepard had just entered the room, and was standing at the top of the couple dozen steps to descend into the ballroom proper. They gestured at her to the others in the conversation, and in just a couple seconds the fact of Shepard's arrival had spread to three other knots of people. A few people started applauding, and the sound of polite clapping quickly reached the rest of the conversations.
Soon much of the room was applauding her entrance, and she gave a charming smile and a wave. She slowly walked down the two dozen steps, glancing down to make sure she kept her footing, remembering the times she had lost her footing. Everyone watched her, there was no handrail, and the steps were some sort of marble that was both smooth and slick. Don't trip on your heels don't trip on your heels don't trip on your heels -
She made it to the bottom without embarrassing herself as she had done before, and several people had approached her to offer their congratulations and their hands. She gave each of them a polite smile, as she was required to, as each introduced themselves—she remembered a couple from prior ceremonies, but most she didn't recognize. A waitress came by and offered her a glass of champagne; after a moment's hesitation she took a glass. Her stomach had again reminded her that she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast several hours ago, and she now would be drinking. She sighed to herself and took a sip. The champagne was indeed quite delicious, probably the best she had ever had, but she really had to limit any alcohol until she had food. Biotic or not, she was still tiny. She could not be drunk when giving a speech, momentarily tempting as it might be.
"Commander, congratulations on your admittance to the Spectres. It is a great honor for both you and for humanity," someone told her.
"Thank you, sir," she responded with a smile.
Ambassador Udina soon appeared here, and he moved her way with several other individuals. Oh goodie, she thought dryly.
"Commander Shepard, I'm pleased you could attend. You have been quite busy the past month," he said with a smile that looked completely genuine, though she knew that it was completely faked.
"Of course, Ambassador. Thank you for hosting the ceremony," she replied with her own charming yet fake smile. She was getting pretty good at putting on fake smiles.
The ambassador introduced her to the other individuals with him, and to her displeasure they did a toast to her and to future success, forcing her to keep drinking alcohol on an empty stomach. More individuals greeted her, and she ended up having to take more sips of the champagne for the toasts. Just a few minutes later after a series of toasts, she had already finished the glass. Another was practically shoved into her hand from a passing waitress.
"Commander, good to see you again," Councilor Tevos said from just off to the commander's right, causing Shepard to startle slightly.
The Spectre straightened herself up, her stomach tying itself into knots, and turned to face the asari councilor, the most powerful person in the galaxy. "It is good to see you too, Councilor. I would like to thank you again for giving me the honor of joining the Spectres."
"You've more than earned it, Commander," Tevos said evenly.
"Thank you, ma'am. The Normandy crew is diligently searching for any new information that would aid in our assignments," Shepard replied, unaware that the exact moment she spoke about the diligence of her crew, just a few hundred meters away Wrex was downing several shots of ryncol with several crew chanting "chug."
Tevos allowed a small smile to appear on her face. "Tonight, do not discuss work. This ceremony is recognition for your achievements."
Riiiight, and you'd probably slap me in chains if it wouldn't mean having to explain the rachni to the galaxy.
More people filed past the commander, offering their congratulations. "Commander Shepard," a voice said from behind her, and it instantly drew her away from her current conversation.
She turned to face the turian, her breath hitching for a moment before she regained her composure. "Good evening, Councilor Sparatus," she said with a slightly nervous smile.
He didn't return it, pausing for a moment as he regarded her. "Congratulations," he said simply.
"Thank you, sir."
"Thank you for coming this evening," he said.
She hadn't worked with turians enough to tell exactly what his expression was, or it was just from the alcohol, but she knew it wasn't very friendly. "Of course, sir."
"I do hope you show more discretion in your future assignments than you have in your past ones," he replied, his eyes glaring slightly. He didn't say another word as he brusquely walked off.
Shepard sighed, releasing the breath that she had been holding in, and smiled again as the next set of attendees. One man wore a sleazy smile that made her skin crawl as he approached her and introduced himself. "I must say," he said with a both literally and figuratively crooked grin, "the photos and videos do not do you any justice. You are far more lovely in person."
Her eyes widened for a second in surprise, but she kept silent as she forced a fake expression that only hid some of her frustration. This wasn't the first time she had heard such comments, but they still surprised her and made her uneasy. Did these men, and a few women, that approached her in such a way really think that they could just sweet talk her into –
He gestured to a passing waiter. "Please, another glass of champagne for Miss Shepard."
A frown borderlining on a scowl formed on her face. "It's Commander Shepa – " she stopped, turning to the waiter. "Oh no thank you I'm fine I don't – " she began quickly, but the drink had once again already been practically shoved into her hand.
Shepard frowned at the glass, and she had to suppress the growing urge to biotic punch this particular parliamentarian in the face as he toasted to her success. She recalled what she could about this man from news reports about Parliament. A parliamentarian for perhaps a decade and a half, involved in military affairs but knew little about them. He did have a solid grasp of finance, and then she recalled that he had a family. Yet here he was, trying to…she sighed to herself. Should have just gone with your first thought a couple months ago right before the O-4 promotion, Layla, and you could have avoided all of this.
After thirty seconds of inane conversation, and trying to remember the man's personal life, she got a chance to ask, "How is your family? You have a wife and…two daughters, is that correct?"
The expression his eyes changed for a fleeting moment before he responded. "They are well." He began discussing inane things, trying to impress her with his influence over the massive Alliance budget, as if that would make her forget the fact that he was married. Her skin crawled at the thought, and the fact that she had to talk to this man without using her biotics on him made her stomach churn. She had been reminded that she was a very public figure in the Alliance, and she had to act as such. While it was part of the job as a public figure, dealing with people such as this parliamentarian was certainly one of the least pleasant aspects.
She glanced around, hoping for a protocol officer to appear and bring around other guests to be introduced. None were in sight. The ONE time I need you…
"Commander Shepard," a voice said behind her.
"Parliamentarian Burns," she said with a look of relief and for the first time since entering the room, a genuine smile.
"Congratulations," Burns said with a smile and a hearty handshake.
"Thank you, sir."
"I'm glad they chose you. Humanity couldn't have a better representative. And after what you did for my family, you can drop the formality around me," Burns replied.
Shepard's mind flashed back to the first time she had talked with Burns years ago, the terror evident despite the low quality of the video call, the desperate voice pleading for the return of his wife and daughter. Shepard had done just that, ending the ransom and standoff without a single injury.
Since that day, Burns had held up his end of the bargain, not only insisting on generous reparations for the early generation of biotics, but passing the first legislation which prohibited discrimination based on biotic status, and ensuring said legislation had the teeth the punish offenders. It had helped, but Shepard knew there were other biotics who weren't famous that still faced bigotry.
After talking with Burns and ignoring the handsy parliamentarian, who had fortunately walked away, for a couple minutes, the protocol officer appeared and whisked her away. Of course. NOW you show up.
"Good luck, Commander," Burns told her.
As she walked to the next knot of diplomats, she found walking straight had started to become a slight effort, and it wasn't from the shoes. She really started to feel the champagne. Ceremony with an open bar or not, it wouldn't do for her to slur through the speech.
A senior hanar diplomat was next for introductions, and she wasn't sure if it was the alcohol he had imbibed or something else, but he seemed quite excited to meet her. Instead of hovering at a constant height above the ground, the hanar bobbed up and down as he floated to her, his skin quickly flashing through pink and magenta hues, displaying his very high level of excitement. She momentarily imagined the hanar wearing an ugly Christmas sweater, replete with flashing lights.
"This one is tremendously honored to make your acquaintance! You have been touched by the Enkindlers!" he 'shouted'. Hanar communicated through bio-luminescence, and as a result, nearly all hanar that worked with other species had subdermal implants that translated the electrical impulses into sound energy.
Well, that explains why he's so excited. "Thank you, sir," she responded with a smile. She offered her hand – she always found it amusing that most species used handshakes as greetings – and the hanar enthusiastically took her hand, forearm, and her other hand in three of his tentacles.
"You have seen their glory, and used their most holy artifacts! This one is humbled to be in your presence!" he continued as he bobbed up and down in barely contained excitement. "Please tell this one! What did you see in the holy beacon?" he asked.
Memories of the slaughter, the death, the pain from the beacon flooded into her mind…HIDE she tried to control her breathing as the - "I-It…I…I'm honestly not sure. I didn't really understand much of it," she replied quietly, looking down at the ground. She blinked a couple times to flush the visions away as the hanar diplomat, oblivious to her unease, continued to eagerly ask her questions about the beacon and the prothean ruins on Therum. Finally a protocol officer moved her away from the enthusiastic hanar.
Next came Cayln, the elcor ambassador, and Shepard found that he was actually quite personable, despite their very subdued emotions when compared to humans. To elcor, even the calmest members of every other species must seem like hyperactive salarian children in the midst of a sugar rush being zapped with cattle prods. Introductions and persons came and went, and she had no idea how much time had passed before a protocol officer retrieved her from the current discussions, and another began shepherding everyone else into the dining area. This was a slow process that took several minutes, as the alcohol had been flowing quite freely and the attendees were not quite as agreeable as a result. He then shepherded her to towards the back. She had to suppress a giggle at the job function of protocol officers at this event. Shepherding Shepard at Shepard's party…she glanced down at the nearly empty glass in her hand. This asari champagne had to be pretty strong for her to find that funny.
She went behind the stage, reviewing the speech that had been provided to her by the Press Corps. She had made a fair number of edits, and in her mind, improvements.
"Ready, Commander?" Admiral Hackett asked.
No, sir. Shepard took a deep breath. "Yes, sir."
Just a few seconds later Admiral Hackett was introduced, who entered the presentation stage. A moment later there was polite applause from the room. The admiral began speaking, but Shepard didn't hear many of the words. She focused as best she could on her own speech she would give.
Anderson noted her expression and state. "You OK?" he asked with a bit of concern.
She looked up to him, her gaze taking a brief moment to settle on him. Yeah, she had too much champagne. Oh well. "Sure."
He sighed. "Too much champagne?"
"Probably." She shrugged. "I mean, yes sir. But really, what's the worst that could happen?" she said.
"You trip and fall again."
She glared up at him, pointing a threatening finger at him. "If you just jinxed me, I will find you."
"Don't worry, half the people here are probably already too drunk to remember anything you say from tonight," he said before turning serious. "You got this."
"Thanks," she said softly. She took a couple deep breaths to steady her nerves, and she reminded herself that there weren't any cameras here, so it couldn't be too bad…she had done these before, but not drinking this much…
"Ladies and gentlemen, the first human Spectre, Lieutenant Commander Layla A. Shepard," Hackett's voice boomed from the stage.
Uh oh.
"Now go get 'em," Anderson said quietly to her with a quick pat on the shoulder.
She emerged onto the stage to surprisingly loud applause. She focused on walking in a straight line, giving the crowd a beaming smile and a wave as she walked toward the podium. Well, good start. I didn't trip.
The microphone boom automatically adjusted to her short stature, and she continued to smile as the applause continued with little sign of abating. Wow, practically none of you must know about the rachni.
"Thank you," she said into the microphone, keeping her smile and giving another wave.
It took perhaps another ten seconds for the applause to subside. Shepard took a deep breath and started to speak.
"Thank you all for being here tonight. Like me, I'll keep this speech short. Besides, dinner is right after I'm done talking, and we biotics have appetites," she said evenly.
The assembly laughed, some polite, some sincere, with a sprinkling of applause throughout.
She continued after the laughter subsided. "I'm honored that the Council and the Systems Alliance selected me as the first human Spectre. It is a tremendous privilege, and I will represent the Spectres, the Alliance, and humanity to the best of my ability.
"However, we must recognize that I would not be here tonight without the work and skill of countless people – some of them are in the audience tonight. The fellow navy personnel, marines, intelligence analysts, logisticians, security – I am simply the public face of all the talented and diligent work each and every one of them do every day. We are a team, and each member is as vital to successful operations as I am."
She continued her speech, and she saw that instead of the normal disinterest towards ceremony speeches, a few members of the audience actually looked a bit engaged. They sat forward slightly in their seats, and a few heads nodded with her.
"Thank you," she finished, and to her great surprise some stood to applaud her earnestly, with the rest of the attendees grudgingly standing to applaud. She gave the crowd another smile as she walked down from the stage, careful to watch her step and not trip.
Anderson met her at the bottom of the stage. "You're getting better at that," he said after the attendees resumed talking, resuming a semi-loud roar from the three dozen simultaneous discussions.
"Better is a relative term," she replied. "And is the enemy of good."
He chuckled. "Come on, at least you didn't trip this time."
She glared up at him. "Yet. And if you jinxed me this time – again – I will end you...sir." She glanced around for several moments, looking at the nearby tables, her amusement slowly fading. "Where's Kahlee?" she asked slowly, quietly, with concern in her voice.
"She couldn't get away from work. A student had…a dangerous reaction."
"I'm sorry, David," she replied sadly.
"That's life as being one of the few humans in the galaxy who actually understands how biotic implants work."
Shepard didn't respond, looking away for a moment. "If…if there's anything I can do to help…"
"I, and she, appreciate that, Commander. But tonight is about you," he reminded her as he led her to the table. She sighed, wishing that David would stop looking after her so much and live a little himself sometimes. Though he could probably say the same thing about her needing to live a little, she knew.
She took her seat of "honor." Fortunately most of the personnel at her table were military, including Captain Anderson and Admiral Hackett. However, to the commander's disappointment, the ambassador and his wife were both present, along with a pair of senior parliamentarians, though Udina's wife seemed to be the exact opposite in personality to the ambassador. And the ambassador had been quite complimentary to her the entire evening…was it just the alcohol, or did it seem that he had actually softened up a bit towards her? No, it was the alcohol and the protocol at formal events, she knew. The rachni ended any chance of a working relationship with him, and practically anyone else that knew about it.
Dinner was served a couple minutes later, and few questions were asked of Shepard while she ate her biotic double portion. It was pretty amusing – she was the smallest person at the table but had the largest portion of food, something she had to not giggle at. The food was indeed delicious, as to be expected at these events, but the wine was something else entirely. She realized she had finished her entire glass with just part of the meal when a waiter refilled her glass nearly to the rim unprompted, which prompted a skeptical look from her towards the wine.
She finished the meal with only a couple interruptions, and dessert was brought out. Shepard had no idea what it was, other than it had chocolate, it was incredibly rich, and it was delectable. There were a few extra of the chocolate confections, and she did not hesitate to avail herself of a second, then a third.
"Commander, I heard you've had great success hunting the geth," one of the parliamentarians said.
She nodded, and the room bobbed up and down with her. That probably wasn't a good thing. Anderson shot her a quick glance. "We have, sir. The crew has done a tremendous job."
"The Normandy has my vote of confidence. There's been some talk on expediting the construction of her sister ships."
Shepard's eyes widened slightly. While the drive core and the stealth system had made an enormous difference in all of the engagements, it was only a matter of time before someone developed a counter to the ship and its tactics. "We'll continue to do our best, sir." Expedited construction was mostly for show – the supply "chains" for such complex systems were more of a mass of webs rather than a few chains, and increasing the production speed by more than a few percent simply wasn't possible, and often entailed significant cost increases.
Conversation turned to other topics, and Shepard excused herself to one of the restrooms. She rinsed her mouth out and stared into the mirror, watching the room – or her – sway back and forth slightly. That shouldn't happen. She paused, then checked her Omni-tool.
She sighed. She certainly owed the entire crew for saving her rear many times over the past month, and she had already written many of the crew up for commendations on their impressive performance. She would rather be off spending time with her crew and celebrating with them. At least Admiral Hackett and Captain Anderson were here, that made the ceremony at least bearable. But she wanted to at least spend a bit of liberty with the crew, and she really wanted to spend time with –
Kaidan. She really just wanted to spend time with Kaidan. She frowned to herself, shaking her head, watching the rest of the room shake with it. There were many, many, many reasons why becoming closer with Kaidan was a bad idea. Even ignoring the rules, after the rachni she couldn't afford any more errors in judgment. Stop it can't do it nope not going to happen, she reminded herself, clearing her mind of the thought of Kaidan as best she could.
Dessert had finished up, and many of the attending dignitaries had left their tables and were circulating around the room, beginning to form knots of conversation. She took her seat at the table, and talked a little with Captain Anderson.
That discussion, however, did not last long. Ambassador Udina pulled her away so she could be introduced to other persons of distinction. She smiled at each of them, filing their names away for future reference as best she could; the alcohol was really slowing her thinking.
More introductions were made, a pair of volus, another elcor, a trio of asari…Shepard hadn't realized just how much time had passed, but the number of introductions and congratulations had now been in the dozens.
Next was a man that had moved to her side and immediately put his arm on her back, and she slowly pulled away. He made some comment about how pretty she was, and those damned protocols forced her to not biotic punch the man in the face while she slowly pulled away from him. The man ordered a drink for himself as well as for her. Despite her protests, the waitress returned with both of their drinks.
She really wanted to biotically throw the man with his overpriced tux into the fountain, and the alcohol made it incredibly tempting.
She grudgingly took a sip, and she had to admit, it was probably the best liquor she had ever had. Her expression showed it, and the man replied with a smile, "I have yet to meet anyone that doesn't like it."
"Where is it from?" she asked, taking another drink without much hesitation.
"Thessia. They only make a limited number of bottles." He then told her the price of each bottle.
Her eyes nearly popped out of her head on hearing the number, and if she would have had any of the liquor in her mouth at the time, she probably would have choked. She glanced at the glass again with a slight frown, thinking of the many, many better things that money could be spent on.
Captain Anderson noticed her predicament and helped her extricate from the situation without resorting to a biotic punch, and she excused herself to get some air, glancing around the room. By now a majority of the attendees were inebriated, and there finally had been significantly fewer individuals now coming to talk to her or introduce themselves. She didn't see any of the councilors around.
Her mind drifted back to Kaidan. She figured the crew was still out and around, and she wondered…What's the worst that could happen?
Lots of things.
She temporized, finally opening up her Omni-tool as she tried to decide what she should say. Managed to leave the ceremony! :) Are you all still out and around? She responded to Kaidan's message, and regretted it a moment later. A smiley face? REALLY, Layla? she thought. She found herself wondering just how much alcohol was in this asari stuff. She quickly looked it up on her Omni-tool…well, that number would certainly explain why she was sending omni-tool messages with smiley faces.
She paused before typing again, temporizing. If so, would you mind if I joined you all?
She stood on the mezzanine by herself, away from anyone who could see her, getting some fresh air. She had spent little time on the Presidium, but she was pretty sure that the buildings, fountains, and trees weren't supposed to sway like that. Especially when the Citadel did not have any wind.
Her Omni-tool flashed, and a moment of excitement sprung up in her chest at the response before she realized that she had to be careful around Kaidan. Come join us. We're at a lounge in the Presidium called Neutron. Rather unimaginative name, I know.
She looked up the location, and saw it was close to a skycar drop off, seeing just how close it was. She wanted to go back to the Normandy and change, but that would mean going back to the embassy, then the Wards dock. Someone would notice, and then she probably be retrieved by the MPs and forced to return to the ceremony. She shrugged to herself; she might as well go straight to the bar so she could truly escape. It literally says I'm three minutes away. I'll see you in a few!
The alcohol in her mind caused her to start thinking about Kaidan and her…
She shook her head clear of the thoughts. Lieutenant Alenko was a fellow officer in the chain of command. She couldn't, especially as every decision she now made after the rachni would be heavily scrutinized. But at least she could spend time with the crew.
After another moment of consideration, she took a deep breath and walked to the skycar station. She input the destination and the skycar flew itself to a station just a hundred meters from the bar.
Shepard got out slowly, keeping her balance despite the alcohol and heels. A couple people did double takes on seeing her, but fortunately all quickly returned to what they were doing before noticing her. She started walking towards the bar, grateful for the movement and fresh air, but starting to think that walking alone, even in the Presidium, probably wasn't the best idea right now, between the alcohol the fact that Saren's goons apparently wanted to her alive. She had been attacked not far from here before. She should have waited to sober up a bit, or go back to the Normandy, or at least tell Captain Anderson that she was leaving, even if it risked her having to endure the ceremony for a couple more hours. She wasn't in the best state to defend herself if someone wanted to attack her. But no one would try to kidnap her on the Citadel. It was bright, open, and with cameras everywhere. But still…
"Commander!? Commander Shepard! It's you!" a voice said.
That voice…I've heard it before, her mind said, instantly alert and alarmed. She turned to face the voice, and worry swelled up within her. Dark energy flickered around her hands in response.
How the hell does he even keep finding me!? Her corona flared up around her arms.
The alcohol was slowing her thinking, but the training took over as she evaluated her surroundings. Conrad Verner had a bag of groceries in his hand, which at the top looked to contain fresh fruit, but underneath that could be anything, though it would take him a moment to reach under there. Some people were around, and two of them glanced at her for a moment before moving on. No one else had luggage, bags, or anything that could be carrying a weapon…she should never had left alone in this state, not when Saren apparently wanted her alive, and had already hired assassins on the Citadel once. Certainly she didn't want to be alone with this creep, but she did have her biotics that she wouldn't hesitate to use if she needed to. The fallout could be dealt with later. The area was open, and people would see it if Conrad tried anything…
"It's great to see you again!" Conrad exclaimed as he approached her, oblivious to her uneasiness as she took a step back, managing to not trip. She turned slightly to the side to an angled wall, in a position where no one could sneak up behind her. By glancing to the sides, she could see reflections in glass, so every person that approached her would be seen.
"Conrad. Hi," she replied with a calm look that was very forced. She subconsciously rubbed the back of her neck before she put her arm back down – she might need it to use her biotics or fight back.
"Listen, Commander, I know you're super busy with your secret missions. I have a proposal for you," he said, stopping about a meter from her and placing the bag of apparent groceries on the ground. She glanced inside again, noting nothing unusual in the contents.
She remained silent for several moments. "Um…okay. What?" she finally asked slowly, and immediately regretting that she had asked. She dreaded whatever his proposal would be, knowing she would be squicked out by whatever he was about to say. Though her eyes looked to be focused on him, she used her still blurred peripheral vision to scan for anything out of the ordinary…nothing. Just a few civilians going about their business…her skin began to crawl in trepidation at whatever Conrad was about to ask of her. Her biotics remained on a hair trigger.
"There's so much in the galaxy to protect, and I was thinking that one human Spectre isn't enough. You need someone else with you, someone else to help you. So, you could make me a second Spectre to help!" he exclaimed.
Flabbergasted, her jaw dropped open as she was silent for several seconds, completely shocked by the request. His response surprised her so much that she stopped monitoring her surroundings. She had expected a creepy date proposal or something of that nature, but his response came completely out of left field to her. "W-w-w…what?" she finally stammered out once she regained the ability to speak.
"Yeah, a second human Spectre! I could join your crew, or get my own missions. Whatever I could do to help out!" he exclaimed, completely oblivious to the lunacy of his request.
I have not been knocked unconscious nearly enough even in the past month for that to be a good idea, she thought. Layla stood speechless for several moments, before realized she had not been keeping an eye on her surroundings, and she did a quick scan…nothing was amiss, except for this creepster in front of her. After several seconds of continued silence she finally shook her head emphatically, stating forcefully, "Conrad, I-I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why? Why not?" he pouted. "I think I'd make a great Spectre!"
"Conrad, being a Spectre and becoming an N7 is incredibly tough." She paused, considering what she should say before continuing. "What keeps us working hard is knowing that there are people doing their part back home to keep humanity moving forward. That keeps people like me going when we are out in the Traverse." She had to not shake her head at just how cheesy her little speech was.
"But I want to help!"
"Conrad, each of us does contribute in our own way. You will still help. The people out there at…out fighting battles are unfortunately just the most noticed. Countless people in the Alliance and in humanity do their jobs behind the scenes, and without them doing their jobs, I could never do mine."
He let out a long sigh, hanging his head. "I guess, you're…you're right. I…I guess I just wanted to help. My research doesn't feel like it's helping anyone," he pouted.
Out of some very odd, morbid curiosity, she asked him, "What research are you doing?" She immediately regretted asking the question, and prayed that it didn't lead him on.
"Xenotechnology and dark energy integration. We're trying to unlock additional prothean technology, but only a few hanar are interested in my team's research," he said, embarrassed.
It took her a few seconds to process this fact as her mouth opened again in surprise. "Wait what?" she finally asked. "That's…actually pretty useful," she had to admit.
"But the Alliance doesn't think so!" Conrad half-protested, half-sulked.
With the destroyed prothean beacon, I suspect that's changed. "Who have you talked to in the Alliance?"
Conrad told her who he had talked to and what he did in over the next couple minutes, and despite her concerns about his interest in her, it did seem that he was a brilliant scientist. A person doesn't earn two STEM-based PhDs by being dumb, she knew. She told him which group he should contact in the Alliance, hoping that both he could help and that she would never hear from him again. And by contacting that group, they would do a quick background check on him…please God don't let him have a shrine of me in his apartment. The thought made her skin crawl again and she suppressed a shudder.
"Thank you, Commander," he said, now apparently elated that he could actually help with something. She took a deep breath to calm herself as she glanced around for anything else out of the ordinary. "So what are you doing here?"
"I had a couple things to take care of," she replied quickly, as she started to move away from him. "Good luck with your research." She put a bit of distance between herself and Conrad, and glanced in a reflection to see him standing there watching her walk away. The continuing stare he gave her made her skin crawl. She turned a corner, and it didn't appear that he was following her. How the hell did he even know I was here? That can't be a coincidence. This is beyond creepy. The commander suppressed a shudder, noticing she was just a few meters from Neutron. She knew she should probably head back to the embassy immediately, but then she'd have to walk back to the skycar station, so it might actually be better just to meet up with the rest of the crew, if she could find them in this moderately sized bar. Or she could just call one of them, but the door was right here.
She apprehensively stepped inside, glancing around to see if she saw -
There was Emerson, and Williams, and also…oh. Her eyes settled on Kaidan, and she blinked a couple times.
The man she was currently staring at wore dark jeans, with a tight-fitting white t-shirt underneath a dark brown jacket. That looked suited him. Like, really suited him, she thought. She paused a moment before approaching them, her eyes locked on the lieutenant. She shook her head clear, as her current line of thinking was entirely unprofessional. There were regulations, she couldn't –
Shepard took a deep breath, trying to focus on anything other than a ridiculously handsome lieutenant as she approached the crew.
Alenko, Williams, and Emerson marines left the side room and entered the lounge proper. They glanced around, but they didn't see her anywhere –
The door had opened as a group of three women had left, and then another person entered.
Shepard took several steps inside, glancing around before slowly walking towards the back, looking to see if she would see any of them. The lieutenant felt a wave of relief that she was okay. She can take care of herself, of course. She doesn't need you to look after her. Idiot.
The commander then saw Alenko, Williams, and Emerson after a couple moments, as the three were in civilian clothing and, unlike Shepard in a white uniform, didn't stand out from the rest of the patrons.
"H-hi," she said with a smile that for some reason looked slightly nervous as she wrung her hands for a moment, but with the scotch, Alenko couldn't quite place the rest of her expression. "Sorry it took longer than I thought."
"Let's go back to the rest of the crew," Alenko said.
Williams and Emerson exchanged a brief look that contained relief and a slight bit of amusement, leading the way around the corner to their area of the lounge, leaving the two biotic officers walking side by side.
"Sorry I was late," she said, looking up at Alenko with a smile. There was a slight glaze in her pretty blue eyes, he noticed, just enough to tell the lieutenant that she had been drinking at the ceremony. Nope Kaidan don't think of your CO as pretty.
"I'm just glad you got here. We were…were…w-well…" the lieutenant started to say but stumbled over the words, realizing how that would sound.
"Worried about me?" she said softly, sweetly as she smiled up at him. She was smiling a lot now, his mind noticed…Inviting her was a bad idea.
"Well y-yeah," he stammered back, looking away and reaching up to scratch his shoulder as he thought about anything but her to prevent his face from flushing. "There were the assassins last time on the Presidium…"
She gave him yet another charming smile. "That's so swe-nice of you to worry, but I was fine," she said, looking down as she fiddled with her hair for a moment. "None of those assassins this time around, but I did get tied up for a bit. Probably would have been best to not walk around alone," she said with a look of concern. "But, I'm here now."
Shepard entered the room to a couple cheers and shouts of "Commander!" "L-C!"
She grinned in response. "Thanks for allowing me to crash your liberty."
"What was the hold up?" the lieutenant asked.
She looked to Kaidan, and then at Ashley. "Remember that Conrad Verner guy?"
Both marines said nothing for a second, then their jaws simultaneously dropped.
"What!?" Alenko exclaimed.
"No fuckin' way…" Williams replied, looking nauseous.
"Yes, it was him," Layla answered, in a voice that had both amusement and disgust.
Everyone else was utterly confused, so their CO explained who he was and their prior encounters.
"He had a bag of groceries…at least, I hope those were groceries…" Shepard said with a slight shudder.
"But…well…"
She shrugged. "It seems he has an apartment here on the Presidium. Or he really just wants to be made a Spectre," she finished.
Several variants of "Huh?" sounded, along with a "What the fuck?" from Williams.
"Yeah, he thinks we need two Spectres for 'super-secret missions.' I mean, running into him again could have been much worse – I'm not kidnapped and tied up in his skycar trunk."
"But…you've ran into him three times on the Presidium!" Ashley exclaimed.
"Yeah, that's isn't completely creepy at all," she said, now looking disturbed. "He apparently has not one, but two PhDs, and correspondingly his only social skill is the ability to make women extremely uncomfortable," she continued, taking a deep breath. She opened up her Omni-tool and typed something in rapidly. "Just jotting down a couple notes. I'll have the counterintelligence folks look into him."
"Do you get…fans like that often?" Garrus asked.
"Not really, no. Well, at least none that I know of." She looked down, shuddering slightly. "Pretty much everyone stares at a distance. I don't know of any other stalkers or creeps like that, but that doesn't mean they aren't out there. It's probably better not to dwell on it too much, and to always be on the lookout."
"How was that ceremony?" a crewwoman asked from another table.
"Not bad. But it just seems wrong…all of that was for me, yet I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you all. We're a team." She sighed. "I finally was able to sneak away when most of the remaining attendees were too drunk to notice," she grinned. "But now, I need another drink!"
Several others were due for another round as well, and Alenko joined them as they made their way to the bar with Shepard. As he was a fit biotic male, he could process alcohol pretty much faster than nearly all other humans. But drinking more could be a very bad idea around the commander…
What harm would there be in making a move? the small part of his mind not clouded by alcohol asked itself.
Lots of things, the rest of his mind replied.
He ended up standing next to Shepard at the bartop, close enough that her shoulder touched his elbow. He pulled his arm in closer to him, faintly smelling something feminine. If the lieutenant had glanced in her direction, he would have seen that for a moment she nervously fiddled with her tie tab for a moment. She twirled with ends of her hair with her right hand while she waited for the bartender. Williams had helped Joker to the bar, and the former was staring directly at Alenko, before turning back to Joker.
"I'm going to go with more funny than sad, at least right now," Williams said, then shook her head. "Though it may change if this keeps up."
"Agreed," the pilot said as he took a long swig of beer. He grinned at the lieutenant before the chief helped him back to the table.
When the turian bartender reached them, Shepard asked, "Can you move all of their tabs onto mine?"
"O-of course, ma'am," the bartender said. He had clearly recognized the commander.
"We've been knocking back some drinks," a crewman mentioned. "This tab will be massive."
She shrugged, then her face broke into a wide, mischievous grin. "I just can expense it."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Those expense report approvers are brutal."
"Ma'am, would you like something to drink?" the bartender asked her once it was her turn to order.
She ordered a drink, to the surprise of everyone but Alenko and Williams. She noticed shocked expressions on all the faces, then asked with a bit of confusion, a slightly cocked head, and slightly narrowed eyes, "What?"
"Well, I…I didn't…I didn't expect you to drink Cosmos," one of the crewman finally said after several seconds of silence. "Uh, ma'am."
"Too girly?" she asked with a grin.
"Well, yeah…"
Her drink was prepared, and then the bartender turned to Alenko. He faced the bartender and ordered his scotch, avoiding his CO's gaze, only to have a woman that appeared on his other side start flirting with him.
This woman was probably about fifteen years older than him, but very attractive and dressed rather provocatively. He was polite, but quickly mentioned he had a girlfriend, which to his surprise and slight disgust didn't seem to deter her advances in the least. He glanced to his other side, and saw several of the crew grinning and smirking at him, but then remembered that the commander was standing right next to him.
He stated again that he was already seeing someone - that's a load of bullshit, he thought - and left, following the rest of the crew to the tables.
Everyone took seats again, and for some reason Joker and Williams had moved seats, resulting in Alenko sitting next to Shepard. There wasn't much room, and when settling into the booth his hip grazed his CO's. She didn't comment. Shit…hopefully she didn't notice. Why did he bother responding to her omni-tool message in the first place? He should have just pretended to ignore it, and say he didn't see it when he saw her tomorrow.
He had barely gotten settled when a senior chief at the next table asked him with a shit-eating grin, "How'd it go this time, L-T?"
"Wait, 'this time?'" the crewman next to him added. "What do you mean 'this time'?"
The chief jerked his thumb towards Alenko. "Another lady made moves on the L-T at the bartop." This was followed by incredulous expressions from most of the crew.
"What?"
"Again?"
"Seriously?"
"The rest of us maybe get two women approach us in an entire year, and you get two in less than five fucking minutes while ordering drinks at some random bar," a serviceman first class grumbled with a scowl and a shake of his head. "Unbelievable."
Alenko noticed Shepard fidget slightly next to him, and out of the corner of his eye he saw that she looked a little …upset? Shit, remember, she's a professional. And you're supposed to be one, despite your recent thoughts about her…you need to make her forget this. He started telling an amusing story, trying to steer the conversation away from the women that had been hitting on him. Besides, it never failed to generate some laughs…hopefully it would make people, especially the commander, forget the girls at the bar.
Judging by the laughter of the people present, he had successfully distracted them. The follow up jokes and laughs continued for a couple minutes, and some of the crew went back for another round.
Alenko's omni-tool went off again. Surprised, he opened the message. It was from Captain Anderson.
Is Commander Shepard with you?
Yes sir, he replied immediately. She's fine.
Good, came the reply. Alenko wondered...had she not told anyone there where she was going? He was glad she was with him...the crew, now.
The lieutenant's head snapped up at the comment. "L-T, you have to head back to the bar. See what happens this time," a crewman said with an enormous grin.
Alenko waved his hand, snorting through clenched teeth in frustration that the topic was brought up again. "I'm done for now. Maybe for the night."
"I have to see if this is just a one-off thing at this particular bar or not," the crewman continued.
"Don't think so," Williams said with a smirk. "L-T here had our asari waitress put the moves on him at that embassy bar when we were investigating you-know-who." The chief glanced between the two biotic officers before shooting a knowing look at Joker, stifling laughter. Wrex began a slow, low chuckle.
"You're joking…right?" another crewman asked skeptically.
"Nope. The only joker here is Joker," the chief responded, pointing a finger to the pilot.
"Damn right," the pilot said, downing another large swig of beer, before suppressing more laughter.
"I actually think the L-T could do with a little more liquid courage," Williams said with a smirk.
"Yes," Wrex said bluntly. "He does."
Alenko glanced down to the commander seated next to him. He couldn't tell exactly what her expression was, other than it wasn't good. Great, your CO now probably thinks you're a sleazeball. He quickly changed the topic back to the ceremony, something, anything to avoid talking about the women making moves on him in front of his CO.
"The politicians have their pants on this time?" Joker asked.
Shepard giggled and Alenko chuckled, while everyone else looked around, confused.
Joker began explaining after another long swig of beer. "It was when we were running drills, after we just found out you were XO. The three of us were talking about…" he gestured to Shepard and Alenko, "Shit, I can't even remember what we were originally talking about." The pilot paused yet again to take another swig of beer. "Then we brought up what was going on over at the embassy, and I made a comment about all of the politicians were now running around with their pants off. Then you," the pilot pointed at Shepard, "immediately responded with something like 'they're politicians, they never had their pants on to begin with'."
The commander grinned in response.
"And that," the pilot continued, "is when I knew you would be a good XO and future CO."
She shrugged. "I'm glad—and surprised—that is all it takes to be evaluated as 'good.' Just don't tell any of the politicians what I have said or will continue to say about them." She brought up her Omni-tool to quickly check the time. "And given the time after the ceremony, that statement is…um…probably starting to be accurate, we shall say."
A crewwoman widened her eyes at the comment. "Do they…they make, uh, moves on you there?"
Shepard nodded, her expression immediately changing to a frown of disgust. "Most of the time they just make the moves on each other, but after they get several drinks in them they'll start to make moves on…well, anything that moves. Another good reason to not linger too long."
"What do these ceremonies normally entail?" a crewman asked.
"Most follow a pretty standard formula. A reception with alcohol. A speech or two, with more alcohol and toasts. A meal with yet more alcohol. And then just more alcohol. After that, occasional...'disputes' can result," Shepard responded.
"What kind of disputes?"
"The alcohol tends to lower inhibitions, so sometimes people decide to settle old scores the old-fashioned way. Usually just yelling and and occasional shoving with fistfights, but I've actually seen a brawl involving furniture once," she replied.
"So I attend the next ceremony then?" Wrex immediately asked. "I will absolutely smash some chairs over some skulls to add some excitement."
Shepard glared at him. "No fighting or sending people to the hospital. It's not Doctor Chakwas' job…to…"
Her gaze slowly turned to face Doctor Chakwas, and her eyes slowly went wide as saucers. The commander's hands went to cover her mouth in shock for a moment before she broke into laughter.
She laughed for a good ten seconds, and the chorus of "whats," "huhs," and "what's so funny" went entirely unnoticed by her. "I…I just realized. Doctor, your – " she stopped for a few moments for more laughter, " – last name is…an anagram of…hacksaw!" She promptly broke into a giggle fit after making this proclamation.
Everyone else on the crew thought about Chakwas' last name, and it took a few seconds for them to realize the same conclusion, as all minds at the table sans Wrex had been clouded by the liquid refreshments. "I wondered when someone was going to notice that," the doctor replied, amused, taking a graceful sip of her drink.
"Okay, with all of that giggling – " Ashley began, staring in disbelief.
"Yeah, who would have thought that Shepard, the N7, Spectre, biotic kicker of asses giggles like this after a few drinks. Unbelievable and ridiculous," Joker muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Just how much alcohol did you have at the ceremony?"
"A lot, especially for someone my size and despite being biotic."
"Huh," Joker said with a raised eyebrow. "How many drinks?"
"Just one, Officer!" she exclaimed. "Wait, shouldn't I pronounce it Occifer, right?"
"Just one. Yeah, never heard a drunk say that on the Presidium before," Garrus interjected. "And I hope you didn't drive yourself. C-Sec makes a fortune off of citations busting people on driving skycars while drunk in the Presidium, despite all of the automated cabs."
Layla frowned theatrically, holding her arms up and her wrists together. "You caught me. I just crashed a skycar into that miniature mass relay monument close to the Citadel tower. That's when I decided, 'No, this time I'll take an automated cab'."
"Technically, Garrus isn't C-Sec anymore, right?" Williams asked. "So you're off the hook…I think?"
"So that means I'm not going to get arrested?" Shepard asked with mock relief.
"Can C-Sec…actually arrest Spectres?" Tali asked, which was quickly followed by several pondering looks from around the table.
"Hmm…I'm actually…not sure," Garrus replied, as the their collective minds began to ponder that question, all present except Wrex slowed by alcohol. "C-Sec has ultimate legal authority on everything that occurs on the Citadel itself – the Citadel Fleet controls the space around the station. But…since Spectres are above the law, I actually don't think C-Sec can do anything, other than appeal to the Council to have their Spectre status revoked. Once that happens, then we can arrest them, maybe?" He shrugged, finishing off his drink "I suppose the Spectre can agree to be arrested, but they could decide at any moment to change their mind, and there's legally nothing we can do."
"I guess there's only one way to find out," Shepard grinned wickedly. "Think of what the embassy would do if they saw me crash a skycar into that relay monument, and then as C-Sec led me off in handcuffs!"
"That whole situation would be a…what is the human saying, that my colleague would always say? Crap fire?" Garrus asked.
"Dumpster fire," Layla said as she giggled again. Garrus still looked a bit confused, so she continued. "It's a big bin of garbage that is burning, and because it's trash and it's gross and it's messy and it smells and it's on fire, no one wants to deal with it." Her eyes suddenly narrowed. "Speaking of that mass relay monument thingy, why'd they put it there? Why did they make a statue of a relay in some random corner of the Presidium? Why is it there and not someplace more prominent?"
"Okay, wow, you've had a lot to drink." Williams stated the obvious observation for all of them.
"Guilty!"
Most of the crew departed to get yet another round, leaving the two officers alone at the table. Kaidan glanced at his empty glass, and when he looked back up he noticed Shepard was looking at him. She quickly looked away, opening her omni-tool. "Uh oh," she said quietly.
"What?"
She opened a message, quickly typing something in. "Captain Anderson. He asked where I was at a while ago."
Kaidan chuckled briefly. "Yeah...he asked me if you were with us. I told him you were fine, you were with us."
She looked into his eyes for a couple moments before looking away. "Thank you," she said quietly. "I shouldn't have left without letting him know, and it would have been safest to just head back to the embassy, or the ship."
"Yeah. Well...you're here with us now."
She nodded, remaining silent for a while. "Well, since we all are here...getting another scotch, Kaidan?" she finished quickly.
"Not sure," he replied simply, momentarily distracted by the feeling of warmth spread from his ears to the rest of his chest. The one thing he was sure about right now was that he liked it when she said his first name…
She wrung her hands for a moment before adopting a more confident expression. "Well, I will if you will," she challenged with narrowed eyes and a grin.
"I didn't think you drank scotch," he asked her with a smirk and raised eyebrow
She shook her head. "I don't drink whisky of any kind," she continued with a grin. "Had it once, and only finished it because it was allegedly top shelf stuff. But wine, or more Cosmos. And I love champagne, but I always get hangovers after drinking it. And since the headache hits only when I stop drinking, there's only one solution. Keep drinking."
He shrugged. "Fine, but don't blame me when you have to meet with the Council and the ambassador with a hangover tomorrow."
He followed Shepard to the bar, and he quickly averted his gaze as he found himself staring at his CO's legs and rear. The rest of the crew had taken up a fair portion of the bar, so the two officers ended up in the corner standing very close to each other. A human bartender approached them several moments later, and Shepard ordered another Cosmo and the lieutenant another scotch. After the uncomfortable silence, the lieutenant said, "You're getting this round too?"
"Work accounts," she replied with a grin.
"You know there isn't a line item for alcoholic beverages on expense reports, right? Or bail money from crashing that skycar?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
She frowned as she gave him a playful tap on the shoulder. "Hey, I already paid my fines for that," she said, then her brow furrowed. "Though it is now a diplomatic incident – the hanar embassy is pretty mad that the mass relay monument blew up," she said as she adopted a serious, worried expression. "But it's their fault for putting it in my way in the first place," she said with mock indignation.
"You realize the hanar will probably send Blasto after you now, right?"
Her eyes widened in mock concern as she put her hands over her open mouth as she took a step closer to him. "Oh no!" She promptly broke into a fit of laughter a moment later.
He chuckled in disbelief at her expression in addition to the subsequent giggle fit coming from the all around biotic badass and first human Spectre, plus the ridiculous thought of that fictional hanar. Those movies were just so over the top…
Their drinks arrived a moment later – service was swift despite the crowd. The crew returned to their room in small groups, and Alenko ended up sitting next to Shepard again. Right next to her, close enough to smell her perfume…damn it, he should have tried to find a different seat.
For the rest of the evening, the lieutenant found himself fight off inappropriate thoughts about his CO.
The crew continued talking and drinking, and finally Shepard, Alenko, and most others made their way back to the Normandy, taking a continuous string of skycars.
The two biotic officers had traveled back in a skycar with two members of engineering, the two engineers walked ahead of them in a mostly straight line – like everyone else, they were feeling the effects of the myriad of adult beverages that had been imbibed. Oddly, Alenko noticed, the two engineers made sure to give the two biotics plenty of space.
The lieutenant was probably better off than most due to being a biotic, but he couldn't help the heat he felt by walking next to the commander, who was swaying a bit from the alcohol, a couple times bumping into him, each occurrence causing him to tense.
They reached the airlock, and entered decontamination. The commander pressed a button to shut off the obnoxious voice that continuously announced that decontamination was in progress. "Kaidan," Layla said softly to him as she turned to face him, before pausing for a couple moments, for some reason with a slightly nervous look on her face. "I…thanks for accepting my self-invite," she finished.
"Thank you for picking up the bar tab," he replied. "I know that wasn't cheap. Sorry I didn't send our plans to you. I didn't want to bother you while you were in the interviews. And," he started with a grin, "I figured it was beneath your new station to spend time with us plebes."
She smiled up at him, taking a step closer in the process. "Believe me, you're far better company." Again the faint smell of perfume wafted over him. He looked down at her, and he suppressed the sudden urge to reach down and kiss her – NO. Down boy. Bad Kaidan, his mind scolded.
The VI spoke as the decontamination process finished and the inner door opened. Both walked towards the crew deck in silence, and had nearly reached the stairs when finally Alenko spoke. "Do you have to be at the embassy again tomorrow?"
She sighed. "Unfortunately. Tomorrow's not going to be fun, for several reasons. I can already feel the headache now." She took the stairs slowly, sighing. "But no new leads on Saren, the geth, or anything." When they reached the crew deck she turned to face him. "Have a good night, Kaidan. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Good night...Layla."