When Kacey was told that Liara had made herself at home on the Normandy, she didn't anticipate half of the Shadow Broker's computers crammed into what used to be Miranda's office. She used to dread going into this room; now she was more concerned by the several different fire hazards that the room now contained.
The desk and chairs that the office contained were gone in favour of dozens of screens across the wall and several computers littered across the place with two major access terminals. The room was dimly lit and only the bedroom and window were kept clear from the hardware.
"Commander Shepard! It's a pleasure to see you again."
"GAH! What the hell?!"
Kacey nearly jumped back, startled by the sudden appearance of a blue info drone that seemingly came from nowhere.
"You're that drone from the Shadow Broker ship." Kacey mused.
"Doctor T'Soni now refers to me as Glyph, instead of 'Info drone' ninety-five percent of the time." Glyph mused, "Doctor T'Soni would like to speak with you. Have a pleasant day."
Kacey turned her focus towards Liara, who was pre-occupied with her conversation with Joker. She hadn't acknowledged their conversation, or particularly care about what they were discussing, until Joker mentioned something that caught her attention.
"Meeting with the Council didn't go too well, huh?" Joker mused through the intercom.
"It was...less than ideal." Liara replied, putting the matter mildly.
"Yeah, I'm shocked." Joker said, his voice laced in sarcasm.
"At least the Council can't deny that the Reapers exist." Liara replied, "But I'm not sure how much comfort that is while they bicker over which portion of the galaxy to save."
"Wow, becoming the big info broker's turned you into a real cynic, Liara. I like it."
"I'm flattered...I think." Liara said before turning to see Kacey.
"Well, looks like you brought more than just that drone from your ship." Kacey mused.
"A few things were necessary." Liara explained, "I'd be a very silent Shadow Broker without datafeeds."
"So you have access to your resources?"
"What I can get. We'll need it to research this Prothean device. Until we understand precisely what it does, it's far too dangerous to use."
"Maybe." Kacey mused, "Did the Protheans actually complete this weapon?"
"You mean will it work?" Liara responded bluntly, "They wouldn't have poured their last resources into this device if they thought otherwise. But we really need to find out just what kind of weapon they left us."
"It'd be nice to know we're not kids playing around with a loaded gun." Kacey sighed.
"Absolutely. The damage it could cause if it backfired is unthinkable." Liara mused, "I'm working with EDI. Hopefully we can discover what the Protheans left for us..."
Liara smirked at the scarlet-haired commander, adding, "If you don't destroy that mech any more than you've already done."
"All right, all right, I can take a hint." Kacey replied, "But I was serious when I said I'd smash that thing if it attacked anyone."
…
Kacey didn't expect to run into any familiar faces while on the Normandy, at least not from the Alliance side of things. Aside from Joker and Chakwas. But it seemed that fate had other ideas in mind. While in the elevator, she ran into one of the last faces she thought she'd see on the Normandy.
"Commander. Welcome back to the Normandy." Engineer Adams said as he entered the elevator, "Or maybe you should be saying that to me."
"Engineer Adams." Kacey said with a smile, "What are doing here?"
"I was put in charge of the drive core retrofits." Adams explained, "My experience on the Normandy SR-1 made me an obvious choice."
"So, what do you think of our SR-2?" Kacey asked.
"She's incredible." Adams said as the pair exited the elevator on the engineering deck, "If there's one nice thing I can say about Cerberus, it's that they know how to build a ship. And about that—Cerberus I mean-I owe you an apology."
Kacey's eyes widened at the word; it was unexpected. She hadn't anticipated such a thing, especially if the last six months were anything to go by.
"How so?" She asked, curious.
Adams sighed, sympathetic, "Back when you got this ship, Doctor Chakwas contacted me. Asked me to help with your mission against the Collectors. I refused. I didn't have your back, and I'm sorry for that."
"Don't be." Kacey replied, "You don't have to apologise. I'm sure you had your reasons to turn down the offer."
"You know, I saw what happened to you when the Normandy went down." Adams said, sighing, "I still remember being told...that you were dead. I watched the crew drift apart. I didn't trust that it was really you, and I certainly didn't trust Cerberus. And as an officer of the Alliance, I don't just leave my post, you know?"
"I know." Kacey said, sympathetic, "I understand completely."
"Thank you, Commander. It's good to be back."
…
As Kacey reached the shuttle bay, she managed to get used to the daggers being glared into her back by the privates and corporals. While the shuttle was a little messy, the crew were making themselves useful by organising the containers and its contents, all the while a certain marine was doing a workout routine on the far side of the bay.
It wasn't unusual for Alliance ships to use the shuttle bay as a makeshift gym; after all, the marines needed to stay in top shape after all. But she did find it a little odd to see that James had made a mini gym for himself, with a bar and several weights in a small section of the bay.
"Hey, Shepard." James said as Kacey approached, "How'd it go with the Council?"
"Shit." Kacey replied bluntly, "Noncommittal. Unhelpful. Waste of time. Business as usual."
"Bet they still wanted you to help them out, no?"
"Yep. We're going to rescue a Turian Primarch from Palaven."
"Sounds like fun." James said, pulling himself up towards the bar, "Never been to the turian homeworld. You come down here for something, or you just lookin?"
"At what?"
"Ouch. Did you really just say that?"
"What can I say? I'm a heartbreaker." Kacey teased, "I did come to chat, but I might stay for the show."
"Have to work harder to make me blush." James replied.
"Likewise. Or did you think I was going to fall hook, line and sinker for that line?" Kacey mused.
"You're a sassy one, I'll give you that." James responded, "Not sure what there is to talk about. You already know my service record."
"I don't, actually." Kacey corrected, "I didn't have access to personnel records when we met. You know, cause of the whole 'house arrest' thing."
"Right...forgot about that." James mused.
"How do you forget being locked in a room with me for five months?"
"I don't know, you just...do?" James replied, letting go of the bar and turning to face Kacey, "Well...think you can dance and talk at the same time?"
His tone was familiar; she hadn't been asked to spar with someone in years. Most were put off by the idea after that one sparring match that went too far. The one that nearly to got her into some serious trouble.
"Watch your tone!"
"Don't treat me like I'm some child, Shepard! You're too reckless! Are you trying to get us killed?"
"Are you? What are you so damn afraid of?"
"Afraid? Me?"
"Yes, you! You could've destroyed those barriers had you not been such a coward, Kaidan!"
Right. That fight. She had nearly broken his arm. He nearly snapped her leg in two. It was the most tense and violent sparring match she had ever participated in. She could still remember being dragged back, the privates struggling to keep her back as she fought and pulled against their grip. It was only when Anderson intervened, did she stop fighting.
"Shepard! Alenko! Come with me! That's an order!"
She had never heard him sound that angry before or since. Times had truly changed.
"Oh, I can dance." Kacey said slyly, moving towards the centre of the shuttle bay.
"Okay, Lola...let's do this." James said, a smirk across his face.
And Kacey was ready to wipe the smirk off his face, as she had done many times before. After all, her scarlet hair wasn't just for show.
"Don't let my good looks fool you, Vega." Kacey smirked, "I've got my share of scars."
And one hell of an ace up her sleeve.
She swung once, twice, thrice. He blocked all three. As expected. If he had failed that, he wouldn't be here.
James chuckled, "You remind me of my old CO."
He swung once; she blocked it before he tried to uppercut her, but she moved out of the way long before he could finish it. She uppercutted him, managing to hit his chin, before swinging again which had caught him off guard, but he narrowly blocked it.
"Oh yeah, and who was that?" Kacey asked.
"Captain Toni." James replied, "He was a hard-assed son of a bitch, but a good leader."
He swung twice, but she blocked it again with ease. She had to keep her...unusual assets under control. The usual offender. Can't risk it again. Not again.
"Was?" Kacey mused.
"Died...with most of my squad...protecting a civilian colony from a Collector attack." James said.
He hit her harder; she had struck a nerve. Two sharp jabs came in, but she blocked one and avoided the other. She could see it was irritating him; he couldn't land a blow on her.
"And the colony?"
"It was either them...or the intel we had on the Collectors." James explained, "Intel we could've used to destroy them."
Three more jabs came through; followed by two swings. They were harder than before and yet she blocked them all. He tried to uppercut her again; faster this time, but not quick enough. She moved out of the way, before landing two blows of her own, being mindful of her usual offender and avoiding suspicion.
"I chose the intel." James finished.
He took a big, strong swing, but she darted backwards and avoided it, her guard still up. His was dropping his guard as he took stronger swings. It made him predictable.
"Sorry." Kacey said, "That was a tough call."
James closed the gap and swung again, but Kacey gave him the old turn around as she managed to slide past, avoiding the swing and caught him off-guard and from behind.
"The best part was we didn't really need the intel in the end..." James said through gritted teeth, "Because you were out saving the galaxy by taking down the entire Collector homeworld."
He swung fast and hard; Kacey was thankful that she didn't bruise easily. She blocked them, and narrowly avoided the last jab.
"You didn't know." Kacey replied, "You can't blame yourself, Vega."
Hypocrite.
"Who says I'm blaming myself?" James asked.
"Just a guess."
Liar.
"You a shrink, too?"
'Just good at reading people.' Kacey thought to herself. As always.
"No." Kacey replied, "But that stunt on Mars was reckless. You're lucky to be alive."
What a hypocrite. She was starting to sound like Kaidan; she nearly said his words verbatim. Words that were spat at her a long time ago.
"So?"
"So... maybe you don't care if you live, or you die." She landed three more blows and two jabs.
"Or maybe..." James swung again, "I'm just willing to do whatever the fuck it takes to end this goddamn war!"
She grappled him, and tossed him over into the ground with ease; she had briefly let it slip, but thankfully not by much. She couldn't believe she was on the other end of this.
Was this what she was like back then?
"Maybe you are." Kacey said as James laid on the ground, "But if you're half as good as I think you are...we need you alive."
"Thanks for the pep talk." James said, "Although, you are also pretty reckless, Commander."
Kacey scoffed, "Maybe I am. But I know how to assess risks."
"Sure." James smirked, "Thanks for the dance, Lola."
Kacey let out a small laugh, "Lola, huh?"
"You kind of look like a Lola." James reasoned.
Kacey tilted her head to the side, "You're cute...so I'll let you get away with it. For now."
"That's it..." James mused, "Now you made me blush. You're a tough one, Shepard. Couldn't land a blow on you, and you hit a lot harder than I thought you would."
"What can I say? I'm just full of surprises." Kacey mused, "Plus, I like to keep my crew on their toes. Did Anderson or Kaidan not tell you that?"
"Nope."
"Well, then you're in for one hell of a ride." Kacey said, walking away.