Normandy Launch Party - Part Three
Earth, Canada, Vancouver Alliance Military Command 2183 AD
The fourth or was it fifth shot was where the alcohol stopped burning when she swallowed it. Normally she would have taken her time with her drinks, but when it was Anderson joining her shot for shot, she couldn’t say no. He, like her, hated the pomp of these events. At times she hated the fact she could play the political game at all, but it was a useful tool when negotiating. Her grandmother had made sure to explain that politics was an art and a skill just as important as the ones she learned in the Alliance.
A word can be just as deadly as a bullet when wielded with purpose.
Amara’s thoughts were pulled back to Anderson as he spoke and poured what would be their sixth shot.
“Have you met any of the crew?”
Amara shook her head and eyed the shot glass for a moment. “Not yet, though I would like to not have to carry you to the Normandy after this.”
“Hmmm…You have a point. I never could keep up with you.” he turned to two figures behind him and motioned for them to join in. “Well, here are two now. We can all have a shot before we call it quits.”
Amara smirked, the faint trace of a dimple forming for a moment as she watched the men turn, both with semi-shocked expressions on their faces. The man on the right was frailer, thinner, but held a fire in his eyes that dared anyone to confront him with that truth. She had a feeling they would get along fine. She knew that fire well.
The second man was tall, well built though not a giant of a man. He was toned as a soldier would be with thick dark, near black hair and rich honey brown eyes-
Kaidan?
“Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau, Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, this is Commander Amara Shepard, XO of the Normandy and your CO.” He reached for the two new shot glasses that the bartender had slipped in front of him and filled each. Andersons intent was for all four of them to join in.
“It’s Joker, Sir…Ma’am.” the smaller man said as he raised his arm to salute.
Amara pulled her eyes from Kaidan for a moment and called upon that political training her grandmother had insisted on and offered Joker a smile. “No need to salute, Joker. We are not on the ship yet.” Her smile was warm, and so was she suddenly.
Joker returned a small smile, but Amara already shifted her gaze back to her childhood friend. He had changed so much but was still the same. Years had passed since they last spoke, but here he was and this time they were working together. Assigned to the same ship, same crew and She was His superior officer.
“Been a while.” Kaidan said finally, taking charge of the moment.
His eyes had not left her, she realized, as she met their molten color with her own golden gaze. There was so much to say between them, but at that moment she had nothing to say. The last time they had spoken, she was in a hospital bed, broken and mourning the deaths of her team on Akuze. He was shipped out on his next assignment later that day.
That was the last time she felt whole. After that she was Shepard, the Hero of Akuze…the survivor.
“You look good, Lieutenant.” she replied, her voice holding together for the moment, thankfully.
Kaidan nodded once and took the shot that Anderson offered him, and prepared. Drinking with not one but two CO’s as well as knowing one of them for as long as he could remember. The Normandy did promise adventure, this was not in any way what he expected. “You too, Commander. How long has it been?”
Amara’s smile faded for a moment. “A few years.” With a nod she turned to Joker, noting he was watching them both with a curious grin that was far too close to a Cheshire grin to not know what he was thinking. “Our families are close. When we visited earth I am sad to say Lieutenant Alenko had to suffer my curiosity. Earth was the first world I ever walked on, and I would torment him until he would show me around.”
Kaidan’s expression softened. “That was a long time ago, Commander.”
“True.”
A moment later the four of them toasted to the Normandy and themselves, drinking the contents of their glasses and smiling wide. Anderson excused himself a few minutes later, claiming that he had a few things to take care of before they set off. The three of them seemed to relax, but Amara felt like a cat clawing at the walls. They were still three, and still at a party full of prying eyes and whispering gossip mongers. Though Amara was not a political animal she was watched. Any of her grandmother’s rivals would use her if they could. So she had to behave, or try to. Hard to do when all you wanted to do was relax.
After an hour, the party seemed to quiet down, various attendees taking shuttles back to hotels or transports. Soon the marble tiled patio would be empty. Amara found herself finally alone, watching the sunset over the ocean’s horizon. It was the colors that she enjoyed the most. The soothing transition of reds and golds that shifted subtly to the darker deeper hues of purples and blue. Soon her favorite stars would twinkle above and call her space born heart to take her own shuttle and explore them.
She was so lost in the view that she didn’t hear it when Kaidan approached her. She only knew he was there when the smell of his cologne was carried to her by a stray breeze. He said nothing as he stood at her side, watching the same colors as she did, the same ones he had introduced her to when they were both kids.
The moment of silence stretched before them until like a rubber band it was pulled too far and snapped. Kaidan was the first one to speak. As always, he had to get it out before he exploded with assumptions. It was something Amara knew well about him, even when it drove her insane.
“So Shepard, huh?”
Amara nodded, “I took dad’s name back when I enlisted. If I was going to follow in his footsteps…Nana was less than enthused. She still believes the name is cursed.” A dry smile curved the corner of her lips, but she refused to look away from the horizon.
“Mar…after Akuze-”
Amara sighed, “You had a posting. I was in a hospital bed on meds I can’t even pronounce. You had to go. I- I wasn’t myself anyway.”
Kaidan lifted a hand, reaching for hers but instead placed it on the railing in front of him. “How…I mean, how are you? Really. Mar to Kay…off the record…whatever.”
Shifting herself to lean against the railing, Amara took a deep breath and exhaled. “I didn’t know you were part of the crew. Anderson didn’t tell me. I wasn’t expecting it, Kay.” She suddenly felt like she did as a teenager when she had accidentally heard Kaidan trying to reach his girlfriend after BAaT was shut down. She felt awkward, out of place. Even after all these years, he was her weakness.
And now they were on the same ship.
“It is a surprise to say the least.” he chuckled, finishing off the contents of the flute in his hand.
Kaidan smiled that smile that used to make her heart stop as a kid and she was suddenly fourteen years old standing outside his bedroom door, listening to him plead with the girl who broke his heart. The girl he had broken a part of himself for. The girl she would never be.
“It is definitely that. How have you been otherwise?”
“Mar, what are we doing? Small talk?” Kaidan frowned, hating the awkwardness between them. He couldn’t stand it by the way he shifted his weight from leg to leg. “We’ve never been the small talk types. I’m sorry, Mar, I don’t know what to say right now.”
Closing her eyes, Amara thought of the hospital room. She thought of the look on his face when she ordered him to leave her there broken. She thought of how he looked when he turned and walked out of her life, when only a week before they had been laughing as they sat together on a stump in the orchard.
“We’ve been through a lot together and apart. This is just the newest chapter.” She would have made her grandmother proud with that comment. “We’ll be fine. It’s just nerves.” She stepped back and away from him and the railing. “See you bright and early Alenko. Have a good night.” With those simple words Amara left. She was almost out of earshot when she heard him curse under his breath. The rough sound of his voice in that moment almost summoned her back to his side. Fuck indeed.
The End
That was a little longer than I expected, with some past events that I will have to write up eventually. Poor Shenko, suffering my head canon version of torment and bad timing! I hope you enjoyed it! More writings coming soon! ♥
