RP: Shepard, Kaiden & Ashley

[keelah_selai]

Down the stairs to the lower deck. Around the base of the drive core to the maintenance shaft entrance. Up a ladder, and into the duct tunnel. Up a second ladder and turn to the left. Crawl for a sixth of the ship's body and another left turn. Up a short ladder, and out into the room housing the AI Core...

The AI Core was dark and silent, just like the Engineering deck. Tali had never spent much time here - both Legion and EDI frightened Tali a little. She'd been trying to make amends, for Shepard's sake, ever since her argument with Legion, but it was hard work, overcoming years of ingrained prejudice. There was something...off about the room, though. Tali couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong or different. It must be the lack of noise, she thought, and moved quickly to the electrical panel on the doors.

Just a few moments, and the doors to the Medbay sparked and slid open with a metallic groan.

Comments

[cmdr_shepard]

"No, Tali... we made it through the Relay and we all go out again. You were brilliant! Do you not remember the Reaper War? Or Rannoch?" He laughed a little and tried to search her face like he would a human. As with all Quarian, it was next to impossible. He only ever could see the faint impression of her face. "Something is seriously wrong if you don't remember Rannoch. You claimed land on your homeworld, Tali." Shepard looked around the room, trying to see if there was anything still working he could use to prove to her what he was saying was true.

Then Ashley walked in the door.

"Ash?" Shepard whispered, pulling away from Tali. "Oh god, now I know I'm dead. I was starting to think... But Ash, I know you're dead. So this has to be the afterlife."

Shepard was haunted by the team members, the family that he'd lost and no one haunted him more than Ashle Williams did. Of all Shepard's ghosts, she was the one that he felt most personally responsible for. It'd had been his choice to send her on that mission, his choice not to give her backup.

She didn't look like he remembered. She seemed older, more dignified. But there was no doubt it was Ashley. He took a step towards her, but stopped almost immediately. She was looking at him like she didn't know him and she was looking at Kaidan like she'd seen a ghost.

[kaidanmod]

Kaidan was not a particularly religious man. Of the two of them, Ashley had been the believer. Ashley had been the impetuous heart and he had always been held back by his own stupid brain. He overthought everything. He planned, he tinkered, he obsessed.

He took freaking years and a death to admit to himself that he was in love with his commander...and he still hadn't talked himself into saying anything about it.

He was deliberate and thoughtful to a fault, the logic to Ashley's emotion--but right now, he didn't care that nothing made sense in his word. Not when Ashley was standing right there.

Kaidan didn't say anything. He didn't even think for once. Instead, he pushed past the others and pulled her into a sudden, fierce hug.

[keelah_selai]

Tali practically vibrated with frightened tremors as she watched Kaiden dash across the Medbay and hug someone...someone whose grave she'd left flowers from all different planets, and quarian poetry books, once a year for close to three years now.

Tali looked from Ashley to Kaiden to Shepard, and then visibly shook herself. All of them were or had been severely injured - Ashley included. "Doctor Chakwas would being pulling her hair out in frustration right now. All of you, sit down!"

Time dilation or after life or whatever shenagians could wait until they weren't likely to...well, it could wait.