The Citadel, Saturday

Looking at the Council chamber, it was hard to imagine that it hadn't been more than a couple of years since Shepard and Saren fought in this very room. Hadn't... been more than a couple of years since Shepard had stood here, going through the exact same thing Kaidan was right now.

Well, more or less. A lot of circumstances had changed. Nobody could deny the Reapers were real now, for one thing, and there were four councilors, not three, and his new position wasn't up for much debate. He sucked in a breath and cast a quick look towards the balcony where Allie was. Stupid nerves.

Councilor Udina practically glowed with pride as he spoke, drawing Kaidan's attention back to him. "Major Alenko, step forward," he said.

Kaidan stepped forward. No more time to be nervous. Now it was time to face the music.

"It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel," said the asari councilor. She looked worried, not proud; the rest of them all did. Understandable, considering the circumstances. Kaidan wasn't exactly jubilant either.

( Of course nothing goes as planned. )

[[ FINALLY, DONE. with much thanks to allie_vamp for having the patience to deal with me as i went through this at a snail's pace. taken from mass effect 3, priority: citadel. let the actual canon catchup begin. ]]

High Light Bar, the Presidium, the Citadel, Saturday Evening

There was one thing you could always rely on, on the Citadel: life went on, even when invaders had stomped through it just hours ago, whether they be geth or Cerberus. They were still brushing up glass shards and blocking out bullet holes by moving planters around, here at the High Light, but the bar was open.

It wasn't as full as it would've been any other night, but there were still people coming in. Kaidan had to admire the guts of the Citadel's population, if nothing else.

The air was different, though. Until today, the locals had more or less assumed the Reaper War was something to be fought elsewhere, on different planets, well away from their safe haven. They had worried about family and friends back on their home planets, but they had thought themselves safe here.

That had changed. Kaidan could tell as much.

"This place isn't going to be the same," he said to Allie as he sank into a booth.

He wasn't sure whether he was going to be the same. He'd put a bullet in Udina's chest. That was gonna hang over him for a while.

[[ for allie. ]]