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Major Kaidan Alenko savored every last drop of the peruvian whiskey. Every last drop. It was infuriating lying back on a hospital bed knowing Earth was burning, and Palaven was just as worse off. It haunted him to know even the turians with all their military might could not fend off the reapers, and that they needed the support of krogans to even think of continuing the battle.
He wanted to join the fight again, but even then the thought of his biotics not working for the immediate future set a very uncomfortable weight in his stomach. Another sip of the whiskey went down. Damn this hospital and its glass wall, with its idyllic view of the fake sky and peaceful water features. It was so wrong he was here and not following Shepard into combat.
Shepard… Kaidan took another sip. He couldn't believe the man had forgiven him after all he'd done. He was too good for this shitty galaxy, saving as many lives as he could humanly possible, yet Kaidan had spurned him without hearing the explanation. The look in Shepard's eyes when he'd turned his back on him back on Horizon wouldn't leave him. But, after all he'd done, Shepard visited him in hospital far more than necessary, and had even brought him the bottle of whiskey. Out of the goodness of his heart. Shepard was unbelievable. Right now he was somewhere on Tuchanka, trying to forge a treaty between krogan and turian forces. While Earth, their own home planet, was razed to the ground.
Kaidan had many things to resolve when no longer bedridden, and needed to check in on his old team to assure they hadn't all been wiped out by the Reapers, but the thought of serving on the Normandy again one day kept him going.