Beyond the Horizon.

Hurt.

Kaidan got settled with Garrus' help, nearly all the crew hated him. Those who were fully on Cerberus' side that was, he wasn't very bothered by it, he wasn't there to make friends. Garrus left Kaidan in the lift, pushing the button to the Captain's quarters, he looked at in confusion... a whole level for the captain?

The lift took him straight up, and the door hissed open to a small floor with another door on the other side. He looked around before stopping in front of it. He was about to knock, but the door opened for him.

The cabin was ridiculously huge, and it had its own fish tank. There was a desk on his right with a large glass display of model ships above it, Kaidan knew they were Johns', he was a collector of odd things. He'd always had to bring something back from a mission if it fit in his pocket. He looked down the stairs, peering around the corner and there was a double bed against the head of the wall then a L-shaped sofa with a coffee table in front of it. There he finds Shepard sitting down, looking down at a datapad.

"Kaidan," he greets, not looking up from his datapad. Kaidan clears his throat, feeling like he just got caught snooping.

"The door opened itself," he said in hopes of defending himself. Shepard chuckles, placing the datapad next to him.

"I know, Edi opened it for you." Kaidan raised a thick brow at the name, at that same moment a terminal near the coffee table lit up with a blue orb, it had an inner slide function that moved when it spoke.

"Hello, Commander Alenko," it greets. Kaidan was stunned, he knew instantly that wasn't some VI. That thing was an AI, an illegal AI.

"First Cerberus now AI, really Shepard?" he asks looking between them both. The AI doesn't speak, but John felt he had two pairs of eyes on him.

"Not my design Kaidan, Edi is okay." The AI disappears, sensing this wasn't something Shepard wanted her around for. "Look," he says getting Kaidan's gaze back on him. "She was created when I was dead, don't blame me."

"Were you actually dead, though?" Kaidan questions as he sits very stiffly on the end of the couch.

Shepard looked at the table, sighing slightly. "You try to breathe in space with a broken oxygen tube then ask me," he mutters. Kaidan didn't respond, he looked at the fish tank, and he could hear Shepard sighing again. "Sorry... it's been a hard few weeks."

Kaidan snorted, "yeah. Looks real bad this, brand new ship, your own apartment, and state-of-the-art weapons and armor." He hit a nerve at that point, Shepard stood up aggressively, hands making his knees as he did.

"You don't know what I've been through, Kaidan. Don't mock me," he shouts, turning away from him.

Kaidan stayed sat down, glaring a hole into the back of Shepard's head. "How am I meant to know when you never even contacted me!"

Shepard turned back around, "I tried! The Alliance had deleted everything and all attempts of contacting anyone didn't work! You were the first person I tried," he says quietly. The room falls silent, both men knew shouting about it wouldn't get either of them any answers. Shepard scratches the back of his neck. "Look, I'm sorry for dying, it wasn't my first choice. What do you want to know?"

Kaidan studied him for a moment before letting out a breath as he both, "when did you wake up?"

Shepard sits back down, "three weeks ago. I woke up to gunfire and explosions, the facility I was being housed in got overthrown by their own mecs." Kaidan raised a brow at him in wonder, John shook his head before adding the details. "Some scientist not agreeing with the Illusive man's idea of bringing me back... hated my guts as well. He hacked the mecs and turned them on everyone. Miranda and Jacob got me off in time."