ME: Lost

Innocence

Alliance headquarters proved harder to find than Kaidan expected.

After thirty minutes of walking, and several excruciating music-filled elevator rides, he arrived at a rundown dextro-friendly diner. The turian cook grunted in annoyance at his inquiry before informing him that those Alliance idiots hadn't been on this side of the wards in years, not since they got they got their very own representative on the council. When Kaidan attempted to ask where they'd moved to, the turian mumbled a few things under his breath, shrugging his shoulders in disdain.

He started the long walk back, wisely consulting a map this time and swearing to never ask for directions again. That damn asari was probably smirking to herself right now about sending the poor limping human halfway across the wards in the wrong direction.

The Alliance main office, now situated on a much nicer level of the wards, was impressive, council funding evident in the sheer size and design of the building.

It was difficult for Kaidan to wrap his mind around the idea of a human councilor. So much had happened in the last several years, so many steps forward for earth.

As security scanned him through the entrance, he wondered idly if the other council members found it amusing that humanity was already on their second representative. They probably chalked it up to the flightiness of humans. What else could you expect of a race that barely lives past a hundred years?

The receptionist waved him up, his military record flashing on the screen to her right.

"What can I do for you, Major?"

He explained what he needed and was directed to a small console mounted on the end of her desk.

"Key in what you're looking for so the requisitions officer can start pulling it, then head down the steps and turn left. You may have a short wait, I believe there are several others ahead of you."

The requisitions office was indeed full, and Kaidan took the empty seat closest to the door. He relaxed into the cushions, debating whether to take a short nap or read a few more messages.

He quickly settled on the nap and closed his eyes.

"Are you a soldier, too?" The voice belonged to a small girl sitting a few seats away. She was dressed in a simple jumpsuit, long brown hair braided sloppily and draped over one shoulder.

Kaidan smiled, she reminded him of his youngest cousin when she was that age. Shy, yet insanely curious.

"I am," he replied seriously, "are you?"

The little girl crinkled her nose up, "of course not, I'm only seven!"

"Ah, my mistake."

"If you're really a soldier, where's your uniform?"

He chuckled, "well my armor was damaged, and I didn't know I was going to be visiting here, so I didn't have time to pack a uniform."

"That was silly, you should have planned better."

"I agree."

The girl informed him that her name was Heidi, before leaning back in her seat to mull over what he'd shared. It was several minutes before she spoke again, "if your armor got hurt, did you get hurt too?"

Kaidan sighed. The matter-of-factness in her tone implied personal experience with the idea of a wounded soldier.

"I did," he replied carefully, "but the doctors fixed me. I'm all better now."

Heidi smiled at that, "Good. They fixed up daddy too. He's in that room right there. He said he's here for a new helmet, but I think he's here to ask about my mom. He comes here a lot."

"Where's your mom?" He was hesitant to ask, but couldn't bear to leave the conversation there. "Is she here on the citadel?"

The girl shook her head seriously, "she's on earth. She was with her other soldiers when everything started blowing up. Daddy came to my school and we both got on the shuttle. He wanted to get her too, but he couldn't leave me alone. He's very sad now."

Kaidan leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. An ache burned in his chest as he asked, "are you sad now too?"

"Sometimes. I miss her a lot. But I'm not worried like daddy is, he told me that Commander Shepard is fighting the bad guys who made us leave home. I saw her in a vid one time, and my mama told me that she's the best soldier there is. So if anyone can beat them, she can."

One of the doors across the room slammed open with a crash. The soldier that exited was younger than Kaidan, but the emotional wear around his eyes aged him considerably.

He motioned impatiently towards the girl, and she bounded across the room with a smile, before turning back to wave at her new friend. Her father took advantage of her distraction to swipe a wrinkled shirt sleeve across his red-rimmed eyes, then taking a deep breath, he straightened his shoulders and ushered her from the room.

Kaidan leaned back, resting his head against the wall behind his chair. He was suddenly relieved his name wasn't next on the list.

It would be awkward to explain to the requisitions officer why tears were running down his face.