[Ashley isn't really a fan of video here - at first she didn't like the way she looks with her Synthesis circuits glowing beneath her skin, now she's more annoyed with how cameras can't focus on her properly with the moving light. But she generally follows suit with people's format anyway.
[There's only a flicker of recognition at this Shepard, recognizing him only from a photo, so she's somewhat guarded. He's a version of someone she knows and loves, but a version who's a stranger.]
Yeah, he's a good scout that way.
[It's Cayde that her tone's unmistakably fond for - now there's someone she really does know and love.]
[ She looks different. But it's not the circuits that really draw his attention. Sure, he doesn't remember her that way but it's more the way she's holding herself. Her expression.
He can't help but smile, even if it's cautious. ]
I was thinking of following your lead on that one. Wasn't sure if you'd want to meet or not.
[She hesitates for a moment, not having expected the choice, but she nods. Better to meet under somewhat planned circumstances than run into each other by chance. Plus, it's been lonely, being the only one from her world. Some members of Aegis have some idea from talking to her and Jacob and that unfortunate screening of Blasto but it's not the same.]
As long as you know that for me, it's a first meeting, not a reunion.
[Better to get that out of the way now too, so he's not expecting too much from her in person.]
[ And it really is something that he understands. He's not yet sure what he's hoping to get out of this, but there's a very real, guilt-ridden set of thoughts circling his mind, reminding him that she can't provide him with atonement. She shouldn't have to. It's not her burden to bear. It's his. ]
[ It's a hard watch, not least because he remembers the same situation a completely different way. Deeper than that, the Alliance soldier in the N7 hoodie he somehow recognizes without needing to hear her name. How he can know it without actually knowing is beyond him, but nothing about being here has been anything other than strange so far.
Eventually he taps out a message, deliberating only momentarily before sending it to Ashley. ]
Heard there's been some additional fallout from the Swear In. It wasn't pretty. Not sure if you're aware but a memory of yours just dropped into my communicator.
[ In his own memories, it had been Kaidan lying in that bed. It had been Kaidan's side he'd been sitting at. Those conversations about Cerberus, about trusting each other. About whether they were good. It's a thought that hits hard. ]
[Context would probably be good for him, eh? Who knows how different their timelines are.]
Oh, yeah. When the Reapers invaded Earth, Anderson sent me with Shepard to the Mars archives, and a Cerberus bot almost killed me. Broken shoulder, concussion, the works.
[Since her Synthesis, Ashley has had a perfect memory for conversations, as if her memory recorded everything onto an internal harddrive. A conversation that long ago, though, gives her pause. Shepard visited her in hospital a few times after Mars, and she can't quite remember everything they talked about.
[Hopefully he got the conversation that wasn't her Shepard asking her to trust her.
[There were definitely a couple of recurring topics on those visits, though.]
Udina offered me Spectre status while I was on bedrest and I accepted, and my family's okay except for my soldier brother in law, who was KIA.
[ The similarities aren't wasted on him, how they're a good parallel to what happened in his own timeline. Ashley in Kaidan's place. Kaidan in Ashley's.
Two thoughts strike him at the same time; the first his regret at how, in his timeline, it hadn't been possible to save both of them. The second, some strange kind of comfort that both of them have, now to his knowledge, been recognized as they should. For everything they've achieved and how much they've given. He can't think of two candidates more deserving of that status. ]
That's great, Ash.
[ The 'I'm proud of you' dies on his lips, an almost momentary slip that he suddenly clams up around out of concern of being too forward. But it doesn't change the fact that he is proud of her and that turns his decision to hold back on its head. ]
[Her own Shepard hadn't said so in those exact words, but his words remind Ashley of her anyway. They're so alike in how they speak, how they treat her.]
Thanks, that's sweet of you. I don't feel like I did much with it before ending up here, but it was an honor.
Definitely wasn't ordinary times for my family to find out, either. My mom was so confused when the refugee support staff heard her surname and said "Oh, like that human Spectre?" instead of "like the General".
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
voice; after Shep meets Cayde but before his network post
This is... [Hm. She'll establish her own point in time, at least.] Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams, Spectre Agent.
[With a bit of bracing cheer:] Welcome to twenty-first century Earth.
video; because go big or go home he's not scared what
He looks tired around the edges but his tone is both soft and reverent. ]
Ashley, hey.
I uh... I met Cayde. Guess he passed on my message.
FINE video
[There's only a flicker of recognition at this Shepard, recognizing him only from a photo, so she's somewhat guarded. He's a version of someone she knows and loves, but a version who's a stranger.]
Yeah, he's a good scout that way.
[It's Cayde that her tone's unmistakably fond for - now there's someone she really does know and love.]
Do you wanna talk in person, or...?
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He can't help but smile, even if it's cautious. ]
I was thinking of following your lead on that one. Wasn't sure if you'd want to meet or not.
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As long as you know that for me, it's a first meeting, not a reunion.
[Better to get that out of the way now too, so he's not expecting too much from her in person.]
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[ And it really is something that he understands. He's not yet sure what he's hoping to get out of this, but there's a very real, guilt-ridden set of thoughts circling his mind, reminding him that she can't provide him with atonement. She shouldn't have to. It's not her burden to bear. It's his. ]
Any suggestions on location?
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I had a friend here who ran a barcade in Heropa, the Nickel. It's under new management now, but the food's still good.
[She attaches the address.]
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[ His comms device pings as the address drops in but he doesn't look at it yet. It's a minor detail in the plan, he figures. ]
Let me know when you've got some time and I'll be there.
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Meet you there in an hour.
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memory video
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Eventually he taps out a message, deliberating only momentarily before sending it to Ashley. ]
Heard there's been some additional fallout from the Swear In. It wasn't pretty. Not sure if you're aware but a memory of yours just dropped into my communicator.
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I knew about the memories flying around, didn't know one of mine got to you. Hope it was prettier than the fallout.
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[ In his own memories, it had been Kaidan lying in that bed. It had been Kaidan's side he'd been sitting at. Those conversations about Cerberus, about trusting each other. About whether they were good. It's a thought that hits hard. ]
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Oh, yeah. When the Reapers invaded Earth, Anderson sent me with Shepard to the Mars archives, and a Cerberus bot almost killed me. Broken shoulder, concussion, the works.
[Since her Synthesis, Ashley has had a perfect memory for conversations, as if her memory recorded everything onto an internal harddrive. A conversation that long ago, though, gives her pause. Shepard visited her in hospital a few times after Mars, and she can't quite remember everything they talked about.
[Hopefully he got the conversation that wasn't her Shepard asking her to trust her.
[There were definitely a couple of recurring topics on those visits, though.]
Udina offered me Spectre status while I was on bedrest and I accepted, and my family's okay except for my soldier brother in law, who was KIA.
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[ The similarities aren't wasted on him, how they're a good parallel to what happened in his own timeline. Ashley in Kaidan's place. Kaidan in Ashley's.
Two thoughts strike him at the same time; the first his regret at how, in his timeline, it hadn't been possible to save both of them. The second, some strange kind of comfort that both of them have, now to his knowledge, been recognized as they should. For everything they've achieved and how much they've given. He can't think of two candidates more deserving of that status. ]
That's great, Ash.
[ The 'I'm proud of you' dies on his lips, an almost momentary slip that he suddenly clams up around out of concern of being too forward. But it doesn't change the fact that he is proud of her and that turns his decision to hold back on its head. ]
I'm proud of you.
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Thanks, that's sweet of you. I don't feel like I did much with it before ending up here, but it was an honor.
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