“Thanks for coming with me,” Kaidan sighed, a hint of relief in his otherwise tense voice. He adjusted his tie for the fourth time that evening. Stars, he hated ties. “I’m sure you have much better things to do, but I’m not sure I could do this alone.”

He was a Major now in the Alliance Military. He supposed that was a title to be proud of. But in all honestly, it had come with more trouble than it was worth, so far. Especially this: fancy parties. Full of snotty diplomats from all over who wanted to flaunt how they funded the military, or give him such overdramatic thanks for his service. Half of them hadn’t seen a second of the war. Hadn’t seen what he’d seen.

He shook his head, giving a thin smile. He had to pretend he wanted to be here. Hopefully, he’d be able to sneak off before it got too annoying. At least he had his companion.