There's a sort of corona of light forming around Shepard as Kaidan looks at her, which would be hilarious if it didn't feel like someone was slowly pushing a needle into his brain. He does his best to hide a wince, but can't help shutting his eyes, brows furrowed.

"I don't think we need to worry too much about that. An old L2, against someone with Cora's kind of implants? I'm practically ancient history." Despite the pain, he manages to squint one eye open, giving her a lopsided grin. "Hey, I can always salute if you're feeling nostalgic. Pull out a 'ma'am' here and there."