Joker and Mara became friends quickly. Actually, they became friends after their first conversation.
Mara never had that many friends, but her and Joker clicked. They both had the same sense of humor and preferred to sit in the cockpit and watch the stars go by.
After every mission, she would go to the bridge with some food from the mess and stories to tell. He could read the reports or listen in on the debriefings, but they both enjoyed discussing things without all the military jargon. Plus, when it was just the two of them, Mara could relax and have a laugh at some of the stupid things that seemed to happen to her. Joker's stupid comments and jokes calmed her down after getting shot at.
"So, we're on this rickety, scary elevator," Mara said.
"Big, bad Commander Shepard, scared of an elevator," Joker said with a laugh.
"The thing fucking broke, man!"
"Please tell me that you screamed like a girl."
"Almost. After that, I hear someone calling for help. That's when we find Dr. T'Soni. In a bubble."
"A bubble?"
"A bubble."
"Can I call her Bubble Girl?"
"That would be mean," Mara said grinning at him. "So, we have to get her out of this bubble. Which is next to fucking impossible. Finally, I get the bright idea of using the mining laser to blast our way through a wall. We get Dr. T'Soni out of the bubble and start heading to the surface."
"So, when did the place start falling down around you?" Joker asked.
"About the same time that the Geth showed up," Mara laughed.
"And that's when the dashing pilot flew in to save the day," Joker said with a grin.
"And that's where the story ends."
"Good ending. Where to now?"
"Pinnacle Station. I wanna run everyone through some training."
"Shouldn't you be saving the galaxy?"
"I'm not taking these people out into battle, watching my back, unless I see them in action."
"Good point."