The planet was beautiful, but it wasn't Earth. In the chaos of their last moments in the Sol system, the crew of the Normandy had barely enough time to register what was happening around them as Joker worked frantically to get them the hell away. Those who hadn't strapped themselves in to their emergency station were thrown around like dolls. More than a few of them boasted injuries, though thankfully even the worst of these were minor.
The Reapers were gone. The crew could only guess at what had happened before Joker panicked and brought them out to the middle of God-knows-where. All they could do was watch, helpless, as Geth ships stalled completely. Whatever Shepard had done in that thing, it seemed to have worked. But when they realized that EDI was gone, it didn't take a genius to figure out the consequences of their Commander's actions. The Reapers were gone, and so, apparently, were the other synthetics.
The Normandy's crew were consummate professionals. Those that could, leapt immediately to action. Most of them busied themselves immediately with repairs. After years of training and drills, it was only human for them to snap to action. The SR2 could take some damage and still be space worthy, but she'd need some help after that landing. A less skilled pilot would have killed them all; as it was, the Normandy needed some serious attention before she could lift off again.
While training and instinct took over for most, two of the crew stood motionless on the strange planet's surface.
Joker's eyes were dull as he watched the others at work. His ship would be fine, he was sure. He knew the Normandy inside and out. She'd be just fine, but they could probably use his help.
But he couldn't move. Not yet. EDI was gone, vaporized like the Reapers. They couldn't outrun the Crucible's blast, though, and Joker could have sworn he saw something in her eyes when they looked at one another for the last time. He'd said that he loved her, and she'd said it back. She was a robot, and she was his copilot. As he stared dazedly at his ship - all that was left of EDI - his mind was elsewhere.
Part of him honestly thought that he could do it. He didn't know what the blast was, just that he didn't want to take any chances of it killing any of the crew. It was the most impressive flying he'd ever done, even better than their Omega relay excursion, but it hadn't been enough. If he couldn't do it, nobody could – but that didn't soothe his aching heart.
He was in the fastest damn spacecar on the Citadel, with the love of his life beside him. Her metallic voice was lifted in laughter as she watched him at the wheel. It didn't matter, in that moment, that she was synthetic and he was flesh.
It took a few long minutes before he noticed an unfamiliar voice buzzing in his ear. Maybe the synthetics were down, but not all technology was wiped from the galaxy. "Goddammit, Joker, where are you?"
"Crash landed on a garden planet. It's pretty nice here, maybe we'll put down some roots," Joker responded, hand to his ear.
The voice on the other end didn't bother with niceties. Barking at him through the earpiece, the voice began demanding diagnostics reports, and told him to activate the ship's tracking device. Others had followed him, or tried to. The Normandy wasn't the only ship that tried to flee, and now the others were linking up their comms to figure out what to do next. Joker moved numbly, without thought, making his way back to the cockpit and following orders, as a good soldier should.
Joker's departure seemed to snap Garrus out of his own fugue.
Garrus knew where they were, he thought, and they weren't terribly far from Earth. Of course, the humans would probably be dismayed at the distance; space travel was still a bit of a novelty to them, in many ways. If any of the others made it out and were nearby, he could probably hail them using the Comm room, assuming it was operational. The Normandy had a bumpy landing, but was largely intact - there was a good chance he could get a message out. Someone would come for him, and then he would go to her.
A hand on his arm interrupted his planning. Tali'Zorah vas Normandy was by his side.
"Garrus... are you okay?" Tali's question was tentative, and she turned her masked face up to look at him. As always, he was fascinated by the shadows of a face that could be barely seen within. As far as he knew, Shepard was the only being to see a living Quarian's face in person.
"I'm fine," Garrus replied, shortly. "We need to get this ship running again. Do you know if the Comms are working?"
"We can get you off this planet, Garrus. There's a few ships nearby and two of them have enough fuel to take you back." Tali said, prepared as always. She had checked already, of course, probably as frantic for news of her friend as any of them. "I think… I think Joker was trying to outpace that, thing, whatever it was. For EDI."
Liara joined them, in time to hear the sadness in Tali's voice. "We have established communications with other vessels that followed the Normandy out. I have called in some favors, Garrus. The asari vessel is your best bet. They had Turians aboard, so you will not need to bring rations. Go pack anything you wish to take with you – they will send down a shuttle in approximately one and one half hours."
Garrus looked down at them. Liara's eyes were wet, her face bruised and scratched; he hadn't seen her like that since they left Thessia. They were all hurting, he realized.
"Can you get a hold of someone on Earth?" Garrus asked.
Liara shook her head. "I have better tech in my personal quarters, enough to reach out to previously established connections, but I am limited. I am sorry. I do not think that anyone has a reliable channel to Earth at this time, however I am certain that there are many who are trying to re-establish communications."
Finally, he looked around and felt the impact of what he saw. Most of the crew was human, and they were all busy doing what humans did best - surviving. They worked single-mindedly, helping each other where needed without question. They weren't the only race that needed tragedy to bring them together, but they were particularly good at working together in desperate times.
"I need to get down to engineering - Adams needs my help," Tali excused herself suddenly, leaving Liara and Garrus alone.
"Do you think-" Garrus's voice broke, its low purr caught in his throat before he could finish his question. He knew that humans and Asari sometimes had difficulty understanding Turian emotions, but Liara knew him well enough to see past the predatory features and piercing blue eyes. She knew that he was angry, desperate, and terrified.
"I do not know," Liara said, with her frustratingly scientific honesty. "I believe that if anyone could, Shepard did."
"Her cybernetics, though," Garrus said roughly, finding his voice again. His own body had been repaired, once, but not nearly to the same extent. What if she was too close to synthetic to survive? What if she'd made the ultimate sacrifice? He didn't ask aloud, knowing that Liara would answer seriously. He didn't want to hear the truth.
This time, Liara interrupted him before his wild thoughts could carry him away. "I do not know the true extent of the repairs that were made by Cerberus, but we both know that she is still human."
Another long moment of silence, then Liara took his hand in hers, squeezing firmly. "Garrus, you need to hurry. They'll be here soon. Go get cleaned up and pack your things."