Renewed Purposes and Devotions
"Joker, set a course for the Citadel," was Shepard's cheerful statement as he came to a stop behind Joker's "throne", his pilot gave a quick glance over his shoulder then over to EDI's hologram, "Am I the only one who feels threatened here?" With a huff of annoyance Shepard took a seat on the armchair alongside Joker realizing what he meant. Throughout the entire mission this crippled had become one of the most annoying people on the ship, he decided it was his turn to have some fun, "Joker, are you bald?" the pilot started coughing profusely and after a while shot an are you serious look towards his commander. A wide smirk appeared across Shepard's face, attempting to evade the question Joker replied, "Uh… ETA to the Citadel, 2 hours, don't try to pick on the crippled." Figuring he wasn't going to push it Shepard got up and started walking back down the aisle towards the command deck when he opened his mouth again, "I guess that's a ye…" he was abruptly interrupted, "Why don't you go do something more useful, like check on your girlfriend?" Shepard opened his mouth to speak but couldn't find any words so he just gave a nod and continued his stroll. "Why did you refuse to answer his enquiry appropriately Mister Moreau?" EDI chimed in after remaining quiet throughout the entire ordeal. "Because he doesn't need to know; anyway how about a game of Skyllian Five Poker?"
Garner stood with his back leaning against a counter, arms crossed, staring at the synthetic before him with burning eyes. "We question organics preferences in types of sustenance, or…food," Legions flaps extended outward at the mention of the last word. Its optic focused entirely on the plate of breakfast atop the counter, surveying it. "That's because you don't eat this you big pile of scrap metal," Garner stood straight yet keeping his arms crossed. "This mobile platform is not composed solely of metal; it is manufactured using numerous diverse resources comparable to titanium, iridium…" Legion was cut short as the Sergeant just wandered off leaving a note on the counter where the meals sat reading, "Meals are ready, and get rid of this synthetic Shepard- I mean it." Once again the synthetics flaps extended and contracted, returning its impenetrable stare to the plate before it.
Zaeed wandered down the stairs in engineering towards Jacks "quarters". Making sure no-one was following him he increased his pace entering the area. "The hell do you want, steroid façade," was the only sentence he heard as he frantically searched around him. "Over here dumb-ass," Jack emerged from a dark corner in her usual outfit. Zaeed found himself stuck in a position of forgetting what he was about to say and subconsciously started scratching chin. Jack's expression from one of anger then to one of mischief. She pointed towards his tattooed arm and spoke, "What's with the ink?" Zaeed scoffed as he replied, "I could ask you the same thing!" Jack lifted an eyebrow, "Sorry soldier boy I asked first" At that moment a faint giggle was heard, both the conversing psychopaths turned towards the source but could not find any trace of anyone.
Mordin lay on a medical bed in the infirmary, frantically moving his head around making a show of his aversion to the fact that he needed medical help. From the entire team he was the one who had suffered the most serious injuries. "No time, need to test new samples," Mordin stated as he tried to wiggle his way out of the restraints, "No you don't, not to mention that I needed a Krogan to haul you onto this bed, you did more than enough by escorting us back onto the Normandy." Chakwas said in a cheerful voice. "Were orders, no need to thank," Mordin replied with a smile. Mordin yelped as a painful strain coursed through his leg, Chakwas held up a shard of collector armor with a beaming smile.
"How was the fight?" Jacob asked in a slightly concerned tone, he knew Miranda could hold her own against almost anything but he still felt the need to ask. "It was tough but it went far better than I had expected, I just hope we get a shore leave soon." Jacob was shocked to hear her say this, normally work was her first priority and everything else came second, it struck him that perhaps her allegiance was shifting away from Cerberus and towards Shepard. "Jacob are you okay?" Miranda asked placing a hand on his shoulder. He shifted uncomfortably at the realization of her words. "Uh…yeah, I'm fine...Miri," Miranda's eyes shot wide as she retracted her hand and started stuttering as she tried to say something. For better or for worse the door leading to the armory opened revealing an infuriated giant. The floor quaked as the Krogan stomped into the room and as he got to Jacob he held out his shotgun which was smashed into two pieces, the wiring sparking and cracking from the sides. "It broke."
Thane sat by Samara's side trying to imitate her position. "Try to release yourself from your body's constraints," were Samara's calm words, doing as she said he focused his eyes on a distant star while trying to forget about his surroundings. Suddenly a orb of biotic mass appeared in his palms, though he did not notice it as he was trying to retain his concentration. "Respectable work Thane, we are making progress." The Drell snapped out of his trance and turned his head towards the Asari revealing a smile. "My gratitude, I am indeed blessed to have a friend such as you." The Asari returned a smile then turned towards the massive view of the galaxy. "I do not know what to do…" her voice was broken and course. "What do you mean?" Thane's voice was filled with concern. "I have slayed my daughter and thus I have no more a purpose to live than I have a purpose to continue fighting." She closed her eyes and continued, "I wish to continue at Shepard's side however my Code demands that I return to my previous duties." The room fell silent as they both solemnly looked into the distance.
Tali, Garrus and the two Cerberus engineers Ken and Gabby frowned at the state of the cargo hold in the Normandy. For the most part they had managed to repair the hull to prevent any vent of air but it was by no means secure. "All right, no use standing around let's get to it," Garrus mumbled as he lifted a toolbox and started moving towards the first breach, the other members staying rooted in their positions. The Turian stopped dead in his steps realizing no-one was following him, turning around he spoke "Um…what?" Gabby was the first to respond, "What are you going to do?" Garrus scratched his head realizing that there wasn't a lot that he could do, he shrugged. "Let's just weld the plating onto the hull and clean this place out from the damage that Oculus did." Everyone nodded and started moving in separate directions. As Tali did a hand landed on her shoulder, turning around she found Kasumi with a massive grin, probably the biggest she had ever seen her wear, "How was it?" was all the thief said. A jagged and coarse cough escaped Tali's throat, the grin remained on the hooded figure. Giving a small giggle Kasumi changed topics to something more recent, "You will never guess who Zaeed's going for!" the thief said impatiently tugging on her friends elbows. "Let me guess, Jack?" was the sarcastic reply from the Quarian, though her voice was little more than a whisper the message carried through. The human hummed a yes, and then almost immediately they burst out laughing. The engineers and Garrus quickly looked towards the gossiping girls, Ken letting out a huff, Gabby smiling, and Garrus giving the Turian equivalent to a smirk. "You sound bad Tali, you sure Shep can't give his favorite girl a little break?" Kasumi asked in a polite tone. "I'm fine and anyway the mission comes first," Kasumi smirked, "What mission?" Tali started searching for an answer but found none, the immediate threat was gone and all that was left was to fight the Reapers.
Just then she felt a pair of strong arms around her waist. She jumped at the feeling and turned around still in the embrace to find Shepard with a loving smile spread across his lips. Kasumi giggled as she started walking away, "Have a good time you two!" Neither of the two responded as their attention was squarely focused on each other's eyes, captivated and in love the two stood. At last Shepard spoke, "How are you feeling?", "Like I've never felt before," was the only reply he received as he drew her in for a hug. After another period of time he spoke to her softly, "Go back to our cabin and get some rest, I'll cover for you." Tali opened her mouth to speak but as if Shepard had anticipated this he moved his hand to her mask to cover her mouthpiece. "Go, Miss 'vas Normandy, I'll see you there," he slowly released her from the embrace and signaled towards the elevator, turning around she reluctantly started walking towards the elevator with several thoughts rushing through her head; however one stood out, our cabin. She liked the sound of that, and as she walked she turned her head back to see Shepard looking at her, a beaming smile stood out, she blushed and murmured, "I cannot believe this is happening to me…"