Author's Note: Just so you all know, in my version, the Crucible energy only shows on flesh and on machinery that is home to AI.
Chapter 3: Re-Introduction and Re-Integration
"Will you get an eyeful of that? Now THAT is some mighty fine arse! Ow! Sorry Gabby."
The crew all circled around Tali, every one of them with a baffled look on their face. All of them except for Javik. He was only one that had seen a Quarian without a mask before.
Javik , who was hobbled by a broken leg on the mend, limped in front of her and looked her from head to toe, nodding in approval. "As I said before, even in my cycle, Quarians were considered to be attractive. It is good to see that this much has not changed over the course of fifty thousand years." Tali's pale lavender cheeks blushed a shade of blue and Javik shot her a smile before limping back into the small crowd.
James went up next. He looked her straight in the eye. Her eyes were a bright cerulean blue. "Well, I guess I can't call you Sparks anymore. What gives? I always kind of figured your eyes naturally glowed like that."
The crew all let out a collective gasp as Alcatraz projected himself from Tali's necklace. "I can answer that, Lieutenant Vega. While uploaded into Tali's suit, I noticed there was a program built into the visor that not only projected read outs onto the inside for the Quarian to take in information, but also highlighted the Quarian's eyes on the outside."
EDI stepped in and said; "That is correct. According to historical documents, the Quarian Admiralty Board added this as a mandate for all suits produced after an incident where a young Quarian on Pilgrimage at the Citadel was made to stand trial for grand theft and was caught sleeping in the court hearing. And it's good to see you are not just the voice in Tali's head anymore."
Alcatraz modified his projection to a scaled down, man sized version of his Geth Prime body. "Hello, EDI."
Tali, now feeling she was on the spot and had some explaining to do, fidgeted with her now unsheathed hands and shyly spoke up. "Hi, everyone. It's me. The real me. And this is Alcatraz. He has been my suit's brain since we liberated Rannoch a few months back. He was the Prime unit that first informed us of Legion's dissolution and officially invited the Quarians to live back on the homeworld. As soon as we get a chance, I want to put him back in his Prime body."
Everyone was still in a mild state of shock, but given all that had been going on, no one questioned anything. Oddly enough, James was the first to speak.
"Alcatraz, huh? She named you after 'The Rock' back on Earth? When you get back to your body, maybe we should get you a more fitting paint job. I only ever saw Primes sporting red or white." James said with a smirk. Tali thought to herself, knowing Vega and his penchant for nicknaming everyone, he'd probably be referring to Alcatraz as Rock from then on.
Two others in the crowd were seemingly looking away on purpose; Donnelly and Traynor. Kenneth had a hard enough time keeping his mouth shut about Tali's "mighty fine arse" while she was still in the suit. He didn't want to exacerbate the beating he was going to get from Gabby for staring when they first got off the ship. He couldn't help it. He was weak… and an ass man. Then there was Samantha, who was openly gay. She had to keep herself in check when dealing with Tali while she still suited up. She certainly did not want to cause an issue now that she was free from it, especially since Shepard's disappearance was still fresh.
A sudden spark of curiosity came over Tali. "Hold on… Javik is smiling and Joker isn't limping around? Did I miss something?"
Javik let out a good hearted laugh and stepped forward again. "I have been a warrior for my entire existence. To know now that the enemy I was sworn from birth to fight is no longer a threat seems to have had a very positive effect on my disposition." That was a perfectly rational explanation. Everyone seemed to agree with him on that point.
Ashley jumped in. "You know, I still want to know why we don't have to bury Joker with the rest of our crew. How the hell are you even alive, much less not having to hobble around anymore?"
"I have no idea Boss Lady, but if I get some inside track info, I'll pass you a memo." Joker said in his usual snide tone.
Tali remembered her conversation with Auntie Raan and rubbed the back of her hand. When that topic came back to her mind, she spoke up. "When I called the resistance FOB on Earth and spoke with Admiral Raan, she said that Admiral Xen and her scientists are speculating that our recovery has something to do with these marks, and that these marks are the result of that green energy from the Crucible. Maybe the marks have also improved his Vrolik's Syndrome."
Most of the crew had seen the marks by then. Privates Campbell and Westmoreland were noticing theirs for the first time, as were Ensign Copeland and Lieutenant Cortez.
Joker's head tilted. "You know, ever since I woke up, I have felt more… I don't know... alive. I hadn't really paid much attention to the marks until EDI pointed them out. And I noticed that I didn't have to limp to walk anymore. Maybe the funky track marks are making me healthy." Joker got a dose of bravery and walked over to James. "Hey, Vega. Hit me."
"What are you talking about? I'm not going to hit you."
Joker got into his face. "Come on! Hit me!"
"Back off, cabron… I don't want to break you in half."
Joker got bold and silly and started dancing around James. "Oh come on. You Mohawk wearing, pea-brained, Magilla Gorilla looking, sorry excuse for a leader! Gimme all you got!"
Everyone looking on feared for his safety and knew what was coming. Without even reaching back to wind up, James exploded forward with a loud grunt, landing his massive fist square on Joker's jaw. Jeff reeled back with such force that he ran right into the tree they were standing under and fell forward, face-planting into the soft dirt.
Dr. Chakwas immediately ran to his side to start scanning him. Before she could even get the program up on her omni-tool, Joker popped up to his feet, threw his hands in the air and yelled, "That was AWESOME!" Dr. Chakwas couldn't help but feel a strange sense of deja vu.
The group all let out a collective groan. Tali quipped, "Alcatraz, initiate command prompt 'facepalm'." Joker's face went from a huge smile to a confused look with a raised eyebrow.
Alcatraz and EDI both said in unison, "That was a joke." That got the group to laugh as a whole while Joker was left with the confused look on his face.
EDI chimed in. "I don't mean to break up this hardy moment, but it seems we have company." Sure enough, the Wildlife Preserve Rangers had arrived to transport them to the closest colony settlement. Everyone grabbed their gear and got on board while Glyph and EDI went back to making repairs.