The argument was already in full swing by the time Kaidan stepped out of the elevator by the CIC and if the angry voices echoing across the deck were anything to go by it was escalating. EDI had notified him of the growing tensions while he'd been resting in Shepard's cabin trying to ward off the migraine that was threatening to take hold. If he was lucky dealing with this wasn't going to cause it to flare up. Kaidan understood all too well that everyone was feeling the strain of being grounded without comms and stuck with only each other for company but with the major repairs nearly complete this was not the time for morale to fracture. Ignoring Traynor's worried look he gave a long-suffering sigh and made his way towards the bridge to head the fight off before it got out of hand.
"You consider yourself a good pilot and yet you leave your Commander behind and crash their ship."
"Look I already told you, I had orders from Admiral Hackett to get the Council off of the Citadel."
"And yet you listened?" Javik's voice was incredulous. "What do three lives matter with the war on your planet? Our task was to defeat the Reapers, not save politicians."
"Hey I don't like it either but those politicians happen to be the Galactic Council."
"That is unimportant. What purpose do they serve if the Reapers have succeeded in destroying this cycle? Defeating them was all that mattered."
"Yea well, it's a good thing you're not the Commander then." Joker muttered angrily.
"Yes as it seems you leave your Commanders to die."
"ENOUGH!" Kaidan ordered, unwilling to let this argument go any further. "This doesn't help anyone so both of you back down."
The Prothean gave him a long stare as if debating whether or not to continue. "If we had been in space I would have thrown him out of the airlock." Javik's voice was flat and uncompromising.
"Well then I guess we've found one good thing about being grounded." Joker remarked dryly.
"You think you are funny human." Javik took a menacing step towards the pilot.
Kaidan held up his hand to stop the inevitable retort from Joker. "Fine, whatever." With a shrug he turned back to the console in front of him.
Turning his attention to Javik he wondered how Shepard had managed to befriend this sharp-tongued Prothean. It had been rare that Javik had aimed his acerbic comments at her, preferring to save them for the other crew members. Perhaps it had been his respect for her as a soldier or maybe they had simply found common ground for understanding. Either way, Javik did not hold that same level of respect for the rest of the crew even though up until today he had at least remained civil if not vaguely friendly.
"What about you human? You and the Commander were joined and yet you left the saviour of your species to save these politicians."
From out of the corner of his eye he could see Joker visibly tense up. He knew how Kaidan felt about Shepard and he would probably always feel guilty about his role in her death on the SR1. But this wasn't Joker's fault, they had gotten their orders and she would have understood that. They had always agreed to never let their relationship get in the way of their duties and as much as it pained him had he refused the order to evacuate the council, he would have been doing just that.
"Commander Shepard was on the Citadel opening the arms to dock the Crucible when we received orders from the head of the Alliance Navy to take part in a tactical extraction. You were there Javik and you're a soldier. You understand the reasons for this as much as we do – you know it had to be done. The only reason we're still alive is because Joker is the best damned pilot in the Alliance."
"So you say, I think he is a fool." But he did not argue with Kaidan further as he turned his back on them and boarded the elevator back down to the engineering deck.
"What an asshole." Waiting until the Prothean was out of earshot Joker frowned. "You'd think after being in stasis for over fifty thousand years he could be patient for what, another couple of days?"
"All of my readings indicate that he is suffering from the same stress as the rest of the crew Jeff." EDI's voice was soft as she spoke from the co-pilot's seat beside him.
"Yea I know, I know."
"C'mon Joker, we've almost got the thrusters fixed and then we can try and get off of this rock." Kaidan tried to sound positive even though he knew the same doubts that plagued him were also on Joker's mind.
"Yea I'm done with this place. Maybe next time I can at least land us closer to a club with a bar."
"The likelihood of achieving such a landing would be….." EDI trailed off as she caught their expressions. "Oh, I see. That was a joke."
"Are you going to be ok to fly once the repairs are finished?" Karin Chakwas had taken Kaidan to one side to share her concerns about Joker's recovery. It seemed that the fractures were healing but more slowly than she normally would have anticipated.
Joker snorted. "Of course I'll be fine, I just need to get my baby back in the air."
"Dr. Chakwas does need not be concerned Major. Jeff's fractures have healed sufficiently to be able to pilot the Normandy effectively."
Joker's eyes widened as his head whipped around to stare at Edi. "Wait, what?"
Biting back a grin Kaidan thanked EDI before retreating from the bridge to let her deal with Joker's questions. He couldn't admit to fully understanding the relationship between the two of them but they were clearly close and both agreed that it was thanks to Shepard's influence. He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling the pressure of the migraine building. There wasn't a corner of this ship or a crew member that hadn't been impacted by their formidable Commander in some way. His relationship with her had been an open secret amongst the crew but thankfully they had finally stopped giving him those sympathetic sideways looks whenever he walked past. Getting the Normandy back to Earth couldn't happen soon enough for him.
It took them the better part of the week but the repairs were finally complete. Theoretically the ship should be airworthy but despite the reassurances from EDI and the engineers they still had no guarantees that the Normandy was going to fly again. He knew that they wouldn't know for certain until they attempted it but he feared putting the crew's lives in even more danger. There were no second chances now and as the thrusters powered up the nerves were palpable.
"Increasing power from the drive core, engaging thrusters." Joker's voice echoed across all of the decks.
Traynor had opened up the comms across the ship so that the entire crew could be in direct contact with each other as they tried to get the Normandy airborne. Tali and Garrus were on the engineering deck with Adams, Donnelly and Daniels while Kaidan had joined James and Cortez down in the hangar to help stabilize the damaged hull if necessary. The Salarian and Turian councillors were helping to man the flight deck with Traynor while Liara and Councillor Tevos were standing ready with their considerable biotic abilities to help stabilize the tear in the starboard cargo area.
EDI was running continuous diagnostics on their systems to find any faults which could endanger them or the ship. "Fusion reactor is performing within acceptable limits and all other systems are currently operating at normal capacity, Jeff."
"All thrusters are online and output is stable." Joker reported from the bridge.
The Normandy began to vibrate as Joker increased the power to the thrusters, trying to lift her off of the ground. Kaidan tensed as the movement caused the ship's hull to grind against the rocks with an ear-splitting screech. He flared his biotics, ready to support any weakening of the hull as the huge ship began to shudder, trying to break free from where she was wedged. For a long moment the ship seemed trapped until finally with a wrench the Normandy tore free from the earth and ascended gracefully into the sky. As Joker slowly increased their altitude the crew seemed to hold their collective breaths waiting to make sure the hull held firm against the strain.
"Drive core stable and hull integrity at 78%." EDI confirmed.
"The shields are holding Kaidan, we should be ok to leave the planet's atmosphere." Tali relayed from the engineering deck.
Garrus sounded decidedly more nervous beside her. "Are you sure this is going to work?"
"Of course I'm sure Garrus. My people have been repairing and repurposing damaged ships for centuries and I know the Normandy." Tali retorted primly.
"Alright then, let's get our ship back into space." Kaidan took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Joker take her up and let's see if the hull can take it."
"It'll be a hell of a short trip if it doesn't." Vega called out from the other side of the hangar. "At least Bones knows how to miss the sea if we go down."
"Ah man, shut up Vega." Joker groaned over the comms.
"I believe Lt. Vega was making a," EDI began before Joker interrupted her.
"Yea I know, he was making a joke. Thanks EDI."
As they passed through the upper atmosphere and back into space he breathed a small sigh of relief. The familiar sense of vertigo washed over him as the Normandy's artificial gravity kicked in. Kaidan could hear the nervous laughter from the crew combined with a sense of relief as all of their systems remained stable.
"Plot a course to the relay Joker." Kaidan ordered.
Sagging down to the floor he let his head fall back against the wall as he watched the Normandy's kinetic barriers flicker protectively over the holes in her sides. If they could make those barriers hold then they would be able to make it back to Earth in relative safety. It felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders now that they were finally back in space. He didn't know how long it would take to get there but he would see Vancouver and his family again. Shepard had promised to be there waiting for him after the Reapers were destroyed and he'd certainly kept her waiting.
Keep yourself safe, love. I'm coming back to you, just be patient a little while longer.
The Normandy might be limping but they were going home.