Previously on Casualties:

The Collector mission brought a handful of casualties. Major character deaths include: Samara who died while holding husks off of Shepard right at the end of the Collector mission. Zeed, who took a bullet to the head while trying to rescue Jack. Kaiden, who'd been restationed at another colony, copped it in a Collector harvest. And Miranda was killed by Jacob over suspicion that she was aiding TIM with something called Contingency C -a failsafe to cause Shep to go into cardiac arrest if she went too far off the reservation. It was TIM's compromise in lieu of the control chip plan.

Still stranded on the darkside of the Omega relay, Tali and her gang of helpers are close to being able to generate a massive magnetic field for repairs to the FTL drive, but some of Tali's anti-geth prejudices tend to get in the way of progress.

Thane had himself a strange solipsistic dream which has unnerved him. It is very rare for drell to dream outside of memory.


Funeral-event

Karin could hardly remember the last time she'd been in the hangar bay. It had never been her intention to isolate herself in the med bay, but it had always been her natural domain. Medical facilities aboard various ships and space stations had generally felt like more of a home to her than any of her planet-side flats or ships' quarters ever had. Well, before. Now it seemed that any sense of home, of security, had been forever burned out of her with the first instant of singeing doom from inside that pod. She'd never forget it, not after the gruesome ends of the others she'd witnessed firsthand while trapped in those Collector devices.

Though Karin recognized that it was a bloody miracle to find herself back in her element, she felt ungrateful, and numb. It was as though her heart couldn't accept the semblant unreality of having been released just seconds before a horrific death. After untold hours, or days, (it felt like years), trapped in that dreadful thing which smelled of blood, feces, and decay, hope had become as cold and incomprehensible to Karin as the void of deep space.

And Shepard, the young and capable leader who had been a little like the daughter Karin had never had, had failed her. Utterly and completely. It hardly mattered that she was alive now. It had been sheer dumb luck that she'd been found at all. None of the "survivors" had been truly saved. It was obvious to Karin that they were all as good as dead. It was only a matter of time.

Karin frowned and breathed a heavy sigh out her nose. Intellectually, she understood that like all trauma victims, it would take time to reclaim any personal sense of security. This despair was only natural, wasn't it? But in the four cycles that had passed since she had been rescued, it only seemed to be getting worse. Karin worried she might turn into a hapless automaton, delivering efficient care with her customary pleasant and professional bedside manner, but with no heart for any of it any longer.

Her self-pity party was interrupted by the commencing of an even more pitiful event. Gathered among the rest of the surviving crew and the handful of listless refugees, Karin watched Shepard step up onto a small storage platform. Her broken wrist was nearly healed now, Karin had removed the cast this morning, and her bruises and cuts had all but disappeared. Shepard donned an uncharacteristic black garment that resembled a Japanese kimono, but styled with more modern and efficient tailoring. It must have been borrowed, Karin doubted that Shepard owned any civilian clothes to speak of and wouldn't want to wear a Cerberus uniform for such an occasion. If she'd been thinking straight, the doctor would have remembered to wear something more appropriate than her lab garments as well. Too late now.

"The Collectors left too many victims to name," the commander began. "Pioneers who dared to traverse the outer reaches of our galaxy, to look danger and uncertainty in the eye and carve out a life for themselves.

"It is that very spirit which has inspired many of us who stood to fight on their behalf. A precious few beings refused to stand aside and ignore untold numbers of innocent colonists being kidnapped and harvested. They faced unspeakable danger while the rest of the galaxy buried their heads in the sand, dismissing this travesty as inconsequential.

"The galaxy at large does not yet realize the sacrifice our fallen crewmates have made. They leave behind family, friends, and loved ones who may not understand exactly how important was their mission. Loved ones who may not yet understand the courage and integrity it took to come to the aide of those who had been marginalized and ignored.

"Sadly, their deeds may go mostly unsung. But we know. We who have fought and worked alongside them understand it's that sort of humble integrity that belays the purest form of heroism. These beings were the best of the best, and they put their lives on the line for something greater than themselves with no promise of reward.

"The fallen have not died in vain. The survivors standing among us now can attest to that with their lives. The Reaper War is coming to every corner of this galaxy. And soon everyone will realize in some way just how important were the sacrifices of people like Staff Commander Kaiden Alenko, Yeoman Kelly Chambers, Mess Sergeant Rupert Gardner, Crewman Jenny Goldstein, Crewman Richard Hadley, Crewman Thomas Hawthorne, Operative Miranda Lawson, bounty hunter Zaeed Massani, Crewman Vadim Rolston, and the justicar, Samara... As long as we honor them through our memory and our deeds, they will never be forgotten."

Shepard bowed her head in silence and all in attendance immediately followed suit. Karin tried to soak in her words, to feel gratitude toward those who had died rescuing her, to feel anything at all. But it was no use. When she looked up again, her chin may have quivered but her eyes remained dry.

Shepard spoke once more before stepping back down, "There will be temporary relief of duty for everyone aboard for the next eight hours. I invite you to commemorate the memories of our lost comrades in whatever way you see fit."


File: Mission Organic Diplomacy assessment-organic interaction analysis-update 0983897373-Funeral-event

mission status: 91% Mission Objectives for platform designated "Legion" complete

01. aid Shepard-Commander in fight against the Old Machines in progress

01.01. defeat of designation "Collector Base" complete

02. pursue diplomatic networking among prominent organic individuals in progress

02.01. cooperative endeavors with Creator-Tali'Zorah in progress

02.01.01. Creator-Tali'Zorah's link to Migrant Fleet unstable

02.02. cooperative endeavors with Shepard-Commander in progress

03. record and analyze all available organic intelligence in progress

03.01. non-Creator organic species differ measurably from Creators, yet some social cues correlate as universal

03.02. ongoing work with non-Creator organics informative

04. return to Consensus to upload data incomplete

04.01. Normandy-ship currently nonfunctional for relay travel

04.01.01 repair operations and preparation in progress

04.01.02. process temporarily halted for a ship-wide social event known as a "funeral"

. see Funeral-event analysis included in update 0983897373-Funeral-event

Funeral-event overview: observation relevant to ongoing hypothesis regarding the function of organic emotion and social interaction

01. fear [not fully defined] is a function of organic survival

01.01. stimuli which trigger acute stress responses comparable to geth rerouting power to vital systems in hazardous situations

01.01.01. paradox: odds of survival counteracted by the organic population who become physically incapacitated with fear

01.01.02. unknown but significant percent of organics suffer from fear which extends to non-hazardous situations.

02. bonding emotions are a function of organic survival

02.01. love [not fully defined] triggers cooperative, protective, and/or self-sacrificing behavior among disconnected individuals comparable to geth platform-isolated programs risking deletion to preserve the well-being of the Consensus

02.01.01. love among genetic relatives and/or the temporarily compulsive desire linked to sexual attraction more likely to produce such behavior

02.01.02. love serves in evolutionary purposes for reproductive success especially given that non-sentient organics do not comprehend the form and function of their own reproductive systems

03. grief [not fully defined] function unknown

03.01. apparent result of loss of individual who was a source of bonding combined with fear of deletion

03.02. Funeral-event culturally prescribed social event intended for the organic emotional processing of grief

03.02.01 Funeral-events vary among cultural subsets within species

03.02.02 Subsequent Recording of update 0983897373Funeral-event mostly human in culturally prescribed traits

04. ongoing queries

04.01. why do many emotional cues continue long after the situation from which they originated has passed?

04.01.01 some organics continue to process grief for years after the bonded individual was deleted and Funeral-event completed

04.02 what are the functions of emotions such as shame or humor?

04.02.01 according to preliminary definitions, these serve no obvious evolutionary purpose

05. Collaborative non-Organic source: EDI-synthetic

05.01. EDI-synthetic and Legion-platform share intelligence on organic behavior

05.02. EDI-synthetic designed a series of provocations and experimental algorithms to predict organic social outcomes

05.02.01. EDI-synthetic data gathering focus is on organic bonding via humor and sexuality

05.03. exchange of data between Legion-platform and EDI-synthetic has not brought sufficient consensus. we estimate organic social behavior exhibits more potential for random outcome than EDI-synthetic posits

05.03.01 probable error in EDI-synthetic's observation due to lack of compensation for (quantum) observer effect

Funeral-Event observation: post-recording of prescribed human ritual of Shepard-Commander speech

01. Jack-biotic, Grunt-krogan

01.01. these individuals stand apart from the group holding an outdated, inoperative rifle

01.02. Jack-biotic, is wearing opaque eye-wear. moisture drips down her cheek from behind the eye-wear. Grunt-krogan has not altered his appearnace

01.03. both organics hold the rifle firmly between them as Grunt-krogan speaks

Grunt-krogan: WE NOW SHARE BLOOD WITH ZAEED MASSANI. WE GIVE AN OATH TO CRUSH THE BONES AND SPLATTER THE INNARDS OF VIDO SANTIAGO IN ZAEED'S HONOR. WE SWEAR IT WILL BE DONE.

01.04. Social Interaction Hypothesis: example of organic intention to complete "unfinished business"commonly referred to in preliminary extranet research on funeral-events

01.04.01. Jack-biotic and Grunt-krogan adopted krogan custom of blood oath. we will anticipate an update on whether they fulfill the oath in the future

02. Shepard-Commander, Goto-infiltrator, Taylor-Officer

02.01 these individuals left the larger group to communicate privately

02.02. Shepard-Commander and Goto-thief wear similar clothing: long cloth robes with large sleeves draping to the floor. Taylor-Officer's clothing distinctive from the other two organics' also differs from his normal apparel

02.02.01. Shepard-Commander wears black

02.02.02. Goto-infiltrator wears white except for face which is draped with a black veil

. Legion-platform has never observed Goto-infiltrator's face fully uncovered

02.02.03. Taylor-Officer has removed all Cerberus logos from his uniform.

02.03. intonation frequencies among these organics indicate high stress though audible volume is low

Shepard-Commander: OF COURSE I WANT TO CONFER FOR ALL THE EVIDENCE, KASUMI, BUT THIS ISN'T THE TIME.

Goto-infiltrator: I WAS JUST TRYING TO CLEAR MIRANDA'S NAME. SHE REALLY WASN'T THE CERBERUS SPY YOU THOUGHT SHE WAS, SHEP. SHE-

Taylor-Officer: [steps forward with arms crossed over chest] SHEPARD'S RIGHT. THIS ISN'T THE TIME TO SPECULATE ON HER MOTIVES. YOU FORGET THAT I KNEW HER PRETTY WELL. IT'S BAD ENOUGH THAT SHEPARD INCLUDED HER IN THAT LITANY OF HEROES.

Goto-infiltrator: YOU HARDLY KNEW HER AT ALL, JACOB, JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE LOVERS ONCE…YOU HAVE OBVIOUS TRUST ISSUES WHEN IT COMES TO WOMEN.

Taylor-Officer: [vocal volume raised, facial expression contorted] SAYS THE LEAST TRUSTWORTHY, THIEVING, LITTLE MERCENARY SPY I'VE EVER-

Shepard-Commander: [vocal volume raised, hands outstretched in a cutting motion] ENOUGH! [vocal volume lowered to previous level] YOU'RE BOTH USING EMOTIONALLY COMPROMISED REASONING. IT'S NOT DOING ANYONE ANY FAVORS. I INCLUDED MIRANDA'S NAME BECAUSE WHATEVER HER MOTIVATIONS WERE, SHE SAVED MY LIFE TWICE AND SHE PUT HER OWN LIFE ON THE LINE DEFENDING OTHERS MORE TIMES THAN I CAN COUNT. I'M NOT HAPPY WITH A LOT OF HER ACTIONS AND WE MAY NEVER KNOW HER TRUE MOTIVATIONS BUT I'M NOT GOING TO FOREVER CONDEMN OR CLEAR HER MEMORY BASED ON HEARSAY. MEANWHILE, JACOB, I'M NOT HOLDING YOU ACCOUNTABLE FOR MAKING A SPLIT-SECOND DECISION UNDER DURESS. YOU WERE PROTECTING ME AND THE MAIN OBJECTIVE. [eyes point directly to Goto-infiltrator] WE ALL KNOW THAT. SO STAND DOWN, AND STOP TRYING TO CONTROL EVERYONE ELSE'S VIEW OF MIRANDA. WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS MORE LATER. DISMISSED.

02.04. Taylor-Officer walks toward the elevator at fast pace. posture and behavior displays clear evidence of agitation and aggression

02.05 Goto-infiltrator wipes moisture from her face under her veil and walks back toward the larger group

02.06. Shepard-Commander remains apart from the group rubbing the sides of her face with her hands

02.07. Shepard-Commander approached by Krios-assassin

02.07.01. Krios-assassin does not speak, but blinks his eyes and bows his head

02.08. Krios-assassin and Shepard-Commander embrace

02.09 Social Interaction Hypothesis: we confer with Shepard-Commander's analysis of "emotionally compromised reasoning"

02.09.01. organic consensus is slow and inadequate under favorable conditions. organic consensus critically ineffectual under similar parameters as the social interaction just observed

02.09.02. when the geth can not reach consensus, more data is collected. when organics can not reach consensus, they defend emotional attachments, sometimes violently. facts are abandoned. it is counterproductive. pointless. we posit emotionally compromised reasoning is common in high-stress and/or highly emotional environments such as funeral-events. classifying as organic disfunction

02.09.03. subject of verbal exchange determined as otherwise atypical for this context

03. Solus-doctor, Vakarian-XO, Moreau-pilot

03.01. Solus-doctor stands at the center of the room with a data-pad on projector display.

03.01.01 Solus-doctor inputs data swiftly for an organic

03.02. Vakarian-XO and Moreau-pilot approach Solus-doctor together

03.03. none of these individuals have altered their appearance for this event

Moreau-pilot: WHAT'S UP, DOC?

Solus-doctor: AH. PERFECT TIMING. HAVE ALREADY UPLOADED MISSION REPORTS SAMARA TOOK PART IN. BUT DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO SOCIALIZE WITH HER MUCH. NEED MORE PERSONAL ACCOUNTS TO COMPLETE.

Vakarian-XO: COMPLETE WHAT, MORDIN?

Solus-doctor: FUNERARY DATA COMPILATION. SALARIAN CUSTOM TO COMPILE DETAILED FILES FROM OFFICIAL RECORDS, VIDS, AND PERSONAL ACCOUNTS FOR SURVIVING FRIENDS AND FAMILY. ALREADY STARTED ONE FOR ROLSTON, GARDNER, AND CHAMBERS. HAVE CONTACTED OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CREW WHO WORKED MOST CLOSELY WITH THEM. STILL NEED TO WORK ON ONE FOR SAMARA, MIRANDA, ZAEED, GOLDSTEIN, HADLEY, AND HAWTHORNE.

Moreau-pilot: OOOH. I THINK I HAVE A VID YOU CAN USE FOR BOTH SAMARA AND ZAEED'S DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKS. DID YOU GUYS KNOW ZAEED WAS TRYING TO GET SAMARA TO SIGN A STACK OF JUSTICAR COMICS TO SELL ON THE EXTRANET? SHE BARELY ACKNOWLEDGED THE GUY, BUT THIS ONE TIME, HE TRIED TO BLOCK HER PATH TO THE BATHROOM AND OFFERED TO CUT HER IN ON THE PROFITS. I THINK HE SAID SOMETHING ABOUT A "PARTNERSHIP WITH HER SWEET AZURE ASS." SAMARA DIDN'T EVEN BLINK. SHE JUST PLASTERED HIM TO THE CEILING WITH A FLICK OF HER BIOTIC WRIST AND WENT RIGHT ON INTO THE BATHROOM. IT WAS EPIC. EDI SAVED THE CLIP FOR ME.

Vakarian-XO: JOKER, I'M NOT SURE THAT'S WHAT MORDIN MEANT BY-

Solus-doctor: PERFECT. SEND IT AND ANY OTHERS ALONG AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Vakarian-XO: [Turns away speaking to omnitool voice command in tone low enough to be inaudible to most humans] NOTE TO SELF: HACK JOKER'S PERSONAL FILES FOR ANY EMBARRASSING VIDS.

03.04. Social Interaction Hypothesis: ritual of "preserving the memory" of the deceased is common emotional processing technique utilized at funeral-events.

03.04.01. Legion-platform has yet to observe an organic that does not rely on external synthetic memory such as datapads and vids.

03.05. query: must define embarrassment, another emotion universal to organics

03.05.01. embarrassment appears to be linked to shame. more data required


A/N: Good ol' fanfic dot net won't let me format Legion's POV as intended. Sorry, if it's difficult to read.

A special thanks to LaughingTiger, Them Memories, and my friend Nicole (screen-name pending) for helping me to polish a dud into something workable.

Chapter 29 and the end of ME2 is coming, I swear!