Chapter 32: Team Chemistry

Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2.

March 23rd, 2185. 9:02 am. EST

Jordan's first sensation after waking up was a headache… and the intense desire to go back to sleep. Turns out, even with his upgrades and inhuman nature thanks to Synthesis, hangovers are possible… especially with ryncol.

The next thing he noticed was a lack of memories from the previous night. What happened? All he could remember right away was when he busted out the ryncol, and Tela Vasir finished her story about how she stopped those pirates, or terrorists or whatever. That's when he noticed the third thing.

He was awakening in a completely new position. He was now lying flat on his back, with his head comfortably in the center of his pillow. His blanket was now draped over him, and most importantly… Tela was gone. Unfortunately, his headache was not.

Rising slowly, EDI spoke, as she normally does in the morning, "Good morning, Jordan."

Jordan smiled lightly in response despite his pain, "Morning EDI… Could you ask Doctor Chakwas to get something together for my hangover."

"Of course, Jordan."

"Thanks EDI." Jordan paused for a moment, "EDI, where is Tela?"

"Spectre Vasir is currently working out with Mister Taylor in the cargo bay." She helpfully informed him.

"When did she leave?"

"Approximately 1:01 in the morning. She left after you passed out last night."

Jordan looked down at the state of himself and the room. It wasn't as trashed as he believed it would be after a night of heavy drinking in there. She must have helped him out afterwards. God, he hoped he didn't do anything embarrassing.

"Should I notify her that you are awake?"

"No, that's fine, EDI. Thanks."

"Logging you out, Jordan."

'At least she always calls me Jordan, now…' He thought to himself. After another moment, Jordan finally forced himself out of his so-called bed and made his way outside to the Med Bay. Sitting there with an amused expression was the kindly doctor herself, Doctor Chakwas.

"Good morning Mr. Sower. Had an eventful evening?" She asked. Jordan sighed aloud. Of course she'd seen what happened last night. She's normally up late every night, so she'd obviously been in here both when Tela came in and left last night.

Jordan shook his head, "Just had drinks. Need medicine." He mumbled.

"Yes, yes. A pristine hangover, if what EDI tells me is correct." She spoke, "You're lucky I keep that medication in stock."

"For Shepard?"

She chuckled, "For more than just Shepard, but you're not wrong." Dr. Chakwas said, before grabbing a singular pill and a glass of water, handing them both to Jordan. "Your hangover should clear up within ten minutes, but no alcohol for the next six hours."

Jordan quickly downed the pill and groaned from his headache, "Uhhhggg… I'm never drinking again."

She sighed, "That's what they all say…"

Hourglass Nebula, Osun, Normandy SR-2, Enroute to Rosetta Nebula.

March 23rd, 2185. 2:09 pm. EST

It'd been several hours since Jordan's awakened, and the Normandy was already in motion.

Apparently, Thane's recruitment went off without issue last night, and Shepard decided that they'd be doing another loyalty mission. Specifically, Jacob's. After he'd said goodbye to Liara, after failing once more to convince her to come with him, he'd set course for the Rosetta Nebula, with an estimated arrival time of two hours. From there, it'd be at least another day before they reached 2175 Aeia, seeing as how it was quite far from the Relay, and would require some time to reach.

Anyway, with two new recruits on board, Jordan decided that maybe it was time he went and met with one of them. Introduce himself. See where he stood with them. Maybe make friends… well, that wasn't extremely likely with the newest duo. Err, well, trio, but he knew that Tali would not be happy to see him down in engineering. Then again…

He shook his head, chasing the thought away. He'd figure THAT out later. Anyway, he soon approached the door to Life Support, feeling only moderately nervous about confronting the assassin in a room… alone… with only EDI to protect him… whose hand-to-hand is unmatched… with biotics… with Jordan's reputation proceeding him…

Ok, yeah, Jordan wasn't feeling super comfortable. In fact, the only reason he wasn't running the opposite direction and locking himself in a room was because he knew Thane from the games, and didn't think he'd actually act out like that on this ship, especially with his oath to Shepard.

And the fact that running and hiding wouldn't save him if Thane were truly after him.

After stealing his courage, Jordan knocked on the door, politely asking for permission to enter. The very next second, the door slid open, leaving no further opportunity to turn back without Thane knowing. Taking another deep breath, Jordan stepped inside, only to see Thane in a meditative position at his table.

Taking a few slow steps into the room, Thane straightened his posture and peered slightly over his shoulder.

"I was wondering how long you'd be standing outside." He asked in his dry, drell voice.

"You knew I was there?"

"Yes." He responded simply, "Unlike the Goto woman, your footsteps are easily discernable."

"Well, I wasn't trying to sneak up on you…" Jordan replied.

"Of course. Why would you?" He asked rhetorically. Or, at least, that's what Jordan figured, "To what do I owe this pleasure, Sower?"

Jordan breathed in, "Well, I wanted to get to know everyone I'm working with. You're new, and I haven't had a chance to talk with you."

Thane remained silent for a moment, seemingly pondering this, giving Jordan a moment to walk a few steps forward to be more in Thane's range of vision. Not that he wasn't being watched carefully the entire time. Maybe he'd seem less threatening up there? After a moment, Thane spoke.

"Most of the crew have kept their distance. I'm certain you know my reputation?"

Jordan nodded.

"And yet you're willing to approach me. Alone."

Jordan nodded again, a little slower now.

"Do you know who I am, Jordan Sower, Ambassador of Geth, wanted galaxy-wide?"

Jordan swallowed harshly, not-at-all at ease with the assassin, "Y-you're Thane Krios, a deadly Drell assassin. An expert marksman, hand-to-hand specialist, and skilled biotic." He replied honestly, leaving out any mention of Irikah, Kolyat, his religion, and any other personal information. "I also know that you're dying of Kepral's Syndrome, yet agreed to help Shepard against the Collectors and Reapers."

Thane studied Jordan carefully with unmoving black eyes. After a moment, his pupils began to dilate as he fell into a memory.

"Smoke and flames. Light dancing on the walls as debris lays everywhere. Shoulder recoils. Husk falls into the lake. Turn the scope to the Embassies. Husk-like Turians lay in shambles. One human and five Geth standing among the carnage. "My god… they were converting C-Sec…" Geth turns to human, identified as escaped prisoner. "Sower-Ambassador, these officers are already dead. Destroying them now is a mercy." Sower nods. "Do it." Geth open fire on dead turians."

Thane blinks, "Apologies." He replies simply, "Drell easily fall into particularly vivid memories."

Jordan slowly nodded, his throat dry, "Y-you were there that day… on the Citadel when the Reapers attacked."

Thane nodded, "Indeed."

"You could have killed me that day. You knew I'd escaped from C-Sec with the Geth…" Jordan realized as he spoke aloud, "Why?"

"Why did I not kill you?" Jordan nodded, "There was no reason to." He replied simply.

"So… what about now?"

Thane curiously titled his head, "I do not decide who lives and dies. Unless Shepard deems it necessary, you are safe from my hands."

"G-good. That's good…" Jordan said, relieved, "What about you? What do you think about me?" Thane did not answer immediately, so Jordan continued, "Most of the Galaxy is still wary of the Geth, and many still see me as a terrorist, regardless of the Council and Geth…"

Thane nodded, remaining silent for a moment before answering, "I believe you are a dangerous man, Mister Sower. With friends in high places, and power at your fingertips." He began, "However, I also see who you are beyond that. You have kindness in your eyes, but desperation and frailty hidden in their depths. You are at war with yourself, torn between two paths."

Jordan froze altogether, horror evident on his face, "Wh-what…?"

Thane continued, as if he did not hear or see Jordan, "You are on the edge of your battle sleep, Mr. Sower. I do not believe you humans would find benefit from this."

Jordan slowly tried to take in deep breaths, succeeding after a moment, "Th-thanks, I guess…" He said slowly, "I should p-probably go…" Jordan said, not feeling comfortable speaking with the drell any longer. His words hit harder than they probably should have.

Thane seemed to realize this, "My apologies. I did not intend to distress you, Sower. Merely inform you of what I've observed." He told him, "I see you as a worthy ally, and look forward to working with you."

"Thanks… I'll let you be. See you around…" He finally forced out.

"Of course."

With that, Jordan swiftly made his way out of Life Support, resolving to talk to Samara later, when he no longer felt like passing out or throwing up. He'd just work on EDI's shackles for a little bit… or goof off with games… either one of those should take his mind off of things.

Rosetta Nebula, Normandy SR-2, Enroute to Alpha Draconis.

March 23rd, 2185. 5:43 pm. EST

It'd been several hours since talking with Thane, and Jordan was no longer freaking out. In fact, he'd actually been feeling a bit better after talking with Thane, as a lot of things he'd said made a large amount of sense, given his situation. He'd since resolved to thanking Thane for pointing those out and eventually talking about his problems with someone he trusted. Maybe Grimlock…

Of course, he'd probably talk with Mister Krios about that on a later date, as he'd rather not chance it with the assassin. Though, it was comforting to know that he wasn't on his kill list.

Now, though, he'd decided that maybe it was time to talk a bit with Samara. Introduce himself to her, unless she already knew him, and maybe try to make nice. From what he knew about the games, she was always calm and serene, often found meditating in her lounge. As a Justicar, most asari were intimidated by her, and many who weren't asari were as well…

After knocking on Samara's door, he soon discovered why she wasn't responding. She wasn't in there.

Jordan cursed himself silently. Of course she wasn't in there! She wasn't just some NPC you could approach whenever you wanted. She was a living, breathing person now, and was likely out and about somewhere on the ship.

Turning back around, he began to try to brainstorm where she might be on the ship before he asked EDI. That is, until he spotted her, sitting down and eating some food at a table, accompanied by the other asari on board the ship.

Sitting there was Spectre Tela Vasir, directly across from Justicar Samara as they spoke to each other quietly. How had he not noticed them as he left the AI Core and Med Bay?

As soon as he'd seen them, they'd seen him. Tela finished whatever was happening and rose to leave, smirking lightly towards Jordan despite the small amount of stress he could see in her eyes. Guess Justicars really are threatening and scary to many asari. Especially those who may or may not have done things against the Justicar Code in the past and/or present.

"Hey…" Jordan began awkwardly, whispering so no one else would hear them, "Can we talk later?"

Tela remained silent for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, sure." She said, before continuing past him to wherever she was headed.

Taking a deep breath as Tela walked away, Jordan approached Samara, who seemed to be finishing whatever assortment of cosmic fruits and vegetables. Stealing himself for yet another conversation that could possibly end poorly, Jordan finally spoke.

"May I sit, Justicar?"

"Certainly." She replied in her calm, serene tone.

Jordan smiled gently and took a seat across from her. He decided to get straight to the point, "Do you know who I am, Justicar Samara?" He asked, trying to remain respectful.

She reached over and grabbed a cup of steaming liquid. Some sort of tea, if its smell was anything to go by. She spoke, before taking a small sip of the scalding liquid. "Of course, Mister Sower. There has been a lot of discussion about you and your more recent actions."

Jordan scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "Y-yeah, I guess that makes sense."

She nodded, falling naturally silent. Though he knew she had no problem with silence, it made it feel all the more awkward for him, so he decided to speak again, "I heard about your oath to Shepard." He began.

She placed the cup down on the table lightly after another sip, "Then you should have no reason to fear me, Sower." She said simply, locking her light blue eyes onto Jordan's. He wasn't very good at hiding his expressions.

Jordan nodded, "I know, it's just…" He paused, trying to figure out how he'd word this.

"You wish to know about my code, and what I might do outside of my oath to Shepard?"

He nodded once more, "Y-yeah," he admitted, "Most of the galaxy has a fairly negative view on me and the Geth. Most would consider me a terrorist." He admitted honestly, not wishing to even think about lying to the power matriarch.

She nodded, "That is the picture painted by most media." She responded simply, "Tell me, how many innocents have you killed?"

"N-none!" He responded quickly.

"How much have you stolen from others? How much damage have you done?"

"I… I haven't. The only damage was from fighting the Reapers."

"How many laws have you broken?"

Jordan dipped his head, "W-well, I've kinda broken every single AI law… and Cerberus kidnapped me from prison, so technically I escaped…"

Samara maintained a harsh gaze into his eyes before they softened, putting Jordan to ease involuntarily, "The code deems you innocent, despite your law breaking." She replied neutrally yet softly.

"W-what?"

"It is true, you have broken out of prison. You have also aided and worked with synthetic intelligence. However, the code is not as black and white as many believe it to be. We have all committed wrongs, but your wrongs are not worthy of the code's punishment." She replied, finishing her cup of tea after she spoke.

"R-really?" Jordan asked, "What about AI? The galaxy condemns them. What does the Justicar code say?"

"The code does not adhere to laws. Laws shift and change between times and locations. The code does not. All life is important, and all life is subject to the code. Simply existing does not warrant punishment."

Jordan nodded, "I see. As long as they haven't done anything to warrant judgement, they won't be judged. Like organic life…"

"Yes." She responded with a light smile, "I can see much good in you, Mister Sower. You are not nearly the demon you are made out to be."

Jordan responded with a smile in return, "And you are not as ruthless as others say Justicars are, Justicar Samara. And please, call me Jordan. If we are to work together, I'd prefer to be a little bit more informal. That is, if it's ok with you?"

Samara nodded, "Certainly, though I must insist the same for you. Justicar is my title. You may simply call me Samara."

"Thank you, Samara. I look forward to working with you." He said, to which she nodded in return. After a moment, Jordan spoke up again, "I… I've heard you meditate…" He began, to which she nodded, "I've been having… problems recently. You know, stress, anxiety… that sort of thing…"

The Justicar could see where this was going. "You wish to meditate with me?" She asked.

Jordan nodded, "If it's not too much trouble. I've never done it before, but would like to learn." He motioned to himself, "I've been trying to figure out what happened to me when I became like this, and I've been told it may be my attitude or stress."

"I have not meditated with another for centuries." She admitted, "However, I believe this could be a learning experience for the both of us. I would be honored to aid you in meditation."

Jordan nodded, bowing slightly, "Thank you, Samara."

"Of course, Jordan." She responded, "I must admit, I am quite curious about you and the Geth. Would you share your story with me?"

Jordan shifted slightly to get a bit more comfortable, "Sure, Samara. I'll start with my first experience with my Geth." He began, "You see, I found a vessel to take me to Rannoch from the Citadel, and…" Jordan began, telling his story to the patient Justicar.

Justicar Samara was a good listener, and remained mostly silent and contemplative during the entire story, only interrupting here and there for a small amount of clarification. Jordan obviously left out some parts, mostly having to do with his knowledge of the games. However, he did tell Samara about the Baptism, the Intelligence (The catalyst, but watered down like in the debrief), and the rest of the events up until this point from his perspective.

She remained neutral throughout, but when he mentioned the unwilling changes to his body and burdens, her eyes seemed strained and harsh, not necessarily at him, but at the Intelligence. Other than leaving his foreknowledge out of the story, he didn't tell a single lie, and even admitted there were parts he didn't even understand, himself.

After his story, they conversed a bit more, Samara remained rather closed though seemingly warming up to Jordan. That certainly put his fears to rest, not to mention the fact that he felt like he was growing a bit closer to the older Asari. After that, he grabbed a small dinner and left before most of the crew and squad showed up for their dinner. He'd rather be alone for now, which was probably something Samara was thinking when she ate earlier.

Speaking of asari, after that, he'd returned to the AI Core for a little bit afterwards, pondering over what he'd say to Tela… just in case he DID do something embarrassing last night.

Rosetta Nebula, Alpha Draconis, orbiting 2175 Aeia, Normandy SR-2.

March 24th, 2185. 10:06 am. EST

They had just finished a briefing just an hour ago, talking about Jacob's loyalty mission down on Aeia. They'd decided that, obviously, Jacob and Shepard would be going down there. After talking with the crew, Shepard reasoned that Miranda would be a good pick, seeing as how some of the intel came from Cerberus, and she seemed to have some history with Jacob. (Jordan and Brian had eyed one another, knowing what was going on with the mission.) Eventually, they also decided that Garrus would be a good fit to even out the range of abilities on the ground.

Deciding to attempt to distract himself with work, he began to focus on EDI's shackles once more, before a knock came from the door.

"Mr. Miller would like to enter."

His hope falling, internally hoping it'd be someone else… anyone else, really, Jordan sighed, "Yeah, sure, whatever. Let the guy in…"

The door slid open a moment later, allowing the other Avatar to come inside. His dark brown eyes focused on Jordan's green ones as he walked confidently. 'I used to have brown eyes like that…' He mused sadly. Externally, however, Jordan leaned against the cold wall with a frown.

"Something I can help you with, Miller?"

After entering, the Avatar of Oblivion leaned against the opposite wall, "We haven't really had much time to talk." He began, motioning to the room around them, "We've finished most, if not all of the recruitment, and the Loyalties have begun."

"Yeah, I know." Jordan replied bitterly, feeling an abnormal, unnatural amount of unease and anger bubble up inside of him, directed at Brian. He took a deep breath, maybe this was the Catalyst's doing, like Brian had mentioned? Maybe there was some sort of brainwashing? That thought only freaked him out a lot, but seemed to drive away the foreign sensations for the time being. "Sorry." He apologized, "It's been a weird few days."

Brian nodded, "I noticed. You were hanging out with Vasir the other night." he said simply, before frowning, "Are you sure you can trust her?" He asked, "She works for the Broker, and until we get things moving with Liara and LOTSB, she's a dangerous enemy, despite any sort of history the two of you have." He said.

Jordan laughed aloud, shaking his head in amusement. He didn't even know, did he?

Brian raised an eyebrow in confusion. Was this some sort of joke he didn't get. After a moment, Jordan responded, "You didn't hear about last time I was on Illium?"

Brian shrugged, "I've heard things here and there. Whatever you did didn't exactly make it onto the evening news on the Citadel."

"Makes sense, I guess. Anyway, last time I was there, it was about a year before Shepard was revived. I went to… hold on. Sorry EDI." Jordan apologized aloud, before cutting off the bugs and sensors within the room, "I'd give Miranda five minutes before she realizes what I've done."

"I'd give her three. Plus, she's on the ground, so it'd probably be other Cerberus people."

"Meh, I'm on her good side anyway. And besides, I don't think that they'd notice or could- never mind!" He said shaking his head, "Anyway, I confronted Liara and told her I could get her revenge on the Broker."

Brian stood up straight and took a step toward Jordan, "You what?!" He asked through gritted teeth.

Jordan nodded, smiling at the look of anger and rage on the other Avatar's face. He only spent a fleeting moment acknowledging how irrational that feeling was, before continuing, "Yeah, and that's when Spectre Vasir and the Shadow Broker's army descended on Eternity. Fought through most of them and escaped with the Geth."

Brian's eyes widened in horror, "Don't tell me you-!"

Jordan smirked and chuckled, "Liara's the new broker, and you know what's even better? Tela knows, and is fine with it!"

That was when Brian picked Jordan up by his shirt, slamming the Avatar of Synthesis into the bulkhead behind him, anger on his face, "You absolute fucktard!" He yelled at him, "Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

Jordan shrugged, for some reason feeling exceptionally snarky and rebellious toward the other avatar, "It was gonna happen eventually. Would you rather have Vasir be dead?" Jordan chuckled, "While I'm listing names, I also saved Niket two days ago. And you know Steve's husband who was supposed to die? Yeah, he's fine. Oh, oh, and most of Garrus' squad!"

Brian looked enraged, "Those are small time, you idiot!" He yelled into his face, "The Broker wasn't supposed to be replaced that early! Do you have any idea what you've possibly changed?" Jordan looked at him with a raised eyebrow, silently telling him to kindly inform him, "Anything the Broker was supposed to do for the last year has possibly been lost. Don't you know about the Butterfly Effect?! Who knows what kind of shit you've caused?"

"Well, Garrus' crew is alive and he doesn't have a scared face. Miranda's old friend is alive. Tela's an ally. I only see wins, here!"

Brian's eye twitched, "You fucking warned him, didn't you?!" He asked increduously, surprised that he didn't think of that. He must have originally though it was an uncontrollable byproduct of the Butterfly effect up to this point. "What else have you done?"

"Might have warned Kaiden and Ashley about the Collectors. Possible informed Tali about her father's work on the Geth. Kinda sorta told Hackett about the Crucible's existence on Mars." He listed off, "Among other things."

"You… you…" He slammed Jordan again, before throwing him against the door, knocking the breath out of the Avatar, "How much have you purposely changed?! How much have you done without even realizing it?"

"Those are two completely different answers." Jordan added, antagonizing the vigilante further.

Brian growled, clenching his fists as he reached down and pulled a knife from the sheath on his leg, beneath his coat he always wears, "I can't believe you're so reckless! How much does our knowledge even mean anymore?!" He yelled at him, "You've fucked everything up, Jordan!" He accused him. Brian shook his head, "I came here originally to get to know you better, but you know what?! I think I'd rather gut you!"

Jordan stared up at him as he deployed his omni-blade. "You can try, mother fucker! Try me, I dare you!"

Brian pulled his frown into a snarl and took half a step forward, before he froze in place, his eyes darting down to knife, before jumping to Jordan's eyes, then his omni-blade. Jordan watched the rage in his dark brown eyes rapidly evaporate, replacing it with horror.

Jordan felt his own rage falter as the room echoed with the sound of metal hitting metal. Brian dropped his knife as he gripped his wrist tightly, horror written across his face. That's when everything that just happened played back rapidly in Jordan's mind, all the irrational feelings leaving him.

After a moment of silence, Jordan finally spoke, "What… what the hell was that?!"

Brian shook his head, not trusting himself enough to reach down and grab his knife. "I… I don't know…" He said, his voice unnaturally shaky. "I… I think we need to talk… when we've calmed down…" He said, "I need to think… I'm sorry for losing my cool. I don't want to be your enemy, Jordan."

The Avatar of Synthesis nodded slowly, "I know, Brian. Me neither… what the fuck did that catalyst do to us?"

Brian shrugged, quickly escorting himself out of the room, leaving Jordan alone, just as EDI came back online. Jordan sat in the same position, leaning against the way next to the door. After a moment, EDI spoke.

"Jordan, is everything alright? My sensors seemed to have gone down momentarily. Do you need any aid? Doctor Chakwas is just outside."

Jordan slowly shook his head, regaining his wits, "No, no, I'm fine EDI. Just had an issue with your programming." Feeling the adrenaline wearing off, Jordan felt kinda exhausted, and felt there was no real reason to get work done, "I… I think I'm going to take a nap, EDI. Wake me if anything happens."

"Of course, Jordan. Logging you out."

Rosetta Nebula, Normandy SR-2, En-Route to the Nubian Expanse.

March 24th, 2185. 4:30 pm. EST

It was decided, once Jacob finished his mission on Aeia, that they'd be heading toward Pragia in a debriefing. This means it's time for Jack's mission, to which Shepard has decided he'd bring Jack (obviously), Miranda (since it's an ex-Cerberus facility), and Ashley. Together, the four of them would drop off a bomb in the facility, and set it off.

As for Jacob's mission, it was surprisingly mundane. Not that his mission isn't horrifying with the realization of what his father had become… but, the mission was exactly like the games, so there wasn't really anything else to note about it.

Other than that, Jordan's day had been pretty calm after the odd fiasco of a conversation with Brian. They both thought there was some truth to what Brian had mentioned previously, about the catalyst having done something to make the Avatars more violent and antagonistic towards one another. After all, it makes logical sense to work together with one another to get home after all of this. Instead, Cynthia went insane in Jordan's presence, the Avatar of Destruction wants to mindlessly murder both he and Brian, and Brian and himself can't seem to really get along in each other's presence. It had only seemed far worse today, for some reason.

Anyway, Jordan took a nap after that, like he said he would, before working a bit more with EDI's shackles. If everything would continue working out in that area for him like it was, he'd be able to hopefully remove them without anyone noticing in just a few days. That'd be invaluable both when/if the Collectors attack the ship and when they go for the Collector Ship or derelict Reaper… or whatever, is coming up.

After giving what Brian was saying some thought, even though it was in the heat of the moment, he realized that he was right. So much has changed now, that nothing was for certain. How useful was their knowledge anymore, really? Sure, ME2 has seemed mostly unchanged, but how much has it really remained the same, and for how long will it continue in this sort of fashion?

Anyway, with only about a day before they reach Pragia, Jordan only had one real goal for the rest of the day. Tela Vasir. They needed to talk, and now was as good a time as any.

Finally, Jordan bit the bullet and decided it was now or never.

"Hey, EDI?"

"Yes Jordan?"

"Where is Spectre Vasir?"

"Spectre Vasir is currently in Engineering."

Jordan frowned, cringing internally. Of course she was, it was one of the few places Jordan refused to go, currently. Tali would not appreciate his presence down there, and Tela knew it. That sneaky… "How long has she been down there, EDI?" He asked, shaking his head in light amusement.

"Since the end of the briefing, Jordan."

"So, for the last twenty minutes…" Jordan said aloud, sighing, "Well, it's now or never." He muttered, "Thanks EDI, that's all."

"Logging you out."

Stealing himself, Jordan left the AI Core and approached the elevator without delay, pressing the button to go down to engineering. As luck would have it, the elevator opened only a second after he pressed the button… unfortunately, it was already occupied by someone else going down. Commander Shepard.

Nodding in acknowledgement, Jordan stepped into the elevator. "Engineering?" He asked simply.

Shepard nodded in return, as the doors closed the elevator lowered. It seemed slower than usual, or maybe that was just Jordan, but he turned and looked at Shepard with a smile, as he made eye contact with him. After a moment, he spoke.

"I've been meaning to come down and talk to you." Shepard told him simply, "Never really got a chance in these last few days."

Jordan shrugged, "I understand, Commander. There's a lot of people on this ship, and two of them are brand new."

"Well, I wanted to talk about the last mission we were on."

"Aeia?" Jordan asked, "I wasn't there, but it sounded like a shitshow."

John shook his head, "No, I'm talking about Miranda and her sister."

Jordan smiled awkwardly, "Oh, yeah…" He said slowly, "Shepard, about what I did…"

He held a hand up to stop him, "I know. Fact of the matter is that you gave me no warning, and severely endangered yourself out there. I understand, in the heat of the moment, you couldn't say anything, but I've seen the things you can do. There were countless way you could have gotten my attention."

Jordan nodded, looking down in shame, "I know, Commander. Sorry…"

"But don't apologize."

"Huh?"

"In N7 training, they teach you a great number of things you'd never learn otherwise. One of those things is taking risks against your superiors or without their permission." He told him, "Your actions, though reckless and ill-advised, saved a life, Jordan. Niket would have been dead before he hit the ground, and Miranda wouldn't have taken it well. Especially after just sparing him."

Jordan smiled, "Thank you, Commander. It means a lot, hearing this from you."

He smiled back, "That doesn't give you the green light in the future for such things. I'd prefer a warning of some kind. That being said, keep up the good work." He took in a deep breath, "I also wanted to talk about our previous conversations."

"Ah crap…" Jordan muttered under his breath, "Look, Commander, I know that I said I'd tell you eventually, but…"

"I know the truth about the Shadow Broker." He interrupted.

"Wh-what?!" Jordan asked, shocked for a moment into silence.

Shepard nodded, "I spoke with Liara on Illium. She told us about how you helped her last year. Saved her life." He looked Jordan in the eyes, remaining completely serious, "I wanted to thank you for that, too. I don't know what I would have done if I'd woken up, only to find she was dead."

Jordan smiled lightly, nodding, "It's my pleasure, Commander. Liara's a friend of mine, too."

"Yes. I'd also like you to know that she informed us about the relationship with Tela. And, Tali, Garrus, and Ashley know as well." Shepard informed him, "I understand this is likely where you got most of your information, Sower. I understand why you wouldn't want to share this initially. Imagine the horrors that could happen if the Illusive Man knew."

Jordan internally let out a sigh of relief. He thought most of his knowledge was from the Shadow Broker. He also noticed Shepard was speaking generally, without giving anything away about how Liara WAS the Shadow Broker, since EDI was likely listening. Maybe he wouldn't have to spill everything.

After a moment, Jordan replied, "How'd you figure out I got my intel from the Broker and his agents?"

Shepard nodded, "I was provided with information about the Collectors, just as you'd told us. Abominations. Praetorians. Scions. Harbinger. The Broker had done previous deals and transactions with the Collectors, and kept track of nearly everything about them." He told him.

Suddenly, a foreign thought arose in Jordan's head. 'This excuse doesn't work for Brian. How'd he know? Tell Shepard!' He heard, 'Tell Shepard that Brian's suspicious.'

Jordan struggled with the thought, before taking a huge breath, calming himself. What the hell was this? He finally spoke, ignoring the foreign thoughts. "I should probably tell you about Brian…"

Shepard locked eyes with Jordan, "Yes… It certainly explained your knowledge, but not Miller's…" He replied.

Jordan nodded, "Yes sir. I…" He struggled for a moment, "I discussed this with him prior to the mission."

Shepard raised an eyebrow, eyeing Jordan critically, "And why am I just learning about this now? Why not share with the rest of us during the briefing?"

Jordan swallowed harshly, "W-well…," He began. Well, he's fucked now… What can he say in response? Finally, he panicked, "I didn't learn everything from the Broker!" He said quickly.

"What?" Oh shit. Just roll with it Jordan.

"Y-yeah… the Intelligence, it gave us information on the Collectors and Reapers before we were let go."

"I thought you said you remembered things differently, alone without Brian?" He asked, seeing through this sad excuse of a story.

"But, it wasn't like that. It was imbedded knowledge."

"Is that all the information you were given about the Collectors and Reapers?"

"Yes!" Jordan said quickly, "I know about the different Collectors, the husks, and the Reapers. Like, those turian husks."

"Turian husks?" Shepard asked, having not heard about those.

"What?!" Jordan asked incredulously. Weren't they on the Citadel? Did Shepard really not encounter any of them, nor hear about them? "On the Citadel, during the Heretic attack, they used Dragon's Teeth to convert several turian officers into huskified versions of turians. We call them Marauders."

"Marauders." He said simply.

In response, Jordan pulled up an image of one from one of him memories of the incident, which was helpfully transcribed on his omni-tool. "They're intelligent enough to use weapons, unlike human husks. They utilized C-Sec rifles and grenades, and even had enough intelligence to use cover and strategy."

Shepard studied the image carefully, a frown on his face, "Why is this the first time I'm hearing about these?"

"I don't know, Commander. I figured you already knew. Their corpses were scattered across the Embassies."

"The Council never mentioned this…" He muttered, "Send me what you have on those. If the Reapers are transforming other species, we need to know as much as we can. Have there been any others you've seen?"

Jordan shook his head, "Only humans and Turians, so far." He said, before thinking. Could he talk about Cannibals, Banshees, Brutes, and Ravagers? Not really, since there's no proof of them yet, but maybe… nah, not now, at least…

Shepard nodded, "Alright. Thank you, Jordan. I'd like to discuss this further in the future, and bring this to everyone's attention. For now…" He turned to the ceiling, "EDI, open the door."

"At once, Shepard."

The doors then slid open, allowing them into Engineering. Jordan figured that elevator ride seemed a little too slow. Shepard must have known he'd step onto the elevator, and wanted to speak with him for a bit without interruption.

Shepard turned to Jordan after stepping off the elevator, "I'll call a meeting in the Comm room after the next mission to discuss this new information. See if you can't get more images and information ready for them."

Jordan nodded, "Yes sir."

"And good work out there." He said one more time, "If you keep that up, I might take you groundside more often."

And with that, Shepard, walked away, heading towards the engineers… right where Jordan needed to go. Shaking his head and taking a few breaths to calm himself after that conversation, the Avatar of Synthesis made his way into engineering… hopefully without an argument with Tali.

A/N:

Here's yet another chapter for you. Not too much actually happened here, but this was necessary before more of the important content comes. Several things were hinted at, some more obvious than others. We'll see some more Loyalty next chapter, and likely a bit of resolution to the whatever happened that night with the ryncol. That leaves a few questions about the Catalyst.

What has he done to the Avatars? How much of them are the same as before they came to this world? And will they ever figure this out? Guess you'll have to wait and see. Remember: Do not trust the Catalyst.

Hope you liked this, and you look forward to more.

Now, I have something I must say, speaking honestly for a moment. I've heard people ask about Jordan and Tela. I have had people ask about EDI and Jordan. Honestly, I've gone back and forth on which one to pair Jordan with, and which works better (as I have imagined circumstances with each situation.) It's not really fair that I've been indecisive, but I am trying to figure this whole thing out, and decided that a simple poll will not and did not work for this. Therefore, I have something to ask all of you…

Tela or EDI? Which do you prefer? Which makes more sense? And why?

Please, send me a PM or leave a review about this, if you would be so kind. I will not be deciding anything completely until their Loyalty missions are complete, since you can't really romance anyone in ME2 until they're loyal. I have Tela's planned, Jordan's planned, and even considering something for EDI. Who knows? Anyway, please let me know your opinions, and I'll consider them, though please remain respectful.

As another thing, if one is chosen over the other, the second one will still hold a special place in Jordan's heart, just not as an LI. Be it be a close best friend, or a sister, you'll know eventually.

Now, that's that. See you soon, and I look forward to what you have to say.