Jane

Karin and Zaeed join them as they return to the Normandy with Elihu in tow. It's nice to see the hints of Mordin within the much younger Solus. Jane knows that his age is actually considered adult for salarians, but it's still a shock to the system to realize the Elihu has only had seventeen fucking years to get to a level of professionalism that Chakwas herself is entrusting the Normandy crew's care to him. Knowing that the woman has always seen them as her family, it must truly speak to his capabilities.

Which is perfect for the shit Jane and her squad seem to always find themselves chest deep in.

"Oh hell," Joker says, swinging his chair around to stand with a grin plastered on his face. "I knew Shepard wasn't pulling one off on me when she threatened to get someone in here to make me take my meds."

Chakwas, smiling and taking Joker into a hug, chuckles as she responds. "I should have guessed you'd be skipping doses without me to keep on you."

"And now we have an all new doctor to keep on your ass," Jane adds as she turns to Sidonis and Elihu. "Lantar. How about you show Elihu to the MedBay." He nods as she addresses Solus. "I don't suspect we'll need anything yet, but if you need to requisition something, now's the time."

The salarian doctor stops from his curious scanning over the cockpit and locks eyes with her, nodding. "I understand. Confident in Sidonis' cataloguing. Will double check, though."

"Sounds good. We'll get you hooked up with Harrot just in case." Watching the two men head down the ramp and towards the CIC, out of hearing range, Jane returns her attention to the cockpit as Garrus introduces Zaeed and Karin to Aelia.

Chakwas makes an amused remark about the Normandy managing to find both familiar faces and distantly related names to those they've met over the years just as Traynor approaches. "Doctor!" she calls with a beaming smile as she wraps her arms around the the older woman and squeezes hard enough to make Karin grunt.

"Don't break the woman," Zaeed says with a hint of protectiveness that Jane is sure everyone can catch on, but remain smart enough not to point out, and Chakwas chuckles, patting Samantha's back.

"It's alright," she lightly scolds with a smile. "I'm not made of glass."

"Traynor," Garrus cuts in, rumbling in apology for interrupting. "Can you contact Tali and give her our dock number?" He looks to their guests. "There's something big going on that the Council has dumbed on our shoulders."

The woman nods and Zaeed laughs. Jane can swear it's one of those 'better you than me' ones. "Just like old times, eh Vakarian?" he says with a smirk to the two of them.

Jane snorts and rolls her eyes as she says, sarcasm dripping in her tone, "You know us. Can't get enough of the 'good ol' times' that we just begged the Council to load our asses down with some more jobs no one seems to be able to do."

"We won't keep you, Shepard." Chakwas steps forward and holds her arms open in a silent request for a hug that Jane accepts and returns. When they part, she takes Garrus' offered hand in both of hers, understanding Jane's mate's aversion to physical contact. "There is one thing I'd like to ask before we leave."

The hopeful smile and slight plea in her eyes tells Jane enough of what she is leading to and she chuckles, nudging her husband with an elbow. "See that? Everyone just wants to spend time with us so they can see our children."

When Chakwas would give the twins' their medical checkups, she always showed a kind of tenderness that made Jane truly question why the woman would ever choose to treat hardened soldiers. She could easily see the woman tending to children of all species on the Citadel, patching 'boo boos' and handing out candy as rewards for good behavior, but here she was, serving on an Alliance ship that was the center of a massive, devastating war.

Jane still doesn't fully know the reasons, but she thanks the woman all the same. Her crew - her mate - wouldn't be in the condition they are in without her care. Plus, the children that meant the most to Jane - her own - had the opportunity to have Chakwas' care, and that was good enough for Jane.

"I can take them up to see the twins," Samantha offers as she looks between both parents. "They are resting, but it's almost time to check up on them anyways."

When she smiles in reassurance to any thoughts of disturbing the children that might pop up, Jane shrugs and nods. "I'm sure they'd like the company that isn't the same, boring mom and dad."

Zaeed snorts. "No one will get bored of you two. Well, until you retire and get old and fat."

"You know we'd rock being a pair of old fucks."

He barks a laugh as he and Chakwas follow Traynor down the CIC. Turning to her mate, Jane motions with her chin towards the door beside the lift heading for the Conference and War Rooms that just seem to be around to collect dust now. "Let's see if we can't spruce up the place while we wait."

He surprises her with a smirk as he says, "Normally, that means leaving the imprint of your rear on whatever surface you are 'cleaning'."

Laughing at the remembrance of the one time they actually did that back at the refugee camp when they were living in a cramped prefab with his sister and father - and how hilarious it was to hear his father's reaction to smelling sex in the kitchenette and the confusion of why - Jane swats the back of her hand on his chest. "Don't tempt me." She steps into the glass walled room and circles the table to lean back against it to look out of the viewports where the stars peek in through the Ascension's kinetic barriers enclosing the open Docking Bay. "But I'm too occupied wondering what the fuck is with the geth to be in the mood."

Garrus hums in agreement and comes around to match her stance. "Think it may help in repairing EDI in the long run?"

"Hell if I know." She snorts in self-depreciation, remembering the decision she made back on the Citadel to save the galaxy at the price of the geth and EDI. "There might not ever be a way to fix her. And the geth, apparently." Feeling his hand lay on hers in support, she looks to him and gives a sad shrug. "Let's see what Tali has to say."


When Tali arrives at the Normandy airlock, Jane and Garrus are alerted by Aelia that the even the unknowing eye can see she's anxious when she is supposedly out of earshot. It is enough to give the two a good sign that this conversation is not going to entail a 'hey, the geth are all good and didn't feel a damn thing when the Reapers kicked it'. What, exactly, is up with the geth and quarian situation is something they will just have to hear from Tali's own lips.

"Tali," Jane greets with a smile, circumstances aside, at seeing her good friend step through the doors of the defunct security checkpoint. Tali's eyes narrow in a smile as she shift the package in her grasp to one hand and hugs the redhead. "It's good to see you after so long."

"You too, Shepard," the quarian agrees as she turns to Garrus, pulling him into a hug before even realizing his state. "Garrus," she says before gasping, voice rising in shock. "Keelah! What happened to you?"

"I tried to cuddle with a Mako," he responds with a chuckle and flippant shrug, only making the young girl mad as she scoffs and smacks his chest in reprimand.

"You bosh'tet! What's wrong with you?" Putting her free hand on her hip, she cocks her stance. "You have babies to take care of now."

"That's nothing, Tali." Jane leans down and hikes up her pant leg, rapping her knuckles on the metal of her artificial leg. "I got the better ones."

She's pretty sure Tali has a bit of a heart attack as she makes what sounds like a possible hiccup of a sob and yanks Jane into another hug. She holds her as if Jane would disappear if she gives so much as an inch of breathing room, but Shepard lets her squeeze her if that's what her friend needs to reassure herself that they made it, they survived.

"Now I feel left out," Garrus says with a chuckle when they finally part, but Tali waves him off, head down as she sniffles a bit.

"Oh, be quiet." He voice is soft and retort devoid of any bite as she takes a moment to collect herself. Once it feels like she's convinced herself they really are standing here before her, Tali takes a deep breath to switch moods. "I got Damocles and Cassia something for their birthday," she says as she looks back to them and back down to the package in her hands, laying a hand on it to slowly peel back the wrapping. "I know you bosh'tets are going to try to skip out on letting me throw a big party for awhile, so I thought I'd go ahead and give you these."

She reveals what looks like intricately embroidered cloth, weaved with patterns similar to her own hood and many designs Jane has seen on the hoods of many quarians. Being on the Flotilla the one time, she remembers seeing so many colors and patterns that she is sure represent the quarian people's artistic culture in the only way they can. It is no wonder that they would treasure such work as gifts and Jane feels a special sort of joy that her good friend would deem hers and Garrus' children close enough to reach out with her own traditions.

"Tali," Garrus says as she hands one robe-like, child's garment to him and another to Jane. "They're beautiful."

Jane nods in agreement as she runs her fingers over the light blue fabric, her husband being especially careful with the darker cobalt. "They're definitely too delicate for the kids. Hell," she says with a huff of a laugh. "I think, just by being in our hands, these things will burst into flames."

Tali chuckles and sets the packaging aside. "Everything else tends to." Tilting her head slightly, she speaks with a tone that lets Jane know she's smiling. "It's a tradition for my people to exchange shawls with loved ones or give a version of it to loved ones when expecting children." She snorts and shrugs. "And even though you refused to tell me, of all people, that you were pregnant, I still wanted them to have these."

Jane looks up to her good friend who is like a sister she never had, she smiles at the warm crescent of Tali's bright eyes as she grins happily. "Thank you, Tali. It's an honor." Chuckling, she gently folds the clothing, helping her mate do the same. "They may never wear them without destroying them in two seconds, but we will always remember this."

The quarian woman nods, the gesture slowly stilling as the air of the room immediately chills, mood changing at the flip of a switch. "I just wish we could have seen each other for better reasons."

"Agreed," Garrus says as he turns from them, starting to pace, and Tali begins to wring her hands in a way that reads stress Jane would have hoped the girl wouldn't still be having after the war, after regaining her homeworld. "I think we should finally consider what was so troubling about the geth situation that you didn't want to speak of it over unsecured channels."

"Damn, Garrus. Rip that bandaid right off." She wishes they could have had a bit more time of forgetting the present situations of the shit hole of a galaxy, but she knows that, with the possibility of geth now attacking friendly ships, time is short. Nothing has ever been quick and simple with geth, and Jane is sure this is much the same.

"No, it's okay, Shepard. He's right." Walking to the table, Tali looks between the two of them. "The geth have reverted."

"They've what?"

"Reverted," she repeats before releasing a breath and relaxing her shoulders to try to explain. "When the Reapers were destroyed, it was less a physical destruction and more one on a programming level. From what we see in the geth, it's like the Reaper upgrades, and subsequent geth upgrades that came from them, have been irreparably corrupted."

Seeing her mate look to her to explain why, Jane sighs and leans on the table. "Yeah," she says, getting Tali's attention. "I don't know how she did it, but EDI said she would confuse the Reaper Intelligence with so much jumbled code that it would self-destruct. Something like that."

"Intelligence?"

"Some giant AI light thing that was what the Leviathan originally created. It started all this shit." Lifting her hand in 'that's all I got', Jane shrugs. "The Crucible wasn't a weapon, it was a piece of the Citadel that broke off and made it so that the damn thing couldn't 'talk' to the Reapers. Whatever we did, the Crucible was like a speaker telling all the Reapers to go fuck themselves as the Intelligence killed itself… I don't know," she adds when she's sure that leaves so much more to question that she doesn't have the smarts to answer. How I wish EDI was here to explain.

Still, even with her lackluster explanation, Tali nods in understanding. "I see." Cupping her hand at her chin, elbow in her opposite palm, she looks down to the table in thought. "Maybe that's what happened to the geth." She looks up to them. "EDI is affected, too?"

"She's completely offline," Garrus answers as Jane frowns and ducks her head. "We can't seem to compile her programing into anything close to functional."

"We were hoping there'd be hope with the geth."

"I'm sorry, Shepard." Tali frowns behind her mask as she drops her hands. "The geth are no longer as they were after Legion disseminated himself to give them the capability of becoming true, independent AIs." Hands wringing, she starts to take two steps left, then right, pacing a short circle. "Each platform was a merging of programs into a single individual, but when the Reaper code was corrupted, they, once again, became unable to function separately."

"So they had to rely on servers again to come together and share data and experiences," Garrus concludes and Tali nods.

"Yes, but that's not all." She lowers her voice as she nearly whispers, "With each platform unable to function alone, there are now so many platforms that are nonfunctional."

"Wait," Jane frowns as she starts to do the math. She has never even come close to claiming to be any good with the bastards called numbers, but she can remember what Legion once told her. "So, if in the beginning, each platform was many programs and, with the Reaper code, those many platforms became one, then that meant, technically, the numbers decreased. Many parts becoming one whole, so to speak." Tali nods slowly, confused as to where she's getting. "So, now they are pieces again. Wouldn't that mean that their numbers are even smaller now that many of these so called combined geth are no longer able to function separately?"

"Shepard," Tali intones, her eyes frowning in worry. "That's not the true problem with the geth… The heretics have returned."

Garrus growls as Jane blinks in surprise. "You're shitting me."

The quarian girl shakes her head as she opens her Tool, tapping commands to send an image to the projection wall. On it, there is a large ship much like the one they had boarded so long ago with Legion in order to wipe out a sect of heretic programs. "It seems like all geth were not affected by the Reaper code corruption the same. Some have been downgraded to their original programming while some now believe they are 'lost' without the Reaper code."

"Lost?" Garrus looks to her from the projection. "They are aware of their previous state? Of being individual AIs?" Tali nods as he hums in thought. "And here we thought the geth no longer had that calculation difference to turn them into heretics."

"Make sense," Jane says as she leans on the table. "Legion said the heretics were born because their coding came up with a different answer. If the self-destruct button had different outcomes to them, then it looks like we have another coding problem." She looks to Tali and taps her fingers on the table. "How many heretics are we talking? This ship only?"

Tali nods her head and closes the Tool. "There are platforms functioning on Rannoch, but, if we destroy this dreadnought, then they will be unable to reconnect to the consensus with the servers destroyed."

"Leaving the geth and quarian marines to eliminate those that remain hidden on Rannoch." Garrus hums as he comes to stand beside Jane. "And here I thought we were done with geth dreadnoughts."

"Never," Jane agrees with a sigh as she leans up, nodding once. "Alright. We will head to Rannoch and regroup, maybe see if any of the geth have knowledge of the possible layout of this dreadnought." Rolling her shoulders, she puffs an annoyed huff through her lips. "I really fucking hate how the Normandy is the only damn stealth ship. But no one is better fit for the job," she adds with a sarcastic air of joy.


SquigglySquid says: I will be leaving the country starting the 4th until the 19th. While I will be writing offline, I cannot guarantee I can update while gone. But, hey, maybe that means I can do a mega upload? :D