As Joker and Cortez settled themselves near their respective pilot and copilot chairs, Tucker, Donut, Sarge, Caboose, and Wash took the opportunity to explore the Normandy's CIC while Garrus had a word with Carolina just outside the airlock doors. Despite the currently dim interior and inactive monitors, the "Red" group members seemed almost in awe as Cortez described some of the Normandy's firepower.
"-GARDIAN lasers were the Alliance standard, but Garrus worked out a deal with his people and had the Thanix installed on our ship-" Cortez continued, as Joker divided his attention between Cortez's explanation and the airlock entrance, the latter of which was still devoid of a certain turian's return-
Joker tilted his head closer to Wash, who leaned in an ear back towards him. "Correction: turians reversed-engineered it from a Reaper that I shot down on the Citadel," Joker said, partially to ease Wash's concerns regarding the Reapers and partly to boost Garrus' reputation. "Alliance made them standard as soon as Admiral Hackett found out about them six, seven months ago?" Joker asked a bit louder at Cortez.
Cortez glanced over at Joker. For most of our newer fighters and frigates," Cortez answered. "Tali was quite fond of recalling their performance during your galactic core mission after a drink or two-"
"What about protection?" Donut blurted out.
Wash quickly covered his face with his palm. "You've gotta be kidding me," Wash muttered quietly into his hand. "Donut-"Wash continued warningly.
Donut persisted, undeterred. "I'm just saying, you can't solve every problem by whipping out your w-"
"DONUT!" Tucker and Grif shouted in unison, effectively cutting Donut off.
"Defensive measures include ablative armor, stealth drive, and the Silaris ship armor, designed by Dr. T'Soni's people," Cortez began in an attempt to pick up where he left off.
Sarge turned to look at Donut. "You ever heard the saying, 'A good offense is the best defense?'" Sarge grumbled.
He's not wrong, Joker thought. But without the Silaris, someone would've died during the Collector base assault-
As Cortez droned on about heat sinks, Wash turned his attention away from him towards the monitor and console layout in front of Joker's chair. Even in their inactive state and devoid of the usual dearth of scrolling information, the entire setup could appear initially intimidating…if you weren't the best pilot in the Alliance fleet.
Joker quietly joined Wash, who acknowledged the helmsman's approach with a slight head twist to his left. "Look anything like yours?" Joker began.
"Couldn't tell you if it did," Wash answered as he glanced out at the foliage that had grown up over Normandy's windows. "Director didn't like having Freelancers up there…except for Carolina," he finished.
Joker studied the wall of green that almost completely obscured his view of the outside. Come to think of it, the only combat member who spoke to me face-to-face regularly was Shepard…and only because she was just back at the CIC. "Always preparing for the next mission?"
Wash grinned. "Something like that," he replied with a nod as he returned to his study of the cockpit's tech. "You can monitor most of the ship's functions from here?"
"Pretty much," Joker replied. Although it was easier with a full crew and functioning AI-
"It gets bigger the further we go?" Donut inquired enthusiastically from behind.
Confused, Joker turned around to see Donut gesturing towards the rear of the Normandy, which was illuminated just enough to reveal the increased floorspace area near the dormant galaxy map. Joker shot a quick look at Wash, who had already let out a heavy sigh, along with most of the other Reds and two Blues.
"Seriously, Donut?" Grif muttered.
Joker quickly raised his eyebrows in response. "Uh…" Joker began, not entirely sure how to phrase his question regarding Donut's suggestive comment.
Wash let out another exasperated sigh. "He…does that…." Wash answered quietly.
"So, how many people did it actually take to fly this thing?" Tucker asked as he studied the inactive portside-facing station behind EDI's-no, not hers anymore-chair.
Joker sighed. "Ideally, a lot more than we actually have," he answered glumly as he looked down the narrow hallway at the Reds, who were now engrossed in studying the main CIC, complete with Simmons and Tali standing next to Ashley on the raised platform overlooking the galaxy map. Poor Traynor, however, found herself the recipient of what sounded like a barrage of questions from Sarge and Simmons. Maybe Simmons might be able to learn enough to be useful? Joker mused.
"Our ship's previous AI handled most of the non-flying tasks," Cortez answered. "But without one, and with our current number of people, it'll be almost impossible to manage all the systems required to keep the Normandy space-worthy."
"Which is why Carolina and I are going to help our new friend Garrus install Church into the Normandy's computer system," Wash explained, which, based on the name change and description of the only turian aboard, Joker guessed was directed more towards Caboose than it was for Tucker.
"Church is getting a new body?" Caboose inquired.
Wash paused. Out of the corner of his eye, Tali and Simmons disappeared through the doors that connected the main CIC to the conference room, presumably headed for the server room. "Yes…and no," Wash finally answered.
Caboose was quiet for a moment. "Will I still be able to talk to him?" Caboose asked, clearly worried.
Cortez and Joker glanced at each other before Cortez's face broke out into a wide grin. "From almost anywhere in this ship," Cortez reassured him.
Wonder what form he'll take? Joker thought to himself as Caboose suddenly started poking at random spots at the starboard console.
"Beep boop, beep boop!" Caboose muttered cheerfully. "I am going to press ALL of Church's buttons now!"
"Caboose, no!" an alarmed Tucker exclaimed as he darted over to Caboose.
"Don't worry, he can't do anything with the power's off," Cortez told him as he leaned against the back of the chair.
"Or without hepatic gloves," Joker added. "Seriously, even if we were running on emergency power, that station wouldn't be prioritized." Plus, I can easily disable it from mine, he added silently to himself.
Tucker appeared to relax a bit. "Sorry…every time he hits random buttons, he tends to…."
"Cause problems?" Cortez finished with a raised eyebrow.
Tucker and Wash nodded in unison. "To put it mildly," Wash answered.
Note to self: create a dummy station to amuse the blue one, Joker thought as Garrus and Carolina appeared in the doorway, with Carolina wearing a look of mild concern at the scene before her.
"What's this about Caboose pressing all my buttons?" Epsilon's voice asked from the cockpit doorway as Carolina's eyes were drawn to Caboose, who was still cheerily poking away at the console.
Joker looked up at Garrus, who was still holding an armful of his whittled creations from late-night watch duties. "Nice to see you're saving your backup weapons," Joker said as the turian took a few steps towards Garrus.
Garrus held out the Mantis replica, which Joker interrupted as Garrus' cue to take it from him. "Well, since only our shuttle pilot keeps his sidearm under his chair, I figured you might actually need one," he said dryly. "I'm stashing the rest of these in my trunk…and no, not the one you're so fond of referring to, Joker," he finished. Joker and Cortez chuckled while the rest of their many-colored guests looked at each other with what Joker assumed were confused expressions.
"We're missing something here, aren't we?" Wash finally said.
"I think they were trying to make a joke about Garrus having a stick up his ass?" Donut offered warily.
Donut's comment had the effect of bringing about a second round of laughter from Cortez, Garrus, and Joker, as well as quiet moans from the rest of the Reds and Blues. "If you'd met me three years ago, you'd understand why," Garrus answered.
Carolina smiled, which was strangely unsettling and reassuring. "Take it you were a regular hard ass?" she said almost coyly.
Joker and Garrus made eye contact, and Joker's grin spread further across his face. "In more ways than one," Joker answered. "Heading down to the server room?" Joker said, quickly switching his attention back towards Garrus and the monumental task of restarting the Normandy's engine core.
Garrus nodded. "Tali and Simmons should be down there already," he answered with a glance towards the rear and somewhere in the vicinity of the ship's lower levels. ""Dr. Chakwas and Doc are already down in the med bay, Adams, Donnelly, and Gabby are all in the engine room, and Javik and Liara agreed to keep an eye on the cargo bay-"
"-and Lieutenant Commander Williams at the galaxy map, while Traynor manages comms from the war asset room," Joker finished, already familiar with everyone's assigned roles. Not wanting to question Garrus' authority in front of the others, Joker forced himself to tighten his mouth before he made a comment about Ashley's post.
Garrus paused. "You still think I should be at the galaxy map," he added quietly. The fact that he'd framed it as a statement and not a question made Joker slightly uncomfortable at Garrus' uncanny ability to get inside his head.
Joker broke eye contact with Garrus and glanced down at his feet as he examined his own reasons for wanting his friend on the same level as him. Because you don't want your friend one deck below and outnumbered. "Figured a good turian like you would follow turian-style command tactics," he lied quietly as he looked back up.
Garrus' mandibles flicked, but his expression remained soft. "Good turians don't leave C-Sec to chase rogue Spectres around the galaxy, Joker," Garrus finally answered. "Ash will be fine, Joker."
Joker's mouth tightened again, but he begrudgingly decided to keep the rest of his comments to himself…for the moment. She's continuing the proud Normandy tradition of xenophobic XOs, then, Joker thought crossly. (Although Pressly had eventually warmed up to Tali, Liara, and even Garrus, he'd vocalized his dislike of non-humans to Shepard directly, and Miranda's ties with Cerberus had naturally made her less trusting of the aliens aboard, even if they'd been hand-selected for recruitment by the Illusive Man himself.) "Aye aye, sir," he muttered.
Garrus' subvocals hummed, and Joker got a distinct impression that this conversation wasn't over. "Wash, the rest of your crew can follow me down to where your quarters will be," he said as he took a step towards the rear of the Normandy.
"Dibs on whatever's furthest from Caboose!" Tucker interjected.
"Quarters? Do I have quarters now? Ooh, what can I buy with quarters?" Caboose prattled on excitedly.
Cortez and Joker exchanged confused glances. That one's gonna be a handful, Joker thought.
"Your bed, dumb ass," Tucker shot back. "Come on, let's find you something as far from me as possible."
Wash glanced at Cortez and Joker. "I'm guessing we're all sleeping in the same room?"
Joker and Cortez nodded in unison. "Bunk beds," Cortez added. "Actually fairly comfortable," he said in an attempt to brighten Wash's mood, which had become noticeably darker at Cortez's new information.
Wash sighed. "Oh…great…"
Carolina shifted her weight to her other foot and placed a hand on her hip. "Haven't slept in an actual bunk since I teamed up with you," Carolina said with a smile at Wash as she grasped her helmet in both hands, lifted her arms, and slid her headgear back over her head. The helmet rejoined her armor with a soft click. "Lead the way, Garrus," she said.
"This way, everyone," Garrus said as he headed off towards the rear of the Normandy, with Carolina, Wash, Tucker, and Caboose trailing behind him. Sarge, Donut, and Grif followed a bit further behind and paused in the middle, with Sarge muttering something barely audible to both Donut and Grif, whose heads he had pulled closer to his own.
"Sarge, come on, does it even matter?" Grif replied, his tone making Joker a bit edgy.
Joker and Cortez exchanged glances, and Cortez's concerned expression seemed to mirror Joker's. With an acknowledging nod, the pair stopped just inside the cockpit doors to see if they eavesdrop on the rest of the Reds' conversation.
Wash, however, immediately noticed that the Reds had hung back. "Red team, seriously, time to get moving," Wash said. "Garrus-"
At the mention of Garrus' name, the reddest of the soldiers (Sarge) immediately darted right up to Garrus so that he was toe-to-toe with the turian. "You eagle faces have military ranks?" Sarge demanded suddenly as he craned his neck to look Garrus directly eye-to-eye.
The pilots exchanged panicked glances at Sarge's comment before their eyes darted over to Wash, who was now attempting to insert himself between the pair, his efforts being actively thwarted by Garrus himself, who still hadn't broken eye contact with Sarge. In a rare moment of gracefulness, Garrus calmly placed a hand on Wash's shoulder as if to hold him back. "Turian society is fairly militaristic…so yes, we have military ranks," Garrus answered casually, as if he wasn't the least bit concerned with the red soldier's complete disregard for turian personal space.
Sarge took a moment to process this information. "What's yours, then?"
Garrus looked over at Joker and Cortez briefly before looking back down at Sarge. "Advisor," he said finally.
Sarge grunted. "Advisor, huh? Sounds like you sat around and gave orders…."
Memories from Shepard and Garrus' collective three-year history of serving together in the thick of combat flashed through Joker's brain. Oh hell no, Joker thought as he started to see red. Without thinking, the Normandy's primary pilot tried to charge back towards the galaxy map with a clenched fist, but he'd barely take two steps before he made eye contact with Carolina, who held up her hand at him. Let me handle this one, her motion seemed to say.
"You saw what he was capable of back at our crash site, Sarge," the redhead snapped, annoyed. In the midst of this, the security checkpoint doors leading towards the War Asset room opened to reveal Vega, who had changed out of his body armor and back into his usual Alliance Marine t-shirt and black uniform pants. He also seemed utterly unconcerned that Sarge looked like he was trying to start a fight with an alien nearly a foot taller than him.
Garrus' mandibles flicked, but Garrus maintained his marble-eyed stare. "I actually did…for a time," Garrus answered. "Tell you what, Sarge: once we get the Normandy space-worthy again, I'd be more than happy to challenge any of you to a little one-on-one," he added as he motioned towards everyone with his hand. "Deal?" Garrus offered as he held out his hand.
"Mmmm…you got yourself a deal, eagle bird," Sarge agreed as he took Garrus' outstretched talon.
Vega, who had watched the entire conversation with an almost detached interest, scrunched his face up in agreement. "In that case, my money's on Scars," Vega commented. (Given his physique, the change did little to take away from his imposing physical presence.) "Engineers are ready to go when you are," he added as he stopped a few feet behind Sarge.
Garrus looked over Sarge's head and nodded. "Move out, everyone," Garrus ordered. In short order, each member of the multi-colored group followed Vega towards the floor passage that would take everyone across the ship and down to deck 3. As Carolina disappeared beyond the doors, Garrus glanced back at both Joker and Cortez and flung a casual salute in their general direction before stepping through the doors, which then closed with their characteristic hiss.
Joker and Cortez let out the breath that they'd both been holding for what felt like an eternity before Cortez quickly turned to face him. "You mind telling me what you planned on doing after that red one accused Garrus of sitting on his ass?" Cortez asked as he crossed his arms and gave Joker a disproving stare that would've given Dr. Chakwas a run for her money.
Joker sighed. "Gotten my ass kicked," Joker answered meekly. "But seriously, I couldn't just stand there and let them-"
Cortez cut him off. "It took three of us to drag his concussed ass to the med bay, Mr. Moreau," Cortez snapped. "And if Mr. Vega's tales are to be believed, Garrus can definitely hold his own hand-to-hand combat," Cortez answered. "Come on, we need to get ready," he added with a jerk of his head towards Joker's chair.
Joker looked back at the empty CIC again, the entire deck unnaturally silent as Hackett and Shepard's meeting just moments before their final invasion to retake Earth-
-not entirely unexpected, Hackett's command ship appears on the Normandy's port side and extends its bridge to the Normandy's airlock. Out of the corner of his eye, a priority message flashes across his console. Without taking his eyes off the bridge, Joker raises his voice to address Shepard, now clad in her dress blues, at the rear of the CIC.
"Commander, you've got a priority message from Admiral Hackett requesting to come aboard," Joker announces almost unnecessarily, as if Shepard, Cortez, and Adams aren't all standing back at the galaxy map awaiting Hackett's arrival.
"Permission granted," Shepard replies over the radio.
"Aye, commander," Joker answers as he taps the switch that opens both the interior and exterior airlock doors, knowing full well that the other pilot has already adjusted the incoming bridge pressure to prevent extreme pressure adjustments from either side. As soon as the doors open, Hackett strides in with two fully-armored Alliance officers in tow and makes an immediate right towards the galaxy map. Predictability, Adams, Cortez, and every Alliance solider not actively manning a station salute Hackett as he approaches Shepard, who greets him with a salute.
"Commander?"
"Admiral," she replies.
"Are you ready to bring the might of the galaxy to bear on the Reapers?"
"Yes, sir," she answers, confident as ever.
"Then let's make sure the fleets are ready," Joker finished quietly to himself as he turned to face Cortez, who stood waiting.
"Aye aye, sir," Cortez replied in kind, as if respectfully acknowledging Joker's unknown reverie.
####
Crammed into the narrow ducts with his way forward only illuminated by helmet headlamps and strategically placed chemical lights on the turian's armor, all while sharing an air supply with six humans and an alien, Wash found himself uncomfortably cramped and feeling slightly claustrophobic. Freaking drop pods were roomier than this, he thought.
"You okay back there, Agent?" Garrus commented effortlessly as they all continued to inch forward.
"This is…the worst…army crawl…ever," Wash gasped between bouts of pulling himself through the narrow passageway on this stomach. While Garrus had informed him that the ducts had been designed for normal humans to pass through easily, Wash realized that he had probably meant "humans not clad in heavy body armor" and definitely not "six-foot aliens with oddly protruding joints."
"I'm assuming there's an easier way to get to different levels," Carolina's voice echoed from what felt like the other end of the ship itself.
"Assuming we restart the core-" Garrus answered between his efforts to propel himself towards what Wash understood to be the server room, the home of the Normandy's previous AI, "We can take the elevator between decks," he finished.
"Thank God!" Grif grumbled from just ahead of Garrus.
"Told you not to have a fifth helping," Donut interjected from somewhere up ahead.
"Since when does Private Crisco back there turn down free food?" Sarge's voice added, slightly fainter given that Sarge was 1) in front of Simmons and 2) not struggling to catch his breath like Grif.
"Hey, he wasn't the only one who had seconds," Tucker chimed in from what sounded like somewhere ahead of Donut. "Caboose, watch out before you-"
Before Tucker could finish his sentence, Wash heard the dull thunk of what sounded like someone dropping from the hole in the ceiling that they were supposed to be emerging from, followed by what sounded like upset exclamations in Spanish from Vega.
Garrus paused. "You had one job, Vega-" Garrus began dryly, clearly not happy that one of them had already injured themselves crawling through the emergency passageways.
"Ow," Caboose's voice faintly echoed from the other end.
"Oh, he's fine," Epsilon interjected as he appeared on Wash's HUD.
Garrus paused. "That's just over a three-meter drop, AI," Garrus commented. "Our crew is well-practiced in getting down, Joker included-"
"Wait, the osteogenesis imperfecta guy uses this too?" Wash paused as he interrupted Garrus, attempting to picture the pilot navigating the same narrow passageway.
"Used it once under extreme duress," Garrus finished. "You telling me Caboose that knew what he was doing?"
"Nah, he's just oblivious to pain," Epsilon countered. "In fact, he'll jump up in about three…two-"
"That. Was. AWESOME!" Caboose declared loudly. Sure enough, the unmistakable sounds of Caboose jumping to his feet could be heard immediately following his exclamations. "TUCKER! DID YOU SEE THAT?"
Wash heard Tucker sigh loudly from somewhere ahead. "Yes, Caboose, I saw it…you hurt?"
"No!" Caboose replied proudly. "Can I do it again?"
"Can it wait until everyone has gotten out of here first?" Carolina commented dryly from somewhere near the front of the pack.
"Told ya," Epsilon replied smugly. "Seriously, Bird Guy, I've been with these guys awhile…I'll let you know when one of them actually manages to hurt themselves."
"You know, with that attitude, sometimes I'm surprised that your teammates didn't shoot you sooner," Wash said as Garrus started moving forward again, which Wash interred as people were now moving forward and continuing to lower themselves through the hole that Caboose had just fallen through.
"Hey, is that any way to talk to the guy who's gonna get us out of here?" Epsilon joked as the group lurched forward again.
"Says the computer program that heavily favored leaving commander of said ship for dead," Garrus said quietly as he paused again while the sound of someone hitting the metal floor below.
Oh, he is not gonna like that one, Wash thought as he anticipated Epsilon's reaction to Garrus' knowledge about Carolina and Epsilon's initial responses to bringing Garrus back to the escape pod crash site.
"Wash…" Epsilon began warningly, in a tone reminiscent of angry Carolina.
Wash remained silent, unwilling to verbally confirm what Epsilon already suspected: Wash had told Garrus the whole story regarding their fight in the jungle clearing, including Carolina and Epsilon's reluctance to bring Garrus back to their crash site. I can't expect him to trust us if he's still expecting a knife in his back, he'd reasoned at the time.
"Didn't think he would tell me?" Garrus said, breaking the silence.
"C's gonna be pissed," Epsilon said as if he wasn't already on the verge of tattling back to Carolina.
"Not the first angry redhead aboard this ship, then," Garrus replied dryly as he crawled ahead.
Wash grinned widely underneath his helmet. "Take it Shepard had a bit of a temper?" Wash asked.
"I've watched her head-butt krogan who insulted her crew," Garrus recalled with a slightly amused tone.
"What's a krogan?" Grif asked as the line moved forward again.
"Short answer: Seven feet tall and almost a half-ton of killing power," Garrus replied.
"So, kinda like a Brute?" Epsilon offered.
"Not sure what that is, but sounds about right," Garrus said.
"Nice to know that this universe isn't lacking for giant killer aliens either,"Wash commented.
Garrus chuckled. "Don't worry, they're on our side," he reassured Wash. "And their leader and I just happen to be good friends…especially after I helped un-sterilize his entire species…."
Wash raised his brows. "You ever do anything that doesn't involve a long-winded story?" Wash asked humorously.
Garrus chuckled. "Not when Shepard was involved," the turian answered in kind, with a note of sadness at the end.
####
With Vega's efforts entirely directed on assisting the rest simulation troopers out of the inter-deck passageway ladder, Carolina took a quick moment to survey their new location: a small, silver-toned, presumably metal (judging by the sound her boots made when they touched the floor) room whose only furniture consisted of a small table, a desk lamp, and a pair of padded chairs (one of which was currently occupied by Caboose, who had literally fallen from the exit above) positioned on either side of the table. At the moment, the sole light sources consisted of Carolina's helmet headlamp and Specialist Traynor's handheld light, the latter illuminating the figures emerging from the ceiling.
"So, who's idea was it to build an emergency passageway from the conference room to here?" Carolina began causally. Because it seems a bit asinine to go crawling through the ship in the event of an actual emergency-
"Cerberus," Traynor answered in what sounded like a failed attempt at a neutral tone, with a hint of thickly concealed criticism as Vega reached up to assist Tucker.
"Still don't understand why they put the armory on the CIC level," Vega commented with open disapproval.
"Well, given that the original QEC was on that level, I could see the Illusive Man briefing the commander, then allowing the rest of her team to outfit themselves appropriately afterward-" Traynor offered.
Carolina raised her brows questioningly. "How large was her team?"
"Two others," Vega answered, and Carolina was quickly reminded of Garrus' rescue squad. "According to Garrus, combat team members only had about ten minutes tops before they knew if they were going with her…most of them ended up keeping their primary weapons in the quarters after the first few missions."
Sarge's head appeared in the hole. "Good soldiers are always ready for action," Sarge said approvingly as he let
"Explains some of the…surprises…we found on the observation decks and cargo areas," Traynor commented quietly.
"Wasn't one to waste time, then," Carolina commented approvingly.
Vega nodded as footsteps and voices approaching from outside the room caused Carolina's ears to perk up. Out of habit, Carolina turned around to see both Simmons and Tali entering the room, with Simmons listening intently to Tali's words.
"…fortunately, I kept backups of the Normandy's operational parameters," Tali continued as she and Simmons came to a stop just inside the doors. "Not because I didn't trust EDI-"
"-but you wanted to see if you could adapt it for your own people?" Simmons offered.
"I wish," Tali answered with a sigh. "Garrus get stuck somewhere?" Tali asked teasingly as she looked up at the ceiling.
"He'll be the last one through, Tali," Vega answered as Grif dropped himself down from the ceiling with a loud clunk and a great deal of heavy breathing,
"Please tell me I can crash somewhere," Grif whined as he plopped himself down in one of the available chairs.
"Bunk room's just down the hall, Grif," Simmons said. "Traynor, you want to take these four and let them figure out their sleeping arrangements?" he asked.
Traynor replied with a salute. "Can do, Lieutenant!" Traynor replied in her usual chipper tone. "Gentlemen, if you'd follow me, please?" Traynor instructed as she held up her light and motioned for the simulation troopers to follow.
"Oh boy, a sleepover!" Caboose exclaimed, practically bouncing. "Tucker, are you excited?"
Tucker groaned loudly. "Just thrilled, Caboose," Tucker replied as he started to make his way towards Traynor.
"Simmons, I assume you'll want a bed near Sarge?" Griff asked
"Actually, Tali offered me a spot near the rest of the engineers," Simmons answered. "Lieutenant Adams said he wanted to move closer to the doctor, so the one under Tali is currently empty."
"I do believe there are two empty bunks near them, though," Traynor offered.
"You're taking the bottom bunk, fat ass," Sarge muttered. "Come on, Grif, we'd better get a move on before the Blues bogart all the good ones," he said as he roughly nudged Grif's orange form forward.
So, guess who spilled the beans about you and I wanting to leave Garrus to rot in the jungle? Epsilon began quickly without preliminaries as Vega led Caboose, Sarge, Grif, and Tucker out of the room and off somewhere to their right, the light from their chemical lights growing fainter as they moved farther away.
Carolina quietly sighed. Figured he'd do that at some point, Carolina answered privately as she continued to look about the room indifferently. Other than the table and chairs, the space was mostly empty aside from numerous pipes, screens, tanks, and vents that ran along the walls. Despite the Normandy's exterior damage, the contents of this room appeared undamaged and untouched. "Interesting choice of furniture for this area," she began casually as she returned her gaze back to the table and chairs.
""Commander said our drell assassin preferred it here," Vega answered. "Too dry for me, though…especially after growing up near the ocean."
I told him you would be pissed. Epsilon continued without so much as a comment on the conversation that had occurred between the rest of the Reds and Blues while Tali and Simmons darted off somewhere to the right to the presumed AI core.
Another sigh from Carolina, which was muffled by her helmet. With Vega's attention still focused on supervising Garrus' emergence from the duct, she doubted that he noticed her vocalizations over the general hubbub of the group's exodus from the room. Before we found the Director, yes, she answered.
But after he convinced everyone to follow us after you held a gun to their head?
Carolina didn't immediately answer Epsilon as she looked up at the hole in the ceiling, which now contained a backside view of the distinctive outline of Garrus' armor, followed by a helmeted Wash looking down at her. Despite his concealed eyes, she knew he was looking straight at her. He's grown bolder since our Freelancer days. "Sounds like you two had quite the conversation up there," she began casually as she kept eye contact with Wash's visor.
"We did," Garrus answered as he lowered himself down with his arms, extended his body, and touched the ground in one smooth, well-practiced motion. "Your partner," he added with an uncomfortable emphasis on the second word, "also managed to give me a brief summary of Project Freelancer," he finished as he stepped back to give Wash some room while simultaneously turning around to face her.
Oh boy, Epsilon thought. We are in for it now-
Ever the stone-faced one, Carolina simply crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one hip as she looked up and made eye contact with Garrus. "And?" she asked, as if they were about to discuss the weather rather than the laundry list of illegal activities her father had personally authorized.
"Tame compared to what my people have done, really," Garrus answered. "Planting bombs on planets after essentially sterilizing their entire race, dropping asteroids from orbit onto our enemy planets…illegal AI research is, what's the phrase you human use…small potatoes here?" Garrus replied as Wash turned around to face them.
"Pretty much standard practice here," Vega added.
Epsilon remained silent for a moment as Carolina felt him process Garrus' statement. He slowly turned towards Wash and Garrus. "Asteroids…on actual populated planets?" Epsilon began quietly.
"Not a battle tactic I'm fond of now," Garrus replied quietly, and Carolina immediately sensed that Epsilon had struck a nerve better left alone.
"Garrus, weren't you just telling me that the Normandy ship was rebuilt by a pro-human organization similar to Project Freelancer?" Wash interjected quickly in an attempt to steer the conversation away from dangerous waters.
A rare smile crept across Carolina's lips. "So you're used to working with people who you don't necessarily see eye-to-eye with," she replied in an almost evasive tone.
"More than you know," Garrus replied sadly as his one visible eye lingered over her hair again. "Your AI ready to see his new quarters?" Garrus asked as he motioned for the group to follow him.
"Anything bigger than Carolina's helmet would be an improvement," Epsilon commented.
"You'll actually have more room than the rest of your crew," Garrus added, his tone brighter now.
"Garrus has a more secluded area for you, if you'd like," Wash offered as Tali began to lead Garrus, Vega, Simmons, and the two Freelancers out of the room and into an oddly designed corridor.
For me…not us, she thought.
He's probably opting to stay with the rest of the Reds and Blues, Epsilon offered.
"Everything you'll need is on this level," Garrus explained as he paused directly outside their previous location. "Bathrooms and entertainment areas are all in this back hallway," Garrus said as he held out his hand and motioned around their immediate area, "-and our two galley areas are just in front of the elevator."
On the outermost right edge of her peripheral vision, Carolina noticed the shadows cast by a large rectangular object to their immediate right. On either end, various names lined each side.
"What's this?" Wash asked.
"Names of all KIA'd Alliance personnel or anyone Shepard directly recruited aboard the Normandy," Garrus answered solemnly as he paused in front of the wall. "The original Normandy was destroyed by another group of aliens known as the Collectors," Garrus explained as he reached out to touch one of the names. Kaidan. "The one we're in now was a 'new and improved' model built by Cerberus-"
"As much as it pains you to say that," Vega added quietly as he briefly closed his eyes and knelt his head forward at said raised his head and turned to face Wash and Carolina. "Commander pretty much stole this one and handed it over to the Alliance, who retrofitted it into what we have now."
Carolina grinned. "This Cerberus organization didn't try to come after her?"
"Oh, they tried…turns out EDI thwarted a few attempts before they finally got the message," Garrus said with a chuckle.
Wash and Carolina exchanged solemn glances. "We should have done something like this," Wash commented quietly as he ran his eyes across each name.
In her mind's eye, Carolina could almost see York's name appear below the rest of the individuals listed on the wall. It's the least my father could have done for them, Carolina thought as she nodded once in agreement, afraid that her voice might reveal something other than the businesslike demeanor she was attempting to maintain.
"Sounds like your former AI was a real badass," Epsilon said, partially in an attempt to change the subject for Carolina and partly due to his own curiosity.
Garrus nodded. "She was…and after Joker unshackled her, she became one of our most valuable crew members," Garrus said as he turned away from the wall and began walking somewhere to their left. (In the dim light, Carolina could see three other doors, one of which was currently open and contained the excited chatter of the Reds and the Blues settling into their new quarters.)
"Sounds like it's going well in there," Vega commented as he and Wash both shot brief glances into the bunk room.
"Yeah, I'm just gonna go ahead and apologize in advance for anything Caboose breaks," Epsilon said as they emerged past the elevator and into a more open area, with what appeared to be a dining area to their immediate left. Further away, Carolina could make out a small kitchen area and a longer passageway lined by upright, rectangular pods that seemed eerily similar to cryogenic chambers.
"What else is on this level?" Carolina asked as she reached up and removed her helmet. Wash wordlessly followed suit.
"Liara's quarters, gun battery, and the medical bay," Garrus answered as he pointed at various locations ahead of them, his hand moving from the left to the right. Ahead of them, a room lined with a half-wall of windows appeared. "AI core is right through the medical bay," Garrus said as he pointed to an area in front of them.
"Note to self: do not let Caboose into the gun battery," Epsilon said aloud, to which Carolina and Wash chuckled in response.
"Considering those used to be my primary quarters, that'd be greatly appreciated," Garrus replied somberly. "Also, it houses one of the most powerful weapons aboard this ship, so allowing someone to damage it wouldn't be in your best interests."
An uncomfortable silence filled the air between the group. Carolina attempted to make eye contact with Vega for more details, but Vega shook his head.
We need more intel on this guy, C, Epsilon said. We keep hitting painful topics without even trying-
We just met this guy this morning, Church, Carolina shot back. I highly doubt he'll be willing to share painful details with someone who tried to kill him less than twenty-four hours ago.
The group entered the windowed room, which was currently occupied by Dr. Chakwas and Doc, who were presently engrossed in conversation at the far end of the room, where several heavy-duty hospital beds were situated.
"Your people designed it, right?" Wash asked quickly in yet another attempt to change the topic.
"Reverse-engineered it from a Reaper weapon," Garrus corrected as they entered the medical bay. "Everything okay, Dr. Chakwas?" Garrus asked as he turned his attention to Doc and the gray-haired woman in front of them.
"Oh, just explaining what our little med bay's capable of," Dr. Chakwas said as she waved her hand around the medical bay as the doctor turned to look at both Carolina and Wash. "I daresay it'll be nice to have additional medical personnel aboard again."
"Dunno, Doc, you handled turian brain surgery pretty well by yourself," Vega joked.
"Only because you helped me with his initial sedation," Dr. Chakwas said with a stern glance at Garrus. "Remember our agreement, Mr. Vakarian," she added in a slightly more icy tone as the group passed by the beds, one of which Garrus quickly looked away from.
"As soon as we're space worthy, Karin," Garrus said resignedly before he shifted his attention back to Tali and Simmons as he brought up his omni-tool. "Garrus to Normandy, prepare for go/no-go check for engine restart," he said as the group approached the pair standing at a small console to their right. "Engine room?"
"Go," Donnelley's Scottish accent answered brightly.
"Joker?"
"Just waiting on you, big guy," Joker replied.
Garrus' mandibles flicked, but the turian said nothing else in reply to Joker's comment. "Ash, you in position at the galaxy map?"
"Affirmative," Ashley's voice answered briskly.
"Liara, Javik?"
"Cargo bay ready, Garrus," Liara answered.
Vega sighed heavily. "Guess that means I gotta play you now," Vega said. "Sure you don't want me elsewhere?" he asked hopefully, as if he was slightly hesitant about his next destination.
"It was either you or Javik in there, Jimmy," Garrus called out pointedly as Vega walked away from them. Carolina couldn't make out Vega's grunted reply, but she was just able to catch the phrase "going to learn more than he ever wanted" as Vega strode out of the medical bay, did a hairpin turn to his right, and started walking towards the front of the Normandy towards the presumed location of the ship's main gun battery. "Traynor, everything good?"
When Traynor's comm channel opened, Carolina could hear the indistinct and familiar background chatter and flurry of activity of Red and Blues, followed by the sounds of something smashing into a wall. "Would it be possible for Agent Washington to come back for a moment?" she politely requested with the tone of a babysitter on the verge of being overwhelmed by her charges.
Wash sighed loudly as he turned his head to make eye contact with his red-headed leader. "Carolina, I-" Wash began, but Carolina cut him off.
"Simmons and I will be just fine, Wash," Carolina reassured him as she jerked her head toward the bunk room.
"Yeah, go make sure Caboose isn't building himself a robot friend out of bunk beds or something," Epsilon chimed in.
Wash clearly wanted to say more, but simply pulled his helmet back on without another word. "Understood, boss," he said before turning on his heel and darting out of the room and through the medical bay doors.
He's worried about us, Carolina thought briefly as she turned her attention to Tali and Simmons, who were busy connecting various wires to Simmons' helmet to the console.
"So, what's the plan, big guy?" Epsilon asked cheerily.
Garrus looked around the room and up at the ceiling before he replied. "Engineers power up the ship, everyone runs diagnostics, and based on the results of those, we'll know if we can get the Normandy airborne again," he answered. "Assuming we have enough power, Tali and Simmons will install Epsilon into our systems."
"Expecting any problems?" Carolina asked.
An unexpected sigh from Garrus. "Yes…and no…" he began.
"We haven't been able to access most of the shipboard data since the crash a month ago," Tali cut in without looking up from her electronics work as she pointed at a section of the server that appeared to have been partially dismantled and reassembled recently. "We had to cannibalize parts from EDI's black box for the engines, so we're not entirely sure how much of her core processes remain."
Carolina raised her brows. "You think your AI is still active?"
"Thought you told us that she was completely disabled," Epsilon cut in.
Garrus shook his head. "The last time we crash-landed after something ripped a hole in the cargo bay, EDI was able to remain operational enough to start automatic repairs," Garrus replied. "She made no such attempt a month ago, which leads us to believe that whatever that unknown red energy signature completely disabled her-"
"But you're not one-hundred percent sure," Carolina finished.
You know, you act like I've never had another AI try to overtake me, Epsilon began arrogantly without preliminaries, already sensing Carolina's hesitation.
That was your own fragment trying to invade you, and it sounds like your personality didn't change at all when it jumped to you back in Blood Gulch-
Carolina and Epsilon's private conversation was interpreted by the sensation of a three-digit on Carolina's shoulder. With the height differences, Carolina found herself looking up into the turian's one visible eye, which appeared to be studying her with a concerned expression. "Having second thoughts in there?"
"She is," Epsilon answered. "However, pretty sure I'll be able to deal with whatever I find in there."
"He won't be alone, Agent Carolina," Tali added in a reassuring tone. "We'll be able to monitor his upload process from here," she said as she pointed at the console in front of her. "If I see anything that resembles conflict between two AIs, we promise to intervene." We?
"See? I'll be just fine, C," Epsilon reassured her.
Carolina sighed. "If you insist," she finally answered.
The comms channel crackled to life again. "Waiting on your order, sir," Adams' voice interrupted.
####
Here goes nothing, Garrus thought with a mix of nervous anticipation. "Adams, we are go for restart…repeat, we are go for restart."
"Aye aye, sir," Adams replied. "Engineers, initiate core restart-"
-and somehow, he's alone with her in her private quarters with a cheap bottle of wine only hours before they're scheduled to go through the Omega-4 relay-
"Nervous?" Carolina asked from beside him.
-she moves to turn off the cheesy nightclub techno music, because of course, if he'd actually bothered to do a bit more research, he would have known that, but no, the quick swig of cheap wine has done nothing to soothe his own nerves-
Garrus sighed. "I've seen so many things go wrong…" he answered quietly.
"Been there, done that, and running out of room for the t-shirts," Epsilon chimed in.
She moves in closer, just within arm's reach. "-I want something to go right-"
After a month of living aboard a silent Normandy, Garrus was almost startled as the most glorious sounds hit his ears: the gentle hum of actively-powered engines, followed by the AI core's lights at half-brightness.
"Core stable at 50%," Donnelly announced.
Garrus quickly snapped back to the present. "Tali?"
Tali tapped a few keys. "No sign of her, Garrus," Tali responded quietly. "Rest of core shows no signs of damage."
Damn it. "Joker?" Garrus' free hand instinctively curled into a fist as he reached up with his other to toggle his comms. "Ash, Joker, report."
"Navigation map almost online-" Ash replied.
A brief pause before Joker answered. "Green across the board, sir."
Since when did Joker start calling me 'sir'? "Core to 100%, Adams," Garrus ordered.
"Aye aye, sir," Adams answered as the AI core lights reached their full brightness and the Normandy's hum grew louder.
-her hand on the damaged side of his face makes his heart rate spike, but he realizes that all he needs to do is what he did with her on every mission: follow her lead-
"Joker, status report," Garrus said brightly into his open comm channel as he looked around the room, reveling in the noises, the light,
The sound of Joker cheering could be heard throughout the ship, indicating that Joker had chosen to use the ship's intercom system to reply. "She's back! My baby's back!" Joker practically trilled. Guessing by the sound of his voice, Garrus was willing to bet his Mantis that Joker probably had tears in his eyes.
"Good work, everyone," Garrus said. "AI core, prepare for Epsilon's installation," he said as he turned back to Carolina, who was now regarding him with what felt like an uncharacteristically wide smile. "You two ready?"
Carolina handed her helmet to Simmons, who stood ready at the console. "Be careful in there, Church," Carolina said as Simmons took her helmet and placed it near the makeshift transfer device.
A pause. "Not planning on getting stuck in here, trust me," Epsilon replied before the transfer device flashed briefly and the console display became a flurry of activity-
####
As Epsilon plunged into an unfamiliar digital world, it took him a moment to process the total absence of Carolina's presence from his being. Bit lonely, really, he thought as a world slowly began to solidify around him: the same room he'd been in just moments before, but with the sensation that a wealth of new knowledge lay just beyond the door in front of him. Epsilon did a 180 and looked at the console behind him, which glowed with a pale white light. Exactly where I entered in, he thought as he approached the door that led from the AI core to the med bay.
"Epsilon?" a familiar voice inquired from somewhere outside of his present location as he found himself unable to pass through the med bay doors
"Carolina?" Epsilon replied eagerly. It's good to hear her again. "Everything okay out there?"
"For the moment," Carolina replied. "Caboose is running around looking for you now."
I'll bet, Epsilon thought as he attempted to go through the door again. "Uh, so, there a reason I can't get out of here?"
"We've limited you to just this room for now," another voice. Garrus, Epsilon thought.
"Last time two AI fought for control of the Normandy, whole ship started glitching out," another voice chimed in from somewhere in the distance. Joker…he must be able to see me in here somehow, Epsilon reasoned as he slowly realized that he was being watched from other areas of the ship.
"You trapped him in there?" Carolina inquired, her tone a few degrees away from accusing the Normandy's commander of outright deception.
"We prefer to think of it as minimizing damage," Tali replied.
Epsilon looked around again. In the far corner of the room, he noticed what appeared to be an inconspicuous footlocker. Pretty sure that wasn't present in the non-digital reality, he thought as he took a few steps towards the object, which he sensed contained valuable information. "Hey Tali, what's this-" he said as he took a knee and touched the footlocker's clasp. As if spring-loaded, the lid of the box sprung open and was frozen in place immediately by a surge of information-
-An unfamiliar, cluttered underground base on Luna, with three unknown invaders running around and shutting down each of her three servers, undeterred by the poison gas, husks, and barriers she throws up hastily in defense-
"Unknown intelligent presence detected. Commencing threat isolation and analysis-" a new female voice replied as a holographic blue sphere comprised of dots of light rose from the box.
Son of a bitch, she really wasn't dead- Epsilon thought.
"Epsilon, what's going on?" Carolina's voice said, the panic rising in her voice.
C, help, Epsilon thought helplessly as another wave of memories washed over him, once more preventing him from reacting in any sort of meaningful manner-
A red-headed, green-eyed woman clad in the standard black-and-white duty uniform boards the SR-2, the Illusive Man's hand-picked pilot, former Systems Alliance Jeff Moreau, and Cerberus Executive Officer Miranda Lawson in tow. (Per her instructions from the Illusive Man, she has been ordered to keep careful tabs on both Alliance members, given their known history of aggression towards past Cerberus operations-
-"Garrus, look," Tali's voice said again-
-"EDI doesn't pilot the Normandy. She IS the Normandy," Adams says.
"No, she's a passenger in the Normandy, just like us," Donnelly counters. "The ship was a space-faring vessel before EDI even existed."
"Engineer Donnelly is correct. The Normandy SR-2 was completely space-worthy prior to my installation," EDI says in agreement.
"See, EDI agrees with me," Donnelly says brightly.
"EDI's mind and the Normandy are a whole entity now. You couldn't just move the processors in the AI core to another ship," Adams retorts, clearly still trying to convince Donnelly.
"Adams is correct. Processes that contribute to my self-awareness are spread throughout the ship," she responds, as Adams' statement is just as true as Donnelly's-
-"EDI?" Garrus asked, his voice simultaneously both excited and fearful.
"Not exactly…" Tali replied with notes of uncertainty in her voice. The feeling of being watched grew stronger again. "More like…"
"Memories?" Simmons offered.
Bit fucking more than that, seeing how I can't do anything during them, Epsilon thought angrily.
-they retreat just outside of the cockpit area, leaving Joker alone so that she can ask Shepard's opinion on a newsflash detailing Reaper prisoners attempting to deceive their captors-
"Analysis complete: unknown AI program. Commencing destruction," the female voice said.
"Garrus-" Carolina's tone matches another memory, one that wasn't present before-
"EDI, no!" Joker's voice broke in again, this time, his voice shaking. "New AI installation authorized by acting commander Garrus Castis Vakarian-"
-the shuttle has barely touched down in the shuttle bay as Dr. Chakwas and Miranda approach a blood-drenched Garrus Vakarian, the entire right side of his face hastily covered in medi-gel, his headset-based vitals moving alarmingly towards numbers incompatible with life -
The force paused. "Primary helmsman identified: Jeff Moreau, helmsman," the voice stated factually. "Canceling unknown AI destruction…" she said as the force immobilizing him dissipated.
Finally able to speak, Epsilon wasted no time in throwing up firewalls. "The hell was that all about?" Epsilon demanded angrily.
A brief silence filled the air again. "EDI?" Garrus asked.
The spherical ball quickly shifted itself into a black-and-gunmetal silver metal feminine form. "These are the stored memories of the Normandy's Enhanced Defense Intelligence system, who was rendered permanently unrecoverable approximately thirty-one standard galactic days ago."
Epsilon recalled the new memories he'd just witnessed. "Processes that contribute to my self-awareness are spread throughout the ship."
"You're the former AI's memories?" Epsilon blurted out.
The robotic form nodded. "Correct."
Without warning, a sudden wealth of information poured into him: the Normandy's layout, life support parameters, engine schematics, power output, comms channels-
-Shepard's apartment on the Citadel. While Garrus and Zaeed were discussing security measures, EDI had already taken the liberty of installing restricted security software measures everywhere-
"You're a backup, aren't you?"
Another nod. "Multiple attempts were made to destroy my original creator in the past."
"Epsilon…if you can hear this, go to the cockpit and talk to Joker directly," Garrus said quietly as he came into view via the newly accessible interior camera system.
With only a thought, Epsilon focused on the cockpit area and found himself face to face with Joker and Cortez, with the primary helmsman's face currently tear-streaked as information continuously streamed over their screens.
"You saw that too," Epsilon began.
Joker nodded, his mouth tight as if opening it would bring about another uncomfortable emotional display.
Epsilon sighed as he debated isolating what he wanted to say to his current audience, then realized that he'd been forced to view those memories for a reason. "Your former commander," he began gently. "She…she seems a lot like Carolina."
Joker nodded his head, his expression tight and voice silent.
Cortez took the initiative and broke the silence. "Brash, opinionated, and wouldn't want to face alone one-on-one in a fight?" Cortez offered quietly as he leaned over for a better look at Epsilon.
Epsilon laughed. "You should've seen her square off against my ex," he joked. "Fight crashed the Director's flagship."
Joker raised one eyebrow with a curious expression. "Wait, you…had a girlfriend?"
"Like, human?" Cortez asked, genuinely curious.
With a few thought processes, he sent an image of Tex to Joker's console. "AI fragment in a robot body permanently encased in armor," he explained. "Long story."
Joker cracked a minuscule grin. "Actually kinda want to hear it now," Joker said.
"Can it wait until after we attempt take-off?" Garrus interrupted, using what Epsilon now recognized as the command channel.
Joker and Epsilon exchanged a look, and Joker's grin grew wider as Joker raised a fist to Epsilon's project. "Welcome aboard the Normandy, Epsilon," Joker said warmly, without the trace amount of hostility that had been present since the Reds and Blues had first arrived.
Epsilon raised his tiny digital fist to the large flesh-and-blood one before him, then gave it a little bump as his subroutines started organizing the massive influx of the Normandy's operations data. "Shields are acting a little squirrelly," Epsilon commented as he brought up the mass effect shield window.
Joker scrunched his face up. "This girl wasn't meant to land directly on the ground," Joker said. "Should correct itself once we lift off."
"Care to tell me why you haven't then?" Garrus' voice piped in.
Epsilon and Joker quickly exchanged a glance. "How did he hear-"
"You're forgetting I'm still directly plugged into the AI core," Tali's voice explained before Epsilon had a chance to finish.
"I expect us in the air by the time I reach the galaxy map, Joker," Garrus commented dryly. "Everyone else, move to phase 2," he added before his comm channel cut out with a distinctive click.
"You know, I could slow that elevator down," Epsilon began in a distinctively conspiratorial toneas the AI brought up the elevator's schematics, highlighting the potential parts that could be manipulated to slow the elevator's return to the CIC level.
Joker and Cortez chuckled together as Joker brought up the pre-launch controls. "You don't think he can do it?" Cortez asked as he leaned over to get a better look at Epsilon's projection as Joker's hands began their well-practiced dance.
Joker grinned as he directed the engines. "We'll be outside breathable atmosphere before he sets foot on this level," he said as he lifted the Normandy into a smooth ascent and aimed for a spot somewhere between the two moons ahead of them. "Hey Traynor, the galaxy map have a fix on our location yet?" Because our fuel levels probably won't get us out of this star system, and if the mass relays are down, our chances of getting back to Earth don't look good-
"On it," Traynor's voice chimed in. "Okay, so, good news and bad news," Traynor began as she transmitted the map data to Joker's console. Joker glanced at the galaxy map, which revealed them to be on an unnamed planet somewhere within the Apien Crest system. "Good news, we're not terribly far from Palaven-"
"-but we had the ill luck to land on Iberia, the one levo-dominant planet within the turian home system," Garrus' voice finished. "Traynor, our external comms operational yet?"
"Yes, comma-" Traynor began, but abruptly cut herself off, as if she'd just committed a major etiquette blunder unbecoming of both an Alliance officer and of someone of British descent. It doesn't feel right to her, either, Joker thought
"Epsilon, glalaxy map camera?" Joker quickly whispered with a brief sideways glance to the left at Epsilson's projection. Within seconds, the image of Traynor with her hands frozen over her keyboard appeared on one of his smaller screens.
The distinct sound of a turian sighing filled his ears. "Doesn't feel right to me either, Traynor," Garrus said. "Broadcast our positio on these channels," Garrus continued. "Joker, set a position between Castor and Pollux." As Garrus spoke the names, new data appeared within the galaxy map, data that hadn't been there before, including coordinates, planet information-
"Whoa, what's with the secondary encryption on this new map info?" Epsilon said as his hologram appeared to turn and study one of the screens just above Joker's head, which was rapidly displaying data pertaining to each moon's orbital distance, orbital period, day length, atmopshospheric pressure, surface temperatures, and surface gravity. The turians kept this data classified for Menae, Joker realized as quickly reviewed the information.
Joker and Cortez simply looked at each other before Joker set a course for Garrus' specified navigation point. "Not sure...but there's probably gonna be fireworks between him and Willians at the galaxy map," Joker finished as he guided the Normandy towards the new destination.
##########
A/N: Short version for long time between updates: started grad school, job is short-staffed, and worst case of writer's block ever. Again. Will promise to do better. (Maybe.)
Also, interested in beta'ing for this? PM me!