"Quite the crew we've got here…"Epsilon said aloud to Carolina, Wash, and Garrus as the Reds, Blues, and the rest of the Normandy crew finished introductions and slowly began and settled themselves around the fire. At the moment, the translator-less members of the Reds and Blues were awaiting Dr. Chakwas' return from what Garrus referred to as "below decks." (All of the Reds and Blue had decided that they were okay with translator implantation, which required said trip back to the 3rd level of the Normandy.) And I thought we'd seen our fair share of weird aliens...
"That pink one always this friendly?" Garrus asked, momentarily engrossed in Donut's animated interactions with Cortez, the latter of which who was currently preoccupied with ensuring that lunch to a proper temperature.
Wash nodded. "He actually has quite the talent for cooking," Wash added. "Pity we didn't bring one of our back," he added somewhat regretfully.
Garrus chuckled. "I'm sure another one will find us soon enough," he said as Epsilon resumed his quiet observations of everyone's intermingling, his attention shifting to Grif, Sarge, and Tucker. The three simulation troopers had seated themselves next to Adams and Donnelly while Sarge babbled enthusiastically about the engine modifications he'd made to the pirate's ship. A short distance from them, Tali and Simmons had sequestered themselves off to the side and were hunched over some sort of glowing-orange gadget on Tali's wrist, with Tucker throwing an occasional envious look towards his maroon-toned teammate.
So, is it fair to say that Simmons already called dibs on Tali? Epsilon joked privately to Carolina as Adams began firing off questions to Simmons.
You know, it's possible his interest in her is purely platonic, Carolina replied as she turned her attention back to the cliff's edge to the group currently gathered there: Liara, a man with an auburn-colored hair and baseball cap (the Normandy's pilot, Joker) and an extremely muscular Latino male were currently engrossed in conversation with an alien unlike anything they'd seen in the Covenant forces. While most of the Normandy aliens seemed somewhat humanoid in appearance (Garrus being the one notable exception), this particular one stood out because of the sharp angles that framed his face and forehead. His facial shape alone would have been tolerable, but each of four eyes each contained two pupils. In addition to the previous abnormalities, the alien possessed gill-like slits where a nose and mouth should have been.
"So…what's the story with literal Four-Eyes over there?" Epsilon began without any preliminaries as Joker slowly ambled over towards Garrus, Wash, and Carolina from Liara and said stern-looking four-eyed alien.
Also, why is the pilot walking with a limp? Carolina thought as the muscular soldier nodded in response to a comment from Lirara. As Four-Eyes, Liara, and Muscles continued their conversation, Carolina kept her eyes on the pilot as he slowly ambled his way through the group, pausing to speak with some of the Reds and Blues.
Garrus mentioned something about Vrolik's syndrome to Wash, Epsilon explained. Something about how most of the bones in his lower body are more prone to fractures?
How'd he fly, then? Carolina asked, her own mind recalling the high G-forces exerted on most aircraft pilots.
"He's a Prothean," Garrus answered. "Last remaining one of his kind to survive a mass cryogenic stasis attempt to preserve their species during the previous Reaper War," he finished calmly as if he'd only been discussing the weather or routine weapon maintenance.
Wash, Carolina, and Epsilon all turned to look Garrus, both Epsilon and Carolina's minds simultaneously exploding with dozens of questions revolving around the words "last remaining" and "previous Reaper War." Why didn't we ask Ashley more questions about what the hell was actually going on in this universe? Epsilon thought angrily as he quickly prioritized the information he needed to gather about the current world around them.
Garrus turned to face Wash and noticed the un-helmeted Freelancer's puzzled expression. "Crap…forgot, you guys don't know about the Reapers," Garrus said as Vega broke away from the other group and started walking towards the Freelancers.
"-or Protheans…or cryogenic stasis…" Joker added as he came to a stop in front of the group.
"Actually, we totally get cryogenic stasis," Wash said as he turned to face Joker.
The Spartan Program, Carolina thought as Epsilon sensed her collecting her thoughts before forming her next question. "You've been at war?" Carolina began simply.
Garrus nodded. "We were…and as far as we know, it's over…" his voice trailed off. Epsilon sensed a palpable change in Garrus' mood as the turian glanced back momentarily at the large spacecraft behind them. Once more, his mandibles flicked before he turned back to the Freelancers.
As far as they know? Doesn't sound too confident there…
"Pretty sure they would have tried to take us out by now if any of 'em were still alive, Scars," Vega added as he joined the throng. "Also, word of advice to you two: don't let our four-eyed friend here get within arm's length of you," he finished as he glanced back at the alien again.
If he gets close enough to do that, I'm clearly not doing my job, Epsilon thought. "Because…"
"Because he can read your mind just by touching you," Joker finished. "Figured you'd be the one to tell him not to literally feel up the new guys," Joker continued as he turned to address Garrus while Wash recoiled slightly at the mention of mind-reading via touch.
Note to self, keep this guy on the radar at all times, Epsilon thought as Carolina glanced at Wash.
Appreciated, Carolina replied.
Garrus shifted his position and brought his arms across his chest. "Liara has more influence over him than I do," Garrus answered simply. "I trust that she's made her point?" he added with a jerk of his head in Liara's direction.
"Not gonna lie, he's not thrilled that you showed up with a small army," Vega answered. "However, sounds like your light-ish red friend over there-" -Vega pointed back behind him with his thumb- "-knows a thing or two about barbecue, so I'm all in favor of keeping him around if our food quality goes up."
"Speak for yourself," Garrus said as the faint sounds of his grumbling punctuated the end of his sentence.
Carolina raised a questioning eyebrow at the turian. "Not a fan of barbecue?" Carolina joked.
"Bit more complicated than that," Garrus said with a longing glance back at the campfire.
Wash stared a Garrus blankly for a moment before his eyes opened suddenly as a new idea struck him. "Oh, wait, Simmons mentioned something about how he thought our food might be dangerous for you?" Wash exclaimed.
Garrus nodded. "Correct."
Vega and Joker exchanged puzzled glances with each other before looking at their leader. "You didn't explain the levo/dextro thing?" Vega asked, clearly confused at Garrus.
Levo/dextro? Carolina thought, her own confusion almost mirroring Vega's.
Pretty sure it's a chemistry thing that has to do with how molecules are structured, Epsilon answered. Guess I just took it for granted that Tucker's kid was pretty much able to eat anything we threw at him?
Garrus shook his head at Vega. "Bit hard to explain biochemical differences in DNA when your captors can't understand your language." Garrus turned to face Wash and Carolina. "But yes, Simmons was right: most of the edible food in the galaxy is considered toxic to turians and quarians."
Epsilon and Carolina simultaneously processed this information, with Carolina responding after a brief pause. "How have you survived, then?" she asked darkly.
Please don't say cannibalism, please don't say cannibalism-
"Rationing," Garrus answered with a glance at Tali as his armor seemed to shift unexpectedly. On a hunch, Epsilon ran a scan of Garrus' armor, which revealed gaps between his body and the armor itself. As if he's lost weight…
Epsilon sensed a pang of guilt from Carolina. So he's been out here a month, surviving on minimal caloric intake while trying to keep his own crew alive, and when he comes out to investigate us, we nearly kill him and leave him for dead in the middle of a strange jungle… Carolina thought with an uncharacteristic pang of guilt.
You know, when you phrase it like that, you actually make us sound like even bigger assholes, Epsilon replied."So, what do you need from us?" Epsilon asked.
Garrus glanced at Wash before he returned his attention to Carolina. "Funny you should ask that…Wash and I have an idea that we wanted to bring up regarding the AI core," Garrus began as he turned to address Joker and Vega.
Joker and Vega looked at each other. "Uh, Garrus, not sure if anyone told you, but EeDee-" Joker began.
"-is no longer functional…I'm well aware of it, Joker," Garrus finished as he looked back at Carolina. "The question is: can another AI unit be installed in her place?"
As both Epsilon and Carolina realized what Garrus suggested, confused expressions appeared on Joker and Vega's faces. I don't think they know what you actually are, Church, Carolina commented privately.
Oh hell yes, Epsilon thought gleefully as he ignored Carolina's comment and started running scans on the defunct ship behind them. However, his preliminary analysis only confirmed what he already knew: ship size and functional status. Everything else must be offline; otherwise I should have been able to hack their systems and at least get some idea of the hardware in there… Undaunted, Epsilon attempted to hack the electronic devices on Joker's wrist, but was instantly met by a massive firewall and with an encryption key that contained one unknown character. What the-
Oblivious to Epsilon's hacking attempts, Vega stared at Garrus for a moment before he managed to regain his composure. "You turians keep a backup AI in that armor of yours?" he asked as he glanced at Garrus' chest. Come to think of it, the chest part of his armor seems a bit large for his proportions-
Wash looked at Carolina, who offered her smug, knowing smile in return. "Not sure about his armor, but I'm definitely keeping a part of one in mine…" Carolina began.
####
Joker found himself momentarily unable to further process the conversation now occurring between Garrus, Vega, Wash, Carolina, and the nasally disembodied male voice that also seemed to come from Carolina's armor as the four of them began throwing around phrases like "installing him in the Normandy" and "Tali's hardware solutions." He's barely known these people for twelve hours, and he's already practically handing control of my ship over to them-
"So…how hard did she hit you?" Joker said finally as he looked up at Garrus.
Garrus' mandibles flicked as his brow plates furrowed slightly. "Who told you?" he asked quietly, his volume in itself a warning for Joker.
Friendship be damned, I'm not letting him risk everyone else's lives for whatever half-baked plan he cooked up with these two. "Liara," Joker answered as he met Garrus' steely gaze.
On the edge of his peripheral vision, Joker saw Vega look from the Freelancers to Garrus. "So…when were you planning on telling the rest of us this plan?" Vega asked, with the "rest of us" presumably meaning the other members of the Normandy.
Garrus held up his hand to silence them, and Joker felt a noticeable chill between him and Garrus, a sensation he hadn't felt since his confrontation with Shepard after the fall of Thessia. "You have a better solution in regards to our decreased crew size?" Garrus began, his tone unnaturally cold as he crossed his arms over his chest, his marble-eyed gaze now turned directly to Joker.
How many times did she do this to him? Joker thought as he forced himself to maintain a backbone in the face of Garrus' and Shepard's similar body language expressions when confronted with someone challenging an order.
Joker glanced briefly at Wash and Carolina. Wash appeared somewhat uncomfortable, but Carolina continued to observe them as if they were only discussing the weather. She's clearly used to people arguing in front of her, Joker thought as he looked back at Garrus." You're seriously suggesting that we allow an unvetted AI full access to-"
The interception of someone loudly clearing their throat drew the attention of all three Normandy crew members to Carolina. "Uh, only an AI fragment here, bud," a voice corrected from Carolina's direction.
Joker blinked a few times. Oh, great, it listens in to conversations just like EDI…used to. Joker thought sadly as he remembered his initial feelings towards EDI as he felt his features soften. "AI…fragment?" Joker repeated slowly with a puzzled expression.
"What's the difference?" Vega asked, clearly puzzled.
"Less processing power," the voice answered again. "When I was still a full AI, I used to run a ship much bigger than the one behind us-including the heavy weapons systems-"
Joker glanced at Garrus again, whose mandibles had flicked briefly when the disembodied voice mentioned "heavy weapons." Oh, he will not like this thing poking around in the Thanix, he thought as he turned back to Carolina. Then again, EDI left the Thanix alone, even after I unshackled- Joker paused as it dawned on him: Garrus probably intended to restore some of the shackles as part of his plan, but he didn't dare mention it in front of the newcomers. Time to change course, then. Joker sighed as he softened his facial expression. "So…you couldn't handle flying the Normandy?" Joker asked, his tone softer now.
Carolina shook her head. "He's best suited for background tasks and real-time combat analytics," Carolina offered. "Total control of your ship would require his full attention."
"Also, haven't flown anything in years, so it's probably best if we leave that whole piloting the ship up to someone who actually knows what they're doing," the nameless AI fragment added, which was followed by an affirmative nod from Carolina.
Joker relaxed a bit. Alright, so it just admitted it can't fly as well as I can, he thought as he looked at Carolina again. As Joker met Carolina's eyes, a wave of sadness washed over him at the similarities between Carolina and Shepard's red hair and piercing stare. If reincarnation is real, I swear you came back as this woman, Joker thought as he focused on his next question. "So, does everyone just talk to you when they want to talk to him?" Joker asked Carolina.
"I usually show up as a HUD projection on their helmets," the voice answered as Carolina supplied an affirmative nod. "Haven't been able to crack the encryption and firewalls on any of your electronics, or otherwise I'd project myself on that fancy little wrist device of yours."
Joker glanced down his omni-tool. On it, a small readout confirmed that something had indeed attempted to hack his device. EDI would always pop up as that spherical hologram whenever one of us addressed her. Once more, Joker found himself mildly uncomfortable at how similar this new AI (or AI fragment) was to EDI. "Yeah…I see that…" he said as he opened it and noted the exact reason that the AI fragment had failed: it couldn't identify one of the characters. Because they've never encountered turian script before…
Joker looked to Garrus for direction. "Let him access it, Joker," Garrus said as he held up his own, which Joker noticed had been badly damaged. Another casualty of the jungle fight?
Joker brought up his own omni-tool and typed in the necessary commands with a brief surge of pride at EDI and Tali's programming abilities. Within seconds, a smaller version of their armored visitors appeared on his omni-tool's screen, this one cradling what appeared to be a sniper rifle in his arms. Something he picked up from Garrus? "Are you…" Joker began as his features twisted up in mild confusion as he hesitantly brought his omni-tool closer to his face to get a better look.
"Actually in here?" the armored figured finished his sentence as it turned to directly face him. "No."
"AI fragments have to be hardwired to a suit's system," Wash explained as he held out his helmet and pointed to a spot at the base of the neck. At the indicated area, something resembling a circuit board was embedded just under where the bottom of the helmet and the top of his spine came together. "Implantation candidates also received one of these," he finished as he turned around and pointed to the back of his neck, where two small metal prongs protruded out from the base of his skull.
So it requires special hardware to gain control. "So you're…" Joker began hesitantly.
"Technically, I'm the memories of the original," the figure began as he turned in Wash's direction, "-but my original got destroyed by the same asshole over there who stole my armor and my team-"
"Seriously?" Wash exclaimed. "Are you actually still upset about the armor?!"
"You have every right to be suspicious of us," Carolina cut in, her tone strongly reminiscent of Shepard's intervention between Miranda and Jack.
No shit, but at least she realizes this, Joker thought as he looked back up to face Carolina.
"Joker, right?" she paused as Joker nodded in affirmation. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume you're usually suspicious of people who try to kill your friends?" she said in a matter-of-fact tone as she handed her helmet off to Wash without a word and took a few steps towards him.
Joker answered her with a confused look again. "Unless that's a culturally acceptable way of greeting strangers where you come from, let's go with yes?"
For the first time since he'd met her, the corners of Carolina's mouth twitched upwards. "Trust us, we're the same way," she said as she glanced at Wash with an expression he'd occasionally observed Kaidan using towards Shepard. "For example, we found Garrus standing over Caboose's body-" Carolina pointed to what looked like the blue-armored member of the group, "-right as Tucker tried to stab Garrus and got hit with what looked like an electric shock-"
"Which, by the way, did not feel good," Wash added, his comment directed towards Garrus.
Sounds like Garrus' amped-up Overload, Joker thought as he looked at Garrus, who nodded in affirmation.
"Her point: we thought he was trying to kill us, initially," the armored figure on the screen finished. "And after she knocked him out, I would've left him out in the jungle to rot-"
A surge of anger began to rise before Joker forced himself to channel into a more productive response. "Uh, no offense, but if Garrus makes a kill, he usually does it from a distance," Joker said as he turned to both Wash and Carolina as Vega nodded in agreement.
"Only because Shepard wanted me on sniper duty during missions," Garrus said quietly.
Until Ashley rejoined us, you were practically her only one, Joker thought to himself as Vega leaned over to get a better look at the figure on Joker's omni-tool screen. "So, what changed your mind about him?" Vega asked, his question directed at Joker's omni-tool.
"Well, based on both his fighting ability and weapons, Wash suspected there were more of you, so he argued that it was better to bring him back and try to help him rather than leave him there for the rest of you to find-" the figure continued.
Sensible line of thinking, Joker thought as he looked up at Wash, who nodded in affirmation. "So it was your idea to save him?" Because you might have just gained a few points in my book if that's the case-
Wash nodded again as he extended his right hand, the palm of which appeared to have traces of blood spatter. "And that was after he landed his knife here," Wash added as he pointed to the center of his right palm…and sure enough, Joker could make out a patch of recently-healed exposed flesh.
Joker looked from Wash to Carolina, who now regarded Garrus with a look of admiration. Because whoever you are, you've got to admire the skills of an enemy who can land a knife in a six-inch target. "Guess that's earned you a blow to the head?" Joker said with a grin.
Garrus laughed. "Serves me right for assuming he was right-handed," he quipped as his body posture relaxed and the chill between him and Garrus warmed up a bit. "But seriously, Joker..." Garrus tailed off as Joker realized what the turian was hinting at: Joker needed to start trusting Garrus' leadership, as he'd literally spent the past few minutes doubting it.
Joker heaved a heavy sigh as he turned to face the Freelancer. You helped push him into this position…it's time you showed him the same faith you did Shepard, he thought as he looked from Garrus to Carolina, whose expression had softened again. With a deep breath, the pilot glanced back down at his omni-tool. "So…does he have a name?" he asked as he studied the figure on his screen again.
"Epsilon," Carolina supplied.
"Or Church, depending on how pissed off everyone is at the moment," Epsilon interjected.
Joker shot a questioning glance at the redhead in front of him before looking down at the screen. "Church?"
"The original AI's personality was based on Carolina's father, Dr. Leonard Church," Wash explained in a tone that suggested there was far more to the story.
"Long story?" Vega asked.
"Spent most of our walk here explaining it to me," Ashley said from behind Joker. The helmsman turned and watched as humanity's second Spectre casually strolled towards them, sniper rifle cradled in her arms. "Carolina and I brought up the rear while those two led us back," she explained with a casual glance at both Wash and Garrus.
Garrus seemed unconcerned about Ashley's appearance. "Get a chance to explain ours?" Garrus asked.
Ashley shook her head. "Told her ours would probably take just as long as theirs did," she finished as she turned to address Joker. "Still having trouble trusting people who take shots at your friends, Joker?" she asked
Joker winced internally as he recalled his comment to Shepard after he'd found out the commander had welcomed Ashley back aboard the Normandy. Guess I'll never get a chance to find out who told her about that conversation because the most likely people who overheard us are all dead, he thought sadly. With a heavy sigh, he raised his omni-tool up so that he was eye-to-eye with the figure on his screen. "Alright, you've all made your point," Joker admitted. "But we're gonna have to establish some ground rules, okay?" he added as he pointed a finger at his omni-tool.
Carolina and Wash grinned and nodded as they looked at each other as the palpable tension seemed to dissipate. "Hey, your house, your rules, buddy," Epsilon answered. "You okay with me jumping on here to talk with you?"
Joker nodded as he brought up the keypad and typed in the series of numbers, symbols, and non-human characters. "That'll let you get through Tali's encryptions for my device," Joker said.
Epsilon appeared to study what Joker had just entered. "Use of alien characters…so that's why I couldn't crack it," Epsilon commented.
From behind him, Joker heard more footsteps approaching. "If I didn't know better," Tali's voice trilled from behind him, "I'd say you were actually impressed with the idea." Sure enough, Joker turned around to see Tali, Simmons, and Dr. Chakwas behind them, with Tali holding Simmons' helmet.
"Not gonna lie, I actually am," Epsilon answered.
Garrus turned his attention to Tali and Simmons. "I take it you two figured out the hardware solutions?" Garrus asked.
Tali and Simmons nodded enthusiastically. "Completely feasible," Tali answered confidently. "An hour tops, and I'll be able to create a suitable hardware bridge that will allow your AI access to the Normandy's blue box."
Garrus nodded approvingly as he transferred his attention to Dr. Chakwas, the medical device still in hand. "Good. How soon can we attempt to restart the core?"
"According to Greg, whenever you give the order," the doctor answered without missing a beat. "Also, translator implantations are complete, Mr. Vakarian," she added before turning to both Carolina and Wash. "Your soldiers tolerated the procedure well…for the most part," she said as she glanced back at the blue and sea green soldiers. At the moment, the blue one happened to be staring up at Javik with fascination and had started to ask him several questions regarding his eyes.
Wash's expression quickly morphed from relaxed to impressed to worried as all of them watched Liara gently steer Caboose away from Javik. "How'd you convince Caboose?"
"Liara and the other sea green-colored one…Tucker, I believe?" Dr. Chakwas began as Wash nodded in reply to the doctor's question. "Granted, he kept repeating 'one of us, one of us,' throughout the whole process, but the rest of your soldiers assured me that's nothing out of the ordinary for him."
Epsilon groaned. "Yeah, he's a bit…special," Epsilon finished.
Garrus nodded again before he glanced up at the ascending sun nearing the top of the sky. "Time to get everyone on the same page, then," Garrus said as he glanced at Wash. "Tali, Ash, bring the others up to speed on our plan," he instructed.
"On it," Ashley answered as she turned and headed back towards Liara and Javik.
"Right away, Garrus," Tali trilled as she motioned for Simmons to follow her before the pair of them darted towards Adams and the rest of the engineering crew.
You know, I thought she he had the hots for Garrus, but she just might have found a new friend to geek out with, Joker thought as Tali reached Adams and the rest of the engineering crew.
"The rest of you might want to find a place to sit," Garrus said as he pointed back towards the fire.
"Long story?" Carolina asked as she gave Garrus a knowing-yet-almost-flirtatious glance that did not go unnoticed by the blonde male standing next to her.
Garrus chuckled, which only widened Carolina's grin. "To put it mildly," Garrus answered. "Also, I'm assuming most of you might have worked up an appetite after our morning activities?"
Wash glanced over at the rest of his crew, who had engaged in various conversations with the Normandy crew. "You know, this actually might be a good time to see if Grif actually could eat an entire hog…" Wash began.
Epsilon scoffed. "Dude, don't tempt him," he said as he disappeared from Joker's omni-tool.
"Come on, Wash," Carolina said as she quickly glanced back at the rest of the multicolored soldiers, who appeared to be working out seating arrangements between themselves and the rest of the Normandy crew. As Wash and Carolina went to find a place around the campfire, Joker finally found himself alone with Garrus, who seemed to be watching Javik's expression carefully as Ashley began talking to the pair.
"Fifty credits says he flips his shit and threatens to throw all of us out the airlock," Joker half-whispered as he leaned over Garrus.
Garrus snorted in acknowledgment. "Double that if he uses the phrase 'in my cycle' while explaining how the Prothean would have handled the situation," Garrus added with a magnificent impression of Javik's accent and mannerisms.
Joker chuckled. "I mean, to be fair, I still think this plan's a little crazy," Joker said. "Last time we installed unknown tech on her…" Joker trailed off as he reached his hands up to the steadily increasing pain at his temples as the memories of the Collector abduction began rushing to the forefront of his mind.
Joker felt the weight of Garrus' hand on his shoulder. "The Collectors showed up," Garrus finished. A few moments of silence passed between them, Garrus no doubt remembering his own memories of the Collector base. Which was apparently pretty rough, he thought as he recalled his post-rescue conversations with Kelly Chambers. "I'd almost forgotten…"
"Yeah, well, I haven't," Joker mumbled.
Garrus sighed. "Thanks for reminding me," Garrus said. "Come on, you should probably sit down and get to know our new crewmates a bit better," he said as he started back towards the growing campfire throng.
New crew mates… Joker thought sadly as he hesitated for a moment at the thought of all the names that still needed to be added to the Normandy's memorial wall. Hopefully, you won't meet the same fate as the others, he thought sadly as he began to shuffle off after Garrus.
####
From his seated position next to Carolina, Wash had found himself quietly observing the interactions between the Reds, Blue, and the rest of the Normandy crew for the past few minutes while Joker and Garrus rejoined the main group. (While he and Carolina had been chatting with Garrus, the others had altered the campfire seating from a circle to a triangle. The tree he and Carolina were now sitting on bore the mark of being cut down by part of Tucker's sword.) On the side closest to him, Doc and the gray-haired Dr. Chakwas (who had changed out of her armor and now wore a form-fitting black and white tunic) sat quietly discussing something called "medi-gel" while Donut and Cortez kept a close eye on the boar. Behind them stood Javik, who also seemed to be watching everyone intently, his alien-looking weapon tightly clasped in his arms.
And after what Joker just told us about him, probably best Javik over there down there, Wash thought as he looked to the next side of the triangle. On the second log, Liara had taken to amusing Caboose with her biotic powers. (Said display was also being watched by both Javik and Carolina). Beside them, Grif and Tucker were seated around a woman introduced to them as Specialist Samantha Traynor, who now found herself answering a barrage of questions from both the orange and sea-green simulation troopers. (Fortunately for Ms. Traynor, she had been able to enlist the help of Ashley, who appeared much more relaxed than Javik.)
Wash grinned. Poor girl…Tucker hasn't seen a woman besides Carolina in months, and now he finds a pretty one who hasn't threatened to kill him on multiple occasions, he thought as he rested his eyes on the last section of log, which consisted of the three human engineers, Sarge, Simmons, and Tali, the latter two of the group still hunched over and watching something on Tali's omni-tool. Well, good to see he's made friends with her, Wash thought with a sense of relief. Behind them, Vega stood, his eyes periodically glazing over when the engineers went off on one of their more technical subjects.
Joker shuffled in front of Wash, which abruptly ended the Freelancer's train of thought. "Mind if I sit here?" he asked Wash as he pointed to an empty seat next to Wash at the end of the log. At the end was a recently cut tree trunk that Wash assumed Garrus would be occupying in the next few minutes.
Carolina nodded as she began to slide a few inches down to make room for him. "Might want to give him a little more space, Wash," she said.
Wash suddenly recalled Garrus telling him about Joker's brittle bone problem. "Need help?" Wash offered as he craned his head back to make eye contact. Green eyes…not nearly as bright as hers, but still, that wasn't exactly common even where we came from, Wash thought.
Joker sighed as Dr. Chakwas glanced at the Freelancer and the pilot. "He might need to use you as support," Dr. Chakwas interjected loudly from her spot before returning to her conversation with Doc. "And if you attempt to get up again unassisted again, Mr. Moreau…"
"Yes, Mom," Joker grumbled as he begrudgingly turned around and reached behind him for Wash's shoulder. He planted a hand down on Wash's shoulder, and Wash reflexively braced himself as the pilot shifted his weight to his left arm. "Hey Garrus, little help?" he asked as the turian offered a hand, which Joker grabbed with his right.
"What'd you do this time?" Garrus quietly asked as he helped the pilot lower himself down.
"Broke my kneecap when I ran into the door," Joker grumbled again as he carefully resettled himself as he pulled his hand away from Garrus.
"Joker-" Garrus' brow plates narrowed.
As soon as the pilot's rear end touched the log, he looked back up at Garrus, his expression defiant. "Well, when your friends radio back with cryptic messages about being in trouble-" Joker shot back without missing a beat.
Garrus' expression quickly softened. "Fair enough," he replied as he released Joker's hand. "You good now?"
Joker nodded. "Don't worry about me," he said with a wave of his hand.
"Bit late for that," Garrus said as he settled himself down on an upright log set between the points of the first and third sides of the triangle. "Also, I owe you a hundred credits," he finished as Garrus made eye contact with Javik, who was now shooting what Wash assumed to be an angry glare from where he was standing.
"He thinks your plan's crazy?" Joker answered knowingly.
"Unfortunately for him, he's in the minority, and I'm the one in command," Garrus answered as he turned his attention back to Joker and Wash. "Looks like everyone's still getting along," Garrus commented as he picked up a stick carved into what looked like a replication of Garrus' actual sniper rifle.
Wash nodded in agreement. "They're actually pretty good when it comes to sitting around and talking," he said as he quickly glanced at everyone again. He paused on Donut and Cortez as the pair cut off a piece of meat and sampled it. Unsurprisingly, Donut and Cortez exchanged their own critiques on the meat's texture and flavor.
"How's the hog?" Sarge called out.
"Just about done!" Donut replied as Cortez produced a tray piled with skewers and plates.
"If our guest chef wants to cut off pieces, I'll gladly distribute them amongst everyone," Cortez added.
Oh, good…it'll be nice to have something besides a freeze-dried ration bar, Wash thought as his stomach grumbled loudly, which earned him looks from both Joker and Carolina.
"Huh...sounds like yours, Garrus," Joker commented with a sly grin as Donut began to carve off pieces and portioned them out to Cortez on the plates. As he did so, Cortez speared the meat pieces with the skewers and placed them on a plate.
Garrus answered Joker's comment with nothing more than a stare as he felt for something on the front of his armor. He quietly extracted a square object wrapped in silver foil from a well-concealed pocket. "Tali and I agreed to split this for a special occasion," he said as he began to unwrap it, revealing what looked like a sectioned chocolate bar.
Wash looked over at Tali, who seemed to be sniffing the contents of Simmons' skewer. "Dextro DNA too?" he asked as the aroma of freshly cooked and seasoned meat intensified his stomach's growling again.
Garrus nodded. "Present from a doctor whose life I saved during my C-Sec days," Garrus continued as he broke the bar in half. "Hey Tali, want some?" he called over.
Tali quickly looked over in Garrus' direction, her gaze immediately dropping to the chocolate bar. "You want to eat that NOW?" she trilled as she rose from her seat and quickly strode over to where Garrus was sitting.
"Oh, come on, Tali, getting the ship space worthy again isn't reason enough to celebrate?" Joker chided her as Cortez approached them with a plate full of skewers.
If Tali had a nose, Wash would've bet the Mother of Invention that she was currently looking down it at Joker. "I believe you humans have a saying: 'Don't count your chickens before they're hatched?'" she said as she took half of the bar and slid it into her armor. "But thank you for sharing, Garrus," she said with a nod of her head.
"If anyone could've helped us get the Normandy up and running again, it was you, Tali," Cortez said as he offered the plate to Wash. Eager to quell his stomach's rumbling, he took one and passed the rest down the log to the rest others. "Hell, you're used to repairing ships with next to nothing as is."
"True," Tali answered before she turned back to Garrus. "Still can't believe she got you turian chocolate," she muttered to herself as she turned around and headed back to her own seat.
"She?" Carolina asked as she picked up a skewer and examined it. As she did, Garrus opened his mouth and sunk a mouth full of surprisingly pointed teeth into the chocolate bar.
Shepard? Wash thought quietly to himself as he began chewing his own serving. Wow, we need to let Donut cook more often, he thought as he continued to savor his first bite of actual food in what felt like forever. "-ood hob, Donut," Wash said, his mouth still full.
Even his mouth full, Joker began to chuckle loudly while Garrus calmly finished chewing, an action that quickly drew the attention of Dr. Chakwas. The Normandy's resident doctor had pulled out what Wash assumed was a temperature probe and impaled it into her own servings. "Good to see you finally enjoying your gift from Dr. Michel," Dr. Chakwas commented as she carefully inspected her own piece of meat.
Garrus swallowed. "Says the woman who finished off a bottle of Serrice Ice brandy with the commander," Garrus shot back before turning to address Wash. "And for the record, it was a gift from a doctor I-"
"Uh, last time I heard, you definitely had help from us," Joker interrupted as he pointed to Ashley with his now-empty skewer.
"-that Shepard, Williams, Alenko, and I helped out back on the Citadel," Garrus corrected himself mid-sentence as he finished his story. "And just for the record, Joker, that's not the first time someone's given me a thank-you gift while I was working for C-Sec."
Joker grinned. "Got other secret admirers in the Consort's chambers?"
"Only because I told Harkin off once for attempting to grope her greeter on her way home one day," Garrus paused. "One of the few times being in C-Sec felt worthwhile..." Garrus trailed off as Wash quietly observed him scanning the area, his eyes resting on everyone briefly. As the turian was surveying everyone else, Wash quickly took the opportunity to glance over at Carolina, who was still focused on Garrus.
I may not be able to read her mind, but she and Epsilon are clearly comfortable enough with our situation that she's dedicating most of her attention to him. "Sounds like you used to be a cop," Wash ventured as Donut began collecting everyone's skewers in preparation for seconds.
Garrus nodded. "Former military, too..." Garrus said as he looked at the tiny square of remaining chocolate. Explains his weapons expertise, Wash thought as laughs echoed from where the engineers and Simmons were sitting.
"Your military teach you everything we saw down in the jungle?" Epsilon's voice asked.
Garrus nodded. "Partially…the other was a father determined to raise a pair of perfect turian children," Garrus answered. "In case you haven't guessed, I came from a highly militaristic culture that some humans here find a bit…rigid," he finished as he looked down his nose at Joker.
"I'm guessing that's not always true for the human military?" Carolina asked as Cortez approached their group again.
"Most of the time, yes," Cortez said as he offered additional servings of meat covered in an unknown white powder to Joker. "Don't argue, Dr. Chakwas' orders," he had sternly, the comment clearly intended for Joker.
An annoyed look appeared on Joker's face. "Is she really keeping track of-?" he muttered just loud enough for Wash to hear as he sniffed at the meat again.
"Turians have been known to monitor critical operating personnel for nutritional deficiencies that may negatively impact the mission, Joker," Garrus finished. "And since she hasn't been patching up turians and humans after combat missions, she's had a lot more time to refine her tracking techniques." In reply to Garrus' comment, Joker shot an annoyed glance at the turian before muttering something nearly unintelligible (except for the words "one to talk") before begrudgingly taking a bite.
Wish the Mother of Invention's medical team had been half as vigilant as her, Wash thought as he glanced over at Dr. Chakwas, who was now conversing with Donut. "Seems like a tight-knit group there," Wash said as he glanced over at Simmons, Tali, and the rest of the engineering crew. At the moment, said group was laughing at Donnelly's joke regarding engineers and slide rules.
Garrus glanced at Ashley and Javik, who seemed to be discussing something quietly between the two of them, with frequent glances at Wash and Carolina. "We've…been through quite a bit as of late," he said as he made eye contact with Ashley briefly before turning to face Wash.
"They know about the commander?" Vega asked as he made a slight motion with his head towards the Freelancers.
Garrus sighed as he stared down at the ground for a few seconds. As he did so, Wash immediately realized that "the commander" was also who Garrus had mistaken Carolina for just hours ago back at their crash site. "Very little," the turian finally answered, his tone much more subdued.
Sensing that Vega was about to further interrogate Garrus on just how much the Freelancers knew about the subject, Wash attempted to take the heat off Garrus. "He told us about what your pilot was trying to escape, the crash-" Wash paused as he glanced at Joker, whose ears had suddenly perked up. Maybe bringing up the electrical overload and the resulting effects might not be a good idea at the moment. "Carolina, did Commander Williams tell you anything?" he quickly added. Damn it, way to lose all the ground you might have gained.
Carolina shook her head. "Epsilon and I figured that you would explain everything to everyone after Dr. Chakwas finished implanting translators," Carolina replied.
Vega glanced at Carolina briefly before he addressed Garrus again. "They don't know about the Reapers?" he asked, his tone more intense as he seemed to enunciate each word.
"We had…other issues," Garrus answered evasively. Vega doesn't know about the incident between Garrus and Carolina, Wash thought.
Wash and Carolina exchanged glances. "Reapers?" Wash repeated. Sounds foreboding.
Unprompted, Joker opened his omni-tool and brought up the display. On the screen, a looping video resembled a disturbing cross between a giant cockroach and giant squid, except the figure on the screen appeared to have a shiny metal exterior. More disconcerting than its physical appearance was the object's massive size; it seemed equal in height to most of the skyscrapers surrounding it. However, the worst part of the entire video was the fact that said giant cockroach/squid was equipped with a beam weapon capable of leveling every single building around it."Ancient race of machines that trigger galactic extinctions everything 50,000 years," Joker began.
Wash's eyebrows went up as he tried to swallow the large lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat. What the hell did we just land ourselves in? "It looks really…big."
"Eh, definitely saw some bigger ones in London," Joker said without taking his eyes off his screen.
"Bigger ones?" Wash's voice jumped up an octave again.
"Easy there, Stripes," Vega said with a reassuring grin and a heavy pat on Wash's shoulder. "Last we heard, there's no trace of them now."
Wash relaxed a bit. "Oh, good," he said as his voice dropped back down to his regular pitch.
"Looks pretty intimidating," Carolina said without taking her eyes off Joker's display. "How'd you defeat them?"
Joker, Vega, and Garrus all looked at each other and sighed in perfect unison.
"Uhhh, I mean, where do we start with that one?" Vega asked.
Wash took the hint. "I take it that's a long story too?"
Joker looked at Garrus and Vega before turning to Wash. "That…" Joker drifted off before turning to stare into the fire for a few seconds. "…and honestly, it just doesn't feel over," he finally finished.
"For us, at least," Garrus added quietly as Adams, Tali, and Simmons all finished talking and nodding amongst themselves. Without any preliminaries, the trio stood up, with Simmons still holding his helmet.
Wash turned to look at Carolina. "One thing after another?" Wash commented knowingly. Because been there, still doing that.
Garrus, Joker, and Vega were all smiles (well, whatever the turian equivalent of a smile was) at Wash's comment. "Just business as usual on the Normandy," Joker cracked as the entire group fell quiet as the Adams, Tali, and Simmons approached Garrus.
"Ready for some good news?" Adams asked brightly as the rest of the group watched their leader and the engineers with newfound rapt attention.
####
I think they've figured how to integrate me into their ship, Epsilon said quietly as Carolina shifted her own focus towards Garrus.
Not that you're excited about that or anything, Carolina answered in reply.
My. Own. Ship. Bigger guns, bigger engine-
Garrus readjusted himself to sit up straighter as he acknowledged the trio. "I take it you've figured out how to integrate Epsilon into the Normandy's system?" Garrus began as he rested the butt of his Widow between his knees.
Epsilon eyed the sniper rifle with envy. What I wouldn't give to fire that bad boy, though he thought.
Typical man, always wanting more.
"It was surprisingly easy, actually," Tali trilled confidently as she held out a small circuit board. "Just give Simmons and I a few minutes in the AI core, and Epsilon will be able to interface with the Normandy."
"Tali said you shouldn't have any problems interfacing with their system," Simmons added, his comment directed at Epsilon.
Garrus nodded. "Good work, you two," he said as he glanced over at Carolina. "Carolina, I assumed you'd b joining us?" Garrus asked as he turned to Carolina.
Simmons seemed momentarily shocked by Garrus' compliment, so much so that he didn't immediately respond. Seeing how Sarge rarely gives him any, I'm not surprised. "Uh…thank you, sir?" Simmons replied.
As Simmons continued to process the turian's compliment, Carolina took the liberty of answering for the pair of them with a nod. "Looking forward to it," she responded as she glanced over at Wash. "Just you and the boys again, Wash,"
"Oh boy," Wash sighed as he glanced back up at the Normandy. "Hope they don't break anything expensive."
You and me both, Epsilon thought.
"So, what do you want the rest of us to do?" Tucker asked.
Traynor, the brown-skinned woman with a British accent, spoke up. "Garrus has requested that I get you settled in our crew quarters while everyone gets into positions for power core restart," Traynor said. "Unfortunately, we'll have to crawl through the emergency ducts, seeing as how the power's still out…"
"Hope they're big enough for our over-sized orange friend here," Sarge commented with a glance at Grif, who was already working on his fourth meat-filled skewer.
"-uck ou, Arge," Grif replied quietly, his mouth still full.
"Hey, if I can fit through them in full armor, he shouldn't have any problem," Vega reassured him.
Did Beefy there just stick up for Grif? Carolina thought, almost shocked.
Carolina looked from Grif to Vega, whose accents differed, but their skin tones ran closely similar. Were you not keeping track of how much either of them ate? He might actually be able to out-eat Grif in an eating contest, Epsilon answered as he watched Grif take yet another skewer and chomp down it.
Grif turned to look at Vega with what looked like a grateful expression as he swallowed the impossibly large bit he had just taken. "Ha! See Sarge, told you I couldn't be the largest person here-"
"Enough, you two," Wash snapped as the rest of the Normandy's engineering crew stood up and started to make their way over to the Normandy's airlock. "Everyone else-" Wash pointed the airlock "-we're following Specialist Traynor."
Carolina barely had time to blink before the asari's pleasant expression morphed into an almost flirtatious one. "If they'd like to help us get some of these footlockers back into the Normandy, we'd greatly appreciate the help," Liara asked, her tone almost seductive.
Tucker, who had been the epitome of laziness during their time in Blood Gulch Canyon, couldn't get to his feet fast enough. "Allow me, mademoiselle," Tucker said with an exaggerated bow. Without taking his eyes off Liara, he and Vega each grabbed an end of a footlocker and lifted it up to the airlock entrance, where Javik and Cortez were waiting.
Damn. She's good, Epsilon commented as the rest of the Reds and Blues allowed themselves to be herded through the narrow opening as Cortez remained behind to extinguish the fire. Dr. Chakwas and Ashley came over to help Joker back up to a standing position.
"Come on, Mr. Moreau, we need you back at your helm," Dr. Chakwas said cheerily as she and Ashley knelt down on either side of him and allowed him to drape his arms over each of their necks.
"You really think we're getting her airborne tonight?" Joker asked brightly as the soldier and doctor prepared themselves for the lift.
"If I know Greg, we will be," Dr. Chakwas said confidently. "On three, Ms. Williams," Dr. Chakwas said as Carolina turned away from them and headed towards Garrus. While the rest of the crew seemed preoccupied with reloading supplies back into the ship, the turian had focused on pieces of wood carved into detailed replicas of different sniper rifles.
No, she knows how to analyze human motives and make them work to her advantage, Carolina corrected. She approached the turian, who was still staring absentmindedly at the stick that bore a resemblance to the weapon on his back. Epsilon?
Epsilon probably already knew what she was about to ask of him, but, as always, he responded as if he couldn't read her mind. Yeah, C?
I need you offline for a moment, she requested as she watched the turian run a gauntleted finger down the stick before heaving a deep sigh.
You got it, boss, Epsilon replied. In the past, some members of Project Freelancers (North Dakota, namely) had been known to pull their AI fragments completely when they wanted to be alone with their thoughts, but Epsilon was more than capable of staying silent upon request.
"I take it that guard duty was pretty dull around here?" she asked casually as she tossed her head back in an attempt to get her bangs out of her eyes. Behind her, the various conversation grew quieter as everyone filed through the airlock doors.
Garrus briefly glanced over at her before returning his eyes to the stick. "Up until your arrival…yes," Garrus answered as he. "Gave me something to do during the long nights alone out here," he said as he gazed out over the cliff's edge.
Carolina took a moment to join Garrus in his appreciation of the cliffs around them and the jungle below. "View's nice," she commented brightly.
"It's even better at night," Garrus added as he turned towards her. "I take it you guys didn't spend much time staring at it before I-"
"-tried to sneak up on us?" Carolina finished. "Not sure if you noticed, but my crew requires a bit more hands-on management than yours-"
"That's for damn sure," Epsilon said aloud, which made Garrus chuckle. "Seriously, you have no idea how lucky you are that your crew actually follows directions after being told only once."
Externally, Carolina managed to produce a believable lighthearted chuckle while quietly concealing her annoyance at Epsilon's sudden disregard for her previous request. What happened to staying offline? Carolina asked.
Another chuckle from Garrus. "The commander expected nothing less from us," he answered as he turned back to face Carolina again. "I get the feeling your crew hasn't seen the type of combat we've seen?"
"If they did, it usually consisted of them running around and somehow not getting shot by better-trained soldiers," Epsilon answered brightly as he quickly turned inward and privately addressed Carolina. You being alone out here with him, Epsilon responded to her pointedly. Come on, they've got a ship to restart, and you're just standing here jawing away with an alien that already tried to-
That's enough, Church, Carolina answered curtly as Garrus' mandibles flicked at her change in expression. Damn it, if he can tell when I've been talking with you-
"Your AI's not happy with something you just did, is he?" Garrus said as he turned back towards the Normandy's airlock, where Tali and Simmons were waiting. "And yes, your expression changes are a dead giveaway," he added quietly with a sidelong glance at Carolina.
Carolina dropped her eyes to the ground. "He…thinks we should be attending to the core restart and integrating him into your ship," Carolina replied. Weave just enough truth into the lie to make it stronger, right?
Garrus flicked his mandibles again as his marble-like eyes seemed to study Carolina's expression for what felt like an eternity. "He's right," he answered as he looked back up at the airlock, where both Vega and Ashley were standing. With a final glance around the campsite, he looked back up at the Normandy's most heavily armed and armored humans. "Everyone accounted for?" Garrus asked.
"In position and awaiting orders," Ashley replied as Carolina reached the entrance. To her surprise, she found Wash waiting just behind Ashley, his characteritic grin almost bright enough to illuiminate the darkness behind him. You know, I could get used to him not wearing his helmet all the time-
At the sight of Carolina, Wash looked down at Carolina and extended his arm. "Want a hand, boss?" Wash offered warmly.
Carolina grinned as she took Wash's hand and allowed him to pull her up and into the airlock. And you thought I was out there alone, she chided Epsilon. "Everyone settled in?" she asked aloud, her question directed towards Wash.
"Not quite, but once you see the inside of this ship, you'll understand why they don't want to hide in a bunkroom quite yet," Wash said quietly to her as Vega edged in front of him. Carolina half expected Vega to help Garrus up, but Garrus practically leaped into the entrance as he simultaneously opened his omni-tool and tapped something with an enthusiastic flourish.
"Archangel to Normandy: prepare for core restart in five," Garrus said as he looked out over the horizon.
And for all the antics that will follow, Epsilon said privately, which only made Carolina's widen even further as she was swallowed up by the darkness of the Normandy's dim interior.
A/N: As follows, my excuses, because I'm *so good* at updating this story: 1) Nursing staff shortages are real, and while I have benefited financially from the additional overtime, my writing time has been a bit more challenging to come by, especially time not punctuated by migraines. 2) This entire section was incredibly difficult to write so that it flowed smoothly. 3.) I've been preparing for a specialty nursing certification that I will test for near the end of this month, which has involved hours and hours of studying. 4) Investing in Grammarly has made rewrites much easier, so *maybe* more frequent updates. (Ha.) Stay safe, everyone, and enjoy! -Goofyfoot