Anderson looked up as his communication unit chimed. He touched the button, and his eyes widened slightly as he recognized the name. It had been almost two years since the last time he'd heard from Tali'zorah, but he remembered the quarian girl fondly. He opened the message and... "Shepard?"
He took a deep breath before calling up his VI. "Connect me with Admiral Hackett."
#
"I can't believe it's you Joker." Michael shook his head as he followed the pilot down the corridor."
"Look who's talking." Joker glanced over his shoulder at him. "I saw you get spaced."
"Got lucky, with a lot of strings attached." He caught another glimpse of his reflection and sighed. His scars were actually glowing. That was really disturbing and he should probably talk to his doctor. Or shoot his doctor. "How'd you get here?"
"It all fell apart without you, Commander. Everything you stirred up, the Council just wanted it gone." Joker turned down another corridor. "Team was broken up, records sealed, and I was grounded." He led Michael through yet another office festooned with that stupid logo. "The Alliance took away the only thing that mattered to me. Hell yeah I joined Cerberus."
He raised an eyebrow. "You really trust Tim?"
Joker glanced backwards and raised an eyebrow. "Tim?"
"The Indulgent Man or whatever he's called."
"I don't trust anyone who makes more than I do." Joker shrugged. "But they aren't all bad. Saved your life. Let me fly -" He came to a stop in front of some windows. "And then there's this." He pointed. "They only told me last night."
Michael stared at the familiar silhouette. A frigate. Yeah, it had that stupid logo on it but he could always repaint. It was a ship, gleaming with possibilities. And as bait went... Yeah. He was going to have to steal that at some point.
"It's good to be home, huh, Commander?" Joker grinned.
"I guess we'll have to give her a name."
#
The interior of the ship looked like someone had taken the old Normandy and overfed it for a few months. He started to make a mental note to scan for listening devices, and then shrugged. Better off making a jammer, they'd just replace the ones he found and he might not find the next batch.
And they'd put their logo on the clothes they'd given him. It had annoyed him until he'd found a pen. Miranda and Jacob were a pace behind him. He paused at the entrance to the command center. Apparently, claustrophobia was never again going to be one of his concerns. Tim had clearly been going for impressive, and Michael had to grudgingly admit he'd pulled it off.
"Welcome aboard the new Normandy, Commander." Jacob gestured.
Miranda began talking. "I've been looking over the dossiers. I'd strongly recommend starting by acquiring Mordin Solus, the salarian professor on Omega." Which was probably why they were currently sitting within spitting distance of Omega. "We know the Collectors use some type of advanced technology to immobilize their victims. We'll need him to develop a countermeasure to protect us."
It was really getting tempting to shoot her. It was also entirely too tempting to change his current plan specifically for the purpose of thwarting her. Perhaps he'd find something else to do on Omega first. Maybe catch a vid? "Remember the part where I'm supposed to be in charge here?"
A new voice chimed in. "Operative Lawson makes a valid point, Shepard. Without the professor, any encounter with the Collectors would result in failure."
"Who are you?" He glanced around.
An abstract blue hologram popped up from a nearby display. "I am the Normandy's artificial intelligence. The crew like to refer to me as EDI."
What? "Shut that thing down. I don't want it on my ship."
"Have I offended?" the thing asked.
"Shepard spend a great deal of time fighting rogue AI. Geth, mostly. Plus that incident with the Alliance's Hannibal system on Luna." Miranda shrugged.
"Your distrust is logical, Shepard. Unlike the irrational distrust of most humans. However, I am no threat to you or anyone else. I observe and offer analysis and advice. Nothing more." The hologram vanished.
He rubbed his forehead. "Alright, now that we've established who is ringmaster of this particular circus, let's move on."
"Jacob and I should return to our posts. Come find us if you have any questions." Miranda walked away.
Jacob, however, saluted first.
#
And he had a yeoman. A cute little redhead psychologist. Perky, even. Tim did subtle about the same way Michael did diplomacy. He shrugged, and headed up towards the cockpit.
#
"Can you believe this, Commander?" Joker swirled around in his chair. "It's my baby, better than new. It fits me like a glove. And leather seats. Military may set the hardware standard, but on a first-gen frigate they could care less if the seats breath. Civilian sector comfort by design."
The blue hologram popped up from a nearby console. "The reproduction is not intended to be perfect, Mr. Moreau. Seamless improvements were made."
Joker sighed. "And there's the downside. I liked the Normandy when she was beautiful and quiet. Now she's got this thing I don't want to talk about. It's like ship cancer."
"I don't trust them." Tim was definitely playing his own game. "We still need to move ahead, but it's all too convenient."
"Maybe you're right." Joker leaned back in the seat. "I guess it's hard to argue when they install an AI to spy on us." He gave Michael a hopeful look. "We're staying, though, right? I mean, this seat is real leather."
"Enjoy it, Joker. If we're stuck here, we might as well let them pamper us." Play along until they got back into Alliance space, and then go from there.
"Ah, does it breach uniform regs if I get that on a crew shirt? Because this is my favorite 'you have no choice' choice ever."
"Technically this is a civilian ship. I'm probably lucky you're still wearing pants."
"Yeah, I'll save that for the off-hour cameras. Have an AI watch me 24/7? Jerks." Joker tilted his head at Michael, and then his eyes widened. "Commander?"
"Yes?"
Joker pointed. "Did you turn your insignia into a happy face?"
"Maybe."
#
Michael looked around the captain's quarters. There was a tank full of water on one wall. Why the hell was there a tank full of water on one wall? His own personal refresher, that was nice. State of the art music system. And six... nope, make that seven, listening devices. Eight if he counted the AI.
He started to go to the comm unit to contact Hackett, and then hesitated. Listening devices and on a Cerberus ship. Tim would know the entirety of the conversation, and there was the possibility of causing problems for the Admiral. Michael took a deep breath. Finish business on Omega, and then head for the Citadel.
His reflection stared back at him again, and he leaned forward to take a closer look. The scars definitely had a glow to them, and upon closer inspection there were red lights glowing in the back of his eyes. No wonder Tali had been hesitant. With a sigh, he signaled Joker to take them into Omega before heading into sickbay. Might as well get an idea of just what 'improvements' Cerberus had made.
#
"Commander Shepard." He heard the familiar voice as soon as he walked into sickbay. "I watched the Normandy crumble with you on board. It's good to see you alive."
"Nice to see a familiar face, Doctor." He nodded to Doctor Chakwas.
"I feel the same. I wish more of the original crew could be here." She stood and looked him over. "Welcome back, Shepard."
They chatted for a moment before he got down to why he'd come. "I need a better idea of, well..." Michael shrugged. "Why are my eyes glowing? And please tell me nobody has shoved a recording device up my ass or anything."
Doctor Chakwas gave him a Look before reaching for her medical scanner.
#
Kaidan smiled when he recognized the name on the communication unit, and immediately hit the button. "Tali."
"Kaidan, I need you to sit down."
"Tali, I am sitting." Kaidan raised an eyebrow at the quarian.
She took a deep breath. "Shepard's alive."
He stared at the screen. It took him a few moments to register that Tali was still talking. "What?"
"He was on Freedom's Progress, and he..."
"It's not true." Kaidan shook his head.
"Kaidan -"
"I heard that rumor too. It's just a rumor. You know -"
"I saw him, Kaidan." Tali sighed. "I spoke to him. And he was accompanied by two members of Cerberus -"
"No." Kaidan shook his head. "Shepard would never -"
"It was him, Kaidan -"
"This isn't funny, Tali. It's sick." Kaidan shook his head.
"Kaidan -"
"Shepard's dead."
"He -"
"He's dead." Kaidan hit the button to disconnect the signal. Tali almost immediately called again, and he set his VI to ignore it. His hands were shaking when he stood up.
He went to the window, looking out at the stars. A faint blue glow surrounded his fist before he punched the wall. Of all the people to...How could Tali have fallen for an impersonation? She and Michael had spoken often enough. He sighed. Or maybe she was just the victim of wishful thinking. Michael and Ashley had practically adopted Tali. Losing both of them had devastated her.
And Cerberus would use something like that against them. All Michael had done, and Cerberus would dare use his name to... He shook his head, and folded his arms before leaning his forehead against the window.
The last time he'd heard from Garrus had been five months ago. The turian had left the Citadel after he'd quit Spectre training. It was hard trying to keep in touch with Liara when they really couldn't tell each other anything they were doing. And he hadn't spoken to Joker since Joker had quit the Alliance. Without Michael, it had all just fallen apart.
So had he. Hackett had pulled him off the front lines and set him to teaching other biotics. The work had been more satisfying than he'd expected. With a sigh, he stepped away from the window. More than two years since Michael had failed to follow Joker out of the escape pod, and here he was, pining like a teenager. Michael would have contacted him, if he'd somehow survived.
He actually jumped a little when the comm unit beeped again. He opened the channel. "Councilor Anderson..."