Chapter 8: The Trip to Omega

Jack felt a strange sense of deja vú as he entered the new Normandy. Besides the Cerberus support crew wandering about, the architecture looked identical to what he remembered. The CIC and galaxy map were towards the center of the ship while the cockpit was at the very front of the ship. He found it strange that Cerberus would've kept the Turian design but, it did make him feel like he was at home. He was still worried that Miranda and Jacob could turn against him for 'the good of Humanity,' but he had to put that in the back of his mind. The Collectors could be kidnapping Humans right now under their noses. He just hoped this Mordin Solus could actually deliver on what The Illusive Man claimed the Salarian could.

When the airlock door closed behind him, he could feel the Normandy unhook itself from the space station and start to fly. Joker must've been dying to get this ship moving and test how it flew. Jack thought that was definitely a good idea since this version of the ship was a larger cruiser design. It would fly slower than a frigate, making some of the close calls and escapes the original Normandy allowed impossible. Jack also had to wonder what the new size class meant for the stealth systems. He remembered the fear on the way to Eden Prime as people worried that the frigate's drive core couldn't handle cloaking themselves from enemy sensors. With the larger mass of a cruiser, was stealth even possible? Jack had to assume the answer was yes, otherwise The Illusive Man wouldn't have gone to all the trouble to make the ship's identical in every other way.

A feminie synthetic voice spoke from the intercom as he entered the CIC, "Hello Commander Shepard, I'd like to introduce myself, I am the artificial intelligence for the Normandy SR2. The crew like to refer to me as EDI. I believe we met on Luna two years ago."

He remembered her from the base attack on Luna quite well. The broken speech patterns she used made quite the impression. EDI was one of two AI's the Alliance had been developing for some unknown purpose that had been classified even to him. This half of the AI pair had led him to the assassin he later learned was Kai Leng in order to try and save her 'brother.' At the time, Jack questioned if EDI had been purposely misleading him since the path she provided was filled with Cerberus assassins. Tali had pushed back on that saying an AI in it's infancy wasn't capable of lying. Now that EDI was speaking in perfect basic, Jack had to assume she wasn't an infant anymore and could thus lie. Great, yet another person on the ship he had to worry about.

Jack rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah I remember you, I also remember you leading me to get my ass kicked. Can I trust you to work with me?"

A blue ord of circular energy appeared a top a holographic projector on the wall representing EDI, "Your distrust is logical, Shepard. Unlike the irrational mistrust of most Humans. I assure you, I am not in permanent control of the ship. Due to the potential dangers of a rogue AI, Cerberus has severely restricted my capabilities. I observe, offer analysis, advice, and can assist piloting maneuvers in combat situations, nothing more. In conclusion, I am not a threat to you or anyone else on the ship."

Jack looked at EDI still feeling uneasy, "That still seems like a lot to me, I don't like Joker being a token pilot either. He saved our asses plenty of times during the hunt for Saren."

EDI's voice was flat and monotoned, "I do not primarily helm the ship. Even in combat situations I only manage critical ship systems for optimal performance. Mr. Moreau's talents will not go to waste."

Joker chimed in through the intercom as well, "I guess she's like a mom then. Just wanting the best for her kids but you can say screw that mom, I'm doing things my way."

EDI spoke and the orb turned left and right like she was shaking her head, "Mr. Moreau already seems to not understand that synthetics do not have offspring and therefore cannot be mothers."

Joker took on a sarcastic tone, "I think we have a keeper Commander. Just like Liara, EDI here can't seem to be able to laugh at a joke."

EDI seemed to take that personally, "Cerberus did not believe installing humor algorithms were needed for the mission, I could place another request in with The Illusive Man if you think it could help with squad morale."

Jack sighed rubbing his forehead, already he could tell these two were going to be interesting working together, "No need EDI, Joker could use someone to keep him grounded. Are we ready to leave for Omega?"

EDI luckily didn't skip a beat despite Joker's groan, "The Normandy has a full crew. They're at their stations awaiting your orders."

Joker added, "Final preparations for the FTL jump are complete, Commander stick in the mud. When you're ready to go, just pick a destination from the galaxy map in the CIC and I'll plot a course."

Jack tapped the button on his omni tool to leave and immediately heard the drive core roar to life somewhere below them. The loudness from the core suggested the SR2 dealt with a lot of eezo and power. He was beginning to think that the constant noise would be annoying in conversations but, once the Normandy actually started moving, the engine sound died down again. Jack had to assume the ship had a new experimental drive core from a noise like that. Even the Everest, the Alliance dreadnought he had started his military career on, didn't make a sound that loud when jumping into a Mass Relay. And that ship was at least three times the size of the SR2.

EDI's calm voice spoke to him, "At our current speed, we will arrive on Omega in the next three hours. In the meantime, Operative Taylor requested to have a word with you in the armory down the hall. Executive Lawson also wanted to discuss something with you in her office on the second floor of the ship."

He held the bag with his armor in one hand looking around, "Thanks EDI, let me know if anything changes."

His immediate desire was to just keep to himself in wherever his Captain's Quarters were but, talking to them both was a good idea. They had no idea how long it would take to stop the Collectors, however, it was safe to assume it was going to take longer than a vacation weekend. As he entered the new armory, Jack realized that The Illusive Man wasn't interested in developing a direct reproduction of the original Normandy. Instead, this ship was meant to be an upgrade in every way. The original Normandy's armory only consisted of a few lockers for storage in the cargo hold. This room had entire walls of various weapons leading to a small shooting range in the back of the room. It would allow anyone on the crew to test their accuracy with each weapon and find their strengths.

Jacob was standing in front of an omni projector listening to the news, "Emily Wong here from ANN here to bring you some breaking news. Sources on the ground on Omega have confirmed Aria T'Loak has just survived an assassination attempt from within. Details are still coming in but, early speculation has indicated that the mysterious vigilanty known only as Archangel teamed up with the Talons gang on the attack."

Jack raised an eyebrow, "The Illusive Man mentioned Aria wasn't going to be a problem. Did he plan this?"

Jacob turned off the news to look at him, "It's complicated, he didn't specifically but, let's just say he won't be shedding very many tears if this works. I'm glad your here Jack, on the first Normandy I gave new crew members the tour so, I only thought it would be fitting I did the same for you."

Jack shrugged lightly looking over at his bag, "I'd like to put my new armor away first. Where's the ship's Captains Quarters?"

Jacob motioned for Jack to follow him, "It won't take as long as you think. The Illusive Man commissioned the construction of this Normandy shortly after your disappearance." The elevator door immediately opened to Jack's surprise and Jacob continued, "We kept as many of the original blue prints as possible but, we made a few upgrades. First of all, we have new weapons and armor, Cerberus doesn't want to have another Normandy get destroyed by the Reapers."

Jack leaned against the back wall of the elevator expecting they would be their for awhile, "What about the stealth drive? I'm assuming it still works on this ship right? Otherwise The Illusive Man could've just given me any cruiser if it didn't work."

Jacob chuckled with a smirk, "Don't ask me the specifics of the technology but, it definitely works. And then there's this..."

The elevator door opened into what Jack could only assume was his new quarters. They were far larger than the originals' with a skylight looking directly into space just above the bed and a giant fish tank along the back wall. The tank gave him fond memories of going to different aquariums on the many planets his mother had been deployed on. It was a reminder of his childhood but, it made him slightly uncomfortable. How much did The Illusive Man know about his time growing up to know the fish tank was nice for him? He could've probably just looked up records of tickets to different aquariums. Cerberus certainly had the intelligence gathering capacity to find something like that.

Jack raised an eyebrow feeling a little skeptical, "A little extravagant for a single room of the ship for the Captain don't you think?"

Jacob shrugged not knowing the significance, "I wasn't involved with the construction so I can't comment on that. We just want you to be comfortable while your here."

Jack looked at him like he had made a bad joke, "I'm never going to be comfortable here Jacob, if the Collector threat wasn't real, we'd be probably trying to kill each other right now."

Jacob bowed his head and put both hands behind his back professionally, "Understood Commander, I'll be in the armory until we reach Omega if you need me."

He watched as Jacob left the room and sat on the edge of the king size bed. The size just made him wish Kal was with him more and more, they would've been far more comfortable on this bed than the original Normandy's. He knew he couldn't reach out at all because Kal would want to be by his side but, the temptation was certainly there. It was going to be hard to sleep alone again knowing Kal was out there thinking he was dead. Maybe rumors of a Normandy running around Omega would reach Kal and give him some hope. Knowing Miranda still wanted to talk, Jack entered the zippy elevator and went down to the second floor.

This floor had the same general design as the CIC and cockpit but, instead of the galaxy map there was a small mess hall. On the left side of the hall was a single office labeled, "Executive Lawson," and on the right was the medbay. Several Cerberus guards and other random personnel nodded and saluted him as he walked towards Miranda's office. These people didn't look like the xenophobic individuals he had come to expect from the terrorist organization and instead, just looked like normal people you'd find as neighbors. He had to wonder how many of these people actually knew everything Cerberus did or, were they just doing this because they believed Cerberus actually helped Humanity?

Miranda looked up at him from the desk she was starting to set up, "Commander, I appreciate you coming to see me. I realize our last discussion wasn't exactly friendly."

Jack relaxed against the closed door, "That's probably the biggest understatement of the year. If your going to stay on this ship, I need to know you'll follow my orders. Even when Quarians are involved."

She lowered her gaze towards her terminal for a moment, "I understand completely, we need the team on the same page if we're going to beat the Collectors. Freedom's Progress brought back some unresolved personal issues, it won't happen again."

Jack knew he shouldn't bring this up but, he wanted to know more about the woman who had caused him so many problems, "The Illusive Man said as much. I'm guessing those issues have something to do with Oriana?"

To her credit, Miranda's expression didn't flinch, "Jacob talks too much... Yes they have everything to do with her but the situation is resolved as best it can be. I won't defend what I did to you. For the sake of the mission we should leave it be."

Jack wasn't going to push it farther, at least right now, "Ok then, tell me about yourself Miranda."

Miranda had a business like tone, "Worried about my qualifications? I can crush a mech with my biotics or shoot its head off at 100 yards. Take your pick, you've seen plenty of it for yourself."

Jack shook his head with a smile, "No, tell me about you. What do you like to do in your free time? What do you like to eat? Things like that."

Truthfully, Jack could care less about any of the answers to any of those questions. He was asking though because he needed to start trying to fit in with Cerberus. If he was going to get out of this alive after the Collectors were dealt with, it would be because they didn't see him as a threat. He was already talking to Jacob but due to their past, it would be completely unbelievable that they would suddenly become friends. Similarly, since he was married to a Quarian, Jack couldn't claim that he thought Cerberus' ideology was correct. Out of all the bad options, trying to pretend to become Miranda's friend seemed like the only way to get an 'in.'

Her tone was dismissive, "I'm not looking for a friend, Shepard. Stay focused on the mission."

Jack paused trying to pick a new approach, "How'd you join Cerberus? Is there a recruitment center somewhere with neon signs on it that the Alliance doesn't know about?"

She started to sound impatient with him now, "No, The Illusive Man recognized my potential and recruited me personally at a young age."

Jack started to wonder if Cerberus specifically targeted children for his mission, he certainly seemed like a long term planner, "How young exactly?"

Miranda had a defensive tone, "Old enough to know this was what I wanted Shepard. The Illusive Man isn't some sexual predator boogyman."

EDI's blue orb appeared next to the door, "Shepard, we are about forty five minutes out from Omega. I'd suggest preparing for the mission."

Jack started to turn towards the door, "Thanks EDI." He started to step out but, looked back towards her, "If you ever want to talk about Oriana, you can talk to me anytime."

Miranda had a matter of fact tone, "I know Jack, I've read your file."

With that hanging in the air, Jack went back to his cabin. If he knew Aria, Omega was going to be a warzone.