II


Seeking Freedom


"I'm so sorry you were dragged into this mess, Vaan." Dr. Michel sighed. "You've already been caught in an explosion today and now, this. As a doctor, I should have protected you, not the other way round."

"You shouldn't be, Doc. As a doctor, your job is to heal people, not necessarily protect them." They smiled at her, going for reassuring. The doctor's expression didn't relax, her guilt stinging. "Look, it's not like I'm defenseless," Vaan added softly, putting their new boots on. They wondered why the fabric wasn't adapting to their feet like it usually did, wiggling their toes to activate the nanites. "I know how to fight so there was no reason for me to stand aside and let you get injured on my watch."

Then, the jardaan realized they were being an idiot. Just like the clothes, their shoes didn't have any nanites in them. Pity. Nothing dramatic, Vaan told themselves. The boots might not be perfect but still their size and comfortable enough.

"No shells broken over it," Vaan eventually said, trying to soothe her. Especially not when she was the one who had broken shells for them to begin with. From the earthly taste of confusion they could sense in the human, they realized their navi hadn't been able to translate that. "I mean, don't worry about that. It's no big deal." He tried again, relieved when, this time, the woman understood. "Consider it as a payment for everything you've done for me, especially since I don't have any money."

You make a terrible human, Evfray whispered in the back of their mind, sounding far too smug. I'll be impressed if your cover lasts a week. Vaan didn't grace him with an answer.

"Seriously, Dr. Michel, you've already helped me a lot. Bringing me here, treating me, giving me clothes. You even let me nap here. If anything, I'm the one with br—" they stopped themselves before the expression slipped out again. "Who is in your debt," Vaan finished with a smile they hoped would work this time.

"I see." She didn't look to agree with them but didn't protest. Vaan counted that as a victory. "Well then, Vaan, I'll let you go. Don't forget to apply more medi-gel on your burns once this layer peels off. Enjoy your time on the Citadel and don't hesitate to visit or send a message." She patted their shoulder when they got to their feet.

They stretched, smiling when their body only was sore rather than painful. The hours spent sleeping on one of the clinic beds, after Shepard and his squad had left, had done wonders.

"I'd tell you not to get caught in another explosion or more shootings, but Commander Shepard asked me to send him a message when you'd wake up. He wants to talk to you and something tells me you're going to end up in more troubles. Try to be careful please."

"Don't worry, I can take care of myself."

"I'm sure you can. It won't stop me from worrying," she said but she was more amused than concerned. After a small silence, she spoke again, "Actually. Mail me once you get a new omni-tool. That'd put my mind at ease."

"Of course," they replied with a smile. "I won't forget what you've done for me. Thanks for everything, Dr. Michel." They left after in these words because there wasn't any point in staying in the clinic any longer.

As soon as the door slid close behind them, Vaan knew they had a problem. They had been raised on the oldest anchorship of the herd, sailing through darkspace; amongst beeping robots in a sleeping metropolis, its endless streets and rooms mostly empty as the most of the jardaan were in cryo.

Meaning that they had never experienced the mental chatter of a place full of life. Even with Evfray, always so thoughtful, smoothing the sharpest edges of a headache that was growing by the instant, the press of feelings and words to their senses hurt because of the amount of people present. It was all too strong and chaotic, with far too many tastes.

The jardaan took a couple of steps on the side, putting a hand against the wall to support themselves. They hadn't expected the sheer intensity of the noise in a properly awakened city. Vaan hadn't even thought of it, if they were being truthful, mostly because they hadn't been thinking at all when they had gone after the Catalyst.

"You don't look so good." They recognized Shepard's voice.

Vaan blinked, pushing their hair on the side to watch the human from the corner of their eyes. He was alone this time, out of his armor, wearing dark blue drill pants with large pockets on the sides and a black opened hoodie thrown over a gray shirt. More casual, though they didn't miss the gun clipped to the human's belt.

"It's my first time here. I've never been in such a crowded place and my brain doesn't really appreciate all the…" They made a vague gesture towards the people milling around.

"Oh, I see. Let's get you somewhere calmer."

"Lead the way."

As they walked, Vaan focused on the red strap running along the right sleeve of the commander's hoodie, put over a white band that contrasted with the dark fabric it had been sewed onto. It made it easy to track the human as they walked to wherever he wanted them to go.

I wish my navi weren't malfunctioning, they told Evfray, the two of them worked on tuning the whole world around down. With their navi, the whole process wouldn't have been such a drag, both faster and smoother as it would only be a matter of thinking to dim his senses while they slowly got attuned to their environment.

You have only yourself to blame there, Vaan, the anchorship retorted, managing to be both mocking and empathetic at the same time. Vaan felt like a child again even with the centuries under his shell. Although, compared to Evfray, they were effectively one.

I don't appreciate your sass, old man.

You say to the one person helping you process things, Evfray laughed. Now shut up and listen to the human, he's been trying to get your attention.

Vaan flinched when they found that Shepard had put a hand on their shoulder while they weren't looking. He was staring at them with a frown. Vaan stuck their tongue against the roof of their mouth, trying to chase the bitter worry away. At the very least, the jardaan told themselves, they hadn't embarrassed themselves further by running into him in their distraction.

"Will this place do the trick?" Shepard asked when their eyes met. Vaan stopped themselves from swearing aloud because really, idioms sucked, even though it wasn't difficult to guess what the human meant.

The jardaan stepped back to look around. Shepard had brought them into what most likely was an unused storage area, isolated by high piles of gray and black crates. The floor would be bare if not for the white boxes here and there. The cool, soothing tasteless flavor they could savor indicated that nobody else was around confirming their theory.

"The place's fine, Shepard," the jardaan answered with a tiny smile to reassure the other. They lifted themselves on one of the boxes then sat cross-legged. "Dr. Michel told me you wanted to speak."

"First of all, I wanted to thank you for your help earlier, it was welcomed." Shepard moved to stand against a container facing Vaan, a strange expression on his face as he watched them attentively.

"I don't like the idea of standing around when I'm capable of acting." They never had, even aboard Evfray where they hadn't been required to do anything since there wasn't many things for a soulstar to do in dark space. Now that they were out, Vaan was certainly not about to start being some passive idiot when there was a whole galaxy waiting to be explored.

That and everyone will be even more pissed at you if your rashness brought us nothing.

That too, Vaan agreed with a chuckle. "Plus," they told Shepard. "The good doctor has been nothing but kind with me when I was just a stranger, I couldn't let her be injured on my watch. That's the least I could do for her." Their words gave Shepard's emotions a tinge of satisfaction, sweet and soft on their tongue. Vaan pressed the tip of their tongue against the back of their teeth, savoring the sensation.

"So I've heard," the human answered. "She found you near the HKSW building that exploded two levels down this morning."

"I was passing by when it exploded. I lost pretty much everything but my life there. I was lucky she was around." Vaan drummed their fingers against their ankles, trying not to think about the Catalyst's cryptic words. They watched Shepard crossed his arms over his chest, shifting his weight a little bit. They might not be an expert at reading aliens but they weren't born yesterday; the human looked like he had more he wanted to say. "But, I don't think you wanted to talk to me about how I ended up at the clinic, don't you? What is it really about?"

"You're sharp." Shepard chuckled. "As you say, that's not only what I'm here for." He wet his lips then, eyes boring into Vaan's. "You're Vaan Ishara, male biotic in his 20s. I've checked the Alliance archives and that person doesn't exist. Of course, it's only a cursory search and I could have missed you but, to be honest, I didn't think I'd found you there."

"That's what Dr. Michel guessed. I never said that was true," they replied wryly.

"You never said it wasn't true either." Vaan licked their lips when they tasted Shepard's popping amusement. "You're not human," he added with a quiet assurance. His body language didn't betray tension of any kind so the jardaan forced themselves to stay relaxed.

Oh-oh, busted! Evfray couldn't stop laughing. By the ancestors, Vaan, you haven't even lasted a day.

Vaan retaliated with a mental push that only made the anchorship more laugh harder. I hate you, they told him. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"That's exactly what an alien would say," Shepard chortled.

"Skkut," Vaan let out, foregoing any pretense at passing human. They obviously were too inexperienced and ignorant about Shepard's species to emulate a human correctly. "Careful how you speak, human." Their lips quirked. "We're all aliens to other species. Mine is called the jardaan. Vaan, however, is my real name." Not their soulname but their name nonetheless. "Ishara is the name of my clan. The equivalent would be your family name, I think."

"Nice to know." Shepard rubbed the back of his neck. "Dr. Michel mentioned you had an armor when she found you, so I'm not surprised you know how to fight. Since you didn't go for the guns, I think I can say that your specialties lie in biotic and close combat?" It was formulated like a question but didn't sound like one. It probably wasn't one because Shepard continued, "I suppose you know how to shoot too?"

"I have some experiences with pistols." They had a very minimal experience with pistols to be precise. Their combat education had mostly been focused on melee weapons like gauntlets and using drones that complemented their biotics well.

The jardaan in general tended to shy away from gunnery to concentrate on robotic and melee weapons. Guns weren't exactly necessary when they had biotics or drones to cover mid to long range combat. Aboard Evfray, as his soulstar, Vaan themselves had the whole anchorship to play with, an army of robots at their fingertips.

Still, Vaan had been showed how to shoot a pistol, an old angaran pistol, without injuring themselves just in case they would need it whenever they eventually went off ship. Vaan themselves had always had a distinct lack of interest in guns when they could play with bots.

"I'm no sharpshooter but at least, I won't shoot myself in the foot if I have to use one," they added. "But as you noted, I specialize in biotics and close combat."

Shepard nodded pensively. "If you had to fight from a distance, how would you proceed?"

"Biotics and drones, al— You seemed awfully interested in my combat skills." Vaan narrowed their eyes at the human. "Sounds like you're trying to recruit me. Is that why you wanted to speak with me?"

Shepard put his hands up, grinning. "Guilty as charged. I have a situation on my hands. I'm building a team to take care of it and I want you in."

The jardaan blinked. They slowly unfolded their legs, pushing themselves off the crate they had been sitting on, eyes not leaving Shepard's. "You're quite eager to recruit a random alien, whose species you're not even familiar with. You don't know me. I could just be the recon force of an alien invader," Vaan replied softly.

The human only raised an eyebrow at them. "Are you though? I've got a record for recruiting aliens apparently. Got a turian, a quarian, a krogan so far. All of whom I've met today, just like you. One more, one less, what's the difference at this point? Plus, if you're an 'alien invader'." He raised his hands up, index fingers twitching as he said the last words. "I'd better keep an eye on you."

There wasn't much Vaan could answer to that so, ignoring Evfray unhelpful snickering, they said, "Quarian? Is that the quarian the thugs came looking for at Dr. Michel's clinic? You find them then?"

"Why do you ask?"

"If you're asking me that, then you definitely found them." Vaan smirked at the other's surprise. "Hey, now, you're not the only one paying attention. You were the one saying I was sharp, weren't you?" Their expression softened. "I just want to know if they are they okay."

"Don't worry, she's safe and fine."

"Good." They scratched the back of their neck. They might not know the quarian but being hunted by people like those in the clinic didn't sound very funny.

Shepard grinned. "See, Vaan, that's how I know you're the covert agent of an invading force. You're far too earnest for that. You can't even hide you're an alien if one's paying attention, I doubt you'd be able to be pretend caring when you're not."

Vaan scowled both at the human and the anchorship, who was totally on the first's side. Instead, they decided to go back to the primary subject, the reason why Shepard wanted a team in the first place. "So, now that you've established I'm the epitome of discretion, what's the use of that team you're building?"

"Spectre mission… Wait, you might not know what's a Spectre. Let's just say a job. I can't give you the details yet. What I can definitely say is that it will involve a lot of traveling and probably lots of action too. The dangerous kind. I need people who can hold themselves in combat, can think and act under pressure. From what I've seen, you fit the bill. The turian from the clinic is on the team. I don't think you've met the krogan though. Maybe you did, the world has been quite small today."

"Unlikely," Vaan answered. Well, they had seen one krogan corpse on the way out of the HKSW building but had interacted with none.

"If you need more convincing," Shepard continued. "I can easily tell that you lack everything to get by around here. As a member from an unregistered species, you don't even have a proper identity. You don't have money or living arrangements either. I'm in a position to help with all of these. Especially getting people off your back when they'll eventually realize you're something else."

"You're an important person here." Because really, there were no other way the human could arrange all of that by himself if he wasn't one of the higher-ups.

"First human Spectre. We operate with the authority of the Council and generally are above the law."

At least, Vaan had read enough about the Soulstars' Spiral to have a general idea of the Council's position and function in the galaxy. They didn't have any point of reference for Spectres but if they were 'above the law', then the jardaan had no reason to doubt Shepard's confidence in his ability to help them.

"My decision was already taken once you talked about traveling. The talk was still nice though."

Danger didn't matter, Vaan had to admit. After spending their whole life stuck on Evfray, even though he was wonderful, getting more action than combat training and simulations with the bots sounded wonderful. Especially if it meant exploring. All in all, Shepard was basically given Vaan everything they had ever wanted once arriving to the Soulstars' Spiral. They would be stupid not to seize the opportunity.

"Welcome abroad then, Vaan." Shepard straightened, face lightened with a smile as he approached. He only stopped when they were a couple of feet apart, extending a hand. "Shake it, it's how we seal deals," he added when Vaan looked at him a little bit confused of the protocol to follow.

"Well then, Shepard, glad to be on the team. Taerve Uni." Vaan used the Jardaan expression on purpose.

May the ancestors guide us through the stars, Evfray added when Shepard and they shook hands.


Vaan looked away from the report after telling Evfray to search his memories if he had ever seen or heard of the husks. They slowly massaged their temples, the skycar's autopilot high-pitched voice particularly annoying. On the bright side, their migraine was fainter, mostly replaced by a growing horror when they had poured over the brief Shepard had given them of his mission on the colony Eden Prime and his activities so far.

"I've never seen these before," Vaan eventually said once the anchorship confirmed he couldn't find any recording of the creatures in his memories. His curiosity had been picked by the large ship with an organic design though. Vaan was far more interested in the geths and their artificial intelligence. No surprise there.

Tapping one of their cheeks with an index, the jardaan eventually looked away from the datapad the human had given them, containing image and video support to illustrate the Spectre's report of the situation.

"That must be the most barbaric way to make hybrids I've ever seen." Vaan didn't try to hide their scowl.

"Hybrids?" Shepard looked away from the holo-screens around his right forearm, brows furrowed. Confusion, Vaan realized when he felt the crisp earthly taste on their tongue.

"Synthanic? It's to describe beings that are both organic and synthetic. Humans are organic, geths synthetic," they clarified for him. The jardaan were synthanic but Vaan didn't think Shepard needed it spelled out for him. "You don't have synthanic species in the Milky Way?"

"Not that we know of. If there are, they're unknown to the Council. So, in the case of husks, they're humans transformed into synthanic beings." He grimaced as he said the last word. "Would there be a way to reverse the process?"

Before they could think, the entirety of The Empty Shell poured out of Vaan's lips. They were mortified. If their navi was having problems translating idioms, it must had made a mess out of the poem.

Shepard whistled but didn't talk until moments had passed. "I don't think I've experienced that massive of a translation glitch in a very long time. That wasn't your normal speak, wasn't it? It almost sounded like poetry."

"Sorry for that. Yes, it's poetry, but also more." Vaan paused, searching for a way to explain the significance of the poem. Thankfully, Shepard was understanding and let them the time to gather their thoughts. "Or rather, it's physical laws written in a poetic form, which is why it's a staple of jardaan education. It happens to answer your question pretty well. The crux of the poem is that although you can make synthanic beings out of organic and synthetic ones, the contrary doesn't hold true. You can't separate a synthanic being from either their organic or synthetic parts without killing them. Once you go synthanic, you can't just go back."

Instead, you bio-engineered brand new species. Vaan couldn't help thinking of the angara they had left behind, the machines and centuries of work they hoped hadn't been wiped out.

The Empty Shell had transcended the ages, composed around the time the jardaan had upgraded themselves into synthanic life-forms, long before they had left the Soulstars' Spiral for Storm's Eye, for the reason that it had held true. Vaan couldn't stop themselves from brushing their fingers over the spot where their head-jack laid under the protection of the angdaar.

"It might be impossible to transform their body back to what it was," Vaan continued. "But I can't determine the practicalities of their conversion as far as their behavior is concerned. At best, it's a form of brain control that might be reversible. At worst, the husks' mind are erased then rewritten when they are being converted."

Vaan wouldn't be able to know unless they tried to establish a mental connection with one of those though. They looked back at the pictures, wincing. That sounded like a terrible idea. Evfray agreed to the thought.

By reflex, Vaan reached out for Shepard's mind with thoughts of sympathy and understanding, showing the human they were willing to share the sorrow he was currently feeling, alleviate his burden. He didn't react though. There wasn't even an indication that he had sensed the mental touch to begin with.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you more, Shepard." Vaan eventually said, resigning themselves to the fact that, until they found a way to determine if humans really were incapable of the same kind of telepathic communication that jardaan could use, they would have to use words all the time.

"Don't be. I was expecting that. I had to ask nonetheless," Shepard replied, passing a hand over his face. "I hope we won't run into them again, but I've got the feeling it's just the beginning. And with my luck." His smile was wry. "I'm pretty sure we'll have to deal with them again. For now though, I'd rather concentrate on our current most pressing task, which happens to be one we can actually take care of. You that is."

The positive change in the human's emotions made Vaan perk up.


The skycar they had taken from the lower wards came to a stop. Shepard grinned as he exited the vehicle. Vaan followed him with relief to finally exit the stuffy, small space behind. This part of the Citadel had lights replicated a natural daylight, the people milling around looking far more relaxed and generally less armed.

Fortunately, Vaan's migraine had receded into a much more manageable mild headache as they made their way to the Galactic Bank of Mar, listened to Shepard make a cursory explanation of their galactic monetary system. If a person's bank was registered to an organization called the Galactic Bank Association, then their bank account was considered to be an identity document valid on a galactic level. This was how people from species that didn't keep any form of identity documents, or whose who weren't from Citadel species were able to work and live off their home world.

"Also, in your case. It lets us forego all the red tape and ceremony that comes with registering a new species to the Citadel. That's not something we need right now," Shepard added as they passed through the entrance doors to the Galactic Bank of Mar.

Vaan was happy to let the human take charge of the proceedings, much more interested in the aliens around and the buildings, color much lighter and space narrower than what they were used to. Jardaan in general favored the use of massive spaces, dark color and geometrical forms patterned with sleek light lines. It was different, but not bad.

They didn't miss the green creatures around the edges though, scurrying around on three thin legs tapping on that looked like a terminal. Everyone else was ignoring them and Vaan was reminded of the maintenance bots, albeit in an organic body rather than machines.

As it happened, they were indeed charged with maintenance, Shepard informed them when they eventually ask him after they were finished with the bank, walking to one, orange holo-screens popping around and over his right arm.

"It didn't even cross my mind earlier," Shepard said when he noticed Vaan looking. "Do you have omni-tools where you come from? I mean, you'd get one anyway but it's better to know beforehand what they do."

The explanation Shepard provided as they made their way to a shopping area, was lengthy, much more detailed than the monetary one and much more passionate. If not for the crunchy taste of passion, even without being an alien behavior specialist, Vaan would have to be blind not to see that the human loved the device, he was grinning and more expressive using more hand gestures when talking, as well as deaf considering he called his "his life companion".

"My omni-tool is a Savant. It's an expensive brand, hard to get used to if you don't have any knowledge of programming but it's highly customizable and the absolute best for tech-oriented people like I." Shepard rubbed the back of his neck. "You told me earlier you used combat drones and you're a close range kind of guy, that right?"


The box was simple in its design, which Vaan found charming. It was made of silver steel, light but solid, Nexus engraved on the top in capital letters with the model, 'basic series — model III', in lower case just under. The manufacturer's name, Armali Council, stood on the sides of the box.

With a gleeful curiosity, the jardaan opened the container to see what these species' equivalent to the navi looked like. There was a datapad, probably a manual, which they put aside to read later, far more interested in what laid beneath.

The device was a rectangle, small enough to fit on a phalanx. It was made in a hard material, cool to the touch. Something metallic, they thought opening a pop-up in the corner of their vision to zoom onto the perfectly smooth surface.

They glanced at Shepard, whose attention was on his own omni-tool. After the shopping was done, Vaan's new omni-tool and armor as well as everyday necessities, they had gone to the human's ship, a sleek little ship that looked to be fully synthetic, much to Evfray's disappointment.

Shepard assigned them a locker in the garage where they had dropped the armor before he had brought them to the deck just above, which was where most of the living quarters were: a cantina, bathrooms and a room with twelve bunk beds shared between the crew and lockers on the wall, one of which Vaan could drop their personal possessions in.

Nobody had a bed assigned to them though, the commander had explained, because in a ship that size it would be pointless. With the crew and its shifts, there should always be free beds that Vaan could use when they needed to sleep. They just had to make sure to vacate the bed once they were finished.

After what, they had gone up to the second deck, where the captain quarters, medbay, sleeping pods and mess hall were located, the last of which they had seated in. Everyone had been allowed some shore leave until the evening, Shepard had told Vaan when they had asked if it was normal that it was empty.

Well then, what are you waiting to activate your new toy. Evfray's voice brought Vaan back to the present. They mentally shove him but took the datapad they had put aside earlier to read the instructions.

The omni-tool had to be placed on the inner wrist of their favored hand, left that was. They just had to press their thumb on it and it would automatically activate after a few moments. As promised, an orange light ran on its length three times, probably a scan, followed by a beeping sound. Vaan watched with awe the omni-tool expend around their wrist in a skin-tight bracelet.

A screen popped up, asking for an identification of some sort or to skip the process.

"Put your bank account serial number," Shepard said from his seat. "It'll link your omni-tool to your bank account and let you skip all the id set-up steps."

A keyboard appeared when they pressed the input area. Vaan wished their navi would be connected to the device and spare them from having to manually type anything. Still the process was swift and they soon had access to the device's interface.

Lazy, Evfray commented. But not a bad idea, once your navi stops bugging. In any way, the tech doesn't sound half bad.

"Vaan," Shepard said at some point while said person was perusing the omni-tool's functions. He was raising to his feet, omni-tool deactivated. "Sorry as I am to interrupt your fun, something came up. We need to gear-up and get going."

"Sure thing."

After Vaan retrieved their omni-tool box, the both of them went down to the garage, where Shepard left the jardaan to speak to the turian standing near the buggy while Vaan made straight to their locker to put the Nexus box in and retrieve the much larger one containing his armor.

They fast stripped to their underwear. There was the familiar tickling sensation of nano-machines adjusting the black under-suit to fit their body when they put it on, the material tight but as comfortable as a second skin.

The armor itself was from the Sirta Foundation manufacturer, the very one producing the medi-gel covering part of their body. The light version of the phoenix model, Shepard had informed them. Not the most protective type of armor, but it would allow them maneuvabrility along with strong shields and an automatic distribution of medi-gel if needed.

They hadn't found gauntlets similar to the ones Vaan was used to, but Shepard had assured them that omni-tools could be programmed into melee use so the jardaan hadn't insisted. They would make do with what they had for now, Shepard had been already kind enough to equip them. They could always try to build some for themselves later, when they would be better acquaintanced with this galaxy's tech.

Once they were done putting the armor on, they stretched and did a few katas. The armor was flexible enough for the movement to be smooth. It wasn't as perfect as their Maveon but said armor was now a pile of junk. It wasn't like they could make a fast travel back to Evfray to get a new one. If anything, they had to trust Shepard.

When they activated their omni-tool, it automatically detected the armor and began synchronizing with it. Moments later, it displayed various informations like his shields and armor stats. The medical-related displays they hide: even though humans and asari seemed to have a biology similar to jardaan's on a superficial level, their navi was already monitoring their health at all time. And contrarily to the omni-tool and their armor, it was directly implanted in them. There wouldn't be anything more accurate.

Now that was done, Vaan looked around. Shepard had moved on to chat with the biotic human, Kaidan, as they both were putting their own gear on, while Garrus came to them once the alien caught them looking.

"I see Shepard recruited you too," he said. "We didn't exactly have time for introductions at the clinic. I'm Garrus Vakarian, former detective at C-Sec."

"Vaan Ishara. Nice to meet you, Garrus." Vaan was relieved the turian didn't offer a handshake.


CODEX ENTRIES

UPDATE | Jardaan
Jardaan's main interest as a species lie in building. In Andromeda, their crowning achievements are their bio-engineering of the angara species as well as their building of Meridian, an artificial planet that controls a complex interplanetary network of vaults, designed to oversee the terraformation and climate of planets.

Jardaan culture | Broken shells

In jardaan culture, where people more than often know the emotions that accompany words and actions, true selfless acts are very prized. When a person does one of these true selfless acts helping someone else, then it's said that "they have broken shells for that person". By jardaan standards, the person who has been helped is indebted to the helper and has a implicit expectation and obligation to repay that debt at some point.

When a jardaan who helped anyone in a way that would have resulted the later to have broken shells over it (for exemple, saving their life) says "No broken shells over it" or any variations, it means not to sweat it and basically free them from the moral obligation to have to compensate the act.

By jardaan standards, Vaan had to protect Chakwas after she helped them, regardless of whether they'd done it or not if they weren't indebted to her. They actually refers to it during last chapter, "the jardaan should be able to take all of them on [...] That would however be at the expanse of Dr. Michel's safety, which they couldn't let be injured when they were in her debt".

While it is taboo not to repay broken shells, it is also just as taboo for a person who has broken shells for someone to actually demand something back from them. It's a mutual understanding: both know there's a debt (as do the witnesses) and it will be repaid at some point, even if it takes decades, which isn't a problem as jardaan have a very long lifespan. Vaan was lucky to be able to repay their debt to Chakwas as fast as they did.

Jardaan culture | The Empty Shell
The Empty Shell, Draugdaar, is a short poem jardaan children during their formative schooling that describes physical laws, amongst which, "Organics can be upgraded into synthanics", "Synthetics can be upgraded into organics", "Synthanics can't be separated from either their organic or synthetic parts without dying".

Jardaan culture | Names
At birth, jardaan children receive two names.
The most important one for a jardaan is their soulname, ashver. It's a name they only reveal to the people they unconditionally trust and people won't call a jardaan by their soulname unless they are sure the people around are in the secret too.
The other one is the one their given name, which they usually go by.
Clan-based, the jardaan instead of having family names use the name of their clan along with their given name.

Jardaan technology | Navi & Angdaar
Short for navigator, the navi is a small puce inserted into a head-jack situated at the base of the neck, a port directly connected to the jardaan's nano and nervous systems that allows them to use their own brain as a computer. It can store data and allow its owner to manipulate said data, for example taking picture with a blink. It also serves as a translator that not only permits to understand, but also to be understood although it's not flawless and will have difficulties translating idioms. It also allows long distance communication.
As the navi is directly tied to both the nervous and nano systems, any damage done to it is very likely to lead to irreversible brain damage.
In order to protect their navi, jardaan wear around their neck what they call a palladium micro alloy mixed with nanomachine choker called an angdaar.

RUASH LEXICON
Skkut* |
A general expletive similar to "fuck" and "shit"
Taerve Uni* |
Forward TogetherIdiom that means 'strength through unity'. It's a very common saying amongst jardaan. They use it when introduced to co-workers, like "I'm looking forward to work with you and will do my best". It's also used as a rallying cry on the battlefield. People also use it to give themselves courage.


A/N

Words* means that I'm using a canon Shelesh (the language the Angara speak) word/expression. The Angara were created by the jardaan and in the fic, the Angara first spoke Ruash. From a linguistic point of view, it's pretty normal that some vocabulary stays the same, despite the language evolves. That being said, for Taerve Uni, I extrapolated the meaning, canon just says it means "forward together".

Also, I will clarify something about the languages in-text because this won't be the last time Vaan and cie have translator mishap. In the lexicon, I have the Ruash word, its translation and the literal meaning if it differs from its translation (and sometimes notes).

You're far more used to see the translation (ex: anchorship and not iroshdaar) than the Ruash word because it's be repetitive when Vaan already thinks in Ruash (and for clarify both for you as readers and myself). In dialogue though, the characters who don't know what a word/idiom is/means, they don't hear the English translation but directly Ruash.

For exemple, when Vaan told the Catalyst "the Citadel is your anchorship", the Catalyst heard "The Citadel is your iroshdaar". Likewise, Shepard heard the full Ruash version of The Empty Shell.

Concepts that don't have English equivalent for reasons, like I couldn't find an English term I found fitting (ex: the angdaar, the choker protecting the navi), I will just use the Ruash word. I will limit the loanwords as much as possible.