The arrival of the Normandy in the Sol system had been unexpected. Since people generally believed Commander Shepard a crazy terrorist, nobody had expected her to give herself up voluntarily. Joker was faced with the Fourth Fleet blocking their way to Earth. The patrol hurriedly informed the commander of the fleet, who then ordered the Normandy to power down immediately and prepare for boarding.
"Admiral Shiago, this is Commander Shepard," Jo spoke firmly from behind his shoulder. Where the unwavering strength in her voice came from he would never know, but it sent shivers of admiration and arousal down his spine. "I am on my way to Alliance HQ to surrender and face the charges brought against me. I will consider any act of aggression from you as a sign that I will not be treated fairly according to the Constitution of Earth's Nations that the Systems Alliance is bound to uphold. If you open a witch hunt on me, Admiral, you will not even see my tail lights. Do you wish to be responsible for chasing Commander Shepard into hiding when I was twelve minutes away from the brig, coming in voluntarily?"
"If you're coming in voluntarily, you can as well submit to me now and let us board your ship. We will escort you to the HQ safely," the man said, but Joker knew one thing for sure: this Admiral was not an N7.
"As a civilian captain I am not bound to follow your orders and I will not be taken into custody on my own ship," Jo said with such power in her voice that Joker shivered again. "If you wish, you can have your fighters follow me as an escort, but there will be no other commanding officers on the Normandy. What will it be, Admiral?"
Admiral Shiago was quiet for a moment, then nodded:
"I'm sending five cruisers and fifty fighters to escort you, Shepard. Follow them. If you stray, they have authority to open fire."
"If they can keep up with me – sure." Jo nodded and disconnected. "Where are they?" She asked him.
"Nine minutes out," he said, pointing at the dots on his scanner that were separating from the bulk of the fleet and heading towards them.
"Show them what you can do," she said, and she didn't have to say it twice. He fired up the engine and was well past the fleet and almost in the Earth's atmosphere when the five cruisers finally got their asses in gear. He could hear their confused and annoyed chatter, but he was laughing.
He didn't want to think that this could be his last chance to laugh for a very long time. Or that it was definitely his last chance to show off his skills at the console for a while. He had no doubt that he would be grounded as long as his Commander would be under investigation. In just a few moments he would no longer be a pilot. He'd give it all up gladly, though, if only Jo was okay.
The entire Ministry of Defence HQ in Vancouver was in a tizzy when the ship docked. The five of them stood in front of the airlock, waiting for the ship to power down completely, and maybe trying to postpone the inevitable for a little while longer.
"Jo," Joker didn't care about audience. He tugged her into his side before they would step out of the airlock and into the unknown. "No matter what happens, I love you."
She took a shuddering breath. She'd spent the last hour before jumping to Sol System putting on her Game Face and he knew he was messing it up now. She was getting emotional in his arms. But damnit, he couldn't just let her go like this! For all he knew, he might never see her again! He didn't know a man who wouldn't panic in this moment.
"I love you," she whispered against his lips.
One more word and she would lose her hard won composure, he knew it. He couldn't do that to her, though, no matter how scared he was.
"You can do this easily," he said, kissing her forehead. "You're the original badass. Just remember that I'm never far. Same planet, same city, same house block, no matter where you are or how long we're separated. You're mine and now that I have you, no one can break us apart. Whatever happens, I'll always be listening."
"Thank you," she said. "I could never do this without you."
Technically, he wouldn't be listening for a while. All of them knew that they'd be arrested, stripped of all devices, personal possessions, even clothes, and placed under guard without any ways of communicating with the outside world. Thus the minipad was now hidden inside his console, deep under several layers of hardware to make sure no nosy techie ever found it. They would have to play their cards right to get him access to an omnitool in the future and EDI would connect the audio to him. None of them could tell when that would be, but they just had to make it work somehow.
The rest of the crew tactfully looked somewhere else, giving them this moment while they shared a desperate kiss, both frantically trying to burn it into their memories, to imprint on each other, to make the other understand the depth of their feelings. It was hard to think that this could be their last kiss ever, or for a very long time, and Joker knew that she would have to be the strong one here, the one to end it, to step away from him and break their body contact. He couldn't do that. He wasn't that strong and he admitted it: letting go of the woman he loved was beyond his capabilities.
Jo seemed to be struggling with the same problem, judging by the way her fingers dug into the shirt on his back: forcefully, desperately, shaking. In fact, he could feel her falling apart in his arms.
He couldn't let that happen. She was still traumatised after Aratoht, still shaken by what she'd had to do there and barely over the shell shock. But within minutes she would have to face a hard battle and the only way she could win it was if she was as strong and as unwavering as she possibly could. He needed to get her in that state of mind even if it broke him.
And it did. He ripped apart his body and soul when he ended the kiss and pulled away from her. He caught her glance and nodded a little, letting her know that he was with her to the end, but she was the one who had to lead them.
She knew it and, amazingly, she found the strength to do it. It was time.
Jo stepped away from Joker and righted her uniform. Tailored in different shades of grey and black and designed especially for her when she got rid of all the Cerberus uniforms, it held no resemblance to the Alliance blue standard, showed no distinction marks of her rank, none of her medals except for the N7 badge on her collar. She was coming in without pomp, just the way she always was. She smoothed her hair and carefully arranged her face.
"They'll be sorry for ever doubting me," she declared in her Commander voice. "I'm Commander fucking Shepard and there is nothing I can't do. Come on, people. Let's own this planet."
Something that resembled a firing squad too much for Joker's liking awaited them at the airlock. Twelve fully geared and armed soldiers with their rifles aimed at their chests waited for them to step off the ship. Joker personally locked the door and EDI was instructed to not let anyone on the Normandy without his or Jo's approval. Under the heavy escort they were ushered to the transporters that would take them to the HQ building. The reporters were already on them and showed live how Commander Shepard and her crew marched quietly down the halls. She was a master of the Game Face, Joker thought, watching her perfect posture, pristine uniform, smooth hair, relaxed hands, measured steps and most importantly her calm, dignified face. She looked at nobody in particular. All the soldiers and reporters around them were nothing more than insects to her, unworthy of her attention. Despite his breaking heart at what was about to happen he was still hot for her right now.
Due to the surprise of her arrival nobody really knew what to do. They should have been separated at the exit from the space port and put in different shuttles, but nobody made a sound when Joker, Chakwas and the two techies firmly stepped into the same transporter Jo walked into and sat around her. Soldiers were still aiming their rifles at them, but they remained together. A few minutes later they were escorted into the Alliance Headquarters and ended up in a small conference room under double guard. An Alliance officer came in and introduced himself:
"I'm Major Lance. It's good you turned yourself in voluntarily, Shepard."
"I will only speak to Admiral Hackett," Jo said firmly, allowing no argument. Major Lance shook his head:
"Admiral Hackett is not a part of this investigation, Shepard. You will be in my charge for the duration and you will talk to me."
"I will repeat myself only once, Major, and you better listen carefully. I will only cooperate with this procedure willingly if you get Admiral Hackett right here in front of me. Otherwise I'll be on my way."
"Shepard, this is not how things work, you know that. You killed three hundred thousand civilians…"
"Major!" She barked so viciously that everyone jumped. The Major closed his mouth with a little snap. "Get Hackett here, or so god help this forsaken planet."
"Fine, I'll see what can be done."
He left the room, visibly annoyed, and motioned the guards to keep their guns on her. Joker stood in his corner of the room with the others and watched his woman. She was in her nuclear mode and she would have to keep it up for a while now. Today she needed to kick in some doors and break some walls with her iron will, and he was here to enjoy the ride. She didn't need his support in this, rather this was the one thing she could handle better on her own. Watching from the side had its perks: nobody noticed how damn aroused he was.
The guards were well-trained and showed no fear of her. Joker knew that meant nothing. If she didn't want to be here, she wouldn't be. She stood like an ice statue, not moving a muscle, for fifty seven minutes before Lance returned.
"Admiral Hackett agreed to talk to you on the comm for five minutes. Follow me."
Jo walked ahead purposefully, letting the guards trail after her like little puppies. She spared no glance at him or the rest of her crew. The game was on.
Lance led her to a communication room and pointed at a holo circle. She stepped in and activated the link. A hologram of Hackett appeared.
"Shepard, you wanted something?"
"Hackett, don't be cute with me," she said, each word like a needle. "Don't forget that I am here because I did a personal favour to you and kept your best friend from letting the Reapers into the galaxy. Never forget that those three hundred thousand batarians are blood on your hands, by your orders, by your affiliation, your mistake and your responsibility."
Lance choked. Hackett didn't need this recap, but Jo said it for Lance's benefit. Nobody on Earth knew the whole story, Jo was sure of that, since Hackett conveniently forgot to mention any of his involvement to the government or the journalists. Hackett pressed his lips tighter together.
"So, why did you want to talk to me?"
"I accept this trial for my own reasons and I will stand by my word to stay here voluntarily until the galaxy needs me again. I will play along with your little charade as long as you keep me happy."
"How?"
"First: dry dock and military standard upgrades for my ship, the Normandy, right here in Vancouver. Also, she's mine. There will not be anyone else commanding my ship except for me, ever. Second: no persecution of the rest of the crew that landed here with me. Jeffrey Moreau, Doctor Karin Chakwas, Gabrielle Daniels and Kenneth Donnelly."
"Done."
"Third and most important: for the entire duration of my stay in the brig my boyfriend can have free and full access to me and my rooms, without time limitations and with unsupervised time from midnight till five a.m."
"Don't be ridiculous, Shepard, that's impossible. You're not there for a vacation and no personal relationships are allowed in the brig, especially unsupervised time."
"Make it happen, Hackett."
"I can't."
"You can and you will."
"Who is that boyfriend you're talking about?"
"My pilot, Jeff Moreau."
"Geez, Shepard," he shook his head disapprovingly, but she just raised her eyebrow with a cold glare.
"Make it happen."
"No. You have to at least keep up the appearance of incarceration."
"I told you that I'm keeping the score of all the favours I did for you and that one day I will cash in the chips. Today is the day I'm cashing them all in for this one thing you will do for me."
"I don't have that kind of pull with the Defence Committee."
"Don't lie to me, Hackett, I'm not one of your underlings. I'm younger, but we come from the same school. I know what you can and can't do."
"I can get you maybe visiting hours every day, but not more than that."
"Hackett, don't make me start talking. I mean, really talking."
Now he raised his eyebrow at her and they engaged in a minute long staring contest. Neither blinked. Lance felt increasingly uncomfortable behind her, she could tell.
"I mean Grigoritch kind of talking," Jo said eventually and Hackett gracefully didn't flinch, just changed his footing. Grigoritch was the man who discovered the Mars archives and the Alliance conveniently put him away. Jo found out about that from Keiji Okuda's graybox and she knew that all the Admirals in the Alliance knew about it. The public, however, didn't.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do, Hackett. Right now you have already realised that I'm the most dangerous motherfucking bitch in the whole galaxy to you, to the Alliance and to the Earth government." She'd negotiated many deals in her life, but talking to Hackett was always a harsh, draining experience. "This information will die with me if you give me what I'm asking for. But it isn't stored in my brain only, so killing me won't kill the information forever. When the Reapers arrive, you know exactly that I'm the only one able and willing to unite the galaxy to fight them. You can't win without me. In turn, I see your usefulness as the leader of the Alliance forces. Let us not make this uglier than it has to be. Give me what I want and you will never have to worry about anything from me."
He glared at her from beneath the brim of his cap for a while. Then he said briskly:
"Anderson will talk to you soon."
The link died and Lance escorted her back to the conference room. The crew was gone. She showed no worry on her face. She took a stance in the middle of the room, looking at the wall between the two doors leading out, locked her fingers behind her back, put her feet at the shoulders' width and froze. The guards kept their guns trained on her, but she didn't move a muscle for another forty minutes until a woman came in with a datapad.
"Commander Shepard, I'm Commander Doherty, I will process you. Please, follow me."
"Where is my crew?"
"They have already been properly processed and escorted to private cells. Please, follow me." The woman insisted with a tiny plea in her voice. She had to, but she really didn't want to be handling the most infamous human in the galaxy. That could be hazardous and everyone knew it.
Jo followed the woman through all the checkpoints that turned her from a person into a prisoner. They even handcuffed her. She wore no insignia other than an N7 badge, so they couldn't strip her of her Lieutenant Commander rank literally, but they did what they could to make her understand she was stripped of all military ranks on every official record. She couldn't care less, since she hadn't considered herself an Alliance officer ever since being resurrected.
She had been under close guard all the way through the processing and to a solitary cell. Even inside the cell four soldiers in full gear crowded her, keeping their rifles raised. Jo didn't mind a thing. She finally disposed of the handcuffs and tossed them at the closest guy:
"Keep the souvenir," she said and stretched herself out on the cot. No windows, no privacy, not a speck of colour on the dark-grey walls, no comfort on the cot. Did they think that these intimidation tactics worked on her? She reached the N7 rank at such a young age for a very good reason. She had died. She had stared into the eye of the most soulless of all organic beings and into the eyes of the self-proclaimed vanguard of all destruction. Intimidation had no meaning to her anymore, when she wasn't the one doing it.
The guard looked at the handcuffs and radioed Lance. A few minutes later another guard came in with a new pair and handcuffed her again. This pair took a little longer to get out, but soon enough Jo tossed the second pair at the gaping guard. Now there were five of them, though, and Jo's inner clock told her that it was close to midnight in Vancouver and nobody would be coming to talk to her for several hours. She took off her shoes and stretched out on her back. Five seconds later she was quietly asleep.
Next morning the guards changed. She kind of pitied the poor soldiers who'd stood all night in her cell and had watched her sleep.
The new ones escorted her to the bathroom and brought her food. Lance showed up to take her in for questioning and got angry when he found her unshackled. The assurance from the guards that it made no sense didn't persuade him. He insisted on another pair of handcuffs, more complicated ones. She returned them to him upon entering the interrogation room. It was a typical Alliance room with a table, two chairs and a two-way glass across a whole wall. She had been in such rooms with suspects so many times during training, she almost felt at home.
With calm confidence she sat down, waited for Lance to sit as well, then calmly told him the whole story. She knew exactly how to present her case even without a lawyer present. She had a feeling she wouldn't get one, not this time. Lance took the recording and left. Thirty two minutes later another officer came in, asked the same questions, recorded the same story and left. They kept doing that to her several times, and Jo found it amusing. Their attempts to make her lose patience or slip up in her own story were ridiculous. She was better trained at what they did than they were. She knew all their tactics, every move, everything they wanted to achieve. They would have to get tired eventually, and Jo didn't care if they ended up with a library full of recordings.
They kept her in the room for over twenty hours, sometimes bringing her food and drink. The first one she accepted, the second tray smelled a little bit like medicine and she declined. It was so easy to manipulate these guys. She sat there with the professionalism and dignity of a queen of Sheba in her throne room. Nothing bothered her. She was polite, obliging, yet distant and cool. The only protest she allowed herself was getting rid of those ridiculous handcuffs.
Anderson came to see her the day after. He found her in a cell with five guards aiming at her while she was in the middle of her morning exercise.
"Shepard," the elder man nodded and shook her hand. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm perfectly fine, Anderson, but these guys worry me a little. They look so tense, I'm afraid they'll be having cramps for at least a week. Don't put them on active duty until they recover, will you?"
"This is no time and place for jokes, Shepard. This is serious."
"There is always time for jokes. Apropos. Did you arrange for Joker to have free access to me, like Hackett promised?"
"You still insist on that relationship?"
"I will insist on it even if a Reaper looks me in the eye and says it's impossible."
Anderson shook his head:
"Come, I'll take you to him."
"What happened to the rest of my people?" Jo inquired while they walked.
"They're still being questioned, but no charges are being brought against them so far. Most likely the Doctor and the two technicians will be released without problems. You are the only one being persecuted, but the pilot is to stay under guard, since he'd been in command of your ship during the events at Bahak, no matter how brief the time was."
She nodded. It was better than nothing. Anderson indeed took Jo to a conference room where Joker waited for her. So did Lance. Anderson took his leave and Lance gave the guards the datapad with their new orders.
"Your accommodations have been arranged, Shepard. Moreau, you have your own room in the hotel not far from here, which you will not be allowed to leave without guards and only under orders from the Command. You have ten hours for visits weekly. Spend them at once or spread them over a week – that's your decision." He gave Joker a bracelet. "This is your timer. Every time you enter Shepard's room, it will log you in, and log you out upon leaving. Every Monday ten more hours will be added on it for the entire duration of Shepard's detainment. If you try to stay longer, the cuff will blow off your hand."
"It's not what I agreed upon with Hackett," Jo said.
"It's more than you deserve, and it's definitely all you'll get. Use the time wisely, your timer is already ticking." He left them under close guard of eight people.
"You're a sight for sore eyes," she wrapped her arms around her man immediately. The hug allowed them to speak softly without the guards overhearing them.
"Good to see you. How did it go?"
"Better than I feared. They keep trying to intimidate me, make me stray from my story."
"Heh, yeah, that'll take them a while," he pressed her tighter against him in pure joy at being near. He wore the same black-and-grey brig uniform she did, the ACE cap she'd given him so long ago was gone, so was his omnitool and everything else he owned. At least they didn't make him shave.
"And how did it go for you?"
"I've been questioned, but not charged with anything. Haven't seen the others yet."
Jo let go of him and took his wrist. The timer was indeed ticking, counting off seconds.
"This is ridiculous," she shook her head disapprovingly. "Can't believe this is the best Hackett could do."
"Yeah. But hey, ten hours a week is still better than nothing at all. Do you think your new shadow will let us have a few minutes in private?" He pointed his chin at the guards.
"Probably not right now, but I'll work on Hackett and Anderson in the future. Maybe we can even do something about those ten hours. But anyway, you should go and check on our baby. I don't want anyone touching her."
"They won't let me anywhere near her."
"They'll come eventually," Jo winked at him.
The guards took her to her new room in the detention centre and Joker was escorted out of the building. As far as prison cells went, her new accommodations were a luxury suite in a hotel on Nos Astra. At least Hackett had come through in this regard. Jo was stunned when she realised there was even a little balcony, albeit locked. Soon Anderson joined her in the room.
"Glad to see you know your duty, Shepard," he said, shaking her hand with real affection, now that they could speak unobserved.
"Oh, Hackett coached you on the difference between duty and honour?" She allowed herself a laugh. "How are your Councillor duties coming along?"
"Udina is taking over as the Councillor. I resigned to be here."
"Say, WHAT?" Jo snapped, her insides suddenly tight like in free fall. "Do you know how much I went through to make sure you're the Councillor and not Udina? Are you mocking me?"
"He's better cut out for it, anyway."
"No, he isn't!" Jo's mood plummeted. "How could you? He's a sleazy, power-hungry politician and with him we can kiss any support the Council could have given us goodbye! I sacrificed human ships to save that Council and got you a spot on it, you! Because they needed an honest person! And now you throw it in my face like it meant nothing! Seriously, Anderson? I risk everything to give you one job, just one job to be useful at and you throw it away!" She yelled at him, disappointed in the man beyond belief. If he was so weak and couldn't deal with the pressure of being a Councillor, she had little hope for him, for humanity's representation on the Council and for her own chances to ever get out of this brig. A bitter, sinking feeling tugged her down, making her sit on the couch. Was no one else in the galaxy as strong as her? Was no one else fit to deal with their duties, no matter how much they disliked them? And Anderson, of all people! She truly hadn't expected him to throw away humanity's future because of his own selfish fancy. He kept talking, but Jo could only hear an old, broken diva whining:
"I couldn't just sit there, listening to politicians, when I could do something here on Earth."
"We all find ourselves facing unexpected challenges, Anderson. If you can't face them in times like these, then…"
"I have my duties here, too. You need my support and the Alliance needs to prepare for the Reapers. What's done is done. Let's talk about your situation."
Jo rubbed her forehead. Truthfully, she didn't want to look at the man right now. What he'd done was betrayal. Personal, professional, betrayal of honour and duty and everything she believed in. So these were the men she had to work with, the only men who formed the front that spoke out to her defence? A manipulative, calculating bastard and a weakling who couldn't sit through a few meetings? Oh, she wondered again why she was even bothering. Humanity wasn't really worth saving.
"You should have come to me first, before you gave yourself up." Anderson firmly refused to acknowledge the error of his ways or his weakness. He just kept talking. "We could have worked out a cover story for you. With a little time to prepare we could have presented proof that you were working undercover to bring down Cerberus…"
"No."
"No?"
"No cover stories. I will say the entire truth about my relationship with Cerberus."
"You realise that nobody believes that you were dead, right?"
"It doesn't change the facts. No cover stories. I have nothing to hide. All the proof is on the Normandy. By the way, Hackett promised me dry dock and upgrades for her."
"Yes, that will be done once someone can actually access the ship," Anderson gave her a sly grin: "For some reason no locks would open and the shields activate whenever someone tries to approach the airlock with a torch."
"Easily fixed. Joker will personally oversee the retrofits. He has the authorisation to have full access to her. Talk to him about it."
"Good. Brace yourself, Shepard. The next few weeks will be particularly hard. The batarians are knocking on all our doors since they learned that you're in custody. They want you bad. Frankly, half of the Earth population just about agrees with them, but we'll keep you safe, no matter what happens."
"None of that surprises me."
"I'll personally take measures that nothing happens to you until the Reapers arrive. I'm already making some arrangements. We need you in the front lines when shit hits the fan, but until then, Shepard, keep yourself in check, will you? No stunts, please."
"I agreed to this, so I'm not going to run. I can't promise you to succumb to the bombing, though. I'll defend myself any way I can."
"I'll see that you get the best lawyers, too."
"Thanks."
He left her and thankfully the guards stayed outside, all eight of them. Jo looked around the room. Exploring her new situation was better than thinking about the damage Udina was already causing to humanity's cause with the Council. Oh, Udina. That man… No, better think about her own situation. Maybe no news from the outside would be a blessing in disguise, after all.
The room was not a typical cell in the brig, but Jo was certain that she was indeed in the detention centre. It had to be one of those rooms for privileged detainees. There was a double bed in front of the balcony door, and even though the glass door didn't open, it let through so much daylight that the room didn't need any artificial light at all. It was noteworthy for someone who'd spent the last twelve years either dead or on ships in space.
There were some shelves, a wardrobe, a little dresser, a couch, two armchairs, a coffee table, a rug, a desk, some lamps, even books on the shelves. A little further down there was a door that led to the bathroom. The lock to that door had been removed. She wondered if it had been done just for her or if some previous occupant had been uncooperative.
In the main room there were four cameras, covering pretty much every angle, but at least the bathroom was camera-free. Thank god for small blessings.
For the next four days she didn't see anyone she knew. Anderson didn't show up, and Joker didn't come around. Her eight guards regularly escorted her to various interrogation rooms where she was being questioned again and again. There were still no lawyers and everyone treated her with hostility reserved for the most ruthless of terrorists.
Even when she was in her room or sleeping, four of the guards stayed inside with her. She knew this was not being handled according to protocol for any kind of prisoner, but decided not to make a fuss over it. For now. If Hackett was going to let the Defence Committee treat her this way, she had every intention of becoming an inconvenient prisoner.
On the fifth day changes arrived.
