Captain Crusher interrupted his rant when the door to the briefing room slid open. The two turians entered and waited when the door closed behind them. The captain gestured them to come closer, and pointed at the chairs standing at the wall. Mojo and Meyrani helped themselves with a chair, and pulled them up next to their two squad mates, forming a half circle in front of the captain. Amalthea and Arek were standing, and still in their armor. The asari's demure smile looked tired, and Arek seemed to need all his remaining strength to not lay down on the floor and take a nap. As neither of the two had reported any injuries and had looked fitter than the turians after their arrival, Captain Crusher had seen no reason to make things more pleasant for them than necessary. As a matter of irony, Amalthea and Arek now seemed more worn out and beaten than Mojo and Meyrani.
Mojo shifted his weight, removing the pressure from his injured ribs. So he hadn't only missed most of the heat thanks to their injuries, but was granted more comfort. Mojo had changed into loose pants and thick, dark red sweater. He had kept on the socks the doctor had given him, and was hiding them in casual boots, all clean, all free from tears. The situation began more to feel like an annoying meeting than a hearing, and all he had to do was breaking a few bones and freeze half to death, so, things could be worse. There were upsides to everything, if he squinted hard enough to see them.
"As glad as I am to see both of you back on your feet, do not think I'll give you a pass," the captain began, half-guessing what was going on in Mojo's mind. He was a man in his fifties, and hardly a fool. More than thirty years ago he had joined the Alliance, and his eyes had the look of a soldier who had served twice that time. Silver streaks had taken over most of his black hair and beard. He wore the scars and wrinkles of a man who had lived through his share of battles. Rumor had it he lost a finger on his right hand on board of the first Normandy – before it had been finished. He had been considered as a possible captain, but an explosion in the engine room during his inspection cost him the finger and the commando over the ship, thanks to superstition. Aware that if he ever went down in history that this unfortunate incident would outshine his military achievements, Crusher would make sure that he didn't offer the historians more stories to ridicule him.
"To sum up what I heard from these two, the following happened without my knowledge: One of you hacked into Omega's security channels." Crusher was standing still with a straight back, his hands behind his back; his cold eyes wandered slowly from one face to the either, seizing each of the four up. "You got involved with the Kabale incident, but couldn't prevent what happened. Yet you were close enough to identify the killer. One of you possessed enough information about him to put yourselves on his trail. Next, you hacked into our system, manipulated the schedule and allotment for missions. Half of you ignored the orders – Turner and you, Mojo. You set out on a mission of your own. One almost got killed, the other is beyond exhausted, and both were almost lost in a snowstorm. As a side effect, you alerted Cerberus to our presence when all you had to do was to break in, copy the goods, and sneak out. Do you confirm the story?"
"Yes," Meyrani answered shortly, and Mojo nodded. The captain's glare fixed on him. Mojo assumed he had done most of the math, and that he had also decided on who to put the blame on.
"I read over the information you've gathered before Noveria. Tolen Murakos is notorious for his involvement with Omega's organized crime, isn't that right, Mojo." The captain didn't ask, he stated, leading the conversation into the direction Mojo had expected. He didn't change his lax pose, a part of him regretting that his lack of a respectful posture could so easily be excuse with his injuries.
"And as I worked on Omega for a few years I'd of course know him when I see him," Mojo finished Crusher's unspoken conclusion. "If you want to ask if I was the one who recognized him and insisted on investigating, the answer is yes." Mojo stretched his legs and crossed his arms, not breaking eye contact with the captain. "And I'm sure you've already been informed that I blew the operation and didn't take him out when I could." He shot a triumphant glare at Arek.
I'm not an idiot, I know how these games are played . You fools are too easy to read. He felt confirmed when the human's pale skin changed into a bright red, and turned back to Crusher, awaiting the sentence. Should they kick him out, he didn't care. As long as he didn't have to leave the ship while still in Noveria's orbit.
"Finally somebody gives me some details, and names." A grim smile darkened the captain's face. He crossed his hands behind his back and started to walk up and down in front of them. "You're mistaken, Mojo. Whatever I tried, Mr. Turner insisted on taking the blame as a group, and Miss T'Koss insisted that she, as the leader, has to accept full responsibility on the squad's behalf. Thank you, Mojo, for bringing some light into this mess."
Mojo forgot to breathe for a few seconds. Just great, now he owed the human an apology. That Turner wouldn't have hesitated a second to push any guilt away from himself, and shift it to him – he would have bet his pay on it. All of them were like this after all, weren't they? Well, that gave him something to think about later, now he had to deal with the consequences of ratting himself out to the captain.
Crusher turned his back to the squad and directed his attention to the screen in front of him. He opened a file, minimizing it so only he could read. Mojo had caught a glimpse of the top of the document – his name was written down there, it was the personal file about him.
"When the Armiger Legion answered our call for support by sending you, we expected an elite infiltrator. General Karrades even added a note, warmly recommending you as a unique asset to our forces. Unique. Can't say he lied." He browsed through the pages.
"I requested more information about you after your first week. Something more than 'excellent sniper', 'outstanding infiltrator', 'surprisingly well developed hacking skills'. How about 'overbearing', 'constant display of insubordination', 'lack of proper respect towards all ranks'? Or 'origins and past career unknown. Joined on recommendation through a turian General named Hesaurus. First registered connection under the name Mojo: Eclipse, Omega, eight years ago.'. Nothing known before that. Does that sound familiar?" He closed the file and faced Mojo with a stern, merciless glare.
"It sure does, doesn't it?"
"I doubt that grinning is an appropriate reaction, Mojo." Crusher's face remained unchanged, with no hint of anger or amusement at the blatant provocation. "But it fits the picture. I'm sad to say, I fear your superior was taking our plea for help as an opportunity to get rid off you, and we fell for it. Your stunts were a disgrace to my ship before, but I decided to give you a chance, for the sake of your squad mates, and because I thought you were finally settling in after your return from Omega. Instead, I'm afraid, you've become a bad influence. I don't know why you spied on Omega's security, or how you hacked into our computers, but that your doings got innocent civilians killed is enough for me. I can't have you drag down three good soldiers. You'll leave my ship as soon as your injuries have healed. Until then, you'll be confined to the med bay."
"Good." Surprise, surprise. So some things went as he expected, that he could still trust his instincts was comforting. It didn't matter. Three days, give or take, and he'd be after Murakos on his own. That should keep him occupied during the destruction of the galaxy. He wouldn't allow any reaper to snuff him out before he had delivered the promised shot between Murakos' eyes.
"Good? Nothing's good!"
Four heads jerked towards Arek. He had sprung between Crusher and Mojo. The sudden rush of energy blotched his face red, and for a moment, his tiredness was forgotten.
"Mister Turner, if you have anything to add, do it quickly. I'd like to put the whole matter to an end." Crusher's low voice warned him to not waste his time.
"It's not right. Sure, he is an ass, stubborn, and a damn rude idiot, but what happened on Omega was my fault," Arek hurried to explain, ignoring the indignant grunt behind him.
Crusher sighed, pulling up one of the chairs, and sitting down the first time in more than three hours.
"Elaborate, please." With the edge vanished from his tone, the captain sounded as tired as the Arek had looked a few seconds ago. This was an unforeseen turn of events, and while Mojo was surprised by Arek's protest, he still had to debate with himself if Crusher was just in his decision to listen, or a pushover.
"If I hadn't stopped him – because of unwarranted distrust – he would have saved the family with one shot." Arek kept it short and to the point, waiting for the captain to demand more detail.
"That's it?"
"No." Arek glanced into Meyrani's direction, but she had already rose from her chair. "He didn't hack into Omega's systems, and it wasn't his idea for us to interfere with the hostage situation."
"With all due respect, Captain Crusher, Arek is correct." Meyrani stepped forward, surprising the captain and her squad mates alike with the hint of pride in her voice. "I started everything by spying on Omega's security forces. I decided on my own accord to bypass their security systems, and to filter their transmissions for anything of use for us. Once I shared with the squad what I had learned, Mojo added valuable information of course, due to his knowledge of Omega, and also provided his skills from that point on. But he couldn't have hacked into the ship's system. I can, and I did."
"Miss Avilius! Are you telling me you are proud of breaking the rules?!"
"I'm telling you I'm proud of possessing the necessary skills. I cannot allow Mojo to be the only one to be hold responsible for the happenings if that means that my work is overlooked."
Not bad kid, not bad at all. Mojo nodded in appreciation. He was willing to acknowledge her knowledge and skills without hesitation, and being proud of that was something he could get behind. No, this girl wasn't a snob, as she had proved more than once lately, and while it stung, he had to admit that not only her knowledge was admirable, but also her calm composure, especially in a situation like this.
"And I was aware of their plans and their doings." Amalthea straightened her back, facing the captain with her chin lifted and her jaws set in a determined manner. "I encouraged them on Omega, and planned the mission on Noveria with them. As I said before, as the leader of the squad, I take full responsibility. I also like to add," she looked at Mojo, a grin appearing on her serious face,"The questionable nature of our actions aside, Mojo had proven himself to be a valuable addition to the squad. I'm not in the position to judge his personality. However, when his skills were needed, he provided. As for me, I told him what to do based on Miss Avilius' suggestions, and he followed, adding to the work of the team. That cannot undo his actions of the past, of course. But with all due respect, I'd like to ask you to take my words into account when you make your final decision."
Spoken like a leader. Smart move, acting like he hadn 't spoken the last word yet. Guess now I have to thank you, too. They could have made things a lot easier for them, by remaining silent, yet they decided to tell the truth. Mojo doubted that any of them had a desire to shield him from trouble, but as a consequence, he had to appreciate their sense of fairness which made them tell the truth, although it meant trouble for them. Or maybe it was foolishness - the result would decide about that at the end of the day.
"Wish I had anything cool to add." Arek shrugged, giving Amalthea and Meyrani an admiring look. "All I can say is this – if I hadn't made a capital mistake on Omega he'd have been the hero of the day and nobody care how we got there. And if it weren't for him, Cerberus would have killed me. I'd be dead now. Guess that's my part of the story so far, being the fool and the damsel in distress."
"Spirits, nobody likes people who're fishing for compliments, Turner," Mojo groaned, staring at the ceiling. "You can tell them yourself that you stood alone against an army of Cerberus goons, and that we only got out there alive because you almost got yourself killed with your damn magic."
"Goons that were an inch away from slicing me to bite-sized pieces, and my damn magic that I'd never have tried to use that way if somebody hadn't encouraged me," Arek shot back with a smirk.
"How often do I have to tell you that I didn't want to save or encourage you, but that I only needed you to get out of there alive?"
"By the Goddess, you two, get a room already." Amalthea sighed while Meyrani commented the exchange with a low chuckle.
Mojo shut his mouth, turning his head away, his mandibles twitching. Not you, too. Spirits, Turner, stop grinning! Forget what I thought before. You 're Idiots! All of you! It was a blessing that the plates covering his face saved him from blushing.
Captain Crusher's face was twitching, and the hard look in his eyes was softened by reluctant amusement. He had worked with humans and aliens of different calibers for many years, and he had been lucky that his experiences led to the development of a subtle sense of humor instead of bitterness.
"So you're telling me, if I want to make a just decision, I have to fire all of you. Don't think that what you've done is less serious just because you all were involved in it. If anything, that makes things worse, because none of you, four experienced soldiers, thought it necessary to do the right thing and report what you know to me." He returned to the large screen. After touching a few buttons the galaxy map appeared. They all looked at the familiar nebulas that formed the milky way. Some of them were colored in a red light – reported sightings of reapers in one or more of the solar systems.
"If the four of you only worked together as a team, on missions that need soldiers with your skills and your wit. Are you aware what's awaiting us? Why the galaxy needs us? Why those who lack in skill, wit, and military expertise need us? And here we are." He closed the map, staring at the black screen. "I'm scolding you, like a group of children that had been caught smoking."
The four of them were looking at his back. Amalthea muttered an apology, Arek and Meyrani lowered their heads, gazing at the floor.
Reapers. Mojo's company had fought through a horde of cannibals and husks before the Armiger Legion admitted him to the Alliance. That had been the only time he had seen one of the minor threats of the invasion that was slowly passing the threshold to the galaxy. He had seen recordings of reapers only on the news. They seemed so far away, abstract and surreal. Yet, chasing after one murderer felt unimportant, and he hated that. If he didn't get him, the reapers would. They would get all of them, good, evil, in between. But, if one fight didn't matter, which did?
"Mojo, I apologize for my wrong judgment of your character and your involvement. The discharge is canceled. And if I keep you, I have to keep all of you, I guess." Crusher turned around, smiling. "So you guys can work as a team if you want. Do that for us in the future, instead behind my back. I'll let you know when I've decided on what to do about that Murakos case later. You can go now."
"Thank you, sir!" Amalthea saluted, struggling to contain her relief. Meyrani paid a respectful nod, while Arek didn't try to hide his feelings about the outcome. He grinned all over his face, looking from one squad mate to the other. Mojo pushed himself up from his chair. His bruised back had stiffened from sitting in the same position for a longer time, and he had forgotten about his ribs. Pain shooting through his body reminded him quickly of his condition. The sooner he got more rest the better. Whatever he might have to say against working on an Alliance ship – the accommodations and medical facilities were excellent, beating what he was used to from Omega and the turian military.
"Thanks," he heard himself mutter.
"Don't thank me. Thank the reapers. In any other war, your military careers would have ended today."