THE NEW NORMANDY
Calen listened as Harper explained what he knew about the Collectors, which was, apparently surprisingly little. He confirmed what Miranda and Jacob had already told her, that the Collectors only ever ventured beyond the Omega IV relay when they wanted something, usually specimens with some strange mutation or powers not yet seen.
He also told her that the Omega IV relay was unmapped, the simple explanation had been that whatever vessel went through it, never came back from it. Sort of like the Bermuda Triangle of space. He surmised that the only reason the Collectors made it back and forth had to be some sort of signal from their ship, that in turn allowed them safe passage through the relay. He also confirmed that they were working for the Reapers.
Calen, still conflicted about the past and the present begrudgingly accepted that this did need to be dealt with, although she was not overly pleased to hear that aside from leaving her for dead...well OK she was dead, but not bothering to come find her, the Alliance and the Council were doing nothing, oh no wait..the council never did do anything, why did she risk all those lives when the council would just do the same damn thing...stick their thumbs up their arses and do sweet FA because it was again, humans that were suffering and therefore nothing to do with them.
It made her want to vomit.
She argued with Harper over the team she wanted, when she listed off her former team he had an answer for everything. Liara was working for the Shadowbroker according to his sources and therefore not to be trusted.
Calen didn't want to hear that, she had always trusted Liara, both professionally and personally, it was still a shock to hear that the quiet archaeologist Prothean Expert was now some big shot Intel broker working for the same bastard who wanted to hand her over to the Collectors. She would get to the bottom of that, no matter what. Even if it was just to give her heart and soul some closure.
No one had seen Garrus in over two years, all they knew was that he had left C-Sec about three months after the Alliance declared Shepard dead.
Wrex hadn't left Tuchunka in over a year and it appeared that he was rebuilding the Krogan, Calen was glad to hear that one, he deserved it.
Ashley had been promoted and was out somewhere in space, but her file was too classified for even the Illusive Man to get his hands on, which bothered him. It bothered Calen too, she was proud to hear that Ash finally got recognised for her hard work and the ghost of her grandfather off her back, but something told her that there was more to this then met the eye...on both sides. The Illusive man was not telling her everything not that she expected him too.
Tali, well considering the history with Cerberus, he had been surprised that the Quarians had forwarded Veetors data. It seemed that she was the only one he actively considered, but he wanted more information before he would even commit to that. He told her that she would get a team together. It was what she was good at and it was what she did best. People followed her, be it through natural command charisma or just her personality, it was what they did.
"You know you really do remind me of your father, he had that natural command ability" Harper was a little wistful.
"I told you to leave my parents out of this" Calen warned.
"I miss him too Calen...he was my stepbrother after all."
"My father had no problems with aliens," She snarled, "and don't expect me to call you uncle, you did fuck all for me when Mindoir was attacked and I was left to fend for myself."
"Your father was one of the founders of Cerberus" Harper got up "but we had some disagreements, it was the only time we fell out for a while. I tried to find you but you had been shifted off to some foster family and I lost track of you"
"Are you enjoying fucking with my head? First I get told I was resurrected by Cerberus after being dead as dead can be, then I am told my lover is a public enemy who handed my body over to you bastards, now you're telling me we are family!" She snapped "and my father was a pro-human bigot!"
"I meant to tell you gently" he admitted. "Things got a little heated"
She shook her head "Is there anything else?" She wanted away from here, away from this man.
"I think I found a pilot you might like, one I know you can trust. We will talk again Calen, privately, I promise"
He cut the connection and Shepard shook her head. Her mind reeling once more until she heard...
"Calen...Commander is that really you"
She span round to see Joker limp in and if it weren't for his vroliks syndrome she would have hugged him so hard his bones would have shattered.
"Joker..what the hell!" She beamed a genuine smile "What are you doing with this bunch of fickwits?"
"I could ask you the same thing, I saw you get spaced" Joker replied and held her hand for a moment "When the Alliance picked us up they set to work tearing apart all that you had built, sealed records, broke apart the team, hell they grounded me and stopped me from doing the one thing I enjoy"
"Why?" Calen walked alongside him, slowly taking in what he said "Anderson believes us about the Reapers, he's the human councillor, why would he allow it?"
"We're still the newbies on that score Commander, Valern over rode everything Anderson said and requested everything be sealed and hushed up, so I joined Cerberus. I know they have a bad past but hell Calen, they brought you back, let me fly and then there is this...I only found out about it last night"
They stopped by a viewing window and suddenly darkness transformed into light, onto the most beautiful ship Calen had seen since her old one died. She felt her heart soar and could hear the pride in Jokers voice as he gasped "She's beautiful"
She was a frigate, in the same design as the Normandy except a bit bigger, she flew Cerberus colours but there was no mistaking it, this was a ghost she could happily live with.
"I guess we are going to have to give her a name huh Jeff"
"There is only one name for her" Joker nodded.
"That there is Joker, that there is"
The Normandy SR2 moved slowly out of her hanger and gracefully flew off. Calen, Miranda and Jacob walked down the central aisle and Shepard smiled as she saw the C-I-C, bigger, more up to date and it was all hers.
"Welcome aboard the new Normandy Commander"
Jacobs voice seemed far away as many memories flooded the Commanders mind. She could almost imagine Pressley standing at the Navigation console, and a few others here and there. She listened as Miranda told her there was a full crew compliment, and then the XO suggested that they start looking for Doctor Mordin Solis, they would need a counter measure against the collectors swarms if they were to even stand a chance against the Collectors themselves.
"Doctor Solis was last seen on Omeaga and it would indeed make perfect sense to seek him out first" a disembodied voice echoed around the CIC.
"What the...who are you?" Shepard asked.
"I am the Enhanced Defence Intelligence, the crew call me EDI" EDI introduced herself.
"An AI? I have an AI on my ship?" Calen scowled a little.
"Have I offended you Shepard?"
Calen shook her head "No, I am sorry, you know, pilots don't like it when their ship talks back to them, especially Joker"
"I am here to offer advice and keep my eyes on the away team, I manage the defences of the Normandy and nothing more, Mister Moreau will have no problems with me on taking his flying abilities away from him"
The voice went silent and Shepard turned her attention to Taylor and Lawson. "I am going to introduce myself to the crew and then I will be in my quarters for a while, if one of you would care to bring me the dossiers on who Harper has targeted for recruitment, I would appreciate it"
"I will be up in half an hour Commander" Miranda acknowledged, curious as to who Harper was.
Shepard watched them leave and headed to the bridge, mindful of the slightly turned heads as she passed. The crew of the SR2 couldn't believe they were in the presence of a legend. The first human SPECTRE, the saviour of the Citadel, the lone warrior of Acuze. They felt her presence even before she passed them and the pride began to settle in their chests.
The Alliance left her for dead, they found her, she would save the Colonists, just as she had saved the galaxy two and a half years ago. She was Shepard and they would do anything she asked of them, because they knew she would never ask them to do anything she herself was not prepared to do.
She walked onto the bridge as Joker turned in his new seat. He looked like a kid on Christmas morning.
"Look at this Commander, its my baby, she back and she's better then ever, and look leather seats! Civilian comfort on a military vessel. The alliance just do not make them like this."
"The Normandy SR2 is not meant to be a comfort Mister Moreau, it was designed to make it easier for you to do your job." a holographic interface popped up beside Joker and his happy face dropped.
"And there's the pisser, I preferred the Normandy when she was quiet and didn't tell me if I left the airlock door ajar or my flies were undone."
"Its just a copy Joker, might take a while for me to get used to her."
"Oh come one Calen...Leather seats"
"Is that all you can think about?"
"No, but at the moment...leather seats"
Shepard rolled her eyes and looked at EDI "How you and Joker getting along EDI?"
"Mister Moreau thinks it is an insult that I am installed aboard "his" ship"
"Ah take no notice" Shepard sat herself on a seat across from EDI "You'll get used to him, we all do. So tell me what functions do you perform?"
"I have a highly developed cyberwarefare suite, as well as advance fighting capabilities."
"Cybernation? That's hacking and virus's right?"
"Nice to see all that time spent with Tali has rubbed off" Joker quipped.
"Yes Shepard, I can hack into an enemies computers via their wireless network, I can bring their weapons off line, their shields down and cause their engines to stop or go into meltdown. I can also resist any hacking attempt from their side. I monitor the crews health and observe any battle information that may have been missed."
"Sounds useful, why isn't there more people like that aboard a vessel?" Shepard rubbed her jaw.
"These tasks can only be performed by an AI due to the speed and the multitasking capabilities involved, unfortunately we are suspect" her tone dropped a little.
"Well you know, might have something to do with how an AI nearly caused the end of life as we know it...just putting that one out there" Joker interrupted. Shepard arched an eyebrow at him "what?"
"Joker, the AI is in the ship and if it gives us an edge against the Collectors then that is OK with me"
"So?"
"So the Normandy has a voice now and I suspect if the original Normandy had a voice then she'd have told you to shut up numerous times" Shepard returned her attention to EDI "You said monitor..are there monitoring devices aboard the ship?"
"The Illusive man has spent billions of credits to get this vessel into shape, it is only natural that he will want to ensure that his investments are running smoothly"
Calen shook her head "always has to be in control" She muttered.
"Your quarters have monitors in them, but I can switch them off Shepard" EDI offered.
"Please do EDI," Shepard was grateful, since he revealed that he was her step-uncle, well it would be a little creepy the thought of him watching her as she slept or coming out the shower. It made her skin crawl thinking about it.
She got to her feet and tipping the hologram a wink she leant over the seat and whispered "be careful Joker, don't want to get caught having a wank in your sleep now do you"
Joker flushed a violent hue and glared at the Commander, "You must be better" He snarled.
"Not really, just find it funny with all that porn you used to have that outside eyes are watching you."
"Hey not funny Calen, do not dis the collection, that kept me company on many a lonely adolescent night"
"and your mother probably cursed the washing she had to do"
Joker smiled a little and looked up at her "Commander, are you really OK?"
"Still trying to adjust to some things, be better when I get working. For now head to Omeaga. What's the ETA?"
"Thirteen hours" Both EDI and Joker said in unison.
Shepard shook her head and left them to it. She walked down to the CIC and stood looking at it for a moment. She could almost hear Presley's voice, fussing over the way the galaxy map was set up, barking orders at the Cerberus crew to bring them into shape. He reminded her of Gunny Ellison at times...he had reminded her of Gunny Ellison.
She stopped as an attractive red headed Yeoman snapped off a clean salute and introduced herself.
"Good evening Commander, I am Yeoman Kelly Chambers, I will be monitoring your mail and inform you of any problems ship board or with the crew"
"No offence Yeoman, but isn't that something that a VI is better suited to do?" Shepard asked.
"Probably and please call me Kelly"
"We'll see" Calen remarked. Kelly brought herself straighter.
As she explained what her duties were, she observed the Commander, she was dealing with trauma, more than she might have had to deal with on Acuze, according to the profile she had read, Shepard had been a relaxed Commander, using her natural personality to bring the crew to speed, at the moment she was nothing of the sort.
She was suspicious of anything to do with Cerberus, given her past dealings with them that was an expected event. She was also dealing with the revelation that she had been dead. A corpse that had been brought back to the land of the living, and that had to have had some effect on her psyche. It might also change her in ways that would seem detrimental to the old her.
She let the Commander go and watched her go into the lift then return to her station.
The walk round her vessel took just over half an hour, she had been relieved to see Karin Chakwas was in the medical bay. The woman had been a constant in her life since Mindoir, she had helped school a frightened 16 year old into a strong adult by offering her a home. To see her foster mother still alive and with her and Joker then at least there was some stability. The Doc had said she would come see her later, once she had taken stock of everything that was in the Medical bay.
She had met Daniels and Donnelly, Donnelly she was not too sure about, Daniels she liked, straight to the point with that New York Accent that was the most widely imitated American accent after the Southern drawl. Donnelly Scottish accent was a little hard to understand but she would get there eventually. Her own accent was a little hard for Terrans to understand. Despite being away from Mindoir for some years, her accent was still as strong as ever and it showed more when she was angry.
She crossed to her desk and saw a picture of Liara there, with a little post it note from Joker saying that he had this redone for her. A welcome home gift. There was also a picture of the original team. Ashley, Kaidan, Wrex, Tali, Garrus, Adams, Pressley, Joker and Liara with the Doc.
She set the pictures down and made herself a coffee just as her door knocked. She called out to come in and Miranda came in with the data slates she wanted to see.
"Help yourself to a coffee XO" Shepard undid her uniforms top buttons and relaxed a little "and tell me what you know about the six we are to pick up."
Miranda sat herself down and set her tea to one side, she was a tea person more than a coffee person, coffee first thing in the morning, the rest of the day was tea.
"Well Doctor Solis was a member of the STG's science division. Like most Salarians he seems to be able to do two or three things at once. His file is surprisingly well classified for someone who apparently was recon only." Miranda handed Calen the pad "he is currently on Omega running a clinic in the Gozu district."
Calen read his file and nodded to herself then set the file down "Next?"
"Next we have a merc named Archangel, although I wouldn't class him as a mercenary, more a vigilante, not much else is known about him except he is male, and is causing the merc gangs on Omega cause for concern, in the year he has been there, the crime rate has considerably dropped"
"Bet that doesn't please Aria" Shepard muttered.
"No but it enables her to fill any vacuum with her own people. You have met her then?" Miranda asked.
"No just know her by reputation only. Bit of a Narcissist from what I can gather"
"She does like things done her way and no deviations from that but that's a pretty good sum up of her character Shepard."
"With any luck I won't have to deal with her that much" Calen mused.
"Unfortunately as we are heading for Omeaga, chances are, we will"
"Great" Shepard groaned "Next?"
Miranda handed her a dossier on Zaed Massani, human and a merc operating more as a bounty hunter and judging by his file, a highly priced one at that. She was reminded of Wrex, he had been a bounty hunter when she had met him on the citadel. But that's where the similarities ended. Massanis file spoke of a cold efficient hunter who never took a job he couldn't finish and he never stopped hunting for his quarry, even if they eluded him for months, he eventually found them.
Kasumi Goto, not much on her except that she was the best thief in the galaxy, wanted in a dozen systems for grand larceny. She was an infiltrator, good for her choice of work, she wasn't sure why the thief was picked until she saw that Kasumi was also a very good alien tech hacker. The Japanese woman certainly knew her way around that was for certain.
O'Keer, a Krogan warlord who was also a genetic scientist, his reputation spoke of hatred, by the sounds of it he was not well liked on Tuchunka and that alone said something. Miranda pointed out that if O'Keer was ever seen on Tuchuncka then he was hunted by other clans, they teamed up and set aside their own differences for what they saw as his abominations on the Krogans natural order of things.
Finally. A dossier on a criminal called Jack, a powerful biotic, and psychotic. Mirandas expression said all really, Calen didn't need to ask, she wondered why the Illusive man wanted such an unstable element. Still they would find out at some point.
Calen looked up as the doctor came in, "Get some rest Miranda, I want you and Taylor ready to leave when we dock at Omeaga"
"Yes Commander" Miranda got up and nodded politely to the doctor before taking her leave.
Karin sat herself next to her foster daughter and handed her a shot of Haig Whiskey. Calen looked down into the whisky glass and ran her finger round it.
"You were friends with my mum doc, how well did you know my dad?"
"Jason?" Karin shrugged a little "He had been an Alliance Engineer, Hannah always said he other irons in the fire though, before he took to living on Mindoir, why do you ask?"
"Did you know the Illusive Man was his step-brother"
Karin stared at her, her jaw opened a little "No, Jason never spoke about his family."
"Yup Jack Harper is my uncle, and it turns out my dad was a bigot too. Co-founded Cerberus and did a lot of work for them before he met mum, or maybe it was because of mum that he retired and settled down, I don't know" She shrugged "It's like every memory I have of him is now shattered. He was always telling me to be more open minded, turns out he was as closed minded as a book" she sipped her whisky.
Karin shook her head, "I knew there were elements of Jason's past that Hannah did not like but, well I never knew all this...did the Illusive man tell you all this?"
"Yeah" Calen lay her head back "What a lousy week, best thing about it is working with you and Joker again."
The Doc rested her hand over Calens, nothing needed to be said, the fact she was there gave comfort to the woman she had raised from the age of 16.
And that was all that really was needed.