Thessia
Khalisah sighed openly. Well, it was back to square one. They got all the information they could out of people on Thessia, and even Varicia's extensive contacts had brought up nothing as to Shepard's whereabouts.
"So... back to Earth, then," she said resigned as she marched back to the starport where Varicia was waiting for her. She wanted to at least get a chance to see if Sur'kesh or Rannoch would hold anything, but that wasn't going to happen.
"Khalisah! Good news!" the voice of her girlfriend said over her omni-tool.
"What is it?" she asked.
"There's a freighter from Rannoch here. They got a few guests with them that will allow us passage to the Quarian Homeworld!"
"How'd you manage that?!"
"I *am* a lawyer, you realize. I have my ways," she said with a playful titter in her voice.
"Won't question that. I'll get our things from the Normandy."
"Already taken care of. Just head to port sixteen. There'll be a quarian waiting for you, his name is Kenn."
As per her instruction, Khalisah found a quarian waiting for her as he waved to get her attention.
"Khalisah al-Jilani," she said with her hand extended.
The quarian accepted it, aware of human customs and greetings. "Kenn'Reegar nar Tonbay vas Rannoch."
"I can't thank you enough. It's been a nightmare trying to think of how we'd continue my project."
He nodded. "We'd be happy to have you. It's on our way and not a lot of our people have actually seen humans all that much. If I remember right, I think we have food processors for non-Quarians now. Just in case there are a few who'd like to live with us."
"That's good to hear," she said, hopeful for something that resembled real food instead of the processed rations she had been subsisting on.
Kenn looked over Khalisah's shoulder. "Funny. You don't see a lot of Salarians outside of the Union. And even then, they'd be Lysenthi if they came from the Terminus, but still, they rarely come to other worlds."
She whirled around to see a pair of pale, and rather hostile looking Salarians on the other side of the thoroughfare. She'd seen those kinds of people before. However, she knew that with all the other asari and off-world travelers there, they wouldn't do anything. Yet.
"Please tell me your ship's ready for take-off?" she asked quickly as she took his hand and dragged him down the hallway to where the rest of them would be waiting for them.
"Well, sure, but-"
They didn't reach another twenty feet down the hallway before they were stopped in their tracks. They both looked to their feet to see a pair of energy fields around their ankles and the salarians they had been following her on approach. Of course, they had to be alone.
"You, human. Where's Shepard?" the first one said angrily.
"Ugh. Not this again," Khalisah growled and progressively got louder. "Listen, I don't know where Shepard is! I never knew where Shepard is! I'm just trying to write a damn book! And now, I got morons like you and the batarians, via some inexplicable leap in logic, thinking that I know where she is! I don't! I am tired of this shit! Neek Hallak, kalet!"
Kenn and the salarians had no idea what she had said, however, the latter had a good enough idea that it wasn't the most kind of terms.
"If you don't know, then-" he was interrupted when Kenn casually lifted his omni-tool and tasered the first assailant.
The second was about to attack when he too got shocked from behind and crumbled to the floor with his companion. Behind the second salarian, a Geth engineer in white and blue plating walked up to them both, knelt at their feet, and deactivated the chains that held them to the ground.
When he stood up, he bowed to Khalisah, turned to Kenn and said, "Forgive me, Creator. The traffic on the way back to the port was excessive."
Kenn smiled under his mask and shook it off. "Don't worry, Epiphany. Your timing was perfect."
Khalisah blinked at the sight of a Geth in front of her, which made Kenn realize that not everyone was aware of the Perseus Trust.
"Ms. al-Jilani, this is my companion, Epiphany. Epiphany, this is a human reporter, Khalisah al-Jilani," he said warmly.
The single ocular blinked once, its plates on the top of its head flapped once, then it bowed. "I am designated Epiphany. The Geth acknowledge and are aware of your presence, Reporter-al-Jilani."
Khalisah's shoulders drooped. "It was my show, wasn't it?"
One of the flaps on top of its head waved once. "Correct."
She pinched the bridge of her nose to fight the developing headache. "Of course."
"'Sup, bitch?" Jack said with a casual wave as she looked up from her pad as Khalisah and Varicia entered the passenger compartment of the frigate.
During the war, the individual known as Jacqueline Naught had proven herself more than capable of fighting against the Reapers using guerrilla tactics and unconventional strategies.
It also brought her some notable infamy when she replicated one of her stunts by crushing a massive Reaper base with an abandoned space station. She even duplicated Nora Shepard's destruction of the Aratoht system by breaking a few relays in Reaper controlled systems as well.
Thankfully, once the war was over, she obliged going back to teaching young human biotics, since many of her students turned out far better than most others.
"Oh, hello!" an unusually tall asari said with her hands clasped together who towered over the reclining Jack. "I'm Amanea Polotheas, a pleasure to meet you."
"Polothe- wait, you're related to Aethyta?" Khalisah asked, curious.
"Of course. She's my mother. My father, Taersa, was hanar," the taller asari said as a matter of factly.
"A hanar?" Khalisah said before her mind went to places it really shouldn't have. "I'm not going to ask. Anyway, Khalisah al-Jilani. Nice to meet you too," she said hoping that Amanea would leave the matter alone, because she seemed so pleasant that the subject of discussion would invariably lead back to it.
"Ah, Matron Polotheas. A pleasure to meet you," Varicia said with an equally pleasant smile.
"Oh, Varicia! How are you?" Amanea started and eventually led into a conversation of asari small talk that rendered the rest of the non-asari passangers of the Quarian freighter in the dark.
With a sigh, Khalisah took a seat next to Jack, who only chuckled. She'd spent more than enough time with the asari to know she wasn't entirely wild about them, but they were always nice to have as friends and allies.
"So, if you don't mind my asking, what's bringing you to Rannoach?" Khalisah asked Jack as Kenn and another quarian took seats with them.
"Oh, the Admiralty Board requested her help, since we want to make sure if it's true that there may be biotic potential in some of the first generation born on Rannoch," the other quarian, a female, answered.
Jack inclined her head to the quarian. "What she said."
"Oh, sorry," the second quarian noted, "it's just that I rarely get a chance to speak with humans."
"And you are?" Khalisah asked.
"Lia'Vael nar Ulnay vas Rannoch," she answered with a nod. "Well, technically, it's a bit longer, since we've dismantled the fleet into smaller cities and districts, but we keep them simple enough for the rest of the galaxy."
"Come to think of it, how long will it be before Quarians completely acclimate back to their homeworld? And will they be able to travel anywhere without the suits?" she asked, curious, as the news about the Quarians and the Geth Reconciliation was such a minor footnote in galactic news.
"The Geth have been assisting us with the atmospheric adaptation," Kenn answered, "from what some of the more knowledgeable members of the Conclave have said, we'll be able to reestablish the Quarian embassy with the other Council Races with the space of a few years."
She smiled, a rarity these days, at the prospect of the exiles finding their place in the galaxy again. When she had first learned of them, she found it surprising that the Council didn't lift a finger to help them.
The recordings of the Quarian representatives pleading for aid from the Council was downright heartbreaking when Ambassador Chala'Nor nar Seknat was rebuked and essentially told that the Quarians would not only be drifting for the rest of their lives in the newly established Refuge Fleet, but the Embassy which she had served in for a good portion of her life would be closed.
"Oh, Ms. al-Jilani," Kenn asked, "you said earlier that you were writing a book? And it was about Shepard?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Oh, well, in the case, Lia'Vael and I could tell you a few of our experiences working with her some years ago. We could also arrange for you to meet Tali'Zorah when we reach Rannoch, if you wished," he offered.
Khalisah blinked. People close to Shepard tended to be rather sequestered behind walls that often required a length process or greasing palms in order to get interviews.
"How closely did you two work with her?"
"Not as closely as Tali'Zorah has, but enough I think. She was a great help to both of us."
Khalisah looked to both quarians before she shrugged. It couldn't hurt.
K: So, when was it you met Shepard?
Kenn'Reegar nar Tombay vas Rannoch: I met her on my pilgrimage. A few poor choices had left me stranded on Omega and I was eking out a meager living when she found me.
Another day, another bunch of business lost. Kenn was always good with his money, however, it's hard to hold onto it when three batarians beat you within an inch of cracking your suit's helmet and they have to search through your pockets to find it. He was lucky enough to carry his Chutna, the traditional Quarian combat knife that the batarians weren't able to steal. However, by the time he would have gotten a chance to use it, the batarians were gone and he was alone.
The buzzing of his omni-tool almost deafened him to the sound of someone actually entering his humble store. He stood up and turned around to see the tallest human he had ever seen. He actually paused for a moment to realize that this human, whoever she was, was also armed and armored. Probably a mercenary. Also, judging by the other two humans with her, it seemed that it could have been that human supremacist group he kept hearing about from the fleet.
Regardless, he nodded cordially. "Welcome to Kenn's Salvage. What can I get for you?"
"What kind of salvage do you have?" the human woman asked, she looked tired and irritable, however, she was able to keep her calm.
He shrugged. "Mostly heavy weapon upgrades, and a few genetic mods. Oh, and I got some T6-FBA couplings just last week. Was off a ship that had crashed in one of the abandoned districts and it was one of the last things that hadn't been stripped off of it. Granted, they're pretty readily available, but around here, you take when you can get."
The human woman cocked an eyebrow, then turned on her omni tool to check a file she had referred to. "Looks like you're in luck, my ship needs those couplings. It'll help on the maintenance."
He smiled. The couplings were cheap, but at least it was one step closer to getting off of Omega.
"Deal. And thank you. Each sale is one step closer to getting off this rock," he said as he walked back to his pile of refurbished tech to search for the items she had just purchased.
"So, I'm guessing you're Kenn, right?" the human asked as he returned, "what's a nice kid like you doing on Omega?" He paused, the anger was still there, however, there was something else there. He wasn't sure what it was.
"My pilgrimage," he answered sadly. "I hadn't been here for a few days before all my money was taken. Now, I'm stuck here, digging through wreckage looking for things to sell, while Harrot upstairs is one step away from preventing me from making any money for a ticket out of here."
"Tell me, Kenn, what is it you're looking for on your pilgrimage. Anything specific?"
He shook his head. "Not really. I just want to help and find a proper gift. I'd like to make my parents proud if I can. Bring something amazing like Tali'zorah nar Raaya did when she came back with information about the Geth."
The human was silent for a moment before she asked, "how good are you at engineering, Kenn? You have any combat experience?"
Unsure where this was going, he answered regardless, "a little. My older brother, Kal, is a marine. I'm better at crafting combat and defensive turrets to support combat troops."
"I would also assume that you wouldn't be selling this kind of tech unless you knew how it worked, correct?"
"Of course. It's bad for business if you make faulty products," he said, slightly annoyed at the prospect that any of his items would be subpar.
"Alright, then," Nora said before she turned on her omni-tool and after a few keystrokes, Kenn looked to his own account and discovered that she had paid for every single article he had for sale.
When he looked up, she inclined her head backward. "Get all your gear and items, then head to the docks. The ship called The Normandy will be waiting for you."
Kenn and the other woman with the first human blanched. "What?"
"Kenn'Reegar, I'm Commander Nora Shepard. Right now, I need people that know their way around a fight. I also need people that know their way around a ship. I took a chance on one of your kind a few years ago and I never regretted it. Here's your chance. If you want, you can pay for your ticket off of Omega and continue with your pilgrimage with the money for the items I just bought, I would understand completely."
While it was no secret most of the galaxy held nothing but disdain for his people, it was hard for him to ignore the fact that this Nora Shepard sounded very sincere. Even his lie detector, hidden in his helmet, couldn't find any discrepancies in her speech.
A small smile started to grow on his face and he nodded. "Very well. Thank you, Commander. Thank you for having me."
"Commander," the other woman objected, "while I understand our need for good people, I don't think it's wise to take someone off of-"
She was cut off when Shepard got into the woman's face and growled, "Is there a problem, Lawson?!"
Kenn almost gasped when he saw the scars on Shepard's face and her eyes glow an intense red.
Lawson only frowned and then answered after a brief and tense pause, "none, Commander."
"Good," she turned back to him, "be ready to move out within the hour, Kenn'Reegar."
He nodded, but soon wondered if what he had chosen to do were merely, as the human saying went, jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.
K: I certainly hope it didn't go as badly as you thought it would.
K'R: Not at all. It didn't take long for me to get along with the rest of the crew, nevermind the fact that it had an AI on board and it was a Cerberus ship.
K: Did Shepard ever go into detail why she wanted you, Lia'Vael, and Tali'Zorah with her?
K'R: Not really. However, she always looked out for us. And there were a few times where we got messages from other pilgrims that had been helped surreptitiously by Shepard as she just happened to be in the same general area.
K: So, would it be safe to assume that she would often go out of her way for other quarians because she understood what it was like?
K'R: I think so. What little she has told about herself makes me think she understand what it's like being shunned by most other people and, well, a lot of us younger quarians are grateful for her help.
"Ok," Nora whispered to him, Lia'Vael, and Thane, "we'll only have a minute to get the data before the rest of the Eclipse know what we're up to. Thane will be picking them off from behind, I'll be running distractions, and Kenn, your priority is to protect Lia at all costs. I was able to get a note to Joker and the rest of the crew, just in case, but I'd rather not show our hand before we have a chance to get out of here."
Her three companions nodded, aware that the Eclipse could cause a lot of damage unless they were stopped here and now. She quietly led them down the hall to the central data hub where their objective was. She had point, with the two quarians between herself and Thane, and she edged herself past the edge to see three Eclipse techs in the room.
She raised her free hand to indicate the number of troops. One by one, her fingers drew back inward to indicate her signal to attack. She, immediately followed by Kenn, dashed into the room, shot the first tech with a silenced pistol, caught the second in a stasis field, and he was able to disable the last one with his omni-tool's taser.
"Go, go," she whispered loudly as Lia'Vael quickly hurried to the central computer, turned her own omni-tool own and began the hacking procedure. Behind her, Kenn set down the cylinder attached to his back and with a few key strokes from his own omni-tool, it unfurled into a turret which quickly identified friendly and unfriendly units. He then knelt behind one of the other terminals and readied his rifle. He wondered how proud of him Kal would have been.
His elder brother would gently chide him about his insistence of fighting smarter with extra equipment as opposed to brute forcing his way through all the situations like Kal would. He was on the ship when he got word that his big brother was the only survivor of Tali'Zorah's squad on Haestrom.
Kal had teased him about getting into trouble when they got a chance to talk before he returned to the fleet, and Kenn had returned the favor by asking how many punctures he got in his suit this time. The brothers Reegar had shared a laugh that they still were able to talk after their father's unfortunate passing.
I know you don't want me to protect you, Kenn, but you're still my brother, so stay safe. Keelah Se'lai. His brother had said before they had separated again. He and Kal were an anomaly, since most Quarian families had only one child per household and to hear of parents having more than one was almost unheard of.
The blur of a shot going over his head brought him out of his reverie. The turret swiveled to shoot down the Eclipse merc before she had a chance to move further in and within seconds, more troops attempted to push their way in.
"How far in are you?" Nora yelled from one of the ends of the room after she tossed another singularity.
"Need thirty seconds!" Lia said back as her fingers flew across the console.
"You got twenty-five, make them count!" Nora screamed back as she blew up another singularity.
Kenn lifted his rifle and let lose another short controlled burst of munitions against a salarian and a human Eclipse solider. They had pulled back and into the hallway before any of his shots had a chance to deal any significant damage, however it gave them what they needed more of: time.
His proximity detector blared when he then looked to left to see the unmistakable shimmering of a cloaking field. An infiltrator had gotten past their defenses and was just about to shoot him when the asari fell face first to the ground as Thane appeared right behind his would be killer.
"Thank you, Mr. Krios," he said quickly as the drell nodded cordially before vanishing again.
"Got it!" Lia'Vael screamed as both the information was downloaded and a virus was uploaded in its place.
"Move out! Thane, take point, I got rear!" Nora said as she forced another guard detail backwards into the hallway from where they came from.
Another five harrowing minutes later, Nora looked to her companions and smiled wearily to the quarians. "Good job, both of you."
"Thank you, commander," Kenn responded with a nod. "I wasn't entirely sure we were going to make it. Though, we have you and Mr. Krios to thank for that."
"Kenn, I brought you with us because I knew you could do it. Same with Lia. If we're going to survive the fight with the Collectors, I want both of you at your best," Nora answered calmly.
Lia nudged him with her arm and gave his shoulder an encouraging pat.
Lia'Vael nar Ulnay vas Rannoch: We owe a lot to her. When Admiral Gerrel went mad with revenge and wanted to destroy the Geth, he almost took us down with him.
Kenn'Reegar: I mean, when Tohn risked himself to go to the Perseus Veil, we thought he was crazy. However, it made us realize that we never once asked the Geth what they wanted.
L: We'll be sure and remember Tohn'Gerrel for helping stop the war. It was difficult to see Han'Gerrel go to Tohn's grave, however, in a way, Tohn was able to give the homeworld back to the fleet.
K'R: And now we're home. We have a future now. We won't forget this and Shepard's help.
K: How did you meet Shepard?
Lia'Vael nar Ulnay vas Rannoch: Well, I was on my pilgrimage for quite a while. You know how it's been. Somehow, I was able to pay my way to the Citadel with odd jobs I've been picking up here and there. I was hoping that maybe, the same good luck that Tali'Zorah would visit me the way it did her... despite all the things she had to endure before she met her.
K: Like what?
L: Well. I was lucky enough to land a job on a few asari and turian freighters that needed a comm specialist. I mean, when you're going near the Terminus, you always have to be on the lookout for Raiders and you can always tell when they're trying to hit you. Batarians especially love jamming signals before moving in for the kill.
K: You have experience with that?
L: After Shepard recruited me, I was on the Normandy when we were able to find the Collector ship. It was harrowing to say the least.
K: So, why do you think Shepard recruited you and Kenn?
L: I think it was because she wanted more non-Cerberus people she could learn to trust during the campaign. Sure, I'm a good hacker in combat situations, but it was nothing on the level of actual combat hackers. Also, Tali'zorah and I thought that the reason why she wanted myself, Tali, and Kenn on her team was because she could relate to Quarians more than anyone. Well, we had no real proof, but it was nice to think that was the case.
At one of the consoles near the neck of the bridge, Lia's fingers quickly went over the various links of comm chatter that Shepard had requested she kept an eye on. This was the reason why Shepard had recruited her. Not only to keep an eye out for the Collectors and other hostile forces, but to monitor everything Cerberus did as subtle as she could. Lia couldn't blame her, really, given the paramilitary organization's reputation. Not to mention being so close to the enemy required the kind of expertise she could bring.
She was good at communications and her experience in hacking would assist EDI, despite her reservations of the AI, shackled or no, in any necessary situations.
The report from the Illusive Man had been spread to the crew after Shepard's debriefing and the pilot was already underway to the location of the Collector's ship. However, there was a nagging feeling the back of her head as she continued to monitor the transmissions that Cerberus was feeding the Turians at the moment.
"Is there something wrong, Crewman Lia'Vael?" EDI asked as her image hovered from a projector beside her console.
Lia hesitated to speak to the AI. The fact that Cerberus even employed an AI unsettled her and reminded her of the reasons why the Migrant Fleet listed them as a dangerous group to be avoided at all cost. Of course, the fact that Cerberus had attacked them via a traitor to the fleet had something to do with it too.
"It's... it's nothing. Really," Lia lied, however, she couldn't tell the AI anything. She wouldn't. It was made by Cerberus, after all.
"If you should ever require my assistance, Crewman Lia'Vael, do not hesitate to ask. Logging you out," EDI said before her projection shrunk and vanished to return to the cockpit where she would pester the human called, Joker.
Lia let out a quite breath of relief and went back to her reports. However, the same questions kept bothering her as Shepard and her squad disembarked and they made their way into the seemingly inert vessel.
"Lia," a familiar voice noted as it approached her station. She turned and smiled at Kenn'Reegar nar Tonbay.
"Kenn," she answered with a friendly nod, "what brings you up here from the armory?"
"Well, the human, Jacob says that while Shepard is on board the Collector vessel, we all need to be on standby, just in case something happens. I wanted to make sure that my equipment was ready. I also saw that you were here and wanted to make sure you were well," he said with a nod.
She nodded. "I am fine, Kenn. Thank you." She then gestured to the almost empty command room around them. "As you can see, it's quiet here. Too quiet. I'm monitoring the communications from Cerberus to keep the Turians busy while Shepard explores the ship. I prefer the noise of the fleet more." She gestured to her helmet.
Kenn was about to answer, when he realized what she was getting at. Lia nodded and then they turned off their translators and spoke to each other in their own language on a short-band signal that only they, and no listening devices planted by Cerberus, would understand each other.
"Kenn. I'm scared. The Turians don't operate anywhere near the Terminus! Even if the Hierarchy were to send a scouting vessel here, they sure wouldn't be sending out a frequency that anyone would find. They're too secretive for that!" she hissed.
"I know. Not to mention that if what Shepard told me about the Collector vessel was true, how would a Turian scout ship be able to disable the vessel? The first iteration of the Normandy didn't stand a chance and it was the top of the line combat frigate back in the day. And no visible marks? Something is definitely wrong," he muttered.
Their worries were justified when they heard an alarm of a hostile presence trying to gain control of the ship and Joker's statement when he saw EDI's image replaced with the Collector's insignia, "Well, that can't be good."
Both Quarians looked to each other, then Lia jumped back in her seat to help EDI counteract the infiltration and Kenn dashed back to the armory to assist Jacob in a possible repelling of enemy soldiers.
"EDI," Lia ordered, before she caught herself speaking to the AI, "what happened?"
"The Collectors were not disabled as we were led to believe," the AI began as its image began to flicker.
"They were playing dead?" Lia almost shouted.
"Correct. They are attempting to override my systems, however, their technology is not as advanced as one would assume," EDI stated confidently as she assisted Shepard's squad escaping the heart of the vessel.
"Then why would they play dead unless they knew..." Lia caught herself when a horrid realization came to mind, "...that we were coming."
"A correct observation. I would also request that you observe the distress signal the Illusive Man caught," EDI said as another screen opened up in front of Lia. "This is the signal that we were given. Are you familiar with Turian distress protocols?"
"I am, let me see that," Lia said as she began to dissect and rearrange the data she was given to discover if her suspicions were true. Like a hovering puzzle, the data stream was dissected and rearranged in a seemingly chaotic manner until Lia had reassembled it to match what she knew for a fact was what Turian distress protocols looked like.
It was a fake. Turians made sure that very few, if any others outside the Hierarchy, could replicate their types of communication protocols. Cerberus was good at creating forgeries, she would admit, however, they just couldn't seem to completely recreate what the Turians had created and had changed with such frequency that it was nigh impossible to duplicate.
And that meant that Illusive Man knew that the Collectors were not disabled at all.
Lia spoke with a noticeable shiver in her voice, "we walked right into a trap." She didn't get much time to mentally explore the complete ramifications of her discovery when Shepard had stumbled into the ship and the airlock closed quite loudly.
"All hands, brace for evasive maneuvers!" Joker's voice roared over the speakers as Lia belted herself in.
No sooner had the belt clicked itself tight, she was nearly thrown out of her chair as a beam of powerful energy nearly cut the Normandy in two. Several more jerks and lunges almost made Lia spew the paste in her stomach out into her helmet as the Normandy finally made the FTL jump out of the range of the Collector ship.
With them out of danger, Lia breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against her chair as Shepard walked wearily down the aisle.
"Commander," EDI's voice came from the speakers above them both, "it should be noted that Lia'Vael was able to discover an important discrepancy in the signal we received. She had discovered that the signal was fake and had she not found it, we would have not been able to escape in time."
Shepard said nothing as she looked to the holographic image before she turned to Lia and spoke calmly, "well done, Ms. Vael. You've saved us." However, the heat in her voice returned as she started to walk away, "now, haole and I need to discuss a few things in private!"
Lia cringed at the glowing red scars on her face that seemed to glow brighter the madder she got. Whoever this 'haole' was, Lia was glad she wasn't them.
K: Thank you for taking the time to speak with me, Ms. Nought.
Jacqueline Naught; Biotics Teacher for Grissom Academy: No problem.
K: Considering your past, there must have been some kind of tension with what Cerberus did to you when you joined Shepard.
J: No shit, Sherlock. The only reason I got on the Normandy was because Shepard made a deal that I couldn't refuse.
K: What was that?
J: Ha! Every dirty secret they had access to. Including the facility where those bastards took me and all those other kids and treated us like lab rats.
K: Still, the fact that you were on a Cerberus vessel must have come to a head or something.
J: Yeah, it did. Though, I have to give Shepard credit, she had some serious balls to come between me and the Cheerleader that gave Cerberus every excuse.
K: What happened?
J: She chewed us out, but I didn't have any of it. So, we decided to settle it out the best way both of us knew; fighting.
Nora's gaze was steady as it was angry at Jack, who mirrored Shepard's own. When she had separated herself and Miranda from fighting in her office, it would have been disingenuous to say she had settled the fight. When Jack had left the office, she had heard some of the most heated and angry yelling she had ever heard out of Shepard, she even used a few words she wanted to remember for herself at a later date.
However, Shepard then came down to her hidey hole and ended up giving her the same spiel more or less. She was tempted to smear Shepard across the metal right then and there, however, the Commander gave her a good reason to let them 'take it outside'.
Shepard would take Jack to Daratar in the ruins of the Eclipse base they had raided not too long ago and they would fight. If Jack won; she'd give Jack command over the Normandy. If Nora won; what she would do she wouldn't say, however, she gave Jack her word it wouldn't be unpleasant.
"Even if you won, Shepard, what makes you think I'd go along with it?" Jack sneered as the Kodiak lowered through the atmosphere.
"Call it a hunch, Jack," she answered tersely as the ships VI indicated they were at the base. The door opened and both hopped out.
"You ready?" Nora said as she faced Jack.
"Damn right I am. Ready to kick your ass and take the Normandy from you," Jack said as she cracked her knuckles.
"We'll see. And just to even the odds a bit," Nora said before she reached backward and let her folded up weapons drop to the ground. She then drew out her asari combat knife and said, "aside from my biotics, this is all I'm going to use."
Jack snorted. "What, you think you can take me out with your biotics alone, Shepard? You gotten stupid behind my back?"
"Not really. I won't need to use my biotics against you at all," she said calmly.
Jack nearly choked. "Damn, Shepard, you really must have lost it. Oh well, whatever. I'm gonna get the ship anyway. Go ahead and just give up now."
"Don't think so," Nora said when all of a sudden, a dust cloud exploded from behind Nora and filled the valley.
The wind had obscured Jack's vision and before she could pull her weapons out, Shepard had vanished.
"You piece of shit cheater!" Jack howled as she let loose her shotgun into the cloud, which hit nothing.
"Really, Jack, I thought you understood the galaxy better than that," Nora taunted from the other side of the valley.
"You were just buttering me up the whole fucking time! You two-faced piece of shit!" Jack snarled as she fired off another round of shotgun rounds into the general direction of the voice, but still hit nothing.
The dust finally dissipated and Jack searched around frantically but Shepard was nowhere to be found.
"I never lied to you, Jack," Nora's voice came from another point in the valley.
She threw her shotgun aside and gathered her biotics. The instant she saw a shadow above her, she whirled around and threw all her strength into a single biotic wave. To her surprise, it wasn't Shepard, like she thought it was, but it turned out to simply be Nora's breastplate.
She then turned back, only to be tackled violently. Nora's feet dug into her stomach and knocked the air out of her. She then teetered over and fell on her back. As she struggled to get her breath back, she looked up to see Shepard, without her armor and her knife drawn. The frown on her face was very telling.
"You missed, Jack," she growled before she raised the point of her dagger up as though she were going to stab her in the face. When the blade dug into the ground, right beside her ear, Nora leaned in close and hissed, "and now, you're dead!"
Without another word, she stood up and grabbed Jack by the belt that held her breasts in check and hauled her up to her feet when she finally got her breath back. "Come on, let's go," she said as she guided the weakened Jack back to the Kodiak.
She had lost. It was disgusting.
Jack's breathing was still haggard as she took a seat across from Shepard, but still glared at her. "What's your game, Shepard?"
"I don't have a game, Jack," Nora said, tired of the paranoia, " look, I get it. You had it rough. Cerberus stole your life from you and turned you into a lab experiment. But guess what? You're not anymore, so, why are you doing what they want?"
"What?!" Jack asked, angered, before another fit of coughing.
"Because you're doing exactly what they want you to do. You may as well be back in that damn facility," Shepard said with a frown.
"You fucking kidding me?!"
"Think about it, Jack! What they wanted out of you and those kids was a weapon. They couldn't give a damn how much damage you do to them because that's what they want! And guess what? By proving them right, it'll make it easier for them to do it to other kids!"
Jack's eyes went wide. All the time, even after finding the information from Pragia, she figured she was the end of whatever project Cerberus wanted. And to hear that she was just a template shook her. It seemed that no matter what she could do, Cerberus would always be one step ahead and just not care, no matter what she did.
"Dammit," she whispered, "then what the fuck am I supposed to do?"
"I don't know, Jack," Nora said wearily, "but I do know is that whatever you do, just don't prove them right."
"And what would that be, Shepard?!" Jack asked, still clearly angry at losing and impatient with the grandstanding.
"That you're not an animal! How you do that, I don't know, but carrying this grudge well beyond the fact that Pragia's completely gone is not helping at all," Nora said just as exasperated.
Jack paused at the first part. She was always used to being treated poorly and with the same hate and disdain she reveled in. No one had ever told her she was human at all.
It was worth a moment to think about, anyway.
J: So, Shepard was the first person to actually treat me like a person. I started hating everything and everyone a bit less and, well, I was able to convince the heads at Grissom to let me teach those little brats and see if they got what it takes.
K: How are your students doing?
J: They're actually not sucking for once. They might actually make me proud if they keep it up. And the same goes for the second years that I'll be teaching when we get the Academy up and running again.
K: Thank you for your time, Ms. Nought.
J: Welcome.