"Well done, Alenko. Miranda was rather incensed that you released the quarian to his people, but it's worked out. They were true to their word and sent us the data from his omni-tool, and you've gained their trust, which could prove useful in the future." And it was the decent thing to do, but Kaidan didn't bother mentioning that. The Illusive Man saw others' actions only in terms of what he could gain from them; that much was clear.
"So now I have to ask," the Illusive Man continued, "what about you. Were you satisfied with what you saw? Will you help us?"
Kaidan nodded. "I'll help." Forthesakeofthepeopleinthosecolonies, notforyou.
"Good. Humanity owes you one." Kaidan seethed at the arrogance of the man, as if he even had the right to speak for humanity, much less the authority. "Now, we need to sort out a few things. First off, I don't expect you to do this alone. You'll need people. I've begun compiling a list of dossiers: soldiers, commandos, scientists, people who can help you combat the Collectors. I've forwarded the first few over to you."
"Wait a minute. Don't I get some say in this? What about the old Normandy crew? I know you said Shepard's a no go, but what about Tali, Liara, Garrus, even Wrex?" The Krogan had been unpredictable, sure, but he'd come through for them in the end. "Do you really think you can throw a bunch of your people at me and expect me to-"
"You misunderstand me, Lieutenant. None of these people have any loyalty to Cerberus, nor any relationship with us whatsoever. They are, as I said, merely individuals we know of who have the required skills for this mission. Now, moving on to my next point, I've already acquired a ship for you and assembled its crew." He smiled. "I've even found a pilot I think you might like."
Kaidan heard the door behind him slide open, followed by a familiar voice. "Hey, Kaidan. Long time, no see."
"Joker?" He spun around to see the Normandy's old pilot walk into the communication room as the signal to the Illusive Man cut off. His surprise at seeing Joker at all was tempered only by his surprise at seeing how he'd entered the room. Back on the Normandy, the pilot had only been able to get from one end of the ship to the other by hobbling on a pair of crutches. Now he had a bit of a limp, but he was walking. Kaidan tried to keep his tone light. "You seem to be getting around pretty good."
Joker slapped his thigh. "Yeah, thought you might have noticed, these guys have some pretty impressive med-tech." He grinned. "I'm not gonna be running marathons or anything, but I'll settle for supporting my own body weight. Now come on; there's something I've gotta show you."
Kaidan followed Joker through the station, matching his slower pace. He and Joker might not have been the closest of friends, but at least here was someone he knew, someone who might actually be honestwith him. An indication that the past 24 hours hadn't been some bizarre, near-death hallucination. "You don't know how good it is to see you, man, but I have to ask. What are you doing with Cerberus?"
"I had to, Kaidan. After the Normandy went down, shit got crazy. From the moment they picked us up, there were questions, investigations, interrogations... and the whole time they had me grounded. I mean, losing the Normandy was bad enough, but losing my wings entirely? Hell no. When Cerberus offered me a job, it was kind of a no brainer."
"There's got to be more to it than that. I mean, you could've got a civilian gig anywhere. Why would you wanna throw in with these guys?"
"Wait." Joker continued several meters down the corridor, then pulled Kaidan off to one side, addressing him in a low voice. "Look, it really tore Shepard apart when you died. And I'm not saying that to make you feel bad or anything, just trying to explain where this is coming from. Anyway, it was just her and me in that pod, right? And I tried to help, but what could I really do. She was screaming, and pounding on the walls, about put a fuckin' hole right through the side. But I was there for her when she finally calmed down a little, and I guess we kinda started to get closer after that. Not like that," he added quickly, holding up a hand before Kaidan could object, "just, like, she'd tell me things, ya know?
"Anyway, it had been a couple weeks, and she had kinda got to where she seemed to be okay, most of the time. I mean, it would all kind of hit her at random times, but otherwise, she was Shepard again. Then she told me she'd been contacted by Cerberus. That they'd told her the attack on the Normandy might not have been an isolated incident, that there was something bigger behind it. She turned 'em down, didn't want to work with Cerberus at all, but she got hung up on the idea that there was something out there, some bigger threat.
"Anderson seemed to think she was out for revenge. I don't think he was entirely wrong. Whatever it was, she was obsessed. Went off half-cocked. I haven't even talked to her in over a year. But anyway, I kinda wondered if whatever information Cerberus had about the attack was even real, or if it was just a fabrication, something to get her on their side. So, yeah, when they offered me a job, I figured I could finally find out if all this was for real. I'm doing this for Shepard."
"I guess that makes two of us then." Suddenly noticing that Joker had been flinching, Kaidan added, "why do you look like I'm going to hit you?"
"It was pretty obvious there was something going on between you two. And even if Miranda did get rid of your crazy chip, I don't think I want to get on the bad side of a jealous biotic."
"Nothing to worry about, Joker. I'm really not the jealous type."
It wasn't entirely true. Hearing how Joker had been there to comfort Shepard tore him apart, if only because that was his job. He should have been there for her and he hated the feeling that he'd abandoned her. Still, he was glad that Joker had been there, that she'd had someone.
And really, he couldn't have blamed her if she'd decided to move on; it had been two years after all. Would he have been able to move past it by now if it had been Shepard who died that day? Or would he still be mourning her after all this time?
"Anyway," he said to Joker, trying to clear his head, "you said you had something to show me?"
"Oh, right. My other reason for joining Cerberus." Joker walked with him to the end of the corridor, where it opened into a docking bay, then activated the lights. "Check that out."
Kaidan gaped as the lights illuminated a familiar silhouette. Black and white paint covered the fluid surface, blank except for "SR-2" stamped near the nose. The last time he'd seen this ship it had been breaking apart beneath his feet as he watched Shepard's escape pod float to safety. It had been one-of-a-kind, a prototype at best, an experiment to be more accurate. His breath caught in his throat. "It's the Normandy."
Joker was smiling as he hung one arm over the guardrail, a far-off look in his eyes. "Not really. She's better."
Joker was right. From the moment he stepped on board, Kaidan could see that the CIC area was larger than the old by almost half. And that wasn't counting whatever lay beyond the doors in the back.
"And check this out," Joker was saying as he seated himself in the pilots chair. "Leather seats. Military might set the hardware standard, but that doesn't include seats that breathe. This is private sector comfort by design."
A holographic interface depicting a blue globe sprung up beside the pilot's seat. "The reproduction was not intended to be an exact one, Mr. Moreau," said an electronic voice emanating from the globe.
"But then you've got this," Joker continued. "This... thingthat I don't wanna talk about. It's like ship cancer."
"What?" Kaidan wondered aloud. "The VI?"
"Actually," said the globe, "I am a fully functional artificial intelligence and cyberwarfare suite. You may call me EDI."
"Cyberwarfare." Kaidan had a passing knowledge of the varied computer systems that went into running a ship like this, and could see how such a thing could be useful in combat. "But why an AI? No offense, but it seems risky."
"Yeah, that might have something to do with the fact that one of 'em almost destroyed galactic civilization a couple years back. You know, just saying," Joker muttered.
"A Virtual Intelligence cannot be programmed with the decision making skills necessary for effective cyberwarfare, and an organic operator lacks the reaction time necessary to use such skills in combat. And while Mr. Moreau is correct regarding organic mistrust of AIs, I am also programmed with hardware blocks restricting my access to classified information and basic ship functions. I can assure you that I pose no threat to you or this vessel."
"Yet," added Joker.
"That's enough, Joker." Kaidan turned and headed back toward the CIC. He figured it was about time for him to learn his way around the ship and get to know his crew. Jacob had been with the Alliance, he learned, before getting fed up with red tape and leaving to join Cerberus. Miranda had good reason to be so confident in her abilities; they were the result of extensive genetic modification. Of course, Shepard had always been cocky as hell, too, but unlike Miranda, she'd earned it.
Kelly Chambers, his secretary-slash-morale officer, was kind, perky, and dangerously naive. She knew the risks of their mission, but didn't seem to have a clue what she might be getting into with Cerberus, leaving Kaidan to wonder how much of it was an act. He got a similar vibe from the two kids in the engine room, but found them more genuine. They'd been with the Alliance at the battle of the Citadel, and just wanted the opportunity to take further action against the Reapers.
His biggest surprise came when he entered the medical bay. "Dr. Chakwas?"
"Kaidan. I watched the Normandy crumble with you still on board. It's good to see you alive."
"You've been with the Alliance for years. What would bring you here?"
She lowered her eyes. "After the Normandy was destroyed, her crew was reassigned. I was sent to a colonial outpost on Mars. After spending so much of my life on starships, colony life seemed stagnant. I missed the hum of the engines, the vibration of the bulkheads, that subtle vertigo when the artificial gravity kicks in."
"You know, I didn't buy all that from Joker, and I'm certainly not buying it from you. He's always been kind of a wild card, but I'd have never expected to see you with Cerberus."
"I'm not working for Cerberus," she said forcefully. "I'm working for you. After Jeff told me they'd found a way to save you, I agreed to look into it. It's something that needs to be done, and with you here, I know there's someone with integrity in charge."
"I... appreciate that." Although Kaidan suspected that her reasoning had more to do with Joker than she let on. On their last mission, he'd become almost a surrogate son to her, and Kaidan doubted that it had taken much convincing to get her to join him now. "While I'm here, do you have everything you need here?"
"Well, unsurprisingly, Cerberus hasn't skimped on medical supplies. This place is very similar to the medical bay on the old Normandy." Kaidan nodded in agreement; he'd seen the inside of that medbay more than a few times. "The only thing missing are my private reserves." She lowered her voice. "I actually had a bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy that I was saving for a special occassion. I was sorry to see it go."
"Well, if I happen to come across a bottle, I'll pick it up."
"Oh, that's not necessary; it's so expensive."
Kaidan shrugged. "We'll see."
Miranda had told him that his quarters could be found on Deck 1. She hadn't mentioned that the deck contained nothing else. Kaidan gasped as the door slid open. Shepard's apartment on the SR-1 had barely had room for a bed, desk, and tiny private bathroom, and he'd thought even that seemed like a waste of space on a starship where every cubic meter mattered. But this was practically a suite.
An L-shaped desk occupied an upper level, containing a terminal, a collection of books, and, somewhat disturbingly, a photo of Shepard. The 'lower' level, really just a few steps down, contained a sofa, another, smaller desk, and a bed that actually had room for two rather than one and a half individuals.
The thing he found the most bothersome, however, was the massive fish tank that comprised one wall. Did the Illusive Man really expect him to keep pets on board? And even if so, the size of the thing was ridiculous. He'd have to talk with Gardner about having it drained. He certainly had no plans to use it and they could do without the extra weight.
Kaidan flipped through the available stations on the sound system until he found something quiet and relaxing, then settled onto the couch to begin reviewing the dossiers.