"Take Sergeant Harmon back to the Normandy and have Chakwas take a look at her," The Commander said as she replaced her helmet and turned toward the door. "I'll take Garrus to look around a bit, see if we can't find anything to substantiate her claim."
"Shep-" Vega began, mutiny in his voice.
"Vega, I need Garrus' tech expertise if we've got to get into their mainframe." The commander's voice was even. "I don't think your particular … style of hacking will be particularly helpful in this instance."
"But -"
"Vega …"
"Fine, but you owe me for this, Lola."
"I knew I could count on you, James." The commander headed out the door with a nod in their general direction. "We'll talk more when I get back," she threw over her shoulder at Jade.
The big man turned to the smaller woman and gave her a glare that might have turned her blood to ice, if she hadn't gotten similar looks from, well not bigger, but much more intimidating people than Lieutenant Vega.
"If it makes you feel any better, you can have this," Jade held out the pistol that had also been in her waistband. "As much as I hate having my integrity questioned by some muscle-bound moron, I'd really rather not get shot because you sighted this on me and decided to interpret it as a threat."
He grunted and took the proffered weapon.
"This way." He gestured with his weapon for Jade to walk ahead of him. She took it in stride. She honestly hadn't given him much reason to trust her. If someone on one of her ops had dropped out of the ceiling wearing an enemy uniform and babbling about having been frozen for over a hundred years she'd have been pretty skeptical as well.
He showed her aboard the ship and wound his way through what looked like some sort of command center a huge holographic projection of the ship dominating the center of the room. Several of the people in the room stopped what they were doing and stared at the pair as they wound through. Jade shrugged internally. Eh, a ship's a ship's a ship I suppose. Can't stop scuttlebutt no matter how hard you try. God knows I've tried.
"I have informed Dr. Chakwas that you are on the way, Lieutenant." A disembodied female voice floated down from the intercom.
Security and communications gotta be interlinked for whoever that is to already know we're aboard and what we need, Jade thought as she walked behind the big man. At this point Jade was pretty firmly outnumbered if she tried anything and, since she had no idea where she was going, it was more practical for him to lead.
"I have told her to meet you in Life Support as Mordin and Eve are currently involved in a delicate experiment and cannot be disturbed."
"That's as good a place as any," Vega replied to the voice. "Let her know we'll be there momentarily."
An interminable elevator ride later Jade found herself standing very still as a grey-haired doctor waved some sort of holographic scanner over her body. At least I don't have to wear one of those damn paper gowns. I suppose there are some good things about this future shit. And, if I'm understanding the techno speak, the good doctor just performed the most invasive exam I've ever had, including the ones with Doc Forsythe did before he accepted me into Operation Birdseye, and all without having to even remove my socks. I could get used to this!
The doctor straightened up and examined the display on her arm.
"Well Sergeant Harmon," Dr. Chakwas began. "It looks like you've got a few nutritional issues, which are, honestly, not nearly as bad as I expected considering you've been surviving on what you could scavenge from that station's rations. You're also quite dehydrated. I'd like to hook you up to a saline drip until we can get that under control."
Jade nodded, and itched absently at a scab on her elbow then looked at her fingernails, they were caked with blood and grease and whatever made up that paste she'd been "liberating" from the dispensers on the station. Probably the rest of me doesn't look much prettier than these do.
"Any chance I can get my hands on a change of clothes and a few personal hygiene items?" Jade asked. "I'd really rather be clean before I get tethered to one of those damn IV racks."
"Of course, I wasn't going to bring it up but I imagine it's been rather a long time since your last proper clean up." Chakwas chuckled then spoke to the air. "EDI?"
"Yes, Doctor?" That same female voice answered.
"Can you ask one of the women on board for a couple of changes of clothes for Sergeant Harmon?"
"Certainly Doctor, I believe Private Westmorland has the closest dimensions, though they are not an exact match."
"That will be fine EDI, Thank you."
"You're welcome, Doctor."
"Excellent, Lieutenant, would you be so good as to ask Mordin for the IV rig? Then I'd like for you to get a tray of whatever is on the menu for lunch and bring it back here. No need to subject the sergeant to the crew just yet."
Vega nodded and turned on his heel, apparently grateful to be anywhere but there.
"Hospitals and their trappings tend to make James nervous," the doctor explained as he stalked out.
"Now," The doctor's intense green eyes bored into Jade's. "Do you want to tell me about what happened to your left arm?"
Jade looked down at the limb in question, flexing her hand experimentally. "Not right now Doc, I still haven't quite figured it out myself. But tell you what, you give me twenty-four hours to rest, get cleaned up and begin to assimilate everything I've learned in the last hour and I promise I'll tell you anything about my history you want to know."
For a moment, it looked as though the doctor was going to press the issue, but Jade's look of utter exhaustion seemed to sway the doctor.
"Fine, but you can expect I'll hold you to that promise."
"Never doubted it Doc."
Hours later, clean and dressed in a borrowed t-shirt and a pair of soft drawstring pants, Jade was hungry again. Dr. Chakwas had been in and out several times since that first exam, checking on her patient, arranging a cot for Jade to sleep on, removing the empty IV, badgering Vega into leaving Jade in peace, and, finally, declaring that all the other woman needed now was rest.
The lights outside her little room had dimmed so Jade suspected the ship was on its night cycle. She softly padded to the mess on the other side of the elevator. Thank whatever god there is that refrigerators haven't changed too much in the past 150 years. She thought as she rummaged through the container, looking for something to eat. Finally settling on what appeared to be a granola mix and some kind of fruit she suspected might be an apple hybrid, Jade pulled her head out of the cabinet and turned to go back to her room.
A sudden growling and clicking came from behind her. Jade immediately dropped her food and whirled, reaching for the sink and the knife she'd seen there. She reared back and screamed in sheer terror at the sight of huge sharp teeth and spikes. The thing had a mouth that it opened impossibly wide and began growling and snarling. Thinking only of escape, Jade slashed at the thing's face and backpedaled until she was free of the confines of the kitchenette.
"shit, shit, shit, shit, shit." Her voice had taken on a breathy monotone as she searched for a way either back to a room with a door she could close or to kill the damn thing.
Her stocking feet scrabbled for purchase on the metal floors and she went down on one knee as the monster advanced, still snarling, the things on the sides of its face flaring and fluttering as it came on, impossibly long arms spread wide to keep Jade from going around.
More growling came from her right, and she turned to see another of the things, this one with white markings, round the corner.
"Double fuck," She breathed as she moved to put a wall at her back, brandishing her knife at both of her attackers.
"Fine, you want a piece of me assholes!" She shouted, hoping beyond hope to summon help before the things could manage to corner her and tear her apart. "Bring it on! I'll kill you both!" She slashed at the first monster, aiming for its eyes.
Suddenly the wall behind her moved.
Door! She thought and Rescue! came hard on its heels as she turned.
Except what she saw as she turned was not person, instead it was a new and more terrifying monster, hissing like a teakettle. It darted at her with a sinuous grace and seemed to flow around her wild slashes as she tried to adjust to this new threat.
Jade felt a prick in her neck as the damn thing closed with her. When it drew back she saw the hypodermic in its hand – paw? – just before she faded into the black.