Kaidan slipped out of the vid comm room, cutting across the War Room. Several crewmembers were back at their terminals; the bulk of the War Room members were working on contacting ships in the fleets. Traynor had come up with the idea to look into contacting the other ships, especially when she wasn't able to get a hold of any ships from Fifth Fleet. If they could figure out how many ships were still intact, they could start sorting out what to do next. Not that the human military could tell any of the other races what to do with themselves now that the war was over, but they remained hopeful that most would still be willing to work together.
So far, it seemed to be about fifty-fifty for them to get a response. It was their first initial pass over every ship listed in every fleet: human, asari, salarian, turian, krogan, batarian, hanar, and elcor … maybe even others he was forgetting momentarily. The list would take a while to go through.
Out of the War Room, the movement in the CIC was not nearly as frantic as it was before the Normandy took off from the Crucible. The crew was working to make sure the ship's systems were back in their proper order. Kaidan always wished he knew a bit more about the functions of the Normandy. Every soldier in the ship fleets knew very basic repairs, the most important parts and what they did; but, beyond that, the man had no idea how he could be any help to the crew. In scenarios like these, that didn't involve tactic, weaponry, or biotics, he kind of felt like he was in the way more than anything else.
Specialist Samantha Traynor nodded in his direction before continuing to work at her terminal. The comm specialist had taken on the responsibility of coordinating the members of the Normandy, keeping track of each system's status as they checked for damage. That would take some time as well, but Kaidan was glad to hear about more green lights than red ones for the time being.
The elevator ride down to the crew deck was quick. He was thankful the power was operating the ship again. Though he would never admit it out loud, Kaidan was not a fan of enclosed spaces. Imagining the elevator stopping while he was in it was always in the back of his mind, even back on the Citadel when they waited to travel between sections. Goosebumps peppered his skin for a moment before the elevator halted, opening its doors to the deck.
Down in the crew deck, it was much calmer. Though that wasn't surprising … most of the crew was at their positions up on the CIC deck, continuing their work to get the ship back in order. Stepping out, Kaidan walked around the outcropping of the elevator shaft, turning to the left to head to the med bay. He could hear Joker complaining before the door even opened for him to enter. Dr. Chakwas was hovering over his right arm, securing his wrist and three of his fingers in a metal splint. The pilot flexed his index finger, middle, and thumb, the only free fingers he had.
"If you keep moving, Jeff, I'll never be able to set it properly," the doctor sighed.
"How do you expect me to fly with this crap?" Joker demanded. "I need my whole hand."
"You should have thought of that before breaking your wrist and two of your fingers. Sit still, please."
Garrus was seated at one of the beds a short distance from the two of them, holding his right hand to his right side. The turian nodded in Kaidan's direction before going to stand up. Without looking away from Joker, Dr. Chakwas held up a finger in his direction, her eyebrows furrowing just slightly.
"Don't think I don't see you trying to slip away, Mr. Vakarian. Those wounds are reopened and I won't let you go running off without bandaging them again." The doctor paused from her work on Joker's hand to look in the second human Spectre's direction. She looked shocked. "Kaidan, what on earth happened to you?"
"Oh," Kaidan exclaimed, reaching up to touch the side of his face. It was impressive how quickly he forgot about the cut on his forehead.
"Decided to have a krogan greeting with our resident quarian," Garrus joked, readjusting impatiently.
"You head-butted Tali?" Dr. Chakwas groaned.
"Not intentionally," Kaidan shrugged. "Don't worry, I'm fine. I just need to clean up a little."
"What about Tali?"
"She'll take care of herself, Doctor," Garrus explained. "But I told her to come to you if there's anything wrong."
The gray-haired woman sighed heavily again as she straightened up. "This crew is possibly the most stubborn I've ever encountered. Short of near-fatal gun shots and multiple broken bones, none of you stop in to be treated properly."
"You cluck like a mother hen, Karin," Kaidan laughed, stopping in front of the sink. He opened a cabinet to find sterile cloths. "We're supposed to treat ourselves on the field, remember? You've always been on military ships, you should know that."
"That doesn't stop me from worrying. Garrus, I'm going to need you to take off your armor so I can patch you up."
The turian's mandibles flexed instinctually. Kaidan remembered that most of the crew had never seen him bare-chested. Turians seemed to be sensitive about being completely exposed for whatever reason. He always wanted to ask why that was, but thought it would come off as rude. Besides, he and Garrus were civil to one another … and that was probably a discussion for people beyond casual "friends."
Garrus cleared his throat and straightened up. "I'd rather not, Dr. Chakwas," he said. "I told you before, I'll be fine."
Dr. Chakwas raised an eyebrow in his direction. "I can tell you're trying to keep from limping when you walk."
"The medi-gel and the first round of bandages will hold. You have my word."
She paused, looking between the three men. Kaidan was dabbing at the dried blood on his face, occasionally wincing when he touched near the cut (He had to admit it was deeper than he had thought.). Joker held his braced arm in front of him, absent-mindedly bending his three unbroken fingers. Garrus pulled his hand away from his side, staring at her. For a moment, it seemed as if the doctor was going to make a dive for her sedative supplies, but she faltered, sighing once more and shaking her head.
"Fine, it seems you need to talk. I'll be over in Liara's office, I know she's been bleeding again as well. Asari actually listen to reason." One more head shake, but a small smile came across his face. It reminded Kaidan of how his mother smiled when he accidentally broke something. The smile was one that told them that, no matter what, she still cared. Ah, their mother hen …
"I trust my medical bay will be undisturbed when I get back?" she said pointedly.
All three of them nodded in agreement before Dr. Chakwas turned to leave. Kaidan finished cleaning the side of his head to the best of his abilities, letting out a hiss of breath as he passed over the raw cut one last time. Garrus stood up to lean against the bed Joker was still seated on, his hip resting against the foot of it. They remained quiet as Kaidan disposed of the blood-stained rag.
"So, Traynor said you wanted to talk?" he said, looking over at Joker.
Joker's face seemed especially serious for a moment. "Yeah ... You might need to lie to the Alliance for us."