"So have the navigations figured out where we are?" Kaidan asked as he entered the CIC from the War Room.
He was taking the time to do one last pass on all of the crew, making sure everything was passing their last operations check. As long as everything worked out, they would be up in the air within the hour. Joker spent majority of the morning checking on the major's location. It was obvious the pilot was itching to take to the skies again. As Kaidan said to him what felt like a thousand times before, they would be ready to go soon.
Specialist Samantha Traynor seemed to jump at his question. Her attention was completely on the console in front of her. Clearing her throat, she turned to look at Kaidan as he stepped up on to the galaxy map's perch. It felt strange to stand there, but as the commanding officer, he had to do what was necessary for the time being. The galaxy map showed various planets, systems, and clusters in rapid succession, like someone was fast-forwarding and rewinding a vid repetitively.
"The map still seems … off," he said with a dejected tone.
"Oh, that's just a projection problem, unfortunately," Traynor explained quickly. "Nothing's wrong with the navigation systems. The actual holographs are a little strange, but we know where we are."
"Which is?"
"The upper hemisphere of Eden Prime, actually. By the looks of the area and research, we landed in some elevated land that was never adapted for colonization … In other words, it was a spot no one bothered to reach before."
Kaidan huffed and shook his head. "We end where it all began. Kind of ironic."
"Maybe poetic, sir."
"I'll settle for that. I thought between Cerberus and the Reapers, Eden Prime was up in flames."
"Only certain areas, mostly the densely populated ones … The colonies were deserted the last time we were here."
"It is where Liara, the turian, and the commander awoke me," Javik's deep voice said behind them.
Kaidan turned to see the Prothean's four eyes focused on the rapidly moving holographs in front of him. He had to be honest with himself; despite how big of a discovery it was to find an existing Prothean in the galaxy, Kaidan nearly always forgot about Javik. In fact, except for Shepard's shore leave party and the times he went out on the field with her, he couldn't recall seeing the Prothean leave the lower decks of the ship. Javik preferred to be left alone, so Kaidan did so. Though it seemed like the ladies of the squad ignored that implication, since Shepard, Liara, and Tali radioed or visited him on a semi-regular basis.
"Yes, it was," Traynor nodded.
"I'm surprised to see you on the upper decks, Javik," Kaidan commented.
"I am surprised all of us are still here," Javik said before turning to the left and walking to the side of the map's projection system.
"I believe that is his way of saying he's happy we are still alive," Liara sighed as she approached the two of them. "I was wondering if Glyph or myself may be of service for any last moment preparations."
"As far as I'm aware, we're ready to go," Kaidan answered, watching Javik as the alien man inspected the side of the projection system intently. "Traynor?"
"I'm going through the final radio checks with everyone," Traynor explained. "Once we get the okay and everyone is strapped in, we'll take off."
Liara cringed at the last statement. "Is it necessary for us to be restrained again? Though I have healed since then, I'm uncertain if I am ready for another encounter."
"Sorry, Liara, but it's just a precaution. Except for the crew members who are absolutely necessary, everyone will be in the harnesses. The checks are all passing so far, but we can't be sure if the gravity, or even the atmospheric systems are working properly until we really have an environment to test them in."
"So, basically, we won't know if we can breathe in space until we're up there?" Kaidan asked.
Traynor laughed nervously. "Not exactly, but close enough. I'm positive everything will be fine, but you can never be too sure, right?"
"Right. Uh, Javik, what are—"
Before the man could finish his question, Javik's fist connected with a side panel of the holographic projections. A biotic haze glowed around his fist as he pulled away. There was now a sizeable dent in the panel. Kaidan was about to reprimand the Prothean, but stopped short when he looked at the galaxy map. The map's images flickered momentarily, then whirled into place, stopping. With that, it was no worse for wear, showing their location on the map with a bright red dot: Eden Prime, Utopia System, Exodus Cluster.
"Well," Traynor said after a shocked pause in the group, "I guess we never tried that strategy. Uh, thank you, Javik."
"Technology has always been too heavily relied on," Javik grumbled.
"Javik," Liara said pointedly.
The Prothean sighed. "You are welcome."
With that, he turned and walked away. Kaidan had to smile and shake his head. It was a quiet bet between most of the squad mates when the Prothean and asari would get together. Shepard wasn't a big fan of the idea, but Tali argued that opposites were meant to attract. Maybe the quarian would be right …
"Engineering ready to go?" he asked Traynor, remembering the task at hand.
"Ready, sir," Chief Engineer Adams answered from Traynor's console.
"How about the drive core?"
"Operational," Tali came in. "I'll keep you updated if anything happens."
"Thanks, guys. Joker."
"Yes, sir?" Joker's voice answered excitedly over the ship's communications.
"We're ready to go when you are."
"All right! Take-off in five minutes, people."
The next five minutes were spent getting the other members of the crew to their safety harnessed seats around the ship. Kaidan and Traynor were among the few who remained standing. A collective silence enclosed the CIC as everyone settled into their positions. In a couple of minutes, they would find out if their ship could get in the air, or if they were to be stranded for an unknown amount of time. Hopefully, it wouldn't be the latter.
"Final checks complete," Joker announced over the comm systems. "Launching in t-minus one minute …"
Sixty seconds seemed like hours while they waited. Kaidan stood next to Traynor, gripping the railing in front of the galaxy map. The rest of the crew called from various places on the ship, announcing that they were prepared and ready to go. After a few more moments, Joker's voice came back on over the communications, his voice serious.
"Five … four … three … two … one … Launch initiated."
There was a slight pull as the ship began to move forward. Kaidan looked throughout the CIC, noticing all of the crew looking nervously at their feet, at the walls across from them, at each other. Just as they seemed to hold a collective breath, a shining orb appeared from the elevator. Glyph floated casually around the CIC, stopping in front of Liara and Javik.
"Dr. T'Soni," his bright mechanical voice chimed, causing everyone to turn their attention to him.
"Glyph, could this wait?" Liara said with an exasperated tone. "We are waiting on—"
"I apologize for the interruption, doctor, but I was told to inform you when I received a message—"
The ship rattled unexpectedly, pitching everyone forward against their harnesses. Kaidan looked to Traynor as she held on to her communications console.
"What was that?" she asked.
"The engines," Adams answered, slightly panicked. "They seemed to be threatening to shut down. We think we've stabilized."
"Joker?"
"Stabilized," Joker responded. "Tali, ready to watch the drive core, we'll be hitting FTL."
"Ready when you are, Joker," Tali said, her voice tense.
"Dr. T'Soni, there is a message for you," Glyph announced once again.
"Yes, Glyph, I am aware, but could it please wait?" Liara snapped.
"FTL initiated in three … two … one."
There was a slight vibration of the ship as the drive was activated. For a moment, everyone was deadly silent, waiting for anything to go wrong. Traynor's fingers worked over her communications console quickly, checking the atmospheric systems and simulated gravity for any problems. If any of their other systems didn't hold up …
"I do sincerely apologize for the interruption, Dr. T'Soni," Glyph pressed once again.
"Drone, do you not know how to take orders?" Javik demanded.
"It is a priority message from Urdnot Wrex. He has stated—"
"Glyph!" Liara snapped, trying to make him stop talking.
"The krogan have intercepted Commander Shepard!" the mechanical voice chimed before she could instruct him further.
The entirety of the crew turned to look in their direction, shocked at the drone's announcement.
Glyph continued, hardly noticing. "The commander is currently in a stable condition in a London hospital. He did not go into extensive detail about her condition, but has confirmed that Commander Shepard is, in fact, alive!"
"FTL successful!" Joker said happily. "Looks like we're in the clear. Our destination, Major?"
After a long moment of silence, the crew began to exit their harnessed seats, standing to return to their positions on the Normandy. It seemed like no one was able to fully react to their successful flight and the news Glyph declared. Traynor looked to Kaidan, who was looking at the galaxy map with a shocked expression. Liara came up to stand at his side. She began speaking, and it was apparent the rest of the crew was focusing on her as well.
"I apologize for not explaining the situation," she said. "Garrus and I decided to contact Wrex, since he and his crew were on Earth. They went to the Crucible to search for Shepard."
"But she's alive?" Kaidan wondered.
"According to Glyph and Wrex, yes. The message says they found her on the Crucible with some considerable injuries, but the doctors are doing what they can to take care of her."
Kaidan nodded and looked up. "Joker, we're heading to Earth."
"Sounds good!" Joker said enthusiastically.
Collectively, the rest of the crew cheered and clapped. Good news was something they needed to hear. Liara excused herself to go locate Garrus, who was likely down in the main battery again. Kaidan stepped away from the galaxy map's perch to go to the cockpit. Joker would be excited to hear the news, but the major already found himself beginning to worry. He could only hope that Commander Shepard remained stable while they travelled.
By Traynor's calculations, it would take them 16 days to return to the Sol system, plus three more to reach Earth once they came into the system. If all things went smoothly, they would land on Earth in about 20 days.
Knowing that Shepard was now there, it would feel even longer.