Sorry this took so long to get out, Writer's Block is a bitch. I've got the next few chapters outlined though, look forward to some Kasumi

"Names Axton, don't wear it out."

"We'll set you up somewhere in a little bit, I think we should meet the crew first. I'll give you a tour when you've settled in a bit." Shepard told him. Axton nodded and followed Shepard out of the medical bay into the crew deck.

Axton didn't have high hopes. Really, anything would've been fine, wasn't like Pandora was any better. But there was a seemingly exorbitant amounts of comfort provided by Cerberus. When he was working with the Dahl Corporation everything was kept absolutely utilitarian. Hard bunks, tasteless rations and the like. Probably because they wanted to save money. Everything on the Normandy was shiny and sleek, looked expensive too. Everything did.

"You've already met the Salarian, Mordin Solus. He's the chief scientist aboard the Normandy."

"He reminds me of this one so called genius we had on Pandora. 'Cept she was a whole mess crazier."

"We're fighting an enemy beyond our scope, that's why we need crazy people like Mordin to upgrade our stuff. Gives us a fighting chance."

"Stuff like the omnitool?"

"Not exactly. Omnitools are standard for soldiers and civilians alike, it serves as a computer, micro fabrication platform, and sensory device. The ones for military are a lot more advanced, that one's just a civilian spare we keep in case someone needs a translator or something. We'll find one that suits you next time we're on the Citadel."

"Citadel? That sounds impressive."

"It's the galactic nexus of alien cultures. Aside from humanity, who are relatively new, there are the Turians, Asari, and Salarians who govern over all the species in Council space. There's a codex downloaded on your omnitool, I suggest you look through it in your spare time."

"More aliens. Great." Axton was regretting living through that Phasewalk experiment. Learning was not his strong suit. He was a soldier - a damn good one - not a scholar.

They headed through the CIC where the glances of the crew were not lost on Axton. Rumors had spread of his... unique arrival. When they were in the conference room the armory and research lab Axton saw something he never thought possible. Going left around the rectangular table stood not only Mordin from the med bay but a bald girl wearing almost nothing but tattoos, a skin-tight suit wearing supermodel, an old guy who looked like someone ran him through a grinder, and some alien who looked like his face was blown off. In fact, only the guy who looked a little like Roland seemed to be remotely professional military, and stood aloof against a wall on the far edge of the table.

Shepard introduced them one by one, and Axton noticed that the man with the scars and the chick with tattoos were eyeing him strangely, maybe sizing him up for a fight. Not unlike how Mordin always had that 'I want to see how you tick' look whenever he was around Axton. These were fierce people, and that's saying something once you've lived on Pandora.

"Well, more aliens. Who would've thunk huh?" Axton said gruffly. Forget the Crimson Raiders, these guys could've all been Vault Hunters in their own rights.

Then, out of the center of the table, a hologram of a big blue ball popped up.

"Commander, concerning the Okeer's Krogan in the cargo hold, I have assessed viable life signs and mental activity."

Axton, unused to this occurrence which happened frequently aboard the Normandy, was taken aback by the sudden interruption of this mysterious voice.

"Umm... what the hell is that?" He asked, already starting to figure out the answer from the very familiar tone of voice he had heard so frequently on Pandora.

"EDI is our integrated shipboard Artificial Intelligence. I'll take care of it EDI." Axton was unnerved with this development. The only AI he knew had turned out to be a scared teenager chained to a machine by her father. Of course, the only thing the crew of the Normandy saw was a small tensing of his muscles. Nobody thought much though, attributed it to simple surprise. AI were uncommon, especially friendly ones. Maybe they were just as troublesome in other galaxies.

"We'll need to set up some quarters aboard the Normandy for Axton. Do you have any preferences?"

"Dunno, don't suppose there's a luxury suite available?" Axton asked, not expecting anything remotely of that sort.

"Apologies Mr. Axton, the only room currently of that perceivable grade is reserved for the Commander." Apparently this AI wasn't quite as alive as Angel. Sarcasm just flew right over it's head.

"I'll take anywhere really, just make it away from the people who look like they wanna cut me to pieces. Scientifically or otherwise." Mordin sniffed the air and averted his eyes from Axton's steady gaze, looking a little guilty of his curiosity. But only a little.

Whether intentional or not Miranda seemed to jump on the chance to separate Axton from the main crew, or the whole crew for that matter,

"The cargo bay will have to suffice for now. Its out of the way. Other rooms are being redesigned for the Silaris armor we installed."

"So what, am I supposed to sleep in the backseat of a car?"

"Appropriate quarters will be set up as soon as possible." EDI stated, already having sent instructions for a quick room to be set up.

And with that Axton's brief meeting with the crew was concluded. Axton was headed down to his temporary quarters the crew had generously set up in an extremely short amount of time. He would have to get to know the crew later, get a feel for his surroundings. Everything was new, but at least some things felt the same.

'I'm sleeping in a garage with half a dozen people looking like they're gunning for me. Feels just like Pandora all over again.'

Something about the safety around here was disturbing to Axton. There was too much of it. He had never felt so uneasy being so comfortable. For such an advanced ship with probably dozens of rooms they had decided to stick him in the garage with nobody around. Boring. There was only waiting to be done while the ship traveled from place to place, Axton knew this from the years he spent in the Dahl military. The only thing to do in downtime was to talk to people, but he wasn't so sure what to talk about with them. He lied down on his bed in the corner of the shack, browsing through the functions of his omnitool and the Codex within. This was his home now, and he knew that finding his way back to his galaxy would be impossible since he didn't even know where he was, so learning about practically everything would have to be top priority. Boring as hell.

Axton said nothing about it though, he'd get used to it in some time. He was, if anything, adaptable. Back on Pandora everyone was always a hair's breadth away from getting a face full of acidic buckshot. Of course, being secure in knowing your head would stay firmly on while you slept was a precious commodity in Pandora. Axton, unused to feeling this level of comfort, suddenly felt incredibly out of place in the sleek, luxurious Normandy. His clothes were patched and rugged brown and green clothes instead of the shiny armors of his new acquaintances.

'Wonder when I'll get mine...' Axton drifted off, absentmindedly reading his Codex.

Jack was lying in her bunk scrolling through all the info Shepard had given her about Cerberus facilities. It was tiring, looking through all this shit to find that one place she needed to find. Hell, maybe she could use some relaxation. The new guy looked tough. Maybe a round or two with him could blow off some steam. And maybe it wouldn't be just fighting either. Jack did wonder about how good he really was though, the first time she had seen him he cleared a room with some kind of blast. It wasn't biotics which was a shame, but most disappointingly it wasn't his power. What did that leave him? He looked tough, military for sure, but she crushed types like his all the time. Just a run out of the mill plain old soldier. Just like all the other fuck heads she's killed. Oh yeah, one way or another, he was going to help her blow some steam.

Axton heard the feet before he heard the voice. The tattooed chick walked up to him with some very angry sounding steps. He looked towards her figure as she crossed her arms in front of him.

"Can I... help you with something tattoo lady?" He asked.

"Just looking for something fun. Life gets boring waiting around." She had already resolved to fight him, test him out. If Shepard was going to have him around she wanted someone who could dish out as much as she could, but more importantly not be some stupid jackass who could barely fight.

"So what, I'm supposed to juggle for you or something?"

"Maybe. I was thinking of testing you out, seeing what you can do. I don't want to be shot because you pissed in your pants."

"Oh yeah? Well I'm not a guy to back down from a challenge. You're on."

Axton grinned at Jack, standing up to display his full mass and cracking his fingers. They walked into the center of the room and took their positions. They stood there, in the middle of the cargo bay, waiting for the first strike. Jack opened and closed her fists while Axton stood like a statue, sizing her up. The crew of the Normandy noticed the developing situation from their posts and had decided to gather and watch. A few were taking videos on their omnitools, while another went to notify the medical team. The few moments were tense with excitement and intrigue. Everyone wanted to know how long Axton would last against Jack.

Then, suddenly and swiftly, Jack threw a relatively weak biotic throw against Axton, which knocked him down onto knees while she closed in the distance. She brought back her foot to hit him solidly in the gut. She was testing him for a suicide mission, so no need to be fair, she justified. Surprisingly, Axton didn't even miss a beat. Without any indication he rolled TOWARDS her, tripping her face-first onto the deck. They both got up quickly, slowly circling each other.

"Funny, for a second there I thought we were going to fight fair."

"I thought you'd be tougher, guess we're both wrong."

They rushed each other again, fists a blur as they weaved and flitted back and forth between the two combatants Some hit, others were dodged or brushed aside. Axton dropped down and swept her legs out from under her, causing her to tumble down once again. This time, she brought her hands out and caught herself, performing a backwards kick towards his exposed body. Axton was quicker than her however, and caught her foot by the ankle. He yanked on her leg, pulling her closer to him as he moved to grapple her. Pinning her arms down with his knees he asked,

"You had enough darling? Or maybe you wanna go another round?"

Axton was good at all kinds of combat. 10 years in military and a stint on Pandora was a significant help to his skills. Jack struggled under the man's weight, as Axton chuckled at her attempts, which only angered her further. Her fist glowed with biotic power, breaking free of Axton's hold. The gloves were coming off now, as Jack threw a high powered shockwave point blank.

Jack's signature Shockwave threw Axton off of her, and then some. It flung him 40 feet through the air straight into the walls of the ship. Cracks and thuds were heard as he fell into a pile of storage boxes, instantly silencing the excited crewmembers and putting a tinge of worry on Jack's face.

"Shit... Shepard's not gonna like this..."