Jack sat in the shuttle on the way to the Cerberus ship she'd seen earlier. Suspended on the docking arm, it'd looked puny and toy-like compared to the blocky prison, but now that the prison resembled more a burning hornet's nest of imploding e-zo cores and warped metal, she could say it was impressive enough in its own right. Not that that would be enough to save anyone who even looked at her.
Jack glanced at the turian and human as they piloted and joked between each other, mostly ignoring the woman who was obviously much happier sitting in the back seats for a good sulk. The turian had obviously been through a severe accident, the robotic looking replacement flange of his mandible would normally be enough to end a military career for the rigid society, often such people were sent to be technicians and support staff to the Hierarchy's war machine. The fact that this one was still up and running, even more gunning along side a human terrorist group said things were up that might throw the balance of galactic power. "Or they offered a surprisingly decent dental plan," Jack quipped to herself, letting her eyes slowly meander back to the black armored soldier carrying more weapons than he even bothered to need, if what he said earlier had been any indication.
His identity had been known before he'd said his name, he being one of the only news items big enough for literally every person in the galaxy to have heard about. Jack imagined the only sentient people not aware of who he was were still pre-FTL civilizations, but they'd be updated once they crept out of their home systems. Commander Shepard, the living legend, he'd busted groups of every species and even tore into Cerberus with gusto.
-.
The last memorial program that'd played in the prison recreation before her permanent lock down had shown a few minutes of his suit logs, his voice gleeful as he'd flung some slavers through a glass window to plummet to their deaths, then sweeping aside the Krogan bodyguards like chaff. In the mix were a few second clips of him wasting white and gold suited soldiers and scientists, their screams eliciting a chuckle heard over the helmet's pickups. As visual porn was a rarity in the pen, and he was a definite improvement to the average convict sharing her air, she'd even spent a few weeks with him as mental stimulus, until a particularly bad shower event was able to push even that small glint of peace beyond her memory. Thus looking at him was both stimulating parts of her that she's though dead, and twinged enough bad memories that he'd best randomly wander a mine field before trying to hit her up.
As the memorial had started up, the whole thing was being blared out by the usual tumult of prisoners insults, curses, and laments of the weak. Thus is would be odd hearing the usually riotous group quiet down, but Karn, the prisoner-head gave a quick bellow of "Shut the fuck up!" as the program had started. Karn was less likely than Jack to let a idiot surviving, though perhaps a little less messily, so the mass of convicts relatively settled to watch the action and few parting words of crew and friends bid farewell to the man. Jack had watched with disinterest, dead was dead and hardly worth paying any attention to anymore, as the stick figures adorning her floors as a child could attest. Still, she'd watched a man of action, his fights shown in multi-angle 3d mesh made from composites of his team's vid and auditory records. He obviously was skilled, his countenance and joking nature easily coming across as he'd used one Krogan as a body shield to absorb a biotic charge from a Asari mercenary only to push his dazed form on top of her to unload on both.
A batarian slaver jumped up as the show concluded, and started shouting that it was good riddance to the universe that such uppity do-gooder was sucking vacuum. Before Jack could throw the guy a few dozen feet for yelling and irritating her, Karn stepped up to directly in front of the now obviously nervous batarian, who started so back up only to be held forward by the crowd. Believe in the batarian or not, no one was about to get in Karn's way. Looking down at the small bug proclaiming Shepard to be better off dead, he glared at him, daring him to utter another word. Sadly for the universe, Batarian's are not born for expression or thought, and are often fly by the seat of irritation and wrath. Standing up straight, he calmly began to repeat his diatribe before a Karn snapped his head forward, headbutting the slaver to the floor. Seeing the guards slowly approaching, slowly enough to allow a little more excitement before they'd have to separate the convicts, Karn acted decisively, and tore his lower jaw off. Seeing the blood and hearing the snap, the guards immediately lost any lackadaisical stride they'd been selling and straight sprinted over, weapons up and ready only to be too late.
The convict gurgled his last few breaths as blood loss, shock, and agony forced him into a state of apathy, he mearly eyed the Krogan as if to ask, "Why?". Looking down and feeling no need to explain to the soon to be stain, he looked about at the convicts and guards eyeing him warily. "I don't care if he fucked your mother and sister together at gun point, anyone says anything about Shepard, I'll tear their arms and legs off and see if I can swap them before you bleed out." Hearing this, the convicts slowly backed up as the guards surrounded the now sedate Krogan. Quietly, to himself, he said, "He's the battlemaster of my battlemaster, and will be honored, even here."
Jack had only seen him live up to his threat once, with a new guy who probably never heard the unspoken rule, and since Karn had been true to his word, no one had nothing but the kindest things to say about the hero. Despite her attempts to learn why the Krogan actually respected someone, a human at that, the truth never came out.
-.
She imagined Karn, since he'd been scheduled to be released back to Tuchanka a couple days after her isolation, would likely have given half his quad to ride with the former Spectre, Jack couldn't help but wonder what would put so many different species loyalty at his demand.
AN: Still working on it and trying to get time to add to the story as planned. Keep checking back.