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Loyalty and Limerence
Part 2
Chapter 21
The Normandy SR2
It was a geth.
That much was readily apparent just by looking at it. Besides that, though, the thing laying before them in the AI Core was an enigma. They'd acquired it during their mission to retrieve the Reaper IFF after it had inexplicably assisted them against Reaper forces. It had been disabled by the husks, but they'd managed to get it back to the Normandy during their escape.
The geth showed no signs of life as it lay there, and yet when they entered the room, Garrus had felt the tension amongst the group ratchet upwards. They'd fought too many geth to let their guard down around one, disabled or not.
A barrier sprung up around the motionless geth as they approached.
"I have isolated our systems and erected additional firewalls. I am prepared to resist any hacking attempts." EDI informed them as Shepard pulled up his omni-tool, nodding to the guard he'd positioned nearby earlier. He focused down at his omni-tool, but after a moment, a look of consternation appeared on his face.
"Jane, you're better with tech than I am. What do you recommend we try to get it working again?" Shepard muttered, glancing at his sister, who quirked an eyebrow up at him. "What? In the past, I've generally been a bit more concerned with killing geth, not waking them up. Cut me some slack."
"Fine, since you asked so nicely." Jane replied with teasing sweetness in her voice as she pulled her own omni-tool up. She input a few commands in and, after a moment, a jolt seemed to shoot through the geth. Still, it didn't move, so she tried again.
The light upon its head suddenly sprang to life, almost appearing to blink as it regained awareness. It focused and refocused as it seemed to regain its bearings, before it began twitching its limbs and digits, taking stock. It turned its head after a moment, taking them all in, and quickly got to its feet, standing at its considerable full height.
Garrus felt his body's first reaction of fear as they stood before a functioning geth, but the machine seemed to be standing at its ease, neither aggressive nor fearful. Slowly, they all seemed to process the odd situation they found themselves in.
"Huh." Was all Jane said as she stared at it with wide, fascinated eyes. Shepard glared at the machine, his shoulders held taut as he remained motionless, and after a moment, Garrus forced his own body to relax slightly. "Can you understand us?" Jane asked after a moment.
"Yes." It replied simply.
"Are you going to attack us?" Shepard asked sharply, his voice a warning.
"No." It replied simply again.
"You said my name aboard the Reaper. Have we met?" He followed up his first question, his voice somewhat less threatening.
"We know of you."
"You mean that we've fought a lot of geth." Jane pointed out, but the geth seemed almost unsure how to answer.
"We have never met."
"No, you and I haven't. But I've met other geth." Shepard replied, but once again, the geth blinked in apparent… confusion? Unease? How was one supposed to read an expression without a face? Even Tali was easier to read than this.
"We are all geth, and we have not met you." It stated, and as Shepard began to pace before its enclosure, it, too, began to pace, "You are Shepard. Commander. Alliance. Human. Fought Heretics. Killed by Collectors. Rediscovered on the Old Machine."
"You seem to know an awful lot about him." Jane pointed out after a moment, causing the geth to glance at her quickly.
"Extranet data sources. Insecure broadcasts. All organic data sent out is received." It looked back to Shepard as it continued, "We watch you."
"You watch me, or you watch organics?" Shepard asked with evident discomfort.
"Yes." Was the only reply offered, causing Jane to snort with amusement.
"Which?" Shepard snapped coldly.
"Both."
"Oh, come on, John. Lighten up, enough with the tough guy posturing. Clearly it doesn't work on it. What I want to know is…" Jane shifted where she stood, her head tilted curiously as she examined the geth, "What are these 'heretics' you mentioned?"
"Geth build our own future. The heretics asked the Old Machines to give them the future. They are no longer part of us."
"Wait. By 'Old Machines', you mean the Reapers, don't you?" Jane asked, and the geth almost seemed to nod at her.
"Yes."
"Are you telling me that there was some sort of rift amongst the geth? There's two factions?"
"Not all geth are allied with the Reapers?" Shepard asked suddenly, his face betraying his astonishment.
"We oppose the heretics. We oppose the Old Machines." The geth stated clearly, and after a moment, it took a half step forward, standing just before the barrier between it and Shepard. "Shepard-Commander opposes the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the heretics." The panels along its head seemed to shift almost in hesitation, "Cooperation furthers mutual goals."
Jane's hand came up to cover her mouth as she pursed her lips in an attempt not to laugh. Mirth danced in her eyes as she turned to look at her brother.
"It called you 'Shepard-Commander'. That is so cute. Can we keep it?"
"No, it's not some kind of pet, Jane. Plus, Tali would kill me if I let it join the crew, you know that."
"Oh, come on, John. I'm sure you can sweet talk her, she'll come around." Jane turned to the geth, a smile on her face, "You are asking to join us, right?"
"Yes." Jane turned back to Shepard, her smile widening.
"The more the merrier, wouldn't you say, John?" She elbowed him in the side and he sighed. If he didn't know better, Garrus would have called it a sigh of defeat.
"If you were going to join us, what would we call you?" Shepard asked the geth, and it seemed to tilt its head as though not understanding the question.
"Geth." It stated almost as though it thought the answer was obvious.
"I mean you. Specifically." Shepard clarified as Jane's fist came up to cover her mouth again, her amusement apparent.
"We are all geth."
"What is the individual in front of me called?" Shepard narrowed his eyes as he crossed his arms, ignoring Jane as she attempted to stifle her laughter.
"There is no individual. We are geth. There are currently 1,183 active programs within this platform."
"'My name is Legion, for we are many.'" Came the modulated tone's of EDI's voice as she appeared suddenly nearby. Shepard's expression softened as he considered her words, and Jane's head began to slowly nod in appreciation.
"That seemed appropriate." Shepard stated after a moment before looking back at the geth. The plates around its head seemed to spasm, almost as though it were weighing the words before it spoke.
"Christian Bible, the Gospel of Mark, chapter 5, verse 9. We acknowledge this is an appropriate metaphor."
"I like it." Jane stated as she looked back at the geth, which glanced at her before looking back to the commander.
"We are Legion, a terminal of the geth." It said decidedly, and Garrus had to admit it suited the strange machine.
"What do you say, John?" Jane turned to Shepard again, her eyes wide and entreating as she grinned, "Can we keep it?" After a moment of silence, Shepard sighed and opened up his omni-tool to disengage the barrier between them.
"Welcome aboard, Legion." He held out his hand, and after a beat, Legion slowly raised its hand and held it out, mirroring Shepard. Its gaze jumped between the commander and their hands, an inch apart and yet not touching. Realizing Legion didn't quite understand what was expected of it, Shepard took the initiative and clasped the geth's hand within his own, giving it a firm shake. Catching on quickly, Legion engaged in the shake before they stepped back.
"We anticipate the exchange of data."
Jane quickly darted in, offering her hand for Legion to shake as well, and it caught on much faster the second time. Her questions began flowing even before they released each other's hands, causing Legion to blink in something resembling astonishment. She asked questions about the heretics, the 'Old Machines', the geth's systems of government and communication, and then finally-
"Okay, but what about this N7 armor here-" Jane pointed a finger toward the barely covered hole in Legion's chest, "Why do you have that?"
The panels around Legion's face flared suddenly as it glanced down at its chest, then looked back at Jane.
"There was a hole."
"I can see that." She stated dryly, "So what? You just stumbled upon a chunk of broken N7 armor and decided to use that to patch yourself up?" She asked, disbelief in her voice, and the plates around Legion's head flared again, seeming to stutter in a way that seemed anxious. It was silent for a long moment before replying slowly.
"We are building a consensus. Please ask again later."
"I… what?" Jane drew back in confusion, her expression puzzled, and Shepard put a hand on her shoulder.
"I think it's saying that it hasn't decided how to answer the question at the moment." He told her softly, and Legion looked at him.
"That is correct."
"Come on, guys. How about we give Legion some time to settle in and, er-" He continued taking a step backwards, seemingly unsure what word he was looking for.
"We will integrate into Normandy." Legion supplied, and Shepard nodded, turning toward the door and gesturing for Jane and Garrus to follow.
"Yeah, that. Good to have you aboard, Legion."
"Thank you, Shepard-Commander."
"That name is the cutest thing." Jane whispered as they left, and Garrus couldn't help but smile as Shepard rolled his eyes.
"You're not allowed to call me that."
"I wish I had thought of it back when we argued about what I should call you when you first took command of the SR1."
"Come on, I need to figure out how I'm going to break this to Tali…"
Tali did, in fact, require convincing before she came around, her initial reaction being every bit as upset and angry as Shepard had feared. Besides that, Legion seemed to 'integrate into Normandy' fairly easily. Granted, it didn't participate in many of the usual activities during which most of the crew bonded such as meals, hygiene, or working out. However, it seemed to find conversation with organics interesting, and occasionally sought crew members out to ask questions in order to better understand them. Garrus also found these conversations fairly interesting, once he got over the oddness of talking with a geth, of all things. In a way, it wasn't that much different than talking with EDI.
Legion found other ways to bond with crewmates as well, though Garrus wasn't sure it worked quite as well as the geth hoped.
"I swear to God, I'm never playing Medal of Duty against it ever again. I don't know what made me think that would be fun." Jane fumed one evening as she placed her tray down on the mess table harder than strictly necessary.
"Bit of a sore loser, huh Jane?" Garrus chuckled as he picked at his own disappointing meal, causing her to roll her eyes. She didn't argue.
Despite ruffling a few feathers over its superior gaming skills, Legion managed to begin making a home for itself aboard the Normandy. The Reaper IFF proved to be slightly more difficult to integrate into their systems than they'd originally anticipated, but the process was underway, and Shepard seemed hopeful that their trip through the Omega 4 Relay would soon be possible.
Which was why it was surprising when they suddenly changed course and went tearing off toward the Sea of Storms instead of the Omega Nebula. When questioned about the matter, Shepard claimed that Legion had brought something to his attention regarding a virus the heretic geth planned to use to rewrite the rest of them, convincing them to follow the Reapers. Seeing as the IFF wasn't even properly installed yet, let alone tested, preventing the downfall of the geth seemed as good a way to spend their time as anything.
Garrus palmed the elevator button and waited as the sluggish machine made its way down to the crew deck. As soon as the door opened, he blinked as he took in a very stern looking Jane speaking firmly to a very uncomfortable looking Shepard. They both looked up and greeted him as he hesitantly entered the elevator. Jane, however, quickly returned to whatever they'd been speaking about.
"I think you're just a coward."
"I'm not a coward." Shepard replied haughtily, and Jane crossed her arms. "I'm just… I've been plotting my plan of attack."
"Bullshit." Jane glared up at her brother, her expression entirely unamused.
"I'm waiting for the right moment."
"You're a coward."
"I am not!"
"What's this about?" Garrus asked after a moment, and Jane rolled her eyes as she gestured to Shepard.
"He still hasn't been honest with Tali about his crush."
"Seriously?" Garrus raised a brow plate at Shepard, who sighed. "Didn't we have a whole conversation about this recently?"
"Really, guys? Do we really need to talk about this? Stop ganging up on me." Shepard pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, his cheeks turning a faint pink.
"You're running out of time." Jane pointed out, causing Shepard to grumble."Do you really want to make the jump through the Omega 4 Relay without having told her how you feel?"
"Her father just died. It seems a little inappropriate to just-" Shepard waved a hand vaguely before him, as though he didn't have the words for what he wanted to express.
"Maybe the distraction of a little romance is exactly what she needs." Jane replied in a way that suggested to Garrus that this was not the first time the siblings had had this debate. The door opened onto the engineering deck and Jane placed a hand on Shepard's back, forcibly guiding him through the door and around the corner. Garrus had been going down to the cargo bay to use the gym, but instead he followed the siblings out of the elevator.
As soon as Jane directed Shepard through the first door toward engineering, he seemed to realize where they were, and dug in his heels.
"Now, hold on a moment. You can't just-" Jane grabbed his arms and attempted to frog march him toward the second set of doors.
"I can, and I will." Jane growled, shoving her weight into Shepard's back as they inched toward the door. "That poor girl is head over heels in love with you, and you're clearly besotted. If you make her wait any-"
"Wait, what?" Shepard threw off Jane's hands with seeming ease, bringing them to a halt. He turned to look at her, his expression confused and faintly hopeful. "Did she tell you that or…?"
"Just go in there and talk to her about your damn feelings!" Jane snapped, bringing her hands up to guide him toward the final set of doors. "I'm tired of you both moping around being sad and lonely, so this is happening one way or another." She leaned into him, causing them to inch further toward engineering. Garrus watched, determined to remain neutral, and trying not to laugh.
"Hold up, I'm not-!" The doors sprang open, revealing a frustrated looking Tali as she fiddled with the drive core's controls. She glanced at them as the door opened, doing a double take and turning around fully to watch as she registered the odd scene before her.
Jane gave Shepard one last shove, causing him to stumble through the doors before regaining his footing. He looked over his shoulder at her with an annoyed glare that screamed 'we're going to have words later, you and me.'
"Shepard!" Tali exclaimed, pleasure and trepidation in her voice, "What can I do for you?"
"Have fun guys!"Jane chirped cheerfully as she waved just before the doors closed between them, cutting off the view into engineering.
"That might have been a little cruel." Garrus murmured even as a crooked grin spread across his face, causing Jane to shrug.
"Come on," She wrapped her hand around his wrist, tugging him toward the stairs nearby, "I don't want to miss this!" She took off quickly, all but dragging him down the stairs into the storage area beneath engineering. Admittedly, Garrus had never ventured down this way before, his general discomfort around Jack being enough to make it not quite worth the while.
"What the fuck are you two doing down here?" Jack snapped as she looked up from whatever she was reading as she lounged on her cot, the low red lighting giving everything an eerie glow. "Don't tell me you're looking for a closet to fuck in. Go do your kinky shit somewhere else."
"Nice to see you, too, Jack." Jane offered offhandedly as she let go of Garrus, marched forward, and leapt up onto the cot, grabbing onto one of the pipes lining the low ceiling.
"Whoa, hey now, back the fuck off, Princess!" Jack spat as she struggled to regain her balance, the cot wobbling at the unexpected addition. She leaned forward and attempted to shove Jane off the cot with less success than she would have liked.
"What are you trying to do, Jane?" Garrus asked with bemusement as he took a few steps toward her, hesitantly reaching out a hand to offer support in case Jane toppled backward.
"There's gotta be… Some sort of air vent or something up here. Back off, Jack, I'm busy!" Jane snapped at the biotic, using one hand to shove Jack away unsuccessfully.
"What do you need some stupid, crappy little air vent for anyway?" Jack replied as she gave Jane another shove halfheartedly, seeming genuinely confused and curious.
"If John really is going to finally lay it out all for Tali, I don't want to miss it." Jane said as she resumed her search of the ceiling, "It's either going to be ridiculously cute or ridiculously hilarious, hopefully both." Garrus rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms.
"Give them some privacy, they deserve that much." He sighed, causing Jane to turn and glare at him. She opened her mouth to retort, but was cut off by a slight, electronic crackling sound from nearby.
"You're probably going to be disappointed." Kasumi stated smugly as she appeared leaning against the nearby wall, "I've tried eavesdropping down here, but the sound really just doesn't carry well."
"I can hear… something. I think they're talking about envirosuit environments?" The room went silent while she struggled to listen. "Crap, I can't make sense of it."
She let her hands fall to her sides in frustration before leaping down off the cot. Jack grumbled about people invading her space as she clambered off the cot as well.
"EDI?" Jane asked, looking vaguely upwards.
"How can I be of service?" EDI's melodic voice sounded odd and tinny in the small storage space, but Jane seemed hopeful again as she perked up.
"Can you send a live audio feed from engineering to my omni-tool?"
"I'm sorry, but I believe that would be a breach of Commander Shepard's privacy."
"Ah ha! So they are having a private conversation up there."
"I cannot comment on the topic of their conversation, as I believe that would also be a breach of privacy. I believe most species frown upon the act of 'eavesdropping'."
"I mean, this isn't really eavesdropping," Jane shrugged somewhat guiltily, "I'm just concerned about-"
"Bullshit," Jack cut in as she rolled her eyes, "You're eavesdropping because you're a nosy little shit."
"Hey!" Jane glared at Jack, shoving her lighting in the arm, causing the biotic to glare at her as she returned the shove. Before he knew it, Garrus was trying to pry the two women apart as they wrestled with each other.
"Okay, okay, enough already, stop it. Both of you." Garrus growled as he finally managed to pull them apart, both of them glaring at him. He rolled his eyes as he noticed that they were both grinning, though, as they dusted themselves off. They had such an odd, antagonistic friendship, he'd never understand it. "I'm sure if Shepard and Tali's conversation goes the way you're hoping it will, we'll find out sooner or later. Let's just be patient."
"Fine." Jane grumbled as she ran her fingers through her tostled hair in an attempt to fix it, "Or maybe- Kasumi? Can you-" She turned to where the thief had been sitting only to find her already gone. "Neeeevermind. Okay, fine, you win, Garrus." With a sigh, Jane shoved her hands in her pockets before heading for the stairs. "A pleasure, as always, Jack."
"Fuck you." Jack replied almost pleasantly as she returned to her cot, grabbing up a discarded datapad. Garrus shook his head before following after Jane.
"Maybe I'll try my hand at Medal of Duty against Legion again. Probably a more productive usage of my time." Jane muttered as they trudged back up the stairs, but as they crested the landing halfway up, Garrus reached out to grab the back of her hoodie, bringing her to a halt.
"I can probably think of something we can do if you're looking to pass the time…" He leaned down to whisper in her ear, his mandible flicking against her cheek as he grinned. He felt her shiver as he leaned in closer, and she turned to face him, her eyes alight with sudden eager anticipation.
"Is that so, Big Guy?" She looked up at him through her lashes, her own grin spreading as her hands crept around his waist.
"Shit, I can still hear you guys! I told you this isn't a closet, you can't fuck here! Go away!" Jack yelled at them, causing them both to jump and wince. Jane chuckled before grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the remaining stairs, and Garrus let her lead him away.
The installation of the Reaper IFF was completed sometime just before they arrived at the geth heretic base in the Sea of Storms, but EDI insisted on running a battery of tests prior to activating it. Seeing as it was Reaper technology, no one argued with her.
They'd been running scans and tests for a few hours already by the time they began their approach toward the heretic base, and as the ground team piled into the shuttle, it was with the understanding that they'd be heading for Omega for one last shore leave upon their return. Then, they would make for the Omega 4 Relay and whatever lay beyond it at the center of the galaxy. The thought sent chills down Garrus' spine, but he tried to keep his mind on the mission at hand.
He was not afraid to admit that this schism between the geth and the heretics confused him a little, but Shepard seemed to think this was a mission worth their while. They were there to find some sort of virus given to the heretics in order to force the geth to follow the Reapers. Why they didn't just bomb the entire station from the safety of the Normandy was beyond Garrus, but he trusted in Shepard to make the best call.
The heretic base was an eerie place, and the further they made their way through it, the more Garrus wished this had been one of the missions he could have sat out. Jane, however, seemed absolutely fascinated by the entire experience. It seemed like every room they entered, every piece of new technology they encountered, she had new questions that she peppered at Legion, drinking in his answers as though they were water on her parched tongue. Her curiosity regarding the geth seemed to be developing beyond her friendship with Legion to encompass all of his kind, and Garrus couldn't help but wonder why. Personally, he remembered being fired at by geth a little too vividly on more than one occasion, even if they had technically been 'heretics'.
When they finally did manage to track down the virus, they were given an interesting option: Should they destroy the heretics residing on the station? Or use their own virus against them in order to dissuade them from following the Reapers?
Garrus had never seen the two Shepards engage in such a heated debate mid-mission before.
"You can't be serious, John." Jane hissed angrily as she crossed her arms, and Shepard turned to eye her thoughtfully.
"Jane, we've been through this. We can't just kill them, and they may be able to help us once they're rewritten." He replied, his voice leveled as he attempted to explain his position calmly.
"You mean once you brainwash them."
"It's not like that."
"It's exactly like that."
"We can't just murder them all!" Shepard's calm began to crack as he glared back at his sister as she refused to budge.
"Yes, it would be murder. But we're at war, and casualties happen." Her voice was sharp, but when her face seemed to fall as she continued in a lower tone, "You know what rewriting them all is akin to?"
"What?"
"Indoctrination." The word hung between them, seeming to echo through the silent room. The rest of the team seemed to tense uncomfortably. "Is that really a line you want to cross, John?"
"I-" Shepard cut himself off, his brow knitting as he frowned at the floor in consideration.
"They came to these conclusions of their own free will. Forcing them to change their minds, it's not right and you know it." Jane's voice had softened, and when she finally continued, it was nearly a whisper, "If I become indoctrinated-" Shepard opened his mouth, but Jane cut him off, "No, you know it could happen someday as well as I do. And if I were indoctrinated… Well, I'd rather be killed than suffer that." Garrus felt something in his chest shrivel and twist at the words, but he heard murmured words of agreement amongst the team members around him.
Could he do it? If faced with a Jane who had become indoctrinated… Could he pull the trigger? Could he look her in the eye and do what had to be done? Would he be strong enough? Or was he too selfish? Too weak?
Garrus wasn't sure, but he prayed he never had to find out. Given their line of work, what they were gearing up to march into, there was a non-zero chance he would need to answer those questions someday. But he damn sure wasn't going to think about it if he could help it.
"Jane, I-" Shepard tore his eyes away from his sister's, gazing back at where Legion stood waiting at the input terminal. After a moment, he shut his eyes, his face twisting as though he'd tasted something that didn't sit well. "Legion, blow them up. We have a chance to end this, let's not waste it."
"Acknowledged." Came Legion's curt reply as it turned back to the terminal, "Collapsing antimatter magnetic bottling mechanisms. Recommend withdrawal to the Normandy." There was a loud noise from somewhere far off, and suddenly the ground shook beneath them. Nearby, the red display before a door flashed green.
"Thank you, John." Jane murmured as she placed a hand on his arm, and one corner of his lips came up in a sad, crooked smile. "You did the right thing."
"Maybe. I don't know. These choices are never easy, it's not my right to be judge, jury, and executioner."
"Guys?" Garrus cut in urgently as the ground shook again, "I hate to break up the touching moment, but I think it's time to move." They looked at him suddenly and realized the entire team had hurried toward the door, clearly anxious to leave before the base exploded.
"Shit, let's go."
"Come in, Shepard. Do you read?" They'd only just managed to escape the wreckage of the destroyed heretic base when they received EDI's hail.
"Loud and clear, EDI. We were just on our way back, what's up?"
"There was an incident while you were away. I will send you the coordinates for the Normandy's location." There was a hitch to her voice as she said the word 'incident' that seemed odd for the AI.
"What happened?" Shepard replied sharply as he shifted to stand behind where Jacob sat piloting the shuttle.
"We were attacked shortly after your shuttle departed. By the Collectors." There were a number of sharp intakes of breath, and Garrus felt his eyes meet Jane's. "I will explain in greater detail when you arrive back aboard the Normandy."
It was a tense and mercifully short ride to where the Normandy waited for them. When the shuttle door opened, the lack of welcome from the crew made the unusual silence scream in their ears as they disembarked. They hurried toward the elevator, but most slowed as they noticed crates and gear strewn about, as well as a smear of red on the floor.
"Welcome back. Jeff is waiting for you in the communications room."
"Okay, team. Split up. I want a full search of the ship, find any and all survivors." Shepard barked at the team, and everyone nodded as many of them unholstered their weapons. Jack and Grunt immediately set about searching the cargo bay while the rest of them waited for the elevator.
It was interesting the things you noticed when events seemed to be spiraling out of control. As the team hurried to pack into the elevator, Garrus couldn't help but remember that EDI had referred to Joker as 'Jeff', not her usual 'Mr. Moreau'.
"Okay, EDI, I want details. What's the status of the ship and the crew? How did you survive? How did they find us?" Shepard asked as he pushed the button for the CIC. Garrus heard Jane curse the slowness of the elevator quietly where she stood wedged into the corner behind him. After a moment, the doors opened and Tali, Zaeed, and Legion stepped out onto the engineering deck, weapons drawn. The doors closed after them.
"There was a virus coded into the Reaper IFF. It began transmitting our location without our knowledge until it was too late. When the Collector ship arrived, the virus had shut down our propulsion and communication systems."
"Shit." Shepard hissed as he brought a hand up to run over his head, his eyes clenched shut. He took a deep breath, his face pinched when he finally opened his eyes. "And the crew?" He asked quietly a moment later, but they'd all seen the blood.
"Taken. The Collectors boarded and subdued the crew. They took them before we managed to remove any remaining Collector forces. Jeff is the only one who remains." The door opened on the crew deck, and Kasumi, Thane, and Samara stepped out as they checked their weapons, the doors closing behind them.
"How did Joker evade capture? And how did you guys get away?"
"I safely directed Jeff down to the AI Core, where he was able to unlock my sealed databases."
"You what?" Miranda asked sharply, dread and anger filling her eyes in an instant. "EDI, it is against all protocols to-" Shepard continued, cutting her off.
"Then what happened?" Miranda glared at him, but held her tongue as EDI continued.
"I began to initiate counter measures to remove the remaining Collector forces from the ship. Jeff was able to make his way down to engineering, where he activated the drive core. I sealed him in and opened all airlocks as we accelerated. All hostiles were killed."
"What about the crew who were being abducted?" Shepard asked with rising dread in his voice.
"As I said before, the crew was gone. They had already been taken from the ship by Collectors at that time. None remained when we accelerated except Jeff."
"Fuck." Jane cursed under her breath again just as the doors opened. Garrus stepped out, rifle in hand, followed by Jane and Mordin. While they had reason to believe that, thanks to EDI, there were no Collectors left aboard the Normandy, there seemed to be an unspoken agreement amongst the crew: Better safe than sorry. And so they swept through the CIC deck, room by room, until they reported to Shepard that it was clear, as did the others on the lower decks.
"When we were kids," Jane started quietly as they began walking toward the comm room, "We were part of a small crew of kids. We stuck together and watched each other's backs when we were on the streets." Garrus slowed his pace as he glanced at Jane with interest. It wasn't often that she brought up her and Shepard's time on the streets. "We had something like a hideout, where we slept, hung out, and stored any salvage or food we found. It wasn't a home, exactly, but it was the closest thing we had for a while."
Her face hardened as she seemed to look inward, focusing on the memory, "One day, we came back from scavenging, and the kids we had left as door guards had been beaten up. A gang of older kids had raided our hideout, rifled through all our stuff, stolen anything worth stealing. It sucked. Besides losing stuff we'd worked hard for, the worst part of it was the loss of any sense of security we'd felt there. It just didn't feel safe anymore, didn't feel like home anymore. It was so… Infuriating."
Garrus felt a twofold sadness settle on his shoulders; One for the fact that Jane and her brother had had to grow up in such a cutthroat world, and one for the clear relation to the day's events. Their ship, their home, had been violated. The enemy had come into their home, taken their friends and crewmates, and left behind nothing but despair, anger, and unease.
His arm shot out, grabbing Jane and pulling her to a stop just before the door. He pulled her close, pressing a human kiss to her temple before nuzzling his forehead against hers. Her eyes fluttered closed as she smiled slightly, but they snapped open again as they heard a quiet cough from behind them. Garrus stepped back, turning to see Mordin standing in the lab's doorway just behind them. His eyes were diverted, but there was just a hint of a smile on his lips as he shifted slightly.
"Come on." Jane muttered as she turned out of Garrus' grasp, leading the way through the door into the comm room.
"We did everything we could, Jeff." EDI was saying gently as they entered. Joker sat upon the table, his gaze downcast upon the floor, his expression leaden. While everyone else turned to look at them as the door opened, Joker barely acknowledged their presence.
"Yeah, thanks, Mom." He muttered dishearteningly.
"This deck is clear, and the other teams have reported their decks are clear as well. No sign of any survivors, friend or foe." Jane reported, and Shepard nodded as he crossed his arms, seeming to come to a decision.
"I think it's time we bump up our trip to the Collector homeworld." He stated, and the room seemed to drop a few degrees. The Collector homeworld, located on the other end of the Omega 4 Relay. In the center of the galaxy. Garrus felt grim acceptance settle on him, interlaced with a shred of doubt as his eyes drifted to Jane. He felt prepared to give his life for this mission, but-
Joker seemed to perk up, "The IFF is clean and online. With EDI hooked in, we can go through the Omega 4 Relay anytime we want."
"Don't even get me started about unshackling a damn AI." Miranda spat angrily from where she stood by the door, and Jane turned to eye her sharply.
"What could I do against Collectors, break my arm at them?" Joker retorted sarcastically, "EDI cleared the ship. She's all right."
"I assure you, I am still bound by protocols in my programming. Even if I was not," EDI paused for half a second before continuing softly, "You are my crewmates." There was something in her voice that, to Garrus, almost sounded like… compassion.
"Leave her be, Miranda." Jane turned to face the other woman, her hands on her hips, "From the sound of it, the only reason why we had a ship to come back to was because of her."
"EDI has had plenty of opportunity to kill us." Shepard nodded in agreement with his sister, "We need all the help we can get."
"Okay. So what's the plan?" Jane asked, her hand reaching up to fiddle with her holstered sidearm seemingly of its own accord.
"Joker," Shepard turned to look at the exhausted pilot, "Head back up to the bridge." His gaze swept around the room, landing on each person in turn, "The rest of you, to your stations." Jane, Joker, and Jacob all snapped to attention, saluting the Commander in the way typical of Alliance soldiers. Garrus simply nodded in understanding, ducking his head slightly in respect.
"Aye, aye, Commander." The words echoed from a number of mouths throughout the small room, a sense of grim purpose seeming to have gripped them all.
"It's time to end this." Shepard growled as he stalked out of the room. "Let's bring our people home."