Everything that happened in the next 48 hours was chaos disguised as order. The Normandy's atmosphere was thick enough to cut with a knife. Shepard and Miranda had had their differences and disagreements in the past, but this was the first time it looked like things might end with the ship on lockdown. For all the Illusive Man insisted that Shepard was in charge, this was still a Cerberus vessel run by Cerberus assets, and Cerberus had to look out for number one.
It was bad enough that she took David, and planned on transferring him to an Alliance medical facility as soon as they reached the Citadel. It was bad enough that she (supposedly) destroyed all the data packets she had recovered on Overlord so Cerberus couldn't have them. She wanted Gavin Archer to pay for his crimes. Pay the way that those who organized Akuze should have, but hadn't because of some sweetheart deal. It was the closest thing to an active rebellion Shepard could commit to, and she had to play it right or everything would go down the shitter.
Since she was incredible pain and couldn't think as straightly as she usually could, she first got Joker to set all the pieces. She was flying by the seat of her pants, and when it came down to it, he had far better flight instincts than she did, particularly when it felt like her skin was going to burst and her muscles kept twitching involuntarily. In any situation, she wouldn't asked Chakwas to just knock her out until it was over, but she needed to be conscious for this, if not clear-headed.
Which frustrated the good doctor to no end, to nobody's surprise. Shepard ordered her and Mordin to focus on keeping David stable, and moved on to the next step in the plan. She initiated contact with the enemy roughly three hours after the unit had settled down after the op, and successfully managed to convince Miranda that she had, reluctantly, given up on trying to turn Archer in. The plan still made her nervous, but it seemed like the only viable option.
And after all that, once, she had finally swallowed all the pills Chakwas wanted her to take before laying down in med bay, her omni-tool rang with a message from the Yeoman that she had a message from Anderson. She longed for the days when, if she got an email late in the evening, it technically didn't exist until she bothered to check her messages.
From: Anderson
Subject: Eden Prime
Commander, we got your AAR on the Eden Prime incident, and Alliance teams have secured the area. Unfortunately, the hostiles mentioned in your report have affected a greater area than we realized, and though I'm told we haven't encountered any of the hostiles for ourselves yet, the way things are looking, it's only a matter of time.
The deeper we look into the prothean ruins, the more corruption we find. Per the risk of Indoctrination mentioned in your report, we've held off on manned expeditions until we have a better understanding of the situation. Something I'm hoping you can help with.
You mentioned you encountered and recruited an individual with strange abilities and extensive knowledge of the threat we're facing. Any information you can pass on will be valuable, but I would like to see this man for myself if possible. The Alliance is concerned about the Hive, and they're even more concerned about what you claim to be 'an unkillable super-soldier who can set himself on fire'. Naturally.
Please respond ASAP,
Anderson.
Fuuuuuuuuuck. She had never even really sat Crow down for a proper debrief, between wanting to let him get his bearings, the drama with Garrus, the follow-up drama with Tali, and the general day-to-day administrative duties that running a starship required. Not to mention that understanding his debrief might require a mega lecture on how pretty much everything worked in his reality; she had barely been able to wrap her head around his sit-rep planetside, and the only lengthy conversation they'd had since then had ended when she decided she'd heard enough about how shitty life was on his end reality for the day.
"Hey, doc." she calls. Chakwas sticks her head out from behind the curtains that concealed David with a scowl. "Get Crow up here before I start seeing double, will you?"
"Depends on what you want him for. I can't believe you sent him into a volcano!" the woman scolded tersely as she tapped at her omni-tool.
"Everything went fiiiiine." what was that? I better make this quick. Before she lost control of her inhibitions. "I just need something more detailed about Eden Prime. Something that won't confuse the Alliance."
"Good luck with that." the older woman tells her dryly. "I speak with him a great deal, seeing as he lives in my med bay, and things just get more confusing the deeper you go. Time-shifting robots, ice powers, warminds."
"War what?"
"He'll explain it if you ask." Crow chose that moment to come hurrying in, looking fresh from the showers and still tracking water after him. "Crow! You're dripping everywhere!"
"Sorry!" he flushed, and glowed briefly with golden fire, instantly drying himself. Damn, I wish I could do that. "I forgot, I just got the message and-I-I'll dry the deck, just let me-"
"Crow, relax." Shepard tells him. "Just sit, I need a few things from you before we hit the Citadel."
"Yeah?" sat on the next bed over, shifting with nervous energy.
"One of my old superiors just contacted me. Him and the Alliance have questions about what happened on Eden Prime." at his alarmed look, she added. "Nothing's happened- at least, nothing urgent, but he did say the situation wasn't as resolved as we'd like it to be. If you and Glint could put together a report, or some kind of data packet on what was going on there, intel about the Hive, anything significant you can think of, it'd be great if you could."
"After he gets a meal in him." Chakwas adds from the sidelines.
"Yes, ma'am." the Hunter sighs.
"Problem?" Shepard asks.
"Everyone's been... fussing like Glint all day. I don't get it." he says hesitantly. Glint flashes in beside him.
"I don't fuss!" he protests, shell clicking as it shifted slightly around him. It amazes her how much emotion the nodes manage to convey.
"Yes, you do." the Awoken rolls his eyes.
"There's not much to get, Crow." she tries to explain. "You weren't exactly in top shape when you came aboard, people just want to make sure you're doing okay."
"But I don't really know any of you." he shuffles a little on the bed. "It's... just weird to me, is all, people caring about the dietary habits of a stranger. And it's not like I wouldn't be fine either way in the end, with my Light."
"People naturally want to see other people do well. It's instinct. We pull each other up, especially in a military unit." she has the distinct impression that she might be treading close to the territory of whatever Crow had going on before he met up with them, and feels weariness tug at her bones. "It's something the Alliance teaches vigorously; if there's a weak link, you do your best to make it stronger, you form up and make the chain unbreakable."
"That's... a nice sentiment." Crow says quietly. He traces circles on his knee almost absentmindedly, a faint trail of Light following his finger. "Nothing like on the Shore. It's mostly 'if there's a weak link, throw him out the airlock'. The Alliance... it's good isn't it? It does a good job?"
"Usually." she tries to banish the bitter taste in her mouth, but either the Alliance's inaction is just that painful, or she's on the verge of throwing up again. "We're spread too thin to protect the colonies outside Alliance space, so they've been left to fend for themselves. We took a hit during the Battle of the Citadel, and we're still rebuilding."
"'We'? So, you're still loyal to them, even though they think you're a traitor? At least, that's um, that's what I read." He fidgets with his Light more.
"Yeah. Loyalty is a complicated thing. I know what I am; I'm loyal to the Alliance, even if they think otherwise." she sends a pointed glare at one of EDI's cameras. "I swore an oath as a Special Operator to protect and defend humanity, that's the kind of promise you never break, no matter who reconstructs you and leaks footage of you in their armor."
"I... I think I understand." Glint nudges his shoulder, and he clasps his hands together, snuffing his Light. "Hunters, we... a Hunter's honor is his word. You give it, you keep it. It's like, the only rule we have, and if you break it... actually, I don't know what happens if you break it. Probably something bad."
"You get shunned for the rest of eternity, I think." Glint pipes. "Or at least a few decades. I forget, it's been a while since I heard of someone breaking a Vow, just goes to tell you how often it happens."
"it's not just about keeping your word. It's... a lot more than that." Patriotism was a harder feeling to describe than she though it was. Or maybe it was the drugs kicking in. "It's about the people, the country, the... whatever, that..."
Screw it, the drugs were kicking in. "Screw it, the drugs are kicking in."
"Language!" Glint hisses, and she can't suppress a snort. Crow smiles nervously, and reaches for her hesitantly, Light flashing in his hand before he seems to realize he's channeling and pulls back.
"You should lay down, Commander." he tells her, even as she leans forward and tries to bring his hand back. "Before Chakwas comes over and... makes... you? Commander?"
"What does it feel like? That stuff?" she stops with her hand hovering halfway between them. "The Light?"
Blinking, Crow tentatively takes her wrist in his hand and lets fire drift from his skin. It's like all the muscles in her forearm relax instantly as an ethereal warmth soaks into them. It was the warmth of lazy summer days where all you wanted to do was sleep in or bask in the sun(or do both), but it was also... comforting, like the warmth of her mother's arms, or the warmth in Kaiden's eyes when he had said he loved her, back when there was love between them, or even the warmth between her and her veteran crew, like Tali or Joker.
Or Garrus. Back before things went to shit.
She pulls back. "Thanks."
Her arm feels... better, than the rest of her now, oddly enough.
"I, um, I'll go dry the deck." Crow announces shyly. Brain still crosswired, she shouts after him.
"Don't forget to hydrate!"
"Oh, for Light's sake!"
This chapter was just a little nom, compared to the last few, but I hope you all enjoyed. In other news, I never thought Iron Banana would leave me feeling dead inside, but Crimil's Dedication managed to do it. I also hope we get Crow some legitimate therapy now that all that spooky bull is over.
Nightwolf1875: Good luck! As you can see, I'm going to start to try to work in Crow exploring the healing aspects of Sol Light. Considering that we don't whip our Ghost out for everything in-game, also, Warlocks, it seems reasonable to me that Guardians are perfectly capable of at least some sort of 'localized healing', something which would also come in handy if they encountered something their Ghost couldn't heal, like say a cut from an ascendant blade, a Devourer Round, or any other anti-Guardian weapons that Bungie might introduce. I do have plans for Grunt, tank boi is best boi when it comes to reminding people to eat(even if he had really bad timing)
Ebuc: Sorry mate, but it's true.
Condescension22: Lol, good to hear.
Lets roll in some more reviews folks, this sucker his 300 follows and I'm feeling greedy. I also know the perfect question to get ya'll to talk: Tali/Crow or Shepard?Crow, which would you choose, because I'm stuck in a limbo where I kind of want Shoker and Talibrations endgame, but Shepard and Tali also happen to be my prime Crow ship candidates if I do choose to ship him with someone, and I'm getting to the point where if I want to set up slow burn, I'd better start it soon. I don't generally think about romance too much, I like action and bromance more. I've got my BroOpt slowly running(but it will hopefully pick up steam in the next chapter), but Crow deserves a wholesome romance.
Goodness knows he isn't getting one in canon, like, sheesh Amanda wtf? She better fix this!
Fare Thee Well!