Act 2: The Last City
We called it the Traveler, and its arrival changed us forever.
Great cities were built on Mars and Venus. Mercury became a garden world. Human lifespan tripled. It was a time of miracles.
We stared out at the galaxy and knew that it was our destiny to walk in the light of other stars… but the Traveler had an enemy.
A Darkness, which had hunted it for eons across the black gulfs of space. Centuries after our Golden Age began, this Darkness found us, and that was the end of everything…
But it was also a beginning.
…
The scene was like a war zone. Smoke littered the air around them. Scorch marks blackened the walls and ground. The broken and mangled forms of mechs spread across the area in piles. Soldiers, not dead or even fatally wounded, but unconscious, and were either laying on the ground or over guard railings on higher levels of the docking bay hangar. The Citadel had not seen such chaos since the Geth Attack, or Cerberus' invasion, or even when the station was transformed into the Catalyst. But this time it had not been caused by an army.
This time it was only four people.
This time… It was Commander Shepard who laid waste to everything.
The legendary human soldier who fought to the nail to save the galaxy from the Reapers, a force that no one believed existed until it was too late, betrayed everything she stood for and sacrificed to protect, and left behind a trail of devastation in her wake. She attacked her comrades, her friends, without a shred of remorse. Kaiden was nearly beaten to death. Wrex was sent flying. Miranda's face was smashed in. Liara had her spirit ripped to pieces. God only knows who else she's hurt.
The savior of the Milky Way… How the mighty have fallen.
Emerging from the rear section of the hangar, Tali was holding her gut with her arm, limping out into the open. Her head was ringing like a bell and she was seeing double of everything in her view. The quarian felt herself fumble in her movement, causing her to lean against a crate for support. Balance seemed to be an issue for her at the moment.
"Keelah… What happened..?"
It took her a minute, but her vision finally refocused. Tali gasped. The sheer amount of devastation around her through the visor of her helmet. There was no way any of it could be real. It was as though there was some kind of storm in the hanger from the amount of static on the ground and in the air. And with all the broken mechs around, you would think Tali had been transported back to the Morning War between her people and the geth.
Tali was mortified. All this happened while she was out cold. Zaeed was still unconscious himself, back where she had woken up. While she would have tended to him, the safety of the other soldiers took rioters as Masani's injuries were minor.
"Hello?! Can anyone hear me?!" The quarian called out. "This is Admiral Tali'Zora vas Normandy! If you can hear me, then respond!"
The dust clouds and dirt sticking to her helmet were obscuring her vision. Tali constantly had to wipe her helmet clean just so she could see. Using her Omni-Tool's radar was a dead end, due to all the electricity in the air causing interference. After a few seconds of walking blindly, Tali caught a glimpse of someone in front of her. An asari from the looks of their head. She moved in closer. Her view became much clearer and she recognized them.
"Liara!"
Tali ran to her friend's aid. Liara was seen on her knees, staring into the dusty clouds in front of her for some unknown reason.
"Liara, are you alright? It's me, Tali!"
Despite identifying herself, Liara didn't seem to react in the slightest. That was when she noticed it. Liara was crying. Tears ran down her face like small rivers. Her arms hanging limp at her sides. Tali started to worry.
"Liara..?"
The asari still did not respond. She didn't even blink. It was like she was in a trance. Now Tali was REALLY starting to worry. Zora knelt down in front of Liara and firmly took hold of her shoulders.
"Liara!" She yelled as loudly as she could.
The sound of her friend's voice finally snapped T'Soni out of whatever spell she was under. Liara blinked and took notice of the masked woman in front of her. Even with the tinted purple of Tali's visor, Liara could see her eyes beneath, teeming with concern.
"Tali..?" She spoke so softly that it was almost a whisper.
"Thank the homeworld. You scared me for a second."
Tali helped her friend back onto her feet. Liara held on to Tali for support. The two of them looked around at their surroundings. So much devastation. It was ungodly.
"Are you hurt?" Asked the quarian. Liara shook her head no. That was good. "That's great."
"Where… Where are the mercenaries..?" Liara asked.
"They got away… Garrus along with them." Tali replied, clenching her first in frustration. "I should have been able to stop them."
Liara wiped the tears from her face. She could sense the anger and self loathing that her friend was feeling at that moment. Liara pulled Tali closer to her, enrapturing the quarian in a hug.
"Don't blame yourself. I'm sure you did everything that you could." The two broke the embrace. "None of us could have predicted just how powerful these people were. Goddess…"
Tali tilted her head to the left. She noticed three silhouettes in the dust approaching. Tapping Liara's shoulder to get her attention, the doctor turned around. However, she did not seem alarmed by them. She could sense that they were friendly. The three emerged from the smoke. They were none other than Miranda, Javik, and Grunt; Grunt still sporting that arrow in the side of his head.
"Glad to know we're not the only ones still standing." Miranda stated.
"Quarian, where is the human, Masani? I recall the two of you being together." Javik asked Tali, hugging his side.
"Zaeed is fine, but those ax'kahs managed to get away with Garr-" Tali paused, shifting her attention to the krogan on her right. "Grunt, is that an arrow in your head?"
"Yes it is." Grunt answered, hands at his hips. "I would prefer you don't touch it."
"We have bigger problems than Garrus right now, everyone.
The crew turned their attention to Liara. They could tell something was wrong from the look in her azure eyes. Liara didn't wish to share this, but they needed to know.
"One of the mercenaries. The big one who Miranda and Kaiden fought…" She bit her lip. "It… It's Shepard..!"
The group gasped as they were overcome with utter shock. Tali thought her audios glitched for a second, while Grunt assumed the arrow in his head was messing with his hearing.
"What..? Liara, that can't be! Shepard's dead!" Argued Miranda.
"No, it's true. I saw her face beneath that helmet. She had a tattoo, but it was definitely her. But the way she looked at me… She had no idea who I was."
Her tears began to flow again. Tali pulled her friend close in an attempt at comforting her. Miranda, Grunt, and Javik were left in total disbelief.
"The commander, alive and working with anarchists? Impossible!" Javik cringed.
"I saw what she did to Wrex. She threw him like he was a soft ball. Shepard was never that strong." Grunt pointed out.
Miranda turned to the krogan. "Don't forget that she even ran through blast doors like they were paper and put Kaiden back in the hospital. What happened to her?"
"Perhaps this is a result of the Crucible's energy." Javik assumed.
Liara wiped her face of tears and slipped from Tali's embrace. It was slow, but she was getting a hold of herself once more.
"I have no idea… But what we do know is that these people have Garrus. And they may be using Shepard to manipulate him into cooperating with them. Whatever they did to her, they may do the same to him."
"Then our top priority now is to get that scotch guzzling turian back! We are not losing anymore friends!" Tali said, her eyes now burning with determination.
"I couldn't agree more, Tali."
Everyone's eyes lit up. A familiar voice eliminated from their comms.
"Joker?" They all asked at once..
Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind blew over them, nearly blowing them all away. The group looked up. They were greeted by a welcoming site.
"Who else could it be?"
…
Flying high over the sky's of the ward, the Radiant Accipiter soared. Despite its rather fragile body, the jumpship's speed and maneuverability were in a class of their own. The ship easily zipped past oncoming air traffic and squeezed between buildings, almost as if it were a bird that was dancing in the air.
Inside the ship's cockpit, Amanda sat back with her hands gripping the steering controls firmly. Her eyes transfixed on her front view, keeping watch for any obstacles in her path. Beside her in the co-pilot's seat was Crow, sipping on a coffee.
"Thanks for the java, and for cleaning the one you poured on my controls." Said the Hunter.
"Saw that, huh? Sorry 'bout that. Accident, I swear." She apologized.
"It's fine. No biggie."
The two of them sat in silence. The air carried a heavy tension originating from between them. Amanda was trying to focus on flying, while Crow sat in his seat, trying to come up with words. The silence was so awkward that it was almost unbearable. They wanted to say something. They really did. But neither was sure as to what they would say.
Finally, Crow broke the ice. "So… Are we… good?"
Holiday waited a moment before giving her response. "Uh… Yeah… Yeah, we're good." She said nervously.
"I'm… glad…"
Silence returned. Not one of them uttering a word or even making the slightest amount of eye contact. It was worse than a parent trying to have "The Talk" with their child. Amanda sighed.
"Crow… I'm sorry 'bout what I said to you a while's back. I was outta line. You were goin' through some shit 'n… I thought about what you told me. How before you ended up with Spider. How Guardians would… Well…"
The Hunter looked over at the pilot beside him. There was a look of guilt and regret in her eyes. He had seen that expression before… In himself.
"You have nothing to apologize for, Amanda. You had the right to be angry." Crow's look was sorrowful, yet understanding. "I know what I did was beyond forgiveness. No matter what, I can't change the past."
"Yeah… We all got 'em… But I still shouldn't have blasted you like that. So I'm sorry for it."
Her words reached his heart. Crow's lips curved into a slight smile.
"Well, it's like a certain someone said. The Light offers us all a fresh start."
"Next you're gonna say that the truth is a funny thing!"
Holiday and Sov broke out into gentle laughter, then smiled at one another from their seats. Their moment was cut short however as Whiskey and Shinazu walked into the cockpit together.
"You two got a funny way of 'romantic'." Commented the Exo with a chuckle.
Crow shot Whiskey a venomous glare. "Nobody asked you. And what are you guys doing up here?"
"Jane wished for privacy so that she may speak freely with Garrus Vakarian." Shinazu explained as he was reading a small book.
"Speakin' of our new spiky friend. What even happened down there?" Questioned Holiday. "All I heard was a bunch of screamin'."
Glint appeared from within Crow's hood, flying up to Amanda. "Well, Jane resurrected in front of Garrus. He screamed. Obviously."
Oh, Amanda knew what that was like. She still remembered the first time she saw a Guardian be revived after being killed in battle. She whipped out her shotgun and killed them again after shrieking as hard as she could. Then apologized to them after resurrecting again.
"And then…" Glint paused. "He kissed her."
"WHAT?'
Amanda was in so much shock that she accidentally made a hard right with the controls and everyone was caught up in the sudden dip. Crow ended up getting coffee spilled all over him, making him yell out in pain as the scalding liquid burnt his blue skin.
"HOLIDAY! WATCH IT UP THERE!" Jane shouted from down below.
"My bad!" Amanda turned to her co-pilot. "You alright there, Birdie?"
Crow winced. "Anybody have cold milk..?"
…
Garrus sat atop a small crate in the cargo hold, holding his head as he tried desperately to process what had just transpired. Shepard was dead. She was dead as disco. Again. And she had just sprung back to life. ALSO AGAIN. His heart was still racing as a result.
How could that have been possible? Garrus remembered when Miranda told him about tbd details of Project Lazarus, the Cerberus operation used to bring Jane back the first time, but nothing like this. What Edith did was beyond the point of healing. And Jane treated it like it was normal for her! Just who were these people, and what did Jane mean when she said she had "become legend"?
Spirits… she's never wanted a drink more than he did right now…
"Hey."
Garrus turned to his right. Jane was standing in the walkway, looking at him with a nervous expression. She was clearly uneasy after he had kissed her out of the blue as she was blushing.
"I asked the others if they would give us some privacy." She spoke awkwardly.
Garrus didn't respond. He just stared at her. Jane looked away and scratched the back of her head. The tension between them was heavy. The Titan slowly walked over and sat down on the floor beside him.
"Where are we going?" He finally asked.
"Earth." She replied blankly.
"Earth? Why?"
"Not this Earth."
The turian raised his brow plate. "Excuse me?"
"It's complicated."
The two of them went dead silent, with the only sounds made was their breathing. They remained muted for at least a minute before Jane decided to speak up once more.
"So… Are we gonna talk about that kiss?"
Garrus stared at her with a stunned look on his face.
"The kiss? Are we gonna talk about the fact that you just MAGICALLY rose up from the dead?!"
…
Okay, that sounds like a more urgent matter to discuss.
"I mean… It wasn't magic…"
"THEN WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!"
He bolted up from the crate, standing over Jane with a mixed look of fear and anger. Garrus' mandibles were fluttering and his fangs showing. "I watched you die, Shepard! AGAIN! Right in front of me! Then your little robot thingy just shines a flashlight over you and all of a sudden, you're perfectly fine, like nothing happened! Super strength and a laser shield were already too much for my brain to comprehend! But THIS?!" Garrus paced in his moment of rage. His arms waving around in the air as he shouted. "Where have you been these past few years?! What the fuck happened to you?!"
"Whoa! Would you calm down?! I get that you're mad, but no need to throw a fit!"
"I'm not- I'm not mad, Shepard. I'm concerned."
He finally stopped pacing. A clawed hand covering his eyes and his body trembled. The turian's breathing was slowly becoming uneasy, almost labored. Clear signs of a rising panic attack. Jane took notice and stood back up, pulling Garrus into a gentle embrace.
"Easy, big guy." She gently whispered to him.
Garrus slowly wrapped his arms around her waist. His breathing was returning to normal.
"I'm scared for you…" He admitted.
Jane rubbed the back of his armor tenderly. It was long before Garrus fully calmed down. In all honesty, she had no idea why she was being so intimate with the turian that she had only just met an hour ago. Normally, if a guy tried to hug or kiss her out of the blue, she would break them in half. But Garrus… Jane just couldn't help but hold him close. It was strange. He told her that they were friends in her past life, she got that. However, this feels like more than just normal friendship. This is the man she had been searching for the past five years. Just who was he to her?
Luckily, now that they were safe, they had all the time in the world to play catch up. The two broke their hug, then took a seat at the cot in the corner. Jane took a deep breath.
"Okay. You want to know how I came back from the dead, right? Well-"
"We were more than just friends, you and I…"
Garrus cut Jane off. It looked like he was going to start things off. The turian looked at the curious Titan with sadness in his eyes.
"We were together… Romantically."
Jane was stunned. Her mouth hung agape and her eyes widened. Inside her mind, she was wondering if she had just misheard him. But no.
She and this alien were an item? As in holding hands in the park? Pet names? Kissing? SEX? Just the sheer thought of that sent a shiver down her spine. But not a frightened or disgusted one. Rather one of intrigue. This actually explained why Garrus broke down crying when he saw her again. Why he seemed so attached to her. And why he called her "his Shepard".
"Oh. Oh…" Was all she could get out.
Garrus sniffled. He wiped away the tears forming in his eyes and attempted to compose himself. He exhaled unsteadily.
"I wanted to tell you, Shepard. I did. But because you don't remember anything about your past, I knew that springing it on you without warning would only end up blowing up in my face. I… I didn't want to scare you…"
That was understandable. Meeting a stranger and hearing that they are in love with you, despite you having no idea of who they are, can be rather alarming. She can see why Garrus withheld that information. Jane placed her hand on the turian's shoulder in reassurance.
"It's okay. I understand." She replied. "It's just a lot to take in."
Garrus nodded. "I figured it would be."
He was relieved inside. Garrus was so worried that she would reject him immediately since she had no recollection on what a turian even was. But Jane was taking this rather well, all things considered. It was a foolish hope, but maybe the reason for that was because, deep down, there was a part of Shepard that still loved him? He wanted to believe that.
Turning her head to her turian companion, Doe smiled. "So you were my boyfriend, huh?" She questions humorously. "I gotta know, Garrus. How'd you do it? Nab me, I mean."
"That's the funny part. You came on to me first."
Jane looked at him in surprise, though still grinning. "What?"
Garrus couldn't resist the urge to laugh. He ended up thinking back to their days fighting the Collectors in Terminus, after they had dealt with Sidonis. Shepard had agreed to a 'dinner date' with him in the Forward Battery of the Normandy. That night, they both reflected on their previous adventures together as they choked down whatever abomination Gardner had prepared for them. Even before that, they had always been close, but that night wasn't like the others they had spent together, laughing it up and talking about the old days like they used to…
That night was what changed their relationship forever. It was when they had finally both come to realize their feelings for one another. To this day, Garrus still couldn't believe it happened.
"Long story short, you're quite the sucker for men with scars." His talons gently caressing the scarred flesh on his right mandible. "It also helps that I'm just that handsome."
"Or maybe I was blind back then."
Garrus tried to hold it back, but he snorted and bursted into laughter. Jane followed suit. The two reveled in their moment of joy together. Their laughter soon died down, but Garrus continued to smile at her.
"I've missed you, Jane. You have no idea how much." He said truthfully.
Jane blushed. She averted her gaze, but she let out a flattered giggle. "I'm glad I finally got to meet you, Garrus. I just can't believe, after five years, I find you in this world. It's nuts."
His smile quickly vanished, swapped for a look of confusion. "This world"? What does that mean? Garrus recalled Jane saying something similar earlier. Though he still could not make sense of what it meant. Was she referring to a planet?
Garrus opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off when the ship suddenly rocked up and down, knocking the both of them out of their seats.
"Oof! What the hell?!" Garrus exclaimed.
"HOLIDAAAAAAY!" Screamed Jane.
"It wasn't me this time! We're takin' fire!"
That sounded about right. Jane cursed herself. She knew this getaway was too easy. Garrus got onto his feet first and helped Jane up.
"How'd they get a fighter up in the air so fast?" She wondered.
"They couldn't have. Not with your friend's lighting storm disabling all the nearby ships. Unless…" Garrus delved into his thoughts. All the ships in that hangar were fried, thanks in part to Shinazu. The only two options available would be the neighboring hangars. However, there's at least a half hour prep time just to get them ready for take off. While the other option is a nearby ship that was already in flight, for say test runs after… maintenance…
"Oh crap."
That was when Garrus dashed out of the cargo hold and up the access shaft. If whoever was firing at them was who he thought they were, then Jane and the fireteam were in deep trouble. Finally entering the ship's bridge, Jane and Garrus could see that Amanda was having some difficulty with the controls.
"Status report. What's going on?" Jane questioned the pilot.
Amanda adjusted the ship's stabilizers. The vessel immediately regained its balance. "We're takin' fire, but I ain't pickin' up anythin' on the sensors. It's like we're being shot at by a ghost."
"This ship won't appear on radar normally." Everyone turned to the turian, eyebrows cocked. "We're being targeted by an Alliance stealth ship that's equipped with a top of the line Thanix Cannon. Its core is a liquid alloy of iron, uranium, and tungsten that's suspended in an EM field generated by Element Zero. That thing is capable of ripping through the toughest armor like it's made of tinfoil."
"And you know this how exactly?" Crow questioned.
Before giving his reply. Garrus took in a deep breath.
"Because it's my ship."
…
Outside, closing in on the Radiant Accipiter was another ship of a much larger scale. Its body was long and sleek that was dyed in streaks of white, blue, and dark grey. Two powerful thrusters attached to each of its wings propelled it forward at high speeds. And imprinted on the side of its body was a word, Normandy. And on its upper thrusters, SR2.
"Attention, mercenary D-bags, this is Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau of the SSV Normandy, requesting that you stop your vessel and hand back our booze guzzling commander, or get blasted out of the sky and we drag his spiky ass out of the wreckage."
Within the larger ship, a man sat before several holographic displays in the pilot's chair. His hands were dragging around the smaller displays in front of him, adjusting algorithms and modifying targeting systems to track a smaller target.
The pilot himself was a human. He was dressed in the standard Alliance navy uniform complete with the cap. His face was accompanied by a dark brown goatee and a cocky smirk.
"And don't think you can speed away, 'cuz you've probably never seen me fly."
Walking into the bridge with smoldering confidence, Miranda let out a quiet laugh of amusement. Just like Jeff to brag about his flying. Then again, people don't call him 'Joker' for no reason. Lawson leaned against Joker's chair, looking down at her comrade.
"Ease up there, Joker. We're trying NOT to blow these guys out of the sky. Remember?" She reminded him. "Besides, it's not just Garrus we're going to drag out of there."
And in an instant, Joker's face warped from a cocky smile and into an irritated scowl. He knew who else was on that ship. He knew damned well who. How could he forget? After all, it was the same person who took everything away from him.
"Yeah… I know… They are not away from me-
"JOKER!"
The thundering sound of Grunt's voice nearly shook the entirety of the ship. The krogan angrily marched into the bridge, holding in his three-fingered hand a colorful box of snack cakes that's label was written in what looked like turian.
"Grunt, the hell, man?! I'm kinda in the middle of something here!" Joker pointed out in an aggressive tone.
"Forget about the mercs!" Grunt tossed the box onto the console next to Jeff. "Why's all the food on the ship dextro?!"
Miranda leaned down closer to Joker and whispered in his ear. "Grunt hasn't eaten anything since yesterday."
"Ohhh. Yeah, sorry. When Garrus took command of the Normandy, he hired more turian crewmen. That, and I did get the chance to go shopping."
Urdnot stared at the human pilot. His face was starting to turn red with fury, trying desperately to contain his explosive frustration. Finally, Grunt screamed and walked out.
"If it's any consolation, I think Jack's secret junk food stash is still down in engineering somewhere!" Joker yelled after the hangry krogan.
Well. Now that the distractions were gone, the pilot could return to the task at hand. Moreau returned his focus to the fleeing ship. He reactivated his radio comm and established an audio link with the opposing ship.
"I repeat. Stop your vessel or we'll be forced to engage. I'm not asking again."
…
Garrus felt the sweat begin to drip from his forehead. He expected the Alliance to send a ship after them, but not this fast, let alone the Normandy. He knew for a fact that there was no one in the entire galaxy who could outfly Joker when he's behind the controls of that ship. That crippled bastard can fly through a meteor shower on a dare and make it through without a scratch, then brag about it to everyone.
"Enemy vessel, respond or we will engage."
There had to be a way out of this. If Garrus could just get him to let them go.
"Jane, let me speak to Jeff. I can talk him down."
Doe was unsure as to whether or not this was a good idea, but there was a sure look in the turian's eyes. It asked her to have faith in him. She reluctantly agreed and requested Holiday open up the link.
"Joker, it's Garrus here." He said into the radio.
"Commander, are you okay?" Joker asked with concern.
"I'm fine. Nothing broken, no cuts. I stubbed my toe on the way here, though. I might need an ambulance."
A light chuckle could be heard from the other end of the comm. One thing Joker and Garrus had in common was definitely their senses of humor. Garrus was immediately reminded of that time they told each other jokes after their battle on Tuchanka. Good times.
"Joker, listen to me. Just turn around and let us go. No one needs to get hurt."
"Are you nuts?! Garrus, you I can't do that! I mean, you're helping terrorists, and you shot Javik! What the hell are you thinking, man?!"
Averting his gaze, Garrus felt his stomach flip. He didn't want to hurt Javik, even if that prothean could be a complete ass at times. He didn't deserve that.
"Is he okay?"
"Yeah, he's fine. No thanks to you. As is everyone else your buddy, Shazam fried back in the docking bay."
That's right. Shinazu was careful to control his blast to avoid casualties. Something Vakarian was grateful for. Still unsure as to how he was able to shoot lightning from his hands though, but questions for later.
"I wish I can explain this to you. I do. But-"
"Don't bother. I know exactly why." Garrus went silent. His heart stopped. Joker knows? "Yeah, I know! Liara saw her face and told us! Shepard, I know you're there! Start talking!"
Everyone turned their focus to Jane, who was confused and pointed a finger at herself cluelessly. The team urged her to say something because they really did not want to be blown clean out of the sky. She nervously walked closer to the consol. Garrus whispered into her ear his name and nickname to help prepare her.
"Uhh… Joker, this is… Shepard. You read me?" Jane awkwardly spoke.
Joker felt his body tense up. The hairs on the back of his neck became erect. His heart rate elevated and had he not loosened his fists in time, Jeff would have broken all of the bones in his fingers. No doubt that just hearing Jane's voice alone was enough to send him over the edge. Joker took a deep breath in before he responded.
"Shepard… I read you…" Despite his attempts at suppression, there was still a fair amount of rage in his voice. "I gotta ask… Why?"
"Why what?"
EXCUSE HIM?! Was she being serious right now? It was taking every ounce of his self control not to just blast her clean out of the sky for saying that. Though he couldn't help but grind his teeth together.
"Why did you attack C-Sec?! Why are you working with these psychos?! Why did you hurt Kaiden and Wrex?!" Joker screamed ragefully. A single tear ran down his face. "What, did you get tired of always saving us from the Reapers and now you're playing the bad guy or something?!"
Jane paused. She could hear the pain and resentment in Joker's voice. He was angry with her, but it was very obvious that it was not just because of her team attacking the Citadel. There was more to it than that. But she didn't know what it was. No… More like she couldn't remember what it was. Jane's gaze dropped down to her feet, then back up at the monitor.
"Joker… Jeff, listen to me. I don't remember anything beyond the past five years."
Her fist tightened in frustration of her own ignorance. Edith looked at her Guardian in worry. Jane gave her a reassuring nod before continuing.
"As far as I know, that was my entire life. I have no recollection of who I was or where I came from. I have no idea how you people know who I was before, and as much as I wish I could learn more about it, I can't."
Joker crossed his arms and sat back in his chair as he listened to her words. Miranda had her mouth covered by her hand and stared at the displays in disbelief. They realized that maybe Liara's claims of Shepard's amnesia were true. It was far fetched and without a doubt the oldest excuse in the handbook, but it would explain her actions and behavior. Even so, seeing your friend after so long, and to learn that they had no idea who you are is like being impaled on a spike.
"I'm sorry if you think I betrayed you, but whoever I was before this is long gone." Jane explained, her tone was low and carried a fair amount of guilt. Garrus placed his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. Jane turned to him. His eyes gave off a look of understanding. It wasn't her fault she didn't remember, and he didn't blame her.
"Turn around and let us go, Joker. We don't want any more trouble." Garrus pleaded.
The audio link fell mute. Neither side made so much as a peep. The silence was almost unbearable. Jane didn't realize it yet, but her hand had managed to intertwine with Garrus' and was grasping his three finger limb tightly.
Finally… Joker broke the silence.
"So that's how it is then…"
Suddenly, the ship's sensors lit up like the Fourth of July and were blaring. Amanda looked at her rest feed and she jolted. The Normandy's main gun was lighting up a bright blue and only getting brighter. It was preparing to fire.
"Oh crap. Grab hold of somethin'!"
Amanda made a hard right just as the Normandy fired its cannon. Two huge beams of energy shot out from the barrels, racing towards the Radiant Accipiter at almost instantaneous speed. Had Amanda not made that hard right tilt in time, they would have taken a direct hit.
"That was a little closer than I like!" Garrus exclaimed.
Amanda ground her teeth angrily. "Hey psycho! Ain't you worried about blowin' up your boss here?!" She yelled at Joker through the comms.
"Keep your panties on. If I was trying to blast you guys out of the sky, then I would have done it already. I'm just aiming to take out your thrusters and then we're gonna drag out Garrus by the stick up his ass that he switches to whenever he runs out of ammo."
Hearing such a random and absurd remark struck everyone aside from Garrus with a mix of confusion and slight disgust. Jane ended up eyeing Vakarian questioningly. That was when Miranda explained that it was an old joke about turians that the Alliance came up with.
"Well if that's what y'all are up to then ya outta just throw in the towel, cuz there ain't no way you're makin' that shot so long as I'm flying this piece a' garbage!" Amanda boldly stated, earning her an offended glare from Crow. "Sorry."
Joker scoffed. "And just who the hell are you, lady?"
With a quick pressing of several buttons, Holiday opened up a video feed. She and Joker were now face to face with one another.
"Hi. Jeff was it? Tower Shipwright Amanda Holiday here. Pleasure to meet ya." Amanda introduced herself with an upbeat demeanor and a friendly smile. "Not sayin' that you don't know how to dogfight, just that when it comes to flyin', you might as well be a public airline pilot. At least by my standards."
His face contorted into a look of utter shock. Public airline pilot? Never in his life had Joker ever been so offended. And he's received his share of hurtful comments throughout his life about his brittle bone disease, mostly from the turian military in the form of that joke Garrus told him about.
"Oh, we're talking trash now? Alright. Well at least my ship doesn't look like it would explode the second it exits the Citadel's artificial atmosphere!" Joker lashed back with a cocky grin. "Where'd you even get that thing? A scrap yard?"
"Hey, this MY ship, people!" Crow defended.
Amanda only smirked smugly. She was clearly finding amusement in this. "Better than flyin' around in that oversized chicken. Overcompensatin' there, Jeffery?"
Everyone in the ship couldn't help but woo at Holiday's snappy remark, Jane giving her a well deserved high-five. Joker snickered from his end as he adjusted his cap. It was now officially personal.
"Oh, now you're going down." He stated confidently.
"Bring it, City Boy!" Amanda quickly adjusted her ship's thrusters and increasing their speed. The jumpship zoomed away from the larger vessel. "Time I show ya how we fly down the country."
If that didn't sound like a challenge, who knew what would. Joker laughed and brought his seat closer to his own control console. He activated the Normandy's reserve thrusters and gave chase.
"You really think you can outfly ME, lady? I'm not good. I'm not even great. I'm the best damn pilot in this entire galaxy!"
"Darlin'…" With Amanda's eyes, a fire was ignited. She grabbed hold of the throttle and gripped it as though she was hanging on to a raging bull.
"That's up for debate."