Chapter Text
“The Crucible is armed. All fleets, disengage and fall back to the rendezvous point.”
Admiral Stephen Hackett’s words were clipped and harsh, accentuating the severity of the necessity. Ships began to move, slowly at first, then with increasing urgency as the Crucible remained in position, but failed to activate. Some may have been concerned about a malfunction, but not Hackett. He might have lost contact with Commander Shepard on the Citadel, but he had faith the man would do what needed to be done. Shepard had a habit of achieving the impossible.
Jeff “Joker” Moreau was prepping the SSV Normandy for the transfer to the rendezvous when the energy wave from the Crucible began to take shape. His hands began to fly over the controls, desperately trying to outrun it. He wasn’t sure how he knew it, but he knew if they were caught in it, bad things would follow. He wasn’t wrong.
They weren’t going to make it. The wave was overtaking them fast. “EDI, get us out of here!” he barked to his AI copilot. She, however, appeared to be switched off, which he knew wasn’t normal at all either. “EDI!” Then the wave was on them and he barely had time to shout a warning. “All hands, brace for impact!”
He did what he could to minimize the crash, but it wasn’t enough. There were a few bounces before they came to rest and Joker had to wince at the fractures he could feel in his legs and forearms. Vrolik’s syndrome was a bitch. He managed to get himself upright and out of his harness, but was forced to take several moments to catch his breath before he could move again. “Ribs, too, huh? Can’t just be snapping shin bones, gotta be the whole enchilada this time.” There was still no response from EDI and he made his slow, painful way across the few feet that had separated him from her physical form. The AI was completely shut down, and no amount of action on his part seemed to affect it at all. Joker even accessed the “failsafes” she had told him about in confidence, but there was nothing. EDI was gone.
He took the still, silent form into his arms and just held her, rocking back and forth in his pain. EDI was – had been – more than just an AI to him. She was his confidante, his friend, and if you wanted to look at it that way, his soul mate. And she was gone.
Slowly, reality began to sink back in. There were other people aboard, and he needed to be checking on them as well. He managed to make it to the comms. “All decks, report in. Sound off if you’re alive, people.” He had to wince at his choice of words.
Reports began to trickle in from each deck and he was cautiously optimistic. Then one voice stood out in the babble. “Medical, reporting in. Don’t lie to me, Jeff, how badly are you broken?” Dr. Karin Chakwas had been helping him manage his Vrolik’s for a long time and he was glad she was still with him.
“Let’s not talk about that, yet, Doc,” he said tightly. “Is Major Alenko awake yet?” Kaidan had taken nearly mortal wounds while on Earth, helping Shepard, and with Shepard not aboard he was the ranking officer.
“I’m here, Joker.” His voice was rough with pain, but clear. “Damage report.”
“Right. Well, let’s do the good news, first.” He hadn’t gotten the nickname ‘Joker’ for nothing. “We’re alive. We’re also dead in the water, so to speak. And the galaxy map is in the CIC, which right now isn’t accessible to me. Cockpit door is jammed.” Unspoken was the fact that he was in no condition to pry it open, either. The various breaks in his brittle bones were all clamoring at him, now that he had time to think about them. “Then there’s the bad news. I have absolutely no idea where we ended up… and EDI…” He had to stop for a moment to get his voice under control. “EDI’s gone. Totally non-functional, non-responsive.” Another wave of grief hit him and he firmly tamped it down. “Your call, Major. What’s the word?”
There was no hesitation. Kaidan had learned well from Shepard. “Deck by deck search. Survivors have priority but we need everyone accounted for and tended to.” His voice was grim. That there would be casualties was a given. The list of names on their memorial wall was going to get longer. “Garrus, try to get to the battery and see if we have any firepower left. We don’t know what’s out there. Vega, do the same in the armory. Doc, see if you can get to the cockpit and patch up Joker. We’ll need our pilot once we know the situation. Everyone else – survivor search. Department heads, I’ll expect full damage reports in an hour with recommendations for repair.”
Joker closed his channel and started giving EDI’s body a more thorough examination. Everything he could see was fried, even the circuitry on her visor. He was still checking variables when there was a screech of grinding metal and the cockpit door was shoved open. Samantha Traynor stood in the opening, medikit in hand, blood dripping from one shapely cheek. Behind her was Chakwas, frowning slightly. “Miss Traynor, I really think you should let me look at that cut before I tend to Mr. Moreau,” she said acidly.
“I already applied medi-gel, Doctor,” Traynor replied firmly. “It’s just a cut. I’m more concerned with the man who will be flying us out of here.” She knelt next to Joker, already reaching for the aforementioned medi-gel. Chakwas slipped up beside her and took the substance from her hands.
“I will take very good care of Joker, thank you, Samantha,” she replied, just as firmly. “Please go and help the search for other survivors.” She waited only until Traynor shrugged and departed before fixing the pilot with a stern glare. “Out with it,” she grumbled as she passed a scanner over his arms. “These aren’t the only breaks, are they.” It wasn’t a question.
“Nope.” Joker let her work, his only reaction to her probing an indrawn hiss when she poked a particularly painful area. “But I’ve had worse, and you know it. Besides, I have an image to maintain.” He kept glancing over to EDI, as though hoping he had been wrong. Finally Chakwas straightened up and offered him a hand.
“Right. Let’s get you on your feet. Are the Alliance comms working at all?” She let him stand and took a step back from him, her gaze assessing his improvement. “I imagine you’ll want to begin work on those immediately.” She, too, glanced over at the severely damaged AI and sighed heavily. “All I ask is that you take time to grieve, Jeff,” she said softly. “Don’t bottle it up too long.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Joker was already moving toward the comm relay at his station, though his movements were still slow and painful. A green light on the board, however, caught his attention quickly. “What’s this?” He could have sworn the comms relay had been red when they went down. He signaled Alenko. “Major, I’ve got a green light on the Alliance comms. FTL, not the quantum entangler, but it’s a start.”
“Get Admiral Hackett if you can,” Kaidan replied quickly. His voice was still rough with pain. “I’ll take it in the war room.”
Joker shook his head. Where had that green light come from?