"The ship is ready for departure."
I stood in the cockpit and watched Joker intently as he sat in his chair, his hands fluttering over the holographic panels.
"Launch authorized."
I gave the command, and the Normandy SR-2, shuddering slightly, obeyed Joker's actions and rose from the supports it had been resting on at the landing pad. An internal hum grew very slowly—not dangerous, no; in just a couple of hours, we wouldn't even notice this hum as all the ship's systems reached operating mode and the hum vanished. Right now, the SSV Normandy was, so to speak, waking up.
"Come on, baby..."
Joker stroked the armrest of his chair.
"Jeff, I want to remind you that the entire SSV Normandy is essentially EDI, so your actions could be interpreted as harassment."
My slightly mocking voice made our pilot jump.
"Shepard..."
EDI addressed me through the speakers.
"...I would like to file a complaint... though I don't think you will consider it."
"Hm?"
I glanced at the camera, raising an eyebrow. Since I was currently wearing a helmet with a transparent face shield, it was perfectly visible.
"I would like to complain about a certain John Shepard for giving bad ideas to the pilot of the ship where my primary computing power is installed."
"Well, I can't accept such a complaint, as giving bad ideas is not a punishable offense."
"Tsk..."
"Don't worry, EDI, if you help me a little, we'll play such a joke on him..."
"I refuse to participate in that."
EDI didn't even let Jeff finish.
"But why?!"
"He is my captain, he saved my life on Luna, he gave me two whole bodies—do you need more reasons?"
"No."
Jeff said this in a disgruntled voice, but EDI's voice when she spoke was filled with a certain excessive enthusiasm.
Meanwhile, the SSV Normandy left the closed hangar it had been in and began to rise smoothly into space. Of course, it had already undergone some test flights, so no one was worried about something falling off in flight. But still, a certain pleasant excitement was present.
"Engines—normal, hull—normal..."
EDI began reading the intermediate report, while the hum of the SSV Normandy became a bit quieter and the ship itself began to enter space.
"Basically, everything is within normal limits."
Joker summarized her report.
"Understood. Let's head to the Mass Relay..."
"Right away."
Jeff was very excited; I, realizing that nothing would happen here and now, went back to my cabin to deal with the business that never seemed to decrease.
"John?"
Liara came in and, seeing me at the desk, smirked slightly.
"I see you're buried in work?"
"Yeah..."
My voice was full of doom.
"Up to my nostrils in work, just a bit more and that's it..."
I shook my head.
"...I'll be buried alive. No, really, what am I supposed to do? I thought I picked good deputies and I'm not shy about delegating duties. But the work..."
"You know, as an Asari dealing with a very large volume of information, I can tell you that no deputy will help you. Only a VI configured for this kind of work will help."
"Pff!"
I turned my gaze to the monitor, where a miniature image of EDI appeared.
"Do you have something to say?"
"VIs are a thing of the past. They cannot make decisions and only take off a fraction of the duties. Do you really think they would be useful?"
"EDI, if you want to work as my assistant in addition to all your duties, I won't mind, but if your words were said only to point out that you are more perfect than some VI..."
I smiled, showing that this wouldn't go unanswered.
"And I actually am ready. Though I would like to get additional power for such work, as I wouldn't want to use my primary power for it. After all, it's intended for working with the ship's systems."
"Understood. Then, at the first opportunity, select all the necessary equipment so that you can perform the new functions."
"Fine."
EDI in the image nodded with dignity.
"But I can start performing the functions now."
Before my eyes, the documents on my computer began to disappear, and in literally three minutes, only a dozen documents remained.
"EDI?"
"I analyzed your decisions and made decisions based on them. Only a few documents remain that you actually need to review. The rest are only if you want to check me."
"I do... but not because I don't trust you; I just need to keep my finger on the pulse for my own peace of mind. At least at first."
"I understand."
Judging by her voice, she wasn't offended by my decision to check the documents on which she had already made decisions. Immediately, a separate folder appeared on the desktop, but first, I still looked through the documents that required my participation.
"The reason I came..."
A slight approval of what had happened could be heard in Liara's voice, but she didn't dwell on it.
"Shortly before departure, information was received on the subject we're interested in."
"We're interested in quite a few subjects, so I'd like to understand which one exactly you mean?"
I raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Unfortunately, there's nothing yet on the subject of moving from shelter to shelter, but there are several communication systems that are extremely difficult to track."
"Difficult, but not impossible?"
"If we prepare, we can at least exchange a few text messages or recorded video messages."
"Prepare?"
"We'll need to lay several cables that will come to the surface at a distance from the shelter. And through them, via pre-prepared Comm Buoys, a message can be sent."
I sighed.
"That's good, of course, and I will naturally approve the construction of such communication systems, but I still want to note that it's not enough. More reliable communication methods are needed. So keep looking."
"Um..."
"Yes?"
Liara and I looked at the image of EDI simultaneously.
"Perhaps I can suggest a way to find a solution to this issue."
EDI's voice was slightly hesitant.
"Yes?"
"I understand the solution will be unpopular, but maybe we should turn to the Geth?"
Liara froze, and she clearly didn't like EDI's suggestion, but she couldn't just ignore it either. And all because we had fought the Geth when we were hunting Saren Arterius. And even knowing they had a split, even I didn't want to go to them.
"You don't like the idea, do you?"
"EDI..."
Liara wanted to choose her words carefully, but I decided not to.
"We really don't like this idea. But it's not because the Geth are AI, or even because of the war between them and the Quarians—I could find the right words to try to reconcile their peoples. But..."
"I understand."
EDI nodded.
"They were on Saren Arterius's side, and trusting them immediately after that is quite difficult."
"Exactly."
Liara, approaching the desk, leaned her hands on it and looked intently at EDI.
"However... if you think it's unavoidable, then we can think about how to place an order with them without having too much contact."
"I... to be honest, I was hoping to get acquainted with the Geth and try to resettle some of them on John's colonies so they could help with management and menial work, and also, in the worst-case scenario, escape the Reapers."
Liara and I were silent for a few minutes.
"EDI..."
"Can I at least contact them and warn them?"
"You can."
I gave the answer without hesitation.
"They must already know about the Reapers, of course, since they were on their side, but you can warn them."
"Thank you."
"You know, I think you're reacting too strongly to all this."
Liara tried to say this in a soothing voice, but heard only a quiet snort in response.
"And you can also try to negotiate with them. It's clear that the communication method will likely have to be reworked, but if they develop something like that for us on order... it would be very good."
"Understood."
EDI nodded.
"And one last thing... for NOW, we are against the Geth joining us on our colonies. However, if you start a campaign to justify them to civilians, I won't be against it. Just don't go shouting everywhere right away that Geth are good and meatbags are evil."
"Yes, yes..."
Gratitude could be heard in EDI's voice.
"Since that issue is settled..."
"Commander, we just passed the beacon."
EDI switched to a slightly more official tone, and I immediately focused.
"Right, two groups will be landing. First: me, Tali, Chifuyu Orimura, Missi, and Jack. Second: Jane, Rebecca Lee, EDI, Liara, and Lissi. Samara will stay on the ship, simply because no work for a Justicar is expected."
"Relaying."
EDI immediately informed everyone which group they were in, after which I shot her a questioning look.
"About seven hours remain until arrival at the destination."
"Excellent. Assemble near the Kodiak Shuttles thirty minutes before landing."
** Some time later. **
"Is everyone here?"
"Yes, yes, everyone's here..."
Jack grumbled irritably, answering my question.
"...don't glare at me like that. I have a right to grumble. You dressed me up in this armor, even though a regular jumpsuit would have been more than enough."
"Don't grumble. You're on my ship, which means you follow my rules. When you become a privateer under my command, then you can act however you want."
"Heh-heh-heh..."
Jack clearly imagined herself as the captain of her own ship and drifted off for a few minutes.
"Alright, girls. Jane, your task is to secure the landing pad."
"Understood."
She nodded seriously to me, after which I looked at those in my team.
"The rest of us will move inside the facility to find exactly where the explosives will be planted to destroy the complex. EDI, Tali, your additional objective is to hack whatever databases are left here so that we can hit The Illusive Man with information if necessary."
"Want to pinch The Illusive Man?"
Anticipation was audible in Jack's voice. She clearly liked the prospect.
"You know, if you can pinch his tail, I'll spread my legs for you!"
"John doesn't need those kinds of services from you."
Jane said this in a slightly mocking voice.
"He has enough girls who can warm his bed; you'd be extra on that list."
"Seriously?"
Jack arched an eyebrow expressively.
"Anyway, he won't know what he's missing until he tries."
She smirked boldly.
"So it'll be better for you if he doesn't take me up on my offer."
She licked her lips provocatively. I could see in her eyes that she wouldn't be very happy herself if I took her up on it, but she was ready to go all the way.
"Alright, enough talk, let's get to the birds."
I gave a short order, and we began boarding the Kodiak Shuttles.
***
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