#pilot ilo

[gooeygummi]

I've been dragged into an Invader Zim fixation and have designed my own OCs; Vi (she/her), Ilo (he/him), and Itt (itt/itts)!

Info on them is below the cut!

Vi is an invader who was in a similar but slightly better siutation as Skooge. She was sent to a planet that was initially deemed "highly dangerous" for her kind, but through successful infiltration was able to survive and conquer the planet, becoming their "leader." The inhabitants became slaves to the Empire shortly after, and the planet became an asset in gathering raw materials (particularly for snacks) for the army. Because of her success, she was granted the opportunity to continue overseeing the planet and its operations.

Ilo is a former Irken Pilot who became traitorous shortly after the appearance of the Resisty. Though very military-oriented, Ilo sometimes thought back on the planets he and other pilots were ordered to put under "Organic Sweeps" and sometimes felt a sense of regret. This feeling eventually became overwhelming when he and others who were a part of the Armada were ordered to put the planet of Vort under the same attack, and it was then he realized he needed to find a way out. He saw his opportunity for escape upon learning of the Resisty, and left the armada with his ship while his fellow pilots attempted to reunite with the Massive.

Itt is an Irken scientist whose experiments are quite questionable, to say at the very least. Itt is very quiet, but if itt is persuaded to talk, itt will talk your ears/antenae off in a slow, precise way. Itt is also heavily dedicated to itts work, and was once even captured by an enemy army only to continue itts work while a prisoner without much bother.

[dormircoeur]

art dump...

[ladyofsnark]

“How did you end up making friends with a geth?”

Lex rubbed her neck sheepishly. “Mostly? By accident,” she said. “After you died, the Council almost revoked my Spectre status, because they were pissed at me for not shutting up about the Reapers.”

“Why didn’t they?”

“Probably because that would mean admitting they were wrong about something,” she snorted back. “Basically they just told me to stick to the Terminus and stay out of their hair. They didn’t really care what I did from there. I bounced around a lot. I stayed with Wrex for a little while. I visited Tali. I was in touch with Garrus for a bit, but he’d never tell me where he was or what he was doing. He said he didn’t want to drag me down with him–which reminds me that I’ve got to punch him later for being a dumbass. Maybe he’d still only be mostly ugly if I’d been there to help.”

Jon couldn’t help but note that she couldn’t keep the fondness and worry out of her tone when she mentioned the turian. He almost teased her for it, but held back.

“At some point, I decided to go back to Ilos,” Lex went on. “I thought if I could find Vigil again, I could show the Council, and they’d have to believe me. But it was gone. I guess communicating with us and helping delay Sarren drained the last of its reserves.” She leaned back against the bulkhead, letting her head rest on the metal. “That’s where I met Legion. I got jumped by a small pocket of geth holdouts and was injured. I figured I was okay with the idea of dying there, what with you gone and the world about to go to hell anyway, but next thing I know, I wake up on the ship I was using. Being piloted by a geth.”

“And you were okay with that?”

“I figured it was some death vision, so it didn’t really matter.” She shrugged. “And if I wasn’t dying, then it meant someone had patched me up and he was the only thing around with thumbs. Just fyi, he’s a really annoying nurse. He kept reminding me of the statistical probability of complications and the frailty of organic platforms.”

Jon rubbed the bridge of his nose. “So what? You decided to adopt him? Like a puppy?”

“Hey! I was mourning your dumb ass and no one believed me about the Reapers. So yeah, I got a little attached to my emotional support AI. Cut me some slack.”

[akuzeisms]

@diewithaname asked:

🚔 - Have they ever broken the law? 💐 - Favourite type of flower

🚔 - Have they ever broken the law?

Technically speaking, no. Anything that would have been considered "unlawful" by the standards of the average person, or even the average soldier, were things Katrina did under Spectre authority, and generally with good reason. For example, she did mutiny and steal the galaxy's most advanced warship... in order to get to Ilos, find Saren, and stop the Reapers coming through the Conduit, the mass relay located directly on the Citadel. This helped to delay the Reapers' arrival for over three years.

And yes, technically she worked (not for, with) with a xenophobic terrorist organization (Cerberus)... but the crew she was responsible for as part of Cerberus were working to save human colonies being kidnapped by the Collectors on behalf of the Reapers. She ended that one by stealing their best ship (the Normandy SR-2), the best pilot in the galaxy (Jeff Moreau), their former second-in-command (Miranda Lawson), their Enhanced Defense Intelligence AI (EDI), their second AI creation (Eva Corè, with EDI's assistance), some of their best engineers (Gabriella Daniels and Kenneth Donnelly), and a ton of credits and resources they'd gathered. Or, in Joker's terms, "got loose and started killing all their guys".

And yes, she did blow up a mass relay, killing three hundred thousand batarians in the process and wiping out an entire star system... but it delayed the appearance of the Reapers for six months, giving the galaxy a bit more time to prepare.

And yes, she did kill the human Councillor and arguably the only living politician for humanity during the war... but he was helping Cerberus stage a coup to take over the Citadel and kill the turian, asari, and salarian Councillors.

In short: yes. But only for a good reason.

💐 - Favourite type of flower

Lavender. Really, Katrina's a fan of just about any purple flower, but if she had to pick, she'd pick lavender, hydrangeas, and delphiniums. Part of this is because she really likes the smell of lavender, and finds it calming.

[the-amalgam-house]

In the years around that one hospitalization in 2011 that almost killed me, I wasn't exactly me. I was dissociating so much that I barely knew that I was a person, and the person piloting my body most of the time was not me. I've mentioned it in another post I think, that the main driver at the time was ilo (Deadname at the time), and I had far less input on anything than I realized at the time.

One memory from those years after that incident just unlocked (tho I feel like it might have at least once before but was buried again). At the time, Kanon and I were a part of a couple's exercise startup group just getting off the ground. The founder, or one of the founders?, was a middle aged black man who also did personal assessments and training for women specifically. Since I was a woman at the time, he asked if I would like to do the assessment whatever and see if he could help me reach my goals.

Now nothing against any body types of course, but he was a round man who seemed to have as much trouble keeping up with the routines as most of the beginners. He could run better than me only because of the whole I have asthma thing.

So at the time I, or we I guess...or she? I can't recall, but I'll stick with we as if it was both of us. We decided to agree to the assessment cause if we were getting in on the ground floor of this workout and nutrition thing then might as well, you know? What we THOUGHT was going to happen was to meet back up at the same gym we'd been training at but just one-on-one, instead of with the whole group. Still a public setting, just a personal training sort of thing.

What ACTUALLY happened was I was dropped off at a dark kinda sketchy...apartment? Motel?? well after sundown to meet with the one single large middle aged man in a small single room space. To this day I have no idea why we didn't just call Kanon back and bail cause the vibes were rancid.

He assessed the way I walk, how strong my legs were, and how strong I was overall by having me fireman carry him a short while. I don't remember basically anything else from that encounter, just that later Kanon came back and picked me up and we went home.

The thing I did remember was that I felt like that man was either getting some kind of fetish fulfillment from that "assessment", or he was trying to size me up to test if I was weak enough to assault. Remembering that really freaks me out tbh so it was prob why it was repressed.

I kind of fear that...I really don't think anything SUPER bad happened but I fear that I've forgotten some kind of detail in there that I just can't reach. I can't remember the entire encounter at all no matter how hard I try. What if he DID do something and I just can't remember?

[lilmissnatcat24]

Turn Left Ch 36- The Vids Never Got This Far

Shepard and Garrus put two and two together... together

Relationship: Femshep/Garrus Vakarian

Archive Warnings in author's note

Additional tags: enemies to friends to lovers, slow burn, slow build, alternate universe- canon divergence, detective noir, sex club, anonymous sex, canon temporary character death, murder mystery, drug use, dom garrus vakarian, whump, smut, heavy angst, alien sex, dual pov, an overly sexual elcor named candy, earthborn, ruthless, fake/pretend relationship, dead dove: do not eat, identity porn, minor character death

Detective AU mixed with identity porn mixed with so much whump my fingers are bleeding

(or, start from the beginning here)

lil text blurb

“There has to be a way we get out of this. We need to bypass… something … Just shut up and let me think!” she said to no one in particular, seeing as she was the only one speaking. 

“What would happen if we left despite the lock on the Normandy?” Liara asked. “You said it yourself, your pilot is the best of the best. Surely he could find a way to bypass the safeguards the Citadel placed on your ship.” 

“Just because Joker could do something, doesn’t mean he should ,” Kaidan said with a grimace. 

“Citadel AI is too powerful, even for the most advanced ship in the Alliance,” Garrus said. “With their weapon capabilities, hacking out of their control is suicide. We’d be dead before we even had a chance to escape the arms, and that’s figuring in with the mass effect core drive outfitted onboard.” 

“Can’t we just blow our way through Citadel Control?” Wrex asked. “There’s six of us, all armed to the teeth. They won’t be expecting a full frontal assault.” 

“We’d be fighting through not only C-Sec, but elite Citadel forces. It doesn’t matter if we could do it, we’d be far worse for wear. And I don’t want to weaken us unnecessarily on the way to Ilos if we can help it,” said Anderson. 

The rest of them continued their bickering as Shepard was silent. The cogs in her head were spurning, and where they were leading her was not a place that she necessarily wanted to go. But things were starting to make sense, a plan was forming in her head. Since Torfan, since everything that happened in the Alliance and with the investigation into Saren, never once had a straight-on assault ever worked. They gained the upper hand when they thought outside the box, when they played the same tricks that Saren played… 

“I have a plan!” Shepard said so suddenly and with so much conviction it muted everyone around her. She didn’t feel the need to add that she wasn’t entirely confident and that it was most assuredly suicidal, so she just kept that little tidbit inside for now. “We don’t need to bumrush Control all of us together. It only takes one of us to lift the blocks on the Normandy.” 

[crimechannels]

By • Olalekan Fagbade BREAKING: Labour suspend nationwide strike after meeting with Federal Government The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, have suspended the indefinite strike scheduled to commence on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. They made the announcement after a marathon meeting held between the unions and the Federal Government. The action was suspended for 30 days to allow the government implement some of its promises. A memorandum of understanding issued after the meeting was signed by Comrade Joe Ajaero, President NLC, Comrade (Engr) Festus Osifo, TUC President, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja, General Secretary NLC and Comrade Nuhu A. Toro, Secretary General, TUC. On the side of the government were: H.E. Simon Bako Lalong, Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Hon. Dr Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, Honourable Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mallam Mohammed Idris and Honourable Minister of Information and National Orientation. It reads: MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING REACHED BETWEEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA AND THE NIGERIA LABOUR CONGRESS (NLC) AND TRADE UNION CONGRESS OF NIGERIA (TUC) AS A RESULT OF DISPUTE ARISING FROM WITHDRAWAL OF SUBSIDY ON THE PRICE OF PREMIUM MOTOR SPIRIT (PMS) ON MONDAY, THE 2ND DAY OF OCTOBER, 2023 Arising from the withdrawal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) by the Federal Government and the resultant increase in the price of the commodity, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) issued a strike notice which had elapsed and they were poised to embark on a strike billed to commence on Tuesday, the 3rd of October, 2023. Consequently, a meeting was called by the Federal Government to avert the strike and after much discussion, the following agreements were reached: 1. The Federal Government grants a wage award of N35,000 (thirty-five thousand Naira) only to all Federal Government workers beginning from the month of September pending when a new national minimum wage is expected to have been signed into law. 2. A minimum wage committee shall be inaugurated within one month from the date of this agreement. 3. Federal Government suspends collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) on Diesel for six months beginning from October, 2023. 4. Federal Government accepts to vote N100 billion for the provision of high capacity CNG buses for mass transit in Nigeria. Provisions are also being made for initial 55,000 CNG conversion kits to kick start an auto gas conversion programme, whilst work is ongoing on state-of-the-art CNG stations nationwide. The rollout aims to commence by November with pilots across 10 campuses nationwide. 5. The Federal Government plans to implement various tax incentive measures for private sector and the general public. 6. On the leadership crises rocking the NURTW and the purported proscription of RTEAN, the Federal Government commits to handling Labour matters in line with relevant ILO Conventions and Nigerian Labour Acts. A resolution of the ongoing impasse is expected by or before October 13. 7. The issue of outstanding Salaries and Wages of Tertiary Education workers in Federal-owned educational institutions is being referred to Ministry of Labour and Employment for further engagement. 8. The Federal Government commits to pay N25,000 per month for three months starting from October, 2023 to 15 million households, including vulnerable pensioners. 9. The Federal Government will increase its initiatives on subsidized distribution of fertilizers to farmers across the country. 10. The Federal Government should urge State Government through the National Economic Council and Governors Forum to implement wage award for their workers. Similar consideration should also be given to local government and private sector workers. 11. The Federal Government commits to the provision of funds as announced by the President on the 1st of August broadcast to the Nation for Micro and Small Scale Enterprises. The MSMEs beneficiaries should commit to the principle of decent jobs.

12. A joint visitation will be made to the refineries to ascertain their rehabilitation status. 13. All parties commit to henceforth abide by the dictates of Social dialogue in all our future engagements. 14. The NLC and TUC accept to suspend for 30 days the planned Indefinite Nationwide strike scheduled to begin, Tuesday, the 3rd of October, 2023. 15. This Memorandum shall be filed with the relevant Court of competent jurisdiction within one (1) week as consent judgment by the Federal Government. #Laboursuspendsnationwidestrikeaction

[timptoe]

Here at the End of Everything, Ch. 2

Part two of my “fix my brain by writing about Joker” fic starts the process of looking at why Joker is the way he is, and how what’s happened to him affects the decisions he makes when the Crucible is being triggered. This is the “Joker Can Do It” chapter, inspired by this scene from the first game. It gave me an excuse to write a flashback to how Joker got into Alliance Flight School in the first place, and whoo boy do I apparently like writing about entrance exams and spaceflight because this chapter clocked in at ten-thousand words. First part of it’s below, the rest is up on Ao3.

Chapter 2: You Set Sail Alone

You set sail alone, there is no crew No one on the deck who can help you This is all your own battle to win This is your ship, and you are the captain  - Fin Argus, “Ship in a Bottle”

——

Sol System, Earth, SSV Normandy SR-2 Forty-eight minutes before Hackett’s order

It’s a few seconds before Joker figures out what’s wrong.

As has become customary, he’s got the comm feeds for the ground team open, listening in while he harries the Reaper fleet above Earth. It’s a practice he and Pressly started right after Eden Prime; turns out it’s easier to anticipate a ground team’s needs if you’re listening to their chatter, rather than waiting for them to call you with a problem. He likes to think it’s saved the day more than a couple of times. At Virmire. Over Ilos. Past the Omega 4 relay. As long as the ground team’s talking to each other, they’re talking to Joker.

Pressly called it “babysitting.” Joker thinks of it more as “information gathering.” The more info he has, the better he can help. Not that he wants to be down on the ground with them—far from it, being planetside sounds like a pain in the ass—but they’re a team, his team, and damned if he’s not going to be there when they need him.

He’d been listening in when Cortez crashed the Kodiak about half an hour ago, Shepard’s anguished cry giving way to instant relief when Cortez radioed back that only the shuttle was out of commission, not its pilot. Joker had listened in as Shepard took control of the AA guns, allowing the rest of the Hammer team to land, including the remainder of the Normandy ground team. And he’d been listening in while Shepard split the team, taking Alenko and Vakarian to rendezvous with Anderson at the beam and ordering the rest to act as diversions for the Reaper forces. 

All vital information. And all carefully tracked, on separate glowing haptic panels in the cockpit—one showing the hardsuit feeds and relative positions for Shepard’s team, a different one for the rest of the crew—because Joker is very good at his job.

Not to mention, he’s defending the Crucible by harassing Reaper ships into making mistakes through judicious use of the Normandy’s stealth drive. He is still the Alliance’s premier helmsman, after all, even if it’s also his job to watch out for his team.

Somebody has to, because they keep doing stupid things. 

The comm is a cacophony of chatter, shouts and shots and explosions blending together into impenetrable noise. Occasionally one voice will break through, like Cortez shouting, “Tali, now!”, or Vega yelling, “Liara!” Seems like the plan to blow up a portion of the London Underground went sideways immediately, and now his comm feed is less information and more confusion. He disables the passive feed for a moment, turning instead to his secondary source for on-the-ground information.

“EDI, talk to me, what’s happening down there? Did the plan work?” Joker asks, venting the ship’s heat sinks directly in front of a Reaper destroyer as he does.

“One moment, Jeff, I am currently unable to gather useful data,” EDI responds—over the in-ship comm, rather than through her mobile platform’s tightbeam transmitter. One of the perks of having a girlfriend whose consciousness can be in two places at once, managing the functions of their ship while controlling her mech on the ground, is that she can help him navigate the Reaper fleet and give him useful on-the-ground info. Best of both—

Wait. What?

“EDI, what’s going on? Why can’t you gather data?” Joker keeps the note of panic out of his voice. She’s fine, she’s here, she’s talking to me. She’s fine. The destroyer fires its beam weapon at the cloud of heated particles Joker just dumped, missing the Normandy and instead hitting one of the larger Reaper dreadnoughts. Joker barely clocks the success.

“My mobile platform is currently buried under an unknown quantity of rubble.”

“What?” There’s the note of panic.

“I cannot risk moving at this time, as I am bracing the rubble from crushing Dr. T’Soni, therefore I am unable to—“

“Shit!” Joker pulls the ship into a tight turn, corkscrewing towards the planet below. He re-enables the passive comm feed just in time to hear Vega shout, “Lift on three! One, two…three!”

“Jeff, the Normandy is ill-equipped to assist my platform at this time. There is no need to divert from the ship’s primary mission.” EDI’s voice is inhumanly calm, like she’s not trapped under a mountain of fucking rubble right now.

Deep breath. She’s not human. She’s not trapped. She’s right here.

“Fuck that, it’s time to get you out of there. I’m betting someone’s about to call for an extraction anyway, and—“ Joker quickly checks the primary team’s location “—Shepard’s almost at the beam.”

Like clockwork, Vega chooses this moment to yell into the comm, “Yo, Joker! I can’t raise any of the other teams, but we need an extraction! Get us a shuttle, a transport, anything!”

“Right on time, Lieutenant,” Joker mutters. He feels a pulse flutter along his back through the haptic nodes in his chair—EDI’s silent way of expressing both frustration and amusement. He toggles the comm to Vega. “We’re already on the way. ETA, two minutes.”

“Jeff, given the debris in the air and the number of Harvesters sighted in the immediate area, it is inadvisable to bring the Normandy in.”

“Well, it’s not up to you because I’m pulling rank,” Joker responds, pushing the drive faster. Wouldn’t be the first time he’d faced impossible odds.

He can do this.

——

Alliance Recruitment Office, Arcturus Station 13 years before Hackett’s order

The first lesson that Jeff Moreau learns in the Alliance Navy is that there’s no way he belongs there.

The sympathetic face on the recruiter sitting across the desk from him says as much, as do the spread of her hands and the way her eyes keep flicking to the crutches leaning on the back of his chair. Also, her words.

“I appreciate your interest in the Alliance Navy, Mr. Moreau, but I just don’t think you meet the physical fitness requirements for enlisting,” Sergeant Draven says with a sickly sweet smile.

It’s annoying, but nothing he isn’t used to. Eighteen years of awkward glances and carefully worded sentences have prepared him for this moment. 

“Well, shows how good you are at thinking, then.”

Just because he’s prepared for it doesn’t mean he’s good at responding to it.

“Look, Mr. Moreau—“

“No, you look, Sergeant,” he says, exasperation heavy in his voice. “I get that I’m not exactly your normal recruit, but I don’t want to run around on some random planet with a shotgun and a hardsuit. I’m not here to be a marine. I’m here to be a pilot. Surely I don’t need to, what, bench press a krogan and outrun a turian to fly a ship, right?”

“It’s not that simple.“

“Why not?” He wills his voice to lose the note of pleading. “I guarantee you I’m one of the best pilots out there. Just let me take the entrance exam, I can prove it to you. I’ve been flying since I was 14, mostly transport shuttles between the station and some of the smaller colonies. But one time I actually got to co-pilot a frigate while—“

The recruiter holds her hand up, and he stops talking. It’s not the hand that does it, though. It’s the pity in her eyes.

Jeff hates pity.

“Your interest in the Alliance Navy is commendable, Mr. Moreau, and we appreciate you wanting to serve humanity and the galaxy in this way.”

Jeff blows out a breath, recognizing the canned response for what it is. “But you don’t think I can do it.”

She gives him another smile. “Tell you what. Let me talk it over with my commanding officer. If he thinks there’s a way to accommodate your…unique circumstances, I’ll let you know. Alright?”

Jeff’s shoulders sag slightly. He knows a rejection when he hears one. He’s certainly heard enough over the years. So he gives her his best we both know you’re fucking me over but I’m being the bigger person smile and says, “Alright.”

Read the rest on Ao3.

[drinkupthesunrise]

For the fic prompt requests: In your whump fic there was a wonderful line about Tycho needing to keep Plourr from getting into any fights that will cause diplomatic incidents. I've been giggling off and on about that since I read it, so my prompt is: Plourr starts a fights, which ignites a diplomatic incident, and poor Tycho is left to clean up the mess. ((Also, I think the whump fic is really fantastic!!! You're a gift to this fandom!!! -the anon who sent you the ask game message a while back))

*shakes fist at you* you know, I tossed that throw away line in thinking it would be a great fic, but fully knowing it would be a pain to write. After thinking a lot on it, I came up with this, which I’m quite delighted by, so I guess I should say thank you?? :D (also on ao3)

Tychoreally doesn’tappreciate being roused from his bed by military police at four inthe morning. He can’t help but think that, whatever has happened,it could wait until a sensible hour in the morning.

Butno, one of his pilots may have caused a major diplomatic incident,and apparently that’ssomehow his problem.

Tychoshrugs on his jacket and pulls on his boots and makes himself lookalmost presentable, before heading on down to the local lock up. Hethinks about waking someone to endure this hell with him, but hissenior officers are currently Hobbie, Wes, and the very person he’shad to haul himself out of bed to go rescue, so none of them arelikely to be of use to him.

It’sat times like these when Tycho really wishes that Wedge would somehowbecome miraculously better. But no, he’s off on Naboo, with Luke,and hopefully happy and content as he recovers from an accident thatalmost cost him his life.

SoTycho soldiers on alone.

Whenhe gets to the police station, and observes the situation at hand, hegroans. It’ssomehow even worse than he thought. “Kriffing hells,” he says,taking in the two women sharing a cell. “Verlaine, I thought youwere supposed to be above all this.”

EvaanVerlaine – leader of the Alderaanian contingent, effectiveheir-to-the-throne, and a woman Tycho treats with the utmost respect– is sitting next to Isplourrdacartha Estillo, better known to theRogues as just Plourr. Both of them look they’vebeen dragged through a back alley fight. They have, as Tychounderstands things. Which would be fine, if both of them were justpilots, as they both would like to pretend they are.

Onlythey are not. Both of them are the figureheads of worlds. And anyfight involving them has serious ramifications.

“Don’tworry about me, Commander Celchu, I’ve got my own help coming.”Evaan waves Tycho off. She’s got a black eye, and her bottom lip issplit. Tycho has only ever known her as the appointed leader of hispeople, but Wedge knew her when she was just a pilot and from thestories he tells, she could always brawl with the best of them.

She’smaintained a dignified reputation, largely, these past years sinceshe left the Alliance Forces after Yavin. Apart from now.

“Plourr.Please tell me you have an explanation the Chandrillan Police willaccept.” Tycho pinches the bridge of his nose between thumb andforefinger, feeling the stress rising through his bones. “Beforethe government of Eiattu and the Alderaanian Council go to war withthe New Republic, which I think we could all stand to avoid.”

“Itwon’t be that bad.” Plourr is overly casual in her response. Thatconcerns Tycho. “We did a good deed. Took down a bunch of Imperialrat-bag sympathisers who were harking on about the glory days.”

“Imperialsympathisers? On Chandrila? That’s a story and a half to sell.”Chandrila is the birth place of the New Republic, friend to the RebelAlliance. Imperials have never been welcome here.

“I’llback her up on that,” Evaan says.

“Youattacked ten men. Three of them are in hospital. The rest of them areseething and baying for blood. If you tell me this fight wasjustified, then I’ll go bat for you.”

“Itwas justified Tycho,” Plourr says. Tycho looks her in the eye andshe doesn’t back down. Tycho has to trust her; she and Evaan haveno reason to lie. They aren’t like that. “I know it’s a mess,but we didn’t just get in a fight for the hell of it.”

Tychosighs. “Ibelieve you.”

.

Tychospends his next thirty minutes trying to convince the Chandrilanpolice of Evaan and Plourr’sversion of events. Whilst Tycho thinks that they are all inclined tobelieve it, there are the political concerns; two world leadersgetting in a physical altercation with members of the general publicnever looks good. Evaan and Plourr can’t be released, because therewill be accusations of a cover-up, sweeping things under the rug,smoothing the way for those in power; yet, if they aren’t releasedby morning, the Eiattu Government and the Alderaanian Council willkick up one hell of a storm about the imprisonment of their leaders.

Andthat way lies Tycho being dragged in front of his superior officers,given that he’snominally responsible for Plourr’s behaviour, and explaining why hedoesn’t discipline his pilots properly. An investigation into theconduct of all members of Rogue Squadron. No one wants that. ButTycho is scratching his head about how to get the Chandrilan policeevidence that would prove the fight was justified, that Plourr andEvaan were helping to keep the peace instead of breaking it.

Healso wonders the help that Evaan said was coming will arrive, becauseright now he’strying to represent them both, and it’s difficult to convince theChandrilan police you don’t have a vested interest in setting theleader of the Alderaanian contingent free when you yourself areAlderaanian.

Salvationcomes in the form of a lithe, white haired woman, who walks into thepolice station with the bearing of nobility. Her features arestrikingly familiar, and yet Tycho swears that he’dremember a woman like this. But he doesn’t have a clue who she is.

“MayI speak to the chief officer on duty, concerning the arrest ofPrincess Isplourrdacartha Estillo and Lady Evaan Verlaine?” Hervoice is familiar too, soft and calming. Tycho fixates on her, tryingto work out just who she is. A sergeant scurries away, presumably tofetch someone capable of answering her questions. She is the sort offigure who demands respect; much more than Tycho, in a thin semblanceof a uniform with dark circles under his eyes, does.

“Howare you, Tycho Celchu?” The woman is suddenly by his side,addressing him directly.

Tychoblinks, forgets himself completely. “Howdo you know my name—?” Then he remembers himself. “Hello.Sorry.” He sticks out his hand. “Nice to meet you. CommanderCelchu of Rogue Squadron, at your service, I’m alright, and I seemto have missed the pleasure of being introduced to you.”

Shesmiles, and shakes his hand. “WinterRetrac. It’s good to meet you at last, though I’m sorry it has tobe under these circumstances.”

“Ican think of worse ways to meet someone, Dame Winter.” WinterRetrac – that’s why she looks so familiar. She has Leia’sfeatures, a resemblance that is almost uncanny. And her voice was onethat spoken often alongside Queen Breha’s, in the days when Tychowas on Alderaan. “You must be the help Verlaine was sending.”

“Noneed to stand on formality. Winter is just fine, one Alderaanian toanother.” Winter sits down besides him. “And yes. Leia is inlittle need of my services these days. And Evaan would like tobelieve that she has no need for them, but—” Winter shrugs. “Theevidence says otherwise.”

“Evidenceis a fine thing.”

“I’vegot some that might help,” she says.

“I’dtake anything.”

“Howabout proof that those men are exactly who Plourr and Evaan say theyare, that they were completely right to attack them, and in doing sothey may have stopped a major terrorist incident?”

“Icould kiss you.”

Winter’ssmile is wry. “Careful flyboy. Might just take you up on that.”Tycho blushes to the roots of his hair. He’s saved from having torespond by the local police chief choosing to make his entrance then,and Tycho instead gets to listen to Winter’s exoneration of Plourand Evaan, and not think about the fact that he really wouldn’thave any complaints if Winter did take him up on the words that justslipped out of his mouth.

.

“Thankyou gentleman, my friend and I have had a very pleasant night in yourcells, we’ll be sure to tell everyone how accommodating you allwere.”

“Evaan—”

“Yes,Winter, I know, the less the general public hears about this thebetter.” Winter hands Evaan a hooded cloak. “Joys.”

“Well,next time—”

“Don’tget into fights. I know. Like you’re any better.”

Tychocan tell that this is a time worn argument between the pair of them.He just sighs and looks at Plourr. “Just.Wait until Wedge is back to do this again? I’m not cut out forthis.”

Plourrshakes her head and laughs. “Andyou think Wedge is? Oh men. You have a lot to learn.” She linksarms with Evaan and heads out, leaving Tycho standing there wonderingwhat on earth he’s going to do with her. He turns to Winter,similarly abandoned.

“Howdo you feel about breakfast?” Winter asks.

“Ingeneral, I’m in favour of it, though in practice it’s not usuallymore than hot caf and whatever my pilots force-feed me from themess.” Tycho runs a hand through the back of his hair. He alwaysused to yell at Wedge for not eating properly, now he’s fallen intothe trap.

“Feellike doing it properly this morning?” Winter’s eyes sparkle.

“Withyou?” Tycho’s eyes widen. “Sure. I guess. If you want?”

“Itwould be my pleasure.”

[ficbrish]

WIP Wednesday long post

When I say I’m in WIP hell, it’s more like a mixture of WIP hell/heaven.

I was on a writing hiatus for so long before I started writing fic. I have original projects I’ve been working on for years, and I felt stuck in my stories and stuck in my circumstances. Then I decided to just write down one of my daydreams and now I have more ongoing projects actually making their way onto the page than I ever imagined. I’m writing a lot, and now I find I have more motivation than time. I love being here. I don’t ever want to go back to thick, blank stuck.

So to celebrate, here’s snippets of various WIPs I have. If they’re a part of work that’s already posted, I’ll provide a link to where they are on AO3.

Tagging @tealenko @acciokaidanalenko @halesshepardn7 @drthrvn @ljandersen @felan-daris @mallaidhsomo @ghostxofxartemis @nolenag03 @mrsd-writes @major-alenko (and anyone else who sees this who wants to join!) Please show me some WIP snippets if you’re willing to share! No pressure, just fun.

Rating: Explicit, 18+ If you are not an adult, do not interact!

ME1: Inevitability (not posted)

[my novelization of my headcanon playthrough of the first Mass Effect game]

Chapter 1 - “Welcome Aboard the Normandy, Shepard”

“I was really hoping Joker would be there, but you’ll meet him eventually,” Anderson shrugged.

“Joker, sir?” Shepard asked.

“Oh, our pilot.”

“Is he funny, sir?”

“Not as funny as you, Shepard,” he responded dryly

Chapter 2 - “The Spectre”

“One more thing, Shepard,” Anderson said hesitantly as she walked out of the room.

She turned and waited for him to speak further.

“He’s on Elysium.”

Shepard groaned, “Are you fucking for real?”

“Language, Commander!”

“Sorry,” she apologized, then repeated, “Are you fucking for real, sir?”

The Night Before Ilos (not posted)

[smut one-shot about Kaidan and Shepard’s first time together]

“I’ve waited so long to touch you,” Kaidan moaned into her neck as he pressed her back into the wall. She gasped at the admission, not the pressure. He apologized as he met her lips again.

Oh, wow.

They wanted this so bad it suffocated them both. It gripped them tight and squeezed, squeezed, squeezed…

Until it met the limits of grip.

Shepard’s kiss was the shudder as the muscles gave out, releasing at last. Nothing was holding them back anymore.

Victory Lap (not posted)

[short fic about the month between ME1 and the destruction of the SR-1]

Chapter 1 - “Victorious”

Everyone was waiting impatiently outside the Normandy. C-Sec wasn’t letting anyone inside.

“Come on, I left medicine in there!” Joker protested, moving to the front of the crowd.

“Please head downstairs and let requisitions know what you need,” the turian guard informed him, “They’ll provide it for you until you can get back on board,”

“C-Sec has the medicine I need for my rare Human condition?”

“Sir, it’s the Citadel. We have everything here.”

Joker sighed and put his hands on his hips, “Well, damn. I really thought that was gonna work.”

Chapter 3 - “The Story of Shepard”

“If you didn’t like corny, you wouldn’t like me. So come on, tell me something I don’t know about you.”

“Okay,” she agreed reluctantly. She sighed and began to think.

“Hmmmm… Well, when I was a kid I couldn’t draw circles.”

“That’s so lame. No one can draw circles.”

“Kaidan… Yes, they can.”

“Lies! Show me.”

“Wait, you can’t draw a circle?”

Shepard crawled out of bed to grab her datapad.

“Show me yours and I’ll show you mine,” she said.

ME2: Cerberus Bitch (not posted)

[my novelization of my headcanon playthrough of Mass Effect 2]

Prologue: Death

Kaidan’s own locker was at the other side of the bay, but instead of rushing over he grabbed the unfamiliar pink and white armor nearby.

Liara and Garrus spotted him and sprinted over. Concern creased their faces.

“What’s happening?” Garrus asked, ready for whatever action was coming.

“I don’t know! We just heard the alarms,” he answered, stepping into the legs. Liara and Garrus were already suited up and started helping him into his.

“Why are you naked?” Liara asked, dazed like someone who had just woken up from a deep nap they’d never meant to take.

“Because there’s no time!”

Grief Makes People… Well, You Know (not posted)

[smut one-shot about stranded post-war Normandy]

The Normandy SR-2 was stuck with most of its crew inside; trapped within a stranglehold of Pragia’s ever-growing vines, grounded, and cut off from the rest of the galaxy.

No Shepard. No EDI.

A stain on the thick, surrounding jungle, the SR-2 was a ghost of itself, inside and out.

The war’s ending had transformed everything, leaving them all in a limbo state. Nothing about the state of the galaxy was known. Kaidan, Liara, and Joker had become the ultimate authorities in this shrunken universe. As leaders, they were effective and inspiring, but all three were bleeding at the neck. It was in their souls, and it rested on their faces and on their shoulders.

It also left them all in a crisis state. The helm of the ship was buried in muck, but the rest of it shone in the sun of a new day. They had survived the impossible, but they needed to get flying again to keep it that way.

So, they worked, and they itched—with victory, loss, celebration, horror, disbelief, joy, ecstatic joy, relief, relief, more relief, and then deep, deep fear. Itching, itching with it. Working over it and under it, through it and because of it.

There was too much thickness in the air for laughter to cut through. The halls were coated with fresh, hot ick from the war’s sharp, dripping maw. Lightness was respectfully tucked away in pockets. Grasping for each other was confined to hidden crevices in time and space.

ME4: Aftermath [AO3]

[a novel of my headcanon about post-ME3 Shepard]

Chapter 3 - “Seeing You Again at the End of the World”

“Shepard…” Garrus began.

“Garrus…” she copied.

“It’s just…”

“What? Garrus!” Shepard interrupted in a casually persuasive way, like a cheap ship salesperson. “I mean… there’s so many mass relays out there that need calibration. How can you rest?”

He actually had to think about it for a second.

“You know me… it’s hard to resist a good cal—"

Tali didn’t let him finish, “Don’t let her bully you like that!”

“I’m not bullying anyone!” Shepard protested, throwing her arms up in mock defeat. “I just… I’ll do whatever it takes to get you all on board.”

“You’d even use my love of calibrations against me?” Garrus asked, betrayed.

Shepard hung her head and admitted, “Yes.”

Garrus held his hand up to his mouth in shock.

Scenes from a Hospital (not posted)

[smut one-shot, Shep makes herself handy in the hospital]

Their throats felt tight even though they were finally home.

“I—” Kaidan started, but his voice caught.

“I know,” she said.

“I really thought—”

Shepard shushed him and rubbed his chest.

“I know,” she finished for him.

“Yeah.”

“Yeah.”

It felt so good to feel his heart beating under her palm.

Untitled (not posted)

[my novelization of my headcanon dragon age inquisition playthrough]

Chapter 1 - “A Rift”

“It throngs with magic!” Adan commented poisonously, referring the green, glowing hand of the slumbering elf.

Cullen bent down to examine it further, Solas taking a knee next to him. When he took her hand in his, he could feel the tingling through his thick leather glove. There was an active, chaotic power there for sure, but something about it had the air of stability.

“Do you feel that too?” The ex-templar asked the apostate.

“Yes, but it is not what you think.”

“Hmmm…. He grunted thoughtfully.

Maker. His head pounded. It didn’t take any amount of training or lyrium to know he was staring at an unknown magic. He looked at the elven apostate, the waking one that is, and squinted. There was a surety underneath the other man’s concern. It put his own mind at ease.

“It should be fine,” he judged, standing up.

“Those are baaaad words,” Varric commented, and Cassandra shot him a warning look.

Rice [AO3]

[smut/fluff short fic where Lavellan and Cullen cook together]

Chapter 2 - “A Dalish Dish”

Commander and Inquisitor be damned, the head cook still cursed when they came crashing into the kitchens demanding everyone take some time off.

“Just an hour or so!” the Inquisitor pleaded to the displeased cook, his flour-covered shoe tapping and his hands frowning at her from his hips. He didn’t answer but rolled his eyes and shouted for everyone to clear out.

“Never thought I’d meet anyone more terrifying than Corypheus,” Cullen joked. Her responding smirk made him realize he was still catching his breath.

She laughed, “You never caught me.”

He grabbed her up in his arms now and she squealed.

“Unhand me so I can feed you!” she joked.

“Every part of you feeds me,” he said into her ear, and even though they’d just had each other, she felt desperate for him.

[gooeygummi]

I wanted to draw them together

[commander-krios]

13 from the prompts for any of the Mass Effect pairings please! <3

Hey friend! Long time, no talk! Hope all is well with you. Here is some love for Jeff x Shepard. This is a reimagining of the scene on the Normandy during ME1 when you are grounded and your love interest comes to see you. Because we should've had Joker as a romance. (I need to make Aurora in game still)

13. “I’m so proud of you.”

The ship was grounded. The Council wasn't going to let them go to Ilos, wasn’t going to let them chase down Saren and the Geth. If Saren found the Conduit and activated it… there was no telling the amount of people who were going to die when Sovereign alerted the Reapers and they started purging the galaxy of organic life.

With an angry sigh, Aurora Shepard closed her eyes, leaning her head against the lockers. The cold of the metal was soothing, but it did nothing to calm the waging war of emotions within. She didn’t usually let her anger win but this wasn’t a normal situation. Everyone had turned on her: the Council, Udina. The only one willing to listen was Anderson, but he knew Aurora as well as she knew herself. Her hunches were rarely wrong.

She didn’t know how long she’d been standing there. Perhaps a few minutes… or a few hours. It wasn’t like she had anywhere to be.

“Uh, Commander?”

Aurora’s eyes opened wide, surprised to hear this particular voice not over the comm. “Joker?”

When she turned to face him, she noted that he was nervous. He had a hand on the back of his neck, his eyes on the floor between them. Her pilot was usually so confident that it was almost strange to see this side of him. She immediately feared the worst.

“Jeff? Is everything alright?”

His real name seemed to calm him. With a chuckle, he finally glanced up, eyes wrinkling at the sides when he met her gaze. “Sorry, I was thinking about how stupid the Council is going to look when we break out of here.”

“When?” Aurora asked, unable to stop her own smile from forming at his statement. “How do you propose we do that?”

“I don’t know. You’re the Commander. You come up with the plans, right? I just pull the fancy maneuvers to get us there.”

Aurora laughed as well. As bleak as the situation seemed, Jeff always found a way to bring a smile to her face. “You’ve got a point, I suppose.”

Joker moved closer, his usual confidence back. “It’s just- you know I’m here with you, no matter what. We all are.”

Aurora sighed, sliding to sit on the floor at the base of the lockers. Putting her head in her hands, she felt like her head might explode from the stress. “I know and I appreciate it, but I can’t ask you to do something that will get you court martialed… or worse.”

Joker sat beside her although it obviously took great effort. Once he was comfortable, he glanced at her, a smile on his face. “I’m so proud of you, Shepard. Everything that’s happened to get you here and you’re still the kind and diplomatic woman you’ve always been. Even with the Council, even though they don’t deserve it.” He paused for a second, his eyes focused on his hands in front of him. “They don’t deserve you.”

Aurora snorted at that. Her reaction only made Joker’s smile widen.

“What I’m trying to say is the crew isn’t going anywhere. Neither am I.” Taking his hat from the spot it rested on his head, Joker plopped it on top of hers, laughing as she squealed.

“Joker!”

“Hey, it suits you.” He flicked the brim with his finger. “Wear it for luck.”

Aurora had known Jeff for years, even before the Normandy. They had been friends during the early years of their Alliance work, keeping each other grounded through it all. If he hadn’t been brought onto the Normandy as a pilot, she doubted she would’ve accepted the XO position. This ship was nothing with Jeff.

Gently, she took his hand in hers, trying to ignore the easy way they fit together. Then she leaned her head on his shoulder, content to just sit there while they waited for news. Joker seemed to have the same thought in his mind for he laid his head against hers, quiet as they sat there, enjoying each other’s presence.

[rhyske]

Characters: Shepard, Garrus, Tali

Couple: Shakarian

Prompt: Normandy Crash Site

I always tend to do the crash site after the suicide mission, so that’s where this fic roughly takes place.

----

A normal mission. Not a routine mission - visiting the crash site of your previous ship should never be routine - but a mission with a goal. Those were doable, possible. She could get in, do her job, and get out. 

Just another mission.

Something in her chest said otherwise. A tightness in her lungs, a tingle pumping through her veins, lips unconsciously pressing tight together. Her shaking hands, always studiously steady during missions, seemed like a betrayal. 

At first she thought of going alone, to walk through her memories, her failure, in solitude. But no, she hadn’t been the only one who knew that crew, the signs of the people she’d be looking for. It’s why Tali and Garrus stood in her quarters now, to give them the choice she didn’t have.

“The Normandy is gong to Alchera.” There was no point in beating around the bush. Fighting the urge to wrap her arms around herself and instead settling them into a cross, she does her best to keep her voice even. “To the old Normandy.”

The shock from the two is nearly palpable. Tali is the first to speak, shifting her feet uncertainly. “They found the crash site?”

Shepard nods. “Hackett sent me the coordinates.” Eyes flick briefly away before resting back on her friend, voice going soft. “He wants a monument placed in honor of all who didn’t make it.”

“I’m not sure if that’s touching or cruel,” comes Garrus, blue eyes resting heavy on his commander. Even without his visor notifying him, he recognizes some of the human gestures for stress; pressed lips, drawn brow, the incessant finger tap on her arm. 

“So,” interjects Tali when Shepard doesn’t answer, “you want us to go with you?”

“I’m giving you a choice.” Sighing, she seems to deflate, letting her arms fall to her sides. “You knew the crew too. If you want to go, say goodbye--” Swallowing to hide the crack in her voice, she throws a small, sad smile to Tali. “Well.”

They’d both had mourned, in their own way. Tali had wept days after she’d received the news, her own memories cutting deep. Then she’d picked herself up and swore to try twice as hard to walk with confidence for the ones who couldn’t. Garrus, he’d drank himself stupid before buying the first ticket to Omega and never looking back. He hadn’t been too close to the majority of the crew, but Shepard’s name on the list Hackett had forwarded his way had burned a permanent mark behind his eyelids.

Shepard, she hadn’t really had time to mourn, he notices with a jolt.

In their silence, Shepard waves a hand. “You don’t have to give me an answer now. I’ll have EDI alert you to our arrival. Meet me in the docking bay or not, I won’t judge.”

Wringing her fingers together, Tali gives a nod, voice hoarse. “Thank you. I-I’ll go think about it.” She hesitates, as if wanting to say something more, before turning to go.

The door slides closed behind her before Garrus shifts, mandibles fluttering in uncertainty. There was no debating his choice - he’d go. No way was he letting Shepard do this alone, no matter how little his presence may help. 

Before he can figure out what to say - if he meant to say anything at all, he wasn’t good at this kind of thing - he watches as Shepard slumps heavily onto the couch, hands rising to hold her face. Lowering himself beside her, he takes a moment to find his voice. “I’m here, if you want to talk.”

A wry smile finds her lips as she lifts her head to glance at him. In a voice heavy with emotion, she says, “I appreciate it, but--” an inhale “--I wouldn’t know what to say.”

“Sure.” Should he be witty? Serious? He opts for silence, giving her the control.

She takes that silence and wraps herself in it, letting her head rest on his shoulder and his arm curl around her waist. His warmth and presence helps to quell the thoughts raging through her head, making them easier, more manageable. 

What could have been minutes or hours later, she’s stepping into the Kodiak, Tali and Garrus right behind her. It’s a quiet ride down, the only sound of helmets being slipped on and the comms being checked.

Then the moment of feet touching ground, and there it was. The old Normandy, the ship that had taken them all on a chase for Saren and assisted in taking down Sovereign, laying in pieces. 

An exhale, steps moving forward. That was the damn Mako in the background, utterly untouched. She doubted anything could put that girl down for good. To her right... 

She walks onto that familiar path, so utterly recognizable even in its ruined state. Joker never left that seat. Hell, she suspected he slept in it. This small area that no one fought to claim from him; if she ignored the cold behind her, it was like being back, waiting for the pilot to crack another joke.

Her first dog tag, wrapped around her wrist, reflects the low light as she exits, head tilted up to take in a pillar of metal. Which part was that? The hanger, the quarters? There’s the Mako again, closer, looking for all the galaxy as if its podium of ice was a stage, holding up the indestructible vehicle.

“Oh, Keelah...” Behind the Mako stood the barely discernable galaxy map frame. Tali, holding a tablet in her hand, barely registers Shepard’s approach as she sniffs, free hand pressing against the glass of her helmet. “This...”

Not trusting her voice, Shepard instead brushes against Tali’s arm. The quarian’s fingers tighten briefly on the tablet before it’s handed to her friend, another sniff accompanying her retreat. Looking down, it’s a diary, corrupted in most areas but bits still readable.

Pressley. His journey in the Normandy, his acceptance of everyone in the crew.

His dog tags, only a couple steps away.

One of Normandy’s thrusters sticks almost vertically from the ground. A piece of the hull protecting now a sheet of ice. The mess hall. The sleeper pods. 

Branching off from the obvious debris, countless dog tags tied around her wrist, Shepard finds herself at a dead end. Resting inches away from a small drop, as if waiting for her, is something that takes her breath away. With shaking fingers, she grasps the helmet, the familiar shape and color cracking something within her, spiderwebbing pain until it shatters.

This place, a grave. Her grave. With oxygen cut, she’d lit up in orbit, falling, suffocating, fear and panic, the heat, burning--

A hand on her shoulder, gentle, firm. A sobbing gasp rattles her chest as her aching fingers loosen on the helmet, her body curled around it. When had she moved? 

Crouching beside her, Garrus notes the damaged helmet, her erratic heart rate. Brushing his fingers down to her elbow, dog tags around his own wrist clinking as he tugs gently, he guides her to her feet. His other hand comes up and cups the side of her helmet, dipping his head down so their headgear tap.

A shaky inhale fills the comms as she shifts, raising a hand to grip his. A moment passes, then two. Another inhale as she steps away, hand moving to wipe away tears but bumping against glass instead. 

Purple moves in her peripherals before Tali reaches out, taking the helmet from her grasp before drawing her into a hug.

The Normandy had changed their lives. Shepard had shown them what it meant to be strong, to forge their own path and follow their gut. They’d taken down Saren, taken down a Reaper, found the lost world of Ilos and made the history books. Everyone on that ship had been happy to serve, happy to follow Commander Shepard to their death. 

Many had.

Alchera was just another ice world in the galaxy. No one but the most curious and adventurous would walk its surface. The monument placed to protect everyone’s memories would forever hold a silent vigil, watching over the grave of those who lost their lives needlessly in an avoidable war.

[roguedameron]

Cover artworks of the 1996 Dark Horse 4-part series X-Wing: Rogue Squadron - The Warrior Princess  // Artist: Mark Harrison

[crqstalite]

sunday scraps.

might start that, idk. but i have a lot of wips that i reworked or will just never publish, and im starting to do my yearly word count roundup. this bit? i might actually use this somewhere.

(they’ve met in eye of the storm’s canon, but i wrote this long before i started that lol)

citlali velasquez & kaidan alenko. post me1 + pre me2

-

He can barely think straight, her last words to him, strained and breathless over the comm that died only moments later. It was over the squad's private frequency, though in that moment he was terrified he'd been the only one who'd heard it. A quiet declaration of love, of affection -- hell whatever you wanted to call it. His name had been the final word on her lips. Moments later, sounds of struggle filled his ears as he sunk to the ground of the escape pod. He doesn't even register the others saying her name, growing more and more panicked when her line goes quiet.

And here he was, the bringer of bad news.

He presses the doorbell.

It doesn't take long. He wishes he had more time.

The girl is twenty three, celebrated it nearly a year ago now. Curly hair that's less coiled than Kodelyn's is. Her green-blue eyes shine in the dim light of the apartment when they find him, but they're rimmed red. She's dressed down, a faded N7 sweatshirt that's much too big for her around her shoulders, a black t-shirt and grey sweatpants. He quells the need to cut and run when he sees Kodelyn's name written out on the chest of the sweatshirt.

She's holding an old helmet. One he recognizes from just after the Skyllian Blitz before the slight redesign of the helmets to fortify them further. Kodelyn's, with how recent it is he can make the guess. She clears her throat, "So they sent you."

"I'm-"

"I know, I know. You're sorry for my loss," She pauses, unable to meet his eyes. He can't even imagine what's going through her head now, looking through the dented visor at an empty helmet. He doesn't know what to say, what to do now. She shifts the helmet in her hands before placing it on an endtable out of his view. Hanging her head, she steps forward to put her arms around him. At first, he flinches. He's not used to receiving hugs and other physical affection from anyone but his family, or someone who wasn't Kodelyn, "They all are." She whispers.

She's nearly the same height as Kodelyn.

The similarities are uncanny. There's a faint scent of the same rose perfume Kodelyn had worn the day she got out of the hospital. It makes him miss her more as he lowers his arms to hug the younger woman back.

He'd met Citlali Velasquez only a few times. She'd visited Kodelyn a few times while he basically lived in the hospital during their short shore leave. A talented biotic, a graduate of Grissom Academy. She'd said she'd wanted to become a pilot. Kodelyn had said she'd introduce her to Joker when she got out of the hospital. Smart, and capable, Kaidan is struggling now, recognizing the once bright woman as the husk of a person that clings onto him. He doesn't know what to do, as he can hear her beginning to sob, quiet at first and then enough to rack her body against his.

She'd lost her sister. They'd been close, from the way they spoke of each other.

He wonders if he'd just managed to be there, get to her faster, anything, that she'd still be here today. Though he knew it was misplaced, he blamed Joker at first. He'd never voiced those complaints, and they were quickly fizzled out after the funeral. The poor man was destroyed after that, hell he hadn't even seen him since then. Liara had remained on the Citadel so far, but Garrus was gone as soon as the funeral was over. It took longer for Tali to leave, but she was gone back to the flotilla just as fast. Wrex was on Tuchanka, last he heard.

He doesn't want to be here without her. How she'd managed to become everything to him in such a short time, he wasn't sure he wanted to know. How that spark had blossomed into a flame before Ilos. How he'd looked forward to seeing her after every mission.

[swaps55]

Sonata - Update

Pairing: mShenko

Rating: M

Tags: Canon Divergent (Shepard & Kaidan pre-Me1 service history), Fake Relationship, Oh No - There Was Only One Bed, Mutual Pining (SO MUCH PINING)

POV Characters: Kaidan, Joker, Tali, Liara, Mrs. Alenko

Summary:

When the casualty list comes out after the Battle of the Citadel, the victory starts to feel more like a loss. Especially when the Alliance summons the Normandy home to Vancouver to face an inquest. Everyone copes in different ways. Tali suckers Joker into her romance novel obsession. Liara develops an affinity for martinis.

Shepard and Kaidan make bad decisions over too much booze.

Written for @makoparkingonly. Many, many thanks to @sinvraal for beta-ing this mess.

Chapter 6 - Hold It Down

Chapter Summary:

Kaidan has a rough day.

Read it:

Joker slumps in his seat, arms crossed over his chest, glaring at the floor. He’s getting really sick of Conference Room 3C and the stupid crisscross pattern on the floor.

Shepard had called him in early to dump his suspicions about a geth coverup in Joker’s lap less than an hour before taking the stand. As if that’s supposed to be helpful.

They’re not going to take his ship.

They’re not going to take his damn ship away from him.

Shepard’s endless pacing isn’t helping. The same person who figured out how to take out a mad Spectre on the fly with nothing more than the Mako and a mini mass relay would doom them all if the only way to stop a reaper invasion involved standing still for five seconds.

“Relax, Joker.”

“Can you stop pacing then? You’re giving me an epic case of anxiety right before I walk into a courtroom.”

Shepard, to his credit, stops pacing. For about three seconds.

“If you weren’t you and I weren’t me I’d deck you right now,” Joker mutters.

Shepard plants his feet again and crosses his arms. “It’s going to be fine. Trust me.”  

“You just told me they’re going to try to railroad me into admitting Sovereign could be a geth monstrosity. That they’re looking for leverage to keep my ass in line, and that leverage will be taking my ship away. What part of that sounds like it’s going to be ok to you? Why the hell would you tell me this now?”

A hard edge enters Shepard’s voice. “Because I don’t put my people in the line of fire unarmed.”

A quip about Torfan comes to mind, but Joker’s not that stupid. “They’re going to bench me, Shepard. Why not just use a fucking firing squad at that point?”

Oh, good. There’s the look. The one Shepard gets when he’s about to put a hole in someone’s head. Hopefully someone else’s head. Joker can think of a few to suggest.

“They aren’t benching you on my watch. Ok? End of it. You’re my pilot. No one else is touching my ship. Call it the perks of being a Spectre.”

That...actually makes him feel better. He waves a hand. “So you want me to go in there and just…dish whatever they give me back in their faces.”

“I want you to tell the truth. Don’t let them push you around. But do me a favor and don’t punch an Admiral. Pretty sure my pull doesn’t stretch that far.”

Joker uncrosses his arms and shifts in his seat. “I took the kill shot on a reaper, you know.”

“Yeah. I was there when it landed on me.”

“Hey, that one’s on you. Would it have been that hard to move?”  

Shepard leans back against the table. “You’re gonna do fine. You brought a mutinied ship back to the Fifth Fleet without her CO and convinced an Admiral to not only not throw you in a brig, but to bring the cavalry to the Citadel on the hope I was still alive. Do you have any idea how proud I am of you for that?”

Joker huffs, refusing to meet his gaze. He’s not sure what to do with compliments, especially from Shepard. “Yeah, your disappearing act on Ilos didn’t exactly help. And you took your damn sweet time actually answering the comm once you got where you were going.”

“Funny, Alenko told me the same thing after you dropped the reaper on my head.”

Joker can only imagine what it must have been like to be anywhere near Kaidan while they’d searched for Shepard in the rubble. Garrus probably had to peel him off the ceiling.

Shepard pushes away from the table, winces when he puts weight on the left leg, then puts a hand on Joker’s shoulder. “I’ve got your back. Hell, after what you did I’ll always have your back. Even if you do punch an Admiral.” He makes a face. “Please don’t punch an Admiral.”

Joker flops a hand back and forth. “That would hurt me more than it would hurt an Admiral.”   

“You’re going to do fine,” Shepard repeats.

Joker flicks his eyes away for a moment. Shepard’s gaze is like a directed energy weapon sometimes. Meeting it head on is like staring right at the sun. “She’s not just a ship to me, you know.”

“I know.”

“I’d go down with that ship.”

Shepard grins. “Not while I’m around.”  

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