Author's Note: I actualy finished this chapter quite a few weeks ago, but then got a new job and a new home so forgot to beta-read it (myself) and post it. Next upload won't be an actual chapter, just a summary of the first 5 chapters. I understand some people read stories mostly for the smut part, and I don't judge it. So nice guy that I am will put a summary for them right before the skin starts showing alot, and also of course for you awesome readers who have been following my story. You truly are the motivation that keeps me writing, even if it's slowly ;)
Inventive use of Mass Effect fields
Chapter Five: Bedside Bell
"You've got to be kidding me.. I'm STILL not dead?" was the first thing to cross Jack's mind. Soon followed by "Fucking ouch…"
When she finally opened her eyes, it took the ex-convict a moment to adjust to the bright light, but she could soon recognize the Med-bay of the Normandy where the elderly doc had patched her up countless times since she hoped on Shepard's crazy train. She was lying on her back on the bed furthest from the door, an IV plugged into her left arm, and covered by the usual light sheet and an ugly gown. Considering her usual attire, even these minimal pieces of cloth felt like a full-body armor to Jack.
Still a little dizzy and blinded by the light, the shaved woman managed with great effort to sit up, and searched her wrecked body for the source of her throbbing pain. Her right arm. The sight of it brought back vague, painful memories from the Collector base. She remembered the Red Drive and its effects. She remembered the wannabe reaper monstrosity and Shepard bringing it down while she fought Collector weaklings. Smiling a little, she then remembered the Commander standing up to the Illusive Prick, and the cheerleader telling her boss to go fuck off. She remembered flying through the air like a ragdoll, and crashing. And finally, she remembered a falling doom, and doing something just fucking stupid. And then… she couldn't remember anything more. Question was, thought a frowning Jack, how had she gone from dying on a rotting piece of shit base in the middle of fucking nowhere, to still being alive who knows how long later in the Normandy's med-bay, with her right arm strapped immobile and most definitely sporting more scar than it used to.
Unable to make any sense of it and with her other limbs apparently mostly unarmed, Jack examined the rest of the large room. After any given mission, the med-bay would usually be filled with injured team and crew members, but right now it was just as empty as it had been after the abduction. This meant she must have been out cold for a few days.
Still scanning the room, Jack's sight came to rest on a data-slate lying on the bed next to hers. It couldn't be much of anything other than her med-record. The tattooed woman extended her left arm towards it, and tried to pull it to her with biotic. The data-slate barely moved an inch. It could have moved a mile though that Jack wouldn't have noticed for she was too busy screaming her throat out in brutally sudden agonizing pain. The second she stimulated her brain's biotic node, she could swear someone hiding under her bed had come out to drive an axe into her skull. The worst of it only lasted for the second she had tried to use her biotics, but left a behind an excruciating afterglow that left her curled up and shaking on the bed.
Barely a minute later, Jack heard the med-bay's door opening, and multiple sounds of running coming towards her. With her conscious mind too busy fighting the agony, instinct quickly took over and sent her into panic mode. This was obviously a new Cerberus facility. Her right arm had been hurt during combat with another inmate, and she had just awoken after yet another surgical intervention to her precious little brain. Her crippled biotics and the pain their stimulation brought were the results of a botched job by their stupid doctors, and those running footsteps were guards coming in to take her back to her cell, probably raping her along the way for good measure. It all made sense now, of course.
Before the guards could reach her, Jack quickly sat back up, ripped the IV out of her arm and jumped off her bed, intent on using the IV's pole to knock their heads off before escaping from the labs. Her instinct was dumbfounded though when the shaved woman landed on her face rather than her feet. Just as it realized her legs were limp for some reason, it felt a small sting on her ass. And then everything went black, again.
When Jack next awoke, she was relieved to find the pain had left her head.
"Why good morning Jack" came the voice of doctor Chakwas. "How are you feeling today?"
The tattooed woman began her answer by grunting and bringing a hand to her face to shield her eyes from the annoyingly bright light.
"I dunno… Like I took a dive to the face with my Amp ripped out and my arm holding by duct tape?"
Jack hadn't expected the Commander's laugh to welcome her answer. His light chuckle was enough to send her heart racing and her eyes wide open. Damn, she thought as she willed herself to recover from the surprise of his presence at her bedside. Good thing she still had her hand in her face. Hopefully the beat her heart had skipped hadn't showed too much on the monitor.
"I'd say that sounds about right Jack" he simply replied.
When the ex-convict finally moved her hand away, she found the Commander staring at her with an honest smile. The sight of his now stress-free face brought warmth inside of her, and she was glad to know he had survived the Collector base as well. In the end, she couldn't help the corner of her own lips from rising a little. The elderly doctor was standing next to him, data-slate in hand, also smiling. Old hag must have seen the spike in my heart rate, damn her. A few feet behind the both of them stood a couple of obviously frightened goons. It was their job and duty to stand guard in the med-bay while it was occupied, but they knew all too well they couldn't do a damn thing to stop her if she went wild.
"I asked doctor Chakwas here to call me before waking you up", continued Shepard. "She insures me your vitals have been strong and stable for the last few days, and that you'll finally be ready to get out of here tomorrow. Just in time too."
"Last few days? Finally? Just in time? Just how long have I been out and what the fuck is going on?"
Shepard could easily see the confusion on the shaved woman's face and chuckled once again.
"I know this is a lot to process Jack, and don't worry. I made sure I'd have time to talk you through it all. It's the least I can do", he quickly said. "But first things first. Doctor Chakwas?"
"Yes", began the old woman after clearing her throat. "Before the Commander debriefs you Jack, I want to go over a few important medical points with you. I'll start by answering the most obvious question: sixteen days. You've been asleep for sixteen days. After seeing the extant of your wounds upon your return to the Normandy, doctor Solus and I decided it was best we put you in an artificial coma for the better part of your recovery. It made the surgeries easier, and spared you the pain. And indeed, if we forget last week's little incident, this made your recovery very successful."
The english woman took a short pause to let this sink in. Two weeks. It wasn't the first time Jack lost some time. After all, she had spent several months frozen up on that god damn Blue Suns prison. But still, it was never a fun feeling to know the galaxy had gone on moving without you. She couldn't begin to imagine how Shepard had felt waking up after two years. The thought of this made her look his way. Always the flawless commander, the handsome man was busy pouring her a glass of water, which she accepted with a nod as the doctor resumed talking.
"Now about those critical injuries", she said. "Everyone who came back from that dreaded place did so with their fair share of cuts, bruises and gun wounds; but you were on another level. My, for a minute we actually thought we were going to lose you too. But the Commander here and Miss Lawson wouldn't let that happen, and neither would I dear. The first thing we had to patch up was your right arm. It was… for lack of better words, a bloody mess. In the end, it took a few surgeries and some cybernetics to save it. Even when you walk out of here, you should keep wearing those bands you have on it right now for a few more weeks. They'll keep you from making any sudden movements and straining it too much while your body finishes incorporating your new implants."
Jack put the glass down and looked at her arm. "Implants eh?" Her arm looked normal. A little less ink. A little more scars. She had to really concentrate to feel the metal pieces grafted to her bones and muscles. And even then, she knew that was probably just her mind playing tricks. What did they call it? Something about feeling them just because she knew she had them? Whatever.
"Next was your biotic interface", resumed the doctor, pulling Jack from her thoughts. "Now dear, I know it's going to be hard, but please try NOT to use your biotic abilities right now."
It was true. It took Jack every ounce of self-control she could muster not to instinctively rise against this interdiction and try out her biotics right there and then.
"The Commander and Mordin are both playing stupid with me and won't tell me what happened back there", she continued on a slightly irritated tone. "But whatever it was, it completely fried your L5x Amp. If it had been anything less than top of the line, it would probably have fried your entire biotic interface and lobe as well, effectively killing you in the process. You should consider yourself very lucky young lady. As it was, we were able to remove your old Amp and heal the interface. It's also a good thing doctor Solus secretly kept a copy of your implant's multicore design. With the data, we were able to fabricate a new one during your recovery, and we'll be able to install it tonight or tomorrow, if you're feeling up for it. Until then however, I must insist once again: DON'T try and use your powers. It will only result in terrible, terrible pain." Lowering her data-slate and handing it to Jack, the elder woman finally said "The rest of your injuries healed long ago and aren't worth mentioning at this point. You'll find all the details of your surgeries on this slate and, most importantly, the fine-tuning specs for your new L5x Amp. Mordin thought it would be best for you to review them before the surgery, in case you wanted to adjust anything. I'll leave you with the Commander now, and bring you some paperwork to fill out later."
With this, she began to walk away towards the guards but then stopped and turned back.
"Oh, and Jack" she added, performing a surprisingly neat military salute. "Since you were already asleep back when this was all people would talk about aboard the ship; it would be my honor, on the behalf of the entire crew of the Normandy SR-2, to thank you for all your efforts in saving not only us, but so many more humans from the dark fate the Collectors had planned for them." And then she was out the door with the goons, leaving her alone. With Shepard. And the awkward silence.
The silence lasted almost a full agonizingly long minute, with both of them just staring at Jack's glass as if it was the most interesting thing in the world, before Shepard opened his mouth.
"So…" he brilliantly began.
"So…", Jack continued with flawless diction. "What the fuck happened back there? Last thing I remember is saving both your asses. And now I wake up from a two week coma? You got a pretty fucking big gap to fill here Shepard."
The Commander smiled and looked her in the eyes, happy to find the injuries apparently hadn't changed her.
"Well Jack, I think we both have a bit of explaining to do there. Don't bother telling me about that Red Drive crap. I squeezed all the info about that out of Mordin" he replied on an increasingly grave tone.
Suddenly, Jack found her glass quite interesting again, confused by her own submissiveness. If she wanted to shoot up crap, it was her own damn business. And yet there was just something about him, something in her that didn't want to be judged by him.
"And?..." she simply ventured.
"And I don't appreciate that kind of dangerous drugs on my team Jack, nor secrecy."
At this point, Jack was staring at her glass so intensely she'd swear she could see the water evaporating.
"This being said", he then added on a lighter tone, "I don't consider myself your boss either. In the end, I trust my team to know their own limits and capabilities, and the decision to take it was yours. And seeing as you did probably save our lives back there, I'm willing to forget it happened. I just wish you would have told us about it Jack, trusted us to have your back if something bad happened."
"I… I do trust you Shepard. It's just… I can't-"
"It's alright Jack", he cut the ex-convict as he put a hand on hers. "I know how you tick by now".
This made the shaved woman smile lightly, and she was finally able to lift her eyes from her glass to meet his stare. He smiled back.
"Now", he resumed on a lighter tone, "before I get into what's been going on while you were asleep, I really want to know YOUR version of what happened back there. I mean, one moment both of you are tearing that monster's face apart with warp blasts and I'm prepping my Cain, and the next Miranda is crawling to your destroyed body in a pile of rubble. Miranda told me what she saw you do, or thinks she saw you do anyways. So you tell me now, what the hell did you do Jack?"
"Something stupid?"
"Ah! I'll say! But that something stupid managed to save the both of you from certain death, so you can be sure it has my attention."
Jack took a deep breath. She hadn't expected having to explain it. Hadn't even really expected it to work in the first place.
"Alright well, you know those fancy new Kinetic shields you got installed on the ship before we went through the Relay?"
Shepard nodded. "The multicore CBT yeah."
"Well… that's what I did. When all the little geeks were down in engineering setting up the gear and hooking it up to the core, I overheard them talking about the technology and its theory; how it worked. And it got me thinking: if a powerful enough ship can protect itself better with that kind of technique, why not a powerful enough biotic?"
Shepard was silent. Then: "You're serious?"
"Why the hell would I make something like that up?"
"Holy… No wonder your biotic amp was fried. I may not know much about biotics, but I can easily see how much juice that must have taken. How is it even possible?"
This made the shaved woman chuckle.
"Honestly? I wasn't sure it was", she simply answered. "I mean sure, I'd been practicing with multi-layer barriers and rotating ones whenever I got the chance on missions but still. I don't think it would have been possible at all without the Red Drive and my custom Amp. And even then, it didn't work perfectly remember?" she added, lifting her right arm. "Your turn now Shepard. How the fuck am I still alive?"
"Fair enough" the Commander said as he got himself a glass of water as well. "After I nuked that monster for good and came looking for you girls, I found you laying unconscious in your own blood. Miranda was already over you, trying to stabilize you. Your right arm Jack, it was a real mess. Sure, that big beam broke your barrier. But if it hadn't been slowed by it before hitting you, it would surely have just cut off your arm clean. As it happened, it was still broken in multiple spots, with the bone splinters piecing the skin all over and having cut your artery.
"Miranda applied a vast amount of medi-gel on it in order to restrain the bleeding and ease the pain, but we still had an exploding base to run out of, with always more Collector foot soldiers trying to stop us from escaping. At first, I tried transporting you, but there were too many enemies to fend off. So Miranda acted out of line again, and injected you with a massive dose of adrenaline. You jerked to life instantly and managed to run with us back to the ship on your own.
"Once we got to the ship and made our escape however, you collapsed again. That's when Mordin noticed all the blood coming out of your ear, and realized your arm was far from the only major injury you had. Doctor Chakwas told you most of the rest earlier."
Jack let all this sink in. She had absolutely no memory of the escape; she must have been a complete zombie at that point, only moving thanks to the adrenaline rush.
"As for the rest of the team", soon resumed the Commander, "most of them made it out without any major injuries. The only other casualty you might care to know about, besides Tali, was Thane. According to Garrus, he wasn't able to generate a proper barrier after the exhaustion of the passage through the swarm tunnel, and died in the first few minutes of their stand. A few other crew members you wouldn't know died after returning to the ship. Apparently we didn't save them all fast enough, and some had already been injected with a first dose of whatever abominable concoction they used to dissolve those poor colonists. Despite our best efforts, they died within a few hours from multiple massive organ breakdowns.
"Once every one that did make it had received proper medical attention, we held a memorial to the honor of the deceased in the hangar bay. Ever since then, we've been going around the Galaxy to hand over their remains to their respective families, and tell them first hand of the importance of their sacrifices. Two days ago we finished our trip at the Citadel, to give away Thane's body to his son. Now we're back in the Terminus systems, and we'll be docked at Omega by tomorrow morning."
"Omega?" suddenly asked Jack. "Why? I thought you'd want to kick it back in a cozy Presidium resort for a while after all that crap."
"Hopefully we'll get to that someday soon Jack. But for now, the entire crew of the Normandy has received an official invitation of the kind you can't just turn down", replied Shepard. "The Queen of Omega, Aria T'Loak herself, has graciously invited us all to celebrate in the reserved VIP section of her club. Apparently she wants to express her gratitude to us for riding her of her disquieting neighbors. Remember when I said you woke up just in time? The party is tomorrow night, and I'm sure you wouldn't have wanted to miss it."
"Shiiit, really?" was all that the ex-convict could find to reply. "A VIP party in Afterlife… You never do things half assed do you Shepard eh?"
"Yeah well, everyone's pretty excited about it all right. Most of them never set foot on Omega for anything else than refueling, let alone the VIP floor of any club. After two weeks of meeting grieving families, I think it'll be good for the- "
"Commander" interrupted the cold voice of the AI as its holo-self lit up next the med-bay's door.
"Um, yes EDI?"
"I'm sorry for interrupting you Commander", she…. it…. whatever continued "but Yeoman Chambers was very adamant I reminded you of your regular post-traumatic appointment with her in 5 minutes."
"Oh, right. Thank you EDI, it… slipped my mind."
"Of course Commander" and then the blue holo was gone again, leaving them alone once more.
"Kelly's been holding group therapies with the crew ever since we've come back" explained the commander as he turned back to the shaved woman still sitting in her bed. "She also insists on doing regular, private sessions with the team members who've seen the worst of it. Forgot all about mine today. It looks like I'll have to end our conversation here for now. Besides, I'm sure you want to rest in order to be fit for your biotic Amp implant as soon as possible, right?"
"Uh, yeah" Jack managed, doing her best to hide her disappointment. "You're probably right. Anyways, I got some calibrations to do remember?" she added, lifting the data-slate still on her lap.
This made Shepard chuckle. "You sure do. Well then, I guess I should go. I'll see you later Jack."
"See ya Shepard."
And then he was gone too. Jack spent a few minutes staring at the glowy green symbol of the med-bay's door before finally looking down at the data-slate. So the Salarian somehow stole a copy of her Amp's design? Sneaky Fucker. Then again, what else would you expect from an ex-STG legend.
The specs were all wrong for her though. These were all just the stock numbers. Jack had a few long hours of adjustments to do before it would be ready for implantation.
Then she'd gently take whatever the doc gave her to sleep good. Then she'd finally get her amp back tomorrow morning. Then she'd rock the Afterlife's VIP crowd.
And then she'd rock Shepard's bed.