Boy, Shepard was frustrated. 'Dammit, John, stand still so I can kill you!'<br/><br/>'You can't kill me! Not if I rocket AWAAAAAY!'<br/><br/>Sitting in the ship's empty mess hall, John reclined in a chair, a holographic controller in his hands as he played a game on his Omnitool.<span style="font-style: italic">Team Fortress 3</span>, to be exact. Valve finally learned to count to three, he learned. Except in the Half-Life series' case. That was never going to be released.<br/><br/>Chakwas had deemed him medically fit after a brief examination and liberal application of medi-gel. It stung still where his wounds had yet to completely seal, but hey, he wasn't complaining. There were worse fates than getting a medi-gel backrub from the good doctor.<br/><br/>Beside John, the ship's resident Turian sat, playing the exact same game. 'Boom! Headshot, baby!' he exclaimed. Shepard cursed in response. Garrus and John had gotten along well, the both of them having a twisted fetish for calibrations, precise mathematics, and well-made firearms. That Garrus had used up the last of the ship's blue armor paint was a few points off the friendship meter, though. John's new armor was the standard N7 gray-and-red color scheme--unassuming, sleek, but utterly boring. At least the techs had seen fit to preserve the knife-carved kill tallies and messages. He'd hate to have to enter combat without 'Born to Kill' on the side of his helmet or 'Don't Fear the Reaper' on his right pauldron.<br/><br/>'Hey, John,' Shepard said. 'Got a question for you.'<br/><br/>'I was innocent, I swear. You saw it. That orphanage attacked me.'<br/><br/>Shepard's snort of amusement was audible over the comm. 'Is your Exaltation...a "finished model"?'<br/><br/>John raised an eyebrow. '"Finished"? I certainly hope the Protheans beta tested this stuff before stashing it away.'<br/><br/>'No mood swings, extreme negativity, or homicidal tendencies?'<br/><br/>John's voice was utterly monotone. 'Kill. Maim. Burn. Blood for the Blood God. Waaaagh.'<br/><br/>Shepard sighed in exasperation. 'You're useless.'<br/><br/>'Yub yub, commander.'<br/><br/>The<span style="font-style: italic">Normandy's</span>trip to the Omega 4 Relay passed in the span of a few days, the ship stopping here and there to strip-mine the occasional star system to fund the myriad research projects running in the lab behind the CIC. Jokes were shared, acquaintances were made, bets were taken, and nouns were verbed as the crew made its final preparations for the assault on the Collector stronghold. Most would have thought it a suicide mission. Most weren't as crazy as Commander Shepard. Or as stupidly lucky, for that matter. And like every other member of Shepard's away teams, John was ready when the call was sounded: to meet in the aft deck by the hololith.<br/><br/>He'd gotten to know everyone on board the<span style="font-style: italic">Normandy</span>during his brief stay and exchanged nods of greeting with the crew as he took his place in the war room. To his right, Garrus played rock-paper-scissors with the krogan youngling, Grunt. Tali fidgeted nervously as she always did, fiddling with an omni-tool. Jack, the bellicose biotic, dozed in the corner. Thane stood wreathed in shadow, unnoticeable but for John's Exaltation-enhanced senses. Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson, two converts from Cerberus, remained distant from the rest, aware of the distrust in which they were held. Zaeed, the grumpy mercenary, toyed with a lighter next to Grunt. The Geth, Legion, remained unmoving in another corner. And finally, in the center, Liara and the Commander made final adjustments as the hololith flickered to life. Dr. Solus was probably still in the lab, tinkering with his gadgets before the mission. Kasumi Goto was nowhere to be seen. Presumably, she was raiding the bar. Or watching Jacob. Either way, most of the team was here. The Justicar was probably off meditating. Lt. Alenko, who had accompanied Shepard at the beginning of her rise to glory, had been reassigned to other duties in the months following the first<span style="font-style: italic">Normandy's</span>death.<br/><br/>Shepard gave him a brief smile as he entered the room. 'Alright, folks, let's get this show on the road. The big day is here, boys and girls. We're at our enemy's door. Grunt, Tali, Liara, and I will enter the breach here. We're striking right for the bridge.' She pointed to a central area on the Collector station. 'Team Two will be led by Garrus. He, Zaeed, Miranda, and Thane will hit the Husk factory.' At this, the Turian gave a visible shrug. 'Team Three will be Mordin, Samara, Jack, and Jacob. You'll be in charge of hitting the pod facilities. Rescue any civilians you find and take them back to the ship. And John? Congrats. You just got a brevet promotion to Lieutenant Commander. Team Four is you and Esone. You guys are the distraction.'<br/><br/>Of course. 'Awesome,' John said. 'What do we blow up first?'