The chatter woke John from his meditative slumber. Yes, meditative. He most definitely hadn't dozed off and dreamed about ice cream. Thumping his helmet, he shook himself awake. Goodbye, sweet cream ice cream with graham crackers, Oreos, and chocolate syrup.<br/><br/>'I've got enough ox to last until the cavalry comes in,' he grunted. John raised an arm and pulled up his omni-tool's watch function. 'ETA ten seconds. Besides, won't really need the oxygen. Zenith Caste.' He tapped his forehead. 'Newly minted. I've got survivability out the wazoo.'<br/><br/>With a grunt of effort, John pulled himself to his feet and dusted himself off. The command console flashed as his VI reappeared. It took the form of a miniature Alliance soldier, colored a deep and vivid orange.<br/><br/>'Lieutenant Del Pilar,' it said, utterly monotone, 'incoming Alliance vessels in three...two...'<br/><br/>John saw flashes of light in the distance as starships jumped into the system, nothing more than barely visible specks by the distant Mass Relay.<br/><br/>'...One. Receiving hail from Alliance patrol fleet.'<br/><br/>'I see them, Lambda. Patch them through.'<br/><br/>Lambda nodded and flickered out of view, replaced by a familiar face. Old, scarred, and grizzled, the man was a legend in the Alliance armed forces. Even from a hologram, the man exuded an aura of authority as he looked down on John and the new arrival. The Solar saluted wearily.<br/><br/>'Admiral Hackett, sir. Good to see you.'<br/><br/>Hackett saluted back and flashed a ghost of a smirk, raising an eyebrow. 'Lieutenant Del Pilar. I see you took care of your own problem yourself. Mind telling me why I needed to bring an entire patrol flotilla with me?'<br/><br/>John jerked a thumb in the<span style="font-style: italic">Manila's</span>direction. 'Well, we got caught with a flat, sir. As for the Collector ship, uh...things like that kind of happen when you're a Solar.'<br/><br/>Hackett nodded. 'I see that. Alright, we'll get to salvaging the wreckage ASAP. CasEvac and the Engineer Corps are seeing to your ship right now. In the meantime, I'm sending a shuttle to pick you two up for debriefing on the<span style="font-style: italic">Normandy</span>.'<br/><br/>John nodded. Or rather, half-nodded, really. He stopped partway through, confused. 'Wait, sir, did you just say<span style="font-style: italic">Norma</span>--'<br/><br/>'Hackett out.'<br/><br/>'Ooookay, then,' he muttered.<br/><br/>Man, he hoped the fleet would stop by the Citadel for a spot of shore leave later. He could really go for some Cold Stone right now.