Lots of talking in this one. 
Back on the Normandy, Reyes decided that they would head for Illium next, in order to deal with Liara and the Shadow Broker before aquiring the Reaper IFF and then heading through the Omega 4 relay. On the way there, she took some time to check up on the entire crew.
Mordin started talking about her relationship with Garrus completely out of the blue – apparently the entire crew knew about that by know. She really didn’t like that fact and Mordin’s medical advice wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear at the time either. He warned her about chafing and that it would be better not to “ingest”, before providing her with some videos and an advice booklet on everything she could possibly want to know about inter-species intercourse. Because now that she had almost let some Asari mind-rape her to death, she obviously wanted to hear about the next best humiliating way to fail her mission: some sex accident chafing her skin off and leaving her as an easier target for the collectors, when she needed to be in the best shape she could possibly be in. She told Mordin that she could handle the situation perfectly fine before leaving, but in reality she had doubts about her plans with Garrus after that encounter with Mordin. Maybe it was just Morinth’s influence that was still getting to her, but she didn’t much feel like taking any stupid and unnecessary risks anymore. And then there were these crew members obviously gossiping about her private matters… Kasumi had mentioned that people were interesting in seeing her with Garrus before, but the way that she kept watching the entire crew and casually mentioning everything she found out made Reyes start to suspect Kasumi was the one behind all the gossip.
She was so focused on her own problems at the time that she barely listened to anything that Jacob had to say. Then she pulled herself together and had a short conversation with Samara about how the justicar felt after killing her own daughter. Samara claimed that there were grief and regret, but that she also felt freed from a burden that had haunted her for hundreds of years. She also assured Shepard that she would always put her duty first and not let any personal feelings get in the way, and that no matter how much he had achieved, she would keep fighting until the end of her life. Samara mentioned that she would certainly not die in her bed and that it would probably be just the same for Reyes. Reyes understood her and agreed about their similarities. She planned to keep fighting against the reapers for as long as she would be able to, no matter what the fight would cost her. And even if she’d live to see the reapers be defeated, she probably wouldn’t resign from her position as a Spectre after that.
Shortly after, she came across Garrus on the crew deck. He reminded her about their plans and that he was looking forward to spending a few moments alone with her before their next suicidal attempt to save the galaxy. Reyes said something vaguely affirmative, before leaving him to some research on how they could go about it. She had actually felt like blowing the whole thing off right then and there, but Garrus still seemed to feel so giddy about everything that she simply couldn’t blindside him like that. She still felt close to him and she would’ve wanted to try it under different circumstances, but at the moment, the weight of the galaxy and her own insecurities concerning anything sexual between them made her second-guess if it had been the best idea to even raise his hopes in the first place. She should’ve kept it professional instead of causing this mess and now she had to find a way to let him down easy, before they could embarrass themselves any further. On top of everything else she had to deal with.
Sitting down with Thane and talking about his species’ solipsism felt way easier, just like listening to Grunt’s rambling about old memories from the tank. His violent fantasies were somewhat unsettling, but Reyes trusted him to keep it together as long as he was serving under her. He told her about his first awakening in the tank and that he considered it pathetic that he had screamed back then. He was still having some trouble connecting to the Krogans’ fate and accepting his own strength as something that he had earned, but Reyes didn’t have any doubt that he would be able to do so sooner or later.
Tali had gotten sick and told Reyes a few things about the details of their enviro-suits and their maintenance. She also complemented her by telling her that she was the only person she ever trusted enough to consider linking their suits – if Reyes had been quarian at least.
Talking to Jack was a lot more exhausting than that. Reyes simply asked about some of Jack’s stories that she didn’t know about yet, and Jack went off on a tangent about how the two of them didn’t need to be friends and that Shepard wasn’t actually interested in her – only trying to “fix” her, but she would have to accept that Jack was immune against that kind of help sooner or later. It was clear that Jack had her own idea about how the world worked. She acted all proud about being isolated from others and claimed that she preferred to be lonely but alive, instead of constantly having “friends” around her. She specifically mentioned one couple that she slept with for some time, but later killed when it became apparent that they were only trying to use her. Jack also felt the need to mention that she was always ready to do the right thing when someone was trying to **** with her and that Reyes shouldn’t ever forget that – although she considered someone who got around as much as Shepard to know how that **** worked by now. She was acting tough, but Reyes didn’t show any signs of intimidation. She saw that Jack was fiercely trying to not let anyone see her vulnerable side, now that she had slowly gotten to know her commander and the crew. She was drawing her line in the sand and saying “this far, but no step further.” The way she went about it was actually quite familiar to Reyes.
After a few more questions, Jack started to talk about the meaning of some of her tattoos, but made clear that she wouldn’t reveal the stories behind the ones that stood for her losses. Reyes understood her reservations and was about to leave her alone for the time being, when Jack held her back and asked about the true motivation behind all her questions.
“You remind me of someone I used to know. You’re a little more insane maybe, but it’s a striking similarity” Of course Reyes was dodging an honest answer, but Jack probably wouldn’t have been happy with anything she could’ve said. She told her to not compare her to some useless ****** who didn’t have anything in common with her and to realize that it would lead to nothing if she kept pestering her like that. Reyes let her be and later returned to her quarters when everything was said and done. She was painfully aware of all the literature Mordin had sent her, but didn’t bother to look into it. The way things were right now, she probably wouldn’t need any of it afterall.
Retour en haut
So for now I'll stick with it. I might try out different weapons later on but for now I kinda like this setup somehow.
