Trust Issues

Getting to know a new crew was always an awkward affair. There was Kaiden, with his shy, slightly standoffish nature, and biotic migraines. Ashley, who was clearly uneasy about aliens. Garrus and Wrex, two aliens that made Ashley uneasy. As Lorelei Shepard had been riding the slow elevator through her ship, pondering these people she found herself working with, she realized that there was a very important crew member she had not gotten to know yet. Which was why she then found herself standing behind the seat of the Normandy's pilot, being berated.

"I can see where this is going," Joker scoffed when she asked if he would tell her more about himself. "You did a background check on me, didn't you? Well, I'll tell you the same thing I told the captain. You want me as your pilot. I'm not good. I'm not even great. I am the best damn helmsman in the Alliance Fleet! Top of my class in flight school? I earned that. All those commendations in my file? I earned every single one! Those weren't given to me as charity for my disease!"

Shepard took a few steps back, so fierce was his reply to her simple inquiry. Finally her mind was able to focus in on something he had said, even as she still blinked in astonishment. His disease? He didn't look sick. Maybe a little on the small side, but he was a pilot, not an N7, so she didn't expect someone rippling with muscles. She tilted her head, "I'm sorry Joker," she said, "Are you sick?"

He stopped, mouth open to continue his rant. He blinked a few times. "You mean...you mean you didn't know? Aw crap," he seemed to deflate. His shoulders lost their rigidity and he slouched in his chair. "Ok," he tone seemed tired now. "I've got Vrolik's syndrome. Brittle bone disease. The bones in my legs never developed properly, they're basically hollow. Too much force and they'll shatter. Even with crutches and my leg braces it's hard to get around. One wrong step and CRACK! Very dramatic." he rattled off the words as though he had spoken them a thousand times and hated every rendition. However, his tone did soften when he saw that she was standing back, looking concerned. "I've learned to manage my condition commander," he said gently, nodding to indicate she could come closer. He was done being angry. Cautiously, Shepard stepped back to her original position beside his chair. "Put the Normandy in my hands and I'll make her dance for you." A the hint of a smile flickered across his tight lips, "just don't ask me to get up and dance unless, you know, you like the sound of snapping shin bones."

Shepard chuckled. She tried to stop herself, until she saw that he wasn't offended. He'd meant for her to laugh. His green eyes watched her warily from under the brim of his hat. She could practically sense his distrust wafting towards her. She guessed he spent most of his life explaining to people that he could do his job. Well, he'd stumbled across a commander who didn't give a damn if he had brittle bones, or could whistle Dixie out his backside. She wasn't going to question further. But after a moment of hesitation and watching her face, he went on explaining without any prompting from her. No one knew what caused his disease, but he had even broken bones in his mother's womb. It seemed it wasn't just his legs, but they were the worst. He told her that with crutches and leg braces he could manage to hobble along, but she sensed he didn't like to. She realized she never saw him leave that chair. He probably left it late at night so that no one would see him gimp his way around the ship. She idly wondered when he went to the bathroom.

Shepard folded her arms. She intended to make it clear that she knew he was a good pilot and that was all that mattered to her. The fact that she wasn't interrupting, or commenting at all, seemed to confuse Joker. He stopped and peered at her again, one eyebrow slightly raised. "What?" he finally demanded.

"Actually, I was just wondering where you got the nick name Joker," she lied. In truth she was still caught up on the bathroom issue. And the question of how to earn his loyalty. She was used to working for the trust of her people. She'd done it before. As a woman she was used to having to earn the respect of those around her. She had to have the trust of her crew or this ship couldn't run. Not really. Certainly Anderson had their trust, but she needed it too, maybe even more so. She was going to ask these people to go into some pretty dangerous situations and she needed to know that they would want to follow her.