"Look, I don't know what your problem with Cerberus is, and quite frankly, you don't need to justify anything to me. I'm sure your grudge is well earned. All I'm saying is the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
As she registers the first few words, Jack’s fingers curl up in anger, just shy of clenching into fists. I don’t know what your problem with Cerberus is. Words threatening enough to set Jack on edge. There is a brief clench of her jaw too, a fleeting scowl on her face. Jack couldn’t even fathom how to possibly explain what her problem with Cerberus was. ‘Problem’ was a poor choice of words, anyway, one that pissed her off. She finds that it downplayes what she’s been through. Makes it sound like the kind of quarrel she typically has with law enforcement. Her troubles with Cerberus run deeper than that. Run so deep that it had shaped her into who she was. A woman who carried an insufferable amount of anger inside her. A woman plagued by a childhood of horrifying memories. Of isolation, of torture.
At this very moment, she wants to snap at Shepard. Go and tell her to fuck herself. But before Jack has the chance to do so, the Commander mentions that she doesn’t have to justify anything to her. The muscles in her jaw and hands loosen. She misjudged. Jack had a feeling that Shepard sought to defend them.
She crosses her tattooed arms. “About damn time someone doesn’t buy their bullshit.” A sharp exhale follows. Jack doesn’t see a friend in Shepard, but she’s relieved to know that she’s not defending them. Even better, she considers them an enemy. “I was getting tired of all the Cerberus cunts on this ship.” She adds.
“We’re not friends, though.” A scoff escapes her dark-painted lips. She finds that idea utterly ridiculous. “I got one job here. To kill. Otherwise, you might as well pretend I’m dead.”