There was nothing particularly special about Jane Shepard.
At least she didn't think so.
Jane was pretty average, in her mind.
Until the day she met Saren and Sovereign Arterius.
Jane woke up when she fell off the couch, her head hitting first with a sickening crack followed by a flustered moan. Jane rubbed her head, praying that it would not bruise or swell. Her fall shook the rest of the bus, and the vehicle rocked on it's wheels.
Jane stared around her home, the old school bus had been modified by her best friend, Joker. The bus was now large and roomy, there were two rooms, each holding a set of bunk beds. A bathroom, a kitchenette with only a microwave and fridge (but really what else would two teenagers need?), a fold out couch with a TV set mounted adjacent, and a dinette. Joker was a carpenter of the trade, and Jane always gave him props for that.
Jane rubbed her temples, cursing her descent onto the cold carpet and shuffled to her feet. She glanced over at the digital clock, and groaned at her grossly early awakening.
On the first day of Jane Shepard's senior year of high school, she woke up on the floor with a gruesome hangover and no sign of her only companion.
Jane peeked out one of the many windows and only saw the 4:30 am darkness that covered Denver Colorado.
Jane sulked around the cabin, drank three glasses of water and finally stepped out of the bus to find Joker kneeling by one of the bus tires.
The bus was a true beauty, all black besides the white and red strips on the hood and sides. The bus' nickname had been painted by Joker himself in large white letters.
"Joker?" Jane approached the slouched over 19 year old.
Joker stood and smiled. "Well good morning sunshine! Did you get your beauty sleep?"
Jane laughed and stood next to him.
Joker made a hissing noise between his teeth, "Ohhhhh, guess not, that's an attractive shiner there!"
Jane rubbed the bump on her head that was most definitely swollen. "Great. So is there something wrong with Normandy, Joker?"
"Nah," Joker took his time and stood, but Shepard didn't even offer him assistance knowing that he would refuse it. Joker limped back towards the bus, struggling up the stairs.
Joker was always so lively and happy, Jane often forgot about the disease he carried with him, brittle bones and a bad sense of humor.
"So why the hell are you out here at 4:30 in the morning checking out her tires? There's not something going on between you and the bus is there Joker?"
Joker snorted and seated himself in the driver's seat. Shepard sat back on the couch and snickered at him.
"No, Shepard, I just got a raise at work, and I'm gonna buy her some badass tires!"
"Joker, you spend every penny you have on this bus. And didn't you just upgrade the tires last year?"
"Sure, but I got to keep on it, I didn't do all of the work I did to this bus so that we could blow a tire going 80 on the highway."
It was true, Joker had been working on making the fastest, most badass school bus he could since they had first met. That had been over six years ago, and now here Shepard was, living in the beautiful Normandy with her best bud, and they could easily get the large sized beast to hit 100 miles per hour. Joker was a damn good mechanic, and a damn good speed driver.
"Well Shepard, what are you going to do before your first day back in hell?" Joker inquired as he started the bus, Normandy's engine roaring to life.