Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect as it is owned By Bioware and Electronic Arts
Hello readers, and thank you for reading, I would love comments and reviews. If you have any questions, suggestions, or see any plot holes feel free to p.m. me. I will try to respond as quickly as possible. Enjoy!
Jane's POV
Jane was looking out the window, staring at the tall skyscrapers off in the distance. Jane always loved looking at the buildings, showing her that there was more to Earth than the slums she had to live in. Her mother didn't approve but Jane didn't know why, to be honest a five year old didn't understand much.
"Jane we found a soccer ball in the ditch, you want to play?" asked Abbey, the younger one of her sisters
"Yeah!" replied Jane and she ran to go join her sisters outside.
The ball was used, but that didn't bother her. If she had been asked if she had ever anything that wasn't used she would have said no.
Outside she found Kate and Abbey kicking the ball in between them. They had grins from ear to ear. They just kicked the ball in between them. Most children would have been bored after awhile but this was the best thing that had happened for them in several days. Their last soccer ball had been stolen by some of the older kids in their old neighborhood.
They did this for about an hour when suddenly a voice cried out "How are my little girls?"
Jane turned around to see her mother with a grin ear to ear.
"Mom!" cried all three at once as they ran to their mother, quickly forgetting the soccer ball, all of them pushing past each other out of the way to get the first hug.
Of course she gave them all one big hug, and Jane always felt happy when she was embraced by her mom, forgetting the slums, the poverty…everything.
"Don't you have work?" asked Abbey
"I got a promotion today dear, so I thought I would take today off with my three angels in celebration." Their mother replied in her smoothing voice.
The three girls brimmed with pride at their mother, she always was trying so hard to support her little girls, and their life had been on the upswing lately. They had moved into their new apartment a few weeks ago, compared to the other it was amazing. It even had water and power that didn't go away every few days.
The rest of the day was spent with their mother, from just talking to her to actually going out and getting ice cream, a treat indeed. This was by far the best day of her life.
"So, what do you do now mom?" asked Jane
"I still work at the factory but I've been but in charge of the little group I work with. I'm hoping that within a few years that I might get another; then we could probably move into the city by then."
Saying that the little girls were excited was a monumental understatement. They had always dreamed of living in the city, it was a dream come true for any child still living in the slums right outside the city limits.
Three weeks had gone by and Jane started to notice that things were getting better faster than her mother had hoped. It turns out the job paid a little better than she expected, so they were able to get better food now.
Jane noticed with suspicion one day when her mother brought home three little bags.
"What are those mommy?" Jane asked
"Backpacks Jane." She responded
It took a few moments for the dots to connect but when they did she asked "We have to go to school?"
"Yes, I know you don't want to but it's for the best, when you get older you'll thank me." She responded, putting her head on Jane's shoulder.
Jane wanted to pout, to whine, and maybe even cry, but she didn't. The way her mom said it made her believe it.
"Alright mommy" she said, trying not to sound too sad.
Her mother smiled and rubbed her hand through Jane's red hair. Jane loved it when she did that, it felt great. Jane didn't say anything but embraced her mother, it was always nice to get a hug and a head rub.
Another month passed, and still things were good. Nothing bad had happened, they weren't robbed, attacked or even yelled at by some passing drunk.
Jane was just lying on the couch, thinking about school that would be coming up in a few months. She was scared of the idea for a while but soon realized that since Kate and Abbey would be with her she would be alright.
Suddenly a large noise rang out and startled Jane. This wasn't the occasional gunshot she heard in the old neighbor hood, this was something big.
"Jane! Are you okay!" called out a terrified Kate
"Yeah!" she called out
Jane ran to her room where she found her sisters hiding under their beds.
"I'm scared" muttered Abbey
"I'll go see what's wrong." Remarked Jane as she turned to leave
"Don't go, please." Cried Abbey
"I have too, I'll be back. Promise." She responded
Jane slowly walked her way through the apartment when she got to the window she liked to look out of. There was a large column of smoke coming for the factory just a few miles away from her house, the one where her mother worked.
"MOM!" screamed Jane
Her sisters had crawled their way up to her, and were staring out the window with her. All three stared in shock with tears rolling down their faces.
They had waited several hours when suddenly there was a knock at the door. Jane felt her heart speed up, hopefully mom was fine.
When she opened the door she was greeted by two large men wearing police uniforms.
"Hey there, can we talk to you?" asked the one on the left
Kate and Abbey had joined her at the door, and they looked at the officers with confused faces.
The officer knelt down and started to explain what happened at the factory. One of the reactors had melted down, and was going to destroy the entire factory and their mom was able to delay it and save everyone else … at the cost of her life. She was being called a hero, but that didn't matter to the little girls, all of them had started crying.
The officer tried to help them but it was of no avail, there was nothing he could really do.
He explained that an orphanage was going to send a car tomorrow to pick them up in the morning, and that they needed to gather all that they could.
When they left the little girls closed the door, and stood there unmoving for what felt like hours.
"Wha...what do we do n...now?" asked Kate, trying to speak through her sobs.
"We… pack." Remarked Jane
As the oldest of the triplets she felt their safety was her job, it's what her mother would have wanted her to do. She had to be strong for Kate, Abbey, and mom. She walked over to her room and started packing whatever they had into whatever bag they could find.
Ten Years Later
Jane woke up with a start. The nightmares had been plaguing her for years. They usually involved either Abbey or Kate getting killed, on really bad days… both. It wasn't anything new but that brought little comfort. She decided that since she wasn't going to get anymore sleep she might as well check on her sisters.
As Jane weaved through the hideout it became apparent that something was wrong, there were more injured than usual. Before she could make it to her sisters' room she was intercepted by Jaime, the man in charge of the Reds.
"Jane, we have a problem."
"Yeah, I noticed. Lot of injured around here."
"It's not that. Jane it's your sister, Kate."
Her heart stopped, she wondered if she dared ask "Is she …"
"Alive…Yes but… she was captured."
"Why! Where was she! Neither of my sisters are even part of the gang!"
"She was out shopping for food. Are you really surprised; it's easy to mistake either Abbey or Kate for you considering your identical triplets."
Jane groaned. This was a nightmare. "Who"
"The Vipers"
Jane let a slew of profanities leave her mouth as punched the nearest wall. The Vipers were a new gang that had started up recently, and they believed that the end justified the means. Rape, torture, prostitution, slavery … it was a crime syndicate in the making. The Reds might be vicious in fights, and they picked a lot of fights, but they had rules. None of that shit was acceptable here.
"What are we going to do?" she asked quietly
"They figured out pretty quickly that it wasn't you so they are trying to ransom her back to us. They want three bags of assault rifles for her. We need those weapons, but… I'm willing to give them away to save your sister."
Jane smirked, there was a reason that Jaime was willing to go through all this trouble; the Shepard triplets had revolutionized the gang. While Jane prohibited her two younger sisters from entering the gang they were allowed to help inside the main base. Within a few years the Reds were transformed from some low street gang trash into the strongest gang in the New York City area. However, gaining that much power so quickly gave you a lot of enemies.
"Jane!"
Jane turned quickly to see Abbey frantically looking for her.
"Abbey over here!" she called back
Abbey made it over to her "Jane they…"
"I know, we're going to get her back. I promise" Jane replied as she put a hand on her youngest sister's shoulder.
"Okay" Abbey looked like she was on the verge of crying, and Jane couldn't blame her, all they had left was each other.
"What's the plan?"
Jamie smirked, "Follow me; I think you're going to like this one."
Three hours later
"This is a fucking stupid idea, you know that right." Hissed Jane through her mike.
Through her binoculars she could see the corner of Jaime's lips curve into a smile. To say Jane was angry didn't give her feelings justice. She was fucking furious. Jane could see Abbey right next to Jaime, she was obviously nervous but she hid it well.
The plan had Abbey pretending to be Jane while Jane snuck down and found some cover behind the Vipers. If things hit the fan, and everyone was expecting it too, then she would open fire as Jane was the best shot in the Reds. It was the best plan to get Kate back if things got violent.
Jane was about to move out when she heard movement behind her. Jane leaned back against the wall, hoping that it wasn't a Viper.
She was disappointed immensely when a Viper walked past her and started to set up his sniper rifle. However this idiot hadn't noticed her and Jane planned to take advantage of it.
Jane walked up behind him, but a hand on his mouth and slashed his throat in one clean move. When he finally expired she brought the scope of the rifle to her eye. Ten Vipers faced off with ten Reds, however on the Viper side sat an injured Kate, or at least as far as she could tell as the Vipers had a bag over her head. Jane's blood started to boil immediately; she then broke the rifle the sniper had brought in her rage, which didn't really matter as she didn't know how to use it.
Now was the time to get in to position, she then grabbed hold of the leader that was nearby and slid down. She ran through the open building to her right and snuck behind the Vipers. Jane took cover behind several crates that were lying outside the warehouse.
It seemed negotiations were going well; no one had killed anyone yet. However just as things seemed to be going well all the Vipers drew on the Reds. Shepard left cover and was slowly approaching the group with her pistol out.
The Viper leader started to laugh, almost maniacally.
"You really thought we'd let you leave here!" he screamed at who he thought was Jane
Before anyone could move a sniper shot rang out, and Abbey fell backwards. Jane's eyes opened in horror, this couldn't be happening.
Jane immediately opened fire, killing three Vipers before they could get to cover. When the rest turned around they had the most terrified expressions. Jane barely paid attention as she started sprinting for the Viper leader.
Jane started to feel a strange sensation along her body, similar to the feeling when you rub your socks on the carpet and then touched someone. Suddenly she was instantly in front of the Viper leader and he was starting fly backwards as though he was hit by a car. She grabbed his neck and brought back for the beating that he deserved.
Abbey's POV
Fuck, was I just hit by a sniper? was all Abbey as she lay sprawled on the cement. Thankfully the shields that Jaime had installed in her clothes had kept the round from killing her. Before she could think about anything else a loud scream jolted her.
Abbey got up to see Jane charging the Vipers. Abbey was terrified; at that range Jane was as good as dead. Several Vipers fired but the rounds just bounced off, Abbey was just as confused as they were when she saw the faint blue glow on Jane's body.
Abbey gasped, Jane was a biotic!
Then Jane suddenly teleported straight into the Viper Captain. As he was flying away she pulled him back, throwing him into the ground. She heard a crack and noticed that his neck bent at an impossible angle.
Several Vipers jumped on her trying to pin her down when some sort of biotic blast came out of Jane. The Viper's were sent flying, all three going through brick walls, Abbey counted that three Vipers were still alive.
The Vipers started to run for their lives, but they weren't fast enough. Jane shot two of them in the head and used her teleporting power on the last one. Jane pinned the last one on the ground and beat him into a pulp. By the end his face was unrecognizable, and Jane's hands were coated in blood.
Abbey knew Jane was a bit brutal, that's why she was in the gang after all, but nothing like this.
Jane just stood there for a few moments, just looking down at the kid's face she just beat in.
"Jane! Abbey! Is someone there?"
In the excitement Abbey had completely forgotten about Kate.
"Kate I'm here, don't worry!" Abbey called out as she ran toward her.
She ripped the bag off her head and was relieved by the fact that Kate seemed to be in good shape, a couple of bruises but nothing too bad.
Abbey took off Kate's restraints and helped her to her feet.
Kate seemed to turn a little green at the scene before her, there were a lot of bodies.
"What happened here?" was all Kate could say
"Jane… took care of things."
Abbey looked back at her oldest sister, who was still staring at the body below her.
"Jane!" Kate called out
Jane looked toward Kate and Abbey and had on the biggest smile. When Jane ran over to them Abbey could see tears staining her cheeks.
Jane wiped away the tears with the back of her hand, and then started checking her sisters for injuries.
Abbey and Kate struggled a bit trying to get free, but Jane was the strongest between all of them.
"Jane, are you alright. You look … pale." Noted Abbey as soon as Jane was done
"Yeah … I'm fine … never better" replied Jane as she grabbed her knees and started to pant.
Abbey rolled her eyes at her sister's bravado, Jane always felt like she had to be invincible for their sakes. While it was a nice sentiment they weren't five any more.
"What the hell just happened?" asked a worried Jaime
"We won" replied
Jaime snorted at that.
"Well of course we won, that was never in doubt. But what happened to you?"
Abbey answered for Jane. "I guess Jane is a biotic, and a rather powerful one at considering the fact that she doesn't have an implant."
Jaime's eyes widened and Abbey wasn't surprised. Biotics were so rare in the slums that they were considered an urban legend. Abbey was more worried about Jaime's reaction as biotics in human society were treated quite … poorly.
Jaime's shock turned into a full blown smile. Abbey let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Everything was cool.
"That's incredible"
"Never mind … I feel like shit." Muttered Jane as she collapsed on Abbey.
Abbey would have freaked out if it wasn't for the fact that Jane was snoring softly in her arms, it was adorable, but see wouldn't dare tell Jane that. Jaime scanned her with his Omni-tool, looking for injuries.
"She seems to be fine; it looks like she just burned a massive amount of calories however."
Abbey was reminded of the research she had done on biotics when people started learning these powers existed. Apparently biotics used up an incredible amount of energy when they used their powers and needed about twice if not three times the food as those without biotics.
"She is going to need something to eat" Abbey said as she carried Jane to the air-car.
Three Years Later Jane's POV
Jane was staring at the vid-screen in front of her. Shock was written all over her face.
Jaime, the man who shielded her family, their leader … was dead. The police orchestrated a huge raid one of their safe houses … and he fought back.
After the incident with her biotics three years ago rumors had spread all over the city about the 'Red Demon'. It turns out that the sniper who shot Abbey had fled when Jane unleashed her biotics. Word got back to the rest of the Vipers. Soon after that all the gangs knew that Jane had biotics and used her as the bridge to unite all the other gangs against the Reds. The Reds held their own for awhile but she knew that it couldn't last. Turns out the catalyst for their downfall would be the police. Violence in the last three years had escalated by five hundred percent … according to the news reports anyway. So the police actually took action in the slums.
Jane shook her head to clear the thoughts that had been clouding her mind, now was not the time for that.
Jane heard a knock at the door.
"Who is it?"
"Abbey and Kate"
"You two don't need my permission to come in here."
The door opened and Kate responded "We ask to make sure we don't see anything like last time."
Jane simply shrugged, it's not like she had really cared.
"What's up?" Jane asked
"Jane, we think it's time we got off Earth. Things are getting bad, the Reds don't have much time." Said Abbey
Jane didn't want to agree, the Reds were the closet thing she had to a family other than her sisters. Leaving was simply something she didn't want to do; she would rather go down fighting. However she knew that if she didn't leave Kate and Abbey wouldn't either. That was unacceptable.
"How? We don't have the money to get off Earth." Jane replied
"The Alliance" They both said
"The Alliance?" she replied turning towards her sisters.
"Think about it; free room and board, a job, and more importantly the gangs would never be brave enough to attack us." Kate replied, excitement in her voice
"Couldn't they just rat us out to the cops?" Jane replied
"No proof, plus who would trust any of that scum." Answered Abbey
She had a point there, and not having to worry about starving to death was a nice bonus.
"Don't they send biotics to different training facilities?"
"As long as you don't use your powers they won't know, you never did get your biotic amp remember." Retorted Abbey
Jane had to laugh at that. Abbey and Kate had wanted her to get a biotic amp since the day she discovered her biotics. They had said it was for the best, for all of them. The irony did not escape her.
"Alright, let's do it." Jane said
The three of them spent the next three hours sneaking through the streets to get to the recruiters office. They were still cautious about being seen on the streets. They made it to the recruiter's office with no problem.
When they opened the door they were surprised how nice the office was compared to what they had been used to their entire lives. Nothing on the floor, no bullet holes in the wall, no blood splattered on the walls… just incredible.
"Hello, how can I help you?" Called a man from deeper inside
They turned the corner to find a tall man sitting behind a desk, hunched over some data reports.
"We were hoping that we could enlist." Responded Jane
The man chuckled, "Well this is the place."
He looked up and his left brow arched a little, not much but enough for Jane to know he was surprised.
"Is something wrong?" asked Kate
"Nothing really, just surprised. You three look very clean cut compared to what I get normally."
That wasn't what Jane was expecting at all, most people asked immediately about how similar they were. Being identical triplets tends to draw attention.
"Thanks" Responded Kate
The recruiter motioned them to sit down in the chairs in front of the desk.
Jane took a moment to look the man over. Clean shaven, bright baby blue eyes. He was well built and had regulation length blonde hair. That was odd, blonde hair was a trait that had been going the way of the dinosaur over the last one hundred years.
"So have any of you ever been convicted of a felony or have history of drug abuse?" he asked in a voice that suggested that he had asked this questions thousands of times.
They all responded with a confident no at the same time.
He studied their expressions with the practiced scrutiny of an interrogator. Jane chuckled on the inside, she sure had experience with that type.
"I actually believe you three." He said with a hint of disbelief
Jane smirked on the inside. While she had never been convicted of anything she had committed plenty of felonies during the time of her childhood.
"I have to run a background check to be sure, but I'm not expecting anything." He responded as he scrolled through his Omni-tool.
After about ten minutes of just casual conversation the Omni-tool beeped, signaling the end of its search. As Jane expected it had found nothing.
"Well it looks like you three are good to go. Just fill out some paper work and report at the space dook tomorrow at 0800. Welcome to the Alliance." He stood up and shook their hands and led them out of the recruitment center.
As soon as the three were out of sight they started cheering at their victory. They had just gotten the chance to earn themselves a real life.
They spent the next three hours getting their way back to the hideout. They still had to be careful. The three, mainly Jane, had earned a lot of enemies over the years. They were about to turn the corner to the base when they heard screaming and gun shots. They suddenly froze and crouched down, instincts honed form living on the streets kicking in. Jane inched her head around the wall and witness complete chaos.
Around the corner was the biggest turf battle she had ever seen. It looks like the other gangs finally got the balls to wipe out the Reds.
Jane got them the hell out of there. There was no way that they could fight them all, and the police would respond any minute now.
When they made it to the space port, they took a collective sigh. That was close, too close.
"How did that happen? Since when did the other gangs have the balls to attack head on!" shouted Kate
"Kate keep your voice down, there's nothing we can do." Replied Abbey
"I'm sorry, but those people just did us a huge favor." Jane retorted
Both of her sisters looked at her with mild confusion.
"What do you mean?" asked Kate
"The only people who know our identities are there at the base right now being slaughtered. We have a blank slate; no one will ever be able to link us with the gangs." She responded
Abbey squinted her eyes in disgust but said nothing. However Kate felt free to express her mind "How the hell can you say that, those were our friends. How the hell can you be so cold?!" yelled Kate
Jane didn't respond and Kate walked away in steaming rage. Jane wasn't worried, Kate would forgive her by the morning; she always did.
"You know you can be a true bitch sometimes, right?" asked Abbey. Her voice didn't give away any emotion.
"I do" she replied with just as much emotion as Abbey's question had.
Abbey actually seemed satisfied with this answer and went over to comfort Kate, who was starting to shed tears at the loss of her friends.
Sixteen Hours Later
Jane stood looking at the military transport that was on its final approach. Normally she would hide at the sight of a craft owned by the military as they occasionally helped the police with the large raids. It took all of her will power to resist her honed instincts, her instincts thankfully lost. It was strange; an enemy was the key to her sisters' salvation, and her own.
Jane let a small chuckle escape her lips.
She noticed Kate at the edge of her vision.
"You know I'm not going to apologize right?" Jane asked
"I know, since when have you apologized." She retorted, with a little bit of bitterness coloring her tone.
"Maybe before mom died." Jane acknowledged
"Yeah, as much as I've called you a bitch over the years I appreciate everything you sacrificed for Abbey and I."
"Thanks, it helps to hear that every now and then."
Kate stood in front of her beaming with a smile. "We made it off Earth, mom would be proud. We have a new life now."
Jane wanted to say that they hadn't left yet … but she couldn't ruin her sister's mood, not this time.
Suddenly a voice over the intercom said "All out bound recruits report to dock A7"
"Time to go" Muttered Jane
When they arrived a Drill Sergeant was calling recruits into the line forming in front of the door.
"Santana, Eric"
Jane noticed the parents of some of the recruits, faces brimming with pride as tears dropped down their faces.
"Shepard, Abigail"
Jane heard Abbey grumble as she joined the line. It was heard not to laugh at Abbey's distaste of her full name. Knowing that she would be next she decided to take one last look at all the parents. A flood of emotions rushed to her head as she thought about how no one was there to see the three of them off.
"Shepard, Jane"
Jane took her place in line behind her sister. Jane pushed her emotions to the back of her mind. Now was supposed to be a good moment, the moment where the three of them got the hell out of the shit hole that was Earth.
"Shepard, Kate"
Kate was the last on the list, and the Drill Sergeant led them inside the shuttle. It was a little crowded by most standards but to Jane this kind of space was luxurious. She set her bags in the overhead compartment as was pleasantly surprised when she realized that the rows were in threes. The three of them grabbed seats in the back. Jane took the window seat and watched as the shuttle rise at of Atmo for the next few minutes. The shuttle ride to Luna was only about a hour flight.
Jane turned to ask her sisters a question only to discover that they had already fallen asleep. Jane chuckled softly, thankfully not waking them. Jane slowly dozed off, realizing that there were unlikely to get any sleep when they got there.
Before she completely dozed off Jane had a single thought, replying in a way to Kate's comment.
A new life indeed
Hello readers, thank you for spending time to read my story. I hope you comments and reviews as I want to read them. As you noticed this story deals with the Shepard triplets. I'm sure you noticed Jane and Kate's outlooks but I want to point out that while Abbey is very close to being neutral she slightly leans closer to Kate's views than Jane's, just to avoid confusion. Any italicized text is thought by the character but not spoken by the way. This story is meant to go all the way to the end of Mass Effect 3, which I may or may not change. I might decide to break up the whole thing into three stories, one for each game. I will be giving Jane Mass Effect 2 powers like charge and shockwave to Jane before Mass Effect 1 starts, I don't that will bother any of you but I'm not sure.
I apologize for any grammar and spelling mistakes that I didn't catch and I hope you enjoyed.