AN: And now the real story begins! Although it's billed as a series of letters, there's a bit of set-up to be done before we get there. Thanks to all who read and reviewed the first chapter!

Disclaimer: EA and Bioware own all, I just fold them into pretty pictures that amuse me. I'll return them unharmed, I promise.

Chapter 1 – Stolen

Commander Jane Shepard, formerly of the Systems Alliance Navy and currently a freelancer, she was quick to remind herself, strode with purpose toward the galaxy map at the back of the CIC. Her ship was empty but for her ground crew and her pilot, and her footsteps echoed sharply on the Normandy's metal flooring as she walked.

"Set course for the Hourglass Nebula, Joker," she ordered, once she'd reached the map. "Sowilo system, planet Hagalaz."

Over her pilot's affirmative response, she heard Miranda ask, disbelieving, "Shepard? We're going to see the Shadow Broker? Now?"

Shepard turned and gave the Cerberus operative a heated look. In spite of the fire in her eyes, however, the Commander's voice was calm and clipped. "Those are my orders, Miranda. I don't think I need to remind you that I am the commanding officer aboard this vessel. Rest assured, I will do everything in my power to rescue my crew, but the Shadow Broker has information that I need. As soon as I'm done there, we'll be headed for the Omega-4 relay."

Though Miranda looked for a moment like she might press the issue, she nodded and stepped away. "Yes, Commander."

Once their course was laid in, Shepard walked back to the bridge and exchanged a quick look with Joker. "Shouldn't be more than a few hours, Commander," the pilot offered.

"Not a problem, Joker." Shepard paused, took a closer look at her pilot's face, and her voice softened. "How you holding up?"

"Aw, Commander," Joker protested, "you're not getting soft on me now, are you? I'll be fine. I'll get us there safe, we'll find the crew, and I'll get all of us back in one piece."

Shepard's eyes narrowed a bit, but she recognized in Joker's eyes that same 'please don't ask me right now, because if you push, I may well crack' look that she'd seen in her own more than once since her resurrection at the hands of Cerberus. She nodded her understanding, and then rested her hand briefly, softly on his shoulder. "That's exactly what we'll do. I'll be in my quarters, let me know when we're ten minutes out."

"Aye aye, Commander."

Rather than return immediately to her quarters, however, Shepard walked the ship, stopping by to check in on each member of the ground crew. Reassurances that they were ready were received from each, some more believable than others, but the few moments she spent with all of them eased her mind, and she hoped that it did the same for them.

Finally, once she returned to her quarters, she allowed the Commander Shepard mask to fall as she dropped bonelessly to the couch. The fish tank glowed a serene blue in the dim light, illuminating the handful of fish she'd been able to keep alive. She still thought it was a waste of space, but since it was there, why not fill it? It became a challenge, keeping the little buggers alive, and it gave her a small distraction amid the chaos of her life.

"EDI, no interruptions unless it's Joker, please. Lights to 25%, privacy protocols on."

"Of course, Shepard. Logging you out."

Shepard knew, of course, that there wasn't really much in the way of privacy, even in her quarters, but that didn't stop her from asking every time. It had been awhile since the last time she'd asked Kasumi to check the room for monitoring devices, and that didn't matter much; even those that the master thief removed were eventually replaced. It was a constant reminder of just how precarious her situation was, but she'd done as much as she possibly could to earn the trust of her ground crew, even Miranda and Jacob, the pair of operatives who'd been with Cerberus before she came along. It remained to be seen how far that trust would stretch.

Sighing, Jane Shepard allowed the Commander to melt fully away as she brought up her omnitool. After a quick glance to ensure that she was not in range of the known video surveillance devices, she brought up the folder containing her personal log entries, which was really the collection of letters she'd written to Kaidan Alenko over the past several months.

Sometimes, she mused, it was a surprise even to her that she'd continued to write after the fiasco on Horizon. When the Collector ship had taken off, she'd been so sure he was on that ship... The relief at seeing him well and whole and, for a brief moment, happy to see her had rendered her almost completely...well, stupid, if she were completely honest with herself. Afterward, she'd thought of so many other ways to handle that situation, so many better ways that, for a time, it had been a common form of nightly torture to imagine how differently things could have turned out.

It had become cathartic to write to him, she realized. Even if she never found a way to send him all these files, even if he never read them, just to write them made her feel better. That didn't stop her from hoping that she'd get the chance to send them, though, and hoping he'd have just enough faith in her and in whatever they'd had together that he'd believe what he read there.

If she had any regrets, Jane mused as she looked over the list of files that she hoped Liara would be able to send, it was that she'd never had a chance to tell him how she felt about him. Since that awful day on Horizon, she'd wondered whether things would have been different if she had, but it was far too late to be worried about should-have-beens. His missive a few weeks later rekindled a tiny flame of hope that she'd been careful to keep lit, but small, in case he decided that he'd had enough after all.

That she'd gotten involved with him on the first Normandy at all was a huge surprise; she certainly hadn't been *looking* for a relationship, but there was something about Kaidan even from the beginning that caught her interest. While she might wish that they'd had more time together, she certainly didn't regret the time they *had* been able to spend, Alliance regulations or no. Her parents had managed to make it work, and they were both Alliance, too, so it was obviously possible.

Her fingers flew over the omnitool as she made one final entry to the log that she hoped to be able to send, and gave a quick once-over to the rest, ensuring that she was including everything, then packaged it up, readying it for delivery.

"Commander, we're ten minutes out from Hagalaz," Joker's voice came over the intercom.

"Well timed, Joker. Thanks, I'll be right down. Hail Liara and let her know we're inbound, all the normal docking protocols."

Though it had been Jane who was reviewing her letters to Kaidan only a few minutes before, it was Commander Shepard who got to her feet, straightened her clothes, and made her way down to the airlock.

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