Jane's eyes fluttered open, the lids heavy as she looked up at the bland ceiling over her head. The air smelled sterile, no lingering smell of dust and carnage. Fluorescent light filled the white room and the uncomfortable bed she was lying upon told her she was no longer in that forsaken tower on Akuze. She breathed in deeply as pain shot through her leg, the rhythmic sound of a heart monitor making her gaze drift in its direction. The machine was blocked by a set of blue eyes staring intently back at her. At first Jane thought it was Georgie, but when she saw the unruly mop of brownish-red hair atop his head she knew it was Mahogany, Georgie's twin brother. His face was a blank mask as he gazed at her, a face that made her mouth go dry and her eyes sting.

"I'm sorry Mahogany," Jane said, her voice nothing but a whisper. Her bandaged hand reached out for his, but he quickly pulled it away. The action stung.

"This is all your fault. He followed you everywhere, his unwavering faith in Jane Shepard! Georgie would be alive if it wasn't for you!" Mahogany screamed as he bolted up from the chair he had been sitting in, sending it clattering to the floor.

Jane wanted to say something, anything that would calm her friend down just a little, but she knew he was right. The whole thing was her fault. She went to look away, but Mahogany seized her by the chin and made her look at him. All the friendliness, the camaraderie that they had shared over the years was gone. Jane could see it plainly on his face, he hated her.

"I'll never forgive you for this… I hate you with every fiber of my being Jane Shepard," Mahogany continued, his voice a harsh whisper, "and I hope you drown in your guilt."

His gripped tightened on her chin, his teeth gritted together. She just sat there, not fighting back. She didn't want to and as his other hand balled into a fist she closed her eyes. She deserved it… whatever he did to her she deserved it.

"Let her go," An athoritive voice ripped through the air, the hand on her chin getting ripped away. She heard a scoff come from Mahogany, her eyes still squeezed closed.

"Always coming to the rescue aren't you? You should have left her back on that rock to die. It should have been her," Jane heard Mahogany say before the door to her room was slammed shut.

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Jane's eye snapped open, a groan of pain pushing its way through her busted lips. She tried, but failed to open her other eye, concluding that the krogan must have given her a shiner… among other things. She could have sworn she had seen Mahogany in that crowd and the dream didn't help the sinking feeling in her stomach. It couldn't have been him, could it? It hadn't been long after the incident in the hospital that Mahogany disappeared with a stolen cruiser. The vehicle had been found torn to pieces on some back water planet in the Terminus system and though no body had ever been found he was presumed dead. No one could survive that crash, nobody.

Jane sluggishly pushed herself into a sitting position, a hiss escaping her throat. Damn, that krogan had kicked her ass.

"So you're awake," Dr. Chakwas said, her calming voice gaining Jane's attention. "I know I'm a military doctor, but we have to stop meeting like this."

Jane repressed her laugh, but couldn't stop the smirk.

"I'll try to bring you something special next time," Jane replied as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. "How is it?"

"Well you have a black eye, swollen lip, a few bruised ribs, a nasty bite and a stab wound that needed twenty-five stitches. Other than that you're fine, but Mordin and I agreed that you need to take some antibiotics for that Vorcha bite."

"How did I get back here?"

"Sticks brought you back."

Sticks… figured. The doctor watched Jane for a moment, a distant look in the young commander's eyes. It was that same look John had, had on his face many time, the look of past memories… remembering ghosts. While John snapped out of it quickly with a smile on his face, his sister seemed lost. Jane didn't even realize that someone had joined them in the medical bay.

Dr. Chakwas wasn't sure if it was a good idea for the krogan to be there at the moment. The two didn't get along and Jane had just killed one of his kind. He looked threatening as he stood just inside the doorway, his massive form blocking most of her view of the exit. He might not have looked as war hardened as Wrex had, but he was still intimidating. The sound of his thunderous footsteps as he advanced forward snapped Jane to attention as she bolted to a stand. Jane fell into a defensive stance as she stared the advancing krogan down. Dr. Chakwas stepped back, her hand going to the intercom button incase of trouble. Grunt stopped in front of Jane, his blue eyes peering down at her.

"I saw what you did to that krogan," he said, his voice booming through the medical bay. Jane narrowed her eye as she looked up at him.

"I did what I had to and I'm not sorry for it. It was him or me," Jane replied, her bandaged arms tensing as she made fists. A curt laugh escaped his lips.

"You're fierce, brutal… I like that. A true battlemaster."

With that he gave her a harsh smack on the side of the arm that sent her sideways. Grunt then turned, leaving with a slow chuckle. Jane blinked her unswollen eye before turning to Dr. Chakwas with a bewildered look on her bruised face.

"Did Grunt just accept me as his leader?" Jane asked.

"I think he did," The doctor replied.

Jane looked back at the door.

"Huh," She said with a slight shrug, "I didn't see that coming."

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Mordin examined the information on his datapad as he entered the Normandy. After Sticks had dragged an unconscious Jane back to the ship Mordin had made quick work to get to the dead krogan's body. His ribs had been crushed, piercing his heart. The impact of Jane's knees to the krogan's chest and then with the ground was what had killed him. Mordin was certain that by the time Jane started on the Alien's face he was already dead.

He wasn't surprised by her uncontrollable rage and brutality. Mordin had seen it all on Tuchanka and he knew that by the time she left that rock in a healing tube Jane Shepard had become extremely efficient at the art of killing krogan even with her fear of them. The sound of hushed conversation filled his ears making him look up, Mordin's large eyes blinking. He was in the mess hall now and four sets of eyes were watching him. Garrus, Joker, Sticks and Kaiden were sitting at the largest table and Mordin could only assume they had been conversing about the hottest topic on the Normandy, Jane Shepard.

"Has she always been like that?" Kaiden asked, his arms crossed over his chest as he slouched in his chair. Sticks wanted to answer and say no, but he hadn't known her as long as the Salarian obviously had. He had never seen her do something so brutal before, but he had seen her do things before… things that most people would never do.

"No and Yes. Always does what's necessary for mission. Extremely violent when backed in a corner," Mordin answered as he switched off his datapad. All eyed were on him, unwavering.

"You were on Tuchanka with her weren't you?" Sticks asked, his arms resting on the table.

"Yes."

"She was on Tuchanka?" Kaiden asked, his voice laced with surprise.

"Yes. Stationed there after graduation from academy. She was N3 then, serving under an," Mordin took a sharp break, "inexperienced commander. Helped distribute the genophage. Helped give extra protection. Had to do terrible things, very good at it."

"Do you know someone named Mahogany?" Sticks asked him. He needed to know who it was. It had been bugging him since he heard her utter the name in her sleep.

"Yes, Mahogany graduated with Jane. Put on same team as her with his brother Georgie. They were friends."

Sticks sat back in his seat. They were friends. He was Georgie's brother. It was starting to make sense now.

"She said to ask you if I wanted to know what the huge scar on her back is from," Joker started, fiddling with his hat slightly. "How did she get it?"

"We were camped for the night," Mordin started, pacing as he continued the story. "Perimeter set up, people stationed for watch. It was early, changing of shifts. We didn't expect krogan to know we were there. Staying hidden was our job, we were good at it. I was careless as I attended to an infection on Mahogany's leg, had fallen and sliced it open. My watch, my mistake."

He paused for a moment, his big eyes staring at the ground, filled with remorse. He looked as if he didn't want to continue with the story, but no one said anything. They all wanted him to continue. Mordin looked up and started his pace again.

"A group of krogan stormed the camp, caught us off guard. Not quick enough. Krogan charged me. Would have died if not for Jane. Pushed me out of the way, got impaled on a piece of equipment. Killed krogan before she went down. Destroyed left lung. Artificial lung."

The group fell into silence as they looked at the Salarian. They were at a loss for words, the only sound coming from them being when Joker shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Mordin sighed inwardly. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything at all. He knew no matter what that Sticks would remain loyal to her, but the others… without loyalty the mission would fail.

"I knew she was badass the moment she walked onto this ship," Joker exclaimed. "Sure she might be a little crazy, but who isn't on this bird. I mean everything she does is… what's he doing?"

The group looked where Joker was pointing just in time to see the tail end of Grunt disappear into the medical bay where the unconscious commander was. Sticks rose to his feet but when he heard booming laughter he paused. The krogan was laughing and he could only hope that it was a good thing. He stood there on alert until the door swished open and Grunt stepped out. He didn't acknowledge any of them as he made his way to the elevator. Moments later Jane walked out of the medical bay, her bandaged arms hanging at her sides. She was still dressed in her black tank top and black pants, her boots untied. Her brown hair was pulled back and when she looked over at them she smiled weakly. Sticks felt his stomach drop when he caught sight of her face. One eye was black and completely swollen, her lip busted and bruised. She looked like she had been hit by a cruiser and the wince that crossed her face as she turned to them to quickly told him she felt like it to.

"Are you alright?" Sticks asked. She looked at him, smiled and gave him a nod.

"As good as I can be, considering. How long was I out?"

"About four hours. You took one hell of a beating Jane," Kaiden said.

"I know, I can feel it all over. So when's the meeting?"

"Tomorrow morning," Sticks replied quickly. "I'll go with you."

"Alright, I want Garrus and Thane going with me to. I want Kasumi ghosting the hallway and Kaiden you keep everything on lockdown on the ship. I also want Jack and Grunt prowling looking for anyone suspicious."

"You think something's going to happen?" Garrus asked, finally joining the conversation. She looked over at him, her one eye hard as steel.

"I have a feeling that The Shade is on Omega and I want them looking for anything that might be suspicious."

"No one even knows what he looks like," Kaiden added.

"Have them look for a man with red-brown hair and blue eyes. Can you give the orders Alenko?"

"Sure."

"Good, I think I'm going to take a shower."

"Need any help in there?" Joker asked with a smirk. She rolled her eye at him before she walked away.

"You're the wrong species Joker and I wouldn't want to hurt you."

When she disappeared into the elevator a collective chuckle came from the people around him, making his eyes narrow at them.

"Yeah, yeah laugh it up. I didn't hear invite any of you along either. At least I had the balls to ask."

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Thane clutched the side of the sink as his coughs racked his body, trying desperately to keep his balance. They had been getting worse, his lungs deteriorating at an alarming rate. He couldn't give up, not now that there was something worth fighting for. A sharp intake of breath made him cough again, gagging as one of his hands shot up to his mouth. He coughed hard, a splatter of moisture against the palm of his hand making him fall still. Thane pulled his hand away and a small splatter of dark blood was staining his flesh. It was worse than he thought.

"It's getting worse isn't it?" A feminine voice asked from the doorway behind him.

He whirled around, fist clenching shut in an attempt to hide the evidence. The woman was standing there, her tattooed arms hanging by her sides with her hands clenched in fists as she tried to keep control on her frustration.

"Jack," Thane started, but she just cut him off.

"Why didn't you say something? You need to tell Jane. Being in your state can endanger the mission."

Thane couldn't hold back a small smile, but it only made her frown. She still tried to act like she didn't give a damn, but he knew better. Ever since that time with John, Jack had been different, more human than before.

"I'll tell her in due time. I can still do my duty on this mission. When it becomes no longer possible I will stay on the ship."

"You promise?"

"I promise," Thane replied, receiving a skeptical look from Jack. She let out a sigh before she looked up at him, seriousness on her face. Her hair had grown out some and Thane had to admit that he liked it, the signs of curly hair just becoming evident.

"Can't we have her ask the Illusive Man if there's a cure?" Jack said, her voice pleading.

"There is no cure."

"But, the Illusive Man brought John back to life how can there not be a cure for you!" Jack yelled, her voice angry. She couldn't stand the injustice of it all. He grabbed her by the shoulder with his free hand.

"I have accepted my fate. It is my burden to bare alone."

Jack narrowed her eyes at him as she threw his hand away from her shoulder.

"That's bullshit and you know it," Jack growled before she stomped out of the bathroom and down the corridor. Thane did know it was bullshit, all of it was. At one time he had been ready to die, but now it seemed like there was something to live for.