May 12th 2184 CE 13:44

It was a solemn procession that made their way to the doc's clinic. Sensat stayed behind to assure that the hostages woke without complications. Krul was clearly resisting the urge to tell them 'I told you so,' for which Garrus was grateful. Butler, to his left, was carrying Jane with the utmost care.

When they arrived at the clinic, the usual squadron of mech greeted them. Although, the doc seemed to be beefing up security. Garrus counted an additional dozen, each equipped with a personal sidearm.

The assistant was giving their group grief however. Apparently, they didn't accept chipped ex-slaves due to a chronic lack in staff. After a few minutes of arguing in circles with the young man, Garrus demanded to speak with the doctor who was apparently listening to the entire exchange through the intercom.

"Do not have facilities for long term care chipped slaves need. Also, un-nerve patients." The salarian's voice crackled over the cheap device. "Also, not happy with your behavior during last visit."

"Look, you don't have to keep them. I have ties in The Alliance. I'll put in a call as soon as we're back home. They'll swing by and pick them up." Garrus was losing his patience. It was barely past noon, yet it had been a long, grueling day. "And I'll stay outside if it makes you happy."

"Acceptable."

The doctor, accompanied by a few new faces, emerged. Garrus waved them over to where Butler was standing idle, still cradling an unconscious Jane. "This one's a family friend. I'd appreciate anything you can do for her."

"MMM." The salarian hummed to himself. "Chipped. Will most likely have poor outcome."

"Yeah. I'm aware."

"Will see. Will see."

"Right. Well, since you seem to have welcomed yourself to my omni-number, give me an update later will you?"

"Hm? Yes. Yes." The salarian, completely preoccupied with the back of Jane's head, looked up and motioned for the group of medics to come forward. Frank gently laid Jane down on the gurney. Part of Garrus was grateful she wasn't awake. For whatever reason, he'd saved that old picture of Jane and Shepard back when Tali found the man drunk in engineering. The siblings had seemed so unburdened, laughing at the camera, Jane on her brother's back holding up bunny ears. It'd be easier this way. And now his friend could rest, his mission was complete. Hadn't that been the entire purpose of this venture?

The slaves followed the doc into the clinic in unison, like a pack of aloof zombies. Garrus shuddered at the sight once more before turning and leading his men home.


He had to admit, ringing Anderson and telling the tale of Jane's rescue provided far more levity than the actual experience; especially considering how it ended. Seeing humanity's first councilor completely floored was a treat in and of itself. They arranged for a transport to pick up Jane and the other ex-slaves in the morning. Anderson planned to foot the bill for her admittance to a state-of-the-art psychiatric hospital. Maybe it wasn't the best conclusion to the day's events, but it was a far better situation than the one she faced on the Ubralle.

With the day winding down and the team off duty, Garrus found himself lulled into an afternoon nap.

The harsh buzzing of an incoming call stirred him from sleep. It was the doc, probably wondering when The Alliance was arriving. Crap. Had he forgotten to update him? "Hello?"

"Archangel? Have update!"

"I have one for you too. It's about The Alliance transport..."

"Yes! Yes! But this exciting!"

"Okay..."

"1182! Best outcome of group. Clever girl." The salarian nodded vigorously while pulling up an enlarged image of the back of Jane's head. "See? Hes-i-tation marks." The doc enunciated slowly, as if whomever he was talking to was lacking in brain cells. "Control chip inserted at base of skull. First vertebrae. But deep enough in tissue to be undetected!"

"Wait, doc. What exactly are you telling me?"

"Faked it. Control chip not in brain. Merely flesh wound. Inserted herself. Very brave. Very clever. Am impressed. Chip would have registered on scans but yields no long term complications. Should be fine should be fine. When will Alliance arrive? Need to remove other chip. Biotic inhibitor. Longer procedure. Not yet stable enough. Will need second surgery. Currently writing follow-up notes for citadel doctor."

"I… this… I have to tell the Alliance."

"Yes yes of course. Now arrival time."

"Uhhh around 08:00 tomorrow." The revelation had left Garrus spinning. She faked a control chip? It was almost inconceivable. Then again, she was a Shepard wasn't she? Her brother made a career out of achieving the impossible.

"Good. Plenty of time. Preformed surgery to remove chip. Anesthesia needs time to wear off. Want her comfortable. Hm Yes. Perhaps mild sedative. Will help with trip. Should leave with prescription for antiemetic traveling so soon after surgical procedure."

"Sure doc. Look I gotta go...make… calls."

Dumbfounded, Garrus began incessantly ringing Anderson. It took nearly twenty minutes for him to answer. "You're never going to believe this."

"It's been a pretty unbelievable day, you may surprise me."

"That kid, well, I guess she isn't a kid anymore huh? She's what 23? Jane she..."

"I'm a busy man, get to the point."

"Right sir. Sorry sir. She faked the whole thing. She isn't chipped."

"What, how?"

"Some salarian doctor caught it. Apparently, she put the chip in herself right beneath the skin or muscle or whatever you humans have at the base of the skull. But it's just a flesh wound. She's going to be fine."

Anderson stared through the omni-screen silently for a few minutes. At first, Garrus wondered if his translator glitched. The man did not seem relieved, quite the opposite in fact. His eyes were darting back and forth while his fingers flew over a keyboard. "Shit. Shit. Shit."

"Sir?"

"Wait. No I can fix this. Where is she right now?"

"Uh, the doc's clinic."

"She's not with you?"

"No. Sir, what's going on?"

"She can't come to The Citadel. It's too dangerous."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look, I've been pushing The Council and The Alliance hard about the reapers. Now I've been labeled a 'conspiracy theorist.'" If this keeps up, well, it won't be long before someone puts out a hit on me. Do you follow?"

"As ludicrous as that is, you can handle yourself. How does this affect Jane?"

Anderson rolled his eyes in a surprising lack of decorum. "The Miraculous Return of Shepard's Long Lost Sister at a time when my political power waning? The Man Behind Commander Shepard?" Anderson slammed his fist into the desk as he hollered at the top of his lungs. "The First Human Councilor? Look, best case scenario, she plays along and is the politicians' puppet. The worst case involves assassins. If she were merely some mindless drone stuck in a psych ward, no one would take notice."

"You're messing with me. Tell me this is some sick joke. After everything Shepard did this is how they repay him?"

"She can't come back here, even under a false identity. All it would take is one scan and she'd be identified. Hell, she won't even make it past the docking bay. Security has been beefed up. C-Sec has a perimeter established for all new arrivals. And if that weren't enough, I'm currently dealing with a data breach by some crazy terrorist group that has developed a sudden interest in Shepard. Is there any chance she can stay there for the time being?"

"I… yeah I suppose."

"I'm forwarding you some money."

"Huh?"

"Just take it. It's for anything she might need. And anything you might need."

"Sir?"

"I owe Shepard more than this Vakarian. The least I can do is throw some of my fancy paycheck your way. But you need to get her immediately. All it'll take is one wrong scan. A drop of blood in the galaxy-wide database for missing and exploited children…. See where I'm going with this?"

"Crap."

"Exactly."

Garrus quickly ended the call and punched in the clinic's code. "Hey doc, we have a change of plans."

"Alliance arriving late? Should be fine. Can handle anything needed in meantime." The salarian dismissively waved his hand while typing briskly on his keyboard.

"No. She can't head back with The Alliance."

His slender fingers froze and the doctor abruptly snapped to attention. Hyper-alert eyes glared through the omni-screen.

Garrus cleared his throat nervously. "The situation is… delicate."

"Need more intel Archangel."

"Look, I can't really give it. However, she needs to return with me."

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"Vulnerable young woman. My patient. My responsibility. Don't know you. Don't know your squad."

"Look, this really isn't up for debate. I promise she'll be safe here. No one will lay a hand on her."

"No. She will be on Alliance transport. Have found ship scheduled for Omega. Don't need you Archangel"

"What?!"

In an instant, the salarian closed his omni-tool and disappeared from view.

Garrus didn't have time to sit and ponder the day's ludicrous events. He assembled his men, apprised them of the situation, and proceeded to the clinic armed with explosives and guns. One way or another, he was bringing her home.