Jane's remaining days on Omega passed in a blur. Before Garrus really absorbed that she was leaving, the Neema was docked in a remote bay, and a skycar traversed through the bowels of the asteroid, ready to ferry her away.

Aside from Krul, every one of his men had tried to talk Jane out of her mad venture. Yet, the woman was having none of it. She was just as, possibly more, stubborn than her brother. Her pack laid on the floor just outside her bedroom's threshold – solidifying the fact that she'd soon be traveling far from their reach. His ward had become a symbol of sorts, a representation of what they fought for – despite never asking or wanting it. How bare would this place feel in her absence? Of course, she'd return whenever Wrex deemed her training complete. This wasn't permanent. But she hadn't even left, and already the base felt significantly emptier.

Tali and a no-bullshit type marine, Kal'Reegar, traipsed across the entryway where Garrus, and the rest of the team stood in wait, ready to welcome the newcomers. Nalah was preoccupied with Jane in her room, helping the young woman with some last-minute preparations, or rather fussing over every item in her pack, ensuring nothing was forgotten. Playing the dutiful host, Garrus gave his quarian guests a tour of the place, and much to his surprise Tali and Krul hit it off, finding commonality in their shared profession. After the tour, the two settled in at the kitchen table comparing omni-tool specs. Apparently the Cison Pro was leagues ahead of the latest Elkoss Combine model when it came to hacking and tech attacks, yet its medi-gel delivery system was lacking by comparison. They even exchanged contact info with hasty promises about continuing their line of discussion – something about voltage drops in compound circuity and its application in modern omni-functionality.

When Jane's door creaked open, Tali peered around the batarian, straining for a better look. She'd been something of a mysterious figure to Tali until that point; Shepard's long lost sister, a name without tangible being associated with it. When Jane emerged, dressed in her favorite army-T, stocking cap, camo pants, and boots the quarian leaped to her feet, arms spread wide in greeting. Garrus had to refrain from chuckling at that old familiar gesture. Jane, on the other hand, stepped back alarmed by the impending physical contact. After a few awkward moments she inclined her head forward, a formal acknowledgment among batarians that Tali thankfully caught onto within seconds.

"It is so good to finally meet you!" Tali mimicked Jane's half-bow, "I can't wait to show you the fleet! You're going to love it. I have a bed made up for you already… it… it isn't much, we're always stretched for space, but it'll be nice. You'll see."

"I look forward to it." Jane smiled awkwardly. The woman was a terror on the battlefield, but hopelessly timid with new people. The two personalities were such polar opposites of one another, that it was difficult to believe they both fit inside that tiny being without popping out her ears.

As she exited the kitchen, the Archangel team encircled her, each said their goodbyes in turn, before Krul beckoned her to the hall on the far side of the living area for a more private send off. When she arrived, he pressed a silvery, hexagonal chip into her hand, no larger than a nickel. "Keep this safe, girl. Can you do that?"

Jane looked at him quizzically. "Sure… but what is it?"

"A bit of insurance in case the worst should come to pass. You ever find yourself captured by the Hegemony, this'll get ya out."

"You're talking about a virtual construct, aren't you? I doubt it'll help in an internment camp."

He hesitated, a pained expression crossing his face. "Yeah. Figures you'd know about those torture chambers. But sometimes they use 'em to imprison the mind, a bit of insurance against escape attempts and a fate I never want to see you face. Keep it close. Keep it hidden."

She nodded and slipped it into her boot, vowing to find a more discreet hiding place later that evening.

The Butlers were the last to say their farewells. The couple was cloistered near the entryway, free-flowing tears pouring down Nalah's cheeks. As Jane diffidently approached the older woman, a powerful revelation struck Garrus, reverberating against his brow-plate. All this time and Jane hadn't so much a touched another member of the team. He wasn't an expert on human body language, but had spent enough time around the species to know that touch held some sort of significance for them. Even in the military, they frequently shook hands or clapped one another on the back. Yet, aside from the day she learned of Sciffy's rescue – a momentary lapse in her otherwise austere persona, she always held herself apart. One arm to the side, the other holding it in position as it stiffly wrapped around her midsection. In all those months, he was the sole person she would touch – well unless she was knifing them. How had he missed that?

But now she was wrapping her arms around Nalah and the silver-hair woman sobbed into her shoulder, shocked by the gesture, overwhelmed at having to say good bye.

"You'll come back to us." She sniffled into the black fabric. "You must. Don't do anything too risky. Alright? And if it's too much, I don't care if you're exploding with biotics, you always have a home here. Understand? I will never turn you away."

Jane simply rested her head on the woman's shoulder in answer. They held each other like that for several minutes before Nalah finally relented and released her.

And as they walked towards the sky-cars, well out of the range of human hearing, Garrus caught Nalah's fractured cry. "I can't lose her Frank. She's like a daughter to me… I… I … can't go through that again."

"It's not like before." Frank answered, even from this distance, he could hear the man's voice was thick with emotion. "She'll be fine, you'll see. I've fought with her, remember? She's a destructive little thing. The krogan won't know what hit 'em."

He piled into the back of a vibrant, pink sky-car with Jane – a rental, Tali informed them as her and Kal took the front. When she settled in the driver's seat, Garrus suddenly snapped upright, straight as an arrow, tension practically weeping off him. "Oh spirits preserve us. I forgot about this."

"What's wrong Garrus," Tali rolled her r's like a purr. "Scared?"

"Of your driving? Spirits of light and darkness, yes. Yes I am. It's a miracle I don't have PTSD from the experience. Forget reapers. You behind the wheel is, by far, the most terrifying thing I've ever faced."

"Don't be so dramatic!" The skycar barreled forward. Freed of the confining parking space, it soared over buildings, weaving in and out of traffic.

Jane whooped in glee. "Holy shit! Does this thing have guns? We could have totally used this on raids! Why didn't we drive anywhere?!" She turned sharply in his direction, face full of accusation.

"I'm still recovering." Garrus grit his teeth, eyes steadfastly shut, not daring to peer at world whizzing by. And as Tali darted across three lanes of traffic, he was throttled into the past.

"You just hit the accelerator. Not the brake. You want the pedal on your right." Shepard called over his shoulder, into the depths of the Mako. His voice was alarmingly calm given the situation. The distress call turned out to be a meticulously planned ambush, and Metgos threatened to be their fiery grave.

Wrex was on the main gun, while Garrus and Shepard hung out of parallel windows sniping geth between cannon blasts. For reasons that would elude the turian for years to come, when the distress beacon exploded, his commander shoved the young quarian in the driver's seat and ordered him to shoot out the window while mimicking the decree from the passenger side.

"Die you synthetic bosh'tets!" Tali rammed a prime, white-hot electrical fluid gushed in every direction, forcing Garrus to duck inside, narrowly avoiding the caustic liquid. "That was for Rannoch!" She revved the engine, reversing over the struggling robot several times for good measure. "Bastards! I'll rip your turbines out and play it like a hurdy-gurdy!"

She gunned the engines, wildly swerving around an energy blast, barreling wherever Shepard ordered. The Mako lurched onto two wheels as they careened around a corner. Of course, it had to be his side that dipped dangerously close to the molten lava. "Can't believe I'm saying this commander, but shouldn't you take the wheel?" Annoyance born of primal terror seeped into his otherwise deferential tone.

The tachatatchachacha from Shepard's assault rifle was his only answer for a time. And he had his hands full as well. Rocket drones swooped in from nowhere, dancing in and out of range.

"The kid's doin' just fine!"

"She doesn't know how to drive, in case that isn't obvious by…" A couple drones swept into view, and he pressed down on the trigger. Watching them explode was only a momentary reprieve, as less than half a breath later, he was damn near thrown upside down. Admittedly, it gave him a clear shot at a shield-drone, but ground vehicles were not meant to bounce like that.

"She's learning." A pause. Another round of tatachatchatcha. "Hell yeah Tali! Now give 'er some juice!"

A yaw, pitch, and most thankfully not a roll later, Shepard burst from the Mako and finished off the final armature by piercing its fuel-tank and biotically tossing it in a ditch. Wrex and Tali roared in celebration as a little orange cloud rose from the crater. Garrus was still too shell-shocked to join in the revelry. But at least they were alive. A state unfortunately called into question several times as Shepard allowed Tali to drive to their rendezvous point. "For practice," He said. The man was a hard ass, but not once had he suspected him of malice until that moment. It was also the beginning of many unfortunate driving lessons and near death experiences.

At some point, most likely during a brazen swerve around a skyscraper, Jane slid into him, giggling against his side. Never mind the turian in the back seat having an out-of-body experience, the women were oblivious to his discomfort, chattering gaily about the sights. Kal seemed to share in it at least. If the way his suit stretched around the knuckles was any indication, he was clinging to the console for dear life.

Finally, after a daunting fifteen minutes, they reached the docking bay. Skycars, hover-cycles, and throngs of pedestrians lined up outside the blockade. Apparently, hundreds of quarians had disembarked, eager to see anything outside the all-too-familiar halls of the Neema. And now the transitory tourists were returning en mass.

Tali and Kal exited the vehicle to make arrangements, while Jane disentangled herself from him, and he couldn't help but think of the first time they met. Her oh-so-tentative grip on his arm while he lowered Nalah from the catwalks. That day he promised to always have her back, but now she was traveling beyond his reach. This was her decision, and he respected it, but he couldn't help the feeling of dread that had settled in his craw.

Something on his face must've betrayed his thoughts, as Jane gave voice to what they were both thinking. "I'm… going to miss you too." She looked up at him expectantly. And instead of answering, a taloned hand settled on each shoulder, head bowed so that all she could see were the sharp angles of his fringe. Still as statues, they sat for a time before Jane broke the odd silence. "Not that this isn't … nice … but … what are you doing?"

"I," Garrus chuckled in spite of himself. "I'm… trying to send my spirit with you, for protection. I don't really believe in such things but… well, I figure it can't hurt."

Jane rested her head against his grip, something about it felt right, felt like home. There were no words in their strangely intimate good-bye. They simply waited, watching the crowd swell and disperse as the colorful aliens passed through decontamination.

Eventually, Kal waved them over and Garrus gave her shoulder a cursory squeeze before they exited the vehicle. Jane quickly joined the quarians and they ushered her through the check-point, ensuring not a single scanner went off in her vicinity. A quick wave, and she vanished from sight.

He stood there lost in thought, staring at the docking tube where they'd disappeared, gradually willing himself to leave. He hadn't expected this to be difficult, concerning possibly, different maybe – he'd grown accustomed to looking out for Jane. But difficult? That he never saw coming.

Instead of heading directly home, Garrus decided to take an evening walk to bleed off excess worry. Eventually finding himself at the foot of the Burja D'ali, he wasted little time scaling it. Sitting in the same spot he brought Jane to just a few short weeks before, Garrus moved a hand over his heart and muttered a hushed prayer. "May the spirits guide you and keep you safe in the vast unknown Jane Shepard."

A proper sendoff – that's all this was. At least, that's what he told himself.