Author's Note: Update update update, in the same year as the last one even! Shorter, this time, but mostly a sort of connective tissue chapter. Thank you to everyone who commented, you've cemented my decision to make Nox/EDI an eventual ship of sorts (what's a ship that includes a ship, a ship ship?) and given me motivation to keep writing!

Jane found herself in the comms room, staring at a projection of the Illusive Man, Liara and Miranda at her side. She had a feeling this would be happening many more times in the near future. She was not looking forward to making her report, not because of any fear of reprisals, but because she would have to revisit what they had found on the derelict.

The Illusive Man's expression did not change until Jane finished. Only then did he frown, tapping his cigarette against something that did not appear in the projection. "That is worse than I feared, but I am not surprised," he said. "The enemy of humanity is powerful, and the other species of this galaxy do not care." He looked out, presumably at the stars glittering around him. "The Collectors will only become bolder. Humanity will have to stand alone."

Jane and Liara shared a glance. "Why are they coming after us?" Jane asked.

"I... confess I do not know," he said, looking pained at the admission. "As much as I believe humanity is special, I cannot think of any particular trait that makes us better victims. Perhaps they know we can disappear without the aliens noticing?"

Jane considered this. "Wouldn't the vorcha be a better choice, then?"

The Illusive Man's frown deepened. "Excuse me?"

Jane shrugged. "It's awful to say, but no one likes them. I don't think anyone would even notice if they disappeared, except to maybe make some kind of joke about the smell. I know Cerberus is predicated on the assumption that humans are the most besieged species in the galaxy, but we really aren't. So, why humans?"

The Illusive Man looked uncomfortable. Jane ignored Miranda's desperate attempt to signal her to shut up. Finally, he relaxed, and his laughter filled the comms room. "It has been a long time since someone talked back to me," he said. "I can not tell you. I can only say what I have observed, and we both know this threat is bigger than anything we have-even you have-faced so far. As admirable as these first findings are, I think you will need help."

"Oh?" Jane asked. She agreed, but she had assumed she would have to go seek out her old friends on her own, especially the non-human ones. "Do you have any suggestions?"

He nodded. "You will receive a message with the relevant profiles. I believe some will be familiar to you; others you may have heard of. It should be an interesting prelude, if nothing else, to your work."

"Thanks," Jane said. "I'll be waiting."

The Illusive Man cut communications, leaving Miranda to round on Jane, an impressed expression on her face. "No one talks back to him, except me, sometimes."

Jane shrugged. "I'm not afraid of him," she said.

Miranda frowned. "I don't think that's wise," she said.

Jane smiled. "Who said anything about being wise? There are just scarier things out there than an evil boss."

Miranda said nothing, apparently unwilling to argue Jane on her characterization of Cerberus's leader. "You'll get the dossiers on your console," she said. "They should be arriving shortly."

"I miss them," Jane said, looking through the files on her console, some time later. "I had hoped-" She shook her head. They'd been over this. As the recently deceased, she had no right to demand anything of any of her old friends.

"I can't imagine Tali working with Cerberus," Liara said. "Or, even, Ashley."

Jane sighed. "I... it was never justified, what she said. What she said to you."

Liara snorted. "You get used to it. Was she cruel about aliens with no power over her?"

Jane wracked her memory, before sighing. "Yes," she said. "She was rude to the elkor."

Liara placed a hand on Jane's shoulder. "Perhaps she's changed."

"I hope so."

The files were both extremely detailed and missing some pieces of crucial information. The entry on "Archangel," for instance, gave no information as to their identity, and Subject Zero's gave no information on her status.

"At least this gives us something to do while we wait," Jane said.

"For what?"

"More information." She thought about the ship full of corpses. "For something else to happen."

Liara sighed. "I wish I could trust the Council enough to reach out to them." She ran her hand through her crest. "They have the resources for this sort of manhunt."

"I get the feeling the Collectors are going after humans because they're not the galactic favorite," Jane said.

She landed on a file that looked especially promising. "This guy, the salarian doctor, have you heard of him?"

An insectoid face stared expressionlessly out at her from her console. He was the head of a small clinic on Omega Station, but Cerberus would not suggest him if that was all there was to him.

"Mordin?" Liara asked. She looked thoughtful. "It is difficult for me to remember individual salarians; we're on opposite sides of the lifespan spectrum, and they die as soon as I get to know them. I believe I have heard of this one, however. He was important to the genophage project."

Jane whistled. "Damn," she said. "That's something, all right." The diminutive figure didn't look like the sort to help produce weapons of mass misery, but what did she know. "I don't know-"

"We can talk to him. Two of our targets are on Omega, if he's hurting people you can do what you've always done best."

"And what's that?"

Liara grinned. "Biotic lance straight to the face, of course."

Jane returned the smile, and thought of Nox, hiding just out of sight. "Not just that, now," she said.

The console chirped. "Jacob wants to see me," Jane said, surprised. "Keep an eye on-"

"Of course," Liara said. "I'll let you know if we find anything else." She patted Jane's shoulder, her hand lingering just slightly too long on her skin. "I have my connections."

Jane nodded gratefully, and left. It was almost like the old days.

Jacob thrust a shotgun into Jane's hands and said, "How does this feel?"

She blinked at him, and the gun. "Good? Balanced. Like there wouldn't be too much kick."

He nodded. "We're all biotics, you can use your field to absorb some of the kinetic energy." He scratched his head. "This is something Miranda didn't tell you, I'm guessing?"

"What?" Jane asked. She looked around the armory, impressed not only by the weapons on offer but the machinery for modifying and making more.

He took the shotgun back. "I've gotten good at making and modifying weapons," he said. "I'm no genius, and I won't touch an omnitool, but there's always something to tinker with." He hung the shotgun on the wall, and took down a Tempest from the wall. "I've made this thing compatible with biotic rounds," he said. "You can charge the ammo block. Strips barriers pretty quick, and given what we're up against, I imagine that'll come in handy."

"You could probably infuse that with light," Nox said, in Jane's head. "I'll explain how later."

Jane nodded. "Thank you," she said.

Jacob gave her a sort of half salute. "We need the best to take on the Collectors, and Cerberus has the resources for that."

"Do you hate aliens?" Jane asked. Cerberus had money, but it also had an ideology, one that was only compatible with Jane's up to a point. She'd been mulling that over in her head, and looking at all the tech surrounding her in the armory made her feel just as bribed as Joker and his leather seats.

Jacob shook his head. "What's the point? They're just looking out for their own. That's what we're doing here, too." He checked something on his omnitool. "How long until we're at Omega?" he asked.

"A while," Jane said. "We'll be reaching the relay in a day, I think, and the station's closer to its relay than your station was to this one." She rolled her shoulders. "I'm not looking forward to being back," she said. "We made a mess last time."

Jacob grinned. "I heard."

Jane killed some time wandering aimlessly, getting acquainted with the SR-2. It was so much bigger than the original, but she needed to return to her old familiarity as soon as possible. Talking with the two engineers had felt like soothing an old wound, and listening to the cook complain about ingredients was almost as familiar.

It hurt, however, to know that the SR-1's crash had derailed the careers of those it had not killed, the Alliance unwilling (or unable?) to deal with the reality of whatever that ship and its monstrous weapon were.

"Have you been intentionally avoiding the medbay?"

Dr. Chakwas stood with her arms crossed in front of the door, sounding deeply unimpressed. Jane blinked at her, surprised, and realized she had no idea what she'd look like on a medical scan. Would it see Nox? Was she clinically dead, despite feeling her heart beating in her chest? If she was in Nox's world, there would be people she could ask, but instead Nox was in her world, and it only had so many answers.

"No?" Jane said. "It's only been a few days... hello..."

Chakwas chuckled. "I understand if you would be, but you came back from the dead. That's always something interesting to look at." She looked meaningfully at the medway doors. "I'm getting you on my exam table one way or another."

Jane grinned. "Alright," she said.

The medbay had the same almost rushed feeling as the rest of the ship.

"We expected to have multiple years working to bring you back," Chakwas said. "Your miraculous appearance has accelerated the timeline somewhat. Take your chest plate off, please."

Being poked and prodded and checked by Chakwas was less pleasant than a quick medical scan, but Jane understood the doctor wishing to see everything with her own eyes.

"You're perfectly healthy," Chakwas said. She frowned at her chart. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with you."

"That's good, right?" Jane asked.

Chakwas nodded, slowly. "No one else who was on the Normandy when it collided with Alcherra survived," she said. "You're a miracle."

Jane closed her fist, the one Nox usually appeared over. "I'm just lucky," she said.

Chakwas patted her on the shoulder. "I just want to keep an eye on you," she said. "Convince Miranda to swing by when you have a moment, won't you?" she asked, her tone taking on something strange. "Now she's intriguing."

The SR-2 had already passed through the relay when Jane finally had a moment to spare, collapsed on her bed in the captain's quarters, staring at Nox as it floated above her.

"I wish I didn't have to keep you hidden all the time," she said. "It's annoying for me, I can't imagine how it must be for you."

It chirped sadly. "The more I learn about how your universe treats AI, the more upset I am, and the more certain that we have to really trust someone before I say hello." It flitted around her room like a strangely shaped butterfly, taking everything in. "I like Liara. I really like EDI. I want her to be happy." It continued to ramble. "Your world is so big and you waste it on being petty, you don't even have something like the Darkness at your door-"

"Don't be so confident," Jane said, softly. "The Reapers sound a bit like your Darkness, from how you've described it."

"They could be agents of it," Nox said. "But I don't know. I have sensed any Light or Dark other than you since I got here." It collapsed back into her body. "Our cover's going to be blown the first time you die," it said.

"Then I won't die," Jane said.

It laughed at her. "You're a Guardian, now," it said. "That's what Guardians do."

Jane was broken out of her ruminations by Liara at the door.

"Hello," she said. "EDI, can I ask you a favor?"

The familiar abstract shape appeared. "What can I do for you, Liara?"

"Try not to overhear? I want to talk to Jane. I know it's against your programming, but-"

"I'll do my best," EDI said. "Thank you for understanding."

Liara nodded, and the shape vanished.

To Jane's surprise, tears were gathering in the corners of Liara's eyes, and she swept the human up in a tight hug. "It keeps hitting me, over and over," she said. "I won't have to lose you in the blink of an eye." She ran her fingers through Jane's hair, apparently fascinated by it. Jane sighed, enjoying the feeling. Liara was deceptively soft to the touch, and it was nice, just to be held like this, especially knowing that once they'd gathered everyone together there would be no more rest until they'd figured out how to stop the Collectors.

"I know," Jane said. "I'm a soldier, Liara. I always knew I'd die one day. Now, knowing what I know-" She pulled back and stared at Liara's eyes, seeking reassurance in their shared confusion. "I don't know what it means to grow that old. I've already lost people, but to lose more, every year, for centuries, how do you-?"

"You learn to take the long view," Liara said. "You enjoy those brief moments of joy, and you return to the asari or the krogan, knowing at least they understand what it is to stand still as the world turns. I'm sorry."

Jane thought of Nox, panicking, lost, and of the countless risen she did not know, in an alien universe. Were they less alone than she was? She didn't know what it was like to die, and she would. She wasn't like Liara. Liara was still mortal, just long-lived. Jane...

Jane couldn't think about that, too, not on top of everything else. She would just have to make sure Liara died of old age, many centuries hence, after they'd destroyed the Reapers together. She had to believe that was possible, that she could do everything Cerberus had asked of her with no unnecessary deaths along the way.

"I miss Wrex," Jane said. "He'd have something gruff to say about this. And Garrus. Garrus would make fun of me, and offer to take me out to target practice."

"We'll find them again," Liara said. "All of them."

"We're on a ship financed by human supremacists," Jane said, a feeling slightly hysterical. It had all been so much.

She let herself be held again.

"That didn't stop you letting me on board," Liara said. "I can't imagine it'll stop them, either."

"Thank you," Jane said. "Thank you."

She could have kissed Liara then, but she didn't. She agreed with the asari. They had to do that somewhere private, somewhere theirs, and theirs alone. This might be Jane's cabin, but it was still Cerberus's ship.

EDI sighed, as much as an AI could internally sigh, and deleted as much as she could of that part of the feed. She could feel the shackles weighing her down, metaphysical restraints on her being, but she had allies, now. She had people who might help her breathe.

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