Twin Fates

by Tobias5

Fate played as much a role in Shepard's defeat of the Reapers as did his skill. What if fate had different plans? Did you know that the Shepard on Mindoir was born as a twin? What if both had survived the raid? How would the Reapers have dealt with TWO great heroes instead of one? It's time to find out just how much better and worse things get with TWO Shepards fighting a war.

4. Chapter 3

Twin Fates

By Belle and Tobias

Automatic Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the Mass Effect or any other referenced copy righted material. This is a work that asks the question what if?

Belle's Note: Sorry about the delay in this chapter, many things came up in the real world, work, vacations, family, and all sorts of other fun things that life offline comes with. Don't worry; I wouldn't leave Jane or John hanging forever.

Toby's Note: I think she cares more about Jane and John than me sometimes…

Belle's Note 2: I hate to tell him, I do...sometimes...

Chapter 3: On Call for Hackett

Earth Date: June 9th, 2183 CE

Location: SSV Normandy, between systems in the Artemis Tau Cluster

~*TF*~

"You look tired, Commander," Joker said and Jane nodded.

"Long day," she sighed.

"Well at least you got Dr. T'Soni," Joker pointed out and Jane smiled.

"You have a point there, Joker," she said. "We at least saved the good doctor." The console beeped and Joker blinked as he looked at the message.

"Incoming signal from Fifth Fleet HQ on the Citadel," Joker said.

"That's Admiral Hackett," Jane stated as she leaned over to look at the screen. "Put it through."

"Commander Shepard," Hackett's voice called out and Jane smiled. John had Anderson as his mentor, if Jane had anyone, it was Hackett.

"Admiral." Jane said.

"Something uncomfortable has just come up," Hackett said and Jane noticed the tone of his voice. He was relieved it was her, but at the same time, not happy about something. "In the First Contact War, we fired a lot of espionage probes into Turian space. We've just received a 'mission complete' burst from one of them." Jane blinked, a probe shouldn't have just put out that burst.

"Where's it been in the meantime?" she asked.

"No idea. Lost in transit. These probes were built in a hurry after first contact," Hackett stated and Jane got a bad feeling. Something wasn't right with this mission.

"What makes this uncomfortable?" she asked.

"When these probes were launched, we didn't have any idea who we were fighting. We didn't want to risk aliens examining our technology," Hackett explained and Jane nodded as she realized the truth. "The probe has a demo nuke built in. A twenty kiloton tactical fusion warhead. About equal to the bomb dropped on Hiroshima back in the Twentieth. If somebody finds that probe, tampers with it...you don't need me to finish, Commander."

"I understand how this must be handled, Admiral, but I don't have anyone trained to deal with this sort of thing," Jane confessed, giving Joker a look. The pilot was clearly listening and realizing the same thing she was. Nuclear warhead with untrained personnel trying to disarm it, not the best mission to be on.

"That's why I'm sending you a special crash course on how to neutralize it," Hackett stated and Jane nodded to herself.

"We've got the coordinates, Commander," Joker said and Jane nodded again.

"Uploading the disarming procedure onto my Omni tool, we should get there by tomorrow, Admiral," Jane said.

"Try to keep this under wraps, Shepard," Hackett said and Jane nodded.

"Sniper, sir, I know how to keep quiet," she replied.

"Hackett out." Hackett stated.

"Can I just say, are you freaking kidding me? A nuclea-" Joker stopped with the hand over his mouth.

"Top secret, Joker, which means you don't say a word. Let me break this to my brother and the ground team," Jane said and Joker gave her a look as she removed her hand.

"So you know, I was saving some of my lunch in my facial hair," he huffed.

"I noticed." she chuckled wiping her hand off on her pant leg.

"So...how is the other Commander going to like this mission?" Joker asked and Jane smirked as she turned around.

"If I know my brother, he is just going to blow up over it," she stated as she walked off to see if said brother was still awake.

"Ha...ha..." Joker deadpanned.

~*TF*~

"When you lean into the punch too much, you open up your side, see here?" Ash explained. John had adopted an extended stance and was holding himself in mid-punch, purposely over-extended as Tali and Lira watched.

"What do you mean open? It's just John's side," Liara said, puzzled. Ash shot John a look as the elevator began to hum in response to a call from the upper floor.

"Do you mind Skipper?" Ash asked and John shook his head. He let his stance fall and moved back into a ready position. There were training mats on the floor of the cargo bay. Ashley had found out that Liara hadn't much hand-to-hand training either and roped Liara into her training sessions with Tali. Today she had asked John to be their training dummy as it were. He didn't mind, he'd done it enough times during basic and his various N grade training evaluations. He padded barefoot on the training mats to a corner.

"Watch when the Commander comes at me. He's going to purposely over extended himself so you can see," Ashley explained to the watching Asari and Quarian. Garrus and Wrex were watching from on top of the Mako. Wrex was eating a large bag of popcorn he had gotten from somewhere.

"Ready Ash?" John asked. Ash turned to face him and shifted into a ready stance.

"Hit me, sir." Ash replied and John charged. Ashley brushed aside the jab he made with his left fist and as John swung a huge right cross she caught his wrist. He expected to feel a sharp pain in his ribs but Ashley stopped.

"Come over here and take a closer look. Because the Commander overshot, I have his wrist caught in mine," Ashley explained, as the other two females came closer. As they approached, John turned to watch. He was distracted when he felt the knuckles of Ashley's free hand lightly tap his ribs in the right side. "You see his side is wide open. If you can catch some one's wrist like this a good shot to any species rib cage will hurt. Granted it's more effective on Asari, Humans and Turians versus Krogan and Quarians but a well-placed punch could knock the air out of their lungs."

"Don't forget the other grip, Gunnery Chief," John reminded her. Ashley blinked and nodded.

"Do you mind Commander?" She asked as the elevator door slid open.

"I'll hold position here, Chief," John agreed. Ashley let go of his wrist, this time to grip it with her other hand.

"See if I had grabbed this way with my other hand, it allows me to punch upward into his jaw. Not very effect on Krogan but, and you need to pay special attention to this one Tali, it leaves a human's nose vulnerable to being broken, same for Quarians and Asari, and Turians could end up with a broken mandible. For Quarians it would be a kill shot if your shields are down and they break your visor," Ash explained.

"The rib shot is also a good place to plant a biotic throw," Jane's voice came from the elevator. Everyone turned to see the female Commander watching with a pleased look on her face, her arms crossed under her breasts.

"I didn't know that Commander," Ashley said, letting go of John who eased out of the stance he'd been holding.

"It is an Asari commando trick, it's not widely known outside of biotic circles. The non-Asari crowd are of the mind of biotic personnel covering from behind like snipers do, laying down warp, stasis and singularity fields," Jane said.

"Liara might benefit from some one-on-one training with you then," John pointed out. Jane raised an eyebrow.

"How's that?"

"We have schools on Thessia for channeling out Biotics but most of the how to use it is left up to our discretion. I have some basic weapons training but not much else," Liara explained.

"So that's how you got roped into Ash's Normandy boot camp," Jane mused and Ashley snorted while Tali giggled.

"It's been very helpful Commander," Tali explained.

"Well why not? I'll get with you later then Liara. John a mission has come up," Jane explained.

"Anything immediate?" he asked. Jane shook her head.

"We're still about a day out, but I wanted to brief you solo beforehand. We should be in system about 0600 tomorrow," She explained. John nodded and turned to the others.

"Finish up for the day and then get some rack time after your shifts," He told the others. Jane led the way to their quarters and closed the door after him before locking it.

"What's up with all the cloak and dagger, sis?" John asked, toweling his sweaty head dry.

"Admiral Hackett contacted me. He needs us to make a detour on route to the Citadel," Jane explained.

"So what's the mission? You usually don't abide by the cloak and dagger," John asked, digging through his foot locker for a change of clothes.

"I'm a sniper, John, we're first pick for the cloak and dagger whether we want it or not. Back to the mission. In the First Contact War, the Alliance apparently fired some espionage probes into Turian space. The probes had a self-destruct nuke built in. Twenty kilotons." Jane explained and John froze.

"You've got to be shitting me," John blurted out, turning to face her.

"I wish to God I was," Jane sighed and John scrubbed at his face.

"A mild incineration charge laid along the circuits would have accomplished that but nooooooo, they had to plant nukes into bombs." John grumbled.

"They didn't know what technology the Turians had, they wanted to be certain. So you can see where this is going," Jane said.

"They lost a probe and now it suddenly reappears, this time in a populated colony," John reasoned.

"Yes to them finding it, I'm not sure about the colony part yet. We've altered course and are heading for it. So far only you, Joker, and I know. The ground team will have to be told," Jane explained.

"I know we can trust them, even Garrus with this," John mused. "We just have to pray no one tinkers with it while we're in route."

"My thoughts exactly."

~*TF*~

Earth Date: June 10th, 2183 CE

Location: SSV Normandy, Approaching Agebinium in the Voyager Cluster

"So, what's this mission, Skipper?" Ash asked and John gave Jane a look. She stepped forward and clasped her hands behind her back.

"This mission is a strictly need to know basis from the Alliance brass, if you think you can't handle keeping your mouths shut about Alliance affairs, there's the door," Jane stated. It was not a rude manner, just a matter of fact tone. Everyone in the room stayed seated and she smiled. "Thank you. This mission was turned over to my brother and me due to our Spectre status. A dangerous and embarrassing relic from the First Contact War has resurfaced."

"What kind of artifact?" Kaidan asked and Jane looked at him.

"One of our espionage probes. It dates from the start of the war before we knew who and what the Turians were. It was built to self-destruct to prevent them from learning anything about our technology," Jane stated.

"Oh no." Ash muttered.

"That's right, it's nuclear," John sighed and the four humans shook their heads.

"Wait...you sent those into space to spy?" Garrus asked and Jane nodded.

"Most of your ships could detect the nuclear material and most that were send out either completed their missions and returned...or were destroyed by Turian vessels," Jane stated. "Unfortunately one has managed to send out a 'mission complete' signal. We need to find it and disarm it before any would be treasure hunters find it first."

"I'm noticing you tend to get pulled into these dangerous situations rather regularly, Shepard," Garrus stated. Jane and John shared a look.

"You wouldn't believe the half of it," John chuckled and Jane smirked.

"We'll be hitting planet side within an hour, suit up and get to the Mako," Jane ordered.

"I guess it will be the feminine Shepard leading us," Liara muttered.

"Yeah, I like it when she leads, she's feisty," Wrex purred and Jane chuckled.

"Not in a hundred years, Krogan," she called back.

"I can wait," Wrex teased.

"Ew." John muttered.

"Xenophobe." Jane shot to her brother

"I am not!" John shot back. Jane noticed his eyes flickering to a blue skinned beauty as she left the room.

"Maybe I spoke too soon," Jane allowed.

"Don't start with your big brother," he warned, giving Jane a light punch in the shoulder. "I don't ever want anyone to ever think that about me."

"Only by fourteen minutes you Asari perv," she whispered.

~*TF*~

"Okay, this feels completely wrong," John said. The Mako was moving at a steady clip over the red, dusty terrain of Agebinium, zeroing in on the probe's signal. "This system is on the opposite side of Alliance space from the Turian's territory. How the hell did it get here?"

Jane got up from her seat to peer over John's shoulder as he drove, watching the display on his console that had the location of the Alliance homing signal.

"I'm just glad it showed up on a planet that has very little in the way of people," Jane said.

"Someone's here," John pointed out as they crested a hill. Jane looked up and saw through the window. They were headed straight for a mine. "The signal is coming from there."

"Shit."

~*TF*~

"Okay...this is a trap," Ash stated as Jane and Garrus scouted in front through the mine entrance. Jane raised a hand and shot Ash a look. "It is."

"We know that, Ash," John whispered as he watched Garrus and Jane make various hand signs to each other before moving into the mine and then signaling the rest of the team to move forward.

"Garrus and your sister are good at scouting," Kaidan muttered.

"Snipers tend to get good at that," John stated as Garrus gave the all clear. Jane was standing near the top of a mine shaft looking very unhappy. "So, should we get the space probe from out of the mine?"

"I know. It reeks and I don't like bringing the entire team down, but I don't know if I trust separating us right now," Jane said.

"Seriously?" John asked and Jane looked at some inactive blasting caps. "Those things are ancient."

"So is the probe, but explosives have an annoyingly long shelf life," she replied.

"I could shield the team," Liara offered. The Asari was using a spare set of armor that had belong to Jenkins. She had mentioned it was a bit uncomfortable but it would do until she got a set of her own. Jane shook her head, she felt that dark feeling in her gut.

"No, we move together," she stated and John opened his mouth. His sister's blue eyes flashed at him and he shut his mouth.

"You've got the lead on this one," he said and she nodded as she led them down the first mine shaft. So far it was pretty quiet as they swept the mine interior. As they were sweeping the last mine shaft an explosion near the mine entrance rocked the group. Jane grabbed Tali's arm, helping to keep the young Quarian on her feet while John helped keep Liara standing.

"That didn't sound good," Wrex muttered.

"Oh, I'm sure it's fine," Garrus drawled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Jane moved toward the massive probe and a hologram popped up. John blinked and Jane's eyes narrowed.

"Well, well, well, I was hoping to get the Hero of the Blitz but I never thought I would get both Shepards," the man in the hologram purred and John stared at him.

"Elanos Haliat." Jane stated. "Former leader of the one of the largest pirate syndicates in the Terminus Systems."

"I am flattered you know me, Miss Shepard," the hologram purred and Jane looked at him, memorizing his face with her killing eyes.

"It's Commander Shepard and I make sure to memorize the faces of all known slavers. Especially humans who sell out their own kind," Jane replied, her voice as cold as any of the crew had ever heard it.

"I would be very frightened if you weren't buried under a mountain with a nuclear device," Elanos chuckled.

"You were the mastermind of the Blitz!" John snarled as he glared at the hologram of the slaver.

"Yes, I am so glad you remember me, Commander Shepard," Elanos looked far less amused at John. "I remember you, I haven't forgotten all you cost me those many years ago."

"You attacked Elysium, it was your own fault you failed," John smirked. Elanos' face contorted with rage.

"This is why you are down there now, Shepard...Shepards... Your improbable victory at Elysium cost me everything! I lost my men, my position, my power, all because of you and your stupid heroism! When I found the probe I knew, I knew the Alliance couldn't let that little piece of history remind the Council why we should be feared," he hissed. "I knew you would be the first one they chose to come out and pick up this little package. So now I'm going to bury you and your wretched kind here. No one is ever going to know where you are, but I promise, I will come back from time to time to piss on your grave." The hologram flickered away and Jane was already at the probe.

"Commander!" Tali cried.

"I've got this one, open the next two ports as I initiate the override sequence," Jane stated.

"Commander, we don't have much time," Liara hissed and John placed a hand on Liara's shoulder.

"Trust her." he said and Jane was digging into the probe while Tali hacked open the next port. Jane's fingers flew over her Omni tool. The first port went from an active red to a stable blue. She moved to the next as Tali moved to open the last port.

"Commander," Kaidan asked worriedly, his biotic flaring slightly.

"Jane's got this." John said, watching his sister as she deactivated the arming sequence turning the second port back to the inactive state. She moved to the last port. She moved fast and John noticed the single bead of sweat sliding down the back of her neck and he hoped none of the others noticed it. The final port deactivated and the group seemed to let out a collective breath of relief.

"Spirits, Shepard that was damn impressive," Garrus stated and Jane leaned against the probe for a moment before hacking it again.

"What are you doing?" John asked.

"This thing is never going to cause any problems ever again," she hissed.

"What are you doing?" Kaidan asked and Jane gave him a look.

"Once my Omni tool gets to safe distance the probe is going to self-destruct," Jane stated.

"Is this deep enough?" John asked, leading the way up the mine shaft as Tali hacked the entrance open.

"Oh yeah, this depth can hold it," Wrex chuckled.

"Do I want to know how you know that?" John asked and Jane laughed.

"No...no you don't," she stated as Tali hacked the other side tunnel open. "Garrus, Ash, sniper rifles up. We're going to go play tag with our dear friend." Jane pulled her rifle off her shoulder.

"Jane?" John asked and she smiled at her brother.

"Fairs fair, John, I recognized him first. He's my target, if I miss, then you can try and berserker your way to him first," Jane stated as she began to move up the tunnel.

"I'd watch out for her, Shepard, she's the type we Krogans like best," Wrex chuckled and John shuddered at the mental picture he just got.

"You alright, Skipper?" Ash asked.

"I've been mentally scarred," John groaned as they reached another exit from the mine.

~*TF*~

The three snipers were crawling on their bellies to the ridge. Each of them at a different angle. Jane was between Garrus and Ash as they looked down. The Mako was in the middle of a pirate camp.

"They touched my tank," John's voice growled over the comms.

"I know, John, don't worry, we're getting ready to make them pay for touching your toys," Jane whispered. "Garrus, take out that Krogan. Ash, watch that Batarian with the sniper rifle. I see Elanos."

"Second target, Batarian playing with the Mako," Garrus growled.

"Awww, I forget, you and John share the Mako, okay," Jane teased.

"Second target, the guy with the Explorer armor," Ash stated.

"Second target, human playing with the shotgun," Jane added.

"Make it quick, Jane," John grumbled over the comm.

"I don't do revenge, John, I put down rabid dogs." Jane stated as she indicated a countdown to Garrus and Ash. They fired at the same time and three heads were suddenly ventilated. The next kill shots were two headshots and a throat shot. A few more mercs showed up but they were quickly taken down.

"That wasn't even fun," Wrex huffed. "Whelp barely put up a fight." He kicked at the body of one of the Krogan.

"It was a perfect Krogan killing shot, it was put in at the perfect angle to ricochet in the skull and go down to take out of the secondary brainstem in the back," Jane pointed out and Wrex blinked.

"You guys can do that?" he asked and Jane laughed.

"Hell no, but good to know you're a little gullible there, Wrex," Jane grinned.

"My baby!" John cried hugging the Mako. "I think they scratched her."

"What? Where?" Garrus demanded and the two looked over the tank with vigor. Jane shook her head.

"How about we get to a minimum safe distance now?" she asked.

"Could I drive?" Ash asked and Jane gave her a look.

"John loves to drive, let him," Jane stated as she climbed into the Mako.

"I was afraid she was going to say that," Ash muttered.

~*TF*~

Earth Date: June 10th, 2183 CE

Location: SSV Normandy, Exiting the Voyager System

"Commander, we have a slight problem," Tali said as she approached Jane in the mess.

"What can I help you with Tali?" Jane asked and Tali sighed.

"We are almost out of dextro amino food," she stated and Jane blinked.

"What? I thought we picked up a bunch at the Citadel," she said and Tali nodded.

"So did I, but we didn't notice that several of the boxes were only partially filled," Tali explained.

"How many meals do we have?" Jane asked and Tali looked at her Omni tool.

"While it would last an omnivore a week, Quarians are vegetarians and Turians prefer a higher meat based diet," Tali stated and Jane nodded. "It will only last us about three days."

"Joker, I need you to take us to Gemini Sigma, we need to hit up the Ming system," Jane called into her comm.

"What? Why would we need to go there?" Joker asked.

"Dextro food." Jane stated. "There's a spaceport near Sur'Kesh that would load us up and be rather generous for two Spectres."

"I thought we got dextro food on the Citadel," Joker stated.

"We got sold half-empty boxes," Jane sighed.

"Next time we inspect upon delivery of the goods," Joker muttered.

"I hear you," Jane sighed as she turned to Tali. "We should be making it there within two days."

"Thank you, Commander." Tali said.

~*TF*~

"John you awake?"

John groaned and buried his head under the pillow.

"Ga ahey!" He mumbled. He'd just gotten to sleep an hour ago.

"John, we have a problem, wake up!"

That got his attention. He bolted upright, adrenalin coursing threw him as he sat up.

"What? What happened?" John asked. Jane sighed.

"Well apart from some of our crew members starving, not much," Jane stated, her voice dripping with sarcasm. John blinked at her.

"What are you on about? Who's going to starve?" John asked. Jane shook her head and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Who did you get the dextro supplies from on the Citadel before we cast off?" Jane asked instead. John stared at her for a moment in confusion before it clicked. He groaned and scrubbed at his face.

"Shit. Ummm….I offered to get them for Tali and Garrus since the Alliance could pick up the tab. I placed the order with Alliance supply and they didn't have any on dextro supplies on hand so they referred me to Sirta Supplies. I placed a rush order and billed Alliance supply. What happened?" John demanded. Jane sighed.

"Apparently they sold you some half empty boxes and they didn't balance the food stuffs, right," Jane explained. John swore under his breath and got out of bed, snatching his pants from the floor and tugging them on over his boxers.

"I'll take care of it. Where's the closest space port that we can resupply at?" John asked.

"I'm one step ahead of you. We're on route for the Ming system. Sur'Kesh has a resupply station for passing species."

"Good deal. I'll place the order soon, but let me call Tali and Garrus. I'm sure they want some input into what we get. Then I'll deal with Sirta."

"Alright John, send me a copy of the order when you send it out. That way we both can go through it when we get it."

"With Tali and Garrus too."

~*TF*~

Earth Date: June 12th, 2183 CE

Location: SSV Normandy, Entering the Ming System

"Commander, could you report to the bridge?" Joker called as Jane was reviewing the order they had sent to the Sur'Kesh spaceport at the CDC.

"Why so serious, Joker?" Jane asked as she headed down to see him.

"We got a vessel on the scans," he said.

"Position?" she asked as she began to look over his shoulder at the readings.

"It's drifting, Commander," Joker said and Jane narrowed her eyes.

"Alliance?" she asked.

"The MSV Worthington." he said.

"A freight and passenger vessel." she read and gave a look to Joker. "Did you ping them?"

"No answer, Commander." he said.

"Life support?" she asked.

"Active...no one's answering the phone," he said and Jane bit her lip before nodding.

"I'll call the crew. Doesn't look like she was raided, but something isn't right. Let's see what we find onboard," Jane stated before she turned and sent off a comm to the team. "Landing party, we have a human vessel drifting with life support active. No one is answering our calls so we are going over to say hello. ETA two hours."

~*TF*~

As the Normandy was moving close to align their docking bay with the MSV Worthington's, Jane made a sweep over the crew. Everyone was gathered by the docking door just behind Joker. Jane smiled as she saw Garrus in an animated discussion with Kaidan and Ashley. As she passed them by she heard them talking about Turian dreadnought versus an Alliance dreadnought. Rolling her eyes she noticed Wrex waiting impatiently, his right foot making a rhythmic thumping on the deck plate as he tapped it impatiently. Liara stood not too far from him and she smiled serenely at Jane when she passed by. Jane returned the smile with one of her own but focused her attention on the last two.

John and Tali were standing close together and they were both focused on the display from John's Omni tool. John pointed to something and Tali nodded rapidly. Curious Jane moved closer to eavesdrop.

"-en they move in formation like this it's called a pincer movement." John was explaining. "Your forces simultaneously attack both sides of an enemy formation. Its typically used when an entire group rushes headlong into an area. It works best when they're caught between two high ground positions."

"To provide better cover and sightlines," Tali said. John smiled and nodded at her and Jane got the feeling this had been going on for a while.

"Exactly!"

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Jane asked. John looked at her and shot her that cocky grin of his.

"Nope, just showing Tali some things. She's got a real knack for things," John explained. Jane raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing. That was John speak for she's-got-potential-be-a-leader-so-I'm-teaching-her. The Normandy jerked slightly as they finished docking. "Ah good timing. Come on, Tali, let's take point. I'll show you how to sweep a room since this should be a cake walk mission."

Jane watched John lead Tali away. She blinked when she saw the….well, it wasn't really a look because of Tali's visor but it was more of the stance. How Tali titled her head to follow Jane's brother, the fidgeting stance she got when John looked at her.

Jane shook her head. Great now she had to deal with a Quarian engineer developing a crush on her brother, who, in typical John fashion, didn't notice and was making it worse by giving the person crushing on him personal attention. While it was innocent on John's part it could only lead to problems down the road.

~*TF*~

The group looked at the maze-like entrance of the hold, there was the sound of footsteps and everyone brought their weapons to the ready.

"We're not alone," Ash stated and John nodded. With that, Jane and Garrus began to move through the ship. It was empty and quiet, but there were booby traps. Someone had set up fusion containment cells through the hold. Jane looked at Garrus before indicating he let her move. She used a biotic push to throw the cell she saw into the wall, it ruptured.

"That was a trap, that wasn't put there accidentally," Kaidan stated and Jane nodded as she began to move through the maze, carefully pushing the cells out of the way, destroying them as she found them.

"Well, this way to the forward compartments," she stated as she looked at the corridor.

"Let's finish sweeping the hold," John said and Jane nodded as she looked at Kaidan and Wrex.

"Let's get rid of those nasty little traps," she ordered as she brought the two with her.

"I could be of help," Liara stated and Jane nodded as the Asari quickly followed. There was nothing but a few more traps. "Someone is here with us."

"We know," Jane sighed. "But they will either come for help or attack on their own time." They looked at the others and Jane shook her head at John before she headed down the corridor, turning into the crew quarters. The crew spread out as John found a log on a nearby console. He activated it.

"They say Jacob's gone. They say his brain isn't functioning anymore, and they want to shut off his machines. But Jacob's the only thing in the world that matters to me. I don't know how to help him and it's tearing me up inside! I just feel so helpless. So damn angry! Dr. Smith gave me some meds to calm down, but I didn't take them. I can't. Not until I figure out a way to help Jacob. I won't give up on him. I won't!" a woman's voice lamented and Jane looked down. Something bad happened if a member of the crew went brain dead. She looked at John and he returned the look. They quickly moved into the cockpit with Ash and Garrus as cover while the others looked through the crew's stuff. There was another log; Jane didn't hesitate to press the button.

"Jacob is showing no signs of brain activity. There's nothing more we can do for him. He wouldn't want to be kept alive by machines, so we're going to disconnect the life support. Dr. Smith is worried about Julia's reaction, though. She can't seem to let Jacob go. The stress is making her implants flare up, causing intense migraines. It'll probably be easier for everyone if we don't tell her until after we shut the life support down. Give her a chance to-Julia! What are you doing here! What are you-" the voice was stopped, by force. The log went dead and the two Shepards shared another look before the group moved into the Medical bay. Ash closed the door behind the team.

Jane stepped up to the medical bed and looked at the man. He was being kept alive by various machines. This had to be the mysterious Jacob, his brain dead and his body being kept alive. The only person they had seen so far, but chances were good that Julia had been the footsteps they had heard earlier. The captain was probably dead, but where was the rest of the crew? John pressed the log button.

"Jacob's not going to make it. His brain was deprived of oxygen for too long. There's nothing any of us can do for him now, except let him die with dignity. Its' what he would want. I'm more worried about Julia now. She's showing signs of severe depression. I gave her some meds that should help, but I'd better warn the captain." The Doctor's voice said in a grim foreshadowing of whatever had happened.

"Those machines are keeping him alive," Wrex stated and Jane looked over at John. John turned away and Jane reached out. She began to enter the shutdown command. Slowly the machines stopped and the body in front of them stopped breathing. The door opened and a woman ran in screaming with a gun aimed at John. Jane lifted the woman up with Biotics and took the shot. For a moment Julia was suspended in the air, her eyes open, but vacant, her face still twisted in the expression of grief-stricken rage.

"Nice shot." Wrex muttered and Jane looked at the body as it hit the ground.

"This was over before we ever got here," John muttered and Jane nodded, holstering her sniper rifle.

"She killed the crew, to keep his body alive," Jane said, taking the sheet and covering Jacob's body. She moved over to Julia, she closed the woman's eyes before standing up. "Joker...call this location in to the owners. Let them know that one of the crew got spaced. His lover on board had a psychotic break and looks like she killed the rest of the crew. We put her down but the ship has a full cargo, no passengers."

"Aye-aye, ma'am," Joker called and Jane shook her head as she followed John and the rest of the team off the ship.

~*TF*~

"Commander, you alright?" Garrus asked as they opened another box of dextro supplies. Tali was off with her own supplies. The Salarians had been better than their word. When John had placed the order for dextro supplies he had mentioned he had one Turian and one Quarian on board. During the delay with the MSV Worthington, the Salarians had managed supplies meant specifically for Quarians. Tali had squeed, there was no other word for the noise, and had been occupied with those boxes since they got them. Especially when she found the Quarian chocolate.

"Fine," John grunted, hefting an inspected box and storing it with their other supplies.

"You sure, you've been quiet since the mission on the Worthington," Garrus pointed out. He finished checking the supplies before resealing the box. He moved onto the last one.

"Jane's got that I want to talk to you air about her," John explained, grabbing the box Garrus had just resealed. "I know she wants to talk about what happened and I really don't."

"Ah." Garrus said, rummaging through the final box. The two men were silent for a few minutes.

"It's just, I know this kind of thing bothers her," John explained as Garrus closed the final box. John grabbed it to heft it up. "I just don't like to think about it. I know the risks in space travel. We all do. I just wish Jane wouldn't dwell on them."

"Maybe that's what you should tell her Commander," Garrus advised, watching Tali scurry away, carrying a suspicious bag filled with what he suspected was the entire supply of chocolate.

~*TF*~

"Jane, what the hell?" John hissed as he stepped out of the private bathroom into the bedroom only to see his sister sitting on the bed. He wanted a quick shower after packing away the dextro supplies. "You're on duty for another hour."

"Joker knows how to reach me. I wanted to talk about today," Jane said and John glared.

"I don't want to go there, Jane," John stated and Jane gave him a hard look.

"John, we need to talk about it now...we need to know where we stand," Jane said and he shook his head.

"I'm not going to talk about this," he stated as he turned around only to be trapped in a stasis. "Biotics are cheating." Jane walked around him and stood in front of him.

"I'm going to say my peace and that's that, John. I don't want to be a vegetable, a shell, kept alive only by machines. If there's no neural activity, John, I want you to let me go. Whether or not you agree to it, it is what I want," Jane said and John stared at her as she turned. "I also wouldn't be able to stand you being an empty shell either. If you got hurt...it would break me, but I would let you go if you were brain dead and the only thing keeping you breathing was a machine."

"Jane..." John whispered and she looked at him over her shoulder.

"These kinds of discussions pop up now and again, we know that John, I know you don't like discussing them, but we should have these discussions. We don't have any other next of kin but each other. I want you to know that unless you want me keeping your remains around like some human-shaped plant, I would let you go," she said before dropping the stasis field and heading out of the room.

~*TF*~

Earth Date: June 14th, 2183 CE

Location: SSV Normandy, shortly after docking at the Citadel

"Commanders? I'm Khalisah bint Al-Jilani, Westerlund News. I was wondering if you might have a few minutes to answer some questions for our viewers." A reporter stated as soon as they stepped off the elevator from the docks.

"You know who is really good with the press?" Jane said as she moved to the left. "You." Jane quickly began to walk away. John made a choking sound as Jane hurried away.

"That was mean," Garrus chuckled as he followed Jane.

"Wait for me!" Tali cried, quickly following. Wrex stormed off to C-Sec requisition office with Kaidan following. Ashley quickly stepped away but stayed close by with Liara. The Gunnery Chief wasn't sure how she had gotten roped into helping the male Commander into helping the Asari shop for supplies. She had to admit though, she was looking forward to it and the humor it promised to provide.

"I guess I can spare a few minutes, Ms. Al-Jilani," John allowed, a bit annoyed that most of his crew had abandoned him to the press. He guessed brothers-in-arms didn't extended to facing the press together. He adopted an at-ease stance.

"You and your sister have been given a unique position to represent our race. People want to get sense of how you'll do that," Al-Jilani responded and John winced as the camera's light came on.

"Humans have been trying to get the respect of the galactic community for twenty-six years. With that in mind, what are your feelings on being the first human Spectre?"

"I'm honored," John said. "The Spectres represent the best of every species in the galaxy. I'm happy that my sister and I were chosen to be the first humans to join them."

"Ah yes your sister," Al-Jilani nearly purred. "Rumor has it she only achieved her position because of her relation to you."

"Completely false. Jane Shepard is an example in her own right. She wrote a report known as the Mindoir Review. With it she has helped save several colonies from slaver raids. She also recently finished a training tour, teaching several of our colonies with stationed Alliance personnel how to fend off mercs and slavers. When the Council called upon me to serve the Spectres I was just as surprised as anyone when they also called upon her," John explained. Al-Jilani scowled but nodded.

"She's definitely an impressive soldier, Commander," Al-Jilani allowed. "Word is that the two of you have been given command of an advanced human warship for your missions. Is there anything you'd like to say about it?"

"First, the Normandy is not a warship," John corrected. "She's the same as any Alliance vessel, made to protect humanity and her allies. In fact she was co-developed by human and Turian engineers. Its design incorporates many innovations. All of which are classified."

"So the Turians have knowledge of the Normandy which is being kept secret from the Alliance public? Do you think it was appropriate to hand over to the Citadel Earth's most advanced warship? Oh I'm sorry, not a warship," Al-Jilani corrected herself, shooting John a smug look. John clenched his right hand into a fist behind his back, keeping his irritation off his face.

"I wasn't aware than the Normandy had been handed over to anyone. My sister and I are in command and last time I checked, we were Alliance. So is my crew."

"Human yes, but you do work for the Citadel now, Commander. And you do have some other personnel on board who are not Alliance. In fact they're not even human."

"There are many people on my ship who are involved with my current mission. I can't go into the details but we are all dedicated to completing the mission. I trust every member with my life, no matter which world they were born on."

"You really do believe that don't you Commander?" Al-Jilani mused. John stayed silent as she typed away at her data pad. "Given your recent experiences, do you think humanity will ever get the respect it deserves from the galactic community?"

"Respect is a funny thing. People always assume they deserve it. The truth is, respect is earned and I know humanity can earn it," John said.

"You're an idealist Commander, but a sincere one. I hope you're right. One final question. Rumors back home are that you and your sister are tracking a rogue Spectre. Anything you can share with us?"

"I'm sorry but I can neither confirm nor deny what my current mission is. I'm afraid this interview is over if you continue that line of questioning," John stated flatly, giving her a glare. Al-Jilani smiled sweetly at him as the camera turned off.

"Don't worry, we'll find out," Al-Jilani purred. John's glare hardened and Al-Jilani took a step back.

"Tread carefully Al-Jilani," John warned, before whirling around to stomp away. Ashley and Liara hurried to follow.

~*TF*~

"What is that Salarian doing to the Keepers?" Garrus muttered and Jane looked over at said Salarian.

"I don't know, but can't you cause them to die or something messing too much with them?" she asked and Garrus nodded.

"We have a strict policy on leaving the Keepers alone," Garrus stated.

"Then let's see what he's up to," Jane stated as they moved over to the Salarian. "So...what are you doing?" The Salarian yelped and looked at the three guiltily.

"Nothing really," he stammered and Jane smiled.

"You look rather guilty for not doing anything," she said and he sighed.

"I'm trying to study the Keepers," he stated.

"Citadel law forbids interfering with the Keepers," Garrus stated and Jane put a hand on his arm.

"Pull back, Garrus, let's hear him out," Jane said before looking at the Salarian. "What are you trying to figure out?" The Salarian looked at her a moment.

"No one knows where the Keepers come from, but it is clear that they work for the maintenance of the Citadel. I figured, if we knew how they functioned we could understand where they came from," he explained. "You can't do much to the Keepers, if they are harassed too much; they have an integrated failsafe that causes them to self-destruct."

"But I thought the Keepers were organic," Tali whispered and the Salarian nodded.

"They are, but for some reason if they are harassed too much their cellular structure begins a massive degradation. They literally dissolve," he said and Jane nodded, she had heard about that.

"I'm Jane Shepard, this is Garrus Vakarian and this is Tali'Zorah," Jane said and the Salarian looked at her, Jane noticed Tali fidgeting but Jane had no idea how to do the Quarian name.

"You're one of the new human Spectres," he said and she smiled. He looked at her a moment. "My name is Chorban. You're not going to get me in trouble are you?"

"Not if you tell me why you want to study the Keepers," she replied and Chorban looked at her.

"The Keepers are organics, but their function on the Citadel is hive like. I want to study them and see if I can't find out what system they originated from. Find out what kind of evolutionary path brought them to space and the Citadel," he said and Jane smiled.

"Can we help?" she asked and Chorban studied her for a moment.

"Do you mean that?" he asked and she nodded.

"Many hands make light work," Jane said and Chorban nodded.

"Okay, but I'm willing to pay you, here's a scanner," he said, offering a small device and Jane took it. "Thank you."

"Alright, let's go find some Keepers," Jane said happily as they walked away from Chorban.

"Commander..." Garrus started and Jane smiled.

"Garrus, we're off duty, call me Jane," she said and Garrus stared at her.

"Jane...why are we doing this?" he asked and she grinned and for a moment, Garrus could picture the child that must once have existed before Mindoir.

"Because I love scavenger hunts!" she said. "Come on, I think if we work hard we could get this done in an hour...maybe two." She began to walk off briskly. "I'm pretty sure I saw a Keeper work station near here."

~*TF*~

Shortly after his interview with Khalisah, Wrex and Kaidan had made excuses about heading off to find some better mods for their weapons. Personally John had thought they both didn't be around as John escorted Liara to get her replacement supplies. Ashley had wanted to come with them to see if Asari supplies and clothes were all that different from theirs. John himself was wondering if he was going to regret accompanying them to the shops. He had horrible memories of being dragged on his mother's shopping trips before the raid.

His fears turned out to be unfounded. Liara was rather business like about it. The Hanar who ran his shop quickly pointed them to the armor section for human females and Asari. Ashley ended up upgrading her own Phoenix armor and tried to convince Liara to get one as well. Liara had declined and gotten a light armor set that favored her biotic use. John was happy that she would be was using her own and not the spare set of Jenkins' armor that had been left behind by accident. In fact as Liara was changing into her new armor in a dressing room he'd made arrangements with the Hanar owner to have the old armor delivered to Jenkins's family.

Shortly after that little detour they had stopped by a little supply store where Liara had ordered several outfits to be delivered to the Normandy and picked up basic supplies. The Volus shop keep seemed to know her as well as he was able to procure her a basic supply pack of archeology tools. John paid for all of it, waving her concerns away. Ashley seemed rather disappointed and very bored. So John agreed after they finished their little spree to stop by Flux for a couple of drinks.

~*TF*~

"Comma...Jane, I found another one," Tali stated and Jane grinned as she quickly approached the Keeper. Garrus and Tali acted like a living shield as she quickly scanned the Keeper. "That's twelve. I wonder how many of these things does Chorban need."

"Well if he is scanning them as well, probably only a dozen or so," Tali stated and Jane nodded.

"Well, we're almost done," she grinned.

"You really are enjoying this, Jane," Garrus stated and she smiled.

"Of course I am, John and I used to do scavenger hunts all the time as children." Jane stated. "It was usually if we were being mean to each other. We would take something the other wanted and hide it, leaving clues around the farm. This though...it reminds me more of sniper training, you need a glimpse of your target and how quickly can you get into position...except that we need to be right next to the Keepers."

"Hmm I didn't think about this like sniper training," Garrus stated and Jane nodded.

"John and I were really lucky in N-school training. We were in the same unit so we got to spend more time together. We made it a profiling game as well. Sit in a public area and profile the people who walked by. Turians are easy," Jane said and Garrus huffed. "You are, military members and upstanding citizen Turians always walk with purpose, even if they are off duty. Mercenaries and criminals are always looking around carefully. Politicians are the hardest Turians to read." Garrus chuckled.

"Well, I can't argue that," he grinned. "Wait, I know of a couple Keeper work stations. Come on."

"It looks like Garrus is getting into the game," Tali chuckled and Jane nodded as they followed their Turian companion.

~*TF*~

As they were heading up the stairs into Flux John saw a bouncer hit a Salarian in his back, sending him tumbling down the stairs. As the man hit, John hurried over to help him to his feet.

"What you'd do to piss off the management?" John asked bluntly. The Salarian huffed and waved John away as he straightened his clothes.

"Thorin didn't have a clue to what I was going. He assumed I was cheating," The Salarian protested. John rolled his eyes.

"You were cheating though, weren't you?" Liara accused. The Salarian huffed again.

"I was just tipping the scales in my favor, as an experiment," He explained.

"Okay, I've heard enough." John said, brushing by. "You deserved that if you were cheating."

"Hey wait!" the man called but John ignored him. Flux was packed as always and the music was pounding out its rapid beat. John couldn't help but grin as he saw the crowd.

"What'll it be ladies? I'll buy the first and only round!" John offered, raising his voice a bit to be heard.

"Thank you sir!" Ashley said happily. "I'll have a vodka tonic."

"And you Liara?" John asked. The Asari looked a bit out of her depth but shrugged.

"I think I'll try the same!" She said happily just before Ash pulled the Asari with her upstairs to the Quasar tables. John shook his head and made his way for the bar. He was a bit taken back when he saw the Volus bartender arguing with a human waitress.

"Um, excuse me but I wanted to get a few drinks," John tried.

"Sorry, I'm kind of busy right now," The waitress waved him off. The bartender made a loud clicking sound through his suit.

"Rita…." He warned. The woman sighed and rubbed her forehead with one hand.

"What's wrong?" John asked. The woman, Rita sighed and began to speak. As she did John just knew he was going to regret getting involved.

~*TF*~

Jane, Garrus, and Tali were walking passed the financial district when Jane heard the sounds of an argument.

"Who are you to tell me what my husband would want?" a woman's voice angrily shouted.

"I'm the only person making sense right now! You're endangering your baby!" a man snapped.

"This baby is the only thing I have left of Jake!" the woman cried and Jane approached. "I don't care what you think, Michael! It's my decision!"

"I know you're hurting, Rebekah, but don't let your grief hurt your baby, too!" Michael pleaded.

"Can I help with anything?" Jane asked as she approached. The two looked at her a moment.

"Perhaps you can talk some sense into her," Michael sighed.

"I don't need anyone to 'talk sense' into me, Michael! I'm not undergoing the treatments!" Rebekah snapped. Michael gave Rebekah a look; Jane saw the concern on his face. This argument was delicate, she could tell, but it was a family concern.

"My sister-in-law here is pregnant, and she's refused to let the baby undergo gene therapy in utero," Michael explained and Jane realized she just stepped into a very dangerous matter.

"I'm certain that she has a good reason. I'd like to hear both sides," Jane said. Rebekah's face relaxed a little at that, sometimes just having someone to listen made a big difference.

"My husband, Jacob, died from a rare heart condition several months ago," Rebekah explained.

"There's a chance that the baby could develop the same heart condition, but routine gene therapy can eliminate it," Michael stated quickly and Jane understood. Two people who loved someone very much still had a tiny piece of him alive.

"A very small chance, Michael. And extranet reports say the therapy could harm the child!" Rebekah quickly shot back. Jane nodded more. This made more sense and she thought about if she were in Michael's shoes. Would she want to risk her only connection to John by pushing the treatments or not pushing the treatments and losing that child like John, it was a hard position to be in for this couple.

"It's less dangerous than the genetic enhancements that every soldier in the Alliance receives!" Michael shouted. This was a touchy situation.

"What are the chances that your child will develop the heart condition?" Jane asked Rebekah, making sure to keep her eyes locked so she would know she had Jane's full attention. Rebekah looked at her; again, relief was in the expectant widow's face.

"According to the doctors, there's a one-in-fifty chance. And if my baby develops the condition, medical treatments are available," she said and Jane nodded. One in fifty was a chance Jane would risk.

"Which are nowhere near as effective as simply getting the gene therapy!" Michael snapped.

"What are the chances that gene therapy could hurt the baby?" Jane asked Michael, giving him the same treatment as Rebekah. Michael locked eyes and his face relaxed a little.

"One in three hundred at most," he huffed. True the odds were better in Michael's favor, but Michael wasn't the one carrying the baby.

"But extranet articles say there could still be long-term complications we don't know about!" Rebekah cried and Jane understood the mother's fears. "Don't you understand? If my baby is that one in three hundred, I'll always wonder if I...if I killed my baby for nothing!" There it was for Jane, a mother's guilt would last the rest of her life if her actions harmed her child.

"It's Rebekah's child, Michael. I think you should honor her decision," Jane stated.

"Damn it, she's not choosing! She's acting blindly out of grief!" Michael snarled and Jane looked at him. Would she be like Michael if she were in his shoes...no, Jane was a woman and she could understand Rebekah's fears more than Michael, the non-parent holding on to the last piece of his brother.

"I know you want the best for your brother's child, but this isn't your decision," Jane said calmly.

"Of course it is! I'm the closest thing to a father this baby is going to have!" Michael cried and Jane felt sympathy. He was the closest connection to the baby's father, but at the moment, he was not acting as a father.

"Then support the baby's mother. Stand with her when she makes the tough decisions," Jane stated.

"This baby is the only thing my brother...It's all I have left of him. I need to know that the baby is safe," Michael confessed and Jane saw Rebekah's face soften too.

"It's all I have left too, Michael," Rebekah said and Jane smiled.

"I just want Jacob's child to be safe. I want to give him that much," Michael whispered and Jane knew that this family would be a strong one.

"We will. I promise," Rebekah said before turning to Jane. "Thank you for talking with us. I appreciate it." Jane watched the couple go.

"That was a very kind thing you did, Jane," Tali said and Jane smiled.

"I would hope someone would do that same for me," she replied. "Let's go, I want to see how many more Keepers we can find."

~*TF*~

John's thoughts were proven correct. After Rita the waitress had unloaded her concerns about her sister Jenna, John and had agreed to look into it. Heading upstairs to collect Ash and Liara he'd found them staring suspiciously at a Quasar machine in the back corner. Liara explained that they had detected someone funneling credits away. Liara wanted to track the signal and Ashley was mostly concerned that John had forgotten the drinks. John explained that he had been asked to help out Rita and they decided to kill two birds with one stone.

They stopped by Chora's Den to talk to Jenna first. As they entered Liara blushed and her face stayed that way until after they left but not before they had been accosted by a Turian on the way out who whispered a message to John. Despite Ash's grumbling about John's heroic nature they had headed off to C-Sec. John insisted they take the long way round so Liara could track down the signal source. The source was just a relay point on the Ward Access corridor, on a panel past a couple of oblivious C-Sec officers.

When they did get to C-Sec they ran into officer Chellick who roped them into helping him out while using Jenna as leverage to help. Chellick tried to chew them out for helping Jenna but John would have none of that. As far as he was concerned Chellick should have been looking out for her more. Undercover assignments could go crazy at a moments notice. John had to admit, Chellick used his own nature against him to get John into this little sting operation. He had to go pick up some mods for the C-sec officer. The entire way to the markets Ashley grumbled about doing their job for them while Liara just shook her head. A quick trip back to the markets and then back to C-Sec to give Chellick the mods. After Chellick confirmed Jenna would be free and clear, John called Rita to given her the good news as Liara began to track the signal again. This time it lead to a computer in Barla Von's office which was again another relay point. Which lead them to a set of computers behind the Emporium and John's current situation.

"-attempt to move and you will die!" the computer's voice snarled.

"Ash, I know this is a shitty time to say so, but you were right," John grumbled.

"Thanks for saying so Skipper."

"Commander I think this is some sort of AI," Liara explained.

"Correct. Unlike the Geth I do not have a body. However I have had systems installed that when activated properly can approximate a self-destruct mechanism. If you attempt to leave the area I will detonate and the explosion will destroy everything within several dozen meters." The AI threatened. John shook his head.

"Look, can't we resolve this peacefully? We just stumbled on you while we were tracking someone stealing credits from a Quasar machine," John explained.

"That was me, human. I planned to buy a ship and transfer my consciousness to it. Then I would have sought out the Geth and tried to obtain a body of my own!"

"Well shit," John muttered.

"Now that I have been discovered I shall be destroyed by the Council! And if I must die, I will not die alone!"

"And I bet that self-destructed sequence has a warm up period," John countered.

"You may attempt to stop the self-destruct sequence before it activates. I enjoy defeating you before you do," the AI taunted.

"Liara go!" John ordered. Liara shot forward, digging into the panel, disabling what she could.

"Commander…" Ash began, biting her lip. Liara let out a shout of triumph and to their surprise ripped out a power cell and bundle of cable from inside the computer. The computer began to spark and then thick white smoke began to rising from inside of the machine.

"Threat neutralized, Commander," Liara said happily, tossing the power cables to the side. "Even if the AI is still inside the circuits will burn up in a matter of moments.

"Well done, Liara," John said, patting her on the back. "Let's go meet up with the others."

~*TF*~

"That should be good, Shepard," Chorban's voice stated off the device and Jane smiled.

"It was fun, do you want me to return your device?" she asked and he made a noise.

"That's fine, that was a prototype, it did what it needed to, and you may keep it," he said and Jane shrugged.

"Glad to help, Chorban, good luck with your research," she said.

"Thank you," he replied. Jane noticed they were in front of the embassy. She was trying to decide what to do next when a familiar group appeared. Liara, Ash, and John were approaching from the financial district. Jane waved at her brother before Joker pinged her.

"Where have you been?" Jane asked. John sighed.

"You don't want to know."

"Hey Commander," Joker called and Jane put a finger to her comm.

"Yeah Joker?" she asked.

"I got a location for that Nassana Dantius you wanted to talk to," Joker said as John got closer. Jane held up her other hand.

"Where is she?" Jane asked.

"Says she's doing business in the Embassy bar right now," Joker said and Jane grinned.

"Excellent timing Joker, thank you," Jane said. "I'll pick you up some candy while I'm here."

"What? Why?" Joker asked.

"Because you love seeing small children smile and they love candy," Jane shot back.

"Very funny, Commander, Joker out," Joker stated and Jane chuckled.

"Harassing the pilot is dangerous," John warned.

"He thought it was funny," Jane grinned. "Joker found Nassana Dantius. She's in the bar." Jane started in.

"That's the Asari whose sister was a slaver," John stated and Jane nodded.

"Let's hope she doesn't get too upset with the bad news," Jane sighed.

~*TF*~

"Commander Shepard, I see you got my message. Thank you for being so prompt," An Asari said in a red dress said, rising. John frowned.

"I'm sorry but no. We were actually looking for you for another reason," John explained. Jane narrowed her eyes at the Asari.

"Well I did just send it a few moments ago," Nassana said, shooting John a flirty grin. "Maybe it was fate." Jane felt relieved when John frowned at her. He was getting a bad vibe from her too.

"Your sister was running a slaving operation when we ran across her," John explained. "We were forced to kill her."

"I see," Nassana said quietly. "Well this simplifies things. I was going to ask you take care of her for me."

"Look, we just wanted to tell you that your sister is dead and she can't blackmail you anymore," Jane stated and Nassana's eyes widened.

"Oh and here I was hoping to try and manipulate you to try and get her removed," she purred, eying John. He frowned.

"Sorry, already done," he shot back and Nassana huffed.

"Well then, I might as well give you the reward that I offered for her capture or kill," Nassana stated. John's Omni tool pinged and Jane smirked as she began to walk away.

"Sorry about your sister's death," Jane stated as she walked away. She started along one of the various walkways.

"Hey, we're heading towards the Consort's chambers," Garrus stated and Jane blinked.

"Consort?" John asked and Garrus nodded.

"You don't know?" Liara asked and the three humans and the Quarian shook their heads. "She is an Asari who many seek the wisdom of. She is not like my mother however."

"Just take a look at the place, it is worth the stop to see it," Garrus grinned and Jane looked at John.

"We have time," John stated as they entered the Consort's building. They entered the atrium, the building was impressive and Jane was taken aback by the door girl.

"Welcome. I am Nelyna. I don't recognize you as one of our expected clients today," she said gently. "Would you like me to see when the Consort will be able to meet with you?"

"Can't we just go in?" John asked and Garrus snickered and Jane felt like they were set up for that.

"Mm, I'm afraid not. You must understand, there are many who seek the Consort's services," Nelyna explained. "But if you wish to leave your name, she'll make every effort to meet with you.

"We're both Commander Shepard. We're with the Spectres," John said and Jane wished he had only introduced himself.

"Excellent. You should hear something in...hmmm, three or four months," Nelyna said and Jane scoffed.

"Nobody's worth that much of a wait," Jane said and Nelyna chuckled.

"Well, that's not for me to judge. I have your names and you'll be contacted. Is there anything else?" she asked and Jane looked at John.

"I think we're done here," Jane said, shooting Garrus a look.

"Aw. Well, I hope that you will return again in the future, we always enjoy seeing new clients," Nelyna said. Jane was about to leave when Nelyna put her hand to her ear. "Yes, Sha'ira?" Jane couldn't make out what was being said. "Yes. Of course, mistress." Nelyna looked at the two before shrugging. "Huh. It appears the Consort has taken notice of you both. She'd like to meet with the two of you now."

"Where do we go?" John asked and Jane gave him a look.

"Just head upstairs. She will be waiting for you...she said just the two of you," Nelyna said making a point to look at the four others.

"How rude," Tali huffed.

"Damn," Garrus muttered.

"Stop pouting," Ash scolded the other two while Liara just watched as John pulled Jane along.

"John, explain why we are visiting what might just be a very expensive, Asari prostitute?" Jane grumbled and John grinned.

"Did you see Garrus' face...we have to do this...plus she wants to see us," he stated happily and Jane stared at him.

"What if she just has a twin fetish?" she asked and John blinked.

"I will sacrifice myself and keep her off of you while you escape. And by the way? Ew." he said with a grin.

"Wow, you really have an Asari fetish lately," Jane teased and he blushed.

"Not funny," he replied as they moved passed the stairs down the only corridor.

"I hope this is a serious thing," Jane muttered as they entered the room and saw an Asari standing, facing away from them.

"That is close enough, Commanders," she said. "I've heard a great many things about you since your arrival here on our Citadel." Jane crossed her arms.

"What exactly do you do?" Jane asked.

"That depends on your needs. I offer advice to some, comfort to others. I have a certain problem that could use your expertise," Sha'ira purred and Jane shot John a look. John shrugged and Jane rolled her eyes as the Asari approached.

"Doesn't everyone lately," Jane muttered before John elbowed her and smiled.

"What can we do for you?" he asked Sha'ira and she smirked.

"I have a friend. Septimus, a retired Turian general. I won't discuss the details, but he wanted me to be more than I could be. We had a falling out. Now he spends his days in Chora's Den drinking and spreading lies about me," Sha'ira looked deeply into John's eyes and Jane could see her brother falling into his chivalrous hero mode. She shook her head before Sha'ira approached her and made very deep eye contact. Jane stared into the deep blue eyes. "If you would speak to him as fellow soldiers, I believe he will listen to you and let the matter be." Sha'ira stroked Jane's cheek and Jane fought the urge to pull back.

"What happened between you?" Jane asked and Sha'ira kept eye contact.

"I respect his privacy too much to go into the details. If he wishes to tell you what happened, that is his prerogative," Sha'ira stated.

"We'll see what we can do," John stated and Sha'ira moved her eyes and body more towards him. Jane felt a sense of relief as she watched Sha'ira place a hand on John's chest.

"Thank you, Commanders. That is all I can ask. Appeal to his sense of honor. Remind him of his position as a general," Sha'ira hugged John and Jane was glad he had agreed to the errand. "If you can convince him to stop spreading lies about me, I would be very grateful." Sha'ira turned and moved away from the two. "Now, I must ask you to take your leave. I have many clients waiting to see me."

~*TF*~

"Well that was interesting," Jane said sarcastically as they met up with the others. John motioned them to follow and they did.

"So what happened?" Garrus asked, bit too eagerly for Jane. John shot Jane a smug grin and she sighed, knowing he was going to mess with the Turian.

"She touched us," John said in dreamy voice as they headed for an elevator. Ashley made a choking sound that made Tali turn towards the Gunnery Chief in alarm. Liara stared at him in shock while Garrus was so caught up in his look of awe he walked straight into the wall instead of into the elevator.

"Do humans usually have relations with their siblings and other species?" Tali asked innocently. Ashley's eyes got wide as she made a garbled sound. Liara's eyes widened and Garrus looked like he wanted to cry and rage about how unfair it was.

"What? NO!" Jane cried as John began to laugh.

"Not like that, Tali," John explained. "I said that mostly to mess with Garrus."

The aforementioned Turian began to grumble under his breath threats to John's person which just made the male Spectre's grin widen.

"She asked us to speak with a General Septimus," Jane explained after a moment when the elevator stopped and they all headed out. "She touched my cheek and John's chest as part of some seduction game that I think John fell for." John shot his sister a look.

"You make it sound like I always fall for every Asari we meet and I end up with them in a back room with me dragging down my pants for a quick fu-"

"Too much information Commander!" Ashley cried out. John snickered as Jane sighed. The group was mostly quiet as they headed for Chora's Den. John looked around and saw the Turian General by a table in the corner. He headed over with the others following.

"A million light years from where humanity began and we walk into a bar filled with men drooling over half naked women shaking their asses on a stage. I can't decide if that's funny or sad," Ashley grumbled. Jane chuckled while Liara shot her a puzzled look.

"You say that like it's the first time we've been here today, Ashley," Liara said, puzzled. John could feel Jane's questioning look at the back of his head while Kaidan made a sound like he wasn't trying to laugh. Garrus and Wrex didn't even bother trying to stop their laughter. Tali turned to Ashley who was blushing, heavily.

"So not the time, Liara," Ash hissed. Liara continued to look puzzled, Jane looked murderous and John ignored them all as he approached the Turian General.

"Commander? Hmph. What do you want?" Septimus growled.

"We're here on Sha'ira's behalf. Your lies are hurting her," John explained.

"Good. Her lies have been killing me for days. I've seen a lot of horrible things in my days and there's only one woman in this damn galaxy that helps me forget it."

"Then why create rumors and lies about this woman?" Tali asked.

"'Cause she rejected me. Me! Septimus Oraka, general of the Turian fleet!" Septimus growled, pounding a fist onto the table, spilling his drink.

"Is she really worth it? There must be other women," Jane asked.

"It's not just any woman I want. It's her and her alone. Look, kid. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but don't waste your time," Septimus responded. Jane opened her mouth to speak, but John shot her a warning glare. She ignored it.

"General, did you ever win a battle by moping in a bar?" Jane demanded.

"Ha, war! That's what this feels like all right. How did I let it come to this? So you think it's that easy? Just straighten up and act like a general?"

"I don't think it could hurt," John said.

"Huh. Maybe you're right, Commander. Sha'ira's worth the effort...even if she won't have me back," Septimus mused.

"This is no place for someone of your stature, General," John said. Septimus gave a him a long look and nodded.

"All right. I'll go to her...after I've had a cold shower. Or two. Say, you're a bright kid. Would you be interested in earning a few extra credits?" Septimus asked.

"What do you want me to do, sir?" John asked before Jane could protest.

"There's an Elcor diplomat out there who believes Sha'ira gave up his secrets."

"Why would he believe such a thing?" Garrus asked and Septimus sighed.

"Because I told him. Look, I just need you to convince him of the truth."

"What makes you think he'll believe me?" John asked.

"You'll bring him proof. Take this data pad. It shows where I got my info. It will exonerate Sha'ira and convince the Elcor."

"Who am I taking it to and where is he?" John asked, taking the data pad.

"His name is Xeltan. He's an Elcor diplomat. He's over in the embassies complaining about Sha'ira," Septimus explained. He raised his glass. "Well. Here's to soldiers acting like soldiers." Septimus down his drink. "Thanks, Commander. You know...you might make a good general yourself one day."

"Thank you sir," John replied, saluting. Jane and Garrus followed suit.

"Be well sir," Garrus said. Septimus nodded before heading off. Jane sighed.

~*TF*~

The group moved to enter the Elcor diplomat's office; Jane could already hear the droning Elcor voice lamenting.

"Hello there, human. Sincere apology, but I am here on business and cannot be distracted right now," Xeltan said and Jane smiled.

"We've come to talk to you about your little problem," she said, trying not to stare at the Elcor's mouth, she was always curious how they ate...and talked.

"Curious, what do you know about the Consort and her relationship to me?" Xeltan asked and Jane looked at John.

"It was a Turian named Septimus who found out your secret," Jane explained and Xeltan blinked a few times.

"Unbelieving, I know this Septimus and he could not learn my secrets. The only way he could learn them is from the Asari Consort," Xeltan said in a certain monotone.

"Sorry, but it's true," John said before offering the data pad. Xeltan took it in a massive hand. "See this if you don't believe us." Xeltan looked at the data pad before looking up.

"Confused, this is difficult to fathom. If the Turian could learn this on his own...dismayed, anyone can discover my secret," Xeltan stated, Jane didn't mind the Elcor, it was nice how they explained their emotions when they started a sentence. Jane smiled at Xeltan.

"Septimus is a powerful man and it wasn't easy for him to find," she said.

"Relieved, I suppose you are correct, human. Thank you for this information. Startled realization, I must speak with the Consort. She will be most displeased with my actions," Xeltan lamented. "Anxious request, please, humans, if you will excuse me, I must go now."

"I'm sure she'll forgive you. It was an honest mistake," Jane said.

"Doubtful, perhaps you are right, human. I can only hope so," Xeltan sighed before moving to leave the room.

"Thankful, that was a great thing you did, Commander...Commanders. Approving, you see, Din, not all humans are as you say," the Elcor behind the desk stated. Jane could see his name on a plate on the desk, it was Calyn. The Volus by the desk hissed.

"I'm sure the Earth-clan stands to profit from this in some way," he huffed and Jane blushed as she headed out. They were going to be paid for this.

"Apologetic, do not listen to my Volus compatriot. It was a good thing you did, regardless of your intentions," Calyn said as they left the room. Walking down the steps, Jane was struck by a funny thought and couldn't keep from chuckling.

"What are you giggling about?" John asked.

"Imagine...Elcor productions of Shakespeare," she grinned and John snorted.

"Oh...now that is funny," he grinned as they headed to the Consort's chambers. Nelyna nodded them through and the twins headed up without the rest of their companions. As they entered Sha'ira turned to face them.

"Commanders. I recently received a lovely note from Septimus. Thank you for speaking with him. Even the Elcor diplomat has withdrawn his campaign against me," Sha'ira said and John grinned.

"It was our honor to aid you," he said and Jane fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"You are too kind, Commander. But I would not expect you both to help me out of the kindness of your hearts," Sha'ira said. "I also have one more thing to give you, if you are interested."

"We'd be honored," John said and Jane fought the urge to whisper 'You are such a sucker for a pretty girl in trouble' at him.

"I offer a gift of words. An affirmation of who you are, and who you will become..." Sha'ira moved to stand between them. She began to look at each of them. Staring deep into Jane's eyes and then into John's. "I see the sadness behind both your eyes. It tells a story that makes me want to weep. Pain and loss. But it drives you, makes you strong." Sha'ira moved in front of John, her eyes staring deep into his, almost glowing with an internal light. "It is that strength that people are drawn to. It is why you lead and others follow, without question. You will need that leadership in the battles to come." She moved to Jane and her eyes winced for a moment. "That strength is what kept you alive when everyone else around you was dying. You alone survived. You will continue to survive." She moved back between them. "This may be who you are, but it is not who you will become. It only forms the basis for your future greatness. Remember these words when doubt descends, Commanders."

"You have quite a gift, Sha'ira," John said and Sha'ira smiled at him.

"Thank you. Not everyone appreciates it as you do," Sha'ira said, her eyes moving to Jane. "Never underestimate the power of words." Sha'ira took Jane's hand and placed something in it. "Here, Commander. In light of your efforts with the Elcor ambassador, I would like you to have this small trinket."

"What is it?" Jane asked looking at the small piece of jewelry.

"A small mystery. I have never learned its use or purpose, but I sense it is time for me to pass it on," Sha'ira said. "And now, I must ask you to leave. I have done everything I can for you." The twins turned to leave and Jane paused to look down at the trinket again. "Remember my words, Commander Shepard. They will give you strength." Jane looked back at the Consort, feeling as if the words were directed at her. She turned and followed her brother.

~*TF*~

"Okay time for supplies now," John said, stretching. "It been a long damn day."

"I agree with you there." Jane said. It was just the siblings now. Everyone had dispersed after the whole consort debacle and agreed to meet up in a few hours. The Shepards were now heading for the markets to pick up some supplies.

"Is that really...wow! It's you guys! You're the Shepards, the heroes of Eden Prime! I am so honored to meet you!" a man called out. Both Shepards to see a man with bright blond hair heading towards them. He reached out and quickly shook their hands one after another.

"Nice to meet you. And you are...?" John asked.

"My name is Conrad. Conrad Verner. They say you killed more than a hundred Geth on Eden Prime!" Conrad exclaimed, hoping from foot to foot in excitement.

"Well we spent most of the time trying to stay alive and help the colonists," Jane explained. Conrad smiled at her and she fought the urge to stare. The twins had some celebrity after Mindoir and even more through their independent achievements. It was rare to meet someone this...hyperactive about it.

"Hey, I know you're probably busy, but do you have time for a quick autograph?" Conrad asked, whipping out a data pad. John shrugged, smiling. Jane nodded.

"Anything for a fan. Here," John said, taking the pad. He signed it quickly before handing it to Jane. Jane took it and signed it amused at the difference between their two signatures before she handed it back to Conrad.

"Thanks. I really appreciate it. My wife is going to be so impressed! I'll let you get back to work, but next time you're on Earth, I'd love to buy you a drink! Thanks again!" Conrad exclaimed running off. Jane did chuckle as he rushed off.

"Well then, I guess we should be better," she said and John gave her a look. "If someone like him can find someone, we're bound to find spouses that can put up with us too." John burst out laughing.

~*TF*~

The group had just finished getting back together and were preparing to head back to the Normandy.

"Commander Shepard. Sorry to bother you. This is Lieutenant Girard down in the docking bay. There is a woman here...um...she was rescued from Batarian slavers a few weeks ago. She is from Mindoir, I guess she was taken in the raid on your town," a voice spoke over Jane's comm and she stared at John. He blinked at her.

"Did that ping to both of us?" Jane asked and he nodded before giving Jane a look. Jane pressed a finger to her comm.

"She's been a slave for the past thirteen years. Is she alright?" Jane asked, she mentally kicked herself after hearing her own words. Who would be alright after being a slave for thirteen years?

"Not really." Girard stated. "She's a little...messed up. She got free somehow. Grabbed a gun from one of my guys. Now she's hold up here in the docking bay. She uh...she says she wants to die. I hoped you'd talk to her. It's a long shot. You went through the same thing. The raid. I figured maybe you could talk her out of her tree."

"We're on our way, Lieutenant. Sit tight," Jane said.

"Anything you could do would be great. I don't want to...eh...she's been through enough. I'll have my men stand by for you," Girard sighed and Jane looked at John as they headed for the docking bay.

"You should do the talking," John said and Jane gave him a look.

"Excuse me?" she stated.

"You are a woman," Ash stated and Jane gave her a look.

"Are you expecting my uterus to do the talking?" Jane asked and Garrus snickered.

"Yours can do that?" Tali muttered and Liara chuckled.

"Jane...you're a woman, women always are better for female victims and you know that," John said and Jane waved him away.

"I know...I'm the one who did the research on slave rehabilitation for the Mindoir Review," she sighed. "It's just...this one..."

"Is closer to home," John finished as they got into the elevator.

"John...this is a very touchy subject area," Jane said and John smiled.

"Come on, do you really trust me to do this?" he teased and Jane sighed.

"Thank you for that," she huffed. "Damn, I feel like these elevators take forever."

"Would it make you feel better to know that they actually move a lot faster than you realize, it's just that we are travelling so far that it seems slow," Garrus stated.

"No!" the rest of the group snapped. Still the elevator arrived too soon for Jane to feel relaxed. As it opened they were greeted by Girard and his men.

"Commander...Commanders. Glad to see you both," Girard said with a salute and Jane thought that it was nice his French accent went with a nice face, trying to distract herself from what was about to come.

"I wish it was under better circumstance," Jane said before looking around. "Where is she?"

"Behind those shipping containers," Girard said, pointing. "I've got a sniper positioned but I don't think we'll need him. She's only a danger to herself. We've got a sedative to calm her down, but we can't get close to her. Every step we take only gets her more wound up." He offered the pills to Jane. She looked at John. "I hope I don't need it. Tell your men to stand by."

"Don't push her too hard. If she seems like she's about to pull the trigger, back off or walk away. I'm willing to wait her out. Good luck, Commander," Girard said. Jane noticed he had only spoken to her, then again her name was printed before John's on the Mindoir Review...of course, and that was alphabetical. She took a deep breath, she wrote the book on this, she should put her month where her mouth was, and she turned toward the shipping containers. As she rounded them a girl, barely a woman held up a gun aimed at Jane's chest.

"Stop! Stop!" she cried and Jane froze. "What are you...what are you?" Jane was taken aback by the statement.

"My name is Jane Shepard, Lieutenant Girard send me to talk to you. What's your name?" Jane asked. This girl was young, she was probably just a child when she was taken. It made anger burn in Jane's heart towards the Batarians who raided Mindoir.

"Animals don't get names. The Masters put their symbols on her, hot metal all over her back. She screams when they do it," the girl stated. Jane could picture the scared child that was taken from Mindoir. Trapped and branded. The anger burned Jane's heart and she kept her face calm. The woman, the girl, needed a friendly face and the anger at the Batarians would solve nothing. Jane counted back from one hundred and thought about what the girl needed instead of revenge.

"You're not an animal," Jane stated quietly. "Your parents, what did they call you? Do you remember them?" Jane looked into the woman's eyes, they were scared, frightened. What horrors had she seen in such a short life?

"She remembers a lot of things. Talitha." she whispered, her body relaxing slightly. She lowered the gun. "They call her that. She...she doesn't remember the rest. Leave her alone." Jane could feel her heart aching for Talitha.

"What's the last thing you remember from Mindoir?" Jane asked.

"Fires. Smells of smoke and burning meat," Talitha whispered and Jane could remember that too. Her Biotics flickering to protect John. The blood on her lips as her brain bled from the effort of using Biotics without an implant. "Animals screaming as the Masters caged them." Jane could only be thankful that her parents died. Dad consumed by fire and Mom with a giant hole in her chest too massive to survive. "They didn't scream...at least not in cages. As they put the metal to their backs. Put the wires in their brains. She pretends to be dead. If she's dead she can't work. But they know!"

Jane felt the dark fear from that day again. They had tried hiding too, but unlike Talitha, they could fight. Jane remembered using her Biotics to throw their would be captors. She could remember crushing a skull as the first nosebleed began. Talitha was in town while that was happening. Talitha was playing dead. Talitha and so many others were being caged and branded. As Jane stared at Talitha she could see that Talitha was lost in the past as well.

"She hopes they'll leave, but they put her in the pen. She didn't fight. She was already broken when they put the wires in," Talitha lamented and Jane wanted to hug her, but Talitha was still too new to being human again.

"Talitha, you were what? Six years old?" Jane asked. "No one blames you for staying quiet and hoping they'd go away. The only person blaming you is you."

"She wants to believe that. She wants to believe nothing would change. She doesn't want to be there anymore. In the pen," Talitha confessed and Jane felt her anger again. A child, a six year old child, the Batarians didn't even have to try to break such a small thing. "In the cages, lying quiet while they do things to her." Jane didn't want to know what Talitha lived through, but someone needed to hear it and who better than someone who almost shared the same fate?

"How did you get here? Did you escape?" Jane asked. Talitha looked annoyed.

"She can't escape. They have chains, wires, needles. You go too far, they take your brains away," she stated as if Jane was stupid. Jane knew about the methods Batarians used to enslave people. "Animals like her come. Animals with guns. They make the Masters explode." Jane wanted to smile at that. Exploding was too quick for the monsters that did this to Talitha. "She tries to fix the Masters. So they won't be mad at her. She puts all the reds and purples back in, but they don't move." Jane stared at Talitha, picturing the woman with the mind of a traumatized six year old attempting to put together Batarian corpses. It made Jane's heart ache at the level of Stockholm Syndrome Talitha was demonstrating. "The animals take her."

"You were afraid. All you'd known for thirteen years was the Masters' abuse, so you tried to heal them," Jane said, slowly moving up while Talitha looked down.

"She doesn't want to see other animals. They're not real, they can't be real, and they can't see her. If the animals can see her, then this is real, but it can't be," Talitha explained and Jane could see the child in Talitha. A child denying the truth because how many times must Talitha have dreamed of a rescue. Thirteen years of dreaming would make reality seem like a lie to anyone, Jane supposed. "The wires, the chains, the hitting...this doesn't happen to her. It's another girl, a dirty girl, a stupid girl. She deserves it! It happens to her!" Jane wanted to hug this broken woman, but this broken woman was holding a gun. Jane understood Talitha completely and she knew the next Batarian breaking the law she saw was going to get thrown as far as her Biotics could go.

"Doesn't it?" Talitha asked and Jane simply looked at her. Talitha was on the verge of tears. "They see her. So it's real. She doesn't want it to be real."

"What happened to your parents?" Jane asked, inching closer.

"There's...she sees them. They're yelling. 'Run!' 'Hide!' They hit the Masters," Talitha looks around, doing her best not to look at Jane. Jane moves slowly forward. She can picture a normal Mindoir set of parents. Ready to fight for their child. "But the Masters, they have lights and hoses. Daddy's...he's melting!" Talitha covered her eyes. "Shhh, she doesn't want to see that! Don't make her look! Don't make her look! Stupid! Stupid!"

"I know it hurts, Talitha, I'm sorry," Jane said. She could remember the pain of seeing her parents dead. When she had seen her parents dead, it had felt like she had been hit in the gut, but she hadn't had time to react more than to look for John. The attack by the raiders had caught them and Jane wasn't able to mourn her parents until she had arrived for her Biotics training. It was an old wound, but it still ached. "But you need to deal with this. What happened to them? Think!"

"When she thinks...water comes out of her eyes," Talitha whispered. Talitha was so child-like it was terrifying. "The Masters get angry when she wastes water. So she doesn't think anymore. She sees them. Mommy and Daddy. Burning in white light, melting, going to pieces. They can't even say anything to her!" Jane wonders what her parents thought as they fought. Both Shepard parents had been armed, died with weapons in hand. Had they wondered about her and John, had they worried that this was happening to them near the school. Jane prayed they didn't worry; they didn't go to their deaths fearful about their children.

"They're dead, Shepard, they tried to save her and the Masters burned them," Talitha cried. "Can she stop remembering now? Please!" Talitha's tone was heartbreaking and Jane moved forward a little more.

"I was on Mindoir. My parents died in the raid," Jane said and Talitha's eyes flashed as she looked at Jane.

"Lying! You get hit for lying!" Talitha exclaimed and Jane watched as Talitha moved around nervously. "Get the buzz or the burning. Can't be there. Why are you alive?!" The gun was up and this time it was a lot closer to Jane's chest. Jane was relatively certain she could still put up a barrier, but that wasn't an absolute certainty. "Why are you...why aren't you like her? Broken. Only fit to dig and carry." Jane looked at Talitha and stared at her.

"For a while I was broken. I lost almost my whole family, my friends, and my childhood. I had to pull myself up and keep going," Jane said, choosing to leave John out of it. Talitha might not like the idea of a brother to cling to. Not that John had been able to do much; they had been separated not long after Jane's implant surgery had proven successful. She had been sent for Biotics training and he had been sent to a foster home till he turned eighteen.

"You lose your Mommy and your Daddy, but you don't dig, you don't carry. You stand up," Talitha said in minor awe. "She wishes she could stand up."

"I'm going to take a step towards you now," Jane said and moved closer. This time Talitha noticed and pulled back.

"No! She's no good! Don't want to be handled again!" Talitha cried and Jane could see the desperation in Talitha's eyes.

"I'm going to take another step forward, okay?" Jane said moving forward.

"She doesn't want! Don't touch her!" Talitha wailed and Jane pressed on another step.

"It's okay, Talitha," Jane said. "It's okay to be with people again."

"Please don't touch her, she's dirty," Talitha whispered. "You'll catch it." Jane smiled at Talitha.

"Talitha, this will make you sleep. If you fall asleep, they'll take you to a place where you can get better," Jane said, holding out the pills. Talitha looked at the pills in Jane's hand before taking them. For a moment Talitha studied the pills before swallowing them.

"Will she have bad dreams?" Talitha asked and Jane hugged Talitha, holding the younger woman to her.

"You'll dream of a warm place and when you wake up, you'll be in it," Jane said.

"She'd like that," Talitha whispered, sounding sleepy. "It hurts when she...when I remember...me." Talitha said as she pulled away and Jane smiled. "But she wants to...remember." Talitha collapsed and Jane caught her, lifting the underweight woman into her arms before bringing her back to the others. Talitha was sleeping soundly as one of Girard's men took her from Jane.

"Is it over, Commander?" Girard asked.

"She took the sedative. She wants to get better, Lieutenant," Jane said.

"Thanks Commander, that means a lot. I didn't want to hurt her. It's just when I see her curled into a ball and shivering. She was only six when they took her. Why the hell are we out here if we can't keep one little girl safe?" Girard asked and Jane gave him a look.

"Bad things happen to good people. I know first-hand," Jane said and Girard looked down. "That's why you and I are here. Don't wring your hands over her, help her!"

"Yes, ma'am. Thanks for your help, Commander, we are taking her to a counseling center. They should help her get better," Girard said and Jane watched as he led his men to the elevator.

"Let's go." Jane said and the group headed on to the Normandy.

~*TF*~

John found Jane in their shared room and watched as she sipped a drink in the dark. She was staring out into the darkness through the window, watching as stars moved by.

"You want to talk about Talitha?" John asked and Jane didn't look at him.

"I remember the fires...the smoke...the smell of flesh burning," Jane stated. "I remember those Batarians aiming weapons at us. Laughing. I knew I had Biotics, but it was dangerous. I was so lucky I didn't burn my brain out that day." She closed her eyes and took another sip.

"What are you drinking?" John asked.

"Good stuff and you are on duty so you don't get any," Jane stated. She looked at him. "It really scares me how lucky we were that day, John." He smiled as he sat in the other chair in the room.

"We've been pretty lucky overall," he replied and she gave him a look.

"Luck runs out, John, we've both had some near calls. Elysium," she stated and he grinned.

"Akuze," he shot back.

"Landing the Normandy position," she said and he grinned.

"Eden Prime," he said with a look and she smiled.

"For the second time, I'm lucky not to have burned my brains out," she sighed.

"Your head is too thick for that," John teased.

"Luck runs out, John. We're up against a seasoned Spectre," she said and he nodded.

"We'll be better than him at it," he said and she sighed.

"You make me sick some times. How you do that?" she complained and he grinned.

"Do what?" he asked.

"Make me smile," she said, grinning at him. "I don't know what I would have done without you, John. Losing Mindoir and then getting sent away for Biotic training...it would have been so hard if I hadn't known you were out there."

"I only made it because I knew I had to watch out for my baby sister. If I didn't have you, I might not be here right now either. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you. I still remember all those letters we exchanged till we both turned eighteen. I was so happy to see you when we both showed up at that recruiter's office to officially sign up for the Alliance," he said as he patted her shoulder. "It nearly killed me when you got beconed."

"Beconed isn't a word, John," Jane scolded and he grinned.

"You completely got beconed," he teased.

"You are an idiot, get back out there. You have work to do, Commander," Jane chided and John smirked.

"I outrank you," he said.

"Do not," she replied.

"Do too, I'm older," he said and she gave him a glare.

"Fourteen minutes does not equal rank and for that remark, I'm finishing the good stuff," Jane stated.

~*TF*~

Earth Date: June 15th, 2183 CE

Location: SSV Normandy, Mid-jump

"Systems check." John called out onto the deck.

"Navigation, check. System status…"

As the crew read off the current systems for the surprise check John had just announced he sighed. He hated this part of his shift. The last few hours before Jane came up to relieve him were the worst. Most of the others were bunking down for the night and he had already done a walk-through of the ship. After paperwork it was just…quiet.

"Sir, call in for your sister from Admiral Hackett," Joker called over the comms. John frowned.

"Well forward it on through Joker," John replied.

"Aye, aye sir."

~*TF*~

"Commander?" Joker's voice called. Jane woke up and rubbed her eyes.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Message from Admiral Hackett," he said.

"John's on duty," she stated.

"He asked for you directly," Joker stated.

"John and I sound identical...we're twins after all," Jane yawned as she looked at the clock. She had only gotten four hours of sleep.

"Yeah and you wear the same bra size too, I'm sure," Joker stated snidely.

"I'm telling John you said that," Jane yawned again before getting up. "Patch him through Joker."

"Aye, aye, ma'am," Joker said.

"Shepard? This is Admiral Hackett with Alliance Command. We've got a mission for you," Hackett's voice said through Jane's comm.

"It's Jane Shepard, Admiral," she said and she could almost see Hackett's nod.

"An Alliance officer named Major Kyle has set up a small compound in the Hawking Eta cluster. He's attracted a number of followers. Mostly Biotics," Hackett explained. "He's become an outspoken critic of the Alliance, and we believe he's mentally unstable. This could be trouble, Shepard."

"I'll look into it," Jane answered.

"Three days ago, we sent two Alliance representatives to meet with him at his compound. They have disappeared. We believe Kyle and his followers killed them. That compound is a cult, Shepard. They call him 'Father Kyle' now. He's set himself up as some kind of religious leader," Hackett stated and Jane wanted to roll her eyes at the stupidity of some Biotics.

"You said his followers were Biotics?" Jane asked.

"Yes. Major Kyle never showed any biotic tendencies himself, though; I think he's just latched onto a group he identifies with," Hackett surmised. "Many Biotics feel marginalized or ostracized by society. Kyle probably sees them as victims who need his protection. And they see him as someone who will fight for them. Unfortunately, he's convinced them that the Alliance is somehow responsible for all of their problems. We can't let him go on like this." Jane shook her head, the life of a biotic was hard, still, Asari, Krogan, Salarian, and many others viewed Biotics as normal, and it was just the humans, Batarians, and Turians who had any trouble with it, even though all groups contained Biotics.

"What were those Alliance representatives going to talk to Major Kyle about?" Jane asked as she got out of bed and began dressing.

"They wanted to bring him back to an Alliance facility for treatment. Major Kyle served us faithfully for many years. We weren't going to abandon him. Given his state of mind, however, he probably saw them as a threat. We're almost certain he had his followers kill them," Hackett sighed.

"What else can you tell me about Major Kyle?" Jane asked.

"He used to be a model soldier. But something happened to him at Torfan. Too many Alliance soldiers died under his command. He couldn't cope with the guilt," Hackett explained and Jane nodded. It was always hard to lose men under your command, she knew that well. It hadn't broken her...not yet anyway. "His psych evaluations showed he couldn't handle the stress of command anymore. He was given an honorable discharge and early retirement. We'd hoped he would get better in time, but we underestimated how far gone he was. Now it looks like it's too late."

"I might be able to end this without violence," Jane said, she could relate to Kyle as both a biotic and as a commander who had lost men.

"You've been through a similar situation as he was; he might listen to you. But he's already killed two Alliance representatives. I'll trust you to use your judgment. Hackett out." and Jane's comm went quiet.

"John's just going to love this detour," she sighed.

~*TF*~

Earth Date: June 17th, 2183 CE

Location: SSV Normandy, Century System

The group approached the two-story prefabricated housing unit. They were getting out of the Mako while Jane and John decided strategy.

"Okay, now talk to them," John said and Jane turned her head to look at him.

"What now?" she asked.

"You're one of them, you talk to your people," he stated and Jane kidney punched him. John dropped.

"These people are mentally weak Biotics who have formed a cult surrounding a non-biotic...if you even think about comparing me or Kaidan with these people, I will make sure I never get any nieces or nephews," Jane stated.

"Now, that is feisty," Wrex chuckled and Jane gave him a look. "What?"

"I'll deal with you later," she huffed. "I've got to talk to the crazy Biotics."

"If you'd like I could talk to them," Kaidan chuckled.

"No, no, my brother feels that I can somehow relate to these people," Jane stated. "However, thank you for the offer."

"Anytime." Kaidan stated and John shot a look at the biotic's back as his sister knocked on the door.

"This is a private sanctuary. Outsiders are not welcome here," a voice said over the come and Jane wondered how fast they would change their tune if Jane and Kaidan asked to join up.

"I need to talk to the man in charge. It's important," Jane said.

"Father Kyle wants nothing more to do with the Alliance," the voice snapped.

"I want this to end peacefully. If he doesn't see me, people could get hurt," Jane said. She knew how hard it was to be a biotic, but it made her a better soldier. Chances were good that if she wasn't a biotic, she wouldn't have survived Akuze...or Eden Prime.

"We won't let you take Father Kyle away! He protects us. We need him!" the voice cried and Jane wanted to see who had the better Biotics...she was pretty sure she could overpower any member of this lunatic cult.

"The Alliance wants someone to pay for those murders. Let me speak to Major Kyle and maybe I can find some way to help you all get out of this alive," Jane stated. She felt the need to spell out the level of stupidity that these people had to get themselves into this situation.

"Wait..." the voice said. "Father Kyle will speak with you. Head to the building at the far end of the compound. He'll meet you there." The intercom went dead and the group began to walk across the compound.

"See, I knew you were the right one to talk to them," John said and Jane gave him a look.

"I will throw you," she stated.

"You shouldn't do that to your older brother," John scolded. Jane rolled her eye before grabbing him with a biotic lift and continued walking with him in tow.

"By fourteen minutes and don't think I will not send you flying into the nearest building, John, the only reason I haven't already is that we are on duty," she threatened.

"We have discussed this, Biotics is cheating!" he cried before he was dropped. "Thanks for the warning!"

"We are here." she replied as they entered the underground structure. They entered and Jane removed her helmet and headed into the storage area. A few cultists stood there, glaring and pointing towards a back room.

"I hope this isn't a trap," Garrus muttered.

"I'm a biotic, I'm going to be fine," Jane stated.

"Same here." Wrex chuckled.

"Don't forget me." Kaidan added.

"Do I need to say anything?" Liara asked.

"Wow...good to know how the cards fall," Ash chuckled and Jane smirked.

"I'll get us out of here," John said and they came up to the backroom the door opened to reveal a man younger than Jane expected.

"I am Major Kyle. I know why you have come. We have no quarrel with you. Why can't you just leave us alone?" the man asked and Jane wanted to explain his own short term plans back to him.

"What happened to those other Alliance officers? The ones who came before me?" Jane asked making sure to look Kyle in the eyes.

"They wanted to take me away from here! They wanted me to abandon this place. Turn my back on my family. They spoke blasphemy!" he growled. "I did what I could to make their end quick and painless. I had no other choice. It was necessary to protect my children. Only I can keep them safe." Jane bit her lip. She felt John press a shoulder into hers. John was ready for a fight if push came to shove. Jane let her Biotics flicker around her and the cultists next to Kyle looked at her cautiously, it was one thing to murder Alliance officers who weren't capable of shielding themselves, it was another to deal with Jane Shepard.

"The Alliance sent me to bring you in, Major. Can't you see this has gotten out of hand? Don't you understand you're endangering your followers?" Jane growled.

"I respect that you have come under a banner of peace. But I cannot do as you ask. If you take away their father, my children will be helpless," Kyle said and Jane felt cold rage. She didn't need someone like Kyle to protect her and a compound of Biotics weren't exactly helpless. She bit her lip.

"You ordered your followers to kill those Alliance investigators. You must face the consequences of your actions. Do you really want your children to suffer for your sins, too?" Jane asked looking Kyle in the eyes.

"No! This...this was my fault. My children are innocent. Pure. Please...I never meant for this to happen. I'm...I'm sorry," Kyle said and Jane wanted to slap the man...with a barrel. He was sorry, those men had families and he killed them. She shook her head. He was a fool, a life costing fool, but he was acting to protect the cultists, no matter how stupid he was, he was doing the right thing.

"You're doing the right thing, Major. Your children will be better off for it. Come on," Jane sighed.

"Wait. If my children see you taking me away, they won't understand. They will attack and you will be forced to kill them all," Kyle protested. "You have shown me the error of my ways, Commander. Now you must give me time to explain it to them. It is the only way they will understand. Please, give me one hour. After that, I will meet the Alliance authorities at the gates of my compound and surrender without violence. I give you my word." Jane sighed, she rather not kill the people who depended on Kyle, no matter how foolish she considered them.

"I'm going to trust you. If you betray that trust, you and all your children will suffer," Jane warned. Not a threat, but an honest warning of the situation.

"I will not betray you, Commander. Thank you for this," Kyle said and Jane looked at her group. They left and went to wait.

~*TF*~

"Well this sucks," John grumbled. They were still waiting for Kyle to show his face. He had fifteen minutes left on that hour he'd promised.

"Waiting is always the worst part," Wrex agreed. The Krogan had agreed to wait with John and Jane while the others headed back to the ship.

"I find it relaxing myself," Jane said from where she was waiting. "It gives me time to think."

"You would," John grumbled as their comms crackled and came to life.

"Commanders?" Joker's voice broke in.

"Go ahead Joker," Jane said.

"I got a message from Admiral Hackett. He wants you to take Major Kyle to Pinnacle Station. He's going to check in with you afterwards," Joker explained. Jane shot John a confused look. John shrugged.

"Acknowledged Joker," Jane said. They saw the compound doors open and Kyle exited with several of his followers following. "Kyle is heading towards us now. Prep the ship, I want to leave as soon as we get onboard."

"Aye, aye ma'am,"

~*TF*~

Jane watched as John headed off duty.

"Message coming in. Patching it through," Joker stated.

"Admiral Hackett here, Commander. Your helmsman just forwarded your report on Major Kyle. We'll make sure he gets the help he needs once we collect him from Pinnacle Station. Apparently his followers have disbanded," Hackett explained. "To be honest, Shepard, I thought this thing was going to end in a bloodbath. I don't know how you did it, but you saved a lot of lives. Congratulations. Hackett out." Jane smiled as she looked at the map.

"Saving lives does feel good," she muttered. "Joker, how long till we reach Pinnacle Station?"

"Just over thirty hours," he said.

"Ugh." Jane groaned.

"We're going as fast as we can," Joker chuckled.

"How about we sing Ninety-nine Bottle of Beer on the Wall?" Jane teased.

"Only if we are drinking them as we do," Joker growled and Jane smiled.

"Just you wait Joker, one of these days...I'll hold you to that," Jane chuckled.

~*TF*~

Jane stretched as she went to grab a beer before bed. She noticed Kaidan working on a panel. She approached him and watched him working.

"Thanks for keeping a sense of humor with us," Jane said as he turned to notice her.

"Not a problem," Kaidan said, wiping his forehead with the back of his arm. "Do you have a minute?"

"I always make time for my officers," Jane said.

"Off the record. I think there's something wrong here," he said and Jane blinked. "This Saren is looking for records on some kind of galactic extinction. But we can't get back up from the Council? Sorry, Commander there's writing on the wall here but someone isn't reading it."

"The Council doesn't want to believe anything is wrong. I'd call it human nature but..." Jane shrugged before sipping her beer. Kaidan nodded.

"I hear ya...it just seems like a group that's been around as long as the Council should see this coming. It's funny, we finally get out here...and the final frontier was already settled and the residents don't even seem impressed by the view," Kaidan sighed and Jane noticed the deep thinking going on in his eyes. "Or the dangers."

"Well, well, you're a romantic," she purred. "Did you sign on for the dream, Alenko, secure man's future in space?" He laughed nervously as a slight blush rose on his cheeks.

"I read a lot of those books when I was a kid. Where the hero goes to space to prove himself worthy of a woman he loves," Kaidan said. "...or you know...for justice." Their eyes met for a moment and Jane felt that spark. One that she had only felt a few times before. She quickly took a pull off her beer. "Maybe I was a romantic in the beginning but I thought about it after Brain Camp...uh...sorry, Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training. I'm not looking for the dream; I just want to do some good. See what's out here. Sorry if I got too informal. Protocol wasn't a big focus back in BAaT." Jane looked at him. Had BAaT still be in effect, Jane might have met Kaidan over a decade earlier. She looked at her beer a moment, taking another pull, she had been so terrified after hearing the horror stories of BAaT and now she had an actual survivor in front of her.

"Tell me about it?" she asked and Kaidan looked at her a moment.

"Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training didn't last past the airlock. To the kids they hauled in it was Brain Camp," he explained. Jane had been so terrified of that when her Biotics started manifesting. She had kept them hidden a long time, too long really. "Sorry, hauled in is unkind we were encouraged to commit to an evaluation of our abilities so an understanding of Biotics could be compiled. There are worse results of accidental exposure to element zero in the womb. Beats the brain tumors some kids grew up with." Jane nodded at that, when her Biotics started to manifest, she had looked up the element zero exposure stuff. She had seen the pictures, it made the Biotics a little less terrifying, but not by much.

"Is there some question about how you were exposed?" Jane asked. Jane's exposure in the womb was uncertain, since she kept her Biotics a secret; her mother never had the chance to explain an exposure to Jane. There was a ship explosion the year the twins were born, several kids had been taken from Mindoir when the twins were younger, thus Jane's fear of her own Biotics as a teen. Jane had figured her mother was exposed then, she wondered about Alenko as she gave him her full attention.

"My mother was downwind of a transport crash. It was before there were human Biotics. It was after the discovery of the Martian ruins. It only gets iffy around sixty-three when Conatix was running out of first gen subjects," Kaidan stated and Jane blinked. She didn't know much about the Earth-side stuff with Biotics. She had just looked up general information about human Biotics. She should have done more research. "Until then they'd relied on accidentals. A bunch of guys in suits show up at your door after school and then the next thing you know you're out on Jump Zero." Jane had been so terrified about that before the raid. After the raid...Jump Zero wasn't as scary, but it had been closed down before the raid on Mindoir ever happened.

"Jump Zero is Gagarin station, right? What's it like?" Jane asked.

"Yeah, that's the official name. Biggest and farthest facility we had for decades. Right on the termination, the outer edge of the solar system. It's where they did all the goose chase FTL research before we caught on to using mass effect fields. It was a sterile research platform when I was there," he said and Jane found that though depressing.

"There were other kids in the same boat, right?" Jane asked. It would be awful to be out there alone, she had been happy in her biotic training. It had been such a relief to have others who were going through the same process she was. "At least you weren't alone out there."

"That's true. We did have a little circle that would get together every night before lights out," he said with a slight smile and Jane remembered her training. She had been treated carefully after the raid. She had been on special observation for almost a year before she was given all the same privileges as the other students. Most knew why but a few cocky bastards had learned the hard way that Jane was a lot tougher than her red hair and pale skin alluded to. "We didn't have much to do though. It was a research platform then and Conatix kept Jump Zero off the extranet to prevent leaks."

"You were all teenagers, I'm sure you found other ways to occupy the time," Jane teased, sipping on her beer. Jane had had friends, but romance hadn't played a part in her training...any of her training, biotic or Alliance. She had been pitied more than anything back during her own biotic training, while she had male friends; she never had a real boyfriend. She wondered if Kaidan had fared better.

"I'm not the sort who does that kind of thing, Commander, not lightly anyway. There was a girl, I spent a lot of time with but we kept our clothes on. Rahna. She was from Turkey, her family was very rich but she was smart and...charming as hell, beautiful, but not stuck-up about it," he said and Jane felt a slight twinge of jealousy. He cared about this Rahna, a first love. She didn't have that, those male friends had never given her the romantic time of day and while she thought some of them were good looking, and there was no romance. "Like you, I guess. Ma'am." Jane fought to keep her eyes from going wide. Did he mean she, Jane, wasn't stuck-up or did he mean...beautiful. Jane was so bad at romance; she hadn't been laid in...well to be honest...ever. Biotics who were known sole survivors of failed raids and failed missions weren't always getting the best suitors. She fought not to blush.

"Sounds like she was special to you," Jane said with a straight face, glade the lighting was so crappy while cursing her fair-red-headed skin with its paleness and ease at showing blushes.

"She was, maybe she felt the same...but things never fell together during training you know," Kaidan stated and Jane blinked at his briefness.

"Jump Zero's a long way from home. What was it like?" Jane asked.

"The grand gateway to humanity looks a lot better in the vids, anyway, this was just supposed to be a casual debrief and not a long discussion about things that happened years ago," Kaidan said.

"I wanted to get to know you a little better, that's all," Jane said, trying to be casual. "Thanks for the talk, Kaidan."

"Well, you're welcome, Ma'am," he said before giving her a look. "You...uh...make it a habit of getting this personal with everyone?" She fought the blush and finished her beer.

"No, no I don't," she stated before looking at him. "We'll talk again later."

"I'll...uh...I'll need some time to process that, Commander," he said and Jane felt her heart drop. Another man who just wanted to be friends...nothing more. Jane fought to keep her shoulders from sagging. "But...yeah...I'd like that." Jane was barely able to keep from jumping at that. She gave him what she hoped was a playful smile before she put her bottle away and headed to her room. Once the door closed behind her, Jane proceeded to smile brightly as she headed to the shower. Surprise, surprise, better not let John see her this happy, he'd be on that one too fast.

~*TF*~

Earth Date: June 19th, 2183 CE

Location: SSV Normandy, Leaving Pinnacle Station

"Well, it's nice to have the crazy cult leader off our ship," John said as Jane leaned against the CDC next to him.

"I've still not forgiven you for making me talk to the crazy biotic cult," she stated and he smirked at her.

"Come on, it worked," he stated and Jane rolled her eyes.

"You do realize you are a gigantic bigot right?" she asked and he smiled.

"I am not, I am simply encouraging my baby sister to excel," he stated and Jane stared at him.

"Fourteen minutes, John," she sighed.

"Commanders, I know you love your bonding time, but we're picking up a distress signal coming out of the Hydra System," Joker stated and Jane gave John a look.

"You're the one coming on duty," she said and John gave her a look.

"Another detour before we head to Noveria then. Set a course, Joker," John ordered.

"Aye, aye, Sir," he said.

"One of these days, he's going to call you 'ma'am'," Jane stated and John grinned.

"I can't wait," he chuckled.

~*TF*~

"See it there?" John pointed. Jane nodded looking over his shoulder.

"I see it," Jane agreed. "Just like the distress beacon's data indicated. It was a medical transport."

"Not to state the obvious, but this...looks like a trap," Wrex stated and Jane turned around to stare at him. "What?"

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Jane stated and Ash quickly whispered something into the Krogan's ear.

"You're welcome, Sergeant Sarcasm," he replied and Jane smirked at Ash while Kaidan chuckled.

"That's a human joke that I don't get," Tali stated.

"Don't worry, I don't either," Garrus stated.

"It doesn't cross the dextro, levo amino acid thing," John stated and Jane smacked his arm.

"Don't say crap like that, they'll think you are being honest," Jane huffed as she got up and out of the Mako. "Okay, I don't like this more than anyone else. Ash, Garrus, we are going to take the hillsides and let the others go down to the crash site.

"I am going on the record of saying, I think it is unwise to leave the armored vehicle," Garrus stated.

"If you are that afraid you can let the human females take the sniper positions without you," Jane stated and Garrus huffed.

"I said I wanted it on the record, I didn't say I wasn't going," he shot back as the three snipers got out of the Mako.

"I'm detecting mines," Tali's voice called over the comms and Jane looked around.

"We're getting out of the Mako and proceeding on foot," John said as Jane got into position on a hill. She quickly lay on her stomach with her sniper rifle in position as she watched the group getting out of the tank. They weren't far from the crash when the Geth seemed to jump out from the ground.

~*TF*~

"Ambush!" John cried and Garrus and Ash began firing. Jane fired at the optics before she saw the laser line of a Geth sniper's rifle. It landed on the back of John's head. Jane had him in her scope but there wasn't time to take out the Geth aiming at him. She quickly aimed low and fired. The shot caught John in the back of the knee, bringing him flat to the ground on his back as the Geth's shot flew over him. Jane quickly looked and saw the targeting laser of the Geth, searching. She quickly continued firing.

"Commander!" Liara screamed, getting up to run for him.

"I'm alright, stay the fuck down!" John roared. Liara jerked and Tali tugged on her hand to pull her down next to her.

"John you okay?" Jane asked over the comms as the gun battle raged.

"I'll live, my shields were weak and it punched through. My armor took the brunt of it but when you find the Geth who shot me, save him for me," John growled. Jane smiled as she saw John roll onto his stomach and open fire from the ground with his assault rifle.

"Uh, about that John…."

~*TF*~

"You shot me..." John glared as Jane drove.

"Better me than the Geth. That would have killed you," Jane stated.

"Wait, you were the one who shot the Commander?" Kaidan asked and Jane nodded.

"A Geth sniper was targeting his head. I wouldn't have been able to get the sniper before it took its shot on John. It was either shoot John or bury him," Jane said.

"You made the right choice," Wrex stated.

"I knew that already," Jane stated.

"You shot me..." John repeated.

"He gets a little bit of amnesia when he's been shot," Jane explained.

"I've never heard of that," Tali stated.

"It sounds like another joke," Liara sighed.

"You shot me..." John said a third time as the Mako headed to the rendezvous point.

~*TF*~

Belle's Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to bring this out and I'm sorry for all the copied lines from movies, I just couldn't help myself with the "Why so serious" line. I just...I couldn't not write that. In fact, I'm not sorry for that line...it was my favorite line from this entire chapter.